Mumbai City FC one of the best squads in ISL, says coach Oscar Bruzon

October 22, 2015

Mumbai, Oct 22: Following their first win of the Indian Super League (ISL) second season, Mumbai City FC assistant coach Oscar Bruzon on Wednesday heaped praise on forward Sunil Chhetri after the India national team skipper scored a brace to help team beat Delhi Dynamos FC 2-0 here.

Oscar

Chhetri opened the scoring in the 13th minute itself and scored his second goal of the night in the 74th minute to power Mumbai to win at the DY Patil Stadium here on Wednesday.

"Sunil played very well today (Wednesday). I am very happy with his performance. He combined well with the others boys in the field. He helped Mumbai win the crucial match against Delhi," Bruzon said at the post-match press conference.

"We have one of the best squads in the ISL. We need to keep the momentum going in the next couple of matches. I think we are on the right path. Players are completely fit and we have three more home games on the trot and we have to give our best to win," he said.

With a win, Mumbai climbed from bottom of the table to the seventh spot, with four points from as many games, having lost two and drawn one earlier.

Mumbai side went with a strong 4-4-2 formation for the crucial match. A total of five change were made in the starting eleven.

The assistant coach said they have got the right combination after a couple of changes and will aim to keep it going in the rest of the matches.

"We have found the right combination. We need to hold and keep the winning momentum. We face FC Goa next and will look for another win. A lot was said about us this week and we have proved and shown we can deliver," Bruzon said.

Delhi Dynamos FC marquee-player-cum-manager Roberto Carlos congratulated Mumbai City FC for their first win of ISL second edition, adding that the home side had the right motivation and attitude on the field which the visitors lacked.

"Mumbai were deserving winners today. They played better football. The motivation and attitude they had, Delhi didn't have that. It was a tough game for Mumbai as they didn't win earlier and they delivered today. I congratulate Mumbai for the win," Carlos said at the post-match press conference here.

"I take all responsibility for the loss of my team. Now we have a week's time and break for our next game. When we win, we do not look at things we are making mistakes. But now we have to sit and find out our mistakes and correct them," he said.

The Brazilian legend said he is not someone who will criticise his players, but will solve the problem with his boys and not publicly.

"We want to be on the top four of the table and we will aim for that. It is hard that things didn't turn our way today. I will never criticise my players, I will tell them what went wrong for them in the dressing room and not in front of others. I will solve the problem with them and not here," Carlos said.

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News Network
February 2,2020

Mount Maunganui, Feb 2: India registered a rare 5-0 whitewash against New Zealand after notching up a seven-run win in the fifth and final T20 International at Bay Oval here on Sunday.

Electing to bat, India posted 163 for three, riding on Rohit Sharma's 60 off 41 balls and a 33-ball 45 from K L Rahul.

The visitors then restricted the hosts to 156 for nine with Jasprit Bumrah claiming three wickets for 12 runs.

Chasing the target, the Black Caps were tottering at 17 for three in 3.2 overs.

Tim Seifert (50) and Ross Taylor (53) then added 99 runs for the fourth wicket as New Zealand recovered to 116.

Seifert clobbered a 30-ball 50 studded with five fours and three sixes, while Ross Taylor hit two sixes and five fours in his 47-ball 53-run innings.

However, once Seifert was dismissed in the 13th over, the hosts suffered a collapse, losing five wickets, including Taylor, for 25 runs to loss the plot in the end.

Brief Score:

India: 163 for 3 in 20 overs (Rohit Sharma 60; S Kuggeleijn 2/25)    

New Zealand: 156 for 9 in 20 overs (Ross Taylor 53, Tim Seifert 50; Jasprit Bumrah 3/12).

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News Network
February 3,2020

New Delhi, Feb 3: Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar feels there are a lot of similarities between the Virat Kohli-led Team India and the Pakistan team when Imran Khan had led it as both captains instill strong self-belief in their respective teams.

Manjrekar also said that Pakistan under Imran had found different ways of winning matches even when it seemed all was lost.

"India under Virat in NZ reminds me of Pakistan under Imran. Strong self belief as a team. Pakistan under Imran found different ways of winning matches, often from losing positions. That only happens when the self belief is strong," Manjrekar tweeted.

The cricketer turned commentator expressed his opinion after India completed a rare 5-0 whitewash with a seven-run victory over New Zealand in the final T20 International in Mount Maunganui on Sunday.

Manjrekar also lauded KL Rahul, now also shouldering wicket-keeping duty, for his impressive showing in recent times.

"Samson & Pant... the next batting brigade of India obviously have the skill & the power game they just need to infuse a small dose of Virat's batting 'smarts' (mind) into their game," Manjrekar wrote.

The victory at the Bay Oval saw India stretch their record for most successive T20I wins.

This was their eighth win in a row, bettering the previous three instances when they won seven successive matches.

Kohli is the most successful Test captain in Indian cricket history, winning 11 consecutive series at home and are on top of the ICC rankings.

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Agencies
July 28,2020

New Delhi, Jul 28: 'Your character stood out for me than the number of runs you scored," said India skipper Virat Kohli while explaining his decision to give opening Mayank Agarwal a Test debut in the 2018-19 Australia series.

Mayank Agarwal had made his Test debut against Australia in the third Test of the four-match series.

Playing the third Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Agarwal managed to register a half-century in his very first innings in the longest format.

"I had seen you play for RCB, even then you played international bowlers with conviction and you would take them on. You were performing in first-class matches in a dominating way. That is something always stood out with you, I would say your character stood out for me than the number of runs. I knew you would be fearless without having any baggage," Kohli told Mayank Agarwal in a video posted on the official website of BCCI.

In the longest format of the game, Agarwal has managed to score 974 runs from 11 matches at an average of 57.29 with three centuries as an opening batsman.

The Indian skipper also explained as to what makes him notice in a player and added that it is important that guys in the team look to face new challenges and emerge triumphantly.

"For me, the biggest marker is how a person approaches the game, so for example when you opened and we made Vihari open with you. The first opportunity we presented Vihari to open the batting, he said yes to it and that matters me to the most," Kohli said.

"I opened in my first series for India, I said yes to this opportunity and things worked out fine for me. So, a guy who wants to get into tough situations will come out either holding his head high or learning from his mistakes," he added.

Kohli and Mayank would soon be seen in action for Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab respectively in the Indian Premier League (IPL) starting from September 19 in the UAE.

The comparisons between Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar keep on growing and many have picked the current Indian skipper to break the records set by Tendulkar.

Tendulkar called time on his career after registering 100 international centuries, while Kohli currently has 70 centuries across all formats.

At present, Kohli is ranked at the top spot in the ICC ODI rankings while he is in the second place in Tests rankings. Kohli has so far played 86 Tests, scoring 7,240 runs with 27 centuries at an average of 53.62.

His knock of 254 against South Africa at Pune in 2019 remains his highest Test score to date. When it comes to ODIs, the current Indian skipper has played 248 matches and has 43 centuries.

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