Dhoni records a ton as Indian skipper
Melbourne: Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Thursday achieved the memorable milestone of recording 100 ODI wins as captain after leading India to a resounding victory against Bangladesh in the cricket World Cup quarter-finals on Thursday. Dhoni is the first non-Australian captain to achieve the feat — in his 178th ODI — as he got past South Africa’s Hansie Cronje, who won 99 ODIs for his side. Ricky Ponting, with 165 ODI wins as captain, and Allan Border (107) are the two Australian greats leading the chart in the 50-overs format. Dhoni, who remains the only captain to win all three ICC tournaments – World T20 (2007), World Cup (2011) and Champions Trophy (2013), has also recorded 11 straight wins, including 4 in the last edition, in the showpiece event and is only second to Australia’s winning streak of 24 games under Ponting (21) and Steve Waugh (3). (PTI)
Mortaza suspended for one ODI
Melbourne: World cricket governing body ICC on Thursday suspended Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza for one One-Day International (ODI) match and fined him 40 per cent of his match fee due to slow over-rate during their loss to India in the World Cup quarter-finals here. “Roshan Mahanama of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees imposed the suspension on Mashrafe after Bangladesh was ruled to be two overs short of its target at the end of the match when time allowances were taken into consideration,” International Cricket Council (ICC) said in a statement. The charge was laid by on-field umpires Aleem Dar and Ian Gould, third umpire Steve Davis and fourth umpire Paul Reiffel. The skipper and his players were both fined following the dramatic Pool A match victory over England that booked their place in the quarter-finals, meaning a second such offence would see Mortaza miss a future ODI fixture. For a captain to be suspended in an ICC event, he must commit two minor over-rate offences. Mortaza pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the sanction, meaning a formal hearing was not required. (IANS)
B-Town rejoices at India’s victory
Mumbai: As the Indian cricket team secured its place in the World Cup semi-finals, members of the film fraternity like Rishi Kapoor, Akshay Kumar and Sushant Singh Rajput lauded the victory. Here’s what the stars tweeted after the victory: Rishi Kapoor: YO! India 7th straight win. Way to go team India!!!! Akshay Kumar: Team India bowl their way into the semi-finals! What a catch and what a match! Congrats on the 7th consecutive win! #INDvsBANs. Anupam Kher: Jeet Jayenge Hum Tu Agar Sung Hai…Congratulations Team India for another brilliant VICTORY. Jai Ho. Boman Irani: They looked like ONE today! Thank you Team India for giving us so much joy! #INDvsBAN. Arjun Rampal: Superbbbb India an all round performance by the champions. Just two more games for the biggest party of the year. #wewontgiveitback. Sushant Singh Rajput: This is what happens when talent and hardwork meet Belief…and what a way to do it! Congratulations Team India.!!#INDvsBAN #TeamSuper. Emraan Hashmi: #TeamIndia wins by 109 runs…What a win… #INDvsBAN #CWC15. Kunal Kohli: 2 quarters,too one sided. #Bangladesh played like tigers all thru the tourney.Well played Guys. #IndiaInSemis. (IANS)
Team India receives overwhelming applause from cricket fans
Melbourne: Team India on Thursday received an overwhelming applause from thousands of cricket fans who thronged the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) to watch Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men take on Bangladesh in the quarterfinal of ICC World Cup here on Thursday. The Bengal Tiger fans were also present in big numbers, although the Indian fans outnumbered them. Of the total 51,552 crowd, almost 90 per cent of them were Indians. Every run was applauded by clapping, flag waving and dancing to the Bollywood tunes. A enthusiast fan described the match as interesting and very eventful. “It’s a good team spirit India has shown which really helped the team to reach this stage and we are really happy,” said Melbourne-based, Naveen Rayala. Not only a huge crowd of Indians living in Melbourne had witnessed the match but also large number of people from different parts of Australia as well as countries like the UK, New Zealand and USA gathered here to see their heroes in action. “Its was an awesome performance by Indian team and the semi-finals will be really interesting. Given their performance, we are pinning high hopes for the World Cup too,” said a London-based businessman Jasmeet Singh, who visited Melbourne to watch the match. (PTI)