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Tag: Border Gavaskar Trophy

Travis ‘Headache’: Ravi Shastri gives Australia batter nickname for dominant performances against India
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Travis ‘Headache’: Ravi Shastri gives Australia batter nickname for dominant performances against India

Former India coach Ravi Shastri lauded Travis Head and his impact in the recent Border Gavaskar Trophy against India, pointing out that Head’s improvement against the short ball has been his recipe for success. Head has been a constant thorn in India’s side even before this series, having played a huge hand in helping Australia win the 2023 ODI World Cup and the World Test championship 2023, both against the Men in Blue. In the current series, he started slowly getting dismissed for just 11 and in the 1st innings of the 1st Test but he ramped it up in the second innings with 89 runs but could not prevent Australia’s loss. In his next two outing, he slammed 140 in the 2nd Test and 152 in the 3rd one. “Because his new surname is Travis Head’ache’. They are looking for balms in India. For f...
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Border Gavaskar Trophy: India at the nets prior to fourth test
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Border Gavaskar Trophy: India at the nets prior to fourth test

Devdutt Padikkal doubled up as the extra off-spinner and gave company to Washington and Ravindra Jadeja after R. Ashwin announced his retirement. | Photo Credit: Getty Images Past the statues of Dennis Lillee and Shane Warne frozen in their bowling actions, and fringed by lush foliage, the Melbourne Cricket Ground is a pretty sight. There is history in every corner and at one level lower than the main venue, the Indians were busy preparing for their immediate future here on Saturday (December 21, 2024) morning.Despite a warm sun, the breeze remained cold, the kind that stirs awake old fractures. And in this city of stately churches and the Yarra River, the fourth Test will commence on December 26. While the Aus...
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Ian Healy Interview: All that went around before and after you heard the iconic ‘BOW-LINNN’ SHANE’ war-squeak on cricket grounds
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Ian Healy Interview: All that went around before and after you heard the iconic ‘BOW-LINNN’ SHANE’ war-squeak on cricket grounds

Ian Healy had seen everything. Inzamam-ul-Haq’s dancing feet, the release from Shane Warne’s hand and the awareness that it was going to dip sharply and slide outside leg stump, and the intended shot through a deliberately untenanted midwicket. “Sometimes seeing too much can be a problem,” Healy smiles as rain buckets down at the Gabba. And the pressure. “Oh yes, the pressure. I definitely felt it that day.” Pakistan had needed 56 runs when the last man Mushtaq Ahmed joined Inzamam in that famous Karachi Test of 1994, but the equation now read just three runs to win. “Mushy scored 20! Don’t think he ever did it again! That kind of a day.” Warne, the captain Mark Taylor, and Healy had consulted and decided to leave the midwicket open. Inzamam would once tell this correspondent why he took ...
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Australia squad for final two Tests vs India announced: Abbott replaces injured Hazlewood, Konstas earns maiden call-up
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Australia squad for final two Tests vs India announced: Abbott replaces injured Hazlewood, Konstas earns maiden call-up

Sam Konstas and Beau Webster. File | Photo Credit: Getty Images Opener Nathan McSweeney was dropped from the Australian squad set to take on India in the remaining two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. According to a Cricket Australia press release, McSweeney makes way for Sam Konstas. The 19-year-old opener scored a 107 against Rohit Sharma’s men while turning out for the Prime Minister’s XI at Canberra, in November.With the series level at 1-1 and the fourth Test scheduled to commence at the Melbourne Cricket Ground here on December 26, the Australian selectors have also added Sean Abbott, Beau Webster and Jhye Richardson to the squad. Meanwhile, injured speedster Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out f...
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India vs Australia 4th Test: Rohit Sharma faces scrutiny in Australia; seeks to regain
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India vs Australia 4th Test: Rohit Sharma faces scrutiny in Australia; seeks to regain

Rohit Sharma. File | Photo Credit: PTI Under Australian skies, Rohit Sharma is seeking a spot in the sun. The runs have dried up, and under his leadership, the second Test was lost at Adelaide before a doughty lower-order and the rains helped snatch a draw in the third outing at Brisbane. Down Under, where the knives get sharpened against rival skippers, there have been the odd queries in the local media about whether he deserves to be in the playing eleven. Rohit is aware about these mind games and has preferred to train hard and do what he can in the contests. Having linked up with the squad through the warm-up game against the Prime Minister’s XI at Canberra, the Mumbaikar has endured a drought right...
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Border-Gavaskar Trophy | Australian top-three seriously out of form, says Australian great Ian Healy
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Border-Gavaskar Trophy | Australian top-three seriously out of form, says Australian great Ian Healy

Mohammed Siraj, right, celebrates the wicket of Australia’s Steve Smith, left, during play on day five of the third cricket test between India and Australia at the Gabba in Brisbane, Australia on Wednesday (December 18, 2024). | Photo Credit: AP Ahead of the crucial Boxing Day Test against India from December 26, legendary wicketkeeper Ian Healy has pointed out the serious lack of form of the top-three Australian batters and advised them to go to the basics and perform if they want to continue in the team. Australia made 445 in the first innings of the rain truncated third Test at Brisbane with Travis Head and Steve Smith smashing centuries but the home team did miserably in the second innings before declaring...
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Mathew Hayden recalls conversations with R Ashwin: ‘Transference of information, much like what I had with Bishan Bedi years ago’
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Mathew Hayden recalls conversations with R Ashwin: ‘Transference of information, much like what I had with Bishan Bedi years ago’

R Ashwin called it a day on his international career on Wednesday. The off-spinner has scalped 537 Test wickets and is regarded as one the best among his generation. Recalling conversations with him in Ashwin’s early days at Chennai Super Kings former Australian cricketer Mathew Hayden said the “transference of information” was similar to the one he had with the late Bishan Singh Bedi. “I’ve been very privileged to share many a bus-side seat on the way to the ground in Tamil Nadu, at the beautiful Chepauk Stadium, and with the Chennai Super Kings. As a young kid, as I was coming to the end of my career, he’d cuddle up, and we’d talk about the game—how he could counteract the sweeper and why I swept. So, in many ways, it was a transference of information, much like what I had with Bishan Be...
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After R Ashwin’s sudden retirement, Ravi Shastri opens up on MS Dhoni’s shock retirement
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After R Ashwin’s sudden retirement, Ravi Shastri opens up on MS Dhoni’s shock retirement

When Ravichandran Ashwin chose to call time on his India career out of the blue on Wednesday after the third India vs Australia Test ended in a draw, former India coach Ravi Shastri could not help but draw parallels with the shock announcement from MS Dhoni in the dressing room that he was retiring from Tests. Just like Ashwin retired from Tests in the middle of the series, Dhoni too said goodbye with one Test remaining. Dhoni, in fact, was captaining the team and his retirement meant that Virat Kohli had to take over the reins for the final Test in Sydney for a series which was already lost by the Indian team. Dhoni’s retirement was a shock because India had managed to draw the Test at the MCG. Narrating the scene on SEN Radio, Shastri said: “Dhoni didn’t wait. I was the coach. He said, R...
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‘R Ashwin may have been a bit frustrated’: Brad Haddin says after reading between the lines
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‘R Ashwin may have been a bit frustrated’: Brad Haddin says after reading between the lines

Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin announced his retirement from international cricket after the Third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Gabba. The all-time seventh-placed wicket-taker in Test cricket only played in one Test in the ongoing India vs Australia series so far. Having taken one wicket in the second Test at Adelaide, Ashwin did not feature in the third Test with India preferring Ravindra Jadeja. Former Australian wicket-keeper Brad Haddin thinks Ashwin would have been a bit frustrated with the change. “More will come out when Ashwin has his opportunity to speak; just reading between the lines, it looked like he may have been a bit frustrated with the spinning options that they’ve changed in the first three Test matches. To me, he was a student of the game (and) alw...
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‘Had a long journey together since 2010’: Rohit Sharma on Ashwin’s retirement
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‘Had a long journey together since 2010’: Rohit Sharma on Ashwin’s retirement

A file image of Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin. File | Photo Credit: MURALI KUMAR K It was a Wednesday (December 18, 2024) of speculations while the rains drenched the Gabba. Talk of a retirement hung in the air and once R. Ashwin made it clear that he was bowing out of the international game, all speculations instantaneously died.Rohit Sharma had an inkling since the first Test at Perth. Facing the media after Ashwin left the press-conference hall, the Indian skipper said: “Some decisions are very personal and I don’t think too many questions should be asked. If a player has a choice, he has to be given that choice and somebody like Ashwin, who has been there for us for so many years, is allowed to make ...
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The coming together of KL and Rahul: As opener and mentor, KL Rahul finds happy space on tour of Australia
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The coming together of KL and Rahul: As opener and mentor, KL Rahul finds happy space on tour of Australia

KL Rahul had been just officially censured by the Indian cricket board for participating in a controversial episode of the talk show Koffee With Karan, along with Hardik Pandya. His friend David Mathias remembers meeting him the next day. “Oh there was nothing to talk about it at all. We have an unfiltered relationship – share everything really that upsets or excites us. That didn’t feature much. Mothers of our friends did say, ‘Oh but Rahul was such a good boy in that!’ The only thing KL told me is from now on if anyone asks you to recount any funny stories about me, tell them you have plenty but none to share!”.There are two Rahuls out there – the tattoo-loving, Pandya’s party-friend KL and the more sober Rahul, who grew up idolising Rahul Dravid’s batting. In times of crisis, KL takes t...
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Ind vs Aus 3rd Test Day 5: India all out for 260, trail by 185 runs
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Ind vs Aus 3rd Test Day 5: India all out for 260, trail by 185 runs

Australia’s Travis Head (C) walks off the field with teammates after taking the wicket of India’s Akash Deep on the final day of the third Test match between Australia and India at The Gabba in Brisbane on December 18, 2024. | Photo Credit: AFP India lost the wicket of Akash Deep, who along with Jaspit Bumrah helped avoid follow-on. Akash was stumped off Travis Head as India were all out for 260 and trailed by 185 runs during the final day of the third Test against Australia in Brisbane on Wednesday (December 18, 2024). Akash’s 31 included two fours and a six.With lightning and thunderstorm around Gabba, the match was again delayed and the Australian openers McSweeney and Khawaja need to wait to open their seco...
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Virat Kohli’s batting average in Test is third lowest among players with 9,000 runs
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Virat Kohli’s batting average in Test is third lowest among players with 9,000 runs

Virat Kohli has seen a dip in his form over the past few years. Virat Kohli’s Test average currently stands at 47.49, with 9,166 runs to his name. To put into perspective, Kohli’s Test average in 2019 was constantly in the mid-fifties, the highest being 55.10, and was once the only batsman to have an average of 50 or above in all three formats. For eight years, Kohli’s average has not gone below 47.5, and now, his batting average is third lowest amongst the players that have scored 9000 in Tests, and the only one of the fab four to have a Test average below 50. His second innings in Perth gave glimpses of a potential comeback of the former Indian captain, as he always brings his A-game Down Under in the Border Gavaskar Trophy. But other than the innings that marked his 81st international c...
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Josh Hazlewood hobbles off with calf injury
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Josh Hazlewood hobbles off with calf injury

Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood bowled just one over on the fourth day of the third Test at the Gabba and was pulled from the action and was later sent for scans. “Josh Hazlewood reported calf awareness in this morning’s warmup. He will be taken for scans to assess the injury. Any updates will be shared in due course,” Cricket Australia said. Hazlewood picked up the big wicket of Virat Kohli on the third day of the Test. Hazlewood missed the Adelaide Test with a side injury but Australia insisted he was fit enough to play in Brisbane. “Without any question I think we will be seeing Scott Boland at the MCG,” former England captain Michael Vaughan said on commentary “I’m not too sure he (Hazlewood) will bowl much more, Mitchell Marsh can come on and bowl a few. “He looks ginger, like he i...
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Ind vs Aus 3rd Test Day 4: Rain forces the players to retreat
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Ind vs Aus 3rd Test Day 4: Rain forces the players to retreat

Australia’s captain Pat Cummins reacts after taking the wicket of India’s captain Rohit Sharma, right, during play on day four of the third cricket test between India and Australia at the Gabba in Brisbane, Australia, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. | Photo Credit: AP Sudden heavy rains disrupted Day 4 of the third Test at the Gabba during Australia’s 31st over on Tuesday (December 17, 2024) restricting India to a meagre 105 for five. Stunner by Smith at first slip to catch KL Rahul off Lyon, the opener departs for a fine 84, India 141 for six. Earlier, at 74, India lost the wicket of skipper Rohit Sharma who edged Pat Cummins to Alex Carey. He was out for 10 runs.K.L. Rahul who moved past his 50, stayed at 68 and Rav...
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Virat Kohli’s technique not made for the new ball: Cheteshwar Pujara
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Virat Kohli’s technique not made for the new ball: Cheteshwar Pujara

India Test stalwart Cheteshwar Pujara has said that Virat Kohli’s existing technique exposes him against the new ball in Test cricket. Speaking on Star Sports after Kohli was dismissed poking at a delivery outside the off-stump off Australia seamer Josh Hazlewood in the Gabba Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on Monday, Pujara explained the chinks in the former India captain’s technique. Early dismissals in the top three has meant Kohli has invariably come in to play the fresh Kookaburra in four of the five innings he has played this series, save the second-innings in the first Test where he recorded an unbeaten century. “He has been forced to play the new ball. He has gotten out whenever he has played the new ball. When he played the old ball, he scored a hundred in Perth. So that’s ...
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IND vs AUS 3rd Test | ‘We have got to take six wickets first’: Mitchell Marsh on follow-on
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IND vs AUS 3rd Test | ‘We have got to take six wickets first’: Mitchell Marsh on follow-on

Australia’s Mitchell Starc, right, Mitchell Marsh, centre and Pat Cummins celebrate after the dismissal of Shubman Gill on day three of the third cricket Test between India and Australia at the Gabba in Brisbane, Australia, on December 16, 2024. | Photo Credit: AP The ball seemed to be chasing Mitchell Marsh at the Gabba here on Monday (December 16, 2024), and he was more than happy. Asked about his favourite among the two catches he pouched, the Australian all-rounder said: “Probably the gully one (Shubman Gill). I like fielding there, but yes, even the one earlier (Yashasvi Jaiswal) was just as good.”Asked about the probability of enforcing the follow-on against India in the third Test, Marsh said: “We have g...
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Ind vs Aus 3rd Test: We are going through transition, says Bumrah at Gabba
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Ind vs Aus 3rd Test: We are going through transition, says Bumrah at Gabba

India’s Jasprit Bumrah bowls to depart Australia’s Steve Smith during Day 2 of the third Test match, at the Gabba Stadium in Brisbane on Sunday. | Photo Credit: ANI Jasprit Bumrah may be this precise destroyer out on the turf, but away from it, he does have a sense of humour. As he faced the media at the Gabba here on Monday (December 16, 2024), he was asked about his assessment of the Indian batting with a caveat about probably him not being the ideal judge.The spearhead’s riposte was instantaneous: “It’s interesting that you are questioning my batting ability. You should Google and see who has got the most number of runs in a Test (Bumrah was part of a 35-run heist off a Stuart Broad over at Birmingham in 202...
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IND vs AUS 3rd Test: India opt to bowl; Akash Deep and Jadeja replace Harshit Rana and Ashwin
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IND vs AUS 3rd Test: India opt to bowl; Akash Deep and Jadeja replace Harshit Rana and Ashwin

Australia’s captain Pat Cummins (C) tosses the coin with India’s captain Rohit Sharma (R) on the first day’s game of the third cricket Test match between Australia and India at The Gabba in Brisbane on December 14, 2024. | Photo Credit: AFP India captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to field against Australia in the third Test on Saturday (December 14, 2024). India have made a couple of changes with Harshit Rana and R Ashwin making way for Akash Deep and Ravindra Jadeja respectively. For Australia, Josh Hazlewood, who has recovered from his side injury, returns to the playing XI in place of Scott Boland.Also read:Border-Gavaskar Trophy | We have to maintain mental intensity: Shubman Gill ahead of Gabb...
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IND vs AUS 3rd Test: Rain stops play as Australia reach 28 for no loss
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IND vs AUS 3rd Test: Rain stops play as Australia reach 28 for no loss

India’s Shubman Gill catches a ball during play on day one of the third cricket Test between India and Australia at the Gabba in Brisbane, Australia, on December 14, 2024 | Photo Credit: AP Steady drizzle stopped proceedings as Australian openers played cautiously to reach 28 for no loss in 13.2 overs on the opening day of the third Test against India on Saturday (December 14, 2024). Usman Khawaja (19 off 47 balls) and Nathan McSweeney (4 off 33 balls) were at the crease.There is forecast of intermittent rain on day one at the Gabba.India captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to field. India made a couple of changes with Harshit Rana and R. Ashwin making way for Akash Deep and Ravindra Jadeja respective...
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India vs Australia 3rd Test, tip-off XI: Hazlewood replaces Boland, Akash Deep likely and Washington get in for Harshit Rana and R Ashwin
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India vs Australia 3rd Test, tip-off XI: Hazlewood replaces Boland, Akash Deep likely and Washington get in for Harshit Rana and R Ashwin

India vs Australia 3rd test: Rohit Sharma-led India will take on Pat Cummins’ Australia in the third match at the Gabba in Brisbane of the ongoing five-match series in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. India won the first test by 295 runs at Perth, Western Australia while Australia came back strongly to win the second day-night test in Adelaide by an equally emphatic 10 wickets. With the series locked at 1-1, here are a few changes that both teams can make at Gabba. Josh Hazlewood for Scott Boland Australia captain Pat Cummins has made it clear that Josh Hazlewood will return to the playing XI and will replace Scott Boland. Hazlewood was cleared of injury on Friday and will join Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc for the third Test against India in Brisbane. Hazlewood missed the pink-ball Te...
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Border Gavaskar Trophy: India’s top-order batters need to fire at the Gabba
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Border Gavaskar Trophy: India’s top-order batters need to fire at the Gabba

Shubman Gill during a training session at The Gabba on December 13, 2024 in Brisbane, Australia. | Photo Credit: Getty Images Wedged between high-rises, a massive hospital, busy roads lined with flame of the forest and frangipani trees, supermarkets and old-world cafes, the Gabba seems an oasis of calm. The multiple shades of green on the turf inside remained as they were, while the pitch began to shed its tropical moist look and acquired a dry deciduous facade.Life still lurks in this surface, and on December 14, the silence here will give way to full-throated cheer, the stomping of a speedster’s boots and the thud of a red cherry into a seasoned willow. The Border-Gavaskar Trophy series is at its tipping poi...
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Brisbane Test: Pat Cummins says Josh Hazlewood will replace Scott Boland at Gabba
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Brisbane Test: Pat Cummins says Josh Hazlewood will replace Scott Boland at Gabba

Australia captain Pat Cummins has confirmed that fit-again Josh Hazlewood will replace Scott Boland in the playing XI for the third Test, starting on Saturday at Gabba. Hazlewood missed out the pink-ball Test at Adelaide due to side strain. “Hazlewood will play. Shame for Scotty (Boland), he has missed out often in the past. Big series, he might still get his chances. Josh bowled yesterday (at Allan Border field and not at nets at Gabba),” Cummins told reporters ahead of the third Test. “Josh didn’t bowl at nets here Purely because of the lengths of run up wasn’t enough. So we took him to Allan Border field,” he added. The Australian captain also revealed why Hazelwood was underbowled in the second innings of the opening Test at Perth. “In the second innings at Perth, game was beginning t...
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Border-Gavaskar Trophy | Can Nitish the bowler be the answer to India’s balancing act in Tests?
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Border-Gavaskar Trophy | Can Nitish the bowler be the answer to India’s balancing act in Tests?

A file image of Indian bowler Nitish Kumar Reddy | Photo Credit: AFP Ever since Kapil Dev bowed out of the game after an ODI against the West Indies at Faridabad in 1994, India has been on a perennial search for the fast bowling all-rounder. Early rival wickets and the insurance cover of runs down the order is a sought after trait in cricket. Kapil offered that and more, including safe hands and the 1983 World Cup! Practical demands Four decades since Kapil stepped aside, the quest for his replacement is now constricted by practical demands. The candidate should bowl at a reasonable speed, not necessarily express, and should score a few vital runs, not perhaps an unbeaten 175. Many cricketers were f...
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Border-Gavaskar Trophy | Opener McSweeney growing in confidence
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Border-Gavaskar Trophy | Opener McSweeney growing in confidence

A file image of Australian opener Nathan McSweeney | Photo Credit: AP Stepping into David Warner’s shoes can be a daunting task and Nathan McSweeney is dealing with that onerous challenge in the current Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. Warner’s buddy Usman Khawaja is his partner and matters get even more delicate as the former opener is now keeping a close eye as a commentator. Familiar territory McSweeney, though, has Gabba, his home ground to lean on. Back in a familiar environment here on Wednesday (December 11, 2024), the opener respectfully dealt with Warner’s shadow: “David was an unbelievable player with massive shoes to fill when he left. If I can be half the player he was, I am going alright.” An...
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