I have evolved as a cricketer because of Dravid: Watson

May 12, 2014

Bangalore, May 12: Rajasthan Royals captain Shane Watson today said having former India skipper Rahul Dravid as team mentor has helped him develop as a cricketer quickly.watson

"To have Rahul as a mentor is unbelievable. My development is certainly continuing to evolve very quickly because of having him there. For me personally, I am extremely lucky to have him around," Watson told reporters here.

"It was also an honour to have played with Dravid in the past, he added.

Talking about James Faulkner, who played a blinder of innings last night against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Watson said the Tasmanian is continuing to evolve as a genuine all rounder for Australia.

"Faulkner has done it for Australia quite a few times - finishing off games against India for Australia in last one-day series here. He has done more consistently for Australia and continues to do it. It is incredible how he is continuing to evolve as a genuine all rounder," he said.

On Steven Smith, Watson said the Aussie all-rounder has incredible skills to hit the ball anywhere and hence for bowlers, he is a nightmare.

"Smith has got incredible skills to hit the ball in different areas. So, for bowlers it is very difficult to set the field for him - he is someone like A B de Villiers," he said.

"And for Royals, they have done well, especially Faulkner who has been brilliant with the ball last year. Smith has the potential for handling pressure and is highly skilled batsman in all formats of the game and Royals are lucky to have in the team via auction.

"For Royals James had a brilliant IPL last year with the ball. Smith is great addition. I know how well he handles pressure and is a highly skilled batsman in all formats of the game. So, we were glad to get him in the auction," he said.

On Australians hogging limelight in the current IPL, Watson said Glenn Maxwell and others are dominating the scene but sadly been performing poorly in ICC T20 events.

"It seems to be that way at the moment. The Aussie guys are doing extremely well... but the saddest thing is we have always performed quite poorly in ICC 20-20 events, considering the quality of players we have," he said.

On Karun Nair's performance, Watson said he is one of the powerful Indian batsman and the positions he gets into while batting makes one feel he could play genuine fast bowlers.

"He certainly is one of the powerful Indian batsman that I have seen. The positions he gets into makes one feel he can take on very good quick bowling. He also plays spin extremely well," he said.

Comparing IPL with the Big Bash Down Under, Watson said the former is a very good tournament because it tests the skills of the players.

"IPL is a good tournament that I ever played in. The calibre of players you play against certainly tests your skills," he said.

The tournament not only benefits young Indian players but also international ones who do not get a chance to play against international stars, Watson said

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Bangalore, May 12: Rajasthan Royals captain Shane Watson today said having former India skipper Rahul Dravid as team mentor has helped him develop as a cricketer quickly.

"To have Rahul as a mentor is unbelievable. My development is certainly continuing to evolve very quickly because of having him there. For me personally, I am extremely lucky to have him around," Watson told reporters here.

"It was also an honour to have played with Dravid in the past, he added.

Talking about James Faulkner, who played a blinder of innings last night against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Watson said the Tasmanian is continuing to evolve as a genuine all rounder for Australia.

"Faulkner has done it for Australia quite a few times - finishing off games against India for Australia in last one-day series here. He has done more consistently for Australia and continues to do it. It is incredible how he is continuing to evolve as a genuine all rounder," he said.

On Steven Smith, Watson said the Aussie all-rounder has incredible skills to hit the ball anywhere and hence for bowlers, he is a nightmare.

"Smith has got incredible skills to hit the ball in different areas. So, for bowlers it is very difficult to set the field for him - he is someone like A B de Villiers," he said.

"And for Royals, they have done well, especially Faulkner who has been brilliant with the ball last year. Smith has the potential for handling pressure and is highly skilled batsman in all formats of the game and Royals are lucky to have in the team via auction.

"For Royals James had a brilliant IPL last year with the ball. Smith is great addition. I know how well he handles pressure and is a highly skilled batsman in all formats of the game. So, we were glad to get him in the auction," he said.

On Australians hogging limelight in the current IPL, Watson said Glenn Maxwell and others are dominating the scene but sadly been performing poorly in ICC T20 events.

"It seems to be that way at the moment. The Aussie guys are doing extremely well... but the saddest thing is we have always performed quite poorly in ICC 20-20 events, considering the quality of players we have," he said.

On Karun Nair's performance, Watson said he is one of the powerful Indian batsman and the positions he gets into while batting makes one feel he could play genuine fast bowlers.

"He certainly is one of the powerful Indian batsman that I have seen. The positions he gets into makes one feel he can take on very good quick bowling. He also plays spin extremely well," he said.

Comparing IPL with the Big Bash Down Under, Watson said the former is a very good tournament because it tests the skills of the players.

"IPL is a good tournament that I ever played in. The calibre of players you play against certainly tests your skills," he said.

The tournament not only benefits young Indian players but also international ones who do not get a chance to play against international stars, Watson said

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News Network
January 31,2020

Wellington, Jan 31: A nervous New Zealand threw it away yet again as a perseverant India prevailed in the Super Over for the second successive time to take a 4-0 lead in the T20 International series on Friday.

Needing just 11 runs off the last two overs with seven wickets in hand, New Zealand dug a hole for themselves yet again, taking the game to a Super Over two nights after doing the same in Hamilton.

New Zealand managed 13 runs in six balls and India got there effortlessly.

KL Rahul smashed 10 runs off the first two balls before he was caught. Then, a fired-up Virat Kohli and Sanju Samson finished the game in style.

Earlier, Manish Pandey proved his value to the team with an unbeaten 50 off 35 balls, taking India to 165 for eight from 88 for six in the 12th over.

India's total wasn't enough considering the batting-friendly conditions but the hosts made life a lot tougher for themselves from a commanding position before succumbing to pressure.

The entertaining knocks from Colin Munro (64 off 47) and Time Seifert went in vain (57 off 39).

Mohammed Shami, who was rested on Friday, had bowled a brilliant 20th over on Wednesday and man of the match Shardul Thakur was up to the task this time, conceding just six runs when the opposition needed seven for victory.

With the series already in the bag, India gave opportunity to Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar and Navdeep Saini for the first time in the five-match series, resting Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja and Shami. However, none of them was able to make an impact in the game.

Chasing 165, New Zealand lost Martin Guptill early. But Munro and Seifert put on 74 runs for the second wicket to put themselves on track.

Munro scored a half-century of 38 deliveries, inclusive of six fours and three sixes. He was out against the run of play as Kohli's direct hit surprisingly found the target after a relay throw from the deep.

It was the turning point as New Zealand lost regular wickets. Yuzvendra Chahal bowled Tom Bruce (0), but Seifert found a partner in Ross Taylor as they pushed the score past 150 in the 18th over.

Seifert scored a half-century off 32 balls, including four fours and three sixes. But the great choke was yet to come again. Needing 18 off 18, the Black Caps lost four wickets in the last over bowled by Thakur.

Taylor holed out of the first ball, while Seifert was run out two balls later. Daryl Mitchell (4) was caught next and Mitchell Santner (2) couldn't steal two runs off the last ball as the sides engaged in a tie-breaker for the second game running.

This was after New Zealand won a fourth consecutive toss and opted to field. Kane Williamson didn't take part in the match owing to a shoulder niggle.

Tim Southee was the stand-in skipper, with the Black Caps making two changes.

Put in to bat, the visitors were struggling at 88-6 at one stage before Pandey's lonesome rescue act took them to a respectable total. KL Rahul contributed 39 runs off 26 balls, inclusive of three sixes and two fours.

Leg spinner Ish Sodhi got into the act and ran through India's batting order. First to go was Shreyas Iyer (1) and then Shivam Dube (12) was caught at mid-wicket.

Sodhi finished with 3-26 while Santner dismissed Sundar for nought as the New Zealand spinners rounded up a good outing with 4-54 in eight overs.

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News Network
February 10,2020

Potchefstroom, Feb 10: India's under-19 cricket team manager Anil Patel says the ICC has taken a serious view of the aggressive celebrations by Bangladesh players after their World Cup triumph and will be reviewing the footage of the final game's "last few minutes".

Some Bangladeshi players got carried away while celebrating their historic three-wicket win over India in the final on Sunday. While their captain Akbar Ali apologised for the "unfortunate incident", his Indian counterpart Priyam Garg said their reaction was "dirty".

"We don't know what actually happened," Patel told 'ESPNCricinfo' on Sunday.

"Everybody was in a shock, absolutely, but we don't know what happened exactly. The ICC officials are going to watch the footage of the last few minutes and they are going to let us know," he said.

Even when the match was on, the Bangladesh players were overly aggressive while fielding and their lead pacer Shoriful Islam sledged the Indian batsmen after every delivery.

As soon as the match ended, it became tense with Bangladeshi players rushing to the ground and displaying aggressive body language. The two teams nearly came to blows before the situation was defused by the coaching staff and on-field officials.

Patel claimed that match referee Graeme Labrooy met him and expressed regret at what transpired on the field.

"The referee came to me. He was sorry about the incident. He clarified the ICC is going to take very seriously what has happened during the match and the last session. They are going to witness the footage and they will tell us in the morning (Monday)."

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News Network
May 7,2020

Melbourne, May 7: Australia opener Joe Burns is eyeing the Tests against India should they take place later this year, to stabilise his stop-start international career, saying "you want to play in and do well in" in this kind of series.

India is scheduled to play four Tests in Australia in December-January, a series which is currently in doubt due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has claimed over 2.5 lakh lives across the world.

"They are obviously world class team. I think the two teams going at each other will be very exciting to watch and players playing against each other as well," Burns told reporters in a video conference on Thursday.

"You look at the world ranking, they were number one and now we have got to number one, so I know that series will be anticipated by everyone and as a player this is a sort of series you want to play in and do well in."

With the coronavirus also threatening the T20 World Cup, Cricket Australia is under financial stress and has gone on a cost-cutting drive, which included standing down 80 per cent of its staff at 20 per cent salary.

There are also speculations that the Sheffield Shield for 2020-21 would be curtailed to cut costs.

Burns, however, hoped it won't be tinkered with.

"I love the fact we have a really strong first-class system. The 10 games, where you play everyone twice," Burns, who was struck down by a fatigue illness after an indifferent season, said.

"It leads to world-class players coming into Test teams. You don't want to see that get changed.

"Obviously it is unique circumstances at the moment and There's a lot of things to work through ... the players' association is consulted on those things."

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