Satwik-Chirag win French Open men’s doubles title

Paris: Star Indian pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty clinched the French Open Super 750 title by defeating Chinese Taipei’s Lu Ching Yao and Yang Po Han in straight games in the men’s doubles final here. sunday.

The world number 8 pair, who finished runners-up in the 2019 edition, rode on their formidable attack to outshine Lu and Yang, finishing 25th, 21-13 21-19 in a 48-minute summit clash.

The Indian pair thus continued their dream this year, which saw them win the Indian Open Super 500 title, Commonwealth Games gold, Thomas Cup crown and an unprecedented bronze at the World Championships in August.

Originally published at Pen 18

T20 world cup: For India, nothing clicks except Suryakumar Yadav

When a team of batting superstars revamp their collective approach to the game in a year, systematically discarding the controls and balances that were the foundation of their playing style, you’re going to get some great results. There will be days when the lineup will chase scores they have no business with.

There will be days when the good bowlers in the opposition camp will execute their plans and take them to the sweepers. But, there will also be days in which accidents and burns will happen, and you must accept it because when you live by the sword you will also die by it. The key is that the method should win more than it costs you and it shouldn’t be something that gets in the way of lifting a team into a big match or knockout.

Even Suryakumar Yadav’s spark could not extinguish the fire so fast that India could get a big score in Perth on Sunday. It was one of those days, on a pitch with little juice against a fast bowling attack that knew where to put the ball. As is now standard, Suriya played his brand of cricket, which consisted of using pace, going after the bowling, attacking mercilessly but with smart shots in odd parts of the field, and scoring 68 runs off just 40 balls. . The rest of the team put together 57 runs in 80 balls, with eight additional players taking India for 133.

Every cricket coach tells young batsmen that they should first learn to determine the price and value of their wicket. Now, in Twenty20 cricket, this is hardly possible at the international level. The game has progressed at a fast pace, but the methods of coaching at different levels are not necessarily the same. While young players are playing more freely and fearlessly, using shots that a generation before them would have thought of as sacrilege, it has taken a lot of work to get the likes of Virat Kohli into this mode .

Kohli being a Kohli has in recent times found a method that works. Adopting the principle laid down by the team management, Kohli is taking more risks, playing more shots than before, even if he is doing so after setting up base.

Rohit Sharma has come out swinging, and the results have not been enough for him. In his last 10 matches, Rohit has scored 11, 17, 0, 0, 4 and 15 but in that time, he has scored four good scores including 72 off 41 balls, 46 not out in 20, 43 in 37 Are included. and 53 in 39. What Rohit has done is sacrifice big scores to set the tone at the top of the innings. He is setting an example of what he wants his batsmen to do.

But, it’s time to talk about KL Rahul. Once India’s leading T20 batsman – and his total is still impressive: 68 matches, 2150 runs, strike rate 139.42, 2 centuries and 20 half-centuries – he is now caught between a rock and a hard place. That day, Rahul, who was poked and blocked between launching a short ball to the on side, opened the face of the bat to Lungi Ngidi, took the ball straight to the lone slip fielder, and then nodded his head. Gone as if it had been undone by a spell cast by a magician. Rahul, who has every shot in the game and then some, is the vice-captain of the team, and it would be fair to say that he was involved in devising the new expressive and risk-taking batting approach that the team has come up with. Still, it doesn’t fully reflect how he has approached his batting. What you best associate with Rahul is missing the flourish, how he sets up for the first run, it is temporary and he is often looking at the ball instead of pushing hard and his choice of shots is poor. Used to be.

Almost all of these things point to a mind busy with things other than just playing the ball in hand. Rohit has stressed on the need to stay in the present. Rahul needs to do that at the crease, otherwise, even his position as vice-captain may soon find it difficult to stop him from being rested, benched or worse.

Originally published at Pen 18

T20 world cup: We were not good enough, conditions are not an excuse: Rohit Sharma

Perth: Conditions were tough to bat in Perth but India captain Rohit Sharma said the team’s five-wicket loss to South Africa in the T20 World Cup here on Sunday cannot be an excuse.

Suryakumar Yadav (68 off 40 balls) played the best innings of his short international career, but South Africa exposed India’s inadequacy against excessive pace and bounce to win a low-scoring thriller.

Chasing 134, South Africa finished the chase in 19.4 overs with Aiden Markram and David Miller scoring 52 and 59 respectively, the latter remaining unbeaten.

“We expected the pitch to have something, with the weather. We knew that would help for the seamer. That’s why you saw 130 was not an easy chase. I thought we fought well till the end but South Africa Well played in the end,” Rohit said at the presentation ceremony.

“The pitch is such that the wicket can come anytime for the fast bowlers. It was a match-winning partnership between Miller and Markram. But we were not good enough on the field. We have played in such conditions so conditions are not excuses. Want to continue in that department.”

On that day, India’s fielding also left much to be desired, with even a normally secure Virat Kohli taking a fairly simple chance in the boundary off Ravichandran Ashwin. Markram was the batsman on that occasion.

“We couldn’t hold our chances, we missed a few run-outs including ourselves. We were a little poor on the field, we gave so many chances on the field and we weren’t clinical. We just weren’t good enough.

“Last two games, we were very good on the field. We need to keep our heads up and learn from this game.”

In the 14th over being bowled by Ashwin, Markram and Miller hit a six each and 17 came off that over, which decided the fate of the game. Ashwin (1/43 in 4 overs) lost his confidence after dropping the catch and it showed in the subsequent overs.

Speaking on Ashwin’s over, Rohit said, “I have seen what happened to the spinners in the last game. So I wanted to finish with Ashwin before the last over. I wanted to see the fast bowler bowl the right over. Looking at the new batsman came, it was the right time to bowl to Ashwin.”

Struggling with form, South Africa captain Temba Bavuma admitted that his team’s other batsmen are in good shape.

“(At the 10-over mark) the discussion was to push the intent. When you do that, then opportunities come your way. Luckily things went our way and we were able to get to that pace .

“Our batting line-up is in good form barring ourselves. This is a batting unit that has been together for a while now. Coming up in moments of pressure will boost people’s confidence.

“We looked at the games played here and decided on the length. The convertible bounce helped us. We backed our execution, luckily it paid off for us.

“We don’t like that tag (favourites), we haven’t come into the tournament as favourites. We will keep flying under the radar. It’s important that we keep improving and that’s exactly what we’re doing,” Bavuma said.

Man of the Match Lungi Ngidi, who finished with excellent figures of 4/29, said that he will cherish his performance for a long time.

“It was very nerve-wracking when the games got so close, as a bowler you can’t do much and just have to believe in the boys. It’s one of my biggest dreams, something like this in the world (Awards) ) to get the Cup and help the country win a game, will cherish it for a long time,” Ngidi said.

He said, ‘It comes with seeing a lot of games being played here, luckily I have played here too and I knew it (how to bowl).

“We saw Pakistan bowling first and there was a lot to do. After the break of 10 overs, Markram took the game and David followed him. That partnership brought us closer and then David ended it. done.” PTI AH AH BS BS

Originally published at Pen 18

rohit: T20 WC: Rohit Sharma becomes highest-capped player in tournament history

Indian captain Rohit Sharma on Sunday became the player with the most caps in the history of the ICC T20 World Cup event.

The star Indian batsman achieved the feat during Group 2, Super 12 against South Africa in Perth.

Captain Rohit did not impress with his record-breaking 36th performance, scoring only 15 runs in 14 balls with the help of a four and a six.

Now, Rohit has made 36 appearances in the tournament since the 2007 edition. He has overtaken Sri Lankan opener Tillakaratne Dilshan. This former great gave 35 performances in this program.

Rohit has scored 919 runs in 31 innings in 36 matches at an average of 36.76 and strike rate of 130.73. He has nine half-centuries with his bat, his best score is 79*. He is the fourth highest run scorer in the history of the tournament. He has also hit the most number of sixes by an Indian player in the history of the tournament.

Rohit and Dilshan are followed by former West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi and Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan.

Coming into the match, India won the toss and decided to bat first.

India’s innings is still on.

Originally published at Pen 18

zimbabwe: Bangladesh beats Zimbabwe after last-ball drama at world T20

Shakib Al Hasan and his Bangladeshi players hugged, traded high-fives, and shook hands with their Zimbabwean rivals as they walked off the field on Sunday in what they called a narrow Super 12 victory in the Twenty20 World Cup. as was celebrated.

Back-to-back stumpings by wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan off the last two balls of Musaddek Hossain, dismissing two tail-end batsmen from Zimbabwe, who needed five runs off the last two balls to win.

Why tape? On-field umpires called for regular reviews to confirm the final stumping decision, but players and the crowd stunned when the words “Not Out” flashed on the stadium’s giant screen.

Replays showed Hasan lightly gloved the ball in front of the stumps and dismissed Blessing Mujarbani off the last ball before whipping the bails.

Instead, the umpire signaled a no ball for Musaddek and a free hit for Zimbabwe.

So all the fielders, the batsmen and the two umpires had to go back into position to re-throw the final ball. Leaving Zimbabwe, now 147-8 in response to Bangladesh’s total of 150-7, had an adjusted target of four runs instead of five for an unexpected victory.

Musaddek held his nerve and didn’t concede a run, Muzarbina did a swing and miss, giving Bangladesh just their second win in the second round of the T20 World Cup.

The last over, in which Zimbabwe needed 16 runs from six balls to win, dominated the last 39, mostly controlled by Bangladesh.

Opener Najmul Hossain Shanto, who posted a career-high T20 score of 71 off 55 balls, said his Bangladesh lineup was perfect till the last ball.

“It was a new experience for us,” he said. “Musaddek bowled very well in this pressure situation. Honestly, it was a bit nerve-wracking, but we believed we could do it.”

Shanto put on a 54-run partnership for the third wicket with his captain Shakib Al Hasan (23) and Afif Hussain (29 off 19) for the fourth wicket after Muzrabini (2-13) took two early wickets. Run partnership. Zimbabwe.

The Zimbabweans struggled in the field on a hot day at the Gabba, with a series of misfields and drop catches costing valuable runs, including two regulation chances in the final two overs.

Three wickets, including a run out from left-arm pacer Richard Nagarwa (2-24) in the last over of the innings, slowed down Bangladesh’s run of runs.

Fast bowlers Taskin Ahmed (3-19) and Mustafizur Rahman (2-15) combined to smash Zimbabwe’s top order and give Bangladesh control, but were chasing 40 off 18 balls with three overs to spare. exhausted his entire allotment.

Sean Williams (64) and Ryan Burle (27 not out) took it close in a 63-run partnership that revived Zimbabwe’s run chase and kept the competition alive.

After completing his fifty in 37 balls, Williams hit successive boundaries including a peculiar swipe off a short-pitched delivery from Hasan Mahmood to bring Zimbabwe to 125-5 at the end of the 18th over.

After this Zimbabwe needed 26 runs in 12 balls and Bangladesh depended on their spin bowlers.

Williams cut Shakib’s third ball over the boundary but was run out on the next ball, which saw significant breakthrough from some fine fielding from Shakib. Shakib ran to his right and then got up, turned and smacked down the stumps with a left-handed throw that took Williams out of his crease at the non-striker’s end.

This set up a thriller in the last over, with Bangladesh hanging on to go one point above Zimbabwe, who had a washout against South Africa and won over Pakistan in earlier games in Group 2.

“It was extremely strange,” Williams said of the no-ball decision on the last scheduled delivery. “Obviously, I’ve never experienced anything like this in a cricket match before, but then again, it just shows in a T20 game, there’s always a little bit of hope; anything can happen.

“It’s an emotional roller coaster, isn’t it?”

Originally published at Pen 18

Legendary Pakistani fast bowler Wasim Akram reveals he was addicted to cocaine

Legendary Pakistan pacer Wasim Akram has revealed that he developed a cocaine addiction after retiring from the sport, but quit after the death of his first wife in 2009. The 56-year-old has opened up about his cocaine dependence in his upcoming autobiography ‘Sultan’. : A Memoir.’

Pakistan’s leading wicket-taker in both Test and ODI cricket said he began to yearn for “an alternative to the adrenaline rush of competition” when he was traveling away from his first wife, Huma.

Akram told the Times, “The culture of fame in South Asia is all-consuming, seductive and corrupt. You can go to 10 parties in one night, and do some. And it made a huge difference to me.”

“It destabilized me. It made me a cheater. Huma, I know, was often alone during this time… She used to talk about her desire to move to Karachi, her parents and siblings to be close to.

“I was reluctant. Why? Partly because I loved going to Karachi on my own, pretending it was work when it was really about partying, often for several days at a time.”

Widely regarded as one of the best bowlers of all time, Akram made his international debut in 1985, playing 104 Tests and 356 ODIs for Pakistan. He took 414 Test wickets and 502 ODI wickets.

“Huma finally found me, finding a pack of cocaine in my wallet… ‘You need help.’ I agreed. It was getting out of hand. I couldn’t control it. One row would become two, two would become four, four would become one gram, one gram would become two. I could not sleep. I ate could not.

“I became inattentive to my diabetes, which gave me headaches and mood swings. Like a lot of addicts, part of me welcomed the discovery: Privacy was running out.”

Akram went to rehab but his experience with the doctor was pleasant, resulting in a relapse.

“The doctor was a complete con man, who primarily worked on manipulating families instead of treating patients, on separating relatives from money rather than users of drugs,” he said.

“Try as much as you can, a part of me was still smoldering inside what I had to endure. My pride was hurt, and the charm of my lifestyle remained.

“I briefly contemplated divorce. I agreed to leave for the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy, where, under Huma’s daily scrutiny, I started using again.”

However, the veteran pacer, who continued with commentary and coaching assignments around the world, said that he eventually stopped after Huma’s sudden death from a rare fungal infection in 2009.

He said, “Huma’s last selfless, unconscious act was treating me for my drug problem. That way of life had come to an end, and I never looked back.”

Originally published at Pen 18

Five top batting knocks at the 2022 T20 World Cup

Cricket’s Twenty20 World Cup is in full swing, with teams battling for a place in the semi-finals in two groups of the Super 12 stage.

A look at the five best innings of the AFP Sport tournament so far:

Kohli Masterclass
He came, he saw, he conquered. Virat Kohli smashed an unbeaten 82 to guide India to a memorable win over arch-rivals Pakistan at the MCG with over 90,000 fans.

Chasing 160 in their opening match, “King Kohli” guided the team into a dramatic final over with the final ball lifting India 31-4.

His two sixes off Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf at the end of the 19th over and a 113-run partnership with Hardik Pandya were the keys to the win, and the innings has already been dubbed one for the ages.

Stoinis Blitz

Holders Australia were stunned by New Zealand in the first match of the tournament and stumbled in their chase against Sri Lanka. Marcus Stoinis then played an unbeaten 59 off 18 balls in his hometown of Perth.

The big-hitter demolished the opposition attack with four fours and five sixes and scored the fastest T20 fifty by an Australian in 17 balls as the hosts won with 21 balls to spare.

Captain Aaron Finch had the best seat at home at the non-striker end as he stood with Stoinis in an unbeaten stand of 69, calling it a “special innings”.

Balbirni Special
Giant-killers Ireland knocked out two-time champions West Indies out of the tournament in the first round and captain Andy Balbirnie ensured they beat another big gun in England.

Balbirnie smashed 62 off 47 balls to bowl his team out for 157 as he smashed Chris Woakes for two fours and a six in the same over.

The knock inspired Ireland’s bowlers, who maintained England at 105-5 when the rain stopped. Ireland won by DLS method.

Former England captain Michael Atherton on Sky Sports said “the game was won” when Balbirnie and Lorcan Tucker put on an 82-run stand for the second wicket.

rosau eruption
Riley Rousseau was a man on a mission after scoring his first century of the tournament, scoring 109 off 56 balls, after South Africa chose to bat against Bangladesh.

South Africa were forced to share points with Zimbabwe in their opening game, which was washed out by rain, and Rossouw made sure the team left nothing to chance in their second.

He hit seven fours and eight sixes to destroy Bangladesh’s attack as South Africa posted 205-5 and won by 104 runs.

It was Rossouw’s second consecutive century, but he said that he “never thought of[getting a century]in a million years”.

Philips Power

Glenn Phillips came out to bat with New Zealand at 11-2 against Sri Lanka, but scored his second century of this edition in 61 balls to register a big win.

His innings so far reflected New Zealand’s dominance in the Super 12, as he hit 10 fours and four sixes in his innings of 104. The Black Caps firmly maintained their top spot in the tough Group 1.

Phillips single-handedly took the team’s total to 167–7, an uncertain 15–3. He called the innings “absolutely indescribable”.

Originally published at Pen 18