Saina Nehwal beats Carolina Marin to retain Syed Modi Grand Prix title

January 26, 2015

Syed Modi Grand

Lucknow, Jan 26: Saina Nehwal staged a scintillating comeback to defeat reigning world champion Carolina Marin and retain the women's singles title, while Parupalli Kashyap beat K Srikanth in an all-India final to win men's singles crown of the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament on Sunday.

World number three Saina scraped past the seventh-ranked Spaniard 19-21, 25-23, 21-16 in a see-saw battle lasting an hour and 19 minutes to bag the title.

With the gruelling win, Saina maintained her 100 per cent win record against Carolina in three career meetings.

Third seeded Kashyap, meanwhile, stunned world number five Srikanth 23-21, 23-21 to clinch the men's singles title after a gruelling 52-minute contest.

Saina showed steely resolve after losing the first game from a 16-12 cushion. The match could have been easier for the Hyderabadi had she not allowed Carolina to come back after gaining a healthy lead on more than one occasion.

Saina was surging ahead in the second game as well with a 10-6 lead before the 21-year-old Spaniard fought back to go 15-12 up. It was a neck and neck battle from thereon with the Indian saving a couple of match points. She eventually managed to level the match on her third game point.

The Hyderabadi did not repeat the mistakes of the first two games in the deciding third game, taking a 9-4 lead before wrapping up the match on her third match point.

The men's singles final match turned out to be a closely fought affair with both players refusing to give an inch.

In the opening game, Kashyap managed to take a lead on a couple of occasions but every time top seed Srikanth levelled the scores at some stage.

It was a hard-fought game from 16-16 to 21-21 before Kashyap reeled off two quick points when it mattered the most, to run away with the first game.

Second game also went on similar lines till 13-13 before world number 15 Kashyap won four points on a trot to open up a 17-13 lead and then further extended it to 19-15.

But not the one to give it up without a fight, Srikanth picked up four successive points to make it 19-19.

Tied once more on 21-21, Kashyap yet again kept his cool to earn the two most crucial points and seal the issue in his favour.

In mixed doubles, Indian pair of Manu Attri and K Maneesha went down to top seeded Indonesian combo of Riky Widianto and Puspita Richi Dili 17-21, 17-21 to finish runners-up.

Elated after defending her women's singles title, Saina termed the victory as a "great" win.

"It was a great win. I have been working hard for this tournament and really wanted to defend my title and to finally do it and that too by beating Caroline in the final is always a confidence booster," said Saina.

"I have beaten her twice in the past but she is a top level player, the reigning world champion. So overall the right kind of start I was looking for," she added.

Kashyap said the victory came at a time when he needed it badly.

"It was an important victory for me. I needed this win badly. It is always nice to get an early win under the belt at the start of the season.

"It was a tough match. We haven't played each other in the last one year. So it was more of each of us anticipating each other's strokes. The rallies were also either short or went on long. But am happy with my performance. It was very satisfying," Kashyap admitted.

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Agencies
January 25,2020

Headingley, Jan 25: England have become the first team in the world to score 500,000 runs in Test cricket. They achieved the feat during the ongoing fourth and final Test against South Africa being played at The Wanderers.

On Friday - the opening day of the Test match -- England captain Joe Root's single through the covers took the Three Lions to a landmark 500,000 run-mark in the longest format of the game. They achieved the feat in their 1022nd Test match.

Australia comes second in the list, with 432,706 runs in 830 Tests. India, meanwhile, are third, with 273,518 runs in 540 Tests, followed by West Indies (270,441 runs in 545 Tests).

In the third Test played at St George's Park in Port Elizabeth, England had become the first team to play 500 Test matches on foreign soil. Australia are the second team to play the most away Test with 404 matches they have played so far.

India have played 268 Tests on foreign soil in which they have won 51, lost 113 and 104 have ended in a draw.

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News Network
February 24,2020

Wellington, Feb 24: Indian batsmen's inadequacies in adverse conditions were laid bare as they crashed to an embarrassing 10-wicket defeat against a ruthless New Zealand side that wrapped up the opening Test in just over three days here on Monday.

Starting the day on 144 for four, India were all out for 191 in their second innings. This was only a shade better than their dismal 165 in the first innings, which eventually proved to be decisive.

Trent Boult (4/39 in 22 overs) and Tim Southee (5/61 in 21 overs), the most under-rated new ball pairs in world cricket, showed that when it boils down to playing incisive seam and swing bowling, this batting line-up is still a work in progress.

The required target of nine runs was knocked off by New Zealand without much ado for their 100th Test win.

India's last defeat was against Australia at Perth during the 2018-19 series but the loss at the Basin Reserve would hurt them more because the visitors have not surrendered in such a fashion of late.

There was no resistance from a star-studded line-up and more than intent, the failure was due to poor technique on a track that had something on the third and fourth day as well.

This is a team that plays fast bowling much better than their predecessors, the reason for their success on the bouncy Australian tracks.

But when it comes to facing conventional seam and swing bowling in testing conditions, they are yet to learn the art of saving a Test match.

India had lost the mental battle on the first day itself when they saw the moisture on the wicket.

The toss became a factor and not for one session did they look comfortable. Mayank Agarwal was the only batsman, who felt at home in patches, as New Zealand showed what a Test match strategy is all about.

If the first innings was about mixing back of length deliveries with fuller length balls, the second innings saw the pacers coming from round the wicket and targeting the rib-cage. The line was disconcerting and it stifled them for good.

It affected their mindset and once Ajinkya Rahane and Hanuma Vihari stepped out on the fourth morning, defeat was written all over as both looked ill-equipped to handle such high quality seam bowling.

Rahane (29 off 75 balls) and Vihari (15 off 79 balls) are players who only play long-form cricket at the international level and both are known for their patience.

But little would have the Indian vice-captain apprehended that he would get a delivery from Boult, which he thought would move away after pitching but it held its line and he had no option but to jab at it, and all he got was an edge.

Southee, who bowls a lovely classical outswinger, then bowled an off-cutter from the other end and before Vihari could comprehend, it came back sharply to peg the stumps back.

Within first 20 minutes, the two seasoned practitioners of swing had knocked the stuffing out of India's resistance.

Rishabh Pant (25 off 41 balls) batted only in the manner he can and played one breathtaking shot off Southee, a slog sweep off a 130 kmph-plus delivery to the deep mid-wicket boundary.

But there was too much left to do with too little support from the other end. Bending on one knee, he tried another audacious slog scoop but couldn't clear.

Southee, who had a terrific match, deservingly completed his 10th five-wicket haul and all it took was 16 overs to end the innings and the match.

New Zealand now have 120 points in the World Test championship and India stayed on top with 36 points.

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News Network
February 12,2020

Mount Maunganui, Feb 12: India captain Virat Kohli on Tuesday berated his bowlers for their mediocre performance as he tried to explain the team's first ODI series whitewash in over three decades, saying that the visitors lacked composure all through.

The five-wicket defeat here meant that India lost the series 0-3 to an injury-plagued New Zealand that had been deflated by a 0-5 whitewash of its own in the T20 format just last week. It was India's first whitewash in 31 years in an ODI series in which all matches have been played.

"The games were not as bad as the scoreline suggests. It boils down to those chances that we didn't grab. I don't think it was not enough to win games in international cricket," Kohli said in the post-match presentation.

"With the ball, we were not able to make breakthroughs, we were not at all good on the field. We haven't played so badly but when you don't grab those chances, you don't deserve to win," he added.

"Batsmen coming back from tough situations was a positive sign for us, but the way we fielded and bowled, the composure wasn't enough to win games," he asserted.

The ineffectiveness of Indian bowlers can be gauged from the fact that the team's pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah finished the series without a wicket and the attack couldn't dismiss the complete rival line-up even once.

Kohli lauded New Zealand for bouncing back after the T20 hammering.

"New Zealand played with lot more intensity. We didn't deserve to win because we did not show enough composure," he said.

The batting mainstay is looking forward to the Test series, which begins on February 21, to make amends for the disappointment.

"I think because of the Test Championship, every match has that more importance. We have a really balanced Test team and we feel we can win the series here, but we need to step on to the park with the right kind of mindset," he said.

His opposite number Kane Williamson, who missed the first two games due to injury, was lavish in his praise for the home team's grit.

"An outstanding performance, very clinical. India put us under pressure, but the way the guys fought back with the ball and kept them to a par total. The cricket in the second half was outstanding to see," he said referring to the side's effortless chase of a 297-run target.

"We know how good they (India) are at all formats but for us the clarity about the roles the guys had was the most important thing. Outstanding effort against a brilliant India side," he added.

Player of the Match Henry Nicholls, who scored 80 on Tuesday, said his team benefitted from good batting starts during the series.

"To come back and win 3-0 after the T20Is is nice. The way (Martin) Guptill played today allowed us to get ahead. We got a 100-run stand, but we were fortunate enough to get good starts this series," he said.

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