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IND v SA, 4th T20I: Avesh, Karthik, Hardik star in India’s 82-run thrashing of South Africa; level series 2-2

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On the back of a blistering 55 from Dinesh Karthik and Avesh Khan scalping 4/18, India thrashed South Africa by 82 runs at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium here on Friday.

Despite losing the toss for the fourth time in a row, India ended up on the winning side, meaning that the hosts levelled the five-match series 2-2, with Sunday’s match at Bengaluru now a winner takes it all affair.

After Karthik’s career-best efforts of 27-ball 55, hitting nine fours and two sixes at a strike-rate of 203.7 apart from sharing a 65-run stand off 33 balls with Hardik Pandya (46 off 31 balls) propelled India to a competitive 169/6, South Africa were never in the chase from the word go, with only three batters reaching double figures and crashed to 87 all out in 16.5 overs, with Avesh being pick of bowlers with his career-best figures in this format of the game.

With India’s bowlers hitting hard lengths consistently, seamers finding variable bounce and spinners keeping things tight while getting hint of turn, it was difficult for South Africa to chase 170. It was the bounce which hit captain Temba Bavuma on the shoulder off Bhuvneshwar Kumar. But while taking a single off Avesh Khan, Bavuma injured his left elbow and had to retire hurt for eight.

With the visitors struggling with their timing and Bavuma leaving the crease, one could feel that South Africa could slip in trouble. A massive mix-up for a quick single resulted in Quinton de Kock run-out for 14. In the next over, Dwaine Pretorius tried to break free from dot-ball pressure by slogging but was caught behind off Avesh Khan for a six-ball duck.

Heinrich Klassen survived an lbw appeal on umpire’s call off Axar Patel in the eighth over. But in the next over, he failed to connect with the sweep off Yuzvendra Chahal and was trapped plumb in front of stumps. David Miller was the next batter to fall as Harshal got one to jag in and uproot the off-stump. In the 14th over, Avesh ensured that the South African challenge was as good as over.

He had Rassie van der Dussen holing out to deep mid-wicket, then rattled Marco Jansen with a bouncer and got him holing out to the same region on the very next ball. Avesh closed the over by having Keshav Maharaj caught easily at mid-on. Chahal and Axar wrapped up the innings by taking a wicket each to complete India’s thrashing of the Proteas.

Earlier, Karthik and Pandya’s efforts in the back end of the innings brought India a whopping 73 runs in the last five overs. This was in total contrast of them being 81/4 in 12.5 overs, especially losing the top-order in the first seven overs.

Ruturaj Gaikwad pushed hesitantly to back of a length ball from Lungi Ngidi, with the extra bounce taking edge to de Kock. Shreyas Iyer’s struggle against South Africa seamers continued when he was trapped lbw by an inswinger from debutant left-arm pacer Marco Jansen. Ishan Kishan hit Jansen for three fours and a six but fell immediately after power-play ended, undone by extra bounce off Anrich Nortje, edging behind to de Kock.

Rishabh Pant found it hard to break free and was almost dismissed in the 12th over when Maharaj flew to his right at backward point but couldn’t hold on. Pandya closed the over by clobbering Tabraiz Shamsi for successive wristy sixes over mid-wicket. Down on one knee, Pant tried to swipe a wide delivery off Maharaj, only to top-edge to short third man, making it Pant’s fourth straight dismissal to balls wide of off-stump.

After sweeping Maharaj for a boundary, Karthik smacked Anrich Nortje for a brace of fours through the off-side while Pandya cut through backward point to take 15 runs off the 16th over. Karthik went to smash three fours off Maharaj through sweep, reverse sweep and bisecting long-on and long-off perfectly.

It was Pretorius’ turn to be taken to cleaners by Karthik, slogging over deep square leg, followed by brace of fours with cut and sweep. Though Pandya fell by slicing to running third man off Ngidi, Karthik brought up his maiden T20I fifty by smoking Pretorius over cow corner for six, much to delight of the crowd. Despite Karthik picking deep square leg to perfection, it was sufficient for India to grab a much-needed win.

Brief Scores: India 169/6 in 20 overs (Dinesh Karthik 55, Hardik Pandya 46; Lungi Ngidi 2/20, Anrich Nortje 1/21) beat South Africa 87 all out in 16.5 overs (Rassie van der Dussen 20, Quinton de Kock 14, Avesh Khan 4/18, Yuzvendra Chahal 2/21) by 82 runs

International

PM Narendra Modi Lays Foundation Stone For Rs.451 Crore International Cricket Stadium In Varanasi 

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India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the new International Cricket Stadium in Varanasi on September 23rd (Saturday). The likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Ravi Shastri, Dilip Vengsarkar, and Sunil Gavaskar were also present for the ceremony. The Prime Minister also went on to present an Indian team jersey to Tendulkar.

The state government, led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, has remitted a whopping ₹121 crore for the purpose of land acquisition, while the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) shall put in ₹330 crore from their side for the iconic stadium’s construction. Some of the notable features that the stadium would have are trishul-shaped floodlights, drum-shaped media center, and crescent moon-shaped roof.

Meanwhile, the stone-laying ceremony witnessed some of the most top figures from the BCCI, including President Roger Binny, Vice-President Rajiv Shukla, and Secretary Jay Shah. This will also be the third international stadium in Uttar Pradesh, with Kanpur and Lucknow already having one.

“The sportspersons here will benefit from the construction of an international stadium” – Narendra Modi

Speaking at the ceremony, Modi stated that sports are no longer prohibited by the elders, unlike before, as it acts as an incentive in several ways. He said, as quoted by The Indian Express:

“This stadium in the city of ‘Mahadev’ will be dedicated to ‘Mahadev’ himself. The sportspersons here will benefit from the construction of an international stadium in Kashi. There was a time when parents used to scold their children for playing sports, but that is no longer true. When sports infrastructure is built in an area, it acts as an incentive not just for young sporting talent but also spurs the local economy.”

The stadium has a seating capacity of approximately 30000 and the construction of the same is likely to finish by December 2025.

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Legends Including Sachin Tendulkar And Ravi Shastri Leave For Varanasi For Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony For New International Stadium In UP

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Legendary Indian cricketers Sachin Tendulkar, Ravi Shastri, Sunil Gavaskar, and Dilip Vengsarkar on Saturday headed for Varanasi for the foundation stone laying ceremony of the international cricket stadium in Uttar Pradesh.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to lay the foundation stone of the International Cricket Stadium in Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi on Saturday afternoon.

The Uttar Pradesh government led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has spent Rs 121 crores on land acquisition for the construction of the International Cricket Stadium in Varanasi. Moreover, the BCCI will spend Rs 330 crores on the stadium’s construction.

The former India head coach Shashti on Saturday took to social media ‘X’, formerly known as Twitter, and wrote in a post, “Varanasi bound. Great to be amongst Greats and colleagues for Mumbai and India. Just a few international runs and wickets there. Pic of a lifetime. Gr8 memories.”

The thematic architecture of this stadium draws inspiration from Lord Shiva, with designs developed for crescent-shaped roof covers, trident-shaped floodlights, ghat steps-based seating, and Bilvipatra-shaped metallic sheets on the facade. The stadium will have a capacity of 30,000 spectators.
Veteran players like Tendulkar, Gavaskar, Shastri, Vengsarkar will be present at the foundation stone laying ceremony.

Uttar Pradesh to have its 3rd international stadium:

The event will also have the presence of key figures from the BCCI, including President Roger Binny, Vice President Rajiv Shukla, and Secretary Jay Shah, the release stated. Furthermore, many veteran players are expected to attend the foundation stone laying ceremony. After Kanpur and Lucknow, this will be Uttar Pradesh’s third international cricket stadium. 

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IND vs AUS: ‘Always Well Looked After And Well Protected’ As David Warner Feeling ‘Great’ To Be Back In India

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The Australian cricket team has landed in India ahead of what will be their final dress rehearsal for the 2023 World Cup. Veteran Australian opener David Warner took to his official Instagram handle and expressed their gratefulness at landing in India. He also thanked GMR Aerocity for making their transit easy.

Warner will be one of the few players most in focus ahead of the ODI series, especially due to his inconsistency in the preceding rubber against South Africa. The left-hander made only two fifty-plus scores in five innings and threw away starts consistently.

The five-time World Champions will be keen to get back in the groove after missing an opportunity to win the series in South Africa despite a 2-0 lead. The middle-order batters, including Alex Carey and Marcus Stoinis will be under pressure for consistently failing against the Proteas. With Steve Smith back in the side and Australia set to field a full-strength attack, they should be in a good stead.

The 36-year-old took to his Instagram handle and wrote:

“Always great to be welcomed back to india. We are always well looked after and well protected. Thanks so much. @gmraerocity always makes our transits so easy.”

Australia won the three-game ODI series in India earlier this year:

Pat Cummins and co. should draw confidence from their success against the Men in Blue in their backyard earlier this year under the captaincy of Steve Smith. Nevertheless, India are an in-form team, having won the Asia Cup 2023.

However, the men’s team’s chief selector Chief selector Ajit Agarkar has announced resting Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli for the first two ODIs. KL Rahul will captain India in Mohali and Indore,

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