Aus chance to strike rhythm

February 12, 2013

Robin_Uthappa

Chennai, Feb 12: Australian opener Ed Cowan, middle-order batsman Usman Khawaja and IPL’s million-dollar man Glenn Maxwell will be eyeing to get some batting practice in their first two-day warm-up match against the Board President’s XI, here on Tuesday.

In the absence of regular skipper Michael Clarke and his deputy Shane Watson, who will be arriving in the next couple of days, wicketkeeper-batsman Matthew Wade will be leading the side.

Since the full Australian squad is yet to assemble, the Aussies have exactly 11 players available right now and it will be the local association that will be providing them with substitute fielders.

“I did half a Shield game or whatever for the Vics (Victoria). Apart from that, that’s it,” Wade said.

“The bigger guns aren’t here as yet, so we’ve only got 11 to pick from tomorrow.”

Since the match is a two-day affair, it is unlikely to get first-class status. The youngsters in the Board President’s XI squad, led by opener Abhinav Mukund, which has the in-form Ambati Rayudu, the experienced Robin Uthappa and Parthiv Patel, the talented Punjab batsman Mandeep Singh, Jammu and Kashmir all-rounder Parveez Rasool along with latest pace sensation Shami Ahmed, will get quality exposure against a top international side.

Practically, this is the third string Indian side as the second string India ‘A’ side, led by Gautam Gambhir, will be playing against Australia in the official first-class game from February 16.

Rayudu, who is fresh from his hundred in the Irani Cup, will like to get a good score against quality fast bowlers like James Pattinson and Peter Siddle.

The Aussie batsmen would be hoping that the likes of Cowan, Khawaja, Maxwell, Henriques get a chance to practice against off-spinners Kamlesh Makwana and Rasool along with leg-spinner Sarabjit Ladda.

Maxwell, Henriques and Steve Smith will be competing for the all-rounder’s slot and this match might give a fair idea about what combination they would like to go with in the Tests.

The match will be played at the Guru Nanak College ground.

Squads: Board President’s XI: Abhinav Mukund (capt), Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu, Mandeep Singh, Kedar Jadhav, Parthiv Patel, Stuart Binny, Sarabjit Ladda, Parvez Rassol, Shami Ahmed, Parvinder Awana, Kamlesh Makwana.

Australia: Matthew Wade (capt), Ed Cowan, Usman Khawaja, Glenn Maxwell, Moises Henriques, Steve Smith, Peter Siddle, James Pattinson, Nathan Lyon, Jackson Bird, Ashton Agar.

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Agencies
January 16,2020

New Delhi, Jan 16: Mahendra Singh Dhoni was on Thursday dropped from the BCCI's list of centrally contracted players, raising fresh doubts on the future of the former India captain who has not played since the World Cup semifinal loss to New Zealand last year.

The BCCI announced the central contracts for the period of October 2019 to September 2020. Dhoni was in the A category, which fetches a player Rs 5 crore, until last year.

Skipper Virat Kohli, his deputy Rohit Sharma and top pacer Jasprit Bumrah were retained in the highest A+ bracket of Rs 7 crore.

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News Network
January 17,2020

Jan 17: Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza cruised into the women's doubles final of the Hobart International with her Ukrainian partner Nadiia Kichenok here on Friday.

Sania and Kichenok sailed past the Slovenian-Czech pair of Tamara Zidansek and Marie Bouzkova 7-6 (3) 6-2 in the semifinal contest that lasted one hour and 24 minutes.

The fifth-seeded Indo-Ukrainian combination will lock horns with second seeds Shuai Peng and Shuai Zhang of China. The Chinese pair got a walkover after Belgium's Kirsten Flipkens and Alison Van Uytvanck conceded the other semifinal match because of injury.

While Sania and Kichenok had to fight hard in the opening set, the second set was a cakewalk for the combination.

The first set was a tough contest between the two pairs, bringing the tie-breaker into the equation after it was level at 6-6.

In the tie-breaker, Sania and Kichenok upped their game by a few notches to outsmart their opponents and take the lead.

The second set was a no-contest as Saina and Kichenok broke their opponents thrice -- in the second, sixth and eighth game -- to easily pocket the set and a place in the summit clash.

Saina and Kichenok got 11 break chances out of which they converted four, while their opponents utilised two out of the five break chances that came their way.

The 33-year-old Sania is returning to the WTA circuit after two years. During her time away from the game, she battled injury breakdowns before taking a formal break in April 2018 to give birth to her son Izhaan. She is married to Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik.

Before the ongoing event, Sania last played at China Open in October 2017.

A trailblazer in Indian tennis, Sania is a former world No.1 in doubles and has six Grand Slam titles to her credit.

She retired from the singles competition in 2013 after becoming the most successful Indian woman tennis player.

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News Network
March 3,2020

Sydney, Mar 3: Former Australia pacer Brett Lee foresees a "different" looking India making their maiden T20 Women's World Cup final and attributed their rise to the emergence of star players like 16-year-old Shafali Verma.

Besides opener Shafali, experienced leg-spinner Poonam Yadav has been the other match-winner for India in the competition. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side topped the group stage with four wins in as many games and play their semifinal here on Thursday.

"They've never reached the final but this is a different India team from the one they’ve seen before. They've combined match-winners in Shafali Verma and Poonam Yadav with consistent players with both bat and ball," Lee was quoted as saying by ICC.

"We've always known they have some of the best players in the world but now Harmanpreet Kaur has a team around her that can support the big players, and fill in the gaps when they have an off day."

Only a special effort from their opponents can stop India from reaching their maiden final, feels Lee.

They'll go into the semi-finals full of confidence and it will take an excellent team to stop them from reaching the Final."

Talking more about Shafali, who has got 47, 46, 39, and 29 so far, Lee backed the teen sensation to make a bigger score in the semifinal.

"Shafali Verma has been excellent at the top of the order, she’s brought a fearless energy to India’s batting and been brilliant to watch.

"You feel she can go even bigger as well – she hasn't reached 50 yet, which is both exciting for those watching and worrying for the bowlers.

"We saw from the opener against Australia just how good India can be, and it’s no surprise they’ve continued that form to top Group A," he added.

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