Updated March 27th, 2021 at 18:19 IST
Wasim Jaffer stumps Virat Kohli with a coded message ahead of series-deciding 3rd ODI
Wasim Jaffer has come up with a coded message for Indian skipper Virat Kohli ahead of the series-deciding 3rd ODI against England in Pune on Sunday
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Former Indian Test opener Wasim Jaffer has come forward and left a coded message for Indian skipper Virat Kohli ahead of the series-deciding third ODI against England that will be contested at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Sunday.
The visitors staged a remarkable comeback on Friday night to stay alive in the ODI series with an emphatic six-wicket win chasing 337 and with the series on the line, Jaffer has suggested Kohli get three things right.
Wasim Jaffer leaves a coded message for Virat Kohli
Taking to the micro-blogging site, Jaffer had posted an image of people enjoying a game of chess in Manhattan New York. He then went on to tag Virat Kohli by wishing him good morning and then informed that the photo will help him brighten up his morning. The ex-Mumbai batsman concluded by wishing the batting megastar luck for the third One Day International. However, he wanted the fans to solve the puzzle like he has been urging them to do so for the last few months.
Good morning @imVkohli a photo to brighten up your morning. And yes, good luck for the game tomorrow😉 #INDvsENG #decode pic.twitter.com/Vyfl7f24u1
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14)
What message is Jaffer trying to convey?
Now let us try and figure out what message is the 43-year-old trying to convey to his fans and well-wishers. The word 'chess players' refers to wrist-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, who happens to be a former national Under-12 chess champion. He had played chess from 1997 to 2003 before switching over to cricket.
The 'Washington Square Park' refers to all-rounder Washington Sundar and finally, the 'late afternoon sun' refers to Team India's new limited-overs batsman Suryakumar Yadav.
So did the netizens succeed in breaking the code? Here are some of the messages.
Chahal
— Ravi Desai 🇮🇳 Champion ICT (@its_DRP)
Washington
And Sky(at whose place?)
Chess (Chahal)
— Mr Sunil Chandel Viratian↗️ (@viratiansunil10)
Sun(Surya)
Washington (Sundar)
😜
Chess player=chahal
— aditya agarkar (@adityaagarkar12)
Late sun = Surya Kumar
Washington = sunder
Chahal, washington and sky
— A Dattatreya Varma (@ADattatreyaVar1)
Chahal Sundar sky.
— Viren Palera 🇮🇳 (@virenpalera)
England batsmen make easy work of the stiff run chase
While India's top and middle-order batsmen did play stellar knocks and helped the hosts post a challenging total on the board, the bowlers failed to deliver as they could not contain the flow of runs as all of the five bowlers who had bowled ended up conceding more than 50 runs as England made easy work of this run chase.
Openers Jason Roy, and, Jonny Bairstow added 110 runs for the opening stand after which Bairstow and Ben Stokes added 175 runs for the second-wicket stand as the duo made the Indian bowlers toil hard for wickets. By the time England lost the wickets of Stokes, Bairstow, and, stand-in-captain Jos Buttler, the top-ranked ODI side well already in a commanding position as the middle-order duo of Dawid Malan (16*), and, Liam Livingstone (27*) took the visitors home by six wickets and 39 balls to spare.
The three-match series is tied at 1-1 and the decider will be played on Sunday at the very same venue. Meanwhile, it remains to be seen whether the Men In Blue will be making any changes in their side or will they stick to the same Playing XI.
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Published March 27th, 2021 at 18:19 IST