Providence (Guyana) Seasoned batter Mithali Raj cracked a half century to guide India to a facile seven-wicket win over arch-rivals Pakistan in the ICC Women’s World T20 here on Sunday.

Raj held fort from one end to make short work of India’s run chase with a 47-ball 56 which she made with the help of seven fours in the Group B match which was marred by unprecedented docking of 10 penalty runs on Pakistan.

Even before a ball being faced, 10 runs were on India’s scoreboard after Pakistan were docked five-run penalty twice during their innings on account of their batswomen running on the danger area of the pitch during their innings.

India had little difficulty in gunning down the modest target of 134 with six balls to spare, reaching 137 for 3 in 19 overs.

Previous game centurion and captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Veda Krishnamurthy remained not out on 14 and 8 respectively.

Courtesy the victory, India (with four points) now have one foot in the semifinals from the five-team Group B.

Two teams each from the two groups qualify for the semifinals.

India never looked in trouble with openers Raj and Smriti Mandhana (26) finding the boundaries at regular intervals in their 73-run partnership.

Mandhana fell to Bismah Maroof with Omaima Sohail taking a crisp catch at deep square leg.

Jemimah Rodrigues (16) was then caught and bowled by Nida Dar in the 15th over but it hardly matter in the end.

Earlier, Pakistan rode on half-centuries from Bismah Maroof and Nida Dar to post 133/7.

Fresh from a 52-run defeat to title contenders Australia in their opening match, Pakistan struggled to get going in the face of some accurate Indian bowling.

Asked to bat first, Pakistan suffered an early blow when Arundhati Reddy dismissed Ayesha Zafar in the very first over thanks to an excellent catch by Veda Krishnamurthy at first slip.

Omaima Sohail and Javeria Khan virtually gifted away their wickets with rather silly run-outs to leave Pakistan in trouble at 30/3 in the seventh over.

However, Bismah and Nida brought the innings back on track with a 94-run stand. Bismah scored 53 runs off 49 balls while Nida hit a breezy 52 off 35 deliveries which included five boundaries and two hits into the stands.

Nida was the beneficiary of a piece of good luck when Veda dropped an easy catch at long-off off Radha Yadav’s bowling even as the ball slipped through for a boundary.

The Indians continued to struggle with their fielding even as the Pakistanis piled on the runs with some superb strokeplay.

Dayalan Hemalatha brought the Indians back into the game when she sent back both Pakistani batters in the 19th over shortly after they had reached their respective half-centuries.

Maroof was caught by Veda at long-on after she had come down the track to a well-flighted delivery. Nida followed her back to the pavilion a couple of deliveries later when a mistimed cut hand an easy catch to Harmanpreet Kaur at cover.

The rest of the Pakistani batters never really matched up to the Indian bowlers as apart from Javeria Khan, all of them failed to reach double figures.

Brief scores:
India 137/3 in 19 overs (Mithali Raj 56; Diana Baig 1/19) beat Pakistan: 133/7 in 20 overs (Bismah Maroof 53, Nida Dar 52; Poonam Yadav 2/22, Dayalan Hemalatha 2/34) by seven wickets.

(IANS)

Chennai A brilliant batting display from Shikhar Dhawan (92) and Rishabh Pant (58) helped India edge past West Indies by six wickets in a last ball thriller in the final match of the Twenty20 International series here on Sunday.

With this win, India completed a whitewash in the three-match series.

After two quick wickets, Dhawan and Pant batted well and put India on the brink of victory but Pant’s wicket in the penultimate over changed the scenario of the match and the game went to the last over.

Needing five runs in seven balls, Dhawan and Manish Pandey scored four runs in first three balls but then a dot ball and Dhawan’s wicket made the match interesting which could have been finished much earlier.

Needing one run in one ball, Manish, who seemed out of sorts in the middle, somehow managed to steal a run to hand India a victory.

Chasing a challenging score of 182, India started on a bad note, losing opener Rohit Sharma (4) in the third over.

New batsman Lokesh Rahul (17) then came in the middle and displayed some brilliant shots but soon he was also dismissed by Oshane Thomas in the sixth over.

With the scoreboard reading 45/2, Dhawan (92) and Pant (58) took the charge and hammered the Windies’ bowlers all around the park to forge a 130-run partnership. In the process, the duo completed their respective half centuries.

But just when it seemed India will finish off the proceedings in style, Pant was dismissed in the 19th over.

New batsman Pandey then struggled at the crease but at the end, India managed to steal the game in the last ball.

Earlier, a good batting show helped West Indies post a challenging total of 181/3.

The visitors applied themselves perfectly and made sure they did not loose wickets till the end which saw middle-order batsmen Darren Bravo (43 not out) and Nicholas Pooran (53 not out) taking the charge towards the end, helping their team to post a decent score.

Opting to bat, openers Shai Hope (24) and Shimron Hetmyer (26) started the proceedings on a good note, forging a 51-run partnership in six overs.

But while trying to accelerate the score, Hope was dismissed by Yuzvendra Chahal in the seventh over. After adding 11 more runs to the total with Bravo, Hetmyer was also sent packing by Chahal.

Despite two quick wickets, Bravo kept on playing sensibly with Denesh Ramdin (15). Just when things seemed good in the middle, Ramdin played a poor shot and was clean bowled by Washington Sundar in the 13th over when the scoreboard was reading 94/3.

New batsman Pooran then joined Bravo in the middle and started punishing the bad balls. The duo forged a crucial unbeaten 87-run partnership for the fourth wicket and helped West Indies finish their innings in style.

Pooran played 25 balls and slammed four boundaries and as many sixes.

For India, Chahal took two wickets while Sundar scalped one.

Brief scores: West Indies 181/3 (Darren Bravo 43 not out, Nicholas Pooran 53 not out; Yuzvendra Chahal 2/28) against India 182/4 (Shikhar Dhawan 92, Rishabh Pant 58; Keemo Paul 2/32)

(IANS)

 A combined effort helped India thrash New Zealand by 34 runs in the opening match of the Women’s World T20 at the Providence Stadium here on Friday.

Opting to bat, first batswomen did a fantastic job especially centurion Harmanpreet Kaur (103) andAJemimah Rodrigues (59) then Indian bowlers kept the pressure right from the first ball and restricted them for 160/9 to seal the match.

Chasing a mammoth 195, New Zealand never looked in contention as they lost wickets at regular intervals.

Apart from opening stand of 52 runs betweenASuzie Bates (67) and Anna Petersen (14)A no other player rose to the occasion and failed to build partnerships.

Bates and Katey Martin (39) were the highest scorers for New Zealand.

For India, Dayalan Hemalatha and Poonam Yadav took three wickets each.

Earlier, India rode on a belligerent maiden T20I century from skipper Harmanpreet Kaur to post the highest ever total of 194/5.

Kaur belted a 51-ball 103, laced with seven boundaries and eight sixes, and more importantly raised a record 134-run fourth wicket stand with the young Jemimah Rodrigues (59 off 45 balls; 4X7) to bail India out of a troubled start.

Electing to bat after winning the toss, India found themselves in a vulnerable position, tottering at 40/3 by the sixth over, after losing the top three batswomen — Taniya Bhatia (9), Smriti Mandhana (2) and Dayalan Hemalatha (15), cheaply.

Making her first appearance in a World T20, Jemimah controlled her nerves playing the perfect second fiddle to the fluent Kaur, who was at her aggressive best throughout the innings.

Kaur raced to a 33-ball 50 and in no time converted that to a magnificent century off only 49 deliveries.A

Sensing the urgency of putting up a big total, Jemimah, towards the end also pressed on the accelerator to get to her half century off 40 balls.

New Zealand managed to get rid of the partnership with Jess Watkin getting the back of Jemimah and Sophie Devine dismissing Kaur, but by then the damage was done as India walked back with the highest ever total in a World T20 tie.

Brief Scores: India 194/5 (Harmanpreet Kaur 103, Jemimah Rodrigues 59; LeaTahuhu 2/18) vs New Zealand 160/9 (Suzie Bates 67;ADayalan Hemalatha 3/26).

IANS

Hockey India on Saturday named a 33-member core list of probables for the upcoming Indian womens national camp to be held at the Sports Authority of India’s Bengaluru campus from November 12-30.

The core group features goalkeepers Savita, Rajani Etimarpu and Sonal Minj, as also defenders Deep Grace Ekka, Sunita Lakra, Sushila Chanu Phukhrambam, Gurjit Kaur, Rashmita Minz, Suman Devi Thoudam, Mahima Choudhary, Nisha and Salima Tete.

Midfielders Nikki Pradhan, Monika, Lilima Minz, Namita Toppo, Neha Goyal, Udita, Jyoti, Anuja Singh, Shyama Tidgam, Sonika and Karishma Yadav will be joined by forwards Rani, Lalremsiami, Navneet Kaur, Navjot Kaur, Rajwinder Kaur, Vandana Katariya, Anupa Barla, Priyanka Wankhede, Reena Khokhar and Leelavathy Mallamada.

“The core group continues to remain the same while we have brought in a few younger players who have shown good performances in the domestic events. We also have women who have done well at the Youth Olympic Games and it is encouraging to have a strong pool of players who are pushing each other for a place in the team. During this three-week national camp, we will focus more on strength and conditioning, agility and emphasis on keeping up the fitness levels,” chief coach Sjoerd Marijne said in a statement.

The list of probables:

Goalkeepers: Savita, Rajani Etimarpu, Sonal Minj

Defenders: Deep Grace Ekka, Sunita Lakra, Sushila Chanu Phukhrambam, Gurjit Kaur, Rashmita Minz, Suman Devi Thoudam, Mahima Choudhary, Nisha, Salima Tete

Midfielders: Nikki Pradhan, Monika, Lilima Minz, Namita Toppo, Neha Goyal, Udita, Jyoti, Anuja Singh, Shyama Tidgam, Sonika, Karishma Yadav

Forwards: Rani, Lalremsiami, Navneet Kaur, Navjot Kaur, Rajwinder Kaur, Vandana Katariya, Anupa Barla, Priyanka Wankhede, Reena Khokhar, Leelavathy Mallamada

IANS

Having won the three-match T20 International rubber 2-0, the Indian team management has decided to rest three of their senior bowlers — Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav — for the third and final T20I against the West Indies here on Sunday.

Pacer Siddharth Kaul has been added to the India squad for the final T20I.

“The Indian team management has decided to rest Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav from the upcoming third Paytm T20I against the Windies in Chennai. The decision has been made to allow the trio to be in the best physical condition ahead of India’s tour to Australia,” a BCCI release stated.

The men-in-blue have already pocketed the series by winning the first two games comprehensively.

India won the first T20 in Kolkata by five wickets, before skipper Rohit Sharma’s masterclass century helped the hosts take an unbeatable 2-0 lead with the 71-run win in Lucknow.

The absence of Umesh, Kuldeep and Bumrah will also give the likes of Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Nadeem and Kaul a chance to show their mettle ahead of the 2019 World Cup.

India’s squad for the 3rd T20I series against the Windies: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Manish Pandey, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Krunal Pandya, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Shahbaz Nadeem, Siddarth Kaul.

IANS

Dabang Delhi finally reversed the three match losing streak in the Pro Kabaddi League with a 39-33 win over Haryana Steelers here on Thursday.

This was Vikas Kandola’s first match as captain since Haryana’s Monu Goyat was on the bench. Monu Goyat came off the bench to try and inspire his team as he got 11 raid points in 18 raids but couldn’t do so.

Ravinder Pahal justified his nickname of “The Hawk” as he got six tackle points which included a strong Super Tackle in the end to seal the match.

Meraj Sheyk’s Super Raid helped him get a few points off Haryana’s grabs. Naveen Kumar stood as consistent as he got nine raid points for Delhi in 15 raids.

Dabang Delhi K.C. are going through a slump as they have lost their last three matches while Haryana were starting the match with Monu Goyat on the bench and an extra defender in the starting line up.

Chandran Ranjit started the match with a bonus point for Dabang Delhi K.C. It was a slow start for both teams as they went for a Do-Or-Die raid approach, but it completely changed with Haryana Steelers’ Do-Or-Die raid.

The 3rd minute saw Ravinder Pahal being assisted by Vishal Mane after he got a double ankle hold to pull Vikas Kandola from the midline and inject adrenaline into the match by making it 2-2.

Delhi started to dominate the extra raider’s advantage after they got Naveen and Vikas in a raid and tackle in subsequent raids.

Monu Goyat was brought into the match in the 10th minute to become the raider for Haryana but he couldn’t stop Haryana from conceding an All Out in the 12th minute to give Delhi a 5 point lead with 7-12 on the scoreboard.

His presence worked a little late as Haryana slowly but surely reduced the lead. Meraj Sheyk on the other hand leaped over Sachin Shingade to prove to everyone who brought this technique
to the league.

Sunil got a strong chain hold on Naveen Kumar with Monu to stop his leaping effort and make it 11-13.

They then inflicted an All Out on Delhi in the 18th minute to flip the table and take the lead 16-15. The half ended with Haryana Steelers taking a 4 point lead on Delhi with 19-15.

Dabang Delhi made a Dabang impact on the second half by picking up 10 points in the first 5 minutes of the half.

Meraj Sheyk got a Super Raid on Haryana in the 24th minute by getting Kuldeep Singh, Sunil and Naveen, keeping only Sachin Shingade on the mat for Haryana and making it 19-21 in favour of Delhi.

The next raid saw Delhi inflict the All Out and make it 20-24 in the 25 th minute.

Vishal Mane was the stronghold for Delhi as he dashed on the raiders of Haryana and pushed them out of the mat like he did in the 31st minute on an unsuspecting Naveen to make it 23-30.

Haryana started to creep towards Delhi’s score as Monu Goyat got Naveen Kumar while also noticing Ravinder Pahal enter the lobby without a touch already being made.

This reduced the gap to 5 points in the 35th minute to make it 28-33.

Joginder Narwal getting a strong dash on Vikas Kandola’s 38th minute Do-Or-Die raid helped them get back the momentum towards them.

Ravinder Pahal sealed the match with a strong Super Tackle on Monu Goyat to make it Delhi as Dabang Delhi K.C. defeated Haryana Steelers 33-39.

Star Indian shuttlers P.V Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth entered the quarter-finals, defeating their opponents in the China Open tournament here on Thursday.

It was a cake walk for World No. 2 Sindhu as she won her women’s singles tie against Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan 21-12, 21-15 in straight games.

Srikanth beat Indonesia’s Tommy Sugiarto 10-21, 21-9, 21-9 in a match which lasted 45 minutes.

Sindhu had no problems in outplaying her opponent. Her swift court movements and smashes saw her overpowering Ongbamrungphan in just 37 minutes of play while Srikanth had to struggle to register a come-from-behind victory.

Third seed Sindhu will face eighth seed He Bingjiao of China while fifth seed Srikanth will face fourth seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei in the next round.

In the men’s doubles category, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty defeated Wahyu Nayaka Arya Pangkaryanira and Ade Yusuf Santoso of Indonesia 16-21, 21-14, 21-15 in an hour-long match.

After losing the first game, the Indian pair bounced back in style and wrapped up the issue to advance.

The Indian pair will now face Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setaiwan of Indonesia in the next round.

IANS

Five-time former world champion Viswanathan Anand will begin his campaign against Filipino-American Wesley So in the ‘Tata Steel Chess India 2018’ starting here at the Indian Council for Cultural Relations on Friday.

“It’s a very nice feeling to be back in Kolkata. I’ve got a lot of memories here. I’m really excited,” Anand said on the sidelines of the draw.

The 48-year-old last played here at the 3rd Goodricke Open in 1992.

Anand last played in India at his hometown Mayiladuthurai in 2013 when he lost the World Championship title to Magnus Carlsen.

India’s No.2 and former world junior champion Pentala Harikrishna will open his account against local challenger Surya Sekhar Ganguly.

Ganguly said he is looking forward to facing Anand for the first time in his life.

“I remember making the demo board during Anand’s match here in 1992. It’s strange but for the first time I’ll take him on a real board. I’m absolutely honoured,” an excited Ganguly said.

The USD 40,000 prize money tournament will feature three players in the top 10 ranking including Azerbaijan GM and world number three Shakhriyar Mamedyarov who will start off against India no 3 Vidit Gujrathi in the second board.

Mamedyarov, who has an Elo rating of 2817, said he does not give much importance to his rating.

“I’m not under any pressure. I will forget my rating and play my own game. I think it’s an open field with seven eight players who can go all the way,” he said.

Current World Cup winner Levon Aronian is slated to arrive on Friday as he missed the flight. He is drawn against Hikaru Nakamura who will play with white in the third board.

Armenian GM and world number six Levon Aronian; USA’s GM Wesley So who is world number 9; Japanese-American GM and four-time United States champion Hikaru Nakamura who is world number 14 and Russian GM Sergey Karjakin (world number 15) also feature in the draw.

The tournament features six Indian and five overseas Grandmasters including two wild card entries to Nihal Sarin and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu who will compete in the rapid and blitz formats respectively.

The first three days of action will be of rapid chess in all nine rounds in round robin format followed by a rest day on Monday.

The final leg will be of double round robin blitz concluding on November 14.

Draw

Round One: Pentala Harikrishna v Surya Sekhar Ganguly; Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan) v Vidit Gujrathi; Hikaru Nakamura (USA) v Levon Aronian (Armenia); Nihal Sarin v Sergey Karjakin (Russia); Viswanathan Anand v Wesley So (USA).

IANS

Having faced the wrath of social media users for a couple of days after publicly lashing out at a fan, India skipper Virat Kohli tried to tone down the issue somewhat on Thursday, saying he is “all for freedom of choice”.

“I guess trolling isn’t for me guys, I’ll stick to getting trolled! I spoke about how “these Indians” was mentioned in the comment and that’s all. I’m all for freedom of choice. Keep it light guys and enjoy the festive season. Love and peace to all,” Kohli said in a message on his official Twitter handle.

Earlier, the India skipper was trolled on social media after he asked a fan to leave the country if he did not like to watch Indian cricketers in action.

Kohli, who launched the ‘Virat Kohli Official App’ on his 30th birthday on Monday, faced the backlash after his reaction to a fan, who confessed his preference for English and Australian cricketers over Kohli’s blue brigade.

“He (Virat) is an overrated batsman. Nothing seems special in his batting. I enjoy watching English and Australian batsmen more than these Indians,” the fan wrote.

Kohli admitted that he was not personally affected by the criticism but pointed out that if someone does not like Indian players while living in India then they should not be living in the country.

“I don’t think you should live in India. Go and live somewhere else. Why are you living in our country and loving other countries? I don’t mind you not liking me. I don’t think you should live in our country and like other things. Get your priorities right,” Kohli replied.

The right-hander, who struck three consecutive centuries in the just-concluded five-match ODI rubber against the West Indies, has surpassed batting legend Sachin Tendulkar to become the quickest to reach 10k One-day International (ODI) runs.

IANS

Greater Noida Jaipur Pink Panthers registered their second win in the ongoing sixth edition of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) after defeating Haryana Steelers 38-32 here on Tuesday.

Jaipur’s Deepak Hooda collected 12 raid points, while Haryana’s Vikas Kandola bagged 10 points.

The Anup Kumar-led Jaipur Pink Panthers were desperate for a win as they had entered the match after losing their last four games.

The score was tied at 2-2 in the 2nd minute but regular mistakes by Haryana caused Jaipur to take the lead and inflict an All-Out in the 9th minute to make it 11-6 in their favour.

However, it looked like Vikas had other plans as he constantly bothered Jaipur’s defence with regular bonus and touch points.

Haryana made a comeback in the final minutes of the first half as they took a 16-13 lead. They then continued this form and inflicted an All-Out in the last raid of the half to make it 20-18 in their favour.

The second half saw Haryana continue with the positivity of the first half and dominate Jaipur as Kuldeep Singh got Anup with an ankle hold to make it 23-18 for Haryana in the 22nd minute.

Jaipur stepped up to bring out a response and made the issue 20-23. Jaipur then blocked Haryana from running away with the lead as Nitin Rawal and Mohit Chhillar blocked Vikas near the midline after a failed ankle hold by Young Chang Ko in the 27th minute to make it 22-24.

Mohit continued to create problems for the Haryana raiders as he got a strong block on Mayur Shivtarkar to inflict another All-Out as Jaipur extended their lead to 28-25 in the 30th minute.

Jaipur then increased the lead slowly to 4 points by the 34th minute as Mohit got a double thigh hold on Monu Goyat and made it 32-28. Nitin continued to cause trouble for Haryana as he blocked Monu from returning to the midline and made it 34-30 for Jaipur.

Deepak got his first Super 10 of the season as he got a bonus point in the 38th minute and made the contest 35-30. Jaipur collected three points in the last two minutes, while their opponents could only manage two as the former clinched the issue 38-32.

(IANS)