India beat Pakistan by 11 runs to level Twenty20 series

December 28, 2012

yuvi



New Delhi, December 28: Yuvraj Singh's career-best T20 knock and Ashok Dinda’s late fightback helped India clinch a thrilling 11-run victory to level the two-match Twenty20 series.

 

India got a huge breakthrough when pacer Ashok Dinda dismissed Umar Akmal to break 62-run third wicket stand.

 

Skipper Mohammad Hafeez led from the front as he smashed 23-ball fifty, smacking five fours and three sixes.

 

Indian spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuvraj Singh removed Nasir Jamshed and Ahmed Shehzad respectively to give Pakistan double jolt in quick succession.

 

Jamshed and Shehzad started off well, adding 74-run stand for the first wicket to lay the foundation for Pakistan.

 

Earlier, Yuvraj's career-best T20 knock could not have come at a more opportune time as it lifted India to a defendable total after being pegged back by three quick strikes.

 

Ever since Yuvraj arrived on the wicket, Pakistani bowlers bled runs as the left-hander plundered seven huge sixes and four boundaries in his 36-ball blitzkrieg to entertain a jam-packed house.

 

With skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (33) he added 97-runs for the fourth wicket as India put on board its highest total against Pakistan in T20s.

 

Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal bore the brunt of Yuvraj's fury as the Indian creamed four sixes off him with three coming in a row in the 19th over, which yielded India 22 runs.

 

Yuvraj was out in the last over off paceman Umar Gul, who was the most succesful bowler for Pakistan with four wickets at the expense of just 37 runs.

 

Earlier, India openers provided a fiery start, adding 44 runs inside five overs, but neither Gautam Gambhir (21) nor Ajinkya Rahane (28) could build on that.

 

The two openers were in good touch, driving and cutting elegantly. Rahane found boundries on the off-side despite facing a packed off-side field and also flicked confidently.

 

Gambhir was in much better form than Bangalore and his drives off Sohail Tanvir was a treat to watch but Gul removed both of them in space of two overs.

 

Gambhir departed after hitting Gul for three consecutive boundaries as he was foxed by a slower one. Gul returned and effected Rahane's dismissal with a catch in his follow through when the diminutive batsman miscued a pull shot.

 

Young fast bowler Mohammad Irfan was again impressive as he welcomed Yuvraj with a toe-crushing yorker.

 

The two quick wickets pegged India back, free-flowing runs stopped and pressure was on Yuvraj and Virat Kohli to wriggle the side out of the tight situation.

 

Kohli (27) too departed after getting his eye in when a confusion between him and Yuvraj resulted in his run out.

 

Dhoni arrived and meant business straight away, dispatching one from Shahid Afridi with a lofted drive to the fence. Yuvraj too started the fireworks, hitting a massive six off Afridi over mid-wicket to bring up India's 100 as India reeled off 17 runs in the 13th over.

 

Ajmal too got the same treatment by Yuvraj as one of his deliveries vanished in the crowd. Dhoni and Yuvraj continued in the same vein till the end and ensured the India have enough runs on the board to defend.

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Agencies
February 13,2020

New Delhi, Feb 13: Sanjiv Chawla, a key accused in the match-fixing scandal involving former South African cricket team captain Hansie Cronje in 2000, was extradited from the UK on Thursday, Delhi Police said.

The 50-year-old British national, accompanied by a crime branch team from London, reached IGI Airport this morning, a senior officer said.

He is likely to be taken to the crime branch office for questioning, he added.

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News Network
April 22,2020

Dhaka, Apr 22: Star Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has decided to auction the bat he used during the 2019 ODI World Cup to help raise money for the fight against deadly coronavirus pandemic.

Shakib, who is currently serving a two-year ban from all forms of cricket -- one of which is suspended -- for not reporting corrupt approaches, is the second Bangladeshi cricketer after wicket-keeper batsman Mushfiqur Rahim to auction a personal cricketing gear to raise money for the cause.

"I had said before that I want to put up a bat for auction. I have decided to auction the bat I used in the 2019 World Cup. It's a favourite bat of mine," Shakib said during a Facebook live session.

The 33-year-old all-rounder had a hugely successful World Cup in England last year, scoring 606 runs in eight matches at an average of 86.57, which included two centuries and five fifties.

Besides, he also picked up 11 wickets in the tournament and became the only cricketer to score 600 plus runs and scalp 10 wickets in a single edition of the World Cup.

"I had a good World cup with the bat and ball. There were some good performances especially with the bat. I had used a single bat throughout the World Cup and even used tapes on it to get through games," Shakib said.

"It's not that this bat has only been used at the World Cup. I have scored over 1500 runs with this bat and had used it prior to the tournament and after it as well.

"Although I like the bat a lot but I have decided to put it up for auction with the thought that maybe it can leave some contribution to forming a fund during the ongoing coronavirus crisis."

The money raised from the auction will go to the Shakib Al Hasan foundation.

"This is a very special bat to me, but my people are even more special to me," Shakib said.

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News Network
April 4,2020

New Delhi, April 4: India skipper Virat Kohli has said that the 2014 Test series against England was the lowest point of his career.

He made the revelation during a candid Instagram Live session with former England batsman Kevin Pietersen.

To date, the 2014 Test series in England remains one of the worst Test series for Kohli as he averaged just 13.40 from 10 ten innings with his highest score being 39.

"I felt like as a batsman, you know you are going to get out in the morning as soon as you wake up. That was the time I felt like that there is no chance I am getting runs. And still to get out of bed and just get dressed for the game and to go out there and go through that, knowing that you will fail, was something that ate me up," Kohli told Pietersen.

However, just four years later, Kohli made a triumphant return to England as he scored a century in the opening Test of the 2018 series and finished as the highest run-getter in the series.

Kohli told Pietersen that the performance in 2014 came because he was just thinking about his own batting.

"2014 series happened, for all the younger guys listening, because I was too focused on doing well from a personal point of view. I wanted to get runs. I could never think of what does the team want me to do in this situation," Kohli said.

"I just got too engulfed with England tour - if I perform here, Test cricket, in my mind I am going to feel established and all that crap on the outside, which is not important at all," he added.
During the chat, Kohli talked about his favourite format in cricket and he also revealed the main reason for turning into a vegan.

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