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4 March 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz
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Asia Cup: India beats Pakistan, Sri Lanka; enters final India beat Pakistan in low scoring thriller ndia rode on a strong bowling performance to defeat archrivals Pakistan by five wickets in their Twenty20 International clash of the Asia Cup at the Shere-Bangla National Stadium in Bangladesh on February 27. Both teams struggled to bat on a greenish wicket with uneven bounce. The Indian bowlers justified their captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s decision to field first by bundling out Pakistan for a mere 83 runs in 17.3 overs. This was the third lowest total by Pakistan in T20 cricket. The Indian batsmen then braved some excellent bowling by the Pakistan pacers to overhaul the target in 15.3 overs. Virat Kohli top scored for India with 49. The Delhi lad put on a 68-run stand with Yuvraj Singh (14 not out) to take the match away from Pakistan. Kohli, who was adjudged the man of the match, was unlucky to given leg before just one run short of his half-century off the bowling of Momammad Sami. Television replays later showed that the ball had taken the edge of the bat before hitting the pad. Amir had figures of 3/18 while Mohammad Sami (2/16) got two wickets. Mohammad Irfan (0/16) also bowled well although he did not manage to get a wicket. Defending a measly total, the
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Pakistan fast bowlers showed their true pedigree with a brave effort. Amir gave Pakistan a glimmer of hope, striking early blows for Pakistan. He removed Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane in the opening over before either batsman had opened their respective accounts. Amir was unlucky not to get a favourable leg before decision with the very first ball of the Indian innings. The left-armer bowled a superb Yorker which moved in slightly to hit Rohit on the front leg. The umpire however, was unmoved by the jubilant Pakistani appeals. Amir made amends in the next ball which moved sharply in after pitching on a good length, beating Rohit with pace and movement to trap him plumb leg before. The 23-year-old trapped Rahane leg before just two balls later with a beautiful delivery that slanted across the batsman before moving sharply in after pitching. In his next over, Amir fooled Suresh Raina with some deceptive movement as Wahab Riaz grabbed an easy catch at mid-on. But if the sizeable Pakistan contingent among the spectators nurtured any hopes of a strong comeback, they were quickly dashed as Kohli and Yuvraj took charge. The duo were regularly beaten by the movement and variable bounce, but survived
some close calls to take India slowly but surely towards victory. Kohli and Hardik Pandya went back in quick succession towards the end. But Dhoni joined Yuvraj in the middle to guide India to victory with more than four overs overs to spare. Sarfraz Ahmad was the top scorer for Pakistan with 25. Only two other batsmen managed to post double figures. The Pakistani batsmen compounded their own misery by some poor shot selection and shoddy running between the wickets which led to a couple of run outs. The Indian pace duo of the experienced Nehra and talented youngster Bumrah bowled a superb opening spell. They bowled with pace and swing, helped by the uneven bounce. Pakistan suffered an early blow when Nehra struck in the very first over. Opener Mohammad Hafeez was outfoxed by the variable bounce when he misjudged the height of an incoming delivery. Sharjeel Khan followed his opening partner back to the pavilion soon after when he attempted to cut a widish delivery
Ronaldo criticises teammates, media after Madrid derby loss
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eal Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo appeared unhappy with his teammates and the media after the loss to city rivals Atletico at the Santiago Bernabeau Stadium in Madrid last weekend. Antoine Griezmann scored the only goal of the game as Atletico Madrid cemented their grip on the secont spot with 58 points from 26 matches, five points behind league leaders FC Barcelona. Third-placed Real on the other hand, virtually kissed their title chances goodbye as they slipped nine points behind arch-rivals Barcelona with 12 games in hand. “It annoys me that they say that Cristiano has dropped his level, and that is why Madrid have dropped their level. If the whole team was in my level, we’d be first,” Ronaldo told the local media after the game. “I don’t want to disrespect anyone, but when the best players aren’t available it’s harder to win. I like to play with
Karim (Benzema), with (Gareth) Bale, with Marcelo. “I’m not saying the others like Lucas (Vazquez), Jese and (Mateo) Kovacic are not good players—they are very good players—but it’s not the same,” he added. The 31-yearold sought to clarify his remarks later telling Spanish daily Marca,”When I say that, I am talking about my fitness level, not my level as a player. I am no better than any of my team-mates.” The prolific forward also hit out at the media for persistant criticism of his form. “For all you guys it seems I am s***, but I don’t listen to what the press say. The statistics and numbers don’t lie.” “A lot of times you are unfair, you ask me (tough)
questions and you question my value. It’s always been like this in Spain, all these years,” he added. Real were without several key players for the clash on February 27, with star winger Gareth Bale, central defender Pepe and Brazilian full back Marcelo missing from their lineup. Centre-forward Karim Benzema also had to come off at half-time because of injury. “We had more chances than Atletico and we deserved to win. I don’t think it’s a lack of preparation, but we have a lot of injuries who cost us. I don’t know why we have so many injuries. Maybe because of the preparation at the beginning of the season, or pre-season?” Ronaldo lamented.
from Bumrah. But the extra bounce caught him unawares and he offered a thick edge off the bottom of the bat to Rahane at first slip. The 29-year-old ran halfway down the pitch after Shoaib Malik hit a Bumrah delivery to Kohli at cover. Malik tried to send Manzoor back to his crease. In his haste, Manzoor dropped his bat and was caught a long way out of his crease as Kohli came up with an accurate throw to the non-striker’s end. India beat Sri Lanka to enter Asia Cup final
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ndia rode on fine knocks by Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh to defeat Sri Lanka by five wickets in their Asia Cup
Twenty20 cricket match at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Tuesday, March 1. Coming in after the early fall of opener Shikhar Dhawan, Kohli anchored the innings with some solid batting as India overhauled the 139-run target with five wickets in hand and four balls to spare. Yuvraj produced a powerpacked innings, hitting 35 runs off 18 balls with three boundaries and an equal number of sixes. India, who have won all the three matches they have played so far, thus assured themselves a spot in the final. The men in blue are at the top of the five-team table with six points and even an unlikely defeat in the final group game against United Arab Emirates will see them through to the summit clash. Nuwan Kulasekara was the most successful among the Sri Lankan bowlers with figures of 2/21. Earlier, Sri Lanka produced a competitive total of 138/9 in their 20 overs. Chamara Kapugedera (30) was their highest scorer. For India, promising allrounder Hardik Pandya (2/26), off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (2/26) and young pacer Jasprit Bumrah (2/27) took two wickets each. Veteran pacer Ashish Nehra (1/22), who bowled an excellent opening spell, also got a wicket.
Madrid striker Benzema out for 3 weeks
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he bad news continued to pile up for Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane with the confirmation this week that striker Karim Benzema will be out of action for the next three weeks with a hamstring injury in his right leg. Benzema, who has scored 23 goals this season, was forced to leave the pitch after just 45 minutes of last week’s Madrid derby, which Real lost 0-1 at home to local rivals Atletico Madrid in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, reports Xinhua. Tests carried out on Monday morning confirmed the extent of his injury, which means Benzema will miss La Liga games against Levante, Celta Vigo and Las Palmas and is in a serious doubt for the following game, which is against Sevilla. Benzema will also miss the return leg of the Champions League last-16 game at home to
Roma, although Real Madrid take a comfortable lead into that match. The loss of the French striker is added to that of Gareth Bale and Marcelo, who are both out with calf injuries, while Sergio Ramos and Dani Carvajal are both suspended for Wednesday’s league game away to bottom of the table, Levante.