Joe Root's two wickets helps England etch distinguished record

It's the truth: Wriddhiman Saha on being superior keeper to Rishabh Pant

In an exclusive interview with the Hindustan Times India’s Test keeper Wriddhiman Saha has said that there is no doubt that he is the better keeper and Rishabh Pant is the better batsman. Asked about his take on the comparisons between him and Pant, Saha stated that when Pant takes guard in the middle, he bats with a different level of confidence. “It is the truth and you can’t deny it. Right from childhood, I have treated myself as a keeper first and then a batsman. Can’t really say what is Rishabh’s opinion on this. But when he takes his stance in the middle and bats the way he does, it exerts a different level of confidence.” Talking about the team management’s approach to playing two different keepers in the same format, Saha explained that while it doesn’t happen in most countries, as players they have to be okay with it. “It probably doesn’t happen in any other country. Teams change keepers with different formats but two keepers rotating in the same format after a couple of games doesn’t happen that often but we are all professional cricketers, we have to keep our faith in the team management.” Not been amongst runs for a while now, Saha has come under criticism from fans and pundits with several claiming that Pant should play ahead of him given his batting abilities. Unperturbed by the opinions, Saha stated that at the end of the day it is about playing their natural game and what a team is looking for as a combination. “He (Pant) gets success playing that way. Now once again, it boils down to the team management whether they want to play an extra batsman or a specialist keeper.” Saha elaborated. Quizzed about Rahane as a captain, Saha reflected that the Indian captain Down Under never let his emotions get the better of him and always kept it cool even in the most stressful situations. “He is always cool, there is no anger in him. He never lets the emotions get the better of him. I’m sure he too gets excited at times but it doesn’t show on his face. He believes in all the players, pushes all of us to play our natural game,” Saha explained. On his tactical abilities, Saha expounded that Rahane lets the team to play their own natural game and is not the kind of person who will go forward and impose his ideas on someone. “For example, he will never stop Rishabh from playing his shots. Obviously, if the game situation demands something different then he will pass on his inputs but in general, he lets the player play his natural game,” Saha concluded.

If you take spinners as T20 commodity, that’s where you will finish them: Ashwin

The competition bar to sustain a place in the Indian team is rising with every passing series. We witnessed some new match-winners on the recently concluded tour of Australia when players like Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill and Shardul Thakur stepped up to take the responsibility and won the series for India. Some similar competition has been there as far as the spin department is concerned. Sundar made his Test debut on this series while someone like Kuldeep Yadav didn’t even get a match to don the Indian jersey. In a chat with The New Indian Express, R Ashwin talked about the spinners and how making them a T20 “commodity” will not help them. “When I came through the first-class ranks, my first captain was S Badrinath and coach was (WV) Raman. The learning I had under them is not the same for spinners coming right now. I was having a chat with Wasim Jaffer and Amol Muzumdar and that’s one of the reasons. Another thing is the amount of grass and the number of wickets the seamers take... games that finish in the first two days with seamers taking a lot of wickets to throw spinners off guard.” “Spinners are someone who emerge because they do a lot of repetition and get a lot of games in FC cricket. If you are taking that away from the spinners and look at them as a T20 commodity, that’s where you will finish them. I feel there are talents but the way they are dealt with in first-class cricket is not the same as the privilege I had of being mentored by my captain and coach,” he said.

I just want to win every game: Rishabh Pant

The hero of historic Brisbane Test and one who almost changed the entire complexion of the Test match in Sydney, Rishabh Pant has said that he just wants to win every game. Speaking to Sports Today, Pant said that the team management’s idea was to look to cash in on loose balls and score runs. "The team management's plan from the beginning of the match was 'let's look to win the match'. Even my thinking has always been to win. I just want to win every game, draw is always the secondary option," Pant said. In the duel against Nathan Lyon in the final innings of the decider, Pant in his risky approach to counter-attack was beaten fair few times by balls that turned sharply away from him. In one of the most iconic moments in the game, Pant stepped down and hit Lyon for a huge six over long-on right after a ball turned square on the fifth-day pitch. "At that time I thought 'one ball turned so much and Lyon is such an experienced bowler so he will try to turn one away from the stumps’. I knew he was going to try and spin one away from the stumps so I was ready to step out and hit him if he bowls a tossed up delivery.” Pant reflected back on the moment. And it did unfold in the very next delivery. In a perfect moment of game reading, Pant was in control of the entire Test match. "Otherwise I hadn't planned that I was going to step out and look to hit a big shot in any case. But if the ball lands in my area then I think it has to be hit out of the ground," Pant said. Pant scored a total of 274 runs from three Test matches in the tour Down Under and was hailed for his exceptional mentality in adverse conditions that he was put in. Pant will be seen donning the whites for India in the England home series where the team is scheduled to play four matches between 5 February to 8 March.

Every time there was a challenge, somebody in the team raised their bar: Ashwin

The Indian team was plagued with injuries during the tour of Australia. The prominent names like Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, KL Rahul, Hanuma Vihari, Ravindra Jadeja had been ruled out during the series after sustaining individual injuries while R Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah had missed the final Test after not being fully fit. But India rode on the fine performances from the youngsters to snap a win in the final match and the series. Talking to The New Indian Express, India all-rounder R Ashwin did mention about the teamwork that was put in despite the injury concerns. “I am not too sure. They got bowled out for 190 in Adelaide. With another hundred runs on the board, even that pink ball Test could have gone either way. I personally think they knew our bowling was going to challenge them all through the series. I think it is just that the team found ways to bounce back from 36 all out. It's not quite the bench strength alone that dictated the way the series went. I think every time there was a challenge, somebody in the team raised their bar. One piece of good fortune, there were new people and fresh legs especially in the bowling department walking in. Sometimes when you're playing a long series, fresh legs and minds can do the trick,” he said. India were bowled out for 36 in the second innings of the first Test and eventually lost the match by 8 wickets but bounced back with authority to win the second and fourth clash while the third match ended in a draw.