While KL Rahul has been a revelation, scoring runs at will, Delhi pacer Navdeep Saini is in line to make his ODI debut in the absence of the inured Deepak Chahar.

CUTTACK: India have everything going their way as they head into the third and final ODI against the West Indies here on Sunday eyeing a 10th straight bilateral series win over the Caribbean side.

The West Indies took the home side by surprise in the opening ODI in Chennai to go one-up in the three-match series. But India, riding an all-round display, came back strongly to restore parity in the second match.

Barring a rare duck from skipper Virat Kohli, the Indian top-order fired in unison at Visakhapatnam, before hat-trick hero Kuldeep Yadav sliced through the West Indies line-up for a comprehensive 107-run victory.

Three days after his blazing 159, Rohit Sharma stood just nine runs short of eclipsing former Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya’s 22-year-old record of being the highest run-scorer as an opener across all the formats.

KL Rahul also struck a sublime century in a 220-run opening stand to firmly stake his claim as a long-term opener for India. Opening the innings since the India-Pakistan World Cup clash in June, Rahul has made steady progress.

In the recent assignments against the West Indies, he has been a revelation, scoring runs at will. Then the duo of Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant chipped in with brisk knocks, and they would like to end the year on a positive note.

In bowling, Delhi pacer Navdeep Saini is in line to make his ODI debut in the absence of the inured Deepak Chahar, who was ruled out of the match with a lower back problem. The fielding, though, has failed to match the high standards India have set in recent years.

While Iyer’s effort to dismiss Shimron Hetmyer was eye-catching, Chahar dropped a sitter off Nicholas Pooran and grassed Shai Hope for a duck at the slip cordon, something that attracted Kohli’s attention. “We can’t be dropping the catches and we should be better off in this department, improve on our mistakes. You should enjoy fielding,” the visibly-concerned Indian captain said.

The pitch at the Barabati Stadium is going to be similar to the one in Visakhapatnam, offering plenty of runs.

The left-right combination of Hetmyer and Hope plotted India’s downfall in Chennai and had it not been for a brilliant throw from Iyer to run out the former in Visakhapatnam, the Windies would have put up a strong fight in the second ODI.

Hetmyer, who struck a career-best 139 in Chennai, was over the moon and danced in excitement after being bought for Rs 7.75 crore by Delhi Capitals in the IPL auction. His teammate Sheldon Cottrell also took home a hefty paycheck after the left-arm pacer was bought for Rs 8.5 crore by Kings XI Punjab, and the Windies duo will be bolstered by that.

Hope, who is second only to Rohit in the run chart this year, will look to make a statement after the wicketkeeper-batsman went unsold at the auction.

Kieron Pollard’s team had no hesitation in chasing after winning the toss in the first two ODIs but come Sunday, the teams will be thinking twice before bowling second keeping the dew factor in mind. The West Indies, at the same time, will be keen to end a 13-year long wait to win against India in a bilateral ODI series.

While the hosts, who lost to Australia 2-3 in their last bilateral series in March, will have their reputation at stake. They have not lost two consecutive bilateral ODI series at home in the last 15 years. The last time an ODI was played here more than two years ago, India had pipped England by 15 runs while defending an imposing 382.

Teams

India: Virat Kohli (capt), Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Shradul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shivam Dube, Mayank Agarwal, Manish Pandey and Navdeep Saini.

West Indies: Kieron Pollard (capt), Evin Lewis, Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer, Roston Chase, Nicholas Pooran, Jason Holder, Keemo Paul, Alzarri Joseph, Khary Pierre, Sheldon Cottrell, Sunil Ambris, Brandon King, Romario Shepherd and Hayden Walsh.

England limited-overs skipper Eoin Morgan was purchased by Kolkata Knight Riders for INR 5.25 crore.

KOLKATA: Australia’s fast bowler Pat Cummins has gone to Kolkata Knight Riders for the price of INR 15.5 crore and has become the most expensive foreign player, in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) auction on Thursday.

England pacer Chris Woakes was brought by Delhi Capitals for INR 1.5 crore while his countrymate Sam Curran went to Chennai Super Kings for INR 5.5 crore

Australia’s all-rounder Glenn Maxwell went to Kings XI Punjab for the price of INR 10.75 crore.

Earlier, Aaron Finch was brought by Royal Challenger Bangalore and Jason Roy was purchased by Delhi Capitals. Robin Uthappa went to Rajasthan Royals while Chris Lynn was bought by Mumbai Indians.

England limited-overs skipper Eoin Morgan was purchased by Kolkata Knight Riders for INR 5.25 crore.

A total of 186 Indian players, 143 overseas players and three players from Associate Nations are being auctioned today. Hugh Edmeades is the auctioneer.

A total of 332 cricketers are being auctioned for the 13th edition. While 997 players had initially registered, the final list was pruned after the eight franchises submitted their list of shortlisted players.

Seven overseas players – Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Chris Lynn, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Dale Steyn, and Angelo Mathews – have opted to be slotted in the highest bracket (Rs 2 crore).

Robin Uthappa is the only Indian player in the auction list with a base price of Rs 1.5 crore. Piyush Chawla, Yusuf Pathan, and Jaydev Unadkat have set their base price at Rs 1 crore.

A total of 127 players, including 35 overseas cricketers were retained by the eight IPL franchises.

In a video tweeted by RCB, Kohli assured fans that the franchise is going to cover all bases and build a strong team for the 2020 season.

NEW DELHI: Ahead of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) player auction, Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli on Tuesday assured the fans that the side will build a very strong outfit for the 2020 tournament.

“As you all know for the upcoming season, the auction is coming up. I want all of you to rally behind the team and the management. Mike Hesson and Simon Katich are doing a tremendous job. We have had few discussions to build the team around the strong core that we have,” Kohli said in the video.

“We assure you that we are going to cover all the bases that are required and build a very strong team for the upcoming 2020 season,” he added.

Ahead of the auction, RCB released 12 players from their lineup while they retained 13.

Here is the list of RCB’s released and retained players:

Released: Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetymer, Akshdeep Nath, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Colin De Grandhomme, Prayas Ray Barman, Tim Southee, Kulwant Khejroliya, Himmat Singh, Heinrich Klaasen, Chama Milind, Dale Steyn.

Retained: Virat Kohli, Moeen Ali, Yuzvendra Chahal, AB de Villiers, Parthiv Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Pawan Negi, Umesh Yadav, Gurkeerat Mann, Devdutt Padikkal, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Navdeep Saini.

Earlier this year, RCB appointed former Kiwi coach Mike Hesson as the director of cricket, while Simon Katich was given the role of coach.

On December 13, it was announced that a total of 332 cricketers will be auctioned in Kolkata on December 19 for the 13th edition of the IPL.

While 997 players had initially registered, the final list has been pruned after the eight franchises submitted their list of shortlisted players.

Seven overseas players – Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Chris Lynn, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Dale Steyn, and Angelo Mathews – have opted to be slotted in the highest bracket (Rs 2 crore).

Robin Uthappa is the only Indian player with a base price of Rs 1.5 crore. Piyush Chawla, Yusuf Pathan and Jaydev Unadkat have set their base price at Rs 1 crore.

A total of 186 Indian players, 143 overseas players and three players from Associate Nations will be auctioned. Hugh Edmeades will be the auctioneer.

India vs West Indies: Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope stitched a 218-run stand for the second wicket.

Shimron Hetmyer smashed a career-best 139 ahead of next week’s IPL auction, toying with an ordinary looking Indian attack to set up an eight-wicket win for the West Indies in the ODI series opener in Chennai on Sunday. Chasing 288 on a slow surface was expected to be a challenging task but thanks to Hetmyer (139 off 106) and opener Shai Hope (102 not out off 150), the visitors raced to victory in 47.5 overs. The duo shared a decisive 218-run stand for the second wicket after the fall of Sunil Ambris in the fifth over.

India had recovered to 287 for eight after being put in to bat with Shreyas Iyer (70 off 88) scoring his third consecutive half-century and Rishabh Pant (71 off 69) returning to form to silence his critics.

The lack of a specialist fifth bowler hurt India as the combination of debutant Shivam Dube (0/68 in 7.5 overs) and Kedar Jadhav (0/11 in one over) leaked 79 runs in 8.5 overs overs.

Hetmyer was unstoppable en route to his fifth ODI century, smashing as many as seven sixes including the one that hit the roof. Most of his big hits went sailing over the deep mid-wicket boundary.

Hope gave solid support to Hetmyer and deservingly completed his eighth ODI hundred.

Another talented southpaw like Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran (29 not out off 23), hit back-to-back boundaries to register a memorable win for the West Indies.

The second game of the three-match series will be played in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday.

Earlier, Pant struck his maiden half-century at MS Dhoni’s spiritual home to silence his critics as India shrugged off a poor start to post a competitive total.

Iyer, who is emerging as a solid number four, and Pant paired up for a 114-run stand for the fourth wicket after India lost opener KL Rahul (6) and skipper Virat Kohli (4) in the seventh over of the innings.

Rohit Sharma (36 off 56) too struggled on a slow surface before Iyer and Pant resurrected the innings with their gritty partnership.

A quickfire half-century partnership between Kedar Jadhav (40 off 35) and Ravindra Jadeja (21 off 21), who batted ahead of debutant Shivam Dube, provided the thrust in the slog overs.

Left-arm paceman Sheldon Cottrell (2/46 from 10 overs including 3 maidens), Keemo Paul (2/41) and Alzarri Joseph (2/45) were among the wickets for the visiting team.

The home team appeared to be in a spot of bother at 80 for three in the 19th over on a sluggish pitch when Iyer and Pant came together.

After taking their time to get going, the two played some splendid shots and were not afraid to hit the ball in the air when the opportunity presented itself.

The fact that the first six of the innings came in the 28th over when Pant smashed off-spinner Roston Chase over mid-wicket was an indicator of the slow proceedings.

Iyer displayed his class as he came up with some lovely cuts against the spinners — Chase and  Hayden Walsh.

Pant, on his part, showed patience and hit some powerful shots after gaining in confidence and assessing the nature of the pitch.

The two handled the spinners well and hit a six each apart from some well-timed drives.

Iyer perished after a well-made 70 with his dismissal coming against the run of play, when his flick landed in the safe hands of Pollard off Joseph’s bowling, ending a brilliant 114-run fourth wicket partnership with Pant.

Pant fell going for a big hit, caught by Hetmyer in the deep of Pollard’s bowling.

It was a much needed knock for an under-fire Pant, who is seen as Dhoni’s heir apparent.

Then the duo of Jadeja and Jadhav, who both play for Chennai Super Kings under Dhoni in the IPL, joined hands for a crucial 59-run stand for the sixth wicket during the course of which they batted judiciously and ran well between the wickets.

While Jadhav holed out to Pollard off Paul, Jadeja was run out. Jadeja was beaten by a Roston Chase throw but was initially not given out.

An appeal by a the West Indian fielder resulted in the on-field umpire going upstairs, following which the Indian southpaw was declared out. 

India got off to a slowish start as Sheldon Cottrell bowled two maiden overs to start with and Jason Holder did not give away much as the openers Rohit and Rahul chose to play cautiously.

After Rahul’s dismissal, Kohli walked in to a roar from the Chepauk crowd and played an imperious on-drive off the fourth ball he faced.

In an anti-climax, he fell the next ball, bowled off the inside edge as he tried to run one from Cottrell down to the third-man area.

Rohit gained in confidence and scored a couple of boundaries including a superb straight drive off Holder in the 10th over.

He appeared set for a big score before he hit Joseph’s first ball in the match tamely to Pollard at mid-wicket to be dismissed for 36 (56 balls, 6 fours). 

CHENNAI: India will have their tails up whey they play West Indies in the first One-day International of the three-match rubber here on Sunday, seeking a 10th straight bilateral ODI series win against the side from the Caribbean.

Both teams will have an eye on the weather after rains in the last 24 hours.

The home team will miss the services of seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who is out with a groin problem and Shikhar Dhawan, who is yet to recover from the injury he suffered during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy tournament.

Mumbai’s Shardul Thakur, who plays for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, has been called up as the replacement for the injured Bhuvneshwar.

Virat Kohli’s men have the momentum after winning the T20 series with a splendid batting performance in Mumbai where Rohit Sharma and K L Rahul, who is expected to continue as the opener in the absence of Dhawan, and the captain himself displayed terrific form.

It remains to be seen if the team decides to hand Mayank Agarwal a debut after he was drafted in as replacement for Dhawan.

The Karnataka batsman has been in top form in the Tests and has joined the national team after featuring in the Ranji game against Tamil Nadu in Dindigul.

Shreyas Iyer has done well in the opportunities he has received and is likely to be slotted at No.4.

Former captain Anil Kumble, too, has favoured the Mumbai player batting at No.4 in the ODI series against the West Indies.

The position has been in the spotlight for a while now with several players being tried, including Ambati Rayudu and Vijay Shankar, and Iyer is in with a chance to make it his own.

The focus will be on wicketkeeper-batsman Rishab Pant, who has been under fire for his unimpressive performances with the bat and the big gloves.

The first ODI could be another chance for him to justify the faith shown by Kohli and the team management.

It will be interesting to see if the spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav reunite after last playing together in the World Cup, as the Chepauk surface is expected to aid the slow bowlers.

The experienced Mohammed Shami and Deepak Chahar will most probably form the pace attack and would face a stern test against the aggressive West Indies batting line-up.

The visitors will be hoping that big-hitting opener Evin Lewis, who suffered an injury while fielding in the Mumbai T20, will be able to play a part in the ODI leg of the tour.

Team officials said he was being assessed ahead of the series opener.

The Windies batsmen have had a lot of success in the T20s thanks to their ultra-aggressive approach but ODIs will be a different ball game and as assistant coach Roddy Estwick stated the batters need to focus on rotating the strike, which they did well in the series against Afghanistan recently.

The onus will be on the WI batsmen to not only go on attack mode first up but also keep wickets in hand to accelerate in the back-end.

Shimron Hetmyer and Nicholas Pooran have showed their abilities in the shortest format and need to display the same in the 50-overs game too if the West Indies hopes to give India a run in this series.

All-rounder Roston Chase is likely to figure in the XI and could provide some stability to the line-up boasting of several power-hitters.

Skipper Kieron Pollard, who has a rather modest record in the ODIs, will have to lead by example and provide the thrust in the slog overs.

Sheldon Cottrell will lead the Caribbean bowling attack and will need to strike early if the team hopes to restrict a formidable Indian batting unit with Rohit, Kohli and Rahul in ominous form.

The other pacers including former captain Jason Hoder will have to step up as would the spinners.

Leggie Hayden Walsh Jr bowled well in the T20s and has a big task at hand to contain Kohli & Co, known to be adept at tackling spinners.

An intriguing battle is on hand with the Indian team favourite to add the ODI series to the T20 win but the unpredictable West Indies can spring a surprise or two.

Heavy overnight rain meant India’s training session on the eve of the opener was called off.

Teams (from): India: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant (WK), Shivam Dube, Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Deepak Chahar, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur.

West Indies: Kieron Pollard (captain), Sunil Ambris, Shai Hope, Khary Pierre, Roston Chase, Alzarri Joseph, Kieron Pollard (Captain), Sheldon Cottrell, Brandon King, Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, Evin Lewis, Romario Shepherd, Jason Holder, Keemo Paul, Hayden Walsh Jr.

The 32-year-old opener from Mumbai named ‘Zinedine Zidane’ as his favourite footballer while his favourite club is Real Madrid. He termed ‘Spain’ as his FIFA World Cup.

MUMBAI: As Rohit Sharma became the first-ever La Liga brand ambassador in India, he termed MS Dhoni as the best football player in the team on Thursday.

“MS Dhoni is the number one football player. There are few guys like Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, and Hardik Pandya they follow football and they do watch all these footballers,” Rohit said during the media briefing.

The 32-year-old opener from Mumbai named ‘Zinedine Zidane’ as his favourite footballer while his favourite club is Real Madrid. He termed ‘Spain’ as his FIFA World Cup.

Talking about the India football he said Indian Super League (ISL) has provided the base for the footballers as like what Indian Premier League (IPL) did in Indian cricket.

“I think it has become competitive. The infrastructure has grown immensely. ISL, in particular, has provided a great platform to all these younger Indian players to come out and display the skills just like IPL has done for Indian cricket. I can only see the Indian football grow from here,” Rohit said.

Expressing his happiness after becoming the La Liga brand ambassador Rohit said it an honour to be part of such a high-profile league.

He further said that he has watched El Clasico many times on television and is excited to witness the clash in the stadium.

“What an honour to be part of such a high-profile league and to be the first-ever ambassador from India gives me great pleasure. As you know India is growing pretty fast in terms of sports especially football now. I will be very very happy to be part of this growth moving forward especially in India and look forward to coming to Spain and watch some games as well,” Rohit said.

“I have seen it so many times on television. There is so much passion just watching it. I can’t even imagine how it is at the stadium so many people sitting and watching El Clasico game between the two best clubs in the world. It is one of the most competitive leagues in the world. La Liga brings out so much skills and passion that when you are watching it from home itself you feel like you are at the stadium,” he added.

The aggressive batsman said his first love was cricket but football remained very close to his heart.

“Cricket was my love to start with. Football was very very close to me. Only because it gives me so much joy to watch all these players when they score a goal they celebrate, they make those moves on the field. Those kinds of things I used to look forward to,” Rohit said.

“I always used to watch football when I was growing up. In India cricket is how football is in Spain. Everybody wants to pick up the bat and play cricket in India,” he added.

Sindhu was the better player in the first game and for the most part of the second and looked set to record a relatively easy opening win against the fourth-ranked Yamaguchi.

GUANGZHOU: Defending champion P.V. Sindhu lost her first match of Group A to Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi 21-18, 18-21, 8-21 at the BWF World Tour Finals here on Wednesday.

Yamaguchi fought back from a four-point deficit in the second game to take the match into the decider in which she blew away the reigning world champion.

Sindhu was the better player in the first game and for the most part of the second and looked set to record a relatively easy opening win against the fourth-ranked Yamguchi.

However, the Japanese took five points on the trot in the second game to level the scores from being 10-15 down. Sindhu then made four errors at the net to allow Yamaguchi reach game point, which she converted with a cross-court smash.

In the decider, Sindhu looked to be completely out of her depth as Yamaguchi raced to a 5-0 lead. Sindhu managed to get just three points before the interval and was thus trailing 3-11 at the break. The rest of the match was more of the same and Yamaguchi ensured that Sindhu did not reach double digits.

Sindhu will now have to win both of her next two games to stay in contention for a place in the next round. She faces China’s Chen Yu Fei and He Bingjiao in her next two contests.

Continuing her good form this season, Yu Fei beat Bingjiao 21-9, 21-18 to win her first match. In what was a story of two very different games, Bingiao improved on her dismal show in the first game to match her compatriot toe to toe until it was 18-18. Yu Fei then won three successive points to win the match.

Someone who is more of a boundary-hitter, Kohli had seven sixes in his 29-ball-70 as India beat West Indies by 67 runs to win the three-match T20 series 2-1.

MUMBAI: Virat Kohli wanted to show a different facet of his batting and couldn’t have chosen a better day than his second wedding anniversary with a series win was a “special gift” to his wife Anushka Sharma.

“It was a pretty special innings and also being our second wedding anniversary, it was a special gift. It was a special night and one of the best innings I have played,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

Someone who is more of a boundary-hitter, Kohli had seven sixes in his 29-ball-70 as India beat West Indies by 67 runs to win the three-match T20 series 2-1.

The best part was about putting up a big score while batting first and the skipper was pleased as punch.

“We had spoken a lot. It was about going out on the field and executing. I had the opportunity to do something different, which I don’t usually do. I told KL to stay on till the end, and said I’ll try and smash a few,” he said.

One could have been surprised by his modesty when the skipper said that he feels he can contribute across formats.

“I know that I can contribute in all formats, it’s about putting your mind to it. My role becomes crucial, because I have to play two roles. I’m trying to be able to play like this as well,” he added.

He praised KL Rahul for his 91 off 56 balls and Rohit Sharma for his 71 off 34.

The duo added 135 for the opening stand.

“You have to do it out there in the middle to gain confidence from it. I think two guys in the middle with clarity, the way Rahul and Rohit played today, that is key. Batting first [earlier], we’ve been too tight and hesitant, should we go for it, should we not.”

World Cup medal-winning rifle shooter Ravi Kumar, who has failed a dope test, says his is a case of inadvertent intake, an explanation he hopes would fetch him a lighter-than-expected punishment from the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA).

The 29-year-old Kumar, who has not been with the national team since the World Cup in Munich last May, is a bronze-winner from the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games and the 2014 Asian Games in the 10m air rifle competitions.

He tested positive for propranolol during a domestic competition here. The substance is used to treat high blood pressure and is on the prohibited list of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

“I had taken the medicine to treat migraine inadvertently. It was after being prescribed by my doctor at home days before I was tested during the Kumar Surendra Nath Memorial Meet in May-June,” Kumar told PTI.

“I explained everything to NADA and they understood but told me that my only mistake was that I did not disclose while being tested that I had taken the medicine, which contains a substance that is banned in shooting. It is used for migraine and high blood pressure,” he added.

Kumar is not going to seek a ‘B’ sample test and has accepted the findings. The maximum punishment after accepting the A sample findings is two years but Kumar is hoping for a lighter ban. The NADA disciplinary panel will be deciding on the quantum of punishment in the next few days.

“I am hopeful of the result coming in my favour since I had taken the specified substance without knowing it. I also clearly told my doctor that I am a sportsperson,” he said.

“While the National Rifles Association of India (NRAI) has allowed me to compete in domestic events after getting clearance from NADA, I was not entitled for India selection, and hence, missed out tournaments such as the Asian Championships (which was an Olympic quota event),” he added.

Kumar said although his Olympic dream is now over, he would fight to ensure that he can be back in reckoning as soon as possible.

“My last World Cup was in Munich and I feel four years of my hard work for Olympics is going down the drain. But I hope the result will come quickly, this month, and I will fight till the last moment” he said.

What happened in Hyderabad is absolutely shameful: Virat Kohli on veterinary doctor murder in Telangana

The burnt body of the veterinary doctor was found in the outskirts of Telangana Ranga Reddy district at Shadnagar on Thursday.

NEW DELHI: As the entire country is outraged over the brutal killing of a veterinary doctor in Telangana, India skipper Virat Kohli on Saturday said it is high time for the society to take charge and put an end to such incidents.

Kohli took to Twitter to write on Saturday: “What happened in Hyderabad is absolutely shameful. It’s high time we as a society take charge and put an end to these inhumane tragedies.

What happened in Hyderabad is absolutely shameful.
It’s high time we as a society take charge and put an end to these inhumane tragedies.

The burnt body of the veterinary doctor was found in the outskirts of Telangana’s Ranga Reddy district at Shadnagar on Thursday.

As per the preliminary probe, the police suspect that the doctor was sexually assaulted before being charred to death.

The police on Friday arrested four accused persons for involvement in the alleged rape and murder case of the veterinary doctor.

According to police sources, the accused that were arrested by the police are a lorry driver and cleaners.

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