Sehwag's ton leads Punjab into final as Raina's blitzkrieg goes in vain

May 31, 2014

May 31: For 37 minutes, each and every Kings XI Punjab player, official, owner and fan had his or her heart in the mouth.

Chasing a mammoth target of 227, Suresh Raina batted like a man possessed, and virtually every ball he touched raced to the boundary or over it.

In 25 balls, he whacked 87 runs, helping Chennai Super Kings score 100 for two in six overs.

Sehwag RunsThe neutral Mumbai crowd was up on its feet, basking in the awesomeness of Raina's knock and Virender Sehwag's preceding ton.

None of the Kings XI pacers – Mitchell Johnson, Sandeep Sharma and Parvinder Awana – was spared as Raina pulled, flicked and lofted his way to 12 boundaries and six sixes.

Thanks to his assault, Chennai scored 9, 18, 9, 20, 11 and 33 in the first six overs.

But off the first ball after the Powerplay, Punjab captain George Bailey took matters into his own hands.

A slight bit of hesitation from Brendon McCullum and Raina allowed him enough time to pick up the ball in his left hand at cover, swivel, change hands and throw down the stumps with a direct hit at the striker's end.

A diving Raina couldn't make it.

Punjab were back in the hunt. And they stayed there by exerting even further pressure through their fielding.

The pressure paid off as none of Chennai's four overseas batsmen could support Raina's knock. In the end, the task was too big even for the amazing finishing talents of Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

He tried his luck, was even bowled off a no-ball by Johnson, but couldn't pull it off. Punjab won by 24 runs to make their first IPL final, and set up a rematch with Kolkata Knight Riders who beat them in the first Qualifier on Wednesday.

Of course, the pressure of a mountain of runs also contributed to Chennai's downfall, and for that, Punjab had to thank Virender Sehwag.

The legend rolled back the years to hit just the second century of this IPL, and put up crucial partnerships with Manan Vohra (110 for the first wicket), and David Miller (63 for the third wicket).

Glenn Maxwell failed to set the Wankhede Stadium alight, hitting just one six in an intriguing minibattle with Ashwin but falling to a top-spinner off the very next ball. Till Sehwag was dismissed off the first ball of the penultimate over, Punjab were looking invincible.

The fact that they scored just 15 off the last 11 deliveries could've hurt them on the flattest of tracks at this small ground.

But thanks to Bailey and that run-out of Raina, they were able to hold on and stay in the hunt for their maiden IPL title.

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News Network
March 7,2020

Melbourne, Mar 7: Ahead of the Women's T20 World Cup against Australia, India spinner Poonam Yadav said that skipper Harmanpreet Kaur has given her a lot of support.

"Harmanpreet has been of immense support. When I got hit for a six in the first over, she came to me and said, 'Poonam, you're one of the most experienced players in the team, and we expect better of you'," Poonam said.

The 28-year-old experienced bowler has played 68 shortest format games for India and taken 94 wickets at an average of 22.66.

She has been in devastating form throughout the tournament and has bagged nine wickets so far.

"So, that kind of stirred something within me. I told myself if my captain has that much faith in me, I should be able to make a comeback," she said.

"I took a wicket in the very next ball, and didn't look back since. Now when I look back at that moment, it means so much in the context of my individual performance and run to the final," she added.

In the opening game against Australia at Sydney Showground, Poonam came within a whisker of the third hat-trick in Women's T20 World Cup history, dismissing Rachael Haynes and Ellyse Perry before Jess Jonassen was dropped.

The final of the tournament will be played at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on March 8 -- International Women's Day.

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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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News Network
February 11,2020

Dubai, Feb 11: Two Indian players-- Akash Singh and Ravi Bishnoi -- and three Bangladeshis have been charged by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for involvement in the quarrel just after the U-19 cricket World Cup summit clash in Potchefstroom, South Africa on Sunday.

Akash and Bishnoi and three Bangladeshi players -- Md. Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain and Rakibul Hasan -- were found guilty of breaching the ICC Code of Conduct after a few players from both sides nearly came to blows after Bangladesh beat India by three wickets to win their maiden U-19 World Cup title.

"Five players have been found guilty of a Level 3 breach of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Support Personnel ... (they) were charged with violating Article 2.21 of the code, whilst Bishnoi received a further charge of breaching Article 2.5," the ICC said in a statement.

"All five players have accepted the sanctions proposed by ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup Match Referee Graeme Labrooy," it added.

A near brawl broke out after Bangladesh’s historic win over India in the final. The Bangladesh players were aggressive during the Indian innings with lead pacer Shoriful Islam frequently sledging the Indian batsmen.

As soon as the match ended, Bangladeshi players rushed into the playing area.

"India's Akash accepted the charge of breaching Article 2.21 and has received a sanction of eight suspension points, which equates to six demerit points, which will remain on his record for two years," the ICC said.

Compatriot Bishnoi accepted the charge of breaching Article 2.21 and has received a sanction of five suspension points, which equates to five demerit points.

"Bishnoi also accepted a level 1 charge of breaching Article 2.5 for a separate incident during the match, where he used language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batter following the dismissal of Avishek Das in the 23rd over," said the ICC.

"For this he received a further two demerit points meaning seven demerit points will remain on his record for the next two years."

Bangladesh's Towhid Hridoy accepted the charge of breaching Article 2.21 and has received a sanction of ten suspension points, which equates to six demerit points, which will remain on his record for two years.

Shamim Hossain accepted the charge of breaching Article 2.21 and has received a sanction of eight suspension points, which equates to six demerit points, which will remain on his record for two years.

Rakibul Hasan accepted the charge of breaching Article 2.21 and has received a sanction of four suspension points, which equates to five demerit points, which will remain on his record for two years.

All charges were levelled by on-field umpires Sam Nogajski and Adrian Holdstock, third umpire Ravindra Wimalasiri as well as fourth umpire Patrick Bongni Jele. Level 3 breaches carry a minimum penalty of four suspension points and a maximum penalty of 12 suspension points.

The suspension points will be applied to the forthcoming international matches the players are most likely to participate in at either senior or U-19 level. One suspension point equals a player being ineligible for one ODI or T20I, U-19 or A team international match.

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