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Chanderpaul enters South Africa series under pressure in rankings
DUBAI: Veteran West Indies left-hander Shiv Chanderpaul will enter the opening Test against South Africa starting here Wednesday, with his top three spot in the world batting rankings under threat.
In the latest rankings released Sunday, Chanderpaul remained third but had Australian shot-maker David Warner breathing down his neck in the fourth spot, as per reports.
Warner hammered a century in each innings of the recent Adelaide Test against India, to jump two places up from sixth and is now only seven ratings points behind Chanderpaul, with 880 points.
And with the second Test against India in Brisbane also starting Wednesday, Warner will have the opportunity to further close the gap on Chanderpaul.
Likewise, the West Indies’ three-Test series against the Proteas presents Chanderpaul with an excellent opportunity to make movement up the rankings.
The 40-year-old, a veteran of 158 Tests, is a single rating point behind South African stroke-maker who will also be involved in the series against the Caribbean side.
Chanderpaul is the only West Indies player in the top ten.
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Sunil Gavaskar gives his opinion of GT allrounder Rahul Tewatia
The left-handed batsman from Haryana is garnering praise from all quarters for the way he’s finishing games regularly in the most exciting IPL season.
Gavaskar reckons Tewatia’s whirlwind knock in Sharjah (in IPL 2020) where he smashed West Indies pacer Sheldon Cottrell for five sixes in an over, gave him the confidence that he belongs to the big stage.
Speaking on Cricket Live on Star Sports, Gavaskar said, “That assault on Sheldon Cottrell in Sharjah gave him the belief to do the impossible and the confidence that he belongs here. We saw the impossible (he did with the bat) the other day as well. There’s no twitching or touching the pads (which shows a batter’s nervousness) when he bats in the death overs. He just waits for the ball to be delivered and plays his shots. He’s got all the shots in the book, but most importantly his temperament to stay cool in a crisis is brilliant.”
Gavaskar has also nicknamed the 28-year-old cricketer the ‘ice-man’ and lauded Tewatia’s ability to remain unruffled during the tense moments.