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India thrash SL by 81 runs to enter the final of Tri-Series

July 10, 2013

Tri-SeriesPort of Spain, Jul 10: Seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar wreaked havoc with a brilliant opening spell as he powered India into the final of the Celkon Mobile Cup Tri Series tournament with a commanding 81-run victory over Sri Lanka via Duckworth Lewis method in another rain-affected match.

The 22-year-old Kumar had career-best figures of 4 for 8 runs in six overs as Sri Lanka were bundled out for a paltry 96 in 24.4 overs in pursuit of 178 in stipulated 26 overs as Virat Kohli, in his maiden stint as captain, guided the 'Men In Blue' into the title round. India will again meet Sri Lanka in the final at the same venue on Thursday.

India thus topped the table with 10 points including bonus points from the last two encounters having lost the first two matches and also eliminated hosts West Indies in the process.

Put into bat, Rohit Sharma contributed 48 as India reached 119 for three in 29 overs when rain halted proceedings. Courtesy Duckworth-Lewis method, Sri Lanka's target swelled upto 178 in 26 overs.

For India, the magic figure was 167 under which they had to restrict the islanders in order to make it to the summit clash.

Kumar's knack of picking up early wickets reaped dividends for India as he rocked the opposition removing Upul Tharanga (6) and Kumar Sangakkara (0) off successive deliveries. Tharanga got one that shaped away after pitching as he edged one to Suresh Raina stationed at wide second slip.

Sangakkara got a raw deal as the delivery from Kumar seemed to be going well above stumps as he was adjudged leg before.

If that wasn't enough, Mahela Jayawardene (11) was also dismissed cheaply to make it 27 for three. Jayawardene slashed hard at a rising delivery only to be holed at third man where Murali Vijay was stationed.

Kumar soon got his fourth wicket when Lahiru Thirimanne (4) offered a simple catch to Virat Kohli at cover as Lanka looked down and out at 31 for four.

The manner which the young UP lad swung the ball under overcast conditions was a treat to watch. He bowled those beautiful outswingers which Dinesh Chandimal (26, 54 balls) played and missed repeatedly with an occasional one coming into the right-hander. Once Kumar had done the initial damage, Ravindra Jadeja (2/16 in 5 overs) provided perfect exhibition of classical left-arm spin bowling as he removed Angelo Mathews (10) and Chandimal in quick succession.

Both deliveries spun away from the right-handers after pitching. While Mathews was caught by a fumbling Dinesh Karthik, a frustrated Chandimal was deceived by the flight and turn as he was stumped leaving Lanka reeling at 63 for six.

Jeevan Mendis (13) was castled by Ravichandran Ashwin as the match was as a contest was as good as over. Ishant Sharma (2/17 in 4.4 overs) put the final nail in the coffin by polishing off the tail.

Earlier, Rohit revelled again in an opener's role as his unbeaten 48 took India to 119 for three in 29 overs on a track which wasn't conducive for free-flowing strokeplay.

In-from opener Shikhar Dhawan (15), skipper Virat Kohli (31) and Dinesh Karthik (12) were three batsmen who were dismissed in the process.

Giving Rohit company was Suresh Raina who was batting on four. During his patient innings in which he faced 83 balls, the talented Mumbaikar hit a couple of boundaries and a big slog swept six off left-arm spinner Rangana Herath.

With Lankan bowlers sticking to a disciplined line, it wasn't easy to hit big strokes Rohit curbed his natural instincts to play a responsible knock so far.

Herath was the most successful among the Lankan bowlers grabbing two for 32 in six overs while his captain Angelo Mathews bowled a very econimical first spell in which he took the wicket of Dhawan giving away only five runs in five overs.

Dhawan tried to give rival captain Angelo Mathews the charge only to guide the ball to Mahela Jayawardene at the second slips. Jayawardene, thus became the first cricketer to complete 200 catches in limited overs cricket.Skipper Kohli started off by clipping Dilhara Lokuhettige to the boundary through mid-wicket region and then also cover drove Malinga for another four.

Along with Rohit, Kohli started building the innings in a slow and steady manner. Meaqnwhile Rohit was dropped by Jeevan Mendis when he was on 12 with Malinga being the unfortunate bowler.

After a 49-run partnership, it was the left-arm spin of Herath that saw the end of stand-in Indian captain. Herath pushed one quicker and it caught Kohli plumb on the back-foot. Kohli faced 52 balls to hit four boundaries.

Karthik started with a bang as he pulled Herath over mid-wicket boundary for a big six but the spinner had the last laugh. He bowled a delivery that pitched on the middle and turned enough to beat Karthik's bat and hit the off-stump.

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News Network
July 2,2020

Jul 2: Cricket Australia has decided to not use the Dukes ball from this summer's Sheffield Shield, having used it alongside Kookaburra for four seasons.

CA has confirmed that the Kookaburra ball will be used for the entire 2020-21 first-class season.

Australia has been using Dukes ball since the 2016-17 season in Shield matches with an aim to help its cricketers prepare for the hostile English conditions.

CA's Head of Cricket Operations, Peter Roach, said the decision to axe the Dukes was the right call. "The introduction of the Dukes ball has been a worthwhile exercise, particularly in the lead up to overseas Ashes series where the Dukes is used so well by our English opponents," Roach said.

"We have been happy with how the ball has performed when used in Australian conditions over the past four seasons. We do, however, feel that reverting to one ball for 2020-21 will provide the consistent examination of our players over a full season that CA and the states are presently seeking. The Kookaburra is the ball used for international cricket in Australia and many parts of the world and we see benefits this season of maximising our use of it," he added.

Roach said the ineffectiveness of spinners in first-class cricket in recent times played a role in CA's decision to do away with the Dukes. "We have noted that spin bowlers in the Sheffield Shield have been playing less of a role in recent seasons, most notably in games when the Dukes ball is in use. We need spinners bowling in first-class cricket and we need our batters facing spin. We hope that the change to one ball will have a positive benefit here," he said.

The CA official, however, didn't rule out the possibility of re-introducing it later.

"We see a definite opportunity to reintroduce the Dukes ball at some stage in the future."

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News Network
April 24,2020

New Delhi, Apr 24: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Friday extended wishes to the "most prolific batsman of all time" Sachin Tendulkar on his 47th birthday.

ICC took to Twitter and wrote: "Happy birthday to Sachin Tendulkar, the most prolific batsman of all time! To celebrate, we will give you the opportunity to vote for his top ODI innings in a bracket challenge! Stay tuned to join the celebrations."

The Maharashtra-born player had an illustrious career in the game, creating several records.
Tendulkar made his debut in Test cricket on November 15, 1989. In the same year on December 18, he played his first ODI match.

The legendary cricketer has the most number of runs in the longest format of the game, amassing 15,921 runs. Along the way, Tendulkar scored 51 Test centuries, most by any player.

Things are no different in ODI cricket as Tendulkar atop the list of most runs in this format as well. He has accumulated 18,426 runs in ODI which includes 49 tons.

Tendulkar represented the country in six World Cups during his career that lasted for 24 years. He was the part of the 2011 World Cup-winning squad.

This year, Master Blaster decided not to celebrate his birthday due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis in the country.

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Agencies
July 28,2020

New Delhi, Jul 28: 'Your character stood out for me than the number of runs you scored," said India skipper Virat Kohli while explaining his decision to give opening Mayank Agarwal a Test debut in the 2018-19 Australia series.

Mayank Agarwal had made his Test debut against Australia in the third Test of the four-match series.

Playing the third Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Agarwal managed to register a half-century in his very first innings in the longest format.

"I had seen you play for RCB, even then you played international bowlers with conviction and you would take them on. You were performing in first-class matches in a dominating way. That is something always stood out with you, I would say your character stood out for me than the number of runs. I knew you would be fearless without having any baggage," Kohli told Mayank Agarwal in a video posted on the official website of BCCI.

In the longest format of the game, Agarwal has managed to score 974 runs from 11 matches at an average of 57.29 with three centuries as an opening batsman.

The Indian skipper also explained as to what makes him notice in a player and added that it is important that guys in the team look to face new challenges and emerge triumphantly.

"For me, the biggest marker is how a person approaches the game, so for example when you opened and we made Vihari open with you. The first opportunity we presented Vihari to open the batting, he said yes to it and that matters me to the most," Kohli said.

"I opened in my first series for India, I said yes to this opportunity and things worked out fine for me. So, a guy who wants to get into tough situations will come out either holding his head high or learning from his mistakes," he added.

Kohli and Mayank would soon be seen in action for Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab respectively in the Indian Premier League (IPL) starting from September 19 in the UAE.

The comparisons between Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar keep on growing and many have picked the current Indian skipper to break the records set by Tendulkar.

Tendulkar called time on his career after registering 100 international centuries, while Kohli currently has 70 centuries across all formats.

At present, Kohli is ranked at the top spot in the ICC ODI rankings while he is in the second place in Tests rankings. Kohli has so far played 86 Tests, scoring 7,240 runs with 27 centuries at an average of 53.62.

His knock of 254 against South Africa at Pune in 2019 remains his highest Test score to date. When it comes to ODIs, the current Indian skipper has played 248 matches and has 43 centuries.

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