While Ajinkya Rahane always scores good runs, he seldom scores them quickly enough. And he doesn't bowl, although he is a handy fielder. Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji assess the India-West Indies ODI series.
Bangladesh's pursuit of West Indies' big total was bold, brash and brilliant. Led first by Tamim Iqbal and then taken up by the in-form talisman Shakib Al Hasan, who also picked up two wickets with his left-arm spin.
When he's got his rhythm and his form is good, he's definitely the best around -- I think that is without question, says former Australia captain Allan Border.
Yasir Shah proved Pakistan's match-winner as they ended a six-Test losing streak to beat West Indies by seven wickets in the first Test in Jamaica on Tuesday.
'I think we were good for the first 16 overs while batting when we were 140 for 4. But then in the last four overs, we should have got 40 to 45 runs, and we got only thirty. We need to focus on that'
They made a fast start to their innings with Chris Gayle, dropped by Joe Root in the first over, thumping three huge sixes as the visitors reached 45 without loss after five overs.
Facts and figures for the World Twenty20 final between England and West Indies at Eden Gardens on Sunday: World T20 head-to-head: Played: 4 - West Indies wins 4, England wins 0 All T20 head-to-head: Played: 13 - West Indies wins 9; England wins 4
Talented youngster Shai Hope smashed his way to a blistering 101 while Andre Russell scored a quickfire 54 down the order to set up a 91-run win for World Cup dark horses West Indies in their warm-up game against New Zealand.
Following is a factbox on the second World Twenty20 semi-final between West Indies and India to be played at the Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai, on Thursday.
More than the runs scored, it is the manner of his dismissals that is causing frustration, considering that the Indian cricket establishment has invested heavily in the 21-year-old from Rourkee.
England battled back into contention on the third day of the second Test against West Indies as Mark Stoneman's first half century and captain Joe Root's unbeaten 45 helped wipe out a sizeable first-innings deficit on Sunday.
Jasprit Bumrah, the fastest Indian pacer to 50 wickets, is now seventh in the bowlers' list after a leap of nine places owing to his five-wicket haul against the West Indies.
A confident India, with a new coach at the helm, will seek to record a third consecutive Test series triumph on the Caribbean soil when the Virat Kohli-led side clashes with an inexperienced West Indies in the first cricket match, in Antigua, on Thursday.
'Special mention to Rahane, who has come back after a while and he was outstanding...'
Former West Indies captain Chris Gayle is hopeful he can return to Test cricket next year but said he was simply not fit enough to take part in the ongoing series against Australia.
Adam Voges and Shaun Marsh put together the highest fourth wicket stand in the history of Test cricket on Friday, their combined 449 pushing Australia to 583 for four at lunch on day two of the first Test against West Indies.
West Indies coach Stuart Law said the West Indies have learnt a lot from their Indian counterparts during the tour.
A ruthless India completed a nine-wicket demolition of the West Indies in the fifth and final ODI in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday for their sixth successive series win at home.
'We've seen that we can execute plans for short periods of time. The challenge is always going to be to execute over a 100 overs. If you're going to beat India or England or Australia, Pakistan, you've got to execute for a 100 overs'
India captain Virat Kohli again backed Ambati Rayudu for the critical number four slot after the "intelligent" batsman reposed his skipper's faith with a less-than-a-run-a-ball century in the fourth ODI against the West Indies, in Mumbai, on Monday.
One shudders to think what could happen if India lose both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli early with such a brittle middle order to follow?
Mayank Agarwal could likely to make his ODI debut as the first of the three-match ODI series kicks off in Chennai on Sunday. But all eyes will be trained on under-fire Pant who will have to work to prove his worth in the squad.
'I am doing the hard work in getting through the first 10 or 15 overs, or as an opening batsmen, scoring the first 25, 30 runs, which is the hardest. (But then getting out) when the time comes to accelerate and may be take the game deeper, so a bit disappointed that I have not been able to do that'
Images from Thursday's World Cup match between India and West Indies, at Old Trafford.
West Indies cricket team's young captain Jason Holder said that he has picked up subtle nuances of leadership from Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
India will look to ensure a smooth passage into the semi-finals with yet another victory.
Besides KL Rahul, another individual who would like to answer his critics with solid performances is Pant.
Speedster Umesh Yadav, on Friday, joined the growing list of Indian players who feel 'SG Test' ball was not ideal, saying the bowlers are unable to run through lower-order when it gets old.
Joe Root was hailed as the 'glue' that holds together England's dazzling batting operation after his superb match-winning century guided the injury-depleted hosts to the most convincing of eight-wicket triumphs over West Indies in Southampton.
England pace bowler James Anderson took a career best of seven for 42 on Saturday to destroy the West Indies' batting on the third day of the third Test at Lord's and set up his team for a 2-1 series victory.
Nathan Coulter-Nile slammed 92 from 60 deliveries to register the highest score by a No 8 batsman in a World Cup.
New Zealand all-rounder Corey Anderson scored the quickest century ever in international cricket on Wednesday, taking just 36 balls against West Indies, to break the record long held by Pakistan's Shahid Afridi.
Hanuma Vihari's primary skill is batting but he is now trying to sharpen his off-breaks in order to fit in as the 'fifth bowler' in India's Test set-up.
A century would have been nice but what mattered more was playing according to the demands of the situation.
Still recovering from a hamstring injury, swashbuckling batsman Chris Gayle was on Wednesday left out of the West Indies' 15-member squad for the One-Day International series against India next month.
The 21-year-old left-hander has gained 21 slots and reached 17th place, the joint-highest by a specialist India wicketkeeper along with Farokh Engineer, who did so in January 1973.
"This will probably be the biggest World Cup, so there will be great expectations and I know we will do very well for the people of the West Indies," he added.
Ajinkya Rahane smashed his third ODI hundred as India produced a dominating display to beat West Indies by 105 runs in the second one-dayer in Port of Spain on Sunday.
Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi produced a brilliant performance with both bat and ball to lead his team to a thumping 126-run victory over West Indies in their first One-day International on Sunday.
590 cricketers -- including 370 Indian players and 220 overseas players -- will go under the hammer during the two-day mega auction in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13.
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