Seamers dance at spin party

November 21, 2012

zaheer

Mumbai, November 21: Pace bowlers were meant to be mere side casts to offer relief to the aching fingers of R Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha. But after the first Test, Zaheer Khan and Umesh Yadav have proved unequivocally that they are here not to fill the numbers.


Yes, the spinners have bowled more overs – 137.2 to pace bowlers’ 72.3 – at Ahmedabad and the tweakers have taken 13 wickets whereas Zaheer and Umesh have accounted for seven English batsmen. So, the numbers suggest an overwhelming superiority of spinners at Motera, but the truth couldn’t be farther.

The slow nature of the pitch at the Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium ensured that spinners wouldn’t be as strong a force as they were reckoned to be, something that irked Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, a strong advocate of turners at home.

There were periods, especially in the second innings, when Ojha and Ashwin struggled to maintain their stranglehold over English batsmen, forcing Dhoni to turn to his quicker options. And how splendidly Zaheer and Umesh responded to a difficult task!

The lack of bounce and movement at Motera would have disheartened any other pace bowler. The English pace troika of James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Tim Bresnan often appeared clueless on how to trouble the Indian batsmen on a benign pitch; frustration creeping in steadily into them.

But on day four of the first Test, Zaheer and Umesh showed a way to make an impact on such tracks – in contrasting fashions. England openers Alastair Cook and Nick Comption had added 111 at stumps on day three, and India needed a quick breakthrough to prevent the alliance into becoming something more damaging, and there hardly were any signs of spinners doing the job.

Here, Zaheer showed his mastery over the conditions. The veteran left-arm seamer troubled Compton bowling from around the wicket, and then switched to over the wicket and the change of angle did Compton in. It was pure craftsmanship, purchasing a wicket with sheer skill than waiting for pitch or conditions to do any favour.


Even after Ojha’s double strike to jettison Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott, India needed couple more strikes to give more wind to their onward journey, and this time Umesh put his hand up. The Vidarbha fast bowler is entirely different from his senior partner, relying on outright pace to fill the wicket column. On the face of it, the strategy might not appear a proper one, particularly on a slow pitch like the one at the Motera.

But Umesh showed cour¬age to back his strength and even on a flat surface his line was enough for him to dismiss Ian Bell and Samit Patel, though fortune’s hand was prominent in getting the wicket of Patel.

It didn’t matter even one bit as the wickets – coming off successive deliveries -- were a reward for sticking to his philosophy even in trying conditions – bowling fast and aiming either at the stumps or the pads.

Skipper Dhoni sounded quite happy about his pacers’ performance. “Our fast bowlers bowled really well. Zaheer put in a lot of effort, and we’ve seen Umesh improving. He’s bowling quick. The contribution of the fast bowlers was really important. They gave us the breakthrough when it was really needed,” Dhoni said.

Their performance is also a sharp reminder to us that pacers can succeed here. There have been many fast bowlers, who conquered the barren surfaces here. The list features such names as Kapil Dev, Richard Hadlee, Malcolm Marshall, Dale Steyn, Shoaib Akhtar, Neil Foster and Makhaya Ntini. Now, Zaheer and Umesh have underlined the fact that following correct strategy could fetch rewards in any kind of pitch.

Umesh agreed. “The pitch has been very slow, and you need a lot of patience here to get the wickets. I followed my plan, and it was to bowl quick and as straight as possible, so that batsmen can’t relax against me,” Umesh said.

The conditions in the upcoming Tests in Mumbai, Kolkata and Nagpur couldn’t be entirely dissimilar, and India will require Zaheer and Umesh to carry on their brilliant job there as well, which will be significant to India’s effort to win the series. They have taken the first step in the right direction.



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Agencies
February 7,2020

New Delhi, Feb 7: It was on February 7, 1999, that Anil Kumble became just the second bowler in the history of cricket to take all ten wickets in an innings of a Test match.

He achieved the feat against Pakistan at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, now known as Arun Jaitley cricket stadium in Delhi during the second Test of the two-match series.

India had set Pakistan a target of 420 runs in the match and the visitors got off to a steady start as openers Shahid Afridi and Saeed Anwar put on 101 runs for the first wicket.

It was then Kumble who came into the attack and wreaked havoc on the Pakistani batting line-up.

The spinner, also known as 'Jumbo' first dismissed Afridi (41) in the 25th over. After the right-handed batter's dismissal, India kept on taking wickets through Kumble and Pakistan was reduced to 128/6 in no time.

Kumble then kept on taking wickets at regular intervals and he got his tenth scalp in the 61st over after dismissing Wasim Akram.

This effort enabled India to register a win by 212 runs, and Kumble became the second bowler after England's Jim Laker to take all ten wickets in a single Test inning.

Kumble finished with the bowling figures of 10-74 from 26.3 overs.

Kumble announced his retirement from international cricket in 2008 and finished with 619 wickets in the longest format of the game.

He has the third-highest number of wickets in Tests, only behind Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and Australia's Shane Warne (708).

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News Network
January 18,2020

New Delhi, Jan 18: There was not much rustiness but just the initial nervousness, which a “pleasantly surprised” Sania Mirza shook off to win a title in her first tournament in 27 months, capping off her comeback from a maternity leave in style.

Partnering Ukraine's Nadiia Kichenov, the trailblazing Indian tennis player annexed the Hobart International trophy with a straight sets win over second seed Chinese pair of Shuai Peng and Shuai Zhang.

She worked hard to get into shape but the way she moved, it seemed Sania was never away from the courts.

“It's something I did not expect totally, so to say, but I am excited to be able to do this in my first tournament on comeback," Sania told PTI in an exclusive interview from Melbourne.

“I honestly thought I would be a bit more rustier than I was. I was pleasantly surprised that I was not. But there are things I can improve and that is what makes a champion. You always want to get better in what you are doing, no matter how well you do."

The 33-year-old winner of six Grand Slam titles said she played without pressure, and insisted there was no secret to the swift success on comeback.

“There is no key, I wish I knew, there was one key to winning. I just enjoyed my game. You have to work hard, play your game. I was playing with a new partner, new gear after two-and-a-half years. There was no pressure and no expectations.

"The first match was the only one when I felt a bit nervous because I did not know how my body would react and how I would play. That match was difficult but it set the tone and momentum. I was happy to come though that one and after that things kept getting better and better," she said.

Sania said her body has certainly changed after giving birth to son Izhaan but she did not have to tweak her post-match recovery process much.

“It does change. I was dealing with a calf injury, from last month and I aggravated a bit today. I am still icing it as we speak but it should not be serious.

“The body is a lot different now. It recovers different. But recovery (process) has not changed so much, it's similar."

Asked if she could go for her shots as she was doing before the break, she said, “I was able to do enough, I can improve, no matter how I play."

"My serve was decent but I can improve. I the first match I was not serving that well and was not returning well on important points but by the time I was playing the final, I was doing both of those little better. It is a process, it does not happen overnight. It's something will keep working on."

Serena Williams set an example in 2018 when she came out playing highly competitive tennis after giving birth to her daughter Olympia. There are other tennis moms like Victoria Azrenka and Evgeniya Rodina.

Sania said she did not seek any input from tennis moms but their presence on the Tour is inspiring enough.

“I did not speak to anyone but it is inspiring to see so many moms around, playing well in different sports."

Sania will play the Australian Open mixed doubles with compatriot Rohan Bopnna after her original first-choice Rajeev Ram opted out due to health reasons.

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News Network
April 25,2020

New Delhi, Apr 25: The love and loyalty of the fans will never let him leave Royal Challengers Bangalore till the time he is playing IPL, skipper Virat Kohli said on Friday.

RCB have reached the IPL final thrice but have not gone on to win the trophy.

During a live session on Instagram with former South African captain and RCB teammate AB de Villiers, Kohli said winning the tournament remains the goal but he would not leave the team irrespective of the results.

"It has been such an amazing journey. It is always going to be our dream, winning the IPL together. There is no scenario where I could think of leaving the team ever.

"You can feel emotional about the season not going well but till the time I am playing IPL, I am never leaving this team. The fans, their loyalty has been amazing," said the India skipper.

Responding to Kohli's feelings towards RCB, De Villiers too acknowledged the support of fans over the past nine years. Kohli, on the other hand, has been with RCB since 2008.

"Same for me. I never want to leave RCB but to do that I got to keep scoring runs. I am not the captain you see," said the South African in jest.

Both recalled their early days in international cricket and their growth as cricketers and friends.

Kohli said at times, the youngsters coming in have too much regard for the "system" and he wants to see them break the norm.

"I want to see youngsters coming in scoring 500-600 runs. I want people to break the norm. Sometimes I feel people have too much regard for the system in sport. When you break the shackles, you do something special."

Kohli also acknowledged contribution of Mark Boucher, Gary Kirsten and Duncan Fletcher early on in his international career.

"Gary always gave me positive feedback. Boucher told me in 2008 to improve my game against the short ball. He had the vision. Then Fletcher, he had a keen eye for the game. So many people who have contributed (to my growth)," said Kohli.

De Villiers picked the 119 at Wankhede in the 2015 series decider as his best knock against India. Kohli picked the 119 he scored in Johannesburg Test in 2013.

"I was always really motivated to win the series after 2-2 . I was incredibly motivated to do something special," de Villiers said.

They also picked their combined South Africa and India ODI team. It included Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ab de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, M S Dhoni (captain), Yuvraj Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Dale Steyn, Jasprit Bumrah and Kagiso Rabada.

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