ICC World Cup 2019: Rishabh Pant flies to England as back up for Dhawan

Rishabh Pant’s omission from the original squad had become a topic of heated debates given his stupendous form in the past one year

Young wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant was Wednesday brought in as cover for the injured Shikhar Dhawan in India’s World Cup squad. Pant, whose omission from the original squad became a topic of heated debates given his stupendous form in the past one year, will reach here Wednesday.

His arrival will be a day before India’s game against New Zealand and he won’t be considered a replacement till the time the team management takes a final call on Dhawan’s availability for the rest of the tournament. BCCI “Rishabh Pant is being flown in from India as cover at the request of the team management,” a senior BCCI official currently in England told PTI.

The 21-year-old is one of the most exciting players to have emerged in Indian cricket. He impressed with Test hundreds during the tours of England and Australia earlier and was in fine form during the IPL last month. Several former players such as Sunil Gavaskar advocated for his inclusion in the squad if Dhawan fails to recover quickly enough for India. Dhawan has been ruled out of three matches due to a hairline fracture on his left thumb which he sustained during his match-winning hundred in the clash against Australia on Sunday.

“…Dhawan is presently under the observation of the BCCI medical team. The team management has decided that Dhawan will continue to be in England and his progress will be monitored,” the Indian team said in a statement on Wednesday night. “Dhawan sustained an injury on the back of his left hand in the region between the index finger and thumb…,” it added.

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Wasim Akram lauds India’s triumph in Australia, praises batting effort

Akram, one of the game’s greatest fast bowlers, said that the team gelled well as a unit and were ably led by Virat Kohli

Sports News: The Pakistan cricket fraternity, including the legendary Wasim Akram, lavished praise on India for becoming the first Asian team to win a Test series in Australia.

Akram, one of the game’s greatest fast bowlers, said that the team gelled well as a unit and were ably led by Virat Kohli.”I think Virat Kohli deserves lot of praise for this performance and I would think this success can be put down to the solid domestic cricket structure in India,” Akram said at a function here.

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On Tuesday, the country’s Prime Minister and former cricket captain, Imran Khan, congratulated India on becoming the first Asian team to win a Test series in Australia. “Congratulations to Virat Kohli and the Indian cricket team for the first ever win by a subcontinent team in a test series in Australia,” Khan had tweeted.

Another ex-captain, Moin Khan, said that winning in Australia was never an easy task for any team from Asia and India deserved credit for their victory. Former opener Mohsin Khan said that India had built their success around their batsmen and the bowlers had backed them to the hilt.

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Pujara moves up to third spot in ICC Test rankings, Pant jumps 21 places

Wickeet-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant has jumped as many as 21 places to be 17th

Sports News: Cheteshwar Pujara has gained a spot to be third in the latest ICC batsmen rankings, following his man of the series performance in India’s maiden Test series win in Australia.Wickeet-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant has jumped as many as 21 places to be 17th, the joint-highest by a specialist India wicketkeeper along with Farokh Engineer, who did so in January 1973. M S Dhoni’s highest Test ranking was 19th.India captain Virat Kohli has maintained his number one position in the batsmen rankings.

Pant, a star at the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup in 2016 when he scored an 18-ball half-century against Nepal, has moved into the top-20 after only his ninth Test with an unbeaten 159. Pant had started the Australia tour in 59th place and made rapid progress, scoring 350 runs in a series that also saw him take 20 catches.

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Pujara, who scored 521 runs to help beat Australia 2-1, is another batsman to gain in the latest rankings update, which also takes into account performances in the second Test between South Africa and Pakistan in Cape Town.

Pujara has gained one slot to reach third position while all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja (up six places to 57th) and rookie opener Mayank Agarwal (up five places to 62nd) are the others from his team to advance at the end of a historic series win.

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India beat Australia by 31 runs in first test at Adelaide, take 1-0 lead

Batting first, India were all out for 250 in their first innings and then bowled out the hosts for 235 to take a 15-run lead

INDIA VS AUSTRALIA 1ST TEST|India removed Travis Head and Shaun Marsh in the first session of the fifth and final day to close in on victory in the opening Test against Australia here Monday. Set a target of 323, Australia reached 186 for six at lunch at the Adelaide Oval. The visitors need another four wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the series.

Australia meanwhile need another 137 runs, with Tim Paine (40 not out) and Pat Cummins (5 not out) at the crease at lunch-break. They added 30 runs for the seventh wicket. Starting from overnight 104 for four, the Head-Marsh partnership lasted only 7.4 overs before India forced a breakthrough with the old Kookaburra ball.(Sports News)

Head (14) was the first to go, with Ishant Sharma (1-35) bowling a sharp bouncer that followed the batsman and left him no room. The ball looped up to gully where Ajinkya Rahane made no mistake.

The duo had added 31 runs with the onus now on Marsh and Paine as the last recognised batting pair. Marsh shouldered the responsibility and scored his first half-century in the fourth innings of a Test off 146 balls. It was his 10th Test half-century overall.

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Rishabh Pant equals world record of most catches in a Test by wicket keeper

He eclipsed the India record of 10 catches in a game by Wriddhiman Saha, as the visitors won the opening game by 31 runs to go 1-0 up in the four-match series

INDIA VS AUSTRALIA 1ST TEST|Rishabh Pant Monday equalled the world record of most catches in a Test by a wicketkeeper, snaring 11 in the first match against Australia while breaking the Indian mark. The 21-year-old is now level with Englishman Jack Russell (vs South Africa at Johannesburg in 1995) and South Africa’s AB de Villiers (vs Pakistan at Johannesburg in 2013).

He eclipsed the India record of 10 catches in a game by Wriddhiman Saha, as the visitors won the opening game by 31 runs to go 1-0 up in the four-match series. Pant equalled the world record after taking Mitchell Starc’s catch off Mohammed Shami’s ball in the second innings at the Adelaide Oval.

The wicketkeeper caught six batsmen in first innings and five in the next on way to the record. In the first innings, Pant was involved in the dismissals of Usman Khawaja, Peter Handscomb and Tim Paine before pouching on to edges off Starc, Travis Head and Josh Hazlewood’s willow.|(Sports News)

When India bowled again, he played a role in the departure of openers Marcus Harris and Aaron Finch, followed by Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, Paine and Starc. Pant equalled the India record when he took his tenth catch of the match — a top edge off Australia skipper Tim Paine.

“It was nervous as they were coming close, but we did well. I’m happy to contribute to the team. I always enjoy troubling batsmen, I love it when they concentrate on me and not on the bowlers,” said Pant, who was heard egging on the bowlers on the stump mic.

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