India vs Sri Lanka, 3rd T20I: Hosts eye clean sweep, No. 2 rank

Agencies
December 24, 2017

Mumbai, Dec 24: With the series already in their pocket, India will look to give some of the bench players a chance but there will be no let-up in the intensity as they eye a complete whitewash against Sri Lanka in the third and final T20I here on Sunday, which will also push the hosts up to No. 2 in the ICC Rankings for T20Is.

For the islanders, it has been a forgetful year and the two recent defeats against India have just added to their misery.

While the hosts thrashed Sri Lanka by 93 runs in the first match at Cuttack, they outclassed them by 88 runs in Indore to seal the series. The visitors also lost the ODIs 1-2 and drew a blank in the Test series before that.

On the other hand, India have been cruising across all formats and would surely look to end a successful year with another thumping win ahead of a tough tour of South Africa where they play three Tests, six ODIs and three T20s.

The constant one-sided results may not be an ideal preparation for India for the coming tour, but the positive thing is that in absence of seniors, including inspirational captain Virat Kohli, the youngsters have taken responsibility and delivered in the T20Is and ODIs.

Stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma, who equalled David Miller's record of the fastest ever T20 century during his 43-ball 118 in Indore, is in peak form and he would love to continue his good run at his home ground.

Be it KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey or the experienced campaigner Mahendra Singh Dhoni, all have chipped in when needed and coach Ravi Shastri would expect them to fire again on Sunday.

India promoted Dhoni up the order on Friday and the former captain justified the team's decision by scoring at a brisk pace. The same can be expected in Mumbai if the openers give a flying start.

This Indian batting line-up can destroy any bowling attack and Sri Lanka's toothless bowlers just provide them more opportunity to be devastating and ruthless. The credit for preparing good bench strength should be given to the Indian Premier League and the robust domestic circuit.

Wrist spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, who starred last night too, have cemented their place by picking up regular wickets after their international debuts. The selectors would be seeing how Saurashtra pacer Jaydev Unadkat performs, as he can be an important cog in the scheme of things after veteran pacer Ashish Nehra called it a day.

Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah have already cemented their place in the team and a good game for them will boost their confidence ahead of a gruelling tour. But having won the series, the team management may decide to play some young guns like Basil Thampi, Washington Sundar and Deepak Hooda.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka have been dealt a severe blow with Angelo Mathews ruled out due to a hamstring injury. In his absence, senior pros like Upul Tharanga will have to take responsibility and deliver. Kusal Perera's 37-ball 77 in the second T20I gave a huge boost to the team and he would look for another good innings.

Their bowlers too have failed to put up a spirited show and skipper Thisara Perera would like his men to at least give a fight and reverse the trend. All bowlers, including Nuwan Pradeep, Mathews and Thisara himself, have leaked plenty of runs and they need to pull up their socks to stop the Indian Juggernaut and come up with something special.

Overall, the Wankhede wicket has favoured the batsmen in the past but scores as high as 190 have been chased in T20 games here. Considering the form of Indian batsmen, spectators can see another run-feast.

An added incentive for India, if they win 3-0, will be No. 2 position in the ICC T20I Rankings.

India are at 119 points and a win will give them another point to equal West Indies and New Zealand at 120 on second position in the table. Pakistan lead the rankings with 124 points.

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News Network
February 14,2020

Hamilton, Feb 14: Batting first, India finished at 263 for nine on the opening day of the three-day warm-up game against New Zealand XI here on Friday.

Hanuma Vihari made 101 off 182 balls before retiring, while Cheteshwar Pujara scored 93.

Besides, Ajinkya Rahane (18) was the only other Indian batsmen to register double digit score.

The likes of Prithvi Shaw (0), Mayank Agarwal (1) and Shubman Gill (0) failed to cash in on the opportunity.

Scott Kuggeleijn (3/40) and Ish Sodhi (3/72) shared six wickets between them for New Zealand.

Brief Scores:

India: 263 for 9 in 78.5 overs (Hanuma Vihari 101, Cheteshwar Pujara 93; Scott Kuggeleijn 3/40, Ish Sodhi 3/72).

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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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News Network
June 22,2020

Zadar (Croatia), Jun 22: Grigor Dimitrov took to Instagram to announce that he has tested positive for coronavirus. The tennis star was one of the players who took part in the Adria Tour with the likes Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem among others.

Taking to Instagram, the player wrote: "Hi Everyone-I want to reach out and let my fans and friends know that I tested positive back in Monaco for Covid-19. I want to make sure anyone who has been in contact with me during these past days gets tested and takes the necessary precautions. I am so sorry for any harm I might have caused. I am back home now and recovering. Thanks for your support and please stay safe and healthy."

He also urged those who had come in contact with him over the last few days in Monaco should also get tested for the deadly virus.

Meanwhile, World no.1 Djokovic reached the final of his exhibition tournament in Zadar, Croatia, after easing through the round-robin group stage on the first day. This is the second stage of the Adria Tour with Austrian Dominic Thiem winning the first leg in Belgrade, Serbia.

Djokovic started by saving three set points in his 4-3, 4-1 win over fellow Serb Pedja Krstin. He then beat home favourite Borna Coric 4-1, 4-3 in front of several thousand fans at the Visnjik tennis complex.

The tournament in Zadar is being played on red clay over two days. In the other group, Russian Andrey Rublev is in pole position to advance into the final after wins over 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic and Serb Danilo Petrovic. He faces German star Alexander Zverev in the final round robin match on Sunday who stayed in contention after beating Cilic 4-3, 0-4, 4-3.

Djokovic''s own inconsequential final group match is against Croatian Dino Serdarusic who replaced Grigor Dimitrov after the Bulgarian pulled out of the tournament with sickness following his opening 4-1, 4-1 loss to Coric.

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