Disappointed with my spinners: Dhoni

November 26, 2012

dhoni

His insistence on a spinning track boomeranging, a sheepish Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Monday said he was disappointed with his tweakers who did not adjust their pace to exploit the pitch in the lost second Test against England.

India were handed a humiliating 10-wicket loss by the English, who were expected to struggle on the spinning track that Dhoni had asked for before the game.

Instead of the host spinners, it was England's Monty Panesar who made batsmen dance to his tune and walked away with 11 wickets. On the other hand, Kevin Pietersen and Alastair Cook proved their class with hundreds on a track that seemed to terrorise other willow-wielders.

"Definitely outplayed. Monty bowled really well. All get turn, but the pace he bowled at made sure that the batsmen were on the front foot. To some extent, yes I am disappointed with our spinners. We let England bat on the back foot. We could have brought them forward," a disappointed Dhoni said at the presentation ceremony.

Dhoni had lambasted the opening Test pitch in Ahmedabad despite India's win and today he said his bowlers just could not get a hold over the pace to bowl at the Wankhede.

"All of a sudden they have to change their plan. Ahmedabad was completely different and it was a change of conditions," he said.

Dhoni said the next two Tests, starting with the game in Kolkata on December 5, would be a test of character for his team.

"When two best sides are playing, series are close. It will be a test of character in the two coming games," he said.

Dhoni's rival number Alastair Cook said he has all but forgotten the disappointment of losing the toss.

"Without a doubt, it is a great win. I can't fault the effort of the lads. I could have called heads and obviously it was an important toss. The way we bowled on that first day it was fantastic," said Cook.

Cook lauded the contribution made by Pietersen and Panesar.

"You don't need to tell KP anything and it was great to watch from the other end. Credit to the way Graeme Swann and Monty bowled. Brilliant performance. It's been interesting two weeks and we have seen ends of the spectrum," he said referring to the nine-wicket loss in Ahmedabad.

Man of the match Pietersen the hundred in the match ranks quite high in his(R personal bests.

"Now that we have won, this hundred is at the top. Yesterday I said Test hundreds feel a lot better when you win," said Pietersen.

Back in the fold after being at loggerheads with the England Cricket Board for quite some while, Pietersen lauded his teammates and the dressing room unity.

"Panesar and Swann were outstanding. Cooky didn't talk about himself, but he was outstanding. What a difference a week makes. The way boys have come back is great. Cricket wise, it is not bad now.

"Thanks to the guys in the dressing room and the management. Every day you put on an England jersey, it is special. Thanks to the supporters who have travelled, and also the Indian support. They have been great too," he said.

Asked what was the key to performing well on the Indian soil, Pietersen said, "You have to trust your defence, that is the big difference. You play sweep shots early on, it doesn't look that good."


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News Network
February 11,2020

Mt. Maunganui (New Zealand), Feb 11: KL Rahul struck a combative 112 but New Zealand completed a 3-0 whitewash of India by winning the third ODI by five wickets, here on Tuesday.

Rahul helped India recover from a shaky start to post a challenging 296 for 7 but the Kiwis overhauled the target with 17 balls to spare.

This is the first whitewash that India has suffered in an ODI series in more than a decade.

Sent in to bat, India were down 62 for 3 in the 13th over after the dismissals of Mayank Agarwal (1), captain Virat Kohli (9) and Prithvi Shaw (40) but Rahul got a useful ally in in-form Shreyas Iyer (62) to take India to a competitive total.

Rahul, who hit nine fours and two sixes during his 113-ball innings, and Iyer stitched exactly 100 runs from 18.2 overs for the fourth wicket to revive the Indian innings.

After the end of the promising innings of Iyer, Rahul shared another 107 runs for the fifth wicket with Manish Pandey (42).

The Kiwis were off to a confident start in their chase with Martin Guptill (66) and Henry Nicholls (80) and putting on a 106-run stand. However, wrist spinner Yuzvendra Chahal took three wickets to bring India back in the game.

Colin de Grandhomme (58) and Tom Latham (32), though, took their side past the finish line with an unbeaten 80-run partnership.

Brief Scores:

India: 296 for 7 in 50 overs (KL Rahul 112, Shreyas Iyer 62; Hamish Bennett 4/64).

New Zealand: 300 for 5 in 47.1 overs. (H Nicholls 80, M Guptill 66; Y Chahal 3/47).

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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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Agencies
June 23,2020

Islamabad, Jun 23: Seven more Pakistan cricketers, including Muhammad Hafeez and Wahab Riaz, selected for the tour of England have tested positive for COVID-19, taking the total to 10, the PCB revealed on Tuesday.

The seven who tested positive on Tuesday are Kashif Bhatti, Muhammad Hasnain, Fakhar Zaman, Muhammad Rizwan, Imran Khan, Hafeez and Riaz. Shadab Khan, Haider Ali and Haris Rauf had returned positive tests on Monday.

“It is not a great situation to be in and what it shows is these are 10 fit and young athletes...if it can happen to players it can happen to anyone,” Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) CEO, Wasim Khan told a media conference.

He said a support staff member, masseur Malang Ali, had also tested positive for COVID-19.

Khan said that the players and officials would now assemble in Lahore and another round of tests would be carried out on June 25 and a revised squad would be announced the next day.

The squad has to leave on June 28 for the series scheduled to be held next month, he said.

“It is a matter of concern but we shouldn’t panic at this time as we have time on our hands,” Khan said.

He said the players and officials would be retested on reaching England.

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