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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
January 18,2020

Hobart, Jan 18: In a dream start to her second innings after a two-year break, Sania Mirza lifted the WTA Hobart International trophy with partner Nadiia Kichenok after edging out Shaui Peng and Shuai Zhang in the final, here on Saturday.

The unseeded Indo-Ukrainian pair pipped the second seed Chinese team 6-4, 6-4 in one hour 21 minutes.

Playing her first tournament after giving birth to son Izhaan, the 33-year-old Sania has begun well in the Olympic year as she warmed up for the Australian Open in style.

It is Sania's 42nd WTA doubles title and first since Brisbane International trophy in 2007 with American partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

Sania did not compete on the WTA circuit in the entire 2018 and 2019 seasons to start a family with Pakistani cricketer husband Shoaib Malik.

Sania and Nadiia began by breaking the Chinese players in the very first game of the match but only to drop serve in the next.

The two pairs played close games towards the end and at 4-4, 40-all, Sania and Nadiia got the crucial break, earning the opportunity to serve out the set.

There was no twist in 10th game with Sania and Nadiia comfortably pocketing the first set.

The second set could not have started better for them as they broke the Chinese rivals to take early lead and consolidated the break with an easy hold.

The game of the Chinese was falling apart as they dropped serve again in the third but broke back immediately to repair some damage.

Sania and Nadiia were now feeling the heat at 0-30 in the sixth game but Peng and Zhang let them hold serve for a 4-2 lead. The Chinese though kept fighting and made it 4-4 with another break in the eighth game.

The Indo-Ukraine team raised its game when it mattered as it broke Peng and Zhang for one final time in the ninth and served out the match in the next game.

Sania and Nadiia split USD 13580 as prize money and eared 280 ranking points each for their winning effort.

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News Network
January 8,2020

Indore, Jan 8: Skipper Virat Kohli struck an unbeaten 30 as India beat Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second Twenty20 international in Indore on Tuesday.

The hosts rode a 71-run opening stand between KL Rahul, who hit 45, and Shikhar Dhawan, who made 32, to chase down their target of 143 in 17.3 overs and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series after the first match was rained off.

Leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga took the wickets of the Indian openers but Shreyas Iyer, who scored 34 before falling to paceman Lahiru Kumara, and Kohli, who hit the winning six, got the team home.

The third match is on Friday in Pune.

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Agencies
August 6,2020

New Delhi, Aug 6: The BCCI on Thursday suspended the IPL title sponsorship deal with Chinese mobile phone company Vivo for the event's upcoming edition amid heightened tensions in Sino-India diplomatic ties.

The BCCI sent out a one-line statement, without giving details, saying that Vivo would not be associated with the IPL this year. "The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and vivo Mobile India Pvt Ltd have decided to suspend their partnership for Indian Premier League in 2020," the statement said.

Meanwhile, Vivo released its own statement saying that the two entities "have mutually decided to pause their partnership for the 2020 season".

Vivo won the IPL title sponsorship rights for five years from 2018 to 2022 for a reported sum of Rs 2,190 crore, approximately Rs 440 crore per annum.

The two parties are now working out a plan in which Vivo might come back for a fresh three-year period starting 2021 on revised terms.

However, a top BCCI official offered a different view. "Here we are talking about diplomatic tensions and you expect that after November, when IPL ends and before the next IPL starts in April 2021, there would be no anti-China sentiment? Are we serious?" a veteran BCCI official said on conditions of anonymity.

The anti-China sentiment in the country peaked after the violent face-off between the Indian and Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh. India lost 20 soldiers in the clash, while China also acknowledged unspecified casualties.

The stand-off at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) caused outrage across India with several calls for boycotts of Chinese companies and products.

The BCCI is now likely to float a tender for new IPL title sponsors as mandated by its constitution. The glitzy T20 league starts on Sept. 19 in the UAE, forced out of India due to the rising COVID-19 cases.

The new development is in stark contrast to what came out of Sunday's IPL's Governing Council meeting, where it was decided that Vivo, along with all the other sponsors, will remain on board.

This was after the BCCI had announced in June that all sponsorship deals pertaining to IPL will be reviewed in the aftermath of the clash in the Galwan Valley.

However, after Sunday's meeting, there was a huge backlash on social media about the BCCI holding on to Vivo.

Both parties then began thrashing out an amicable separation plan, at least for this season.

However, the end of this deal could spell losses for the franchises as they get a substantial share from the sponsorship pool. Half of the annual Vivo sponsorship money is distributed equally among eight franchises, which comes to Rs 27.5 crore.

"As of now, it will be very difficult for the BCCI to match the sponsorship amount at such short notice. Therefore, both BCCI and the franchises should be prepared to lose out on some money -- BCCI more but each franchise from Vivo's exit will potentially lose 15 crore," the official said.

"This year will be difficult for everyone but the show must go on," the official said.

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