NEW DELHI: India opener and World Cup hero Gautam Gambhir on Tuesday called time on his career as a cricketer, announcing his retirement from all forms of the game. The 37-year old took to social media to reveal the decision.

ALSO READ: Full text of Gambhir's retirement announcement

"The most difficult decisions are often taken with the heaviest of hearts. And with one heavy heart, I’ve decided to make an announcement that I’ve dreaded all my life," Gambhir wrote while sharing an emotional video on both Twitter and Facebook.




Delhi's next Ranji Trophy game against Andhra, beginning on December 6, will be Gambhir's farewell match. The decision means the left-hander will also not be a part of next year's Indian Premier League.

READ ALSO: Gautam Gambhir - Where courage triumphed over talent

"IT IS OVER GAUTI. So, here I am, after more than 15 years of cricket for my country I want to retire from playing this beautiful game. Despite all the aches and pains; fears and failures I won’t mind a repeat of this in my next life too. But obviously with a few more wins for India, a few more hundreds and in the next life may be a few 5-wicket hauls as well," an emotional Gambhir said in the video.

"This may sound a little wishful but then I have seen wishes do come true. Two World Cups, highest run-getter in finals of both these games is a stuff dreams are made of and I only had this dream of winning the World Cup for you all. I think someone up there was writing my script but looks like now he has ran out of his ink!," the former India captain added.

The left-handed batsman will be remembered for his crucial knocks in both the 2007 World T20 and 2011 ICC World Cup finals. He had also led Kolkata Knight Riders to two IPL titles as captain in 2012 and 2014.

Gambhir last played for Indian national team in a Test against England in 2016. In all, he has represented India in 58 Tests, 147 ODIs and 37 T20Is in 15 years long international career. He has scored 4154 runs in Tests at an average of 41.95, which included 9 hundreds and 22 fifties. In ODIs, he accumulated 5238 runs at 39.68 (11 hundreds and 34 fifties) and in the shortest format of the game, he has 932 runs with the help of seven half-centuries.

The left-hander also had a prolific first-class career, which spanned 197 matches and produced 15,041 runs. He has 10,077 runs in List A cricket.

DUBAI: The mood around the Dubai International Cricket Stadium here on Thursday did not give the sense that it is going to play host to 25,000 fans who will brave the sun and heat to cheer either India or Bangladesh in a big Asia Cup final on Friday. The tournament has been sort of an anti-climax. The day the fixtures were drawn, it seemed the market forces and the caretakers of cricket had designed it to make up for the lack of India-Pakistan bilateral series. Two encounters were ensured but the big one did not happen. In a tournament of underdogs - where Afghanistan gave the big boys a scare - Bangladesh have made it to the final.



READ ALSO: Mushfiqur Rahim sets the middle-order tone for Bangladesh

So, you now have a team focused on retaining its pride as the top-ranked bunch in the tournament, and the other eager to give some happiness to its passionate fans back home. The usual drill ahead of such a final sees teams going through the paces in the practice area, polishing their skills. This time, neither team turned up for practice. Blame it on the heat and humidity and the cruel schedule. The organisers will certainly have to plan the tournament better. Yet, there is a final to be played, a final that has now come thrice for Bangladesh in Asia Cup cricket in the last four editions. A final that could be a game-changer in their cricketing history.

India, save the last edition which was played in T20 format, haven't been able to win the tournament post the 2011 World Cup triumph. Their smooth run here and Bangladesh's toil would make Rohit Sharma's men the favourites. But the Indian players are fighting their own little battles trying to stay in shape in the light of a cramped calendar that keeps them on the road for nearly 85 per cent days of the year.


"We won the Asia Cup the moment Tamim (Iqbal) batted with a fractured thumb in the first match against Sri Lanka," claimed Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza, still recovering from previous night's grind against Pakistan. Their star allrounder has flown back, their crisis man Mushfiqur Rahim is in pain due to an injured rib cage and the captain himself has a dodgy little finger in his bowling arm.

"When you are in such a situation in a battlefield, you either kill or get killed," Mushfiqur gave a peek into the mindset of the Bangladesh team after knocking Pakistan out on Wednesday night. Both Mushfiqur and Mortaza know that the match is billed as a chance for their team to settle scores with India after what happened in the 2015 World Cup quarterfinal, 2016 World T20 and the 2017 Champions Trophy. "They (India) are a far better team. We will fight till the end as we did against Pakistan," Mortaza conceded.


When asked about the growing India-Bangladesh rivalry in white ball cricket, India opener Shikhar Dhawan simply said: "Wasn't there a rivalry before that 2015 match? We are fine off the field." Not playing a final against Pakistan may have taken that extra pressure off the Indians. But Shikhar did have encouraging words for Bangladesh cricket.

"It's been just 18-20 years that they are playing international cricket. The fact they are consistently making the finals is commendable. Hopefully, we will win tomorrow. We could see them crossing that barrier also," he said.

DUBAI: India opener Shikhar Dhawan on Thursday said there was "no shame" in his disastrous run of form in the Tests against England as his plans did not work out despite giving his all.

ALSO READ: Asia Cup Final, IND v BAN - Top players to watch

Dhawan, whose place in the Test team is under threat for the home series against the West Indies, seemed unfazed about a possible axe.

The batsman, who has made a Test comeback in the past on the basis of his stellar showing in white-ball cricket, is back amongst the runs in the ongoing Asia Cup.

"I think it always helps when you perform well (irrespective of the form). Agar fayda hona hoga to ho jayega, nahi hona hoga to nai hoga (will see if my current form helps me in Tests). Whenever I play, red ball or white ball, I utilise whatever knowledge I have of the game," said Dhawan on the eve of the Asia Cup final against Bangladesh here.

"If you talk about the England Test, I did not do well but I gave it all. Others played better than me. I accept it. There is no shame in it. Then I came here to play white-ball cricket, had different plans because of different conditions. Sometimes they (plans) work sometimes they don't," the stylish left-hander said in his defence.

Talking about Friday's final, Dhawan said Bangladesh will pose a stiff challenge even though India beat them comfortably in Super Four.

"Pakistan may be a bigger team on paper but Bangladesh played better cricket than them and are in the final again. They are always tough to beat, especially at home. They are showing by performances they have gotten so much better. They know how to play under pressure.

"They play fearlessly against big teams and you have to appreciate that. Having said that, it takes time (to win major events). For them reaching the final is also a big thing. Hopefully, we will win tomorrow but you will see them crossing the barrier in some other tournament."

Dhawan and Rohit Sharma have provided India solid starts and that is one of the reasons why the side is unbeaten in the tournament.

When asked whether there was extra pressure on the two senior batsmen in the absence of skipper Virat Kohli, the southpaw said: "It was not like that. We felt that we had more responsibility in Virat's absence. It was a tournament where the management could give opportunity to the upcoming players, find out who all are equipped to bat in the middle order.

"That is why we took rest also (against Afghanistan), so that guys who have not spent time in the middle get to do that. Virat around or not, Rohit and I approach every match the same way, with the same effort. There is obviously a lot of difference between England weather and the weather here but we train well to deal with that."

On India-Bangladesh rivalry getting bigger with time, especially after the 2015 series when the latter won at home, Dhawan added: "Well, there was rivalry before that also. There will always be rivalry on the field. Off the field, we are friends but on it we have to do our job."

DUBAI: India ticked all boxes as they clinically decimated Pakistan by eight wickets in a lopsided Asia Cup group league encounter on Wednesday.

Scorecard | As it happened

It was a superlative effort from the bowling unit that saw them shoot out Pakistan for a paltry 162 in 43.1 overs before Rohit Sharma (52 off 39 balls) and Shikhar Dhawan (46 off 54 balls) added 86 for the opening wicket to ensure a smooth chase for the 'Men In Blue' in only 29 overs.

This was India's most comprehensive victory in terms of balls remaining (126).

After a wake-up call against Hong Kong, the Pakistan match was a near perfect performance for India as Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3/15 in 7 overs) and Kedar Jadhav (3/23 in 9 overs) were perfectly complemented by Jasprit Bumrah (2/23 in 7.1 overs) and Kuldeep Yadav (1/37 in 8 overs).

If Kuldeep's googly to snuff out Babar Azam was the turning point, Kedar Jadhav's unconventional side-arm off-breaks broke the lower middle-order as Pakistan never recovered from the batting collapse.

With the pressure of scoreboard virtually non-existent, Rohit and Dhawan showed why they are one of the most formidable opening pair in white-ball cricket.

The eighth over from Usman Khan enabled India to cut loose as Rohit first hooked him for a six using the pace of the delivery and followed it up with a pull shot for boundary and then short arm pull in front of square for another six. With 19 runs coming off that over, there was no looking back for India.

Rohit's third six was another hook shot off Hasan Ali followed by a drive through mid-off to complete his 35th half century in ODIs. He was fooled by a googly from Shadab Khan but by then India were on course for a comprehensive victory. Ambati Rayudu and Dinesh Karthik both contributed 31 to take India past finish line with consummate ease.

The two teams will now meet in Super Four on September 23.

Earlier, Jadhav produced a laudable performance as he did the job of a frontline spinner after Hardik Pandya (0/24 in 4.5 overs) was stretchered off the field due to an acute lower back injury.

This was after young Babar Azam (47) and veteran Shoaib Malik (43) added 82 runs for the third wicket and looked like taking control of the proceedings.

However, Pakistan suffered a batting collapse losing five wickets for 36 runs before Faheem Ashraf (21) and Mohammed Amir (16) added an invaluable 37 runs for the eighth wicket to take the total past 150-run mark.

Put into bat, Pakistan were in trouble straight away as Bhuvneshwar dealt a twin blow removing the in-form duo of Imam-ul-Haq (2) and Fakhar Zaman (0) to reduce them to 2 for 3.

Imam charged to a short of length delivery that climbed on him and the thickish outside edge was taken by Dhoni. Zaman, India's tormentor in the Champions Trophy, mistimed a pull-shot and Yuzvendra Chahal took a well-judged catch.

Babar and Malik then resurrected the innings with a fine partnership. The half-volleys on both sides of the wicket were driven with ferocity.

Malik, who is a good player of spin bowling, gave Kuldeep Yadav the charge to hit him for a six and rotated the strike well.

In fact, Malik was dropped off Pandya's bowling, whose agonies increased when he had to leave the field.

Babar failed to read Kuldeep's googly as it clipped his off-bail. From 85 for 2, it soon became 100 for five as Pakistan lost wickets in a heap.

Sarfraz Ahmed (6) was dismissed by Jadhav as substitute fielder Manish Pandey took a blinder at long-on.

The Pakistani batsmen found it extremely difficult to read Jadhav's round-arm action as he bowled straight and wide. Asif Ali was caught behind and then Malik was run-out by a direct throw from Ambati Rayudu.

Shadab Khan (8) was stumped by Dhoni as he became Yadav's third victim of the match.

Faheem and Amir did try their bit as Pakistan crossed the 150-run mark before Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah wrapped up the tail in the 44th over.

HONG KONG INNINGS (259/8)

End of Over 50: India (285/7) beat Hong Kong (259/8) by 26 runs in Group A match at Dubai. (Nizakat Khan 92, Anshuman Rath 73; Kuldeep Chahal 3/46, Khaleel Ahmed 3/48)

49.1 overs: Slower one from Khaleel and chipped straight up by Ehsan Khan (22). Easy return catch for the youngster, who now has three wickets.

End of Over 48: The writing is on the wall! HKG 249/7, requiring 37 off 12 balls now.

46.3 overs: Stumped! McKechnie (7) misses the line jumping out to Kuldeep. Easy job for Dhoni, who removes the stumps. HKG 240/7.



End of Over 45: Chahal strikes twice in one over. Kinchit (17) first to go caught by Dhawan and then Aizaz LBW for a first-ball duck. HKG 230/6, requiring 56 runs in 30 balls. Chahal finishes with figures of 3/46.

End of Over 43: HKG are hanging in there, with Kinchit Shah using the long handle well. 13 runs in that over from Chahal, including a six by Shah. HKG 220/4.

40.2 overs: Fourth HKG batsman falls as Yuzvendra Chahal gets among the wickets by dismissing Babar Hayat (18) caught behind. HKG 199/4 in 40.2 overs.

39.1 overs: Khaleel strikes again as he gets an edge off Christopher Carter's (3) bat. Dhoni does the rest with a simple catch. HKG 191/3.

End of Over 38: The asking rate has gone past 8.50. Babar Hayat and Christopher Cart has a huge task at hand. HKG 183/2.

35.4 overs: First international wicket for Khaleel Ahmed! Nizakat trapped LBW for 92. Decision reviewed by the batsman but that's out! Hong Kong lose two quick wickets. 175/2.

34.1 overs: First wicket for India! Kuldeep strikes as Anshuman (73) drives it straight to Rohit at short cover. HKG 174/1 .



Drinks Break: HKG 167/0 in 33 overs, need 119 runs more in 102 balls. Nizakat Khan batting on 87, Anshuman on 71.

End of Over 31: Shardul Thakur returns to the crease and it results in two boundaries for Hong Kong. In total 13 runs from the over. His figures 0/41 in 4 overs. HKG 157/0.

29th over: Fifty for HKG captain Anshuman Rath - his seventh in ODIs. Can he kick on to play a big one to stun India?

End of Over 28: Chahal and Yadav have completed 12 overs between them (6 each) giving away 44 runs in total without a wicket. That speaks volumes about the way Nizakat (79*) and Anshuman (48*) have read and played the spin twins. HKG 135/0.

End of Over 25: Hong Kong will take this any day against India. They are 130/0 chasing 286 to win. Nizakat on 74* and Anshuman 46*.

End of Over 21: HKG 115/0 as Nizakat Khan seems to be cramping up in hot Dubai conditions.

End of Over 18: Hong Kong raise their first ever 100-run opening partnership with Nizakat (60*) and Anshuman (32*) taking their team to 101/0 in 18 overs in reply to India's 285/7.



End of Over 15: DROPPED! Yuzvendra Chahal puts down a low but catchable return chance to let off Anshuman Rath (29*), who, along with Nizakat Khan (54*), is playing India's spin twins Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav watchfully. HKG 89/0.

11.3 Overs: Fifty for Nizakat Khan in just 45 balls, and he brings it up with a SIX off Shardul Thakur. Hong Kong 76/0 in 11.3 overs. India surely didn't expect this.

9.2 Overs: Exactly the start Hong Kong wanted chasing 286 to upset India. Openers Nizakat and Anshuman raise fifty in 9.2 overs.

End of Over 8: Good start by Shardul Thakur, gives away just two runs in his first six balls having replaced Khaleel Ahmed as first change. But India still searching for their first wicket. HKG 47/0.

End of Over 6: Anshuman thumps Khaleel through the covers for a crisp boundary, his first. HKG looking good at 26/0.

End of Over 3: Nizakat Khan and Anshuman Rath not looking in any trouble against the new-ball bowling of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and debutant Khaleel Ahmed.

INDIA INNINGS (285/7)

End of Over 50 : Hong Kong come back to limit India to 285/7 in 50 overs after Shikhar Dhawan's 127. Ambati Rayudu made 60. Kinchit Shah (3/39) the most successful bowler for HKG.



49.2 overs: Shardul Thakur dismissed by Aizaz Khan for a duck.

48.4 overs: Bhuvneshwar goes for 9 caught at short mid-wicket as Kinchit Shah gets his third wicket. India 277/6

End of Over 47: Three overs left as Jadhav's chipped SIX showed what he can do with the bat. India 271/5 in 47 overs. Can they get to 300?

End of Over 45: India 256/5, now it's touch and go for 300. Jadhav batting on 6 and Bhuvneshwar on 4.

42.3 overs: Double blow turns into triple for India. Dinesh Karthik (33) perishes in the deep to a brilliant catch by Babar Hayat off Kinchit Shah. India slip to 249/5. India's tail begins with Bhuvneshwar Kumar walking into the middle.

41.4 overs: Faint edge and well caught by the wicketkeeper as MS Dhoni is sent back by spinner Ehsan Khan for a duck. Disappointment all around in the stadium. India 242/4. Kedar Jadhav joins Dinesh Karthik (29*).

40.4 overs: Shikhar Dhawan walks back after a brilliant knock of 127 off 120 balls. India 240/3 in 40.4 overs. Karthik batting on 27. Kinchit Shah the wicket-taker for HKG.

End of Over 38: An LBW shout against Dhawan reviewed by Hong Kong spinner Ehsan Khan as the left-hander went for a reverse sweep. But it struck his pad outside off-stump. India 215/2.


End of Over 36: Shikhar Dhawan completes his 14th ODI century to kick off India's Asia Cup in style. Reaches the landmark in 105 balls. India 198/2..


End of Over 32: Dinesh Karthik is the new man in to join Shikhar Dhawan, who is on 89*. India 176/2.

29.2 Overs- Ehsan Nawaz strikes to remove Ambati Rayudu (60). A fine, high catch by the wicketkeeper standing up. India 161/2 at the end of a 116-run partnership.


End of Over 28: Ambati Rayudu, too, brings up his half-century -- the 7th of his ODI career -- in 63 balls. India 152/1 in 28 overs.

End of Over 26: Rayudu is within five runs from his seventh ODI fifty. Exactly the start he was looking for after being recalled to the squad. India 142/1.

End of Over 23: India 128/1. Rayudu has moved up to 37* and Dhawan is on 67*. Nothing much in the wicket and the bowling is not menacing at all, so a big total looks like an understatement at the moment.

End of Over 20: Rayudu (29*) opens his shoulders with first SIX for India. A pull shot for a maximum after Dhawan celebrated his fifty off a boundary in the same over -- bowled by Nizakat Khan.

19.1 overs: 26th ODI half-century for Shikhar Dhawan. The left-hander brings it up off 57 balls. He hit 8 fours en route. India 96/1.


End of 15 Overs: India 77/1. Hong Kong have managed to put some plug on the boundaries but it's only regular wickets that can keep them in the contest.

End of Over 12: Rayudu (7* off 10) is settling in nicely as Dhawan (37*) approaches another ODI half-century. India 68/1.

End of Over 10:Dhawan (30*) isn't holding back despite the fall of Rohit's wicket, cuts Ehsan backward of point for two consecutive boundaries. India 56/1.

7.4 Overs: Hong Kong draw first blood and it's the big wicket of Rohit Sharma (23), dismissed by Ehsan Khan. India 45/1 in 7.4 overs. Ambati Rayudu is the new batsman in.

End of Over 7: Just two runs from that over off Aizaz Khan, which is what HKG will be looking to have from the other end as well. India 44/0.

End of Over 5: No trouble whatsoever for Dhawan (11*) and Rohit (22*), especially the captain who ends the fifth over with back-to-back fours. India 34/0.

End of Over 4: After four dot balls, Rohit pulls the next one in front of square leg for the second boundary off his bat. India 21/0.

End of Over 3: Dhawan gets first boundary under his belt, It was delivered short and wide of the off-stump by Tanwir, and Dhawan drove it through covers. India 17/0

0.4 Over: Rohit Sharma drives through the covers to hit the first boundary of the Indian innings.

Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan out in the middle to open Indian innings while Tanwir Afzal will bowl the first over.


TEAM UPDATE: Khaleel Ahmed makes his debut for India.

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Khaleel Ahmed

Hong Kong: Nizakat Khan, Anshuman Rath (c), Babar Hayat, Christopher Carter, Kinchit Shah, Ehsan Khan, Aizaz Khan, Scott McKechnie(w), Tanwir Afzal, Ehsan Nawaz, Nadeem Ahmed

TOSS UPDATE: Hong Kong win the toss and decide to bowl first. India, led by Rohit Sharma in Virat Kohli's absence, will look to put a big total on the board to start their Asia Cup campaign.

PREVIEW

Favourites India will look to sweep aside minnows Hong Kong in their Asia Cup opener on Tuesday and prepare for the much-anticipated clash against arch-rivals Pakistan the next day.

Hong Kong lost to Pakistan by eight wickets in their first game. India, who even without talismanic skipper Virat Kohli, should give them the same treatment.

Under Rohit Sharma's captaincy and with experienced MS Dhoni in their ranks, India will look to get their combination right in the first game before the tougher test of Pakistan on which all eyes will rest.

Besides Rohit, the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul and Kedar Jadhav add teeth to their batting while in the bowling department, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal throw up a lot of variety.