India beat Sri Lanka by 5 wickets

June 2, 2013

India_beat_Sri_Lanka

Birmingham, Jun 2: Virat Kohli and Dinesh Karthik smashed a century each as India warmed up their Champions Trophy campaign with a five-wicket thumping of Sri Lanka in their first practice game here today.

Kohli (144) teamed up with Dinesh Karthik (106 not out) to rescue India from a wobbly start with a 186-run stand for the fifth wicket in just 23.2 overs to chase down a huge target of 334 with one over to spare.

India were reduced to 62 for three in the 13th over and then to 110 for four in the 21st over before Kohli and Karthik resurrected the innings and sent the Sri Lankan bowlers for a leather hunt in the second part of their run chase.

Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews used nine bowlers in the 15-a-side warm-up game and all of them were punished by Kohli and Karthik.

Kohli, who was coming at the back of a strong performance in the recent Indian Premier League, struck 11 fours and three sixes in his 120-ball flawless innings.

Coming in the second over at the team score of five for one, Kohli was cautious at the start of his innings as the situation demanded but played some delightful strokes after he settled down.

Karthik was more than an able partner to Kohli. He gave more strike to Kohli during their partnership, but at the same time also did not let it go any chance of scoring boundaries. He ended the match in style with a four as India reach 337 for five in 49 overs.

Karthik's unbeaten 81-ball innings was studded with 12 fours and two sixes.

Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni also got some useful time at the middle as he remained not out on 18 from 17 balls, coming after Kohli's departure in the 44th over. Suresh Raina chipped in with a quick-fire 31-ball 34.

India play their second warm-up game against Australia on June 4 in Cardiff before opening their campaign in the main tournament against South Africa at the same venue two days later.

India were in trouble early on a batsmen-friendly pitch as opener Shikhar Dhawan (1) was run out cheaply in the second over as he failed to beat Lahiru Thirimanne's direct hit from mid on.

The other opener Murali Vijay could not contribute much as he was out for 18 from 30 balls in the 10th over, spooning a catch to short extra cover fielder Thirimanne of the bowling of pacer Shaminda Eranga.

Rohit Sharma (5), another player who shone with the bat in the IPL for champion side Mumbai Indians, could not spend much time and lost a chance to acclimatise on English conditions ahead of the main tournament, as he fell in the 13th over.

The recovery job for India, in fact, began with Raina who scored a quickfire 31-ball 34 which was laced with four fours before he was out in the 21st over.

At the fall of Raina, India needed 223 runs for a win at an asking rate approaching eight an over but Kohli and Karthik kept their cool.

Kohli, in particular, stamped his class with some beautiful shots all over the park. When he was out in the 44th over, India needed 38 runs from 37 balls for a win with five wickets in hand.

Earlier, young left-hander Kusal Perera and seasoned Tillekaratne Dilshan took the Indian bowling attack to the cleaners as Sri Lanka posted a mammoth 333 for three.

Dilshan smashed a 78-ball-84 (9x4, 1x6) while Perera hit 82 off 94 balls (7x4, 3x6) as they added 160 runs in 26 overs. The Indian bowlers were unable to dismiss the duo as both retired in order to allow other batsmen get a decent hit out in the middle.

Seamers Pathan (0/45), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1/58), Ishant Sharma (1/41) weren't consistent with their length while spin trioka of Ravichandran Ashwin (0/45), Ravindra Jadeja (0/41) and Amit Mishra (1/53) also failed to make inroads.

With the ball nicely coming onto the bat and not much assistance from the pitch for bowlers, Perera and Dilshan hardly faced any difficulty in hitting through the line from the outset.

It started with a pulled boundary by left-hander Perera off Pathan's first over. The runs started flowing after that as Dilshan launched into Pathan, cover driving him for three boundaries in his second over. With no movement and dishing out military medium stuff, Pathan was smoked for 30 runs in his first spell.

Perera hit Pathan for a straight six and then got a couple of big ones off Ishant -- a pull and one over extra cover. With all 15 players being allowed to play as this match doesn't have ODI status, Mahendra Singh Dhoni used as many as seven bowlers.

Perera was the first to reach half century, in 48 balls, while the team's 100 came in the 16th over. Dilshan reached his 50 in the 21st over and it took the veteran opener 45 balls.

Once Perera retired with the score at 160, Mahela Jayawardene came in and chipped in with 30 (3x4). Dilshan retired at the score 195 while Jayawardene was the first batsman dismissed by Ishant.

Kumar Sangakkara (45, 7x4) and Dinesh Chandimal (46) also got much needed batting practice.

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News Network
June 10,2020

Kingston, Jun 10: "Enough is enough", said West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo as he opened up on the raging issue of racism and called for "respect and equality" for black people, who have faced discrimination for years.

Bravo joined the likes of his former captain Darren Sammy and Chris Gayle in denouncing racism in the wake of African-American George Floyd's killing at the hands of a white police officer in the USA.

"It's sad to see what's going on around the world. As a black man, we know the history of what black people have been through. We never ask for revenge, we ask for equality and respect. That's it," Bravo told former Zimbabwe cricketer Pommie Mbangwa in an Instagram live chat on Tuesday.

"We give respect to others. Why is it that we are facing this over and over? Now enough is enough. We just want equality. We don't want revenge, war.

"We just want respect. We share love and appreciate people for who they are. That's what is most important."

The 36-year-old, who has played 40 Tests, 164 ODIs and 71 T20Is for West Indies, said he wants the world to know that they are powerful and beautiful people and gave the example of greats such as Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan.

"I just want our brothers and sisters to know that we are powerful and beautiful. And at the end of the day, you look at some of the greats of the world, whether it is Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan we have had leaders who paved the way for us," he said.

Two-time T20 World Cup-winning captain Sammy had earlier alleged that a racist nickname was used to address him during his IPL stint with Sunrisers Hyderabad and demanded an apology.

Sammy said he was called 'Kalu' while he was in India. 'Kalu' is a derogatory word to describe black people.

Gayle, who too plays in the IPL, took to Twitter to back Sammy, saying that racism does exist in cricket.

"It's never too late to fight for the right cause or what you've experienced over the years! So much more to your story, @darensammy88. Like I said, it's in the game!!," Gayle tweeted.

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News Network
May 10,2020

New Delhi, May 10: Former Australia captain Ian Chappell has proposed radical changes in the LBW laws, stating that a batsman should be given out leg before as long as the ball is hitting the stumps irrespective of the spot of its landing and impact.

Chappell also said captains should agree on one way of working up the ball which will encourage swing bowling, even as the ICC is considering the use of artificial substances to shine the ball instead of sweat and saliva in post-COVID-19 scenario.

"The new lbw law should simply say: 'Any delivery that strikes the pad without first hitting the bat and, in the umpire's opinion, would go on to hit the stumps is out regardless of whether or not a shot is attempted'," he wrote in a column for ESPNcricinfo.

"Forget where the ball pitches and whether it strikes the pad outside the line or not; if it's going to hit the stumps, it's out."

The 76-year-old said the change in lbw law would attract expected criticism from the batsmen but it would make the game more fair.

"There will be screams of horror - particularly from pampered batsmen - but there are numerous positives this change would bring to the game. Most important is fairness.

"If a bowler is prepared to attack the stumps regularly, the batsman should only be able to protect his wicket with the bat. The pads are there to save the batsman from injury not dismissal.

"It would also force batsmen to seek an attacking method to combat a wristspinner pitching in the rough outside the right-hander's leg stump," said Chappell.

He cited Sachin Tendulkar's example on how he negotiated Shane Warne's round the wicket tactic during the 1997-98 Test series in India.

"Contrast Sachin Tendulkar's aggressive and successful approach to Shane Warne coming round the wicket in Chennai in 1997-98 with a batsman who kicks away deliveries pitching in the rough and turning in toward the stumps. Which would you rather watch?

"The current law encourages "pad play" to balls pitching outside leg while this change would force them to use their bat. The change would reward bowlers who attack the stumps and decrease the need for negative wide deliveries to a packed off-side field," he said.

Chappell said his proposed change to the lbw law would also cut down "frivolous" DRS challenges.

"This change to the lbw law would also simplify umpiring and result in fewer frivolous DRS challenges. Consequently, it would speed up a game that has slowed drastically in recent times.

"It would also make four-day Tests an even more viable proposition as mind-numbing huge first-innings totals would be virtually non-existent."

On the substitute of shining the ball without sweat and saliva, Chappell said international captains should find out a way of working up the ball.

"With ball-tampering always a hot topic, in the past I've suggested that administrators ask international captains to construct a list (i.e. the use of natural substances) detailing the things bowlers feel will help them to swing the ball.

"From this list, the administrators should deem one method to be legal with all others being punishable as illegal," the cricketer-turned-commentator added.

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News Network
January 10,2020

Jan 10: Australian cricketer Shane Warne’s prized 'baggy green' cap raised more than A$1 million ($686,000) on Friday for bushfire relief efforts after the former leg-spinner donated it for auction.

Twenty-seven people have been killed and thousands made homeless in recent months as huge fires scorched through more than 25.5 million acres of land, an area the size of South Korea.

The baggy green is presented to Australian players when they make their Test debut and they receive just one for their entire career. The Aussie cricketer donated the cap to an online auction site on Monday. The auction closed at 10 a.m. on Friday (2300 GMT Thursday) with a final public bid of A$1,007,500.

"Unbelievable … so generous from everyone. Totally blown away," Warne said on Twitter shortly before the auction closed.

The auction attracted global interest and the price eclipsed the A$425,000 achieved by the late Don Bradman's baggy green when it was sold in 2003.

"We have been overwhelmed and it is a fantastic result," Marc Cheah, head of marketing for auctioneers Pickles, said.

"Other baggy greens have been auctioned and Don Bradman’s got $425,000 about 15 years ago, but the Don is the Don. He’s the greatest cricketer that ever lived," Cheah said in relation to the widely held recognition Bradman was the best batsman the game has produced.

"But Shane is also right up there and that drove a lot of traffic and momentum, while the cause is also very worthwhile."

Warne, 50, is one of many local and international athletes to support the fundraising for bushfire victims with several cricketers promising to donate a sum based on the number of sixes they hit in Australia’s Big Bash Twenty20 competition.

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