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ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 kicks off with 60-second challenge

Agencies
May 30, 2019

May 30: Cricket World Cup often termed as the `Olympics of Cricket` was kicked off on Wednesday with a unique 60-second challenge at the Mall opposite Buckingham Palace in London.

The opening ceremony was hosted by former England cricketer Andrew Flintoff and cricket presenters Shibani Dandekar and Paddy McGuinness.

Both Eoin Morgan (England skipper) and Virat Kohli (Indian skipper) were present at the event.

"We can`t wait to start. Tomorrow`s obviously a very exciting day. Incredibly proud to be where we`re at. Hope to be good hosts," Morgan said at the opening ceremony.

"Lovely to be here. Such a huge fan base here. That`s a thing of pressure and a thing of pride as well. We`ll look to utilise the crowd advantage," Kohli added.

Before the commencement of the 60-second challenge, English singer John Newman sang `Feel the love` at the opening ceremony. In the 60-second challenge, a competition was held between various teams as each side was represented by two guest figures.

The team with the highest score in sixty seconds would win the challenge. Former Australian batsman David Boon was the umpire for this little game.

Former Indian skipper Anil Kumble and Bollywood actor Farhan Akhtar represented India at the event. The event also involved legends such as Viv Richards, Jacques Kallis, Brett Lee, and Kevin Pietersen, among others.

Afghanistan started off the challenge and they scored 52 in one minute. Next, former Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene came out to represent Sri Lanka and the team scored 43.

West Indies were represented by legend Viv Richards and Olympic athlete Yohan Blake and they scored 47 in one minute. Abdur Razzaq featured in Bangladesh`s team. They scored just 22.

Pakistan scored 38 and they were represented by Malala Yousafzai. They were followed by Australia. Brett Lee represented the Aussies and they were able to muster the highest score of the 60-second challenge when they scored 69 runs.

New Zealand was able to score only 32. The South African team had Jacques Kallis and footballer Steven Pienaar. They scored 48 runs

India represented by Anil Kumble and Farhan Akhtar registered the lowest score of 19 among all teams.

The English team then came out to bat and it featured Kevin Pietersen. They scored 74 in one minute and they ended up winning the challenge.

After the challenge, the World Cup trophy was showcased. It was escorted to the stage by former World Cup-winning captain Michael Clarke and former English off-spinner Graeme Swann.

"There are five to six teams that can win this World Cup. England definitely are the favourites for this tournament as they have been some good quality cricket," Clarke said at the opening ceremony.

In the end, the theme song of the World Cup "Stand By" was performed by the singer LORYN and Rudimental.

The first match of the World Cup will be played between the hosts England and South Africa on May 30 at the Oval.

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News Network
March 27,2020

New Delhi, Mar 27: Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar on Friday donated Rs 50 lakh to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, which has so far claimed 17 Indian lives and wreaked havoc globally.

Tendulkar's donation is so far the biggest contribution among India's leading sportspersons, some of whom have pledged their salaries while a few others have donated medical equipment to fight the dreaded outbreak, which has caused more than 24,000 deaths globally.

"Sachin Tendulkar decided to contribute Rs 25 lakh each to Prime Minister's Relief Fund and Chief Minister's Relief Fund in his bid to join the fight against COVID-19. It was his decision that he wanted to contribute to both funds," a source privy to the development, told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

Tendulkar has been associated with a lot of charity work and there has been umpteen times, he has taken up social causes, helped people, which has never been brought to public notice.

Among other prominent cricketers, the Pathan brothers -- Irfan and Yusuf -- donated 4000 face masks to Baroda police and health department while Mahendra Singh Dhoni, through a Pune based NGO, made a contribution of Rs 1 lakh.

Among athletes from other disciplines, wrestler Bajrang Punia and sprinter Hima Das are some of the prominent names to have donated their salaries in the battle against the dreaded virus which has led to a 21-day national lockdown.

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Agencies
August 7,2020

New Delhi, Aug 7: India's COVID-19 cases tally crossed 20 lakh mark with the highest single-day spike of 62,538 cases on Friday, said Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The COVID-19 tally rises to 20,27,075 including 6,07,384 active cases, 13,78,106 cured/discharged/migrated and 41,585 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health.

Maharashtra with 1,46,268 active cases and 3,05,521 cured and discharged patients continues to be the worst affected. The state has also reported 16,476 deaths due to the infection.

Tamil Nadu has 54,184 active cases while 2,14,815 patients have been discharged after treatment in the state. 4,461 deaths have been reported due to COVID-19 in the state.

Andhra Pradesh with 80,426 active cases is the third on the list. There are 1,04,354 cured and discharged patients and 1,681 deaths reported from the state.

Delhi now has 10,072 active cases and 1,26,116 cured and discharged patients. 4,044 people have lost their lives due to the disease in the Union Territory so far. 

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Agencies
August 2,2020

New Delhi, Aug 2: BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Sunday said the Women's IPL or the Challenger series, as it is better known, is "very much on", ending speculation about the parent body not having a plan for Harmanpreet Kaur and her team.

The men's IPL will be held between September 19 and November 8 or 10 (final date yet to be locked in) in the UAE due to the surge in Covid-19 cases in India. The women's IPL will also be fit in to the schedule, according to the BCCI chief.

"I can confirm to you that the women's IPL is very much on and we do have a plan in place for the national team also," Ganguly told PTI ahead of the IPL Governing Council meeting later on Sunday.

The BCCI president, who is awaiting a Supreme Court verdict on waiver of the cooling-off period to continue in the position, did not divulge details but another senior official privy to the development said that women's Challenger will be held during the last phase of IPL like last year.

"The women's Challenger series is likely to be held between November 1-10 and there could be a camp before that," the source said.

The former India captain also said that the centrally contracted women players will have a camp which has been delayed due to the prevailing situation in the country.

"We couldn't have exposed any of our cricketers -- be it male or female to health risk. It would have been dangerous," Ganguly said.

"The NCA also remained shut because of Covid-19. But we have a plan in place and we will have a camp for women, I can tell you that," he added.

The BCCI's cricket operations team is chalking up a schedule where Indian women are likely to have two full-fledged white-ball series against South Africa and the West Indies before playing the ODI World Cup in New Zealand. 

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