Author: Staff Reporter

India’s batting star Virat Kohli has taken a big step toward the top of the ICC ODI batting rankings after two brilliant performances in the ongoing series against South Africa. He smashed a fantastic century in the first ODI at Ranchi, and once again on December 3, he scored his 53rd ODI hundred and 84th international century in Raipur. Unfortunately, that effort went in vain as South Africa pulled off a historic chase, but one more match is still left in the series. Hence, expectations are high that Kohli could rise further in the rankings. In the first match, he…

Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh has expressed concern over Indian players giving more priority to the shorter formats of the game instead of the longer ones. PTI released a video where Harbhajan was seen interacting with the media. He said: “We are not playing well because we are not used to playing five-day Test cricket. Because they have got so much into the T20 format among the cricketers. Apart from 2-4 players, the rest do not have that much presence.” India were recently whitewashed at home by South Africa by a 2-0 margin in the Test series. After the defeat,…

India’s former captain Sunil Gavaskar has noticed how Virat Kohli’s guidance made a big difference for young players, especially Ruturaj Gaikwad, during the second ODI against South Africa in Raipur. He highlighted how Kohli’s support helped Gaikwad settle in and score his maiden century. During the post-match show on JioHotstar, Gavaskar said, “The way he and Ruturaj built that partnership was wonderful. Ruturaj’s first ball was a tough one. The bouncer surprised him, a very good delivery from Jansen. He had dismissed Jaiswal off the previous ball, so he followed it up with another sharp bouncer to Ruturaj, and he…

KL Rahul, India’s ODI captain, highlighted how the toss played a big role in the second game versus South Africa in Raipur. In summary, the dew made an impact in the second innings, helping the visiting team chase down the target of 359. In the post-match presentation, Rahul said, “Not really, given how much dew there is and how difficult it is to bowl in the second innings. I thought we did well in the last game. Today the umpires were nice to change the ball. “Toss plays a big role so l’m kicking myself. There are always things we…

South Africa pulled off a historic chase as they hunted down the 359-run target in the second ODI in Raipur. Aiden Markram was adjudged the Player of the Match for his superb 110 off 98 balls, which set the foundation for the Proteas. In the post-match presentation, he said: “I always take lessons from the previous game. We knew it is going to swing early and we took up that challenge. If had gotten off to a semi decent start then we could have chased it down. Very similar today and we learned from our mistakes. There was a conservation…

India’s star veteran batter Virat Kohli continued his great form with the bat as he notched up two back-to-back centuries in the ongoing home ODI series against South Africa. After a 135-run knock in Ranchi, he played a brilliant knock of 102 in Raipur. It was the 195-run partnership between him and Ruturaj Gaikwad that set the tone for the Men in Blue as they posted 358/5 in 50 overs. It was Kohli’s 53rd ODI ton and overall his 84th international ton. Seeing that knock, former Team India batter Virender Sehwag came up with praise on X (formerly known…

Ruturaj Gaikwad, the India batter, shared his thoughts on how he paced his innings in the second ODI against South Africa. The experienced cricketer, who failed in the opening match, cracked a sublime hundred in Raipur. During the innings break, in a conversation with the host broadcaster, Rituraj said, “Last game I was unfortunate to miss out on a knock and the conditions were perfect for me. “Today was more suitable for me because I went out to bat in the 11th over. I told myself that I try to have an approach to bat till the 25th or 30th…

South Africa’s former player Jacques Kallis believes that the Indian Premier League (IPL) has played a huge role in shaping the future of T20 cricket not only in India but also in South Africa. In a recent interaction with the Indian media during the SA20 felicitation ceremony, Kallis spoke about how Graeme Smith has used the IPL as an inspirational model to build the SA20 league. Kallis explained, “I think Graeme Smith learnt a lot from the IPL after spending so much time with those guys and wanted to stage a league as close to the IPL as possible. The…

Former England all-rounder Moeen Ali believes that the Indian team is not going through a transitional phase. Speaking to NDTV, Moeen said that India have top-level players in their squad. “I don’t know, it’s tough because India expects to win in India all the time. It’s not just the news of this series, it’s the news of the New Zealand series. I know he’s (Gambhir) saying it’s a rebuild, but it’s not really a rebuild. These guys are top players, one of the top top players.” Recently, South Africa whitewashed India 2-0 in a Test series at their home. With…

South Africa great Jacques Kallis has backed the idea of playing more all-rounders in any team, especially in the shorter format of the game. Kallis told Hindustan Times that playing more all-rounders gives a perfect balance to a team and makes the batting order longer, which helps batters play with a fearless approach. “Yes, 100 per cent. It just gives you a balance to your team. It makes you bat a lot deeper, and you know, it allows you, perhaps you do have a longer batting order with your all-rounders to go a little bit harder up front and…