Former India player Aakash Chopra has opined that the Indian team need to look for a win in the second Test against South Africa. He highlighted that the four points for a drawn game might not suffice in their quest to qualify for the World Test Championship (WTC) final. Ad South Africa posted 489 runs in their first innings on Day 2 of the second Test in Guwahati on Sunday, November 23. India ended the day at nine for no loss in their first innings, trailing the visitors by 480 runs. During a discussion on Star Sports, Chopra wondered whether India would be willing to risk losing the game in trying for a win. “Since the entire story is about the WTC, when you are saying that it’s the WTC cycle due to which you make such pitches where you get quick results, and it’s not only our story, but the entire world, in such a scenario, a draw will give you only four points, which is 17 percent of the total points available (from the series),” the former India batter said. Ad Trending “So, whether you get four or zero, what difference does it make in the longer run? You have to look for 50 percent points, and for that, you only have to run fast. You have to take the initiative. The overarching theme tomorrow would be, do India want to put four points at stake to gain 12?” Chopra added. Ad The cricketer-turned-commentator noted that he wants to see intent from Rishabh Pant and company, highlighting that batters can drive the game. “There are 12 points for a win, zero for a loss, and you get only four for a draw. Four points may or may not decide your future. So I just want to see India’s intent. When you are bowling, how the match would progress is not in your hands many times, but when the bat is in your hand, you drive the game,” Chopra observed. Ad Yashasvi Jaiswal (7*) and KL Rahul (2*) were the unbeaten Indian batters at Stumps on Day 2 of the Guwahati Test. The duo adopted a cautious approach in the 6. 1 overs they faced before the close of play, but could bat more aggressively in the morning session of Day 3. “Not too much actually” Aakash Chopra on whether potential bad light would impact India’s approach in IND vs SA 2025 2nd Test In the same discussion, Aakash Chopra replied in the negative when asked whether India need to alter their approach because of the potential loss of play due to bad light in Guwahati. Ad “Not too much actually, because you will try to play well in whatever overs you get. Tomorrow, you won’t think about what would happen the day after. First play the day tomorrow. Assuming you lose only two or three wickets, you will score 325 to 350 runs. Then you start and say that you will take the game in your favor in the next two sessions,” he said. India bowled only 81. 5 overs on Day 1 of the Guwahati Test before bad light stopped play. Only 75. 3 overs were bowled on Day 2, including the 6. 1 overs faced by the hosts. × Feedback Why did you not like this content? Clickbait / Misleading Factually Incorrect Hateful or Abusive Baseless Opinion Too Many Ads Other Was this article helpful? Thank You for feedback Follow IPL Auction 2025 Live Updates, News & Biddings at Sportskeeda. Get the fastest updates on Mega-Auction and cricket news Edited by Kartik Iyer.
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Tag: cricketer-turned-commentator
“He made a tweet that evening, where he posted my stats” – Aakash Chopra reveals how former CSK star trolled him during IND vs ENG 2016 series
Former India opener Aakash Chopra recently opened up on being trolled by England’s spin-bowling all-rounder Moeen Ali. He revealed that the incident took place during England’s final Test of the five-match series against India in 2016. Ad Chopra stated that ahead of the match, he spoke about Moeen’s short-ball woes during a show. He mentioned that the southpaw ended up hitting a century the next day. The cricketer-turned-commentator noted that, unhappy with his remarks, Moeen posted Chopra’s statistics on social media. Sharing the story, the 48-year-old said on journalist Shubhankar Mishra’s YouTube channel: “A fellow cricketer trolled me. If the fans are trolling you, you get used to it. It happened when I was working for Cricinfo, and while doing some analysis, I said something about Moeen Ali’s problems against the short ball. I felt that the short ball should be used against him because he doesn’t have the defensive game for it, and you can create a trap by putting two fielders back. So, we made a demo showing why he can’t play the short ball. It was during the Chennai Test, and he scored a hundred in that game. Ad Trending “So, he made a tweet that evening, where he posted my stats. He was obviously upset. As he was a fellow cricketer, I replied to him that at least you don’t have a problem with my analysis. You have a problem with my stats, I agree, but you didn’t find a fault in my analysis because that’s my job now.” Ad Chopra pointed out that Moeen lost his wicket to a short-pitched delivery on the next day and ended up apologizing to him for the tweet. He added: “Interestingly, the next morning, Ishant Sharma was bowling, and India placed three fielders in the deep. Bouncers were bowled right from the start. He hit a four and then got out right there. I felt validated, but of course, I didn’t go to Moeen and say, see, my analysis was right. However, he apologised afterwards,” he added. Ad Moeen scored 146 runs off 262 balls in England’s first innings. However, his knock was overshadowed by Karun Nair’s unbeaten 303 off 381, which was instrumental in India’s 75-run win. “I fell short and couldn’t do justice to that moment” Aakash Chopra on doing commentary during Sri Lankan legend farewell Test Aakash Chopra also spoke about a cricketing moment where he felt his commentary was not up to the mark. He admitted that he was underprepared during Kumar Sangakkara’s farewell Test and ultimately failed to meet the expectations. Ad He said during the same interview: “I was just starting out in 2015, and I was not prepared. It was Kumar Sangakkara’s farewell match. It was at the P Sara Oval in Colombo, and it was my first time doing bilingual commentary. When he got out, my co-commentator placed his mike upside down and asked me to take over. Now, Aakash can only take over when he is prepared for that. I fell short and couldn’t do justice to that moment.” Sangakkara retired from Test cricket in August 2015. He registered scores of 32 and 18 in his farewell match. × Feedback Why did you not like this content? Clickbait / Misleading Factually Incorrect Hateful or Abusive Baseless Opinion Too Many Ads Other Was this article helpful? Thank You for feedback Get real-time updates on IPL 2025, live scores, IPL Prediction, match schedule, points table, Result & squad -CSK, MI, RCB, KKR, SRH, LSG, DC, GT, PBKS Edited by Aditya Suketu Desai.
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“I felt she shouldn’t have been made to sit out against England” – Former MI star lauds Jemimah Rodrigues’ knock in IND vs NZ Women’s World Cup clash
Former Mumbai Indians (MI) player Aditya Tare has lauded Jemimah Rodrigues for her stroke-filled half-century in India’s Women’s World Cup 2025 clash against New Zealand. He expressed that the right-handed batter should not have been dropped in India’s previous game against England.
Jemimah scored an unbeaten 76 off 55 balls as India posted a massive total of 340/3 in 49 overs during the Women’s World Cup 2025 league game held in Navi Mumbai on Thursday, October 23.
During a discussion on Star Sports, Tare praised Jemimah for proving her worth after being left out of the playing XI in the prior match.
“There were only 14 dot balls in her innings. It shows how busy she was,” Tare said. “She started this World Cup with two ducks. Questions were being raised whether Jemi would be the player dropped to play an extra bowler. It seemed like a harsh decision in the last match because she had played a similar kind of innings against Australia. She had scored quickfire 30-odd runs.”
He added, “I felt she shouldn’t have been made to sit out against England. However, Jemimah Rodrigues took the team management’s decision very positively. They showed faith in her today, and she got a promotion. I feel the Indian batting lineup does not have a player like Jemi.”
Aditya Tare highlighted Jemimah’s ability to play lap shots, hit fast bowlers over the top, and clear the extra cover region effortlessly. He emphasized that the 25-year-old brings a different dimension to the Indian batting lineup.
### “This Innings Shows Her Character” – Reema Malhotra Praises Jemimah Rodrigues
In the same discussion, former India all-rounder Reema Malhotra commended Jemimah Rodrigues’ intentful knock at No. 3, saying it reflects her character.
“Firstly, clap because she came at No. 3,” Malhotra said. “This innings shows her character. She was hungry for this. She was waiting for this. This is why the Indian team and selectors back Jemi. She brings energy with her. There was intent in this knock. She used the depth of the crease.”
The cricketer-turned-commentator also pointed out that Jemimah was effective against both pace and spin and called the Mumbaikar a true team player.
“I would call it a calculative innings. She played the pacers well, used her feet against spinners, played sweeps, reverse sweeps, and paddles, and scored an incredible half-century. She is from Mumbai and was playing at home. She is a king at home. She wants to contribute for her team, whether she is playing or not, which means she is a true team player,” observed Malhotra.
### Key Partnership Contributions
Jemimah Rodrigues walked out to bat after Smriti Mandhana (109 off 95) and Pratika Rawal (122 off 134) had stitched together a formidable 212-run opening partnership. Jemimah then added 76 runs with Pratika for the second wicket and 48 runs with Harmanpreet Kaur (10 off 11) for the third wicket, helping India post a commanding total.
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