Australia vs India: Virat Kohli urges batsmen to step up for 3rd Test

Agencies
December 25, 2018

Melbourne, Dec 25: Indian skipper Virat Kohli on Tuesday urged his batsmen to perform better as a unit to complement the efforts of their fiery bowling attack in the upcoming Boxing Day Test against Australia starting on Wednesday. 

"It is a very important thing. As we can all see, our bowling [attack] has been performing really well. However, we have to put more runs on the board as a batting unit, or else the bowlers will not be able to do too much with the total.

The visiting bowlers have been exceptional on the tour of Australia so far, claiming all 40 Australian scalps in the first two Tests. However, the batting has run hot and cold, unable to be consistent in four innings.

"Our aim is to put enough runs on the board to help our bowlers capitalise. If we bat second, we will look to amass enough lead if the situation allows or at least match the opposition total. Our batsmen need to step up together. I won't point out anyone individually, but as a batting unit, we definitely need to do better together." Kohli said on the eve of the third Test.

India have made three changes to their line-up from the second Test in Perth, bringing in debutant Mayank Agarwal, middle-order batsman Rohit Sharma and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja in place of openers KL Rahul and Murali Vijay, and pacer Umesh Yadav.

The core of their pace bowling attack has remained intact, with Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami retaining their spots. “I hope that it’s a lively pitch. I hope that it does as much as it did in the first two games because as a side, you know you’re always in for a result that way," added Kohli.

“The surface, what I saw yesterday looked pretty dry underneath. There’s a good coverage of grass which should keep the surface intact. I think it should have enough for the bowlers to be interested on all days of the Test match and hopefully, it’s a much more lively wicket than the last time we played here."

Kohli, who scored a splendid 123 in the second Test in Perth, believes that succeeding overseas requires strong mentality more than solid technique. 

"What has worked for me is being comfortable where I am playing. Not necessarily looking at how difficult the wicket is, but if you are able to feel comfortable there, then you are more or less in control of what you want to do," he insisted.

"That's something that you sit in your room and you work on – the mindset thing. If you are convinced in your mind that you can do it, your body starts reacting accordingly. It's all about getting into that frame of mind. I feel it's 80% mental and 20% technical when you go to any country away from your conditions to play."

India and Australia go into the Boxing Day Test with the series tied at 1-1 and shaping up for a thrilling finish. Kohli, however, is focused on the present and wants his team to do the same. 

"The key is to stay in the moment. What happened in the past has no significance to the next Test. You have to remember why you won the first Test, which was because of us being in the present moment," he pointed out.

"The teams that remain in the present more win sessions, win balls, win overs – that's all we are going to focus on. Play consistently good cricket and not get too excited or too taken aback by the situations getting altered during the course of the Test match."

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News Network
April 30,2020

New Delhi, Apr 30: Indian skipper Virat Kohli on Thursday mourned the demise of veteran Bollywood actor Rishi Kapoor, called his death 'unreal and unbelievable' loss.

"This is unreal and unbelievable. Yesterday Irrfan Khan and today Rishi Kapoor ji. It's hard to accept this as a legend passes away today. My condolences to the family and may his soul rest in peace," Kohli tweeted.

Opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan also expressed his heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the deceased.
"It's shocking to hear about the sudden demise of #RishiKapoor ji. My heartfelt condolences to his family and friends. May his soul rest in peace," Dhawan tweeted.

Earlier today, actor Amitabh Bachchan confirmed the news of the demise of the 67-year-old Rishi Kapoor. Rishi Kapoor was admitted to the Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital in Mumbai on Wednesday.

In September 2019, the veteran actor returned to Mumbai after staying in New York for almost a year for cancer treatment.

He was last seen in the 2019 film 'The Body' alongside Emraan Hashmi and Shobita Sobhita Dhulipala.

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Agencies
January 19,2020

Bengaluru, Jan 19: Opening batsman Rohit Sharma on Sunday became the third-fastest batsman to register 9,000 runs in the 50-over format.

He achieved the feat in the ongoing third ODI against Australia here at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Only Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers have achieved the feat faster than Rohit.

Sharma brought up the milestone in the first over of the Indian innings as he clipped Mitchell Starc away for a single.

With this, the right-handed batsman has become just the sixth Indian to achieve the milestone.

Apart from Sharma, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, and Sachin Tendulkar have more than 9,000 runs in the 50-over format.

Overall, 20 batsmen have more than 9,000 ODI runs to their name.

In the match between India and Australia, the former won the toss and elected to bat first.

Steve Smith played a knock of 131 runs to propel Australia to 286/9 in the allotted fifty overs.

 

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Agencies
January 24,2020

Mumbai, Jan 24: Former Indian cricket captain and former MP Mohammad Azharuddin on Thursday denied allegations of cheating levelled by a travel agency in Maharashtra and threatened to file defamation suit of ₹100 crore.

"Those who filed the FIR have done it only to be in the limelight. There is no truth in it. The allegations are baseless," Azharuddin said in a video message on Twitter.

Azahruddin, who is now president of Hyderabad Cricket Association, said he would soon seek advice from his lawyer and will file Rs 100 crore defamation case against those who lodged the FIR.

A case was filed in Aurangabad on Wednesday against Azharuddin and two others for allegedly cheating a local travel agent of around ₹21 lakh.

The complaint was lodged by Shahab Y. Mohammed, 49, proprietor of Danish Tours & Travels here, a former executive with the defunct Jet Airways.

"We have lodged a first information report against Mujeeb Khan (Aurangabad), Sudheesh Avikkal (Kerala), Mohammed Azharuddin (Hyderabad). No arrests have been made and further investigations are underway," Investigating Officer A.D. Nagre, of the City Chowk police station, told IANS.

According to the complainant, between November 9 and 12, 2019, Avikkal booked several international airline tickets and Azharuddin's personal secretary Mujeeb Khan promised to pay the ticket charges. He said since no payment was made, he was compelled to lodge the police complaint.

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