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    “Well done and keep putting in the same effort” : Virat Kohli, Ishant Sharma Applaud Delhi Police During COVID-19 Lockdown

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    Virat Kohli, Ishant Sharma applaud Delhi Police for serving people during COVID-19 lockdown
    Virat Kohli, Ishant Sharma applaud Delhi Police for serving people during COVID-19 lockdown

    The out break of corona virus has made a huge impact globally. Many government imposed total lock down in order to control the spread. Indian Government too enrolled in that list by imposing a 21 day lock down till April 14.

    Many celebrities including sports personalities come forward to create awareness on self isolation and social distancing. Indian cricket stars Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma made their contribution by donating lump some amount to corona virus relief fund.

    Virat Kohli regards Delhi Police

    Team India skipper Virat Kohli and pacer Ishant Sharma lauded Delhi Police for their tireless work in the fight against the coronavirus in the world.

    “It is heartening for me to know that the police service across the nation is helping so many people in these difficult times,” Kohli said in a video posted on Delhi Police official Twitter handle.

    “I want to acknowledge the efforts of Delhi police who have not only performed their duties with absolute honesty but also taken food to the poor people on a daily basis, which is their utmost requirement. So, well done and keep putting in the same effort,” he added.

    Ishant also urged all the countrymen to follow all the necessary measures and stay indoors during this pandemic situation.

    “Friends this is the time to stay at home and spend time with your family. Delhi police jawans are performing their duties day and night. So let’s help Delhi Police by staying at our homes and don’t pay heed to rumors,” said Sharma.

    The deadly virus has made it’s impact by infecting more than 17,00,000 causalities with an death of over 1,02,000. Though the death rate is in hike the another good news is the recovering causalities also keeps on increasing. More than 3,77,000 has been recovered from this deadly virus globally.

     

    Sakshi Dhoni Reveal What MS Dhoni is up to During this Lockdown Period at Home

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    MS Dhoni with his family
    MS Dhoni with his family

    The out break of corona virus put the whole world to halt and postpone all the scheduled events. The deadly corona virus affected nearly 17,00,000 and took more than 1,02,000 lives.

    The deadly virus made every scheduled events to postpone and lay its impact on famous cash rich Indian Premier League. The IPL 2020 has been scheduled to start from March 29, due to the COVID-19 BCCI postponed 13th edition of IPL to April 15.

    To avoid the spread many government imposed lock down world wide. Due to the self isolation many celebrities turn them self into social media to get entertain.

    Former India opening batsman Wasim Jaffer, former Australia spinner Brad Hogg opens talk on MS Dhoni’s return. New Zealand fast bowler Mitchell McClenaghan shares few words on MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma. India Women’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur reveals her favourite IPL team. Many cricketers starts to express their opinion across facets of the game in one way or the other.

    The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper returned back to his family from his training camp in Chennai after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to postpone the kick-off of the 2020 Indian Premier League (IPL) amid COVID-19 scare.

    Indian government imposed 21 day lock down in order to control the corona virus spread. As the cricketers isolate them self inside house, they began to do some other works apart from training.

    Earlier Indian bowler Jasprit Bumrah Use this Quarantine Time to Pick up Some New Hobbies.

    Dhoni tieup with lawn work during lock down

    During this time in quarantine, Dhoni’s wife Sakshi Dhoni took to social media to reveal what the former Team India skipper is up to during this lockdown period at home.

    Sakshi took to Instagram and shared a glips of MSD mowing the lawn, all by himself, with the help of a lawnmower.

    Dhoni during lock down
    Dhoni during lock down

     

    World Series Cricket: What really happened during Kerry Packer World Series Cricket 1977-79?

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    World test Series Cricket 1977-1979
    World test Series Cricket 1977-1979

    Cricket might have received its razzmatazz in the truest form decades later, clear hints around the same were pretty much evident during the World Series Cricket played between 1977-1979.

    The tournament might not have lived long but encapsulated all the contemporary facets of cricket especially that of the T20 leagues being played around the world.

    From players ditching national duties to novel tinkering with the rules of the game to drop-in pitches, World Series Cricket encompassed all the ingredients of a modern-day successful T20 league.

    Commenced in the Australian summer of 1977, the multi-format tournament went on till 1979 before being called-off only to never resume again. Having said that, the tournament ditched the age-old notion of cricket not being a marketable sport and ended up providing ideas to administrators with respect to improving the finances of the sport.

    The first season of World Series Cricket comprised of three primary teams in WSC Australia XI, WSC West Indies XI and WSC World XI. WSC Cavaliers XI joined as the fourth team in the second season of the tournament.

    Kerry Packer World Series Cricket 1977-79

    Kerry Packer was an Australia Media tycoon whose family owned a controlling interest in the Nine Television Network (commonly known as Channel Nine).

    Australian Cricket Board (ACB) refusing Nine Network’s bid to gain exclusive Television rights for Australia’s Test matches in 1976 formed a primary reason behind the coming together of World Series Cricket. In a bid to entice the cricketing audiences to his channel, Packer secretly signed agreements with some of the leading cricketers of that time.

    The probability of earning more money in a limited time period made Packer successful in signing plentiful sought after names of that period even when there wasn’t anything concrete planned about the tournament.

    The then West Indies captain Clive Lloyd had laid emphasis on “clearly earning a more comfortable source of income” in an interview with Sydney Gazette.

    World Series Cricket 1977-79 formats and venues

    MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club), who have the copyrights of all cricket rules, denied to allow Packer to use the existing naming in cricket to the extent that the days match couldn’t be classed a “Test match”.

    As a result, days matches in Packer’s World Series were called “Supertests”. While the Supertests followed the general rules in cricket, the format of the limited-overs matches were intriguing. Only 40 overs were bowled in an innings. However, each over contained as many as eight deliveries.

    As far as the venues were concerned, it was improbable for Packer to conduct the tournament at international Test venues. It was due to the same reason that Packer leased two Australian rules football stadiums – VFL Park in Melbourne and Football Park in Adelaide.

    With both the stadiums not being quintessential cricket stadiums, Packer introduced the concept of drop-in pitches. Renowned Gabba curator John Maley was the one who initiated the concept on Packer’s behalf as he was hired for the World Series Cricket.

    World Series Cricket’s Contribution

    While one can argue that the tournament didn’t last for more than two seasons and that players were back playing regularly for their country, there is no hiding to the fact that World Series Cricket contributed to the game in more ways than just one.

    Coloured kits, protective helmets, field restrictions and day-night cricket, all of which are pretty common things in modern-day cricket were all pioneered during the World Series Cricket.

    Fitness, which has become a must during these times of the sport being played throughout the year, also gained awareness during the World Series Cricket for the players were required to play a lot of matches during a limited window.

    That being said, the biggest positive coming out from the tournament was the belief that the sport can be marketed successfully to gain affirmative results as far as the commerce was concerned.

    The tournament might not have made a lot of money back in the day primarily because of it being ahead of its time but it did affect the business of ACB and some other Australian states which eventually saw the exclusive rights deal happening between the cricket board and Channel Nine.

    “The first priority is safety but..” : KKR’s Pat Cummins Agrees to Play IPL 2020 in Empty Stadiums

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    KKR’s Pat Cummins agrees to play IPL 2020 in empty stadiums
    KKR’s Pat Cummins agrees to play IPL 2020 in empty stadiums

    Australia fast bowler Pat Cummins has revealed that Australian cricketers are in contact with each other and are enjoying their time separately during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Cummins, 26, also opened up on coach Justin Langer sending them workout videos everyday.

    “It’s weird because you spend every day with the boys and we haven’t seen anyone. We’ve been contacting each other via WhatsApp. David Warner is very vocal on his gym sessions, his house looks like the Rocky 4 movie!

    “Justin Langer has been sending workout videos every day. Everyone’s been enjoying their time separately but keeping in touch. By the time we get back on tour we’ll be annoying each other in person rather than just over the phone,” Cummins was quoted as saying by BBC.

    Australia, who were in the middle of hosting New Zealand for a three-match ODI series before travelling across the Tasman sea to play three T20Is, played the first ODI under closed doors before both the series were cancelled.

    Both the series were part of the many cricket tournaments which got postponed due to the global crisis. In addition to the same, Australia’s tour of Bangladesh has also been postponed of late.

    Had it not been for the coronavirus scare, Cummins would have been playing for Kolkata Knight Riders in Indian Premier League. It is worth mentioning that the right-arm fast bowler was bought for a gargantuan INR 15.5 crore in the IPL auction.

    On being recently asked about the revised starting date of IPL 2020, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly had pointed out “no change in the situation” as a reason behind him not being able to provide a concrete answer.

    Originally scheduled to begin last month, IPL 2020 has been delayed till April 15 and it doesn’t need to be mentioned that the cash-rich league will further get delayed.

    Being asked about the prospect of playing in front of empty stands, Cummins readily agreed to do the same much like Chennai Super Kings spinner Harbhajan Singh. Laying emphasis on finding balance between safety and normality, Cummins didn’t express any concern regarding playing behind closed doors.

    “Of course, whatever it takes to try and get cricket up and play those big events safely. The first priority is safety but the second one is getting back to normality. It’s finding that balance. If that unfortunately means no crowds for a while then that’s that but hopefully people can watch at home on television,” Cummins said.

    Virat Kohli Reacts Amusingly on David Warner Attempting Ravindra Jadeja’s Sword Celebration’

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    Virat Kohli reacts amusingly on David Warner attempting Ravindra Jadeja’s ‘sword celebration’

    The out break of corona virus put the whole world to halt and postpone all the scheduled events. The deadly corona virus affected nearly 17,00,000 and took more than 1,02,000 lives.

    The deadly virus made every scheduled events to postpone and lay its impact on famous cash rich Indian Premier League. The IPL 2020 has been scheduled to start from March 29, due to the COVID-19 BCCI postponed 13th edition of IPL to April 15.

    To avoid the spread many government imposed lock down world wide. Due to the self isolation many celebrities turn them self into social media to get entertain.

    Former India opening batsman Wasim Jaffer, former Australia spinner Brad Hogg opens talk on MS Dhoni’s return. New Zealand fast bowler Mitchell McClenaghan shares few words on MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma. India Women’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur reveals her favourite IPL team. Many cricketers starts to express their opinion across facets of the game in one way or the other.

    India limited-overs vice-captain Rohit Sharma, who was recently seen in an Instagram live session with spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and former England captain Kevin Pietersen, interacted with India fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah on the same platform.

    Virat Kohli reacts amusingly

    Warner was also recently seen emulating India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja’s “sword celebration” in a throwback video which he shared on Instagram. Not being able to lead Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 13th season of the Indian Premier League due to the coronavirus scare, Warner was possible missing the cash-rich league.

    Warner’s post invited a response from Jadeja, who believed that the Aussie batsman was “almost there” as far as the “sword celebration” is concerned. Apart from Jadeja, Kohli also reacted amusingly on the post.

    Virat Kohli reacts amusingly on David Warner attempting Ravindra Jadeja’s ‘sword celebration’
    Virat Kohli reacts amusingly on David Warner attempting Ravindra Jadeja’s ‘sword celebration’

     

    In addition to IPL 2020, Warner and Kohli will play opposite each in the ICC T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia and India’s tour of Australia which will follow the showpiece event.

     

     

    Pat Cummins Gives Reason Behind Australians Being Less Aggressive During India’s Tour of Australia 2018-19

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    Pat Cummins gives reason behind Australians being less aggressive during India's tour
    Pat Cummins gives reason behind Australians being less aggressive during India's tour

    Former Australia captain Michael Clarke’s comments regarding Australian players “sucking up” to the Indian players especially captain Virat Kohli to make sure they earn Indian Premier League contracts has started to receive responses from current cricketers.

    Pat Cummins regards India’s tour

    “Everybody knows how powerful India are in regards to the financial part of the game, whether that be internationally or domestically in regards to the IPL.

    “So, I feel, Australian cricket, and probably every other team, over a little period went the opposite – actually sucked up to India. They were too scared to sledge Kohli or sledge the Indian players because they had to go and play with them in April,” Clarke was quoted as saying during the Big Sports Breakfast radio programme earlier this week.

    While current Test captain Tim Paine completely disproved his predecessor’s statement, current Test vice-captain Pat Cummins has given a solid reason behind Australian players being less aggressive during India’s tour of Australia 2018-19.

    Pat Cummins gives reason behind Australians being less aggressive

    Speaking in an interview with BBC, Cummins pointed out how the Australian players were directed to behave on the ground as an aftermath of the infamous ball tampering scandal during the Cape Town Test in 2018.

    “I think probably a bigger factor was six months before leading into that Indian series the media and everyone commentating on the Aussie cricket team were pretty clear in their direction in the way they wanted the Aussies team to go and that was playing a little bit less aggressively out on the field,” Cummins was quoted as saying by BBC.

    However, the 26-year old fast bowler did not rule out if an Australian player had the IPL contract at the back of his mind while playing against India.

    “I’d say that would have been a bigger factor than trying to win or lose friends out on the cricket field. But you never know, that might have been a factor for some players,” Cummins said.

     

     

    Pakistan All Rounder Shahid Afridi Reveals all Time XI of his Contemporary Players

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    Pakistan All Rounder Shahid Afridi Reveals all Time XI of his Contemporary Players
    Pakistan All Rounder Shahid Afridi Reveals all Time XI of his Contemporary Players

    Nowadays It has become a trend among cricket experts to announce their favourite XIs for the different formats of the game. Recently, Shahid Afridi, former Pakistan captain and all-rounder, announced all-time XI of his contemporary players.

    Now, when the world has confined itself amid the fears of COVID-19, the players and fans are keeping themselves busy by interacting on social media and surfing their interests. Former players and stalwarts of game are also having a good time by conducting question answer sessions on twitter and other social media platforms.

    Due to coronavirus lockdown, many peoples suffer without food and basic needs. Considering that many helps to feed the poor, in that line Pakistan player Shahid Afridi helps Pakistan peoples with basic needs.

    The legendary all-rounder from Pakistan, in a career spanning almost two decades, played the game with possibly the best generation of the players. In his XI, Shahid Afridi has included five players of Pakistan, 4 players from Australia and one each from India and South Africa.

    Shahid Afridi has chosen his teammate Saeed Anwar along with the fiery Adam Gilchrist to open the innings. While Saeed Anwar is one the best openers produced by Pakistan, Adam Gilchrist is well known for his exploits in international cricket.

    Shahid Afridi has slotted former Australian captain Ricky Ponting and Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar at No.3 and No. 4 respectively. At no.5, Afridi has gone with Inzamam-ul-Haq, a World Cup hero and one of the best middle order players from Pakistan. South African great Jacques Kallis has been slotted at no. 6 with Rashid Latif donning the gloves at No.7.

    As far as the bowling department is concerned, Afridi has picked three fiery speedsters in the form of swing king Wasim Akram, Australian great Glenn McGrath and World’s fastest bowler Shoaib Akhtar along with the legendary Shane Warne to complete the attack.

    Here is Shahid Afridi’s All-time XI:

    Saeed Anwar, Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting, Sachin Tendulkar, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Jacques Kallis, Rashid Latif (Wk), Wasim Akram, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Shoaib Akhtar.

     

    Afridi reveals all time X1

    Indian Former Cricketer Ashish Nehra Proposed his Idea on Possibilities of IPL 2020

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    Ashish Nehra has proposed some playing conditions for the IPL 2020
    Ashish Nehra has proposed some playing conditions for the IPL 2020

    Ashish Nehra (born 29 April 1979) is an Indian cricket coach and former cricketer who played in all formats of the game. He is often nicknamed as “‘NehraJi'” by his colleagues and fans.

    Nehra announced his retirement from all forms of cricket in late 2017, with the Twenty20 International match against New Zealand on 1 November 2017 at Feroz Shah Kotla Ground his last appearance.

    Nehra in IPL

    Nehra joined the Indian Premier League and signed up for the Mumbai Indians franchise. He won the Man of the Match for the game versus Rajasthan Royals taking three wickets on 7 May 2008. He played for the Delhi DareDevils from 2009. He was picked up by Pune Warriors India in the 2011 IPL player auction for a sum of Rs. 3.91 crores.

    In the 2014 IPL auction Nehra was bought by the Chennai Super Kings for ₹2,00,00,000. In the 2016 IPL auction Nehra was bought by the Sunrisers Hyderabad for ₹5,50,00,000, he went on to win the 2016 Indian Premier League.

    The out break of corona virus put the world to halt and many scheduled events has been postponed. The cash rich Indian Premier League has been postponed to the mid of April.

    Ashish regards IPL 2020

    However, the clearance from Indian Government will be an issue, but Ashish Nehra is hopeful of BCCI getting a clearance from the Government. “Even if the IPL doesn’t happen in August, there are a lot of places in India that witness rains during that month and there are high chances that lots of matches will get cancelled. If things go back to normal around the world by October, we’ll have a 100% clearance,” Ashish Nehra said on the Cricket Connected show on Star Sports.

    In a recent interaction with PTI, a senior BCCI official had also talked about the difficulties in organising the IPL in September. “September is the time when there is monsoon in India. Mumbai will be underwater, there could be steady rain in Chennai. It is a decision that can’t be taken that lightly. You don’t know the situation tomorrow. Let there be a sign that the curve is flattening and normalcy can return. That’s when you start discussing options,” a senior BCCI official had been quoted as saying by PTI.

    In the wake of COVID-19, BCCI has cancelled all the meetings and plans till the end of lockdown period. And now, Cricket fans and all the franchises owners have set their eyes on the BCCI’s meeting just after the lockdown.

     

    “Best over I ever faced, Class reverse swing at 90odd mph!” : Australian Former Cricketer Ricky Ponting Reveals

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    Ricky Ponting recalls Andrew Flintoff’s spell at Edgbaston in 2005 Ashes
    Ricky Ponting recalls Andrew Flintoff’s spell at Edgbaston in 2005 Ashes

    Ashes 2005

    The 2005 Ashes series was that year’s edition of the long-standing cricket rivalry between England and Australia. Starting on 21 July 2005, England and Australia played five Tests, with the Ashes held by Australia as the most recent victors.

    The final result was a 2–1 series win for England, who succeeded (for the first time since 1986–87) in their biennial attempt to win the urn. Australia captain Ricky Ponting said this Ashes series would be the closest since Australia’s dominance began in 1989.

    In Ashes 2005 after being invited to bat first, England managed to post 407 runs thanks to half-centuries from Marcus Trescothick, Kevin Pietersen and Flintoff. In reply, the visitors could only post 308 runs conceding a crucial first-innings lead. However, Australia made a stunning comeback in the second innings bundling out the hosts for just 182 runs on the back of Shane Warne’s spin magic.

    Flintoff’s exceptional over and the no-ball that mattered

    Chasing 282 to win the Test and take a 2-0 lead, Australia’s openers got the team off to a decent start. They added 47 runs together before Andrew Flintoff struck in the very first over of his spell. He was already on fire in that game having scored 70s in both the innings and had picked a three-fer in the first innings too. And to strike off the second ball of his spell raised the voice of the jam-packed crowd as well.

    Then in comes Ricky Ponting, the then Australia‘s skipper and undoubtedly faced the heat for the rest of the over. The ball swung left, right and centre and Ponting had no answer to it. Somehow, after surviving three balls, he finally managed to leave the outside off-stump delivery and would’ve heaved a sigh of relief as the over had finished. But Fintoff had overstepped and Ponting was left to face another delivery.

    And clearly, he was in a dilemma while facing it. After leaving the previous ball, the batsman anticipated the ball to come in to him and accordingly, Andrew Flintoff pitched the ball full and outside off to eke out a drive from Ponting. But the ball just moved away enough to kiss the outside edge of his bat to leave the Edgbaston crowd in a frenzy.

    And when the official Twitter handle of England Cricket posted the video of the same over on Thursday, Ricky Ponting termed it as the best over he has ever faced. “Best over I ever faced. Class reverse swing at 90odd mph!” he wrote in his tweet showing his respect to Flintoff.

    As far as the match is concerned, Australia, after being 220/9, went close thanks to a fighting partnership between Brett Lee and Michael Kasprowicz. But eventually, they fell only a couple of runs short only for England to level the series and then win the Ashes later.

    Here’s the tweet:

    WATCH : On This Day Michael Bevan Scored Maiden ODI Century vs South Africa in Centurion

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    Michael Bevan
    Michael Bevan(Image: ICC)

    Michael Gwyl Bevan (born 8 May 1970) is a former Australian cricketer . He is a left-handed batsman and a slow left arm wrist-spin bowler. He has been credited for initiating the art of finishing matches. He was an Australian Cricket Academy scholarship holder in 1989.

    He played 232 One Day Internationals (ODIs) for Australia, and was a part of the 1999 and 2003 teams that won the Cricket World Cup.

    He was named as a batsman in Australia’s “greatest ever ODI team. 

    Michael Bevan in World cup series

    Bevan made his One Day International debut for Australia in the 1994 Austral-Asia Cup at Sharjah and by the 1995–96 season he became a regular in the side. Bevan previously appeared for Australia in the 1996 Cricket World Cup, where Australia lost the final to Sri Lanka, and the victorious 1999 Cricket World Cup side.

    Bevan entered the 2003 Cricket World Cup injured. He played his first game in the group stage against India. He didn’t bat until the fifth group game against Namibia and he registered a rusty 17 before being caught and bowled by Louis Burger. In the final group game against England, he came in with Australia struggling at 48–4.

    He then was joined by Andy Bichel at 135–8 with 70 runs still required to win. Bevan finished on 74 not out and Bichel 34 not out as Australia won in the final over. An unbeaten group stage was followed by an unbeaten Super Six stage.

    He made 56 against New Zealand helping Australia recover from 84–7 again batting with Bichel to help Australia win. His last knock was an unfortunate golden duck in the semi-final against Sri Lanka and he was not required to bat in the final which Australia won.

    Bevan’s maiden ODI century

    On this day in 1997, former Australia batsman Michael Bevan registered his maiden ODI century to propel Australia to a 5-wicket victory during the sixth ODI of Australia’s tour of South Africa in Centurion.

    Bevan, who was playing his 55th ODI, had batted at No. 6 on 28 out of 48 ODI innings. Promoted up the order to bat at No. 5 in a 285-run chase, Bevan top-scored for Australia with a strike rate of 108.42 as the visitors won the match with an over to go.

    Bevan began his assault by first pulling South Africa captain Hansie Cronje for a six. In Cronje’s following over, the southpaw played a drive down the ground for his first four of the match.

    With Australia’s required run rate going past 6, it was important for Steve Waugh and Bevan to keep finding the boundaries in addition to saving their wicket.

    On the third delivery of the 30th over, Bevan ran two runs to complete his 12th ODI half-century. Australia, who had just crossed the halfway mark with respect to the target, needed Bevan till the end who, in return, didn’t let his team down.

    A 189-run partnership for the fourth wicket between Waugh (89) and Bevan had made things easier for Australia who were able to seal the chase despite South Africa dismissing both the batsmen.

    Bevan, who completed his century in the 42nd over, ended up scoring 103 (95) with the help of eight fours and a six. After Bevan and Waugh’s dismissal, Australia batsman Adam Gilchrist (20) and captain Ian Healy (9) guided Australia to victory.

    Watch the full video

    Earlier, the hosts scored a competitive 284/7 in 50 overs after Cronje won the toss and chose to bat. A 149-run partnership between Cronje (80) and Daryll Cullinan (89) had played a vital role in their innings. With bowling figures of 10-1-52-2, Australia spinner Shane Warne was the pick of their bowlers.

    WATCH : On This Day Shivnarine Chanderpaul Hits 10 Runs in Two Balls off Chaminda Vaas to Win Thriller vs Sri Lanka

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    Shivnarine Chanderpaul Hits 10 Runs in Two Balls
    Shivnarine Chanderpaul Hits 10 Runs in Two Balls

    On this day in 2008, former West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul scored 10 runs off the last two balls against Sri Lanka seamer Chaminda Vaas to win a thrilling contest between the two teams at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain.

    Chasing a 236-run target, West Indies didn’t make optimum use of their start as a mediocre run rate and regular fall of wickets saw them struggling towards the end of the first ODI of Sri Lanka’s tour of West Indies.

    Chanderpaul’s match winning performance

    Coming in to bat at No. 5 in the 28th over, Chanderpaul secured one end to bring down the equation to needing 13 runs off the last over with only one wicket in hand.

    Having completed his 50th ODI half-century in the penultimate over of the match, the southpaw held key to victory for the hosts but it was no mean task for him.

    Chanderpaul, then 33, neither lost his patience not shape as he hit Vaas down the ground for a cracking boundary to reduce the equation to needing a last-ball six to gain a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

    In his attempt to bowl a yorker, Vaas ended up bowling a full-toss which Chanderpaul hit over mid-wicket for a six to send the spectators and his teammates in frenzy.

    Having scored 62* (63) with the help of five fours and a six, Chanderpaul top-scored for West Indies in a cliffhanger. Apart from him, captain Chris Gayle also contributed with his 35th ODI half-century, 52 (81).

    After Gayle won the toss and invited Sri Lanka in to bat, the visiting team scored 235/7 on the back of a magnificent 159-run partnership between him Chamara Silva (67) and Chamara Kapugedera (95).

    Watch the video

    West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo was declared the ‘Man of the Match’ for following his bowling figures of 10-1-32-4 with a vital 36 (37) in the second innings.

    Tim Paine Disproves Michael Clarke’s Statement over Australia ‘too scared’ to Sledge Virat Kohli

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    Tim Paine disproves Michael Clarke’s statement over Australia ‘too scared’ to sledge Virat Kohli
    Tim Paine disproves Michael Clarke’s statement over Australia ‘too scared’ to sledge Virat Kohli

    Australia Test captain Tim Paine has disproved former Australia captain Michael Clarke’s recent statement regarding Australian players “sucking up” to the Indian players especially captain Virat Kohli to make sure they get to play in the Indian Premier League.

    “Everybody knows how powerful India are in regards to the financial part of the game, whether that be internationally or domestically in regards to the IPL.

    “So, I feel, Australian cricket, and probably every other team, over a little period went the opposite – actually sucked up to India. They were too scared to sledge Kohli or sledge the Indian players because they had to go and play with them in April,” Clarke was quoted as saying during the Big Sports Breakfast radio programme earlier this week.

    Tim Paine disproves Michael Clarke’s statement

    Speaking in an interview with ESPNcricinfo, Paine didn’t hesitate from mentioning that he didn’t notice people being nice to Kohli and each player was doing his best to win the match for Australia.

    “I certainly didn’t notice too many people being that nice to Virat [Kohli] or not trying to get him out or anything like that. I thought everyone who had the ball in their hand or when we were batting were trying their absolute best to win the game for Australia. I’m not sure who was going easy on him; we certainly had a thing where we didn’t want to provoke any fight with him because we think that’s when he plays at his best,” Paine was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

    Paine, 35, further highlighted how he was involved in a few heated arguments during India’s previous tour of Australia. Announced as Australia’s captain after Steve Smith was banned for a year, Paine said with surety that his players don’t think about IPL contracts while playing against Kohli.

    “Who knows what will happen this series and, as we saw in the documentary, there was still quite a lot of heat in some of those games.

    “I certainly wasn’t holding back, but again the IPL’s not a huge draw for me at the moment, so I had nothing to lose. But anytime our guys go out and play a Test match for Australia, they’ll be giving their absolute all and I’m pretty sure they’re not thinking about an IPL contract when they’re running in, bowling to Virat,” Paine added.

     

     

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