Is MS Dhoni Best Captain?
The truth is that Dhoni is a rare leader who is not only calm under pressure but also constantly thinking positively under pressure. His fielding and bowling changes are not merely inspired; they are generally wellthought out. Under him, most players exceed their potential. That apart, few can accurately assess the nature of a pitch so quickly and rightly guess-estimate the runs required to set up a decent target on it. Dhoni is no doubt a great finisher. He is one of India's best ODI batsmen. And he is their most decorated captain. But his true contribution goes far deeper. He has managed to turn a fan base inured to close defeats and panicky collapses into a set that refuses to believe that a game is lost as long as he stays in.Espncricinfo.com states Dhoni is 3rd captain to win 100 ODI matches as a captain and he will still increase this record. Dhoni's win percentage of 61.5% is clearly head and shoulders above the rest.
To be fair, we would have had 3 or 4 captains if Dhoni was NOT named as captain from 2007. He took those calls and backed himself every time. He has given enough opportunities where he spotted more talent. MSD will be remembered by cricketing world as one of the best captains. Whatever may be opined here? Suresh Raina summed it up "Valiant while he led valiant while he departs".
Just give me who was your choice of test captaincy from the point where Kumble left. You will realise that he was the better choice than any other.
WILL CANADA BE ABLE TO DO IT? Canada did not make it in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 but they have hoped to make it in T20 Cricket World Cup. Canada defeated the USA by 23 runs in the top of the table clash and crowned International Cricket Council (ICC) Americas Division One champions they will now play 2015 ICC World T20 Qualifier in Ireland and Scotland in July. This will decide their future in T20 Cricket World Cup. The top six sides from the 18-day tournament during which 51 matches will be played, will join the 10 Full Members for the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016, which will be held from 11 March to 3 April 2016. Both Ireland and Afghanistan are in different groups. Ireland is joined in Group A by Nepal, Hong Kong, Jersey Papua New Guinea (PNG), Namibia and United States of America (USA), while Pool B includes Canada, Netherlands, Scotland, Kenya, Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) apart from Afghanistan
Canada will be playing two warm-up matches and 6 tournament matches. Canadian squad looks solid. It includes: Rizwan Cheema (capt.), Hamza Tariq (vice capt.), Amarbir Hansra, Cecil Pervez, Farhan Malik, Junaid Siddiqui, Khurram Chohan, Navneet Dhaliwal, Nikhil Dutta, Nitish Kumar, Ruvindu Gunasekera, Saad Bin Zafar, Satsimranjit Dhindsa, Srimantha Wijeyeratne. Head coach: Mukesh Narula USA will also be playing in Qualifier matches because they finished second. Tournament final will take place on Sun, 26 July – Third place play-off, Malahide, Dublin (1000-1310); Final, Malahide, Dublin (1415-1725) Canada can do this; they have done this before but it won’t be easy. All we can do is cheer and hope they will win.
GO CANADA GO!
WELL! THIS IS SOMETHING NEW FOR YOU GUYS!! Have you ever seen a live game of Cricket? Now is your chance! The newly formed Winkler Cricket Team takes on the Manitoba Cricket Association. There will be a demonstration of the rules and an opportunity to try it for yourself. Leader: Zahid Zehri Location: 15th Street Fields Cricket is 2nd most popular sport in the world and its continuously developing so Cricket enthusiasts gathered last week to form the Pembina Royals Cricket Club.
Zahid Zehri is the new president of the club which also includes vice president Jaswant Dhillon, Treasurer Dharamjeet Dhillon, Coach Mohammed Zubair and Team captain Amarvir Panag. Zehri said the team is made up mostly of Winkler residents but includes others from neighbouring communities. They are planning to create a league board for Pembina valley which will have teams from local communities. “I am very hopeful since I saw a great response from the community,” Zehri said. “We already have 35 registered players on this club within a week. I am hoping it will recruit more people once we get registered with the Manitoba Cricket Association in few weeks.” There first introductory match was against a Winnipeg team on May 10. We saw some great action there Manitoba Cricket Association’s Executive Director, Ron Dipchand will be attending this event as well. Zehri invited the entire community to attend this one of its kind event. This game is not only to help connect the City Of Winkler to the rest of the world, but also cricket will help people to think positive and keep them healthy,” he said. The Royals will be registered in league matches and tournaments in Winnipeg in upcoming years. Hopefully they will achieve success in their upcoming matches.
The game that stopped two nations turned a tranquil Australian city into the heart of the Indian subcontinent. Adelaide has never had an audience like it. The sleepy South Australian capital was transformed into a heaving mass of colour and noise when it hosted Sunday's World Cup fixture between bitter foes India and Pakistan. One fan entering the ground summed up the prevailing feeling. "If there is anything bigger in cricket than a World Cup match between India and Pakistan, please let me know," said Rahil Seth, a 45-year-old Indian businessman from Melbourne. Depending on the feats of 22 cricketers in a game that means more to their people than any other, one nation would be plunged into mourning, the other pure joy - even though this only day two of a six-week tournament.
There was a capacity crowd nudging 47,000 - 35,000 of them visitors, who long ago snapped up tickets in just 20 minutes to ensure a sell-out. Indians dominated the gathering, seemingly all bringing their own national tri-coloured flag.
They drowned out bays of Pakistanis adorned in the bright green shirts of their nation's cricketers. India's winning of the toss produced a deafening cheer; the sight of gigantic flags of the respective nations for a pre-game ceremony prompted standing ovations. There was no hint of hostility among fans or even players - Indian batsman Virat Kohli shared a bottle of water with Pakistani fielders in a game between nations who have such trouble sharing a border. Many fans didn't even bother booking accommodation in Adelaide. They plan to spend Sunday night at Adelaide Airport instead. So authorities converted the terminal into a makeshift dormitory, laying out mattresses and bean bags, scheduling Bollywood movies to play on a giant video screen and laying artificial lawns for people to watch from. "This is the first time the terminal will be open all night," Adelaide Airport spokesman Brenton Cox said. About 5000 fans were expected to spend the night at the airport before catching one of 19 flights out of Adelaide on Monday morning. Estimated worldwide viewers India v Pakistan - 2015 Cricket World Cup - 1.5 billion Germany v Argentina - 2014 FIFA World Cup final - 1 billion Super Bowl 48 - Seahawks v Broncos - 160 million viewers There was a predicted worldwide television audience nearing 1.5 billion people - more than 1000 times the population of Adelaide
Harbhajan returns to India's Test squad Offspinner Harbhajan Singh has returned to India's Test squad for the first time in two years after he was picked for the only Test in Bangladesh from June 10 to 14. The selection committee, which met in Mumbai on Wednesday, retained the majority of the squad that toured Australia in 2014-15 with the exception of left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja. Fast bowler Mohammed Shami was not picked because of the knee injury he suffered during the World Cup that also ruled him out of the IPL. No first-choice players had requested rest despite having played the World Cup and the IPL back to back and so the selectors were able to pick full-strength squads for both formats. Sandeep Patil, India's chairman of selectors, said consideration had been given to the number of left-handers in the Bangladesh Test squad before the decision to pick a second offspinner was made. However, Harbhajan played only three first-class matches in last season's Ranji Trophy - six wickets with a best of 3 for 51 - but has been in impressive form for Mumbai Indians this IPL season, picking up 16 wickets in 14 matches. "The Bangladesh batting order has six left-handers, keeping that in mind, we discussed with the captain and we felt it was necessary to have a second offspinner," Patil said. "I also want to point out we not only discussed Harbhajan. We also discussed other youngsters and considered them. Ultimately the selection committee and the captain felt this was the right choice for this particular tour." Patil said Harbhajan had not been picked in the ODI squad because the selection panel felt "chopping and changing or disturbing the combination" of the team that had reached the World Cup semi-finals was unnecessary. In an interview with PTI, Harbhajan described his recall as "a fresh beginning", and said he was ready to play for another four-five years. "It feels like a fresh beginning for me," the offspinner said. "It's a new innings which I want to start on a confident note and make the best possible use of the chance that I have got. "For me, there is nothing more precious than the India jersey. For the past two years, I have been working hard for this day. Not for a single day, nor for a single moment, did I have a feeling that I won't play for India again. "At this point of time, I am ready to play for another four to five years. I am confident that I can represent India in all formats to the best of my abilities."
Addressing his first press conference after becoming the head of India's selection panel in October 2012, Patil did not say which players had been discussed at the selection meeting. "It will be difficult for me to say who all would be discussed. Those who we felt - the selection committee and captain felt - were discussed. There was no discussion about Yuvraj Singh." He last played Test cricket in 2013, when he was picked for the final two matches of the home series against Australia that India won 4-0. Harbhajan took only five wickets in those games at an average of 40.80, compared to R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja whose 29 and 24 wickets in four Tests came at 20.10 and 17.45 apiece. Subsequently the selectors and team management under the captain MS Dhoni and Duncan Fletcher retained Ashwin and Jadeja, and dropped Harbhajan, who had played 101 Tests. Harbhajan's decline had begun on the 2011 tour of England, where an injury forced him to return home after the first two Tests. He had taken just two wickets in the 70 overs he bowled at an average of 143.
Test squad: Virat Kohli (capt), M Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha, R Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh, Karn Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron, Ishant Sharma ODI squad: MS Dhoni (capt), Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Stuart Binny, Dhawal Kulkarni
How To Play A Sweep Shot In Cricket Be sure to check cricket gossip 2.0 magazine for more cricket tips. Play the Sweep Shot. The sweep shot is a popular attacking stroke that is also very dangerous, so you must know the right technique to pull it off.
Step 1: When to play The sweep shot is ideal for playing spin bowling on the leg side in an attacking way. Step 2: Don't Delay If you don't decide and move early enough you may lose your wicket Step 3: The sweep Lead towards the line of the ball with head and front shoulder. Place the front pad into the line of the ball and then bending the front leg and collapsing the back leg. Your bat should be above your head in a high backswing
Step 4: Lean forward With your head over the front knee, bring the bat down and across from a high backswing
Step 5: Extend your arms
Step 6: Practise makes perfect Frequently doing something makes one better at doing It
Step 7: READY TO PLAY
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ASHWIN DHONI IYER KOHLI RAINA YUVRAJ
AXAR GAMBHIR JADEJA MOHIT ROHIT
BHUVI ISHANT KARTHIK NEGI SEHWAG
Gave Up? Means you are not a die heart Of cricket. Answer key on last page
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