The Canadian Parvasi - Issue 30

The International News Weekly Sports
February 02, 2018 | Toronto
13
U-19 WC: India thrash Pak in semi-final
Indo-Asian News Service
Christchurch : India set their date with Australia for
the 2018 Under 19 Cricket World Cup summit clash after
thrashing arch-rivals Pakistan by 203 runs in the second
semi-final at the Hagley Oval here on Tuesday. Young Shubman
Gill set things up with an unbeaten 94-ball 102 that
helped India post 272/9 after opting to bat, before pacer Ishan
Porel's 4/17 dismantled Pakistan for 69 runs -- their lowest
total in U19 CWC history.
Pakistan had a few moments in the first innings, especially
with Muhammad Musa (4/67) and Arshad Iqbal (3/51)
running through India's middle order to give the batsmen a
few jitters. However, Gill's mesmeric century, his sixth consecutive
fifty-plus total in U19 ODIs, helped the three-time
U19 World Cup champions reach Saturday's final.
Opting to bat, skipper Prithvi Shaw (41 from 42 balls;
4X3, 6X1) and Manjot Kalra (47 from 59; 4X7) gave India a flying
89-run start, before the former was run out attempting a
quick single. Three overs later, Manjot's dismissal by Musa
reduced India to 94/2. Gill came in and took charge after that,
virtually ensuring Pakistan were better off just focusing on
the other end.
It yielded some success, with Arshad Iqbal running
through the middle order, dismissing Harvik Desai (20), Riyan
Parag (2) and Abhishek Sharma (5).
Gill did most of the scoring though, putting on 54 with
Desai to revive the innings after the openers' dismissal, and
a crucial 67 with Anukul Roy (33 off 45), who himself plundered
the Pakistan bowlers in the final stretch.
Roy was caught behind down the leg side off Musa, but
Gill carried on to complete his century in dramatic circumstances.
The one-down batsman was on 99 when he got on
strike with one ball remaining. He got to three figures after
he was dropped by Hassan in the deep. It turned out that it
was a no-ball, although it yielded just one run from the freehit
that followed. In response, the Indian pacemen proved
hard to handle, zipping and shaping the ball around.
The Pakistan batsmen's temperament has been suspect
all through the tournament, and on Tuesday, it was laid bare
for all to see. With Shivam Mavi putting pressure from one
end with three consecutive maidens, Porel capitalised at the
other end -- he had Zaid Alam (7), Imran Shah (2) and Ali
Zaryab (1) dismissed in consecutive overs as Pakistan were
reduced to 20/3. Ammad Alam (4) became Porel's fourth victim,
holing out after slicing an attempted drive.
The Indian spinners complemented their pace partners
well with Shiva Singh and Parag claiming Mohammad Taha
(4) and Rohail Nazir (18), respectively in quick succession.
A similar fate awaited skipper Hassan Khan (1) and Shaheen
Afridi (0), and it was telling that Pakistan's only positive
in the innings was a 20-run ninth-wicket partnership
between Saad Khan (15) and Musa (11 not out), which wasn't
enough to avoid that unwanted record - their lowest total in
U19 World Cup history.
Brief Scores: India 272/9 (Shubman Gill 102 not out, Manjot
Kalra 47, Prithvi Shaw 41; Mohammed Musa 4/67, Arshad
Iqbal 3/51) against Pakistan 69 (Rohail Nazir 18, Saad Khan
15; Ishan Porel 4/17, Riyan Parag 2/6, Shiva Singh 2/20).
Mary Kom, Sarita among
18 local boxers in finals
Indo-Asian News Service
New Delhi: Five-time world champion M.C. Mary
Kom spearheaded the Indian contingent with 18 of them
-- including 10 men and eight
women -- entering the finals
of their respective categories
at the India Open International
boxing tournament
at the Thyagraj Indoor stadium
here on Wednesday.
Running a distant second
was classy Uzbekistan,
who saw all their seven boxers
sailing through smoothly
from the semi-finals. World boxing giants Cuba, who had
four in the semi-finals, saw three of them take their places
in the title round; only Toirac Yohandi Ortega was ousted
in the superheavyweight final, losing 0-5 to the towering
Uzbek Bakhodir Jalolov.
India's charge into the final was led by none other
than Mary, Sarita Devi and Pinki Rani in the women's
session while Manish Kaushik and Dinesh, who upset
Manoj Kumar, led the men's charge.
Shiva Thapa fell by the wayside in the men's semi-finals.
Hindered by a slight wrist injury, he failed to unravel
Manish, just like he couldn't during the recently-held
nationals. Southpaw Manish looked in fine fettle and used
his speed and power to win 5-0 in the lightweight category.
"I had no pressure on me so I fought freely. I instigated
him and then went on the attack," he said after his
victory. Mary suffered some early hiccups in the opening
round against her taller and stronger Mongolian opponent
Altansetseg Lutsaikhan in the light-fly category.
She promptly changed her strategy in the second to turn
the bout on its head. She began by fighting from close
quarters only to realise that it wasn't a good tactic against
the aggressive Mongolian, who cleverly used her height,
reach and power to her advantage.
In the next rounds, the Manipuri pugilist opted to
maintain a safe distance, before launching into shortburst
attacks.That was enough to throw the Mongolian
out of her rhythm and Mary piled on the points for a 4-1
victory.Mary will take on Josie Gabuco, an impressive
all-round boxer from the Philippines, in the final.
Sarita overcame her Indian counterpart Priyanka
Choudhary 4-1 in the light-weight category while Thai girl
Chuthamat Raksat found Pinki Rani too hot to handle, going
down 0-5 in the flyweight division. Sarita next meets
the strong and aggressive Finnish girl, Potkonan Mira
Marjut, who more than packs a punch, in the final while
Pinki takes on Ochirbat Jargalan of Mongolia.
Core squad for 2019 World Cup
is more or less sorted out: Kohli
Indo-Asian News Service
Durban: With around
15 months to go for the 2019
cricket World Cup, India
skipper Virat Kohli on
Wednesday asserted that
barring the No. 4 spot, the
core of the squad is more
or less sorted out for the
quadrennial tournament in
England.
Kohli also maintained
that the ones who did well
during the home season
last year might not necessarily
impress in England
and wants the players to
cash on the opportunities
in the run up to the World
Cup.
"We are going to play
the World Cup in England,
which is going to be very
different from what we get
back home as well. People
who might be doing well at
home might necessarily not
repeat their performances
in England, so we will have
to figure out which player's
game suits the team
best in particular
conditions," Kohli
said on the eve
of the opening
ODI against
South Africa
at the
Kingsmead
Stadium
here on Thursday.
"We feel that the
core of players is more or
less sorted (out). It's about
who takes that one particular
spot (No.4), which the
guys who get the opportunity
need to capitalise and
string in performances that
convinces the management
and the team.
"Obviously changes can
happen at any stage, you
never know who is in form
or not at that stage, but
what I see is that the core
is more or less formed," he
added.
The 29-year-old also
seemed to be satisfied with
the balance of the side,
which includes the two
wrist spinners in Yuzvendra
Chahal (leg-break) and
chinaman Kuldeep Yadav.
"We are probably
the only team
in world cricket
who are blessed
with two wrist
spinners and
with Kedar
(Jadhav) doing
the conventional
job really
well,
that's why I said the balance
of the side is pretty
good at the moment," he
said.
"Wrist spinners help
you in any conditions,
in any part of the world.
They can go for six an
over but they will pick you
two-three wickets as well,
which makes the difference
at the end.
"We are very happy
to have two wrist spinners
who are very different
from each other. Both
are versatile in their own
way. I think
that's going
to be a major
strength for
the team going
forward,"
he added.
On being
asked about his
team's approach
for the upcoming
series against
the Proteas,
which could
potentially
be a good
preparation
going into the 2019 World
Cup, Kohli said: "We have
explored a lot of options in
the last few months. Since
we don't have much time
and have only a few series
before the World Cup, we
want to try as many combinations
as possible."
"I don't think the quality
of the team will be compromised
anyway regardless
of who takes the No.4
position because of we have
strong batsmen above and
below to stabilise the innings.
I am pretty confident
of all the guys in the team.
Kohli also indicated
that Ajinkya Rahane could
be the potential candidate
for the coveted No. 4 slot despite
the team management
looking at him as the third
opener.
"Rahane can be considered
as the third opener but
may change since he batted
at No. 4 in the World Cup
and in seamer-friendly conditions
he can be a good option
for the No. 4 slot.
"We have Manish (Pandey),
Shreyas (Iyer), Kedar
(Jadhav) who can bat at
No. 5 and 6, besides Hardik
(Pandya) and MS (Dhoni).
We don't want to be one
dimensional and would go
by whose technique suits
the best in the given conditions,"
he added.
Kohli also wished
the best for the Prithvi
Shaw-led India colts, who
thrashed Pakistan by 203
runs in the semi-final to set
up the ICC Under-19 final
against Australia on Saturday.