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Germany hold Spain in international friendly (Lead)
Dusseldorf (Germany), March 24 (IANS) Spain justified their status as one of the contenders to win the 2018 World Cup in a 1-1 draw with defending champions Germany.
La Roja, who have not won on German soil since 1935, struck first in the contest at the Esprit Arena here on Friday night, where the capacity crowd of 50,000-plus included a vocal contingent of Spanish travelling supporters, reports Efe news agency.
A great pass from Andres Iniesta found Rodrigo behind the German defence and the striker put the ball past keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen to make it 1-0 for the visitors.
The inevitable German reaction came in the form of predictable crosses into the box that ended up in the hands of Spain keeper David De Gea, and the visitors continued to enjoy the edge in possession.
It was only a timely pounce by Ter Stegen that prevented a second Spanish goal in the 18th minute after Isco Alarcon controlled the ball with his chest to set up David Silva.
Germany managed few chances before the 35th minute, when Thomas Muller beat De Gea to bring the home side level.
The Mannschaft were ferocious to start the second half and a blast by Julian Draxler forced a big save from De Gea as the match turned into a dual between two of the world’s best goalkeepers.
Ter Stegen was outstanding on Spain’s best chance, a shot from point-blank by Isco, while De Gea deftly handed a strike by Ilkay Gündogan.
Play opened up in the final minutes and the match was anyone’s to win.
The cross-bar thwarted Mats Hummels’ effort for Germany before late sub Diego Costa squandered the best opportunity of the night by delaying his shot just long enough for the German defence to regroup.
–IANS
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Sunil Gavaskar gives his opinion of GT allrounder Rahul Tewatia
The left-handed batsman from Haryana is garnering praise from all quarters for the way he’s finishing games regularly in the most exciting IPL season.
Gavaskar reckons Tewatia’s whirlwind knock in Sharjah (in IPL 2020) where he smashed West Indies pacer Sheldon Cottrell for five sixes in an over, gave him the confidence that he belongs to the big stage.
Speaking on Cricket Live on Star Sports, Gavaskar said, “That assault on Sheldon Cottrell in Sharjah gave him the belief to do the impossible and the confidence that he belongs here. We saw the impossible (he did with the bat) the other day as well. There’s no twitching or touching the pads (which shows a batter’s nervousness) when he bats in the death overs. He just waits for the ball to be delivered and plays his shots. He’s got all the shots in the book, but most importantly his temperament to stay cool in a crisis is brilliant.”
Gavaskar has also nicknamed the 28-year-old cricketer the ‘ice-man’ and lauded Tewatia’s ability to remain unruffled during the tense moments.