Indo-Pak clash is never a dead rubber: Gavaskar

June 13, 2013
New Delhi, Jun 13: An India-Pakistan clash can never be called a dead rubber, stressed former skipper Sunil Gavaskar, as the arch-rivals gear up for their next Champions Trophy match, the outcome of which will have no bearing on their fortunes in the tournament.

India have already made it to the semifinals and Pakistan are certain to fly back, having lost their first two matches.Sunil-Gavaskar

"No such thing as dead rubber when India and Pakistan are playing. Results are important for followers of both the countries," Gavaskar said.

"India would certainly want to win as they would to continue with the winning rhythm. If you lose, you start to doubt yourself and India would want to avoid it," he told NDTV.

Gavaskar said it was all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja with his bowling, who set up India's thumping eight-wicket victory over West Indies yesterday.

"Jadeja turned the match in India's favour. West Indies were looking set for a score of 250+ and even 300. He turned the match with his bowling on a pitch that didn't have much help," he said of Jadeja who took his maiden five-wicket haul.

Praising the Delhi opener Shikhar Dhawan, Gavaskar said the heartening thing about him is he is making his good form count by scoring huge runs.

"He (Dhawan) was left out of the team which has helped him reorganise his cricket and get better. He is in very good form and the good thing is he is capitalising on it," he said.

India's opening pair have provided the team with century stands in the two matches of the tournament and Gavaskar felt there was no need to change the combination in the final group match, given they are already through to the semis.

"They (India) would certainly want to continue with their opening combination as they have given brisk starts so far. They have played orthodox cricketing shots. The thing that has stood out about them is their running between the wickets."

Gavaskar also praised India's fielding in the competition saying the team is at par with South Africa, Australia and New Zealand as there was no weak link.

On Rohit Sharma, Gavaskar felt that he needs to convert his half-centuries into big score if he wants to get into the Indian Test team.

"This could well the turning point for his (Rohit's) career. The way he is playing he is certainly knocking at the doors of the Test side. But he will have to start converting scores of 50s and 60s into 100s for that," he added.

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April 28,2020

New Delhi, Apr 28: West Indies flamboyant batsman Chris Gayle has lashed out at former teammate Ramnaresh Sarwan calling him 'worse than coronavirus'.

Gayle, the colossal figure in the shortest format of the game blamed Sarwan for his departure from Caribbean Premier League (CPL) franchise Jamaica Tallawahs.

The left-handed batsman joined St Lucia Zouks as their marquee player for the 2020 CPL season after Tallawahs chose not to retain him.

Gayle has played for Tallawahs and St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in the past. He has won the CPL title twice with the Tallawahs and played in the final with the Patriots in 2017.

"The owner of the franchise is a very nice man, I have no problem with him. I think he was actually persuaded to get rid of Chris Gayle," Gayle said in three parts on his YouTube channel.

"So someone has to be in his years telling him to get rid of Gayle. Sarwan, you are worse than the coronavirus right now. What transpired with the Tallahwahs, you had a big part to play.

Sarwan, you are a snake. You know, you are not the most loved person in the Caribbean. You are still stabbing people in the back," he added.

Gayle is the leading T20 run-scorer of all time as well as the man with the most centuries in the format. He is also the leading CPL run-scorer of all time, having amassed 2,344 runs in the tournament.

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May 30,2020

New Delhi, May 30: Former world chess champion Viswanathan Anand will be finally reaching India late on Saturday after being stuck in Germany for over three months due to the travel restrictions imposed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Yes.. Anand will be returning today," the chess maestro's wife Aruna told PTI on Saturday morning. Anand, who boarded an Air India flight (AI-120) from Frankfurt on Friday night will reach Bengaluru via Delhi.

He is expected to reach Bengaluru at 1.15 pm. The five-time world champion will undergo 14 days quarantine as per rules laid down by the Karnataka government.

"He will complete quarantine procedures and come to Chennai as per protocol," Aruna Anand said. The flights from Germany are only scheduled to land only in Delhi and Bengaluru.

The chess ace was in Germany to play in the Bundesliga chess league and was to return to India, but was forced to stay put after the COVID-19 outbreak disrupted sporting schedules across the globe, apart from restricting movement.

He was staying near Frankfurt and was doing online commentary for the Candidates tournament which was called off mid-way due to the pandemic and led the Indian team in the Online Nations Cup early this month.

Anand had been in touch with his family in Chennai on a regular basis via video calls and kept himself busy with chess-related work.

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May 8,2020

New Delhi, May 8: India skipper Virat Kohli believes cricket in empty stadiums is a real possibility in post COVID-19 world and though it is unlikely to have a bearing on the intensity of players, he feels the magic would certainly go missing.

Cricket Boards across the globe are exploring the option of resuming the sport in empty stadiums. There is speculation that fans could be kept away from stadiums in a bid to salvage the T20 World Cup in Australia, which is currently under threat due to the global health crisis.

"It's quite a possible situation, it might happen, I honestly don't know how everyone is going to take that because we all are used to playing in front of so many passionate fans," Kohli said in Star Sports' show 'Cricket Connected'.

"I know it will be played at a very good intensity but that feeling of the crowd connecting with the players and the tension of the game where everyone goes through it in the stadium, those emotions are very difficult to recreate," he added.

Kohli said the many moments which are created because of the passion brought in by fans, would be missing.

"Things will still go on, but I doubt that one will feel that magic happening inside because of the atmosphere that was created.

"We will play sports how it is supposed to be played, but those magical moments will be difficult to come by," he said.

Cricketers such as Ben Stokes, Jason Roy, Jos Buttler and Pat Cummins have backed the idea of playing behind closed doors.

However, legendary Australian Allan Border has said it would defy belief to host a World Cup without spectators.

Another Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell and some other cricketers have also expressed similar sentiments.

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