New Zealand draw the 5 match ODI series at Ranchi - both teams tied 2-2

It was a disappointment for Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni who lost his first match in his home-town of Ranchi as the Indians lost by 19 runs. Thereby, the Kiwis leveled the five-match One-Day International (ODI) cricket series at the JSCA International Stadium.
Winning the toss, the visitors chose to bat first and managed to post a sore of 260 for 7 that looked easy because of star Indian batmen in the team but turned out to be not so easy. Martin Guptill brought up his fifty in 56 balls and went on to score 72.
This has been reported in thestatesman.com dated 27 October 2016.

Chasing 261, the down-slide began when Rohit Sharma (11) fell early to Tim Southee. Then, Virat Kohli (45) and Axar Patel (38) tried to hold fort but wickets kept falling and, when captain Dhoni (11) also fell cheaply to Neesham, it was an uphill task. Opener Ajinkya Rahane (57) was the only Indian batsman to post a fifty. Tailenders Dhawal Kulkarni (25 not out) and Umesh Yadav (7) put up a record 10th wicket stand of 34 against the visitors but, in the end, India were all out for 241 in 48.4 overs.
The bowlers who wreaked havoc were Tim Southee (3/40) and all-rounder James Neesham (2/38).


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


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IPL8 – DD suffers another last ball loss to RR at Feroz Shah Kotla grounds

#IPL8 #DDvsRR #YuvrajSingh #TimSouthee It was yet another last ball loss in IPL8 for the Delhi Daredevils in Fezoz Shah Kotla ground in Delhi when Rajasthan Royals beat them even after they had put up an impressive total of 184 on the board. This has been reported in sports.ndtv.com dated 12 April 2015.
RR chose to field after winning the toss and DD got off to a good start with Mayank Agarwal (37) and Shreyas Iyer (40) setting the tone. A cameo innings from Yuvraj Singh (27) and Angelo Mathews (27*) coupled with JP Duminy’s 44 saw a score of 184 on the board.

It was a good score but they had not reckoned with the likes of Ajinkya Rahane who played a solid hand of 45 and 19-year-old Deepak Hooda, the right-hander from Baroda, who slammed 54 from just 25 balls. He got a life when Yuvraj Singh fumbled with the ball and missed a run-out chance when Hooda was on 23.
Finally, it was Tim Southee who hit a last ball boundary to take Rajasthan home in a nail biting finish.
Previously, Rajasthan Royals won the toss and elected to field. Delhi Daredevils got off to a flying start as Mayank Agarwal (37) and Shreyas Iyer (40) flayed the Royals bowling to all over the park. However, the Royals pegged back the Daredevils with some disciplined middle over bowling. In the end, it was cameos from Yuvraj Singh (27) and Angelo Mathews (27*) that helped the Daredevils step on to the gas and go past 180. Captain JP Duminy remained unbeaten on 44.

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#CWC2015 #timsouthee #NZvsENG #wellington It all happened in Wellington when New Zealand took on England in their Pool A match – England won the toss and opted to bat first and did not know the miseries that the Kiwis would pile on them as reported in indianexpress.com dated 21 February 2015.
It was a devastating spell by Tim Southee that sealed England’s fate when they went out for a score of just 123 in 33.2 overs. Southee returned figures of 7 for 33.
Then it was the turn of Brendon McCallum to show his class when he hammered the England bowlers to all corners of the stadium at will to score a quick fire 50 – he did it in 18 deliveries. It was the third fastest in the history of one-day internationals after A.B. de Villiers (16 balls) and Shahid Afridi (17).
He ultimately scored 77 in only 25 deliveries by hitting eight fours and seven sixes. It was the third straight win for New Zealand in Pool A within seven days and the game ended before the floodlights had been turned on in the day-night match.
England had earlier lost its opening match by 111-run against Australia and now face a tough task to remain in reckoning in the CWC 2015.