Virat Kohli and Co embarrass Bangladesh with a stunning 240-run victory

May 31, 2017

London, May 31: A supremely assertive India today humiliated Bangladesh by 240 runs in a warm-up game and geared up for the ICC Champions Trophy in an emphatic fashion, sounding a warning for arch-rivals Pakistan.dk

Playing in their second warm-up match, defending champions made short work of their sub-continental neighbour bowling them out for 84 in 23.5 overs at the Oval after piling up a commanding 324 for 7.

An all-win record in warm-up games is the ideal preparation ahead of the marquee clash on June 4. It was an all-round performance with some solid batting backed up by hostile opening spell from Umesh Yadav (3/16 in 5 overs) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3/13 in 5 overs).

Among batsmen, Dinesh Karthik made a strong case for a middle-order slot with a stylish 94 off 77 balls. Shikhar Dhawan (60) got runs under his belt against a quality Bangladesh attack comprising Mustafizur Rahaman (1/53), Rubel Hossain (3/50) and Taskin Ahmed (0/45).

Hardik Pandya showed his utility as an all-rounder with an equally impactful unbeaten 80 off 54 balls, which was laced with six boundaries and four huge sixes in the arc between mid-wicket and long-on.

When their turn to bat came, Bangladesh surrendered meekly in the face of some outstanding bowling by the Indian pacers.

The pace duo of Umesh and Bhuvneshwar posed tough questions by relentlessly bowling just outside the off-stump. Yadav, who can also hit the deck hard, bowled a lethal first spell, tormenting the clueless Bangladeshi batsmen.

While India put themselves in a strong position by notching up 324, the match was as good as over when the Men in Blue reduced Bangladesh to 22 for six in only the eighth over of the innings.

Yadav provided the first breakthrough when he had Soumya Sarkar, slashing away from the body, caught behind with one that swung away.

Three balls later, Bangladesh were 11 for two as Yadav went through the meek defence of Sabbir Rahman. And they lost their third wicket too, without disturbing the scoreboard, when Imrul Kayes' mistimed pull off a Bhuvneshwar short delivery was taken by Yadav at mid-on.

Bangladesh went from bad to worse when Bhuvneshwar bounced out Shakib. Bhuvneshwar then induced an edge from Mahmudullah to leave his team reeling at 21 for five in the seventh over, Karthik completing a good one-handed catch on that occasion.

Things deteriorated further as Yadav came back to send back Mosaddek Hossain with a terrific away going delivery.

A brief partnership ensued, but that could only help in delaying the inevitable.

Earlier, courtesy of Hardik's big hits towards the end, India crossed 300-run mark.

Skipper Virat Kohli and former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni did not bat, giving others an opportunity to get a good hit before the big-ticket Pakistan game.

With Yuvraj Singh not coming out to bat, indicating that he is yet to get fit, Karthik, after his failure against New Zealand, grabbed the second opportunity.

He hit eight boundaries and a six and, in the process, also sent feelers to the team management that he is also a candidate for a middle-order slot.

He added 100 runs with Dhawan for the third wicket after Rohit Sharma (1) and Ajinkya Rahane's (11) lack of footwork saw them getting played on.

Rohit was dismissed by Rubel while Mustafizur got the better of Rahane. But Karthik showed composure during his innings under mostly overcast conditions.

His first boundary was a cut shot off Taskin followed by a superb straight drive off Mustafizur. He was severe on off-spinner Mossadek Hossain and left- arm spinner Sunzamul Islam, cutting and pulling anything that was short. Sunzamul was pulled for a four and a six in one of the overs and he also ran the singles well.

Dhawan hit seven fours -- mostly through off and cover -- and was more patient than Karthik, waiting for the loose balls. He faced 67 balls before holing out at mid-wicket off Sunzamul, who went for 74 in his nine overs.

Kedar Jadhav (31) also got some batting time while Ravindra Jadeja (32) chipped in with useful contribution.

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Agencies
January 5,2020

Mumbai, Jan 5: India captain Virat Kohli has refrained from making any comments on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), without gaining full knowledge on the sensitive subject.

The CAA will grant Indian nationality to people belonging to minority communities -- Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians -- in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan after six years of residence in India instead of 12, even if they don't possess any proper document.

In 2016, Kohli had termed demonetisation as the "greatest move in history of Indian politics", which met with sharp criticism from a lot of quarters, with people questioning his knowledge on the subject.

With Guwahati witnessing massive protests against the CAA till some days back, Kohli was asked about it and the Indian skipper weighed his words carefully.

"On the issue, I do not want to be irresponsible and speak on something that has, you know, radical opinions both sides. I need to have total information, total knowledge of what it means and what is going on and then be responsible to give my opinion on it," Kohli said ahead of India's first T20 International against Sri Lanka.

The skipper made it clear that he will not like to get embroiled in a controversy by commenting on a subject that he is not well aware of.

"Because you can say one thing and then someone can say another thing. So, I would not like to get involved in something that I don't have total knowledge of and it's not going to be responsible on my part to comment on it." However Kohli on his part was happy with the security arrangements and felt that the city is "absolutely safe".

"The city is absolutely safe. We didn't see any problems on the roads," Kohli said, giving his thumbs-up for the match at the Barsapara Stadium.

The Assam Cricket Association is using this match as a "curtain-raiser" ahead of their maiden IPL match this season as Rajasthan Royals have adopted this venue.

There has been deployment of Rapid Action Force for the teams and ACA secretary Devajit Saikia has said the spectators will not even be allowed to bring along handkerchiefs and towels on the match-day as the traditional Assamese scarf was used for protests against CAA.

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News Network
March 4,2020

Sydney, Mar 4: Teenage Indian batting sensation Shafali Verma on Wednesday rose to the top spot in the ICC women's T20 International rankings, riding on her stellar run at the ongoing World Cup here.

The 16-year-old Verma takes over from New Zealand's Suzie Bates, who had been the top batter since October 2018 after wresting the spot from West Indies captain Stafanie Taylor.

However, Smriti Mandhana has slipped a couple of rungs to sixth in the latest list.

Verma and England spinner Sophie Ecclestone will go into the semifinals of the event as the top ranked batter and bowler respectively. India will take on England on Thursday.

Verma's explosive batting at the top of the order saw her score 161 runs in four innings, including knocks of 47 and 46 against Sri Lanka and New Zealand. It helped her become only the second India batter after Mithali Raj to top the women's T20I batting rankings, according to an ICC statement.

Ecclestone, who took eight wickets in four matches including a best of three for seven against the West Indies, is the first England bowler to be number one since Anya Shrubsole in April 2016 and the first England spinner at the top since Danni Hazell in August 2015.

Among the Indian bowlers, Poonam Yadav is up four places to eighth after a good run in World Cup.

Some valiant performances from Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Athapaththu have seen her move from 18th to 14th spot for batters.

England's Nat Sciver is again in the top 10 and captain Heather Knight in the top 15 for the first time.

South Africa opener Laura Wolvaardt has advanced 23 places to 44th, while Pakistan's Aliya Riaz has gained 24 places and is 48th while New Zealand's Maddy Green is in the top 100 after advancing 28 slots.

In the bowlers' list, leg-spinners Amelia Kerr of New Zealand (up two places to fourth) and Australia's George Wareham (up nine places to 10th) have made significant gains in the latest rankings update.

Other bowlers to advance include new-ball bowler Diana Baig of Pakistan (up 34 places to 13th), Shashikala Siriwardena of Sri Lanka (up seven places to 14th), Anya Shrubsole of England (up five places to 17th), Dane van Niekerk of South Africa (up 12 places to joint-22nd) and Shikha Pandey of India (up 23 places to joint-22nd).

New Zealand captain Sophie Devine is now the sole number one all-rounder after coming into the tournament as a joint number one along with Australia all-rounder Ellyse Perry.

India's Deepti Sharma has advanced nine places to seventh, the first time that she is among the top 10 in the all-rounders' list after also moving up to 53rd among batters.

Australia remain at the top of the T20I team rankings with 290 points and England in second position with 278.

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Agencies
January 5,2020

Mumbai, Jan 5: All-rounder Irfan Pathan on Saturday announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, ending an injury-ridden career that prevented him from realising his true potential.

The 35-year-old's retirement was on expected lines, considering he last played a competitive game in February 2019 during the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy for Jammu and Kashmir.

He did not even put himself in the IPL auction pool, last month.

The left-arm seamer's bowling was like a breath of fresh air when he made his India debut against Australia at the Adelaide Oval in 2003.

He never had express pace but his natural ability to swing the ball into the right-handers got him instant success, also drawing comparisons with the great Kapil Dev.

It seemed India had found the all-rounder they were looking for since Kapil left the scene. Pathan, who last played for India in October 2012, featured in 29 Tests (1105 runs and 100 wickets), 120 ODIs (1544 runs and 173 wickets) and 24 T20 Internationals (172 runs and 28 wickets).

He was part of the victorious Indian team at the 2007 World Twenty20 and was the man-of-the-match in the final against Pakistan.

One of his best performances came on the tour of Pakistan in 2006 when he became the second Indian after Harbhajan Singh to take a Test hat-trick, removing Salman Butt, Younis Khan and Mohammad Yusuf during the Karachi game.

He also played a big role in India winning a Test match against Australia on a tough Perth wicket, which offered steep bounce.

Injuries and lack of form troubled him thereafter and his ability to swing the ball deteriorated.

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