Olympic-bound Shiva signs off with silver at Asian Qualifiers

Qian'an (China), Apr 1, 2016, (PTI)

An Olympic quota place pocketed, Indian boxer Shiva Thapa (56kg) ended his campaign with a silver medal after losing in the final of the Asian/Oceania Qualifying Tournament here today.
The 22-year-old Assamese, who is a World Championship bronze-medallist, went down 0-3 to Thailand's Chatchai Butdee in the summit clash. Butdee is the reigning Asian champion.

Shiva had booked his ticket to Rio de Janeiro by making the finals yesterday after beating Kazakhstan's Kairat Yeraliyev.

Meanwhile, it was a heartbreak once again for L Devendro Singh (49kg), who missed a second opportunity to qualify for the Olympics.

The Commonwealth silver-medallist, who lost in the semifinals yesterday, today went down in the box-off for the Olympic slot.

Devendro fought his heart out in a keenly-contested bout against Mongolia's Gan-Erdene Gankhuyag but lost 2-1. The Indian lost the opening round unanimously and the second round on a split decision before winning the final in three minutes.
However, that was not enough to make up for the deficit he conceded earlier in the bout.

Tomorrow, star woman boxer M C Mary Kom (51kg) will take on Chinese Taipei's Yu-Ting Lin in the box-off to decide the new rankings and seedings for next month's World Championships in Kazakhstan.

Mary Kom had missed out on an Olympic quota place after losing the semifinals of the ongoing event yesterday. In the women's draw, this tournament offered Olympic berths for only the gold and silver-medallists.

Mary Kom will have her next and final shot at Olympic qualification during the World Championships, a tournament she has dominated by winning five gold medals in the past. In fact, such has been her stature that she was dubbed 'Magnificent Mary' by the International Boxing Association for her unprecedented feats.

Let down by team mates, Kohli's golden World T20 run ends

NEW DELHI, April 1, 2016, (Reuters)

As the full toss left Andre Russell's blade and settled deep into the stands, dropping a deathly silence across the Wankhede Stadium, Virat Kohli stood dazed, gazing at the trajectory of the ball and perhaps wondering what else he could have done.

For the umpteenth time in the World Twenty20, the 27-year-old had papered over the cracks in India's top order, his unbeaten 89 accounting for almost half of his country's 192 in the semi-final against West Indies.

In between the 11 boundaries and single six that flowed from his bat, the supreme athlete ran himself ragged, regularly converting singles into twos and occasionally two into threes.

Kohli the bowler also resurfaced when it mattered.

The evening dew had effectively defanged the Indian spinners, while their pacers bled boundaries, leaving Mahendra Singh Dhoni in an unenviable position.

The India captain, as is his wont, sprang a surprise by tossing the ball to Kohli and the part-time dibbly-dobbler struck immediately, dismissing the dangerous Johnson Charles (52) with his first delivery and ending a 97-run partnership.

Kohli was in the thick of things again in the 18th over, collaborating with Ravindra Jadeja to almost send back West Indies hero Lendl Simmons.

Jadeja took a running catch but as momentum was taking him over the ropes, he lobbed the ball inside for Kohli to grab. TV replays, however, confirmed Jadeja's foot had touched the boundary and it was declared a six.

Simmons and Russell set alight a hot and humid night with batting pyrotechnics that left the 2012 champions needing only eight runs off the last over.

Once again, Dhoni handed the ball to Kohli, hoping the golden arm of the man who could do no wrong would pull off a miracle. It was not to be.

Kohli conceded a single off the first delivery and followed it up with a dot ball to raise Indian hopes of an improbable victory.

Russell hit the following ball for four, though, and deposited the next over deep mid-wicket and into the stands to break 1.2 billion Indian hearts.

As Russell and Simmons were mobbed by their team mates, Kohli stood alone with his thoughts.

India's test captain finished the World Twenty20 with 273 runs from five innings with a staggering 136-plus average and a strike rate of almost 147.

Only Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal (295) scored more and he had the advantage of playing extra matches in the qualifying stage of the tournament.

His prodigious scoring means Kohli will remain in the mix for the player-of-the-tournament award but for a proud team man, it would probably mean very little.

Sachin lauds Team India despite loss in semis

Mumbai, Apr 1, 2016, (PTI):

 India might have suffered a heartbreaking exit from the World T20 after their stunning loss to the West Indies, but the cricketing fraternity led by Sachin Tendulkar lauded the home team for its impressive performance and asked the players not to lose heart.
India lost to the West Indies in the semifinals here last night to bow out of the tournament, breaking hearts of the millions of cricket-crazy fans who would have liked the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led team to the lift the trophy for the the second time.

"Tough luck boys. It was a good match and well fought! Best wishes to West Indies and England for the finals," Tendulkar tweeted.

Indian spinner Pragyan Ojha backed the home team to the hilt despite the loss.
Proud of the Indian cricket team, no matter what. Very well played!! Great effort guys right from the start," he tweeted.

Former Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath said he had not seen a game like the India vs West Indies at the Wankhede Stadium.

"What a game!! I've never seen anything like it. @westindies will need next 2 days to get over celebrations tonight #WT20," he tweeted.

Commenting about the match, former England captain Michael Vaughan said on his Twitter account, "Forget the result .... That was a fantastic game of Cricket ... 2 great teams .. Brilliant pitch .. Incredible crowd... Bloody Love T20 .." 

No balls, dew resulted in India's ouster from WT20: Dhoni

Mumbai, Apr 1, 2016, (PTI):

Upset with his team's elimination from the World T20, India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni blamed the two no-balls bowled by Ravichandran Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah, and the dew factor as the main reasons for hosts' shocking loss to the West Indies in the semifinals here.
Chasing 193 for victory, Simmons scored an unbeaten 82 to steer West Indies to the World T20 final. He survived two chances -- Ravichandran Ashwin's no-ball gave man-of-the-match Simmons 'life' at 18 when Jasprit Bumrah had taken the catch and then Pandya overstepped when the right-hander was on 50.

"You have to realise it was half an hour early start. A bad toss to lose. So, when they started batting the first few overs were fine, but after that there was a considerable amount of dew which meant the spinners couldn't bowl how they would have liked to," said Dhoni at the post-match press conference at the Wankhede Stadium.

"It was coming on nicely and the ball was getting wet, so that was the difference between the first innings and second innings. The surface had some assistance for the spinners, it was gripping (when India batted), but in the second innings there wasn't much in it for them. It was quite difficult to score 190 (batting first).

"The only thing I'm disappointed about are the two no-balls. Other than that we tried our best and even if the conditions were not in favour of the spinners, whatever resources we had we tried our best in the game," he added.

Dhoni felt that no balls are something that are easily avoidable.

"If you bowl a no-ball and get a wicket off that no-ball then there is no one else to blame because also one of the catches was brilliant that was taken off the no-ball. What it does is that it gives you a free-hit and the batsmen get a chance to get into some kind of a momentum. So I feel that the point at which the no-balls were bowled were quite crucial.

"If we had got those wickets, we would have got the opportunity to bowl at one or two overs of the spinners and get away with them without giving too many runs. Nobody wants to bowl a no-ball, so I don't want to be too tough on them but when there is pressure you have to be at your best.

"No-ball is something that can be avoided, especially the front foot no-ball, if you practice more and more. The only thing is that if you don't want to bowl a no-ball you should never bowl a no-ball," insisted Dhoni. 

The wicketkeeper-batsman admitted that his spinners struggled to grip the ball.
"I think the spinners had some assistance, as I said, but as the dew comes in it becomes difficult for them to turn the ball. The seam gets wet and the surface becomes a bit greasy so it comes onto the bat nicely. I feel we have seen that our spinners do struggle in conditions like these," he said.

"If you remember, in one of the T20 World Cups we were knocked out because of one bad game and in that game there was a bit of dew...or I don't remember, maybe it was rain that got the ball wet, so that's where our spinners find it difficult.

"It was quite evident. Ash (Ashwin) only bowled two overs, (Ravindra) Jadeja was forced to bowl the last quota of his overs, otherwise he would have only bowled three overs," explained Dhoni.

Ashwin gave away 20 runs in two overs, while Jadeja's four overs costed 48 runs.
Defending his decision to not bring on Ashwin back to complete his quota, Dhoni said it was not the ideal time as Andre Russell, who hit a quick-fire 43 not out off 20 balls, was at the crease.

"No, it was not in my mind (to bring back Ashwin), looking at Russell and the big hitters and the amount of purchase there was on offer. That was not the best time for him to bowl. Kolkata, I'm not sure what my thinking was then. When the wicket is turning I like to take that gamble of keeping a few overs of the spinner so that if needed, I can make him bowl but if not, I don't have to waste it."

Dhoni said the team constantly kept reviewing the target it wanted to set while batting first.

"We have to keep reviewing. What our strength is if you see the Indian brand of cricket, we take one or two overs, we see how the wicket is behaving and according to that we see 'okay, next five overs, let's do this, at the end of this over if we have not lost too many wickets, this is where we should be. What happens is you evaluate every 3-4 overs, at times in two overs, also depending on who is bowling. And that has been our strength. We always get a score that is a par plus score.

"Right from the start if you think about the big hitters and start looking at 210 as a good score, you may end up getting 160 or 170 and that may not be enough on a wicket like this. So you always look to back your strengths at the same time, go for a par plus score, don't go for a score that is an absolute score," he said. 

Insisting that nothing is a safe score in this format, Dhoni said: "What we have seen in this format is that nothing is a safe score. We have seen 220, 230 also getting chased, so depending on your strength and the depending on the wicket we say this is the score and make sure we reach there."

On Ajinkya Rahane coming in place of Shikhar Dhawan for the crucial semifinal match, Dhoni said: "If you see, Shikhar has been batting quite well but he's not been able to convert. The thing with Rahane is he is someone who is quite calm and composed and he knows his responsibility in the team. This is the kind of innings that is expected of him. He isn't someone who is going to bat like Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli.

"Someone who is orthodox can give us that platform from where we can launch and score those extra 10-15 runs in the last few overs. Both of them are very good but it's just that Shikhar wasn't able to convert starts.

"In games like these often you want to give the new guy a go, because if you see, where Shikhar had the edge was in a few games before the World Cup. Other than that, if you see the stats, Ajinkya in such conditions like in the IPL, he's been among the leading run-scorers as opener. So those were the reasons behind it. I'm glad that after facing a few deliveries he got a start and did what he does best."

Dhoni said more than luck, a team needs to execute its plans to win a match.
"If you see the team combination, you have the roles and responsibility assigned to every individual and if you are performing your roles and responsibilities well you will end up winning the game. The problem happens when the opposition is batting first on a surface that will remain the same and end up scoring 30-35 runs more than what is a par score. If you compare today's game, the surface in the first innings and the second inning was very different," said Dhoni.

"Ultimately, what matters is how the players are performing. It is good that we talk about luck because we start with a flip of the coin. But other than that you have to be at your best, you have to keep performing. If you know there will be dew, you try to win the toss, you can't really control it. You try to win the toss, put the opposition in and try to take the game away from there. So luck is a factor definitely but at the end of the game you have to play good cricket.

"None of the tournament (matches) that we have won was because of good luck, there is nothing called good luck. You have to execute your plans well. When an individual is given that tough responsibility of bowling one over when there is pressure, he bowls a good over, he executes his plan; ultimately you win the game. It is not about that if he is the captain you will win the series or if the other guy is the captain you will lose the series," he added. 

Windies march to Eden Gardens

Madhu Jawali Mumbai: April 1, 2016, DHNS

Virat Kohli won the battle of Royal Challengers, but Chris Gayle had the last laugh as West Indies chased down India’s big total to book their final date with England in Kolkata.

Whichever team wins Sunday’s summit clash would become the first nation to win the World T20 title twice. England were champions in 2010, while West Indies lifted the trophy in 2012.

Following a solid 62-run opening stand between Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane, who came in for Shikhar Dhawan, and another gem of an innings from Kohli (89 n.o., 47b, 11x4, 1x6), India ran up an impressive 192/2 after being inserted into bat first on an admittedly good batting surface. It was a total that appeared a little more than par given the short boundaries and the dew that made bowling a difficult proposition, especially for the spinners.

India, however, looked on course for a shot at the title when Jasprit Bumrah cleaned up Gayle with his first ball and Ashish Nehra sent Marlon Samuels in the next over. 
With Windies reeling at 19/2 and their biggest hope back in the hut, it was hard to see Darren Sammy’s men staging a comeback from that stage. 

But Lendl Simmons (82 n.o., 51b, 7x4, 5x6), riding his immense luck, turned the match on its head with no little help from Johnson Charles (52, 36, 7x4, 2x6) and Andre Russell (43 n.o., 20b, 3x4, 4x6). 

West Indies replied with 196/3 with two deliveries to go off Kohli’s over.
Without taking anything away from West Indies show, it must be said though that India were more than generous in letting Simmons off twice. The Mumbai Indians’ batsman, who is quite familiar with the conditions here, got out when on 18 off R Ashwin but it was revealed after review that the off-spinner had overstepped. 

Simmons, who had replaced the injured Andre Fletcher in the squad only on Tuesday, was again caught off a Hardik Pandya full toss on 50 and again it turned out be a no-ball.

The two mistakes dealt a debilitating blow to India’s hopes as Russell, too, joined in the Caribbean party.
DH News Service    

Williamson rues missed chances

New Delhi: April 1, 2016, DHNS

Ahead of the knockout phase, New Zealand were tipped to be strong favourites for the World Twenty20 crown. They were the underdogs who had yet again reached the semifinals of an ICC event. On Wednesday, they yet again faltered, a total of nine times at the last four stage. 

“It’ such a fickle format,” captain Kane Williamson shrugged before adding they just didn’t get the things right.

The Black Caps, who had raised excitement with their tactical brilliance and undefeated run, couldn’t reproduce their magic against England. Their defeat rekindled memories of their meltdown against Australia in the 2015 World Cup final.

Willamson acknowledged the superb death bowling by England bowlers Ben Stokes and Chris Jordan, resulting in the Black Caps scoring just 64 runs in their last 10 overs, before Jason Roy’s blitzkrieg took the game away from them. The young captain believed his side would only get better from here.

"We were 20-25 runs short. England bowled really well in that sort of death period which made life difficult. Unfortunately, we weren't able to connect as well as we would have liked. It certainly wasn't due to lack of trying. It's just the game we are playing. It's such a fine line," Williamson said.

"Their death bowling was very good. In between they hit the yorkers really well. By taking those wickets off certain deliveries, that puts you under pressure. As a new batter coming to the crease and trying to hit from ball one that is never easy. They were able to take wickets consistently through that middle to backend period, which meant that it stemmed the flow of runs in that death stage. You can look at it in a number of areas, but at the end of the day, we just didn't get things right.

“England were very very good. We played a semifinal not a long time ago. We came first in that one. We move on and we look to get better as a team."

The 25-year-old was also full of praise for their young spinners Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner who ended among the highest wicket-takers in the tournament. Williamson overall didn’t nurse regrets.

"He's (Ish Sodhi) had a fantastic T20 tournament along with Mitch Santner. We've played on so many different wickets and the guys have adapted well, grown so much as a bowling unit. I suppose they have matured as well in this part of the world, which is extremely important for themselves and the team moving forward,” he said.

“There have been a number of guys who have had a very good tournament. I think it is very important to be process-driven in this format and play fearlessly. There is no room for conservative cricket. Let things unfold to a certain extent. Sometimes in this format the harder you try the worse it can get.”

Spirited England surprise many

From Pragya Tiwari, New Delhi: April 1, 2016, DHNS

Cricket World T20

Few had given England chance to make it to the final of World Twenty20 and Jason Roy, whose destructive innings blew out favourites New Zealand, was thrilled to prove their critics wrong.

New Zealand were cruising in the first 10 overs at 89/1 before being kept down to 153. Roy then played a whirlwind innings (78 off 44 balls), opening with four boundaries, and by the time he left England needed nearly a run a ball 44 runs to win.

"We're that sort of a side. We've had a lot of negative feedback from a few people and to be in a World Cup final now has hopefully got a few people on our side. There's been a huge amount of support all tournament from back home and around the world so thanks to all those people."

Roy conceded the plan was to go after the New Zealand bowling.

"You kind of want to give yourself a chance. But when you get off to a good start like that you kind of just want to keep going, and I did. I got a bit of luck and got a few boundaries, hit a few gaps. The next minute I was there and next minute I was out. Yeah it was an idea to go out there and smash every ball to be honest. Sometimes you go out there and struggle your first 10 balls and don't hit a boundary,” said Roy, who had smashed his maiden T20 international fifty.

"That's pretty special for me, to get this group of boys to a final. Obviously it wasn't just me - the bowlers were outstanding towards the end, their skill sets were amazing. I'm just hugely proud to be involved." England have been on a roll following their opening round loss to West Indies and Roy couldn’t wait to be in the final.

"The momentum that we carried over from the end of their innings to ours was outstanding. They've grown in confidence from the Sri Lanka performance. It was just perfect,” he said.

"We're getting better with every game. It's just another game of cricket. It just happens to be at Eden Gardens in the World Cup final in front of 100,000 people. It's going to be an incredible experience but we're going to go out there and play our natural way and play the brand of cricket we've played for the last year or so."