Indian pacers dismiss England for 246 on day 1 of 4th Test

Agencies
August 31, 2018

Southampton, Aug 31: Indian seamers, led by Jasprit Bumrah, produced a disciplined bowling effort to dismiss England for 246 on the opening day of the fourth cricket Test, here today.

Bumrah (3/46) scalped three wickets, while Ishant Sharma (2/26), Mohammed Shami (2/51) and spinner R Ashwin (2/40) took two wickets each and Hardik Pandya (1/51) accounted for one as India dominated the proceedings on the opening day.

All-rounder Sam Curran anchored the England innings with a determined 78 as he shared 81 runs with Moeen Ali (40) and 63 runs with Stuart Broad (17) for the seventh and ninth wickets respectively.

The hosts lost six wickets for 86 runs to find themselves in a precarious position after opting to bat.

However, the 20-year-old Curran resurrected the England innings with a 136-ball innings which was studded with eight hits to the fence and a six. It was his second Test half-century.

The left-hander was the last batsman to be dismissed when he was cleaned up by Ashwin in the 77th over.

At stumps, Shikhar Dhawan (3 not out) and KL Rahul (11 not out) were at the crease with the hosts leading by 227 runs.

Earlier, Bumrah struck twice in the first session as England were reduced to 57-4 at lunch.

Bumrah posed problems from the very beginning. Keaton Jennings (0) made a mess of leaving the ball and shouldered arms to an incoming delivery across the stumps, and was out plumb lbw in an ugly fashion in the third over.

England should have been two-down in the fifth over, when Bumrah also trapped Joe Root (4), on 2, plumb lbw. When the on-field umpire didn't agree, DRS review showed that the bowler had over-stepped.

Root didn't survive for long, adding only 14 runs for the second wicket. He was out lbw, this time to Sharma who didn't over step. England went for a referral and lost a DRS review at that instance.

Even as Alastair Cook (17) stayed his longest duration at the crease in this series, the top-order had no answer to the sustained pressure built up by the Indian attack. Runs came in a trickle, and even after the drinks' break, the pacers didn't relent.

Bumrah returned to further peg England back as Jonny Bairstow (6) was caught behind in the 13th over, nicking him off with an unplayable delivery outside the off stump.

Pandya then got rid of Cook, with Kohli taking a brilliant low catch at third slip as England were reduced to 36-4 in the 18th over. England barely managed to crossed 50 in the 20th over.

It could have made for an even more miserable score for the hosts as Buttler, on 11, had an under-edge off Shami just ahead of lunch. But the ball died on the way to keeper Rishab Pant, who didn't get down in time.

Post lunch, Shami struck early to inflict another crucial blow. Jos Buttler (24) was out caught at slip in the third over after the break.

Ben Stokes (23) continued to defend stoically, lasting 79 deliveries. Shami bowled brilliantly, continuing from where he left off in the morning session. And it brought him reward when he trapped Stokes lbw in the 35th over as England were reduced to 86-6.

Curran and Ali then came together, and held fort until the tea break. They showed a lot of patience, in particular Curran who stayed calm and went for his strokes whenever opportunity presented itself. They added 50 off 94 deliveries and also took England past the 100-mark in the 39th over. England reached 139-6 at tea.

After tea, The duo added another 28 runs as India's frustration started building up.

Whilst the bowling had been tight until then, there were a few byes let through and Hardik Pandya (1-51) was taken for runs.

Ashwin (2-40) got the breakthrough as Bumrah pulled off a good running-in catch to Ali's slog sweep.

Adil Rashid (6) didn't last long, trapped lbw by Ishant Sharma (2-26) as England were reduced to 177-8.

Curran then started farming strike, even as he reached an impressive half-century off 109 balls with a six off Ashwin. He attacked from one end, while Broad fended at the other, and the duo carried England past 200 in the 69th over.

They added 63 runs for the ninth wicket, a few too many for India's liking considering the precarious position England had found themselves in the morning. The visitors conceded 23 byes and a total of 34 extras.

Finally, Bumrah (3-46) managed to dismiss Broad lbw, and after another six runs, Ashwin ended the English innings by bowling Curran.

Earlier, India fielded an unchanged eleven from Nottingham, bringing an end to the 45-match streak of constant chopping and changing. It was the first time in 39 Tests as captain that Virat Kohli fielded the same team as the previous match.

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News Network
May 14,2020

New Delhi, May 14: Mahendra Singh Dhoni is an unconventional and unique leader, whose biggest strength is his incredible gut feeling, says his Chennai Super Kings teammate Faf du Plessis.

The former South Africa skipper has spent considerable time with Dhoni after joining the Indian Premier League (IPL) side in 2011 and has been an integral part of its successful journey.

"He reads the others player really well and he uses that to make instinctive decisions on the field. He's got an incredible gut feeling on the game and I think that's his biggest strength," du Plessis said in a Facebook live session with Bangladesh ODI skipper Tamim Iqbal.

The 35-year-old said Dhoni changed his perception of how a captain should be.

"It was amazing for me to see how different M S was as a captain. I used to think a captain must speak all the time in team meetings etc but M S was completely different.

"He doesn't believe a lot in team meetings. He's a very instinctive captain he's got such a good cricket brain that he relies on it to make the right decisions on the field," du Plessis said of former India skipper.

Dhoni last played for India in World Cup semifinal last year and was expected to be back to playing competitive cricket at now-postponed IPL.

Calling Dhoni the best finisher he has played with, Du Plessis said no one can emulate what the dasher from Ranchi can do with the bat.

"He's extremely calm. I haven't played with someone who is a better finisher than him. It's just remarkable to watch him from the side of the field."

"If someone else tries to do it like him they won't be able to. He's just so unique like he times the ball so late he's got an incredible calmness. He knows his game and he picks a bowler and goes for it."

Du Plessis said that playing for CSK alongside Dhoni and under the guidance head coach Stephen Fleming has taught him a lot about leadership.

"I'm lucky to have started my journey there at CSK because I have really learned a lot from a leadership point of view. I tried to learn as much as possible from Dhoni and Stephen Fleming because both are great captains."

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News Network
January 18,2020

Hobart, Jan 18: In a dream start to her second innings after a two-year break, Sania Mirza lifted the WTA Hobart International trophy with partner Nadiia Kichenok after edging out Shaui Peng and Shuai Zhang in the final, here on Saturday.

The unseeded Indo-Ukrainian pair pipped the second seed Chinese team 6-4, 6-4 in one hour 21 minutes.

Playing her first tournament after giving birth to son Izhaan, the 33-year-old Sania has begun well in the Olympic year as she warmed up for the Australian Open in style.

It is Sania's 42nd WTA doubles title and first since Brisbane International trophy in 2007 with American partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

Sania did not compete on the WTA circuit in the entire 2018 and 2019 seasons to start a family with Pakistani cricketer husband Shoaib Malik.

Sania and Nadiia began by breaking the Chinese players in the very first game of the match but only to drop serve in the next.

The two pairs played close games towards the end and at 4-4, 40-all, Sania and Nadiia got the crucial break, earning the opportunity to serve out the set.

There was no twist in 10th game with Sania and Nadiia comfortably pocketing the first set.

The second set could not have started better for them as they broke the Chinese rivals to take early lead and consolidated the break with an easy hold.

The game of the Chinese was falling apart as they dropped serve again in the third but broke back immediately to repair some damage.

Sania and Nadiia were now feeling the heat at 0-30 in the sixth game but Peng and Zhang let them hold serve for a 4-2 lead. The Chinese though kept fighting and made it 4-4 with another break in the eighth game.

The Indo-Ukraine team raised its game when it mattered as it broke Peng and Zhang for one final time in the ninth and served out the match in the next game.

Sania and Nadiia split USD 13580 as prize money and eared 280 ranking points each for their winning effort.

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News Network
March 5,2020

Mumbai, Mar 5: Former India spinner Sunil Joshi was on Wednesday named chairman of the national selection panel by the BCCI's Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), which also picked ex-pacer Harvinder Singh to the five-member group.

The CAC, comprising Madan Lal, R P Singh and Sulakshana Naik, picked the two selectors with Joshi replacing South Zone representative MSK Prasad.

In an unprecedented decision, the BCCI said the CAC will review the panel's performance after one year and make recommendations accordingly.

"The committee recommended Sunil Joshi for the role of chairman of the senior men's selection committee. The CAC will review the candidates after a one-year period and make the recommendations to the BCCI," read a statement from BCCI Secretary Jay Shah.

Harvinder was chosen from central zone and replaces Gagan Khoda in the panel.

The existing members of the selection panel are Jatain Paranjpe, Devang Gandhi and Sarandeep Singh.

"We have picked the best guys for the job," Lal told news agency.

The CAC had shortlisted five candidates for interviews -- Joshi, Harvinder, Venkatesh Prasad, Rajesh Chauhan and L S Sivaramakrishnan -- from a list of 40 applicants.

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