Indians docked 20% match fees for slow over rate

Lack of all-rounders? ‘There is one sitting at home’, says Hardik Pandya

Although the Indian ODI team is full of highly talented batsmen and bowlers who can win the team games on their own on a given day, the lack of bowling from Hardik Pandya has thrown off the balance of the playing XI. The absence of genuine all-rounder has always been the Achilles heels for the Indian team in the past and it was clearly evident in the first ODI against Australia when captain Virat Kohli had no options but to throw balls to the only five bowling options he had at his disposal and consequently failed to break the momentum of the Australian batting. In the middle phase of the game, when Steve Smith and Aaron Finch were going berserk against frontline pacers after getting their feet in the game, Kohli was left toothless and could not quite check the flow of the runs. Asked about India's issues on the field today, Pandya quipped that the lack of bowling option hurt them and that maybe the team management should have a look at the Pandya family to solve the conundrum. "…maybe you can name it who all are there… maybe we should look in the Pandya family only," he said. Known for his exploits in the Mumbai Indians line-up, Krunal Pandya is yet to make his Indian debut. On the other hand, a contentious issue of playing Hardik Pandya as a specialist batsman instead of a reliable Manish Pandey was settled after Hardik put an incredible performance with the bat scoring 90 runs off 76 balls in a losing cause. Pandya further apprised about the status of his fitness and the bowling plans he has in his mind in the post-match press conference. He said that he is in no mood to hurry through, more so when there are more important tournaments such as the World Cups are coming. He also asked for grooming for more all-rounders in order to strengthen the bench strength of the Indian team. "Even when I came into the circuit, I was not always the all-rounder which I wanted to be. But with time I groomed myself and became that bowling option. I worked on my bowling,” Pandya said.

Australia vs India | 2nd ODI: Match Preview, Predicted XI & Dream11 Fantasy Picks

It is going to be a do or die affair for India to remain relevant in the ODI series ahead of the long Australian summer when they take on the Aussies in the 2nd game at the Sydney Cricket Ground on 29th November, Sunday. All eyes would be fixed on how Virat Kohli’s men come back from the humiliating defeat in the first ODI where they lost against some quality batting show from the entire Australian batting order. The Indian team would be looking to get past the hurdle of playing in the T20 mould in a 50-over game. As was evident in the match, the first 20 overs was when the Indian team looked a bit in control, but post that, it was all Australia. Similarly while batting in the second innings, the batsmen didn’t look to apply themselves and always seemed in hurry. Even the Indian captain agreed to that in the post-match presentation saying, “The body language after 25-26 overs was disappointing.” The sixth bowler problem “We'll have to find out ways of getting a few overs from a few part-timers in the side,” said the captain indicating that the Indian team is in dire need of a batsman who could bowl. “Unfortunately, Hardik is not ready to bowl yet so we have to accept that and work around it. That is an area we have looked at, which is a very big part of any team balance,” he added, very openly also admitting that apart from Hardik Pandya, there isn’t actually anyone in the squad, who could bowl. In such a situation, the team needs to find a way out by playing someone who could do both the jobs, but as of now, options are hard to come by. Playing Natarajan in place of Saini is one option to try and mitigate the death bowling, but that still does not solve the problem at hand. India could have turned towards someone like Hanuma Vihari, but a stacked middle order in Shreyas Iyer and Manish Pandey meant that Vihari could not make the cut for the limited-overs game. Australia will go all guns blazing While the Indian team had plenty of problems to deal with, Australia has none barring the freak injury of Marcus Stoinis. The form of Starc in the initial overs seemed to be a worrying factor, but the left-arm quick, in his later spells gave full assurance to the team that he is up and running. So instead of keeping the series alive, all that the Aussies would look for is killing it right here in Sydney, before moving to the capital in Canberra for the last game. Aus vs Ind: Match Details 2nd ODI Venue: Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney Broadcast: SonyLIV, Sony Ten Network, DD Sports Date and Timing: November 27, 09:10 IST, 03:40 GMT Pitch Report The pitch in Sydney was a proper flat deck, offering almost nothing to the bowlers until they hit the deck very hard and bowled into it instead of trying to get some assistance like swing or seam. The odd ball did hold up in the second innings, giving an indication that if the same wicket is used in the second game, it might come to the aid of the spinners. Weather and Toss On Friday, Sydney recorded record temperatures hovering close to 40 degrees Celsius. While there are predictions of abundant cloud cover on Sunday with 20 per cent chances of precipitation, the captains should look to bat first if they win the toss. Team News Australia Marcus Stoinis was forced to leave midway through the second innings due to a side strain and might not be available for the second game, although a final call would only be taken post the assessment today evening. If he doesn’t play, then the fight for his place in the team is a really tough one between Cameroon Green and Moises Henriques. Henriques, with his experience of both having represented Australia in the past as well as of playing at Sydney (New South Wales), would be more favoured than the 21-year-old Western Australian. Strongest XI Aaron Finch(c), David Warner, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Moises Henriques, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Adam Zampa India The Indian team will need to come up with a plan B for this game, but first of all the captain will need to get back in form. Virat Kohli's dreadful average of 9 at the SCG was not helped last evening when he came out to bat, despite him looking in good touch. There are no injuries as such, however, there might just happen a change where Natrajan might be tried in place of Saini who had a very bad day registering his worst figures in ODI cricket. Kuldeep Yadav could be tried, but knowing Virat Kohli and the administration, it is very unlikely that India will play three spinners or for that matter two wrist spinners together. Strongest XI Mayank Agarwal, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (c), Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, T. Natarajan Australia vs India: Dream11 fantasy team suggestions David Warner, Aaron Finch, Steve Smith, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Glenn Maxwell, Hardik Pandya, Pat Cummins, Mohammed Shami, Josh Hazlewood, Adam Zampa Captain: Steve Smith Vice-captain: David Warner

Sandeep Lamichhane COVID-19 positive; big setback for Hobart Hurricanes

Nepalese leg-spinner Sandeep Lammichhane has tested positive for Covid-19 and the timing of his illness may just rule him out of the Big Bash League scheduled to start in just a couple of weeks time. "It's my sincere duty to tell you all that I have been tested positive for COVID-19. I had some body aches since Wednesday. But my health is improving a little bit now. If all goes well, I will return to the field again. Keep me in your prayers," Lamichhane tweeted. Lamichhane has been one of the promising wrist spinners in the game who have garnered a huge following among franchises in the world and he travels across the globe to take part in T20 leagues such as the Indian Premier League, Big Bash League among others. Lamichhane shined in the last season of the BBL when he was playing for the Melbourne Stars and subsequently the Hobart Hurricanes roped him in to bolster his slow bowling options. His illness and a possible omission from the league will be a huge setback for the team before the start of the 10th edition of the league. He was the first cricketer from Nepal to bag an IPL contract when the Delhi Capitals had bought him in the auction before the 2018 edition of the IPL.

Another Pakistan squad member tests COVID-19 positive in New Zealand; total tally at 7

The Pakistan touring party suffered yet another setback as another member of the contingent tested positive for Covid-19, taking the total number of infections to seven. As per the Covid-19 testing guidelines set by the New Zealand health departments, persons under isolation have to undergo testing on the third and 12th day of the isolation period and the seventh Covid positive member of the Pakistani contingent emerged in the test conducted on November 27. “One additional member of the Pakistan cricket squad has today tested positive during routine testing. The remainder of the results from the squad’s day 3 swab testing — apart from the six who have already returned a positive result — are negative,” the Ministry of Health said in a statement. The health departments in the country have already warned the Pakistan team one final time after they were caught flouting the quarantine norms in place in the country that has virtually eradicated coronavirus from its shores. Several members of the squad were caught ‘mingling without masks along with taking food from staff which are completely banned in quarantine period. The health ministry noted that the conduct of the Pakistan 53-member squad has improved significantly after a strict final warning was issued against flouting the norms. “We thank members of the team for their co-operation with the case investigations following the announcement of positive cases within the team. Co-operation and compliance are critical in ensuring New Zealand is kept safe from COVID-19,” the ministry added.