Heena Sharma Blog

What do you do when you have enormous shoes to fill? For one, you steer clear of blunders. Not Rishabh Pant . Widely seen as a natural successor to MS Dhoni in the India cricket team, Pant in 2019 got a great opportunity to prove his mettle and seal his place in the squad. But, given his many misses, he has yet to give the team management enough confidence. As Dhoni made himself unavailable for selection after the ICC Cricket World Cup earlier in the year, all eyes were on the Delhi southpaw who is known for his power-hitting abilities and a decent fare behind the stumps. However, as a batsman he squandered many a good start, and as a wicket-keeper he did little to stand out. Doubtless, the youngster would have been under immense pressure of expectations. There are no two thoughts about his abilities as a young player and the backing of seniors and former players. Even the recently-appointed president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Sourav Ganguly heaped p...

England pacer Jofra Archer said reassuring words from teammate Ben Stokes helped him to keep his calm in the Super Over of the World Cup final against New Zealand at the iconic Lord's here. Hosts England lifted their maiden World Cup trophy on Sunday night by defeating New Zealand in the Super Over in the heart-stopping final. After posting 15 runs in the Super Over, the responsibility to defend the score fell on Archer and the pacer admitted that calming words from teammates, especially Stokes, made a big difference. "I actually went to Morgs (Eoin Morgan) first, I had an idea I was going to do it (bowl the Super Over) but I wanted to double check that he wanted me to do it. "I think it was going fine until the six, and then (Ben) Stokes told me even before the over: Win or lose, today does not define you. Everyone believes in you," said Archer, who finished with 20 wickets in the World Cup after making his international debut only in May. Jimmy Nees...

After the rain interruption on Tuesday, the forecast for Wednesday doesn't look too good either, as there are chances of showers in patches even as India and New Zealand look to resume their battle in the first semi-final of the 2019 World Cup at Old Trafford. But it is advantage India if play is indeed washed off again on the reserve day. As per the rain rules of the International Cricket Council for the semi-finals and final, if there is no result on the scheduled match day, play will continue on the reserve day, using the same start time and hours of play as the scheduled match day. The reserve day will be a continuation not a restart. Any advantage earned on the scheduled day will be carried through to the reserve day. A tied match will use a super over to determine the winner. If after the scheduled day and reserve day the semi-final match has still not reached a result, the higher placed team from the league stage will progress to the final. On Tuesday, it was a c...

The first semi-final of the World Cup ICC 2019 gets underway tomorrow with India taking on New Zealand at Old Trafford. Virat Kohli–led Indian team finished at the top of the league table with 15 points to their credit, followed by Australia (14), England (12) and New Zealand (11). If the bet rates are anything to go by, India is likely to continue with its winning streak and eventually win the ICC World Cup 2019. Leading online betting websites such as Ladbrokes and Betway place the Indian team on top at the end of the tournament. The Indian cricket team has won the tournament twice – first in 1983 under Kapil Dev's captaincy and then in 2011, beating Sri Lanka on home soil. They came last in the Super Six stage in the 1999 Cricket World Cup and have been knocked out four times in the Group stage (1975, 1979, 1992 and 2007). For the current tournament, Ladbrokes pegs the odds of an outright win by India at 13/8, followed by England (15/8), Australia (11/4) and New Zeal...

India's pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah feels Mahendra Singh Dhoni played a "top-rated" knock in the World Cup clash against the West Indies and did the right thing by taking his time in the middle. Dhoni's rate of scoring has been a topic of debate in the ongoing showpiece. On Thursday, the former skipper scored 56 off 61 balls, exploding in the last over, to help India post a winning 268-run total on the board against the Caribbeans. "The innings that he played is the kind which is very under-rated. Sometimes you might feel that he is batting slow but sometimes it is important that he takes time, which he did," Bumrah said on 'bcci.tv'. "He absorbs the pressure and takes the game deep. It was top-rated innings and got us to 268, which was a good total on this pitch. He knew there were pinch-hitters coming later so he could take his time. Youngsters can learn a lot from this knock," he added. Speaking of his own performance, th...

After suffering a shock defeat against Sri Lanka, England cricket team will look to get back on winning track and take one step closer towards the semi-finals when they face arch-rivals Australia cricket team in their crucial ICC World Cup 2019 game at the iconic Lord's on Tuesday. With four wins from six games, England are currently at the fourth spot in the ICC World Cup 2019 Points table. The hosts, who came into the tournament as overwhelming favourites, are in a bit of a tight situation as they need to win at least two of their remaining three games to enter the last four. However, it would not be an easy task for them, especially considering they have to face India and New Zealand after their Australia game. England's record against all the three teams is not great as they have not been able to register a single World Cup win against Australia, India and New Zealand in the last 27 years. Thus, the pressure will surely be on Eoin Morgan and team to come out wit...

The ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 has seen 315 million viewers tuning to the Star India network from across the country. According to the Broadcast Audience Research Council of India (BARC) data, television viewership for the tournament has been 182.7 million average impressions. While reach refers to the number of people who have seen the tournament for at least a minute, impressions refer to the number of people watching the tournament or a particular match at any given point during its telecast. Star India, the official broadcaster of all International Cricket Council (ICC) events in the country, is showing the matches across its sports network. Article Source -> Business Standard

In match 26 of ICC cricket world cup 2019 (CWC), Bangladesh cricket team will be brimming with confidence after an emphatic win over West Indies cricket team, when they face the defending champions Australia at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Thursday. On Monday, Bangladesh came up with a commanding and formidable performance in their game against the Windies as they comfortably chased down 322-run target in Taunton. Shakib al Hasan (124*) and Liton Das (94*) played brilliant knocks as the Bangla Tigers made mockery of the Windies' total and crossed the line with more than 50 balls to spare. Bangladesh not an underdogs With wins against South Africa and Windies, Bangladesh have declared that they are no more underdogs and, now, they would aim to make a place in the semifinals. Mashrafe Mortaza's men have been excellent so far, but it would be really interesting to see if they can live up to the challenge of competing against the five-time champions. Australia Team new...

Virat Kohli and Steve Smith have been involved in some bitter banter in the past, but the Indian skipper showed his true sportsmanship spirit when he gestured towards a section of the Indian fans to stop booing the Australian captain and cheer for him instead. As India and Australia locked horns at The Oval in London today, Indian batsmen, including Kohli, were smashing the Australian bowlers for runs. In between the overs, Smith was sent to the boundary line. It was at that time that some Indian fans started booing at him and chanted "cheater, cheater". Kohli, who was batting at that time, took notice of it and was clearly not happy with the fans' gestures. Showing his classy side, the Indian captain turned towards the stand and gestured at the fans to cheer for Smith and not boo at him. The Indian skipper's act was appreciated by Smith, who came up to him, shook his hand and patted him on the back during the drinks break. Kohli's heartfelt gesture ...

In today’s match of ICC cricket World Cup 2019 (CWC), Pakistan cricket team led by Sarfaraz Ahmed will look to carry the winning momentum, when they take on the Sri Lankan cricket team at County Ground, Bristol. Both the teams, who were outplayed in their opening games, won their second games and made sure their fans don't lose hope. However, the odds are in favour of Pakistan, who have won all seven World Cup matches against the island nation dating back to the inaugural World Cup in 1975. On the eve of the match, Dimuth Karunaratne insisted that Sri Lanka can end their wretched World Cup record against Pakistan on Friday. Pakistan vs Sri Lanka world cup match will start at 3:00 pm IST. The match will be broadcast live on Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports 1, Star Sports 2 HD, Star Sports 2 in English Commentary and on Star Sports Hindi HD, in Hindi Commentary. You can also live stream Pak vs SL cricket match on the Hotstar app and the Hotstar website. The latest they can sta...

The first ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 match for the India cricket team will be momentous for skipper Virat Kohli for a number of reasons. Though this is his third World Cup as a player, the India vs South Africa match, to be played at Hampshire Bowl on Wednesday (June 5) will be the first World Cup game for Kohli as India’s captain. Backed by an able in-form team, Kohli will be carrying the weight of more than a billion fellow Indians’ hopes. Meanwhile South Africa will miss Dale Steyn in their playing 11 as he has been ruled out of the ICC CWC 2019. The Ageas Bowl pitch in Southampton is expected to be flat and South African batsmen's weakness against the slow bowlers would allow Indian team management to pick both Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal in India playing 11. This World Cup will test Kohli not only as a batsman but his leadership skills will also be under intense scrutiny. In many ways, this tournament will define his legacy as a leader. Sachin Tendulkar, Vire...

The first four days in ICC cricket World Cup 2019 have been rather uneventful, except Match 5, where Bangladesh amassed their highest score in an ICC tournament. So far, South Africa have had a terrible outing, having lost two matches. Pakistan’s batting line-up, meanwhile, was ripped apart as West Indies bowlers used a barrage of short deliveries on a green pitch. Virat Kohli’s India are yet to begin their campaign; they will play their first match against South Africa on June 6 at Southampton. Surely, the entire tournament will not be a dry affair and we will see more intense contests. There will also be closely fought battles — last-over finishes, even ties. What will happen in such a case to decide the winner? How will the matches be decided? Will there be a super over? If so, what are reserve days for? Let’s take a look at the rules for such scenarios. Here is your handy guide to ICC Cricket World Cup 2019: When will a Super Over be used for deciding the winner of a matc...

Pakistan and West Indies, two most unpredictable sides, will take on each other in their first cricket World Cup match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham on Friday. Much to Sarfaraz Ahmed-led Pakistan's relief, frontline paceman Mohammad Amir has been declared fit and he is likely to feature in Pakistan's playing 11. Jason Holder-led West Indies made the intentions clear right from their warm-up fixture against New Zealand where the Caribbeans scored a massive 421 runs on the other hand Pakistan were stunned by Afghanistan in their warm up match and their second, against Bangladesh, was washed out without a ball bowled. Pakistan, who have lost their last 10 ODIs including a 5-0 whitewash by Australia and 4-0 thumping by England, didn't have the most ideal preparation for the showpiece event. Pakistan have only won three times in 10 World Cup matches against the two-time world champions, including a thumping 150-run loss at Christchurch in 2015. Plenty of cloud cover ...

The Virat Kohli-led India cricket team on Wednesday left for England to participate in the biggest international 50-over cricket tournament, the International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricket World Cup 2019. They will play their first match of the tournament on June 5 against South Africa, which would be keen to shed their ‘chokers’ tag this time around. In the days leading up to the cricket world cup 2019 opening match, to be played between hosts England and South Africa on May 30, the 10 participating teams will play a number of warm-up games to acclimatise themselves to the English conditions. Eyeing their third World Cup title, Virat Kohli’s India would play their first warm-up match against New Zealand on May 25 and another against Bangladesh on May 28. At a press conference in Mumbai on Tuesday, Kohli said India were entering the tournament with a balanced and strong side. "You saw in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as well. All the players in the squad are in grea...

A World Cup squad is unlikely to please everyone but it was a far easier task for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selectors when they met skipper Virat Kohli in Mumbai on Monday. When you consider the form and ability of the players at their disposal, few matters remained unsettled. Most spots in the final 15 had already been claimed by a team that will arrive into the World Cup as a serious contender. There was unlikely to be a repeat of 2003 when a batsman of VVS Laxman's calibre lost out to Dinesh Mongia. This time around, the conversation around the Indian side was preoccupied with the number four position – a problem area for the team even as impressive victories have been earned home and abroad. The middle-order has let India down in a few crunch situations recently. In a major tournament, little can be left to chance. So, the BCCI selection committee sought reliability. In Dinesh Karthik, who was part of the World Cup squad in 2007, India has an ex...

With 100 days until the 2019 World Cup gets underway, might it be the year that England lift the global game's premier limited-overs trophy at long last? England -- the pioneers of one-day cricket as a professional sport -- have taken part in every World Cup since staging the inaugural men's event in 1975. But all they have to show for their efforts are runners-up medals from the 1979, 1987 and 1992 finals. Test cricket has long been the priority for everyone in English cricket, be they players, fans or administrators. That changed, however, after another World Cup group-stage exit at the 2015 edition in Australia and New Zealand was sealed with a woeful loss to Bangladesh. Then England and Wales Cricket Board supremo Andrew Strauss decreed that white-ball cricket would no longer be the "poor relation", with the former England captain sacking head coach Peter Moores and bringing in Australian Trevor Bayliss specifically to turn round the team's limi...