India needs a healthy dose of belief

December 12, 2012

team

Nagpur, December 12: India needs a healthy dose of beliefThe officials from the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) make you feel at home. Cricket is priority at Jamtha, on the outskirts of this growing city. Stray cows outside the airport might rekindle memories from the past but the stadium is a reminder that life has moved on.

 

Modernisation appears pronounced as you drive to this excellent cricket venue which promises to set up a fierce contest from Thursday. India must win to square the series.

 

The curator, former Vidarbha all-rounder Praveen Hingnikar, has been gagged by the Board. No, he would reveal nothing. He would officially speak on the fifth day. So, we assume it would last that long. So much for modernisation of cricket in India!

 

At many grounds overseas, the curator provides all technical details connected with the pitch preparation, from clay content and bounce to its likely behaviour.

 

Here, however, things are always different. Basic information is sacrosanct; just can’t be divulged, even if it is basic. If only the team realised the importance of culling the basics and making the most of it.

 

Normally a good pitch

 

The pitch here is normally a good one. There is bounce and that ensures good cricket. England off-spinner Graeme Swann, with those sensational dismissals of Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar in the last Test, was so realistic when asked about the pitch.

 

“It doesn’t matter what you believe. The pitch is going to be the pitch whatever happens on Thursday morning. I am sure the management and coach will look at it and they will assess it. We play on it whatever comes on,” was his measured response.

 

But the playing surface remains a point of interest for both camps. The surface is dry but reflects cracks beneath. The bounce should give the bowlers an advantage even though it is just the pitch that would thrill stroke-players like Virat Kohli, Sehwag and Tendulkar, who like the ball to come on to the bat.

 

Tendulkar made a quick dash to the middle, practiced his routine shadow play on the pitch, and must have drawn his battle plans. Mahendra Singh Dhoni later took a tour of the pitch along with Hingnikar.

 

Ishant’s practises hard

 

Ishant Sharma spent time with the bowling coach, working on his in-swinger and length ball. The fast bowlers has strayed wildly, and landed short, and was punished for his errors. It is time Ishant delivered, especially after winning the faith of the selectors.

 

Swann spoke of dominating the first session. “Whatever the pitch is, we have to try and win the game. So come Thursday morning it will be about winning the first session, something which we have managed to do in the last two Test matches and it is why we have gone on to win the match.

 

“We have really tried to embrace India and embrace the series. We believe we can win it and I am not sure that has always been the case. It may have been.

 

“I have only been on one Test tour before but there certainly seems to be more belief in this group right from the outset.”

 

The England off-spinner put things in perspective. “What I said at the start of the tour is that if you expect just the spinners to win the game for you, you are doomed. And I stand by it completely because it is a team effort.

Monumental performances

 

“Without the monumental performances of (Alastair) Cook, (Kevin) Pietersen and (Jonathan) Trott (in the last game) we would not have been 2-1 up.” The emphasis clearly is on a collective assault.

 

There was nothing wrong in the home captain demanding a pitch of his choice, according to Swann. “It is not strange for a home team to ask for a wicket to suit their team. We do that in England because we want it to suit our bowlers.

 

“Kolkata was a very good Test pitch and did very little for the spinners or the pacers on the first two days and gradually broke as the game went on. It was turning quite nicely by the end. Kolkata produced an exceptional Test pitch.”

 

India also believes it can win but has not been able to identify the flaws and plug them in time.

 

Belief is what the Indians have lacked immensely, losing the contest in the dressing room itself. The stint that Ishant had on Tuesday was an indication of the desperation that the team is experiencing.

 

Virat concentrated on leaving the deliveries more than play them straight at nets.

 

Inspiring tale

 

The one-armed Gurudas Raut, a 25-year-old seamer, at the India nets attracted the attention of many. Handicapped at birth, he has chased his dream to play cricket. He impressed Kohli, Dhoni and Sehwag when he bowled to them during the World Cup nets here.

 

“I bowled Dhoni with an inswing,” Raut remembered with pride. His spirit is an epic tale of inspiration. The Indian team would do well to borrow some of it for their fight at Jamtha.


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News Network
June 20,2020

Dhaka, Jun 20: Former Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza on Saturday tested positive for coronavirus.

The skipper had gone for a coronavirus Test last week, and now his reports have come back as positive, ESPNCricinfo reported.

As per a report in ESPNCricinfo, it is not known how Mortaza contracted the virus.

Mashrafe, also a member of the parliament from Narail 2 constituency, had stepped down as the ODI captain of the country in March this year.

Covid-19 cases have crossed 1,00,000 mark in Bangladesh and the government is now planning area-wise lockdown.

Bangladesh was slated to face Sri Lanka in July in a three-Test series and the side would have later hosted New Zealand in August, but both series look unlikely now.

The Asia Cup, scheduled for September, is also uncertain due to the coronavirus.

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News Network
February 9,2020

Potchefstroom, Feb 9: Defending champions India are overwhelming favourites to win a record fifth U19 World Cup title on Sunday but a tough fight is expected from first-timers Bangladesh in an all-Asian final.

If the India squad for the 2018 edition had the likes of Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill, who have expectedly gone on to play for the senior team, the exploits of opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, spinner Ravi Bishnoi and pacer Kartik Tyagi in the current edition have made them overnight stars.

Irrespective of what happens in the final, India have reinforced the fact that they are undisputed leaders at the under-19 level and the cricketing structure the BCCI has developed is working better than any other board in the world.

India, who walloped arch-rivals Pakistan by 10 wickets in the semifinal Tuesday, will be playing their seventh final since 2000 when they lifted the trophy for the first time.

Having said that, success at the U-19 level doesn’t guarantee success at the highest level as not all players have the ability to go on and play for India. Some also lose their way like Unmukt Chand did after leading India to the title in 2012.

His career promised so much back then but now it has come to a stage where he is struggling to make the eleven in Uttarakhand’s Ranji Trophy team, having shifted base from Delhi last year.

Only the exceptionally talented like Shaw and Gill get to realise their dream as the competition is only getting tougher in the ever-improving Indian cricket.

India probably is the only side which fields a fresh squad in every U-19 World Cup edition and since there is no dearth of talent and a proper structure is in place, the talent keeps coming up.

“The fact that we allow a cricketer to play the U-19 World Cup only once is a big reason behind the team’s success. While most teams have cricketers who have played in the previous edition,” India U-19 fielding coach Abhay Sharma said from Potchefstroom.

“It just goes to show that the system under the visionary leadership of Rahul Dravid (NCA head) is flourishing. Credit to BCCI as well that other teams want to follow our structure.”

Heading to the mega event, India colts played about 30-odd games in different part of the world. To get used to the South African conditions, they played a quadrangular series before they played their World Cup opener against Sri Lanka.

In the final, India run into Bangladesh, a team which too has reaped the benefits of meticulous planning since their quarterfinal loss at the 2018 edition.

Though the Priyam Garg-led Indian side got the better of them in the tri-series in England and Asia Cup last year, Bangladesh has always come up with a fight and fielding coach Sharma expects it would be no different Sunday.

They are a very good side. There is a lot of mutual respect. I can tell you that,” he said.

Considering it is their maiden final, it is a bigger game for Bangladesh. If they win, it will be sweet revenge against the sub-continental giants, who have found a way to tame Bangladesh at the senior level in close finals including the 2018 Nidahas Trophy and 2016 World T20.

“We don’t want to take unwanted pressure. India is a very good side. We have to play our ‘A’ game and do well in all three departments. Our fans are very passionate about their cricket. I would want to tell them, keep supporting us,” said Bangladesh skipper Akbar Ali after their semifinal win over New Zealand.

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Agencies
January 19,2020

Bengaluru, Jan 19: Opening batsman Rohit Sharma on Sunday became the third-fastest batsman to register 9,000 runs in the 50-over format.

He achieved the feat in the ongoing third ODI against Australia here at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Only Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers have achieved the feat faster than Rohit.

Sharma brought up the milestone in the first over of the Indian innings as he clipped Mitchell Starc away for a single.

With this, the right-handed batsman has become just the sixth Indian to achieve the milestone.

Apart from Sharma, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, and Sachin Tendulkar have more than 9,000 runs in the 50-over format.

Overall, 20 batsmen have more than 9,000 ODI runs to their name.

In the match between India and Australia, the former won the toss and elected to bat first.

Steve Smith played a knock of 131 runs to propel Australia to 286/9 in the allotted fifty overs.

 

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