Post-Tendulkar era begins with trial by fire

December 17, 2013

Tendulkar_eraJohannesburg, Dec 17: The thrashing in ODIs behind them, India will be aiming to start the post-Sachin Tendulkar era in Test cricket on a positive note but the task looks daunting as they would be up against the world's number one side South Africa in the two-match series starting here tomorrow.

At the Wanderers stadium, after losing the three-ODI series 2-0, the visitors will be looking to make their first mark on the tour, in what will be a new era in the annals of Indian cricket.

For this is the first Test match for Team India following the retirement of Sachin Tendulkar. The Master Blaster bid farewell after playing his 200th Test versus West Indies in Mumbai, in what was an emotional roller-coaster for the entire nation's cricket fans.

Since then, six ODIs have been played against the Windies and here in South Africa. The contrasting results in these two series had taken some focus off the issues emanating from Tendulkar's retirement. Now, they need to be addressed.

The first question to be asked is who will bat at number four? The true realisation of Tendulkar's departure will dawn when a new face comes in to bat at the fall of the second wicket during India's first innings in this Test.

It probably will be Virat Kohli, attempting to fill in the big boots, an unenviable task surely.

It fits the context of this Test series. This is India's first overseas Test in nearly two years, since their tour to Australia in 2011-12.

In 12 Tests at home thereafter, India won nine, lost two and drew one, winning series against New Zealand, Australia and West Indies.

They lost a series to England in between. Most importantly, this long home season ensured the transition with Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman departing the scene.

Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Harbhajan Singh were side-lined owing to poor performances, giving a completely new look to the Indian team.

In this interim, Kohli has been the premier batsman for this young side for almost two seasons now. And ever since he has landed here, the Proteas have given him their undivided attention.

Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel peppered him with pace and bounce in the ODI series, wherein he scored 31 runs and a duck in the first two ODIs.

That India lost when he failed is, perhaps, a significant reminder of their reliance on Kohli, who has 11 hundreds in successful ODI run-chases.

It isn't his success rate in limited-overs cricket that makes him a first-choice pick for number four in Tests.

Instead, it is his aggressive mentality and gusty demeanour that was amply displayed when faced with blinding pace and fearsome bounce in the first ODI at the Wanderers.

Riled by a Morkel delivery that hit him in the ribs, Kohli didn't back away, and took on Steyn and company, or at least he tried to.

In the two Tests though, he will need to mix this belligerent intent with caution. It is true for all other batsmen as well.

It was their propensity to look for shots at the very beginning of their innings that led to their downfall in the ODIs.

And South Africa's pace attack will once again look to exploit this bit with the red Kookaburra ball expected to do more than the white one. Not to mention, it is the same Wanderers' deck that caused much pain to this young Indian batting line-up in their opening match on tour.

"There is pace and bounce in this wicket, as is the case at this ground always," said Pethuel Buthelezi, a groundsman here, who has worked on the Wanderers' pitch for a long time.

"But this is also a win-toss-bat-first wicket. If the batsmen get set they will like the bounce and 400 runs should be a good first innings' score," he said.

It should be music to the Indian batsmen who are looking for that one innings to restore lost confidence. They have been denied competitive cricket since the Centurion ODI, with the two-day practice game at Benoni also abandoned due to a wet outfield.

This only adds to their challenge, and the intrigue surrounding the Indian team selection. With such half-baked form of his batsmen, and in light of Tendulkar's exit, will skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni pick seven batsmen or take a risk with five bowlers?

Seven batsmen ought to be the safe bet. In either case, three pacers should be the norm, as is in South African conditions.

But a five-bowler attack will put focus on R Ashwin. The off-spinner is now the leading all-rounder in Test cricket (as per ICC Test rankings) and his record doesn't disprove it.

He has two Test hundreds, albeit both at home against West Indies, yet he bats with undeniable assurance in the tail-end of the batting order. It is highlighted further when the opposition too makes a mental note of such players.

"Ashwin bats well in the tail-end of their young batting line-up and it is important for us to use the new ball well, get the top-order and retain our hunger getting into their tail," said Morne Morkel, ahead of the first Test.

With 104 wickets in 18 Tests, he could have been the attack leader as well, if not for the presence of Zaheer Khan. The return of the 88-Test pace-veteran adds much bite to the Indian attack.

Not to mention, he has Proteas' skipper Graeme Smith's number (with six dismissals in nine matches), maybe a plus point for the Indian team first up.

On the other hand, the big problem for the world's number one ranked Test side, though, will be getting off to a quick start from the perspective of the series and not just an innings.

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News Network
February 11,2020

Melbourne, Feb 11: Opener David Warner received Allan Border Medal, while all-rounder Ellyse Perry bagged Belinda Clarke medal in the 2020 Australian Cricket Awards on Monday.

Warner secured his third (2016, 2017, 2019) Allan Border Medal and Perry a trio of Belinda Clarke Awards (2016, 2018, 2019) as voted by their peers, umpires and the media across all forms and every game of international cricket in 2019.

Warner dominated the ICC World Cup with 647 runs including a highest score of 166 at an average of 71.88, including three centuries. He then rebounded from a challenging Ashes series to dominate at home in the T20I series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, the Test series against Pakistan - which included his memorable innings of 335 not out in Adelaide - and the Test series against New Zealand.

Warner (194) outpolled Ashes hero Steve Smith by a single vote for the Allan Border Medal with paceman Pat Cummins, the ICC International Cricketer of the Year, third in the polling with 185 votes.

Perry enjoyed an incredible year with both bat and ball, starting with dominant Ashes performances which included an innings of 116 in the Test in Taunton and 11 wickets in the three ODIs.

Her figures of 7-22 at Canterbury were the best ODI figures by an Australian woman's player. She backed that up against the West Indies by taking 3-17 in the opening ODI and then scoring 112 not out in Antigua before finishing the year with a solid series against Sri Lanka at home. Perry (161) was a comfortable winner of her third Belinda Clarke Award from Alyssa Healy (153) and Jess Jonassen (87) taking second and third place respectively in the voting.

Breakout batsman Marnus Labuschagne's superlative Test summer and Ashes series secured him the Male Test Player of the Year. Having replaced Steve Smith as a concussion substitute in the Lord's Test, Labuschagne went on to make 353 runs at 50.42 in the Ashes.

His outstanding form continued at home with a first-up 185 against Pakistan at the Gabba and a Test high 215 against New Zealand in Sydney. He scored 347 runs at an average of 173.5 against Pakistan and 549 runs at 91.5 against New Zealand. Limited overs captain Aaron Finch (38) capped a stellar year by being voted the Men's One-Day International Player of the Year ahead of Usman Khawaja (33) and Warner (24).

Finch's year included a massive series against Pakistan in the UAE with 451 runs at 112.75, including knocks of 116, 153 not out and 90. He then dominated the World Cup with 507 runs at 50.7, including 153 against Sri Lanka and 100 against England at Lords. Warner (19) continued his magical year in the T20I game to become the Men's T20 International Player of the Year from Glenn Maxwell (16). Kane Richardson and Steve Smith (8) tied for third.

Alyssa Healy claimed top honours as the women's One-Day International Player of the Year with 39 votes ahead of Perry (33) and Jonassen (19). Healy scored a double by also claiming the women's T20 Player of the Year with 18 votes, ahead of Jonassen and Meg Lanning who were tied on 15. It was the second consecutive year that Healy has won the women's ODI and T20 Awards.

West Australian veteran Shaun Marsh was voted Men's Domestic Player of the Year with 1322 runs at 52.88 in all forms of the game, including the highest score of 214, while breakout paceman Wes Agar was named the Bradman Young Cricketer for his 41 wickets at 22.62 in the year.

Molly Strano and Tayla Vlaeminck took the prized Women's Domestic Player of the Year and Betty Wilson Young Cricketer of the Year awards respectively.

Strano took 28 wickets in 22 games while Vlaeminck's 19 wickets for the year reinforced her enormous potential.

Former Hobart Hurricane Corrine Hall was named Community Champion for her work as an Ambassador of the Kindness Factory, grassroots cricket, and upcoming book Victress, which features 35 iconic female athletes and their stories. Each portrait is accompanied by the athlete's story, with a particular focus on how kindness impacted their journey.

The awards for international cricket are based on votes from players, umpires and the media on a 3-2-1 basis from each match. For the domestic awards, the votes are collected from all players.

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News Network
January 18,2020

Hobart, Jan 18: In a dream start to her second innings after a two-year break, Sania Mirza lifted the WTA Hobart International trophy with partner Nadiia Kichenok after edging out Shaui Peng and Shuai Zhang in the final, here on Saturday.

The unseeded Indo-Ukrainian pair pipped the second seed Chinese team 6-4, 6-4 in one hour 21 minutes.

Playing her first tournament after giving birth to son Izhaan, the 33-year-old Sania has begun well in the Olympic year as she warmed up for the Australian Open in style.

It is Sania's 42nd WTA doubles title and first since Brisbane International trophy in 2007 with American partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

Sania did not compete on the WTA circuit in the entire 2018 and 2019 seasons to start a family with Pakistani cricketer husband Shoaib Malik.

Sania and Nadiia began by breaking the Chinese players in the very first game of the match but only to drop serve in the next.

The two pairs played close games towards the end and at 4-4, 40-all, Sania and Nadiia got the crucial break, earning the opportunity to serve out the set.

There was no twist in 10th game with Sania and Nadiia comfortably pocketing the first set.

The second set could not have started better for them as they broke the Chinese rivals to take early lead and consolidated the break with an easy hold.

The game of the Chinese was falling apart as they dropped serve again in the third but broke back immediately to repair some damage.

Sania and Nadiia were now feeling the heat at 0-30 in the sixth game but Peng and Zhang let them hold serve for a 4-2 lead. The Chinese though kept fighting and made it 4-4 with another break in the eighth game.

The Indo-Ukraine team raised its game when it mattered as it broke Peng and Zhang for one final time in the ninth and served out the match in the next game.

Sania and Nadiia split USD 13580 as prize money and eared 280 ranking points each for their winning effort.

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Agencies
March 13,2020

New Delhi, Mar 13: The remaining ODI series between India and South Africa has been called-off amidst the rising concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.

"The second and third ODI between India and South Africa in Lucknow and Kolkata respectively are called off," the BCCI source told media persons.

The first match of the series was abandoned due to rain and wet outfield without a toss at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) stadium on Thursday.

The second and third ODI was scheduled to be played at Lucknow and Kolkata on March 15 and 18 respectively. Earlier on Thursday, the BCCI has decided to play the remaining two ODIs behind closed doors.

"After holding discussions with the MYAS and MOHFW, the BCCI on Thursday announced that the remaining two One-day Internationals (ODIs) of the three-match series of South Africa tour of India, 2020, will be played without any public gathering, including spectators," the BCCI had said in a statement.

The Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry has advised all the federations to avoid large gatherings.

World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday had declared the coronavirus outbreak a 'pandemic' and expressed deep concerns.

The coronavirus disease was first detected in Wuhan in China's Hubei province, in late December, and has since spread worldwide.

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