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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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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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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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Agencies
July 21,2020

New Delhi, Jul 21: With the T20 World Cup's postponement clearing the decks for a full-fledged IPL, the glitzy event's Governing Council will meet in a week or 10 days' time to plan its next course of action, eyeing UAE as the host this year.

An IPL between September and early November has been made possible by the ICC's decision on Monday to postpone the T20 World Cup in Australia, scheduled for October-November, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The IPL GC will meet within a week or 10 days and all decisions (including final schedule) will be taken there. As of now, the plan is to have a full fledged IPL comprising 60 games and most likely in the UAE," Patel told PTI.

Asked about the main challenges in conducting the event in current scenario, Patel added: "Just the operational side of it. Whether you do it here or outside, it doesn't matter (with no crowds)."

The franchisees had already been working on their plans for the IPL even before the ICC announcement.

With majority of the Indian players not having access to grounds amid the pandemic, teams will need at least three to four weeks to get them match ready.

Foreign players will fly in directly to the UAE from their respective countries.

"Our players will need at least three to four weeks of training, if not more. We will finalise all our plans once the BCCI announces the dates. It looks like the IPL will be in the UAE and we are ready for that," a team owner told PTI.

Since India tour Australia for a four-Test series right after the IPL, training of the Test players is also an important issue.

Test specialists like Cheteshwar Pujara and Hanuma Vihari, who are not part of the IPL, are likely to train for the eagerly-awaited series in a bio-secure environment at the newly-renovated Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad during the time of the IPL.

A few fringe players are expected to join them at Motera along with the Indian team's support staff, which is free during the IPL.

Work from home has become the norm amid the pandemic, therefore, there is a possibility that IPL commentary will happen from the comfort of the living room, a safer and cost effective-option considering the likes of Sunil Gavaskar, who is 71, are involved.

The viewership is expected to be a record one with people craving for live cricket, something KXIP co-owner Ness Wadia has said.

However, it remains to be seen how much the broadcasters and teams are able to attract from the sponsors in the current financial climate.

More moot points and questions ahead of the IPL GC meeting:

1) More double headers expected (original schedule had only five double headers).

2) BCCI will need to provide a Standard Operating Procedure to IPL teams even though they will have their own SOPs in place.

3) Will the BCCI compensate teams for not being able to generate gate money this year?

4) Will there be virtual commentary from Star Sports? It was seen in the recent 3TC event in South Africa with the likes of Aakash Chopra, Deep Dasgupta and Irfan Pathan commentating from home.

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