Pro Kabaddi League: Bengaluru Bulls beat Gujarat Fortunegiants, clinch maiden title

Agencies
January 6, 2019

Bengaluru, Jan 6: Raider Pawan Sehrawat starred for Bengaluru Bulls as they defeated Gujarat Fortunegiants 38-33 in a pulsating final to lift their maiden Pro Kabaddi League title on Saturday.

Sehrawat accumulated 22 points in his 25 raids and turned the match on its head as he single-handedly took the southern outfit to a memorable win. Their second-best player was Sumit Singh (3 points).

It was heartbreak for Gujarat yet again like the last season, when they ended up as runners-up.

Pawan was the difference between the two teams as he pulled back his side into the game after trailing 9-16 after the first half at the NSCI Dome at Worli.

A resurgent Bengaluru, courtesy Pawan's show, inflicted all-out not once but twice on the Gujarat team to move ahead and then held their nerve to come out triumphant.

Earlier, Bengaluru opened their account by sending off Gujarat's star raider Sachin Tanwar in the opening minute. Gujarat's raider K Prapanjan made it 1-1 after a successful raid.

After Gujarat went ahead 2-1, they brought back Sachin Tanwar. But Pawan Kumar Sehrawat attempted two successful raids to take them 3-2 ahead.

In a final where every point mattered, the two teams were going neck-to-neck with 4-4, after the initial seven minutes of the match.

The two teams showed amazing skills, that included super tackles and raids, and were locked at 7-7 with eight minutes to go for the completion of first half.

But then Gujarat seemed to have found the momentum as they surged ahead 11-7 with a couple of successful raids and tackles. And then Gujarat inflicted an 'all-out' on their opponents to increase their lead to 15-9. At the half-way mark, Gujarat led 16-9.

After the change of ends, Bengaluru, with some fine defence and tackles, made it 17-21.

However, the turning point came when Sehrawat grabbed six points for his side after two successful raids which led to Gujarat's all-out as Bengaluru edged ahead 23-22, with about nine minutes before the final whistle.

Bengaluru and Gujarat were tied at 29-29 at one point. Again it was Pawan, who grabbed two points for his team, to take them 31-29 ahead, with two minutes remaining for the final whistle.

Again a successful raid by Pawan meant that Bengaluru inflicted another 'all-out' and surged 36-30 ahead and then ended the game at 38-33.

Bengaluru went home richer by Rs 3 crore while Gujarat bagged Rs 1.80 crore as prize money. The seventh season of the Pro Kabaddi League will begin in July.

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News Network
February 10,2020

Potchefstroom, Feb 10: India's under-19 cricket team manager Anil Patel says the ICC has taken a serious view of the aggressive celebrations by Bangladesh players after their World Cup triumph and will be reviewing the footage of the final game's "last few minutes".

Some Bangladeshi players got carried away while celebrating their historic three-wicket win over India in the final on Sunday. While their captain Akbar Ali apologised for the "unfortunate incident", his Indian counterpart Priyam Garg said their reaction was "dirty".

"We don't know what actually happened," Patel told 'ESPNCricinfo' on Sunday.

"Everybody was in a shock, absolutely, but we don't know what happened exactly. The ICC officials are going to watch the footage of the last few minutes and they are going to let us know," he said.

Even when the match was on, the Bangladesh players were overly aggressive while fielding and their lead pacer Shoriful Islam sledged the Indian batsmen after every delivery.

As soon as the match ended, it became tense with Bangladeshi players rushing to the ground and displaying aggressive body language. The two teams nearly came to blows before the situation was defused by the coaching staff and on-field officials.

Patel claimed that match referee Graeme Labrooy met him and expressed regret at what transpired on the field.

"The referee came to me. He was sorry about the incident. He clarified the ICC is going to take very seriously what has happened during the match and the last session. They are going to witness the footage and they will tell us in the morning (Monday)."

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Agencies
August 1,2020

Colombo, Aug 1: Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has expressed his interest in playing the inaugural edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL), scheduled to start from August 28.

Pathan is among 70 foreign players to have shown interest in playing the LPL, ESPNcricinfo reported.

It is believed that Pathan has taken permission from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to take part in the competition. 

BCCI doesn't allow active players to participate in other T20 leagues but Pathan announced his retirement in January this year.

Former swashbuckling all-rounder Yuvraj Singh also played in a foreign league last year. He played for Maratha Arabians in the T10 League in Abu Dhabi.

According to ESPNcricinfo, Pathan will now be put in a player draft unless one of the five franchises choose him to be a marquee player. The details of the draft, and the franchise owners, are yet to be finalised and announced. 

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is also waiting on some government clearances even as it decides on franchise owners. The five franchises will represent Colombo, Kandy, Galle, Dambulla and Jaffna.

On Monday, SLC Executive Committee granted approval for the tournament.

"The 23 match League will be played on the four international venues of R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium, Rangiri Dambulu International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium and Suriyawewa Mahinda Rajapakse International Cricket Stadium. Five teams named after the cities of Colombo, Kandy, Galle, Dambulla and Jaffna will participate in the League," SLC said in a statement on Monday.

Sri Lanka has controlled the spread of COVID-19 better than many other cricket-playing nations.

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News Network
January 13,2020

Mumbai, Jan 13: India captain Virat Kohli indicated at dropping himself down the batting order to accommodate both Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul in the playing XI against Australia in the first ODI of the three-match series starting Tuesday.

With vice-captain Rohit Sharma an automatic pick, the team management is left with tough choice of selecting either Dhawan or Rahul in the XI. But the skipper sees no reason why both can't play together.

"Look, a guy in form is always good for the team. ...You obviously want to have the best players available and then chose from what the combination should be for the team. There might be a possibility that all three (Rohit, Shikhar and Rahul) might play. It will be interesting to see what balance we want to take in on the field," Kohli said on the eve of the match.

Asked if he would he be happy to bat lower down the order, Virat said,"Yeah, big possibility. I would be very happy to do so. Look I am not possessive about where I play. I am not insecure about where I bat," said the skipper.

For Kohli, it is more important as to what kind of leadership legacy he leaves behind rather than chase personal glory.

"Being the captain of the team, it is my job to make sure that the next lot is also ready. A lot of the other people might not look at it that way, but your job as a captain is not only to look after the team right now, but also to prepare a team that you leave behind when you eventually pass it onto someone else," he added.

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