Aussie team bus attacked with stone, police nabs two

Agencies
October 11, 2017

Guwahati, Oct 11: The Australian cricket team endured a security scare after the second T20 International against India here when the team bus was damaged in a stone- throwing incident, for which the state police has nabbed a couple of suspects. 

A window pane of the Australian team bus was damaged in the attack. The incident took place after the visiting side defeated India by eight wickets in the second T20 to level the three-match series 1-1. 

No player was injured as the nearest seat to the damaged window pane was unoccupied. 

But the incident raised a question mark on the Assam Cricket Association (ACA) and state police's security arrangements for the match at the newly-constructed stadium in Barsapara. 

"Really unfortunate incident after a great game aimed to tarnish Guwahati's reputation as emerging sports hub. We strongly condemn it. Our deep apology. People of assam never endorse such behaviour.we will punish the guilty," Assam Chief Minister Sarbanada Sonowal tweeted. 

"Vow to take strictest action against the culprits. Investigation is on full swing & Police have already picked up," he added. 

Senior batsman Aaron Finch was the first to post a photograph of the damaged window pane on his twitter account, admitting that the players were scared. 

"Pretty scary having a rock thrown through the team bus window on the way back to the hotel!!" Finch posted on his official twitter handle. 

Union Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore also reacted sharply, saying that security of visiting players is extremely important. 

"Guwahati stone-throwing incident NOT reflective of our security measures. Aus team & FIFA are content w/those. India remains a graceful host," Rathore posted on his twitter account. 

ACA secretary Pradip Buragohain said the incident took place when the team was heading back to the hotel. 

"We made every attempt to ensure a foolproof security but don't know how this happened. It was near the team hotel and not at the crowded street near the stadium," Buragohain told PTI. 

"The police have already arrested two persons and are investigating into the matter. I can assure that such incident won't occur in future again. There will be a thick security cover when the Australian team leaves for Hyderabad," he added. 

Senior India player Ravichandran Ashwin condemned the act, urging fans to show more responsibility. 

"The stone thrown at the Aussie team bus shows us in bad light, let's all act more responsibly. A vast majority of us are capable of that," Ashwin tweeted. 

The state association also faced criticism from journalists owing to complete mismanagement at the media box. 

It proved to be a nightmare for journalists, who struggled with basic facilities like internet to cover the match. 

There was no internet connectivity in the media box, which had one TV to cater to about 250 jouralists, while the washroom ran out of power. 

However, what worked inside the media box was the public address system that played out songs and "welcomed" the spectators with loud announcements till it was forced to be disconnected.

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News Network
January 17,2020

Jan 17: Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza cruised into the women's doubles final of the Hobart International with her Ukrainian partner Nadiia Kichenok here on Friday.

Sania and Kichenok sailed past the Slovenian-Czech pair of Tamara Zidansek and Marie Bouzkova 7-6 (3) 6-2 in the semifinal contest that lasted one hour and 24 minutes.

The fifth-seeded Indo-Ukrainian combination will lock horns with second seeds Shuai Peng and Shuai Zhang of China. The Chinese pair got a walkover after Belgium's Kirsten Flipkens and Alison Van Uytvanck conceded the other semifinal match because of injury.

While Sania and Kichenok had to fight hard in the opening set, the second set was a cakewalk for the combination.

The first set was a tough contest between the two pairs, bringing the tie-breaker into the equation after it was level at 6-6.

In the tie-breaker, Sania and Kichenok upped their game by a few notches to outsmart their opponents and take the lead.

The second set was a no-contest as Saina and Kichenok broke their opponents thrice -- in the second, sixth and eighth game -- to easily pocket the set and a place in the summit clash.

Saina and Kichenok got 11 break chances out of which they converted four, while their opponents utilised two out of the five break chances that came their way.

The 33-year-old Sania is returning to the WTA circuit after two years. During her time away from the game, she battled injury breakdowns before taking a formal break in April 2018 to give birth to her son Izhaan. She is married to Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik.

Before the ongoing event, Sania last played at China Open in October 2017.

A trailblazer in Indian tennis, Sania is a former world No.1 in doubles and has six Grand Slam titles to her credit.

She retired from the singles competition in 2013 after becoming the most successful Indian woman tennis player.

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News Network
June 10,2020

New Delhi, Jun 10: Former India skipper Rahul Dravid has praised the batting of MS Dhoni during the backend of a match, saying that the wicket-keeper often played during the period as if the result did not really matter to him.

Dravid also said that in pressure-cooker situations, not worrying about consequences can help players bring out the best in themselves.

"You watch MS Dhoni play during the backend of a match when he was at his best, you always felt like that he is doing something really important to him but he is playing it like the result does not really matter to him," Dravid told Sanjay Manjrekar during a videocast hosted by ESPNCricinfo.

"I think you need to have that or you need to train for it. It is a skill that I never had. The consequences of any decision mattered to me. It would be interesting to ask MS Dhoni that is this something that has come naturally to him or did he work on this during his career," he added.

Dhoni made his ODI debut against Bangladesh in 2004, but he truly arrived in the series against Pakistan in 2005 when he scored 148 runs in the second ODI of the six-match series at Vishakapatnam.

He is the only captain to win all major ICC trophies (50-over World Cup, T20 World Cup, and Champions Trophy). Under his leadership, India also managed to attain the number one ranking in Test cricket.

He first led an inexperienced Indian side to the T20 World Cup triumph in 2007. He then took over ODI captaincy, but he had to wait for leading the Test side as Anil Kumble was doing the duties in the longest format.

Over his career, Dhoni has been reowned for his finishing skills and he is often viewed as the best finisher that the game has ever seen.

In December 2014, Dhoni announced his retirement from the longest format of the game.

Then in 2017, Dhoni handed over the captaincy reins to Virat Kohli in the 50-over format.

Dhoni was slated to return to the cricket field on March 29 in the IPL's opening match between CSK and Mumbai Indians. However, the tournament has been suspended indefinitely as a precautionary measure against coronavirus.

Thirty-eight-year-old Dhoni has been currently enjoying some time away from the game. He last played competitive cricket during the 2019 World Cup.

Dhoni recently had to face criticism for his slow batting approach during India's matches.

Earlier this year, Dhoni did not find a place in the list of BCCI's centrally contracted players from October 2019 to September 2020.

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News Network
July 16,2020

Kolkata, Jul 16: BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Wednesday went into home quarantine after his elder brother and Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) joint secretary Snehasish Ganguly tested positive for Covid-19.

Snehasish, a former Bengal first-class player, has been admitted to the Belle Vue hospital in Kolkata after his COVID report came positive.

"He was suffering from fever for the last few days and his test report came positive today. He's been admitted to Belle Vue Hospital," a CAB official said.

"The reports arrived late in the evening. As per health protocols, even Sourav will have to be in home quarantine for a stipulated period," a source close to the BCCI President added.

Snehasish had shifted to their ancestral house, where Sourav is based, in Behala after his wife and in-laws at his Mominpur residence tested positive for the dreaded virus.

The former India captain was, however, unavailable for a comment on the development.

Recently, during an interview to India Today, Sourav had spoken about how life around him has changed, making people more vulnerable.

"My brother visits our factories everyday and he is more at risk," the former batting star had said

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