Hussey puts Watson to shade

April 23, 2013

HusseyChennai, April 23: Mike Hussey played a gem of an innings to put to shade Shane Watson’s brilliant ton and help Chennai Super Kings eke out a five-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals in a thrilling Indian Premier League match here on Monday night.

Chasing a stiff 186 for win, Hussey (88) made short work of Rajasthan’s ordinary bowling attack and together with Suresh Raina (52 off 35) added 90 runs off just 61 balls for the second wicket to help Chennai move past the target with a ball to spare.

After Murali Vijay’s early dismissal, Raina provided Hussey the perfect company from the other end. The duo not only kept Chennai in the hunt but also set it up for Dwayne Bravo (15 not out off 9) to finish off the chase.

If it was all Watson show in the first session, Hussey enthralled the crowds in the second half with his brilliant 51-ball knock. Hussey made his intentions clear from the start. Both Hussey and Raina were aggressive in their approach and sent the Rajasthan bowling attack on a leather hunt to help Chennai reach 92 runs at the halfway mark.

Hussey scored his half-century off just 31 balls with the help of seven boundaries and one hit over the fence, while Raina reached the landmark in 33 balls and hit four fours and two huge sixes in the process.

James Faulkner (3/20) broke the partnership when he trapped Raina in front of the wicket. Chennai were cruising along when Hussey and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni were at the crease but two wickets in the 17th over completely changed the equation. First Hussey was caught short of the crease by Rahul Dravid’s direct throw. And then a ball later, Faulkner disturbed Ravindra Jadeja’s stumps with an accurate yorker to turn the tables around.

With Chennai needing 11 runs off seven balls, Dhoni was caught at the midwicket fence by Stuart Binny off Faulkner to raise Rajasthan’s hopes.

But it was not to be Rajasthan’s day, as needing 10 off the last four balls, Bravo hit Watson for a huge six to seal the match in Chennai’s favour.

Earlier, Watson (101 off 61) scored the first century of IPL 6 to single-handedly power Rajasthan to an imposing 185 for four. Towards the end, Binny played a 22-ball unbeaten 36-run cameo to further help Rajasthan’s cause.

Except for R Ashwin (2/20), all the Chennai bowlers bled runs as Watson went hammer-and-tongs. Apart from Ashwin, Bravo (2/36) also picked up two wickets for the hosts.

Riding on Watson’s brilliant strokeplay, the Royals got off to a rollicking start after opting to bat. Though the fall of wickets at the other end had an effect on him, Watson carried on to reach his century before perishing in search of quick runs, caught by Hussey off Bravo.

But Binny, who struck three boundaries and a six, took over to help Rajasthan Reach 185 for six.

Score board

RAJASTHAN ROYALS: Shane Watson c Hussey b Bravo 101, Ajinkya Rahane b Ashwin 16, Dishant Yagnik c & b Ashwin 7, Rahul Dravid c Dhoni b Bravo 6, Stuart Binny (not out) 36, Brad Hodge (not out) 9. Extras (LB-3, W-6, NB-1) 10. Total (for 4 wkts, 20 overs) 185.

Fall of wickets: 1-71, 2-84, 3-113, 4-159. Bowling: Mohit Sharma 2-0-19-0, Jason Holder 4-0-30-0, Chris Morris 3-0-32-0, Ravichandran Ashwin 4-0-20-2, Ravindra Jadeja 3-0-45-0, Dwayne Bravo 4-0-36-2.

CHENNAI SUPER KINGS: Murali Vijay c & b Chandila 3, Michael Hussey (run out) 88, Suresh Raina lbw Faulkner 51, MS Dhoni c Binny b Faulkner 21, Ravindra Jadeja b Faulkner 0, Dwayne Bravo (not out) 15, Chris Morris (not out) 1. Extras (LB-4, W-3) 7. Total (for 5 wkts, 19.5 overs) 186.

Fall of wickets: 1-22, 2-112, 3-154, 4-154, 5-175.

Bowling: Ajit Chandila 3-0-16-1, Rahul Shukla 2-0-24-0, James Faulkner 4-0-20-3, Kevon Cooper 4-0-49-0, Siddharth Trivedi 3-0-32-0, Shane Watson 1.5-0-21-0, Stuart Binny 2-0-20-0.

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News Network
January 10,2020

Srinagar, Jan 10: Real Kashmir FC made a strong comeback in the second half to play out a 1-1 draw against former champions Punjab FC in their home I-League match here on Friday.

The 'Snow Leopards' equalised in the 62nd minute through Gnohere Krizo in front of a partisan crowd of 8,500 spectators after Makan Chothe had given Punjab FC the lead in the 21st minute at the TRC ground.

After Thursday's draw, Punjab FC is placed third on the table with 10 points from seven games. Real Kashmir FC remained at eighth with six points from five matches. This was Real Kashmir's third home match on the trot.

The match was a story of two halves as the first belonged to the visitors who enjoyed a 62 per cent possession of the ball, whereas the second belonged to the home side.

Both the teams were looking to gain an early advantage and Punjab FC took the lead after 21 minutes.

Confusion inside the Real Kashmir box because of a long ball from Punjab opened up an opportunity for Chothe and he made no mistake as he smashed the ball at the back of the net.

As the fans cheered on, Real Kashmir created a flurry of chances, but none of the home side players could find the back of the net. Punjab was able to hold on to their slender lead heading into the tunnel.

The second half resumed with Real Kashmir pressing high up the field and pressurising Punjab.

In the 56th minute, Real Kashmir playmaker Kallum Higginbotham cut through two defenders on the left side of the box and the ball fell to Mason Robertson, whose shot was too weak to trouble the Punjab goalkeeper.

Soon after, it was Danish Farooq who tried a curler from a distance but his shot did not have enough bend to trouble the Punjab goalkeeper. The home team's effort finally paid off in the 62nd minute.

A miscalculated header by Danilo Augusto fell at the feet of Gnohere Krizo, who was one-on-one with the keeper. He made no mistake in striking the ball into the opponent's goal to score the equaliser.

Real Kashmir was in their groove now, and Kallum came in from the right with a beautiful low cross across the face of the goal but Mason could not get a touch as the chance went begging.

The duo of Kallum and Mason were proving difficult for Punjab to deal with. In the 82nd minute, a beautiful long ball by Kallum found the head of a towering Mason, but the effort went just over the crossbar.

Within a few moments, Punjab again had another nervous moment as Chesterpoul Lyngdoh's cross from the right side hit the arm of Thoiba Singh but the referee turned down an appeal for penalty.

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News Network
May 11,2020

Mumbai, May 11: The French Open, which was postponed to September from May due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, could be held without fans, the organisers of the claycourt Grand Slam have said.

Roland Garros had been scheduled for May 24 to June 7 before the French tennis federation (FFT) pushed it back to Sept. 20-Oct 4 in a bid to save the tournament from falling victim to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last week the FFT said all tickets purchased for this year's French Open would be cancelled and reimbursed instead of being transferred.

"Organising it without fans would allow a part of the economy to keep turning, (like) television rights and partnerships. It's not to be overlooked," FFT President Bernard Giudicelli told French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche.

"We're not ruling any option out."

The tennis season was suspended in early March due to the pandemic and the hiatus will continue at least until mid-July with many countries in lockdown.

Wimbledon has been cancelled while the status of the U.S. Open, scheduled to take place in late August, is still unclear.

COVID-19 Pandemic Tracker: 15 countries with the highest number of coronavirus cases, deaths

The FFT was widely criticised when they announced in mid-March that the French Open would be switched, with players bemoaning a lack of communication as the new dates clashed with the hardcourt season.

Organisers said last week they had been in talks with the sport's governing bodies to fine tune the calendar amid media reports that the Grand Slam tournament would be delayed further by a week and start on Sept. 27.

The delayed start would give players a two-week window between the end of the U.S. Open, played on the hardcourts of New York, and the Paris tournament.

"The 20th or the 27th, that does not change much," Giudicelli said.

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News Network
March 29,2020

Sydney, Mar 29: Steve Smith's two-year leadership ban ended quietly Sunday, leaving him eligible again to captain Australia at a time of uncertainty over when international cricket will resume.

Smith was stripped of the captaincy and banned from leading Australia for two years over his involvement in the 2018 ball tampering scandal in South Africa. His sentence ended Sunday and he can again captain Australia if called upon.

Australian players were due this week to conclude a series of matches in New Zealand and, for some, to join the Indian Premier League. But it wasn't clear Sunday if the IPL will take place this year and when international matches will resume. Australia's scheduled mid-year tours to England and Bangladesh are in doubt.

Smith told Channel Nine television's Sports Sunday he is doing his best to stay mentally and physically fit, training in his home gym, going on 10 kilometer (6 mile) runs and practising the guitar.

"It's obviously not looking likely (the IPL will go ahead) at the moment," Smith said. "I think there might be some meetings over the next few days to discuss what the go is with it all.

"I'm just trying to stay physically and mentally fit and fresh and, if it goes ahead at some point, then great. And if not, there's plenty going on in the world at the moment. So just play it day by day."

It seems unlikely Smith will return to the captaincy when cricket resumes. Tim Paine is firmly established as Australia's test captain and at 35 is not immediately considering retirement. Aaron Finch has captained Australia successfully in white ball cricket.

The conclusion of Smith's ban ends the period of upheaval in Australian cricket that followed the ball tampering incident in the second test at Cape Town in 2018 when Cameron Bancroft, with the knowledge of Smith and his vice-captain David Warner, used sandpaper to change the condition of the ball.

Smith and Warner received one-year bans from international and most domestic cricket and Bancroft was banned for nine months. The scandal also resulted in the resignation of coach Darren Lehmann and the departure of Cricket Australia's chief executive, James Sutherland.

Warner remains under a career-long leadership ban.

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