India aim for clean sweep against jittery Australia

March 21, 2013

Dhoni-and-team

New Delhi, Mar 21: Standing on the cusp of history, an upbeat India will go for the kill against a beleaguered Australia as they aim for an unprecedented 4-0 clean sweep by inflicting another defeat on the visitors in the fourth and final cricket Test starting here tomorrow.

Although the Indian team under Mohammed Azharuddin enjoyed a clean sweep against Graham Gooch's England back in 1993 but it was a three-Test series.

In their 81-year history of Test cricket, India have never won four consecutive Test matches in a series and Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his boys will certainly hold the distinction of being the first if they can get past Michael Clarke's men at the Feroze Shah Kotla.

Skipper Dhoni does not endorse the word 'revenge' in sport but there is no denying the fact that his band of boys will be keen on setting the record straight having lost the series 'Down Under' by an identical margin.

A lot of people have been sceptical about praising the performance of the Indian team against an Australian side which many consider to be the most inexperienced team which has come for a series in the sub-continent.

But this series win has certainly helped Dhoni in partially restoring his "Captain Cool" image which had taken a serious beating after losing 1-2 at home against England after eight consecutive Test losses overseas.

On paper, India start as overwhelming favourites on a low and slow Feroz Shah Kotla track as the Aussie batsmen are yet to decode India's spinners during a series which will be remembered for all wrong reasons from the visiting team's perspective.

Adding to their woes, Michael Clarke is a doubtful starter and his unavailability will only dent their chance of salvaging some pride and ending the series on a happy note.

Shikhar Dhawan would be cursing his luck that he is missing out on an opportunity to play a Test match in front of his home crowd after suffering a knuckle injury while fielding.

Suresh Raina has got another lucky break in longer format despite repeated failures and knowing Dhoni's fondness for the UP left-hander, there is every possibility that he might get another shot to redeem his Test career.

Given the lacklustre condition of the Australian bowling attack, one won't be surprised if Raina also feasts on Nathan Lyon and co. and his career gets a second wind.

This will mean a tricky situation as to who will be opening the innings. For all practical purposes, it is supposed to be Mumbai batsman Ajinkya Rahane who should be partnering the in-form Murali Vijay.

There is a school of thought that Rahane has been earmarked for a slot in the middle-order and the wait might just get longer for the Mumbaikar.

In case Rahane fails to earn his maiden Test cap, Cheteshwar Pujara might be seen opening with Vijay while Raina will be taking the No 5 slot in the batting order. Virat Kohli, who has the experience of batting at No 3, is likely to be promoted.

The Delhi Test will be 198th in Sachin Tendulkar's illustrious career and as per the ICC itinerary, India don't play any home Test matches in the next 12 months.

So one doesn't know if the legend will be again seen in action in white flannels on the home soil.

The bowling attack looks more or less settled with both Bhuvneshwar Kumar and especially Ishant Sharma putting up a much improved performance in the Mohali Test match.

What has been working for India is Bhuvneshwar has been good with the new ball and Ishant has managed to get some reverse swing going his way with the old ball.

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News Network
March 21,2020

London, Mar 21: The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has suspended all professional cricket till May 28, delaying the start of the new season, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ECB took the decision following discussions with the First-Class Counties, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and the Professional Cricketers' Association (PCA).

"It was agreed that, given the current information available, a seven-week delay to the start of the season is the most appropriate approach," an ECB media statement said.

The Board also announced that it is working on three new options, including the three-Test series against West Indies, the T20 Cup and the women's schedule against India, for a possible start in June, July or August.

"Close liaison with the Government will continue, with discussions on the potential of starting the season behind closed doors and giving sports fans the opportunity to live broadcast action," the statement said on Friday.

"The potential for reduced versions of competitions, should the season become further truncated, will also be discussed."

The ECB said it will meet as needed to review the position and make further decisions as the UK situation unfolds.

"During this period of deep uncertainty it is the ECB’s first priority to protect the wellbeing of everyone within the cricket family, from players, to fans and colleagues across the game,’’ ECB Chief Executive Officer Tom Harrison said.

"The decision to delay the start of the season has been essential, given the circumstances the nation faces. I am reassured by the collaborative effort from across the game that together, we will make the very best of whatever length of season we are able to safely schedule in the coming months," he added.

He said this would give the ECB time to keep pace with a fast-moving situation and continue to plan for how a revised season might look.

"Critically, we can also remain as flexible and adaptable as possible, within the obvious restrictions we face."

Last week, England's tour of Sri Lanka was called off mid tournament in view of the rising threat of the pandemic.

"Securing the future of the game will be a primary focus as we plot a revised schedule with an emphasis on the most financially important forms of the game for the counties across international and domestic cricket," Harrison said.

The COVID-19 global death toll has climbed past 11,000 with more than 250,000 infected. In UK, close to 4000 have tested positive so far and 177 died.

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June 6,2020

New Delhi, Jun 6: Former West Indies pacer Michael Holding has come out in support of MS Dhoni, saying that the wicket-keeper batsman indeed wanted to win the match against England in the 2019 World Cup.

India's performance in the World Cup match against England last year has once again become a matter of debate as all-rounder Ben Stokes in his book titled 'On Fire' questioned the intent of the Indian side.

Stokes also said that Dhoni's intent was questionable as he did not go for big shots when India still had a chance to win the match.

However, Holding said that nowadays people tend to write anything in their books.

"Well, people will write anything in books these days, because people are a lot more free with their opinions and when they are writing books, they need to be making headlines at times," Holding said on his official YouTube channel.

"But, to be honest, a lot of people watching that game perhaps wouldn't have arrived to the same conclusion that Ben Stokes arrived at that India were not trying to win," he added.

Holding did say that it seemed like that India did not have the same intensity as they would have had if the match was a do-or-die match.

"It was not the game that India had to win, but I don't think anyone can say that was a team tactic to lose the game. I watched that game and it appeared to me as if India weren't putting up their 100 per cent, but I realised it was not the case when the expression on MS Dhoni's face told me that he desperately wanted to win, so I do not think it was a team decision to not try to win," the former Windies pacer said.

"But I don't think they went with the same intensity of wanting to win the game, say, if it was a do-or-die situation. If it was, we would have seen a different game," he added.

On his official YouTube channel, Holding also said that no team goes in with a set pattern in terms of chasing targets.

In the round-robin stage match against England in Birmingham, India failed to chase down the massive target of 338 and fell short by 31 runs.

That was the only game that India lost in the premier tournament last year before the semifinal loss against the Kiwis.

India's chasing approach, in particular of wicket-keeper batsman Dhoni, was criticised by many, including the fans at home.

As soon as Stokes mentioned Dhoni's lack of intent in his book 'On Fire', Pakistan fans started saying that India deliberately lost the match to knock out their neighbours.

However, Stokes clarified that he never said India lost deliberately and some people were twisting his words.

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February 12,2020

Mount Maunganui, Feb 12: India captain Virat Kohli on Tuesday berated his bowlers for their mediocre performance as he tried to explain the team's first ODI series whitewash in over three decades, saying that the visitors lacked composure all through.

The five-wicket defeat here meant that India lost the series 0-3 to an injury-plagued New Zealand that had been deflated by a 0-5 whitewash of its own in the T20 format just last week. It was India's first whitewash in 31 years in an ODI series in which all matches have been played.

"The games were not as bad as the scoreline suggests. It boils down to those chances that we didn't grab. I don't think it was not enough to win games in international cricket," Kohli said in the post-match presentation.

"With the ball, we were not able to make breakthroughs, we were not at all good on the field. We haven't played so badly but when you don't grab those chances, you don't deserve to win," he added.

"Batsmen coming back from tough situations was a positive sign for us, but the way we fielded and bowled, the composure wasn't enough to win games," he asserted.

The ineffectiveness of Indian bowlers can be gauged from the fact that the team's pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah finished the series without a wicket and the attack couldn't dismiss the complete rival line-up even once.

Kohli lauded New Zealand for bouncing back after the T20 hammering.

"New Zealand played with lot more intensity. We didn't deserve to win because we did not show enough composure," he said.

The batting mainstay is looking forward to the Test series, which begins on February 21, to make amends for the disappointment.

"I think because of the Test Championship, every match has that more importance. We have a really balanced Test team and we feel we can win the series here, but we need to step on to the park with the right kind of mindset," he said.

His opposite number Kane Williamson, who missed the first two games due to injury, was lavish in his praise for the home team's grit.

"An outstanding performance, very clinical. India put us under pressure, but the way the guys fought back with the ball and kept them to a par total. The cricket in the second half was outstanding to see," he said referring to the side's effortless chase of a 297-run target.

"We know how good they (India) are at all formats but for us the clarity about the roles the guys had was the most important thing. Outstanding effort against a brilliant India side," he added.

Player of the Match Henry Nicholls, who scored 80 on Tuesday, said his team benefitted from good batting starts during the series.

"To come back and win 3-0 after the T20Is is nice. The way (Martin) Guptill played today allowed us to get ahead. We got a 100-run stand, but we were fortunate enough to get good starts this series," he said.

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