Sindhu loses to Bingjiao again, Srikanth too ousted from China Open

Agencies
November 9, 2018

Fuzhou, Nov 9: Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth were ousted from the China Open World Tour Super 750 on Friday after losing their singles quarterfinals matches here.

While Sindhu yet again struggled to go past China's He Bingjiao in women's singles, Srikanth fell in straight-games to world number 3 Chou Tien Chen in the men's singles event.

Third seeded Sindhu, who clinched three silver medals this season -- Commonwealth Games, World Championship and Asian Games -- lost 17-21 21-17 15-21 to the eighth seeded Chinese.

It was Indian shuttler's third loss to Bingjiao, who had defeated her at the Indonesia Open and French Open in July and October this year.

Later Srikanth paid the price for being too erratic as he lost 14-21 14-21 in 35 minutes to Chen, who has been in good form this season with three titles from five final appearances.

Earlier, the left-handed Bingjiao controlled the rallies by executing her strokes perfectly and used her deft touch to outwit Sindhu.

The Indian frittered away a 8-3 advantage early on to lose the opening game but made a roaring comeback in the second before losing the decider after a late charge.

Sindhu had started well to take a 4-1 lead early on before moving to 8-3 but Bingjiao managed to claw back at 9-9. The duo moved neck and neck till 15-15 when the Chinese moved ahead with three straight points. Sindhu made it to 17-18 before Bingjiao pocketed the opening game.

In the second game, Bingjiao surged to 4-2 but Sindhu turned the tables as she moved to 6-5 and then grabbed a 11-7 lead. She kept distance despite the Chinese snapping at her feet.

In the decider, Bingjiao was more sure-footed than Sindhu as she executed her plan well to take a 11-6 advantage at the interval. The Chinese managed to eke out a 15-8 lead before Sindhu produced a late charge to claw back to 15-16.

But Bingjiao didn't give any chance to the Indian after that as she reeled off the remaining points to cement her place in the semifinals.

In the men's singles match, Srikanth never seemed to pose a challenge to his Chinese Taipei opponent, who won titles in Germany, Singapore and Korea this year.

Chen played with a lot of confidence, something which the Indian seemed to have lacked during the match as he gave away easy points.

In the opening game, Srikanth did well initially to grab a 10-8 lead but after the break, Chen dominated the proceedings. Eventually a roaring smash earned him the game point and he sealed it when Srikanth's return went wide.

In the second game, Srikanth struggled again and was 4-10 down at one stage but he produced a towering smash and two unforced errors from his rival took him to 7-10.

A net error from Srikanth gave a 11-7 lead to Chen at the break.

After the breather, Chen again dominated the rallies even as Srikanth fell in a heap of errors.

Lagging 11-18, Srikanth produced another smash to take a point but Chen soon had eight match points when the Indian hit long.

Srikanth saved two match points before Chen sealed it with another precise return.

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July 19,2020

Manchester, Jul 19: Former England pacer Dominic Cork reckons star all-rounder Ben Stokes will go on to become one of his country's greatest cricketers ever.

Stokes, the hero of England's World Cup triumph last year, sparkled with a fine 176 and powered his side to a strong first-inning total of 469/9 declared in the ongoing second Test against the West Indies here.

"I genuinely think he can get better because of his work ethic. He wants to bat, he wants to bowl, he wants to work on his game, wants to get better," Cork said on Sky Sports show The Cricket Debate.

"I know he works a hell of a lot on his bowling as well. I just see this man not becoming only the best in the world but one of the best we have had ever. That's how highly I rate him."

The former seamer thought things changed for better for the World Cup hero after the Bristol bar brawl three years ago.

Last year, Stokes himself had said that the unsavoury incident and the ensuing chain of events, which dogged his career for 15 months, may be the best thing that could have happened to him.

Following the incident in September 2017, Stokes was acquitted of affray by a Bristol court in August 2018, before the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) ended his 15-month exile after a hearing in December 2018.

Former England batsman Ravi Bopara also spoke about the remarkable change in Stokes' approach.

"I think there has definitely been a change with Ben. He has made his mistakes and learnt from them. He looks a formidable cricketer," he said.

"He is a fiery character and always has been - even if you are playing PlayStation in hotel rooms.

"But as he has had a more important role in the side as an all-rounder, making an impact with bat and ball, winning games for England, and since England have started looking at him as the main guy, his attitude has changed with it."

West Indies lead the three-match series 1-0 after their win in the opener at Southamton.

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Agencies
March 13,2020

New Delhi, Mar 13: The remaining ODI series between India and South Africa has been called-off amidst the rising concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.

"The second and third ODI between India and South Africa in Lucknow and Kolkata respectively are called off," the BCCI source told media persons.

The first match of the series was abandoned due to rain and wet outfield without a toss at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) stadium on Thursday.

The second and third ODI was scheduled to be played at Lucknow and Kolkata on March 15 and 18 respectively. Earlier on Thursday, the BCCI has decided to play the remaining two ODIs behind closed doors.

"After holding discussions with the MYAS and MOHFW, the BCCI on Thursday announced that the remaining two One-day Internationals (ODIs) of the three-match series of South Africa tour of India, 2020, will be played without any public gathering, including spectators," the BCCI had said in a statement.

The Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry has advised all the federations to avoid large gatherings.

World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday had declared the coronavirus outbreak a 'pandemic' and expressed deep concerns.

The coronavirus disease was first detected in Wuhan in China's Hubei province, in late December, and has since spread worldwide.

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News Network
January 28,2020

Hamilton, Jan 28: No one sits on the seat that Mahendra Singh Dhoni made his own in the team bus, revealed India leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, saying that the talismanic former skipper is missed by the side.

In a video shot inside the team bus while it was on its way to Hamilton for the third T20 International against New Zealand, Chahal is seen talking to several members of the squad including Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul.

Towards the end of the video, he moved to the rear of the bus and pointed to an empty seat which, he said, was the former captain's preferred spot before he went on a sabbatical last year.

"Yeh woh seat hai jahan ek legend baithate the. Mahi bhai. Abhi bhi yaha koi nahi baithata. Hum unhe bohot miss karte hai (This is the seat that used to be occupied a legend. MS Dhoni. No one sits here now. We miss him a lot)," Chahal said in the video posted on 'bcci.tv'.

The-38-year-old Dhoni has not played a competitive game since the World Cup semifinal loss to New Zealand on July 9. Earlier this month, Dhoni was dropped from the BCCI's list of centrally contracted players, raising fresh doubts on his future.

However, on the same day, Dhoni returned to training, batting fluently in the Jharkhand team nets.

Head coach Ravi Shastri has hinted that the celebrated wicketkeeper-batsman might retire from ODIs soon but will be in contention for a T20 World Cup berth provided he does well for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL.

The Indian team lead the five-match T20 series against New Zealand 2-0.

Virat Kohli's men will take on the hosts in the third T20 here on Wednesday.

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