Jadeja hopeful of a return to all three formats

Agencies
September 8, 2018

London, Sept 8: Spinner Ravindra Jadeja remains determined to represent India in all three formats as he feels playing only Tests is not enough to keep him in good shape for international cricket. 

Jadeja took two for 57 on day one of the fifth and final Test, which happens to be his first of the series.

"For me the biggest thing is that I am playing for India and maybe some day if I do well, I will be back playing all three formats of the game soon enough. But my aim is to convert any opportunity I get into performance," he said after stumps on day one.

"When you are playing just one format it is very tough because there is too much gap between matches and the experience (rhythm) you need to play at international level is less. So you have to keep motivating yourself whenever I get a chance, like in this game, whatever ability I have, I have to give my best on the field." 

He outlined playing the holding role as lone spinner, whilst also admitted his aim to fulfil the all-rounder spot for India.

"Whenever I get an opportunity to play for India, I will give my best in both aspects batting and bowling. I want to become a trusted member of the team and I can fulfil the all-rounder slot well because I have done it before in the past. It isn't anything new to me. It is a matter of time. 

"When you are going through a bad patch, you need to play more and more to regain your old form and touch. So it is possible the more I play international cricket, the better I will perform and will be able to make a comeback in all three formats, said the southpaw.

India did well to reduce England to 198 for seven by close of play considering the hosts were 133 for one in the 64th over.

Jadeja said that the bowling attack worked together to a plan of cutting down boundaries and frustrating the English batsmen.

Jadeja took a couple while Ishant Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah shared the other five wickets as India's bowling proved miserly throughout the day. 

"Everyone bowled well, especially when the partnership between Moeen Ali and Alastair Cook was on, our plan was to stop the boundaries. Our plan was that if they didn't get boundaries, they'd panic and play wrong shots and get out. And that's exactly what happened. 

"From there we got six wickets for 50 or so. As a bowling department, that is our idea not to concede runs. If there's a partnership, we will bowl in good areas. In England, if one wicket falls, you get two or three in a cluster. And that's what happened," he said.

Mohammed Shami was unlucky as he beat the batsmen on numerous occasions, but failed to induce an edge.

"Shami bowled well. He was unlucky that he beat the bat so many times. He's bowling with good rhythm; he is generating good pace too. Shami, Bumrah and Ishant - all of them did well, said Jadeja.

England made their best start of the series on a pitch that proved to be more batsmen friendly than others earlier, with the first wickets putting on 133 runs. Thereafter the hosts collapsed in the final session, conceding six wickets for 65 runs.

"This is a good wicket for batting. There's nothing much in it. As the game progresses, the pitch will get slower. It's looking slightly dry. But our three fast bowlers bowled really well.

"It's difficult when you're not getting any help from the wicket on day one. The ball you're actually trying to bowl...it's not coming out that way. I was just thinking that Shami, Ishant and Bumrah were bowling well from the other end. They were beating the bat non-stop. 

"I was just thinking that I shouldn't concede boundaries, because if that pressure is released at one end, it becomes easy for the batsmen. We didn't get any wickets in the second session but we didn't concede many runs either. We came back well. Everyone did their jobs in the bowling department," Jadeja said.

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News Network
January 9,2020

Kuala Lampur, Jan 9: Saina Nehwal and reigning world champion P V Sindhu produced dominating performances to progress to the women's singles quarterfinals of the Malaysia Masters Super 500 badminton tournament here on Thursday.

Sixth seed Sindhu notched up a commanding 21-10 21-15 victory over Japan's Aya Ohori in a pre-quarterfinal match lasting just 34 minutes. It was Sindhu's ninth successive win over Ohori.

The 24-year-old Indian, who won the World Championships in Basel last year, will take on world number 1 Tai Tzu Ying in the quarterfinals after the Chinese Taipei shuttler got the better of South Korea's Sung Ji Hyun 21-18 16-21 21-10.

Saina, who had won the Indonesia Masters last year before going through a rough patch, dispatched eight seed An Se Young of South Korea 25-23 21-12 after a thrilling 39-minute contest to make the last eight.

This is Saina's first win over the South Korean, who got the better of the Indian in the quarterfinals of the French Open last year.

The two-time Commonwealth Games champion will next take on Olympic champion Carolina Marin.

Saina had defeated Lianne Tan of Belgium 21-15 21-17 in the opening round on Wednesday.

In the men's singles, India's challenge ended after both Sameer Verma and HS Prannoy crashed out in the second round.

While Verma lost to Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia 19-21 20-22, Prannoy was shown the door by top seed Kento Momota of Japan 14-21 16-21.

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News Network
June 6,2020

New Delhi, Jun 6: Former West Indies pacer Michael Holding has come out in support of MS Dhoni, saying that the wicket-keeper batsman indeed wanted to win the match against England in the 2019 World Cup.

India's performance in the World Cup match against England last year has once again become a matter of debate as all-rounder Ben Stokes in his book titled 'On Fire' questioned the intent of the Indian side.

Stokes also said that Dhoni's intent was questionable as he did not go for big shots when India still had a chance to win the match.

However, Holding said that nowadays people tend to write anything in their books.

"Well, people will write anything in books these days, because people are a lot more free with their opinions and when they are writing books, they need to be making headlines at times," Holding said on his official YouTube channel.

"But, to be honest, a lot of people watching that game perhaps wouldn't have arrived to the same conclusion that Ben Stokes arrived at that India were not trying to win," he added.

Holding did say that it seemed like that India did not have the same intensity as they would have had if the match was a do-or-die match.

"It was not the game that India had to win, but I don't think anyone can say that was a team tactic to lose the game. I watched that game and it appeared to me as if India weren't putting up their 100 per cent, but I realised it was not the case when the expression on MS Dhoni's face told me that he desperately wanted to win, so I do not think it was a team decision to not try to win," the former Windies pacer said.

"But I don't think they went with the same intensity of wanting to win the game, say, if it was a do-or-die situation. If it was, we would have seen a different game," he added.

On his official YouTube channel, Holding also said that no team goes in with a set pattern in terms of chasing targets.

In the round-robin stage match against England in Birmingham, India failed to chase down the massive target of 338 and fell short by 31 runs.

That was the only game that India lost in the premier tournament last year before the semifinal loss against the Kiwis.

India's chasing approach, in particular of wicket-keeper batsman Dhoni, was criticised by many, including the fans at home.

As soon as Stokes mentioned Dhoni's lack of intent in his book 'On Fire', Pakistan fans started saying that India deliberately lost the match to knock out their neighbours.

However, Stokes clarified that he never said India lost deliberately and some people were twisting his words.

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News Network
April 28,2020

New Delhi, Apr 28: IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore's Director of Cricket Operations Mike Hesson returned to New Zealand on Tuesday after being stranded in India for over a month amid the nationwide lockdown to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ex-New Zealand player and coach had arrived in India on March 5 for the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League but was stuck in the country after the lockdown was imposed and all flights were suspended.

"What a wonderful sight after spending over a day on a bus to get to Mumbai airport. The staff on @FlyAirNZ were simply outstanding on our return to New Zealand," Hesson tweeted.

He also thanked Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the New Zealand Embassy in India, New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

"Special thanks to Down pointing backhand index @NZinIndia @MFATNZ @narendramodi @jacindaardern #repatriationflight #india #NZ" he added.

To stem the spread of the coronavirus outbreak, India and New Zealand had announced lockdowns in their respective countries last month, alongside travel restrictions, forcing the 45-year-old to stay in Bengaluru.

While India remains in lockdown till May 3, New Zealand eased its stringent measures on Tuesday.

The IPL, which was originally scheduled to get underway on March 29, has been suspended until further notice due to the pandemic.

The cornavirus outbreak, that originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has infected over 30 lakh people across the world while killing more than two lakh.

All sporting events, including the Tokyo Olympics, have either been cancelled or postponed.

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