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Test of character for India against South Africa

June 6, 2013

South_AfricaCardiff, Jun 6: The last fortnight has been nothing but a harrowing turmoil for the Indian cricket team and particularly for skipper MS Dhoni.

As if the weight of expectations wasn’t enough, the team has been getting attention for all the wrong reasons. From the spot-fixing scandal in the just-concluded Indian Premier League VI?to an avoidable controversy that Dhoni’s ‘silence’ during the pre-departure press conference created, it was hardly the ideal build-up the team would have hoped for ahead of the Champions Trophy.

India’s performances in the two warm-up matches, however, have shown little sign of team getting bogged down by the events unfolding off the field. Their two convincing wins, and more crucially from precarious positions, over Sri Lanka and Australia have proved that the team is in the right frame of mind going into their Group ‘B’ match against South Africa here at the Cardiff Wales Stadium on Thursday.

“I think these are all the stuff that we're not even thinking about or don’t even cross

our minds,” Dhoni said when asked if there have been any distraction going forward. “What we are really looking forward to is the challenge,” he added.

Watching the performance of his team no one can dispute his claims. In the first practice game against Sri Lanka on Saturday, Virat Kohli and Dinesh Karthik bailed India out of trouble with fluent centuries while chasing a big total. On Tuesday, their bowlers came to the party, none more effectively than Umesh Yadav, as they demolished Australia by 243 runs.

While bowlers made a telling statement after a poor show against Sri Lanka, batting made a fine recovery once again with Karthik leading the way with his second century (146 n.o., 140b, 17x4, 1x46) in a row. Dhoni too sparkled with a 77-ball 91 as India pulverised Australian attack from being 55/5 at one stage.

Karthik has been in the form of his life. He has followed up his domestic form with two impressive knocks that makes him an automatic choice in the 11 against South Africa.

With Dhoni making it clear that he would want batsmen to play in their normal positions and not tinker with the order, Rohit Sharma finding a place seems improbable though the opening combination of M Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan has looked a bit shaky in the two warm-up matches. While Karthik does open for Tamil Nadu and South Zone, Dhoni insisted he would prefer the right-hander to bat between three and five.

The bowling appears more or settled with Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ishant Sharma being the first choice pacemen. R Ashwin and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja will complete the five bowlers that Dhoni wants to play under new ODI rules that came into effect last year. India has played under new playing conditions against England at home but are yet to come to grips with them.

South Africa, on the other hand, are struggling with injury worries to their key players. They have already lost Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis for entirely different reasons before the tournament and their strike bowler Dale Steyn looks highly unlikely for the India match after a side strain that he sustained against Pakistan in a warm-up game.

“It’s obviously not looking good,” said skipper AB de Villiers about Steyn’s injury. “We’ll just reassess tonight and tomorrow morning and make a final call on that. There are a few more games coming up. It’s not the one and only game, so we wouldn’t like to get him out of the rest of the tournament,” he pointed out.

Champions Trophy Schedule

June 6 India vs South Africa Sophia Gardens, Cardiff

June 7 Pakistan vs West Indies Kennington Oval, London

June 8 England vs Australia Edgbaston, Birmingham

June 9 New Zealand vs Sri Lanka Sophia Gardens, Cardiff

June 10 (D/N) Pakistan vs South?Africa Edgbaston, Birmingham

June 11 India vs West Indies Kennington Oval, London

June 12 Australia vs New Zealand Edgbaston, Birmingham

June 13 (D/N) England vs Sri?Lanka Kennington Oval, London

June 14 South Africa vs West Indies Sophia Gardens, Cardiff

June 15 India vs Pakistan Edgbaston, Birmingham

June 16 England vs New Zealand Sophia Gardens, Cardiff

June 17 (D/N) Australia vs Sri Lanka Kennington?Oval, London

June 19 First semifinal Kennington Oval, London

June 20 Second semifinal Sophia Gardens, Cardiff

June 23 Final Edgbaston, Birmingham

Matches start at 3.00 pm IST. D/N matches start at 5.30 pm IST.

Group A

England

Australia

New Zealand

Sri Lanka

Group B

India

South Africa

Pakistan

West Indies

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News Network
February 10,2020

Potchefstroom, Feb 9: Bangladesh clinched their maiden ICC U-19 World Cup title after beating favourites India by three wickets in the summit clash here on Sunday.

Set a revised target of 170 after a brief rain interruption, Bangladesh won the match with 23 balls to spare.

Sent in to bat, India's batting wilted under pressure as a superb Bangladesh bowling attack shot the defending champions out for a paltry 177 in 47.2 overs.

Yasashvi Jaiswal (88 off 121 balls) was once again a standout performer but not for once did he look like dominating the Bangladesh bowling unit whose new ball bowlers Shoriful Islam (2/31 in 10 overs) and Tanzim Hasan Shakib (2/28 in 8.2 overs) literally stifled the Indians for runs.

The third seamer Avishek Das (3/40 in 9 overs) was the most successful bowler in terms of figures but it was Shoriful's first spell with channelised aggression that put the Indians on the back-foot from the onset.

After a short rain break towards the end, the target was revised to 170 from 46 runs but Bangladesh reached 170 for 7 in 42.1 overs to win the match.

Opener Parvez Hossain Emon top-scored for Bangladesh with a 79-ball 47 while captain and wicketkeeper Akbar Ali was not out on 43 from 77 deliveries.

For the India U-19 side, Ravi Bishnoi was the most successful bowler with figures of 4/30 while Sushant Mishra had 2/25.

India thus missed out on a record fifth title in their seventh final appearance.

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Agencies
January 11,2020

London, Jan 11: Former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar's famous lap around the Wankhede Stadium after the World Cup 2011 win has been nominated in Laureas's list for the most inspiring sporting event in the last twenty years.

The moment featuring Tendulkar has been described as "Carried on the shoulders by a nation".

On his sixth attempt at the World Cup and with India not having won the competition since 1983, Tendulkar finally became a part of the team that lifted the coveted trophy. Carried on the shoulders of the Indian team, he made a lap of honour, shedding tears of joy after the victory was sealed in his home city.

The 2011 World Cup was also the first time, in which a host nation ended up winning the trophy.

Apart from Tendulkar, England's Andrew Flintoff is the only other cricketer to feature in the list. In 2005, England managed to defeat Australia in an Ashes Test, but Flintoff chose to first shake hands with Brett Lee rather than celebrate with his side.

Matthias Steiner (weightlifting), Natalie du Toit (swimming), Sky Brown (skateboarding), Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee (triathlon), Xia Boyu (mountaineering) have been nominated in the list.

Female tennis stars also feature in the list for coming up with an equal play, equal pay campaign. After pressure from Venus Williams and others, Wimbledon announced that female tennis players would receive prize money equal to the men's.

German international footballer Miroslav Klose was playing for Lazio in Italy's Serie A in 2012 against Napoli when he rose for a ball in the early moments of the game.

The ball came spiraling off his hand and skirted into the back of the net and a goal was awarded. While most players would carry on as if nothing had happened, Klose was honest with the referee and admitted that he handled the ball.

As a result, he also finds a place on the list.

The Laureus Sporting Moment Award celebrates the moments where the sport has unified people in the most extraordinary way.

This campaign has shortlisted 20 sporting stories from the last 20 years that have left their mark on the world.

The winner will be decided on the basis of public voting. It has already started, and the final date to cast the vote is February 16.

Finally, the result will be declared on February 17.
With three knock-out rounds, the top-20 moments will be whittled down to ten then five, with the top-five moments going head-to-head.

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Agencies
July 31,2020

Northamptonshire, Jul 31: Mexican Formula One driver Sergio Perez has tested positive for coronavirus, and as a result, he will miss the British Grand Prix.

The Racing Point driver was absent from the circuit on Thursday after self-isolating following what his team called an "inconclusive" test. Perez then re-tested later in the day and it returned positive.

Formula 1 is following a strict testing regime as part of the safety protocols put in place when racing resumed earlier this month, and this is the first time a driver has tested positive.

"Perez has entered self-quarantine in accordance with the instructions of the relevant public health authorities, and will continue to follow the procedure mandated by those authorities," Formula 1 and the FIA said in a statement.

"With the assistance of the local organiser of the British Grand Prix, local health authorities and the FIA COVID-19 delegate, a full track and trace initiative has been undertaken and all close contacts have been quarantined," the statement added.

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