Waiting is tough, it works on your mind: Manish Pandey

Agencies
February 22, 2018

Centurion, Feb 22: Indian batsman Manish Pandey says he has endured a tough time waiting for his sporadic chances, asserting that he has what it takes to be a regular pick in the star-studded middle order if given a longer rope.

Pandey, who scored 79 not out off 48 balls in the second T20 International here which South Africa won by six wickets to level the three-match series 1-1, has been at best a irregular selection even though he has made most of his chances count with fine knocks, including hundreds on ODI debut and in his first one-dayer in Australia.

"Honestly, it's a little tough (waiting for chances) and it works on your mind a lot. Especially on this tour, I have felt it a lot actually but that is what cricket is all about. You have to wait for your chances to play for a team like India where you have so many stars and legend after legend (in the team). So I am trying my bit there," he said after the match last night. "I have got a few chances at number four and I have delivered. So the batting combination sometimes pushed me down to number five.

I have tried my bit (at number five), but I also feel that I could probably do a little bit more with myself," he said. But he does understand the enormity of the task at hand even though Pandey has the belief that with a more consistent run in the side, he can prove himself worthy of regular selection "...India has a really good top-order line-up and they bat out nearly 30-35 overs in ODIs with guys like Virat (Kohli) and then MS Dhoni comes ahead of me (at times).

So yeah, with some more chances, I feel I can deliver a lot more than what I am doing right now." Pandey sat out the entire ODI series and didn't come into the side even when Kedar Jadhav was injured with Shreyas Iyer preferred in his place. Pandey, who had scored the first IPL hundred by an Indian batsman at Centurion back in 2009, said it is tough following in the footsteps of the likes of Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh who have batted before at number five for India. "I was waiting to play here. Even in the ODIs, I was trying to squeeze my chances in but that didn't happen. But in the T20s, it has been good and Centurion has always been good to me.

I still remember the hundred I got here about 9-10 years ago, so it is good to always bat here," he said. "As I said, it is tough playing for India at number five. The people who have batted at this spot before me, like Raina and Yuvi, well, it is also tough to fill in their shoes. Over the last couple of years, Indian batting has also been doing very well. So you have to be very patient for your chances,â he added.

Pandey admitted he was a bit slow in his first outing on this tour at the Wanderers, where he scored 29 not out off 27 balls. In this second game though, Pandey did it very well as he put on 98 off 56 balls with MS Dhoni. "From ball one, you have to go for it. That's what I tried to do in the first game but I played a little slow. It happens coming back after a long time and staying here. It was in my mind a little bit but today was a good day for me.

"I want to continue playing the way I have always played. That's how I have to keep squeezing my chances in there,â he said. India scored 62 runs off the last five over to end the innings at 188 and Pandey credited Dhoni for the fireworks. âMahi just woke up,â he added, with a laugh. âThat was his chance. He is the best when he bats lower down the order.

He takes a couple of overs, looks to dominate and that's what happened." Pandey said they were thinking 170 would be a good score initially as South Africa were bowling a tight line and length. "South Africa bowled well and at the start, we were thinking about 170 to finish with.

Then Mahi and I got that partnership. A couple of inside edges went to the boundary. There were also some great shots by Mahi that took us to 188, so we were thinking these are bonus 20 runs," he said. Heinrich Klaasen smacked the quickest T20 half-century by a South African batsman to help take his side home with six balls to spare and Pandey said he was not surprised by the manner in which he played.

"I have seen Klaasen play for South Africa A and he got us a hundred against us two years ago. This is how he played against us as well, and he has been getting runs for a while like this now. In the ODIs, he was a little under the cap but he is coming out well now. He is trying to seal his spot in the South African team, so all the best to him," he added. The series has been set up for a finish on Saturday and Pandey said, "It is good to win one each (1-1) and South Africa played really well today. Now it is a little more interesting again."

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News Network
April 21,2020

New Delhi, Apr 21: India skipper Virat Kohli on Tuesday said people seem to have become more compassionate while coping with the COVID-19 pandemic and hoped the sense of gratitude towards frontline workers like doctors and police personnel remains even after the crisis is over.

Speaking in an online class organised by "Unacademy", Kohli and his actor wife Anushka Sharma spoke at length about the challenges they faced before tasting success.

"The one positive out of this crisis that we as a society have become more compassionate. We are showing more gratitude to the frontline workers in this war, be it police personnel, doctors or nurses.

"I hope it stays this way even after we overcome this crisis," said Kohli with Sharma seated next to her.

Kohli said the pandemic has taught the world a very important lesson.

"Life is unpredictable. So, do what makes you happy and not get into comparisons all the time. People have a choice now how to come out of this phase. Life is going to be different after this," said the skipper.

For Sharma, the pandemic has forced people to care about the basics in life.

"There is a learning in all of this. Nothing happens without a reason. If the frontline workers were not there, we would not have access to basics," she said..

"This has taught us that no one is special than the other. Health is everything. We are more connected as a society now," she added.

During the session, Kohli was asked about the moment when he felt most helpless.

"I felt nothing was working for me when I was not picked for the state team initially. I cried the whole night and asked my coach 'why did I not get selected'?" he responded.

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News Network
July 1,2020

New Delhi, Jul 1: After being named as India's 'Most Valuable Player' in Test cricket in the 21st century, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja on Wednesday said that he will always aim to give his best for the country.

His remark came as Jadeja achieved an MVP rating of 97.3 and as a result, he was also rated as the second most valuable player Test player worldwide, only second to Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan.

"Thank you Wisden India for naming me the 'Most Valuable Player'. I would like to thank all my teammates, coaches, fans, and well-wishers for your support as I aim to give my best for our country. Jai Hind," Jadeja tweeted.

Based on CricViz's market-leading analytics, each player in world cricket was awarded an 'MVP rating' by Wisden using a statistical model to rank their 'match impact' compared to their peers.

Jadeja has played in 49 Tests from 2012, managing to score 1,869 runs and has also picked up 213 wickets.

"It might come as a surprise to see Ravindra Jadeja, India's spin-bowling all-rounder, feature as India's number one. After all, he's not even always an automatic pick in their Test team. However, when he does play he is picked as a frontline bowler and has batted as high as No.6 - contributing to a very high match involvement," the official website of Wisden quoted CricViz's Freddie Wilde as saying.

"But Jadeja's position is based on more than simply volume: it's what he does when he's involved that really counts. The 31-year-old's bowling average of 24.62 is better than Shane Warne's and his batting average of 35.26 is better than Shane Watson's. His batting and bowling average differential of 10.62 runs is the second-best of any player this century to have scored more than 1,000 runs and taken 150 wickets. He is an all-rounder of the very highest quality," he added.

With the bat in hand, Jadeja has managed to score one century and 14 fifties in the longest format of the game.

He was last seen in action during India's two-Test series against New Zealand earlier this year.

He would have been in action for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL had the tournament commenced from March 29.

However, the IPL has been postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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News Network
January 15,2020

Dubai, Jan 15: India skipper and batting mainstay Virat Kohli was on Wednesday named captain of the International Cricket Council's ODI and Test teams of the year, capping off a memorable season for the world No.1.

Apart from Kohli, there were four other Indians who were picked in the ICC's Test and ODI Teams of the Year.

While the Test team featured double-centurion Mayank Agarwal, opener Rohit Sharma, speedster Mohammed Shami and left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav found a place in the ODI side.

Kohli enjoyed a tremendous run in both the formats in 2019. The 31-year-old hit his seventh Test double hundred on the way to a career-best unbeaten 254 against South Africa in October last year.

It was a breakthrough year for opener Agarwal, who smashed two double tons, one century and went beyond the fifty-run mark twice. He hit a career-best score of 243 against Bangladesh in November.

Kuldeep, too, enjoyed a memorable year as he joined the golden list of bowlers with two hat-tricks. The chinaman claimed his second ODI hat-trick of his career against the West Indies last month.

In the absence of Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, Shami rose to the occasion making the best in the business hop, skip and jump with his pace, swing and bounce through the season. He scalped 42 wickets in 21 ODIs over the last 12 months.

The ICC's Teams of the Year 2019:

ODI Team of the Year (in batting order): Rohit Sharma, Shai Hope, Virat Kohli (captain), Babar Azam, Kane Williamson, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (wicketkeeper), Mitchell Starc, Trent Boult, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav

Test Team of the Year (in batting order): Mayank Agarwal, Tom Latham, Marnus Labuschagne, Virat Kohli (captain), Steve Smith, Ben Stokes, BJ Watling (wicketkeeper), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Neil Wagner, Nathan Lyon.

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