De Kock, De Villiers power SA to 301/8

December 12, 2013

VilliersCenturion, Dec 12: Quinton de Kock notched up his third successive hundred while his captain A B de Villiers also struck a century as South Africa wriggled out of a tight spot to post an imposing 301 for 8 in their third and final cricket one-dayer against India here today.

Opening batsman de Kock smashed nine fours and two sixes for his 101 off 120 balls to become the third South African and fifth overall batsman to hit a century in three successive innings to take the home side past 300 after being reduced to 28 for three in the eighth over at Super Sport Park.

Skipper de Villiers, who hit his 16th ODI century, shared a crucial 171-run partnership for the fourth wicket with de Kock to repair the South African innings. De Villiers struck six fours and five sixes in his 101-ball innings.

For India, pacer Ishant Sharma finished with 4/40 from his 10 overs, picking up his 100th ODI wicket in doing so.

On a pitch that seemed to be the flattest of the three ODIs on display so far, de Villiers had no qualms about batting first after winning the toss. Since they had already stitched up the series, the hosts rested Jacques Kallis, Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, bringing in Henry Davids, Wayne Parnell and Imran Tahir.

India made the lone change, with the fit-again Yuvraj Singh taking Ajinkya Rahane's spot.

The Proteas' in-form openers Hashim Amla and de Kock began in the same fashion as they did in the previous two matches, with the opening overs of Ishant and Umesh Yadav resulting in a string of boundaries. However, there was a difference this time. India would strike early, and not just once.

First up, Mohammad Shami was successful in breaking the opening stand cheaply. The first wicket yielded only 22 runs, as Amla was out pulling, caught by Yuvraj. He followed up his century in Durban with only 13 runs. Ishant then got a double break-through for his team, dismissing both Davids (1) and JP Duminy (1) in the eighth over. For the first time in three matches, the hosts were feeling the heat after being reduced to 28 for three.

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News Network
February 14,2020

Hamilton, Feb 14: Batting first, India finished at 263 for nine on the opening day of the three-day warm-up game against New Zealand XI here on Friday.

Hanuma Vihari made 101 off 182 balls before retiring, while Cheteshwar Pujara scored 93.

Besides, Ajinkya Rahane (18) was the only other Indian batsmen to register double digit score.

The likes of Prithvi Shaw (0), Mayank Agarwal (1) and Shubman Gill (0) failed to cash in on the opportunity.

Scott Kuggeleijn (3/40) and Ish Sodhi (3/72) shared six wickets between them for New Zealand.

Brief Scores:

India: 263 for 9 in 78.5 overs (Hanuma Vihari 101, Cheteshwar Pujara 93; Scott Kuggeleijn 3/40, Ish Sodhi 3/72).

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News Network
March 3,2020

Sydney, Mar 3: Former Australia pacer Brett Lee foresees a "different" looking India making their maiden T20 Women's World Cup final and attributed their rise to the emergence of star players like 16-year-old Shafali Verma.

Besides opener Shafali, experienced leg-spinner Poonam Yadav has been the other match-winner for India in the competition. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side topped the group stage with four wins in as many games and play their semifinal here on Thursday.

"They've never reached the final but this is a different India team from the one they’ve seen before. They've combined match-winners in Shafali Verma and Poonam Yadav with consistent players with both bat and ball," Lee was quoted as saying by ICC.

"We've always known they have some of the best players in the world but now Harmanpreet Kaur has a team around her that can support the big players, and fill in the gaps when they have an off day."

Only a special effort from their opponents can stop India from reaching their maiden final, feels Lee.

They'll go into the semi-finals full of confidence and it will take an excellent team to stop them from reaching the Final."

Talking more about Shafali, who has got 47, 46, 39, and 29 so far, Lee backed the teen sensation to make a bigger score in the semifinal.

"Shafali Verma has been excellent at the top of the order, she’s brought a fearless energy to India’s batting and been brilliant to watch.

"You feel she can go even bigger as well – she hasn't reached 50 yet, which is both exciting for those watching and worrying for the bowlers.

"We saw from the opener against Australia just how good India can be, and it’s no surprise they’ve continued that form to top Group A," he added.

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Agencies
August 2,2020

New Delhi, Aug 2: Batting great Rahul Dravid has attributed Chennai Super Kings' consistent run in the IPL to skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's instincts, game-smarts and the incredible amount of work that goes behind the scenes.

N Srinivasan, the former BCCI president and head of India Cements, which owns the CSK franchise, agreed that Dhoni is a man of instinct who doesn't believe in attending team meetings and going over data.

Both were speaking at a webinar organised by the Great Lakes Institute of Management.

"If you look at the success CSK has had, they've got really good access to data and they've got really good access to people behind the scenes and they've run cricket teams at the junior level," Dravid said at the webinar according to ESPNcricinfo.

The former India captain added, "They understand talent and they've obviously got a good scouting process in place. But, what they also have is a captain who really understands instincts.

"So, I mean, look, I know Dhoni quite well and I hope he hasn't changed, but I know Dhoni is probably not one to look at reams of data and statistics."

The Super Kings have won the lucrative tournament three times -- one less than Mumbai Indians -- and reached the knockouts in each of the 10 seasons they have been a part of.

Srinivasan also spoke about how Dhoni's instinct and judgement contributed to his team's success at a time when a lot of emphases is placed on data.

"We're awash with data just now. To give you an example, there are bowling coaches and in a T20 game, they play videos of every batsman whom they're going to come against and they see how he got out, what's his strength, what's his weakness etc.

"So, MS Dhoni doesn't attend this, he's a pure instinct man. The bowling coach, (head coach Stephen) Fleming will be there and everybody will be there, everyone is giving opinions, (but) he'll get up and go.

"In the context of instinct, he feels that okay he can assess a batsman or player on the field, that's his judgement. On the other hand, there is so much of data that is available to help a person also analyse. It's a very difficult line to draw (between data and instinct)."

Srinivasan also recalled how Dhoni once refused to take "one outstanding player" suggested by the franchise boss as that could have broken the team's cohesion.

"There was one outstanding player that we suggested to MS, he said: 'no sir, he will spoil the team'. The cohesion within the team is important and see in America, franchise-based sport has been there for such a long time," he said.

"In India, we're just starting and we're new to it. But we at India Cements have had a lot of experience running teams at junior levels."

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