PSL 2021: Shaheen Afridi dismissed Babar Azam with an absolute peach of a delivery during Lahore Qalandars' win over Karachi Kings. The duo had a moment to remember after the dismissal.
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Wellington: Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell is chuffed about playing alongside and learning from Virat Kohli in the upcoming IPL, calling the Indian captain "the pinnacle of the game" for his dominance across formats.
The Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore bought Maxwell, who was released by Punjab Kings after an ordinary IPL in 2020, for a whopping Rs 14.25 crore at the auctions last month.
"It's (RCB stint) going to be next level," Maxwell told Australian Associated Press (AAP).
"He's (Kohli) been the pinnacle of the game for a while as a multi-format player from Tests all the way to T20s.
"He's been able to adapt his game, dominate for a long period of time and deal with the Indian pressure of being their captain and their best player," Maxwell added.
The Indian Premier League is scheduled to start in the second week of April and the swashbuckling all-rounder hopes to pick up some leadership qualities from the Indian skipper, who will also be Maxwell's captain at RCB.
"I'm looking forward to watching him go about his work, not just in games but in training, and hopefully tapping into some of the leadership stuff and try and learn off him."
The 32-year-old said that he has developed a "good friendship" with Kohli over the years, adding that the Indian maestro backed him when he took a mental health break in 2019.
"He's been a solid backer of my stance," Maxwell said.
"In a way he probably understood a lot of the things that I was going through ... a lot of expectation and pressure, which I'm sure he can relate to."
Kohli, who recently opened up about his own battle with depression during a harrowing tour of England in 2014, had lauded Maxwell's decision to take a break.
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India vs England: West Indies great Vivian Richards said India should prepare for the fourth Test a pitch similar to the one they got in the third, adding England should stop "moaning and groaning" about pitches and get out of comfort zone.
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New Zealand vs Australia: The third and fourth T20Is will also take place behind closed doors for both teams.
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Wellington: New Zealand's upcoming T20 International against Australian men and their women's national team fixture against England, slated to be held in Tauranga, were on Monday moved to Wellington due to logistical reasons.
The double header -- the Black Caps' final T20I against Australia and the New Zealand women's team's T20 fixture against England on Sunday -- will be held behind closed doors, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) said.
"The change has been forced on NZC because of logistical complications arising from the transfer of this Friday's second double-header from Auckland to Wellington," NZC said in a statement.
Last week, the NZC had shifted Friday's double headers from the Eden Park to Wellington, after COVID-19 alert Level 3 restrictions were imposed in Auckland, which doesn't allow any sports event to take place.
The rest of the country has been placed in Level 2 of the alert system which means that matches will have to take place behind closed doors.
"The current Alert Level 2 protocols in Wellington mean all three double-headers on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, will be played behind closed doors."
"Tickets purchased for matches affected by Alert Level restrictions will automatically receive full refunds to the card or bank account number from which they were paid," NZC added.
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Karachi: Shaheen Afridi's ferocious pace and David Wiese’s late charge spurred Lahore Qalandars to a six-wicket win over defending champion Karachi Kings in the Pakistan Super League on Sunday.
Afridi returned figures of 3-27, with his bowling reaching speeds of 94 mph (around 150 kph). That helped to restrict Karachi to 186-9 despite half-centuries by Sharjeel Khan (64) and Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi (57).
Wiese’s blistering 31 not out off nine balls carried Lahore to 189-4 in 19.2 overs in reply as the tall South African clubbed two successive sixes against Australian fast bowler Daniel Christian to finish off the game.
Karachi had a sniff of victory when Lahore required 30 off the last two overs. But Mohammad Amir’s 19th over went for 20 with Wiese getting two fortunate edges to the boundary and then lofting the fast bowler over long-off for a six.
“To be honest, I always felt we were in with a shout in that situation,” Wiese said.
“Sometimes you smash it straight to the fielder, so those little nicks count. We’ve seen towards the back end it’s difficult to defend here with one short boundary.”
Fakhar Zaman scored a brilliant 83 off 54 balls and Ben Dunk remained unbeaten on 57 after Lahore had slipped to 0-2 in the first over and then also lost key batsman Mohammad Hafeez for 15 inside the batting powerplay.
Both left-handers shared a 119-run stand before Zaman holed out in the deep in the 18th over. But Wiese’s late onslaught carried the team home.
Afridi could have picked up five wickets but Lahore skipper Sohail Akhtar, who won the toss and didn’t hesitate to field, dropped a sitter from Khan in the first over.
Babar Azam (5) was clean bowled by Afridi in his second over but only after Zaman failed to hold onto a sharp chance offered by Pakistan’s premier batsman, who went to cut Afridi's short-of-length delivery.
Afridi pegged back Karachi’s hopes of going closer to 200 runs when he clean bowled Waqas Maqsood and Amir off vicious yorkers in the last over.
“They shouldn’t have chased it down, but credit goes to Fakhar and David Wiese how they played,” said Karachi captain Imad Wasim, who surprisingly did not bowl. “At the end, we should have scored 40 or 50 off the last four overs but we couldn’t because of some bad shots and run outs.”
It was the 11th straight successful chase in this season’s PSL with no team yet to defend the total after being put into bat by the opposition.
The win pushed Lahore to the top of the points table alongside Peshawar Zalmi with both teams on six points after four games. Karachi have four points.
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Tom Moody's appointment came after recommendations made by the board's technical advisory committee to revamp Sri Lanka's cricket operations.
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India vs England: With the pitch at the Narendra Modi Stadium receiving some flak, opener Rohit Sharma was left wondering what the conditions would be like in the fourth Test match.
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India vs England: Wicket-keeper Ben Foakes described the pitches for the second and third Tests as "very challenging" and added that he has never played on wickets like these.
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West Indies vs Sri Lanka: Sunil Narine has not played for West Indies in any format since August 2019.
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Bengaluru: Young Karnataka sensation Devdutt Padikkal continued his terrific form ahead of the IPL with a third successive century as the defending champions stormed into the Vijay Hazare Trophy quarter-finals with a lopsided 10-wicket win over Railways in a group C match on Sunday.
The Royal Challengers Bangalore opener, who scored a career-best 152 against Odisha and followed it up with 126 not out versus Kerala in their last outing, smacked nine sixes and as many boundaries in his 145 not out from 125 balls.
The 20-year-old left-hander had the company of his skipper Ravikumar Samarth, who also slammed an unbeaten century (130 not out from 118 balls; 17x4) as the opening duo raced to the 285-run target win with 57 balls to spare at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
The big win ensured that they finished on top of group C to qualify for the last-eight while Uttar Pradesh finished second following their six-wicket win over Odisha at the Just Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.
Padikkal, who also has two half-centuries, now has the season's highest tally of 572 runs from five matches with a staggering average of 190.66.
The Railways bowlers did very little to trouble the Karnataka opening duo who raced past 200 in 29.5 overs as the seemingly challenging total proved just to be a cakewalk.
Padikkal also paced his innings beautifully, taking 60 balls for his fifty and then he stepped up and notched his fifth List A century in next 34 deliveries.
Earlier, Railways rode on opener Pratham Singh's 129 to notch 284/9. Singh hit 12 fours and three sixes in his knock from 138 balls.
Karnataka kept taking wickets at regular intervals but the Railways opener stayed calm and ensured that they set a sizeable target.
Brief Scores:
At M.Chinnaswamy Stadium: Railways 284/9; 50 overs (Pratham Singh 129; Shreyas Gopal 3/41, J Suchith 2/72) lost to Karnataka 285 fo no loss; 40.3 overs (Devdutt Padikkal 145 not out, Ravikumar Samarth 130 not out) by 10 wickets.
At KSCA Cricket (3) Ground, Alur: Bihar 148 all out; 40.2 overs (Babul Kumar 64; Sreesanth 4/30, Jalaj Saxena 3/30) lost to Kerala 149/1; 8.5 overs (Robin Uthappa 87 not out, Sanju Samson 24 not out) by nine wickets.
At Just Cricket Academy Ground: Odisha 148 all out; 40.1 overs (Subhranshu Senapati 49 not out, Rakesh Pattnaik 46; Shivam Sharma 6/22) lost to Uttar Pradesh 150/4; 21.4 overs (Upendra Yadav 32, Sameer Choudhary 29 not out) by six wickets.
Gujarat win to remain unbeaten in league stage
Hosts Gujarat defeated Baroda by 40 runs in their last Group A match to remain unbeaten in the league stage of the Vijay Hazare Trophy on Sunday.
Opting to bat, Gujarat posted 277 for 7, riding on opener Dhruv Raval's 102 off 129 balls and then restricted the opposition to 237 for 9.
Experienced leg-spinner Piyush Chawla (3/52) shone bright with the ball for Gujarat.
Gujarat had earlier defeated Chhattisgarh, Goa, Tripura and Hyderabad, while this was Baroda's first loss in the tournament.
Gujarat did not have the best of starts, losing opener Priyank Panchal (2) and one-down Chirag Gandhi (12) early. While Panchal was cleaned up by pacer Atit Sheth (3/53), Gandhi was caught by Abhimanyusingh Rajput off Babashafi Pathan (2/47).
But then, left-handed batsman Raval took charge and anchored the innings with responsibility en route to his century knock which was laced with nine boundaries and a six.
He found an able partner in right-handed middle order batsman Het Patel (82 off 84 balls; 7x4s, 2x6s), as the two rallied the innings with a 152-run stand for the third wicket.
But when it looked like the duo would take Gujarat to a big score, Baroda removed both the batsmen. Pacer Lukman Meriwala (2/67) dismissed Het, who was holed to Kedar Devdhar, while Babashafi Pathan removed Raval as Gujarat slipped to 213 for 4.
A quick-fire 22 off nine balls by Chintan Gaja helped Gujarat go past the 275-run mark.
Chasing 278, Baroda lost opener Kedav Devdhar (17) early.
Wicket-keeper Smit Patel (73; 6x4s) and Vishnu Solanki (37; 3x4s) rallied the innings with a 92-run stand.
But Gujarat pegged back Baroda by taking three wickets in quick succession as they slipped to 135 for 4.
Pacer Chintan Gaja struck twice, first removing Solanki, who was caught by Raval, and then sent back inform rival skipper Krunal Pandya (2). Ninad Rathwa (3) also fell cheaply.
Then Chawla trapped Patel in front of the wicket as Baroda lost half of their side for 154. From there on, it was an uphill task for Baroda, who eventually ended at 237 for 9.
Pacers Chintan Gaja (2/40) and Arzan Nagwaswalla (2/47) played their roles to perfection.
Brief Scores: Gujarat 277 for 7 in 50 overs (Dhruv Raval 102, Het Patel 82; Atit Sheth 3/53) beat Baroda 237 for 9 in 50 overs (Smit Patel 73, Vishnu Solanki 37; Piyush Chawla 3/52, Chintan Gaja 2/40) by 40 runs.
At CK Pithawala ground: Hyderabad 345 for 6 in 50 overs (Tanmay Agarwal 150, Tilak Verma 128; Lakshay Garg 2/60, Suyash Prabhudessai 1/60) beat Goa 343 for 5 in 50 overs (KD Eknath 169 not out, Snehal Kauthankar 116; T Ravi Teja 3/69; B Sandeep 1/63) by two runs.
At Kholvad Gymkhana ground: Tripura 230 all out in 48.4 overs (Samrat Singha 102; Milind Kumar 55; Ajay Mandal 2/18, Sumit Ruikar 2/39) lost to Chhattisgarh 233 for 5 in 47.1 overs (Amandeep Khare 101 not out, Rishabh Tiwari 30; Parvez Sultan 2/40, MB Mura Singh 2/45) by five wickets.
Andhra pip Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand to finish as group toppers
Andhra outplayed Jharkhand by seven wickets to emerge on top of Group B in the Vijay Hazare Trophy cricket tournament on Sunday, pipping Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand in the points table to take top spot.
In another match, Madhya Pradesh opener Venkatesh Iyer missed out on a well-deserved double ton as he was run out two runs shy of the mark in his team's big 105-run win over Punjab.
Andhra, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand and MP finished equal on 12 points from five matches but Andhra emerged on top thanks to higher net run-rate and secured a place in the knockout phase.
Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, MP (all 12 points) finished second, third and fourth followed by Punjab (eight points) and Vidarbha (four points).
Tamil Nadu defeated Vidarbha by five wickets, chasing down the target of 151 in 11.2 overs to improve their net run-rate. However, Andhra overhauled Jharkhand's score of 139 in just 9.5 overs to nose ahead on NRR.
Sent in to bat, Jharkhand struggled with only four batsmen reaching double figures. Skipper Ishan Kishan made 38 (68 balls, 3 fours), the highest score while medium-pacer M Harishankar Reddy was impressive with a four-wicket haul for Andhra.
Ashwin Hebbar (44, 18 balls, 4X4, 4X6) and Ricky Bhui (57 not out, 27 balls, 5X4, 4X6) went on the attack from the start with the Jharkhand bowlers having no respite.
The duo added 82 in 5.5 overs before Hebbar fell to Shahbaz Nadeem (1/26). Bhui continued with his aggressive ways and despite losing captain Hanuma Vihari (4), he saw the team home in the company of Naren Reddy (16 not out, 7 balls, 1X4, 2X6).
In another match, off-spinner B Aparajith (3/10) and medium-pacers J Kousik (3/22) and M Mohammed (3/33) starred as Tamil Nadu bundled out Vidarbha for 150 in 41 overs.
A few of the Vidarbha batsmen got starts but could not quite go on to make a big score as the TN bowlers kept a tight leash.
In reply, skipper Dinesh Karthik (19), opening the batting, fell in the third over going for quick runs but N Jagadeesan smashed a 18-ball 48 (4X4, 4X4) and helped Tamil Nadu post a win in 11.2 overs with Mohammed (37, 14 balls, 3X4, 3X6) weighing in with a quickfire knock.
Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh rode on a blistering innings of 198 by Venkatesh Iyer (146 balls, 20X4, 7X6) to post a massive score of 402 for 3 in 50 overs before restricting Punjab to 297 in 42.3 overs. Abhishek Sharma hammered his way to 104 from just 49 balls (8X4, 9X6) but his effort went in vain.
Brief scores: Vidarbha 150 all out in 41 overs (Akshay Wadkar 31, S R Ramaswamy 28, B Aparajith 3/10, J Kousik 3/22, M Mohammed 3/33) lost to Tamil Nadu 152 for 5 in 11.2 overs (N Jagadeesan 48, M Mohammed 37 not out) by five wickets. TN: 4 points, Vidarbha: 0.
Jharkhand 139 all out in 46.2 overs (Ishan Kishan 38, Anukul Roy 30, M Harishankar Reddy 4/30) lost to Andhra 140 for 3 in 9.5 overs (Ashwin Hebbar 44, Ricky Bhui 57 not out) by seven wickets. Andhra: 4 points, Jharkhand: 0.
Madhya Pradesh 402 for 3 in 30 overs (Venkatesh Iyer 198, Aditya Shrivastava 88 not out, Rajat Patidar 54) beat Punjab 297 all out in 42.3 overs (Abhishek Sharma 104, Siddarth Kaul 33, Mihir Hirwani 4/62) by 105 runs.
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Western Australia No. 11 Liam O'Connor kept out the last ball of a first-class match to help his team pull off a great escape against South Australia in a Sheffield Shield tie.
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New Delhi: India figured out England's general "ineptitude against spin" after the second Test in Chennai which created panic in the visiting team ranks, triggering a batting collapse during their loss in the 'Pink Ball' game inside two days.
Indian spin duo of Axar Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin claimed 11 and seven wickets respectively to bowl out England for 112 and 81 in the two innings en route their 10-wicket win in the third Test on Thursday.
This was after the 317-run triumph in the second Test in Chennai where the visitors too had found the going tough against spinners and were dismissed for 134 and 164.
"India's decision to select three spinners for the Test was prompted by England's batting on a tricky Chennai pitch, where their batsmen — Joe Root excepted — displayed a distinct ineptitude against spin," Chappell wrote in a column in ESPNcricinfo.
"India correctly calculated that would result in mental scarring and used it to their advantage."
Chappell said it was poor defence which led to England's collapse in the third Test.
"When faced with a serious spin challenge, the England batsmen didn't trust their defence, which eventually resulted in panicked attempts to attack the Indian spinners," he wrote.
"Their choice to reverse-sweep rather than to leave their crease to change the bowler's length is a classic example.
"How can a risky premeditated shot be less dangerous than what was previously a trusted technique to unsettle good spinners?," he questioned.
Chappell said "Shrewd use of footwork not only helps negate the spin but also puts a batsman in a position to direct the ball where he wants."
"To be fair, this is a skill to be learned at a young age. Which prompts the question: why is it not widely taught in England, where sweeping is misguidedly touted as the secret to playing spin bowling successfully?
Ollie Pope had decided to use his feet against the Indian spinners but Chappell said "he had the right idea but the wrong execution."
"Firstly, he jumped rather than glided out of the crease. Secondly, his front foot pressed forward but the back one lingered, as if searching for the safety of the crease.
"Pope was conscious of the keeper as he tentatively ventured out of his crease, which meant he was worried he would miss the delivery. That results in footwork that hinders rather than helps."
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Karachi: PCB chairman Ehsan Mani said the ICC has assured them it will get a written assurance from the BCCI by next month that all its players, officials, fans and journalists will be issued visas for the World T20 Cup to be held in India.
On Sunday, Mani also said that the Asia Cup scheduled to be held in June this year in Sri Lanka will need to be postponed if India qualifies for the World Test Championships final.
"I have informed the board that the BCCI was supposed to give us visa assurances by 31st December but that didn't happen because their President, Sourav Ganguly was twice hospitalised," he said at a media conference here.
"But I have now again taken up this matter with the ICC and am in touch with them. I also have another virtual conference with them tomorrow on this issue. The ICC has told us that we will get our written confirmation by the end of next month."
The PCB chief said it was their right to demand this assurance and no one can keep Pakistan out of the World Cup.
"Either we will be going to the World T20 with full protocols or it will have to be moved elsewhere," he said while insisting that the PCB wanted written assurances that India will issue visas for Pakistan team, fans and journalists.
To a question about whether the World T20 could be shifted to a neutral venue at this late stage, Mani said granting visas for Pakistani nationals was not the only issue confronting the Indian board.
"There is also the problem of tax exemption to the ICC for the event and the COVID-19 pandemic situation. The ICC has already in a contingency planning decided the World T20 can also be moved to UAE if need arose," he said.
Mani also said if India qualifies for the WTC final it would be impossible for the Asia Cup to be held this year as planned due to a clash of dates.
"The way things look most probably the Asia Cup will be postponed until 2023," he said.
The World Test Championship final is slated at Lord's from 18-22 June.
India needs at least a draw in the fourth and final Test against England in the ongoing four-Test series to set up a clash with New Zealand in the World Test Championship final.
Pakistan was to initially host the Asia Cup but surrendered it to Sri Lanka after problems over India not being able to tour Pakistan for the tournament.
Mani also made it clear that Pakistan had no problems with the World T20 being held in India but just wanted to be absolutely sure that there are no problems with issuance of visas for its team, officials, fans and journalists closer to the tournament.
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India vs England, 4th Test: Monty Panesar compared the 3rd Test match to club cricket in England, and said that the Narendra Modi Stadium deserves longer Test matches.
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Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ehsan Mani on Sunday confirmed that the Asia Cup slated to be held in June this year is likely to be postponed if India reach the World Test Championship final.
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Ravichandran Ashwin jumped to No. 3 among bowlers while Rohit Sharma attained his career-best spot of No. 8 in the ICC Test rankings released on Sunday.
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Dubai: Opener Rohit Sharma touched his career-best eighth position in the ICC Test Batsmen's Rankings on Sunday with a six-place jump after his impressive show in India's 10-wicket win over England in the low-scoring third Test in Ahmedabad.
Rohit top-scored in the first innings with 66 and remained unbeaten on 25 in the second to move ahead of compatriot Cheteshwar Pujara among others.
His rating points aggregate is 742, 20 more than his best of 722 in October 2019 when he was ranked 10th.
Player of the match Axar Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin have also made solid gains after playing a crucial role in India's win on a spin-friendly track.
Left-arm spinner Patel's 11-wicket match haul has helped him gain 30 slots to reach 38th position while off-spinner Ashwin's seven wickets have lifted him four places to third position.
England spinner Jack Leach has entered the top 30 for the first time, moving up three places to 28th after taking four wickets. Captain Joe Root's maiden five-wicket haul has lifted him 16 places to 72nd among bowlers while he is now joint-13th among all-rounders.
Opener Zak Crawley's knock of 53 in the first innings has helped him advance 15 places to 46th in what was the only notable gain for any of their batsmen.
Meanwhile, the ICC said that player rankings will move to a weekly updating system from March 2021 for both men and women.
"The change will not impact the way the rankings are calculated but what it means is that instead of rankings being updated at the end of a series (in ODIs and T20Is) or a Test match, they may be updated while a series or match is ongoing without performances in those matches being considered," ICC said in a release.
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Amy Satterthwaite hit an unbeaten 119 and Amelia Kerr made 72 as New Zealand beat England by seven wickets in the third ODI in Dunedin.
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India vs England: Former Australia skipper Ian Chappell described England batsmen's attempts at playing spin against India as "bizarre" and said the batsmen didn't trust their defence against spinners.
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Melbourne: Australia spinner Nathan Lyon is baffled by all the hullabaloo over the Motera pitch, saying "everyone seems to start crying" when the ball starts spinning but no one speaks out when teams are bundled out for low scores on seaming tracks.
The Motera track received a lot of flak from some quarters, including former skippers Michael Vaughan, Andrew Strauss, Alastair Cook, after England were bowled out for 112 and 81 during their 10-wicket loss in the third Test against India on Thursday.
However, Lyon gave a thumbs up to the curator.
"We play on seaming wickets around the world and get bowled out for 47, 60. Nobody ever says a thing (about the pitch). But as soon as it starts spinning, everyone in the world seems to start crying about it," Lyon was quoted as saying by The West Australian.
"I don't get it. I'm all for it, it was entertaining."
Lyon, who had scripted an incredible journey from being a pitch curator to one of the greatest off-spinners, said he would like to get the Ahmedabad curator to Sydney Cricket Ground.
"I was up all night watching it. It was absolutely brilliant. I'm thinking about bringing that curator out to the SCG," he said.
While India went with three spinners for the Pink Ball Test, England included only Jack Leach in the playing XI.
Lyon said: "The best thing about this Test match that just passed is that England went in with four seamers. That will do me. I don't need to say any more."
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Sri Lanka Cricket on Saturday appointed Angelo Mathews as the stand-in captain for the T20I series against the West Indies.
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Cricket South Africa named a 17-member squad for the women's tour of India comprising five ODIs and three T20Is in March.
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Australia selector George Bailey backed under-fire limited-overs captain Aaron Finch, calling criticism of Finch's leadership as "white noise."
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Lucknow: Sune Luus will lead South Africa women's team against India in the upcoming limited over series as regular skipper. Dane Van Niekerk and Chloe Tryon will again miss the assignment due to injuries, the country's cricket board (CSA) said on Sunday.
The visitors arrived in India on Saturday and are currently serving a six-day quarantine period. They will train for two days before facing India in the series-opening ODI on 7 March.
South Africa retained most of the players in the 18-member squad which had won the ODI and T20 series against Pakistan last month. Van Niekerk and Chloe Tryon were not part of that series.
Pacer Masabata Klaas is the only one to miss out after picking up an injury at the last moment.
Sune Luus had captained the side in the last series and will continue to do so with Van Niekerk and Tryon yet to recover from lower-back injuries.
"It is really exciting to finally have this tour confirmed and announce our squad that will do duty here in India, and we are looking forward to getting out there to see our ladies prove themselves under different playing conditions," South Africa women's coach Hilton Moreeng was quoted as saying in a statement by Cricbuzz.
"India is always a wonderful place to tour and we are looking forward to the challenge that lies ahead."
The series comprises five ODIs, followed by three T20 internationals — all to be held at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow.
Squad: Sune Luus (c), Ayabonga Khaka, Shabnim Ismail, Laura Wolvaardt, Trisha Chetty, Sinalo Jafta, Tasmin Britz, Marizanne Kapp, Nondumiso Shangase, Lizelle Lee, Anneke Bosch, Faye Tunniclife, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Mignon du Preez, Nadine de Klerk, Lara Goodall and Tumi Sekhukhune.
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Nathan Lyon has extended his support to the Ahmedabad pitch that was criticised by many former cricketers after the third Test between India and England finished inside two days.
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Melbourne: Selector George Bailey Sunday insisted under-fire Aaron Finch would be Australia's skipper at this year's Twenty20 World Cup, calling mounting criticism of his leadership and form "white noise".
Finch's scores of one and 12 in their opening two games against New Zealand last week, coupled with his failure to fire in the recent Big Bash League, has sparked debate over whether he is the right man for the job.
But Bailey told the Melbourne Herald Sun there was no doubt in his mind the 34-year-old opener would be leading the side in India in October.
"He's got a terrific average, he's the captain of this side and he'll be the captain of this side at the World Cup," said Bailey, one of three selectors alongside Trevor Hohns and national coach Justin Langer.
"It's just complete white noise for me," he added of the criticism.
Doubts around Finch have been raging, led by former selector Mark Waugh.
"His job is to score runs... no batsman is immune from being dropped when you're not scoring runs, doesn't matter if you're captain or not," said Waugh, now a pundit.
Australian media have also weighed in with the Sydney Morning Herald saying Finch was "running out of chances to book his ticket to this year's T20 World Cup".
Bailey - the only selector on tour in New Zealand - attributed Finch's poor form at the Big Bash, where he averaged just 13.8, to five months spent playing cricket in biosecurity bubbles.
"He was pretty zonked," Bailey said. "But he tried to do the right thing and get back to help a young (Melbourne) Renegades side.
"His reflection on that was that he probably should've sat longer out and come back a bit fresher."
He added that Finch was hitting well in the nets in New Zealand and pointed to his outstanding record as one of the premier limited overs batsman in the world.
"He'd be in the top five or 10 leading run-scorers, and if he doesn't have the highest strike-rate amongst them he'd be absolutely close," he said.
"And he's done it very, very consistently for Australia over a long period of time, and will continue to do so into the future."
Australia's third T20 against New Zealand is in Wellington on Wednesday.
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London: Former England pacer Darren Gough has compared the mentality of the current Indian side to the Australian outfit of the 1990s, saying Virat Kohli's men know how to "get a team by the throat and win, win, win".
India notched up an incredible come-from-behind 2-1 Test series win in Australia in January.
Down 0-1 after losing the opener, India again fought back strongly and grabbed an unassailable 2-1 lead in the ongoing four-Test rubber against England.
"The mentality of this India now is like Australia in the 90s— get a team by the throat and win, win, win," Gough told the PA news agency.
On Thursday, India inflicted a 10-wicket defeat on England inside two days at Ahmedabad after dismissing the tourists for 112 and 81 in the two innings of the pink-ball third Test. It was after England lost the second Test in Chennai by 317 runs.
Gough, who had captured seven wickets to help England beat West Indies in two days at Headingley in 2000, said the recent twin defeats in India will leave England mentally "fragile".
"This England team have been battered in back-to-back games now and it's going to be very difficult to come back from that. You can imagine the mentality of some of the lads will be quite fragile," Gough said.
The 50-year-old believes limited overs cricket was given preference over Tests by the authorities in England, who decided to rest and rotate players throughout the series.
"If I was Joe Root, I'd be livid. I feel for him because I believe one-day cricket has taken a high preference this time, just as he was getting something together with this team. Eoin Morgan has got his preferences over the Test side," he said.
"I know we are building towards the T20 World Cup in India but our main players are settled, they don't need to play every 50-over or 20-over game.
"For the T20 series we should have gone in with some fringe players and seen who was ready to push for that squad.
"I really hope they can come away with a 2-2 draw, it would be a terrific result, but even then they'd be thinking 'have we missed a chance here? What if we'd kept all our best players together?'."
The fourth and final Test begins on 4 March.
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India vs England: Rishabh Pant took to Instagram to share a group photo which included teammate Axar Patel after they'd had an "intense workout session."
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India vs England: Ravichandran Ashwin on Saturday said that talks regarding the pitch is getting out of hand and enquired if there was any instance when the pitch had gained this much attention during India's overseas tour.
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Kolkata/Chennai: Middle-order batsman Prerak Mankad on Saturday took Eden Gardens by storm with a sensational 174 to power Saurashtra to a 62-run win over Chandigarh in a group E clash of the Vijay Hazare Trophy here.
The 26-year-old plundered six sixes and 16 fours in his knock from 130 balls to propel Saurashtra to a massive 388 for 7 after Chandigarh opted to bowl.
In reply, Chandigarh, who have been impressive in their debut Elite season with three wins on the trot, could manage 326 for 7.
The win helped Saurashtra consolidate their lead with 16 points, four clear of Chandigarh to close in on a quarterfinal spot.
Saurashtra lost both their openers, Avi Barot (25) and Snell Patel (20) inside 11 overs but thereafter it was all about Prerak, who stitched two century-plus stands with Vishvaraj Jadeja (50 off 53 balls; 3x4, 2x6) and Arpit Vasavada (71 off 52 balls; 5x4, 2x6) to lead the charge.
4⃣ matches
4⃣ winsSaurashtra continue their winning run in the @Paytm #VijayHazareTrophy as they beat Chandigarh by 62 runs. 👏👏 #SAUvUTCA | @saucricket
Scorecard 👉 https://t.co/YPkRV821I8 pic.twitter.com/3O2OHIYIcE
— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) February 27, 2021
The No 4 batsman paced his innings brilliantly taking 53 balls for his half-century before he stepped up to race to his second List A century in the next 39 balls.
There was no stopping Prerak as he took another 27 balls to cruise to 150. He was dismissed by Jagjit Singh in the final over but the damage had been done.
Chirag Jani too scored a quickfire 30 not out from 10 balls (3x4, 2x6) to end their innings on a high.
Chasing the target, Chandigarh skipper Manan Vohra (50) and Arslan Khan (61) put on a century-plus stand and then Ankit Kaushik chipped in with 54 but it proved too little in the end.
Uttarakhand notched up their fourth straight win beating Mizoram by eight wickets in their Vijay Hazare Trophy plate group match here on Saturday.
Uttarakhand are currently on top of the standings with 16 points from four matches, sharing the position with Assam, who won their match against Sikkim by four wickets.
Leg-spinner Dikshansu Negi took 6 for 21 in a brilliant bowling performance to help Uttarakhand bundle out Mizoram for a paltry 117.
In reply, Uttarakhand knocked off the required runs in just 10.5 overs.
In another match, Assam chased down a target of 246 set by Sikkim in the 48th over to maintain their all-win record in the group.
For Assam, experienced pacer Pritam Das bowled beautifully to return excellent figures of 5/34 in his team's win.
Brief scores:
Arunachal Pradesh 150 in 50 overs (Vipin Dhaka 37, Akhilesh Sahani 45, Chengkam Sangma 3/ 21) lost to Meghalaya 157 for two in 28.5 overs (Rohit Shah 70 not out, Yogesh Tiwari 28, DB Ravi Teja 32 not out) by eight wickets.
Meghalaya : 4 points; Arunachal 0.
Nagaland 257 for nine in 50 overs (Sedezhalie Rupero 28, R. Jonathan 46, Shrikant Mundhe 52, Hem Chetri 82 not out) beat Manipur 240 for nine in 50 overs (Narsingh Yadav 62, Nitesh Sedai 50, M Longlonyamba 45, K Priyojit Singh 32, Stuart Binny 3/32) by 17 runs.
Nagaland: 4 points ; Manipur 0.
Mizoram 117 in 38.3 overs (Taruwar Kohli 62, KB Pawan 28; Dikshanshu Negi 6/21) lost to Uttarakhand 118 for two in 10.5 overs (Kamal Singh 40 not out, Kunal Chandela 58) by
eight wickets.
Uttarakhand: 4 points; Mizoram 0.
Sikkim 245 all out in 50 overs (Nilesh Lamichaney 36, Robin Bist 120, Varun Sood 50; Pritam Das 5/34) lost to Assam 249 for six in 47.5 overs (Ashish Thapa 43, Denish Das 53,
Saahil Jain 61 not out) by four wickets.
Assam: 4 points, Sikkim: 0.
At Eden Gardens: Saurashtra 388/7; 50 overs (Prerak Mankad 174, Vishvaraj Jadeja 50; Jaskaran Singh 4/60) b Chandigarh 326/7 (Ankit Kaushik 54, Manan Vohra 50, Gautam Gambhir 40 not out) by 62 runs.
At JU Second Campus, Saltlake: Services 287/5; 50 overs (Rajat Paliwal 78 not out, Shivam Tiwari 74) b Haryana 175; 43.3 overs (Jayant Yadav 59) by 112 runs.
At 22 Yards Academy: Bengal 368/4; 50 overs (Abhimanyu Easwaran 99, Anustup Majumdar 92 not out, Ritwik Roy Chowdhury 55, Shahbaz Ahmed 48 not out, Kaif Ahmed 42) b Jammu & Kashmir 286; 45.3 overs (Abid Mushtaq 68, Parvez Rasool 50; Arnab Nandi 4/46) by 82 runs.
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New Delhi: The Motera track may have received a lot of flak after the pink ball Test ended inside two days but it is unlikely to attract any severe sanctions from the game's governing body ICC with the pitch for the final game set to be a batting beauty.
With India 2-1 up in the four-Test series and needing a draw to qualify for the World Test Championship final at Lord's from 18-22 June, another turner is currently out of question as the home team will be aiming to take minimal risks as far as the track is concerned.
"Expect a good hard surface which will be firm and even bounce. It will be a batting beauty and since its a traditional red-ball match, one can expect a very high scoring contest here from March 4-8," a senior BCCI official privy to the developments told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
Also the BCCI bigwigs along with the team management understand the fact that another dust bowl won't augur well for the new venue which is expected to host a lot of important matches during IPL as well as ICC T20 World Cup.
"If there are two matches played at the same venue, you can't hold one result in isolation. Let the final Test be over and then only based on match referee Javagal Srinath's report can ICC decide its course of action. Also as of now, the England team hasn't lodged any official complaint," the BCCI official said.
If there has been one good and one bad pitch at the same venue, the ICC is unlikely to take any action. While India would be happy with a 3-1 margin, they will not require a result-oriented turner as a draw would suffice their purpose.
Also the Indian team management doesn't want to prepare a track that can ideally backfire on them in a very high-stake game of cricket.
"The pink-ball Test went well because it was more about the ball and the way it skidded rather than the pitch which many English former greats are panning. It was straight deliveries that they couldn't counter. But having said that, these kind of tracks have a tendency to backfire and BCCI is well aware of that," he said.
The team combination for the next Test will be an interesting one after Jasprit Bumrah was released from the squad due to personal reasons.
Mohammed Siraj has a better chance than Umesh Yadav of being Ishant Sharma's new ball partner, while it is expected that all three spinners will be automatic picks.
Washington Sundar's superior batting skills might come in very handy in the middle order for the last Test match.
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Wellington: A community coronavirus outbreak in Auckland has forced New Zealand cricket bosses to hastily reschedule two Twenty20 matches against Australia as other affected sports assessed their options.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has ordered Auckland, New Zealand's largest city and the centre of the outbreak, into a seven-day lockdown from Sunday, requiring people to stay at home except for essential shopping and work.
The remainder of the country faces Level Two restrictions which limit the size of public gatherings.
A New Zealand Cricket spokesman said the third match in the current T20 series, to be played in Wellington on Wednesday, will go ahead but without spectators.
Game four, scheduled for Auckland on Friday, has been moved to Wellington and, again, will be played behind closed doors.
The spokesman said they would wait for government advice on whether crowd restrictions are to be lifted before deciding if there will be spectators at the final game of the series in Tauranga on Sunday, 7 March.
Sport is not allowed under Level Three and Ardern's snap decision meant it was unlikely the start of the America's Cup final between holders Team New Zealand and Italian challengers Luna Rossa would go ahead on 6 March.
In Super Rugby Aotearoa, the Waikato Chiefs play the Otago Highlanders in Hamilton on Friday, while the Canterbury Crusaders host the Wellington Hurricanes on Saturday with both matches presumably in empty stadiums.
The Auckland Blues celebrated beating the Wellington Hurricanes in Wellington on Saturday and then faced the prospect of finding a new short-term home.
Although they have a bye next week, coach Leon MacDonald said if they returned to Auckland, they would not be allowed to train
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Karachi: Pakistan batsman Umar Akmal on Saturday claimed that he did not report to the PCB about the spot-fixing approach made to him which led to his ban last year as he thought the information would not remain confidential.
Akmal is now eligible to resume his cricket career after the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) on Friday reduced his suspension to 12 months and imposed a fine of 42.50 lakh Pakistani Rupees for breaching the Anti-Corruption Code.
Akmal was initially banned for three years from all cricket activities on 20 February last year for not reporting approaches made to him for spot-fixing in the Pakistan Super League.
"I opted against reporting the matter to the PCB's Anti-Corruption Unit as I was concerned the information would be leaked out and not remain confidential," he told reporters in Lahore.
He also claimed that he had gone to meet the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board to inform him about the spot-fixing approach but could not meet him.
"I had every intention of reporting the matter. I went to meet the Board chairman to tell him the approach made to me to spot-fix in Pakistan Super League. Unfortunately, I could not meet him as he was busy and this issue happened," Akmal said.
"I have never been involved in such practices because to me to play for Pakistan is the biggest honour," he added.
He said it was bad luck that before he could pass on the information to the PCB chairman, the matter went to the ACU which charged him for not reporting the spot-fixing approach.
Akmal was banned for three years from all cricket by the PCB's Anti-Corruption Tribunal in February last year. Later, the ban was reduced to 18 months by an Independent Adjudicator.
But the PCB and Akmal both went to the Court of Arbitration for Sports with the former appealing for a longer ban on the batsman and the latter asking to set aside the ban altogether.
On Friday, the CAS rejected the PCB's appeal for a longer ban but confirmed one breach of the Anti-Corruption Code by Akmal, imposing him a 12-month ban and fine of 4.2 million rupees.
The CAS also said both parties would bear the legal costs of the case themselves.
The 12-month ban means that Akmal has completed it on 19 March and he is now eligible to resume cricket.
Akmal said he would cooperate with the PCB in every manner in the rehabilitation process and do everything to get back to playing cricket as soon as possible.
"Cricket is my bread and butter and I know how much loss I have suffered in the last one year away from the sport. I want to resurrect my Pakistan career and hopefully, I can do that," he said.
"I have learnt a lot in these last 12 months and hopefully I can just focus on cricket now as there is a lot of cricket left in me."
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India vs England: The pitch for the fourth Test in Ahmedabad is likely to have even bounce and assist batsmen, said a report.
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Aaron Finch's wife Amy has fired back at online trolls who targeted the couple following Australia skipper's slump in form in recent games.
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New Zealand vs Australia: The hosts are currently leading 2-0 in the five-match T20I series.
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Besides Yusuf Pathan, wicketkeeper-batsman Naman Ojha and fast bowler Vinay Kumar will also feature in the India Legends team in the upcoming Road Safety World Series, scheduled to start on March 5.
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Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur will lead the ODI and T20I teams respectively in the upcoming home series against South Africa.
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Raipur: Former India cricketers Yusuf Pathan, Naman Ojha and Vinay Kumar, all of whom recently announced their retirements, will feature in the India Legends team in the 'Road Safety World Series' starting on 5 March.
Former Sri Lankan swashbuckling opener Sanath Jayasuriya, who is remembered for the vital role he played in the team's 1996 ODI World Cup triumph, will be playing for the Sri Lanka Legends.
"Sri Lanka Legends have also included Sanath Jayasuriya, Russel Arnold and Upul Tharanga in their team led by Tilakratne Dilshan," a media release issued said on Saturday.
India Legends will play their first match against Bangladesh Legends on March 5 and Sri Lanka Legends start their campaign against West Indies Legends on 6 March.
All the matches will be played at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium.
This T20 League aims to influence and change people's mindset towards their behaviour on the roads and create awareness towards road safety in the country, the release added.
The first edition of the series had to be called off after four games on 11 March, 2020 due to the pandemic.
Squads:
India Legends: Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammed Kaif, Pragyan Ojha, Noel David, Munaf Patel, Irfan Pathan, Manpreet Gony, Yusuf Pathan, Naman Ojha, S Badrinath and Vinay Kumar.
Sri Lanka Legends: Thilakaratne Dilshan, Sanath Jayasuriya, Farveez Maharoof, Rangana Herath, Thilan Thushara, Ajantha Mendis, Chamara Kapugedera, Upul Tharanga, Chamara Silva, Chinthaka Jayasinghe, Dhammika Prasad, Nuwan Kulasekara, Russel Arnold, Dulanjana Wijesinghe and Malinda Warnapura.
West Indies Legends: Brian Lara, Tino Best, Ridley Jacobs, Narsingh Deonarine, Sulieman Benn, Dinanath Ramnarine, Adam Sanford, Carl Hooper, Dwayne Smith, Ryan Austin, William Perkins and Mahendra Nagamootoo.
South Africa Legends: Jonty Rhodes Morn van Wyk, Garnett Kruger, Roger Telemachus, Justin Kemp, Alviro Petersen, Nantie Hayward, Andrew Puttick, Loots Bosman, Zander de Bruyn, Thandi Tshabalala, Monde Zondeki, Makhaya Ntini and Lloyd Norris-Jones.
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New Delhi: Veteran India pacer Shikha Pandey was on Saturday dropped from both ODI and T20 squads that will take on South African women in a twin series starting 7 March.
While Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur will lead the ODI and T20I teams respectively, wicketkeeper Tanya Bhatia has also been dropped from the squads due to her inept batting performances in recent times.
Rookie keeper-batsman Swetha Verma, along with the seasoned Sushma Verma, are the two keepers for the ODIs. Teenage batting sensation Shafali Verma hasn't found a place in the ODI team.
Squads:
India Women's squad for ODI series: Mithali Raj (Captain), Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Punam Raut, Priya Punia, Yastika Bhatia, Harmanpreet Kaur (vice-captain), D. Hemalatha, Deepti Sharma, Sushma Verma (wicket-keeper), Swetha Verma (wicket-keeper), Radha Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Jhulan Goswami, Mansi Joshi, Poonam Yadav, C. Prathyusha, Monica Patel
India Women's T20I squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Harleen Deol, Sushma Verma (wicket-keeper), Nuzhat Parveen (wicket-keeper), Ayushi Soni, Arundhati Reddy, Radha Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav, Mansi Joshi, Monica Patel, C. Prathyusha, Simran Dil Bahadur.
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Islamabad: Leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane of Nepal has replaced Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan in Lahore Qalandars squad for the remainder of the Pakistan Super League.
The 20-year-old Lamichanne has previously represented Lahore in seven games of Pakistan’s premier Twenty20 league in 2019.
Rashid left for national duty after featuring in Lahore’s victories against Quetta Gladiators and Peshawar Zalmi in the first two matches.
In Rashid’s absence, Lahore lost their first game against Multan Sultans by seven wickets on Friday. However, Lahore still are the joint leaders with Islamabad United after winning two of their three matches.
Lamichanne boasts an impressive Twenty20 record, claiming 34 wickets in 21 internationals at an average of 14.55 and economy rate of 6.51 runs per over.
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Ahmedabad: India said Saturday that star fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has left the squad for the England Test series for "personal reasons".
The surprise move came only two days after India, with Bumrah in the side, thrashed England in the third Test inside two days to take a 2-1 series lead. The final match starts on Thursday.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said Bumrah had asked "to be released from India’s squad ahead of the fourth Test owing to personal reasons.
"Accordingly, the fast bowler has been released and he will not be available for selection for the fourth Test."
The BCCI said no replacement would be called up.
Bumrah, who has become India's pace spearhead in recent years, bowled only six overs in England's first innings this week and none in the second innings when only spin bowlers were used.
India, meanwhile, will hope to seal their qualification for the World Test Championship final at Lord's, for which New Zealand have already qualified, by beating England in the fourth and final Test, also taking place at Ahmedabad.
While a win or even a draw will confirm Virat Kohli-led hosts' spot in the WTC final, an English victory will let Australia sneak in.
England were knocked out of contention following their 10-wicket defeat in the third Test.
India’s squad for the 4th Test: Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), R Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ishant Sharma, Md. Siraj, Umesh Yadav.
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India vs England: Ravi Shastri took a joke on himself and it made for good viewing on social media.
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India vs England: Jasprit Bumrah has been released from India squad for fourth Test due to personal reasons, BCCI said in a release.
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India vs England: Chris Woakes has returned home from the ongoing Test tour as part of England's rotation policy.
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Ahmedabad: England all-rounder Chris Woakes has left the Test tour of India without playing a match as part of the ECB's rotation policy.
The-31-year-old, who was with the England squads for the tours of South Africa, Sri Lanka and India, has not featured in any match. He last played in an ODI against Australia in September last year.
The England and Wales Cricket Board confirmed that Woakes has returned home as per pre-arranged plan.
England's much-debated rotation policy has drawn a lot of flak from several former players, including Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell.
The rotation policy saw wicketkeeper Jos Buttler and all-rounder Moeen Ali return home after the first and second Test against India respectively. Batsman Jonny Bairstow and pacer Mark Wood, who missed out on the opening two fixtures, joined the squad for the remainder of the series.
England are currently trailing 1-2 in the four-match series with the fourth and final Test slated to begin here from Thursday.
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St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda: Chris Gayle was called into the West Indies Twenty20 squad on Friday for the first time in two years as the 41-year-old eyes a place in the World Cup later this year.
Gayle, one of cricket's global superstars, was named in the 14-man squad for the three-game series against Sri Lanka which starts in Antigua on Wednesday.
The charismatic Gayle wants to help steer West Indies to a successful defence of their World Twenty20 title in India in October and November.
The Jamaican opening batsman played the last of his 58 T20 internationals against England on home turf in March 2019.
He has made 1,627 runs in the format with a highest score of 117 at an average of over 32.
"As we build towards the defence of the T20 World Cup, the opportunity is being taken to determine our best team and squad as we go forward," said chief selector Roger Harper.
"Chris Gayle has performed very well in recent tournaments and the selection panel thinks that he can still add great value to our team."
Gayle has been playing in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) but will break off to resume his international career in the three games against Sri Lanka taking place on 3, 5 and 7 March.
Also back in favour is 39-year-old fast bowler Fidel Edwards, who hasn't played for the West Indies since 2012.
Cricket West Indies (CWI) names the West Indies squads for the CG Insurance T20 International Series and CG Insurance One-Day International Series against Sri Lanka. #WIvSL
Full Squads details⬇️ https://t.co/8F1UY2fsuI pic.twitter.com/AwxKTQBuKF
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"Fidel Edwards has been selected to give the bowling the potent firepower needed," Harper added.
The three-game floodlight series will be the first T20 internationals to be played at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua.
Three ODIs will also be played in Antigua at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on 10, 12 and 14 March.
All-rounder Andre Russell is recovering from contracting COVID-19 earlier this month, and despite testing negative over a week ago has been ruled out of the T20 series.
A West Indies spokesman added that fast bowlers Sheldon Cottrell and Oshane Thomas, along with batsman Shimron Hetmyer and all-rounder Roston Chase have all failed to reach the minimum fitness standard in time to be considered for selection.
T20 squad: Kieron Pollard (captain), Nicholas Pooran (vice-captain), Fabien Allen, Dwayne Bravo, Fidel Edwards, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Evin Lewis, Obed McCoy, Rovman Powell, Lendl Simmons, Kevin Sinclair.
ODI squad: Kieron Pollard (captain), Shai Hope (vice-captain), Fabian Allen, Darren Bravo, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Evin Lewis, Kyle Mayers, Jason Mohammed, Nicholas Pooran, Romario Shepherd, Kevin Sinclair.
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London: Former England captain Michael Vaughan has slammed the BCCI for producing pitches that are not deemed good enough for Test cricket and said the more India is allowed to "get away with whatever they wish", the more "toothless" the ICC will look.
England on Thursday suffered an embarrassing 10-wicket defeat in the third Test against India on a spin-friendly Motera track to go down 1-2 in the four-match series.
The match ended inside two days with the pitch drawing flak from former players like Vaughan, though batting legend Sunil Gavaskar credited the Indian spinners rather than blaming the surface.
"The longer powerful countries like India are allowed to get away with it the more toothless the ICC will look," Vaughan wrote in the Daily Telegraph.
"The governing body are allowing India to produce whatever they wish and it is Test cricket that is getting hurt," he said.
"It is a real concern for the game that we have seen India respond to going 1-0 down by producing pitches which turn prodigiously from ball one and which they know full well will only last two or three days."
Vaughan, who has led England from 2003 to 2008, felt broadcasters asking for refunds if a match finishes too soon may help change things.
"Perhaps it will take broadcasters to ask for refunds for things to change. They accept Test finishing early because the players are not good enough but not when home boards produce such poor pitches.
"They are left with three blank days but are still having to pay for production. They will not be happy and might think twice about good money for Test rights," Vaughan said.
He called India's win "a shallow victory" but admitted that the home team is much better equipped to deal with the conditions.
"India won the third Test but it was shallow victory. In fact, there was no winners from that game at all," Vaughan started his column with these words.
He added, "Yet, India showed their skill. We are not being fair if we do not accept that their skill levels in those conditions are far better than England's.
"But the good of the game needs to be looked at and as ex-players it is our duty to call it out."
Vaughan said the pitches in the last two Tests have let the players down.
"We have to be fair and recognise that these players are battling for their careers and over the last two weeks they have been let down by the surfaces.
"How can anyone say 250 is a par first innings score in a Test and claim the pitch is good enough. Test cricket is not about accepting you need to have a bit of fortune as a batsman to score runs in the first innings.
"... If you have a World Test Championship you need to deduct points for producing surfaces that are not deemed good enough for Test cricket."
He also blamed England's rotational policy and said they deserved to be in the position they are in at the moment.
"The disregard they showed by sending Jonny Bairstow home to walk his dogs for two weeks and then go back and bat at three against Ravi Ashwin has bitten them on the backside."
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Chris Gayle and Fidel Edwards were named in the West Indies squad for the upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka
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India fast bowler Vinay Kumar took to Twitter on Friday to announce his retirement from international and first-class cricket.
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The BCCI is looking at four to five venues for conducting the next edition of the Indian Premier League with Mumbai as a single host not looking feasible anymore following a surge in COVID-19 cases in and around the city.
Earlier, there were discussions that Mumbai, with four stadiums — Wankhede, Brabourne, DY Patil and Reliance Stadium, will be a good option to create a single bio-secure bubble and hold the eight-week long tournament.
However, the COVID-19 situation in Maharashtra has worsened with a spike in COVID-19 cases.
"There is still a month left for the IPL to start but obviously some decisions need to be taken. It will be risky to have a single city IPL in Mumbai if there is steady rise in cases that's happening right now," a senior BCCI official told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
"So cities like Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Kolkata will be ready to host matches. Ahmedabad, in all likelihood, will host the play-off and final match of the IPL," he said.
The IPL is scheduled to start in the second week of April. The tournament had to be taken to the UAE last year because of the pandemic. Maharashtra is seeing a renewed surge in COVID-19 cases and recorded over 8,000 of them on Thursday.
The city of Mumbai registered over 1100 cases on the same day.
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London: England have lost their batting rhythm after playing on two difficult surfaces and looked like "startled rabbits" in the second innings of the third Test against India, according to former skipper Nasser Hussain.
Hussain said it's all about mentality now and the tourists need to find a way to draw the series, which will be a good result for them.
England on Thursday suffered a 10-wicket defeat in the third Test against India inside two days to hand India an unassailable 2-1 lead. Joe Root and his men struggled on the spin-friendly Motera pitch, managing 112 and 81 in their two innings respectively.
"Especially on this pitch, where one spins prodigiously and the other skids on, you lose all kind of rhythm. That's what successive Test matches on these sorts of pitches do for your mindset," Hussain said on 'Sky Sports Cricket Podcast'.
"England looked like startled rabbits in that second innings. I don't think it was an 81 all-out pitch but this was a much tougher pitch than Chennai."
Left-arm spinner Axar Patel, who was the destructor-in-chief, relentlessly hit the good length areas to bamboozle the England batsmen and grab a match-haul of 11 for 70.
"Axar is very accurate. He bowls stump to stump and some balls turn and some don't. Most of his wickets came from balls that didn't turn, so people will look at that and say 'why not play for those straight deliveries?' but it's the ball before.
"You could also argue that it was that pitch before in Chennai when everything spun big but it was the also the ball that spun big on Zak Crawley on day one here. Every England batsman thought 'I have to go for the spin' but most got done with the one that didn't spin," Hussain added.
The 52-year-old, who represented England in 96 Tests, feels England need to get a good score in the first innings to have a chance at winning the next Test.
"It is all about the mentality of that side now and to be fair to them a lot of the chat about the pitches and umpires has come from outside the dressing room. I have not heard a single England player say these conditions are unfair," said Hussain.
"They have to find a way and Zak Crawley's first-innings fifty was a positive. The carrot is there, 2-2 with India will not be a bad result at all.
"Although I know that is a long way away when England haven't reached 200 in five innings. They have to get a score in the first innings," he added.
Hussain feels the scheduling, that sees English players play 17 Test, a World T20 while also participating in the IPL, is ridiculous and the selectors shouldn't be blamed for implementing the rotation policy.
"The fault is not with the selectors or the players, it is with the schedule. Seventeen Tests, including part of an Ashes series, two IPLs, and a World T20 during a year in a global pandemic is ridiculous."
"You cannot cope with that as an international cricketer and the selectors are trying to do their best. So, I can't say that and then go off on one when England lose."
However, the former skipper opined that the management can pick and choose series wisely while rotating players.
"What I will say is that I have been consistent about when I would have rotated. I would have had this India series as one of my majors, if you are putting it in golfing terms, as well as the T20 World Cup, and rotated in 50-over cricket."
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India vs England: Mohammed Azharuddin weighed in on the debate on the pitch for the third Test, saying that good shot-selection and assured footwork are needed to succeed on rank turners in India.
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New Delhi: Veteran Karnataka medium pacer R Vinay Kumar, who also represented India and led his state team to successive Ranji Trophy titles, on Friday announced his retirement from international and first-class cricket.
In a statement, the 37-year-old seasoned campaigner said he has been lucky to play alongside the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virat Kohli in his career.
"Today 'Davangere Express' after running for 25 years and passing so many stations of cricketing life, has finally arrived at a station called 'Retirement'. With a lot of mixed emotions, I, Vinay Kumar R, hereby announce my retirement from international and first class cricket," he said in the statement.
"It is not an easy decision to make, however, there comes a time in every sportsperson's life where one has to call it a day," he added in the statement posted on Twitter.
Kumar played one Test, 31 ODIs and nine T20 Internationals for India.
Thankyou all for your love and support throughout my career. Today I hang up my boots. 🙏🙏❤️ #ProudIndian pic.twitter.com/ht0THqWTdP
— Vinay Kumar R (@Vinay_Kumar_R) February 26, 2021
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Chennai: Indian team has all the markings of a great side as it can not only fight it out but win against the odds in all conditions, former Australia opener Matthew Hayden said.
India had recently defeated Australia 2-1 Down Under in a four-Test series. Virat Kohli's men then took an unassailable 2-1 lead over England following the 10-wicket win in the third Test at Ahmedabad on Thursday.
"India have shown that they are a modern team who can not only fight it out but win against the odds in all conditions. This is a mark of all the great teams in history. The ability to win both at home and away," Hayden told PTI in an e-mail interaction.
The wickets in Chennai and Ahmedabad came in for sharp criticism during the second and third Test of the ongoing series.
Asked if too much was being made about the pitches especially when they were spin-friendly, Hayden said: "Provided the wickets are not unfairly groomed, reducing the game to only one type of cricket, I don't have a problem with it at all. Conditions should promote an even game.
"Teams, both home and away, tour with several options at their disposal should conditions suit different specialists. That's the modern game, different formats, different conditions and huge resources to account for the same."
Hayden, who scored 8,625 runs in 103 Tests, also had a piece of advice for England batters, who have struggled against the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel.
"Typically, the Ahmedabad wicket is not a big turning one. I would only play the sweep shot on slow turners where it is impossible to generate enough power to play shots down the ground. English batsmen should be conscious and play spin according to the conditions," he said.
"Cross-bat shots are dangerous if the ball is not turning, bringing in several modes of dismissal at the one time, LBW, bowled in particular," added Hayden, who used the sweep shot to effectively counter the Indian spinners especially during the 2001 tour.
Asked where had the Australians gone wrong in the Test series loss, Hayden said like England which failed to capitalise on the first Test win in Chennai, his country too lost momentum after the Adelaide triumph.
"England after their fantastic win in the first Test at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai they failed to capitalise in the 2nd Test match for exactly the same reason Australia lost momentum against the tourists in Oz. Failure to post a huge first innings total," said Hayden.
"England specifically reached an insurmountable total of 578 in the first innings of the first test in Chennai through great batsmanship of skipper Joe Root reaching 218.
"Conversely, Australia in Australia was unable to post match winning totals in the first innings of any Test, unable to convert starts into big totals."
Hayden, who smashed a double ton in Chennai albeit in a losing cause in the memorable 2001 Test series in India, felt South Africa's AB de Villiers was the best exponent of the sweep shot in modern day cricket.
"Very hard to go past Mr 360 AB de Villiers. Brutal player of all the sweep shot elements, reverse, slog, traditional. His power and versatility of playing to all parts of the ground with this shot wins him the title," said Hayden, who has partnered with Creative Monkey Games to launch a gaming application 'Haydos380'.
Asked if the Aussies were struggling to find new batting talent, Hayden said: "No, the Aussies are in good shape with their domestic and international playing talent options.
"What needs to happen is batsmen in particular need to understand this principle of batting, when it's your day make it a match winning day by going on and getting a big score."
The game Haydos380 will be available worldwide and is launching in April.
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Mumbai: Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen will lead the England Legends while Khaled Mahmud will captain the Bangladesh Legends in the Unacademy Road Safety World Series', starting in Raipur from 5 March.
Former cricketers Matthew Hoggard, Owais Shah, Monty Panesar, Nick Crompton are some of the other key members in the England Legends squad, a media release issued in Mumbai said.
The Bangladesh Legends squad comprises players like Nafees Iqbal, Abdur Razzaq and Mohammed Rafique among others.
The England Legends are scheduled to land in Raipur on Friday afternoon, while the Bangladesh Legends squad will reach on Saturday.
The first edition of the series, played in T20 format, had to be called off after four games on 11 March, 2020 due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Squads:
England Legends: Kevin Pietersen, Owais Shah, Philip Mustard, Monty Panesar, Nick Crompton, Kabir Al,; Sajid Mahmood, James Tredwell, Chris Schofield, Jonathan Trott, Ryan Sidebottom, Usman Afzaal, Matthew Hoggard, James Tindall.
Bangladesh Legends: Khaled Mahmud, Nafees Iqbal, Mohd Rafique, Abdur Razzaq, Khalid Mashud, Hanan Sarkar, Javed Omar, Rajin Saleh, Mehrab Hossain, Aftab Ahmed, Alamgir Kabir. MD Sharif ,Mushfiqur Rahman, Mamoon Rashid.
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Umar Akmal's ban over corruption charges from 18 months to a year, but he was slapped with a hefty fine of $26,800.
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Matthew Hoggard, Owais Shah, Monty Panesar are some of the other key members of the England Legends squad.
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India vs England: England were terrible with the bat in the 2nd Test against India and the hosts too were not very impressive in their first inning.
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India vs England: After claiming 400 Test wickets in the 3rd Test which ended in two days at Ahmedabad, Ravichandran Ashwin posted a series of tweets which left people guessing.
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Ahmedabad: It was a long wait for Axar Patel and it didn't help that everyone around him had just one question for the past three years — "Why aren't you in the Indian team?"
But Patel was unfazed as he knew, his time would come.
"I think it's all about confidence," said the 27-year-old from Anand in Gujarat who wanted to be a mechanical engineer growing up but was prodded into trying his hand at cricket by a school friend.
With his record 11 wickets in the day-night third Test against England, the left-arm spinner finally found his big moment in international cricket, seven years after he made his India debut in an ODI against Bangladesh.
Since that day, he has been in and out of the team with the spin all-rounder's spot firmly with Ravindra Jadeja.
In this series too, he made it because Jadeja was out injured. He hadn't been in the national team since 2018 and made his Test debut in the second game against England last week in Chennai.
"I have been out of the team for three years and at that time, I used to think about the areas of my game which need to be worked upon. So, I was working on my bowling and batting," he told Hardik Pandya in a bcci.tv interview, thoroughly enjoying his good time.
"When you are out of the team, many people, friends keep asking you 'why aren't you in the team despite doing well?' These things keep coming in the mind," said the bowler who has 152 wickets in 41 First-Class games at an impressive average of 25.25.
"So, I told myself 'just wait for the right time and whenever I get an opportunity I will give my 100 percent'."
Patel's foray into cricket as a 15-year-old on the persuasion of a school friend had a solid backer in his grandmother, who wanted to see him play for India but passed away before he made it.
The lanky cricketer does not forget to acknowledge the role his family has played even though a spelling mistake by his father Rajeshbhai Patel at school had led to his name becoming Axar from Akshar.
"I give all credit to my family, friends and teammates who supported me in tough times," he said.
DO NOT MISS: @hardikpandya7 interviews man of the moment @akshar2026.👍👍 - By @RajalArora
P.S.: #TeamIndia skipper @imVkohli makes a special appearance 😎@Paytm #INDvENG #PinkBallTest
Watch the full interview 🎥 👇 https://t.co/kytMdM4JzN pic.twitter.com/QLJWMkCNM5
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 26, 2021
Asked by Pandya if he finds Test cricket easy, Axar replied: "Everybody asked me that question. When it goes your way then you think it's easy but when you miss a full toss, you actually realise how easy it is."
Patel said he would aim to continue in the same manner in front of his home crowd in the fourth and final Test against England, starting here on 4 March.
"(The day-night Test) was my second Test and first in Motera. It's a special feeling to play and perform before the home crowd. My efforts would be to do the same," Patel said.
Towards the end of the light-hearted interview, India skipper Virat Kohli also made an appearance and appreciated Patel's performance in Gujarati.
"Ae Bapu taari bowling kamaal chhe! (Bapu, your bowling is wonderful!)," Kohli said.
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Former batsman Ian Bell has slammed England's much-debated rotation policy, saying they were guilty of thinking too far ahead and have gone wrong with the constant chopping and changing in a "big" Test series like India.
England fell to an embarrassing 10-wicket defeat in the third Test against India to go down 1-2 in the four-match series, while also getting knocked out of contention from the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final in June.
"I think England have been guilty of thinking too far ahead of having a squad for the Ashes when actually this is bigger than the Ashes, this is probably as big as the Ashes," Bell told 'ESPNcricinfo'.
"Why are we rotating in the biggest Test series you are playing in? For me that's where England have gone a bit wrong," he added.
The 38-year-old, who featured in 118 Tests for England, feels for the English players for whom the tours to India and Australia can make or break careers.
"These tours, certainly for Englishmen coming to India or going to Australia are the pinnacle. They make your careers, you look back and if you win in those conditions they are remembered for a long long time," Bell said.
"For me, India are going to come to England in the summer. If they are 2-0 or 1-0 up will they rotate? I know for a fact that when India come in the summer they won't be rotating their best bowlers or their best players or leave somebody out. They want to win."
Bell feels sticking to winning combinations is important while competing with the best teams in the world. He said form is subject to playing.
"In international cricket you have to be so careful between the balance of looking after your players and doing bubbles but don't look too far ahead.
"International cricket changes all the time, form comes in and out as you play. When you're playing well don't lose it or change it, winning combinations are so important to keep against the best teams in the world."
While there was a lot of discussion around the spin-friendly Motera pitch that saw tweakers dominate the proceedings in the third Test, Bell feels it was the rotation policy that made life difficult for England, who played just one spinner in Jack Leech.
"I've got a lot of sympathy for England on these pitches, but I can't help but feel we're not making it easy for ourselves by chopping and changing every Test," Bell reiterated.
Former England captain Geoffrey Boycott felt Joe Root and his men were outplayed by the hosts in the day-night Test and there was nothing wrong with the pitch.
"There is nothing in the rules that says what type of pitch should be prepared. We had first choice of the surface and they were better than us. Simple," Boycott tweeted.
There is nothing in the rules that says what type of pitch should be prepared. We had first choice of the surface and they were better than us. Simple. https://t.co/vOkBNEZgUm
— Sir Geoffrey Boycott (@GeoffreyBoycott) February 25, 2021
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India vs England: Axar Patel, off to a great start in Test cricket, spoke about how it felt being out of the India team since his T20I debut in 2018.
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Islamabad: The Court of Arbitration for Sports has reduced the ban on international cricketer Umar Akmal to 12 months and fined him Rs 4.25 million ($27,000) for breaching the Pakistan Cricket Board’s anti-corruption code.
Akmal was suspended in February 2020 for failing to report details of corrupt approaches made to him just before the start of the fifth Pakistan Super League.
The PCB’s disciplinary panel last April found Akmal guilty on two charges of separate breaches and handed him a three-year suspension — with the periods of ineligibility to run concurrently.
That ban was halved after Akmal appealed to an independent adjudicator, before both Akmal and the PCB took the matter to the CAS.
The PCB on Friday said the 30-year-old Akmal is now eligible to reintegrate into competitive cricket, subject to paying the fine, and also has to go through the rehabilitation program under the cricket board’s anti-corruption code.
Akmal has represented Pakistan in more than 200 international cricket matches, including 16 Tests.
“The PCB once again urges and reminds all participants to abide by their duty and promptly report any approaches to the anti-corruption officers and help themselves as well as the anti-corruption unit's effort to eliminate the anathema of fixing,” the PCB said in the statement.
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Berlin: Angelino has rebooted his career in the Bundesliga under Julian Nagelsmann to become RB Leipzig's top-scorer, but he says a lack of trust under Pep Guardiola "killed" his confidence at former club Manchester City.
Second-placed Leipzig host Moenchengladbach on Saturday after clawing their way back into the Bundesliga title race to trail current leaders Bayern Munich by just two points.
After striker Timo Werner left Leipzig to join Chelsea in the summer, the 24-year-old Angelino has taken over as the club's top scorer this season with eight goals and 11 assists from the flanks, either on the wing or at left-back.
"If someone believes in you so much, lets you play every week, you have to pay it back," Angelino told magazine Kicker on working under Leipzig coach Nagelsmann.
"He gave my career a huge boost. Hopefully we will work together for a long time."
Angelino produced a contender for Champions League goal of the season with a net-buster in December's 3-2 home win against Manchester United in the group stages.
He joined Leipzig from Man City in January last year and an initial 18-month loan deal became a permanent transfer a fortnight ago.
He was only 16 when he joined City's youth academy from Deportivo La Coruna, but was sent on numerous loan spells after failing to make the grade.
Angelino opted to work under Nagelsmann after failing to impress Guardiola, which he says "killed" his confidence.
"I was judged... and then I didn't get another chance," says Angelino, who rates his experience under Guardiola at City as "50:50".
"On the one hand, I learned a lot from Pep. On the other hand, I didn't play as much as I wanted."
Leipzig have won their last four league games, but their title credentials will be tested in early April at home to Bayern should they manage to keep the pace until then.
However Nagelsmann is wary of the words "title race", and said on Thursday that Bayern are "simply the best team" in Germany.
"If you want to keep up (with Bayern) for a long time, you simply can't lose any games. It's relatively simply."
Nagelsmann speaks from experience.
At the same stage of last season, Leipzig were just a point behind Bayern.
While Bayern went onto win the league, Leipzig's performances faded and they eventually finish third, 16 points behind the champions.
Bayern swept past Lazio 4-1 in Europe on Tuesday, bouncing back from last week's shock 2-1 defeat at Frankfurt and 3-3 home draw with Bielefeld in the Bundesliga.
On Saturday, Bayern host Cologne, who pulled away from the relegation places in recent weeks.
One to watch: Jamal Musiala
The Bayern teen is set to celebrate his 18th birthday on Friday by signing a five-year contract with recently-crowned club world champions.
It's been a huge week for the England Under-21 midfielder, who is set to start against Cologne.
He scored his first Champions League goal in Rome on Tuesday after replacing Thomas Mueller in Bayern's starting line-up.
Less than 24 hours later, Stuttgart-born Musiala, who grew up in London, confirmed he will switch allegiances and hopes to play for Germany's senior side.
Joachim Loew reportedly wants to pick the rising Bayern star, who he says has "huge potential", for Germany's World Cup qualifiers next month.
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