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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)

Sania and Martina win Aussie Open for third major trophy

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AP

AP

Melbourne: In a perfect climax to their stupendous run, Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis were today crowned the Australian Open women’s doubles champions after they tamed the spirited Czech duo of Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka in straight sets for their 36th win in a row, here.

The top seeds fought past the seventh seeds Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka 7-6 (1) 6-3 in the women’s doubles final that lasted one hour and 45 minutes.

It was their third consecutive Grand Slam title for Sania and Martina, having won the Wimbledon and US Open in the 2015 season.

In an incredible feat, Sania and Martina have now extended their unbeaten run to 36 matches, winning eight titles in a row. They won five straight titles in 2015, starting from the US Open and before the Australian Open now.

It was Sania’s second title at the Australian Open, having won the mixed doubles in 2009 with Mahesh Bhupathi.

The final though was not a stroll in the park for the world number one team with the Czechs putting up a great fight in the opening set. The match was littered with breaks with the two teams struggling to hold serve throughout.

Hlavackova was excellent from the baseline and Hradecka was terrific at the net, playing some breathtaking shots and winners.

The top seeds though had enough resources in their kitty to blunt the challenge of the Czech girls.

“I would like to thank everyone for coming out and supporting us. For me Australian Open is special, it’s like home. I have special memories here. We had an incredible one year. Martina is an amazing champion and an amazing person, so it is a privilege for me to play with her,” Sania said.

“We know how good you are (Czech team). We lost to you at Roland Garros. Hopefully we will have more finals to fight for,” Sania said.

Martina was equally effusive in her praise for the Czechs.

“They pushed us to the limit. It was s tough tournament. We will try to defend our title next year.”

In the opening set, the two pairs could manage to hold serve only twice each as it was full of breaks.

Hradecka ran frantically to her left from the net and smashed one volley past Sania off Martina’s return and then the Swiss served two consecutive double faults to hand the Czechs an early break.

The top seeds had three break chances in the next game — the fourth — on Hlavackova’s serve but the Czech team saved all.

Martina earned a fourth at deuce with a volley and converted that with a forehand passing winner.

A double fault by Sania at 30-40 gave the break back to the Czech players, who were now leading 3-2.

Hradecka sent a forehand long to give the top seeds a breakpoint and netted a backhand to make it 3-3.

There was no end to breaks with Martina dropping her serve next. Hlavackova’s unreachable backhand lob gave the Czechs a breakpoint and the Swiss sent a forehand wide.

Hlavackova’s long forehand at 30-40 meant that Sania and Martina had a break chance but Martina’s return just landed wide and it was deuce.

The top seeds though made it 4-4 with Hlavackova’s consecutive forehand errors from the baseline.

Sania went down 0-40 in the next game but saved all three break chances. A forehand to net by Sania at deuce point and the top seeds were facing another break chance but managed to saved that.

Another break chance and this time the Czechs converted to lead 5-4.

The seventh seeds came out to serve out the set but were broken.

Martina finally held her serve in the 11th game and the top seeds led 6-5, this time not allowing the Czechs to convert break opportunities.

Eventually the Czecks too held and it boiled down to a tiebreak in which the top seeds trampled their opponents, losing just one point, to pocket the opening set.

They broke Hradecka in the very first game of the second set and never looked back after that. Though Martina was broken in the sixth game but the favourites broke back for a 5-2 lead.

There was more drama as Martina was broken in the eight while serving for the match and they squandered three match points in the ninth game on Hradecka’s serve.

Sania and Martina finally closed the championship in their favour on the fourth chance.

(Agencies)

Bumrah, Kohli help India win 1st T20I against Australia

by

viratkohli

Adelaide: A strong bowling performance, coupled with a quickfire half-century by Virat Kohli helped India to a 37-run victory over Australia in the first Twenty20 International (T20I) at the Adelaide Oval here on Tuesday.

Chasing 189, Australia started strongly before losing wickets at regular intervals to slump to 151 all out in 19.3 overs. young pacer Jasprit Bumrah had a memorable T20I debut, returning figures of 3-23 in 3.3 overs.

Ravindra Jadeja (2-21), Ravichandran Ashwin (2-28) and another debutant, Hardik Pandya (2-37) also bagged a couple of wickets each as India took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Ashish Nehra (1-28) gave away a lot of runs in his first spell before clinching a wicket towards the end.

Earlier, Kohli stiched together a 134-run stand with Suresh Raina which brought the Indian innings back on track after the visitors had suffered a couple of early blows.

The Delhi batsman remeained unbeaten on 90 runs, smashing nine fours and two sixes during his 55-ball stint. Raina batted excellently at the other end, scoring 41 runs off 34 deliveries with three hits to the fence and a six. The duo helped India post 188/3 in their 20 overs. Kohli was adjudged the man of the match.

Captain Aaron Finch was Australia’s highest scorer with 44. He had four boundaries and a coule of sixes in his 33-ball innings.

Put in to bat by Australia, India were off to a flying start with Rohit Sharma producing the early fireworks. The Mumbai right-hander took a special liking to Shaun Tait’s bowling, hitting the pacer for a six and a four in the first over and then another couple of boundaries in the third.

With opening pacers Tait and Kane Richardson unable to control the Indian batsmen, Australia captain Aaron Finch was forced to make a bowling change, bringing James Faulkner and Shane Watson into the attack.

Faulkner was unlucky to miss out on a wicket in his opening over as a loose shot from Rohit saw the ball come off the top edge of the bat and fly towards third man where Cameron Boyce dropped a sitter.

But the disappointed home fans did not have to wait too long to celebrate as Watson struck twice in the next over. The right-armer sent back the dangerous Rohit with his very first ball as the opener drove an off-cutter straight to Faulkner at mid-on.

Watson dismissed Shikhar Dhawan just four balls later with a slower one as the Delhi batsman’s mistimed shot offered an edge to Matthew Wade behind the stumps.

That saw Kohli and Raina come together and they handled the Australian bowling with ease and by the time the partnership cam to an end in the final over, they had alrady guided the visitors to a big score.

Raina was unlucky to miss out on a half-century, and was dismissed while moving across the stumps and attempting to steer a Faulkner on the off-stump to the on-side. But the left-hander mistimed the shot as the ball went on to his the stumps.

India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni strode to the middle and brought the crowd to their feet by hitting his first two balls for a six and a four to end the Indian innings on a high note.

The Australians had strong start to their chase with openers Aaron Finch and David Warner going great guns. Although Warner departed in the sixth over after miscuing an attempted pull of Bumrah, Finch and Steven Smith found the gaps at frequent intervals to maintain a high scoring rate.

They scored 42 runs between them in just 23 deliveries before Jadeja and Ashwin struck in bac to back overs to peg back the Australians. Debutant Travis Head never looked comfortable during his five-ball stay in the middle before being trapped leg before by Jadeja.

Watson did not last long before offering skier to Nehra at short fine leg while trying to sweep an Ashwin delivery. Pandya then sent back Cris Lynn and Matthew Wade in consecutive overs to plunge Australia into deep trouble.

(IANS)

India women’s T20 practice match washed out

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jhulan_goswam

Sydney: India women’s cricket team Twenty20 practice match against the Governor-General’s XI was washed out due to heavy rain at the Drummoyne Oval here on Friday.

Following the wash out, which was the only practice game for the visitors, India and Australia will play three Twenty20s and three One-Day Internationals (ODI) each.

This was the inaugural Governor-General’s XI T20 match and was dedicated to Peter Cosgrove, who is the current Governor-General of Australia.

Less than four overs were bowled when a drizzle started. All-rounder Jess Jonassen led a 12-member Governor-General’s XI side.

Heavy rain forced the players off the field when Governor-General’s XI were batting at 19/1. Grace Harris was run out for seven.

India will kick off their campaign with a T20I match in Adelaide on January 26, followed by the second T20I on January 29 (Melbourne) and the third on January 31 (Sydney).

Mithali Raj will lead the team while fast bowler all-rounder Jhulan Goswami will be the vice-captain of the side.

The tour is considered important as post the limited-overs series, India will start their World T20 campaign against Bangladesh on March 15 in Bengaluru.

(IANS)

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