India vs Pakistan: Dhoni happy despite loss in WT20 warm-up

September 18, 2012

Dhoni_HappyColombo, September 18: India captain Mahendra Singh was happy with the way his boys warmed-up for the World Twenty20 despite losing the practice game to arch-rivals Pakistan by five wickets at the Premedasa Stadium on Monday.

"It was a good test for the main tournament and it was a good game. We could test which combination would be the best for the tournament," Dhoni said.

"We bowled well in the last few overs though I felt we gave too many runs with the new ball by our fast bowlers. But apart from that it was a good game for all of us," he added.

Dhoni said that India would prefer to play all the matches with seven-batsmen-four-bowler combination in the tournament.

"It's a difficult choice whether to pick an extra bowler (fifth bowler) and drop a batsman. I have batsmen who can be used as part-timers and we are a side that is comfortable playing seven batsmen," said Dhoni.

Dhoni was happy to see Rohit Sharma come back to form in the two warm-up matches.

"Rohit has been doing well. Lots of people think that T20 is very short game but I feel that at times you can use up some balls to settle down. Rohit did just that, he took some time to settle down and later went after the bowlers.

"He (Rohit) is a talented player. It's good for the team as he can also bowl a bit with his off-spin," he said.

Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez said win has boosted the morale of his side.

"The way the boys approached the chase was very positive. We knew if India could post that total, we could get it if we worked hard. Kamran Akmal was exceptional," said Hafeez.

"We won the series against Australia in the UAE before coming here. Now we have beaten India in practice match, this will give us the momentum and boost in the tournament proper. The way the boys approached the chase was very positive," he said.

Hafeez also had words of praise for Shoaib Malik, who supported Akmal well during the chase.

"That is what experience is all about. The experience of Malik was also the key. He supported Kamran really well. The bowlers tried hard, but things didn't work out for them today."

It was Akmal (92) and Malik's (37) unbeaten 95-run stand for the sixth wicket that helped achieve the target of 186 with five balls to spare.

Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (4-23) gave India some hope after he had Pakistan reeling at 91/5 in 11.3 overs. But Akmal and Malik proved too good for India.


Earlier, valuable innings from Virat Kohli (75 not out off 47 balls) and Rohit Sharma (56 off 40 balls) helped India reach 185 for three in 20 overs.



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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
April 15,2020

Former Australia batsman Mike Hussey has heaped praise on MS Dhoni, saying the veteran Indian wicketkeeper-batsman is the "greatest finisher" the game of cricket has ever seen.

"Dhoni is the greatest finisher of all time that the cricketing world has ever produced," Hussey said while speaking to Sanjay Manjrekar on ESPNcricinfo's Videocast.

"Dhoni can keep his cool and make the opposition captain blink first. Dhoni also has unbelievable power. He knows that when he needs to clear the ropes, he can do it. He has that kind of self-belief. Honestly, I didn't have that kind of belief in myself," he added.

The former Australian batsman, who shared the dressing room with Dhoni for the Chennai Super Kings, said the 38-year-old Indian believes in the philosophy that he who panics last, wins the game.

"I tried not to let it reach 12 or 13 runs an over," said Hussey while talking about his ability to finish the game without much hiccups.

"And I learnt this from MS Dhoni. He is incredible. He believes that he who panics last wins the game. So Dhoni would keep his cool, and keep it longer because the pressure is on the bowler as well," he added.

The 44-year-old believes that the greatest players of the game have a few common traits like "they don't hang on to a defeat for too long. If they lose, they move on quickly. They don't let a loss or a win hamper their thinking".

"They are always consistent, and level headed whether it's MS Dhoni or Ricky Ponting."

Hussey, who played 59 IPL matches for CSK, further revealed the secret about the franchise's success in the Indian Premier League.

"And I learnt this from MS Dhoni. He is incredible. He believes that he who panics last wins the game. So Dhoni would keep his cool, and keep it longer because the pressure is on the bowler as well," he added.

The 44-year-old believes that the greatest players of the game have a few common traits like "they don't hang on to a defeat for too long. If they lose, they move on quickly. They don't let a loss or a win hamper their thinking".

"They are always consistent, and level headed whether it's MS Dhoni or Ricky Ponting."

Hussey, who played 59 IPL matches for CSK, further revealed the secret about the franchise's success in the Indian Premier League.

"Supportive owners who let coach Stephen Fleming and captain Dhoni decide how to run the team, excellent chemistry between the coach and the captain, Dhoni's leadership and lastly the foresight of the owners, Fleming and Dhoni to pick the best players, particularly the good Indian players and then stick with them for as long as possible."

"This has built an excellent continuity in the team. And once you have continuity, you build relationships and trust that otherwise takes time to grow," he added.

Hussey also said that once Dhoni bids adieu to the game, CSK would probably like to start all over again.

"That's a 60-million-dollar question, and I am equally intrigued. I believe the owners would like to keep Dhoni involved in some way or the other," said Hussey.

"However, whenever the change of guard happens, CSK might want to start all over again, build a brand, new team, and use their existing philosophy as they enter the next decade of IPL. It is definitely going to be more challenging in current times," he added.

Dhoni was supposed to lead CSK in the 13th IPL edition which now stands postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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Agencies
January 16,2020

New Delhi, Jan 16: Mahendra Singh Dhoni was on Thursday dropped from the BCCI's list of centrally contracted players, raising fresh doubts on the future of the former India captain who has not played since the World Cup semifinal loss to New Zealand last year.

The BCCI announced the central contracts for the period of October 2019 to September 2020. Dhoni was in the A category, which fetches a player Rs 5 crore, until last year.

Skipper Virat Kohli, his deputy Rohit Sharma and top pacer Jasprit Bumrah were retained in the highest A+ bracket of Rs 7 crore.

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