Sri Lanka down West Indies in inconsequential cliffhanger

Agencies
July 2, 2019

London, Jul 2: Ton-up Nicholas Pooran played the innings of his life but Angelo Mathews delivered the ball of the match to get his wicket and help Sri Lanka to a 23-run victory over the West Indies in an inconsequential but thrilling World Cup tie here on Monday.

With both teams not standing a chance to qualify for the semifinals, there was only pride to play for. But it turned out to be a rip-roaring affair in the end in which Pooran slammed 118 off 103 balls (4x11, 6x4), his maiden hundred, to get West Indies very close to gunning down 339 for victory, which would have been the highest successful run-chase in World Cup history.

But Mathews, bowling for the first time this year in the 48th over, had Pooran caught by wicketkeeper Kusal Perera in the very first ball and celebrated his first wicket since December 2016 in grand fashion.

With 31 runs needed off 17 balls and two wickets in hand, it was a bridge too far in the end for the Windies as they finished at 315/9 in 50 overs. For Sri Lanka, veteran pacer Lasith Malinga (3/55) was the pick of the bowlers.

Chasing a commanding 339 for victory, West Indies were reduced to 84/4 in 18 overs with Chris Gayle (35), Sunil Ambris (5), Shai Hope (5) and Shimron Hetmyer (29) all back in the hut.

Gayle looked good during his stay at the crease but holed out to Jeffrey Vandersay off Kasun Rajitha. Malinga had removed Ambris and the talented Hope earlier on.

Hetymer also failed to continue after steadying himself as he was run out. Pooran then stitched together a 61-run stand with skipper Jason Holder (26) for the fifth wicket before the latter was caught at mid on by substitute Jeevan Mendis off Vandersay.

Pooran and Carlos Brathwaite (8) also shared a 54-run partnership but Brathwaite was also run out to bring Fabein Allen to the crease. It was then that the pair took the game to the opposition with counter-attacking batting as Allen brought up his maiden 50 off just 30 balls.

But just when the duo looked good to guide their team across the line, a mixup saw Allen getting run out (51; 32b, 4x7, 6x1) with 57 needed off 36 balls. Pooran got to his 100 in 92 balls and looked all set to pull off a memorable victory for his side before Mathews trumped him and swung the tide in Sri Lanka's favour.

Earlier, Avishka Fernando's maiden ODI century helped Sri Lanka post 338/6. Fernando scored 104 off 103 balls with the help of nine fours and two sixes.

Put into bat by West Indies skipper Jason Holder at the Riverside Ground, Sri Lanka made a strong start to the innings. After captain Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Perera added 93 runs for the first wicket, it was Holder who gave the Windies the breakthrough by forcing an edge off Karunaratne (32) which was gleefully accepted by Shai Hope behind the stumps in the 16th over.

Two overs later, Perera (64; 51 balls, 4x8) was run out, but Fernando and Kusal Mendis went about undoing the damage, adding 85 runs for the third wicket. Fernando anchored the middle order even after the dismissal of Mendis (39), setting up strong partnerships with Angelo Matthews and later Lahiru Thirimanne.

Matthews (26) was done by an inch perfect yorker from Holder and it looked like Oshane Thomas had got Thirimanne just two overs later by getting him to hit the ball straight to the fielder at midwicket. But it turned out that he had overstepped by a fair distance. Thirimanne went on to finish the innings with unbeaten on 45 off 33 balls, hitting four boundaries in the process.

Fernando was dismissed in the 38th over by Sheldon Cottrell, whose trademark salute celebration seemed to be more of an acknowledgement of the batsman's efforts than in jubilation.

Holder (2/59) was the pick of the West Indies bowlers while Cottrell, Thomas and Fabian Allen picked up one wicket each.

Brief scores: Sri Lanka: 338/6 in 50 overs (Avishka Fernando 104, Kusal Perera 64; Holder 2/59) vs West Indies 315/9 in 50 overs (Nicholas Pooran 118, Fabien Allen 51; Lasith Malinga 3/55).

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Agencies
April 12,2020

London, Apr 12: Former Formula 1 legendary driver Stirling Moss died at the age of 90 on Sunday.

"All at F1 send our heartfelt condolences to Lady Susie and Sir Stirling's family and friends," Formula 1 said in a statement.

Often referred to as the greatest driver never to win the world championship, Moss contested 66 Grands Prix from 1951 to 1961, driving for the likes of Vanwall, Maserati and Mercedes, where he famously formed a contented and ruthlessly effective partnership with lead driver Juan Manuel Fangio.

In his 10-year-long stint at the tracks, Moss took 16 wins, some of which rank among the truly iconic drives in the sport's history - his 1961 victories in Monaco and Germany in particular often held up as all-time classics.

Moss won the 1955 Mille Miglia on public roads for Mercedes at an average speed of close to 100mph, while he also competed in rallies and land-speed attempts.

Following an enforced retirement from racing (barring a brief comeback in saloon cars in the 1980s) after a major crash at Goodwood in 1962, Moss maintained a presence in Formula 1 as both a sports correspondent and an interested observer, before retiring from public life in January of 2018.

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News Network
February 24,2020

Feb 24: India captain Virat Kohli had no qualms in admitting that his team was outplayed by New Zealand in the opening Test but said they "can't help" if a few want to make a "big deal" out of the 10-wicket defeat. Hosts New Zealand thrashed India by 10 wickets at the Basin Reverse on Monday to go 1-0 ahead in the two-match series. This was India's first defeat in the World Test Championship, coming after two inept batting efforts. "We know we haven't played well but if people want to make a big deal out of it, make a mountain out of it, we can't help it as we don't think like that," the skipper said at the post-match media interaction.

Kohli said he fails to comprehend why one Test match defeat should be made to look like the end of the world for his team.

"For some people, it might be the end of the world but it's not. For us, it's a game of cricket that we lost and we move on and keep our heads high," Kohli said.

It is the acceptance of defeat that defines the character of a side, the world's premier batsman said.

"We understand that we need to play well to win, also at home. There's no cakewalk at international level as teams will come and beat you. You accept it and that defines our character as a side."

It is the acceptance of defeat that defines the character of a side, the world's premier batsman said. "We understand that we need to play well to win, also at home. There's no cakewalk at international level as teams will come and beat you. You accept it and that defines our character as a side."

If he had given credence to the "outside chatter", he said the team wouldn't have been where it is now.

"That's why we have been able to play this kind of cricket. If we would have paid attention to the outside chatter, we would again be at No. 7 or 8 in the rankings. We don't really bother about what people are saying on the outside," the skipper said.

One defeat can't make a team, which has been winning games of Test cricket, "bad overnight".

"If we have lost then we have no shame in accepting that. It means we didn't play this game well. It doesn't mean that we have become a bad team overnight. People might want to change our thoughts, but it doesn't work like that."

The self-belief is intact and Kohli was confident the team would come back stronger in the second Test, to be held in Christchurch in four days time.

"We will work hard, and after four days play just like we have played all these years. Just because we have lost one match in between all wins, doesn't mean that the belief is gone. The dressing room thinks differently and team atmosphere is different."

Kohli felt that there is a very thin line between being ultra-defensive and over-attacking, something that his team didn't get it right in this Test match.

"New Zealand got into the mind of the batsmen and make the batsmen do something that they don't want to. think that's a very thin line and a very delicate balance of when to attack and when to put bowlers under pressure which we failed to do in this match and there is no harm in accepting that."

According to Kohli, it was a combination of both good bowling from the Kiwis and Indian batsmen not putting the pressure back on bowlers, which led to the drubbing.

"That has got to do with partly good bowling from New Zealand and partly us not pressing that momentum on to them when required. "It was perfect for them because they bowled well and we allowed them to bowl well for longer periods rather than doing something about it in a partnership."

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Agencies
January 14,2020

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