Sports
Have to take the team forward from where Virat’s left it: Rohit
India captain Rohit Sharma has credited his predecessor, Virat Kohli, for the success of the Test team in recent times and believes that the side hasn’t done “anything wrong in the last two-three years”. He’s looking forward to the challenges of Test captaincy and wants to pick up the threads from where Kohli left it.
“As a Test team at the moment, we stand in a very good position. If you look at the last five years of our Test cricket, the whole credit goes to Virat himself to get us going in this particular format,” Rohit said ahead of India’s opening Test against Sri Lanka in Mohali.
“You know what he’s done with the Test team over the years was brilliant to see. For me, I have to honestly just take it from where he’s left. The team stands in a very good position. Of course, we are somewhere midway in the World Test Championship table, but honestly, I don’t see that we’ve done anything wrong in the last two or three years of Test cricket. Of course, we want to improve as a team, every game that we play, and that is always going to be the benchmark that we’re going to set for ourselves moving forward. We’re looking forward to correct all our mistakes that we made in the past. No team I believe is perfect. You always try and improve every game. So that will be the sole purpose of us moving forward in the right direction.”
This will be Rohit’s first match as India Test captain and as excited as he is for this new challenge, he’s hoping to do right by the players and ensure that the team is focused on the present and not looking too far ahead.
“Honestly, I’m looking forward to just win games as much as possible and do the right things with the right players in the squad. That is the whole point,” Rohit said. “It’s a completely different ballgame – limited-overs and Test cricket. But my philosophy of captaincy will remain the same. I wouldn’t go away from that. And that is just staying in the present, understanding the situation that the team is in and what is the right call to make at that particular time. I’ll be thinking about all those things. It’s five-day cricket, so obviously things will change every day. So you have to do a lot of analyzing about how the first day went, what you need to do on day two, day three, and thereon. So I think a lot of things depend on how we react to a particular situation and then whatever planning or whatever strategy that we need to create, we will create that. That has been my philosophy, not to think too far ahead.
“It’s important to stay and think one thing at a time and not go too far ahead. Like we all know, it’s a different format, Test cricket and limited-overs. So there is no comparison there. It will be a challenge of course, it’s the first time I’m leading in red-ball cricket for India. I’ve captained a few games in Ranji Trophy but again, a whole lot of different challenge it is when you’re captaining the test team. But it’s something I’m really looking forward to. it’s going to be very exciting. And I really can’t wait.”
India are also in a tight spot in the WTC points table and have an uphill task at hand if they are to make the finals for the second time in a row.
“It’s gonna be a challenging one, no doubt about that. it’s going to be important that those nine Test matches that we’re going to play, I feel like we have to win almost every game. There will be a lot of pressure. But I think that is where you know you will build a lot of character as a team. You will see some of the champion cricketers coming out from these situations and that’s my belief; you thrive under pressure and you turn out to be a solid cricketer for the future.”
Rohit also spoke about the void left by Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, both of whom have been dropped for his series, and was excited to see how the likes of Hanuma Vihari, Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill fare. Rohit said that these players have been “waiting for a while” and he is looking forward to giving these guys a long run.
“Mayank, Shubman, Vihari, all these guys are brilliant. They are the future of Indian cricket. You know, and I think they need to be given a solid run for them to excel in this particular format. It’s important for us to do that and it will start from the management to show enough support, enough backing.
“Wherever there are changes in the squad, it’s always a fresh start for the guys who are coming in and it’s never easy. But those guys who are going to replace these two guys, Pujara and Rahane, have done exceedingly well whenever they’ve gotten an opportunity, whether it’s first-class cricket back home, or the India A tours or the limited opportunities that they’ve got playing Test cricket. I think we need to just back these guys to come good for us. You know, at times, you always need to look forward and I think those guys have been waiting for a while now. So hopefully, if they get an opportunity, they can turn things around for us. And it’s just not about one or two games but I’m looking at a number of years for them playing for India and doing well for us.”
Glad that the crowds have been allowed for the Test, which will also be Kohli’s 100th, Rohit harked back to his most favourite memories of his colleague.
“As a team, my favourite memory is the series which we won in Australia in 2018. It was a great series and Virat was the captain,” Rohit reminisced. “As an individual, my best memory of him is his Test hundred in South Africa in 2013. The pitch we were playing on was very challenging, it had a lot of bounce and a lot of us were playing a Test in South Africa for the first time. To then face Steyn, Morkel, Philander and Kallis… it was never going to be easy but the way Virat batted in that match, scoring hundred in the first innings and 90 odd in the second, was sensational. It was one of his best knocks. He had made a hundred in Perth in 2018 too but I think the one in South Africa beats that.”
The first truly heavyweight clash of this expanded T20 World Cup format comes freighted with both history and subplots. A rematch of the 2010 World T20 final at Kensington Oval, the match pits Jos Buttler’s defending champions – who are aiming to become the first team to retain the trophy – against the Australian winning machine, victors at the 2021 edition and current world title-holders in Test and ODI cricket. And that’s before you throw in the Ashes for afters.
Already there is added pressure on England, after the rain in Bridgetown led to a share of the points in their opener against Scotland (and that having conceded 90 runs from 10 overs without taking a wicket in a tepid bowling display). Lose to their oldest rivals and it will leave their Super 8 prospects open to being waylaid by the perils of net run-rate calculations, or worse.
The Scotland match was the third abandonment in five suffered by England, after a rain-affected home series against Pakistan, which has clearly hampered their readiness for this campaign after almost six months without playing T20 together. It does not take much for a side to click in this format – and England looked in decent shape when they did get on the field against Pakistan – but Buttler will be anxious for things to go their way on Saturday, if only to avoid further questions referencing the team’s disastrous ODI World Cup defence last year.
Australia, under the laidback leadership of Mitchell Marsh would love nothing more than to add to the English sense of jeopardy – having helped bundle them out of the tournament in India on the way to taking the crown. Their head to head record is less impressive in T20 however, with England having won six of the last seven completed encounters, as well as that 2010 final.
Despite a wobble with the bat, Australia avoided mishap against Oman earlier in the week, the experience of David Warner and Marcus Stoinis shining through in difficult batting conditions. Surfaces in the Caribbean – not to mention those games staged in the USA – have already had teams scratching their heads; rather than the “slug-fest” England had prepared for, following a high-scoring tour of the Caribbean in December, it looks as if boxing smart may be the way to go.
Speaking of Warner, this could be the last time he faces up against England in national colours – and another match-winning contribution would likely reduce the chances of them meeting again in the knockouts. On the other side of the card is Jofra Archer, fresh from an emotional maiden outing at Kensington Oval and ready to take on Australia for the first time in any format since 2020. Can Mark Wood fire up England’s campaign, as he did during last summer’s Ashes? Will Pat Cummins be back to harass the old enemy once again? Seconds out, it’s almost time to rumble.
Cummins is set to return after being rested for the Oman game, which saw Mitchell Starc leave the field with cramp. Starc is understood to be fine and could keep his place – which would likely see Nathan Ellis miss out. Marsh is still not fit to bowl, with Australia likely to continue with the allrounder combination of Stoinis and Maxwell to give them cover.
Australia (probable XI): David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (capt), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglis (wk), Tim David, Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis/Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
The one change England may consider is Reece Topley coming in for Wood, with the expectation that there will be some rotation among the seamers through the course of the tournament.
England (probable XI): Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (capt & wk), Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley/Mark Wood
[Cricinfo]
Once is coincidence, twice is a clue, and three times is proof.
To paraphrase Agatha Christie, that is the narrative around South Africa’s meeting with Netherlands at this T20 World Cup.
The Dutch beat South Africa at the 2022 tournament and ended their semi-final hopes in a match where South Africa appeared to be sleep walking, and then beat them again at the 2023 ODI World Cup, where they exposed South Africa’s vulnerability in the chase. If they to do the treble, not only will Netherlands take the lead in Group D, but they will offer conclusive evidence of the threat they pose to Full Members, especially South Africa.
Of course, it will take some doing after South Africa’s opening performance against Sri Lanka, where they reduced their opposition to their lowest T20I total and chased it down in fairly straightforward fashion thanks to the most stable middle-order of their white-ball era. In Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller, South Africa have bankers and big-hitters and, for this match, they also have the advantage of experience. They’ve already played at Eisenhower Park, and have first-hand knowledge that run-scoring doesn’t come easily;Klassen said they are prepared to use their “cricket brains” and play “smarter cricket”.
But the conditions could be good news for Netherlands, who are not naturally a line-up of big hitters and build their innings on a foundation of turning ones into twos. In other words, they tend to take a slightly more conservative approach to batting, which may work well here, but they’ll be wary of the uneven bounce of the surface and will have to come up with plans to counterattack especially against South Africa’s seamers. Their own bowlers were exemplary in Dallas and will look to build on that performance against a line-up that will likely be more proactive than Nepal’s, but who they have managed to keep quiet not once, but twice in the past. Third time’s the charm, they say.
Anrich Nortje’s stunning return to form against Sri Lanka means South Africa may not have to tinker with the bowling combination, and Gerald Coetzee and Tabraiz Shamsi may have to wait their turns to get a game. The batting line-up should be unchanged, with no space for Ryan Rickelton yet.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markam, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Ottneil Baartman, Anrich Nortje
Conditions in New York may tempt Netherlands to include an extra seamer and they have Kyle Klein in their squad. But it could come at the expense of a shortened batting line-up and they may not want to risk that.
Netherlands: Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Scott Edwards (capt, wk), Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Logan van Beek, Tim Pringle, Paul van Meekeren, Vivian Kingma
[Cricinfo]
Nuwan Thushara’s last over brought Sri Lanka screaming back into the match,as he first bowled Rishad Hossain, and then nailed Taskin Ahmed in front of the stumps with a pinpoint swinging yorker. This left Bangladesh eight wickets down, with 12 runs still to get.
However, the experienced Mahmudullah was at the crease for Bangladesh, and despite some further nervy moments, pushed Bangladesh across the line off the last ball of the 19th over.
But this was a match chiefly decided by Bangladesh’s own outstanding bowling. Mustafizur Rahman was the best among them, using shorter lengths and his cutters efficiently, to claim figures of 3 for 17. Rishad Hossain’s three-for through the middle overs also kept Sri Lanka quiet.
Mustafizur was instrumental in Sri Lanka’s downward spiral through the middle overs, which culminated in a crash-and-burn end. Ultimately, their inability to find boundaries, or even rotate strike against good Bangladesh bowling resulted in their downfall. A score of 125 for 9 always seemed poor on a decent pitch, even if their bowlers made a match of it in the end.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 125 for 8 in 19 overs (Towhid Hridoy 40, Litton Das 36; Dhanajaya de Silva 1-11, Nuwan Thushara 4-18, Wanidu Hasaranga 2-32, Matheesha Pathirana 1-27) beat Sri Lanka124 for 9 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 47, Dhananjaya de Silva 21; Tanzim Hasan Sakib 1-24, Taskin Ahmed 2-25, Mustafizur Rahman 3-17, Rishad Hossain 3-22) by two wickets
[Cricinfo]
US sports envoys to Lanka to champion youth development
Rahuman questions sudden cancellation of leave of CEB employees
