Current Indian bowling attack is the best in the world: Tim Paine

Agencies
January 7, 2019

Jan 7: Australian captain Tim Paine on Monday conceded that the current Indian bowling attack was the best in the world and their relentless pressure on his side's batsmen was a key factor in the visiting team's maiden Test series win on Australian soil.

"This (Indian) attack was seriously good, I don't think in Australia we have given them enough credit for how relentless they are. The three quicks bowled pretty good pace, they are relentless in pressure," Paine said after the fourth and final Test at the SCG ended in a draw for India to clinch the series 2-1.

"So, it was hard work batting against their attack for seasoned Test players. For Marcus (Harris) and Travis (Head) to show that they have got the game to make runs against the best attack in the world is a real positive," he said, while talking about his batsmen who had performed reasonably.

India won the first and third Tests in Adelaide and Melbourne while Australia emerged victorious in the second match in Perth. The fourth Test ended in a draw after the fifth day's play was abandoned due to inclement weather on Monday.

Paine said that the Adelaide Test could have gone in his side's favour also and India won crucial moments thereafter in the series.

"The Adelaide Test, we honestly feel that we let that Test slip. We thought we had a number of opportunities during that Test to go well ahead and when those key moments came up India outplayed us to be honest. Looking back now, if we had won that Test, win Perth, outplayed in Melbourne, then a washout (in Sydney), it could have been 2-1 the other way," he said.

"It's funny, in a big series of four Tests you go back to a couple of key moments in the very first Test where we let ourselves down, or India outplayed us, and you get to the end of the series and it's really hard to take," added the wicketkeeper.

He said he was really disappointed to lose the Test series and the team felt the absence of a few players (banned Steve Smith and David Warner).

"Coming into the series, we honestly felt in Australia we could beat India. But throughout the series, more often than not, when those big moments came up, Virat has scored runs, Pujara has scored runs, Bumrah has bowled a great spell and we could not quite get through those moments. That's how you win Test matches. That's why India won this series," said Paine.

"Their best players stood up in the big moments or when they were falling behind in a game, one of their good players dragged them back into contest, or when they were in front of the game they put us out of the game like they did in Sydney and Melbourne. We can learn a lot from the way they went about it," he added.

Australia finished this series without a single hundred in four Tests. Paine said senior batsmen like Usman Khawaja and Shaun Marsh did not make their presence felt, even though he just stopped short of blaming them for the team's failure.

"I don't think it was just those two, I think everyone in our top seven did not play as well as we would have liked. Travis was our leading run-scorer and Marcus showed in most innings that he could make it at this level. We have got some positives there."

"The rest of us did not score enough runs, so to put that on Khawaja and Marsh is probably a little bit harsh. Both of those players we know are absolute class, we know they can score a lot of runs. We have faith in them going forward," he added.

Australia have Sri Lanka as their next Test opponents before they can fully turn attention towards the World Cup in England. Paine said that the bowling combination did not need any change, but was impressed with the way India were able to change their team as per conditions and opposition.

"All the bowlers are fully fit. Our bowlers at times bowled really well, at times they did not. Sometimes that was due to the pressure they were put under by Indian batsmen. The group of bowlers we have in this team have been fantastic for quite a while now. They did not have their absolute best series but it's not easy at this level and that can happen."

"It's ideal if you have a team where you can keep going with the same XI, but at the moment Australia probably need to chop and change occasionally to get the best combination of players. I think India do that really well, what helps with that is having great depth and they certainly have that at the moment," he signed off.

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News Network
February 5,2020

Aukland, Feb 5: Striker Navneet Kaur scored a brace to guide the Indian women's hockey team to a convincing 3-0 win over New Zealand in the last game of its five-match tour here on Wednesday.

Navneet found the net in the 45th and 58th minutes, while Sharmila scored a field goal in the 54th minute as India drew curtains on the New Zealand tour on a bright note.

After a goalless opening two quarters, Navneet finally broke the deadlock for India in the 45th minute.

Sharmila then doubled the lead when she struck a powerful shot past the New Zealand goalkeeper in the 54th minute. Navneet found the net again just two minutes from the final hooter with a beautiful field strike.

India began the tour by thrashing New Zealand Development squad 4-0 before suffering close 1-2 and 0-1 defeats to the home senior team.

In penultimate game of the tour, skipper Rani's lone strike handed India a 1-0 win over Great Britain.

"...I am happy we produced three goals against New Zealand in the last match. This tour gave us a good insight about where we need to improve and one of the things is to create faster play than we do now," said India's chief Coach Sjoerd Marijne.

Commenting on his side's performance during the tour, Marijne said, "Sometimes we tend to keep the ball too long on the stick and then we create pressure. We need to avoid that by passing faster.

"On the defence side, we need to be a bit more calmer and need to improve our tackling. We will have a four week camp after a short break when we return home and we will be working on these points."

The Indian team will return home on February 7.

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News Network
June 20,2020

Melbourne, Jun 20: If 15 teams can be allowed to enter Australia for the T20 World Cup then fans will not be stopped from watching live action from the stadiums, Cricket Australia's interim CEO Nick Hockley said on Saturday.

Hockley replaced under-fire Kevin Roberts, who recently got the boot from Cricket Australia, which is grappling with financial woes.

Different possibilities are being worked out for the T20 World to go ahead as scheduled later this year and one of them is to host the tournament before empty stands in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.

However, Hockley said crowds will be allowed, though, hosting 15 teams with players, officials and support staff is "complex" as of now, hinting that probably the ICC flagship event could be pushed back.

"The reality is, and we've got much more understanding about this in recent weeks, is crowds are most likely to come back before international travel. Our biggest challenge is getting 15 teams into the country," Hockley told cricket.com.au when asked if he would like to see the World Cup proceed without fans.

"If I compare it with the prospect of a bilateral tour, you're talking about bringing one team in and then playing individual matches. But the prospect of bringing 15 teams in and having six or seven teams in one city at the same time, it's a much more complex exercise."

When specifically asked whether crowds would be permitted by the time borders have opened to the point that 15 teams will be allowed to travel to Australia, Hockley replied in an affirmative.

"That's the current thinking, yes."

Hockley said it came as a shock when he was asked by Cricket Australia to replace Roberts.

"I've had very mixed emotions. I was very shocked to be asked. I didn't see it coming at all, so I probably haven't had time yet to process it. I feel very sad for Kev (Roberts). On the other hand, I feel this is a massive privilege to be asked, it's a massive responsibility and a massive opportunity even if it's only for the next few months," he said.

Hockey did not commit when asked if he would like to assume the role full time, but he did say that he would quit as CEO of the T20 World Cup Organising Committee.

"My approach throughout my entire career has been to focus on doing the best job I can with what I've been tasked with, and the future will look after itself. And I'll continue the same approach.

"That's (T20 World Cup) been a real priority over the last 48 hours. We're reasonably well progressed and we will be appointing an interim because you just can't do both," he said.

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News Network
January 31,2020

New Delhi, Jan 31: Indian women's team captain Rani Rampal on Thursday became the first-ever hockey player to win the prestigious 'World Games Athlete of the Year' award.

The World Games announced the winner on Thursday after 20 days of polling by sports fans world-wide.

"Indian hockey superstar Rani is The World Games Athlete of the Year 2019! Huge congratulations!," the World Games said in a statement.

"With an impressive number of votes, 199,477, Rani is the clear winner of the Athlete of the Year race, where sports fans all over the world have voted for their favourite during 20 days of polling in January. All in all, over 705,610 votes were cast during the poll," it added.

Last year, India won the FIH Series Finals, and Rani was named Player of the Tournament. Under Rani's leadership, the Indian women's team qualified for just the third Olympic Games in its history.

"I dedicate this award to the entire hockey fraternity, my team and my country. This success has only become possible with the love and support from hockey lovers, fans, my team, coaches, Hockey India, my government, friends from Bollywood, fellow sportspersons and my countrymen who have continuously voted for me," said Rani, who was recently named among the Padma Shri awardees.

"Special thanks to FIH for nominating me for this prestigious award. Thank you to The World Games Federation for this recognition," she added.

Rani further said after a successful 2019, she is now looking forward to achieving greater heights with the national team in 2020, which also happens to be an Olympic year.

"It is my privilege and honour to win this award. It is always nice when your country recognises your effort. It is even better when the international sports community recognises it. Thank you so much to everyone who voted for me," she said.

"2019 was a great year for our team because we qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. As a team we want to make 2020 a great year!"

Rani, who has been a member of the national team since she was a 15-years-old, currently has more than 240 caps for India.

"Rani is an inspirational athlete, and a role model for many in India. It was amazing to see the support the Indians, even as high up as Mr Rijiju, the Minister of State, Youth Affairs and Sports, gave to her in this vote together with the Hockey fans all around the world. This is what sport is about: uniting people from different backgrounds and different countries," said International World Games Association President Jose Perurena.

The International Hockey Federation also congratulated Rani on being named for the award.

"Congratulations @imranirampal for becoming the first ever Hockey athlete to win the prestigious @TheWorldGames Athlete of the Year award!" the FIH, who nominated Rani for the award, said in its twitter handle.

"On behalf of FIH and the global hockey community, I would like to extend our warmest congratulations to Rani for having been voted The World Games Athlete of the Year 2019. This is an acknowledgement of her outstanding performances - together with her team-mates - and her dedication to hockey and her leadership," FIH CEO Thierry Weil said.

"This prestigious Award is also a great recognition for hockey globally. Furthermore, we are working hard for and looking forward to having Hockey 5s as a demonstration sport at The World Games 2021."

Congratulating Rani, Hockey India President Mohd Mushtaque Ahmad said, "This is a very proud moment for all of us. She is the first Indian athlete to win this award and through her achievements Rani has been able to draw a lot of attention towards women's hockey. Many people are aware of the team's recent accomplishments and I am confident this team is capable of winning larger goals and I wish Rani and the team best of luck this Olympic Year."

There were initially 25 nominees, male and female nominated by their respective sports federations, which was later reduced to 10 in the final round of public voting.

The FIH has recommended Rani's name for her outstanding performances and her ability to lead by example.

Karate star Stanislav Horuna of Ukraine was second behind Rani with over 92,000 votes and Canadian powerlifting world champion Rhaea Stinn was third.

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