India crushes Australia by 9 wickets in record run chase

October 17, 2013

India_crushesJaipur, Oct 17: An inspired India tonight pulled off an incredible nine-wicket victory over Australia in the second cricket one-dayer, achieving the second highest ever run chase in ODI history in what turned out to be a high scoring contest.

Chasing an mammoth victory target of 360 on a belter of a track at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium, India crossed the line with a 40 balls to spare as records tumbled like nine pins. This is also India's highest ever successful run chase as the hosts restored parity 1-1 in the seven-match series.

Rohit Sharma (141 not out), Virat Kohli (100 not out) and Shikhar Dhawan (95) were the main contributors for India.

Virat Kohli (100 not out) took a more than decent Australian attack to the task with a fastest ever ODI century by an Indian and seventh fastest in the world, scored in only 52 balls. This is his 16th ODI century in 115 matches. His innings had eight fours and seven sixes.

Rohit Sharma (141 not out from 123 balls) got a well-deserved third ODI century while Shikhar Dhawan (95) again showed love for anything Australian but was unlucky to miss out on a ton.

It was a match where the Australians created a world record with their five top batsmen scoring half-centuries but the Indian batsmen proved they were better on the night.

The Australians now have the ignominy of ending second best in two highest run-chases having faced similar fate against Herschelle Gibbs' South Africa seven years back, when they failed to defend a mammoth score of 434.

Indian batting's 'Gen-Next' troika showed why they are not afraid of any target and reasserted India's supremacy in the 50-over format.

While bowling continues to be a worrying factor for skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, he should at least feel happy that Kohli along with Rohit and Shikhar are ready to take the legacy of Indian batting forward in the next decade.

The victory was built on two partnerships. An opening stand of 174 between Dhawan and Rohit followed by another 186 runs scored in only 17.2 overs between Rohit and Kohli. The duo put on 100 runs in only 62 balls.

The chase practically started in the ninth over when Dhawan, in his bid to break the shackles, hit Shane Watson for three successive boundaries.

In the next over from Clint McKay, Rohit got a couple of boundaries more as 26 runs came off these two overs. While Dhawan repeatedly charged out to the pacers piercing the off-side cordon, Rohit used field restrictions to good effect by lofting the deliveries over in-field.

Rohit hit Glenn Maxwell for a six over deep mid-wicket to bring up the team's 100 and then got his half century with a tickle down leg-side off Xavier Doherty.

If Dhawan muscled the deliveries, Rohit found a way to caress them to the boundary.

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News Network
April 13,2020

Apr 13: Former India opener Gautam Gambhir says if IPL is not played this year, it will be difficult for Mahendra Singh Dhoni to make a comeback to the Indian team.

Dhoni last played for India in the World Cup semi-final against New Zealand in July last year.

Since then he hasn't played any competitive cricket and legends such as Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev have already said that it's getting increasingly difficult for the Jharkhand dasher to make an international return after such a prolonged sabbatical.

He was expected to be seen in action at this year's IPL but the chances of T20 league being played are remote due to the COVID-19.

"If the IPL does not happen this year, then it will become very difficult for MS Dhoni to make a comeback. On what basis can he (Dhoni) be selected since he’s not been playing for the last one or one and a half year," Gambhir said on Star Sports show 'Cricket Connected'.

The 38-year-old Gambhir picked KL Rahul, who has been keeping in ODIs, as an "apt replacement" for Dhoni.

Read: Coronavirus India update: State-wise total number of confirmed cases, deaths

"Obviously his (Rahul's) keeping is not as good as Dhoni’s, but if you are looking at T20 cricket, Rahul's a utility player, can keep and bat at No. 3 or 4. If the IPL does not happen, then Dhoni’s chances for a comeback look dim.

"Ultimately, you are representing India, so whoever dishes out the best performance and can win the match for India should play for the team," added Gambhir.

The southpaw also felt that retirement was Dhoni's personal decision.

"As far as his retirement plans go by, that's his personal choice," said Gambhir.

However, his former teammate and test specialist VVS Laxman feels that Dhoni can continue playing IPL.

"Not only this IPL, he (Dhoni) will probably play in the next couple of IPLs, and then we will take a call about his future as a cricketer," Laxman said on the same show.

However, Laxman, a veteran of 134 Tests, said that the new selection committee, chaired by former spinner Sunil Joshi, will have to discuss Dhoni's future with him.

"Dhoni will be very clear, as far as his plans are concerned, I'm sure he must have communicated that with (captain) Virat Kohli, (coach) Ravi Shastri immediately after the 2019 World Cup in England," said Laxman.

"The new selection committee will have to sit down with MS Dhoni and understand his future, as far as Indian cricket is concerned. But MS Dhoni will continue to play for CSK and do well for CSK," said Laxman, who amassed 8,781 Test runs.

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News Network
March 29,2020

New Delhi, Mar 29: Former Indian batsman Wasim Jaffer on Sunday picked his all-time IPL team and appointed wicket-keeper batsman MS Dhoni as its captain.

Jaffer's team's feature opener Rohit Sharma, current Indian skipper Virat Kohli, all-rounder Hardik Pandya, spinner R Ashwin, and pacer Jasprit Bumrah as seven domestic players.
While the foreign players spot have been occupied by West Indies' swashbuckling batsman Chris Gayle, all-rounder Andre Russell, Afghanistan's spinner Rashid Khan, and Sri Lanka's veteran pacer Lasith Malinga.
Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has been picked as 12th man by Jaffer.

Earlier this month, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to postpone the IPL to April 15, 2020, as a precautionary measure against COVID-19 outbreak.
The board also assured that it will work in unison with the Sports Ministry and will adhere to the guidelines issued.

The 13th edition of IPL was scheduled to commence from March 29. 

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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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