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ICC World Cup: South Africa beats Sri Lanka by 9 wickets

Agencies
June 29, 2019

London, Jun 29: Former champions Sri Lanka are all but out of the ongoing World Cup after suffering a nine-wicket drubbing against a clinical South Africa on Friday.

Sent in to bat, Sri Lanka produced a dismal batting show to manage a modest 203, a target which the Proteas overhauled with 76 balls in hand.

With just six points from seven games, Sri Lanka still have a mathematical chance to be in the semifinals.

First, they need to win their last two games against already-eliminated West Indies (on July 1) and India (July 6) and then depend on favourable results from other remaining league stage games.

The win, however, came as a welcome relief for South Africa, who have endured a nightmarish World Cup campaign.

The Proteas are already out of the tournament after registering just two wins out of their eight games.

Chasing the modest target, South Africa lost Quinton de Kock (15) at the score of 31 in the fifth over but thereafter Hashim Amla and skipper Faf du Plessis held the fort and stitched an unbeaten 175-run stand to guide the Proteas home comfortably.

While Du Plessis remained unbeaten on 96 off 103 balls, hitting 10 boundaries and one six, Amla finished on 80 not out off 105 balls with the help of five fours.

Lasith Malinga (1/47) was the only successful bowler for Sri Lanka.

Earlier, the Proteas picked up wickets at regular intervals after the first 10 overs, never allowing the Sri Lankan middle-order settle down.

Drafted into the playing eleven in place of Lungi Ngidi, pacer Dwaine Pretarius (3/25) justified his selection with a three-wicket haul.

Chris Morris (3/46) and Kagiso Rabada (2/36) shared five wickets between them.

Sri Lanka had a horrible start as they lost skipper Dimuth Karunaratne in the first ball of the match, caught by his counterpart Du Plessis at the second slip off Rabada.

Thereafter, Kusal Perera (30 off 34) and Avishka Fernando (30 off 29) took the counter-attacking approach and played fearlessly to stitch a 67-run stand off 58 balls before the duo perished in quick succession.

Right-arm pacer Pretorius sent both the batsmen packing in consecutive overs as Sri Lanka slumped to 72 for three in 11.3 overs.

New man Angelo Mathews looked in no hurry and took 29 balls to score his 11 runs before he played on a Morris delivery in the 22nd over.

Kusal Mendis (23 off 51) had to dug deep for his runs before he became Pretorius' third victim, spooning one to Morris at extra cover.

Dhananjaya de Silva (24) , Jeeva Mendis (18) and Thisara Perera (21) all got starts but threw away their wickets when Sri Lanka needed them to carry on

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Agencies
March 6,2020

Mumbai, Mar 6: Former India batsman Virender Sehwag expressed excitement over the upcoming Road Safety World Series and said he is looking forward to playing with Sachin Tendulkar again.

"I am very excited about this tournament because I will get another chance to play with Sachin. We have played many international matches together and there was a gap and then we played an All-Star match and now again getting a chance. I am looking forward to playing with Tendulkar," Sehwag told media persons.

In the opening match of the Road Safety World Series, India Legends will play against West Indies Legends on March 7. The main aim of the Series is to create awareness about road safety and change people's mindset towards their behaviour on the roads.

Sehwag hailed the initiative of Road Safety World Series and said: "I think it is a very good initiative by the government that they are working towards creating awareness regarding road safety. Awareness regarding road safety is important for everyone."

Road Safety World Series, a five-nation T20 cricket tournament, will showcase some of the biggest names in cricket from India, Australia, Sri Lanka, West Indies, and South Africa.

Players who will feature in this series include Tendulkar, Sehwag, Brian Lara, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Brett Lee, Brad Hodge, Jonty Rhodes, Muttiah Muralitharan, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Ajantha Mendis and many more. Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar is the Commissioner of the Series.

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News Network
June 22,2020

Zadar (Croatia), Jun 22: Grigor Dimitrov took to Instagram to announce that he has tested positive for coronavirus. The tennis star was one of the players who took part in the Adria Tour with the likes Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem among others.

Taking to Instagram, the player wrote: "Hi Everyone-I want to reach out and let my fans and friends know that I tested positive back in Monaco for Covid-19. I want to make sure anyone who has been in contact with me during these past days gets tested and takes the necessary precautions. I am so sorry for any harm I might have caused. I am back home now and recovering. Thanks for your support and please stay safe and healthy."

He also urged those who had come in contact with him over the last few days in Monaco should also get tested for the deadly virus.

Meanwhile, World no.1 Djokovic reached the final of his exhibition tournament in Zadar, Croatia, after easing through the round-robin group stage on the first day. This is the second stage of the Adria Tour with Austrian Dominic Thiem winning the first leg in Belgrade, Serbia.

Djokovic started by saving three set points in his 4-3, 4-1 win over fellow Serb Pedja Krstin. He then beat home favourite Borna Coric 4-1, 4-3 in front of several thousand fans at the Visnjik tennis complex.

The tournament in Zadar is being played on red clay over two days. In the other group, Russian Andrey Rublev is in pole position to advance into the final after wins over 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic and Serb Danilo Petrovic. He faces German star Alexander Zverev in the final round robin match on Sunday who stayed in contention after beating Cilic 4-3, 0-4, 4-3.

Djokovic''s own inconsequential final group match is against Croatian Dino Serdarusic who replaced Grigor Dimitrov after the Bulgarian pulled out of the tournament with sickness following his opening 4-1, 4-1 loss to Coric.

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Agencies
August 1,2020

Colombo, Aug 1: Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has expressed his interest in playing the inaugural edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL), scheduled to start from August 28.

Pathan is among 70 foreign players to have shown interest in playing the LPL, ESPNcricinfo reported.

It is believed that Pathan has taken permission from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to take part in the competition. 

BCCI doesn't allow active players to participate in other T20 leagues but Pathan announced his retirement in January this year.

Former swashbuckling all-rounder Yuvraj Singh also played in a foreign league last year. He played for Maratha Arabians in the T10 League in Abu Dhabi.

According to ESPNcricinfo, Pathan will now be put in a player draft unless one of the five franchises choose him to be a marquee player. The details of the draft, and the franchise owners, are yet to be finalised and announced. 

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is also waiting on some government clearances even as it decides on franchise owners. The five franchises will represent Colombo, Kandy, Galle, Dambulla and Jaffna.

On Monday, SLC Executive Committee granted approval for the tournament.

"The 23 match League will be played on the four international venues of R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium, Rangiri Dambulu International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium and Suriyawewa Mahinda Rajapakse International Cricket Stadium. Five teams named after the cities of Colombo, Kandy, Galle, Dambulla and Jaffna will participate in the League," SLC said in a statement on Monday.

Sri Lanka has controlled the spread of COVID-19 better than many other cricket-playing nations.

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