“MS still loves playing. He is an evergreen cricketer and it feels like he just doesn’t age. Look, with the kind of skills he has and the hard yards he puts in, MS can go on and play into his 40s,” Watson told Times of India.
“MS has been able to manage his body well. The way he is able to run consistently and showcase skills behind the stumps is just incredible. I am a big fan of MS and would want to see him continue playing whether it’s for CSK or internationally.”
Watson said CSK’s chances of doing well in the IPL are high and explained that the slow pitches will suit their team.
“CSK’s chances are as good as all the other teams. Our team’s biggest plus has been the presence of experienced players and some exciting younger players. We have a terrific side led by MS Dhoni and coach Stephen Fleming. With the kind of balance that our side possesses, I see no reason why we can’t have a terrific season ahead,” he said.
“The pitches are going to be on the slower side. We have some high-quality spinners in our side and we should be able to capitalize.”
Watson Recalls 2019 IPL Finals:
CSK had a heartbreak in the IPL final of 2019, losing to Mumbai Indians by one run. Watson, who starred with a half-century before being run out in the final over of that game, said it’s important to start afresh.
“It’s always shattering to come this close to winning the tournament as we did in the final against Mumbai Indians last year. MI was one of the dominant teams in 2019, and for us, to have come this close was a terrific effort. There were so many positives for us from the last season and we will look to take that and start afresh this year,” he said.
England fast bowler Stuart Broad has been fined 15 percent of his match earnings by referee Chris Broad, who incidentally happens to be the cricketer’s father, for using “inappropriate language” after dismissing Pakistan spinner Yasir Shah in the first Test at Manchester.
“The incident occurred in the 46th over of Pakistan’s second innings on Saturday, when Broad used inappropriate language after dismissing Yasir Shah,” said the ICC in a statement.
Reason for the Fine:
According to the release, Broad was found to have breached Article 2.5 of the ICC Code of Conduct, which relates to “using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batter upon his/her dismissal during an International Match.” In addition to this, one demerit point has been added to the disciplinary record of Broad, for whom it was the third offense in a 24-month period, taking his cumulative demerit points to three.
Broad’s Previous Breaches
Broad’s previous breaches were on January 27 this year during the fourth Test against South Africa at the Wanderers, and on August 19, 2018, in the third Test against India at Trent Bridge.
“Broad admitted the offense and accepted the sanction proposed by Chris Broad of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees and ratified by the ICC Cricket Operations department as per the COVID-19 interim playing regulations. There was no need for a formal hearing,” the release added.
On-field umpires Richard Kettleborough and Richard Illingworth, third umpire Michael Gough and fourth official Steve O’Shaughnessy leveled the charge against Broad.
Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand, a maximum penalty of 50 percent of a player’s match fee, and one or two demerit points.
Star New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor said he is “not certain” on the off chance that he will have enough in his tank to represent New Zealand in the following year’s T20 World Cup in India.
The ICC had a week ago deferred the T20 World Cup 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and gave Australia the right to have the 2022 version. The administering body, however, held India’s entitlement to lead the 2021 T20 World Cup.
Taylor Will Turns 37 in 2021 T20WC:
Taylor, who had become the first New Zealand player to play 100 T20Is in February this year during a series against India, will turn 37 when India has the 2021 T20 World Cup.
“Oh! Not sure,” Taylor, who is currently in Trinidad for the month-long Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2020, was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.
“As you get older, things slow down a little bit, but your training and experience and your mind become even more important,” added the prolific batsman, who has so far scored over 10,000 runs in limited over cricket for New Zealand.
Taylor, who last featured in an ODI against Australia in March before the tour was called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic, said it will be strange for everyone to play after such a long time.
“Yeah, it has been a strange time all around. I haven’t gone this long without playing any cricket since I was in high school. So, yeah obviously isolation and all those other things are a little bit strange, but it is what it is,” said the senior batsman, who will turn up for Guyana Amazon Warriors in the CPL beginning on 18 August.
“You know it’s going to be strange for everybody at the CPL. Nobody has played international cricket for a while, so everyone is going to be nervous, I’m sure. So, training and early games are very important.
“The atmosphere in Twenty20 cricket is a lot of what you play and we get the best crowds in that format. So, to play in front of nobody but knowing that people at home will be watching and cheering us on, it’s going to be a bit strange, but at the same time something that we’re going to get used to,” he added.
Taylor Plays as Responsible Player For His Team in CPL:
Taylor would have to take more responsibility for the team especially after the withdrawal of veteran Pakistan all-rounder Shoaib Malik, who skipped CPL for the upcoming T20I series against England.
“Shoaib Malik has got a fantastic record, especially in T20 cricket and especially for Guyana as well. I think he has got that anchor role and a role that I’ll be looking to do as well,” Taylor said.
“Every team is stacked with quality spinners and we expect spin to play a big part and probably reverse-swing throughout the whole tournament.
“Traditionally, it does spin a lot here anyway, so the way you play spin is going to be very important. Some of the world’s best spinners are here, and it’s going to be a good test for us batsmen going forward,” he added.
Indian women’s cricket team’s swashbuckling opener Smriti Mandhana prefers to stay away from any sort of comparisons but when it comes to some interesting similarities with Indian skipper Virat Kohli, she aspires to become as big a match-winner as Kohli is.
Both the cricket stars wear jersey number 18 and have a wrong-footed bowling action.
On being asked about the same during an exclusive interview, Smriti said, “I am happy being Smriti Mandhana of women’s team but the kind of batting he does and the way he(Virat Kohli) wins matches for India, It’s very inspirational. I would try and take the way he finishes the games. I would love to do that for India. It’s unrealistic to have the kind of consistency he has.”
24-year-old Mandhana, who has reached several cricketing milestones in six years of her international career, shared insights about her journey. She said, “As a kid, I used to go and play with my brother (Shravan Mandhana). I used to copy him and bat with him. That’s how it all began. I chose cricket as my career when I was 15 or 16 when I scored a century for Maharashtra. More than my dream it was my family’s dream that I play for India and they always supported me.”
With the women’s T20 Challenge approaching, Mandhana said she is excited for the return of live cricket and is looking forward to traveling to UAE, the venue of the tournament, and be a part of it.
Talking about the four-month time at home during the pandemic, the opener said, “This is the first time in several years that I happened to stay at home for that long. The first month was a bit tough since I didn’t have the habit of staying at home.
But gradually adjusted by working out at home with the equipment available. In the last month I have started batting. It was tough but also special that I got to spend time with my family. Playing cards trying to be around them.
“I am not too much into Netflix and Amazon because spending quality time with family is more valuable. Just being around them and trying to read some books. I also cook on some odd days and I’m cycling too. However, following the news has been pretty painful. So many heartbreaking stories. Once I read them it takes me 15 minutes to absorb it and I can’t read anything further.”
Shane Watson is one of the veterans of the Indian Premier League, having won the trophy in its debut season in 2008 with Rajasthan Royals and afterward again with Chennai Super Kings 10 years after.
The productive all-rounder additionally had a stretch with Royal Challengers Bangalore for two years, during which he helped the Virat Kohli-drove group to reach finals in 2016 IPL.
Shane Watson’s Reveals Dhoni’s Uniqueness:
During an Instagram live session set up by Chennai Super Kings, the Australian World Cup winner uncovered what set MS Dhoni’s team separated from different franchises that he has spoken to.
“You can go for 10 games not scoring runs and still get picked. Last season, thank you to MS Dhoni and Stephen Fleming for keeping the faith,” he said.
“Every other franchise would have been ‘You are gone. Thank you for coming, but you are sitting and you are running the drinks,'” the all-rounder continued.
Watson almost repeated his heroics from the previous season in the final against Mumbai Indians, hitting 80 off 59 deliveries before being run out in the final over as CSK fell just short of Mumbai Indians’ total of 149.
Watson credited CSK skipper Dhoni and coach Stephen Fleming for not dropping him and eventually repaid his faith with the string of crucial knocks.
“Through that period, unfortunately, I felt like I was batting well but I was just not scoring runs and that kept going on and on. At some stage, I was feeling after a couple of games that they are going to have to move me on, but they didn’t.”
“And then when things turned around, which I knew it would at some stage, I thanked MS and Fleming for keeping the faith, and they said there was never any doubt,” he said.
Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar is the second player to play most world cup matches in cricket history. Making his debut in 1989 Sachin played six World Cups from 1992 to 2011.
Sachin Tendulkar made his international debut at a young age of 16 – in 1989 – and went on to play international cricket for the next 24 years. During the long journey, he just didn’t become the most capped player in two traditional formats but also the highest run-scorer in Tests and ODIs.
Tendulkar, who played ‘record’ 200 Tests, finished his career with 15921 runs in the longest format. In 463 ODIs, the Master Blaster scored 18426 runs.
Apart from finishing his career as the highest run-scorer in two formats, Tendulkar also played ‘record’ six Word Cups. The former India captain made his World Cup debut in 1992 and played the next five editions (1996, 1999, 2003, 2007, and 2011) under different captains.
India achieved the World Cup glory under MS Dhoni in Tendulkar’s last World Cup. Incidentally, the final of the tournament was played at Wankhede Stadium, his home ground.
List of Sachin’s Record in World Cups:
Most runs: 2,278
Sachin Tendulkar holds a unique record in world cup matches by scoring 2278 runs in total with the highest of 152 runs. Which is nearly 500 runs difference from the second positioned player Ricky Ponting in terms of runs. which includes 6 centuries and also serves as the highest number of centuries by a player in the world cup.
His highest score at the World Cup came against Namibia in 2003, when he hit 18 fours on his way to 152 from 151 balls.
Most centuries: 6
His first century came in his second tournament in 1996, as he scored 127* against Kenya. It didn’t take long for him to record a second ton, as he went on to score 137 against Sri Lanka two weeks later in the same world cup event.
Kenya were the victims again in 1999 when Tendulkar struck 140* in Bristol, with his fourth century coming in the aforementioned game against Namibia.
He showed he could still cut it in his final World Cup in 2011, hitting scores of 120 in a tied game against England and 111 against South Africa.
Most fifties: 15
As well as converting six fifties into centuries, Tendulkar also holds the record for the most half-centuries in World Cup history with 15.
Three came in his first tournament in 1992, three more in 1996, six in 2003, one in 2007 before finishing with two in 2011.
Most runs in a series – 673
It was the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, Kenya, and Zimbabwe that Tendulkar further enhanced his reputation as one of the leading ODI batsmen of all time, as he hit 673 runs in 11 games – a record for a single edition of the tournament.
Across Africa he put on a batting masterclass, executing an impressive 152 against Namibia, 98 against Pakistan and 97 versus Sri Lanka.
He couldn’t quite lead India to victory, though, as they fell to defeat against Australia, but he would eventually get his hands on the prestigious trophy eight years later(2011 World Cup).
Top 15 Players Stats Who Played Most Number of Matches in the World Cups:
Former India pacer Ashish Nehra has discussed match-changing innings of 85 by Sachin Tendulkar in the semi-last against Pakistan in the 2011 World Cup. The Master Blaster was dropped multiple times on 27, 45, 70 and 81, and was mitigated twice by the third umpire on 23. In any case, it helped India score 260.
Nehra’s Statement On Sachin’s Luck in the 2011 World Cup:
On Greatest Rivalry Podcast, Nehra stated, “Needless to say, even Sachin Tendulkar himself knows how lucky he was in that game. It was one of his scratchiest innings you’ll see. Whenever you’ve seen Tendulkar scoring even 40, you will see bad decisions or catches being dropped. But not that many and luck going your way that much.”
In the match, India was expected to score over 350, with the kind of start Virender Sehwag had given to the team. But five wickets by Wahab Riaz curtailed the runs.
“See when you talk about a World Cup, whether it’s India-Pakistan, India-England, or any other team, it’s all pressure. You’ve reached the semifinal, you’re a good team but in the end, it’s all down to how you handle pressure,” Nehra added.
“The way Virender Sehwag started against Umar Gul (taking him for four fours in an over), at one point of time, we might score 340-350. We ended up 257-58 if I’m not wrong. When we were bowling, Pakistan had a very good start, and defending 257 was a great effort by the Indian team. There’s no doubt about it.”
Watch 2011 World Cup India vs Pakistan:
Sachin Tendulkar’s Score Details in the 2011 World Cup:
Opponent
Innings
Runs
Ball Faced
Strike Rate
4’s
6’s
Not Out
Bangladesh
1
28
29
96.55
4
0
0
England
1
120
115
104.35
10
5
0
Ireland
1
38
56
67.86
4
0
0
Netherlands
1
27
22
122.73
6
0
0
South Africa
1
111
101
109.9
8
3
0
West Indies
1
2
4
50
0
0
0
Australia
1
53
68
77.94
7
0
0
Pakistan
1
85
115
73.91
11
0
0
Sri Lanka
1
18
14
128.57
2
0
0
Total
9
482
524
52
8
0
Kohli Recalls the Moment When Team India Lifts Sachin After 2011 WC Victory:
The 2011 World Cup win will consistently be unique and it was made considerably progressively glad after the group lifted Sachin Tendulkar on their shoulder doing a triumph lap.
Indian captain Virat Kohli has now uncovered why the group chose to lift the incredible cricketer on their shoulders. On April 2, 2011, India vanquished Sri Lanka by six wickets at Wankhede Stadium in the finals to lift their second ODI World Cup. After the success, the entire group had conveyed Sachin on their shoulder in a lap of respect.
The right-handed batsman was addressing Indian cricketer Mayank Agarwal in the Latest Episode of the ‘Open nets with Mayank’ when the captain was gotten some information about the ‘lap of respect’ given to Sachin.
Sanjay Manjrekar recalls the moment when Sachin Tendulkar‘s maiden ton in Test plays as match-saving innings. Sachin scored an unbeaten 119 to push the Test match for a draw against England at Old Trafford in 1990.
Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar is regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time in cricket history. The little master acts as a nightmare for many legendary bowlers who fears to sledge Sachin.
Sachin Tendulkar with his bat registered an impossible achievement by scoring 15,921 Test runs, 18426 ODI runs which include 51 Test centuries and 49 ODI centuries. Sachin was the ultimate match-winner for India in many situations.
In India, there was a time where peoples used to turn off their TV’s and Radio’s once Sachin got dismissed.
Sanjay Manjrekar Recalls the Moment:
Former batsman Sanjay Manjrekar, who was part of the Indian team in the match and had scored 93 in the first innings, recalled how he saw Tendulkar truly announcing his arrival on to the international cricket scene through his second Test match against England.
“Those signs were there. It wasn’t that we were astounded by the effort. Because this is a guy whose climb at the international level from the age of 16, who started playing in Pakistan with a few good innings there but there was a certain amount of looseness, impetuous kind of batting outside the off-stump,” Manjrekar said in the latest episode of Star Sports’ chat show Cricket Connected.
“In New Zealand, he had one 80 and he had become a little tighter. But come to England, he had sealed all his weaknesses. So that hundred was just a recognition of the growth of this man and I have never seen anyone come to international cricket so quickly,” he added.
Manjrekar further recalled how Tendulkar went on to score two hundred in Australia after Old Trafford hundred. “And then in Australia immediately after England, he went there and dominated international cricket as a batsman,” he said.
On hearing this not only fans get in joy but players too get excited to play cricket matches after a gap of nearly 5 months amid coronavirus lockdown.
Suresh Raina who plays for Chennai Super Kings under Dhoni’s captaincy in IPL shared a photo on Instagram alongside teammates MS Dhoni and Murali Vijay on Sunday. Raina shared this throwback photo on Instagram where MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, and Murali Vijay can be seen smiling as CSK’s team manager Russell Radhakrishnan is seen in the background.
Suresh Raina in the caption of his Instagram post wrote, “Counting days to get on the field and cherish every minute. Can’t wait for the season to begin @mahi7781 @mvj8 @russcsk”.
Suresh Raina who actively performs in social media shares his video of practicing in nets. The 33-year-old seems to practice with bats for some impressive big shots and also his fielding ability still remains as in his 20’s.
The southpaw shared a video in Instagram and quotes as “Training Day 🏏 Nothing better like a good practice session💥 Ready to take on the week & be pumped for the season ahead😎. Happy Training! 💪 @shivam_mavi @nalin6396 #ghaziabd12h”
Going into the World Cup 2019, India had issues regarding their no.4, which wasn’t really solved throughout the tournament. There was a time when Ambati Rayudu was considered for the job, and in fact, Virat Kohli too had talked about the same. But in the end, he wasn’t picked in the WC bound team, and instead, Vijay Shankar was preferred.
The major reason for that could have been the dip in his form, especially in the ODI series against Australia.
Former Indian Selector Explains the Reason for Not Including Rayudu in 2019 WC:
Now former India selector Gagan Khoda has come up with an explanation behind the axing of Rayudu.
He told in a chat, “Ambati Rayudu was experienced and you were looking at the World Cup. We carried on with him for a year but we felt he was getting stagnant. The confidence level going into the World Cup wasn’t there. We couldn’t get any youngster in because the tournament was in England also.”
It is only fair to say that an experienced batsman like Rayudu was sorely missed by India in the semifinal against New Zealand while chasing 240.
Khoda went on to say, “I never thought we were weak anywhere. It was just one bad day that we had. One day the match didn’t happen, the next day it happens and the momentum finishes. You have to start all over again, and it happens.”
England pacer James Anderson on Monday excused his retirement bits of gossip, saying he is as yet hungry to play more Test cricket. The bowler additionally said that he despite everything needs to play the 2021-22 Ashes in Australia.
The 38-year-old is the most elevated wicket-taker for any pacer in Test cricket. Ever since the resumption of cricket, Anderson has watched out of shading and has figured out to take only six wickets from three Tests (two against Windies and one against Pakistan).
“It`s been a frustrating week for me personally. I`ve not bowled very well and felt out of rhythm. For the first time in probably 10 years, I got a little bit emotional on the field. I got a bit frustrated and let it get to me a little bit. It reminded me of when I first started playing when you get frustrated and a little bit angry, you try and bowl quicker and quicker and it doesn`t help,” ESPNCricinfo quoted Anderson as saying.
“Yes, I absolutely want to play in the Ashes. But it`s not like that`s a focus of mine. I want to play as long as I possibly can. I`m still hungry to play the game. If I keep bowling the way I did this week, the opportunity to retire will be taken out of my hands. It will be a selection issue. I think the frustration for me this week was the sort of whispers that go around after one bad game. I don`t think that`s really fair,” he added.
Anderson also admitted that he was not himself in the recently concluded first Test against Pakistan, and said that if he keeps on bowling this way, then his retirement call might just be taken out of his hand.
“Everyone has a bad game every now and then. That`s how I look at it. I`ll work hard to try and put things right if I get a chance next week if I get the chance. I didn`t bowl that badly. But I feel like, in the second innings, in particular, a chance when down and I let it get to me. I`m normally pretty good at thinking if you`ve created a chance then that`s a positive thing. It`s obviously frustrating when a catch goes down but if you`re creating chances, you must be doing something right,” Anderson said.
“But I let it get to me a bit. I got a bit too emotional; a bit too frustrated. I just felt I wasn`t bowling to the standards I set myself. I just don`t want every time I have a bad game for there to be whispers going around that I`m going to pack in. For me, it`s about trying to find a way of dealing with that, dealing with the outside noise. I`ve done that really well in my career, but it`s a little bit different now,” he added.
600 Wickets Mark:
Anderson is poised on the brink of a couple of personal milestones as he needs just 10 more wickets to reach 600 mark in Tests. He is just seven Tests away from being the most capped English Test player as well.
“600 wickets is not a huge thing for me, really. The other milestones I`ve gone past haven`t been, either. I want to be contributing to this team; that`s my sole focus. I want to be bowling well and contributing to England winning games of cricket. That`s been my focus throughout my career. I think that focus has served me well,” Anderson said.
“If I get 600 wickets then great; if I don`t, then I`m happy with what I`ve got. I know I can perform better than I did this week. I want to keep getting better and keep helping England win games of cricket,” he added.
Former India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is known for his captaincy skills for both the national team as well as the Indian Premier League’s (IPL) Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
Recently, former CSK player and Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan praised Dhoni and said that the best part about his captaincy was that he trusted the bowler and gave him the freedom to set his own field.
Muralitharan Recalls The Moment Playing Under MSD:
In a YouTube chat show DRS with Ash, Murali told India off-spinner R Ashwin that theories of Dhoni are very nice to see. He gives the ball to the bowler and tells him to set the field and bowl. If it wasn’t working, then he would ask them to give a chance to the field he sets.
“He (Dhoni) will clap if a good ball gets hit for a six. He’ll tell the bowler that it’s a good ball, and it doesn’t matter if the batsman has hit you for a six. Batsmen too have the talent to hit,” Murali said.
He further said that Dhoni would call a bowler alone to tell him what is needed instead of doing it in public.
“Because of those qualities, he has been a successful captain,” the Sri Lankan spin legend said.
Watch Muttiah Muralitharan Chat With Ashwin:
“Even when he was young, he’d listen to advice (from seniors). He’ll listen to people and then he’ll make the decision at the end of the day. That’s how he used to captain,” Murali said.
He also said that more then everything, Dhoni wouldn’t care about how players bat in the IPL but he wants players who can win the match.
Dhoni has captained CSK in all the 10 seasons of IPL and is set to make comeback to competitive cricket in the upcoming IPL, which will be held from 19 September to 10 November in the UAE.
