Sports
Rampant India take 1-0 lead
West Indies’ struggles in the 50-over format continued as India registered a relatively comfortable victory in the first ODI in Bridgetown, Barbados on Thursday (July 27). Kuldeep Yadav picked up a four-wicket haul while Ravindra Jadeja bagged three as they expedited West Indies’ collapse, with the hosts losing their last seven wickets for the addition of only 26 runs to be bowled out for a paltry 114 in 23 overs. India experimented with their batting order in the chase, with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli not coming out to bat in their usual positions, making way for the others up the order. They lost half their side in the process, on a pitch aiding the spinners, but Ishan Kishan’s 46-ball 52 guided India in the chase and they eventually got home with 27.1 overs to spare.
A confident pull shot off Dominic Drakes helped Kishan get off the mark with a boundary in the first over. Shubman Gill’s first runs came off a top edge that got him a four off Jayden Seales. The openers were building a steady partnership when Gill got an outside edge off Seales, with Brandon King taking a low catch at second slip. Third umpire Marais Erasmus referred to multiple angles before ruling the batter out. Suryakumar Yadav came in at No.3 and he glanced Drakes for a four to score his first runs after a hat-trick of ducks in his previous ODI outings. Kishan was quick to read the lengths, striking a straight four off a full delivery from Drakes and also played the pull to put away a short ball.
Suryakumar, who struck a cover drive off Seales for his second four, also played his favourite pick-up lap shot for a six over fine-leg. The pair scored at a steady rate, combining their boundary shots with singles as India reached 50 in 10 overs. Suryakumar played a sweep off Gudakesh Motie for a boundary but the spinner hit back by bowling it a lot slower, getting the batter out leg-before, with India also losing a review. Kishan, meanwhile was playing shots all round, playing a one-handed shot over mid-off and a cut off Yannic Cariah for two boundaries. Hardik Pandya was also pushed up the order but he had a short stay, run out at the non-striker’s end after a shot from Kishan deflected off Cariah’s hands onto the stumps.
Kishan then put away a full toss from Cariah for his first six and struck a powerful shot past Motie for another four. He also got a lucky break as he was dropped by Kyle Mayers off Motie when he tried to pull, and he brought up a 44-ball fifty a short while later. But Kishan fell in his attempt to play a heave off Motie and Shardul Thakur also departed soon after, bringing Rohit to the crease. The captain, along with Jadeja, helped their team across the line without further damage as India took a 1-0 lead in the three match series.
Earlier, with the pitch offering extra bounce, Pandya and debutant Mukesh Kumar troubled the West Indies openers with deliveries that took off from a length after skipper Rohit opted to bowl. Mayers tried to force the pace but the bounce got the better of him as he handed a simple catch to Rohit Sharma at mid-on to give Pandya the first wicket. A steady partnership between Alick Athanaze and Brandon King ensued, with the two batters scoring a few boundaries. Athanaze’s first shot of authority was a pick-up shot for a six off Pandya and he added three more fours to his tally before he hit a short and wide ball from Mukesh to Jadeja, who timed his jump well at backward point. King fell soon after, bowled by Thakur as West Indies slipped to 45/3.
Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer, who returned to the West Indies XI after a lengthy gap, tried to rebuild as they extended their stand past 40. Hope struck a couple of fours off short balls from Umran Malik while Hetmyer pulled a Jadeja delivery to fine leg for his first four. But Jadeja, who was a bit wayward to start off, hit his straps and left West Indies in further trouble. Hetmyer’s innings came to an end when an attempted paddle shot resulted in him being bowled. Jadeja had Gill and Virat Kohli to thank for his next two wickets as they held onto fine catches off edges to first and second slip, resulting in Rovman Powell and Romario Shepherd falling in the same over.
West Indies slid further when Kuldeep struck in quick succession. The chinaman bowler trapped Drakes in front with a googly and then got Cariah also with a wrong’un, with India using the DRS successfully. At the other end, Hope watched on helplessly as West Indies lost their direction completely. The West Indies captain tried to farm strike with the tail batting with him, even striking a six off Jadeja to enter the 40s. But an attempted reverse sweep brought about his downfall, giving Kuldeep his third wicket. He picked up his fourth in just three overs when Seales handed a catch to leg slip to become the last to fall, bringing the curtains down on a shoddy batting display from the West Indies who were bowled out for their second lowest total against India.
Salman Ali Agha said that he would have done things ‘differently”, after Mehidy Hasan Miraz ran him out in controversial circumstances in the second ODI in Dhaka.
Agha, who made 64 from 62 balls, had been backing up at the non-striker’s end when Mohammad Rizwan drove the ball back towards him. He was still out of his ground as Mehidy swooped round behind him in an attempt to gather, and Agha had appeared ready to pass the ball back to the bowler before Mehidy reached down to grab it first and throw down the stumps.
Agha reacted furiously to the dismissal, throwing his gloves and helmet down in disgust at the decision. However, he later came to the post-match press conference, ahead of captain Shaheen Shah Afridi and player of the match Maaz Sadaqat, to clear the air.
“I think sportsman spirit has to be there,” Agha said. “What he [Mehidy] has done is in the law. I think if he thinks it’s right, it’s right, but if you ask me my perspective, I would have done differently. I would have gone for sportsman spirit. We haven’t done this [type of thing] previously, we would never do that in the future as well.”
Agha explained that he had been trying to pick up the ball to give to Miraz, thinking it was likely to have been called dead. “Actually, the ball hit on my pad and then my bat,” he said. “So I thought he can’t get me run-out now, because the ball already hit on my pad and my bat.
“I was just trying to give him the ball back. I was not looking for the run or anything like that, but he already decided [to make the run-out].”
Agha however regretted his angry reaction. “It was just heat-of-the-moment kind of stuff,” he said. “If you ask me what would I have done, I would have done things differently. But it was everything, whatever happened after that, it was in the moment.”
He was also involved in a robust exchange with Bangladesh wicketkeeper Litton Das, though he didn’t divulge many of the details.
“I can’t remember what I was saying and I can’t remember what he was saying,” he said. “I’m sure I wasn’t saying nice things, and I’m sure he wasn’t saying nice stuff as well. But it was just heat of the moment, so we are fine.
Asked if he had patched things up with Mehidy, Agha said: “I haven’t yet, but don’t worry, I’ll find him.”
Pakistan won the match by 128 runs via the DLS method.
[Cricinfo]
The Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Grands Prix that were scheduled for next month are set to be cancelled as a result of the war in the Middle East.
A formal decision to call off the races has not yet been made but is expected before the end of the weekend.
Freight would need to start being shipped to the Middle East in the coming days. With no sign of the conflict between the US/Israel and Iran coming to a conclusion, holding the races would put personnel at too great a risk.
Neither event will be replaced, with the season being cut to 22 grands prix and F1 taking a commercial hit of more than £100m, given Bahrain and Saudi Arabia pay two of the highest hosting fees.
The race in Bahrain was scheduled to be on 12 April with Jeddah the following weekend.
Consideration was given to holding events at Portimao in Portugal, Imola in Italy or Istanbul Park in Turkey.
But it was accepted that the time to organise a race at any of those locations was too short, and there was little chance of securing a hosting fee.
The decision will mean there is a five-week break between the Japanese Grand Prix on 29 March and Miami on 3 May.
(BBC)
Royal College made steady progress in reply to their arch rivals’ first innings total as skipper Rehan Peiris and Ramiru Perera guided them to 175 for four wickets at stumps on day two of the 147th Battle of the Blues at the SSC ground on Friday.
Royal needed only 51 overs to reach their end-of-day total after S. Thomas’ College had earlier adopted a cautious approach before being bowled out for 302 runs.
Royal suffered an early setback when open batsman Hirun Liyanarachchi was dismissed for naught in the very first over, caught behind by Aaron Kodituwakku off the bowling of Gimhan Mendis.
Skipper Rehan Peiris then steadied the innings, repairing the early damage with two useful partnerships. He first added 41 runs for the second wicket with Udantha Gangewatta and followed it up with a 34-run stand for the third wicket alongside Sri Lanka Under-19 skipper Vimath Dinsara.
Dinsara struggled to find fluency during his stay at the crease, managing 11 runs off 30 balls before being trapped leg-before by Gimhan Mendis, who finished the day with two wickets.
Rehan continued to anchor the innings and produced the most productive stand of the Royal innings when he combined with Ramiru Perera for a vital 78-run partnership for the fourth wicket. The Royal skipper’s determined knock finally ended on 63 when he was dismissed by Ludeesha Matarage.
From there, Ramiru Perera and Yasindu Dissanayake ensured there were no further setbacks, batting cautiously until bad light forced the umpires to call off play.
Perera remained unbeaten on 70, an attractive innings that included ten boundaries, while Dissanayake provided solid support at the other end as Royal closed the day strongly.
Earlier in the day, resuming from their overnight score, the Thomians continued with their ultra-cautious approach, scoring at just over two runs per over. Reshon Solomon top-scored with 66 runs, while Ludeesha Matarage and Raphael Hettige chipped in with useful contributions in the twenties.
S. Thomas’ were eventually bowled out for 302 just before the lunch interval on the second day, having consumed 124 overs during their four-session first innings.
Gagan Gamage was the pick of the Royal bowlers with impressive figures of four wickets for 49 runs. He received good support from Sehandu Sooriyaarachchi, who claimed three wickets for 64 runs, while Himaru Deshan picked up two wickets for 43. Ramiru Perera also chipped in with a wicket to complete the Thomian innings.
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