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Tag: Cheteshwar Pujara

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Sunil Gavaskar: Cheteshwar Pujara been made the scapegoat | Cricket News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar expressed his belief that Test stalwart Cheteshwar Pujara has faced unjust treatment by being dropped from the West Indies tour following India's batting struggles in the World Test Championship (WTC) Final against Australia."Why has he been dropped? Why has he been made the scapegoat for our batting failures. He has been a loyal servant of Indian cricket.A loyal and quiet servant. A loyal and quiet achiever. But because he does not have millions of followers on platforms who will make a noise in case he gets dropped, you drop him."That is something beyond understanding. What is the criteria of dropping him and keeping the others who failed? I do not know because nowadays, there is no media interaction with the selection committee chairman,"...
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Snubbed Cheteshwar Pujara to play in Duleep Trophy | Cricket News – Times of India

MUMBAI: Snubbed for the two-Test series in the upcoming West Indies tour after getting out for 14 & 27 in the World Test Championship final at the Oval against Australia, Cheteshwar Pujara will turn out for West Zone in the Duleep Trophy, TOI has learnt.Pujara and dashing batsman Suryakumar Yadav, who was amongst the standbyes for the WTC final, will replace Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad in the West Zone side for the Duleep Trophy. West Zone play their first match in the Duleep Trophy from July 5, when they take on the winners of the Central versus East Zone in the semifinals, at Alur.Amidst calls for transition of India’s ageing Test team, India’s selectors on Friday dropped Pujara, who has been inconsistent of late. The 35-year-old 102-Test veteran has been scoring heavily ...
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Ajinkya Rahane to play for Leicestershire after West Indies tour – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Senior middle-order batsman Ajinkya Rahane will join English county side Leicestershire in division two soon after Team India's two-Test series in West Indies in July. Rahane, recently made a successful comeback to the national Test side during the World Test Championship final against Australia where he scored 89 and 46 in the two innings. Rahane, who had inked the deal with Leicestershire back in January and was supposed to feature in eight first class games and the entire Royal London Cup (domestic 50 over competition) between June to September after the completion of IPL. But the plan had to be shelved after the 35-year-old made a comeback to Indian Test team. "Ajinkya, after the two Tests in West Indies (which is supposed to end on July 24), is supposed to fly directly t...
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Despite WTC final loss, India is set to persist with tried and tested batsmen for the West Indies series

The loss to Australia in the World Test Championship final will not result in a knee-jerk reaction from the BCCI. The Indian Express has learnt that there will be no major changes for next month’s two-Test series against West Indies. The Test team, led by Rohit Sharma, will play Two Test matches in Dominica and Trinidad from July 12. However, with the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit and Virat Kohli more or less in the same age bracket, the selectors want to field a team with a mix of youth and experience for the Border Gavaskar series in Australia — India’s last assignment of the 2023-2025 WTC cycle. The Australian team celebrate as captain Pat Cummins holds the winners trophy during the victory ceremony for the ICC World Test Championship Final at The Oval cricket gr...
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Onus on selectors as half the Indian team approaches the tricky age of 35

Is the future of Indian cricket arriving faster than expected, and are we formally in the transition stage with a new captain and a new head coach to take over soon? The losses in two consecutive finals of the World Test Championship (WTC) might suggest that the Virat Kohli-Rohit Sharma period is ending. India haven’t done too badly, twice making it to the final, but there was a tiredness about the Oval performance, a lack of spark that suggested a world-beating team calibrated to ‘repeat’, and repeating its mistakes endlessly. It brings the efficiency of the support staff into question. Even Ravi Shastri, that votary of the IPL (who once called Lalit Modi ‘Moses’ for taking cricket into a new world) has said that to prepare for the WTC, players will have to miss the IPL. It will be int...
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WTC Final: With Indian middle-order batters past their prime, is it time for transition? | Cricket News – Times of India

The Indian middle-order has been in the ICU for a while and it is clear that the batters are past their primeWell stocked with most things that money can buy, the BCCI and members of the Indian cricket team brains trust could probably invest in the humble mirror - so that they can take a good look at themselves and where their cricket is heading after yet another reversal in a global tournament.After their 209-run loss to Australia in the World Test Championship (WTC) final at the Oval on Sunday, and the statements coming from the Indian camp, one feels that the time to look in the mirror cannot come sooner.09:31Another WTC Final, another loss for Team IndiaHead coach Rahul Dravid, who has been ultra-conservative with selection and tactics, chose to let his celebrated batting line-up of...
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Will selectors phase out Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara? Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma in line for Windies T20Is | Cricket News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: India's second consecutive World Test Championship (WTC) final defeat may not result in knee-jerk reactions, but there is speculation that senior players Cheteshwar Pujara and Umesh Yadav could face scrutiny over their places in the team.As India prepare for a two-Test series in the West Indies, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Mukesh Kumar are being considered as potential replacements for Pujara and Umesh.The selection committee, led by Shiv Sunder Das, is focused on identifying and grooming the next generation of players for more challenging assignments. India's tour of the West Indies will consist of two Test matches starting on July 12, followed by three ODIs and five T20Is.It is expected that a completely new team under the captaincy of Hardik Pandya will be selected, with IPL perf...
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Has the most consistent Indian Test team lost its best shot at glory? | Cricket News – Times of India

LONDON: Consistency has been the hallmark of the Indian Test team over the past five years but after its second successive failure in a WTC final, has it lost its best shot at attaining greatness?Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, R Aswhin and Mohammed Shami have contributed to the team's success in all conditions but with all of them being on the wrong side of 30s, they may have just ran out of time to create the aura of invincibility that the Australian teams of the 90s and early 2000s had.Most of them are likely to be around in case India make another WTC final two years later but with their best years already behind them, the task will get tougher for the golden generation of cricketers who played their part in famous wins all around the w...
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India Team Big Three under pressure: Can they turn things around or will they be replaced | Cricket News – Times of India

BENGALURU: Virat Kohli. Cheteshwar Pujara. Rohit Sharma. The 'holy trinity' has given Indian fans joyous moments over the years but how future ready is India's Test batting as the trio is ready for their last dance.The seismic defeat during the WTC final at the Oval made it mandatory for the bigwigs to search for a solution to that question. Now!The failure of Pujara to kick on against Australia is severely hurting as he was perceived to be in fine fettle after his exploits with Sussex in the County Cricket.Pujara's last memorable innings remains that 77 against Australia in Sydney in 2021, and if we take out a 90 and 102 against Bangladesh at Chattogram in 2022, the cupboard has a bare look.In fact, Pujara has played 17 Tests in the 2021-2023 WTC cycle and made 928 runs at an average o...
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WTC Final: Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri, Sourav Ganguly slam Team India after dismal loss – Times of India

NEW DELHI: To say that Team India was outplayed by Australia in all the departments of the game in the World Test Championship final at The Oval won't be an understatement. Things went wrong for the Rohit Sharma-led side right from the beginning. India won the toss and asked Australia to bat first looking at the overcast conditions, not worrying about the fickle English weather that changes so quickly.And then the team selection. The top-ranked spinner in the world, the bowler who has the most wickets in the WTC cycle, Ravichandran Ashwin, was not selected in the playing XI, even though there were five left-handers in the Aussie batting line-up.For the record, Ashwin has picked up 61 wickets in 13 Tests in the two-year cycle of the second WTC edition.Conditions changed and The Oval beca...
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India vs Australia WTC Final: How listless Team India superstars imploded against ruthless Australia | Cricket News – Times of India

Celebrated batting line-up comes unstuck on big stage again against relentless Boland and Lyon as India lose seven wickets for 70A day that began with great hope for millions of Indian cricket lovers ended in despair as India lost seven wickets for 70 runs to cap another big-stage failure and Australia underlined their domination of world cricket to win the World Test Championship (WTC) final at the Oval on Sunday by 209 runs.Their triumph, achieved after just 23.3 overs of relentless bowling on Day Five, makes them the first team to win the full set of Men's ICC titles, having won the ODI World Cup five times (1987, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2015), the Champions Trophy twice (2006, 2009) and the T20 World Cup once (2021).For India, it's time to not just lick their wounds, but also accept respo...
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Learn from Babar Azam: Nasser Hussain’s advice to Indian top order batsmen

Former England captain Nasser Hussain said that the Indian top order batters should learn a thing or two from Pakistan’s Babar Azam and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson on how to handle pacers. “Really disappointed with the Indian batters, their fans might come after me for saying this but I think Indian top order needs to look at Babar and Kane on how to play the pacers when ball is moving around. Both of them do it so late,” he said on Sky Sports. On Sunday, India lost yet again when it mattered the most as they were hammered by Australia by 209 runs in the World Test Championship final. Australian pacer Scott Boland produced a bowling spell of rare quality to get rid of Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja in the same over, effectively shutting the door on India, who were bowled out for 234 ...
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Overcast conditions, grass on pitch influenced decision to bowl first: Rahul Dravid | Cricket News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Head coach Rahul Dravid stepped forward to defend India's choice to bowl first in the World Test Championship final against Australia. Dravid explained that the decision was influenced by the prevailing overcast conditions and the presence of grass on the pitch.However, India's pursuit of the monumental target of 444 proved unsuccessful as they crumbled under pressure, getting bowled out for 234 in the first session of the fifth day.This marked their second consecutive loss in aWTC Final, with a significant margin of 209 runs.Facing inquiries from Sourav Ganguly, who provided commentary during the WTC Final, Dravid addressed some challenging questions regarding the team's performance and decision-making. Dravid's responses aimed to provide context and shed light on the factor...
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Defensive tactics, not building second line hurting Rahul Dravid’s coaching legacy | Cricket News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Not being assertive enough with tactical calls, unable to show mirror to some of the seniors, and a failure to build a good feeder line are some of the glaring inconsistencies of Rahul Dravid's tenure as India head coach.He is unlikely to get an extension if things go awry in the ODI World Cup later this year. Maybe he will himself not seek an extension as the pressure of not being able to deliver is writ large on his face.In Indian cricket, it is an open secret that Dravid, a gutsy, fearless player of fast-bowling in his playing days, is someone who resorts to obfuscation when faced with probing questions as a coach.It is quite a contrast compared to his predecessor Ravi Shastri, who would take questions head on and give a direct answer whether you liked it or not.The irrita...
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London will not be big enough if this becomes a reality for Team India,’ Mathew Hayden on India’s run-chase

Marnus Labuschagne who looked solid the previous evening could not last long on the morning of Day-4. He was dismissed in the third over by Umesh Yadav. Mathew Hayden on ICC feed: “Umesh Yadav goes fuller, just a little extra bounce off the length. Marnus put his hands very low actually. The new ball definitely has bounce but this 46 overs old ball was expected to be lower – that caused him the problem.” The pavilion end poses a challenge to the batters Mohammed Siraj started from the pavilion end, getting some extra bounce. One of his good-length deliveries rose sharply to ram into the shoulder of Green. Dinesh Karthik on ICC feed: A lot of these body blows happened exactly at the end where Siraj is bowling; from the pavilion end. The majority of the Australian fast bowlers will extra...
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WTC Final Stat Attack: The most interesting statistics so far | Cricket News – Times of India

The second edition of the ICC World Test Championship Final is currently underway at the Oval in London and despite a spirited fightback by Team India on Day 3, the Aussies are still on top.Who will win the Test mace this time?As the action keeps unfolding, TimesofIndia.com here takes a look at some of the most interesting statistics so far from this engrossing encounter:# Australia (469) have registered their highest total in Tests at neutral venues, bettering the 467 vs Pakistan at Colombo (PSS) in October 2002. The said score is now the first total of 300-plus in the final of the WTC.# Steve Smith, with his marvellous 121, has emulated Joe Root's tally of nine hundreds against India in Tests. Smith's first hundred in five Tests at neutral venues is his 31st overall - his 15th in over...
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WTC Final: Big score, top-order debacle leaves India with a mountain to climb against Australia

The destiny of the Word Test Championship is firmly in the hands of Australia. After stretching their first innings total to 469, on a surface that could progressively deteriorate, they had India clutching at straws, half their side back in the pavilion with the score on 151. The picture on a sunlit day at The Oval could have been gloomier for India but for the resistance of Ajinkya Rahane and Ravindra Jadeja in their 71-run fifth-wicket stand.India were less listless than they were on the first day, and Australia perhaps not as clinical as on the opening day. There were passages in the game when India fought back, there were phases in the game when Australia’s focus snapped, but India were so much behind Australia on the first day that they would end up playing catch-up until stumps we...
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WTC Final: Nice to knock Gill over early…hopefully it will be tougher for India to bat tomorrow, says Scott Boland

Australia introduce Nathan Lyon into the attack in the final minutes of the second day. Off his ninth delivery of the game – from around the wicket – the off-spinner lures Ravindra Jadeja to press forward with hard hands to one that drifts in and turns away, inducing a thick outside edge that carries to first slip. India close the day at 151/5. Kumar Sangakkara on ICC feed: “As his rhythm improves, he’ll get that ball to drift a little bit more. The line will become a little wider, more attacking. With his bounce and pace – any rough that forms – he’ll be even more dangerous.” Justin Langer on BBC Test Match Special: “When Pat Cummins was named captain there were questions with how he would go with the strategy. But today Lyon has come on and dismissed the left-hander and afterwards Cum...
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Seamless transition from county to WTC for Sussex darling Pujara

There was little to cheer about at the end of the 2022 red ball season for Sussex. They had been relegated to Division 2 in the County Championship. But less than a month later, the club’s social media handles made an almost Marvel flick-like post-credit scene declaration that overtook the metrics of even Surrey’s ‘champions’ posts. It warranted a celebration. “Pujara will be back for 2023.” The 1094 runs and five centuries in eight games spoke for themselves. Sussex head coach Paul Farbrace has more to add but first, a confession. ”I tried to sign him at Warwickshire a few years ago – three, I think – we signed him to play the first 10 games of the season and then he got picked to play in the IPL. It was a disappointment,” he tells The Indian Express. His latest gig though has allowed ...