R Ashwin credits all his success to 'always aspiring to be perfect' attitude

India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has credited all of his achievements to his ‘always aspiring to be perfect’ attitude and said that he has always looked at the areas of improvement to settle at nothing but ‘excellence’ on the cricket field.

Saying that the endeavour of improvements holds the key in his career, Ashwin said that the day he would not get the same energy to learn something new and try different things, he would walk away from the game.

"The beauty about Test cricket is you are always aspiring to be perfect but you can settle for excellence, so that's pretty much I think I do. I think whatever I have achieved so far in my career is because of that attitude, did not settle for anything, constantly looking to improve. I maintained that if I don't like doing different things and if I lose the patience to do something new or get satisfied then I might not play the sport anymore," ," Ashwin said in an ICC video released during the ongoing World Test Championship final between India and New Zealand in Southampton.

However, he said that he never looks at himself with excess admiration and relishes the ‘wonderful’ opportunity of playing the sport which gves him a lot of happiness and good space.

"I don't really read or dwell on my performances to be very honest. To be brutally honest I just hate the fact that I am who I am because of what I do. In India you get a lot of adulation but I am just another normal person who finds peace and happiness playing the sport," he said.

"It is just absolutely wonderful that I can ply my trade and feed my family and I get paid so well. This is a sport that gives meaning to me to live. I am too excited about it. I don't time for people rating me or not rating me, it's just another person's opinion and that's just brutally how I live my life."

R Ashwin was included in the playing XI alongside Ravindra Jadeja although there were bowling conditions favourable for seamers in Southampton. He used his bat to steer India past the 200-run mark but could not extend his contributions with the bat beyond 22 on the third day of the final against New Zealand.

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WI vs SA | 2nd Test | Day 2: West Indies batting woes continue as visitors take mammoth lead

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Shafali Verma is very important to Indian batting unit in all formats: Mithali Raj

India batter Shafali Verma began her Test career with some brilliant performance with the bat after she struck fifties in both the innings as the visitors managed to draw the one-off Test against England in Bristol. Hailing the youngster’s efforts, captain Mithali Raj lavished praise on Shafali and said that she is going to be a very important player across all formats for the team. “She will be very, very important to the Indian batting unit in all formats. She beautifully adapted to this format,” Mithali said in a virtual media interaction. Mithali further appreciated the way Verma stitched her innings. “She didn’t go like how she would go bonkers in the T20 format. She played sensibly against the new ball and it’s great to have her,” Mitahli said. “She has great range of shots, and she can be very, very, effective in a format like this if she gets going. In no time, we could see that the score would be somewhere else if she gets going,” she added. Shafali scored 96 in the first innings and was involved in a 167-run partnership for the first wicket with Smriti Mandhana who also notched up 78. But the two batters' departure saw a flurry of wickets and the Indian batting was soon bundled out for 231 and the host enforced a follow-on. Opener Mandhana got out early in the second innings but Verma scored 63 while Deepti Sharma and Sneh Rana scored fifties and Punam Raut and Taniya Bhatia chipped in with crucial runs as India ended the last day’s play at 344/8 to end the match in a draw.

PSL 2021 | MS vs ISU: In dress rehearsal before the Qualifier, Islamabad hand Multan its first defeat in Abu Dhabi leg

Islamabad United defeated Multan Sultans by four wickets to end the league stage of the Pakistan Super League 2021. With this win, United ended up with eight wins from 10 games and earned 16 points from the possible 20 to top the points table. Sultans on the other hand suffered their first defeat of the Abu Dhabi leg of the tournament, having won four games in a row to qualify for the Playoffs. The match went up to the last over thanks to some lethargic approach by both the teams. Chasing a modest total of 150 to win the game, United got off to go a start as the new openers Umar Amin and the wicketkeeper-batsman Muhammad Akhlaq added 39 for the first wicket before the latter was removed by Larkana express Shahnawaz Dhani. The highest wicket-taker in the tournament so far, Dhani also picked up the wicket of Amin in his next over. United skipper Shadab Khan finally found some form as he hit 35 off 27 balls to get the team closer to the total. He was removed from Muhammad Umar, who was playing just his second game of the season. Asif Ali and Hussain Talat then got the men in red near the target just before a mini-collapse unfolded to create some drama at the end. When Sultans needed less than run a ball, Brandon King was removed by a ripper of a top spinner by Usman Qadir, who was playing his first game of the Abu Dhabi leg. Before that Qadir had already removed Asif Ali. In the last over, with four to defend, Blessing Muzarabani was called in by Mohammad Rizwan. According to the set plan, Muzarabani bowled bouncer and Talat top-edged to deep fine leg where Dhani pulled a blinder of a catch to set the Sultans dug out on fire and made them stand and applaud his fielding. However, Iftikhar Ahmed completed the three required runs even as a leg before the wicket appeal was made and rejected on the last delivery as Ahmed and Mohammad Wasim Jr. scampered through for the winning run. Reacting to the win, United skipper Shadab praised his rookie bowler Wasim Jr. for a great performance. “It was his (Wasim) effort that has paid dividends. He wanted to prove himself and I just backed him,” he said. Talking about the challenge of facing Multan once again in the Qualifiers, he said, “ They are a tough team, they are in good form and it's about who handles pressure better. We'll try to ensure that we do the simple things right.” Earlier in the evening, Multan Sultans were invited to bat after losing the toss. Both teams, secured of a 1-2 finish at the points table, chose to test their bench strength. Multan, after a steady start by openers Shan Masood and Rizwan, faltered in the later phase of the innings. Even after Masood’s 59, the Sultans could manage only 149 as they got bundled out in 20 overs. Wasim Jr. was at his very best for United, finishing up with 4-31 in his four overs spell and then going on to win the Man of the Match award. Reacting after the loss, Multan skipper Rizwan said, “I am happy with the effort as we kept fighting till the end and that's the kind of quality we expect from the team. Hopefully, we can beat them in the next game.” Courtesy finishing second on the points table, Rizwan and his team would indeed meet United in the very next game, which would be the Qualifier of the tournament and will be played on June 21 at Sheikh Zayed Stadium.