Chennaiyin FC beat FC Goa 3-2 to emerge ISL champions

December 21, 2015

Margao, Dec 21: Forced to shift base to another venue due to floods in their home city, Chhenaiyin FC were today crowned the Indian Super League champions after they beat FC Goa 3-2 in a drama-filled summit clash in which three goals were scored in the last four minutes here today.

chennaniyan

In a befitting grand finale of the ISL second season which saw 186 goals scored in 60 matches as compared to 121 last year, the Chennaiyin vs Goa clash at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here saw as many as five goals, all of them coming in the second half in the edge-of-the-seat match.

Bruno Pelissari put Chennaiyin ahead in the 54th minute but Goa equalised within four minutes with Thongkhosiem Haokip finding the target. Joffre Gonzalez then put Goa ahead for the first time in the 87th minute in what looked like to be the winning goal.

But, under dramatic circumstances, Goa goalkeeper Laxmikant Kattimani conceded an own goal in the 90th minute to level the score before Chennaiyin striker Stiven Mendoza found the target in the first minute of the injury time to stun the home supporters of Goa.

The thrilling final, attended by the likes of Indian Test cricket team captain and Goa co-owner Virat Kohli and his actress girlfriend Anushka Sharma besides Chennaiyin owner Abhishek Bachchan and ISL Chairperson Nita Ambani, brought a climactic end to the season of the lucrative league.

For Chennaiyin, coached by Italian World Cup winner Marco Materazzi, the triumph was all the more remarkable as they had to shift to Pune for their semifinals first leg after their home venue was devastated by the floods.

They were also struggling in the early part of the league phase and needed four wins on the trot in their last four matches to qualify for the semifinals.

On the other hand, it was heartbreak for Goa who looked the most attacking side in the season under Brazilian legend Zico who is not expected to return for the next season.

The winners got richer by Rs 8 crore while the runners- team got Rs 4 crore. The two semi-final losers got Rs 1.5 crore each.

Colombian Mendoza, who continued with his fine form in the tournament today also, was later named as the best player of the tournament besides also winning the Golden Boot Award for scoring highest number of 13 goals. He though missed a penalty kick in the match.

Both the team, looking for their maiden title after they lost in the semifinals last year, started cautiously and had the honours shared equally in the barren first half.

The visitors made one change in the starting line up bringing in Pelissari in place of Elano Blumer. The home side fielded unchanged eleven that won against Delhi Dynamos in the semifinals.

They got an early jolt when striker Dudu Omagbemi got injured after an aerial duel with Mailson Alves and was taken to the hospital for treatment. He was replaced by Jonathan Lucca who played as a defensive midfielder, allowing Leo Moura to move further up along with Joffre.

Mendoza, who has been a threat to all opposition defence this season, was kept quiet for long before he made his presence in the 37th minute when he played a one-two with Jeje Lalpekhlua.

Mendoza dribbled past two rival defenders before letting go a firm left footer which keeper Kattimani did well to put out of danger.

Earlier, Kattimani did well to come out of his charge to push the ball out of danger before Mendoza could score after defender Bikramjit Singh failed to intercept it inside the box.

Goa made attacking moves but the alert Chennaiyin defence led by Bernard Mendy did well to cut off their moves even as they came close to scoring on a couple of occasions.

Goa coach Zico once again reverted their earlier formation, playing two strikers bringing in Thongkoisep Haokip in place of Leo Moura to create more impact upfront.

Mendoza, who looked dangerous whenever he had the ball, earned a penalty for his team in the 54th minute when Pronay Halder brought him down inside the box. Pelissari who took the penalty saw his shot saved by keeper Kattimani but the Brazilian made sure he scored the goal in the rebound.

Goa retaliated and restored parity in the 58th minute as Romeo Fernandes sent a cross into the Chennaiyin box for Thongkoisep Haokip to tap home. Indian Test cricket captain Virat Kohli was seen punching in the air to celebrate the goal by his team.

Minutes latter, Mendoza again earned a penalty for his team after he was brought down by keeper Kattimani. Mendoza took the penalty himself but his effort was saved by Kattimani who dived to his left to put the ball out.

Thereafter, the match came to alive as both the teams made attacking moves with Goa looking more threatening. They took the lead in the 88th minute. Joffre took a free kick and Rafael ducked himself and the ball took the deflection of Elano Blumer before going into the net in the 88th minute.

Chennaiyin fought back and restored parity in the 90th minute. From a move on the left, Mehrajuddin Wadoo's looping ball inside the box saw Kattimani come off his line to punch it clear with Mendoza applying pressure. However, the ball took a touch of Kattimani's hands before landing into the net.

With the match heading for penalty shoot out, Chennaiyin pocket dynamo Mendoza scored the winner in the injury time. Rane played the ball for Mendoza from the left. The Colombian striker chested it down and got the better of Arnolin and Lucio and took a shot which Kattimani could only get a touch but could not keep out.

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News Network
April 5,2020

New Delhi, April 5: England batsman James Vince lashed out at people for not taking proper measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic and said people are going out as if "everything is normal".

"Just seen the pictures of people out and about today as if everything is normal. What selfish people, surely by now they've realised this is serious. Well done to everyone who's doing their bit and staying in," Vince tweeted.

On March 13, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said that Europe was now the 'epicentre' of the disease.

The death toll due to the novel coronavirus in the UK has exceeded 4,313 with at least 708 new deaths in the last 24 hours, the largest one-day rise since the start of the outbreak as confirmed by the Department of Health and Social Care.

The total number of cases in the UK as on Saturday is 41,903, a rise of 3,735 cases in the last 24 hours.

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News Network
February 27,2020

Melbourne, Feb 27: Shafali Verma's 34-ball 46 followed by a superlative performance from the bowlers helped India notch up a narrow four-run win over New Zealand in a crucial group A match of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup on Thursday.

Invited to bat, India posted a below-par 133 for eight against New Zealand in the crucial group A match with Shafali top-scoring with a 34-ball 46 and Taniya Bhatia chipping in with a 25-ball 23.

India, however, produced a disciplined performance with the ball to restrict New Zealand to 129 for six and register their third successive win in the tournament.

With this win, India topped Group A, having beaten Australia and Bangladesh in their last two outing.

Defending the total, India introduced spin straight away but Deepti Sharma bled 12 runs with opener Rachel Priest (12) hitting her for two boundaries.

But experienced pacer Shikha Pandey removed Priest in the next over when she had her caught at mid wicket.

With Shikha and left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad bowling in tandem, New Zealand played with caution to reach 28 for one.

Back into the attack, Deepti then cleaned up Bates with a beauty of a delivery as New Zealand slipped to 30 for two.

Poonam Yadav and Radha Yadav then mounted the pressure on the Kiwis and soon the Black Caps were 34 for 3 when the former dismissed skipper Sophie Devine (14).

Maddy Green (24) and Katey Martin (25) then tried to resurrect the innings with a 36-ball 43-run stand.

However, Gayakwad returned to remove Green, who danced down the pitch only to end up with an outside edge as Bhatia did the rest.

Radha then dismissed Martin to leave New Zealand at 90 for 5 in 16.3 overs.

Needing 44 off 21 balls, Kerr (34) blasted four boundaries to accumulate 18 runs in the penultimate over bowled by Poonam to bring the equation down to 16 off six balls.

In the final over, Heyley Jensen (11) and Kerr cracked a four each but Shikha held her nerves in the end to complete the win.

Earlier, 16-year-old Shafali provided the fireworks as India scored 49 for one in the powerplay overs. But they lost six wickets for 43 runs to squander the good start.

Smriti Mandhana (11), who returned to the playing XI after missing the last match due to illness, departed early but Shafali and Taniya (23) kept the scoreboard ticking, adding 51 runs for the second wicket.

In the 10th over, Taniya was caught by Amelia Kerr at backward point, while Jemimah Rodrigues (10) was caught by Kerr in the 12th over as India slipped to 80 for 3.

Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur's (1) poor form also continued as she was soon back to the hut after being caught and bowled by Leigh Kasperek.

Shafali, who was dropped at long-on in the 8th over and at mid-wicket in the 10th over, then holed out to Jensen at deep extra cover. She had four hits to the fence and three maximum shots in her innings.

Left-handed batter Deepti Sharma (8) and Veda Krishnamurthy (6) brought up the 100 in the 15th over but both departed soon as India slumped to 104 for 6.

Radha Yadav then blasted 14 off nine balls, which included a six in the final over, to give some respectability to the total.

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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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