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Pakistan on verge of final as BD play for pride

March 4, 2014

Bangladesh_CricketDhaka, Mar 4: Buoyed by their last-over win over arch-rivals India, a rejuvenated Pakistan side will look to seal a berth in the final as they lock horns with beleaguered hosts Bangladesh in their last round-robin Asia Cup match here today.

The top two teams qualify for the summit clash and Pakistan, having collected nine points from three appearances, will go into the match as favourites.

The momentum swung their way after Shahid Afridi’s enterprise laid India low at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium here on Sunday.

For the record, Pakistan had lost to Sri Lanka in the tournament opener, before getting their campaign back on track with successive wins over Afghanistan and the big one against India.

A win for Pakistan will only make things more difficult fort India, provided Sri Lanka lose both their remaining games against Afghanistan and Bangladesh, which seems highly unlikely.

India lost to Pakistan two days after their defeat to Sri Lanka. The Indians won their opener against Bangladesh, and their run-rate stands at -0.027 to Pakistan’s +0.438.

Reeling under two big defeats, including one against first-timers Afghanistan, Bangladesh would try and look to regain some lost glory against their famed opponents.

In one-day cricket, Bangladesh have upstaged Pakistan just once, that too way back in the 1999 World Cup in England.

And again, Bangladesh, who played the final of the last edition, would be looking to prove that the loss to Afghanistan was a mere aberration and the side has the potential to humble stiffer opponents.

Skipper Mushfiqur Rahim would be happy to see the return of all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who was banned for lewd gestures by the country’s cricket board.

As far as Pakistan are concerned, they will be on a high after the positive result against India.

Mohammad Hafeez was back amongst runs, and that is good news for Misbah-ul-Haq’s team going into the business end of the competition. He has also been making significant contributions with the ball.

Twice run-out in this tournament, Misbah would be hoping for a better luck and get some runs under his belt against the hapless host nation.

On the bowling front, paceman Umar Gul and ace off-spinner Saeed Ajmal would be leading the Pakistani attack. However, Pakistan would do well to guard against complacency.

But there are injury concerns for Pakistan in the shape of Sharjeel Khan and Mohammad Talha during the clash against India. Both would go fitness test before Tuesday’s fixture.

Teams (from):

BANGLADESH: Anamul Haque, Shamsur Rahman, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim (captain), Shakib Al Hasan, Nasir Hossain, Naeem Islam, Ziaur Rahman, Abdur Razzak, Rubel Hossain, Arafat Sunny, Shafiul Islam, Imrul Kayes, Mohammad Mahmudullah, Al-Amin Hossain.

PAKISTAN: Sharjeel Khan, Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Sohaib Maqsood, Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Anwar Ali, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Talha, Abdur Rehman, Fawad Alam.

Umpires: Johan Cloete (South Africa0 and Nigel Llong (England).

TV umpire: C.K. Nandan (India).

Match referee: Chris Broad (England).

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Agencies
August 2,2020

New Delhi, Aug 2: Batting great Rahul Dravid has attributed Chennai Super Kings' consistent run in the IPL to skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's instincts, game-smarts and the incredible amount of work that goes behind the scenes.

N Srinivasan, the former BCCI president and head of India Cements, which owns the CSK franchise, agreed that Dhoni is a man of instinct who doesn't believe in attending team meetings and going over data.

Both were speaking at a webinar organised by the Great Lakes Institute of Management.

"If you look at the success CSK has had, they've got really good access to data and they've got really good access to people behind the scenes and they've run cricket teams at the junior level," Dravid said at the webinar according to ESPNcricinfo.

The former India captain added, "They understand talent and they've obviously got a good scouting process in place. But, what they also have is a captain who really understands instincts.

"So, I mean, look, I know Dhoni quite well and I hope he hasn't changed, but I know Dhoni is probably not one to look at reams of data and statistics."

The Super Kings have won the lucrative tournament three times -- one less than Mumbai Indians -- and reached the knockouts in each of the 10 seasons they have been a part of.

Srinivasan also spoke about how Dhoni's instinct and judgement contributed to his team's success at a time when a lot of emphases is placed on data.

"We're awash with data just now. To give you an example, there are bowling coaches and in a T20 game, they play videos of every batsman whom they're going to come against and they see how he got out, what's his strength, what's his weakness etc.

"So, MS Dhoni doesn't attend this, he's a pure instinct man. The bowling coach, (head coach Stephen) Fleming will be there and everybody will be there, everyone is giving opinions, (but) he'll get up and go.

"In the context of instinct, he feels that okay he can assess a batsman or player on the field, that's his judgement. On the other hand, there is so much of data that is available to help a person also analyse. It's a very difficult line to draw (between data and instinct)."

Srinivasan also recalled how Dhoni once refused to take "one outstanding player" suggested by the franchise boss as that could have broken the team's cohesion.

"There was one outstanding player that we suggested to MS, he said: 'no sir, he will spoil the team'. The cohesion within the team is important and see in America, franchise-based sport has been there for such a long time," he said.

"In India, we're just starting and we're new to it. But we at India Cements have had a lot of experience running teams at junior levels."

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News Network
May 27,2020

Bengaluru, May 27: Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar has revealed that he was never able to dismiss Inzamam-ul-Haq in the nets.

The Rawalpindi Express praised the former Pakistan skipper and said Inzamam could see the ball one second earlier than the rest of the batsmen could.

"Honestly, I don't think I could ever get him (Inzamam) out, he had the time and I always felt he saw the ball a second earlier than the rest of the batsmen because I had a complicated action unlike Brett Lee, I felt I could never dismiss Inzamam-ul-Haq," Akhtar told Sanjay Manjrekar in a videocast hosted by ESPNCricinfo.

"I couldn't get him out in the nets, I think he could see the ball a second before anyone else," he added.

Inzamam played 120 Tests and 378 ODIs for Pakistan.

He finished his career with 20,569 runs across all formats.

The right-handed batsman called time on his career in 2007 and he played his last Test against South Africa in Lahore.

On the other hand, Akhtar played 224 matches for Pakistan in international cricket and took 444 wickets across all formats.

The Rawalpindi Express last played an ODI in 2011 as he played against New Zealand in the 50-over World Cup.

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News Network
January 9,2020

Mumbai, Jan 9: Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan feels that the Men in Blue have the edge over Australia in terms of talent and confidence ahead of the two teams' three-match ODI series starting January 14 in Mumbai.

"In the past that wasn't the case because they were doing really well. We were trying to match that level. I feel that Indian cricket is a notch ahead in terms of talent, in terms of cricket and in terms of confidence," Star Sports expert Irfan Pathan said. "The only thing that will make it equal is the kind of pitches we are going to play in Australia because we do not have experience playing on those hard and bouncy pitches," said Pathan, who recently called time on his international career.

Recounting his favourite memory of playing against Australia, Irfan said, "It all started in Australia for me. The most memorable moment was getting my first wicket and helping India win a Test match in Australia after 21 years. Winning the Test in Perth and being named the Man of the Match is also a favourite memory for me."

Australia have already announced their team for the three-match ODI series with India. The team will be led by Aaron Finch. The other members of the team are Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, Kane Richardson, D'Arcy Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Turner, David Warner, and Adam Zampa.

India are yet to announce their team but in all probability, it will be led by Virat Kohli who has been in phenomenal form over the last few years. All three ODIs are day and night affair. While the first match of the series is on January 14 in Mumbai, the second will be played at Rajkot on January 17 followed by the January 19 clash in Bengaluru.

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