Charles, Gayle lift West Indies to 179/5

September 27, 2012

VBK-JOHNSON

PALLEKELE (SRI LANKA), September 27: A little-known Johnson Charles scored his maiden half-century while big-hitting Chris Gayle too made a quick-fire fifty to propel West Indies to a competitive 179 for five against England in a Super Eights match of the ICC World Twenty20 in Pallekele on Thursday.


After an incredibly slow start, Charles used his long handle to great effect to notch up his personal best score off 84 that came off just 56 balls with help of 10 fours and three sixes.


Opting to bat in the second Group 1 game of the Super Eights, Charles and Gayle (58 off 35) produced a 103-run opening partnership to set the platform for the West Indies’ total.


Skipper Stuart Broad was the pick of the English bowlers with figures of two for 26.


Gayle turned the heat on the English bowlers in the second over when he hit Jade Dernbach for three fours.

Charles, on the other hand, was slow to get off the blocks and wasted too many deliveries in the six overs of powerplay to put additional pressure on Gayle.


But it hardly had any affect on Gayle as the big-hitting left-hander welcomed left-arm spinner Samit Patel with three huge sixes to pick up 19 runs of the eight over.


Gayle’s pyrotechnics seemed to have inspired Johnson, who made up for his slow start by spanking Graeme Swann for two sixes and a four to notch up 18 runs of the next over.


In the process, Gayle also notched up his ninth T20 half century off just 29 balls.


In the 11th over of West Indies innings both the team’s witnessed mixed fortunes, but in the end it was England who had the last laugh.


The drama started with Gayle hitting Swann for another of his huge sixes and then Steven Finn added salt to the bowler’s wound when he dropped Charles in the fifth ball. But Finn made amends for his drop a ball later by holding on to dangerous-looking Gayle’s catch. He struck six fours and four sixes during his 35-ball stay.


Charles, however, continued his fine display and smashed two more fours, this time of Luke Wright’s bowling, to score his fifty off just 36 balls.


Marlon Samuels (2), Kieron Pollard (1) and captain Darren Sammy didn’t trouble the scorers much.


In search of quick runs, Charles finally fell in the 18th over, caught by Jonny Bairstow off Dernbach.


Dwayne Bravo (11 not out) and Andre Russell (10 not out) made full use of the few deliveries they got and picked up 15 runs of the final over of the innings, courtesy three hits to the fence off Dernbach.


Brief Score:

West Indies:

Johnson Charles c Bairstow b Dernbach 84

Chris Gayle c Finn b Swann 58

Marlon Samuels c Morgan b Broad 2

Kieron Pollard c Wright b Finn 1

Dwayne Bravo not out 11

Darren Sammy b Broad 4

Andre Russell not out 10

Extras: (B—1 LB—7 W—1) 9

Total: (For 5 wkts in 20 overs) 179

Fall of wickets: 1/103 2/118 3/128 4/154 5/158

Bowling: Steven Finn 4—0—26—1, Jade Dernbach 4—0—38—1, Stuart Broad 4—1—26—2, Graeme Swann 3—0—32—1, Samit Patel 4—0—38—0, Luke Wright 1—0—11—0.

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News Network
March 4,2020

Sydney, Mar 4: Teenage Indian batting sensation Shafali Verma on Wednesday rose to the top spot in the ICC women's T20 International rankings, riding on her stellar run at the ongoing World Cup here.

The 16-year-old Verma takes over from New Zealand's Suzie Bates, who had been the top batter since October 2018 after wresting the spot from West Indies captain Stafanie Taylor.

However, Smriti Mandhana has slipped a couple of rungs to sixth in the latest list.

Verma and England spinner Sophie Ecclestone will go into the semifinals of the event as the top ranked batter and bowler respectively. India will take on England on Thursday.

Verma's explosive batting at the top of the order saw her score 161 runs in four innings, including knocks of 47 and 46 against Sri Lanka and New Zealand. It helped her become only the second India batter after Mithali Raj to top the women's T20I batting rankings, according to an ICC statement.

Ecclestone, who took eight wickets in four matches including a best of three for seven against the West Indies, is the first England bowler to be number one since Anya Shrubsole in April 2016 and the first England spinner at the top since Danni Hazell in August 2015.

Among the Indian bowlers, Poonam Yadav is up four places to eighth after a good run in World Cup.

Some valiant performances from Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Athapaththu have seen her move from 18th to 14th spot for batters.

England's Nat Sciver is again in the top 10 and captain Heather Knight in the top 15 for the first time.

South Africa opener Laura Wolvaardt has advanced 23 places to 44th, while Pakistan's Aliya Riaz has gained 24 places and is 48th while New Zealand's Maddy Green is in the top 100 after advancing 28 slots.

In the bowlers' list, leg-spinners Amelia Kerr of New Zealand (up two places to fourth) and Australia's George Wareham (up nine places to 10th) have made significant gains in the latest rankings update.

Other bowlers to advance include new-ball bowler Diana Baig of Pakistan (up 34 places to 13th), Shashikala Siriwardena of Sri Lanka (up seven places to 14th), Anya Shrubsole of England (up five places to 17th), Dane van Niekerk of South Africa (up 12 places to joint-22nd) and Shikha Pandey of India (up 23 places to joint-22nd).

New Zealand captain Sophie Devine is now the sole number one all-rounder after coming into the tournament as a joint number one along with Australia all-rounder Ellyse Perry.

India's Deepti Sharma has advanced nine places to seventh, the first time that she is among the top 10 in the all-rounders' list after also moving up to 53rd among batters.

Australia remain at the top of the T20I team rankings with 290 points and England in second position with 278.

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News Network
April 24,2020

New Delhi, Apr 24: India's World Cup-winning former opener Gautam Gambhir performed the last rites of his deceased domestic help after her mortal remains could not be sent to her home in Odisha due to the coronavirus-forced national lockdown.

Gambhir, also a BJP Lok Sabha MP, posted a tribute on his Twitter page for his employee Saraswati Patra, who was working at his residence for the past six years.

"Taking care of my little one can never be domestic help. She was family. Performing her last rites was my duty," he tweeted.

"Always believed in dignity irrespective of caste, creed, religion or social status. Only way to create a better society. That's my idea of India! Om Shanti," said the 38-year-old Gambhir, who played 58 Tests for India between 2004 and 2016.

Media reports in Odisha said the 49-year-old Patra hailed from a village in Jajpur district.

She was admitted to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital a few days ago and was battling diabetes and high blood pressure for a long period. She breathed her last while undergoing treatment on April 21.

Union Minister of Petroleum and Steel Dharmendra Pradhan appreciated Gambhir.

"Taking care of Saraswati throughout the course of her illness, he also ensured her dignity in death by performing her last rites himself since her mortal remains could not be sent to her family back home in Odisha," Pradhan, who also belongs to Odisha, tweeted.

"His act of compassion will enliven the faith in humanity for millions of poor, who are working far from their home for livelihood and will garner respect from all folds of the society."

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News Network
May 19,2020

Karachi, May 19: Babar Azam wants to take a leaf out of Imran Khan's aggressive captaincy and besides cricket, he is also brushing up his English to become a "complete leader" like the World Cup-winning all-rounder.

Last week, the star batsman took over the reins of Pakistan's white-ball cricket after being appointed as the ODI skipper.

Azam, who was one of the world's leading batsmen across formats last year and already the T20 skipper, replaced wicket-keeper batsman Sarfaraz Ahmed as the ODI captain for the 2020-21 season.

"Imran Khan was a very aggressive captain and I want to be like him. It is not an easy job captaining the Pakistan team but I am learning from my seniors and I have also had captaincy experience since my under-19 days," Azam said.

He said that to be a complete captain one must be able to interact comfortably with the media and express oneself properly in front of an audience.

"These days I am also taking English classes besides focussing on my batting," he said on Monday.

The 25-year-old Babar said he was not satisfied with Pakistan's current standing in international cricket.

"I am not happy with where we stand and I want to see this team go up in the rankings."

Babar said captaincy would be a challenge for him but it would not affect his batting.

"It is an honour to lead one's national team so it is not a burden for me at all. In fact, after becoming captain, I have to lead by example and be more responsible in my batting."

Babar hoped the T20 World Cup is held this year in Australia as he wanted to lead his team in the ICC event.

"It would be a disappointment if the event was not held or rescheduled because I am looking forward to playing in the World Cup and doing well in it," he said.

About plans for Pakistan to fly to England in July to play three Tests and three T20 internationals amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Babar said a lot of hard work and planning would be required to make the players feel comfortable and safe.

"Touring England won't be easy. Health and safety of players is of great importance and the tour will only be possible when proper arrangements are in place," he said.

"Both England and Pakistan team fans, along with the cricketers, are missing cricket because of the pandemic."

"We will still try to perform to the best of our ability despite no support from the fans in the stadium," he added.

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