Colombia seal World Cup berth with fightback

October 12, 2013

Colombia_World_CupMontevideo, Oct 12: Colombia pulled off an amazing fightback to reach the World Cup for the first time since 1998 on Friday, rallying from 3-0 down to snatch a 3-3 draw against 10-man Chile in a six-goal thriller.

Monaco striker Radamel Falcao was the hero for the home side, keeping his cool to convert two late penalties as Colombia grabbed the point they needed to be certain of qualifying for next year's finals in Brazil.

Brazil qualify automatically for the tournament as hosts, while Argentina had already confirmed their qualification last month.

Falcao's 84th-minute leveller capped an extraordinary turnaround for Jose Pekerman's Colombia, who had looked dead and buried inside the opening half hour after Chile raced to a 3-0 lead.

However the sending off of Chile's Carlos Carmona for two bookable offences midway through the second half was to be the catalyst for a remarkable comeback.

Teofilo Gutierrez pulled a goal back on 69 minutes to make it 3-1 before Falcao's late show gave Colombia a share of the points.

Chile had earlier looked certain to be heading for a win which would have seen them guarantee their ninth World Cup finals appearance after a flying start at a ground where Colombia had won their five previous matches.

Juventus star Arturo Vidal fired Chile into the lead on 19 minutes, sending Colombia keeper David Ospina the wrong way with a perfectly placed spot-kick to silence the home crowd.

Barcelona winger Alexis Sanchez then doubled the Chileans' lead three minutes later before adding a close-range second to make it 3-0 on 29 minutes.

Despite the disappointment of failing to wrap up qualification, Chile remain firmly on course for Brazil after results elsewhere worked in their favour.

Ecuador's 1-0 win over Uruguay in Quito means that Chile need only a point from their final game, against Ecuador in Santiago next Tuesday, to qualify.

Ecuador, too, will guarantee their place with a draw against the Chileans, making it highly likely that Uruguay will now have to settle for fifth and a play-off against Asian minnows Jordan to reach the World Cup.

Ecuador stayed on course for their first appearance at the World Cup since the 2006 finals in Germany with a hard-fought win over the Uruguayans.

The game's decisive goal came in the 30th minute, when Jefferson Montero tapped in from close-range after a surging run and low cross from the right flank by Manchester United winger Antonio Valencia.

Ecuador's margin of victory should have been more comfortable but for a dreadful refereeing decision which denied them a clear a second goal through substitute Joao Rojas on 74 minutes.

Rojas rounded Fernando Muslera and tucked away a cool finish after following up a long-range effort only to be ruled offside. Replays subsequently showed two Uruguayan defenders were playing Rojas onside however by several yards.

Uruguay's defeat means that the 2010 World Cup semi-finalists must beat already qualified Argentina in Montevideo to have any chance of pipping Ecuador or Chile for an automatic qualifying place.

But even a win against Argentina will be academic if Chile and Ecuador combine for a mutually beneficial draw which will guarantee their qualification.

Argentina meanwhile warmed up for their showdown with rivals Uruguay with another comfortable victory.

Despite the absence through injury of captain Lionel Messi, Argentina notched a 3-1 win over Peru in Buenos Aires.

Peru took the lead through Claudio Pizarro but Argentina hit back with a brace from Ezequiel Lavezzi and a Rodrigo Palacio effort.

In the other South American qualifying game on Friday, Venezuela wrapped up their campaign with a 1-1 draw against eliminated Paraguay. Luis Seijas equalized for Venezuela after Edgar Benitez had given Paraguay a first-half lead.

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August 5,2020

New Delhi, Aug 5: "Want to know what makes him tick," said Australian pacer Kane Richardson will talking about playing alongside Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020.

The IPL 2020 will be played in the UAE from September 19-November 10 and the tournament will run for 53 days.

In the players' auction which was conducted in December 2019, RCB managed to bag key players like Richardson, Chris Morris, Aaron Finch, Dale Steyn, Joshua Philippe, and Isuru Udana.

In an interaction with news agency, Richardson talked about playing alongside Kohli and the learning curve which is in store for him by being in the same squad as Proteas great Dale Steyn.
"Huge. These guys (Virat, AB de Villiers) are the absolute legends of the game. Anything I can learn from them will be a bonus, that's for sure.

I am really looking forward to playing with Virat, there are few more competitive players in the world. I am really looking forward to seeing what makes him tick," Richardson said.

The 29-year-old pacer also said that he would want to learn from Steyn as to how to be consistent in all formats of the game over a long period of time.

"There are loads I can learn from Dale. He has been amongst the best at the highest level for so long. His control and ability to swing the ball without losing his pace is really impressive. 

I look forward to getting in his ear about how he performs so consistently over a long period, in all forms," said Richardson who has 39 ODI wickets to his credit.

Richardson has so far played 14 games in his IPL career so far and has picked up 18 wickets. The bowler played for Pune Warriors India in 2013, Rajasthan Royals in 2014, and RCB in 2016.

For this year's IPL, RCB has also bagged Australia's limited-overs skipper Aaron Finch, and Richardson thinks having a familiar face in the camp would help him to settle better in the franchise.

"Finchey is an awesome player and a fantastic leader. I am sure it will help to have two Aussies in the side along with Josh who is playing his first tournament after a massive summer in the BBL. We are all professionals, I'm sure it won't take long for us to gel as a side," Richardson said.

However, before the IPL starts, Australia is expected to tour England for a limited-overs series, comprising of three ODIs and as many T20Is.

The side was last seen in action in March this year as they played one ODI against New Zealand in Sydney. After the first match, the remaining two ODIs were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Talking about the series against England, Kane replied: "We will be fresh, that's one thing, while the England players have been in a bubble for some time now. As long as we get enough practice in before and possibly some centre wicket it should not be an issue."

"They are World Cup holders and the number one ranked side for a very good reason. It will be a tough series also given they will have played a fair bit of cricket together by then. We know we need to work hard on our one-day game which will be a priority over the next period," he added.

The pacer also talked about how the lockdown was like for him, and Richardson feels that everyone would come back strong as a result of this break.

"The break from playing has been refreshing, to be honest. We have come back strong and are well into pre-season training with our states. As a bowler, our loads are not at their peak but we are working towards getting ready for a tour of the UK in a few weeks," Richardson said.

The Australian quick has so far played 25 ODIs and 18 T20Is, managing to take 39 and 19 wickets respectively.

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February 25,2020

Bengaluru, Feb 25: India opening batsman KL Rahul will be available for Karnataka's Ranji Trophy semi-final clash against Bengal at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on February 29.

Rahul had asked to be rested from Karnataka's quarter-final match but is now available for the climactic stages of the Ranji Trophy. 

Karnataka had already been strengthened by the addition of Manish Pandey for the quarter-finals, with both Pandey and Rahul having returned from New Zealand after India completed the limited-overs leg of their tour, ESPNcricinfo reported.

Last year's finalists Saurashtra will take on Gujarat in the other semi-final at Rajkot. The other prominent players who will be part of the last four include Parthiv Patel (Gujarat), Jaydev Unadkat (Saurashtra) and Manoj Tiwary (Bengal).

Gujarat, Bengal, Karnataka, and Saurashtra had finished on top of the combined Groups A and B table, and all four progressed to the semi-finals after dominating their respective quarter-final matches.

Rahul has been phenomenal with the bat in the limited-overs series against Australia and New Zealand. He scored one century and four fifty-plus scores in his last ten innings in ODIs and T20Is combined

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August 9,2020

Manchester, Aug 9: Chris Woakes and Jos Buttler played knocks of 84 and 75 respectively as England gained an improbable three-wicket win over Pakistan in the first Test of the three-match series here at the Emirates Old Trafford.

England chased down a total of 277 on the fourth day of the first Test.

Chasing 277, England openers Rory Burns and Dom Sibley put on 22 runs for the first wicket, but Mohammad Abbas finally provided the breakthrough to Pakistan as he had Burns (10) adjudged leg-before wicket in the 12th over.

Skipper Joe Root came to the crease next, and he along with Sibley ensured that the side does not lose any more wickets before the lunch break, and England went into the lunch break at 55/1.

Sibley and Root eventually put up a 64-run stand, but their partnership was finally brought to an end by Yasir Shah as he dismissed Sibley (36) in the 36th over. Soon after, skipper Root (42) was also sent back to the pavilion by Naseem Shah, reducing England to 96/3 in the 39th over.

All eyes were on all-rounder Ben Stokes (9), but Pakistan's Yasir Shah sent him back to the pavilion in the 42nd over, and England was left in a spot of bother. Shaheen Shah Afridi, then also got among the wicket-taking charts as he scalped the wicket of Ollie Pope (7), reducing England to 117/5 in the 45th over.

Chris Woakes and Jos Buttler then got together at the crease, and the duo played in an aggressive manner to retrieve the innings for England. The hosts went into the tea break at 167/5, still, 110 runs away from the target with five wickets in hand.

Buttler and Woakes continued their march to frustrate the Pakistan bowling attack and the duo brought the target within the grasp of England. Both batsmen put up a stand of 139 runs, however, with just 21 runs away from the target, England lost the key wicket of Buttler (75) as Yasir Shah had him trapped in front of the wicket.

With England just needing four more runs for the win, Yasir Shah dismissed Stuart Broad (4), but in the end, Woakes and Dom Bess ensured England's win by three wickets.

For Pakistan, Yasir Shah was the pick of the bowlers as he scalped four wickets.

Earlier, resuming day four at 137/8, Yasir Shah (33) along with Mohammad Abbas (3*) and Naseem Shah (4) added 32 more runs to the overnight score to give England a target of 277 to win the first Test.

Stuart Broad was the pick of England bowlers as he scalped three wickets.

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