FIFA WC: Belgium's 94th-minute winner breaks Japanese hearts

Agencies
July 3, 2018

Rostov-on-Don, Jul 3: World No. 3 Belgium edged past Japan in the dying moments of a five-goal thriller at the Rostov Arena, completing a comeback from a two-goal deficit in the round-of-16 of the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2018.

Substitute Nacer Chadli scored in the 94th minute of injury time to overturn yet another upset in the World Cup, after the Red Devils had nullified Japan's two-goal lead through Jan Vertonghen and Marouane Fellaini, becoming the first team to come from two goals down in a World Cup knockout game since West Germany knocked out England in 1970.

The first half of the match was hardly an indicator for what was to come, with a blocked Axel Witsel effort and a stray Vincent Kompany shot from a Kevin de Bruyne cross the only meaningful chances Belgium managed to create.

The first real scare for Belgium in the goalless first half arrived just before the interval when goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois spilt a tame Yuya Osako effort, although he managed to gather it before it trickled past the goal line.

The second half saw Japan coming out all guns blazing, scoring two brilliant goals within seven minutes of the restart to give them a real chance of making it to their first-ever World Cup quarter-finals.

The first Japanese goals came from a rapid counter-attack that was initiated from the edge of their box after a Belgian attack broke down, with Genki Haraguchi latching onto a Gaku Shibasaki pass and emphatically driving his shot past Courtois.

Belgium almost equalised immediately with Chelsea star Eden Hazard, found by Dries Mertens inside the box, striking his effort against the post.

Japan managed to double their lead in the 52nd minute, as a Shinji Kagawa pass was collected by Takashi Inui just outside the Belgian box, who unleashed a magnificent curler into the bottom right-hand corner beyond an outstretched Courtois.

Romelu Lukaku soon squandered his best chance of the night to draw level with English striker Harry Kane in the race for the Golden Boot, as he headed a Thomas Meunier cross wide from point-blank range.

The Belgians soon initiated their comeback in the 69th minute through Vertonghen, who looped a header from an uncleared corner beyond Eiji Kawashima in goal.

Five minutes later, a dangerous Eden Hazard cross into the box was met by substitute Fellaini, who nodded past Kawashima.

The Japanese keeper then made a string of brilliant saves, with the most noteworthy of them being a double save he pulled off at the 85-minute mark, keeping out headers from Meunier and Lukaku in succession.

However, he was breached in the final minute of stoppage time with a deadly counterattack, started by Courtois after he claimed a Japanese corner.

Kevin de Bruyne slipped in Meunier with a terrific pass, whose low cross was first dummied by Lukaku for substitute Chadli to prod in for the winner.

With the win, Belgium will face tournament favourites Brazil in the quarterfinals on July 6 in Kazan Arena.

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News Network
March 5,2020

Mumbai, Mar 5: Former India spinner Sunil Joshi was on Wednesday named chairman of the national selection panel by the BCCI's Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), which also picked ex-pacer Harvinder Singh to the five-member group.

The CAC, comprising Madan Lal, R P Singh and Sulakshana Naik, picked the two selectors with Joshi replacing South Zone representative MSK Prasad.

In an unprecedented decision, the BCCI said the CAC will review the panel's performance after one year and make recommendations accordingly.

"The committee recommended Sunil Joshi for the role of chairman of the senior men's selection committee. The CAC will review the candidates after a one-year period and make the recommendations to the BCCI," read a statement from BCCI Secretary Jay Shah.

Harvinder was chosen from central zone and replaces Gagan Khoda in the panel.

The existing members of the selection panel are Jatain Paranjpe, Devang Gandhi and Sarandeep Singh.

"We have picked the best guys for the job," Lal told news agency.

The CAC had shortlisted five candidates for interviews -- Joshi, Harvinder, Venkatesh Prasad, Rajesh Chauhan and L S Sivaramakrishnan -- from a list of 40 applicants.

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News Network
January 7,2020

Indore, Jan 7: With the first T20I being washed out, India and Sri Lanka will now hope that rain gods stay away from the Holkar Stadium when the two teams face each other in the second match of the ongoing three-game series on Tuesday.

Only toss could take place on Sunday at Guwahati`s Barsapara Cricket Ground before rain gods came in and left damp spots on the pitch thus forcing the game to be called off without a ball being bowled.

Hairdryers were used to dry the pitch after water seeped in through leaking covers at the Barsapara Stadium, a sight which is not usually seen in international cricket. And that hasn`t gone down well with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) which now awaits chief curator Ashish Bhowmick`s report on the same.

The Men in Blue, who enjoyed a brief break, are coming into the series on the back of T20I series victories against Bangladesh and West Indies respectively and thus would be the more confident side out of the two.

Just like Guwahati, the team management and other Indian cricket fans would focus on comeback man Jasprit Bumrah who is making his return to international cricket. Bumrah has been out of action after India`s tour of the West Indies in July-August due to a stress fracture on his back and thus would be rearing to go and perform for the team.

Dhawan, like Bumrah, was not part of the West Indies series after he hurt his knee during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The left-handed opener was not at his absolute best in the T20I series against Bangladesh and faced criticism from several quarters.

While Bumrah will grab more eyeballs during the remaining two matches, the series is also important for left-handed opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan, making a comeback into the team post knee injury.

However, recently, he scored a century in the Ranji Trophy and showed glimpses of returning to form.

In the bowling department, the team management would be checking out how the likes Navdeep Saini and Shardul Thakur react to pressure situations in death overs alongside Bumrah in the absence of frontline speedsters Mohammed Shami Deepak Chahar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Young-off spinner Washington Sundar would like to put up performances to ensure that he gets to be part of the squad travelling to Australia for the World T20 in October.

Shivam Dube would also like to perform better - both with bat and ball - till Hardik Pandya is fully fit and back in action.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant - like recent times - will once again be watched with careful eyes. Pant knows that he cannot take things lightly and need to perform as Sanju Samson as already warmed the benches for six straight T20Is.

For Sri Lanka, the remaining two matches of the series would be about giving match practice to the likes of Angelo Mathews who is returning to the national side having last played a T20I against South Africa in August 2018

In their last T20I series, Sri Lanka suffered a 0-3 rout in Australia as all their three departments failed to put in a commanding performance.

India and Sri Lanka have faced each other in 17 T20Is, out of which India have won 11 -- joint most for them against all opponents faced in shortest format.

With the three-match series now effectively turning into a two-game affair, both India and Sri Lanka would want to win in Indore to make sure they can`t lose the series. Also, Sri Lanka have never beaten India in a bilateral T20I series, a record which they would desperately like to change in the remaining two games.

Squads:

India: Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur, Manish Pandey, Washington Sundar, Sanju Samson.

Sri Lanka: Lasith Malinga (c), Dhanushka Gunathilaka, Avishka Fernando, Angelo Mathews, Dasun Shanaka, Kusal Perera, Niroshan Dickwella, Dhananjaya De Silva, Isuru Udana, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Oshada Fernando, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lahiru Kumara, Kusal Mendis, Lakshan Sandakan, Kasun Rajitha.

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News Network
July 5,2020

Colombo, Jul 5: Sri Lanka batsman Kusal Mendis was on Sunday arrested for knocking down a pedestrian while driving, police said.

Mendis hit a 74-year-old man, killing him in the wee hours, in the Colombo suburb of Panadura.

He is to be produced before a magistrate later today, police said.

The 25-year-old wicket-keeper batsman has represented Sri Lanka in 44 Tests and 76 ODIs. Mendis was part of the national squad which had resumed training after the Covid-19 lockdown.

Sri Lanka's international assignments, including a tour by India, have been cancelled due to the pandemic.

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