Scrap two new-ball rule, says Tendulkar

Agencies
June 23, 2018

New Delhi, Jun 23: Batting great Sachin Tendulkar says cricket should revisit the rule of using two new balls in one-day games in order to revive the moribund art of reverse swing in the format.

Bowlers have often found themselves short-changed since the 2011 decision to have one new ball from each end which, many believe, has rendered the already batsman-friendly format even more lop-sided.

The decision meant the ball never gets old enough to generate reverse or aid the spinners, while being easier to score off in the death overs.

England's marauding batsmen drove home the point in the ongoing ODI series against Australia by amassing 342, a world record 481 and 314 in their last three matches.

"Having two new balls in one day cricket is a perfect recipe for disaster as each ball is not given the time to get old enough to reverse," Tendulkar, who retired in 2013 with more than 34,000 international runs against his name, tweeted on Friday.

"We haven't seen reverse swing, an integral part of the death overs, for a long time."

Former Pakistan captain Waqar Younis, one of the best exponents of reverse swing, supported his long-time Indian rival.

"Reason why we don’t produce many attacking fast bowlers... They all very defensive in their approach...always looking for changeups..totally agree with you @sachin_rt reverse swing is almost vanished," tweeted the 87-Test veteran.

England batsmen clobbered 21 sixes and 41 fours as they became the first team to reach 450 in one-day cricket at Nottingham, prompting former captain Mike Atherton to question the rule.

"The game needs to find a suitable white ball that swings at the start and must abandon the use of two balls per innings, to allow for the return of reverse swing — two fundamental skills of the game that provide as much entertainment as any number of sixes belted into the Nottingham night sky," he wrote in the Times.

Stuart Broad was not part of the team at Nottingham and the England pacer also demanded a balance between bat and ball.

"I find reverse swing really exciting to watch, I'd like to see it back in the white ball game," he tweeted.

India captain Virat Kohli also sympathised with the "brutal" plight of the bowlers.

"I have played ODI cricket when there was only one new ball allowed and reverse swing used to be a massive factor in the latter half of the innings, which I think as a batsman was more challenging," Kohli told reporters on Friday ahead of the team's departure for Ireland and England.

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News Network
February 14,2020

Hamilton, Feb 14: Batting first, India finished at 263 for nine on the opening day of the three-day warm-up game against New Zealand XI here on Friday.

Hanuma Vihari made 101 off 182 balls before retiring, while Cheteshwar Pujara scored 93.

Besides, Ajinkya Rahane (18) was the only other Indian batsmen to register double digit score.

The likes of Prithvi Shaw (0), Mayank Agarwal (1) and Shubman Gill (0) failed to cash in on the opportunity.

Scott Kuggeleijn (3/40) and Ish Sodhi (3/72) shared six wickets between them for New Zealand.

Brief Scores:

India: 263 for 9 in 78.5 overs (Hanuma Vihari 101, Cheteshwar Pujara 93; Scott Kuggeleijn 3/40, Ish Sodhi 3/72).

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News Network
April 25,2020

New Delhi, Apr 25: The love and loyalty of the fans will never let him leave Royal Challengers Bangalore till the time he is playing IPL, skipper Virat Kohli said on Friday.

RCB have reached the IPL final thrice but have not gone on to win the trophy.

During a live session on Instagram with former South African captain and RCB teammate AB de Villiers, Kohli said winning the tournament remains the goal but he would not leave the team irrespective of the results.

"It has been such an amazing journey. It is always going to be our dream, winning the IPL together. There is no scenario where I could think of leaving the team ever.

"You can feel emotional about the season not going well but till the time I am playing IPL, I am never leaving this team. The fans, their loyalty has been amazing," said the India skipper.

Responding to Kohli's feelings towards RCB, De Villiers too acknowledged the support of fans over the past nine years. Kohli, on the other hand, has been with RCB since 2008.

"Same for me. I never want to leave RCB but to do that I got to keep scoring runs. I am not the captain you see," said the South African in jest.

Both recalled their early days in international cricket and their growth as cricketers and friends.

Kohli said at times, the youngsters coming in have too much regard for the "system" and he wants to see them break the norm.

"I want to see youngsters coming in scoring 500-600 runs. I want people to break the norm. Sometimes I feel people have too much regard for the system in sport. When you break the shackles, you do something special."

Kohli also acknowledged contribution of Mark Boucher, Gary Kirsten and Duncan Fletcher early on in his international career.

"Gary always gave me positive feedback. Boucher told me in 2008 to improve my game against the short ball. He had the vision. Then Fletcher, he had a keen eye for the game. So many people who have contributed (to my growth)," said Kohli.

De Villiers picked the 119 at Wankhede in the 2015 series decider as his best knock against India. Kohli picked the 119 he scored in Johannesburg Test in 2013.

"I was always really motivated to win the series after 2-2 . I was incredibly motivated to do something special," de Villiers said.

They also picked their combined South Africa and India ODI team. It included Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ab de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, M S Dhoni (captain), Yuvraj Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Dale Steyn, Jasprit Bumrah and Kagiso Rabada.

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News Network
April 24,2020

New Delhi, Apr 24: Veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh said he doesn't think Mahendra Singh Dhoni will play for India again, adding to the guessing game over the future of the superstar former captain.

Dhoni, 38, has not appeared for club or country since last year's 50-over World Cup and India's coronavirus lockdown could threaten his chances of getting back into the national team.

The Indian Premier League, the main platform before this year's scheduled T20 World Cup, is likely to be truncated or cancelled because of the pandemic.

Harbhajan, who plays with Dhoni at IPL side Chennai Super Kings, said international retirement was on the cards for Dhoni and that he was increasingly being asked about his teammate.

"It's up to him. You need to know whether he wants to play for India again," Harbhajan said in an online forum.

"As far as I know him, he won't want to wear India's blue jersey again. IPL he will play, but for India I think he had decided the (2019) World Cup was his last."

Dhoni, who gave up Test cricket in 2014, started training for the Super Kings in March but has not commented on his international future.

Dhoni led India to win the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in 2007. He hit a six to seal the 2011 World Cup final victory and, along with it, his status as a national hero. He has amassed 10,773 runs from 350 ODIs.

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