England's continuation of winning every session stretched into the fourth day with India struggling to save the third Test at the Ageas Bowl. For India, though, there was scant change in fortunes from day three: like in the first innings, India went into stumps in a precarious situation, well set batsmen failed to push on and <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/moeen-ali/3001/3153">Moeen Ali</a> had two wickets. India needed to bat out 90 overs with the 445-run target seemingly out of reach after closing the day on 112 for 4, 333 behind. 
 
While India's frontline bowlers struggled to contain the England batsmen in the second innings, it only needed England's part-timers to inflict most damage. Three out of India's top four were victims of Moeen and <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/joe-root/3001/73004">Joe Root</a>, while the fourth was run out. Lapses of concentration were India's biggest bane in a game their batsmen needed large reserves of. <keyword id="51784" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Ajinkya-Rahane">Ajinkya Rahane</keyword> (18*) and Rohit Sharma (6*) played out the rest of the day but another 90 overs remain. 
 Like the last three days, England continued to dominate while India continued to play catch up. Twenty-five balls was all it took for England's bowlers to wrap up India's innings for 330, and despite the visitors falling short of the follow-on target by 39 runs, <keyword id="9234" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Alastair-Cook">Alastair Cook</keyword> led his team out to bat for a second time, 239 ahead. 
 A rapid second essay, powered by <keyword id="1411" type="POSITION" weightage="40" keywordseo="captain">captain</keyword> Cook's 70* and Joe Root's 41-ball 56 prompted England's second declaration of the match on 205 for 4, setting India a target of 445. England scored at over five runs an over, giving themselves little over four sessions to bowl India out defending a total that has never been chased before. 
 
In reply, India looked rather settled as Murali Vijay and <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/shikhar-dhawan/4001/28004">Shikhar Dhawan</a> began well. India's openers haven't put on 50 in an away Test since <keyword id="13839" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Gautam-Gambhir">Gautam Gambhir</keyword> and Abhinav Mukund three years ago, and the trend continued as Vijay ran himself out. Dhawan set off for a quick single and Stuart Broad's underarm throw hit the stumps directly to find Vijay inches short for 12. 
 Cheteshwar Pujara hadn't converted any of his previous starts, and the introduction of Moeen into the attack didn't allow him one this time, his loose drive taking an edge which Chris Jordan brilliantly hung on to at first slip. Another 50-run partnership followed, this time between Dhawan and <keyword id="6354486" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Virat-Kohli">Virat Kohli</keyword>, but the curse of the part-time spinner continued to lurk and both fell to similar dismissals. Dhawan was drawn into a drive on 37 that found the outside edge of his bat, while Kohli nicked behind to Jos Buttler for 28. 
 England needed quick runs on the board after choosing not to enforce the follow-on, but Sam Robson was out early to <keyword id="479464" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Bhuvneshwar-Kumar">Bhuvneshwar Kumar</keyword> for 13 as Dhawan held on to a catch at first slip, but Dhoni's decision to bring on the part-time spinners indicated resignation as the hosts ran away with the advantage. 
 Gary Ballance was unfortunate as the umpire adjudged him caught at short leg to <keyword id="6359948" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Ravindra-Jadeja">Ravindra Jadeja</keyword> for 38, even though replays suggested otherwise. England resisted the temptation to promote Jos Buttler up the order to boost the scoring rate, but Ian Bell (23, 21b, 4x4) and Root ensured they kept the momentum during the second session. Bell was bowled round his stumps as Jadeja got one to turn in from the rough and Root suffered the same fate, but his sixth Test half-century had meant England had opened up a 444-run lead, enough to sound the declaration. 
 
<a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/james-anderson/3001/3040">James Anderson's</a> short ball ploy had earlier resulted in the wickets of overnight batsmen MS Dhoni and Mohammed Shami as he finished with 5 for 53 on his 32nd birthday, his 16th five-wicket haul in Test cricket and third against India as they made short work of India's first innings. While Dhoni was out fending an Anderson short ball without adding to his overnight 50, Mohammed Shami's dismissal was a mirror image of Cheteshwar Pujara's wicket on the third day, and India could only add seven more runs to their total. 
 
India's bowlers came out hoping they didn't let England get away with too many, they found little help from either the surface or the bowlers. After Robson's wicket, Bhuvneshwar was caned for 59 from his 10 overs while Shami bowled just four, sounding alarms over his place in the fourth Test.

England Sense Win As India Falter Against Spin

He has been the cynosure of all eyes ever since his savage assault on Kings XI Punjab yielded him 87 runs off just 25 balls. And although Chennai Super Kings lost the second Qualifier, Suresh Raina gave a timely reminder of exactly what he is capable of. Come June 15, Raina will yet again be keen to prove that his consistency is not just confined to the Indian Premier League and that he still remains one of India's best bets in the middle order. 
 With an international cricket career spanning almost eight years, Raina has been through several peaks and valleys. However, his biggest setback came when he was dropped from India's ODI set-up just before the Asia Cup in March following a string of below-par performances in the previous nine months. He managed just one half-century (that too against a poor <keyword id="41570" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Zimbabwe">Zimbabwe</keyword> side) in his previous 20-odd ODI innings for an average under 26. His last four series have fetched him just 291 runs from 15 innings against Australia, West Indies, South Africa and New Zealand with the short ball repeatedly doing him in. 
 In his absence, India struggled in the Asia Cup, winning only against Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Raina's exploits in the World Twenty20 a month later in Bangladesh saw him batting in a entirely different zone. He used the warm-up games to get back into the feel of things with an unbeaten 54 against England and carried it into the Super 10s with 63 runs in four innings. Then came the <keyword id="6354312" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="IPL">IPL</keyword>, where the Uttar Pradesh batsman once again went past 400 runs to earn himself a ticket to Bangladesh, where he gets to <keyword id="1411" type="POSITION" weightage="40" keywordseo="captain">captain</keyword> the side in the absence of MS Dhoni. 
 Now that Raina is back in the squad, he has a stiff task at hand. Moreover, the absence of <keyword id="17805" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Shikhar-Dhawan">Shikhar Dhawan</keyword>, <keyword id="6354486" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Virat-Kohli">Virat Kohli</keyword>, Rohit Sharma, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Shami means he is the senior-most player in the side who has his own captaincy record standing against him. Raina has led in nine ODIs previously, out of which India have lost five - two of which came against Zimbabwe in a tri-series including Sri Lanka in 2010. Back then too, Raina was handed a relatively lesser experienced side. 
 
If one is to examine Raina's graph, his batting has taken a hit during captaincy. In his first series against West Indies in 2011, he averaged a shade over 20 and in the tri-series it was 27.66. He is yet to register a half-century in nine innings with a best of 43 and this is a perfect platform for the 27-year-old to prove his mettle as a leader. A lot will depend on how and where he bats. With an inexperienced line-up in picture, India would want its batting to revolve around him in order to provide resilience and if required, finish the game off for the side. 
 
One thing that is sure to help Raina is the fact that he is coming off another sublime IPL season. He had 523 runs from 16 games at 40.23 with five fifties, becoming the only batsman to score in excess of 400 runs in every edition of the tournament. India can also take heart from the fact that his pep talk with former India captain Sourav Ganguly has helped him deal with chest-high deliveries better. Raina looked fairly at ease in the World T20 and the IPL. 
 The equation in Bangladesh might sound more simple than it actually is. And in such circumstances, where Bangladesh will look forward to pulling off their biggest ever series win against the current ODI world champions, Raina's role becomes all the more crucial. His biggest challenge will be to decide the batting order which is relatively weakened with the exclusions of big names. Cheteshwar Pujara has played two ODIs in Zimbabwe - one was a fourth-ball duck and the other was an awkward 24-ball 13. With Ajinkya Rahane and <keyword id="6405247" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Robin-Uthappa">Robin Uthappa</keyword> likely to open the innings, Raina would fancy batting Pujara at No.3 with the rest to follow. 
 Rahane has 687 runs from 27 games, Uthappa 786 from 38, Ambati Rayadu 243 from 10 and the recalled <keyword id="13829" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Manoj-Tiwary">Manoj Tiwary</keyword> 251 from eight games. Apart from this, Wriddhiman Saha and Stuart Binny have batted just once for India in ODIs and Kedar Jadhav and Parvez Rasool haven't played yet. All this is far from an ideal scenario for Raina to mark his comeback into the 50-over fray. His bowling unit looks fragile too hence, a lot would be expected of Mohit Sharma (23 wickets from 16 games) and Umesh Yadav (11 wickets in 12 matches) based on successful IPL 7 stints. Amit Mishra too needs to come good and repeat his World T20 heroics. 
 
The task as hand is not as easy as it seems for the free-flowing left-handed batsman. A tour of England is around the corner and a good outing against Bangladesh could do Raina's confidence a world of good. Based on current form, Raina's place in the side seems safe at the moment but with the World Cup 2015 being the big picture, he surely is aware of the many capped and uncapped players that are waiting in the wings.

Raina's India Comeback Not As Easy As It Seems

<ul><li>Gautam Gambhir has pledged ₹2 crore from his MPLAD funds and 2 years of his salary to PM Cares Fund.</li><li>While legends like Sachin and Ganguly have announced donations already, current stars like MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah haven’t made any announcements so far.</li><li>Various cricket associations, including the BCCI have donated over ₹50 crore and offered their infrastructure to be used as temporary quarantine facilities.</li></ul><keyword id="12697" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-cricketers">Indian cricketers</keyword> have come forward to help the government in its fight against the <keyword id="8829783" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="coronavirus-pandemic">Coronavirus pandemic</keyword>. While many cricketers have donated to central and state government funds, some cricket associations offered their grounds to be used as quarantine facilities. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is leading the Indian cricketing fraternity with a donation of ₹51 crore to the PM-CARES fund. Surprisingly, big stars like MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya are missing from the list at the moment. Gautam Gambhir – ₹2 crore + 2 year's salary <div type="twitter" handle="GautamGambhir" handlename="Gautam Gambhir" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1153290327760916482/EgC_eJ6U_normal.jpg" favoritecount="26917" retweetcount="2587" status="It is time that all resources of the country be directed towards fighting COVID-19. Have released INR 1 Crore from… https://t.co/sbWiPZ42os" createdat="1585418980000" id="1243963481461669889"></div> Former Indian cricketer turned politician Gautam Gambhir has pledged ₹1 crore from his MP LAD fund (Local Area Development) to the Delhi government. Gambhir also pledged an additional ₹1 crore from his MP LAD fund and one month’s salary towards the Central Relief Fund. Gautam Gambhir has now pledged 2 years of his salary to the PM Cares Fund. <div type="twitter" handle="GautamGambhir" handlename="Gautam Gambhir" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1153290327760916482/EgC_eJ6U_normal.jpg" favoritecount="9106" retweetcount="1692" status="People ask what can their country do for them. The real question is what can you do for your country?I am donatin… https://t.co/bVPWaWcjxz" createdat="1585804891000" id="1245582109734866946"></div> Mithali Raj - ₹10 lakh Mithali Raj, the India womens team's ODI captain has donated ₹10 lakh to help fight the <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="coronavirus">Coronavirus</keyword> pandemic. She has donated ₹5 lakh to the PM Cares Fund and ₹5 lakh to the Telangana Chief Minister's Relief Fund. <div type="twitter" handle="M_Raj03" handlename="Mithali Raj" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/923503085502177280/7rik-4_3_normal.jpg" favoritecount="3982" retweetcount="509" status="All of us need to join hands in this fight against the deadly coronavirus. I pledge to contribute my little bit -… https://t.co/KdLpKzWs7A" createdat="1585573153000" id="1244610129774993409"></div> Rohit Sharma - ₹80 lakh Rohit Sharma is the latest cricketer from the men's team to donate during the Coronavirus pandemic. He has donated ₹45 lakh to the PM Cares Fund, ₹25 lakh to Maharashtra Chief Minister's Relief Fund, ₹5 lakh to Feeding India and ₹5 lakh to Welfare of Stray Dogs. <div type="twitter" handle="ImRo45" handlename="Rohit Sharma" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/767862037921738752/79mqV-6l_normal.jpg" favoritecount="43040" retweetcount="7881" status="We need our country back on feet &amp; the onus is on us. I’ve done my bit to donate 45lakhs to #PMCaresFunds, 25lakhs… https://t.co/M5IJ01VYIQ" createdat="1585629987000" id="1244848509951459328"></div> Virat Kohli Indian skipper Virat Kohli and his wife Anushka Sharma have donated to the PM Cares Fund and the Maharashtra Chief Minister's Relief Fund. The duo has not revealed the amount of their donation. <div type="twitter" handle="imVkohli" handlename="Virat Kohli" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1192077703609868289/huwMRG1W_normal.jpg" favoritecount="101013" retweetcount="9084" status="Anushka and I are pledging our support towards PM-CARES Fund &amp; the Chief Minister's Relief Fund (Maharashtra). Our… https://t.co/GpPZZYIR51" createdat="1585546199000" id="1244497077750489090"></div> Sachin Tendulkar – ₹50 lakh The Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar donated ₹25 lakh each to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund and the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. He also posted a message urging people to practice social distancing. <div type="twitter" handle="sachin_rt" handlename="Sachin Tendulkar" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1213102659126755329/lDT4zy8C_normal.jpg" favoritecount="14112" retweetcount="1254" status="We all are responsible for ensuring that those who have tested positive for #COVID19 receive all our love and care… https://t.co/6ZIJSuc8hq" createdat="1585310615000" id="1243508968321732610"></div> Sourav Ganguly – ₹50 lakh The Prince of Kolkata and the current president of BCCI Sourav Ganguly too donated rice worth ₹50 lakh. He will distribute the rice to the needy in collaboration with rice brand Lal Baba. Suresh Raina – ₹52 lakh Suresh Raina pledged a donation of ₹31 lakh to the PM-CARES fund and Rs 21 lakh to the UP CM’s Disaster Relief Fund. <div type="twitter" handle="ImRaina" handlename="Suresh Raina🇮🇳" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1227208077415288832/dQloczSs_normal.jpg" favoritecount="148819" retweetcount="24411" status="It’s time we all do our bit to help defeat #COVID19. I’m pledging ₹52 lakh for the fight against #Corona (₹31 lakh… https://t.co/UCOQ5EFiRI" createdat="1585397402000" id="1243872976883376130"></div> Shikhar Dhawan Current Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan announced that he donated to the PM National Relief Fund, although he did not mention the amount. He also urged the public to come forward and do their bit to help the government in its fight against the pandemic. <div type="twitter" handle="SDhawan25" handlename="Shikhar Dhawan" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/979483783375106048/7rsi9X1N_normal.jpg" favoritecount="3826" retweetcount="288" status="Hi everyone remember to stay indoors &amp; take care of your family and yourself. I have done my bit and contributed to… https://t.co/DplyBgjhjw" createdat="1585207399000" id="1243076046766911488"></div> Ajinkya Rahane – ₹10 lakh Ajinkya Rahane donated ₹10 lakh to the Maharashtra government and urged the public to stay home. <div type="twitter" handle="ajinkyarahane88" handlename="Ajinkya Rahane" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/947860006430543872/IublVUgn_normal.jpg" favoritecount="1263" retweetcount="64" status="@vikramsathaye @CMOMaharashtra @AUThackeray This is just my tiny bit and a drop in the ocean. Will do my best to su… https://t.co/x3VF82IW9W" createdat="1585458759000" id="1244130325644464128"></div> Irfan Pathan and Yusuf Pathan – 4,000 face masks To help the local administration in overcoming the shortage of masks, the Pathan brothers donated 4,000 face masks to the local health department. They also urged the public to do whatever they can to help. <div type="twitter" handle="IrfanPathan" handlename="Irfan Pathan" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/824454590724661249/P6HD6oPh_normal.jpg" favoritecount="6733" retweetcount="718" status="Doing our bit for the society. Whatever u guys can do please go ahead and help each other as far as sanitation is c… https://t.co/E6mdVevyI5" createdat="1584959795000" id="1242037521183195137"></div> Poonam Yadav – ₹2 lakh Indian women's team leg-spinner Poonam Yadav has donated ₹2 lakh to help fight the Coronavirus pandemic. She has donated ₹1 lakh to the PM Cares Fund and ₹1 lakh to the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister's Relief Fund. <div type="twitter" handle="poonam_yadav24" handlename="Poonam Yadav" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1087189463099420673/FOe0lE0Q_normal.jpg" favoritecount="2050" retweetcount="107" status="I have given my support to the PM-Cares fund and the UP CM relief fund.This is the only thing we can do in this t… https://t.co/O48YZajbUN" createdat="1585556428000" id="1244539981252591616"></div> Deepti Sharma – ₹1.5 lakh Indian women's team all-rounder Deepti Sharma has donated ₹1.5 lakh. She has donated ₹50,000 to the PM Cares Fund, ₹50,000 to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister's Relief Fund and ₹50,000 to West Bengal Emergency Fund. Richa Ghosh – ₹1 lakh The 16-year old Richa Ghosh who represented the country in the recently concluded Women’s T20 World Cup donated₹1 lakh to the Bengal Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. Laxmi Ratan Shukla – 3 months of salary Laxmi Ratan Shukla who has represented India before donated three months’ salary to the Bengal Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. He also urged others to come forward and stand in support at this time of crisis. <div type="twitter" handle="Lshukla6" handlename="Laxmi Ratan Shukla🇮🇳" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1139746443478982656/s-8R7QmY_normal.jpg" favoritecount="70" retweetcount="16" status="IN THIS DIFFICULT TIMES, DID MY BIT, HUMBLY DONATED 3 MONTHS OF MY SALARY TO CM'S RELIEF FUND. PLS COME FORWARD AND… https://t.co/c1vi1WwXsA" createdat="1585146471000" id="1242820494794960896"></div> BCCI, state cricket associations also chip in with donations Various cricket associations also contributed ₹53.22 crore to various government funds. While the BCCI contributed₹51 crore, the Karnataka State Cricket Association has contributed ₹1 crore. The remaining amount has been contributed by the Cricket Association of Bengal, Maharashtra Cricket Association and Saurashtra Cricket Association. Apart from this, the Hyderabad Cricket Association, Cricket Association of Bengal and Assam Cricket Association have offered their premises to the government to use as temporary quarantine centers. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/ratan-tata-donates-500-crore-for-covid-19-for-testing-kits-and-protective-gear-for-health-workers/articleshow/74862906.cms">Ratan Tata donates ₹500 crore for Covid-19 for testing kits and protective gear for health workers</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/kiran-mazumdar-shaw-says-she-is-willing-to-provide-free-testing-for-coronavirus/articleshow/74889487.cms">Billionaire Kiran Mazumdar Shaw says she is willing to provide free testing for coronavirus</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/apollo-hospitals-partners-with-oyo-zomato-and-sbi-and-others-to-offer-5000-quarantine-rooms-to-coronavirus-patients/articleshow/74887301.cms">Apollo Hospitals partners with Oyo, Zomato, SBI and others to offer 5,000 quarantine rooms to Coronavirus patients</a>

Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli join the list of cricketers who have donated to fight Coronavirus

Indian cricket captain <keyword id="6354486" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Virat-Kohli">Virat Kohli</keyword> has managed to hold on to the third spot on ICC Players Rankings for ODIs. He is the lone Indian cricketer from the country to feature in the top 10 of ICC rankings. The ICC rankings was topped by South Africa's AB de Villiers, followed by Australian <keyword id="60604" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="David-Warner">David Warner</keyword> and Kohli. Among other Indians to feature in the top 20 of the ICC Players Ranking for ODI batsmen are <keyword id="13937" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Rohit-Sharma">Rohit Sharma</keyword> (12th), <keyword id="10138" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mahendra-Singh-Dhoni">Mahendra Singh Dhoni</keyword> (13th) and Shikhar Dhawan, who dropped a place to 15th. India faced disappointment in bowlers category as not a single cricketer from the country features in the top 10 list which is being headed by Kagiso Rabada of South Africa. Left-arm spinner Akshar Patel finds himself at joint 11th spot along with New Zealand's Matt Henry while Amit Mishra (13th) and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (joint 18th) are the other two Indian bowlers to feature in the top 20 list.

Virat Kohli only Indian cricketer in top 10 ICC rankings; holds on to third spot

Bangladesh pace sensation <keyword id="6410994" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mustafizur-Rahman">Mustafizur Rahman</keyword> will likely be back in the playing XI for defending <keyword id="6354831" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Premier-League">Indian Premier League</keyword> (IPL) champions Sunrisers Hyderabad in their match against Mumbai Indians on Wednesday. 
 
SRH's coach Tom Moody confirmed the 21-year-old pacer's availability for the match and also hinted at his inclusion in the playing XI. 
 
Tweet Alert! 
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
	
		Pumped and ready to go! ✔ 
		Bring on the champions! 😎<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MIvSRH?src=hash">#MIvSRH</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CricketMeriJaan?src=hash">#CricketMeriJaan</a> <a href="https://t.co/BqAAf2j1c6">pic.twitter.com/BqAAf2j1c6</a>
	— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) <a href="https://twitter.com/mipaltan/status/852029269945364480">April 12, 2017</a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
	
		The Fizz finally makes an entry 👐. Welcome back to the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OrangeArmy?src=hash">#OrangeArmy</a>. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RiseOfOrange?src=hash">#RiseOfOrange</a> <a href="https://t.co/UwJCFiqRjQ">pic.twitter.com/UwJCFiqRjQ</a>
	— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) <a href="https://twitter.com/SunRisers/status/851872087593570305">April 11, </a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
	<a href="https://twitter.com/SunRisers/status/851872087593570305">2017</a></blockquote>
Teams: 
 
Sunrisers Hyderabad 
 
David Warner(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Moises Henriques, Yuvraj Singh, Deepak Hooda, Naman Ojha(w), Ben Cutting, Bipul Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rashid Khan, Ashish Nehra, Ricky Bhui, Kane Williamson, Siddarth Kaul, Abhimanyu Mithun, Mustafizur Rahman, Barinder Sran, Vijay Shankar, Chris Jordan, Mohammad Nabi, Eklavya Dwivedi, Pravin Tambe, Ben Laughlin, Tanmay Agarwal, Mohammed Siraj 
 
Mumbai Indians 
 
Parthiv Patel(w), Jos Buttler, Nitish Rana, Rohit Sharma(c), Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Harbhajan Singh, Lasith Malinga, Mitchell McClenaghan, Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Gopal, Lendl Simmons, Vinay Kumar, Siddhesh Lad, Jagadeesha Suchith, Hardik Pandya, Tim Southee, Jitesh Sharma, Deepak Punia, Saurabh Tiwary, Nicholas Pooran, Mitchell Johnson, Karn Sharma, Asela Gunaratne, Krishnappa Gowtham, Kulwant Khejroliya, Ambati Rayudu

LIVE IPL 2017, Mumbai Indians vs Sunrisers Hyderabad: Mustafizur makes a comeback before clash against Mumbai

Former India batsman <keyword id="6363956" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="VVS-Laxman">VVS laxman</keyword> has backed India's present coaching staff to remain in charge until next the 2015 World Cup. The 39-year-old said undergoing wholesale changes just six months prior to the World Cup is not a good move. 
 "I am hoping the <keyword id="6354756" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="BCCI">BCCI</keyword> will stick to the support staff we had for the one-dayers till the World Cup. The tournament is only six months away so there isn't enough time to chop and change," Laxman said in an interview with ESPNcricinfo. 
 "I have worked with <keyword id="19692" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Ravi-Shastri">Ravi Shastri</keyword> in 2007 when we toured Bangladesh and he is a very positive person, immense knowledge of the game, he was himself a great leader for Mumbai and he captained India in one Test that India won convincingly. I am glad Bharat Arun and R Sridhar got their opportunity to coach at the highest level because they have a good track record at the India A and Under-19 level, and Sanjay Bangar because of his recent success with Kings XI Punjab." 
 
Laxman also gave his insights about India's mixed tour of England and said that important tours such as this will hold the players in good stead for the future. "I have always regarded tours of South Africa, Australia and England as important for a team to become better," he said. "I am sure the Indian players have learned, the way they bounced back showed a lot of character and definitely they will turn into much better players." 
 
Speaking about the current generation of Indian cricketers, Laxman said the players are keen to learn and this was visible during the England tour. 
 
"I know for a fact that players like [Virat] <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/virat-kohli/4001/25007">Kohli</a>, [Ajinkya] <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/ajinkya-rahane/4001/32045">Rahane</a>, [​Cheteshwar] <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/cheteshwar-pujara/4001/4106">Pujara</a>, [Shikhar] <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/shikhar-dhawan/4001/28004">Dhawan</a> take a lot of pride in what they do in Tests and more so in overseas conditions. You've seen the way <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/murali-vijay/4001/4102">M Vijay</a> adapted to the Test series, he didn't play his natural game, played with a lot of controlled aggression. So they focus on Tests and I don't agree that they don't give enough emphasis to Tests." 
 
Laxman also opined that even though the ODI series win against England was a comprehensive one, India still needed to focus on their death bowling and the opening combination to become a force to reckon with. 
 
"In the T20 they gave away 50 runs in the last three overs, which is a lot, so I think these two issues are a problem. Also the way India start with their batting will be important because of two new balls and conditions suiting the fast bowlers," he said. "Luckily for India they are playing a tri-series before the World Cup and that too against the Australians in their own backyard. It will be a good experience for the players to get used to the conditions." 
 
Rahane, who replaced the injured <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/rohit-sharma/4001/4095">Rohit Sharma</a> in the ODIs had a good outing with 192 runs in four matches and many believe he can be a good bet to open the innings. Laxman, however, said the conditions in Australia are better suited to Rohit. "The wickets in Australia will suit him [Rohit]. He had a successful ODI series in 2007 when he was young and inexperienced. His style of batting will suit Australian conditions, so I will definitely go back to Rohit and have Rahane as a back-up but play him in the middle order."

Laxman Backs Coaching Saff, Wants Rohit To Open In World Cup

India's fourth bilateral ODI series win at home by a 5-0 margin should be seen through the lens of the team's defence of the ICC World Cup next year, in specific the roles given to players either just finding their feet in international cricket or returning from injury or filling in for first-choice names. 
 
Make no mistake - Sri Lanka were very poor in the series, their bowlers in particular lining up as fodder for India's batsmen on mostly docile surfaces, and their batsmen, barring <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/angelo-mathews/9001/9058">Angelo Mathews</a> and to a lesser extent <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/mahela-jayawardene/9001/9003">Mahela Jayawardene</a>, massively under-performing. But in a World Cup season it is encouraging to see an experimental Indian side finish the job they started without losing much intensity. 
 
Through the series, <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/virat-kohli/4001/25007">Virat Kohli</a> spoke of taking each game of this series as a stepping stone towards the 2015 ICC World Cup, particularly in testing out players in different roles to give them the confidence that they are wholly supported with an eye on next year’s big prize. He spoke of the team taking each match as a knock-out, and of learning to be "ruthless" to close out matches. 
 
Sample the margins of victory: by 169 runs, six wickets with 33 balls remaining, six wickets with 35 balls remaining, 153 runs and three wickets with eight balls on Sunday in Ranchi. Four big wins, fashioned by performances from individuals and collectively against a side that looked disgruntled from the time it departed from Colombo following West Indies' abrupt pull-out. The one match in which the batting didn’t click as a unit, Kohli stepped up with one of his finest centuries in a chase. Where his team-mates failed to be ruthless, Kohli was. 
 
The 26-year-old, leading India in MS Dhoni's absence, did his job well. The decision to take the batting Powerplay in the 24th over during the first ODI proved decisive, for it was in that five-over period that his team took the match away from Sri Lanka. He backed <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/akshar-patel/4001/31051">Akshar Patel</a> to bowl during the mandatory and batting Powerplays and this was a huge factor in the series win, and backed his rookie spinner with the right fields. Kohli also ensured <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/ambati-rayudu/4001/31025">Ambati Rayudu</a> a spot at the World Cup by sending him in at No 3 in Ahmedabad, where the 29-year-old scored his maiden ODI century. 
 
Apart from his dynamic captaincy, Kohli also had a solid series with the bat, scoring 277 runs at an average of 69.25 with two fifties and a superb century to almost single-handedly chase 287 in the final game. Kohli's emphatic celebrations at hitting the winning six, with eight balls and three wickets left in Ranchi, and then as he acknowledged the crowd after picking up a stump, were stirring. Such form will, at the very least, send him to Australia with some confidence. 
 
India’s other main batsmen all scored runs, too. <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/shikhar-dhawan/4001/28004">Shikhar Dhawan</a> reeled off 283 in three innings before he was rested. Rayudu's four innings at No 3 produced 223 runs while <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/rohit-sharma/4001/4095">Rohit Sharma</a>'s roaring comeback from injury with an astonishing 264 off 173 balls should earn him first dibs as opener alongside Dhawan in the World Cup ahead of <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/ajinkya-rahane/4001/32045">Ajinkya Rahane</a>, who after stroking 111 in the series opener trailed off with scores of 8, 31, 28 and 2. The two wicketkeeper-batsmen tested in the series, <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/wriddhiman-saha/4001/30016">Wriddhiman Saha</a> for three ODIs and <keyword id="6405247" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Robin-Uthappa">Robin Uthappa</keyword> for the last two, did not make strong statements to tilt the selectors’ votes either way for the World Cup. 
 
There were personal bests for a few players, of which five look certain for the World Cup. <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/ishant-sharma/4001/4094">Ishant Sharma</a> beat his previous best returns with 4/34 in Cuttack; Rayudu scored his first ODI century in the second ODI; Akshar (3/40) and <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/umesh-yadav/4001/28013">Umesh Yadav</a> (4/53) achieved career-best bowling performances in Hyderabad; and <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/dhawal-kulkarni/4001/31006">Dhawal Kulkarni</a> smoothed over a shoddy outing in that match by taking 4/34 in the Kolkata drubbing. Rohit marked his first ODI in three months by scoring the highest individual innings in ODI history at Eden Gardens. 
 Rohit's freak innings aside, the big gains were the bowling of Akshar and the fact that Umesh, on the comeback from an injury break, did not break down or pick up a niggle. The rise of 20-year-old allrounder Akshar has been the story of the series. His left-arm spin accounted for 11 wickets in five matches, at an <keyword id="34412" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="economy">economy</keyword> rate of 4.61, and it was his bowling in the batting Powerplay all series that was instrumental in India’s 5-0 result. Akshar was unfortunate not be named Man of the Match in Hyderabad, where his 3/11 during the batting Powerplay sealed the series for India. 
 
Akshar controls the percentage shots and that ability resulted in some big wickets, and the manner in which he lands the ball outside off stump to bring out loose shots is a trait that could be very handy in Australia. Twenty20 cricket has forced spinners to experiment and Akshar is one of the best examples of how this can have a positive spin - no pun intended - because he varies his flight and pace without compromising too much on his length. He conceded over 40 just twice - at Eden Gardens where he conceded 51 in 43 balls and in Ranchi, where in the 48th of Sri Lanka's innings, Angelo Mathews swatted three sixes to give Akshar figures of 2/45 from his quota. His only two innings, at either ends of the series, were contrasting efforts that showed the value Akshar brings down the order: a four-ball 14 to get the total past 350 and 17 off 14 balls in match-clinching stand of 57 in 5.2 overs with Kohli. 
 
Akshar made rapid strides in the series, and the fact that <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/ravindra-jadeja/4001/32004">Ravindra Jadeja</a> was benched for the Cuttack and Hyderabad ODIs and bowled well after Akshar in Hyderabad is testament to Kohli's line of thought that fringe players need to feel that they belong. 
 
Umesh was quick and lively in each outing and consistently delivered breakthroughs in his first spell in all four games he played - three times in the first over of Sri Lanka’s innings, getting <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/kusal-perera/9001/52007">Kusal Perera</a> each time. He took at least two wickets in each match and finished with ten wickets at an economy of 5.07, and though he still has to work on conceding wides in the death overs, that Umesh hustled and troubled the Sri Lankan batsmen all throughout was encouraging. Considering Ishant injured himself in his return series, having Umesh fit and feisty is crucial to India in Australia. 
 
Ishant did not feature in the series after leaving the field following his four overs in Hyderabad, adding to the injury list that comprises <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/varun-aaron/4001/30019">Varun Aaron</a>, <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/mohammed-shami/4001/30030">Mohammed Shami</a> and <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/mohit-sharma/4001/26024">Mohit Sharma</a>. These are the frontline bowlers India will hope to have available for the World Cup, along with the rested <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/bhuvneshwar-kumar/4001/25023">Bhuvneshwar Kumar</a>. 
 
Injuries to Ishant and Aaron - themselves called up in the absence of the injured Shami and Mohit - opened up chances for Kulkarni and <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/stuart-binny/4001/31034">Stuart Binny</a> and both were decent without being threatening. Kulkarni does not have the pace to consistently worry batsmen and appears to be easily rattled, while Binny's medium pace does not look like getting him a berth in the World Cup squad considering that pace is a must in Australia and New Zealand. The only player blooded in the series who did not do anything was legspinner <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/karn-sharma/4001/27046">Karn Sharma</a>, who is part of the Test squad to play in Australia. 
 
All in all, a good workout for an experimental Indian side in these five ODIs but how much these matches actually matter will only be judged if these players step up in Australia.

Kohli's Well-Oiled India Achieve Series Goals

In coloured clothing and with the white ball, Indian team is a transformed unit. Wednesday provided ample proof of that as they outclassed England in the second ODI at Cardiff by 133 runs to take 1-0 lead in the five-match series. 
 
Click here for <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/live-score/eng-vs-ind/enin08272014174401/quickview">Scorecard </a>| <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/live-score/eng-vs-ind/enin08272014174401/commentary">Commentary</a> 
 
Chasing 305, England's target was revised after rain delayed their reply. By the time the opening pair of <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/alastair-cook/3001/3056">Alastair Cook</a> and <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/alex-hales/3001/3110">Alex Hales</a> had walked in, their target was reset to 295 in 47 overs by Duckworth-Lewis method. They began well, swiftly going past 50 runs in 10 overs. However, the 11th over, bowled by <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/mohammed-shami/4001/30030">Mohammed Shami</a>, changed it all as England lost two wickets in it. First, Cook (19) was trapped in front, although he can consider himself a bit unlucky for the ball had pitched outside leg and then for some reason, Ian Bell (1) left a straight delivery that hit his off-stump. Next man in Joe Root (4) departed quickly after being cleaned up by <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/bhuvneshwar-kumar/4001/25023">Bhuvneshwar Kumar</a>. 
 
Hales (40), making his debut, unleashed himself as per his reputation and kept finding boundaries regularly early on. However, the fall of wickets in quick succession bogged him down as he went inside a shell as runs dried up – both for the 25-year-old and the England team. With the required run-rate climbing, someone had to open up and in his endeavour to look for quick runs, Hales was caught by <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/ravichandran-ashwin/4001/26007">R Ashwin</a> off <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/ravindra-jadeja/4001/32004">Ravindra Jadeja</a> in the 21st over with England sliding to 81/4. 
 
Those that followed failed to make any impact with the Indian bowlers calling the shots, striking at regular interval. The team that dominated their guests in an imposing fashion in the longer formats, submitted meekly losing by 133 runs. For India, Jadeja starred with the bowl picking 4/28 while Shami and Ashwin took two wickets apiece. 
 
Earlier, a strokeful, chanceless century from <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/suresh-raina/4001/4059">Suresh Raina</a> helped India to 304/6. Raina scored 100 (75, 12X4, 3X6) while building a century stand worth 144 runs with <keyword id="1411" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="captain">captain</keyword> <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/ms-dhoni/4001/4057">MS Dhoni</a> (52) as India recovered from early shocks to post a strong total. India were off to a shaky, nervous start after Cook inserted them in. The visitors were troubled by <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/james-anderson/3001/3040">James Anderson</a> and <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/chris-woakes/3001/3098">Chris Woakes</a> early on as they tested them with pace and swing. The first two overs were played safely through without a run being scored. Both the India openers <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/rohit-sharma/4001/4095">Rohit Sharma</a> and <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/shikhar-dhawan/4001/28004">Shikhar Dhawan</a>, though, opened their account with a boundary each but looked unconvincing in a slow start. Dhawan (11) seemed to carry his poor form from the Test series into the ODIs after edging Chris Woakes to wicketkeeper <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/jos-buttler/3001/3111">Jos Buttler</a> in the eighth over. In the same over, <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/virat-kohli/4001/25007">Virat Kohli</a> was out for a duck after his eagerness to dictate terms from the word go saw him dancing down the track for an uppish drive which went straight into the hands of Cook. 
 
India were 19/2 and off to an ominous start. Considering how they reacted in such scenarios during the Test series, only worse was expected from them. But Rohit and <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/ajinkya-rahane/4001/32045">Ajinkya Rahane</a> calmed the nerves, settling in nicely, building a 91-run stand that revived the innings. Rahane played some lovely strokes and looked set for a big one but one moment of sluggishness got the better of him as he was stumped off <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/james-tredwell/3001/3096">James Tredwell</a> for 41 in the 24th over. On the other hand, Rohit's innings was a combination of some classy batting and few irresponsible strokes. He was beaten on numerous occasions but was lucky enough to not nick them. Four boundaries and a six off a free-hit helped him to a fifty before Woakes at mid-off caught his miscued shot off Tredwell. 
 However, the highlight of the innings was the partnership between captain <keyword id="6397" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Dhoni">Dhoni</keyword> and Raina that lifted the Indians as the duo unfurled a flurry of strokes with the latter taking the centrestage. India managed just 26 runs besides losing two wickets in the first powerplay but with Raina and Dhoni they clobbered 62 in the second. Raina eventually departed after being caught in the deep by Anderson off Woakes. 
 
<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/41081363.cms" /> 
 
Raina had set the tone early in his knock scoring a boundary off his third delivery. He sent the ball past the boundary line regularly with the shot of his innings being a straight hit over Woakes' head for a six. Even Anderson, the wrecker-in-chief during the Test series, wasn't spared as Raina flayed him for three successive fours in the 40th over. He assessment and judgement of the deliveries was spot on and it was his innings that helped India to post a score in excess of 300. 
 
England bowlers started well, bowling the right line and length exploiting the favourable conditions well after winning the all important toss. Woakes had taken two wickets while allowing just eight runs in his first spell of five overs. His was aptly rewarded for his accuracy all throughout, finishing with 4/52. However, as the innings progressed, with the batsman settling in, the England bowlers lost the grip. The biggest culprit of the slide being Chris Jordan who leaked 73 in 10 wicketless overs including one in which he bowled five wides. Tredwell also bowled decently for his 2/42 in 10 overs. 
 
Brief Scores: India 304/6 (Raina 100, Dhoni 52, Rohit 52; Woakes 4/52) beat England 161 (Hales 40; Jadeja 4/28, Shami 2/32) by 133 runs.

Raina, Spinners Deliver Emphatic Cricket Win In England

England asserted their supremacy on the opening day of the fourth Test at Old Trafford as they closed on 113/3 after <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/stuart-broad/3001/3067">Stuart Broad</a>'s 6 for 25 bundled India out for 152. India equalled the record of six ducks in a Test innings and despite a gritty half-century from <keyword id="16561" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="skipper">skipper</keyword> <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/ms-dhoni/4001/4057">MS Dhoni</a>, the Indian batting surrendered to some quality seam bowling from the Englishmen. 
 
England skipper <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/alastair-cook/3001/3056">Alastair Cook</a> could not have chosen a better toss to lose after his Indian counterpart Dhoni opted to bat on a lively Old Trafford pitch, which as it would turn out, have more than just a handful for the medium-pacers. Amid all the speculation surrounding the Playing XI heading into Manchester, India rang in three changes. <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/gautam-gambhir/4001/4043">Gautam Gambhir</a> replaced the out-of-form <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/shikhar-dhawan/4001/28004">Shikhar Dhawan</a>; <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/ravichandran-ashwin/4001/26007">Ravichandran Ashwin</a> was selected in place of <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/rohit-sharma/4001/4095">Rohit Sharma</a> and the much-talked about <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/varun-aaron/4001/30019">Varun Aaron</a> was picked ahead of <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/mohammed-shami/4001/30030">Mohammed Shami</a>. 
 
Dhoni's decision backfired as Broad and <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/james-anderson/3001/3040">James Anderson</a> (3 for 46) shredded India to 8 for 4 inside the first six overs giving England their best start of the series. Comeback man Gambhir's (4) stay at the middle was short-lived after he fended at a length ball to <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/joe-root/3001/73004">Joe Root</a> at gully from Broad. <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/murali-vijay/4001/4102">Murali Vijay</a> was the next to go for a duck, seven balls later to Anderson. Vijay, who has been good at leaving balls outside his off-stump in this series, played and nicked to skipper Cook at first slip. 
 
<a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/virat-kohli/4001/25007">Virat Kohli</a> and <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/cheteshwar-pujara/4001/4106">Cheteshwar Pujara</a> failed to impress yet again and went without troubling the scorers. While Kohli tickled an exceptional outswinger from Anderson, Pujara edged a full-length delivery from Broad to a diving Chris Jordan at third slip leaving India reeling at 8 for 4. <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/ajinkya-rahane/4001/32045">Ajinkya Rahane</a> - who has by far looked India's best batsman on the tour - and Dhoni weathered the storm and decided to leave more balls. Both gutted it out and strung together an dogged 50-run stand. Once Anderson and Broad were taken out of the attack, run-scoring became comparatively fluent and easier. Jordan, however, ended the promising stand with the wicket of Rahane for 24 in the penultimate over of the session. 
 
India started the second session losing the wicket of <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/ravindra-jadeja/4001/32004">Ravindra Jadeja</a> (0) to his 'friend' Anderson in the second over after the lunch interval. Anderson set the trap nicely following back-to-back away going deliveries with an inswinger that jagged back in and caught the Indian allrounder stone dead in front of the stumps. At 63 for 5, Ashwin joined his skipper in the middle and the pair batted with precaution to slowly take India forward. Ashwin's near-clean batting technique played a perfect second-fiddle to Dhoni, who at the other end, took calculated risks and kept the scoreboard ticking. 
 
Ashwin had a slice of luck on 25, when he was dropped by wicketkeeper <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/jos-buttler/3001/3111">Jos Buttler</a> off Anderson in the 35th over. He and Dhoni put together 66 runs for the seventh wicket before the offspinner mistimed a pull off Broad to <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/sam-robson/3001/84620">Sam Robson</a> at deep-square leg. Ashwin's flamboyant 42-ball 40 was and laced with three fours and a six over deep fine leg which launched a counter-attack on England. Broad then cleaned up <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/bhuvneshwar-kumar/4001/25023">Bhuvneshwar Kumar</a> two overs later for his 12th five-wicket haul in Tests. His dismissal exposed the Indian tail which managed to survive just seven more overs. Dhoni played a few unorthodox shots and reached his 32nd half-century with a four and casually edged and pulled his way to 71 before eventually finding the fielder at deep-square leg. 
 
England's hopes of a good beginning was tarnished by Robson - who battled for 24 balls and scored six runs. Bhuvneshwar once again removed him - third time in the series, castling his off stump with an inswinger. Cook's twin fifties at Southampton seemed to have done him a world of good - he cracked two fours off Pankaj - but against the run of play he fell to his favourite shot, a pull off Aaron for 17. Southampton centurions <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/ian-bell/3001/3048">Ian Bell</a> and <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/gary-ballance/3001/73003">Gary Ballance</a> took over and played with authority. Both took a specific liking towards Pankaj, who conceded 50 runs off his 11 overs. 
 
With run-scoring becoming easy with every over bowled, Dhoni introduced Ashwin in the 21st over. Bell welcomed him by dancing down the wicket and hitting him over his head for the first six of the English innings. Bell pounced on anything slightly short and made most of anything offered on his pads. Ballance and Bell added 77 runs before Aaron would strike again, this time trapping the dangerous Ballance (87 balls, 4x6) leg before for 37 in the final over of the day. Nightwatchman Jordan (0) and Bell (45) were at the crease when stumps were drawn.

England Build After Broad Dismantles India

M Prasidh Krishna has received a maiden call-up to the Indian squad for their upcoming three-match ODI series against England. The 18-member squad, which was announced on Friday, also includes Suryakumar Yadav, who made his international debut in the five-match T20I series and scored a match-winning half century in the fourth T20I. Krishna took 14 wickets at an average of 22.21 in the Vijay Hazare Trophy to help Karnataka to the semi-finals, where they lost to eventual champions Mumbai. All-rounder Washington Sundar, who played his only ODI match against Sri Lanka in December 2017, has been included in the team. Fellow all-rounder Krunal Pandya also finds a place. Pandya is yet to play an ODI match and his last international game was a T20I against Bangladesh in November 2019. Fast bowler T Natarajan, who missed the T20I series due to a niggle, has been included. Natarajan played in the third ODI during the Australia tour on December 2 and took two wickets to help India to a 13-run win. Mayank Agarwal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Manish Pandey, Navdeep Saini and Sanju Samson, all of whom played in the ODI series in Australia, are missing from the squad. The series against England will be played on March 23, 26 to 28 at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune. India's ODI squad: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Krunal Pandya, Washington Sundar, T Natarajan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur.

Checkout the list of Indian players for the three-match one day international series against England

<ul><li>Shah Rukh Khan topped the report in 2019 and <keyword id="6354832" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ms-dhoni">MS Dhoni</keyword> was at No. 1 in 2020.</li><li>As per IIHB’s report, Dream11 was the most spontaneously recalled brand in this year’s survey.</li></ul>Versatile actor <keyword id="106133" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ranveer-Singh">Ranveer Singh</keyword> versus Captain Cool MS Dhoni? Well, both seem to have done equally well in the annual IPL ad recall research of the Indian Institute of Human Brands (IIHB) conducted ten days after the start of the League this year. The research polled 879 respondents in the age-group of 18-35 years (M=481, F=398) across India. The interviews were conducted telephonically. Dream11 was the most spontaneously recalled brand in this year’s survey, which possibly also helped enhance both the brand equity and recall of MS Dhoni who anchored the 12-ad series for the brand as its ambassador and protagonist. Jio Fiber, with multiple IPL teams featured with an effervescent Ranveer Singh gyrating with a sing-song brand message, came in second on recall in the research, also helping the celebrity endorser to considerably strengthen his personal recall. Byju’s was the most spontaneously recalled brand on the IPL last year; though its celebrity endorser Shah Rukh Khan trailed behind other celebrities. Virat Kohli, as expected, did well on recall too, and came third in the recall rankings. Salman Khan did surprisingly well in this year’s survey and came in at No. 4, ahead of Rishabh Pant, Rahul Dravid, Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt and Saurav Ganguly who followed in that sequence. Ajay Devgn, Sachin Tendulkar, Shikhar Dhawan, Shah Rukh Khan, Boman Irani, Kareena Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Ayushmann Khurrana and Akshay Kumar, on the other hand, had very few mentions and scored very poorly on respondent recall. There were sporadic mentions of Virender Sehwag and Priyanka Chopra too. In the last survey conducted in October 2020, MS Dhoni had the highest spontaneous recall as a celebrity endorser. Virat Kohli was a not-so-close second. Akshay Kumar was at rank 3; Ayushmann Khurrana at rank 4. “MS Dhoni and Ranveer Singh had a disproportionate share of visibility and recall in the IPL research we just conducted. This was in sync with the ultra-high recall of the brands they respectively endorse”, said Dr. Sandeep Goyal, Chief Mentor of IIHB. “It is interesting nevertheless to note that brands without celebrities like Phone Pe, Byju’s and others too have done well wherever media investments are heavy”. IIHB team used its proprietorial CELEBAR tool based on Celebrity Brand Association &amp; Recognition to assign a metric score to each celebrity and associated brand. The tool takes into account: <ul><li>Spontaneous recall of the brand</li><li>Spontaneous recall of the celebrity</li><li>Association between brand &amp; celebrity together </li><li>Recency of communication </li><li>Media weight behind campaign</li><li>Solus versus multiple brands using the celebrity</li></ul>MS Dhoni had a CELEBAR score of 87, up from 82 at the last IPL. His spontaneous recall was an unusually high 82%. His association with Dream 11 was also very constant at 79% from the last edition. He got 9% association with IPL/Star TV, 8% brand association with Indigo Paints, 6% with Orient Fans for Orient Fans and Livfast Solar. 2% recall came from SunFeast Yippee. So, most of Dhoni’s brand goodness got hijacked by Dream 11, much like last year. If Dhoni had only been endorsing Dream 11, his CELEBAR score would have been near 100, given his strong association with that one brand, to almost the relative exclusion of the other brands he endorses. Ranveer achieved a CELEBAR score of 86, empirically almost equal to that of MS Dhoni. But his association was more democratically spread with Jio Fiber at 56%, JD mart at 48%, My11 Circle at 22% and Bingo at 18%. Names of some other brands were mentioned by respondents but these were filtered out as they were not part of the IPL broadcast. Both MS Dhoni and Ranveer gained massively also on account of their main brands spending disproportionately large amounts of media monies which made them exponentially more visible than other competing celebrities. Virat Kohli trailed far behind the Top 2. His score of 45 on CELEBAR is mostly derived by his 94% association with MRF tyres. Bluestar is in low single digits on association. Salman Khan at a CELEBAR of 38, owes 82% recall to Rajshree elaichi and the balance to Pepsi. Rishabh Pant climbed up interestingly to No. 5 on the strength of his JSW appearances. Varun Dhawan had 76% of his recall from Lux Cozi and much lower from Frooti. Alia owed most of her recall also to Frooti with scattered mentions of Dark Fantasy. Interestingly, the IPL seems to be running no/few ads with Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Deepika Padukone, Ranbir Kapoor, and even with cricketers Rohit Sharma or KL Rahul or Hardik Pandya, or the media weightages behind those ads were too insignificant to be noticed by viewers. The Cred ad for Rahul Dravid was spontaneously recalled by 17% respondents but only 2% remembered Jackie Shroff and only 1% mentioned Kumar Sanu for the same brand. Mutual Funds (AMFI) ads had 22% recall but most respondents got the protagonists mixed up, with the most attributing the messaging to Dhoni and Kohli. Dream 11’s association with multiple cricketers was mentioned by many respondents but most were not sure if they remembered current creatives. Only the connect with MS Dhoni was unambiguous. Despite heavy media weights, Vimal elaichi ad featuring Ajay Devgn and Shah Rukh Khan had only an 8% recall. Netmeds with Kareena Kapoor and Renuka Shahane had a good 9% recall. Priyanka Chopra’s Appy Fizz and Katrina’s Slice were almost not recalled. Hema Malini managed 3% recall on Kent RO. Randhir Kapoor’s Asian Paints managed 4% while Kareena Kapoor’s and Pankaj Tripathi’s Berger creatives both got below 1%. Ayushmann was remembered by less than 1% in Urban Company. Gajaraj Rao was mentioned in less than 1% for Voltas. Unacademy featuring Sunil Gavaskar and Harsha Bhogle too scored poorly at 2%. Gamezy featuring KL Rahul got less than 1% recall. On the ads without celebrities, the most remembered were Phone Pe (32%), Byju’s (31%), Vivo (22%), One Plus (21%), Groww (20%), Upstox (20%), Kia (19%), MPL (18%), Bisleri (11%), PharmEasy (11%), Thums Up(9%), Coca Cola (6%), Renault Kiger (6%), Tata Safari (6%), Skoda (3%), Ajio (3%), Dark Fantasy (2%), LikedIn (2%), Raymond (2%) and Tuborg (1%). As more gets added to the broadcast as the IPL progresses, both standings of celebrities and recall of brands may change.

Ranveer Singh and MS Dhoni are the most recalled brand ambassadors this IPL: IIHB Report

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the main cricket governing body in India has announced the squad for the upcoming World Cup 2019. Rishabh Pant and Ambati rayudu have not managed to make it to the 15-member squad. Vijay Shankar has been named as the second all-rounder in the squad along with Hardik Pandeya. Seven players who were there in the 2015 world cup squad have managed to make it to the 2019 team. Prithvi Shaw has also missed the spot despite promising performance in the home season earlier this year. India has included only three full-time fast bowlers in the squad. Two-full time spinners, Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav have been included in the playing 11. The BCCI in its press conference said that they have picket up the most balanced team for the upcoming world cup. The decision to select the 15-member squad is made following a BCCI meeting led by MSK Prasad, chief coach Ravi Shastri and captain Virat Kohli. The decision has been made public in a press conference by BCCI acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary in Mumbai. The Cricket World Cup will be held in England and Wales from May 30-July 14. Australia won the Cricket World Cup 2015 against New Zealand by 7 wickets. Here's the <keyword id="8675" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-cricket-team">Indian cricket team</keyword> for the <keyword id="2646248" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="ICC-World-Cup-2019">ICC World Cup 2019</keyword>: Virat Kohli (Capt), Rohit Sharma (vc), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Vijay Shankar, MSD (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd Shami Rishabh Pant has been left out of the squad and Dinesh Kartik has been included as the second wicket keeper. The selectors said that wicket keeping is an important component and in an extreme case where either Rishabh Pant or Dinesh Kartik are to be included in the playing 11 in absence of MS Dhoni, we would like Dinesh Kartik to play. India will begin its campaign on 5 June 2019 against South Africa. It will play Australia on 9 June followed by New Zealand on 13 June and Pakistan on 16 June. India's arch rival Pakistan is going to announce its team on 18 April.

ICC World Cup 2019: Indian team announced

<ul><li>The number of live online viewers at any point for the World Cup have been far below the peak registered by the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL).</li><li>The concurrent users on <keyword id="2739840" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Hotstar">Hotstar</keyword> for World Cup matches are between 2 million and 8 million compared to the peak of over 18 million during the IPL. </li><li>Hotstar, during IPL, alone had garnered an excess of 300 million unique users and was betting on bigger numbers from the World Cup. </li><li>According to reports, Indian businesses are reportedly spending ₹10-₹12 billion during the World Cup on advertising. </li></ul>When India’s star batsmen like <keyword id="6354486" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="virat-kohli">Virat Kohli</keyword>, Shikhar Dhawan, and Rohit Sharma out-batted Australia at the <keyword id="149598" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="ICC-Cricket-World-Cup">ICC Cricket World Cup</keyword> 2019, as many as 7 million people at any given point were watching it live on Hotstar, Walt Disney’s streaming platform with exclusive online streaming rights to the tournament. During other matches – sometimes, even when India is bowling – the viewer numbers dropped significantly, to less than half of it. This outsized interest in team India is the source of the clout of BCCI (Board of <keyword id="1521" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Cricket">Cricket</keyword> Control in India) at the International Cricket Council (ICC). This was what Hasan Minhaj highlighted in his Netflix show, Patriot Act. Both the ICC Cricket World Cup and the Indian Premier League (IPL) bring in billions in ad revenues and sponsorships, and millions in viewership. However, it seems like this edition of the World Cup is off to a slow start. Star vs Hotstar The opening World Cup match between England and South Africa clocked a reach of 114 million on television alone, according to a <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/sports/icc-world-cup-opening-match-records-reach-of-114-million-viewership/articleshow/69678607.cms">report</a>. According to <a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/icc-cwc-final-star-sports-travel-firms-pad-up-for-july-14-super-sunday-119060501129_1.html">reports</a>, from the last World Cup, the semi-final between India and Australia saw over 309 million impressions. The data for the latest India versus Australia clash is not out yet. However, if online viewership on Hotstar in India is any sign, the number of live viewers online at any point has ranged anywhere between 2 million and 8 million in the matches so far. This number did not even touch a quarter of IPL’s numbers. The IPL 2019 final between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians saw over 18 million concurrent viewers at one point. The IPL matches this year that ended in May saw a total reach of 462 million through <a href="https://www.insidesport.co/vivo-ipl-2019-462-million-tune-into-star-sports-netw/">television </a>alone. Hot on Hotstar Hotstar, during IPL alone, had garnered an excess of 300 million unique users and also witnessed a 74% increase in watch-time as compared to last year. And, it was hoping for more from the World Cup. “We aim to continue delivering an uninterrupted and immersive cricket watching experience not just to the domestic consumers, but to global audiences in the US and Canada as well,” Varun Narang, Chief Product Officer, Hotstar had then, said in a statement. With the numbers on its side, the streaming platform had also announced Dream 11, Uber Eats, Amazon Pay and Coca Cola as the co-presenting sponsors this year, while the associate sponsors include Royal Challenge, Acko, CEAT, and ICICI Lombard. Big ad spends With such massive records being set in viewership, brands are obviously leveraging from the World Cup too. According to <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/advertising/ad-spend-may-go-through-the-roof-this-world-cup/articleshow/69669540.cms">reports</a>, indian businesses are reportedly spending ₹10-₹12 billion during the World Cup on advertising. Obviously, the numbers are bigger for India matches alone. In an interview with <a href="https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/trends/sports-trends/sports-advertising-to-boom-during-icc-cricket-world-cup-2019-4044111.html">Moneycontrol,</a> MK Machaiah, President Content+, Mindshare, South Asia, said, “The cost for an India match is ₹2 million onwards for 10 seconds. Over ₹ 1 million lakh is for all match packages. The sponsorship package is ₹ 400 million onwards on television and digital sponsorship is over ₹150 million." Cricket accounted for 93% of all sports viewership in India in 2018, according to a BARC India <a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/cricket-draws-93-of-sports-viewers-in-india-barc-119060400786_1.html">report.</a> And, this was before the World Cup. So far this year, the IPL has proved to be a bigger crowd puller than the World Cup, though there are still a few interesting games to follow, like the high-tension clash against Pakistan on Sunday (May 16). And as the tournament progresses, the interest level is likely to rise. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/icc-cricket-world-cup-army-insignia-on-ms-dhonis-gloves-have-started-a-fight-on-social-media/articleshow/69689488.cms">Here’s why everyone is talking about Indian cricketer MS Dhoni’s gloves</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indias-men-in-blue-turns-orange-in-world-cup-2019-heres-how-the-cricket-jersey-has-changed-from-1985-to-2018/articleshow/69660311.cms">India’s ‘men in blue’ turns orange in World Cup 2019, Here’s how the cricket jersey has changed from 1985 to 2015</a>

ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 viewership so far on Hotstar is far from the IPL peak

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/45776720.cms" /> 
The All-India Senior Selection Committee has finally announced the names of the players who would be part of India’s squad for the 2015 World Cup.
 According to a BCCI press release, <keyword id="6354832" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="MS-Dhoni">MS Dhoni</keyword> will lead the 15-member squad in ICC CWC 2015. Other members of the squad are: <keyword id="6354486" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Virat-Kohli">Virat Kohli</keyword> (Vice Captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Stuart Binny, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Ambati Rayudu, Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Md. Shami, Umesh Yadav, and Ishant Sharma. Sadly, senior players like <keyword id="351" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Yuvraj-Singh">Yuvraj Singh</keyword> couldn’t find any place in the team. Earlier in the day, we read reports speculating Yuvraj Singh’s name in the Final 15. This news would be a disheartening for Yuvi’s fans, who were hoping that Yuvi’s recent performance in the Ranji trophy matches—wherein he scored three consecutive centuries—would help him earn a place in the squad. 

	It’s worth noting that Yuvraj Singh was a star performer in the 2011 World Cup and also the man of the series. However, post recovering from cancer, he hasn’t played much of competitive cricket and not even a single ODI in 2014.

Bad News For Yuvi Fans; No Place For Him In India’s Squad  For World Cup 2015

Here is how celebs from all fields wished their Moms on Mother’s Day

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/46850234.cms" /> 
 Kolkata is not called the City of Joy for nothing, and the <keyword id="587833" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="IPL-opening-ceremony">IPL opening ceremony</keyword> that took place last night was a testament of this. 
 
Studded with the who’s who of Indian cricket and elite social circles, the event started a bit late, thanks to the generous water pour in the evening. However, even though the arrangements suffered because of the rain, but it couldn’t dampen performers’ and spectators’ spirit. 
 
Held at the Salt Lake stadium in the city, the event begun with a performance by music composer Pritam. He presented Rabindra Sangeet rendition of Anand Loke. The flavour of Kolkata was seen in the song, with ladies clad in traditional white and red sarees performing what looked like a traditional dance. 
 
The night was hosted by actor Saif Ali Khan, who shares a deep connection with the sport as his late father and grandfather have represented the country in the past. Clad in a plain white Kurta Payjama and a blue Nehru jacket, the actor looked dapper as he called on stage the team captains. 
 
As Saif Ali Khan asked the audience to give a cheer for their favourite cricketer, it didn’t come as a surprise when the loudest cheer came for Gautam Gambhir, captain of the home team Kolkata Knight Riders and the defending champion of the IPL trophy. Through out the ceremony, Saif was seen fumbling, much different from when he used to host award shows with Shah Rukh Khan. The tension of hosting a live show could not be withheld by the Humshakals actor, and a few big mistakes like calling up Shikhar Dhawan at Rohit Sharma’s entry proved to be some irritating moments. 
 
The performance by actor Shahid Kapoor, one of the finest dancers in the industry, looked promising to kick-start the event, as he interacted well with the fans all through his performance. He managed to give an enjoyable act even after a shaky performance, once because of his bike ramming into a platform and once when he almost slipped on the stage. 
 
Next in line was a stunning performance by Anushka Sharma, as she grooved to some of her famous songs. As was expected, the camera zoomed to Virat Kohli, Anushka’s love interest and the captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore. For once, he shied away but was later seen enjoying his lady love’s moves. 
 
Following her performance, came the multitalented Farhan Akhtar with his band, and gave the night the much-needed boost. He performed on songs from his movies, and his band complemented him well enough even though he sounded out of breath at times, making way for what would be remembered as the performance of the day. 
 
Towards the end was the sizzling performance given by Bollywood’s very own Greek God Hrithik Roshan, who didn’t only groove to some of his best dance numbers but also electrified the whole night, thus giving the not-so-perfect evening a perfect ending. 
 
Later, all the performers thanked the audience for bearing up with the messy weather and making it an evening to remember. 
 
The first match of the tournament would be played today at 8 PM in Kolkata, between Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians. 
 
Picture by Indiatimes

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