India eye lead in Dhoni’s homeland

January 19, 2013

dhonihomelandRanchi, Jan 19: There was a certain amount of expectancy that Mahendra Singh Dhoni would address the pre-match press conference, what with this match being the maiden international match at his home venue.

Instead, the skipper deputed last-match hero Ravindra Jadeja to do the job. But the scribes covering the third match here were more anxious to find out the status of the Indian skipper after he was hit on his right thumb by bowling coach Joe Dawes’ snorter during Friday’s ‘nets’. Dhoni walked off the field immediately, but it turned out to be a minor scare and he didn’t even need a scan to know the extent of the damage.

Given that this was his first opportunity to play an international game in front of his home crowd, Dhoni would have made all the effort to turn up on Saturday noon. More so because the five-match series is poised delicately with India and England having shared the first two matches.

Both India and England know how crucial Dhoni is to Indian team’s fortunes. Both teams understand the importance of clinching this tie as it will leave the victorious side needing just one win from the next two games to claim the series.

On form Dhoni is India’s most prolific batsman by some distance, having accumulated over 300 runs in the last five ODIs, and in making impact he is their best. With their backs to the wall following the loss in the opening match, India needed certain things to fall in place.

The first hint of it came when Ravindra Jadeja lived up to the tag of all-rounder with a bruising half-century and a two-wicket effort. The new-ball bowlers, especially, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, provided the ideal start while spinners competently exploited the turning conditions.

India would have loved to maintain the same template for the rest of the series but the lack of familiarity of the conditions at this newest venue might force the hosts to change their tried and trusted win-toss-and-bat-first policy. Jadeja made it clear in as many words when he said bowling first on this virgin surface would be the ideal strategy to adopt.

While the emphatic 127-run win did provide some breathing space to the battered Indian side, some concerns remained unresolved and probably will remain unaddressed. Gautam Gambhir’s form at the top of the order continues to be a big worry while Virat Kohli, who was also hit on his hand by Ishant Sharma during practice, isn’t making it any easier for himself.

The right-hander, on a mini-slump, appeared to set things straight in Kochi but threw it all away in a moment of indiscretion. Though the quicker bowlers by and large were impressive in Kochi, Ishant was profligate once again. Consistency, or the lack of it, should be a cause for concern for the Delhi seamer.

England’s bowling, too, came in for severe punishment at the death that wouldn’t have gone unnoticed by the team management. Having done a brilliant job of restricting the Indians to mere 21 runs in the batting Power Play with an assortment of slower ones, yorkers and widish yorkers, England lost it all in the final few overs as Dhoni and Jadeja went hammer and tongs. The bowlers’ profligacy was followed by English batsmen’s age-old problems with the turning ball.

There is, of course, a different look to this English one-day side than the one they fielded in the Test series but at the first hint of a turn, the visiting middle-order cracked under pressure. Skipper Alastair Cook will be mindful of that. Like most teams, England too thrive on the good start and that responsibility lies with Cook who has formed a potent combination at the top with Ian Bell.

Their cheap dismissals in the second ODI set the rot in and Kevin Pietersen’s cameo proved to be too little to alter the course of the game.

England will be smarting under the defeat but India will be determined not to let the visitors spoil Dhoni’s bash in his own backyard.

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News Network
March 12,2020

New Delhi, Mar 12: No foreign player will be available for this year's IPL till April 15 due to visa restrictions imposed by the government to contain the novel coronavirus threat, a top BCCI source told PTI on Thursday, casting fresh doubts on the fate of the event.

"The foreign players who play in the IPL come under the Business Visa category. As per the government's directive, they can't come till April 15," a BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

The government issued fresh advisory with a ban on all existing foreign visas, except a few categories like diplomatic and employment, till April 15 in the wake of new positive cases of novel coronavirus in the country.

India has reported 60 positive cases in the outbreak which has led to over 4,000 deaths globally.

The fate of the IPL itself will be decided on March 14 at the event's Governing Council meeting in Mumbai. "All decisions will be taken by the GC in Mumbai," the source said.

Having the IPL, starting March 29, played in empty stadiums is an option being explored.

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News Network
January 28,2020

New Delhi, Jan 28: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is clear that while they have no problem with the Pakistan Cricket Board hosting the 2020 edition of the Asia Cup -- set to be a preparatory ground for the T20 World Cup in Australia -- the venue needs to be a neutral one as travelling to the neighbouring country isn't an option at present.

Speaking to news agency, a BCCI official said that the hosting rights is not an issue and it is just a case of picking a neutral venue as the Indian team wouldn't be travelling to Pakistan for the T20 tournament that will see the top Asian teams in action.

"The question isn't about the PCB hosting the tournament. It is about the venue and as things stand now, it is quite clear that we would need a neutral venue. There is no way that an Indian team can visit Pakistan to even participate in a multi-nation event like the Asia Cup. If the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) is ok with an Asia Cup minus India then it is a different ball game. But if India is to participate in the Asia Cup, then the venue cannot be Pakistan," the official said.

In fact, issues in obtaining visa for Pakistan players to come and play the 2018 edition of the Asia Cup in India was one of the major reasons why the tournament was shifted out of the country with BCCI hosting the event in UAE.

The official said that the PCB can do just the same and host the event in a neutral venue. "A neutral venue is always an option. BCCI did it in 2018," the official pointed.

Cricket returned to Pakistan after a decade when Sri Lanka toured the nation in 2019. While Sri Lanka was the first nation to play a full series in the country, Bangladesh is currently in the country as they just finished playing three T20Is. They will play a Test from February 7 to 11 and then play a one-off ODI before playing the second Test from April 5 to 9.

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News Network
January 10,2020

New Delhi, Jan 10: Injured Assam archer Shivangini Gohain underwent a critical surgery at the AIIMS. Dr. Deepak Gupta, professor of Pediatric neurosurgery at AIIMS, revealed about the delicate nature of the procedure and said there was no room for error.

"It was touching vertebral artery which supplies blood to the brain stem. The arrow was 0.5 cm in front of the spinal cord and the child could have become quadriplegic if someone tried to pull it out," Gupta said.

According to doctors, the arrow accidentally went inside the body damaging the shoulder bone, part of the neck, spinal cord and left lung.

Dr Gupta said, "Now the patient is fine. We had planned the surgery in a very unique way. Last whole night, our team was doing the planning and plotting to conduct this complex surgery. About 15 cm part of the arrow was inside the body which has entered through shoulder bone and affected neck, spinal cord and left lung".

"We started the surgery in the morning at 6 am which lasted for three and a half hours. We have successfully removed the arrow. The patient is stable now and shifted to ICU for observation," he added

Shivangini Gohain, the 12-year-old Assam archer who was impaled by an arrow shot accidentally at the SAI centre in Dibrugarh, was training unsupervised and the mishap was a result of negligence by the local coach and officials, the state's archery association has said.

The child was training at the Dakha Devi Rasiwasia College at Chabua, which serves as an extension centre under the Sports Authority of India (SAI) Regional Centre in Guwahati when the incident took place on Wednesday.

She was airlifted to Delhi on Thursday night and admitted to the AIIMS Trauma Centre. Pulin Das, a joint secretary of Assam Archery Association and executive member of the state Olympic association said the injury to the school girl from the Deodhai village, which is 3km from Chabua, happened as the trainees were practising without any coach and other officials.

“There is a SAI contractual coach Marcy and he has left for the Khelo India Games in Guwahati. He didn't instruct the trainees to stop the camp for some time nor did the college principal, who acted as administrator of the extension centre, looked after the practice,” Das said on Friday.

The extension centre has 11 trainees, six boys and five girls, and they were training under SAI contractual coach A C Marcy from Nagaland, who is in Guwahati for the Khelo India Youth Games.

“The training ground itself is in very bad shape, it was not even a dedicated ground for archery training, some play football, cricket and other sports on that ground. But the worst part is that the SAI coach did not give instructions to stop the camp for a while and the archers were training without any supervision,” he added Das said Gohain was struck by an arrow shot by boys doing practice for compound event. The arrow remained stuck for more more than a day before she was airlifted to New Delhi on Thursday night.

“There was nobody to look after the archers, they were training on their own though their parents were outside the ground. An arrow shot by a boy trainee who was doing compound event practice hit her on the shoulder,” the official said.

Gohain's father Brinchi Gohain was outside the practice area and with no official of the college and SAI coming for help, she was taken to Assam Medical College in Dibrugarh, 33km from Chabua.

“She could reach the AMC in Dribugarh only on Thursday morning. There, the doctors told her parents to take her to a more reputed hospital like AIIMS in Delhi. With help from people close to the local Member of Parliament and Assam CM himself, she was taken by air ambulance to Delhi.

“I was told that she had a very tough time as the arrow remained stuck for more than a day. She is a strong-willed girl and she fought. Her father must be a daily wage labourer and he was distraught also.”

The SAI said that it will bear all the expenses of her treatment. The Assam Archery Association has contributed Rs 20,000 towards her treatment.

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