England wins a thriller, levels series

December 23, 2012

EnglandwinsMumbai, December 23: Eoin Morgan smashed a stunning six off the final delivery bowled by Ashoke Dinda as England registered a six-wicket win to level the Twenty20 series and dashed India’s hopes of taking the No. 1 ranking in this format for the first time.

Needing nine off the last over, Dinda conceded just three singles off the first three. Jos Buttler managed a two from the fourth ball before Mahendra Singh Dhoni missed a chance to run out Morgan off the next delivery. The England captain, calm and composed despite his side needing three off the final delivery, lofted Dinda into the stands to signal victory.

Earlier, chasing a stiff target of 178, the England openers laid a solid foundation with an 80-run partnership. Michael Lumb was in aggressive form, hitting 50 off just 34 balls with six fours and two sixes. At the other end, Alex Hales, dropped by Parvinder Awana, who had a forgettable game both as a bowler and as a fielder, cashed in on the mistake to score 42 (33b, 4x4, 1x6).

Only Yuvraj Singh provided some hope for India, bowling a teasing line and finishing with three wickets. He pulled India back into the match, the way he did in the first game at Pune. The left-armer dismissed Lumb, Luke Wright and Hales as England lost its way in the middle.

However, Dhoni’s decision to employ Awana and Dinda in the closing stages proved costly as the two leaked runs aplenty.

Sedate start

After a sedate start, India posted a formidable 177 on the board. The runs flowed in the last quarter of the twenty overs after Rohit Sharma had lost his middle stump to off-spinner James Tredwell.

Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni joined left-hander Suresh Raina — the pair had steered the host to a convincing win in the first match at Pune two days back — in the middle. Dhoni and Raina turned the tide, hammering three fours and as many sixes off Stuart Meaker and Jade Dernbach in the 17th and 18th overs.

The duo put on a breezy 60-run stand in less than half an hour and lifted the team from 108 for five to 168.

There was evidence of extra bounce and hints of swing in the early overs. Indian openers Gautam Gambhir and Ajinkya Rahane struggled to force the ball, after being put in by England captain Eoin Morgan.

Gambhir looked a far cry from an experienced batsman ready to quell a challenging situation and laboured to make 17 off 27 balls in eight minutes short of an hour. Rahane stepped out, made room and slashed into the hands of debutant Joe Root at third man.

England dropped left-arm spinner Danny Briggs and took the field with four seamers and off-spinner in Tredwell, but medium pacer Luke Wright turned out to be the weak link as Kohli took heavy toll of him for twenty runs, which also was the last of the power-play.

Dhoni and Raina played wonderfully well, blasting three fours and as many sixes off Meaker and Dernbach.

Scoreboard

India: G. Gambhir c Bresnan b Wright 17 (27b, 1x4), A. Rahane c Root b Dernbach 3 (5b), V. Kohli lbw b Meaker 38 (20b, 7x4), Yuvraj c Root b Wright 4 (5b), Rohit b Tredwell 24 (19b, 1x6, 1x4), S. Raina (not out) 35 (24b, 3x4, 1x6), M.S. Dhoni c Patel b Bresnan 38 (18b, 3x4, 2x6), R. Ashwin c Lumb b Dernbach 1 (3b), P. Chawla (run out) 0 (1b); Extras (b-2, lb-4, nb-2, w-9): 17; Total (for eight wkts. in 20 overs): 177.

Fall of wickets: 1-7 (Rahane), 2-64 (Kohli), 3-71 (Yuvraj), 4-88 (Gambhir), 5-108 (Rohit), 6-168 (Dhoni), 7-171 (Ashwin), 8-177 (Chawla).

England bowling: Bresnan 4-0-27-1, Dernbach 4-0-37-2, Meaker 4-0-42-1, Wright 4-0-38-2, Tredwell 4-0-27-1.

England: M. Lumb st. Dhoni b Yuvraj 50 (34b, 6x4, 2x6), A. Hales c Dinda b Yuvraj 42 (33b, 4x4, 1x6), L. Wright lbw b Yuvraj 5 (10b), E. Morgan (not out) 49 (26b, 5x4, 2x6), S. Patel c Gambhir b Dinda 9 (10b, 1x4), J. Buttler (not out) 15 (7b, 1x4, 1x6); Extras (b-1, lb-8, w-2): 11; Total (for four wkts. in 20 overs): 181.

Fall of wickets: 1-80 (Lumb), 2-94 (Wright), 3-123 (Hales), 4-149 (Patel).

India bowling: Dinda 4-0-44-1, Awana 4-0-42-0, Ashwin 4-0-38-0, Chawla 4-0-31-0, Yuvraj 4-0-17-3.

Man-of-the-match: E. Morgan.

Man-of-the-series: Yuvraj.



Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
January 2,2020

New Delhi, Jan 2: On the first day of the New Year 2020, Hardik Pandya announced his engagement with Serbian actor Natasa Stankovic.

The cricketer took to Instagram to share a photo with the actor and captioned the post: "Mai tera, Tu meri jaane, saara Hindustan. 01.01.2020 #engaged".

The 26-year-old shared three pictures and a short clip on the social media platform. In one photo, Stankovic can be seen flaunting her ring.

The couple got engaged in Dubai and were seen taking a ferry ride along with close friends.

On work front, Stankovic was last seen in a song from Bollywood movie The Body starring Emraan Hashmi and Rishi Kapoor. She had also made it to the finals of the TV show Nach Baliye with her ex-boyfriend Aly Goni.

Stankovic first became a household name after appearing as a contestant on famous reality show 'Bigg Boss 8'.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
June 18,2020

Jun 18: Sri Lanka "sold" the 2011 World Cup final to India, the country's former sports minister said on Thursday, reviving one of cricket's most explosive match-fixing controversies. Mahindananda Aluthgamage, who was sports minister at the time, is the second senior figure to allege the final was fixed, after 1996 World Cup-winning skipper Arjuna Ranatunga. "I tell you today that we sold the 2011 World Cup finals," Aluthgamage told Sirasa TV. "Even when I was sports minister I believed this."

Aluthgamage, sports minister from 2010 to 2015 and now state minister for renewable energy and power, said he "did not want to disclose" the plot at the time.

"In 2011, we were to win, but we sold the match. I feel I can talk about it now. I am not connecting players, but some sections were involved," he said.

Sri Lanka lost the match at Mumbai's Wankhede stadium by six wickets. Indian players have strongly denied any wrongdoing.

Ranatunga, who was at the stadium as a commentator, has previously called for an investigation into the defeat.

"When we lost, I was distressed and I had a doubt," he said in July 2017. "We must investigate what happened to Sri Lanka at the 2011 World Cup final."

"I cannot reveal everything now, but one day I will. There must be an inquiry," added Ranatunga, who said players could not hide the "dirt".

Sri Lanka batted first and scored 274-6 off 50 overs. They appeared in a commanding position when Indian superstar Sachin Tendulkar was out for 18.

But India turned the game dramatically, thanks partly to poor fielding and bowling by Sri Lanka, who were led by Kumar Sangakkara.

Sri Lankan cricket has regularly been involved in corruption controversies, including claims of match-fixing ahead of a 2018 Test against England.

Earlier this month, the Sri Lankan cricket board said the International Cricket Council was investigating three unnamed former players over alleged corruption.

Sri Lanka introduced tough penalties for match-fixing and tightened sports betting restrictions in November in a bid to stamp out graft.

Another former sports minister, Harin Fernando, has said Sri Lankan cricket was riddled with graft "from top to bottom", and that the ICC considered Sri Lanka one of the world's most corrupt nations.

Former Sri Lankan fast bowler Dilhara Lokuhettige was suspended in 2018 for corruption relating to a limited-overs league.

He was the third Sri Lankan charged under the ICC anti-corruption code, following former captain and ex-chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya, and former paceman Nuwan Zoysa.

Jayasuriya was found guilty of failing to cooperate with a match-fixing probe and banned for two years. Zoysa was suspended for match-fixing.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
January 25,2020

Headingley, Jan 25: England have become the first team in the world to score 500,000 runs in Test cricket. They achieved the feat during the ongoing fourth and final Test against South Africa being played at The Wanderers.

On Friday - the opening day of the Test match -- England captain Joe Root's single through the covers took the Three Lions to a landmark 500,000 run-mark in the longest format of the game. They achieved the feat in their 1022nd Test match.

Australia comes second in the list, with 432,706 runs in 830 Tests. India, meanwhile, are third, with 273,518 runs in 540 Tests, followed by West Indies (270,441 runs in 545 Tests).

In the third Test played at St George's Park in Port Elizabeth, England had become the first team to play 500 Test matches on foreign soil. Australia are the second team to play the most away Test with 404 matches they have played so far.

India have played 268 Tests on foreign soil in which they have won 51, lost 113 and 104 have ended in a draw.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.