Super Kings steal victory

April 14, 2013

Super_Kings Chennai, Apr 14: Royal Challengers Bangalore relived their worst nightmare as Chennai Super Kings pulled off yet another stunning victory from the jaws of defeat under the most dramatic circumstances at the MA Chidambaram stadium here on a pleasant Saturday night.

Playing in front of a packed stadium, Chennai were struggling to scale down RCB’s 165 at several stages of the match but in the end a combined effort from their batsmen helped them notch their second win on the trot, this time off the final ball.

After Suresh Raina (30), Subramaniam Badrinath (34) and skipper MS Dhoni (33) had contributed in good measure, CSK required 16 runs to win off the final over. Ravindra Jadeja (38, 20b, 3x4, 1x6) edged a four and smacked a six off Rudra Pratap Singh in the first two balls to take the equation to six to win from four balls.

The left-arm pacer did well to bring it down to two to win off the final ball and when Jadeja edged the ball straight down the throat of Ravi Rampaul at third man it seemed like RCB had won.

But what RCB players hadn’t noticed amidst all the commotion was that umpire Anil Chowdhary had signalled a no-ball, handing CSK a four-wicket win.

Slow start

Earlier, Chris Gayle and Mayank Agarwal opened for RCB, and the West Indian left-hander started off slowly, seeing off the first five balls, and his four off the final delivery off Dirk Nannes, easing some nerves.

The burly left-hander looked to take on Chris Morris in the second over and the South African, spotting Gayle move to his left, bowled wide and the edge carried to Dhoni’s outstretched hands.

At six for one, Kohli walked in and forged a solid partnership with Mayank. The duo managed to keep the run-rate going by finding a boundary in almost every over and added 51 runs for the second wicket before the Mayank (24, 21b, 2x4, 1x6) fell to a brilliant ploy from Ashwin and Dhoni.

Fiery batting

Upon sighting Mayank step down the track, Ashwin fired a ball down the leg-side. Premeditating the line of the delivery, Dhoni slid to his left, collected the ball and whipped off the bails in a flash as Mayank looked on in disbelief.

But the arrival of AB?de Villiers (64, 32b, 8x4, 1x6) only added further momentum to RCB?innings, and Kohli was once again in his elements as they carted Super Kings bowlers to all areas of the park.

They added 82 in 49 balls to take RCB to a point (133/3 in 16.4 overs) from where they could accelerate further but the loss of Kohli in the 17th over to Morris dented their hopes. De Villiers, however, stood up to the test and was the primary reason behind RCB, reaching a good total even as the South African failed to find a solid partner towards the end.

Chasing a competitive total, Chennai got off to the worst start possible. For a mere ten runs – which took them four overs to get -- the hosts lost their opening pair of Michael Hussey and Murali Vijay to a clinical R Vinay Kumar and Ravi Rampaul respectively.

Following which, there was a period of stability in Raina and Badrinath as the duo joined hands and carried CSK to 64 for two in 10 overs – the same score RCB had achieved at that stage in their innings. Even as RCB’s bowlers and their fielders continued to shine under lights, CSK had too much firepower on the day as history repeated itself at the Chepauk.

score board

ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE: Chris Gayle c Dhoni b Morris 4 (10b, 1x4), Mayank Agarwal st Dhoni b Ashwin 24 (21b, 2x4, 1x6), Virat Kohli c Dhoni b Morris 58 (47b, 2x4, 2x6), AB de Villiers c Bravo b Nannes 64 (32b, 8x4, 1x6), Daniel Christian c Raina b Morris 2 (2b), Ravi Rampaul c Dhoni b Bravo 0 (4b), Arun Karthik (not out) 5 (5b); Extras (LB-1, W-6, NB-1) 8; Total (for 6 wkts, 20 overs) 165.

Fall of wickets: 1-6 (Gayle), 2-51 (Mayank), 3-133 (Kohli), 4-135 (Christian), 5-138 (Rampaul), 6-165 (de Villiers).

Bowling: Dirk Nannes 4-0-31-1 (w-1, nb-1), Chris Morris 4-0-40-3, Mohit Sharma 2-0-13-0, R Ashwin 4-0-28-1 (w-1), Ravindra Jadeja 2-0-20-0, Dwayne Bravo 4-0-32-1 (w-4).

CHENNAI SUPER KINGS: Michael Hussey c Mayank b Vinay 6 (16b), Murali Vijay c Arun b Rampaul 2 (5b), Suresh Raina c Kartik b Mohammad 30 (22b, 5x4), S Badrinath c Mayank b Mohammad 34 (29b, 4x4), MS Dhoni c Arun b Rampaul 33 (23b, 1x4, 2x6), Ravindra Jadeja (not out) 38 (20b, 3x4, 1x6), Dwyane Bravo lbw Rampaul 8 (3b, 1x6), Chris Morris (not out) 7 (4b); Extras (LB-1, W-4, NB-3) 8; Total (for 6 wkts, 19.5 overs) 166.

Fall of wickets: 1-4 (Vijay), 2-10 (Hussey), 3-66 (Raina), 4-78 (Badrinath), 5-137 (Dhoni), 6-146 (Bravo).

Bowling: Ravi Rampaul 4-0-31-3, Rudra Pratap Singh 3.5-0-41-0 (nb-2), R Vinay Kumar 4-0-36-1 (w-2), Christian 2-0-13-0 (nb-1), Kartik 3-0-29-0, Mohammad 3-0-15-2 (w-2).

Home ground advantage gives RR upper hand against KXIP

rajasthan_royals

Jaipur, Apr 14: There is something about the Pink City that brings out the best in Rajasthan Royal s. Even in the worst of times, they have invariably raised their game here.

This year too, they have started with a bang at home, beating defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders. The result of their last match may not have gone their way, but Royals are always a different unit at home. They will be the clear favourites against Kings XI Punjab, who are coming after a no-show against Chennai Super Kings, on Sunday.

The Royals have struck all the right notes this season and with the next two encounters at home - they play Mumbai Indians on Wednesday, they have every chance to put some valuable points on board. Shane Watson and Shaun Tait did not play in the losing cause against Pune. But even without these two key players, Royals looked comfortable on the field. And that is where the Royals' strength lies.

They have strengthened their squad with the addition of the likes of James Faulkner, Fidel Edwards, and some domestic talents in Harmeet Singh and Rahul Shukla. Whether it is Kevon Cooper, Siddharth Trivedi, or newcomer Shukla, all have contributed to the cause. KKR had a taste of the effective Royals' bowling when they failed to get past a score of 144.

Captain Rahul Dravid has led with firm assurance. At 40, he is the top scorer for the Royals so far. Dravid will want others to bat around him. Ajinkya Rahane, Brad Hodge and Stuart Binny have done that job but he will expect more consistency from them.

For Kings XI Punjab, batting remains a big concern. They did win their opening match against Pune Warrriors, but it was because of their bowlers. They have the variety in bowling and seasoned campaigners in Ryan Harris, Azhar Mahmood and Praveen Kumar.

The batting, though, is heavily dependent on Adam Gilchrist and David Hussey. Youngsters Mandeep Singh and Manan Vohra will need to play out of their skins if they hope to put up a fight against an opponent which loves to draw its strength from the home soil.

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Virat Kohli only Indian again in Forbes' list of highest-paid athletes

News Network

May 30,2020

New York, May 30: Cricket superstar Virat Kohli remains the only Indian in the Forbes' list of world's highest-paid athletes with total earnings of USD 26 million, jumping to the 66th spot from 100 in the 2020 standings.

Kohli's earnings from endorsement stand at USD 24 million and USD 2 million from salary/winnings. The 31-year-old is also the only cricketer in the top-100 list.

With earnings of USD 25 million, Kohli was ranked 100th in 2019 and 83rd in 2018 with USD 24 million.

Tennis legend Roger Federer has toped the list for the first time with earnings of USD 106.3 million, rising from fifth place last year.

Football icons Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are second and third respectively with earnings of USD 105 and USD 104 million.

The others in the top-10 are Neymar (football), LeBron James (basketball), Stephen Curry (basketball), Kevin Durrant (basketball), Tigers Woods (golf), Kirk Cousins (American football) and Carson Wentz (American football).

The athletes' earnings have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic which led to suspension of sporting activities all around the world.

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Saina Nehwal is the only Indian to feature in the world’s 20 most charitable athletes, as per a list compiled by the US based website in Athletes Gone Good.

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Du Plessis suggests two-week isolation period for players before and after T20 WC

News Network

May 14,2020

May 14: Veteran South Africa batsman Faf du Plessis has proposed a two-week isolation period for players before and after the T20 World Cup as a way to stage the event as per schedule later this year.

Like other sports, cricketing action too has come to a complete halt due to the coronavirus pandemic. The fate of the T20 World Cup to be held in Australia in October-November is shrouded in uncertainty.

Talking to Bangladesh ODI captain Tamim Iqbal, du Plessis said travel was going to be an issue despite Australia being less affected by the deadly contagion.

"I am not sure... reading that travelling is going to be an issue for lot of countries and they are talking about December or January. Even if Australia is not affected like other countries, to get people from Bangladesh, South Africa or India where there is more danger, obviously it's a health risk to them," du Plessis said.

"But you can go in before the tournament (for) two weeks isolation and then play the tournament and afterwards two weeks isolation," said the former captain.

Several countries across the globe, including South Africa, Australia and India, have travel restrictions in place and the veteran Proteas batsman joked travelling by boat is not an option.

"But I don't know when South Africa will open their travel ban because we can't go there like old days on boats," du Plessis said.

In March, South Africa's ODI series against India was called off after the first match in view of the pandemic.

The coronavirus outbreak, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has infected more than 44 lakh people worldwide while causing close to 3 lakh deaths.

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Tokyo 2020: “No B Plan” for another Olympic Postponement

Agencies

April 14,2020

Tokyo, Apr 14: Tokyo organizers said Tuesday they have no B Plan in the event the Olympics need to be postponed again because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Masa Takaya, the spokesman for the Tokyo Olympics, said organizers are proceeding under the assumption the Olympics will open on July 23, 2021. The Paralympics follow on Aug. 24.

Those dates were set last month by the International Olympic Committee and Japanese officials after the coronavirus pandemic made it clear the Olympics could not be held as scheduled this summer.

We are working toward the new goal, Takaya said, speaking in English on a teleconference call with journalists.

We don't have a B Plan. The severity of the pandemic and the death toll has raised questions if it will even be feasible to hold the Olympics in just over 15 months. Several Japanese journalists raised the question on the call.

All I can tell you today is that the new games' dates for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games have been just set up, Takaya said.

In that respect, Tokyo 2020 and all concerned parties now are doing their very best effort to deliver the games next year." IOC President Thomas Bach was asked about the possibility of a postponement in an interview published in the German newspaper Die Welt on Sunday.

He did not answer the question directly, but said later that Japanese organizers and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe indicated they could not manage a postponement beyond next summer at the lastest.

The Olympics draw 11,000 athletes and 4,400 Paralympic athletes and large support staffs from 206 national Olympic committees.

There are also questions about frozen travel, rebooking hotels, cramming fans into stadiums and arenas, securing venues, and the massive costs of rescheduling, which is estimated in Japan at 2 billion- 6 billion.

Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto addressed the issue in a news conference on Friday. He is likely to be asked about it again on Thursday when local organizers and the IOC hold a teleconferene with media in Japan.

The other major question is the cost of the delay; how much will it be, and who pays? Bach said in the Sunday interview that the IOC would incur several hundred million dollars in added costs. Under the so-called Host City Agreement, Japan is liable for the vast majority of the expenses.

This is impossible to say for now, Takaya, the spokesman said.

It is not very easy to estimate the exact amount of the games' additional costs, which have been impacted by the postponement."

Tokyo says it's spending 12.6 billion to organize the Olympics. But a Japanese government audit published last year says the costs are twice that much. Of the total spending, 5.6 billion in private money. The rest is from Japanese governments.

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