Indian women level series, beat West Indies by 53 runs

News Network
November 4, 2019

North Sound, Nov 4: Punam Raut starred with the bat before spinners put up a fine performance to set up India's comfortable 53-run win over West Indies in the second ICC Women's Championship ODI.

India were able to defend a modest 191 by bowling out West Indies for 138 in 47.2 overs and level the three-match ODI series 1-1 on Sunday night.

The spin troika of - left-arm orthodox Rajeshwari Gayakwad (2/27), leg-break specialist Poonam Yadav (2/26) and off-spinner Deepti Sharma (2/25) returned with two wickets each to restrict the hosts to below-par score.

Opting to bat, India began on a shaky note with openers Priya Punia (5) and Jemimah Rodrigues (0) departing cheaply, leaving the side reeling at 17 for 2 in nine overs.

However, Punam (77), who was the top scorer for India, and skipper Mithali Raj (40) and vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur (46) steadied the ship putting up a modest target on the board.

Punam and Mithali shared a 66-run stand, scoring four boundaries each before Sheneta Grimmond dismissed the latter in the 29th over.

Punam then joined forces with Harmanpreet. The duo kept the scoreboard moving with a 93-run partnership before the Indian vice-captain was bowled off an Aaliyah Alleyne delivery in the 48th over.

For West Indies, Alleyne (2/38) and Afy Fletcher (2/32) picked two wickets each, while Shabika Gajnabi (1/23) and Grimmond (1/22) scalped one apiece.

Chasing 192, West Indies got off to a bad start losing opener Stacy-Ann King (6) in the fourth over. The home side was struck with a major blow in the 25th over when opener Natasha McLean (15) retired hurt.

Captain Stafanie Taylor (20) then joined Shemaine Campbelle in the middle but was unable to lead her side to victory as she was caught in front of the wickets by Poonam Yadav.

The Indian bowlers led by the spin trio of Rajeshwari Gayakwad (2/27), Poonam Yadav (2/26) and Deepti Sharma (2/25), kept striking at regular intervals to deny West Indies of a substantial partnership.

Campbelle (39) top-scored for West Indies as the home side folded for 138 in the 48th over.

The two teams will face off again in the third ODI on Wednesday.

Brief scores: India 191/6 in 50 overs (Punam Raut 77, Harmanpreet Kaur 46; Afy Fletcher 2/32) beat West Indies 138 all out in 47.2 overs (Shemaine Campbelle 39, Stafanie Taylor 20; Deepti Sharma 2/25) by 53 runs.

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Agencies
July 28,2020

New Delhi, Jul 28: 'Your character stood out for me than the number of runs you scored," said India skipper Virat Kohli while explaining his decision to give opening Mayank Agarwal a Test debut in the 2018-19 Australia series.

Mayank Agarwal had made his Test debut against Australia in the third Test of the four-match series.

Playing the third Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Agarwal managed to register a half-century in his very first innings in the longest format.

"I had seen you play for RCB, even then you played international bowlers with conviction and you would take them on. You were performing in first-class matches in a dominating way. That is something always stood out with you, I would say your character stood out for me than the number of runs. I knew you would be fearless without having any baggage," Kohli told Mayank Agarwal in a video posted on the official website of BCCI.

In the longest format of the game, Agarwal has managed to score 974 runs from 11 matches at an average of 57.29 with three centuries as an opening batsman.

The Indian skipper also explained as to what makes him notice in a player and added that it is important that guys in the team look to face new challenges and emerge triumphantly.

"For me, the biggest marker is how a person approaches the game, so for example when you opened and we made Vihari open with you. The first opportunity we presented Vihari to open the batting, he said yes to it and that matters me to the most," Kohli said.

"I opened in my first series for India, I said yes to this opportunity and things worked out fine for me. So, a guy who wants to get into tough situations will come out either holding his head high or learning from his mistakes," he added.

Kohli and Mayank would soon be seen in action for Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab respectively in the Indian Premier League (IPL) starting from September 19 in the UAE.

The comparisons between Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar keep on 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 currently has 70 centuries across all formats.

At present, Kohli is ranked at the top spot in the ICC ODI rankings while he is in the second place in Tests rankings. Kohli has so far played 86 Tests, scoring 7,240 runs with 27 centuries at an average of 53.62.

His knock of 254 against South Africa at Pune in 2019 remains his highest Test score to date. When it comes to ODIs, the current Indian skipper has played 248 matches and has 43 centuries.

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News Network
February 10,2020

Potchefstroom, Feb 9: Bangladesh clinched their maiden ICC U-19 World Cup title after beating favourites India by three wickets in the summit clash here on Sunday.

Set a revised target of 170 after a brief rain interruption, Bangladesh won the match with 23 balls to spare.

Sent in to bat, India's batting wilted under pressure as a superb Bangladesh bowling attack shot the defending champions out for a paltry 177 in 47.2 overs.

Yasashvi Jaiswal (88 off 121 balls) was once again a standout performer but not for once did he look like dominating the Bangladesh bowling unit whose new ball bowlers Shoriful Islam (2/31 in 10 overs) and Tanzim Hasan Shakib (2/28 in 8.2 overs) literally stifled the Indians for runs.

The third seamer Avishek Das (3/40 in 9 overs) was the most successful bowler in terms of figures but it was Shoriful's first spell with channelised aggression that put the Indians on the back-foot from the onset.

After a short rain break towards the end, the target was revised to 170 from 46 runs but Bangladesh reached 170 for 7 in 42.1 overs to win the match.

Opener Parvez Hossain Emon top-scored for Bangladesh with a 79-ball 47 while captain and wicketkeeper Akbar Ali was not out on 43 from 77 deliveries.

For the India U-19 side, Ravi Bishnoi was the most successful bowler with figures of 4/30 while Sushant Mishra had 2/25.

India thus missed out on a record fifth title in their seventh final appearance.

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News Network
June 18,2020

Jun 18: Sri Lanka "sold" the 2011 World Cup final to India, the country's former sports minister said on Thursday, reviving one of cricket's most explosive match-fixing controversies. Mahindananda Aluthgamage, who was sports minister at the time, is the second senior figure to allege the final was fixed, after 1996 World Cup-winning skipper Arjuna Ranatunga. "I tell you today that we sold the 2011 World Cup finals," Aluthgamage told Sirasa TV. "Even when I was sports minister I believed this."

Aluthgamage, sports minister from 2010 to 2015 and now state minister for renewable energy and power, said he "did not want to disclose" the plot at the time.

"In 2011, we were to win, but we sold the match. I feel I can talk about it now. I am not connecting players, but some sections were involved," he said.

Sri Lanka lost the match at Mumbai's Wankhede stadium by six wickets. Indian players have strongly denied any wrongdoing.

Ranatunga, who was at the stadium as a commentator, has previously called for an investigation into the defeat.

"When we lost, I was distressed and I had a doubt," he said in July 2017. "We must investigate what happened to Sri Lanka at the 2011 World Cup final."

"I cannot reveal everything now, but one day I will. There must be an inquiry," added Ranatunga, who said players could not hide the "dirt".

Sri Lanka batted first and scored 274-6 off 50 overs. They appeared in a commanding position when Indian superstar Sachin Tendulkar was out for 18.

But India turned the game dramatically, thanks partly to poor fielding and bowling by Sri Lanka, who were led by Kumar Sangakkara.

Sri Lankan cricket has regularly been involved in corruption controversies, including claims of match-fixing ahead of a 2018 Test against England.

Earlier this month, the Sri Lankan cricket board said the International Cricket Council was investigating three unnamed former players over alleged corruption.

Sri Lanka introduced tough penalties for match-fixing and tightened sports betting restrictions in November in a bid to stamp out graft.

Another former sports minister, Harin Fernando, has said Sri Lankan cricket was riddled with graft "from top to bottom", and that the ICC considered Sri Lanka one of the world's most corrupt nations.

Former Sri Lankan fast bowler Dilhara Lokuhettige was suspended in 2018 for corruption relating to a limited-overs league.

He was the third Sri Lankan charged under the ICC anti-corruption code, following former captain and ex-chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya, and former paceman Nuwan Zoysa.

Jayasuriya was found guilty of failing to cooperate with a match-fixing probe and banned for two years. Zoysa was suspended for match-fixing.

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