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IPL crisis for Virat Kohli with RCB's fourth straight loss

Agencies
April 3, 2019

Jaipur, Apr 3: India's superstar captain Virat Kohli admitted that Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) fate in the 2019 Indian Premier League (IPL) looks "really bad" after his side crashed to their fourth straight defeat.

England's Jos Buttler made 59 and Rahul Tripathi hit the winning runs with a six from the penultimate ball as Rajasthan Royals made 164/3 to secure their first win of the season by seven wickets.

While India top the Test rankings and Kohli is the leading batsman, he looks increasingly frustrated at his side's Indian Premier League performances.

He has never won the IPL title and Bangalore are now rock bottom in the eight-team league -- the only outfit without a win.

Kohli bemoaned Bangalore's failure to set a more challenging target against Rajasthan as well as dropped catches in the field.

"If we make that many mistakes, then you are going to fall on the losing side," said Kohli after the game. "In a tournament like the IPL, when you have no momentum then these things can happen.

"The team hasn't got off to a good start and these things look really bad but we have to keep believing that we can turn things around."

Kohli acknowledged that the injury-hit team may need changes as he said: "We will sit down and talk to see how we can balance our team. Hopefully we will get fresh guys in and they can give a match-winning performance."

But Bangalore now need a radical improvement to reach the playoffs, and questions are already being asked about Kohli's leadership and the failure to get an IPL title in what is now the tournament's 12th season.

Former India opener Gautam Gambhir said the India batting great was "very lucky" to be retained as captain by his franchise.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan ridiculed Bangalore's tactics.

"They look in shambles, the strategy they had pre-tournament has all been ripped. They are just picking tactics out of the hat as they go along," Vaughan told the Cricbuzz website.

Vaughan said IPL front-runners like reigning champions Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders stick to winning strategies.

Bangalore have ended the last two editions in sixth and eighth spot despite having top players like Kohli, South African AB de Villiers and the big-hitting Chris Gayle.

The side were undone by an umpiring error last week when Mumbai Indians paceman Lasith Malinga got away with a no-ball on the last delivery of the match with Bangalore needing six to tie.

The giant screen on the ground later showed Malinga overstepping the line and a fuming Kohli lashed out at the "ridiculous call" that cost his team a chance of victory.

But on Sunday they went down by 118 runs to Sunrisers Hyderabad in what Kohli called one of Bangalore's "worst losses ever".

"We were outplayed in all departments by a quality side," the Indian captain said after watching Jonny Bairstow hit 114 off 56 balls to guide Hyderabad to a stunning win.

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News Network
January 23,2020

Dhaka, Jan 23: Left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman, who is part of the Bangladesh squad traveling to Pakistan, posted a cryptic tweet before team's departure which raised a few eyebrows.

On Wednesday evening, Rahman took to Twitter to post a selfie along with his teammates before the team's departure and asked his followers to pray for them, writing: "Heading to Pakistan. Remember us in your prayers."

Bangladesh were earlier reluctant to travel to Pakistan. However, the officials of both the teams met in Dubai and it was after many deliberations, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) agreed to send their team for a cricket series.

Bangladesh will be playing three T20Is, two Tests and an ODI in Pakistan between January and April. The T20I series will be played from January 24-27 in Lahore, followed by the first Test from February 7 to 11.

Bangladesh will then return to Pakistan in April for the one-off ODI which will be played on April 3 and the second Test from April 5-9.

Senior players like Mushfiqur Rahim decided against traveling to Pakistan citing personal reasons. After that, five members of the Bangladesh coaching staff also pulled out of the tour.

Pakistan have also recalled the experienced duo of Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik, along with pacer Shaheen Afridi for the T20I series.

Squads:

Bangladesh: Mahmudullah (Captain), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Naim Sheikh, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Liton Kumer Das, MD Mithun, Afif Hossain Dhrubo, Mahedi Hasan, Aminul Islam Biplob, Mustafizur Rahman, Shafiul Islam, Al-Amin Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Hasan Mahmud.

Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Ahsan Ali, Amad Butt, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Musa Khan, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Usman Qadir.

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Agencies
August 2,2020

New Delhi, Aug 2: Batting great Rahul Dravid has attributed Chennai Super Kings' consistent run in the IPL to skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's instincts, game-smarts and the incredible amount of work that goes behind the scenes.

N Srinivasan, the former BCCI president and head of India Cements, which owns the CSK franchise, agreed that Dhoni is a man of instinct who doesn't believe in attending team meetings and going over data.

Both were speaking at a webinar organised by the Great Lakes Institute of Management.

"If you look at the success CSK has had, they've got really good access to data and they've got really good access to people behind the scenes and they've run cricket teams at the junior level," Dravid said at the webinar according to ESPNcricinfo.

The former India captain added, "They understand talent and they've obviously got a good scouting process in place. But, what they also have is a captain who really understands instincts.

"So, I mean, look, I know Dhoni quite well and I hope he hasn't changed, but I know Dhoni is probably not one to look at reams of data and statistics."

The Super Kings have won the lucrative tournament three times -- one less than Mumbai Indians -- and reached the knockouts in each of the 10 seasons they have been a part of.

Srinivasan also spoke about how Dhoni's instinct and judgement contributed to his team's success at a time when a lot of emphases is placed on data.

"We're awash with data just now. To give you an example, there are bowling coaches and in a T20 game, they play videos of every batsman whom they're going to come against and they see how he got out, what's his strength, what's his weakness etc.

"So, MS Dhoni doesn't attend this, he's a pure instinct man. The bowling coach, (head coach Stephen) Fleming will be there and everybody will be there, everyone is giving opinions, (but) he'll get up and go.

"In the context of instinct, he feels that okay he can assess a batsman or player on the field, that's his judgement. On the other hand, there is so much of data that is available to help a person also analyse. It's a very difficult line to draw (between data and instinct)."

Srinivasan also recalled how Dhoni once refused to take "one outstanding player" suggested by the franchise boss as that could have broken the team's cohesion.

"There was one outstanding player that we suggested to MS, he said: 'no sir, he will spoil the team'. The cohesion within the team is important and see in America, franchise-based sport has been there for such a long time," he said.

"In India, we're just starting and we're new to it. But we at India Cements have had a lot of experience running teams at junior levels."

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News Network
March 26,2020

New Delhi, Mar 26: As India continues its fight against coronavirus, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly pledged to donate rice worth Rs 50 Lakhs to the needy people.
The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), in its statement, said Ganguly along with Lal Baba Rice will provide rice to people who have been put in government schools for safety and security.
"#Sourav to provide Free Rice to the Needy It is heartening to note that Sourav Ganguly along with Lal Baba Rice has come forward to provide free rice worth Rs 50 lacs to the needy people who have been put in government schools for safety and security. Hope this initiative of Ganguly would encourage other citizens of the state to take up similar initiatives to serve the people of our state. #CAB," CAB said in a statement.
CAB President Avishek Dalmiya has also lent support to the needy people as he donated Rs 5 lakhs to the Government's Emergency Relief Fund.
"CAB President donates 5 lakhs to the Government's Emergency Relief Fund to fight against #CoronaVirus/#Covid19," CAB said in a statement.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced a 21-day nation-wide lockdown to contain coronavirus.

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