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10 Mar 2018 at 03:23

The third day of Indias training camp in Bangalore ahead of their West Indies sojourn was another intense affair, with an emphasis firmly on skill-sets. Ben Wallace Jersey . Offspinner R Ashwin, returning from personal leave, and opener Shikhar Dhawan were primarily in focus, even as the rest of the squad along with a few members of the India A and Karnataka team were also in attendance at the National Cricket Academy.Ashwin, among the first few to come out for training, had a brief conversation with Anil Kumble, his role model, before rolling his arm over to a catching man to loosen his stiff shoulders. He then sent down a string of deliveries at an empty net. Once all systems were go, he began bowling at the batsmen. His variations particularly stoked the interest of everyone present early on, before the attention shifted to Dhawan.The opening batsman started off with a solid session against Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shardul Thakur, the Mumbai pacer, on the centre pitch. Once he was satisfied with his brief stint in the middle, Dhawan came over for throwdowns from batting coach Sanjay Bangar and Raghavendra, the teams throwdown specialist.Shortly into the session, Bangar placed a fourth stump, a few feet outside off, next to where Dhawan was standing. The positioning was such that the stump was within Dhawans eyeline. It seemed as if there was a conscious plan to work on his feet movement and judgement outside off stump to away-going deliveries hurled at a fair clip.The video analyst set up a camera around where Dhawan was batting to record his trigger movements and his stance. After a few deliveries, Dhawan approached Bangar for an opinion on his wrist position while pressing forward. While returning to his mark, he looked at a group of journalists trying to decipher what he was trying to do. Learning the basics, he laughed.It seemed as though the plan was to eliminate his off-side weakness against the away-going delivery. As a batsman, sometimes, your head position generally gives you a clear indication of where your off stump is, Amol Muzumdar, the former Mumbai batsman and highest-capped Ranji Trophy cricketer, explained to ESPNcricinfo. Generally, with a good stance, me being a right-hander, your right eye generally serves as an indication that thats your off stump.The method could act as two things. One is to know where your off stump is, and two, probably the bat, in your backlift, is going a little bit away. Then you get an immediate feedback that your bat is going away, or know where your off stump is.Dhawans method was particularly intriguing, given his travails outside the off stump in Test matches. His general tendency to attack the ball has caused problems, which were exacerbated when India toured England in 2014. Dhawan was either caught behind or in the slips in three out of six innings, before being dropped for the final two Tests. The problem resurfaced in Australia later that year, where Dhawan also struggled against the white ball, which he generally is more comfortable facing. Aakash Chopra, Dhawans former Delhi team-mate, felt it was a case of a lack of footwork creating doubts in his mind. Its a combination of, I think, two-three things, he explained. Obviously, his feet dont move, and if your feet dont move, you end up playing away from the body anyway. It gets rewarded in the shorter formats, so you dont even think there is any need to change. And even though he likes to drive, when the ball is really full, he is on to his front foot and drives it well. But he gets stuck on the crease to anything that is in the in-between length. And even while his intention is to play from the crease, he doesnt really go onto the back foot, and instead just stays there and flashes outside off.Could it be an issue with his stance, perhaps? Chopra didnt think so. Its not that its crouched or its too wide. Its not too wide, neither too narrow in terms of his feet positioning, so its not that hes falling over, he observed. But he definitely has to get into the habit of leaving balls outside off. T20 cricket and limited-overs cricket tell you to play away from the body; playing away from the body rewards you because if you get too close, you get cramped (for room).Questions of whether Dhawan is temperamentally suited for Test cricket have been asked frequently, given the left-handers innate desire to attack. Muzumdar, however, felt that such batsmen were needed in a Test team. Not everyone is cut out like M Vijay, who takes his time and leaves the ball outside off stump very well, which in the last 24 months he has been doing superbly for India, he said. KL Rahul, again, is solid in defence, so is someone like Pujara. So there is place for an attacking player who would take on the opposition. I think he is cut out for international cricket. Weve seen his success and I think he is temperamentally built for international cricket.Dhawans supreme confidence in his ability has been known right from his domestic days and is one of the distinct aspects of his game. Has that confidence, perhaps, translated to excessive flamboyance in Test cricket?It could happen, there is no denying that, Muzumdar said. Again, its upto the high-performance athlete who would use that confidence to his own benefit. I think it depends, sometimes you may feel its overconfidence, but thats the way he has played cricket ever since he announced himself against Australia at Mohali with that swashbuckling hundred in his debut match. Confidence is a double-edged sword.But when that confidence works in his favour and he is at ease with himself and his surroundings, Dhawans batting makes for one of the most visceral joys in cricket. At the nets, he nailed a lovely straight drive that elicited a hurried leap from Bangar. Dhawan walked over to the coach and the two shared a laugh and patted each other on the back. Pleased with himself, a sprightly Dhawan strutted back to his crease humming a tune or two before gearing up to face the next ball. All seemed well with his world. Ish Smith Jersey . -- Chicago Bears cornerback Tim Jennings was selected Monday to his second straight Pro Bowl, while guard Kyle Long made it after a solid rookie season. Cheap Swingman Pistons Jerseys . John Tavares, Thomas Vanek and Kyle Okposo were also being counted on to slow down sizzling Rangers forward Rick Nash. That plan didnt go so well early. www.cheappistonsjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-christian-laettner-jersey . In Europe, top teams seem to be largely happy with their squads after spending nearly $1 billion in the off-season. And although English league clubs are unlikely to splash cash in January, Arsenal and Chelsea could be tempted to strengthen their squads with new strikers. BOULDER, Colo. -- Home-cooked meals at her house, featuring all the lasagna the players could eat and a game of hide-and-seek with her kids. A more lighthearted atmosphere at practice, complete with friendly football contests.In no time, first-year Colorado basketball coach JR Payne has changed the course and culture of the 18th-ranked Buffaloes. At 8-0, theyve already surpassed their win total (seven) from a season ago.This amount of success so early is somewhat of a surprise. Payne figured it might take a little bit more time to install her system. But her players instantly bought in and now theyre off and rolling.We have a great group of girls here, who just play their hearts out, said Payne, whose team hosts rival Colorado State on Thursday night. But I definitely did not expect to start this way.A little bonding went a long way. The first thing Payne did after being hired from Santa Clara last March was chat with each player. Just a get-to-know-you session. Whats your family like? Hopes and aspirations? That sort of thing.We really worked to build relationships with the kids, because we didnt recruit any of them, said Payne, who was 23-9 in her final season at Santa Clara. We didnt know any of them.But she could see their work ethic. Hard to miss, actually.Guards Kennedy Leonard and Alexis Robinson were always on the floor whenever she walked past the gym.Turns out, those two had adopted what they termed their 7-to-9 rule. They showed up each day from 7 to 9 a.m. and again from 7 to 9 p.m. to get in some extra shooting. The workouts actually started before Payne was brought on board and they would sometimes be joined by other players. Simply doing their part to bounce back from a 7-23 season a year ago that led to the exit of coach Linda Lappe.That (extra work) was for us, our team, because we were sick of losing, Leonard said.Payne didnt ask about last season. It didnt matter. This was a new beginning as the Buffaloes try to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2012-13.Were a very positive staff and always upbeat, encouraging, Payne said. Henry Ellenson Jersey. We have a lot of fun with our team.Like the other day, when the Colorado football team was playing Washington in the Pac-12 Championship game. The basketball team decided to play a little football. Later, they had dinner at their coachs house as they took in the game. They even played with her three kids.And last weekend, Leonard & Co. took two of Paynes children to see the movie, Moana.Everything with us is about family, said Leonard, a sophomore from Southlake, Texas. Constantly hearing that day in and day out, it builds an even stronger team and unity.The Buffaloes have taken to heart the three pillars of Paynes program -- be the toughest team on the floor, be the hardest-working squad and play with discipline. Theyve won by an average of 25.8 points and knocked off No. 15 Kentucky 79-69 on Nov. 19.We give everyone a role on the team that plays to their strength, said Payne, whose real name is Ali-Marie but was nicknamed JR as a kid by her father after getting into fights with her brother. Its an ode to the character J.R. Ewing in the show Dallas.Paynes system is a hybrid of what she ran at Santa Clara. They push the pace at times and theyre aggressive on defense. Also making the Buffaloes difficult is that they have seven players averaging at least five points, with Leonard leading the way at a 16.3.No one has to go for 30 for us to be successful, Payne said. All these different players, on any given night, have the ability to put the ball in the basket. Thats such a great thing for a first-year coach.So is this: A little chip on the shoulder of the players. Just to show everyone this program is on the rise again.Expect the unexpected, Leonard said. Because every day we go into practice and work on something new to try and get better. Well probably surprise a few people along the way. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' ' 



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