Trent Boult Destroys Pakistan As New Zealand Clinch ODI Series

Agencies
January 13, 2018

A withering spell by Trent Boult saw New Zealand destroy Pakistan by 183 runs in the third one-day international to comfortably wrap up the series in Dunedin on Saturday. Boult rocked Pakistan with three wickets in five balls to take out the cream of their top order on his way to figures of five for 17. New Zealand, batting first, were restricted to 257, with their innings boosted by 11 off the final over before Boult was dismissed on the last ball. Then, after Boult's near unplayable overs, Pakistan were all out for 74 in the 28th over to give New Zealand an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.

At eight for 32, Pakistan were threatening two unwanted records -- the lowest ODI score of 35, held by Zimbabwe, and Pakistan's own lowest score of 43 -- before Sarfraz Ahmed (14 not out), Mohammad Amir (14) and Rumman Raees (16) delayed the inevitable finish.

Boult was in action in the second over when Azhar Ali was caught by Ross Taylor at first slip without scoring.

Dangerman Fakhar Zaman was bowled for two and Taylor also caught Mohammad Hafeez for a duck in Boult second over and Pakistan were in a hole they were never going to get out of.

If New Zealand thought they were slow making 37 for one off the first 10 overs, Pakistan were in dire trouble at nine for three at the same stage.

But when struggling to stay afloat, Babar Azam was unnecessarily run out for eight to start another slide.

In the following over Shoaib Malik was caught by Taylor off Lochie Ferguson for three and seven balls later part-timer Colin Munro bowled Shadab Khan for without scoring and Pakistan were 16 for six in the 15th over.

With light drizzle falling, but not strong enough to send the players off the field, Faheem Ashraf gave Pakistan supporters something to cheer about when he top-edged Lochie Ferguson for six.

But on 10 Faheem was gone hooking Ferguson to Todd Astle at fine leg, before Boult came back to claim Amir and Rumman to end the innings.

Pakistan came to New Zealand on a nine-match winning streak and the promise of providing a more formidable opposition for New Zealand who had just swept a series against the West Indies.

After losing the first two matches they arrived in Dunedin needing to win and had their tails up when Munro went for eight in the second over.

But half-centuries to Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor plus 45 for Martin Guptill set New Zealand up.

Williamson never looked particularly fluent but reached 73 off 101 deliveries while Taylor made 52 off 64 deliveries.

Pakistan did look smart in the field and finished with a flourish taking seven wickets for 48 in the last eight overs.

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News Network
July 14,2020

New Delhi, Jul 14: Indian bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who features in the list of A category players released by BCCI, has revealed his first-ever paycheck.

Bhuvneshwar was participating in a question and answer session on Twitter where he gave his take on fans' queries.

The 30-year-old bowler was asked about his first paycheck by a fan and Bhuvneshwar responded by saying, "It was for Rs 3000. I shopped and still managed to saved some."

During the question and answer session Bhuvneshwar picked Barcelona striker Lionel Messi over Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo.

The right-arm bowler also revealed that football and badminton are his favourite sports other than cricket.

Earlier this year, Bhuvneshwar was named in the list A category of players. BCCI had released the list of centrally contracted players for the period from October 2019 to September 2020. Annually, A category players get Rs 5 crore.

The right-arm bowler would have been in action for Sunrisers Hyderabad if the Indian Premier League (IPL) had commenced from March 29. However, the tournament was postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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News Network
March 12,2020

Miami, Mar 12: The NBA has suspended its season "until further notice" after a Utah Jazz player tested positive Wednesday for the coronavirus, a move that came only hours after the majority of the league's owners were leaning toward playing games without fans in arenas.

Now there will be no games at all, at least for the time being. A person with knowledge of the situation said the Jazz player who tested positive was center Rudy Gobert. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither the league nor the team confirmed the test.

"The NBA is suspending game play following the conclusion of tonight's schedule of games until further notice,'' the league said in a statement sent shortly after 9:30 p.m. EDT. "The NBA will use this hiatus to determine next steps for moving forward in regard to the coronavirus pandemic.''

The test result, the NBA said, was reported shortly before the scheduled tip-off time for the Utah at Oklahoma City game on Wednesday night was called off. Players were on the floor for warmups and tip-off was moments away when they were told to return to their locker rooms. About 30 minutes later, fans were told the game was postponed ``due to unforeseen circumstances."

Shutdown for two weeks?

Those circumstances were the league's worst-case scenario for now -- a player testing positive. A second person who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity said the league expects the shutdown to last a minimum of two weeks, but cautioned that time-frame is very fluid.

"It's a very serious time right now," Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "I think the league moved appropriately and prudently and we'll all just have to monitor the situation and see where it goes from here."

The Jazz released a statement saying a player -- they did not identify Gobert -- tested negative earlier Wednesday for flu, strep throat and an upper respiratory infection. That player's symptoms diminished as the day went along, but the decision was made to test for COVID-19 anyway. That test came back with a preliminary positive result.

"The individual is currently in the care of health officials in Oklahoma City," the Jazz said, adding that updates would come as appropriate.

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Agencies
June 7,2020

Mumbai, Jun 7: The Mumbai airport became home for a 23-year-old Ghanaian footballer for 74 days after he got stranded there due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown that led to cancellation of flights.

The ordeal of Randy Juan Muller reminded people of Tom Hank's character in the Hollywood film "The Terminal", and it ended after Yuva Sena, the youth wing of the Shiv Sena, reached out to help him.

Muller has now shifted to a local hotel and is waiting for airlines to resume operations so that he can fly home.

The Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) also provided him all help, including food, and allowed him to use the airport WiFi network to make calls, an official said.

Muller, a Ghana national who used to play for a club in Kerala, was scheduled to fly home by Kenya Airways flight when the lockdown was announced and he found himself stranded at the Mumbai airport.

"He would spend his time at the airport's fancy artificial gardens and somehow buy food from stalls and pass his time with the airport staff. Muller told me the airport staff was very helpful," Yuva Sena office-bearer Rahul Kanal said.

A security officer at the airport gave him mobile phone to call his family back home.

A Twitter user brought Muller's plight to the notice of Maharashtra Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray following which Kanal reached out to the footballer and helped him move into a hotel.

On Saturday, Muller thanked Thackeray and Kanal for their help.

"Thank you Aaditya Thackeray, Rahul Kanal. Thank you very very so much. I appreciate what you have done. Salute," he said.

Kanal in a tweet said when he met Muller at the airport, the latter cried with happiness.

"Have no words to salute his willpower and fight for survival in such circumstances at this age," Kanal said.

An official at the Mumbai International Airport Ltd said the footballer was provided all help.

"All personnel at the airport, including from MIAL and CISF, gave him every possible help during his stay at the airport. Besides food, he was also allowed to use the airport WiFi network to make calls. Airport staff would recharge his phone at their own expense," the official said.

The 2004 film "Terminal" of Steven Spielberg was about a man stranded at a US airport after being denied entry into the country and a military coup back home.

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