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India Complete Clean Sweep With Another Big Win
Ravichandran Ashwin mesmerised the New Zealand batsmen with another magical spell of spin bowling as India completed a 3-0 whitewash of the visitors by winning the third and final Test by a whopping 321 runs.
Chasing an improbable 475-run target, Ashwin ripped through the brittle New Zealand batting line-up with a sensational spell of 7 for 59 to skittle the opposition for a paltry 153 in 44.5 overs with an entire day to spare at the Holkar Stadium, which hosted its first ever Test.
The 30-year-old finished with a match haul of 13 for 140 and ended the series with a bagful of 27 wickets to emerge as the standout performer in a thoroughly one sided series which helped India to regain number one position in Tests.
Good Enough to Win on Any Surface Against Any Team: Kohli
Virat Kohli is happy his bowlers have been able to decimate a quality New Zealand side on tracks which are not exactly rank turners which is an ample testimony that Ravichandran Ashwin and Co are capable of winning matches irrespective of the surface provided.
"We knew before the series that people will start talking about pitches. We knew pitches will not be dry as monsoon is everywhere and especially in Kolkata, which is a newly-laid wicket. We knew our abilities and we knew we should be good enough to do well on any surface and against any team," Kohli told mediapersons at the post-match conference.
India Outclass Bangladesh 57-20 in Kabaddi World Cup
In a must-win crucial encounter in Group A, India lived up to their reputation to beat Bangladesh. Ajay Thakur scored 10 points for India after coming on as a substitute whereas Pardeep Narwal led India's charge in the first half and ended with eight points.
India have got their World Cup campaign firmly back on track after suffering a setback in the opening encounter against South Korea. This was a stern test for India but they showed their class and brushed away a good Bangladesh side with relative ease. India's defence put on a tremendous show as they kept the Bangladesh raiders in their pocket for most of the match.
PCB Seeks to Censure BCCI President Thakur
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) delegation, which is set to attend the ICC's Executive Board meeting in Cape Town this week, will seek to censure the President of the BCCI Anurag Thakur for his recent comments on Indo-Pak relations and cricket ties.
An official source in the PCB said that Sethi was particularly unhappy with the recent statements of Thakur, in which he declared that India would not play cricket against a state which sponsors terrorism.
"Pakistan's stance is simple...first Anurag Thakur must clarify at the ICC meeting whether he gives statements as a politician of the ruling party in India or as President of the BCCI since the ICC constitution discourages politics in cricket," the source said.
Germany Win Again, England Stumble in World Cup Qualifying
With a third straight win in qualifying, defending champion Germany are enjoying a comfortable ride on the road to the 2018 World Cup in Russia. While England's winning start to Group F ended with a poor display in a 0-0 draw at Slovenia on Tuesday, Germany maintained its 100 percent record after three rounds by beating Northern Ireland 2-0. Only three other teams — Belgium, Greece and Switzerland — have opened European qualifying with three successive victories.
Goals in the first 17 minutes from Julian Draxler and Sami Khedira gave Germany a commanding lead that was never really threatened in Hannover. Joachim Loew tied Sepp Herberger's record of 94 wins as Germany coach and it couldn't be going much better for the world champions' settled team: Three wins from three games, eight goals scored and none conceded.
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