Dhoni to not inaugurate pavilion in Ranchi stadium, Bhuvi on IPL workload and more - Cricket News Today, 7th March 2019

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South Africa doubled in the second ODI against Sri Lanka as the bowlers defended 251 after the middle and lower order collapsed. It was Sri Lanka’s fifth straight loss in the ODI format and they have won just one 50-over game since September last year. Meanwhile, India and Australia have traveled to Ranchi for the third ODI as India look to wrap up the series.

New Zealand face Bangladesh in the Basin Reserve in Wellington and the visitors (Bangladesh) will be seeking a quick turnaround on what has been a disastrous tour so far. Meanwhile, the Indian women have lost yet another T20I series as they came up short in the second T20I as well.

Here are all the top news that made headlines in the cricketing world today:

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Bhuvneshwar Kumar hints at rest during the second half of the IPL

After a short break, Bhuvneshwar Kumar is back in the Indian side ahead of the third ODI. He replaces Siddarth Kaul who played just one T20I and was benched in the ODIs as well. India’s premier white-ball pacer had his say on the workload and the IPL in the press conference ahead of the third game in Ranchi.

There’s been a lot of talk about workload management with the all-important World Cup just a couple of months away. Ahead of this series against Australia, Indian skipper Virat Kohli said that the players will have to be smart in managing their workload and taking breaks.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar acknowledged his captain’s thoughts as he too felt managing the workload will be on everyone’s mind and they will have to assess which games to play, especially in the second half of the IPL.

“That [workload management] is something that's there in all of our minds. We have to manage everything. We cannot decide how much we are going to play or workload management. It will come into play after the first-half of IPL. [After] six-seven matches, we can know how we can approach the second-half of IPL and what we need to do to remain fit for the World Cup,” the 29-year-old pacer said.

MS Dhoni refuses to inaugurate a pavilion named after him in Ranchi

MS Dhoni’s exploits in international cricket brought the city Ranchi into the limelight. The JSCA stadium located in the capital city of Jharkhand made it’s international debut back in 2013 and has hosted seven international games so far.

The stadium and state’s cricket authorities had decided to name the North Block stand which consists of the media box and the VIP boxes after MS Dhoni’s name. The 38-year-old Ranchi wicket-keeper was invited to inaugurate the stand but the former Indian skipper politely declined the request. Dhoni said, “Dada apne hi ghar mein kya inaugurate karna [How can someone inaugurate his own home].”

JSCA secretary Debashis Chakraborty admitted that Dhoni is still very down to earth. “We requested him but he said ‘Dada apne hi ghar mein kya inaugurate karna.’ He is still so humble and down to earth,” Chakraborty said in an interview with India Today.

Obed McCoy replaces Andre Russell in Windies T20I squad

22-year-old pacer Obed McCoy has been included in the West Indies squad for the remainder of the T20I series. The left-arm fast bowler replaces Andre Russell in the squad who has failed to recover from his knee injury. Russell’s long-standing knee problem has recurred and it has had an adverse reaction.

McCoy will join his other teammates ahead of the second T20I in St. Kitts. He made his debut last year in India and played a couple of ODIs. He picked up four wickets in the two games he played.

The left-arm pacer has played just three first-class games but has constantly featured in T20 leagues over the last one year. He played for the Cricket West Indies B in the Global T20 in Canada while he featured in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) playing for St Lucia Stars.

He is touted as an exciting young prospect and he also took part in the warm-up 50-over game against England last month.

India women lose their sixth straight T20I

Things have gone from bad to worse for the Indian women’s team in the shortest format, especially since their semi-final exit in the World T20 last year. They have lost six T20Is on the trot and have lost their second consecutive series.

For the second game in a row, Indian batters failed to put up any fight and were restricted to 111 in their 20 overs. Mithali Raj was the top-scorer with 20 runs as the England bowlers were excellent. Katherine Brunt was the pick of the bowlers as she picked up 3/17 in her four overs. The other bowlers shared the spoils to restrict India to a below-par total.

The Indian bowlers tried to make a match out of it but Danielle Wyatt’s unbeaten knock of 64 took England over the line. India did have a sniff when they didn’t allow any of the top order batters barring Wyatt to get going and reduced England to 56/4. But Lauren Winfield joined forces with Wyatt to take England home with five balls to spare.