'Just a game' as fans make peace after India's big win over Pakistan

Agencies
June 17, 2019

Manchester (United Kingdom), Jun 17: Fans held contrasting emotions after India's World Cup thrashing of Pakistan on Sunday, but supporters of both teams agreed their volatile rivalry should be left to the cricket field.

India extended their unbeaten World Cup run against Pakistan to seven matches after their 89-run victory via DLS method in Manchester.

Rohit Sharma's 140 off 113 balls set up the victory for the two-time champions after they posted 336 for five in 50 overs.

Indian bowlers, led by Kuldeep Yadav, kept down Pakistan to 212 for six in their revised chase of 302 in 40 overs.

The match was watched by a passionate capacity crowd at Old Trafford and an estimated television audience of around one billion.

But for all the energy poured into the sporting grudge match, fans were keen that the rivalry between the feuding countries shouldn't boil over.

"India and Pakistan have been rivals for long in the cricket field but we have to move on from the hatred. This is not war, so take it as a game," Amit Jain, an Indian at the match told AFP.

"All those news channels that were trying to spread hate are looking for some other news now. This is done and dusted for them. So we should realise this and grow up," the 43-year-old London businessman added.

Most of the Pakistan supporters had already left Old Trafford after their team were 166 for six in 35 overs when rain interrupted play.

The game resumed with Pakistan needing 136 in five overs and the writing was on the wall as India closed out a deserved win.

Peace is what we need

"India is a great team, no doubt about it and (Virat) Kohli a man who leads from the front. We knew we had little chance but had to keep are morale up by saying that we are going to win," said Ashraf Ali, a dejected Pakistan fan.

"But it was fun sitting along side our Indian friends and watching a good game of cricket. That's how it should be. Peace is what we need."

Back home in India and Pakistan it was approaching midnight by the time the game ended.

In India there were joyous celebrations among the depleted crowd of a few hundred fans who had stayed until the end in the northern city of Gurgaon.

Satyam Mishra, a fan in Gurgaon, said after the match: "Today the josh (patriotic enthusiasm) is at the top of the level. I can't express in words."

Fans in Islamabad braved the heat to watch the match on big screens in a public park, but they began to thin out rapidly as Pakistan's loss became inevitable.

"My Pakistani patriot tweet for the day: It is just a game," tweeted former ambassador to the US, Husain Haqqani.

Others were less sanguine. "My thoughts and prayers goes out to the television sets across Pakistan," tweeted one user along with a photograph of a man aiming an automatic weapon at a TV set airing the match.

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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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Agencies
April 12,2020

London, Apr 12: Former Formula 1 legendary driver Stirling Moss died at the age of 90 on Sunday.

"All at F1 send our heartfelt condolences to Lady Susie and Sir Stirling's family and friends," Formula 1 said in a statement.

Often referred to as the greatest driver never to win the world championship, Moss contested 66 Grands Prix from 1951 to 1961, driving for the likes of Vanwall, Maserati and Mercedes, where he famously formed a contented and ruthlessly effective partnership with lead driver Juan Manuel Fangio.

In his 10-year-long stint at the tracks, Moss took 16 wins, some of which rank among the truly iconic drives in the sport's history - his 1961 victories in Monaco and Germany in particular often held up as all-time classics.

Moss won the 1955 Mille Miglia on public roads for Mercedes at an average speed of close to 100mph, while he also competed in rallies and land-speed attempts.

Following an enforced retirement from racing (barring a brief comeback in saloon cars in the 1980s) after a major crash at Goodwood in 1962, Moss maintained a presence in Formula 1 as both a sports correspondent and an interested observer, before retiring from public life in January of 2018.

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News Network
May 27,2020

Mumbai, May 27: The Maharashtra government on Tuesday ordered re investigation by the CID into the suicide of a 53-year-old interior designer and his mother, allegedly over non-payment of dues by TV journalist Arnab Goswami and two others.

State Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said he ordered re investigation after Adnya Naik, daughter of interior designer Anvay Naik, claimed that Alibag Police in neighbouring Raigad district did not probe the non-payment of dues which had driven her father and grandmother to suicide.

"Adnya Naik had complained to me that #AlibaugPolice had not investigated non-payment of dues from #ArnabGoswami's @republic which drove her entrepreneur father & grandmom to suicide in May 2018," Deshmukh tweeted.

"I've ordered a CID re-investigation of the case," the minister, an NCP leader, added.

He also used the hashtag "Maharashtra government cares" while sharing the tweet. Earlier this month, the police registered an abetment of suicide case against Republic TV editor-in-chief Goswami and two others.

The suicide note purportedly written by Anvay Naik, managing director of Concorde Designs Private Limited, said he was forced to take his life as he was not paid dues of Rs 5.40 crore by the three accused.

Republic TV denied the allegation and said that certain vested interest groups were running "a false and malicious campaign and making false statements and innuendos against the company by exploiting the tragic event".

Mumbai Police are also conducting a probe against Goswami over his statements about the Palghar lynching case of April this year.

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