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India steamroll Sri Lanka to enter fifth Under-19 World Cup final

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Cricket

Mirpur: Three-time champions India continued their invincible run to enter the ICC Under-19 World Cup final for a fifth time with an emphatic 97-run win over Sri Lanka in the semi-finals on Tuesday.

India did well to reach 267/9 after a shaky start before putting up an impressive effort with the ball to dismiss Sri Lanka for 170 in 42.4 overs.

The batting stars were Anmolpreet Singh (72 off 92) and Sarfaraz Khan (59 off 71), who amassed his fourth fifty plus scores in five innings player in the tournament.

The three time champions now await either West Indies or hosts Bangladesh in the final to be played on February 14.

Indians, put in to bat on an overcast morning, were put under pressure right away with its formidable opening pair of Rishabh Pant and captain Ishan Kishan falling cheaply to leave their team at 27/2 in the 10th over.

Batting was not easy but Anmolpreet and the in-form Sarfaraz steadied the ship with a 96-run stand off 126 balls for the third wicket.

While Anmolpreet’s was a gritty 92-ball knock, power-hitter Sarfaraz too played a measured innings considering the circumstances. The 18-year-old IPL recruit, who came into the match with scores of 76, 21*, 74, 74, still managed to pierce the field for six fours and a maximum.

Anmolpreet, who struck half a dozen fours and a six during his stay at the crease, stitched another handy 70-run partnership with Washington Sundar (43 off 45) after Sarfaraz’s departure.

India needed a move on in the last 10 overs and the late burst came courtesy Sundar and Armaan Jaffer, who smashed 29 off 16 balls before Mayank Dagar’s 17-run cameo off 10 balls took his team to a competitive total in a crunch match.

Defending the target, the Indian bowlers did not allow the Lankan chase to take off.

India missed quite a few chances on the field but the bowlers were still good enough to keep things tight for the opposition. After a batting cameo, Dagar did his bit with the ball as well, grabbing 3/21 in 5.4 overs of his left-arm spin.

Pacer Avesh Khan, India’s leading wicket-taker in the tournament, struck in the very first over, dismissing Avishka Fernando leg before wicket even though the ball appeared to be drifting down. Soon after, the run out of Kaveen Bandara made it 13 for 2 in the fourth over.

The chase was not a huge one but Sri Lankan batsmen failed to rotate the strike and a regular loss of wickets meant the asking run rate kept going up.

Sri Lanka’s hopes of reaching their second ever final were all but over when the scoreboard read 133 for six in the 35th over.

Kamindu Mendis (39) and Shammu Ashan (38) got starts but failed to get that one big score needed to overhaul the target.

(PTI)

India U-23 football team enters SAG semis

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India-football

Guwahati: India’s U-23 football team stormed into the semi-finals of the South Asian Games (SAG) outclassing the Maldives 3-2 here on Wednesday.

An Udanta Singh brace and a Pritam Kotal strike ensured an Indian win in a topsy-turvy match wherein the Maldives equalised twice, before finally surrendering to India’s attacking prowess.

India took the lead as early as the 4th minute when Udanta Singh steered clear off the Maldivian defence line and blasted home to give the hosts the lead.

Three minutes later, Udanta Singh once again burst onto the goal but hoofed his shot wide. In the 9th minute, the Maldives equalised against the run of play when Muruthala Adnan scored.

Not to be deterred, the Indian contingent took the charge of the match once again as Pritam Kotal’s thunderous header in the 11th minute gave the home side a 2-1 lead.

With India having the lion’s share of possession, opportunities to extend their lead came in plenty.

In the 31st minute, Udanta dashed onto a vacant left flank, however the forward slipped while positing himself for the final shot. Nine minutes later, it was Jerry tried to extend India’s lead, but his shot deflected off the Maldivian defence line.

In the 42nd minute, Maldives equalised again when Kotal scored an own goal. The match was tied 2-2 at halftime.

India once again surged into lead in the 59th minute through Udanta, who slotted his opportunity cheekily past the Maldivian custodian to make it 3-2.

The Maldivian attack pressed for the equaliser for the third time but the Indian defence line kept them at bay.

(IANS)

BCCI revenue may dip from Rs. 2000 crore to Rs. 400 crore

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bcci

New Delhi: BCCI is set to suffer a financial loss to the tune of Rs. 1600 crore if Lodha Panel’s recommendations on curtailing the advertisement breaks during the matches is implemented.

It is feared that in the wake of loss of revenue not only the smooth functioning of country’s richest sporting body will be hit but also the development of junior cricket in the country.

According to BCCI balance sheet, the operative revenue currently is approximately Rs. 2000 crore, a large chunk of which comes from broadcasting rights and advertisement revenues.

But if Lodha Panel recommendation, which wants the advertisements only during “lunch, tea or drinks break”, then it would come down to Rs. 400 crore.

According to a reliable source in the board, the Star Sports, which has the broadcasting rights of BCCI’s matches, currently gives Rs. 43 crore per match and such a rule could see BCCI earning as less as Rs. 8-10 crore per match.

“Yes, it is true that we are facing a situation which could lead to a revenue loss of Rs. 1600 crore. Star Sports will renegotiate their deal and may be pay us only 20-25 percent of the amount that we get currently per match. Ditto for IPL broadcasters,” a source in the know of things said on conditions of anonymity.

The far-reaching implication of this could mean that during India’s away tours, the hosts countries such as England, New Zealand or Australia will earn more than India out of the broadcast deals.

According to insiders, there are chances that BCCI’s age-group structure, which is one of the most robust in world cricket, will be badly hit if this recommendation comes to effect.

BCCI spends around Rs. 750 crore (approx) on subsidies to state associations, Rs. 400-450 crore (approx) on match-fees and allowances of players right from U-16 to the senior teams.

Save this, another Rs. 350 crore (approx) is spent to conduct around 2000 BCCI matches from U-16, U-19, U-22 to Ranji Trophy across the country.

The former first-class cricketers and international cricketers get monthly pension for which another Rs. 25 crore is spent by the board.

When the BCCI source was asked about the implications of the possible hit in revenue structure, he replied, “The biggest hit could be the age-group matches, U-16, U-19s and the various camps that are organised. The money generated through IPL and international broadcasting rights is used for development of junior cricket which will not be possible then.”

(PTI)

Sri Lanka overwhelm India in 1st T20I

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India-Srilanka

Pune: Sri Lanka rode on a strong bowling performance to defeat India by five wickets in their first Twenty20 International (T20I) at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium here on Tuesday.

Chasing a meagre target of 102 runs, the Lankans were boosted by a 39-run partnership by Dinesh Chandimal (35) and Chamara Kapugedera (25) to romp home with two overs to spare.

Earlier, rookie pacers Kasun Rajitha (3/29) and Dasun Shanaka (3/16) played a crucial role for the visitors with a three-wicket haul each.

Rajitha enjoyed a memorable debut, bagging two wickets in his very first over in international cricket.

Fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera (2/14) also bowled well, picking up a couple of wickets, including that of star batsman Yuvraj Singh.

Ravichandran Ashwin scored an unbeaten 31 to be the highest scorer for India.

Asked to bat first on a green wicket, the Indian batsmen struggled to cope with the appreciable swing and off-the-pitch movement generated by the Lankan pacers.

Rajitha handed Sri Lanka the advantage right at the start by dismissing Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Raane in the opening over.

Sharma virtually gifted away his wicket, placing a lofted drive off Rajitha neatly into the hands of Chameera at long-off.

Rahane also fell to a careless shot, offering and easy upper edge to Chandimal at short extra cover while attempting to play across the line.

The right-arm pacer should have bagged another wicket in his second over when Suresh Raina was surprised by the extra bounce of a short pitched delivery. The upper edge carried to third man where Danushka Gunathilaka dropped a sitter.

Shikhar Dhawan enjoyed no such luck a short while later when he attempted to smash a slightly outgoing delivery to the leg side. The ball took the flew off the top edge to third man where Gunathilaka made amends for his previous error.

When Shanaka sent back Raina and India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni with a couple of beautiful deliveries in the ninth over, India were in deep trouble at 51/5.

Ashwin tried to produce a late fight-back lower down the order, but rapidly ran out of partners as wickets continued to fall at the other end.

Defending a small total, the hosts had a glimmer of hope when veteran pacer Ashish Nehra dismissed debutant opener Niroshan Dickwella in the third ball of the Sri Lankan innings. Gunathilaka — the other opener — went cheaply as well, miscueing a pull off a short pitched delivery by Nehra.

Chandimal and Kapugedera then took charge, ably negotiating the Indian bowling despite a couple of close calls.

The introduction of Ashwin into the attack paid rich dividends for India as the off-spinner put Lankans in some trouble by bagging two wickets for just 13 runs in his three overs.

But Milinda Siriwardana (21 not out) played a spirited innings lower down the order to guide the visitors to victory with 12 balls to spare.

(IANS)

Hashim Amla denies he asked female TV host to ‘dress appropriately’

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hashim-amla

Johannesburg: South Africa batsman Hashim Amla on Saturday categorically rejected claims that he had asked a female TV host to dress appropriately before he eventually agreed to give her an interview during their tour of India.

‘As a South African I have the greatest respect for people of all faiths and cultures. I will never impose my beliefs on anybody else. #peace,’ the 32-year-old batsman added.

Reports began to circulate on Friday suggesting that Amla, who is a strict believer and follower of Islam, was not comfortable that the TV host was wearing a skirt and a low-neck top, Sport24 reported. Amla then agreed to be interviewed after the woman quickly changed her dress.

South Africa won the preceding T20 and ODI series against India before losing the four-match Test series 3-0 under Amla’s captaincy.

(Agencies)

Hashim Amla refuses to give interview to ‘underdressed’ Indian TV anchor

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hashim-amla

New Delhi: Former South African Test skipper Hashim Amla refused to be interviewed by an Indian TV anchor as she was underdressed.

According to a media report, the 32-year-old was unhappy with the anchor’s short dress and low-neck top.

He put forward his condition to the organizers, who asked the anchor to return after being appropriately dressed.

In the past, the staunch Islam follower had once refused to endorse ‘Castle’ beer ad on his team jersey.

Amla recently stepped down as the Test skipper of the Proteas Test team after his team’s poor show against India and England.

(Agencies)

Negi earns surprise call, Pandey ignored for World T20

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Pawan Negi

New Delhi: Young all-rounder Pawan Negi was the surprise pick for the World Twenty20 and Asia Cup while the selectors also reposed faith in veterans such as Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh in the 15-member Indian squad for the two events.

Other young players such as Jasprit Bhumrah and Hardik Pandya, who impressed in the recent series against Australia, also found a place in the squad announced by BCCI Secretary Anurag Thakur after a meeting of the selection committee here today.

“This is the best combination of 15 we can think of,” Chairman of the committee, Sandeep Patil, said in a press conference after the meeting.

Interestingly, the pace duo of Ishant Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were ignored.

Also, Manish Pandey, who featured in the T20 series against Australia, was left out of the team to be captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The Asia Cup is scheduled to be held in Bangladesh from February 24 to March 6, followed by the World T20 from March 8 to April 3 in India.

Patil expressed his faith in Dhoni’s leadership despite the recent mixed run.

“We have no right to tell people when to retire, we have total faith in Dhoni’s captaincy. He is the right person to lead in Asia Cup and World T20,” Patil said.

The 23-year-old Negi, who bowls left-arm spin and is a decent batsman, was rewarded for his consistent performance in the domestic circuit. That Negi will be a contender for the World Cup team had become obvious when he was selected for the three-match series against Sri Lanka this month.

Ajinkya Rahane also found a place in the squad ahead of Pandey, who hit a match-winning century in the last ODI against Australia. Pandey got his break owing to an injury to Rahane and even though he made it count, the selectors opted to go with the more experienced player.

“Manish Pandey performed exceptionally well in Australia, his name was also discussed,” Patil said.

“When selectors pick a team, we always give importance to domestic performance. It is not that we are only looking at seniors, we have looked at the performance, fitness and record of the domestic players as well. We have taken into account all the performances of not just 15-16 guys but all the domestic players and then picked these 15,” he added.

(PTI)

Fiancée accuses Indian hockey captain of attempt to rape

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Sardar Singh

Ludhiana: The Punjab Police is investigating a complaint from a British national who has alleged that she was sexually exploited by her fiance and Indian hockey team captain Sardar Singh, police said on Wednesday.

The complaint has been made by the woman who hails from Leeds in England and was the first Sikh player in the Britain under-19 women’s hockey team, said the police in Ludhiana. Investigation of the case has been marked to the Koom Kalan police station in Ludhiana district. Police station in-charge S. S. Nagra confirmed that the matter was being probed following a complaint.

The woman had complained to Ludhiana Police Commissioner P. S. Umranangal who marked the enquiry into it. The woman alleged that Sardar Singh had got engaged to her in 2014 and she became pregnant recently after both had a physical relationship. She said the hockey skipper forced her to go for abortion and after that he started avoiding her. The complainant said that she met Sardar in 2012 after becoming friends through a social networking site.

(Agencies)

BCCI announces India’s T20 squad for Sri Lanka series, Kohli rested

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virat-kohli

New Delhi: Vice captain Virat Kohli was today rested for the upcoming Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka as selectors included all-rounder Pawan Negi for the three-match rubber, beginning February 9.

Kohli was in supreme form in the just-concluded Australia T20 series, where he scored 199 runs at an average of 199 with three half-centuries.

Kohli has played 10 One-dayers and five T20s apart from four Test matches from the month of October to end of January.

Roookie all-rounder Negi, who has played under MS Dhoni for the Chennai Super Kings in IPL, and had a reasonably successful Mushytaq Ali and Deodhar trophy, has been brought as a cover for Ravindra Jadeja.

Manish Pandey has also been rewarded for his match-winning century in the Sydney ODI against Australia as the selectors named him in the 15-member T20 squad.

The selection panel chose to drop Rishi Dhawan, Gurkeerat Mann and Umesh Yadav from the squad. All three had not struggled during the Australia tour, failing to put up any notable performance.

Making a comeback was paceman Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who had missed the T20 series after injuring himself during the ODIs.

The selectors also named the squads for the women’s limited over series against Sri Lanka, to be led by Mithali Raj.

The series will begin in Pune (February 9) and followed by matches in Ranchi (February 12) and Visakhapatnam (February 14).

The eves had scripted history by defeating three-time world champions Australia in a T20 series, which was held simultaneously with the men’s series.

The women’s ODI series is scheduled to be played in Ranchi from February 15 to 19 while the three-match T20 series will be held from February 22-26.

Squads:

T20I Team (Men): MS Dhoni (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Ashish Nehra, Harbhajan Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Pawan Negi.

(PTI)

India beat Australia in second T20I to seal series

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dhoni

Melbourne: India dominated with both bat and ball to beat Australia by 27 runs in the second Twenty20 International at the Melbourne Cricket Ground here on Friday.

India rode on half-centuries from Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to post 184/3 in their 20 overs. In reply, the Australians could only manage 157/8 despite being given a superb start by Aaron Finch.

The Indians have thus clinched the three-match series with an unassailable 2-0 lead.

Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja (2/32) and young pacer Jasprit Bumrah (2/37) were the most successful among the Indian bowlers. Yuvraj Singh (1/7), Hardik Pandya (1/17) and Ravichandran Ashwin (1/27) also bagged a wicket each.

Chasing a challenging target, the hosts were off to a flying start with Finch going great guns. The Australian captain smashed 74 runs off 48 deliveries with eight boundaries and a couple of sixes. Shaun Marsh was going steady at the other end, scoring a run-a-ball 23.

The Australians were cruising comfortably along at 10 runs an over, but the fall of Marsh’s wicket in the 10th triggered a collapse.

Chris Lynn (2) and the dangerous Glenn Maxwell (1) were sent back by Hardik Pandya and Yuvraj Singh respectively as the Australians lost three wickets in as many overs which pegged back their momentum.

Finch and Shane Watson tried to re-build the innings, but Ravindra Jadeja sent back Watson in the 15th over with a stunning return catch off his own bowling.

Finch, who was struggling with a cramped hamstring, was run out in the next over as the Indians tightened their grip on the match.

Earlier, put in to bat by the hosts, India were provided a steady start by Rohit and Dhawan. The duo were a bit cautious in the first three overs before going after the Australian bowlers.

Rohit continued his superb form during the ongoing tour, scoring 60 runs off 47 balls with five boundaries and a six. He added 97 runs for the opening partnership along with Shikhar Dhawan (42).

Kohli walked in at the fall of Dhawan’s wicket and proceeded to build on the solid foundation provided by the openers by belting 59 runs in his 33-ball innings which included seven boundaries and a six.

Dhawan was also in excellent form, hitting three fours and two sixes during his 32-ball stay in the middle. He missed out on his maiden half-century in T20Is when a reverse sweep off Glenn Maxwell found Lynn at point.

For Australia, Maxwell had figures of 1/17 while debutant medium-pacer Andrew Tye captured the prized wicket of India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni to return 1/28 in his four overs.

Rohit and Dhawan reserved special treatment for James Faulkner. Rohit hit the left-arm pacer for three boundaries in his very first over after replacing Shane Watson in the Australian attack. Dhawan then smashed a four and a six off consecutive balls in his very next over.

Dhawan’s departure did not affect the run rate as Kohli and Rohit continued to find the gaps at regular intervals. However, an unfortunate bit of mis-communication saw Rohit being run out while attempting to go for a second run.

Dhoni then gave Kohli good support from the other end with 14 runs off nine balls as the Delhi batsman signed off the Indian innings on a strong note.

(Agencies)

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