India in England: Eoin Morgan Glad to Bring Smiles Back After T20 Win

September 8, 2014

Birmingham, Sep 8: Stand-in skipper Eoin Morgan said he hoped England's thrilling three-run Twenty20 win over India in their final home international match of the season would spur the team on to greater heights ahead of the World Cup.

Eoin-MorganMorgan, leading the side in the absence of injured all-rounder Stuart Broad, produced a stunning captain's innings of 71 in just 31 balls, including seven sixes, as England made 180 for seven at Birmingham's Edgbaston on Sunday.

He then saw his 'death' bowlers, put paid to what threatened to be yet another victorious rescue act by India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who narrowly fell short in trying to score the 17 his side needed off the last over, delivered by paceman Chris Woakes on his Warwickshire home ground.

Having lost series in all formats to Sri Lanka earlier in the season, England -- after a poor start -- recovered to beat India 3-1 in a five-Test campaign.

However, doubts about their viability as contenders to win next year's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand resurfaced during a 3-1 one-day international series defeat by reigning champions India.

Morgan, tipped in some quarters as an alternative England ODI skipper to incumbent Alastair Cook, struggled for runs in the one-dayers but found his form on Sunday.

- Lead from the front -

"There's smiles in the changing-room after a very tough summer," Morgan said.

"We've worked really hard and to finish it on such a high against such a very strong T20 team -- is a great achievement.

"It is hugely important. In the one-day series our senior players including myself didn't stand up, which made things really difficult.

"To lead from the front myself was the way it should be done."

After England were again stifled by spin, Morgan's late assault saw 81 runs scored off the final five overs as India's 'death' bowling once more proved fallible.

India regained control with the bat while Virat Kohli was making 66 -- his only international fifty of a disappointing tour.

When he holed out off a bouncer from fast bowler Steven Finn, India needed 46 off the final 30 balls.

It looked a gettable target but when left-arm seamer Harry Gurney bowled Suresh Rains with a yorker, England sensed a chance of victory.

Woakes then held his nerve despite the pressure of bowling to dangerman Dhoni in front of a capacity crowd, most of whom were cheering for India.

"The guys at the end; Woakesy and Harry Gurney and Steven Finn were outstanding," said Morgan.

Dhoni turned down singles late on, including in the final over, but Morgan defended his opposing skipper's approach.

"He's a guy capable of anything. That first ball (of the last over) Woakesy bowled, he probably missed his length but not by much at all -- he inside edged it for six.

"If Woakesy half executes the rest of the deliveries he faces in that over they could have gone for six as well."

One sour note was that England's Moeen Ali, Birmingham-born but of Pakistani descent and a practising Muslim, was repeatedly booed by large sections of the crowd.

The jeers appeared to be aimed at Ali for who he was rather than anything the off-spinning all-rounder had done.

Morgan insisted he was unaware that Ali, who came through Warwickshire's youth system but now plays for Worcestershire, had been targeted specifically: "I didn't know he (Ali) got booed. We all got booed today (Sunday)."

Meanwhile Dhoni, recalling how India's Ravindra Jadeja had been subjected to crowd taunts as a result of his dust-up with England paceman James Anderson during the first Test at Trent Bridge, also refused to be drawn on the issue.

"Did you ever ask about Jadeja getting booed?," Dhoni told a reporter at a post-match news conference.

"The last day of the tour, I don't want to start another controversy."

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News Network
June 13,2020

New Delhi, Jun 13: West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo has said that wicket-keeper batsman MS Dhoni is the biggest superstar in cricket and is one of the easiest guys to interact with.

Bravo was doing an Instagram live chat with former Zimbabwe pacer Pommie Mbangwa and it was then that the all-rounder was asked to talk about his stint with Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

"I think a lot of credit for CSK's success has to be given to Dhoni and Fleming, obviously the owners, they trust both Fleming and Dhoni, so there is no outside interference when it comes to decision making, both are very big students of the game, players love MS and it's an environment and franchise that allows you to be you," Bravo told Mbangwa during the chat.

"MS Dhoni is the biggest superstar in cricket and in our team. He was one of the easiest people to interact with, outside of the cricket field, he is like playing video games, his door is open at all times, whenever you talk about the biggest superstar and then you think a person like Dhoni is the most humble of them all. CSK is a special team and we have the most loyal fans," he added.

Bravo has been with the CSK since 2011. He has played a total of 104 matches for the franchise, picking up 121 wickets.

The all-rounder has also managed to win the Purple Cap (most wickets in IPL) two times (2013 and 2015).

CSK has won the IPL thrice (2010, 2011 and 2018) and all the titles have come under the leadership of MS Dhoni.

Thirty-eight-year-old Dhoni has been currently enjoying some time away from the game. He last played competitive cricket during the 2019 World Cup.

Dhoni had to face criticism for his slow batting approach during India's matches in the high-profile game.

This year, Dhoni did not find a place for himself in the BCCI's centrally contracted players list.

The board had released the list of central contract list of players for the period from October 2019 to September 2020.

Dhoni is the only captain to win all major ICC trophies (50-over World Cup, T20 World Cup, and Champions Trophy).

Under his leadership, India also managed to attain the number one ranking in Test cricket.

He would have been leading the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) if the Indian Premier League (IPL) had commenced from March 29.

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

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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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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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