Slam-bang king MS Dhoni still waiting for elusive T20I fifty

March 14, 2014

MS_DhoniNew Delhi, Mar 14: Mahendra Singh Dhoni is unarguably one of India's finest finisher in the shortest format but there is one little piece of statistic which the 'Captain Cool' wouldn't certainly be amused of and would like to change it during the course of the fifth ICC World T20.

Believe it or not, the captain is yet to score his maiden half-century in T20 Internationals having donned the blue jersey in 43 of the 46 matches that India has played so far. Sounds weird but Dhoni's aggregate of 772 runs is most by any batsman without a single fifty in T20 Internationals. Incidentally, his highest score is 48 not out against Australia in a losing cause at the 'Stadium Australia' in Sydney.

Interestingly, during that particular match, Dhoni was batting on 45 after the completion of the penultimate over but to his utter dismay found that Ravichandran Ashwin consumed four of the six deliveries. In the remaining two deliveries, he scored three runs to get to 48 not out as India lost by 31 runs.

Dhoni has mainly batted at No 5 or 6 (13 times each) in the T20 Internationals which effectively meant that on most occasions, only few overs were left. A testimony to that is remaining not out on 16 occasions out of the 40 times that he went into bat during those 43 games.

The three games that he had missed out were when his jaded body needed rest. He opted out of the 2010 tour of Zimbabwe where India played two T20 Int'ls under Suresh Raina's captaincy.

The other T20 game that he missed was during India's tour of West Indies in 2011 when he had opted out of the limited overs series (T20's and ODis) having played World Cup and IPL back-to-back in four months of gruelling cricket.

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Agencies
January 23,2020

Aurangabad, Jan 23: An FIR has been registered against three people including former cricketer Mohammed Azharuddin for allegedly duping a travel agent, Mohammad Shadab, of more than Rs 20 lakh.

However, Mohammad Azharuddin has refuted allegations and said: "I strongly rubbish the false FIR filed against me in Aurangabad. I am consulting my legal team and would be taking action as necessary."

Azharuddin's personal assistant Mujeeb lives in Augurangabad and has good relations with the travel agency of Shadab.

The travel agent alleged that Mujeeb asked him to book some flight tickets but did not pay the amount.

The police have booked the three under Section 406, 420 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code.

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News Network
May 21,2020

Mumbai, May 21: Former India opener Gautam Gambhir has chosen legendary Sachin Tendulkar over current skipper Virat Kohli as a better batsman in the ODI format, considering the changed rules of the game and the Mumbaikar's longevity of career.

Tendulkar, who retired in 2013, played 463 ODIs and amassed 18, 426 runs with 49 hundreds at an average of 44.83.

Kohli, on the other hand, has played 248 ODIs and scored 11, 867 runs with 43 tons at an average of 59.33.

"Sachin Tendulkar, because probably with one white ball and four fielders inside the circle, not five fielders outside, it will be Sachin Tendulkar for me," Gambhir said on Star Sports show 'Cricket Connected'.

Nowadays, a one-day innings is played with two white balls and with three powerplays.

In the first power play (overs 1-10), two fielders are allowed beyond the 30-yard circle, while in the second powerplay (overs 10-40) four fielders are allowed. In the last powerplay (overs 40-50), five fielders are allowed outside the 30-yard circle.

Gambhir, who was the star performer in 2011 ODI World Cup final which India won, feels that the change in rules has helped batsmen.

"It's difficult because Virat Kohli has done phenomenally well but I think the rules have changed as well, which has helped a lot of new batters," elaborated Gambhir, who played 58 Tests and 147 ODIs.

"The new generation, with 2 new balls, no reverse swing, nothing for the finger spin, five fielders inside for the 50 overs, probably that makes batting much easier.

He said he would also go with Tendulkar, considering his longevity and flow of the ODI cricket format at that time.

"Probably I’ll go with Sachin Tendulkar if we see the longevity and flow of the one-day cricket format.

"Look at how Sachin Tendulkar has played, different rules, that time 230 to 240, was a winning total," Gambhir signed off. 

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Agencies
August 3,2020

Silverstone, Aug 2: Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton on Sunday won his seventh British Grand Prix title after a dramatic last-lap at the Silverstone Circuit.

Hamilton and teammate Valtteri Bottas were at the first and second spot respectively until tyre drama struck.

Second-placed man Bottas was the first to suffer as his tyre deflated on lap 50, resulting in 11th place finish. Hamilton also suffered a similar issue before the final few seconds of the race.

However, with Max Verstappen having opted to pit a few laps from the end to try and claim the fastest lap, Hamilton had enough time in hand to just cross the line first, five seconds ahead of Verstappen and the third-placed Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.

McLaren's Carlos Sainz had been set to finish fourth, but his own last lap tyre issue saw him eventually come home P13, allowing Renault's Daniel Ricciardo to claim fourth, following a late pass on the sister McLaren of Lando Norris.

Renault's Esteban Ocon finished sixth, having enjoyed a race-long battle with Lance Stroll's Racing Point, with Pierre Gasly having enjoyed a fine race to finish seventh for AlphaTauri.

Alex Albon finished eighth for Red Bull, having recovered from a lap 1 tussle with the Haas of Kevin Magnussen that saw him fall to last, while Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel rounded out the top 10, Vettel holding off a late charge form the recovering Mercedes of Bottas.

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