Sports
World Cup 2023: India, A solid Team But Middle-Order Confusion Persists
An emphatic performance in the Asia Cup followed by a dominant show with the willow against Australia placed the Indian team in good headspace going into the World Cup but problems remain when it comes to zeroing in on the ideal playing XI. India begin their campaign against Australia on October 8 in Chennai.
Here’s the SWOT analysis.
STRENGTH:
Let there be no doubt in anyone’s mind that this batting line-up is the best India have had since the historic batch of 2011.
A line-up comprising Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer and Hardik Pandya is as formidable as it gets. And there will be Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav in the dug-out in case there is requirement to replace anyone.
India haven’t had such a galaxy of stars in one line-up for the longest time. And with most batters hitting the straps at the right time, the fans could be in for a run-feast on flat batting decks, which are expected to be on offer.
Gill’s ODI form, with more than 1200 plus runs in past one year, has been the biggest plus and he didn’t let the team feel the absence of a player of Shikhar Dhawan’s calibre.
Even more heartening is KL Rahul’s full fitness, and the hundred against Pakistan in Asia Cup, which has been the biggest gain ahead of World Cup.
WEAKNESSES:
The spin bowling department might be looking good on paper but there is no way to judge how the two veterans Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will perform on the tracks that will be heavily loaded in favour of batters.
Axar Patel’s injury might have given India a chance to get a right-arm finger spinner in but dropping Yuzvendra Chahal, after carrying him in 50-over cricket for a better part of last one year, and selecting three left-arm spinners does speak a lot about the lack of options.
Going by form, Kuldeep Yadav is expected to feature in every playing XI unless he suddenly loses his touch or there is an injury.
Ashwin’s presence on Indian tracks might cheer many but truth remains that on good decks, he has had a tendency of struggling. Yet, for some teams like Australia, Ashwin plays with the minds of batters and that’s his advantage.
In case of Jadeja, he is still a good bowler on helpful tracks but on flat decks, he could go for plenty. Also, both Jadeja and Ashwin are competent Test batters, but the former lost a bit of mojo when it comes to batting in ODIs, if one looks at his current strike-rate. Ashwin also isn’t a consistent power-hitter.
OPPORTUNITIES:
Home advantage is a reality even if it’s an ICC event where the global body’s curators are always doing a recce of various venues and conditions.
In these conditions, Rohit Sharma will have the perfect setting and best chance of winning the World Cup.
There will be heavy dew in some of the venues and if it comes down to chasing totals, there is no country like India which would make every other team have sleepless nights.
At the end of the day, the Indian team has chase master Virat Kohli in its ranks who is breathing down Sachin Tendulkar’s neck with 47 ODI hundreds, and needs three more to get past India’s greatest ever batter.
THREAT:
At times, too many options aren’t a good thing to have and that could be a problem for the team going into the tournament.
While the bowling attack would certainly be tweaked a bit looking at surfaces, Shreyas Iyer getting the likely nod above Ishan Kishan isn’t the most easiest of decisions.
Kishan has performed whatever role has been assigned to him by the team management but now it seems that he might have to sit out as KL Rahul is set to keep wickets and bat at No.5.
Dropping Kishan also means that the only viable left-handed option in the top five is done away with and there would be no variation in the top-order in terms of making opposition bowlers think about changing the line of attack for every second delivery.
Hopefully, India can get the top-order combination right unlike last time when, despite a semi-final appearance, the No.4 batting slot was a complete mess.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Sports
Who Is Allah Ghazanfar: 18-Year-Old Ex-Kolkata Knight Riders Spinner Creating History For Afghanistan
Afghanistan cricket team spinner Allah Ghazanfar© X (Twitter)
Afghanistan cricket team spinner Allah Ghazanfar scripted history with a brilliant six-wicket haul to guide his side to a convincing 92-run victory over Bangladesh in the first ODI encounter in Sharjah on Wednesday. The 18-year-old finished with figures of 6 for 26 in 6.3 overs as Bangladesh went from 132/3 to 143 all out while chasing a target of 236 runs. These were the best bowling figures in an Afghanistan-Bangladesh ODI match, bettering Shakib Al Hasan‘s 5-29 at Southampton in 2019.
Ghazanfar started his cricketing journey as a fast bowler before former Afghanistan skipper Dawlat Ahmadzai turned him into a mystery spinner. He grabbed headlines with his brilliant showing during the 2024 U-19 World Cup where he finished with eight wickets in four matches.
That was enough to earn him a senior team call-up as he made his ODI debut against Ireland. He continued to impress and even won the Player of the Match award in the Emerging Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka A as Afghanistan went on to clinch the title.
The young spinner was also part of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) side that went on to win the IPL 2024 title. He was added to the squad as a replacement for Mujeeb Ur Rahman but did not play any matches for the franchise in the campaign.
“He is a special talent and has a good future for Afghanistan. He bowled well in the first spell, but he bowled that no-ball and I asked him why did he bowl a no-ball (laughs). I am very happy with the options we have on the bench,” said Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi on the young spinner.
Najmul Hossain rued Bangladesh’s batting slump and placed part of the blame on himself.
“I think my wicket turned the match,” said Najmul. “I was the set batsman so when I got out we needed to bat longer but credit to Afghanistan spinners for the way they bowled.”
(With AFP inputs)
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Sports
Australian Breakdancer “Raygun”, Who Got Trolled In Paris Olympics, Takes Huge Step
Australian breakdancer Rachael “Raygun” Gunn has announced her retirement from competition, citing a “really upsetting” backlash following her performance at the Paris Olympics. Raygun, 37, became something of a global laughing stock after her unorthodox routine, including kangaroo hops and imitating a sprinkler, failed to impress the judges at the Games. Her moves were copied on late-night talk shows and her unfashionable green tracksuit was mercilessly parodied online. Conspiracy theories abounded to explain how the university lecturer had even made it on to the Australia Olympic team. Gunn said the intense scrutiny had been “really upsetting”, and she had decided to pull the plug on her breakdancing career.
“I’m not going to compete any more,” she told Australian radio station 2DayFM on Wednesday.
“I was going to keep competing for sure, but that seems like a really difficult thing for me to do now.
“The level of scrutiny that’s going to be there. People will be filming it, it will be going online, it’s just not going to be the same experience.”
Gunn had previously spoken out against the “pretty devastating” hatred unleashed towards her after the Olympics.
“I went out there and I had fun. I did take it very seriously. I worked my butt off preparing for the Olympics and I gave my all,” she said in a video message after the Games.
While many lampooned her performance on social media, Gunn won support from others, including her fellow Australian Olympians and even the country’s prime minister.
Raygun said she would continue to dance, just not in competition.
“I mean I still dance, and I still break. But, you know, that’s like in my living room with my partner,” she said.
“Dancing is so much fun, and it makes you feel good. I don’t think people should feel crap about the way that they dance.
“If you get out there, and you have fun on the dance floor then just own it.”
Raygun did have the last laugh in September when she was briefly elevated to the top of the World Dance Sport Federation (WDSF) rankings.
The WDSF named her the number one women’s breakdancer based on winning the Oceania Championship, one of only a few events held that counted towards the rankings in the run-up to the Olympics.
The sport of breaking made its Olympics debut in Paris, but will not feature at the next Games at Los Angeles in 2028.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Sports
Jamal Musiala Gets Bayern Munich Back On Champions League Track Against Benfica
A second-half Jamal Musiala goal got Bayern Munich back on track in the Champions League with a 1-0 home win over Benfica on Wednesday. Struggling in Europe after back-to-back losses left them outside the knockout places, Musiala broke through the stubborn Benfica defence, heading in a Harry Kane assist. Bayern were dominant in possession but carved out few clear-cut chances, lacking fluency in front of a silent home crowd who refused to sing out of respect for a hospitalised fan.
Despite the win, Bayern still have work to do in Europe, with this season’s Champions League final on home soil.
The German giants sit 17th, one behind Dinamo Zagreb who they beat 9-2 in their opener. Bayern face French champions Paris Saint-Germain next in the competition.
“We had good moments. The opponent defended well. It was very important to get three points today,” Musiala said after the match.
“We don’t have to win every game by four or five goals. Sometimes 1-0 is enough. We had to be patient. Now we carry on and look to the next game.”
Bayern coach Vincent Kompany said: “Sometimes it’s good to win like this — even though we of course prefer to win by three or four.
“I knew we needed to stay patient and calm. We did that well. It was a good game and a good win.”
Unbeaten at the top of Bundesliga table under Kompany, Bayern have struggled in the Champions League this season despite the barnstorming opener against Zagreb.
A 1-0 loss at Aston Villa and a 4-1 thrashing by a supercharged Barcelona under former Bayern boss Hansi Flick had the six-time European champions flagging in the Champions League’s new single-league format.
With the match delayed by 15 minutes due to public transport issues and with their home fans silent due to a medical emergency in the stands, Bayern struggled.
Bayern captain Manuel Neuer told reporters the side “didn’t celebrate in the cabin like we normally would” due to the incident.
Musiala and Michael Olise dribbled in from either flank but were unable to break through a Benfica side looking to sit deep and take advantage of Bayern’s risky high line on the counter.
The best chance of the opening half fell to Serge Gnabry, who forced a strong save out of Anatoliy Trubin on the half-volley after 38 minutes.
As the game wore on Bayern grew nervous, even if Benfica had few genuine chances as they looked for a first win in their 11th match against the hosts.
Leroy Sane added speed after his substitution and the former Manchester City winger would prove crucial, finding Kane who in turn set up Musiala to break the deadlock with just over 20 minutes remaining.
Bayern’s final match before the international break comes on Saturday in Hamburg against St Pauli.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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