PARAGRAPH,WORDS AND MEANINGS

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Topic Of The Day:-“Kohli’s Moment

The latest ICC Test rankings with Virat Kohli as the top batsman provide a curiously apt backdrop to the Indian cricket team’s current tour of England. His ranking was enabled by his 200 runs, 149 in the first innings and 51 in the second, in the first Test in Birmingham which almost took India to victory, but in the event spared the tourists the embarrassment of a crushing defeat. Together, the two overlapping statistics — Kohli’s success in taking command of India’s batting in both innings, even if it fell short of getting the team past the English total, and his ascent up the ICC rankings — frame the juncture the India team is at. Kohli has comfortably asserted his dominance in the abbreviated formats of the game, both One-Day Internationals and Twenty20s. Yet when it came to Tests, despite his 53-plus average, there had always been a debate over the critical distance he needed to traverse from being a very good batsman to being counted among the greats of the modern era. His dismal showing during India’s previous tour of England, in 2014, with just 134 runs from 10 innings, could not be ignored. Kohli is conscious of the need to prove himself in away tours. Once he had spoken of his dream to score a Test ton against Dale Steyn and company in South Africa and went on to promptly do so in 2013. England presents an especially important challenge to him. For one, it is a personal point to prove against James Anderson, who had in 2014 dismissed Kohli on four occasions. He has clearly learnt to play Anderson, and in Birmingham, his line around the off-stump was either countered with a straight bat and soft hands or left alone. More importantly, with England having revived the tradition of five-Test series, a victorious English summer has become a measure of a team’s ability to count itself among the best. In the first Test, Kohli’s innings were worthy of being preserved as textbook manuals on batting against crafty fast bowlers. Equally, his leadership qualities were revealed by his skill in shielding the tail as he piled up his 149 in the first innings. The ICC top ranking will likely remain his for some time. With 934 points, Kohli is just marginally ahead of Steve Smith (929), but the Australian is currently serving a one-year ban for ball-tampering and holds no threat; the next two potential challengers, England’s Joe Root (865) and New Zealander Kane Williamson (847), hover far behind. But the remaining four Tests, including the Lord’s fixture that began on Thursday, will determine the Indian skipper’s capacity to seize the moment. Kohli has clearly reclaimed his mojo in England, but in a team sport, he will also have to draw out the best from his whole pack to claim greatness.

MEANINGS AND WORDS

1) Seek

Meaning: Attempt to find (something).

Example: “They came here to seek shelter from biting winter winds”

Synonyms: Search for, try to find.

2) Underestimated

Meaning: Estimate (something) to be smaller or less important than it really is.

Example: “The government has grossly underestimated the extent of the problem”

Synonyms: Set too low, Underrate.

3) Intensity

Meaning: The quality of being intense.

Example: “The pain grew in intensity”

Synonyms: Strength, Power.

4) Fiercest

Meaning: Having or displaying a violent or ferocious aggressiveness.

Example: “Fierce fighting continued throughout the day”

Synonyms: Ferocious, Savage.

5) Criticism

Meaning: The expression of disapproval of someone or something on the basis of perceived faults or mistakes.

Example: “He received a lot of criticism”

Synonyms: Censure, Reproval.

6) Undoing

Meaning: A person’s ruin or downfall.

Example: “He knew of his ex-partner’s role in his undoing”

Synonyms: Downfall, Defeat.

7) Pool

Meaning: A shared supply of vehicles or resources to be drawn on when needed.

Example: “A car pool”

Synonyms: Supply, Common supply.

8) Lendable

Meaning: Grant to (someone) the use of (something) on the understanding that it will be returned.

Example: “Stewart asked me to lend him my car”

Synonyms: Loan, Give someone the loan of.

9) Elaboration

Meaning: The process of developing or presenting a theory, policy, or system in further detail.

Example: “His work led to the elaboration of a theory of evolution”

10) Apprehends

Meaning: Arrest (someone) for a crime.

Example: “A warrant was issued but he has not been apprehended”

Synonyms: Arrest, Catch.

11) Partake

Meaning: Join in (an activity).

Example: “Visitors can partake in golfing or clay pigeon shooting”

Synonyms: Participate in, Take part in.

12) Distress

Meaning: Extreme anxiety, sorrow, or pain.

Example: “To his distress he saw that she was trembling”

Synonyms: Anguish, Suffering.

13) Strenuous

Meaning: Requiring or using great effort or exertion.

Example: “The government made strenuous efforts to upgrade the quality of the teaching profession”

Synonyms: Arduous, Difficult.

14) Reassure

Meaning:

Example:

Synonyms:

Antonyms:

15) Rationale

Meaning: Say or do something to remove the doubts and fears of (someone).

Example: “he understood her feelings and tried to reassure her”

Synonyms: Put/set someone’s mind at rest.

16) Exertions

Meaning: Physical or mental effort.

Example: “she was panting with the exertion”

Synonyms: Effort, Strain.

17) Headway

Meaning: Forward movement or progress, especially when this is slow or difficult.

Example: “the ship was making very little headway against heavy seas”

Synonyms: Make progress, Make strides.

18) Comprehensive

Meaning: Including or dealing with all or nearly all elements or aspects of something.

Example: “A comprehensive list of sources”

19) Reconsideration

Meaning: The act of considering something again; review.

Example: “a careful reconsideration of the existing approaches”

Synonyms: Review, Re-examination.

20) Deemed

Meaning: Regard or consider in a specified way.

Example: “the event was deemed a great success”

Synonyms: Regard as, Consider.

21) Bust

Meaning: (Of a group or couple) separate, typically after a quarrel.

Example: “Now they’ve bust up, she won’t inherit the house”

22) Overstated

Meaning: State too strongly; exaggerate.

Example: “I overstated my case to make my point”

Synonyms: Exaggerate, Overdo.

23) Contagion

Meaning: The spreading of a harmful idea or theory.

Example: “the contagion of disgrace”

24) Reappraise

Meaning: Appraise or assess again or in a different way.

Example: “the Tory party has reappraised its strategy”

25) Aftermath

Meaning: The consequences or after-effects of a significant unpleasant event.

Example: “food prices soared in the aftermath of the drought”

Synonyms: Repercussions, After-effects.

26) Anomaly

Meaning: Something that deviates from what is standard, normal, or expected.

Example: “there are a number of anomalies in the present system”

Synonyms: Oddity, Peculiarity.

27) Roiled

Meaning: Make (someone) annoyed or irritated.

Example: “he has been roiled by suggestions that his Arsenal future is in doubt”

Synonyms: Irritate, Annoy.

28) Beleaguered

Meaning: Put in a very difficult situation.

Example: “the board is supporting the beleaguered director”

Synonyms: Hard-pressed, Troubled.

29) Curiously

Meaning: In a way that shows eagerness to know or learn something.

Example: “neighbours peered curiously through windows at me”

30) Embarrassment

Meaning: A feeling of self-consciousness, shame, or awkwardness.

Example: “I turned red with embarrassment”

Synonyms: Awkwardness, Self-consciousness.

31) Crushing defeat

Meaning: A crushing defeat, burden, or disappointment is a very great or severe one.

Example: “since their crushing defeat in the local elections”

32) Ascent

Meaning: A climb or walk to the summit of a mountain or hill.

Example: “the first ascent of the Matterhorn”

Synonyms: Climb, Scaling.