Category: SPORTS

Pune, Jan 1 (DIN NEWS) “What has been your vision for tennis in last 30 years,” Somdev Devavarman asked the All India Tennis Association after pulling out of the planned Centre of Excellence in New Delhi due to a drastic budget cut. Former India player Somdev was supposed to head the Centre of Excellence. The Sports Ministry and AITA had agreed to invest Rs 20 crore to establish the Centre, on the lines of the Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad, but eventually the budget was brought down to Rs 10 crore.…

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It turned out to be a glorious 2018 for India captain Virat Kohli and South Africa fast bowler Kagiso Rabada as both maintained their respective pole positions in the year-end ICC Test Player Rankings. Kohli dropped three points despite a first innings score of 82 in the third Test against Australia in Melbourne, but still enjoys a 34-point lead over nearest rival Kane Williamson of New Zealand. Kohli, who attained a career-high 937 points during the year, which is the highest ever by an India batsman, scored 1322 runs in all. He…

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India took giant strides towards winning their first ever series on Australian soil in seven decades by retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a comprehensive 137-run win in the third Test on Sunday.Taking an unassailable 2-1 lead in the four-match series, India will retain the coveted trophy even if the series is drawn level at Sydney as they have won the previous series at home in 2017.It took only 27 balls on the fifth day afternoon as Jasprit Bumrah (3/53) and Ishant Sharma (2/40) completed the formalities in what turned out…

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India’s bowling coach Bharat Arun Saturday said that Jasprit Bumrah’s unconventional bowling action has made him one of the most lethal pacers in world cricket as his deliveries are difficult to be picked by opposition batsmen.Bumrah, who has so far taken eight wickets in the third Test against Australia here, has 47 Test wickets to his kitty after making his debut in January.”What makes him (Bumrah) so special is because he is so unique (in his bowling action). Maybe the batsmen pick up his balls a little later than which…

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Bundled out for a paltry 151 in the first innings, pacer Pat Cummins on Friday said Australian batsmen need to learn a lot from India captain Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara on how to pace their knocks on this MCG pitch.Pujara and Kohli had put on 170 runs in the first innings to help India declare at a mammoth 443 for seven and Cummins said the Australian batsmen need to take a cue from the visiting duo’s temperament.”It was obviously not ideal. We turned up thinking of a good first…

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The redoubtable Cheteshwar Pujara produced yet another classy hundred and combined with captain Virat Kohli (82) to put India in command on the second day of the third Test against Australia here Thursday.The scoring rate was a shade better than the overnight effort, which fetched them 215/2, and India declared at 443/7 before Australia responded with 8/0 in six overs. Pujara was the dominant figure with his second century of the series, a dogged but faultless 106 off 319 balls, which ensured that India consolidated the good start. It was though…

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Former Test cricketers Mitchell Johnson and Michael Vaughan have slammed the ICC for giving an ‘average’ rating to the Perth Stadium pitch, which hosted India’s second Test against Australia.Match referee Ranjan Madugalle on Friday rated the pitch at Perth Stadium as ‘average’, the lowest pass mark provided by the ICC when they assess the pitch and outfield of Test grounds. Australia had defeated India by 146 runs on the fifth and final day of the second Test at the Perth Stadium. “Nothing wrong with it. It was exciting to watch…

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Rahul Dravid had the “best seat” in the house when VVS Laxman scored his epic 281 against Australia at the Eden Gardens, an innings that the former captain termed as the “greatest innings by an Indian”.”Without a doubt, I think, the 281 was probably one of the most significant and greatest innings played by an Indian cricketer, in terms of the context, the consequence, the innings was played in, Dravid said at the launch of Laxman’s autobiography “281 and Beyond” late Thursday evening here.”I really had the best seat in…

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Skipper Virat Kohli Tuesday said the thought of having a spinner for the second Test against Australia never crossed his mind as he believed India’s four-pronged pace attack would do the job.India lost the match by 146 runs.The visitors were outdone by a second successive eight-wicket haul by off-spinner Nathan Lyon, who was adjudged the man-of-the-match, on a pitch that favoured the seamers. “When we looked at the pitch, we didn’t think about the (Ravindra) Jadeja option. We thought four quicks would be enough,” said Kohli after India were bowled…

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Australia were on course for a series-levelling win in the second Test after another below-par batting performance from India undid the good work done by their bowlers on day four here on Monday. Chasing 287 on a testing surface, India were 112 for five at stumps with skipper Virat Kohli’s (17) dismissal in the 20th over of the second innings dealing a massive blow to the away team’s hopes. The last specialist pair of Hanuma Vihari (24) and Rishabh Pant (9) were in the middle when stumps were drawn and they will…

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