India vs Sri Lanka, 2nd ODI, Mohali: Hosts look to strike back

Agencies
December 13, 2017

Dec 13: Handed an embarrassing defeat in the inaugural ODI, a wounded India would look to get even against an inspired Sri Lanka in a do-or-die second match, here on Wednesday.

The loss not only hurt but was also an eye-opener for a team that has been dominant all throughout the long home season.

Proving that the opening day surrender to Sri Lanka pacers at the Eden Gardens was no aberration, the Indian batting stood exposed once again against the moving ball.

Chandigarh won't be as cold as Dharamsala but the pacers should come into play considering it is another 11:30 a.m. start to the day-night affair.

In that case, it will be another test for the Indian batsmen if the home team happens to bat first in a must-win contest.

Barring old war-horse MS Dhoni, the highly-rated batsmen seemed sitting ducks every time Suranga Lakmal pitched the ball up in the off-stump corridor.

After the experienced Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan fell early, it was an ideal opportunity for the likes of Shreyas Iyer, Dinesh Karthik and Manish Pandey to weather the initial storm and make a big score.

However, they all came a cropper and if it was not for Dhoni's fighting 65, India could well have been bowled out for their lowest ever total.

One man surely gutted looking at his team's performance would be captain Virat Kohli, who opted out of the series to get married to Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma in Italy.

Rohit, leading the side in Kohli's absence, was not amused either in his first ODI as captain, though he promised the team will learn from Dharamsala debacle and bounce back in the remaining two games.

"It is important to thrive in these conditions and come out good. It is an eye-opener for all of us," Rohit had said after the seven-wicket loss.

He is unlikely to tinker with the playing eleven but there is a possibility that Ajinkya Rahane is picked to shore up the inexperienced batting, especially the middle order.

Rahane sat out of the opening game as the team management sees him only as the back-up opener in the presence of Sharma and Dhawan.

However, he has batted in the middle-order in some of the 84 ODIs he has played.

In the bowling department, the worry for India will be the performance of Hardik Pandya, who again leaked runs as the hosts tried to defend a paltry 112.

He is in the squad as the seam-up bowling allrounder for the South Africa Test series and needs to be at the top of his game ahead of the crucial tour starting next month.

Considering Sri Lanka cantered to victory in 20.4 overs, spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav did not come on to bowl. They would be itching to get back into action after a month's gap.

While India find themselves in an unusual situation at home, Sri Lanka have a golden opportunity to seal the series after ending a 12-match losing streak with a thumping win in Dharamsala.

New Zealand too were on the cusp of history last month but faltered after winning the series opener as India bounced back to win the next two games.

The win must have done a world of good to the islanders' confidence after the beating they took at the hands of India at home and away this season.

Lakmal was lethal again on a helping pitch while Angelo Mathews too made a promising return with the ball.

Also effective on a seaming surface was pacer Nuwan Pradeep. The batting too clicked and completed the modest chase rather comfortably.

As put by Rohit after the match, another 70-80 runs and it could have been a different story with the ball still moving in the evening.

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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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News Network
March 4,2020

Sydney, Mar 4: Teenage Indian batting sensation Shafali Verma on Wednesday rose to the top spot in the ICC women's T20 International rankings, riding on her stellar run at the ongoing World Cup here.

The 16-year-old Verma takes over from New Zealand's Suzie Bates, who had been the top batter since October 2018 after wresting the spot from West Indies captain Stafanie Taylor.

However, Smriti Mandhana has slipped a couple of rungs to sixth in the latest list.

Verma and England spinner Sophie Ecclestone will go into the semifinals of the event as the top ranked batter and bowler respectively. India will take on England on Thursday.

Verma's explosive batting at the top of the order saw her score 161 runs in four innings, including knocks of 47 and 46 against Sri Lanka and New Zealand. It helped her become only the second India batter after Mithali Raj to top the women's T20I batting rankings, according to an ICC statement.

Ecclestone, who took eight wickets in four matches including a best of three for seven against the West Indies, is the first England bowler to be number one since Anya Shrubsole in April 2016 and the first England spinner at the top since Danni Hazell in August 2015.

Among the Indian bowlers, Poonam Yadav is up four places to eighth after a good run in World Cup.

Some valiant performances from Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Athapaththu have seen her move from 18th to 14th spot for batters.

England's Nat Sciver is again in the top 10 and captain Heather Knight in the top 15 for the first time.

South Africa opener Laura Wolvaardt has advanced 23 places to 44th, while Pakistan's Aliya Riaz has gained 24 places and is 48th while New Zealand's Maddy Green is in the top 100 after advancing 28 slots.

In the bowlers' list, leg-spinners Amelia Kerr of New Zealand (up two places to fourth) and Australia's George Wareham (up nine places to 10th) have made significant gains in the latest rankings update.

Other bowlers to advance include new-ball bowler Diana Baig of Pakistan (up 34 places to 13th), Shashikala Siriwardena of Sri Lanka (up seven places to 14th), Anya Shrubsole of England (up five places to 17th), Dane van Niekerk of South Africa (up 12 places to joint-22nd) and Shikha Pandey of India (up 23 places to joint-22nd).

New Zealand captain Sophie Devine is now the sole number one all-rounder after coming into the tournament as a joint number one along with Australia all-rounder Ellyse Perry.

India's Deepti Sharma has advanced nine places to seventh, the first time that she is among the top 10 in the all-rounders' list after also moving up to 53rd among batters.

Australia remain at the top of the T20I team rankings with 290 points and England in second position with 278.

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News Network
May 14,2020

New Delhi, May 14: Mahendra Singh Dhoni is an unconventional and unique leader, whose biggest strength is his incredible gut feeling, says his Chennai Super Kings teammate Faf du Plessis.

The former South Africa skipper has spent considerable time with Dhoni after joining the Indian Premier League (IPL) side in 2011 and has been an integral part of its successful journey.

"He reads the others player really well and he uses that to make instinctive decisions on the field. He's got an incredible gut feeling on the game and I think that's his biggest strength," du Plessis said in a Facebook live session with Bangladesh ODI skipper Tamim Iqbal.

The 35-year-old said Dhoni changed his perception of how a captain should be.

"It was amazing for me to see how different M S was as a captain. I used to think a captain must speak all the time in team meetings etc but M S was completely different.

"He doesn't believe a lot in team meetings. He's a very instinctive captain he's got such a good cricket brain that he relies on it to make the right decisions on the field," du Plessis said of former India skipper.

Dhoni last played for India in World Cup semifinal last year and was expected to be back to playing competitive cricket at now-postponed IPL.

Calling Dhoni the best finisher he has played with, Du Plessis said no one can emulate what the dasher from Ranchi can do with the bat.

"He's extremely calm. I haven't played with someone who is a better finisher than him. It's just remarkable to watch him from the side of the field."

"If someone else tries to do it like him they won't be able to. He's just so unique like he times the ball so late he's got an incredible calmness. He knows his game and he picks a bowler and goes for it."

Du Plessis said that playing for CSK alongside Dhoni and under the guidance head coach Stephen Fleming has taught him a lot about leadership.

"I'm lucky to have started my journey there at CSK because I have really learned a lot from a leadership point of view. I tried to learn as much as possible from Dhoni and Stephen Fleming because both are great captains."

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