Under-pressure India look to bounce back against England

December 4, 2012

india_bounce

Kolkata, December 4: With the four-Test series levelled at 1-1 after India's ploy to prepare a turning track backfired in Mumbai, the hosts will seek to bounce back as they go into the third cricket Test against England here tomorrow with intense pressure on their under-performing star players to deliver before its too late.


After India's humiliating loss in the second Test, the build-up to the Eden match was marked by a pitch row that began with a desperate Dhoni insisting for a rank-turner, which led to the local curator Prabir Mukherjee calling the Indian skipper "immoral and unethical".

To resolve the matter, the BCCI sent East Zone curator Ashish Bhowmick to "assist" Mukherjee. The pitch for the match has drawn a lot more attention because of the controversy and it remains to be seen whether the hosts can put everything behind them and focus on the game.

India have never lost a series to England since 1984-85 when David Gower's team had returned home with a 2-1 win but over the last one year Dhoni and Co. have lost much ground beneath their feet as they have slipped to number 5 in the world rankings from being number one at one stage.

While India's pride will be up for stake, England would look to prove that they are not inept against spin and can win a series on Indian soil as well. Aided by skipper Alastair Cook's super show with two centuries from two Tests, and the most-destructive Kevin Pietersen showing in the last Test what he is capable of, England had buried India at their own den at the Wankhede, sealing a 10-wicket.


On a pitch that turned from ball one, England showed great resilience to bounce back after their first Test defeat in Ahmedabad, while Indians struggled in all the departments of the game.

The three-pronged spin attack did not yield desired results and in batting department, barring Cheteshwar Pujara, all big names failed miserably. The opening pair of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir's inconsistency combined with Sachin Tendulkar's prolonged slump form -- 153 runs from last 10 innings -- has not done India any good.

However, Tendulkar has managed to remain unmoved by the critics and instead chose to slog at the nets for hours. A century here will certainly change things for him as well as for the team.

Even Virat Kohli has been unusually quiet in this series so far. Despite having a great year, he hasn't scored a big knock in the last four innings. India would hope that the promising right-hander comes out of his recent slump sooner than later. Kohli can take heart from 107-odd runs he had scored against Sri Lanka in a 2009 One-dayer here.


India's bowling had also came a cropper in last the two Tests.

The spin department led by veteran Harbhajan Singh completely flopped. Harbhajan himself looked a shade of his past, while the duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha seemed pedestrian as compared to England's Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann, both of whom shared 19 of 20 wickets on offer.

Pacer Zaheer Khan seemed to have lacked match fitness as he not only failed to pick a wicket, but also could not use the reverse swing.

Harbhajan, who is eyeing 100th Test cap, has been the most destructive Indian bowler at Eden Gardens with 46 wickets (including six five-wicket hauls) from seven Tests at 21.76.

But he is down with flu and it looks unlikely that he will be in the playing eleven tomorrow since the team management may opt for two seamers and two spinners. It will be a tricky situation for Dhoni to chose the bowling combination, especially after drawing severe criticism for his selection of three spinners and a pacer at Wankhede.




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News Network
March 16,2020

Mar 16: With COVID-19 outbreak killing over 5,400 people globally, former Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Akhtar has lashed out at those responsible for making the coronavirus infect humans and blamed China solely for the outbreak.

"I don't understand why you have to eat things like bats, drink their blood and urine and spread some virus across the globe...I'm talking about the Chinese people. They have put the world at stake. I really don't understand how you can eat bats, dogs, and cats. I'm really angry," Akhtar said in a video posted on his Youtube channel.

"The whole world is at risk now. The tourism industry has been hit, the economy is badly affected and the whole world is going towards a lockdown.

"I'm not against the people of China but I'm against the law of animals. I understand this may be your culture but this is not benefitting you now, it is killing humanity. I'm not saying you boycott the Chinese but there has to be some law. You cannot go on and eat anything and everything," he added.

Coronavirus, which originated in China's Wuhan city, has so far spread to more than 100 countries, infecting over 1,30,000 people.

In Pakistan, the number of positive cases reached 28 on Saturday.

Many sporting events, including the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Pakistan Super League (PSL), have been affected by the disease which has now been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

While the IPL 2020, which was originally scheduled to start from March 29, has been postponed till April 15, the playoff stage of PSL has been curtailed and will be played behind closed doors.

"The biggest reason for anger is PSL...Cricket returned to Pakistan after so many years, the PSL was happening in our country for the first time now even that is at risk. The foreign players are leaving, it will take place behind closed doors," said Akhtar.

The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases across India has crossed 80 while two people have lost their lives due to the deadly disease. But Akhtar did not have the information and added: "God forbid the virus doesn't reach India. There are around 130 crore people there. I've been in touch with my friends in India and wishing them well."

In PSL, there will be no playoffs and the top four teams will now play semi-finals and then the final on March 17 and 18. The final was originally scheduled to be held on March 22.

"I've also heard that IPL has been postponed till April 15. The hotel industries, travel industries, broadcasters everything will incur losses because of this," he said.

The former Pakistan pacer also called on the world authorities to come out with a new animal protection law so that such diseases don't resurface in the future.

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Agencies
June 6,2020

Malappuram, Jun 6: One more COVID-19 death was reported in Kerala on Saturday taking the toll in the State to 15.

The 61-year-old deceased, Hamsa Koya, a former footballer who represented Maharashtra in Santosh Trophy, had returned from Mumbai with his family on May 21.

Koya was undergoing treatment at Manjeri Medical College in Malappuram. The medical bulletin issued said that he was suffering from pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome.

On June 5, as his health deteriorated, he was administered plasma therapy on the advice of the state medical board. However, he did not respond to medicines and breathed his last at 6:30 am on Saturday.

The medical bulletin said that his family members including his wife, son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren of 3 years and a 3 month-old child also had tested COVID-19 positive and were earlier shifted to hospital for treatment.

With this, the total death toll in Kerala has reached 15. 

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News Network
January 24,2020

Auckland, Jan 24: K L Rahul and Shreyas Iyer smashed quick-fire half-centuries, while skipper Virat Kohli made 45 as India defeated New Zealand by six wickets in the first T20 International to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series here on Friday.

Chasing a challenging 204-run target, Rahul smashed 56 off 27 balls and together with Kohli shared 99 runs for the second wicket to lay the foundation for the chase.

Later, Iyer (58 not out off 29 balls) and Manish Pandey (14 not out) remained unbeaten as India chased down the target with an over to spare.

Earlier, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor smashed scintillating half-centuries to power New Zealand to a challenging 203 for five.

Opener Munro blasted six fours and two sixes in his 42-ball 59, while skipper Williamson treated the Indian bowlers with equal disdain, hitting them out of the park four times in his 26-ball 51.

Taylor then clobbered an unbeaten 54 off 27 balls. His innings was laced with three sixes and as many fours.

Opener Martin Guptill also chipped in with a 19-ball 30.

Earlier, India skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and decided to field.

For India, Jasprit Bumrah (1/), Shardul Thakur (1/44), Yuzvendra Chahal (1/32), Shivam Dube (1/24) and Ravindra Jadeja (1/18) snapped one wicket each.

Brief Score:

New Zealand: 203 for 5 in 20 overs (Colin Munro 59, Kane Williamson 51, Ross Taylor 54; Jasprit Bumrah 1/31).

India: 204 for 4 in 19 overs (Shreyas Iyer 58 not out, K L Rahul 56, Virat Kohli 45; Ish Sodhi 2/36).

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