England dance to Indian tune

January 20, 2013

kohli

Ranchi: A superlative bowling effort was equally well complemented by the batsmen as India nosed 2-1 ahead in the five-match series with a command seven-wicket win in the maiden international at the JSCA Stadium here on Saturday.

Things couldn’t have fallen any better in place for the hosts, who are now just one win away from wrapping up the series. From winning toss to executing their bowling plans to mounting their successful chase, India didn’t put a foot wrong. Having restricted England to an extremely inadequate 155 all out in 42.2 overs, the home team replied with 157/3 in 28.1 overs, skipper MS Dhoni appropriately bringing the winning runs much to the delight of 39,000 screaming home fans.

Ajinkya Rahane’s problems with incoming balls continued while Gautam Gambhir (33, 53b, 4x4), though not completely convincing during his stay, added 67 runs for the second wicket with Virat Kohli (77 n.o., 79b, 9x4, 2x6) to set a good base for the chase. After enduring a poor run of scores for a while, man of the match Kohli announced his return to form in an emphatic fashion.

Playing as authoritatively as he has during his dream run last year, the right-hander made his intentions clear by dispatching Jade Dernbach for three successive fours and setting the right tempo for the rest of his innings. Yuvraj Singh (30, 21b, 6x4) too played a little gem but much of the credit for India’s dominant win should go to their bowlers.

For the third time in the last four matches, the much-maligned attack produced a stellar performance, restricting the opposition to sub-160 total. Against Pakistan in Delhi, the home bowlers had defended a smallish total of 165 with tigerish zeal.

In Rajkot, in the first one-dayer against England, normalcy appeared to have been restored with the visiting batsmen plundering 325 runs even though Indian batsmen too managed a 300-plus total in reply.

In Kochi, the Indian bowlers regained their zing on a turning wicket after Bhuvneshwar Kumar had done the damage upfront in an excellent of display of swing bowling as England, despite a good start, collapsed to 158, conceding a massive 127-run win. On a supposedly batting surface here, England crashed to another low total with all the six Indian bowlers getting amongst wickets. Ravindra Jadeja (3/19), who used the arm-ball to devastating effect, was the pick of the bowlers but R Ashwin (2/37) and Ishant Sharma (2/29) were no less impressive.

Keeping the evening dew factor in mind, India opted to bowl first on a pitch that had a thin grass cover on it. While there was no exaggerated movement off the pitch, both Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shami Ahmed kept the English openers – Alastair Cook and Ian Bell – quiet. Cook, though not brisk, looked fluent even as Bell, who at one stage was one off 18 deliveries, struggled to kick on. Like in Kochi, Shami gave the crucial opening breakthrough, this time catching a shuffling Cook in front as the ball straightened after pitching.

Having been choked for runs, the pressure was building on the batsmen and the first adventurous shot from Cook resulted in his fall. Changing ends, Ishant produced a peach of a delivery to beat Kevin Pietersen with the slightest of away movement to have the dangerous batsmen caught behind. Pietersen wasn’t happy with umpire S Ravi’s verdict and replays showed no contact between bat and ball.

After Pietersen’s dismissal at the total of 68, England kept losing wickets in clusters, making it extremely difficult for themselves to salvage the innings. Bell’s misery ended at the same score, Dhoni’s decision to stand up to Bhuvneshwar paying the dividends this time. A reverse sweeping Eoin Morgan fell at 97 while a run later, both Crai Kieswetter and Samit Patel handed their wickets away.

Joe Root (39, 57b, 4x4), England’s top-scorer, staged a mini recovery with Tim Bresnan, adding 47 for the seventh wicket but Ishant’s return spelt his doom. Ashwin got rid of Bresnan at the same score with a classic off-spinner’s delivery and after adding 10 more runs Steven Finn and Jade Dernbach lost their wickets.

Score board

ENGLAND

Cook lbw Shami 17

(28b, 3x4)

Bell c Dhoni b Bhuvneshwar 25

(43b, 3x4)

Pietersen c Dhoni b Ishant 17

(20b, 2x4)

Root c Dhoni b Ishant 39

(57b, 4x4)

Morgan c Yuvraj b Ashwin 10

(30b, 1x4)

Kieswetter b Jadeja 0

(3b)

Patel lbw Jadeja 0

(4b)

Bresnan b Ashwin 25

(37b, 2x4)

Tredwell (not out) 4

(18b)

Finn c Yuvraj b Raina 3

(12b)

Dernbach b Jadeja 0

(2b)

Extras (LB-6, W-9) 15

Total (all out, 42.2 overs) 155

Fall of wickets: 1-24 (Cook), 2-68 (Pietersen), 3-68 (Bell), 4-97 (Morgan), 5-98 (Kieswetter), 6-98 (Patel), 7-145 (Root), 8-145 (Bresnan), 9-155 (Finn).

Bowling: Bhuvneshwar Kumar 10-2-40-1 (w-3), Shami Ahmed 8-0-23-1 (w-2), Ishant 7-0-29-2 (w-3), Jadeja 6.2-0-19-3, Ashwin 10-0-37-2 (w-1), Raina

1-0-1-1.

Runs during Power Play1: 1-10 overs: 34/1; Power Play2 (batting): 36-40 overs: 20/2.

INDIA

Gambhir c Root b Tredwell 33

(53b, 4x4)

Rahane b Finn 0

(4b)

Kohli (not out) 77

(79b, 9x4, 2x6)

Yuvraj b Tredwell 30

(21b, 6x4)

Dhoni (not out) 10

(12b, 2x4)

Extras (B-1, LB-1, W-5) 7

Total (for 3 wkts, 28.1 overs) 157

Fall of wickets: 1-11 (Rahane), 2-78 (Gambhir), 3-144 (Yuvraj).

Bowling: Finn 9.1-0-50-1 (w-2), Dernbach 5-0-45-0 (w-2), Bresnan 7-2-31-0 (w-1), Tredwell 7-1-29-2. Runs during Power Play1: 1-10 overs: 48/1.

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News Network
March 7,2020

Melbourne, Mar 7: Ahead of the Women's T20 World Cup against Australia, India spinner Poonam Yadav said that skipper Harmanpreet Kaur has given her a lot of support.

"Harmanpreet has been of immense support. When I got hit for a six in the first over, she came to me and said, 'Poonam, you're one of the most experienced players in the team, and we expect better of you'," Poonam said.

The 28-year-old experienced bowler has played 68 shortest format games for India and taken 94 wickets at an average of 22.66.

She has been in devastating form throughout the tournament and has bagged nine wickets so far.

"So, that kind of stirred something within me. I told myself if my captain has that much faith in me, I should be able to make a comeback," she said.

"I took a wicket in the very next ball, and didn't look back since. Now when I look back at that moment, it means so much in the context of my individual performance and run to the final," she added.

In the opening game against Australia at Sydney Showground, Poonam came within a whisker of the third hat-trick in Women's T20 World Cup history, dismissing Rachael Haynes and Ellyse Perry before Jess Jonassen was dropped.

The final of the tournament will be played at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on March 8 -- International Women's Day.

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News Network
January 8,2020

Indore, Jan 8:  India skipper Virat Kohli has added yet another feather to his cap by becoming the fastest player to score 1,000 runs in T20I cricket as a captain. Kohli played an unbeaten knock of 30 during India''s seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the second T20I of the ongoing three-match series on Tuesday evening.

Kohli achieved the milestone of scoring 1,000 runs as captain in his 30th T20I inning. He is the second Indian and sixth overall after MS Dhoni to have achieved the feat. Dhoni had scored 1112 runs in 62 T20I games as captain.

Faf du Plessis (1273 runs from 40 games), Kane Williamson (1083 runs in 39 games), Eoin Morgan (1013 runs in 43 games) and Ireland''s William Porterfield (1002 runs in 56 games) are other captains on the list.

During India''s emphatic victory at the Holkar Stadium, Kohli also surpassed team-mate Rohit Sharma, who has been rested for the series, as the top run-getter in the T20Is. Kohli now has 2663 runs from 71 innings.

Both had finished 2019 as joint top-scorers in T20Is, with 2633 runs each.

India, already with an unassailable lead of 1-0 in the series, will now face Sri Lanka in the final T20I on Friday in Pune. The first match between the two teams was called off without a ball being bowled due to wet patches on the pitch in Guwahati last Sunday.

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Agencies
February 20,2020

New Delhi, Feb 20: Grappler Divya Kakran on Thursday became the second Indian woman to win a gold medal at the ongoing Asian Wrestling Championship.

Divya, a bronze medallist at Asian Games 2018, earned her first gold by winning all her four bouts against Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Uzbekistan and Japan.

Her final bout against Naruha Matsuyuki of Japan was the closest one but she managed to outclass her opponent 6-4 to seal her name on the gold medal. The 68 kg category was played in round-robin format as only five wrestlers were in the fray.

India is likely to add some more medals to its tally when Nirmala Devi, Pinki, and Sarita go out to grapple for the yellow metal in their respective weight categories.

Three-time Commonwealth championship gold medallist, Nirmala Devi (50 kg) first defeated Munkhnar Byambasuren of Mongolia in the quarterfinals by 6-4 to reach the semis.

In the semi-finals, Nirmala got the better of Dauletbike Yakhshimuratova of Uzbekistan by 10-0 and will play against 2018 Under-23 World Champion Miho Igarashi of Japan for the gold medal.

Pinki (55 kg) started her day on a winning note against Shokhida Akhmedova of Uzbekistan by 12-4 in round 3 and lost to Kana Higashikawa of Japan to enter the semis where she defeated Marina Zuyeva of Kazakistan by a score of 6-0.

Pinki will play in the gold medal bout against Dulguun Bolormaa of Mongolia.

Sarita (59 kg) will now face Battsetseg Altantsetseg of Mongolia in the gold medal bout after winning against her opponents in the qualifiers, quarterfinals and semi-final by a score of 10-0, 11-0 and 10-3, respectively.

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