Pakistan eye series win at 'favourite' venue Eden Gardens

January 1, 2013

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Kolkata, Jan 1: When Pakistan last featured in an ODI at the Eden Gardens, in 2004, John Wright was still India's coach, Sachin Tendulkar was a 'regular' in limited-overs cricket, T20s and Mahendra Singh Dhoni were yet to appear on the scene and Rahul Dravid was still carrying two types of gloves in his kit bag - the regular ones to shore up a wobbly middle-order and the big ones to keep wickets.

India and Pakistan have only played each other sporadically in the last eight years. New faces have replaced old legs, but cricket's most fascinating rivalry still retains the fizz that fills the stands and drives TRP ratings.

As the Misbah-ul-Haq-led Pakistan squad trooped into the City of Joy on New Year's eve, looking to wrap up the three-match ODI series, it was clear that winds of change have also swept through their ranks.

While Younus Khan, Shoaib Malik and Kamran Akmal are the only surviving members of the Pakistan side, led by Inzamam-ul Haq, that had humbled India by six wickets in the BCCI Platinum Jubilee (one-off) match played on November 13, 2004, only two Indian players - Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh - from that match have survived the ravages of time and form.

Winning is the only thing that matters in India-Pakistan clashes, and the visitors from across our western border have a monopoly over it at the Eden Gardens where they boast an all-win record against India in limited-overs cricket. Their winning streak here dates back to 1987, when Kolkata hosted its first-ever ODI.

Krishnamachari Srikkanth's brilliant 103-ball 123 was overshadowed by Salim Malik's fearsome onslaught - a 36-ball unbeaten 72. Pakistan had clinched the issue with two wickets and three balls to spare in a 40-overs-per-side game.

Pakistan have also won the three other ODIs they have played here, including the Nehru Cup final against the mighty West Indies in 1989 when their skipper Imran Khan played a stellar role, both with bat and ball.

Pakistan, of course, had beaten India by 77 runs in the earlier phase of the tournament at the same venue with Imran contributing a 39-ball unbeaten 47. Pakistan's only setback here was against Sri Lanka in the 'second' final of the Independence Cup in 1997.

All these matches were before Sachin Tendulkar had burst on to the scene. The Eden crowd will, no doubt, miss the Little Master, whose aggregate of 496 runs in 13 matches is unlikely to be surpassed in a hurry.

Incidentally, Sachin's last appearance here in coloured clothing was in 2009 when India chased down Sri Lanka's 315/6 with 7 wickets and 11 balls to spare.

India may not have won an ODI against Pakistan at Eden Gardens, but their overall record here is not too bad, having won 10 of the 18 matches they have played here.

Among the seven losses India have suffered here, the one against Sri Lanka in the 1996 World Cup semifinal was a real heart-breaker.

PAKISTAN IN ODIs AT EDEN GARDENS

Feb 18, 1987: India 238/6 in 40 ovs (Srikkanth 123, Azharuddin 49; Akram 3/49, Imran 2/59). Pakistan 241/8 in 39.3 ovs (Rameez 58, Younis Ahmed 58, Salim Malik 72 no; Shastri 4/38). Pak won by 2 wkts

Oct 28, 1989 (Nehru Cup league match): Pakistan 279/7 in 50 ovs (Aamer Malik 51, Rameez 77, Imran 47 no; Ayub 2/31). India 202 all out in 42.3 ovs (Srikkanth 65, Lamba 57; Mushtaq Ahmed 3/51). Pak won by 77 runs.

Nov 1, 1989 (Nehru Cup final): West Indies 273/5 in 50 ovs (Haynes 107 no, Simmons 40; Imran 3/47). Pakistan 277/6 in 49.5 ovs (Ijaz Ahmed 56, Salim Malik 71, Imran 51 no; winston Benjamin 2/71). Pak won by 4 wkts.

May 27, 1997 (Independence Cup, 2nd final): Sri Lanka 309 in 49.4 ovs (Jayasuriya 55, Aravinda 57, Ranatunga 59; Saqlain 4/53). Pakistan 224 in 43.1 ovs (Rameez 76, Ijaz 55; Murali 3/40). Sri Lanka won by 85 runs

Nov 13, 2004 (BCCI Platinum Jubilee match): India 292/6 in 50 ovs (Sehwag 53, Laxman 43, Ganguly 48, Yuvraj 78). Pakistan 293/4 in 49 runs (Salman Butt 108 no, Shoaib Malik 61, Inzamam 75). Pakistan won by 6 wkts.

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Agencies
January 11,2020

London, Jan 11: Former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar's famous lap around the Wankhede Stadium after the World Cup 2011 win has been nominated in Laureas's list for the most inspiring sporting event in the last twenty years.

The moment featuring Tendulkar has been described as "Carried on the shoulders by a nation".

On his sixth attempt at the World Cup and with India not having won the competition since 1983, Tendulkar finally became a part of the team that lifted the coveted trophy. Carried on the shoulders of the Indian team, he made a lap of honour, shedding tears of joy after the victory was sealed in his home city.

The 2011 World Cup was also the first time, in which a host nation ended up winning the trophy.

Apart from Tendulkar, England's Andrew Flintoff is the only other cricketer to feature in the list. In 2005, England managed to defeat Australia in an Ashes Test, but Flintoff chose to first shake hands with Brett Lee rather than celebrate with his side.

Matthias Steiner (weightlifting), Natalie du Toit (swimming), Sky Brown (skateboarding), Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee (triathlon), Xia Boyu (mountaineering) have been nominated in the list.

Female tennis stars also feature in the list for coming up with an equal play, equal pay campaign. After pressure from Venus Williams and others, Wimbledon announced that female tennis players would receive prize money equal to the men's.

German international footballer Miroslav Klose was playing for Lazio in Italy's Serie A in 2012 against Napoli when he rose for a ball in the early moments of the game.

The ball came spiraling off his hand and skirted into the back of the net and a goal was awarded. While most players would carry on as if nothing had happened, Klose was honest with the referee and admitted that he handled the ball.

As a result, he also finds a place on the list.

The Laureus Sporting Moment Award celebrates the moments where the sport has unified people in the most extraordinary way.

This campaign has shortlisted 20 sporting stories from the last 20 years that have left their mark on the world.

The winner will be decided on the basis of public voting. It has already started, and the final date to cast the vote is February 16.

Finally, the result will be declared on February 17.
With three knock-out rounds, the top-20 moments will be whittled down to ten then five, with the top-five moments going head-to-head.

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News Network
July 16,2020

Bhubaneswar: Jul 16: The Department of Sports and Youth Services, Government of Odisha on Thursday revealed that ace sprinter Dutee Chand has been given Rs 4.09 crore since 2015 and also appointed as Group-A officer in the Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) currently drawing a gross salary of Rs 84,604 per month.

On Wednesday, Dutee clarified that she wants to sell her luxury car because she is unable to bear its maintenance cost and it will also aid her training for Tokyo Olympics.

The 24-year-old believes after selling her car she can use that money for training amid the shortage of money due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

"Rs 3 crore as financial incentive for medals won at Asian Games 2018. Rs 30 Lakhs for training and financial support during 2015-19. Rs 50 Lakhs for training support for Tokyo Olympics (Released In two instalments on 02/08/2019 and 27/12/2019," the statement read.

"The State government appointed Dutee Chand as Group-A level officer in Odisha Mining Corporation (A Gold Category PSU). She is currently drawing Gross salary of Rs 84,604 (June 2020 Salary) per month. She is not required to come to office so that she is able to concentrate full-time on training. Accordingly, since her appointment in OMC, no official work has been allotted to Chand," it added.

The state government further provided details of the financial support provided by the OMC for her training.

"OMC provided Rs 29 Lakhs to Dutee Chand for Training and financial incentives. The total financial support provided to Dutee Chand from State government/OMC is 4.09 crores(after 2015)," the statement read.

"The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) and Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS), Government of India may also be providing adequate support for the athlete based on performance," it added.

Earlier, Dutee said she is facing a shortage of funds due to the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics to the next year and is planning to sell her car to meet the expense of her training.

"Training is going quite good so far, I have been training here in Bhuvneshwar. Earlier, there was no problem related to funds for training as Tokyo Olympics were coming up and our state government conferred me, but because of coronavirus the Olympics were postponed and I had spent the money which was given to me by the sponsors. Now, I need money for training, I need new sponsors but because of coronavirus I am finding it difficult to find them. Now I have decided to sell my car to arrange funds," Dutee had said.

Dutee, who has been recently nominated for the Arjuna Award 2020, said COVID-19 had impacted heavily on sports and sponsors are not willing to support her at this time.

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Agencies
January 6,2020

Washington D.C., Jan 6: 'The Irishman,' and 'Two Popes' were shut out from the winners list despite getting multiple nominations, the movies didn't win a single award at the Golden Globes Award held on Sunday (local time). Other movies in the list include 'Bombshell,' 'Dolemite Is My Name,' 'Harriet,' 'Jojo Rabbit,' 'Knives Out' and 'Little Women.'

According to The Hollywood Reporter, 'The Irishman' may have gone into the 2020 Golden Globes with the second-highest number of film nominations, tied with 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' with five nods, but Martin Scorsese's highly anticipated mob epic for Netflix was completely shut out at the award ceremony.

Netflix landed the most film nominations of any company with 17 mentions, but it won only one award which is the best-supporting actress for 'Marriage Story's' Laura Dern. Netflix's nominated films 'Dolemite Is My Name' and 'The Two Popes' was tied with 'Joker' with four mentions each and failed to grab any awards.

'Dolemite Is My Name' star Eddie Murphy was expected by a number of pundits to win for best actor in a motion picture, musical or comedy.

'Bombshell', 'Harriet',' Frozen 2', 'Jojo Rabbit', 'Knives Out', 'The Lion King', 'Little Women' and 'Pain and Glory' are among the other films that received multiple nominations but didn't win a single award.

On the TV side, Netflix's 'Unbelievable' tied in the race to most small-screen nominations with 'Chernobyl' and 'The Crown' with four nominations, and 'The Crown' won only one award, for star Olivia Colman.

The three-time nominees 'Barry', 'Big Little Lies', 'The Kominsky Method' and 'The Morning Show' also didn't grab any award. 'Catch-22', 'Killing Eve', 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel' and 'The Politician' who were two-time nominees that were also iced out.

'Hustlers' star Jennifer Lopez failed to take home the best-supporting actress award as she was predicted to win the award by a number of pundits. Billy porter also failed to make history with the best drama actor win for his role on 'Pose,' if he would've won the award, he reportedly would have been the first openly gay African-American to win that award.

'Chernobyl' won two of its four nominations. Despite that, star Jared Harris didn't win the best actor in a limited series Globe which was predicted by many prognosticators. The award was bagged by Russell Crowe for his portrayal of Roger Ailes in 'The Loudest Voice.' But the star was absent from the ceremony.

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