What Kaur told Deepti during their match-winning partnership

Agencies
July 21, 2017

Derby, Jul 21: Harmanpreet Kaur etched her name into record books after her scintillating 115-ball unbeaten 171 helped India thrash Australia by 36 runs and took them to the ICC Women's World Cup 2017 final. India will now face hosts England in the summit clash at The Lord's in London on Sunday.

Harmanpreet

After her marauding knock, the 28-year-old from Punjab explained how she resurrected India innings with her team-mate Deepti Sharma. Harmanpreet was involved in a 137-run stand for the fourth wicket with Deepti (25), the only Indian woman with a higher score in ODIs.

"I just told her (Deepti) to rotate the strike, you don't have to take the pressure. I was hitting the ball well and I told her to give me the strike and I will take the responsibility and she did a great job," Harmanpreet said after the match.

Coming in at No.4, Harmanpreet's unbeaten 171 bailed out the team that was tottering at 35/2 after losing both the openers, Smriti Mandhana (6) and Punam Raut (14), inside the first 10 overs. With India in a spot of bother, Harmanpreet mauled the Australian bowlers with her brutal force and powered India to 281 for 4 in the rain-hit semi-final. In reply, Australia women could only muster 245.

Harmanpreet, who hammered her third ODI ton, laced with 20 fours and seven massive sixes, now has the second-highest score in Women's World Cup. Sri Lanka's Chamari Atapattu is on top of the list with 178 not out, also against Australia in the ongoing tournament.

"I didn't get a chance to bat in the whole tournament," Harmanpreet said.

"Today when I got the chance I just wanted to utilise this opportunity, because today was the day where I wanted to prove myself and thanks to God, whatever I was thinking, (worked).

"Mithali (Raj) and Deepti (Sharma) scored really well and Veda (Krishnamurthy) scored really well," she added complementing her batting companions.

The 28-year old cricketer hailing from Moga in Punjab had earned acclaim in the T20 circuit, becoming the first Indian to be picked for the Big Bash League and the Kia Super League.

Talking about her knock, Harmanpreet, who idolises Virender Sehwag, said: "Today's plan was just watch the ball, hit it hard and this is what I was doing.

"Some areas they were bowling well but I just wanted to hit and rotate the strike."

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News Network
March 31,2020

New Delhi, Mar 31: Australia batsman David Warner on Tuesday decided to shave off his head to show support towards all those people who are working relentlessly on the frontline in the battle against coronavirus.

After shaving off his head, Warner also challenged his Australian team-mate Steve Smith and India skipper Virat Kohli to do the same.

Warner, shared a time-lapse video on Instagram, of him shaving his head, and captioned the post as: "Been nominated to shave my head in support of those working on the frontline #Covid-19 here is a time-lapse. I think my debut was the last time I recall I've done this. Like it or not".

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Australia's death toll stands at 19, as per the Sydney Morning Herald.

As of 8 am today, 4460 people across Australia have tested positive for COVID-19.

The World Health Organisation had termed coronavirus as a 'pandemic' on March 11.

Earlier in the day, Australia Test skipper Tim Paine also confirmed that the side's tour of Bangladesh is unlikely due to the virus spread.
"You don't have to be Einstein to realise (the Bangladesh tour) is probably unlikely to go ahead, particularly in June. Whether it's cancelled or pushed back, we're not quite sure at the moment," cricket.com.au quoted Paine as saying.

Currently, Australia has 296 points in the WTC from 10 matches, while India has 360 points from nine matches.

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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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Agencies
May 31,2020

London, May 31: "Jacques Kallis, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli," replied umpire Ian Gould when he was asked to name the three best batsmen he loved watching when he was officiating as an umpire.

The former ICC elite umpire said that he was unlucky to not watch Ponting bat as much as he would have liked to.

"Jacques Kallis. I loved watching Jacques. He was a very, very fine player. Sachin. And probably Virat. I was unlucky in some respects. I didn't see the best of Ricky Ponting. He was an outstanding character, outstanding captain, such a proud Australian," ESPNCricinfo quoted Gould as saying.

"But his career was just starting to wane as I came on the scene. But he was incredibly helpful, so I'm disappointed I have to leave him out. Jacques Kallis, I could sit and watch all day, Virat, the same. And Sachin, if you want someone to bat for your life, he was the man," he added.

Gould had retired from the ICC's panel of elite umpires in 2019, after standing in more than 250 international matches over a 13-year career.

Over the years, comparisons between Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar have been growing and many have picked the current Indian skipper to break the records set by Tendulkar.

Tendulkar called time on his career after registering 100 international centuries, while Kohli has 70 centuries across all formats.

While, Kallis played 166 Tests, 328 ODIs and 25 T20Is for South Africa and he is often viewed as the greatest all-rounder the game has seen.

Many pundits of the game find it hard to pick between him and Sir Garfield Sobers.

Across his career, Kallis scored 25,534 runs in his career and he also managed to take 577 wickets.

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