Royals eclipse Sunrisers

May 23, 2013

SunrisersNew Delhi, May 23: It had been a crisis week for Rajasthan Royals. They seemed to be up against one more when Sunrisers Hyderabad fought back in the second innings to put themselves on course for victory.

But Brad Hodge, the dangerous Australian, produced a doughty innings to cut short Hyderabad’s run in the Indian Premier League and give his team a four-wicket victory at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium on Wednesday.

On a slow pitch, Hyderabad crawled to 132/7 in 20 overs after winning the toss but ensured it was not a cruise for Royals. It was tough till Hodge (54 n.o., 29 balls, 2x4, 5x6) unveiled his batting skills, guiding them to a clash on Friday against Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 2 for a place in the final.

Possessing one of the most compact bowling unit, Hyderabad rose over their batting blues to stifle Royals’ progress when they had them gasping at 57/5.

The way Rahul Dravid got cracking with three crisp drives belied the difficulty of their chase. His dismissal off Ishant Sharma, an edge that went to Karan Sharma, was a bitter pill to digest but Shane Watson, waiting in the wings, proved a reassuring touch. He quickly got down to business, pulling with panache.

It was the pull shot, however, that scripted his downfall when he bit the bait of leg-spinner Karan Sharma. Dishant Yagnik, Ajinkya Rahane and Stuart Binny followed in a procession to leave Royals on the verge of defeat.

But No 7 Hodge, a slog over specialist, gave a wonderful display of muscular onslaught that left Karan hurting as he conceded 18 runs in an over. The equation was quick to turn into a run-a-ball situation with Hodge leading the attack to the bowlers. The loss of a couple of partners also didn’t slow him down as he beautifully paced his innings.

Needing 10 off 12, he slammed Darren Sammy, who was having a good day till then, for two successive sixes before breaking into an imitation of the West Indian’s cradling act.

Royals were impressive in their bowling too — a collective effort than one of individual brilliance. Their medium pacers bowled tidily and made strokeplay difficult. Vikramjeet Malik, playing only his second match of the season, deserved special mention.

Opening the bowling, he kept a tight line and used the seam well, giving Royals early breakthroughs. Dravid cleverly used his bowlers in short spells and denied the Hyderabad batsmen the time to settle.

The early departures of Pathiv Patel and Hanuma Vihari pegged them back and runs came in a trickle. Shikhar Dhawan (33), local boy and star batsman in the line-up, dug in his heels but couldn’t do much to propel the scoring. He and Cameron White’s 53-run partnership seemed to provide the answers to their precarious situation before White fell to Sidharth Trivedi’s slower ball.

In the absence of suitable partners, Dhawan had to curtail his flair but eventually perished when attempting to step on the pedal in the 15th over. Dhawan had scooped James Faulkner for a boundary to fine leg but a repeat found Trivedi palming the ball.

Sammy cleared a bit of gloom with three sixes but his innings met a dismal end when a throw from Rahul Shukla from the cover boundary to wicket-keeper Yagnik found him short of ground. Hyderabad, obviously, were short of a par total. And Royals, bruised and with a point to prove, lapped up the offering to give themselves another day to live and fight.

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Agencies
January 5,2020

Mumbai, Jan 5: All-rounder Irfan Pathan on Saturday announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, ending an injury-ridden career that prevented him from realising his true potential.

The 35-year-old's retirement was on expected lines, considering he last played a competitive game in February 2019 during the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy for Jammu and Kashmir.

He did not even put himself in the IPL auction pool, last month.

The left-arm seamer's bowling was like a breath of fresh air when he made his India debut against Australia at the Adelaide Oval in 2003.

He never had express pace but his natural ability to swing the ball into the right-handers got him instant success, also drawing comparisons with the great Kapil Dev.

It seemed India had found the all-rounder they were looking for since Kapil left the scene. Pathan, who last played for India in October 2012, featured in 29 Tests (1105 runs and 100 wickets), 120 ODIs (1544 runs and 173 wickets) and 24 T20 Internationals (172 runs and 28 wickets).

He was part of the victorious Indian team at the 2007 World Twenty20 and was the man-of-the-match in the final against Pakistan.

One of his best performances came on the tour of Pakistan in 2006 when he became the second Indian after Harbhajan Singh to take a Test hat-trick, removing Salman Butt, Younis Khan and Mohammad Yusuf during the Karachi game.

He also played a big role in India winning a Test match against Australia on a tough Perth wicket, which offered steep bounce.

Injuries and lack of form troubled him thereafter and his ability to swing the ball deteriorated.

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News Network
January 18,2020

New Delhi, Jan 18: There was not much rustiness but just the initial nervousness, which a “pleasantly surprised” Sania Mirza shook off to win a title in her first tournament in 27 months, capping off her comeback from a maternity leave in style.

Partnering Ukraine's Nadiia Kichenov, the trailblazing Indian tennis player annexed the Hobart International trophy with a straight sets win over second seed Chinese pair of Shuai Peng and Shuai Zhang.

She worked hard to get into shape but the way she moved, it seemed Sania was never away from the courts.

“It's something I did not expect totally, so to say, but I am excited to be able to do this in my first tournament on comeback," Sania told PTI in an exclusive interview from Melbourne.

“I honestly thought I would be a bit more rustier than I was. I was pleasantly surprised that I was not. But there are things I can improve and that is what makes a champion. You always want to get better in what you are doing, no matter how well you do."

The 33-year-old winner of six Grand Slam titles said she played without pressure, and insisted there was no secret to the swift success on comeback.

“There is no key, I wish I knew, there was one key to winning. I just enjoyed my game. You have to work hard, play your game. I was playing with a new partner, new gear after two-and-a-half years. There was no pressure and no expectations.

"The first match was the only one when I felt a bit nervous because I did not know how my body would react and how I would play. That match was difficult but it set the tone and momentum. I was happy to come though that one and after that things kept getting better and better," she said.

Sania said her body has certainly changed after giving birth to son Izhaan but she did not have to tweak her post-match recovery process much.

“It does change. I was dealing with a calf injury, from last month and I aggravated a bit today. I am still icing it as we speak but it should not be serious.

“The body is a lot different now. It recovers different. But recovery (process) has not changed so much, it's similar."

Asked if she could go for her shots as she was doing before the break, she said, “I was able to do enough, I can improve, no matter how I play."

"My serve was decent but I can improve. I the first match I was not serving that well and was not returning well on important points but by the time I was playing the final, I was doing both of those little better. It is a process, it does not happen overnight. It's something will keep working on."

Serena Williams set an example in 2018 when she came out playing highly competitive tennis after giving birth to her daughter Olympia. There are other tennis moms like Victoria Azrenka and Evgeniya Rodina.

Sania said she did not seek any input from tennis moms but their presence on the Tour is inspiring enough.

“I did not speak to anyone but it is inspiring to see so many moms around, playing well in different sports."

Sania will play the Australian Open mixed doubles with compatriot Rohan Bopnna after her original first-choice Rajeev Ram opted out due to health reasons.

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Agencies
June 7,2020

New Delhi, Jun 7: Former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria on Sunday said that Sourav Ganguly would be fit to lead the International Cricket Council (ICC), and added there is no reason for respective cricket boards to not support Ganguly if he wants to hold the post.

In an interaction with media, the former spinner said Ganguly has all the qualities of leading the ICC as he has been a reputed cricketer and knows what a player goes through in his life.

"I also think that it would be really helpful if Sourav Ganguly goes on to lead ICC, it will help cricket and the players as a reputed cricketer will hold such a big post, he has played professional cricket, he has led the Indian side and he has also held an administrative post in the Cricket Association of Bengal," Kaneria told media.

"It depends on all of the boards whether they want to support Ganguly or not, if other boards support Ganguly and PCB doesn't, then also Ganguly would have the maximum number of votes, as a cricketer Ganguly is fit to lead the ICC, he had led the Indian side so well and he has earned a name for himself, so I don't see any reason for boards not supporting Ganguly," he added.

Ganguly had become the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) last year, but speculation continued to rise over the former skipper heading the ICC.

"He is currently the president of the BCCI, he knows in and out of everything, he knows what players have to deal with and he is aware of what cricket needs, he knows what support needs to be given to associate nations, players would be able to put forward their point in front of Ganguly," Kaneria said.

In May this year, Cricket South Africa's (CSA) director of cricket Graeme Smith had backed Ganguly to lead the ICC looking at the current scenario.

"Now it is even more important to have someone in a role who can provide leadership who understands and can navigate the challenges in the game today. I think post-COVID with the things that are going to come our way, to have strong leadership is important. I feel that someone like Sourav Ganguly is best positioned for that at the moment," sport24.co.za had quoted Smith as saying.

"I know him well, I played against him a number of times and worked with him as an administrator and in television. I feel that he has got the credibility, the leadership skills, and is someone that can really take the game forward and I think that, more than anything, that is needed right now at an ICC level," he added.

ICC's elections are slated to be held in July this year and current chairperson Shashank Manohar has already clarified that he is not seeking a tenure extension.

Ganguly was exceptional in making India play its first day-night Test last year.

India had played its inaugural day-night Test against Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens last year.

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