Justin Langer compares Hardik Pandya's batting to MS Dhoni's finishing abilities

Cricket's grey area of grey matter

Performance anxiety, bullish team cultures, public scrutiny and the incessant fear of failure are wreaking havoc on cricketers' mental health.

BBL 2020 Team Preview: Men from Adelaide have the force to strike hard this time

The men from Adelaide have readied their arsenal to strike at the right moment and throughout the tournament to make sure they reach their second-ever BBL final in the history of the league. The first and only time they did, was in 2017-18, where they beat Hobart Hurricanes to claim the silverware. The extra motivation Since then it has been difficult for the team to make it to the final two in the past two years. This time around, the team would go in with extra motivation, given the fact that It was the only among the eight teams to be away from their home venue due to covid. Being away as a group for the past month has brought them closer and given them a target to prove that even without the odds in their favour, they are never afraid to ride the high tide. Coach Gillespie believes that his boys have put in a lot of effort at their base in Coff’s Harbour in the New South Wales and was grateful for the authorities to have provided the team world-class facilities. "I have to say the local council, the stadium management and grounds staff in Coffs Harbour deserve all the credit. The facilities we had – at short notice – have been world-class and they all bent over backwards to help. I can't thank them enough,” he said. The foreign signings Adelaide are the only team who wouldn’t have much problem with their foreign stars as most of them would be available throughout the tournament, barring the fact that Rashid Khan might be away for a week or so if the Afghanistan vs Ireland series goes as planned. Rashid Khan’s worldwide reputation of winning matches doesn’t need any backing up from the stats. But if one was indeed wanted to know, then in 40 matches at the BBL over the years, the Afghan has picked up 56 wickets, his economy remaining below seven at all the times. Overall in 237 T20 games, the 22-year-old has picked up 327 wickets. Phil Salt and Danny Brigs, both Englishmen were drafted in by Gillespie for their outstanding performances in the Vitality Blast. While Salt has previously played with the Strikers, it would be a first time for Briggs, the highest wicket-taker in England domestic circuit. Phil Salt was one of the leading run-scorers for Strikers last year with 361 runs from 15 innings. Even in the Vitality Blast, he has to his credit more than 200 runs at a decent strike rate. Overall too, he has 1709 runs in 73 T20 games at a strike rate of more than 150, which could be crucial for the Strikers considering that his partner, Jake Weatherald is more of an innings builder with a strike rate of less than 130. Briggs, another one of Gillespies Sussex recruits is more of a method actor playing in commercial as he would be the working horse who has an economy less than 8 and can bowl at any time in the innings. The vastly experienced 29-year-old has 186 T20 wickets in his kitty in 168 games, meaning that he gives at least one wicket in each game. Speaking about Briggs’ potential, Gillespie who had been at Sussex himself said, “Danny is the highest wicket-taker in the history of the T20 Blast in the UK, which has been running since 2003. He's a vastly experienced left-arm spinner, he's a very adaptable player. He can bowl in every phase of the game, so he gives us flexibility and options.” Adelaide Strikers Squad Wes Agar, Alex Carey, Harry Conway, Travis Head (c), Spencer Johnson, Michael Neser, Harry Nielsen, Liam O'Connor, Matthew Renshaw, Liam Scott, Matt Short, Peter Siddle, Cameron Valente, Jake Weatherald, Jon Wells, Daniel Worrall. Overseas Players: Danny Briggs (England), Rashid Khan (Afghanistan), Phil Salt (England) Coach: Jason Gillespie Assistant Coach: Cameroon White Strikers would bank on experience Adelaide is one of the most experienced sides this year in the tournament. It is not by the age of the players, rather by the number of games that they have played. For e.g Phil Slat, at just 24, has an experience of 73 high quality T20 games. Or for that matter, Rashid Khan at 22 more than 300 wickets in his kitty. It is this experience that needs to be balanced and utilised well by the Strikers management. The likes Peter Siddle, joint highest wicket-taker (19 wickets in 15 games) last season, all-rounder Michael Nesser (as and when available), skipper Travis Head, Rashid Khan, Alex Carey and Matt Renshaw would have come to good to give the Strikers all the chance in the world to make it to their second finals appearance. However, one person that all the Strikers fans and team would be looking to come good would be the 32-year-old Jonathan Wells. The guy had smokes all the bowlers out of the park last year as he scored 478 runs in 14 innings at an unbelievable average of 68.28 and at a healthy strike rate of 135. However, Gillespie believes that the new signing Renshaw and Daniel Worrall ould be the important dots to connect the Strikers to the finals. “Matt came down from Brisbane to Coffs to get around our boys after a few hits in Premier Cricket. He's a very fine player and that's the reason we went hard to recruit him. He's a very flexible batter with a lot of upsides and he can also bowl some handy slower deliveries too.” Head must 'Carey' it through It would be between the two most experienced and acclaimed Aussie Superstars in the form of Travis Head (the original captain) and Alex Carey (who would lead in Head’s absence due to international duties) to take the charge of a unit brimming of talent and make the most of all that talent. Carey, 29, has just recently signed a four year deal with the strikers, meaning that the team looks at him as their future leader. With Head away, most probably for the first eight rounds, Carey, who was Strikers’ second-highest run-scorer last year with 391 runs at an average of 35.54, must take the lead and prove to the Australian selectors that he should be the number one choice going to India for the next year’s T20 World Cup. Carey would not get a better chance than this to do that. Head, when he will return, will have gas hands as he would look to recreate the 2017-18 season all over again in which he scored 374 runs in just 9 innings (he would get 7-8 innings minimum this year too) to take the team through. Therefore it would be between the two experienced left-handers Head and Carey to carry the team in such a way that it heads to the final straightaway. Possible Best XI for the first game: Jake Weatherald, Phil Salt, Matt Short, Matt Renshaw (c), Jon Wells, Harry Nielsen (wk), Rashid Khan, Peter Siddle, Wes Agar, Danny Briggs, Daniel Worrall

Madhya Pradesh board ready to host domestic tournaments with bio-bubbles

Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA) has put its hand up for hosting domestic cricket matches in the COVID-affected period. Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had asked state cricket boards to put forward their ideas on how Ranji Trophy and other domestic cricket tournaments can be organised. BCCI's plan is to develop six bio-bubbles in the country where players can be kept for the period of their participation. MPCA has claimed that it has the requisite facilities for providng such a bio-secure hub for teams. "We have informed the BCCI that the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy should be organised first and later the Ranji Trophy should be organised. The organisation of these two crucial domestic tournaments is important. Taking all precautions for COVID-19, we (MPCA) are ready to host both these tournaments," secretary of MPCA Sanjiv Rao was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. Indore is the venue which has been put forward by MPCA for hosting matches from these two tournaments. The Holkar Stadium has become a regular fixture in international calendar in recent years and has seen infrastructure upgrade also. MPCA also has some valuable experience of holding a cricket tournament in these unusual times. An inter-divisional cricket tournament has already taken place in order where 10 teams had taken part. For holding a tournament like the Ranji Trophy, the board will have to ensure that the participating teams are insulated from outside contact but also have access to the necessary training facilities. Since the Indian Premier League (IPL) was shifted from India to United Arab Emirates (UAE), BCCI and its affiliated state boards did not have to create such bio-bubbles for that tournament in India. Now, with time running out for the leading domestic tournaments, across formats, BCCI seeks to combine tournaments so that the same bubble could be utilised for multiple formats. There is also the possibility of some of the annual fixtures of the Indian season getting cancelled this year.

Aus vs Ind | What Experts said as Pandya, Natarajan help India seal the series

Hardik Pandya finished it off in style as he heaved one across the leg to long-on off Daniel Sams to win, not only the game but also the T20I series for India, giving the team a much-needed boost before the start of the real ‘Test’. The pair of Pandya and Shreyas Iyer, which added 46 precious runs in just 21 balls turned out to be the game-changer for the team, apart from some unusual, but effective batting from Virat Kohli (Yes, he hit a scoop, sitting on one knee, Yeah Kohli did that.) Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul too played important knocks of 52 and 30 respectively. Earlier in the day at SCG, Australia posted a challenging total after being called on to bat first on the flat Sydney track. With the help of stand-in captain Matthew Wade’s 58 off 32 and Smith’s 46 off 38, the Kangaroos reached 194 in their 20 overs. The bowling off T. Natarajan was of particular importance, as he gave away just 20 runs in his quota of four overs, and that included two important wickets of D’Arcy Short and Moises Henriques as well. Captains' Viewpoints Indian captain Kohli was happy with the win and lauded the teammates for standing up to the occasion and pulling a series back after the disappointing loss in the 50 overs format. “[It] meant a great deal. We've played as a team in T20 cricket,” Kohli said during the post-match presentation ceremony. “The fact that we don't have Rohit and Bumrah, our established white-ball players, in and still doing well makes me happy,” the skipper added underlining how important the victory has been even in the absence of the modern-day greats of the Indian team. Saying that the young players are utilizing the opportunities given to them, Kohli pointed out how playing at least 14 games in the recently concluded IPL helped the team fare well in the shortest format. “We just kept them down to a total which we thought was quite chase-able with the short boundary. It's contributions from the whole team that make you feel better because young players are taking their opportunities,” he said. Feeling as if he was in awe of Hardik Pandya, the responsible guy, Kohli praised the Baroda born, saying that he is now the most bankable player going down the line 4-5 years. “Hardik coming into the team in 2016 was pure ability. He has raw talent. And now he realizes that this is his time, the next 4-5 years, to be that bankable player that can win you games from anywhere. His plans are right and I'm glad to see that,” he said. Talking about the scoop he said, “There was indeed an AB shot! I told Hardik, Tye wasn’t expecting it and he said he didn't either. I'll text AB tonight, see what he thinks of it.” Wade, the stand-in captain for Aaron Finch was humorous in his approach to the post-match presentation, saying that it was fun being a captain until Pandya came in. Feeling that they were a bit short on the target, Wade said, “I think we might have been a little short - not a lot, but then it doesn't matter when Hardik is in [this sort of form].” Wade believed that the players did quite well in the game. His only complaint was of miss execution at certain places. “All in all, we played some good cricket, we just miss-executed in some places and that was it. Was great to see Sweppo and Zamps. These guys have played a lot of T20. Unfortunately, we couldn't execute in the end,” he said. Expert Opinion Mostly the experts were full of praise for the kind of patience that Pandya showed to reach the total and take the game as close as possible before finally finishing it. There were obvious talks of Chahal failing today with the ball and how it is going to be a gala time in the Indian dressing room considering that Ravindra Jadeja, Shreyas Iyer, and Bumrah have their birthdays today. Rohan Gavaskar, former India, and Bengal cricketer, impressed by Hardik's ability to change the cause of any game said that he should get out of that mode of 'just a finisher' and explore his batting a bit more. Legend of Indian cricket, Sachin Tendulkar too lauded the Indian team for showing composure and class by winning two different games in two different ways, showcasing its range and depth as a World Class unit. Freddie Wilde, the cricket nerd, known for his numbers specialty was at it his best as he decoded how Daniel Sams and Andrew Tye are going to be the perfect fodder for Pandya to feast on in the last two overs. He said that both the bowlers depend on slower deliveries and Pandya too likes the slow balls to utilise his long levers. Harsha Bhogle, the world-known cricket commentator and expert too was in awe of the 27-year-old Pandya saying that he has to be amongst the most feared of the finishers worldwide. It is becoming like a ritual to have a Gaurav Kalra witty tweet in our segment. And that shall be carried on. However, there awaits another surprise at the end as this segment today has an even funnier end courtesy of the legend of witty tweets Wasim Jaffer. Jaffer, the legendary first-class cricketer has off late become a Twitter sensation with his tweets and one in this game also caught everyone's eyes as he retweeted a Michael Vaughan tweet in which he had predicted that Australia would win the series. The third and final game of the series as well as of the limited-overs leg of this tour would be played on the 8th of December in Sydney before moving on to Adelaide for the exciting Test series.