35,000 Sri Lankans vs Chris Gayle for title of cricket’s biggest party animals…

October 7, 2012

srilankan_suporters


The Sir Lankans have played their part in making sure the World T20s on their home soil was no wet blanket.

Despite some rains, a boring first round and allegations of ‘cheating’ over Mahela Jayawardene handing over captaincy, the Lankans kept the party going.

The infectious beat of music, cue the theme song (Vissai vissa rocks ICC World T20 Sri Lanka 2012), and has left the thousands of cricket lovers thronging the island finding a Caribbean rhythm far away from the West Indies.

Now the Lankans need to beware. The original Caribbean boys are in the final.

And they have found their rhythm (West Indies go Gangnam Style to hit T20 semis).

And when it comes to the T20 party, they have shown they are just as up for it.

West Indian star batsmen Chris Gayle burnished his party-boy image last Wednesday when police broke up a late-night gathering in his hotel room during the World Twenty20 cricket tournament in Sri Lanka (Police quell Gayle's hotel party antics).

Gayle and teammates Andre Russell, Fidel Edwards and Dwayne Smith attracted the attention of police bodyguards as they let their hair down at the luxury Cinnamon Grand hotel in Colombo.

Three British female guests who were partying in the players' rooms were removed by officers and briefly arrested, a police statement said after the early-morning antics.

"We're definitely going to rock against Sri Lanka," the swashbuckling Jamaican left-hander said. "We know what to expect -- the atmosphere, the noise and everything else.

"We are definitely going to win this trophy here. I just feel confident about it. We are up against world class players in the Sri Lanka team, but it's going to be good fun."

Now, clinical Sri Lanka will test their cricketing skills on Sunday.

Mahela Jayawardene's home team attempt to reverse fortunes after losing three finals in major meets since 2007.

Standing in the way will be the destructive West Indies batting led by opener Chris Gayle, who crushed Australia in Friday's semi-final with a scintillating 75 of 41 balls.

The West Indies recorded their biggest T20 victory when they beat the Aussies by 74 runs after posting the highest total in this edition of 205-4.

Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo and Marlon Samuels made light of the slow pitch that was regarded as unsuited to aggressive batting, helping themselves to 55 runs in the final three overs.

Sri Lanka defeated the West Indies by nine wickets in a practice game before the tournament and again by the same margin in the Super Eights, but Gayle was confident of ruining the hosts' party on Sunday.

Jayawardene said his team's strategy on Sunday will be different from previous finals.

"They have all had to be approached in different ways," he said. "One final was in Barbados (2007), one in England (2009) and one was in Mumbai (2011).

"But now we are playing in the Premadasa, so we will approach it differently. We have to adapt. It is all about handling tough situations better."

The classy Sri Lankans have lost just one of their six games in the tournament so far: a seven-overs-a-side rain-affected game against South Africa in Hambantota in the preliminary league.

Jayawardene has himself led from the front with 210 runs, the fourth highest run-maker in the tournament behind Australian Shane Watson (249), Gayle (219) and Brendon McCullum of New Zealand (212).

Sri Lanka will be further boosted by the match-winning form of unorthodox spinner Ajantha Mendis, who shares the top spot among bowlers with Watson at 11 wickets apiece, and sling-arm fast bowler Lasith Malinga, who has eight scalps.

The ICC, meanwhile, named the retiring Simon Taufel of Australia along with Pakistan's Aleem Dar as the two on-field umpires for the final. Jeff Crowe of New Zealand will be the match referee.




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News Network
June 2,2020

Jun 2: Former West Indies captain Daren Sammy has spoken strongly against the killing if George Floyd in USA, and has now urged the ICC & all the other boards in the world to come together and fight the evil.

In a series of tweets Sammy wrote how the blacks have been suffering for a long time.

“For too long black people have suffered. I’m all the way in St Lucia and I’m frustrated If you see me as a teammate then you see #GeorgeFloyd Can you be part of the change by showing your support. #BlackLivesMatter,” Sammy wrote.

He also wrote, “@ICC and all the other boards are you guys not seeing what’s happening to ppl like me? Are you not gonna speak against the social injustice against my kind. This is not only about America. This happens everyday #BlackLivesMatter now is not the time to be silent. I wanna hear u.”

“Right now if the cricket world not standing against the injustice against people of color after seeing that last video of that foot down the next of my brother you are also part of the problem.”

Earlier, West Indies star batsman Chris Gayle has said racism exists in cricket too, saying he gets the 'end of the stick' even within teams.

"Black lives matter just like any other life. Black people matter, p***k all racist people, stop taking black people for fools, even our own black people wise the p***k up and stop bringing down your own! I have travelled the globe and experience racial remarks towards me because I am black, believe me, the list goes on," Gayle wrote in his Instagram story.

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News Network
February 29,2020

Melbourne, Feb 29: India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur on Saturday said the team management has given Shafali Verma the freedom to play her natural game, which has set the Women's T20 World Cup ablaze.

The 16-year-old announced her emergence on the global stage by becoming the second highest run getter in the ongoing tournament. She has so far scored 161 runs, hitting 18 fours and nine sixes in four matches at an astounding strike rate of 161.

On Saturday, Shafali hit a 34-ball 47 to steer India to a seven-wicket victory over Sri Lanka after spinner Radha Yadav produced a career-best 4/23.

"Shafali is someone who loves to play big shots, and we don't want to stop her. She should continue doing the same and she should continue enjoying her game," Harmanpreet said after the match.

India entered the semifinals with an all-win record as they led Group A with eight points from four games and the captain insisted it is important to continue the winning momentum.

"It's really important to keep the momentum when you are winning games. You really work hard, so you can't afford to lose that momentum. You can't bowl same pace and lengths on these wickets, so you need to keep rotating the bowlers."

"Today I tried to be positive and got a few boundaries. In the upcoming games I'll try to give my best," Harmanpreet said.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Atapattu rued the reprieves given by her side to Shafali in the form of two dropped catches.

"I think that score was not enough, we lost couple of chances, specially Shafali, it was hard to stop her," she said.

"Yeah, I got a good start but unfortunately got out in the 10th, would have wanted to stay in there till the 16th or the 17th over. I hope we can beat Bangladesh in our last game," she added.

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News Network
June 2,2020

New Delhi, Jun 2: Manchester United's Paul Pogba on Monday paid tribute to George Floyd, stressing that violent acts of racism can no longer be tolerated and they have to stop.

Pogba took to Instagram to write: "During the past few days I have thought a lot about how to express my feelings about what happened in Minneapolis. I felt anger, pity, hatred, indignation, pain, sadness."

"Sadness for George and for all black people who suffer from racism Every day! Whether in football, at work, at school, Anywhere! This has to stop, once and for all! Not tomorrow or the next day, it has to end today! Violent acts of racism can no longer be tolerated," he added.

Protests erupted in Minneapolis and other US cities on Tuesday after Floyd, an African-American man, died following his arrest by the four officers.

A viral video showed a police officer, Derek Chauvin, pinning 46-year-old Floyd to the ground with his knee on his neck for nearly eight minutes. Floyd died at a local hospital shortly thereafter.

The four police officers were fired. Chauvin was also charged with murder and manslaughter, according to Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman.

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zaki ahmed
 - 
Wednesday, 3 Jun 2020

This photograph in the above mentioned article is of Floyd Mayweather Jr , the world welterweight & super heavy weight champion & wrongly menitoned as Pogba .

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