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
April 24,2020

New Delhi, Apr 24: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Friday extended wishes to the "most prolific batsman of all time" Sachin Tendulkar on his 47th birthday.

ICC took to Twitter and wrote: "Happy birthday to Sachin Tendulkar, the most prolific batsman of all time! To celebrate, we will give you the opportunity to vote for his top ODI innings in a bracket challenge! Stay tuned to join the celebrations."

The Maharashtra-born player had an illustrious career in the game, creating several records.
Tendulkar made his debut in Test cricket on November 15, 1989. In the same year on December 18, he played his first ODI match.

The legendary cricketer has the most number of runs in the longest format of the game, amassing 15,921 runs. Along the way, Tendulkar scored 51 Test centuries, most by any player.

Things are no different in ODI cricket as Tendulkar atop the list of most runs in this format as well. He has accumulated 18,426 runs in ODI which includes 49 tons.

Tendulkar represented the country in six World Cups during his career that lasted for 24 years. He was the part of the 2011 World Cup-winning squad.

This year, Master Blaster decided not to celebrate his birthday due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis in the country.

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Agencies
March 3,2020

Mumbai, Mar 3: India on Tuesday retained their number one spot and captain Virat Kohli remained static at second in the ICC rankings despite a dismal Test series against New Zealand.

India have 116 rating points, six more than New Zealand with third-placed Australia accumulating 108 points. The 0-2 result against New Zealand was India's first series loss in the World Test Championship.

Kohli remains in second position in the batting rankings despite a forgettable Test series in which he made 38 runs in four innings, the ICC said in a statement.

New Zealand opener Tom Blundell and his Indian counterpart Prithvi Shaw and debutant paceman Kyle Jamieson were among the biggest movers in the rankings, released on Tuesday.

Blundell had a successful series against India, scoring 117 runs in four innings, with one half-century, which put him among the top two run-scorers in the series.

The performance meant he was rewarded with a jump of 27 places to No. 46. Shaw, who returned for his first series since his Test debut against West Indies in 2018, and made a punchy 54 in the first innings of the Christchurch Test, rose 17 places to No.76.

Australia's Steve Smith retained his top spot, holding a 25-point advantage over Kohli. Smith's apprentice Marnus Labuschagne jumped one spot to round off the top three, taking the place of New Zealand captain Kane Williamson.

England all-rounder Ben Stokes and India opener Mayank Agarwal moved a spot each and swapped places to break into and fall out of the top 10 respectively.

Among bowlers, Tim Southee's Player of the Series winning performance against India took him into the top five, with a jump of two places to No.4, while Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult returned to the top 10, gaining four places each to occupy the seventh and ninth positions respectively.

But the biggest gainer was Jamieson, who rose from No. 80 to 43.

There was only one change in the top ten among all-rounders, with Southee dropping a spot to No.10 and team-mate Neil Wagner falling out of the top 10 with a drop of four spots.

As with the bowling rankings, Jamieson, who frustrated India with handy lower order runs, gained big on the all-rounders' table, rising 26 places to No. 22.

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News Network
January 8,2020

Indore, Jan 8: Skipper Virat Kohli struck an unbeaten 30 as India beat Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second Twenty20 international in Indore on Tuesday.

The hosts rode a 71-run opening stand between KL Rahul, who hit 45, and Shikhar Dhawan, who made 32, to chase down their target of 143 in 17.3 overs and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series after the first match was rained off.

Leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga took the wickets of the Indian openers but Shreyas Iyer, who scored 34 before falling to paceman Lahiru Kumara, and Kohli, who hit the winning six, got the team home.

The third match is on Friday in Pune.

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