Spotlight on retiring Tendulkar as India-West Indies clash

November 5, 2013

TendulkarKolkata, Nov 5: Cricket has been left overshadowed by the farewell carnival surrounding the iconic Sachin Tendulkar and India will have to keep emotions in check to ensure that they are not distracted from the task at hand against the West Indies in his swansong two-Test series starting on Wednesday.

The centre stage will belong to Tendulkar, who will begin pulling the curtains down on his glittering career. The 40-year-old veteran will call it quits after his 200th Test with the one starting on Wednesday being his 199th.

Amid an upsurge of emotions among fans and administrators of the game alike, Tendulkar would look to make it memorable through his bat against a team, which has promised to steal the limelight by thwarting him.

Given the hype and hoopla surrounding the series, it would take a herculean effort from the West Indies to avoid being just bridesmaids.

Tendulkar's imposing presence will dominate the series and why not? In a controversy-free career spanning 24 years, Tendulkar has been the most worshipped and followed cricketer who has against his name, almost all the batting records including most runs and hundreds in international cricket.

Treated like 'God' by his fans, it will be one nostalgic moment for sports-mad Kolkata when Tendulkar comes on to bat in his penultimate Test on the hallowed Eden Gardens.

The majestic ground has been witness to many of Tendulkar's ups and downs since his Eden odyssey began in an ODI against Sri Lanka on January 4, 1991.

His miserly three-run last over that had denied South Africa the winning six runs in the Hero Cup semifinal on November 24, 1993 is part of cricketing folklore here.

At the same time, the 1996 World Cup semifinal against Sri Lanka when fans hurled bottles and set the stands on fire after an Indian collapse began with Tendulkar's dismissal would also remain etched in the memory.

Having played 25 matches in both Test and ODI formats here, the most by any, Tendulkar will appear in his 13th Test at the Eden and the fans would pray that the batting stalwart bids adieu to the historic ground on a high.

Adulation and admiration aside, Tendulkar has been subjected to criticism in recent times. He has had a tough time especially in the last couple of years when he took 21 Tests and 12 ODIs to get to his 100th International centuries that came against minnows Bangladesh on March 16, 2012.

But in Tests, Tendulkar is stranded at 51 tons and is yet to score a century in 21 matches since his 146 in Cape Town on January 2, 2011.

Tendulkar's farewell aside, India will start the series as firm favourites with the young batsmen rising up to the challenge even though the bowling is a worry.

On the other hand, despite their big claims of playing hard cricket and spoiling Tendulkar's farewell series, the Windies did not quite show quality in a three-day practice match against Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association last week.

This will be a perfect dress rehearsal for Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men before the tough away challenges in South Africa, New Zealand and Australia next year.

India's batting is in the groove and the return of Shikhar Dhawan will strengthen the middle-order.

The left-hander struck a rollicking 187 in his debut innings in Mohali only to sit out in the second essay picking up an injury and going on to miss the last Test against Australia earlier this year.

After his comeback in the IPL, Dhawan was in blistering form in the recent ODI series and the southpaw would look to lay the foundation at the top with Murali Vijay, while Cheteshwar Pujara will play the sheet-anchor role.

India's middle-order would see a new face in Rohit Sharma when he makes his a Test debut at the Eden. More than three and after 108 ODIs and 3049 runs, Sharma has a new-found approach as showed by becoming only the third batsman ever to score an ODI triple-hundred in the recent home series against Australia.

Sharma was due for a Test debut against the touring South Africans in 2009-10 but a freak injury kept him on the sidelines.

In fact, it is the bowling attack which has left India in a bit of a quandary. Dhoni is likely to go for a three plus two pace-spin attack in the absence of an injured Ravindra Jadeja.

The return of Umesh Yadav will bolster the new-ball attack with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ishant Sharma being the other two pacers while Bengal-lad Mohammad Shami may just have to wait for a Test debut.

Dhoni may prefer left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha over leg-spinner Amit Mishra to partner Ravichandran Ashwin.

West Indies have come with a pace attack comprising Kemar Roach, Tino Best and Sheldon Cotterrell and the last two did not have show much sting even against the UPCA in the warm-up tie at Salt Lake.

A relatively unknown offie Shane Shillingford is their most experienced spinner while rookie Veerasammy Permaul bowls left-arm orthodox. All in all, it is an attack which is likely to be decimated by players such as Virat Kohli, Dhawan and Sharma who are in irresistible form.

Like in the Indian camp, the Windies too have a milestone cricketer in their most capped player Shivnarine Chanderpaul who will play his 150th Test in Mumbai.

The left-arm batsman with an uncanny stance has been a proven performer against the Indians averaging 66, against his career average of 52.

Apart from Chanderpaul, Windies have a promising batsman in Kirk Edwards who had a successful tour captaining A side alongwith Narsingh Deonarine.

Chanderpaul has already shown his appetite when he sized up for the series with a hundred, while Deonarine was equally impressive with a 94 in the warm-up tie.

Darren Sammy's men lost 0-2 in a three-Test series in their last tour here in 2011 and it would be interesting to see how they gear up to the challenge in the high marquee series.

Teams (from):

India: MS Dhoni (captain and wk), Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ajinkya Rahane, Ishant Sharma, Pragyan Ojha and Amit Mishra.

West Indies: Darren Sammy (captain), Chris Gayle, Kieran Powell, Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Narsingh Deonarine, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Tino Best, Veerasammy Permaul, Sheldon Cotterrell, Kirk Edwards, Kemar Roach, Shane Shillingford and Chadwick Walton.

Umpires: Nigel Llong and Richard Kettleborough (both ECB); TV: Vineet Kulkarni.

Match starts: 9am First session: 9-11am, Lunch: 11-11.40am. Second session: 11.40 to 1.40pm, Tea: 1.40-2pm. Third session: 2 to 4pm.

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News Network
January 27,2020

Auckland, Jan 27: : K.L. Rahul made an unbeaten 57 Sunday to steer India to a seven-wicket win over New Zealand in the second Twenty20 international and to a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.

Rahul and Shreyas Iyer put on 86 for the third wicket as India cruised past New Zealand's total of 132-5 with 2.3 overs to spare. Shivam Dube (13 not out) hit a six from the bowling of Tim Southeein in the 18th over to lift India to 135-3.

Iyer made 58 not out and Rahul 56 as India beat New Zealand by six wickets with an over to spare in the first match of the series.

New Zealand made 203-5 batting first in that match but on Sunday, on the same pitch, it struggled to achieve any real momentum. During the second match the pitch played much slower and India bowled expertly to restrict New Zealand's total.

Martin Guptill made 33 in a 48-run opening partnership with Colin Munro and Tim Seifert made an unbeaten 33 at the end of the innings but New Zealand wasn't able to reach a total that could stretch India's deep batting lineup.

Rohit Sharma (8) and captain Virat Kohli (11) were out relatively cheaply but Rahul and Iyer (44) sped India towards a comprehensive victory.

Dube came to the crease shortly before the end and quickly brought the match to a conclusion.

"I think we backed up the first match with a very good performance today, especially with the ball," Kohli said. "We demanded that the bowlers stood up and took control of what we wanted to do out there.

"I think our line and length and the way we wanted to bowl on that wicket, sticking to one side of the wicket and being shorter was a very good feature of us as a team and helped us restrict a very good New Zealand team."

New Zealand's total was inadequate, even on a slower pitch, and India almost toyed with the home side as it made its way to a comfortable win.

New Zealand named the same team that lost the first match of the series and batted after winning the toss, just as it batted when it was outplayed in the first match of the series.

The match raised further questions about the coaching and captaincy of the New Zealand team after its humiliating test series loss in Australia last month. New Zealand showed again Sunday it hasn't the talent to compete with the best teams in the world.

"As a batting unit we probably needed another 15 or 20 to make that total more competitive," said New Zealand captain Kane Williamson. "But credit to the way the India side bowled, they're a class side in all departments and they put us under pressure throughout that middle period."

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News Network
January 28,2020

New Delhi, Jan 28: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is clear that while they have no problem with the Pakistan Cricket Board hosting the 2020 edition of the Asia Cup -- set to be a preparatory ground for the T20 World Cup in Australia -- the venue needs to be a neutral one as travelling to the neighbouring country isn't an option at present.

Speaking to news agency, a BCCI official said that the hosting rights is not an issue and it is just a case of picking a neutral venue as the Indian team wouldn't be travelling to Pakistan for the T20 tournament that will see the top Asian teams in action.

"The question isn't about the PCB hosting the tournament. It is about the venue and as things stand now, it is quite clear that we would need a neutral venue. There is no way that an Indian team can visit Pakistan to even participate in a multi-nation event like the Asia Cup. If the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) is ok with an Asia Cup minus India then it is a different ball game. But if India is to participate in the Asia Cup, then the venue cannot be Pakistan," the official said.

In fact, issues in obtaining visa for Pakistan players to come and play the 2018 edition of the Asia Cup in India was one of the major reasons why the tournament was shifted out of the country with BCCI hosting the event in UAE.

The official said that the PCB can do just the same and host the event in a neutral venue. "A neutral venue is always an option. BCCI did it in 2018," the official pointed.

Cricket returned to Pakistan after a decade when Sri Lanka toured the nation in 2019. While Sri Lanka was the first nation to play a full series in the country, Bangladesh is currently in the country as they just finished playing three T20Is. They will play a Test from February 7 to 11 and then play a one-off ODI before playing the second Test from April 5 to 9.

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News Network
February 17,2020

Hamilton, Feb 17: Mayank Agarwal found form on his birthday and Rishabh Pant mixed caution with his customary aggression as India’s warm-up fixture against New Zealand XI ended in a draw here on Sunday.

The match was called off an hour after lunch with India reaching 252 for four just 48 overs into their second innings.

Agarwal, who had gone through a wretched period since the second Test against Bangladesh, retired on 81 off 99 balls with 10 fours and three sixes to his name.

To the relief of the Indian team management, Pant played in his customary manner to reach 70 off 65 balls, but also showed discretion when the opposition bowlers were in the midst of a good spell. There were four sixes -- two each off leg-spinner Ish Sodhi and off-spinner Henry Cooper.

While Sodhi was hit down the ground, Cooper was dispatched over extra cover on a couple of occasions. He didn’t curb his aggression, though, there were times when he was ready defend the spinners and also leave some of the deliveries.

Even though Pant is considered a better batsman than Wriddhiman Saha, the innings might have come too late in the day considering that the latter is a better keeper and possibly a more responsible batsman in pressure situations.

The biggest positive to have emerged from the New Zealand second innings is Agarwal’s poor run coming to an end. The Seddon Park track easing out was definitely a factor but Agarwal’s footwork was more assured as he played some glorious on-drives and pull-shots off fast bowlers.

Before this game, Agarwal had played 10 competitive games including first-class, ODIs and List A matches and couldn’t cross the 40-run mark in 11 completed innings. He even bagged a pair against New Zealand A in an unofficial Test match.

Once he had got his form back, he didn’t come out to bat after lunch giving Saha an opportunity to score an unbeaten 30, his runs coming mostly against non-regular bowlers.

The Agarwal-Pant pair added 100 runs in 14.3 overs and it also helped that part-timers like Cooper was introduced into the action.

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