Having failed to impress anyone with the willow in the Test series in Australia, India opener KL Rahul amazed on-field umpire Ian Gould with his sincerity on the field during the third day's play of the fourth Test in Sydney on Saturday. While fielding at mid-on, Rahul made a remarkable effort to grab a lowly catch off the bat of Marcus Harris. From the naked eye, it appeared as if he has taken a stellar catch with a dive. But Rahul immediately signalled that the ball had bounced before he completed the catch. In the backdrop of Indian players celebrating the dismissal, Rahul's honest approach moved on-field umpire Ian Gould. In the video shared by cricket.com.au, Gould can be seen in awe of the Rahul's honesty on the field. He also encouraged the 26-year-old cricketer for his noble action with a thumbs-up gesture. After getting a lifeline, Harris went on to score 79 off 120 balls. He had stitched a 72-run partnership stand with Usman Khawaja and 56-stand with Marnus Labuschagne for the first and second wicket respectively.
UK court clears extradition of bookie Chawla
Sanjeev Kumar Chawla, an Indian-origin bookie accused in the match fixing scandal of 2000 involving Hanse Cronje, the former South African captain, should be extradited to India, a UK court has ruled. The case will now be sent to the UK Home Secretary. Chawla has been accused of acting as link between Cronje and bookies who wanted to fix cricket matches in early 2000. He had moved to UK in 1996 and was arrested in London in June 2016. The high court ruled in November 2018 that there was no risk Chawla would be subjected to impermissible treatment in Tihar jail and quashed district judge Rebecca Crane's earlier judgment at Westminster magistrates' court in October 2017.
Siddle back in Oz One-day squad
Australian selectors has named veteran pacer Peter Siddle in the 14-man squad for the upcoming three-match ODI series against India. They also recalled offspinner Nathan Lyon and Test batsman Usman Khawaja for the limited-overs series. However, they left out batsmen Travis Head, Chris Lynn, D’Arcy Short and Ben McDermott and all-rounder Ashton Agar, much to the dismay of former players who have flayed the selectors for being whimsical. The pace troika of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins have been given a well-deserved rest after toiling hard in the four-Test series against India. The biggest surprise is the return of Siddle, who played the last of his 17 ODIs in November 2010 against Sri Lanka in Sydney.
Australia squad: Aaron Finch (capt.), Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey (wk), Peter Handscomb, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Peter Siddle, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa
Achrekar, Sachin's coach, is no more
Sachin Tendulkar’s coach Ramakant Achrekar, who took him along on his scooter from one ground to the other in the 1980s so that the boy could get to bat in as many matches as possible in a day, passed away at his Shivaji Park home in Mumbai last week. In a telling tribute, his most illustrious disciple said in a statement, “Achrekar sir taught us the virtues of playing straight and living straight.” The coach, 87, had been battling age-related ailments for a long time, and his condition had worsened over the last three days. A selfless individual and an unparalleled servant of the game, Achrekar shaped many careers, without expecting anything in return from his students. Apart from Tendulkar, Vinod Kambli, Ajit Agarkar, Balwinder Singh Sandhu, Pravin Amre, Chandrakant Pandit, Lalchand Rajput, Paras Mhambrey, Sameer Dighe and Ramesh Powar went on to play Test cricket for India after learning the ropes from the portly coach at his Shivaji Park nets.
Delhi girl wins British Open title
Delhi girl Anahat Singh scripted a stunning victory to win British Junior Squash Open (girls’ singles under-11) in Birmingham. She defeated top seed Whitney Wilson from Malaysia 13-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-9 in the final and became the 6th Indian to win the coveted title. In the semifinal, she edged past 2nd seed Sohayla Hazem Farouk from Egypt 11-8, 9-11, 11-7, 11-9. It was a stand out day for India as in under-13 category, Asian Junior champion Yuvraj Wadhwani won a bronze.
Kiwis beat Lanka; win ODI series against Lanka
New Zealand followed their Test series triumph against Sri Lanka with a win in the ODI series as well. The Kiwis beat Sri Lanka by 21 runs to seal the second ODI and take a 2-0 lead in the three-match series. Thisara Perrera scored a valiant century for the Lankans, but that wasn't enough. New Zealand managed to score 319/7 in 50 overs. Ross Taylor (90) continued from where he left off in the first ODI. Opening batsman Colin Munro got a 77-ball 87. Lasith Malinga picked two wickets. In reply, Sri Lanka were bowled out for 298. Thisara Perera went past the 2,000-run mark in ODIs. He notched his maiden ODI ton in 147 matches. Perera hit 13 sixes and eight fours in a 74-ball knock. His 13 sixes in an ODI innings saw him join an elite list for the most maximums amassed in a match. He also hit the third fastest century (57 balls) by a Sri Lankan cricketer. Malinga equalled former India fast bowler Javagal Srinath in terms of ODI wickets (315).
Ross Taylor surpasses Tendulkar, Kohli with ODI feat
New Zealand cricketer Ross Taylor has been in supreme form in ODI cricket. The Kiwi star slammed 137 in the third ODI against Sri Lanka. His century helped New Zealand beat the visitors. Taylor, who notched his sixth consecutive 50+ score in ODIs, went past Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli. Kohli and Tendulkar had achieved a total of five consecutive fifty-plus ODI scores. Tendulkar had achieved the feat in 1994. Kohli had notched the same in 2012. Taylor amassed scores of 181,* 80, 86,* 54, 90 and 137 in his last six ODI innings. With this, Taylor joins an elite list with this record. Taylor has gone on to equal NZ skipper Kane Williamson (2015), and Andrew Jones, who hit six consecutive 50-plus scores in ODIs. Taylor also equalled the likes of former Pakistan batsman Mohammad Yousuf, West Indies' Gordon Greenidge and Australia's Mark Waugh. Meanwhile, Pakistan's Javed Miandad holds the record with nine consecutive 50-plus innings. He achieved the feat in 1987. Taylor also hit his 20th ODI career ton. He equalled former Pakistan batsman Saeed Anwar and surpassed Brian Lara and Mahela Jayawardene (19) in terms of ODI centuries. Taylor will be seen next in the ODI series against India and will be the key batsman for the hosts. He could set more records in ODI cricket.
90-year-old cyclist fails doping test!
Carl Grove, a 90-year-old American cyclist, has been stripped of his age-group title and world record from the US Masters Track Championships after failing a doping test. The US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) issued a public warning to Grove for a violation they said likely came from consuming meat contaminated with a banned substance. Grove had won the 90-94 age group individual pursuit crown in a world record 3mins 6.129secs last July 11 at Breinigsville, Pennsylvania. He was the lone competitor in his age group. The resident of the small town of Bristol, Indiana, about 120 miles east of Chicago, tested positive for epitrenbolone, a metabolite of the prohibited substance trenbolone in a urine sample taken after his run. Grove had passed a doping test after competing the day before even though USADA later found a supplement he was using before the competition date had the presence of the banned substance clomiphene, although it was not listed in the ingredients.
