Established before India’s independence in 1945, Green Park Stadium is a world-class cricket stadium located in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.

Situated in the Civil Lines area in the northeastern part of Kanpur near the banks of the river Ganga, the stadium is named after Madam Green who used to practice horse riding in the 1940s. It is the only international venue in the country which is not owned by a state cricket association and is run by the Sports department of Uttar Pradesh.

Kanpur’s cricket stadium staged its first international Test match in 1952 against England and has since then hosted 22 Tests, 15 ODIs and one T20I.

Currently, the stadium has a seating capacity of around 45,000 including a student gallery and possesses the world's largest manually operated scoreboard.

The Indian cricket team has remained unbeaten at this venue in Test cricket since 1983, last losing to the mighty West Indies. India have won seven Tests, lost three and drawn 12 matches at Green Park Stadium.

It is the home ground of the Uttar Pradesh cricket team and has also hosted several first-class matches at this venue. 

Here, we look at the Test and first-class records made at Green Park.

Green Park Stadium Test records

Highest team total: India posed 676/7 against Sri Lanka in a Test match in 1986, which is the highest team total at Green Park in the longest format. After Sri Lanka registered 420 in their first innings, the hosts rode on Sunil Gavaskar’s 176, Mohammed Azharuddin’s 199 and captain Kapil Dev’s 163 to put up a mammoth score on the board. The Test match ended in a draw.

Highest individual score: Former West Indies opening batter Faoud Bacchus boasts of the highest individual score at Green Park Stadium in Test cricket. Bacchus�250 powered the visitors to 452/8 in reply to India’s 644/7d in the first innings in 1979. The Test ended in a dull draw. 

Best bowling figures: Former India off-spinner Jasubhai Patel holds the record of the best bowling figures at Kanpur in the longest format. Jasubhai Patel picked nine wickets for 69 runs to restrict Australia to 219 in their first innings in 1959. The off-spinner brought India back into the game after the hosts were bowled out for 152 in the first innings. India eventually won the match by 119 runs.

Most runs: Former India cricketer Gundappa Viswanath has scored the most runs at Green Park in Kanpur in Tests. The right-handed batter amassed 776 runs in seven Test matches at a staggering average of 86.22. He has smashed three hundreds and four fifties at this venue.

Most wickets: Former India cricket team captain Kapil Dev has claimed the most wickets at the Green Park Stadium. The right-arm pacer has bagged 25 wickets in seven Test matches with best bowling figures of 6/63.

Highest partnership: Mohammad Azharuddin and Kapil Dev hold the record for the highest partnership at the Green Park Stadium. The former Indian duo forged a massive 272-run partnership for the sixth wicket against Sri Lanka in a Test match in December 1986. While Mohammad Azharuddin scored 199, Kapil Dev slammed 163 as the opening Test of a two-match series later ended in a draw.

Green Park Stadium first-class records

Highest team total: Tamil Nadu posted a mammoth 696/5d against Uttar Pradesh in a first-class encounter in the 1999-2000 season, which is the highest team total ever posted at the venue.

Lowest team total: Uttar Pradesh’s 62 is the lowest team total at this venue in Kanpur. After Bengal posted 193 in their first innings, their bowlers bundled out the hosts for a humiliating score. Ranadeb Bose was the wrecker-in-chief for Bengal, picking five wickets for just 18 runs.

Highest individual score: Tamil Nadu’s Sridharan Sriram had smashed 288 against Uttar Pradesh in a first-class game in the 1999-2000 season. It is still the highest individual score registered at Green Park.

Best bowling figures in an innings: Uttar Pradesh’s Ashish Zaidi holds the record for the best bowling figures in an innings at Green Park. The former fast bowler scalped nine wickets for 45 runs against Vidarbha in a first-class encounter in the 1999-2000 season.

Highest partnership: Karnataka’s Ravikumar Samarth and Mayank Agarwal registered the highest partnership (unbeaten 262) at the venue against hosts Uttar Pradesh in first-class cricket in 2017-18 season. 

Featured photo: BCCI

Captaining a cricket team is a vital role in cricket that not many players can handle. There have been plenty of instances in the past where the burden and pressure that comes with captaincy affected top-quality players�performances on the field.

Even the God of Cricket, Sachin Tendulkar was not spared from the downward spiral that one can find themselves drowning in due to the pressures of captaining a side.

After all, it is believed that in cricket that a captain’s role in affecting the fortunes of a team is even more important than that of the head coach. 

Add to that, the extra pressure is associated with the sport in general in the cricket-crazy nation of India and it is easy to understand why skippering the Indian cricket national team is not everyone's cup of tea.

Over the years, India has had the luxury of boasting some great captains who wrote their own glorious chapters in the annals of cricketing history. 

Whether it is Captain Cool, MS Dhoni’s calm and calculated approach to the game, or Virat Kohli’s unmatched aggression, there’s not one tried and tested method to being a successful captain with the Indian national team. With that in mind, let’s have a look at the most successful captain in India.

Most successful captain in India by wins

Rank	Captain	Captaincy Span	Matches	Wins	Losses	Win Percentage
1	MS Dhoni	2007-2018	332	135	60	53.61
2	Virat Kohli	2013-2022	213	178	120	63.38
3	Mohammad Azharuddin	1990-1999	221	104	90	47.05
4	Sourav Ganguly	1999-2005	195	97	78	49.74
5	Rohit Sharma*	2017-2023	80	62	18	77.50

*Captaincy reign currently active

MS Dhoni - 178 wins

Besides the legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev, MS Dhoni is the only other Indian captain to win a World Cup for the country. Dhoni, in fact, has two World Cup triumphs as Indian skipper under his belt. His first was the inaugural T20 World Cup triumph in South Africa in 2007, and his second was the 2011 ODI World Cup win which ended a 28-year wait for the most desired ODI  trophy after Kapil Dev led India to the title in 1983. Dhoni also won the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy with India and has the most wins as skipper of the national side with 178 wins from 332 games across cricket’s three formats. He also led India to the number ranking in the ICC Test rankings and is widely regarded as the greatest skipper the country has ever produced.

Virat Kohli - 135 wins

As far as win percentage as a skipper is concerned, only Rohit Sharma has a higher success rate (77.50) than Viart Kohli. The swashbuckling batter from Delhi has a 63.38 win percentage as India's skipper across formats and he scored a ton of runs for the team, not letting the pressure of captaincy affect his batting performance. He won 38 out of 69 series across formats as India's captain and has the most runs as a skipper. During his reign as skipper India was ranked one in all three formats of the game and he also led the team to the most Test wins besides also scoring 20 centuries as India’s red-ball captain. His win percentage of 63.38 is almost 10 more than MS Dhoni’s 53.61. With 135 wins, Kohli has the second-highest number of wins as India's captain in cricketing history.

Mohammad Azharuddin - 104 wins

Mohammad Azharuddin led India from 1990 to 1999 at a time when Indian cricket hadn’t scaled the heights of today. Still looking to establish themselves firmly as one of the big boys of the sport during Azharuddin’s reign as skipper, it is safe to say the elegant right-hander did an excellent job leading from the front both with the bat and on the field. An excellent fielder who wouldn’t be out of place in the modern era, Azharuddin has the third-highest wins (104) as an Indian skipper. He led India in three World Cups campaigns and had the best finish as a semi-finalist in 1996.  

Photo credit: Alamy

Being at the helm of national affairs is a huge responsibility and a matter of pride. Cricket is no exception.

Being a long-time captain speaks volumes about a player’s capability of leading their teams to success. However, captaining a national-level cricket team sans any breaks takes a special kind of dedication and mental fortitude - a very rare trait.

Here’s a list of players who have captained their respective sides in most consecutive ODI cricket matches.

Hansie Cronje, South Africa - 130 matches 

South Africa’s Hansie Cronje captained 130 One Day Internationals consecutively from December 1994 to March 2000. While his term as the Protea skipper ended under unfortunate circumstances, Cronje managed to etch South Africa’s name at the top of this record list.

Cronje’s first match of this captaincy streak was just two years after his debut in April 1992. Cronje's final game as the captain of the South African team was on March 30, 2000, which was also his final ODI, but his streak ended on March 27th. Shauk Pollock captained one game in between. 

Mohammad Azharuddin, India - 98 matches

Mohammad Azharuddin is one of India’s most iconic captains and led the country in 98 consecutive ODI matches between December 1991 and May 1996. 

The first game of Azharuddin’s memorable streak was a thrilling tie that is still spoken about till date, a low scoring match against West Indies. While India scored only 126 in the first innings of the fifty-over game, they also restricted the Windies to the same score, forcing a draw. 

His last match of the 98-game streak was against England in Manchester, which resulted in a four-wicket loss for the visitors. Azharuddin played in the Indian Blues until June 2000, his last ODI. 

Shaun Pollock, South Africa - 89

South African great Shaun Pollock appears high up on this list. Between April 2000 and March 2003, Pollock captained 89 consecutive ODIs for South Africa. 

The first match of this streak was an ODI against Australia in Durban, where South Africa reigned supreme. On March 3, 2003, he captained the last game of this streak. It came against Sri Lanka and ended in a tie via the Duckworth Lewis method. 

Mahela Jayawardene, Sri Lanka - 85

One of Sri Lanka’s most loved captains, Mahela Jayawardene, captained the national team for 85 matches on the trot between March 2006 and February 2009. 

In the second ODI of Pakistan tour of Sri Lanka, Jayawardene started this streak that would go on to be etched in the record books. He took over from Marvan Atapattu and although he got out for a duck in that game, it was the start of a long reign as the Lankan captaincy.

The final game of the streak was the final ODI during India’s tour of Sri Lanka in 2009, where the hosts posted a 68-run win. 

Alistair Campbell, Zimbabwe - 76

Zimbabwe’s Alistair Campbell has captained the most consecutive ODIs for his team and sits fifth on the international list with 76 back-to-back games at the helm. The former Zimbabwe captain took up the skipper’s mantle in every ODI his team played between August 1996 and October 1999.

The first match of this streak was against Australia at Colombo in the Singer World Series between the two mentioned teams, India and hosts Sri Lanka. It ended in a massive 125-run loss for Zimbabwe.

The final game of this streak was played against Australia as well, this time at Harare. However, the result remained similar - a nine-wicket disappointing loss for Zimbabwe. 

Most consecutive matches as captain in ODIs

Name	Team	No. of matches	Duration
Hansie Cronje	South Africa	130	Dec 1994 - Mar 2000
Mohammed Azharuddin	India	98Â	Dec 1991 - May 1996
Shaun Pollock	South Africa	89	Apr 2000 - Mar 2003
Mahela Jayawardene	Sri Lanka	85	Mar 2006 - Feb 2009
Alistair Campbell	Zimbabwe	76	Aug 1996 - Oct 1999

Author: Varsha Badrinath

Featured photo: AFP / ETIENNE ROTHBART

Former Indian cricket team captain Mohammad Azharuddin has come to the rescue of 20-year-old Prashant Singh, providing Rs 25,000 monetary aid as he had yet to receive payments for participating in U-23 tournaments in the 2019-20 season.

Prashant, a fast bowler, represented Bihar U-23 in two tournaments (seven four-day games and four one-day games) in the 2019-20 season but failed to receive his match fees for participation.

"I played seven four-day games and four one-day games for Bihar in the 2019-20 season, for which the BCCI is yet to give me match fees, which amounts to Rs 8 lakhs. It's not a small amount. I'm not the only player from Bihar who has not been paid their dues,�Prashant said in an interview with Times of India.

“Many cricketers who played for the Bihar senior and under-23 teams have not been paid their dues, and are in a bigger financial strife than me," he said. As per rules, Under-23 players receive Rs 70,000 for a four-day game and Rs 17,500 for a one-day game.

Furthermore, Prashant Singh is also yet to receive a payment of Rs 50,000 for representing Bijapur Bulls in the Bihar Cricket League (BCL).

"When I asked the Bihar Cricket Association (BCA) officials about it, they said it was a voucher issue. However, it shouldn't have taken this long. People say that my career could be under threat if I ask for this money, but this fight is about my rights. I am yet to receive payment for having taken part in the Bihar Cricket League (BCL) too. I played for Bijapur Bulls and Rs 50,000 is due to me," Prashant Singh said.

Mohammad Azharuddin, president of Hyderabad Cricket Association, stated that he helped Prashant based on his family teachings. “I don't like showing off. I don't want to embarrass that boy and most importantly his family. It's what has been taught by my parents and grandfather," the former India captain said to TOI.

Besides Azharuddin, former India wicket-keeper Surinder Khanna has also stepped in to provide monetary support to Prashant Singh.

“I had seen this boy in Muzaffarpur four-five months back in a tournament, and was impressed with his talent,�Khanna said.

As a matter of fact, both Mohammad Azharuddin and Surinder Khanna were directed by Aditya Verma, the secretary of the unrecognised Cricket Association of Bihar (CAB), to help the youngster.

"I'm thankful to both Azhar sir and Aditya Verma, who told him about my plight, for helping me out in this hour, from the bottom of my heart. I still can't believe that such a big cricketer has helped me. I've just met Azhar sir once, when he came as a chief guest for a tournament, organised by Verma, two-three years back, but I've never spoken to him," Prashant Singh told TOI from his hometown of Chhapra in Bihar.

In response, Bihar Cricket Association (BCA) President Rakesh Tiwary said the 20-year-old will receive his dues soon. 

"All the players have been paid their match fee for the 2019-20 season by the BCCI. In Prashant's case, there was some technical issue with his voucher, but he will get his payment soon,�Tiwary said.

“We had sent all the invoices to the BCCI, but we were told that there was an error in them. So we have sent all the invoices again. Please note that a lot of our staff at BCA was hit by covid recently, which slowed down things a bit administratively, as people couldn't go to the BCA office," he added.

Featured photo: AFP / Prakash Singh

Cricket and Bollywood are undoubtedly the biggest forms of entertainment in India and when they are clubbed together, it is bound to be a blockbuster. 

Since India won its maiden cricket World Cup in 1983, filmmakers have not missed an opportunity to make cricket movies to entertain the masses of a cricket-crazy nation.

The first cricket movie in Bollywood was released in 1959, which was directed by Subodh Mukherjee. Titled ‘Love Marriage� the film featured Dev Anand and Mala Sinha in lead roles.

Here are some of the cricket movies made in Bollywood that every cricket fan should watch.

Lagaan (2001)

Directed by Ashutosh Gowariker and starring Aamir Khan in the lead role, Lagaan is one of the most iconic movies ever made in Hindi cinema. Set in the Victorian period of British Rule, the critically acclaimed film combines cricket with drama and nationalism. The story revolves around a small village in India where the locals were burdened by high taxes with an arrogant British army officer challenging them to a game of cricket. Released in 2001, Lagaan became the third Indian film to be nominated for Oscars after Mother India (1957) and Salaam Bombay! (1988).

M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story (2016)

Released in 2016, the film is based on the life of former Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The cricket-based movie was released across nearly 4,500 screens in 62 countries, making it the widest release ever for a Bollywood film. The MS Dhoni biopic featured Sushant Singh Rajput in the lead role, who later went on to commit suicide in 2020, creating a massive controversy in India. Directed by Neeraj Pandey, the film received positive reviews from critics. However, it was also criticised for omitting certain aspects of MS Dhoni's life including the spot-fixing scandal in the Indian T20 League.

Iqbal (2005)

With Shreyas Talpade as the lead and directed by Nagesh Kukunoor, this cricket film is about a deaf and mute boy from a remote village in India who aims to become a fast bowler and fulfil his dream of playing for the Indian cricket team. The film also features Naseeruddin Shah, who plays the role of a coach, assisting Iqbal (Shreyas Talpade) in his journey. The coming-of-age sports drama film won the National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues in 2005.

Patiala House (2011)

Released in 2011, this sports drama film featured a string of international cricketers including Shaun Tait, Andrew Symonds, Herschelle Gibbs, Keiron Pollard, Nasser Hussain and Sanjay Manjrekar. The story of this cricket movie revolves around a young British Indian, played by Akshay Kumar, whose passion for cricket falls into conflict with his father's dream. Directed by Nikkhil Advani, the film also casts Rishi Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia and Anushka Sharma in lead roles. The film received mixed reviews. 

Azhar (2016)

The latest entrant to the list is a biopic that is inspired by the life of former India national team captain Mohammad Azharuddin. The film, in which Emraan Hashmi plays Azhar, was criticised for its fictionalised interpretation of events. The Tony D’Souza-directed film was, however, a moderate success at the box office as it collected �/span>568 million gross against the budget of �/span>350 million.

Complete list of cricket movies in Bollywood (Hindi)

Movie, year released and cast

Love Marriage (1959), Dev Anand, Mala Sinha

All Rounder (1984), Kumar Gaurav, Rati Agnihotri

Awwal Number (1990), Dev Anand, Aamir Khan, Aditya Pancholi

Lagaan (2001), Aamir Khan

Stumped (2003) Alyy Khan, Raveena Tandon

Iqbal (2005), Shreyas Talpade

Say Salaam India (2007) Sanjay Suri, Milind Soman, Sandya Mridul

Hattrick (2007) Rimi Sen, Kunal Kapoor

Chain Kulii ki Main Kulii (2007) Rahul Bose, Zain Khan

Meerabai Not Out (2008) Mandira Bedi, Mahesh Manjrekar

Jannat (2008) Emraan Hashmi, Sonal Chauhan

Victory (2009) Harman Baweja, Amrita Rao  

Dil Bole Hadippa! (2009) Rani Mukerji, Shahid Kapoor

World Cupp 2011 (2009) Ravi Kapoor, Manesha Chatarji

Patiala House (2011), Akshay Kumar, Rishi Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia, Anushka Sharma

Ferrari ki Sawari (2012) Sharman Joshi, Boman Irani

Azhar (2016), Emraan Hashmi

M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story (2016), Sushant Singh Rajput

The Zoya Factor (2019) Dulquer Salmaan, Sonam K Ahuja

With the Hindi remake of the 2019 Telugu film ‘Jersey�, the Mithali Raj biopic and 83, with Ranveer Singh as Kapil Dev, already in the pipeline, cricket fans and film lovers have a lot to look forward to.

Feature image courtesy: Twitter/ Aamir Khan Productions

India’s sporting health largely rests on one man: the captain of the Indian cricket team.

Every Indian cricket captain carries the burden of expectations from a billion-strong country that reveres the sport as a religion.

From CK Nayudu, the first captain of the Indian cricket team, to Ajinkya Rahane, the Indian cricket team has had 33 captains so far in Test matches and 24 in ODIs. Here are some who have been an inspiration in their era.

Tiger Pataudi: The youngest captain of the Indian cricket team

Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi was undoubtedly one of India’s greatest ever cricket captains.

A trip down memory lane. This one's from the archives. MAK Pataudi with Sir Don Bradman. Priceless! pic.twitter.com/PsAJtzwNSQ

�BCCI (@BCCI) November 29, 2015

Famously known as Tiger Pataudi, he became the captain of the Indian team at a tender age of just 21 - the youngest ever captain of India to this day. Interestingly, Pataudi completely changed how the game was played in the country by instilling a winning mentality in his team-mates, leading India to their first overseas Test victory in 1967.

Despite suffering a tragic accident that left him with visual impairment in his right eye, Pataudi led India in 40 out of 46 Tests he played, winning nine of them. Under his captaincy, India defeated New Zealand in a Test series in 1967 which marked the country's first overseas series victory.

Kapil Dev: The captain who led India to maiden World Cup title win

Under the leadership of the great Kapil Dev, India lifted their first-ever cricket World Cup title by defeating the mighty West Indies in the finals of the 1983 Cricket World Cup. This win completely changed cricket forever in the country, elevating the sport to become a religion. 

#OnThisDay in 1983, India won their maiden Men's @cricketworldcup title

Kapil Dev and his side stunned defending champions West Indies, beating them by 43 runs in a memorable final at Lord's pic.twitter.com/DVchvVLH5P

�ICC (@ICC) June 25, 2020

He became the captain when the West Indies dominated world cricket and Kapil Dev led his team to win a match against the Caribbeans in his first ODI series as a captain. According to the winning members of the 1983 World Cup-winning Indian cricket team, that victory gave them the confidence to face the West Indies in the 1983 World Cup final. Kapil Dev captained India in 74 One Day Internationals (ODIs), winning 39 of those matches at a win percentage of 54.16. He had also led the Indian cricket team in 34 Tests, securing four victories under his captaincy.

Mohammad Azharuddin: The only Indian captain to have led the country in three World Cups

Mohammad Azharuddin, who became the captain of the Indian cricket team succeeding Krishnamachari Srikkanth in 1989, is the only Indian captain to have led the country in three World Cups. Azhar captained India in three editions of the World Cup in 1992, 1996, and 1999. 

 

He also captained India in 47 Tests and won 14 of them, which was a record for India until Sourav Ganguly went on to win 21 of his 49. A resourceful captain, he ensured India were ‘Tigers�at home having won 13 of the 19 Tests in the country. Under him, a young Sachin Tendulkar also flourished and went on to become a great.

In ODIs, Azharuddin was the most successful Indian captain with 90 victories in 174 matches which has been overtaken by MS Dhoni. He captained India in 174 ODIs and 47 Tests before a match-fixing scandal in 2000 abruptly ended his career.

Sourav Ganguly: The Indian captain who had an eye for scouting talent

Affectionately known as Dada, Sourav Ganguly is considered by many as the best captain of the Indian cricket team. ‘The Prince of Calcutta�was instrumental in spotting young talents, some of whom have turned into match winners today. The likes of Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh all started their careers under Ganguly. Under his captaincy, India played a super aggressive brand of cricket and even got on top of the opposition.

 

Sourav Ganguly also instilled confidence in the Indian team to win overseas. He led India to the finals of the 2003 ICC World Cup, losing to the mighty Australian side. India also dramatically clinched the Natwest series against England in 2002 under Ganguly where he took off his jersey and waved it from the Lord's balcony after a thrilling finish. Sourav Ganguly led India in 146 ODIs and 49 Test matches.

MS Dhoni: The only captain to win all the major ICC events

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the most successful Indian cricket captain, who has led the side to the 2011 ICC World Cup triumph and 2007 T20 World Cup victory, the latter in his captaincy debut. Under his reign, India rose to become the No. 1 Test side. 

 

 

The Indian cricket team also clinched the Champions Trophy in 2013 under his leadership, making him the only captain in world cricket to win all the major ICC events. ‘Captain Cool�led India in limited-overs formats from 2007 to 2016 and in Test cricket from 2008 to 2014. Dhoni was at the forefront for Team India in 200 ODIs, 60 Tests and 72 T20Is.

Virat Kohli: The most successful Indian Test captain

Virat Kohli is the most successful Test captain in the history of Indian cricket with the most number of wins (33) leading the side in 56 matches so far. He also holds the record for consecutive Test series wins (9) as a captain from 2015�017 (equal with Ricky Ponting from 2005�008). In the 2018-19 Border Gavaskar Trophy, Kohli became the first Indian and also the first Asian skipper to win a Test series in Australia.

 

Interestingly, Virat Kohli had captained India Under-19s to victory at the 2008 Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia. Kohli has led India in 92 ODIs, 56 Tests and 40 T20Is.

Former skipper Mohammad Azharuddin wants to see all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja included in India's semi-final line-up to add muscle to the team's faltering middle-order batting.

Virat Kohli's India have already booked their spot in the final four ahead of their last league game against Sri Lanka on Saturday.

But the team's batsmen have been criticised for losing momentum after the fall of their powerful top-order, which includes in-form opener Rohit Sharma and Kohli.

Azhar suggested that Jadeja, who is yet to feature at the World Cup, would be a useful addition with his left-arm spin and powerful batting.

"Maybe try Jadeja, he is a utility player," Azhar, who is the only Indian captain to lead the team in three World Cups (1992, 1996, 1999) told AFP.

"In the last game (against Bangladesh) I thought maybe Jadeja could have played because you had a very thin batting line-up.

"Jadeja on these (English) wickets with the ball holding up and not coming on to the bat will be a force to reckon with. He is also a good fielder and a lusty batsman. They should try him against Sri Lanka."

Veteran big-hitter M.S. Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav have twice faced flak from pundits and on social media for not accelerating the score in the final few overs.

Their intent was questioned in India's only league loss to England, when they managed just 39 runs from the last five overs when 71 was needed for victory.

Dinesh Karthik replaced Jadhav in the next game at Edgbaston, against Bangladesh.

"Definitely the middle order has not done well. You need to be prepared because sometimes the three wickets fall early," said Azhar, a stylish middle-order batsman known for his wristy strokeplay.

"Rishabh Pant coming back has given the team some stability. But still, a lot was expected from Kedar Jadhav but he has not delivered.

"You need to have a re-look at the players who are going to play in the semi-finals."

Attack

Azhar said Dhoni should not be singled out for blame but urged the middle order to attack.

"Sometimes you have to get on with the game," he said. "If you lose your wicket it's fine but you have to score runs.

"You have to apply yourself, you can't play scoring shots all the time."

Azhar hailed India's bowling line-up led by paceman Jasprit Bumrah.

"The bowling has been exceptional. They have bowled according to the wickets," said Azhar.

"Pitches haven't been exactly free-flowing for batting. The tracks are not quick as you expect them. The ball is not coming onto the bat."

Azhar is hoping that fresh wickets are used for the knockout games and not pitches that have already been played on.

He is confident that India can clinch a third World Cup triumph at Lord's on July 14.

"Of course they can win the tournament, they have just lost one game. With another three games to go they can definitely lay hands on the trophy," the 56-year-old said.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Ian Kingston