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Alastair Cook makes swansong Test memorable with hundred

Agencies
September 10, 2018

London, Sept 10: Alastair Cook bacame only the fifth batsman in Test cricket history to score hundreds in his first and last matches as England took a commanding 283-run lead in the fifth and final Test against India, on Monday.

Before Cook, Australia's Reggie Duff, Bill Ponsford, Greg Chappell and India’s Mohammad Azharuddin had achieved the rare distinction of scoring hundreds in both debut and swansong Tests.

Cook combined with current skipper Joe Root (92) to keep Indian bowlers at bay in the first session on day four, with the hosts taking lunch at 243 for two.

Cook was unbeaten on 103, his 33rd Test century, while Root (92 batting) also approached his 14th Test hundred as they added 129 runs in the productive morning session after resuming the day at 114 for two.

Indian pacer Ishant Sharma started proceedings but soon went off the field complaining of ankle pain. Word from the team management is that the medical staff is assessing him as the pacer didn’t return for the remainder of the session.

Cook and Root continued to plunder runs at an easy pace as 55 runs came in the first hour of play. In doing so, the duo raised their 100-partnership off 171 balls as Cook started breaking records.

On 76, he went past Kumar Sangakkara as the highest-scoring left-handed batsman in Test cricket history, and will finish as the fifth-highest run-scorer overall, after Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis and Rahul Dravid.

Meanwhile, at the other end, Root scored his half-century off 81 balls as England crossed 200 in the 63rd over. He was dropped at slip by Ajinkya Rahane, on 46, off Ravindra Jadeja (1/100) in the 56th over.

The big moment came in the 70th over of this innings as an overthrow from Jasprit Bumrah (0/51) gave Cook his 33rd Test century off 210 balls, surpassing Australia’s Steve Waugh (32).

It was Cook's seventh Test hundred against India, more than any other English batsman, ahead of Kevin Pietersen’s six hundreds. He is now also the second-highest run-scorer in Test cricket against India after Ponting (2555 runs).

With 15 hundreds in second innings in Test cricket, he also over took Sangakkara (14 hundreds).

India seemed to have gone off the boil especially with one strike bowler short, as the duo ground them for runs.

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News Network
June 27,2020

Jun 27: India's Test batting mainstay Cheteshwar Pujara cannot describe in words the influence that Rahul Dravid has had on his life but says he will always remain grateful to him for teaching the importance of switching off from cricket.

Often compared to Dravid, who was considered the 'wall' of Indian cricket, Pujara said he is thankful to Dravid for teaching him how to keep personal and professional lives separate.

"He helped me understand the importance of switching off from cricket. I had the same thought, more or less, but when I spoke to him, it gave me a lot of clarity about it and I was sure of what I needed to do," he told ESPNcricinfo.

"I also saw in county cricket how they keep personal and professional lives separate. I value that advice a lot. Many people consider me to be focused. Yes, I am focused, But I also know when to switch off. There is life beyond cricket."

In his illustrious international career, Dravid amassed 13288 runs in 164 Tests and 10889 runs in 344 ODIs. He also captained India in 79 ODIs, winning 42 of them, which includes the world record of 14 successive wins while chasing.

"I cannot say in one line what Rahul bhai means to me. He has always been an inspiration, and will remain one," Pujara said.

His mental fortitude and batting technique is often compared to Dravid but Pujara said "despite my enchantment with him" he never tried to "copy him."

"There is a similarity in our games, but that's not because of my fascination with him. That came mainly through my experiences with Saurashtra, where I learned that scoring a hundred alone isn't enough, you have to carry your team," he said.

"That is how I learned responsibility - it is about helping my team to raise a big total, and for that I ought to attach importance to my wicket. I learned that from my junior cricket days with Saurashtra, which was a weaker team in domestic cricket."

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Agencies
August 1,2020

Bengaluru, Aug 1: Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are aiming to set up their preparatory camp for the 13th edition of the tournament from early August.

This year's IPL was slated to commence from March 29 but the tournament was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Recently, the IPL Governing Council chairman Brijesh Patel had confirmed that the 13th edition of the mega event will commence on September 19 in the UAE.

As per a report in ESPNcricinfo, CSK players have been asked to report to Chennai first, following which they will leave for Dubai via a charter flight only after approval from the Indian government.

The IPL Governing Council will meet on August 2 to finalise the schedule and other key arrangements for the tournament. Also, the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) around securing eight teams for 51 days across three venues will be formally established in that meeting.

CSK, who has the oldest squad in the IPL, are looking for a month's preparation before ahead of the tournament.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, the side was the first team to start their training camp in March. Senior players like Suresh Raina and Ambati Rayudu had begun training their training in December 2019.

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Agencies
July 31,2020

Hampshire, Jul 31: David Willey's maiden five-wicket haul guided England to a six-wicket victory over Ireland in the first ODI here on Friday.

With this win, the hosts have taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series.

Chasing a small target of 173 runs, England got off to a bad start as opener Jonny Bairstow was given LBW in the third over, bowled by Andy McBrine. Jason Roy was then joined by James Vince and the duo added 22 runs on the board before the former was dismissed.

Craig Young then got hold of Vince, who was caught behind after scoring 25 runs. Sam Billings and Tom Banton then took the charge of the chase but the latter too was caught behind which ended his 11-run innings.

Banton's dismissal brought skipper Eoin Morgan on the field. Billings and Morgan played stunning innings and kept scoring boundaries. Morgan struck a scintillating six on the last bowl of the 28th over to take England over the line. Morgan scored 36 runs while Billings played a knock of 67 runs.

Earlier, after being asked to bat first, Ireland witnessed a poor start as Paul Stirling was dismissed in the very first over of the innings, bowled by Willey. Andy Balbirnie then joined Gareth Delany but Willey struck again in his next over, removing Balbirnie.

Delany then played furiously and smashed three consecutive boundaries to Saqib Mahmood in the fourth over. However, the fall of wickets did not stop as England took three wickets in quick succession. Mahmood bowled Harry Tector while Delany and Lorcan Tucker were sent back to the pavilion by Willey.

Kevin O'Brien and Curtis Campher then took the charge and played cautiously, taking their struggling side over the 50-run mark. Adil Rashid got hold of O'Brien (22) in the 22nd over before Simranjit Singh was run out in the same over.

Andy McBrine was the next batsman and he played brilliantly along with Campher, who went on to complete his half-century. Both formed a 66-run partnership before McBrine (40) was dismissed by Tom Curran.

Campher remained unbeaten on 59 but failed to find a partner as England bundled out Ireland on 172 runs.

The second ODI between both teams will be played on Saturday.

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