Ind vs Eng: India 273/7 at stumps on Day 1 of third Test

December 5, 2012

ind

Kolkata, December 5: Sachin Tendulkar marked his return to form with a patient 76 but England claimed the honours on the opening day by reducing a jittery India to 273 for seven in the first innings of the third Test on Wednesday.

Tendulkar played a composed innings under pressure facing 155 balls and hitting 13 boundaries in the process. His partnership of 79 for the fifth wicket with Yuvraj Singh was the highlight of the Indian innings as most of the other top order batsman failed to capitalise on starts.

He missed a century when he was forced to edge one off seamer Jimmy Anderson and the catch was taken by wicketkeeper Matt Prior diving to his right.

Anderson got the ball to reverse consistently in the post tea session which saw England get three wickets after getting two each in the first couple of sessions on a Eden Gardens track which appeared good for batting.

It was Tendulkar's first half-century since the Sydney Test as he appeared relieved after getting to the mark with a boundary of pacer Steven Finn.

Electing to bat on flat wicket that had little to offer, India had a promising start from Gautam Gambhir (60) and Virender Sehwag (23).

But Gambhir could not convert his fine start for yet another time, while Virat Kohli's poor form in the series continued as he could manage only six runs.

Anderson (3/68) rocked the home team at the fag end of the day with the second new ball. He bowled a perfect off-cutter that breached Ravichandran Ashwin's defence.

At stumps, skipper Dhoni was unbeaten on 22 (from 59 balls) along with Zaheer Khan who was yet to open his account. This is the first time that floodlights were used in a Test match at the Eden with the last 40 minutes being played under artificial lights.

It was a complete lack of application from the Indian batsmen while Sehwag's run-out can be attributed to his partner Gambhir's poor judgement.

The opening duo raced to 45 from 10 overs as Sehwag was found batting with consummate ease scoring run-a-ball before Gambhir's indiscretion ended his innings.

In display of poor communication, Gambhir did not listen to Sehwag's call, as he stood watching the ball while the right-hander almost reached the other end before Samit Patel completed an easy run-out.

The shocker in the 10.1 overs seemed to be a huge blow as India failed to recover from it to find themselves in a tricky situation.

After the departure of Sehwag who was looking fluent during his innings of 23, India struggled with Cheteshwar Pujara, Kohli and Yuvraj who didn't make significant contributions.

In-form Cheteshwar Pujara managed only 16 this time before Monty Panesar's wrong 'un foxed him as it knocked his middle-stump back.

Tendulkar had to walk in just a quarter hour before lunch and was tested by Cook with both spinners as well as pacers.

Gambhir's Test century that has eluded him for nearly three years now didn't come this time as he tried to cut a rising delivery from Panesar which was too close to his body and the thickish edge flew to Jonathan Trott at slip. The left-hander faced 124 balls and hit 12 boundaries.

Kohli was done in by Anderson as the talented batsman edged one to the slip cordon.

At 136 for four, Yuvraj joined Tendulkar and both of them started the repair job.

Tendulkar and Yuvraj started off cautiously before taking the attack back to the opposition camp.

Yuvraj hit back to back boundaries -- with one of them an elegant straight drive -- off Swann bringing smiles back in the Indian camp.

The hosts went into the tea session with the scoreboard reading 172 for four with Tendulkar batting on 46.

Just after the post-tea session started, Tendulkar clipped Finn towards long leg boundary to complete his 66th half century in Tests and acknowledged the cheers from the dressing room.

A flurry of boundaries followed from blades of the both batsmen as runs started coming quickly.

Most disappointing was Yuvraj who looked set having scored 32 and then got out in a tame fashion as he lobbed a simple catch to Alastair Cook in the short cover region while trying to punch a regular off-break from Graeme Swann.

The fact that India struggled to put on partnerships and failed to convert the good starts mounted the pressure on the subsequent batsmen.

The wicket was a typical Eden Gardens wicket where there was something for both batsmen and bowlers. While Anderson got the ball to move both ways, there was turn and bounce on offer for Panesar.

As far as the Indians were concerned, it was conducive for batting as Tendulkar and Gambhir's innings were prime examples but most of them save Sehwag were out playing poor shots.

As has been the case with Eden for decades, Anderson swung the ball prodigiously during the evening getting Tendulkar with and outswinger and Ashwin with an off-cutter.

In the only change to the Indian line-up, Ishant Sharma returned after a 10-month lay off as the lanky pacer was included in place of Harbhajan Singh.

For England, Ian Bell and fast bowler Steven Finn replaced Jonny Bairstow and Stuart Board.

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Agencies
February 23,2020

Madrid, Feb 23: Lionel Messi scored four goals and Barcelona reclaimed the top spot in the La Liga as Real Madrid suffered a surprise defeat by Levante last night, a week before the Clasico.

Madrid's nightmare afternoon was made worse by another injury to Eden Hazard, who was forced off in the second half of their 1-0 defeat in Valencia and is now doubtful to face Manchester City on Wednesday in the Champions League.

"It doesn't look good," said Real coach Zinedine Zidane afterwards.

Messi, meanwhile, ridiculed talk of a goal drought by scoring four against Eibar after four games without one, while emergency signing Martin Braithwaite made two assists off the bench, teeing up Messi and then Arthur Melo in injury-time.

Their 5-0 rout, coupled with Madrid's defeat, means Barca move back to the summit of La Liga, two points ahead of Zidane's side ahead of next Saturday's showdown at the Santiago Bernabeu.

It amounts to a considerable shift in momentum, with Barcelona away at Napoli in the first leg of the Champions League last 16 on Tuesday.

Madrid host City a day later and the plan had been for Hazard to regain form and fitness in what was only his second start since returning from three months out with a broken right foot.

But the Belgian sat in the dug-out with an ice pack around the same foot after going off and Zidane suggested it was a repeat injury after the match. "It can be weak where you've had an injury," he said.

For Madrid, playing catch-up again next weekend will be a particularly heavy psychological blow, especially given the series of off-field problems engulfing Barcelona in recent weeks.

Yet on the pitch, Messi showed no sign of distraction as the 32-year-old completed the second fastest of his now 36 league hat-tricks, after less than 40 minutes at Camp Nou.

"There's nothing left to do but stand up and applaud," Eibar wrote on Twitter afterwards.

"I won't wash my kit after hugging Messi," said Braithwaite.

Braithwaite's arrival from Leganes drew criticism after Barcelona capitalised on a curious La Liga rule that allows clubs to sign outside of the transfer window if they have lost a player to serious injury.

Brilliant Messi

Messi quickly got to work, scoring a brilliant first goal in the 14th minute after collecting the ball centrally, around 30 yards out. He had three Eibar defenders in front of him but found a way through, nutmegging Anaitz Arbilla before chipping delicately into the corner.

The second came in the 37th minute as Sergio Busquets found Arturo Vidal, who feathered a flick into Messi's path. Messi surged forward, past his stumbling opponents, and fired in.

His third, three minutes later, was the simplest of the trio and arrived only after he tried to play in Antoine Griezmann. His generosity was rewarded as a sloppy Griezmann touch meant the ball cannoned back to Messi, who apologetically poked in.

Coach Quique Setien was able to take Griezmann off with 18 minutes left and introduce Braithwaite for his debut. Braithwaite's first contribution was a skewed cross but things improved immeasurably from there, as two passes across goal gave Messi his fourth and Arthur his first.

Madrid were never in control of a chaotic contest against Levante but might have taken the lead if Hazard had done better with a long ball over the top from Marcelo, which he failed to control and then scuffed into the hands of Aitor Fernandez.

He limped off and Madrid lost their way, finally punished with 11 minutes left by a straight ball through to Morales. Luka Modric, exposed on the right side of Madrid's defence, was unable to recover and Morales caught Courtois by surprise by firing early past the goalkeeper and into the top corner.

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News Network
June 18,2020

New Delhi, Jun 18: Premier Indian off-spinner R Ashwin has described Mahendra Singh Dhoni as a "massive influence" on his career, revealing that at the beginning of his IPL stint, he was driven by an intense desire to get the former captain's attention.

Ashwin got his contract with CSK, one of the most successful IPL sides, in 2008 and said the stint with CSK shaped his career.

"IPL and CSK is a stage that everyone wants. For me it was more about recognition. MSD did not know who Ashwin is, (Matthew) Hayden and (Muttiah) Muralithan did not know who Ashwin is. The first thing that came to my mind was that 'I will show these people that Ashwin is here'," Ashwin told Harsha Bhogle on 'Cricbuzz in Conversation'.

"I don't know it was being foolish or arrogance but that was how I was made. Nobody was giving me a chance that Ashwin will play alongside Muralitharan or ahead of Muralitharan. I thought, I will get there ahead of him one day," he added.

Ashwin said Dhoni, who led CSK, had "massive influence" on him and the only way to impress him was by troubling him in the nets.

"I got the eye of Hayden, Jacob Oram, and Stephen Fleming while bowling to them at the nets. They were finding it difficult to face me in the first year (2008) but I had not caught the eye of MSD," he said.

"I never had massive interactions with him. It was going to the nets and getting MSD...he was hitting Muralitharan out of the park and I thought, if I bowl better than him, I met get to play ahead of Murali.

" I got his attention when I got him during a Challenger trophy and celebrated like a crazy kid," he recalled.

After that, Ashwin said during CSK's match against Victoria Bushrangers in the now defunct Champions League, he volunteered to bowl the Super Over and Dhoni gave him the ball without hesitation.

Ashwin did not fare well and ended up conceding 23 runs. The off-spinner said when Dhoni walked past him after the match, he only said that, "you should have bowled the carrom ball."

"MS always maintained that you are exceptionally skilful and you should keep doing what you do."

Ashwin has been very successful against the left-handers as 189 of his 365 wickets are of southpaws. Ashwin credited his engineering background and advice from Duncan Fletcher for the success.

"He made a statement that changed cricket. He said it's all about geometry and left it at that. Understanding angles (engineering background) has given me edge over others," he said.

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Agencies
January 6,2020

Washington D.C., Jan 6: 'The Irishman,' and 'Two Popes' were shut out from the winners list despite getting multiple nominations, the movies didn't win a single award at the Golden Globes Award held on Sunday (local time). Other movies in the list include 'Bombshell,' 'Dolemite Is My Name,' 'Harriet,' 'Jojo Rabbit,' 'Knives Out' and 'Little Women.'

According to The Hollywood Reporter, 'The Irishman' may have gone into the 2020 Golden Globes with the second-highest number of film nominations, tied with 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' with five nods, but Martin Scorsese's highly anticipated mob epic for Netflix was completely shut out at the award ceremony.

Netflix landed the most film nominations of any company with 17 mentions, but it won only one award which is the best-supporting actress for 'Marriage Story's' Laura Dern. Netflix's nominated films 'Dolemite Is My Name' and 'The Two Popes' was tied with 'Joker' with four mentions each and failed to grab any awards.

'Dolemite Is My Name' star Eddie Murphy was expected by a number of pundits to win for best actor in a motion picture, musical or comedy.

'Bombshell', 'Harriet',' Frozen 2', 'Jojo Rabbit', 'Knives Out', 'The Lion King', 'Little Women' and 'Pain and Glory' are among the other films that received multiple nominations but didn't win a single award.

On the TV side, Netflix's 'Unbelievable' tied in the race to most small-screen nominations with 'Chernobyl' and 'The Crown' with four nominations, and 'The Crown' won only one award, for star Olivia Colman.

The three-time nominees 'Barry', 'Big Little Lies', 'The Kominsky Method' and 'The Morning Show' also didn't grab any award. 'Catch-22', 'Killing Eve', 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel' and 'The Politician' who were two-time nominees that were also iced out.

'Hustlers' star Jennifer Lopez failed to take home the best-supporting actress award as she was predicted to win the award by a number of pundits. Billy porter also failed to make history with the best drama actor win for his role on 'Pose,' if he would've won the award, he reportedly would have been the first openly gay African-American to win that award.

'Chernobyl' won two of its four nominations. Despite that, star Jared Harris didn't win the best actor in a limited series Globe which was predicted by many prognosticators. The award was bagged by Russell Crowe for his portrayal of Roger Ailes in 'The Loudest Voice.' But the star was absent from the ceremony.

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