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Let Me Be Suryakumar Yadav Brushes Off His Comparison With Michael Bevan

"Let Me Be..." - Suryakumar Yadav brushes off his comparison with Michael Bevan

In his pre-match address, Suryakumar Yadav shared India's plan to conquer the West Indian side in the second ODI of the ongoing series.

The last game between the two nations saw Suryakumar finishing the job as India suddenly seemed in a spot of bother, losing three quick wickets. With pitch on the slower side, the middle-order batter aimed to take India home safely without any signs of risk.

His crucial innings was compared with the Australian legend Michael Bevan, who made his name as a finisher. The 31-year-old laughed at the journalist's question and settled the debate, saying he has a unique identity.

"Sir, I've just played five games. Or maybe seven. Let me remain Suryakumar Yadav. Whatever number I can bat, whatever situation I am in, if I can make the team win from there, that will be my focus. But I want to be fearless as I am, always," Suryakumar said.

Suryakumar was involved in a friendly banter with his Mumbai Indians' teammate Kieron Pollard. "Show us those flicks you play in the IPL," Kieron Pollard was heard saying on Sunday.

Pointing towards Pollard's golden duck, Suryakumar mentioned that the West Indies' skipper did not give him enough time to sledge. "I didn't get a chance to sledge him though, he was in a hurry," he stated.

Sharing the titbit of his partnership with debutant Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar conveyed their strategy, which gave India an easy win in the end.

"Things were really clear, he (Hooda) has played a lot of domestic cricket, so he knew the situation really well. We were having little conversations and setting little goals (in our partnership). His confidence was spot on though."

With Rohit and Co. currently in search for the right balance, they desperately need an all-rounder. Venkatesh Iyer is already out of the mix in the ODIs. Suryakumar revealed that he is spending time with the ball in the nets and can be India's solution to the problem.

"I'm bowling in the nets. Whenever the opportunity comes, I'll be ready. Whenever they feel they can use me, I'm always available," he added.

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IND vs WI | 2nd ODI: Problem of plenty for India as hosts look to wrap series

India will have a happy headache when they face West Indies in the second ODI of the three-match series in Ahmedabad on Wednesday (February 9, 2022). The home side is leading the series 1-0 and to strengthen the unit, new limited-overs vice-captain KL Rahul and opening batsman Mayank Agarwal sweating it out in the nets. Rahul had reportedly missed the first ODI in order to attend his sister’s wedding. Agarwal on the other side was completing his quarantine then. Wicket-keeper batsman Ishan Kishan had opened the innings in the first ODI along with Rohit Sharma and played a decent hand in the 84-runs stand for the first wicket. The left-handed batsman scored 28 off 36. But with KL back in the side, it would be a task for the team management to take a call on the opening combination, considering Mayank is also available. The bowling department seems to be pretty sorted for now for the hosts. The spinners, Chahal and Washington Sundar bagged wickets for the side while the pacers didn't really give away runs and bowled at good line and length. On the other side, West Indies need runs from their batters in order to put something on the scoresheet and stay in the hunt in this series. They had lost wickets a regular succession and were on the back foot in a major part of the game. It was only Jason Holder and Fabian Allen with him who showed some resistance but the failure of the batting unit prevented the visitors to post a defendable total on the board. Match Details India vs West Indies, 2nd ODI Venue: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad Date & Time: February 9th at 1:30 PM IST and local time Live Streaming: Star Sports Network Pitch Report The track at this venue in the last game helped the spinners in the first half of the match and also assisted the batting in the later stages. The pitch is expected to play in the same manner so, if you win the toss, elect to field first. Team News India: KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal and Navdeep Saini were seen in the nets ahead of the second ODI. India might just make one change in their final XI with KL Rahul coming in place of Ishan Kishan who had opened the innings with Rohit Sharma in the first ODI. West Indies: The West Indies side would want the batsmen to go all guns blazing as the batting department's failure became the major reason for their defeat in the first clash. Probable XI India: Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (WK), Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Deepak Chahar, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal West Indies: Shai Hope (WK), Brandon King, Darren Bravo, Nicholas Pooran, Shamarh Brooks, Kieron Pollard (C), Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Fabian Allen, Alzarri Joseph, Kemar Roach Fantasy XI Rishabh Pant, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Brandon King, Kieron Pollard, Jason Holder (C), Yuzvendra Chahal (VC), Shardul Thakur, Alzarri Joseph

"That is one game where I feel like it hurts” - Virat Kohli on IPL 2016 final

Former Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper and legendary batsman Virat Kohli recently strolled down memory lane to revisit the heart-breaking loss in the 2016 IPL final where his side came astonishingly close to winning their maiden title. The 2016 season of the cash-rich league belonged to one man and one man only- Virat Kohli. Fresh from his freak exploits in the T20 World Cup, Kohli achieved the zenith as far as batting in the shortest format is concerned as he racked up records for fun. The champion cricketer smashed a staggering 973 runs in 16 games at an average of 81 with the help of as many as four centuries - an all-time record in a single edition of any T20 tournament. However, he still ended up on the losing end of the spectrum as the David Warner-led SunRiser Hyderabad beat the Bangalore franchise by 8 runs in a high-scoring final. Speaking exclusively on the RCB podcast, Kohli admitted that the defeat still hurts. "That game, I felt like it was written. How could the finals be in Bangalore, and we played that kind of season, and we play that kind of a game where we are 100 for no loss in nine overs. "Even KL, to this day, if there’s a highlight package running, he takes a screenshot and says it still hurts. It does. You had these dejected faces sitting in that amazing victory setup that we had done for the post-victory celebration. There was no music and we had such a big setup. I wouldn’t say it was our day. That is one game where I feel like it hurts.” he added. "That season was unbelievable. That was so amazing in a way that you have four guys performing at their peak game in, game out – which is so rare to see in T20 cricket. We just got on a roll where we were like fine ‘if we are not doing well in the season, we could still make it’. The belief never went away which is really difficult to create. That happened very, very naturally that season,” the former RCB skipper said. Speaking about the final game, RCB looked well on course to win their maiden title after Chris Gayle (76 off 38 deliveries) and Kohli (54 off 35 deliveries) racked up 114 runs in just 10.3 overs while chasing 208. However, the dismissal of the opening pair trigger collapse as they lost 6-90 at the back end of the innings to fall short by 7 runs. Post that season, RCB have come no way near winning the title. They failed to qualify for the playoffs in three successive seasons in 2017, 2018 & 2019 before getting knocked out in the Eliminator in 2020 and 2021 respectively.

NZW vs INDW | Mithali Raj happy with presence of sports psychiatrist in Indian team

India ODI captain Mithali Raj has encouraged the presence of a sports psychiatrist in the women’s national team. Currently on a long tour of New Zealand which will move into the Women’s ODI World Cup starting on 4 March. “In today’s times, it is even more important to have them around with the team with the longer duration of tour and quarantine and bubbles,” the Indian captain said on the eve of the lone T20I match against New Zealand. The Indian women’s team has been through some testing times since the 2017 World Cup with multiple changes in coaching positions. It was speculated that the senior players were not on good terms with Mithali Raj. However, that seems to be a thing of past as a full-strength Indian team is scheduled to lock horns against New Zealand to start their preparations for the World Cup. “It is an extended tour of two months with the ODI series and the World Cup. It does help to have one on one sessions with (sports psychologist),” Raj said. The captain further added that the presence of a trained person helps her to put things in perspective and look at things from a different point of view. “You see things in a different way and it helps you to understand your own self, to find your own ways to deal with pressure and quarantine. To have somebody is always helpful.”

BPL 2022 | Chattogram Challengers steal a win in last-ball thriller vs Minister Group Dhaka

In an exciting finish to the game, Chattogram Challengers stole a final-ball win against Minister Group Dhaka. Dhaka while chasing 149 in 20 overs, needed 6 off the last ball with Mrittunjoy Chowdhury having the ball in his hand. Chowdhury missed to nail a yorker on this delivery and instead bowled a waist-height no-ball bringing the equation down to 5 off 1. But the bowler soon corrected his error as he only gave away one run on the final ball to win the match for his side by three runs. The Minister Group Dhaka side lost three early wickets during the course of the chase and were reduced to 21/3 before Tamim Iqbal joined hands with skipper Mahmudullah to steady the ship for the team. The two batters chipped in with a stand of 71 runs for the fourth wicket before the captain departed for 24 off 29. Tamim was then joined by Shuvagata Hom who struck a brisk 11-ball 22 before getting out to Shoriful Islam. While the opener remained unbeaten at 73 off 56 eventually, he couldn't take the side home as they were restricted to 145/6 in 20 overs. Chowdhury and Islam picked up a couple of wickets each for their side. Earlier, in the day, the Challengers rode on Shamim Hossain's fifty and a late surge from Howell who scored 24* of 19 to put 148/6 on the board despite losing wickets at regular intervals. Arafat Sunny was the pick of the bowlers for his side as he returned with figures of 1/16 in three overs. "It was a very important match for us. If we lost we were out of the tournament. After the early wicket we were trying to build a partnership. Shamim played a really good innings to get us to that total. Mrittunjoy bowled really well and every other bowlers bowled well, a total team effort," Afif Hossain said after the match.