India captain Virat Kohli, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and other Indian cricket team members from men’s and women’s team unveiled India’s new One-Day International (ODI) jersey. The new kit will be donned by the men’s team during the ongoing five-match ODI series against Australia and upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, which starts in May. The jersey was launched by Indian cricket’s kit sponsor and sporting apparel giants Nike. Apart from Kohli and Dhoni, Ajinkya Rahane, Prithvi Shaw, Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues were also present during an event held for unveiling the new jersey.
Saurabh, Manu win gold in 10m air pistol mixed event
The teenaged duo of Saurabh Chaudhary and Manu Bhaker comfortably claimed the gold medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team event of the ISSF World Cup in Delhi. The Indian pair shot a total of 483.5 to finish on top of the podium to finish the tournament with a flourish after a few results that did not go their way. The Chinese duo of Ranxin Jiang and Bowen Zhang won silver, while the bronze went to the Korean pair of Minjung Kim and Daehun Park. Such was the Indian duo’s dominance through the final that the difference between the gold and silver medallist at the end was a hopping 5.8. Having entered the final after equalling the qualification world record, Saurabh and Manu continued in the same vein and once they moved to the top spot, there was no looking back as they consistently shot high and mid 10. The other Indian team in the fray, Heena Sidhu and Abhishek Verma, could not clear the qualification hurdle. India jointly topped the standings with Hungary with three gold medals, but managed to secure only one Olympic quota. The tournament offered 14 quota places for the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Dhoni joins elite group
Former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni became the fourth Indian batsman to complete 13,000 runs in List A cricket. Dhoni has amassed 13,054 runs in 412 List A matches at an average of 50.79. He has joined an elite club, comprising Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid. Dhoni achieved the milestone during the first ODI against Australia when he scored a half-century to power India to a six-wicket victory. Former England star Graham Gooch is at the top of the list with 22,211 runs in List A cricket. Apart from this, Dhoni's unbeaten 141-run partnership with Kedar Jadhav is the second highest fifth-wicket stand by India against Australia at home. The highest stand was put up by Shaun Marsh and Shane Watson of Australia when they produced a 145-run opening partnership in 2009.
England hit record 24 sixes in 4th ODI against Windies
England blasted a world record 24 sixes in the fourth One-Day International against the West Indies at Grenada’s National Stadium. Jos Buttler had the honour of smashing the record 24th six in the last over, bringing up his 150 in the process. West Indies had set the previous record of 23 sixes in an innings just seven days ago in the first match between the two sides in Bridgetown. Meanwhile, a thumping century by Eoin Morgan was surpassed by an innings of breathtaking brutality from Jos Buttler to lead England to a mammoth total of 418 for 6. Morgan punched his way to 103 off 86 deliveries. Morgan and Buttler’s 204-run stand came off just 122 deliveries. Openers Jonny Bairstow and Alex Hales set England up well, both scoring fifties and put on a 100-run partnership.
Faf, Tahir shine as SA beat Lanka in the first ODI
South African captain Faf du Plessis hit an unbeaten century as South Africa cruised to an eight-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the opening One-day international in Johannesburg. The hosts won the toss at the Wanderers Stadium, asked Sri Lanka to bat and bowled them out for 231, a total South Africa overtook with more than 11 overs to spare. Du Plessis made 112 not out as South Africa cruised to victory and then praised veteran leg-spinner Imran Tahir for ensuring South Africa chased a modest total. Tahir took three for 26 in 10 overs as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 231 after being sent in on a good batting pitch.
New Zealand crush Bangladesh by an innings
Defiant centuries from Soumya Sarkar and Mahmudullah were in vain as Trent Boult’s five-wicket haul gave New Zealand a crushing victory over Bangladesh in the first Test by an innings and 52 runs in Hamilton. After the stubborn double-century partnership took Bangladesh to 361-4 in their second innings, Boult opened the final chapter of the Test when he bowled Soumya for 149. The crucial wicket ended a 235-run stand with Mahmudullah (146) for the fifth wicket and saw Bangladesh cave in with the Test all over 68 runs later, just after tea on day four.
Cricket set for Asiad return in 2022, claims report
Cricket is set for a return at the Asian Games after it was included in the sports programme for the 2022 edition in Hangzhou, media reports said. The decision was taken at the Olympic Council of Asia’s General Assembly, sports website insidethegames.biz reported. Cricket was dropped from the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia after featuring in 2010 and 2014, albeit without the presence of game’s powerhouse India. India opted out of the quadrennial event owing to the team’s congested scheduling. In all probability, the T20 format will be played at the Asian Games, like it happened during the 2010 and 2014 edition in Guangzhou and Incheon respectively. Sri Lanka and Pakistan won the men’s and women’s gold in 2014.
