England is Virat Kohli's biggest test

July 2, 2014

Virat KohliJul 2: "I could probably look to bat anywhere, but the team wanted me to be at No. 4 all the time and that's where I've spent most of my career, right from the Under-15 days. It was probably the main number for the team and that's where the management wanted me to be for a long time. With time that became my favourite number."

That was Virat Kohli in 2010, speaking to this writer about his preference for the No. 4 spot in all forms of the game. Nearly four years on, Kohli is India's best batsman, captain-in-waiting and, for determination and sheer ability to overcome the obstacles, the man who will become India's most famous batsman at two-down since Sachin Tendulkar. And now, in the post-Tendulkar era, Kohli has embarked on his biggest and longest tour - five Tests in England.

And they present Kohli his biggest challenge as a Test cricketer. Why? Because he has not played first-class cricket in England; because he will be faced with a challenge seen yet faced so frequently in tough conditions - the swinging Dukes ball; because he will be targeted by England's battery of fast bowlers; because he will have to maintain his focus and consistency across five Test matches. It is both soothing and scary to imagine what can be achieved over the next six weeks.

Kohli is many things when at the crease: calm, patient, strong, optimistic, assured. Traits that have made him visually seductive from the time he struts to the crease, takes guard, surveys the field from under that thick brow, adjusts his helmet, protrudes his jowl. He is special, in possession of that aura of once-in-a-generation specialness. The hunger is unmistakable.

At 25, he has reached a stage where only one other Indian, Tendulkar, was at the same age - a superstar. He has shown that he can manage the expectations and repay the faith, as some outstanding ODI centuries have proven in the last few years. In Tests, Johannesburg last December and Wellington were exemplary innings of what Kohli can do in whites.

Since making his Test debut in the West Indies four years ago he has made rapid strides, with the 2011-12 tour of Australia confirming he could play Test cricket. His first century was in the fourth Test of the dismal 4-0 whitewash, and it was the only one that the touring Indians could manage. That tour (300 runs at 37.50) ensured Kohli his place in the Test line-up and he has not missed a game since, scoring - since the Adelaide Test of January 2012 - 1230 runs from 26 innings at 55.90, with five hundreds and six fifties.

Along the way, he has rapidly narrowed the bridge separating knowledge from wisdom. Now, against a hurting England team fully capable of exposing their conditions - remember 2011? - Kohli must rise to the occasion of combating quality pace, swing and seam in England. He can, make no mistake of that.

Which brings us to the uniqueness of this series: five Tests. Say it again. It is a thing of rare beauty. All we can do is pinch ourselves at the fact that we will be watching an Indian cricket team contest five Tests in England. It promises to be a treat.

What the likes of Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma stand to gain from this rare opportunity is immense. So you fail in one Test. You have four to pick yourself up. In a two-Test series - they should be banned - if you fail in one and get dropped, that could be doom. Across five, there are far more chances that you will be given a longer rope or, if discarded early on, find yourself back in. Can you imagine the hunger in Cheteshwar Pujara's belly at knowing that he has five Test matches in one country and against one opponent to continue his awesome rise as a Test cricketer?

On and off the field, this summer of Test cricket in England promises to be a learning curve for several of India's young batsmen. In particular, for the one whose favourite position is fourth.

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Agencies
June 7,2020

Mumbai, Jun 7: The Mumbai airport became home for a 23-year-old Ghanaian footballer for 74 days after he got stranded there due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown that led to cancellation of flights.

The ordeal of Randy Juan Muller reminded people of Tom Hank's character in the Hollywood film "The Terminal", and it ended after Yuva Sena, the youth wing of the Shiv Sena, reached out to help him.

Muller has now shifted to a local hotel and is waiting for airlines to resume operations so that he can fly home.

The Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) also provided him all help, including food, and allowed him to use the airport WiFi network to make calls, an official said.

Muller, a Ghana national who used to play for a club in Kerala, was scheduled to fly home by Kenya Airways flight when the lockdown was announced and he found himself stranded at the Mumbai airport.

"He would spend his time at the airport's fancy artificial gardens and somehow buy food from stalls and pass his time with the airport staff. Muller told me the airport staff was very helpful," Yuva Sena office-bearer Rahul Kanal said.

A security officer at the airport gave him mobile phone to call his family back home.

A Twitter user brought Muller's plight to the notice of Maharashtra Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray following which Kanal reached out to the footballer and helped him move into a hotel.

On Saturday, Muller thanked Thackeray and Kanal for their help.

"Thank you Aaditya Thackeray, Rahul Kanal. Thank you very very so much. I appreciate what you have done. Salute," he said.

Kanal in a tweet said when he met Muller at the airport, the latter cried with happiness.

"Have no words to salute his willpower and fight for survival in such circumstances at this age," Kanal said.

An official at the Mumbai International Airport Ltd said the footballer was provided all help.

"All personnel at the airport, including from MIAL and CISF, gave him every possible help during his stay at the airport. Besides food, he was also allowed to use the airport WiFi network to make calls. Airport staff would recharge his phone at their own expense," the official said.

The 2004 film "Terminal" of Steven Spielberg was about a man stranded at a US airport after being denied entry into the country and a military coup back home.

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News Network
February 19,2020

New Delhi, Feb 19: An Indian wrestler whose family story was immortalised by Bollywood is hoping to create a blockbuster of her own by becoming her country's first world champion in the high-octane sport of mixed martial arts.

Ritu Phogat, who initially followed her father and two elder sisters into wrestling, is now charting a new path after making an explosive MMA debut in November.

Phogat's father Mahavir, and her sisters Geeta and Babita were the subject of 2016 movie "Dangal", telling the story of the wrestling coach who raised his daughters to become Commonwealth champions.

But Ritu, 25, is forging a different career. After winning her first MMA fight in less than three minutes, she will face China's Wu Chiao Chen at this month's ONE Championship fight night in Singapore, which will be held behind closed doors because of the coronavirus.

The youngest Phogat daughter is trading an attempt at an Olympic medal to tackle MMA, but she said she was attracted by the lure of making history in her new sport.

"I got a chance to train with the best in Singapore and there was no looking back," she told AFP during a promotional event in New Delhi.

"There was the 2020 Olympic Games but I thought that I would do well in mixed martial arts. I have come with an aim of becoming the first girl from India to become a world champion in mixed martial art."

The nimble but strongly built Phogat said wrestlers were a good fit for the fast-growing contact sport, which is yet to take off in India.

"Top seven champions in mixed martial arts are wrestlers, so I believe that wrestlers have an edge in this sport with their ability to take down the opponent," she said.

"It is all a matter of skill. You just have to practise hard. I think MMA is not much different from wrestling in terms of preparation.

"One has to take risks to do something new and as an athlete I am ready to embrace every challenge."

She added: "Without the support of my father and sisters I would not have been where I am. My father always taught me to be far-sighted, hard-working and with strong resolve. Three traits will take you a long way."

Phogat won 48kg gold at the 2016 Commonwealth Wrestling Championship and followed it up with a silver in the under-23 world championships the next year.

"She used to watch a lot MMA and one day told me that I will win a gold in this game. So we all backed her and the result is there for everyone to see," he said.

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News Network
March 5,2020

Mar 5: India reached a maiden women's Twenty20 World Cup final Thursday after their last four clash against England was washed out, sparking calls for the International Cricket Council to include reserve days in future events.

Harmanpreet Kaur's unbeaten side were due to face the 2009 champions at the Sydney Cricket Ground, but the rain began pouring early in the day with barely any let-up.

With a minimum 10 overs per side needed for a result and no break in the weather, the umpires called it off without a ball being bowled.

Normally, five overs per side are needed to constitute a Twenty20 match, but the rules are different for ICC tournaments.

Four-time champions Australia are scheduled to take on South Africa later in the second semi-final, with that match also under threat.

With no reserve day, the highest-ranked teams from the two groups move into the final if play is not possible

That would pit India against South Africa at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday, where organisers are hoping to attract 90,000 plus fans, denying Australia a chance to defend their crown.

A reserve day is allowed for the final and the lack of one for the semis has been criticised by some players, with England captain Heather Knight among those calling for change.

"If both semi-finals are lost it would be a sad time for the tournament," she told reporters ahead of the match. "It's obviously going to be a shame if it does happen and I'm sure there will be a lot of pressure on the ICC to change that."

Cricket Australia chief Kevin Roberts said he sought clarification from the ICC about adding a reserve day with the Sydney weather looking ominous, but the request was denied.

"We've asked the question and it's not part of the playing conditions and we respect that," he told Melbourne's SEN radio.

"It gives you cause to reflect and think about how you might improve things in the future, but going into a tournament with a given set of playing conditions and rules, I don't think it's time to tinker with the rules."

It is not the way India would have wanted to make the final, but they are deserving of being there having gone through the group phase as the only unbeaten team.

After opening their campaign by upsetting Australia, they beat Bangladesh, New Zealand and then Sri Lanka.

While the entire team played well, teenage batting prodigy Shafali Verma excelled, which saw her elevated to the top of the ICC T20 batting rankings this week aged just 16.

She is only the second Indian after Mithali Raj to reach number one, pushing New Zealand veteran Suzie Bates down to second.

Ranked four in the world, India had made three semi-finals before this year and lost every time, including against England at the last World Cup.

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