Australia reach 405 for six at lunch before rain stopped play

December 10, 2014

Steven SmithAdelaide, Dec 10: Steven Smith and skipper Michael Clarke helped Australia reach a commanding 405 for six before rain forced an early lunch on the second day of the first cricket Test against India here today.

Nearly an hour of play was lost with the session also beginning 10 minutes late after injured Clarke returned to the crease with a heavily strapped back on this second morning, thanks to painkilling injections.

Clarke resumed his innings on 60 and was batting on 85 not out (117 balls, 13 fours) with Smith, who was unbeaten on 98 runs (171 balls, 14 fours) when rain stopped play.

The two batsmen added 51 unbroken runs for the seventh wicket till the lunch break, even as the Indian bowlers struggled to make any impact with the second new ball, still fresh despite overcast skies.

Mohammad Shami got the day's play underway and first-up Ishant Sharma was his attack partner on day two. But the two medium-pacers repeated the mistakes made on day one morning, bowling short of length and wide off stumps, giving the batsmen too much room to play. The resultant was a clutch of boundaries, five within the first four overs.

The most disappointing bit was that the bowlers were making no efforts to trouble Clarke, who was batting under distress and appeared to be in some pain. Yet the captain managed to play his strokes and score at a fast pace, adding 25 runs off 33 balls he faced this morning.

Leg-spinner Karn Sharma was introduced into the attack even before Varun Aaron despite cloudy skies affording some movement. But even when the fast bowler came on, he was as unimpressive as the other two quick bowlers.

At the other end, Smith was also in hurry to steal runs as the second new ball was still hard and the bowling appeared listless and without direction. He added 26 runs to his overnight tally.

Australia breached the 400-run mark in the 100th over, keeping the impressive run-rate, which was set by centurion David Warner on day one, going.

Smith was just two runs away from his fifth Test hundred when rain intervened.

Clarke was perhaps relieved given the uneasiness with which he had been batting since coming to the crease.

On day one, Warner had hit a rousing 10th Test hundred, scoring 145 runs off just 163 balls, helping Australia to 354 for six at stumps after winning the toss and electing to bat on a placid track.

India are being led by Virat Kohli in this first Test and he opted for a four-bowler attack, handing a Test debut to leggie Karn Sharma.

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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 6,2020

New Delhi, May 6: He has flattered to deceive on umpteen occasions but highly-rated wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson says he has learnt to accept his failures in pursuit of the calm demeanour that former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni possesses.

The 25-year-old from Kerala has always been talked about by the likes of Rahul Dravid and Gautam Gambhir but it hasn't translated into international success with only four T20 Internationals in his kitty in the last five years.

"I have learnt to understand and focus more on my strengths and (be more) accepting (of) the failures. I try to contribute to the team's cause and try to take the team over the line. I am learning to focus and control my emotions while batting like MS Dhoni," Samson said during a podcast organised by Rajasthan Royals.

He recently made a comeback in India's T20 side and it was a worthy experience for him.

"It was great to be a part of the Indian team again. To be a part of one of the best teams in the world, surrounded by players like Virat bhai and Rohit bhai, it was a fantastic experience," Samson said.

In one of the games in New Zealand, Samson was sent to bat in the Super Over, something which made him feel wanted in the Indian set-up.

"It was a great feeling to be trusted by the players such as Virat bhai and Rohit bhai to go out there and bat in the crucial moments. It's a great feeling when the team and the players consider you to be a match winner."

On a lighter note, Samson revealed that he refers to Steve Smith as "chachu" (uncle) after Brad Hodge once started calling him by that name.

"I share a very good relationship with 'Chachu' Steve Smith. He is one of the best brains in world cricket and we all enjoy a lot playing under him."

Asked what's the back story of the nickname, Samson said: "It started with Brad Hodge, he used to call Smith 'Chachu', then when Hodgy left, I started calling Smith 'Chachu'. In return Smith also started calling me 'Chachu'. We both really enjoy and continue calling each other that."

While Dhoni is his idol, he also loves watching Jos Buttler in Royals and makes notes on how the star Englishman prepares for games.

"I observe Jos especially given he too is a wicketkeeper-batsman. He's always working on his skills and his game and never sits idle.

"He's either working on his keeping, batting in the nets or running around the park. I love to observe and know how he thinks and prepares as a keeper before a game.

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Agencies
April 12,2020

London, Apr 12: Former Formula 1 legendary driver Stirling Moss died at the age of 90 on Sunday.

"All at F1 send our heartfelt condolences to Lady Susie and Sir Stirling's family and friends," Formula 1 said in a statement.

Often referred to as the greatest driver never to win the world championship, Moss contested 66 Grands Prix from 1951 to 1961, driving for the likes of Vanwall, Maserati and Mercedes, where he famously formed a contented and ruthlessly effective partnership with lead driver Juan Manuel Fangio.

In his 10-year-long stint at the tracks, Moss took 16 wins, some of which rank among the truly iconic drives in the sport's history - his 1961 victories in Monaco and Germany in particular often held up as all-time classics.

Moss won the 1955 Mille Miglia on public roads for Mercedes at an average speed of close to 100mph, while he also competed in rallies and land-speed attempts.

Following an enforced retirement from racing (barring a brief comeback in saloon cars in the 1980s) after a major crash at Goodwood in 1962, Moss maintained a presence in Formula 1 as both a sports correspondent and an interested observer, before retiring from public life in January of 2018.

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