IND vs WI 4th ODI: India crush West Indies by 224 runs, take 2-1 lead

Agencies
October 29, 2018

Mumbai, Oct 30: India embarrassed the West Indies by 224 runs in the fourth One-day International on Monday for one of their biggest wins and a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.

Rohit Sharma (162) and Ambati Rayudu (100) struck belligerent centuries to guide India to an imposing 377 for five after the hosts opted to bat.

The duo took centre stage after a rare failure by skipper Virat Kohli.

Rohit's 21st century came off 137 balls with the help of 20 fours and four hits over the fence, while Rayudu decorated his 100-run knock with eight boundaries and four sixes.

Chasing 378, West Indies simply caved in against India's clinical bowling attack on what was a batting-friendly wicket to be bundled out for a paltry 153 in 36.2 overs.

Young pacer Khaleel Ahmed (3/13) impressed upfront before chinaman Kuldeep Yadav (3/42)) ran through the West Indies' tail.

The Indians dished out an impressive effort on the field, inflicting two run outs besides Rohit holding onto three fine catches in the slips.

This is India's third biggest win in the format. Their biggest-ever win in ODI remains the 257-run demolition of Bermuda in the 2007 ICC World Cup.

West Indies' chase never really got going as they lost half of their side inside the 50-run mark with Khaleel doing the bulk of the damage.

Except for skipper Jason Holder (54 not out), no other West Indian batsmen could withstand the Indian attack, as the visitors lost wickets at regular intervals and were never really in the hunt.

West Indies lost two wickets - Chandrapul Hemraj (14) and Shai Hope (0) - in the fifth over. While Hemraj gave a sitter to Rayadu off Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Hope was run out courtesy a stunning direct hit by Kuldeep from mid-on.

Matters became worse for the visitors after Kieran Powell (4) was run-out in the very next over by Kohli.

Wickets kept tumbling and the next to be dismissed was Shimron Hetymar (13), who was trapped in front by Ahmed in the 10th over, even though the batsman went for an unsuccessful review.

The 20-year-old Ahmed was on fire as he picked up two more wickets in quick succession. He first cleaned up Rovman Powell (1) and then accounted for Samuels, who edged one to Rohit in the first slip.

Batting first, India made a quick start with Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan (38) and added a run-a-ball 71 for the opening stand before the latter pulled a Keemo Paul short delivery straight to Powell at the midwicket boundary.

Kohli, who hit three consecutive tons before Monday's match, played aggressively for his 16 before edging a Kemar Roach delivery to Hope behind the stumps.

Rohit and Rayudu held fort and continued to play aggressive brand of cricket.

The duo continued the onslaught and made the West Indies attack look ordinary, picking up boundaries and sixes at will.

After Kohli's dismissal, Rohit, who had scored a match-winning unbeaten 152 in the lung-opener at Guhawati, and Rayudu built the innings and in the process shared a breezy 211-run stand for the third wicket, which came off just 163 deliveries.

Rohit didn't spare a single West Indian bowler and made his intentions clear when he opened the account with a boundary over point.

The Mumbaikar initially played second fiddle to Dhawan but after his half century, that came off 60 balls, he upped the ante.

Rohit displayed all the shots in the book - the drives, pulls, flicks and cuts - before he departed in the 44th over.

Rayadu, on the other hand, took time to settle down, but then hammered the bowlers with his exquisite stroke-play - first in Rohit's company and then alongside veteran Mahendra Singh Dhoni (23).

Kedar Jadhav (16) and Ravindra Jadeja (7) remained unbeaten as the hosts amassed 116 runs in the last 10 overs.

India won the first ODI by eight wickets before the second game ended in a tie. West Indies bounced back to win the third ODI by 43 runs. The final match of the series will be played in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday.

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Agencies
July 7,2020

New Delhi, Jul 7: Wicket-keeper batsman MS Dhoni is known for his finishing heroics and ending the match with a big shot to send a billion people in a frenzy.

For over a decade, Dhoni's swashbuckling batting style, especially the famed helicopter shot, gave international bowlers a headache. As the former Indian skipper celebrates his 39th birthday today, let's relive his first century in international cricket.

It was on April 5, 2005, when Dhoni had registered his first international century. The former skipper registered the feat against Pakistan in the second ODI of the six-match series. The match was played at the Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam.

Dhoni had made his ODI debut against Bangladesh in 2004. However, he did not have a good outing as he scored just 19 runs in the three-match series. But the wicket-keeper truly arrived in the series against Pakistan in 2005, as he scored 148 runs in the second ODI of the six-match series at Visakhapatnam.

In the match, India won the toss and opted to bat first. The side lost Sachin Tendulkar's wicket in the fourth over of the innings and it brought Dhoni to the middle.

Dhoni, along with Sehwag, took on the Pakistan bowlers and the duo formed a 96-run stand, which saw Sehwag going past the 50-run mark. Sehwag (74) was sent back to the pavilion in the 14th over, but Dhoni then found support in Rahul Dravid and the duo stitched a 149-run stand.

Dhoni smashed 15 fours and four sixes in his innings and scored 148 runs from 123 balls, taking India's total to 356/9 in the allotted fifty overs.

India then managed to defend the total as the side bundled out Pakistan for 298 as Ashish Nehra scalped four wickets.

Dhoni has so far played 350 ODIs with his highest score being 183 against Sri Lanka. He also remains the only captain to win all major ICC trophies (50-over World Cup, T20 World Cup, and Champions Trophy).

Also referred to as 'Captain Cool', Dhoni is known for his calmness and exquisite captaincy on the field.

Over the years, he has cemented his place as one of the finest wicket-keepers across the world. His agility behind the stumps has given India many breakthroughs as the Ranchi-based wicket-keeper has done successful stumpings in no time.

He is also known for his knack of opting for reviews and many have jokingly remarked to change the 'Decision-Review System's' name to 'Dhoni-Review System'.

In December 2014, he announced his retirement from Tests and gave a chance to the likes of Wriddhiman Saha. Dhoni called time on his Test career after playing 90 Tests, managing to score 4,876 runs at an average of 38.09.

Then in 2017, he handed over the captaincy to Virat Kohli in the 50-over format. However, the wicket-keeper enjoys a great camaraderie with the latter and the duo have been seen often taking decisions together on the field.

Under Dhoni's leadership, India also managed to attain the number one ranking in Test cricket. His Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) has also won the tournament thrice under his leadership.

Dhoni was slated to return to the cricket field on March 29 during the IPL's opening match between CSK and Mumbai Indians. However, the tournament has been postponed indefinitely due to COVID-19 pandemic.

The 39-year-old has been currently enjoying some time away from the game. He last played competitive cricket during the 2019 World Cup. 

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News Network
January 8,2020

Indore, Jan 8: Skipper Virat Kohli struck an unbeaten 30 as India beat Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second Twenty20 international in Indore on Tuesday.

The hosts rode a 71-run opening stand between KL Rahul, who hit 45, and Shikhar Dhawan, who made 32, to chase down their target of 143 in 17.3 overs and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series after the first match was rained off.

Leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga took the wickets of the Indian openers but Shreyas Iyer, who scored 34 before falling to paceman Lahiru Kumara, and Kohli, who hit the winning six, got the team home.

The third match is on Friday in Pune.

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Agencies
January 9,2020

Jeddah, Jan 9: Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde criticised the new Supercopa format and said that "football has become a business and as a business it looks for income".

"The bottom line is football has become a business and as a business it looks for income. That's the reason we are all here," Goal.com quoted Valverde as saying ahead of Barca's semi-final against Atletico.

"It's a completely different format to what we're used to. It was always the first title and the opener of the season and to me, that seemed fine," he added.

The Supercopa was traditionally a two-legged affair played between the winners of La Liga and the Copa del Rey at the beginning of the season, but following last term's one-off meeting between Barca and Sevilla in Tangier, Morocco, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) went ahead with a full revamp.

Instead of just two teams being involved, the Supercopa has been expanded to also include the runners-up from La Liga and the Copa - meaning Barca and Valencia are joined by Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. It is also set to be hosted in Saudi Arabia for the next three editions.

"It's been changed and let's see, it will be judged once it has happened. It's interesting, with four good teams, but from a sporting point of view, I'm not sure," Valverde said.

"We must bear in mind that the football we are involved in is an industry, sources of income are sought and in the same way that there are special connotations in this country, there are also in Morocco, where we played last year," he added.

Barcelona will face Atletico Madrid in the semifinal of the Supercopa at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah on January 10.

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