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Gardner still remembers her 'hero' Symonds, calls his demise 'pretty devastating'

Australian all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner has talked about her friendship with Andrew Symonds and how he continues to inspire her. The late Andrew Symonds' legacy lives on in Australia's all-conquering women's squad, with all-rounder Gardner vowing to attack the game like her 'hero' did during his career.

Gardner paid tribute to Symonds, who passed away in a car accident last Sunday, praising him for sparking her love of the game and admitting they had exchanged texts as recently as the World Cup.

Former Australian head coach Matthew Mott, a personal friend of Symonds, introduced the two, and Gardner stated that the days after the 46-year-old's death have been 'pretty devastating'.

"Being able to talk to your idol is something that you probably never dream of, or having their phone number in your phone," she stated.

"He sent me texts over the Ashes and around the World Cup and when I won the Belinda Clark Medal. To receive that from someone that you've looked up to for pretty much most of your junior playing career was certainly something pretty cool."

The big-hitting all-rounder further said that she believes Symonds' determination to go on the offensive side has always inspired her.

"The past week has been pretty devastating, as you'd imagine, and I'm certainly feeling for everyone that was really close to him and his family."

"Watching his highlights ... watching him bat and watching him field, he just took the game on. And I guess that's something that I've tried to do."

"If people watch me play cricket, they know that I'm generally out there for a good time, and it's just about taking the game on and just showing that fearless side to you. I think he did that in every aspect of the game, and he just looked like he had fun out there," she concluded. 


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'Expectation is 3-0 but it won't be easy': WI assistant coach Roddy Estwick

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#OTD in 2017 | Mumbai Indians became the first team to secure third IPL trophy

On this day, Mumbai Indians (MI) clinched a thrilling one-run victory over the Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) in the final of 2017 edition of Indian Premier League (IPL), becoming the first team to secure three title victories under their belt. In the 2016 edition of the tournament, both MI and RPS had failed to qualify for the playoffs. But, they made a remarkable turnaround in the following edition to seal the top two spots in the points table. It was the ‘Maharashtra Derby’ at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on May 21, 2017, and all eyes were set on whether MI will be able to break the jinx against RPS. After winning the toss, MI opted to bat first. However, the early dismissals of Parthiv Patel (3) and Lendl Simmons (4) by Jaydev Unadkat hurt their chances of having a flourish in the powerplay overs. After that, Ambati Rayudu and Rohit Sharma initiated recovery with some delightful shots. However, both the batters, Rayudu (12) and Sharma (24) were dismissed within a space of three overs. The Australian pair of Adam Zampa and Daniel Christian dismissed Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya, respectively, which put MI on the backfoot, leaving the team stuttering at 78/6 by the 14th over. However, Krunal Pandya delivered his career-best knock of 47* off 38 balls, with three fours and two sixes, helping MI post a respectable total of 129 on the board. In reply, talented RPS youngster, Rahul Tripathi, was dismissed early by Jasprit Bumrah. The team’s leading run-scorer, Steve Smith and Ajinkya Rahane, provided a stable start to the team and laid a platform to chase down a below-par total. However, Mitchell Johnson got the breakthrough for Mumbai in the form of Rahane (44) in the 12th over, which put a little bit of pressure on RPS. With 31 needed in 22 balls, Manoj Tiwary came at the crease. The duo of Tiwary-Smith tried to take the game deep, but left 11 runs for the final over, which was delivered by Johnson. On the first ball of the over, Tiwary hit a boundary towards the square leg region and enhanced the chances of RPS’s win. However, in the subsequent delivery, he got holed out to Pollard on long-on. In the third ball, Smith tried to play an inside-out shot towards deep cover, giving a catch to Rayudu. Then the next two balls saw a single by Washington Sundar, and Christain took a double. With three needed off the last delivery, Christian could not connect the ball well and was run-out in pursuit of completing a double. With this, MI lifted their third title. Krunal walked away with the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his match-winning contribution. This fixture marked the lowest total ever defended in an IPL final with the narrowest margin of one run.