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
May 6,2020

May 6: They have similar impact on their teams but Virat Kohli is driven by sheer passion to subdue the rivals while Steve Smith just enjoys batting, says Australia opener David Warner.

India skipper Kohli and top Australian batsman Smith are arguably the top two cricketers of the current era. They achieve new milestones consistently, invoking debates, who is better between them.

"Virat's passion and drive to score runs is different to what Steve's would be," Warner said while speaking to Harsha Bhogle on 'Cricbuzz in Conversation'.

"Steve is going out there for a hit in the middle, that's how he sees things. He's hitting them out in the middle, he's having fun, he's enjoying himself, just does not want to get out."

Warner feels, while Kohli is batting he is aware that if he sticks around the middle his team will be on top of the proceedings.

"Virat obviously doesn't want to get out but he knows if he spends a certain amount of time out there, he's going to score plenty of runs at a rapid rate. He's going to get on top of you. That allows the guys coming in, especially in the Indian team you've got a lot of players who can be flamboyant as well."

The Australian opener added that both men are mentally strong and a good knock by them boosts the morale of the entire team.

"When it comes to cricket, they both have got the mental strength, the mental capacity to score runs. They both love spending time in the middle.

"They stabilise, they boost morale - if they score runs, everyone else's moral is up. If they are out cheaply you almost sense that on the field that everyone is (down on morale and thinking) 'now we all have to step up'. It's a very bizarre situation," he added.

Asked about the similarities between himself and Kohli, who are both live wires on the field, Warner said the passion to do better than the opponent keeps him going.

"I can't speak for Virat, obviously, but it's almost like we got this thing in us when we go (out to the middle) we need to prove people wrong, prove someone wrong."

"If you're in that contest, and if I'm going at him for example, you're thinking, 'Alright, I'm going to score more runs than him, I'm going to take a quick single on him'. You are trying to better that person in that game. That's where the passion comes from."

Warner also explained how he breaks down a match into smaller competitions.

"Obviously you want to win the game but you almost break it down to: If I can score more runs than Virat, or if Pujara scores more runs than Steve Smith, you have these little contests and that's how you try to narrow the game in the sense that if we do these little things, we can be ahead of the game or we can be behind the game.

"The passion is driven by...I know my sense - one, the will to win and two, wanting to do better than that person in the opposition," said Warner.

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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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March 6,2020

Melbourne, Mar 6: Experienced middle-order batter Veda Krishnamurthy believes that "destiny" is in favour of first-time finalist India to win their maiden ICC Women's T20 World Cup title provided they get a grip on their nerves in the summit clash against Australia on Sunday.

India will have a psychological advantage going into the final as they had stunned the defending champions by 17 runs in the tournament opener.

The Harmanpreet Kaur-led India reached the final on the basis of their unbeaten record in the tournament after their semifinal against England was washed out on Thursday.

Krishnamurthy, who was a part of the Indian team that finished runner-up to England in the 2017 Women's ODI World Cup, knows the pain of missing out on a world title.

"It's all about destiny, and I'm a big believer in destiny. I feel like this is the way it was meant to be. There is a joke going around that this World Cup is made in such a way that it's helping us, starting from the wickets to everything else," she was quoted as saying by the tournament's official website.

"Being in the final is just reward for the way we played in the group stages. There was an advantage to having won all our games with the weather not in our hands."

The team's first target of reaching the final having achieved, the 27-year-old player said the Indians now need to hold their nerves and remain focussed leading up to the big day on Sunday.

"We said the first aim was to get to the final and take it from there. We've crossed the first stage. We need to make sure we hold our nerves and we do what we need to do on the final day," she said.

India's recent rivalry with Australia has taken fascinating twists and turns, with Kaur's outfit chasing down 173 in their recent tri-series, then getting home by 17 runs in the T20 World Cup opener.

But all is not hunky-dory for Krishnamurthy on the personal front. Considered a great finisher, she has recovered from a series of single-digit scores in the tri-series to score 20 from 11 balls in a finishing role against Bangladesh.

Having amassed just 35 runs from four matches in the tournament so far, the Karnataka batter knows her role in the team.

"As an individual, the role given to me is very consistent in the last year. They've put the effort in the last year to keep me there and I've been supported by every individual, not just one or two. The entire team, with all the support staff, have shown faith in me," she said.

"I know coming into the World Cup, I would play a crucial role to finish the innings well, which I felt I was unable to do in the last World Cup in the West Indies," she added.

Krishnamurthy said specific roles have been set for every player of the squad and they all are trying to contribute as much as they can to help the team achieve its goal.

"I was very motivated to do my role and I've been working on that. It's not just me, all 15 players involved know what their role is," she said.

"I'm happy we're all putting in efforts and executing our role properly. Even if it's a smallish contribution of saving a couple of runs, it's all panned out really well."

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