The Bangladesh players were overtly aggressive while fielding with their lead pacer Shoriful Islam sledging the Indian batsmen after every delivery.

POTCHEFSTROOM (South Africa): Bangladesh captain Akbar Ali, who regretted the unwanted aggression from his players which nearly resulted into a free for all after his team won the U-19 ICC World Cup.

The Bangladesh players were overtly aggressive while fielding with their lead pacer Shoriful Islam sledging the Indian batsmen after every delivery.

In fact as Bangladesh approached the winning runs, Shoriful was seen swearing multiple times openly on camera.

“Some of our bowlers were emotional and were pumped up. What happened after the game was unfortunate. I would like to congratulate India,” skipper Akbar showed maturity beyond years at the post-match conference.

As soon as the match ended, it became tense with Bangladeshi players rushing to the ground and most of them still displaying aggressive body language.

In fact, one India player rushed to confront and pushed a Bangladeshi player who had allegedly said uncharitable things and it was coach Paras Mhambrey seen calming his boys.

“It’s a dream come true. It’s all about the hard work we have done over the last two years. The coaching staff… I just cannot thank them enough for how much support they have given us on and off the field.  We’ve had a very good experience, and this is just the beginning for us. Hopefully, this will be the stepping stone for us,” said the skipper, who was also adjudged Player of the Final for his composed unbeaten 43.

Chasing 274 for a win, Ravindra Jadeja top-scored with a 73-ball 55 while Shreyas Iyer made 52 from 57 balls.

AUCKLAND: New Zealand exorcised the ghost of a nightmarish T20 whitewash with a series-clinching 22-run victory against India in the second ODI on Saturday with the visitors paying price for some poor shot selection.

Revenge, as they say, is a dish best served cold and on a chilly Auckland night, New Zealand defended a total of 273 by restricting India to 251 in 48.3 overs taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

The victory also completed a hat-trick of ODI wins for the Black Caps starting from their World Cup semi-final win in Manchester last year.

The win was more prestigious as regular skipper Kane Williamson along with top bowlers Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson were unavailable.

New Zealand’s 6 foot 8 inch debutant Kyle Jamieson (2/42 and 25 off 24 balls) got the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his all-round show.

Ravindra Jadeja (55 off 73 balls) along with Navdeep Saini (45 off 49 balls) raised visions of pulling off an improbable win with a 76-run partnership which ended in vain.

Tim Southee despite running temperature (2/41 in 10 overs) was brilliant with the new ball as his incutter got rid of Virat Kohli but it was poor shot selection from a set Shreyas Iyer (52) and Kedar Jadhav (9) in the middle overs did cost India dearly after the inexperienced pair of Mayank Agarwal and Prithvi Shaw had a second successive poor day.

Earlier, in-form Ross Taylor produced a rearguard act with an unbeaten half century to rescue New Zealand to a competitive 273 for eight in 50 overs.

Taylor scored 73 not out (74 balls, 6 fours, 2 sixes) — his 51st half-century — and put on 76 off 51 balls for the ninth wicket with Jamieson to lift the hosts from 197-8 to a competitive score.

Opener Martin Guptill smashed a run-a-ball 79 to give the Black Caps a good start but they lost seven wickets for 55 runs to look down the barrel at one stage.

Put in to bat, New Zealand got off to a positive start as Guptill (79) and Henry Nicholls (41) put on 93 runs for the first wicket.

Guptill’s innings contained eight fours and three sixes, as their cautious start meant India were searching for wickets early on.

The breakthrough came only in the 17th over as Yuzvendra Chahal trapped Nicholls LBW. Chahal had earlier dropped Nicholls in the 15th over as India started nervously in the field again.

But things came together after the first wicket with the visitors piling on the pressure.

Shardul Thakur (2-60) got rid of Tom Blundell (22) and then came the turning moment. Guptill set off for a suicidal run and was duly caught short of his crease by Thakur’s throw.

The Kiwis were suddenly down to 157 for 3 and India made good use of the opening.

Ravindra Jadeja (1-35) got into the action, first dismissing Tom Latham (7) and then running out Jimmy Neesham (3). Colin de Grandhomme (5) holed out off Thakur, with Chahal returning to gleefully accept a return catch from Mark Chapman (1).

New Zealand were in danger of not crossing 200 when Tim Southee (3) was caught off Chahal too. The leg spinner finished with 3-58.

However, Taylor had other ideas as he rebuilt the innings with clever batting.

He found an able partner in Jamieson as they ran hard between the wickets to elevate the score before stepping on the gas later in the innings. Taylor scored his half-century off 61 balls, while Jamieson threw his bat around to smack a four and two sixes to bring up their 50-partnership off 35 balls.

New Zealand scored 53 runs in the last five overs, crossing 250 in the 48th over. Earlier, Virat Kohli won the toss for a first time on this tour and opted to bowl.

India made two changes with Yuzvendra Chahal replacing Kuldeep Yadav, while Navdeep Saini came in for Mohammed Shami. The latter was rested keeping in mind the upcoming Test series.

The Black Caps have a 1-0 lead in the three-match series following their four-wicket win over India in the first ODI.

Brief Score: New Zealand: 273 for 8 in 50 overs (Martin Guptill 79, Ross Taylor 73; Yuzvendra Chahal 3/58). India: 251 all out in 48.3 overs (Ravindra Jadeja 55, Shreyas Iyer 52; Tim Southee 2/41, Kyle Jamieson 2/42).

India beat Australia by 36 runs in the second ODI at the SCA stadium in Rajkot to level the three-match series between the two sides 1-1.

RAJKOT: Kuldeep Yadav bowled a game-changing 38th over to complement a KL Rahul blinder as India levelled the series with a comfortable 36-run victory over Australia in second ODI here on Friday.

Put into bat, India put up a much-improved batting performance with Rahul’s blistering 52-ball-80 taking India to 340 for six after Shikhar Dhawan (96 off 90 balls) and skipper Virat Kohli (78 off 76 balls) laid the foundation.

Australia were in the game till Steven Smith (98) carried the battle back to the enemy camp but Kuldeep’s ninth over turned out to be a game-changer as he first dismissed wicketkeeper Alex Carey and then had a delivery that bounced extra to have Smith played on.

The visitors were all-out for 304 in 49.1 overs.

Kuldeep’s final figures of 2 for 65 may not be mind-blowing but did just enough damage to see that the third ODI in Bengaluru doesn’t lose context.

Mohammed Shami (3/77 in 10 overs) and Navdeep Saini (2/62 in 10 overs) then bowled some exquisite toe-crushers to put an end to the contest.

Jasprit Bumrah (1/32 in 9.1 overs) was economical as ever and his contribution cannot be overlooked.

However, on a placid track, Smith, a proverbial thorn in India’s flesh was again proving to be dangerous along with Marnus Labuschagne (44) as they added 96 in quick time.

Ravindra Jadeja (2/58 in 10 overs) steady spell and got rid of Labuschagne in nick of time to upset Smith’s rhythm after he had hit nine fours and a six off 102 balls.

However, this match also brings to fore Rahul’s emergence as proper keeper-batsman option for white-ball cricket as his extra runs coming in at No 5, proving to be valuable in the end.

Not to forget his reasonably decent keeping effecting a stumping and also took two catches.

More importantly, his keeping down the leg-side was far better than Rishabh Pant, who is currently recovering from concussion.

Earlier, it was Dhawan, who missed a well-deserved ton by a whisker but laid a solid platform for the aggressive duo of skipper Kohli and Rahul to ensure a commanding total.

Back in form since the last T20 encounter against Sri Lanka, the senior opener looked solid in his 90-ball-96 while Kohli, back at his familiar one drop position, held the middle-order with a 78 off 76 balls and Rahul (80 off 52 balls) provided the final flourish in what was much-improved batting performance from the hosts.

While Dhawan added 81 for the opening stand with Rohit Sharma (42) who would regret this missed opportunity on a batting belter after getting set, the southpaw also had a vital 103-run stand with Kohli for the second wicket.

As fare would have it, both the openers suffered from on-field injuries — Dhawan being hit on rib-cage trying to fend a Pat Cummins bouncer while Rohit got a jerk on his shoulder while trying go field at the boundary line.

The Kohli-Rahul duo’s 78-run partnership off 10.3 overs was also pivotal as it helped the latter to launch a final assault during the end overs.

While Dhawan’s innings had 13 fours and a six, Kohli had six hits to the fence including a classic jab-flick off Pat Cummins (0/53 in 10 overs).

Rahul’s was a stand-out innings with six boundaries and three -maximums, one of which was a lofted cover drive off Mitchell Starc (0/78 in 10 overs), who had a forgettable day.

Adam Zampa (3/50 in 10 overs) was once again the stand-out performer taking Kohli out of equation for the seventh time in limited overs just when he was looking to get his 44th ODI ton.

At the start, Dhawan began with a bowler’s back-drive, giving a glimpse of what was in store.

The southpaw completed his sixth fifty versus Australia in 60 balls as he played shots all around the ground.

The last time Dhawan scored successive fifties was in January 2019 against New Zealand.

This was his 29th in 50-over cricket.

The left-hander was particularly harsh on left-arm spinner Ashton Agar (0-63 in 8 overs), whom he hammered for two successive fours in the 25th, a sweep and a reverse-sweep, and then in 27th over stuck a four and a six, not allowing him to settle down.

In fact the 77 runs from 10 overs bowled by fifth and sixth bowling option Marnus Labuschagne (0/14 in 2 overs) was the difference from the last game.

However, Dhawan missed out on his 18th ODI hundred by four runs when he pulled a Kane Richardson ball straight to fine leg in 29th over.

Shreyas Iyer (7) fell cheaply.

But Kohli was in sublime touch as he ran the singles and doubles with intensity and also it the loose balls for boundary.

Chasing 256 for win, Finch (110 not out) and Warner (128 not out) took the Indian bowlers to the cleaners to register the emphatic win with 74 balls to spare and take a 1-0 lead in the series.

MUMBAI: Australia openers David Warner and Aaron Finch’s record opening stand flattened the Indian attack on Tuesday as the visitors won the first ODI at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai by 10 wickets. Both batsmen scored centuries as Australia chased down a target of 256 without losing a wicket.

This is only the second time that India have lost an ODI at home by 10 wickets and the first instance since 2005. Warner and Finch also bettered their own record for the highest ever opening stand for Australia against India.

Warner was given out for caught behind in the sixth over when he chased a short ball down the leg side. He reviewed after a lengthy chat with Finch and the snicko showed no spike as the ball passed the bat.

Australia then raced to 110/0 in 15 overs with Warning crossing his fifty. Finch made his half-century in the 16th over as the pair settled into the chase. They slowed the run rate and played a largely chanceless innings with India not helping their case with lapses in the field.

India’s next real chance came in the 29th over when Warner was given LBW off Ravindra Jadeja. This time, however, the 33-year-old reviewed straightaway and replays showed that the ball had taken his inside edge before hitting the pads. Warner scored his 18th ODI hundred two overs later and the four that he hit to get there also helped Australia cross the 200-run mark.

Finch also reached his 16th ODI century in the 35th over with a four and in the next over, they set the record for highest opening stand for Australia against India. The previous record also belonged to the pair, which they had set in Bengaluru in 2017. In the 38th over, Warner hit Mohammed Shami for a four past mid-off which were the winning runs for the visitors.

Warner ended the innings on 128 while Finch was on 110.

Earlier, India lost their first wicket early in Rohit Sharma, who was the first to fall to Mitchell Starc. But then Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul seemingly got India back on track with a 121-run partnership for the second wicket. Rahul fell three runs short of his half-century to break the partnership in the 28th over after which India lost captain Virat Kohli, who came in at number four instead of his usual three, and Shreyas Iyer in quick succession.

Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja temporarily put a stop to the fall of wickets but scorecard pressure eventually caught up with them. They put on 49 runs for the fifth wicket before Jadeja was caught behind off Kane Richardson. Pant fell in the next over to Pat Cummins after which it was all downhill for India. Pant got a top edge off the short ball bowled by Cummins which hit his helmet before flying to point where Ashton Turner took the catch. He ended up suffering a concussion because of which Rahul kept wickets in his place during the Australian innings.

Brief scores:

India 255 all out in 49.1 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 74, KL Rahul 47; Mitchell Starc 3/56) vs Australia 258/0 (David Warner 128, Aaron Finch 110; Ravindra Jadeja 0/41)

Currently ranked as the world no.1 ODI bowler, Bumrah had made his Test debut during India’s tour of South Africa in January 2018.

MUMBAI: India’s pace sensation Jasprit Bumrah on Sunday received the prestigious Polly Umrigar Award (2018-19) for being the best international cricketer at the BCCI Annual Awards here.

Currently ranked as the world no.1 ODI bowler, Bumrah had made his Test debut during India’s tour of South Africa in January 2018.

He has picked up five-wicket hauls in South Africa, England, Australia and the West Indies to become the first and only Asian bowler to achieve the milestone.

The 26-year-old has 62 wickets to his name in the longest format of the game and 103 scalps from 58 ODIs.

Leg-spinner Poonam Yadav, who had recently received the Arjuna Award, was given the best international cricketer (women) award.

Teenager Shafali Verma (15) won a couple of awards for her outstanding performances.

She was awarded the best international debutant and best woman cricketer in junior domestic cricket. In nine T20 matches, Shafali scored 222 runs at 27.75 with two half-centuries.

At the domestic circuit, overall she scored 1,923 runs at 46.90 in 46 matches with seven centuries and five half-centuries including One Day and T20 (She played Senior, U23, U19).

India opener Smriti Mandhana was awarded for being the highest run-getter in ODIs (349 runs in six matches at 69.80 with three half-centuries and one century), while Jhulan Goswami was acknowledged for taking the most number of wickets (11 wickets in six matches with one four-wicket haul).

Meanwhile, former India captains Krishnamachari Srikkanth and Anjum Chopra, the first Indian to play 100 women’s ODIs, were presented with Col C.K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award and the BCCI Lifetime Achievement Award for Women, respectively.

Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara was awarded with the Dilip Sardesai award for being the highest run-getter in Tests during the 2018-19 period. Pujara had amassed 677 runs from eight Tests at 52.07.

India Test opener Mayank Agarwal, who hogged the limelight for consecutive good scores in the recent past, was bestowed with the award for best international debut in the men’s category while Shafali Verma received the award in the women’s category.

In nine Tests, Mayank had scored 872 runs at 67.07 with three centuries and as many half-centuries. Shafali had accumulated 222 runs from nine T20Is.

All-rounder Shivam Dube was given the Lala Amarnath award for being the best all-rounder in Ranji Trophy for the 2018-19 season. Dube scored 632 runs at 52.67 in eight matches with two centuries and three half-centuries besides taking 23 wickets at 23.21.

Nitish Rana bagged the best all-rounder award in domestic limited-overs competitions. Rana amassed 443 runs at 49.22 in 10 matches with one century and three half-centuries and scalped eight wickets at 27.50.

Milind Kumar and Ashutosh Aman were awarded for being highest run-getter and highest wicket-taker, respectively, in the Ranji Trophy.

Virender Sharma won the best umpire award while Dilip Doshi was given BCCI’s special award. Vidarbha were rewarded for best performance in BCCI domestic tournaments.

BCCI President Sourav Ganguly said: “The BCCI Awards is our way of recognising the finest on-field performances right from the age group to senior level and also honour our legends.”

India cricket coach Ravi Shastri has urged for “patience” amid raging protests over the law.

NEW DELHI: India cricket coach Ravi Shastri has urged for “patience” amid raging protests over the Citizenship Amendment Act, saying that he foresees “plenty of positives” coming out of the controversial law in the long run.

The 57-year-old Shastri, a former batsman, said he is confident that the government has thought through the decision to introduce the law.

“When I see all this CAA and things going around it, I think as an Indian. In my team also, we have all sorts, different castes, different religions whatever but Indian. I say guys, be patient because I can see plenty of positives coming out of it in long run but did not elaborate any further.

“I am sure the government has thought about it properly. There are still certain things to be tweaked here and there and they will do it for the benefit of Indians. I am speaking as an Indian here.

“I am not talking about x, y, z religion because I am speaking as an Indian. That’s who I have been, I realised it, even more, when I played for the country. So, I have the right to speak as an Indian,” he asserted.

The CAA, which seeks to provide citizenship to non-Muslim religious minorities in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, is facing stiff opposition with protests in several parts of the country.

The amended citizenship act seeks to provide Indian citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians who fled from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan before December 2014 due to “religious persecution or fear of religious persecution”.

The act has met with fierce opposition and protests have raged across the country ever since it was passed in December last year.

The protests in the northeastern states have been driven by the sentiment that the move will affect the locals’ “political rights, culture and land rights” in the region.

Several other quarters in the country are opposing it for being “anti-Muslim”.

As the decade comes to an end, we’ve picked an XI that would give any other team a run for their money.

‘Joga Bonito’, as the Brazilians describe the beautiful game of football, is watched by us almost every weekend. It is the most popular game in the world and to pick the best out of all the top performers is a difficult task. As the decade comes to an end, we’ve picked an XI that would give any other team a run for their money.

We have gone with the traditional 4-3-3 formation, with players being selected based on their individual and team performances.

Manuel Neuer (GK)

Yes, we had three World Cup-winning goalkeepers — Iker Casillas in 2010, Neuer in 2014 and Hugo Lloris in 2018. But we have chosen Manuel Neuer for being the best goal stopper of the decade. 

The German goalie joined Bayern Munich from Schalke 04 in 2011 and found success soon after as Bayern won the Champions League in 2013. By 2014, Neuer had established himself as the best goalkeeper in the world as Germany lifted the World Cup in Brazil. He won the Golden Glove at the World Cup and also finished third behind Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo at the 2014 Ballon d’Or.  

‘Snapper’, as he’s nicknamed, has also won four consecutive IFFHS world’s best goalkeeper awards.

Dani Alves (RB)

The Brazil captain beats Phillip Lahm to be the right-back of our team. Now playing for Sao Paulo in Brazil, he is one of the most decorated defenders of all time, having won three Champions League titles with Barcelona and numerous league titles with the Catalans, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain throughout this decade.

With Brazil, he won the Copa America in 2019 for the second time in his career and was adjudged the most valuable player of the tournament.

Giorgio Chiellini (CB)

The Italian legend caught the attention of the world when Luis Suarez bit him during a World Cup 2014 group stage clash. Chiellini, who also captains Juventus, has won eight consecutive titles with the Serie A giants in this decade. 

He plays in a traditional defender role relieving the pressure of the defence which has led to the success of Juventus throughout this decade. With Italy, he reached the finals of the Euro 2012 eventually losing out to winners Spain.

Sergio Ramos (CB)

Ramos would find a place in all teams of the decade. The Real Madrid and Spain captain started the decade by lifting the World Cup in 2010 and then winning the Euro 2012. He has been at the centre of Real Madrid’s defence ever since, having won the Champions League four times in the decade. He has been named in the FIFPro World XI ten times, which is a record for any defender.

He is the most capped Spanish player having played 170 games for his country in which he scored 21 goals.

Marcelo (LB)

The Brazilian is another Real Madrid legend who features in our team having won four Champions League titles with Los Blancos. He helped Brazil reach the semi-finals of the World Cup 2014 at home and made it to the tournament’s Dream Team, where he featured again during the 2018 edition of the tournament.

Marcelo also takes up the role of the left-winger sometimes which has helped him score 25 goals in 349 appearances for Real Madrid. Marcelo has also made it to the FIFPro World XI six times.

Luka Modric (CM)

Luka Modric is the only player to have won the Ballon d’Or over Messi or Ronaldo in this decade. Having been a mainstay in Real Madrid’s midfield, Modric has won four Champions League titles with Los Merengues, another nickname for Madrid. 

The Croatian captain led his team to a historic final in the World Cup 2018 where they lost to France. His brilliant performance in the tournament earned him the Golden Ball and helped him win the Ballon d’Or over Ronaldo and Messi.

He has played 127 games for Croatia and scored 16 goals for his country.

Andres Iniesta (CM)

Iniesta is considered one of the best playmakers of all time and is widely regarded as one of the key factors for Messi’s success at Barcelona. The Spaniard helped his country bring home their first World Cup title in 2010 by scoring the winning goal in extra-time against the Netherlands. 

With Barcelona, he has won four Champions League titles and nine La Liga titles in total. For his exceptional performance throughout his career, FIFPro has featured him in their World XI nine times. He also finished runner-up to Leo Messi in the 2010 Ballon d’Or.

He helped Spain defend the Euros in 2012 and stayed with Barcelona until 2018 after which he made a move out of Spain to play for Japanese club Vissel Kobe.

Toni Kroos (CM)

The German started the decade at Bayer Leverkusen on loan, before moving back to Bayern Munich and winning the Champions League in 2013. He then helped Germany win the FIFA World Cup 2014 and was the top assist provider of the tournament. 

His set-piece abilities, passing and top form earned him a contract with Real Madrid with whom he has won three Champions League titles. A champion midfielder who has been a mainstay of the Spanish giants, Kroos has had one of the most fruitful decades as a football player.

Lionel Messi (FW)

There is little not known about the Argentine forward. Widely regarded as the ‘GOAT’ by pundits, Messi is known for his magical footballing skills which have helped him win six Ballon d’Or trophies. He led Argentina to the finals of World Cup 2014 for which he was awarded the Golden Ball. 

He has won ten La Liga titles, four Champions League trophies and six Copa del Rey crowns with Barcelona for whom he has scored more than 600 goals. 

Luis Suarez (FW) 

Uruguay’s all-time leading scorer has established himself as a deadly forward along with Messi for Barcelona. In 2014, he won the English Premier League golden boot while playing for Liverpool. His dominance with the ball in the striking position earned him a move to Barcelona where he won the treble in his first season.

Suarez also helped Uruguay win the Copa America in 2011 besides being part of the squad that made it to the semi-final in 2010. He has been at the centre of controversies throughout the decade for racial slurs, biting and other on-field antics but his brilliant record as a goal scorer earns him a place in our eleven.

Cristiano Ronaldo (FW)

The Portugal captain has had one of the most successful decades having won the Champions League and the Ballon d’Or four times in the period. Currently playing for Juventus, the striker broke the deadlock of international trophies by helping Portugal lift the Euro 2016 title.

Ronaldo’s skills and goal-scoring abilities have left him bang in the middle of the ‘greatest player of all-time’ debate along with Leo Messi. Ronaldo has scored over 700 goals in total for his club and country. He played the majority of the decade for Real Madrid before moving to Turin-based Juventus in 2018.

Bench:
Mohamed Salah (FW)
Iker Casillas (GK)
Sergio Busquets (CM)
Gerard Pique (CB)                              

If Gavaskar & Tendulkar happened to be the best of their times, India skipper is now stamping his authority and on course to become nation’s greatest of this era

Comparisons, especially when made across multiple time lines, can be an engaging exercise in futility. They rekindle pleasant memories but achieve no concrete result. India has been playing international cricket for almost nine decades and a century is round the corner. It has never been in such good health, its financial strength having finally translated into producing a world-beating team that is led by someone who could well be a contender for the tag of India’s greatest batsman ever.

As another decade is consigned to the dustbin of history and we look forward to greater prosperity in India’s cricketing growth, Virat Kohli has emerged as that unbreakable fulcrum around which the team revolves and reaps rewards of unprecedented success. His steely resolve and an inexhaustible desire for excellence has resulted in the transformation of a talented cricketer into a vast reservoir of unimaginable depth, who can now challenge the past legends to the tag of greatest ever.

For those of us who watched cricket in the pre-Sachin Tendulkar era, Sunil Gavaskar was the ultimate word in batting perfection. He took on the menacing greyhounds of the West Indian attack with the calmness of a meditating monk and wore them down with his textbook technique and unlimited patience. For a team struggling to stay afloat most of the time, Gavaskar’s batting feats were an exceptional example of courage and skill, achieved against the greatest of odds in hostile conditions that would be hard to match, leave alone surpass.

When we were convinced that the world had seen the final picture of perfection, a chubby little boy entered our consciousness with a volcanic force and stamped his greatness even before he had crossed his teens. Just like a mythical character whose future is predicted even before he is born, Tendulkar’s phenomenal march to the “greatest ever” was foreseen even before he had played for India.

As time passed and Tendulkar overshadowed everything around him, Gavaskar started fading from memory. Tendulkar now was a new era Bradman, surpassing not just all batting records, but outliving most of his contemporaries. An ageless wonder who could go on and on, playing and making runs.
It was a rude awakening for his millions of fans that even the best are subject to the laws of nature and there is nothing permanent in this world, not even Tendulkar! Around the same time the “god” of Indian cricket was quitting centre stage, an errant boy with rich promise was making his way into the Indian team. This young man, bursting with uncontrollable energy, had led India to an Under-19 World Cup win and many feared his untamed energies more than his talent.

When and how Kohli channelized his “human” instincts into a more positive direction is a story in itself and best left for him to tell someday. What it achieved for him was a metamorphosis that had a profound impact on his cricket. Kohli is a perfect example of what a disciplined life can lead to, especially for sportspersons who depend too much on body strength. The party animal now became a gym addict and a diet-conscious athlete who was willing to go to extreme lengths to enhance his skills.

The remarkable aspect of Kohli’s transformation from one among many to the only one among many, is his phenomenal concentration while batting, a la Gavaskar, without losing his restless, anxious persona while leading his troops in the field. While his batting has multiple dimensions, self-belief being perhaps its most stand-out feature, his explosive temper, though muted and controlled now, lends him a distinct aura that Gavaskar and especially Tendulkar lacked.

He is this very strange phenomenon, who is robotic when it comes to adhering to the discipline and training to improve his craft and very human when it comes to displaying his emotions. There is so far that “unbreakable will” on display that combines so perfectly with his skills to have made him into a run-making machine.

Is he the greatest? No. For the generation I belong to, there can be no one better than Gavaskar. He took on the world, fighting alone, scoring runs in a heap and lending a defeated team dignity and respect.
For the later generation Tendulkar is peerless, a symbol of India’s march into a world which finally took note of India’s strength and power. Can Kohli replace Tendulkar in popular imagination or has he already done so? These are questions that can have no one answer, as the very nature of comparisons across different periods are subject to and limited by the time and place of the present moment we live in.

The six-time world champion defeated Zareen 9-1 in the much-talked-about bout.

NEW DELHI: Six-time world champion M C Mary Kom (51kg) defeated Nikhat Zareen in a split verdict trial bout to make the Indian team for next year’s Olympic qualifiers in China.

In a bout which had very few clear punches, Mary Kom prevailed 9-1 to make the squad.

In other results, two-time world silver-medallist Sonia Lather (57kg) was upstaged by a swift-moving Sakshi Chaudhary.

Lather, also an Asian medallist, couldn’t cope with Chaudhury’s relentless attack.

In the 60kg category, former world champion L Sarita Devi lost to national champion Simranjit Kaur.

It was once again a battle of pace as Kaur outwitted Sarita with her precise hitting and quick reflexes.

Earlier, Zareen had demanded a ‘fair chance’ to contest the Tokyo Olympic qualifiers. On October 17, Zareen had written to the Sports Ministry challenging the Boxing Federation of India’s (BFI) decision to accommodate world champion Kom by changing its rule of exempting gold and silver medallists from the World Cup.

Kom had won a bronze in the 51kg semi-final at the Women’s World Boxing Championships in Ulan-Ude in Russia losing out to Buse Naz Cakiroglu of Turkey on October 12 this year.

India will take on Sri Lanka in three T20 Internationals from January 5, followed by three ODIs against Australia from January 14.

NEW DELHI: Shikhar Dhawan’s return was the highlight as the selectors on Monday named the squads for next month’s T20I and ODI series against Sri Lanka and Australia, respectively.

As reported by this newspaper, Jasprit Bumrah has come back after recovering from injury. Rohit Sharma has been rested for the matches against Sri Lanka.

Bumrah was out with a stress fracture. He will play for Gujarat in a Ranji Trophy match against Kerala in Surat from December 25. Fellow paceman Mohammed Shami, who played the T20Is against the West Indies, has been left out.

With Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Deepak Chahar injured, Navdeep Saini and Shardul Thakur stay in the squad as fast bowlers.

Dhawan had been left out following a lean run and did not do much of note in domestic cricket in the meantime. While resting Rohit considering the volume of cricket he has played in 2019, the selectors chose to overlook others and opted for Dhawan.

It’s possible that they want a left-right combination looking ahead to next year’s WT20.

In Dhawan’s absence, KL Rahul has done a good job as an opener, in ODIs as well as in T20Is. It will be interesting to see what happens, when Rohit returns for the Australia series, with Dhawan and Rahul both available. For the Sri Lanka T20Is, Sanju Samson is in the squad as the third opener, said, chief selector MSK Prasad.

The rest of the batting line-up has no surprise, with Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey and Shivam Dube in the T20I squad alongside wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant. Kedar Jadhav retains his place in the ODI side.

As far as spinners go, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravindra Jadeja are part of both squads. Off-spinner Washington Sundar is in the T20 squad as the fourth spinner. This shows that despite Jadeja gaining in stature, the think tank wants two wrist spinners in the scheme of things.

However, there was no information on MS Dhoni’s availability.  

“I can’t comment on that. Mahi has to first play to be available for selection,” said Prasad, chairman of the selection committee.

Hardik Pandya is back in the India A team for the tour of New Zealand next year. He is part of the squad for three one-day games against New Zealand

The all-rounder had suffered a back injury and did not play for India since the T20I series against South Africa in September.

The teenager Shubman Gill has been named captain of the A team for the one-dayers.

As reported by this newspaper, India’s Test specialists Cheteshwar Pujara, Mayank Agarwal, Ajinkya Rahane, R Ashwin and Wriddhiman Saha are part of the A-team for a four-day match against New Zealand A.

They will play that game as preparation for the Test series that follows. Prithvi Shaw is included in the squads for the one-day and four-day games.

The Squads:

India Squad (T20Is against Sri Lanka): Virat Kohli (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur, Manish Pandey, Washington Sundar, Sanju Samson.

India Squad (ODI vs Australia): Virat Kohli (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah.