Dhawan one of best opening batsmen in world: Ganguly

Agencies
April 13, 2019

Kolkata, Apr 13: Delhi Capitals advisor Sourav Ganguly described Shikhar Dhawan as one of the best opening batsmen in the world and revealed that his franchise was 'desperate' to rope in the left-hander after he left Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Back with his home team after being traded with Vijay Shankar, Shabaz Nadeem and Abhishek Sharma, the India opener regained his touch to smash an unbeaten 97 from 63 balls to script Delhi Capitals seven-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders here on Friday night.

"Probably he's one of the best opening batsmen in the world. We were desperate for Shikhar Dhawan when we heard that he's going to leave SRH. Good that he is coming off.

"It is an important phase of the tournament. It's good to see Shikhar get a good score with the tournament entering the second phase," Ganguly said at the post-match press conference.

"It was more like a Shikhar Dhawan innings once he gets set, he takes the game away. He is a class act. He plays exactly the same way when he plays for India. He's been scoring consistently in the shorter format in International cricket," he added.

Chasing 179 for victory, Dhawan was however denied a maiden T20 century after Colin Ingram hit the winning runs with a six off Piyush Chawla to seal the win with seven balls to spare.

"Hundreds are not always possible in T20 cricket. The important thing is to win the match." 

Speaking about the upcoming World Cup, Ganguly pointed out that Dhawan was adjudged Best Batsman during India's runners-up finish at the Champions Trophy 2017 in England.

"World Cup is a different format but Shikhar plays very well in England. He is a fantastic one-day cricketer. He will do well in the World Cup. He was the batsman of the series in the Champions Trophy," said the former left-handed batsman.

The win catapulted Delhi to top-four and Ganguly felt that his team bowled exceptionally well.

"We bowled exceptionally well to restrict KKR to 178 for seven, it was actually a 200-run pitch. We chased it down easily. It's always great winning here," Ganguly said.

Delhi were 57/2 inside power play but Dhawan's century and his partnership with Rishabh Pant turned things around for Delhi.

The dashing wicketkeeper-batsman Pant, on his part, showed immense maturity as he played a second fiddle to Dhawan during his 31-ball 46.

"Rishabh played according to the situation, we pushed him up to four, to give him more opportunity to bat. He is a great talent. He is only going to get better along with Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer," Ganguly said.

On Delhi's decision to field after Shreyas Iyer won the toss.

"In T20s, you normally chase on great pitches. Chasing becomes easier because of the dew factor. So most of the teams look to chase," he said.

"KKR play here everyday, I don't," Ganguly said when asked if KKR misread the wicket.

Stating that there is still a long way to go in the tournament, the former skipper said: "Every game is important, because the goal is to be in the last four." 

Ganguly also made a special mention of Ishant Sharma, who bowled a wicket maiden dismissing Englishman Joe Denly for a golden duck on his IPL debut.

"The best part of the game was how we bowled in the match. When we took Ishant Sharma, many said that he is a Test bowler, but he has been the best bowler for the last six-odd matches." 

Asked if their bowlers had a special plan for danger man Andre Russell, he said: "For Russell, there is only one plan, keep praying that he hits one up in the air and is caught." 

On his new role, Ganguly said: "It is much more difficult to sit in the dugout than playing in the middle." 

Ganguly insisted that he and his new partner in Delhi's head coach and former Australian rival Ricky Ponting were determined to turn Delhi's fortunes around.

"We are determined to turn this team around. Both of us have played in teams which have won around the world. So there's a lot of self-pride in turning teams around." 

Ganguly was in the centre of attention for his dual role as IPL franchise Delhi Capitals advisor while serving as the president of Cricket Association of Bengal. There were talks of "conflict of interest" with few of his detractors claiming that he would have 'a say' in pitch preparation at Eden Gardens.

Asked about it, Ganguly said: "I have played so much cricket and seen so much cricket, that I don't need to do all those things. Good teams will play on all pitches, and we are a good side. I know many stories are cooked up, but I can't do anything about it. KKR was my team, DC is also my team.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
February 7,2020

New Delhi, Feb 7: It was on February 7, 1999, that Anil Kumble became just the second bowler in the history of cricket to take all ten wickets in an innings of a Test match.

He achieved the feat against Pakistan at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, now known as Arun Jaitley cricket stadium in Delhi during the second Test of the two-match series.

India had set Pakistan a target of 420 runs in the match and the visitors got off to a steady start as openers Shahid Afridi and Saeed Anwar put on 101 runs for the first wicket.

It was then Kumble who came into the attack and wreaked havoc on the Pakistani batting line-up.

The spinner, also known as 'Jumbo' first dismissed Afridi (41) in the 25th over. After the right-handed batter's dismissal, India kept on taking wickets through Kumble and Pakistan was reduced to 128/6 in no time.

Kumble then kept on taking wickets at regular intervals and he got his tenth scalp in the 61st over after dismissing Wasim Akram.

This effort enabled India to register a win by 212 runs, and Kumble became the second bowler after England's Jim Laker to take all ten wickets in a single Test inning.

Kumble finished with the bowling figures of 10-74 from 26.3 overs.

Kumble announced his retirement from international cricket in 2008 and finished with 619 wickets in the longest format of the game.

He has the third-highest number of wickets in Tests, only behind Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and Australia's Shane Warne (708).

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
February 12,2020

Mumbai, Feb 12: Former Indian greats Kapil Dev and Mohammad Azharuddin have been left disappointed by the behaviour of the Under-19 team after the World Cup final where they were involved in an altercation with their Bangladeshi counterparts.

After Bangladesh won the final beating India by three wickets (via DLS) at the Senwes Park on Sunday, the players of the two teams were seen engaging in an exchange of words and even some pushing and shoving on the field.

"I would like to see the board (BCCI) take some strict action against the players to set an example. Cricket is not about abusing the opponent. I am sure there is enough reason for these youngsters to be dealt with firmly by BCCI," Kapil was quoted as saying by The Hindu.

"I welcome aggression, nothing wrong in it. But it has to be controlled aggression. You can't cross the line of decency in the name of being competitive. I would say it was unacceptable that youngsters put up such an obnoxious display on the cricket field," he added.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has sanctioned five players, including three from Bangladesh -- Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain and Rakibul Hasan --and two from India --Akash Singh and Ravi Bishnoi for the scuffle.

Azharuddin also reiterated what Kapil said, insisting that players need to be disciplined.

"I would take action against the errant Under 19 players, but I also want to know what role has the support staff played in educating these youngsters. Act now before it is too late. The players have to be disciplined," Azharuddin said.

Earlier, Bishan Singh Bedi has lashed out at the Priyam Garg-led team, saying their behaviour was disgusting and disgraceful.

"You bat, bowl and field badly�happens, but there's no excuse for behaving badly. The behaviour was disgusting and most disgraceful. The innocence of that age was not visible at all," Bedi told Mid Day.

Bedi, who represented India in 67 Tests and 10 ODIs, said the behaviour of the Bangladesh cricketers is not our problem.

"Look, what Bangladesh do is their problem, what our boys do is our problem. You could see that there was abusive language used," he said.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
January 6,2020

Sydney, Jan 6: Nathan Lyon captured five for 50 and 10 match wickets as Australia crushed New Zealand by 279 runs on Monday, capping a golden domestic summer as they swept the three-Test series.

The off-spinner led the powerful Australian bowling attack to dismiss the Kiwis for 136 and seal another heavy win over the Black Caps after similar victories in Perth and Melbourne.

Australia have been unbeatable this season, winning all five Tests at home -- two against Pakistan and three against New Zealand -- after retaining the Ashes by drawing the series 2-2 in England.

"It's been a great summer for the Australian Test side," Lyon said.

"It's pretty special to be part of it, we have been impressive, pretty clinical, the batters have done well and given us bowlers plenty of time."

Australia declared their second innings at 217 for two with David Warner scoring an unbeaten century, leaving the Black Caps with a revised 416-run target in the fourth innings on a wearing Sydney Cricket Ground pitch.

But the Kiwis buckled under the pressure of Australia's superior bowling attack with Mitchell Starc taking three for 25 to support the wiles of spinner Lyon.

"They were clinical in all areas and after the first match they put us under pressure session after session," said skipper Kane Williamson, who missed the Test with a virus.

New Zealand were reeling early at 27-4 and never recovered after Starc and Lyon took two wickets each in the middle session to put the skids under the tourists.

Starc removed both openers, Tom Latham and Tom Blundell, in the first five overs. Blundell fell to a stunning catch by a diving Lyon at point for two and stand-in skipper Latham lost a review for leg before wicket.

Jeet Raval was out in a review to the faintest of edges on 'Snicko' in Lyon's first over for 12.

First-innings top-scorer Glenn Phillips went for a duck after technology detected a faint outside edge to wicketkeeper Paine off Lyon.

Taylor's Kiwi record

Ross Taylor became the leading all-time Kiwi batsman, going past Stephen Fleming (7,172) before he was bowled by Pat Cummins for 22 to take his Test aggregate to 7,174.

Big-hitting Colin de Grandhomme smacked Lyon for six to bring up his fifty but went next ball hoicking to Joe Burns at deep mid-wicket for 52.

Todd Astle was out to a superb diving catch by James Pattinson in the outfield for 17.

Starc yorked William Somerville's middle stump for seven and BJ Watling was the last to fall, caught at backward square leg by Pat Cummins for 19.

Earlier, Warner completed his 24th Test century and remained unbeaten when skipper Paine declared upon the dismissal of Marnus Labuschagne.

"You know you're capable of doing so," Warner said, when asked about how he had bounced back from his disastrous Ashes campaign in England last year.

"I was in the nets hitting the ball well and had the skipper backing me. To be able to play with freedom helped me. It's all paying off."

Labuschagne, who was dropped on four in a regulation caught-and-bowled chance by leg-spinner Astle, was caught at long on off Matt Henry for 59 -- his seventh score over 50 in eight innings this domestic summer.

Labuschagne finished the home five-Test season with a stunning aggregate of 896 runs, made up of his 215 in the first innings, three other centuries and three half-centuries in eight innings.

There was drama late in the Australian innings when Warner was given an official warning by umpire Aleem Dar for running down the middle of the pitch in scampering a single.

It resulted in five penalty runs being added to New Zealand's first innings total meaning their target was revised down from 421 to 416.

The Test was played against the backdrop of one of Australia's most devastating bushfire seasons with at least 24 people losing their lives in blazes raging across the country, including on the outskirts of Sydney.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.