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Tuesday, June 4, 2019

India opens WC 2019 campaign at Southampton


A photo of Mahindra Dhoni, Hardik Pandya & KL Rahul on the streets of Southampton. 


World Cup is hotting up ~ after that drubbing against West Indies, Pakis were on low .. .. or so one thought ! – but the score card reads : Pakistan 348 for 8 (Hafeez 84, Babar 63, Sarfaraz 55, Moeen 3-50, Woakes 3-71) beat England 334 for 9 (Root 107, Buttler 103, Wahab 3-82) by 14 runs

A hundred from Joe Root, the first in this World Cup. A hundred from Jos Buttler, at 75 balls the fifth fastest in the history of the World Cup. The disadvantage of losing the toss and being asked to set a target in these quixotic ODI times. The pressure of coming into this game on the back of a hammering at the same ground three days ago (not to mention 11 successive defeats in the format). Pakistan looked cornered, for sure, but they produced the old tiger routine at Trent Bridge to emerge bloodied but unbowed against the hosts and favourites. And, more crucially, with two World Cup points in their pocket.   Wahab Riaz's 3 for 82 would barely have qualified as respectable a decade ago, but his changes of pace at the end ensured England would not wag their way to a last-gasp victory (as well as accounting for Jonny Bairstow at the top of the order). It was a sensational match alive till the penultimate over .. ..

You might have read about the  ‘the Supermarine Spitfire’  a British single-seat fighter aircraft which was used by the Royal Air Force and  allied countries during  the Second World War.  It was designed as a short-range, high-performance interceptor aircraft. 

Tomorrow -  India play South Africa at Rose Bowl which is in Southampton, England.  It is home ground of Hampshire. Southampton  is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, situated 120 kilometres (75 mi) south-west of London and 30 kilometres (19 mi) north-west of Portsmouth.  Southampton is one of the UK’s busiest and most important ports, and a principal driver in the regional economy. It handles in excess of 42 million tonnes of cargo annually – or around seven per cent of the UK’s entire seaborne trade – and is the main gateway for Far East imports. The port is also widely recognised as the capital of the country’s cruise industry, and each year more and more cruise liners take advantage of Southampton’s superb cruise terminals.

Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, the former capital city of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force. Hampshire has a long maritime history and two of England's largest ports, Portsmouth and Southampton, lie on its coast. The county is famed as home of such writers as Jane Austen and Charles Dickens.  Gordon Greenidge, Andy Roberts, Malcolm Marshall, Chaminda Vaas, Michaele Clarke, Shane Bond, Wasim akram, Glenn Maxwell are some of the famous overseas players to have played for Hampshire.

The city is deeply connected to the Cunard Line and their fleet of ships, which are the only passenger vessels to be registered here (having "Southampton" on the stern). In the spring of 2009, a fourth Cruise Terminal was opened in Southampton and Carnival Corporation & plc moved the headquarters of Carnival UK to Southampton. Many of the world's largest cruise ships  regularly can be seen in Southampton Waters.

Ironically, RMS Titanic (of the movie fame) – a passenger liner that struck an iceberg on its maiden voyage was built and launched from Southampton.    In Mar 1936,  the prototype (K5054) took off on its first flight from Eastleigh Aerodrome (later Southampton Airport). At the controls was Captain Joseph "Mutt" Summers, chief test pilot for Vickers (Aviation) Ltd., who was reported in the press as saying "Don't touch anything" on landing – and that was that of the ‘super marine spitfire’. 

The only Q uppermost in mind of Cricket lovers is – what will be the combination today and will India start their campaign with a good win ! ~ all the best

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
4th June 2019 @ 0800 am.

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