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For India, life and runs after Sachin Tendulkar

December 22, 2013

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Johannesburg, Dec 22: It took one Test for India to realise there is life - and runs - after the great Sachin Tendulkar. Virat Kohli made 119 from Tendulkar's former No.4 spot in the first innings of the first Test against South Africa. Cheteshwar Pujara stroked a superb 153 from No.3 in the second innings.

And Kohli added another 96 in their double-century partnership on Saturday, only just missing out on becoming the first player to make two centuries in a test at Johannesburg's Wanderers.

Tendulkar, cricket's leading run-scorer, retired after a glittering 24-year career in November, yet India has two youngsters who have immediately stepped up.

The outstanding performances from Kohli and Pujara, both 25, also came in unfamiliar territory as Kohli scored his first hundred in South Africa and Pujara went big for his first ton outside India.

They shared a 222-run partnership on Friday and Saturday that put India in total charge of the series-opener against the top-ranked South Africans and made the tourists favorite to take the lead in the short 2-Test series.

"It's always good," Pujara said of his relationship with Kohli.

"We have played many innings together now and communication is also very good. I think we have got a very good record because we are almost the same age and whenever you want to pass on any information, or whenever you want to chat about something, it becomes easier."

India's tour to South Africa came straight after Tendulkar's retirement, ending more than two decades with the Little Master anchoring the Test batting lineup. The Indians were soon under pressure on the quick, bouncy tracks in South Africa when they lost the first two one-day games by big margins.

Yet in the opening Test - on one of the country's paciest pitches - the youngsters have proved they also have the grit and the attacking flair to dominate the world's best bowlers in their own conditions.

South Africa bowling coach Allan Donald compared Kohli's century on a fiery Wanderers pitch on the first day as reminiscent of Tendulkar at his pugnacious and skilful best.

Pujara's 153 showed similar signs of great potential as the pair battered the Proteas quicks for 175 in a session late on Friday during their game-changing second-innings stand. Exasperated, South Africa bowler Vernon Philander simply said "hats off to them" after Test cricket's most fierce attack was tamed.

It's easy for Indian cricket followers to recall Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid at the top of the batting order when they see young Kohli and Pujara, who have done much in the space of one match to suggest India has found another lasting combination.

"It's too early to say because we still have to prove a lot," Pujara said.

"It's still a very good start for us. We still can take very good confidence out of it and learn from whatever we can from this match and then carry it forward from this."

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News Network
April 27,2020

Mumbai, Apr 27: The pressure to replace iconic Mahendra Singh Dhoni behind the stumps was "immense" due to high expectations from fans says K L Rahul, who has been doing the wicket-keeping duty for India in the limited overs format for some time now.

Dhoni quit Test cricket in 2014 and has not played for India in the limited overs format since last year's ODI World Cup in England.

Rahul kept the wickets in the limited overs series against Australia in January this year and also during the team's tour to New Zealand.

"I was nervous when I was doing it for India because of the crowd pressure. If you fumble, people feel that you cannot replace MS Dhoni. The pressure of replacing a legendary wicket-keeper like MSD was immense as it involved people accepting someone else behind the stumps," Rahul told Star Sports on its show 'Cricket Connected'.

Rahul, who has played 32 ODIs and 42 T20Is, said keeping the wickets is not alien to him since he dons the gloves during the Indian Premier League (IPL) and also when he plays for his Ranji side Karnataka.

"People who follow cricket know that I haven't been away from wicket-keeping for too long as I donned the gloves in the IPL and every time I played for Karnataka," the 28-year-old said.

"I am always in touch with wicket-keeping but am also somebody who is more than willing to take up the role if the team needs me to," he stressed.

Dhoni's career is a matter of intense speculation. Many former players feel that it won't be easy for Dhoni to make it to the national squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup, scheduled to be held in Australia. 

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Agencies
January 5,2020

Mumbai, Jan 5: All-rounder Irfan Pathan on Saturday announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, ending an injury-ridden career that prevented him from realising his true potential.

The 35-year-old's retirement was on expected lines, considering he last played a competitive game in February 2019 during the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy for Jammu and Kashmir.

He did not even put himself in the IPL auction pool, last month.

The left-arm seamer's bowling was like a breath of fresh air when he made his India debut against Australia at the Adelaide Oval in 2003.

He never had express pace but his natural ability to swing the ball into the right-handers got him instant success, also drawing comparisons with the great Kapil Dev.

It seemed India had found the all-rounder they were looking for since Kapil left the scene. Pathan, who last played for India in October 2012, featured in 29 Tests (1105 runs and 100 wickets), 120 ODIs (1544 runs and 173 wickets) and 24 T20 Internationals (172 runs and 28 wickets).

He was part of the victorious Indian team at the 2007 World Twenty20 and was the man-of-the-match in the final against Pakistan.

One of his best performances came on the tour of Pakistan in 2006 when he became the second Indian after Harbhajan Singh to take a Test hat-trick, removing Salman Butt, Younis Khan and Mohammad Yusuf during the Karachi game.

He also played a big role in India winning a Test match against Australia on a tough Perth wicket, which offered steep bounce.

Injuries and lack of form troubled him thereafter and his ability to swing the ball deteriorated.

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Agencies
August 7,2020

Islamabad, Aug 7: Former Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, known for his blistering deliveries on the cricket field, recently baffled many with a deadly off-field bouncer by claiming he is willing to eat grass if it enabled an increase in budget for his country's Army!

"If Allah ever gives me the authority, I will eat grass myself but I will increase the budget of the army," said Akhtar in an interview with ARY News.

The 'Rawalpindi Express', considered the fastest bowler in history said he does not understand why the civilian sector cannot work in collaboration with the Armed forces.

"I will ask my army chief to sit with me and make decisions. If the budget is 20 per cent, I will make it 60 per cent. If we insult each other, the loss is ours only," the once feared fast-bowler said.

Akthar had also claimed to ARY News interview that he was willing to take a bullet for his country and had turned down a county stint just because he wanted to fight the 1999 Kargil War.

Ties between India and Pakistan have been strained in the recent months over several issues, the latest being Pakistan's attempt to broach in the UNSC the issue of Kashmir on the first anniversary of the India's move to scrap the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and to split the erstwhile state into two union territories .

Pakistan also has not been in a good financial position and under prime minister Imran Khan, himself an all rounder cricketer, has added nearly USD 22 billion, that is 35 per cent to the nation's international debt pile in the last two years, according to an Asia Times report in July.

While Pakistan recently received USD 1.39 billion from the IMF to cushion the economic shocks caused due to COVID-19 outbreak, Akthar had a few months ago proposed that a joint cricket match be played between India and Pakistan to raise funds to fight the coronavirus. The suggestion that was put down by cricketers in India.

Meanwhile the 'Pindi boy' whose deadly pace and bounce was once dreaded by batsmen had recently taken to Twitter to deny former India cricketer Virender Sehwag's claim of sledging him.

Sehwag along with other Indian crickerters such as Harbhajan Singh and even Rahul Dravid had been at the receiving end of Akthar's sledging and antics during their playing days.

"Yes, totally self made story by him. Mujhe yeh bol k bach k jana kidhar tha us nay," Akthar tweeted to a report in which Sehwag claimed that he had sledged the 'Rawalpindi Express' by telling him that Sachin Tendulkar was his father.

During an awards ceremony Sehwag had recounted that fed up with Akthar's sledging and retaliated by telling him to say the same things to Tendulkar, who smashed the 'Pindi boy' for a six. Sehwag quipped that he told Akthar then that "Baap baap hota hai".

In the recent ARY interview, asked about the allegation made against him by former India cricketer Virendra Sehwag that he makes pro-India comments for greater following on social media channels, Akhtar said, "I cannot talk on the basis of hate." 

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