Unpredictable Pakistan score 348/8 against England in Nottingham

Agencies
June 3, 2019

London, Jun 3: Pakistan looked a different side from the one that surrendered to West Indies in their opening game in the 2019 World Cup as their batsmen put up a clinical performance on Monday to help the team post 348/8 against hosts England at Trent Bridge. Mohammad Hafeez was the top scorer with a 62-ball 84 as Babar Azam (63 off 66) and captain Sarfraz Ahmed (55 of 44) also scored half centuries. England will need to pull off the highest successful run chase in World Cup history if they are to win this game.

The Pakistan batsmen were bounced out by the West Indies pacers for a meagre 105 in less than 22 overs in their first match on Friday. In stark contrast, it took spinner Moeen Ali to provide the first breakthrough for England after openers Fakhar Zaman (36 off 40) and Imam-Ul-Haq (44 off 58) helped Pakistan stamp their authority early on.

Fakhar and Imam put up an opening stand of 82 runs before Moeen drew the former out of his crease in the 15th over with a delivery that drifted in from around the wicket. The turn took the ball past the batsman and wicketkeeper Jos Buttler took the bails off in a flash.

Moeen would go on to dismiss Imam six overs later, thanks to a brilliant catch by Chris Woakes who had to run about 20 yards and dive to his left to complete it at the long off boundary.

However, Babar Azam and Mohammad Hafeez plundered 88 runs in the next 12 overs before the former became the third man to fall to Moeen. Hafeez then found company in captain Safraz Ahmed as the pair put on 80 runs for the fourth wicket.

While there were no significant partnerships after that, the combined effort of Asif Ali (14), Hasan Ali (10) and Shadab Khan's (10) innings meant that Pakistan finished their essay just two short of the magical 350-run mark.

Joffra Archer, who was the standout bowler in England's first game against South Africa, cut a frustrated figure as he leaked 79 runs in his 10 overs without a wicket. Mark Wood got two while Chris Woakes got three. Ben Stokes, who bowled seven overs, couldn't get a wicket and gave away 43 runs. Adil Rashid bowled five and gave away 43 with no returns.

Brief scores: Pakistan 348/8 off 50 overs (Mohammad Hafeez 84 (62), Babar Azam 63 (66), Moeen Ali 3/50)

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News Network
April 21,2020

New Delhi, Apr 21: India skipper Virat Kohli on Tuesday said people seem to have become more compassionate while coping with the COVID-19 pandemic and hoped the sense of gratitude towards frontline workers like doctors and police personnel remains even after the crisis is over.

Speaking in an online class organised by "Unacademy", Kohli and his actor wife Anushka Sharma spoke at length about the challenges they faced before tasting success.

"The one positive out of this crisis that we as a society have become more compassionate. We are showing more gratitude to the frontline workers in this war, be it police personnel, doctors or nurses.

"I hope it stays this way even after we overcome this crisis," said Kohli with Sharma seated next to her.

Kohli said the pandemic has taught the world a very important lesson.

"Life is unpredictable. So, do what makes you happy and not get into comparisons all the time. People have a choice now how to come out of this phase. Life is going to be different after this," said the skipper.

For Sharma, the pandemic has forced people to care about the basics in life.

"There is a learning in all of this. Nothing happens without a reason. If the frontline workers were not there, we would not have access to basics," she said..

"This has taught us that no one is special than the other. Health is everything. We are more connected as a society now," she added.

During the session, Kohli was asked about the moment when he felt most helpless.

"I felt nothing was working for me when I was not picked for the state team initially. I cried the whole night and asked my coach 'why did I not get selected'?" he responded.

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coastaldigest.com web desk
August 3,2020

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will not end its partnership with Chinese companies. Vivo, the Chinese smartphone maker, is the main sponsor of the new IPL season as well. Apart from Vivo, PayTM and Dream 11 will also be at the helm of the 13th edition of the IPL. The IPL governing council meeting on Sunday decided to retain the old sponsors.

As soon as the IPL GC announced the decision of retaining the sponsors, a huge number of fans took to Twitter to slam the board for the same. #BoycottIPL started trending as the users urged others to boycott the tournament for the Chinese connection.

Earlier, the demand for exclusion of Chinese companies from the IPL was strong in the wake of the India-China border dispute. But the BCCI cannot abruptly end its collaboration with them. Because of the signed contract itself. And in this age of declining economy, it is difficult to find new sponsors quickly.

The current BCCI contract with Vivo is for five years. Vivo has invested Rs 2,199 crore to become the main sponsor of the IPL. The contract was signed in 2017. However, the BCCI’s move is paving the way for new discussions as calls are mounting across the country to boycott Chinese companies.

The BCCI announced other important decisions besides retaining sponsors. The IPL will be held from September 19 to November 10. The Indian government has given permission to the BCCI to hold the IPL in the UAE. With this, all obstacles in the way of organizing the tournament were removed.

The IPL matches will be played at 7.30 pm Indian time (6 pm UAE time). Most matches are about one match a day. There are a total of ten ‘double headers’ (two matches a day) in the tournament. Franchisees are allowed to appoint as many replacements as they want in the new season in view of the new health situation. At the same time, the maximum number of players a franchise can accommodate is 24. The BCCI is also planning to host a women’s IPL tournament.

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News Network
July 25,2020

New Delhi, Jul 25: Former India spinner Anil Kumble said that he has never understood why people compared him with Australia's Shane Warne.

Kumble was doing an Instagram live session with former Zimbabwe pacer Pommie Mbangwa and it was then that the spinner also talked about being the third-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket.

"It feels really wonderful to finish with these many wickets. I never bothered about statistics or what my average should be, I wanted to bowl the whole day and be the one to take wickets. To finish as the third-highest wicket-taker in Tests alongside Murali and Warne is very special. All three of us played in the same era, there were a lot of comparisons, I do not know why people compared me with Warne. Warne was someone really different and he was on a different plane," Kumble told Mbangwa during the interaction.
"These two guys could spin the ball on any surface so it became really difficult for me when they started comparing me with Warne and Murali. I learnt a lot by watching them both bowl," he added.

The Indian spinner announced his retirement from international cricket in 2008. He finished with 619 wickets in the longest format of the game.

He has the third-highest number of wickets in Tests, only behind Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and Australia's Shane Warne (708).

Kumble is the second bowler in the history of international cricket after England's Jim Laker to take all ten wickets in an innings of a Test match.

He had achieved the feat against Pakistan in 1999 at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in Delhi. Kumble had bowling figures of 10-74 from 26.3 overs in the second innings of the Test match.
Kumble will be coaching Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League (IPL). 

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