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Coming under BCCI, the turning point for women's cricket in India: Mithali Raj

Agencies
September 5, 2019

New Delhi, Sept 5: Mithali Raj, known as the pioneer of women's cricket in India feels that coming under the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was a turning point for the women's sport in the country.

Her remarks came after she decided to retire from T20I format. Raj went on to represent India in 89 T20Is, managing to score 2,364 runs.

"Well, I think the turning point, in my opinion, has to be 2006 as in that year we came under BCCI. With that a lot of facilities were provided to us, a lot of things changed for good and better. Since then, there has been a gradual improvement in respect to the access in facilities like NCA and an increase in the support staff," Raj, in an exclusive interview, told news agency.

"Lot more matches and international series started to get scheduled for us and also contracts came into effect which gave security to the players and they were able to focus on their game," she added.

The 36-year-old chose to retire from the T20I format on Tuesday, September 3. She did not see herself playing the T20 World Cup in Australia next year, so she thought of grooming players for the upcoming tournament.

Earlier this year, she made up her mind to retire from the format and would want the 50-over World Cup I'm 2021 to be her swansong.

"This decision was taken in January itself during the New Zealand tour. I had told the coach WV Raman and chairman of selectors about my decision. The captain also knew about that. All the people who were needed to be told about my decision were informed. 2021 World Cup would definitely be my swansong. I am looking forward to preparing for the World Cup," Raj said.

"I did not see myself playing the T20 World Cup next year in Australia. I thought I should make the coach aware of my plans so that he can think of an alternative for the team and starts preparing the side likewise. I wanted to give him that time where he can try various players to get experience into the side," she added.

In 2016, the cricketer was dropped from the T20 World Cup semi-final match against England. There was a clear rift between then coach Ramesh Powar and Raj. She had also alleged that Powar of publically humiliating her.

But when asked if her fallout with the coach had an impact on her decision, Raj batted the question with a cricketer's precision.

"Well, the fallout with coach Ramesh Powar did not have any impact on my decision. I do not make decisions based on emotion, because it is my career and I would like to be more practical when it comes to career. Fallout with Powar did not have any role to play," Raj said.

Raj has had a wonderful T20 career and also became the first Indian to score 2000 T20I runs. The cricketer who made her T20I debut in 2006 said that the game has witnessed many changes since then and the introduction of various leagues across the globe has given wonderful players to the sport.

She also said that she would look to play the Women's IPL next year as the league is the country's own.

"I think it definitely has improved since 2006 because of the consistency of matches. So many players coming in with the onset of various leagues and it has helped in the growth of the sport," Raj said.

"Well, not necessarily the other leagues but yes I look forward to the Women's IPL because it is our own league and I would love to be part of it," she added.

Women's cricket continues to attract more and more admirers each passing day. But getting Test matches scheduled for the women teams still remains a challenge as the prime focus looks to be on the shorter formats. Raj said that the International Cricket Council (ICC) is promoting the women's game globally and are doing whatever is best for the sport.

"I think at some level the ICC is trying to promote the women's game globally and that requires them to focus more on ODI and T20I cricket. They are trying to revive the game. Maybe once women's game is able to find good standing among fans, then they can focus on Test cricket but as of now with T20 World Cup and ODI World Cup, I do not think boards will look into Test matches," Raj said.

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News Network
January 8,2020

Indore, Jan 8:  India skipper Virat Kohli has added yet another feather to his cap by becoming the fastest player to score 1,000 runs in T20I cricket as a captain. Kohli played an unbeaten knock of 30 during India''s seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the second T20I of the ongoing three-match series on Tuesday evening.

Kohli achieved the milestone of scoring 1,000 runs as captain in his 30th T20I inning. He is the second Indian and sixth overall after MS Dhoni to have achieved the feat. Dhoni had scored 1112 runs in 62 T20I games as captain.

Faf du Plessis (1273 runs from 40 games), Kane Williamson (1083 runs in 39 games), Eoin Morgan (1013 runs in 43 games) and Ireland''s William Porterfield (1002 runs in 56 games) are other captains on the list.

During India''s emphatic victory at the Holkar Stadium, Kohli also surpassed team-mate Rohit Sharma, who has been rested for the series, as the top run-getter in the T20Is. Kohli now has 2663 runs from 71 innings.

Both had finished 2019 as joint top-scorers in T20Is, with 2633 runs each.

India, already with an unassailable lead of 1-0 in the series, will now face Sri Lanka in the final T20I on Friday in Pune. The first match between the two teams was called off without a ball being bowled due to wet patches on the pitch in Guwahati last Sunday.

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Agencies
August 2,2020

New Delhi, Aug 2: Batting great Rahul Dravid has attributed Chennai Super Kings' consistent run in the IPL to skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's instincts, game-smarts and the incredible amount of work that goes behind the scenes.

N Srinivasan, the former BCCI president and head of India Cements, which owns the CSK franchise, agreed that Dhoni is a man of instinct who doesn't believe in attending team meetings and going over data.

Both were speaking at a webinar organised by the Great Lakes Institute of Management.

"If you look at the success CSK has had, they've got really good access to data and they've got really good access to people behind the scenes and they've run cricket teams at the junior level," Dravid said at the webinar according to ESPNcricinfo.

The former India captain added, "They understand talent and they've obviously got a good scouting process in place. But, what they also have is a captain who really understands instincts.

"So, I mean, look, I know Dhoni quite well and I hope he hasn't changed, but I know Dhoni is probably not one to look at reams of data and statistics."

The Super Kings have won the lucrative tournament three times -- one less than Mumbai Indians -- and reached the knockouts in each of the 10 seasons they have been a part of.

Srinivasan also spoke about how Dhoni's instinct and judgement contributed to his team's success at a time when a lot of emphases is placed on data.

"We're awash with data just now. To give you an example, there are bowling coaches and in a T20 game, they play videos of every batsman whom they're going to come against and they see how he got out, what's his strength, what's his weakness etc.

"So, MS Dhoni doesn't attend this, he's a pure instinct man. The bowling coach, (head coach Stephen) Fleming will be there and everybody will be there, everyone is giving opinions, (but) he'll get up and go.

"In the context of instinct, he feels that okay he can assess a batsman or player on the field, that's his judgement. On the other hand, there is so much of data that is available to help a person also analyse. It's a very difficult line to draw (between data and instinct)."

Srinivasan also recalled how Dhoni once refused to take "one outstanding player" suggested by the franchise boss as that could have broken the team's cohesion.

"There was one outstanding player that we suggested to MS, he said: 'no sir, he will spoil the team'. The cohesion within the team is important and see in America, franchise-based sport has been there for such a long time," he said.

"In India, we're just starting and we're new to it. But we at India Cements have had a lot of experience running teams at junior levels."

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News Network
January 10,2020

Srinagar, Jan 10: Real Kashmir FC made a strong comeback in the second half to play out a 1-1 draw against former champions Punjab FC in their home I-League match here on Friday.

The 'Snow Leopards' equalised in the 62nd minute through Gnohere Krizo in front of a partisan crowd of 8,500 spectators after Makan Chothe had given Punjab FC the lead in the 21st minute at the TRC ground.

After Thursday's draw, Punjab FC is placed third on the table with 10 points from seven games. Real Kashmir FC remained at eighth with six points from five matches. This was Real Kashmir's third home match on the trot.

The match was a story of two halves as the first belonged to the visitors who enjoyed a 62 per cent possession of the ball, whereas the second belonged to the home side.

Both the teams were looking to gain an early advantage and Punjab FC took the lead after 21 minutes.

Confusion inside the Real Kashmir box because of a long ball from Punjab opened up an opportunity for Chothe and he made no mistake as he smashed the ball at the back of the net.

As the fans cheered on, Real Kashmir created a flurry of chances, but none of the home side players could find the back of the net. Punjab was able to hold on to their slender lead heading into the tunnel.

The second half resumed with Real Kashmir pressing high up the field and pressurising Punjab.

In the 56th minute, Real Kashmir playmaker Kallum Higginbotham cut through two defenders on the left side of the box and the ball fell to Mason Robertson, whose shot was too weak to trouble the Punjab goalkeeper.

Soon after, it was Danish Farooq who tried a curler from a distance but his shot did not have enough bend to trouble the Punjab goalkeeper. The home team's effort finally paid off in the 62nd minute.

A miscalculated header by Danilo Augusto fell at the feet of Gnohere Krizo, who was one-on-one with the keeper. He made no mistake in striking the ball into the opponent's goal to score the equaliser.

Real Kashmir was in their groove now, and Kallum came in from the right with a beautiful low cross across the face of the goal but Mason could not get a touch as the chance went begging.

The duo of Kallum and Mason were proving difficult for Punjab to deal with. In the 82nd minute, a beautiful long ball by Kallum found the head of a towering Mason, but the effort went just over the crossbar.

Within a few moments, Punjab again had another nervous moment as Chesterpoul Lyngdoh's cross from the right side hit the arm of Thoiba Singh but the referee turned down an appeal for penalty.

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