Virat Kohli as a WICKET KEEPER

Virat Kohli keeping the wickets when MSD went on to bowl vs SouthAfrica,1st TEST,2013.

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India win series, lose Tendulkar

MUMBAI: As India were performing the last rites on yet another spineless West Indian innings,Anjali Tendulkar, taking in her husband’s final day in international cricket from the stands, admitted that he belonged first to Mumbai and India, and only then to his family. It was an admission she needn’t have made – for Tendulkar became part of the national discourse far earlier than he gave himself up to nuptial ties. On Saturday, although the maestro wasn’t required to bat again in his side’s demolition of the visitors by an innings and 126 runs, Tendulkar patrolled the boundary with the zeal of a debutant, storming into the circle to celebrate each time a wicket fell.

There was this hope that an irritating partnership at some stage may compel MS Dhoni to throw the ball to Tendulkar and let him work those fast leg-spinners that have broken many a nagging stand over the years. The nagging stand proved to be beyond the West Indies. But at 162/8, with the first session extended in view of an impending Indian victory, Tendulkar got to turn his arm over for twelve deliveries. Alas, a wicket eluded him. But Man of the Match Pragyan Ojha (5/49, 10/89 for the match) and R. Ashwin (4/89) had done enough to set up India's sixth successive victory in Tests, which was also Tendulkar's 72nd with the side.

No sooner did Mohammad Shami flatten last man Shannon Gabriel's furniture with a late in-swinger, Tendulkar raced to the pitch and uprooted a stump. He was then accorded what Harsha Bhogle termed a 'mobile Guard of Honour' on his was back, the floppy hat concealing an outpouring of emotion that a hand to the eye revealed. He paused for a moment at the top of the stairs to wave the stump at the crowd, before disappearing from view.

Poor series

Tendulkar's farewell aside, the series was a remarkably poor advertisement for Test cricket, a misnomer of a contest between mis-matched teams:  the Windies did not last three days at either Kolkata or Mumbai and failed to reach 250 in four innings. They resumed on 42/3 on Saturday morning and were shot out in less than 35 overs. Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels began in a tearing hurry – as if a few overs of lusty hitting was all that stood between them and safety. Four boundaries came off an Ashwin over, and Gayle massacred Ojha for a towering six. 

It was when the total (too grandiose a term, really, for the West Indian score!) reached 74 – precisely as many as Tendulkar had made in his last essay – that the slide was initiated. 

Another slide

Samuels, influenced by god-only-knows what chemical reactions in his brain, sprung out of the crease to Ojha. The ball spun away, beat the batsman, and Dhoni did the rest. Having asserted momentary supremacy with a huge hit, Gayle (35) failed to capitalize, and perished to the edge against a faster one from the left-arm spinner, Dhoni snapping up another good catch behind the wicket.

Ojha’s third of the morning came the easiest. Narsingh Deonarine, having established his place in the almanacs, popped back the simplest of return catches, the Windies descending to 90/6, the match heading for a hasty termination even before lunch on the third day. 

Shivnarine Chanderpaul, playing a most neglected 150th Test match, and Denesh Ramdin delayed the inevitable with a 68-run alliance, before Chanderpaul was trapped in front by Ashwin with one that hurried straight on. Darren Sammy became Ojha's fifth (and 10th of the match). But you don't want to go into the gory details. Not here. Not in this series. Maybe against South Africa in a month's time.

©YahooCricket

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Virat Kohli becomes number-one ranked ODI batsman

DUBAI: Virat Kohli today became the number one batsman in One-day cricket after a superbbatting show against Australia in the just-concluded series, in which he scored 344 runs.

Kohli had scores of 61 (in Pune), 100 not out (in Jaipur), 68 (in Mohali), 115 not out (in Nagpur) and 0 (in Bengaluru).
This gave the 24-year-old a series aggregate of 344 runs at an average of 114.66, and a reward of 38 ratings points which helped him to jump three places to top of the ICC ranking table for ODI batsmen.
He has achieved the number-one spot for the first time in his career, just a few days before his 25th birthday.

Kohli has now become the third India batsman to hold the number-one batting rank in ODI cricket, after Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni.

Tendulkar first claimed the number one position when he took over from Brian Lara in February 1996. He was last number one in March 2008.

Dhoni first reached number one when he took over from Ricky Ponting in April 2006. He was last ranked number one in July 2010.

Kohli now leads South Africa's Hashim Amla by 13 ratings points. Amla had been holding the coveted number-one position since November 2010. Kohli is not the only batsman who has gained in the latest rankings, which were released today.

© TOI

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Virat Kohli's whirlwind knock shatters ODI record books

Jaipur:  Virat Kohli is a cricketer who symbolises hard-work, dedication and ruthless form. Against Australia on Wednesday, the Delhi batsman epitomised all three and added the element of aggression as he became the fastest Indian to the three-figure mark.

Virat Kohli: By the people, for the people, of the people!

While he does plan his knocks and makes his strategies according to what situations demand, Kohli said after Wednesday's thrilling contest that he did not intend to break records when he walked in to bat. "I wanted to go out there and play my part. I did not plan to get it (the century) in 52 balls. It is not about how many balls you get it but if the team wins or not," he said at the post-match conference.

Numbers may not matter to him much but here is taking a look at the stunning statistics:

# Virat Kohli, with 52-ball hundred, has set an Indian record for the quickest century in ODIs - the seventh quickest in ODIs.

# Virender Sehwag's 60-ball hundred (125 not out off 74 balls) vs New Zealand at Hamilton on March 11, 2009 was the previous quickest hundred by an Indian player in ODIs.

# Kohli, with 850 runs at an average of 50.00 in 24 matches, is the top run-scorer for India in ODIs this year.

# Kohli became the third batsman after Shikhar Dhawan and Tillakaratne Dilshan to register three hundreds in ODIs this year.

# Kohli's 16th century in ODIs is his second vs Australia.

# Kohli is averaging 67.79 in Indian wins - the second highest average amongst the batsmen with 3000 runs or more in ODIs - his aggregate being 3593 at an average of 67.79 in 72 matches, including 15 hundreds. Dhoni is averaging 73.80 in Indian wins - his tally being 4650 in 130 matches.

Here's the list of fastest centurions in ODIs:

Player	Runs	Balls	Match	Venue	Year
Shahid Afridi	102	37	Pakistan vs Sri Lanka	Nairobi	1996
MV Boucher	147*	44	South Africa vs Zimbabwe	Potchefstroom	2006
BC Lara	117	45	West Indies vs Bangladesh	Dhaka	1999
Shahid Afridi	102	45	Pakistan vs India	Kanpur	1999
ST Jayasuriya	134	48	Sri Lanka vs Pakistan	Singapore	1996
KJ O'Brien	113	50	Ireland vs England	Bangalore	2011
Virat Kohli	100*	52	India vs Australia	Jaipur	2013

Fastest ton by an Indian batsman in ODIs, 7th fastest of all-time:

Player	Runs	Balls	Match	Venue	Year
Virat Kohli	100*	52	India vs Australia	Jaipur	2013
V Sehwag	125*	60	India vs New Zealand	Hamilton	2009
M Azharuddin	108	62	India vs New Zealand	Baroda	1988
Yuvraj Singh	138*	64	India vs England	Rajkot	2008
Suresh Raina	101	66	India vs Hong Kong	Karachi	2008

©yahoocricket

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Other : Chandila's lawyer criticises BCCI procedure

A day after Ajit Chandila was interrogated in New Delhi on Wednesday by the BCCI Anti-Corruption and Security Unit chief Ravi Sawani, his lawyer has criticised the BCCI's procedure, alleging that the Sawani report has relied on police documents rather than original investigation.

"The BCCI's procedure in itself is faulty," Rakesh Kumar, Chandila's counsel, said. "They have appointed a commissioner for inquiry who is not conducting any investigation on his own. He is just relying on the police documents which are submitted to the court."

Kumar, who accompanied Chandila for the questioning that lasted nearly three hours, added that his client wasn't even "issued a show-cause notice". "I am not aware what are the charges against my client and they are simply holding him guilty. In case they go ahead and take severe action against my client, we will certainly challenge it in the court of law."

While the BCCI on September 13 announced the verdict on all the other five Royals cricketers who were allegedly involved in the IPL spot-fixing scandal, banning Sreesanth and Ankeet Chavan for life, suspending Amit Singh for five years, Siddharth Trivedi for a year and clearing Harmeet Singh of all the charges, Chandila's case has been pending for long.

Since Chandila received bail on September 9, Sawani, who had been appointed to hand over a report to the BCCI disciplinary committee, couldn't meet the him earlier. As a result, the disciplinary committee of the BCCI had proceeded based on Sawani's finding on all the other players except Chandila.

"More than 10 days' notice had been served to Chandila before Sawani questioned him. Once his findings are forwarded to the disciplinary committee, the committee will then summon the player before pronouncing its verdict," a BCCI insider said.

That is unlikely to happen soon since Chandila has sought "seven to ten days' time" for submitting his written statement. Sawani can only finalise his findings once he receives the statement.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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Pics : Virat Kohli unveiled as Adidas brand ambassador

New Delhi: Virat Kohli was introduced by Adidas at the Talkatora Stadium today as the brand’s new ambassador. It has been reported that Kohli has signed a 3-year deal worth Rs 10 crore per annum, which will see him surpass the likes of Dhoni and Tendulkar in endorsement earnings.

Speaking at the event, Kohli said “I am all in with Adidas! I have always been a big fan of the brand and their amazing products. I’m looking forward to getting on with my game in the 3-stripes”

Kohli was welcomed into team Adidas with a special message from his idol,Sachin Tendulkar, who spoke about his own fantastic 16 year association with Adidas. Tendulkar rounded off saying that he was waiting to see Virat perform in the three stripes. Virat pledged that he is all in with Adidas and engaged thousands of his young fans with interesting cricketing anecdotes.

Talking about the partnership, Tushar Goculdas, Brand Director, Adidas India said, “Virat is a world-class athlete, supremely talented and extremely passionate about the game. We are proud to have Virat join team adidas and believe this partnership will empower him to continue delivering stellar performances on the pitch, with our cutting-edge products. Off the field, Virat will express his unique sense of style through our iconic streetwear brand, Adidas Originals." ©sportskeeda

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Virat Kohli appointed BSF ambassador

New Delhi:  Virat Kohli was on Sunday appointed as the brand ambassador of the BSF, world's largest border guarding force.

Kohli was presented a Border Security Force blazer and a flop-hat by Union Minister of State for Home RPN Singh and force chief Subhash Joshi at a glittering ceremony at the paramilitary's camp in the national capital.

A beaming Kohli said this was a moment of "great pride" and that he is filled with the feeling of patriotism as he joins the ranks of the 2.2-lakh personnel strong force, also the country's second largest security force after CRPF.

"I will travel to meet BSF personnel on the borders and help in as many ways I can to motivate them and boost their morale," the 25-year-old said.

Kohli had his share of cheeky moments with the jawans and officers of the force right after the gala event as he was asked questions about his marriage, his nickname 'chiku' and the dream to captain team India.

MoS Singh said the appeal of Kohli will be used to attract more and more youngsters to the force which at present is tasked to guard Indian frontiers with Pakistan and Bangladesh besides rendering a variety of internal security duties including undertaking anti-Naxal operations.

"We are in the process of giving him (Kohli) a honorary rank and a uniform of the force," Singh said adding Kohli will spread the word about the hardwork of the troops of the force who do not get "enough credit".

BSF Director General Joshi, announcing the maiden initiative of a paramilitary force appointing an ambassador said, the right-hand batsmen is synonymous with discipline, dedication and professionalism which is a hallmark of his force too.

The cricketer had made his Test debut against the West Indies in 2011 and is going strong since then. He played a vital role in India's World Cup win in 2011 and the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy title.

The BSF works under the command of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

© ndtv

Big money : Virat Kohli inks Rs 10 crore a year ad deal

Mumbai: If you have seen Virat Kohli strut his stuff in the new Flying Machines ad then you know that among the young Indian cricketers he seems to be most comfortable on screen. And if you have seen him work his way from one success to another on the cricket field — then you know that he is here stay. Both these qualities make him the perfect man for advertisers and brand men. Mahendra Singh Dhoni is on the wrong side of 30. Sachin Tendulkar is 40. Virat Kohli, on the other hand, is 24 and ready for big time

 
The Times of India has reported that the young batsman has inked a Rs 10-crore per annum deal with German sports goods giant Adidas. The three-year contract will see him endorsing the brand’s apparel and shoes. Tendulkar has been endorsing Adidas shoes for a long time and this might be their preparation for his retirement. The Times of India report also said that the Delhi batsman, who is leading his side in the Challenger Trophy, has also struck a Rs 6.5 crore a year deal with a tyre brand (presumably MRF) that had master batsmen Sachin Tendulkar and Steve Waugh as its ambassadors The Indian vice-captain pocketed around Rs 40 crore from endorsements last year, but the figure will be much higher next year following these two big deals. He lends his face to 13 brands at the moment, including Pepsi, Toyota and Cinthol deodorants. Bunty Sajdeh-led Cornerstone Sport and Entertainment manages the Indian vice-captain’s endorsement contracts.


 In July this year, Mahendra Singh Dhoni — with earnings of $31.5 million — had topped the list of the world’s highest earning cricketers compiled by Forbes magazine, followed by Sachin Tendulkar. Nearly half of Dhoni’s 25 endorsements pay more than $1 million annually, including a three-year deal with former billionaire Vijay Mallya’s United Breweries Group worth more than $5 million over three years. Tendulkar’s earnings were $22 million. The break-up being Salary/winnings: $4 million and Endorsements: $18 million. Kohli, in comparison, had total earnings of $7.1 million. He earned $3.1 million from cricket matches as playing fees and $4 million in endorsements.

Courtesy : firstpost.com

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