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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, October 30, 2017
Black Caps fall agonisingly short as Rohit and Kohli inspire series win
(REUTERS) - India registered a 2-1 series victory against New Zealand after Jasprit Bumrah’s tidy final over secured the hosts’ sixrun win in the third and final one-day international on Sunday. New Zealand needed 15 runs off the final over to chase down a 338-run victory
target but a nerveless Bumrah conceded only seven while picking up his third wicket of the match to help India prevail in the runfest. Earlier, centurions Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma featured in a mammoth 230-run stand to help the hosts post 337-6 after New Zealand, wary of the dew
factor later in the evening, elected to field at Kanpur’s Green Park Stadium. New Zealand lost opener Martin Guptill early in their reply but Colin Munro smashed three sixes in his blistering 75 and Kane Williamson made a fluent 64 to help them overcome the early loss.
Wristspinner Yuzvendra Chahal ended the 109-run partnership, dismissing both the batsmen but Tom Latham refused to throw in the towel. Latham and Ross Taylor had engineered New Zealand’s successful chase in the series opener in Mumbai and they looked determined to reprised the role. Bumrah (3-47) poured cold water on their plans, however, by first dismissing Taylor for 39 and then running out Latham, who made
65, in the 48th over of the New Zealand innings. Put into bat, India lost Shikhar Dhawan (14) early but New Zealand had to toil in the subsequent 35 overs as Kohli and Sharma became the first ODI pair to star in four double-century partnerships. Sharma batted with characteristic elegance to score 147 off 138 balls. His 15th one-day century was studded with 18 boundaries and a couple of sixes before
he fell in the 42nd over. Kohli was silky smooth at the other end as the India captain became the fastest batsman to complete 9,000 ODI runs, achieving the feat in 194 innings. The right-hander made 113 off 106 balls, with nine boundaries and a six in his 32nd one-day century. The teams will next square off in a three-match Twenty20 series beginning in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Pakistan complete T20 whitewash on Sri Lanka’s return to Lahore THERE were joyous scenes in Lahore as Pakistan completed a Twenty20 series whitewash of Sri Lanka with an emphatic 36-run win on the latter’s return to the country. After losing successive T20s in Abu Dhabi, Sri Lanka played in Pakistan on Sunday for the first time since their team bus was targeted in a terror attack, in Lahore, in 2009. Amid a huge security presence, the tourists were unable to avoid another defeat - their eighth in as many limited-overs matches against Pakistan
- as Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Amir starred, but their decision to play will have been warmly welcomed in Pakistan. In the absence of several players who opted out of travelling, the Sri Lankan team that did line up experienced a raucous and jubilant atmosphere, reflecting the fact only Zimbabwe and a World XI have played senior international cricket in Pakistan in the last eight years. As a result, this was Amir’s first international appearance in his home country, despite the fact he made his debut in 2009.
The left-arm seamer starred with career-best figures of 4-13 from four overs as Pakistan, who posted an imposing total of 180-3, limited their opponents to 144-9 in reply. Dasun Shanaka made 54 from 36 deliveries for Sri Lanka, but lacked support and a home win was inevitable long before the match concluded. While Sri Lanka struggled with the bat, all of Pakistan’s top four passed 30 and Shoaib was the star of the show, racing to 51 from just 24 balls. (Omnisport)
Miller smashes record for fastest ton in Twenty20 Internationals POTCHEFSTROOM, South Africa (Reuters) - South Africa middle-order batsman David Miller smashed the record for the fastest century in Twenty20 International cricket as South Africa thumped Bangladesh by 83 runs on Sunday for a clean sweep of the twomatch series. Miller, who was dropped on zero, reached his ton off 35 balls, beating the previous best mark of 45 deliveries set by compatriot Richard Levi
against New Zealand in 2012. South Africa managed 224 for four off their 20 overs, with Miller not out 101 from 36 balls as he crashed seven fours and nine sixes. Bangladesh were in trouble early in their reply and never recovered as they were bowled out for 141 in 18.3 overs. Five of Miller’s sixes came in one over off Bangladesh seamer Mohammad Saifuddin as he showed remarkable timing
in smashing the ball to all parts of the ground. “It’s a really special feeling,” Miller told SuperSport. “I tried to watch the ball and back myself. I was scratchy to be honest in the beginning and towards the back end it turned out to be sweet.” South Africa won all seven tour matches against Bangladesh across the three formats, which included two tests, three One-Day Internationals and two Twenty20 Internationals