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Kolkata return to winning ways

May 4, 2013

Kolkata

Kolkata, May 4: Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders thrashed Rajasthan Royals by eight wickets at the Eden Gardens on Friday to keep their hopes afloat in the Indian Premier League.

The struggling Yusuf Pathan reposed Gautam Gambhir’s faith as he finally returned to form with an unbeaten 49 (35 balls, 3x4, 3x6) -- his highest for the Knight Riders this season.

Pathan shared an unbroken 78-run third-wicket partnership with Jacques Kallis, who struck an unbeaten 33, as the duo settled the issue with 16 balls to spare.

Kallis struck Brad Hogg over his head for a boundary to finish the chase as Pathan remained stranded a run shy of a half-century but his coming to form ensured Knight Riders their fourth win from 11 matches.

Chasing a modest 133, the Knight Riders set the tone with Gambhir (12) and Manvinder Bisla (29) sharing a 41-run opening-wicket partnership that came off just 33 balls.

For the Royals, skipper Rahul Dravid’s decision to bat way down the order at No 7 did not help their cause as they were completely outplayed by the hosts.

Bisla stepped out to Chavan for a six over long-on in the third over, and in the next over, struck back-to-back boundaries off Watson as they raced to 35 for none in the fourth over.

Gambhir never seemed in a hurry as he was happy giving strike to Bisla. With the Royals desperate for a breakthrough, there was some heated exchange in the middle when Watson and Bisla engaged in a war of words as both the skippers joined in the middle.

A brilliant stumping of Gambhir by Dishant Yagnik, who stood up to Watson, broke the opening partnership. Bisla too followed suit which brought Pathan to the middle.

The burly right-hander from Baroda straightaway launched the counter attack, slamming Chavan for a huge six over the bowler’s head.

The misfiring Pathan grew in confidence as there were a flurry of sixes from him with little effect from the Royals’ spin duo of Brad Hogg and Chavan as they took the required rate to less than run-a-ball.

With Pathan taking on the Royals bowlers, Kallis was happy to take the singles as the duo put Knight Riders 19 runs shy of the target.

Earlier, a spin-reliant KKR took full use of the sluggish Eden surface to restrict Rajasthan Royals to a modest 132 for six.

Sanju Samson (40, 1x4, 2x6) was the top-scorer for Royals while Shane Watson made run-a-ball 35 as both shared 44-run third-wicket partnership after the visitors were reduced to 27 for two.

Knight Riders, playing with three spinners in Sachithra Senanayake (2/26), Sunil Narine (1/20) and Iqbal Abdulla (1/22), choked the Royals who could not break free with only 30 runs coming in the last five overs.

Opting to bat, Dravid too had some interesting strategy up his sleeve when he sent James Faulkner at No 3 after Ajinkya Rahane (6) was foxed by Senanayake in an attempt to step out. The move, however, did not work as Faulkner (1) was dismissed in the next over with the Royals pace spearhead becoming Abdulla’s first victim.

Watson remained at the crease as he alongwith Samson re-built their innings with the rookie Kerala youngster showing a positive temperament.

Fresh from a match-winning 63 against Royals Challengers Bangalore, Samson looked in fine nick and made his intentions clear, pulling Abdulla over midwicket for a maximum.

Just when the Royals looked in recovery mode, Knight Riders expectedly brought in their trump card Narine in the 11th over and, as always, the mystery spinner did not disappoint taking the prized scalp of Watson.

Right from the first ball, Narine troubled Watson with his line and length as the Aussie had an anxious outing for four balls before perishing when he was trapped in the middle-stump line.

Knight Riders had Royals in trouble at 83/4 in the 13th over when Yagnik (10) became Senanayake’s second victim.

Samson remained unfazed at the other end as he pulled the Lankan offie over midwicket, in an action replay of his previous six. At the same time, Samson was also sensible in his approach as he did not take any risk against Narine who was as usual tidy.

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News Network
June 20,2020

Dhaka, Jun 20: Former Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza on Saturday tested positive for coronavirus.

The skipper had gone for a coronavirus Test last week, and now his reports have come back as positive, ESPNCricinfo reported.

As per a report in ESPNCricinfo, it is not known how Mortaza contracted the virus.

Mashrafe, also a member of the parliament from Narail 2 constituency, had stepped down as the ODI captain of the country in March this year.

Covid-19 cases have crossed 1,00,000 mark in Bangladesh and the government is now planning area-wise lockdown.

Bangladesh was slated to face Sri Lanka in July in a three-Test series and the side would have later hosted New Zealand in August, but both series look unlikely now.

The Asia Cup, scheduled for September, is also uncertain due to the coronavirus.

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Agencies
July 28,2020

New Delhi, Jul 28: 'Your character stood out for me than the number of runs you scored," said India skipper Virat Kohli while explaining his decision to give opening Mayank Agarwal a Test debut in the 2018-19 Australia series.

Mayank Agarwal had made his Test debut against Australia in the third Test of the four-match series.

Playing the third Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Agarwal managed to register a half-century in his very first innings in the longest format.

"I had seen you play for RCB, even then you played international bowlers with conviction and you would take them on. You were performing in first-class matches in a dominating way. That is something always stood out with you, I would say your character stood out for me than the number of runs. I knew you would be fearless without having any baggage," Kohli told Mayank Agarwal in a video posted on the official website of BCCI.

In the longest format of the game, Agarwal has managed to score 974 runs from 11 matches at an average of 57.29 with three centuries as an opening batsman.

The Indian skipper also explained as to what makes him notice in a player and added that it is important that guys in the team look to face new challenges and emerge triumphantly.

"For me, the biggest marker is how a person approaches the game, so for example when you opened and we made Vihari open with you. The first opportunity we presented Vihari to open the batting, he said yes to it and that matters me to the most," Kohli said.

"I opened in my first series for India, I said yes to this opportunity and things worked out fine for me. So, a guy who wants to get into tough situations will come out either holding his head high or learning from his mistakes," he added.

Kohli and Mayank would soon be seen in action for Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab respectively in the Indian Premier League (IPL) starting from September 19 in the UAE.

The comparisons between Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar keep on growing and many have picked the current Indian skipper to break the records set by Tendulkar.

Tendulkar called time on his career after registering 100 international centuries, while Kohli currently has 70 centuries across all formats.

At present, Kohli is ranked at the top spot in the ICC ODI rankings while he is in the second place in Tests rankings. Kohli has so far played 86 Tests, scoring 7,240 runs with 27 centuries at an average of 53.62.

His knock of 254 against South Africa at Pune in 2019 remains his highest Test score to date. When it comes to ODIs, the current Indian skipper has played 248 matches and has 43 centuries.

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News Network
March 5,2020

New Delhi, Mar 5: Cricket's slow geographical expansion is turning out to be a blessing in disguise for the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL) which looks set to beat the dreaded novel coronavirus threat and go ahead as scheduled.

At a time when the number of recorded deaths because of the deadly outbreak across the globe is touching 3500 with a plethora of international sporting events getting cancelled, the IPL seems to be in a parallel universe where "all is well".

And there are multiple practical reasons why the T20 extravaganza will be held as per schedule. A major reason is the small number of countries that play the game and an even smaller fraction of overseas players, who will compete in the world's richest cricket league starting March 29 in Mumbai.

Till Thursday, the reported number of positive COVID-19 cases in India stood at 29, including 16 Italian tourists. However, none of the overseas recruits of eight IPL franchises have expressed any apprehensions about travelling to India.

Just over 60 players from cricket nations such as Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa and the Caribbean islands comprise the elite foreign brigade and the reported positive cases of coronavirus in all these countries is next to none.

"The IOC is saying Olympics in Tokyo will be held as per schedule. In comparison, IPL is a minuscule tournament. If Olympics can be held, there's no reason why IPL can't be held," a BCCI official told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

STAR SPORTS FACTOR

The second and perhaps the biggest reason is broadcasters. Star Sports has bought the rights for Rs 16,347 crore (USD 2.55 billion) for a period of five years and their advertising revenues will take a huge hit if the tournament doesnt go ahead as planned. Former Delhi Daredevils CEO Hemant Dua explained the economics. "Look Star as well as BCCI has got everything insured. I don't know if there is any specific insurance cover for cancellation due to coronavirus but there is no chance of that happening if I read the situation properly," Dua told PTI.

GOVERNMENT GUIDELINES

The BCCI is also depending on the guidelines given by the government with regards to dealing with the health crisis.  "Every person availing international flights will be screened for coronavirus at the port of entry. That is the biggest health security measure. Obviously the BCCI will strictly adhere to any health advisory that government will issue," a Board official said.

But since there is an advisory that social gatherings are inadvisable at this point, won't it affect the league? "You will only come to know once the ticket sales start. If the stadiums are packed, that means people are coming but if stands are largely empty, then you can presume that people are wary.

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