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Usman Khawaja helps Australia register one-day series win in India

Agencies
March 14, 2019

Mar 14: Usman Khawaja struck his second century in three matches as Australia defeated India by 35 runs in their final one-dayer to seal a come-from-behind 3-2 series victory at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium on Wednesday.

Opener Khawaja strengthened his claim for a place in the World Cup squad with an elegant 100 to steer Australia to 272-9, though the tourists had looked on course to cross 300 at one stage.

Adam Zampa (3-46) and his fellow bowlers then skittled India for 237 in exactly 50 overs to register their third successive victory as Australia overcame a 0-2 series deficit.

Khawaja raised 76 with skipper Aaron Finch to give Australia a strong start after the tourists elected to bat. Finch made 27, failing to convert a solid start into a big knock as he lost his off-stump to Ravindra Jadeja.

At the other end, Khawaja needed 48 balls to reach his half-century, his fourth score of 50 or more in the series.

The left-hander hit Kuldeep Yadav for two sixes and his 10 boundaries included a couple of excellent pull shots off Mohammed Shami.

Khawaja took a single off Yadav to bring up his hundred but fell soon after to Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3-48), triggering a mid-innings collapse for Australia who had been cruising at 175-1 in the 33rd over.

Virat Kohli took back-to-back catches to dismiss Khawaja and Glenn Maxwell, and Shami sent back Peter Handscomb for 52.

Marcus Stoinis, returning from a thumb injury, contributed 20 and Jhye Richardson made a breezy 29 down the order.

India lost Shikhar Dhawan early in their chase. Rohit Sharma`s 53-run stand with skipper Kohli (20) briefly calmed nerves in the Indian dressing room before their top order caved in spectacularly.

Kohli was undone by extra bounce from Stoinis, Rishabh Pant perished in the slips, and Vijay Shankar holed out in the deep in an unnecessary show of aggression having hit the previous ball for a six.

India`s chances of victory were effectively snuffed out with Rohit`s dismissal, which summed up the hosts`s somewhat muddled approach to a tricky chase.

With plenty of overs left and only the bottom half of the order to come, Rohit needlessly charged out of his crease attempting an ugly hoick off Zampa.

The right-hander not only missed the ball but also lost his bat which slipped out of his palms, leaving Alex Carey with a simple stumping.

The late belligerence of Kedar Jadhav (44) and Kumar (46) injected some excitement but India could not avoid defeat in their final ODI series before this year`s World Cup in England and Wales.

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News Network
May 2,2020

Melbourne, May 2: After becoming the number one side in Test cricket, Australia's head coach Justin Langer has said that his team has won back the respect of the country.

Australia dethroned India from the top spot in Tests and now the Men in Blue are in the third place.

Langer came in as the coach of Australia after the 2018 ball-tampering scandal and it took him some time to get the side back to winning ways.

Ever since the return of David Warner and Steve Smith, Australia went on to become a commendable side and the results reflect that.

"We have got lots of work to do to become the team we want to be. But over the last couple of years, not only have we performed well on the field, we have performed well off it. We have earned some respect back from other teams around the world but also from Australia," Langer said in an official statement.

"When we started on this journey, there had been a lot of talk about Australia wanting to be No. 1 in the world in all three forms of the game.

We took a different approach. Not once did we talk about being No. 1 ranked in the world. We wanted to be No.1 in our values and process. That is what I am most proud of," he added.

In the latest ICC rankings update, that rates all matches played since May 2019 at 100 per cent and those of the previous two years at 50 per cent, Australia (116) have taken over from India as the top-ranked side in the ICC men's Test team rankings with New Zealand (115) remaining in second place.

India is now third with 114 points. With only two points separating them, this is the second closest the top three teams have been since the Test rankings were launched in 2003.

The closest for the top three teams were in January 2016, when India had led Australia and South Africa by a single point.

Australia has also moved to the top spot in the T20I rankings for the first time in the format.

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Agencies
August 4,2020

New Delhi, Aug 4: Former India women's team captain Anjum Chopra firmly believes that the BCCI has a plan for women's cricket but she wants the Board to communicate its ideas more specifically.

Speaking to news agency, Chopra, who is now a successful broadcaster, said the BCCI is thinking in earnest about the progress of women's cricket.

"It's not that the BCCI is not thinking about women's cricket. I only think they need to be more specific in communication about women's cricket," Chopra said.

"I firmly believe that they must be thinking about women's cricket but the communication all this while has been very specific to men's cricket."

The latest trigger for criticism of BCCI was India's withdrawal from a tour of England in September owing to logistical issues arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chopra concedes it was "not nice" but Indian players' participation in the women's IPL, in November, will still be useful preparation for next year's ODI World Cup.

"It is heartening to see women's cricket making headlines. They should have been a part of that England tour and it did not feel nice initially but the women's IPL, irrespective of the format, will be helpful for World Cup preparations. Any form of cricket is good preparation," Chopra said.

"Missing out on a tournament is not nice, but logistically there may have been issues. And you can't send an under-prepared team."

"If you see in isolation we may have missed out on an opportunity to play in England. The more the girls play the better it is, before playing a tournament of the stature of World Cup. The assurance from the president is a very good thing."

Chopra welcomed the Sourav Ganguly-led BCCI's decision to hold the women's event in the UAE alongside the IPL, which will run from September 19 to November 10. The women's IPL will coincide with the business end of the men's league.

"I am definitely happy, it's always nice to be part of any cricket anywhere across the world.

"They should have been nearing the final stages of the preparation for the World Cup by now, but because of the pandemic things did not go as planned," she added.

Chopra had a successful international career spanning over 17 years, during which she represented India in a record six World Cups and became the first woman cricketer to appear in 100 One-day Internationals.

She also felt that the pandemic would not have much impact on the women's game that has gained momentum in recent times.

"...Cricket was on pause button...Once cricket resumes and players are back on the park, everything is going to get picked up. It might take some time to get started as everything starts from zero...

"The awareness the women's game has created, I hope it stays. They will just restart, not start after the pandemic."

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News Network
March 3,2020

Sydney, Mar 3: Former Australia pacer Brett Lee foresees a "different" looking India making their maiden T20 Women's World Cup final and attributed their rise to the emergence of star players like 16-year-old Shafali Verma.

Besides opener Shafali, experienced leg-spinner Poonam Yadav has been the other match-winner for India in the competition. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side topped the group stage with four wins in as many games and play their semifinal here on Thursday.

"They've never reached the final but this is a different India team from the one they’ve seen before. They've combined match-winners in Shafali Verma and Poonam Yadav with consistent players with both bat and ball," Lee was quoted as saying by ICC.

"We've always known they have some of the best players in the world but now Harmanpreet Kaur has a team around her that can support the big players, and fill in the gaps when they have an off day."

Only a special effort from their opponents can stop India from reaching their maiden final, feels Lee.

They'll go into the semi-finals full of confidence and it will take an excellent team to stop them from reaching the Final."

Talking more about Shafali, who has got 47, 46, 39, and 29 so far, Lee backed the teen sensation to make a bigger score in the semifinal.

"Shafali Verma has been excellent at the top of the order, she’s brought a fearless energy to India’s batting and been brilliant to watch.

"You feel she can go even bigger as well – she hasn't reached 50 yet, which is both exciting for those watching and worrying for the bowlers.

"We saw from the opener against Australia just how good India can be, and it’s no surprise they’ve continued that form to top Group A," he added.

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