Why is Virat so animated? Please ask him, says Pollard
Visakhapatnam: India skipper Virat Kohli has been a bit more charged up than he usually is during the ongoing West Indies series and rival captain Kieron Pollard is "clueless" as to what's been the trigger.
During the T20 series, Kohli's imitation of Kesrick Williams' 'notebook tick' celebration was 'television gold', and then he seemed agitated when on-field umpire Shaun George referred Ravindra Jadeja's run-out in the first ODI in Chennai.
In fact, Kohli was very animated after Pollard's first-ball dismissal.
"You have to ask him why he is so animated. I can't answer that for you. It is what it is. You ask him that question and let him answer that. I don't know. I have no clue," Pollard replied with a wry smile.
In pursuit of 388, the West Indies were 192 for three in the 30th over, but lost five wickets for 18 runs to eventually lose the second ODI by 107 runs here on Wednesday.
But more than the middle order collapse, Pollard was concerned about the 120 plus runs conceded in the last 10 overs.
"We were in a good position and if you lose wickets frequently, you put yourself on the backfoot. That's where we faltered in the chase and we accept that," Pollard admitted.
"Chasing 388, guys had to go out and express themselves, rather than trying to get in. I thought, where the game changed was in last 10 overs (of Indian innings), we went for a 127 runs, that's where we lost the momentum in the entire game.
"Before that, it was neck and neck and we knew it was a good track. We haven't really executed in the back-end which has been really the storyline for us when there has been a flat track."
On the day, Rohit Sharma was dropped on 70 by Shimron Hetmyer but Pollard defended his team's catching, saying that the overall standard has been pretty good.
"For me, personally, fielding is an attitude. The intensity with which you go out on the field, your anticipation and awareness of what is taking place at that point in time. Both teams have been guilty of dropping catches and making some basic errors," observed one of the finest fielders in the game.
Pollard also wants the broadcasters to cut them some slack as showing their bloopers again and again doesn't really help.
"But overall throughout the ODIs and T20s, we have been pretty good. Standards have risen a bit, but we are human beings. We tend to make mistakes. I keep saying in conversations that our mistakes are broadcast so that people can have opinion on it."
Shai Hope, on Wednesday, pipped Virat Kohli and is only behind Rohit Sharma in the top ODI run-getters list for 2019, with a match left in the calendar year.
Pollard was not too worried about Hope's none-too-impressive strike rate of 75 as he knows what the keeper-opener brings to the table.
"Sometimes we get carried away by so many stats and so many datas that we don't give importance to how we build a team. You don't build a team with guys who only play shots. You got to have an anchor who would hold one end," Pollard defended his colleague.
"If you look at how we played cricket in past few years, we have been losing a lot of wickets early up and so you have to build a foundation. You can't build the top part of the house and then build the bottom. We have identified Shai as someone who opens the batting and has been phenomenal."
It's all about knowing the roles and responsibilities rather data crunching, which Pollard believes is the media's job.
"You go up and down and that's how you find a middle ground. It's work in progress for us and we don't want to get into details about that strike rate. We leave that to you guys to write about and we would enjoy reading the articles," he said.
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13 lakh litres of 'Rail Neer' supplied to train passengers daily: Government
New Delhi (PTI): Approximately 13 lakh litres of packaged drinking water -- 'Rail Neer' -- are being supplied to train passengers across the railway network daily, the government informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply on Wednesday.
Apprising the Lower House about the Indian Railways' endeavour to provide safe and potable drinking water facilities at all stations, the government also provided zone-wise details of the water vending machines (WVMs) installed there.
"To ensure the quality of drinking water being made available at the railway stations, instructions exist for periodical checking and required corrective action to be taken.
"Regular inspection and maintenance of drinking water facilities is carried out and complaints are attended to promptly," Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said while responding to a question raised by BJP MP Anup Sanjay Dhotre seeking to know the supply of drinking water at railway stations across the country
"Complaints regarding deficiency in services, including water supply, are received through various channels such as public complaints, web portals, social media, etc. These complaints are received at various levels, including the Railway Board, zonal railways, division office, etc.," Vaishnaw said.
"The complaints so received are forwarded to the concerned wings of Railways and necessary action is taken to check and address them. As receipt of such complaints and action taken thereon is a continuous and dynamic process, a centralised compendium of these is not maintained," he added.
Providing zone-wise details of water vending machines, the minister said 954 such machines have been installed across railway stations.
"The Indian Railways also provides safe and affordable packaged drinking water bottles -- Rail Neer -- approved by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in trains and at stations," Vaishnaw said.
"Approximately, 13 lakh litres of Rail Neer are being supplied per day to the travelling passengers in trains and at stations across the Indian Railways network," he added.
