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West Indies banking on their stalwarts to deliver again

S Sudarshanan03-Mar-2022

New Zealand

Overview
New Zealand couldn’t have chosen a better time to get into a winning habit. Their 4-1 ODI series win against India was followed by a mammoth 322-run chase against Australia in the warm-up game, with a loss to Pakistan in between. And the key factor is their opening combination, with New Zealand reuniting Suzie Bates and Sophie Devine after having tried seven different players in the spot since Bates was out injured in October 2020.Their batting is firing in unison and the promotion of Amelia Kerr to No. 3, starting from the series against India, is having the desired effect with Kerr in outstanding form. Lauren Down was fitting in well in their batting plans before being ruled out. But in Maddy Green and Brooke Halliday, they have players who could close out the innings with the bat, with Katey Martin also in the mix.The spin department has enough variety, with Frances Mackay’s offspin and Fran Jonas’ left-arm spin to complement Kerr’s legbreaks and ripping googlies. Lea Tahuhu’s batting coming good in recent times to go with her primary skill – bowling fast – allows New Zealand to have enough depth.Squad
Sophie Devine (capt), Amy Satterthwaite (vice-capt), Suzie Bates, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Hayley Jensen, Fran Jonas, Jess Kerr, Amelia Kerr, Frankie Mackay, Rosemary Mair, Katey Martin, Hannah Rowe, Lea Tahuhu, Georgia Plimmer | Travelling reserve: Molly PenfoldRecent form
Before winning the home series against India, New Zealand had lost their last four ODI series to Australia and England – both home and away – winning just two matches in them.Player to watch
Amelia Kerr‘s promotion in the batting order has worked wonders for New Zealand. She opted out of New Zealand’s tour to England in 2021 and the following Women’s Big Bash League to focus on her mental health. When she returned to play the Super Smash 2021-22, Kerr finished as the leading run-getter for Wellington Blaze, the runners-up, and had the third-highest wickets in the competition. She carried that form into the series against India and also in the second warm-up clash, finishing 92 not out in 75 balls.What the captain said
“There’s a number of us who were inspired by those players in that tournament [in 2000] and it’s pretty incredible to think here we are, some 20-odd years later, hosting our own World Cup and the opportunity to hopefully replicate what they did well back in 2000.”
Sophie DevineHayley Matthews and Deandra Dottin are two of West Indies’ batting mainstays•PCB

West Indies

Overview
With a core of Stafanie Taylor, Deandra Dottin, Hayley Matthews, Shakera Selman and Anisa Mohammed – throw in an Afy Fletcher, Chinelle Henry and a Chedean Nation – West Indies look formidable on paper, with enough experience to back the youth. They have a fairly strong line-up since Dottin took up a spot at the top of the order with Matthews shifting down to the middle. They have an able back-up for Anisa in Karishma Ramharack in the spin department. However, after their runners-up finish in the 2013 World Cup, they are yet to light up the stage in ODIs.Squad
Stafanie Taylor (capt), Anisa Mohammed (vice-capt), Aaliyah Alleyne, Shemaine Campbelle, Shamilia Connell, Deandra Dottin, Afy Fletcher, Cherry-Ann Fraser, Chinelle Henry, Kycia Knight, Hayley Matthews, Chedean Nation, Karishma Ramharack, Shakera Selman, Rashada Williams | Travelling reserves: Kaysia Schultz, Mandy Mangru, Jannillea GlasgowRecent form
Though West Indies lost the series 2-1 to South Africa recently, they had ended 2021 on a winning note, whitewashing Pakistan on their soil 3-0. They also began the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe with a win over Ireland before the tournament was cancelled because of Covid-19.Player to watch
Ever since she returned from her knee injury in 2021, Deandra Dottin has had a second wind, raking up scores and giving West Indies just the starts at the top of the order. She gave a taste of what teams could expect, when she struck a career-best and unbeaten 150 against South Africa in the first ODI and then hit the most runs in a Super Over – in men’s or women’s games – in the next game.What the captain said
“The youngsters just need to take whatever advice from the experienced players. We are here to always support the youngsters. A lot of us are getting older. So it would be nice to integrate those youngsters so that they could also gain experience.”
Stafanie Taylor

The Colorado Rockies have found wins hard to come by during the 2025 MLB season. A lot of the time, it's due to their own shortcomings or lapses in judgement.

They managed to escape with a win on Sunday against the Arizona Diamondbacks, 6–5, but they came dangerously close to throwing the game away. Juan Mejia was on the mound looking to secure the first save of his career, and he managed to do so, though in no ordinary fashion.

With two men out and runners on second and third, Mejia got Ketel Marte to hit a pop up in the infield. Rather than let his teammates make a play on the ball, Mejia took off from the mound and bolted towards first base to attempt to field the fly ball. Not expecting his pitcher to be in the area, Rockies first baseman Warming Bernabel also chased down the ball and ended up running straight through Mejia like a safety flattening an unsuspecting wide receiver.

Fortunately, Mejia was able to hold onto the ball despite taking the full brunt of a hit from his teammate. He remained on the ground for a few seconds before getting to his feet with a grin on his face and celebrating with his teammates.

His teammates shared a good laugh over the play in the aftermath, though they may have been wearing plenty different expressions on their faces had the game-winning run crossed the plate as a result of Mejia's unnecessary defensive efforts.

That's how you end a game, Rockies style.

Luke McCowan says Celtic need to show their character in Sunday’s Premier Sports Cup final against St Mirren at Hampden Park.

Wilfried Nancy became the first Hoops manager to lose his opening two matches when Italian giants Roma won 3-0 at Parkhead in the Europa League on Thursday night, which followed on from a 2-1 home defeat to leaders Hearts in the William Hill Premiership last weekend.

Celtic fans, some of whom booed at the end of the defeat by Roma, are approaching the final against the Buddies with more nerves than they would have done before the Frenchman took over from interim bosses Martin O’Neill and Shaun Maloney, who in turn had taken over from Brendan Rodgers.

McCowan calls for players and fans to stick together

McCowan, the 28-year-old midfielder, who joined from Dundee in August 2024, called for unity and a demonstration of the traits that have made the Parkhead club so successful in recent times.

He said: “I can’t really talk for the fans, but we are fully bought-in. We need to buy-in, it’s kind of non-negotiable.

“We need to back everyone in this building, regardless of who’s been playing well, who’s not.

“We are a team and we need to back each other through the good and the bad because everybody’s all high-fives and cuddles when we are winning but this team doesn’t go through two or three bad results and this is where the true characters are shown.

Worse than Engels: Nancy must drop Celtic flop who looks awful in new role

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ByDan Emery 3 days ago

“So we need just to be together and I know I’ve said so many times, stick together.

“It’s when you go through bad spells – personally I’ve done it with Dundee and Ayr – then we just need to kind of have that same attitude of work hard, move on to the next game.

“The games are coming thick and fast in this period and it’s a good thing that if you get one win it can propel you to get a few hopefully and we just need to start with that on Sunday.

“We just need to get on top of it again.”

Chelsea have now moved ahead of Arsenal in the race to sign Marseille striker Robinio Vaz, having opened talks, and a January offer is now being explored.

The Blues’ interest in signing a new striker perhaps stems from the slow start Liam Delap has made to life at Stamford Bridge, most recently failing to find the back of the net in the 2-0 victory at Burnley, before being replaced by Malo Gusto in the second half.

Michael Owen was critical of some aspects of the striker’s performance too, saying: “I do think in this situation he needs to be a little bit more unselfish, he probably could have passed it a couple of times.

“If he plays this ball in [to Pedro Neto] and makes a run to take the defender away, he will leave Neto with a one-on-one in this area. I think he’s got to do that instead of being a bit selfish and thinking he’s going to score a goal on his own. He takes a pot-shot from 25 yards and it’s not great.”

Ultimately, Enzo Maresca’s side prevailed regardless, but it was another poor performance from the 22-year-old, who is still yet to open his account since moving to west London, and a new centre-forward is being targeted for the January transfer window.

Chelsea make contact to sign Robinio Vaz

According to a report from Caught Offside, Chelsea have now opened talks over a deal for Marseille striker Vaz, having made contact with both the French club and the 18-year-old’s representatives ahead of a potential January move.

The Blues are exploring the possibility of making a formal bid for the youngster this winter, and they have moved ahead of London rivals Arsenal in the race for his signature, with the Gunners taking a more patient approach.

A deal would be relatively affordable, with the Ligue 1 side looking to hold out for €20m – €30m (£18m – £26m), but they are in no rush to cash-in, having already knocked back an offer from an unnamed European club.

The Frenchman has been a breakout star for Marseille this season, managing to become a first-team regular, having only missed one Ligue 1 game, and he has weighed in with four goals and two assists in 12 outings.

Scout Ben Mattinson also clearly believes the starlet has a lot of potential, having singled him out for high praise when giving an overview of his key strengths on X back in February.

Vaz could be a future star, but with a Premier League title push potentially on the cards, Chelsea could do with bringing in a striker with a little more experience in January, rather than yet another youngster.

Enzo Maresca now driving Chelsea move for £79m Premier League star Related Enzo Maresca now driving Chelsea move for "incredible" £79m Premier League star

The Italian is looking to sign a new defender, who is viewed as an ideal fit for his system.

Posts ByDominic Lund Nov 23, 2025

While their start to the season might suggest otherwise, West Ham United do have some seriously talented players in their squad.

For example, the likes of Freddie Potts, Lucas Paqueta, Mateus Fernandes and El Hadji Malick Diouf are all quality options.

However, when it comes to the Hammers’ most crucial player, it’s impossible to ignore Mr West Ham himself, Jarrod Bowen.

At his best, the Englishman is a force of nature, and so fans should be excited about reports linking the club with someone who could be Bowen 2.0.

West Ham target their next Bowen

Since moving to West Ham in 2020, Bowen has made 251 appearances for West Ham.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

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In that time, he’s provided 53 assists and scored 77 goals, including what will probably be the most important he’ll ever score, the winner against Fiorentina in the Conference League Final.

There can be no doubt that the Leominster-born international has been one of the greatest transfers the club have made in the modern era, and so it’s exciting to see that they might be about to make a similar one.

At least, that is according to a recent report from Sports Boom, which claims West Ham are interested in Scott Twine.

The report goes further, revealing that the Irons are in fact plotting an £8m swoop to sign the Bristol City star as soon as January.

However, the East Londoners are unlikely to get a free hit at the Englishman, as the report has also highlighted Leeds United and Wolverhampton Wanderers as interested parties.

With that said, even if it’s not a straightforward deal, West Ham should pursue Twine, as he could be a Bowen repeat.

Why Twine could be a Bowen repeat

Now, the first thing to point out is that, yes, Twine is primarily a midfielder and therefore plays a very different role and style compared to Bowen.

However, where he plays is not what makes this a potential repeat of the move for the 28-year-old.

Instead, one of the main similarities is that, were this deal to go through in January, it would be another example of the Hammers signing one of the most interesting English players from the Championship.

For example, in the half-season before his move to East London in 2020, the former Hull ace had racked up a monstrous tally of 17 goals and six assists in 32 games.

Twine’s 25/26

Appearances

17

Starts

17

Minutes

1318′

Goals

6

Assists

4

Goal Involvements per Match

0.58

Minutes per Goal Involvement

131.8

All Stats via Transfermarkt

Now, the Bristol star hasn’t been that much of a goal threat, but considering he is a midfielder, his tally of six goals and four assists in 17 appearances is still hugely impressive.

Moreover, while it would be foolish to expect the Swindon-born ace to be as good for the Irons as their captain has been over the years, there is at least one area of the game in which he’s arguably world-class: free-kicks.

For example, four of his 11 goals over the last two years have come from them, and when you see the quality of them, it’s hard to disagree with one content creator who has dubbed him “the best free kick taker in the world.”

With that said, Bristol’s manager, Gerhard Struber, has made clear that the 26-year-old “is not only a free-kick monster; he is also a really good transition player.”

Ultimately, while he isn’t going to be as transformative as Bowen has been, Twine could be another excellent signing from the Championship for West Ham, and given his price tag, a bit of a no-brainer.

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Posts ByJack Salveson Holmes Nov 26, 2025

Baseball is rapidly careening down a track that could lead to a very dark place.

On Sunday, the Los Angeles Dodgers continued their lavish spending by signing closer Tanner Scott to a four-year, $72 million deal. That move came days after 23-year-old Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki chose to join the Dodgers, which came a few months after the world champions added two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell on a five-year, $182 million contract. That followed a 2023 offseason during which L.A. spent roughly $1.2 billion on contracts. Which came after … you get the idea.

Let me first say the Dodgers are not the problem. The system is. Baseball is facing a jarring division between the haves and have-nots, and there is no sign of it slowing down. The gap between big-market teams and those in medium and small markets is only growing.

Any way you slice it, that is terrible for the game.

The Dodgers have used the financial might of their market to dwarf the competition. In the last 12 months, the franchise has added four nine-figure contracts. Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Snell will combine to make more than $1.3 billion over the course of their contracts, and they all play the same position. Add those deals to the nine-figure agreements signed by Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Will Smith, and you've got seven players being paid a combined $2 billion.

Perhaps the most stunning part of L.A.’s spending spree has been the incredible amount of deferred money involved. The team currently has about $1 billion in deferrals still on the books. A common refrain to counter outrage at the concentration of players the Dodgers have hoarded is that any owner and franchise could be doing this. That's far from reality. When the rival San Diego Padres tried to keep up with Los Angeles's spending in 2023, MLB stepped in and all but outright told them to stop.

Fans should expect owners to spend and be competitive, but they can't ask them to lose money on their teams annually. It would be bad business not to at least break even every season. The problem is that thanks solely to geography, the Dodgers and New York’s two teams have a massive built-in advantage.

Former captain makes 94 but ends up on the losing side at Northwood

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay09-Jul-2025

Former Middlesex all-rounder James Fuller returned to haunt his old team with a crucial unbeaten 43 from 26 balls as Hampshire squeezed over the line at Merchant Taylors’ School to keep their Vitality Blast hopes alive.The Hawks were under pressure at 157 for seven, needing 31 from 13, when the final ball of Noah Cornwell’s stint sailed over Fuller for four byes plus a no-ball – and momentum swung as the batter capitalised on the resulting free hit to crack six off Leus du Plooy.Stephen Eskinazi, who stood down as Middlesex’s T20 captain earlier in the day, led the way for his side with an outstanding knock of 94 from 48, sharing partnerships of 69 from 40 and 82 from 51 with Kane Williamson and Max Holden respectively.But Hawks seamer Scott Currie (four for 32) removed both Eskinazi and Holden, triggering a middle-order collapse as Middlesex shed seven wickets for 34 and fell below the 200-plus total that had looked likely.Put in to bat, the home side made swift progress in the powerplay as Williamson (25 from 22) flicked Sonny Baker neatly over long leg for six and Eskinazi plundered 20 from Eddie Jack’s first over.Benny Howell made the breakthrough with his fourth delivery as Williamson was bowled swinging across the line, but runs continued to flow from Eskinazi’s bat and the opener raised his third half-century of the tournament from 23 balls with a straight-driven six.Holden (33 from 26) played second fiddle, taking 18 balls to register his first boundary, but Eskinazi’s timing and placement was exemplary as he cut Currie for successive fours, with a hundred looking inevitable.However, Eskinazi was denied when Currie returned to rip out his off stump – the first of five wickets in 17 balls as Middlesex faltered during the death overs, clambering above 180 thanks to a couple of late boundaries from Luke Hollman.James Vince (27 from 17) began briskly when Hampshire replied, pulling Zafar Gohar for six and punching a string of back-foot boundaries off the seamers before he fell to a low diving catch at mid-off by opposite number Du Plooy.The new Middlesex skipper took a skier to dismiss Tom Prest in the next over and, when Toby Albert presented Hollman (two for 21) with a routine return catch, the visitors were uncertainly placed at 68 for three.Joe Weatherley batted aggressively, clubbing both Gohar and Ryan Higgins for straight sixes in his 41 from 22 but, when he failed to counter Hollman’s googly, the Hawks were back under pressure.Cornwell and Higgins picked up further wickets, but the left-armer’s lapse tilted the contest back towards Hampshire and Fuller finished the job with two balls to spare, hitting Higgins for successive boundaries.

Visitors recover from 1 for 2 to post 206 for 5 and maintain Trent Bridge winning run

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay07-Jun-2025

Worcestershire 206 for 5 (Hose 95, Kashif 51) beat Nottinghamshire 181 for 7 (Moores 39, Taylor 2-36) by 25 runsWorcestershire Rapids bounced back from a Friday night home defeat to North Group leaders Northamptonshire Steelbacks with a third consecutive Trent Bridge victory in the Vitality Blast, winning by a comfortable 25 runs.Adam Hose clocked up six sixes in a superb 51-ball 95 with Kashif Ali hitting 51 off 35 as the Rapids totalled a challenging 206 for 5 after being asked to bat first as the rain that had washed out the scheduled Blast Women’s game earlier thankfully disappeared.Tom Moores (39 off 27), Joe Clarke (31 off 24) and Liam Patterson-White (39 off 19) tried to keep the Outlaws in contention but Worcestershire’s bowlers served their team well by taking wickets at key moments, two each from Tom Taylor and Jacob Duffy, with Australian paceman Ben Dwarshius (1 for 23) outstanding at the death, conceding only 11 in his last two overs as the home side fell short at 181 for 7.Worcestershire’s total was all the more remarkable given they were 1 for 2 after seven balls as Brett D’Oliveira, stumbling out of his ground after keeping out a sharp delivery from Daniel Sams, was run out by the bowler, and Ed Pollock’s slog-sweep picked out deep backward square.Kashif’s aggression restored some order from a Rapids point of view but after hitting four fours and three sixes he perished for 51 at 74 for 3 in the 10th, skying one to long-on off legspinner Calvin Harrison.But Hose now took the initiative, clearing the ropes three times in going to 52 from 32, with Ethan Brookes backing him up with 32 from 19 before finding Sams on the midwicket boundary after the fourth-wicket pair had added 77 in 38 balls.With three more maximums, Hose advanced to within one blow of a third T20 hundred before he was leg before attempting to ramp Dillon Pennington in the last over but 18 off nine from Dwarshius took the Worcestershire total past 200 for the fourth time at Trent Bridge and the sixes tally to 11.The Outlaws chased down 227 here just over a week ago but were in trouble at 44 for 3 in the seventh. Lyndon James clubbed to mid-on in the opening over, Jack Haynes pulled sixes off Dwarshius and Duffy but skewed a slower ball from the latter to mid-off and Moises Henriques was easily stumped off former Nottinghamshire left-arm spinner Fateh Singh.Clarke’s attempt to kick-start a faltering effort brought him a second six as he slog-swept Singh but his attempt to clear extra cover saw him fall to a well-judged catch by D’Oliveira, Sams sliced to backward point and Moores fell to a similar shot, after which Patterson-White’s lusty blows proved not enough.

They are all but certain to play two spinners; the second spinner could be Washington to provide the batting depth

Sidharth Monga30-Jun-2025

Jasprit Bumrah is fit and available, but will he play?•Getty Images

Jasprit Bumrah is fit and available for the second Test against England, but India are not giving away whether he will play at Edgbaston, given he is likely to feature in only three of the five fixtures in the series.India are also all but certain to play two spinners at Edgbaston, given the patchy grass on the pitch, which is dry underneath. The second spinner, though, could be offspin allrounder Washington Sundar as India seem worried about batting depth.”Bumrah is ready to play,” India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said two days before the Edgbaston Test. “It’s how we manage these four Tests. So if we feel like there’s value in playing him in this Test, we’ll make that call at the very last minute. I’m talking about weather, how the pitch is going to play, are we better off holding him back for Lord’s and maybe Manchester or The Oval? So it’s all those factors, but you’ve seen him train yesterday, he trained a little bit today. It’s not like he’s not fit to play. It’s just trying to fit those puzzle pieces to get the most out of what we know we do have from him.”The weather forecasts in England are best not taken as gospel, but there is rain predicted on days one, four and five. There is a chance, given the flat nature of pitches in England of late, that the weather might not leave the teams enough time for a result. Keeping that in mind, India could be thinking of preserving Bumrah for later in the series.Related

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They also believe the dry nature of the pitch brings their slower bowlers into play. “It’s just which two we play,” ten Doeschate said. “And that goes back to juggling the batting depth. All three spinners are bowling very nicely. Washi is batting very nicely. So it’s just which combination do we go with? The allrounder-spinner or the out-and-out spinner? And obviously you have to play the bowling allrounder again.”So there are so many different variables. The wicket has got 11 mils [mm of grass] at the moment, 11 or 12, I can’t remember which of the two, but it’s quite grassy and patchy. It’s quite dry underneath, but there’s also rain forecast for Wednesday, so again trying to weigh up the two options of how we want to go attack-wise, but I’m pretty sure two spinners will play in this Test.”Washington Sundar could be the second spinner•AFP/Getty ImagesAt the start of the series, captain Shubman Gill had said he was prepared to play four tailenders to go for 20 wickets as cheaply as possible, but ten Doeschate seemed to suggest that was easier said than done. When asked how seriously they considered that option, given the struggles with team balance since the start of the Australia tour, ten Doeschate said: “We have [discussed playing four tailenders]. And when you’re 430 for 3, it’s absolutely fine, but when you’re 200 for 5, it’s a very different ball game.”So, in terms of managing the strategy there, we’re looking at each bowler individually, what we feel they can get wickets wise, and then it’s just trying to balance up and trying to calculate as best you can what the best chance of getting into the Test match, but you need 20 wickets. So the attacking part is obviously finding someone who can get wickets as well, and we are grappling with that. We don’t stop talking about that. We’re trying to figure it out.”Reddy ‘very close to getting a game’After Yashasvi Jaiswal dropped three catches at Headingley, India rejigged their slip cordon during their practice sessions in Birmingham. The first three slips were the same – Karun Nair, KL Rahul and Gill – but Sai Sudharsan and Nitish Kumar Reddy alternated at fourth slip and gully. Ten Doeschate said the change had nothing to do with Headingley but was about developing all-round fielders, freeing Jaiswal for short-leg practice. However, he did say Reddy was back in contention. Shardul Thakur, preferred to Reddy in Leeds, ended up bowling only 16 overs and didn’t contribute with the bat.Nitish Kumar Reddy has a chat with Morne Morkel•Getty Images”He’s [Reddy] very close to getting a game,” ten Doeschate said. “Obviously, he was fantastic in Australia, coming into the team and playing the way he did. We just felt that on balance, for the last game, we wanted to go with the bowling allrounder, which we thought Shardul was slightly ahead on the bowling front. We’re looking at ways of rejigging the puzzle here so we can get a batting allrounder in and obviously Nitish is our premium batting allrounder at the moment. So I would say he’s a very good chance to play this Test.”Not having a proper seam-bowling allrounder has been a headache for India, who have not had success juggling batting depth and bowling penetration. The unfortunate condition of Bumrah playing only three Tests due to workload management complicates the issue. When asked whether there was a temptation to play Bumrah at Edgbaston because 2-0 can be extremely difficult to come back from, ten Doeschate said: “It is, but we also feel we can go 1-1 or keep the score at 1-0 without Jasprit, and then again, that’s putting the eggs in the back end of the series. We’re going to need him at some stage as well. You have got to decide when you’re going to play your strongest suit.”And that’s what I was talking about the weather and all that, but we feel that whatever we put out there, we can compete in this Test match, and you know, we came pretty close without Jasprit in the second innings when he didn’t get any wickets, and you can’t win the Test series with just one bowler in any case, and the bowlers are very well aware they need to chip in with wickets. Sorry, I can’t give you a more firm answer, but we’ll work out in the next 48 or 24 hours how we’re going to manage Jasprit.”

Virat Kohli’s enduring love for Test cricket and his tireless efforts to champion the game’s oldest and most demanding format will be a defining part of his legacy, according to his India team-mate Cheteshwar Pujara.In a chat with ESPNcricinfo following Kohli’s retirement from Test cricket after a remarkable 14-year, 123-match career, Pujara reflected on the values Kohli brought to the longest format.”He paid a lot of attention to Test format in the era where all the youngsters were looking to play more of white-ball cricket,” Pujara said. “For Virat, the ultimate format of the game was Test cricket and for that, he worked really hard.”Related

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Pujara highlighted Kohli’s transformational influence on the Indian team’s fitness standards, especially after he took over as full-time captain in January 2015.”When he started leading the team from 2015 onwards, that’s the time when he brought in the fitness culture in the Indian team. All the teams were trying to work hard on their fitness, but in the Indian team, the fitness had to improve and that was the time when the shift did come in.”The number of fast bowlers who came into the Indian team at that time also had to work on their fitness. The entire team started working on the fitness and at the same time, Virat paid a lot of attention to the Test format and he wanted the team to be one of the best in the world.”3:48

Pujara: ‘Under Kohli’s captaincy, everyone started believing we can win overseas’

One of Kohli’s most defining qualities as captain, according to Pujara, was his relentless focus on taking 20 wickets to win Test matches, even if it meant having to play one less batter at times. Pujara himself had to miss out on a few instances, such as the first two Tests of the 2015 tour to Sri Lanka.”From the time he was in charge, he always wanted to take 20 wickets,” Pujara said. “So the intensity on the field was very important. And for each and every player to put in those suggestions to take those 20 wickets, it was important that everyone came together and then we started working towards the goal.”He wanted to create that environment and atmosphere on the field where the batters who are batting, they felt the pressure. They felt that we were hunting in the pack. We are on the field to pick wickets. We are not just trying to be there and wait for the moment to pick a wicket. We are there to pick wickets at any time.”2:33

Pujara: Kohli putting pressure on bowlers helped me a lot

Pujara pointed to the 2021 Lord’s Test against England as a vivid example of Kohli’s leadership and aggression. Before India went out to bowl on the final day, with time seemingly running out, Kohli delivered a rousing speech, urging his bowlers to give England “60 overs of hell”. The result was a dramatic 151-run victory that gave India a 1-0 lead in the series.”That was one of the best victories I have been part of,” Pujara said. “Because no one thought that India can win that Test match. It was a brave declaration on day five where only 55-60 overs were left and on a pitch which looked a flat pitch, where to bowl a team out was a big challenge.”Credit goes to the way everyone performed, the way bowlers bowled, the way Virat led the team, and even the way team management supported that call, because it was important to declare. There are times where you feel like it’s a flat pitch, there’s no point wasting our energy, but that was a brave call and we ended up winning that Test match.”Asked to pick his favourite Kohli innings, Pujara singled out the combative Perth century during the 2018-19 tour to Australia, where India won 2-1 to record their first-ever Test-series win Down Under.”Unfortunately, we ended up losing that Test match, but on a pitch like that, which was a fiery pitch where there was a lot of lateral movement, there was enough in the pitch to trouble the batters,” Pujara said. “But he came out aggressively, started playing those straight drives, those classic Kohli cover drives, and the way he played the pull shot, because there were times where he was troubled by the pull shot in the earlier games.”But after that he realised he had to pick the right length to play the pull and hook shot. He came out on top and he played that brilliant innings. It’s one of his favourite innings, which I’ve seen when I was playing with him.”