(Cricket news) Australia defeat India in a nail biting contest to win 26 W-ODIs in a row. Australia have also won the series with a consolation match left to play.

India were put into bat after losing the toss and had a good start to the innings. India's tried and trusted opening pair of Smriti Mandhana and Shefali Verma scored 70 runs in 11 overs to set the tone. Things were looking good for the Indians but Sophie Molineux broke the partnership as she got rid of Shefali Verma. India lost Mithali Raj and Yastika Bhatia in quick succession. Smriti Mandhana was going strong on the other end but was dismissed by Tahlia McGrath on 86. Cameo's from Richa Ghosh, Deepti Sharma and Pooja Vastrakar helped the Indians reach 274 runs.

India started their defence in the best possible fashion as they removed the 3 experienced Australian batters Alyssa Healy, Meg Lanning and Ellyse Perry for just 34 runs before 10 overs. Ashleigh Gardner was dismissed soon after. Jhulan Goswami and Meghna Singh got a wicket each Pooja Vastrakar, Opener Beth Mooney and Tahlia McGrath got a very important partnership of 126 runs. Beth Mooney Played an invaluable innings of 125. Nicola Carey came in after Deepti Sharma dismissed McGrath and played a match winning innings of 39 off 38 balls.

Also read: Kolkata Knight Riders defeat Mumbai Indians for the first time since 2019 to enter the top 4

Australia required 13 from the last over which Jhulan Goswami was going to bowl. A couple of misfields and a beamer no ball eventually brought the equation down to 3 off 1. A full toss to Carrey was hit straight to the fielder and the Indians were celebrating. The third umpire then had a lengthy look at the ball and decided to call it a no ball. Carrey got 2 off the last ball as Australia won the match.

India were in command for the majority of the game but bottled it at the end. Indian fielding in particular was nowhere near international standard which eventually cost them the game. The two no balls in the last over also massively affected the end result. The 3rd ODI will be played on Sunday before a one off Test and a 3 match T20I series.

Mumbai, Sep 24 (Cricket News) A phone call from a hospital to former BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale changed the course of Venkatesh Iyer's life even before his ability with the bat, and utility with the ball, came into the picture.

Ignored from the Ranji Trophy camp in 2019, Iyer picked up the phone and sought help from the veteran administrator, who was also a former national selector and who was also greatly impressed by the youngster's attitude and the willingness to go the extra mile.

"I have been watching him right from the U-14 tournaments. He always looked good and he used to keep wickets also when he was 12-13," Jagdale told PTI.

"But the crucial part where I can say I had some contribution was, two-three years back, he did reasonably well for MP in U-23 tournament and it must be 2019 when selectors were picking Ranji Trophy teams. So they had short-listed some 25-30 boys and Venkatesh was not in that list.

"I don't know the details, but he called me from hospital. He told me, 'sir, I am in the hospital for last 8-9 days and I have not played any cricket but, if I get a chance in selection trials, it will be good for me and I will try to do well.

"The only thing I liked is his attitude, even though he was in hospital for six-eight days, he called me," Jagdale fondly remembered.

Jagdale then requested the selectors to give Iyer a fair trial. And the rest, as they say, is history.

From once failing to make the Ranji probable to taking the Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians attack to the cleansers, Iyer has come a long way.

On the 26-year-old's days of trying to stake a claim for state selection, Jagdale shared more details.

"Then I was not a selector but I spoke to the selectors, chairman was Keerti Patel, I spoke to him, I spoke to Devendra Bundela, who was the captain and somehow, I convinced that this boy has been doing well.

"I told them you should be looking for a fifth bowler also and he is a batsman-bowler, he can be there as a batsman, plus your fifth bowler in Ranji Trophy," remembered the 71-year-old Jagdale.

"So, you give him a fair trial. This is what I told them: although you have not picked him in probable, you give him two trail matches, give him an opportunity, he is out of touch, so I told them that one match will be not fair since he must not have played cricket for a long time.

"They did so on my recommendation and he must have done reasonably well and this is how he came into MP probable also," added Jagdale, one of the most respected administrators of the game.

Jagdale reiterated that he liked the attitude of Iyer and that he also worked hard on his fitness.

"He was struggling with his fitness two years back, but he worked very hard on his fitness and other areas, and he always looked confident and the best thing I liked about him was that he gave his 100 per cent whenever he played," said Jagdale.

Iyer's club coach Dinesh Sharma recalled with pride how joining his team made a difference for Iyer.

"This is 2011-12 thing, he used to play at the Khanuja club, where he used to go from his childhood, as it was near his house. So, I was with the MYCC (Maharaja Yashwatrao Cricket Club) club, from where he plays right now.

"I saw him playing when he was a kid, his mother came to me and I suggested to them that he should either play for CCI, where Jagdale Sir teaches or MYCC, he can be better, as he has the potential," Sharma recollected.

Sharma said he had thought that Iyer's height could be a problem.

"After six months, his father, his mother came to me, and then said that we want him to play for your club and he will be under you. I felt that his height could be a problem.

"So, we started working on his fitness, and he was a natural hitter and used to generate power in the shots and we worked on his batting," recalled Sharma.

According to Sharma, Iyer was "mentally strong" and he pushed his mother not to stop him from playing cricket and also narrated his journey in age-group cricket.

"There are ups and downs in cricket, when he wasn't selected his mother used to come, he was very good in academics, his mother would say 'our relatives used to say don't let him play, his life will be spoiled'.

"I motivated his mother not to go ahead, saying the day he will shine, these people would come to you," Sharma signed off.

Also Read : Kolkata Knight Riders defeat Mumbai Indians for the first time since 2019 to enter the top 4

News Source : PTI

Mumbai, Sep 24 (Sports News) Many years ago, Leander Paes acted on a whim when he asked Mahesh Bhupathi, "Would you like to win Wimbledon?" and the tennis star says what followed was a partnership that brought many trophies for India.

This "brotherhood" between the two Indian tennis icons, who were the first doubles team from the country to win at Wimbledon in 1999, is what the two tennis legends have revisited through ZEE5's non-fiction series "Break Point".

Paes said the audience will get to see a faithful representation of their journey through the series, directed by filmmaker couple Nitesh Tiwari and Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari.

"We created a brotherhood. And through ‘Break Point’, you get to see the journey of two young Indian boys and how we conquered the world of tennis, won Wimbledon and became number one in the world," Paes told PTI in an interview.

Once the poster boys for the sport in the country, nicknamed the "Indian Express", Paes and Bhupathi played together from 1994 to 2006 and reunited for their second stint from 2008 to 2011.

Besides the Wimbledon championship that they won in 1999, Paes and Bhupathi also won two French Open titles in 1999 and 2001.

Through "Break Point", Paes said he re-lived all the games that he and Bhupathi played together including the several Grand Slams and the Olympics, while also taking note of the ups and downs of their relationship, among other things.

"One of my favourite memories is when I was 16-year-old playing in Sri Lanka, and Mahesh was 15, playing at the same Asian championships. So when I saw him, I had an intuition that we could win Wimbledon together and we could be number one in the world.

"So I watched him play for about 15 minutes and when he came off the court he had a big smile on his face and I shook his hand. I said, 'I am Leander.' and he said, 'I know and I have been following you'. And then I said, 'Thank you, but would you like to win Wimbledon?'" Paes said.

He recalled that Bhupathi was taken aback by what he said and started laughing.

"He said, 'You're crazy.' I said, 'I am crazy. Would you like to win Wimbledon?' And the rest is history," added Paes, who as a singles player had famously won the bronze medal in tennis at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

What Paes respects a lot about Bhupathi is that he believed in his dreams and worked hard for them.

"I think that what we've achieved together has created some world records as we are unbeaten in the Davis Cup in 24 matches, we played so many Olympics together.

"We've been number one in the world together. So I really respect the hard work that you put into believing in that dream." Their partnership, however, was marred by a public fallout in 2012 ahead of the London Olympics but Paes said they have put that past behind them and moved on in their lives.

He described the show as quite "real" and "raw".

"We are very true to telling the story of how we were pioneers at the time because there was no manual to teach us how to be the best in the world.

"And it also shows our mistakes, the downfalls that we had, the things that possibly we did wrong that we could have done better." Personally, for him, his win at Atlanta Olympics is a moment closer to his heart as it seemed like emulating his Olympian father Vece Paes.

The tennis star felt that one of the key reasons why they chose to narrate their own story through "Break Point" is that they wanted to share a true story.

"One of the reasons we didn't choose actors and told it directly from our own mouths and our own stories…and also we got our parents, siblings, friends and opponents that we played against, like the Bryan twins, the Woodies, Martina Hingis, Radek Stepanek, Mark Knowles.

"I'm really appreciative of all of them coming and taking part in ‘Break Point’," he said.

Praising Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari and Nitesh Tiwari, Paes said the directors have gone beyond the game and tapped into the human aspect.

"Through all the episodes, they take you through a journey of human emotions. They show you how champions are built, how Champions also make mistakes and that they are human also.

"They show you how winning Wimbledon on one day might make you the king of the world but the next day you are vulnerable too,” he added.

Paes is grateful to the director duo, writer Piyush Gupta and the streaming platform ZEE5 for giving them the platform to narrate their story in multiple languages.

"It's been one phenomenal journey. We proved that if you work hard and if you believe in yourself, have the courage to believe in your dreams, you can be world champions, for sure.

"With this show, we can actually reach the masses to inspire them that if these two can win Wimbledon then you can also be a champion of the world in anything you want to." "Break Point" will stream on ZEE5 on October 1. 

Also Read : Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Neeraj Chopra meets Abhinav Bindra

News Source : PTI

Sharjah, Sep 24 (Cricket News) Almost out of reckoning for a play-off berth, bottom-placed Sunrisers Hyderabad will look to play party-poopers when they take on an equally struggling Punjab Kings in the IPL's battle of laggards here on Saturday.

Sunrisers suffered their seventh defeat on Wednesday after being blown away by Delhi Capitals and their play-off chances look less than dim as they have managed just two points after eight games.

Punjab, on the other hand, quite inexplicably found a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory against Rajasthan Royals and will be desperate to find an answer to their problems after being placed seventh with six points from nine matches.

The Kings were well-placed to win their first IPL game of the UAE leg before committing harakari in the last over bowled by Kartik Tyagi. They lost two wickets and scored just one run while needing four to win against Rajasthan.

Despite being packed with excellent Indian and foreign talent, Punjab Kings have regularly messed up games and skipper KL Rahul will have to address their inconsistency.

Punjab Kings have also lacked any kind of stability over the last 14 seasons with captains and coaches being changed frequently.

Their playing XI too has gone through many changes, something which has drawn sharp criticism from former team mentor Virender Sehwag.

In batting, Rahul and Mayank Agarwal have been one of the most dominant opening duo of the IPL.

In the last game too, they put on 120 runs in 11.5 overs but none of them could stay back to finish the job.

While Chris Gayle can destroy any attack even at the age of 41, he was kept out in the last game.

In the middle-order, Nicholas Pooran, who had a horrendous outing in the first phase, looked good in the last game before he lost his bearings in the final over even as Aiden Markram was left stranded on the other side.

In bowling department, Mohammed Shami has been their prime bowler and he did well to pull things back against RR.

Young Arshdeep Singh also returned with five wickets as he and Shami bowled out RR to 185 in the last game.

However, Punjab's spinners, especially England's Adil Rashid, have disappointed and they will need to step up their game in the next few weeks.

For Sunrisers, it is all about enjoying the remaining few games and ending on a high.

With Johnny Bairstow, their season's leading run-getter, pulling out and Australian opener David Warner in poor form, SRH have found the going tough against Delhi.

The likes of Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Wriddhiman Saha, Kedar Jadhav, Abdul Samad also failed to capitalise on their starts as SRH could manage just 134 in their last game.

Their bowling has been too dependent on spin sensation Rashid Khan and it will be important for the likes of Khaleel Ahmed, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jason Holder to put up a strong show to give some respectability to the team's campaign.

Squads: Punjab Kings: KL Rahul (captain), Mayank Agarwal, Arshdeep Singh, Ishan Porel, Shahrukh Khan, Mohammed Shami, Nathan Ellis, Adil Rashid, Murugan Ashwin, Harpreet Brar, Moises Henriques, Chris Jordan, Aiden Markram, Mandeep Singh, Darsan Nalkande, Prabhsimran Singh, Ravi BIshnoi, Utkarsh Singh, Fabian Allen, Saurabh Kumar, Jalaj Saxena.

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Kane Williamson (Captain), David Warner, Manish Pandey, Sherfane Rutherford, Wriddhiman Saha, Shreevats Goswami, Rashid Khan, Vijay Shankar, Mohammad Nabi, Abhishek Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddharth Kaul, Khaleel Ahmed, T Natarajan, Basil Thampi, Sandeep Sharma, Shahbaz Nadeem, Abdul Samad, J Suchith, Jason Holder, Virat Singh, Priyam Garg, Kedar Jadhav, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Jason Roy.

March Starts: 7:30 pm.

Also Read : In the last two games, superstars have been our bowlers: Morgan

News Source : PTI

Abu Dhabi, Sep 24 (Cricket News) Operating like a well-oiled unit, Delhi Capitals will be eager to consolidate their top spot when they clash with a resurgent Rajasthan Royals, who will be keen to keep the winning momentum going in the Indian Premier League here on Saturday.

The Rishabh Pant-led side had a sensational first leg, winning six games in eight outings. They started the second phase on a high by handing laggards Sunrisers Hyderabad an eight-wicket thrashing on Wednesday to maintain their top spot on the points table.

On the other hand, Rajasthan, who were struggling to find their feet in the first leg, will take a lot of confidence after snatching a two-run victory from the jaws of defeat against Punjab Kings.

With the win, they have bridged the gap on the playoff spots. A victory against Delhi will take them to the fourth.

For Rajasthan, youngsters Yashasvi Jaiswal and Mahipal Lomror rose to the occasion with the bat against Punjab but skipper Sanju Samson will be expected to take more responsibility.

In the bowling department, pacers Kartik Tyagi and Bangladesh’s Mustafizur Rahman did the job in the end.

With Punjab needing eight runs to win of the final two overs, Rahman gave away just four in penultimate over before rookie Tyagi bowled a sensational final six balls, picking up two wickets while conceding just one run to seal the side's fourth win of the season.

The former champions will look to keep the winning momentum going and bag two more points but that's easier said than done.

Come Saturday, the Royals will face a tough task against the Delhi team with openers Shikhar Dhawan, the leading run scorer of the tournament this season, and Prithvi Shaw looking in good touch.

Dhawan (422 runs) and Shaw (319 runs) have provided flying starts to their side with six half-centuries between them along with 88 fours and 21 sixes. For any bowling unit, facing the Dhawan-Shaw duo is a scary proposition.

Shreyas Iyer made a stunning return with an unbeaten 47 after missing the first leg due to injury, which is a big positive for the side.

DC also boast of a strong middle-order comprising, skipper Rishabh Pant (248 runs), Australian Steve Smith and Shimron Hetmyer, who can be highly destructive on their day.

In the bowling department, Delhi is unlikely to tinker with their pace attack, as Avesh Khan has been impressive and South African Kagiso Rabada can do the damage early while Anrich Nortje provides the express speed.

Teams (From): Delhi Capitals: Rishabh Pant (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Prithvi Shaw, Ripal Patel, Shikhar Dhawan, Shimrom Hetmyar, Shreyas Iyer, Steve Smith, Amit Mishra, Anrich Nortje, Avesh Khan, Ben Dwarshuis, Ishant Sharma, Kagiso Rabada, Kulwant Khejroliya, Lukman Meriwala, Pravin Dubey, Tom Curran, Umesh Yadav, Axar Patel, Lalit Yadav, Marcus Stoinis, Ravichandran Ashwin, Sam Billings and Vishnu Vinod.

Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (captain), Liam Livingstone, Evin Lewis, David Miller, Chris Morris, Oshane Thomas, Mustafizur Rahaman, Tabraiz Shamsi, Glenn Phillips, Chetan Sakariya, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Akash Singh, Anuj Rawat, KC Cariappa, Yashashvi Jaiswal, Shivam Dube, Shreyas Gopal, Kartik Tyagi, Mayank Markande, Jaydev Unadkat, Kuldip Yadav, Mahipal Lomror.

Match starts at 3:30PM IST.

Also Read : Kolkata Knight Riders defeat Mumbai Indians for the first time since 2019 to enter the top 4

News Source : PTI

Abu Dhabi, Sep 24 (Cricket News) Rajasthan Royals' latest hero Kartik Tyagi says touring Australia as the Indian team's net bowler last year benefited him greatly, during which time he also received tips from pace ace, Jasprit Bumrah.

The pacer defended four runs in the final over to guide his side to a famous win over Punjab Kings in the IPL on Tuesday.

"When I went to Australia, I learnt a lot. Lot of players were injured and a youngster can also win the tournament and I also want to win matches for India," said Tyagi.

Mumbai Indians pacer Bumrah had lavished praise on Tyagi after his last-over heroics against Punjab.

"When I went to Australia, I didn't go to Jasprit bhaiya because I was nervous but he came to me and discussed many things with me and it was a big moment," he said.

"Personally when I saw that he had tweeted about me, I felt very happy because he is among the world's best bowlers and he is my hero and he has tweeted about me." In the last over against Punjab, the pacer said he looked to bowl six yorkers. He ended up taking two wickets while conceding just one run to seal a two-run win for RR.

"When Mustafizur Rahman was bowling, it didn't seem that the match will go till the last over because a left-hander was batting and left-arm fast bowler was bowling and it was a shorter end," Tyagi said during a virtual press conference on Friday.

"But as he gave just four runs the match reached last over, there was little pressure and excitement too, but I didn't think I will be able to defend the score.

"When I had bowled three balls, I started having the belief that probably it is possible and then when in the last ball it happened, I felt very happy." Tyagi said he didn't feel any pressure when he was asked to bowl the final over.

"When I was in the run-up, Sanju bhaiya (Sanju Samson), Chris Morris, they asked me what was my plans and also discussed their plans. They supported a lot," he said.

"I didn't feel any pressure because four was needed in six balls. I would have been in more pressure if I needed to defend 10 runs in six balls because people will naturally think that we have lost the match because it is possible to score 4 runs in six balls.

"I too felt that it will be chased in 3-4 balls because even if they take four singles it will be over but once I bowled three balls, everybody started believing that the match can turn now and I was clear that I need to bowl six yorkers in six balls." Asked about his ambition as a player, Tyagi said: "I know that I can swing the ball both ways and I can also bowl fast. I have a dream to be the best so I think I should always help the team in every situation and do well in future.

"If I am asked to bowl with the new ball, I can swing it and also bowl fast in the middle overs because I consider them my strengths and as I grow in age, I will also gather more experience, so I would look to help RR." Rajasthan will take on table-toppers Delhi Capitals on Saturday and Tyagi said he is just focussing on the process.

"Not only Delhi capitals, all the teams are good. So I am not planning against any particular team, I am just following the process. Like even in last over, I had to bowl just six balls, so I just want to follow the process," he said.

Also Read : Nortje praises Pant's game sense, says, he can project what's going to happen next

News Source : PTI