Virat Kohli heaped praise on the West Indies players after the two teams played out an exciting tie in the second One-Day International (ODI) here on Wednesday.

The visitors scored 321/7 in their 50 overs in response to the Indian total of 321/6. This was only the second ODI draw between the two teams. The first one was on December 6, 1991 during the Benson and Hedges World Series in Perth, Australia.

“It was a great game of cricket, great to be part of it. Full house and credit to the West Indies team as well, they showed great heart. Specially in the second innings, when they got stuck in despite being three down,” Kohli said after the match.

“In big tournaments, we might be batting first and we have to embrace every challenge that comes our way. The pitch was drastically different, we put up a challenge in front of us today and luckily we got the draw, we will take it happily,” he added.

“When the run rate fell under 6, I thought they had good chance, and the game nicely drifted in the last 7 overs and one boundary off Umesh off the shoe and that boundary from Rayudu just a few inches, I’m sure everyone enjoyed and the Windies deserved a draw at least and I think we deserved a draw too.”

Kohli also praised Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer, who boosted the visitors with a crucial 143-run partnership.

The duo had come together when the West Indies were struggling at 78/3 after 12 overs. Their partnership proved to be the launchpad for an almost successful chase and when Hetmyer went back to the pavilion in the 32nd over, the visitors were in with a strong chance to win the game.

Hope remained unbeaten on 123 runs off 134 deliveries while Hetmyer was unlucky to miss out on what would have been a well deserved century when he was dismissed on 94 by Yuzvendra Chahal.

“Beautiful partnership between both those guys but the way two teams played it was a fair result. Shai has got great talent. Hetmyer as well. They took on us and didn’t give us any chance whatsoever,” Kohli said.

Kohli scored yet another authoritative century to anchor the hosts to a comfortable position. In the process, the 29-year-old skipper also reached a personal milestone of becoming the fastest batsman to reach 10,000 ODI runs.

Coming into the match, 81 shy of the 10,000-run mark, Kohli got to the landmark in style, before racing to his sixth century of 2018 in a mere 106 balls. With the knock, Kohli also completed 1000 ODI runs in the calendar year.

“Personally, I’m pretty proud of my innings and my milestone. It’s something we decided pre-game, it was hot and humid,” Kohli said.

 India skipper Virat Kohli on Wednesday surpassed batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar to become the fastest batsman to amass 10,000 runs in One-day Internationals (ODI).

Kohli reached the milestone in his 205th ODI innings, 54 innings quicker than Tendulkar. The 29-year-old is the fifth Indian batsman and 13th overall to achieve the landmark.

Besides Kohli and Tendulkar (18,426), the other Indian batters to achieve the feat are former skippers Sourav Ganguly (11,363), Rahul Dravid (10,889) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who reached the milestone not very long ago.

The rest are one player each from Pakistan, Australia, the West Indies, and South Africa.

Bangladesh, England, New Zealand and Zimbabwe are yet to have a player reach the 10,000-run mark in this format.

IANS

Defending champions India were held to a goalless draw by Malaysia in a fast-paced round robin encounter of the Hero Asian Champions Trophy 2018 here.

Both India and Asian Games Silver medallists Malaysia now have 10 points each from four outings in the preliminary round-robin league, with India topping the standings on basis of a superior goal difference.

The Indian team got off to a nervy start at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex here on Tuesday night and they wasted several scoring opportunities early in the match.

They had a spate of chances early in the contest, only for Hardik Singh to fritter away a scoring opportunity, Harmanpreet Singh’s penalty corner flick being blocked by the Malaysian goalkeeper and Mandeep Singh failing to get a touch on long diagonal balls twice in the first quarter.

Malaysia created one opening on a counter-attack, but mostly fell back to defend their goal against the Indian strikers.

In the second half the Indian strikers were not allowed space to enter the circle until the closing stages, when they forced two penalty corners but could not produce a goal-bearing shot.

This was a period when Malaysia were down to 10 players as Tengku Tajuddin was shown the yellow card for a deliberate foul on Indian captain Manpreet Singh.

Nilakanta Sharma missed the target by inches in one of the combined Indian raids.

Indian Chief Coach Harendra Singh rued the missed chances after the match.

“I am not happy. We cannot miss chances like this in international hockey,” said Harendra.

Malaysia coach Roelant Oltmans said his team faced a tough time when they were down to 10 players due to Tajuddin’s yellow card.

“We came under some pressure in the last phase after the yellow card. Otherwise, the game was more of less what we expected,” Oltmans said.

India will play their fifth round robin match against South Korea on Thursday.

IANS

Ace India shuttler P.V. Sindhu entered the second round of ongoing French Open after thrashing Beiwen Zhang in straight games here on Tuesday.

Sindhu took just 34 minutes to outclass Zhang 21-17, 21-8. With this win, the Rio Olympic silver medalist avenged her loss at the hands of Zhang in the opening round of the Denmark Open, last week.

In the next round, Sindhu will now take on the winner of the first-round match between Cheung Ngan Yi of Hong Kong and Japan’s Sayaka Sato.

Meanwhile, the Indian men’s doubles pair comprising Arjun MR and Shlok Ramachandran crashed out of the tournament after going down 14-21, 17-21 to Chinese pair of Li Junhui and Liu Yunchen in the first round.

Juventus defeated Manchester United 1-0 to take a commanding lead in Champions League Group H as Cristiano Ronaldo returned to Old Trafford for only the second time since he left in 2009.

Juve, with 9 points from three matches, are 5 points ahead of second-place United with three games to play in the group stage, reports Efe news agency.

Embattled United coach Jose Mourinho opted to concede possession to the visitors here on Tuesday night and the eventual winner came in the 16th minute off a build-up that began with a Joao Cancelo pass to Ronaldo, who directed a cross to Juan Cuadrado.

United’s Chris Smalling deflected Cuadrado’s shot into the near post, but Paulo Dybala was waiting for the rebound and put the ball past keeper David De Gea.

The Red Devils stuck to their conservative approach and De Gea was forced to make a stop against Cancelo in the dying seconds of the first half.

The Spanish international was tested again right after the break and produced a tremendous save to deny Ronaldo.

As the minutes passed, the crowd at Old Trafford took charge of the strategy, urging their heroes to go forward, but Juve remained sound at the back and United’s first real chance of the night came only in the 75th minute, when Paul Pogba hit the post with a blast from outside the area.

Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri sent in defensive midfielder Andrea Barzagli to shut down the long-ball threat and the visitors took all 3 points.

IANS

India captain Virat Kohli won the toss and decided to bat in the second One-Day International (ODI) against at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium here on Wednesday.

Both teams have made one change each from the last match. India have brought in left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav in place of rookie pacer Khalil Ahmed.

The visitors have replaced Oshane Thomas with debutant Obed McCoy.

India lead the five-match series 1-0 after winning the opening match by eight wickets.

Teams:

India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli(c), Ambati Rayudu, Mahendra Singh Dhoni(w), Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Umesh Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal.

West Indies: Kieran Powell, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Shai Hope (w), Marlon Samuels, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Jason Holder (c), Ashley Nurse, Devendra Bishoo, Kemar Roach, Obed McCoy.

IANS

Manchester Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo on Monday refused to speak about his previous team, Real Madrid, saying he feels comfortable at Juventus, his new club.

Ronaldo said farewell to Real Madrid during the summer transfer window after wearing its jersey for nine years, reports Efe news.

“This is not really the right time to ask about Real Madrid. I don’t want to talk about them,” Ronaldo said.

Earlier in the day, Real Madrid midfielder Isco said: “We cannot cry over someone who did not want to be here,” referring to his former teammate Ronaldo.

The five-time Ballon D’Or winner, when asked about Isco’s remarks, said merely: “That’s fine with me.”

Ronaldo also refused to compare Real Madrid and Juventus, saying that “They are both unbelievable teams, they are fantastic clubs. I’m happy to be at such a great team like Juventus and it’s a new chapter in my life after Manchester United and Real Madrid.”

He was questioned about the rape allegation against him, and he said, once again, that he could never have done such a thing.

“I know I’m an example on and off the pitch and I always smile about that. I have everything: I play on a great team and I have a beautiful family. I’m a happy man,” Ronaldo said.

“Of course, I’m not going to lie in this situation. My lawyers are confident and – of course – I am too,” he added. “The truth always comes out.”

(IANS)

After winning the first ODI against the West Indies here, Indian skipper Virat Kohli said bowlers could have performed better, especially in the last few overs.

A brilliant century by Shimron Hetmyer (106) and some useful contributions from Devendra Bishoo and Kemar Roach towards the end helped West Indies post 322/8. Hetmyer played 78 balls and slammed six boundaries and as many sixes before he was dismissed by Ravindra Jadeja in the 39th over.

Towards the end, Devendra Bishoo and Kemar Roach forged a 44-run partnership for the ninth wicket to guide the West Indies to a challenging total.

“It’s difficult to contain when a side like Windies bats like that. I don’t want to be too harsh on the bowlers, but yes, we could have applied a bit better and bowled better in the last few overs. That is something to learn for us,” Kohli said after the match.

Opener Rohit Sharma and skipper Virat Kohli scored blistering centuries to help India thrash the West Indies by eight wickets here on Sunday.

India dominated with the bat through out the innings as Rohit remained unbeaten on 152 while Virat was dismissed for 140. On the other hand, West Indian bowlers struggled with the line and failed to take wickets.

“Feels pretty good. Very convincing for us. Windies put up a really good total. 320 targets are very tricky, but we knew we could do it with a big partnership. It’s never too difficult when you have Rohit at the other end,” Kohli said.

“Among the top three, I mostly take the anchor role because both Rohit and Shikhar are good stroke-makers. It was one of those days where I felt good and I told Rohit I will continue to bat this way positively and maybe you can play the anchor role,” he added.

Rohit played 117 balls and slammed 15 boundaries and eight sixes while Virat played 107 balls and slammed 21 boundaries and two sixes.

TNM

26-year-old Ethiopian athlete Mikiyas Yemata outlasted compatriot Teref Shewangzaw in a close battle to win the 5th Shriram Properties Bengaluru Marathon on Sunday.

In the men’s marathon, which kicked off at 4.30 am on Sunday from Kanteerava Stadium, the two Ethiopian athletes broke away from the chasing pack and dominated the race. The duo was level with each other until the last kilometre, at which point Mikiyas changed gears to speed away and emerge as the winner leaving Teref at second place. India’s Hari Krishnan S finished third, almost a minute later.
During the women’s marathon, India’s Aneeta Chaudhary comfortably finished first.
After winning, Aneeta, who hails from Mathura, said, “We dedicate our time for training every day and participate in as many national and international marathons. I have participated in more than 4 marathons in the last one year. When you win, it increases our confidence and we wish to do more.”
There were around 2,000 runners in the full marathon and over 7,000 runners in the half-marathon. The event was organised with zero use of plastic.
The second run of the morning was the Half Marathon, which was flagged off at 6.45 am with over 7,000 runners taking part. In the men’s category, Evans Saitoti from Kenya was the winner, and Ravi Prakash from India was the runner-up Ravi Prakash from India. In the women’s category, Birtukan Shewaya from Ethiopia beat Nitu Singh from India.

15 visually challenged runners participated in the marathon from the Samarthanam Trust. In addition to the marathon and half-marathon, a 5-km timed run was also held for the first time this year. Meanwhile, a 5-km hope run saw runners from various charity organisations come together.

TNM

Asian Games gold medallist Bajrang Punia beat Tulga Tumur Ochir of Mongolia 5-3 to enter the semifinals of the men’s 65 kg Freestyle category at the World Wrestling Championships here on Sunday.

In a thrilling quarterfinal, the Indian held the upper hand until the last minute, leading 4-1.

But Punia conceded to his Mongolian opponent three crucial points, including one for the neutral position and two for the takedown within 40-odd seconds, which almost stopped the Indian’s progress.

But luckily, Punia held his nerves and even thwarted a challenge by the Mongolian in the last second, thus earning an additional point for the CWG gold medallist.

The Indian will take on Alejandro Enrique Valdes Tobier of Cuba in the semifinals.

Earlier, Punia defeated Roman Asharin 9-4 in the first round and beat Korean Lee Seungchul 4-0 in a bout which saw both grapplers threading cautiously.

After having earned three points in the first period, Punia added just one more in the second even as the Korean was concentrating more on his defence.

In other freestyle bouts of the day, Sandeep Tomar scored an excellent first-round win over his Guatemala opponent Jose Mox Arias with a score of 10-0, six of his points coming in the second period.

He, however, lost the second round to Azerbaijan’s Giorgi Edisherashvili 2-2 — his opponent was declared as the winner because of a warning which the Indian received in the first period.

Sachin Rathi lost his first round 92 kg category bout 1-13 to Mongolian wrestler Unurbat Purevjav, the latter outclassing the Indian in the second period.

On the other hand, Deepak, who received a first-round bye, lost 0-4 to Liubomyr Sagaliuk of Ukraine in the second round.