Category: Sports

India captain Virat Kohli has managed to hold on to his second position behind Australia’s Steve Smith in the ICC Test Rankings for batsmen released on Monday.

Kohli, with 903 rating points, is 34 points behind Smith (937).

Besides former Australia captain Smith, compatriot Pat Cummins has also retained his top position in the ICC Test bowlers’ rankings.

Both Smith and Cummins player key roles in helping Australia retain The Ashes.

The Ashes culminated with a 135-run victory for England in the fifth and final Test on Sunday. The series ended in a 2-2 draw with Australia retaining the Urn.

Smith’s scores of 80 and 23 in the two innings in the final Test helped him remain at 937 rating points, an incredible effort since he started the series in fourth position with 857 points before his surge that came courtesy 774 runs in four Tests.

Cummins too is well clear of other bowlers as he enjoys a lead of 57 points over second-placed Kagiso Rabada after finishing as the top wicket-taker with 29 scalps. India’s Jasprit Bumrah is in third place.

Other players from Australia to make notable gains are Matthew Wade and Mitchell Marsh.

Wade’s fourth Test century has lifted him 32 places to 78th, his highest since being ranked 52nd in March 2013. Marsh’s maiden five-wicket haul has helped him gain 20 places to reach 54th place, his best since March 2017.

David Warner has lost seven places after the Test to finish in 24th position among batsmen. He has slid 19 places during the five matches with a tally of 95 runs in 10 innings, starting the series in fifth position.

KL Rahul has been dropped from India’s 15-member squad for their upcoming three-match Test series against South Africa as Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selectors put faith in Rohit Sharma. Youngster Shubman Gill received his maiden Test call-up and chairman of selectors MSK Prasad stated he can also act as a back-up opener to Rohit and Mayank Agarwal in the series against Proteas, which start from October 2 at Visakhapatanam.

Rahul has struggled for form in the longest form and the selectors’ patience finally ran out following the right-hander’s dismal performance in West Indies. Rahul managed to score just 664 runs in his last 30 Test innings and his only notable score was 149 against England at the Oval last year, coming in a dead fifth rubber.

Prasad stated that Rahul is a talented cricketer but because of his poor form in red-ball cricket, he has been dropped for the South Africa series. Moreover, the chief of selectors took the name of former India cricketer VVS Laxman and asked Rahul to follow his example in his bid to get back into the Test team.

“We definitely communicated to KL. He is an exceptional talent and unfortunately his form has dipped in red-ball cricket,” Prasad said during press-conference after selection meet in New Delhi. “With Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay gone, we can’t keep changing both the openers in the side.”

Unlike the ODI World Cup or even the World Test Championship, the T20 World Cup is the toughest format to build towards given the unpredictability of the format. ‘Form’ can change within minutes. Consistency is difficult to attain. Even if one manages consistency, it can all change in a matter of few overs.

The one thing within teams’ control is preparation. India are leaving no stone unturned, doing all they can to build towards the tournament. India’s eyes are trained on the T20 World Cup to be held in Australia next year. And maybe even the one following that the very next year.

India are set to play 17 T20Is from now till the IPL next year, with nine of those in 2019 alone. They’ve already begun their preparations with a 3-0 whitewash of West Indies in West Indies, their next challenge is a three-match series at home against South Africa.

Rahul’s expulsion from the team could also pave the way for Rohit Sharma to open against South Africa. Under-19 World Cup star Shubman Gill has got maiden Test call up.

The 20-year-old Gill’s inclusion was on expected lines after he top-scored for India A in the tour of West Indies and was adjudged man of the series. He became the youngest Indian to score a first-class double hundred during the series.

The chief selector MSK Prasad also said that selectors want to give Rohit an opportunity to open the innings in Tests. This is something that former India captain Sourav Ganguly also advocated some time ago

Pacer Umesh Yadav, who did not get to play against Windies, failed to make the cut in the 15-member squad.

Rohit will captain the Board President’s XI, which will take on the South Africans in a three-day tour match in Vizianagaram from September 26.

India’s first Test against South Africa will start in Visakhapatnam on October 2, while the second and third games will be held in Pune (October 10-14) and Ranchi (October 19-23) respectively.

The much-talked-about Yo-Yo test is back in the news after Team India head coach Ravi Shastri along with his support staff have reportedly shown interest in increasing the minimum qualification mark to 17 from the existing level of 16.1. The move, set to be implemented before the South Africa tour, will be done to give utmost priority to the fitness levels of Indian cricketers.

So what exactly is the Yo-Yo Test?

This test is basically a variation of the Beep test which is a running aerobic fitness routine that Indian cricketers undertook in the past. This is a gruelling routine and has two sets of cones which are placed 20 metres apart. Once the beep is sounded, an athlete has to reach the marker on the other side by the time the next beep shrieks. He then has to turn around and rush back to mark from where he started the run.

The frequency of the beeps keeps on increasing with every round – and a player is considered to be successful in the test after they finish the run to the cone and back. There is a gap of about seven seconds between each trip.

The test starts with a player kicking off his jog at a speed of level 5, which consists of one shuttle. Subsequently, the next speed level, which is 9, also consists of one shuttle. The next speed level is 11 and this has two shuttles while level 12 has three and level 13 four. There are eight shuttles per level from 14 upwards.

Ravi Shastri is set to begin his second consecutive innings as India head coach, and according to certain reports, there will be a slew of changes in the fitness regime of India cricketers. India, at the moment, follow the internationally accepted yo-yo test as a way to measure the fitness of a player. But at the moment, the players are required to periodically score 16.1 in the test to be eligible to play for the country.

But, according to a report in Bangalore Times, under Shastri’s new reign, the minimum qualification mark is likely to increase up to 17. The report says that Shasti will soon hold an exhaustive meeting with all the stakeholders in the coming days to discuss the same.

A source was quoted as saying by Bangalore Mirror: “Fitness is integral to participation at the international level and the minimum qualification will be 17.”

The report adds that the new arrangement is expected to take place from India’s series against South Africa, which is set to begin from September 15.

The yo-yo- test is basically an aerobic endurance training exercise, which was developed by Danish football physiologist Jens Bangsbo. Several Indian cricketers, including India’s pace spearhead Mohammed Shami have failed the yo-yo test in the past. Apart from Shami, former India cricketer Yuvraj Singh and Kerala batsman Sanju Samson have also struggled to clear the test after it was introduced.

Following his appointment as head coach, Shastri had outlined his ambitions and what were his immediate goals with the side. “The reason why I came in here is the belief I had in this team, the belief that they could leave a legacy which very few teams have left behind which other teams going down will try and emulate,” Shastri told bcci.tv after his appointment.

“Next two years is to see the smooth transition happening. You will get a lot of youngsters coming — in both white-ball setup and Tests. You need to identify another three-four bowlers to add to the pool by the end of our tenure. My endeavour by the end of this tenure would be to leave the team in a happier space so that they can set a legacy in the time to come,” he further added.

The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) will be unveiling a stand at the Feroz Shah Kotla after India captain Virat Kohli on Thursday and the entire team will be there to witness the momentous occasion.

“The boys will be there when DDCA unveils the stand in Kohli’s name. The boys are assembling in the capital on Thursday before heading to Dharamsala on Friday,” a senior board functionary said.

Kohli and Co play Quinton de Kock’s men in the opening game of the T20I series on Sunday before moving to Mohali for the second match that will be played on September 18. The final game is to be played at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on September 22.

The Proteas have already arrived in the country and after the disappointment of the World Cup, they are looking to start afresh with de Kock named skipper for the T20I series in place of Faf du Plessis.

Pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada has already made his excitement known on Twitter as he wrote: “Excited to be back in India and looking forward to playing cricket again.”

The Indians have rested the senior pace trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, while all-rounder Hardik Pandya is back after being rested for the West Indies tour.

Sri Lanka T20I captain Lasith Malinga claimed four wickets in four balls for the second time in his international career to rip through the New Zealand batting order in the third T20I at Pallekele on Friday. Chasing 126 runs to win, New Zealand openers Colin Munro and Tim Seifert scored 15 in the opening two overs before captain Malinga broke the New Zealand batting in one over. Here’s how the action unfolded in the eventful 3rd over of New Zealand innings:

2.3 : Lasith Malinga to Colin Munro – Castles Munro with a beauty. 100th T20I wicket for him. You can’t keep Malinga out of the match for a long time. Goes to his main weapon as he bowls this quick yorker. Munro looks to flick and misses. The ball sneaks through the bat to hit the leg pole. Munro couldn’t have done much to that one as it swung late. Can he continue doing the magic and help them defend this total?

2.4: Lasith Malinga to Hamish Rutherford – Two in two for Malinga. A duck for Rutherford on return. On the pads this time on a fullish length. The new batter, Rutherford goes for a flick but he is very late on the stroke. The ball swings in and goes to hit the pads hard as the Lankans make a loud appeal. The umpire does not agree but Malinga wants the third umpire to have a look at it. The Ultra Edge shows no bat. The Hawk Eye rolls in and it shows that it was hitting the leg stump. The umpire will have to change his decision here and a great review from the Lankan skipper.

2.5:Lasith Malinga to Colin de Grandhomme – Malinga you champion. Hat-trick number two for him in T20I. He is on fire. And the Kiwis can do nothing about him. What a ripper from Malinga again. Another inswinging yorker. De Grandhomme is late to bring his down again. The ball goes onto disturb the timbers once again. They are checking for the front foot no ball and it is a very close call. However, the third umpire deems it in the favor of the bowler this time as Malinga breathes a sigh of a relief. What a legend!

479 runs in three Test matches in the ongoing Ashes series at an astounding average of 159.66 is how former Australia skipper Steve Smith has announced his return to the Test arena after serving a one year ban for the Sandpaper Gate fiasco. While he hit a double on Thursday, he had already taken back the No.1 Test batsman’s slot from India skipper Virat Kohli. But the debate on who between Kohli and Smith is currently the best batsman in world cricket refuses to die down. (Full scorecard of England vs Australia 4th Test)

Speaking to IANS, legendary Australia leg-spinner Shane Warne has said that if he had to pick one for Tests, Smith would have a slight advantage over his otherwise favorite Kohli. Warne feels across formats though Kohli takes the cake.

Opener Shikhar Dhawan was back amongst the runs with a brisk 52 off 43 balls but it wasn’t enough to get India A over the line against South Africa A in a rain-hit unofficial fourth ODI, ending the visitors’ losing streak on Thursday.

South Africa A pacemen Anrich Nortje and Marco Jansenshared three wickets each, triggering a middle-order collapse to help the team win the game by four runs via Duckworth-Lewis method.

The game, which was extended to a reserve day, resumed on Thursday afternoon after another delay to due to rain and wet outfield with India requiring 137 more runs in 17.2 overs to secure a fourth successive win, having already sealed the series.

One big positive from the game was Dhawan being back among the runs ahead of the T20 series against South Africa beginning on September 15. The southpaw endured a dry run in the West Indies with scores of 36, 2, 3, 23, 1 in the limited overs leg of the tour.

India A were on course for victory when skipper Shreyas Iyer (26) and his Mumbai teammate Shivam Dube (31) were in the middle.

However, their dismissal in the space of two balls by the pacy Nortje (3/36), began the India A slide as the host slipped to 178 for 9.

Dube, who carted three big sixes, was well caught by substitute Khaya Zondo in the deep off Nortje’s bowling. Two balls later, the captain fell to a catch in the deep.

Local star Sanju Samson, from whom a lot was expected, fell to a superb catch by the ‘keeper Sinethemba Qeshile off rookie Lutho Sipamla for 1.

Nitish Rana and MS Washington Sundar fell while going for big shots and it was left to Rahul Chahar to try and pull off a win in the company of No.11 Ishan Porel.

He tried his best, hitting a six and a four, but couldn’t take the team past the line as Beuran Hendricks didn’t allow him to score off the final delivery.

Earlier, Dhawan and Prashant Chopra (26) began confidently with the former reaching his half-century in style.

After Dhawan’s fall at 110 in the 15th over, Shreyas Iyer and Dube joined forces and kept the scoreboard ticking with a mix of cautious play and big shots.

However, the exit of Iyer and Dube turned things around for South Africa ‘A’, who went on to clinch a consolation win.