Australia 420/4 at lunch on Day 2 of SCG Test

January 7, 2015

Sydney, Jan 7: Striking his fourth century of the series, captain Steven Smith helped Australia reach 420 for four at lunch on the second day of the final Test against India at the SCG.

SCG Test

Resuming the day on 348 for two, the hosts found it tough to get runs against a disciplined Indian attack but overnight batsmen Smith (117) and Shane Watson (81) stitched together a 196—run third—wicket partnership to keep the fight on.

The Virat Kohli—led India though did seem to learn its lessons from day one as the visitors only conceded 72 runs in the 30 overs bowled in the morning session and also got two ’set’ batsmen back in the pavilion.

Watson was the first to go, adding just 20 more runs to his overnight score, as Mohammed Shami (2—80) got his second wicket of the innings so far.

Watson was guilty of throwing away a Test hundred after he forced a pull of a short ball only to pick the fielder at deep mid—wicket.

Smith departed six overs later as the in—form batsman was also guilty of chasing a wide Umesh Yadav (1—119) delivery only get a feather touch and it was a regulation catch for wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha.

But Smith sure showed his class in his 208—ball stay at the crease as the batsman mixed the right dose of caution and aggression, his innings laced with 15 fours.

India though could have got another wicket in the 115th over of the innings through Ravichandran Ashwin (1—98) after the off—spinner forced Shaun Marsh (14 not out) to edge one to gully only to see a diving Murali Vijay drop the red cherry.

Joe Burns, who joined Marsh after Smith’s fall, has had a torrid time in the middle and is yet to open his account after facing 17 deliveries.

The Australian batsmen weren’t as prolific as the openers on day one morning as Bhuvneshwar Kumar (0—78) and Shami started the proceedings in a disciplined manner.

Of the two overnight batsmen, Smith was more comfortable at the crease, continuing his good run of form as Watson looked to graft his way to a big score, crossing the 150—mark in their partnership early in the session.

Ten overs into the day then, the 100th of the innings, Smith brought up his 8th Test hundred off 168 balls to a rousing reception from the SCG crowd as he paid tribute to late Phillip Hughes by twirling his bat towards the skies.

In doing so, the young captain matched South Africa’s Jacques Kallis as the only other player to score four consecutive hundreds in a four—match series. He also matched the feat of Sir Don Bradman, who scored four hundreds but in a five—match series.

Smith also became the second highest Australian run—scorer in a four—Test series. He fell short by nine runs of the highest score of 706 runs held by Ricky Ponting, scored against India in 2003—04.

The 400—mark came up in the 107th over. And while Smith was garnering all attention for his immense run—scoring, Watson looked to clear the ropes off Shami in the 108th over and only managed to hand out a regulation catch to Ashwin in the deep.

Six overs later, it became a double—blow as Yadav had Smith caught behind by Saha, the batsman flashing at a good length ball.

It could have been a third quick dismissal had Vijay, at short gully, held on to a low, one—handed catch to his right off Ashwin in the 115th over with Marsh (on 9*) the batsman to get a life. The batsman, along with Burns, then avoided any further loss as Suresh Raina (0—39) bowled the last over before lunch.

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News Network
July 1,2020

New Delhi, Jul 1: After being named as India's 'Most Valuable Player' in Test cricket in the 21st century, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja on Wednesday said that he will always aim to give his best for the country.

His remark came as Jadeja achieved an MVP rating of 97.3 and as a result, he was also rated as the second most valuable player Test player worldwide, only second to Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan.

"Thank you Wisden India for naming me the 'Most Valuable Player'. I would like to thank all my teammates, coaches, fans, and well-wishers for your support as I aim to give my best for our country. Jai Hind," Jadeja tweeted.

Based on CricViz's market-leading analytics, each player in world cricket was awarded an 'MVP rating' by Wisden using a statistical model to rank their 'match impact' compared to their peers.

Jadeja has played in 49 Tests from 2012, managing to score 1,869 runs and has also picked up 213 wickets.

"It might come as a surprise to see Ravindra Jadeja, India's spin-bowling all-rounder, feature as India's number one. After all, he's not even always an automatic pick in their Test team. However, when he does play he is picked as a frontline bowler and has batted as high as No.6 - contributing to a very high match involvement," the official website of Wisden quoted CricViz's Freddie Wilde as saying.

"But Jadeja's position is based on more than simply volume: it's what he does when he's involved that really counts. The 31-year-old's bowling average of 24.62 is better than Shane Warne's and his batting average of 35.26 is better than Shane Watson's. His batting and bowling average differential of 10.62 runs is the second-best of any player this century to have scored more than 1,000 runs and taken 150 wickets. He is an all-rounder of the very highest quality," he added.

With the bat in hand, Jadeja has managed to score one century and 14 fifties in the longest format of the game.

He was last seen in action during India's two-Test series against New Zealand earlier this year.

He would have been in action for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL had the tournament commenced from March 29.

However, the IPL has been postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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Agencies
March 1,2020

New Delhi, Mar 1: Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif on Sunday heaped praise on Ravindra Jadeja after the all-rounder took a spectacular catch on the second day of the Christchurch Test against New Zealand.

Jadeja grabbed a one-handed stunner at deep square leg in the 72nd over to dismiss Neil Wagner, who had to depart after scoring 21 runs.

"Sir Jadeja for a reason! Jadeja Airlines, flying high! Terrific stuff," Kaif tweeted.

In the match, Jadeja also impressed with the ball. The left-handed bowler took two wickets while giving away 22 runs.

On day two, India bundled out New Zealand on 235 runs in the second Test. However, in their second innings, Indian batsmen again struggled to tackle the New Zealand pacers and lost six wickets with a lead of just 97 runs.

India went to stumps at 90/6, with Trent Boult doing the majority of the damage with three wickets.

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News Network
May 7,2020

Melbourne, May 7: Australia opener Joe Burns is eyeing the Tests against India should they take place later this year, to stabilise his stop-start international career, saying "you want to play in and do well in" in this kind of series.

India is scheduled to play four Tests in Australia in December-January, a series which is currently in doubt due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has claimed over 2.5 lakh lives across the world.

"They are obviously world class team. I think the two teams going at each other will be very exciting to watch and players playing against each other as well," Burns told reporters in a video conference on Thursday.

"You look at the world ranking, they were number one and now we have got to number one, so I know that series will be anticipated by everyone and as a player this is a sort of series you want to play in and do well in."

With the coronavirus also threatening the T20 World Cup, Cricket Australia is under financial stress and has gone on a cost-cutting drive, which included standing down 80 per cent of its staff at 20 per cent salary.

There are also speculations that the Sheffield Shield for 2020-21 would be curtailed to cut costs.

Burns, however, hoped it won't be tinkered with.

"I love the fact we have a really strong first-class system. The 10 games, where you play everyone twice," Burns, who was struck down by a fatigue illness after an indifferent season, said.

"It leads to world-class players coming into Test teams. You don't want to see that get changed.

"Obviously it is unique circumstances at the moment and There's a lot of things to work through ... the players' association is consulted on those things."

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