With Rohit stating that Shami has been rested for the third Test at the toss, one cannot help but think whether the India fast bowler needed that rest or it has been forced upon him. The 32-year-old fast bowler had so far bowled 30 overs in the first two Test matches and with the Indore pitch expected to be a rank turner – just by the look of it, there was every possibility of him not having to bowl too many overs either in that track. But he would have been more than a handy addition to the team. Simply because of the line and length he prefers to bowl on low-bouncy tracks such as the one we have on offer in Indore.

“It is important to stay present. We have made two changes – Gill comes in place of KL. We have rested Shami and Umesh comes in,” Rohit had said after winning the toss.

The last Test match ended within three days and there was a 10-day break before the Indore Test match. Simply put – it is hard to understand the logic behind resting one of your best fast bowlers unless he is carrying a niggle or there is some kind of an injury concern.

The great Wasim Akram and Kapil Dev have said this time and again that as a fast bowler – the more you bowl, the better you get. Bowling fitness is a lot different than just being physically fit to play and resting a bowler, who – as many would believe as one of the best fast bowlers going around is a little bit difficult to understand.

Maybe, the Indian think-tank will be able to throw some more light and make it look a bit more logical than what it seems right now.

The post IND vs AUS, 3rd Test: Why Mohammed Shami Has Been Rested? appeared first on Cricket Country.

As things turned out on the first morning of the first session, it probably wasn’t such a good toss to win. India crumbled under pressure with the ball turning square as Australia left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann made full use of the conditions, returning with figures of 5 for 16. The hosts were bowled out for 109 in 33.2 overs, giving Australia their best chance to somewhat get back in the series, having lost the first two convincingly against India.

For obvious reasons, the pitch will be under the scanner for the next few days – let’s make that another day because it is very unlikely that the game will extend till the third day. First things first – there is absolutely no doubt about the fact that it is a poor pitch and an equally poor advertisement for Test cricket, even if it offers exciting viewing.

But the Indians should take the bulk of the blame. For sure, the pitch isn’t the best but the batting was probably worse than the surface itself. Rohit rode his luck in the first over of the Test match but failed to make use of it as Kuhnemann got the better of him. The India captain invited trouble by going down the wicket to a ball going away and was stumped by a country mile.

The shot would probably be a good option against the likes of Nathan Lyon or Todd Murphy – both off-spinners where the body can act as a second line of defence even if the batter misses the ball. Not so much against left-arm spin, where if you miss there is no getting back.

Shubman Gill looked a million dollars till the time he was at the crease before getting dismissed to another Kuhnemann delivery. One could argue that he could have done better, especially when the ball is spinning that much. It could well have been left alone. But that ship has sailed for now.

Cheteshwar Pujara possibly played the worst shot of the entire Indian innings. Trying to play through the off-side, on a rank turner to an off-spinner will always land you in trouble. So, it wasn’t surprising that he was cleaned up by Lyon. Ravindra Jadeja and Shreyas Iyer’s dismissal left a lot to be desired while Virat Kohli looked assured at the crease till the time he was there before getting trapped by a Murphy delivery.

The Indians have only themselves to blame and this is probably not the first time that they have been found wanting on a turning track. The lack of playing good quality spin on a challenging surface requires a lot of skill but even more than that, it requires the batter to be stubborn and patient along with a lot of mental toughness.

Like the great Sunil Gavaskar always said that playing spin is more difficult than good quality pace or seam. For spin, the batter will have to use the entire length of the crease, go right back when the need be to create space or take a big stride forward to smoother the spin. To add to that, the use of the feet as and when the need be always helps – which can also be a great attacking option and not just blindly sweep as the Australians found out in the first two Tests.

The pitch is challenging and might not be as bad as the Indians made it look like. After all, playing spin is also an art and Australia would do good to learn from the mistake that the Indians made.

The post IND vs AUS, 3rd Test, Indore: Poor Pitch? May Be Not India appeared first on Cricket Country.

Shafali Verma smashed a half-century, while Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma played good cameo knocks. However, those weren’t enough. Darcie Brown-led Aussie bowling tighten their grip on the match with quick wickets in the end.

Harmanpreet Kaur’s Indian Women’s Team had a good outing with the ball. Renuka Singh and Anjali Sarvani gave Australia two early blows. Then Ellyse Perry and Beth Mooney joined a good partnership to give a stable start to the Aussie innings. Indian bowlers kept on getting wickets in quick intervals and pushed the Aussies on backfoot.

Then Ellyse Perry joined a partnership with Grace Harris and their explosive game turned the table on the Indian side but Anjali Sarvani and Renuka Singh brought India back into the game with their wickets. Ellyse Perry scored 75 runs of 47 balls. Australia was eyeing 190 plus but was restricted to 172 runs for 8 wickets. However, they restricted India on 151 runs.

Playing XI, India Women vs Australia Women: 

India Women: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Richa Ghosh(w), Deepti Sharma, Devika Vaidya, Radha Yadav, Anjali Sarvani, Renuka Thakur Singh, Rajeshwari Gayakwad

Australia Women: Alyssa Healy(w/c), Beth Mooney, Tahlia McGrath, Ashleigh Gardner, Ellyse Perry, Grace Harris, Annabel Sutherland, Nicola Carey, Alana King, Megan Schutt, Darcie Brown

The post Highlights India Women vs Australia Women 3rd T20I Score: AUS W Beat IND W By 21 Runs To Lead Series 2-1 appeared first on Cricket Country.

“As an Indian, cricket is in your blood. I have been in the US since the last 27 years. I had played cricket and was involved in cricket but since the last couple of years, cricket is going to a different level. And that is what dragged my attention towards cricket, more so in franchise cricket and we are in that right now,” said Patel while talking about his love for the game and what took him to own a team in the Abu Dhabi T10 league.

Talking about the composure of his team, he said, “The unique thing about my team is that I have two big guys. Meeon Ali, who is the current World Cup winner and David Miller, who is a IPL winner. They have won two big tournaments and that is the biggest part. We have the world’s fastest bowler Anrich Nortje and all the rest of the guys like Shimron Hetmyer known for hitting big sixes and Sheldon Cottrell are also there. The team has balance which is the best thing. We also have some of the guys from US, who have been phenomenal and are here to get more exposure.”

With plans to venture in the IPL, Patel is now focussed on not just building a great team but also a state of the art cricket stadium in the United States with an eye to host a couple of games in the T20 World Cup 2024, that may go on to cost – a whopping $100 million dollars.

“In US, I am building a stadium which is like a $100 million project. It is in North Carolina and it is happening by next year and the 2024 T20 World Cup we are expecting some games there as well. That is the biggest part right after this. And in the last few years, as mentioned earlier, cricket has really taken off in the US,” Patel revealed.

“I am not involved in the Indian Premier League (IPL). I have had some involvement but not any real involvement which might happen in the future. We would like to take one step at a time. IPL is in the pipeline but with the T10 – we have passed one milestone and there are a couple of others coming. Slowly, we are getting there,” he further added.

With T10 being the newest and the shortest format of the game, Patel reckons it does have a future.

“T20 is attractive but T10 is more attractive and the reason behind it is the shorter format and nowadays a lot of people just watch the highlights, and this is kind of highlights. It is a 10-over format, just get going and it is going to draw more attention to the people and more attention will lead to more viewership. Media and everything is also there. And more and more people will wish to do marketing and sponsor the product,” he concluded.

The post $100 Million Stadium: Morrisville SAMP Army Owner Ritesh Patel Makes Big Announcement On The Sidelines Of Abu Dhabi T10 League | EXCLUSIVE appeared first on Cricket Country.

Moeen, who is currently playing in the Abu Dhabi T10 league and has been chosen as the captain of Morrisville Samp Army spoke exclusively to CricketCountry on the sidelines of their practice session held at the Abu Dhabi Zayed Cricket Stadium.

“It’s easy to say be fearless and be brave, and all this, but you need the players to go and do what they are not used to doing. I’ll give you an example. Surya Kumar Yadav comes in and scores fast. He plays his own game as if he doesn’t care about it for a second, but he does care. This is the kind of player you need in your team,” he said.

“India has a lot of these kinds of players. I’ve played the IPL and so I know the country has many such players, but you have to stick with these players. Don’t give him two or three games, some times give them 6-7 games. As long as you know that they are match winners and can win matches on their own, you keep them in the team,” he further added.

Under Moeen’s leadership, Morrisville Samp Army have struck form in the Abu Dhabi T10 league and so far remains the only team to be unbeaten, winning three out of three games leading into the second week of the tournament.

The post Suryakumar Yadav Is The…: Moeen Ali Suggests Roadmap For India To Become A Great T20 Team On The Sidelines Of Abu Dhabi T10 League | EXCLUSIVE appeared first on Cricket Country.

While speaking exclusively with CricketCountry, Klusener explained his top T20 picks by saying, “For starters, I’m a Phil Salt fan. He can bat and hit big. I’m a big Mooen Ali fan as well. He can bat upfront and bowl you four overs. Ben Stokes or Hardik Pandya for fast bowling all-rounders. I’ll define fast bowlers as Indian fast bowlers who can swing the ball. So, Arshdeep Singh, perhaps his left arm, can win the day. Then a high-quality leg spinner, such as Rashid Khan or Shadab Khan to that matter.”

Lance Klusener’s Top 5 T20 Picks:

1. Phil Salt
2. Moeen Ali
3. Ben Stokes/Hardik Pandya
4. Arshdeep Singh
5. Rashid Khan/Shadab Khan

Klusener is a part of the Morrisville Samp Army team coaching staff that features in the Abu Dhabi T20 league. Talking about his association with the Abu Dhabi T10 league, the 51-year-old said, “I am really excited. I think it’s a wonderful league. I’ve been here quite a few times before. I am involved in a new team, so I will look forward to that. A good team on paper, but we all know how the game is played on the field, so I’ll try to find a balance as soon as possible, but it’s extremely exciting and potentially the future of cricket for me.”

While speaking about the future of T10 league, the former South Africa all-rounder said it is a great opportunity for young players to get noticed and make a name for themselves.

“All these competitions are sold to media houses. There is no league that goes unsold, which shows the appetite they have. But I agree that it is buzzy and will continue to be buzzy, but it provides opportunities to other cricketers who did not have those opportunities in other leagues. It helps them start making their name and getting a feel for how free-style cricket works, which is a good thing,” he concluded.

The post Lance Klusener Picks His Top 5 T20 Players; No Place For Kohli, Suryakumar Or Babar Azam | EXCLUSIVE appeared first on Cricket Country.

When asked to pick one between Virat Kohli and Babar Azam, Nortje said, “Dale Steyn (laughs). In terms of Virat Kohli or Babar Azam – both are great players.”

Nortje is a part of the Morrisville Samp Army which features in the Abu Dhabi T10 league. Talking about his approach while playing the shortest format of the game, the South African said, “The basics stay the same I think. Just sum up the conditions and try and use the conditions in your favour and see what you can get from the wicket on the day. So it is just 10 overs and nice to be under pressure most of the time.”

The Abu Dhabi T10 league kicked off on December 23, 2022 with all the matches being played at the the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium.

“Yes. Really excited. It is a great tournament. It looks like a lot of fun. Great warm-up game. So can’t wait for the tournament to start,” the 29-year-old said on his association with the newest format of the game.

The other teams participating in the league are New York Strikers, Deccan Gladiators, Delhi Bulls, The Chennai Braves, Northern Warriors, Bangla Tigers and Team Abu Dhabi. The final is scheduled to take place on December 4, 2022.

The post Anrich Nortje Picks Dale Steyn As His Favourite Cricketer Ahead Of Virat Kohli, Babar Azam | EXCLUSIVE appeared first on Cricket Country.

In an exclusive conversation with CricketCountry, Kaneria said, “For Rishabh Pant, you will have to understand which format he has done well. He has done well in ODIs and Test cricket. Leaving out Pant was the right call and with the opportunity Dinesh Karthik got and the role that he was given, he was doing really well. You don’t change anything if it doesn’t work in 2-3 games. And if you play Rishabh Pant as an X-factor, you have to realise, you will have to send him early. You get Suryakumar Yadav down the order. But send him early. In a semi-final, you are playing Rishabh Pant and when KL Rahul got out, they should have sent Rishabh Pant to get runs going and give him license to kill. Unfortunately, no one in the dressing room can think out of the box,” said Kaneria

Talking about India’s performance, the former Pakistan leg-spinner reckoned that India’s performance in the tournament was way below-par and the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) did play a part in that.

“India’s performance in this World Cup was not up to the mark. We also need to look at the games India played. There are three big teams that they had to play with and out of the three big teams, they lost to two big teams. They lost to South Africa and then they lost to England. And other than that, they played against Bangladesh, same venue and same ground and they were chasing down and almost won that game. Overall looking into the Indian team, very sad to see that a lucrative IPL – 90 per cent revenue generated and everything but can’t handle the pressure of a knock-out game,” Kaneria added.

“India won the T20 World Cup in South Africa in 2007 under MS Dhoni. In 2008, the IPL started. In 2011, India won the 50-over World Cup and that is it. After the IPL, India has not won a single T20 ICC tournament. And if you look closely, in ICC events, most of the Indian players get injured.  In a major event like World Cup, Bumrah and Jadeja are not available. And where did the injury come from? It is the IPL because they are playing too many games. I think they need to look into this IPL thing and see that their main players have to cut down on the number of matches they play. So the franchise needs to look into this,” Kaneria said before signing off.

The post T20 World Cup 2022: Picking Dinesh Karthik Ahead Of Rishabh Pant Was The Right Call, Says Former Pakistan Leg-Spinner Danish Kaneria | EXCLUSIVE appeared first on Cricket Country.

But rain changed the equation to 151 in 16 overs. The rain break worked well in India’s favour as Rahul’s brilliant run-out of Das post rain break triggered a Bangladesh meltdown as they could make only 79 runs in the remaining nine overs, losing six wickets.

For India, Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya took two wickets each while Mohammed Shami had a scalp to his name while fielders took the catches well to keep the side on track for a spot in the semi-finals. Liton’s onslaught began with a sliced four past backward point off Arshdeep first ball of the match. He would take two more fours off the left-arm pacer in the second over via drives down the ground and through cover.

He then teared into Bhuvneshwar Kumar, pulling him for a six over deep mid-wicket before taking consecutive fours through off-side. Das brought out the shot of Bangladesh’s innings when he scooped a six over his shoulder off Bhuvneshwar in the fifth over.

Shami was the next Indian bowler to be taken to the cleaners, as Das heaved him over backward square leg for four. He brought up fifty in 21 balls with a top-edge on the pull going over deep square leg fence and followed up with an inside-out loft over extra cover for second four in the final over of power-play.

When rain forced teams off the field, Bangladesh were 66/0 in seven overs, well ahead of the DLS par score of 49. As play resumed after 50 minutes of rain, India found immediate success as Rahul’s smooth direct hit from deep mid-wicket caught Das short of his crease at non-striker’s end.

Shanto hit a brace of boundaries, but holed out to long-on off Shami. Arshdeep made a double strike as Afif Hossain miscued a slog to mid-on running in from the deep and Shakib Al Hasan fell in similar fashion while trying to clear the short boundary.

Wickets continued to tumble for Bangladesh as top-edge on Yasir Ali’s pull off Hardik Pandya was sliced to point and Mosaddek Hossain chopped on to his stumps. Though Nurul Hasan and Taskin Ahmed hit six boundaries in the last three overs, including two in the final over, India managed to hold their nerve for a tight win.

Brief Scores: India 184/6 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 64 not out, KL Rahul 50; Hasan Mahmud 3/47, Shakib Al Hasan 2/33) beat Bangladesh 145/6 in 16 overs (Litton Das 60, Nurul Hasan 25 not out; Hardik Pandya 2/28, Arshdeep Singh 2/38) by 5 runs (via DLS method)

Teams:

India (Playing XI): KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma(c), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik(w), Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh

Bangladesh (Playing XI): Najmul Hossain Shanto, Litton Das, Shakib Al Hasan(c), Afif Hossain, Yasir Ali, Mosaddek Hossain, Shoriful Islam, Nurul Hasan(w), Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Taskin Ahmed

The post India vs Bangladesh, T20WC Highlights: Arshdeep Ensures India Inch Closer To Semis, Beat BAN By 5 Runs appeared first on Cricket Country.

Both Tests are a part of the ICC World Test Championship cycle, where India are currently placed fourth with 52.08 percentage points. Bangladesh, on the other hand, are in the last position in the championship table with 13.33 percentage points. This will be the first time that India will tour Bangladesh since 2015. In that tour in 2015, the lone Test ended as a draw while Bangladesh emerged victorious in the ODI series 2-1.

In an official statement, BCB President Nazmul Hassan felt thrilled about the prospect of multi-format meetings between the two sides in December. “The Bangladesh-India matches in recent history have given us some epic contests and fans from both countries are eagerly waiting for another memorable series. I thank the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for working closely with the BCB in confirming the schedule. We look forward to welcoming the Indian team to Bangladesh.”

BCCI Secretary Jay Shah echoed the same sentiment as expressed by Hassan. “I extend my best wishes to the Bangladesh Cricket Board for the upcoming bilateral series featuring India. The India-Bangladesh contests generate tremendous interest among the fans thanks to the massive fan following the two teams enjoy”

“We know how passionate the fans in Bangladesh are and I am sure they will be treated to some exhilarating contests both in white-ball and red-ball cricket. With the crucial World Test Championship points at stake, the two Test matches are very important and both teams will go hard for the win.”

India tour of Bangladesh Itinerary

December 1: Indian team arrives in Bangladesh

December 4: 1st ODI, Dhaka

December 7: 2nd ODI, Dhaka

December 10: 3rd ODI, Dhaka

December 14-18: 1st Test, Chattogram

December 22-26: 2nd Test, Dhaka

December 27: Indian team departs from Bangladesh

The post India Tour Of Bangladesh: Check Schedule, Venue And Dates For 3 ODIs and 2 Test Matches appeared first on Cricket Country.