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India Land In Sri Lanka Bcci Shares Pictures

India land in Sri Lanka, BCCI shares pictures

The Indian contingent which has been selected for the limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka has landed in Sri Lanka confirmed BCCI via their Twitter handle. The Men in Blue will fight it out in a three-match T20I series and as many ODIs against the islanders. The team will be led by Shikhar Dhawan while Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be his deputy.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to send a second-string side for the tour with the rest spending their time in England outside the bio-bubble before they join back for the five-match Test series against England. The limited-overs squad looks a strong one despite the absence of some of the stalwarts including Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah.

BCCI shared pictures of the members of the Indian team and wrote, “Touchdown Sri Lanka”. India have performed quite consistently in bilateral series across formats but when it comes to ICC tournaments it has been eluding them for the last 8 years.

With a big set of players available for the T20 World Cup later this year, India will surely look to find some solutions for the middle order woes which troubled them even in the 2019 World Cup. Rahul Dravid who has been named the head coach for the tour stated that there are only one or two spots up for grabs in the T20 World Cup squad.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka who will host India has been under enormous pressure in the recent past losing series after series and their performance have not even been a shadow of themselves.

Quite recently the Sri Lankan fans launched a campaign on Facebook insisting people to unfollow the cricketers if they cannot perform for the country. Three players namely Danushka Gunathilaka, Niroshan Dickwella and Kusal Mendis was suspended earlier today, 28 June, for the remainder of the England tour after breaching bio-bubble protocols.

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New Zealand's tail made the difference in WTC Final, feels Kane Williamson

New Zealand outplayed India in the final of the inaugural edition of the World Test Championship in Southampton. New Zealand captain Kane Williamson in an interaction with India Today appreciated the contributions made by the tail and admitted that they were pretty valuable in such a low-scoring match. “Really important for us. When you have a low scoring game, the contributions from the tail become important and valuable. Small partnerships can make a big difference. They came out and played with a lot more freedom and looked to take the game on and get few quick runs. Those contributions were so valuable,” he said. While Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma only managed to get eight runs in the first innings, Tim Southee played riveting knock for the Blackcaps and chipped in with a 46-ball 30 that included a couple of maximums. In fact Trent Boult remained not out for 7 off 8 during the course as New Zealand scored 249 in reply to India’s 217 and took the first innings lead which eventually proved to be crucial. In the second innings again, the Indian tail didn’t really get much runs and it was only Shami who scored three boundaries before he was out for 13 off 10. India were bowled out for 170 and only managed to hand New Zealand a target of 139. The Kane Williamson-led side chased down the target by 8 wickets.

Kyle Jamieson's attitude is an asset to the game: Kane Williamson

New Zealand fast bowler Kyle Jamieson has made a good name for himself in a small period of time and played a massive role in the team’s successful campaign in the World test Championship final against India in Southampton. Jamieson scalped a fifer and chipped in with crucial 21 runs in the first innings and then bagged two priced wickets of Cheteshwar Pujara and India captain Virat Kohli in the second innings. The Blackcaps skipper Kane Williamson in an interaction with India Today hailed the right-handed fast bowler and said that his attitude is an “asset” to the game. “Absolutely, he is a brilliant and an exceptional cricketer. He has an amazing attitude and that is team first. He wants to contribute whenever and wherever required and he has done that not just with the ball but with the bat as well. He has a huge appetite to learn and improve and loves the game and his attitude is perhaps the best asset to this game,” Williamson said. Jamieson, who has picked up 46 wickets in just 8 Test matches has been gathering praise from the greats of the game. Earlier, former India batsman Sachin Tendulkar said that Jamieson will become one of the leading all-rounders in world cricket. "Kyle Jamieson is a fantastic all-rounder. He is going to go on and become one of the leading all-rounders in world cricket," Tendulkar said on his YouTube channel. The Kane Williamson-led side were handed a target of 139 runs in the second innings on the reserve day and the Kiwis went over the line by 8 wickets. Williamson scored an unbeaten fifty while Ross Taylor scored 47*.

Anshula Rao becomes first Indian woman cricketer to get banned for doping

Anshula Rao, the Madhya Pradesh all-rounder became the first Indian woman cricketer to face a ban for alleged doping. She has been handed a four-year ban by the National Anti-Doping Agency for faking a dope test which dates back to July 2020. Reports in the Times of India states that NADA’s Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel came to a conclusion that Rao took 19-Norandrosterone which is a performance-enhancing drug “knowingly and intentionally”. The U 23 cricketer has taken part in several BCCI organised domestic tournaments. She last took part in the 2019-20 U 23 event organised by the governing body. Reports in the TOI further stated that the all-rounder tested positive for the steroid in March last year in Baroda. She subsequently didn’t manage to provide any proof or evidence that she didn’t take the substance intentionally. As per reports in the ESPN Cricinfo, Rao had sought financial support from her state board to challenge the initial test results. Now the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association will be providing her financial help during the ban. Rao had challenged the result and claimed that she was asked to bear “exorbitant and unreasonable costs” of Euro 2400 for conducting B sample analysis. The Anti Doping Disciplinary Panel (ADDP) which is headed by Gaurang Kanth did criticise Rao and said that an individual athlete must ensure that they don’t take any prohibited substance. However, he also took a dig at NADA for not providing any financial assistance to the female cricketer for her B Sample analysis. “The athlete failed to explain how the prohibited substance entered in her body and hence she failed to take the reasonable care as expected from an athlete,” the panel concluded.

It was all about getting the right balance: Williamson on playing Eng ahead of WTC Final

New Zealand were crowned champions of the inaugural World Test Championship after they defeated India in the final in Southampton. Chasing 139 in the second innings, New Zealand rode on captain Kane Williamson’s unbeaten half-century and Ross Taylor’s 47* to go over the line. The Blackcaps had played a two-match Test series ahead of the WTC final against England. In a conversation with India Today, Williamson was asked whether the series did help them get into the groove and the right-handed batsman said that it was all about finding the right balance ahead of the big game. “Look, it’s very hard to know what the best preparation is. India are competitive and a strong side. Having said that, we were trying to get the balance in the side because there were three Test matches in quick succession and we didn’t want our bowlers overdoing it in particular. The idea was to have a certain amount of cricket which is beneficial and keep the balance right. It was nice playing against England. They too are a very difficult side,” Williamson said. India were rattled by the New Zealand bowlers and were bundled out for 170 on the reserve day of the Test match. Tim Southee scalped a four-wicket haul while Trent Boult picked up three as the Indian team was thoroughly dominated by New Zealand. Earlier, India were bowled out for 217 in the first innings while the Kiwis took the lead before getting all out for 249. The Virat Kohli-led side will now play a five-match Test series against England in August away from home.