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Hard work doesn’t guarantee success: Hardik Pandya mulls comeback ahead of IPL

The Indian Premier League is just a week away and this year, it means a little more than usual for a lot of players in the international circuit. This year’s IPL is going to be very important for the immediate future of several stars who want to be in the scheme of things for the T20 World Cup scheduled later this year.

For the Indian national team, focus will be on the likes of Mohammad Shami, Rahul Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan and of course Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya - all of whom will be looking to put in strong performances to finalise their ticket for the World Cup.

Pandya in particular is an interesting case, having not played the game since the T20 World Cup held in November 2021. For that matter, the all-rounder did not bat or bowl in the final two matches played against Scotland and Namibia.

Speaking via the IPL website, Pandya stated that hard work always does not guarantee success and he is looking to follow the correct processes to get where he wants to be.

“I am looking forward to this IPL because I have been away from the sport for quite a long time. For me it is exciting. I will get to see where I exactly am after three months of hard work that I have put in behind the closed doors.”

It needs to be noted that Pandya has not played domestic cricket in a long time and recently checked into the National Cricket Academy to prove his fitness.

“Right now, I just want to be in a positive mindset and I’m not looking way ahead. I am just focusing on things that are the controllables, which is looking after my body and making my team win. ”

“I am just a work in progress right now but for me what will be important is that I will always be available for the players no matter what time and day.”

There will be a lot of responsibility on the shoulders of Hardik Pandya before Gujarat Titans lock horns against Lucknow Super Giants on March 28.

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SA vs BAN | 1st ODI: Team performance produces historic win for Bangladesh

Bangladesh put on a masterclass against South Africa on Friday, 18 March at Centurion winning their first ever match against Proteas on South African soil. A comprehensive victory of 38 runs put Tamim Iqbal’s men ahead in the three-match ODI series and served a grim warning against the home side who lacked in intensity on the day. The win was setup by the batting unit of the visitors, who took time, but got the job done to put on a huge total that was always going to be difficult in a wicket that offered extra bounce. Bangladesh found batters throughout the line-up who showed up at the right time and helped the Asia side put on a huge total of 314 runs for the loss of seven wickets. Shakib Al Hasan showed the way with his brilliant 77 off 64 balls, and found support in Yasir Ali (50 off 44), who partnered him in the middle. Their 115-run partnership was the prime reason behind Bangladesh’s acceleration, after they were at 112/2 halfway through their innings. Later, Shakib confessed that after playing a few balls, he realised that the wicket had a lot of runs in it and they had to score at the excess of 300 runs to stay in the game. Luckily, he found a patient Yasir Ali alongside him, whose stability helped Shakib accelerate between the 30th and the 40th over. The duo added 115 off just 82 balls, before several contributions from the lower order pushed the runrate further up the chart. Credit must also be given to the opening pair of the visiting team, who chose to be conservative at their start and get a sense of the pitch before attacking the bowlers. Liton Das brought up yet another half century before falling in the 23rd over, to continue his exceptional touch of form. Das has turned things around in a tremendous fashion after his woeful performance in the T20 World Cup and has scored three consecutive fifties and a hundred from his last four matches. Coming into bowl, Bangladesh plated up their best fast bowlers against the Proteas, and they put on a masterclass of how to hit the right lengths consistently on this pitch. Three wickets fell inside the first 10 overs owing to the same, with Janneman Malan (4 off 10), Kyle Verreynne (21 off 25) and Aiden Markram (0 off 3) walking back to the dugout. Three wickets in quick intervals put a lot of pressure on the SA order and they had to go through a patient build-up that hurt their run rate. Down at 36/3 in 8.4 overs, captain Temba Bavuma and more importantly Rassie van der Dussen took control of the proceedings and the pair added 85 runs in the next 107 balls. Van der Dussen looked in the mood scoring the majority of those runs and keeping the run rate up with his flowing boundaries. The departure of Bavuma (31 off 55) in the 27th over meant that SA still needed close to 200 runs and did not have much time in their hands. David Miller’s injection in the 22-yards, ensued panic through the Bangladesh bowling unit, as the left-hander showed that he had done a lot of work in the domestic circuits before coming into this game. Miller and Dussen added 70 runs in the next 10 overs, showing signs that SA might just chase this down. However, disaster struck in the first ball of the 38th over with Yasir Ali taking a stunning catch at deep backward square leg to send Dussen packing. A late comeback from Mehidy Hasan found Miller frustrated at the other end as his partners walked back in a bunch. Proteas hopes were sealed shut after Miller was stumped by Mushfiqur Rahman off a Mehidy delivery that offered turn and bounce in plenty. Final wicket partnership of Keshav Maharaj (23 off 16) and Lungi Ngidi (15 off 10) tried but fell short of the target by 38 runs. With the win, Bangladesh turned a leaf in their history, winning the first ODI game in the SA soil after 19 failed attempts. Bangladesh currently stand at first position in the ICC Super League points table, having won 11 out of their 16 games played. England and India follow the leaders with 9 and 8 wins to their name.

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WI vs ENG | 2nd Test | Day 3: Twin centuries from Brathwaite & Blackwood leads Windies fightaback

West Indies were steady at 288/4 at the end of day 3 in the second Test match against England in Barbados on Saturday. Twin centuries from captain Kraigg Brathwaite and vice captain Jermain Blackwood kept the English attack at bay on an absolute flat track that frustrated the bowlers and made Kemar Roach call out the overall conditions of pitches in West Indies. It was a day of patience from both the batters who held the innings together when the hosts were down by three wickets for 101 runs in the 45th over. Brathwaite carried on with his defensive approach not letting anything through his defence, which essentially took result out of the equation from this Test match, but Blackwood on the other hand, scored runs at a brisk pace. There were several moments of fortune for the latter, first when he was struck on the pad without having scored a run, and England chose not to review the umpire’s decision. And then when debutant rattled his stumps with a dipping yorker only to later realise that he had overstepped. Blackwood’s 102-run innings eventually was ended by part-timer Daniel Lawrence who caught him plumb in front of the stumps with an off spinning delivery. The duo at that point had added 183 runs between them, playing 411 deliveries. At the day’s end Brathwaite was in the crease alongside nightwatchman Alzarri Joseph. An uneventful day by most standards, there were moments where England got into a war of words with Blackwood. Their frustration was understandable after a slow moving day and the umpires promptly came forward to nip the matter. The outlook of day four seems grim if the pitch stays the same. With Jason Holder and Joshua Da Silva yet to come, it can be expected that Windies would go on to put up a huge total. If England can manage to scalp quick wickets, the match still might be alive, but it is highly unlikely that Windies will collapse even on the final day of this pitch. It needs to be remembered that England were aggressive with their declaration in the previous Test as well, letting Windies chase a competitive total in the final day of the game.