Ind vs WI: India opt to bowl against West Indies in 3rd ODI

November 27, 2013

MS_DhoniNew Delhi, Nov 27: Indian captain MS Dhoni won the toss and chose to bowl against the West Indies in the series deciding third ODI at the Green Park in Kanpur on Wednesday.

Both India and the West Indies are unchanged from the last match.

It will be two-paced wicket and the colour of the pitch is changing since morning. First few overs it will be tough but as the day progresses, it will be good for batting.

After being mauled in the two Tests and then surrendering the opening ODI at Kochi, the visitors bounced back at Visakhapatnam to keep the series alive.

This has put Dhoni and his boys under pressure ahead of a tough tour of South Africa next month. With the series level at 1-1, any slip-up will dent the home team's reputation and confidence.

For Dhoni there are some problems that need quick-fix solutions. The most serious being the lack of expertise in bowling 'death overs'. Notwithstanding the dew factor, runs have flowed rather too easily in recent times, leaving Dhoni flummoxed. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Mohammad Shami have looked good with the new ball, but have failed to contain in the end overs.

The patchy form of Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh, the two left-handers in the middle-order, is also worrying. Both have looked out of sorts and the side would be hoping that they get some useful runs under their belt before the upcoming tour.

The most comforting factor for the side is the way the top-three — Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli have shaped. The trio has made it a habit of providing India with flying starts, and Dhoni has always been reassuring later in the order. Also the spinners — Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja — have been on the mark, and have kept things under control in the middle overs.

West Indies, on the other hand, can take heart from the fact that they have kept the series alive till the end despite losing their two best shorter-version players, Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard, to injuries.

Interestingly, the West Indies have an all-win record at Green Park, having won both the matches they have played here.

Skipper Dwayne Bravo is a wily fox with the ball, and a dangerous customer with the bat. Also, playing in the IPL regularly has helped him to adjust to the conditions well.

Another one who has a good knowledge of the Indian pitches is Sunil Naraine. The way he kept Yuvraj guessing with his variety at Visakhapatnam must have made his skipper happy. The 'mystery' spinner can be quite handy here on a slow turner where the ball is likely to keep low as the match progresses.

With Johnson Charles, Kieran Powell, Marlon Samuels, Darren Bravo, Lendl Simmons and Darren Sammy in their ranks, the Caribbeans bat deep down the order. Even if a couple of them can come up with good scores, it will test India's powerful batting line-up.

Teams:

India: MS Dhoni (Capt.), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Mohammed Shami.

West Indies: Dwayne Bravo (Capt.), Kieran Powell, Johnson Charles, Marlon Samuels, Darren Bravo, Lendl Simmons, Darren Sammy, Jason Holder, Sunil Narine, Ravi Rampaul, Veerasammy Permaul.

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
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.

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
January 24,2020

Mumbai, Jan 24: Former Indian cricket captain and former MP Mohammad Azharuddin on Thursday denied allegations of cheating levelled by a travel agency in Maharashtra and threatened to file defamation suit of ₹100 crore.

"Those who filed the FIR have done it only to be in the limelight. There is no truth in it. The allegations are baseless," Azharuddin said in a video message on Twitter.

Azahruddin, who is now president of Hyderabad Cricket Association, said he would soon seek advice from his lawyer and will file Rs 100 crore defamation case against those who lodged the FIR.

A case was filed in Aurangabad on Wednesday against Azharuddin and two others for allegedly cheating a local travel agent of around ₹21 lakh.

The complaint was lodged by Shahab Y. Mohammed, 49, proprietor of Danish Tours & Travels here, a former executive with the defunct Jet Airways.

"We have lodged a first information report against Mujeeb Khan (Aurangabad), Sudheesh Avikkal (Kerala), Mohammed Azharuddin (Hyderabad). No arrests have been made and further investigations are underway," Investigating Officer A.D. Nagre, of the City Chowk police station, told IANS.

According to the complainant, between November 9 and 12, 2019, Avikkal booked several international airline tickets and Azharuddin's personal secretary Mujeeb Khan promised to pay the ticket charges. He said since no payment was made, he was compelled to lodge the police complaint.

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
February 14,2020

Los Angeles, Feb 14: Tributes to the late Kobe Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers legend who died last month in a helicopter crash, will play a major role in Sunday's 69th NBA All-Star Game.

This year's annual showcase of league talent will be played in Chicago and feature numerous nods to Bryant, a five-time NBA champion who also matched a league record with four NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player awards.

Bryant, an 18-time NBA All-Star, died at age 41 on January 26 in a crash near Los Angeles that also took the life of his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others.

All-Star teams guided by LeBron James of the Lakers and Greek star Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks will compete to win each of the first three quarters, which will all start 0-0 and last 12 minutes.

At the start of the fourth quarter, the clock will be turned off and a final target score will be established by taking the leading club's cumulative score through the first three quarters and adding 24 points -- the number representing the jersey number worn by Bryant for the final 10 seasons of his NBA career.

The first team to reach the cumulative target score will win the NBA All-Star Game.

All-Star Game jerseys will also honor Bryant and his daughter.

Team Giannis players will wear jersey number 24 in tribute to Kobe while Team LeBron players will wear jersey number two, the number his daughter wore when playing youth basketball.

Both teams will wear jersey patches displaying nine stars, representing the nine people who were killed in the crash.

Academy Award-winning actress and Grammy Award-winning singer Jennifer Hudson, a Chicago native, will perform a special tribute to Bryant, his daughter and the others who were killed in the crash. Her performance will begin the night ahead of the player introductions.

James and Antetokounmpo each chose their squads from available starters and reserves voted and selected to the All-Star contest.

Team LeBron starters will include James, his Lakers teammate Anthony Davis, NBA scoring leader James Harden of Houston, Kawhi Leonard of the Los Angeles Clippers and Slovenian guard Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks.

Team Giannis starters include the Greek big man, Cameroon stars Joel Embiid of Philadelphia and Pascal Siakam of Toronto and guards Kemba Walker of Boston and Trae Young of Atlanta.

A record eight All-Star Game players from outside the United States also include Frenchman Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz on Team Giannis and Team LeBron reserves Ben Simmons of Australia and the Philadelphia 76ers, Lithuanian Domantas Sabonis of Indiana and Serbian Nikola Jokic of Denver.

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.