Cricket

‘Yeh ek din ki mehnat nahi hain’: Manika Batra on her historic win against World No. 2 Wang Manyu | More sports News

Danijones6 months ago03 mins

NEW DELHI: Indian table tennis star Manika Batra bested the current World No. 2 Wang Manyu of China to enter the last 16 of the ongoing Saudi Smash in Jeddah on Monday.Addressing the media following her monumental triumph, the Indian paddler celebrated the win as the “biggest achievement” of her career in singles.“It was my biggest achievement in my singles’ career.I am really happy that I won against her. I have been working hard in my training sessions with my coach Aman Balgu, my practice partner and trainer. So I am really happy because I worked hard (for this result). Of course, yeh ek din ki mehnat nahi hain (This is not the result of a single day’s effort). I kept on working hard for days, months, and years. I am glad that all those training sessions bore fruit for me,” said the 39th-ranked Batra.Vowing to keep her momentum, she added, “I will keep on fighting as I did today. I was fighting for every ball. I would like to keep this fighting spirit for my next match and the coming tournaments.”Having recently lost her position as the top-ranked Indian female player to Sreeja Akula (World No.38), Batra defeated China’s Wang 3-1 (6-11, 11-5, 11-7, 12-10) in a 37-minute encounter. The Indian paddler will now lock horns with Germany’s Nina Mittelham, ranked 14th in the world, for a spot in the quarterfinals.The 28-year-old has already qualified for the Paris Olympics 2024 and will be representing India in the most significant sporting event of the year.

“You Don’t Want To Play And Not Perform”: Ex India Star’s Firm Take On Rohit Sharma’s IPL 2024 Form

Danijones6 months ago6 months ago03 mins

Rohit Sharma hasn’t been in best form in IPL 2024© BCCI/Sportzpics With the Mumbai Indians’ campaign almost done and dusted in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, there’s little motivation for players to continue giving their best. The likes of Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, etc. are all established stars but haven’t been able to lift the Mumbai Indians’ campaign this season. As there remains the threat of their performances going down further, with MI unlikely to qualify for playoffs, former India cricketer Deep Dasgupta feels there’s still ‘pride’ to play for. Urging Rohit to not take his foot off the gas, Dasgupta urged the veteran opening batter to think of the forthcoming assignments and end the IPL campaign on a high. “You are playing for the pride of the team, you are playing as a professional cricketer and you are playing for your pride as well. You don’t want to play a game and not want to perform. Everytime you cross the line, you want to do your best,” Dasgupta told Star Sports. Dasgupta also feels next year’s IPL mega auction could be a key motivating factor for Rohit to do well. With Hardik now leading the franchise, it has been suggested by many that Rohit could decide to leave the franchise after the season. “Let’s not forget that next year is the big auction. This is the last few opportunities that all the professional cricketers have. Even if the team is not going to qualify, at least to put up a good show and tell everyone, ‘You know what, I am there’,” Dasgupta said. Dasgupta also feels that it’s important for Rohit to continue performing, keeping in mind his next assignment, which is the T20 World Cup 2024 with the Indian team. “He is such an integral part of the team since he is the captain, but he sets the tone as well at the top of the order. That’s what he has been doing for the last year and a half,” he added.

What is a hybrid pitch as Indian cricket embarks on new innovation? How is it different from natural turfs? – India TV

Danijones6 months ago6 months ago06 mins

Image Source : A view at the Dharamsala stadium. Indian cricket embarks on a new innovation as the nation’s first-ever hybrid pitch was unveiled at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) stadium in Dharamsala on Monday. The hybrid surface was unveiled in a grand ceremony and the event was attended by IPL Chairman Arun Dhumal and other cricket dignitaries including Paul Taylor, who is an ex-England player and SIS’s international cricket director. Hybrid pitches are combination of natural and synthetic fibres The new type of hybrid pitches is a combination of natural turf and synthetic fibres. These types of pitches have only 5% of synthetic fibres with 95% being the natural turf only. The synthetic fibre gets injected into the natural surface. These pitches promise to enhance the durability and consistent playability of matches. This also promises to reduce the strain and workload on the ground staff and will also maintain quality playing conditions. “The introduction of hybrid pitches is set to revolutionize cricket in India, following their success in iconic venues like Lord’s and The Oval in England,” said Dhumal, who hails from Himachal Pradesh. Notably, Taylor looks forward to more projects in Mumbai and Ahmedabad. “With the ICC’s approval, we’re excited to see the positive impact these pitches will have on the sport, starting with installations in Mumbai and Ahmedabad next,” Taylor said. ICC has sanctioned the hybrid pitches for T20s and ODIs and there are plans to use them on England’s county cricket grounds. How are hybrid pitches different from natural ones? According to Paul Taylor, the work required to renovate a pitch in between games will get much reduced on these surfaces. “The preparation of a hybrid pitch is no different to a fully natural pitch. They’re prepared in exactly the same way. What you’ll find, though, is when you finish the game on them, the amount of renovation work you need to do before the next game is massively reduced. So that’s where less pressure is put on the ground staff. You can play on it up to three times longer than what you ordinarily would on a natural turf pitch,” he said. The challenge will be to recreate the different behavioural patterns that we see on a natural surface as the match progresses further to the hybrid turfs. Taylor said that the characteristics won’t change fundamentally and one can control the pitch as per the need. “You can control playing characteristics (on the hybrid pitch) as they don’t change fundamentally. You can control the amount of moisture that goes into the pitch. If you want to play on a dry pitch, you can play on a dry pitch. If you want to leave more grass on, you can do that,” he added. So will the ball spin? “The ball will spin. What we have actually found anecdotally is that spin bowlers over a period of time will get more bounce out of the hybrid pitch than what they ordinarily would off a natural turf pitch,” he said. The playing conditions change over time but Taylor said the pitch can be controlled even when the conditions will change game after game. “Yes, the playing conditions still vary over time. But you’re still in control of what sort of works for you on a pitch. So, you might play on a new hybrid pitch for one game. And the playing characteristics are slightly different. But game two, three, four, five…the conditions will change. You can still control those conditions,” said Taylor.

He can kill spinners: Ravi Shastri backs ‘explosive’ Shivam Dube before T20 World Cup 2024

Danijones6 months ago03 mins

Ravi Shastri picked Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shivam Dube as the Indian cricketers to watch out for in the T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies and United States of America (USA). After performing exceptionally in the T20Is against Afghanistan, Dube showed his class for CSK in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Dube has earned praise for his ability to take apart quality spinners. Shastri also backed Jaiswal, lauding him for his wholehearted performance against England in the 5-match Test series. After a poor start to his campaign in the IPL, Jaiswal returned to form with a sparkling hundred against MI at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. “The two gentlemen you’ve got to watch out for, and both are left-handers, both playing their first World Cup. One is [Yashasvi] Jaiswal. We know a lot about him, he did extremely well against England, explosive at the top of the order, a left-hander, he’s young, he’s fearless, and he’ll play shots,” Shastri told ICC. Dube has been in prime form, having scored 350 runs from 11 games at an average of 43.75 and a strike-rate of 170.73. The fact that he has hit 26 sixes shows how dominating he has been. “But there’s someone in the middle order, please watch out for [him], because he is explosive, he’s devastating and he’s a match-winner. He hits sixes for fun, and when it comes to spin bowling, he can kill you,” Shastri said. ‘Shivam Dube holds the key’ While Dube has garnered accolades for playing spin-bowling effectively, the southpaw has also found a way to dictate terms to the fast bowlers. Shastri said that Dube can turn matches on their head with his power-hitting in the death overs. “Even against the fast bowlers, he’s worked out his game, he’s understood the way to play, and I think he holds the key at that number five, number six position, because if you’re on the doldrums, you want someone to change it in 20-25 balls, he’s the player to go to,” Shastri added. Published By: sabyasachi chowdhury Published On: May 6, 2024 Tune In

David Warner opens up on getting blocked by SRH on social media: ‘It was bizarre, it did hurt’

Danijones6 months ago6 months ago04 mins

Australia opener David Warner feels it was bizarre when Sunrisers Hyderabad blocked him from social media after releasing him from the squad. Warner led the Hyderabad-based franchise to their lone IPL title in 2016 and was their most successful captain. The left-handed batter was sacked as SRH captain midway in IPL 2022 after his relations with the franchise went sour. Kane Williamson took over the captaincy charge midseason, but they finished the season with three wins in 14 games. David Warner left Sunrisers Hyderabad after IPL 2021.(IPL/Twitter) Warner won Orange Cap twice while playing for Sunrisers as he ended his association with them after scoring 4,014 runs. He led them to 35 wins in 67 matches as captain. Last year, Warner got to know, he was blocked by SRH on social media when he was trying to tag them on his Instagram story. In a conversation with Ravichandran Ashwin on his YouTube channel, Warner talked about his tainted relationship with SRH, however, he didn’t reveal anything about his exit but admitted he was hurt when they blocked him. “It did (hurt) because it was a sense of like hurt for fans. The fans are the most important relationship you could have. With the engagement with the fans that I had, with the team had was very good,” Warner said. The swashbuckling opener said that engaging with fans is most important to him, and it felt bizarre when SRH blocked him from social media, but he still stays connected with the fans. “Not sure why I was blocked. But, I did engage with a lot of fans on the social media side for SRH. I did feel it was my duty to engage with the fans, making sure they keep coming back. That’s what is most important. But from the blocking point of view, I don’t know. I have been sitting on it for about 5 years. It was bizarre. At the end of the day, I still got fans who come onto my page and talk to everyone. So it’s great,” he added. Meanwhile, Warner is going through a lean patch in IPL this season and scored just 167 runs in 7 matches for Delhi Capitals and has scored just one half-century. Capitals have been inconsistent so far, winning five and losing six of their last 11 games. While winning the remaining three games is a must for Pant’s men, even that will only take them to 16 points which might not be enough to qualify for the last four stage of the tournament.

Jasprit Bumrah’s Special Guest: Son Angad Spotted During IPL Game – Pic Goes Viral

Danijones6 months ago6 months ago02 mins

Jasprit Bumrah’s wife Sanjana Ganesan with son Angad© twitter The Mumbai Indians vs SunRisers Hyderabad match on Monday had a special guest. On her birthday, Jasprit Bumrah’s wife Sanjana Ganesan brought along their son Angad to watch the match. Star Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah on Monday wrote a heartfelt post for his wife Sanjana Ganesan on her birthday. Bumrah, who is currently playing for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2024, came up with a loving caption as he shared wishes for his “favourite person”. “happy birthday to my person, the one who completes me and with her by my side the world is a wonderful place. Angad and I wish you have the best birthday, with lots of love and cuddles from us,” Bumrah shared on his Instagram handle. Sanjana replied with a red heart emoji in the post that garnered over 28k likes. The couple got married on March 15, 2021 in Goa. The photo of Bumrah’s son and wife went viral on social media. Angad Jasprit Bumrah and Sanjana in the stands. pic.twitter.com/v6XsTyxqGN — Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) May 6, 2024 Junior Bumrah watching his father — Manu (@yoitzmanu) May 6, 2024 Aaj toh 5fer pakka SRH ki lanka lag gayi — Anjali Tanna (@fuzzieandsassy) May 6, 2024 Junior Boom Boom enjoying father’s bowling from the stands — Anish Verma (@anishverma1985) May 6, 2024

MS Dhoni’s Own Medicine Used “To Fool” Him: On CSK Great’s Struggles, Ex-India Star’s Blunt Take

Danijones6 months ago6 months ago04 mins

IPL 2024: MS Dhoni gets dismissed vs Punjab Kings on Sunday© AFP The IPL on Sunday witnessed a rare scene. MS Dhoni, a genius in the death overs, fell for golden duck in a match against Punjab Kings in Dharamshala. Harshal Patel took the wicket as the fans present were shell-shocked. It was for the second time in two matches, that Dhoni got dismissed in the IPL 2024. Before that he stayed unbeaten for seventh straight matches. Coincidentally, both his dismissals came against Punjab Kings. On Sunday, he was bowled by Harshal Patel, he got run out by in the last over. Former Indian cricket team opener Navjot Singh Sidhu had an interesting observation regarding Dhoni’s struggles against spin in the previous match. In that match against PBKS, Dhoni came to bat in the 18th over. In the 19th over, with Dhoni on Strike, Rahul Chahar was introduced. Dhoni could take only two runs in the over. “They got done in by something unexpected. They used Dhoni’s own medicine against him to fool him. Look at Dhoni’s practice. He always smashes those long hits in the nets against fast bowlers. He hasn’t practiced spin. In the entire tournament, if Dhoni has played 6 overs, they’ve all been against pace. But Punjab’s captain [Sam Curran] played a master stroke. He employed a spinner,” Sidhu said on Star Sports. “Dhoni wasn’t prepared. For 7-8 months, he hasn’t faced spin. It was almost as if he was startled. Tactic is like how you take the stinger out of the bee without getting stung. And that is where the game turned. And on top of it, Harpreet Brar bowled a faster one to Shivam Dube. Cannoned onto the stumps.” Regarding dismissing Dhoni on Sunday, Harshal said: “Wicket was on drier side. I have too much respect for him to celebrate when I get him out (on Dhoni). One of the advantages of playing a day game is that the square is quite rough. So the ball starts reversing. In my first over it was reversing. It’s all about the feel of that delivery (slower one). More you bowl the better you get. Most batters don’t pick it. Have been practicing in the nets, and when it comes out it gives you great results,” Harshal said.

IPL-17 | Have to look into areas we can work on, says Naveen

Danijones6 months ago02 mins

Lucknow Super Giants pacer Naveen-ul-Haq urges players to brush past the resounding defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders. | Photo Credit: Sandeep Saxena Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) pacer Naveen-ul-Haq urged his team to brush past the resounding defeat it suffered against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the IPL in Lucknow on May 5. “It happens. Every team gets a bad day. All we can do is focus on the next game as this one is in the past. We can’t reverse it however much we think about it. We have to look into the areas we can work on and prepare for the next game,” said Naveen at the post-match press conference. LSG bowlers had a day to forget as KKR became the first team to register a 200+ score in an IPL game at the Ekana Stadium. Naveen, who was LSG’s best bowler with figures of three for 49 in four overs, admitted that Sunday’s surface favoured the batters, while also conceding that his team’s batting performance left a lot to desire. “In the games we have played here, I think this was the best wicket to bat on. It wasn’t stopping or gripping. They bowled well and we didn’t. We didn’t quite do the same thing we did in the chases we pulled off,” said the Afghan pacer.

IPL-17 | Technology comes to the rescue of practice pitches at Dharamshala

Danijones6 months ago04 mins

Upgrade: The side pitches have improved thanks to the injection of synthetic fibres into the surface. | Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy Soon after the ODI World Cup got over last year, the officials at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) had a discussion with the players on how to improve the practice facilities. The players stated that with too much cricket happening throughout the year, there was quite a bit of wear and tear on the practice pitches, which needed urgent attention. Led by Indian Premier League’s Governing Council chairman Arun Dhumal, the HPCA decided to install four hybrid pitches on the square of the scenic venue at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala, and SISGrass, a UK-based synthetic turf manufacturer, was tasked with the project. Under the guidance of former England international Paul Taylor, his team worked round the clock from the second week of March this year and injected five per cent synthetic fibres into the natural surface to ensure the pitches were stronger and ready before the Indian Premier League. “During a game, your centre wicket is always protected, but the load is high on the side wickets that are used for practice sessions. So, our objective was to provide good practice wickets to the teams and that’s why we decided to use this technology,” Dhumal told The Hindu on Monday. “The soil binding remains the same, the quality of the grass improves and the wickets are better. With this, we can take care of any wear and tear on the surface. For now, we have used this technology only for practice pitches and if and when the ICC gives approval for it to be used in international games, we will react accordingly,” he said. The players from Punjab Kings and Chennai Super Kings had long sessions over the last few days and according to Dhumal, the players were happy with the practice pitches and ‘did not even realise that there is five per cent fibre injected into it’. According to Taylor, “We use polyethylene monofilament fibre and the fundamental thing that is different about our pitch, is that it’s still 95 percent a natural turf surface.”

‘Will send team to Pakistan only if…’: BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla on India’s Champions Trophy participation | Cricket News

Danijones6 months ago06 mins

NEW DELHI: Rajeev Shukla, the vice-president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), has clarified that the Indian team’s participation in the ICC Champions Trophy next year, scheduled to be held in Pakistan from February to March 2025, is contingent upon receiving approval from the central government.The statement comes amidst speculation regarding India’s potential absence from the tournament.Tensions between India and Pakistan have significantly impacted cricketing relations between the two nations since 2008, following the Asia Cup. Bilateral series between India and Pakistan have been suspended since December 2012-January 2013, with ICC tournaments and the Asia Cup serving as the primary platforms for their cricketing encounters.The decision to send the Indian team to Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy hinges on various factors, including the prevailing diplomatic and security situation between the two countries. Given the history of strained relations and security concerns, any decision regarding India’s participation will be subject to careful consideration and consultation with relevant authorities.Speaking to the ANI, Shukla said, “In the case of the Champion Trophy, we will do whatever the Government of India will tell us to do. We send our team only when the Government of India gives us permission. So we will go according to the decision of the Indian government.” Pakistan resorted to a hybrid strategy during the hosting of the Asia Cup last year due to logistical and security challenges, notably hosting all of India’s matches, including potential encounters against Pakistan, in Sri Lanka. This decision was made in the interest of ensuring the smooth conduct of the tournament while accommodating security concerns and diplomatic sensitivities.Contrastingly, when it came to the possibility of adopting a similar hybrid approach for the ODI World Cup hosted by India the previous year, Pakistan did not seriously consider such a strategy.Instead, they participated in the tournament in India, playing all their matches at various venues across the country. Despite initial discussions regarding the feasibility of a hybrid approach, Pakistan ultimately competed in the tournament in India, albeit facing challenges in the group stages and being eliminated early on.It’s worth noting that Pakistan holds the distinction of being the defending champions of the ICC Champions Trophy, with their triumph in the last edition held in 2017. As they gear up for future tournaments, Pakistan will undoubtedly aim to replicate their past success on the global stage.The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has designated Lahore as the only location for India matches for the Champions Trophy that Pakistan has been awarded for the next year, as ESPNcricinfo reported earlier in May.According to ESPNcricinfo, PCB has locked three locations–Karachi, Lahore, and Rawalpindi–to host the two-week Champions Trophy. India’s draft schedule calls for them to play all of their games at Lahore, which is also the location of the final.It is said that the idea of putting India in a single place was put forward to avoid potentially significant logistical and security issues related to their travel. Additionally, it gives Indian fans a comparatively easier choice to visit because it is headquartered in Lahore, which is near the Wagah border crossing between the two countries.PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi said earlier that the board had sent a draft schedule of the tournament, likely to be staged in mid-February next year, to the ICC. Discussions on it involving the eight participating members will take place, with the major sticking point likely to be whether the India team travels or not.(With ANI inputs)