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
July 31,2020

Northamptonshire, Jul 31: Mexican Formula One driver Sergio Perez has tested positive for coronavirus, and as a result, he will miss the British Grand Prix.

The Racing Point driver was absent from the circuit on Thursday after self-isolating following what his team called an "inconclusive" test. Perez then re-tested later in the day and it returned positive.

Formula 1 is following a strict testing regime as part of the safety protocols put in place when racing resumed earlier this month, and this is the first time a driver has tested positive.

"Perez has entered self-quarantine in accordance with the instructions of the relevant public health authorities, and will continue to follow the procedure mandated by those authorities," Formula 1 and the FIA said in a statement.

"With the assistance of the local organiser of the British Grand Prix, local health authorities and the FIA COVID-19 delegate, a full track and trace initiative has been undertaken and all close contacts have been quarantined," the statement added.

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News Network
January 19,2020

Rome, Jan 19: India's star wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Ravi Kumar Dahiya kicked off the Olympic year in style, winning a gold medal each in their respective weight categories at the Rome Ranking Series here.

The 25-year-old Bajrang staged a remarkable comeback to secure a 4-3 win against USA's Jordan Michael Oliver in the summit showdown of the 65kg freestyle category.

Ravi, who competed in the 61kg category instead of his regular 57kg, also bagged gold after getting the better of Kazakhstan's Nurbolat Abdualiyev 12-2 in his final bout late on Saturday night.

The 23-year-old from Sonepat had made the final round after securing impressive wins over Moldova's Alexaandru Chirtoaca and Kazakhstan's Nurislam Sanayev.

Up against one of India's biggest medal prospects in the Tokyo Olympics, Oliver conceded that it was not his night against Bajrang.

The American lauded the competitive spirit of Bajrang.

"Wasn't my night… but I got a lot of work to do to be where I want to be! Hats off to @BajrangPunia dude is heck of a competitor! Until next time my friend," the American tweeted.

Bajrang had to sweat it out in the first round against Zain Allen Retherford of the USA before prevailing 5-4.

In the quarterfinal, the ace Indian wrestler went past another American Joseph Christopher Mc Kenna 4-2, before getting the better of Vasyl Shuptar of Ukraine 6-4 in the semi-finals.

However, it was curtains for Jitender in the 74kg and world championship silver medallist Deepak Punia in the 86kg category.

Jitender won his first bout against Denys Pavlov of Ukraine 10-1 before going down in the quarterfinals against Turkey's Soner Demirtas 4-0.

Jitender got a chance to fight in the repechage after Demirtas entered the final, but the Indian wasted the opportunity, losing 2-9 to Daniyar Kaisanov of Kazakhstan.

In the 86kg category, Deepak crashed out in the opening round, losing 1-11 to Ethan Adrian Ramos of Puerto Rico.

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Agencies
August 2,2020

New Delhi, Aug 2: Batting great Rahul Dravid has attributed Chennai Super Kings' consistent run in the IPL to skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's instincts, game-smarts and the incredible amount of work that goes behind the scenes.

N Srinivasan, the former BCCI president and head of India Cements, which owns the CSK franchise, agreed that Dhoni is a man of instinct who doesn't believe in attending team meetings and going over data.

Both were speaking at a webinar organised by the Great Lakes Institute of Management.

"If you look at the success CSK has had, they've got really good access to data and they've got really good access to people behind the scenes and they've run cricket teams at the junior level," Dravid said at the webinar according to ESPNcricinfo.

The former India captain added, "They understand talent and they've obviously got a good scouting process in place. But, what they also have is a captain who really understands instincts.

"So, I mean, look, I know Dhoni quite well and I hope he hasn't changed, but I know Dhoni is probably not one to look at reams of data and statistics."

The Super Kings have won the lucrative tournament three times -- one less than Mumbai Indians -- and reached the knockouts in each of the 10 seasons they have been a part of.

Srinivasan also spoke about how Dhoni's instinct and judgement contributed to his team's success at a time when a lot of emphases is placed on data.

"We're awash with data just now. To give you an example, there are bowling coaches and in a T20 game, they play videos of every batsman whom they're going to come against and they see how he got out, what's his strength, what's his weakness etc.

"So, MS Dhoni doesn't attend this, he's a pure instinct man. The bowling coach, (head coach Stephen) Fleming will be there and everybody will be there, everyone is giving opinions, (but) he'll get up and go.

"In the context of instinct, he feels that okay he can assess a batsman or player on the field, that's his judgement. On the other hand, there is so much of data that is available to help a person also analyse. It's a very difficult line to draw (between data and instinct)."

Srinivasan also recalled how Dhoni once refused to take "one outstanding player" suggested by the franchise boss as that could have broken the team's cohesion.

"There was one outstanding player that we suggested to MS, he said: 'no sir, he will spoil the team'. The cohesion within the team is important and see in America, franchise-based sport has been there for such a long time," he said.

"In India, we're just starting and we're new to it. But we at India Cements have had a lot of experience running teams at junior levels."

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