Pankaj Advani once again rules India's year in cue sports

Agencies
December 19, 2017

New Delhi, Dec 19: Rarely does a sport become synonymous with an individual but Pankaj Advani has been just that to cue sports in India for a long time and this year was no different as he claimed a couple of more world titles to add to his legendary status.

The 32-year-old has been juggling billiards and snooker quite efficiently for over a decade now. His performance, in fact, has come to define Indian cue sports and he lived up to expectations in 2017 as well, taking his world title count to 18.

In July, Advani led India A to a gold in the finals of the Asian Team Snooker Championship held in Kyrgyzstan. The winning team comprising Advani, Laxman Rawat, and Malkeet Singh demolished Pakistan 3-0 in an exciting final.

Asked how it felt to outclass arch-rivals Pakistan, Advani brushed aside India's fiercest foe as any other opponent and focused on his first ever team trophy.

"Every opponent is equal for us but the pressure and expectations of the people are a lot higher against Pakistan. If we are winning a tournament, we would rather go out and beat the best to claim victory," Advani told PTI.

"It was extremely satisfying to win that event as it was the first time I was part of a team that lifted the championship trophy," he said.

Adding to his exploits globally, Advani also became the only Indian male cueist to hold the national billiards and snooker titles.

However, 2017 also saw other Indian players make a mark, with 40-year-old Vidya Pillai's silver medal at the World Women's Snooker Championship in Singapore being a high point.

She lost the match that went down to the wire to former World Champion Ng On Yee of Hong Kong.

MPs Kamal Chawla also made the nation proud by reaching his maiden finals in the World 6 Reds Snooker championship. Although he lost to defending champion Darren Morgan of Wales 6-4, Chawla gave a gritty performance to claim the silver medal.

But none came close to outshining Advani.

"I wish I could tell you how difficult it is to win in the two formats (billiards and snooker). Everyone specialises in only one - either billiards or snooker and even then it is hard to win. It is very challenging for me and it is such challenges that I look forward to in my career," the 32-year- old said.

In choc-a-bloc November, the focus shifted to the IBSF World Billiards and Snooker Championships in Doha and once again India's hopes were pinned on the Khel Ratna awardee.

Thriving under pressure, Advani added two more world titles to his collection in the span of just two weeks.

Advani clinched his 17th world title after he thrashed arch-rival Mike Russell of England in the IBSF World Billiards Championship.

In a masterclass, the Indian ace clinically constructed lethal breaks to completely dismantle his longstanding rival to defend the 150-up format title he had won in Bengaluru last year.

However, the 17-time world champion settled for bronze in the long-up format of the IBSF World Billiards Championship after losing to Russell, who he had defeated in the point format of the game earlier, in the semifinals.

After a memorable outing in the World Billiards with a gold and bronze, Advani had only a day to switch from the 3-ball game to snooker. But he continued his good run by dishing out another superb performance to outclass Iran's Amir Sarkhosh in the final for yet another title.

His attacking game, coupled with phenomenally tight safety play, helped Advani secure his 18th World Championship title.

"I took a break in September and in October I started my preparations. I did my homework, I was very hungry for victory and it showed in the results," Advani said.

Indian cue sports have plenty to look forward to next year with youngsters like Rawat and Singh making a mark on the international stage and Chawla gaining his footing.

As for Advani, he continues to be as eager and as hungry for titles as he has always been.

"I have not put a number on how many world titles I want to win. Putting a number limits oneself. I want to be relentless, someone who makes their own style as they go," Advani said.

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News Network
July 6,2020

New Delhi, Jul 6: India's cricket chief Sourav Ganguly says improved fitness standards and a change in culture have led to the country developing one of the world's best pace attacks.

Spearheads Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah are part of a battery of five formidable quick bowlers that have helped change India's traditional reliance on spin bowling.

"You know culture has changed in India that we can be good fast bowlers," Ganguly said in a chat hosted on the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Twitter feed.

"Fitness regimes, fitness standards not only just among fast bowlers but also among the batters, that has changed enormously. That has made everyone understand and believe that we are fit, we are strong and we can also bowl fast like the others did."

The West Indies dominated world cricket in the 1970s and 1980s led by a fearsome pace attack that included all-time greats such as Michael Holding, Andy Roberts, Malcolm Marshall and Joel Garner.

Recently Indian quicks have risen to the top in world cricket with Shami, Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar in a deadly arsenal.

"The West Indies in my generation were naturally strong," the former India captain said.

"We Indians were never such naturally strong... but we worked hard to get strong. But I think it is the change in culture as well that is very important."

Shami last month claimed that the current Indian pace attack may be the best in Test history.

"You and everyone else in the world will agree to this -- that no team has ever had five fast bowlers together as a package," said Shami.

"Not just now, in the history of cricket, this might be the best fast-bowling unit in the world."

Shami took 13 wickets during India's 3-0 home Test sweep over South Africa last year, while Bumrah has claimed 68 scalps in 14 Tests since his debut.

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Agencies
March 3,2020

Mumbai, Mar 3: India on Tuesday retained their number one spot and captain Virat Kohli remained static at second in the ICC rankings despite a dismal Test series against New Zealand.

India have 116 rating points, six more than New Zealand with third-placed Australia accumulating 108 points. The 0-2 result against New Zealand was India's first series loss in the World Test Championship.

Kohli remains in second position in the batting rankings despite a forgettable Test series in which he made 38 runs in four innings, the ICC said in a statement.

New Zealand opener Tom Blundell and his Indian counterpart Prithvi Shaw and debutant paceman Kyle Jamieson were among the biggest movers in the rankings, released on Tuesday.

Blundell had a successful series against India, scoring 117 runs in four innings, with one half-century, which put him among the top two run-scorers in the series.

The performance meant he was rewarded with a jump of 27 places to No. 46. Shaw, who returned for his first series since his Test debut against West Indies in 2018, and made a punchy 54 in the first innings of the Christchurch Test, rose 17 places to No.76.

Australia's Steve Smith retained his top spot, holding a 25-point advantage over Kohli. Smith's apprentice Marnus Labuschagne jumped one spot to round off the top three, taking the place of New Zealand captain Kane Williamson.

England all-rounder Ben Stokes and India opener Mayank Agarwal moved a spot each and swapped places to break into and fall out of the top 10 respectively.

Among bowlers, Tim Southee's Player of the Series winning performance against India took him into the top five, with a jump of two places to No.4, while Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult returned to the top 10, gaining four places each to occupy the seventh and ninth positions respectively.

But the biggest gainer was Jamieson, who rose from No. 80 to 43.

There was only one change in the top ten among all-rounders, with Southee dropping a spot to No.10 and team-mate Neil Wagner falling out of the top 10 with a drop of four spots.

As with the bowling rankings, Jamieson, who frustrated India with handy lower order runs, gained big on the all-rounders' table, rising 26 places to No. 22.

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Agencies
January 25,2020

Headingley, Jan 25: England have become the first team in the world to score 500,000 runs in Test cricket. They achieved the feat during the ongoing fourth and final Test against South Africa being played at The Wanderers.

On Friday - the opening day of the Test match -- England captain Joe Root's single through the covers took the Three Lions to a landmark 500,000 run-mark in the longest format of the game. They achieved the feat in their 1022nd Test match.

Australia comes second in the list, with 432,706 runs in 830 Tests. India, meanwhile, are third, with 273,518 runs in 540 Tests, followed by West Indies (270,441 runs in 545 Tests).

In the third Test played at St George's Park in Port Elizabeth, England had become the first team to play 500 Test matches on foreign soil. Australia are the second team to play the most away Test with 404 matches they have played so far.

India have played 268 Tests on foreign soil in which they have won 51, lost 113 and 104 have ended in a draw.

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