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enior India speedster Ishant      "   SSharma believes that the ban on saliva to shine the ball will  ,./).01% “And I would like to main- make things easy for batsmen tain the condition of the ball and it needs to be ensured that t’s not just the pacers who in a way that it helps pacers the competition remains fair. Iwill be at a disadvantage due whenever they come. Pacers Ishant, who has played a to the ban on use of saliva but also think the same way. When whopping 97 Tests, reasoned spinners too will suffer as they see spinners coming, they that if the bowlers don’t shine they won’t get the required refrain from shining the ball the red ball, used in the longest drift during middle overs, too much. This is how we plan format of the game, then it won’t feels India’s top wrist spinner things.” swing helping batsmen. Yuzvendra Chahal. On to his own game and “If we don’t shine the red The ICC has banned the the wiry leg-spinner said one ball, it doesn’t swing and if it use of saliva on ball as an inter- advice from Harbhajan Singh doesn’t swing then it becomes im health safety measure in the during his first IPL stint at the really easy for the batsman. I wake of the Covid-19 pan- Mumbai Indians has stayed think the competition should be demic — a move that has with him forever. fair and not a batsman dominat- raised concerns about the “...Harbhajan Singh once ed game,” the 31-year-old said game becoming even more told me — back your skills as on Star Sports show Cricket batting friendly. a bowler. My strengths are Connected. “When you use a natural varying my pace and beating The lanky pacer, who has element like saliva, it helps the batsman in flight. 297 Test and 115 ODI wickets pacers with swing and spin- “I have seen a lot of spin- to his name, feels that bowlers ners with the drift,” Chahal ners change their actions while will need to take special precau- said on ESPNCricinfo, specif- bowling at the Chinnaswamy. tions to ensure that they don’t ically talking about white ball I can sense their fear, I then tell use saliva as it is an old practice. cricket. this to the batsmen in my team “I feel that the most impor- Drift in cricketing termi- so that they can attack him,” tant thing will be avoiding the nology is the sideways move- Chahal said. use of saliva on the ball and ment in the air when a slow He feels that his attacking refraining from shining the bowler tries to impart spin. instincts are considered ben- ball. “If as a spinner, I cannot eficial by both Virat Kohli “We will have to take spe- used to shining the ball, espe- who represents Delhi in domes- get drift in the middle overs, and Rohit Sharma. cial precautions for this as we are cially the red ball,” said Sharma, tic cricket. the batsmen will have it easy. “Virat Kohli or Rohit This is something that will Sharma, whoever the captain affect every bowler in the is, they want us to pick up world. I will have to figure out wickets. Even if I concede 70    1  2 a solution once I start bowling runs in my 10 overs but pick in the nets,” Chahal, who will up three wickets in the middle be turning 30 next month, overs, it will benefit the team,” said. The spinners also com- said Chahal. 



3   plement the pacers in shining “The pace of the game also the ball, said Chahal, who has quickens when spinners are 146 wickets in 94 games. operating from both ends. If   +6,%-1 “Spinners use saliva too to there is turn on offer, it maintain the shine of the ball becomes difficult to play spin- ayern Munich could because we are aware that ners in the middle overs. We Bsecure an eighth straight pacers will bowl after us or are have always believed in going Bundesliga title this week- bowling from the other end,” for wickets in the middle end, but host Borussia he added. overs,” Chahal added. Moenchengladbach on Saturday without suspended duo Thomas Mueller and Robert Lewandowski. Bayern will be confirmed champions with a win on Saturday if second-placed Borussia Dortmund lose at relegation-threatened Fortuna Duesseldorf earlier in the day. That scenario would give Hansi Flick's side an unassail- able 10-point lead with three games remaining. in the top flight than any other American forward Josh But Bayern are without club, but are running out of Sargent. "This club has such a Lewandowski, the league's top time. long history, and no one wants scorer this season with 30 "We know how much is to let the team or the city goals, and Mueller, who is one riding on this game," said down." short of the Bundesliga record of 21 assists in a single cam- paign. "It's annoying, but we can't do anything about it," said Bayern coach Flick. Thiago Alcantara has also been ruled out, for three weeks and needs an operation after struggling with a groin problem, Flick said Friday. Joshua Zirkzee, 19, is an option to replace Lewandowski up front while Serge Gnabry could start for Mueller if he is fit after a back injury. Bayern proved they can score goals without Lewandowski by thumping Hoffenheim 6-0 in late February when the Polish striker was injured. They had a scare in Wednesday's German Cup semi-final win over Eintracht Frankfurt, when Danny da Costa equalised for the visitors before Lewandowski sealed a 2-1 win with his 45th goal this season. Mueller admitted Bayern were "tired", "worn out" and scrapped their way to victory in the first of three games in six days. But they are still in the running to repeat their 2013 treble having beaten Chelsea 3-0 away in their Champions League last-16 first leg before the competition was suspend- ed in mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic. Fourth-placed Gladbach pulled off a shock 2-1 victory at Borussia Park when the sides met last December. But Marco Rose's side have been erratic of late, crushing Union Berlin 4-1 at home at the end of May before stumbling to defeat at Freiburg last weekend. Rose hopes to include Swiss forward Breel Embolo, with the 23-year-old fit after an ankle knock. At the foot of the table, fallen giants Werder Bremen face a crucial game at Paderborn in a battle of the bottom two. Florian Kohfeldt's Bremen are six points from safety in 17th and three off the relega- tion play-off place following back-to-back home defeats. Bremen, who were in the Champions League a decade ago, have spent more seasons