Pakistan defeat India by 5 wickets in first T20 at Bangalore

December 25, 2012
indiateam

New Delhi, December 25: Chasing 134-run target, Pakistan lost skipper Mohammad Hafeez (61) after he lead the visitors' fightback with Shoaib Malik against India in the first T20 match at the M Chinnaswamy stadium.

After losing three wickets early in their chase, Hafeez and Malik rescued Pakistan with an impressive 106-run fourth wicket partnership before pacer Ishant Sharma got better of Pakistan skipper in the eighteenth over.

Debutant Bhuvneshwar Kumar ripped apart Pakistan's top order with his triple strike to give India a perfect start. Kumar bowled out Nasir Jamshed, got Ahmed Shehzad caught behind and then sent back Umar Akmal to reduce Pakistan to 12/3 in three overs in their chase of 134.

Earlier, Indian batting suffered a sensational collapse as they were restricted for a paltry total of 133/9 despite a terrific start.

Put into bat, Indian openers Ajinkya Rahane and Gautam Gambhir made a solid start putting on 77 for the first wicket but everything went haywire from then on as they lost nine wickets for an addition of 47 runs.

Such was the plight of Indian batting that save Gambhir who scored 43 and Rahane who smashed 42 off 31 balls, all the other frontline batsmen failed miserably. Only Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina managed double-figure scores with contributions of 10 runs each.

While Pakistan bowlers led by off-spinner Saeed Ajmal did a splendid job in the back 10, the Indian batsmen showed lack of application and their running between the wickets was also pretty poor.

Umar Gul was the pick of the Pakistan bowlers grabbing three for 21 after conceding 13 in his first over while Ajmal chipped in with two for 25 keeping things under check during middle overs.

However, India had started on a positive note with Rahane taking on tallest international cricketer Mohammed Irfan (7 feet 1 inch) and Sohail Tanveer with consumate ease. Gambhir was a bit scratchy at the other end as he found it difficult to get going.

The shot of the Indian innings was Rahane's six over extra cover off Ajmal's delivery. After settling down, Gambhir also hit Gul for a six over mid-wicket.

It was Shahid Afridi who gave Pakistan the first breakthrough when Rahane tried to repeat the lofted shot over extra cover only to be holed out by Umar Akmal at long-on. India's slide started after this first wicket.

Gambhir who was just looking good for a big score then failed to make it for a second run after he had run the first one slowly.

Yuvraj Singh started with a big heave over deep mid-wicket that went for a six while Kohli also helped himself to a boundary off Hafeez's bowling.

Irfan came back for his final over and Kohli found the awkward bounce generated by Irfan difficult to handle and was caught behind to a rising delivery. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was fooled an Ajmal delivery that turned a shade to kiss the side of the off-stump.

From 77/0, India were 108 for four and soon it became 115 for five with Yuvraj being caught in the deep. Raina became Ajmal's second victim as his leg-stump was uprooted.

Rohit Sharma was out by a brilliant direct throw from Shoaib Malik while Ravindra Jadeja was beaten for pace and bounce by Umar Gul as he was caught behind. Ishant Sharma was yorked and suddenly India were 124 for nine.

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News Network
April 7,2020

Bengaluru, April 7: India batsman Robin Uthappa has said that he reckons he still has a World Cup left in him, despite being out of the team for than four years.

Uthappa had last played a match for the Men in Blue in 2015 on the tour of Zimbabwe.

"Right now I want to be competitive. I still have that fire burning in me, I really want to compete and do well. I honestly believe I have a World Cup left in me, so I'm pursuing that, especially the shortest format. 

The blessings of lady luck or god or whatever you call it, plays a massive factor," ESPN Cricinfo quoted Uthappa as saying.

"Especially in India, it becomes so much more evident. I don't think it is as evident when you're playing cricket outside of India. But in the subcontinent and India especially, with the amount of talent that we do have in our country, all of those aspects become evident," he added.

The 34-year-old Uthappa has played 46 ODIs and 13 T20Is for India and he was also a part of the T20 World Cup-winning squad in 2007.

Uthappa has scored 934 runs in ODIs at an average of 25.94, while in T20Is his numbers are 249 runs at an average of 24.90.

"You can never write yourself off. You would be unfair to yourself if you write yourself off.

Especially if you believe you have the ability and you know that there is an outside chance. So I still believe in that outside chance," Uthappa said.

"I still believe that things can go my way and I probably can be a part of a World Cup-winning team and play an integral role in that as well.

Those dreams are still alive and I think I'll keep playing cricket till that is alive," he added.

Uthappa had enjoyed great success with IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders. He went on to become their leading run-scorer in the 2014 edition.

However, he was released by the side after a below-par 2019 season, and last November he was picked up by the Rajasthan Royals for the 2020 edition.

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News Network
February 9,2020

New Delhi, Feb 9: The Indian Fed Cup team will travel to Dubai for this year's competition as the ITF has named the desert city as the new venue for the matches, to be held from March 3 to 7.

The ITF named the new venue after moving out the matches from then Chinese city of Dongguan due to Coronoavirus threat. The Asia/Oceania Group I matches were originally scheduled to be played from February 4-8.

"The event will be held in the week following the ATP Dubai tournament at the same venue, and will see six nations China P.R., Chinese Taipei, India, Indonesia, Korea Rep. and Uzbekistan - compete for a place in the Fed Cup Play-offs in April," an ITF release said.

The six teams will vie for two spots in Fed Cup Play-offs.

"Being in Dubai makes no difference. But the dates give enough time to Sania for her recovery. Doubles is an important point. Ankita is playing well. The other team members will also get some tournament to play under their belt," India's Fed Cup captain Vishal Uppal told news agency.

Sania's participation was under doubt due to a calf injury she aggravated during the Australian Open, where she pulled out of the mixed doubles before retiring mid-way into her women's doubles opening round match.

"I think we have a good chance but we will have to be at our best and fight hard for every point, every game, every set, every match," Uppal added.

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Agencies
April 12,2020

London, Apr 12: Former Formula 1 legendary driver Stirling Moss died at the age of 90 on Sunday.

"All at F1 send our heartfelt condolences to Lady Susie and Sir Stirling's family and friends," Formula 1 said in a statement.

Often referred to as the greatest driver never to win the world championship, Moss contested 66 Grands Prix from 1951 to 1961, driving for the likes of Vanwall, Maserati and Mercedes, where he famously formed a contented and ruthlessly effective partnership with lead driver Juan Manuel Fangio.

In his 10-year-long stint at the tracks, Moss took 16 wins, some of which rank among the truly iconic drives in the sport's history - his 1961 victories in Monaco and Germany in particular often held up as all-time classics.

Moss won the 1955 Mille Miglia on public roads for Mercedes at an average speed of close to 100mph, while he also competed in rallies and land-speed attempts.

Following an enforced retirement from racing (barring a brief comeback in saloon cars in the 1980s) after a major crash at Goodwood in 1962, Moss maintained a presence in Formula 1 as both a sports correspondent and an interested observer, before retiring from public life in January of 2018.

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