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Hello Jammu News at 4:35:00 PM 0



Chennai, Mar 24 :   The IPL 2019 opener turned out to be a low-scoring contest and rival captains Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virat Kohli expressed their dissatisfaction over the slowness of the Chepauk track.


Royal Challengers Bangalore were all out for 70 in 17.1 overs, a target that Chennai Super Kings achieved in 17.4 overs to win the match by seven wickets. 

Despite finishing on the winning side, Dhoni made it clear that he would expect better wickets in the upcoming games.

"I never expected the wicket to play how it actually played. It was too slow. We were really surprised by how slow the wicket was. It reminded me of a Champions League wicket in 2011 after we won the IPL. 

"The wicket definitely needs to be much better, even with dew it was spinning big," Dhoni said at the post-match presentation ceremony here last night. 

Kohli, who is also the Indian captain, on his part said: "The wicket looked much better than it played. No one thought the wicket's going to play the way it played. We thought somewhere 140-150 would be an ideal score because of the dew factor later on. A scrappy sort of start to the league. That is what you get when you have a wicket like that. 

"But either team would have struggled batting first. I don't think either team had control over it. The pitch was under the covers for four days." 

Kohli felt neither teams enjoyed "that kind of a pitch".

"I don't think either of the team would have enjoyed that kind of a pitch, especially in T20 cricket where guys want to get runs and put the runs on the board or chase scores down." 

Dhoni said any genuine spinner will do well on this track.

"Something like 140-150 is something you are looking at; 80, 90, 100 or 120 is very low scoring. If you saw how the wicket played and if you have genuine spinners in your line-up you can create lot of trouble. It will be very difficult to score runs. 

"So the wicket needs to get much better than where it is right now. It needs to be (more) high scoring. Other teams have good spinners as well and this isn't the pitch we are looking forward to," the CSK skipper added.

Dhoni said his reason for opting to bowl after winning the toss was the uncertainty over how the surface would behave as CSK had the experience of playing a practice match leading into the IPL opener. 

"We were not really sure about the wicket. We played a practice game on the same wicket and it wasn't turning so much. It was a slightly high-scoring game. Yes, practice game, there is a tendency normally you will score 30 runs more than what you will in a proper game." 

For Kohli, it was a relief that a match like this happened at the start of the tournament.

"No one wants to start like this, but it's good to get a game like this out of the way early in the tournament rather than having it at a very important stage in the tournament," the RCB captain said. 

"We spoke of trying to be in the game, taking it to the 18th over was nice to see." 

Kohli, however, admitted that his team's batting was not good. 

"The batting wasn't good, it wasn't easy to bat on, looked much better surface though. We should have batted better. If that was 100-110 run game it would have been very close," he said.   [Agencies]
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Hello Jammu News at 2:17:00 PM 0

Skipper Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara put on 62 runs for the third wicket after losing both the openers, steering India to 70 for two at tea on day two of the second Test against Australia, here Saturday.


Perth, Dec 15 (PTI) Skipper Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara put on 62 runs for the third wicket after losing both the openers, steering India to 70 for two at tea on day two of the second Test against Australia, here Saturday.

At the break, Kohli was batting on 37 while Cheteshwar Pujara was unbeaten on 23 as India trail by 256 runs.

After losing Murali Vijay (0) at the stroke of lunch, India were immediately under the pump as Josh Hazlewood (1/30) knocked over KL Rahul (2) in the third over after resumption of play. 

Rahul was in two minds about how to play a full delivery aimed at the off-stump and was beaten all ends up as the ball destroyed his stumps.

It brought Kohli and Pujara together at the crease, and the duo concentrated on defence in order to push back the Australian attack.

The session turned out to be an intense battle with Nathan Lyon keeping both batsmen under wraps as they tried not to play too many strokes against the off-spinner.

At the other end, Kohli also contended with Hazlewood who bowled an extended spell. The star batsman stood outside the crease and moved early on his front foot to deny any chance of a repeat with what happened at Rahul's dismissal.

They made slow progress, adding 37 runs in the first hour of play after lunch, and their 50-partnership came up in 135 balls.

There were a few more shots towards the end of this session, but overall Australia kept a tight leash on proceedings with both set batsmen deciding not to counterpunch.

Earlier, Australia's lower order added crucial 49 runs after resuming at 277 for six as paceman Ishant Sharma finished with 4 for 41.

Skipper Tim Paine (38) and Pat Cummins (19) frustrated Indian bowling and extended their eighth-wicket partnership to 59 runs.

In doing so, they took Australia past 300 in the 100th over. For their part, India were guilty of bowling too short again and there weren't enough full deliveries attacking the stumps or making batsmen play.

India were content with keeping a lid on the scoring as only 29 runs came in the first hour of play. They started the day's proceedings with Ishant and Mohammed Shami (0/80), with Umesh Yadav (2/78) starting as first change.

Jasprit Bumrah (2/53), who was India's standout bowler on day one, was the fourth to bowl in an inexplicable tactic from the skipper.

There was certain hint of variable bounce from the pitch, but again India didn't bowl full enough to exploit the same as the Australian tail wagged.

Finally, Yadav got the breakthrough with an over of full deliveries, knocking off Cummin's off-stump in the 105th over. Two balls later, Bumrah trapped Paine lbw and the decision stayed despite a DRS review from the batsman.

Nathan Lyon (9 not out) stayed unbeaten for the third innings in a row as he added quick-fire 16 runs with Mitchell Starc to push Australia to a healthy total on a tough wicket.

Ishant then finished off things with two wickets in two balls, with Starc and Josh Hazlewood (0) caught behind with some acrobatic help from Rishabh Pant.


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Hello Jammu News at 3:30:00 PM 0

The green pitches have ceased to be "alien" for the Indian team, declared captain Virat Kohli, who is hoping that Australia will not take off the grass from the pitch for the second Test, beginning Friday.


Perth, Dec 13 (PTI) The green pitches have ceased to be "alien" for the Indian team, declared captain Virat Kohli, who is hoping that Australia will not take off the grass from the pitch for the second Test, beginning Friday. 

India took a 1-0 lead in the four-match series with a 31-run win in Adelaide, and will bank on the five pace bowlers to go 2-0 up in the four-match series. 

"We certainly get more excited than nervous looking at lively pitches. We understand that we have a bowling attack that can bowl out the opposition now.

I hope no more grass is taken off it. We as a team are pretty happy with that," said a confident Kohli at the pre-match press conference. 

"We just have to challenge ourselves as a batting unit and play positively, backing the bowlers to do what they did at Adelaide as well. I think this pitch is going to offer significantly more than it did at Adelaide. That is something we are very excited about. 

India named their 13-man squad for this Test, with R Ashwin and Rohit Sharma ruled out owing to injury concerns. There is every chance that India will go in with a four-pronged pace-only attack for only the third instance in their Test history, after Johannesburg (2018) and Perth (WACA, 2012).

"I have played all around the world for 10 years now and I have never played on a wicket like the one at Johannesburg to be honest. I have played at Perth as well in 2012 but was not even close to what Johannesburg was. We are not alien to pitches like these and this is nothing new for us. We know what to expect on a pitch like this. On a lively wicket where there is grass on the pitch and the surface being hard, you are as much as in the game as the opposition." 

When asked about how it feels to be the Indian captain to unleash this best-ever Indian pace attack', Kohli said, "I am lucky that when they are at their peak I am the captain. To be honest I haven't gone scouting for them, they have been playing for a while and it is just that these five have come into their own when I was the captain. So I am not going to sit here and take credit for unleashing some one." 

"If you don't get 20 wickets you don't win a Test match, regardless of whether you scored 600 or 700 or 800. It is insignificant. If you get 300 on the board and you have guys who can get 20 wickets then you are fine as a team. The way they have bowled in the last three tours, it is amazing. They are hungry for wickets and are not giving easy runs. I am sure it is very exciting for those who are watching us play." 

Kohli also emphasised that though it is very "exciting phase" to be in, but they need to build on it. 

"We cannot be complacent and be satisfied with just one win. We need to keep repeating the good things to win a series. Playing away is always challenging but even if you want to win games at home, you need to be consistent and that is something that we are working on, he said.

Certain DRS issues have cropped up after the Adelaide Test, with Australia particularly miffed at some of the marginal decisions not going their way. For India, there is also the issue of no balls, but Kohli underlined that the concerned bowlers have already worked on those.

"We had a word with the umpires. You have to take all the pros and cons of it. Sometimes the inconclusive decisions go your way, sometimes they don't. Sometimes there is a spike in the snickometer but no hotspot. There are variables in the technology for sure. But if it weren't for DRS, you probably would be in a different situation in a game. Probably as a batter or as the fielding side, you don't have any second chance of checking a decision that could be game changing. I am okay with it." 

"Nothing is going to be perfect. There is human error too. I don't think anything can be totally error-free. I just think that until a few things are rectified we need to take these in our stride," Kohli said.

Talking about the no balls, he added, As I mentioned about this after the last game, Ishant (Sharma) himself was very keen to rectify it. So I don't think it was something that needed to be spoken about again and again." 
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Hello Jammu News at 1:07:00 PM 0


Hyderabad, Oct 11 (PTI) Stop the comparisons and let Prithvi Shaw be -- Indian captain Virat Kohli Thursday demanded "some space" for the teenage sensation, whose batting has drawn parallels with the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag. 

Hailed as a child prodigy, Shaw had a cracking Test debut against the West Indies team, hitting 134 off 154 balls in the first Test against Rajkot. The knock led to a media frenzy and a series of comments on how he is destined for greatness.

On the eve of the second Test here, the skipper, who tasted stardom quite early himself, took queries on the 18-year-old and called for some space. 

"I don't think he should be rushed into anything yet because you need to give a youngster a space to grow, in his own abilities. This guy is supremely talented and he has got great ability as everyone saw," the skipper said at the pre-match press conference.

"We definitely think he (Shaw) has it in him to play at the highest level and he can repeat what he did in the first game. He is a very keen learner, a sharp guy. He understands situations well. We are all very happy for him," he added.

Kohli echoed India opener Gautam Gambhir, who Wednesday said that people should stop comparing him to the great Virender Sehwag. 

"We shouldn't compare him to anyone yet. We shouldn't put him in a space where he feels pressure of any kind and he should be left in a space where he enjoys his cricket and slowly grows into a player we all believe in." 

Tournaments like the IPL, the A tours, live coverage of the U-19 tournaments put youngsters under instant spotlight and Kohli agreed that they are more equipped to handle pressure situations.

"Definitely it could be one of the reasons (early exposure) because they are already exposed to the environment that the international game would replicate. But there's always pressure of playing for the country.

"When you get that cap in the morning of the game, there's always butterflies in the stomach and I am sure everyone feels that pressure.

"But I am sure it is not as intense as 10-15 years back, when you didn't have any exposure in this kind of cricket and suddenly you are put out there in a Test match making your debut for India the highest or toughest thing there could be." 

IPL is one of the tournaments that had helped youngsters not get overawed by top flight cricket.

"So I agree with the fact that they have played in situations in the IPL where they play in front of so many people that they are not nervous anymore at the big stage.

"...I think they are not overawed by the scenario and I think that's always going to be an advantage because the guys coming in can start doing the job from game one which both these young guys have done that and Hanuma (Vihari) as well. They are supremely confident guys, those who are coming up (the ranks)." 

The skipper scored his 24th hundred in Rajkot where he ran nearly 100 runs (99) in singles and doubles.

The master batsman believes that he has now reached a stage where he can bat for two days piling up runs in singles and doubles.

"You also have to realise that by the time the middle-order walked in at that game, the ball was soft. The pitch was not as quick, the harder ball comes onto the bat, so you have more boundary opportunities.

That said, the skipper is still ready to punish the loose balls.

"You can run your way to a hundred as well. There's no harm in that, I think with that mindset you understand your game you can bat all day, you can bat for two days and just score in singles and doubles." 

However this strategy comes with a rider according to Kohli clarity of mind.

"You don't necessarily need to hit a boundary and if you are convinced about that in your own head then the bowler gets to know as well and then the battle of patience starts.

"So I think you have to be convinced first that you can play all day with singles and doubles and not necessarily wanting to hit the big shots but given an opportunity, obviously you'll cash in on the loose balls.

"I think defence and understanding your off stump and being happy with that set up is the most basic in Test match batting," the skipper added.

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Hello Jammu News at 11:58:00 AM 0


Hyderabad, Oct 10 (PTI) Mahendra Singh Dhoni's poor batting form might force selectors to include the flamboyant Rishabh Pant when they pick the ODI squad for the limited-overs leg of the ongoing home series against the West Indies, here Thursday. 

It is still not clear whether the squad will be announced for the first three games or the entire series, which comprises five ODIs and three T20 Internationals and starts on October 21. 

Skipper Virat Kohli's presence may be another key issue even though it's unlikely that he will be inclined to rest for the entire series. 

However, the primary bone of contention will be whether the selectors and the team management will at least agree on having a cover batsman for Dhoni, whose wicketkeeping remains sharp but batting form has been on the slide.

"We all know that Dhoni will play till the World Cup but there is no harm in grooming Pant, who could be a terrific No.6 or 7 batsman, who has the ability to finish games," a senior BCCI official privy to selection matters told PTI today. 

Since his debut Test hundred at the Oval followed by a stroke-filled 92 in Rajkot, calls for the 20-year-old's inclusion have only grown louder. 

While Dinesh Karthik is already there, his consistency and inability to finish matches at crucial junctures will keep the team management worried.

There are a few other permutations that the selectors might consider.

Kedar Jadhav's dodgy hamstring will rule him out of the limited-overs leg which opens up one potential middle-order batting slot. 

Ambati Rayudu, after a good Asia Cup performance, will retain his place even if Kohli decides to play. 

Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah are set to come back after a much-needed break during the ongoing Test series.

Ravindra Jadeja is also expected to make it after his lion-hearted show as Axar Patel's replacement. 

The axe might just fall on Manish Pandey, who has had a poor run of late since getting a chance against Afghanistan.

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Hello Jammu News at 2:29:00 PM 0

Rajkot, Oct 5: Virat Kohli breezed to a 24th Test hundred while Rishabh Pant missed out after a blistering 92 as India amassed 506 for five at lunch on day two of the series opener against the West Indies here on Friday.

Kohli, who was 72 not out overnight, took time to knock off the 28 runs needed for yet another hundred while his partner Pant (92 off 84), who resumed at 17, went all guns blazing.

A second Test hundred in his fourth Test was for the taking but Pant, attempting another six over mid-wicket, failed to pick the googly and top-edged it for a simple catch to Keemo Paul at backward point. His entertaining innings was laced with eight fours and four sixes.

Kohli (120 not out) had the company of Ravindra Jadeja (19 not out off 33) when lunch was taken. India, aiming to bat only once in the game, scored 142 runs in 29 overs bowled in the session.

With Pant picking boundaries at will, Kohli was in no hurry get to the hundred and when he did get there, the India skipper became the second fastest to 24 Test hundreds behind only Donald Bradman, who took 66 innings to Kohli's 123.

Pant, who made memorable in his debut series in England, played his usual attacking game from ball one, flicking it nonchalantly through square leg to get going.

Kohli enjoyed his teammates' fluent strokeplay from the other end as Pant raced to his half century with a four and six off pacer Paul. He used his strong wrists to get to the desired elevation and distance. It was a sheer display of brute power.

His eyes lit up when spinners were employed after first hour of the morning. He welcomed Roston Chase with a four and six and did the same to Devendra Bishoo in the following over.

Anything pitched up, he was quick to clear his one leg and deposit the ball over mid-wicket and long on.

The way Pant was plundering the bowlers, it seemed he would get to three figures before his skipper. But that did not happen as Kohli completed his century with a flick off his pads towards fine leg.

Pant was on 87 when Kohli raised his bat but the wicket-keeper batsmen ended up throwing it away as he went for another six. (PTI)
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Hello Jammu News at 5:04:00 PM 0

Rajkot, Oct 3: India captain Virat Kohli Wednesday said top-order batting is the only aspect left to be sorted in the Test team and "enough space" would be given to youngsters such as Prithvi Shaw to showcase their talent confidently.

Kohli said experimentation can only be done in the top-order and has high hopes from the 18-year-old Shaw, who will make his Test debut on Thursday in the opening game against the West Indies here. Shaw is expected to open alongside K L Rahul.

"We have a change at the top of the order. We will give these guys enough space and enough chances to feel comfortable at that position. We want them to be confident of what they are doing," Kohli said in the pre-match press conference.

"The lower-order is all about contribution, there is no change needed there. Rishabh (Pant) is new but Ashwin and Jadeja have performed in so many games at home they just need to replicate it abroad.

"Apart from the top-order getting cemented, I don't think with these Two Test there is a lot we are looking at. Rest of the things are quite settled," he added.

After series losses in South Africa and England, the Indian team management was slammed for making too many changes in the playing eleven but Kohli justified the decisions made.

"...you need your best eleven on the park. In the past, most of the changes have been made in the bowling combination and people have conveniently taken otherwise. The bowlers that have sat out have never felt they have been hard done by," said Kohli.

"The motive has always been to pick the best eleven and we have hardly tinkered with the batting order barring a couple of guys who have not been in form. We have utilised the conditions to the maximum wherever we have gone," he said referring to the bowlers' good work in South Africa and England.

Kohli said the final XI is always picked based on the conditions that the team is facing.

"We have been able to pick up 20 wickets because of the fact we played people who are suited for the conditions. Batting has not been up to the mark and that is why we have not done well in England.

"No one wants to do something different every game. It is all about what is in front of you and accordingly you pick your best eleven," said the skipper.

Contributions from the lower-order helped England win the series 4-1 as openers from both teams struggled in tough conditions for major part of the five-Test series. While India's lower-order comprising R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have done well at home, they can do a lot better overseas, according to Kohli.

"Everyone on the outside also knows the areas we need to improve on. If you look at the sides which win Test matches, contribution at the top and contribution of the lower-order are more crucial than contribution of the middle order.

"Whatever happens in middle order is connected to either what top-order or lower-order does. The reason England were better than us because their lower-order did well. I won't say their top-order did better than us. We realise that," he explained.

Kohli said the lower-order must perform better ahead of the Australia tour next month.

"See in home conditions, we are not bothered by it because we have done really well as far as lower-order contributions are concerned. But definitely we would like to take the West Indies series as a benchmark we want to set.

"With a couple of new guys coming at the top, they have an opportunity to showcase their skill sets and show why selectors have backed them," he said.

Kohli is back in action after a break. He missed the Asia Cup in Dubai to give his back much-needed rest and is raring to go again.

"I feel rejuvenated again both mentally and physically. I needed the break after the intensity with which the tours of South Africa and England went. People usually talk about workloads but they don't usually understand the concept. They refer to workload as number of games played," he said.

"There is no workload if you make zero in every game. If I bat for six hours that is workload," he added.

Managing the workload of players will be given top priority ahead of the 2019 World Cup, he said.

"I definitely needed a break because of my back . Looking at the World Cup these things are very important to consider, to give players ample rest and opportunity to train well and come back stronger. You don't want them breaking down in crucial times," asserted the skipper. (PTI)
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Hello Jammu News at 4:16:00 PM 0

New Delhi, Sep 17: Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli and world champion weightlifter Mirabai Chanu were Monday jointly recommended for the country's highest sporting honour -- the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award.

Kohli will become the third Indian cricketer after legendary Sachin Tendulkar (1997) and the talismanic former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (2007) once the sports ministry officially accepts the committee's recommendation.

"Yes, Virat Kohli and Mirabai Chanu's names have been recommended by the awards committee," a top source told PTI on condition of anonymity.

It is learnt that India's top male shuttler Kidambi Srikanth was in contention for his good show in the Super Series Circuit last year but lost out to the 24-year-old Chanu, who is the reigning world champion in the 48kg category with a world record to boot.

Kohli, the world's No.1 Test batsman as per the ICC rankings, has been in stupendous form for the past three years and missed out despite nominations in the years 2016 and 2017.

The 29-year-old currently has 6147 runs in 71 Tests with 23 centuries and 9779 runs in 211 ODIs, including 35 tons.

With a combined 58 tons in international cricket, he is only second to Sachin Tendulkar (100) in the list of century-scorers in international cricket.

The BCCI has been nominating Kohli for the Khel Ratna for the past three years but in 2016, it was given to Sakshi Malik, PV Sindhu and Deepa Karmakar for their good show at the Rio Olympic Games.

Last year, the Khel Ratna was awarded to former India hockey captain Sardar Singh and para-athlete Devendra Jhajharia.

Kohli is one of those rare sportspersons, who has received Padma Shri award (2017) before Khel Ratna.

This year, Kohli was a favourite after having led India to victories against England and Australia at home and away wins against West Indies and Sri Lanka.

The Indian team has also won limited-overs series in South Africa under Kohli's leadership.

He is a member of the 2011 ICC World Cup and the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy winning team. He also led the team to the finals of the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy.

Kohli has also been the recipient of ICC's 'ODI Cricketer of the Year' in 2012 and 2017 along with the sport's highest honour -- the ICC Cricketer of the Year. Kohli has won the Indian Cricketer of the Year on five occasions.

He ended the recent England series with a phenomenal 593 runs even though it was not considered in the selection cycle.

For Chanu, the award comes as a massive morale-booster as she is currently recovering from a lower back injury, which forced her to skip the Asian Games in Jakarta.

She is the current Commonwealth Games gold-medallist and India's only medal hope in weightlifting going into the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. (PTI)
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Hello Jammu News at 11:47:00 AM 0


Dubai, Sep 17 :  A formidable India will be aiming to make short work of minnows Hong Kong in their Asia Cup opener Tuesday before getting battle-ready for their much-anticipated clash against arch-rivals Pakistan on Wednesday.
The match against Hong Kong will be an 'appetiser' before cricket junkies are treated to a lavish spread of main course which will be the Indo-Pak rivalry.

Even without regular skipper Virat Kohli, the Indian side, led by Rohit Sharma, is an intimidating one in the limited-overs format.

Although Rohit and his colleagues won't want to take Hong Kong lightly, in reality the match will only be a pre-cursor or a glorified dress rehearsal before they take on an in-form Pakistan the very next day.

In the searing Dubai heat, where the mercury has risen up to 43 degree Celsius, the primary aim for the Men in Blue would be to get their combination right before the big game.

Hong Kong lost their opener against Pakistan by eight wickets in a thoroughly one sided showdown where they could manage only 116 runs.

Unless a miracle happens, there won't be a remarkable improvement in their performance against an Indian team that boasts of the likes of Rohit, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Kedar Jadhav in batting along with Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal in bowling.

For the past few years, Mahendra Singh Dhoni's waning batting skills have repeatedly come under scanner and this tournament will give everyone a fair idea of his ideal position.

Whether it would ned up being No.5, 6 or 7 will be the big contention going into the Pakistan game.

If Dhoni comes in at No.7, he will have to face a skilful Mohammed Aamir at the death along with a skiddy Usman Khan and talented Hasan Ali.

Possibly, Kedar Jadhav or Manish Pandey at No.5 and Hardik Pandya with his big hitting abilities at No.7 could prove to be ideal foil for the former India captain, if he decides to come at No 6.

The middle-order that has been an issue for India for quite some time now and need to be sorted going into the World Cup next year.

It is expected that KL Rahul will bat at No.3 but the incoming deliveries from Aamir or Hasan could be a problem like it has been in England.

The BCCI has already hired a left-arm throwdown specialist from Sri Lanka to ensure that the Indian have no trouble tackling Pakistan's battery of left-armers. Also, they have Khaleel Ahmed in the team to give the batsmen much-needed practice.

However, on flat decks with little movement from white kookaburra, the Indian batsmen can play their customary 'hitting on the rise' game with minimal footwork.

The Hong Kong encounter will be a match simulater for the likes of Dhawan, Rahul and Pandya, who will have to adjust to the different length and pace of the track.

The Bumrah-Bhuvneshwar combination will be back in action along with the Kuldeep-Chahal combination, which has been a steady set-up for past one year.

For Pakistan, the two Indian wrist-spinners will be unknown entities as they were not in the team that lost to Sarfraz Khan's men in the Champions Trophy final in England.

Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam are the two batting mainstays while Imam ul Haq (Inzamam ul Haq's nephew) has been pretty consistent so far.

The oldest player in the line up, all-rounder Shoaib Malik, has tremendous experience of batting in the middle overs on low slow decks of the sub-continent.

The Hong Kong game will also be ideal warm-up for Bhuvneshwar, who has been out due to back injury.

He recently came back to competitive cricket for India A against South Africa A.

The tickets for the Indo-Pak clash has been steeply priced with the hospitality seats costing USD 1600 (INR 1.15 lakh approx).

The stadium is expected to be packed to capacity on Wednesday but one can expect a sizeable Indian population on Tuesday itself during the Hong Kong game.

Squads

India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shardul Thakur, Dinesh Karthik, Khaleel Ahmed. Hong Kong: Anshuman Rath (captain), Aizaz Khan, Babar Hayat, Cameron McAulson, Christopher Carter, Ehsan Khan, Ehsan Nawaz, Arshad Mohammed, Kinchit Shah, Nadeem Ahmed, Raag Kapur, Scott McKehnie, Tanvir Ahmed, Tanvir Afzal, Waqas Khan, Aftab Hussain.

Match starts 5 pm (IST).PTI




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Hello Jammu News at 12:53:00 PM 0


London, Sep 12 :  He listed weaknesses aplenty but a combative India captain Virat Kohli insisted that neither is the 1-4 Test series loss to England all that hard to take nor does his side require any "massive" course correction.

India were mostly outplayed by what was being considered a relatively weak England team, which had its own share of batting woes throughout the series.

"We understand why this series has gone the way it has and we don't see a massive-massive portion that we need to correct. If you are competing in every game, and you have an upper hand in every game at some stage or the other, you are doing something right," said a defiant Kohli after the 118-run loss in the fifth and final Test Tuesday.

The defeat in England added to the team's poor statistics on foreign soil, a tour of South Africa earlier this year being another missed opportunity.

"Not hard at all (to take these series' defeats in South Africa and England) because what matters to me is the kind of attitude you play cricket with. We said at the end of the fourth game that we won't throw in the towel and we didn't," he said.

Speaking about the many weaknesses of the team that lay thoroughly exposed, Kohli said the inability to capitalise on positions of strength stood out.

"We created pressure. We were not able to hold that pressure for long enough with the bat and the ball as well...they (England) took advantage of those situations better than us," he said.

The captain was not particularly amused when questioned whether coach Ravi Shastri's pre-match claim that this was the best touring Indian team in the last 15 years, was something he believed in.

"We have to believe that, why not? What do you think?"

In response to an "I am not sure" from the questioning scribe, Kohli retorted, "That's your opinion. Thank you very much."

But he did acknowledge his side's failure to get more out of the conditions, which England exploited to the hilt.

"We are not starting behind all the time you know and we have fought back in this series...we do not look at this series as something that makes us think we can't play in overseas conditions...but can we capitalise on the important moments better than the opposition? At the moment, no, we haven't done that," he conceded.

"Our aim is to win series, not to win the odd Test match and be happy about it. We are definitely not happy about the way the series has gone, but we played with the right attitude and with the will to win every game that we played," said Kohli.

"We were a bowler short in the second innings as well, but even then the batsmen came out and played liked that. Lot of teams in the past basically have given up but we did not.

"If you keep winning all the time a lot of faults are swept under the carpet. You don't realise the faults you need to work on and I certainly haven't played my cricket like that," he added.

India started Tuesday adrift of the 464-run target but KL Rahul scored his fifth Test hundred and Rishabh Pant scored his maiden Test century as they gave hope for a draw to the dressing room.

Witnessing their 204-run stand for the sixth wicket, the skipper said that there was an odd thought of victory too.

"We did have that thought at tea to be honest, purely because of the way these guys batted and got us to a situation during tea time where all results looked possible. So, I think that it's down to the brilliance of these two that made us think that way," he said.

"Rahul hadn't had a great run but still went on and played like that. Rishabh was doubtful of a few innings and he came and played like that as well. That partnership was a great show of character."

The skipper said there have been key learnings in this series for him and his team going ahead.

"We've had conversations around specific situations we were in and why they went away from us. A lot of time it's been on missed opportunities in the field. We have definitely spoken to individuals and tried to understand what they were thinking in certain situations," he said without getting into the specifics.

Praising the Indian bowling attack, Kohli said, "I would like to offer specials congratulations to them for the way they have bowled.

"Because of them only we were in competitive situations because they were dismissing the opposition twice in the matches. That's a big boost for us."

As for the batsmen, Kohli said issues have been discussed.

"The next series we play, we'll try to play optimistically from the beginning so that we don't play catch-up from the start. In difficult conditions if you are on the back foot from the start then to recover it's very difficult," he said.

Kohli finished as the highest run-getter in the series, but was unable to help India record a win in England.

Talking about his duel with veteran England pacer James Anderson, Kohli said it was fun.

"We haven't had any arguments at all. Through the series it's been nice and competitive. We have had a word here and there, but it's been sarcastic and nothing too serious. Guys like him test you all the time," he said.PTI
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Hello Jammu News at 1:37:00 PM 0

Southampton, Sept 3: India skipper Virat Kohli said his team cannot be satisfied with just competing overseas and it has to learn the art of crossing the line in pressure situation.

India suffered a 60-run loss in the fourth Test on Sunday after being dismissed for 184 while chasing a victory target of 245 set by England.

It cost India the series 3-1 and Kohli said that they need to understand situation whilst at the crease and not after the game.

"We can look at the scoreboard and say we were only 30 or 50 runs away, but we have to recognise that when we are in the midst of the situation, and not later. We know that we have played good cricket but we cannot say again and again to ourselves that we have competed," Kohli said.

"When you come so close, there is an art of crossing the line as well, which we will have to learn. We have the ability, which is why we are getting close to a result. But when a pressure situation comes, how we react to it, is something we have to work on a bit."

Like in South Africa, India started off the series lagging 0-2 but fought hard to reduce the deficit by clinching the third Test.

Kohli said his team needs to be more relentless and fearless to make better start to the overseas tours.

"Look we've spoken about the fact that even during the match when we're in a driving position, we should be able to capitalise on it and not let the opposition come in, and fight back again and again. We can take a leaf out of that," he said.

"Nottingham we did that, for three days we were relentless and we're on top. So we need to think about how to start a series like that as well. As a group we need to be more relentless when we start a series and be a bit more expressive and fearless at the beginning of a series.

"Especially in a long series because, as I've said at the start of the series, you have time to comeback, but you want to come back when you've played fearless cricket and you don't want to be catching up too much."

When asked about the batsmen's failure in this game, and the series, as a whole, the skipper said, "It's very difficult to recognize key moments in the first innings of a Test match. But after I got out, I myself felt that had I batted for longer that day the lead could have been bigger.

"But even after that we thought we could get a couple of more partnerships and extend the lead if possible. Eventually Pujara had to play a blinder to get us to a lead of 30 odd. So that's the only thing that I feel could have extended our lead a bit more in this first innings.

"Apart from that as I said as captain I don't see many areas we need to think of as negatives because we tried our best."

Kohli said his team never gave up and made England earn the victory.

"Not many teams come close to us when we play at home. But to make the home sides earn victory against us, that's a huge boost for us. As a group we feel that we have pushed the home side to earn victories and we haven't thrown in the towel," he said.

England's Moeen Ali took nine wickets for 134 runs as India succumbed twice to his off-spin.

While Kohli praised the off-spinner, he also defended R Ashwin, who couldn't work similar magic in this game.

"Ashwin tried his best. He pitched the ball in the right areas. He didn't get the results he would have intended. We all try to do well. Some innings it doesn't come off," he said.

"On flat wickets batsmen can get out. So this was one occasion where Ashwin could himself feel he could have got more purchase out of the wicket. The batsmen played well. There could be a lot of factors when you look at that situation.

"But Moeen bowled really well. If you have to single out his performance, I think he was relentless with the areas that he bowled in and the speeds that he bowled at, so deserved to get the wickets he got eventually," he added. (PTI)
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Hello Jammu News at 3:34:00 PM 0

Mumbai, Aug 31: India skipper Virat Kohli's workload will be in focus along with the middle-order slots when the national selection committee picks the squad for the Asia Cup cricket tournament, here tomorrow.

While India will be entering the tournament after a gruelling two and half month tour of UK, it is unlikely that top stars will take rest as they are set to play arch-rivals Pakistan at least twice or may be thrice if the two teams reach the finals.

However, the skipper has had issues with his back and with another six Test matches lined in the next three months (two vs West Indies and four vs Australia), the selectors will be cautious while monitoring Kohli's workload.

There is nothing to suggest that Kohli will opt out of the tournament but if he does, then Rohit Sharma will lead the side.

The other concern will be fixing the middle-order woes.

While Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma select themselves, KL Rahul will remain a back-up opener or one-down depending on the team situation.

However, it's the two batting slots after Kohli which are a bone of contention going into the World Cup next year.

Manish Pandey had an indifferent run with the senior team but the Quadrangular series saw him roar back to form. he led India B to the title with 306 runs in four games without being dismissed once.

Ambati Rayudu has passed the YoYo test and scored a few runs for India A. Kedar Jadhav is also fit and his slow off-breaks could be an asset on the UAE tracks.

The selectors will also find it diffcult to ignore Mayank Agarwal's rightful claim to a place in the side after scoring truckloads of runs for Karnataka and India A.

He has been a stupendous success across formats but with Dhawan, Rohit and Rahul as openers, it will be difficult for the selectors to slot Agarwal unless they decide to rest Dhawan.

But there is a chance that if Agarwal is ignored for the Asia Cup, he will play against the West Indies at home where some seniors are certain to be rested.

The bowling department will have Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah leading the attack with Shardul Thakur and Siddarth Kaul fighting for the back-up pacer's slot along with Umesh Yadav.

With Mahendra Singh Dhoni behind stumps, there are chances that young Rishabh Pant, who has looked far more confident than Dinesh Karthik, may make it as Dhoni's understudy. (PTI)
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Hello Jammu News at 1:20:00 PM 0

New Delhi, Aug 13: India's abject surrender in the first two Tests against England has drawn sharp criticism from some of the country's celebrated former cricketers, who hoped the side would have the strength to bounce back.

Virender Sehwag, Bishan Singh Bedi and VVS Laxman were among those who lamented the lack of fight shown by India in the second Test against England, losing by an innings and 159 runs to go 0-2 down in the five-match series.

"Very poor from India. While we all want to stand by our team and support them when they don't do well, going down without a fight is very disappointing to watch. Hope they have the confidence and mental strength to comeback from this," tweeted Sehwag.

Bedi was even more scathing in his assessment of the performance.

"Dismal Indians at Lord's..everyone remotely connected with Indian Cricket knows where the problem lies or stems from..but will not utter a word for want of strength of character & courage of conviction...which is even more depressing really than the batting debacle actually...!!" wrote former India spinner Bedi.

Laxman hoped India will learn from the mistakes ahead of the third Test starting August 18 at Nottingham.

"Caught in unfavourable conditions, not reading what the opposition threw saw India lose the Lord's Test tamely without showing a fight. Hopefully lessons are learnt quickly and the rest of the batsman start applying themselves going forward," he wrote.

Former India batsman Mohammad Kaif said the team's performance was painful o watch.

"India lasted 82 overs across 2 innings. They not learning from mistakes has been very disappointing to watch. Thoroughly outplayed in all departments in this one. Lack of fight has been the most disappointing aspect. This is really painful to watch. No batsman exudes any confidence," he said.

Another former batsman Vinod Kambli said India have plenty to think about ahead of the next Test.

"Our entire approach in this Test was defensive. More than anything, we allowed the English bowlers to come out on top by not playing our natural stroke playing game.The #TeamIndia think tank has a lot to ponder over in the coming days," he said. (PTI)
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Hello Jammu News at 11:03:00 AM 0

London, Aug 13: India captain Virat Kohli feels his team's mounting batting troubles are more mental than technical and has urged his fellow batsmen to "keep it simple" in the head to save ongoing Test series against England.

India could only make 107 and 130 in the second Test at Lord's, resulting in an innings and 159-run defeat here yesterday. The team is down 0-2 in the five-match series with the third game due to start on August 18 in Nottingham.

"I don't see any technical deficiency. If a batsman is clear in the head and he's clear about the plans he's taking, then if the ball does something off the pitch, you're able to counter it," said Kohli at the post-match media interaction.

"If my head's clouded then I feel like the ball can do this, or that, or even that. You know there are three-four scenarios that run in your head. It sounds cliche but as the greats have said, keep this game simple, that's all you have to do. You can't come here and think the conditions are too difficult because they are really not if you're prepared to counter them.

The skipper said the demons in the head have to be conquered.

"Any conditions in the world can be easy or as difficult. In India, if you're not mentally there it seems like the ball is doing a whole lot, even when it's not."

The weather also did not favour India, who batted in overcast conditions while England scored their runs in bright sunshine on day three.

"A lot of people are talking about the conditions, that we batted during a difficult time. On the day that was good, we had to bowl. And again, today was overcast and we had to bat. If we think about these things, we won't be able to plan for the future.

"There is nothing to be gained from thinking about what has happened and thinking what if. Going ahead in this series, we need to look at the mistakes we've made in this game and correct them. A sportsman has no other options," felt the captain.

Bowlers did well in the series opener but were not consistent enough at Lord's, he said.

"You can't control the toss or the weather. We didn't play good cricket in this game. We bowled well in the beginning but didn't hit our areas consistently. We didn't get enough chances in the field to miss any, but with bat and ball we could have done much better than we did."

During the second innings, Kohli batted at number five as his back problems resurfaced. The star batsman was hopeful that he would be fit in time for the next match.

"Back is one thing that can be very tricky when it goes off. It happened during the latter half of the last leg of the South Africa tour when I missed a T20 game because that was very sudden. It happened one day before. The good thing is I have five days before the next Test.

"We are confident with rehab and strengthening I should be ready for the next game although not (with) the same intensity in the field. But I should be good enough to hold a position in the field and be 100 per cent with the bat.

"Again I will have to look at the running bit of things, which was difficult today. As of now it is sore. I am not hiding that fact, but that is part of the game. I had to do what I could do to go there, bat again and try my best," said the skipper.

There are problems across the board for India, as their openers failed in both Birmingham and Lord's, while barring Kohli, the middle-order didn't turn up either. Kohli said that no particular batsman could be blamed for this failure.

"Right now, it's not purely thinking that the openers haven't fired or the middle order hasn't done well, because as a batting unit, we haven't done well in this game as a whole.

"It's very difficult to pinpoint anyone. All we have to do is gear up for the next game, come out positive and not think about that I've done well...It's all about making the team win, and doing anything that we can to make that happen."

When asked if the Indian batting is too dependent on him, the skipper replied, "We definitely as a team don't and can't think from that point of view. No one's doing anyone a favour by going out there and performing. It's our job to do that and it's a duty we've been given.

"What we did in this game we should definitely be better than that. I'm the first one to come out and accept that because unless you accept your mistake you can't improve on it. Because this is the first time in the last 5 Tests that we've been really outplayed."

This loss allows them an extra day of contemplation, albeit it will be tough to overturn a 2-0 deficit in the series.

"We are only thinking about the fact that we do have the bowling attack to pick up 20 wickets and as batsmen we should think of that as an opportunity to score runs, and make the team win games.

"What's been sad is that we haven't had those two skills coming together. I don't think it's unfortunate totally because you can't rely on fortune and luck in every game that you play," said Kohli. (PTI)
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Hello Jammu News at 2:34:00 PM 0

London, Aug 8: The Indian cricket team would expect its floundering batsmen to take more responsibility in pursuit of a series-levelling victory in the second Test against England, starting tomorrow at the Lord's.

If captain Virat Kohli had got support from his batting colleagues in Birmingham, the scenario would have been completely different. The world number one Test side came close to taking the lead but fell short by 31 runs.

The mood in the Indian dressing room, though, is quite upbeat.

Two days before the game, there was healthy amount of grass on the Lord's pitch. It is expected that the groundsmen will shave a few bits off before the first ball. But even if they don't, the general expectation is that the pitch would turn out to be quite dry.

This has also prompted a rethink in the Indian camp as to what bowling strategy they would want to go in with.

Despite India's overall failed batting effort at Edgbaston, bowling coach Bharat Arun ruled out playing an extra batsman here. He also mentioned that the second spinner could come into contention.

In that scenario, Umesh Yadav can expect to be left out with Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami and Hardik Pandya handling the pace duties.

Toss-up for the second spinner's slot is an interesting one. The last time Ravindra Jadeja played at the Lord's (in 2014), he took 3-99 in two innings but scored 68 in the second innings that underlined his value with the bat and helped India put on a match-winning total.

It isn't easy to overlook Kuldeep Yadav either. There is a strong appreciation for his talent in the Indian camp, and it was once again noticeable in the nets as he bowled to skipper Virat Kohli on Tuesday, beating him with drift and turn on more than a couple of occasions.

He got thumbs-up and smiles of admiration from the star batsman. In dry English conditions, wrist spin is a premium weapon, particularly against a line-up that hasn't faced Kuldeep much (barring Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler).

Away from bowling attack permutations, Kohli will face a tougher dilemma regarding the batting line-up. The skipper played Shikhar Dhawan ahead of Cheteshwar Pujara at Edgbaston, fitting-in KL Rahul in the eleven appropriately.

Experimentation with the number three spot is nothing new for this team management.

Back in 2014-15, the Kohli-Ravi Shastri combination first played around with number three, when Rohit Sharma was picked ahead of Pujara for the fourth Test against Australia at Sydney.

That experiment lasted two Tests against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka (first Test at Galle), before Sharma was moved down the order with Ajinkya Rahane batting at number three in the next two Tests.

Pujara returned at number three in the home series against South Africa (2015) and status quo was maintained for six Tests, before he was dropped again for the third Test in West Indies (St. Lucia, 2016).

There, much to everyone's surprise, Kohli himself batted at number three, scoring 3 and 4 in two innings.

The common aspect among these previous changes was Pujara's poor run of form (in Australia, he had scored 201 runs in three Tests before being dropped) or strike-rate (in the second Test at Jamaica, he scored 46 runs off 223 balls at 28.93 before being dropped).

The question for the team management to answer is if they want Pujara -- someone who has played county cricket this summer -- back in the playing eleven.

Dhawan only managed 26 and 13, while Rahul scored 4 and 13, yet nothing has really changed since Birmingham.

According to the Indian camp, Edgbaston was a difficult pitch to bat on and this experiment could yet continue. Even so, with 36 different playing XIs in as many Tests under Kohli's captaincy, the Indian line-up is begging for some consistency.

In comparison, England's permutations are far simpler. Dawid Malan is dropped and Ben Stokes is unavailable due to his on-going court case for affray. In that light, Joe Root only has to decide if he wants two spinners or not.

Moeen Ali will walk into the side and take up one of those vacant spots. It will also mean a Lord's debut for 20-year-old Oliver Pope, as three pacers James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Sam Curran should be enough on a dry, spin-friendly wicket.

The greater concern for the hosts is their recent record at the 'Home of Cricket'.

Going back to India's last visit here, England have only won three out of their last nine Tests at this hallowed ground.

Teams:

India: Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Rishabh Pant, Karun Nair, Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah.

England: Joe Root (c), Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Oliver Pope, Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, Jamie Porter, Sam Curran, James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes.

Match starts at: 3.30 pm IST. (PTI)
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Hello Jammu News at 1:07:00 PM 0

Nottingham, Jul 13: India captain Virat Kohli is tempted to play his 'key weapons' Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal in the upcoming five-Test series against England, considering the wrists spinners' stellar performance in the ongoing limited overs leg of the tour.

While Kuldeep has already played two Tests, Chahal is yet to earn the coveted cap in the longest version of the game.

"Anything is possible with the selections for Tests and there might be a few surprises. Kuldeep is making a strong case for himself and so is Chahal. And looking at the way, the English batsmen have struggled against them, we might be tempted to do it," said Kohli after India's emphatic win in the opening ODI yesterday.

"But the focus now is winning the next two games. Especially the next game, looking at it from the series perspective. The weather has been lovely. It has been very welcoming. The crowd support has been brilliant. The tour is really long and there is some tough cricket ahead of us which we are looking forward to," the skipper added.

Kuldeep especially has been lethal both in the T20s and now ODIs. In the opening ODI, he set up a comprehensive win with a career-best six for 25. The English batsmen have failed to pick him and he has already amassed 18 wickets on the tour including the two T20s against Ireland.

Both Kuldeep and Chahal have grabbed the opportunities with both hands ever since they were preferred over the experience duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in the shorter formats of the game.

As Kohli hinted, the wrist-spinners might get a go in the five-day format as well, starting with the England series.

Kohli praised Kuldeep as well as vice-captain Rohit Sharma, who scored an unbeaten 137.

"Those wrist spinners in the middle overs are going to be tricky. Given more overs and more time in the middle, they become even more lethal. Kuldeep was outstanding. To give away 25 runs and pick up 6 wickets on that kind of a wicket, I don't think I have seen a better spell of bowling in ODIs of late.

"After that, Rohit batted very long and finished the game for us. We made a tactical decision (at Bristol) looking at the dimensions of the ground and the breeze flowing into the shorter boundary.

"When it comes to longer game, you need players to make an impact. These two wrist spinners have been making the difference since they have come in. They did it in South Africa in the middle overs. They remain as our key weapons," Kohli added.

England captain Eoin Morgan said his team will have to improve against Indian spinners if it has to bounce back in the series.

"Playing spin against India is one challenge that hopefully we will keep improving upon. But today we were well off the mark. I think both the games there has been more turn than on the grounds that we have played on and that is one thing probably that we have identified," said Morgan.

"I think Lord's (second ODI) will be different as it won't offer a great deal of turn. But certainly he (Kuldeep) extracted more turn out of this than any other spinner. We need to improve as a side. The seamers on this wicket come on to the bat and hence the high scoring nature of the ground. We need to expose our areas of weakness before the World Cup and this seems to be one of them," he added. (PTI)
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Hello Jammu News at 2:51:00 PM 0

Nottingham, Jul 11: On a high after an impressive Twenty20 series win, an upbeat India will eye another dominant performance against hosts England in a three- match ODI series, which can be termed as a 'dry run' ahead of the World Cup next year.

With cricket's blue riband tournament scheduled to be held in UK next year, the ODI series will give Virat Kohli an ideal opportunity to get a drift about the conditions that his men are expected to encounter at exactly same time next year.

While India will be buoyed by their 2-1 T20 series win, England, the top ranked ODI team in world cricket, come into the series having crushed a below-par Australia 6-0 in their last bilateral engagement.

England have been one of the finest 50 over sides in recent times and India will have their task cut against a batting line-up comprising Jos Buttler, Jason Roy, Alex Hales, Jonny Bairstow and Eoin Morgan. Add Ben Stokes to it and England bear a formidable look.

It is a reputation built on fearless, attacking cricket that has seen England win 46 out of 69 ODIs since a disastrous 2015 World Cup. Their last bilateral series' defeat came in India in January 2017, with only a freak one-off loss to Scotland in the interim.

The series will also enable Indian team management to mix and match the various combinations, keeping World Cup in mind.

KL Rahul's stupendous form has been a happy headache for the team management and there is a possibility that the captain might come at No 4 in order to give Rahul a chance to make optimum use of his current form.

Rahul scored a 70 against Ireland and followed it by an unbeaten 101 against England in the first T20.

He will, in all likelihood, be the missing jigsaw puzzle at the top of the order for skipper Kohli. With both Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma being automatic selections at the top of the order, Rahul, who is also a specialist opener comes in at No 3.

If the same batting order is followed, skipper Kohli, who has been world's best ODI batsman by a distance, will have to drop himself a notch down at No 4.

The seasoned pair of Suresh Raina and Mahendra Singh Dhoni along with all-rounder Hardik Pandya are expected to form the middle-order.

Yuzvendra Chahal is a certainty as the wrist spinner and Kuldeep Yadav, who has created all sorts of doubts in the minds of the batsmen, may just comeback into the playing XI as the Trent Bridge ground is much bigger than the one at Bristol.

If the team management thinks of playing an extra pacer, Siddarth Kaul or Shardul Thakur might come into play.

If Bhuvneshwar Kumar recovers from the stiff back, he will be sharing the new ball with Umesh Yadav.

For England, the series against Australia was a real morale booster where the team scored a world record total 481 in one of the ODIs.

Buttler, whose dream run has continued since the start of the IPL, will like to continue his rich vein of form. He is one of the batsmen, who has been able to read the two wrist spinners quite well.

Along with Roy, the duo will like to take advantage of the Powerplay overs knowing fully well that some of the middle order batsmen including Test captain Joe Root and skipper Morgan himself are not exactly picking up Kuldeep's wrong 'uns.

Post the Champions Trophy, starting from June last year, India have played 27 ODIs against West Indies, Sri Lanka, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, both at home and away and at least one wrist spinner has featured in all these games.

Kuldeep (39 wickets in 20 ODIs at average 20.02) and Chahal (43 wickets in 23 ODIs at average 21.83) have proved their worth since making debuts but their ultimate test will be against England.

The hosts have a penchant for high scores. Since that World Cup in Australia-New Zealand, this English batting line-up has accumulated 300-plus scores 31 times in 69 matches, inclusive of 23 wins. On 11 occasions, they have crossed 350 and have surpassed the 400-mark thrice.

It certainly won't be a walk in the park for India.

Squads:

India: Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, MS Dhoni (wk), Dinesh Karthik, Suresh Raina, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shreyas Iyer, Siddarth Kaul, Axar Patel, Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

England: Eoin Morgan (c), Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wk), Moeen Ali, Joe Root, Jake Ball, Tom Curran, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Ben Stokes, Adil Rashid, David Willey, Mark Wood.  (PTI)
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Hello Jammu News at 11:59:00 AM 0
Cardiff, Jul 7 (PTI) England could level the series since they came well-prepared to effectively tackle wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav, India captain Virat Kohli said after they lost the second Twenty20 by five wickets.

Kohli had no qualms in admitting that the hosts were a better side in the second Twenty20 with the hosts comfortably chasing a 150-run target.

Kuldeep, who had bamboozled England batsmen in the series-opener and returned a five-wicket haul, remained wicket-less in second match last night.

"They played Kuldeep really well today, and that was the difference in the middle overs this time. They did their homework and played Kuldeep really well. Need to get back day after," Kohli opined after the match.

The India skipper said losing top-order inside five overs pegged the back. Rohit Sharma (5) , Shikhar Dhawan (10) and KL Rahul (6) departed early to leave India struggling at 22 for three.

"It's always difficult to come back after losing three early wickets. England hit the right areas and made us play bad shots. I would have liked 10-15 runs more. We thought 149 would be competitive, especially since they had to win. But they eventually did win," Kohli said.

The Indian skipper also lamented boundary conceded by paceman Umesh Yadav after bolwing a tight 19th over.

"The format is cruel: Umesh was outstanding, but the final-ball boundary changed things. Those little things count. Gotta brush it aside, had a good game, but England were better than us," he said.

England captain Eoin Morgan was pleased that the conditions favoured them.

"We showed character. There was a bit more bounce today. When it bounces you can take wickets, and that's what we did. Willey did well, and the unit as a whole did really well. We were happy with that total. To get 150 was a cagey affair, but was happy to go over the line," he said.

"The way Alex played today, he adapted to conditions really well, and did small partnerships that helped us chase this down. We normally play spin quite well, but it's a matter of being logical while playing."

Hales top scored for the hosts with his 41-ball unbeaten 58 and was adjudged Man-of the-Match.

"It was an important game, and nice to take the team through to the win. I had to look at a big more footage for the spinners, and this time I played more on the backfoot. The other day was just a bad day at the office. Bowling effort was outstanding. Two very strong teams so all to play for in Bristol," he said.

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Hello Jammu News at 1:41:00 PM 0

Bengaluru, Jun 15: Indian captain Virat Kohli, along with former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, today took the fitness test which would determine his availability for the gruelling tour of United Kingdom starting June 27.
The neck injury sustained during the IPL had thrown Kohli's build-up for the UK tour haywire as he had to pull out of a planned stint with Surrey in the County Championship this month.
The YoYo test, which is the basic fitness parameter set by the Indian team management before any tour, was conducted at the National Cricket Academy ground, in the presence of Team India trainer Shankar Basu and the other support staff.
Kohli along with Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and the injured Kedar Jadhav (not in any squad meant for UK) took the advanced beep test in the first batch.
While the scores were not known (minimum required to pass is 16.1), Kohli didn't look in any discomfort as he matched paces with Dhoni during the test.
But he was seen feeling his shoulder and back region after the completion of the test.
While the YoYo test is the basic parameter but it will be the status of his neck injury that will decide his availability for the Ireland T20 Internationals, on June 27 to 29.
The tour of England, comprsing three T20 Internationals, three ODIs amd five Test matches, starts July 3.
The likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Siddharth Kaul, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Manish Pandey were also seen taking the test after the batch comprising Kohli and Dhoni were done with theirs.
The Indian team management tried to keep the media away from the NCA and the team security officer did ask the journalists to stay away from the session. (PTI)
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