India beat Zimbabwe by seven wickets

July 29, 2013

India_beat_Zimbabwe

Harare, Jul 29: A disciplined India notched up a convincing seven-wicket victory over Zimbabwe in the third One-day International to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series here today.

Amit Mishra scalped four wickets and skipper Virat Kohli scored an unbeaten 88-ball 68 to emerge as star performers for India as they guided the visitors to their third straight victory in the series.

Mishra led a disciplined show by the bowlers as they dismissed Zimbabwe for a paltry 183 in just 46 overs after Kohli won the toss and decided to bowl.

The visitors overhauled the target in 35.3 overs, riding on Kohli's fifty and useful contributions from Shikhar Dhawan (35), Ambati Rayudu (33) and Suresh Raina (28 not out).

Kohli, who had scored a match-winning 115 in the first ODI, once again led from the front as he starred in three useful partnerships.

He added 40 with Dhawan for the second wicket, before forging a 64-run stand with Rayudu for the third wicket, while it was the unbeaten 56-run partnership off 32 balls with Raina which finally took India home.

Chasing 184 to win, openers Rohit Sharma (14) and Shikhar Dhawan (35) made a watchful start as pacers Brian Vitori and Michael Chinouya bowled in tandem.

Sharma's poor run with the bat in this series continued as he was the first batsman to be sent back to the pavilion when he fall to debutante Chinouya.

Sharma chased a widish length delivery from the pacer only to edge it wicketkeeper Brendan Taylor. The Mumbaikar had scored two fours in his 21 balls.

Dhawan, however, didn't allow Sharma's wicket to affect the run flow as he blasted Vitori over square leg for a four and then pulled him for another boundary in the same area in the seventh over.

First down batsman Virat Kohli took one over to get a feel of the wicket and then brought up his first boundary in the ninth over when he whipped Tendai Chatara across the deep backward square leg fence.

Dhawan then cut one across the cover in the same over to pick up easy runs. The left-handed batsman welcomed Prosper Utseya with a four through the leg side in the 12th over.

His stay was cut short by Chatara in the 15th over when trying to hit a length delivery off the front foot, Dhawan ended up hitting it straight to Sibanda at shortish cover.

Runs dried up after that as Kohli and new man Ambati Rayudu (33) tried to steady the ship, picking up ones and twos. In the 22nd over, Rayudu picked up a much-needed boundary when his thick edge off Utseya went flying past slip.

In the next over, Elton Chigumbura was introduced into the attack and Rayudu and Kohli hit him for two fours.

After the end of 29 overs, India took their batting powerplay but Rayudu lost his wicket when he chipped a pitched up delivery from Vitori straight to the bowler. His 54-ball innings had two fours.

In the 32nd over, Kohli sent Chinouya sailing over deep square leg for a boundary, while new man Suresh Raina too cleared the midwicket boundary in the next over.

Kohli brought up his fifty in the 34th over with a brilliant drive off the front foot, which bisected the mid off and extra cover before clearing the fence.

Three balls later, the India skipper danced down the wicket and smashed Chinouya over wide long off for the first six of Indian innings.

In the next over, Kohli and Raina picked up a couple of fours as India inched towards the win. It was Raina, who blasted a four off Chatara to bring up the final runs.

Earlier, Mishra took four for 47 to help India dismiss Zimbabwe for 183. Mohammed Shami (2/25), Jaydev Unadkat (1/24), Ravindra Jadeja (39) and R Vinay Kumar (1/32) were the other successful bowlers for India.

Sean Williams top-scored for Zimbabwe with 45 off 53 balls. Leading 2-0 in the five-match series, Kohli's decision to bowl was vindicated as his pacers struck twice in the first two overs at the Harare Sports Club.

While R Vinay Kumar accounted for Vusi Sibanda even before the hosts could open their account, Shami sent back the other-wise reliable Sikander Raza when he had the opener caught behind by Dinesh Karthik.

Hamilton Masakadza (38) and skipper Brendan Taylor (23) added 65 runs for the third wicket to stabilise the innings before Jaydev Unadkat struck with the scoreboard reading 67 for three in the 16th over.

The Zimbabwean captain, who stood his ground after Shami leapt to his left from mid-off to pull off a catch, walked back after the third umpire upheld the on-field umpires' decision. Taylor hit three fours during his 44-ball knock.

Taylor's dismissal was the beginning of slide as Zimbabwe lost three more wickets quickly, with leg-spinner Mishra taking two of them off successive balls.

Coming in to bowl his first over of the match, Mishra tasted success immediately as Masakadza, trying to cut a short of length delivery, edged it to the keeper as the hosts lost their top four batsmen within the first 20 overs. The batsman struck five fours off 53 balls.

Malcolm Waller was out next ball as Mishra had the batsman trapped in front for a golden duck with a googly, leaving the Zimbabweans reeling at 80 for five in the 20th over.

Ravindra Jadeja made it 89 for six as the slow left-arm spinner hit Elton Chigumbura on the pads with one that might have missed the leg stump because of the angle. Williams then added 36 runs for the seventh wicket with Prosper Utseya (10), before the latter was snared by Shami.

Jadeja's flat throw from the square leg did Williams in as the batsman fell short short of the crease at the striker's end after battling it out for 79 minutes. Williams hit two fours and a six during his fighting knock. The Zimbabwe tail wagged before the innings came to an end.

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Agencies
March 25,2020

Lausanne, Mar 25: The World Archery has hailed as a 'brave decision' the International Olympic Committee (IOC) move to postpone the 2020 Tokyo Olympics until next year due to coronavirus pandemic.

"We commend the conscientious and brave decision taken by Tokyo 2020 and the International Olympic Committee to delay this summer's Games in the face of an unprecedented challenge to humanity," Ugur Erdener, the World Archery president, said in an official statement.

The decision to postpone the Summer Olympics was confirmed by the IOC, on Tuesday, after the organising body for the event and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed to reschedule the quadrennial event in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This is not an easy situation, especially for the athletes who had been training hard for Tokyo 2020. I hope that everyone understands why this decision has been made and I urge archers around the world to retain hope and reset for this new timetable," he added.

The IOC has, however, said that the original name of Tokyo 2020 will remain intact irrespective of the fact that it will take place next year.

The Tokyo Olympic Games were slated to be held from July 24 to August 9.

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Agencies
April 12,2020

London, Apr 12: Former Formula 1 legendary driver Stirling Moss died at the age of 90 on Sunday.

"All at F1 send our heartfelt condolences to Lady Susie and Sir Stirling's family and friends," Formula 1 said in a statement.

Often referred to as the greatest driver never to win the world championship, Moss contested 66 Grands Prix from 1951 to 1961, driving for the likes of Vanwall, Maserati and Mercedes, where he famously formed a contented and ruthlessly effective partnership with lead driver Juan Manuel Fangio.

In his 10-year-long stint at the tracks, Moss took 16 wins, some of which rank among the truly iconic drives in the sport's history - his 1961 victories in Monaco and Germany in particular often held up as all-time classics.

Moss won the 1955 Mille Miglia on public roads for Mercedes at an average speed of close to 100mph, while he also competed in rallies and land-speed attempts.

Following an enforced retirement from racing (barring a brief comeback in saloon cars in the 1980s) after a major crash at Goodwood in 1962, Moss maintained a presence in Formula 1 as both a sports correspondent and an interested observer, before retiring from public life in January of 2018.

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News Network
May 13,2020

May 13: With the Olympics postponed due to the coronavirus, top Japanese fencer Ryo Miyake has swapped his metal mask and foil for a bike and backpack as a Tokyo UberEats deliveryman.

The 29-year-old, who won silver in the team foil at the 2012 London Olympics and was itching to compete in a home Games, says the job keeps him in shape physically and mentally -- and brings in much-needed cash.

"I started this for two reasons -- to save money for travelling (to future competitions) and to keep myself in physical shape," he told AFP.

"I see how much I am earning on the phone, but the number is not just money for me. It's a score to keep me going."

Japanese media have depicted Miyake as a poor amateur struggling to make ends meet but he himself asked for his three corporate sponsorships to be put on hold -- even if that means living off savings.

Like most of the world's top athletes, he is in limbo as the virus forces competitions to be cancelled and plays havoc with training schedules.

"I don't know when I can resume training or when the next tournament will take place. I don't even know if I can keep up my mental condition or motivation for another year," he said.

"No one knows how the qualification process will go. Pretending everything is OK for the competition is simply irresponsible."

In the meantime, he is happy criss-crossing the vast Japanese capital with bike and smartphone, joining a growing legion of Uber delivery staff in demand during the pandemic.

"When I get orders in the hilly Akasaka, Roppongi (downtown) district, it becomes good training," he smiles.

The unprecedented postponement of the Olympics hit Miyake hard, as he was enjoying a purple patch in his career.

After missing out on the Rio 2016 Olympics, Miyake came 13th in last year's World Fencing Championships -- the highest-ranked Japanese fencer at the competition.

The International Olympics Committee has set the new date for the Olympics on July 23, 2021.

But with no vaccine available for the coronavirus that has killed nearly 300,000 worldwide, even that hangs in the balance.

Miyake said the Japanese fencing team heard about the postponement the day after arriving in the United States for one of the final Olympic qualifying events.

With his diary suddenly free of training and competition, he said he spent the month of April agonising over what to do before hitting on the Uber idea.

"Sports and culture inevitably come second when people have to survive a crisis," he said.

"Is the Olympics really needed in the first place? Then what do I live for if not for the sport? That is what I kept thinking."

However, the new and temporary career delivering food in Tokyo has given the fencer a new drive to succeed.

"The most immediate objective for me is to be able to start training smoothly" once the emergency is lifted, he said.

"I need to be ready physically and financially for the moment. That is my biggest mission now."

But not all athletes may cope mentally with surviving another "nerve-wracking" pre-Olympic year, he said.

"It's like finally getting to the end of a 42-kilometre marathon and then being told you have to keep going."

As a child, Miyake practised his attacks on every wall of his house -- and he said his passion for the sport was what was driving him now.

"I love fencing. I want to be able to travel for matches and compete in the Olympics. That is the only reason I am doing this."

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