India's premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin described Mahendra Singh Dhoni as a "massive influence" on his career, revealing that at the beginning of his IPL stint, he was driven by an intense desire to get the former captain's attention. Ashwin got his contract with CSK, one of the most successful IPL sides, in 2008 and said the stint with the three-time IPL champions shaped his career.
The Sri Lankans have played 17 Tests in India in 35 years, but failed to win a single one.
As Ashwin plays his 50th Test, Rajneesh Gupta gives us the offie's awesome numbers.
The 35-year-old has been bamboozling batsmen for 15 years now on the international scene and yet still somehow retains the element of surprise.
Former Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar heaved a sigh of relief when he was named in the team of his long-time rival Sachin Tendulkar for an inaugural three-match series in the US and said he's done bowling against the Indian batting legend whom he considers a 'brutal force' and the 'greatest player history has ever seen'.
'It's been a love-hate relationship'
However, Hyderabad had clearly done their homework as Rashid grabbed the top wicket-taker's 'purple cap' on Sunday after his 3-19 set up a comprehensive win over Gujarat Lions.
18-year-old Afghan sensation Rashid Khan can't wait to start his maiden stint in the Indian Premier League with Sunrisers Hyderabad, where he will be sharing the dressing room with his childhood hero Yuvraj Singh.
Former Pakistan leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed feels the categorisation of Test and limited overs spinners is the need of the hour. According to Mushtaq, skill-wise, Lyon and Ashwin are on par with greats like Saqlain Mushtaq and Muttiah Muralitharan but not best suited for the one-day game.
This year's auctions will wrap up in one day.
A clinical performance by the Sunrisers Hyderabad top-order ensured a seven-wicket victory against Royal Challengers Bangalore which kept them in the hunt for the Play-offs in the seventh edition of the Indian Premier League in Uppal on Tuesday.
A total of 62 players were sold at the auction for the 13th edition with the eight franchises spending a total of 1.403 billion rupees ($19.73 million). Australia's Pat Cummins became the most expensive overseas buy ever in the Indian Premier League when the Kolkata Knight Riders paid a staggering Rs 15.50 crore ($2.18 million) for the fast bowler in Thursday's auction in Kolkata on Thursday.
Over the 44 years since the first World Cup that has never been more obvious than in the tactical evolutions that have taken place in the white-ball game.
The Indian batting legend is hardly worried that India doesn't have a settled No 4, saying the slot can be kept flexible as per requirement and match situation.
The 8th Champions Trophy begins in England this week. Rajneesh Gupta captures the tournament in all its statistical glory like only he can.
'We need to respect our players. Our players are as good as anybody.'
Statistical highlights on the second day of the second and final cricket Test between India and South Africa in Durban.
From Clive Lloyd and Viv Richards, Imran Khan and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, these cricketers, among others, etched their names in the annuls of cricketing history with heroic efforts that helped their teams clinch the big prize of One-day cricket. With the 2015 edition of the cricket World Cup starting on February 14, we bring you a brief history of finals from 1975-2011...
Muttiah Muralitharan went past 800 wickets to help Sri Lanka crush India by an emphatic ten-wicket margin on the fifth and final day of the first Test in Galle on Wednesday. Tillakaratne Dilshan slammed 68 from 47 balls, having hit six boundaries and a six, while Tharanga Paranavitana was unbeaten on 23 as Sri Lanka raced to 96 for no loss in 14.1 overs.
The tri-series in Australia, India's final ODI engagement before the World Cup, gets underway on January 16, says Chandresh Narayanan, casting a fascinating look at the survivors from earlier World Cups.
Having improved its play-off chances following three consecutive wins, Sunrisers Hyderabad bowling coach Muttiah Muralitharn said the team needs to keep the momentum going.
Suresh Raina's quickfire half-century went in vain as Chennai Super Kings went down to Royal Challengers Bangalore by five wickets in a thrilling finish in the Indian Premier League in Ranchi.
He has been roped in to arrest the downslide in Sri Lankan cricket and Asanka Gurusinha's assessment of the fall is quite simple -- not grooming anyone to fill in Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara's shoes.
Captain Virat Kohli became the second fastest to 25 Test centuries before Usman Khawaja helped Australia extend their lead to 175 runs to give the hosts a slight upperhand at stumps on Day 3 in Perth on Sunday.
Kolkata Knight Riders rode on a brilliant all-round showing from Australia's Chris Lynn to score a dramatic victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League match, in Sharjah, on Thursday night. After propping the Kolkata innings with a 31-ball 45, the 24-year-old Australian pulled off an acrobatic catch at the deep mid-wicket boundary line to dismiss A B de Villiers in the last over of the match, and RCB, chasing 151 for victory, fell short by two runs.
In terms of days, Dale Steyn has spent 2,320 days at the top of the ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers, the most by any bowler since World War II.
'I felt Test cricket is just beyond my reach.' 'And slowly, slowly, I started doing well.' 'In the second Test against Pakistan, I scored a fifty and when we went to Sialkot I played a series-saving innings, which was a game changer for me.' 'At that stage that was the most important innings of my life.'
For a leg-spinner coming from the land of Bhagwat Chandrasekhar and pilloried in initial years for not being able to turn his leg-breaks or possessing a googly, Anil Kumble ended his 18-year career with a massive haul of 619 Test and 337 ODI wickets.
Explaining the decision to appoint Anil Kumble despite his lack of experience as an international coach, BCCI president Anurag Thakur said the former spinner's record itself is a testimony to his worthiness for the job.
Banned Pakistani off-spinner Saeed Ajmal vowed to correct his illegal bowling action and return to cricket before next year's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Bangladesh pacer Taskin Ahmed bagged five wickets for 28 runs on debut as India were dismissed in 25.3 overs in the second ODI in Mirpur. But the pace combination of Stuart Binny (6-4) and Mohit Sharma (4-22) saved India from humiliation by bundling out the hosts for just 58 in 17.4 overs. Following the Rajneesh Gupta presents some interesting statistics.
Rajneesh Gupta highlights all the important numbers from cricket World Cups held between 1975 to 2015.
'For the Tamil Nadu protestors to openly ask popular film actor Vijay Sethupathi not to don Murali in 800 is a travesty in every sense. It may have given them a cause to tell the world, and the governments in New Delhi, Colombo and Chennai, that the Sri Lankan ethnic issue was still alive in the state -- more so, during the current run-up to two major events in the first half of 2021,' says N Sathiya Moorthy.
India's batting ace Yuvraj Singh commanded the highest price, Royal Challengers Bangalore paying a massive 14 crore for him, while Dinesh Karthik was a surprise pick at 12.5 crore by Delhi Daredevils.
'Dhoni was a very shrewd captain in terms of his out of the box thinking and getting the work done.'
Australia's spin legend Shane Warne has called for changes to all formats of cricket in order to bring about a better balance between bat and ball and sustain the interest of fans.
Legendary cricketers Sunil Gavaskar and Ian Chappell tipped India as favourites in their much anticipated World Cup clash against Pakistan.
Yuvraj Singh has been an enigma as well as a paradox in Indian cricket.
Vikas stepped into the house, dialled a number and handed his cell phone to Raj Kumar, Virat Kohli's childhood coach. "Happy Teachers' Day, Sir," said Virat, even as Vikas thrust something into Raj Kumar's palm -- a bunch of keys. A fascinating excerpt from Vijay Lokapally's must read biography of the cricket superstar.
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