Vijender Singh expected to face tough fight in 6th pro bout

May 7, 2016

Bolton, May 7: Just one fight away from a shot at the WBO Asia title, Indian boxer Vijender Singh will face an experienced Andrzej Soldra of Poland in his sixth professional bout at the Macron Stadium in Bolton on May 13.

VijenderThe in-form super middleweight boxer, who took bronze at the 2008 Olympic Games, has made an explosive start to his professional career by blowing away his first five opponents. The 30-year-old from Haryana has won all his five fights by knockout in only 14 rounds of action.

A former World No.1 in the middweight (75kg) category during his amateur days, Vijender is confdent of beating Soldra and making his summer homecoming to India for the WBO Asia fight with his undefeated status intact.

Soldra comes into the contest against Vijender with a record of 12 wins with five knockouts from 16 fights. The 30-year-old has the edge in experience over Vijender with 81 rounds under his belt and has no fear fighting his first fight abroad. Soldra also had a brilliant record in his amateur career with 82 wins from 98 fights.

Soldra has only been stopped thrice during his professional career spanning over five years and will be looking to spoil Vijender’s party when he makes his first appearance on UK soil. Vijender knows that it is crucial to win at the Macron Stadium before setting his eyes on a huge Indian homecoming.

The undefeated Indian claimed his fifth professional win at the Copper Box Arena in London last month with a blistering fifth round stoppage of Frenchman Matiouze Royer. The Indian ended the contest in the fifth round with a punishing stoppage win over Royer and will be looking to claim another knockout win at the Macron Stadium.

“I have seen videos of Soldra he is a good opponent but I am preparing very hard to give him a tough time in the ring. He’s very experienced though and with 16 fights and 81 rounds he’s got the advantage over me in that department but I will stop him,” Vijender said.

“I know this fight is very crucial for me and I need to continue my unbeaten record and it’s important that I put on a commanding performance against Soldra to keep on course for my title shot and my homecoming. I am really excited to finish off my sixth fight on a winning note and then compete for Asia title in front of my home crowd,” he added.

However, Soldra has threatened to stop the Indian in his tracks and inflict the first loss on his record.

“Vijender has never met anyone like me and he will realise what it is like fighting with a real professional boxer on the May 13. I will take great delight in handing Vijender Singh his first loss and sending him back home to India beaten and broken,” the Polish pugilist said.

“In fact I will tell you what I will do to him, I will smash him to the body to loosen him up and then a right hand to knock him out, just watch me,” he added.

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News Network
July 2,2020

Jul 2: Cricket Australia has decided to not use the Dukes ball from this summer's Sheffield Shield, having used it alongside Kookaburra for four seasons.

CA has confirmed that the Kookaburra ball will be used for the entire 2020-21 first-class season.

Australia has been using Dukes ball since the 2016-17 season in Shield matches with an aim to help its cricketers prepare for the hostile English conditions.

CA's Head of Cricket Operations, Peter Roach, said the decision to axe the Dukes was the right call. "The introduction of the Dukes ball has been a worthwhile exercise, particularly in the lead up to overseas Ashes series where the Dukes is used so well by our English opponents," Roach said.

"We have been happy with how the ball has performed when used in Australian conditions over the past four seasons. We do, however, feel that reverting to one ball for 2020-21 will provide the consistent examination of our players over a full season that CA and the states are presently seeking. The Kookaburra is the ball used for international cricket in Australia and many parts of the world and we see benefits this season of maximising our use of it," he added.

Roach said the ineffectiveness of spinners in first-class cricket in recent times played a role in CA's decision to do away with the Dukes. "We have noted that spin bowlers in the Sheffield Shield have been playing less of a role in recent seasons, most notably in games when the Dukes ball is in use. We need spinners bowling in first-class cricket and we need our batters facing spin. We hope that the change to one ball will have a positive benefit here," he said.

The CA official, however, didn't rule out the possibility of re-introducing it later.

"We see a definite opportunity to reintroduce the Dukes ball at some stage in the future."

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News Network
January 8,2020

Indore, Jan 8:  India skipper Virat Kohli has added yet another feather to his cap by becoming the fastest player to score 1,000 runs in T20I cricket as a captain. Kohli played an unbeaten knock of 30 during India''s seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the second T20I of the ongoing three-match series on Tuesday evening.

Kohli achieved the milestone of scoring 1,000 runs as captain in his 30th T20I inning. He is the second Indian and sixth overall after MS Dhoni to have achieved the feat. Dhoni had scored 1112 runs in 62 T20I games as captain.

Faf du Plessis (1273 runs from 40 games), Kane Williamson (1083 runs in 39 games), Eoin Morgan (1013 runs in 43 games) and Ireland''s William Porterfield (1002 runs in 56 games) are other captains on the list.

During India''s emphatic victory at the Holkar Stadium, Kohli also surpassed team-mate Rohit Sharma, who has been rested for the series, as the top run-getter in the T20Is. Kohli now has 2663 runs from 71 innings.

Both had finished 2019 as joint top-scorers in T20Is, with 2633 runs each.

India, already with an unassailable lead of 1-0 in the series, will now face Sri Lanka in the final T20I on Friday in Pune. The first match between the two teams was called off without a ball being bowled due to wet patches on the pitch in Guwahati last Sunday.

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News Network
May 27,2020

Bengaluru, May 27: Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar has revealed that he was never able to dismiss Inzamam-ul-Haq in the nets.

The Rawalpindi Express praised the former Pakistan skipper and said Inzamam could see the ball one second earlier than the rest of the batsmen could.

"Honestly, I don't think I could ever get him (Inzamam) out, he had the time and I always felt he saw the ball a second earlier than the rest of the batsmen because I had a complicated action unlike Brett Lee, I felt I could never dismiss Inzamam-ul-Haq," Akhtar told Sanjay Manjrekar in a videocast hosted by ESPNCricinfo.

"I couldn't get him out in the nets, I think he could see the ball a second before anyone else," he added.

Inzamam played 120 Tests and 378 ODIs for Pakistan.

He finished his career with 20,569 runs across all formats.

The right-handed batsman called time on his career in 2007 and he played his last Test against South Africa in Lahore.

On the other hand, Akhtar played 224 matches for Pakistan in international cricket and took 444 wickets across all formats.

The Rawalpindi Express last played an ODI in 2011 as he played against New Zealand in the 50-over World Cup.

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