Kohli was little over the top in South Africa but growing: Waugh

Agencies
February 27, 2018

Monaco, Feb 27: Virat Kohli's aggression was a "little over the top" in the recent tour of South Africa but it is all a part of his development as a charismatic India captain, feels former Australia skipper Steve Waugh.

India enjoyed decent success in the 58-day tour, during which the side lost the Test series 1-2 but clinched the ODI and Twenty20 series 5-1 and 2-1 respectively. Kohli's stellar performance with the bat was among the biggest positives to be drawn from the gruelling sojourn.

"I have seen him in South Africa and I feel that he was little over the top. But that's a learning thing for a captain," Waugh said on the sidelines of the Laureus World Sports Awards.

Waugh said Kohli needs to strike a balance given that not all players in his team are as expressive as he is.

"As a captain, he (Kohli) is still developing and needs some time to pull in his excitement factor and emotions but that's the way he plays," he said.

"I think he just needs to get a bit aware that everyone in the side can't play in that fashion. Someone like (Ajinkya) Rahane and (Cheteshwar) Pujara are very calm and quiet guys so he needs to just understand that some players are different," Waugh added.

"At times he probably needs to tone his aggression down and at times he needs to lift it, so he needs to work it out what's right."

The Australian great, however, insisted that he has immense respect for Kohli the player.

"He (Kohli) is leading very well right now. He has that charisma and that X-factor and so he wants all the rest of the team to follow him. He wants the team to play positively all the time and win as quickly as he can," observed Waugh, who is a Laureus Academy member.

"They have got a very good win record in the last couple of years in all forms of the game. Virat has high aspirations from his team. He wants to be no.1 across all formats which is difficult to do these days."

Kohli and India have now set their sights on conquering England and Australia, India's upcoming two big Test challenges later this year.

India will play a five-Test series in England in August and September and are due to tour Australia for four Tests in the summer of 2018-19.

But Waugh feels it would be easier said than done and Kohli would be key to India's success in Australia.

"Australia will be favourites in Australia because we have got such a great record, just like India in India. Virat (Kohli) would obviously be the key in Australia. He played amazing in Australia last time," he said.

"India are a very confident young side and they are playing with great confidence and passion that their captain believes in. They believe they can win in Australia no doubt."

He, however, said India will have decent chance as the pitches in Australia will be more familiar to them this time around.

"To be fair, the pitches will suit India more than the past because the pitches are very benign at the moment," Waugh said.

"So they will definitely suit the Indian batsmen and the spinners will come into action more. So I think it would be a very competitive series."

Despite the Test series loss in South Africa, India have managed to retain the ICC Test Championship mace for the second consecutive year but Waugh feels there isn't much difference between the top three sides -- India, South Africa and Australia.

"They are a very competitive side, they cover all positions well. So, I think India, South Africa and Australia are right now three sides who are very similar in quality and they will fight it out for the No.1 position in the next couple of years," he said.

Talking about Kohli's predecessor MS Dhoni, Waugh said the inspirational wicketkeeper-batsman is looking good enough to carry on till at least next year's World Cup.

"He (Dhoni) is still a great player but he needs to have that energy and that spark which right now, he does have. But 12 months is still long, long away.

"He is definitely good enough but sometimes when you get a bit older you don't prepare as well as you have done before but right now it looks like he is doing that. He is keen, he is a great leader and he is a winner," Waugh signed off.

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News Network
January 15,2020

Jan 15: Australia openers David Warner and Aaron Finch both struck superb centuries to complement their bowlers’ inspired display as the touring side handed out a 10-wicket thrashing to India in the opening one-day international in Mumbai.

India, world-ranked No 2 in ODIs, suffered a middle-order collapse on their way to being bundled out for 255 in the final over of their innings after Australia captain Finch won the toss and opted to field in the first of the three-match series.

Warner and Finch then smashed the Indian bowlers to all corners of the ground, picking up boundaries seemingly at will to chase down the target with 74 balls to spare at the Wankhede Stadium.

Left-handed Warner successfully used the decision review system twice to overturn the umpire’s decision on his way to his 18th ODI century, hitting three sixes and 17 fours in his unbeaten knock of 128, from 112 balls. Finch completed his 16th century in the format, his unbeaten innings 110 from 114 features two sixes and 13 fours.

Earlier, Australia’s left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Starc, who made his ODI debut in India 10 years ago, picked up three wickets to set up Australia’s victory. He struck the first blow with the new ball when he sent back Rohit Sharma for 10.

India managed to recover from that early loss through a second-wicket stand of 121 between opener Shikhar Dhawan, who top-scored for the hosts with 74, and KL Rahul. However left-arm spinner Ashton Agar broke the stand by dismissing Rahul for 47 before Agar caught Dhawan off Pat Cummins in the next over.

The hosts were hoping for a solid innings from captain Virat Kohli, who batted a position lower than his usual No 3 spot to accommodate Rahul, to get them out of trouble. However, he lasted only 14 balls, hitting leg-spinner Adam Zampa for a six before offering a return catch to the bowler on the very next delivery to be out for 16.

Starc then returned to the attack, removing Shreyas Iyer cheaply as India lost four wickets for 30 runs to be reduced to 164 for five. Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja then fell just short of a half-century partnership, before the remaining four wickets falling for 42 runs, with Cummins and fast bowler Kane Richardson picking up two wickets apiece for Australia.

To compound India’s woes, wicketkeeper Pant suffered a concussion after being hit on his helmet by a short-pitched delivery from Cummins. The Indian cricket board said Pant, who did not come out to keep wicket and was replaced behind the stumps by Rahul, was under observation. The two sides will meet in Rajkot for the second ODI on Friday.

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News Network
February 21,2020

Sydney, Feb 21: Leg-spinner Poonam Yadav bowled a magical spell in her comeback game to steer India to a comfortable 17-run win over defending champions Australia in the opening match of the Women's T20 World Cup on Friday.

Put in to bat, India struggled to a below par 132 before Poonam (4/19 in 4 overs) foxed the Aussies with her googlies, turning the match decisively into her team's favour.

Australia, who have won the competition four times in six editions, were all out for 115 in 19.5 overs

"A bowler like Poonam is someone who leads from the front. We were expecting a great comeback from her. Our team is looking nice, earlier we depended on two-three players," India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur said after the match.

Poonam, who missed the preceding tri-series due to a hand injury, also got good support from other bowlers including pacer Shikha Pandey.

The 28-year-old from Agra was on a hat-trick but narrowly missed out as wicketkeeper Taniya Bhatia dropped a difficult chance.

The tournament-opener saw a record 13,000 plus attendance with a sizeable chunk supporting India.

India next play against Bangladesh in Perth on February 24.

"It was great for me to come back from injury and perform like this. It was the third time that I was on a hat-trick but satisfied that I was able to do the job for the team," said Poonam at the post-match presentation.

Australia were off to a good start to their chase with opener Alyssa Healy making a 35-ball 51, laced with six boundaries and a six.

However, Indian spinners led by Poonam triggered a collapse as Australia suddenly slipped to 82 for six.

Poonam (4/19) snapped four wickets, two in successive deliveries in the 12th over, to break the back of Australia's chase.

Ashleigh Gardner (34 off 36) tried her bit but didn't get any support from the other end.

Earlier, India squandered a flying start to end up with a below-par total.

Sixteen-year-old Shafali Verma took India to 40 for no loss in four overs with a typically aggressive 29 off 15 balls but her fall derailed the innings as the other batters disappointed.

Deepti Sharma made a composed 46-ball 49 in the second half of the innings but the firepower that India needed in the death overs was badly missing.

India were cruising initially with Shafali taking the opposition to the cleaners, hitting five fours and a six.

However, left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen (2/24) snapped two quick wickets, Smriti Mandhana (10 off 11) and Harmanpreet (2 off 5) to reduce India to 47 for three.

Deepti then shared 53 runs with Jemimah Rodrigues (26 off 33) to bring up the 100 in the 16th over.

For Australia, Ellyse Perry (1/15) and Delissa Kimmince (1/24) were the other wicket-takers.

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Agencies
August 5,2020

New Delhi, Aug 5: "Want to know what makes him tick," said Australian pacer Kane Richardson will talking about playing alongside Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020.

The IPL 2020 will be played in the UAE from September 19-November 10 and the tournament will run for 53 days.

In the players' auction which was conducted in December 2019, RCB managed to bag key players like Richardson, Chris Morris, Aaron Finch, Dale Steyn, Joshua Philippe, and Isuru Udana.

In an interaction with news agency, Richardson talked about playing alongside Kohli and the learning curve which is in store for him by being in the same squad as Proteas great Dale Steyn.
"Huge. These guys (Virat, AB de Villiers) are the absolute legends of the game. Anything I can learn from them will be a bonus, that's for sure.

I am really looking forward to playing with Virat, there are few more competitive players in the world. I am really looking forward to seeing what makes him tick," Richardson said.

The 29-year-old pacer also said that he would want to learn from Steyn as to how to be consistent in all formats of the game over a long period of time.

"There are loads I can learn from Dale. He has been amongst the best at the highest level for so long. His control and ability to swing the ball without losing his pace is really impressive. 

I look forward to getting in his ear about how he performs so consistently over a long period, in all forms," said Richardson who has 39 ODI wickets to his credit.

Richardson has so far played 14 games in his IPL career so far and has picked up 18 wickets. The bowler played for Pune Warriors India in 2013, Rajasthan Royals in 2014, and RCB in 2016.

For this year's IPL, RCB has also bagged Australia's limited-overs skipper Aaron Finch, and Richardson thinks having a familiar face in the camp would help him to settle better in the franchise.

"Finchey is an awesome player and a fantastic leader. I am sure it will help to have two Aussies in the side along with Josh who is playing his first tournament after a massive summer in the BBL. We are all professionals, I'm sure it won't take long for us to gel as a side," Richardson said.

However, before the IPL starts, Australia is expected to tour England for a limited-overs series, comprising of three ODIs and as many T20Is.

The side was last seen in action in March this year as they played one ODI against New Zealand in Sydney. After the first match, the remaining two ODIs were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Talking about the series against England, Kane replied: "We will be fresh, that's one thing, while the England players have been in a bubble for some time now. As long as we get enough practice in before and possibly some centre wicket it should not be an issue."

"They are World Cup holders and the number one ranked side for a very good reason. It will be a tough series also given they will have played a fair bit of cricket together by then. We know we need to work hard on our one-day game which will be a priority over the next period," he added.

The pacer also talked about how the lockdown was like for him, and Richardson feels that everyone would come back strong as a result of this break.

"The break from playing has been refreshing, to be honest. We have come back strong and are well into pre-season training with our states. As a bowler, our loads are not at their peak but we are working towards getting ready for a tour of the UK in a few weeks," Richardson said.

The Australian quick has so far played 25 ODIs and 18 T20Is, managing to take 39 and 19 wickets respectively.

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