T20 WC Warm-Up: Chance To Test Track And India's Second Pace Option

T20 WC Warm-Up: Chance To Test Track And India’s Second Pace Option

Yashasvi Jaiswal will aim to add his bit to the combination conundrum with a handy contribution while Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj need to put their best foot forward during India’s only T20 World Cup warm-up game against Bangladesh ahead of their tournament opener on June 5. With all 15 cricketers being regular playing XI members of their respective IPL franchises, the team is certainly not short on game time but an assortment of 15 high- calibre players and finding that perfect combination will be key to ending India’s 13-year global trophy drought. In the warm-up game, it is expected that save for Virat Kohli, who is expected to touch down some time before the practice game, all other 14 players will be given a go as it doesn’t have an official status. It will be an opportunity to check everyone’s rhythm after most of the core team members enjoyed a two-week break. There will be two areas where skipper Rohit Sharma and outgoing head coach Rahul Dravid need to take a judicious call. Even if Jaiswal is in good nick, how to fit him in the side will be an issue as it would mean keeping a power-hitter like Shivam Dube out of the playing XI. It is a foregone conclusion that Jaiswal might have to sit out as it would not only allow Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to open but could also open the door for Dube at the back end of the tournament. “Shivam Dube is a six-hitting machine. He can be the ‘x-factor’ in the T20 World Cup. But if Shivam has to be in the XI, then you can’t play Yashasvi. Rohit has to take that call and I prefer both pace-bowling all-rounders in the XI. If Shivam plays, he can take on the opposition wrist spinners in the latter half,” Suresh Raina, one of India’s premier T20 batters of his time, said on Friday when asked about a possible combination. The second teething problem for India would be to find Jasprit Bumrah’s opening pace-bowling partner. Both Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj have blown hot and cold in the IPL and their form has left a lot to be desired. RP Singh, one of the heroes of India’s inaugural edition victory, feels that Hardik Pandya’s four overs will be very important. Besides, he feels that Arshdeep should be the second frontline pacer on the newly-laid drop-in track. Talking about the length to be bowled on the tracks in the US during an early morning start, he felt variations will be important, which make Arshdeep a better bet compared to Siraj. “As per my understanding, there should be a bit of slowness in the wicket. So, the ideal length will be somewhere around just short of good length. There will not be a lot of swing for the bowlers but the bowlers with variations, not only yorkers but also slower ones, leg and off cutters…,” RP replied to a PTI query during a promotional event in Delhi. “These deliveries will be utilised a bit more by Arshdeep, so the success rate will be automatically higher for him and that’s what I understand the wickets in the US,” he explained. Against Bangladesh on a slowish track, it would also be a challenge for the middle-order as to how they deal with Shakib Al Hasan and Mahedi Hasan apart from questions asked by cutter master Mustafizur Rahaman.  (This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Topics mentioned in this article

Read More
T20 World Cup: India Eye Redemption As Big-Ticket Cricket Touches Base In America

T20 World Cup: India Eye Redemption As Big-Ticket Cricket Touches Base In America

There will be the usual favourites, the mavericks, the chokers and also the unpredictable minnows — the script is familiar for a World Cup but the scale would be unprecedented when the T20 showpiece, featuring a record 20 teams, spearheads cricket’s audacious charge into the American market starting in New York on Saturday. While India would be eager to shed the baggage of near-misses, Australia would like to add another chapter to their tale of domination. For the likes of Pakistan and West Indies, the primary target would be to keep in check their tendency to implode at the most inopportune time. Defending champions England and South Africa too will be a force to reckon with, especially the latter. Given the presence of match-winners like Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Quinton de Kock and Kagiso Rabada, the Proteas seem primed to get rid of the chokers’ tag. It will be a ground-breaking event not just because of the sheer size of the draw but also for the fact that it officially marks cricket’s big-ticket entry into the USA, which will host 16 of the 55 matches to be played across 29 days. The remaining 39 games will be held in the West Indies, including the Super 8 stage, the semifinals and the final on June 29. Besides the obvious favourites on paper, the likes of Afghanistan can also never be counted out to upset the apple cart at the most unexpected time. There are plots within plots that will unfold in the course of next one month. And perhaps one of the most intriguing would be the one involving India, a team that looks so destined for an ICC trophy but has somehow managed to fall short after the 2013 Champions Trophy triumph. Rohit Sharma’s reputation as captain will definitely be on the line this time. Considering the unparalleled resources and depth that the sport’s powerhouse has, most experts find it difficult to pinpoint India’s trophy drought at the word stage over the past decade. Rohit’s predecessor Virat Kohli ended his tenure as the most successful Test captain but a global trophy eluded him. Now Rohit is carrying that baggage of not winning a world title with India finishing runner-up in two ICC events over the past 12 months, including the juggernaut-ending loss to Australia in the ODI World Cup final at home. Their outdated approach in the previous two T20 World Cups cost them dearly but they are unlikely to repeat those mistakes in the Americas. The recently-concluded IPL showed how the batters are pushing boundaries and India’s high-profile line-up needs to follow that risky path. India may not have the same batting firepower as compared to some of the rival teams but as pitches in the Caribbean are expected to be spin-friendly, they surely have all bases covered. Rohit and Co. are scheduled to play three games at the makeshift facility here including the blockbuster clash against Pakistan on June 9. Drop-in pitches will be used at the brand new facility with all teams entering unfamiliar territory. India, however, will have the advantage of playing a warm-up game against Bangladesh at the same venue on June 1 before they take on Ireland in their opening league game on June 5. USA and Canada to play historic tournament opener Not far from India’s base in New York City, the first ever international cricket game was played between USA and Canada back in 1844. Cricket, however, lost out to the likes of Baseball soon after and centuries later, the sport will make an honest attempt to create a space of its own in the already matured American sporting market, starting with USA-Canada opener in Dallas on Saturday. USA are getting to make their World Cup debut as tournament co-hosts but they have demonstrated that they cannot be taken lightly, having beaten Canada and more recently full-member Bangladesh in a bilateral series. Canada, who have featured in the ODI Word Cup in the past, will also be making their T20 World Cup debut on Saturday. Uganda are the other first-timers in the competition. Defending champions England have point to prove Rohit will not be the only captain who will go into the tournament under immense pressure. Jos Buttler will also be out to prove himself after England’s shambolic performance as defending champions at the ODI World Cup in India six months ago. England were by the far the best team of the 2022 T20 World Cup and they will be determined to reassert their supremacy in the shortest format. And challenging that dominance would be the likes of India, South Africa and Australia, who have managed to retain the Ashes, win the World Test Championship final and the ODI World Cup in the last 12 months. It will also be a stern captaincy test for new Australian skipper Mitchell Marsh. Two-time champions West Indies, who could not qualify for the 50-over World Cup in India, are title contenders in their home conditions and their experience in the Caribbean Premier League is going to come in handy. The always unpredictable Pakistan, who made the final of the previous edition, have concerns in the batting department going into their opener against USA on June 6. Saim Ayub has not delivered for them at the top and it remains to be seen if management brings back skipper Babar Azam to open alongside Mohammad Rizwan. Also in focus would be Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim, who have been brought back to the national fold from retirement, likely because of their CPL experience.  (This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Topics mentioned in this article

Read More
SRH vs RR, IPL 2024: SunRisers Hyderabad Script Nervy One-Run Win Over Rajasthan Royals In Last-Ball Thriller

SRH vs RR, IPL 2024: SunRisers Hyderabad Script Nervy One-Run Win Over Rajasthan Royals In Last-Ball Thriller

Bhuvneshwar Kumar did the star turn with a sensational final over as Sunrisers Hyderabad pulled off a heist, stunning Rajasthan Royals by just one run in a last-ball thriller to keep their IPL playoff hopes alive on Thursday. Needing two to win off the last delivery, Bhuvneshwar (3/41) trapped Rovman Powell (27) with a full toss to leave RR stranded at 200 for seven while chasing a target of 202. Opting to bat, Nitish Reddy (76 not out) and Travis Head (58) produced explosive fifties, while Heinrich Klassen made an unbeaten 19-ball 42 to power Sunrisers Hyderabad to 201 for three. Things were looking up when Bhuvneshwar removed Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson for ducks in the opening over to leave RR at 1 for 2. However, youngsters Yashasvi Jaiswal (67) and Riyan Parag (77) came up with counterattacking fifties on way to a massive 134-run partnership to lay the foundation of the runchase. But once the duo was back in the hut, Shimron Hetmyar (13) hit a four and a six as it seemed like a regulation chase but T Natarajan got rid off Hetmyar, who perished at long-on and then skipper Pat Cummins removed Dhruv Jurel, who was caught at deep square leg in the 19th over. The sudden loss of wickets gave SRH hope of a turnaround but Powell produced a six in the last ball of the 19th over to bring the equation down to 13 off six balls. The West Indian kept a calm head to bring it down to 2 off the last ball but Bhuvneshwar denied him the glory. Following the win, SRH snapped their two-game losing streak and moved to the fourth spot with 12 points, same as Kolkata Knight Riders, Lucknow Super Giants, while RR stayed at the top with 16 points. Chasing the total, Jaiswal and Parag were dropped early in their innings and they capitalised on the reprieves to script a quick recovery. Parag broke the shackles in third over when he carted Bhuvneshwar for two fours and a six. Jaiswal then blasted Marco Jansen for two boundaries after Cummins spilled a straight forward catch. Parag, who was dropped on 24 by Abhishek Sharma, hammered Cummins for another maximum, before carting Jansen for two more fours. Cummins finally introduced spin into the attack but Jaiswal smashed Shahbaz Ahmed for a four to complete his fifty. Three balls later, Parag produced a reverse sweep four to reach his milestone in 32 balls. Jaiwal then played a T Natarajan delivery onto the stumps, while two overs later Parag was holed out at long-on. Earlier, Head forged a 96-run stand off 57 balls for the third wicket with Nitish, who also added another 70 off 32 balls with Klassen to take SRH across the 200-mark for the fifth time this season. Head, who was dropped by Parag in the first ball of the innings, hit six fours and three sixes, while Nitish smashed eight maximums and three fours during his brutal assault. Playing his 300th game, Yuzvendra Chahal, who has been picked for the T20 World Cup, was on the firing line as he conceded 62 in his quota of four overs. Avesh Khan (2/39) produced the first breakthrough, having Abhishek (12) caught at deep midwicket. Sandeep Sharma (1/31) then claimed a first-ball wicket, removing Anmolpreet Singh (5) as SRH scored 37 for 2 in the powerplay, their lowest this IPL. The spin duo of Chahal and R Ashwin (0/36), however, disappointed as the batters milked them for runs to set SRH on the road to recovery. Chahal had a horrible night as Head smashed him for two sixes and a four during an 18-run over after he came on to bowl immediately following the powerplay. The leg-spinner was then taken apart by Nitish, who plundered him for two sixes and two fours to accumulate 21 runs. Nitish, who also clobbered Ashwin and Avesh for two maximums, then sent Sandeep sailing over extra cover, while Head pulled Avesh for another six in the 15th over. The Australian, however, played the pacer onto his middle stump as SRH slipped to 131/3. New man Klassen then joined the party, sending Chahal into the orbit with back-to-back sixes. When Trent Boult was back, Klassen picked him for two fours, while blasting another six off Sandeep. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.) Topics mentioned in this article

Read More
SRH vs RR Live Score, IPL 2024: Yuzvendra Chahal Close To Becoming First Indian Bowler To Achieve Massive T20 Feat

SRH vs RR Live Score, IPL 2024: Yuzvendra Chahal Close To Becoming First Indian Bowler To Achieve Massive T20 Feat

SRH vs RR Live: Squads – Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (c), Jos Buttler, Shimron Hetmyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Donovan Ferreira, Kunal Rathore, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Sen, Navdeep Saini, Sandeep Sharma, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal, Avesh Khan, Rovman Powell, Shubham Dubey, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Abid Mushtaq, Nandre Burger, Tanush Kotian, Keshav Maharaj. SunRisers Hyderabad: Pat Cummins (c), Abdul Samad, Abhishek Sharma, Aiden Markram, Marco Jansen, Rahul Tripathi, Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips, Sanvir Singh, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Agarwal, T. Natarajan, Anmolpreet Singh, Mayank Markande, Upendra Singh Yadav (wk), Umran Malik, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Shahbaz Ahmed, Travis Head, Jaydev Unadkat, Akash Singh, Jhathavedh Subramanyan.

Read More
Former India Stars Back Yashasvi Jaiswal To Be Rohit Sharma's Opening Partner In T20 World Cup 2024

Former India Stars Back Yashasvi Jaiswal To Be Rohit Sharma’s Opening Partner In T20 World Cup 2024

Former India cricketers Irfan Pathan and Mohammad Kaif have backed young Yashasvi Jaiswal to be captain Rohit Sharma’s opening partner for India in the upcoming Men’s T20 World Cup, to be held in West Indies and USA from June 1. Kohli has been leading run-charts in the IPL 2024 as an opener for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, but him opening with Rohit for India in the T20 World Cup could result in teams having left-arm fast-bowler and left-arm spinner match-up. However, Pathan thinks Jaiswal opening with Rohit will help India tackle this match-up in the T20 World Cup. “It’s a question which has been floating around a lot. It should be Yashasvi Jaiswal – as he being a left-hander, what happens is, a team from a bowling point of view, will start with a left-arm spinner and when that happens, you can actually play these two batters. If Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli open, as there’s been a lot of talk about it, you can keep them quiet for a certain period of time. “If you do that, the game goes away, especially at the start and this is where a left-handed batter in Yashasvi Jaiswal comes into the picture. He’s aggressive and will take on the threat of left-arm spinner as well. So, I think Yashasvi should open with Rohit Sharma,” said Pathan while replying to an IANS query in the latest episode of ‘Star Sports Press Room’ show. The Rohit-Jaiswal combination though, will also result in Kohli batting at number three, which would mean his struggles against spin in the post power-play phase could resurface. But Kaif believes Kohli’s previous stupendous success for India in ICC tournaments at number three is still a very big factor. “I would see Jaiswal and Rohit opening, as Kohli has to be there at number three. Though he opens in the IPL, Kohli has done well in ICC events at number three. You need someone who has experience at number three and can bat through. With Yashasvi opening and Kohli in the dugout, there will be pressure on the opposition team that Virat is still to come out to bat.” “If he opens and the opposition gets him out, then it will be a big confidence booster for them. Jaiswal will attack from the first ball and Rohit Sharma also attacks in power-play, then it should be this way: Jaiswal, Rohit and Virat Kohli at number three,” he added. Pathan, the Player of the Match in India’s 2007 T20 World Cup final win over Pakistan in Johannesburg, was left disappointed over the non-inclusion of Rinku Singh and Ravi Bishnoi in the 15-member squad. Rinku, an in-form finisher for India in 15 T20I since his debut last year, is placed in the traveling reserves. “I am very disappointed that Rinku Singh is not there. It’s because Rinku Singh was playing a crucial role in finishing the game – he did it for his franchise (Kolkata Knight Riders) last year and when he played for India, he did that role as well.” “Once you have a strike-rate of 170 and have an average close to 60-70, and then not be picked, then you will be very disappointed. Bishnoi, I thought, despite that number six ranking, misses out to a master spinner like Chahal, though he’s got that fielding skill too. So, these were the two things I had in my mind on seeing this team.” At the same time, Pathan reckons India has to play their cricket in feisty fashion if they are to end a more than a decade drought of World Cup victory. “The guys, who have been selected, have to perform when the pressure time comes in. I am not worried about the first half; it’s about when the knockout matches will happen – this is where I want the Indian team to play fearless cricket which in the last two World Cups – 50-over and 20-over in Australia – we missed out on that.” Kaif agreed with Pathan’s views and felt India’s real examination will be to win knockout matches, something which they haven’t been able to do yet. “It’s a very balanced side, but this is not the IPL, where you play 14 league matches and come back to win the trophy even after losing games.” “In the World Cup, you will meet weaker teams in the initial phase of the tournament till you meet teams like Pakistan and England in the semi-finals. You need to win two big matches to win the trophy and are you ready for that big moment? India haven’t done that in the past and that’s the real challenge for Rohit Sharma.” India will begin their Men’s T20 World Cup campaign on June 5 against Ireland at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York. India, the 2007 Men’s T20 World Cup winners, are in Group A alongside Pakistan, Canada and tournament co-hosts USA. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.) Topics mentioned in this article

Read More
No Ishan Kishan In Mohammad Kaif's India Playing XI For T20 World Cup

No Ishan Kishan In Mohammad Kaif’s India Playing XI For T20 World Cup

File photo of Ishan Kishan.© AFP With less than two months left for the T20 World Cup 2024, the discussion about India’s squad for the tournament has picked up a lot of pace. While the core team is almost certain, there are some spots that are there for the grabing in the team. Experts and former cricketers have already stated putting forward their opinions regarding the players they think should be chosen for the mega event. Ex-India batter Mohammad Kaif too has picked his India XI and interestingly, omitted swashbuckling opener Ishan Kishan. Rising pace sensational Mayank Yadav also failed to find a spot in the playing XI. Kaif instead went with Yashasvi Jaiswal as an opener with India captain Rohit Sharma for the upcoming tournament. He picked the team on Star Sports’ show ‘Follow The Blues’ as quoted by Sportskeeda. “Yashasvi Jaiswal will open alongside Rohit Sharma. Then Virat Kohli at No. 3, Suryakumar Yadav at No. 4, Hardik Pandya at No. 5, and Rishabh Pant at No. 6,” said Kaif. To make sure there is enough batting firepower in the team, Kaif opted to pick more and more all-rounders. “I will keep a lot of all-rounders because you need batting depth. So I will say Axar Patel at No. 7 and Ravindra Jadeja at No. 8. After that, Kuldeep Yadav, who is a skillful bowler, at No. 9. Then two fast bowlers – Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh. That makes it your XI,” Kaif explained. The T20 World Cup 2024 will kick off on June 1 with a match between United States and Canada in Texas. Meanwhile, the high-octane encounter between India and Pakistan will be played in New York on June 9. A total of 20 teams will be participating in the tournament with four groups of five-team each. The semi-finals of the tournament will be played on June 25 and 27 while the summit clash will be played on June 29. Topics mentioned in this article

Read More