First Test between India and South Africa ends in a thrilling draw

December 23, 2013

India_and_South_AfricaJohannesburg, Dec 23: In the end, there were no upsets. Neither team lost. The first Test, the dying moments of which can only be described as nerve-jangling, ended with South Africa staring at the finish line. But they chose not to cross it. India didn’t mind that. And they will go into the series decider in Durban with a sense of one-upmanship.

Talk of historic contests and the one played out at the Wanderers will probably top the charts. Faf du Plessis and AB de Villiers, both batsmen who seldom treated the 458-run target like an insurmountable mountain, took the Proteas within inches of the summit. But they tripped, only for their mates to call off the mission. Their 205-run stand, the highest-ever in the fourth innings of a Test, came off 62.3 overs. South Africa finished with 450/7, just a couple of fours away from scripting the most memorable and record-breaking win in the game’s 136-year history.

With 56 required off 12.5 overs, de Villiers fell to Ishant Sharma, the ball dragging onto the stumps. Mind you, South Africa had begun the day with 320 runs to get with eight wickets intact.

They came this close, and got even closer (16 off three overs), but failed to push for the win. Was it because an unfit Morne Morkel was padded up next? Perhaps. And when Dale Steyn hit Mohammed Shami for a six off the last ball of the match, the raucous crowd booed him as if he were a traitor. It was as though their team had lost. In some ways, they had.

The partnership between du Plessis and de Villiers was one for the ages. Matching each other stroke for stroke, they got to their hundreds within 20 minutes of each other. While the former digged in, the latter attacked.

JP Duminy, who walked in at the fall of de Villiers, got off the mark with a straight drive off Mohammad Shami. But soon, the left-hander fell to the same bowler, again playing on. South Africa were still in the hunt. And that’s because du Plessis was there. Last year, he had saved a Test match in Adelaide. It was his debut. This time, he was looking to win it. But a superb throw from Ajinkya Rahane, stationed at mid-off, did him in. The Proteas were now looking to save the game, not win it.

Vernon Philander, who went on the offensive in the presence of du Plessis, mellowed down when Dale Steyn joined him. That the Indians, especially Zaheer Khan, were giving nothing away, contributed to this. Shami, who bowled the 87th over of the day, couldn’t have come up with a better maiden. With two overs to go and 16 needed, Khan did just what Dhoni wanted. It was his first maiden of the innings and it came after 34 overs. When Shami began the final over of the greatest run chase ever, all four results were possible. But God was kind. Neither team lost.

Earlier, Khan had dismissed Jacques Kallis in controversial fashion –– a huge inside-edge –– to pick up his 300th Test wicket. He became only the fourth Indian to do so after Kapil Dev, Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh. India had also got Alviro Petersen out early. But du Plessis and de Villiers kept India waiting. From a winning position, India found themselves in the jaws of defeat, only to pull off a deserving draw.

Zaheer enters 300 club

Zaheer Khan on Sunday became the fourth Indian bowler to claim 300 wickets in Tests when he got Jacques Kallis LBW in the 61st over of the South African second innings at the Wanderers.

The left-arm pacer joined Anil Kumble (619), Kapil Dev (434), and Harbhajan Singh (413) in the elite list. He is the 27th overall in all-time highest wicket-takers’ list. He also becomes the most successful left-arm fast bowler after Pakistan’s Wasim Akram (414) and Sri Lanka’s Chaminda Vaas (355).

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News Network
June 18,2020

New Delhi, Jun 18: Premier Indian off-spinner R Ashwin has described Mahendra Singh Dhoni as a "massive influence" on his career, revealing that at the beginning of his IPL stint, he was driven by an intense desire to get the former captain's attention.

Ashwin got his contract with CSK, one of the most successful IPL sides, in 2008 and said the stint with CSK shaped his career.

"IPL and CSK is a stage that everyone wants. For me it was more about recognition. MSD did not know who Ashwin is, (Matthew) Hayden and (Muttiah) Muralithan did not know who Ashwin is. The first thing that came to my mind was that 'I will show these people that Ashwin is here'," Ashwin told Harsha Bhogle on 'Cricbuzz in Conversation'.

"I don't know it was being foolish or arrogance but that was how I was made. Nobody was giving me a chance that Ashwin will play alongside Muralitharan or ahead of Muralitharan. I thought, I will get there ahead of him one day," he added.

Ashwin said Dhoni, who led CSK, had "massive influence" on him and the only way to impress him was by troubling him in the nets.

"I got the eye of Hayden, Jacob Oram, and Stephen Fleming while bowling to them at the nets. They were finding it difficult to face me in the first year (2008) but I had not caught the eye of MSD," he said.

"I never had massive interactions with him. It was going to the nets and getting MSD...he was hitting Muralitharan out of the park and I thought, if I bowl better than him, I met get to play ahead of Murali.

" I got his attention when I got him during a Challenger trophy and celebrated like a crazy kid," he recalled.

After that, Ashwin said during CSK's match against Victoria Bushrangers in the now defunct Champions League, he volunteered to bowl the Super Over and Dhoni gave him the ball without hesitation.

Ashwin did not fare well and ended up conceding 23 runs. The off-spinner said when Dhoni walked past him after the match, he only said that, "you should have bowled the carrom ball."

"MS always maintained that you are exceptionally skilful and you should keep doing what you do."

Ashwin has been very successful against the left-handers as 189 of his 365 wickets are of southpaws. Ashwin credited his engineering background and advice from Duncan Fletcher for the success.

"He made a statement that changed cricket. He said it's all about geometry and left it at that. Understanding angles (engineering background) has given me edge over others," he said.

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News Network
June 6,2020

Mumbai, Jun 6: Reminiscing about his 'special knock' of 208 runs from 153 balls, Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma revealed why his wife Ritika had got emotional after he smashed his third double century in ODIs.

Rohit narrated the incident during his appearance in Episode 2 of the 'Open nets with Mayank'.

The batsman, who was accompanied by Shikhar Dhawan and Mayank on the show, said his wife thought that he had twisted his hand while diving for the 196th run during the innings.

"As you can see my wife got emotional there, this day was special as it was my anniversary. Probably the best gift I could give it to her while I am on the field, it was quite emotional though," said Rohit during the candid chat.

"When I came from the ground, I just asked her why did you (Ritika) cry? So she told me that she thought I (Rohit) twisted my hand when I dived for my 196th run and that was a little worrying factor for her, she got little emotional of because of that I guess," Rohit added.

In the match, the 32-year-old scored 208 runs with 13 fours and 12 sixes against Sri Lanka at Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali.

This enabled India to post a score of 392/4 in the allotted fifty overs.

India then went on to win the match by 141 runs.

"To be honest I was going pretty slow, I never thought I will get to a double hundred but once you cross 125, I feel it gets easier for you because bowlers are under pressure. Unless you make a mistake I don't think you can get out," said Rohit.

Rohit has scored two double hundreds against Sri Lanka and one against Australia in ODIs. The right-handed batsman is the only cricketer to make three double hundreds in ODI history.

Rohit, Shikhar, and Mayank would have been in action for Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, and Kings XI Punjab respectively, had the Indian Premier League (IPL) commenced from March 29. However, the tournament was suspended indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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News Network
April 5,2020

New Delhi, April 5: England batsman James Vince lashed out at people for not taking proper measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic and said people are going out as if "everything is normal".

"Just seen the pictures of people out and about today as if everything is normal. What selfish people, surely by now they've realised this is serious. Well done to everyone who's doing their bit and staying in," Vince tweeted.

On March 13, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said that Europe was now the 'epicentre' of the disease.

The death toll due to the novel coronavirus in the UK has exceeded 4,313 with at least 708 new deaths in the last 24 hours, the largest one-day rise since the start of the outbreak as confirmed by the Department of Health and Social Care.

The total number of cases in the UK as on Saturday is 41,903, a rise of 3,735 cases in the last 24 hours.

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