Malinga's four-for hands Sri Lanka 5-run win over India

March 18, 2014

Malingas_four-for_handsMirpur, Mar 18: Indian team's batting woes continued in the familiar sub-continental conditions as they lost their opening warm-up tie of the ICC World T20 against Sri Lanka by five runs, here today.

Batting first, Sri Lanka scored 153 for six and then bowled out India for 148 in exactly 20 overs.

Needing 12 off the last over bowled by Lasith Malinga, Indians could get only six as the Lankan slinger finished with figures of 4/30 from four overs. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni did not bat in this unofficial match.

India's inability to finish a close match again came to the fore as the likes of Suresh Raina (41), Yuvraj Singh (33) and Virat Kohli (17) all failed to convert their starts.

Ravichandran Ashwin's all-round show (3/22 and 19 runs) was the lone bright spot in the opening encounter.

India were off to a disastrous start as Shikhar Dhawan (2) played a lazy shot off Kulasekara to be holed out at mid-off while Rohit Sharma (4) was caught at the deep mid-wicket boundary off a Malinga delivery.

Raina looked more comfortable on a low-bounce track as he played those customary lofted shots in the region between extra cover and mid-off. He also lofted Kulasekara for a six over mid-wicket.

He was looking good for a big knock as he reached 41 with the help of five fours and a six. But the 31st ball he faced saw him fail to reach to the pitch of the delivery. Ajantha Mendis was the bowler and Raina couldn't clear Rangana Herath at long off boundary.

Ajinkya Rahane offered a simple return catch to Sachitra Senanayeke as India were in deep trouble at 56 for four.

Yuvraj was having a bit of trouble initially reading Senanayeke's deliveries but he broke the shackles by coming down the track to hit left-arm spinner Rangana Herath over long-on for a six. He also picked up Mendis' carom ball early to hit another six over long on.

Kohli started off on a promising note smacking 17 off only eight balls as the duo added 32 runs in quick time before Malinga struck.

Coming back for his second spell, Malinga got Kohli to play away from his body and he dragged it back onto the stumps. Yuvraj was gone trying to steer Kulasekara and Sangakkara took a fine diving catch behind the stumps.

The left-hander hit two sixes and two fours in his 28-ball stay at the crease. Once Yuvraj was gone, it was difficult for the others to finish the game.

Earlier, Ashwin gave a good account of himself as two-time finalists Sri Lanka upped the ante in the end to put on a competitive total after being sent into bat.

Ashwin ended with impressive figures of three for 22 in his four-over spell as the batsmen had lot of trouble playing their strokes on a slowish track at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.

Amit Mishra (1/38 from four overs) got some stick but also bowled a few good balls while Raina (1/12) was lucky to get a wicket.

Nuwan Kulasekara with 21 off 14 balls and Thisara Perera with 18 from 11 deliveries added 30 runs in the last three overs to take the score past 150.

Among the pacers, Varun Aaron worked up good pace in his three overs to end with one for 18 as Mahela Jayawardene (30) and skipper Dinesh Chandimal (29) were the only ones in the top-order, who looked like scoring a few runs.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar was taken for 17 runs in his final over as he finished with figures of none for 33 from three overs.

Mohammed Shami's inspiring effort in the field definitely helped in lifting the spirit of the team. Having bowled an over at full tilt, the speedster stationed at mid-off dived full stretched to take a brilliant one-handed catch that dismissed Kusal Janith Perera (21) off Aaron's bowling.

Dilshan, on the otherhand, looked ill at ease both against pacers as well as spinners as he simply could not get off the blocks.

Jayawardene, however, looked attacking from the start as his mistimed pull shot off Shami went over Dhoni's head for a boundary. But the very next shot was a beauty as he bisected the point and gully fielder to find another boundary.

When Ravindra Jadeja was introduced into the attack, Jayawardene muscled him behind square leg boundary for a six. The veteran right-hander slog swept leggie Amit Mishra over square leg for another maximum.

But Mishra had his revenge off the very next ball when he varied the length. He altered it by a feet and Jayawardene was induced into playing early offering an easy return catch which Mishra had no problems in pouching.

Finally, Dilshan's misery ended when he was adjudged leg before after being struck on the frontfoot trying to flick an Ashwin delivery. Sangakkara played the worst shot among the top order batsmen as he literally gifted Raina a wicket.

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News Network
July 24,2020

Bengaluru, Jul 24: Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who was earlier banned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for breaching the Anti-Corruption Code, on Friday, said that people are bound to make mistakes and the important thing is that how well they make a comeback.

Shakib was banned from all forms of cricket on October 29 last year after he accepted the charges of breaching the ICC's Anti-Corruption Code. He will be able to resume international cricket from October 29, 2020.

"You have to be honest. You just can't lie to the people and pretend different things. Whatever happened has happened. People are bound to make mistakes. You are not 100%. The important thing is how well you can comeback from those mistakes. You can tell other people not to make those mistakes. Tell them the path so that they never take those paths," Shakib told Deep Dasgupta in a videocast hosted by ESPNcricinfo.

The 33-year-old all-rounder said he has seen many controversies ever since he was first made captain in 2009. He had trouble with the board chief, selectors and the media, mainly about selectorial decisions and not being made permanent captain between 2009 and 2010.
He believes those experiences have changed him as a person over time.

"I think [it's] combination of both [controversy following him, and vice versa]. I got the responsibility so early in my career, I was bound to make mistakes. I was captain when I was 21. I made a lot of mistakes, and there are so many things that people think about me. Now I realise that it was my fault in some areas, and in some I was misunderstood. But I get it completely. It is part and parcel in the subcontinent," Hasan said.

"Of course I will try to minimise [my mistakes] as much as I can, but by the time I got married, and now I have two kids, I understand the game and life better. It has made me a calmer person than I was in my twenties. I have changed quite a lot. People won't see me doing a lot of mistakes now. My two daughters changed my life completely," he added.

Shakib is likely return to international cricket during Bangladesh's proposed Test series against Sri Lanka in October. 

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News Network
February 16,2020

Feb 16: Mayank Agarwal finally found some form going his way and Rishabh Pant mixed caution with his customary aggression as India's warm-up fixture against New Zealand XI ended in a draw in Hamilton on Sunday. The match was called off an hour after lunch with India reaching 252 for four just 48 overs into their second innings. Agarwal, who had gone through a wretched period since the second Test against Bangladesh, retired on 81 off 99 balls with 10 fours and three sixes to his name. To the relief of the Indian team management, Pant played in his customary manner to reach 70 off 65 balls, but also showed discretion when the opposition bowlers were in the midst of a good spell.

There were four sixes -- two each off leg-spinner Ish Sodhi and off-spinner Henry Cooper. While Sodhi was hit down the ground, Cooper was dispatched over extra cover on a couple of occasions.

He didn't curb his aggression though; there were times when he was ready defend against the spinners and also leave some of the deliveries that the Kiwi pacers bowled.

Even though Pant is easily the better batsman compared to his senior Wriddhiman Saha, the innings might have come too late in the day considering that the latter is a better keeper and possibly a more responsible batsman in pressure situations.

The biggest positive to have emerged from the second innings is Agarwal's poor run coming to an end.

The Seddon Park track easing out was definitely a factor but Agarwal's footwork was more assured as he played some glorious on-drives and pull-shots off fast bowlers.

Before this game, Agarwal had played 10 competitive games including first-class, ODIs and List A matches and couldn't cross the 40-run mark in 11 completed innings.

He even bagged a pair against New Zealand A in an unofficial Test match. Once he had got his form back, he didn't come out to bat after lunch giving Saha an opportunity to score an unbeaten 30, his runs coming mostly against non-regular bowlers.

The Agarwal-Pant pair added 100 runs in 14.3 overs and it also helped that part-timers like Cooper was introduced into the action. In the morning, Prithvi Shaw (39 off 31 balls) was bowled through the gate by Daryl Mitchell as the batsman left a gaping hole between his bat and pad.

Shaw, though, seemed to have done enough during his brisk 72-run stand with Agarwal, which could put an end to the debate around the opening slot even though the tracks in Wellington and Christchurch could be a test of technique for the flamboyant Mumbaikar.

It was a match that Shubman Gill would perhaps like to forget in a hurry as he was dismissed cheaply for the second time in a row. He scored 8 before Daryl Mitchell trapped him leg before.

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Agencies
May 9,2020

Tokyo, May 9: As the world continues to grapple with coronavirus pandemic, the organisers of Tokyo Game Show have cancelled 2020 showpiece event.

TGS 2020 was slated to be played from September 24 to September 27 at the Makuhari Messe convention center. However, there now talks going on for holding an online event instead.

According to the Verge, this is the first time that TGS has ever been cancelled since it started in 1996.

TGS 2020 gained more attention because of its status as the last major trade show before the launch of the upcoming next-gen consoles, the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5.

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