Headaches for Team India before Eden Test

November 28, 2012

OPENING SLOT

England came to India with an opening dilemma as the void left by Andrew Strauss meant an inexperienced opening partner Alastair Cook. While the visitors tackled the problem rather seamlessly, India's struggle for a good opening stand is becoming more and more intense. Sehwag's 117 in Motera is not enough at home when Cook notched up two back-to-back hundreds in two Tests. Gambhir's scores of 45, 4 and 65 are also reflective of the southpaw's inconsistency.

MIDDLE ORDER

Cheteshwar Pujara bailed India out with a defiant hundred at Mumbai after his heroic double hundred in the first Test at Motera. As someone who is showing the makings of another 'Wall', he has fought valiantly. But for how long? Shouldn't the likes of Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh pull their weight. Don't rule out a major reshuffle if England manage to make it 2-1 at Eden Gardens.

BHAJJI UNDERBOWLED

If playing three spinners is the plan then why not utilise them to the full? It was amazing to observe MS Dhoni introduce Harbhajan Singh so late into the England innings as he is one bowler who gets maximum bounce from any wicket. Harbhajan may be a touch rusty, but the Wankhede wicket that had both bounce and sharp turn could have assisted the Indian offie.

PART-TIME SPINNERS

If English batsmen have shown susceptibility to spin why were Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag underplayed? Both players have the knack of breaking partnerships and they could have been used to unsettle England, especially when the Cook-Pietersen partnership was on.



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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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News Network
March 27,2020

New Delhi, Mar 27: Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar on Friday donated Rs 50 lakh to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, which has so far claimed 17 Indian lives and wreaked havoc globally.

Tendulkar's donation is so far the biggest contribution among India's leading sportspersons, some of whom have pledged their salaries while a few others have donated medical equipment to fight the dreaded outbreak, which has caused more than 24,000 deaths globally.

"Sachin Tendulkar decided to contribute Rs 25 lakh each to Prime Minister's Relief Fund and Chief Minister's Relief Fund in his bid to join the fight against COVID-19. It was his decision that he wanted to contribute to both funds," a source privy to the development, told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

Tendulkar has been associated with a lot of charity work and there has been umpteen times, he has taken up social causes, helped people, which has never been brought to public notice.

Among other prominent cricketers, the Pathan brothers -- Irfan and Yusuf -- donated 4000 face masks to Baroda police and health department while Mahendra Singh Dhoni, through a Pune based NGO, made a contribution of Rs 1 lakh.

Among athletes from other disciplines, wrestler Bajrang Punia and sprinter Hima Das are some of the prominent names to have donated their salaries in the battle against the dreaded virus which has led to a 21-day national lockdown.

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Agencies
May 25,2020

Chandigarh, May 25: Legendary former hockey player Balbir Singh Senior died in a private hospital on Monday, his family said.

He was 96 years old. His condition was critical for nearly a fortnight.

He was undergoing treatment at Fortis Mohali and was in a "semi-comatose condition".

He was hospitalised on May 8 with high fever and breathing trouble. His COVID-19 test came negative.

Balbir was part of the Indian teams that won gold at the 1948 London Olympics, Helsinki 1952 and Melbourne 1956. His record for most individual goals scored in an Olympic men's hockey final remains unbeaten.

Balbir had set this record when he scored five goals in India's 6-1 win over Netherlands in the gold medal match of the 1952 Games.

He was the head coach of the Indian team for the 1975 men's World Cup, which India won and the 1971 men's World Cup, where India earned a bronze medal. He was also conferred with the prestigious Padma Shri in 1957.

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