Ranji Trophy: Quality umpires needed for big games,says Pravin Amre

March 1, 2015

Bengaluru, Mar 1: Although Mumbai failed to make it to the final of the 2014-15 Ranji Trophy, Pravin Amre, the coach, felt his young side had shown a lot of character against Karnataka, the defending champions, to bounce back after being bowled out for just 44 in their first innings in their semifinal.

Ranji Trophy umpireChasing a steep 445 for victory, half-centuries from Aditya Tare, the captain, Shreyas Iyer and Siddesh Lad took Mumbai to 332 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday (February 28), before they subsided to a 112-run defeat. However, Amre said there were a lot of positives to take from the loss.

"Getting 44 all out on the first day was not acceptable," said Amre after the match. "But if you see the way we fought back, as a coach I am very proud of the boys. Not many teams get out for 44 and make such a comeback. Particularly the way we got two wickets on the first day. The other teams would have just given away the match at that stage (bowled out for 44), but our boys have shown their character."

Amre rued the fact that certain decisions did not go in Mumbai's favour and urged the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to ensure highest quality of umpiring in domestic cricket. Robin Uthappa, who made 68 in the first innings, was lucky to survive a huge shout for lbw from Shardul Thakur when on 8 on the opening day. Aditya Tare was a victim of a poor decision when the ball moved after missing the edge only for him to be given out caught behind on the same day in Mumbai's first dig.

"As a coach, I don't want to give this as an excuse, but everybody has got evidence," said Amre. "I think BCCI should also think about keeping quality umpires in big games.

"The match referees can go and watch, there is evidence. Robin Uthappa's decision, had it been 30 for 3, the match would have been different. Same thing with Tare's decision at a vital time. I think those were the turning points for me."

Although Mumbai started the chase positively, Suryakumar Yadav's defensive approach on the third day shifted the momentum in Karnataka's favour, with the batsman taking 26 balls to get off the mark. However, Amre felt the approach didn't have any detrimental effect on the team's chances, pointing at Tare's dismissal on 98 as the key moment.

"I think Tare's dismissal again was vital. From there, I think the momentum went to Karnataka. I'm sure if he had got that 100, it would have been one of those big hundreds. Suryakumar Yadav plays his own game. I think that playing defensively was his mindset at that particular moment. But, as long as he was at the wicket, it was very important for us because if we had wickets in hand, anything could have happened."

A young side with hardly any experienced pros to look to for guidance during tough times, Mumbai's roller-coaster season had started with a loss to Jammu and Kashmir at home. An innings defeat against Tamil Nadu had put them on the brink and the 40-time champions were staring at relegation. Suryakumar's decision to quit captaincy only compounded their woes. However, Tare brought in stability as Mumbai scripted a remarkable turnaround towards the end of the league stage.

An in-form Baroda side were beaten in a do-or-die clash. A first-innings lead over Karnataka allowed Mumbai to enter the knockouts, and their thumping win against Delhi, one of the most consistent sides this season, sealed them a semifinal berth. Amre lauded the young side and said it was a huge challenge to handle a team in transition.

"As a coach, handling a young side was very challenging. I learnt a lot and also I was happy that some of my decisions worked and the satisfaction was there. This is a hugely talented side in a rebuilding phase.

"I had to identify the talented players. I was very happy with the way we set Shreyas Iyer's batting number. It was entirely my decision to bat him at three. There was this responsibility on Shardul Thakur to go and deliver. (I was) backing many players like Akhil Herwadkar - he came and delivered in the quarterfinal against Delhi. The important one was Tare, backing him as captain and I think he did a great job. It wasn't an easy job."

Tare reprimanded for criticising umpiring decisions

Aditya Tare, the Mumbai captain, was reprimanded for his comments against poor umpiring decisions after the first day's play. Like Amre, Tare had earlier pointed to the two decisions that had gone against Mumbai. V N Kutty, the match referee, charged him with a Code of Conduct violation and cautioned Tare after he pleaded guilty.

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News Network
January 27,2020

Hamilton, Jan 27: In awe of Jasprit Bumrah, New Zealand wicketkeeper Tim Seifert says the Indian speedster's subtle variations have been difficult to pick in the ongoing T20 series and his side needs to a learn a thing or two about adapting from the visitors.

India beat New Zealand by seven wickets in the second T20 International in Auckland on Sunday to grab a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.

Bumrah returned with figures of 1-21 from his four overs as Indian skipper Virat Kohli changed his bowling plans from the first game.

"Even in the first game, Bumrah bowled slower balls that were going wider. Normally, death bowlers get into straighter lines, plus yorkers and mix it with chest height. He kind of changes things a lot and is tougher to play," Seifert said.

"...the ball was holding a lot more which made it tougher. So sometimes as a batsman you have to move away from the stumps and see if they bowl straight. I was backing myself to do something different instead of just standing there at the wicket," said the stumper, who remained unbeaten on 33 off 26 balls.

"It was tricky and the ball was holding a little bit. When Kane (Williamson) got out in the over against Yuzvendra Chahal, we knew it was the over to push because they had Bumrah coming back," he added.

He said New Zealand batsmen need to take a cue from their Indian counterparts on how to adapt to different conditions quickly.

"...Indian batsmen showed how to get under the ball and time it. They showed it a couple of times that and on the slower wickets you just have to keep it like that. Once you lose your shape, you are not in position," he said.

"Try to get them (bowlers) off line or off balance, try to get into that position to hit good balls. That's T20 cricket as well. Sometimes it's going 100 per cent but some times you have to take a breath and re-assess. Indian batters did that well."

Seifert believes New Zealand bowlers did reasonably well in the two games but they have been outplayed by the Indian batsmen.

"To be honest, in the first game they were 110-1 and they had wickets in hand. We didn't bowl too badly in that first game. In the second game, we only got 130 and it is tough to bowl at Eden Park (with that total)," he said.

"170 was the target in mind but once you get 130 on the board, that was going to be very hard at Eden Park against a team that is very strong and playing really well. But our spinners were outstanding. Good balls have gone to boundary.

He said coming into the T20 series on the back of a lost Test rubber in Australia also didn't help New Zealand's cause in the first two games.

"Boys are coming off a Test series (in Australia) and a lot of them haven't played T20 cricket for a while," he said.

"But for some like me, I have had the Super Smash for the last two months, so I have played a lot of T20 cricket. They have two games under their belt now so hopefully they will have a better understanding."

Asked if New Zealand would want to play on India's strength of chasing, Seifert replied, "Even in ODI cricket, India have chased down big totals but I think on that wicket it was going to get slower and slower.

"But with that small target on Eden Park, something special has to happen with top six (for a collapse). One batsman got fifty and the other was batting very well. We needed top five-six in the first 10 overs," he said.

The Black Caps are still confident of bouncing back in the series.

The third T20 will be played here on Wednesday before back-to-back matches in Wellington and Mt Maunganui. Seifert said they would like to replicate the 2019 tour of India, where New Zealand came out 2-1 victorious in the three-match series.

"We have lost the first two games but we haven't played badly. We definitely haven't played our best though while India has played very well. If we lose the series on Wednesday, it is not the end of the world. But if we can turn things around, and win, we will take things from there," he said.

"We won the series 2-1 last time, so we have to treat it like a three match series again. But we have to treat it like the first two are must-win games."

"We are not playing our best at the moment. There are 20-odd games before the World Cup, and that tournament is the pinnacle, so we will get there (in preparation),” he signed off.

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News Network
January 8,2020

Indore, Jan 8: Skipper Virat Kohli struck an unbeaten 30 as India beat Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second Twenty20 international in Indore on Tuesday.

The hosts rode a 71-run opening stand between KL Rahul, who hit 45, and Shikhar Dhawan, who made 32, to chase down their target of 143 in 17.3 overs and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series after the first match was rained off.

Leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga took the wickets of the Indian openers but Shreyas Iyer, who scored 34 before falling to paceman Lahiru Kumara, and Kohli, who hit the winning six, got the team home.

The third match is on Friday in Pune.

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Agencies
January 19,2020

Bengaluru, Jan 19: Opening batsman Rohit Sharma on Sunday became the third-fastest batsman to register 9,000 runs in the 50-over format.

He achieved the feat in the ongoing third ODI against Australia here at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Only Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers have achieved the feat faster than Rohit.

Sharma brought up the milestone in the first over of the Indian innings as he clipped Mitchell Starc away for a single.

With this, the right-handed batsman has become just the sixth Indian to achieve the milestone.

Apart from Sharma, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, and Sachin Tendulkar have more than 9,000 runs in the 50-over format.

Overall, 20 batsmen have more than 9,000 ODI runs to their name.

In the match between India and Australia, the former won the toss and elected to bat first.

Steve Smith played a knock of 131 runs to propel Australia to 286/9 in the allotted fifty overs.

 

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