Clarke reaches milestone; Australia leads by 82

December 27, 2012
clarke

Melbourne, December 27: Michael Clarke became Australia’s highest-ever run scorer in a calendar year Thursday while sharing an unbeaten 121-run partnership with Shane Watson to help Australia take an 82-run lead over Sri Lanka on the second day of the second test.

Clarke was 56 not out at lunch, taking his run total to 1,545 for 2012 and eclipsing recently retired Ricky Ponting’s record of 1,544 in 2005.

Watson was at 60 as Australia confidently moved to 238-3 in reply to Sri Lanka’s paltry 156 all out on the first day.

After resuming on the overnight score of 150-3, Clarke made a watchful start before loosening his strokes to build a challenging lead. He timed seven boundaries, showing little sign of the hamstring strain sustained in the first test at Hobart.

One of Clarke’s fours came courtesy of an error when Shaminda Eranga fielded a straight drive off his own delivery only to beat Kumar Sangakkara behind the wicket with a return that carried to the boundary.

Clarke brought up his 50 with a nick to fine leg off a short ball from Angelo Mathews.

At the other end of the wicket, Watson looked untroubled by the increasingly frustrated Sri Lankan bowlers and brought up his 50 with a boundary off Mathews two overs later.

Sri Lanka’s injury woes worsened on the second morning when paceman Chanaka Welegedara pulled up while running in to bowl to Clarke and limped from the field. He left the grounds for scans on a strained hamstring.

The visitors lost regular wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene to a fractured right thumb on Wednesday and his place behind the stumps was filled by Sangakkara.

Mitchell Johnson claimed four wickets Wednesday to help dismiss Sri Lanka in under two sessions. The only highlight of the Sri Lankan innings was a defiant 58 from Sangakkara that included his 10,000th test run.



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Agencies
June 8,2020

New Delhi, Jun 8: Indian pacer S Sreesanth has slammed England all-rounder Ben Stokes for questioning MS Dhoni's intent during a World Cup match, saying that the former captain will end Stokes' career.

Stokes in his book titled 'On Fire' had questioned Dhoni's intent during India's 31-run defeat at the hands of England in the premier tournament last year.

"For Ben Stokes, I will only say that you should pray that Dhoni does not play against you in the future. Dhoni does not forget things easily," Sreesanth said during a Live session on Helo.

"I wish Stokes all the best for whenever he faces Dhoni again, be it IPL or an England vs India match. You must be earning in millions now, Dhoni Bhai will end your career. Dhoni will strike the ball everywhere and he (Stokes) can never dismiss Dhoni. Before he (Stokes) opens his mouth, he should make sure to wear a helmet," he added.

Former West Indies pacer Michael Holding had also come out in support of Dhoni and said that the wicket-keeper batsman wanted to win the match against England.

"Well, people will write anything in books these days, because people are a lot more free with their opinions and when they are writing books, they need to be making headlines at times," Holding had said on his official YouTube channel.

"...It was not the game that India had to win, but I don't think anyone can say that was a team tactic to lose the game. I watched that game and it appeared to me as if India weren't putting up their 100 percent, but I realised it was not the case when the expression on MS Dhoni's face told me that he desperately wanted to win, so I do not think it was a team decision to not try to win," he had added.

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Agencies
January 23,2020

Aurangabad, Jan 23: An FIR has been registered against three people including former cricketer Mohammed Azharuddin for allegedly duping a travel agent, Mohammad Shadab, of more than Rs 20 lakh.

However, Mohammad Azharuddin has refuted allegations and said: "I strongly rubbish the false FIR filed against me in Aurangabad. I am consulting my legal team and would be taking action as necessary."

Azharuddin's personal assistant Mujeeb lives in Augurangabad and has good relations with the travel agency of Shadab.

The travel agent alleged that Mujeeb asked him to book some flight tickets but did not pay the amount.

The police have booked the three under Section 406, 420 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code.

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News Network
May 5,2020

May 5: Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar says he is interested in becoming India's bowling coach if there is an offer, asserting that he is capable of grooming "more aggressive, fast and talkative" pacers.

Akhtar expressed his willingness in an interview on social networking app 'Helo'.

Asked if he would like to be associated with the Indian bowling unit in future, he responded in the positive. India's current bowling is Bharat Arun.

"I will definitely. My job is to spread knowledge. What I have learned is knowledge and I will spread it," Akhtar said.

One of the fastest bowlers to have played the game, he added, "I will produce more aggressive, fast and more talkative bowlers than the current ones who will tell-off the batsmen in a way that you will enjoy a lot."

He said he has always wanted to share his knowledge among budding cricketers and that he is looking to produce more aggressive bowlers.

He also added that he would like to "coach" IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders, for whom he has played in the cash-rich T20 league's inaugural edition.

The former pacer also spoke about his early interactions with Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar in the 1998 series.

"I had seen him but didn't know how big a name he was in India. In Chennai, I got to know that he was known as a god in India.

"Mind you, he is a very good friend of mine. In 1998, when I bowled as fast as I could, Indian public celebrated with me. I have a big fan following in India," Akhtar said.

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