Having MS Dhoni up the order gives me confidence: Shikhar Dhawan

June 26, 2015

Mirpur, Jun 26: Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan has said that skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's elevation up the order is not only an advantage to the line-up but personally gives him confidence while batting.

Shikhar DhawanThe Bangladesh series saw the limited-overs skipper promote himself to the number-four position in the batting chart and Dhawan, who was the leading run-scorer after accumulating 158 runs, said he enjoyed batting with Dhoni even though India lost the series 1-2.

"It gives me a lot of confidence to see him walk into the middle while I am at the crease. We also enjoy each other's company and so it's fun batting with him. The way he adapts to various situations makes my life easier," Dhawan told bcci.Tv after the team's consolation win in the final ODI last night.

"Today I couldn't get the off-spinner (Nasir Hossain) away and he hit a four and a six in an over against him. That kept me from taking any unwarranted risk. He also rotates the strike excellently when required and doesn't let any scoreboard pressure build on his partner. Having him in the middle-order is very advantageous for us. I feel it's a very good move," he added.

After being outplayed in the first two games to lose their first bilateral series against Bangladesh, India fought back to win the final ODI by 77 runs.

Young Bangladesh left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman was the star of the series with 13 wickets in his bag. Dhawan though believes that the "unknown factor" and favourable pitch conditions made the bowler more effective.

"First of all there was the unknown factor since we had never seen or faced him before. Secondly, he knew the conditions very well. His slower ball was very effective here because he was getting that turn from the wicket. He bowls that slower one at the right length and so, was the perfect bowler for this pitch," he said.

Dhawan, who also scored a strokeful 173 in the lone Test against the hosts, admits that the Men in Blue were hurt by the opening two losses.

"We were really hurt that we lost the series against Bangladesh. The bottom line was that they played good cricket and we didn't. Those two losses hit everyone hard and we all looked back at them and tried to find why we lost. It shook everyone knowing that we lost to them despite being a much better team.

"That really fired us up to put everything into this last match. Also, after playing two matches here, we had a much better idea of the wicket today. We got into that rhythm and made it count," said the left-hander.

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February 10,2020

Potchefstroom, Feb 9: Bangladesh clinched their maiden ICC U-19 World Cup title after beating favourites India by three wickets in the summit clash here on Sunday.

Set a revised target of 170 after a brief rain interruption, Bangladesh won the match with 23 balls to spare.

Sent in to bat, India's batting wilted under pressure as a superb Bangladesh bowling attack shot the defending champions out for a paltry 177 in 47.2 overs.

Yasashvi Jaiswal (88 off 121 balls) was once again a standout performer but not for once did he look like dominating the Bangladesh bowling unit whose new ball bowlers Shoriful Islam (2/31 in 10 overs) and Tanzim Hasan Shakib (2/28 in 8.2 overs) literally stifled the Indians for runs.

The third seamer Avishek Das (3/40 in 9 overs) was the most successful bowler in terms of figures but it was Shoriful's first spell with channelised aggression that put the Indians on the back-foot from the onset.

After a short rain break towards the end, the target was revised to 170 from 46 runs but Bangladesh reached 170 for 7 in 42.1 overs to win the match.

Opener Parvez Hossain Emon top-scored for Bangladesh with a 79-ball 47 while captain and wicketkeeper Akbar Ali was not out on 43 from 77 deliveries.

For the India U-19 side, Ravi Bishnoi was the most successful bowler with figures of 4/30 while Sushant Mishra had 2/25.

India thus missed out on a record fifth title in their seventh final appearance.

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March 7,2020

Melbourne, Mar 7: He will be supporting Australia for sure but former pacer Brett Lee feels an Indian victory in Sunday's T20 Word Cup final could be a "start of a major breakthrough" for the women's game in the cricket-mad country.

India and Australia will lock horns in what is expected to be a blockbuster title clash at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

"As an Australian, I'd love nothing more than for (Meg) Lanning's team to do the job. But if India were to win the World Cup for the first time, victory would do so much for women's cricket in a country that already adores the sport," Lee wrote in an ICC column.

"This could be the start of a major breakthrough, particularly with the amount of talent that is coming through."

The former speedster said Australia will have to look for ways to counter the in-form 16-year-old Shafali Verma.

"In Shafali Verma, India boast one of the most talented players in the world and you feel that for Australia to win the game, dismissing her will likely be their first job.

"I've been so impressed with the opener - it's staggering to believe she's only 16 with the confidence she has in her own ability and the way she strikes the ball so cleanly.

"She's such good fun to watch and I'm not sure the women's game has seen anyone like her for such a long time."

Shafali has been the star of the tournament, having amassed 161 runs at a strike rate of 161, consistently providing India solid starts, and that was not lost on Lee.

"To be the world's best T20 batter already shows just how far she has progressed in such a short space of time and the experience in this tournament will hold her in good stead for years to come.

"Even with the way she's played in Australia and her fearless brand of cricket, you still get the feeling she has more to come as well."

He reckoned Shafali may have another big score awaiting her.

"She's got a big score in her locker and there's probably no better place to do that than the MCG. Shafali is already a record breaker but if she can steer her side to their first Women's T20 World Cup title at just 16, then the sky really is the limit for her career."

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News Network
May 8,2020

Karachi, May 8: A cricket museum based in India has bought a bat auctioned by Pakistan Test captain Azhar Ali to raise funds for the needy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Azhar had put two of his precious belongings -- the bat he used to score 302 runs against the West Indies in a Test in 2016 and the jersey he wore during the 2017 Champions Trophy final win over India -- on an online auction to raise funds for the people affected by the deadly disease.

Both the bat and jersey were signed by members of the Pakistan team.

Azhar announced on social media that he had kept a base price of one million each for the bat and jersey and they had sold for 2.2 million.

He confirmed that Blades of Glory Cricket Museum based in Pune bought the bat by making a winning offer of Rs. 1 million for the bat.

Azhar said that the auction of the shirt also generated a lot of interest and Kash Villani, a Pakistani based in California, came up with the highest bid of Rs. 1.1 million for the shirt before the conclusion of the auction.

Another Pakistani based in New Jersey, Jamal Khan also donated Rs. 100,000 for the cause.

"I put two of my closest belongings on auction with base price of 1 million PKR each to support people suffering due to ongoing crisis. Auction starts now and will close on 11:59 PM 05 May, 2020," Azhar had tweeted.

Ali became the first international player to score a test triple century in Day/Night Test when he scored an unbeaten 302 against the West Indies team in UAE in 2016.

"The shirt is from 2017 Champions Trophy which we won, it has the signature of all the players which were present in the squad," Ali said in a video posted on Twitter.

"Both these things are close to my heart but if it can be used in the difficult times for the benefit of the people I will more than happy."

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