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Kohli's fighting century keeps India in hunt

July 6, 2013
Virat-Kohli

Trinidad, Jul 6: Skipper Virat Kohli led from the front with a responsible century-knock as India bounced back in the race for the tri-series final with a dominating 102-run win over the West Indies in a crucial rain-hit match, here on Friday.
Batting with a lot of grit and gumption, Kohli anchored India to a challenging 311 for seven after his side was in a spot of bother, having lost five established batsmen at a score of 210 in 40 overs.
Openers Shikhar Dhawan (69) and Rohit Sharma (46) had laid a strong foundation with their 123-run stand and Kohli (102) ensured that their hard work does not go waste as he made up for the failure of the middle-order with his gritty 14th One-Day century.
Pacer Bhuvaneshwar Kumar rattled the West Indies chase with wickets of Chris Gayle and Darren Barvo, and rain gods only made the the job tougher for the hosts as their target was revised to 274 from 39 overs after a two-hour rain delay.
West Indies had a daunting task of scoring a further 218 runs from 29 overs after resuming at 56 for two in 10 overs. India, desperately requiring a win to remain in the hunt for a berth in the final, bowled out the hosts for 171 in 34 to walk away with a bonus point.
India's victory meant that the tournament is open with all three teams having a chance to qualify for the final. West Indies next play Sri Lanka on Sunday and then India face Sri Lanka on Tuesday in the last league match.
West Indies batsmen succumbed to pressure after resumption of play and lost wickets in a heap. Stage was set for Indian pacers and Kumar (3/29) and Ishant Sharma in no time had knocked off half of the West Indies' batting line up.
Sharma had Marlon Samules (6) caught and removed set opener Johnson Charles (45) while Kumar added wicket of dangerous Kieron Pollard, who could not even open his account.
Umesh Yadav (3/32) joined the party by scalping Denesh Ramdin (9) and rival skipper Dwayne Bravo (14) to leave West Indies reeling at 108 for six. Earlier, Kohli got out in the last ball of the innings as he nullified the success of West Indies fast bowlers, who had put the hosts in an good position with regular strikes.
Kohli faced 83 balls in his innings and punished the Caribbean bowlers with 13 fours and two sixes.
After 40 overs, India had 210 runs on the board and only Kohli to bat with tail-enders as pace duo of Kemar Roach and Tino Best had polished off the Indian middle-order.
Kohli responded to the challenge in the best possible manner as India scored 101 runs in the last 10 overs and his contribution was 67 runs. R Ashwin supported Kohli well with his 18-ball 25 as they shared a 90-run stand for the seventh wicket in 8.2 overs.
Earlier after sent in to bat, Dhawan and Sharma provided a solid start to India with 123-run stand, which was broken when the left-hander chose to play aggressively after spending a watchful 23 overs at the crease.
Coming into the make-or-break match, both the Indian openers batted with a lot of responsibility. They chose caution over aggression, relying on rotation of the strike and hitting an odd boundary in between.
Dhawan, who by nature is a stroke-maker, kept his natural urge to go for strokes under control till India had safely negotiated almost half-the-overs. The left-hander opened up after India had crossed 100-run mark. He chose local lad and highly-rated spinner Sunil Narine for some punishment, hitting him for two sixes and a four.
However, Dhawan could not continue in the same vain, as he holed out to Darren Barvo at deep square leg when he attempted to hit one off Kemar Roach over the ropes. His knock came off 77 balls and contained eight fours and two sixes.
Sharma too joined him in the pavillion when he edged one behind off Tino Best. In space of seven overs India lost Suresh Raina (10), Dinesh Karthik (6) and Murali Vijay (27).
Ravindra Jadeja's run out made things worse for India but Kohli pulled India out of trouble.

Scoreboard:
India:
R Sharma c Ramdin b Best 46
S Dhawan c D Bravo b Roach 69
V Kohli c Sammy b D Bravo 102
S Raina c Sammy b Samuels 10
D Karthik c Ramdin b Best 6
M Vijay c Charles b Pollard 27
R Jadeja run out 2
R Ashwin not out 25
Extras (B-4, LB-7, WD-13) 24
Total (For 7 wickets in 50 overs) 311

Fall of wickets: 1-123, 2-141, 3-156, 4-168, 5-210, 6-221, 7-311.

Bowling: D Sammy 8-1-28-0, K Roach 10-2-69-1, T Best 10-0-51-2, D Bravo 7-0-57-1, S Narine 5-1-35-0, M Samuels 8-0-39-1, K Pollard 2-0-21-1.

West Indies: (target: 274 runs from 39 overs)

C Gayle c Karthik b Kumar 10
J Charles c Raina b Sharma 45
D Bravo c Ashwin b Kumar 1
M Samuels c Karthik b Sharma 6
K Pollard c Ashwin b Kumar 0
D Bravo lbw b Yadav 14
D Ramdin c Kumar b Yadav 9
D Sammy lbw b Yadav 12
K Roach b Jadeja 34
S Narine c Sharma b Jadeja 21
T Best not out 0
Extras (B-1, LB-10, WD-8) 19
Total (all out in 34 overs) 171

Fall of wickets: 1-14, 2-25, 3-64, 4-65, 5-69, 6-91, 7-108, 8-113, 9-171.
Bowling: B Kumar 8-1-29-3, U Yadav 8-1-32-3, I Sharma 7-1-30-2, R Jadeja 7-1-44-2, R Ashwin 4-0-25-0.

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News Network
June 17,2020

New Delhi, Jun 17: Indian skipper Virat Kohli on Wednesday paid tributes to Indian Army soldiers, who were killed during the face-off with the Chinese troops in Ladakh's Galwan Valley.

Extending condolences to the kin of bravehearts, Kohli said, "No one is more selfless and brave than a soldier."

"Salute and deepest respect to the soldiers who sacrificed their lives to protect our country in the Galwan Valley. NO one is more selfless and brave than a soldier. Sincere condolences to the families. I hope they find peace through our prayers at this difficult time," he tweeted.

The violent face-off happened on late evening and night of June 15 in Ladakh's Galwan Valley as a result of an attempt by the Chinese troops to "unilaterally change" the status quo during de-escalation in Eastern Ladakh and the situation could have been avoided if the agreement at the higher level been scrupulously followed by the Chinese side, India said on Tuesday.

The Army confirmed that 20 soldiers were killed in the face-off, including 17 who were critically injured at the stand-off location and exposed to sub-zero temperatures in the high altitude terrain.

Indian and Chinese troops have disengaged at the Galwan area in Ladakh where they had earlier clashed on the night of June 15 and 16, Indian Army said.

Former cricketer Irfan Pathan tweeted, "We will always be indebted to our jawans of #IndianArmy who lost their lives in #GalwanValley #JaiHind."

Expressing similar sentiments, Indian batsman Shikhar Dhawan wrote, "A sacrifice that will never be forgotten by the nation. Heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of the Indian Army officer and the two soldiers. Saluting your bravery, Jai Hind! #GalwanValley."

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Agencies
March 13,2020

New Delhi, Mar 13: The remaining ODI series between India and South Africa has been called-off amidst the rising concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.

"The second and third ODI between India and South Africa in Lucknow and Kolkata respectively are called off," the BCCI source told media persons.

The first match of the series was abandoned due to rain and wet outfield without a toss at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) stadium on Thursday.

The second and third ODI was scheduled to be played at Lucknow and Kolkata on March 15 and 18 respectively. Earlier on Thursday, the BCCI has decided to play the remaining two ODIs behind closed doors.

"After holding discussions with the MYAS and MOHFW, the BCCI on Thursday announced that the remaining two One-day Internationals (ODIs) of the three-match series of South Africa tour of India, 2020, will be played without any public gathering, including spectators," the BCCI had said in a statement.

The Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry has advised all the federations to avoid large gatherings.

World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday had declared the coronavirus outbreak a 'pandemic' and expressed deep concerns.

The coronavirus disease was first detected in Wuhan in China's Hubei province, in late December, and has since spread worldwide.

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News Network
June 27,2020

Jun 27: India's Test batting mainstay Cheteshwar Pujara cannot describe in words the influence that Rahul Dravid has had on his life but says he will always remain grateful to him for teaching the importance of switching off from cricket.

Often compared to Dravid, who was considered the 'wall' of Indian cricket, Pujara said he is thankful to Dravid for teaching him how to keep personal and professional lives separate.

"He helped me understand the importance of switching off from cricket. I had the same thought, more or less, but when I spoke to him, it gave me a lot of clarity about it and I was sure of what I needed to do," he told ESPNcricinfo.

"I also saw in county cricket how they keep personal and professional lives separate. I value that advice a lot. Many people consider me to be focused. Yes, I am focused, But I also know when to switch off. There is life beyond cricket."

In his illustrious international career, Dravid amassed 13288 runs in 164 Tests and 10889 runs in 344 ODIs. He also captained India in 79 ODIs, winning 42 of them, which includes the world record of 14 successive wins while chasing.

"I cannot say in one line what Rahul bhai means to me. He has always been an inspiration, and will remain one," Pujara said.

His mental fortitude and batting technique is often compared to Dravid but Pujara said "despite my enchantment with him" he never tried to "copy him."

"There is a similarity in our games, but that's not because of my fascination with him. That came mainly through my experiences with Saurashtra, where I learned that scoring a hundred alone isn't enough, you have to carry your team," he said.

"That is how I learned responsibility - it is about helping my team to raise a big total, and for that I ought to attach importance to my wicket. I learned that from my junior cricket days with Saurashtra, which was a weaker team in domestic cricket."

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