Ashwin, the perfect team man

Ravichandran Ashwin. Pic/Satej Shinde

Though experienced off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has played just a solitary game against Australia in this World Cup, he is playing a supporting role quite well. And it was evident during the second drinks break when India's Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer were batting on 70 and 21 respectively against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday.

Immediately after the completion of Kiwi pacer Trent Boult's sixth and the innings' 31st over, Ashwin along with 12th man Ishan Kishan and a couple of support staff members rushed in the middle with drinks and two chairs. Kohli made full use of the chair while having his drinks and some breathing time to overcome hot and humid conditions. However, Iyer preferred to rest and had his water while standing only.

The advisory put out by Mumbai Cricket Association on social media

Even while returning back to the dressing room Ashwin didn't hesitate to hold both chairs before wishing Kohli and Iyer the best. Kohli went on to complete his 50th ODI century by scoring 117 off 113 balls, while Iyer smashed a 70-ball 105, his second successive century in the tournament.

No binoculars, baffling

Cricket fans, who were witnessing India versus New Zealand semi-final clash at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday had to follow strict guidelines before entering the ground. It's understandable that dangerous items like weapons, large flag sticks, umbrellas, animals etc are included in the prohibited item list. But, why are binoculars disallowed, fans asked. It's not uncommon for fans needing binoculars to enjoying a better view. Even Iqbal Shaikh, who was the security in charge at the Wankhede Stadium during the 2011 World Cup, reckoned that it should be allowed at every stadium for better game enjoyment.

"Now as per the new instructions, binoculars are not allowed, but we allowed them during the 2011 World Cup. They must have included it on the list of banned substances as a precautionary measure. But some fans want to see the players' expressions, so the use of binoculars help them identify them clearly. Even from Level-2 and Level-3 stands some spectators can hardly identify individual players. So I feel they can allow taking binoculars inside the stadium with proper checking," Shaikh told mid-day on Wednesday. "I went to South Africa for the 2003 World Cup and was in England during the 2019 World Cup. They had no such restrictions on binoculars inside stadiums," he added.