[Nasheman news] Mount Maunganui (New Zealand) Former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni missed out of Monday’s third ODI against New Zealand with a hamstring injury, making it only the third occasion when the veteran stumper was forced out of the playing XI.

At 37, Dhoni has been one of the fittest Indian cricketers of the current generation and very less often do fans witness an Indian line-up sans his name in white-ball cricket.

Interestingly, this is only the third time the Ranchi wicketkeeper-batsman has missed out with an injury.

The last time he was out of the playing XI was way back in 2013 when he missed three ODIs due to a hamstring injury in a tri-series in the West Indies.

While the first time, he missed out was 12 years ago when he was out of two ODIs against Ireland and South Africa in Belfast in 2007 due to viral fever.

On Monday, with India leading 2-0 in the five-match ODI rubber against the Kiwis, the talismanic stumper was once again troubled by his hamstring, which provided the men-in-blue with an opportunity to test out Dinesh Karthik behind the stumps.

With India slated to play a handful of international games ahead of the ICC World Cup in May and June, this experiment could come handy for Virat Kohli’s team, in case Dhoni picks a niggle or injury in the showpiece tournament in England and Wales.

[Nasheman news] Mount Maunganui (New Zealand) Pacer Mohammed Shami starred with the ball taking three wickets helping India overcome veteran Ross Taylor’s defiant 93 and restricting New Zealand to a below-par 243 in the crucial third ODI at the Bay Oval here on Monday.

The former New Zealand skipper stood out with a 106-ball 93, laced with 9 boundaries to anchor the Kiwi innings that once again crumbled in good batting conditions.

Besides Taylor, wicketkeeper Tom Latham contributed with a 64-ball 51, laced with a boundary and a six, even as the rest of the Kiwi batting looked pedestrian against the disciplined Indian bowling attack.

Electing to bat on a slow track, New Zealand once again lost the early momentum after losing both openers — Colin Munro (7) and Martin Guptill (13) in the first power play, to the pace duo of Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, respectively.

Skipper Kane Williamson (28) joined forces with Taylor to steady the ship with a brief 33-run third wicket stand, but the former succumbed to a blinder of a catch by comeback man Hardik Pandya off leggie Yuzvendra Chahal, while trying to break the shackles.

Taylor continued in his customary fashion, meddling the odd ball to the boundary while trying to build a partnership with the stumper Latham, who supported the veteran well by keeping the scoreboard ticking.

The fourth wicket partnership between Taylor and Latham flourished to 119, before Chahal was brought back and the wrist spinner responded in style by dismissing Latham, caught by Ambati Rayudu at deep midwicket.

At 178/4 and with Taylor getting to another half century, New Zealand were on track but Pandya removed Henry Nicholls (6) and Mitchell Santner (3) in similar fashion, caught behind by Dinesh Karthik to reduce the hosts to 198/6.

Taylor, who by now had reached the nervous 90s was eager to get to the three figure mark briskly and up the ante but the right-hander’s plans were dashed by Shami, who got his victim caught behind.

India, thereafter did not allow the Kiwi tail to wag this time around and skipper Virat Kohli quickly made up for dropping Ish Sodhi (12) off Shami, by comfortably latching on to the New Zealand leggie off the same bowler in the same over.

Kohli immediately ran Doug Bracewell (15) out before Bhuvneshwar came back to pack off Trent Boult (2) to end the Kiwi innings in the penultimate over of the innings.

Brief Scores: New Zealand 243 (Ross Taylor 93, Tom Latham 51; Mohammed Shami 3/41, Hardik Pandya 2/45, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2/46) vs India.

[Nasheman news] Mount Maunganui (New Zealand) Maintaining their winning streak, a dominant India outclassed New Zealand by 90 runs in the second match of the five-game rubber at the Bay Oval here on Saturday to go 2-0 up in the series.

After the Indian openers — Rohit Sharma (87) and Shikhar Dhawan (66) handed a solid start to the visiting side, chinaman Kuldeep Yadav (4/45) starred with the leather to help India register a thumping win.

Chasing a challenging 325 for victory, the hosts suffered another batting collapse as most of their batsmen succumbed before a clinical Indian attack. The Indian bowlers struck at regular intervals, denying the Kiwi batsmen to build any big partnership.

Bowling all-rounder Doug Bracewell chipped in valuable 57 runs down the order however, it wasn’t enough to help the Kiwis cross the line.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar came with an early breakthrough, dismissing Kiwi opener Martin Guptill (15) cheaply before Mohammed Shami packed back hosts’ skipper Kane Williamson (20) with New Zealand’s scorecard reading 51/2 in the eighth over.

With the addition of 33 runs in the Kiwi scorecard, leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal also joined the party, sending back a good looking Colin Munro (31). Just when the hosts touched the three-digit mark, Kedhar Jadav worsened New Zealand’s situation after dismissing Ross Taylor (22), who was stumped by Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Tom Latham (34) then tried to rescue his side but became Kuldeep’s victim in the 25th over. The chinaman then struck thrice in quick succession, sending back Colin de Grandhomme (3), Henry Nicholls (28) and Ish Sodhi, who failed to open his account, with New Zealand at 166/8.

Bracewell restored some respectablity for the hosts, smashing a 46-ball 57 to take New Zealand past the 200-run mark. The all-rounder’s firework was decoarted with five boundaries and three hits into the stands.

Bhuvneshwar finally applied brakes on Bracewell’s innings as the batsman, while trying to clear the fence, handed an easy catch to Dhawan at long-on.

Chahal put the final nail in the coffin, dismissing Lockie Ferguson (12) as India registered a thumping 90-run win. 

Earlier, a brilliant batting display helped India put a challenging 324/4 against the Kiwis. Opener Rohit and Dhawan were the top contributors with individual scores of 87 and 66 respectively.

Opting to bat, India were off to a perfect start, thanks to the openers, who forged a crucial 154 runs for the first wicket before Kiwi pacer Trent Boult gave some relief to his side, dismissing Dhawan in the 26th over. 

Ferguson struck soon, packing back a well-settled Rohit with India’s scorecard reading 172/2.

Skipper Virat Kohli (43) and Ambati Rayudu (47) were then involved in a 64-run partnership for the third wicket. Boult gave the visitors a major blow as a thick edge off Kohli was caught at fine-led by Sodhi.

Rayudu was then joined by Dhoni (48 not out) as the two steadily lifted India near the 300-run mark before the former fell to Ferguson in the 46th over.

Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav’s (22 not out off 10 balls) fireworks then accelerated the run-rate, taking India to a good total of 324/4 in the allotted 50 overs.

For New Zealand, Boult and Ferguson picked two wickets each, conceding 61 and 81 runs respectively.

Brief score: India 324/4 (Rohit Sharma 87, Shikhar Dhawan 66; Trent Boult 2/61) beat New Zealand 234 all out (Doug Bracewell 57, Tom Latham 34; Kuldeep Yadav 4/45) by 90 runs.

Nasheman News : All-rounder Hardik Pandya and opener Lokesh Rahul, whose bans were lifted on Thursday, have been included in the squad for the series against New Zealand and India A respectively.

“Following the CoA’s decision to lift the bans on Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul, the Senior selection committee has decided to include Hardik Pandya in the squad for the series against New Zealand. KL Rahul will meanwhile join the India A squad that is playing 5 one-day games against England Lions in Thiruvananthapuram,” the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said in a statement.

“Hardik Pandya will be sent to New Zealand to join the team at the earliest and KL Rahul will join the India A squad to play the last 3 one-day games against England Lions,” it read.

India are 1-0 up in the five-match ODI series and the second rubber is on Saturday.

India A team will play 5 one-day games against England Lions.

Skipper Virat Kohli has been rested for the final two ODIs and the subsequent three-match Twenty20 International (T20I) series.

The Supreme Court appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) lifted the suspensions of Pandya and Rahul with immediate effect.

It was imposed for their objectionable comments on a television talk show.

The two players, who were sent home from the Australia tour, have already missed out on four One-Day Internationals (ODI), three against Australia and the opening match of the five-ODI series against New Zealand.

“The Committee of Administrators (CoA) had, by emails dated 11.01.2019, and in exercise of Rule 41(6) of the Constitution of BCCI, suspended Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul in view of the allegations of misconduct against them, pending adjudication of the allegations under Rule 46 of the approved BCCI Constitution,” a BCCI statement said.

“Since the adjudication of all allegations of misconduct against any cricketer registered with, inter alia, the BCCI is required to be undertaken by the BCCI Ombudsman, whose appointment is pending directions of the Supreme Court of India, the CoA is of the view that the interim suspension orders dated 11.01.2019 should be presently lifted with immediate effect.

“The above matter and decision has been taken with the concurrence of the Learned Amicus Curiae, P.S. Narasimha. In view of the above, the suspension orders dated 11.01.2019 is immediately lifted pending appointment and adjudication of the allegations by the BCCI Ombudsman,” the statement added.

When contacted by media, CoA member Diana Edulji refused to comment on the issue.

Nasheman News : India rode on opener Smriti Mandhana’s fourth ODI ton and a disciplined bowling effort from the spin twins of Ekta Bisht and Poonam Yadav to outclass New Zealand by 9 wickets in the first ICC Women’s Championship One-day International at the McLean Park here on Thursday.

Smriti, the 2018 ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year, continued from where she left last year, as she belted a 104-ball 105, comprising nine fours and three sixes, and was engaged in a 190-run opening stand with teenager Jemimah Rodrigues (81 not out) to power the visitors home with 17 overs to spare.

Earlier, opting to field, the women-in-blue rode on inspirational bowling from the spin trio of Ekta, Poonam and Deepti Sharma to bowl out New Zealand for 192, despite Suzie Bates (36) and Sophie Devine (28) putting on 61 for the opening wicket.

The home skipper Amy Satterthwaite scored a fluent 31 while Amelia Kerr (28) and Hannah Rowe (25) failed to convert their start to bigger scores.

The Indian spinners took eight wickets between them, with Ekta (3/32) and Poonam (3/42) taking three wickets each, while Deepti ended with an economical 2/27.

Thursday’s win was another fine show of dominance by the Indians and a perfect start under their new coach W.V. Raman.

Brief Scores: New Zealand 192 (Suzie Bates 36, Amy Satterthwaite 31; Ekta Bisht 3/32, Poonam Yadav 3/42) lose to India 193/1 (Smriti Mandhana 105, Jemimah Rodrigues 81 not out) by 9 wickets.

Nashaeman News : Mohammed Shami on Wednesday added another feather to his cap becoming the fastest Indian medium pacer to complete 100 wickets in one-day internationals (ODIs).

In the ongoing first ODI against New Zealand here, Shami sent back Kiwi opener Martin Guptill to the stands in the very first over achieving the feat.

Earlier, the Indian record was held by left-arm medium pacer Irfan Pathan, who had picked his 100th wicket from 59 games. Shami achieved it in 56.

Zaheer Khan (65), Ajit Agarkar (67) and Javagal Srinath (68) complete the top five fastest bowlers from India who have fastest 100 wickets record.

Overall, Shami is now tied with New Zealand pacer Trent Boult as the sixth fastest to 100 wickets landmark in terms of matches played. 

Afghanistan sensational leg-spinner Rashid Khan tops the chart, reaching the milestone in just 44 ODIs. He is followed by Mitchell Starc (52), Saqlain Mushtaq (53), Shane Bond (54) and Brett Lee (55).

Nasheman News :A brilliant all-round effort helped India thrash New Zealand by eight wickets via the Duckworth-Lewis (D/L) method in the first One Day International match at the McLean Park here on Wednesday.

Asked to field first, the Indian bowlers were right on the money as they restricted the hosts to a paltry score and then Indian batters displayed a clinical performance to hand India a 1-0 lead in the five match series.

Chasing 157, Indian openers Rohit Sharma (11) and Shikhar Dhawan (75 not out) started on a positive note, forging a crucial 41-runs partnership before Rohit was dismissed by Doug Bracewell in the 10th over. He was caught by Martin Guptil in the slips.

Just after the fall of Rohit’s wicket, sun stopped the play for around 30 minutes. The sun rays were directly getting into the players eyes which prompted the umpires to suspend the proceedings.

The break saw the match officials reduce the match by one over and the new target for India was revised to 156 from 49 overs.

After the restart, skipper Virat Kohli (45) joined Dhawan in the middle and the duo hammered the New Zealand bowlers all round the park. In the process, Dhawan reached the landmark of 5000 ODI runs and became the second fastest Indian to reach the milestone. 

It seemed like the Delhi duo will remain unbeaten and complete the match with ease but in the 29th over, Kohli was sent packing by Lockie Ferguson when scoreboard was reading 132. He was caught behind by Tom Latham.

New batsman Ambati Rayudu (13 not out) and Dhawan then joined hands and completed the proceeding with 85 balls remaining.

For New Zealand, Ferguson and Bracewell took one wicket each.

Earlier, India rode chinaman Kuldeep Yadav and pacer Mohammed Shami’s exceptional bowling effort to restrict New Zealand to a paltry 157 runs.

While Kuldeep’s figures were 4/39, Shami was also phenomenal with the leather, scalping three Kiwi wickets conceding just 19 runs from his six overs. 

Yuzvendra Chahal and Kedar Jadhav picked two and one wicket, respectively.

Other than New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson (64), no other batsmen put up a fight against the disciplined Indian attack.

Opting to bat, the hosts had the worst possible start as Shami struck early sending back both the openers — Martin Guptill (5) and Colin Munro (8), cheaply.

Newcomers Williamson and Ross Taylor (24) then tried to rescue their side from the early damage, taking New Zealand past the 50-run mark in 13.3 overs. 

However, Taylor’s stay was cut short by Chahal in the 15th over with the hosts at 52/3.

With the addition of just 24 runs in the Kiwi scorecard, Chahal struck again to dismiss incoming batsman Tom Latham (11). Jadhav and Shami then joined the party as they sent back Henry Nicholls (12) and Mitchell Santner (14), leaving the hosts reeling at 133/6.

Williamson, however, continued to show resistance and kept one end safe, but lacked support from the other end. 

While trying to clear the fence in the 34th over off a Kuldeep delivery, the Kiwi skipper misread the ball and offered a simple catch to Vijay Shankar at long-on.

Kuldeep then put the final nail in the coffin, picking the tailenders — Doug Bracewell (7), Lockie Ferguson (0) and Trent Boult (1) in quick succession to wrap up the host in just 38 overs.

Brief scores: 

New Zealand 157 all out (Kane Williamson 64, Ross Taylor 24; Kuldeep Yadav 4/39) vs India 156/2 (Shikhar Dhawan 75 not out, Virat Kohli 45; Doug Bracewell 1/23)

[Nasheman news] NapierIndia rode chinaman Kuldeep Yadav and pacer Mohammed Shami’s exceptional bowling effort on Wednesday to restrict New Zealand to a paltry 157 runs in the first of the five-match ODI rubber at the McLean Park here.

While Kuldeep’s figures were 4/39, Shami was also phenomenal with the leather, scalping three Kiwi wickets conceding just 19 runs from his six overs. 

Yuzvendra Chahal and Kedar Jadhav picked two and one wicket, respectively.

Other than New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson (64), no other batsmen put up a fight against the disciplined Indian attack.

Opting to bat, the hosts had the worst possible start as Shami struck early sending back both the openers — Martin Guptill (5) and Colin Munro (8), cheaply.

Newcomers Williamson and Ross Taylor (24) then tried to rescue their side from the early damage, taking New Zealand past the 50-run mark in 13.3 overs. 

However, Taylor’s stay was cut short by Chahal in the 15th over with the hosts at 52/3.

With the addition of just 24 runs in the Kiwi scorecard, Chahal struck again to dismiss incoming batsman Tom Latham (11). Jadhav and Shami then joined the party as they sent back Henry Nicholls (12) and Mitchell Santner (14), leaving the hosts reeling at 133/6.

Williamson, however, continued to show resistance and kept one end safe, but lacked support from the other end. 

While trying to clear the fence in the 34th over off a Kuldeep delivery, the Kiwi skipper misread the ball and offered a simple catch to Vijay Shankar at long-on.

Kuldeep then put the final nail in the coffin, picking the tailenders — Doug Bracewell (7), Lockie Ferguson (0) and Trent Boult (1) in quick succession to wrap up the host in just 38 overs.

Brief score: New Zealand 157 all out (Kane Williamson 64, Ross Taylor 24; Kuldeep Yadav 4/39) vs India

[Nasheman news] BarcelonaFC Barcelona head coach Ernesto Valverde has praised the experience and character of the club’s newest player, former Ghana international Kevin-Prince Boateng, terming him a “strong player”.

The 31-year-old forward joined Barça on a six-month loan deal from Italy’s Sassuolo for one million euros ($1.13 million), with an option that Barcelona make the move permanent for 8 million euros in the summer of 2019, reports Efe news.

“Kevin-Prince Boateng is a player who has experience, knows the league and the role he will develop,” Valverde said at a press conference on Tuesday night.

“We hope he helps us, he is a strong player,” Valverde added.

Barça’s coach stressed that Boateng knows La Liga well, as he played as a forward for Las Palmas during the 2016-17 season.

Valverde said he would include the Berlin-born player of Ghanaian ancestry in Wednesday’s match against Sevilla in the Copa del Rey quarterfinal.

“He can play now,” Valverde said, “because he played (with Sassuolo) the whole game against Inter (in Serie A) on Saturday; one of the reasons why he is here is because he is active.”

[Nasheman news] Buenos AiresResidents of the small agricultural town in northeastern Argentina where footballer Emiliano Sala grew up gathered for prayers after learning that he was one of two people aboard an aircraft that went missing over the English Channel.

Daniel Ribero, president of local football club San Martin de Progreso, where Sala played as boy, told EFE that the day held “a lot of uncertainty” for residents of Progreso.

“We went from a moment of euphoria when he signed with Cardiff City to this totally unexpected situation. We are trying to process it,” he said on Tuesday, reports Efe news.

The single-turbine PA 46 Malibu aircraft carrying Sala from Nantes, France, to Cardiff, Wales, disappeared from radar screens at 8.23pm Monday some 24km (15mi) north of the island of Guernsey, police in the British crown dependency said.

Cardiff City, who play in the Premier League, signed the 28-year-old striker from Ligue 1 side FC Nantes for a club-record 15 million pounds ($19.4 million).

The plane, belonging to Cardiff City’s owner, was on its way back to the Welsh capital after Sala’s quick trip to Nantes to bid farewell to his former teammates.

Ribero described Sala as a humble and low-key person and recalled seeing the player when he returned to Progreso in 2017 for the 100th anniversary of San Martin and again last year for a barbecue during the 2018 World Cup.

Sala joined San Martin as a 6-year-old and remained with the club until he was 15, when he went to France and began the professional career that brought him to Nantes.

“In 100 years of the club’s history, he is the first player from San Martin de Progreso to go so far,” Ribero said.

Hundreds of Progreso residents spontaneously gathered to pray for Sala after hearing the news Tuesday morning, among them was Rita Rinaldi, one of Sala’s teachers at the local school.