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.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
January 30,2020

Jan 30: Three days after Los Angeles basketball great Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter and seven others perished in a helicopter crash, his wife, Vanessa, broke her silence with an Instagram message saying she was “completely devastated” by their loss.

The social media text was posted alongside a recent family photo of Kobe and Vanessa Bryant with all four of their daughters - Gianna, who died with her father, along with the couple’s eldest, Natalia, 17, 3-year-old Bianka, and the youngest, Capri, born in June 2019.

Kobe Bryant and the couple’s second daughter, knicknamed Gigi, died on Sunday when the helicopter they were flying in en route to the Mamba Sports Academy for a girl’s basketball tournament crashed in foggy weather on a hillside northwest of Los Angeles.

Gianna Bryant was a member of the Mamba team due to compete that day. Her father, who retired from the National Basketball Association in 2016 after 20 years with the Los Angeles Lakers, was the coach of his daughter’s team. ]

The pilot and six more passengers were also killed - two other 13-year-old girls involved in the tournament, three of their parents and another coach. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

The death of Bryant, 41, an 18-time NBA all-star, five-time Lakers champion and one of the world’s most admired sports figures, unleashed an outpouring of grief and tributes from fans, fellow athletes and politicians around the globe.

“My girls and I want to thank the millions of people who’ve shown support and love during this horrific time,” Vanessa Bryant, 37, a former model, wrote on her Instagram account.

“We are completely devastated by the sudden loss of my adoring husband, Kobe — the amazing father of our children; and my beautiful, sweet Gianna — a loving, thoughtful, and wonderful daughter, and amazing sister to Natalia, Bianka, and Capri,” she added.

The message goes on to say: “We are also devastated for the families who lost their loved ones on Sunday, and we share in their grief intimately. There aren’t enough words to describe our pain right now.

“I take comfort in knowing that Kobe and Gigi both knew that they were so deeply loved. We were so incredibly blessed to have them in our lives. I wish they were here with us forever. They were our beautiful blessings taken from us too soon.”

She directed anyone wishing to “further Kobe and Gianna’s legacy in youth sports” to visit the site MambaSports Foundation.org.

There has been no word yet on funeral arrangements.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
January 8,2020

Indore, Jan 8:  India skipper Virat Kohli has added yet another feather to his cap by becoming the fastest player to score 1,000 runs in T20I cricket as a captain. Kohli played an unbeaten knock of 30 during India''s seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the second T20I of the ongoing three-match series on Tuesday evening.

Kohli achieved the milestone of scoring 1,000 runs as captain in his 30th T20I inning. He is the second Indian and sixth overall after MS Dhoni to have achieved the feat. Dhoni had scored 1112 runs in 62 T20I games as captain.

Faf du Plessis (1273 runs from 40 games), Kane Williamson (1083 runs in 39 games), Eoin Morgan (1013 runs in 43 games) and Ireland''s William Porterfield (1002 runs in 56 games) are other captains on the list.

During India''s emphatic victory at the Holkar Stadium, Kohli also surpassed team-mate Rohit Sharma, who has been rested for the series, as the top run-getter in the T20Is. Kohli now has 2663 runs from 71 innings.

Both had finished 2019 as joint top-scorers in T20Is, with 2633 runs each.

India, already with an unassailable lead of 1-0 in the series, will now face Sri Lanka in the final T20I on Friday in Pune. The first match between the two teams was called off without a ball being bowled due to wet patches on the pitch in Guwahati last Sunday.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
May 31,2020

London, May 31: "Jacques Kallis, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli," replied umpire Ian Gould when he was asked to name the three best batsmen he loved watching when he was officiating as an umpire.

The former ICC elite umpire said that he was unlucky to not watch Ponting bat as much as he would have liked to.

"Jacques Kallis. I loved watching Jacques. He was a very, very fine player. Sachin. And probably Virat. I was unlucky in some respects. I didn't see the best of Ricky Ponting. He was an outstanding character, outstanding captain, such a proud Australian," ESPNCricinfo quoted Gould as saying.

"But his career was just starting to wane as I came on the scene. But he was incredibly helpful, so I'm disappointed I have to leave him out. Jacques Kallis, I could sit and watch all day, Virat, the same. And Sachin, if you want someone to bat for your life, he was the man," he added.

Gould had retired from the ICC's panel of elite umpires in 2019, after standing in more than 250 international matches over a 13-year career.

Over the years, comparisons between Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar have been growing and many have picked the current Indian skipper to break the records set by Tendulkar.

Tendulkar called time on his career after registering 100 international centuries, while Kohli has 70 centuries across all formats.

While, Kallis played 166 Tests, 328 ODIs and 25 T20Is for South Africa and he is often viewed as the greatest all-rounder the game has seen.

Many pundits of the game find it hard to pick between him and Sir Garfield Sobers.

Across his career, Kallis scored 25,534 runs in his career and he also managed to take 577 wickets.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.