McCullum hits historic triple ton to frustrate India

February 17, 2014

McCullum_hits_double

Wellington, Feb 18: Brendon McCullum became the first New Zealand batsman to hit a triple-hundred in Test cricket to take the second cricket Test beyond India’s reach on the morning session of the fifth and final day, in Wellington on Tuesday.

McCullum scored a historic 302 on the opening session of day while Jimmy Neesham smashed a century on debut as the hosts declared their second innings at 680 for eight in 210 overs with an overall lead of 434 runs.

McCullum struck Zaheer Khan for a four in front of third man to reach the landmark in the 200th over of the Black Caps’s second innings at a packed Basin Reserve.

At lunch, India were at 10 for no loss off four overs, chasing an improbable 435 runs for a win. Shikhar Dhawan (2 not out) and Murali Vijay (7 not out) were at the crease.

McCullum’s 302 runs overtook Martin Crowe’s 299 scored against Sri Lanka, also at the same ground, in 1991 to become highest individual Test scorer for New Zealand.

It was also the third-highest innings by a number five batsman in Test cricket after Michael Clarke’s 329 not out against India in 2012 and Sir Don Bradman’s 304 against England in 1934.

McCullum’s effort is also the second-highest individual score in the second innings after Hanif Mohammad’s 337 against West Indies in 1958. Overall he is the 24th Test batsman to hit a triple-hundred, while this is the 28th instance of a triple-hundred being scored.

McCullum started the final day of on 281 not out, needing another 19 runs to get to that magical landmark.

At the other end was debutant Neesham (67 not out) as New Zealand started from the overnight score of 571 for six under overcast skies.

It didn’t matter much as Neesham cut loose almost immediately, while McCullum was more subdued as he took his time.

Neesham struck six lusty boundaries early into the day’s play and reached his maiden Test hundred in the 199th over of the innings, facing 124 balls and hitting 15 fours.

But the main focus was on McCullum, who joined that exclusive 300-run club in the next over as the entire stadium stood on its feet to salute the historic knock.

McCullum, however, didn’t last long thereafter, edging one to Doni off Zaheer. He faced 559 balls and struck 32 fours and four sixes during his monumental innings.

Two overs later, Zaheer completed his five-wicket haul, as Tim Southee (11) gave a skier to Cheteshwar Pujara.

It was the first time in his 92-Test career that Zaheer had bowled 50 overs in a single innings.

New Zealand didn’t declare as anticipated and carried on for a while longer, even as India put on their part-timers. In the end, the Black Caps reached their highest Test innings total overtaking their effort of 671 for four against Sri Lanka in 1991, also at Wellington.

Neesham stayed unbeaten on 137, the highest individual score by a batsman on debut batting lower than number seven, beating Azhar Mahmood’s 128 not out against South Africa in 1997. It was also the highest runs scored by a New Zealand batsman on debut, beating

Scott Styris’ 107 against West Indies in 2002.

For India, Zaheer was the highest wicket-taker in the innings with a haul of five for 170. Mohammad Shami (2/149) and Ravindra Jadeja (1/115) also picked up wickets, while Ishant Sharma (0/164) saw the other side of the coin after picking his career-best figures in the first innings.

Rohit Sharma (0/40), Virat Kohli (0/13), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (0/5) and Shikhar Dhawan (0/3) also sent down some overs in this innings.

Scoreboard at lunch:

New Zealand 1st innings 192

India 1st innings 438

New Zealand 2nd innings (overnight 252-5)

Peter Fulton lbw b Khan 1

Hamish Rutherford c Dhoni b Khan 35

Kane Williamson c Dhoni b Khan 7

Tom Latham c Dhoni b Shami 29

Brendon McCullum c Dhoni b Khan 302

Corey Anderson c & b Jadeja 2

B J Watling lbw b Shami 124

Jimmy Neesham batting 67

Extras: (B-9, LB-12, W-2, NB-7) 30

Total: (for eight wickets; 210 overs) 680

Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-27, 3-52, 4-87, 5-94, 6-446, 7-625, 8-639.

Bowling: Ishant Sharma 45-4-164-0, Zaheer Khan 51-13-170-5, Mohammed Shami 43-6-149-2, Ravindra Jadeja 52-11-115-1, Rohit Sharma 11-0-40-0, Virat Kohli 6-1-13-0, Mahendra Singh Dhoni 1-0-5-0, Shikhar Dhwan 1-0-3-0.

India 2nd innings:

Murali Vijay not out 7

Shikhar Dhawan not out 2

Extras : (NB-1) 1

Total: (for no loss in 4 overs) 10

Bowling : Boult 2-0-5-0, Southee 2-0-5-0.

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News Network
June 13,2020

New Delhi, Jun 13: West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo has said that wicket-keeper batsman MS Dhoni is the biggest superstar in cricket and is one of the easiest guys to interact with.

Bravo was doing an Instagram live chat with former Zimbabwe pacer Pommie Mbangwa and it was then that the all-rounder was asked to talk about his stint with Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

"I think a lot of credit for CSK's success has to be given to Dhoni and Fleming, obviously the owners, they trust both Fleming and Dhoni, so there is no outside interference when it comes to decision making, both are very big students of the game, players love MS and it's an environment and franchise that allows you to be you," Bravo told Mbangwa during the chat.

"MS Dhoni is the biggest superstar in cricket and in our team. He was one of the easiest people to interact with, outside of the cricket field, he is like playing video games, his door is open at all times, whenever you talk about the biggest superstar and then you think a person like Dhoni is the most humble of them all. CSK is a special team and we have the most loyal fans," he added.

Bravo has been with the CSK since 2011. He has played a total of 104 matches for the franchise, picking up 121 wickets.

The all-rounder has also managed to win the Purple Cap (most wickets in IPL) two times (2013 and 2015).

CSK has won the IPL thrice (2010, 2011 and 2018) and all the titles have come under the leadership of MS Dhoni.

Thirty-eight-year-old Dhoni has been currently enjoying some time away from the game. He last played competitive cricket during the 2019 World Cup.

Dhoni had to face criticism for his slow batting approach during India's matches in the high-profile game.

This year, Dhoni did not find a place for himself in the BCCI's centrally contracted players list.

The board had released the list of central contract list of players for the period from October 2019 to September 2020.

Dhoni is the only captain to win all major ICC trophies (50-over World Cup, T20 World Cup, and Champions Trophy).

Under his leadership, India also managed to attain the number one ranking in Test cricket.

He would have been leading the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) if the Indian Premier League (IPL) had commenced from March 29.

However, the tournament has been postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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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 12,2020

Mumbai, Apr 12: Always eager to share his vast knowledge and experience, cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar has interacted with 12,000 doctors on sports injuries.

In his over two decade long illustrious career, Tendulkar suffered many health issues, the most prominent being the tennis elbow injury.

The veteran of 200 Tests and 463 ODIs, got to know through one Dr Sudhir Warrier, an orthopaedic surgeon, that several young doctors across the country were utilising the lockdown time to effectively gain knowledge on sports injuries through live webinars.

A session on sports injuries was held on Saturday and Tendulkar, knowing that his experiences will help these doctors, volunteered to be a part of it.

Tendulkar, accordingly, interacted with around 12,000 doctors, who attended the session.

It is reliably leanrt that the 46-year-old legend said he was grateful to the medical fraternity for their service.

During the session, the young orthopaedic doctors got to know how the requirements and treatment outcomes of athletes are different from regular patients, sources said.

Dr Warrier moderated the session with Dr Nitin Patel, physiotherapist, who has worked with Indian cricket team and IPL franchise Mumbai Indians.

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