Good feeling to scalp KL Rahul, Virat Kohli's wicket: Kemar Roach

Agencies
September 2, 2019

Kingston, Sept 2: West Indies pacer Kemar Roach said that it was a good feeling to take the wickets of India batsman KL Rahul and skipper Virat Kohli on successive deliveries in the second innings of the ongoing Test match at Sabina Park in Jamaica.

"It was a good feeling. Obviously, the Indian batting line-up is very strong, so to be on a hat-trick against those guys is obviously a good feeling. I'd have liked to get it, but a little more luck the next time it hits on the stumps and it will go my way, but I am pretty happy for what happened," Roach said in the post-match conference here.

In the second innings, Roach scalped three Indian wickets while he was able to get hold of one wicket in the first innings.

After having a lead of 299 runs, India got off to a bad start in the second innings as Mayank Agarwal (4) was caught plum in front and as a result, he was adjudged leg-before wicket. India did not lose any more wicket and they went to the lunch break with the score of 16/1.

After the break, Windies bowlers were able to keep the run-rate in check as they did not give loose balls for India to dispatch for boundaries. The team from the Caribbean was able to scalp two prized wickets in succession as both KL Rahul (6) and Virat Kohli (0) departed cheaply.

Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara (27) put up a brief 21-run stand, but skipper Jason Holder had the latter caught at third slip, reducing India to 57/4.

Rahane and Hanuma Vihari ensured India did not lose more wickets and the team went to the tea break with a score of 73/4, leading Windies by 372 runs.

After the interval, both batsmen scored at a brisk pace and further consolidated the lead for the Indian team. The duo brought up their individual fifties and took the lead past the 460-run mark.

With the score at 168/4 in the second innings, skipper Kohli decided to declare India's innings, setting Windies a target of 468 for the win. Rahane and Vihari were involved in an unbeaten stand of 111 runs. The two remained unbeaten on 64 and 53, respectively.

"It's flattened out a bit more. It's not as bouncy as it was the first couple of days. There is still enough there for the bowlers. Still, have to apply yourself as a batsman and have to grind and get that score, but I think once you get in it gets way easier - so it's all about the guys being positive and grinding and obviously getting the score," Roach said.

In pursuit of 468, Windies got off to a poor start as the side lost its opener Kraigg Brathwaite (3) in the third over of the innings. Ishant Sharma had Brathwaite caught at the hands of wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant.

John Campbell (16) was also not able to stay at the crease for a long time as he was sent back to the pavilion by Mohammad Shami as he had him caught at third slip, reducing Windies to 37/2.

Shamarh Brooks and Darren Bravo saw off the day without any more hiccups and Windies ended the day at 45/2, still, 443 runs away from the target.

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News Network
May 3,2020

New Delhi, May 3: In a startling revelation, India speedster Mohammed Shami has claimed that he thought of committing suicide thrice while battling personal issues a few years ago, forcing his family to keep a watch over him at all times.

He said his family members feared he "might jump" from their 24th floor apartment.

Shami, one of India's leading bowlers in recent years, opened up on his personal and professional life during an Instagram chat with teammate and limited overs squads' vice-captain Rohit Sharma.

"I think if my family had not supported me back then I would have lost my cricket. I thought of committing suicide three times during that period due to severe stress and personal problems," Shami revealed during the session on Saturday.

Now one of the mainstays of Indian bowling attack across formats, the 29-year-old was struggling to focus on his cricket, then.

"I was not thinking about cricket at all. We were living on the 24th floor. They (family) were scared I might jump from the balcony. My brother supported me a lot.

"My 2-3 friends used to stay with me for 24 hours. My parents asked me to focus on cricket to recover from that phase and not think about anything else. I started training then and sweated it out a lot at an academy in Dehradun," Shami said.

In March 2018, Shami's wife Hasin Jahan had accused him of domestic violence and lodged a complaint with the police, following which the India player and his brother were booked under relevant sections.

The upheaval in his personal life forced his employer BCCI to withheld the player's central contracts for a while.

"Rehab was stressful as the same exercises are repeated every day. Then family problems started and I also suffered an accident. The accident happened 10-12 days ahead of the IPL and my personal problems were running high in the media," Shami told Rohit.

Shami said his family stood like a rock with him and the support helped him get back on his feet.

"Then my family explained that every problem has a solution no matter how big the problem. My brother supported me a lot."

Speaking about another painful period in his life after his injury in the 2015 World Cup, Shami said it took him almost 18 months to get back on the field.

"When I got injured in the 2015 World Cup, after that it took me 18 months to fully recover, that was the most painful moment in my life, it was a very stressful period.

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News Network
February 5,2020

Aukland, Feb 5: Striker Navneet Kaur scored a brace to guide the Indian women's hockey team to a convincing 3-0 win over New Zealand in the last game of its five-match tour here on Wednesday.

Navneet found the net in the 45th and 58th minutes, while Sharmila scored a field goal in the 54th minute as India drew curtains on the New Zealand tour on a bright note.

After a goalless opening two quarters, Navneet finally broke the deadlock for India in the 45th minute.

Sharmila then doubled the lead when she struck a powerful shot past the New Zealand goalkeeper in the 54th minute. Navneet found the net again just two minutes from the final hooter with a beautiful field strike.

India began the tour by thrashing New Zealand Development squad 4-0 before suffering close 1-2 and 0-1 defeats to the home senior team.

In penultimate game of the tour, skipper Rani's lone strike handed India a 1-0 win over Great Britain.

"...I am happy we produced three goals against New Zealand in the last match. This tour gave us a good insight about where we need to improve and one of the things is to create faster play than we do now," said India's chief Coach Sjoerd Marijne.

Commenting on his side's performance during the tour, Marijne said, "Sometimes we tend to keep the ball too long on the stick and then we create pressure. We need to avoid that by passing faster.

"On the defence side, we need to be a bit more calmer and need to improve our tackling. We will have a four week camp after a short break when we return home and we will be working on these points."

The Indian team will return home on February 7.

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News Network
June 20,2020

Melbourne, Jun 20: If 15 teams can be allowed to enter Australia for the T20 World Cup then fans will not be stopped from watching live action from the stadiums, Cricket Australia's interim CEO Nick Hockley said on Saturday.

Hockley replaced under-fire Kevin Roberts, who recently got the boot from Cricket Australia, which is grappling with financial woes.

Different possibilities are being worked out for the T20 World to go ahead as scheduled later this year and one of them is to host the tournament before empty stands in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.

However, Hockley said crowds will be allowed, though, hosting 15 teams with players, officials and support staff is "complex" as of now, hinting that probably the ICC flagship event could be pushed back.

"The reality is, and we've got much more understanding about this in recent weeks, is crowds are most likely to come back before international travel. Our biggest challenge is getting 15 teams into the country," Hockley told cricket.com.au when asked if he would like to see the World Cup proceed without fans.

"If I compare it with the prospect of a bilateral tour, you're talking about bringing one team in and then playing individual matches. But the prospect of bringing 15 teams in and having six or seven teams in one city at the same time, it's a much more complex exercise."

When specifically asked whether crowds would be permitted by the time borders have opened to the point that 15 teams will be allowed to travel to Australia, Hockley replied in an affirmative.

"That's the current thinking, yes."

Hockley said it came as a shock when he was asked by Cricket Australia to replace Roberts.

"I've had very mixed emotions. I was very shocked to be asked. I didn't see it coming at all, so I probably haven't had time yet to process it. I feel very sad for Kev (Roberts). On the other hand, I feel this is a massive privilege to be asked, it's a massive responsibility and a massive opportunity even if it's only for the next few months," he said.

Hockey did not commit when asked if he would like to assume the role full time, but he did say that he would quit as CEO of the T20 World Cup Organising Committee.

"My approach throughout my entire career has been to focus on doing the best job I can with what I've been tasked with, and the future will look after itself. And I'll continue the same approach.

"That's (T20 World Cup) been a real priority over the last 48 hours. We're reasonably well progressed and we will be appointing an interim because you just can't do both," he said.

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