New Delhi, Dec 3: Skipper Virat Kohli scored his sixth double hundred as India reached 500 for 5 at lunch on the second day of the third cricket Test against Sri Lanka at Feroz Shah Kotla ground, here today.
Kohli (225) was at the crease at the break with Rohit Sharma (65) being dismissed by Lakshan Sandakan at the stroke of lunch. Brief Scores: India 1st innings: 500-5 in 117.5 overs. (V Kohli 225 batting, M Vijay 155; Lakshan Sandakan 3/148).
Melbourne, Jul 21: Cricket Australia's chief executive Nick Hockley has said that the Indian players and staff will most likely be asked to face two weeks of quarantine before the four-match Test series.
This scenario will bring the Adelaide Oval and its newly constructed hotel firmly into view as the sort of biosecure bubble, ESPNCricinfo reported.
India and Australia are slated to face each other in a four-match Test series, which is to begin from December 4 at Brisbane.
"The two-week quarantine is pretty well-defined. What we are working on is making sure that even within that quarantine environment, the players have got the absolute best training facilities, so that their preparation for the matches is as optimal as it can possibly be," ESPNCricinfo quoted Hockey as saying.
"Certainly the fact that the Adelaide Oval has a hotel. It does provide a facility not dissimilar to Old Trafford or Ageas Bowl where the hotels are integrated into the venue," he added.
Hockley also said that an exacting standard of biosecurity and testing would be applied before the series against India as the coronavirus cases are spiking in the subcontinent.
"It's widely known and it's unlikely that international travel restrictions would have lifted by the time that India will be due to come into the country. Clearly there will be testing regimes. We will be able to test people before that they get on to the plane and it is the nature of the situation of making sure we have the quarantine arrangements in line with government and health authority protocols," Hockley said.
"The key thing for the players is that there's regular testing and that we appropriately quarantine them when they come in and all of those plans are currently in development," he added.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday announced the postponement of the T20 World Cup 2020 slated to be held in Australia from October 18-November 15 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Following the announcement, the BCCI is likely to go ahead with the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the October-November window. However, it is known where the T20 tournament will be played as cases continue to rise in India.
"I think the BCCI has made no secrets that they are considering what that means for the IPL. For us, it's about getting a bit of an understanding and certainty around what that means. Clearly, in a normal course, some of our best players are obviously top picks for those IPL teams," Hockley said.
"It's a bit premature to speculate on that. We need to understand what the plans are if any and once we understand that we will make decisions accordingly," he added.
Melbourne, Apr 14: As all sporting action across the world has come to a halt due to the coronavirus pandemic, Australian bowlers are pondering as to how Indian skipper Virat Kohli might play in front of no spectators.
India and Australia are scheduled to play a four-match Test series later this year, and it is being speculated that the series might end up taking place without any crowds due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Australian spinner Nathan Lyon on Tuesday said that it would be interesting to see how Kohli goes about it if he does not get a chance to get the audience behind him.
"He is probably good enough to adapt to any scenario. But I was talking to Mitch Starc the other day and we actually said that if we are playing with no crowd, it'll be quite amazing to see Virat trying to rev up the empty seats," cricket.com.au quoted Lyon as saying.
"It is going to be a little bit different, but Virat is a superstar. He will be able to adapt to any climate that we are able to play in," he added.
During the 2018-19 series, India managed to defeat Australia in Australia for the first time in a Test series.
Australia, at that time were without the services of David Warner and Steve Smith. However, the series later this year promises to be a mouth-watering prospect.
"I am excited about the prospect of India coming out to Australia, it's up there with the biggest series alongside the Ashes. They are an absolute powerhouse of the cricket world, and to have those guys out here is going to be fantastic. Playing in front of crowds or no crowds is out of our control, we have got to follow the advice of all the amazing medical people around the world," Lyon said.
"I have not thought about no crowds or massive crowds, it is just about the opportunity of playing against India again. They had the wood over us last time they came over here but we are a much stronger Australian cricket side at the moment, and I am just unbelievably excited about playing them here at home," he added.
Lyon was slated to represent Hampshire in County Championship this year, however, his stint was called off last week due to COVID-19.
He is Australia's third-highest wicket-taker in the longest format of the game as he has total of 390 wickets in Test cricket.
Lyon was last seen in action in the Big Bash League for Sydney Sixers.
New Delhi, Aug 2: Batting great Rahul Dravid has attributed Chennai Super Kings' consistent run in the IPL to skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's instincts, game-smarts and the incredible amount of work that goes behind the scenes.
N Srinivasan, the former BCCI president and head of India Cements, which owns the CSK franchise, agreed that Dhoni is a man of instinct who doesn't believe in attending team meetings and going over data.
Both were speaking at a webinar organised by the Great Lakes Institute of Management.
"If you look at the success CSK has had, they've got really good access to data and they've got really good access to people behind the scenes and they've run cricket teams at the junior level," Dravid said at the webinar according to ESPNcricinfo.
The former India captain added, "They understand talent and they've obviously got a good scouting process in place. But, what they also have is a captain who really understands instincts.
"So, I mean, look, I know Dhoni quite well and I hope he hasn't changed, but I know Dhoni is probably not one to look at reams of data and statistics."
The Super Kings have won the lucrative tournament three times -- one less than Mumbai Indians -- and reached the knockouts in each of the 10 seasons they have been a part of.
Srinivasan also spoke about how Dhoni's instinct and judgement contributed to his team's success at a time when a lot of emphases is placed on data.
"We're awash with data just now. To give you an example, there are bowling coaches and in a T20 game, they play videos of every batsman whom they're going to come against and they see how he got out, what's his strength, what's his weakness etc.
"So, MS Dhoni doesn't attend this, he's a pure instinct man. The bowling coach, (head coach Stephen) Fleming will be there and everybody will be there, everyone is giving opinions, (but) he'll get up and go.
"In the context of instinct, he feels that okay he can assess a batsman or player on the field, that's his judgement. On the other hand, there is so much of data that is available to help a person also analyse. It's a very difficult line to draw (between data and instinct)."
Srinivasan also recalled how Dhoni once refused to take "one outstanding player" suggested by the franchise boss as that could have broken the team's cohesion.
"There was one outstanding player that we suggested to MS, he said: 'no sir, he will spoil the team'. The cohesion within the team is important and see in America, franchise-based sport has been there for such a long time," he said.
"In India, we're just starting and we're new to it. But we at India Cements have had a lot of experience running teams at junior levels."
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