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This could have been predicted from a mile away. I’m pretty sure I mentioned the logic of joining Madrid before WC would create incredible pressure on his Madrid job. Julen has been a disaster. With Zidane & Ronaldo gone, Madrid is in a mess.
Saw second half..RM played well after break for 20 minutes (They could have been up 3-2). Marcelo was injured and Barca then went on attack mode after 70th.
They’ve been awful all season. Losing Zidane & Ronaldo has hurt them. They didn’t replace Ronaldo and they will have to spend a huge amount to get Neymar. They bet big on Bale this season but he is injury prone & not consistent as Ronaldo.
time for a new ‘galactico’ read neymar to join RM. papa perez has been eyeing for him from past few months.. what i read and hints at galore online the deal might be set up in summer ’19.
For those who can understand Hindi.
सचिन Vs विराट की बहस में देवांशु झा के इस लेख को पढ़ा जाना चाहिए। सहमति-असहमति अपनी जगह है लेकिन लेखन में लारा की बैटिंग की तरह का सौंदर्य है।
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तो सचिन विराट हो जाते….
मैं जानता हूं इस शीर्षक को पढ़कर कई सचिन प्रेमी लट्ठ लेकर मेरी तलाश में निकल पड़े होंगे । लेकिन क्या करूं समय कहां ठहरता है । एक वक्त ऐसा भी था जब सचिन के आउट होने पर खाना मेरे हलक से नीचे नहीं उतरता था । सचिन ने जीत के हर्ष से कहीं अधिक हार की विषण्णता हमें दी है । भले ही वे व्यक्तिगत प्रतिभा में बहुत आगे रहे हों पर पिच पर उनका शौर्य बहुत बिखरा हुआ है ।
सचिन और विराट की तुलना में सबसे बड़ा तर्क यह दिया जाता है कि सचिन ने दुनिया ने तमाम सूरमा गेंदबाजों को झेला। बल्कि यूं कहिए कि
उनके छक्के छुड़ा दिये( जो कि अपने मुंह मियां मिट्ठू होने से अधिक नहीं ) जबकि विराट कोहली तो बस देवांशु झा टाइप गेंदबाजों को मार रहे हैं । अब कोई गेंदबाज कहां होता है..!
मुझे याद है, एक समय सचिन ब्रैडमेन भी बन ही गए थे !! तुलना करने वालों के चरण धरने को मैं तब भी व्याकुल था, आज भी हूं । यहां भी तर्क यह कि सचिन ने तो धुरंधरों को खेला और ब्रैडमेन तो अंडर आर्म और पिच पर ऐसे ही गेंद घड़का देने वालों गेंदबाजों को मार मार कर अमर हो गए । दिलचस्प यह कि उतने ही फुद्दू गेंदबाजों को खेलते हुए उनका कोई समकालीन उनके आसपास तो क्या.. मीलों दूर तक नहीं दीखता । ब्रैडमैन एक किंवदंती हैं । उनके 29 शतकों में दैत्याकार शतकों का अंबार है । बारह दोहरे और दो तिहरे शतक । अपनी अंतिम पारी में वे चार रन से चूक गए.. चार रन और जोड़े होते तो औसत सौ का होता । बुद्धि की बलिहारी यह कि उनसे आधे औसत पर खड़े लोगों की तुलना होने लगी ।
एक वक्त जब सहवाग तीसरा तिहरा शतक जड़ने के मुहाने पर थे, तब भारत में उन्हें भी ब्रैडमैन घोषित कर ही दिया गया था । गोया, ब्रैडमेन कोई पावरोटी बेचने वाला हो । हुंह एक हुआ.. दूसरा न होगा !! आकलन करते हुए कभी उसका लाघव और प्राबल्य देखा क्या..?
कुछ ऐसा ही विराट कोहली के साथ हो रहा है । विराट की निरंतरता, पौरुष, संतुलन और युद्धकौशल अद्वितीय महारथी सरीखा है । मैं पूछना चाहता हूं कि जब दुनिया से महान गेंदबाजों की खेप चुक ही गई तो सभी विराट क्यों नहीं हो जाते..? क्यों नहीं विराट जैसे अविश्वसनीय औसत के साथ सभी रन बना रहे ?क्यों नहीं शतकों का अंबार लगा रहे, क्यों नहीं जीत के प्रति हमें विराट की ही तरह आश्वस्त कर रहे ? रोहित शर्मा में प्रतिभा कूट कूट कर भरी हुई लेकिन मैदान पर कार्यान्वयन कैसा है..या दुनिया का कोई दूसरा बल्लेबाज़ खोजकर ला दीजिए, जिसमें विराट जैसी निरंतरता हो । वह तो रोबो है, जिसकी प्रोग्रामिंग कर दी गई है । कोई आसपास है ही नहीं ।
सचिन अपने जीवन में विराट जैसा विश्वास तो कभी भर ही नहीं सके । उन्हें देखकर हम कभी यह संतोष न कर सके कि अब तो बेड़ा पार लगने ही वाला है क्योंकि शतक जमाने के साथ-साथ नौका डुबोने में भी उनका सानी नहीं था । पता चला कि सचिन के स्ट्रेट ड्राइव का सौन्दर्य देखकर अभी ताली बजा ही रहे थे कि अगली गेंद पर वे गली में गुम हो गए । सचिन के पास महान प्रतिभा थी । तूणीर में आग्नेयास्त्र से लेकर ब्रह्मास्त्र तक थे लेकिन शरक्षेप और निर्णायक रण में वे उनका संधान न कर पाते थे ।
अर्जुन और कर्ण महान धनुर्धर थे । दोनों की धनुर्विद्या का परिचय पाकर लोग वाह-वाह कर उठते थे पर दोनों महान योद्धा भी थे । रण में उतरते तो पराजय की छाया भी नहीं पड़ने देते । सचिन का निजी आवरण तो घना है लेकिन अपराजेय शूर का आलोक नहीं है । वे कभी भी बल्ला सौंप सकते थे । विराट में वो पौरुष है, भले ही सचिन के बल्ले से निकलने वाले शॉट्स सा सौन्दर्य ना हो ।
अब गेंदबाजों के मिथक पर आते हैं । यह एक विशुद्ध छायावाद है कि सचिन ने धुरंधर गेंदबाजों की बखिया उधेड़ दी । सबसे पहले पाकिस्तान। सचिन का डेब्यू 89 का है और 89 के बाद 99 तक भारत-पाक में कोई टेस्ट सीरीज नहीं हुई । दस वर्ष ! ये वो दस वर्ष हैं जब दुनिया भर के पिचों पर वसीम अकरम और वकार यूनुस की पदचाप सुनाई देती थी । सचिन ने इन दोनों को उनके यौवन के उफान पर झेला ही नहीं । इसके बावजूद टेस्ट में सचिन महान का पाकिस्तान के खिलाफ 37 का औसत है । हैरत तो यह कि अब तक हमारे प्रशंसक विश्वकप में शोएब अख्तर की गेंद पर एक छक्के से छूट ही नहीं पा रहे जबकि विराट कोहली ने पाकिस्तान के सभी गेंदबाजों की खबर ली है और लंबी-लंबी पारियां खेली हैं । यकीन ना हो तो पाकिस्तानियों से पूछ कर देख लो कि विराट और सचिन में किसे पवेलियन भेजना पहले पसंद करोगे..
सचिन ने ऑस्ट्रेलिया के खिलाफ़ उत्कृष्ट प्रदर्शन किया लेकिन उनके खाते में एक भी श्रृंखला ऐसी नहीं है, जिसमें उनका बल्ला शुरू से आखिर तक बोला हो । अपने करियर में उन्होंने एक सीरीज़ में सर्वाधिक 495 रन बनाए हैं । तीन शतक । दुनिया के धुरंधर टेस्ट बल्लेबाजों का आंकड़ा उठा कर देख लीजिए.. ब्रैडमैन से लेकर गावस्कर, लारा, पोन्टिंग..तक । इन सबों ने एक एक श्रृंखला में छह सौ.. सात सौ आठ सौ रन तक बनाए हैं । मारमार के भूस भर दिया है । लंबी लंबी पारियों के पर्वत खड़े कर दिये हैं । मगर सचिन के हिस्से में यह नहीं है । वन डे में उनका सबसे तेज़ सैकड़ा जिम्बाब्वे के खिलाफ है । हेनरी ओलंगा जैसे गरीब गेंदबाज के खिलाफ 70 गेंदों में शतक बनाया है उन्होंने । हालांकि, मैं यह कह कर उनके साथ अन्याय नहीं कर सकता कि उन्हें मारना नहीं आता था । दर्जनों पारियों में वे बीस-बीस गेंदें कम खेलकर शतक पूरा करते रहे ।
और यह गेंदबाजी का मिथक ही बेकार है । मैं कह सकता हूं कि गावस्कर ने दुनिया के सबसे महान गेंदबाजों को खेला । सचिन के दौर में मार्शल, होल्डिंग, क्राफ्ट, एंडी रॉबर्ट्स, गार्नर, लिली, थामसन नहीं थे । वेस्ट इंडीज के वॉल्श और एम्ब्रोज को सचिन ने खेला लेकिन बहुत कम । दोनों सचिन के शिखर काल में अपनी ढलान पर थे और रिटायर हो गए । दक्षिण अफ्रीका में डोनाल्ड को उन्होंने कभी डोमिनेट नहीं किया । औसत देख लीजिए । जब इंग्लैंड और ऑस्ट्रेलिया के खिलाफ रन बनाए तब कुछ अच्छे गेंदबाज थे । अगर दुनिया के श्रेष्ठ बल्लेबाज़ का तमगा पाया है तो श्रेष्ठ को झेलना भी होगा । पा्किस्तान के तेज गेंदबाजों को तो छोड़िए वे सकलैन मुश्ताक को भी कभी उस तरह से नहीं पढ़ सके जिस तरह से गावस्कर अपने समय के महान स्पिनर को पढ़ पाते थे । सचिन में आवेग है, प्रवाह है, प्रभा है, चमत्कार है पर धीरोदात्त नायक का स्थैर्य नहीं है । वह नहीं कि धनु धर लिया तो ध्वस्त कर ही लौटेंगे ।
सचिन हमारे गौरव हैं । लेकिन क्रिकेट के अंतिम हस्ताक्षर नहीं है । समय निरंतर आगे बढ़ता है और यह समय किसी और का है । निस्संदेह
वन डे का पहला दोहरा शतक उनके ही नाम है । उन्होंने एक दिवसीय मैचों में कई बार विजय दिलवाई लेकिन विराट इस मामले में उनसे बहुत आगे हैं । यह आदमी तो अविश्वसनीय प्रतीत होता है।
सचिन से भारतीय क्रिकेट का एक नया रूप खुलता है । सचिन एक सुंदर वृक्ष हैं, जिसमें भांति भांति के फूल खिले परंतु सचिन वटवृक्ष नहीं हैं, जिसकी छाया विस्तृत होती है..जो रौद्र धूप से तपे यात्रियों में छांह की आश्वस्ति भरता है । हर दौर के नायक का सम्मान होना चाहिए । मोह हमें बांधता है सचिन के मोह से मुक्त होकर देखना होगा । सचिन मेरे हमउम्र हैं, उनसे जैसा जुड़ाव था, वैसा विराट से नहीं है लेकिन विराट एक महारथी बल्लेबाज़ हैं । जब धनुष उठाते हैं तो विपक्ष को मूर्छा आ जाती है….
Among current players, the only one threatening Kohli’s marks is Hashim Amla, who has so far scored 7696 runs in 166 innings (169 matches); at the same point, Kohli had 7460 runs. Since then Kohli has increased his average from 52.90 to a giddying 59.90, so Amla – who is more than five years older – will do well to keep up.
don’t think Amla will get there, specially given the age factor, but otherwise he seems to be keeping pace. But here’s another extract:
“Virat Kohli scorched past 10,000 runs in one-day internationals during his unbeaten 157 in the tied match against West Indies in Visakhapatnam last week. That was his 205th innings, in his 213th ODI. The next fastest to 10,000 was Sachin Tendulkar, who got there in his 259th innings (266th match). That means that Kohli could make ducks in his next 50 innings, and still have the most runs at that stage of an ODI career.”
So Kohli has 54 inning advantage over Sachin. But here’s the interesting thing. If you factor in Sachin’s promotion to opener (before this he was batting in the middle order and didn’t have the chance to score a huge number of runs) and when he right away made 82 in this role, you have more or less 55 innings. In other words that exact difference between the two. Now it could be that Kohli still scores more going forward but so far that difference accounts for Kohli’s lead as well.
comparing an opener with a middle over batsman is wrong. case in point rohit sharma is a world beater as an opener. field restrictions, harder cherry, no wickets lost. middle overs need consolidation. even Sachin was not as successful in the middle
False. Statistically if you’re batting 3 or lower you will automatically have better chance to stay not out. That’s precisely why guys like Bevan and Dhoni have big averages, along with ABDV and Kohli.
The top 10 odi run scorers ever; Tendulkar (opener), Sangakharra (middle order), Ponting (middle order), Jayasuriya (opener), Jayawardena/Inzi/Kallis (middle order), Ganguly (opener), Dravid/Lara (middle order), Dilshan (opener). You only have to look at the all-time list to know the stats. A quick and dirty exercise on openers Vs middle order on these top 10;
Opening AVE 39 (4 above batsman)
Middle Order AVE 40 (6 above batsman)
Opening % Not Out 8%
Middle Order % Not Out 14%
So already the average is higher by virtue of better chances of not outs. This is already contaminated by the fact that Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dilshan didn’t always open.
And they will always face the best bowlers up front. In fact the longer they stay the greater the probability of facing the opponent’s best bowlers. It’s much more likely that a middle order batsman face weaker bowling.
It’s logical the first 10-15 overs best fast bowlers bowl. A team will persist with best bowlers till a wicket falls. Only then can they switch tactics but it depends on match scenario i.e bowl weaker bowlers.
The only stat that benefits the opener is strike rate. 84 (opener) Vs 77 (middle order).
‘Run-scoring has become significantly easier in the middle overs, thanks to changes in ODI playing conditions, such as the use of two new balls and restrictions on field settings between overs 15 and 40, that have been tailormade to enable quicker scoring in this part of the innings. Improvement in cricket bats has also been a factor. All this explains, at least in part, the increase in century-making by middle-order ODI players.’
Out of Kohli’s 38 ODI centuries 14 are not out (37%).
Tendulkar’s got 15/49 (31%). This itself inflates an average in favour of Kohli by virtue of likelihood of being not out.
Of course it’s likely that Tendulkar’s are bigger scores as he bats for more overs.
But if you’re doing this properly you strip out some extremely important data like not outs which is unfair to Kohli. Either way you do get to Jeeves point that comparing opener to middle order has its own systematic issues.
and again the point I like to keep underlining is that Tendulkar still isn’t playing a position he’s naturally suited for when he opens. He’s prospered doing so of course but it’s still an improbable mix, batting at 4 in one format, opening in another. The other thing I’d say is that batting at 3 or 4 in ODIs if get in early enough (without there being a collapse at the very top) the openers have seen off the initial spell of the fast bowlers. When they then come in later (assuming the captain doesn’t try a different mix) towards the end the one down or two down batsman has settled down enough (if he lasts that long). So there are all these factors. for Sachin I’d argue that he might have scored even more batting a bit lower down. Yes he could score a lot in the first 15 (field placements) but as he grew older and therefore physically off-peak he still had to face some very fast bowlers with the new ball. Indeed the pitches got easier around this time as well offsetting some of this disadvantage but again had he batted at 3 or 4 he would in most situations still have had enough of a chance because earlier on the Indian opening wasn’t often great and later when it did become more dependable a lot more runs were also being scored (so batsmen a bit lower down would still need to add a fair bit). And then there’s of course the all important ‘not out’ factor you’ve mentioned. I’m not saying he’d definitely do better a bit lower down but a case can be made for this. Whereas if you’re at 5 or 6 there’s really not much of a chance specially given how India used to do in ODIs in that period. But either way taking 5 years to promote Tendulkar in ODIs was just crazy. When the man was doing so well in tests. And again to repeat your point for a number of years now the rule changes in ODIs have tilted things even more towards the batsman. So you have even more flat tracks than was traditionally the case in ODIs and you have these rule changes. By the way also much shorter boundaries on average. This move was already afoot earlier but it really has become something of a joke the last 10-15 years. Finally Sachin played most of his peak period on a very weak Indian team. Now again as he got older the support helped his numbers in many ways. On the other hand what would have numbers been like if he’d had the same earlier. Bradman and Richards played on what are commonly considered the two greatest teams in history. Ponting played on a team where Bradman wagered Sachin would have averaged 80 (even if you think this is something of an exaggeration, even if you took off 10 or 20 runs you still have a much higher average). Kohli also plays on a team where because of the pitches the other players are lions most of the team (until of course you get to SA or Eng.. though those teams also don’t bat well enough in those situations.. so you’re still not at a big disadvantage.. it’s not as if you’re doing 250 and they’re getting 400 regularly.. by the way this too in tests.. in ODIs you have the flattest tracks imaginable these days, irrespective of country).
In any case these two are numbers that one has to factor into the stats. Because on its own an average or a SR or even a boundary percentage cannot factor all of this in. There are too many factors. Contextualization is way more complicated in cricket than most other sports I can think of. All of this isn’t an argument ‘for’ Tendulkar in some ‘fan’ sense. Or the 90s. Nor is it ‘against’ Kohli. It’s about accounting for everything. And it is certainly an argument against a disease of presentism (not saying Saket is doing this) where every new ‘great’ talent is automatically called the greatest without accounting enough for all these factors. In fact a lot of times the stats are designed to feed such an industry (driven my corporate sponsors and the like, this is true elsewhere as well to greater or lesser degrees). if Kohli were greater than Sachin I would have no issues accepting it. I’d retain my affection for Sachin and accept the obvious. Much as I’ve retained my affection for Sampras without arguing against the idea that Federer is the greatest.
So Kohli has 54 inning advantage over Sachin. But here’s the interesting thing. If you factor in Sachin’s promotion to opener (before this he was batting in the middle order and didn’t have the chance to score a huge number of runs) and when he right away made 82 in this role, you have more or less 55 innings. In other words that exact difference between the two.
But then one also has to discount Kohli’s initial 2-3 years where he was finding his feet and compare the runs scored after that initial incubation period as well. That comparison isn’t going to be very flattering to Tendulkar either.
@ Saket… Tendulkar will have a greater incubation & retirement age period combined than any legendary ODI batsman ever? How do you propose to accommodate for this if at all? His career is extremely unique in this sense. Peak % years will always be lower than Kohli whichever way you look at it. His stats get penalised fairly or unfairly on this score amongst many other factors mentioned already.
The retirement period should be labelled as his fault, just like any other cricketer who perhaps overstayed his welcome.
I can certainly understand the slightly longer gestation period, given that he played lower down the order. One can certainly account for this. Start the comparison when he started opening in ODIs, for instance
At the end of his 100th ODI, Rohit had scored 2480 runs, averaging 31.79, and had scored two centuries. In comparison, Tendulkar had 3146 runs at an average of 36.58, with four centuries.
Since then, Rohit’s average has increased rapidly, and is currently 47.37 with 21 centuries in 192 matches. At the same juncture, Tendulkar had 6872 runs at an average of 40.66 with 16 centuries. Since his 100th ODI, he has scored 4911 runs at an average of 62.96 and a strike rate of 96.71, with 19 centuries and as many fifties. Only Kohli has been more prolific, scoring 5692 runs at an average of 72.05 at a strike rate of 98.22, with 23 centuries and 25 fifties.
Currently, Rohit has 21 hundreds in 186 innings; only three batsmen have scored more centuries in 186 or fewer ODI innings.
Was posted by myselfaamir yesterday. Statistics are there to prove a hypothesis. To me Sharma is to Ganguly what Kohli’s to Tendulkar. Only Kohli is pretty much on a par with Tendulkar. Must admit have looked at more cricket stats over last few days than in years. The guy who’s record surprised me the most is Sehwag. It’s not on a par with what popular perception is but in saying that I would pick him to partner Tendulkar over Ganguly. Sometimes reputation supercedes stats.
35 average and 15 centuries. When you think what Tendulkar did, Sehwag was way behind but I’d still have him in my side. He is a player who today who would make these attacks pay big time.
I actually feel sorry for Sharma. Is he really just a flat track bully? He is quite a silky smooth player and just hits 6’s for fun. Hick – come on give him someone better than him 😀
If ball is doing stuff he just cannot deal with it. We saw in South Africa; even the second T20 in England he was miserable. But when he scores he scores very big and his timing is probably the best.
I can’t recall him scoring on anything other than flat in ODIs. In Tests even there he will struggle if the attack is really good. He certainly has talent — remarkable consistency in the right conditions — but cannot be compared to Ganguly (who also was not a batsman for all seasons, but was enough of a fighter and had enough talent to get it done on a number of occasions, eg the test century in Brisbane in 2003. And of course he was dominant against spin).
It is such a pity, because as you correctly note Rohit is gorgeous to watch. Great shots and timing. Aside: Ian Chappell feels that he would do well in Australia where it won’t swing as much, and because he has a good “horizontal shot” game. I am skeptical (Rohit I think lacks mental toughness, not talent) but obviously Ian C knows a thing or two about this stuff!
Rohit Sharma has a serious technical flaw in his batting. There’s a certain blind-zone in his batting because of his trigger movement that makes him vulnerable to both the inswing or the outswinging delivery. It doesn’t get too exposed on flat decks because he can trust the trajectory of the ball and play accordingly. When the ball moves, even slightly, his technique gets exposed.
Bowlers in IPL have been clever to target this — just look at the amount of LBWs and clean-bowled dismissals in the last two editions. In fact he had to move down the order to avoid this particular mode of dismissal as the ball swings a lot at the Wankhede, at least initially.
Ganguly has an overseas debut century at Lord’s. Against a decent attack of Domnic Cork, Allan Mulally, Chris Lewis. Plus Dada was an useful bowler in English conditions
Probably is true…and indirectly have been arguing this point. The bowlers Tendulkar faced are in a different stratosphere even if Kohli is in Tendulkar’s universe. Comparing Tendulkar’s stats to Kohli’s like for like is very flawed.
These are career ending wickets for the bowlers that faced Tendulkar so it is an unfair snapshot. If one were to figure out how many wickets these bowlers had when Tendulkar reached 10,000 runs it would be fair. I checked Murali only. So this caption is false in terms of timing or alternatively do the bowlers Kohli has faced stand a chance of reaching these kinds of wicket tallies? Seriously doubt it.
Murali and Akram alone have more than all those Kohli bowlers.
There are certain rules. Amongst them, a player who has not taken in international tournaments for 5 years is considered for Hall of Fame provided he fulfills other requirements.
By that condition, Virat Kohli will not be eligible for another 5 or more years and he has to wait. Sachin maybe the next as the 5 year condition will be fulfilled within a couple of months.
Saurav Ganguly lost the honour it seems. And Dhoni will be waiting in the wings.
Virat shouldn’t mar his talent by speaking like a jackass: the audience of cricket fans is NOT the same as the usual imbeciles who clog up social media with all sorts of coarse behavior (glad he is being taken to task by so many Indian fans for this). And he isn’t even an ordinary player but the Indian captain (earlier also, in connection with an AIB interview, he had said very disrespectful things about Sri Lankan cricket, and how he considers it a holiday when they play Sri Lanka; I’ll leave aside the question of what the team has even achieved on his watch, with no major ODI or T20 tournament victories since Dhoni captained India to a Champions Trophy win in 2013; no overseas test series wins of any consequence; etc.), and he should realize that he is the custodian of the country’s image. This sort of crude rhetoric is unhelpful. Not to mention that it testifies to an un-democratic mindset — and we have seen plenty of evidence of that from his captaincy in recent times as well.
This is a classic exhibit for why I’ve never had any room for nationalism in my heart and mind. I’ll support sports teams for these reasons and be very invested in them but it doesn’t extend beyond this. I think one can be attached to the country one grows up in (which is different from one’s ‘native’ country in the more commonly understood sense..) without being ‘nationalistic’ in any easy way. Now of course it’s always difficult to separate these things because the discourses of nationalism mark everything else in all sorts of ways but still there are distinctions. Anyway I won’t repeat longer comments from the past on all this. But I’d even go so far as to say that those who grow up outside their ‘native’ (the country of their parents and ancestors) countries are in a privileged position. At least from my perspective. Because they grow up as ‘minorities’ one way or the other and even if they might be attached to these countries they can never take them for granted in the same way. A minimal distance keeps them away from all the cheapest nationalisms. Of course I’m not forgetting that there are always ‘natives’ in any country who too are ‘minorities’. Not just as a numerical matter but in a larger ideological sense. Native Americans (Indians!) in the US cannot ever fully belong to a state that is premised on the destruction of their culture. Or African Americans can never be less than skeptical about one also founded and nurtured on slavery for so long.
getting back to Kohli’s comment I guess he’d be upset if an Indian preferred a Hollywood movie to an Indian one. Presumably he’d be ok if a Tamilian preferred Murali Vijay to him [Kohli] for the same nativist reasons. I wonder what Kohli thinks about people who hold their weddings in Italy or honeymoon outside India.
I think he is trying to be funny..But then he is 30 year old ..I guess I probably would have been talking in similar way around that age…limelight and achievements don’t make you a mature person. Sometimes we expect too much from Alias, Sonams and Ranbirs of the world because they have achieved (or became famous) something so early in life…
For the same troll comment, my guess is, Dravid would have laughed it off in a self-deprecating manner. Tendulkar would have refused to say anything. Ganguly would have gone ballistic and the same probably goes for Laxman as well. Judging by their public responses over the years.
I saw Tendulkar’s episode in Breakfast with Champions..He has become more relaxed after retirement…liked his “Topi” comment in the show. Dravid has always been gentleman..we have seen hint of aggressiveness while playing in some adverse situation but mostly calm..He went to Pakistan dressing room to give pep talk when India’s U19 defeated Pakistan team comprehensively.
He got triggered by the line I prefer watching English or Australian batsmen than these INDIAN…that’s where he makes a weird face as well.
I think Kohli is light-years away from Dravid’s league as a gentleman cricketer, but he has displayed his liberal side in the past by befriending Mohd Aamir (or Afridi, for that matter). In fact he didn’t even directly criticize the latter after his remark on Kashmir.
The comment doesn’t come out right especially when he stops using cricketer and just using Indian..I also don’t think it makes him liberal because he is friends with Pakistani players; I have seen many right wingers have Muslim friends and vice versa.
Kohli was asked point-blank about Afridi’s comment regarding Kashmir. He avoided it by saying that his priorities lie with India but he wouldn’t comment further without knowing the full details.
That was a classy response. I think there’s a difference between Kohli on-field vs Kohli off-field. I vastly prefer the latter, even after comments like these, which aren’t all that bad to be honest.
I didn’t have a problem with Sehwag’s response to Gurmehar Kaur’s tweet either.
Kohli also went to that Muslim players house in Hyderabad (I forget his name) when the IPL season was on. He had a very traditional meal with him seated on the ground. The parents looked like very traditional types (let’s say the kinds Desai could have used for his Muslims!). Loved that move from him because precisely in contemporary India that was an important gesture. Of course it must also be said that there are liberals who nonetheless also indulge in nationalist platitudes.
I think that fellow needled him and Kohli reacted in the heat of the moment. The twitteratti always pounces and makes mountains out of molehills! Virat Kohli would not have meant it literally.
I guess trolling isn't for me guys, I'll stick to getting trolled! 😁 I spoke about how "these Indians" was mentioned in the comment and that's all. I’m all for freedom of choice. 🙏 Keep it light guys and enjoy the festive season. Love and peace to all. ✌😊
I guess trolling isn’t for me guys, I’ll stick to getting trolled! 😁 I spoke about how “these Indians” was mentioned in the comment and that’s all. I’m all for freedom of choice. 🙏 Keep it light guys and enjoy the festive season. Love and peace to all. ✌😊
And just to be clear, Kohli’s on-field shenanigans are much worse. The way he reacted to Joe Root’s mic-drop is one such instance. It’s a pity no one calls him out for that kind of boorish behavior. He comes across as an emotional fool on the cricket field.
In this instance, he tried to be a smartass. Turned out to be less smart, more ass, but surely, he didn’t deserve the kind of roasting he received from certain quarters.
I guess trolling isn't for me guys, I'll stick to getting trolled! 😁 I spoke about how "these Indians" was mentioned in the comment and that's all. I’m all for freedom of choice. 🙏 Keep it light guys and enjoy the festive season. Love and peace to all. ✌😊
The unfair targeting of Kohli just shows how statements are twisted according to whatever suits the agenda of people. He has publicly in the past admired sportsman from across the globe & his statement clearly was in a certain context.But mischievous targeting is a norm for a few
Virat Kohli got emotional and lost control with fan: Viswanathan Anand
Viswanathan Anand felt that enough was written about it and it’s better not to pile anything more to it.
“I think he lost control. He got a bit emotional and he just said the first thing that came to his mind,” Anand, one of India’s greatest sporting icons, told PTI on the sidelines of the Tata Steel Chess here. “That’s the attitude he is comfortable with. In sport, you see all characters and this is the character that fits him best. “I try to be myself and in the end you should be comfortable in your own skin,” he added.
The 48-year-old chess icon, however, felt that enough was written about it and it’s better not to pile anything more to it. “Maybe Kohli was caught at a weak moment, feeling a bit sensitive and was not in the best mood maybe. That’s my impression. Then he lost control of it,” Anand said.
The soft-spoken Anand further said it’s natural to get emotional and that he too had lost it once in a while. “People are emotional and they lose control once in a while. It has happened to me even if I was more successful in not showing it. But there are moments when your emotions take over,” he said. “He has got enough criticism already. It’s over. Those who did not like it, already criticised him so no need to keep piling on it.”
I have tickets to the ATP tour world final on Sunday 😀
And I will absolutely be mortified if I don’t get to watch either Federer or Djokovic. In the ideal world it would be them in the final. But they might face each other in semi so at least that guarantees one in the final. Federer just needs one set today.
Anyway Federer won 2-0 so very likely to avoid Djokovic. I just hope these 2 don’t pull a TOH on me and leave me an Anderson Vs Cilic/Zverev final on Sunday. My first ever tennis match live could be Federer Vs Djokovic in a final with FedEx chasing his 💯!
Hopefully the old men don’t let me down now in the semi’s.
Well i didn’t get to see Federer live but maybe I watched the next big thing absolutely destroy Djokovic. Zverev was absolutely scintillating and what a charming character on the mic. Fans were horrible to him on Saturday but here the crowd ate him up. He’s got the game to dominate but can he do it over 5 sets?
LOL Dhawan really cracking it..On the other hand, a BIG LOL at teh stumping fiasco – Carey hitting the stumps before the ballis in his hands ; and the Aussies went for DRS!!
Now, next ball, Rahul is out! and Again they used he 3rd umpire!!!
I don’t know much about women’s cricket to comment on this. But I did watch Smriti Mandhana smash 83 runs of 50 odd balls in the game against Australia. I was gobsmacked watching her utterly dismantle the opposition. She hit some huge sixes. Very elegant to watch too!
Pujara is truly undervalued by current management. Read this old article whis is more relevant after his Adelaide heroics and MoM to understand his true worth
I saw a stat somewhere that Pujara met milestones of Dravid 3000,4000 and 5000 runs in same # of innings. That’s some coincidence if true. Pujara is grossly underrated, he must bat for India as he is a proper test batsman.
I must have missed the comments for why Pujara has been dropped before. Test cricketer key character is not intent IMO. That is more for T20. Surely in test cricket it’s reliability or something like that! Not every test cricketer can have an X factor like Kohli or Sehwag.
Pujara is a proper test batsman, surely India can afford one position for him!
Ganguly has an overseas debut century at Lord’s. Against a decent attack of Domnic Cork, Allan Mulally, Chris Lewis. Plus Dada was an useful bowler in English conditions
read somewhere that rohit is selected in the team as he can change the game in a session. i would say he does in a ball by getting out. his 3 centuries have come at home on flat tracks againsy genuinely weak attacks. suresh raina 2.0??
93/4 Australia. Had India made around 50 runs more, the fate would have been sealed. Still, they are doing well. Hopefully we will win. Draw is ruled out. Result is guaranteed…
On the wire!! What a thrilling test match! And THIS’S why test match is the most exciting and purest form..Until Shaun Marsh was at the crease, it was in doldrums. [He has batted out the fifth day in Dubai.] Once he’s gone, it was kind of sealed…
Indian batting is always suspect on bouncy and fast pitches..It is just that Australia batting has weakened otherwise they would have been easily winning the series. Their bowling is still potent. Tail enders gave scare yesterday..I have said in past coach and captain are clueless on how to deal with them..thet lost two tests in England precisely because of that..And the guy with “no intent” is winning test match for you!
Rohit Sharma keeps on getting selected because no one has the balls to stand up to Kohli. Simple as. Not the selectors, not the BCCI and certainly not the CoA. He’s a law onto himself.
He doesn’t like the coach — the coach gets replaced. He doesn’t like a player, that player can’t play for India. Even if he has an average of 50! Just ask Pujara.
Defeat looms large at Perth. Drop the openers, get back Hardik for next match – Mayank Agrawal, Hunama Vihari, Pujara, Kohli, Rahane, Pandya, Pant, Ashwin/ Jadeja instead of Umesh, Ishant, Bumrah, Shami for next test. Unfortunately, Shaw will not be fit
India at a minimum should have ensured a draw here. Hopefully Aussies have 1 or 2 bad sessions. The series is familiar to 03-04. India took a lead that time too and had chances in final test to win in Waugh’s final test.
selection of no hit sharma also a blot on his leadership. could not play 5 bowlers as a result in form of hardik, so that follow on must have got him worried
How was Ashwin a ‘poor show’ at Adelaide where he scored 25 very crucial runs and forged an important partnership with Pujara which ultimately proved to be the difference in India winning the match!! As a bowler, he was the best of the lot as he not only took vital wickets but also kept it very tight without giving away any easy runs returning with figures of 6 for 149 in 87 overs. He was just behind Pujara in terms of overall impact on the game tilting it in India’s favour.
And how many did ‘Lyon’ pick in the first test?? He returned with 8 for 205 in 70 overs, his average was more, economy almost twice than that of Ashwin!! And Lyon is playing at home while Ashwin away in the very first test match of the series trying to acclimatise himself, btw you didn’t mention or hint Virat’s failure in the first test match at all??
Anyway #3 & #4 are doing opener duties today, seeing off new ball. Maybe #5 & #6 will do the job of #3 & #4. If we go full circle, the tail will wag and everything will work out. This is Ravi Shastri’s strategy I think.
time has come for vijay to go out of the team. his replacement will b shaw.. n kl rahul though talented need a kick in his ass to keep on ruining his own chances. he seems lost in middle as to play aggressive or defensive… indecisive fellow in a test will do more harm than good… either b shehwag or dravid.. pandya is missed here..
P V Sindhu is playing phenomenally well as she has enteted into the finals of BFW World tournament without losing a match and defeating world No. 1 Tai in the group matches.
Yes, the first one from India to have won this tournament, truly a spectacular feat!! Feeling very proud the way she played in the tournament without losing a single match, she along with Saina has brought this game close to the Indian public in a big way, not to forget Sameer Verma’s valiant effort in the semifinal losing it from the match point unfortunately!! But nonetheless amazing display from these two:
And what a stunningly bad decision on Virat!! The ball was clearly on the ground!!!!This was on the grounds of..well, I don’t want to name the country..but you know where I am heading at..
Australia have won the 3rd day. India need these 6 wickets quick, hopefully they don’t have to chase much more than 250, at least they are in the game. Feels similar to last test now just reversed.
I haven’t seen it but it mostly depend upon soft signal..which IMO is wrong way to prejudge..The ground umpire obviously have no clue from that distance so they have no business giving soft signal…It should be left to third umpire..Also the no of frames are not enough to figure if fingers are indeed below the ball…
Sachin, Sehwag, Ganguly, Yuvi, Raina could bowl fairly. While the first three were better than anyone in current lineup purely as a batsmen, our current batsmen think they can hold their place with limited skill?
agree. India bowled really well.
I guess the tail bats better in home condition and usually they are the difference in the final tally. This time too they played well for Aus.
1-1. over to Boxing day test. Will be at the stadium.
NEW DELHI: Actor Naseeruddin Shah has triggered a controversy by calling Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli ‘world’s worst behaved player’, even as he called him the world’s best batsman in a Facebook post. Shah’s remark came in the wake of Kohli’s last month social media video in which he asked a fan to leave India.
Kohli slammed a fan who said that he liked watching English and Australian batsmen more than the current Indian players after which he had faced a backlash on social media.
Taking to Facebook, the actor wrote: “Virat K is not only the worlds best batsman but also the worlds worst behaved player. His cricketing brilliance pales beside his arrogance and bad manners.. And I have no intention of leaving the country by the way”
I am in complete agreement with Nasseruddin Shah as his on field shenanigans leave a bad taste despite his outstanding batsmanship. Though many call it aggression, I’d differ and call his on field over the top & unnecessary as his shouting & abuse-hurling at the drop of the hat in no way helps his team’s cause but rather it distracts his own team by putting an additional pressure on them. Sachin is Sachin not only because of his batting but also due to his behaviour & Ganguly was the harbinger who introduced aggression into Indian team but it was never in your face and so over the top all the time. Most of the times Virat’s actions are cringeworthy without any reason.
I agree a lot. I’ve read some of what has been said and Kohli has an ego for sure. It’s better to sledge if you’re winning. India are losing here and he looks foolish.
I’d also like to talk about how his behaviour must be messing up with a lot of youngsters impressionable minds as he is on the top of his game breaking records right left and center, making him the role model in their eyes but also making them prone to emulating his boorish behaviour as some sort of ‘model code of conduct’ which is very detrimental to them and to the game as well.
I think Kohli plays a lot of mind games and backs it up on field as well with his performance. It’s a different matter that India lost Perth but it was surely not a submissive performance despite poor form of opening batsmen and lack of a spinner.
Kohli does over do things sometimes but calling him worst behaved cricketer is harsh. I like his aggression and think he brings a lot of character via his emotions.
Virat Kohli is a better player than Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting, say Michael Vaughan
Former England captain Michael Vaughan has come forward and declared that Virat is the best batsman he has ever seen.
“I have not seen a better player (than Kohli),” Vaughan told Fox Sports.
“I’m not disrespecting Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara or Ricky Ponting but across three formats of the game I have not seen anyone better.”
“He has such high skill levels and an incredible mentality when it comes to dealing with the pressure of the chase. All that while dealing with a weight of expectation and adulation that only Sachin would have experienced.”
Virat Kohli is recognised as the best batsman in the world right now. There was a debate with Steve Smith as to who was the better Test cricketer but after Smith’s ban but that debate died a natural death. There was talk with Ab de Villiers as to who is the best limited-overs batsman but that debate also came to an end after de Villiers’ retirement. Virat is a constant whenever a there is a talk of the best batsman in the world.
He proved his masterclass again when he scored his 25th Test Century in the first innings of the second Test against Australia in Perth. He is really used to breaking records by now but with that hundred, Virat broke some more records. With his sixth century in Australia, Virat tied with Sachin Tendulkar as the overseas player with most hundreds in Australia.
I hope not. Pochettino will be favourite but with a new stadium, better position in league, greater likelihood of CL football next season I hope he stays…But I have a feeling his time at Spurs is coming to an end soon.
United will go for him but Levy will charge a premium for sure.
Well he was able to resist Real Madrid last year so you never know. The English press seems convinced though. I wonder what United will do if Solskjaer kills it in these 6 months.
I’ve had this discussion a lot with non spurs fan and spurs ones. I keep changing my own mind! If this was 2013, it’s a no brainer! Spurs are in a fantastic situation now, United aren’t and he can really achieve something at Spurs. I’ve heard from one that if the naming rights get sold for circa £200mm that will be given to Pochettino. It’s Levy’s 2nd priority after completing stadium. Then a potential equity raise could be used to pay down debt or again for Pochettino. These guys hopefully are in the know.
One of our loans is/was the loan to Glazers for Manchester United! So we have to be football experts at work! Manchester United absolutely have to get it right sooner or later and I think Poch is their best bet but Levy holds most of the cards right now. And he’s the last chairman in the world you want to play cards with!
LOL. Hopefully OGS gives a sense of false hope! It would be a great joke if Spurs won by not buying a single player! But I think it’s Liverpool and I have never hated a team more than Liverpool so I hope City comeback now.
The expectations are pretty low with Solskjaer. As long as he gets United playing decent football, fans are happy. But you’re right, Liverpool it is this season sadly. City’s campaign is pretty much derailed. No offence but Spurs somehow seem to bottle it the moment the title is within reach. This happened when Leicester won a couple of seasons ago IIRC. It will be pretty unbearable and I might need to stay away from Football sites for a while.
I agree. I believe here Australia were looking for history, some 17th test victory in a row. To declare, Dravid, Laxman to bat out an entire day which they repeated in Australia and Harbhajan to wrap up victory- it’s probably not just the best indian innings but arguably India’s greatest comeback in a test ever. Probably would be in top 5 tests of all time.
“There were around 20% minorities at the time of Partition in Pakistan, less than 2% remain now. On the other hand, minority population has grown significantly in India since Independence. Pakistan is the last country that should be lecturing any country on how to treat minorities,” Mohammad Kaif tweeted.
That’s a good day’s work by India. So glad they have stuck it out and maintain an interesting position to try to set a score above 400. Hopefully Pujara and Kohli score big on Day 2 and put India into a position where defeat is unlikely and they can go for a win.
That’s the NZ vs SL Test. NZ are way ahead in that one. He took 6 in 15 balls btw.
🏏 | Can we transport the Christchurch deck to the MCG overnight? Here's NZ seamer Trent Boult taking six wickets for four runs in the space of 15 balls against Sri Lanka. #NZvSL 📽️: @FoxCricketpic.twitter.com/ENeMJF6zeX
Ponting praised Pujara for scoring his second century of the series, but said the innings will be remembered one of two ways at the end of the match.
“If India go on and win the game, it’ll be a great innings (but) if they haven’t got time to bowl Australia out twice … it could be what actually costs them the game,” Ponting told cricket.com.au.
“I think it’s always hard for India to push the run rate along when Pujara’s there.
“He’s just made another hundred, his second of the series, so he’s playing well and doesn’t really look like getting out. But he just locks himself in this little bubble where scoring doesn’t seem to faze him at all.
“They’ve got other guys in their side who are stroke-makers … but if those guys don’t come off, the scoring rate is always going to be hovering around that two runs an over mark, which makes it pretty hard to win Test matches, especially on flat wickets like we might have here.
Since 2001, teams have enforced the follow-on just 56.60% of the time, as compared to 91% of the time in the 20 years before that. When the lead is less than 300, teams enforce the follow-on just 37.23% of the time. So Kohli’s decision actually aligns with what the majority of captains would have done. Also, captains have realised that not enforcing the follow-on doesn’t hamper your chances of winning. In fact, since 2001, teams that have declined enforcing the follow-on have ended up winning 91.12% of the time, while teams that have enforced the follow-on have won 84.44% of the time.
With a lack of confidence in chasing, this was a sensible decision. Ideally India shouldn’t be 4 down, their best 2 batsman are gone. Hopefully the rest can add at least 50 runs…ideally 100.
That too ahead of Graham Gooch, David Gower from England itself & Lara, Sachin, Warne, Steve Waugh, Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Imran Khan, Kallis, Akram from others were far more deserving than this gentleman is mind boggling to say the least about this ‘sham(e)’ of a knighthood!!
Yes. A great and memorable win for me.
Was there at MCG on day 1 with 73,000+ spectators on Boxing day. Ricky Ponting was inducted in the ICC Hall of fame and his car ride at the beginning was a memorable experience.
As a spectator, i can say the damage was done on Day 1 by Mayank Agarwal. Man what a good find india has. From a distance of about 95 meters, he appeared classy, composed and determined. Really enjoyed his batting and session wise approach. Would be hurt if he doesn’t go on to become a good opener for India. He appeared as classy as Kohli who came later.
The man who looked solid was Pujara. In the crowd we were discussing that the sound that Pujara’s bat makes is so different from others. The “Tukkk” from his bat whenever he defended can be heard outside the stadium when he defended. It was a wonderful to note such subtleties. Such a music in cricket can only be heard when the ball hits the middle of the bat.
Great crowd, facilities, infrastructure and game. Had a great day.
I pasted that link above. It was an intelligent apprehension; dependent on the outcome — and that’s what Ponting said. Some greats are greats for a reason…
I read it again. It was an apprehension which was quite one sided at the end of Day 1.
As spectators we witnessed –
1. One of the most defensive field setting. It was almost looking like ODI field setting. This easily robbed 10-15 runs
2. A slow outfield – Nothing was going to boundary unless hit hard. This easily robbed 10-15 runs
3. Indian team playing to a plan. It was almost evident that they had planned to retain as many wickets on day 1 and play most of the day 2.
If we add all the three in perspective, then i would say Ponting singling out Pujara was a mere tactic to score a verbal point, because everyone played slow on day 1, to a plan to save wickets even if they score 20 runs less.
some of his deliveries are very memorable. I think at Trent Bridge he bowled a couple of classical in swingers to account for Buttler and Bairstow followed by a lethal bouncer to get rid of Lords centurian Woakes. Check it out at link below
unfortunately his take home package from tests contracted with bcci is less than what kl rahul makes in 2 months playing ipl. only test runs he is getting bucketloads while rahul is struggling. cricket is unfair.
In the last few decades, Ramakant Achrekar’s name had become so synonymous with being the coach of Sachin Tendulkar that even if he had not produced a single other cricketer of repute before or after him, his position among the Dronacharyas of Mumbai cricket would not have been questioned.
But for many of us who have witnessed Achrekar slogging on the Shivaji Park ground preparing nets and wickets with his students before every practice session and taking the talented ones across the city to play matches on his scooter, the contribution of the man goes much beyond his most illustrious prodigy.
Shane Warne suggests a brilliant idea. Declare after getting past the follow on score. Virat can only either play for a draw or set a target for Aussies
after winning the toss and posting 622/7 declared, if the opposition gets away with a draw against so called “best attack in the world” by our captain, a draw will be like a win for aussies and defeat for india. you know what i mean?
Depends on what kind of pitch it is. I’d take a draw now! Series win is more important than winning this test match. India just have to play sensible cricket now. There are 270 overs left. Even at 4 runs per over, only 1,000 runs to be scored. Australia will have to score at least 800 here overall across 2 innings to turn it around and even then India will still be favourites not to lose.
9 sessions of play. India need 1 good session with bat or ball and it will close the test match out. If it’s the 1st one tomorrow then India will have a good chance to win 3-1.
Australia have to go for risks. They’ll have to score at 4 or above, blow India away when they bat again and knock the runs off again. All this while India are in form. Can’t see it happening…will bet on India victory over draw with 1% chance of Australia win.
Warm congratulations to Kohli and Shastri jodi. Never liked how Kumble was booted but if you win in overseas against Australia you are in uncharted territory and deserve some praise.
I think the bharatarmy is lacking in writers like Bollywood.
When you got babysitters, ‘Bonnie’, ‘Pant’ as names and Aussies on their backsides you can come up with something more potent!
I’m delighted for Pant and Pujara. Pujara has batted the 4th most bowls ever at 1,258 in a 4 test series match or less. If he gets a chance again he can beat the record with 100 balls more. Pant has scored 100 in England and Australia now. First Indian wicketkeeper to score a 100 in both countries. He must replace Dhoni in short format IMO. India love SCG.
This is not really Pant’s format. Short format he’ll fair better. Dhoni is an absolute legend and his experience in a world cup is going to be very important. However I think he’s not what he once was. I’d still give Dhoni the nod at 19 WC but sooner or later Pant deserves a proper shot.
Australia won’t win. They don’t seem to have any batting strength. India have really played well this series.
‘At stumps, the hosts were 6 for 236. Marcus Harris made an eye-catching 79 and, if none of his team-mates pass that, he will hold the record for the lowest highest score in a Test series for Australia in 100 years.’
one day to wrap an entire innings. Draw is most likely now. India’s bowling lacks ability to run through tails as shown by Starc/Hazlewood partnership in SCG. Hazlewood, Lyon, Starc, Cummins have been difficult to knock out. India’s coaches should address this immediately since they lost English and SA tour due to this inability of the bowlers.
India have played well. If not for losing 2/3’rds day play they might be in a stronger position. India can still win, Australia can’t now. Job done. Ruthlessness is something India will find hard IMO.
From BBC sport…
Only 25.2 overs were possible on a rain-hit day, meaning that the final day will start half an hour early, at 23:00 GMT on Sunday, with commentary on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra.
It was the first time in 30 years Australia had been forced to follow on in a home Test
India have definitely created some history here. Being as clinical as the Aussies at their best will be tough – they just don’t produce bowlers like McGrath, Lee or Gillespie. Even a Starc. The day India produce super fast strike bowlers wake me up!
Questions will be ASKED of Australia as to how much they have CHEATED prior to last year! It seems the fast bowlers have struggled to reverse swing period! Australia’s biggest loss is that piece of sand paper!
I urge fans of all cricket nations to invent songs on sand paper to troll this pathetic team now! For years of unnecessary sledging they deserve some serious payback.
It’s very unlikely a bowler would be oblivious to how his ball is working for him! If it’s straight for X number of overs and suddenly swings after a bit of work…the first few times it might seem like luck or magic and thereafter just routine! The Australian ethos is not a clean one at all. Behaviour of their players has always been very unpleasant, preying on weaker assumed characteristics of their opponents and some are racist to boot! I’m glad Cricket Australia took a firm position on those 3 players. How they treated Bancroft proves the point. A captain and vice preying on their own young players to do their dirty work is typical.
thats mel mclaughlin. the lady with whom chris gayle ran into trouble with his lewd comments durin big bash a few years back. he said ‘don’t blush, baby’ or something to that effect and ways fined.
It is IPL which is bigger than World T20 that has boosted the morale of Indian cricketers. It not the money or the format but the high a player gets from appreciation after a good performance.
Second of course is getting a dressing room and coaches that are truly international.
Every country has decent T20 league. Willow shows most of them. Only one I have not seen is NZ league (and South African live). IPL does have more money but you see same faces everywhere (Watson, Maccullum, Bravo, Gayle – I call them cricket mercenaries ). PSL bowling is much better than IPL. Watch out for Afghanistan..they have very good T20 team. India problem is not bowling. it is batting which cannot do enough on fast wickets. Send this team again to South Africa and their fate will not been much different from current Pakistan tour of SA.
Performance at IPL remains the most exciting and awarding.
Likes of Rishabh Pant, Mayank Agarwal, Shan Kishan and many more become household names even before they got selected to play for India. Their performances are then tracked in Ranji, Duleep etc by the fans and selectors thereby making the entire process one of the best in the world.
IPL it is sir.
Pujara played for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the first three seasons of the IPL. In the 2011 players’ auction, he was bought by the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). He started for RCB for the fourth season of the IPL before injuring his knee in a match against Kochi Tuskers Kerala. The injury kept him out of action for nearly a year before he returned to domestic cricket at the end of 2011.
In the 2013–14 Ranji Trophy, he played a lone hand against Bengal at Eden Gardens in November as he scored 102, though his side was bowled out for a meagre 225 in response to Bengal’s 303. In the next match against Tamil Nadu at Chennai, he scored a mammoth 269, and struck a 353-run partnership with Jaydev Shah (195) to post a score of 581/6 in response to Tamil Nadu’s 565.
In 2014 IPL, Pujara began the season as Virender Sehwag’s opening partner and was left out after the first six matches in which he made 125 runs at an average of just 25 at a strike rate of 100.80. After having not been picked by any franchise for the 2015 IPL season, he signed for Yorkshire.
He was the leading run-scorer for Saurashtra in the 2017–18 Ranji Trophy, with 437 runs in four matches.
He became the 2nd fastest Indian to get to 1,000 Test runs, during the course of his double hundred against Australia in March 2013, at Hyderabad, where he put on a 370-run record 2nd wicket partnership with Murali Vijay. Only Vinod Kambli was faster.
Pujara is also the 12th fastest of all-time. In terms of the number of tests (11 matches), he joined the legendary Sunil Gavaskar for the quickest Indian to reach the mark. Pujara had a brilliant test series against Australia scoring 419 runs, only second to Murali Vijay’s 430 in which he slammed a double ton’s 204 and two half-centuries (52 and 82).
As Indian opener Virender Sehwag was struggling out of form, it provided the opportunity for Pujara who hit double and triple tons in successive Ranji trophy matches to prove his ability in shorter versions of the game, as he was selected in the 15 member squad for the ODI series against England, but was injured in practice. Following injury, he made his debut against Zimbabwe, scoring 9 runs
don’t think that Test specialist like Pujara can be unearthed from IPL. Need Ranji trophy to be strong for getting Talent like him. They can probably force each IPL team to select 2-3 India Test Players in auction. At least get an IPL contract without playing him.
i agree batting performances have declined. besides Pujara, only Kohli got a century in top 6 batters. I can understand Mayank being a newbie as well as Vihari. But Rahane? He played 7 innings despite a very important 70 in Adelaide, he should have delivered a century. Ditto for Rohit. Senior batsmen should learn to deliver
so why are India persisting with Rahane, Rohit? Surely, they are accountable to score centuries in difficult circumstances and tours? Even Jadeja in his limited chances got a higher score than these two underperforming Mumbaikars, forget Mayank
Continuing the discussion on how IPL picks talent for India.
From where does IPL pick the young talent from India?
Mostly from U19 WC. Most of the younger guys have got picked by IPL.
U19 WC performances:
India has won record 4 times. Max by any country.
2000: India’s Yuvraj Singh was named Man of the Series. India clinched the title for the first time under the captaincy of Mohammed Kaif.
2008: India under the leadership of Virat Kohli now india captain, after being bowled out for 159, emerged triumphant by 12 runs under the D/L method and were crowned champions for the second time.
2012: Captain Unmukt Chand played a match winning knock of 111* not out in 130 balls with the help of 6 sixes & 7 fours. Sandeep Sharma also excelled with four wickets under his belt.
2018: The Man of the match was awarded to Manjot Kalra, while player of the tournament was awarded to Shubman Gill. India now holds the most wins record in Under-19 World Cup.
====================
What happened to the performers of U19 WC 2018?
In Indian Premier League Auction 2018, Manjot Kalra was bought by the Delhi Daredevils.
In January 2018, Shubhman Gill was bought by the Kolkata Knight Riders for ₹1.8 crore (US$250,000) in the 2018 IPL auction.[13][14] He made his Twenty20 debut for Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2018 Indian Premier League on 14 April 2018.
Shubman Gill is the latest prodigy of India’s familial batting production line, whose shot-making has been compared to the likes of Virat Kohli, Joe Root, and Alastair Cook.
Via WA-
Naseer married to Ratna
Aamir married to Kiran
SRK married to Gauri
Fearing your wife cannot be blamed on your Country, It’s a Universal fact, issmey Sarkar kuch nahee kar saktee !!
Naseer opinion is just like us..one in billion. He is celebrity so it gets more clicks. He is no expert. Sachin Tendulkar doesn’t make a good cricket umpire or reviewer of movie 🙂
I agree with Naseer on Kohli..Kohli sometimes over does while expressing emotions on field. He is mostly okay expressing things off field. He quickly owned up his mistake in asking supporters of other teams to leave India. IMO these things should be left to politicians. But there is a thought (heard in Willow commentary) that whatever Kohli does, make people see and follow cricket. I guess I am getting old!! I like Dhonis version. You kill opposition with result.
On the movies…Master, Tony are in BO thread on opposite side. Here it is one sided !. Jay who is resident here wouldn’t comment.
and I don’t agree with Naseer on Kohli and am expressing my opinion as well as expressing my happiness at the way Bharat Cricket team is celebrating their win and singing Desh Bhakti Songs.
Re.-Master, Tony are in BO thread on opposite side.
Really don’t care, I have promised my self to indulge in political talk with ONLY likeminded people.
I don’t like Kohli and Shastri jodi commenting or advicing on Ashes like they are experts overnight. No need to be defining cricket after one historic series win. Hopefully England destroy Australia! 😛
I agree. I also do not like them equating this win with World cup ’83 and ’11 wins. This win is not even close to those achievements. A great win in test but let’s not hype the achievement.
Yep. World Cup (first ever) against the best side or World Cup on home turf is easily bigger achievement than this. You can only beat what’s in front of you and this is a poor batting unit for Australia and a good bowling unit by today’s standards.
i was thrilled with adelaide test win in 03-04 and managing to draw the series then. this test victory also has similar happiness though really thrilled with bumrah showing. i hope they manage his workload carefully, since he is a key player in white ball as well as red ball
The 03-04 is nearly as big achievement IMO. Consider the 2 teams, on paper it was one of the great test series I can remember. Bucknor pissed me off throughout…with Waugh’s retirement hanging over the series, Sachin’s loss of form, Dravid-Laxman batting an entire day AGAIN, Sehwag destroying Aussies in one day, Waugh having the final say, Tendulkar returning and scoring some 300 runs unanswered plus in the next match of his he hit 194 not out against Pakistan so I think it was some kind of record of nearly 500 test runs without losing his wicket. These were the days I could be bothered to watch cricket from midnight to morning.
There was no McGrath and Warne but still Australia had Lee, Gillespie, Bracken, MacGill. Hardly shabby! Probably better than today still! India had Chopra, Sehwag, Dravid, Tendulkar, Ganguly and Laxman as top 6. Frightening!
Kohli is better but Shastri is irritating; sounds ridiculous pontificating about strategy and hard work. I am pretty sure even Australian must have worked hard. I blame Aussie commentators who have made India team as beater of World class Australian team. Australia was already in decline and loss of two prolific batsmen have hit them hard.
Great Bong
Stop hating on Hardik & Rahul for saying Kohli is a better batsman than Sachin. Who would want to piss off their boss, seeing what happened to Kumble, I mean if his being a legend couldnt save him, what chances do two under-performing big-talking IPL-mein-world-famous-es have
They dont want to be cricketers but rock-stars, they dress and behave like that, and as far as that is concerned, KoffeeWithKaran is the right venue for them. https://t.co/9lRBJIkajb
Having seen enough of Kohli, IMO Sachin was much more technically sound player with more shots at disposal. But Kohli is more solid/reliable player within his range.
though pandya apologised, bcci should have a stringent code of conduct for the contracted players and ipl players. many youth worship our cricketers as heroes and racist and misogynist comments lead the youth to follow resulting in a rape culture. i ak glad vinod rai has issued a show cause notice to both to explain. the actual culprit is karan johar who himself is classless
Indian cricketers Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul were Wednesday issued show cause notices by the BCCI for their comments on women on a TV show that triggered a massive outrage and might prompt the Board to bar players from such appearances.
Pandya, whose remarks on a TV show were criticised as sexist, apologised for his remarks, saying he got “carried away by the nature” of the show. Rahul, on the other hand, has not yet responded to the criticism.
When asked why he didn’t ask women their name in a club, Pandya responded by saying, “I like to watch and observe how they (women) move. I’m little from the black side so I need to see how they move.” https://www.dnaindia.com/cricket/report-bcci-serves-showcause-notice-to-hardik-pandya-kl-rahul-for-comments-on-koffee-with-karan-2705935
There was boastfulness but it was par for show. He considers himself West Indian due to his complexion and mannerisms. Followed by these comments. Nothing wrong in portraying to be Casanova. Shastri did all this in 80s.
This season, Karan has got somewhat bold and asking sex questions. I am not sure when it is shown on TV. It should be in 11 O’clock slot.
I already have both for cricket (Willow) and soccer (Being)..
But saw Hotstar transmission was pixelated…My daughter complained that there are no subtitles..
“It Was A Great Effort”: Shoaib Akhtar Praises Virat Kohli’s Team India For Historic Win In Australia
Updated: 08 January 2019 09:18 IST
Shoaib Akhtar took to Twitter to praise Team India’s historic victory vs Australia on Monday.
Pujara moves to #3 in ICC test batsmen ranking behind Kohli at #1 and Williamson at #2. He jumps ahead of Steve Smith who is at #4 despite being absent due to his ban. Pant is at #17 ahead of Rahane at #22 and is the top ranked wicketkeeper batsman ahead of Bairstow at #20.
Australia’s batting lineup. Hayden, Langer, Ponting, Martyn, Katich, Waugh Gilchrist! It’s an extraordinary batting line up. Yes bowling not on paper as good but that batting line up vs indian attack back then which was mainly Khan, Nehra, Pathan and Kumble. Man for man India’s batting was better back then and Australia’s too (by a 50 billion % margin). India’s bowling is comparable and maybe Australia have a better bowling attack now but India had extraordinary batting line up itself back then.
Both sides are weaker today batting wise. India’s batting much weaker and Australia’s bowling is not that much stronger. The other KEY factor is Australia were the best back by a distance. Today Australia are not a patch, in fact it’s a terrible batting line up! The highest score was 79 and it’s a 100 year record Australia have beaten their! The records Australia have broken (the bad ones) tells a story itself that this is no longer the holy grail of test cricket.
So it’s a great achievement but not one of India’s greatest, even a drawn series against the absolute best side can constitute a big success.
Context of history is important too. Steve Waugh regularly said India was the final frontier for Australia so when India defeated Australia in 01, the rivalry was established. Considering England were Australia’s historic foes, it was a clear compliment to India and their exploits in 03 WC that India vs Australia became a huge test series (probably the most competitive one in that 5 year period). Of course in 04 Australia won in India eventually and those 3 back to back series were really crucial for India to give them confidence against Australia.
I’m dead certain if McGrath and Warne played India would have lost but you can only beat what’s in front of you. Lee, Gillespie, Bichel were all good bowlers. MacGill would have played fulltime if not for Warne. The batting line up need not be compared as even with Smith, Warner the 03 line up is WAY stronger.
i think ganguly’s men were best batting line up ever that India had. Sehwag, Dravid, Tendulkar, Ganguly, Laxman. only Pujara and Kohli can be compared to that line up. rest all fall well short.
Bang on.
However the outcome is Tests is loaded towards team having good bowling attack. I would take a better bowling team any day for test matches. In batting current Indian team is definitely not great barring Kohli, Pujara and occasional Rahane. However the lower order is doing good.
Sometimes true. I good batting lineup that scores 400+ regularly can always put pressure on opposition. Barring Kumble that’s what India had in these years between late 90’s and 10.
Ganguly started things. Then others took the batten and made merry. Ganguly laid a lot of foundations IMO, India certainly improved under him from being pushovers overseas to at least competitive.
No. Pace bowling then was not good enough. Zaheer had a lengthy career because there was no one else. Additionally, he was goood with old ball which resulted in wins at Nottingham.
I think with Srinath and later Zaheer + Kumble throughout…we had good bowling unit. Enough for our mighty batsmen to win every series. But alas, those never happened.
I hope BCCI strips Ajinkya Rahane of the Test vice captaincy and hands it over to a more deserving Pujara. This will show an appreciation to Pujara and a warning to Rahane, that he cannot take his place in the team for granted. That may propel both of them to do better. Rahane needs to get some hard runs from a 40/4 position. Runs got at 240/4 do not qualify as hard runs.
Rahane has very strong support from the Maharashtrian lobby who now rules from commentator’s box – Gavaskar has been actually fighting for some time when Rahane was not give his due.
Worth a read and how few slime-balls sneak out each time –
Hardik Pandya Has A Lot To Apologise For. What About Karan Johar?
“…..What of the smug and giggly Karan Johar, he who thrives on scandal and sensationalism? Could he have reined in this misogyny and vulgar display? Sure. But the filmmaker apparently had as much of a “blast” as the boys.
Johar on his show was like the IPL cheerleaders, egging on the boys to score. He was complicit in encouraging the cricketers to show utter disrespect to women; anything he says now after the furore will not count. This is the same man who had, as Me Too revelations exploded in India, apologised for objectifying women in the song ‘chikni chameli’. Guess what, Karan Johar, you actually succeeded in making ‘chikni chameli’ look respectable! Johar may yet apologise because when the going gets tough, the filmmaker backtracks and goes all meek. Until the next time.
Karan Johar should be in the dock, just like the cricketers, who have been issued notice by the cricket board BCCI partly in response to the public outcry. Are you telling me the board is unaware of the monsters it is breeding, as shallow as the T-20 game they play?
Andy Murray announces Australian Open 2019 could be his last tournament
Andy Murray revealed the upcoming Australian Open may be his final tournament. The former world No 1 has said he wants to bow out at Wimbledon but may not be able to continue beyond Melbourne.
A tearful Andy Murray announced the Australian Open could be his last tournament due to the hip injury that has derailed his career. The 31-year-old Murray revealed the target in the off-season was to make Wimbledon for a one last run at the home grand slam, where he ended the 77-year drought for British men, but now wasn’t sure he’d make it.
Andy Murray has shocked the tennis world by announcing that the upcoming Australian Open may be his final tournament. The former world No 1 has said he wants to bow out at Wimbledon this summer, but may not be able to continue beyond Melbourne. In an emotional press conference at Melbourne Park on Friday, when he had to leave the room briefly after his first attempt to get it started, and needed to pause several times to compose himself, Murray said he wasn’t sure how much longer he could play.
“I’m going to play (in Australia). I can still play to a level — not a level I’m happy playing at,” he said. “But also, it’s not just that. The pain is too much really,”
What’s KJo done wrong here?
Bcci is overreacting…the issue should be dealt with by the tv show or tv channel. I’m sure the indian cricket team say far worse in the locker room.
No one has anything wrong. Everyone is adult. If someone claims that he/she sleeps around and boast things, it may be morally wrong on compass but no garm done except that people will know that cricketers can be Chsanova. KL Rahul was subdued one and he is also getting stick.
You cannot fight your only employer otherwise they could easily be sued for wrongful suspension.
I don’t agree with comments as I think they can be deemed offensive but not so offensive to punish them with suspensions. Kohli coming out and condemning them is a JOKE. We are blokes, we know what blokes CAN be like in a locker room so this haughty behaviour from BCCI and Kohli is hypocrisy as they will have said stuff like this just not on TV.
Pandya is just stupid, should know better to keep such bedroom efforts to himself and not go on TV about it. BCCI and Kohli are just doing publicity for god knows what, probably as #metoo is flavour of the month so they feel compelled to condemn, name and shame as if they didn’t politically they themselves would be harrassed!
“I’m sure the indian cricket team say far worse in the locker room.”
So? Don’t you see the difference between locker room and National audience? What you can say in locker room, you are free to say for national audience? I really don’t think you get this issue at all.
I read about your punishment comments but you don’t understand that Suspension is actually not ‘the punishment’. Its for the inquiry that they are suspended and once that matter is reviewed in detail, they will melt out the punishment.
that is a kjo issue. not the first time he has been embroiled in a loud obscene talk issue. remember ranbir and arjun in the show be those comedians. kjo is the one who should be hung
Things just keep getting worse for Hardik Pandya. After being sent home from the ODI series against Australia due to his ‘sexist’ comments on Koffee with Karan, the all-rounder is set to miss out on a big endorsement deal, according to reports. The owners of a top-rated fitness brand have lost interest in Pandya after his remarks on the chat show.
Good article. I’ve met my fair share of brats. The smart ones have an enviable skill. It’s pretty simple and important trait for anyone. Self awareness…don’t take your accomplishments too seriously and certainly tailor your opinions to your audience. Pandya for one thinks all this stuff is important, for him he will soon realise being a professional cricketer which is what got him onto KWK is far more important.
OPINION | Kapil Dev: The greatest cricketer of all time
In whatever he did on the cricket field, Kapil was absolutely thrilling to watch. As a bowler, there was his smooth and accelerating run-up, the high action and the final jump, then the outswinger moving late and away to take the edge, with the occasional off cutter and sharp bouncer thrown in.
While the mightiest indian team ever led by Ganguly underachieved (please read few of my comments earlier) which raises doubts over overpraise he gets, I would give full marks to Kapil Dev for overachieving with a team which was never considered to achieve what it did.
Agree with Guha here.
I’m fine with Dhoni in the side but considering his skill and potential strike rate surely he can let loose more often. Feels like he wants to take the match to last over a lot.
Something for Virat and Ravi to address – India’s 4th innings score (whenever required to bat in final innings) in last 3 overseas Tests – 151@Centurion
135@Cape Town
140@Perth
162@Edgbaston
130@Lords (3rd innings, England won by innings)
184@Rose Bowl
345@Oval (Both Rahul and Pant scored 263 between them so rest including extras=82)
Dhoni like that is a must in Indian side. I would drop Rayudu or Karthik for Pant. Pant can be explosive and can be groomed via learning from Dhoni. That middle order is an issue. Happy with rest as can be.
drop rayadu for kedar and bat dhoni at 4.
for world cup
shikar
rohit
kohli
dhoni
jadhav
pandya (after fulfilling his ban)
jadeja
bhuvi
sami
kuldeep
bumrah
MS Dhoni’s Illegal Run Against Australia in 2nd ODI Goes Unnoticed, Sparks Debate Online
Footage of Dhoni not grounding his bat to complete a regulation single in the 45th over is going viral on Twitter.
Dhoni and Karthik’s performances may have ended Rishabh Pant’s chances of getting a game unless he comes in for a batsmen, said Tendulkar.
“You already have Karthik playing as a batter and you already have two wicket-keepers who have contributed to our success. They had that crucial partnership that won us the game. So, if you are looking to have Pant in the team that means you have to either remove a proper batter or remove a bowler and I don’t think you can afford to remove a bowler. So if he replaces a proper batter who doesn’t bowl then it is okay. But if he is going to replace an allrounder, that is going to cost us. One would want to encourage youngsters but we need to have that balance.”
He frustrates everyone…zampa last over he defended 5 balls and got run on last ball..Funny thing is that he no longer Dhoni who can hit any ball..he mistimes many shots..
The last WC, Dhawan was stupid in semi holing out at a crucial moment. Plus many totals were treated like T20 matches. Teams were prepared to be score low to keep wickets in hand and be explosive in last 15 overs. India I hope can play this way as an option.
to be honest, he’s not been dismissed fairly in this series. his only dismissal was in sydney given lbw to one pitched outside leg, but unfortunately rayadu had already used up india’s review.
The other plus of having Dhoni is simply the opposition won’t like it. They know what he can do on his best day so there will be an added fear element.
My side would be
Sharma
Dhawan (if he could be replaced I’d be happy)
Kohli
Dhoni
Jadhav
Pant
Jadeja or Pandya
Bhuvi
Kuldeep
Shami
Bumrah
I haven’t read article but Federer is supremely talented. Dhoni is good tactician and very average players. He uses his mind game to become better cricketer. There is no beauty in watching his version of cricket but results are most satisfying.
Hmmm. I think his WC final knock in 11 was one of the greatest knocks ever. He’s an audacious batsman when he plays without baggage. His earlier knocks is what I’d love to see more of.
I think most teams have figured him out…Like Finch put six fielders in circle because he is not good at finding gaps at start of innings and he is not going to take risks to hit over inner circle…This is his bane in terms of scoring rate.
He used to be more fluid in past but I see increasingly mistiming the shots..His fitness lvel is such that he can play for 2-3 more years easily but I want him to retire gracefully (he still gets most applaud when walking in to bat..any ground in India or outside) and pass the baton to a younger player.
I think really he should have considered retirement 2 years ago if he was going to pass on the baton. Basically Pant at 21 has arrived a year late to facilitate any handover. But Dhoni is still a force of sorts. He played 2 not out innings to win the series, I would love to see a belligerent crazy player but that has clearly gone or is used sparingly.
The exact moment when it hit him that he has become a villain isn’t known, but hours after India won the Test series in the first week of this year, Hardik Pandya was on a high about his now infamous chat with Karan Johar. Late to join the squad because of injury, he was talking about the talk-show to anyone who cared to listen — check out, the entire country is talking about me. Words to that effect. It was still in the ‘cool’ territory. Despite taking no part in India’s historic win over Australia, he had stayed in news. On Johar’s show, Koffee With Karan, as the talk-show host baited them with questions about women — the ones they had dated, had sex with, their favourite pick-up line — the 25-year-old Pandya and his teammate K L Rahul, 26, boasted about hooking up with multiple women and also how open they had been about it with their parents and family.
But what was perhaps more damaging was the rapid-fire segment on the show. Here, as Johar asks the two if they had “done it” in a teammate’s room, both Pandya and Rahul respond with a resounding “yes”. From there on, the answers keep lifting the iron curtain between the fans and their cricketing heroes, and Johar keeps pressing. He asks if they have “gone above and beyond to ‘connect’ with a fan after the match”, and, with Johar pushing him, Rahul replies: “Oh, that way? Yeah, I have.” He also goes on to talk about how he once partied till 5 am on the eve of an international game.
It was especially this part of the show that didn’t go down well with the team and the cricket administrators. For, it hinted at a disturbing team culture and also exposed the frailty of the wall around the players that anti-corruption officials keep talking about. Was it so easy for outsiders to sneak into the team hotel? Aren’t there curfew hours before a big game?
In 2017, the BCCI issued a players’ handbook titled ‘100 things every professional cricketer must know’ which was based on Justice R M Lodha’s recommendations. It covered a wide range of topics from fitness and diet, to media interactions and managing finances. Page 77 of the book titled ‘10 things about media interaction’ has a picture, ironically, of K L Rahul (see below), with a caption that says: “Before the interaction is to begin, one could think through a few difficult or ‘trick’ questions that could be asked and the answers one would like to give to them.” It also warns players about the motives of the interviewer: “You need to understand that a journalist could have a motive — to sensationalise or build a story that would be of commercial benefit to their organisation… You could simply say ‘That’s not something I want to talk about’ or ‘I have no comment to make about that’.” A blurb on the page has an M S Dhoni quote: “You have every right to ask me that. It’s your prerogative. But I have the right to not answer.”
phehlukwayo was iffy against Shadab at start of inning, but he played well..Dussen was good through out…
ps – Started watching around 80-5 and Rameez raza was gleeful in commentary.
I think commenting on the player’s mother is more derogatory but using kaaley will be considered racist in today’s age and time. It is racist but its pretty generic to say – gora for US/UK folks or Kaaley for Africa folks. If calling out kaaley is derogatory then saying someone gora should also be one!
the worst is when people of african origin are in india, little kids and uneducated run after that person mocking him as kalu. also shilpa shetty who won big brother on the basis of being a victim of racism later appeared on a tv program as an african
Pandya is back in ODI team, but if Shubman Gill performs in the next two matches that may be it for KL Rahul. Pandya did most of the loose talking in KWK, it wouldn’t be wrong to say his career has been screwed by Pandya loose talk
Yes. All seems practical given the weather, literally a miracle needed for either or both to be alive. Never understand why these small aircraft get used at all. Considering the Leicester City chairman died flying out of the stadium these are pointless deaths. FLY ON CHARTERED FLIGHTS. This is a horrible story.
77 all out. WI blew England away, great to see a feisty WI speed attack! England LOL. Need some openers – can’t have a team of wicketkeeper batsmen and allrounders and Anderson.
when will bcci embrace pink ball d/n test cricket? apparently they refused to have adelaide as pink ball test due to conditions in final session where the ball nips significantly. also we need to capture gabba, perth and sydney next time
Her jubilation was a marked contrast to Osaka’s maiden Slam win last year, when she tearfully hid her face as boos rang around Flushing Meadows in the wake of losing finalist Serena Williams’ tirade at the umpire. This time, Osaka cried with joy and smiled as she became the youngest woman to win back-to-back majors since Martina Hingis in 1998 and the youngest number one since Caroline Wozniacki in 2010.
Her gutsy performance confirms her status as the leading light of tennis’ new generation.
Big thrashing by Windies over the English. Looks like they got the wood over England after the amazing Headingley win with Shai Hope’s knock. True England won that series but this is a serious drubbing.
Disappointed with Windies showing in Bangladesh who present spinning dustbowls to aid their spinners and lucky to win the toss. Else Windies would have shown a better show probably taken one of the tests from Bangladeshis.
Irony is England played 2 spinners, dropped Broad (who could have made a big difference) only for Chase, a part time spinner to deliver 8 wickets in final innings! England obviously lost the test in 1 pathetic session on Day 2. They have underestimated WI and deserve the thrashing.
Djokovic to win. Federer looks likely to retire this season as he is playing clay court season and wanting to have a ‘bit of fun’. Djokovic looks back to his best. Next gen is gearing up but very difficult against Djokovic or Nadal. They will probably win all slams between themselves this year.
Demolished. Congrats to Serbians and all Djoker fans.
Amazing how Tennis keep throwing greats who rule for over a decade or so. I always wonder why can’t we have new players coming and winning every 2-3 years? Seems one who wins, keep winning till his body retires.
wow, Che Pujara walked in at 3 runs for 2 wickets. That escalated to 23/3.when Sheldon Jackson joined him. Together they added 214, Jackson scoring exactly 100 and Pujara 131 not out. Pujara stayed till the winning runs were scored and ensured Saurashtra won by 5 wickets
rubbish attitude by bengalaru crowd. they should be ashamed to brand a national hero in that manner. and he does not need to walk if umpire says not out. even on replay, one can’t be sure. maybe pujara didn’t hit it.
Dravid similar incident to Pujara. Both aren’t walkers.I guess Bengalaru crowd only jealous that Pujara has achieved success which Dravid has done before and will overtake Dravid with such knocks. Bengalaru venue should be banned from holding any Test matches henceforth
Not happy with the manner of victory: Nehwal after ending two-year badminton tour title drought
Nehwal won her first title on the Badminton World Federation tour since January 2017.
Saina Nehwal (right) consoling Carolina Marin after the later conceded the final due to a knee injury | ADEK BERRY / AFP
what a comeback from pandya. a brilliant catch of williamson, followed by 2 wickets in the middle order of kiwis. watch the spectacular air borne catch of pandya.
Supreme Court asks S Sreesanth why he didn’t inform BCCI about being approached for spot-fixing
The apex court observed that conduct of Sreesanth, who is facing life ban for his alleged involvement in the sensational spot-fixing scandal, in the entire episode was “not good”
Khurshid argued that as per allegations, Sreesanth was supposed to concede 14 runs in an over but he gave away 13 runs in that over which he bowled to “two of the best batsmen” — Adam Gilchrist and Shaun Marsh.
“At the worst, it could be said that I (Sreesanth) had the knowledge that somebody was trying to do fixing and I should have brought it to the notice of the authorities. If that is the case, the total ban could be up to five years,” he said.
13 is very near 14..Having seen him for 3 months on Bigg boss..he is smart and cunning..
There are always cases where guilt cannot be proven but that doesn’t make one innocent.
SATYAMSHOT
October 29, 2018 at 6:09 AM
Barcelona 5-1 Real Madrid: Julen Lopetegui hits rock bottom in Clasico
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/46012528
This could have been predicted from a mile away. I’m pretty sure I mentioned the logic of joining Madrid before WC would create incredible pressure on his Madrid job. Julen has been a disaster. With Zidane & Ronaldo gone, Madrid is in a mess.
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October 29, 2018 at 6:22 AM
yes saw this yesterday.. first time in a decade or more that neither Messi nor Ronaldo was part of it. And yes you did mention this a while back.
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October 29, 2018 at 1:29 PM
Saw second half..RM played well after break for 20 minutes (They could have been up 3-2). Marcelo was injured and Barca then went on attack mode after 70th.
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October 29, 2018 at 2:28 PM
They’ve been awful all season. Losing Zidane & Ronaldo has hurt them. They didn’t replace Ronaldo and they will have to spend a huge amount to get Neymar. They bet big on Bale this season but he is injury prone & not consistent as Ronaldo.
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October 29, 2018 at 10:59 AM
time for a new ‘galactico’ read neymar to join RM. papa perez has been eyeing for him from past few months.. what i read and hints at galore online the deal might be set up in summer ’19.
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October 29, 2018 at 12:24 PM
Time to drop Dhawan in favor of Rahul in the next ODI. Khaleel bowled well to answer some of his critics like me
Sharma, Rahul, Kohli, Rayadu, Jadhav, Dhoni, Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar, Kuldeep, Khaleel, Bumrah
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October 29, 2018 at 1:33 PM
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-46016290
The fairytale story with a tragic ending.
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October 29, 2018 at 8:05 PM
Huge win for India today. Where’s Saket?!
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October 30, 2018 at 2:20 AM
For those who can understand Hindi.
सचिन Vs विराट की बहस में देवांशु झा के इस लेख को पढ़ा जाना चाहिए। सहमति-असहमति अपनी जगह है लेकिन लेखन में लारा की बैटिंग की तरह का सौंदर्य है।
________________________________
तो सचिन विराट हो जाते….
मैं जानता हूं इस शीर्षक को पढ़कर कई सचिन प्रेमी लट्ठ लेकर मेरी तलाश में निकल पड़े होंगे । लेकिन क्या करूं समय कहां ठहरता है । एक वक्त ऐसा भी था जब सचिन के आउट होने पर खाना मेरे हलक से नीचे नहीं उतरता था । सचिन ने जीत के हर्ष से कहीं अधिक हार की विषण्णता हमें दी है । भले ही वे व्यक्तिगत प्रतिभा में बहुत आगे रहे हों पर पिच पर उनका शौर्य बहुत बिखरा हुआ है ।
सचिन और विराट की तुलना में सबसे बड़ा तर्क यह दिया जाता है कि सचिन ने दुनिया ने तमाम सूरमा गेंदबाजों को झेला। बल्कि यूं कहिए कि
उनके छक्के छुड़ा दिये( जो कि अपने मुंह मियां मिट्ठू होने से अधिक नहीं ) जबकि विराट कोहली तो बस देवांशु झा टाइप गेंदबाजों को मार रहे हैं । अब कोई गेंदबाज कहां होता है..!
मुझे याद है, एक समय सचिन ब्रैडमेन भी बन ही गए थे !! तुलना करने वालों के चरण धरने को मैं तब भी व्याकुल था, आज भी हूं । यहां भी तर्क यह कि सचिन ने तो धुरंधरों को खेला और ब्रैडमेन तो अंडर आर्म और पिच पर ऐसे ही गेंद घड़का देने वालों गेंदबाजों को मार मार कर अमर हो गए । दिलचस्प यह कि उतने ही फुद्दू गेंदबाजों को खेलते हुए उनका कोई समकालीन उनके आसपास तो क्या.. मीलों दूर तक नहीं दीखता । ब्रैडमैन एक किंवदंती हैं । उनके 29 शतकों में दैत्याकार शतकों का अंबार है । बारह दोहरे और दो तिहरे शतक । अपनी अंतिम पारी में वे चार रन से चूक गए.. चार रन और जोड़े होते तो औसत सौ का होता । बुद्धि की बलिहारी यह कि उनसे आधे औसत पर खड़े लोगों की तुलना होने लगी ।
एक वक्त जब सहवाग तीसरा तिहरा शतक जड़ने के मुहाने पर थे, तब भारत में उन्हें भी ब्रैडमैन घोषित कर ही दिया गया था । गोया, ब्रैडमेन कोई पावरोटी बेचने वाला हो । हुंह एक हुआ.. दूसरा न होगा !! आकलन करते हुए कभी उसका लाघव और प्राबल्य देखा क्या..?
कुछ ऐसा ही विराट कोहली के साथ हो रहा है । विराट की निरंतरता, पौरुष, संतुलन और युद्धकौशल अद्वितीय महारथी सरीखा है । मैं पूछना चाहता हूं कि जब दुनिया से महान गेंदबाजों की खेप चुक ही गई तो सभी विराट क्यों नहीं हो जाते..? क्यों नहीं विराट जैसे अविश्वसनीय औसत के साथ सभी रन बना रहे ?क्यों नहीं शतकों का अंबार लगा रहे, क्यों नहीं जीत के प्रति हमें विराट की ही तरह आश्वस्त कर रहे ? रोहित शर्मा में प्रतिभा कूट कूट कर भरी हुई लेकिन मैदान पर कार्यान्वयन कैसा है..या दुनिया का कोई दूसरा बल्लेबाज़ खोजकर ला दीजिए, जिसमें विराट जैसी निरंतरता हो । वह तो रोबो है, जिसकी प्रोग्रामिंग कर दी गई है । कोई आसपास है ही नहीं ।
सचिन अपने जीवन में विराट जैसा विश्वास तो कभी भर ही नहीं सके । उन्हें देखकर हम कभी यह संतोष न कर सके कि अब तो बेड़ा पार लगने ही वाला है क्योंकि शतक जमाने के साथ-साथ नौका डुबोने में भी उनका सानी नहीं था । पता चला कि सचिन के स्ट्रेट ड्राइव का सौन्दर्य देखकर अभी ताली बजा ही रहे थे कि अगली गेंद पर वे गली में गुम हो गए । सचिन के पास महान प्रतिभा थी । तूणीर में आग्नेयास्त्र से लेकर ब्रह्मास्त्र तक थे लेकिन शरक्षेप और निर्णायक रण में वे उनका संधान न कर पाते थे ।
अर्जुन और कर्ण महान धनुर्धर थे । दोनों की धनुर्विद्या का परिचय पाकर लोग वाह-वाह कर उठते थे पर दोनों महान योद्धा भी थे । रण में उतरते तो पराजय की छाया भी नहीं पड़ने देते । सचिन का निजी आवरण तो घना है लेकिन अपराजेय शूर का आलोक नहीं है । वे कभी भी बल्ला सौंप सकते थे । विराट में वो पौरुष है, भले ही सचिन के बल्ले से निकलने वाले शॉट्स सा सौन्दर्य ना हो ।
अब गेंदबाजों के मिथक पर आते हैं । यह एक विशुद्ध छायावाद है कि सचिन ने धुरंधर गेंदबाजों की बखिया उधेड़ दी । सबसे पहले पाकिस्तान। सचिन का डेब्यू 89 का है और 89 के बाद 99 तक भारत-पाक में कोई टेस्ट सीरीज नहीं हुई । दस वर्ष ! ये वो दस वर्ष हैं जब दुनिया भर के पिचों पर वसीम अकरम और वकार यूनुस की पदचाप सुनाई देती थी । सचिन ने इन दोनों को उनके यौवन के उफान पर झेला ही नहीं । इसके बावजूद टेस्ट में सचिन महान का पाकिस्तान के खिलाफ 37 का औसत है । हैरत तो यह कि अब तक हमारे प्रशंसक विश्वकप में शोएब अख्तर की गेंद पर एक छक्के से छूट ही नहीं पा रहे जबकि विराट कोहली ने पाकिस्तान के सभी गेंदबाजों की खबर ली है और लंबी-लंबी पारियां खेली हैं । यकीन ना हो तो पाकिस्तानियों से पूछ कर देख लो कि विराट और सचिन में किसे पवेलियन भेजना पहले पसंद करोगे..
सचिन ने ऑस्ट्रेलिया के खिलाफ़ उत्कृष्ट प्रदर्शन किया लेकिन उनके खाते में एक भी श्रृंखला ऐसी नहीं है, जिसमें उनका बल्ला शुरू से आखिर तक बोला हो । अपने करियर में उन्होंने एक सीरीज़ में सर्वाधिक 495 रन बनाए हैं । तीन शतक । दुनिया के धुरंधर टेस्ट बल्लेबाजों का आंकड़ा उठा कर देख लीजिए.. ब्रैडमैन से लेकर गावस्कर, लारा, पोन्टिंग..तक । इन सबों ने एक एक श्रृंखला में छह सौ.. सात सौ आठ सौ रन तक बनाए हैं । मारमार के भूस भर दिया है । लंबी लंबी पारियों के पर्वत खड़े कर दिये हैं । मगर सचिन के हिस्से में यह नहीं है । वन डे में उनका सबसे तेज़ सैकड़ा जिम्बाब्वे के खिलाफ है । हेनरी ओलंगा जैसे गरीब गेंदबाज के खिलाफ 70 गेंदों में शतक बनाया है उन्होंने । हालांकि, मैं यह कह कर उनके साथ अन्याय नहीं कर सकता कि उन्हें मारना नहीं आता था । दर्जनों पारियों में वे बीस-बीस गेंदें कम खेलकर शतक पूरा करते रहे ।
और यह गेंदबाजी का मिथक ही बेकार है । मैं कह सकता हूं कि गावस्कर ने दुनिया के सबसे महान गेंदबाजों को खेला । सचिन के दौर में मार्शल, होल्डिंग, क्राफ्ट, एंडी रॉबर्ट्स, गार्नर, लिली, थामसन नहीं थे । वेस्ट इंडीज के वॉल्श और एम्ब्रोज को सचिन ने खेला लेकिन बहुत कम । दोनों सचिन के शिखर काल में अपनी ढलान पर थे और रिटायर हो गए । दक्षिण अफ्रीका में डोनाल्ड को उन्होंने कभी डोमिनेट नहीं किया । औसत देख लीजिए । जब इंग्लैंड और ऑस्ट्रेलिया के खिलाफ रन बनाए तब कुछ अच्छे गेंदबाज थे । अगर दुनिया के श्रेष्ठ बल्लेबाज़ का तमगा पाया है तो श्रेष्ठ को झेलना भी होगा । पा्किस्तान के तेज गेंदबाजों को तो छोड़िए वे सकलैन मुश्ताक को भी कभी उस तरह से नहीं पढ़ सके जिस तरह से गावस्कर अपने समय के महान स्पिनर को पढ़ पाते थे । सचिन में आवेग है, प्रवाह है, प्रभा है, चमत्कार है पर धीरोदात्त नायक का स्थैर्य नहीं है । वह नहीं कि धनु धर लिया तो ध्वस्त कर ही लौटेंगे ।
सचिन हमारे गौरव हैं । लेकिन क्रिकेट के अंतिम हस्ताक्षर नहीं है । समय निरंतर आगे बढ़ता है और यह समय किसी और का है । निस्संदेह
वन डे का पहला दोहरा शतक उनके ही नाम है । उन्होंने एक दिवसीय मैचों में कई बार विजय दिलवाई लेकिन विराट इस मामले में उनसे बहुत आगे हैं । यह आदमी तो अविश्वसनीय प्रतीत होता है।
सचिन से भारतीय क्रिकेट का एक नया रूप खुलता है । सचिन एक सुंदर वृक्ष हैं, जिसमें भांति भांति के फूल खिले परंतु सचिन वटवृक्ष नहीं हैं, जिसकी छाया विस्तृत होती है..जो रौद्र धूप से तपे यात्रियों में छांह की आश्वस्ति भरता है । हर दौर के नायक का सम्मान होना चाहिए । मोह हमें बांधता है सचिन के मोह से मुक्त होकर देखना होगा । सचिन मेरे हमउम्र हैं, उनसे जैसा जुड़ाव था, वैसा विराट से नहीं है लेकिन विराट एक महारथी बल्लेबाज़ हैं । जब धनुष उठाते हैं तो विपक्ष को मूर्छा आ जाती है….
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October 30, 2018 at 10:36 AM
Among current players, the only one threatening Kohli’s marks is Hashim Amla, who has so far scored 7696 runs in 166 innings (169 matches); at the same point, Kohli had 7460 runs. Since then Kohli has increased his average from 52.90 to a giddying 59.90, so Amla – who is more than five years older – will do well to keep up.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/25124623/next-fastest-10000-odi-runs-virat-kohli
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October 30, 2018 at 10:40 AM
don’t think Amla will get there, specially given the age factor, but otherwise he seems to be keeping pace. But here’s another extract:
“Virat Kohli scorched past 10,000 runs in one-day internationals during his unbeaten 157 in the tied match against West Indies in Visakhapatnam last week. That was his 205th innings, in his 213th ODI. The next fastest to 10,000 was Sachin Tendulkar, who got there in his 259th innings (266th match). That means that Kohli could make ducks in his next 50 innings, and still have the most runs at that stage of an ODI career.”
So Kohli has 54 inning advantage over Sachin. But here’s the interesting thing. If you factor in Sachin’s promotion to opener (before this he was batting in the middle order and didn’t have the chance to score a huge number of runs) and when he right away made 82 in this role, you have more or less 55 innings. In other words that exact difference between the two. Now it could be that Kohli still scores more going forward but so far that difference accounts for Kohli’s lead as well.
Ha, this opens the door for Saket once more!
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October 30, 2018 at 11:59 AM
comparing an opener with a middle over batsman is wrong. case in point rohit sharma is a world beater as an opener. field restrictions, harder cherry, no wickets lost. middle overs need consolidation. even Sachin was not as successful in the middle
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October 30, 2018 at 12:39 PM
False. Statistically if you’re batting 3 or lower you will automatically have better chance to stay not out. That’s precisely why guys like Bevan and Dhoni have big averages, along with ABDV and Kohli.
The top 10 odi run scorers ever; Tendulkar (opener), Sangakharra (middle order), Ponting (middle order), Jayasuriya (opener), Jayawardena/Inzi/Kallis (middle order), Ganguly (opener), Dravid/Lara (middle order), Dilshan (opener). You only have to look at the all-time list to know the stats. A quick and dirty exercise on openers Vs middle order on these top 10;
Opening AVE 39 (4 above batsman)
Middle Order AVE 40 (6 above batsman)
Opening % Not Out 8%
Middle Order % Not Out 14%
So already the average is higher by virtue of better chances of not outs. This is already contaminated by the fact that Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dilshan didn’t always open.
And they will always face the best bowlers up front. In fact the longer they stay the greater the probability of facing the opponent’s best bowlers. It’s much more likely that a middle order batsman face weaker bowling.
It’s logical the first 10-15 overs best fast bowlers bowl. A team will persist with best bowlers till a wicket falls. Only then can they switch tactics but it depends on match scenario i.e bowl weaker bowlers.
The only stat that benefits the opener is strike rate. 84 (opener) Vs 77 (middle order).
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October 30, 2018 at 12:46 PM
Great comment..
But we’re still missing Saket’s rain of stats!
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October 30, 2018 at 12:53 PM
Why everyone wants to bat in the middle order
https://www.pitchvision.com/why-everyone-wants-to-bat-in-the-middle-order-and-what-to-do-about-it/#/
Opening suits those that evolve as specialists in that position.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/20655528/virat-kohli-there-sachin-tendulkar-viv-richards-odi-batsman
‘Run-scoring has become significantly easier in the middle overs, thanks to changes in ODI playing conditions, such as the use of two new balls and restrictions on field settings between overs 15 and 40, that have been tailormade to enable quicker scoring in this part of the innings. Improvement in cricket bats has also been a factor. All this explains, at least in part, the increase in century-making by middle-order ODI players.’
This Cricinfo article says a lot IMO.
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October 30, 2018 at 1:00 PM
If you wanted the best position to bat it would be 4. Enough time to make centuries, enough time to stay not out! Kohli proves both immaculately…
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October 30, 2018 at 1:07 PM
Out of Kohli’s 38 ODI centuries 14 are not out (37%).
Tendulkar’s got 15/49 (31%). This itself inflates an average in favour of Kohli by virtue of likelihood of being not out.
Of course it’s likely that Tendulkar’s are bigger scores as he bats for more overs.
But if you’re doing this properly you strip out some extremely important data like not outs which is unfair to Kohli. Either way you do get to Jeeves point that comparing opener to middle order has its own systematic issues.
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October 30, 2018 at 1:24 PM
and again the point I like to keep underlining is that Tendulkar still isn’t playing a position he’s naturally suited for when he opens. He’s prospered doing so of course but it’s still an improbable mix, batting at 4 in one format, opening in another. The other thing I’d say is that batting at 3 or 4 in ODIs if get in early enough (without there being a collapse at the very top) the openers have seen off the initial spell of the fast bowlers. When they then come in later (assuming the captain doesn’t try a different mix) towards the end the one down or two down batsman has settled down enough (if he lasts that long). So there are all these factors. for Sachin I’d argue that he might have scored even more batting a bit lower down. Yes he could score a lot in the first 15 (field placements) but as he grew older and therefore physically off-peak he still had to face some very fast bowlers with the new ball. Indeed the pitches got easier around this time as well offsetting some of this disadvantage but again had he batted at 3 or 4 he would in most situations still have had enough of a chance because earlier on the Indian opening wasn’t often great and later when it did become more dependable a lot more runs were also being scored (so batsmen a bit lower down would still need to add a fair bit). And then there’s of course the all important ‘not out’ factor you’ve mentioned. I’m not saying he’d definitely do better a bit lower down but a case can be made for this. Whereas if you’re at 5 or 6 there’s really not much of a chance specially given how India used to do in ODIs in that period. But either way taking 5 years to promote Tendulkar in ODIs was just crazy. When the man was doing so well in tests. And again to repeat your point for a number of years now the rule changes in ODIs have tilted things even more towards the batsman. So you have even more flat tracks than was traditionally the case in ODIs and you have these rule changes. By the way also much shorter boundaries on average. This move was already afoot earlier but it really has become something of a joke the last 10-15 years. Finally Sachin played most of his peak period on a very weak Indian team. Now again as he got older the support helped his numbers in many ways. On the other hand what would have numbers been like if he’d had the same earlier. Bradman and Richards played on what are commonly considered the two greatest teams in history. Ponting played on a team where Bradman wagered Sachin would have averaged 80 (even if you think this is something of an exaggeration, even if you took off 10 or 20 runs you still have a much higher average). Kohli also plays on a team where because of the pitches the other players are lions most of the team (until of course you get to SA or Eng.. though those teams also don’t bat well enough in those situations.. so you’re still not at a big disadvantage.. it’s not as if you’re doing 250 and they’re getting 400 regularly.. by the way this too in tests.. in ODIs you have the flattest tracks imaginable these days, irrespective of country).
In any case these two are numbers that one has to factor into the stats. Because on its own an average or a SR or even a boundary percentage cannot factor all of this in. There are too many factors. Contextualization is way more complicated in cricket than most other sports I can think of. All of this isn’t an argument ‘for’ Tendulkar in some ‘fan’ sense. Or the 90s. Nor is it ‘against’ Kohli. It’s about accounting for everything. And it is certainly an argument against a disease of presentism (not saying Saket is doing this) where every new ‘great’ talent is automatically called the greatest without accounting enough for all these factors. In fact a lot of times the stats are designed to feed such an industry (driven my corporate sponsors and the like, this is true elsewhere as well to greater or lesser degrees). if Kohli were greater than Sachin I would have no issues accepting it. I’d retain my affection for Sachin and accept the obvious. Much as I’ve retained my affection for Sampras without arguing against the idea that Federer is the greatest.
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December 11, 2018 at 1:28 AM
wondering how a certain Viv Richards would have fared as an ODI opener. Would have been a beast.
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November 7, 2018 at 2:59 PM
So Kohli has 54 inning advantage over Sachin. But here’s the interesting thing. If you factor in Sachin’s promotion to opener (before this he was batting in the middle order and didn’t have the chance to score a huge number of runs) and when he right away made 82 in this role, you have more or less 55 innings. In other words that exact difference between the two.
But then one also has to discount Kohli’s initial 2-3 years where he was finding his feet and compare the runs scored after that initial incubation period as well. That comparison isn’t going to be very flattering to Tendulkar either.
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November 7, 2018 at 4:16 PM
@ Saket… Tendulkar will have a greater incubation & retirement age period combined than any legendary ODI batsman ever? How do you propose to accommodate for this if at all? His career is extremely unique in this sense. Peak % years will always be lower than Kohli whichever way you look at it. His stats get penalised fairly or unfairly on this score amongst many other factors mentioned already.
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November 8, 2018 at 8:11 AM
The retirement period should be labelled as his fault, just like any other cricketer who perhaps overstayed his welcome.
I can certainly understand the slightly longer gestation period, given that he played lower down the order. One can certainly account for this. Start the comparison when he started opening in ODIs, for instance
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January 4, 2019 at 9:50 AM
no age discrimination, please
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December 18, 2018 at 3:16 AM
kane willimson ? steve smith? root?
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October 30, 2018 at 1:33 PM
Ganguly letter:
http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/25126224/sourav-ganguly
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October 30, 2018 at 1:35 PM
The missing link in Kohli’s ODI batting
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October 30, 2018 at 5:41 PM
http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/25126224/deep-sense-fear-worry-indian-cricket-sourav-ganguly
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October 30, 2018 at 5:52 PM
For Satyam and Jay:
Inflection Point
At the end of his 100th ODI, Rohit had scored 2480 runs, averaging 31.79, and had scored two centuries. In comparison, Tendulkar had 3146 runs at an average of 36.58, with four centuries.
Since then, Rohit’s average has increased rapidly, and is currently 47.37 with 21 centuries in 192 matches. At the same juncture, Tendulkar had 6872 runs at an average of 40.66 with 16 centuries. Since his 100th ODI, he has scored 4911 runs at an average of 62.96 and a strike rate of 96.71, with 19 centuries and as many fifties. Only Kohli has been more prolific, scoring 5692 runs at an average of 72.05 at a strike rate of 98.22, with 23 centuries and 25 fifties.
Currently, Rohit has 21 hundreds in 186 innings; only three batsmen have scored more centuries in 186 or fewer ODI innings.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/25126983/rohit-sharma-too-good-second
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October 31, 2018 at 3:39 AM
Mumbai’s most famous transplant from New Delhi
https://www.timesnownews.com/sports/cricket/article/watch-virat-kohlis-reaction-after-mumbai-crowd-chanted-anushka-anushka-during-4th-odi-at-brabourne-stadium/306825
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October 31, 2018 at 12:11 PM
https://sports.ndtv.com/india-vs-west-indies-2018/ms-dhoni-just-one-run-away-from-reaching-a-sensational-milestone-1940617?pfrom=home-topstories
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October 31, 2018 at 2:01 PM
LOL, a classic symptom of everything we’ve been debating recently!
http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/25126983/rohit-sharma-too-good-second
you can really make the stats do your bidding!
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October 31, 2018 at 2:18 PM
Was posted by myselfaamir yesterday. Statistics are there to prove a hypothesis. To me Sharma is to Ganguly what Kohli’s to Tendulkar. Only Kohli is pretty much on a par with Tendulkar. Must admit have looked at more cricket stats over last few days than in years. The guy who’s record surprised me the most is Sehwag. It’s not on a par with what popular perception is but in saying that I would pick him to partner Tendulkar over Ganguly. Sometimes reputation supercedes stats.
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October 31, 2018 at 2:28 PM
35 average and 15 centuries. When you think what Tendulkar did, Sehwag was way behind but I’d still have him in my side. He is a player who today who would make these attacks pay big time.
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October 31, 2018 at 2:33 PM
very true..
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October 31, 2018 at 2:54 PM
Rohit Sharma is more like Graeme Hick than Ganguly: a terrifyingly good player of mediocre bowling / on flat pitches
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October 31, 2018 at 3:05 PM
I actually feel sorry for Sharma. Is he really just a flat track bully? He is quite a silky smooth player and just hits 6’s for fun. Hick – come on give him someone better than him 😀
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October 31, 2018 at 4:45 PM
If ball is doing stuff he just cannot deal with it. We saw in South Africa; even the second T20 in England he was miserable. But when he scores he scores very big and his timing is probably the best.
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November 1, 2018 at 3:49 AM
I can’t recall him scoring on anything other than flat in ODIs. In Tests even there he will struggle if the attack is really good. He certainly has talent — remarkable consistency in the right conditions — but cannot be compared to Ganguly (who also was not a batsman for all seasons, but was enough of a fighter and had enough talent to get it done on a number of occasions, eg the test century in Brisbane in 2003. And of course he was dominant against spin).
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November 1, 2018 at 4:00 AM
Yes premature comparison to Ganguly purely on statistics. Ganguly was indeed a warrior in situations and Sharma bottles it a fair amount.
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November 1, 2018 at 4:06 AM
It is such a pity, because as you correctly note Rohit is gorgeous to watch. Great shots and timing. Aside: Ian Chappell feels that he would do well in Australia where it won’t swing as much, and because he has a good “horizontal shot” game. I am skeptical (Rohit I think lacks mental toughness, not talent) but obviously Ian C knows a thing or two about this stuff!
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November 7, 2018 at 1:30 PM
Rohit Sharma has a serious technical flaw in his batting. There’s a certain blind-zone in his batting because of his trigger movement that makes him vulnerable to both the inswing or the outswinging delivery. It doesn’t get too exposed on flat decks because he can trust the trajectory of the ball and play accordingly. When the ball moves, even slightly, his technique gets exposed.
Bowlers in IPL have been clever to target this — just look at the amount of LBWs and clean-bowled dismissals in the last two editions. In fact he had to move down the order to avoid this particular mode of dismissal as the ball swings a lot at the Wankhede, at least initially.
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November 7, 2018 at 1:38 PM
Very insightful comment Saket…
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November 7, 2018 at 1:59 PM
Thanks, Q!
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December 11, 2018 at 1:39 AM
Ganguly has an overseas debut century at Lord’s. Against a decent attack of Domnic Cork, Allan Mulally, Chris Lewis. Plus Dada was an useful bowler in English conditions
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October 31, 2018 at 4:43 PM
I don’t know how true this is!
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October 31, 2018 at 4:52 PM
Probably is true…and indirectly have been arguing this point. The bowlers Tendulkar faced are in a different stratosphere even if Kohli is in Tendulkar’s universe. Comparing Tendulkar’s stats to Kohli’s like for like is very flawed.
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October 31, 2018 at 6:03 PM
These are career ending wickets for the bowlers that faced Tendulkar so it is an unfair snapshot. If one were to figure out how many wickets these bowlers had when Tendulkar reached 10,000 runs it would be fair. I checked Murali only. So this caption is false in terms of timing or alternatively do the bowlers Kohli has faced stand a chance of reaching these kinds of wicket tallies? Seriously doubt it.
Murali and Akram alone have more than all those Kohli bowlers.
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October 31, 2018 at 6:45 PM
https://www.hindustantimes.com/cricket/the-sachin-tendulkar-virat-kohli-debate-numbers-paint-a-revealing-picture/story-S2gHRuQhZ2BAVhyj4EWWLK.html
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November 1, 2018 at 4:47 AM
Dravid joins an elite list that includes Bishan Singh Bedi, Kapil Dev, Gavaskar and Anil Kumble.
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November 1, 2018 at 9:21 PM
Where is GOAT Sachin ? Next will be Virat Kohli.
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November 2, 2018 at 12:49 AM
5 years from international retirement, they are inducted
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November 1, 2018 at 11:38 PM
There are certain rules. Amongst them, a player who has not taken in international tournaments for 5 years is considered for Hall of Fame provided he fulfills other requirements.
By that condition, Virat Kohli will not be eligible for another 5 or more years and he has to wait. Sachin maybe the next as the 5 year condition will be fulfilled within a couple of months.
Saurav Ganguly lost the honour it seems. And Dhoni will be waiting in the wings.
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November 5, 2018 at 12:13 AM
Get Krunal for WC XI
R Sharma
K Rahul
K Pandya
A Rayadu
V Kohli
K Jadhav
H Pandya
M Dhoni
R Jadeja
K Yadav
B Kumar
J Bumrah
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November 5, 2018 at 12:16 AM
R Sharma
A Rayadu
K Pandya
V Kohli
K Jadhav
H Pandya
M Dhoni
R Jadeja
K Yadav
B Kumar
J Bumrah
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November 7, 2018 at 10:08 AM
No excuse whatsoever for Kohli to respond this way:
https://sports.ndtv.com/cricket/virat-kohli-asks-a-cricket-lover-to-leave-india-faces-backlash-on-twitter-1944106?pfrom=home-topscroll
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November 7, 2018 at 11:35 AM
Virat shouldn’t mar his talent by speaking like a jackass: the audience of cricket fans is NOT the same as the usual imbeciles who clog up social media with all sorts of coarse behavior (glad he is being taken to task by so many Indian fans for this). And he isn’t even an ordinary player but the Indian captain (earlier also, in connection with an AIB interview, he had said very disrespectful things about Sri Lankan cricket, and how he considers it a holiday when they play Sri Lanka; I’ll leave aside the question of what the team has even achieved on his watch, with no major ODI or T20 tournament victories since Dhoni captained India to a Champions Trophy win in 2013; no overseas test series wins of any consequence; etc.), and he should realize that he is the custodian of the country’s image. This sort of crude rhetoric is unhelpful. Not to mention that it testifies to an un-democratic mindset — and we have seen plenty of evidence of that from his captaincy in recent times as well.
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November 7, 2018 at 11:55 AM
This is a classic exhibit for why I’ve never had any room for nationalism in my heart and mind. I’ll support sports teams for these reasons and be very invested in them but it doesn’t extend beyond this. I think one can be attached to the country one grows up in (which is different from one’s ‘native’ country in the more commonly understood sense..) without being ‘nationalistic’ in any easy way. Now of course it’s always difficult to separate these things because the discourses of nationalism mark everything else in all sorts of ways but still there are distinctions. Anyway I won’t repeat longer comments from the past on all this. But I’d even go so far as to say that those who grow up outside their ‘native’ (the country of their parents and ancestors) countries are in a privileged position. At least from my perspective. Because they grow up as ‘minorities’ one way or the other and even if they might be attached to these countries they can never take them for granted in the same way. A minimal distance keeps them away from all the cheapest nationalisms. Of course I’m not forgetting that there are always ‘natives’ in any country who too are ‘minorities’. Not just as a numerical matter but in a larger ideological sense. Native Americans (Indians!) in the US cannot ever fully belong to a state that is premised on the destruction of their culture. Or African Americans can never be less than skeptical about one also founded and nurtured on slavery for so long.
getting back to Kohli’s comment I guess he’d be upset if an Indian preferred a Hollywood movie to an Indian one. Presumably he’d be ok if a Tamilian preferred Murali Vijay to him [Kohli] for the same nativist reasons. I wonder what Kohli thinks about people who hold their weddings in Italy or honeymoon outside India.
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November 7, 2018 at 1:10 PM
I think he is trying to be funny..But then he is 30 year old ..I guess I probably would have been talking in similar way around that age…limelight and achievements don’t make you a mature person. Sometimes we expect too much from Alias, Sonams and Ranbirs of the world because they have achieved (or became famous) something so early in life…
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November 7, 2018 at 1:38 PM
For the same troll comment, my guess is, Dravid would have laughed it off in a self-deprecating manner. Tendulkar would have refused to say anything. Ganguly would have gone ballistic and the same probably goes for Laxman as well. Judging by their public responses over the years.
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November 7, 2018 at 1:45 PM
I saw Tendulkar’s episode in Breakfast with Champions..He has become more relaxed after retirement…liked his “Topi” comment in the show. Dravid has always been gentleman..we have seen hint of aggressiveness while playing in some adverse situation but mostly calm..He went to Pakistan dressing room to give pep talk when India’s U19 defeated Pakistan team comprehensively.
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November 7, 2018 at 3:00 PM
you’re right Saket… incidentally great you’re back!
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November 7, 2018 at 3:02 PM
Thanks, Satyam. It’s Diwali and a mini-break from work!
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November 7, 2018 at 3:03 PM
Unreasonably I don’t expect people to have other commitments!
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November 7, 2018 at 1:13 PM
It’s not as bad as it’s made out to be:
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November 7, 2018 at 1:17 PM
He got triggered by the line I prefer watching English or Australian batsmen than these INDIAN…that’s where he makes a weird face as well.
I think Kohli is light-years away from Dravid’s league as a gentleman cricketer, but he has displayed his liberal side in the past by befriending Mohd Aamir (or Afridi, for that matter). In fact he didn’t even directly criticize the latter after his remark on Kashmir.
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November 7, 2018 at 1:25 PM
The comment doesn’t come out right especially when he stops using cricketer and just using Indian..I also don’t think it makes him liberal because he is friends with Pakistani players; I have seen many right wingers have Muslim friends and vice versa.
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November 7, 2018 at 2:05 PM
Kohli was asked point-blank about Afridi’s comment regarding Kashmir. He avoided it by saying that his priorities lie with India but he wouldn’t comment further without knowing the full details.
That was a classy response. I think there’s a difference between Kohli on-field vs Kohli off-field. I vastly prefer the latter, even after comments like these, which aren’t all that bad to be honest.
I didn’t have a problem with Sehwag’s response to Gurmehar Kaur’s tweet either.
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November 7, 2018 at 3:03 PM
Kohli also went to that Muslim players house in Hyderabad (I forget his name) when the IPL season was on. He had a very traditional meal with him seated on the ground. The parents looked like very traditional types (let’s say the kinds Desai could have used for his Muslims!). Loved that move from him because precisely in contemporary India that was an important gesture. Of course it must also be said that there are liberals who nonetheless also indulge in nationalist platitudes.
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November 7, 2018 at 3:23 PM
It was Mohammed Siraj who also played for RCB. Yes, it was a great gesture from Kohli and also his other teammates.
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November 7, 2018 at 3:36 PM
Yes, Siraj.
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November 7, 2018 at 1:24 PM
I think that fellow needled him and Kohli reacted in the heat of the moment. The twitteratti always pounces and makes mountains out of molehills! Virat Kohli would not have meant it literally.
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November 7, 2018 at 1:30 PM
I hate twitter.
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November 7, 2018 at 1:41 PM
Twitter is an unfortunate invention.
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November 7, 2018 at 1:47 PM
It brings the real person out 🙂
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November 7, 2018 at 1:51 PM
Only if the person is real in the first place…
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November 8, 2018 at 9:14 AM
I guess trolling isn’t for me guys, I’ll stick to getting trolled! 😁 I spoke about how “these Indians” was mentioned in the comment and that’s all. I’m all for freedom of choice. 🙏 Keep it light guys and enjoy the festive season. Love and peace to all. ✌😊
Kohli responds
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November 8, 2018 at 9:18 AM
We seem to have reached the stage where manufacturing controversies has become an art form! A deviant one, but one nonetheless…
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November 8, 2018 at 9:43 AM
The far-left response? We seem to be living in interesting times!
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November 8, 2018 at 10:08 AM
And just to be clear, Kohli’s on-field shenanigans are much worse. The way he reacted to Joe Root’s mic-drop is one such instance. It’s a pity no one calls him out for that kind of boorish behavior. He comes across as an emotional fool on the cricket field.
In this instance, he tried to be a smartass. Turned out to be less smart, more ass, but surely, he didn’t deserve the kind of roasting he received from certain quarters.
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November 8, 2018 at 9:15 AM
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November 9, 2018 at 3:34 AM
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November 10, 2018 at 11:42 PM
https://indianexpress.com/article/express-sunday-eye/the-mahi-way-the-story-of-ms-dhoni-5439026/
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November 12, 2018 at 4:14 PM
Virat Kohli got emotional and lost control with fan: Viswanathan Anand
Viswanathan Anand felt that enough was written about it and it’s better not to pile anything more to it.
“I think he lost control. He got a bit emotional and he just said the first thing that came to his mind,” Anand, one of India’s greatest sporting icons, told PTI on the sidelines of the Tata Steel Chess here. “That’s the attitude he is comfortable with. In sport, you see all characters and this is the character that fits him best. “I try to be myself and in the end you should be comfortable in your own skin,” he added.
The 48-year-old chess icon, however, felt that enough was written about it and it’s better not to pile anything more to it. “Maybe Kohli was caught at a weak moment, feeling a bit sensitive and was not in the best mood maybe. That’s my impression. Then he lost control of it,” Anand said.
The soft-spoken Anand further said it’s natural to get emotional and that he too had lost it once in a while. “People are emotional and they lose control once in a while. It has happened to me even if I was more successful in not showing it. But there are moments when your emotions take over,” he said. “He has got enough criticism already. It’s over. Those who did not like it, already criticised him so no need to keep piling on it.”
https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/virat-kohli-got-emotional-and-lost-control-with-fan-viswanathan-anand-5442984/
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November 12, 2018 at 6:09 PM
A very relevant piece:
http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/25252599/hey-virat-captain-indian-cricket-team-not-captain-india
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November 15, 2018 at 12:12 PM
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/46226756
Will Federer do it? Surely he can’t mess up here.
I have tickets to the ATP tour world final on Sunday 😀
And I will absolutely be mortified if I don’t get to watch either Federer or Djokovic. In the ideal world it would be them in the final. But they might face each other in semi so at least that guarantees one in the final. Federer just needs one set today.
Come on Federer!!!!
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November 15, 2018 at 4:40 PM
Anyway Federer won 2-0 so very likely to avoid Djokovic. I just hope these 2 don’t pull a TOH on me and leave me an Anderson Vs Cilic/Zverev final on Sunday. My first ever tennis match live could be Federer Vs Djokovic in a final with FedEx chasing his 💯!
Hopefully the old men don’t let me down now in the semi’s.
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November 16, 2018 at 6:03 PM
Joe Root scored a century in Sri Lanka!
Feel good for him; Very nice bloke.
I quite like Kane Williamson as well.
The Fab Four is still a reality!
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November 16, 2018 at 6:05 PM
This is a good test match…
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November 16, 2018 at 6:06 PM
England have a shot at creating history!
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November 17, 2018 at 3:34 AM
Very interesting match. Sri Lanka are fighting back, England still favourites though
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November 19, 2018 at 2:29 AM
Well i didn’t get to see Federer live but maybe I watched the next big thing absolutely destroy Djokovic. Zverev was absolutely scintillating and what a charming character on the mic. Fans were horrible to him on Saturday but here the crowd ate him up. He’s got the game to dominate but can he do it over 5 sets?
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November 19, 2018 at 6:27 AM
NZ defeat Pak by 4 runs when it seemed Pakistan were certain to win in low scoring match.
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November 21, 2018 at 5:47 AM
Flat-pitch champion Sharma goes at 7: Was really struggling. Dhavan seems to be getting back his groove..
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November 21, 2018 at 6:03 AM
LOL Dhawan really cracking it..On the other hand, a BIG LOL at teh stumping fiasco – Carey hitting the stumps before the ballis in his hands ; and the Aussies went for DRS!!
Now, next ball, Rahul is out! and Again they used he 3rd umpire!!!
Great comedy of errors..
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November 21, 2018 at 6:22 AM
India making this closer than it should be…
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November 28, 2018 at 8:01 AM
Mithali Raj controversy.
https://scroll.in/field/903669/numbers-game-mithali-raj-does-struggle-in-t20is-but-there-is-still-a-place-for-her-in-indias-squad
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November 28, 2018 at 8:32 AM
I don’t know much about women’s cricket to comment on this. But I did watch Smriti Mandhana smash 83 runs of 50 odd balls in the game against Australia. I was gobsmacked watching her utterly dismantle the opposition. She hit some huge sixes. Very elegant to watch too!
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November 29, 2018 at 6:19 AM
https://sports.ndtv.com/australia-vs-india-2018-19/india-vs-australia-virat-kohli-stunned-by-australian-teenager-aaron-hardie-watch-1955250?pfrom=home-lateststories
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November 30, 2018 at 12:51 AM
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/news/ramesh-powar-may-pay-price-for-mithali-raj-face-off/articleshow/66875020.cms
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December 2, 2018 at 3:50 AM
Anyway I missed Wilder vs Fury, but seems an outrageous classic boxing match that ended dubiously in a draw.
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December 4, 2018 at 3:37 AM
Luka Modric won the Ballon D’or last night breaking the Ronaldo/Messi monopoly after 10 years!
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December 4, 2018 at 12:26 PM
This is awesome to watch with sound
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December 5, 2018 at 11:41 PM
Another poor start for the Indian batting on an away tour.
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December 6, 2018 at 3:07 AM
https://twitter.com/fwildecricket/status/1070582567345127424
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December 6, 2018 at 3:56 AM
Pujara the indian tiger! But this is a poor start from India. Winning the toss and batting, got to score 300+.
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December 6, 2018 at 11:23 AM
Indian batting has run out of excuses….they just cannot deal with outside the off stump balls.
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December 10, 2018 at 6:03 AM
Pujara is truly undervalued by current management. Read this old article whis is more relevant after his Adelaide heroics and MoM to understand his true worth
http://www.thecricketmonthly.com/story/1107835/long-live-the-chesistance
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December 10, 2018 at 6:15 AM
I saw a stat somewhere that Pujara met milestones of Dravid 3000,4000 and 5000 runs in same # of innings. That’s some coincidence if true. Pujara is grossly underrated, he must bat for India as he is a proper test batsman.
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December 10, 2018 at 8:54 AM
Yes its true..But overseas Pujara is just now picking up
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December 10, 2018 at 11:27 AM
so pujara = dravid, kohli = srt, rahane = laxman, ashwin = offspinning kumble, shaw = sehwag, jadeja = lefty bhajji, rohit = ??
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December 10, 2018 at 6:22 PM
I can hazard a guess: had Kumble been the coach we would have seen greater consistency and runs from Pujara.
This current management has picked Rohit Sharma over him! They have dropped him for not showing enough intent, whatever the hell that means.
And even after winning MoM in this test, he could still very well be replaced by Rohit Sharma when the team management feels it’s appropriate.
It’s a sick joke that doesn’t seem to end…for Pujara!
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December 11, 2018 at 1:33 AM
I must have missed the comments for why Pujara has been dropped before. Test cricketer key character is not intent IMO. That is more for T20. Surely in test cricket it’s reliability or something like that! Not every test cricketer can have an X factor like Kohli or Sehwag.
Pujara is a proper test batsman, surely India can afford one position for him!
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December 11, 2018 at 1:46 AM
Ganguly has an overseas debut century at Lord’s. Against a decent attack of Domnic Cork, Allan Mulally, Chris Lewis. Plus Dada was an useful bowler in English conditions
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December 11, 2018 at 4:16 AM
read somewhere that rohit is selected in the team as he can change the game in a session. i would say he does in a ball by getting out. his 3 centuries have come at home on flat tracks againsy genuinely weak attacks. suresh raina 2.0??
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December 12, 2018 at 1:15 AM
http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/25509645/
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January 19, 2021 at 5:19 AM
redux!
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December 8, 2018 at 12:06 AM
If India can’t win from here I’ll be very annoyed!
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December 8, 2018 at 12:49 AM
Currently lead by 98; Kohli needs to make this his day and ensure a win…Pujara could help too with his form…
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December 8, 2018 at 4:01 AM
It’s sizeable now. If they can bat 2 more sessions for a 350 lead they would do well to lose from there!
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December 8, 2018 at 7:47 PM
India are doing well…
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December 9, 2018 at 2:22 AM
93/4 Australia. Had India made around 50 runs more, the fate would have been sealed. Still, they are doing well. Hopefully we will win. Draw is ruled out. Result is guaranteed…
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December 9, 2018 at 3:04 AM
India look good for a win here!!!!
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December 10, 2018 at 3:28 AM
On the wire!! What a thrilling test match! And THIS’S why test match is the most exciting and purest form..Until Shaun Marsh was at the crease, it was in doldrums. [He has batted out the fifth day in Dubai.] Once he’s gone, it was kind of sealed…
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December 10, 2018 at 3:34 AM
Cracking result. India really surprised here, usually they start slow. Anyway it’s always a good day when Australia lose!
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December 8, 2018 at 4:48 AM
3 Cheers for Kanos (Kane Williamson). Cometh the hour, cometh the man. What a performance in the final test.
Possibly the most stylish batsman out of the Fab 4!
For me, he’s the true reincarnation of Rahul Dravid in modern day cricket. May his breed live long and remain strong…!
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December 10, 2018 at 6:53 PM
Had been following the series (or whatever Willow shows)..NZ has more balanced side.
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December 10, 2018 at 3:48 AM
LOL!
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December 10, 2018 at 11:32 AM
please drop no hit sharma and give vihari another test chance. is rohit getting selected because he shares same last name as the captain’s beau?
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December 10, 2018 at 1:05 PM
Indian batting is always suspect on bouncy and fast pitches..It is just that Australia batting has weakened otherwise they would have been easily winning the series. Their bowling is still potent. Tail enders gave scare yesterday..I have said in past coach and captain are clueless on how to deal with them..thet lost two tests in England precisely because of that..And the guy with “no intent” is winning test match for you!
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December 10, 2018 at 6:28 PM
Rohit Sharma keeps on getting selected because no one has the balls to stand up to Kohli. Simple as. Not the selectors, not the BCCI and certainly not the CoA. He’s a law onto himself.
He doesn’t like the coach — the coach gets replaced. He doesn’t like a player, that player can’t play for India. Even if he has an average of 50! Just ask Pujara.
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December 12, 2018 at 9:12 AM
yes, Shastri had his b@11$ in his mouth on Monday after the Aussie lower order heroics
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December 17, 2018 at 7:40 AM
Defeat looms large at Perth. Drop the openers, get back Hardik for next match – Mayank Agrawal, Hunama Vihari, Pujara, Kohli, Rahane, Pandya, Pant, Ashwin/ Jadeja instead of Umesh, Ishant, Bumrah, Shami for next test. Unfortunately, Shaw will not be fit
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December 27, 2018 at 2:41 AM
scratchy 63* by Rohit. Hardik would have been a better option and scored more quickly at 6. He can also bowl as 5th bowler/4th seamer
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December 27, 2018 at 3:46 AM
India at a minimum should have ensured a draw here. Hopefully Aussies have 1 or 2 bad sessions. The series is familiar to 03-04. India took a lead that time too and had chances in final test to win in Waugh’s final test.
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December 27, 2018 at 1:49 PM
openers were good then in sehwag and chopra, and no useless player like rohit in the team
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December 28, 2018 at 12:27 AM
Woohoo! Aussies had a shitty day! India going to win! Bat till halfway through 2nd session tomorrow and it’s in the bag.
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December 28, 2018 at 9:10 AM
you think at 54/5, India does not have much batting coming to play out 40-50 overs. Both Rohit and Jinx have been passengers so far in the series
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December 28, 2018 at 10:50 PM
selection of no hit sharma also a blot on his leadership. could not play 5 bowlers as a result in form of hardik, so that follow on must have got him worried
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December 29, 2018 at 12:41 AM
Please use proper name.
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December 29, 2018 at 2:23 AM
can we exchange rohit and ajinkya for cummins? surely the two batsmen are nothing more than passengers on this tour ..
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December 30, 2018 at 9:33 PM
yipeee, rohit will miss next match at the SCG due to birth of baby girl. will not miss his non existent batting there.
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December 30, 2018 at 9:39 PM
Mayank, Vihari, Pujara, Kohli, Ajinkya, Pandya, Pant, Jadeja, Kuldeep, Bhuvaneshwar, Ashwin (if fit else Umesh) for Sydney please considering a spinning track.
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December 30, 2018 at 10:30 PM
This gives the pace trio of Bumrah, Shami, Sharma some well earned rest. And also chance to test the remaining players in a live rubber.
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December 11, 2018 at 2:38 AM
http://www.espncricinfo.com/video/clip/_/id/5c0f3e4fca84b72d1bb3776c
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December 12, 2018 at 6:15 AM
Sir Viv Richards answering 25 questions:
http://www.espncricinfo.com/25/content/story/1168452.html
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December 12, 2018 at 11:54 PM
Rohit and Ashwin faking injuries after poor show at Adelaide?
http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/25521885/r-ashwin-rohit-sharma-ruled-second-test
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December 15, 2018 at 7:13 AM
How was Ashwin a ‘poor show’ at Adelaide where he scored 25 very crucial runs and forged an important partnership with Pujara which ultimately proved to be the difference in India winning the match!! As a bowler, he was the best of the lot as he not only took vital wickets but also kept it very tight without giving away any easy runs returning with figures of 6 for 149 in 87 overs. He was just behind Pujara in terms of overall impact on the game tilting it in India’s favour.
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December 17, 2018 at 7:42 AM
Look at Lyons numbers at Adelaide
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December 17, 2018 at 3:39 PM
And how many did ‘Lyon’ pick in the first test?? He returned with 8 for 205 in 70 overs, his average was more, economy almost twice than that of Ashwin!! And Lyon is playing at home while Ashwin away in the very first test match of the series trying to acclimatise himself, btw you didn’t mention or hint Virat’s failure in the first test match at all??
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December 17, 2018 at 10:56 PM
Lyon has performed well in India last time around. Also did well in UAE. Not like Ashwin who is an one trick pony
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December 15, 2018 at 12:29 AM
Huge test now for Pujara and Kohli. Openers for India are atrocious, Australia are on fire.
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December 15, 2018 at 12:38 AM
Truly; and this is supposed to be Australia’s B team..
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December 15, 2018 at 1:06 AM
Anyway #3 & #4 are doing opener duties today, seeing off new ball. Maybe #5 & #6 will do the job of #3 & #4. If we go full circle, the tail will wag and everything will work out. This is Ravi Shastri’s strategy I think.
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December 15, 2018 at 5:04 AM
Pretty even test match. Hopefully India can pass Australia’s 1st innings score and get a lead.
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December 15, 2018 at 2:34 PM
time has come for vijay to go out of the team. his replacement will b shaw.. n kl rahul though talented need a kick in his ass to keep on ruining his own chances. he seems lost in middle as to play aggressive or defensive… indecisive fellow in a test will do more harm than good… either b shehwag or dravid.. pandya is missed here..
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December 17, 2018 at 9:41 AM
shaw is out for the entire australia test tour
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December 15, 2018 at 7:25 AM
P V Sindhu is playing phenomenally well as she has enteted into the finals of BFW World tournament without losing a match and defeating world No. 1 Tai in the group matches.
https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/badminton/bwf-world-tour-finals-pv-sindhu-sameer-verma-semifinals-5495036/
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December 16, 2018 at 5:10 AM
She has WON !!!
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December 16, 2018 at 8:50 AM
Yes, the first one from India to have won this tournament, truly a spectacular feat!! Feeling very proud the way she played in the tournament without losing a single match, she along with Saina has brought this game close to the Indian public in a big way, not to forget Sameer Verma’s valiant effort in the semifinal losing it from the match point unfortunately!! But nonetheless amazing display from these two:
https://sports.ndtv.com/badminton/pv-sindhu-scripts-history-becomes-1st-indian-to-win-bwf-world-tour-finals-1963332?akamai-rum=off
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December 16, 2018 at 12:51 AM
Trail by 43 runs. A dramatic collapse from India. I am not sure what to expect from them in the world cup.
Lyon and Kohli are the stars…
How one misses the trio of Tendulkar, Dravid, and Laxman…Men of steel..
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December 16, 2018 at 1:29 AM
Having said that, Bumrah and Sharma are really bowling well..very disciplined…unlucky they are not getting wickets…
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December 16, 2018 at 2:20 AM
And what a stunningly bad decision on Virat!! The ball was clearly on the ground!!!!This was on the grounds of..well, I don’t want to name the country..but you know where I am heading at..
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December 16, 2018 at 2:42 AM
Harris gone: Bumrah gets him for 20, finally!!
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December 16, 2018 at 2:59 AM
Stupendous! Shaun Marsh gone!! Aussie 2 down…
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December 16, 2018 at 3:13 AM
Australia in the box seat here. A lead of 250 will be enough. I can’t believe India don’t have a spinner.
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December 16, 2018 at 3:21 AM
3 down…
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December 16, 2018 at 5:01 AM
Australia have won the 3rd day. India need these 6 wickets quick, hopefully they don’t have to chase much more than 250, at least they are in the game. Feels similar to last test now just reversed.
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December 16, 2018 at 3:16 AM
I haven’t seen it but it mostly depend upon soft signal..which IMO is wrong way to prejudge..The ground umpire obviously have no clue from that distance so they have no business giving soft signal…It should be left to third umpire..Also the no of frames are not enough to figure if fingers are indeed below the ball…
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December 16, 2018 at 3:22 AM
look at the replays . It’s pretty disgusting. It’s so crystal-clear; even a blind person would have ruled it not out…
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December 17, 2018 at 3:07 AM
I saw the video and it is not out..the fingers are fully stretched and visible. No way portions of finger could cover all ball to scoop.
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December 17, 2018 at 7:47 AM
Sachin, Sehwag, Ganguly, Yuvi, Raina could bowl fairly. While the first three were better than anyone in current lineup purely as a batsmen, our current batsmen think they can hold their place with limited skill?
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December 17, 2018 at 5:09 AM
Looks like Australia will level the series. Can’t see India surviving past lunch tomorrow.
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December 17, 2018 at 5:13 AM
agree. India bowled really well.
I guess the tail bats better in home condition and usually they are the difference in the final tally. This time too they played well for Aus.
1-1. over to Boxing day test. Will be at the stadium.
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December 17, 2018 at 5:24 AM
You going to Melbourne?
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December 17, 2018 at 3:47 PM
yeah…will be in Oz for the holidays.
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December 17, 2018 at 4:01 PM
That’s great Naveen!! Have a wonderful time.
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December 17, 2018 at 4:50 PM
Enjoy. If I spot a fan with a ‘I love Akshay Kumar’ poster I know who it will be 😀
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December 18, 2018 at 12:05 AM
he would be carrying a placard,that says “Akshay should be skipper instead of Virat”
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December 17, 2018 at 5:47 AM
Lyon has been bigger nemesis than fast bowlers..
We gave too many runs to tailenders..
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December 17, 2018 at 6:09 AM
It’s a sin not to pick a spinner. Obviously Ashwin was not available but surely Jadeja?
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December 17, 2018 at 9:47 AM
Kuldeep?
This will be Paine’s first Test win since taking over as skipper after the ball tampering scandal
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December 17, 2018 at 3:48 PM
NEW DELHI: Actor Naseeruddin Shah has triggered a controversy by calling Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli ‘world’s worst behaved player’, even as he called him the world’s best batsman in a Facebook post. Shah’s remark came in the wake of Kohli’s last month social media video in which he asked a fan to leave India.
Kohli slammed a fan who said that he liked watching English and Australian batsmen more than the current Indian players after which he had faced a backlash on social media.
Taking to Facebook, the actor wrote: “Virat K is not only the worlds best batsman but also the worlds worst behaved player. His cricketing brilliance pales beside his arrogance and bad manners.. And I have no intention of leaving the country by the way”
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December 17, 2018 at 3:51 PM
Too harsh on Kohli. Somewhere Kohli’s aggression, quite common in other team sports, gets misconstrued as arrogance. But Shah has a point.
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December 17, 2018 at 4:25 PM
I am in complete agreement with Nasseruddin Shah as his on field shenanigans leave a bad taste despite his outstanding batsmanship. Though many call it aggression, I’d differ and call his on field over the top & unnecessary as his shouting & abuse-hurling at the drop of the hat in no way helps his team’s cause but rather it distracts his own team by putting an additional pressure on them. Sachin is Sachin not only because of his batting but also due to his behaviour & Ganguly was the harbinger who introduced aggression into Indian team but it was never in your face and so over the top all the time. Most of the times Virat’s actions are cringeworthy without any reason.
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December 17, 2018 at 4:33 PM
I agree a lot. I’ve read some of what has been said and Kohli has an ego for sure. It’s better to sledge if you’re winning. India are losing here and he looks foolish.
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December 17, 2018 at 4:57 PM
I’d also like to talk about how his behaviour must be messing up with a lot of youngsters impressionable minds as he is on the top of his game breaking records right left and center, making him the role model in their eyes but also making them prone to emulating his boorish behaviour as some sort of ‘model code of conduct’ which is very detrimental to them and to the game as well.
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December 17, 2018 at 5:28 PM
I think Kohli plays a lot of mind games and backs it up on field as well with his performance. It’s a different matter that India lost Perth but it was surely not a submissive performance despite poor form of opening batsmen and lack of a spinner.
Kohli does over do things sometimes but calling him worst behaved cricketer is harsh. I like his aggression and think he brings a lot of character via his emotions.
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December 17, 2018 at 6:32 PM
Virat Kohli is a better player than Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting, say Michael Vaughan
Former England captain Michael Vaughan has come forward and declared that Virat is the best batsman he has ever seen.
“I have not seen a better player (than Kohli),” Vaughan told Fox Sports.
“I’m not disrespecting Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara or Ricky Ponting but across three formats of the game I have not seen anyone better.”
“He has such high skill levels and an incredible mentality when it comes to dealing with the pressure of the chase. All that while dealing with a weight of expectation and adulation that only Sachin would have experienced.”
Virat Kohli is recognised as the best batsman in the world right now. There was a debate with Steve Smith as to who was the better Test cricketer but after Smith’s ban but that debate died a natural death. There was talk with Ab de Villiers as to who is the best limited-overs batsman but that debate also came to an end after de Villiers’ retirement. Virat is a constant whenever a there is a talk of the best batsman in the world.
He proved his masterclass again when he scored his 25th Test Century in the first innings of the second Test against Australia in Perth. He is really used to breaking records by now but with that hundred, Virat broke some more records. With his sixth century in Australia, Virat tied with Sachin Tendulkar as the overseas player with most hundreds in Australia.
https://www.timesnownews.com/sports/cricket/article/virat-kohli-is-a-better-player-than-sachin-tendulkar-brian-lara-and-ricky-ponting-say-michael-vaughan/332039
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December 18, 2018 at 1:31 AM
Wake me up when Vaughan is Bradman.
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December 18, 2018 at 5:36 AM
I think Vaughn is talking with vaseline applied to his head,,,
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/31/michael-vaughan-twitter-vaseline
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December 17, 2018 at 11:03 PM
Please drop Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Umesh for next Test. Get Mayank Agrawal, Hardik Pandya, Ashwin/Jadeja instead
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December 18, 2018 at 5:16 AM
Fyi Jose Mourinho sacked by Manchester United! Good riddance to someone who has become a shadow of what he once was.
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December 19, 2018 at 12:04 AM
Potentially bad news for Spurs fans 😉
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December 19, 2018 at 12:13 AM
I hope not. Pochettino will be favourite but with a new stadium, better position in league, greater likelihood of CL football next season I hope he stays…But I have a feeling his time at Spurs is coming to an end soon.
United will go for him but Levy will charge a premium for sure.
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December 20, 2018 at 5:57 PM
For you JC, awkward press conference! Pochettino looks like he knows what is coming for him 😀
If he goes I hope Eddie Howe is the new Spurs boss.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/football/46639155
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December 26, 2018 at 6:34 AM
Well he was able to resist Real Madrid last year so you never know. The English press seems convinced though. I wonder what United will do if Solskjaer kills it in these 6 months.
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December 26, 2018 at 6:57 AM
I’ve had this discussion a lot with non spurs fan and spurs ones. I keep changing my own mind! If this was 2013, it’s a no brainer! Spurs are in a fantastic situation now, United aren’t and he can really achieve something at Spurs. I’ve heard from one that if the naming rights get sold for circa £200mm that will be given to Pochettino. It’s Levy’s 2nd priority after completing stadium. Then a potential equity raise could be used to pay down debt or again for Pochettino. These guys hopefully are in the know.
One of our loans is/was the loan to Glazers for Manchester United! So we have to be football experts at work! Manchester United absolutely have to get it right sooner or later and I think Poch is their best bet but Levy holds most of the cards right now. And he’s the last chairman in the world you want to play cards with!
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December 26, 2018 at 11:37 AM
Seems Poch has really stepped up after Solskjaer’s appointment lol.
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December 26, 2018 at 12:14 PM
JC are you a United fan?
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December 27, 2018 at 4:23 AM
I am indeed. The last 5 and half years have been rough.
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December 27, 2018 at 4:39 AM
It’s getting worse! Liverpool look nailed on champions to me. Surely you prefer Spurs to win then Man City or Liverpool?
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December 27, 2018 at 4:51 AM
Anyone but Liverpool! Although I’d rather have Chelsea or City win before Spurs. It’s kinda comforting to attribute their wins to sugar daddy owners 🙂
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December 27, 2018 at 5:15 AM
LOL. Hopefully OGS gives a sense of false hope! It would be a great joke if Spurs won by not buying a single player! But I think it’s Liverpool and I have never hated a team more than Liverpool so I hope City comeback now.
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December 27, 2018 at 6:05 AM
The expectations are pretty low with Solskjaer. As long as he gets United playing decent football, fans are happy. But you’re right, Liverpool it is this season sadly. City’s campaign is pretty much derailed. No offence but Spurs somehow seem to bottle it the moment the title is within reach. This happened when Leicester won a couple of seasons ago IIRC. It will be pretty unbearable and I might need to stay away from Football sites for a while.
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December 27, 2018 at 6:13 AM
Spurs are bottlers…but improving that side of things. If they can win a cup then maybe it will galvanize that mental aspect.
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December 18, 2018 at 4:46 PM
Adding insult to injury:
https://scroll.in/field/906169/watch-a-verbal-spat-between-ishant-sharma-and-ravindra-jadeja-during-second-test-in-perth
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December 22, 2018 at 1:29 AM
https://www.hindustantimes.com/cricket/rahul-dravid-picks-the-greatest-innings-played-by-an-indian-cricketer/story-Bzk6vPfpNUDtd1YbDee0ZL.html
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December 22, 2018 at 1:33 AM
I agree. I believe here Australia were looking for history, some 17th test victory in a row. To declare, Dravid, Laxman to bat out an entire day which they repeated in Australia and Harbhajan to wrap up victory- it’s probably not just the best indian innings but arguably India’s greatest comeback in a test ever. Probably would be in top 5 tests of all time.
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December 24, 2018 at 5:56 AM
https://sports.ndtv.com/cricket/smriti-mandhana-sets-womens-big-bash-league-on-fire-with-blazing-knock-watch-1967322?pfrom=home-lateststories
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December 25, 2018 at 11:40 AM
https://www.hindustantimes.com/cricket/india-vs-australia-shane-warne-calls-virat-kohli-the-greatest-cricketer-on-the-planet-watch/story-sErtVS1X8zI3Jey2od40rM.html
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December 25, 2018 at 7:21 PM
“There were around 20% minorities at the time of Partition in Pakistan, less than 2% remain now. On the other hand, minority population has grown significantly in India since Independence. Pakistan is the last country that should be lecturing any country on how to treat minorities,” Mohammad Kaif tweeted.
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/mohammad-kaif-slams-imran-khans-minority-comment-dont-lecture-1967933?pfrom=home-topscroll
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December 26, 2018 at 3:38 AM
That’s a good day’s work by India. So glad they have stuck it out and maintain an interesting position to try to set a score above 400. Hopefully Pujara and Kohli score big on Day 2 and put India into a position where defeat is unlikely and they can go for a win.
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December 26, 2018 at 5:34 AM
Also Dale Steyn overtook Shaun Pollack as highest wicket taker of South Africa!
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December 26, 2018 at 7:07 AM
https://twitter.com/fwildecricket/status/1077863277504409600
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December 26, 2018 at 10:01 AM
Pollock’s own record is really good. Average just 1 run run higher at 23 for his total wickets. Of course Steyn has a ridiculous strike rate.
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December 26, 2018 at 5:38 PM
Just take a look at Rabada. Dude’s 21, his average is under 21 AND his SR is 39!
Don’t wish to jinx him, but where will this guy end up?
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December 27, 2018 at 1:11 AM
I haven’t followed him nor did I know he was so young!
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December 27, 2018 at 10:28 AM
Rabada is 23.
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December 27, 2018 at 10:31 AM
Yes, got his age mixed up. He is 23 but he’s much ahead of all the greats at this point of time. SR of 39!
That’s just unbelievable. He already has 157 Test Wickets.
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December 27, 2018 at 9:24 AM
Pulsating Test going on between Pakistan and South Africa. Pakistan practically a 100 up with 4 wickets left in the 2nd innings.
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December 27, 2018 at 9:31 AM
Boult took 5 in 11 balls here?
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December 27, 2018 at 9:42 AM
That’s the NZ vs SL Test. NZ are way ahead in that one. He took 6 in 15 balls btw.
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December 27, 2018 at 9:46 AM
Ah sorry, got confused. Yes he got 6, but his 5 is the quickest 5’ver ever at 11 balls.
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December 27, 2018 at 10:25 AM
Meanwhile, Pakistan are all out for 190. SA need 149 to win. Should be a great chase.
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December 27, 2018 at 10:38 AM
With today’s century Pujara has equalled VVS Laxman’s tally. He now has 17!
Doubt that will mean much when Shastri and Kohli decide to drop him again.
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December 27, 2018 at 11:18 AM
I am hoping Shastri is fired by the time we play our next Test series which would be after the 2019 WC.
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December 27, 2018 at 11:38 AM
He really frustrates the bowlers; just like Dravid did..
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December 27, 2018 at 12:33 PM
He’s certainly not as talented as Dravid. But he’s a proper Test player.
According to Impact Index, in the subcontinent, no one has a better Test record than Pujara. In the history of Test Cricket. That’s something.
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December 27, 2018 at 1:08 PM
He’s the only freaking player of Dravid’s mould since the man himself. Has to play, he’s proving his worth.
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December 27, 2018 at 3:40 PM
Ponting praised Pujara for scoring his second century of the series, but said the innings will be remembered one of two ways at the end of the match.
“If India go on and win the game, it’ll be a great innings (but) if they haven’t got time to bowl Australia out twice … it could be what actually costs them the game,” Ponting told cricket.com.au.
“I think it’s always hard for India to push the run rate along when Pujara’s there.
“He’s just made another hundred, his second of the series, so he’s playing well and doesn’t really look like getting out. But he just locks himself in this little bubble where scoring doesn’t seem to faze him at all.
“They’ve got other guys in their side who are stroke-makers … but if those guys don’t come off, the scoring rate is always going to be hovering around that two runs an over mark, which makes it pretty hard to win Test matches, especially on flat wickets like we might have here.
https://www.cricket.com.au/news/ricky-ponting-india-tactics-cheteshwar-pujara-virat-kohli-australia-boxing-day-test-mcg-starc-finch/2018-12-27
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December 28, 2018 at 10:18 AM
Since 2001, teams have enforced the follow-on just 56.60% of the time, as compared to 91% of the time in the 20 years before that. When the lead is less than 300, teams enforce the follow-on just 37.23% of the time. So Kohli’s decision actually aligns with what the majority of captains would have done. Also, captains have realised that not enforcing the follow-on doesn’t hamper your chances of winning. In fact, since 2001, teams that have declined enforcing the follow-on have ended up winning 91.12% of the time, while teams that have enforced the follow-on have won 84.44% of the time.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/25630946/five-reasons-why-virat-kohli-enforce-follow-on
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December 28, 2018 at 11:39 AM
With a lack of confidence in chasing, this was a sensible decision. Ideally India shouldn’t be 4 down, their best 2 batsman are gone. Hopefully the rest can add at least 50 runs…ideally 100.
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December 29, 2018 at 3:52 AM
Then why chose chasing in ODIs?
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December 29, 2018 at 3:55 AM
Hardik Pandya would have been such an asset over non performers Rohit and Ajinkya.
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December 29, 2018 at 3:40 AM
India have played the test well enough here. A win is almost certain now.
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December 29, 2018 at 3:43 AM
Love it!! Bhumrah’s last ball before lunch will be the folk-lore for India; just as Miandad’s 6 off Chetan Sharma was for Pak in Sharjah!!
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December 29, 2018 at 3:44 AM
Sir Alistair Cook
https://wwos.nine.com.au/cricket/former-captain-cook-now-a-knight/1bfbcecb-ac43-4c71-9aac-bd7b27d6a693
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December 29, 2018 at 3:47 AM
Absolutely shocked by this knighthood!!
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December 29, 2018 at 2:26 PM
That too ahead of Graham Gooch, David Gower from England itself & Lara, Sachin, Warne, Steve Waugh, Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Imran Khan, Kallis, Akram from others were far more deserving than this gentleman is mind boggling to say the least about this ‘sham(e)’ of a knighthood!!
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December 30, 2018 at 11:20 AM
Indians don’t get knighted as we don’t generally accept that honor from the Queen of England.
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December 29, 2018 at 1:37 PM
liverpool is in fine form this season.. seems they are the likely epl winner this time….
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December 29, 2018 at 1:57 PM
Destroying Arsenal…
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December 29, 2018 at 10:35 PM
Congratulations India. Bumrah has been really smart and effective.
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December 29, 2018 at 10:49 PM
Yes. A great and memorable win for me.
Was there at MCG on day 1 with 73,000+ spectators on Boxing day. Ricky Ponting was inducted in the ICC Hall of fame and his car ride at the beginning was a memorable experience.
As a spectator, i can say the damage was done on Day 1 by Mayank Agarwal. Man what a good find india has. From a distance of about 95 meters, he appeared classy, composed and determined. Really enjoyed his batting and session wise approach. Would be hurt if he doesn’t go on to become a good opener for India. He appeared as classy as Kohli who came later.
The man who looked solid was Pujara. In the crowd we were discussing that the sound that Pujara’s bat makes is so different from others. The “Tukkk” from his bat whenever he defended can be heard outside the stadium when he defended. It was a wonderful to note such subtleties. Such a music in cricket can only be heard when the ball hits the middle of the bat.
Great crowd, facilities, infrastructure and game. Had a great day.
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December 29, 2018 at 11:11 PM
Later i read in the news that Ponting had some apprehension with Pujara’s slow batting. I can only say he can fool few people some of the time. 😛
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December 30, 2018 at 1:53 AM
I pasted that link above. It was an intelligent apprehension; dependent on the outcome — and that’s what Ponting said. Some greats are greats for a reason…
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December 30, 2018 at 2:59 AM
I read it again. It was an apprehension which was quite one sided at the end of Day 1.
As spectators we witnessed –
1. One of the most defensive field setting. It was almost looking like ODI field setting. This easily robbed 10-15 runs
2. A slow outfield – Nothing was going to boundary unless hit hard. This easily robbed 10-15 runs
3. Indian team playing to a plan. It was almost evident that they had planned to retain as many wickets on day 1 and play most of the day 2.
If we add all the three in perspective, then i would say Ponting singling out Pujara was a mere tactic to score a verbal point, because everyone played slow on day 1, to a plan to save wickets even if they score 20 runs less.
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December 30, 2018 at 3:00 AM
“Some greats are greats for a reason…”
Ponting – A great cricketer i agree.
A great commentator…he has to learn a bit more.
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December 31, 2018 at 2:34 AM
Virat Kohli Records Highest International Runs For Third Consecutive Year
https://sports.ndtv.com/australia-vs-india-2018-19/india-vs-australia-virat-kohli-records-highest-international-runs-for-third-consecutive-year-1970143?pfrom=home-topstories
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December 31, 2018 at 2:35 AM
Virat Kohli Explains Why He Does Not Want To Face Jasprit Bumrah In Test Matches
https://sports.ndtv.com/australia-vs-india-2018-19/india-vs-australia-virat-kohli-explains-why-he-does-not-want-to-face-jasprit-bumrah-in-test-matches-1970330?pfrom=home-lateststories
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December 31, 2018 at 7:14 AM
some of his deliveries are very memorable. I think at Trent Bridge he bowled a couple of classical in swingers to account for Buttler and Bairstow followed by a lethal bouncer to get rid of Lords centurian Woakes. Check it out at link below
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December 31, 2018 at 7:19 AM
Also, remember him hitting Elgar’s helmet at Joburg and bringing him to ground. He did soemthing similar with Marcus Harris in this tour
The Shaun Marsh dismissal at MCG will go down as ball of the series
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January 1, 2019 at 6:19 AM
One of the most wholesome pictures…after the sledge
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January 3, 2019 at 3:20 AM
Bonnie is hot!! I wanna baby-sit her rather than her kids!!!
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January 4, 2019 at 4:15 AM
Paine wishes Pant was baby sitting today instead of turning up at the SCG
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January 4, 2019 at 5:48 AM
babysitter helps aussie cricket captain’s wife increase number of instagram followers by seven times
https://thesportsrush.com/a-lot-of-pant-fans-i-think-says-bonnie-paine-on-her-increased-instagram-following/
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January 4, 2019 at 7:43 AM
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January 1, 2019 at 12:56 PM
https://www.thehindu.com/sport/tennis/vivrwu/article25883740.ece/ALTERNATES/FREE_660/FEFDEREr
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January 1, 2019 at 6:28 PM
Attacks in the world
SA – Rabada, Steyn, Oliver, Philander, Maharaj
Ind – Bumrah, Shami, Sharma, Ashwin, Jadeja
Aus – Cummins, Starc, Hazlewood, Lyon
Pak – Abbas, Afridi, Hasan Ali, Mohd Aamir, Yasir Shah
NZ – Boult, Southee, Wagner, Grandhomme, Santner
All line ups can blow the opposition on their day. Vote for which of the attacks you think is most lethal
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January 1, 2019 at 6:31 PM
Eng – Anderson, Broad, Stokes, Woakes, Ali, Curran, Rashid
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January 2, 2019 at 4:39 AM
Hardik Pandya too for India
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January 3, 2019 at 1:17 AM
PUJARA!!!!!!!
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January 3, 2019 at 2:29 AM
What a position Pujara has put India into. If they can bat 40 overs, a draw is almost certain and series victory in Australia given.
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January 3, 2019 at 3:10 AM
One Gujju proud of another, ha!!
Anyways, Pujara is a rock, hopefully he can get a double tomorrow.
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January 3, 2019 at 3:12 AM
hilarious comment by Harsha Bhogle – Aussie players are seeing more of Pujara than their own wives.
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January 3, 2019 at 3:14 AM
another one on twitter. You blink an eye and Rahul is out. You sleep for 8 hours, Pujara is still batting
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January 3, 2019 at 3:24 AM
I didn’t know Pujara was gujji but his stingy batting is a bit of a give away!
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January 3, 2019 at 4:04 AM
He plays for Saurashtra
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January 3, 2019 at 9:22 AM
unfortunately his take home package from tests contracted with bcci is less than what kl rahul makes in 2 months playing ipl. only test runs he is getting bucketloads while rahul is struggling. cricket is unfair.
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January 3, 2019 at 6:30 AM
In the last few decades, Ramakant Achrekar’s name had become so synonymous with being the coach of Sachin Tendulkar that even if he had not produced a single other cricketer of repute before or after him, his position among the Dronacharyas of Mumbai cricket would not have been questioned.
But for many of us who have witnessed Achrekar slogging on the Shivaji Park ground preparing nets and wickets with his students before every practice session and taking the talented ones across the city to play matches on his scooter, the contribution of the man goes much beyond his most illustrious prodigy.
https://scroll.in/field/908015/ramakant-achrekars-contribution-to-cricket-is-much-more-than-just-being-sachin-tendulkars-coach
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January 3, 2019 at 11:48 PM
What a wonderful century by Pant. Terrific optimism and outlook. India inching close to declaration…510/6 out of 150 overs…
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January 4, 2019 at 1:38 AM
Absolutely brilliant. India have won the series now as Australia will have to risk big time now and India more likely to win 3-1 now!
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January 4, 2019 at 3:51 AM
Shane Warne suggests a brilliant idea. Declare after getting past the follow on score. Virat can only either play for a draw or set a target for Aussies
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January 4, 2019 at 3:55 AM
Draw is win for India…Australia need a win.
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January 4, 2019 at 6:33 AM
after winning the toss and posting 622/7 declared, if the opposition gets away with a draw against so called “best attack in the world” by our captain, a draw will be like a win for aussies and defeat for india. you know what i mean?
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January 4, 2019 at 6:42 AM
Depends on what kind of pitch it is. I’d take a draw now! Series win is more important than winning this test match. India just have to play sensible cricket now. There are 270 overs left. Even at 4 runs per over, only 1,000 runs to be scored. Australia will have to score at least 800 here overall across 2 innings to turn it around and even then India will still be favourites not to lose.
9 sessions of play. India need 1 good session with bat or ball and it will close the test match out. If it’s the 1st one tomorrow then India will have a good chance to win 3-1.
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January 4, 2019 at 9:33 AM
a best attack should be able to bowl out a mediocre batting line without two of its pillar.
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January 4, 2019 at 4:01 AM
Australia have to go for risks. They’ll have to score at 4 or above, blow India away when they bat again and knock the runs off again. All this while India are in form. Can’t see it happening…will bet on India victory over draw with 1% chance of Australia win.
Australia are 80 to 1 to win. Very long odds.
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January 4, 2019 at 2:34 AM
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January 4, 2019 at 3:11 AM
Warm congratulations to Kohli and Shastri jodi. Never liked how Kumble was booted but if you win in overseas against Australia you are in uncharted territory and deserve some praise.
I think the bharatarmy is lacking in writers like Bollywood.
When you got babysitters, ‘Bonnie’, ‘Pant’ as names and Aussies on their backsides you can come up with something more potent!
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January 4, 2019 at 3:56 AM
Pujara and Bumrah are so far heroes of this tour
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January 4, 2019 at 3:58 AM
I’m delighted for Pant and Pujara. Pujara has batted the 4th most bowls ever at 1,258 in a 4 test series match or less. If he gets a chance again he can beat the record with 100 balls more. Pant has scored 100 in England and Australia now. First Indian wicketkeeper to score a 100 in both countries. He must replace Dhoni in short format IMO. India love SCG.
Glad whenever Aussies are bruised!
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January 4, 2019 at 4:14 AM
PUJARA has batted over 2 days out of what 17 so far! That’s 14%…he’s been Australia’s bowlsitter while Pant babysits 😀
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January 4, 2019 at 5:40 AM
Pant dropped an easy one late in the day
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January 4, 2019 at 8:01 AM
Dhoni is still the better keeper.
But yes , Pant has made a BIG statement now. But i will get a heart break if Dhoni is not in world cup.
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January 4, 2019 at 8:06 AM
http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/25681973/innate-confidence-helps-rishabh-pant-face-tough-initiation
This is not really Pant’s format. Short format he’ll fair better. Dhoni is an absolute legend and his experience in a world cup is going to be very important. However I think he’s not what he once was. I’d still give Dhoni the nod at 19 WC but sooner or later Pant deserves a proper shot.
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January 4, 2019 at 8:22 AM
Test is more important than ODIs/T20Is
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January 6, 2019 at 3:32 PM
and Paine
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January 4, 2019 at 4:13 AM
should additional referals be available for the cost of 20-25 runs?
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January 4, 2019 at 10:17 AM
Finally first series win in Aus is sealed.
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January 5, 2019 at 8:41 AM
don’t jump to conclusions. you were certain about ToH being a blockbuster
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January 5, 2019 at 4:07 AM
Australia won’t win. They don’t seem to have any batting strength. India have really played well this series.
‘At stumps, the hosts were 6 for 236. Marcus Harris made an eye-catching 79 and, if none of his team-mates pass that, he will hold the record for the lowest highest score in a Test series for Australia in 100 years.’
Remarkable…
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January 6, 2019 at 3:00 AM
one day to wrap an entire innings. Draw is most likely now. India’s bowling lacks ability to run through tails as shown by Starc/Hazlewood partnership in SCG. Hazlewood, Lyon, Starc, Cummins have been difficult to knock out. India’s coaches should address this immediately since they lost English and SA tour due to this inability of the bowlers.
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January 6, 2019 at 3:41 AM
India have played well. If not for losing 2/3’rds day play they might be in a stronger position. India can still win, Australia can’t now. Job done. Ruthlessness is something India will find hard IMO.
From BBC sport…
Only 25.2 overs were possible on a rain-hit day, meaning that the final day will start half an hour early, at 23:00 GMT on Sunday, with commentary on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra.
It was the first time in 30 years Australia had been forced to follow on in a home Test
India have definitely created some history here. Being as clinical as the Aussies at their best will be tough – they just don’t produce bowlers like McGrath, Lee or Gillespie. Even a Starc. The day India produce super fast strike bowlers wake me up!
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January 6, 2019 at 3:56 AM
Questions will be ASKED of Australia as to how much they have CHEATED prior to last year! It seems the fast bowlers have struggled to reverse swing period! Australia’s biggest loss is that piece of sand paper!
I urge fans of all cricket nations to invent songs on sand paper to troll this pathetic team now! For years of unnecessary sledging they deserve some serious payback.
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January 6, 2019 at 3:58 AM
MITCHELL STARK!!!! A stark reminder!
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January 6, 2019 at 4:05 AM
How illogical is this? Bancroft was doing stuff to ball when beneficiary were the (unbeknownst) bowlers!
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January 6, 2019 at 4:34 AM
It’s very unlikely a bowler would be oblivious to how his ball is working for him! If it’s straight for X number of overs and suddenly swings after a bit of work…the first few times it might seem like luck or magic and thereafter just routine! The Australian ethos is not a clean one at all. Behaviour of their players has always been very unpleasant, preying on weaker assumed characteristics of their opponents and some are racist to boot! I’m glad Cricket Australia took a firm position on those 3 players. How they treated Bancroft proves the point. A captain and vice preying on their own young players to do their dirty work is typical.
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January 5, 2019 at 8:57 AM
should India enforce follow on, if they get the opportunity?
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January 5, 2019 at 9:46 AM
Glen McGrath humbled by Kohli’s support to Jane McGrath foundation
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January 6, 2019 at 6:36 PM
I am amazed to the extent Australians support causes like these. The greatest egalitarian country of the world.
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January 6, 2019 at 4:22 AM
good discussion
link not showing ?
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January 6, 2019 at 5:37 AM
Kohli is one of the few not to have a FC triple in India line up.
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January 6, 2019 at 3:30 PM
thats mel mclaughlin. the lady with whom chris gayle ran into trouble with his lewd comments durin big bash a few years back. he said ‘don’t blush, baby’ or something to that effect and ways fined.
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January 6, 2019 at 5:21 PM
They are over reading into Ranji/Irani/Deodhar/Vijay trophies…Only thing I think has improved Is fast bowling…I find batting levels have declined
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January 6, 2019 at 6:33 PM
It is IPL which is bigger than World T20 that has boosted the morale of Indian cricketers. It not the money or the format but the high a player gets from appreciation after a good performance.
Second of course is getting a dressing room and coaches that are truly international.
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January 6, 2019 at 7:48 PM
Every country has decent T20 league. Willow shows most of them. Only one I have not seen is NZ league (and South African live). IPL does have more money but you see same faces everywhere (Watson, Maccullum, Bravo, Gayle – I call them cricket mercenaries ). PSL bowling is much better than IPL. Watch out for Afghanistan..they have very good T20 team. India problem is not bowling. it is batting which cannot do enough on fast wickets. Send this team again to South Africa and their fate will not been much different from current Pakistan tour of SA.
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January 6, 2019 at 10:32 PM
Performance at IPL remains the most exciting and awarding.
Likes of Rishabh Pant, Mayank Agarwal, Shan Kishan and many more become household names even before they got selected to play for India. Their performances are then tracked in Ranji, Duleep etc by the fans and selectors thereby making the entire process one of the best in the world.
IPL it is sir.
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January 7, 2019 at 12:13 AM
wonder how talent like pujara will be got into test cricket?
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January 7, 2019 at 2:54 AM
Pujara played for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the first three seasons of the IPL. In the 2011 players’ auction, he was bought by the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). He started for RCB for the fourth season of the IPL before injuring his knee in a match against Kochi Tuskers Kerala. The injury kept him out of action for nearly a year before he returned to domestic cricket at the end of 2011.
In the 2013–14 Ranji Trophy, he played a lone hand against Bengal at Eden Gardens in November as he scored 102, though his side was bowled out for a meagre 225 in response to Bengal’s 303. In the next match against Tamil Nadu at Chennai, he scored a mammoth 269, and struck a 353-run partnership with Jaydev Shah (195) to post a score of 581/6 in response to Tamil Nadu’s 565.
In 2014 IPL, Pujara began the season as Virender Sehwag’s opening partner and was left out after the first six matches in which he made 125 runs at an average of just 25 at a strike rate of 100.80. After having not been picked by any franchise for the 2015 IPL season, he signed for Yorkshire.
He was the leading run-scorer for Saurashtra in the 2017–18 Ranji Trophy, with 437 runs in four matches.
He became the 2nd fastest Indian to get to 1,000 Test runs, during the course of his double hundred against Australia in March 2013, at Hyderabad, where he put on a 370-run record 2nd wicket partnership with Murali Vijay. Only Vinod Kambli was faster.
Pujara is also the 12th fastest of all-time. In terms of the number of tests (11 matches), he joined the legendary Sunil Gavaskar for the quickest Indian to reach the mark. Pujara had a brilliant test series against Australia scoring 419 runs, only second to Murali Vijay’s 430 in which he slammed a double ton’s 204 and two half-centuries (52 and 82).
As Indian opener Virender Sehwag was struggling out of form, it provided the opportunity for Pujara who hit double and triple tons in successive Ranji trophy matches to prove his ability in shorter versions of the game, as he was selected in the 15 member squad for the ODI series against England, but was injured in practice. Following injury, he made his debut against Zimbabwe, scoring 9 runs
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January 7, 2019 at 6:08 AM
don’t think that Test specialist like Pujara can be unearthed from IPL. Need Ranji trophy to be strong for getting Talent like him. They can probably force each IPL team to select 2-3 India Test Players in auction. At least get an IPL contract without playing him.
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January 7, 2019 at 6:12 AM
on the other hand, would be more than happy to see pujara contributing in county cricket in england during IPL season
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January 7, 2019 at 11:07 AM
i agree batting performances have declined. besides Pujara, only Kohli got a century in top 6 batters. I can understand Mayank being a newbie as well as Vihari. But Rahane? He played 7 innings despite a very important 70 in Adelaide, he should have delivered a century. Ditto for Rohit. Senior batsmen should learn to deliver
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January 7, 2019 at 11:18 AM
Compare this to 03-04;
Chopra 0 centuries
Sehwag 1 century
Dravid 1 double century
Tendulkar 1 double century
Ganguly 1 century
Laxman 2 centuries
Even Australia scored a century 😛
Quality of everything in test cricket has declined. Pujara and Kohli are leaps and bounds ahead of all the other batsmen in this series (both sides).
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January 8, 2019 at 2:20 AM
so why are India persisting with Rahane, Rohit? Surely, they are accountable to score centuries in difficult circumstances and tours? Even Jadeja in his limited chances got a higher score than these two underperforming Mumbaikars, forget Mayank
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January 7, 2019 at 3:11 AM
Continuing the discussion on how IPL picks talent for India.
From where does IPL pick the young talent from India?
Mostly from U19 WC. Most of the younger guys have got picked by IPL.
U19 WC performances:
India has won record 4 times. Max by any country.
2000: India’s Yuvraj Singh was named Man of the Series. India clinched the title for the first time under the captaincy of Mohammed Kaif.
2008: India under the leadership of Virat Kohli now india captain, after being bowled out for 159, emerged triumphant by 12 runs under the D/L method and were crowned champions for the second time.
2012: Captain Unmukt Chand played a match winning knock of 111* not out in 130 balls with the help of 6 sixes & 7 fours. Sandeep Sharma also excelled with four wickets under his belt.
2018: The Man of the match was awarded to Manjot Kalra, while player of the tournament was awarded to Shubman Gill. India now holds the most wins record in Under-19 World Cup.
====================
What happened to the performers of U19 WC 2018?
In Indian Premier League Auction 2018, Manjot Kalra was bought by the Delhi Daredevils.
In January 2018, Shubhman Gill was bought by the Kolkata Knight Riders for ₹1.8 crore (US$250,000) in the 2018 IPL auction.[13][14] He made his Twenty20 debut for Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2018 Indian Premier League on 14 April 2018.
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January 7, 2019 at 3:13 AM
Shubman Gill is the latest prodigy of India’s familial batting production line, whose shot-making has been compared to the likes of Virat Kohli, Joe Root, and Alastair Cook.
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January 7, 2019 at 3:18 AM
Apparently Trump has contacted BCCI to end shutdown, as he can get his wall for less than $100k!
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January 7, 2019 at 3:22 AM
Knowing Trump he probably called Pakistan by mistake!
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January 7, 2019 at 2:54 PM
Apparently Trump has contacted BCCI to end shutdown, as he can get his wall for less than $100k!
Should this be moved as well ? LOL
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January 7, 2019 at 2:55 PM
The ‘wall’ is Pujara 😛
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January 7, 2019 at 3:41 AM
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January 7, 2019 at 5:36 AM
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January 7, 2019 at 1:22 PM
Naseerudin Shah and his supporters would be like – why are they singing Merey Desh kee Dhartee sona ugley.
Issey Dar badhta hai !!
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January 7, 2019 at 1:36 PM
Lol 🙂
uri, Accidental PM aur abh Oberoi;s Modi kuch log pagla gaye hain 🙂
aur month end main Jhansi ki Rani
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January 7, 2019 at 2:29 PM
UP mein kehtey hain- Bora gaye hain .
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January 7, 2019 at 1:31 PM
Via WA-
Naseer married to Ratna
Aamir married to Kiran
SRK married to Gauri
Fearing your wife cannot be blamed on your Country, It’s a Universal fact, issmey Sarkar kuch nahee kar saktee !!
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January 7, 2019 at 2:30 PM
You know elections are round the corner when Amartya Sen starts yapping ! LOL
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January 7, 2019 at 2:32 PM
This is sports thread 🙂
Talk about Kohlis and Shastris!
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January 7, 2019 at 2:35 PM
Sir, Naseer made a comment against the Desh Bhakt Kohli…yeh sab usskey refrence mein hai.
baaki aap malik ho sir jee…
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January 7, 2019 at 2:49 PM
Naseer opinion is just like us..one in billion. He is celebrity so it gets more clicks. He is no expert. Sachin Tendulkar doesn’t make a good cricket umpire or reviewer of movie 🙂
I agree with Naseer on Kohli..Kohli sometimes over does while expressing emotions on field. He is mostly okay expressing things off field. He quickly owned up his mistake in asking supporters of other teams to leave India. IMO these things should be left to politicians. But there is a thought (heard in Willow commentary) that whatever Kohli does, make people see and follow cricket. I guess I am getting old!! I like Dhonis version. You kill opposition with result.
On the movies…Master, Tony are in BO thread on opposite side. Here it is one sided !. Jay who is resident here wouldn’t comment.
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January 7, 2019 at 2:53 PM
and I don’t agree with Naseer on Kohli and am expressing my opinion as well as expressing my happiness at the way Bharat Cricket team is celebrating their win and singing Desh Bhakti Songs.
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January 7, 2019 at 2:57 PM
Re.-Master, Tony are in BO thread on opposite side.
Really don’t care, I have promised my self to indulge in political talk with ONLY likeminded people.
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January 7, 2019 at 6:51 AM
I don’t like Kohli and Shastri jodi commenting or advicing on Ashes like they are experts overnight. No need to be defining cricket after one historic series win. Hopefully England destroy Australia! 😛
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January 7, 2019 at 7:16 AM
I agree. I also do not like them equating this win with World cup ’83 and ’11 wins. This win is not even close to those achievements. A great win in test but let’s not hype the achievement.
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January 7, 2019 at 7:23 AM
Yep. World Cup (first ever) against the best side or World Cup on home turf is easily bigger achievement than this. You can only beat what’s in front of you and this is a poor batting unit for Australia and a good bowling unit by today’s standards.
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January 7, 2019 at 7:56 AM
i was thrilled with adelaide test win in 03-04 and managing to draw the series then. this test victory also has similar happiness though really thrilled with bumrah showing. i hope they manage his workload carefully, since he is a key player in white ball as well as red ball
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January 7, 2019 at 8:10 AM
The 03-04 is nearly as big achievement IMO. Consider the 2 teams, on paper it was one of the great test series I can remember. Bucknor pissed me off throughout…with Waugh’s retirement hanging over the series, Sachin’s loss of form, Dravid-Laxman batting an entire day AGAIN, Sehwag destroying Aussies in one day, Waugh having the final say, Tendulkar returning and scoring some 300 runs unanswered plus in the next match of his he hit 194 not out against Pakistan so I think it was some kind of record of nearly 500 test runs without losing his wicket. These were the days I could be bothered to watch cricket from midnight to morning.
There was no McGrath and Warne but still Australia had Lee, Gillespie, Bracken, MacGill. Hardly shabby! Probably better than today still! India had Chopra, Sehwag, Dravid, Tendulkar, Ganguly and Laxman as top 6. Frightening!
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January 8, 2019 at 12:13 PM
no way better than Cummins, Hazelwood, Starc and Lyon.
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January 7, 2019 at 1:37 PM
Kohli is better but Shastri is irritating; sounds ridiculous pontificating about strategy and hard work. I am pretty sure even Australian must have worked hard. I blame Aussie commentators who have made India team as beater of World class Australian team. Australia was already in decline and loss of two prolific batsmen have hit them hard.
http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/records/team/match_results.html?class=2;id=2018;team=2;type=year
http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/records/team/match_results.html?class=1;id=2018;team=2;type=year
http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/records/team/match_results.html?class=3;id=2018;team=2;type=year
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January 7, 2019 at 2:43 PM
Did anyone watch the KWK with Pandya and Rahul ?
these guys are ready to talk about anything under the Sun.
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January 7, 2019 at 2:51 PM
I haven’t seen but people were criticizing Pandya for over talk.
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January 7, 2019 at 3:02 PM
Great Bong
Stop hating on Hardik & Rahul for saying Kohli is a better batsman than Sachin. Who would want to piss off their boss, seeing what happened to Kumble, I mean if his being a legend couldnt save him, what chances do two under-performing big-talking IPL-mein-world-famous-es have
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January 7, 2019 at 4:37 PM
Having seen enough of Kohli, IMO Sachin was much more technically sound player with more shots at disposal. But Kohli is more solid/reliable player within his range.
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January 8, 2019 at 3:45 AM
it starts at the top. when coach is Ravi, we can see what he’s been teaching. anyways, IPL has also contributed to this culture.
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January 9, 2019 at 2:37 AM
though pandya apologised, bcci should have a stringent code of conduct for the contracted players and ipl players. many youth worship our cricketers as heroes and racist and misogynist comments lead the youth to follow resulting in a rape culture. i ak glad vinod rai has issued a show cause notice to both to explain. the actual culprit is karan johar who himself is classless
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January 9, 2019 at 4:24 AM
I saw the interview..except for loud talking, I didn’t find anything wrong..
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January 9, 2019 at 7:25 AM
Indian cricketers Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul were Wednesday issued show cause notices by the BCCI for their comments on women on a TV show that triggered a massive outrage and might prompt the Board to bar players from such appearances.
Pandya, whose remarks on a TV show were criticised as sexist, apologised for his remarks, saying he got “carried away by the nature” of the show. Rahul, on the other hand, has not yet responded to the criticism.
When asked why he didn’t ask women their name in a club, Pandya responded by saying, “I like to watch and observe how they (women) move. I’m little from the black side so I need to see how they move.”
https://www.dnaindia.com/cricket/report-bcci-serves-showcause-notice-to-hardik-pandya-kl-rahul-for-comments-on-koffee-with-karan-2705935
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January 9, 2019 at 7:31 AM
Wow he said this? What an idiot. Both racist and sexist in one go.
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January 9, 2019 at 11:21 AM
There was boastfulness but it was par for show. He considers himself West Indian due to his complexion and mannerisms. Followed by these comments. Nothing wrong in portraying to be Casanova. Shastri did all this in 80s.
This season, Karan has got somewhat bold and asking sex questions. I am not sure when it is shown on TV. It should be in 11 O’clock slot.
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January 9, 2019 at 4:07 PM
Shastri was only a wannabe Imran.
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January 7, 2019 at 3:26 PM
BTW, I got rid of Sling and subscribed Hotstar for $60 for one year.
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January 7, 2019 at 5:01 PM
I already have both for cricket (Willow) and soccer (Being)..
But saw Hotstar transmission was pixelated…My daughter complained that there are no subtitles..
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January 7, 2019 at 5:47 PM
hmm, will have to look into that,
I know Badhai Ho had subtitles, and so did Helicopter Ela
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January 7, 2019 at 5:54 PM
Dance+. I think it shows up after couple of days.
check “Mumbai Police” and Kabir on HotStar.
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January 8, 2019 at 12:27 AM
“It Was A Great Effort”: Shoaib Akhtar Praises Virat Kohli’s Team India For Historic Win In Australia
Updated: 08 January 2019 09:18 IST
Shoaib Akhtar took to Twitter to praise Team India’s historic victory vs Australia on Monday.
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January 8, 2019 at 2:35 AM
why is Bumrah being rested. from Australia ODIs and NZ T20I? So he can give his best for MI in IPL?
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January 8, 2019 at 7:24 AM
Pujara moves to #3 in ICC test batsmen ranking behind Kohli at #1 and Williamson at #2. He jumps ahead of Steve Smith who is at #4 despite being absent due to his ban. Pant is at #17 ahead of Rahane at #22 and is the top ranked wicketkeeper batsman ahead of Bairstow at #20.
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January 8, 2019 at 7:35 AM
Pant is highest ranked Indian wicketkeeper EVER both position and points. Surprised by that. He’s a kid at 21.
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January 8, 2019 at 9:40 AM
why yasir shah does not figure in ICc top 10 test bowlers list is a mystery to me
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January 8, 2019 at 12:09 PM
what was the handicap that the 2003-04 team had with securing the adelaide win against the 2 wins in 2018-19 tour?
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January 8, 2019 at 12:18 PM
answer: they lost the toss but still won adelaide test in 03-04 batting second.
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January 8, 2019 at 12:27 PM
Australia’s batting lineup. Hayden, Langer, Ponting, Martyn, Katich, Waugh Gilchrist! It’s an extraordinary batting line up. Yes bowling not on paper as good but that batting line up vs indian attack back then which was mainly Khan, Nehra, Pathan and Kumble. Man for man India’s batting was better back then and Australia’s too (by a 50 billion % margin). India’s bowling is comparable and maybe Australia have a better bowling attack now but India had extraordinary batting line up itself back then.
Both sides are weaker today batting wise. India’s batting much weaker and Australia’s bowling is not that much stronger. The other KEY factor is Australia were the best back by a distance. Today Australia are not a patch, in fact it’s a terrible batting line up! The highest score was 79 and it’s a 100 year record Australia have beaten their! The records Australia have broken (the bad ones) tells a story itself that this is no longer the holy grail of test cricket.
So it’s a great achievement but not one of India’s greatest, even a drawn series against the absolute best side can constitute a big success.
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January 8, 2019 at 12:39 PM
Context of history is important too. Steve Waugh regularly said India was the final frontier for Australia so when India defeated Australia in 01, the rivalry was established. Considering England were Australia’s historic foes, it was a clear compliment to India and their exploits in 03 WC that India vs Australia became a huge test series (probably the most competitive one in that 5 year period). Of course in 04 Australia won in India eventually and those 3 back to back series were really crucial for India to give them confidence against Australia.
I’m dead certain if McGrath and Warne played India would have lost but you can only beat what’s in front of you. Lee, Gillespie, Bichel were all good bowlers. MacGill would have played fulltime if not for Warne. The batting line up need not be compared as even with Smith, Warner the 03 line up is WAY stronger.
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January 9, 2019 at 4:35 AM
dont think khan played that match.it was agarkar aka bombay duck
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January 9, 2019 at 4:40 AM
tendulkar, sehwag chipped in with wickets and dravid took a couple of good catches in the slip
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January 9, 2019 at 4:54 AM
check out one of his catches at 4.22
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January 8, 2019 at 12:28 PM
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/india-in-australia/kohlis-men-indias-best-fast-bowling-fielding-team-but-not-batting-ian-chappell/articleshow/67439272.cms
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January 8, 2019 at 12:31 PM
Very true. Ian Chappell is usually on the money.
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January 9, 2019 at 3:57 PM
i think ganguly’s men were best batting line up ever that India had. Sehwag, Dravid, Tendulkar, Ganguly, Laxman. only Pujara and Kohli can be compared to that line up. rest all fall well short.
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January 9, 2019 at 7:23 PM
Bang on.
However the outcome is Tests is loaded towards team having good bowling attack. I would take a better bowling team any day for test matches. In batting current Indian team is definitely not great barring Kohli, Pujara and occasional Rahane. However the lower order is doing good.
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January 10, 2019 at 3:00 AM
Sometimes true. I good batting lineup that scores 400+ regularly can always put pressure on opposition. Barring Kumble that’s what India had in these years between late 90’s and 10.
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January 11, 2019 at 4:03 AM
But we hardly won overseas…barring series draws.
Man on man the Test team led by Ganguly were the best team on paper against many teams but result were not so generous?
The bowling unit with Srinath/Zaheer/Nera + Kumble were good. However most of the times they had to defend low totals esp in overseas.
Were Ganguly’s team underachievers then? Is Ganguly’s captaincy overrated considering he had the best team but results were sparse and sporadic?
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January 11, 2019 at 4:29 AM
Ganguly started things. Then others took the batten and made merry. Ganguly laid a lot of foundations IMO, India certainly improved under him from being pushovers overseas to at least competitive.
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January 11, 2019 at 5:48 AM
I agree.
Ganguly started.
But did still he underachieve?
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January 9, 2019 at 3:35 AM
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January 9, 2019 at 9:25 AM
bonnie has sent another urgent call for rishabh to babysit
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January 9, 2019 at 4:16 AM
Amazing truth about the monk.
https://m.rediff.com/cricket/special/exclusive-cheteshwar-is-not-normal-says-his-dad/20190109.htm
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January 10, 2019 at 11:12 PM
Langer says Pujara has outdone Tendulkar and Dravid in concentration
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/india-in-australia/never-seen-a-batsman-concentrate-like-cheteshwar-pujara-and-that-includes-sachin-tendulkar-says-justin-langer/articleshow/67468843.cms
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January 9, 2019 at 9:04 AM
Disadvantages of such a phenomenal series win. there will be many young Bumrahs and few Pujaras in Australia in few years
https://in.news.yahoo.com/cute-bumrah-bowled-over-aussie-095015793.html
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January 9, 2019 at 7:27 PM
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/india-in-australia/kohlis-men-indias-best-fast-bowling-fielding-team-but-not-batting-ian-chappell/articleshow/67439272.cms
Man on man the Test team led by Ganguly were the best team on paper against many teams but result were not so generous?
Were Ganguly’s team underachievers then? Is Ganguly’s captaincy overrated considering he had the best team but results were sparse and sporadic?
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January 9, 2019 at 10:38 PM
No. Pace bowling then was not good enough. Zaheer had a lengthy career because there was no one else. Additionally, he was goood with old ball which resulted in wins at Nottingham.
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January 11, 2019 at 4:01 AM
I think with Srinath and later Zaheer + Kumble throughout…we had good bowling unit. Enough for our mighty batsmen to win every series. But alas, those never happened.
Hence were we underachievers under Ganguly?
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January 10, 2019 at 2:07 AM
I hope BCCI strips Ajinkya Rahane of the Test vice captaincy and hands it over to a more deserving Pujara. This will show an appreciation to Pujara and a warning to Rahane, that he cannot take his place in the team for granted. That may propel both of them to do better. Rahane needs to get some hard runs from a 40/4 position. Runs got at 240/4 do not qualify as hard runs.
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January 11, 2019 at 4:06 AM
Rahane has very strong support from the Maharashtrian lobby who now rules from commentator’s box – Gavaskar has been actually fighting for some time when Rahane was not give his due.
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January 10, 2019 at 9:17 AM
Worth a read and how few slime-balls sneak out each time –
Hardik Pandya Has A Lot To Apologise For. What About Karan Johar?
“…..What of the smug and giggly Karan Johar, he who thrives on scandal and sensationalism? Could he have reined in this misogyny and vulgar display? Sure. But the filmmaker apparently had as much of a “blast” as the boys.
Johar on his show was like the IPL cheerleaders, egging on the boys to score. He was complicit in encouraging the cricketers to show utter disrespect to women; anything he says now after the furore will not count. This is the same man who had, as Me Too revelations exploded in India, apologised for objectifying women in the song ‘chikni chameli’. Guess what, Karan Johar, you actually succeeded in making ‘chikni chameli’ look respectable! Johar may yet apologise because when the going gets tough, the filmmaker backtracks and goes all meek. Until the next time.
Karan Johar should be in the dock, just like the cricketers, who have been issued notice by the cricket board BCCI partly in response to the public outcry. Are you telling me the board is unaware of the monsters it is breeding, as shallow as the T-20 game they play?
https://www.ndtv.com/blog/hardik-pandya-has-a-lot-to-apologise-for-what-about-karan-johar-1975536
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January 10, 2019 at 11:09 AM
Looks like Pandya and Rahul may face bans from 2 matches. There are also calls to do a Warner/Smith type ban for brining game to disrepute.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/25726924/hardik-pandya-kl-rahul-likely-suspended
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January 11, 2019 at 2:28 AM
Andy Murray announces Australian Open 2019 could be his last tournament
Andy Murray revealed the upcoming Australian Open may be his final tournament. The former world No 1 has said he wants to bow out at Wimbledon but may not be able to continue beyond Melbourne.
A tearful Andy Murray announced the Australian Open could be his last tournament due to the hip injury that has derailed his career. The 31-year-old Murray revealed the target in the off-season was to make Wimbledon for a one last run at the home grand slam, where he ended the 77-year drought for British men, but now wasn’t sure he’d make it.
Andy Murray has shocked the tennis world by announcing that the upcoming Australian Open may be his final tournament. The former world No 1 has said he wants to bow out at Wimbledon this summer, but may not be able to continue beyond Melbourne. In an emotional press conference at Melbourne Park on Friday, when he had to leave the room briefly after his first attempt to get it started, and needed to pause several times to compose himself, Murray said he wasn’t sure how much longer he could play.
“I’m going to play (in Australia). I can still play to a level — not a level I’m happy playing at,” he said. “But also, it’s not just that. The pain is too much really,”
https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/tennis/australian-open-2019-andy-murray-retire-5532988/
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January 11, 2019 at 2:40 AM
Heartbreaking interview.
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January 11, 2019 at 2:47 AM
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/46832486
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January 11, 2019 at 6:52 AM
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/india-in-australia/hardik-pandya-kl-rahul-suspended-pending-inquiry-to-be-issued-fresh-show-cause-notices/articleshow/67488238.cms
They both should sue Kjo.
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January 11, 2019 at 7:19 AM
What’s KJo done wrong here?
Bcci is overreacting…the issue should be dealt with by the tv show or tv channel. I’m sure the indian cricket team say far worse in the locker room.
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January 11, 2019 at 7:22 AM
The snake tempting with the forbidden apple and the cricketers face the wrath of god BCCI!
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January 11, 2019 at 11:27 AM
No one has anything wrong. Everyone is adult. If someone claims that he/she sleeps around and boast things, it may be morally wrong on compass but no garm done except that people will know that cricketers can be Chsanova. KL Rahul was subdued one and he is also getting stick.
You cannot fight your only employer otherwise they could easily be sued for wrongful suspension.
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January 11, 2019 at 11:44 AM
I don’t agree with comments as I think they can be deemed offensive but not so offensive to punish them with suspensions. Kohli coming out and condemning them is a JOKE. We are blokes, we know what blokes CAN be like in a locker room so this haughty behaviour from BCCI and Kohli is hypocrisy as they will have said stuff like this just not on TV.
Pandya is just stupid, should know better to keep such bedroom efforts to himself and not go on TV about it. BCCI and Kohli are just doing publicity for god knows what, probably as #metoo is flavour of the month so they feel compelled to condemn, name and shame as if they didn’t politically they themselves would be harrassed!
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January 11, 2019 at 11:51 AM
“I’m sure the indian cricket team say far worse in the locker room.”
So? Don’t you see the difference between locker room and National audience? What you can say in locker room, you are free to say for national audience? I really don’t think you get this issue at all.
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January 11, 2019 at 11:52 AM
I really don’t think you’ve read my comments or understand them!
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January 11, 2019 at 11:59 AM
I read about your punishment comments but you don’t understand that Suspension is actually not ‘the punishment’. Its for the inquiry that they are suspended and once that matter is reviewed in detail, they will melt out the punishment.
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January 11, 2019 at 12:02 PM
Yes that’s different. But not the issue you picked up upon or quoted.
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January 15, 2019 at 6:34 PM
that is a kjo issue. not the first time he has been embroiled in a loud obscene talk issue. remember ranbir and arjun in the show be those comedians. kjo is the one who should be hung
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January 11, 2019 at 9:33 PM
What has Pandya done wrong?
Read this:
http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/25732978/hardik-pandya-man-mirror
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January 11, 2019 at 12:08 PM
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January 11, 2019 at 12:26 PM
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/india-in-australia/only-second-time-in-82-years-indian-cricketers-sent-back-for-disciplinary-reasons/articleshow/67491573.cms
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January 11, 2019 at 12:27 PM
Satyam, Saket and Qalandar’s take on this?
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January 11, 2019 at 12:29 PM
When will Karan Johar atleast apologise for all this? Basic manners.
He wants to own only successes, it seems.
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January 11, 2019 at 9:34 PM
He is laughing all the way to the bank.
Next season is booked at record price.
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January 12, 2019 at 1:34 AM
Things just keep getting worse for Hardik Pandya. After being sent home from the ODI series against Australia due to his ‘sexist’ comments on Koffee with Karan, the all-rounder is set to miss out on a big endorsement deal, according to reports. The owners of a top-rated fitness brand have lost interest in Pandya after his remarks on the chat show.
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January 12, 2019 at 2:48 AM
https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/opinion/columnists/shobhaa-de/crass-cricket-brats-we-love-to-hate/articleshow/67496996.cms
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January 12, 2019 at 3:01 AM
Good article. I’ve met my fair share of brats. The smart ones have an enviable skill. It’s pretty simple and important trait for anyone. Self awareness…don’t take your accomplishments too seriously and certainly tailor your opinions to your audience. Pandya for one thinks all this stuff is important, for him he will soon realise being a professional cricketer which is what got him onto KWK is far more important.
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January 12, 2019 at 4:39 AM
What a wasted century for Sharma. Dhoni on 50 odd striking at 50 is truly baffling. No one else helped…
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January 12, 2019 at 4:43 AM
As long as Sharma is out there India can hope!
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January 12, 2019 at 5:19 AM
It was a slow wicket..ball was not coming and batsmen needed to swing..
India fielding was sloppy in last 10 overs and conceded 20 runs more.
This is where strict coach would have helped with proper focus but then with Shastri, I expect this to be par..
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January 12, 2019 at 5:24 AM
From 3-4 to 250 …it think it was super terrific fight. India was in the game till 45th over tells how good the team is.
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January 12, 2019 at 5:41 AM
Match was lost around 35-40th over…Bkumar added some runs but he could have been out multiple times.
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January 12, 2019 at 6:41 AM
I was giving chance till Rohit was playing.
7-221 (RG Sharma, 45 ov)
Overall loss is a loss…but at 3-4 it looked goner.
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January 12, 2019 at 6:43 AM
When India wins toss it is 80% likely to win. Next best has 60%.
When India loses toss, it is 50% likely to win. Next best is 40%.
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January 13, 2019 at 12:48 AM
OPINION | Kapil Dev: The greatest cricketer of all time
In whatever he did on the cricket field, Kapil was absolutely thrilling to watch. As a bowler, there was his smooth and accelerating run-up, the high action and the final jump, then the outswinger moving late and away to take the edge, with the occasional off cutter and sharp bouncer thrown in.
– Ramachandra Guha
https://www.hindustantimes.com/opinion/kapil-dev-the-greatest-cricketer-of-all-time/story-hJlNlpUMjppfAWShUSGSiM.html
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January 13, 2019 at 12:50 AM
While the mightiest indian team ever led by Ganguly underachieved (please read few of my comments earlier) which raises doubts over overpraise he gets, I would give full marks to Kapil Dev for overachieving with a team which was never considered to achieve what it did.
Agree with Guha here.
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January 14, 2019 at 12:21 AM
India vs Australia: MS Dhoni problem – Numbers reveal poor strike rate, poor average harming India
In Sydney. he consumed 96 balls for 51 runs with a strike rate of 53.12. Now if we take away his fours and sixes, the strike rate shrinks to 35.87.
CRICKET Updated: Jan 14, 2019 10:06 IST
HT Correspondent
https://www.hindustantimes.com/cricket/india-vs-australia-ms-dhoni-problem-numbers-reveal-poor-strike-rate-poor-average-harming-india/story-703MvQv7NYuoBPP5Z2xUUL.html
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January 14, 2019 at 1:34 AM
It’s time for Dhoni to be out. Pant should have been groomed for this World Cup the moment he scored a test hundred in England.
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January 15, 2019 at 9:24 AM
you spoke too soon. Didn’t you see him take India home @ Adelaide?
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January 15, 2019 at 9:34 AM
I’m fine with Dhoni in the side but considering his skill and potential strike rate surely he can let loose more often. Feels like he wants to take the match to last over a lot.
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January 14, 2019 at 6:39 AM
Would be nice for Murray to win a tough gruelling comeback match!
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January 14, 2019 at 6:54 AM
False hope. Murray looks down and out.
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January 14, 2019 at 10:30 AM
Something for Virat and Ravi to address – India’s 4th innings score (whenever required to bat in final innings) in last 3 overseas Tests – 151@Centurion
135@Cape Town
140@Perth
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January 14, 2019 at 10:31 AM
Comparatively Pakistan got 273@Joburg today.
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January 14, 2019 at 10:46 AM
162@Edgbaston
130@Lords (3rd innings, England won by innings)
184@Rose Bowl
345@Oval (Both Rahul and Pant scored 263 between them so rest including extras=82)
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January 14, 2019 at 11:08 AM
there was a time when Gavaskar helped to score 400+ in 4th innings and win matches
http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/17178/scorecard/63161/west-indies-vs-india-3rd-test-india-tour-of-west-indies-1975-76
http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/17073/scorecard/63240/england-vs-india-4th-test-india-tour-of-england-1979
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January 14, 2019 at 12:02 PM
Please don’t question Kohli and Shastri, they just won a series against understaffed Australian team. First by Asian team.
Jokes aside, I am not optimistic of India doing well at World Cup….They don’t look like #2 team.
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January 15, 2019 at 12:27 AM
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January 15, 2019 at 1:32 AM
Can India’s middle order do what Australia’s is doing right now?
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January 15, 2019 at 3:51 AM
https://twitter.com/MumbaiPolice/status/1084712231508553728
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January 15, 2019 at 6:19 AM
Well done India and Dhoni, Kohli! Important win.
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January 15, 2019 at 6:33 AM
I think India should learn how Australia packed leg side fielding and bowled along that line.
Also Handcsomb did fabulous job on field.
India were good between the wickets.
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January 15, 2019 at 8:48 AM
Dhoni like that is a must in Indian side. I would drop Rayudu or Karthik for Pant. Pant can be explosive and can be groomed via learning from Dhoni. That middle order is an issue. Happy with rest as can be.
I would consider Pujara as a sheet anchor too.
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January 15, 2019 at 9:31 AM
drop rayadu for kedar and bat dhoni at 4.
for world cup
shikar
rohit
kohli
dhoni
jadhav
pandya (after fulfilling his ban)
jadeja
bhuvi
sami
kuldeep
bumrah
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January 16, 2019 at 2:25 AM
MS Dhoni’s Illegal Run Against Australia in 2nd ODI Goes Unnoticed, Sparks Debate Online
Footage of Dhoni not grounding his bat to complete a regulation single in the 45th over is going viral on Twitter.
https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/ms-dhonis-illegal-run-against-australia-in-2nd-odi-goes-unnoticed-sparks-debate-online-2003967.html
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January 16, 2019 at 2:47 AM
Saw it yesterday but I guess things cannot be reverted back!
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January 18, 2019 at 8:58 AM
if cummins did not run out pujara at adelaide, he would still be batting there.
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January 16, 2019 at 12:21 PM
https://www.hindustantimes.com/cricket/india-vs-australia-sachin-tendulkar-has-his-say-on-ms-dhoni-s-performance-in-odi-series/story-hoIsZzXSKgOIsEHHWxMAfJ.html
Dhoni and Karthik’s performances may have ended Rishabh Pant’s chances of getting a game unless he comes in for a batsmen, said Tendulkar.
“You already have Karthik playing as a batter and you already have two wicket-keepers who have contributed to our success. They had that crucial partnership that won us the game. So, if you are looking to have Pant in the team that means you have to either remove a proper batter or remove a bowler and I don’t think you can afford to remove a bowler. So if he replaces a proper batter who doesn’t bowl then it is okay. But if he is going to replace an allrounder, that is going to cost us. One would want to encourage youngsters but we need to have that balance.”
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January 16, 2019 at 1:40 PM
Karthik is not the future. Hardly even the present.
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January 17, 2019 at 9:10 PM
Last couple of paras are good..
http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/25784094/ms-dhoni-role-india-odi-side
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January 18, 2019 at 2:52 AM
India should win comfortably. What a tour for India if they do!
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January 18, 2019 at 4:01 AM
i was sleeping. Got up due to insomnia. Switched on the TV first ball I saw Kohli got out. I am going back to staring at the ceiling.
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January 18, 2019 at 4:04 AM
LOL. That’s unfortunate, seems MSD is hogging the strike and Kohli has paid the price. Not blaming Dhoni but repeating cricinfo comments.
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January 18, 2019 at 5:54 AM
He frustrates everyone…zampa last over he defended 5 balls and got run on last ball..Funny thing is that he no longer Dhoni who can hit any ball..he mistimes many shots..
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January 18, 2019 at 6:17 AM
He’s man of series. Dhoni is in for me in the WC side. He has experience like no one else. Whether India go far who knows!
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January 18, 2019 at 6:23 AM
The last WC, Dhawan was stupid in semi holing out at a crucial moment. Plus many totals were treated like T20 matches. Teams were prepared to be score low to keep wickets in hand and be explosive in last 15 overs. India I hope can play this way as an option.
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January 18, 2019 at 8:48 AM
he calculated to play out zampa and richardson and go after siddle and stoinis.
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January 18, 2019 at 8:52 AM
to be honest, he’s not been dismissed fairly in this series. his only dismissal was in sydney given lbw to one pitched outside leg, but unfortunately rayadu had already used up india’s review.
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January 18, 2019 at 9:57 AM
Australian players speak on the legend MS Dhoni
Dhoni’s 87 year old fan
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=86gk3FDsTkA
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January 18, 2019 at 11:11 AM
Right observation from Justin Langer
https://mobile.twitter.com/chetannarula/status/1086261293059792896
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January 18, 2019 at 11:32 AM
The other plus of having Dhoni is simply the opposition won’t like it. They know what he can do on his best day so there will be an added fear element.
My side would be
Sharma
Dhawan (if he could be replaced I’d be happy)
Kohli
Dhoni
Jadhav
Pant
Jadeja or Pandya
Bhuvi
Kuldeep
Shami
Bumrah
Then
Rayudu
Jadeja/Pandya
Chahal
Ahmed
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January 18, 2019 at 12:45 PM
Dhoni, Federer of cricket?
http://www.wionews.com/opinions/why-ms-dhoni-is-the-roger-federer-of-cricket-191251
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January 18, 2019 at 1:07 PM
I haven’t read article but Federer is supremely talented. Dhoni is good tactician and very average players. He uses his mind game to become better cricketer. There is no beauty in watching his version of cricket but results are most satisfying.
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January 18, 2019 at 1:20 PM
Hmmm. I think his WC final knock in 11 was one of the greatest knocks ever. He’s an audacious batsman when he plays without baggage. His earlier knocks is what I’d love to see more of.
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January 18, 2019 at 1:31 PM
I think most teams have figured him out…Like Finch put six fielders in circle because he is not good at finding gaps at start of innings and he is not going to take risks to hit over inner circle…This is his bane in terms of scoring rate.
He used to be more fluid in past but I see increasingly mistiming the shots..His fitness lvel is such that he can play for 2-3 more years easily but I want him to retire gracefully (he still gets most applaud when walking in to bat..any ground in India or outside) and pass the baton to a younger player.
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January 18, 2019 at 3:19 PM
I think really he should have considered retirement 2 years ago if he was going to pass on the baton. Basically Pant at 21 has arrived a year late to facilitate any handover. But Dhoni is still a force of sorts. He played 2 not out innings to win the series, I would love to see a belligerent crazy player but that has clearly gone or is used sparingly.
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January 18, 2019 at 1:11 PM
https://thewest.com.au/sport/perth-scorchers/stunning-crowd-catch-at-optus-stadium-during-bbl-clash-between-perth-scorchers-and-hobart-hurricanes-ng-b881078728z
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January 19, 2019 at 2:21 AM
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January 19, 2019 at 4:08 AM
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January 19, 2019 at 3:09 AM
WBBL..Bowler thought the hit has gone for six and fielder comes and catches from nowhere
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January 19, 2019 at 4:23 AM
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January 19, 2019 at 11:36 PM
The exact moment when it hit him that he has become a villain isn’t known, but hours after India won the Test series in the first week of this year, Hardik Pandya was on a high about his now infamous chat with Karan Johar. Late to join the squad because of injury, he was talking about the talk-show to anyone who cared to listen — check out, the entire country is talking about me. Words to that effect. It was still in the ‘cool’ territory. Despite taking no part in India’s historic win over Australia, he had stayed in news. On Johar’s show, Koffee With Karan, as the talk-show host baited them with questions about women — the ones they had dated, had sex with, their favourite pick-up line — the 25-year-old Pandya and his teammate K L Rahul, 26, boasted about hooking up with multiple women and also how open they had been about it with their parents and family.
But what was perhaps more damaging was the rapid-fire segment on the show. Here, as Johar asks the two if they had “done it” in a teammate’s room, both Pandya and Rahul respond with a resounding “yes”. From there on, the answers keep lifting the iron curtain between the fans and their cricketing heroes, and Johar keeps pressing. He asks if they have “gone above and beyond to ‘connect’ with a fan after the match”, and, with Johar pushing him, Rahul replies: “Oh, that way? Yeah, I have.” He also goes on to talk about how he once partied till 5 am on the eve of an international game.
It was especially this part of the show that didn’t go down well with the team and the cricket administrators. For, it hinted at a disturbing team culture and also exposed the frailty of the wall around the players that anti-corruption officials keep talking about. Was it so easy for outsiders to sneak into the team hotel? Aren’t there curfew hours before a big game?
In 2017, the BCCI issued a players’ handbook titled ‘100 things every professional cricketer must know’ which was based on Justice R M Lodha’s recommendations. It covered a wide range of topics from fitness and diet, to media interactions and managing finances. Page 77 of the book titled ‘10 things about media interaction’ has a picture, ironically, of K L Rahul (see below), with a caption that says: “Before the interaction is to begin, one could think through a few difficult or ‘trick’ questions that could be asked and the answers one would like to give to them.” It also warns players about the motives of the interviewer: “You need to understand that a journalist could have a motive — to sensationalise or build a story that would be of commercial benefit to their organisation… You could simply say ‘That’s not something I want to talk about’ or ‘I have no comment to make about that’.” A blurb on the page has an M S Dhoni quote: “You have every right to ask me that. It’s your prerogative. But I have the right to not answer.”
https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/hardik-pandya-kl-rahul-bcci-supreme-court-5546576/
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January 20, 2019 at 1:34 AM
https://sports.ndtv.com/tennis/australian-open-2019-agitated-novak-djokovic-regrets-meltdown-in-floodlight-fury-1980240?pfrom=home-topstories
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January 22, 2019 at 8:14 PM
Gary Sobers award, Test Player of the Year, ODI Player of the Year, named captain of the Test Team of the Year and captain of the ODI Team of the Year
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January 20, 2019 at 3:57 AM
http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/25804610/virat-kohli-end-bradman-odi-batting
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January 22, 2019 at 2:38 AM
Virat Kohli sweeps ICC awards; also named captain of Test, ODI Teams of the Year
PTI | Updated: Jan 22, 2019, 12:40 IST
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/news/virat-kohli-sweeps-icc-awards-also-named-captain-of-test-odi-teams-of-the-year/articleshow/67636154.cms
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January 22, 2019 at 3:15 PM
Sarfraz Ahmed racism against South African batsman
“Abey kaale, teri ammi aaj kahaan baitheen hain? Kya parwa ke aaye hai aaj?”.
Translated literally that is: “Hey black guy, where’s your mother sitting today? What [prayer] have you got her to say for you today?”
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IgWmyn8_VxM
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January 22, 2019 at 4:28 PM
phehlukwayo was iffy against Shadab at start of inning, but he played well..Dussen was good through out…
ps – Started watching around 80-5 and Rameez raza was gleeful in commentary.
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January 24, 2019 at 1:28 PM
I think commenting on the player’s mother is more derogatory but using kaaley will be considered racist in today’s age and time. It is racist but its pretty generic to say – gora for US/UK folks or Kaaley for Africa folks. If calling out kaaley is derogatory then saying someone gora should also be one!
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January 27, 2019 at 9:08 AM
the worst is when people of african origin are in india, little kids and uneducated run after that person mocking him as kalu. also shilpa shetty who won big brother on the basis of being a victim of racism later appeared on a tv program as an african
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January 24, 2019 at 8:38 AM
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/news/hardik-pandya-kl-rahul-suspensions-lifted-with-immediate-effect-coa/articleshow/67673628.cms
Suspension lifted on Pandya and Rahul.
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January 28, 2019 at 9:11 AM
Pandya is back in ODI team, but if Shubman Gill performs in the next two matches that may be it for KL Rahul. Pandya did most of the loose talking in KWK, it wouldn’t be wrong to say his career has been screwed by Pandya loose talk
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January 24, 2019 at 11:41 AM
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-46992612
Very sad.
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January 24, 2019 at 1:22 PM
That’s sad. 3 days is too less to call off the search.
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January 24, 2019 at 1:34 PM
Yes. All seems practical given the weather, literally a miracle needed for either or both to be alive. Never understand why these small aircraft get used at all. Considering the Leicester City chairman died flying out of the stadium these are pointless deaths. FLY ON CHARTERED FLIGHTS. This is a horrible story.
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January 24, 2019 at 12:33 PM
England is 6 down before half century!
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January 24, 2019 at 12:42 PM
49-7, Roach 5-13.
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January 24, 2019 at 12:42 PM
The price of rejecting tour match! 7 now!
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January 24, 2019 at 1:37 PM
77 all out. WI blew England away, great to see a feisty WI speed attack! England LOL. Need some openers – can’t have a team of wicketkeeper batsmen and allrounders and Anderson.
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January 24, 2019 at 3:26 PM
England doing to WI what WI did to them!
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January 26, 2019 at 1:39 AM
Australia vs SL finishing in less than 3 days..
Kurtis Patterson took an excellent catch.
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January 26, 2019 at 1:45 AM
SL look to have been awful here.
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January 26, 2019 at 7:17 PM
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January 26, 2019 at 7:36 PM
Cummins is a gun bowler
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January 26, 2019 at 7:44 PM
when will bcci embrace pink ball d/n test cricket? apparently they refused to have adelaide as pink ball test due to conditions in final session where the ball nips significantly. also we need to capture gabba, perth and sydney next time
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January 26, 2019 at 8:54 PM
https://sports.ndtv.com/tennis/australian-open-2019-naomi-osaka-lifts-australian-open-title-becomes-new-world-no-1-1983688?pfrom=home-sshowcase
Her jubilation was a marked contrast to Osaka’s maiden Slam win last year, when she tearfully hid her face as boos rang around Flushing Meadows in the wake of losing finalist Serena Williams’ tirade at the umpire. This time, Osaka cried with joy and smiled as she became the youngest woman to win back-to-back majors since Martina Hingis in 1998 and the youngest number one since Caroline Wozniacki in 2010.
Her gutsy performance confirms her status as the leading light of tennis’ new generation.
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January 27, 2019 at 2:24 AM
Endearing winner and apt comparison with Hingis.
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January 26, 2019 at 11:36 PM
Big thrashing by Windies over the English. Looks like they got the wood over England after the amazing Headingley win with Shai Hope’s knock. True England won that series but this is a serious drubbing.
Disappointed with Windies showing in Bangladesh who present spinning dustbowls to aid their spinners and lucky to win the toss. Else Windies would have shown a better show probably taken one of the tests from Bangladeshis.
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January 27, 2019 at 2:14 AM
Irony is England played 2 spinners, dropped Broad (who could have made a big difference) only for Chase, a part time spinner to deliver 8 wickets in final innings! England obviously lost the test in 1 pathetic session on Day 2. They have underestimated WI and deserve the thrashing.
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January 27, 2019 at 2:50 AM
Djokovic versus Nadal men’s single final today in sometime.
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January 27, 2019 at 2:54 AM
Djokovic to win. Federer looks likely to retire this season as he is playing clay court season and wanting to have a ‘bit of fun’. Djokovic looks back to his best. Next gen is gearing up but very difficult against Djokovic or Nadal. They will probably win all slams between themselves this year.
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January 27, 2019 at 4:42 AM
Djokovic is serving far too well. Nadal will have to win tie breakers at this rate otherwise 3-0 is very much on the cards.
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January 27, 2019 at 4:55 AM
Nadal has to make a case for injury time out to upset Djokovic otherwise this is a one sided final.
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January 27, 2019 at 5:23 AM
Goodnight Nadal. Throw in the towel. Djokovic is too good for ANYONE in this form.
Nadal has never lost in straight sets in a GS final…
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January 27, 2019 at 5:51 AM
Djokovic destroyed Nadal. Absolutely hammered him. His claim for best ever is coming. Federer’s 20 will be beaten by Djokovic IMO.
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January 27, 2019 at 6:33 AM
Demolished. Congrats to Serbians and all Djoker fans.
Amazing how Tennis keep throwing greats who rule for over a decade or so. I always wonder why can’t we have new players coming and winning every 2-3 years? Seems one who wins, keep winning till his body retires.
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January 27, 2019 at 7:28 AM
Indonesia Masters: Saina Nehwal Wins Title After Carolina Marin Retires Hurt In 1st Game
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January 27, 2019 at 9:49 AM
Meantime, our Bradman down under Pujara is guiding his Ranji team to Finals with a splendid 4th innings century. He and Jackson also did have an unbeaten partnership in 4th innings in QF
http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/8050/game/1162720/karnataka-vs-saurashtra-2nd-semi-final-ranji-trophy-2018-19
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January 28, 2019 at 6:25 AM
wow, Che Pujara walked in at 3 runs for 2 wickets. That escalated to 23/3.when Sheldon Jackson joined him. Together they added 214, Jackson scoring exactly 100 and Pujara 131 not out. Pujara stayed till the winning runs were scored and ensured Saurashtra won by 5 wickets
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January 27, 2019 at 10:46 AM
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January 28, 2019 at 2:11 AM
Karnataka fans were chanting cheater to Pujara:
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January 28, 2019 at 8:41 AM
rubbish attitude by bengalaru crowd. they should be ashamed to brand a national hero in that manner. and he does not need to walk if umpire says not out. even on replay, one can’t be sure. maybe pujara didn’t hit it.
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January 28, 2019 at 5:32 PM
Dravid similar incident to Pujara. Both aren’t walkers.I guess Bengalaru crowd only jealous that Pujara has achieved success which Dravid has done before and will overtake Dravid with such knocks. Bengalaru venue should be banned from holding any Test matches henceforth
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January 28, 2019 at 4:28 AM
Not happy with the manner of victory: Nehwal after ending two-year badminton tour title drought
Nehwal won her first title on the Badminton World Federation tour since January 2017.
Saina Nehwal (right) consoling Carolina Marin after the later conceded the final due to a knee injury | ADEK BERRY / AFP
Scroll article.
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January 28, 2019 at 8:53 AM
what a comeback from pandya. a brilliant catch of williamson, followed by 2 wickets in the middle order of kiwis. watch the spectacular air borne catch of pandya.
https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/424751-india-vs-new-zealand-watch-hardik-pandya-took-a-flying-catch-to-dismiss-williamson
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January 28, 2019 at 12:30 PM
https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/new-zealand-police-takes-cheeky-digs-at-its-own-team-issues-hilarious-warning-against-india-2015629.html
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January 28, 2019 at 5:48 PM
Dickwella dropped Head on 29. He was only returning the favor since Head himself had dropped Dickwella on 11.
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January 30, 2019 at 1:42 PM
https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/supreme-court-asks-s-sreesanth-why-he-didnt-inform-bcci-about-being-approached-for-spot-fixing-5561630/
Supreme Court asks S Sreesanth why he didn’t inform BCCI about being approached for spot-fixing
The apex court observed that conduct of Sreesanth, who is facing life ban for his alleged involvement in the sensational spot-fixing scandal, in the entire episode was “not good”
Khurshid argued that as per allegations, Sreesanth was supposed to concede 14 runs in an over but he gave away 13 runs in that over which he bowled to “two of the best batsmen” — Adam Gilchrist and Shaun Marsh.
“At the worst, it could be said that I (Sreesanth) had the knowledge that somebody was trying to do fixing and I should have brought it to the notice of the authorities. If that is the case, the total ban could be up to five years,” he said.
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January 30, 2019 at 4:24 PM
13 is very near 14..Having seen him for 3 months on Bigg boss..he is smart and cunning..
There are always cases where guilt cannot be proven but that doesn’t make one innocent.
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