Virat Kohli's order of merit: Likely to step into the big shoes of Sachin Tendulkar at No4 in Tests

December 15, 2013

Virat_KohliBenoni, Dec 15: Indian cricket fans the world over will possibly experience a sense of emptiness during the course of the first Test against South Africa in Johannesburg starting December 18. Picture this: the visitors are 12/2 on Day One. They could well be. And all eyes will be on the ‘tunnel’ at ‘The Bullring’. You know it won’t be the Little Master walking down that famous slope. But you’d still be watching — hoping against hope.

If Team India’s net sessions are anything to go by, Virat Kohli will bat at No. 4. In Test cricket, this position is the most recognisable of all. And for the Indian cricket team, it was the slot occupied by Sachin Tendulkar for over two decades.

At Willowmoore Park here on Saturday, Kohli batted with aplomb during training. The ‘side arm’, an integral part of bowling coach Joe Dawes’s tool box, was put to good use. Predominantly used to give ‘throw-downs’ to a batsman, the ‘slingshot’ can help its handler unleash all kinds of deliveries.

Dawes dished out an array of short-pitched ones, each of which Kohli ducked or pulled. Umesh Yadav, Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma tried the same, but there was no stopping Kohli.

He was keen on countering the bouncer, something he failed to during the just-concluded ODI series that India lost. A sore ribcage bears testimony to this fact.

Kohli appears to be the rightful occupant of the No. 4 position vacated by Tendulkar. A prolific batsman, especially in the shorter formats of the game, he has earned the right to move up from No. 5. And a lot will be expected of him in South Africa. Following the drubbing in the ODIs, Kohli himself will be desperate to make a statement or two.

Kohli’s game is suited for the No. 4 position, a slot where the batsman is either expected to stem the rot after two quick wickets or go on the attack. Either way, his job will be to do the bulk of the scoring. Sandwiched between Cheteshwar Pujara and Rohit Sharma in the order, he will have the company of two of the most promising India have.

Blessed with sound cricketing brains, exceptional talent, solid technique and shots from and outside the textbook, Kohli is capable of making the position his own.

A cursory look at Kohli’s Test career reveals that the Delhi batsman tends to flourish towards the end of a series. After scoring just 43 runs in the first two Tests during tour of Australia in 2011-12, he made 44 and 75 in Perth before cracking his maiden hundred (116) in Adelaide.

It was no different in the home series against England last year. The right-hander came a cropper in Ahmedabad (19 & 14*), Mumbai (19 & 7) and Kolkata (6 & 20) before registering a potentially match-saving 103 in Nagpur. But this time, Kohli is pressed for time. The series will be over before he knows it. And India’s fortunes will depend a lot on his performance.

Prior to the team’s departure for South Africa, skipper MS Dhoni had stressed upon the need to allow the newcomers to develop into the team in their own right.

“If possible, we will omit the No. 4 position,” Dhoni had said. “One, two, three, five, six, seven and then we’ll play till 12. But again, it’s not about one individual. Whoever bats at that slot, it is not pressure on that individual saying he is replacing Sachin Tendulkar. There is no replacing anyone. He (Kohli) brings his own character into the side.”

Character, attitude and persona: Kohli has it all and more. His exam starts in four days’ time.

Why no play?

Simon Lepepe, the groundsman at Benoni’s Willowmoore Park, couldn’t believe the two-day match between India and a South African Invitation XI was called off on Friday itself. “Look at the ground. All the wet spots have dried up. I don’t know why there’s no play,” he said on Saturday.

When informed that a Cricket South Africa release on Friday had indeed quoted the groundstaff, as saying, that the venue wouldn’t be ready for play on Day Two either, Lepepe was amused. “I guess the teams took a call. Maybe India did not want to play just for a day. But trust me, we could have had a game today.”

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News Network
January 24,2020

Auckland, Jan 24: K L Rahul and Shreyas Iyer smashed quick-fire half-centuries, while skipper Virat Kohli made 45 as India defeated New Zealand by six wickets in the first T20 International to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series here on Friday.

Chasing a challenging 204-run target, Rahul smashed 56 off 27 balls and together with Kohli shared 99 runs for the second wicket to lay the foundation for the chase.

Later, Iyer (58 not out off 29 balls) and Manish Pandey (14 not out) remained unbeaten as India chased down the target with an over to spare.

Earlier, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor smashed scintillating half-centuries to power New Zealand to a challenging 203 for five.

Opener Munro blasted six fours and two sixes in his 42-ball 59, while skipper Williamson treated the Indian bowlers with equal disdain, hitting them out of the park four times in his 26-ball 51.

Taylor then clobbered an unbeaten 54 off 27 balls. His innings was laced with three sixes and as many fours.

Opener Martin Guptill also chipped in with a 19-ball 30.

Earlier, India skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and decided to field.

For India, Jasprit Bumrah (1/), Shardul Thakur (1/44), Yuzvendra Chahal (1/32), Shivam Dube (1/24) and Ravindra Jadeja (1/18) snapped one wicket each.

Brief Score:

New Zealand: 203 for 5 in 20 overs (Colin Munro 59, Kane Williamson 51, Ross Taylor 54; Jasprit Bumrah 1/31).

India: 204 for 4 in 19 overs (Shreyas Iyer 58 not out, K L Rahul 56, Virat Kohli 45; Ish Sodhi 2/36).

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Agencies
January 9,2020

Jeddah, Jan 9: Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde criticised the new Supercopa format and said that "football has become a business and as a business it looks for income".

"The bottom line is football has become a business and as a business it looks for income. That's the reason we are all here," Goal.com quoted Valverde as saying ahead of Barca's semi-final against Atletico.

"It's a completely different format to what we're used to. It was always the first title and the opener of the season and to me, that seemed fine," he added.

The Supercopa was traditionally a two-legged affair played between the winners of La Liga and the Copa del Rey at the beginning of the season, but following last term's one-off meeting between Barca and Sevilla in Tangier, Morocco, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) went ahead with a full revamp.

Instead of just two teams being involved, the Supercopa has been expanded to also include the runners-up from La Liga and the Copa - meaning Barca and Valencia are joined by Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. It is also set to be hosted in Saudi Arabia for the next three editions.

"It's been changed and let's see, it will be judged once it has happened. It's interesting, with four good teams, but from a sporting point of view, I'm not sure," Valverde said.

"We must bear in mind that the football we are involved in is an industry, sources of income are sought and in the same way that there are special connotations in this country, there are also in Morocco, where we played last year," he added.

Barcelona will face Atletico Madrid in the semifinal of the Supercopa at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah on January 10.

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Agencies
August 9,2020

Manchester, Aug 9: Chris Woakes and Jos Buttler played knocks of 84 and 75 respectively as England gained an improbable three-wicket win over Pakistan in the first Test of the three-match series here at the Emirates Old Trafford.

England chased down a total of 277 on the fourth day of the first Test.

Chasing 277, England openers Rory Burns and Dom Sibley put on 22 runs for the first wicket, but Mohammad Abbas finally provided the breakthrough to Pakistan as he had Burns (10) adjudged leg-before wicket in the 12th over.

Skipper Joe Root came to the crease next, and he along with Sibley ensured that the side does not lose any more wickets before the lunch break, and England went into the lunch break at 55/1.

Sibley and Root eventually put up a 64-run stand, but their partnership was finally brought to an end by Yasir Shah as he dismissed Sibley (36) in the 36th over. Soon after, skipper Root (42) was also sent back to the pavilion by Naseem Shah, reducing England to 96/3 in the 39th over.

All eyes were on all-rounder Ben Stokes (9), but Pakistan's Yasir Shah sent him back to the pavilion in the 42nd over, and England was left in a spot of bother. Shaheen Shah Afridi, then also got among the wicket-taking charts as he scalped the wicket of Ollie Pope (7), reducing England to 117/5 in the 45th over.

Chris Woakes and Jos Buttler then got together at the crease, and the duo played in an aggressive manner to retrieve the innings for England. The hosts went into the tea break at 167/5, still, 110 runs away from the target with five wickets in hand.

Buttler and Woakes continued their march to frustrate the Pakistan bowling attack and the duo brought the target within the grasp of England. Both batsmen put up a stand of 139 runs, however, with just 21 runs away from the target, England lost the key wicket of Buttler (75) as Yasir Shah had him trapped in front of the wicket.

With England just needing four more runs for the win, Yasir Shah dismissed Stuart Broad (4), but in the end, Woakes and Dom Bess ensured England's win by three wickets.

For Pakistan, Yasir Shah was the pick of the bowlers as he scalped four wickets.

Earlier, resuming day four at 137/8, Yasir Shah (33) along with Mohammad Abbas (3*) and Naseem Shah (4) added 32 more runs to the overnight score to give England a target of 277 to win the first Test.

Stuart Broad was the pick of England bowlers as he scalped three wickets.

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