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.


Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
June 13,2020

Melbourne, Jun 13: Former Australia wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist and current opener David Warner have expressed gratitude to two Indian students for helping people in the country during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gilchrist thanked Sharon Varghese, an Indian student who did her Bachelors in Nursing from the University of Wollongong.

Varghese has been was working on the frontline along with other health care workers to look after the residents of aged-care during the global health crisis.

"She gave up her time to work as an aged-care worker throughout that time. Sharon, I want to say congratulations on the selfless act and for wanting to thank people in Australia because you have enjoyed three and a half years living here. And that’s wonderful to hear," Gilchrist said in a video message.

"Just want to let you know, all of Australia, all of India and more importantly, your family will be so very proud of your efforts."

In another short video, Warner thanked Queensland-based Indian student, Shreyas Sheth.

"Namaste. I am here to say thank you to Shreyas Sheth who is doing selfless work to help others during the COVID crisis. Shreyas is doing his Masters in Computer Science at the University of Queensland and he has been part of University’s outreach program, preparing and delivering food packets to students in need right now," Warner said in the video.

"So I just want to say ‘good on ya’. I am sure your mum and dad and India are proud of you. Keep up the great work."

The videos were shared by Austrade India official twitter account, which have hit almost 10 thousand views in last one week.

Apart from the two cricketers, another Social Media Influencer Amy Aela also sent her thank you note to Liya, an Indian student from Griffith university for her work in providing mental health support to communities in Australia during the pandemic.

"Liya I just want to thank you...we definately need more people like you...just remember that Australia is so so proud of you, India is proud of you..please keep up the good work," Aela said.

Former Australian footballer Craig Foster also sent his thank you message to another Indian origin nurse Arushi from Deakin University. More than 100,000 Indian students are studying in Australia, currently making them one of the biggest cohorts of international students in the country.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
July 20,2020

The International Cricket Council (ICC) today confirmed the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia 2020 has been postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic

At today’s meeting of the IBC Board (the commercial subsidiary of the ICC), windows for the next three ICC men’s events were also agreed to bring clarity to the calendar and give the sport the best possible opportunity over the next three years to recover from the disruption caused by COVID-19.

The windows for the Men’s events are:

1. ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 will be held October – November 2021 with the final on 14 November 2021

2. ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 will be held October – November 2022 with the final on 13 November 2022

3. ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 will be held in India October – November 2023 with the final on 26 November 2023

The IBC Board agreed to continue to monitor the rapidly changing situation and assess all the information available in order to make a considered decision on future hosts to ensure the sport is able to stage safe and successful global events in 2021 and 2022.

The IBC Board will also continue to evaluate the situation in relation to being able to stage the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2021 in New Zealand in February next year. In the meantime, planning for this event continues as scheduled.

The Board will also continue to evaluate the situation in relation to being able to stage the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2021.

ICC Chief Executive Manu Sawhney said: “We have undertaken a comprehensive and complex contingency planning exercise and through this process, our number one priority has been to protect the health and safety of everyone involved in the sport.

“The decision to postpone the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup was taken after careful consideration of all of the options available to us and gives us the best possible opportunity of delivering two safe and successful T20 World Cups for fans around the world.

“Our Members now have the clarity they need around event windows to enable them to reschedule lost bilateral and domestic cricket. Moving the Men’s Cricket World Cup to a later window is a critical element of this and gives us a better chance of maintaining the integrity of the qualification process. This additional time will be used to reschedule games that might be lost because of the pandemic ensuring qualification can be decided on the field of play.

“Throughout this process we have worked closely with our key stakeholders including governments, Members, broadcasters, partners and medical experts to enable us to reach a collective decision for the good of the game and our fans. I would like to thank everyone involved for their commitment to a safe return to cricket.”

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
July 16,2020

Kolkata, Jul 16: BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Wednesday went into home quarantine after his elder brother and Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) joint secretary Snehasish Ganguly tested positive for Covid-19.

Snehasish, a former Bengal first-class player, has been admitted to the Belle Vue hospital in Kolkata after his COVID report came positive.

"He was suffering from fever for the last few days and his test report came positive today. He's been admitted to Belle Vue Hospital," a CAB official said.

"The reports arrived late in the evening. As per health protocols, even Sourav will have to be in home quarantine for a stipulated period," a source close to the BCCI President added.

Snehasish had shifted to their ancestral house, where Sourav is based, in Behala after his wife and in-laws at his Mominpur residence tested positive for the dreaded virus.

The former India captain was, however, unavailable for a comment on the development.

Recently, during an interview to India Today, Sourav had spoken about how life around him has changed, making people more vulnerable.

"My brother visits our factories everyday and he is more at risk," the former batting star had said

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.