India snatch 48-run victory as West Indies crumble under pressure in 2nd ODI

October 12, 2014

Oct 12: Mohammad Shami‘s career-best four for 36 led India to a 48-run victory over West Indies in the second One-Day International (ODI) played at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in Delhi on Saturday.

India snatchWest Indies who were put to bowl by Indian skipper MS Dhoni had a task to chase a total of 264 runs in the allotted 50 overs. The West Indies chase started cautiously, the two openers Dwayne Smith and Darren Bravo were in full attention in early four overs and only collected 7 runs of it. But the fifth from Bhuvaneshwar Kumar broke the strict monitoring from Indian bowlers as it went for costly 12 runs.

Both batsmen faced no issues playing the the Indian bowling attack which was deficient in pace and bounce. After 10 overs West Indies had reached 45 runs without any damages. The first break for the Indian bowlers came in the 14th over which was bowled by Mohammed Shami. Bravo missed a delivery pitched in from around the stumps which knocked off his off-stump. The wicket saw Kieron Pollard make his way towards the Kotla pitch to bat at No. 3.

Indian bowlers bowled few tight overs when they had a new batsmen in. Five overs just went for 11 runs. Pollard announced his arrival with a 88 meter six from the last ball of the 19th over bowled by Ravindra Jadeja. The hundred came up in the 23rd over and both the West Indies batsmen easily steamed the lose deliveries across the short Delhi boundary. Pollard gave away his wicket soon after when he tried to hoick a flatter delivery floated outside off by Amit Mishra for a thunderous six but instead inside edged it onto the stumps.

Marlon Samuels joined Smith at the crease but his stay at the wicket was painful for the West Indies team. The centurion from last match hogged too many balls. In a crunch situation when the asking rate was climbing with every ball, Samuels defended two overs from Mishra which poisoned the West Indies innings. The 32nd over by Virat Kohli went for 14 runs soaked some pressure from tense West Indies faces. Smith who was nearing his hundred took the ultimate charge to Shami and smacked him for a six over long-on. And like previous match, he was cleaned up after hitting the six. That was the changing corner of the match.

Things changed quickly after. Samuels was caught by Kohli at cover when he attempted to flash his bat at a short delivery. He took 38 golden deliveries to scratch 16 runs from his bat. Jadeja who bowled the 43rd over and ensured the match doesn’t stem further. His first victim was Andre Russell who was stumped after he failed to spot the turn. Darren Sammy was bowled by Jadeja in the last ball of the over .

The only hope, Dwayne Bravo was grabbed by Shami in the next over. At one point West Indies looked pretty at 170 for 2 but in the end the whole team was just caked away by the Indian bowlers in a jiffy. The West Indies innings ultimately ended on 216 runs from 46.3 overs.

Earlier, India scored 263 runs after losing seven wickets. India had a wobbly start to their innings as Shikhar Dhawan walked back to the pavilion only in the second over of the match. Ajinkya Rahane played few handsome looking shots before he too perished as he played a upish drive straight to the cover fielder. Ambati Rayudu came in to bat at No. 3 in place of Virat Kohli and played sensibily enough for his 32 runs. India achieved stability under a 100 plus partnership between Kohli and Suresh Raina. Dhoni came in with a composed half-century in the end which took India to a respectable score

Jerome Taylor was the most successful bowler for the West Indies team as he picked three wickets giving away 54 runs.

Brief scores:

India 263 for 7 in 50 overs ( Suresh Raina 62, Virat Kohli 62; Jerome Taylor 3 for 54) beat West Indies 215 in 46.3 overs (Dwayne Smith 97, Kieron Pollard 40; Mohammad Shami 4 for 36) by 48 runs.

Man of the match: Mohammed Shami

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News Network
April 13,2020

Apr 13: Former India opener Gautam Gambhir says if IPL is not played this year, it will be difficult for Mahendra Singh Dhoni to make a comeback to the Indian team.

Dhoni last played for India in the World Cup semi-final against New Zealand in July last year.

Since then he hasn't played any competitive cricket and legends such as Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev have already said that it's getting increasingly difficult for the Jharkhand dasher to make an international return after such a prolonged sabbatical.

He was expected to be seen in action at this year's IPL but the chances of T20 league being played are remote due to the COVID-19.

"If the IPL does not happen this year, then it will become very difficult for MS Dhoni to make a comeback. On what basis can he (Dhoni) be selected since he’s not been playing for the last one or one and a half year," Gambhir said on Star Sports show 'Cricket Connected'.

The 38-year-old Gambhir picked KL Rahul, who has been keeping in ODIs, as an "apt replacement" for Dhoni.

Read: Coronavirus India update: State-wise total number of confirmed cases, deaths

"Obviously his (Rahul's) keeping is not as good as Dhoni’s, but if you are looking at T20 cricket, Rahul's a utility player, can keep and bat at No. 3 or 4. If the IPL does not happen, then Dhoni’s chances for a comeback look dim.

"Ultimately, you are representing India, so whoever dishes out the best performance and can win the match for India should play for the team," added Gambhir.

The southpaw also felt that retirement was Dhoni's personal decision.

"As far as his retirement plans go by, that's his personal choice," said Gambhir.

However, his former teammate and test specialist VVS Laxman feels that Dhoni can continue playing IPL.

"Not only this IPL, he (Dhoni) will probably play in the next couple of IPLs, and then we will take a call about his future as a cricketer," Laxman said on the same show.

However, Laxman, a veteran of 134 Tests, said that the new selection committee, chaired by former spinner Sunil Joshi, will have to discuss Dhoni's future with him.

"Dhoni will be very clear, as far as his plans are concerned, I'm sure he must have communicated that with (captain) Virat Kohli, (coach) Ravi Shastri immediately after the 2019 World Cup in England," said Laxman.

"The new selection committee will have to sit down with MS Dhoni and understand his future, as far as Indian cricket is concerned. But MS Dhoni will continue to play for CSK and do well for CSK," said Laxman, who amassed 8,781 Test runs.

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Agencies
March 6,2020

Mumbai, Mar 6: Former India batsman Virender Sehwag expressed excitement over the upcoming Road Safety World Series and said he is looking forward to playing with Sachin Tendulkar again.

"I am very excited about this tournament because I will get another chance to play with Sachin. We have played many international matches together and there was a gap and then we played an All-Star match and now again getting a chance. I am looking forward to playing with Tendulkar," Sehwag told media persons.

In the opening match of the Road Safety World Series, India Legends will play against West Indies Legends on March 7. The main aim of the Series is to create awareness about road safety and change people's mindset towards their behaviour on the roads.

Sehwag hailed the initiative of Road Safety World Series and said: "I think it is a very good initiative by the government that they are working towards creating awareness regarding road safety. Awareness regarding road safety is important for everyone."

Road Safety World Series, a five-nation T20 cricket tournament, will showcase some of the biggest names in cricket from India, Australia, Sri Lanka, West Indies, and South Africa.

Players who will feature in this series include Tendulkar, Sehwag, Brian Lara, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Brett Lee, Brad Hodge, Jonty Rhodes, Muttiah Muralitharan, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Ajantha Mendis and many more. Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar is the Commissioner of the Series.

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News Network
July 6,2020

New Delhi, Jul 6: India's cricket chief Sourav Ganguly says improved fitness standards and a change in culture have led to the country developing one of the world's best pace attacks.

Spearheads Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah are part of a battery of five formidable quick bowlers that have helped change India's traditional reliance on spin bowling.

"You know culture has changed in India that we can be good fast bowlers," Ganguly said in a chat hosted on the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Twitter feed.

"Fitness regimes, fitness standards not only just among fast bowlers but also among the batters, that has changed enormously. That has made everyone understand and believe that we are fit, we are strong and we can also bowl fast like the others did."

The West Indies dominated world cricket in the 1970s and 1980s led by a fearsome pace attack that included all-time greats such as Michael Holding, Andy Roberts, Malcolm Marshall and Joel Garner.

Recently Indian quicks have risen to the top in world cricket with Shami, Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar in a deadly arsenal.

"The West Indies in my generation were naturally strong," the former India captain said.

"We Indians were never such naturally strong... but we worked hard to get strong. But I think it is the change in culture as well that is very important."

Shami last month claimed that the current Indian pace attack may be the best in Test history.

"You and everyone else in the world will agree to this -- that no team has ever had five fast bowlers together as a package," said Shami.

"Not just now, in the history of cricket, this might be the best fast-bowling unit in the world."

Shami took 13 wickets during India's 3-0 home Test sweep over South Africa last year, while Bumrah has claimed 68 scalps in 14 Tests since his debut.

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