West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard blasted 10 sixes, but his power-packed maiden century was not enough to avert a 34-run defeat against India in the fifth and final one-day international on Sunday.
Pollard’s (119) blistering 110-ball knock took his team close to the 268-run victory target, but apart from Andre Russell (53), none of his batting colleagues could offer much support as the West Indies folded for 233 in 44.1 overs.
With only No. 11 batsman Anthony Martin for company and 35 runs still required off the last six overs, Pollard tried to hit Suresh Raina for his 11th six, but he found Ajinkya Rahane in the deep.
India won the five-match series 4-1.
The West Indies had lost opener Lendl Simmons to the first ball of their innings and they slumped to 78 for five, before an 89-run stand between Pollard and Russell brought them back into the match.
Pollard tried to hit his way out of trouble, but wickets continued to tumble around him. He was fortunate to get his maiden century which came when Virat Kohli dropped him for a four in the 43rd over.
Earlier, Manoj Tiwary (104) struck his maiden century, before retiring hurt with cramps, while Kohli (80) became the highest one-day international run-getter this year as India posted a challenging 267 for six on the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium’s low and slow track.
Gautam Gambhir, leading in absence of Virender Sehwag, won the toss and opted to bat first, but the hosts were rattled early, losing two wickets in the first three deliveries.
Kemar Roach’s second delivery kept low and hit Rahane’s pad and then No. 3 Parthiv Patel dragged the next delivery on to his stumps to become the second India batsman out for a golden duck.
Tiwary, playing his first match of the series, not only denied Roach a hat-trick, but he also decided to make the most of the opportunity that came his way.
The right-handed batsman added 83 runs with Gambhir (31) to steady the innings and shared a more fluent 117-run partnership with Kohli to lay the foundations for a big total.
‘SOURCE OF PRIDE’: Newspapers rushed out special editions and the government sent their congratulations as Shohei Ohtani became the first player to enter the 50-50 club Japan reacted with incredulity and pride yesterday after Shohei Ohtani became the first player in Major League Baseball to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. The Los Angeles Dodgers star from Japan made history with a seventh-inning homer in a 20-4 victory over the Marlins in Miami. “We would like to congratulate him from the bottom of our heart,” top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters in Tokyo. “We sincerely hope Mr Ohtani, who has already accomplished feat after feat and carved out a new era, will thrive further,” he added. The landmark achievement dominated Japanese morning news
When Wang Tao ran away from home aged 17 to become a professional wrestler, he knew it would be a hard slog to succeed in China’s passionate but underdeveloped scene. Years later, he has endured family disapproval, countless side gigs and thousands of hours of brutal training to become China’s “Belt and Road Champion” — but the struggle is far from over. Despite a promising potential domestic market, the Chinese pro wrestling community has been battling for recognition and financial stability for decades. “I have done all kinds of jobs [on the side]... Because in the end, it is very
No team in the CPBL can surpass the Taipei Dome attendance record set by the CTBC Brothers, except when the Brothers team up with Taiwanese rock band Mayday. A record-high 40,000 fans turned out at the indoor baseball venue on Saturday for Brothers veteran Chou Szu-chi’s first farewell game, which was followed by a mini post-game concert featuring Mayday. This broke the previous CPBL record of 34,506 set by the Brothers in early last month, when K-pop singer Hyuna performed after the game, and the dome’s overall record of 37,890 set in early March, which featured the Brothers and the
With a quivering finger, England Subbuteo veteran Rudi Peterschinigg conceded the free-kick that sent his country’s World Cup quarter-final into extra-time before smashing his plastic goalkeeper on the floor in frustration. In the genteel southern English town of Tunbridge Wells, 300 elite players have gathered to play the game they love. “I won’t say this is the best weekend I’ve ever had in my life, but it’s certainly in the top two,” said Hughie Best, 58, who flew in from Perth, Australia, to compete and commentate at the event. Tunbridge Wells is the “spiritual home” of Subbuteo, which was invented there in 1946