Jadeja takes 5 as India clinch series by innings and 53 runs

Agencies
August 6, 2017

Colombo, Aug 6: India buried Sri Lanka under a mountain of runs as they cantered to a comprehensive innings and 53-run victory in the second Test, taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series here today.

The hosts, who put up their best batting show in the series so far were all-out for 386 in the second innings despite twin centuries from opener Dimuth Karunaratne (141) and No 3 Kusal Mendis (110).

Ravindra Jadeja (5/152 in 39 overs), after an indifferent final two sessions on the third day, found his rhythm and more importantly length back to inflict the maximum damage.

Once Karunaratne and former skipper Angelo Mathews (36) were dismissed by Jadeja within a space of five runs from each other, it was only a matter of time before India clinched the series.

Karunaratne and Mathews added 69 runs for the fifth wicket as Sri Lanka were 310 for four at one stage before a collapse saw the last six wickets going down for 76 runs.

India have now won back-to-back away Test series in the island nation having clinched the previous edition in 2015 by 2-1 margin. Interestingly, Kohli is the only India captain to have won two Test series in Sri Lanka.

The quality, or the lack of it, of the Sri Lankan team will give Virat Kohli and his boys a chance to complete a clean sweep in Pallekele (Kandy), where the the third Test starts on August 12.

Save Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, India have not had a chance to register an all-win record in an away series in any country.

Not a great believer in enforcing follow-on, skipper Kohli said that a lead of 440 runs convinced him to do so.

"The way the wicket behaved and how it was getting worse by the day and the lead of more than 440 prompted us to enforce the follow-on," Kohli said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

While there was turn on offer and the pitch did deteriorate, but Karunaratne and Mendis, during their 191-run second wicket stand last evening, had shown stomach for a fight.

"At the international level, you expect teams to come and play like that (on Mendis and Karunaratne tons). They batted really well. You need to have those tough times to improve as cricketers. If you enjoy the hard moments, you enjoy the good moments as well. Never get complacent as a side - that's important."

However, after Sri Lanka were all out for 183 in the first innings in reply to India's 622, it was always going to be a catch-up game for the hosts.

The Indian bowlers -- especially the two spinners -- were made to work much harder than their previous three innings in the Test matches so far.

Ravichandran Ashwin (2/132 in 37.5 overs), after a good first innings show, did not look half as effective. He, however, got the final wicket of the Sri Lankan second innings to end the match.

In the post-lunch session, it was Jadeja who hit the right areas, extracting sharp turn and bounce off the pitch.

Karunartane, after his 307-ball vigil, got a wicked delivery that jumped off his gloves with Ajinkya Rahane running behind the wicketkeeper to take the catch.

Mathews then got one that had both turn and bounce with Wriddhiman Saha giving a superb exhibition of glovework.

Dilruwan Perera (17) was then stumped as he tried to give Jadeja the charge.
The skipper was effusive in his praise for Saha.

"Four byes on that sort of pitch speaks of his (Saha's) quality. He is definitely the best keeper in this format I will say. How agile he is! He is very safe behind the stumps," Kohli stated.

The ninth five-wicket haul for Jadeja came when Dhananjaya De Silva edged one to Rahane at first-slip.
Niroshan Dickwella (31) threw his bat around before Hardik Pandya (2/31 in 15 overs) accounted for his wicket.

At the start, Karunaratne added 40 runs with nightwatchman Malinda Pushpakumara (16) for the third wicket.

The two continued to stonewall the Indian attack, and a few runs were added too. India struggled to make things happen as they failed to latch on to the half-chances offered by the nightwatchman.

The big moment of the session came in the 66th over when K L Rahul dropped Karunaratne (then on 95) at short leg off Jadeja, which didn't prove costly in the long run.

The opener didn't offer any more chances thereafter, reaching the three-figure mark in 224 balls.
India were then given a lucky break as Pushpakumara played a horrific reverse sweep off Ashwin in the 73rd over and was bowled, gifting his wicket after doing all the hard work.

It became a double blow as Jadeja had Dinesh Chandimal (2) caught at slip in the next over, with Rahane holding on to a sharp catch diving to his right.

The visitors took the second new ball as soon as it became available, but Karunaratne and Mathews played watchful cricket given the vitality of this passage of play.

India did bring on its pacers, Mohammed Shami (0-27) and Umesh Yadav (1-39), for short spells with the new ball, but they were unable to provide breakthroughs.

Sri Lanka crossed the 300-mark in the 90th over, with Karunaratne and Mathews bringing up their 50-partnership off 71 balls.

"We were outplayed with bat and the ball in the first innings. But I was happy with the way we played in the second innings. We just want to take positives from this game. Kusal and Dimuth played some really good cricket," Sri Lanka captain Chandimal said.

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News Network
February 29,2020

Feb 29: The "Dadi of Shaheenbagh" on Friday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not understand the pain of losing children, as speakers at an anti-CAA rally here called on protesters to maintain peace and not give in to any provocation.

Tushar Gandhi, the great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, said that the battle is not for a day or two, but the protesters will have to be prepared to continue it for years to come.

Asma Khatoon, who has earned fame as the "Dadi of Shaheenbagh" in Delhi, asked how can a person take care of the whole country when he cannot maintain his own family.

"He would have realised how it feels to lose a child if he had his own children," she told a gathering at the Park Circus Maidan, which is being termed as the Shaheenbagh of Kolkata with women holding a sit-in for the last 53 days to protest the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, proposed nationwide NRC, and the NPR.

The death toll Delhi's communal violence has gone up to 42.

She said it is not biryani that has attracted women to the protest at Shaheen bagh while holding that such vilification campaigns will have no effect on the agitation.

State BJP president Dilip Ghosh has claimed that "uneducated men and women" are protesting at Delhi's Shaheen Bagh and Kolkata's Park Circus as they get money and biryani purchased with foreign funds.

"Home Minister Amit Shah has called 20 protesters to meet him, but I want to tell him that we are one lakh and I want him to mention the place where he wants us to go for the meeting," she said.

Tushar Gandhi said, "People should stay united and not give in to any provocation," he said.

Gandhi said that the people of West Bengal are lucky to have Mamata Banerjee as their chief minister.

"They will try to break her also and it is necessary that you continue to give her support," he said.

Gandhi claimed that no one can harm a country where its mothers and sisters come out to save it.

He claimed that the CAA is not about Hindus or Muslims, but will really affect the poor people, who will be made to run around to get their papers instead of earning for their basic and daily needs.

"It's a dichotomous government that we have at the Centre. On the one hand, they want us to provide documents to prove our citizenship, while on the other they refuse to accept the papers that one produces before it for the purpose," he said.

He claimed that the government is forcing its people to resort to lies and declare that they are political refugees from countries like Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Gandhi claimed that time and again documents with the government like electoral rolls and land documents have been used to identify people of certain communities during riots.

"So it is dangerous to give too much information to the government," he said.

He called on the people to have faith in non-violence and asked them to maintain peace and harmony.

B R Ambedkar's great-grandson Rajratna Ambedkar claimed that it is the Adivasis who will also be affected by the CAA.

"I want to tell Modi and Shah that the country runs on the Constitution by Ambedkar and not M S Golwalkar (of RSS)," he said, adding that because of the rights conferred on people by the Constitution, those backward people who did not have the right to sit on a bullock cart are now flying jet planes.

He said that Modi and Shah committed an error by enacting the CAA as it has turned the people of the country into Indians only, instead of Hindus, Muslims, Christians or Sikhs.

"Every machinery of the country has been taken control of by the RSS. If one Modi or one Shah goes, they will bring in several more Modi or Shah," he said.

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Agencies
July 31,2020

Hampshire, Jul 31: David Willey's maiden five-wicket haul guided England to a six-wicket victory over Ireland in the first ODI here on Friday.

With this win, the hosts have taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series.

Chasing a small target of 173 runs, England got off to a bad start as opener Jonny Bairstow was given LBW in the third over, bowled by Andy McBrine. Jason Roy was then joined by James Vince and the duo added 22 runs on the board before the former was dismissed.

Craig Young then got hold of Vince, who was caught behind after scoring 25 runs. Sam Billings and Tom Banton then took the charge of the chase but the latter too was caught behind which ended his 11-run innings.

Banton's dismissal brought skipper Eoin Morgan on the field. Billings and Morgan played stunning innings and kept scoring boundaries. Morgan struck a scintillating six on the last bowl of the 28th over to take England over the line. Morgan scored 36 runs while Billings played a knock of 67 runs.

Earlier, after being asked to bat first, Ireland witnessed a poor start as Paul Stirling was dismissed in the very first over of the innings, bowled by Willey. Andy Balbirnie then joined Gareth Delany but Willey struck again in his next over, removing Balbirnie.

Delany then played furiously and smashed three consecutive boundaries to Saqib Mahmood in the fourth over. However, the fall of wickets did not stop as England took three wickets in quick succession. Mahmood bowled Harry Tector while Delany and Lorcan Tucker were sent back to the pavilion by Willey.

Kevin O'Brien and Curtis Campher then took the charge and played cautiously, taking their struggling side over the 50-run mark. Adil Rashid got hold of O'Brien (22) in the 22nd over before Simranjit Singh was run out in the same over.

Andy McBrine was the next batsman and he played brilliantly along with Campher, who went on to complete his half-century. Both formed a 66-run partnership before McBrine (40) was dismissed by Tom Curran.

Campher remained unbeaten on 59 but failed to find a partner as England bundled out Ireland on 172 runs.

The second ODI between both teams will be played on Saturday.

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Agencies
May 30,2020

New Delhi, May 30: The Congress on Friday described the first year of the Modi government as a "year of disappointment, disastrous management and diabolical pain".

Congress leader K C Venugopal said the six years of the Modi dispensation have seen fraying of bonds of empathy, fraternity and brotherhood with increase in acts of communal and sectarian violence.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said that at the end of six years, it appears the Modi government is at war with its people and is inflicting wounds on them, instead of healing them.

"It is inflicting wounds on Mother India," he said.

"This government is trying to fill coffers of the select rich and is inflicting pain on the poor," Surjewala said.

On the BJP's charge of the Congress playing politics over the COVID-19 crisis, Venugopal said the opposition party did not indulge in any politics and gave suggestions instead.

"Being a responsible opposition, it is our duty to raise the problems faced by the common people. As opposition, we highlighted the failures of the government," he said.

Venugopal said the government "is totally insensitive" to the plight of migrant labourers and farmers.

Surjewala also demanded that a virtual session of Parliament be convened immediately to discuss pressing issues and the due process be set in motion for holding of meetings of various parliamentary committees.

Modi and his cabinet had taken oath on this day last year for a second term in office.

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