Unbeaten run continues as KXIP win by 5 wickets

April 29, 2014

KXIP_winDubai, Apr 29: Kings XI Punjab continued their winning streak with a facile five-wicket victory to strengthen their position at the top of the heap as Royal Challengers Bangalore were left licking their wounds after yet another loss in the ongoing Indian Premier League, here today.

Chasing a modest 125, the Punjab outfit completed the task with seven balls to spare in a low-scoring game for their fifth straight win, at the Dubai International Stadium.The KIXP bowlers set up the match with another disciplined performance, restricting the Bangalore side to 124 for eight.

Man of the Match Sandeep Sharma led with impressive figures of 3/15 while Rishi Dahwan (2/14) and Mitchell Johnson (2/19 ) chipped in with two wickets apiece. There was a wicket for Laxmypathi Balaji also.

When their turn to bat came, Virender Sehwag had raced to a 26-ball 32 with four boundaries before he was given out caught behind. Replays, though, suggested there was no outside edge. David Miller made 20 off 26 balls and hit as many fours as Sehwag.

After their famed batting line-up came a cropper, RCB bowlers tried to make a match of it by picking up a few wickets. That they got the wickets of Wriddhiman Saha and Glenn Maxwell, the man in red-hot form, were largely due to Mitchell Starc's brilliant catching in the deep.

Both Saha and Maxwell tried to target the area behind square but Starc had other ideas as he pulled off a couple of blinders off Varun Aaron's bowling.

Sehwag and Miller put on 45 runs for the fourth wicket, the match's biggest, to put the table-toppers on track. But young legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal struck twice in the 13th over to keep his side optimistic about breaking the run of defeats.

In the end however, the total did not prove to be enough for RCB as the in-form opposition secured full points after a bit of a wobble.

Skipper George Bailey remained not out on 16 while Dhawan, after a good outing with the ball, hit three crucial boundaries in his brisk unbeaten 23.

Needing 10 off 12 balls, Bailey guided a poor Aaron delivery towards fine-leg to take his side to brink of victory, before Dhawan completed the chase.

Earlier, having missed the team's first four games with a hamstring injury, Chris Gayle attacked from the word go, picking 20 runs in the first over. But that's all he could make as the left-handed batsman fell in the next over.

Yuvraj Singh (35) top-scored for RCB with the help of three fours and a six while facing 32 balls.

Earlier, RCB had a rollicking first over with the returning Gayle picking Glenn Maxwell for special treatment.

The first two boundaries were not convincing but the sixes over long-on and long-off had Gayle written all over them.

RCB's joy was short-lived though as Sharma cut short the towering Jamaican's stay after he missed the line to be bowled off a delivery that swung away from the left-hander.

More blows awaited RCB as they lost their skipper Virat Kohli cheaply, Sharma being the bowler again. The 20-year-old medium pacer from Patiala then accounted for Parthiv Patel, before Rishi Dhawan joined in the party, removing the dangerous A B de Villiers and Yuvraj Singh in quick succession.

Pace spearhead Johnson and Balaji then struck to make matters worse for RCB.

Kohli's was a debatable decision as the ball seemed to be going down the legside. The batsman looked frustrated as he made his way back to the dressing room.

Takawale poked at a length ball and got a thick edge that was duly taken by wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha.

While going for big drive on the up, Patel edged one to the keeper, leaving RCB precariously placed at 26 for four.

RCB put up a brief resistance before de Villiers found Maxwell at backward point. The South African put on 41 runs for the fifth wicket with Yuvraj, who was dismissed by Dhawan even before the batting team could cross 100.

Albie Morkel (15) and Varun Aaron (11) took the score past 120.

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News Network
April 12,2020

Mumbai, Apr 12: Always eager to share his vast knowledge and experience, cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar has interacted with 12,000 doctors on sports injuries.

In his over two decade long illustrious career, Tendulkar suffered many health issues, the most prominent being the tennis elbow injury.

The veteran of 200 Tests and 463 ODIs, got to know through one Dr Sudhir Warrier, an orthopaedic surgeon, that several young doctors across the country were utilising the lockdown time to effectively gain knowledge on sports injuries through live webinars.

A session on sports injuries was held on Saturday and Tendulkar, knowing that his experiences will help these doctors, volunteered to be a part of it.

Tendulkar, accordingly, interacted with around 12,000 doctors, who attended the session.

It is reliably leanrt that the 46-year-old legend said he was grateful to the medical fraternity for their service.

During the session, the young orthopaedic doctors got to know how the requirements and treatment outcomes of athletes are different from regular patients, sources said.

Dr Warrier moderated the session with Dr Nitin Patel, physiotherapist, who has worked with Indian cricket team and IPL franchise Mumbai Indians.

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News Network
January 27,2020

Los Angeles, Jan 27: Kobe Bryant, the 18-time NBA All-Star who won five championships and became one of the greatest basketball players of his generation during a 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers, died in a helicopter crash Sunday. He was 41.

Bryant died in a helicopter crash near Calabasas, California, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press. A different person familiar with the case confirmed that Bryant's 13-year-old daughter Gianna also was killed.

Both spoke on condition of anonymity because details of the crash had not been released publicly. The crash happened around 10 a.m. about 30 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen Kenitzer said it was a Sikorsky S-76 and it was not known what caused the crash. The LA County Sheriff's Department confirmed five dead in the crash, but had not released identities.

Bryant lived south of Los Angeles in coastal Orange County for much of his adult life, and he often used helicopters to save time and avoid Southern California's notorious traffic. Even as a player, he often traveled to practices and games by helicopter, and he kept up the practice after retirement as he attended to his business ventures.

The crash occurred several miles from Mamba Sports Academy, Bryant's basketball training complex in Thousand Oaks, California. Bryant, who had four daughters with his wife, Vanessa, dedicated himself to boosting women's sports in his retirement.

Colin Storm was in his living room in Calabasas when he heard ``what sounded like a low-flying airplane or helicopter.''

“It was very foggy so we couldn't see anything,'' he said. ``But then we heard some sputtering, and then a boom.''

A short time later the fog cleared a bit and Storm could see smoke rising from the hillside in front of his home.

Bryant retired in 2016 as the third-leading scorer in NBA history, finishing two decades with the Lakers as a prolific scorer with a sublime all-around game and a relentless competitive ethic. He held that spot in the league scoring ranks until Saturday night, when the Lakers' LeBron James passed him for third place during a game in Philadelphia, Bryant's hometown.

“Continuing to move the game forward (at)KingJames,'' Bryant wrote in his last tweet. “Much respect my brother.''

Bryant had one of the greatest careers in recent NBA history and became one of the game's most popular players as the face of the 16-time NBA champion Lakers franchise. He was the league MVP in 2008 and a two-time NBA scoring champion, and he earned 12 selections to the NBA's All-Defensive teams.

He teamed with Shaquille O'Neal in a combustible partnership to lead the Lakers to NBA titles in 2000, 2001 and 2002. He later teamed with Pau Gasol to win two more titles in 2009 and 2010.

Bryant retired in 2016 after scoring 60 points in his final NBA game.

Bryant looms large over the current generation of NBA players. After James passed Bryant on Saturday, he remembered listening to Bryant when the superstar came to speak at a childhood basketball camp.

“I remember one thing he said: If you want to be great at it, or want to be one of the greats, you've got to put the work in,'' James said. “There's no substitution for work.''

James later teamed up with Bryant on the 2008 U.S. Olympic team in Beijing.

“He had zero flaws offensively,'' James said. “Zero. You backed off of him, he could shoot the 3. You body him up a little bit, he could go around you. He could shoot from mid-range. He could post. He could make free throws. ... He was just immortal offensively because of his skill set and his work ethic.''

Bryant was a basketball superstar for his entire adult life. He entered the NBA draft straight out of high school in 1996 after a childhood spent partly in Italy, where his father, former NBA player Joe “Jellybean'' Bryant, played professionally.

The Lakers acquired the 17-year-old Bryant in a trade shortly after Charlotte drafted him, and he immediately became one of the most exciting and intriguing players in the sport alongside O'Neal, who had signed with the Lakers as a free agent. Bryant won the Slam Dunk Contest as an upstart rookie, and the Lakers gradually grew into a team that won three consecutive championships.

Bryant and Gasol formed the nucleus of another championship team in 2008, reaching three straight NBA Finals and eventually winning two more titles.

In 2003, Bryant was charged with attacking a 19-year-old employee at a Colorado resort. He had said the two had consensual sex. Prosecutors later dropped the felony sexual assault charge against Bryant at the request of the accuser.

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News Network
February 21,2020

New Delhi, Feb 21: Vinesh Phogat yet again fell to Japanese nemesis Mayu Muakida to go out of the gold medal race but Sakshi Malik will fight for the title after winning her semifinal bout at the Asian Wrestling Championship, here on Friday.

Vinesh had lost twice to Mukaida in 2019 – at World Championship and Asian Championships —and the trend continued as the gritty Indian yet again struggled to break the strong defence of the Japanese.

In a tough opening round, Vinesh tried single leg attacks a number of times but every time Mukaida blocked her move and eventually got the upper body lock to subdue the home favourite.

In her last two meetings, Vinesh had not scored a single point against the 2019 world silver medallist. She managed a takedown this time before eventually losing 2-6.

The hard-working Vinesh will now fight for bronze against Vietnam's Thi Ly Kieu but even a medal won't suffice to lift her mood as she and the fans have high expectations from her.

Rio Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik, who has been struggling of late, lost her opening round 1-2 to Naomi Ruike from Japan but later overcame two weak opponents to eventually reach the final of the non-Olympic 65kg category.

She could hardly attack Naomi but outplayed Korea's Ohyoung Ha in the next round, winning by technical superiority.

In her semifinal against Uzbekistan's Nabira Esenbaeva, Sakshi led 5-0 but her rival pulled off consecutive two-point moves to make it 5-4.

Sakshi has been losing in closing stages of late but this time she managed to hold on to her narrow lead, surviving anxious last two seconds.

Also in medal contention are India's brightest youngsters Sonam Malik (62kg) and Anshu Malik (57kg).

Sonam, who had defeated Sakshi in the trials, showed good tactical mind in her resounding win against Korea's Hanbit Lee and also in the 2-5 defeat against world bronze medallist Yukako Kawai.

She pulled off a superb point-scoring move from a disadvantageous position and resisted the 2018 U-23 world champion Yukako in a good fashion.

She will now fight for bronze against Aisuluu Tynbekova.

Anshu Malik opened up her campaign against Kyrgyzstan's Nuraida Anarkulova, winning by technical superiority but was outplayed by reigning world champion from Japan Riskao Kawai.

She will have to beat Sevara Eshmuratova from Uzbekistan to grab a bronze.

In the non-olympic 72kg, Gursharanpreet Kaur is in bronze medal contention. She beat Uzbekistan's Svetlana Oknazarova but lost to Kazakhstan's Zhamila Bakberzenova.

She still made it to the semifinal in which she lost to Japan's Mei Shindo.

She is now up against Mongloia's Tsevegmed Enkhbayar.

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