Under-fire Dhoni, Raina star in 77-run win as India avoid whitewash against Bangladesh

June 25, 2015

Mirpur, Jun 25: India restored some pride with a consolation 77-run win over Bangladesh in third and final ODI in Dhaka to prevent the spirited hosts from securing a famous 3-0 series whitewash.

DhoniIndia, put in to bat, put up a competitive 317 for six courtesy under-fire captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (69 runs off 77 balls) and opener Shikhar Dhawan (75 off 73)). Suresh Raina put up an all-round effort, scoring 38 before ending with career best figures of three for 45.

The home team flattered to deceive in the chase with its batsmen squandering promising starts, eventually ending at 240 all out to give India their first and only win of the short tour.

Bangladesh were cruising in the first 10 overs despite losing the experienced Tamim Iqbal (5) early.

Young Soumya Sarkar (40 off 34) showed once again he is a batsman to watch out for during his entertaining stay at the crease. The opener played shots all around the wicket in the company of Litton Das (34 off 50), smashing five fours and two sixes to send the crowd into a frenzy.

Like some of his teammates, Sarkar looked set for a big score until he mistimed a slower one off Dhawal Kulkarni, giving a simple catch to Ravichandran Ashwin at mid-on.

The game was still very much alive with Bangladesh reaching 65 for two in 10 overs.

Das and Mushfiqur Rahim (24 off 30) got together and shared a 50-run stand before the two fell in quick succession, leaving their team at 118 for four in the 22nd over. And when premier all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan departed to make it 148 for five, Bangladesh's hopes of another famous win over India were receding fast.

However, Sabbir Rahman (43 off 38) and Nasir Hossain (32 off 30) were not to go down without a fight. The duo hammered

49 off 38 balls for the sixth wicket as the dew made batting easier in the second half of the game.

India badly needed a wicket now and Stuart Binny, playing his first game of the series, provided the timely strike by finding the stumps of the dangerous Rahman, leaving Bangladesh at 197 for six in the 33rd over. The asking rate was not much of an issue for the hosts but they just kept on losing wickets at regular interval.

Spinners Ashwin and Axar Patel were effective alongisde part timer Raina. Umesh Yadav, brought back into the side, was wayward again and ended up conceding 33 runs in four overs.

Earlier, Dhawan starred with the bat before beleaguered skipper Dhoni struck a gritty fifty to take India to a defendable total.

India relied on Dhoni's 93-run stand for the fourth wicket with Ambati Rayudu (44 off 49) and Dhawan's 75-run partnership for the second wicket with Virat Kohli (25 off 35).

Raina hit a 21-ball 38, with three fours and two sixes, giving the innings a much-needed thrust.

Dhoni, who was criticised following the team's first ODI series defeat to Bangladesh and for his own poor run of form, had to work hard for his runs. The skipped still managed six boundaries and a six in the process.

Dhawan, who found the fence 10 times, laid the foundation and sporadically found the gaps. His innings was about immaculate timing, delicate touches and deft placement, especially through the off-side.

To start with, the intent was there till Rohit Sharma (29), in a moment of indiscretion, threw away his wicket to Mustafizur's away going delivery.

This was the third time in the series the batsman was castled by the young left-arm pacer, who has created a flutter with back-to-back five-wicket hauls in his maiden ODI series.

With 13 wickets to his credit so far, Mustafizur equalled the world record for most number of scalps in a three-ODI series, Ryan Harris being the other bowler.

A 39-run opening stand was followed by a 75-run stand for the second wicket, with Dhawan doing the bulk of scoring, courtesy some delectable drives through the off-side.

Kohli, who once again failed to make it big after getting his eye in, gave away his wicket while going for a needless heave on the on-side. On this occasion, Kohli was done in by the slowness of the wily Shakib.

Dhawan, on and off, kept the likes of Mustafizur, Rubel Hossain, Arafat Sunny at bay, sending them scurrying between mid-off and cover. But he too had a soft dismissal. The Delhi batsman failed to connect a long hop for the agile Nasir Hossain to complete a good catch at mid-wicket.

It was then left to the pair of Dhoni and Rayudu to consolidate India's innings, and the duo did that by picking up singles and twos besides hitting the occasional boundaries.

Dhoni was calculative as well as adventurous. He was not scared of stepping down the ground to the spinners and was equally at ease handling the pacers. Rayudu was not left behind, comfortably rotating the strike even as his skipper produced the big hits.

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News Network
July 21,2020

Jul 21: The tickets sold for the now-postponed ICC T20 World Cup will remain valid if Australia hosts the edition in 2021 instead of India.

In case the event is shifted to 2022, all ticket-holders will be entitled to a full refund, the ICC stated on its website on Monday night after postponing the mega-event this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The tournament was to be held in October-November but will now be conducted later because of the pandemic.

The ICC has not yet announced which country will host which edition as there are operational issues that both the Indian and Australian cricket Boards need to sort out.

The world body had opened ticket booking through its ticketing partners and a significant number was already sold.

"Ticket holders are welcome to retain their tickets, noting, if Australia hosts in 2021, tickets will remain valid for fans who have already bought and will be automatically updated to reflect the new dates.

"If Australia hosts in 2022, for tickets already bought a full refund will be processed automatically," ICC stated in a series of FAQs.

Fans can retain their tickets until a date is confirmed for the event.

Refund requests can be made until December 15 and they will be processed within 30 days after an online submission.

The hospitality package will also remain valid for the 2021 fixtures.

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News Network
January 31,2020

Wellington, Jan 31: A nervous New Zealand threw it away yet again as a perseverant India prevailed in the Super Over for the second successive time to take a 4-0 lead in the T20 International series on Friday.

Needing just 11 runs off the last two overs with seven wickets in hand, New Zealand dug a hole for themselves yet again, taking the game to a Super Over two nights after doing the same in Hamilton.

New Zealand managed 13 runs in six balls and India got there effortlessly.

KL Rahul smashed 10 runs off the first two balls before he was caught. Then, a fired-up Virat Kohli and Sanju Samson finished the game in style.

Earlier, Manish Pandey proved his value to the team with an unbeaten 50 off 35 balls, taking India to 165 for eight from 88 for six in the 12th over.

India's total wasn't enough considering the batting-friendly conditions but the hosts made life a lot tougher for themselves from a commanding position before succumbing to pressure.

The entertaining knocks from Colin Munro (64 off 47) and Time Seifert went in vain (57 off 39).

Mohammed Shami, who was rested on Friday, had bowled a brilliant 20th over on Wednesday and man of the match Shardul Thakur was up to the task this time, conceding just six runs when the opposition needed seven for victory.

With the series already in the bag, India gave opportunity to Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar and Navdeep Saini for the first time in the five-match series, resting Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja and Shami. However, none of them was able to make an impact in the game.

Chasing 165, New Zealand lost Martin Guptill early. But Munro and Seifert put on 74 runs for the second wicket to put themselves on track.

Munro scored a half-century of 38 deliveries, inclusive of six fours and three sixes. He was out against the run of play as Kohli's direct hit surprisingly found the target after a relay throw from the deep.

It was the turning point as New Zealand lost regular wickets. Yuzvendra Chahal bowled Tom Bruce (0), but Seifert found a partner in Ross Taylor as they pushed the score past 150 in the 18th over.

Seifert scored a half-century off 32 balls, including four fours and three sixes. But the great choke was yet to come again. Needing 18 off 18, the Black Caps lost four wickets in the last over bowled by Thakur.

Taylor holed out of the first ball, while Seifert was run out two balls later. Daryl Mitchell (4) was caught next and Mitchell Santner (2) couldn't steal two runs off the last ball as the sides engaged in a tie-breaker for the second game running.

This was after New Zealand won a fourth consecutive toss and opted to field. Kane Williamson didn't take part in the match owing to a shoulder niggle.

Tim Southee was the stand-in skipper, with the Black Caps making two changes.

Put in to bat, the visitors were struggling at 88-6 at one stage before Pandey's lonesome rescue act took them to a respectable total. KL Rahul contributed 39 runs off 26 balls, inclusive of three sixes and two fours.

Leg spinner Ish Sodhi got into the act and ran through India's batting order. First to go was Shreyas Iyer (1) and then Shivam Dube (12) was caught at mid-wicket.

Sodhi finished with 3-26 while Santner dismissed Sundar for nought as the New Zealand spinners rounded up a good outing with 4-54 in eight overs.

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News Network
July 21,2020

Melbourne, Jul 21: Cricket Australia's chief executive Nick Hockley has said that the Indian players and staff will most likely be asked to face two weeks of quarantine before the four-match Test series.

This scenario will bring the Adelaide Oval and its newly constructed hotel firmly into view as the sort of biosecure bubble, ESPNCricinfo reported.

India and Australia are slated to face each other in a four-match Test series, which is to begin from December 4 at Brisbane.

"The two-week quarantine is pretty well-defined. What we are working on is making sure that even within that quarantine environment, the players have got the absolute best training facilities, so that their preparation for the matches is as optimal as it can possibly be," ESPNCricinfo quoted Hockey as saying.

"Certainly the fact that the Adelaide Oval has a hotel. It does provide a facility not dissimilar to Old Trafford or Ageas Bowl where the hotels are integrated into the venue," he added.

Hockley also said that an exacting standard of biosecurity and testing would be applied before the series against India as the coronavirus cases are spiking in the subcontinent.

"It's widely known and it's unlikely that international travel restrictions would have lifted by the time that India will be due to come into the country. Clearly there will be testing regimes. We will be able to test people before that they get on to the plane and it is the nature of the situation of making sure we have the quarantine arrangements in line with government and health authority protocols," Hockley said.

"The key thing for the players is that there's regular testing and that we appropriately quarantine them when they come in and all of those plans are currently in development," he added.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday announced the postponement of the T20 World Cup 2020 slated to be held in Australia from October 18-November 15 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Following the announcement, the BCCI is likely to go ahead with the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the October-November window. However, it is known where the T20 tournament will be played as cases continue to rise in India.
"I think the BCCI has made no secrets that they are considering what that means for the IPL. For us, it's about getting a bit of an understanding and certainty around what that means. Clearly, in a normal course, some of our best players are obviously top picks for those IPL teams," Hockley said.

"It's a bit premature to speculate on that. We need to understand what the plans are if any and once we understand that we will make decisions accordingly," he added.

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