India bowl out Bangladesh for 222 despite Liton's ton

Agencies
September 28, 2018

Dubai, Sept 28: India's unorthodox spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Kedar Jadhav wreaked havoc after opener Liton Das's fine hundred as Bangladesh were bowled out for a modest 222 in the final of the Asia Cup here Friday.

An injury-ravaged Bangladesh made a flying start, courtesy Liton's maiden ODI hundred (121 off 117 balls), as he added 120 runs with fellow opener Mehidy Hasan Miraz (32).

Just when it looked like Bangladesh would make a match of it, things went downhill as India's tiny neighbours suffered an all-too-familiar batting collapse, losing 10 wickets for 102 runs. The innings lasted 48.3 overs.

Chinaman Kuldeep's 3 for 45 was well complemented by Kedar's 2/41 in nine overs of unconventional off-breaks, as Bangladesh frittered away the initiative with poor shot selection.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni's smart work behind the stumps also played its part as much as Ravindra Jadeja's electric fielding inside the 30-yard circle.

Promoting lower-order batsman Miraz as opener was a masterstroke by skipper Mashrafe Mortaza, who wanted to preserve his regular opener Imrul Kayes and Soumya Sarkar.

Miraz did his job perfectly by dropping anchor as Liton hit a flurry of boundaries off Jasprit Bumrah (1/39) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Anything on his legs was dispatched to the boundary.

When Yuzvendra Chahal (1/31 in 8 overs) was introduced, he was hit over deep mid-wicket for a six, as India found it difficult to get a breakthrough.

However, things changed once Miraz was caught by Ambati Rayudu in the cover region off Kedar's bowling.

The moment Kedar started bowling his side-arm off-breaks, Bangladesh couldn't force the pace as he mixed his deliveries well. He bowled an impressive 28 dot balls.

Imrul Kayes (2) was adjudged leg-before off Chahal and the in-form Mushfiqur Rahim (2) pulled a rank half-tracker from Kedar straight into the deep mid-wicket's hands.

From 120 for no loss, Bangladesh slumped to 137 for three and things went from bad to worse from thereon.

Mohammed Mithun (2) was the next to go. Jadeja dived full stretched to stop a cover drive from Liton and then threw the ball back to the non-striker's end after watching Mithun halfway down the pitch.

Mahmudullah (4) played across the line off Kuldeep and Bumrah took a well-judged catch at the deep mid-wicket boundary.

Liton, who carried manfully by hitting 12 boundaries and two sixes, was finally stumped by a hair's breadth when he missed Kuldeep's wrong 'un.

While Liton was stumped while playing a defensive stroke, skipper Mashrafe jumped out to try a wild heave, only to miss Kuldeep's googly and get stumped by Dhoni.

In the end, what promised to be a score in excess of 275 was brought down to 222.

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News Network
March 5,2020

New Delhi, Mar 5: Cricket's slow geographical expansion is turning out to be a blessing in disguise for the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL) which looks set to beat the dreaded novel coronavirus threat and go ahead as scheduled.

At a time when the number of recorded deaths because of the deadly outbreak across the globe is touching 3500 with a plethora of international sporting events getting cancelled, the IPL seems to be in a parallel universe where "all is well".

And there are multiple practical reasons why the T20 extravaganza will be held as per schedule. A major reason is the small number of countries that play the game and an even smaller fraction of overseas players, who will compete in the world's richest cricket league starting March 29 in Mumbai.

Till Thursday, the reported number of positive COVID-19 cases in India stood at 29, including 16 Italian tourists. However, none of the overseas recruits of eight IPL franchises have expressed any apprehensions about travelling to India.

Just over 60 players from cricket nations such as Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa and the Caribbean islands comprise the elite foreign brigade and the reported positive cases of coronavirus in all these countries is next to none.

"The IOC is saying Olympics in Tokyo will be held as per schedule. In comparison, IPL is a minuscule tournament. If Olympics can be held, there's no reason why IPL can't be held," a BCCI official told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

STAR SPORTS FACTOR

The second and perhaps the biggest reason is broadcasters. Star Sports has bought the rights for Rs 16,347 crore (USD 2.55 billion) for a period of five years and their advertising revenues will take a huge hit if the tournament doesnt go ahead as planned. Former Delhi Daredevils CEO Hemant Dua explained the economics. "Look Star as well as BCCI has got everything insured. I don't know if there is any specific insurance cover for cancellation due to coronavirus but there is no chance of that happening if I read the situation properly," Dua told PTI.

GOVERNMENT GUIDELINES

The BCCI is also depending on the guidelines given by the government with regards to dealing with the health crisis.  "Every person availing international flights will be screened for coronavirus at the port of entry. That is the biggest health security measure. Obviously the BCCI will strictly adhere to any health advisory that government will issue," a Board official said.

But since there is an advisory that social gatherings are inadvisable at this point, won't it affect the league? "You will only come to know once the ticket sales start. If the stadiums are packed, that means people are coming but if stands are largely empty, then you can presume that people are wary.

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Agencies
August 6,2020

New Delhi, Aug 6: The BCCI on Thursday suspended the IPL title sponsorship deal with Chinese mobile phone company Vivo for the event's upcoming edition amid heightened tensions in Sino-India diplomatic ties.

The BCCI sent out a one-line statement, without giving details, saying that Vivo would not be associated with the IPL this year. "The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and vivo Mobile India Pvt Ltd have decided to suspend their partnership for Indian Premier League in 2020," the statement said.

Meanwhile, Vivo released its own statement saying that the two entities "have mutually decided to pause their partnership for the 2020 season".

Vivo won the IPL title sponsorship rights for five years from 2018 to 2022 for a reported sum of Rs 2,190 crore, approximately Rs 440 crore per annum.

The two parties are now working out a plan in which Vivo might come back for a fresh three-year period starting 2021 on revised terms.

However, a top BCCI official offered a different view. "Here we are talking about diplomatic tensions and you expect that after November, when IPL ends and before the next IPL starts in April 2021, there would be no anti-China sentiment? Are we serious?" a veteran BCCI official said on conditions of anonymity.

The anti-China sentiment in the country peaked after the violent face-off between the Indian and Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh. India lost 20 soldiers in the clash, while China also acknowledged unspecified casualties.

The stand-off at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) caused outrage across India with several calls for boycotts of Chinese companies and products.

The BCCI is now likely to float a tender for new IPL title sponsors as mandated by its constitution. The glitzy T20 league starts on Sept. 19 in the UAE, forced out of India due to the rising COVID-19 cases.

The new development is in stark contrast to what came out of Sunday's IPL's Governing Council meeting, where it was decided that Vivo, along with all the other sponsors, will remain on board.

This was after the BCCI had announced in June that all sponsorship deals pertaining to IPL will be reviewed in the aftermath of the clash in the Galwan Valley.

However, after Sunday's meeting, there was a huge backlash on social media about the BCCI holding on to Vivo.

Both parties then began thrashing out an amicable separation plan, at least for this season.

However, the end of this deal could spell losses for the franchises as they get a substantial share from the sponsorship pool. Half of the annual Vivo sponsorship money is distributed equally among eight franchises, which comes to Rs 27.5 crore.

"As of now, it will be very difficult for the BCCI to match the sponsorship amount at such short notice. Therefore, both BCCI and the franchises should be prepared to lose out on some money -- BCCI more but each franchise from Vivo's exit will potentially lose 15 crore," the official said.

"This year will be difficult for everyone but the show must go on," the official said.

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Agencies
August 3,2020

Silverstone, Aug 2: Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton on Sunday won his seventh British Grand Prix title after a dramatic last-lap at the Silverstone Circuit.

Hamilton and teammate Valtteri Bottas were at the first and second spot respectively until tyre drama struck.

Second-placed man Bottas was the first to suffer as his tyre deflated on lap 50, resulting in 11th place finish. Hamilton also suffered a similar issue before the final few seconds of the race.

However, with Max Verstappen having opted to pit a few laps from the end to try and claim the fastest lap, Hamilton had enough time in hand to just cross the line first, five seconds ahead of Verstappen and the third-placed Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.

McLaren's Carlos Sainz had been set to finish fourth, but his own last lap tyre issue saw him eventually come home P13, allowing Renault's Daniel Ricciardo to claim fourth, following a late pass on the sister McLaren of Lando Norris.

Renault's Esteban Ocon finished sixth, having enjoyed a race-long battle with Lance Stroll's Racing Point, with Pierre Gasly having enjoyed a fine race to finish seventh for AlphaTauri.

Alex Albon finished eighth for Red Bull, having recovered from a lap 1 tussle with the Haas of Kevin Magnussen that saw him fall to last, while Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel rounded out the top 10, Vettel holding off a late charge form the recovering Mercedes of Bottas.

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