Sri Lanka seal semis spot with 59-run win over New Zealand

April 1, 2014

Sri_Lanka_sealChittagong, Apr 1: Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath produced a dream spell of five wickets for just three runs as Sri Lanka recorded a crushing 59-run victory over New Zealand in a dramatic Super 10 match to qualify for the semifinals of the World Twenty20 here.

Herath turned the virtual knock-out match on its head by grabbing five wickets for just three runs in a sensational spell while also being instrumental in a run-out which opened the floodgates as Sri Lanka defended a small total of 119 all out in their last Group 1 match.

New Zealand were shot out for just 60 in 15.3 overs, the third lowest total in Twenty20 International history.

Herath's 5/3 was the third best ever figures by a bowler in Twenty20 Internationals behind team-mate Ajantha Mendis' twin efforts of 6/8 and 6/16.

With today's result at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Sri Lanka finished on top of Group 1 on net run rate though they ended their Super 10 engagements on same six points with South Africa.

Sri Lanka will now take on Group 2 runners-up team, which will be decided after tomorrow's match between West Indies and Pakistan, on April 3 at Mirpur. Group 2 winners India will take on Group 1 runners-up South Africa on April 4, also at Mirpur.

New Zealand suffered a jolt even before their run chase as their key player Corey Anderson was taken to hospital after dislocating his finger while attempting a catch during Sri Lanka innings. Anderson did not come out to bat.

Chasing a small total of 120, New Zealand seemed to be on course for a semifinal spot as they reached 18 for no loss at the end of second over.

But the drama unfolded in the very first ball of the third over bowled by Herath as New Zealand opener Martin Guptill ran for a single without response from his partner Kane Williamson. Herath was lightning quick to throw the ball to wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara who whipped off the bail in a flash.

Five balls later, one-down and captain Brendon McCullum was done in by a beauty of a delivery from Herath as it deceived the batsman by its flight. McCullum came out of his crease to smash the ball only to be beaten and the rest left to Sangakkara as Sri Lanka bounced back into the match.

Herath immediately came back for his second over and dismissed Ross Taylor and Jimmy Neesham for ducks in the last two consecutive deliveries of the sixth over and New Zealand were sent into the backfoot.

Taylor was adjudged LBW while Neesham's leg-stump was disturbed after he played across to a tossed-up delivery bowled from round the wicket which spun and went through the gap between pad and bat.

New Zealand, who also suffered a jolt after their key player Corey Anderson could not turn up for batting as he was hospitalised after dislocated his finger were reduced to 23 for four then as Herath bowled two wicket-maiden overs.

Herath continued his exploits and though he missed his hat-trict chance, he reduced New Zealand in tatters by dismissing Luke Ranchi (2) in his third over and overall eight to end his first spell of three overs with figures of four wickets for two runs.

Off-spinner Sachithra Senanayake then dismissed Nathan McCullum (2) in the 10th over as New Zealand run chase went haywire at 33 for six at the halfway mark.

Senanayake then dismissed Kyle Mills (4) in the 14th over and opener Kane Williamson, who top-scored for New Zealand with a 42, was run out in the first ball of the 16th over bowled by Herath who then claimed the wicket of Trent Boult (3) to end the New Zealand innings.

Earlier, pacers Trent Boult and Jimmy Neesham claimed three wickets each to wreck havoc on Sri Lankan batsmen as New Zealand shot them out for just 119 in their must-win match.

Boult (3/20) rocked the Sri Lankan top order before Neesham (3/22) sent the lower order packing as New Zealand pacers produced a brilliant performance to put their side on a strong position.

Put into bat, Sri Lanka slumped to 35 for three in the sixth over with Boult producing a brilliant pace-bowling spell and they never recovered from there on.

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News Network
January 10,2020

New Delhi, Jan 10: Injured Assam archer Shivangini Gohain underwent a critical surgery at the AIIMS. Dr. Deepak Gupta, professor of Pediatric neurosurgery at AIIMS, revealed about the delicate nature of the procedure and said there was no room for error.

"It was touching vertebral artery which supplies blood to the brain stem. The arrow was 0.5 cm in front of the spinal cord and the child could have become quadriplegic if someone tried to pull it out," Gupta said.

According to doctors, the arrow accidentally went inside the body damaging the shoulder bone, part of the neck, spinal cord and left lung.

Dr Gupta said, "Now the patient is fine. We had planned the surgery in a very unique way. Last whole night, our team was doing the planning and plotting to conduct this complex surgery. About 15 cm part of the arrow was inside the body which has entered through shoulder bone and affected neck, spinal cord and left lung".

"We started the surgery in the morning at 6 am which lasted for three and a half hours. We have successfully removed the arrow. The patient is stable now and shifted to ICU for observation," he added

Shivangini Gohain, the 12-year-old Assam archer who was impaled by an arrow shot accidentally at the SAI centre in Dibrugarh, was training unsupervised and the mishap was a result of negligence by the local coach and officials, the state's archery association has said.

The child was training at the Dakha Devi Rasiwasia College at Chabua, which serves as an extension centre under the Sports Authority of India (SAI) Regional Centre in Guwahati when the incident took place on Wednesday.

She was airlifted to Delhi on Thursday night and admitted to the AIIMS Trauma Centre. Pulin Das, a joint secretary of Assam Archery Association and executive member of the state Olympic association said the injury to the school girl from the Deodhai village, which is 3km from Chabua, happened as the trainees were practising without any coach and other officials.

“There is a SAI contractual coach Marcy and he has left for the Khelo India Games in Guwahati. He didn't instruct the trainees to stop the camp for some time nor did the college principal, who acted as administrator of the extension centre, looked after the practice,” Das said on Friday.

The extension centre has 11 trainees, six boys and five girls, and they were training under SAI contractual coach A C Marcy from Nagaland, who is in Guwahati for the Khelo India Youth Games.

“The training ground itself is in very bad shape, it was not even a dedicated ground for archery training, some play football, cricket and other sports on that ground. But the worst part is that the SAI coach did not give instructions to stop the camp for a while and the archers were training without any supervision,” he added Das said Gohain was struck by an arrow shot by boys doing practice for compound event. The arrow remained stuck for more more than a day before she was airlifted to New Delhi on Thursday night.

“There was nobody to look after the archers, they were training on their own though their parents were outside the ground. An arrow shot by a boy trainee who was doing compound event practice hit her on the shoulder,” the official said.

Gohain's father Brinchi Gohain was outside the practice area and with no official of the college and SAI coming for help, she was taken to Assam Medical College in Dibrugarh, 33km from Chabua.

“She could reach the AMC in Dribugarh only on Thursday morning. There, the doctors told her parents to take her to a more reputed hospital like AIIMS in Delhi. With help from people close to the local Member of Parliament and Assam CM himself, she was taken by air ambulance to Delhi.

“I was told that she had a very tough time as the arrow remained stuck for more than a day. She is a strong-willed girl and she fought. Her father must be a daily wage labourer and he was distraught also.”

The SAI said that it will bear all the expenses of her treatment. The Assam Archery Association has contributed Rs 20,000 towards her treatment.

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Agencies
March 10,2020

Mumbai, Mar 10: The addition of two new members, including the chairman, in the national selection committee, has not changed the panel's stance on M S Dhoni, who will "have to perform" in the upcoming IPL to be considered for T20 World Cup selection, a top BCCI official told PTI.

The Sunil Joshi-led selection panel met for the first time in Ahmedabad on Sunday to pick a rather "straightforward" squad for the three ODIs against South Africa beginning in Dharamsala on March 12.

Fit-again Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shikhar Dhawan made their way back into the side.

Joshi's predecessor MSK Prasad had made it clear that the team has moved on from Dhoni and he has to first play to be considered for selection.

Dhoni, who has not played since the World Cup semi-final loss to New Zealand in July, will be making his highly-awaited comeback in the IPL beginning March 29.

"It was a pretty straightforward selection meeting and since Dhoni was obviously not in the reckoning this time (for South Africa series), there was no formal talk about his future," a BCCI source told PTI.

"He will be back in the reckoning only if he has a good IPL. And why only him, there are so many senior and young players who will play in the IPL. If they do well, they are ought to be considered too. So, you could see some surprise inclusions," he said.

The T20 World Cup will be played in Australia in October-November and the games India play after the IPL leading up to the mega event will also be a factor in the final squad selection.

"But the performance in the IPL could be the clincher," the source added.

Head coach Ravi Shastri too has hinted that Dhoni could be back after a good IPL but his future remains a subject of intense speculation as he has not played a game in more than seven months.

With his heir apparent Rishabh Pant not setting the world on fire and K L Rahul being groomed into a full-time wicketkeeper-batsman, Dhoni's comeback cannot be ruled out.

His countless fans will finally get to see him in action when he leads Chennai Super Kings against defending champions Mumbai Indians in the IPL opener at Wankhede Stadium on March 29.

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News Network
April 6,2020

London, Apr 6: As the coronavirus brings the international sports calendar to a grinding halt, news agency Sport looks at three long-standing habits which could change forever once competition resumes.

Saliva to take shine off swing bowling

It's been a tried and trusted friend to fast bowlers throughout the history of cricket. But the days of applying saliva to one side of the ball to encourage swing could be over in the aftermath of Covid19.

"As a bowler I think it would be pretty tough going if we couldn't shine the ball in a Test match," said Australia quick Pat Cummins.

"If it's at that stage and we're that worried about the spread, I'm not sure we'd be playing sport."

Towels in tennis - no touching

Tennis players throwing towels, dripping with sweat and blood and probably a tear or two, at ball boys and girls, has often left fans sympathising for the youngsters.

Moves by officials to tackle the issue took on greater urgency in March when the coronavirus was taking a global grip.

Behind closed doors in Miki, ball boys and girls on duty at the Davis Cup tie between Japan and Ecuador wore gloves.

Baskets, meanwhile, were made available for players to deposit their towels.

Back in 2018, the ATP introduced towel racks at some events on a trial basis, but not everyone was overjoyed.

"I think having the towel whenever you need it, it's very helpful. It's one thing less that you have to think about," said Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas when he was playing at the NextGen Finals in Milan.

"I think it's the job of the ball kids to provide towels and balls for the players."

Let's not shake on it

Pre-match handshakes were abandoned in top football leagues just before the sports shutdown.

Premier League leaders Liverpool also banned the use of mascots while Southampton warned against players signing autographs and stopped them posing for selfies.

Away from football, the NBA urged players to opt for the fist bump rather than the long-standing high-five.

"I ain't high-fiving nobody for the rest of my life after this," NBA superstar LeBron James told the "Road Trippin' Podcast".

"No more high-fiving. After this corona shit? Wait 'til you see me and my teammates’ handshakes after this shit."

Basketball stars were also told not to take items such as balls or teams shirts to autograph.

US women's football star Megan Rapinoe says edicts to ban handshakes or even high-fives may be counter-productive anyway.

"We're going to be sweating all over each other all game, so it sort of defeats the purpose of not doing a handshake," she said.

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