Shikhar or Abhinav should not feel burden of pressure: Kohli

Agencies
July 21, 2017

Colombo, Jul 21: Whether it's Shikhar Dhawan or Abhinav Mukund, whoever opens alongside KL Rahul in the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle should treat this as an opportunity rather than feel the pressure to perform, India skipper Virat Kohli said today.

The skipper termed regular Test opener Murali Vijay's wrist injury as "unfortunate" but also praised his players being honest about their fitness status.

"Every player comes to the team wanting to perform. Injuries are unfortunate part of sport. Vijay was back from rehab and played a game and told selectors he was not match fit. That is the kind of culture being created. People are honest," Kohli said during his arrival media conference.

"Abhinav (Mukund) is there, he has played lot of domestic cricket. Shikhar got a hundred here last time and then he had to miss couple of games.

"(Cheteshwar) Pujara opened in the last Test (in Dharamsala). So guys are looking these scenarios as opportunities rather than getting under pressure. I am sure they are going to be up for it," said Kohli admitting that the team will have to make a mental change from white ball to red ball cricket.

Sri Lanka performed shoddily against Zimbabwe in the recently concluded series where they even lost the ODI rubber. But Kohli insisted that they are not taking Sri Lanka lightly.

"Not at all. I remember we came here two years back after tour of Australia, we were six or seven in the rankings. That particular series in Sri Lanka gave us belief. It taught us to come together as a team. Everyone in the team knows this is where it all started after losing the first Test in Galle. It was a dent for us.

"The way we came together in the last tour is iconic for us," said Kohli referring to the 2-1 win in the 2015 Test series, which was his first as full-time captain.

Sri Lanka are a team in transition but Kohli expects them to put up more than a fight. "We know we have to work very hard. You have to respect the game. You have to be professional," said Kohli when asked what it takes to be the number one Test side.

Sri Lanka senior spinner Rangana Herath took 15 wickets in the last series two years with seven of them coming in the victorious Galle Test.

"He is such a good bowler. If you don't find a solution to tackle him, then he will do what he did at Galle. You have to stay a step ahead of the opposition and find ways to counter it. If mistakes happen consistently and then you are not improving as a side," Kohli stated.

Ravi Shastri insisted that his team will play fearless cricket but is that simple, Kohli quipped: "Yes it is."

"All you need is that players are in the frame of mind so that they can be at their best. After you take the field, you are expected to take over and adapt to situations. That is something have been doing well in the past few years."

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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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News Network
June 3,2020

Colorado, Jun 3: Formula One boss Chase Carey has said that races will go ahead even if a driver tests positive for coronavirus.

His remarks come as organisers revealed a revised 2020 calendar and the schedule for the first eight races was put in the public domain.

"An individual having been found with a positive infection will not lead to a cancellation of a race. We encourage teams to have procedures in place so if an individual has to be put in quarantine, we have the ability to quarantine them at a hotel and to replace that individual," the official website of Formula One quoted Carey as saying.

"Some things we'd have to talk through and work through. The array of 'what ifs' are too wide to play out every one of them, but a team not being able to race would not cancel the race. I do not think I could sit here and lay out the consequences," he said.

Carey added the organisers will be having the necessary procedures in place so that the race does not get cancelled if a driver ends up testing positive for coronavirus.

"But we will have a procedure in place that finding infection will not lead to a cancellation. If a driver has an infection, teams have reserve drivers available," Carey said.

"We would not be going forward if we were not highly confident we have necessary procedures and expertise and capabilities to provide a safe environment and manage whatever issues arrive," he added.

The Formula One 2020 season will be beginning with the Austrian Grand Prix in July.

F1 currently expects the opening races to be closed events but hopes that fans will be able to attend again when it is safe to do so.

The season will kick off with the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring on July 5, followed a week later by a second race on the same track.

The Hungarian Grand Prix will follow a week after that, before a break. There will be then two back to back races at Silverstone, followed by the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.

The Belgian Grand Prix will follow that, with the Italian Grand Prix at Monza a week later on September 6.

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News Network
January 15,2020

Jan 15: Australia openers David Warner and Aaron Finch both struck superb centuries to complement their bowlers’ inspired display as the touring side handed out a 10-wicket thrashing to India in the opening one-day international in Mumbai.

India, world-ranked No 2 in ODIs, suffered a middle-order collapse on their way to being bundled out for 255 in the final over of their innings after Australia captain Finch won the toss and opted to field in the first of the three-match series.

Warner and Finch then smashed the Indian bowlers to all corners of the ground, picking up boundaries seemingly at will to chase down the target with 74 balls to spare at the Wankhede Stadium.

Left-handed Warner successfully used the decision review system twice to overturn the umpire’s decision on his way to his 18th ODI century, hitting three sixes and 17 fours in his unbeaten knock of 128, from 112 balls. Finch completed his 16th century in the format, his unbeaten innings 110 from 114 features two sixes and 13 fours.

Earlier, Australia’s left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Starc, who made his ODI debut in India 10 years ago, picked up three wickets to set up Australia’s victory. He struck the first blow with the new ball when he sent back Rohit Sharma for 10.

India managed to recover from that early loss through a second-wicket stand of 121 between opener Shikhar Dhawan, who top-scored for the hosts with 74, and KL Rahul. However left-arm spinner Ashton Agar broke the stand by dismissing Rahul for 47 before Agar caught Dhawan off Pat Cummins in the next over.

The hosts were hoping for a solid innings from captain Virat Kohli, who batted a position lower than his usual No 3 spot to accommodate Rahul, to get them out of trouble. However, he lasted only 14 balls, hitting leg-spinner Adam Zampa for a six before offering a return catch to the bowler on the very next delivery to be out for 16.

Starc then returned to the attack, removing Shreyas Iyer cheaply as India lost four wickets for 30 runs to be reduced to 164 for five. Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja then fell just short of a half-century partnership, before the remaining four wickets falling for 42 runs, with Cummins and fast bowler Kane Richardson picking up two wickets apiece for Australia.

To compound India’s woes, wicketkeeper Pant suffered a concussion after being hit on his helmet by a short-pitched delivery from Cummins. The Indian cricket board said Pant, who did not come out to keep wicket and was replaced behind the stumps by Rahul, was under observation. The two sides will meet in Rajkot for the second ODI on Friday.

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