Sport

India retain pride in defeat after tournament to remember

Published

1 year ago

November 20, 2023

India coach Rahul Dravid says he is exceptionally proud of all of his players, singling out captain Rohit Sharma for particular praise, after the team’s run to the final of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.

India won 10 straight matches to reach the final on home soil, but were beaten on the day by an Australian side who delivered in all facets of the game to run out winners by six wickets.

But India’s head coach was still full of pride in his team's efforts across the whole campaign.

“We ran a really good campaign,” Dravid said. “I’m really proud of the boys, the way we played right through this tournament, the kind of cricket we played, just the quality of cricket that we played right through this tournament, I thought was quite exceptional. So really proud of the efforts, proud of everything that we gave.

“Just at the last step in the final we probably didn't have our best game and credit to Australia. My congratulations to them. They played really well on the day and they were better than us.”

Captain Rohit finished the campaign as the second-highest scorer, setting the tone at the top of the innings.

And out on the field his captaincy was notably excellent, with Dravid saying that he couldn’t have asked for any more from his skipper.

“I think he's been an exceptional leader,” the coach said. “You know, Rohit's really led this team fantastically well, I think he's certainly got the dressing room. I just think he's given so much of his time and energy in the dressing room to the boys.

“He's always been available for any of our conversations, any of our meetings. Sometimes there's been a lot of planning, a lot of strategy that goes in. He's always committed to those things. He's given a lot of his personal time, energy into this campaign.

“And his batting as well, I thought it was fantastic, the way he set the tone for us. We knew that we wanted to play a certain way. We wanted to play a positive attacking brand of cricket. And he was very committed to doing that. And he wanted to lead by example. And I thought right through the tournament, he was quite superb in doing that. I just can't speak more highly of him as a person and as a leader.”

A disappointing slide with the bat saw India go from 80/2 after the Powerplay in the final to 240 all out, struggling to unleash the shackles against an Australian bowling attack that kept things extremely tight during the middle overs.

Dravid said it wasn’t necessarily a tactic for India to slow down the tempo to the extent that they did, pointing to Australia’s excellence with the ball and the loss of wickets at key times as the reason that his team fell short of a target that would have been more competitive on the day.

“In hindsight, I think we fell about 30-40 runs short. It's not that we were looking to bat it out. I thought they bowled well through that period. I thought it just felt like the ball was stopping in the afternoon a little bit more than it did in the evening. And not that there was a lot of dew, to be honest, but just felt like the ball came on to the bat a lot better in the evening," Dravid added.

“We were rotating the strike, but we weren't able to hit those boundaries. And yeah, there was a conscious effort to try and take the game deep, but we kept losing wickets. We just lost wickets just when we felt that we built a partnership and we can start going. We lost a wicket, we lost Virat (Kohli), then we lost Jaddu (Jadeja) and then we lost (KL) Rahul. So, we just kept losing wickets at critical intervals and probably felt that we were about 40 runs short.

“I mean, I know in the end it looked like they would have chased even 40 runs more. But if we had got to 280, 290, and they were 60 for 3, then it might have been a very different game.”

India’s wait for victory at a major men’s ICC event goes on, with their 2011 Cricket World Cup triumph and 2013 ICC Champions Trophy success now seeming a very long time ago.

But, in contrast to some of the nation’s previous losses, Dravid says this defeat was not a case of the occasion or pressure getting to the team.

“I didn't feel at any stage going into this game that there were any nerves or the guys were intimidated by the game or they were concerned about the game. I think they were looking forward to it. We were excited about the game," he said.

"I thought there was energy and the mental space the boys were in leading into this particular game was spot-on was terrific. Just on the day we probably didn't execute, and Australia played better than us.”

As for Dravid’s future, he refused to be drawn on the subject at this stage.

“I was completely focused on this campaign, focused on this World Cup, and there was nothing else on my mind. And I haven't given any other thought to what happens in the future," the coach said.

India’s men return to action in just four days’ time for a T20I series against Australia.

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Zimbabwe’s opening ODI against Afghanistan abandoned

Afghanistan won the toss and put the hosts into bat but it took four hours before any play was possible, with the game by then reduced to a 28 overs per side.

Published

11 hours ago

December 18, 2024

Ariana News

Heavy rain led to the abandonment of the first one day international between Zimbabwe and Afghanistan at the Harare Sports Club on Tuesday.

Afghanistan won the toss and put the hosts into bat but it took four hours before any play was possible, with the game by then reduced to a 28 overs per side.

Azmatullah Omarzai took 4-18 in 4.2 overs as the visitors made good inroads to have Zimbabwe 44-5 in the 10th over before the rain returned and ended hope of further play.

The second of the three match ODI series will be played at the same venue on Thursday.

Sport

Lanka T10: All three matches abandoned due to rain

Published

1 day ago

December 17, 2024

Ariana News

Relentless rain on Monday resulted in all three Lanka T10 Super League matches being abandoned without a ball bowled at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy.

All teams except for the Jaffna Titans had been anxiously waiting to play their remaining matches of the league round in order to qualify for a place in the second stage of the inaugural event.

The matches that were affected were Nuwara Eliya Kings v Galle Marvels; Hambantota Bangla Tigers v Colombo Jaguars; and Jaffna Titans v Kandy Bolts.

All six teams grabbed a point each from the results which meant that Jaffna Titans, Hambantota Bangla Tigers, and Galle Marvels have qualified for the second stage of the tournament.

Prior to Monday, however, Jaffna had already clinched their spot to play in Qualifier 1. They head the standings with 10 points winning four of their six matches with two No Results.

Following Monday’s result Hambantota finished second with seven points to join Jaffna in Qualifier 1.

Galle also had the same number of points (7), but on the net run rate had to be content with the third spot, which meant that they will play in the Eliminator.

Who will play Galle is the big question here for three teams with four points each in the running – Colombo, Kandy, and Nuwara Eliya.

The three matches scheduled for Tuesday will decide the fate of the remaining three sides.

Weather permitting, the matches scheduled are: Colombo Jaguars v Jaffna Titans; Kandy Bolts v Nuwara Eliya Kings; and Galle Marvels v Hambantota Bangla Tigers.

Currently, Colombo, with a better net run rate, are placed fourth, with Kandy and Nuwara Eliya in fifth and sixth places respectively.

The knockout games are scheduled for Wednesday, December 18, with the final on Thursday, December 19.

Matches, depending on the weather, will be broadcast live on Ariana Television from 2:30 pm Tuesday.

Sport

ATN once again seals deal to broadcast upcoming IPL across Afghanistan

Next year’s event will kick off on March 14 and run through to May 25. That’s just over 10 weeks of exhilarating cricket.

Published

1 day ago

December 17, 2024

Ariana News

Ariana Television and Radio Network (ATN) has once again secured the rights to broadcast another thrilling Indian Premier League (IPL) live and exclusively in Afghanistan.

That’s right, fans will once again be treated by Ariana Television to all the thrills, spills and unforgettable IPL moments in the comfort of their own homes.

Next year’s event will kick off on March 14 and run through to May 25. That’s just over 10 weeks of exhilarating cricket.

While we know the event will run from March 14, the complete IPL 2025 schedule, including dates for knockout matches, and the final, is yet to be announced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Next year’s tournament, like in the past, will see ten teams competing in 74 matches.

Kolkata Knight Riders are the defending champions, having won their third title in the 2024 edition after beating Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final.

The teams are:

– Chennai Super Kings
– Delhi Capitals
– Gujarat Titans
– Kolkata Knight Riders (defending champions)
– Lucknow SuperGiants
– Mumbai Indians
– Punjab Kings
– Rajasthan Royals
– Royal Challengers Bangalore
– Sunrisers Hyderabad

IPL 2025 sees some exciting team changes, reshuffled lineups, and strategic player acquisitions.

For instance, Rishabh Pant broke the auction record on day one of the two-day IPL Auction in Jeddah when Lucknow Super Giants got the star wicket keeper for a whopping $3.20 million.

Punjab Kings in turn snapped up Shreyas Iyer for $3.17 million.

The IPL Auction also saw one cricketer becoming the youngest ever to be sold on auction.

Indian’s 13-year-old cricketer Vaibhav Suryavanshi, from the eastern Indian state of Bihar, went to the Rajasthan Royals for $130,500 after coming into the auction at a base price of $35,591.

Seven Afghan players were snapped up for next year’s season, including Rashid Khan who was retained by Gujarat Titans for $2.1 million.

Karim Janat will make his debut at the IPL and was picked up by Gujarat Titans for just over $88,000; Noor Ahmad Lakanwal was signed by Chennai Super Kings for $1.18 million; Azmatullah Omarzai was sold to Punjab Kings for $284,000; Rahmanullah Gurbaz was resigned by Kolkata Knight Riders for over $236,000; Fazalhaq Farooqi went to Rajasthan Royals for $236,000 USD; and 18-year-old young spinner Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar was signed by Mumbai Indians for $568,000.

While match details have not yet been announced, cricket fans across the country can watch this space and follow Ariana Television’s social media platforms for news and information ahead of the tournament.

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