Rohit Sharma moves into top five of ODI batsmen

Agencies
October 2, 2017

Dubai, Oct 2: Flambouyant opener Rohit Sharma, who finished as the leading scorer in the five-match ODI series against Australia which India won 4-1 on Sunday, has moved up four places to reach fifth position in the ICC ODI Player Rankings">ICC ODI Player Rankings.

Sharma's 296 runs in the series, which included a brilliant 125 in the last match in Nagpur, contributed significantly to India's convincing victory over the Steve Smith-led side that helped grab the No.1 position in the ICC ODI Team Rankings.

The Mumbaikar is now on a career-best 790 rating points but his highest ranking has been third, which he attained in February 2016.

His opening partner Ajinkya Rahane has moved up four places to reach 24th position while Australia's opening pair of Aaron Finch and David Warner have proved more prolific and the results show in the latest rankings that also take into account the five-match series in England which the home side won 4-0 against the West Indies.

Finch has gained nine slots to reach 17th position while Warner has closed in on No. 1 ranked Virat Kohli, bridging the pre-series gap of 26 points to just 12 points as he has moved to 865 points.

Other batsmen moving up include Kedhar Jadhav of India (up eight places to a career-best 36th), Marcus Stoinis of Australia (up 74 places to 54th), Jason Roy (up seven places to 30th), Jonny Bairstow (up 48 places to 40th) and Moeen Ali (up 18 places to 56th) of England, and the Windies pair of Jason Holder (up 11 places to 73rd) and Evin Lewis (up 31 places to 78th).

In the rankings for bowlers, South Africa leg-spinner Imran Tahir has regained the top spot after Australia pace bowler Josh Hazlewood missed the India series due to a side strain and lost 18 points in the process. Tahir is now just four points ahead of Hazlewood at 718 points.

In other movements, India's left-arm spinner Akshar Patel has reached a career best seventh position after moving up three places while wrist spinners Yuzvendra Chahal (up 24 places to 75th) and Kuldeep Yadav (up nine places to 80th) have also moved northwards.

Other bowlers to move up include Australia's Nathan Coulter-Nile (up 49 places to a career-best 44th position) and Pat Cummins (up seven places to 21st), and England's Liam Plunkett (up three places to 10th) and Adil Rashid (up four places to 12th).

In the list of all-rounders led by Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan, England's Ben Stokes has moved into the top five.

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Agencies
February 12,2020

Mumbai, Feb 12: Former Indian greats Kapil Dev and Mohammad Azharuddin have been left disappointed by the behaviour of the Under-19 team after the World Cup final where they were involved in an altercation with their Bangladeshi counterparts.

After Bangladesh won the final beating India by three wickets (via DLS) at the Senwes Park on Sunday, the players of the two teams were seen engaging in an exchange of words and even some pushing and shoving on the field.

"I would like to see the board (BCCI) take some strict action against the players to set an example. Cricket is not about abusing the opponent. I am sure there is enough reason for these youngsters to be dealt with firmly by BCCI," Kapil was quoted as saying by The Hindu.

"I welcome aggression, nothing wrong in it. But it has to be controlled aggression. You can't cross the line of decency in the name of being competitive. I would say it was unacceptable that youngsters put up such an obnoxious display on the cricket field," he added.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has sanctioned five players, including three from Bangladesh -- Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain and Rakibul Hasan --and two from India --Akash Singh and Ravi Bishnoi for the scuffle.

Azharuddin also reiterated what Kapil said, insisting that players need to be disciplined.

"I would take action against the errant Under 19 players, but I also want to know what role has the support staff played in educating these youngsters. Act now before it is too late. The players have to be disciplined," Azharuddin said.

Earlier, Bishan Singh Bedi has lashed out at the Priyam Garg-led team, saying their behaviour was disgusting and disgraceful.

"You bat, bowl and field badly�happens, but there's no excuse for behaving badly. The behaviour was disgusting and most disgraceful. The innocence of that age was not visible at all," Bedi told Mid Day.

Bedi, who represented India in 67 Tests and 10 ODIs, said the behaviour of the Bangladesh cricketers is not our problem.

"Look, what Bangladesh do is their problem, what our boys do is our problem. You could see that there was abusive language used," he said.

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News Network
May 13,2020

May 13: With the Olympics postponed due to the coronavirus, top Japanese fencer Ryo Miyake has swapped his metal mask and foil for a bike and backpack as a Tokyo UberEats deliveryman.

The 29-year-old, who won silver in the team foil at the 2012 London Olympics and was itching to compete in a home Games, says the job keeps him in shape physically and mentally -- and brings in much-needed cash.

"I started this for two reasons -- to save money for travelling (to future competitions) and to keep myself in physical shape," he told AFP.

"I see how much I am earning on the phone, but the number is not just money for me. It's a score to keep me going."

Japanese media have depicted Miyake as a poor amateur struggling to make ends meet but he himself asked for his three corporate sponsorships to be put on hold -- even if that means living off savings.

Like most of the world's top athletes, he is in limbo as the virus forces competitions to be cancelled and plays havoc with training schedules.

"I don't know when I can resume training or when the next tournament will take place. I don't even know if I can keep up my mental condition or motivation for another year," he said.

"No one knows how the qualification process will go. Pretending everything is OK for the competition is simply irresponsible."

In the meantime, he is happy criss-crossing the vast Japanese capital with bike and smartphone, joining a growing legion of Uber delivery staff in demand during the pandemic.

"When I get orders in the hilly Akasaka, Roppongi (downtown) district, it becomes good training," he smiles.

The unprecedented postponement of the Olympics hit Miyake hard, as he was enjoying a purple patch in his career.

After missing out on the Rio 2016 Olympics, Miyake came 13th in last year's World Fencing Championships -- the highest-ranked Japanese fencer at the competition.

The International Olympics Committee has set the new date for the Olympics on July 23, 2021.

But with no vaccine available for the coronavirus that has killed nearly 300,000 worldwide, even that hangs in the balance.

Miyake said the Japanese fencing team heard about the postponement the day after arriving in the United States for one of the final Olympic qualifying events.

With his diary suddenly free of training and competition, he said he spent the month of April agonising over what to do before hitting on the Uber idea.

"Sports and culture inevitably come second when people have to survive a crisis," he said.

"Is the Olympics really needed in the first place? Then what do I live for if not for the sport? That is what I kept thinking."

However, the new and temporary career delivering food in Tokyo has given the fencer a new drive to succeed.

"The most immediate objective for me is to be able to start training smoothly" once the emergency is lifted, he said.

"I need to be ready physically and financially for the moment. That is my biggest mission now."

But not all athletes may cope mentally with surviving another "nerve-wracking" pre-Olympic year, he said.

"It's like finally getting to the end of a 42-kilometre marathon and then being told you have to keep going."

As a child, Miyake practised his attacks on every wall of his house -- and he said his passion for the sport was what was driving him now.

"I love fencing. I want to be able to travel for matches and compete in the Olympics. That is the only reason I am doing this."

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Agencies
May 9,2020

Tokyo, May 9: As the world continues to grapple with coronavirus pandemic, the organisers of Tokyo Game Show have cancelled 2020 showpiece event.

TGS 2020 was slated to be played from September 24 to September 27 at the Makuhari Messe convention center. However, there now talks going on for holding an online event instead.

According to the Verge, this is the first time that TGS has ever been cancelled since it started in 1996.

TGS 2020 gained more attention because of its status as the last major trade show before the launch of the upcoming next-gen consoles, the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5.

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