Cricket

T20 WC 2024: Rathore backs Pant at No.3

Published

3 months ago

June 6, 2024

Ray Sportz News Desk: Indian Cricket Team beat Ireland at an ease on Wednesday as they beat their opponents by 8 wickets. Beside skipper Rohit Sharma, the wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant played brilliantly at No.3. The team’s batting coach Vikram Rathore has backed Pant to bat at No.3, and beside that he is very happy to see a fully-fit Hardik Pandya back in the team.

Both Pant and Pandya, who returned to top-flight cricket in the IPL, are making a comeback to international cricket after a long gap.

The duo delivered the goods in India’s eight-wicket thrashing of Ireland in their opening game here on Wednesday.

On a challenging pitch with uneven bounce, run-scoring was difficult but Pant unleashed a few stunning shots, including a reverse-scoop over the Irish wicket-keeper’s head for a match-winning six in his unbeaten 36.

The Ireland match was Pant’s first game for India since December 2022 when he was involved in a horrific car accident.

”Yes, he has been batting really well. The two games (warm-up and Ireland) he has played, he has looked really, really good,” Rathour told the media after the match here at the Nassau County Cricket Stadium.

”Yes, at the moment he is our No. 3 and it helps that he is a left-hander,” Rathour added, in a way cementing the combination of skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli at the top.

Both Pant and Pandya made their way back into the India squad for the T20 World Cup after proving their fitness and form in the IPL.

Even though he did not garner big numbers as an all-rounder in a turbulent season as captain for Mumbai Indians, India chief selector Ajit Agarkar had said that there is no one in the country who could match Pandya’s skills as an all-rounder.

On Wednesday, Pandya was quick and precise with his line and length to produce 4-0-27-3 in his first match since October 2023 — also in a World Cup.

Pandya had hobbled off the pitch in Pune playing against Bangladesh after twisting his ankle, which left India without an all-rounder and also disrupting the balance of their playing XI, with incoming Suryakumar Yadav failing to make an impact in the 50-overs quadrennial showpiece.

”Hardik looked really good. Hardik has been — I mean, even in the practice game and even in the practice — bowling really well,” Rathour said.

”He looks fit enough to go through four overs and he’s been bowling with some pace and some accuracy, so yeah, it’s great,” he added.

Cricket

Chris Gayle backs Virat ahead of the final

Published

2 months ago

June 29, 2024

Ray Sportz

Ray Sportz Web Desk: India and South Africa will face the T20 World Cup final on Saturday. Former West Indies cricketer Chris Gayle expressed his views on the two opponents in the press conference before the T20 World Cup final. Both teams entered the finals unbeaten. South Africa is looking for their maiden ICC trophy. On the other hand India is aiming to end their long ICC trophy drought.

According to Gayle, both the teams are very strong and equally deserve to win. He feels the World Cup final is going to be a high-scoring match. The batting and bowling of both the teams is very strong. So Chris Gayle thinks that the fight will not be easy for both team.

Virat Kohli is going through a bad-patch in the ongoing T20 World Cup. Chris Gayle, backing India’s star batsman, said, “Virat is a very big cricketer. We have seen Virat has played brilliantly in previous World Cups. He is going through a bad time now. It can happen to anyone.” The former Caribbean feels that a big cricketer like Virat will want to prove himself in the final.

Cricket

India’s squad for T20I series against Zimbabwe:

Published

3 months ago

June 24, 2024

Ray Sportz

Ꮪhubman Gill (Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhishek Sharma, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Nitish Reddy, Riyan Parag, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Tushar Deshpande.

Cricket

Rohit takes a dig at NY pitch

Published

3 months ago

June 9, 2024

Ray Sportz

Ray Sportz News Desk: The pitch controversy of the Nassau County has taken a new turn on Saturday, when India skipper Rohit Sharma said that he has no idea what to except from it in the upcoming T20 World Cup clash against arch rivals Pakistan. He feels that the curator is “confused” about the drop-in wickets being used here.

“New York is not our home ground. We have played two matches here but we don’t have much awareness about its nature. It behaves differently on different days, so even the curator is confused,” Rohit said on the eve of the game against Pakistan.

“So, you can imagine the kind of thinking we need to put in. We don’t know on which pitch we are playing (against Pakistan), so, whoever plays better cricket will win the match,” he added.

The slowness of the outfield, Rohit said, has compounded the worries.

“The outfield is slow. Some shots get lot of bounce on the field, and some others do not roll on the field. So running between the wickets is important. We need to play as per conditions,” he explained.

However, the skipper said such external factors can be neutralised by playing good cricket and his teammates often thrive in tough situations. The Indians will also be the more confident unit as Pakistan are coming off stunning loss to tournament debutants USA in their lung-opener.

“Playing good cricket holds the key, not opposition, not pitch. Yes, it’s tough but that’s why I would like to highlight the experience we have. The blows count for nothing,” said Rohit, referring to the hits he and Rishabh Pant took in their tournament-opener against Ireland due to the uneven bounce.