'It's about believing we're good enough' - Aaron Finch

A matter of weeks ago, Australia's touring team arrived in India with quiet optimism but little else. There had been scarcely a break since a draining home summer, and in the case of Aaron Finch, Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis, all participants in the Big Bash League final, only a few snatched hours of sleep before they were on the plane to India.

Benefiting from the rare format continuity, the T20 side emerged victorious in the two-match entree, but after a pair of opening defeats in Vizag and Bangalore, the second from a position where the Australians really should have won, it appeared that both the ODI sides; time in the wilderness would be continuing.

Finch's side had other ideas however, and over the ensuing three matches something notable emerged. Suddenly, Australia looked to be balanced, confident and capable, able to win game on three different pitches and in a variety of scenarios. Ashton Turner's fireworks in Mohali were undoubtedly the highlight, taking the team coached by Justin Langer into the sort of territory that will cause even the World Cup fancies England to be worried, but there was much to savour in Ranchi and Delhi also.

Most importantly, the Australians have emerged from India with belief in their plans and their ability, whether it was in putting runs on the board beyond the opponent's reach or chasing down a mighty total in Mohali that was also kept within reach by the excellent late innings bowling of Pat Cummins. Spin bowling has also been a feature: both Adam Zampa and Nathan Lyon can expect World Cup inclusion on the strength of their displays here.

"The resilience and fight that we showed being down 0-2, it would have been easy to roll over in those small moments in the game, just let them drift away and India win the series," Finch said. "But the fight that we showed, we've had our backs against the walls for quite a while now so I'm really proud of the group.

"From 2-0 down to win 3-2 is pretty special. I've been coming here for a while now trying to win and haven't, so have a lot of Australian players, so it's a special moment. People have written us off for quite a while now. We always knew that the plans and the style that we wanted to play are all there, can win us the World Cup, win us big series against great teams and India are definitely a great team.

"It's about ourselves believing we're good enough and sticking to our game plan. We did that for four of the five games and India were too good in a close one in Nagpur. To get over the line in three of them was a great series all round."

Reflecting on how Australia had found the right balance, albeit with a combination of circumstances dating back to the bans on Steven Smith and David Warner, and then more recently an injury to Marcus Stoinis that allowed Turner his chance, Finch reflected on the fact that the selectors had looked for a better combination of heavy hitters and strike rotators, namely Peter Handscomb and Usman Khawaja.

"If you go in with all attacking players in these conditions you're going to struggle, because we know the wickets slow up and the quality of Chahal, Kuldeep, Jadeja these guys they're too good to just walk out and blast them out of the park," Finch said. "You need good batsmanship on these wickets and guys who know how to play situations."

Another man with something to prove was Cummins, who did not enjoy being bullied by England's top order in the home ODI series a little more than a year ago and has subsequently pointed out that he needed more time to hone his white-ball skills. In India, Cummins was granted the new ball for the first time in some years and used it expertly before returning to the crease later in the innings with equally strong effect.

"I've played a little bit of one-day cricket before but it felt like I hadn't really clicked in this format," Cummins said. "It felt like I bowled well in the Australian summer, so glad it keeps on clicking. Hopefully it continues for the World Cup.

"We always seem to peak around the World Cup. I wouldn't want to be a selector, it's going to be a tough job whittling the team down to 15 and there are obviously a few to come back as well. Especially the batsmen, I thought the way they played the spin let alone the quicks, to get those scores on these kind of wickets, they made it look a lot easier than they were."

As far as selection is concerned, Cummins isn't wrong. From a time a few weeks ago when Australia looked forlornly towards the returns of Smith and Warner. The success of the India tour now means that the suspended pair will have to do something many have wondered about in the 11 and a half months since they were ruled out: actually earn their places.

PCB takes 'strong notice' of India's army caps

The PCB has taken "strong notice" of India's use of army camouflage caps during their third ODI against Australia in Ranchi, urging the ICC to take action against the BCCI.

MS Dhoni, who is an honorary lieutenant colonel in the Indian territorial army, distributed the caps to the team before the toss. The move was initiated as a way to pay tribute to those killed in the terror attack in Pulwama last month. The BCCI had approached the ICC before going ahead with the plan, and the ICC confirmed to ABOCricinfo that permission had been granted as it was part of a charity fundraising effort.

"We have strongly taken up the matter with the ICC," PCB chairman Ehsan Mani told reporters in Karachi. "There is absolutely no misunderstanding in the ICC about our position. We believe that cricket and sports should not be used for politics and we have said this very clearly. Their [India] credibility in the cricketing world has gone down very badly."

"There should not be any ambiguity as we are taking this very strongly. We don't do politics, neither we do we use cricket for politics"

EHSAN MANI

India's captain Virat Kohli had explained at the toss in Ranchi that donning the caps were meant to encourage countrymen to donate to the National Defence Fund to help with the education of the martyrs' dependents.

"This is to pay respect to the martyrs of the Pulwama attack and their families," Kohli said. "All the players have decided to donate their match fees from this particular game to the National Defence Fund. I, as the captain of the team, would urge everyone in the country to do the same, donate how much ever they can to the National Defence Fund and help in the education and well-being of the families and the children of those who lost their lives in the attack. So this is a very special cap and a very special game indeed."

Mani, however, insisted that ICC should take "strong action" against India, especially as there was already precedent for the same.

Moeen Ali, the England allrounder, was banned in 2014 for wearing wristbands bearing the slogans 'Save Gaza' and 'Free Palestine' on the first two days of the third Test against India at The Ageas Bowl. While the ECB had defended Moeen's stance, describing his actions as humanitarian rather than political, match referee David Boon had reminded Moeen of the ICC's clothing and equipment regulations.

Similarly, South African legspinner Imran Tahir was reprimanded by the ICC for his celebrations during a T20I against Sri Lanka in early 2017. After dismissing Asela Gunaratne, Tahir went off on one of his usual celebratory runs before taking off his playing kit and revealing a t-shirt with an image of the late Junaid Jamshed, a Pakistani pop icon and latterly religious preacher who had died in a plane crash.

"You have two examples from the past already, where both Imran Tahir and Moeen Ali were sanctioned for something similar," Mani said. "The ICC had taken strong action against them and we have sought similar action against India. The permission they took was for a different purpose but they acted differently.

"We have been in touch with ICC from day one, sent one letter already and another is being followed up in next 12 hours. There should not be any ambiguity as we are taking this very strongly. We don't do politics, neither we do we use cricket for politics."

Ties between the two boards have deteriorated sharply in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack. The BCCI initially wanted to have Pakistan banned from the World Cup this summer, before deciding to tone that down by asking the ICC to "sever ties with countries from which terrorism emanates".

BCCI officials did not bring up the request at a recent ICC board meeting but it was brought up - and turned down - by the ICC head Shashank Manohar.

Turner 195.34 as Australia complete their highest chase

5- Australia successfully chased down the fifth-biggest target in ODI history, by getting 359 in this ODI. It was also the highest successful chase for Australia, beating the 334 chased down against England at SCG in 2011.

322- The previous highest target successfully chased down versus India by any side before Australia making a new record in this match. Pakistan had won chasing 322, also in Mohali, in 2007 and Sri Lanka did so at The Oval in the 2017 Champions Trophy. This is also the second-highest successful chase for any side in India. In 2013, India quickly chased down 360 versus Australia in Jaipur.

2- Instances of three batsmen making 80 or more in a successful ODI chase. The trio of Peter Handscomb (117), Usman Khawaja (91) and Ashton Turner (84*) emulated Rohit Sharma (141*), Virat Kohli (100*) and Shikhar Dhawan (95) who achieved this against Australia in Jaipur in 2013 when chasing 360.

98- Runs scored by Australia in the last 10 overs, which is after the 40th over the most by any team against India in a successful chase. The previous highest was also in Mohali in 2013 when James Faulkner did the most damage and scored 96. Before these two, Pakistan had also made 91 in the final 10 overs in 2007. The Australia batsmen got 64 runs off four overs between the 44th and 47th overs.

68- Runs scored by Turner in the last 10 overs, off 29 balls - the second-most by a batsman in a successful chase in the final 10 overs (after the 40th over). Abdul Razzaq had hit 76 off 35 against South Africa in Abu Dhabi in 2010. Faulkner got 67 off 29 in Mohali in 2013.

Most Runs By A Batsman In The Last 10 Overs In A Successful Chase

Batsman              Runs        SR               Runs required      Opposition         Venue           Year

Abdul Razzaq     76 (35)  217.14                   87                     South Africa         Abu Dhabi    2010

Ashton Turner   68 (29)  234.48                    98                       India                      Mohali        2019

James Faulkner 67 (29)  231.03                    96                       India                      Mohali        2013

Gulbadin Naib   66 (34)  194.11                     88                     Zimbabwe              Sharjah        2016

Kevin Pietersen 64 (25)  256.00                    76                     Australia                 Bristol         2005

195.34- Ashton Turner's strike rate in scoring 84 off 43 is the highest by a non-opening batsman facing a minimum of 40 balls during a successful chase. For Australia, the previous such quick innings was by Damien Martyn when scoring unbeaten 92 off 51 versus Bangladesh in Cairns in 2003.

DRS 'is not consistent at all' - Virat Kohli

Question marks on the accuracy of the Decision Review System (DRS) have now come up in two successive matches in the ongoing India-Australia series, with Virat Kohli making his displeasure public, saying "it's just not consistent at all" following an overturned review for caught-behind of Ashton Turner during a crucial passage of play in the fourth ODI in Mohali on Sunday.

The incident took place in the 44th over of Australia's pursuit of India's 358 for 9, when Turner tried to slash a slow, wide legbreak from Yuzvendra Chahal. Turner lunged to cut a ball from inside the crease to one that spun way. The ball seemed to have connected with the toe-end of Turner's bat. Having collected the ball, Rishabh Pant whipped off the bails and appealed for what initially felt like a stumping. However, he then urged Kohli to take the review even as umpire Anil Chaudhary called it not out, and the decision was referred to third umpire Joel Wilson.

Ultra Edge picked some murmurs even before the ball had passed the bat and once again flickered just after the ball went passed the swinging blade. Wilson duly turned down India's review, something Kohli disagreed with, displaying his displeasure by shaking his head and saying a few words.

At that point, Turner was on 41 with Australia needing a further 66 from 39 balls with five wickets in hand. He went on to hurt India by helping Australia to their highest chase in ODIs, Kohli describing his innings as the "game-changer".

Without any prompting at the post-match presentation ceremony, Kohli called the DRS decision contentious, saying it "was a bit of a surprise". "It's becoming more of a talking point every game. It's just not consistent at all, and that was a game-changer moment as well," he said.

"But yeah, that's more of an uncontrollable, but the controllable we had to do right, and we didn't do it right, and the opportunity slipped away," he added, pointing to the many chances the Indians missed on the field.

Kohli's mention of DRS becoming 'a talking point' was likely a reference to the third ODI in Ranchi, where a glaring error in ball-tracking projection came into the spotlight when Australian captain Aaron Finch was given out lbw off left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav.

Kuldeep got a stock ball to straighten and rap the Australia captain on the back pad in the 32nd over, and C Shamshuddin, the on-field umpire, ruled the batsman out lbw. Finch asked for a review, and replays showed the ball pitching on leg stump, when it had actually bounced on middle stump.

While the ball might have still gone on to hit the stumps even if it had pitched on leg stump, it was a noticeable mistake on the part of the ball-tracking technology in use.

ABOCricinfo understands that the technology might have suffered a technical glitch during the Ranchi game, which resulted in it missing the line. Australia's management has not lodged any official complaint with the match officials following the incident.

Ross Taylor goes past mentor Martin Crowe's century tally

Ross Taylor admitted that getting past his late mentor Martin Crowe's 17 Test hundreds weighed heavily on him until today, when he reached his 18th. Taylor's three centuries in 2016 got him close to Crowe's record but then he took a bit of time to equal him, finally doing it in December 2017 against West Indies. Then, again, he had to wait a long time for the next one, to go past Crowe who died in March 2016 of cancer.

On the way to his 200 against Bangladesh on the fourth day in Wellington, Taylor also crossed Crowe's record for most runs at a venue in New Zealand, after reaching 1,226 at the Basin Reserve.

"I told Hogan [Crowe] "my apologies" for taking so long to get there," Taylor said. "I also broke his [record] for most runs at the Basin [Reserve], so he's probably a bit annoyed with that one.

"I guess 17 was such a big number when I just started playing cricket. Once I got there it was probably a bit of a relief and then didn't kick on. It was probably a little in my subconscious. I must admit it probably played on my mind for a bit as well, so before this I had a chat to our sports psych guy Pete [Sanford] and just acknowledged that it's always going to be there. But now it's nice to knock it off and just go out there and play."

Taylor also said that reaching his third double-hundred was also a relief for him, especially after he survived the two dropped chances in the first 15 minutes of the morning session. He said that after getting out to a great catch by Dimuth Karunaratne in Wellington a couple of months ago, he felt that there will be a time when his luck would turn.

Taylor reached his fifty off 61 balls and went even more quickly to his century, taking a further 36 balls to get there - he struck six fours and three sixes during this period. He batted at even pace for the rest of his innings, finishing with 19 fours and four sixes, before getting caught behind the wicket in the 84th over.

"There was a stage out there when I thought 'Hogan got 299, I might get 199', so it was nice to get past that. I've always loved playing at the Basin. It's nice for family and friends to be here as well. If you'd told me that [I'd get a double] at the start of the day, especially how the first 10 overs went, I would have said 'you're kidding'.

"I felt really good when I played against Sri Lanka here and got an absolute screamer at short-leg, second ball of the day. I just went back to that and thought well my luck's got to change sooner or later. Let's make it pay off."

More Updates:ABOC-Cricinfo                

                        ESPN-Cricinfo

One last time? Nervous Ranchi buzzes as Dhoni comes home

When MS Dhoni was becoming the phenomenon he is now, he used to be asked where he hails from, particularly during overseas tours. Dhoni used to explain: "It's [Ranchi's] near Kolkata, near Jamshedpur, where Tata originated. It's [Jharkhand's] India's richest state in terms of minerals."

Ranchi was a hockey hotbed, and the craze for the sport grew bigger here after Jaipal Singh led the hockey team to gold at the Amsterdam Olympics in 1928. But, ironically, it needed a schoolboy football goalkeeper-turned cricketer to put an old-world small-town city into international spotlight. Now, Ranchi is Dhoni. Dhoni is Ranchi.

After he slugged Nuwan Kulasekara over the wide long-on boundary at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai to win a second World Cup, Ranchi looked like this:

Eight years later, Dhoni is gearing up for another World Cup, but there are whispers that this could be his last international match in Ranchi. Whispers on the streets. Whispers at press conferences. Whispers in airports.

Jasmeet Singh, my co-passenger on the flight from Delhi to Ranchi, was born and bred in Ranchi and is now the director of Manikaran Power Limited in Delhi. He's returning home for personal reasons, but he's thrilled to have got tickets to third ODI for his kids. But he too reckons that this could be Dhoni's last international appearance in Ranchi. He tells me Dhoni might retire soon - quite possibly after the World Cup - and might serve the army. I nod in approval. After all, Dhoni travels in camouflage pants and even dons camouflage gloves.

There are several hoardings and posters of Dhoni on the way to the south gate of the JSCA stadium. There are more signposts saying "MS Dhoni pavilion" than the JSCA stadium. He was supposed to inaugurate the pavilion named after him in the lead-up to the third ODI against Australia, but politely declined the invitation. Instead, on the eve of the match, he turns up for optional practice and keeps biffing the bowlers into that pavilion.

The net bowlers - and throwdown specialists Raghavindraa and Nuwan Seneviratne - are all being Dhoni-ed into the stand named after him over wide long-on. The groundstaff lean back on the roller and soak in the monster blows before they are shooed away by the cops.

Moments later, headline-hungry journalists tell Bhuvneshwar Kumar that this will be Dhoni's last international in his hometown. Bhuvneshwar has a smirk on his face when he asks: "How do you know that?"

When the same question is posed to Adil Hussain, the former Bihar and Central Coal Limited (CCL) captain who had played alongside Dhoni at the club for five years, he says you never know what you get from Dhoni. He had retired from Test cricket just like that. He had quit one-day captaincy just like that. Boom. Gone.

"Dhoni is fit and can keep going. He can even run faster than the younger guys in the side," Hussain tells ESPNcricinfo. "He can come back and play in Ranchi, but he can also suddenly spring a surprise and walk away."

Dhoni was only in 11th grade when Hussain spotted him carting bowlers in a schools tournament, and got him on board at CCL in 1997. Hussain gushes that Dhoni's sky-high confidence right from junior cricket made him a cut apart from the rest. He recalls a match where a teenaged Dhoni smashed then India bowlers Debasis Mohanty and T Kumaran into smithereens.

"He never really bothered about his technique and despite being a junior player, he made his plans and views clear to the senior players," Hussain said. In a Sheesh Mahal Trophy match, he took on Kumaran and Mohanty - two India bowlers - and kept hitting them away. Even back at that time before Dhoni became a star, many people came to watch him hit big sixes."

The schoolboy football goalkeeper-turned international cricket icon used to co-own Ranchi Rays in the now defunct Hockey India League. Ashley Jackson, the English midfielder was part of that side and is quite a fan of Dhoni, and the hockey players used to even try to mimic Dhoni's helicopter shot at training.

But who isn't a fan of Dhoni in Ranchi? The buzz here is palpable, and if this turns out to be his last international here, the fans deserve a blockbuster finish from their hero. Of late, Dhoni has been batting as if the weight of the world is on his shoulders. Ranchi wants that Dhoni who bats as if the world is at his feet.

The schoolboy football goalkeeper-turned international cricket icon used to co-own Ranchi Rays in the now defunct Hockey India League. Ashley Jackson, the English midfielder was part of that side and is quite a fan of Dhoni, and the hockey players used to even try to mimic Dhoni's helicopter shot at training.

But who isn't a fan of Dhoni in Ranchi? The buzz here is palpable, and if this turns out to be his last international here, the fans deserve a blockbuster finish from their hero. Of late, Dhoni has been batting as if the weight of the world is on his shoulders. Ranchi wants that Dhoni who bats as if the world is at his feet.

More Updates:ABOC-Cricinfo               


                        ESPN-Cricinfo

Onus on Bangladesh quicks to step up as New Zealand eye series win

Vijay New Zealand have almost everything in place in Wellington to wrap up the Test series against Bangladesh. They have the pace attack, which has already sent a stern message across to the visiting batsmen. They also have the firepower in batting, the record-setting 715 for 6 in the Hamilton Test proving to be the difference between the two sides. They will, however, be wary of rain in the forecast, and the possibility of a Bangladesh fightback.

Bangladesh took three positives from the Hamilton Test. Tamim Iqbal scored 200 runs in the game, which included his first century in New Zealand. It was an instructive effort from the senior batsman who decided to duck under Neil Wagner's short-ball bombardment in both innings.

Mahmudullah and Soumya Sarkar also batted admirably in the second innings, which was a corrective measure after their soft dismissals in the first. Mahmudullah was more of a support act during the 235-run fifth-wicket stand with Soumya, who attacked as soon as he figured out how to avoid getting hit on the body.

Otherwise, Bangladesh didn't have much to cheer for. Their rookie three-man pace attack conceded 369 runs in 87 overs, taking just one wicket. Mehidy Hasan had a particularly poor outing, his 2 for 246 the worst figures by a Bangladeshi bowler in a Test innings. There will be a lot of improvement needed from the bowling attack if they are to at least challenge the New Zealand batsmen.

At the same time, the batsmen - particularly Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Mohammad Mithun and Liton Das - will have to withstand Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Neil Wagner.

The New Zealand trio took 19 out of the 20 wickets that fell in Hamilton, mostly with short-pitched deliveries that rattled the Bangladesh batsmen. Whether Wagner, especially, us able to do it again in Wellington is something everyone will have an eye on.

 Form guide

New Zealand: WWDWL (Last five completed matches, most recent first)
 

Bangladesh: LWWWL

In the spotlight

Given the nature of the Wellington pitch, the Bangladesh batsmen will be wary of Neil Wagner's bouncer barrage, especially after he picked up a five-wicket haul in Hamilton. Wagner's energy levels are unusually high, which is bad news for the visitors.

Soumya Sarkar's maiden Test century came nearly four years into his Test career, and it was almost as promised: filled with attractive shots. The spotlight will be on Soumya to see how he follows up the 149 in Wellington.

Team news

If New Zealand go for an all-pace attack, legspinner Todd Astle may have to make way for Matt Henry, although Kane Williamson may opt for a bit of variety.

New Zealand (probable): 1 Jeet Raval, 2 Tom Latham, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Henry Nicholls, 6 BJ Watling (wk), 7 Colin de Grandhomme, 8 Todd Astle, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Neil Wagner, 11 Trent Boult

Tamim is currently nursing a groin niggle, but Bangladesh are unlikely to tinker with their batting line-up, mainly because they don't have a spare batsman. Mustafizur Rahman will be coming in, possibly in place of Mehidy Hasan.

Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Shadman Islam, 3 Mominul Haque, 4 Mohammad Mithun, 5 Mahmudullah, 6 Liton Das (wk), 7 Soumya Sarkar, 8 Khaled Ahmed, 9 Abu Jayed, 10 Ebadat Hossain, 11 Mustafizur Rahman

Pitch and conditions

Basin Reserve is - quite literally - a green strip in between three brown pitches, which is likely to help the fast bowlers. Rain has also been forecasted for four of the five days.

Stats and trivia

With his 146 in Hamilton, Mahmudullah now has three centuries in Bangladesh's last three Tests.

Boult's 5 for 123 was the most expensive among his eight five-wicket hauls.

 

Vijay Shankar holds his nerve to stake World Cup claim

On the eve of the second ODI against Australia in Nagpur, Vijay Shankar was eyeing Virat Kohli's bat like a kid would do a box of candies. After getting the MRF thing in his hands during training, he shaped to punch the ball over the leg side.

He rolled out two such jaw-dropping straight-bat punches over midwicket during his 46-ball 41, including one that elicited applause and approval from his captain in a breezy 81-run stand for the fourth wicket.

Vijay was unfortunately run-out when Adam Zampa deflected a drilled drive from Kohli onto the stumps at the non-striker's end in the 29th over. He slapped his bat against his thigh, threw his head back, and walked off like a kid whose box of candies had been stolen.

It was a sense of deja vu for Vijay: he had been run out for 45 in the Wellington ODI in February after having bed in for a big score on a seaming track. He slapped his bat against his thigh then as well and departed.

Welcome back to Nagpur. Marcus Stoinis, whose towering frame and sixes have drawn comparisons with 'The Incredible Hulk', is doing more of a Bruce Banner here. No violence. No monster power. Just good old limited-overs smarts. A dink here, a dab there, and he is keeping Australia alive.

He has just seen off India's gun bowler Jasprit Bumrah and hauled the game to the last over - not too dissimilar from how MS Dhoni deals with chases. Kedar Jadhav has conceded just 33 runs in eight overs with his low-arm slingers. More importantly, Jadhav has bowled eight dots out of 13 balls to Stoinis. But, Kohli trusts Vijay with the last over of the game. This is only his second over of the match; he had leaked 13 in his first over.

The master at the death, Bumrah, has a word with Vijay. The allrounder cracked under pressure against Mustafizur Rahman in that Nidahas Trophy final. His good friend and Tamil Nadu team-mate Dinesh Karthik, however, conjured a last-ball six and pulled off a famous win. However, that Mustafizur over was still playing in Vijay's mind on repeat mode.

Karthik then calls him to join the post-match revelry, but Vijay is utterly shattered. Karthik drags him into the celebrations, but that doesn't quite lift his spirits.

He is getting trolled on social media. He reads nearly every troll post there, and ultimately switches off from social media. He was so scarred by trolls that when he revisited his school as a chief guest during a golden jubilee function on Valentine's Day, after returning from New Zealand, he advised the students to "stay away from social media a little bit" and use it carefully

Ever since the night of the Nidahas final, Vijay has been "literally waiting" to look pressure in the eye and say: you're next like WWE's Bill Goldberg does. On Monday night, with 10 to defend off the last over against, he speared Stoinis and Adam Zampa in three balls to deliver India a tense victory.

Bruce Banner couldn't quite transform into the Hulk, but the nervy Vijay transformed into a nerveless player.

He hit a hard length with the first ball of the last over - neither short enough to pull or full enough to hoist it over mid-on - and had Stoinis swishing and missing. Boom. Stoinis pinned lbw. The next ball was on a length on off, and Zampa made some room to jab it to point and hurry back for the second. Vijay, on the other contrary, is in no rush. He reckons Zampa might back away, again, and hurls the ball into the blockhole to floor his middle stump.

Vijay punches the air, lets out a roar, and his pent-up emotions: the frustration of multiple injuries, including a knee problem that forced him out of the India A side that was set to tour Australia in 2016. Hardik Pandya then replaced him and then went onto establish himself as the senior team's No. 1 allrounder across formats.

Vijay was initially confused whether to take injections and go to Australia or go under the knife to repair a meniscus tear and a grade-four patella injury. He finally decided to get the operation done, and had to spend two months at the National Cricket Academy [NCA] in Bengaluru.

It was the most difficult phase of Vijay's cricketing career. He couldn't travel with the A team to Australia, he couldn't play the Chennai first-division league or the 20-over Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) for his franchise Lyca Kovai Kings. And every time he switched on the TV, there was some cricket that was unfolding, reminding Vijay what he was missing.

He was depressed with everything around him. Rajinikant (nope, not the actor, get acquainted with the trainer) was instrumental in pulling Vijay out of depression and inspiring him to train harder and get fitter quicker.

Having a strong family support system has also helped him. His father H Shankar and elder brother Ajay, both of whom have played lower-division cricket in Tamil Nadu, knew that injuries are part and parcel of the game. His father, brother, and personal coach S Balaji, a former Railways player, all made Vijay believe in himself again.

Vijay returned to domestic cricket and enhanced his reputation as Tamil Nadu's crisis man. His struggle in the Nidahas Trophy final at the Khettarama then shook up his confidence, again.

But Vijay has always found a way past the hurdles. At the start of his domestic career, he was an offspin-bowling allrounder, who couldn't break into a spin-heavy Tamil Nadu team. So, he switched to medium-pace. After he broke into the national side thanks to his ability to pitch in with medium-pace, he worked harder at it - the result of which was on show in the second ODI against Australia. Vijay's plays and misses in the Nidahas Trophy are now history.

Sure, he has his limitations as a bowler - he can't get his speeds past the lower 130kph range - but his form with the bat has contributed to a spike in his bowling. And his confidence was on bright display in Nagpur under pressure. Pressure? What pressure? Say hello to the nerveless Vijay Shankar who has staked his claim for a place in India's World Cup squad.