India vs South Africa 3rd Test: India crush South Africa by an innings and 202 runs, complete 3-0 whitewash

Agencies
October 22, 2019

New Delhi, Oct 22: A formidable Indian team ticked all the boxes with ease as it completed a 3-0 rout of an out-of-sorts South Africa with an innings and 202 runs victory in the third and final Test on Tuesday.

With another 120 points in the ongoing World Test Championship, India now sit pretty on top of the table with 240 points as the formalities were completed within the first two overs of the fourth day.

This was Virat Kohli's 11th series win as captain and the first clean sweep over the Proteas who were no match for the hosts. This was India's 11th successive series triumph on home soil.

The scoreline was not only an indicator of India's absolute dominance but also the decline in standard of South African cricket as the visitors couldn't handle the might of India's batting and the fiery pace attack led by Mohammed Shami (13 wickets in the series).

Debutant left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem (2/18 in 6 overs) wrapped it up in the second over of the day as South Africa were all out for 133 in their second innings, 30 runs short of their dismal first innings score of 162.

This was India's sixth clean sweep at home in a three-Test series and the side didn't put a foot wrong during the three-match series, winning the first Test by 203 runs and the second one by an innings and 137 runs.

If Rohit Sharma's coming of age in his new role as an opener with 529 runs, turned out to be a masterstroke in home conditions, Mayank Agarwal also consolidated his place in the side with a double century and a ton, easing India's long time opening woes.

"I was very happy to make my debut in Australia and make little contributions to the team. It's hard work over a period of many areas," Agarwal said after the match.

However, what stood out during the series was how lethal the Indian pace attack looked despite their premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah's absence due to a stress fracture.

Rarely has there been a series where the impact of pacers has been as much as the spinners.

If Ravindra Jadeja (13 wickets) and Ravichandran Ashwin (15 wickets) shared 28 among themselves, Mohammed Shami (13 in 3 Tests), Umesh Yadav (11 in two Tests) and Ishant Sharma (2 in 2 Tests) picked 26 wickets.

"We are always ready to fulfill our responsibility. As a captain, Virat gives you confidence, lets you do what you want. We try to keep the ball in the right areas and bowl the right length," Shami said at the end of match.

"Fitness matters a lot, the atmosphere in the team is such that we are focussed on fitness. The Indian team has become a unit which enjoys each other's success and that helps our confidence. As fast bowlers, we have gone up a rung," said the senior speedster.

It was one such series, where South African batsmen looked scared and scarred by the ferocity of India's pace attack. The pacers did a lot of damage with the new ball and reversed the old ball.

Two hundreds and four fifties is all that the South African batting line-up managed and South African skipper Faf du Plessis agreed that they were completely outplayed on sporting tracks unlike the ones in 2015 where the ball was turning square.

"They were ruthless and they were better than us in every department - spin bowling, fast bowling, batting and even the fielding. They are a difficult team to overcome," Du Plessis agreed.

Pleased as punch, skipper Kohli couldn't agree more with his opposite number.

"You guys have seen how we're playing. Making things happen on pitches that don't seem to offer too much, is something we're very proud of," Kohli summed it up aptly.

India had won the first Test in Vizag by 203 runs and then registered a massive innings and 137-run win in the second Test in Pune.

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News Network
January 31,2020

New Delhi, Jan 31: Indian women's team captain Rani Rampal on Thursday became the first-ever hockey player to win the prestigious 'World Games Athlete of the Year' award.

The World Games announced the winner on Thursday after 20 days of polling by sports fans world-wide.

"Indian hockey superstar Rani is The World Games Athlete of the Year 2019! Huge congratulations!," the World Games said in a statement.

"With an impressive number of votes, 199,477, Rani is the clear winner of the Athlete of the Year race, where sports fans all over the world have voted for their favourite during 20 days of polling in January. All in all, over 705,610 votes were cast during the poll," it added.

Last year, India won the FIH Series Finals, and Rani was named Player of the Tournament. Under Rani's leadership, the Indian women's team qualified for just the third Olympic Games in its history.

"I dedicate this award to the entire hockey fraternity, my team and my country. This success has only become possible with the love and support from hockey lovers, fans, my team, coaches, Hockey India, my government, friends from Bollywood, fellow sportspersons and my countrymen who have continuously voted for me," said Rani, who was recently named among the Padma Shri awardees.

"Special thanks to FIH for nominating me for this prestigious award. Thank you to The World Games Federation for this recognition," she added.

Rani further said after a successful 2019, she is now looking forward to achieving greater heights with the national team in 2020, which also happens to be an Olympic year.

"It is my privilege and honour to win this award. It is always nice when your country recognises your effort. It is even better when the international sports community recognises it. Thank you so much to everyone who voted for me," she said.

"2019 was a great year for our team because we qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. As a team we want to make 2020 a great year!"

Rani, who has been a member of the national team since she was a 15-years-old, currently has more than 240 caps for India.

"Rani is an inspirational athlete, and a role model for many in India. It was amazing to see the support the Indians, even as high up as Mr Rijiju, the Minister of State, Youth Affairs and Sports, gave to her in this vote together with the Hockey fans all around the world. This is what sport is about: uniting people from different backgrounds and different countries," said International World Games Association President Jose Perurena.

The International Hockey Federation also congratulated Rani on being named for the award.

"Congratulations @imranirampal for becoming the first ever Hockey athlete to win the prestigious @TheWorldGames Athlete of the Year award!" the FIH, who nominated Rani for the award, said in its twitter handle.

"On behalf of FIH and the global hockey community, I would like to extend our warmest congratulations to Rani for having been voted The World Games Athlete of the Year 2019. This is an acknowledgement of her outstanding performances - together with her team-mates - and her dedication to hockey and her leadership," FIH CEO Thierry Weil said.

"This prestigious Award is also a great recognition for hockey globally. Furthermore, we are working hard for and looking forward to having Hockey 5s as a demonstration sport at The World Games 2021."

Congratulating Rani, Hockey India President Mohd Mushtaque Ahmad said, "This is a very proud moment for all of us. She is the first Indian athlete to win this award and through her achievements Rani has been able to draw a lot of attention towards women's hockey. Many people are aware of the team's recent accomplishments and I am confident this team is capable of winning larger goals and I wish Rani and the team best of luck this Olympic Year."

There were initially 25 nominees, male and female nominated by their respective sports federations, which was later reduced to 10 in the final round of public voting.

The FIH has recommended Rani's name for her outstanding performances and her ability to lead by example.

Karate star Stanislav Horuna of Ukraine was second behind Rani with over 92,000 votes and Canadian powerlifting world champion Rhaea Stinn was third.

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News Network
June 30,2020

Malabar, Jun 30: I-League club Gokulam Kerala's former assistant manager Muhammad Alloush on Monday died due to COVID-19. He was 44.

Alloush, who was with the football club in its inaugural season, was working as technical director at Egyptian club Tanta SC at the time of his demise.

Alloush's mother had also succumbed due to the deadly virus earlier.

"We're deeply saddened by the death of our former assistant manager Muhammad Alloush, aged 44, after contracting Covid_19. The thoughts of everybody at Gokulam Kerala Football Club are with Alloush's family and friends at this sad time. Rest in peace, Alloush," Gokulam Kerala FC tweeted.

Meanwhile, with a spike of 18,522 COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, India's coronavirus count stands at 5,66,840, said the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry on Tuesday.

According to the Ministry, 418 deaths due to COVID-19 were reported in the last 24 hours. The number of deaths in the country now stands at 16,893.

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News Network
May 6,2020

May 6: They have similar impact on their teams but Virat Kohli is driven by sheer passion to subdue the rivals while Steve Smith just enjoys batting, says Australia opener David Warner.

India skipper Kohli and top Australian batsman Smith are arguably the top two cricketers of the current era. They achieve new milestones consistently, invoking debates, who is better between them.

"Virat's passion and drive to score runs is different to what Steve's would be," Warner said while speaking to Harsha Bhogle on 'Cricbuzz in Conversation'.

"Steve is going out there for a hit in the middle, that's how he sees things. He's hitting them out in the middle, he's having fun, he's enjoying himself, just does not want to get out."

Warner feels, while Kohli is batting he is aware that if he sticks around the middle his team will be on top of the proceedings.

"Virat obviously doesn't want to get out but he knows if he spends a certain amount of time out there, he's going to score plenty of runs at a rapid rate. He's going to get on top of you. That allows the guys coming in, especially in the Indian team you've got a lot of players who can be flamboyant as well."

The Australian opener added that both men are mentally strong and a good knock by them boosts the morale of the entire team.

"When it comes to cricket, they both have got the mental strength, the mental capacity to score runs. They both love spending time in the middle.

"They stabilise, they boost morale - if they score runs, everyone else's moral is up. If they are out cheaply you almost sense that on the field that everyone is (down on morale and thinking) 'now we all have to step up'. It's a very bizarre situation," he added.

Asked about the similarities between himself and Kohli, who are both live wires on the field, Warner said the passion to do better than the opponent keeps him going.

"I can't speak for Virat, obviously, but it's almost like we got this thing in us when we go (out to the middle) we need to prove people wrong, prove someone wrong."

"If you're in that contest, and if I'm going at him for example, you're thinking, 'Alright, I'm going to score more runs than him, I'm going to take a quick single on him'. You are trying to better that person in that game. That's where the passion comes from."

Warner also explained how he breaks down a match into smaller competitions.

"Obviously you want to win the game but you almost break it down to: If I can score more runs than Virat, or if Pujara scores more runs than Steve Smith, you have these little contests and that's how you try to narrow the game in the sense that if we do these little things, we can be ahead of the game or we can be behind the game.

"The passion is driven by...I know my sense - one, the will to win and two, wanting to do better than that person in the opposition," said Warner.

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