Lara calls Tendulkar Jordan of cricket

November 12, 2013

Tendulkar_JordanKolkata, Nov 12: West Indies batting great Brian Lara said Sachin Tendulkar is to cricket what Michael Jordan is to basketball and Muhammad Ali to boxing and suggested that the Indian batsman should try scoring 400 in his last Test match.

Lara is the only batsman in the history of the game to have scored 400 runs in a Test innings.

In a talk show with former India captain Sourav Ganguly on Sunday evening, Lara said in term of greatness, no cricketer can come close to Tendulkar.

“In terms of stats, you’re going to have players with better stats, you never know.

Virat has been exceptional in one-day games. There are boxers who have better record than Muhammad Ali but if you mention about boxing you’ve to mention Muhammad Ali, basketball you have to mention Michael Jordan. When you speak about cricket, you’ll speak about Tendulkar,” Lara said.

Lara said Tendulkar should not take any pressure of performance in his 200th Test and he should just go out and enjoy the game.

“I would tell him, you had the greatest cricketing career. I don’t think any career compares with Tendulkar in terms of cricketing career. Just enjoy the next five days of cricket. You have the ability to score 400 runs, go score 400...”

Asked what must be going on in Tendukar’s mind ahead of his last match, Lara said it was hard to predict.

“But if I was in his shoes at the moment I would think I don’t need to prove anything. It would be wonderful to get a big score in his last match. I would prepare for that.

But I would not put any undue pressure. I’ve nothing to prove. It’s very important for him to find what motivates him. If it’s pressure then let him be under pressure.”

Asked whether Tendulkar’s glittering career was dragged a bit long, Lara chose to disagree.

“I’ve answered this question on many occasions. Sachin Tendulkar deserved the respect to decide when he wanted to leave the game. Obviously everybody is entitled to give their opinion. Tendulkar has served Indian cricket and world cricket so well over the years. He has given over 25 years of his life to cricket. We’re just sitting today and talking about...

“A Test match is eight days, if you’re ready to check. Two days of practice and a day of travelling afterwards. If you multiply that by 200 and all the ODIs he has played, this guy has given yeoman service to cricket.

“We never thought about playing 200 matches in the Test in the past. He he’s still very fit. I think this is the best opportunity to walk away from the game. We know his performances in the last couple of years has not been great.”

The West Indies legend said the cricketers who have shared dressing room with him can tell what effect he had on young Indian cricketers.

“But we don’t know sitting here the effect he had on the young Indian team. I think you need to go and speak to the guys in the dressing room.”

Lara was also asked how he would have planned for the Mumbai Test if he was to lead the West Indies.

“My game plan would be just to win the game. Sachin would have been discussed as every other player. You play the game hard, play for five days.”

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News Network
February 29,2020

Melbourne, Feb 29: India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur on Saturday said the team management has given Shafali Verma the freedom to play her natural game, which has set the Women's T20 World Cup ablaze.

The 16-year-old announced her emergence on the global stage by becoming the second highest run getter in the ongoing tournament. She has so far scored 161 runs, hitting 18 fours and nine sixes in four matches at an astounding strike rate of 161.

On Saturday, Shafali hit a 34-ball 47 to steer India to a seven-wicket victory over Sri Lanka after spinner Radha Yadav produced a career-best 4/23.

"Shafali is someone who loves to play big shots, and we don't want to stop her. She should continue doing the same and she should continue enjoying her game," Harmanpreet said after the match.

India entered the semifinals with an all-win record as they led Group A with eight points from four games and the captain insisted it is important to continue the winning momentum.

"It's really important to keep the momentum when you are winning games. You really work hard, so you can't afford to lose that momentum. You can't bowl same pace and lengths on these wickets, so you need to keep rotating the bowlers."

"Today I tried to be positive and got a few boundaries. In the upcoming games I'll try to give my best," Harmanpreet said.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Atapattu rued the reprieves given by her side to Shafali in the form of two dropped catches.

"I think that score was not enough, we lost couple of chances, specially Shafali, it was hard to stop her," she said.

"Yeah, I got a good start but unfortunately got out in the 10th, would have wanted to stay in there till the 16th or the 17th over. I hope we can beat Bangladesh in our last game," she added.

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News Network
February 14,2020

Los Angeles, Feb 14: Tributes to the late Kobe Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers legend who died last month in a helicopter crash, will play a major role in Sunday's 69th NBA All-Star Game.

This year's annual showcase of league talent will be played in Chicago and feature numerous nods to Bryant, a five-time NBA champion who also matched a league record with four NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player awards.

Bryant, an 18-time NBA All-Star, died at age 41 on January 26 in a crash near Los Angeles that also took the life of his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others.

All-Star teams guided by LeBron James of the Lakers and Greek star Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks will compete to win each of the first three quarters, which will all start 0-0 and last 12 minutes.

At the start of the fourth quarter, the clock will be turned off and a final target score will be established by taking the leading club's cumulative score through the first three quarters and adding 24 points -- the number representing the jersey number worn by Bryant for the final 10 seasons of his NBA career.

The first team to reach the cumulative target score will win the NBA All-Star Game.

All-Star Game jerseys will also honor Bryant and his daughter.

Team Giannis players will wear jersey number 24 in tribute to Kobe while Team LeBron players will wear jersey number two, the number his daughter wore when playing youth basketball.

Both teams will wear jersey patches displaying nine stars, representing the nine people who were killed in the crash.

Academy Award-winning actress and Grammy Award-winning singer Jennifer Hudson, a Chicago native, will perform a special tribute to Bryant, his daughter and the others who were killed in the crash. Her performance will begin the night ahead of the player introductions.

James and Antetokounmpo each chose their squads from available starters and reserves voted and selected to the All-Star contest.

Team LeBron starters will include James, his Lakers teammate Anthony Davis, NBA scoring leader James Harden of Houston, Kawhi Leonard of the Los Angeles Clippers and Slovenian guard Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks.

Team Giannis starters include the Greek big man, Cameroon stars Joel Embiid of Philadelphia and Pascal Siakam of Toronto and guards Kemba Walker of Boston and Trae Young of Atlanta.

A record eight All-Star Game players from outside the United States also include Frenchman Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz on Team Giannis and Team LeBron reserves Ben Simmons of Australia and the Philadelphia 76ers, Lithuanian Domantas Sabonis of Indiana and Serbian Nikola Jokic of Denver.

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News Network
April 25,2020

New Delhi, Apr 25: The love and loyalty of the fans will never let him leave Royal Challengers Bangalore till the time he is playing IPL, skipper Virat Kohli said on Friday.

RCB have reached the IPL final thrice but have not gone on to win the trophy.

During a live session on Instagram with former South African captain and RCB teammate AB de Villiers, Kohli said winning the tournament remains the goal but he would not leave the team irrespective of the results.

"It has been such an amazing journey. It is always going to be our dream, winning the IPL together. There is no scenario where I could think of leaving the team ever.

"You can feel emotional about the season not going well but till the time I am playing IPL, I am never leaving this team. The fans, their loyalty has been amazing," said the India skipper.

Responding to Kohli's feelings towards RCB, De Villiers too acknowledged the support of fans over the past nine years. Kohli, on the other hand, has been with RCB since 2008.

"Same for me. I never want to leave RCB but to do that I got to keep scoring runs. I am not the captain you see," said the South African in jest.

Both recalled their early days in international cricket and their growth as cricketers and friends.

Kohli said at times, the youngsters coming in have too much regard for the "system" and he wants to see them break the norm.

"I want to see youngsters coming in scoring 500-600 runs. I want people to break the norm. Sometimes I feel people have too much regard for the system in sport. When you break the shackles, you do something special."

Kohli also acknowledged contribution of Mark Boucher, Gary Kirsten and Duncan Fletcher early on in his international career.

"Gary always gave me positive feedback. Boucher told me in 2008 to improve my game against the short ball. He had the vision. Then Fletcher, he had a keen eye for the game. So many people who have contributed (to my growth)," said Kohli.

De Villiers picked the 119 at Wankhede in the 2015 series decider as his best knock against India. Kohli picked the 119 he scored in Johannesburg Test in 2013.

"I was always really motivated to win the series after 2-2 . I was incredibly motivated to do something special," de Villiers said.

They also picked their combined South Africa and India ODI team. It included Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ab de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, M S Dhoni (captain), Yuvraj Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Dale Steyn, Jasprit Bumrah and Kagiso Rabada.

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