Ashwin shines as India canter home by innings & 115 runs

August 26, 2012

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Hyderabad, August 26: Ravichandran Ashwin produced a career-best 12-wicket match haul as a merciless India relied on the spinners to crush New Zealand by an innings and 115 runs to take a 1—0 lead in the two—match Test series in Hyderabad on Sunday.

New Zealand batting collapsed yet again as they lost the last seven wickets for 26 runs to get bundled out for a meagre 164 in the second innings, shortly after the tea break to give the hosts an easy victory with more than a day to spare.

Ashwin’s match figures of 12 for 85 is the best by an Indian in a Test match against New Zealand, eclipsing S Venkatraghavan’s 12 for 140.

The Tamil Nadu spinner foxed the inexperienced Kiwi batsmen by extracting a lot of turn and bounce from the strip as he capped 6/54 to follow up his first innings tally of 6/31.

Ojha returned with figures of three for 48 to lend a fine support at the other end as the spin duo shared nine wickets between them exposing the Black Caps’ vulnerability to play spin.

India had a frustrating first session as the overnight duo of Brendon McCullum (42) and Kane Williamson (52) put up a brave front after resuming at 44 for one, following on in the second innings.

But after Umesh Yadav (1/32) broke the 72—run second wicket partnership, New Zealand lost their remaining nine wickets in 34.4 overs with more than a day left for the match.

New Zealand were 146 for six at tea but lost the remaining four wickets in 25 minutes after resumption as the spin duo wreaked havoc in the camp.

It was also India’s first Test win in nine months following a 0—4 spanking in Australia as the batting stalwarts Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman retired in the aftermath of the series.

The two teams will now travel to Bangalore for the second Test to begin from August 31.

After a frustrating first-half, India got their first breakthrough of the day after lunch when a poor decision by Steve Davis ruled McCullum out.

McCullum got an inside edge before the ball hit the pads but umpire Davis ruled the batsman out as the Indian fielders appealed.

Predictably, McCullum was angry as he started trudging back towards pavilion nodding his head in disbelief.

The absence of DRS certainly hurt the New Zealanders as the partnetship between McCullum and Kane Williamson was proving to be a thorn in the flesh of the Indians. They had defied the Indian attack for 30.3 overs.

Once the resolute stand was broken, it was a one—way traffic for the Indian spinners who returned to haunt the inexperienced Kiwi line—up.

Ross Taylor (7) followed becoming Ashwin’s first victim of the second innings when the New Zealand skipper was foxed by the turn to see his stumps tumbling.

Flynn and Williamson looked to build on a partnership as the latter, who had scored a century in his debut in Ahmedabad two seasons ago, went on to complete a fine half century.

But soon after he too ran out of patience with Ojha adding a second to his tally when the youngster was caught in the slip by Virender Sehwag.

Ashwin took two wickets in two overs in the form of Flynn and James Franklin as with spin at both ends, it was just a matter of time for the Indians to take an unassailable 1—0 lead.

Sehwag took a diving catch at the first slip to dismiss Franklin off Ashwin’s bowling and it enthralled the 20,000—plus Sunday crowd in the 39,000—capacity stadium.

Ashwin was simply unplayble as the Indian offspinner took his 10th wicket haul in the match in the form of Van Wyk.

Earlier, India straightway began the proceedings with the spin duo of Ojha and Ashwin but there was little assistance in the morning as the Kiwi batsmen played them out sensibly.

The duo of McCullum and Williamson played with patience, waiting for the loose deliveries as India struggled to get the first breakthrough of the day.

There was a setback for India when centurion Cheteshwar Pujara while fielding at short leg in the 33rd over, was hit near his right knee, around the same place he had a surgery last year in London.

Grimacing in pain, Pujara was taken out of the field by the support staff as Ajinkya Rahane came as the replacement.

Pujara did not come back but there was an announcement that he was alright and it was just a minor “bruise”. India brought on the medium—pacers Zaheer and then Yadav at one end hoping for some reverse swing but there was no success with the Kiwi duo keeping their intact.


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News Network
March 29,2020

New Delhi, Mar 29: Former Indian batsman Wasim Jaffer on Sunday picked his all-time IPL team and appointed wicket-keeper batsman MS Dhoni as its captain.

Jaffer's team's feature opener Rohit Sharma, current Indian skipper Virat Kohli, all-rounder Hardik Pandya, spinner R Ashwin, and pacer Jasprit Bumrah as seven domestic players.
While the foreign players spot have been occupied by West Indies' swashbuckling batsman Chris Gayle, all-rounder Andre Russell, Afghanistan's spinner Rashid Khan, and Sri Lanka's veteran pacer Lasith Malinga.
Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has been picked as 12th man by Jaffer.

Earlier this month, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to postpone the IPL to April 15, 2020, as a precautionary measure against COVID-19 outbreak.
The board also assured that it will work in unison with the Sports Ministry and will adhere to the guidelines issued.

The 13th edition of IPL was scheduled to commence from March 29. 

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News Network
January 9,2020

Mumbai, Jan 9: Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan feels that the Men in Blue have the edge over Australia in terms of talent and confidence ahead of the two teams' three-match ODI series starting January 14 in Mumbai.

"In the past that wasn't the case because they were doing really well. We were trying to match that level. I feel that Indian cricket is a notch ahead in terms of talent, in terms of cricket and in terms of confidence," Star Sports expert Irfan Pathan said. "The only thing that will make it equal is the kind of pitches we are going to play in Australia because we do not have experience playing on those hard and bouncy pitches," said Pathan, who recently called time on his international career.

Recounting his favourite memory of playing against Australia, Irfan said, "It all started in Australia for me. The most memorable moment was getting my first wicket and helping India win a Test match in Australia after 21 years. Winning the Test in Perth and being named the Man of the Match is also a favourite memory for me."

Australia have already announced their team for the three-match ODI series with India. The team will be led by Aaron Finch. The other members of the team are Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, Kane Richardson, D'Arcy Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Turner, David Warner, and Adam Zampa.

India are yet to announce their team but in all probability, it will be led by Virat Kohli who has been in phenomenal form over the last few years. All three ODIs are day and night affair. While the first match of the series is on January 14 in Mumbai, the second will be played at Rajkot on January 17 followed by the January 19 clash in Bengaluru.

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Agencies
March 3,2020

Mumbai, Mar 3: India on Tuesday retained their number one spot and captain Virat Kohli remained static at second in the ICC rankings despite a dismal Test series against New Zealand.

India have 116 rating points, six more than New Zealand with third-placed Australia accumulating 108 points. The 0-2 result against New Zealand was India's first series loss in the World Test Championship.

Kohli remains in second position in the batting rankings despite a forgettable Test series in which he made 38 runs in four innings, the ICC said in a statement.

New Zealand opener Tom Blundell and his Indian counterpart Prithvi Shaw and debutant paceman Kyle Jamieson were among the biggest movers in the rankings, released on Tuesday.

Blundell had a successful series against India, scoring 117 runs in four innings, with one half-century, which put him among the top two run-scorers in the series.

The performance meant he was rewarded with a jump of 27 places to No. 46. Shaw, who returned for his first series since his Test debut against West Indies in 2018, and made a punchy 54 in the first innings of the Christchurch Test, rose 17 places to No.76.

Australia's Steve Smith retained his top spot, holding a 25-point advantage over Kohli. Smith's apprentice Marnus Labuschagne jumped one spot to round off the top three, taking the place of New Zealand captain Kane Williamson.

England all-rounder Ben Stokes and India opener Mayank Agarwal moved a spot each and swapped places to break into and fall out of the top 10 respectively.

Among bowlers, Tim Southee's Player of the Series winning performance against India took him into the top five, with a jump of two places to No.4, while Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult returned to the top 10, gaining four places each to occupy the seventh and ninth positions respectively.

But the biggest gainer was Jamieson, who rose from No. 80 to 43.

There was only one change in the top ten among all-rounders, with Southee dropping a spot to No.10 and team-mate Neil Wagner falling out of the top 10 with a drop of four spots.

As with the bowling rankings, Jamieson, who frustrated India with handy lower order runs, gained big on the all-rounders' table, rising 26 places to No. 22.

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