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India hungry for revenge against England

October 28, 2012
Mahendra_Singh_DhoniNew Delhi, October 28: England jet into Mumbai on Monday under new captain Alastair Cook, striving to win their first Test series in India in 27 years against a home team desperate to make amends for last year's 4-0 drubbing.

The four-Test series, starting in Ahmedabad on November 15, will be further spiced up by Kevin Pietersen's return to the England fold after his exile and hints that Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar is on the brink of retirement.

The series gives the home side an opportunity to make amends for the humiliating 4-0 whitewash in England last year that saw them dethroned as the number one Test side -- and their replacement by England.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni's team then suffered another 4-0 defeat in Australia, capping a miserable six-month period that took the shine off India's 50-over World Cup triumph in 2011.


But with the series against England followed by four Tests against Australia in February-March, India, ranked fifth in the world, will look to take advantage of familiar conditions to haul themselves back up the rankings.

Dhoni has urged groundsmen to prepare wickets that suit spin bowling and selectors refused to pick a spinner for England's three-day opener in Mumbai from Tuesday, denying the tourists early exposure to the turning ball.

"When we go to England, we get wickets that help the seamers and in Australia you get tracks with bounce," said Dhoni. "In the subcontinent, spin is what matters and we should stick to that."

England, who last won a Test series in India under David Gower in 1985 and lost their number one status to South Africa in August, will receive a boost from the return of the dangerous Pietersen.

Pietersen, who has hit more than 7,000 Test runs at a shade under 50, smashed a brilliant 144 in England's last Test on Indian soil in 2008 and knows the conditions well as a player for Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League.

And the 32-year-old will be keen to impress after he was dropped in August for sending text messages to touring South Africa players that contained criticism of then skipper Andrew Strauss.

Numerous meetings with England team bosses and players eventually saw him added at the last minute to the Indian tour party and Cook said Pietersen was "contrite" over his actions and would be welcomed back into the squad.

India, who began their busy home season by winning both Tests against lowly New Zealand in August and September before being ousted in the second round of the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka, are facing a future without Tendulkar.

The plans of the 39-year-old superstar are in the spotlight after the admitted earlier this month that the clock was ticking on his run-filled 23-year career.

"I don't think I have plenty of cricket left in me," said Tendulkar, the highest run-scorer in Test and one-day cricket history -- and the only batsman to notch 100 international centuries.

Tendulkar, who has scored a record 51 Test centuries, has now gone 25 innings without a hundred in the five-day format since making 146 against South Africa in Cape Town in January 2011.

He was bowled in all three innings against New Zealand with a top score of just 27, raising fears that age may finally be catching up with him.

England have the rare luxury of two three-day games and one four-day match to acclimatise to Indian conditions before the series starts in Ahmedabad.

Further Tests are scheduled for Mumbai, Kolkata and Nagpur.

The tourists, who also play two Twenty20 matches following the Tests, will go home for Christmas before returning in the New Year for a five-match one-day series.

Schedule of England's double-leg cricket tour of India starting on Monday:

Test and Twenty20 series:

October 29 : Arrival in Mumbai

October 30-November 1: Three-day Tour match, Mumbai

November 3-5: Three-day Tour match, Mumbai

November 8-11: Four-day Tour match, Ahmedabad

November 15-19: First Test, Ahmedabad

November 23-27: Second Test, Mumbai

December 5-9: Third Test, Kolkata

December 13-17: Fourth Test, Nagpur

December 20: First T20, Pune

December 22: Second T20, Mumbai.

December 23: Return to England.

One-day series:

January 3: Arrival in New Delhi

January 6: Tour match, New Delhi

January 8: Tour match, New Delhi

January 11: First ODI, Rajkot

January 15: Second ODI, Kochi

January 19: Third ODI, Ranchi

January 23: Fourth ODI, Mohali


January 27: Fifth ODI, Dharamshala.

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News Network
April 8,2020

London, Apr 8: England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler has raised more than 65,000 pound (USD 80,000) to help fight the coronavirus by auctioning off his World Cup final shirt.

Buttler's shirt, which he wore when completing the last-ball run-out that saw England beat New Zealand at Lord's last year, was sold to raise money for specialist heart and lung centres provided by the Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals in London.

Buttler, who earlier in the showpiece match had hit a fifty and batted in the Super Over, put his long-sleeve keeping jersey up for sale on eBay a week ago.

By the time the auction closed on Tuesday, the shirt had attracted 82 bids with the winner paying 65,100 pound.

Buttler, speaking on Monday, said: "It's a very special shirt but I think it takes on extra meaning with it being able to hopefully go to the emergency cause.

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News Network
April 24,2020

New Delhi, Apr 24: India's World Cup-winning former opener Gautam Gambhir performed the last rites of his deceased domestic help after her mortal remains could not be sent to her home in Odisha due to the coronavirus-forced national lockdown.

Gambhir, also a BJP Lok Sabha MP, posted a tribute on his Twitter page for his employee Saraswati Patra, who was working at his residence for the past six years.

"Taking care of my little one can never be domestic help. She was family. Performing her last rites was my duty," he tweeted.

"Always believed in dignity irrespective of caste, creed, religion or social status. Only way to create a better society. That's my idea of India! Om Shanti," said the 38-year-old Gambhir, who played 58 Tests for India between 2004 and 2016.

Media reports in Odisha said the 49-year-old Patra hailed from a village in Jajpur district.

She was admitted to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital a few days ago and was battling diabetes and high blood pressure for a long period. She breathed her last while undergoing treatment on April 21.

Union Minister of Petroleum and Steel Dharmendra Pradhan appreciated Gambhir.

"Taking care of Saraswati throughout the course of her illness, he also ensured her dignity in death by performing her last rites himself since her mortal remains could not be sent to her family back home in Odisha," Pradhan, who also belongs to Odisha, tweeted.

"His act of compassion will enliven the faith in humanity for millions of poor, who are working far from their home for livelihood and will garner respect from all folds of the society."

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Agencies
August 4,2020

New Delhi, Aug 4: Former India women's team captain Anjum Chopra firmly believes that the BCCI has a plan for women's cricket but she wants the Board to communicate its ideas more specifically.

Speaking to news agency, Chopra, who is now a successful broadcaster, said the BCCI is thinking in earnest about the progress of women's cricket.

"It's not that the BCCI is not thinking about women's cricket. I only think they need to be more specific in communication about women's cricket," Chopra said.

"I firmly believe that they must be thinking about women's cricket but the communication all this while has been very specific to men's cricket."

The latest trigger for criticism of BCCI was India's withdrawal from a tour of England in September owing to logistical issues arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chopra concedes it was "not nice" but Indian players' participation in the women's IPL, in November, will still be useful preparation for next year's ODI World Cup.

"It is heartening to see women's cricket making headlines. They should have been a part of that England tour and it did not feel nice initially but the women's IPL, irrespective of the format, will be helpful for World Cup preparations. Any form of cricket is good preparation," Chopra said.

"Missing out on a tournament is not nice, but logistically there may have been issues. And you can't send an under-prepared team."

"If you see in isolation we may have missed out on an opportunity to play in England. The more the girls play the better it is, before playing a tournament of the stature of World Cup. The assurance from the president is a very good thing."

Chopra welcomed the Sourav Ganguly-led BCCI's decision to hold the women's event in the UAE alongside the IPL, which will run from September 19 to November 10. The women's IPL will coincide with the business end of the men's league.

"I am definitely happy, it's always nice to be part of any cricket anywhere across the world.

"They should have been nearing the final stages of the preparation for the World Cup by now, but because of the pandemic things did not go as planned," she added.

Chopra had a successful international career spanning over 17 years, during which she represented India in a record six World Cups and became the first woman cricketer to appear in 100 One-day Internationals.

She also felt that the pandemic would not have much impact on the women's game that has gained momentum in recent times.

"...Cricket was on pause button...Once cricket resumes and players are back on the park, everything is going to get picked up. It might take some time to get started as everything starts from zero...

"The awareness the women's game has created, I hope it stays. They will just restart, not start after the pandemic."

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