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ICC Test Rankings: Steve Smith closes in on top-ranked Virat Kohli

Agencies
August 19, 2019

Aug 19: Australian batsman Steve Smith has moved up to the second spot in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Player Rankings for Test batsmen after scoring a valiant knock of 92 during the first innings of the drawn second Ashes Test against England at the Lords' Cricket Ground.

The blistering knock saw Smith gain one spot and close in on top-ranked Indian skipper Virat Kohli in the updated rankings.

The Australia batsman has overtaken New Zealand captain Kane Williamson and is now only nine points behind Kohli (922 points), but the India captain will get a chance to consolidate his position in the upcoming two-match Test series in the West Indies starting Thursday.

Williamson is now standing at the third spot with 887 points, followed by India's Cheteshwar Pujara who continued to stand at the fourth place with 881 points. Henry Nicholls of New Zealand rounds off the top five.

Meanwhile, Marnus Labuschagne--who batted in the second innings as Smith withdrew following mild concussion--has also moved up 16 places to 82nd position after scoring a determined 59 that helped Australia draw the second Test and retain a 1-0 lead in the five-match series that kicked off the ICC World Test Championship.

Travis Head, who advanced two places to 18th after an unbeaten 42 in the second innings, is another Australia batsman to move up the rankings while Pat Cummins has gained one place to reach fifth position in the all-rounders’ list.

For England, player of the match Ben Stokes has moved up six places to 26th after scores of 13 and 115 not out at Lord’s while wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow (up seven places to 30th), left-handed opener Rory Burns (up 17 places to 64th) and all-rounder Chris Woakes (up two places to 68th) have also moved up the rankings for batsmen.

In the ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers, Stuart Broad and Woakes have both gained two places to occupy the 14th and 27th places, respectively, with four and three wickets in the match.

Left-arm spinner Jack Leach’s four wickets have lifted him from 48th to 40th position while Jofra Archer has entered the rankings in 83rd place after finishing with five wickets in his debut Test.

Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne’s player of the match effort of 39 and 122 in the opening Test match against New Zealand at Galle has not only helped his team take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series with a six-wicket win but has also helped the opener move up four places to 8th position.

Former captain Angelo Mathews (up three places to 14th) and wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella (up five places to 33rd) have also moved up in the batting rankings while spinner Akila Dananjaya (up nine places to 36th) has made major gains among bowlers.

For New Zealand, left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel has advanced 14 slots to take 61st position after finishing with six wickets in Galle, including a five-wicket haul in the first innings.

Meanwhile, India could lose their top position in the ICC Test Team Rankings as even a 1-0 loss to the West Indies in their upcoming seires will see them slip to 108 points. That margin will be enough for the West Indies to overtake Pakistan to seventh position at 88 points.

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News Network
April 25,2020

New Delhi, Apr 25: The love and loyalty of the fans will never let him leave Royal Challengers Bangalore till the time he is playing IPL, skipper Virat Kohli said on Friday.

RCB have reached the IPL final thrice but have not gone on to win the trophy.

During a live session on Instagram with former South African captain and RCB teammate AB de Villiers, Kohli said winning the tournament remains the goal but he would not leave the team irrespective of the results.

"It has been such an amazing journey. It is always going to be our dream, winning the IPL together. There is no scenario where I could think of leaving the team ever.

"You can feel emotional about the season not going well but till the time I am playing IPL, I am never leaving this team. The fans, their loyalty has been amazing," said the India skipper.

Responding to Kohli's feelings towards RCB, De Villiers too acknowledged the support of fans over the past nine years. Kohli, on the other hand, has been with RCB since 2008.

"Same for me. I never want to leave RCB but to do that I got to keep scoring runs. I am not the captain you see," said the South African in jest.

Both recalled their early days in international cricket and their growth as cricketers and friends.

Kohli said at times, the youngsters coming in have too much regard for the "system" and he wants to see them break the norm.

"I want to see youngsters coming in scoring 500-600 runs. I want people to break the norm. Sometimes I feel people have too much regard for the system in sport. When you break the shackles, you do something special."

Kohli also acknowledged contribution of Mark Boucher, Gary Kirsten and Duncan Fletcher early on in his international career.

"Gary always gave me positive feedback. Boucher told me in 2008 to improve my game against the short ball. He had the vision. Then Fletcher, he had a keen eye for the game. So many people who have contributed (to my growth)," said Kohli.

De Villiers picked the 119 at Wankhede in the 2015 series decider as his best knock against India. Kohli picked the 119 he scored in Johannesburg Test in 2013.

"I was always really motivated to win the series after 2-2 . I was incredibly motivated to do something special," de Villiers said.

They also picked their combined South Africa and India ODI team. It included Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ab de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, M S Dhoni (captain), Yuvraj Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Dale Steyn, Jasprit Bumrah and Kagiso Rabada.

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Agencies
July 31,2020

Hampshire, Jul 31: David Willey's maiden five-wicket haul guided England to a six-wicket victory over Ireland in the first ODI here on Friday.

With this win, the hosts have taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series.

Chasing a small target of 173 runs, England got off to a bad start as opener Jonny Bairstow was given LBW in the third over, bowled by Andy McBrine. Jason Roy was then joined by James Vince and the duo added 22 runs on the board before the former was dismissed.

Craig Young then got hold of Vince, who was caught behind after scoring 25 runs. Sam Billings and Tom Banton then took the charge of the chase but the latter too was caught behind which ended his 11-run innings.

Banton's dismissal brought skipper Eoin Morgan on the field. Billings and Morgan played stunning innings and kept scoring boundaries. Morgan struck a scintillating six on the last bowl of the 28th over to take England over the line. Morgan scored 36 runs while Billings played a knock of 67 runs.

Earlier, after being asked to bat first, Ireland witnessed a poor start as Paul Stirling was dismissed in the very first over of the innings, bowled by Willey. Andy Balbirnie then joined Gareth Delany but Willey struck again in his next over, removing Balbirnie.

Delany then played furiously and smashed three consecutive boundaries to Saqib Mahmood in the fourth over. However, the fall of wickets did not stop as England took three wickets in quick succession. Mahmood bowled Harry Tector while Delany and Lorcan Tucker were sent back to the pavilion by Willey.

Kevin O'Brien and Curtis Campher then took the charge and played cautiously, taking their struggling side over the 50-run mark. Adil Rashid got hold of O'Brien (22) in the 22nd over before Simranjit Singh was run out in the same over.

Andy McBrine was the next batsman and he played brilliantly along with Campher, who went on to complete his half-century. Both formed a 66-run partnership before McBrine (40) was dismissed by Tom Curran.

Campher remained unbeaten on 59 but failed to find a partner as England bundled out Ireland on 172 runs.

The second ODI between both teams will be played on Saturday.

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News Network
March 12,2020

New Delhi, Mar 12: No foreign player will be available for this year's IPL till April 15 due to visa restrictions imposed by the government to contain the novel coronavirus threat, a top BCCI source told PTI on Thursday, casting fresh doubts on the fate of the event.

"The foreign players who play in the IPL come under the Business Visa category. As per the government's directive, they can't come till April 15," a BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

The government issued fresh advisory with a ban on all existing foreign visas, except a few categories like diplomatic and employment, till April 15 in the wake of new positive cases of novel coronavirus in the country.

India has reported 60 positive cases in the outbreak which has led to over 4,000 deaths globally.

The fate of the IPL itself will be decided on March 14 at the event's Governing Council meeting in Mumbai. "All decisions will be taken by the GC in Mumbai," the source said.

Having the IPL, starting March 29, played in empty stadiums is an option being explored.

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