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India vs West Indies 1st ODI at Kochi: West Indies likely XI

October 8, 2014

Oct 8: India will face West Indies in the opening encounter of the five-match One-Day International (ODI) series at Kochi on Wednesday.

The visitors are missing two of their biggest players in Chris Gayle and Sunil Narine, which lessens their chances of victory. However, the side still has plenty of firepower to beat any team on their day. Sameer Jhatakes a look at the likely combination that West Indies will field.

ODI KochiTop order: Lendl Simmons and Dwayne Smith will open the batting for West Indies. Both players are no strangers to Indian conditions having played the Indian Premier League (IPL). Smith has been a key player for MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings (CSK) this season, and it will be interesting to see if he can replicate that form for his national side too. Like Smith, Lendl Simmons too enjoys Indian pitches and would look to unsettle Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammad Shami in the early overs. Darren Bravo, who said that he would closely observe the Indian bowlers and have a plan before stepping out onto the field expected to come in at No three.

“In the last couple of years I have played quite a lot against India. The Indian bowling lineup has been changing time and again; there are some new bowlers on the scene now. It’s very important that I look at the clips of their bowlers and try and understand the way they go about things and have a very clear idea what exactly it is that I want to do when I step on the field.”, he was quoted as saying by bcci.tv.

Middle order:Captain Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard are the two all-rounders who will form the crux of the Windies middle-order. Both batsman are capable of hitting plenty of sixes, and MS Dhoni and his bowlers need to plan and execute well in order to get rid of them. In case any of them fails, the responsibility will lie with Denesh Ramdin and Darren Sammy to complete unfinished business. Ramdin scored 169 in the third ODI against Bangladesh, and even scored 102 in the warm up match against India A.

Lower order:Jason Holder who can hit a cricket ball a long way, is expected to come in at No 8. He had a good season for Barbados Tridents, and even scored a quickfire 52 in the warm up match against India A. His inclusion adds incredible depth to their batting line-up. The lanky Sulieman Benn is expected to fill the spinner’s slot in the absence of Narine. Benn did well against Bangladesh, but it remains to be seen whether he can replicate that performance against the talented Indian batting line-up. Kemar Roach and Ravi Rampaul would occupy the last two slots, and try and do justice to West Indies’ rich fast bowling legacy by picking up some wickets.

West Indies’ likely XI:Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Smith, Darren Bravo, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Kieron Pollard, Darren Sammy, Dwayne Bravo (c), Jason Holder, Sulieman Benn, Kemar Roach, Ravi Rampaul

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Agencies
August 4,2020

New Delhi, Aug 4: Former India women's team captain Anjum Chopra firmly believes that the BCCI has a plan for women's cricket but she wants the Board to communicate its ideas more specifically.

Speaking to news agency, Chopra, who is now a successful broadcaster, said the BCCI is thinking in earnest about the progress of women's cricket.

"It's not that the BCCI is not thinking about women's cricket. I only think they need to be more specific in communication about women's cricket," Chopra said.

"I firmly believe that they must be thinking about women's cricket but the communication all this while has been very specific to men's cricket."

The latest trigger for criticism of BCCI was India's withdrawal from a tour of England in September owing to logistical issues arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chopra concedes it was "not nice" but Indian players' participation in the women's IPL, in November, will still be useful preparation for next year's ODI World Cup.

"It is heartening to see women's cricket making headlines. They should have been a part of that England tour and it did not feel nice initially but the women's IPL, irrespective of the format, will be helpful for World Cup preparations. Any form of cricket is good preparation," Chopra said.

"Missing out on a tournament is not nice, but logistically there may have been issues. And you can't send an under-prepared team."

"If you see in isolation we may have missed out on an opportunity to play in England. The more the girls play the better it is, before playing a tournament of the stature of World Cup. The assurance from the president is a very good thing."

Chopra welcomed the Sourav Ganguly-led BCCI's decision to hold the women's event in the UAE alongside the IPL, which will run from September 19 to November 10. The women's IPL will coincide with the business end of the men's league.

"I am definitely happy, it's always nice to be part of any cricket anywhere across the world.

"They should have been nearing the final stages of the preparation for the World Cup by now, but because of the pandemic things did not go as planned," she added.

Chopra had a successful international career spanning over 17 years, during which she represented India in a record six World Cups and became the first woman cricketer to appear in 100 One-day Internationals.

She also felt that the pandemic would not have much impact on the women's game that has gained momentum in recent times.

"...Cricket was on pause button...Once cricket resumes and players are back on the park, everything is going to get picked up. It might take some time to get started as everything starts from zero...

"The awareness the women's game has created, I hope it stays. They will just restart, not start after the pandemic."

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News Network
June 25,2020

New Delhi, Jun 25: India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Thursday called the 1983 World Cup win as the 'landscape' changing moment for the game of cricket in the country.

Today, India is celebrating the completion of the 37 years of the maiden World Cup triumph under the leadership of Kapil Dev.

"Today 37 years ago, changed the cricketing landscape in India. Thank you @therealkapildev and team for making the game a career for many of us today. Deeply indebted," Ashwin tweeted.

In 1983, in the finals between India and West Indies, the latter won the toss and opted to bowl first.

The Kapil Dev-led side managed to score just 183 runs as Andy Roberts took three wickets while Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding, and Larry Gomes picked up two wickets each.

Defending 183, India did a good job of keeping a check on the Windies run flow, reducing the side to 57/3.

Soon after, the team from the Caribbean was reduced to 76/6 and India was the favourites from there on to win the title.

Mohinder Amarnath took the final wicket of Michael Holding to give India their first-ever World Cup title win.

In the finals, West Indies was bowled out for 140, and as a result, India won the match by 43 runs.

Kapil Dev lifting the trophy at the balcony of Lord's Cricket Ground still remains an image to savour for all the Indian fans.

In the finals, Mohinder Amarnath was chosen as the Man of the Match as he scored 26 runs with the bat and also picked up three wickets with the ball.

India has been the regular participant in the World Cup from its beginning to the latest edition. The first edition was held in 1975 and from there on, it has taken place after a span of every four years.

West Indies won the first two World Cup titles (1975, 1979) and was the runner-up in 1983. India has won the title two times, in 1983 and in 2011.

MS Dhoni captained the 2011 team to win their second title after 28 years. Australia has won the tournament five times (1987, 1999, 2003, 2007, and 2015).

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News Network
April 7,2020

Bengaluru, April 7: India batsman Robin Uthappa has said that he reckons he still has a World Cup left in him, despite being out of the team for than four years.

Uthappa had last played a match for the Men in Blue in 2015 on the tour of Zimbabwe.

"Right now I want to be competitive. I still have that fire burning in me, I really want to compete and do well. I honestly believe I have a World Cup left in me, so I'm pursuing that, especially the shortest format. 

The blessings of lady luck or god or whatever you call it, plays a massive factor," ESPN Cricinfo quoted Uthappa as saying.

"Especially in India, it becomes so much more evident. I don't think it is as evident when you're playing cricket outside of India. But in the subcontinent and India especially, with the amount of talent that we do have in our country, all of those aspects become evident," he added.

The 34-year-old Uthappa has played 46 ODIs and 13 T20Is for India and he was also a part of the T20 World Cup-winning squad in 2007.

Uthappa has scored 934 runs in ODIs at an average of 25.94, while in T20Is his numbers are 249 runs at an average of 24.90.

"You can never write yourself off. You would be unfair to yourself if you write yourself off.

Especially if you believe you have the ability and you know that there is an outside chance. So I still believe in that outside chance," Uthappa said.

"I still believe that things can go my way and I probably can be a part of a World Cup-winning team and play an integral role in that as well.

Those dreams are still alive and I think I'll keep playing cricket till that is alive," he added.

Uthappa had enjoyed great success with IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders. He went on to become their leading run-scorer in the 2014 edition.

However, he was released by the side after a below-par 2019 season, and last November he was picked up by the Rajasthan Royals for the 2020 edition.

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