New ICC rules: Cricket will never be the same; 5 changes that will come into effect from tomorrow

The International Cricket Council (ICC) revealed its new set of rules on Tuesday that are set to change the sport forever. These new rules will come into effect in all series starting September 28 or later. However, the ongoing India-Australia limited-overs series will continue to be played as per the old rules. All of these rules will come into effect from the two upcoming Test series: when South Africa host Bangladesh and Pakistan take on Sri Lanka in the United Arab Emirates. After the implementation of these rules, the viewers will get to see a totally new game. Here are 5 changes that will come into effect from tomorrow:

1. Send-offs: Under the new rules, players involved in on-field scuffles can now be sent-off by the umpires. This will be done for Level 4 offences only. "Threatening to assault an umpire, making inappropriate and deliberate physical contact with an umpire, physically assaulting a player or any other person and committing any other act of violence all constitute Level 4 offences," the ICC said.




2. Bat dimensions: In order to maintain a healthy competition between bat and ball, ICC has decided to restrict the thickness of the bats."The restriction on the length and width of bats remain unchanged but the thickness of the edges can't be more than 40mm and the overall depth can be 67 mm at the most. Umpires will be issued with a new bat gauge, which they can use to check a bat's legality," it stated.


The ICC General Manager Cricket -Geoff Allardice explains the new playing conditions effective on series starting 28 September or later. pic.twitter.com/JsjZKBzN04


- ICC (@ICC) September 26, 2017

3. DRS: In a major boost for the captains, they will not lose the DRS in case a decision remains unchanged, solely as the result of an 'umpire's call'. "As for DRS in Test matches, there will be no more top-up reviews after 80 overs of an innings, meaning that there can only be two unsuccessful reviews in each innings, while the DRS will now also be allowed to be used in T20Is," ICC said.

4. Run-outs will be tough: It will now be more difficult for the fielders to run out a batsman. "An important change with respect to runouts is that if a batsman is running or diving towards the crease with forward momentum, and has grounded his/her bat behind the popping crease but subsequently lost contact with the ground at the time of the wickets being put down, the batsman will not be run out," the governing body said while adding that the same interpretation will also apply for a batsman trying to regain his/her ground to avoid being stumped.

5. Helmet bounce: Unlike before, the batsmen can still be out caught, stumped or run out even if the ball bounces off the helmet worn by a fielder or wicket-keeper.

Biggest mistakes MS Dhoni committed.

Former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is always on the ball, not just on the cricket field but also while giving statements to the media. But after holding numerous press conferences, even the best are likely to make a few mistakes. So here are the top 5 quotes that landed the usually suave MS Dhoni into trouble.

NO TECHNIQUE FOR TESTS:

"I don't have the technique to play Test cricket," Dhoni said before the start of the Australian tour. Okay, he was never known for his batting technique, but public admission of the same, right before the start of the Australian series, only raised more questions about Dhoni's role in the Indian Test team.

FORGETS YUSUF'S NAME:

MS Dhoni has often been blamed for not showing enough faith in Yusuf Pathan and the suspicion only grew stronger after the Indian skipper forgot his name at the start of an ODI in South Africa last year. After the toss, Dhoni said: "Piyush, and I can't remember the 4th guy who is not playing".

RETIREMENT FROM TESTS:

"I don't think my body will allow me to play Tests post 2013 because I will have to see will I play the 2015 World Cup," skipper said during the Border-Gavaskar Series. There was no problem in saying that he would not play Tests post 2013, but Dhoni saying this in the middle of a crucial Test series was what created a big controversy.

SHOW OF UNITY:

This one wasn't a result of Dhoni's statement but his actions instead. The entire Indian team walked into the press conference room during the World T20 in England in 2009. They posed for the camera - driving home the point that here was no rift in the team. While that might have been the case, what infuriated the media was the fact that the captain refused to address the press ahead of a crucial match.

SENIORS ARE SLOW:

And this is the deadliest of all. "They are safe fielders but on the slower side, they can end up getting injured in big Australian grounds," Dhoni said about the senior players (Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir). This comment landed MS Dhoni into the biggest controversy of his career so far. While there is no doubting the fact that the skipper was well within his rights to say that, the problem arose when he raised fingers at two legends of Indian cricket Tendulkar and Sehwag.

India become World No. 1 in both ODIs and Tests

India beat Australia by 5 wickets in the third ODI played between the two sides at Indore. Virat Kohli-led side retained the top spot in ODI rankings, previously held by South Africa, on Thursday after beating Australia by 50 runs in the second ODI at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

India were only two points behind South Africa in the top ICC ODI rankings while visitors Australia — who lost to India in the first ODI by 26 runs (D/L) — were at the third. The men in blue now stand at the top in rankings of both Test and ODI format.

However, they need to win two more matches to retain the spot as with South Africa staying stagnant, they tie the Proteas at 119 but claim the top spot on decimal points.

A sensational hat-trick from Kuldeep Yadav, who became the third Indian to claim ODI hat-trick after Kapil Dev and Chetan Sharma, helped India be the better side in the second ODI. After electing to bat first, the hosts rode high on captain Virat Kohli's 92 and Ajinkya Rahane’s 55 to make up for Rohit Sharma's early dismissal. For the Aussie bowlers, Nathan-Coulter-Nile and Kane Richardson picked up three wickets.

Ravi Shastri's boys are now on an eight-match winning streak in ODIs, while Australia have lost their last 10 ODIs away from home.

India become World No. 1 in both ODIs and Tests

India beat Australia by 5 wickets in the third ODI played between the two sides at Indore. Virat Kohli-led side retained the top spot in ODI rankings, previously held by South Africa, on Thursday after beating Australia by 50 runs in the second ODI at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

India were only two points behind South Africa in the top ICC ODI rankings while visitors Australia — who lost to India in the first ODI by 26 runs (D/L) — were at the third. The men in blue now stand at the top in rankings of both Test and ODI format.

However, they need to win two more matches to retain the spot as with South Africa staying stagnant, they tie the Proteas at 119 but claim the top spot on decimal points.

A sensational hat-trick from Kuldeep Yadav, who became the third Indian to claim ODI hat-trick after Kapil Dev and Chetan Sharma, helped India be the better side in the second ODI. After electing to bat first, the hosts rode high on captain Virat Kohli's 92 and Ajinkya Rahane’s 55 to make up for Rohit Sharma's early dismissal. For the Aussie bowlers, Nathan-Coulter-Nile and Kane Richardson picked up three wickets.

Ravi Shastri's boys are now on an eight-match winning streak in ODIs, while Australia have lost their last 10 ODIs away from home.

Kohli gets 10,000 runs in India's wins

MUMBAI: The iconic Eden Gardens plunged into silence when Virat Kohli chopped one onto his wicket to fall eight runs short to what would have been his 31st ODI cricket century - one that would have put him ahead of Ricky Ponting - during the second ODI against Australia.

But little did those at the stadium and millions watching the match on television realise that another record had been set by the Indian run-machine.

Kohli became the third India batsman to score 10,000 runs across formats in matches India have won. Kohli, with his 92, joined Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid in this elite club.

The skipper's record was established only when India wrapped up the game with a 50-run victory to claim a 2-0 lead.

Kohli has contributed 10,059 runs in India's wins across formats. He follows Tendulkar (17,113 runs) and Dravid (10,860 runs) in this exclusive list. Kohli, however, has taken a mere 179 matches and 193 innings to achieve the feat.

In Tests, Kohli has scored 2,472 runs in India's wins, and 6,313 runs in ODIs and 1,274 in T20Is, which gives him 10,059 runs.

Tendulkar scored 5,946 runs in Tests, 11,157 runs in ODIs and 10 runs (in his only T20I) for a grand total of 17,113 runs.

Dravid made 5,131 runs in Tests and 5,729 runs in ODIs, aggregating 10,860 runs.

Virender Sehwag is fourth in the list with 9,372 runs while Sourav Ganguly has 9,102 runs.

Kohli's predecessor, MS Dhoni has scored 8,393 runs across formats in a winning cause.

At 28, Kohli is already level with Ponting (30) in scoring most ODI tons, which puts him at joint second overall with only Tendulkar (49) ahead. He is less than 1,500 runs from completing 10,000 runs in ODI cricket alone - a format where he holds the record of scoring most centuries while chasing.

Kohli has 34 centuries across formats in India's wins, which is 16 less than Tendulkar (50), but 11 more than Dravid (23). Kohli has scored 48 fifties.

He has some catching up to do with Tendulkar (83 fifties) and Dravid (70 fifties).

Kohli averages 67.96 in India's wins across formats, whereas Tendulkar averaged 58.20 and Dravid clocked 56.85. Among the top 10, only Dhoni averages in excess of 60 - 62.63 - in matches India have won.

After Dhoni, Tendulkar now a biopic on Jhulan Goswami

The life of Jhulan Goswami, world's leading wicket taker in women's ODI cricket, will now be portrayed on celluloid.

After the success of cricketers Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar's biopics, 'Chakdaha Express' will trace the journey of Jhulan from her hometown in Nadia district to Lord's where India narrowly lost out on the women's World Cup final to England.

The movie will be made in Hindi and director Susanta Das said they will start the scripting soon and the shoot will begin in April next year.

"Shooting will be held from Chakdaha to Lord's," Das who directed 2012 Bengali movie 'Asche Bochor Abar Hobe', told PTI at Fanattic Sports Museum.

Without announcing the names, the director said they have shortlisted a few tall Bollywood actors to play the role of Jhulan.

"I cannot tell you the names as they are yet to be signed. But we are in talks with leading Bollywood actresses," he said.

The director hoped that it would inspire many youngsters.

"We have seen MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar's biopics. But this will be the first biopic on women's cricket," Das said.

"We will send our crew to wherever Jhulan has played. The focus will be her journey, the odds she overcame since she was 10. Hope it will inspire and motivate millions of youngsters. It's about chasing your dream," he concluded.

Caught On Stump Mic: How Dhoni Continues To Lead Team India

MS Dhoni played a defining role in India's easy win over Australia in the 1st ODI in Chennai on Sunday. The wicketkeeper-batsman scored 79 vital runs for the hosts, effected a stumping and completed two catches. Dhoni made another significant contribution to the team's cause from behind the stumps. The former India captain was heard advising and guiding young spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav throughout Australia's innings. The stump mike picked up interesting little nuggets, which involved everything from bowling length to the type of delivery, dished out by Dhoni. The 36-year-old's tips came in handy for the spinners as Yadav bagged the wickets of David Warner and Marcus Stoinis, while Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Wade and Pat Cummins were dismissed by Chahal.

Complete coverage: India vs Australia ODI Series

"Woh maarne waala daal naa andar yaa baahar koi bhi (bowl the one where he attempts to hit, turning in or away, anything is fine)", Dhoni told Kuldeep.

"Ghumane waala daal ghumane waala (bowl the one that turns)," Dhoni was constantly heard advising Chahal and Kuldeep.

"Na, na, na. Isko itna aage nahi (not this full)," Dhoni told Kuldeep after he was unhappy with the latter's line and length with Glenn Maxwell at the crease.

"Tu bhi nahin sunta hai kya (You also won't listen)? Aise, aise dalo (bowl it like this)", Mahi told Chahal.

Dhoni, known for his unorthodox methods on a cricket field, has always helped spinners, especially Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin, trap batsmen. Now with the burden of captaincy off his shoulders, Mahi is now in a position to help India's young spinners adjust their bowling based on the situation.

Captain Virat Kohli often relies on Dhoni's opinion when it comes to using DRS mainly because of his awareness and game sense. While several experts have questioned Dhoni's role in the side, his performances in the recent months show he still has plenty to offer for Indian cricket in the run up to the 2019 World Cup.

Virat Kohli responsible for what we are seeing of MS Dhoni: Sourav Ganguly

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly on Monday said Virat Kohli should take a lot of credit for the way Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been performing in ODIs this year.  Ganguly believes the faith that Kohli has showed in Dhoni has transformed his game which is why the 36-year-old has regained his form in limited-overs cricket.

"When players play for so long, MS has played over 300 ODIs for India, they know how to get runs. More than 9000 runs for Dhoni in one-day cricket and he'll get a few more by the time he finishes. It's the captain's confidence and Virat should get a lot of credit for it because he's put a lot of faith in Dhoni and that allowed MS to play the way he wanted.

"Players are made and players are broken by the faith you show in them. And I think Virat Kohli is responsible for what we are seeing of MS Dhoni today," Ganguly told India Today.

Team India once again relied upon Dhoni when the situation got tough for the home team after they were reduced to 87/5 batting first against Australia. Dhoni got together with all-rounder Hardik Pandya (83 off 66 balls) and the duo added 118 runs for the sixth wicket.

Complete coverage: India vs Australia ODI Series



The 23-year-old Pandya meted out special treatment to Adam Zampa, taking the young leg-spinner to the cleaners on three consecutive occasions to get to his third ODI fifty off 48 balls before falling to the same bowler, later in the innings.

Dhoni, at the other end, provided stability with a patient 75-ball 50 but more importantly carried on after the loss of Pandya to forge another healthy 72-run seventh wicket stand with Bhuvneshwar Kumar (32) as India posted 281/7 in 50 overs.

Rain interrupted play for over two hours after the first innings as a result of which Australia got a revised target of 164 to chase in 21 overs.

A superb performance from leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal (3/30), Pandya (2/28) and chinaman Kuldeep Yadav (2/33) then saw India restrict the Aussies for 137/9.

"Brilliant (on Dhoni's knock). He paced his innings superbly, played according to the situation used all his experience. When a captain has faith in his senior players who's played more than 300 ODIs the runs will come. Kohli should take a lot of credit for allowing Dhoni to play the way he is doing at the moment."

Dhoni has been in tremendous form in the one-day format this year. The 36-year-old has scored 627 runs in 14 innings in 2017 at an average of 89.57 including one hundred and five half-centuries. Sunday night was the first instance of Dhoni getting out in his last five ODI innings after scoring 241 runs.

Dhoni's 66th half-century in ODIs saw him complete 100 fifties in international cricket. He is the fourth Indian player after Sachin Tendulkar (164), Rahul Dravid (146) and Sourav Ganguly (107) to score a century of fifties in international cricket.

Ganguly also heaped praise on Pandya, who showed a lot of maturity while batting with Dhoni.
"He's (Pandya) getting better and that's the best part of it. You can see the confidence, because of the performance with the bat, in his bowling. If you do well in one aspect of the game you automatically get better in the other aspect.

"He's got to think big because the job of an all-rounder is not easy. He's fit, he works hard and for him the role model should be Jacques Kallis. I'm not comparing him with the Kallis but he should start looking at putting in performances over a period of 10 years in all formats because he's got ability.

"He's very important to this squad's progress in the next couple of years provided he keeps his head on his shoulders and keep the confidence going. The next 15 months, when he goes to South Africa, England and Australia, once he goes past that circle he'll either become a very good player or he'll probably start fading away," Ganguly said.

19/09/2017 PAKISTANI MAN WANTS TO MARRY VIRAT KOHLI

Not only in India, Virat Kohli has fans across the border, in Pakistan, as well.

At the recent Pakistan versus World XI T20 series, a Pakistani security staff at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore shared his affection for the Indian cricket team captain by showing a placard that read, "Kohli, marry me". The post received hilarious comments from the cricket lovers.

We wonder what his lady love Anushka Sharma has to say about his gesture?

Damn This Is Hilarious ????

A Pakistani Police in Lahore during Pakistan vs World XI Cricket Match holding a Banner

But this isn't the first time Kohli has got a marriage proposal on social media. In 2014, England cricketer Danielle posted "Kholi marry me"

Kholi marry me!!!- Danielle Wyatt (@Danni_Wyatt) April 4, 2014

September 18, 2017 Tendulkar and Kohli in ODI chases: who's better?

A proper assessment needs to take the rest of the team into account.





The statistics presented here are current up to the end of the Sri Lanka-India ODI series. Only results against the eight oldest Test-playing nations are considered in all data presented here.

This article follows on from this one, which asked how Virat Kohli ranked in comparison to ODI greats of the past, such as Sachin Tendulkar and Viv Richards.

A central reason for the high regard in which observers hold Virat Kohli is his record in run chases, which is, without question, superb. At the time of writing, in successful run chases, Kohli averages 95, an all-time high for any player who has participated in at least 20 successful run chases. In all run chases, he averages 64. This is also an all-time high. AB de Villiers averages 90 in wins and 60 overall. MS Dhoni also averages 90 in wins. In terms of raw numbers, these are phenomenal. It is impossible to achieve these numbers without belonging in the most elite group in any era so far.
While consistency is one reason why many observers rate Kohli to be exceptional, they rate him above Sachin Tendulkar for a different reason. The perception is that Kohli tends to finish run chases while Tendulkar didn't in his day; judging by the raw numbers, they are not unforgivably wrong in thinking this. When Kohli plays in chases, India have won 55 and lost only 36 ODIs. When Tendulkar played in chases, they won 97 and lost 97. Fans like winners. And they remember players who were there at the end. In this, cricket fans are not abnormal, and are affected by the availability bias. Wins and winning moments are memorable; hence they seem to be more significant in later assessments.

India have now had a very successful ODI side for a dozen years under Rahul Dravid, Dhoni and now Kohli. The captaincy eras of Sourav Ganguly, Mohammad Azharuddin and Tendulkar are a distant memory. Under each of those captains, India had a losing record, with 134 wins and 174 defeats overall. Under Dravid, Dhoni and Kohli, India have a combined record of 147 wins and 110 defeats.
The outstanding player of the outstanding era must be exceptional. Before Kohli, it was Dhoni. Before Dhoni, it was Tendulkar. But there has always been an asterisk against Tendulkar's name. It seemed to affect him too. More than once, in interviews, the acknowledged supreme batsman of his day would earnestly say that he wanted to win games for India. This in an era in which it was the norm for India to lose, for every opponent who visited Indian shores to be a contender to be reckoned with, and for every overseas limited-overs series to engender hope rather than the expectation that India would be competitive. Those were not the days of India handing out five-nil thrashings to anybody.

If you want to see exceptional individual performance over a period of time, then this is far more likely to be found in a struggling team than in a successful team 

  

In reality, Tendulkar and Kohli have had the same amount of (limited) influence on India's results. It is the players at the other end who account for the difference between the results achieved in Tendulkar's era and those achieved in Kohli's. Here are the figures to prove it.

The table below shows the average target, wins and losses for 11 different players in run chases involving these players. It also shows the player's record and that of the player's team-mates in these chases. To enable ready comparison, the player's average and scoring rate have been converted into an expected total over 300 balls faced, and the number of balls faced per dismissal is listed. As long as the player's dismissal rate is better than 30 balls faced per dismissal, the expected total is simply the scoring rate over 300 balls. In other cases, it is ten times the batting average. The same has been done for team-mates. The final two columns show the extent to which the player or his team-mates exceed or fall short of the average target.


For example, in chases involving Dhoni, the average target was 266. In these chases, Dhoni scored at a rate that would produce 241 runs in 300 balls. At the other end, the scoring rate was 288 runs per 300 balls. However, Dhoni was dismissed once every 58.3 balls, while at the other end, a wicket fell every 32.3 balls. The pattern of chases under Dhoni saw him effectively anchoring the chase, letting the scoring risks fall to the other end. Much of the risk-taking often happened before Dhoni got to the wicket. His apparent mastery in the run chase was made possible by the hitting firepower at the other end. His own hitting ability was a in a sense, a reserve. The result was 79 wins and 58 defeats.

Michael Bevan was similar to Dhoni as a player, capable of scoring boundaries (he once made 185 in 132 against Wasim Akram, Chaminda Vaas, Anil Kumble, Muttiah Muralitharan and Abdur Razzaq) but better known for playing a measured game. When Bevan played for Australia in run chases, the average target they faced was 230. At the end of his career, Bevan scored at a rate of 204 runs per 300 balls, 11.3% slower than the target demanded. However, at the other end, the runs came at the rate of 229 runs per 300 balls, almost the asking rate.

It is expected that the figures for a given batsman and team-mates can fall short of the average target score in this table. This is because chasing teams score only one run more than the target when they win, but they can lose by any number of runs.

Top batsmen in comparison to their team-mates in run chases

Player	Target	Wins	Losses	Player runs	Balls faced/dismissal	Team runs	Team BF/dismissal	Player run delta	Team run delta
Kohli	270	55	36	280	68.2	252	36.6	3.7%	-6.7%
Dhoni	266	79	58	241	58.3	288	32.3	-9.4%	8.3%
de Villiers	262	52	37	287	62.8	248	36.1	9.5%	-5.3%
Sehwag	262	57	49	302	33.2	230	39.2	15.3%	-12.2%
Tendulkar	253	97	97	263	45.6	220	36.9	4.0%	-13.0%
Tendulkar (1989-05)	249	64	73	267	47.9	212	36.6	7.2%	-14.9%
Tendulkar (2005-12	259	36	24	254	39.9	238	38.7	-1.9%	-8.1%
Inzamam	244	77	70	219	56.5	220	37.8	-10.2%	-9.8%
Ponting	236	88	43	230	53.1	233	41.7	-2.5%	-1.3%
Lara	234	70	70	231	56.4	206	35.3	-1.3%	-12.0%
Gilchrist	233	73	34	296	39.3	224	44.5	27.0%	-3.9%
Bevan	230	62	34	204	80.8	229	38.5	-11.3%	-0.4%
V Richards	202	73	29	259	52.6	187	49.4	28.2%	-7.4%

At the other end of the spectrum from Dhoni and Bevan we find Virender Sehwag and Adam Gilchrist - two openers who were willing to take a fast scoring rate with a higher failure rate. On average, Sehwag faced a target of 262 and scored at a rate that would produce 302 in 300 balls. But he was also dismissed once every 33.2 balls. At the other end, the runs came at the rate of 230 runs per 300 balls, 12.2% slower than the requirement; but the dismissal rate at the other end was a full over lower than that of Sehwag.

Gilchrist faced an average target of 233 and scored at a rate that would produce 296. As in Sehwag's case, the runs at the other end came at a slow rate, 224, but with greater consistency. Australia won 73 and lost 34 of these chases. Gilchrist and Sehwag played more or less in the same era. Much of the difference between the target (233 for Gilchrist, 262 for Sehwag) is due to Australia's superior attack. Some of it is also because Australian grounds were significantly bigger, especially in the early part of Gilchrist's career.

In chases featuring Kohli, India have faced an average target of 270. Kohli's scoring rate would produce 280 runs per 300 balls. At the other end, the performance has been strong - producing 252 in 300 balls at a respectable dismissal rate of 36.6. In other words, Kohli's run production would produce 103.7% of the total, while the run production at the other end would produce 93.3% of the total.

De Villiers has an even more impressive record. The average target faced by South Africa in run chases involving him has been 262. He scores at a rate that is a full 25 runs better while nearly matching Kohli for consistency (a dismissal every 62.8 balls). At the other end, South Africa produce 248 runs at a respectable dismissal rate of 36.1.

Chases involving Kohli have been won by India 55 times and lost 36 times. Chases involved de Villiers have been won by South Africa 52 times and lost 37 times. These records are nearly identical. Yet, despite these facts, the popular perception is the Kohli is an expert at the run chase while de Villiers is not. De Villiers has remained undefeated 26 times in 87 chases and South Africa have won 25 of these games; Kohli has remained undefeated 21 times in 93 chases and India have won 20 of these games. It is not the case that Kohli stays until the end more frequently than de Villiers; perhaps the popular conventional wisdom about de Villiers is wrong.

Tendulkar played ODI cricket for India over four separate decades. The average target India faced in chases involving him was 253. In these games, Tendulkar scored at a rate that would produce 263 runs in 300 balls, and he was dismissed once every 45.6 balls. Left to themselves, the batsmen at the other end would have reached only 220 - 33 runs short on average. Tendulkar's career spanned the whole of the Azharuddin, Ganguly, Dravid and Tendulkar captaincy eras, and the majority of Dhoni's captaincy. From 1989 to 2005, India faced an average target of 249 in run chases involving Tendulkar. In these chases, he scored at a rate that would produce 267 runs per 300 balls. The other batsmen would have produced only 212. This meant that despite Tendulkar, India had a losing record in chases from 1989 to 2005.

From 2005 to 2012, after Dravid and Greg Chappell took the problem of chasing by the scruff of the neck and India had found powerful middle-order players like Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni, Tendulkar's contribution to chases declined. He went through an injury-plagued period around 2005 (remember the "Endulkar?" headlines). He then returned, and despite his reduced output (adjusted for inflation), India won 36 and lost only 24 chases during the following seven years. The wins include a World Cup final where they chased; they also won a triangular tournament in Australia chasing a target (Tendulkar made a century in the first final).

In his prime, Tendulkar was an exceptionally brilliant batsman in the run chase. The support at the other end was significantly weaker than it has been for Kohli. This not only meant that Tendulkar had to do a significantly greater amount of heavy lifting compared to Kohli. It also meant that he was hampered in this task a great deal more than Kohli has been.

Tendulkar and Kohli in comparison to their team-mates in chases

Player	Target	Wins	Losses	Player runs	Balls faced/dismissal	Team runs	Team BF/dismissal	Player run delta	Team run delta
Kohli	270	55	36	280	68.2	252	36.6	+3.7%	-6.7%
Tendulkar	253	97	97	263	45.6	220	36.9	+4.0%	-13.0
Tendulkar (1989-05)	249	64	73	267	47.9	212	36.6	+7.2%	-14.9%
Tendulkar (2005-12)	259	36	24	254	39.9	238	38.7	-1.9%	-8.1%

Put simply, Kohli scores 17 runs more per 300 balls than Tendulkar. But Kohli's colleagues score 30 runs more per 300 balls compared to Tendulkar's colleagues. If we consider the Indian side until 2005, Kohli manages 13 runs more per 300 balls than Tendulkar did, and Kohli's colleagues score 40 runs more per 300 balls compared to Tendulkar's colleagues. Overall, scoring rates have increased by a margin of 21 runs per 300 balls (comparing targets). The difference between Kohli and Tendulkar is the support at the other end. It is this support that explains the improved results. If the two are compared as individual run chasers, then Tendulkar was actually better than Kohli is.

This idea, alongside the evidence from Dhoni's and Bevan's records, and all the others in the table above, point to an essential truth about chases in ODIs. The match-winner as a creature of habit is an illusion. As a rule, chases cannot be successfully completed from one end. Strong, successful sides have superb players (like each of the 11 in the table above), but if you want to see exceptional individual performance over a period of time, then this is far more likely to be found in a struggling team than in a successful team. In successful teams, by definition, the tasks for individual players are simpler.

Sufiyan Shaikh writes at A Cricketing View.

Chris Gayle creates history, becomes first cricketer to hit 100 T20 sixes

Chris Gayle has remained the top showman in Twenty20 cricket for years now.

The Jamaican power-hitter added another slice of record on Saturday when he became the first batsman to complete a century of sixes in Twenty20 Internationals.

The powerful batsman prefers to deal in boundaries and sixes, be it for West Indies or any franchise he plays for. Still, reaching a century of maximum is a special record.

VK: VIRAT KOHLI ALREADY AN ALL-TIME GREAT

Virat Kohli’s upward surge in the last couple of years is one of the great stories in cricket history. Even though it is still a developing story for at least a year more, and this piece will inevitably be incomplete, it still has something ostensibly surprising to say.
There were always signs of Kohli being a special player. In fact, in Impact Index’s first book that released a few days ago, we tell the story of 22-year-old Virat Kohli doing the job of a veteran in the 2011 World Cup-winning Indian side, not something he is remembered for now (he absorbed the most pressure among Indian batsmen in that tournament). An earlier version of Impact Index (in 2012) was the first entity to capture Virat Kohli’s most special quality when it comes to limited overs cricket – this piece came out three days before his famous innings at Hobart, that led to the world hailing his chasing ability.
So, what we are going to suggest in this piece is also something no one has spoken of before. Perhaps, yet again, Kohli’s performances will make the world catch on, even if belatedly. He needs to do it, not just in this series against Australia but in South Africa and England too later. But, that doesn’t mean we cannot talk about what is already apparent, or should be.

MODEST BEGINNINGS
Kohli made his Test debut after the 2011 World Cup win, as older legends began to wind down and a new Indian side slowly started taking shape. Between then and December 2014, Kohli managed to come up as the fourth-highest impact batsman (after Pujara, Dravid and Vijay) only because Tendulkar, Sehwag and Gambhir were comprehensively fading out. Kohli’s 52% failure did not flatter him.
Despite centuries in Australia, South Africa and New Zealand and a bunch of good scores at home, Kohli was rightly just seen as a talented Test batsman who seemed more promising than outstanding, as he clearly was in ODI cricket. Teammates like Cheteshwar Pujara and Murali Vijay contributed more to India’s Test success than he did.
Things really began to change from when Kohli became Test captain, in Australia, from December 2014 (when he made a century in both innings in the series opener). From then, till now (just before the series against Australia began), Kohli’s Test batting impact increased by almost 75% – a stunning rise, that has seen him become the second-highest impact batsman (after Younis Khan) since then, with a mere 30% failure rate and the highest proportion of runs scored among anyone in the world. In conventional terms, he averages 65 in 23 Tests, which is a telling cue anyway, but not a definitive one.
If we consider just the period after December 2015 till now, he is the highest impact batsman in the world. He entered a purple patch in his career from then, and began to produce performances in all formats that inspired collective gasps of awe.

INDIA’S SECOND HIGHEST IMPACT TEST BATSMAN
Our book has its figures updated only till November 5, 2016. Post that, India played England in a five Test series, where Kohli was the Man-of-the-Series (and also registered a series-defining performance ). He also crossed a tally of fifty Tests with this series, thus becoming eligible for the main all-time list.
In the book, India’s highest impact batsmen are Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar and GR Viswanath. But, given the England series and the solitary Test against Bangladesh (not a mean side in the subcontinent anymore), Kohli has overtaken Tendulkar to become the second highest impact Indian Test batsman, after Dravid. If he has as good a series against Australia as he did against England, he will run Dravid very close, and may even overtake him as India’s highest impact Test batsman, at least for now.
This is stunning, because his reasons for reaching these exalted heights are very different from Dravid’s.

PROLIFIC DOMINANCE
Dravid, along with Inzamam-ul-Haq, produced the highest number of series-defining performances in Test history (8 apiece, though Inzamam did it in fewer Tests).
Whereas Kohli had not produced a single series-defining Test performance in his career until this recent England series.
Actually, it is Kohli’s prodigious ability to score a high proportion of runs for his team that has brought him to these heights. Along with Cheteshwar Pujara, who shares this quality with him, Kohli has led the batting side of the number one Test side in the world. The two of them, along with R. Ashwin, occupy exalted positions in Test history already. Of course, they all have much to prove in overseas conditions still, Kohli particularly in England. But, their exploits as a unit have emphatically made them the number one Test side in the world, after a prolonged home season.

AMONG THE BEST IN TEST HISTORY
In fact, staggeringly, when it comes to Runs Tally Impact (besides measuring the proportion of runs match-by-match for a batsman, this also provides a higher value for the more important runs, like, say, in an innings defeat), Kohli is in an exalted position. Only four batsmen in Test history have scored a higher proportion of runs than him (minimum 50 Tests) – Don Bradman, Jack Hobbs, Neil Harvey and Steve Smith (another all-time great career unfolding here – already the most consistent batsman in Test history).
Since Kohli’s debut in June 2011 till the New Zealand home series in September 2016 (post that there was a conscious effort to not produce dustbowls, Pune notwithstanding), batsmen averaged just 29.46 in India, the lowest in the world after the West Indies (who, of course, have had a much weaker side as well). Kohli’s average of 46 therefore assumes greater significance, given this.
In fact, without taking series-defining performances into account, he is India’s highest impact Test batsman, and the fifth-highest in Test history after Don Bradman, Steve Smith, Jack Hobbs and Brian Lara.
And, when it comes to other parameters, Kohli compares favourably with his most illustrious countrymen.
He has built the most partnerships in Indian Test history, only after Rahul Dravid.
He has absorbed the most pressure (of falling wickets) only after GR Viswanath and Chandu Borde. Only Steve Smith has scored a higher proportion of runs under the pressure of falling wickets in Test history than Kohli.
He has also been the most consistent Indian Test batsman, only after Gavaskar, Dravid and Tendulkar.
Three Indian batsmen have been more consistent than him – the big three – Gavaskar, Dravid and Tendulkar. However, on an average, Kohli produces a high impact performance once every 5 Tests, the best such ratio for any batsman in India’s Test history. Dravid follows him with one such performance every 7 Tests. On a world stage, only Bradman (once every 2 innings), Harvey (4), Hutton (4), Hayden and AB de Villiers (4) have a better ratio than Kohli.
Among non-openers, when it comes to seeing off the new ball ( New Ball Impact ), he has done it better than anyone besides Dravid, Mohinder Amarnath and Tendulkar. Again, that is remarkable for a No. 4 batsman, which leads on to the most staggering moment of this piece.

THE THIRD HIGHEST IMPACT NO. 4 IN TEST HISTORY
If we consider 25 Tests in this position as the minimum, only Greg Chappell and Everton Weekes have had a higher impact from the No. 4 position in Test history. And, if we discount series-defining performances (which we shouldn’t, but just to illustrate), then Kohli is the highest impact No. 4 batsman in history.
There’s more. From this position, only Neil Harvey has scored a higher proportion of runs than Kohli. In terms of Partnership-Building Impact , only Norman O’Neill is higher from the number 4 spot than Kohli.
No batsman in Test history has scored a higher proportion of runs under pressure from the number 4 position than Virat Kohli.
That is how significant Virat Kohli is, to Indian Test history. He is an all-time great batsman already; no Indian batsman has come close to this kind of impact in Test history. He makes the adulation for Tendulkar look like vacant hype, if we consider significance in a team context in Test cricket.

ADDITIONALLY A LIMITED OVERS GIANT
Kohli is an all-time great ODI batsman as well. If we do not consider longevity, he is higher impact than even Tendulkar. Amongst Indians, he is the best in all parameters except one (strike rate) – building partnerships, chasing, absorbing pressure, consistency and proportion of runs scored.
When it comes to the last, he is among the world’s best-ever – seventh in ODI history, after Viv Richards, Hashim Amla, Gordon Greenidge, Jonathan Trott, Geoff Marsh and Dean Jones.
When it comes to chasing, he is still the world’s best, by a distance.
Moreover, he is the highest impact T20I batsman in the world as well – primarily for scoring the highest proportion of runs as well, and for being the most consistent, by a distance (18% failure rate; next lowest is Kevin Pietersen with 26%). In every 2.5 T20I matches, Kohli produces a high impact performance – the best ratio in world cricket.
And in all T20s (domestic and internationals), he has built more partnerships than anyone in the world, scored a higher proportion of runs than anyone else, been the most consistent, and hell, if you take out tournament-defining performances (which you really shouldn’t but just to illustrate again), he is the highest impact T20 batsman ever as well.
Impact Index was the first to call Rahul Dravid the most significant Test batsman India ever had. We are not holding back with Virat Kohli either.
Whether his career eventually bears the overly-esteemed stamp of longevity or not, and whether that eventually brings his overall impact down or not, right now, Kohli is not potentially an all-time great, but already one.

PT3. FOUR GREATEST MYSTERIES IN INTERNATIONAL CRICKET

IV. The World Cup Kapil photo



I have saved the most blood-curdling cricket secret for last.

The year 1983 was a landmark one for Indian cricket. It was that year that India lifted the World Cup in London, against all odds, and became world champions. Right up to the final, the odds were mostly stacked against India. And somehow Kapil Dev's men were able to prevail against a star-studded West Indies.

Moments later a blabbering Kapil lifted the World Cup on the Lord's balcony with a trademark toothy grin. A photograph that is imprinted on every Indian's soul.

But look carefully and you will see two mysterious apparitions. First, just by Kapil's left shoulder is a fuzzy, disembodied hand. Whose hand is that? A spirit? A guardian angel? A phantom?
But what is even more chilling is the strange face under the trophy. Look closely under the base of the World Cup, and you will see nothing but a pale face with two lifeless eyes. They look at the viewer, piercing into the depths of our being. They are clearly not smiling. Shudder.

Who does that disembodied hand belong to? And who or what do those eyes belong to?

Does anybody know? Or did they just appear on the photo?

Does Kapil know?

The spine tingles.

PT3. FOUR GREATEST MYSTERIES IN INTERNATIONAL CRICKET

III. Bermuda logo


Bermuda is a tiny country in the north Atlantic Ocean of moderate cricketing abilities. Unlike some of their accomplished neighbours to the south-west in the Caribbean, the Bermudians have never really been a cricketing force. Their moment in the sun came in 2007, when they qualified for the cricket World Cup.

Bermuda did very poorly, of course. The highlight of their World Cup came when Dwayne Leverock, one of the largest men to ever play international cricket, took a blinder of a diving catch to dismiss Robin Uthappa. Since then, Bermuda have struggled to reach those heights.

So far, so good. But look closely at the logo of the Bermuda Cricket Board. Look at it closely, and if you have a nose for the arcane, you will immediately spot the chilling secrets. First of all the crossed bats form an unmistakable "X marks the spot"-type symbol. Secondly the red cricket ball looks like a bullet hole that has missed the centre of the logo.

All of which could be blamed on coincidence. But then look closely at the space below the crossed bats. What do you…? EXACTLY. A triangle.

Bermuda. Triangle. Gunshots. X marks the spot.

You don't need me to tell you the implications of this "coincidence".

PT2. FOUR GREATEST MYSTERIES IN INTERNATIONAL CRICKET

II. The Lord's slope

The Lord's Cricket Ground is widely known as the home of cricket. There is no greater honour for an international cricketer than to score a century or take five wickets on the hallowed turf.

But oddly enough there is a peculiar, and very famous, quirk to the Lord's pitch. It slopes precipitously in one direction, from the Warner Stand in the north-west to the Mound Stand in the south-east. The slope is so sharp that is substantially deviates the path of the ball when it is bowled by non-Indian bowlers.

But why does the most important cricket ground in the world tolerate this? When millions of pounds have been spent to refurbish every other conceivable aspect of the ground, why does this slope remain?

Authorities at Lord's say that this is a traditional aspect of the ground and must never be changed.
They lie. In fact, there have been rumours for decades that the slope at Lord's is part of an ancient global network of signs and symbols.

Is it just coincidence that if you take a map and draw a straight line from the Giant's Causeway in Ireland, a place of great ancient mystery and paranormal experience, through to Loch Ness in Scotland, yet another place of great ancient mystery and paranormal experience, down to Lord's Cricket Ground, and then back to the Giant's Causeway - mysterious, as mentioned above - you form a triangle that points, in the exact same direction as the slope, to a village near Rome. And Rome is home to… exactly! The Vatican!

And that is not all. One of the most famous architectural elements at Lord's is the weather vane called Old Father Time. And what is the Italian translation of Old Father Time?

Exactly! Tempo Antico Papa!

Pope. Stonehenge. Antiquity. Lord.

Oh my god.

What lies beneath that slope? Will we ever know? Or is that a question mere mortals will never figure out?

PT1. FOUR GREATEST MYSTERIES IN INTERNATIONAL CRICKET

I. Don Bradman's average


Donald Bradman is undoubtedly one of the greatest souls to ever have strode onto a cricket pitch. His achievements are without parallel. Generations of players have had their performances compared to the Don's.

And yet, Bradman's final innings was a damp squib. He was bowled second ball by Eric Hollies for a duck. Bradman, who retired after this Test, only needed four runs for a career Test average of 100. Instead he finished with 99.94.

Harmless enough so far?

But turn Bradman's average upside down and read back to front and what do you get? A broken cross shape, followed by 666: the number of the beast.

Coincidence? Maybe. But when you put this together with the fact that "Bradman b Hollies" is an anagram of "I'm born bad as hell"…

Gasp. Who was the Don really?

PT4. 17/09/2017: DARK SECRETS OF INDIAN CRICKET THAT YOU NEVER KNEW BEFORE

X.



The incident occurred when Team India was caught in the infamous match-fixing scandal in 2000. When questioned about his involvement in the same, here’s what Kapil had to say... "I will commit suicide before that rather than taking bribe from somebody. Take all my money, I don't want it. I come from a family where pride is the most important thing,"  a teary eyed Dev said.

XI.



One of India’s most successful Test captains, Mohammed Azharuddin was always spotted with his signature look — raised collar and white helmet. Here’s how it became a trend... "While fielding at point, I used to have problems in my neck skin because of the exposure to the sun. Hence, I decided to raise my collar as protection and it became a habit... I had a liking for white helmet since we used it a lot during playing Tests. And since there was no compulsion of using a blue helmet, I played with a white one," the former captain mentioned this during an interview.

XII.



In an explosive moment in the Indian dressing room, Virender Sehwag was grabbed by the collar by the then coach John Wright during the Natwest trophy tournament in England after the opener had played a reckless shot to get out. The genial New Zealander recalled the incident in his book Indian Summers while referring to the Indian team's tour of England in 2002.
"I had been trying to get Sehwag to temper his boldness, which too often of late had crossed the line into recklessness," he writes. Shortly after skipper Sourav Ganguly had got out in the second over, Sehwag holed out trying to blast one back over the bowler's head, leaving India 26 for 2. "I had enough of players trotting out the 'natural game' line as an excuse for failing to take responsibility and disregarding the match situation.
"When Sehwag wandered in, I decided it was time for a sort-out. Not realising that my exasperation levels had soared into the red zone, I went upto him, grabbed him by the collar and barked, 'what the hell's going on? How can you come back in here after playing a shot like that and unbuckle your pads as if nothing's happened. Everyone froze — it was like someone had pulled out a gun —and I turned on my heel and stomped out." Wright said that in subsequent team meetings he was told by the players that he had been a "bit rough" and the ex-coach accepted that he had indeed gone overboard.

XIII.



Sachin Tendulkar played for Pakistan before making his debut for India. This incident happened during a practice match between the arch-rivals at the Brabourne Stadium in 1987. Tendulkar made his presence felt on the ground as a substitute fielder for Pakistan.

PT3. 17/09/2017: DARK SECRETS OF INDIAN CRICKET THAT YOU NEVER KNEW BEFORE

VII.



In 2005, Yuvraj Singh (the mastermind) and the rest of the Indian team decided to play a prank on their beloved Dada by giving him a print out of a fake interview. The printout consisted of Sourav’s critical analysis of the team’s players. "When that was shown to him, he pleaded he had not given any such interview" Yuvraj said. Ganguly had even offered to resign from his captaincy if it was proved he made any of the mentioned statements. "I almost had tears in my eyes. These were the same players I had always fought for."

VIII.



In the 2004 Multan Test, Rahul Dravid declared the innings against Pakistan and Sachin was left devastated as he was left unbeaten at 194. Angered by Dravid’s move, Sachin stormed into the dressing room. The Master Blaster however asked Dravid to simply "leave him alone". "I assured Rahul that the incident would have no bearing on my involvement on the field, but off the field, I would prefer to be left alone for a while to come to terms with what had happened," claimed Tendulkar.

IX.



Sourav Ganguly and Navjot Singh Sidhu were once held at gun point back in the year 1996. Here’s what happened... "We got on the London tube and set off towards Pinner. In our carriage, there was a group of young teenagers drinking... The boy then threw the beer can at me. I could tell he was looking for some kind of reaction. I didn't want to get involved at all and I said to Sidhu to leave it alone. I picked up the can and put it to one side, at which point the young lad stood up and said to me, 'what did you say?'
"Sidhu jumped in and confronted him. I knew then that there was going to be some trouble. I took my glasses off and threw them to the floor away from us, and got ready for whatever was to come. There were some punches thrown and, just as we got to a station, I pushed the lad and he fell over. He got up and the next thing I saw was a gun in my face. I thought, My gosh, this is it — my life is going to be over here on this train. But then one of the girls, who was quite big, grabbed him and pulled him away and took him off the train. She was really quite strong and I don't think the young boy wanted to mess with her. I was shaking and obviously very upset, but thankfully my tour and my life were able to continue," stated Ganguly recalling the incident.

PT2. 17/09/2017: DARK SECRETS OF INDIAN CRICKET THAT YOU NEVER KNEW BEFORE

IV.

Sultan of swing Wasim Akram revealed that teammate Waqar Younis wanted to get run-out to prevent Anil Kumble from picking up his historic 10th wicket in an innings at the Feroz Shah Kotla in 1999. After losing 9 wickets, the Pakistani team was left with Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis at the crease. Akram recalled how Waqar had discussed getting run-out. Here's how Akram replied to Younis... "You can't deny him the feat if he is destined for it. But I can assure you that I'm not going to give my wicket to Kumble. But, subsequently, it was me who gifted my wicket to Kumble."

V.

"Once when I was batting in Chennai on 300, I forgot the lyrics of a song. So, I called Ishant Sharma, who was the 12th man for that game, to the field and told him to get the lyrics of the song from my iPod, and he did that. Obviously, everyone thought that I had asked for 'drinks' from Ishant, but sometimes, the 12th man can be used in this way too! The song was, Tu Jaane Na," stated Sehwag.

VI.

India’s most wanted underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, who was introduced as a big businessman to the team had entered their dressing room and offered to gift every player a car if they won the match against Pakistan in the Sharjah Cup in 1987. The incident was revealed by former captain, Dilip Vengsarkar.

PT.1 17/09/2017: DARK SECRETS OF INDIAN CRICKET THAT YOU NEVER KNEW BEFORE

I.

Cricket, the most worshipped sport in the country has some of the deepest and darkest secrets of the sport playing out in the dressing rooms. While Virat Kohli openly revealed some of the inside secrets during a comedy show, here’s a list of the untold stories of Indian cricket that’ll take you by surprise for sure.
While many of these incidents are excerpts taken from autobiographies of cricketers, several others include intimate interviews. Either which way, they offer the cricket fans a peek into the lives of the cricketer’s and their dressing room gossips.

II.

Here are the excerpts from Sachin's autobiography... "Here I am a bit embarrassed to reveal a very personal secret relating to the Sri Lanka match (2003 ICC World Cup). On the eve of the match, I had a bad stomach and was feeling dehydrated... I also added a teaspoon of salt to the energy drinks, thinking it would help the recovery, and that caused a tummy upset. In fact, the situation was so bad that I had to bat with tissues inside my underwear. I even had to go back to the dressing room during one of the drink breaks and was feeling extremely uncomfortable in the middle."

III.

Way back in the year 1996, Shahid Afridi made his fastest ODI century in only 37 balls at the age of 16. Since Afridi lacked a proper cricket kit, he was given none other than Sachin Tendulkar's bat by Waqar Younis to play. "I had just got into Pakistani cricket team and during the practice session in Nairobi, Waqar Younis gave me a bat and said, play with this and see, it is Sachin's bat. I feel very honoured for playing with Sachin's bat in my first ODI match," stated Afridi.