Danushka Gunathilaka of Sri Lanka (Photo: Bipin Patel/IANS)

Colombo: Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) on Thursday announced the suspension of batsman Danushka Gunathilaka for six international matches together with a 20 per cent fine of his applicable annual contract fee for misconduct and breach of contract.

According to a SLC statement, the 26-year-old violated Section 30 (a-ii ) and 30 (b) of its Constitution of clauses 3.1.2, 3.1.9, 3.3.1, and 3.4 of his contract with Sri Lanka Cricket during the series against India last month.

According to a report on the espncricinfo website, Gunathilaka missed a training session, turned up for a match without his gear, and was generally found to have had an indifferent attitude towards training during the series.

“The suspension is effective September 30, 2017, and is issued by the Executive Committee by the powers vested in it vide Section 30 (c) of the SLC Constitution and Clause 10. 3 of the contract entered into with the said player,” the statement read.

Gunathilaka has pleaded guilty to the charges.

(IANS)

Nagpur: Rohit Sharma struck a century as India beat Australia by seven wickets in the fifth and final One-Day International (ODI) at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground here on Sunday to end the series on a winning note.

India thus won the series 4-1. The victory also helped India regain the top spot in the ODI rankings, pushing South Africa to the second spot. Australia remain third.

Chasing a modest target of 243 runs, India crossed the line with 43 balls still remaining.

Sharma and fellow opener Ajinkya Rahane put on a 124-run partnership in 22.3 overs which virtually sealed the match in India’s favour.

Sharma plundered 125 runs off 109 balls with his innings featuring 11 boundaries and five hits over the fence. This was his 14th century in the 50-over format.

Sharma became the fastest Indian to reach the 2,000-run milestone in ODI cricket at home. He surpassed former India captain Sourav Ganguly and present incumbent Virat Kohli to the top spot.

The right-hander from Mumbai achieved the feat in 42 innings while Ganguly took 45 and Kohli needed 46.

Rahane, who has also been in good form in this series, played a steady knock of 61 runs off 74 balls which included seven boundaries.

Fast bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile finally broke the partnership when he trapped Rahane leg-before.

Kohli then joined Sharma in the middle and the duo proceeded to take the hosts slowly but surely towards victory, adding 99 runs between them off 16.4 overs.

Sharma brought up his century in style, smashing Coulter-Nile for a six over mid-wicket.

He continued to torment the Australian bowlers before falling to leg-spinner Adam Zampa while trying to go over the top.

Kohli, who was cruising along with 39 runs off 55 deliveries, fell just three balls later when a mistimed drive into the hands of Marcus Stoinis at long off handed Zampa his second wicket of the match.

Kedar Jadhav and Manish Pandey then took India past the post, the latter hitting Australian pacer James Faulkner for two consecutive boundaries to bring up the victory in style.

Earlier, the Indian bowlers put in a disciplined performance to restrict the visitors to 242/9.

In-form opener David Warner was the highest scorer for Australia with 53 runs off 62 balls. It was the left-hander’s 17th fifty in ODI cricket.

After Australian skipper Steven Smith won the toss and elected to bat, Warner and fellow opener Aaron Finch (32) laid a solid foundation of 66 runs but the following top-order batsmen failed to sustain the momentum.

However, Travis Head (42) and Marcus Stoinis (46) put up an 87-run fifth-wicket stand to haul Australia to a respectable total though it may not be enough to stop India from winning the series 4-1.

For India, left-arm spinner Axar Patel was impressive, claiming three wickets for 38 runs in 10 overs.

Warner and Finch started strongly, putting the Indian opening bowlers under pressure. Both of them played calculated knocks as the partnership flourished.

Medium-pacer Hardik Pandya broke the dangerous-looking partnership as Finch was caught by Jasprit Bumrah at mid-off on the third ball of the 12th over, with Australia at 66/1.

Smith (16) joined Warner in the middle. But the partnership lasted for only 34 runs after Smith, attempting a sweep shot, missed a quick delivery from part-time off-spinner Kedar Jadhav and the bowler appealed successful for a LBW.

Australia’s slide continued and Patel delivered a big blow by removing Warner, who offered a straight catch to Pandey at long on.

Two overs later, the Gujarat spinner bagged his second wicket in the form of Peter Handscomb (13).

Travis Head (42) and Marcus Stoinis (46) then hauled Australia out of the rot with an 87-run fifth-wicket stand. Both of them took time to settle down and it meant that the spinners ran through their overs with less pressure.

But Patel claimed his third victim to break the stand when Head was bowled as he missed the line and length of the ball trying to sweep it in the sixth delivery of the 43rd over.

Two overs later, Stoinis perished too, with Bumrah getting an LBW decision. These two wickets allowed India to contain Australia even in the death overs.

Matthew Wade (20) and James Faulkner (12) then did their best to take Australia to 242/9.

(IANS)

Nagpur: India will aim for a return to the top spot in One-Day International (ODI) rankings when they face Australia in the fifth and final match at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground here on Sunday.

The hosts, who have already clinched the five-match ODI series with an unassailable 3-1 lead, slipped to the second spot after losing the fourth tie in Bengaluru by 21 runs on Thursday.

Australia rode on an all-round show, with openers Aaron Finch and David Warner starring with the bat along side pacer Kane Richardson’s three-wicket haul to clinch their first victory in the series.

India will look to get back to winning ways banking on in-form batsmen Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav.

The hosts, who played pacers Mohammad Shami and Umesh Yadav in place of Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be forced to make changes in the bowling department which failed to look lethal in the last match.

Spinners Axar Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal will be the key in the middle overs to provide important breakthroughs.

The visitors, however, will look to emulate the previous ODI to end the series on a respectable note.

Openers Warner and Finch will be the key to the batting line-up. The side will also expect skipper Steven Smith to play a vital role in adding to the teams score tally.

In the bowling department, pacers Nathan Counter-Nile and Richardson will look to vary their pace to pick up crucial wickets.

Squads:

India: Virat Kohli (captain), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wicket-keeper), Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Lokesh Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah.

Australia: Steven Smith (captain), Aaron Finch, Matthew Wade (wicket-keeper), David Warner, Kane Richardson, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Travis Head, Adam Zampa, Marcus Stoinis BenchGlenn Maxwell, James Faulkner, Hilton Cartwright.

(IANS)

Bengaluru: A well-played century by opener David Warner (124) and Aaron Finch’s 94 on Thursday powered visitors Australia to a mammoth total of 334-5 from 50 overs in the fourth ODI against Virat Kohli’s Team India at the M Chinaswamy stadium here.

Warner and Finch got the Aussies off to a strong start, having put up a 231-run partnership for the first wicket. Centurion Warner, however, was the first one to depart as Kedar Jadhav got his wicket, thanks to a good catch by Axar Patel at long on. Aaron Finch (94), who missed out on his ninth ODI century, was the next to depart, as pacer Umesh Yadav got his 100th ODI wicket.

Peter Handscomb, too, contributed 43 runs before he was struck by Umesh Yadav. However, captain Steve Smith could not continue his consistent run as he was dismissed for just three runs, thanks to a spectacular catch by Virat Kohli off Umesh Yadav’s bowling.

In the Indian bowling department, Umesh Yadav was the pick of the bowlers after having picked up four crucial wickets. Apart from Yada, Kedar Jadhav was the lone wicket-taker for the Men in Blue.

Virat Kohli and co will hope to chase down the challenging total of 335 in order to extend their unbeaten run, and extend the series lead as well.

Australia 319/5 from 48.5 overs:

WICKET! 4th wicket for Umesh Yadav as he ends Peter Handscomb’s vigil The Australian scored 43 off 30 balls to deny India a chance to run through the Australian lower middle-order and help Australia to go past 320-run mark.

(Agencies)

Opening batsman Prithvi Shaw (154) and captain Dinesh Karthik (111) powered India Red to 317 for five in their first innings against India Blue on the opening day of their Duleep Trophy final here on Monday.

The 17-year-old Mumbaikar Shaw shared a 211-run third-wicket partnership with Tamil Nadu veteran Karthik, who cracked his 27th ton in first-class cricket.

Shaw and Akhil Herwadkar (25) had provided a decent start of 74 runs for the first wicket before Herwadkar ran himself out.

 
Left-arm spinner Bharghav Bhatt then accounted for Suryakumar Yadav (80) to leave India Red at 89/2.

Karthik joined Shaw in the middle and the pair saw off the difficult phase before taking on the India Blue bowlers.

During his second first-class hundred, Shaw hammered 18 fours and one six out of the 249 deliveries he faced.

Right-hander Karthik hit 12 fours during his 155-ball innings.

Off-spinner Akshya Wakhare broke the partnership as he got a LBW decision against Karthik on the fourth ball of the 79th over.

Shaw fell soon, edging one from Bhatt to wicket-keeper Srikar Bharat, as India Red reached 306/4.

Bhatt picked up his third wicket when Baba Indrajith failed to defend a straighter ball and Ishan Kishan took a sharp catch at short leg to leave India Red struggling at 317/5.

Ishank Jaggi was the batsman who was unbeaten at nine when the umpires called stumps.

Brief scores: India Red: 317/5 (Prithvi Shaw 154, Dinesh Karthik 111; Bharghav Bhatt 3/83) against India Blue on Day 1.

(IANS)

Indore: All-rounder Hardik Pandya rose to the occasion yet again with a fluent 78-run knock as India registered a comfortable five-wicket win over Australia in the third ODI to grab the number one spot, here today. Chasing 294 for a win, India overhauled the target with 13 balls to spare in front of a packed Holkar stadium to take a series-clinching 3-0 lead.

Openers Rohit Sharma (71) and Ajikya Rahane (70) set the platform for the win with their 131-run partnership while Pandya steered the side to victory with his crucial knock, which came off 72 balls. Australia opener Aaron Finch’s fluent century came to a nought due to self-destructive batting by Australia in the last 10 overs.

Finch, playing his first game of the series, had placed Australia at a commanding 232 for two in 40 overs with his 124-run innings but they lost plot after that. When they could have gone for a kill and a score in the vicinity of 350, all Australia could manage was just 59 runs and lost four wickets to settle for 293 for six.

India faced a few anxious moments in their run chase after losing the set openers along with captain Virat Kohli (28) and Kedar Jadhav (2) but Pandya, who had played crucial role in India’s win in the series-opener in Chennai, ensured there were no more hiccups.

He kept Australia under pressure with his confident batting as he not only rotated the strike comfortably but also smacked four sixes off Ashton Agar to keep the run-rate under control. Pandya found a good partner in Manish Pandey (36) as they went about their business calmly and shared a 78-run stand for the fifth wicket.

The win meant that India have maintained their unbeaten run in Indore and have now recorded sixth consecutive ODI series win since June 2016. India, already number one in the Test format, replaced South Africa at the top of ODI ranking table by taking their tally to 120 points, one more than the Proteas.

Rohit subdued Australia with his punishing knock on a flat track, which had nothing for the bowlers. His knock was studded with six fours and four sixes. Hitting sixes was no big deal for Rohit, who smashed the Australian pace trio of Pat Cummins, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Kane Richardson with equal ease.

He raised his fifty with a six off left-arm spinner Agar. Rahane kept rotating strike and also hit Marcus Stoinis for three boundaries in a single over. Rohit was dropped on 67 by stumper Peter Handscomb off Cummins but could not make full use of the chance and soon miscued one from Coulter-Nile to be caught by Hilton Cartwright at deep mid-wicket.

Cummins ended Rahane’s innings by trapping him LBW to bring two new batsmen — skipper Kohli and Pandya — on the crease. India were cruising at that stage but quick dismissals of Kohli and Jadhav infused some life into the match.

Earlier, exploiting a flat Holkar track, Finch added 70 runs for the opening wicket with David Warner (42) and raised a 154-run partnership with captain Steve Smith (63) for the second wicket. Indian bowlers, who were largely ineffective till the dismissal of Finch, began to dictate terms towards the end. Smith and Glenn Maxwell (5) frittered away a brilliant opportunity to keep the series alive.

Making an instant impact in his first game of the series, Finch responded to the SOS call from the visitors with a class knock after skipper Smith won the toss and elected to bat. Finch, who replaced young Hilton Cartright after recovering from a calf injury, decorated his eighth ODI century with 12 fours and five sixes.

His footwork was impeccable and he rendered the stock balls of both the spinners ineffective, hitting four of his five sixes on ‘googlies’. A docile pitch to deal with, Indian bowlers hardly troubled the Australians as wrist spinners Kuldeep Yadav (2/75) and Yuzvendra Chahal (1/54) largely remained ineffective.

Finch’s dominance against Kuldeep was clear from the fact that he creamed off 41 runs from 26 balls he faced from the Chinaman. However, the hosts staged a remarkable comeback in the last 10 overs of the game. It all started in the last ball of the 38th over when Finch lofted Kuldeep to Kedar Jadhav at deep-midwicket.

Yadav saw the back of Smith, caught at long-off, while Chahal had Maxwell stumped. Bumrah got rid of Travis Head (4) and Peter Handscomb (3), leaving Australia in tatters. They could never get the fillip, which was there for them to take after a stupendous start even as Marcus Stoinis took the side close to 300-run mark with his unbeaten 27.

(Agencies)

Kolkata: Despite half-centuries from Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane, India was restricted to 252 all out in 50 overs in the second ODI against Australia.

Kohli scored 92 runs, while Rahane made 55 off 64 balls. The duo scored 102 runs for the second wicket after India won the toss and opted to bat. Kane Richardson, playing his first ODI since February 2016, took 3-55. Nathan Coulter-Nile also returned 3-51.

India lost Rohit Sharma (7) quickly, caught off a simple return catch by Coulter-Nile in the sixth over. Kohli and Rahane then came together and steered the Indian innings, scoring 50 runs off 51 balls.

The score crossed 100 in the 20th over. Kohli overcame his patchy start and reached his 45th ODI half-century off 60 balls. Soon after, Rahane reached his 20th ODI half-century off 62 balls.

Their 100 partnership came off 113 balls, but was then broken against the run of play. Kohli forced Rahane for a second run in the 24th over, and the latter was run out, unable to beat Hilton Cartwright’s throw from long on. It became a double blow as Ashton Agar (1-54) bowled Manish Pandey (3) cheaply four overs later.

Kedar Jadhav (24) then joined Kohli in the middle and put on 55 runs for the fourth wicket. India was slacking a bit in the middle overs as Australia exerted great control over the run-rate.

Jadhav then got out trying to force the pace, caught at backward point off Coulter-Nile in the 36th over. There was another double blow when MS Dhoni (5), playing in his 300th ODI for India, was caught.

It was only the fifth time in ODI cricket that Kohli had got out in the nervous 90s. The last occasion was in Perth in January 2016 when he scored 91 against Australia.

India crossed 200 in the 38th over, but the big blow came just prior. Kohli played on off Coulter-Nile and was bowled eight short of yet another ODI hundred. Overall, he faced 107 balls and hit eight fours.

Hardik Pandya (20) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (20) added 33 runs before a 15-minute rain break prior to the end of the innings.

There was some debate about the players walking off for rain, as Pandya was caught off a no ball in the 48th over just as the covers came on. Australia then affected a run-out as the batsman walked back to the dressing room without grounding his bat, but the umpires ruled in Pandya’s favor.

On resumption, Kumar was out caught after Smith dropped a skier. India lost two wickets in three balls as Kuldeep Yadav (0) was caught behind off Richardson in the penultimate over.

Pandya’s anticipated flourish never came, and he was caught at long on in the final over for Richardson’s third wicket. India finished with a below-par score losing its last four wickets for 13 runs.

(IANS)

Antwerp: The Indian women’s hockey team ended their Europe Tour on a high as they beat the Belgium junior mens team 4-3 in a pulsating encounter here.

Goals from Gurjit Kaur (seventh minute, 11th) and captain Rani (13th, 33th) gave visitors their first win of the tour on Monday.

A rampant Indian team started the match with some enthralling attacking play as they earned a penalty corner in the seventh minute which was well converted by drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur to give India the lead.

The defender extended India’s lead in the 11th minute as she converted another penalty corner to make it 2-0.

Captain Rani also got onto the score sheet as she scored a well taken field goal in the 13th minute to make it 3-0 for the visitors at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter began with goalkeeper Rajani Etimarpu making her second diving save of the match to deny the Belgians from opening their account.

India displayed grit and fight throughout the second quarter as they held onto their 3-0 lead at the end of 30 minutes.

India started the third quarter with some high intensity play which paid off for them in the 33rd minute as Rani scored her second of the match to make it 4-0.

However, Belgium finally managed to get past India’s sturdy defence when Thibault Neven converted a penalty corner in the 38th minute to make it 1-4.

The hosts produced a great field goal in the 42nd minute via William Van Dessel to end the third quarter with India leading 4-2.

The Belgium Junior Men’s team carried on the momentum in the fourth quarter as Mathias Relik converted a penalty corner giving them their third in the 48th minute to make it 3-4.

It was a nervy last ten minutes for the visitors as Belgium piled on some pressure to find the equaliser.

However, the Indian team held onto their nerves and defended as a unit to see out a well-deserved 4-3 victory.

(IANS)