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World Cup warm-up: Afghanistan game India's last chance to tick boxes

February 9, 2015

Adelaide, Feb 9: Still looking to get their playing combination in order, an under-fire India will be looking for resurrection against first-timers Afghanistan in their final warm-up game before the cricket World Cup on Monday.

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India's preparations for the 50-over showpiece event suffered a jolt on Tuesday as Australia thrashed the defending champions by 106 runs at the Adelaide Oval.

If the bowling continued to falter by conceding 371 runs against the hosts, the batsmen did no better as they wobbled to 265 in 45.1 overs.

The Indian bowling has come under intense criticism after its below-par showing in the 0-2 defeat in the four-match Test series and its failure to win a single ODI in the tri-series.

Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's own form is also a cause for concern for the Men in Blue after he scored a duck in the first practice match.

A spate of injuries to Ishant Sharma, who failed a fitness Test and has been replaced by Mohit Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rohit Sharma and the top-order's patchy batting form has made things difficult for India.

Putting up a brave face after the loss against Australia, Dhoni still tried to take out some positives from the game but the team's on-field performances surely is a cause for concern for the 2011 champions.

Afghanistan, on the other hand, are a side hungry to make an impact in their maiden 50-over World Cup outing.

Led by the experienced Mohammad Nabi, the side boasts of some impactful players like left-arm pacer Shapoor Zadran, young pacer Aftab Alam and former skipper and solid middle-order batsman Nawroz Mangal to name a few.

The team that only got full one-day status in 2011 is dreaming big and Nabi claims that the side will be no pushovers in the 11th edition of the Cup.

"We have been working hard for the past 4-5 months and our aim is to get to the next stage. We are all excited as a unit and hopefully we can live up to the expectations of our fans back home," said Nabi on the sidelines of the team's net session.

While Afghanistan start their campaign against Bangladesh on February 18 against Bangladesh, India begin their defence against arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday.

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Agencies
August 1,2020

Bengaluru, Aug 1: Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are aiming to set up their preparatory camp for the 13th edition of the tournament from early August.

This year's IPL was slated to commence from March 29 but the tournament was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Recently, the IPL Governing Council chairman Brijesh Patel had confirmed that the 13th edition of the mega event will commence on September 19 in the UAE.

As per a report in ESPNcricinfo, CSK players have been asked to report to Chennai first, following which they will leave for Dubai via a charter flight only after approval from the Indian government.

The IPL Governing Council will meet on August 2 to finalise the schedule and other key arrangements for the tournament. Also, the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) around securing eight teams for 51 days across three venues will be formally established in that meeting.

CSK, who has the oldest squad in the IPL, are looking for a month's preparation before ahead of the tournament.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, the side was the first team to start their training camp in March. Senior players like Suresh Raina and Ambati Rayudu had begun training their training in December 2019.

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Agencies
April 25,2020

London, Apr 25: Former Australian cricketer Graeme Watson who was fighting cancer, has died at the age of 75.

Primarily a middle-order batsman and a medium-pace bowler, he featured in five Tests from 1967 to 1972 and two ODIs in 1972, ESPNcricinfo reported.

The all-rounder earned the national call during the 1966-67 tour of Rhodesia and South Africa. Watson slammed a half-century in the first innings of the second Test of the series.

However, the medium-pace bowler was ruled of the next test after suffering an ankle injury. He returned for the fourth Test in Johannesburg where scalped his career-best 2 for 67 but failed to leave a mark with the bat as Kangaroos lost the series.

In 1971-72 he moved to Western Australia and played a major role in their Sheffield-Shield win in 1971-72, 1972-73, and 1974-75 seasons.

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News Network
April 19,2020

Zurich, Apr 19: Former Indian captain Bhaichung Bhutia was among the 50 footballers to take part in the FIFA's initiative to pay tribute to 'humanity's heroes' amid the coronavirus pandemic.

FIFA, in its statement, expressed gratitude towards all the healthcare workers and other professionals who are giving their all to ensure society continues to function in the face of the coronavirus.

"To all of these heroic people: football thanks you, football remembers you and football supports you," FIFA said in a statement.

FIFA shared a video on their official Twitter handle where footballers from present and past came been seen applauding the frontline workers.

The 50 fotballer were Bhutia, Holger Badstuber, David Beckham, Lucy Bronze, Gianluigi Buffon, Cafu, Fabio Cannavaro, Iker Casillas, Deyna Castellanos, Giorgio Chiellini, Charlyn Corral, El Hadji Diouf, Youri Djorkaeff, Han Duan, Magdalena Eriksson, Samuel Eto'o, Pernille Harder, Javier Hernandez, Luis Hernandez, Kaka, Harry Kane, Carli Lloyd, Harry Maguire, Diego Maradona, Marta, Vivianne Miedema, Ajara Nchout, Michael Owen, Mesut Ozil, Norma Palafox, Pavel Pardo, Park Jisung, Pele, Gerard Pique, Alexia Putellas, Sergio Ramos, Nicole Reigner, Wendie Renard, Roberto Carlos, James Rodriguez, Ronaldo, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Virginia Torrecilla, Yaya Toure, Marco van Basten, Danielle van de Donk, Ivan Vicelich, Arturo Vidal, Javier Zanetti and Zinedine Zidane.
"As footballers, we are used to receiving applause, but this time, we have the opportunity to show our appreciation for the many people who are risking their lives to protect ours," FIFA.com quoted Beckham as saying.

"You are humanity's heroes and we want to show that all of football supports you and everything that you do to defend all of us," he added.

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