News about Rohit Sharma

Punjab Kings face the Mumbai Indians with both teams bidding for a much needed victory after tough starts to the Indian Premier League season. The two teams have won two and lost four of their IPL matches so far this season, with both heading into the match off the back of a defeat. Punjab Kings suffered a three wicket loss to Rajasthan Royals on Saturday, while the Mumbai Indians were beaten by 20 runs by the Chennai Super Kings on Sunday.

Exclusive INTERVIEW BY PAUL NEWMAN Shoaib Bashir discusses the time he was plucked from nowhere to bowl for England at some of the best players of spin in world cricket. The Bashir tale is a thrilling one. Why England turned into a rookie for one of the most difficult Test cricket assignments, released by Surrey at 17 years old and beginning his first tentative steps with Somerset. England's series in India may have resulted in a 4-1 loss, but the decision to cast three spinners - Bashir, Tom Hartley, and Rehan Ahmed - with no senior experience into the deep end and seeing them all swim was a triumph for the team. Bashir, who had played just six Championship games and taken ten expensive wickets before England picked him based on Ben Stokes' hunch, emerged as the most promising of the lot.

After Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill gave a masterclass in batting on their way to individual centuries, India remains solidly in the driving seat of the fifth and final Test against England. They're back in control of the final Test with Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah batting a 4-1 draw.

PAUL NEWMAN IN DHARAMSHALA: If Ben Stokes writes his own scripts, it is fair to assume that he will not have England staring down the barrel in another traumatic loss after just two days in a dream setting. However, even the England captain could not have penned his spectacular but, let's face it, futile entrance with the ball in an otherwise predictable tale of Indian domination that will surely come to a 4-1 thumping any time soon. Stokes has been downplaying his chances of returning to his all-round role after recovering from knee pains late last year even though he has been steadily stepping up his bowling in practice.

NASSER HUSSAIN: Forget any discussion about Bazball's merits; what England has lacked during this series in India is a ruthless streak to get through tough times. They haven't been able to prevent first-innings disasters from happening. It's simple as that. They're expensive, and it's cost them dear. I'm afraid they saved the worst until last, because they went from 100 for one to 183 for eight in the afternoon, which was the most frustrating part of the tour for me.

PAUL NEWMAN IN DHARAMSHALA: Thousands of England supporters who participated in this 'bucket-list' Test were ideally encouraged to enjoy the stunning views of the snow-capped Himalayan mountains. For the alternative, it was safer to watch a complete horror film. This was the most frustrating day of a tour so far, but England had promised a lot but not delivered maddeningly little. Worse than when they lost to a historic loss in Rajkot and even worse than when they threw it all away in Ranchi.

PAUL NEWMAN IN RANCHI: Bashir was four for 84, hardly surprising to be the best figures of his fledgling career, as India struggled to deal with the uneven bounce and turn England's newcomer extracted from the cracked surface from his height of 6ft 4in. And with the imposing prospect of batting last, Hartley, who was postponed by Stokes' introduction until the 32nd century, is now 134 behind and facing the perplexing prospect of batting last.

Fireworks have blazed the stand-by. This fourth Test may be short, and England will only hope, sweet, as they try to pull Rajkot behind them and level this series. Well, Ben Stokes said on Wednesday that he had never seen anything like the dark brown, ultra-dry, and cracked pitch that brought back memories of England's last Indian tour three years ago, when the team lost by a 3-1 series loss to rank turners. When asked to describe the surface two days out at this north-western outpost where an international stadium was constructed 12 years ago almost in honor of legendary local MS Dhoni,' said the England captain.

NASSER HUSSAIN: Ben Duckett is the player who epitomises English cricket's mindset shift. Duckett talked about what he learned from England's first winter in 2016-17, when he toured Bangladesh and India and really failed. In Bangladesh, he played on some turning pitches and ended up with a 50 in a 1-1 draw, but was later harrassed by Ravichandran Ashwin of India, who swore out to him three times in a row, not helped by a tactical decision to get his front leg out the way and reveal his stumps in an attempt to open up the off-side.

RICHARD GIBSON AND PAUL NEWMAN — Mark Wood shone on his recall, but hundreds from India captain Rohit Sharma and hometown hero Ravindra Jadeja had stifled England's charge on the first day of the third Test. Wood, who was left out in Visakhapatnam, where the hosts levelled the series at 1-1, rewarded England's gamble by locating the edges of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill as India stumbled to 33 for three. Joe Roots' loss to reprieve Rohit on July 27 was a sliding doors moment, as the opener added another 104 before falling to Wood, who finished with three for 69 and shutting down the vivacious Sarfaraz Khan on debut.

NASSER HUSSAIN: The pivotal moment of the opening day, and possibly the series, came after England gave Rohit Sharma a life. Rohit had 27 and India would have been 47 for four, with two debutants next in, when Joe Root squandered the opportunity offered by spinner Tom Hartley. Sarfaraz Khan stepped to the crease for four in five hours five hours later, when the match had a completely different mood.

PAUL NEWMAN IN RAJKOT: It had echoes of Geoff Boycott's victory over Derek Randall at Trent Bridge in 1977, but this time it was the local hero fighting another day. Ravindra Jadeja had scraped off a promising debut on Sarfaraz Khan's debut on its debut in prime, but then had to cancel due to a single that would have given him another century on his home Rajkot soil. That gave Mark Wood the opportunity to end an enthralling day of his own by tossing down the stumps with Sarfaraz stranded after a hard-hitting 62 off 66 runs to bring to an earlier three wickets that kept England alive in the third Test race.

After a dramatic victory in Hyderabad, in which they battled back from a 190-run first innings deficit to victory, England took the second test against India with all of the momentum. However, they were unable to capitalise and were defeated in the second test by 106 runs in Visakhapatnam. With the series now tied at one win apiece, the third test in Rajkot will determine who is victorious in the series.

PAUL NEWMAN IN VISAKHAPATNAM: England fell short of a second miracle in a row this week after being bowled out for 292 runs on Monday, losing the second Test by 106 runs. After pulling off an amazing victory in the first Test, England got to a target of 399 and make history on the fourth day. However, even though they did have times when they were able to imagine escaping the near impossible, they were unable to repeat their first Test magic and left the series level at 1-1 with three others participating.

NASSER HUSSAIN: England under Ben Stokes is a hallmark of the team, but you also need the level of discipline Jimmy Anderson brought on an even-stevens first day. The reason I would have played him in the first Test match was because of his ability to turn in displays of one for 30 out of 17 overs. Sea bowlers are unlikely to pick up five-wicket hauls on these roads, but seam bowling in Asia over the years has taught us the skills and discipline needed to keep a track of the run rate.

At the end of day one of the second Test, England came to a close in Andhra Pradesh, where they had some much-needed late wickets. As Yashasvi Jaiswal greeted his countrymen on home soil with an unbeaten 179 balls, India looked particularly strong on home soil. England fought back adroitly, but Shoaib Bashir put all of his latest visa issues behind him, with his superb performance that claimed India captain Rohit Sharma as just his 11th victim in first-class cricket.

VISAKHAPATNAM: Despite the visa disaster that forced him into a rush home before he could testify in India, Bashir was forced to leave England's training camp in Abu Dhabi before the Indian government would allow him entry into the country due to his Pakistani ethnicity. However, the 20-year-old was thrown into the second Test here and immediately responded by taking Rohit Sharma's main wicket before ending with two for 100 after only five days on the first day.

PAUL NEWMAN IN VISAKHAPATENAM: It was certainly fitting that Shoaib Bashir would praise India captain and true batting great Rohit Sharma as his 11th victim in first-class cricket, and, more pertinently, his first in Tests. Of course, the Indian government tarnished Bashir's arrival in his first England tour at the age of 20 by delaying granting his visa until he had returned home from an Abu Dhabi training camp to present himself at their London embassy. However, the Indian board is tightly linked to the government, and their captain is a symbol of the most renowned nation in cricket, so there was even more joy that Sharma should become the first of many Test wickets for Bashir.

Despite their heroics in Hyderabad, England are 9/4 outsiders to win another game and take the lead in a 2-0 series. At 8/15 to level, the hosts are odds-on favorites, while a draw is 10/1. This test match also has three 'Price Boosts' on offer, as Sky Bet has Sky Bet. They include 'Ben Stokes to hit a six, Joe Root to take a wicket, and Tom Hartley to take 3+ wickets in the first innings' at 10/1, and 'all four opening batsmen to score 10+ runs each in the first innings' at 6/4.'

England won by a 190-run deficit in Hyderabad on Sunday to defeat India in a historic Test victory. Ben Stokes' side recovered after a difficult first two days with a spectacular 196 from Ollie Pope. In the first Test, debutant spinner Tom Hartley spun his team to a 28-run victory.

On days three and four of the match, Ben Stokes' team shocked the cricket world by producing a comeback for the ages, winning by 28 runs following stunning performances from Ollie Pope and Tom Hartley. Pope ruled India to win the Test by 196 runs, but Hartley recovered from a difficult first innings to take seven wickets, including the final one of Ravichandran Ashwin to win by a single run.

On the first day of their eagerly awaited Test series, England was eager to hear the clatter of Indian stumps, but not quite like this. Wicketkeeper Ben Foakes caused a slew of mirth when he mistakenly clattered all three stumps fielding the ball early in India's innings. After opener Rohit Sharma flicked a single to deep square, bringing India's score to 20 points without loss in reaction to England's 246, Ollie Pope returned the ball to deep square.

England is a 10/3 outsider to win their first test match against India in Hyderabad, which will begin tomorrow. In comparison, the home side is a very poor 2/5, with a draw costing 7/1. Sky Bet is giving three 'Price Boosts' for this upcoming match between the world's No.2 and No.3 ranked test teams for those with longer odds. The rises include detailed ones, including 'Ben Stokes to hit and six and take a wicket in the first innings' at 5/1, 'Ravi Ashwin, Ravi Jadeja and Jack Leach tp each took 3+ wickets in the first innings' at 9/2, and 'Joe Root, Zak Crawley and Rohit Sharma to score 50+ runs in the first innings.'

Shoaib Bashir has finally obtained his visa for India and will travel with the rest of the England squad this weekend. After the Indian government had initially refused the uncapped spinner a visa to enter the country due to his Pakistani roots, the build-up to England's five Test series with India had been delayed. England arrived in India with just 15 members of its 16-man squad, with Bashir being forced to return to London from England's Abu Dhabi training camp to try to sort out the mess.