India clinch ACC Emerging Trophy, thrash Pakistan in final

August 25, 2013

ACC_Emerging_Trophy Singapore, Aug 25: The Indian under-23 team on Sunday lifted the ACC Emerging Trophy tournament after thrashing arch-rivals Pakistan by nine wickets in the final with opener Lokesh Rahul (93) being the star of a lop-sided chase.

One of cricket's most famous rivalries at the junior level was reduced to a one-sided contest as the Indian Colts chased down the 160-run target in just 33.4 overs at the Kallang Ground.

In the bowling department, Baba Aparajith shone with a three-wicket burst, while pacers Sandeep Warrier and Sandeep Sharma grabbed two wickets each.

Rahul missed out on what would have been a well-deserved century by just seven runs but stitched an unbroken 132-run stand for the second wicket with Manprit Juneja (51 not out) as India rounded off their impressive unbeaten run in the tournament.

India suffered an early blow in their run chase when former U-19 skipper Unmukt Chand was caught by wicket-keeper Mohammad Rizwan behind the stumps off Raza Hasan for 15 runs.

Unmukt smashed three boundaries in his knock as India took the lunch at 38 for one with 122 still required from 43 overs.

Rahul and Juneja then combined well and put up a fine batting display to take the team past 100 at the end of the 23rd over.

In the process, Rahul reached his half-century with the help of eight boundaries as the Pakistani bowlers looked clueless to defend a small total on a lively Kallang pitch.

Both showed maturity in their approach and never went for risky shots. They produced a magnificent show of batting which saw them mix caution and aggression.

Rahul even smashed spinner Hasan for a six in the 32nd over to clear the deep midwicket fence.

Juneja provided the fitting end to the proceedings with a hit to the maximum over deep midwicket as the Indian side celebrated its well-deserved victory.

All the Indian U-23s players took a victory lap after their triumph.

Earlier, Pakistan had an early advantage to score the runs after winning the toss but they kept on losing wickets at regular intervals.

Pakistan suffered early blows when openers Mohammad Rizwan (21) and Babar Azam (7) fell to pacers Warrier and Sharma respectively.

Usman Salahuddin (15) and Umar Waheed (41) steadied the ship with a fifty-plus stand for the third wicket but both fell in quick succession.

Pacer Suryakumar Yadav came up with a fiery spell as he removed the well-settled Waheed (41) and Salahuddin.

Pakistan never recovered from there on and lost five wickets in a heap to plunge to 107 for nine from 95 for four.

Right-arm offbreak Aparajith struck twice in back to back overs as he dismissed Hammad Azam (0) and Mohammad Waqas (5) back to the pavilion.

Pakistan lost three more wickets in Mohammad Nawaz (3), Raza Hasan (2) and Bilawal Bhatti (1) as there innings looked for an early pack-up.

Ehsan Adil and Usman Qadir showed some fightback as both tailenders stitched 52-run partnership for the last wicket to provide some semblance of respectability to the score.

Brief Scores:

Pakistan Under-23: 159 all out in 47 overs (Umar Waheed 41, Usman Qadir 33; Baba Aparajith 3/28, Sandeep Sharma 2/20).

India Under-23: 160 for one in 33.4 overs (Lokesh Rahul 93 not out, Manprit Juneja 51 not out; Raza Hasan 1/41).

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England defeat Ireland by 6 wickets in first ODI

Agencies

July 31,2020

Hampshire, Jul 31: David Willey's maiden five-wicket haul guided England to a six-wicket victory over Ireland in the first ODI here on Friday.

With this win, the hosts have taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series.

Chasing a small target of 173 runs, England got off to a bad start as opener Jonny Bairstow was given LBW in the third over, bowled by Andy McBrine. Jason Roy was then joined by James Vince and the duo added 22 runs on the board before the former was dismissed.

Craig Young then got hold of Vince, who was caught behind after scoring 25 runs. Sam Billings and Tom Banton then took the charge of the chase but the latter too was caught behind which ended his 11-run innings.

Banton's dismissal brought skipper Eoin Morgan on the field. Billings and Morgan played stunning innings and kept scoring boundaries. Morgan struck a scintillating six on the last bowl of the 28th over to take England over the line. Morgan scored 36 runs while Billings played a knock of 67 runs.

Earlier, after being asked to bat first, Ireland witnessed a poor start as Paul Stirling was dismissed in the very first over of the innings, bowled by Willey. Andy Balbirnie then joined Gareth Delany but Willey struck again in his next over, removing Balbirnie.

Delany then played furiously and smashed three consecutive boundaries to Saqib Mahmood in the fourth over. However, the fall of wickets did not stop as England took three wickets in quick succession. Mahmood bowled Harry Tector while Delany and Lorcan Tucker were sent back to the pavilion by Willey.

Kevin O'Brien and Curtis Campher then took the charge and played cautiously, taking their struggling side over the 50-run mark. Adil Rashid got hold of O'Brien (22) in the 22nd over before Simranjit Singh was run out in the same over.

Andy McBrine was the next batsman and he played brilliantly along with Campher, who went on to complete his half-century. Both formed a 66-run partnership before McBrine (40) was dismissed by Tom Curran.

Campher remained unbeaten on 59 but failed to find a partner as England bundled out Ireland on 172 runs.

The second ODI between both teams will be played on Saturday.

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Virat Kohli only Indian again in Forbes' list of highest-paid athletes

News Network

May 30,2020

New York, May 30: Cricket superstar Virat Kohli remains the only Indian in the Forbes' list of world's highest-paid athletes with total earnings of USD 26 million, jumping to the 66th spot from 100 in the 2020 standings.

Kohli's earnings from endorsement stand at USD 24 million and USD 2 million from salary/winnings. The 31-year-old is also the only cricketer in the top-100 list.

With earnings of USD 25 million, Kohli was ranked 100th in 2019 and 83rd in 2018 with USD 24 million.

Tennis legend Roger Federer has toped the list for the first time with earnings of USD 106.3 million, rising from fifth place last year.

Football icons Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are second and third respectively with earnings of USD 105 and USD 104 million.

The others in the top-10 are Neymar (football), LeBron James (basketball), Stephen Curry (basketball), Kevin Durrant (basketball), Tigers Woods (golf), Kirk Cousins (American football) and Carson Wentz (American football).

The athletes' earnings have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic which led to suspension of sporting activities all around the world.

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Saina Nehwal is the only Indian to feature in the world’s 20 most charitable athletes, as per a list compiled by the US based website in Athletes Gone Good.

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Mayank Agarwal and Rishabh Pant sparkle against New Zealand

News Network

February 17,2020

Hamilton, Feb 17: Mayank Agarwal found form on his birthday and Rishabh Pant mixed caution with his customary aggression as India’s warm-up fixture against New Zealand XI ended in a draw here on Sunday.

The match was called off an hour after lunch with India reaching 252 for four just 48 overs into their second innings.

Agarwal, who had gone through a wretched period since the second Test against Bangladesh, retired on 81 off 99 balls with 10 fours and three sixes to his name.

To the relief of the Indian team management, Pant played in his customary manner to reach 70 off 65 balls, but also showed discretion when the opposition bowlers were in the midst of a good spell. There were four sixes -- two each off leg-spinner Ish Sodhi and off-spinner Henry Cooper.

While Sodhi was hit down the ground, Cooper was dispatched over extra cover on a couple of occasions. He didn’t curb his aggression, though, there were times when he was ready defend the spinners and also leave some of the deliveries.

Even though Pant is considered a better batsman than Wriddhiman Saha, the innings might have come too late in the day considering that the latter is a better keeper and possibly a more responsible batsman in pressure situations.

The biggest positive to have emerged from the New Zealand second innings is Agarwal’s poor run coming to an end. The Seddon Park track easing out was definitely a factor but Agarwal’s footwork was more assured as he played some glorious on-drives and pull-shots off fast bowlers.

Before this game, Agarwal had played 10 competitive games including first-class, ODIs and List A matches and couldn’t cross the 40-run mark in 11 completed innings. He even bagged a pair against New Zealand A in an unofficial Test match.

Once he had got his form back, he didn’t come out to bat after lunch giving Saha an opportunity to score an unbeaten 30, his runs coming mostly against non-regular bowlers.

The Agarwal-Pant pair added 100 runs in 14.3 overs and it also helped that part-timers like Cooper was introduced into the action.

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