Connect with us

Sports

Better than MS Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, and Sunil Gavaskar is Virat Kohli: Cricket great RCB is ‘the best’ ever, according to Navjot Sidhu.

Published

on

The “greatest ever” Virat Kohli, according to former Indian batter Navjot Singh Sidhu, is superior to MS Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, and Sunil Gavaskar. Sidhu made remarks that are sure to cause a stir before the 2024 Indian Premier League officially begins. India has been fortunate to have some of the top batters in the world over the years. Selecting one that spans generations is regarded as one of the most difficult jobs.

Before the rise of a certain Sunil Gavaskar, Vinoo Mankad, Polly Umrigar, and Vijay Hazare ruled the batting charts in India’s early years of Test cricket. By scoring 34 Test hundreds and becoming the first cricketer to surpass the 10000-run threshold, he elevated batting to a new level. Although India was fortunate to have Gundappa Viswanath, Dilip Vengsarkar, and Mohinder Amarnath in their batting lineup during his tenure, commentators would always rank Gavaskar higher.

With the conclusion of the Gavaskar period, Sachin Tendulkar emerged as India’s first cricket superstar on a worldwide scale, becoming visible in homes via color television. Tendulkar represented modern cricket with distinction. The world has seen the devastation caused by Viv Richards’ bowling attacks, and now they have experienced the devastation caused by copybook batting. Tendulkar established the standard for batting because he had every shot in the book. Records came next. He was the first to score 10,000 runs in one-day internationals (ODIs), the first to score 15,000 runs in Tests, the only one to achieve 100 centuries, the first to get an ODI double century—you name it, he had it. He was also the first to play 200 tests.

Though he was in a class apart, Tendulkar also had players like Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Mohammad Azharuddin, and VVS Laxman. It was virtually a given that there would be an emptiness following Tendulkar’s retirement. But even when Tendulkar called it quits, the cricket world had no idea that India would get another icon in the form of Virat Kohli.

The world’s first three-format batter, Kohli, was unstoppable in Tests, ODIs, and T20Is, winning all three series with ease. He broke record after record set by Tendulkar, turned his hand to run-chasing in white-ball cricket, and consistently maintained an average of 50 or above in Twenty20 Internationals, the most unpredictable format of them all.

Advertisement

Sidhu believes that Kohli is the best because he can dominate three formats, something that none of the Tendulkars or Gavaskars had to do.

He is, in my opinion, the greatest Indian hitter of all time. There were times, back in the 1970s, when I would turn on my transistor and watch Sunil Gavaskar play cricket against the West Indies. That was the era of the renowned West Indies fast bowlers, who would skip class and only go out for one session. You could hear him batting without a helmet. He ruled for about fifteen to twenty years. Then another era arrived with Tendulkar. Virat followed Dhoni in order of appearance. Sidhu told India Today, “If you look at four, I would rate him as the best because he has adapted to all three formats.”

Sidhu, who will be back in the commentary booth for the 2024 Indian Premier League, claimed that while MS Dhoni was the first player to instigate a fitness revolution in Indian cricket, Kohli outgrew him in terms of fitness.

Likewise, he is the most physically fit of them all and has excellent technical ability. He would be the fittest out of the four. In his later years, Tendulkar experienced issues. Dhoni is in good shape. Virat is really well-fit. That benefits him greatly. It takes him to a level, a few notches above, that nobody else has attained. He benefits from the lifespan factor. Sone Pe Suhaaga is the factor of adaptation,” he continued.

The birth of his second child prevented Kohli from participating in the whole five-match Test series against England. In the upcoming Indian Premier League 2024, which begins on March 22, he will be a key member of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru batting lineup as he returns to the game.

Advertisement

General News Platform – https://ihtlive.com/
Entertainment News Platforms – anyflix.in
Construction Infrastructure and Mining News Platform – https://cimreviews.com/
Podcast Platforms – https://anyfm.in

Sports

Ding grabs hold of the jaws of defeat.

Published

on

Ding snatches draw from jaws of defeat

Gukesh has Ding on the ropes for most of Game 7 but the world champion digs deep to escape with scores level at halfway

Bengaluru: After a quiet game in his previous turn with the White, Gukesh arrived for Game 7, armed and ready to spill blood on the board. He drove daggers through Ding Liren and nearly mummified him before the reigning world champion returned from the dead with some stellar endgame defence to force a draw. The spectators’ arena broke into a rapturous applause as the players shook hands after a game that lasted 72 moves and over five hours. It’s the longest game played so far in this World Championship match and the contest remains tied at 3.5-3.5, with seven more classical games remaining.

It mustn’t be easy for Gukesh to reconcile with a setback like this, having had his opponent on the ropes through the greater part of the game. “It’s never pleasant to miss a winning position but I’m happy that I could outplay my opponent quite easily in the opening,” said Gukesh in the press conference that followed, “It’s a missed chance but he also missed some chances earlier in the match… but quite a few positives to take away from it. I guess the biggest lesson is to stay focused and convert good positions.”

The Indian teen won the opening battle on trotting out 1.Nf3 for the first time in this match and went on to uncork a rare, ingenious 7.Re1 move that was clearly cooked up by his team. It cast Ding right away into contemplation for over 20 minutes. “Re1 is a relatively new move and the point was to go dxc4-e4 and get a new position on the board… he didn’t react in a very precise way so I guess the idea worked,” Gukesh said.

Ding later admitted that he was completely thrown off by the move. “I came back from the toilet and was totally shocked,” he said. “I took a lot of time to come up with a reply. Even then it wasn’t accurate.” The world champion ended up responding with the principled 7. dxc4 which led to a fascinating fight for the centre. Ding was soon down to 24 minutes on the clock by move 21.

Gukesh went on to make the strategic mistake of rushing to trade the dark-squared bishops, and then went after Black’s c4 pawn. Here he perhaps overlooked Ding’s resource of springing his knight back into the game. Ding defended bravely and even looked like he might make it over the line alive, with a draw. All he had to do was manoeuvre his knight, hit move 41 and then figure out the rest. But nerves can make players do the inexplicable things. With the clock ticking down to its dying seconds on move 40, Ding blundered. Seven seconds on his clock, he pushed his King to the e5 square instead of galloping his knight to c8 – which would have kept his drawing chances intact. Leela Chess Zero right away pegged Gukesh’s chances for a win at 75 percent, from roughly 19 percent.

After the players reached time control, Ding was on the ropes. Down a pawn, with a weak king on d5 in an objectively lost endgame, he was again back burning through his clock, shaking his head, occasionally looking up at his opponent and trying to pick out the right move out of twenty-odd tempting, false continuations. Gukesh sat at the other end, hands folded across his chest, watching the reigning world champion suffer. Around move 44, Leela gave Gukesh 92 per cent chance of winning the game.

But after spending over 22 minutes trawling through defensive resources, Ding had a few answers. “I was fearing that I was getting outplayed,” Ding said, “But my position was maybe not so bad, I should be more confident of my position.”

Gukesh’s decision to go Bd1 on move 46 allowed Ding to stir up activity. It’s here that Ding brought his endgame skills and resilience to bear – not faltering, even though Gukesh found ways to keep the game going.

Ding’s idea was to restrict White’s bishop and drum up counterplay for his knight. Black’s knight was centralised, King was activated while White’s bishop was on the first rank. Ding went on to trade off the rooks and got rid of White’s final pawn to make a miraculous escape and take a half a point for his efforts. Ding’s team heaved a sigh of relief. “Today I did not give up in a very difficult position… My second (Ni Hua) said I saved my life,” Ding told Chess.com. In the end it was brilliant preparation from Gukesh, outplaying his opponent thoroughly before the reigning world champion dug deep and summoned a fightback. Gukesh was not quite able to see through his opponent’s resources in the endgame.

The match moves to Game 8 on Wednesday and Ding will have the White pieces. It’s possible he might want to play a solid, quiet game and we could see the fireworks back again for Gukesh’s game with the White pieces on Thursday.

Group Media Publications
Entertainment News Platforms – anyflix.in
Construction Infrastructure and Mining News Platform – https://cimreviews.com/
General News Platform – https://ihtlive.com/

Continue Reading

Sports

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will open the T20 World Cup for India. Ricky Ponting leaves Jaiswal unaccounted for in the playing XI.

Published

on

With the goal of ending its 11-year wait for an ICC trophy, Team India will kick off its campaign in the T20 World Cup next month. Prior to the competition, there is a lot of conjecture over India’s selection tactics, and one of the main points of contention is the starting lineup for the team. The main topic of discussion is Virat Kohli, who has been a brilliant opener for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the current Indian Premier League, scoring 708 runs in 14 innings.

Despite his outstanding run total, there are concerns about his strike rate at the top of the order, which has sparked debate about whether he should continue to start games for the national side. Former captain of Australia Ricky Ponting claims that Along with captain Rohit Sharma, Kohli will be one of the first picks for the Indian team and begin the batting.

“Yashasvi Jaiswal is in that squad, and one thing they don’t have a lot of in their team is left-hand batters,” Ponting said to ICC. “They (selectors) still have a decision to make.”

“They have to decide with Jaiswal, but I think they’ll go with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli as openers.”

While going into great depth regarding the criticism that Kohli receives, Ponting maintained that India must surround him with the “right guys” who can play aggressively. With Virat, it’s humorous. I believe that some in India are constantly looking for an excuse not to choose him or a reason why he might not be as talented as some of these other players in the Twenty20 game.

In my opinion, Kohli is my top choice for India.

“At the top, he can fulfil his function. With the right players surrounding him, such as Suryakumar Yadav, who can score runs, Rohit Sharma is bound to have a good strike rate. The other guys are free to enter and conduct themselves there.

Not as effective as experience and class

Undoubtedly, Kohli’s exceptional consistency has strengthened his argument for the opening position. The seasoned Indian hitter has performed at a noticeably greater strike rate in the last four IPL games. In RCB’s group-stage victory over Punjab Kings, he struck for 92 runs off of only 47 balls. He also set the tone for his team’s crucial 42-run opening partnership against Chennai Super Kings. He currently has an overall strike percentage of 155.60 in the competition.

Ponting emphasised that it is challenging to replace a player like Kohli since he is one of the guys who gets the “job done.”

Advertisement

“I recall this conversation and a few more that I had with the ICC regarding the rumours that Virat wasn’t on their team last year, but when the big games rolled around, he was among the players who performed well,” Ponting said.

“Therefore, you cannot replace that kind of class and experience.”

General News Platform – https://ihtlive.com/
Entertainment News Platforms – anyflix.in 
Construction Infrastructure and Mining News Platform – https://cimreviews.com/
Podcast Platforms – https://anyfm.in/

Continue Reading

Sports

As IPL retirement negotiations get underway, MS Dhoni says he didn’t receive a “discount for age.”

Published

on

By the time the next IPL begins, MS Dhoni will be approaching 44. Is there another season left in him? Though it seems implausible, you can never tell with Dhoni. Although there have been rumours regarding Dhoni’s IPL retirement for the past few editions, the renowned keeper-batter is still going strong. His unparalleled physical condition is the main cause of that. While the CSK management has repeatedly acknowledged during IPL 2024 that Dhoni’s dodgy knee won’t allow him to bat for long, the Impact Player rule has undoubtedly helped the former captain wait until the final four overs to come out and bat. Nevertheless, Dhoni has given it his all both with the bat and behind the stumps.

Because Dhoni had knee surgery last year, CSK has been able to control his workload this season. There were still a few deliveries before he batted.

Nevertheless, he scored astronomical amounts in 14 games. Dhoni scored 161 runs with a strike rate of 220.55 and an average of 53.67.

He gave it his all in CSK’s crucial victory over Royal Challengers Bengaluru, scoring 25 runs off of 13 balls, but he was unable to lead them to victory. CSK finished sixth in the IPL 2024 points standings after being eliminated from the playoffs.

In a video posted on the Dubai Eye 103.8 YouTube page on Monday, Dhoni emphasised the value of maintaining physical fitness. The two-time World Cup winning captain stated that if you want to play at the greatest level, you have no choice but to maintain your physical fitness because age is not a factor.

“The hardest thing is that I don’t get to play cricket all year round. Thus, I must be in shape. You will be up against young, fit players of international cricket once I arrive. A professional athlete’s journey is not simple, and age is not an excuse. You have to be just as fit as the other person to play. You don’t really get that grace as you get older. Thus, dietary patterns, some exercise, and all of those things are present. Thankfully, I don’t use social media, so there are fewer distractions.”

Advertisement

Dhoni said, “Once I quit international cricket…,”

Dhoni added that he missed spending time with his family during the height of his cricket career, when he was involved in all formats of the game, because he was constantly preoccupied with cricket, endorsements, etc. He also talked about how having dogs relieved his stress and allowed him to stay focused.

“I wanted to spend a little more time with my family after I retired from playing cricket internationally. However, to maintain focus and be cognitively engaged at the same time—I enjoy farming, riding motorcycles, and I’ve just developed an interest in classic vehicles. These items help me to relax. When I’m stressed, I might go to the garage and spend a few hours there. When I return, I’ll be OK,” he stated.

“Having a pet, whether a dog or a cat, has always made me feel like I grew up with… But I like dogs better. They love you without conditions. As I mentioned in a previous interview, my dog always greets me the same manner after I return from a game loss,” Dhoni continued.

General News Platform – https://ihtlive.com/
Entertainment News Platforms – anyflix.in 
Construction Infrastructure and Mining News Platform – https://cimreviews.com/
Podcast Platforms – https://anyfm.in/

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2023 India Hot Topics. Powered with Passion.