News Analysis India

Tag: virat

  • Virat Kohli wins toss, opts to bat first

    India won the toss and has elected to bat first against Australia in Adelaide.  Australia has played and won 7 matches under lights, four of them at the Adelaide Oval. India, on the other hand, played its first and only win late last year against Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens.

    The first Test of the four-match series is played with pink-ball while the rest of the series will be played with red-ball. Virat Kohli-led side announced their playing XI a day before the game which included Prithvi Shaw and Wriddhiman Saha.

    The visitors have opted for three seamers and one spinner in the first Test. Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, and Umesh Yadav are the three pacers while Ravichandran Ashwin has been chosen as the lone spinner.

    On the other hand, Tim Paine-led side has handed a debut Test cap to all-rounder Cameron Green before the toss. Pacer Pat Cummins presented the 459th Australian Test cap to Green.

    India playing XI for the 1st Test against Australia: P Shaw, M Agarwal, C Pujara, V Kohli, A Rahane, H Vihari, W Saha, R Ashwin, U Yadav, M Shami, J Bumrah

    1st Test. Australia XI: J Burns, M Wade, M Labuschagne, S Smith, T Head, C Green, T Paine, P Cummins, M Starc, N Lyon, J Hazlewood

  • Big loss for India not playing Virat Kohli’s test: Steve Smith

    Australia’s Steve Smith said that Virat Kohli’s failure to play in the last three Tests would be a big loss for India, but fans and stakeholders should understand that Kohli is also a human being and has a life outside cricket. Kohli will play in the day-night format test starting in Adelaide from 17 December, but will return home for the birth of his first child thereafter.

    Smith told the media in an online chat with Adelaide, “There is no doubt that this is a big loss for India. We all know that Virat is a world class player. We all know that he likes to play here, But he is also a human being, outside of cricket he also has a life, a family.

    He said, “At the time of the birth of his first child he wants to be praised for that. We all know how much he likes to play in Australia, so the credit goes to him for being there when he was a child.” Smith was banned for one year due to ball tempering in a Test match played in Cape Town in 2018 and that is why he did not play in the last Test series against India. Smith was also Australia’s captain at the time of the ball tempering controversy.

  • Virat Kohli maintains number one, Hardik Pandya in top 50 for the first time

    India captain Virat Kohli, who scored two half-centuries in the recently concluded three-match ODI series against Australia, continues to hold on to the top position in the latest ODI batsmen rankings released by the International Cricket Council on Thursday. While Hardik Pandya has reached the top-50 for the first time with a long jump.

    Indian team opener Rohit Sharma, who did not play ODI series against Australia due to IPL injury, also retained the number two position and is five points ahead of Pakistan player Babar Azam who is third in ODI rankings.

    Virat also performed well in the T20 series against Australia, due to which he has also occupied eighth place in the recently released T20 rankings with 697 points. Virat scored 134 runs in three T20 matches at an average of 44.66, which benefited the team and him.

    Hardik, who has performed brilliantly in the ODI series, has also risen in the rankings and has reached 49th position with his career-high 553 points. Hardik played his first ODI against Australia after the World Cup in 2019, in which he scored a 90-run innings and in the third ODI, the match Jitau scored 92 not out.

  • Virat Kohli has been the most influential player in ODIs for India this decade: Sunil Gavaskar

    The legendary Sunil Gavaskar believes skipper Virat Kohli has been the most impactful player for India in the last 10 years, considering the number of games that he has won for the country in this span of time.
    Kohli, who made his India debut in 2008, has emerged as one of the best batsmen in all formats of the game in the past decade. He recently became the fastest cricketer to score 12,000 ODI runs, breaking the record of cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar.

    “I think if you look as an individual, then certainly it’s got to be Virat Kohli, because if you look at the number of matches he’s won for India when India has been chasing big scores,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports show ‘cricket connected’.

  • I can’t just stand in slips and go through the motions

    Virat Kohli could miss India’s three-day warm-up match before the day-night Test in Adelaide. Most players in the team will come to the day-night Test with only one prior experience of playing first-class cricket in the night, in the Test against Bangladesh. However, having played six limited-overs internationals in 12 days, Kohli doesn’t want to risk being less than 100% for the Test, the only one he will play before departing for paternity leave.

    “Let’s see how I wake up tomorrow,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation after the final T20I at the SCG. “You know, I can’t play half and half. That’s me. I can’t just stand in slips and go through the motions. I need to wake up in the morning and see. If I feel great, I’ll definitely play. If not, I’ll speak to the physio and trainer and get a few days off and be fresh for the first Test.”

    Each player has his own ideas of preparation, and Kohli has generally not been a fan of less-than-peak-intensity warm-up games. He prefers shorter, sharper and intense nets sessions instead. Add to that the strain the players must be going through having left their homes well before the IPL and moving from bubble to bubble and playing all the cricket that they have.

    “I think before we go into the first Test, the feeling that we’ll want to have is that our games are at an acceptable level,” Kohli said later at the press conference. “But more important than that is that you’re physically fresh. We can’t afford the slightest of niggles or muscle strains. That is the biggest priority for us: to keep our main players physically fit. To start the Test series well, we will need our fittest 11 players on the field.”

    This was perhaps the reason India’s main fast bowlers took it easy during the first warm-up game, which, for a change, happened to be a high-intensity proper first-class match against a strong Australia A side. In the end, Wriddhiman Saha and last-man Kartik Tyagi had to dig deep to avoid a loss to Australia A inside three days.

  • Virat Kohli’s absence will leave a void in Indian team, says Sachin Tendulkar

     Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar said captain Virat Kohli’s departure will leave a “void” for India in their Test tour of Australia, but added that it will hand a golden opportunity to a younger player.
    Kohli will only lead the side in the first of the four Tests, starting in Adelaide on December 17, before returning home for the birth of his first child.
    There have been calls from some veterans for Kohli, India’s skipper in all three formats, to hand over some of his captaincy duties permanently.

    Tendulkar would not join that debate, but said India’s “bench strength” would help as they bid to win a second straight Test series win in Australia.
    “When you lose an experienced player like this (Kohli) there is without any doubt a void,” Tendulkar, the record run-maker and former India captain told AFP in an interview.
    “But let’s understand, this is not about individuals. It is about our team and the best part about Indian cricket right now is there is bench strength,” added Tendulkar.

  • Showing replay on screen before 15 seconds was costly: Virat Kohli on DRS

    India captain Virat Kohli wasn’t happy that his team lost out on a perfect DRS call just because replay of the delivery bowled to Matthew Wade was shown on giant screen before the permissible limit of 15 seconds.
    India lost the third T20 International by 12 runs and one of the reasons could be attributed to the fact that Wade, who could have been adjudged leg before off T Natarajan at a score of 50, got a lucky reprieve and added 30 more runs.

    “That lbw was a strange one because we were still discussing whether the ball was going down and within the 15-second time, they showed the replay on the screen,” Kohli said at post match conference on Tuesday.

  • Match lost due to short runs in the middle overs: Virat

    Indian captain Virat Kohli said on Tuesday after the defeat of 12 runs in the third T20 match against Australia, that we lost the match due to short runs in the middle overs.

    Australia scored a challenging score of 186 for five, while India could score 174 runs despite Virat’s brilliant innings of 85 runs and lost the match by 12 runs. Virat said after the match, “Once when Hardik was batting, the match was in our possession.

    But we did not play important partnerships in the middle overs, due to which we had to lose the match. During that time, a partnership of 30 or more runs would make Hardik’s work easier. We are trying to come back and it is a pleasure for the team to win the series so that we finish the 2020 season better. “

    He said, “I think the immense support of the audience has also given an inspiring dimension to the game. Players from both countries get energy from their spectators. We need to maintain the same rhythm in the Test as well and after playing for some time here, now we can score runs. Once we get into the rhythm, we need to refine it session by session. I am confident that the current team combination (test match) is stronger than the last time. “India has won the T20 series 2-1 and both teams now have a four-Test series starting on 17 December. Will land in

  • India elected to win the toss, Aaron Finch returns to Australia

    The last match of the three-match T20 series between India and Australia is to be played in Sydney some time from now. Indian captain Virat Kohli has decided to bowl first after winning the toss. In today’s match, a change has been made in Australia’s team, while India has landed with no change. Captain Aaron Finch has returned, replacing all-rounder Marcus Stoinis.

    India’s playing XI has Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Virat Kohli (captain), Sanju Samson, Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shardul Thakur, T Natarajan and Deepak Chahar.

    Australia’s playing XI includes Aaron Finch, Darcy Short, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Wade (captain / wicketkeeper), Moises Henriques, Sean Abbott, Andrew Tye, Mitchell Swapson, Adam Jampa and Daniel Samms.

    India has already captured the series by winning two consecutive matches. In the last match, hosts Australia will look to save the match. He intends to save respect, while Team India would like to do a clean sweep.

  • A big shock to Team India, Ravindra Jadeja out of T20 series

    The T20 series is being played between India (Australia) and Australia (Australia). Before the second match of this series, Team India suffered a big setback. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has been dropped from the team. This decision has been taken due to injury to him. Let us know that on their own, Team India has won the last ODI and the first T20 match. But now due to injury, he will not be able to play the series further.

    Fast bowler Shardul Thakur has found a place after Ravindra Jadeja was dropped from the team. The Board of Control for Cricket in India gave an update about Jadeja’s health. He said Jadeja is under surveillance and will be taken for further scans if needed on Saturday. Jadeja, who led India to a stunning score of 161 runs, was hit at the helmet in the final over of the innings, while earlier he was troubled by a leg.

    The BCCI has issued a statement in this regard. He said, “Ravindra Jadeja maintained a continuity after injuring his forehead on the left over of the first over of the first innings of the first T20 match against Australia in Canberra on 4 December 2020. He was confirmed sick by the BCCI medical team on the basis of clinical evaluation in the dressing room during the innings break. Jadeja is under observation and will be taken for further scans if required based on the assessment on Saturday morning. He will not take part in the series further. “

    Virat Kohli (captain), KL Rahul (VC & WK), Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson (WK), Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jaspreet Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar, T Natarajan and Shardul Thakur.