India lost just one match in the World Cup 2019 league stage but crashed out in the semi-finals after losing to New Zealand

Ravi Shastri has been given a 45-day extension following the World Cup 2019.© AFP

India were knocked out of the World Cup 2019 in the semi-finals after losing to New Zealand in a rain-marred match, which was played over two days. Even though India lost just one match in the league stage and finished as table-toppers, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) invited applications for the post of head coach and other support staff soon after the World Cup. Former India all-rounder Robin Singh, who has reportedly applied for the post of head coach, took a dig at current coach Ravi Shastri, saying India “lost in the semi-finals of two successive ODI World Cups” under his coaching.

“Under the current coach, India has lost in the semi-finals of two successive ODI World Cups, and in the last four stage of the World Twenty20 championship as well. Now is the time to prepare for the 2023 World Cup and a change could be good for the side

Shastri, along with the other support staff, has been given a 45-day extensionfollowing the World Cup in the UK.

On July 16, the BCCI invited applications for the post of head coach, batting coach, bowling coach, fielding coach, physiotherapist, strength and conditioning coach and administrative manager.

“The current coaching staff of Team India (Senior Men) will get an automatic entry in the recruitment process,” the BCCI said in a release.

“Pertinent to note, that the decision of the BCCI for the said position, will remain final and binding,” the release, issued by the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA), added further.

The last date of application is July 30, 2019, until 5 PM IST.

Japan Open Badminton 2019 Quarter Finals Yamaguchi Badminton PV Sindhu takes on Akane Yamaguchi in the Japan Open quarterfinals on Friday.

Japan Open 2019 Quarter Finals Badminton  PV Sindhu vs Akane Yamaguchi Badminton In a repeat of Indonesia Open final, PV Sindhu takes on Akane Yamaguchi in Japan Open badminton tournament quarterfinals on Friday. The Indian shuttler went down in the Indonesia Open final to the Japanese and is still looking for her first title of the season. Sindhu had to struggle on her way to the quarterfinals with an hour-long battle to get the better of unseeded Japanese Aya Ohori 11-21 21-10 21-13 in the second-round women’s singles match. Her latest result at the BWF World Tour Super 750 tournament extended Sindhu’s head-to-head record to 8-0 over Ohori.

Sindhu’s match will be followed by Indian men’s doubles quarterfinals where Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will be seen in action. The pair made it to the quarters after emerging victorious in a tough three-game second-round affair in 53 minutes. The Indian pair came from a game down to quell the challenge of China’s Kai Xiang Huang and Cheng Liu 15-21 21-11 21-19 and set up a quarterfinal clash with second-seeded local combination of Takeshi Kamura and Keigo Sonoda.

courtesy

The india express

The former Indian captain also questioned why selectors weren’t picking players who would play all three formats of the game during the West Indies tour.

Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly became the latest to weigh in on the Indian selectors’ picks for the West Indies tour, and tweeted Wednesday that they needed to pick the same players in all formats of the game. He also expressed surprise over the exclusion of Shubman Gill and Ajinkya Rahane from the Indian squad.

Ganguly tweeted that there were too few cricketers who were playing in all formats of the game.

“Time has come for indian selectors to pick same players in all formats of the game for rhythm and confidence.. too few are playing in all formats ..great teams had consistent players ..it’s not about making all happy but picking the best for the country and be consistent..” he tweeted.

A lot of talk post the summit clash has been on how ICC should do away with such a draconian rule. And Pujara also chipped in with his two cents on the matter.

NEW DELHI:  It was a bit unfair on New Zealand. I felt there were no losers in the final and both teams should have shared the trophy.” That’s how India’s Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara summed up the World Cup final held at Lord’s on Sunday. In a thrilling encounter which went to a Super Over, England were crowned winners on boundary count.

A lot of talk post the summit clash has been on how ICC should do away with such a draconian rule. And Pujara also chipped in with his two cents on the matter. “It is up to the ICC to come up with ideas and then decide. It has never happened in a World Cup final before and hence the difficulty for people to understand the rule. Even I was not sure of the rule. But ultimately it was a great game of cricket and I’m sure this game will be remembered for a long time to come,” he said on the sidelines of a sports conclave organised by Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) here on Monday.

India’s focus will now shift from 50-over cricket to the Test format as the inaugural ICC World Test Championships will officially launch with the Ashes series between England and Australia while India’s journey will begin with a two-Test series against West Indies starting August 20.

“The World Test Championships will increase the focus on Tests. Each and every Test and series will be important, especially those played away from home. Earlier, teams used to take the third Test lightly after winning the series 2-0 but you can’t afford to do that now with points on offer for every game.”

India’s long international season culminated with the Men in Blue making the World Cup semifinals. There is a high chance that skipper Virat Kohli and premier fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah might be given a rest for the upcoming West Indies tour. And Pujara feels that both deserve a break.

“Kohli and Bumrah are part of all formats, playing constant cricket, so they need rest. I’m not sure if they will be part of Test squad but from what I heard, they might not be there for ODIs and T20s. Either way, we have good young players and it will be a good opportunity for them to perform and show their talent.”
Pujara admits that facing Bumrah in the nets is as difficult a prospect as playing him out in the middle. “Bumrah is a challenging bowler to face even in practice. I remember in Australia, he was bowling really quick and it was tough to face him even on the practice wickets.”

Regarding his own preparations, the 31-year-old said, “I have already started my preparations for West Indies. I’ve been playing some league games in Chennai. We will play a practice game as well once we land in West Indies. That will be another good way to prepare. I have also been training back home, trying to simulate fast and bouncy conditions in Rajkot, as we might encounter them during the Test series.”

Shaw yet to recover from hip niggle, doubtful for WI
Young India opener Prithvi Shaw said he was not sure when he would recover from his hip injury, which he had suffered during the Mumbai T20 League. That has put a question mark over his participation in the away Test series against West Indies.

After Eoin Morgan’s side finished on 241 all out in pursuit of New Zealand’s 241-8, the final came down to a six-ball shootout for each team.

LONDON: If strokes from the bat can’t do it, a stroke of luck can. In perhaps the biggest piece of fortune recorded on the field of international cricket, the World Cup final turned on its head. Riding some scintillating batting by Ben Stokes and an extraordinary deflection off his bat, the Cup came home!

There were two ties, one after 50 overs, another after the Super Over. In the end, cricket’s biggest prize was decided on the number of boundaries scored. England 26, New Zealand 17. It was also the first time that an international match had been decided in this manner. Ripley’s Believe it or Not could not have bettered this. No chance.

Lord’s is a grand old venue. There are many relics of the past strewn around. It seemed the spirits of the past are also around. What happened in the World Cup final was scarcely real. Perhaps a story out of fantasy would have been more believable. Not perhaps! Surely.

All the supernatural forces were in play. And England being the home team benefited. Some home advantage this was. When all looked gone after a titanic struggle, came that stroke of luck.

England would have needed seven from two balls had a throw from the deep not deflected off Stokes’s bat and run all the way to the boundary. Rules do permit that if it happens unintentionally and in this case, Stokes didn’t do it on purpose.

The equation came down to three from two balls. It was Stokes’ luck, England’s and of everybody present that it turned the 12^th World Cup final into the most thrilling one-day match ever. Of course, the drama was not over and concluded with the first-ever Super Over in the history of the competition, which added to what all was going around.

There were extraordinary scenes. Everybody was shaking with excitement and disbelief. Hands trembled in the press box while typing. Jaws fell off.

“What have we witnessed? Is it real?” was the common refrain. It wasn’t. Not by any of the usual parameters followed on a cricket field. This was out of the books of spirits, fairies and unicorns. How could it be real! It kept going on and on.

Even in the last 12 deliveries of the match, the Super Over. Nobody knew what was going to happen because till the last piece of action, everything was open.

Not that what was happening before the closing stages was not exciting enough. Wickets tumbling, run rate climbing, diving catches and fortunes fluctuating — it had everything.

If New Zealand looked good at one stage, England came back through the partnership between Stokes and Jos Buttler. And then New Zealand seemed to have nosed ahead again. Just as it seemed that they had it wrapped up, that deflection brought England back. Spooky? What else!

It was not possible for anyone to keep calm. Beyond imagination it was, but the throws had to be accurate and hands couldn’t tremble while doing that. Jason Roy showed it in the end, with a hurl from deep mid-wicket which ran out Martin Guptill to force the second tie of the match. It was an extraordinary display of nerves of steel. If there had to be an unsung hero of the match, Roy it had to be. A fumble, throw a few inches wide, and the Cup would have travelled to New Zealand.

It was difficult to see and believe, forget describing it in words. Fittingly in an uncanny way, it happened in a place which has seen a lot. The spirits of all those tales were present on Sunday. They came, they saw and they conquered. That England won was just incidental. 

ICC World Cup 2019: Jadeja dashed down the track – a manic, imperious possessed run and he gave it a thunderous wallop. The crowd, who didn’t know where the next Indian run was going to come, were stunned.

You will remember his celebration when he taunted Sanjay Manjrekar at the commentary studio with ‘Ab kya bologe?’ shrug after he got to his 50 but consider this: sometime on the eve of the game, or during it, he would have checked where do the commentators sat.

Filed in the memory, for future use. But only the man who rides unsaddled horses in moonlit nights at his farm could have even contemplated that he would get a chance to use it. When he walked to bat, situation was dire. Dirge played in the stands. Faces emptied out of all colour and positive emotions stared at him. MS Dhoni was gulping water in the middle. Sipping on hope and a prayer. Jadeja went past him and awaited. Dhoni drank some, spat out some, and walked towards him. Who knows what was said? Jadeja, though, seemed possessed. Chest-out, brisk walk, and steely glint in his eyes.

In six balls, we knew he meant business. In six balls, he made everyone realise that the game wasn’t dead. It was the 33rd over of the chase and Jimmy Neesham, who has battled personal demons and overcome thoughts of quitting the game, was bowling.

Jadeja dashed down the track – a manic, imperious possessed run and he gave it a thunderous wallop. The crowd, who didn’t know where the next Indian run was going to come, were stunned. Dhoni’s back was turned and one couldn’t catch his face for it would have been absolutely brilliant to see if the icy-cool man of our times too was moved. Perhaps not.

Jadeja certainly didn’t seem surprised by what he had achieved. That shot said he was in the mood. It said he wasn’t going down wondering. It said it wasn’t going to be a push-and-prod knock that he can occasionally come up with in ODIs. It screamed game on. It stirred Dhoni into hope and purpose. It was the best shot of his life. Never mind his hundreds, triple hundreds in first-class — here was he standing up in the middle of the pitch, bat high in the air, the ball out of sight. With Dhoni watching from the other end. With the game on line.

Would he now keep trying such high-risk options? He stubbed out that thought with the most assured batting he has ever come up with in pressure. He lofted, punched, drove, cut, swept, flicked, and even pulled. He doesn’t do that often. Matt Henry must have looked at Trent Boult in the 38th over when Jadeja pulled him to midwicket boundary — does he have that shot, Boult? Did our performance analyst show us that video? Henry changed lengths immediately. Full, fuller, on a length – and Jadeja tapped them for singles.

Get the spinner on, Williamson thought and Mitch Santner is as good a ODI spinner as they come. He turns it, he can tilt them in, and he can flatten the trajectory and he can quicken the pace. But Jadeja is one Indian batsman who sashays down the track to spinners. Not many do as successfully as him. They prefer the comfort of the crease and look a bit unsure when they leave it. Not him. Middle of the 39th over, he put Santner into long-on stands.

Okay, let’s bring our fastest bowler and Williamson brought on Lockie Ferguson. He must have thought, it’s one thing to pull Henry but can he do it to me? He attempted it first ball at the body, and Jadeja swivelled into a pull. No self-doubt but he wasn’t quick enough as the ball and it flew off the gloves well past the diving ‘keeper to the boundary. But Ferguson had seen enough, he didn’t try the short ball again.

Santner was crash-landed over mid wicket one more time and Neesham decided it was time to check whether Jadeja was getting carried away by emotions and pre-determining his hits.

And so he went for the slower ones. Sensible move but Jadeja was not riding blindly on his horses — he was in control. The best he has ever been with the bat in his hand.

He waited for the slower ones and punched and hit them. Occasionally, he would mistime and Dhoni would saunter across in his ‘cool’ way — not worried, just checking, everything all right, partner? Kind of a walk. Jadeja would smile, his fingers would roll out a slower one — he had it covered, don’t worry and Dhoni would walk back. Then suddenly, that fifty moment was upon us. And that celebration. Manjrekar would soon tweet, “well played Jadeja” with a smiley.

Five minutes later, though, in the 44th over off Neesham, you could sense the tide was turning. Now the rate was climbing and with the new Dhoni, Jadeja knew he had to do all the hitting. A couple of desperate shots came out. One fell short of short-fine-leg, the other teased the long-on. Just as you pursed your lips, he settled you again with a powerful blow over long-on. It was the slower one from Ferguson and he had read it and connected with his thump. An edged four off Boult arrived in the 46th over but in Boult’s next over, came another slower one. Jadeja went for it, the bat slicing the ball, the execution going awry, and it skied up towards Kane Williamson.

“Someone shouted catch it, Oh it’s mine to catch and I waited,” Williamson would say later. The thing is he is perhaps saying the truth – not only he has been a fantastic captain but he is also very calm and cool. And the ball nestled into his palms.

India vs New Zealand Semifinal: Virat Kohli pointed out how he always saw talent in Kane Williamson. The New Zealand skipper said the Indian skipper has evolved over the years and is an absolute run-machine at present.

India vs New Zealand Semifinal: Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson have high praise for each other.

Virat Kohli and New Zealand captain Kane Williamson share mutual admiration for each other since the time they played against each other in an U-19 Test match in 2007. Ahead of World Cup 2019 first semi-final clash between India and New Zealand, Virat Kohli called Kane Williamson “special” while New Zealand skipper termed India captain as a “superstar”. The mutual admiration is set to light up the World Cup semi-final in Manchester. Speaking on the eve of the first semi-final of the 2019 World Cup, Virat Kohli was the first one to point out how he always saw talent in Williamson. In fact, even as scribes asked him about playing against Kane Williamson in the U19 World Cup in 2008, the India skipper went back to the 2007 U19 Test match he played against New Zealand to recollect his first memory of the New Zealand skipper.

“It’s not even 2008, I remember in 2007, we went to New Zealand and we were playing an U19 Test match and he played a shot off one of our fast bowlers, who was quick, off the back foot and I remember standing in slips and telling guys standing with me, “I have never seen anyone play a shot like that” and he was special, along with a couple more guys, who didn’t make it surprisingly.

“But he was always the stand-out player and you could see when we played New Zealand in New Zealand on that U19 tour and the World Cup again, he was quite special for them. So we always knew he has the special ability to go all the way and now he’s controlling the tempo of the game for New Zealand. Every game that he plays, he’s contributing so well. He is a lovely guy. We get along very well,” he pointed.

Williamson too, had some really good things to say when asked about the Indian skipper who has evolved over the years and is an absolute run-machine at present.

“He was a formidable player, growing up — that seems odd to say because we were at the same age playing against each other on a number of occasions and then to go into international cricket at a youngish age, then IPL and these different sorts of things.

“So it’s obviously been a pleasure watching Virat play and evolve into the superstar that he is,” he smiled.

As the two captains gear up for one of their biggest challenges in their leadership careers, the act of appreciating genuine talent definitely is one that the future stars would look to imbibe.

India vs Bangladesh Live Score: 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup: India are placed in second spot on the points table.

India vs Bangladesh Live Score: India are a win away from securing a spot in the semi-finals.

India, after tasting their first defeat of World Cup 2019, will take on Bangladesh at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Tuesday and will be eyeing to book a place in semi-finals with a win. Bangladesh, who have impressed everyone by punching above their weight in the World Cup 2019, can’t afford to lose any of their two remaining matches. Bangladesh have seven points from seven matches and are currently seventh in the World Cup points table while India, with 11 points, are placed second. Shakib Al Hasan has performed consistently with both bat and ball for Bangladesh and is third in the leading run-scorers list. Indian opener Rohit Sharma has been in excellent form and has scored three centuries in just six innings. Both teams would want their star players to deliver once again in the crucial game. India suffered a blow before the match as Vijay Shankar was ruled out of World Cup 2019 due to a toe injury. Mayank Agarwal, who made his Test debut debut in Australia last year, is likely to replace Shankar in the squad.

Jonny Bairstow’s 111 and Liam Plunkett’s 3/55 helped England end India’s unbeaten run in World Cup 2019.

England defeated India by 31 runs at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Sunday in the league fixture of the ongoing World Cup 2019. Rohit Sharma top scored for India with a fighting knock of 102 but it was not enough as India suffered their first loss in World Cup 2019. Chasing a huge total of 338, India lost the wicket of KL Rahul for a duck in the third over. Virat Kohli did try and steady the innings with Rohit, but once Kohli fell for 66, it was always going to be difficult for India. With this win, England keep their hopes alive of reaching the semi-finals. Liam Plunkett was the pick of the bowlers for England, he finished with figures of 3/55 in 10 overs.

Hardik Pandya and MS Dhoni tried to score quickly but England bowlers were up to the task. Pandya lost his wicket for 45 while Dhoni remained unbeaten on 42.

For India, their spinners failed to restrict the boundaries and allowed England batsmen to score freely in the middle overs. Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, both went the distance. The spin-twins went for 160 runs and it was Kuldeep who managed to pick up a wicket.

England, who came into this match on the back of successive defeats by Sri Lanka and Australia, will be assured of a place in the last four if they beat New Zealand in their last group match on Wednesday.

India can reach the knockout phase by beating Bangladesh when they return to Edgbaston on Tuesday.

England’s bid to win a first World Cup title is based on aggressive top-order batting but the runs had dried up lately.

That made their 337-7 after captain Eoin Morgan won the toss on a good pitch in Birmingham all the more heartening.

Bairstow top-scored with 111 and all-rounder Ben Stokes added a brisk 79, with India paceman Mohammed Shami taking a career-best 5-69.

No side have made more batting second to win a World Cup match than Ireland’s 329-7 against England at Bangalore in 2011.

Title contenders India weren’t up to the task as their chase petered out on 306-5.

India were a long way off from the moment opener KL Rahul was caught and bowled for a duck by Warwickshire paceman Woakes, who reeled off an impressive three straight maidens with the new ball on his home ground.

Rohit Sharma, Rahul’s opening partner, should have fallen for four but Joe Root dropped a routine second-slip catch off fast bowler Jofra Archer.

It threatened to be a costly miss with Rohit Sharma going on to 102, his third century of the tournament, in front of an overwhelmingly India-supporting capacity crowd of more than 24,000.

Rohit Sharma also shared a second-wicket stand of 138 with India captain Virat Kohli, whose 66 was the star batsman’s fifth successive fifty of this World Cup.

But Kohli fell when he sliced Liam Plunkett to backward point.

Rohit Sharma went to three figures, after scores of 122 not out against South Africa and 140 against Pakistan, in 106 balls with 15 fours.

But the pressure of the chase told when he was caught behind off a Woakes off-cutter to leave India 198-3 in the 37th over.

Rishabh Pant made 32 at better than a run-a-ball and it looked as if he had hit the first six of the innings only for Woakes, running round from deep backward square, to hold a brilliant diving catch.

India needed 104 more runs off the last 10 overs but their hopes faded when the big-hitting Hardik Pandya (45) holed out to substitute James Vince off fast bowler Plunkett, who justified his recall in place of off-spinner Moeen Ali with 3-55.

Earlier, Bairstow and Jason Roy (66), returning after missing three matches with a torn hamstring, shared a first-wicket stand of 160 — the highest opening partnership of the tournament.

Bairstow, involved in a pre-match spat with former England captain Michael Vaughan after suggesting pundits wanted England to lose, twice saw big inside edges miss the stumps.

Roy could have been out on 21 when all-rounder Pandya appealed for a caught behind down the legside.

But umpire Aleem Dar signalled a wide instead and Kohli opted against a review, although replays suggested the ball had touched Roy’s glove.

Roy reached fifty in just 41 balls before, on 66, he was well caught by substitute Ravindra Jadeja at long-on.

A single off Pandya saw Bairstow to a 90 ball-hundred, including eight fours and six sixes, before he carved Shami to deep cover.

South Africa, who are out of the race for a semi-final spot, dealt a huge blow to Sri Lanka’s hopes of making it.

CHESTER-LE-STREET: Former champions Sri Lanka are all but out of the ongoing World Cup after suffering a nine-wicket drubbing against a clinical South Africa.

Sent in to bat, Sri Lanka produced a dismal batting show to manage a modest 203, a target which the Proteas overhauled with 76 balls in hand.

With just six points from seven games, Sri Lanka still have a mathematical chance to be in the semifinals.

First, they need to win their last two games against already-eliminated West Indies (on July 1) and India (July 6) and then depend on favourable results from other remaining league stage games.

The win, however, came as a welcome relief for South Africa, who have endured a nightmarish World Cup campaign.

The Proteas are already out of the tournament after registering just two wins out of their eight games.

Chasing the modest target, South Africa lost Quinton de Kock (15) at the score of 31 in the fifth over but thereafter Hashim Amla and skipper Faf du Plessis held the fort and stitched an unbeaten 175-run stand to guide the Proteas home comfortably.

While Du Plessis remained unbeaten on 96 off 103 balls, hitting 10 boundaries and one six, Amla finished on 80 not out off 105 balls with the help of five fours.

Lasith Malinga (1/47) was the only successful bowler for Sri Lanka.

Earlier, the Proteas picked up wickets at regular intervals after the first 10 overs, never allowing the Sri Lankan middle-order settle down.

Drafted into the playing eleven in place of Lungi Ngidi, pacer Dwaine Pretarius (3/25) justified his selection with a three-wicket haul.

Chris Morris (3/46) and Kagiso Rabada (2/36) shared five wickets between them.

Sri Lanka had a horrible start as they lost skipper Dimuth Karunaratne in the first ball of the match, caught by his counterpart Du Plessis at the second slip off Rabada.

Thereafter, Kusal Perera (30 off 34) and Avishka Fernando (30 off 29) took the counter-attacking approach and played fearlessly to stitch a 67-run stand off 58 balls before the duo perished in quick succession.

Right-arm pacer Pretorius sent both the batsmen packing in consecutive overs as Sri Lanka slumped to 72 for three in 11.3 overs.

New man Angelo Mathews looked in no hurry and took 29 balls to score his 11 runs before he played on a Morris delivery in the 22nd over.

Kusal Mendis (23 off 51) had to dug deep for his runs before he became Pretorius’ third victim, spooning one to Morris at extra cover.

Dhananjaya de Silva (24) , Jeeva Mendis (18) and Thisara Perera (21) all got starts but threw away their wickets when Sri Lanka needed them to carry on.