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Saina, icon indeed

August 21, 2013

SainaMumbai, Aug 21: After cheering for her Hyderabad Hotshots teammate Ajay Jayaram using hand-clappers till the second 90-second interval of the first game of the evening’s opening match, Saina Nehwal left her chair in the team’s dug-out to warm up for her match against Juliane Schenk.

At the end of her match, an hour-and-a-half later, hundreds of hands clapped for her as she gave Hyderabad Hotshots a 2-0 lead against Pune Pistons in the third leg of Indian Badminton League at NSCI here on Monday. Hyderabad’s men’s doubles pair of V Shem Goh and KW Lim ensured Pune could not come back with a 21-19 21-16 win over R Kumar and Sanave Thomas.

Saina, after losing the first game, regrouped in the next two to win the match 17-21 21-19 11-6 in 59 minutes. This came after Jayaram won his men’s singles match 21-19 21-8 against Tien Minh Nguyen to give Hyderabad the advantage.

Hyderabad’s fortunes depended heavily on Saina as they have a win and a loss from the previous two legs. On the other hand, Pune Pistons, with two wins, had to only carry on the momentum.

World No. 3 Schenk, one place above Saina in world rankings, gave Pune Pistons hope by winning the first game. Schenk had the upper-hand when it came to long rallies. Saina, anxious to finish off the rally, erred by finding the net.

However, Saina was on top in the second and third, smashing out of Schenk’s reach and also winning points at the net. It was the first time Saina was challenged in IBL.

“I love Schenk for the way she always gives me a good fight,” Saina said after the match. Saina has an 8-4 win-loss record over Schenk in international competitions. Both know each other’s game very well, their plusses and minuses.

While handing Schenk her first defeat of the IBL, Saina maintained her 100 per cent record in women’s singles, living up to her icon status. Except for a brief period on either side of the second break in the second game when she trailed Schenk, she was on top to maintain her lead. Saina was rarely tested in the decider, racing to 11-6 in just 13 minutes.

In the evening’s opening match, Chembur-bred Jayaram smashed his way to a 21-19 21-8 win in 40 minutes over higher-ranked Vietnamese Tien Minh Nguyen.

World No. 24 Jayaram was playing his second match of the IBL and thanked the crowd support for his first win in the league after having lost to K Srikanth of Awadhe Warriors and not featuring in the game against Krrish Delhi Smashers.

It was important for Hyderabad Hotshots to get off to a winning start and set the momentum for Saina to carry on in the second fixture. Jayaram, world No. 24, came from behind in the first set even as the 30-year-old Nguyen cashed in on the lapses on Jayaram’s part. However, in the second set, it was Jayaram all the way, giving enough reason for the home team to cheer about.

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News Network
June 6,2020

Mumbai, Jun 6: Reminiscing about his 'special knock' of 208 runs from 153 balls, Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma revealed why his wife Ritika had got emotional after he smashed his third double century in ODIs.

Rohit narrated the incident during his appearance in Episode 2 of the 'Open nets with Mayank'.

The batsman, who was accompanied by Shikhar Dhawan and Mayank on the show, said his wife thought that he had twisted his hand while diving for the 196th run during the innings.

"As you can see my wife got emotional there, this day was special as it was my anniversary. Probably the best gift I could give it to her while I am on the field, it was quite emotional though," said Rohit during the candid chat.

"When I came from the ground, I just asked her why did you (Ritika) cry? So she told me that she thought I (Rohit) twisted my hand when I dived for my 196th run and that was a little worrying factor for her, she got little emotional of because of that I guess," Rohit added.

In the match, the 32-year-old scored 208 runs with 13 fours and 12 sixes against Sri Lanka at Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali.

This enabled India to post a score of 392/4 in the allotted fifty overs.

India then went on to win the match by 141 runs.

"To be honest I was going pretty slow, I never thought I will get to a double hundred but once you cross 125, I feel it gets easier for you because bowlers are under pressure. Unless you make a mistake I don't think you can get out," said Rohit.

Rohit has scored two double hundreds against Sri Lanka and one against Australia in ODIs. The right-handed batsman is the only cricketer to make three double hundreds in ODI history.

Rohit, Shikhar, and Mayank would have been in action for Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, and Kings XI Punjab respectively, had the Indian Premier League (IPL) commenced from March 29. However, the tournament was suspended indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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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
May 14,2020

New Delhi, May 14: Mahendra Singh Dhoni is an unconventional and unique leader, whose biggest strength is his incredible gut feeling, says his Chennai Super Kings teammate Faf du Plessis.

The former South Africa skipper has spent considerable time with Dhoni after joining the Indian Premier League (IPL) side in 2011 and has been an integral part of its successful journey.

"He reads the others player really well and he uses that to make instinctive decisions on the field. He's got an incredible gut feeling on the game and I think that's his biggest strength," du Plessis said in a Facebook live session with Bangladesh ODI skipper Tamim Iqbal.

The 35-year-old said Dhoni changed his perception of how a captain should be.

"It was amazing for me to see how different M S was as a captain. I used to think a captain must speak all the time in team meetings etc but M S was completely different.

"He doesn't believe a lot in team meetings. He's a very instinctive captain he's got such a good cricket brain that he relies on it to make the right decisions on the field," du Plessis said of former India skipper.

Dhoni last played for India in World Cup semifinal last year and was expected to be back to playing competitive cricket at now-postponed IPL.

Calling Dhoni the best finisher he has played with, Du Plessis said no one can emulate what the dasher from Ranchi can do with the bat.

"He's extremely calm. I haven't played with someone who is a better finisher than him. It's just remarkable to watch him from the side of the field."

"If someone else tries to do it like him they won't be able to. He's just so unique like he times the ball so late he's got an incredible calmness. He knows his game and he picks a bowler and goes for it."

Du Plessis said that playing for CSK alongside Dhoni and under the guidance head coach Stephen Fleming has taught him a lot about leadership.

"I'm lucky to have started my journey there at CSK because I have really learned a lot from a leadership point of view. I tried to learn as much as possible from Dhoni and Stephen Fleming because both are great captains."

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