AAO KHELEIN

Kolkata: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are yet to get an update on India pacer Umesh Yadav skipping the initial stages of the Indian Premier League (IPL)'s 10th edition, CEO Venky Mysore said here on Friday. According to a report in Wisden India , Umesh, who played a key role in India's 2-1 Test series win over Australia, is likely to skip the initial phase of the tournament. "There is nothing official I have heard. Until we hear something official from BCCI/IPL, there is nothing I can comment. If there is any truth to that a statement will come out soon," Mysore told reporters. Asked if the news, if true, will affect the team or not, Mysore said the two-time IPL winners have all their bases covered. "I am a believer in the fact that you cannot control certain things. The good news with our team is all our bases are covered for any eventuality. He (Umesh) is a top player. But I can't comment right now. It will be speculative." Mysore also revealed th...

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Roger Federer's season of resurgence took another thrilling turn Friday night when he won a three-tiebreaker semifinal against Nick Kyrgios at the Miami Open. Federer failed to convert two match points in the second-set tiebreaker but finished off the flashy, unpredictable Kyrgios an hour later, 7-6 (9), 6-7 (9), 7-6 (5). "It's great winning this way," Federer said. "It could have gone either way. It was a nail-biter." When Federer hit a service winner on the final point, Kyrgios angrily whacked his racket three times against the hard court. Federer patiently waited until the Aussie was done before triumphantly swatting a ball into the stands. Kyrgios then gave his racket a fling as the crowd booed before sharing a warm, weary exchange with Federer at the net. Federer saved two match points in his quarterfinal win over Tomas Berdych. Now he's in the final Sunday against Rafael Nadal, 13 years after their first career encounter, also at Key Biscayne. ...

Roger Federer needed more than three hours to outlast Nick Kyrgios 7-6(9) 6-7(9) 7-6(5) in a pulsating Miami Open semi-final on Friday to set up another mouthwatering final clash with Rafael Nadal. The Swiss, who has won two of his last three tournaments including the Australian Open, had to dig deep to get through a second straight test after fending off a match point in his quarter-final victory over Tomas Berdych. Australian Kyrgios, who has twice beaten Novak Djokovic over the last month, left his racket a twisted heap on the court after coming up short in a battle against the former world number one and a partisan crowd. Federer's victory sets up a re-match of January's Melbourne Park title-decider against Spaniard Nadal, who earlier rolled over unseeded Italian Fabio Fognini 6-1 7-5. Nadal, who lost all four of his previous Miami Open finals, will be out to snap a run of three straight defeats to Federer, including in the Melbourne final and at Indian Wells. "Win...

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has turned down the Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) proposal to send its national team to Pakistan for two-match T20 series sometime before July this year. The BCB has also denied the PCB's offer to compensate them after Bangladesh refused to tour Pakistan due to security concerns. Confirming the news, BCB's media and communications committee chairman Jalal Younus said, "the reports were not satisfactory enough due to which we had to pull back." After successfully hosting the Pakistan Super League (PSL) final in Lahore on March 5, the PCB had earlier this month sent a proposal to their Bangladesh counterparts to play two T20s following the 2017 Champions Trophy in June. However, PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan recently said that although his side are keen to host Bangladesh, the chances for the same are not bright. "We want to host Bangladesh but its chances are not bright. Some of our friends think they may tour but I feel ...

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New Delhi: India Test regulars Ravichandran Ashwin and Murali Vijay, who represent Rising Pune Supergiant and Kings XI Punjab respectively, will reportedly miss the tenth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) due to injuries. According to a report in Wisden India, both Ashwin and Vijay will miss the entire tournament. Ravindra Jadeja, who was man of the series in the just concluded Test series against Australia and fast bowler Umesh Yadav may also give the initial stages of the T20 league a miss. Even Lokesh Rahul, who finished as the second highest scorer in the Border-Gavaskar series, is out of the IPL. "Yes I have been ruled out of the IPL, don't want to get into the details at this point. You will get an official word from the Royal Challengers Bangalore," Rahul, who plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), told CricketNext.com. Rahul is expected to go to London soon to undergo surgery. Rahul first injured his shoulder during the Test series against En...

Even as the dust is settling down on the intensely fought controversial India-Australia Test series, a remark by former Australian cricketer Ed Cowan threatens to further damage the 'friendship' between the two rival teams. Speaking on Fox Sports' new podcast - The Stack Report - the former Aussie Test batsman recalled his run-in with Virat Kohli. "I’m a huge fan of his cricket. Don’t get me wrong he’s a phenomenal cricketer,” said Cowan. “I had a little bit of a run-in that was inappropriate when he toured Australia and the umpire had to intervene. “We forget that English isn’t their first language. It’s very easy to sit back and say as a player they’re barking something at me that is inappropriate when we don’t try and converse with them in Hindi. “There’s always going to be niggles around misinterpretation of what’s said and what isn’t said on the field. “I had a very sick Mum during one of those series and he said something that was inappropriate. “Why I ma...

Little more than a week after an acrimonious Test series win over Australia, India captain Virat Kohli may have to share the locker room with some Australians at the Royal Challengers Bangalore. IPL 2017 - Complete Coverage India's cricket schedule switches quickly from the longest format to the shortest, with the Twenty20 Indian Premier League starting Wednesday when RCB takes on the defending champion Sunrisers Hyderabad in a rematch of the 2016 tournament decider. Kohli, who missed the series-clinching test against Australia in Dharamsala because of a shoulder injury, is captain of the RCB team in the 10th edition of the IPL and his availability will be key to the team. He swept the record books when he smashed 973 runs in 16 matches with fluent hundreds and seven half centuries in the last edition of the IPL, but his individual success didn't quite get his team across the last hurdle as it was beaten by eight runs in the final. His T20 season may be slower getting start...

London: England's Test skipper Joe Root on Thursday asked all-rounder Ben Stokes, who will play under the captaincy of Steve Smith in the IPL franchise Rising Pune Supergiant, to find the weakness of his new skipper so that they can beat Australia in the Ashes series later in the year. Stokes, who was bought by Pune for a whopping Rs 14.50 crore during last month's auction, will be making his IPL debut this year. "Smith has become one of the best players in the world. In fact, he is ranked as the best player in the world and is just racking up the runs for fun," Root was quoted as saying by Dailystar.co.uk. "So the one thing Stokesy can do for us is make sure he finds a little weakness in Smith's armoury for us when we go down to Australia, if he can," he added. Australia will host England in the Ashes series starting from November 23. Root also said that this cash-rich league will help English cricketers to improve their game. "It is great to...

New Delhi: Delhi Daredevils coach Rahul Dravid is hopeful that his team will start their campaign in the 2017 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on a positive note. Dravid started the first day of training for the 2017 season with a session at the Delhi Daredevils Academy in Palam Vihar. He met the trainees at the academy and interacted with them for close to 90 minutes. The former India captain shared invaluable ideas with the trainees and provided them with advice to deal with match situations. Dravid was thoroughly impressed with the trainees. "Having been through those situations myself, it is always exciting to see new talents. They always have questions about the game and situations," he said. With a big season ahead, Dravid will begin interactions with the full squad in the coming days. He was hopeful of continuing to build on the performances in the previous season. The side has dealt with the absence of senior stars like Jean-Paul Duminy due to personal...

Image Courtesy: BCCI In a major blow to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), batsman KL Rahul has been ruled out of the upcoming tenth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) due to a shoulder injury. The 24-year-old sustained the left shoulder injury during the first Test against Australia in Pune, but continued to play through pain for the rest of the four-match series. As reported by ESPNcricinfo quoting a source from within the team, Rahul will soon be heading to London to undergo surgery. Rahul smashed six half-centuries from seven innings he played to finish as the third-highest scorer on either side with a tally of 393 runs. He also struck winning runs in the fourth and the final Test in Dharamsala to help India seal the series 2-1. Rahul is Royal Challengers' second major injury setback after captain Virat Kohli was also believed to have been ruled out of the IPL 2017 for atleast a 'few weeks' due to a shoulder injury he suffered while putting in a dive on th...

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The time is right for cricket to return to the Olympics and a decision on applying for inclusion in 2024 will have to be made within months, the head of the sport's governing body said on Thursday. The founder of the modern Olympics, Frenchman Pierre de Coubertin, was enthusiastic about cricket, a sport dominated by Britain and former British colonies such as Australia and India, but it has only once featured in a Games - in Paris in 1900. "We need to make a decision by, I guess, July of this year so that we can submit an application by September," Dave Richardson, chief executive of the International Cricket Council (ICC), told reporters. "And of course it’s not what cricket wants, its whether the IOC wants us." The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will choose between 2024 bid cities Paris and Los Angeles at a meeting in Lima in September, with new sports also under consideration. Baseball and softball are set to return in Tokyo in 2020. Richardson sai...

New Delhi: Putting aside their bitter on-field rivalry in the just-concluded Test series, Australia skipper Steve Smith and India vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane on Friday said they have moved on and are fully focused on helping the Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) do well in the Indian Premier League (IPL). IPL 2017 - Complete Schedule Smith replaced Mahendra Singh Dhoni as captain of the Pune franchise after a lacklustre debut season last year where the team finished second last with only five wins in 14 matches. Smith said the presence of two international skippers in Dhoni (former India captain) and Faf du Plessis (South Africa Test captain) in the side will make his job as captain easier. "It's a great squad to have. Of course, having Dhoni and du Plessis along with the likes of Rahane and (Ben) Stokes will make my job easier as a captain. They are experienced players and their inputs will help our team in the tournament," the 27-year-old said during the team's jers...

Argentina star striker Lionel Messi has asserted his innocence after being hit with a four-match international ban for verbally abusing an official, saying that he was yelling 'to the air'. The action has been taken by FIFA's disciplinary panel against Messi for his insults aimed at - and comments about the mother of - Brazilian assistant referee Dewson Silva during Argentina's 1-0 win over Chile last week. The Barcelona forward was caught on video invoking "the c*** of [Silva's] mother" as he appeared livid against an officiating decision. Match referee Sandro Ricci did not include the incident in his report but FIFA confirmed they were investigating regardless after being made aware of the footage. Having already missed his side's 0-2 defeat against Bolivia on Tuesday due to the ban, Messi insisted that he has been unfairly punished with the suspension as his insults were not at all directed at an official. "My sayings were never addressed t...

New Delhi: Indian middle-order batsman Ajinkya Rahane, who acted as a stand-in skipper for the fourth and final Test match against Australia, said on Thursday that he is completely different from Virat Kohli who is feisty and expressive on the field. The Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) batsman said Kohli, who is a bit aggressive in the field, is a very good leader. Rahane, who failed in the Pune Test, battled his rusty form in the second innings in Bengaluru to forge a match-winning partnership with Pujara. In Dharamsala, the Mumbai batsman also played two extremely gritty knocks which helped India outplay the visitors and regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. "To lead my country is a proud moment. Virat is a very good leader. His style is different I am completely different," Rahane told media persons here. "He has done so well for our country in every department. So, I am really happy that he is actually leading our country. He is a great ambassador of the game," h...

New Delhi:  India's non-playing captain Mahesh Bhupathi on Tuesday selected four singles players in the squad for the Davis Cup tie against Uzbekistan, dropping veteran Leander Paes and his doubles partner Rohan Bopanna to the reserves. Paes is on the cusp of becoming the tournament's most successful doubles player and the Uzbekistan match may well be the last chance for him to claim the all-time record on home turf after losing the doubles against New Zealand with Vishnu Vardhan. Paes is currently tied with Italy's Nicola Pietrangeli on 42 wins. Ramkumar Ramanathan, ranked 269th, Yuki Bhambri (307), Prajnesh Gunneswaran (325) and N. Sriram Balaji (350) were named in the squad for the April 7 to 9 tie in Bengaluru. Bhupathi's decision to select four singles players and not include a doubles specialist in the squad is something of a gamble as doubles has always been India's strength. Bhupathi, together with Paes, formed a formidable force in the Davis Cup and th...

Lahore: Pakistan pacer Mohammad Irfan was banned for a year by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday for failing to report approaches by bookmakers linked to spot-fixing twice. According to a BBC report, the 7ft 1in bowler was one of three cricketers charged during the Pakistan Super League following an anti-corruption investigation. The ban might get curtailed to six months if the 34-year-old Irfan fulfils certain conditions imposed on him. His last game for Pakistan was in 2016. Besides Irfan, opener Sharjeel Khan and top-order batsman Khalid Latif, who both play for Islamabad United alongside Irfan, were also provisionally suspended. In February, the PCB announced it was investigating "an international syndicate which is believed to be attempting to corrupt the PSL". Left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar who represented the Quetta Gladiators and opening batsman Shazaib Hassan of Karachi Kings were also questioned by the PCB's anti-corruption unit. Stay update...

Kolkata: India pacer Mohammed Shami on Wednesday said that the Indian Premier League (IPL) will help him get back into rhythm. Shami has not played for India since November last year after playing against England in the third Test. He complained of soreness in his knee and has been ruled out since then. The 26-year-old, who plays for Delhi Daredevils in the cash-rich league, featured in the final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Bengal and Tamil Nadu, returning figures of 4/26 in 8.2 overs. He was called to join the India team in Dharamsala but was not part of the playing XI. "I always try to support my team when I am not fully fit and not playing," Shami told reporters here, after India's 2-1 win against Australia in the four-match series. "The IPL comes at a good time for me as I am fit now and can get into rhythm with the IPL. The platform is there for me, and in IPL it's all about curtailing wide balls. That will also help me get back into rhythm," S...

Kolkata: A day after India captain Virat Kohli said that he and his teammates are no longer friends with Australian cricketers, wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha said that he would have no problem playing under Glenn Maxwell for Kings XI Punjab in the ensuing IPL and will have to abide by the decisions he takes as captain. "That will be in the IPL. I have to accept the team's (KXIP) decision. What happened is now in the past. The feeling now is very good after winning the series," Saha, who was a member of the Indian team that beat Australia 2-1 in the four-Test series, told reporters here when asked about playing under Maxwell for Kings XI Punjab. The series was marred by incessant sledging with the DRS controversy in the second Test adding to the growing hostilities between the two teams in the bitterly fought series. Kohli, who did not play the fourth and final Test in Dharamsala due to a shoulder injury, said at the post-match press conference that "Australian cri...

India opener KL Rahul, who smashed two half-centuries during his side's eight-wicket win in the series-deciding Dharamsala Test against Australia, has climbed 11 places to a career-high rank of 11th spot in the latest ICC Rankings for Test batsmen. The 24-year-old from Karnataka had started the series in 57th position, but has gained 46 places over four Tests following scores of 64, 10, 90, 51, 67, 60 and 51 not out. Rahul is now India's third highest-ranked batsman after Cheteshwar Pujara (fourth, down by two places) and Virat Kohli (fifth, down by one place), and is ahead of Ajinkya Rahane (14th, up by three places) and Murali Vijay (34th, down by four places). Meanwhile, South Africa's wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock, Indian pacer Umesh Yadav and New Zealand opener Jeet Raval have also achieved career-high rankings following the conclusion of the Dharamsala and Hamilton Tests. De Kock, who scored a gutsy 90 in the first innings to lift South Africa from 148 for ...

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Former Australia batsman Brad Hodge has apologised to Virat Kohli for comments suggesting the India captain missed the fourth Test in Dharamsala to rest his injured shoulder ahead of the Indian Premier League Twenty20 campaign, starting next week. Kohli was ruled out on the morning of the series-decider against Australia after failing to recover from the injury he sustained in the third test in Ranchi, leaving Ajinkya Rahane to lead India to an eight-wicket victory. "You would think that your captain would get out there and get amongst the fight and get in there," Hodge, who will coach the Gujarat franchise in the IPL, told Fox Sports while discussing Kohli's absence from the crunch clash. "You'd hope as a sportsman that he's seriously injured. "Because if you miss one game of test match cricket and you're fronting up the next week for RCB (Royal Challengers Bangalore) versus whoever... you'd be pretty dirty if he didn't front up to a test...

Image courtesy: @BCCIdomestic Visakhapatnam: Seasoned Dinesh Karthik cracked 126 as Tamil Nadu defeated India 'Red' by 42 runs in the final to clinch the Deodhar Trophy 50-overs tournament at the ACA-VDCA stadium here on Wednesday. The wicketkeeper-batsman shared a 136-run stand with Narayan Jagadeesan (55) for the fourth wicket which drove Tamil Nadu to 303/9 in 50 overs. India 'Red' were bowled out for 261 in 46.1 overs as Tamil Nadu completed a domestic double of winning the Deodhar Trophy as well as the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Karthik's 125-ball 126 proved to be the difference between the two sides as India 'Red' batsmen Shikhar Dhawan (45), Manish Pandey (32), Harpreet Singh (36) got starts but couldn't convert them into big ones. Gurkeerat Singh top-scored with a 64 for them. Karthik walked into bat with Tamil Nadu tottering at 39/3 in the 11th over, thanks to a rampaging spell of seam bowling from Dhawal Kulkarni, who removed Kaushik Gandhi (16...

The Australian media continued their nasty tirade against Virat Kohli branding the Indian skipper as "classless" and "childish", despite the Steve Smith-led side slumping to a defeat in Dharamsala and giving up the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The criticism came following Kohli's provocative comments at the end of a hard-fought four-match Test series, which the home side went on to win by 2-1. Prior to the opening Test at Pune, Kohli had said that regardless of what is said and done in the heat of moment is invariably forgotten when the teams vacate the combat zone, Sport24 reported. However, after what all happened between and during Tests, the Indian captain had declared those friendships irretrievably broken, and the relationship and trust he thought he had with the Australian players has been tarnished. "No, it has changed. I thought that was the case, but it has changed for sure. As I said, in the heat of the battle you want to be competitive but I...

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New Delhi : An agency which helps Unique Identification Authority of India enroll citizens for Aadhar enthusiastically shared personal details of Mahendra Singh Dhoni on social media prompting the cricketer's wife to direct the Union Law and Information and Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad's attention towards the same.The agency's Common Services Center had posted a tweet on Tueday through its handle @CSCegov saying "Ace cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his family get their Aadhaar updated at VLE Mariya Farooqui's CSE at Ranchi, Jharkhand".Prasad was tagged in the tweet which included a photograph of the cricketer with a CSC representative and another of his personal details on what appeared to be the Aadhaar website.The tweet with the details was later deleted."Is there any privacy left? Information of Adhaar card, including application, is made public property," Sakshi tweeted.Prasad, while thanking Sakshi for bringing up the issue to his ...

New Delhi : An agency which helps Unique Identification Authority of India enroll citizens for Aadhar enthusiastically shared personal details of Mahendra Singh Dhoni on social media prompting the cricketer's wife to direct the Union Law and Information and Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad's attention towards the same.The agency's Common Services Center had posted a tweet on Tueday through its handle @CSCegov saying "Ace cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his family get their Aadhaar updated at VLE Mariya Farooqui's CSE at Ranchi, Jharkhand".Prasad was tagged in the tweet which included a photograph of the cricketer with a CSC representative and another of his personal details on what appeared to be the Aadhaar website.The tweet with the details was later deleted."Is there any privacy left? Information of Adhaar card, including application, is made public property," Sakshi tweeted.Prasad, while thanking Sakshi for bringing up the issue to his ...

Kolkata:  Harsha Bhogle is likely to make a comeback as a big-time cricket commentator after a one-year hiatus in the coming Indian Premier League (IPL) in the pre- and post-match shows, the host broadcaster said on Tuesday. Once a "few formalities" are over, Bhogle will be seen speaking his mind, not from the ground, but from studio in "IPL Extra Innings", the pre- and post-match shows accompanying every game. Bhogle has remained off the air as a cricket commentator for a year after his comments in the box weren't well received by some members of the Indian cricket team and officials within the BCCI. "We have used him in earlier years. He used to work with BCCI world feed commentary. Last year, he was not there but previous years he was part of BCCI," Sony Sports Cluster India Executive Vice President and business head Prasana Krishnan told the media. "The way it works is, the main English commentary is produced by BCCI from the venue. Other ...

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India beat Australia to not only clinch the Border-Gavaskar Trophy but also to register four series wins at home. Take a look as what the champions said after the sensational victory. Virat Kohli "Unbelievable. This is our best series win so far. I thought England was intense, but the way Australia gave us a fight it was amazing on their part but our guys kept bouncing back. Shows the character and maturity. Ajinkya led the team really well. The changes we made in our fitness regime have paid off. Guys have been able to sustain the performance throughout the season. In the past we have had sessions where we have given away the game easily. Not this season. Been a team season. Not one or two individuals who have stood out. Unbelievable, the kind of fitness and desire the fast bowlers have shown, it has been game-changing. Still a few weeks to go till I can be 100% on the field. You have to take it in your stride and move forward." Ajinkya Rahane "Really enjoyed it. Cr...

Kolkata: Alluding to reports of noted cricket commentator Harsha Bhogles return to the studios for the 10th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL), Sony Pictures Networks said the TV presenter might not be seen at the venues but should be available to speak his mind in "IPL Extra Innings", the pre- and post-match shows accompanying every game. If Bhogle does feature in the IPL, it will be his comeback after a one-year hiatus after his comments in the box weren't well received by some members of the Indian cricket team and officials within the BCCI. "We have used him in earlier years. He used to work with BCCI world feed commentary. Last year, he was not there but previous years he was part of BCCI," Sony Sports Cluster India executive vice president and business head Prasana Krishnan said on Tuesday. "The way it works is, the main English commentary is produced by BCCI from the venue. Other languages and extra innings studio we do a separate broadcast. ...

Dharamsala: India defeated Australia by eight wickets in the fourth and final Test at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium here on Tuesday. India have thus clinched the series 2-1 to regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Lokesh Rahul hit an unbeaten half-century and guided the hosts to victory along with stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane after the early departure of Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara. Rahul remained undefeated on 52 while Rahane was not out on 38. Fittingly, it was Rahul who hit the winning runs, guiding a Steve O'Keefe delivery to the on-side. Resuming the small run chase, Rahul was in a hurry as he found the fence on two occasions to accelerate the innings. However, Pat Cummins managed to get Vijay nick a length delivery as Australia tried to stage a comeback. There were minor jitters in the Indian camp when Pujara was run out for a duck. However, Rahane showed glimpses of his batting prowess as he slammed a 27-ball 38. Rahane was severe on ...

Umesh Yadav's blistering spell completed a solid season of Test cricket for the 29-year-old, who has played all but one of India's 13 Tests during an exhausting summer. On pitches that have offered little assistance for the quicks, Umesh has taken 30 wickets at 36.76 to provide admirable support to India's star spinners. Former Australia skipper Michael Clarke said the approach of India's opening bowlers would have taken the tourists by surprise. "I don't think any of the Australian batsmen expected the pace and aggression of Umesh Yadav," Clarke told India Today. "A lot of Australia's batsmen were pushed on the back foot by Umesh's pace." Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly was full of praise for the right-armer, who will finish the series as the leading paceman from both teams having taken 17 wickets at 23 in four Tests. "Umesh Yadav's spell took the wind out of Australia," Ganguly told India Today. "I knew it w...

Dubai: The Indian cricket team on Tuesday retained the ICC Test Championship mace after clinching a four-match series against Australia 2-1 in Dharamsala. India has also won a cash award of one million dollars for ensuring top position in the ICC Test Team rankings on the annual April 1 cut-off date. Captain Virat Kohli received the mace and cheque from ICC Cricket Hall of Famer Sunil Gavaskar at a ceremony after the fourth and final Test against Australia in Dharamsala, in which Ajinkya Rahane led the side as Kohli could not play due to a shoulder injury. India had entered the series against Australia needing to win at least one Test to retain possession of the prestigious mace, which it had reclaimed following the Indore Test against New Zealand in October 2016. The second and third places in the rankings will be decided after the ongoing Hamilton Test between South Africa and New Zealand. If South Africa wins or draws the Test, it will be assured of second place but a loss will...

Dharamsala: India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Tuesday received the Garfield Sobers Trophy for the ICC Cricketer of the Year 2016 as well as the ICC Test Cricketer of the Year 2016 from former India captains and ICC Cricket Hall of Famers Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar. During the voting period, which ran from September 14, 2015, to September 20, 2016, the 30-year-old from Chennai played eight Tests in which he took 48 wickets and scored 336 runs. Ashwin also claimed 27 wickets in 19 T20Is. Ashwin had finished 2015 as the number-one ranked Test bowler in the world, a position he twice reclaimed in 2016. On winning the ICC awards, Ashwin said: "It has been a great honour to be named by the ICC for two top awards and it is dreamlike to actually receive them here." "What has been greatly satisfying for me is that I have helped the team do well during this period. We have a great unit that has done well across formats. Being on top of the Test table, in particular, ...

Dharamsala: Indian skipper Virat Kohli, who is still recovering from a shoulder injury he sustained during the recently-concluded Test series against Australia, is doubtful for the start of the tenth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), beginning April 5. Kohli, who captains Royal Challengers Bangalore side in IPL, faces a battle to be fit for the lucrative T20 tournament after being ruled out of India's eight-wicket win against Australia in the fourth Test in Dharamsala. After India reclaimed the Border-Gavaskar series 2-1 against the Steve Smith-led side, Kohli revealed that he needs few more weeks to be back in action. "It's still a few weeks to go before I can be 100% on the field.But these things happen in your career. You have to take it in your stride and move forward," he said in a post-match presentation. The 28-year-old sustained the right shoulder injury while putting in a dive on the first day of the drawn third Test in Ranchi. Previously, Koh...

India captain Virat Kohli declared that his friendship with Australia's cricketers was over after his team triumphed 2-1 in the acrimonious four-test series between the world's top two test teams on Tuesday. Despite his struggles with the bat, and an injury that kept him out of the final test, Kohli has remained in the eye of a raging storm since criticising counterpart Steve Smith, who acknowledged he had a 'brain fade' in the second test. Smith had gestured to the dressing room seeking guidance on whether to review an umpiring decision in the Bengaluru test, although Australia dismissed Kohli's allegation that the tourists had committed several such breaches of the rules. The feisty India captain sustained a shoulder injury in the third test in Ranchi, where he was mocked by Australian Glenn Maxwell who clutched his shoulder after diving to save a boundary just like Kohli had done before hurting himself. The bad blood spilled in the final test at Dharamsala too...

Dharamsala: Indian cricketer Ravindra Jadeja on Monday said he asked Australian wicketkeeper Mathew Wade to have dinner with him once the Aussies lose to India in the fourth Test at the HPCA stadium here. India vs Australia - Complete Coverage The duo were involved in intense sledging while Wade was batting. Wade remained 25 not out at stumps as the Aussies crumbled to 137 all out. India require another 87 runs for victory after they were 19/0 after batting for six overs in the second innings. Jadeja's vital 63 runs and 96-run stand with Wriddhiman Saha for the seventh wicket set India on the course to victory after the end of day three at the HPCA stadium. "We all know what happens. I just told him, once you lose and are free, we will have dinner together," Jadeja said tongue-in-cheek. Jadeja, who also took three wickets on the third day, said it's great to be able to contribute to the team's cause with both bat and ball. "It feels good that I am thou...

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On the penultimate day of the Australia tour India, captain Steve Smith set the sledging fire again by supposedly calling India batsman Murali Vijay a 'f***** cheat'. Camera footage showed an angry Smith mouthing some words, after the Indian had claimed a catch off last Australian batsman Josh Hazlewood. ... @BenHorne8 http://pic.twitter.com/PnblFBC277 -Neroli Meadows (@Neroli_M_FOX) March 27, 2017 Vijay took the catch in the close-in circle and sprinted off to change into his batting kit, assuming that the Australian innings was over. Murali Vijay claims a catch that was grounded. Steve Smith captured by TV cameras mouthing "f***ing cheat" -Ben Horne (@BenHorne8) March 27, 2017 On-field umpire Ian Gould gave Hazlewood out but television replays showed that Vijay had grassed the ball before taking it. If my eyes don't deceive me, I reckon Steve Smith just mouthed -fucking cheat" #INDvAUS -Andrew Wu (@wutube) March 27, 2017 However, Australian ...