Pakistan all out for 49 against South Africa

February 3, 2013

pakJohannesburg, Feb 3: South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn took six for eight as Pakistan collapsed to their lowest test total of 49 on the second day of the first test at the Wanderers on Saturday.

Pakistan's previous lowest innings total was 53 against Australia in Sharjah in 2002.

Steyn, the world's leading paceman, recorded his best test figures at home against a Pakistan batting lineup who were unable to cope with the pace and bounce of a lively Wanderers' pitch.

South Africa were dismissed for 253 after winning the toss and electing to bat with Pakistan off-spinner Mohammed Hafeez capturing a career-best four for 16.

Steyn dismissed Hafeez in his first over of the day when the opener got a faint edge which went straight through to wicketkeeper AB de Villiers after failing to add to his overnight total of six.

Debutant Nasir Jamshed survived a television referral from Vernon Philander when the bowler was convinced he had him lbw, only for the replay to confirm the ball was going over the top.

Two balls later, Steyn swung the ball into Jamshed (2) and trapping him in front. The batsman challenged umpire Billy Bowden's decision, but this time Hawk-eye had the ball crashing into the leg stump.

Veteran Younus Khan lasted just five balls before he pushed forward to a full Steyn delivery and edged to Graeme Smith at first slip without scoring.

Forty-two dots ball in a row followed Younus's dismissal as Azhar Ali and captain Misbah-ul-Haq tried simply to survive the South African onslaught.

They managed to tentatively push the score on to 36 before Ali (13) received a vicious bouncer from Kallis that was headed for his throat. He tried to get his bat in the way, but could only fend the ball to De Villiers behind the stumps.

Misbah (12) became Kallis' second victim in controversial circumstances after Bowden gave a caught behind decision not out and South Africa reviewed.

There appeared to be no evidence of a nick on the hot spot replay but third umpire Steve Davis from Australia chose to overturn the decision.

The session got worse for Pakistan when Asad Shafiq (1) chased a wide delivery from Philander and succeeded only in edging to de Villiers for his fourth catch of the innings.

Two balls later and a reckless Umar Gul (0) flayed at another wide delivery, the edge providing Graeme Smith with a comfortable catch in the slips.

Saeed Ajmal lasted just two balls after lunch before he became Steyn's fourth victim. The thick edge was flying to first slip but de Villiers produced a diving effort to take the catch.

Steyn picked up his fifth wicket when he induced an edge from Sarfraz Ahmed that was much simpler for de Villiers, who equaled the South African record for most wicketkeeper dismissals in a test innings held jointly by Mark Boucher and Dennis Lindsay

The innings was completed when Rahat Ali edged to Faf du Plessis in the slips and was out for a duck. Steyn was once again the wicket taker.

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News Network
June 10,2020

New Delhi, Jun 10: Former India skipper Rahul Dravid has praised the batting of MS Dhoni during the backend of a match, saying that the wicket-keeper often played during the period as if the result did not really matter to him.

Dravid also said that in pressure-cooker situations, not worrying about consequences can help players bring out the best in themselves.

"You watch MS Dhoni play during the backend of a match when he was at his best, you always felt like that he is doing something really important to him but he is playing it like the result does not really matter to him," Dravid told Sanjay Manjrekar during a videocast hosted by ESPNCricinfo.

"I think you need to have that or you need to train for it. It is a skill that I never had. The consequences of any decision mattered to me. It would be interesting to ask MS Dhoni that is this something that has come naturally to him or did he work on this during his career," he added.

Dhoni made his ODI debut against Bangladesh in 2004, but he truly arrived in the series against Pakistan in 2005 when he scored 148 runs in the second ODI of the six-match series at Vishakapatnam.

He is the only captain to win all major ICC trophies (50-over World Cup, T20 World Cup, and Champions Trophy). Under his leadership, India also managed to attain the number one ranking in Test cricket.

He first led an inexperienced Indian side to the T20 World Cup triumph in 2007. He then took over ODI captaincy, but he had to wait for leading the Test side as Anil Kumble was doing the duties in the longest format.

Over his career, Dhoni has been reowned for his finishing skills and he is often viewed as the best finisher that the game has ever seen.

In December 2014, Dhoni announced his retirement from the longest format of the game.

Then in 2017, Dhoni handed over the captaincy reins to Virat Kohli in the 50-over format.

Dhoni was slated to return to the cricket field on March 29 in the IPL's opening match between CSK and Mumbai Indians. However, the tournament has been suspended indefinitely as a precautionary measure against coronavirus.

Thirty-eight-year-old Dhoni has been currently enjoying some time away from the game. He last played competitive cricket during the 2019 World Cup.

Dhoni recently had to face criticism for his slow batting approach during India's matches.

Earlier this year, Dhoni did not find a place in the list of BCCI's centrally contracted players from October 2019 to September 2020.

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Agencies
May 25,2020

Chandigarh, May 25: Legendary former hockey player Balbir Singh Senior died in a private hospital on Monday, his family said.

He was 96 years old. His condition was critical for nearly a fortnight.

He was undergoing treatment at Fortis Mohali and was in a "semi-comatose condition".

He was hospitalised on May 8 with high fever and breathing trouble. His COVID-19 test came negative.

Balbir was part of the Indian teams that won gold at the 1948 London Olympics, Helsinki 1952 and Melbourne 1956. His record for most individual goals scored in an Olympic men's hockey final remains unbeaten.

Balbir had set this record when he scored five goals in India's 6-1 win over Netherlands in the gold medal match of the 1952 Games.

He was the head coach of the Indian team for the 1975 men's World Cup, which India won and the 1971 men's World Cup, where India earned a bronze medal. He was also conferred with the prestigious Padma Shri in 1957.

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Agencies
January 9,2020

Kuala Lumpur, Jan 9: BWF World Championships defending champion PV Sindhu on Thursday cruised to the quarterfinals of the ongoing Malaysia Masters after winning a second-round match.

The 24-year-old had the upper hand in the clash and thrashed Japan's Aya Ohori in straight games 21-10, 21-15 that lasted for 34-minute. The world number six will now play in her quarterfinal match on January 10.

Earlier in the day, Saina Nehwal defeated South Korea's An Se Young 25-23, 21-12 in 38 minutes. The first game saw back and forth action between both shuttlers. In the end, Nehwal kept her cool to win the match.

On Wednesday, the 29-year-old had outclassed Belgium's Lianne Tan 21-15, 21-17 to progress to the pre-quarterfinals.

Shuttlers Parupalli Kashyap and Kidambi Srikanth crashed out of the tournament after losing their matches to Japan's Kento Momota and Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei respectively. 

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