Saturday, October 8, 2016

Kohli steers India to 267/3


Skipper Virat Kohli struck form with a gritty century as India ended the opening day’s play on a commanding 267 for three against New Zealand in the third and final Test in Indore on Saturday.

The hosts, who elected to bat first, rode on an unbeaten 167-run partnership between Kohli (103) and Ajinkya Rahane(79) to gain control of the innings after early losses.

Kohli recorded his 13th Test ton in 48 matches after a string of low scores in his last seven innings since his first Test double hundred against West Indies in July.

The top-order batsman, who tackled the New Zealand bowlers with excellent footwork, hit the ball to all parts of the Holkar Stadium.

Rahane, who seemed to gain confidence from the free-flowing Kohli at the other end, brought up his fifty—the tenth of his Test career—with a six off Jeetan Patel.

“Virat played a very good innings and got the first century (from either side) in the series and Ajinkya too batted well,” number three batsman Cheteshwar Pujara, who scored 41, told reporters.

“Their partnership was crucial and if it carries on tomorrow it will be good for us,” Pujara said.

The 27-year-old Kohli worked hard in the initial part of his innings but grew in stature after getting past fifty and his assured stroke-making soon dominated the New Zealand bowling.

Kohli tapped a rising delivery from Matt Henry to run a quick single that saw a direct hit at the non-strikers end but the star batsman scampered home and celebrated his hundred.

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson, who returned to lead the side after missing the second Test with a viral infection, juggled his bowling options but Kohli and Rahane held fort.

The hosts did not lose a single wicket in the space of 34 overs in the final session as the batting duo entertained the raucous home crowd.

“We will try to bat as long as possible. The kind of position we are in, we will look to get 400 and if we don’t lose quick wickets tomorrow and continue like we are doing, we will keep batting.

“We hope for a big total and when our spinners bowl we expect some more help from the wicket on day two and three,” said Pujara.

Gambhir’s breezy knock -
Earlier in post-lunch play number-three Pujara was bowled off a beauty by left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner for 41. He had put on 40 runs with Kohli.

India lost both its openers in the morning session with returning Gautam Gambhir (29), who was playing Test cricket after a two-year gap, letting go of a good start.

Pace spearhead Trent Boult cut short Gambhir’s breezy knock, which was studded with three fours and two sixes, after trapping the left-handed batsman lbw on an incoming delivery.

Boult, Santner and Patel, who struck first after sending back Murali Vijay for 10, shared a wicket apiece in the 90 overs of play.

New Zealand allrounder James Neesham, who was added to the starting lineup in place of Neil Wagner, said the visitors were in with a chance provided they strike early on day two.

“I don’t know if we could have done it a whole lot different with the ball, stuck at it well...Keeping the run rate below three was a good achievement. Couple of quick wickets tomorrow we’re still in game,” said Neesham on Saturday.

The hosts, who took a 2-0 lead after winning the second Test in Kolkata on Monday, have set their sights on a whitewash against the tourists.
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Sunday, September 25, 2016

Tigers set 266 for Afghans


Bangladesh set a moderate target of 266 for Afghanistan in the first ODI in Mirpur.

Decided to bat first, Bangladesh managed to make 265 losing all wickets in the 50 overs.

Opener Tamim Iqbal scored a superb 80 from 98 balls.

Tamim, dropped on 30, hit nine boundaries while Mahmudullah smashed five boundaries and both the sixes of the Bangladesh innings to score 62 runs.

A quick 48 from 40 balls by ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan helped Tigers accelerate their score.

Imrul Kayes also contributed to Bangladesh innings with his patient 37 runs.

Tamim brought up his 33rd ODI fifty in the 22nd over.

With this 80-run, the Bangladesh opener became the first batsman to cross 9000 runs in ODIs.

Tamim and Mahmudullah batted together for 17 overs, and their partnership yielded 79 runs.

To open Bangladesh innings, Soumya failed to score a single run before being caught out by Afghans’ bowler Dawlat Zadran.

Dawlat Zadran picked four wickets for 73 runs including crucial Soumya and Shakib while Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan took two wickets each.

Earlier, Tigers won the toss and elected to bat first against the visitors in the first one-day international match of a three-match ODI series that started at 2:30pm.

Tigers will play all three matches at the national cricket stadium, with the second game on 28 September and the finale on 1 October.

Both teams made several changes from their previous ODIs, with Afghanistan right-arm fast bowler Naveen-ul-Haq making his debut.

For Bangladesh, Taskin Ahmed returned for his first international match since his suspension for an illegal bowling action in March.

Bangladesh: 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Soumya Sarkar, 3 Imrul Kayes, 4 Mahmudullah, 5 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 6 Shakib Al Hasan, 7 Sabbir Rahman, 8 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), 9 Taijul Islam, 10 Rubel Hossain, 11 Taskin Ahmed

Afghanistan: 1 Mohammad Shahzad (wk), 2 Shabir Noor, 3 Rahmat Shah, 4 Hashmatullah Shahidi, 5 Asghar Stanikzai (capt), 6 Mohammad Nabi, 7 Najibullah Zadran, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Mirwais Ashraf, 10 Dawlat Zadran, 11 Naveen-ul-Haq
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Aguero keeps Man City perfect under Guardiola


Sergio Aguero scored twice as Manchester City made it 10 wins in as many games this season with a 3-1 victory away to Swansea in the Premier League on Saturday.

Aguero marked his return to action with two well-taken goals for Pep Guardiola’s league leaders after serving a three-game ban for throwing an elbow in last month’s victory over West Ham.

The Argentinian striker opened the scoring in the ninth minute and he made it 2-0 25 minutes from time before Raheem Sterling beat Lukasz Fabianski in the 77th minute at the Liberty Stadium as City beat Swansea for the second time in a week after their EFL Cup success.

A swift move on the right, a clever turn from Aguero and the visitors were a goal to the good.

Swansea came close to levelling matters in the 12th minute when Kyle Naughton, playing out of position at left back, found himself one on one with Claudio Bravo, the City goalkeeper.

Bravo pulled off a decent save before City cleared. However, a minute later and the Swans were level.

Gylfi Sigurdsson poked a ball through to Fernando Llorente, who having been played onside by John Stones, beat Bravo with a stunning volley from 16 yards.

With the ball at their feet, Swansea showed decent quality. They were confident in moving through the gears and lacked only one aspect—the final delivery.

Still, it was enough to keep City on their toes. Bacary Sagna was shown the yellow card for man-handling Kyle Naughton and Sterling was fortunate to escape similar punishment when he tripped Angel Rangel.

Silva cheers -
Although Swansea were causing one or two problems at the right end, they almost conceded a second 11 minutes from half time.

Kevin de Bruyne was sent through by Ilkay Gundogan, but with only Fabianski to beat, the Belgian hooked his shot well wide.

A booking for David Silva, for dissent, was greeted with loud cheers from the Swansea supporters who, after an exacting start to the season, were beginning to see some light.

For City, there was growing frustration. They dominated the ball for long periods but struggled to break down Swansea’s resolute back four, led ably, by Jordi Amat.

The second half was barely two minutes old when Swansea had a golden opportunity to edge themselves in front.

Wayne Routledge found himself in acres of space on the right, but, inexplicably, chose to dissect Bravo’s far post and Llorente with a ball that rolled harmlessly out of play.

Five minutes later, the imperious Sigurdsson sent a crisp volley high and wide after Routledge had picked out the Icelandic midfielder with a lobbed pass of real quality.

At the opposite end, it was Aguero who came close to restoring City’s lead. A smart move involving Gundogan and Silva ended with Aguero shooting over via the foot of van der Hoorn. Sterling was then too tentative with a shot from 12 yards.

The breakthrough came in the 64th minute when van der Hoorn was penalised for putting his elbow into the face of De Bruyne inside the Swansea penalty area.

Referee Neil Swarbrick had no hesitation in yellow carding the Dutchman and Aguero, with a cheeky chip, did the rest from the spot.

The game was up for Swansea when Sterling, on the counter attack, kept his composure and beat Fabianski with a wonderful finish.
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Saturday, September 24, 2016

United 4-1 Leicester without Rooney


Manchester United dismantled Premier League champions Leicester in a ruthless 20-minute burst as Jose Mourinho's decision to drop Wayne Rooney was rewarded with a 4-1 win at Old Trafford on Saturday.

Leicester imploded defensively as United racked up four goals between the 22nd and 42nd minutes.

It was a stylish display from a United side who had entered the game under pressure after losing their last two league games, against Manchester City and Watford, with Chris Smalling opening the scoring after replacing Rooney as captain.

Juan Mata, Marcus Rashford and Paul Pogba, with his first United goal following his world record £89 million ($115 million, 102 million euros) arrival from Juventus, were also on target after England captain Rooney was dropped to the substitutes' bench.

But it was a chastening afternoon for Leicester despite an improved second-half display and a brilliant consolation goal from half-time substitute Demarai Gray.

It was the second successive Premier League away game in which Leicester had shipped four goals after doing so at Liverpool two weeks ago.

Leicester held their own early on with Robert Huth lashing a shot just over but it was United who edged in front in the 22nd minute after some neat play wide on the left had forced a corner.

It was delivered by Daley Blind and Smalling escaped the United defence to power home a header from six yards.

Rashford should have doubled United's lead moments later when Leicester squandered possession and Zlatan Ibrahimovic galloped forwards and squared for the teenager.

But Rashford's first touch was heavy and his shot flew over.

Ibrahimovic then went close to a goal after collecting a fabulous pass by Pogba, but the Swede's effort on the turn just cleared the bar.

Next it was Pogba's turn to let fly with an outrageous effort from 30 yards that bent towards the top corner but was forced away by Leicester goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler.

United finally added a second goal as they turned on the style eight minutes before half-time.

Ander Herrera started the move with a fine ball to Mata before a clever pass by Pogba and a fine flick by Jesse Lingard allowed Mata to blast past Zieler.

And the third goal arrived just two minutes later as Leicester handed a chance to Rashford which the youngster snapped up.

The visitors were caught napping as Blind took a quick corner and Mata was free to square for an unmarked Rashford to finish from close range.

Double change

It was 4-0 before half-time as another corner by Blind was headed in by Pogba as he leapt above Christian Fuchs.

Leicester made a double change at half-time with key duo Vardy and Riyad Mahrez withdrawn ahead of the Champions League meeting with FC Porto on Tuesday.

And they almost had some joy when David De Gea dived at the feet of Islam Slimani but gifted possession back to the visitors with a poor throw.

Fuchs wasted the chance, however, with a poor cross.

And at the other end Mata tried to add his second goal with a firm shot that Zieler parried well.

It was one of the half-time substitutes who salvaged a modicum of respectability for Leicester with a goal of real quality on the hour-mark.

Gray collected a crossfield pass from Daniel Amartey and cut inside Lingard before lashing a brilliant shot past a helpless De Gea from 25 yards.

But United were soon back on the attack as Zieler made a smart save from Ibrahimovic.

Two more Leicester substitutes combined for what should have been a second goal but Andy King produced a tame shot from a Jeff Schlupp cross and De Gea saved easily.

Gray then went within a whisker of replicating his stunning goal with an almost identical effort which De Gea scrambled back to push over the bar.
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Friday, September 23, 2016

De Villiers to have crunch fitness test


South African captain and star batsman AB de Villiers will undergo a fitness test on Tuesday to determine if he needs surgery that would rule him out of the Test series with Australia.

The world’s number one-ranked one-day international batsman is already out of the one-off ODI against Ireland in Benoni on Sunday because of the persistent elbow injury.

And if he fails the fitness test next week he will need surgery, ruling him out of the one-day series against Australia starting next Friday and the Test series in Australia in November.

South African team manager Mohammed Moosajee acknowledged that de Villiers’ spectacular hitting, especially in limited-overs cricket, had contributed to the problem.

“When he plays certain cricket shots, he gets excruciating pain in the left elbow,” said Moosajee.

De Villiers, 32, has become a virtual year-round cricketer, playing in all formats for South Africa as well as in Twenty20 tournaments such as the Indian Premier League and Caribbean Premier League, where his ability to score at a dizzying rate has made him a crowd favourite.

“We refer to it as overload, whether that’s doing too much and playing different shots, or related to overuse,” said Moosajee.

The injury was diagnosed about six weeks ago, he said, causing de Villiers to miss a Test series against New Zealand.

At the time the recommendation was to have a period of rest, physiotherapy and aggressive rehabilitation. He has subsequently seen an elbow specialist and the area was infiltrated with cortisone,” said Moosajee.

But the talisman continues to feel pain.

“We are going to reassess when we reassemble on Tuesday and thereafter a call will be made,” said Moosajee.

“He needs to pass the fitness test, the elbow needs to be able to stand up to the rigours of international cricket.

“If he does not come through the fitness test, a date for surgery will be set.”

All-rounder Chris Morris was on Friday sidelined for up to two months with a left knee injury, ruling him out of Australia.

Uncapped fellow all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius, originally only selected for the match against Ireland, will remain with the squad for the one-day series against Australia.
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Thursday, September 22, 2016

De Villiers still struggling to recover from injury


South African captain AB de Villiers, struggling to recover from a left elbow injury, will miss a one-off one-day international against Ireland in Benoni on Sunday.

The world’s number one-ranked one-day international batsman is also in doubt for a five-match series against Australia, which starts in Centurion on September 30.

Cricket South Africa announced on Thursday that De Villiers had been given “an extended period of rehabilitation” and his participation in the series against Australia would be subject to a fitness test.

He suffered the injury in August and did not play in two Test matches against New Zealand later that month.

Faf du Plessis, who captained the team against New Zealand, will again stand in as captain against Ireland.

South African team manager Dr Mohammed Moosajee said: “AB has been on a rigorous rehabilitation and treatment plan for the last six weeks but is still complaining of pain in the elbow region.

“We consulted with a specialist, who advised extensive rehab and injected the elbow with cortisone. The CSA medical committee has recommended a few more days of rehab to allow the elbow to improve.”

Moosajee said surgery was a last option.

“But we hope that the extra time will allow the injury to respond to treatment.”

Rilee Rossouw has been added to the squad as batting cover.
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Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Ceferin unveils Euro 2020 logo


New UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin unveiled the logo for Euro 2020 at the tournament’s official launch in London on Wednesday.

The logo shows multicoloured fan silhouettes standing either side of the competition’s Henri Delaunay Trophy on a green bridge, representative of the links between the 13 host countries.

The 2020 European Championship is being staged in 13 cities across Europe to mark the 60th anniversary of the competition, with the semi-finals and final to take place at London’s Wembley Stadium.

“UEFA wanted the 2020 tournament to be a true celebration of the game we all love and cherish,” Ceferin said in a speech at London’s City Hall municipal building.

“What better way could there be than to take the tournament, for one time only, to all four corners of our beautiful continent?”

Matches will also be played in Azerbaijan, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Scotland and Spain.

Ceferin was accompanied by Greg Clarke, new chairman of England’s Football Association, and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan.

“We’re looking forward to welcoming supporters from across Europe,” said Khan.

“As a truly international city, London has a fanbase for almost every nation on earth. One of the great things about football in our city is that it brings people from different backgrounds together.”

England manager Sam Allardyce was also present.

Ceferin, a 48-year-old Slovenian lawyer, beat Royal Dutch Football Association chief Michael van Praag by 42 votes to 13 in last week’s presidential election.

He succeeded Michel Platini as head of European football’s governing body after the former France captain was banned over a suspect $2 million payment.
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