Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has hit out at the hosts' batters following a dismal day one performance against Bangladesh in the ongoing first Test, adding that their early season rustiness meant they were outplayed and outwitted by the visitors' bowling line-up. Australia were bowled out for a paltry 198 after opting to bat first, with Bangladesh pacer Hasan Mahmud tearing through the lineup with figures of 6-55. Now with Bangladesh's lead crossing 150, it meant the focus is back on Australia's shoddy batting performance, where barring Steve Smith (71), no one made a notable contribution. "There was a lot of early-season rustiness, they haven't played for a long time, but you can't excuse some of the technical issues and flaws we saw from the top order in particular. I was surprised Australia actually chose to bat, especially with Bangladesh coming off just 54 in the warm-up game. “The Australian seamers on that wicket yesterday morning would ...
Into his 16th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), MS Dhoni has looked far from finished. The wicket-keeper batter has not just led Chennai Super King (CSK) brilliantly but also produced cameos with the bat that left fans feeling nostalgic. Though Dhoni's cameos have been mesmerising, many fans and experts wonder what would it take for the 'Thala' to promote himself in the batting order for CSK this season. Dwayne Bravo, who has played with Dhoni in the Super Kings team for years, shed light on the matter, explaining why the skipper won't promote himself.
"That is the position he has to bat. Everyone is batting higher than him and he takes that responsibility and ownership upon himself to bat lower down the order because the likes of Jadeja, Rayudu, and Dube, he wants to give these guys as many opportunities as possible. He is happy to just play the finishing role," Bravo had said in a press conference.
Chennai sit top of the IPL 2023 standings with 5 wins in 7 matches. Rajasthan, on the other hand, are placed 3rd in the points table with 4 wins in 7 matches. Bravo is confident of the morale in the CSK dressing room and the team's ability to keep the momentum going.
"The CSK morale is very high, and that has nothing to do with the results. We are a team that is normally very level irrespective of whether we perform well or not.
"But it is always better when we are doing well. So far, we have started the season on a positive note and we just have to keep the momentum and keep winning cricket games. Tomorrow's game against RR is going to be a very hard game," he said.
from NDTV News- Special https://ift.tt/3jXE0oK
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