Tag: VIrat Kohli

  • Babar vs Kohli: Who is the better player? Pak-Ind experts weigh in

    Babar vs Kohli: Who is the better player? Pak-Ind experts weigh in

    As cricket fever reaches its peak, fans around the world are looking forward to the upcoming Pakistan-India blockbuster T20 World Cup match.

    Geo News brought together cricketing legends from both countries for two high-octane exchanges on Saturday.

    Veterans like Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mushtaq Ahmed and Sohail Tanveer where Pakistani panelists and host was Shahzad Iqbal, while Indian side had Sunil Gavaskar, Harbhajan Singh and Madan Lal on the Geo News/Aaj Tak ‘taakra’.

    When the question was asked by Shahzad that who is the better player among both skippers Babar Azam and Virat Kohli in T20 cricket, all the panelists gave their opinions on it.

    Madan Lal said: “Virat is way ahead than Babar as we all have witnessed his performance in all three formats of cricket and it has always been better than Babar.”

    While Sunil said: “Virat has played a lot of cricket so he has a better record but the talenr Babar holds, gives him a better chance to him to get more runs in the future.”

    He also added that Virat used to score 60, 70 runs but after when he scored centuries, he was also counted in great players. Babar has the potential as he is a very good batsman and easily scores 60, 70 runs but then get out after that. When he will score hundreds in Tests and One Days, he will be counted among number one batsmen. He has that potential.

    “Virat Kohli is a great player and I think he is a legend in modern day cricket. Yes Babar need some time to get to that mark but but he has that game and definitely he can become one of cricketing greats of Pakistan like Inzamam-ul-Haq and Saeed Anwar,” said former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh.

    Former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq said: “Babar Azam and Virat Kohli are both great players, but the way Babar is batting, I think he will break all records.”

    He further added: “Kohli has given a lot of performances for his country, but Babar’s record is better than Kohli’s in terms of the amount of cricket he has played, Babar has yet to reach the heights of his career, Babar’s best game is yet to come. Babar’s hunger for runs makes him better than others. I have never seen such hunger for runs in any other batsman. Virat has a lot of aggression. If I compare the technique, Babar’s technique looks better than Kohli’s.”

    “I agree with Inzi and Sunny (Inzamam and Sunil) that both are great players. Virat’s stats are very strong and Babar is still not there but I’ll agree with Inzi that Babar can be at number one forever,” said Pakistan’s great spinner Mushtaq Ahmed.

    While Tanveer said that it took a long time for Kohli to become what he is and if we take a look at current form and performances of last three-four years of Babar, “He has that guts and he has all the skills to become world number one player and has become the number one.”
    “By the time and experience he will become more confident and his abilities will also come to the fore,” he added.

    It’s pertinent to mention here that the arch-rivals will be facing each other on Sunday 7pm PST at the Dubai International Stadium.

  • Pakistan announces 12-men squad for clash against India

    Pakistan announces 12-men squad for clash against India

    The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced the 12-men squad for the clash between Pakistan and India at the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 on Sunday.

    According to the press release shared by PCB, the players that will be included in the match are: Babar azam (c), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Mohammad Rizwan, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Hafeez, Shadab Khan, Shoaib Malik, Haris Rauf, Hassan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi.

    Pakistan and India first met in T20 format in the ICC T20 World Cup 2007 in Durban, which India won in Bowl-Out after both the sides ended up on 141 runs each. Since then, the two sides have played each other four more times – including the 2007 edition’s final – in the T20 World Cup.

    After Sunday’s fixture, Pakistan will play New Zealand on Tuesday, Afghanistan on Friday, while their next week’s matches will be against Namibia on November 2 and Scotland on November 7.

    Meanwhile, apart from a mission of beating India for the first time in the ICC T20 World Cup, the other incentive for Pakistan will be their victory will narrow the gap between the two sides to one point with India dropping to 264 points and Pakistan rising to 263 points. A win on Tuesday over New Zealand will potentially put Pakistan in second place on the ICC T20 Team Rankings.

    The match between the two former champions will commence at 7pm PST.

  • Super Sunday: Here is why October 24 will be a treat for sports fans

    Super Sunday: Here is why October 24 will be a treat for sports fans

    October 24, 2021, will be marked with a star by all sports fans. On this day, all sports fans, especially cricket and football fans, will be glued to their seats as they witness the sports’ biggest rivalries in just one day. There will be five biggest rivalries on the pitch that day.

    Pakistan vs India T20 World Cup Face-off

    So we will witness the biggest cricket rivalry between India and Pakistan on October 24, 2021. The cricket rivalry between Pakistan-India is one of the most intense in the world. The strained relationship, resulting from the bitter diplomatic relationship between the two countries resulting from the partition of the Subcontinent laid the groundwork for an intense sporting rivalry between the two nations, who share a cricket heritage.

    India and Pakistan are set to start their campaign in the T20 World Cup on October 24. International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced that Group 2 will start the World Cup campaign with an intense showdown between India and Pakistan. Indian and Pakistani cricket fans are eagerly awaiting this clash.This match ignites a flame of rivalry between the two groups of players and fans.

    FC Barcelona vs Real Madrid

    The world’s greatest football rivalry between Spanish football titans FC Barcelona and Real Madrid can be seen on the same day. Few rivalries in sports can compare with the spectacle, the passion and the sheer football brilliance of Barcelona and Real Madrid.  The El Classico represents a clash of cultures between the Castilian Spanish and the Catalan. But for a true football fan, a match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid quite simply represents a great football match between two great clubs.

    Barcelona and Real Madrid enter the 2021-22 season with a point to prove after both the sides were to beaten to La Liga glory by Athletico Madrid last season. Athletico were crowned champions while Real Madrid finished second and Barcelona third. Many big names have exited from both the clubs like Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane and Lionel Messi, so many will look forward to the match as to see again who emerges victorious in the first El Classico of 2021-22 campaign.

    Manchester United vs Liverpool FC

    Another high profile inter-city rivalry and one of the biggest in the premier league is the match between Manchester United and Liverpool. This match will also be taking place on this Super Sunday. The North-West derby never fails to surprise the imagination of football fans all over the world. This intense rivalry between these two clubs does not stop in football but extends to their economic and cultural enmity.

    The raw passion involved in a football match between Manchester United and Liverpool is a symbol of inter-city contention for over two years. Like every year, this year also the match between Manchester United and Liverpool will spark a spirit of excitement and rivalry among the fans. Both the teams look strong and will be aiming this season to win the Premier League title after their defeat last Season to Manchester City.

    Juventus vs Inter Milan

    The Derby d’Italia is the match between Inter Milan and Juventus, two of the greatest clubs in Italian football. This match will also be played on October 24. This matchup between Inter Milan and Juventus is considered to be one of the greatest and the most intense in Italian football. The rivalry between Juventus and Inter became more bitter after the scandal of Calciopoli.

    Juventus lost the Serie A title last season after 9 years. Inter Milan dominated the Serie A and won the title breaking Juventus’s 9 consecutive title win streak. Both the teams will fight neck to neck in the Serie A. Juventus will be looking forward to winning the title again after their last season defeat while Inter Milan will be focusing on continuing their winning streak. This match between the Italian giants will be one of a kind to watch.

    Olympique de Marseille vs Paris Saint Germain

    One of the greatest rivalries in the world and the greatest in France is the Le Classique, the match between the two French Supergiants Marseille and Paris Saint Germain. Le Classique will also be played on this day. The animosity between Marseille and PSG extends far outside of Football. These two have been dominating French football from the very beginning and have also won a combine of 40 domestic trophies.

    The rivalry between Marseille and PSG is neither the oldest nor the most traditional in Ligue 1, but it is without doubt the most fiercely contested on and off the pitch dividing loyalties across the country. With the recent signings of PSG (Lionel Messi, Sergio Ramos, Achraf Hakimi, Georgino Wijnaldum and Gianluigi Donnaruma), many football fans are looking forward to witness the greatest rivalry in France. PSG will definitely give a tough fight to Marseille and will definitely look to reclaim its title back in the French league this season.

  • Virat Kohli to step down as T20 captain after T20 World Cup

    Virat Kohli to step down as T20 captain after T20 World Cup

    Indian captain Virat Kohli has announced he will step down as India’s T20 captain after the T20 World Cup. However, he will continue as Test and ODI captain.

    Kohli announced his decision on Twitter, saying he made it with his workload in mind as a three-format player, and that he has already spoken about it with BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, secretary Jay Shah, and the selectors. He said he arrived at his decision after “a lot of contemplation and discussions with my close people”, including India head coach Ravi Shastri and the white-ball vice-captain Rohit Sharma, who has already led India in 19 T20Is when Kohli had been rested.

    Though a formal announcement from the BCCI is awaited, Rohit is likely to take over from Kohli.

    “Understanding workload is a very important thing and considering my immense workload over the last 8-9 years playing all 3 formats and captaining regularly for last 5-6 years, I feel I need to give myself space to be fully ready to lead the Indian team in Test and ODI Cricket,” Kohli said. “I have given everything to the Team during my time as T20 Captain and I will continue to do so for the T20 Team as a batsman moving forward.”

    The development comes exactly eight days after Kohli sat with the selectors to finalise the India squad for the T20 World Cup, which will be played in the UAE in October-November.

    “Of course, arriving at this decision took a lot of time,” Kohli said. “After a lot of contemplation and discussions with my close people, Ravi bhai and also Rohit, who have been an essential part of the leadership group, I’ve decided to step down as the T20 Captain after this T20 World Cup in Dubai in October.”

  • England vs India Test match cancelled due to Covid-19 cases in Indian team

    England vs India Test match cancelled due to Covid-19 cases in Indian team

    Following ongoing conversations with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has confirmed that the fifth Test between England and India has been cancelled.

    The ECB, on Friday September 10, in a statement mentioned: “Following ongoing conversations with the BCCI, the ECB can confirm that the fifth Test between England and India Men due to start today at Old Trafford, will be cancelled.”

    “Due to fears of a further increase in the number of COVID cases inside the camp, India are regrettably unable to field a team.”

    “We send our sincere apologies to fans and partners for this news, which we know will cause immense disappointment and inconvenience to many,” the statement added.

    The development comes on the back of intense discussions between the BCCI and the ECB after India’s assistant physiotherapist Yogesh Parmar returned a positive Covid-19 test on Wednesday. Later head coach of Indian team Ravi Shastri tested positive.

    While three members of the contingent – Patel, bowling coach Bharat Arun and fielding coach R Sridhar – were identified as immediate contacts of Shastri, it was far more difficult to determine who the close contacts of Parmar were, considering he was treating a wider group of players. This included Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma. These players have been mingling among the wider group, which has made identifying close contacts even more complicated.

    Meanwhile, as per ESPN cricinfo, the series result would be determined by the ICC match referee Chris Broad based on whether the ECB accepts India’s fears of a larger outbreak in their camp as “acceptable non-compliance” as per the WTC playing conditions. If the ECB does accept it, India will win the series 2-1. But if it doesn’t, and instead challenges that outcome, the matter will go to the ICC’s Dispute Resolution Committee. Currently India have pocketed 26 WTC points from the series while England have 14 out of the available 48 points.

  • Kohli gets angry at a presser after a pricking question from a journalist

    Kohli gets angry at a presser after a pricking question from a journalist

    After a humiliating defeat by an innings and 76 runs in the third Test against England, Indian captain Virat Kohli was being asked sharp questions in the press conference and he got angry and ignored a pricking question by a reporter.

    In a viral video, a reporter questioned Kohli about playing on the backfoot. To this, Kohli replied: “I don’t know how to answer this question? How can you play every ball on the backfoot? Unless it is according to his length.”

    Even before Kohli could complete his point, the journalist started saying: “Due to playing less on the back foot, Team India missed the opportunity to score more runs.” There was a bit of anger on Kohli’s face here, but he answered while calmly handling himself: “Yes, thank you!” The video of this moment is going viral on Twitter.

    In the post-match presentation ceremony, Kohli said: “When you get out within 80 runs (in the first innings) then it is the pressure of the scoreboard and after that the opponent team makes such a big score.” The Indian team had scored 215 runs for two wickets on the third day, due to which it was in good condition. Kohli said, “But we played well yesterday to stay in the match, we tried as much as we could and also gave ourselves a chance.”

    Regarding the England bowlers, he said: “But today the England bowlers put a lot of pressure and in the end got the result they wanted.” Kohli said: “The first innings score was very bad, it can happen in this country, the whole innings collapses like a pack of cards.”

    On the fourth day’s play, he said: “We thought the pitch was good for batting. But the disciplined bowling forced them to commit mistakes and the pressure was too much. When you are not scoring runs, it is very difficult to get over the pressure. Due to this the batting collapsed.”

    After third Test, the series delicately poised at 1-1, the action now moves to The Oval in London for the fourth Test.

  • India suffers defeat by innings and 76 runs in Headingley

    India suffers defeat by innings and 76 runs in Headingley

    India suffered a humiliating defeat by an innings and 76 runs in the third Test match against England at the Headingley Cricket ground on Saturday.

    “Basically down to scoreboard pressure. Always up against it when you get out for under 80, and the opposition puts up such a big score. But we did well to stay in the game yesterday, fight back as much as we could, and gave ourselves a chance. But the pressure today was outstanding from the England bowlers and eventually they got the results they wanted,” said Virat Kohli in the post-match presentation ceremony.

    India were skittled out of 278 after resuming the day at 215/2. In what was expected to be easy batting conditions on a sunny day at Headingley, England bowlers were ruthless in their approach and finished the match in the first session of the day to jump to 14 points on the ICC World Test Championship 2021-23 table.

    With a clinical five-for England bowler Ollie Robinson bagged Player of the Match Award, taking seven wickets overall.

    With the series delicately poised at 1-1, the action now moves to The Oval in London for the fourth Test.

  • ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 schedule announced

    ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 schedule announced

    Oman will take on Papua New Guinea in the opening match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 at the Oman Cricket Academy Ground on October 17 while the Super 12 stage commences with a fixture between Australia and South Africa at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

    Read More – Pakistan, India placed in same group in T20 World Cup

    The complete schedule was announced on Tuesday by the International Cricket Council (ICC), which confirms the highly anticipated match between former champions India and Pakistan. It will take place on October 24 at the Dubai International Stadium while Ashes rivals England and Australia play at the same venue six days later.

    The final will be played in Dubai on November 14, with November 15 marked as a reserve day.

    This will be the first time in over two years India and Pakistan will play each other, the last meeting being at the 50-over World Cup in England in 2019.

    Earlier, T20 World Cup moved away from India due to Covid. The ICC has moved the Twenty20 World Cup from India to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman because of the pandemic. India will remain the host of the event scheduled from October 17 to November 14, the ICC said in a statement.

  • ‘Stop giving lame excuses’: Shoaib Akhtar tells Captain Babar Azam

    ‘Stop giving lame excuses’: Shoaib Akhtar tells Captain Babar Azam

    Legendary Pakistan pace bowler Shoaib Akhtar has told the captain of the Pakistan cricket team, Babar Azam, to stop giving lame excuses.

    This comes after Pakistan was whitewashed 3-0 by England in the recent ODI series. Pakistan also lost the T20 series 2-1.

    “It is all lame excuses. There was nothing on the wicket like extraordinary bounce. A little seam movement is expected in England. If you can’t handle that seam, then what will you do?” Akhtar said PTV Sports as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.

    While in another interview with Sports Tak, Akhtar said: “Virat has what … 70 centuries in international cricket right. So in the next five years, he will get 30 more and I want him to get 120 centuries, or at least 110. See, with these many runs, who can be compared to him? The debate in itself is wrong. And Babar is now coming through. It’s really good that there is healthy competition.”

    “If Babar needs to beat Virat and surpass him, he will have to score more runs chasing and play the kind of innings Kohli has. There is no doubt that Babar Azam can probably be the greatest batsman of Pakistan, but it will take time. We will judge Kohli and Babar after 10 years where they stand,” Akhtar added.

    “I have a feeling Pakistan and India will play in the T20 World Cup final and India will lose to Pakistan. Conditions in UAE will favour both India and Pakistan,” said Akhtar while talking about the India-Pakistan face-off in the T20 World Cup.

    Azam was in fine form during the three ODIs as he accumulated 177 runs, which included a career-best 158, at an average of 59.

    As for the T20 series, he scored 118 runs in three matches, which included a top score of 85, at an average of 39.33 and a strike-rate of 151.28.

  • Kohli rates Wasim Akram as the toughest bowler

    Kohli rates Wasim Akram as the toughest bowler

    Virat Kohli has rated Wasim Akram as the toughest bowler to face if they have played in the same era.

    Kohli conducted a question-answer session with his fans on Instagram where he answered several questions.

    Answering to a fan, Virat stated that a bowler from past who would have troubled him is the Swing ka Sultan Akram.

    From his diet to his routine during quarantine, Kohli answered a lot of interesting questions. When asked how his diet looks like, Kohli replied: “Lot of vegetables, some eggs, two cups of coffee, dal, quinoa, lots of spinach, love dosas (Indian dish) too,” adding, “But all in good quantities.”

    He also shared that he like lots of Indian food which is cooked simply, he sometimes eat Chinese too. Almonds, protein bar and fruits were also part of his list.

    When a fan asked him that how to deal with anxiety, stress and pressure in current situation (COVID-19 pandemic), Virat replied: “Be focused on things that are important and try to have belief in the greater good. Believe that something good can happen at anytime.”

    Virat also spilled a secret about Indian cricket team, saying: “We are actually a bunch of pranksters.”

    One of the fan was curious to know that what was the last thing Virat googled about. To which he replied: “Cristiano Ronaldo’s transfer.”

    Virat also shared that how do he keep himself motivated in a bad phase. “Do the routines right and persist with them regardless of the results.”

    A fan asked him to share a childhood photo of him, and the photo he shared was too cute.

    Kohli is currently in quarantine in Mumbai ahead of India’s tour to England where the team will play six Test matches, including the World Test Championship final against New Zealand, starting June 18.