Shakib's blistering ton scripts Bangladesh's memorable World Cup win over West Indies

Agencies
June 18, 2019

Taunton, Jun 18: All-rounder Shakib Al Hasan struck a magnificent unbeaten 124 to help Bangladesh record a comprehensive seven-wicket victory over the West Indies and script the second highest successful run chase in World Cup history here on Monday. The 32-year-old Shakib (124 off 99 balls) produced a batting master class as he led Bangladesh to a famous win, chasing down the target of 322 with 8.3 overs to spare. He also took 2 wickets for 54 runs while bowling during the West Indies innings.

Liton Das also played a big part in the win as he remained not out on 94 off just 69 balls in a brilliant batting show. He hit 8 fours and 4 sixes in his knock.  The Shakib-Das stand for the unbroken fourth wicket yielded 189 runs from 22.3 overs to take Bangladesh to 322 for 3 in 41.3 overs and notch up their second win in the tournament after their 21-run victory over South Africa on June 2.

The highest successful run chase in World Cup history was the 329 for 7 by Ireland to beat England in the 2011 World Cup in Bengaluru while Bangladesh have also earlier managed 322 batting second, against Scotland in 2015 World Cup. Shakib's 124 not out, his ninth ODI century, was studded with 16 fours. In the process, he also reached the personal milestone of scoring 6000 ODI runs in his 202nd innings.

This was his second century in this World Cup after the 121 against England for a losing cause in Cardiff on Jun 8.  Bangladesh remained in the reckoning for a semifinal spot with five points from five matches while the West Indies will get tougher for a place in the last four as they now have three points from five matches.

The win was though not a surprise as Bangladesh had beaten the West Indies thrice in a tri-series in Ireland last month. But this was Bangladesh's first win over the West Indies in a World Cup. Bangladesh made a confident start to their run chase as they repelled the West Indies' barrage of bouncers initially before slowly beginning to dictate terms on the Caribbean bowlers. In the end, it turned out to be an easy win with Shakib and Das taking their side home with 51 balls to spare.

Opener Tamim Iqbal made a confident start to the run chase with six fours in his 53-ball innings of 48 before being superbly run out by Sheldon Cottrell.

Coming in the pivotal number 3 in the ninth over at team score of 52 for 1, Shakib stitched 69 runs with opener Iqbal for the second wicket before the 189 with Das.

Shakib, whose three innings in this World Cup read 75, 64 and 121, continued with his imperious form as he punished all the West Indies bowlers during his memorable innings. Earlier, Shai Hope hit a patient 121-ball 91 while Shimron Hetmyer produced a quick-fire fifty as West Indies posted a challenging 321 for eight after being sent into bat.

Hope shared a 116-run partnership with Evin Lewis (70) for the second wicket before adding another 83 runs with Hetmyer (50 off 26 balls) after West Indies had a sedate start following Bangladesh's decision to field first. The two-time champions seemed to be on course for a 350-plus score before Bangladesh tied things up a bit in the last five overs, which yielded just 33 for loss of one wicket.

For Bangladesh, pace duo of Mohammad Saifuddin (3/72) and Mustafizur Rahman (3/59) snapped three wickets each, while Shakib Al Hasan (2/54) took two. Earlier, West Indies lost Chris Gayle (0) early and could manage only 32 runs in the first powerplay with the Bangladesh pacers bowling in tendum.

Lewis and Hope then brought up the team hundred in 22.4 overs. The left-handed opener then exploded, smashing successive fours off Shakib before sending one from the bowler out of the park in his next over. But Shakib returned to dismiss Lewis, having him caught at long-off as West Indies slipped to 122 for two.

Hope then completed his fifty in 75 balls but new man Nicholas Pooran (25) could not stay longer as WI lost their third wicket in the 33rd over. That brought Hetmyer to the crease and he took the Bangladesh bowlers to the cleaners, smashing four boundaries and three sixes in his 26-ball whirlwind innings.

Once Hetmyer was back to the hut, captain Jason Holder blasted 33 off 15 balls with the help of four hits to the fence and two sixes to keep the flow of runs but West Indies lost their way after he was dismissed in the 44th over. Hope too holed out in the 47th over.

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News Network
June 10,2020

New Delhi, Jun 10: Former India skipper Rahul Dravid has praised the batting of MS Dhoni during the backend of a match, saying that the wicket-keeper often played during the period as if the result did not really matter to him.

Dravid also said that in pressure-cooker situations, not worrying about consequences can help players bring out the best in themselves.

"You watch MS Dhoni play during the backend of a match when he was at his best, you always felt like that he is doing something really important to him but he is playing it like the result does not really matter to him," Dravid told Sanjay Manjrekar during a videocast hosted by ESPNCricinfo.

"I think you need to have that or you need to train for it. It is a skill that I never had. The consequences of any decision mattered to me. It would be interesting to ask MS Dhoni that is this something that has come naturally to him or did he work on this during his career," he added.

Dhoni made his ODI debut against Bangladesh in 2004, but he truly arrived in the series against Pakistan in 2005 when he scored 148 runs in the second ODI of the six-match series at Vishakapatnam.

He is the only captain to win all major ICC trophies (50-over World Cup, T20 World Cup, and Champions Trophy). Under his leadership, India also managed to attain the number one ranking in Test cricket.

He first led an inexperienced Indian side to the T20 World Cup triumph in 2007. He then took over ODI captaincy, but he had to wait for leading the Test side as Anil Kumble was doing the duties in the longest format.

Over his career, Dhoni has been reowned for his finishing skills and he is often viewed as the best finisher that the game has ever seen.

In December 2014, Dhoni announced his retirement from the longest format of the game.

Then in 2017, Dhoni handed over the captaincy reins to Virat Kohli in the 50-over format.

Dhoni was slated to return to the cricket field on March 29 in the IPL's opening match between CSK and Mumbai Indians. However, the tournament has been suspended indefinitely as a precautionary measure against coronavirus.

Thirty-eight-year-old Dhoni has been currently enjoying some time away from the game. He last played competitive cricket during the 2019 World Cup.

Dhoni recently had to face criticism for his slow batting approach during India's matches.

Earlier this year, Dhoni did not find a place in the list of BCCI's centrally contracted players from October 2019 to September 2020.

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News Network
April 19,2020

Zurich, Apr 19: Former Indian captain Bhaichung Bhutia was among the 50 footballers to take part in the FIFA's initiative to pay tribute to 'humanity's heroes' amid the coronavirus pandemic.

FIFA, in its statement, expressed gratitude towards all the healthcare workers and other professionals who are giving their all to ensure society continues to function in the face of the coronavirus.

"To all of these heroic people: football thanks you, football remembers you and football supports you," FIFA said in a statement.

FIFA shared a video on their official Twitter handle where footballers from present and past came been seen applauding the frontline workers.

The 50 fotballer were Bhutia, Holger Badstuber, David Beckham, Lucy Bronze, Gianluigi Buffon, Cafu, Fabio Cannavaro, Iker Casillas, Deyna Castellanos, Giorgio Chiellini, Charlyn Corral, El Hadji Diouf, Youri Djorkaeff, Han Duan, Magdalena Eriksson, Samuel Eto'o, Pernille Harder, Javier Hernandez, Luis Hernandez, Kaka, Harry Kane, Carli Lloyd, Harry Maguire, Diego Maradona, Marta, Vivianne Miedema, Ajara Nchout, Michael Owen, Mesut Ozil, Norma Palafox, Pavel Pardo, Park Jisung, Pele, Gerard Pique, Alexia Putellas, Sergio Ramos, Nicole Reigner, Wendie Renard, Roberto Carlos, James Rodriguez, Ronaldo, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Virginia Torrecilla, Yaya Toure, Marco van Basten, Danielle van de Donk, Ivan Vicelich, Arturo Vidal, Javier Zanetti and Zinedine Zidane.
"As footballers, we are used to receiving applause, but this time, we have the opportunity to show our appreciation for the many people who are risking their lives to protect ours," FIFA.com quoted Beckham as saying.

"You are humanity's heroes and we want to show that all of football supports you and everything that you do to defend all of us," he added.

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Agencies
August 2,2020

New Delhi, Aug 2: Batting great Rahul Dravid has attributed Chennai Super Kings' consistent run in the IPL to skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's instincts, game-smarts and the incredible amount of work that goes behind the scenes.

N Srinivasan, the former BCCI president and head of India Cements, which owns the CSK franchise, agreed that Dhoni is a man of instinct who doesn't believe in attending team meetings and going over data.

Both were speaking at a webinar organised by the Great Lakes Institute of Management.

"If you look at the success CSK has had, they've got really good access to data and they've got really good access to people behind the scenes and they've run cricket teams at the junior level," Dravid said at the webinar according to ESPNcricinfo.

The former India captain added, "They understand talent and they've obviously got a good scouting process in place. But, what they also have is a captain who really understands instincts.

"So, I mean, look, I know Dhoni quite well and I hope he hasn't changed, but I know Dhoni is probably not one to look at reams of data and statistics."

The Super Kings have won the lucrative tournament three times -- one less than Mumbai Indians -- and reached the knockouts in each of the 10 seasons they have been a part of.

Srinivasan also spoke about how Dhoni's instinct and judgement contributed to his team's success at a time when a lot of emphases is placed on data.

"We're awash with data just now. To give you an example, there are bowling coaches and in a T20 game, they play videos of every batsman whom they're going to come against and they see how he got out, what's his strength, what's his weakness etc.

"So, MS Dhoni doesn't attend this, he's a pure instinct man. The bowling coach, (head coach Stephen) Fleming will be there and everybody will be there, everyone is giving opinions, (but) he'll get up and go.

"In the context of instinct, he feels that okay he can assess a batsman or player on the field, that's his judgement. On the other hand, there is so much of data that is available to help a person also analyse. It's a very difficult line to draw (between data and instinct)."

Srinivasan also recalled how Dhoni once refused to take "one outstanding player" suggested by the franchise boss as that could have broken the team's cohesion.

"There was one outstanding player that we suggested to MS, he said: 'no sir, he will spoil the team'. The cohesion within the team is important and see in America, franchise-based sport has been there for such a long time," he said.

"In India, we're just starting and we're new to it. But we at India Cements have had a lot of experience running teams at junior levels."

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