FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2017
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India thrash Sri Lanka in T20I With this, India made a clean sweep on its tour of Sri Lanka winning all three tests, five ODIs and one T20 international. IANS, COLOMBO
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irat Kohli led from the front with some explosive batting as India thrashed Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the one-off Twenty20 International at the R. Premadasa Stadium here this week. Kohli plundered 82 runs off just 54 deliveries, smashing seven boundaries and a six as the visitors chased down the 171-run target with four balls and seven wickets to spare. Manish Pandey gave Kohli excellent support from the other end. The right-hander from Kar-
Depends on Kohli to use Dhoni’s advice MUMBAI: India’s first World Cupwinning skipper Kapil Dev this week said it all depends on current captain Virat Kohli to use and utilise his predecessor Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s sharp cricketing acumen when the 28-year-old leads India for the first time in a global event — the ICC Champions Trophy — starting June 1 in England. Earlier this year, Kohli took over as the full-time skipper after Dhoni had surprisingly announced he was stepping down ahead of the three-match One-day International (ODI) series against England. Despite India winning the series 2-1 in January, Kohli did not have any more matches to prove his leadership credentials in the 50-over format as the team was engaged in a four-match gruelling Test rubber against Australia before the Indian Premier League (IPL) set in. As India head to England to defend their Champions Trophy crown with Kohli at the helm, Kapil feels it is up to the Delhi batsman to get the best out of Dhoni, who led the men-in-blue to the title four years ago in the same country. “It all depends on Kohli on how he wants to use his former captain’s experience. I don’t think Dhoni will be the one who will keep on jumping and keep on advising Kohli. It’s upto Kohli to get the best out of Dhoni and take his advice whenever its required,” Kapil said. —IANS
Brief scores:
INDIA: 174/3 (Virat Kohli 82, Manish Pandey 51 not out) vs Sri Lanka: 170/7 (Dilshan Munaweera 53, Ashan Priyanjan 40 not out, Isuru Udana 19 not out, Yuzvendra Chahal 3/43, Kuldeep Yadav 2/20).
nataka brought up his maiden half-century in T20Is and remained unbeaten on 51 with four boundaries and a six studding his 36-ball innings. The duo put together 119 runs between them off 77 deliveries after the early departure of Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Lokesh Rahul.
By the time Kohli fell to young pacer Isuru Udana — caught by Dasun Shanaka while trying to clear the mid-wicket fence — the Indians were on the threshold of victory, with 10 runs needed off nine balls. For Sri Lanka, veteran fast bowler Lasith Malinga, Seekkuge Prasanna and Isuru Udana took a wicket each. Rohit and Rahul had put the visitors off to a promising start. But Rohit virtually threw away his wicket with a poorly attempted slog off Malinga, which saw Thisara Perera running in from mid-on to latch onto the skier. Rahul departed exactly three
overs later thanks to a brilliant diving catch by Dasun Shanaka at cover off Seekkuge Prasanna’s bowling. But that was the last bit of celebration that the Lankans will manage for a long time as Kohli and Pandey came together to ensure a comfortable victory for India. Pandey hit the winning runs in style, hitting Thisara Perera for a boundary to the mid-off fence which also brought up his halfcentury. Earlier, Sri Lanka rode on Dilshan Munaweera’s 29-ball brisk half century to post 170/7.
Virat Kohli celebrates his half century during the T20I match. (Photo: Surjeet Yadav/IANS)
Star India wins global media rights for IPL IANS, MUMBAI
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tar India this week bagged the Indian Premier League (IPL) media rights for TV and digital broadcast worth Rs 16,347.50 crore with a single consolidated bid worldwide during the auctions here. Star India edged out Sony to acquire the rights from 2018 to 2022. Initially, 24 companies picked up rights papers to contest for the several rights up for grabs in the auction organized by the BCCI. Several bigwigs of the ilk of Facebook, Amazon, Twitter, Yahoo, Reliance Jio, STAR India, Sony Pictures, Discovery, Sky, British Telecom and ESPN Digital
Media purchased the bid rights papers. The BCCI will now earn nearly double that amount in half the duration (five years) with earnings of Rs 3,270 crore from IPL media rights per year. The amount the BCCI will earn from an IPL match would be around Rs 55 crore compared to
Rs 43 crore for each international match that India play. “India, cricket and IPL have changed dramatically since its inception (in 2008) and this bid is a reflection of that,” Star CEO Uday Shankar told reporters here. The media rights include broadcast (TV) and digital (mobile and internet) for a host of segments
Venus Williams becomes oldest semi-finalist IANS, NEW YORK
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even-time tennis Grand Slam champion Venus Williams became the oldest semifinalist in US Open history at age 37 with a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(2) win over Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic. Coming up next for the US ninth seed will be the clash against her 83rd-ranked compatriot Sloane Stephens, who edged past Latvian 16th seed Anastasija Sevastova 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(4), reports Xinhua news agency. Williams, who improved to 2-4 all-time against the Czech 13th seed, will return to the world top
five for the first time since January 2011. All six of the matches between Williams and Kvitova have gone to a third set. “I’m so fortunate to have won that match. It came down to the
wire,” Williams said. “I try to tell myself to enjoy the competition, enjoy the battle and I think I was able to do that.” Williams gave up the first break of serve trailing at 3-1 with three double faults, but was able to reel off five straight games as Kvitova racked up too many errors. A loose Williams game early in the second offered Kvitova the lifeline she needed and she clawed back to take the second set. Two brilliant cross-court backhands gave Kvitova an early break in the third but Williams recovered from 3-1 down, leveling it when the Czech double-faulted.
including India, Middle East, Africa, Europe and America. With Star India winning the rights, it is expected its digital vertical HotStar would be used for live streaming of IPL matches in India. “Even if it was slightly less, we would not have got the rights. In every category, it was so competitive,” Shankar added. On the popularity of the game, Shankar said: “Despite the off-field issues of BCCI, watching a cricket match in India remains an amazing experience.” BCCI CEO Rahul Johri added: “Our main endeavour to the stakeholders was to provide a transparent process where there should not be any iota of doubt.”
Would Sharapova be booed like Gatlin? NEW YORK: Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova’s Grand Slam return after a 15-month doping ban ended in defeat. But if the former World No.1 had the chance to win the US Open at the weekend, would she be booed when she received the trophy? So give French Tennis Federation President Bernard Giudicelli credit for daring to say no to Sharapova at French Open. “While there can be a wild card for return from injury, there can’t be a wild card for return from doping,” he said. —IANS