India win U-19 World Cup

August 26, 2012

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Townsville (Australia), August 26: Unmukt Chand led from the front with a magnificent hundred as India Under-19 lifted their third World Cup title after beating formidable defending champions Australia by six wickets in the final on Sunday.

Courtesy a magnificent unbeaten 111 by Unmukt and his unbroken partnership of 130 runs with wicketkeeper Smit Patel, India overhauled a competitive target of 226 on a bouncy strip with 14 balls to spare.

It was one of the best centuries one could have witnessed at the junior-level as Unmukt hit seven fours and as many as six sixes during his 130-ball knock.

He completed his century with a six over extra-cover off Alex Gregory but the celebrations were muted. The skipper knew that the job was only half done.

Once Smit, who hit an effective 62, slog-swept off-spinner Ashton Turner towards deep mid-wicket for a four a number of Indian supporters rushed to the ground along to celebrate with the team.

Though four wickets were lost in the chase, it never looked like an uphill task for the Indians, who were subdued in the middle overs but accelerated towards the end to get to the target with ease.

After Prashant Chopra was out chasing a delivery down leg-side of Mark Steketee without troubling the scorers, Unmukt and in-form batsman Baba Aparajith (33) took the attack to the opposition.

The duo added 73 runs for the second-wicket playing the Aussie pace trio of Steketee, Joel Paris and Gurinder Sandhu with ease.

Unmukt was phenomenal in the closing stages hitting a couple of glorious sixes off Sandhu’s bowling.

The first was over long-off while second looked even more spectacular as he presented a full face of the bat with a nice follow through.

Aparajith on the other hand hit a nice hook shot off Paris and some lovely cover drives that pierced the field.

However, Sandhu had the last laugh when he forced Aparajith to drive on the up and was brilliantly caught by Ashton Turner at short-cover.

The Tamil Nadu all-rounder scored 33 off 38 balls with five hits to the fence. Hanuma Vihari (4) and Vijay Zol (1) didn’t score much but some damage was done by the number of deliveries that were consumed in the process.

Zol’s discomfort against the moving deliveries also frustrated Unmukt who didn’t get much of the strike. The Indian captain finally completed his half-century in 68 deliveries.

Zol’s agony ended as he edged one off Paris to wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson. At 97 for four, Smit Patel joined Unmukt and the circumstances were difficult. The boundaries dried up and so did the singles.

It was Smit, who hit fine straight drives as India got their first boundary after 44 deliveries.

Slowly, the two resurrected the innings with singles and twos. There were the occasional boundaries but only a few compared to the flurry of fours that Unmukt and Aparajith hit in first 15 overs.

Earlier, India frittered away the early advantage, as defending champions Australia recovered from a shaky start to post a competitive 225 for 8.

Electing to field after winning the toss Indians had the Aussies on the mat at 38 for 4 before host skipper William Bosisto (87 not out) rebuilt the innings with the help of some notable contributions down the order from Tavis Head (37) and Ashton Turner. Sandeep Sharma (4-54) was the most successful bowler.

This is India’s third title after having won in 2000 and 2008.

Twitter abuzz with congratulatory message for India U-19 squad

India’s under-19 cricket team was swamped with congratulatory messages from politicians, cricketers and corporate bosses on twitterati for lifting its third U-19 World Cup title after a gap of four years.

From senior cricketers Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh to Union Sports Minister Ajay Maken, corporates Anand Mahindra and Vijay Mallya — all came together on Twitter to congratulate the Indian colts on their remarkable achievement.

While the junior Indian team did a Usain Bolt by striking his trademark ‘To The World’ pose after lifting the coveted trophy, players and other celebrities used social networking sites to express their joy after the visitors beat formidable defending champions Australia by six wickets at Tony Ireland Stadium.

“Champions champions champions. Well done India U—19 boys for bringing another world cup home. Very proud of u all. So happy. God bless u all,” tweeted India off—spinner Harbhajan Singh.

Yuvraj Singh wrote: “Proud of the colts!! Congratulations to the u—19 boys for winning the world cup! well played captain @UnmuktChand.”

Sports Minister Maken posted: “Congratulations”

India middle-batsman Manoj Tiwary was all praise for the Indian team.

“Thank you India U19 Team for making us proud by winning the World Cup trophy. And great inning by @UnmuktChand9 and well played Smit Patel.”

Indian Premier League Commissioner, Rajeev Shukla, extending his best wishes for Team India, wrote: “Congratulate Indian U19 team 4 a spectacular performance 2 lift the World Cup. Australian team deserves praise 4 putting up a good show too.

Former IPL chairman Lalit Modi also joined in to congratulate the Indian team.

“Congrats to the Indian Under 19 Boys for bringing home the Cup. These Boys are our Future,” he posted.

West Indies opener Chris Gayle wrote: “Great news. India won the U19 world cup. India beat Australia in world cup Final Congrats team India.”

UB Group chairman and owner of Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL team, Vijay Mallya tweeted: “Congrats Team India. Under 19 World Cup Champions. Good inspiration for the senior national team in the forthcoming World Cup.”

Anand Mahindra, Chairman, Mahindra Group also praised the team for its performance.

“This is what is so infectious about India:the FUTURE is always better&brighter.Congratulations to the Under—19 World Cup Cricket team..!” Mahindra wrote.

Beijing Games gold—medallist shooter, Abhinav Bindra congratulated the team, saying it was great to watch the match.

“Well done Unmukt Chand! Great to watch. Congrats to the team!”, he wrote on his Twitter page.

Former Indian spinner Murali Kartik wrote: “Well done the Under—19 lads..congrats.”

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi said the young cricketers have done the country proud.

“Our cricketers have done us proud yet again.

Congratulations to the young players for winning the ICC Under—19 Cricket World Cup“.

Former India opener Aakash Chopra was also full of praise for the youngsters. “The rewards of diligent and thorough preparation over the last 2 years. Well done BCCI. Well done young Team India”.


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News Network
May 11,2020

Karachi, May 11: Pakistan might play more Test matches during their tour of England if it goes ahead as scheduled in July after the West Indies pulled out of an assignment there in June owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Pakistan Cricket Board and the England and Wales Cricket Board officials are due to have a video conference on May 18 to discuss how they should proceed with the tour given the situation because of the pandemic.

"At present we have to play three Tests and three T20 internationals but the number of Tests could be increased and the tour could start a bit early in July," a PCB source said.

The source said that the ECB could offer to organise a four or five Test series against Pakistan if the West Indies tour didn’t go ahead.

Issues that are likely to be discussed in the May 18 meet are a quarantine period for Pakistani players when they arrive in England in July and limiting the venues for the matches and playing before empty stadiums.

PCB CEO Wasim Khan confirmed the video conference but said so far, the ECB has not spoken to them on increasing the number of matches on the tour which is scheduled between July and September.

"Things will be clear after the meeting but whatever decision we take we will consult our captains and head coaches before giving any confirmation," Khan said.

The PCB has so far kept mum on the chances of the series taking place in England because of the COVID-19 situation.

But with the British government due to announce measures to ease the lockdown in the country, it appears Pakistan could be touring on schedule.

Some former players have, however, asked the PCB to tread on the side of caution.

"If the West Indies have decided to postpone their series in June because of safety reasons and because of the situation then the PCB should also be very careful before taking up any offer from the ECB," a former captain said.

The West Indies Cricket Board said its players have to be convinced of their safety for it to commit to the assignment, which "is not possible in June."

"...we will continue our discussions with the ECB and other Internationals Boards on trying to find new dates," it said in a recent press release.

"We will only travel to England to play the series if our players can be assured that it is safe to do so," it added.

Pakistan is also scheduled to play an ODI series against Ireland while in UK but that series could be rescheduled and also be held in England.

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News Network
February 13,2020

Feb 13: Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna were buried in a private funeral service in Southern California last week, multiple outlets reported late Tuesday.

Citing Kobe Bryant's death certificate, Los Angeles Fox affiliate KTTV reported the remains of the former Lakers star and his daughter were transferred to Pacific View Memorial Park and Mortuary in Corona del Mar. Kobe and Brianna were laid to rest in a private ceremony there last Friday.

According to KTTV, the death certificate cited Kobe's cause of death as "blunt trauma" sustained in a "commercial helicopter crash." It also said his death was "rapid."

Corona del Mar is a community within Newport Beach, where the Bryant family lives.

Kobe, 41, and Gianna, 13, were among nine people killed when the helicopter they were in crashed on a hillside in Calabasas, Calif., northwest of Los Angeles, on Jan. 26. Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli, 56; his wife, Keri; and their daughter Alyssa, 14 -- who played on the same club basketball team as Gianna Bryant -- also were killed. Christina Mauser, a 38-year-old who was the top assistant coach of the Mamba girls basketball team, was also killed in the accident, as were Sarah Chester, 45; her daughter Payton Chester, 13; and pilot Ara Zobayan, 50.

A public memorial service for the Bryants will be held Feb. 24 at Staples Center, beginning at 10 a.m. PT.

While the date -- 2/24 -- conveniently falls between two Lakers' home games, it still could have been chosen symbolically. Gianna -- one Kobe and Vanessa' four daughters -- wore No. 2 on her basketball jersey while Kobe was No. 24 for part of his 20-year-tenure with the Lakers, and his retired jerseys -- he also wore No. 8 -- hang at Staples Center.

The Los Angeles Times reported that "entry is expected to be severely restricted" at the venue despite Staples Center's capacity of about 20,000.

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Agencies
March 25,2020

Lausanne, Mar 25: The World Archery has hailed as a 'brave decision' the International Olympic Committee (IOC) move to postpone the 2020 Tokyo Olympics until next year due to coronavirus pandemic.

"We commend the conscientious and brave decision taken by Tokyo 2020 and the International Olympic Committee to delay this summer's Games in the face of an unprecedented challenge to humanity," Ugur Erdener, the World Archery president, said in an official statement.

The decision to postpone the Summer Olympics was confirmed by the IOC, on Tuesday, after the organising body for the event and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed to reschedule the quadrennial event in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This is not an easy situation, especially for the athletes who had been training hard for Tokyo 2020. I hope that everyone understands why this decision has been made and I urge archers around the world to retain hope and reset for this new timetable," he added.

The IOC has, however, said that the original name of Tokyo 2020 will remain intact irrespective of the fact that it will take place next year.

The Tokyo Olympic Games were slated to be held from July 24 to August 9.

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