India look to crack middle-order puzzle

Agencies
October 20, 2018

Guwahati, Oct 20: A formidable India will hope to get more answers for their middle-order puzzle when they take on a struggling West Indies in the five-match ODI series starting here on Sunday, kicking off the home team's countdown to the 2019 World Cup.

The World Cup in England is less than eight months away and India have 18-odd games left to decide their middle-order, mainly the number four position where many have been tried but with little success.

The series will also mark captain Virat Kohli's return to white-ball cricket as he had taken a break during the team's triumphant campaign in Asia Cup.

Kohli is expected try out a new combination in the middle-order that will see Rishabh Pant make his ODI debut, following his exploits in the longest format.

The 21-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman, who scored a century at the Oval in his debut series against England, continued his sublime form with consecutive scores of 92 against the West Indies in the two-match Test series.

Brought in the side as a specialist batsman at the expense of Dinesh Karthik, Pant will be under a little bit of pressure to perform from the world go.

The focus once again will be on MS Dhoni, whose batting ability is on the wane and with limited playing time in the middle, the job gets only tougher for the legendary cricketer. However, chief selector MSK Prasad has time and again said that Dhoni remains the first-choice wicketkeeper at least till the World Cup.

Dhoni was far from his best in the Asia Cup, scoring 77 runs in four innings with an average of 19.25 and a strike rate of 62.09.

In the whole of 2018, he has batted 10 times in 15 matches, averaging 28.12 with a strike rate of 67.36. He will be playing the World Cup in England, a country where he is yet to score a century in 20 ODIs and averages 38.06, a sharp drop from his career average of 50.61.

While the top three select themselves, the spotlight will also be on Ambati Rayudu, who is expected to bat four and will look to carry forward his fine form of Asia Cup where he tallied 175 runs, averaging 43.75 from six innings. However, time may be running out for Manish Pandey as he is yet to cement his place in the team after making his debut more than three years ago.

India will also have the services of all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja in the lower-order and in the absence of injured Hardik Pandya, he will have to step-up. The preceding Test series was productive for the southpaw and so was the Asia Cup, where he made his ODI comeback after a year's gap.

Looking at the bowling attack, the spin department will see the potent duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, while fast bowlers Mohammad Shami and an in-form Umesh Yadav will share the workload in the absence of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah, who have been rested for the first two ODIs.

Rookie left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed, who impressed in the two matches he played in Asia Cup, will look to grab the opportunity.

Unlike the Tests, the West Indies are expected to be much more competitive in ODIs but they are grappling with multiple woes.

Dynamic opener Evin Lewis has withdrawn from the ODI series citing personal reasons, dealing another blow to the side which is already missing Chris Gayle and Andre Russell.

To make matters worse, coach Stuart Law, who is into his penultimate assignment with the team, will not be allowed in the dressing room in the first two ODIs due to a breach of ICC's code of conduct.

However, the team has veteran Marlon Samuels, captain and all-rounder Jason Holder and pacer Kemar Roach. The squad features three uncapped players -- opener Chandrapaul Hemraj, all-rounder Fabian Allen and pacer Oshane Thomas.

The squads:

India: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, K Khaleel Ahmed, Lokesh Rahul, Umesh Yadav.

West Indies: Jason Holder (c), Fabian Allen, Sunil Ambris, Devendra Bishoo, Chanderpaul Hemraj, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Kieran Powell, Ashley Nurse, Keemo Paul, Rovman Powell, Kemar Roach, Marlon Samuels, Oshane Thomas and Obed McCoy.

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News Network
April 28,2020

New Delhi, Apr 28: West Indies flamboyant batsman Chris Gayle has lashed out at former teammate Ramnaresh Sarwan calling him 'worse than coronavirus'.

Gayle, the colossal figure in the shortest format of the game blamed Sarwan for his departure from Caribbean Premier League (CPL) franchise Jamaica Tallawahs.

The left-handed batsman joined St Lucia Zouks as their marquee player for the 2020 CPL season after Tallawahs chose not to retain him.

Gayle has played for Tallawahs and St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in the past. He has won the CPL title twice with the Tallawahs and played in the final with the Patriots in 2017.

"The owner of the franchise is a very nice man, I have no problem with him. I think he was actually persuaded to get rid of Chris Gayle," Gayle said in three parts on his YouTube channel.

"So someone has to be in his years telling him to get rid of Gayle. Sarwan, you are worse than the coronavirus right now. What transpired with the Tallahwahs, you had a big part to play.

Sarwan, you are a snake. You know, you are not the most loved person in the Caribbean. You are still stabbing people in the back," he added.

Gayle is the leading T20 run-scorer of all time as well as the man with the most centuries in the format. He is also the leading CPL run-scorer of all time, having amassed 2,344 runs in the tournament.

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News Network
June 6,2020

Mumbai, Jun 6: Reminiscing about his 'special knock' of 208 runs from 153 balls, Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma revealed why his wife Ritika had got emotional after he smashed his third double century in ODIs.

Rohit narrated the incident during his appearance in Episode 2 of the 'Open nets with Mayank'.

The batsman, who was accompanied by Shikhar Dhawan and Mayank on the show, said his wife thought that he had twisted his hand while diving for the 196th run during the innings.

"As you can see my wife got emotional there, this day was special as it was my anniversary. Probably the best gift I could give it to her while I am on the field, it was quite emotional though," said Rohit during the candid chat.

"When I came from the ground, I just asked her why did you (Ritika) cry? So she told me that she thought I (Rohit) twisted my hand when I dived for my 196th run and that was a little worrying factor for her, she got little emotional of because of that I guess," Rohit added.

In the match, the 32-year-old scored 208 runs with 13 fours and 12 sixes against Sri Lanka at Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali.

This enabled India to post a score of 392/4 in the allotted fifty overs.

India then went on to win the match by 141 runs.

"To be honest I was going pretty slow, I never thought I will get to a double hundred but once you cross 125, I feel it gets easier for you because bowlers are under pressure. Unless you make a mistake I don't think you can get out," said Rohit.

Rohit has scored two double hundreds against Sri Lanka and one against Australia in ODIs. The right-handed batsman is the only cricketer to make three double hundreds in ODI history.

Rohit, Shikhar, and Mayank would have been in action for Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, and Kings XI Punjab respectively, had the Indian Premier League (IPL) commenced from March 29. However, the tournament was suspended indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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News Network
May 30,2020

New York, May 30: Cricket superstar Virat Kohli remains the only Indian in the Forbes' list of world's highest-paid athletes with total earnings of USD 26 million, jumping to the 66th spot from 100 in the 2020 standings.

Kohli's earnings from endorsement stand at USD 24 million and USD 2 million from salary/winnings. The 31-year-old is also the only cricketer in the top-100 list.

With earnings of USD 25 million, Kohli was ranked 100th in 2019 and 83rd in 2018 with USD 24 million.

Tennis legend Roger Federer has toped the list for the first time with earnings of USD 106.3 million, rising from fifth place last year.

Football icons Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are second and third respectively with earnings of USD 105 and USD 104 million.

The others in the top-10 are Neymar (football), LeBron James (basketball), Stephen Curry (basketball), Kevin Durrant (basketball), Tigers Woods (golf), Kirk Cousins (American football) and Carson Wentz (American football).

The athletes' earnings have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic which led to suspension of sporting activities all around the world.

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Sunday, 31 May 2020

Saina Nehwal is the only Indian to feature in the world’s 20 most charitable athletes, as per a list compiled by the US based website in Athletes Gone Good. 

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