MS Dhoni again proves he is the master of one-day batting

January 17, 2013

dhoni-odimasterKochi, Jan 17: You cannot but marvel at MS Dhoni's resourcefulness and mind control. Despite being under immense pressure as captain, player and strategist of Team India, with his unit going through a horror run over the last one and a half years, Dhoni's batting in recent one-day Internationals has once again established his phenomenal prowess in this format.

One can question his leadership, his Test performance, his tactics and so on but the way he has almost single handedly battled for India in the series against Pakistan and the ongoing one against England can only draw admiration.

It didn't surprise anyone when England skipper Alastair Cook described Dhoni as "probably the best batsman in the world when it comes to batting in the end overs" after his knock in Kochi on Tuesday.

"He is probably the best player in the world in those situations, in these conditions. He does it time and time again. Dhoni is incredibly hard to bowl at and with that extra man in the circle, it's very hard to stop him on these flat wickets," Cook said.

The pressure has been mounting but Dhoni, back in his favourite format, has not let it affect his game. Pushed into a corner, the Indian skipper has come out with all guns blazing.

Dhoni stood tall amidst the ruins as India lost the series to Pakistan 1-2. His scores in the three-match series read 113*, 54* and 36 at an astounding average of 203.00. But he was waging a lone furrow as he got very little support from his fellow batsmen.

Dhoni has carried on the momentum against England. He followed a quickfire 32 in the first ODI in Rajkot with a brilliant 72 in Kochi on Tuesday.

But it's just not the runs but the manner in which he responded to the high-pressure situation that needs to be praised. Each time that Dhoni has walked out to bat on the last five occasions, he has seen his top-order perish cheaply.

Whether it is rebuilding the innings or going for the slog in the end overs, the Indian skipper has not missed a trick in the bag. Dhoni reads the game shrewdly when he has the bat in his hand.

He has made the new fielding regulations work to his advantage. Often in the past, when doing a resurrection job, Dhoni avoided taking risks till the very last overs.

But with that extra man in the circle now, Dhoni is now willing to go over the in-field much earlier. It has yielded handsome results. Often in the past, a slide in the fortunes of the team has led to a slump in individual form of captains leading India.

Mohammad Azharuddin, Sourav Ganguly, Kapil Dev have all experienced that. But Dhoni has avoided the fate, at least in ODIs. Despite being in the dock as the team has floundered, Dhoni has averaged 83.82 in is last 27 innings in ODIs after the 2011 World Cup win with a strike rate of 92.39.

Former chairman of selectors Kiran More, who first picked Dhoni for India, said pressure brings out the best in Dhoni. "He has been facing a lot of criticism off late. But I think Dhoni works criticism to his advantage.

Look at how well he has been performing. He is one the best wicketkeeper-batsmen India has produced. I think right now he is best man to lead the Indian side in all formats too.

I think the only place where he needs to abdicate his captaincy is IPL. That will give him a bit of relief," said the former India stumper.

Career highlights:

Only captain to manage average of fifty-plus amongst captains with 2,000 runs or more.

Only player to register average of 100-plus while chasing successfully (min qualification: 1000 runs).

One of the three wicketkeepers to have completed double of 7000 runs and 200 dismissals along with Kumar Sangakkara and Adam Gilchrist.

His average of 75.81 in wins is the highest amongst the batsmen with 3000 runs or more
(Compiled by Rajesh Kumar)

Dhoni's last six ODI innings

Runs

Balls

SR

Opp

Venue

Came at

Left at

Result

58

38

152.63

SL

Pallekele

197/5

290/7

Won

113*

125

90.40

Pak

Chennai

29/5

--

Lost

54*

89

60.67

Pak

Kolkata

70/4

--

Lost

36

55

65.45

Pak

Delhi

63/4

131/7

Won

32

25

128.00

Eng

Rajkot

198/4

271/6

Lost

72

66

109.09

Eng

Kochi

119/4

270/6

Won

Total 365, Ave 91.25, Hundred 1, Fifty 3, S/R 91.70, Fours 27, Sixes 14

Overall ODI batting record

M

I

NO

Runs

HS

Ave.

100

50

SR

6s

Home

80

72

21

2966

183*

58.15

5

17

91.37

79

Away

91

83

21

3017

101*

48.66

1

24

84.62

45

Neutral

45

38

13

1232

139*

49.28

2

7

90.52

28

Total

216

193

55

7215

183*

52.28

8

48

88.28

152

In wins

121

105

45

4549

183*

75.81

6

30

97.51

106

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News Network
May 13,2020

May 13: With the Olympics postponed due to the coronavirus, top Japanese fencer Ryo Miyake has swapped his metal mask and foil for a bike and backpack as a Tokyo UberEats deliveryman.

The 29-year-old, who won silver in the team foil at the 2012 London Olympics and was itching to compete in a home Games, says the job keeps him in shape physically and mentally -- and brings in much-needed cash.

"I started this for two reasons -- to save money for travelling (to future competitions) and to keep myself in physical shape," he told AFP.

"I see how much I am earning on the phone, but the number is not just money for me. It's a score to keep me going."

Japanese media have depicted Miyake as a poor amateur struggling to make ends meet but he himself asked for his three corporate sponsorships to be put on hold -- even if that means living off savings.

Like most of the world's top athletes, he is in limbo as the virus forces competitions to be cancelled and plays havoc with training schedules.

"I don't know when I can resume training or when the next tournament will take place. I don't even know if I can keep up my mental condition or motivation for another year," he said.

"No one knows how the qualification process will go. Pretending everything is OK for the competition is simply irresponsible."

In the meantime, he is happy criss-crossing the vast Japanese capital with bike and smartphone, joining a growing legion of Uber delivery staff in demand during the pandemic.

"When I get orders in the hilly Akasaka, Roppongi (downtown) district, it becomes good training," he smiles.

The unprecedented postponement of the Olympics hit Miyake hard, as he was enjoying a purple patch in his career.

After missing out on the Rio 2016 Olympics, Miyake came 13th in last year's World Fencing Championships -- the highest-ranked Japanese fencer at the competition.

The International Olympics Committee has set the new date for the Olympics on July 23, 2021.

But with no vaccine available for the coronavirus that has killed nearly 300,000 worldwide, even that hangs in the balance.

Miyake said the Japanese fencing team heard about the postponement the day after arriving in the United States for one of the final Olympic qualifying events.

With his diary suddenly free of training and competition, he said he spent the month of April agonising over what to do before hitting on the Uber idea.

"Sports and culture inevitably come second when people have to survive a crisis," he said.

"Is the Olympics really needed in the first place? Then what do I live for if not for the sport? That is what I kept thinking."

However, the new and temporary career delivering food in Tokyo has given the fencer a new drive to succeed.

"The most immediate objective for me is to be able to start training smoothly" once the emergency is lifted, he said.

"I need to be ready physically and financially for the moment. That is my biggest mission now."

But not all athletes may cope mentally with surviving another "nerve-wracking" pre-Olympic year, he said.

"It's like finally getting to the end of a 42-kilometre marathon and then being told you have to keep going."

As a child, Miyake practised his attacks on every wall of his house -- and he said his passion for the sport was what was driving him now.

"I love fencing. I want to be able to travel for matches and compete in the Olympics. That is the only reason I am doing this."

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News Network
July 1,2020

New Delhi, Jul 1: After being named as India's 'Most Valuable Player' in Test cricket in the 21st century, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja on Wednesday said that he will always aim to give his best for the country.

His remark came as Jadeja achieved an MVP rating of 97.3 and as a result, he was also rated as the second most valuable player Test player worldwide, only second to Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan.

"Thank you Wisden India for naming me the 'Most Valuable Player'. I would like to thank all my teammates, coaches, fans, and well-wishers for your support as I aim to give my best for our country. Jai Hind," Jadeja tweeted.

Based on CricViz's market-leading analytics, each player in world cricket was awarded an 'MVP rating' by Wisden using a statistical model to rank their 'match impact' compared to their peers.

Jadeja has played in 49 Tests from 2012, managing to score 1,869 runs and has also picked up 213 wickets.

"It might come as a surprise to see Ravindra Jadeja, India's spin-bowling all-rounder, feature as India's number one. After all, he's not even always an automatic pick in their Test team. However, when he does play he is picked as a frontline bowler and has batted as high as No.6 - contributing to a very high match involvement," the official website of Wisden quoted CricViz's Freddie Wilde as saying.

"But Jadeja's position is based on more than simply volume: it's what he does when he's involved that really counts. The 31-year-old's bowling average of 24.62 is better than Shane Warne's and his batting average of 35.26 is better than Shane Watson's. His batting and bowling average differential of 10.62 runs is the second-best of any player this century to have scored more than 1,000 runs and taken 150 wickets. He is an all-rounder of the very highest quality," he added.

With the bat in hand, Jadeja has managed to score one century and 14 fifties in the longest format of the game.

He was last seen in action during India's two-Test series against New Zealand earlier this year.

He would have been in action for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL had the tournament commenced from March 29.

However, the IPL has been postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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Agencies
January 9,2020

Atlanta, Jan 9: Top tennis stars like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Serena Williams will be playing an exhibition match to raise funds for Australia's bushfire relief.

Apart from these three, Naomi Osaka, Nick Kyrgios and Stefanos Tsitsipas have also confirmed their availability for the match, CNN reported.

The match will be played on January 15 at Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena. The Australian Open Rally for Relief will be donating the proceedings from the ticket sales to the bushfire relief efforts.

Tennis star Maria Sharapova had also announced on Wednesday that she had left 10 signed pairs of her tennis shoes in her Brisbane hotel that members of the public could buy with a donation to the Australian Red Cross.

"Brisbane, I have signed ten pairs of my tennis shoes, left them at the @BrisbaneTennis
desk at the Westin Hotel, alongside a donation envelope for fire rescue efforts.They're yours to keep,we just ask you to donate AUD 300 a pair. All money going directly to Red Cross," Sharapova tweeted.

Earlier, former Australian spinner Shane Warne on Monday had announced to auction his Baggy Green cap to raise funds for victims of devastating bushfires in Australia.

Taking to Twitter, Warne made the announcement and posted a statement.

"The horrific bushfires in Australia have left us all in disbelief. The impact these devastating fires are having on so many people is unthinkable and has touched us all. Lives have been lost, homes have been destroyed and over 500 million animals have died too," Warne wrote.

"Everyone is in this together and we continue to find ways to contribute and help on a daily basis. This has led me to auction my beloved baggy green cap (350) that I wore throughout my Test career," he added.

Warne joined a growing list of cricketers to raise money for the bushfire victims. Australian players Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell and D'Arcy Short have already announced that they will donate AUD 250 each for every six they hit in the ongoing Big Bash League (BBL) to support bushfire victims.

Athletes from other sports too joined the movement as tennis stars Maria Sharapova and Novak Djokovic decided to donate 25,000 dollars each for Australia's bushfire relief fund.

Wildfires have been raging across Australia for months, killing 23 people, burning about 6 million hectares (23,000 square miles) of bushland and killing a billion animals.

Naval and air rescue operations were launched on Friday as mass evacuations of towns at risk of being engulfed by flames got underway.b

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