Kohli eye Zimbabwe whitewash after 4th consecutive win

August 2, 2013

Kohli_eyeBulawayo, Aug 2: After hammering minnows Zimbabwe yet again, India skipper Virat Kohli now has his eyes trained on a 5-0 clean sweep of the hosts in the ODI series.

India today spanked Zimbabwe by nine wickets for a 4-0 lead in the five-match series.

"Definitely (that's the aim). We want to end on a high and go home with smile on face. We want to finish the series properly and if we execute things, proper results will follow," Kohli said when asked if he has a 5-0 result in mind.

Kohli credited his bowlers and top-order batsmen.

"The pitch was doing a bit early and we tried to extract. Our bowlers did a great job and then Rohit and Raina finished it off well," he said.

Rohit Sharma (64) and Raina (65) scored unbeaten half-centuries and shared a 122-run strand in 21.2 overs in India's chase of 145.

"It was good to see Rohit performing consistently. He was not getting runs early in the series."

Kohli had good words to say about debutant paceman Mohit Sharma and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja.

"Jadeja is a good allrounder and he showed what he can do with the wickets and that run-out. Mohit was accurate from ball one which was pleasing to see as it was his first game. We are really proud of him and I wish him luck," Kohli said.

Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor looked dejected after the side's fourth successive defeat.

"It is pretty frustrating. It was a good batting wicket. We did all the hard work but couldn't execute it there. We keep getting ourselves out and keep capitulating, it's difficult to come back from that," he said.

Nevertheless he hoped that the team would put up a good show in the last match on Saturday.

"We try to stay relax and keep the morale up. The series has not gone well and fortunately there's one more game. We've had our chances but couldn't grab them."

Mohit Sharma was named Man of the Match for returning figures of two for 26 on debut.

"I am feeling good. Thanks to the coach and captain for giving me this chance. I did not try much, just kept the things simple, I stuck to basics. Hopefully I will do well in the next match as well," he said.

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News Network
May 1,2020

Melbourne, May 1: Reclaiming the top spot in Test cricket has brought smiles back on their faces but Australia coach Justin Langer says beating India in their own den remains the ultimate test and their numero uno status will be put to test when they clash with the Virat Kohli-led team.

After a tumultuous transition phase post the ball-tampering scandal, Australia on Friday displaced India as number one side in Test format but Langer is aware that it does not take long for the situation to change.

"We recognise how fluid these rankings are, but at this time it was certainly nice to put a smile on our faces," Langer told Cricket Australia website. "We've got lots of work to do to get to be the team that we want to be, but hopefully over the last couple of years not only have we performed well on the field, but also off the field," Langer added.

The former left-handed opener underlined what he felt will be the ultimate test of character.

"Certainly a goal for us has been the World Test Championship ... but ultimately, we have to beat India in India and we've got to beat them when they come back (to Australia).

"You can only judge yourself as being the best if you beat the best and we've got some really tough opposition to come," Langer put his priorities in place. The team he insists needs to get better as now others will come gunning for them.

"Getting to No.1 is a great thing, but when you're No.1, you're always the hunted," Langer said. "We've been the hunters for a while, now we're the hunted and we need to get better and better."

Langer also hoped that white ball team under Aaron Finch will win the World Cup. "I know how hard it is to win World Cups ... everything has to go right. One day, I'd love to see Aaron Finch with all his mates lift that T20 World Cup above his head."

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News Network
April 5,2020

New Delhi, April 5: England batsman James Vince lashed out at people for not taking proper measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic and said people are going out as if "everything is normal".

"Just seen the pictures of people out and about today as if everything is normal. What selfish people, surely by now they've realised this is serious. Well done to everyone who's doing their bit and staying in," Vince tweeted.

On March 13, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said that Europe was now the 'epicentre' of the disease.

The death toll due to the novel coronavirus in the UK has exceeded 4,313 with at least 708 new deaths in the last 24 hours, the largest one-day rise since the start of the outbreak as confirmed by the Department of Health and Social Care.

The total number of cases in the UK as on Saturday is 41,903, a rise of 3,735 cases in the last 24 hours.

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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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