Dhoni's heroic ton goes in vain as Pakistan notch up six-wicket win

December 31, 2012

Junaid-Khan

Chennai, December 31: Left-arm pacer Junaid Khan scythed through India's top-order with a four-wicket burst to set up Pakistan's six-wicket victory in the first one-day international at the Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday.

The 23-year-old Junaid left the home side struggling at 29 for 5 with a destructive opening spell after the tourists opted to bowl first, before MS Dhoni struck a remarkable 113 not out from 125 balls to help India recover to a respectable 227 for 6 in the day match.

Left-handed opener Nasir Jamshed struck his second ODI century (101 not out) and the experienced Younus Khan hit 58 as Pakistan achieved the target with 11 deliveries remaining to go 1-0 up in the three-match series. The second ODI will be played in Kolkata on January 3.

Junaid exploited the helpful conditions following overnight showers to make a mockery of India's top-order as he dismissed Virender Sehwag (4), Virat Kohli (0), Yuvraj Singh (2) and Rohit Sharma (4) in quick succession in a display of quality seam bowling.

Struggling Gautam Gambhir was bowled by tall pacer Mohammad Irfan as India's brittle batting lost their way before man-of-the-match Dhoni hit his eighth ODI hundred and shared in two vital partnerships to put the innings back on track in the first international game implementing a series of rule changes in ODIs.

Dropped on 16 by Misbah-ul-Haq off off-spinner Md Hafeez with the team score on 84/5, Dhoni, who braved bouts of cramps, put on 73 in 142 deliveries for the sixth wicket with Suresh Raina (43) to stabilise the innings.

Raina fell to Hafeez in the second ball of the batting Powerplay, taken in the 34th over, but Dhoni and Ravichandran Ashwin (31 not out) shared in a 125-run stand for the next wicket with the skipper leading the way with a display of controlled aggression.

Dhoni hit his first boundary in the 79th delivery that he faced but stepped up the tempo as he struck six more boundaries and three sixes. He hit Irfan for two fours and a six off successive deliveries to reach his 100 as he also crossed the 7000-run mark in ODIs.

Seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar became the first Indian to take a wicket with his first delivery on ODI debut when he clean bowled Hafeez. Later, he had Azhar Ali caught at square-leg to reduce the tourists to 21/2.

Although his early breakthroughs raised Indian hopes, the host attack lacked depth to put the pressure on Pakistan as Jamshed and Younus shared in a 112-run stand for the third wicket.

Ashok Dinda dismissed Younus but Pakistan were in complete control of the game as Jamshed put on 39 with Misbah for the fourth wicket and sealed the match in the company of Shoaib Malik (34 not out).

Virat Kohli injured his knee after slipping during bowling. He underwent an MRI scan and is doubtful for the Kolkata game.

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Agencies
August 2,2020

New Delhi, Aug 2: BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Sunday said the Women's IPL or the Challenger series, as it is better known, is "very much on", ending speculation about the parent body not having a plan for Harmanpreet Kaur and her team.

The men's IPL will be held between September 19 and November 8 or 10 (final date yet to be locked in) in the UAE due to the surge in Covid-19 cases in India. The women's IPL will also be fit in to the schedule, according to the BCCI chief.

"I can confirm to you that the women's IPL is very much on and we do have a plan in place for the national team also," Ganguly told PTI ahead of the IPL Governing Council meeting later on Sunday.

The BCCI president, who is awaiting a Supreme Court verdict on waiver of the cooling-off period to continue in the position, did not divulge details but another senior official privy to the development said that women's Challenger will be held during the last phase of IPL like last year.

"The women's Challenger series is likely to be held between November 1-10 and there could be a camp before that," the source said.

The former India captain also said that the centrally contracted women players will have a camp which has been delayed due to the prevailing situation in the country.

"We couldn't have exposed any of our cricketers -- be it male or female to health risk. It would have been dangerous," Ganguly said.

"The NCA also remained shut because of Covid-19. But we have a plan in place and we will have a camp for women, I can tell you that," he added.

The BCCI's cricket operations team is chalking up a schedule where Indian women are likely to have two full-fledged white-ball series against South Africa and the West Indies before playing the ODI World Cup in New Zealand. 

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Agencies
February 7,2020

Sydney, Feb 7: "I received a message from Brett Lee," said former India cricketer Sachin Tendulkar on Friday when asked as to who recruited him to take part in the Bushfire relief fundraiser match.

Tendulkar will be coaching the Ponting XI in the upcoming Bushfire Bash on Sunday, February 9 at the Junction Oval.

"I received a message from Brett Lee. Brett said that Kevin (Roberts, Cricket Australia's chief executive) would like to be in touch with you. It was a no-brainer. From the moment I was asked, I said, 'yes I'm more than happy to come here," cricket.com.au quoted Tendulkar as saying.

Bushfire Bash was originally slated to be played at Sydney on Saturday but weather forecast prompted Cricket Australia to reschedule the game to ensure the best possible pitch and outfield conditions for the final of Big Bash League.

The match will be played to raise funds and all match profits will go to the Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund.

"This is an alarming situation, it's catastrophic - that's an understatement. You see the number of lives it has affected, not only humans but also wildlife which sometimes people don't talk about. That is equally important. I'm so happy I'm here in whatever way to support the cause, to raise money," Tendulkar said.

Ponting XI: Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Ricky Ponting (c), Elyse Villani, Brian Lara, Phoebe Litchfield, Brad Haddin (wk), Brett Lee, Wasim Akram, Dan Christian, Luke Hodge. Coach: Sachin Tendulkar

Gilchrist XI: Adam Gilchrist (c & wk), Shane Watson, Brad Hodge, Yuvraj Singh, Alex Blackwell, Andrew Symonds, Courtney Walsh, Nick Riewoldt, Peter Siddle, Fawad Ahmed (one more to be announced). Coach: Tim Paine

The Bushfire Bash exhibition match will be a 10-overs-per-side contest, with a five-over Powerplay, no bowling restrictions, and batters unable to get out from the first ball they face.

Bowlers will not have over limits, fielders can sub on and off as it suits, while captains will have the ability to sub batters in and out during an innings.

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News Network
March 30,2020

Lausanne, Mar 30: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Monday announced that the Tokyo Olympics 2020 will be 'celebrated' from July 23 to August 8 next year while the Paralympics Games will be held from August 24 to September 5, 2021.
"The International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Paralympics Committee (IPC), the Tokyo 2020 organising Committee, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Government of Japan today agreed on new dates for the games of the XXXII Olympiad, in 2021. The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 will be celebrated from 23 July to 8 August 2021. They also agreed on new dates for the Paralympic Games, which will be celebrated from 24 August until 5 September 2021," the IOC said in a statement.
Earlier, the Tokyo Olympic Games were slated to be held from July 24 to August 9, while the Paralympic Games were scheduled to be held from August 25 to September 6. However, the coronavirus pandemic forced the postponement of the event.
IOC said the new dates are 'exactly one year' after those originally planned, giving the health authorities and all involved in the organisation of the games maximum time to deal with the constantly changing landscape caused by the coronavirus.
"These new dates give the health authorities and all involved in the organisation of the Games the maximum time to deal with the constantly changing landscape and the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic," the statement read.
"The new dates, exactly one year after those originally planned for 2020 (Olympic Games: 24 July to 9 August 2020 and Paralympic Games: 25 August to 6 September 2020), also have the added benefit that any disruption that the postponement will cause to the international sports calendar can be kept to a minimum, in the interests of the athletes and the IFs. Additionally, they will provide sufficient time to finish the qualification process. The same heat mitigation measures as planned for 2020 will be implemented," it added.
The IOC president Thomas Bach thanked all the International Federations (IF) for their support.
"I want to thank the International Federations for their unanimous support and the Continental Associations of National Olympic Committees for the great partnership and their support in the consultation process over the last few days. I would also like to thank the IOC Athletes' Commission, with whom we have been in constant contact," Bach said in a statement.
"With this announcement, I am confident that, working together with the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the Japanese Government, and all our stakeholders, we can master this unprecedented challenge. Humankind currently finds itself in a dark tunnel. These Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 can be a light at the end of this tunnel," he added.
IPC president Andrew Parsons said the new dates will provide certainty to the athletes.
"It is fantastic news that we could find new dates so quickly for the Tokyo 2020 Games. The new dates provide certainty for the athletes, reassurance for the stakeholders and something to look forward to for the whole world. When the Paralympic Games do take place in Tokyo next year, they will be an extra-special display of humanity uniting as one, a global celebration of human resilience and a sensational showcase of sport," Parsons said.
"With the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games 512 days away, the priority for all those involved in the Paralympic Movement must be to focus on staying safe with their friends and family during this unprecedented and difficult time," he added.

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