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 26,2020

New Delhi, Mar 26: As India continues its fight against coronavirus, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly pledged to donate rice worth Rs 50 Lakhs to the needy people.
The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), in its statement, said Ganguly along with Lal Baba Rice will provide rice to people who have been put in government schools for safety and security.
"#Sourav to provide Free Rice to the Needy It is heartening to note that Sourav Ganguly along with Lal Baba Rice has come forward to provide free rice worth Rs 50 lacs to the needy people who have been put in government schools for safety and security. Hope this initiative of Ganguly would encourage other citizens of the state to take up similar initiatives to serve the people of our state. #CAB," CAB said in a statement.
CAB President Avishek Dalmiya has also lent support to the needy people as he donated Rs 5 lakhs to the Government's Emergency Relief Fund.
"CAB President donates 5 lakhs to the Government's Emergency Relief Fund to fight against #CoronaVirus/#Covid19," CAB said in a statement.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced a 21-day nation-wide lockdown to contain coronavirus.

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News Network
February 2,2020

Mount Maunganui, Feb 2: India registered a rare 5-0 whitewash against New Zealand after notching up a seven-run win in the fifth and final T20 International at Bay Oval here on Sunday.

Electing to bat, India posted 163 for three, riding on Rohit Sharma's 60 off 41 balls and a 33-ball 45 from K L Rahul.

The visitors then restricted the hosts to 156 for nine with Jasprit Bumrah claiming three wickets for 12 runs.

Chasing the target, the Black Caps were tottering at 17 for three in 3.2 overs.

Tim Seifert (50) and Ross Taylor (53) then added 99 runs for the fourth wicket as New Zealand recovered to 116.

Seifert clobbered a 30-ball 50 studded with five fours and three sixes, while Ross Taylor hit two sixes and five fours in his 47-ball 53-run innings.

However, once Seifert was dismissed in the 13th over, the hosts suffered a collapse, losing five wickets, including Taylor, for 25 runs to loss the plot in the end.

Brief Score:

India: 163 for 3 in 20 overs (Rohit Sharma 60; S Kuggeleijn 2/25)    

New Zealand: 156 for 9 in 20 overs (Ross Taylor 53, Tim Seifert 50; Jasprit Bumrah 3/12).

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January 27,2020

Hamilton, Jan 27: In awe of Jasprit Bumrah, New Zealand wicketkeeper Tim Seifert says the Indian speedster's subtle variations have been difficult to pick in the ongoing T20 series and his side needs to a learn a thing or two about adapting from the visitors.

India beat New Zealand by seven wickets in the second T20 International in Auckland on Sunday to grab a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.

Bumrah returned with figures of 1-21 from his four overs as Indian skipper Virat Kohli changed his bowling plans from the first game.

"Even in the first game, Bumrah bowled slower balls that were going wider. Normally, death bowlers get into straighter lines, plus yorkers and mix it with chest height. He kind of changes things a lot and is tougher to play," Seifert said.

"...the ball was holding a lot more which made it tougher. So sometimes as a batsman you have to move away from the stumps and see if they bowl straight. I was backing myself to do something different instead of just standing there at the wicket," said the stumper, who remained unbeaten on 33 off 26 balls.

"It was tricky and the ball was holding a little bit. When Kane (Williamson) got out in the over against Yuzvendra Chahal, we knew it was the over to push because they had Bumrah coming back," he added.

He said New Zealand batsmen need to take a cue from their Indian counterparts on how to adapt to different conditions quickly.

"...Indian batsmen showed how to get under the ball and time it. They showed it a couple of times that and on the slower wickets you just have to keep it like that. Once you lose your shape, you are not in position," he said.

"Try to get them (bowlers) off line or off balance, try to get into that position to hit good balls. That's T20 cricket as well. Sometimes it's going 100 per cent but some times you have to take a breath and re-assess. Indian batters did that well."

Seifert believes New Zealand bowlers did reasonably well in the two games but they have been outplayed by the Indian batsmen.

"To be honest, in the first game they were 110-1 and they had wickets in hand. We didn't bowl too badly in that first game. In the second game, we only got 130 and it is tough to bowl at Eden Park (with that total)," he said.

"170 was the target in mind but once you get 130 on the board, that was going to be very hard at Eden Park against a team that is very strong and playing really well. But our spinners were outstanding. Good balls have gone to boundary.

He said coming into the T20 series on the back of a lost Test rubber in Australia also didn't help New Zealand's cause in the first two games.

"Boys are coming off a Test series (in Australia) and a lot of them haven't played T20 cricket for a while," he said.

"But for some like me, I have had the Super Smash for the last two months, so I have played a lot of T20 cricket. They have two games under their belt now so hopefully they will have a better understanding."

Asked if New Zealand would want to play on India's strength of chasing, Seifert replied, "Even in ODI cricket, India have chased down big totals but I think on that wicket it was going to get slower and slower.

"But with that small target on Eden Park, something special has to happen with top six (for a collapse). One batsman got fifty and the other was batting very well. We needed top five-six in the first 10 overs," he said.

The Black Caps are still confident of bouncing back in the series.

The third T20 will be played here on Wednesday before back-to-back matches in Wellington and Mt Maunganui. Seifert said they would like to replicate the 2019 tour of India, where New Zealand came out 2-1 victorious in the three-match series.

"We have lost the first two games but we haven't played badly. We definitely haven't played our best though while India has played very well. If we lose the series on Wednesday, it is not the end of the world. But if we can turn things around, and win, we will take things from there," he said.

"We won the series 2-1 last time, so we have to treat it like a three match series again. But we have to treat it like the first two are must-win games."

"We are not playing our best at the moment. There are 20-odd games before the World Cup, and that tournament is the pinnacle, so we will get there (in preparation),” he signed off.

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