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Sania and Hingis win US Open women's doubles title, steamroll rivals in final

September 14, 2015

New York, Sep 14: India's tennis star Sania Mirza bagged her second consecutive Grand Slam title of the season, and fifth overall, as she won the US Open women's doubles with Swiss partner Martina Hingis, here today.

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The top-seeded Indo-Swiss team outplayed the fourth seed team of Casey Dellacqua and Yaroslava Shvedova 6-3 6-3 in the final, which never rose to great heights.

Sania's win capped off a memorable US Open for Indians as Leander Paes had won the mixed doubles trophy with Hingis yesterday, in a repeat show of the Wimbledon.

Kazakshtan's Shvedova and Australia's Dellacqua struggled to hold serve, making it too easy for Sania and Hingis. The contest was over in just 70 minutes as the top seeds asserted themselves.

Sania's ground-strokes from the back of the court and Hingis' agility at the net was too good for their rivals.

It was Sania and Hingis' second Major title in a row, having won the Wimbledon championships earlier this season.

Sania now has five Grand Slam titles in her collection. She won three Mixed Doubles trophies, the last one coming at this very venue with Bruno Soares in 2014.

In an extraordinary season, Hingis has won five Grand Slam titles this season, taking her overall number to 20. She won three titles with Paes and two with Sania.

"It's a great year for us. Already been a great year, became world number one. We were a solid team and were in with a chance in all Slams. We are happy to come through. I won mixed doubles here last year, great to come bak and win this," Sania said after her win.

An elated Hingis said,"from the start we hit it off. Our games complement each other. Sania won her first Wimbledon, for me it is bonus. I volley better than what I used to. (in her singles days)"

Shvedova committed a double fault in the second game at 30-all to give top seeds a break point and then a superb return from Sania brought another opportunity but the fourth seeds saved both chances.

The top seeds did not have to wait much for next chance as they broke Dellacqua at love to take a 3-1 lead. But the advantage slipped soon as Sania was broken in the fifth.

Shvedova, who is getting married on Tuesday, surrendered her serve one more time, letting Sania and Hingis just walk away with the set.

Shvedova was far from the player she is as she was down by three break points in the very first game of the second set. Top seeds grabbed the opportunity and consolidated lead with a solid hold.

Sania fired two stunning service winners on Dellacqua's serve as the Australian was broken at love in the seventh game.

Hingis hit an overhead volley winner on the first match point after Shvedova's double fault at 40-all.

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Agencies
August 2,2020

New Delhi, Aug 2: Batting great Rahul Dravid has attributed Chennai Super Kings' consistent run in the IPL to skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's instincts, game-smarts and the incredible amount of work that goes behind the scenes.

N Srinivasan, the former BCCI president and head of India Cements, which owns the CSK franchise, agreed that Dhoni is a man of instinct who doesn't believe in attending team meetings and going over data.

Both were speaking at a webinar organised by the Great Lakes Institute of Management.

"If you look at the success CSK has had, they've got really good access to data and they've got really good access to people behind the scenes and they've run cricket teams at the junior level," Dravid said at the webinar according to ESPNcricinfo.

The former India captain added, "They understand talent and they've obviously got a good scouting process in place. But, what they also have is a captain who really understands instincts.

"So, I mean, look, I know Dhoni quite well and I hope he hasn't changed, but I know Dhoni is probably not one to look at reams of data and statistics."

The Super Kings have won the lucrative tournament three times -- one less than Mumbai Indians -- and reached the knockouts in each of the 10 seasons they have been a part of.

Srinivasan also spoke about how Dhoni's instinct and judgement contributed to his team's success at a time when a lot of emphases is placed on data.

"We're awash with data just now. To give you an example, there are bowling coaches and in a T20 game, they play videos of every batsman whom they're going to come against and they see how he got out, what's his strength, what's his weakness etc.

"So, MS Dhoni doesn't attend this, he's a pure instinct man. The bowling coach, (head coach Stephen) Fleming will be there and everybody will be there, everyone is giving opinions, (but) he'll get up and go.

"In the context of instinct, he feels that okay he can assess a batsman or player on the field, that's his judgement. On the other hand, there is so much of data that is available to help a person also analyse. It's a very difficult line to draw (between data and instinct)."

Srinivasan also recalled how Dhoni once refused to take "one outstanding player" suggested by the franchise boss as that could have broken the team's cohesion.

"There was one outstanding player that we suggested to MS, he said: 'no sir, he will spoil the team'. The cohesion within the team is important and see in America, franchise-based sport has been there for such a long time," he said.

"In India, we're just starting and we're new to it. But we at India Cements have had a lot of experience running teams at junior levels."

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Agencies
June 23,2020

Islamabad, Jun 23: Seven more Pakistan cricketers, including Muhammad Hafeez and Wahab Riaz, selected for the tour of England have tested positive for COVID-19, taking the total to 10, the PCB revealed on Tuesday.

The seven who tested positive on Tuesday are Kashif Bhatti, Muhammad Hasnain, Fakhar Zaman, Muhammad Rizwan, Imran Khan, Hafeez and Riaz. Shadab Khan, Haider Ali and Haris Rauf had returned positive tests on Monday.

“It is not a great situation to be in and what it shows is these are 10 fit and young athletes...if it can happen to players it can happen to anyone,” Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) CEO, Wasim Khan told a media conference.

He said a support staff member, masseur Malang Ali, had also tested positive for COVID-19.

Khan said that the players and officials would now assemble in Lahore and another round of tests would be carried out on June 25 and a revised squad would be announced the next day.

The squad has to leave on June 28 for the series scheduled to be held next month, he said.

“It is a matter of concern but we shouldn’t panic at this time as we have time on our hands,” Khan said.

He said the players and officials would be retested on reaching England.

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News Network
May 28,2020

New Delhi, May 28: India is not at risk of losing hosting rights for next year's Twenty20 World Cup despite its cricket board's failure to secure a tax exemption for the event, a key BCCI official has told Reuters.

Tax exemptions for International Cricket Council (ICC) events are listed as a requirement in host agreements and the BCCI was supposed to confirm they had secured one by May 18.

ESPNcricinfo, citing correspondence between the two bodies, has reported that the ICC has threatened to shift the tournament away from India over the issue.

However, BCCI treasurer Arun Singh Dhumal told Reuters that would not happen and that negotiations were continuing.

"There is no risk to the tournament," he said by telephone.

"That is a work in progress. We are discussing it with the ICC and we'll resolve it."

The BCCI encountered a similar problem when it hosted the event in 2016 when the government refused to provide a tax exemption, and there has been no change in New Delhi's stance despite the board's appeals.

Failure to secure that exemption in 2016 saw the ICC withhold an equivalent sum from India's share of revenue from the governing body's grants and it appears to be taking an even harder line this time around.

"There are certain timelines within the agreements that we collectively work towards to ensure we can deliver successful world class events and continue to invest in the sport of cricket," an ICC spokesperson told Reuters.

"In addition to this the ICC Board agreed clear timelines for the resolution of the tax issues which we are guided by."

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