Month: January 2024

Diversified conglomerate ITC on Wednesday announced that it has joined hands with the Argentine Football Association (AFA) to promote its snacks, pasta and noodles brands.
The collaboration between ITC and AFA will be for a one-year period under which the members of the World Cup-winning football team will endorse the Kolkata-headquartered company’s food brands.
ITC Foods vice-president & head of marketing (snacks, noodles and pasta) Suresh Chand said that although the company has been a late entrant in the FMCG business, it is already number two in the instant noodles market and enjoys substantial market share in the snacks segment.
“The food segment comprising snacks, noodles and pasta is growing at a healthy rate. The company’s association with AFA will help promote its food brands since the World Cup-winning team has a strong fanbase in India, particularly in Kolkata,” Chand said.

Sarfaraz and Musheer are brother [X.com]
U-19 Indian star Musheer Khan revealed taking inspiration from his brother and prolific Mumbai scorer Sarfaraz Khan’s greatest day before producing a brilliant century in the Super Six round clash against New Zealand at the ongoing ICC U-19 World Cup in South Africa.
As he smashed the Junior BlackCaps for a substantial knock of 131 off 126 deliveries and helped India U-19s dominate another opposition in the tournament, Musheer revealed speaking to his brother Sarfaraz a day earlier on Monday (January 29) when he was finally handed a maiden India call-up. 
After waiting and waiting painstakingly for the last three seasons despite a tremendous run with the bat for Mumbai and India A, it took an injury to KL Rahul for Sarfaraz to get a nod as a replacement pick for the second Test against England in Visakhapatnam. 
Sarfaraz has broken the door down with three exceptional seasons in the Ranji Trophy for India and produced a great ton for India A versus the England Lions in the last match, having missed out on a century in the earlier encounter versus the visitors. The 26-year-old averages 69.85 after 45 first-class matches in his young career. 
“My brother called me yesterday and told me that he has been selected in the Indian squad for the 2nd Test. I want to congratulate him for this,”Musheer said after winning the ‘Player of the Match’ against New Zealand U-19s in Bloemfontein as quoted by Cricbuzz. 
The junior Khan tributed his century to brother Sarfaraz, who could be in for a much-anticipated Test debut in Visakhapatnam if he pips fellow uncapped middle-order batter and Madhya Pradesh cricketer Rajat Patidar in the reckoning. 
The next Test against England starts on February 2 in Visakhapatnam, the same day the Indian U-19 play their next Super Six round fixture against Nepal in Bloemfontein. Both Sarfaraz and Musheer will be keen to seize their opportunity.

NewsHe will be available for the team’s last game of the Sylhet leg, against Khulna Tigers on February 3

The last time India fell 0-1 behind after the first Test of a home series was in February 2021, coincidentally also against England. Much like Ollie Pope produced an innings for the ages last week in Hyderabad, then skipper Joe Root uncorked a magnificent double century in the first of two Tests in Chennai to help his side pull off a 227-run triumph, not just putting England 1-0 up but also Indias prospects of making the final of the inaugural World Test Championship in jeopardy.
Indian captain Rohit Sharma with teammate Virat Kohli(PTI)
Enter Rohit Sharma to the rescue in the second of two matches at Chepauk. Having made just 6 and 12 in the first Test, the Mumbaikar unleashed a monstrous 161 in the first innings of the second, a masterclass in the art of negotiating spin on a tricky surface even on day one. In less than five and a half hours, he had subtly transferred the pressure back on England. India went on to complete a commanding 317-run victory, rode on that momentum to win the next two outings (both in Ahmedabad), seal the series 3-1 and take their appointed place in the WTC final.
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It’s to Rohit again that India will turn for inspiration in the second of five Tests starting in Visakhapatnam on Friday. Three years back, Rohit was a senior batter, but nothing more. Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and his deputy Ajinkya Rahane populated the middle order with the spunky, rumbunctious Rishabh Pant lending aggression at No. 6. None of this quartet is available now Pujara and Rahane have been superfluous for a while now, Pant is still recovering from the horrific road accident of 13 months back and Kohli has taken leave of absence from the first two Tests. As such, the onus is almost entirely on Rohit to come to the party, both as the most experienced and accomplished batter in this line-up and as the captain of the ship.
It’s been a roller-coaster last few months for the Indian skipper. Determined to wrap his hands around the 50-over World Cup, he was the enforcer in October and November, producing one terrific impact knock after another including in the final, where the rest didnt quite add up and Travis Head left Indias dreams in tatters. Rohit had invested so much in that campaign that he was emotionally drained and spent once the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow proved elusive.
He did pull himself together to help India square the Test series in South Africa earlier this month after losing the first match, then returned to the T20 set-up after 14 months to overturn two successive ducks with a terrific fifth century in the final match against Afghanistan. Rohit has blown hot and cold since the World Cup, but now his bat must start firing, and immediately, if India arent left with too much to do over the next few weeks.
Rohit hasnt been his unusual creative self as captain in the last month; in Centurion, with South Africa 49 for one at lunch on the second day in reply to Indias 245, he started with Shardul Thakur and debutant Prasidh Krishna as Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj patrolled the outfield. Dean Elgar cashed in on the flurry of bouquet balls to race past fifty and by the time Bumrah was summoned again, the bird had flown. In Hyderabad too, Rohit was plentiful more defensive than normal, setting conservative fields even at the start of Englands second innings, when they were 190 behind, and guilty of ball-chasing with Pope allowed to sweep and reverse as he liked.
It’s incumbent upon Rohit, especially with KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja too relegated to the sidelines, to seize the bull by the horns. In Hyderabad, he got off to starts in both innings but failed to convert either effort into a substantial innings. Perhaps a return to Visakhapatnam will reinvigorate him; it was here that, in his first Test as opener in October 2019 against South Africa, he made hundreds in both innings and earned himself a fresh lease of life in the red-ball format.
Rohits captaincy is not under any threat, but for a proud competitor, the collective meltdown in Hyderabad will have come as a bitter pill to swallow. His captaincy has been compared unfavourably with Kohlis; whether Rohit is aware of that or not, thats unfair on a usually strong tactician who has drawn from his predecessor while still charting his own path and establishing himself as a strong, empathetic leader of men. Defeat in Hyderabad must rankle. Will retribution be swift and immediate?

Rathour: ‘Gill, Iyer, Jaiswal will eventually get big runs’

City police on Wednesday executed a non-bailable arrest warrant against former cricketer Prashant Vaidya in a cheque-bouncing case.
Prashant Vaidya
Vaidya, who played four One Day Internationals for India in the mid-1990s, was produced before a court which released him on a surety bond, a police official said.
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He had allegedly purchased steel from a local trader and issued a cheque which bounced, following which the trader demanded that he make fresh payment, said inspector Vitthalsingh Rajput of Bajaj Nagar police station.
The cricketer allegedly refused to pay, so the trader moved the court which issued an NBW against him for skipping court hearings, the official said. Vaidya currently heads the cricket development committee of the Vidarbha Cricket Association.
Vaidya was also associated with the Mumbai Indians as a talent scout for MI junior. During his playing days, Vaidya was a right-arm fast bowler who represented Vidarbha and Bengal.
In his short international career, he picked up four wickets in as many ODIs.
In the domestic circuit, Vaidya picked up 171 wickets in 56 first-class matches.

With England taking an early lead over India in the five-match series at Hyderabad, wicketkeeper-batter Ben Foakes has reopened the pitch debate by recalling his team’s previous tour of the Asian nation. Gearing up to keep wickets for England in the 2nd Test at Visakhapatnam, Foakes opined that the Indian pitches are one of the hardest for wicketkeepers in the longest format.
England wicketkeeper Ben Foakes celebrates the dismissal of India’s Srikar Bharat (PTI)
After folding for a below-par total of 246 in its first essay, Ben Stokes and Co. bounced back by registering a match-winning second innings total of 436 in the series opener. Premier batter Ollie Pope smashed a record-setting 196 while debutant Tom Hartley picked up seven wickets in the 2nd innings to seal a famous win for England over India at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Gloveman Foakes scored only 38 runs in the entire Test match against India.
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However, the Englishman earned plaudits for his wicketkeeping skills in the series opener against hosts India. Gloveman Foakes produced the stumpings Ravichandran Ashwin and Mohammed Siraj in the 2nd innings at Hyderabad. In his 112-run stand with on-song Pope, the wicketkeeper-batter chipped in with a crucial 34-run knock.
Speaking to ESPNCricinfo ahead of the 2nd Test against India, Foakes opened up about playing his first Test in 11 months at Hyderabad. “In conditions like this, it’s about trying to think on your feet and learn because it’s not natural conditions (for me). I’ve obviously kept away a lot and kept to spinners, but I find that Indian pitches, with the variable bounce, are up there with the hardest. The more extreme the conditions you know things are occasionally going to wrong so you just have to mentally strong enough to put it out of your mind,” Foakes said.
Foakes was also a part of England’s side that toured India in the 2021 season. England upstaged India in the Test series opener at the time. However, the visitors ended up losing all three matches of the series following a rare win over the hosts in 2021. “All three were probably the worst pitches I’ve batted on. Going into that, I was thinking, ‘These are horrific wickets — I just need to find a way to stay in’,” Foakes recalled.