Royals saunter in to semi-finals with super win

September 30, 2013

Royals_saunterJaipur, Sept 30: Rajasthan Royals produced a disciplined all-round performance to notch up a convincing nine-wicket victory over Perth Scorchers and seal their semi-final berth in the Champions League Twenty20 here today.

Riding on a fine bowling performance by Kevon Cooper (4 for 18) and resolute unbeaten half-centuries by Ajinkya Rahane (62) and Sanju Samson (50), Rajasthan continued their unbeaten run in the tournament.

The hosts didn't put a foot wrong as they first bundled out the visitors for a modest 120 in their stipulated 20 overs and then returned to overhaul the target with consumate ease, reaching 121 for one in just 16.3 overs.

Rajasthan now have 12 points from three matches and have their last league match here on Tuesday against Otago, who are placed second with 10 points after three outings.

Mumbai Indians too are in the reckoning with six points from as many matches.

Chasing a victory target of 121 runs, Rajasthan lost their skipper Rahul Dravid (2) in first over but Rahane and Sanju didn't allow the it to affect their chase and kept them well in the hunt.

The duo added 120 runs for the second wicket, sharing 11 boundaries and four sixes between them in 95 balls at the Sawai Man Singh stadium here.

Earlier, Cooper led a disciplined bowling attack and didn't allow the visitors to get off to a good start. Beside Cooper, Pravin Tambe (2 for 17), James Faulkner (2 for 16) and Shane Watson (1 for 23) also contributed with the ball.

After losing Dravid early, Rahane and Samson took the onus on themselves and played a responsible knock. The duo complimented each other and picked up boundaries regularly.

While, Rahane hit Joel Paris for a boundary on the second ball he faced in the second over, Samson flicked a Jason Behrendorff delivery to fine leg area for another four in the next over. He finished the over with another boundary at the midwicket area.

Rahane was too not lagging behind as he pulled Paris for a six over deep fine leg in the next over, while Samson welcomed Joe Mennie with a four in his fourth delivery in the fifth over.

Samson blasted a six and a four within a space of three balls, spread over two overs to take Rajasthan across the fifty mark.

The duo kept dealing with regular boundaries to keep the scoreboard ticking.

In the 14th over, Rahane was dropped and he made good use of the opportunity as he blasted Beer for a six in the 15th over to not only bring his fifty but also help his team get across the 100-run mark.

Samson reached his fifty in the 17th over with a four and a single in the 17th over as Rajasthan romped home comfortably.

Earlier, the Scorchers never looked up to the task as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals after being inserted by Rajasthan skipper Rahul Dravid.

Perth lost Liam Davis (18) in the third over and the slide continued with wickets falling till the last delivery of the innings.

Their specialist batsman Adam Voges was the top scorer with 27 made off 21 balls and the rest of the batting looked pretty inept as they wasted their starts and could never build up a momentum.

Half of the Scorchers side, including Voges, were back to the pavillion within 11.3 overs with the score reading 77.

After that, only Turner and Jason Behrendorff managed to score in double figures while the rest scored in single digit.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
June 2,2020

New Delhi, Jun 2: Expressing solidarity with the 'Black Lives Matter' campaign, star West Indies batsman Chris Gayle has alleged that he faced racist remarks during his career and cricket is not free of the menace.

Gayle did not elaborate when he faced racial remarks but hinted it might have been during his stints at global T20 leagues.

"I have travelled the globe and experienced racial remarks towards me because I am black, believe me, the list goes on," he posted on instagram on Monday night.

"Racism is not only in football, it's in cricket too. Even within teams as a black man, I get the end of the stick. Black and powerful. Black and proud," he said.

The big-hitting batsman's comments came in the backdrop of African-American George Floyd's death in the USA after a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, pressed his knee on the handcuffed man's neck as he gasped for breath.

The incident has sparked violent protests across the USA.

"Black lives matter just like any other life. Black people matter, p***k all racist people, stop taking black people for fools, even our own black people wise the p***k up and stop bringing down your own!," Gayle wrote.

Racism in cricket was drew attention most recently last year when England pacer Jofra Archer was abused by a spectator in New Zealand.

New Zealand's top players and the cricket board had offered apologies for the incident to the Englishman.

Also on Monday night, the England cricket team's official twitter handle posted a message denouncing racism.

"We stand for diversity, We stand against racism," the message read.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
January 3,2020

Jeddah, Jan 3: Spanish driver Fernando Alonso is aiming to create history as the first Formula One world champion to win the Dakar Rally when the 12-day marathon gets underway in Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

Alonso, who won the F1 championship with Renault in 2005 and 2006, is one of 351 starters in this year's 7,500 km race which has moved from South America to Saudi Arabia, both venues a long way from the original 1979 route between Paris and the Senegalese capital Dakar.

Among the starters will be motorbikes, quad bikes and trucks but Alonso, who will have five-time bike champion Marc Coma navigating his Toyota, will be in the car category as he bids to become one of the greatest all-round drivers of all time.

Apart from his success in F1, the 38-year-old Spaniard has also won the Le Mans 24-hour race and has singled out the Indianapolis 500 as his priority for 2020. He describes Dakar as “the biggest challenge of my career”.

Alonso is not the first F1 driver to take part in the race, however.

The Belgian Jacky Ickx, a winner of eight grand prix and six-time winner of Le Mans, won Dakar in 1983 and came second in 1986 and 1989. Frenchman Patrick Tambay, who had two wins in his 114 grand prix, came third in 1988 and 1989.

Given the treacherous conditions--long stretches of sand dunes--Alonso is not overly confident of challenging for victory, noting that even the nine-time world rally champion Sebastien Loeb was unable to deliver when he raced the Dakar. Loeb won 13 stages but could only finish second in 2017 and third in 2019.

“If Loeb still hasn't won the Dakar, imagine me, who is coming from asphalt,” Alonso told RTVE. “I think the goal is more to approach the rally as an enriching experience for us.”

Fellow Toyota driver Nasser Al-Attiyah is a more likely candidate, not least because the Qatari is a three-time winner and reigning champion.

"Give me some sand and I'm happy," Al-Attiyah told dakar.com.

He will be pressed, however, by the Minis of Carlos Sainz and 'Monsieur Dakar' aka Stephane Peterhansel who has won 13 Dakars across bikes and cars in 30 races.

“We are obviously very excited about the Dakar in Saudi Arabia. It will be a new challenge for everyone,” said Peterhansel who will be partnered by Paulo Fiuza after the Frenchman's wife Andrea pulled out for health reasons.

“Unfortunately, it is not possible to contest the rally with Andrea, as was planned, however I have known Paulo Fiuza for a very long time. According to the organisers, the navigation will be very complicated and play a major role this time.”

Cyril Despres, a five-time winner on bikes, is also back with a new teammate -- explorer Mike Horn.

“I was stuck in the ice for a month, and now I'm heading to Jeddah. For the first time, the Dakar Rally is in Saudi Arabia and I'm doing it with a very good friend of mine, Cyril Despres,” tweeted Horn whose adventures include an 18-month solo journey around the equator without using any motorised transport.

Horn is also the first man to travel without dogs or transport to the North Pole during winter, in permanent darkness.

Across the dunes of Saudi Arabia that experience may come in handy.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
March 6,2020

Mumbai, Mar 6: Former India batsman Virender Sehwag expressed excitement over the upcoming Road Safety World Series and said he is looking forward to playing with Sachin Tendulkar again.

"I am very excited about this tournament because I will get another chance to play with Sachin. We have played many international matches together and there was a gap and then we played an All-Star match and now again getting a chance. I am looking forward to playing with Tendulkar," Sehwag told media persons.

In the opening match of the Road Safety World Series, India Legends will play against West Indies Legends on March 7. The main aim of the Series is to create awareness about road safety and change people's mindset towards their behaviour on the roads.

Sehwag hailed the initiative of Road Safety World Series and said: "I think it is a very good initiative by the government that they are working towards creating awareness regarding road safety. Awareness regarding road safety is important for everyone."

Road Safety World Series, a five-nation T20 cricket tournament, will showcase some of the biggest names in cricket from India, Australia, Sri Lanka, West Indies, and South Africa.

Players who will feature in this series include Tendulkar, Sehwag, Brian Lara, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Brett Lee, Brad Hodge, Jonty Rhodes, Muttiah Muralitharan, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Ajantha Mendis and many more. Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar is the Commissioner of the Series.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.