ICC World Cup 2019: David Warner, Aaron Finch shine as Australia thrash Afghanistan by 7 wickets

Agencies
June 2, 2019

Jun 2: David Warner and Aaron Finch struck fifties to help Australia thrash Afghanistan by seven wickets at the Bristol County Ground on Saturday.

Chasing 208, Australia got off to a solid start as both Finch and Warner looked in good touch. The duo mixed caution with aggression and they helped the Aussies reach a score of 55 inside the first ten overs.

Finch looked in impeccable touch and he even took Rashid Khan took to the cleaners. On the other hand, Warner played second fiddle and just rotated the strike to allow the Aussies to gain an upper hand in the match.

Finch and Warner stitched a partnership of 96 runs which was finally broken by skipper Gulbadin Naib in the 17th over as he sent back Finch (66) to the pavilion. Warner took charge after Finch`s dismissal and along with Usman Khawaja stitched a partnership of 60 runs.

Khawaja (15) was dismissed by Rashid Khan in the 25th over with the team still requiring 52 runs for the win.

Steve Smith came out to bat at number four, and he along with Warner ensured that Australia did not suffer from any more hiccups.

The duo stitched a 49-run stand to take Australia near the finishing line. Smith (18) was dismissed with the team still needing 3 more runs for the win.

In the end, Glenn Maxwell and Warner took the team over the line with seven wickets and 91 balls to spare. Warner and Maxwell remained unbeaten on 89 and 4 respectively.

Earlier, Najibullah Zadran`s knock of 51 runs and a further cameo of 27 runs by Rashid Khan allowed Afghanistan to post a score of 207 after choosing to bat first.

Afghanistan got off to the worst start possible as they lost both their openers for a duck. The opening two wickets were scalped by Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins.

Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi put Afghanistan`s innings on track as they stitched together a stand of 51 runs. Their resistance was cut short by Adam Zampa as he dismissed Shahidi (18) in the 14th over.

Soon after Shah (43) was also sent back to the pavilion, reducing the team to 75 for four. Mohammad Nabi (7) also failed to leave a mark, but it was skipper Naib who allowed Afghanistan to put a fighting score on the board.

He played a knock of 51 runs, but his dismissal in the 34th over made it all the more tougher for Afghanistan. Rashid Khan (27) and Mujeeb Ur Rahman (13) played some big shots in the end and helped the team get past the 200-run mark.

However, after Rashid`s dismissal, Australia did not waste much time bowling out Afghanistan in the 39th over. Both Cummins and Zampa scalped three wickets each for Australia.

Afghanistan next face Sri Lanka in a World Cup match on June 4 whereas Australia will take on West Indies on June 6.

Brief Scores: Australia 209/3 (DA Warner 88*, AJ Finch 66, Gulbadin Naib 1-32) defeat Afghanistan 207 all out (Najibullah Zadran 51, Rahmat Shah 43, PJ Cummins 3-40) by seven wickets.

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Agencies
January 9,2020

Kuala Lumpur, Jan 9: BWF World Championships defending champion PV Sindhu on Thursday cruised to the quarterfinals of the ongoing Malaysia Masters after winning a second-round match.

The 24-year-old had the upper hand in the clash and thrashed Japan's Aya Ohori in straight games 21-10, 21-15 that lasted for 34-minute. The world number six will now play in her quarterfinal match on January 10.

Earlier in the day, Saina Nehwal defeated South Korea's An Se Young 25-23, 21-12 in 38 minutes. The first game saw back and forth action between both shuttlers. In the end, Nehwal kept her cool to win the match.

On Wednesday, the 29-year-old had outclassed Belgium's Lianne Tan 21-15, 21-17 to progress to the pre-quarterfinals.

Shuttlers Parupalli Kashyap and Kidambi Srikanth crashed out of the tournament after losing their matches to Japan's Kento Momota and Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei respectively. 

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News Network
January 30,2020

Hamilton, Jan 30: Caught unaware about the Super Over scenario, Rohit Sharma took five minutes to “find” his abdomen guard after the third T20 International against New Zealand had ended in a tie on Wednesday.

The India vice-captain said the team had almost given up with New Zealand going great guns at one point.

“Everything was packed. All my stuff was inside my bag. I had to get it out. It literally took me five minutes to find my abdomen guard because I didn’t know where it was,” Rohit said.

“I mean we never thought it would go to the Super Over, the way they were batting at one point. It looked like they could easily win the game,” he added.

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Agencies
April 15,2020

Former Australia batsman Mike Hussey has heaped praise on MS Dhoni, saying the veteran Indian wicketkeeper-batsman is the "greatest finisher" the game of cricket has ever seen.

"Dhoni is the greatest finisher of all time that the cricketing world has ever produced," Hussey said while speaking to Sanjay Manjrekar on ESPNcricinfo's Videocast.

"Dhoni can keep his cool and make the opposition captain blink first. Dhoni also has unbelievable power. He knows that when he needs to clear the ropes, he can do it. He has that kind of self-belief. Honestly, I didn't have that kind of belief in myself," he added.

The former Australian batsman, who shared the dressing room with Dhoni for the Chennai Super Kings, said the 38-year-old Indian believes in the philosophy that he who panics last, wins the game.

"I tried not to let it reach 12 or 13 runs an over," said Hussey while talking about his ability to finish the game without much hiccups.

"And I learnt this from MS Dhoni. He is incredible. He believes that he who panics last wins the game. So Dhoni would keep his cool, and keep it longer because the pressure is on the bowler as well," he added.

The 44-year-old believes that the greatest players of the game have a few common traits like "they don't hang on to a defeat for too long. If they lose, they move on quickly. They don't let a loss or a win hamper their thinking".

"They are always consistent, and level headed whether it's MS Dhoni or Ricky Ponting."

Hussey, who played 59 IPL matches for CSK, further revealed the secret about the franchise's success in the Indian Premier League.

"And I learnt this from MS Dhoni. He is incredible. He believes that he who panics last wins the game. So Dhoni would keep his cool, and keep it longer because the pressure is on the bowler as well," he added.

The 44-year-old believes that the greatest players of the game have a few common traits like "they don't hang on to a defeat for too long. If they lose, they move on quickly. They don't let a loss or a win hamper their thinking".

"They are always consistent, and level headed whether it's MS Dhoni or Ricky Ponting."

Hussey, who played 59 IPL matches for CSK, further revealed the secret about the franchise's success in the Indian Premier League.

"Supportive owners who let coach Stephen Fleming and captain Dhoni decide how to run the team, excellent chemistry between the coach and the captain, Dhoni's leadership and lastly the foresight of the owners, Fleming and Dhoni to pick the best players, particularly the good Indian players and then stick with them for as long as possible."

"This has built an excellent continuity in the team. And once you have continuity, you build relationships and trust that otherwise takes time to grow," he added.

Hussey also said that once Dhoni bids adieu to the game, CSK would probably like to start all over again.

"That's a 60-million-dollar question, and I am equally intrigued. I believe the owners would like to keep Dhoni involved in some way or the other," said Hussey.

"However, whenever the change of guard happens, CSK might want to start all over again, build a brand, new team, and use their existing philosophy as they enter the next decade of IPL. It is definitely going to be more challenging in current times," he added.

Dhoni was supposed to lead CSK in the 13th IPL edition which now stands postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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