Two days before India began their series in England in 2014, I asked Virat Kohli how much it would mean to him to do well.
“This is a pretty special place to play cricket,” he said.
“I’ll be playing a Test at Lord’s for the first time. I have never played Test cricket here before and I am really looking forward to it. I have some goals I want to achieve, and I have been thinking about them.”
He finished the series with 134 runs from 10 innings, and the team manager made snide remarks about his girlfriend’s presence during the early stages of the tour.
When he got back to India, Kohli went straight to Mumbai to spend a couple of days with the man he had replaced as India’s No 4 — Sachin Tendulkar.
At that stage, he had made 1,855 runs at 39.46 from 29 Tests.
Those were decent numbers, but not what you would expect from someone who had been earmarked as the future of Indian batsmanship from the time he was a teenager.
In Mumbai, he went into the nets and practised while Tendulkar watched and suggested a few tweaks and alterations.
In 23 Tests since, including the ongoing one in Mumbai, Kohli has made 2,251 runs at 64.31. Nine of his 15 Test hundreds have come in this period.
On Saturday, it was as though we had journeyed back in time to Tendulkar’s halcyon years.
Only, instead of “Sa-chin, Sa-chin”, the chant that swept around the ground — 19,444 came in to watch, not bad for a format supposed to be in terminal decline — was “Kohli, Kohli”.
And how he obliged. Having arrived at the crease to face the third ball of the day, after Cheteshwar Pujara opted to shoulder arms to an incoming delivery from Jake Ball, he got started with three precise deflections down to third man.
Then, as Murali Vijay took charge against the spinners, Kohli was content to coast in his partner’s slipstream.
They added 116 in 212 balls before a poor shot from Vijay allowed England to roar back into contention. Karun Nair failed to make the most of another chance, Parthiv Patel nicked Joe Root behind, and Ravichandran Ashwin fell to a stunning reflex catch from Keaton Jennings — the century-making debutant — at forward short leg.
At 307 for six, India were no longer even sure of achieving parity. But such tight games of cricket often hinge on one incident, and that arrived a few minutes later when Kohli, on 68, smashed one straight back at Adil Rashid. He could not hold on.
Ravindra Jadeja added 57 with Kohli, and when he left, the astonishingly poised Jayant Yadav came in to give his captain company. By then, Kohli was batting on another plane, even on a pitch where you could glimpse plumes of dust going up where the ball landed.
He cut and drove the spinners beautifully and was no less harsh on James Anderson and Chris Woakes, barely used during the day.
Having taken 111 balls for his 50, he raced to a hundred in a further 76. With Yadav growing in confidence and surviving a caught-behind appeal — England had wasted their two reviews by then — the partnership was worth 87 by stumps.
The lead, on a pitch that will deteriorate into a sandpit soon enough, is already 51.
Before this series, Kohli played down any talk of revenge or atonement for 2014. The hubris of old is gone, replaced by steel that is intimidating.
If England did not rate him after 2014, they certainly do now.
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What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is the most popular virtual currency in the world. It was created in 2009 as a new way of paying for things that would not be subject to central banks that are capable of devaluing currency. A Bitcoin itself is essentially a line of computer code. It's signed digitally when it goes from one owner to another. There are sustainability concerns around the cryptocurrency, which stem from the process of "mining" that is central to its existence.
The "miners" use computers to make complex calculations that verify transactions in Bitcoin. This uses a tremendous amount of energy via computers and server farms all over the world, which has given rise to concerns about the amount of fossil fuel-dependent electricity used to power the computers.
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
POSSIBLE ENGLAND EURO 2020 SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope, Dean Henderson.
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kieran Trippier, Joe Gomez, John Stones, Harry Maguire, Tyrone Mings, Ben Chilwell, Fabian Delph.
Midfielders: Declan Rice, Harry Winks, Jordan Henderson, Ross Barkley, Mason Mount, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Forwards: Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Tammy Abraham, Callum Hudson-Odoi.
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RESULTS
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m
Winner: Omania, Saif Al Balushi (jockey), Ibrahim Al Hadhrami (trainer)
5.30pm: Conditions (PA) Dh85,000 1,600m
Winner: Brehaan, Richard Mullen, Ana Mendez
6pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 1,600m
Winner: Craving, Connor Beasley, Simon Crisford
6.30pm: The President’s Cup Prep (PA) Dh100,000 2,200m
Winner: Rmmas, Tadhg O’Shea, Jean de Roualle
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Dh70,000 1,200m
Winner: Dahess D’Arabie, Connor Beasley, Helal Al Alawi
7.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m
Winner: Fertile De Croate, Sam Hitchcott, Ibrahim Aseel
Ashes 2019 schedule
August 1-5: First Test, Edgbaston
August 14-18: Second Test, Lord's
August 22-26: Third Test, Headingley
September 4-8: Fourth Test, Old Trafford
September 12-16: Fifth Test, Oval
DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Director: Shawn Levy
Rating: 3/5
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THE POPE'S ITINERARY
Sunday, February 3, 2019 - Rome to Abu Dhabi
1pm: departure by plane from Rome / Fiumicino to Abu Dhabi
10pm: arrival at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
Monday, February 4
12pm: welcome ceremony at the main entrance of the Presidential Palace
12.20pm: visit Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at Presidential Palace
5pm: private meeting with Muslim Council of Elders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
6.10pm: Inter-religious in the Founder's Memorial
Tuesday, February 5 - Abu Dhabi to Rome
9.15am: private visit to undisclosed cathedral
10.30am: public mass at Zayed Sports City – with a homily by Pope Francis
12.40pm: farewell at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
1pm: departure by plane to Rome
5pm: arrival at the Rome / Ciampino International Airport