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Tag: VIrat Kohli

  • Super Sunday: Here is why October 24 will be a treat for sports fans

    Super Sunday: Here is why October 24 will be a treat for sports fans

    October 24, 2021, will be marked with a star by all sports fans. On this day, all sports fans, especially cricket and football fans, will be glued to their seats as they witness the sports’ biggest rivalries in just one day. There will be five biggest rivalries on the pitch that day.

    Pakistan vs India T20 World Cup Face-off

    So we will witness the biggest cricket rivalry between India and Pakistan on October 24, 2021. The cricket rivalry between Pakistan-India is one of the most intense in the world. The strained relationship, resulting from the bitter diplomatic relationship between the two countries resulting from the partition of the Subcontinent laid the groundwork for an intense sporting rivalry between the two nations, who share a cricket heritage.

    India and Pakistan are set to start their campaign in the T20 World Cup on October 24. International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced that Group 2 will start the World Cup campaign with an intense showdown between India and Pakistan. Indian and Pakistani cricket fans are eagerly awaiting this clash.This match ignites a flame of rivalry between the two groups of players and fans.

    FC Barcelona vs Real Madrid

    The world’s greatest football rivalry between Spanish football titans FC Barcelona and Real Madrid can be seen on the same day. Few rivalries in sports can compare with the spectacle, the passion and the sheer football brilliance of Barcelona and Real Madrid.  The El Classico represents a clash of cultures between the Castilian Spanish and the Catalan. But for a true football fan, a match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid quite simply represents a great football match between two great clubs.

    Barcelona and Real Madrid enter the 2021-22 season with a point to prove after both the sides were to beaten to La Liga glory by Athletico Madrid last season. Athletico were crowned champions while Real Madrid finished second and Barcelona third. Many big names have exited from both the clubs like Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane and Lionel Messi, so many will look forward to the match as to see again who emerges victorious in the first El Classico of 2021-22 campaign.

    Manchester United vs Liverpool FC

    Another high profile inter-city rivalry and one of the biggest in the premier league is the match between Manchester United and Liverpool. This match will also be taking place on this Super Sunday. The North-West derby never fails to surprise the imagination of football fans all over the world. This intense rivalry between these two clubs does not stop in football but extends to their economic and cultural enmity.

    The raw passion involved in a football match between Manchester United and Liverpool is a symbol of inter-city contention for over two years. Like every year, this year also the match between Manchester United and Liverpool will spark a spirit of excitement and rivalry among the fans. Both the teams look strong and will be aiming this season to win the Premier League title after their defeat last Season to Manchester City.

    Juventus vs Inter Milan

    The Derby d’Italia is the match between Inter Milan and Juventus, two of the greatest clubs in Italian football. This match will also be played on October 24. This matchup between Inter Milan and Juventus is considered to be one of the greatest and the most intense in Italian football. The rivalry between Juventus and Inter became more bitter after the scandal of Calciopoli.

    Juventus lost the Serie A title last season after 9 years. Inter Milan dominated the Serie A and won the title breaking Juventus’s 9 consecutive title win streak. Both the teams will fight neck to neck in the Serie A. Juventus will be looking forward to winning the title again after their last season defeat while Inter Milan will be focusing on continuing their winning streak. This match between the Italian giants will be one of a kind to watch.

    Olympique de Marseille vs Paris Saint Germain

    One of the greatest rivalries in the world and the greatest in France is the Le Classique, the match between the two French Supergiants Marseille and Paris Saint Germain. Le Classique will also be played on this day. The animosity between Marseille and PSG extends far outside of Football. These two have been dominating French football from the very beginning and have also won a combine of 40 domestic trophies.

    The rivalry between Marseille and PSG is neither the oldest nor the most traditional in Ligue 1, but it is without doubt the most fiercely contested on and off the pitch dividing loyalties across the country. With the recent signings of PSG (Lionel Messi, Sergio Ramos, Achraf Hakimi, Georgino Wijnaldum and Gianluigi Donnaruma), many football fans are looking forward to witness the greatest rivalry in France. PSG will definitely give a tough fight to Marseille and will definitely look to reclaim its title back in the French league this season.

  • Virat Kohli to step down as T20 captain after T20 World Cup

    Virat Kohli to step down as T20 captain after T20 World Cup

    Indian captain Virat Kohli has announced he will step down as India’s T20 captain after the T20 World Cup. However, he will continue as Test and ODI captain.

    Kohli announced his decision on Twitter, saying he made it with his workload in mind as a three-format player, and that he has already spoken about it with BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, secretary Jay Shah, and the selectors. He said he arrived at his decision after “a lot of contemplation and discussions with my close people”, including India head coach Ravi Shastri and the white-ball vice-captain Rohit Sharma, who has already led India in 19 T20Is when Kohli had been rested.

    Though a formal announcement from the BCCI is awaited, Rohit is likely to take over from Kohli.

    “Understanding workload is a very important thing and considering my immense workload over the last 8-9 years playing all 3 formats and captaining regularly for last 5-6 years, I feel I need to give myself space to be fully ready to lead the Indian team in Test and ODI Cricket,” Kohli said. “I have given everything to the Team during my time as T20 Captain and I will continue to do so for the T20 Team as a batsman moving forward.”

    The development comes exactly eight days after Kohli sat with the selectors to finalise the India squad for the T20 World Cup, which will be played in the UAE in October-November.

    “Of course, arriving at this decision took a lot of time,” Kohli said. “After a lot of contemplation and discussions with my close people, Ravi bhai and also Rohit, who have been an essential part of the leadership group, I’ve decided to step down as the T20 Captain after this T20 World Cup in Dubai in October.”

  • England vs India Test match cancelled due to Covid-19 cases in Indian team

    England vs India Test match cancelled due to Covid-19 cases in Indian team

    Following ongoing conversations with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has confirmed that the fifth Test between England and India has been cancelled.

    The ECB, on Friday September 10, in a statement mentioned: “Following ongoing conversations with the BCCI, the ECB can confirm that the fifth Test between England and India Men due to start today at Old Trafford, will be cancelled.”

    “Due to fears of a further increase in the number of COVID cases inside the camp, India are regrettably unable to field a team.”

    “We send our sincere apologies to fans and partners for this news, which we know will cause immense disappointment and inconvenience to many,” the statement added.

    The development comes on the back of intense discussions between the BCCI and the ECB after India’s assistant physiotherapist Yogesh Parmar returned a positive Covid-19 test on Wednesday. Later head coach of Indian team Ravi Shastri tested positive.

    While three members of the contingent – Patel, bowling coach Bharat Arun and fielding coach R Sridhar – were identified as immediate contacts of Shastri, it was far more difficult to determine who the close contacts of Parmar were, considering he was treating a wider group of players. This included Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma. These players have been mingling among the wider group, which has made identifying close contacts even more complicated.

    Meanwhile, as per ESPN cricinfo, the series result would be determined by the ICC match referee Chris Broad based on whether the ECB accepts India’s fears of a larger outbreak in their camp as “acceptable non-compliance” as per the WTC playing conditions. If the ECB does accept it, India will win the series 2-1. But if it doesn’t, and instead challenges that outcome, the matter will go to the ICC’s Dispute Resolution Committee. Currently India have pocketed 26 WTC points from the series while England have 14 out of the available 48 points.

  • Kohli gets angry at a presser after a pricking question from a journalist

    Kohli gets angry at a presser after a pricking question from a journalist

    After a humiliating defeat by an innings and 76 runs in the third Test against England, Indian captain Virat Kohli was being asked sharp questions in the press conference and he got angry and ignored a pricking question by a reporter.

    In a viral video, a reporter questioned Kohli about playing on the backfoot. To this, Kohli replied: “I don’t know how to answer this question? How can you play every ball on the backfoot? Unless it is according to his length.”

    Even before Kohli could complete his point, the journalist started saying: “Due to playing less on the back foot, Team India missed the opportunity to score more runs.” There was a bit of anger on Kohli’s face here, but he answered while calmly handling himself: “Yes, thank you!” The video of this moment is going viral on Twitter.

    In the post-match presentation ceremony, Kohli said: “When you get out within 80 runs (in the first innings) then it is the pressure of the scoreboard and after that the opponent team makes such a big score.” The Indian team had scored 215 runs for two wickets on the third day, due to which it was in good condition. Kohli said, “But we played well yesterday to stay in the match, we tried as much as we could and also gave ourselves a chance.”

    Regarding the England bowlers, he said: “But today the England bowlers put a lot of pressure and in the end got the result they wanted.” Kohli said: “The first innings score was very bad, it can happen in this country, the whole innings collapses like a pack of cards.”

    On the fourth day’s play, he said: “We thought the pitch was good for batting. But the disciplined bowling forced them to commit mistakes and the pressure was too much. When you are not scoring runs, it is very difficult to get over the pressure. Due to this the batting collapsed.”

    After third Test, the series delicately poised at 1-1, the action now moves to The Oval in London for the fourth Test.

  • India suffers defeat by innings and 76 runs in Headingley

    India suffers defeat by innings and 76 runs in Headingley

    India suffered a humiliating defeat by an innings and 76 runs in the third Test match against England at the Headingley Cricket ground on Saturday.

    “Basically down to scoreboard pressure. Always up against it when you get out for under 80, and the opposition puts up such a big score. But we did well to stay in the game yesterday, fight back as much as we could, and gave ourselves a chance. But the pressure today was outstanding from the England bowlers and eventually they got the results they wanted,” said Virat Kohli in the post-match presentation ceremony.

    India were skittled out of 278 after resuming the day at 215/2. In what was expected to be easy batting conditions on a sunny day at Headingley, England bowlers were ruthless in their approach and finished the match in the first session of the day to jump to 14 points on the ICC World Test Championship 2021-23 table.

    With a clinical five-for England bowler Ollie Robinson bagged Player of the Match Award, taking seven wickets overall.

    With the series delicately poised at 1-1, the action now moves to The Oval in London for the fourth Test.

  • ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 schedule announced

    ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 schedule announced

    Oman will take on Papua New Guinea in the opening match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 at the Oman Cricket Academy Ground on October 17 while the Super 12 stage commences with a fixture between Australia and South Africa at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

    Read More – Pakistan, India placed in same group in T20 World Cup

    The complete schedule was announced on Tuesday by the International Cricket Council (ICC), which confirms the highly anticipated match between former champions India and Pakistan. It will take place on October 24 at the Dubai International Stadium while Ashes rivals England and Australia play at the same venue six days later.

    The final will be played in Dubai on November 14, with November 15 marked as a reserve day.

    This will be the first time in over two years India and Pakistan will play each other, the last meeting being at the 50-over World Cup in England in 2019.

    Earlier, T20 World Cup moved away from India due to Covid. The ICC has moved the Twenty20 World Cup from India to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman because of the pandemic. India will remain the host of the event scheduled from October 17 to November 14, the ICC said in a statement.

  • ‘Stop giving lame excuses’: Shoaib Akhtar tells Captain Babar Azam

    ‘Stop giving lame excuses’: Shoaib Akhtar tells Captain Babar Azam

    Legendary Pakistan pace bowler Shoaib Akhtar has told the captain of the Pakistan cricket team, Babar Azam, to stop giving lame excuses.

    This comes after Pakistan was whitewashed 3-0 by England in the recent ODI series. Pakistan also lost the T20 series 2-1.

    “It is all lame excuses. There was nothing on the wicket like extraordinary bounce. A little seam movement is expected in England. If you can’t handle that seam, then what will you do?” Akhtar said PTV Sports as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.

    While in another interview with Sports Tak, Akhtar said: “Virat has what … 70 centuries in international cricket right. So in the next five years, he will get 30 more and I want him to get 120 centuries, or at least 110. See, with these many runs, who can be compared to him? The debate in itself is wrong. And Babar is now coming through. It’s really good that there is healthy competition.”

    “If Babar needs to beat Virat and surpass him, he will have to score more runs chasing and play the kind of innings Kohli has. There is no doubt that Babar Azam can probably be the greatest batsman of Pakistan, but it will take time. We will judge Kohli and Babar after 10 years where they stand,” Akhtar added.

    “I have a feeling Pakistan and India will play in the T20 World Cup final and India will lose to Pakistan. Conditions in UAE will favour both India and Pakistan,” said Akhtar while talking about the India-Pakistan face-off in the T20 World Cup.

    Azam was in fine form during the three ODIs as he accumulated 177 runs, which included a career-best 158, at an average of 59.

    As for the T20 series, he scored 118 runs in three matches, which included a top score of 85, at an average of 39.33 and a strike-rate of 151.28.

  • Kohli rates Wasim Akram as the toughest bowler

    Kohli rates Wasim Akram as the toughest bowler

    Virat Kohli has rated Wasim Akram as the toughest bowler to face if they have played in the same era.

    Kohli conducted a question-answer session with his fans on Instagram where he answered several questions.

    Answering to a fan, Virat stated that a bowler from past who would have troubled him is the Swing ka Sultan Akram.

    From his diet to his routine during quarantine, Kohli answered a lot of interesting questions. When asked how his diet looks like, Kohli replied: “Lot of vegetables, some eggs, two cups of coffee, dal, quinoa, lots of spinach, love dosas (Indian dish) too,” adding, “But all in good quantities.”

    He also shared that he like lots of Indian food which is cooked simply, he sometimes eat Chinese too. Almonds, protein bar and fruits were also part of his list.

    When a fan asked him that how to deal with anxiety, stress and pressure in current situation (COVID-19 pandemic), Virat replied: “Be focused on things that are important and try to have belief in the greater good. Believe that something good can happen at anytime.”

    Virat also spilled a secret about Indian cricket team, saying: “We are actually a bunch of pranksters.”

    One of the fan was curious to know that what was the last thing Virat googled about. To which he replied: “Cristiano Ronaldo’s transfer.”

    Virat also shared that how do he keep himself motivated in a bad phase. “Do the routines right and persist with them regardless of the results.”

    A fan asked him to share a childhood photo of him, and the photo he shared was too cute.

    Kohli is currently in quarantine in Mumbai ahead of India’s tour to England where the team will play six Test matches, including the World Test Championship final against New Zealand, starting June 18.

  • Anushka, Virat share some ‘special’ paw-tastic moments from 2020

    Anushka, Virat share some ‘special’ paw-tastic moments from 2020

    Anushka Sharma has shared a video of her ‘priceless moments’ from 2020, which shows her and her husband, Virat Kohli playing with dogs.

    In the new video, the couple, who are strong animal activists, could be seen playing with a bunch of dogs; feeding them, going on walks with them, and petting them, around what appears to be a farmland where they spent some time last year. Anushka’s dog, Dude, can also be seen with them.

    Fans showered love on the couple in the comments section with some commenting that the video was ‘superb’ and ‘awesome’. The video also crossed five million views on Instagram.

    Earlier this month, Virat had announced that he was collaborating with an animal healthcare company and NGO supporting stray animals to build safe spaces and ensure easy medical access to the stray animals of our city. Kohli said that the the aim of his shelters is to “ensure health and support” to stray animals. He also thanked Anushka for inspiring him.

    “Looking after the welfare of animals is a cause very close to my heart now as Anushka is very passionate about this issue. Her vision to help stray animals across India is truly inspiring for me and since I have met her, I have tried to understand more about animal rights and the urgent need for medical assistance for strays. It is our dream to create a safer space for the stray animals of our city,” Kohli had said in a statement.

    Anushka and Virat became parents for the first time earlier this year. Their daughter Vamika was born in January, but they’ve been particular about not sharing pictures of the baby on social media. They have also requested the press to not carry unauthorised images of the baby.

  • Babar Azam dethrones Virat Kohli to become number one ODI batsman

    Babar Azam dethrones Virat Kohli to become number one ODI batsman

    Babar Azam has dethroned the Captain of the Indian Cricket Team Virat Kohli to become the number one batsman in One-Day Internationals, becoming the fourth batsman from Pakistan to attain the number one position in the latest ICC rankings list update, released on Wednesday.

    The 26-year-old player of the match scored 94 off 82 balls in the last match of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League series against South Africa in Centurion which helped him gain 13 rating points to reach 865 points and he now leads the Indian captain by eight points.

    Babar, a star of the ICC Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cups in 2010 and 2012 has been playing ODIs since 2015 and had started the series against South Africa at 837 rating points but moved up to 858 (ahead of Kohli) after his score of 103 in the first match. He dropped to 852 by the time of the last weekly rankings update with a score of 32 in the second ODI.

    By ending Kohli’s 1,258 day-supremacy, Babar has emulated compatriots Zaheer Abbas (1983-84), Javed Miandad (1988-89), and Mohammad Yousuf (2003) as the number one ODI batsman. In Tests, Babar has attained a best of the fifth position and is currently ranked sixth while in T20Is he is third but has been number one in the past.

    Meanwhile, Fakhar Zaman is another Pakistan batsman to move up the ODI batting charts, gaining five slots to reach a career-best seventh position after his knock of 101. Shaheen Afridi (up four places to a career-best 11th place) and left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz (up 29 places to 96th) have progressed thanks to their three-wicket hauls in the match.

    Babar had earlier overtaken Rohit Sharma to get to the second spot.

    Reacting to the news, Azam, in a statement, said: “I feel privileged and honoured to have joined the company of stalwarts like Zaheer Abbas, Javed Miandad and Mohammad Yousuf, who will always be the shining stars of Pakistan cricket.”

    “This is another milestone in my career, which will now require even more hard work and absolute consistency with the bat in order for me to hold on to the ranking for an extended period of time, like Sir Vivian Richards from January 1984 to October 1988 and Virat Kohli for 1,258 days,” he continued.

    The captain further said: “I have also previously topped the T20I rankings, but the ultimate ambition and goal is to lead the Test rankings, which are the real testament and reward to a batsman’s calibre, reputation and skills. I understand to achieve this objective, I will not only have to perform consistently but more importantly, against the top sides.”

    “I am looking forward to this challenge and remain confident I will be able to accomplish this target with the support of my teammates and coaching staff. But at this stage, I will savour the moment as it has come almost 18 months after I was first appointed the white-ball captain and that too at the back of my performances which helped Pakistan become the first Asian side to win two ODI series in South Africa,” added Azam.