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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.

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Agencies
August 2,2020

New Delhi, Aug 2: BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Sunday said the Women's IPL or the Challenger series, as it is better known, is "very much on", ending speculation about the parent body not having a plan for Harmanpreet Kaur and her team.

The men's IPL will be held between September 19 and November 8 or 10 (final date yet to be locked in) in the UAE due to the surge in Covid-19 cases in India. The women's IPL will also be fit in to the schedule, according to the BCCI chief.

"I can confirm to you that the women's IPL is very much on and we do have a plan in place for the national team also," Ganguly told PTI ahead of the IPL Governing Council meeting later on Sunday.

The BCCI president, who is awaiting a Supreme Court verdict on waiver of the cooling-off period to continue in the position, did not divulge details but another senior official privy to the development said that women's Challenger will be held during the last phase of IPL like last year.

"The women's Challenger series is likely to be held between November 1-10 and there could be a camp before that," the source said.

The former India captain also said that the centrally contracted women players will have a camp which has been delayed due to the prevailing situation in the country.

"We couldn't have exposed any of our cricketers -- be it male or female to health risk. It would have been dangerous," Ganguly said.

"The NCA also remained shut because of Covid-19. But we have a plan in place and we will have a camp for women, I can tell you that," he added.

The BCCI's cricket operations team is chalking up a schedule where Indian women are likely to have two full-fledged white-ball series against South Africa and the West Indies before playing the ODI World Cup in New Zealand. 

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News Network
January 9,2020

Mumbai, Jan 9: Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan feels that the Men in Blue have the edge over Australia in terms of talent and confidence ahead of the two teams' three-match ODI series starting January 14 in Mumbai.

"In the past that wasn't the case because they were doing really well. We were trying to match that level. I feel that Indian cricket is a notch ahead in terms of talent, in terms of cricket and in terms of confidence," Star Sports expert Irfan Pathan said. "The only thing that will make it equal is the kind of pitches we are going to play in Australia because we do not have experience playing on those hard and bouncy pitches," said Pathan, who recently called time on his international career.

Recounting his favourite memory of playing against Australia, Irfan said, "It all started in Australia for me. The most memorable moment was getting my first wicket and helping India win a Test match in Australia after 21 years. Winning the Test in Perth and being named the Man of the Match is also a favourite memory for me."

Australia have already announced their team for the three-match ODI series with India. The team will be led by Aaron Finch. The other members of the team are Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, Kane Richardson, D'Arcy Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Turner, David Warner, and Adam Zampa.

India are yet to announce their team but in all probability, it will be led by Virat Kohli who has been in phenomenal form over the last few years. All three ODIs are day and night affair. While the first match of the series is on January 14 in Mumbai, the second will be played at Rajkot on January 17 followed by the January 19 clash in Bengaluru.

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Agencies
May 31,2020

London, May 31: "Jacques Kallis, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli," replied umpire Ian Gould when he was asked to name the three best batsmen he loved watching when he was officiating as an umpire.

The former ICC elite umpire said that he was unlucky to not watch Ponting bat as much as he would have liked to.

"Jacques Kallis. I loved watching Jacques. He was a very, very fine player. Sachin. And probably Virat. I was unlucky in some respects. I didn't see the best of Ricky Ponting. He was an outstanding character, outstanding captain, such a proud Australian," ESPNCricinfo quoted Gould as saying.

"But his career was just starting to wane as I came on the scene. But he was incredibly helpful, so I'm disappointed I have to leave him out. Jacques Kallis, I could sit and watch all day, Virat, the same. And Sachin, if you want someone to bat for your life, he was the man," he added.

Gould had retired from the ICC's panel of elite umpires in 2019, after standing in more than 250 international matches over a 13-year career.

Over the years, comparisons between Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar have been growing and many have picked the current Indian skipper to break the records set by Tendulkar.

Tendulkar called time on his career after registering 100 international centuries, while Kohli has 70 centuries across all formats.

While, Kallis played 166 Tests, 328 ODIs and 25 T20Is for South Africa and he is often viewed as the greatest all-rounder the game has seen.

Many pundits of the game find it hard to pick between him and Sir Garfield Sobers.

Across his career, Kallis scored 25,534 runs in his career and he also managed to take 577 wickets.

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