Sharma, Shastri told me it can even happen with the best so I shouldn't feel bad: Vijay Shankar

Agencies
March 21, 2018

Delhi, Mar 21: Sympathy, however well-meaning, can at times add to misery -- something that Vijay Shankar is dealing with as he tries to move on from a "disheartening" off day that nearly cost India the Nidahas Trophy final against Bangladesh.

While Dinesh Karthik became the toast of the nation with a last ball six in India's triumph over the South Asian rivals, the 27-year-old Shankar was lambasted for his 19-ball-17 that included four successive dot balls in the 18th over.

"My parents and close friends didn't say anything as they knew what I was going through. But I get these text messages like 'don't worry about what's being said on social media', when I actually I want to move on. They perhaps think that's the way to show sympathy but it may not work," the all-rounder said in an interview.

For him, the final was an off-day that marred a good tournament in which he turned in decent figures with the ball. "It was an off-day for me but I am finding it difficult to forget. I know I need to move on. I had a good tournament until that final day," the soft-spoken Shankar said.

The Chennai player was practical when asked about being pilloried on social media. "I need to accept that these are things that can happen when you play for India. The same social media would have gone berserk had I won the match all by myself. It happened the opposite and I have to accept all the brickbats. That's also a part of growing up," Shankar replied.

There are times when getting out for a duck in a close encounter allows someone to go under the radar but Shankar doesn't want any safe passage while trying to chart his own destiny. "Had I got out for a second or a third ball duck, no one would have bothered about my performance. But then would I have liked that to happen? Certainly not. I would rather accept this situation. You just can't think of safe options always. You have to accept challenges head on," Shankar said.

But he does accept that it was a missed opportunity to become a hero in a tricky chase. "When everyone was rejoicing after the final, I was feeling very disheartened at how things panned out. It was an opportunity given to me to become a hero. I should have finished the match," he said.

"Everyone in the team, including my captain (Rohit Sharma) and coach (Ravi Shastri), told me that it can even happen with the best and I shouldn't feel bad," he said.

Asked about the mistake that he made, Shankar pointed to his attempts to go for big hits rather than rotating the strike. "If you take a look at my batting in the Syed Mushtaq Ali or Vijay Hazare Trophy, I don't play so many dot balls. I rotate the strike but Mustafizur (Rahman) really bowled well during that over," he said.

While everyone spoke about the dot balls, hardly anyone noticed his boundary bisecting the point and short third man, which made it easy for Karthik to launch a final assault. "DK just told me one thing -- hold your shape (in cricketing parlance maintaining the balance in one's stance) and hit a boundary. That ball from Soumya, I was trying to just put bat on ball," he said.

In the Indian team, opportunities are few but Shankar is not worried about the fact that primarily he is being seen as Hardik Pandya's cover. "The selection thing is not my concern. The positive part is that IPL is starting in two weeks' time and my focus is now to do well for Delhi Daredevils," said Shankar, who would like to pick chief coach Ricky Ponting's brains.

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News Network
February 13,2020

Feb 13: Veteran India batsman Suresh Raina feels Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the best captain India ever had.

Raina and Dhoni play for the same IPL franchise -- the Chennai Super Kings --, which is also led by the latter.

"I think we have the best captain who has changed the Indian team like anything. Now we have that same aura in our dressing room," Raina said on 'The Super Kings show' on Star Sports Tamil.

The 38-year-old Dhoni has retired from Test cricket but his future in the limited overs formats is a subject of intense speculation.

The two-time World Cup-winning former captain took a break from cricket after India's exit from the 2019 World Cup in England. He is set to be back in action at the IPL, where he will captain the CSK, starting March 23.

With three restricted stands at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai finally being reopened, Raina urged the fans to fill the venue in every CSK home game.

"We have all the seats available. Hopefully, we'll have more fans now so that there is it will be more energy on the field," the 33-year-old Raina, a former India batsman, said.

Raina, who last played for India in 2018, also expressed his excitement about the prospect of playing with CSK's latest acquisitions.

"This year we have a lot of new talent in our team. Piyush (Chawla) is there, then we have Hazelwood, Sam Curran, Sai Kishore from Tamil Nadu, he has been bowling really well for them. So, I think we have a lot of mixture of youngsters and seniors."

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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
February 10,2020

Potchefstroom, Feb 9: Bangladesh clinched their maiden ICC U-19 World Cup title after beating favourites India by three wickets in the summit clash here on Sunday.

Set a revised target of 170 after a brief rain interruption, Bangladesh won the match with 23 balls to spare.

Sent in to bat, India's batting wilted under pressure as a superb Bangladesh bowling attack shot the defending champions out for a paltry 177 in 47.2 overs.

Yasashvi Jaiswal (88 off 121 balls) was once again a standout performer but not for once did he look like dominating the Bangladesh bowling unit whose new ball bowlers Shoriful Islam (2/31 in 10 overs) and Tanzim Hasan Shakib (2/28 in 8.2 overs) literally stifled the Indians for runs.

The third seamer Avishek Das (3/40 in 9 overs) was the most successful bowler in terms of figures but it was Shoriful's first spell with channelised aggression that put the Indians on the back-foot from the onset.

After a short rain break towards the end, the target was revised to 170 from 46 runs but Bangladesh reached 170 for 7 in 42.1 overs to win the match.

Opener Parvez Hossain Emon top-scored for Bangladesh with a 79-ball 47 while captain and wicketkeeper Akbar Ali was not out on 43 from 77 deliveries.

For the India U-19 side, Ravi Bishnoi was the most successful bowler with figures of 4/30 while Sushant Mishra had 2/25.

India thus missed out on a record fifth title in their seventh final appearance.

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