virat kohli

The four days Test Match

admin — Sat, 25 Jan 2020 12:06:17 +0000

Is it to popularize or making space for more matches?

The huge popularity of the T20 format in cricket and the steady decline of the viewership of Test and ODI format when compared to T20 has started the talks of shortening the test format into four days. The supporters of a four-day test match consider this to be a pragmatic approach.

As the people these days no longer have the time and patience to wait and watch the end of a match, everyone is looking for an immediate result. Our faster life and automation in technology has already made the T20 format a huge success all over the world. There is a surge of the matches played in this format with a huge crowd at the stadiums. All of these have influenced the thought of modifying the oldest and purest format of cricket - Test cricket from five days to four days.

From past some time, the cricket boards are working on popularizing the Test cricket and they came up with World Test Championship series to raise the interest of cricket fans. Not only this, but we are also witnessing some very close and interesting test matches that are inevitably helping the format. The majority of the test matches are giving results and not ending into draws as it was the case 10 to 15 years earlier.

Truncating the test matches into four days might have an adverse impact as most of the matches would result in a draw. We already have experience of Ranji matches, the domestic tournament of India in which the matches are held for four days and they mostly end up in draws. It is difficult to get a result in such format and there is also a point given to the team leading in the first inning to keep the points table moving in this series.

Instead of looking at the option of reducing a day from the test match, the Cricket board can think of some innovative ideas to promote test cricket; it can be a five-day carnival or a fest so that people can enjoy the test match with their families where they have an option to not just watch cricket but to participate in other activities at the stadium. The trimming of this format would not only distort the oldest format but would also affect the temperament building development of a batsman i.e. to stay longer at the crease or of the bowler to bowl long hours with the same line and length.

While the Cricket Australia and England Cricket board are supporting the idea of the four-day test, the big players like Virat Kohli, Glenn McGrath, Nathan Lyon, Faf Du Plessis and Vernon Philander are completely against and want the test match to stay in its purest form.

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IPL 2018 Captains

admin — Thu, 22 Mar 2018 16:09:39 +0000

The skippers of IPL (Indian Premier League) teams for 2018 season are announced.

Dinesh Karthik will lead the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2018 season. He has been a part of IPL since 2008 and, he has played for Delhi Daredevils, Kings XI Punjab, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Gujarat Lions. This season will be his first with KKR.

Chennai Super Kings is making a comeback in this year IPL after being suspended from past two years. They retained MS Dhoni as their captain for 2018 IPL season who has been with the team since inception. In Dhoni's captaincy, CSK have won two trophies (2010 and 2011 season) and reached four finals.

Led by David Warner for the past three years, Sunrisers Hyderabad has retained their captain for 2018. Warner has been the star of the team ever since he joined SRH in 2014 and even helped his team to lift the IPL trophy in 2016 season.

Virat Kohli is playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore since the beginning of IPL and as a skipper; he led the team to its first IPL final in 2016 season. An exceptional batsman and captain Kohli is retained as the captain by RCB management for 2018 IPL season.

Gautam Gambhir was associated with Delhi Daredevils till 2010 IPL season, and then he joined Kolkata Knight Riders. He led IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders for seven years, and led them to win two IPL titles, in 2012 and 2014 season. He has been named as the skipper of Delhi Daredevils for the upcoming IPL season.

R Ashwin has been appointed as the captain of Kings XI Punjab IPL 2018 season. Ashwin will be the tenth player to captain KXIP after Glenn Maxwell, Murali Vijay, David Miller and George Bailey among those who have led the side. He played for Chennai Super Kings from 2009 to 2015 and helped the team to win two IPL titles, before spending the 2016 season with Rising Pune Supergiant.

After making a comeback in IPL this year, Rajasthan Royals retained only one player Steve Smith and announced him as the skipper for 2018 IPL season. Steve Smith had been part of the Rajasthan Royals team in 2014 and 2015. He replaced MS Dhoni as the captain of Rising Pune Supergiant last season and scored most runs in his side. He led the team to the final, where they finished second best to Mumbai Indians.

Mumbai Indians has retained Rohit Sharma in IPL season 2018 who has been leading the team since 2013. So far, he is the only captain who has led his team to three IPL titles - 2013, 2015, 2017, which is an exceptional achievement as a captain. Even as a player, he has the third most runs in IPL.

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IPL Captaincy Records

admin — Thu, 22 Mar 2018 16:08:32 +0000

Most of the IPL teams have played safe by choosing the same skipper for their teams, who have previously led them to IPL trophies. The IPL franchises have appointed their captains for this season. And the management has opted for their best player for the position. The common trait between Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni, David Warner, Virat Kohli, Gautam Gambhir, R Ashwin, Steve Smith and Rohit Sharma is that they all have performed exceptionally well and stood out from rest of the players in IPL and at international level.

Let us have a look at some captaincy records in IPL that few of the current captains have already achieved and few other must be aiming for this season. MS Dhoni has played 143 matches, most matches as a captain in IPL for Chennai Super Kings and Rising Pune Supergiants. Out of which, his team won 83 games with win percent of 58.45.

Steve Smith has led Pune Warriors, Rajasthan Royals and Rising Pune Supergiants in 24 matches. Smith side has won 16 games with a win percent of 66.66. Rohit Sharma has a winning percent of 60.66. He has led Mumbai Indians in 75 matches, and MI has won 49 matches and lost 29 in his leadership.

As a contributor in IPL, captain of RCB, Virat Kohli has scored 4418 runs in 141 innings with an average of 37.44. He has second most runs in the IPL followed by the captain of Mumbai Indians. Rohit Sharma has scored 4207 runs in 154 innings with an average of 32.61. David Warner, captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad, is at fifth position. Warner has scored 4014 runs in 114 innings. He has a phenomenal average of 40.54 and batting strike rate of 142.13. MS Dhoni is also under top 10 lists of players having most runs in IPL career. He has scored 3561 runs in 143 innings with an average of 37.88.

Dinesh Karthik, captain of Kolkata Knight Riders has most 106 dismissals as a wicketkeeper in 136 IPL innings. Karthik is followed by MS Dhoni who has 102 dismissals in 152 matches. These captains are nonetheless in their fielding skills. Rohit Sharma has taken 71 catches so far and ranked third among the players with most catches in IPL. Virat Kohli has taken 60 catches, and he stands at number six followed by David Warner with 52 catches. In bowling, R Ashwin has taken 100 wickets in 108 innings with an economy of 6.54, and he has best bowling figure of 4/34.

MS Dhoni has led Chennai Super Kings to win two IPL trophies in 2010 and 2011. Rohit Sharma has led his team to three IPL titles - 2013, 2015, 2017. Warner has led Sunrisers Hyderabad to win their first IPL trophy in 2016. Gautam Gambhir, the current captain of Delhi Daredevils, has led Kolkata Knight Riders to win the 2012 and 2014 season of IPL.

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Top IPL players that are worth the money

admin — Wed, 21 Mar 2018 16:39:11 +0000

In an unpredictable Twenty20 format, we encounter new emerging cricketer every season. New players appear in every match proving their worth and then disappearing soon. However, some cricketers have been performing exceptionally well in every season. They don't fade with time but are consistent and going strong every year. Let's have a look at those cricketers whose team colour has changed with time but not their extraordinary game in IPL.

Suresh Raina

He is playing IPL since its inception and has been in form throughout his IPL career until now. This Chennai Super Kings player played for Gujarat Lions from past two years when his team was suspended from IPL. Raina has the most runs in IPL career and is ranked first, ahead of every other batting superstar of the world. He has played 161 IPL matches, the most by any cricketer and scored 4540 runs with an average of 34. It includes one century and 31 half-centuries with a strike rate of 139. Not only this, he is ranked first in taking the most number of catches in IPL displaying his exceptional fielding capabilities. He has so far taken 86 catches with a ratio of 0.54 catches per inning.

Rohit Sharma

He is also a part of IPL since the beginning and has been in great form throughout his career. He was a part of Deccan Chargers during initial three years and then, bought by Mumbai Indians where he laid a strong foundation in the team. Rohit Sharma is not far from Raina and ranked third in most runs in IPL career. He has played 159 IPL matches, just two less than Raina and scored 4207 runs with an average of 32.6. It includes one century and 32 half-centuries with a strike rate of 130.9. He is also not far behind Raina in taking most number of catches in IPL. He has so far taken 71 catches with a ratio of 0.45 catches per inning and ranked third again.

Virat Kohli

The captain of Indian cricket team is a part of Royal Challengers Bangalore since the start of IPL, and he has played 149 matches in the tournament. By scoring 4418 runs with an average of 37.4, he ranked second in scoring most runs in IPL just behind Raina. It includes four century and 30 half-centuries with a strike rate of 129.8. He ranked sixth in taking most number of catches in IPL by taking 60 catches so far in the tournament.

M. S. Dhoni

The legendary Dhoni is also a part of Chennai Super Kings since the beginning of IPL and played for Rising Pune Supergiants when his team was suspended for a couple of years. The wicketkeeper-batsman has played 159 IPL matches and scored 3561 runs with an average of 37.9. It includes 17 half-centuries with a strike rate of 136.75. He ranked ninth in scoring most runs in IPL, which is a phenomenal achievement because he bats at lower order. All his other competitors are either opening batsman or bats at number 3 or 4. He is also second in taking most number of dismissals as a wicketkeeper in IPL, just behind Dinesh Karthik. He has taken 102 dismissals that include 72 catches and 30 stumps with a ratio of 0.67 dismissals per inning.

Lasith Malinga

The most difficult role in a Twenty20 match is of the bowlers who face the brunt of a hard-hitting batsman. The bowlers not just have to take quick wickets but they also have to maintain a decent economy at least under seven to give a match-winning performance. Malinga is the heart and soul of Mumbai Indians since IPL started. He joined IPL in 2009 and played 110 matches so far. He has taken 154 wickets, the most by any IPL bowler, much ahead of his competitors. Along with that, he so maintained an economy of 6.86 which is a good number considering the format of the tournament. There are also players like AB De Villiers, David Warner, Harbhajan Singh, Chris Gayle, Shikhar Dhawan, R. Ashwin and few others that have been exceptionally well in IPL. However, we presented the top five that we felt deserved the most accolades.

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