Sri Lanka decimate India by 161 runs

July 3, 2013

Upul_TharangaKingston, Jul 3: Upul Tharanga scored a career-best unbeaten 174 as Sri Lanka produced a clinical display to thrash India by 161 runs in the third match of the ODI tri-series here.

Sent into bat, Sri Lanka first rode on Tharanga's 174 and Mahela Jayawardene's 107 to pile up a mammoth 348 for one yesterday and then shot out the Indians for a paltry 187 in 44.5 overs.

Apart from Tharanga and Jayawardene, skipper Angelo Mathews made a quickfire 44.

The Indians looked a pale shadow of themselves with Ravindra Jadeja top-scoring with an unbeaten 49 followed by Suresh Raina (33), Murali Vijay (30), Shikhar Dhawan (24) and Dinesh Karthik (22).

Rohit Shamra was the first to depart, caught by Mathews at short mideicket off Nuwan Kulasekara's bowling. With a mountain to chase, the Indians found boundaries hard to come by as they dealt mostly in singles and twos.

The ever-climbing asking rate took a tool on the Indians as they lost Dhawan and skipper Virat Kohli in successive overs.

While trying to break the shakles Dhawan found out Tharanga at deep midwicket off Rangana Herath (3/37), Kohli hooked a Mathews delivery straight to Lasith Malinga at fine-leg in the next over.

Maling then went through Vijay's defence two overs later as India slumped to 70 for four after the end of 19 overs.

Wicket-keeper Karthik and Raina added 53 runs off 63 balls for the fitth wicket before the former perished, stumped by Kumar Sangakkara off Herath in the 29th over.

Raina tried hard to get India back on track with a run-a-ball 33 but fell victim of a run out.

Thereafter, the Indian innings fell apart as none other batsmen managed doubled digit scores with only Jadeja showing some teeth before the discipleined Sri Lankan bowling attack.

This is India's second defeat in the tournament after having lost to West Indies by one wicket in their tournament opener.

Earlier, Tharanga smashed a career-best unbeaten 174, while Jayawardene made 107 as Sri Lanka produced a dominant batting display to post an imposing 348 for one. Tharanga scored his runs off just 159 deliveries with the help of 19 boundaries and three hits over the fence.

Jayawardene, on the other hand, faced 112 balls during his century knock. He hit nine fours and two sixes during his innings.

Towards the end, captain Mathews played a 29-ball 49-run cameo to help help Sri Lanka get near the 350-run mark. He struck fours boundaries and one six in the process.

Sent into bat, Sri Lanka made a quiet start to their innings before Jayawadene and Tharanga opened up. Jayawardene and Tharanga mixed caution with aggression to pile up 47 runs in the first 10 overs.

Shami Ahmed, who replaced Bhuveneshwar Kumar, and Umesh Yavad failed to derive any assistance from the low and slow Sabina Park wicket as the Sri Lankan opening duo milked the Indian attack to surge ahead.

Jayawardene, who was dropped by Vijay off Jadeja at the personal score of 25, cashed in on the chance and played sensibly thereafter to reach his fifty in 60 balls with the help of four boundaries and one six.

Tharanga, on the other hand, played second fiddle initially and reached his fifty in 76 balls balls during which he struck five hits to the fence.

Nothing seemed to have worked in favour India captain Virat Kohli, who is leading the side in place of injured Mahendra Singh Dhoni, as his bowling changes came a cropper against the Sri Lankans today.

Kohli, who will captain India in the remainder of the tournament after Dhoni has been ruled out due to a hamstring injury, found the going tough as none of his bowlers managed to produce result till the 39th over of the innings.

Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin finally managed to break the deadlock when he dismissed the dangerous-looking Jayawardene but not before the batsman had scored 107 off 112 balls with the help of nine boundaries and two sixes.

Jayawardene was caught by a diving Yadav at short third man after the batsman went for reverse sweep.

Tharanga, however, went about his business in a quiet fashion and notched up his century in 124 balls during which he hit 11 boundaries. After Jayawardene's dismissal, Tharanga took the lead and in skipper Mathews' company he blossomed to take Sri Lanka forward.

The duo of Tharanga and Mathews pressed on the gas and registered their 50-run stand in just 27 balls.

Jadeja, who was the bowler of the tournament in the ICC Champions Trophy, came in for some harsh treatment as Tharanga and Mathews hit the left-arm spinner for a six each to pile up 15 runs in the 44th over.

Tharanga and Mathews took the ordinary-looking Indian attack for a task and struck boundaries and sixes at will to pile a whopping 124 runs off the last 10 overs.

Score Board

Sri Lanka:

Upul Tharanga not out 174

Mahela Jayawardene c Yadav b Ashwin 107

Angelo Mathews not out 44

Extras: (B-1, LB-6, W-16) 23

Total: (1 wicket in 50 overs) 348

Fall of wickets: 1-213

Bowling: Ahmed 10-0-68-0, Yadav 8-0-64-0, Sharma 9-0-68-0, Jadeja 9-0-55-0, Ashwin 10-0-67-1, Kohli 2-0-9-0, Raina 2-0 -10-0.

India innings:

Rohit Sharma c Mathews b Kulasekara 5

Shikhar Dhawan c Tharanga b Herath 24

Murali Vijay b Malinga 30

Virat Kohli c Malinga b Mathews 2

Dinesh Karthik st Sangakkara b Herath 22

Suresh Raina run out 33

Ravindra Jadeja not out 49

Ravichandran Ashwin c Malinga b Senanayake 4

Shami Ahmed b Senanayake 0

Ishant Sharma c Sangakkara b Herath 2

Umesh Yadav b Malinga 0

Extras: (LB-4, W-12) 16

Total: (all out in 44.5 overs) 187

Fall of wickets: 1-12, 2-52, 3-57, 4-65, 5-118, 6-142, 7-153, 8-153, 9-166, 10-187.

Bowling: Kulasekara 9-0-37-1, Mathews 8-2-23-1, Senanayake 10-0-46-2, Herath 10-0-37-3, Malinga 7.5-0-40-2.

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News Network
January 23,2020

Dhaka, Jan 23: Left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman, who is part of the Bangladesh squad traveling to Pakistan, posted a cryptic tweet before team's departure which raised a few eyebrows.

On Wednesday evening, Rahman took to Twitter to post a selfie along with his teammates before the team's departure and asked his followers to pray for them, writing: "Heading to Pakistan. Remember us in your prayers."

Bangladesh were earlier reluctant to travel to Pakistan. However, the officials of both the teams met in Dubai and it was after many deliberations, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) agreed to send their team for a cricket series.

Bangladesh will be playing three T20Is, two Tests and an ODI in Pakistan between January and April. The T20I series will be played from January 24-27 in Lahore, followed by the first Test from February 7 to 11.

Bangladesh will then return to Pakistan in April for the one-off ODI which will be played on April 3 and the second Test from April 5-9.

Senior players like Mushfiqur Rahim decided against traveling to Pakistan citing personal reasons. After that, five members of the Bangladesh coaching staff also pulled out of the tour.

Pakistan have also recalled the experienced duo of Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik, along with pacer Shaheen Afridi for the T20I series.

Squads:

Bangladesh: Mahmudullah (Captain), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Naim Sheikh, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Liton Kumer Das, MD Mithun, Afif Hossain Dhrubo, Mahedi Hasan, Aminul Islam Biplob, Mustafizur Rahman, Shafiul Islam, Al-Amin Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Hasan Mahmud.

Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Ahsan Ali, Amad Butt, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Musa Khan, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Usman Qadir.

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News Network
March 4,2020

Sydney, Mar 4: Teenage Indian batting sensation Shafali Verma on Wednesday rose to the top spot in the ICC women's T20 International rankings, riding on her stellar run at the ongoing World Cup here.

The 16-year-old Verma takes over from New Zealand's Suzie Bates, who had been the top batter since October 2018 after wresting the spot from West Indies captain Stafanie Taylor.

However, Smriti Mandhana has slipped a couple of rungs to sixth in the latest list.

Verma and England spinner Sophie Ecclestone will go into the semifinals of the event as the top ranked batter and bowler respectively. India will take on England on Thursday.

Verma's explosive batting at the top of the order saw her score 161 runs in four innings, including knocks of 47 and 46 against Sri Lanka and New Zealand. It helped her become only the second India batter after Mithali Raj to top the women's T20I batting rankings, according to an ICC statement.

Ecclestone, who took eight wickets in four matches including a best of three for seven against the West Indies, is the first England bowler to be number one since Anya Shrubsole in April 2016 and the first England spinner at the top since Danni Hazell in August 2015.

Among the Indian bowlers, Poonam Yadav is up four places to eighth after a good run in World Cup.

Some valiant performances from Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Athapaththu have seen her move from 18th to 14th spot for batters.

England's Nat Sciver is again in the top 10 and captain Heather Knight in the top 15 for the first time.

South Africa opener Laura Wolvaardt has advanced 23 places to 44th, while Pakistan's Aliya Riaz has gained 24 places and is 48th while New Zealand's Maddy Green is in the top 100 after advancing 28 slots.

In the bowlers' list, leg-spinners Amelia Kerr of New Zealand (up two places to fourth) and Australia's George Wareham (up nine places to 10th) have made significant gains in the latest rankings update.

Other bowlers to advance include new-ball bowler Diana Baig of Pakistan (up 34 places to 13th), Shashikala Siriwardena of Sri Lanka (up seven places to 14th), Anya Shrubsole of England (up five places to 17th), Dane van Niekerk of South Africa (up 12 places to joint-22nd) and Shikha Pandey of India (up 23 places to joint-22nd).

New Zealand captain Sophie Devine is now the sole number one all-rounder after coming into the tournament as a joint number one along with Australia all-rounder Ellyse Perry.

India's Deepti Sharma has advanced nine places to seventh, the first time that she is among the top 10 in the all-rounders' list after also moving up to 53rd among batters.

Australia remain at the top of the T20I team rankings with 290 points and England in second position with 278.

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Agencies
August 7,2020

Islamabad, Aug 7: Former Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, known for his blistering deliveries on the cricket field, recently baffled many with a deadly off-field bouncer by claiming he is willing to eat grass if it enabled an increase in budget for his country's Army!

"If Allah ever gives me the authority, I will eat grass myself but I will increase the budget of the army," said Akhtar in an interview with ARY News.

The 'Rawalpindi Express', considered the fastest bowler in history said he does not understand why the civilian sector cannot work in collaboration with the Armed forces.

"I will ask my army chief to sit with me and make decisions. If the budget is 20 per cent, I will make it 60 per cent. If we insult each other, the loss is ours only," the once feared fast-bowler said.

Akthar had also claimed to ARY News interview that he was willing to take a bullet for his country and had turned down a county stint just because he wanted to fight the 1999 Kargil War.

Ties between India and Pakistan have been strained in the recent months over several issues, the latest being Pakistan's attempt to broach in the UNSC the issue of Kashmir on the first anniversary of the India's move to scrap the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and to split the erstwhile state into two union territories .

Pakistan also has not been in a good financial position and under prime minister Imran Khan, himself an all rounder cricketer, has added nearly USD 22 billion, that is 35 per cent to the nation's international debt pile in the last two years, according to an Asia Times report in July.

While Pakistan recently received USD 1.39 billion from the IMF to cushion the economic shocks caused due to COVID-19 outbreak, Akthar had a few months ago proposed that a joint cricket match be played between India and Pakistan to raise funds to fight the coronavirus. The suggestion that was put down by cricketers in India.

Meanwhile the 'Pindi boy' whose deadly pace and bounce was once dreaded by batsmen had recently taken to Twitter to deny former India cricketer Virender Sehwag's claim of sledging him.

Sehwag along with other Indian crickerters such as Harbhajan Singh and even Rahul Dravid had been at the receiving end of Akthar's sledging and antics during their playing days.

"Yes, totally self made story by him. Mujhe yeh bol k bach k jana kidhar tha us nay," Akthar tweeted to a report in which Sehwag claimed that he had sledged the 'Rawalpindi Express' by telling him that Sachin Tendulkar was his father.

During an awards ceremony Sehwag had recounted that fed up with Akthar's sledging and retaliated by telling him to say the same things to Tendulkar, who smashed the 'Pindi boy' for a six. Sehwag quipped that he told Akthar then that "Baap baap hota hai".

In the recent ARY interview, asked about the allegation made against him by former India cricketer Virendra Sehwag that he makes pro-India comments for greater following on social media channels, Akhtar said, "I cannot talk on the basis of hate." 

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