India on the brink of victory against Australia in Melbourne

Agencies
December 29, 2018

Dec 29: India moved within two wickets of an emphatic victory in the third Test after reducing Australia to 258 for eight at the close of day four on Saturday.

Having set a mammoth victory target of 399 shortly before lunch, Virat Kohli`s team attacked with precision and intensity to leave the home side on life support at the end of a muggy and overcast day at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The lion-hearted Pat Cummins thwarted India`s hopes of closing out the win with a day to spare, anchoring some stubborn tail-end resistance after the top order crumbled.

The seamer was 61 not out, with Nathan Lyon on six, and Australia still 141 runs short of their victory target.

Having dominated with bat and ball throughout a one-sided contest, the tourists will almost certainly head to the Sydney finale with a 2-1 series lead and a genuine belief that they can become the first Indian team to win a series Down Under.

On a grim day for Australian cricket, Cummins was the only shining light for the home side, and recorded career-best figures of 6-27 before Kohli declared India`s second innings at 106-8 before lunch.

However, Cummins`s heroics will likely be consigned to a foot-note, squandered as they were by the familiar batting failures of his team mates.

Where straight bats were required to provide a platform of resistance, Aaron Finch got his team off to the worst possible start by throwing away his wicket for three with an unsightly cut shot off Jasprit Bumrah that was gobbled in the slips.

Recalled all-rounder Mitchell Marsh was similarly wasteful, slogging spinner Ravindra Jadeja straight to Kohli at short cover to be out for 10.

Having done the hard work to get set in his innings, Travis Head (34) fell on his sword after tea by dragging Ishant Sharma onto his stumps with a dubious drive away from his body.

Amid the help from Australia`s poor shot selection, India produced moments of brilliance to remove their more assured batsmen.

Mohammed Shami dismissed Usman Khawaja lbw for 33 shortly after lunch with a peach of a delivery, before Bumrah trapped Shaun Marsh for 44 with a searing ball.

The wily Jadeja proved a constant menace, and induced an edge off Marcus Harris (13) that lodged in Mayank Agarwal`s mid-riff.

The left-arm spinner later returned to dismiss wicketkeeper-captain Tim Paine for 26, leaving Australia to rely on their tail and a miracle to stave off defeat.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
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.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
January 6,2020

Sydney, Jan 6: Nathan Lyon captured five for 50 and 10 match wickets as Australia crushed New Zealand by 279 runs on Monday, capping a golden domestic summer as they swept the three-Test series.

The off-spinner led the powerful Australian bowling attack to dismiss the Kiwis for 136 and seal another heavy win over the Black Caps after similar victories in Perth and Melbourne.

Australia have been unbeatable this season, winning all five Tests at home -- two against Pakistan and three against New Zealand -- after retaining the Ashes by drawing the series 2-2 in England.

"It's been a great summer for the Australian Test side," Lyon said.

"It's pretty special to be part of it, we have been impressive, pretty clinical, the batters have done well and given us bowlers plenty of time."

Australia declared their second innings at 217 for two with David Warner scoring an unbeaten century, leaving the Black Caps with a revised 416-run target in the fourth innings on a wearing Sydney Cricket Ground pitch.

But the Kiwis buckled under the pressure of Australia's superior bowling attack with Mitchell Starc taking three for 25 to support the wiles of spinner Lyon.

"They were clinical in all areas and after the first match they put us under pressure session after session," said skipper Kane Williamson, who missed the Test with a virus.

New Zealand were reeling early at 27-4 and never recovered after Starc and Lyon took two wickets each in the middle session to put the skids under the tourists.

Starc removed both openers, Tom Latham and Tom Blundell, in the first five overs. Blundell fell to a stunning catch by a diving Lyon at point for two and stand-in skipper Latham lost a review for leg before wicket.

Jeet Raval was out in a review to the faintest of edges on 'Snicko' in Lyon's first over for 12.

First-innings top-scorer Glenn Phillips went for a duck after technology detected a faint outside edge to wicketkeeper Paine off Lyon.

Taylor's Kiwi record

Ross Taylor became the leading all-time Kiwi batsman, going past Stephen Fleming (7,172) before he was bowled by Pat Cummins for 22 to take his Test aggregate to 7,174.

Big-hitting Colin de Grandhomme smacked Lyon for six to bring up his fifty but went next ball hoicking to Joe Burns at deep mid-wicket for 52.

Todd Astle was out to a superb diving catch by James Pattinson in the outfield for 17.

Starc yorked William Somerville's middle stump for seven and BJ Watling was the last to fall, caught at backward square leg by Pat Cummins for 19.

Earlier, Warner completed his 24th Test century and remained unbeaten when skipper Paine declared upon the dismissal of Marnus Labuschagne.

"You know you're capable of doing so," Warner said, when asked about how he had bounced back from his disastrous Ashes campaign in England last year.

"I was in the nets hitting the ball well and had the skipper backing me. To be able to play with freedom helped me. It's all paying off."

Labuschagne, who was dropped on four in a regulation caught-and-bowled chance by leg-spinner Astle, was caught at long on off Matt Henry for 59 -- his seventh score over 50 in eight innings this domestic summer.

Labuschagne finished the home five-Test season with a stunning aggregate of 896 runs, made up of his 215 in the first innings, three other centuries and three half-centuries in eight innings.

There was drama late in the Australian innings when Warner was given an official warning by umpire Aleem Dar for running down the middle of the pitch in scampering a single.

It resulted in five penalty runs being added to New Zealand's first innings total meaning their target was revised down from 421 to 416.

The Test was played against the backdrop of one of Australia's most devastating bushfire seasons with at least 24 people losing their lives in blazes raging across the country, including on the outskirts of Sydney.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
March 14,2020

Sydney, Mar 14: New Zealand pacer Lockie Ferguson has been placed under 24-hour isolation amid the fears of coronavirus after he reported a sore throat following the first ODI of the ongoing three-match series against Australia in Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) which the hosts won by 71 runs.

"In accordance with recommended health protocols, Lockie Ferguson has been placed in isolation at the team hotel for the next 24 hours after reporting a sore throat at the end of the first ODI," said New Zealand Cricket in a statement.

"Once the test results are received and diagnosed, his return to the team can be determined," it added.

The first ODI of the Chappell-Hadlee series was played in front of empty stands as the spectators were not allowed to be at SCG as a precautionary measure to contain the spread of coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier, Australian fast bowler, Kane Richardson was also tested for the coronavirus, after suffering from a sore throat on Thursday. That saw him left out of the squad for Friday's game but the test was negative.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.