Clinical England conjure nine-run win over India

January 12, 2013

Clinical_

Rajkot: Indian batsmen and bowlers failed in unison as they suffered yet another defeat, this time against England, in the first of the five ODIs here on Friday. First the bowlers leaked 325 runs, with Ishant Sharma going for none for 86 in his ten overs, then the batsmen couldn't keep up with the required rate as England closed the contest with a nine-run victory, their first on Indian soil in an ODI since 2006.

As it happens so often in big chases that pendulum swings from one side to the other with the team defending the total holding the edge, England had their nose in front for the most part of the Indian innings. Although India got off to a breezy start, with Ajinkya Rahane and Gautam Gambhir sharing 96 runs for the opening wicket, England came back strongly with three quick wickets.

Rahane was the first to go when he chipped Tredwell to Jade Dernback at long-off. Gambhir didn't last long too as he got out, flicking straight to Ian Bell at short midwicket off Tredwell, after completing his fifty. Virat Kohli's woeful form continued as he once again departed cheaply, giving a simple catch to Craig Kieswetter behind the wickets off Tim Bresnan.

Yuvraj Singh (61) and Suresh Raina (50), in their stand of 60 for the fourth wicket, tried to take the game away from England but Tredwell once again came to the visitors' rescue, getting the prized wicket of Yuvraj, who played some impeccable pull shots during his knock.

Raina took the charge after the fall of Yuvraj as the left-hander smacked a few audacious strokes to keep the pressure off skipper MS Dhoni. But his wicket, which was once again taken by Tredwell, forced Dhoni to take more risk. The Indian skipper did hit four sixes during his 32-run knock, his wicket, taken by Dernbach with a slower delivery, almost sealed the match for England. Ravindra Jadeja, playing on his home ground, too fell in the same over, edging one to the stumps for just nine runs.

Tredwell was the most successful of the English bowlers, picking up 4 for 44, while Dernbach and Tim Bresnan shared two wickets apiece and Steven Finn got one.

It was as good a wicket a batsman could have hoped to bat on and the England batsmen did not miss a chance to make the most of it, setting a mammoth 326 for India to chase. Bell was the top scorer for England with his 96-ball 85, while Alastair Cook (75), Kevin Pieteren (44) and Eoin Morgan (41) too played crucial knocks to take the score past 300.

The Indian bowlers tried their best to restrain the England scoring but all of them went for plenty as the wicket at the newly-constructed Saurashtra Cricket Association offered nothing to help their cause. Apart from Ishant, who had dreadful day, other Indian bowlers too were taken to the cleaners.

Bell and Cook gave England the perfect start, stringing 158 after the visitors won the toss and decided to bat. The duo treated the Indian bowlers with utter disdain, punishing anything that could have fetched runs. Bell, in particular, was in fluent touch, cutting and pulling the pacers while sweeping and lofting the spinners for big shots. The positive mindset of Bell rubbed off on Cook as the England captain took full toll of anything that was pitched full to him.

Bell got to his half-century when he reverse-swept Jadeja for a boundary, while Cook got the landmark with a single off a conventional sweep. Both departed in quick succession, with Bell getting run out to a direct throw by Rahane, while Cook too found Rahane at short fine when he tried to sweep Raina.

But Pietersen and Morgan got in the groove quickly as the duo accumulated 44 runs in the batting powerplay. But when it looked the two would propel England to a mammoth total, Ashok Dinda struck twice. He caught Morgan in his follow-through, while got Pietersen caught at long-off where Kohli leaped forward to take a good diving catch.

Samit Patel (44*) and wicketkeeper batsman Kieswetter (24*) played useful cameos to take England to 325. Both added 70 in just 37 deliveries, including 64 in the last five overs.

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Agencies
August 2,2020

New Delhi, Aug 2: Batting great Rahul Dravid has attributed Chennai Super Kings' consistent run in the IPL to skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's instincts, game-smarts and the incredible amount of work that goes behind the scenes.

N Srinivasan, the former BCCI president and head of India Cements, which owns the CSK franchise, agreed that Dhoni is a man of instinct who doesn't believe in attending team meetings and going over data.

Both were speaking at a webinar organised by the Great Lakes Institute of Management.

"If you look at the success CSK has had, they've got really good access to data and they've got really good access to people behind the scenes and they've run cricket teams at the junior level," Dravid said at the webinar according to ESPNcricinfo.

The former India captain added, "They understand talent and they've obviously got a good scouting process in place. But, what they also have is a captain who really understands instincts.

"So, I mean, look, I know Dhoni quite well and I hope he hasn't changed, but I know Dhoni is probably not one to look at reams of data and statistics."

The Super Kings have won the lucrative tournament three times -- one less than Mumbai Indians -- and reached the knockouts in each of the 10 seasons they have been a part of.

Srinivasan also spoke about how Dhoni's instinct and judgement contributed to his team's success at a time when a lot of emphases is placed on data.

"We're awash with data just now. To give you an example, there are bowling coaches and in a T20 game, they play videos of every batsman whom they're going to come against and they see how he got out, what's his strength, what's his weakness etc.

"So, MS Dhoni doesn't attend this, he's a pure instinct man. The bowling coach, (head coach Stephen) Fleming will be there and everybody will be there, everyone is giving opinions, (but) he'll get up and go.

"In the context of instinct, he feels that okay he can assess a batsman or player on the field, that's his judgement. On the other hand, there is so much of data that is available to help a person also analyse. It's a very difficult line to draw (between data and instinct)."

Srinivasan also recalled how Dhoni once refused to take "one outstanding player" suggested by the franchise boss as that could have broken the team's cohesion.

"There was one outstanding player that we suggested to MS, he said: 'no sir, he will spoil the team'. The cohesion within the team is important and see in America, franchise-based sport has been there for such a long time," he said.

"In India, we're just starting and we're new to it. But we at India Cements have had a lot of experience running teams at junior levels."

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News Network
January 30,2020

Jan 30: Three days after Los Angeles basketball great Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter and seven others perished in a helicopter crash, his wife, Vanessa, broke her silence with an Instagram message saying she was “completely devastated” by their loss.

The social media text was posted alongside a recent family photo of Kobe and Vanessa Bryant with all four of their daughters - Gianna, who died with her father, along with the couple’s eldest, Natalia, 17, 3-year-old Bianka, and the youngest, Capri, born in June 2019.

Kobe Bryant and the couple’s second daughter, knicknamed Gigi, died on Sunday when the helicopter they were flying in en route to the Mamba Sports Academy for a girl’s basketball tournament crashed in foggy weather on a hillside northwest of Los Angeles.

Gianna Bryant was a member of the Mamba team due to compete that day. Her father, who retired from the National Basketball Association in 2016 after 20 years with the Los Angeles Lakers, was the coach of his daughter’s team. ]

The pilot and six more passengers were also killed - two other 13-year-old girls involved in the tournament, three of their parents and another coach. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

The death of Bryant, 41, an 18-time NBA all-star, five-time Lakers champion and one of the world’s most admired sports figures, unleashed an outpouring of grief and tributes from fans, fellow athletes and politicians around the globe.

“My girls and I want to thank the millions of people who’ve shown support and love during this horrific time,” Vanessa Bryant, 37, a former model, wrote on her Instagram account.

“We are completely devastated by the sudden loss of my adoring husband, Kobe — the amazing father of our children; and my beautiful, sweet Gianna — a loving, thoughtful, and wonderful daughter, and amazing sister to Natalia, Bianka, and Capri,” she added.

The message goes on to say: “We are also devastated for the families who lost their loved ones on Sunday, and we share in their grief intimately. There aren’t enough words to describe our pain right now.

“I take comfort in knowing that Kobe and Gigi both knew that they were so deeply loved. We were so incredibly blessed to have them in our lives. I wish they were here with us forever. They were our beautiful blessings taken from us too soon.”

She directed anyone wishing to “further Kobe and Gianna’s legacy in youth sports” to visit the site MambaSports Foundation.org.

There has been no word yet on funeral arrangements.

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News Network
January 18,2020

New Delhi, Jan 18: There was not much rustiness but just the initial nervousness, which a “pleasantly surprised” Sania Mirza shook off to win a title in her first tournament in 27 months, capping off her comeback from a maternity leave in style.

Partnering Ukraine's Nadiia Kichenov, the trailblazing Indian tennis player annexed the Hobart International trophy with a straight sets win over second seed Chinese pair of Shuai Peng and Shuai Zhang.

She worked hard to get into shape but the way she moved, it seemed Sania was never away from the courts.

“It's something I did not expect totally, so to say, but I am excited to be able to do this in my first tournament on comeback," Sania told PTI in an exclusive interview from Melbourne.

“I honestly thought I would be a bit more rustier than I was. I was pleasantly surprised that I was not. But there are things I can improve and that is what makes a champion. You always want to get better in what you are doing, no matter how well you do."

The 33-year-old winner of six Grand Slam titles said she played without pressure, and insisted there was no secret to the swift success on comeback.

“There is no key, I wish I knew, there was one key to winning. I just enjoyed my game. You have to work hard, play your game. I was playing with a new partner, new gear after two-and-a-half years. There was no pressure and no expectations.

"The first match was the only one when I felt a bit nervous because I did not know how my body would react and how I would play. That match was difficult but it set the tone and momentum. I was happy to come though that one and after that things kept getting better and better," she said.

Sania said her body has certainly changed after giving birth to son Izhaan but she did not have to tweak her post-match recovery process much.

“It does change. I was dealing with a calf injury, from last month and I aggravated a bit today. I am still icing it as we speak but it should not be serious.

“The body is a lot different now. It recovers different. But recovery (process) has not changed so much, it's similar."

Asked if she could go for her shots as she was doing before the break, she said, “I was able to do enough, I can improve, no matter how I play."

"My serve was decent but I can improve. I the first match I was not serving that well and was not returning well on important points but by the time I was playing the final, I was doing both of those little better. It is a process, it does not happen overnight. It's something will keep working on."

Serena Williams set an example in 2018 when she came out playing highly competitive tennis after giving birth to her daughter Olympia. There are other tennis moms like Victoria Azrenka and Evgeniya Rodina.

Sania said she did not seek any input from tennis moms but their presence on the Tour is inspiring enough.

“I did not speak to anyone but it is inspiring to see so many moms around, playing well in different sports."

Sania will play the Australian Open mixed doubles with compatriot Rohan Bopnna after her original first-choice Rajeev Ram opted out due to health reasons.

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