2nd Test: England cruise to nine-wicket triumph

April 26, 2015

Apr 26: St. George`s: England ended a wait of two-and-a-half years and 10 matches for Test success away from home with a nine-wicket win over the West Indies in the second Test on Saturday.

England cruise

Set a modest target of 143 after the home side folded for 307 in their second innings just after lunch, Gary Ballance (81 not out) and skipper Alastair Cook (59 not out) eased to the target with an unbroken 142-run second-wicket partnership after Jonathan Trott fell without scoring to Shannon Gabriel.

This first away win since a series-clinching seven-wicket triumph over India in Kolkata in December, 2012 means that England have retained the Wisden Trophy -- the symbol of supremacy in Test series between the two nations since 1963 -- going into the final Test in Barbados starting next Friday.

"To get a win on this surface, to get 20 wickets to win the Test was a great effort," said Cook.

"That second new ball this morning was really crucial. Once we got that one wicket we felt it would be testing for the West Indies the way our bowlers were coming in with real intensity."

James Anderson starred with the ball and in the field at Grenada`s National Stadium on Saturday.

He triggered a collapse which saw the home side lose eight wickets for 83 runs after they resumed in the comfortable position of 202 for two with opening batsman Kraigg Brathwaite on 101 and first innings century-maker Marlon Samuels at the crease

His country`s leading wicket-taker in Tests, Anderson made full use of the second new ball in the morning session, removing Brathwaite for 116 with a sharp lifter that was fended to man of the match Joe Root at gully.

He then added the other key wickets of Shivnarine Chanderpaul, via an excellent reflex-action take by Cook at first slip on the rebound from second slip fielder Ian Bell, and Marlon Samuels to finish with the excellent figures of four for 43 off 22 overs.

He also held two catches at mid-off and ran out Jason Holder, the man whose maiden first-class century denied England victory in the first Test in Antigua a week earlier, with a direct hit of the stumps at the non-striker`s end.

That dismissal effectively ended any realistic chance the West Indies had of saving the match and it was left to off-spinning all-rounder Moeen Ali to finish off the innings by taking the last three wickets.

There was one ray of hope for the Caribbean side when England started their run-chase as Trott played on to Gabriel.

However, Cook and Ballance hardly appeared troubled against a West Indies team fast running out of enthusiasm on another afternoon of blistering sunshine.

"We fought hard for four days but that one session this morning when we lost six wickets cost us the Test match," said a dejected West Indies captain Denesh Ramdin.

"I don`t why this keeps happening because we should be taking the initiative when we`re in a good position to win or draw the match."

Injury was added to insult for the hosts when Holder had to be stretchered off the field in the midst of his second over after turning over his left ankle badly at the point of delivery.

The manner in which he was grimacing in pain throughout the experience now raises questions about his chances of being fit for the third and final Test starting in his native Barbados next Friday.

Ironically, the delivery that left him crumpled in a heap on the pitch was pulled by Ballance through the hands of Samuels at square-leg.

Another moment of luck for the Zimbabwean-born left-hander came just before the tea interval when Devon Smith failed to hold on to a sharp chance at slip off Samuels.

Ballance became the third-fastest England batsman to 1,000 runs in Test cricket as the target got closer, and also enjoyed another reprieve via the embarrassed local hero Smith at second slip off Samuels once again.

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News Network
May 3,2020

New Delhi, May 3: In a startling revelation, India speedster Mohammed Shami has claimed that he thought of committing suicide thrice while battling personal issues a few years ago, forcing his family to keep a watch over him at all times.

He said his family members feared he "might jump" from their 24th floor apartment.

Shami, one of India's leading bowlers in recent years, opened up on his personal and professional life during an Instagram chat with teammate and limited overs squads' vice-captain Rohit Sharma.

"I think if my family had not supported me back then I would have lost my cricket. I thought of committing suicide three times during that period due to severe stress and personal problems," Shami revealed during the session on Saturday.

Now one of the mainstays of Indian bowling attack across formats, the 29-year-old was struggling to focus on his cricket, then.

"I was not thinking about cricket at all. We were living on the 24th floor. They (family) were scared I might jump from the balcony. My brother supported me a lot.

"My 2-3 friends used to stay with me for 24 hours. My parents asked me to focus on cricket to recover from that phase and not think about anything else. I started training then and sweated it out a lot at an academy in Dehradun," Shami said.

In March 2018, Shami's wife Hasin Jahan had accused him of domestic violence and lodged a complaint with the police, following which the India player and his brother were booked under relevant sections.

The upheaval in his personal life forced his employer BCCI to withheld the player's central contracts for a while.

"Rehab was stressful as the same exercises are repeated every day. Then family problems started and I also suffered an accident. The accident happened 10-12 days ahead of the IPL and my personal problems were running high in the media," Shami told Rohit.

Shami said his family stood like a rock with him and the support helped him get back on his feet.

"Then my family explained that every problem has a solution no matter how big the problem. My brother supported me a lot."

Speaking about another painful period in his life after his injury in the 2015 World Cup, Shami said it took him almost 18 months to get back on the field.

"When I got injured in the 2015 World Cup, after that it took me 18 months to fully recover, that was the most painful moment in my life, it was a very stressful period.

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News Network
January 31,2020

Wellington, Jan 31: A nervous New Zealand threw it away yet again as a perseverant India prevailed in the Super Over for the second successive time to take a 4-0 lead in the T20 International series on Friday.

Needing just 11 runs off the last two overs with seven wickets in hand, New Zealand dug a hole for themselves yet again, taking the game to a Super Over two nights after doing the same in Hamilton.

New Zealand managed 13 runs in six balls and India got there effortlessly.

KL Rahul smashed 10 runs off the first two balls before he was caught. Then, a fired-up Virat Kohli and Sanju Samson finished the game in style.

Earlier, Manish Pandey proved his value to the team with an unbeaten 50 off 35 balls, taking India to 165 for eight from 88 for six in the 12th over.

India's total wasn't enough considering the batting-friendly conditions but the hosts made life a lot tougher for themselves from a commanding position before succumbing to pressure.

The entertaining knocks from Colin Munro (64 off 47) and Time Seifert went in vain (57 off 39).

Mohammed Shami, who was rested on Friday, had bowled a brilliant 20th over on Wednesday and man of the match Shardul Thakur was up to the task this time, conceding just six runs when the opposition needed seven for victory.

With the series already in the bag, India gave opportunity to Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar and Navdeep Saini for the first time in the five-match series, resting Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja and Shami. However, none of them was able to make an impact in the game.

Chasing 165, New Zealand lost Martin Guptill early. But Munro and Seifert put on 74 runs for the second wicket to put themselves on track.

Munro scored a half-century of 38 deliveries, inclusive of six fours and three sixes. He was out against the run of play as Kohli's direct hit surprisingly found the target after a relay throw from the deep.

It was the turning point as New Zealand lost regular wickets. Yuzvendra Chahal bowled Tom Bruce (0), but Seifert found a partner in Ross Taylor as they pushed the score past 150 in the 18th over.

Seifert scored a half-century off 32 balls, including four fours and three sixes. But the great choke was yet to come again. Needing 18 off 18, the Black Caps lost four wickets in the last over bowled by Thakur.

Taylor holed out of the first ball, while Seifert was run out two balls later. Daryl Mitchell (4) was caught next and Mitchell Santner (2) couldn't steal two runs off the last ball as the sides engaged in a tie-breaker for the second game running.

This was after New Zealand won a fourth consecutive toss and opted to field. Kane Williamson didn't take part in the match owing to a shoulder niggle.

Tim Southee was the stand-in skipper, with the Black Caps making two changes.

Put in to bat, the visitors were struggling at 88-6 at one stage before Pandey's lonesome rescue act took them to a respectable total. KL Rahul contributed 39 runs off 26 balls, inclusive of three sixes and two fours.

Leg spinner Ish Sodhi got into the act and ran through India's batting order. First to go was Shreyas Iyer (1) and then Shivam Dube (12) was caught at mid-wicket.

Sodhi finished with 3-26 while Santner dismissed Sundar for nought as the New Zealand spinners rounded up a good outing with 4-54 in eight overs.

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Agencies
February 7,2020

New Delhi, Feb 7: It was on February 7, 1999, that Anil Kumble became just the second bowler in the history of cricket to take all ten wickets in an innings of a Test match.

He achieved the feat against Pakistan at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, now known as Arun Jaitley cricket stadium in Delhi during the second Test of the two-match series.

India had set Pakistan a target of 420 runs in the match and the visitors got off to a steady start as openers Shahid Afridi and Saeed Anwar put on 101 runs for the first wicket.

It was then Kumble who came into the attack and wreaked havoc on the Pakistani batting line-up.

The spinner, also known as 'Jumbo' first dismissed Afridi (41) in the 25th over. After the right-handed batter's dismissal, India kept on taking wickets through Kumble and Pakistan was reduced to 128/6 in no time.

Kumble then kept on taking wickets at regular intervals and he got his tenth scalp in the 61st over after dismissing Wasim Akram.

This effort enabled India to register a win by 212 runs, and Kumble became the second bowler after England's Jim Laker to take all ten wickets in a single Test inning.

Kumble finished with the bowling figures of 10-74 from 26.3 overs.

Kumble announced his retirement from international cricket in 2008 and finished with 619 wickets in the longest format of the game.

He has the third-highest number of wickets in Tests, only behind Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and Australia's Shane Warne (708).

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