Proudest day of my life, Rasool on IPL debut

May 10, 2013

Rasool_on_IPL_debut

Pune, May 10: Parveez Rasool, who became the first cricketer from Jammu and Kashmir to play in the Indian Premier League, has called his debut for Pune Warriors the "proudest day" of his life even though the team ended up on the losing side.

"This is the proudest day of my life. And the whole of Jammu and Kashmir was watching the match and I am proud of that. I feel really great. First of all, thanks to Almighty Allah, I have made it this far. It feels really nice to get an opportunity in the IPL and to be able to perform at this level," Rasool told IPLT20.com.

After spending his time on the bench for 12 matches, the 24-year-old batting all-rounder finally found a place in the playing XI of Pune Warriors ahead of their match against Kolkata Knight Riders here last night.

Rasool replaced leg-spinner Rahul Sharma to earn his maiden IPL cap.

He dedicated his debut performance against KKR, an economical four-over spell for 23 runs and the prized scalp of Jacques Kallis, to the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir and his fans across India.

"I would like to dedicate my debut performance to the entire state of Jammu & Kashmir and all the well-wishers all around India," he said.

"Jacques Kallis is definitely a legend; the best all-rounder in cricket. So, it felt really good to get his wicket. Kallis' wicket was something truly special for me," he added.

The off-spinner said he was nervous initially but Yuvraj Singh helped soothe his fraying nerves.

"Yes, the first couple of balls I was nervous. Then Yuvi Paaji (Yuvraj Singh) came over to me and helped me settle down. I came to know this morning (that I am part of the playing XI) and I was really happy and excited at the prospect of playing. I was training real hard for whenever I would get the chance to play for PW. And I wanted to make sure I grabbed that chance with both hands," Rasool said.

Rasool said he considers himself a bowling all-rounder.

"Currently, I consider myself a bowling all-rounder. But when I started out, I was a batting all-rounder. However, I bat well too.

"But it depends on the chances I get to bat. I did get to face a few balls (against KKR), and it felt good to be out there in the middle. I will surely rise up to the batting challenge as well when I get a chance," he said.

Rasool said his ultimate target is to don the national colours one day.

"Now my goal is to ensure I play well in every match I get to play. I want to do well for the team and for myself. I hope I play well enough to play for India some day."

The unassuming player from the valley shot to limelight with a seven-wicket haul against the visiting Australians while playing for the Board President's XI earlier this year.

Rasool, a day ahead of his 24th birthday, spun a web around the Aussies with impressive figures of seven for 45 for the Board President's XI on a pitch that offered the slow bowlers assistance.

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Agencies
August 2,2020

New Delhi, Aug 2: BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Sunday said the Women's IPL or the Challenger series, as it is better known, is "very much on", ending speculation about the parent body not having a plan for Harmanpreet Kaur and her team.

The men's IPL will be held between September 19 and November 8 or 10 (final date yet to be locked in) in the UAE due to the surge in Covid-19 cases in India. The women's IPL will also be fit in to the schedule, according to the BCCI chief.

"I can confirm to you that the women's IPL is very much on and we do have a plan in place for the national team also," Ganguly told PTI ahead of the IPL Governing Council meeting later on Sunday.

The BCCI president, who is awaiting a Supreme Court verdict on waiver of the cooling-off period to continue in the position, did not divulge details but another senior official privy to the development said that women's Challenger will be held during the last phase of IPL like last year.

"The women's Challenger series is likely to be held between November 1-10 and there could be a camp before that," the source said.

The former India captain also said that the centrally contracted women players will have a camp which has been delayed due to the prevailing situation in the country.

"We couldn't have exposed any of our cricketers -- be it male or female to health risk. It would have been dangerous," Ganguly said.

"The NCA also remained shut because of Covid-19. But we have a plan in place and we will have a camp for women, I can tell you that," he added.

The BCCI's cricket operations team is chalking up a schedule where Indian women are likely to have two full-fledged white-ball series against South Africa and the West Indies before playing the ODI World Cup in New Zealand. 

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Agencies
January 9,2020

Jeddah, Jan 9: Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde criticised the new Supercopa format and said that "football has become a business and as a business it looks for income".

"The bottom line is football has become a business and as a business it looks for income. That's the reason we are all here," Goal.com quoted Valverde as saying ahead of Barca's semi-final against Atletico.

"It's a completely different format to what we're used to. It was always the first title and the opener of the season and to me, that seemed fine," he added.

The Supercopa was traditionally a two-legged affair played between the winners of La Liga and the Copa del Rey at the beginning of the season, but following last term's one-off meeting between Barca and Sevilla in Tangier, Morocco, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) went ahead with a full revamp.

Instead of just two teams being involved, the Supercopa has been expanded to also include the runners-up from La Liga and the Copa - meaning Barca and Valencia are joined by Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. It is also set to be hosted in Saudi Arabia for the next three editions.

"It's been changed and let's see, it will be judged once it has happened. It's interesting, with four good teams, but from a sporting point of view, I'm not sure," Valverde said.

"We must bear in mind that the football we are involved in is an industry, sources of income are sought and in the same way that there are special connotations in this country, there are also in Morocco, where we played last year," he added.

Barcelona will face Atletico Madrid in the semifinal of the Supercopa at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah on January 10.

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News Network
February 27,2020

Melbourne, Feb 27: Shafali Verma's 34-ball 46 followed by a superlative performance from the bowlers helped India notch up a narrow four-run win over New Zealand in a crucial group A match of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup on Thursday.

Invited to bat, India posted a below-par 133 for eight against New Zealand in the crucial group A match with Shafali top-scoring with a 34-ball 46 and Taniya Bhatia chipping in with a 25-ball 23.

India, however, produced a disciplined performance with the ball to restrict New Zealand to 129 for six and register their third successive win in the tournament.

With this win, India topped Group A, having beaten Australia and Bangladesh in their last two outing.

Defending the total, India introduced spin straight away but Deepti Sharma bled 12 runs with opener Rachel Priest (12) hitting her for two boundaries.

But experienced pacer Shikha Pandey removed Priest in the next over when she had her caught at mid wicket.

With Shikha and left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad bowling in tandem, New Zealand played with caution to reach 28 for one.

Back into the attack, Deepti then cleaned up Bates with a beauty of a delivery as New Zealand slipped to 30 for two.

Poonam Yadav and Radha Yadav then mounted the pressure on the Kiwis and soon the Black Caps were 34 for 3 when the former dismissed skipper Sophie Devine (14).

Maddy Green (24) and Katey Martin (25) then tried to resurrect the innings with a 36-ball 43-run stand.

However, Gayakwad returned to remove Green, who danced down the pitch only to end up with an outside edge as Bhatia did the rest.

Radha then dismissed Martin to leave New Zealand at 90 for 5 in 16.3 overs.

Needing 44 off 21 balls, Kerr (34) blasted four boundaries to accumulate 18 runs in the penultimate over bowled by Poonam to bring the equation down to 16 off six balls.

In the final over, Heyley Jensen (11) and Kerr cracked a four each but Shikha held her nerves in the end to complete the win.

Earlier, 16-year-old Shafali provided the fireworks as India scored 49 for one in the powerplay overs. But they lost six wickets for 43 runs to squander the good start.

Smriti Mandhana (11), who returned to the playing XI after missing the last match due to illness, departed early but Shafali and Taniya (23) kept the scoreboard ticking, adding 51 runs for the second wicket.

In the 10th over, Taniya was caught by Amelia Kerr at backward point, while Jemimah Rodrigues (10) was caught by Kerr in the 12th over as India slipped to 80 for 3.

Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur's (1) poor form also continued as she was soon back to the hut after being caught and bowled by Leigh Kasperek.

Shafali, who was dropped at long-on in the 8th over and at mid-wicket in the 10th over, then holed out to Jensen at deep extra cover. She had four hits to the fence and three maximum shots in her innings.

Left-handed batter Deepti Sharma (8) and Veda Krishnamurthy (6) brought up the 100 in the 15th over but both departed soon as India slumped to 104 for 6.

Radha Yadav then blasted 14 off nine balls, which included a six in the final over, to give some respectability to the total.

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