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SA v IND, 2nd Test: Unbeaten 96 stands in top three influencing innings played for Proteas, reckons Elgar

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South Africa skipper Dean Elgar reckons his unbeaten 96 in spearheading the chase of 240 against India in the second Test stands in the top three influencing innings he has ever played for the team. He also praised his team for pushing through a lot in the last four days in order to square the three-match series 1-1.

“It has been a fair innings, isn’t it I guess. Personally, it is right up there. It’s contributed in a big way on the win and speaks a lot more than anything when it comes to personal game or accolades. I am extremely glad that as a captain, I could be to end and lead us over the line, which was a kind of do-or-die match for us. I would say, it was right up there, maybe in the top three influencing innings I have played for the Proteas,” said Elgar while replying to a query from IANS in the virtual press conference.

Elgar, adjudged Player of the Match for his unbeaten 96 in the second innings, stitched partnerships of 47, 46, 82 and 68 not out in acing the chase of 240. While marching forward in the chase, Elgar mentioned that not thinking about the result helped the batters in focusing on sending the loose balls to the boundary rope.

“I don’t think we ever once thought of looking at the end result. I think we needed to start well as a batting unit. Myself and Rassie had to start well for the first half an hour and then we could maybe capitalise on all the few loose deliveries, which actually worked in our favour. I think we respected the areas they bowled and then there were some areas where we put the ball away. I don’t think there was a lot to gain out of a few hours of no play today.”

Once play resumed, Elgar stood tall and carried his bat throughout the innings. “We might have lost like four wickets and then we could have been in trouble. So, I took a lot of responsibility within the batting and almost said to myself last night that I will be there till the end. As a senior batter, someone who has been around and now as a captain, I have to take responsibility. It’s now going to always work out but it did today. I am glad I finished the game off as it is a highly stressful and intense Test series against the Indian side and I don’t think you will expect anything else against them.”

Asked about his initial feelings on cruising to a seven-wicket win, their first victory against India at the Wanderers, Elgar remarked, “Hasn’t really sunk in yet. First of all, it’s a Test win for South Africa. I mean, we have fought long and hard for this kind of victory. The last four days have had pushed us through different levels and different areas within our team. The guys have responded brilliantly with regards to certain requests that I have obviously asked us to do. Sitting here, it’s nice and great to know that you have accomplished a Test win.”

The 34-year-old signed off by stressing upon sticking to the basics and gameplans not going to change much ahead of the third Test at Cape Town. “The basics of the game were something that we emphasised on nicely. We spoke long and hard about intensely trying to change the game-plan for our batters and focused on certain areas that we can be a lot better at than we weren’t very good in the first Test. There were definitely areas we focused at.”

“Going into Cape Town, I think we have to over-emphasise and going to be pretty much on it in the same kind of game-plan. I don’t see too much changes into game-plan going into Cape Town.”

International

CT 2025: India to take on Pakistan on Feb 23, likely to play in Colombo or Dubai: Sources

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New Delhi, Dec 19: The much-awaited clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan in the Champions Trophy 2025 will be played on February 23 with Colombo and Dubai front-runners to play host for India’s matches in the tournament being played in hybrid format. The development comes after the ICC Board said that “India and Pakistan matches hosted by either country at ICC Events during the 2024-2027 rights cycle will be played at a neutral venue.”

“India will take on Pakistan at a neutral venue on February 23, 2025. ICC looking at Colombo and Dubai to host their matches.”

The Champions Trophy is scheduled to be played in February and March 2025. Meanwhile, ICC said the schedule for the marquee tournament will be confirmed in the coming days.

Pakistan are the defending champions of the tournament, having defeated India by 180 runs in the final at The Oval in 2017. Both teams last played against each other in the T20 World Cup in New York earlier this year which India won by six runs and went on to claim their second silverware in the format.

Due to the strained political relations between the two neighbouring countries, India and Pakistan only play each other in international events including World Cups and Asia Cup. The last bilateral series between India and Pakistan was held in 2012-13 when the latter toured India for the five-match white-ball series.

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It’s OFFICIAL! All India vs Pakistan Matches At ICC Events To Be Played At Neutral Venue Till 2027

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India and Pakistan matches hosted by either country at ICC Events during the 2024-2027 rights cycle will be played at a neutral venue, the ICC Board confirmed on Thursday, 19 December. The schedule for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is set to be confirmed soon, with Pakistan aiming to defend the title they won in 2017.

The eight-team event will feature Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, and South Africa, alongside hosts Pakistan.

This will apply to the upcoming ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 (hosted by Pakistan), set to be played in February and March 2025, as well as the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 (hosted by India) and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 (hosted by India and Sri Lanka).

It was also announced that the PCB has been awarded hosting rights of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2028, where neutral venue arrangements will also apply. Cricket Australia is set to host one of the senior ICC women’s events during the period 2029 to 2031.

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‘Our dream is getting fulfilled’: Coach Sumit Bhatia elated to see Kho Kho going global

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New Delhi, Dec 16: Coach Sumit Bhatia is all pumped up for the first edition of the Kho Kho World Cup scheduled to take place from January 13-19, 2025. Bhatia, who holds a distinct record of being the only head coach to have won the Asian Championship twice, believes that this historical step is an indication of the realisation of the dream to take the sport to the international level and help it gain global recognition.

Having been honoured with the best coach award by the Delhi government, Bhatia has been a part of various Indian teams’ success, including the 2016 and 2023 Asian Kho Kho Championship victories, and has trained players like Nasreen Shaikh and Sarika Sudhakar Kale. Both of them have been Arjuna Awardees.

Nasreen, who is also a part of the World Cup camp, is the only player who has played in two Asian Championships and won the gold. The coach-student duo is now gearing up for the global event.

Sharing how the journey of Kho Kho World Cup’s inception, the coach said, “We organised an international camp here before COVID happened, in 2020. Coaches and players from 16 countries came here and we gave them training. Now they will be coming here for the World Cup but this campaign started in that camp”.

He further said, “Around 30-35 countries were willing to play the tournament but we picked the best 20 teams for both men and women. Some countries have single teams while some have double teams but a total of 24 countries will be participating in the tournament. It was our dream to take Kho Kho to the international level and now we can see that our dream is getting fulfilled.”

He also lauded the launch of the Ultimate Kho Kho League and shared how the franchise-based model has helped the players and coaches gain recognition, while also bringing forward grassroot talent.

“When the Ultimate Kho Kho league started, I also joined Telegu Yodhas as their head coach and we also played the final. Players have gotten exposure through the league and it’s not just financial. Earlier we used to hesitate while admitting being a Kho Kho coach but today our players introduce us as their coach,” said Bhatia.

He added, “The league got so much coverage that wherever we go, the players are approached for autographs. So the platform of the league started a new world for both coaches and players and now not just India but the entire world knows us. Earlier we used to tell people about our game but now they know what is Kho Kho and Ultimate Kho Kho league and are also waiting for the third season.”

Bhatia also discussed the impact of sports science on Kho Kho and lauded the newly introduced technology and said, “We have benefitted a lot from it. Sometimes we don’t understand why a player is not performing well. But with the introduction of sports science, we now know about the details of the problem.

“For example, a player might be facing issues with his left leg while sitting and so, it gives us an opportunity to work on that weakness… Sports science has helped us in identifying the accuracy and weakness of a player. So it’s very beneficial for us.”

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