Nasheman

India's largest selling Urdu weekly, now also in English

You are here: Home / Archives for Sports

Our top-order failed again: George Bailey

by

george-bailey

Mohali: Kings XI Punjab skipper George Bailey rued a dismal batting performance from his side as they lost their home Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter against Sunrisers Hyderabad by 20 runs at the Punjab Cricket Association stadium here on Monday.

Chasing a target of 151, the Kings never really got into the game as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals, and finished as losers inspite of a valiant effort from wicket-keeper batsman Wriddhiman Saha, who top scored with 42 from 33 balls.

“It was our batting, the top order again (that failed). I’ll take responsibility again and we needed partnerships going but could not. It was a gettable target but top order couldn’t do it,” Bailey said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

The skipper, who got a solid 22 before falling prey to his country man Moises Henriques, is,however, content with the efforts of the pacers in the side saying they are bowling well at the death.

He also added the team is trying their best to make a turnaround and is hopeful of a comeback.

“The bowling was good to restrict them to 150. We are just trying to get a combination that works. I think no team are trying any harder than last year and we are not trying any lesser. Sandeep (Sharma) and Anureet (Singh) have been performing for us at the start as well as the death which is good to see,” he said.

(IANS)

RCB demolish Delhi Daredevils at Kotla

by

RCB-IPL

by Arun Gopalakrishnan

New Delhi: Royal Challengers Bangalore’s bowlers won their team a match for the second game in a row after they dismissed the Delhi Daredevils for a paltry total at the Ferozeshah Kotla Stadium in Delhi. After winning the toss and opting to bowl first, RCB’s bowlers were relentless right through the innings and dismissed the hosts for 95 – the lowest total of Pepsi IPL 2015. The opening pair then knocked off the runs comfortably, taking the team home with 57 balls to spare. The 10-wicket win – as commanding as they come – propelled RCB to fourth in the points table.

Mitchell Starc struck first blood for the visitors in the first over when he dismissed Shreyas Iyer LBW. Varun Aaron conceded 21 runs in his first two overs as DD moved to 34 for one at the end of five overs. David Wiese, introduced into the attack in the sixth over, struck immediately when he had the DD skipper JP Duminy nicking one to the wicket-keeper.

Aaron returned to bowl the seventh over and struck two deadly blows by dismissing Yuvraj Singh and Angelo Mathews off consecutive deliveries. Yuvraj Singh chased a fairly wide delivery, bowled back of a length and at good pace, only for the ball to take the outside edge on the way to the keeper. Mathews was at the receiving end of a snorter; the Sri Lankan was taken by surprise at the pace and direction of the ball directed at him, was in no position to play the ball and ended up fending it to the man at short midwicket.

Opener Mayank Agarwal (27 from 34 balls) added 28 runs in the company of Kedar Jadhav, before his decision to step out against Iqbal Abdulla cost him his wicket; wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik effected the stumping with the batsman way out of the crease.

From 67 for 5 in 12.1 overs, DD collapsed to 95 all out, adding only 28 runs in the next 6.1 overs. Kedar Jadhav, who batted at six, would be top-scorer in the innings with 33. The Maharashtra batsman faced 29 balls and struck four boundaries before he holed out to Starc at midwicket. There were ten balls remaining in the allotted twenty overs when Domnic Joseph was run out by a throw from AB de Villiers.

The RCB bowlers had a field day, and barring the first two overs bowled by Varun Aaron, there was never a let up in the intensity. Starc finished as the most successful of the bowlers returning figures of three for 20, while Aaron and Wiese returned with two wickets each. Harshal Patel and Iqbal Abdulla, who bowled a maiden over too, picked up one wicket apiece.

RCB’s run-chase was a mere formality given the target they were faced with. Though the first over produced only four runs, Chris Gayle cut loose in the second over hitting Domnic Joseph for a six and two boundaries. The left-hander kept his foot on the accelerator right until the field restrictions were eased, by which time RCB had raced to 50 for no loss; Gayle had 43 runs from 27 balls at that stage, while Kohli had contributed six runs from nine balls.

Kohli joined the party when Amit Mishra was introduced into the attack in the seventh over; he hit the leg-spinner for consecutive boundaries – one inside-out shot that raced to the cover boundary, followed by a whip to the midwicket.

Gayle brought up his half-century with a slog-sweep off Imran Tahir in the eighth over and remained unbeaten on 62 (40 balls, 6 fours and 4 sixes) when Kohli struck a straight-drive to take his team past the finish line. The RCB captain remained unbeaten on 35.

Brief Scores

Delhi Daredevils 95 all out in 18.2 Overs (Kedar Jadhav 33, Mitchell Starc 3-20) lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore 99-0 in 10.3 Overs (Chris Gayle 62*, Virat Kohli 35*)

Man of the Match: Varun Aaron, for his spell of 2 for 24

West Indies v England: Kraigg Brathwaite makes ton for hosts

by

kraiggbrathwaite

by Stephan Shemilt, BBC Sport

England were frustrated by Kraigg Brathwaite’s composed century as West Indies had the better of the fourth day of the second Test in Grenada.

His 101 not out took the home side to 202-2, a lead of 37.

Earlier, England moved their overnight 373-6 to 464 all out, with Joe Root ending unbeaten on 182.

On a pitch that remains lifeless, a draw seems the most likely result, lengthening England’s wait for a first overseas win since 2012.

If a positive result on the final day is possible, then it is Alastair Cook’s men who are more likely to earn a 1-0 series lead.

However, the lack of opportunities created in the turgid afternoon and evening sessions suggest that an attack lacking variety will find it hard to take the eight wickets required quickly enough for a run-chase to be undertaken.

“We’ll chase anything, we just need enough time,” Root told BBC Sport. “We have to have a really good session with the ball in the morning.

“West Indies need need a lot of credit for the way they played tonight. They were under quite a bit of pressure with lead we had, but they have got themselves back in the game.

“We will have a scrap on our hands if we want to get a result.”

England will at least have the opportunity to bowl with a new ball and will hope to find the swing movement that made James Anderson dangerous before lunch, when Devon Smith failed to withdraw his bat from an outswinger and deflected the ball on to his stumps.

Thereafter, Brathwaite and Darren Bravo made England toil on a surface showing little pace or bounce and only slow turn.

They shared 142 for the second wicket, with Brathwaite overcoming some early uncertainty outside off stump to cut repeatedly and the more assured Bravo occasionally unfurling flamboyant drives.

In the face of West Indian patience, England were able to create nothing more than half-chances. Stuart Broad almost had Brathwaite glove to slip, while the otherwise disappointing off-spin of Moeen Ali saw Bravo flash past gully and and Brathwaite nearly lob to mid-wicket.

In the end, mid-way through the evening session, England’s perseverance with a plan of hanging the ball outside off stump paid off as Bravo edged Broad through to wicketkeeper Jos Buttler.

Brathwaite remained, joined by Marlon Samuels, who received no obvious response to the saluting send-off he gave Ben Stokes on the third evening.

The right-handed opener was the recipient of a failed lbw review from the bowling of Chris Jordan, then completed his fourth Test century with another cut off Anderson.

That sealed an ideal day for West Indies, who chipped through the England batting in the morning session with plenty of help from the tourists.

The impressive leg-spin of Devendra Bishoo had Buttler stumped by some distance and Broad caught from a gloved sweep, either side of Jordan being run-out in a mix-up with Root.

That was the only mistake of an imperious Root knock, the 24-year-old becoming the second-youngest England player to reach 2,000 Test runs and only the ninth man to make four scores in excess of 150 before the age of 25.

Cutting the seamers and looking to hit straight or slog-sweep against Bishoo, he farmed the strike when partnered with last-man Anderson to add 33 for the 10th wicket.

He looked primed for a second Test double hundred, but was denied when Anderson was run-out in dozy fashion, failing to ground his bat, perhaps not expecting Jason Holder to gather a return from high above his head.

In frustration, Root hit the ground with his bat and threw his helmet when across the boundary edge, while the visitors were left short of a lead that would pressure West Indies.

Ultimately, though, it is wickets, rather than runs, that are the problem for England.

Bangladesh seal Pakistan whitewash in Mirpur

by

bangladesh

by BBC

Bangladesh thrashed Pakistan by eight wickets to complete a 3-0 one-day international series whitewash.

Chasing 251 for victory in Mirpur, the home side reached their target with more than 11 overs to spare thanks to an unbeaten century by Soumya Sarkar.

The Tigers had earlier bowled Pakistan out for 250, despite Azhar Ali’s 101.

Bangladesh, who reached the World Cup quarter-finals at the expense of England, have never before whitewashed an Asian Test-playing nation.

Pakistan 250 (49 overs): Azhar Ali 101, Shakib 2-34
Bangladesh 251-2 (39.3 overs): Sarkar 127, Junaid 2-67

RCB thrash Rajasthan Royals by nine wickets in IPL

by

RCB-IPL

Ahmedabad: An overall sturdy team performance from the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) helped them beat table-toppers Rajasthan Royals by nine wickets in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Sardar Patel Stadium here on Friday.

Chasing a meagre target of 131, the Royal Challengers reached home with nine wickets in hand and 3.5 overs to spare with skipper Virat Kohli (62 not out) scoring an unbeaten half-century.

It was a steady chase from the visitors with Kohli hitting three sixes and one boundary in his 45-ball innings. He was well supported by big-hitting AB de Villiers (47 not out), who together put up an unbeaten 98-run stand for the second wicket.

Earlier, explosive left-handed opener Chris Gayle had scored 20 before he was caught behind in the fifth over.

Royals skipper Shane Watson was the only wicket-taking bowler, clinching the West Indian’s wicket as his bowlers were left with a small target to defend.

Earlier, a strict bowling performance from the Royals Challengers helped them restrict the Royals to only 130/9 from 20 overs.

Kohli opted to field and utilised his bowlers to the optimum. The bowlers, spinners and pacers alike, backed their captain with most of them picking up wickets at regular intervals, which never let any partnership going for the host team.

Left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc, who was named Player of the Tournament in the recently concluded 50-over World Cup, was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets, giving away only 22 runs from his four overs.

Australian Starc was backed by medio Harshal Patel (2/23) and leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal (2/25), who picked up two wickets each, while slow left-arm orthodox bowler Iqbal Abdulla took 1/28.

No Royals batsman got going which resulted in the paltry total. Steven Smith (31), Watson (26) and all-rounder Stuart Binny (20) got starts but none were able to propel the run rate.

Opener Ajinkya Rahane and Karun Nair contributed with 18 and 16, respectively, before walking back to the pavilion.

(IANS)

IPL: Daredevils down Mumbai Indians by 37 runs

by

ipl

New Delhi: An impressive all-round display helped Delhi Daredevils overpower Mumbai Indians by 37 runs in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Ferozeshah Kotla stadium here on Thursday.

Chasing a formidable target of 191, Mumbai managed only 153 for nine. With the win, Daredevils improved to six points from six matches, occupying the fourth spot.

The win also snapped Daredevils’ nine-match losing streak at their home ground.

Mumbai succumbed to their fifth loss in six matches to drop to the last spot in the standings.

Mumbai’s chase got an encouraging start through Lendl Simmons (15) and Parthiv Patel (28). But just when they were looking to increase the run rate, Simmons departed in the fifth over.

To make matters worse, Patel also went back to the pavilion, caught by South African Imran Tahir in the deep off the bowling of Sri Lankan Angelo Mathews.

With both the openers back in the hut, the momentum of Mumbai’s batting vanished.

Leg spinner Amit Mishra inflicted further damage when he claimed the wickets of Unmukt Chand (14) and the dangerous West Indian Kieron Pollard (10) to reduce Mumbai to 82 for four in 10.2 overs.

Just as it seemed that Mumbai were losing the grip, skipper Rohit Sharma (30) and Ambati Rayadu (30) forged together a 49-run fifth-wicket partnership to resurrect the run chase, helping them reach 131 for five.

But an ever-increasing asking rate meant that they had attempt big shots, which accounted for the wicket of Rohit in the 16th over.

His dismissal triggered a collapse as Mumbai lost three more wickets in the next over of Tahir – the tournament’s leading wicket taker – who accounted for Hardik Pandya (0), Rayadu and McClenaghan (0). That pretty much sealed the fate of the match.

Earlier, a superlative batting display from Shreyas Iyer (83) and skipper Jean Paul Duminy (78 not out) helped Delhi Daredevils post a strong 190 for four.

The left hand-right hand combination of Iyer and Duminy batted authoritatively to put together a 154-run second-wicket partnership (off 97 balls) to lift the home team’s morale after Mumbai won the toss and sent them into bat.

They got an early reward when New Zealand pacer Mitchell McClenaghan dismissed Mayank Agarwal (1) off the third ball of the Daredevils innings.

But that was the only joy enjoyed by Mumbai as Iyer and Duminy controlled the proceedings from there on.

They set the tone for the Daredevils batting mixing caution with aggression. They set up a strong platform on which Daredevils could build a strong total.

Iyer was dismissed while trying to increase the run rate in the 17th over. He hit seven fours and six sixes during his 56-bal stay, contributing 82 runs in his partnership with Duminy.

After Iyer’s departure, Duminy took over the mantle of brisk run-scoring. He was ably supported in the endeavour by Sri Lankan Angelo Mathews (17 off 8 balls).

But Mathews’ wicket, edging a McClenaghan delivery to wicketkeeper Partiv Patel in the 18th over, jolted their big hitting aspirations.

But Duminy still managed to pull Daredevils to their highest total in the tournament so far, tonking three boundaries and six huge sixes.

(IANS)

3-0: Bangladesh inflict historic whitewash on helpless Pakistan

by

Bangladesh-Pakistan

Dhaka/Dawn: Opening batsman Soumya Sarkar hit a maiden one-day century as Bangladesh thrashed woeful Pakistan by eight wickets in Dhaka on Wednesday to sweep the one-day series 3-0.

The 22-year-old left-hander smashed an unbeaten 127 as the fired-up hosts surpassed Pakistan’s modest 250 all out in the 40th over at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium.

Pakistan captain Azhar Ali’s 100 made no difference to his team’s fortunes after Bangladesh had won the first match by 79 runs and the second by seven wickets.

It was the first series whitewash by the Tigers against an Asian Test-playing nation, and followed their appearance in the quarter-finals of the recent World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza said he was delighted at the way the team had shaped up in the past few months and hoped to continue the good work in future.

“This is a good team we have and I am really happy the way we are playing,” he said. “Soumya (Sarkar) was brilliant today but our work is not done yet. We will now focus on the remaining matches.”

The two teams will play a Twenty20 international on Friday before starting a two-Test series from April 28.

Dramatic collapse

The win was never in doubt after Sarkar, who hit 13 boundaries and six sixes in his 110-ball innings, put on 145 for the first wicket with Tamim Iqbal.

Tamim, who had slammed centuries in the first two matches, missed a third consecutive hundred when he was leg-before to Junaid Khan for 64.

The left-arm seamer also bowled Mohammad Mahmudullah in his next over, but Mushfiqur Rahim (49 not out) ensured victory with an unbroken stand of 97 for the third wicket with Sarkar.

Pakistan were left to rue a dramatic collapse when they lost eight wickets for 47 runs after Azhar’s century had lifted them to a comfortable 203 for two in the 39th over.

Shakib Al Hasan, Mortaza, Arafat Sunny and Rubel Hossain claimed two wickets each as Bangladesh clawed their way back after wayward bowling earlier in the innings.

Azhar led from the front to become the first Pakistani captain in five years to score an one-day century following Shahid Afridi’s 124 against Bangladesh in 2010.

He heaped praise on Bangladesh for outplaying his young team that included just four players from the World Cup.

“I would like to congratulate Bangladesh because they played very good cricket,” he said. “We played well in patches but we could not put it together.

“As everybody knows, our senior players have left the one-day scene. The youngsters have to stand up and we have to pull our heads together.

“Hopefully we do well in the Twenty20 and the Test series.”

Having won the toss and elected to bat, Azhar shared an opening stand of 91 with debutant Sami Aslam, who made 45.

Nasir Hossain provided the breakthrough when he had the left-handed Aslam caught by wicket-keeper Rahim.

Senior all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez was bowled by Sunny for four to extend his batting misery in a series in which he compiled just eight runs in three matches.

Haris Sohail (52) added 98 with Azhar for the third wicket before the rot set in.

Azhar was bowled by Shakib and Mortaza dismissed Haris to launch Bangladesh’s comeback.

IPL: Gayle dropped, RCB fans shocked

by

chris_gayle

Bengaluru: Hundreds of die-hard fans of Chris Gayle, the dashing opener of host team Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), were shocked to learn that their hero would not play against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Wednesday night in the IPL-8 tie at the Chinnaswamy stadium here.

When the team for the game was announced after the toss and the names were displayed on the giant screen, omission of the West Indian southpaw was received with disbelief, as it meant fans would miss his mighty sixes and fours on the home turf.

“I can’t believe Gayle is not playing this time. It’s true he has not been in good form and didn’t score much in the last two games against Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad. But he was a match-winner in the first game this season against Kolkata Knight Riders on April 11 in Kolkata where he scored a scintillating 96 off 56 balls with seven sixes and seven fours,” M.N. Shastri, a government official, told IANS.

The Jamaican made 10 in 24 balls against Mumbai on April 19, without a six or a four, and 21 in 16 balls against Sunrisers on April 13 with three fours and one six.

Though the team also dropped bowlers Abu Nechim and Varun Aaron from the final 11, no explanation was given by the team management about dropping Gayle for the first time in a home game.

Interestingly, many fans have started rooting for AB de Villiers, who played a cameo innings against Mumbai, hitting 41 in just 11 balls with three sixes and five fours and led his South African team to semi-finals in the recent World Cup series in New Zealand.

Making three changes in the team, RCB brought in Sarfaraz Khan, Harshal Patel and Aussie speedster Mitchell Starc, who was Man of the Tournament in the World Cup for his record 22 wickets at an average of 10.18 runs.

(IANS)

Asked him to field carefully after Keshri incident: Injured cricketer Rahul Ghosh's mother

by

Rahul Ghosh, 19, complained of nausea after being hit on the head by a ball while fielding for Kolkata Police against local side Vijay Sporting Club during a game in Salt Lake in Kolkata. (Photo via Facebook)

Rahul Ghosh, 19, complained of nausea after being hit on the head by a ball while fielding for Kolkata Police against local side Vijay Sporting Club during a game in Salt Lake in Kolkata. (Photo via Facebook)

Injured Bengal cricketer Rahul Ghosh’s mother said on Tuesday she had asked her son to “field carefully” while playing following the tragic death of former Bengal Under-19 captain Ankit Keshri on Monday.

Ghosh was hospitalised here with a head injury sustained while fielding during a local league game on Tuesday.

“I had asked him to field carefully”, an inconsolable Sharmila Ghosh said.

Rahul, nearing 20 years of age, picked up the injury a day after the death of Keshri due to a fielding collision.

The injured cricketer’s father, Amitava, said he was “conscious” post being admitted to a private hospital here and was undergoing a series of tests to ascertain the extent of his injury on the left side of the head.

The picture at the hospital entrance was gloomy as his tense parents and concerned family members waited agonisingly for more updates.

“I didn’t have a good feeling about his going out to play today. I called him up before the match and told him to field carefully. Why did he go to play today despite what happened to the other cricketer yesterday,” questioned Ghosh’s mother.

An attending doctor said he is in a “stable” condition but the words hardly offered any relief to the family, particularly in the wake of Keshri’s death.

Keshri, a former Bengal Under-19 cricket captain, died at the same private city hospital on Monday following the head injury he picked up in a collision with a fellow fielder Sourav Mondal while taking a catch during a local knockout tournament Friday last.

His tragic fate invoked the memories of the unfortunate death of Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes who was fatally hit by a bouncer during a domestic match on November 25 last year, and died from the injuries two days later.

(IANS)

Misery for Pakistan as Bangladesh seal historic series win

by

Tamim Iqbal reacts after scoring his second consecutive century against Pakistan. — AFP

Tamim Iqbal reacts after scoring his second consecutive century against Pakistan. — AFP

Dhaka: Tamim Iqbal smashed a second consecutive century to steer Bangladesh to their first ever one-day series win over Pakistan with a seven-wicket victory in the second match in Dhaka on Sunday.

The left-handed opener hit an unbeaten run-a-ball 116 as the hosts, chasing Pakistan’s 239 for six, cruised home in the 39th over to take an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

The new-look Pakistan, with just four World Cuppers in their ranks and led for the first time in a series by Azhar Ali, needed a massive improvement after their 79-run defeat in Friday’s opening match.

But a top-order collapse pushed them in a corner and left the tourists seeking a consolation win in the third and final match at the same Sher-e-Bangla stadium in Dhaka on Wednesday.

Saad Nasim and Wahab Riaz hit unbeaten half-centuries to lift Pakistan to a seemingly competitive score after they were reduced to 77-5 by the 22nd over of the day-night international.

Tamim, who made 132 in the previous match, made a mockery of the target after racing to his half-century off just 31 balls.

Junaid Khan removed fellow-opener Soumya Sarkar cheaply for 17, but Tamim calmed the home supporters’ nerves with three successive boundaries off both Saeed Ajmal and Wahab Riaz.

By the time Ajmal bowled Mahmdullah for 17 to give Pakistan their second wicket, Bangladesh had taken control of the game by reaching 100 in just 14 overs.

Mushfiqur Rahim, who also hit a century in the first game, continued his good form with 65 off 70 balls as Bangladesh ended their series drought against Pakistan with 71 ball deliveries to spare.

Shakib Al Hasan hit the winning run soon after Tamim, who struck 17 fours and six, completed his sixth one-day century by gliding Junaid to fine-leg.

Earlier, Nasim was unbeaten on 77 in only his second international and Riaz struck 51 off 40 balls as Pakistan crossed the 200-run mark on the slow pitch.

Nasim began the rescue act by adding 77 for the sixth wicket with Haris Sohail, who made 44.

Skipper Azhar Ali and Sarfraz Ahmed put on an opening stand of 36 before the top-order crumbled in dramatic fashion.

Seamer Rubel Hossain had Sarfraz caught at slip by Soumya Sarkar off his first delivery, before spinner Arafat Sunny bowled the experienced Mohammad Hafeez for zero in the next over.

Left-arm spinner Shakib removed Ali for 36 through a catch by wicket-keeper Rahim, and trapped Mohammad Rizwan leg-before for 13.

In between those two dismissals, Nasir Hossain bowled Fawad Alam for a duck to open up the lower order.

Bangladesh were boosted by the return of captain Mashrafe Mortaza, who had missed the opening match due to a one-match ban for his team’s slow over-rates at the World Cup.

Mortaza, playing his 150th one-day international, claimed one wicket when he took a return catch to end Sohail’s resistance.

(Agencies)

KNOW US

GET INVOLVED

PROMOTE

Archives