Dhawan to debut as India look to seal series in third Test

March 14, 2013

Dhawan_to_debut

Mohali, Mar 14: When the opposition is in total disarray, it's important to drive home the advantage and deliver the knockout punch. Team India, 2-0 up in the four-match series, will be looking to do just that as they take on Australia in the third Test that gets under way on Thursday.

With the Aussies still busy managing the fallout from 'Home-workGate', the time is right for India to hit hard and seal the series.

The Indian team has been quietly watching the drama unfold in the Australian camp, but it is unlikely that skipper Dhoni and his men will take the opposition lightly, no matter how depleted they might be.

"We have to play good cricket even if it is a weakened Australian side. We can't take them lightly. It's important to maintain the momentum," said Shikhar Dhawan, who will be making his debut.

Dhawan's statement outlined the thought process in the Indian dressing room. In the absence of the discarded Virender Sehwag, Dhawan will be partnering Murali Vijay at the top of the order.

India's two-hour practice session on Wednesday, under the watchful eyes of Dhoni and coach Duncan Fletcher, was intense. The only other possible change in the playing XI may pertain to the choice of third spinner - will Harbhajan make way for Pragyan Ojha?

In contrast to the Aussie camp, the camaraderie in the Indian camp was in full view. "We are enjoying ourselves. The team is in good spirits and there is a healthy atmosphere in the dressing room. There are a lot of youngsters in our team who gel really well," said Dhawan, who also confirmed that Cheteshwar Pujara, who was struck on his knee while batting in the nets on Tuesday, had been declared fit to play. "Pujara is fit and ready to play," said Dhawan.

The India No. 3 batted in the nets on Wednesday before taking part in a catching practice session, dispelling doubts about his fitness.

The Aussies, on the other hand, have several issues to deal with. They not only have just 13 players to choose from, but also an injured wicket-keeper to worry about.

Matthew Wade, who twisted his ankle while playing basketball here, is still doubtful and skipper Michael Clarke said that the final XI would be decided only before the toss.

With the track at the PCA stadium likely to assist the fast bowlers early on, Clarke would have liked to play three pacers, but with Pattinson and Johnson suspended, he has no option but to field Starc and Siddle.

INDIA EYE RECORD

If they win at the PCA Stadium in Mohali, India will record three straight Test victories in a series against Australia for the first time.

If the hosts win the Test, or even if it ends in a draw, India will accomplish a hat-trick of series wins over Australia in India, having won 2-0 in 2008-09 and 2010-11.

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February 10,2020

Potchefstroom, Feb 10: India's under-19 cricket team manager Anil Patel says the ICC has taken a serious view of the aggressive celebrations by Bangladesh players after their World Cup triumph and will be reviewing the footage of the final game's "last few minutes".

Some Bangladeshi players got carried away while celebrating their historic three-wicket win over India in the final on Sunday. While their captain Akbar Ali apologised for the "unfortunate incident", his Indian counterpart Priyam Garg said their reaction was "dirty".

"We don't know what actually happened," Patel told 'ESPNCricinfo' on Sunday.

"Everybody was in a shock, absolutely, but we don't know what happened exactly. The ICC officials are going to watch the footage of the last few minutes and they are going to let us know," he said.

Even when the match was on, the Bangladesh players were overly aggressive while fielding and their lead pacer Shoriful Islam sledged the Indian batsmen after every delivery.

As soon as the match ended, it became tense with Bangladeshi players rushing to the ground and displaying aggressive body language. The two teams nearly came to blows before the situation was defused by the coaching staff and on-field officials.

Patel claimed that match referee Graeme Labrooy met him and expressed regret at what transpired on the field.

"The referee came to me. He was sorry about the incident. He clarified the ICC is going to take very seriously what has happened during the match and the last session. They are going to witness the footage and they will tell us in the morning (Monday)."

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June 24,2020

New Delhi, Jun 24: Star Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan deeply regrets his "silly mistake" of not reporting a corrupt approach by an Indian bookie to the ICC, leading to his one year suspension from the game.

Shakib was banned for two years, one year of it suspended, for failing to report corrupt approaches during an IPL edition by an alleged Indian bookie named Deepak Aggarwal.

"I took the approaches too casually When I met the anti-corruption guy and told them and they knew everything. Gave them all the evidence and they knew everything that happened," Shakib told Harsha Bhogle on 'Cricbuzz in Conversation'.

"To be honest, that's the only reason I was banned for a year, otherwise I'd have been banned for five or 10 years," he added on the ICC's investigation.

The 33-year-old, who was in brilliant form before the ban, amassing 606 runs in the 2019 World Cup in the UK, said he regrets how he went about the situation.

"But I think that was a silly mistake I made. Because with my experience and the amount of international matches I've played and the amount of ICC's anti-corruption code of conduct classes I took, I shouldn't have made that decision, to be honest."

Lesson learnt, Shakib's advice to all young criceters is to never take any such message lightly.

"I regret that. No one should take such messages or calls (from bookies) lightly or leave it away. We must inform the ICC ACSU guy to be on the safe side and that's the lesson I learnt, and I think I learnt a big lesson," he added.

The all-rounder, whose ban ends on October 29, said he became a bit arrogant and never felt he was doing anything wrong by not reporting the bookie's approach immediately.

"Because you do most things right in your life, you tend to get arrogant with some decisions. You may not realise but you're doing wrong by the books. It never came to my mind that I am doing something wrong

"It was just a feeling of 'okay, what's going to happen, leave it' and I continued with my life. But that's the mistake I made. And that happens," Shakib said.

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June 2,2020

Jun 2: Former West Indies captain Daren Sammy has spoken strongly against the killing if George Floyd in USA, and has now urged the ICC & all the other boards in the world to come together and fight the evil.

In a series of tweets Sammy wrote how the blacks have been suffering for a long time.

“For too long black people have suffered. I’m all the way in St Lucia and I’m frustrated If you see me as a teammate then you see #GeorgeFloyd Can you be part of the change by showing your support. #BlackLivesMatter,” Sammy wrote.

He also wrote, “@ICC and all the other boards are you guys not seeing what’s happening to ppl like me? Are you not gonna speak against the social injustice against my kind. This is not only about America. This happens everyday #BlackLivesMatter now is not the time to be silent. I wanna hear u.”

“Right now if the cricket world not standing against the injustice against people of color after seeing that last video of that foot down the next of my brother you are also part of the problem.”

Earlier, West Indies star batsman Chris Gayle has said racism exists in cricket too, saying he gets the 'end of the stick' even within teams.

"Black lives matter just like any other life. Black people matter, p***k all racist people, stop taking black people for fools, even our own black people wise the p***k up and stop bringing down your own! I have travelled the globe and experience racial remarks towards me because I am black, believe me, the list goes on," Gayle wrote in his Instagram story.

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