All posts tagged: Pinpoints

Ashwin pinpoints mental pressure behind Sanju Samson’s lean run

Ashwin pinpoints mental pressure behind Sanju Samson’s lean run

Published by Webster

3 min readJan 29, 2026 09:07 PM IST India wicket-keeper batter Sanju Samson has struggled with the bat in the ongoing T20I series against New Zealand. His early dismissals to fast bowlers in the first three games, followed by his dismissal to a spinner after getting set, are concerning for India as they prepare to defend the T20 World Cup title at home. Samson produced paltry scores of 10, 6, 0, and 24, accumulating just 40 runs in four innings against New Zealand. Former India cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin has observed that Samson is playing under a lot of pressure with a clouded mind, which is causing him to struggle with picking the right line and length. “If you are not a good player, you cannot reach here. When your mind is clouded with a lot of thoughts, it gets tough to pick the lengths and lines. I am very certain things are going on in his mind,” he said on his YouTube channel. “We cannot make a slot for a player. It is not about …

‘We could have been more brave’: Shubman Gill pinpoints one tactical flaw that cost India Rajkot ODI | Cricket News

‘We could have been more brave’: Shubman Gill pinpoints one tactical flaw that cost India Rajkot ODI | Cricket News

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India skipper Shubman Gill rued the missed chances and the bowlers’ inability to take wickets in the middle overs as New Zealand levelled the 3-match ODI series 1-1 on the back of a patient 131-run innings by Daryl Mitchell, winning the second match at Rajkot by 7 wickets. “We couldn’t pick up any wickets in the middle overs. With five fielders in, if you don’t keep taking wickets in the middle overs, it becomes very difficult even if we would have added 15-20 more runs. And if you don’t pick up wickets in the middle overs, it’s very difficult to stop a batsman. On these kind of wickets, you know, as soon as you have a partnership, the set batsman has to make it big because it’s not easy for the batsman coming in to score freely,” Gill said after the match. “In the first 10-15 overs, the ball was doing a little bit. We could have been more brave with the bowling. Even in the last match, we let down a couple of chances,” …

“A Team Who Did Not Love…”: Ex-England Captain Pinpoints Big Difference Between MS Dhoni And Virat Kohli

“A Team Who Did Not Love…”: Ex-England Captain Pinpoints Big Difference Between MS Dhoni And Virat Kohli

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“Shocked and sad” at Virat Kohli’s sudden retirement from the longest format, former England skipper Michael Vaughan said no individual has done more for Test cricket than the star Indian batter. Kohli announced his retirement from Test cricket on Monday, drawing the curtain on a stellar red-ball career. He represented India in 123 Tests, scoring 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85, including 30 centuries. “There are not too many Test retirements where I am left genuinely disappointed that I won’t watch a cricketer play again. But I’m sad we won’t see Virat Kohli in England this summer or in whites any more,” Vaughan wrote in his column for the Telegraph. “I’m shocked that he’s retiring now, and I’m also quite sad about it. In my time involved in the game, stretching back more than 30 years, I don’t believe there is any individual who has done more for the Test format than Virat.” Kohli led India to 40 wins in 68 Tests — the most by any Indian skipper to date — …

Sunil Gavaskar Blasts IPL vs Ranji Trophy Imbalance, Pinpoints Shock Salary Divide

Sunil Gavaskar Blasts IPL vs Ranji Trophy Imbalance, Pinpoints Shock Salary Divide

Published by Webster

There is the no denying the fact that Indian Premier League has helped multiple talents grow big in India. The tournament that was started in the year 2008 has produced several stars so far. The likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Siraj, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav all are a telling example of how IPL could help players improve themselves and eventually shine with their performance at bigger stages. Through IPL, many Indian domestic players get chance to play and learn against international stars, including those from overseas. The salaries that are offered to the players is just another value that IPL adds. For example, a young talent Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who is just 14 years old, has been bagged by Rajasthan Royals for a massive price of Rs 1.1 crore. Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar heaped praises on IPL in his column for Sportstar but also pointed out the difference for a player playing in the T20 extravaganza and domestic cricket in India. “What this IPL has shown …

“Frustrating, Poor”: ‘Concerned’ CSK Coach Stephen Fleming Pinpoints Reason Behind Defeat

“Frustrating, Poor”: ‘Concerned’ CSK Coach Stephen Fleming Pinpoints Reason Behind Defeat

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Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming was scathing while assessing the fielding effort from his side and hopeful following an improved batting display against Punjab Kings on Tuesday night as they slumped to their fourth defeat on the trot in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. The Super Kings were tilting at windmills in the field, fluffing up match-defining opportunities. CSK’s tragic story of dropped chances continued, and two of those allowed Priyansh Arya to break the shackles and wallop to a 39-ball century. Khaleel Ahmed was guilty of being caught and bowled in the very first over on a score of six, while Mukesh Choudhary floored it at long-off in the 12th off Ravichandran Ashwin when Arya was batting with belligerence on 73. The story of missed chances just didn’t end there for CSK. The five-time champions paid through the nose after Shashank Singh, who was going about the business with his usual explosive ways, earned a second lifeline when Ravindra dropped a sitter off Noor Ahmad at deep midwicket …

Sunil Gavaskar pinpoints Virat Kohli’s technical flaws against spinners | Cricket News

Sunil Gavaskar pinpoints Virat Kohli’s technical flaws against spinners | Cricket News

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One of the major concerns for the Indian cricket team in the recent past has been the recurring dismissals of ace batter Virat Kohli. As the team prepares to regain the Champions Trophy after 12 years, the dismissal of Virat in the same manner time and again due to an open-faced bat has left everyone worried and frustrated, including legendary Sunil Gavaskar. “It is to a great extent due to the fact that the bat face opens up, the same thing happens when he’s playing against the quicks in Australia,” Gavaskar told India Today. Story continues below this ad In the opening game of the Champions Trophy 2025 against Bangladesh, Kohli got out to wrist-spinner Rishad Hossain while he was caught by Soumya Sarkar at the backward point trying to cut the ball. This marks the sixth consecutive time Kohli has been dismissed by spin in ODIs, as he had struggled against England’s leg-spinner Adil Rashid too in the recent home series. “The bat face is opening up, looking to play through the covers, opening …

Advantage Pakistan vs India? Yuvraj Singh Pinpoints Reason, Says “They Understand…”

Advantage Pakistan vs India? Yuvraj Singh Pinpoints Reason, Says “They Understand…”

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Former Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh said that Pakistan is at an advantage during their high-profile ICC Champions Trophy 2025 clash against India, saying that they have played a lot of cricket in Dubai and understand the conditions really well. Unlike the 50-over and T20 World Cups, Pakistan has a 3-2 advantage over India in the Champions Trophy, having secured a 180-run triumph in the 2017 final during the peak of star India batter Virat Kohli where no target was too much for his men. They will be heading to Dubai with plenty of momentum. Speaking ahead of the match, Yuvraj said on JioHotstar’s ‘Greatest Rivalry Returns’ programme, “I actually think Pakistan has an advantage because they have a base in Dubai. They have played a lot of cricket there and understand the conditions well.” Yuvraj said that on slower wickets, India and Pakistani players are amongst the best, “who have always played spin well”. He also talked about how the rivalry is as much about playing the moment and adaptation as it is …

“I Have Concerns…”: Ex-Pakistan Captain Pinpoints ‘Lacklustre’ Area In Champions Trophy 2025 Squad

“I Have Concerns…”: Ex-Pakistan Captain Pinpoints ‘Lacklustre’ Area In Champions Trophy 2025 Squad

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File image of Shaheen Afridi.© AFP Former captain Rashid Latif urged the Pakistan Cricket Board to overhaul the team’s pace attack, looking beyond frontline pacers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah, as he felt they were not “contributing enough.” Afridi and Shah are set to lead Pakistan’s pace battery in the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy. “When was the last time Afridi delivered a match-winning performance?” Latif questioned. He said even Shah had not been able to deliver consistently despite having a long stint with the national team in different formats. “Naseem has also not contributed significantly to Pakistan’s success,” the former wicketkeeper-batsman said in an interview during a channel. He said the defeat against New Zealand in the ongoing tri-series opener was an example of how in recent times the pacers had not delivered for Pakistan. “I have concerns over the form of Shaheen, Naseem and others and I feel they have not performed as expected.” He urged the PCB to take a fresh approach by finding new fast bowlers and ensuring that …

Ricky Ponting pinpoints Australia’s ‘next challenge’ after winning Border-Gavaskar Trophy and reaching World Test Championship final | Cricket News

Ricky Ponting pinpoints Australia’s ‘next challenge’ after winning Border-Gavaskar Trophy and reaching World Test Championship final | Cricket News

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Though Australia did manage to win the Border Gavaskar Trophy after a decade there has been concern about the age profile of the players. When the side fielded their playing XI in Sydney the age group of the players was at either end of the spectrum. While Sam Konstas was 19-year-old all the members of the team were over 30 years. “There’s not one player in their 20s in that team. You’ve got one at 19 and everyone else over 30. That’s going to be the next challenge for this Australian group. That’s going to be the next challenge for this Australian group, not just for the Australian team, but for Australian cricket is to bring on this new group of young players. There’s not many opportunities that present themselves,” Ricky Ponting said to ICC. The side did hand debut to Nathan McSweeney who was 25-year-old in Perth however, he struggled to cope against Jasprit Bumrah and was dropped for the Boxing Day Test. With Australia already qualifying for the World Test Championship final Pointing …

R Ashwin Watches Travis Head’s Training Video, Pinpoints His Exact Game Plan

R Ashwin Watches Travis Head’s Training Video, Pinpoints His Exact Game Plan

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File image of R Ashwin.© AFP Travis Head has been a bane for India on many occasions by now, and getting him out cheaply will be crucial for India’s hopes of winning the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Head has already smashed two centuries (152 and 140 respectively) in the second and third Tests, tormenting the Indian bowlers at will, and also adapting to his weaknesses. In a video shared on social media showing the left-hander batting in the nets, Head seems to be working on his weak areas again, and the recently-retired Ravichandran Ashwin pointed out exactly that. In the video, Head can be seen coming across his stumps to hit the deliveries thrown at him. This could be a ploy to negate Head’s vulnerability with balls bowled from round the wicket towards his off stump area. So far in the series, Head has succumbed to deliveries from round the wicket, with both Harshit Rana and Jasprit Bumrah managing to get him out this way. Omg ! He is getting to the off …