KOHLI HITS ONE HUNDRED

The stand-in captain of the Indian cricket team, Virat Kohli, scored yet another century in the first ODI match against Zimbabwe and guided India to a comfortable 6-wicket victory.

It was Kohli’s 15th ODI ton. He is the quickest in the world to reach that milestone. He has done that in just 108 games.

It was a seaming pitch at Harare and batting was not that easy. India had to hunt down a target of 229 runs and they lost both their openers cheaply.

But, Kohli as usual showed fantastic composure and put up a partnership of 159 runs with the debutant Ambati Rayudu for the 3rd wicket to take India close to the target.

Although, Kohli got dismissed after completing his century but, before that, he had put the match beyond Zimbabwe’s reach.

Rayudu and Dinesh Karthik saw India home quite comfortably after that.

Talking to the reporters in the post match press conference, Kohli said, “It’s fantastic to start the tour on a winning note. It was not easy at the start as the ball was moving around. It was important to survive that tough period and we managed to do that.”

“I would like to congratulate Ambati Rayudu for having a great debut match. He waited for quite a few years to make it to the Indian team and when he got his chance today, he grabbed it with both hands.”

Rayudu scored a half century and ended up being not out on 63 runs. He faced 84 deliveries and hit 4 fours.

When asked about the performance of the bowlers, Kohli said, “I think they did a fine job. They hit great areas and didn’t let the Zimbabwe openers get off to a quick start.”

India had gone into his match with a young bowling attack as the frontline bowlers have been rested for this series.

BAILEY RUES CLARKE BLOW

The vice captain of the Australian cricket team, George Bailey, has said that Michael Clarke’s injury is a big blow for his team before their first match in the ongoing Champions Trophy against England.

In the absence of Clarke, It’s Bailey who will captain the team.

Talking to the reporters in the press conference ahead of the match, Bailey said, “Michael is a great player and to lose such a player before a crunch game like this is definitely a big blow. We were expecting him to get fit for this game, but, unfortunately, that didn’t happen.”

In Clarke’s absence, Australia’s batting order looks fragile. Apart from Shane Watson at the top of the order, the other batsmen don’t have that much experience of playing in English conditions. Clarke’s presence in that middle order would have made a lot of difference.

The weakness of the Aussie batsmen against the moving ball had got exposed in their last warm up game against India. They didn’t look prepared at all to handle that kind of bowling.

The English bowlers particularly James Anderson and Stuart Broad have mastered the art of moving the ball both ways and they will be massive threats for Australia upfront.

However, according to Bailey, his players have put that collapse against India out of their minds and they will be going into Saturday’s game with a fresh mind.

The Australian skipper said, “It was obviously disappointing to get all out on just 60 odd runs, but, we need to move on. It will be a new game tomorrow and both the teams will begin on naught.”

When asked which side is the favourite in this tournament, Bailey said, “I think there is not much difference between the sides as far as the talent is concerned. All the sides are looking good at the moment. So, it’s hard to say which team is the favourite.”

LARA BACKS SAMMY

Brian Lara has said that Darren Sammy may not be the most talented cricketer in the West Indies team, but, his passion for cricket makes him a special player and a team man.

Darren Sammy has been captaining the West Indies team in all the three formats of the game since the last 2 and half years and the team has produced decent results during his tenure as captain.

Last year, West Indies won an ICC event after 33 long years when they won the World T20 Championship by defeating Sri Lanka in the final match.

However, after that tournament, the performance of West Indies dipped down a bit and they lost ODI series against Bangladesh and Australia.

Because of West Indies’ defeat in those two series, Sammy has faced a bit of criticism.

When asked if Sammy is the right man to lead the West Indies team at this point of time, Lara said, “Yes, I think he needs to be given a few more chances. I think he has led the team quite well in the last couple of years.”

“The captain alone can’t be blamed for poor performances. The whole team is responsible for what happened in Bangladesh and Australia. We were not consistent with the bat and thus, we lost.”

When asked how talented Sammy is as a cricketer, Lara said, “Look, he might not have got as much talent as some of the other guys in the West Indies team have got, but, his passion for cricket is amazing. You can expect him to give 100% whenever he walks out there.”

Sammy’s record as a player is not that impressive and many experts think that he doesn’t deserve to be in the team. He is in the team as an all rounder, but, he averages only 21 with the bat in both tests and ODIs. His bowling average in tests is over 34, while, in ODIs, it’s over 42.

DHONI DOESN’T LISTEN

MS Dhoni has said that he never gets to know what other people are saying about him because he never reads newspapers or watch television.

Dhoni was criticized by a lot of former players and experts after India’s defeat in the test series against England. But, the Indian skipper has given a strong answer to the critics by scoring a sublime double hundred in the first test match against Australia. The Indian team won that match with ease by 8 wickets.

In the post match press conference, when Dhoni was asked if the criticism disturbs him, he said, “Not at all because I never try to know what the people are saying about me. I keep myself away from the newspaper and television.”

When asked what he did special in this inning, Dhoni said, “Nothing. I played the same way. The balls which I felt were there to be hit, I hit them. I always do the same. Sometimes, it comes off, sometimes, it doesn’t.”

When asked about the overall performance of the team, the Indian skipper said, “It was undoubtedly a fine performance by the boys. The wicket was very good to bat on for the first couple of days. So, we did a good job by stopping them on 380 in the first innings. Then, it was important to get a lead of over 150 so that we wouldn’t have to chase much in the fourth innings and we did that.”

“The ball started turning square on the fourth day. So, it was tough work for the Australian batsmen in the second innings.”

“We have started well, but, we shouldn’t get complacent.  The Aussies can bounce back hard.”

The second test match of the series will start from Saturday at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad.

T20 IS DANGEROUS

Brian Lara has said that the rapidly increasing popularity of T20 cricket is not dangerous for test cricket.

Lara was talking to the reporters after the opening ceremony of Bangladesh Premier League. Lara is the ambassador of that league.

When asked if the increasing popularity of T20s is affecting the test cricket adversely, Lara said, “No, I don’t think so. I know people like watching T20s more than test matches, but, it doesn’t mean that test matches will not survive.”

“Many people still like watching test matches. In 2011, when India had visited England, the stadiums were completely filled in all the four test matches. Also, during the Ashes series in 2010-11, the stadiums were jam packed.”

“I think if we have to draw people towards the stadium to watch test matches, we need to prepare result oriented pitches. The pitches that were used in the recently played test series between West Indies and Bangladesh are not going to pull the crowd in. They were just dead pitches.”

When asked if the technique of a batsman gets affected if he plays too many T20 matches, Lara said, “It’s also a wrong perception. You look at batsmen like Chris Gayle, David Warner and Virender Sehwag. They play a lot of T20 cricket, but, they are very good test match players as well.”

“Somebody like Chris Gayle can easily score 200 runs in one day in the test matches and that is what the spectators come to watch. They want to see aggressive cricket even in test matches.”

When asked about the performance of the West Indies team on the Bangladesh tour towards the end of last year, Lara said, “They did a fine job in test matches. To win both the test matches on those flat decks was really incredible. But, they should have done better in the ODIs.”

PANESAR LEFT OUT

Monty Panesar has not been included in the England XI for the first test match against India at Ahmedabad and many former cricketers are questioning this decision of the England team management.

The England captain and coach thought that the Motera pitch was going to be helpful for the seam bowlers, but, the pitch has turned out to be a square turner. The ball has been turning from the very first day and the only spinner that England went with, Graeme Swann, took five wickets in the first innings. The Indian spinners are also getting the same kind of purchase from the pitch and they took eight wickets together in England’s first innings.

The former Indian captain, Sourav Ganguly, said, “I am very surprised that Monty has not been included in the XI. The pitch was looking completely dry and anyone could tell that it was going to assist the spin bowlers. Monty is a quality spin bowler and you got to give him a playing chance on these kinds of pitches. It’s absolutely bizarre that he has been kept out.”

“Tim Bresnan is a decent bowler, but, I don’t think he is going to create too many troubles for the Indian batsmen on these pitches. And, you look at the speed with which he has bowled in the first innings. He was bowling in the mid 120s. If he is going to bowl like this, there is no point including him in the XI.

Another former Indian captain, Ravi Shastri, agreed to what Ganguly said. Shastri said, “I completely agree with Sourav on this topic. Monty’s presence was necessary. His presence would have helped Swann as well. If Monty had played, Pressure would have applied from both the ends which might have resulted in a few more wickets.”