Rishabh Pant needs to improve his throwing technique: Fielding coach
Birmingham: The burly Rishabh Pant not only needs to be more athletic in the outfield but also improve his throwing technique, observed fielding coach R Sridhar after his few lapses during the World Cup game against Bangladesh.
Sridhar admitted that as far as fielding in the outfield is concerned, Pant is still a work in progress.
"A lot of work has to go into him (Pant). First of all, he needs to improve his technique in throwing and also needs to be a little more athletic to be an outfielder," Sridhar said at the mixed zone after India posted a 28-run win over Bangladesh here on Tuesday to make it to the World Cup semifinals.
The skipper Virat Kohli and senior-most player Mahendra Singh Dhoni have identified a few specific fielding positions in the deep for Pant.
"We have to use him in appropriate (fielding) positions, that is what Virat and MS are keen on. Keep him at right places at the right time. In the last game (vs England), he saved at least five runs which is a huge bonus. He took a catch as well," the former first-class cricketer said.
As per Sridhar's assessment, veteran Dinesh Karthik is a better outfielder compared to the young turk.
"Obviously, Dinesh despite being a wicketkeeper is a good outfielder. He pulls off some good saves at backward point. Rishabh is developing and he needs to do this a bit more to develop the awareness, to get a hang of it. That's why we harp about getting fielders in same positions so that they get an idea."
In a ground like Edgbaston, which isn't exactly spherical in shape, knowledge of angles becomes important, Sridhar said.
"This is all about awareness just like you saw in the last game against England. This ground is a bit like Eden Gardens. Once you are beaten, there's no way that you can chase it. There is no point running around towards the boundary line."
He then spoke about the solution in such uniquely shaped grounds.
"You have to cut the angles. We are used to playing in such grounds and we will have to be aware of that. You will always not get grounds of spherical shape so awareness becomes key," Sridhar added.
The fielding coach also gave details about how Indian players are encouraged to throw one bounce into the pitches adjacent to the match strip in order to scuff the leather off cherry, which will then help the slow bowlers.
"We don't have any equipment to measure the pace of the throw from the outfield. But we ensure that the throw is nice and hard.
"The reason being that once the ball stops swinging, we want to use the practice pitches to bash (scuff) it up a little bit so that the spinners can get some help," he said.
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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
