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Women’s Asia Cup: India enter semis after clinical win against Nepal

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By Agencies

India crushed Nepal by 82 runs in a Group A match of the Women’s Asia Cup to progress to the semifinal at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium here on Tuesday.

With this, India secured their third consecutive win of the tournament to top the group with six points.

After Shafali Verma’s fiery innings, Indian spinners showed their class against minnows Nepal to advance to the knockout stage of the tournament.

In the 179 chase, Nepal were never in the picture as they lost the opener Samjhana Khadka (7) in the second over by Anurndhati Reddy. Sita Rana Magar and Kabita Kunwar tried to stabilise the side in the Power-play but Reddy gave them another jolt by removing Kunwar (6) in the fifth over.

However, Sita and captain Indu Barma showed some sign of fightback as the duo added 22 runs for the third-wicket partnership. The ray of hope didn’t last for Nepal as Radha Yadav broke the stand, leaving them reeling at 43/3 after 9.2 overs.

Sita’s stay in the middle didn’t last longer as she too was sent back to the pavilion by Reddy in the next over. Nepal lost their half of the side inside 11 overs with more than 120 runs to win.

Things turned from bad to worse for Nepal in the 14th over as they lost Rubina Chetry (15) and Kabita Joshi (0) in the span of three balls off Deepti Sharma. Nepal failed to recover in time and went on to lose wickets at regular intervals and finished their innings for 96/9 in 20 overs. For India, Deepti returned with the figures of 3-13 in her four overs while Reddy and Radha bagged two scalps each.

Earlier, Shafali Verma’s scintillating half-century (81 off 47 balls) coupled with Dayalan Hemalatha’s 47 powered India to 178/3 after opting to bat first.

Shafali and Hemalatha showed no mercy from the beginning of the match. The 20-year-old made her intentions clear in the first over by hitting two fours against Kabita Kumwar’s first over. She continued the onslaught from the one end while Hemalatha held the other end strong.

Shafali made sure that boundaries came at regular intervals and showed no mercy to any Nepalese bowler in the middle. Her ferocious batting took India to 50/0 at the end of the Power-play. Shafali flexed her arms and hit Rubina Chhetry for a six on a full toss in the seventh over as she switched gears. In no time, she brought up her 10th T20I half-century off 26 balls in the eighth over.

The youngster didn’t look back and intensified her attack as Nepal looked clueless to break the partnership. However, they had a chance to send Hemalatha back to the pavilion in the 12th over but captain Indu Barma dropped the catch at long-off.

In the 14th over, Sita Rana Magar finally got hold of Hemalatha (47) as Rubina Chhetry made no mistake at long-on to give India the first blow of the match.

Shafali also got a respite in the next over before finally getting out on 81. She struck 12 fours and a six during her 48-ball knock.

Sajeevan Sajana and Jemimah Rodrigues came together for a brief 23-run partnership and steered the side to the 150-run mark. Sajana (10) failed to extend her stay in the middle as she was trapped lbw by Kabita Joshi in the 19th over.

In the end, Rodrigues showed her attacking prowess and hammered quickfire 28 not out off 15 balls studded with five fours while Richa Gosh remained unbeaten on six off three balls as India posted 178/3 in 20 overs. For Nepal, Sita Rana Magar bagged two wickets and returned with the figures of 2-25 in her four overs.

India will face the second-placed team of Group B in the semifinal on Friday.

Brief scores:

India 178/3 in 20 overs (Shafali Verma 81, Dayalan Hemalatha 47; Sita Rana Magar 2-25) beat Nepal 96/9 in 20 overs (Bindu Rawal 17*, Sita Rana Magar 18; Deepti Sharma 3-13, Radha Yadav 2-12) by 82 runs. 

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Why Head Coach Gautam Gambir is under the lens?

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Transitions are never easy. More so when a dressing room is dotted with superstars who are in the twilight of their glittering careers.

That’s the reason India Head Coach Gautam Gambhir finds himself caught between a rock and hard place.

Indian cricket’s big transition has started with Ravichandran Ashwin’s retirement, and Gambhir may have to be the ‘Harbinger of Doom’ for some of the megastars if the currently tied Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia does not end up being decisively in India’s favour in Melbourne and Sydney.

While Ashwin took the hard call himself, anyone with a basic understanding of Indian cricket would know that Gambhir’s decision to include Washington Sundar at the senior pro’s expense was the biggest trigger.

Skipper Rohit Sharma wasn’t even in Perth when the decision was made.

There are four big names — Virat Kohli, Rohit, Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Shami — in the Indian dressing room right now.

Shami isn’t playing this series but not being able to even join the team hasn’t actually left him in a good space.

While the senior selection committee, chaired by Ajit Agarkar, will have a say, the names in question are big enough to warrant a respectable discussion before being given the final nudge.

But unlike his predecessor Rahul Dravid, nuance isn’t exactly Gambhir’s biggest forte.

To be fair to Gambhir, Dravid didn’t have to deal with a transition this huge but he did actually tell Ishant Sharma and Wriddhiman Saha that their days in national colours were over.

Neither Ishant nor Saha were as big a star as the quartet mentioned above and they walked away quietly.

The focus has been squarely on seniors, especially skipper Rohit and Virat, for their underwhelming form.

However, Gambhir, whose appointment as head coach created a lot of buzz, is also very much under the lens.

Eight Tests since his arrival have thrown up four defeats, a draw and three victories. These are not results that the fiery opener would have envisaged.

The celebrations after saving the follow-on in Brisbane were mistaken for joy. Anyone familiar with the dynamics of competitive sport would know that the high-fives were more a display of relief.

Will his position as head coach become untenable if India don’t qualify for the World Test Championship final? The answer is a “No” at this point.

Will it be untenable if India don’t win the Champions Trophy?

Perhaps not, as both the ongoing series and the next 50-over ICC event will comprise a core that has been there for a considerable period of time.

Is the BCCI ready to give Gambhir a free hand to create a team of his own, where he would be the master planner with the likes of Jasprit Bumrah (possibly next Test skipper) and Suryakumar Yadav (T20 skipper) executing his strategy?

It can’t happen right away but it’s not too far either.

Those who know Gambhir insist that his heart is in the right place even when he takes harsh or seemingly risky calls. Nitish Reddy and Harshit Rana were his choices and they have not been bad.

But the Indian dressing room, where player power has always prevailed, requires a lot of patience from a coach to earn the trust of players.

John Wright, Gary Kirsten and Ravi Shastri were able to earn that trust but Greg Chappell and Anil Kumble, despite being legends, failed to click.

Gambhir’s situation is more like what Duncan Fletcher endured in 2011 when he took over an ageing team.

By the time the 2014 England away series concluded, India under Fletcher’s stewardship had lost 11 Tests (seven in England and four in Australia).

Shastri was appointed as Cricket Director to oversee Fletcher, which was basically aimed at sidelining the Zimbabwean.

The world remembers Gambhir for being a hero in two World Cup finals and the brain behind KKR’s three IPL trophies — two as captain and one as coach. But a lesser known fact about Gambhir is that in 2017, he relinquished Delhi Capitals captaincy midway through IPL for Shreyas Iyer.

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Rohit’s knee injury not serious, says pacer Akash Deep

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India pace bowler Akash Deep played down concerns over skipper Rohit Sharma’s knee injury in the build-up to the fourth Test against Australia this week after the batsman was hit during a practice session on Sunday.

Rohit, who missed the opening Test to spend time with his newborn son and has been struggling for form since returning to the team, looked in discomfort after being struck on his left knee in the nets at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The 37-year-old continued batting but later received care from a physiotherapist and had an ice pack strapped to his leg, which he rested on a chair.

“Such injuries are quite common when you play cricket and it doesn’t make much of a difference,” Akash told reporters, adding that the practice wicket had been challenging.

“I think this was a wicket for white-ball cricket, so the ball kept a bit low and it was a bit difficult to bat on. But such blows happen and it’s not a concern.”

India battled hard to earn a draw in the rain-interrupted third Test in Brisbane to leave the five-match series locked at 1-1 ahead of the Boxing Day clash.

The tourists won the first Test in Perth by 295 runs before crashing to a 10-wicket defeat in Adelaide.

“It’s 50-50 right now. In the last match, even though we were behind, we built some confidence. This Test match will be very important for both teams,” Akash said.

“Our mindset as fast bowlers is that we can get some quick wickets with the new ball and cause problems for them. We have seen in the three matches that we can create chances with the new ball.

“After 30 overs, however, you have to wait for the batsmen to make mistakes.”

On Saturday, KL Rahul was hit on his hand while batting at the nets at the MCG and was promptly attended to by the visiting team’s physio. India’s opener was hit on his right hand and seen in some discomfort. 

There was no clarity on the extent of injury and the team management did not issued any statement on why he had sought medical attention.

In a video that surfaced on social media, Rahul was seen holding the right hand while receiving treatment.

The opener was also hit on the arm during match simulation on November 17, but was fit to play the opening Test in Perth, five days later.

Rahul has been the team’s in-form batter in the ongoing tour, scoring 235 runs from six innings at an impressive average of 47.

The elegant right-hander has so far struck two half-centuries and is set to open the batting alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal in the fourth Test.

Overall, he is the second highest scorer in the marquee series behind Australia’s swashbuckling middle-order batter Travis Head, who has already smashed two hundreds.

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Melbourne Test: Injury scare for KL Rahul

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India opener KL Rahul got hit on his hand while batting at the nets in Melbourne on Saturday and was promptly attended to by the visiting team’s physio ahead of the fourth Test against Australia.

Rahul was hit on his right hand and was seen in some discomfort at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which will host the Boxing Day Test from December 26 with the five-match series levelled at 1-1.

There is no clarity on the extent of injury and the team management has also not issued any statement on why he had sought medical attention.

In a video that surfaced on social media, Rahul was seen holding the right hand while receiving treatment.

The opener was also hit on the arm during match simulation on November 17, but was fit to play the opening Test in Perth, five days later.

Rahul has been the team’s in-form batter in the ongoing tour, scoring 235 runs from six innings at an impressive average of 47.

The elegant right-hander has so far struck two half-centuries and is set to open the batting alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal in the fourth Test.

Overall, he is the second highest scorer in the marquee series behind Australia’s swashbuckling middle-order batter Travis Head, who has already smashed two hundreds.

Battling through multiple rain interruptions, Rahul held firm with a vital knock of 84 in India’s first innings of the third Test in Adelaide, the innings going a long way in helping India to save the match.

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