Kolkata drub Mumbai 3-0 in a spectacular ISL opening night

October 13, 2014

Kolkata, Oct 13: Atletico de Kolkata gave the football-crazy city fans a night to remember in their 3-0 drubbing of Mumbai City FC as the inaugural Hero Indian Super League football tournament kicked off in spectacular fashion after a star-studded opening ceremony here.

Kolkata drubIt was Fikru Teferra who struck the first goal of ISL to give the home franchise a 27th minute lead to bring the 70,000 capacity crowd at the Salt Lake Stadium to their feet, while Borja Fernandez's stunning volley from the edge of the box delighted one and all with some top quality stuff.

Substitute Arnal Llibert (90+3rd) gave the Kolkatans enough reasons to celebrate by turning Fikru's cross from the right to give a perfect ending to the match of the league touted to change the landscape of Indian football.

From the short passing of ATK's to the trademark English style long passes by the MCFC, it was high quality football on display, something that was rarely seen at the Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan.

The iconic stadium might have witnessed such a big crowd during in the reminded one of an East Bengal-Mohun Bagan but the derby never had experienced such motley spectators who varied from hardcore football fans to young families to waving youngsters.

It was a day of many firsts at VYBK as fans enjoyed quality football with replays from 17 giant screens that dotted the uppermost tier, something that was never experienced in Indian football.

The 28-year-old Ethiopian forward got a long through pass from ATK's marquee player Luis Garcia and before German defender Manuel Friedrich could intercept, brilliantly chipped over local lad Subrata Paul for the first goal.

The home team had the better share of chances and Spanish short passing skill was well evident in the side which had its affiliations with La Liga giants Atletico Madrid. Dominating the game in deft passing, ATK got two fine opportunities early into the game with Baljit Sahni missing a one-on-one chance with Paul in the ninth minute.

Garcia was involved in both the chances as the former Liverpool star first set up Sahni before his left-footed volley was saved by Paul in the ninth minute.

Mumbai tried to add sting to their attack bringing in Italian forward Andre Moritz in the second-half and he won a freekick at the edge of the box but only to put it away.

MCFC also had a narrow escape when their defender Raju Gaekwad got away from a second booking and possible red after a tough challenge.

Mumbai were hit hard by the absence of former France international Nicolas Anelka and injured ex-Arsenal and Sweden star Fredrik Ljungberg.

The Teams:

Atletico de Kolkata: Subhasish Roy Chowdhury; Biswajit Saha, Arnab Mondal, Denzil Franco, Jose Miguel Gonzalez Rey; Ofentse Nato, Joffre Mateu Gonzalez (Jakub Podany 62'), Luis Garcia (Arnal Llibert 87'), Borja Fernandez; Baljit Sahni (Sanju Pradhan 81'), Fikru Teferra Lemessa.

Mumbai City FC: Subrata Paul; Pavel Cmovs, Syed Rahim Nabi (Nadong Bhutia 40'), Deepak Mondal, Manuel Friedrich, Raju Gaekwad (Peter Costa 57'), Johan Letzelter; Tiago Ribeiro (Andre Moritz 46'), Jan Stohanzi, Lalrindika Ralte; Diego Fernando Nadaya.

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News Network
January 8,2020

Indore, Jan 8:  India skipper Virat Kohli has added yet another feather to his cap by becoming the fastest player to score 1,000 runs in T20I cricket as a captain. Kohli played an unbeaten knock of 30 during India''s seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the second T20I of the ongoing three-match series on Tuesday evening.

Kohli achieved the milestone of scoring 1,000 runs as captain in his 30th T20I inning. He is the second Indian and sixth overall after MS Dhoni to have achieved the feat. Dhoni had scored 1112 runs in 62 T20I games as captain.

Faf du Plessis (1273 runs from 40 games), Kane Williamson (1083 runs in 39 games), Eoin Morgan (1013 runs in 43 games) and Ireland''s William Porterfield (1002 runs in 56 games) are other captains on the list.

During India''s emphatic victory at the Holkar Stadium, Kohli also surpassed team-mate Rohit Sharma, who has been rested for the series, as the top run-getter in the T20Is. Kohli now has 2663 runs from 71 innings.

Both had finished 2019 as joint top-scorers in T20Is, with 2633 runs each.

India, already with an unassailable lead of 1-0 in the series, will now face Sri Lanka in the final T20I on Friday in Pune. The first match between the two teams was called off without a ball being bowled due to wet patches on the pitch in Guwahati last Sunday.

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News Network
July 16,2020

Kolkata, Jul 16: BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Wednesday went into home quarantine after his elder brother and Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) joint secretary Snehasish Ganguly tested positive for Covid-19.

Snehasish, a former Bengal first-class player, has been admitted to the Belle Vue hospital in Kolkata after his COVID report came positive.

"He was suffering from fever for the last few days and his test report came positive today. He's been admitted to Belle Vue Hospital," a CAB official said.

"The reports arrived late in the evening. As per health protocols, even Sourav will have to be in home quarantine for a stipulated period," a source close to the BCCI President added.

Snehasish had shifted to their ancestral house, where Sourav is based, in Behala after his wife and in-laws at his Mominpur residence tested positive for the dreaded virus.

The former India captain was, however, unavailable for a comment on the development.

Recently, during an interview to India Today, Sourav had spoken about how life around him has changed, making people more vulnerable.

"My brother visits our factories everyday and he is more at risk," the former batting star had said

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News Network
April 27,2020

Mumbai, Apr 27: The pressure to replace iconic Mahendra Singh Dhoni behind the stumps was "immense" due to high expectations from fans says K L Rahul, who has been doing the wicket-keeping duty for India in the limited overs format for some time now.

Dhoni quit Test cricket in 2014 and has not played for India in the limited overs format since last year's ODI World Cup in England.

Rahul kept the wickets in the limited overs series against Australia in January this year and also during the team's tour to New Zealand.

"I was nervous when I was doing it for India because of the crowd pressure. If you fumble, people feel that you cannot replace MS Dhoni. The pressure of replacing a legendary wicket-keeper like MSD was immense as it involved people accepting someone else behind the stumps," Rahul told Star Sports on its show 'Cricket Connected'.

Rahul, who has played 32 ODIs and 42 T20Is, said keeping the wickets is not alien to him since he dons the gloves during the Indian Premier League (IPL) and also when he plays for his Ranji side Karnataka.

"People who follow cricket know that I haven't been away from wicket-keeping for too long as I donned the gloves in the IPL and every time I played for Karnataka," the 28-year-old said.

"I am always in touch with wicket-keeping but am also somebody who is more than willing to take up the role if the team needs me to," he stressed.

Dhoni's career is a matter of intense speculation. Many former players feel that it won't be easy for Dhoni to make it to the national squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup, scheduled to be held in Australia. 

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