India vs Essex: Karthik hits 82 not out, Kohli among runs in India's 322/6 on Day 1

Agencies
July 26, 2018

Chelmsford/England, Jul 26: Wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik scored an aggressive 82 not out while captain Virat Kohli warmed up nicely for the first Test against England with a half-century as India recovered from early jitters to post 322 for 6 on the opening day of their three-day tour match against county side Essex here on Wednesday.

Opener Murali Vijay (53 ff 113 balls) and Lokesh Rahul (58 off 92 balls) also scored a half-century each after the visitors opted to bat after winning the toss.

Coming at number seven at the fall of Kohli (68) in the second session, Karthik smashed as many as 14 fours from 94 deliveries to remain not out on 82 along with Hardik Pandya (33 not out off 58 balls).

Karthik stitched 114 runs with Rahul for the sixth wicket to take India's score past the 300 mark.

Kohli, who had struggled all through the previous Test tour of England in 2014, was instrumental in reviving the Indian innings after the visiting side were reduced to 5/2 in the third over and 44/3 in the 19th over.

He came out at number five at the fall of Ajinkya Rajhne (17 off 47 balls) and along with Vijay resurrected the Indian innings with a 93-ball 68 which was studded with 12 fours. The 90 runs he shared with Vijay four the fourth laid the foundation for the likes of Karthik and Rahul to flourish down the order as India batted for 84 overs on Wednesday.

With his 92-ball 58 which was studded with 12 boundaries, Rahul himself made out a case to be in the playing eleven in some point of time in the long Test tour.

After all the drama over the condition of the pitch and the outfield at this ground, which apparently led to the curtailing of the match by one day, the Indians won the toss and got down to the business of spending time at the middle ahead of the five-match Test series beginning in Birmingham on August 1.

The Indian side were, however, in the dock initially with opener Shikhar Dhawan being dismissed for a first ball duck while one down Cheteshwar Pujara made just one before he was out in the third over, leaving the visitors at 5/2.

Dhawan was caught behind as the top-order found new ball bowler Matt Coles (2-31) too hot to handle. Coles also dismissed Pujara cheaply, caught behind again, leading to Rahane coming out at number four.

Even in the practice game, it was surprising to see Rahane walk out to bat at number four. He was dropped at first slip when on four, while Vijay also enjoyed an extra life when dropped at second slip when on six.

Vijay was also dropped at first slip when on 18. It would have made India's start even worse, but together they added 39 runs for the third wicket and somehow stabilised the innings.

There were a lot of streaky edges from both batsmen as the new ball continued to move around. Rahane, in the 19th over, finally nicked behind to reward Matthew Quinn (1-27) who used the pitch's slope to generate away swing.

It brought Kohli to the crease as the Essex crowd welcomed him with cheers. And immediately, the visiting skipper got down to business, unleashing an array of boundaries against the wayward Paul Walter (2-90).

At one point in the first session, Kohli was scoring at 100-plus strike rate as India went to lunch at 100/3.

Making his lives count, Vijay scored his half-century off 104 balls. Kohli, at the other end, got to his half-century off 67 balls, and he was key in keeping the scorecard ticking.

Walter managed to rectify his line and length for a small passage of play before tea, as he removed both set batsmen in the space of four overs. Vijay was bowled, while Kohli was snapped up at first slip, Varun Chopra making no mistake for a change.

India went to tea at 201/5 with Rahul and Karthik building up a solid partnership. The duo played some attacking shots, especially Rahul, who seemed to have shrugged off the disappointment of getting dropped after his duck at Lord's.

Rahul scored his half-century off 77 balls, while Karthik played shots all over the park. The two matched each other stroke for stroke, even playing identical pull strokes. They put on 114 runs for the sixth wicket, and added respectability to India's total.

Later, Rahul holed out, miscuing off left-arm spinner Aron Nijjar (1-36). Karthik and Hardik Pandya batted out the remainder of the day.

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
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.

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 2,2020

New Delhi, Jan 2: Thrilled after getting to know about Hardik Pandya and Natasa Stankovic's engagement, skipper Virat Kohli on Wednesday called it a "pleasant surprise".

Extending his best wishes to the newly-engaged couple, Kohli posted a comment on Pandya's Instagram post which read, "Congratulations H. What a pleasant surprise. Wish you guys great times ahead. God bless".

On the first day of the New Year 2020, Pandya announced his engagement with Serbian actor Natasa Stankovic.

The cricketer took to Instagram to share the photo with the actor and captioned the post: "Mai tera, Tu meri jaane, saara Hindustan. 01.01.2020 #engaged".

The couple got engaged in Dubai and were seen taking a ferry ride along with close friends.

On the work front, Stankovic was last seen in a song from the Bollywood movie The Body starring Emraan Hashmi and Rishi Kapoor. She had also made it to the finals of the TV show Nach Baliye with her ex-boyfriend Aly Goni.

Stankovic first became a household name after appearing as a contestant on famous reality show Bigg Boss 8.

In 2019, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had confirmed that Pandya had had lower-back surgery in London.

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
July 20,2020

Vitoria, Jul 20: Lionel Messi won a record seventh top scoring title in the Spanish league after netting twice in Barcelona's 5-0 rout of Alav s in the final round.

Messi ended with 25 goals, four more than Karim Benzema, who did not score in Real Madrid's 2-2 draw at Legan s.

Messi is the first player to finish as the league's top scorer in seven different seasons. He reached the milestone despite missing games because of an injury early in the season. The Argentine's 25 goals came in 33 matches.

Messi was tied with Telmo Zarra with six scoring titles. He has also now equaled Hugo Sanchez's feat of four straight top-scorer trophies.

"Individual achievements are always secondary," Messi said on Sunday.

"I wished it could have come along with the league title."

This is also the third successive season that Messi finished with the most assists 21 in the league.

Ansu Fati, Luis Su rez and Nelson Semedo also scored Sunday for Barcelona, which had already secured second place behind Madrid.

Fati opened the scoring in the 24th minute, Messi added to the lead 10 minutes later and Su rez closed the first-half scoring in the 44th. Semedo got on the board in the 57th and Messi in the 75th to help Barcelona rebound from a 2-1 home loss to Osasuna.

"Today things were different," Messi said.

"The team showed better attitude and commitment. It was an important step forward for us ahead of what's left in the season."

Barcelona now turns its focus to its Aug. 8 home game against Napoli in the round of 16 of the Champions League. The first leg, played before the break, ended 1-1.

Barcelona coach Quique Seti n finished under pressure after the team relinquished a two-point lead over Madrid when the league resumed following the pandemic break. It was four points back before Madrid's match at Legan s.

Barcelona defender Cl ment Lenglet had to be substituted early in the second half because of an apparent muscle injury.

Alav s, sitting in 15th, had already done enough to stay up.

BAR A "B" TEAM

American winger Konrad de la Fuente scored twice as Barcelona's "B" team beat Valladolid B to keep alive its hopes of reaching the second division next season. The victory put Barcelona in the second round of the promotion playoffs.

The 19-year-old De la Fuente, who recently had his contract with Barcelona extended through the 2021-22 season, scored in each half.

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.