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Bangalore warms up for India-Pakistan T20 Christmas party

December 25, 2012

indipak

Bangalore, December 25: A defiant India will take on an upbeat Pakistan Christmas night Tuesday in a high-octane T20 tie at the Chinnaswamy stadium in this tech hub amid unprecedented security.

Putting aside the terror attack in Mumbai Nov 26, 2008, the arch rivals have resumed the bilateral series after a gap of five years to promote peace and amity by playing two T20s and three one-day internationals (ODIs) in five cities across the country over the next two weeks (Dec 25-to Jan 6).

Squeezed between the four-Test and five-ODI series against England on home turf, India has its task cut out to rein in a resurgent Pakistan, which came here late Saturday with a formidable pace-cum-spin bowlers and aggressive batters.

With the advantage of playing in front of over 30,000 frenzied fans, India will go all out to make up for the six-wicket loss to England in the second T20 tie in Mumbai Dec 22 after winning the first T20 by five wickets in Pune Dec 20.

The dramatic retirement of batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar Sunday from ODIs will not make a difference as he remained out of the official T20 series despite playing in the IPL T20 game for Mumbai Indians.

The home team, however, is betting on T20 specialists Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma to blunt the Pakistani attack and help their spinners Ravichandran Aswin and Ravindra Jadeja and young pacers Ashok Dinda or Parvindar Awana to restrict the rivals while chasing or setting target.

After the historic ICC ODI World Cup win against Sri Lanka April 2, 2011, in Mumbai, India's performance in the shorter (T20s and ODIs) or longer version (Tests) of the game has been on the wane as evident from its failure to win any major international tournaments since then.

In contrast, the Pakistani team has geared up to give a tough time to the Indian team despite having a couple of youngsters in bowling and batting domains as the experienced Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Sohil Tanvir and Umar Gul are capable of taking away the match single-handedly or collectively.

Even before the countdown on the D-day, captains of both the teams (M.S. Dhoni and Mohammed Hafeez) started the mind games by asserting Monday that the match will be hard fought and competitive while on the flip side there will be a lot of fun and spirit of camaraderie to enjoy the game irrespective of winning or losing by either.

The squads are:

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Gautam Gambhir, Ajinkya Rahane, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ashok Dinda, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Parvinder Awana, Piyush Chawla and Ambati Rayudu.

Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shehzad, Asad Ali, Junaid Khan, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Irfan, Nasir Jamshed, Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi, Shoib Malik, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Akmal, Umar Amin, Umar Gul and Zulfiqar Babar.

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Agencies
August 4,2020

New Delhi, Aug 4: Former India women's team captain Anjum Chopra firmly believes that the BCCI has a plan for women's cricket but she wants the Board to communicate its ideas more specifically.

Speaking to news agency, Chopra, who is now a successful broadcaster, said the BCCI is thinking in earnest about the progress of women's cricket.

"It's not that the BCCI is not thinking about women's cricket. I only think they need to be more specific in communication about women's cricket," Chopra said.

"I firmly believe that they must be thinking about women's cricket but the communication all this while has been very specific to men's cricket."

The latest trigger for criticism of BCCI was India's withdrawal from a tour of England in September owing to logistical issues arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chopra concedes it was "not nice" but Indian players' participation in the women's IPL, in November, will still be useful preparation for next year's ODI World Cup.

"It is heartening to see women's cricket making headlines. They should have been a part of that England tour and it did not feel nice initially but the women's IPL, irrespective of the format, will be helpful for World Cup preparations. Any form of cricket is good preparation," Chopra said.

"Missing out on a tournament is not nice, but logistically there may have been issues. And you can't send an under-prepared team."

"If you see in isolation we may have missed out on an opportunity to play in England. The more the girls play the better it is, before playing a tournament of the stature of World Cup. The assurance from the president is a very good thing."

Chopra welcomed the Sourav Ganguly-led BCCI's decision to hold the women's event in the UAE alongside the IPL, which will run from September 19 to November 10. The women's IPL will coincide with the business end of the men's league.

"I am definitely happy, it's always nice to be part of any cricket anywhere across the world.

"They should have been nearing the final stages of the preparation for the World Cup by now, but because of the pandemic things did not go as planned," she added.

Chopra had a successful international career spanning over 17 years, during which she represented India in a record six World Cups and became the first woman cricketer to appear in 100 One-day Internationals.

She also felt that the pandemic would not have much impact on the women's game that has gained momentum in recent times.

"...Cricket was on pause button...Once cricket resumes and players are back on the park, everything is going to get picked up. It might take some time to get started as everything starts from zero...

"The awareness the women's game has created, I hope it stays. They will just restart, not start after the pandemic."

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News Network
April 24,2020

New Delhi, Apr 24: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Friday extended wishes to the "most prolific batsman of all time" Sachin Tendulkar on his 47th birthday.

ICC took to Twitter and wrote: "Happy birthday to Sachin Tendulkar, the most prolific batsman of all time! To celebrate, we will give you the opportunity to vote for his top ODI innings in a bracket challenge! Stay tuned to join the celebrations."

The Maharashtra-born player had an illustrious career in the game, creating several records.
Tendulkar made his debut in Test cricket on November 15, 1989. In the same year on December 18, he played his first ODI match.

The legendary cricketer has the most number of runs in the longest format of the game, amassing 15,921 runs. Along the way, Tendulkar scored 51 Test centuries, most by any player.

Things are no different in ODI cricket as Tendulkar atop the list of most runs in this format as well. He has accumulated 18,426 runs in ODI which includes 49 tons.

Tendulkar represented the country in six World Cups during his career that lasted for 24 years. He was the part of the 2011 World Cup-winning squad.

This year, Master Blaster decided not to celebrate his birthday due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis in the country.

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News Network
June 17,2020

New Delhi, Jun 17: Indian skipper Virat Kohli on Wednesday paid tributes to Indian Army soldiers, who were killed during the face-off with the Chinese troops in Ladakh's Galwan Valley.

Extending condolences to the kin of bravehearts, Kohli said, "No one is more selfless and brave than a soldier."

"Salute and deepest respect to the soldiers who sacrificed their lives to protect our country in the Galwan Valley. NO one is more selfless and brave than a soldier. Sincere condolences to the families. I hope they find peace through our prayers at this difficult time," he tweeted.

The violent face-off happened on late evening and night of June 15 in Ladakh's Galwan Valley as a result of an attempt by the Chinese troops to "unilaterally change" the status quo during de-escalation in Eastern Ladakh and the situation could have been avoided if the agreement at the higher level been scrupulously followed by the Chinese side, India said on Tuesday.

The Army confirmed that 20 soldiers were killed in the face-off, including 17 who were critically injured at the stand-off location and exposed to sub-zero temperatures in the high altitude terrain.

Indian and Chinese troops have disengaged at the Galwan area in Ladakh where they had earlier clashed on the night of June 15 and 16, Indian Army said.

Former cricketer Irfan Pathan tweeted, "We will always be indebted to our jawans of #IndianArmy who lost their lives in #GalwanValley #JaiHind."

Expressing similar sentiments, Indian batsman Shikhar Dhawan wrote, "A sacrifice that will never be forgotten by the nation. Heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of the Indian Army officer and the two soldiers. Saluting your bravery, Jai Hind! #GalwanValley."

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