Mahmood-inspired Auckland beat KKR by 7 wickets

October 18, 2012

gambir

Kolkata Knight Riders' chances of making the Champions League Twenty20 semifinals suffered a major blow as they slumped to their second successive defeat, losing to Auckland Aces by seven wickets in a Group A match in Cape Town.


Auckland rode on veteran Azhar Mahmood's superb all-round show as they knocked off a modest target of 138 runs with 14 balls to spare yesterday.


Mahmood, who was instrumental in restricting KKR to 137 for six with brilliant figures of 3 for 16, also produced an unbeaten knock of 51 runs, which turned out to be crucial in the final outcome of the match at the New Wanderers stadium.


KKR captain Gautam Gambhir's decision to induct Shakib Al Hasan at the expense of seasoned Brett Lee backfired badly as the reigning IPL champions missed a genuine paceman on a pitch that was assisting the faster bowlers.

Apart from Mahmood, Lou Vincent (30), Martin Guptill (25) and Anaru Kitchen (24) also came up with useful contributions.
Brendon McCullum top-scored for the Knight Riders with a 35-ball 40, which was laced with two sixes and three fours. But the Knight Riders could not build partnerships and lost wickets in regular intervals.

Mahmood made inroads into the KKR's middle-order with his twin strikes in the 10th over as he dismissed Jacques Kallis (0) and Manoj Tiwary (0) in successive deliveries to dent the Knight Riders innings.

Mahmood, in his second spell, removed dangerman McCullum to add to the misery of KKR, who came into this match after being crushed by Delhi Daredevils by 52 runs in their opening fixture on Saturday.


Mahmood was ably supported by Kyle Mills, Michael Bates and Ronnie Hira, who picked up a wicket apiece.


KKR were off to a bad start after electing to bat first as Gambhir's poor run in the tournament continued for the second straight match when Martin Guptill, diving to his left, took a stunning one-handed catch to dismiss the southpaw.

Gambhir tried to work the ball towards onside but only managed to get a leading edge off Michael Bates.


After the early loss of Gambhir (5), Bisla (38) and McCullum helped KKR recover and put up a 62-run partnership to keep the innings steady.


Bisla was caught by Kitchen off Ronnie Hira over long off in the ninth over. He struck six fours and a six in his 24-ball stay at the crease.


As things looked settling down in favour of the Kolkata team, Mahmood came up with a dream spell to break the backbone of KKR's middle-order.

KKR never recovered from the jolt and slumped to 98 for five in the 15th over.


Yusuf Pathan and Rajat Bhatia then added 29 runs for the unbeaten seventh-wicket partnership to provide some respectability to the score.

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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
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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News Network
January 29,2020

Hamilton, Jan 29: India defeated New Zealand in the third T20 International via Super Over to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series here on Wednesday.

India posted a competitive 179 for five at Seddon Park after being sent into bat. Opener Rohit Sharma top scored for India with a 65-run knock while skipper Virat Kohli contributed 38 runs in team's total.

Later, skipper Kane Williamson smashed a 48-ball 95 but New Zealand faltered in the final over to take the match into the Super Over.

Needing nine runs of the last over, New Zealand lost Williamson and Ross Taylor to finish at 179 for six and tie the match.

In the Super Over, New Zealand scored 17, a target which India overwhelmed in the final ball with Rohit smashing Tim Southee for two consecutive sixes.

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