Indiacolts win series Down Under
Darwin: Indian bowlers ripped through the Australian line-up as the team thrashed the hosts by eight wickets to be crowned champions in the Under-19 International Series after a lop-sided final clash here on Friday. Opting to bowl after winning the toss, the Indians bowled out Australia for a paltry 75 in 24.4 overs before overwhelming the target in 15.3 overs, losing just two wickets in the process. For India, medium pacer Deepak Hooda claimed three wickets for 22 from his 10 overs while Chama Milind (2/19), Kuldeep Yadav (2/4) and Abhimanyu lamba (28) shared six wickets between them. India never looked troubled in their run chase as they finished the series unbeaten. The Aussies, who spent last night watching one of last year’s under-19 representatives, Ashton Agar, bat his way into history in the Ashes series in England, failed to get inspired and were thoroughly outplayed. Indian captain Vijay Zol won Player of the Series award after a dominant performance with the bat. The Australian openers — Matthew Short (25) and Damien Mortimer (10) -—- put 36 runs on the board before the remaining side folded out after adding just 39 more to the total. left-arm seamer Milind triggered the Australian downfall by getting Short caught by Deepak Hooda at short midwicket. Milind struck again getting Ben McDermott (3) to flick one to square leg. Hooda then grabbed his three wickets further destabilise Australia’s innings
Indiahold on to No. 1 ODI ranking Dubai: India’s back-to-back title triumphs has helped the world champion team retain its top position in the ICC ODI rankings following the annual update of the list announced on . After a successful ICC Champions Trophy campaign in England, India also emerged victorious in the just-concluded tri-series in the West Indies. The annual update was released after the conclusion of the tri-series, featuring the hosts, India and Sri lanka. India won the tri-series after beating Sri lanka by one wicket in a thrilling finale last night at Port of Spain. India, which recently won the ICC Champions Trophy, has been in the number one position since February 2013, when it beat England 3-2 at home to regain the top place.
WIndies now face Pakistan
Port of Spain: West Indies named a 13-man squad for the opening one-day internationals against Pakistan in Guyana. The matches will be played at the Guyana National Stadium on Sunday, July 14 and Tuesday July 16. The series will also mark the return of international cricket to Guyana after a one-year absence and will include five One Day Internationals and two Twenty20 Internationals. Guyana will host the first two ODIs, followed by three ODIs at the Beausejour Cricket Grounds in St lucia. The Arnos Vale Cricket Ground in St Vincent will host the two Twenty20 Internationals on July 27 and 28.
Mathews suspended for two ODIs
Dubai: Sri lanka captain Angelo Mathews was on Friday handed a two-match suspension for maintaining a slow over-rate during his team’s one-wicket defeat against India in the final of the Tri-series in Trinidad. The rest of the Sri lankan team members were fined 40 per cent of their match fees, the ICC said in a release. Match Referee David Boon imposed the suspension on Sri lanka after they were ruled to be three overs short of their target at the end of the match. The decision means Mathews will not be playing in the first two One-dayers of the five-match ODI home series against South Africa on July 20 and 23, respectively, at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Mathews pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction.
Kaneria presence raises eyebrows
Karachi: Disgraced Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria caused a stir when he showed up at the inaugural Ramazan Twenty20 Cup tournament, organised by the Pakistan Cricket Board, at the National Stadium here. Kaneria, however, clarified that he had only visited the stadium to meet his friends from the media and his former teammates in Habib Bank, which played here last night. The spinner’s presence clearly had the security and vigilance officer of the board present in the stadium rattled and uneasy but he showed enough respect to Kaneria and avoided any direct ejection orders from the stadium. “I don’t think I am making anyone uncomfortable. I don’t think the PCB should be concerned as I have only come here as a visitor and have avoided going down into the ground. I have remained in the pavilion building,” he said.
Huge win for DCC candidates
New Delhi: The 10 candidates of the newly formed Delhi Cricket Council (DCC) recorded a landslide victory in the Sports Committee election of the Delhi & Districts Cricket Association (DDCA), ending the controversial tenure of Vinod Tihara faction. In what turned out to be an absolute one-sided poll battle, the DCC group led by Dr Ahmad Tamim and former first-class cricketer Gautam Vadhera cantered to victory winning all the 10 seats of the Sports Committee. The Sports Committee is the most important body in DDCA as it selects all the age-group as well as senior state teams.