All posts tagged: cricket performance

‘I will find my process, rhythm as soon as I can’: Karun Nair hopes to carry forward domestic form into IPL for Delhi Capitals | Cricket News

‘I will find my process, rhythm as soon as I can’: Karun Nair hopes to carry forward domestic form into IPL for Delhi Capitals | Cricket News

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After a fantastic domestic domestic season where he helped Vidarbha win the Ranji Trophy, batter Karun Nair said that he wants to replicate that success and help Delhi Capitals win the Indian Premier League, which is set to start in less than a week. “I am really happy to back at the Delhi Capitals, I am excited to join the side and to play with everyone. I will treat the game as important as the last one. I didn’t change much at all, I just trusted the process and kept it going throughout the tournament and that’s what was planned for this season,” Nair said during an interaction with media. “I will find my process, my rhythm as soon as I can and I will like to start well early and will try to get better as the tournament goes on. The only thing that I have done is playing according to the situation, added a few shots and built the confidence to execute them when needed. I also now try to stay relaxed,” he …

‘He’s an incredible bowler’: Nathan McSweeney opens up about facing Jasprit Bumrah’s ‘chaos’ in BGT | Cricket News

‘He’s an incredible bowler’: Nathan McSweeney opens up about facing Jasprit Bumrah’s ‘chaos’ in BGT | Cricket News

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Australian batter Nathan McSweeney recently opened up about facing Jasprit Bumrah in the Border Gavaskar Trophy, saying that it was “chaos” facing the Indian bowler. He also said that before facing Bumrah, he didn’t think it would be a big deal but found out the hard way what the Indian pacer brings to the table. “Yeah, tough work is probably an understatement. He’s an incredible bowler. I was probably naïve going into it, never faced him before and (thinking) he’ll be fine. But he’s an incredible bowler that has a great skill but just relentless ability to pitch the ball in the area where you don’t want as a batter,” McSweeney said. “So, it was a very tough challenge but also gave me a hope that no one kind of had great success against him and everyone was trying to tackle him at the same time and no one was playing him with ease, which gave me a little bit of confidence,” he added. McSweeney, originally a middle-order batsman, was included in the Test squad …

Champions Trophy | ‘India have played flawless cricket but there is one more game to go’: Gautam Gambhir | Cricket News

Champions Trophy | ‘India have played flawless cricket but there is one more game to go’: Gautam Gambhir | Cricket News

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On Tuesday, until Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer put together a 91-run stand, India and Australia were punching and counter-punching. Their batsmen, especially Stave Smith and Alex Carey put the spinner-heavy Indian bowling attack under pressure. Be it against Bangladesh, Pakistan and New Zealand, India have been ruthless in the execution of their bowling plans. But Australia, despite playing in totally different conditions to what they did in Pakistan, quickly adapted to the pitch. With the early wickets of Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma, they even got early breakthroughs before chase-master Kohli settled the nerves and played a lovely innings. Sunday’s final will be an opportunity for India to end their 50-over ICC trophy drought, dating back to the 2013 Champions Trophy. For head coach Gautam Gambhir its a chance to establish his credentials with the national team following IPL success. Story continues below this ad Speaking to the media shortly after India’s win against Australia, Gambhir said the campaign so far has been flawless. “You used a very good word that we played ‘flawlessly’. …

‘You cannot build pressure on him’: Ashton Agar lauds Virat Kohli’s knock vs AUS in Champions Trophy semifinal | Cricket News

‘You cannot build pressure on him’: Ashton Agar lauds Virat Kohli’s knock vs AUS in Champions Trophy semifinal | Cricket News

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Australian spinner Ashton Agar said that it was pretty difficult to build any pressure on Virat Kohli when he is in such hot form. This was after Kohli scored an impressive 84 runs against Australia in the Champions Trophy semifinal on Tuesday, helping to guide India to the final. “It is not the damage that he can do to the fence, it’s just the fact that you cannot build pressure on him. So it’s really hard to get him out in a sense. You never really feel like you’re on top of him unless the ball is really spinning. And you don’t get a lot of pitches in one-day cricket like that,” Agar said on ESPNcricinfo’s Match Day. “That’s the frustrating part about bowling to him. He has this fantastic ability to hit your best ball, the top of middle stump, slightly spinning away, he holds the bat’s face slightly longer than other batters do, opens it in the last second, and hits it in the cover point gap. He’s probably the best in the …

IND vs AUS: Virat Kohli aced a chase, but here’s how India’s supporting cast chipped in | Cricket News

IND vs AUS: Virat Kohli aced a chase, but here’s how India’s supporting cast chipped in | Cricket News

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While Steve Smith rued the fact that Australia didn’t have enough significant partnerships, India found one between Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer, which yielded 91. It was a testament to Iyer’s form in the middle order and how he has owned the No.4 spot in this format. While he wasn’t at his attacking best, he kept the strike rotating. It might not appear significant in the end result, but Axar Patel at No. 5 once again played a handy knock. With Kohli surviving a dropped chance and Iyer dismissed immediately thereafter, Patel walked out and played an important cameo. A slog-sweep for six and a gorgeous four over cover were standout shots on the night. He continues to impress in all three facets of the game. At the 40-over mark, with the required rate creeping up, Nasser Hussain picked up a cue on air, watching KL Rahul’s body language. He sensed that there was an acceleration around the corner and Rahul did just that. He later told the broadcasters that, contrary to how Kohli batted, …

Champions Trophy | ‘Hardik’s shots at the end were crucial’: Rohit Sharma lauds allrounder after India defeat Australia in semifinal | Cricket News

Champions Trophy | ‘Hardik’s shots at the end were crucial’: Rohit Sharma lauds allrounder after India defeat Australia in semifinal | Cricket News

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India skipper Rohit Sharma lauded Virat Kohli for his crucial 84-run knock against Australia while also praising the contributions of the other batters, singling out Hardik Pandya’s huge hits at the death on his way to a quick 28 runs from 24 deliveries. On the back of these performances, India defeated Australia by 4 wickets and punched their ticket to the summit clash, scheduled for Sunday in Dubai. “Yes, he’s (Virat) done it for us for many years. We were calm during our batting innings. We wanted that big partnership, which Shreyas and Virat provided, along with smaller partnerships between Axar, Virat, KL, and Virat. And then Hardik’s shots at the end were crucial,” Rohit said after the match. He also talked about the nature of the surface, saying that it played slightly better on Tuesday than the one that was used in the last Group game against New Zealand last week. Story continues below this ad “It looked better, but that’s been the nature of the surfaces here; they’re very uncertain. The surface today …

‘If you want only slim guys, then you should go to modelling competition’: Sunil Gavaskar backs Rohit Sharma after Shama Mohamed’s comments | Cricket News

‘If you want only slim guys, then you should go to modelling competition’: Sunil Gavaskar backs Rohit Sharma after Shama Mohamed’s comments | Cricket News

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After Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed’s comments on India skipper Rohit Sharma kicking up a storm of controversy on Monday, Sunil Gavaskar said mental strength matters in cricket and not physical size. Mohamed had called Rohit “fat for a sportsman” and described him as “the most unimpressive Captain India has ever had” on X before she was forced to delete the post due to backlash. “I have always said, if you want only slim guys, then you should go to a modelling competition and pick all the models. It’s not about that,” Gavaskar told India Today. “It’s about how well you can play cricket. We talked about Sarfaraz Khan, he was vilified for a long time because he was on the heavier side. But if he scores 150 for India in a Test match and follows it up with another two or three fifty-plus scores, then what’s the issue? I don’t think size has anything to do with it. It’s your mental strength —whether you can last the distance—that’s the most important thing. Bat well, bat …

Champions Trophy: How Shreyas Iyer, Rohit Sharma are the faces of India’s risk management | Cricket News

Champions Trophy: How Shreyas Iyer, Rohit Sharma are the faces of India’s risk management | Cricket News

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As pitches in Dubai seem to be getting slower with each outing, all eyes are on the Indian spinners. However, for India to go the distance a lot is riding on the batting unit, which so far has adapted exceptionally to the sort of tracks that have been their biggest undoing in recent times. With a century each to Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli, they have two in-form batsmen in the top three to go with Rohit Sharma to provide rapid starts. In the middle overs where they need to be flexible with their approach against spinners, they have a solid middle-order which includes an enforcer in Shreyas Iyer and two busy players in Axar Patel and KL Rahul before the finishing job is handed over to Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja. This is as good a top 8 as a team could get in these conditions where batting depth is absolutely a non-negotiable factor. But two of those, Rohit and Shreyas, strategically placed at the top and at No 4 provide the right sort …

Champions Trophy: Pressure will be on both teams, says Rohit Sharma ahead of India’s semifinal clash vs Australia | Cricket News

Champions Trophy: Pressure will be on both teams, says Rohit Sharma ahead of India’s semifinal clash vs Australia | Cricket News

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India skipper Rohit Sharma on Monday said that they are going to approach the semifinal match against Australia just like they did in the last three matches in the Champions Trophy, dismissing that there’s any added pressure. India have a pretty dismal record against the Australians when it comes to ICC knockout encounters with the Men in Blue last defeating the Aussies in the 2011 World Cup quarterfinals. “Look, they are a great opposition to play against. All we had to do is what we have been thinking about the last three games and we have to approach that game in a similar fashion. We understand the opposition and how they play and stuff like that,” Rohit said in the pre-match press conference. “We will expect some nervy times as well in the middle. But that is how the game is being played these days. And you are talking about the semifinal. Obviously, the pressure will be on both teams to win that game,” he added. Story continues below this ad Australia have come into …

From T20 World Cup to ICC Champions Trophy – Varun Chakravarthy’s career comes full circle at the same venue | Cricket News

From T20 World Cup to ICC Champions Trophy – Varun Chakravarthy’s career comes full circle at the same venue | Cricket News

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In November 2021, after a wicketless outing against Scotland in The T20 World Cup here, Varun Chakaravarthy walked away never to be seen in India colours, till October 2024. As he took the field at the venue again on Sunday, he felt nervous. He may have cemented his spot in India’s T20 side on the back of strong showings in the IPL, but in ODIs there have been a lot of doubts – whether he would be able to retain the same mystery, will he be able to bowl impactful spells when batsmen have time to see him off. Through the course of the evening, Varun will go about answering every single one of those questions and also vindicate his inclusion in the squad that came at the expense of a batting talent like Yashasvi Jaiswal. When India’s think tank assembled in January to pick the provisional Champions Trophy squad, they had spent a considerable time pondering whether to include Varun or not. To back up his exceptional numbers in T20s, Varun had shown in …