Rashid helps Afghanistan complete 3-0 rout of Bangladesh

Agencies
June 8, 2018

Dehradun, Jun 8: Wonder spinner Rashid Khan once again came to his side's rescue and produced a brilliant final over to help Afghanistan beat Bangladesh by one run in the nail-biting third and final T20 International, en route to a 3-0 series whitewash on Thursday.

Afghanistan scored 145 for six after electing to bat, a target which they defended riding on Rashid's brilliance.

Bangladesh were well on course to winning the inconsequential match after senior pros Mushfiqur Rahim (46 off 37) and Mahmudullah (45 not out off 38) stitched 84 runs for the fifth wicket.

In fact, after the penultimate over of Karim Janat which yielded 21 runs, Bangladesh were the firm favourites to win the duel but Rashid single-handedly turned the game upside down by defending nine runs off the final over.

With Bangladesh needing 30 runs off the last two overs, Mushfiqur struck Janat for five consecutive boundaries to bring down the equation to nine off the last over.

But then Afghan captain Asghar Stanikzai went to his trump card Rashid, who responded brilliantly by removing a set Mushfiqur with his first delivery and then did enough with his guile to snatch the narrow one-run win for his side.

Besides Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah, no other Bangladesh batsmen could make any substantial contribution.

Even though he didn't take too many wickets, Rashid (1/24) eventually turned out to be the difference between the two sides.

Earlier with the series already in its bag, Afghanistan wasted a good start to be restricted to a modest 145 for six.

Electing to bat, Mohammad Shahzad (26) and Usman Ghani (19) made a solid start, sharing 55 runs off 46 balls for the opening stand before Bangladeshi bowlers struck twin blows in consecutive overs to put brakes on their opponents.

Shahzad, who hit three fours and one six, was the first to depart caught plumb in front of the wicket by left-arm spinner Nazmul Islam in the eighth over.

Ghani, who struggled a bit, followed suit in the next over, edging one to Mushfiqur behind the stumps off right-arm pacer Aby Jayed's bowling as the Afghans slumped to 59 for two in 8.5 overs.

Skipper Stanikzai played a short little cameo scoring 27 off 17 balls with the help of three sixes before perishing in the 13th over.

Samiullah Shenwari remained unbeaten 33 off 28 balls while Najibullah Zadran made 15 towards the end to take Afghanistan close to the 150-run mark.

Islam (2/18) and Jayed (2/27) were the successful bowlers for Bangladesh in the inconsequential match.

Afghanistan had won the first two matches by 45 runs and six wickets respectively.

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News Network
April 28,2020

New Delhi, Apr 28: IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore's Director of Cricket Operations Mike Hesson returned to New Zealand on Tuesday after being stranded in India for over a month amid the nationwide lockdown to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ex-New Zealand player and coach had arrived in India on March 5 for the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League but was stuck in the country after the lockdown was imposed and all flights were suspended.

"What a wonderful sight after spending over a day on a bus to get to Mumbai airport. The staff on @FlyAirNZ were simply outstanding on our return to New Zealand," Hesson tweeted.

He also thanked Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the New Zealand Embassy in India, New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

"Special thanks to Down pointing backhand index @NZinIndia @MFATNZ @narendramodi @jacindaardern #repatriationflight #india #NZ" he added.

To stem the spread of the coronavirus outbreak, India and New Zealand had announced lockdowns in their respective countries last month, alongside travel restrictions, forcing the 45-year-old to stay in Bengaluru.

While India remains in lockdown till May 3, New Zealand eased its stringent measures on Tuesday.

The IPL, which was originally scheduled to get underway on March 29, has been suspended until further notice due to the pandemic.

The cornavirus outbreak, that originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has infected over 30 lakh people across the world while killing more than two lakh.

All sporting events, including the Tokyo Olympics, have either been cancelled or postponed.

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News Network
February 4,2020

Feb 4: India captain Virat Kohli on Tuesday said the death of NBA legend Kobe Bryant in a helicopter crash has impacted his outlook towards life, which he feels, is sometimes taken for granted in pursuit of control over the future.

Bryant, a two-time Olympic gold-medallist and one of the most decorated basketball players of all time, died in a helicopter crash last month along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, who was also a budding hoopster.

"Firstly, it was a shock to everyone. I grew up watching those NBA games in the morning and watching what he did on court. But when someone that you have looked up to in some ways, passes away like that, it does put things in perspective," Kohli said on the eve of the first ODI against New Zealand here.

"...at the end of the day, life can be so fickle. It's so unpredictable. I think a lot of the times we get too caught up in the pressures of what we have to do tomorrow...we really forget living life and enjoying life and just appreciating and being grateful for the life we have," he added.

Kohli said a tragedy like this makes one realise that nothing can be more important than enjoying every moment of existence.

"...it did put things in perspective for me massively. It just makes you feel like not wanting to have control of things in front of you all the time, and just embracing life and appreciating it.

"You start looking at things from a different point of view suddenly and you want to enjoy every moment you're going through. You realise that what you're doing at the end of the day is not the most important thing. The most important thing is life itself," Kohli signed off.

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Agencies
August 5,2020

New Delhi, Aug 5: "Want to know what makes him tick," said Australian pacer Kane Richardson will talking about playing alongside Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020.

The IPL 2020 will be played in the UAE from September 19-November 10 and the tournament will run for 53 days.

In the players' auction which was conducted in December 2019, RCB managed to bag key players like Richardson, Chris Morris, Aaron Finch, Dale Steyn, Joshua Philippe, and Isuru Udana.

In an interaction with news agency, Richardson talked about playing alongside Kohli and the learning curve which is in store for him by being in the same squad as Proteas great Dale Steyn.
"Huge. These guys (Virat, AB de Villiers) are the absolute legends of the game. Anything I can learn from them will be a bonus, that's for sure.

I am really looking forward to playing with Virat, there are few more competitive players in the world. I am really looking forward to seeing what makes him tick," Richardson said.

The 29-year-old pacer also said that he would want to learn from Steyn as to how to be consistent in all formats of the game over a long period of time.

"There are loads I can learn from Dale. He has been amongst the best at the highest level for so long. His control and ability to swing the ball without losing his pace is really impressive. 

I look forward to getting in his ear about how he performs so consistently over a long period, in all forms," said Richardson who has 39 ODI wickets to his credit.

Richardson has so far played 14 games in his IPL career so far and has picked up 18 wickets. The bowler played for Pune Warriors India in 2013, Rajasthan Royals in 2014, and RCB in 2016.

For this year's IPL, RCB has also bagged Australia's limited-overs skipper Aaron Finch, and Richardson thinks having a familiar face in the camp would help him to settle better in the franchise.

"Finchey is an awesome player and a fantastic leader. I am sure it will help to have two Aussies in the side along with Josh who is playing his first tournament after a massive summer in the BBL. We are all professionals, I'm sure it won't take long for us to gel as a side," Richardson said.

However, before the IPL starts, Australia is expected to tour England for a limited-overs series, comprising of three ODIs and as many T20Is.

The side was last seen in action in March this year as they played one ODI against New Zealand in Sydney. After the first match, the remaining two ODIs were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Talking about the series against England, Kane replied: "We will be fresh, that's one thing, while the England players have been in a bubble for some time now. As long as we get enough practice in before and possibly some centre wicket it should not be an issue."

"They are World Cup holders and the number one ranked side for a very good reason. It will be a tough series also given they will have played a fair bit of cricket together by then. We know we need to work hard on our one-day game which will be a priority over the next period," he added.

The pacer also talked about how the lockdown was like for him, and Richardson feels that everyone would come back strong as a result of this break.

"The break from playing has been refreshing, to be honest. We have come back strong and are well into pre-season training with our states. As a bowler, our loads are not at their peak but we are working towards getting ready for a tour of the UK in a few weeks," Richardson said.

The Australian quick has so far played 25 ODIs and 18 T20Is, managing to take 39 and 19 wickets respectively.

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