India in control of 3rd Test after Bhuvneshwar's triple strike

March 17, 2013
Bhuvneshwars_triple_strike

Mohali, Mar 17: Murali Vijay (153) cracked his second successive century before young paceman Bhuvneshwar Kumar quickly snapped up three Australian wickets to raise hopes of an Indian victory in the third cricket Test which seemed headed for an exciting finish.

After conceding a 91-run first innings lead, the visitors were struggling at 75 for three at stumps, on the penultimate day with Bhuvneshwar producing a brilliant spell to remove openers David Warner (2), Ed Cowan (8) and Steven Smith (5), who was promoted ahead of injured captain Michael Clarke.

At stumps, Phillip Hughes (53 batting) is fighting hard in company of nightwatchman Nathan Lyon (4).

The stage is now set for an engrossing fifth day's play on a deteriorating track as India will try to dismissing seven remaining Aussie batsmen and keep the target within manageable limit with 98 overs permissible.

India lead the series 2-0 after convincing wins in Chennai and Hyderabad, and seemed to be on course to clinch the series despite Peter Siddle's five-for, which helped Australia bowl out the hosts for 499.

Woefully out-of-form prior to this innings, Hughes struck nine fours and a six during his crucial knock. Bhuvneshwar's figures were an impressive three for 25.

The UP seamer had Warner caught behind in the first over, though much of the 'credit' must go to the batsman who played an irresponsible shot to an away-going delivery.

Bhuvneshwar then had Cowan trapped in-front but this time he was a bit lucky as the ball had pitched outside leg and the batsman had made a big stride forward.

There was no doubt as far as his third wicket was concerned as Bhuvneshwar produced a beauty that held its line before knocking over Smith's off-stump.

Resuming on a strong 283 for no loss, India were bundled out for the addition of just 216 runs, as Siddle returned with impressive figures of five for 71.

It was due to Siddle's workmanlike effort that Australia ended the Indian innings within 500 -- the hosts were at one point well on course for posting an even bigger total, thanks to debutant Dhawan's record-breaking knock of 187 and a patient innings by Vijay.

The second new ball did the trick as Siddle and Starc combined to put the brakes on India's scoring as India lost their last seven wickets for only 87 runs.

The visitors produced a much better effort today, picking up all the wickets, after yesterday's hammering. In all, 13 wickets fell on the day.

Vijay's marathon knock came off 317 balls and the Tamil Nadu batsman spent 414 minutes while hitting 19 fours and three sixes. This was the 28-year-old's third Test ton and interestingly, all his centuries have come against Australia.

Comfortably placed at 384 for three at lunch, India were taken by surprise after the break, with Australia staging a remarkable fightback to reduce the hosts to 431 for seven after Siddle had Ravichandran Ashwin caught behind.

Skipper Clarke's decision to take the second new ball seven overs after lunch paid dividends, as Starc had Vijay trapped with one that swung in with the batsmen not offering a stroke.

The left-arm pacer had India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni with a similar delivery, the swung back sharply and batsman was caught plumb in-front. Bowling with a scrambled seam, Siddle induced an edge from Ravindra Jadeja to make it 427 for six. The delivery moved away from the left-hander on landing and wicketkeeper Brad Haddin did the rest.

Ashwin followed six runs later, before Virat Kohli (50 not out) along with Bhuvneshwar Kumar arrested the slide helping India score 95 runs in the second session.At the stroke of lunch, Sachin Tendulkar got out for 37 – caught by Ed Cowan at forward short-leg off leggie Smith.

Resuming on 283 for no loss, Dhawan (187) and Cheteshwar Pujara were the two other batsmen to have been dismissed besides Tendulkar during the morning session.

Overnight on 83, Vijay added the 17 runs needed to get to the three-figure mark. The 27-year-old Dhawan, after his blistering knock yesterday, was sent back after he could add just two runs to his overnight score of 185. He spent 251 minutes at the crease, faced 174 balls and smashed 33 fours besides hitting two sixes.

The left-handed batsman from Delhi has already broken quite a few records en route to his turbo-charged innings and was in line to rewrite a few more, before off-spinner Lyon had him caught by Cowan at silly point in only the day's second over.

Next man in Pujara, was trapped in-front by pacer Siddle, who bowled a fairly tight spell, a far cry from the beating the Australians were subjected to by Dhawan in the last two sessions yesterday.

Vijay meanwhile got to his century with a lofted shot over midwicket off Lyon, his patient knock a stark contrast to the one played by his opening partner.

To get to his hundred, which was also his third against Australia, the 28-year-old Chennai batsman faced 206 balls and spent 276 minutes. He struck 12 boundaries and two sixes.

After sharing a 287-run partnership with Dhawan, which is India's third highest for the first wicket, Vijay added another 92 runs with Tendulkar, who looked to be in good nick before getting out.

Watchful to start with, the Mumbai veteran soon opened up to play some delightful shots on either side of the wicket.

While his first boundary was a heave over midwicket, he was in his element soon as he straight drove Mitchell Starc in his first over – the ball raced towards the ropes before the bowler could even complete his follow-through.

Tendulkar then unleashed a cut against the left-arm seamer and the result was the same. Just before that, he played a masterful cover drive off Lyon, which brought the Sunday crowd to their feet.

Meanwhile, Tendulkar became the highest individual scorer on this ground surpassing former teammate Rahul Dravid, who held the previous record with 735 runs from nine matches.

Tendulkar is playing in his 11th Test at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) Stadium. India's 350 was up in the in the 81st over even as Clarke introduced his fourth specialist bowler Xavier Doherty, but the left-arm spinner could never really trouble the Indians on this bone-dry wicket.

But there was a period when Tendulkar went into a shell managing just two off 28 balls. Vijay, though, looked to accelerate breaking the shackles with a six over long-on off Doherty's bowling. Tendulkar too, broke free, driving Moises Henriques through cover and mid-off.

But he could not survive the session as a Smith delivery turned and bounced awkwardly leading to his dismissal.

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News Network
May 15,2020

New Delhi, May 15: Former England skipper David Gower feels Sourav Ganguly has the right "political skills" to lead the ICC one day and he has already displayed that as BCCI president, which is a "far tougher job".

The elegant left-hander is very impressed with Ganguly's leadership abilities and believes that he has what it takes to head the global body in the future.

"One thing I have learnt over the years is that if you are going to run BCCI, you need to be many, many things. Having a reputation like he (Ganguly) has is a very good start, but you need to be a very deft politician.

"You need to have control of a million different things," Gower said ahead of "Q20", a unique chat show for the fans presented by 'GloFans'.

Gower reckons being president of the BCCI is the toughest job imaginable in world cricket.

"And of course, you need to be responsible for a game that is followed by, I mean, should we say a billion people here in India," he said.

"We all know about the immense following for cricket in India. So it is indeed a wonderful thing to behold. Sourav has the toughest task imaginable in charge of BCCI, but so far I would say the signs are very good.

"He has listened, given his own opinion and has pulled strings gently," he said.

Political skills are a must in administration and that's where Gower finds his fellow left-hander ticking all the boxes.

"He is a very, very good man and has those political skills. He has the right attitude and can keep things together and will do good job. And if you do a good job as BCCI chief in the future, who knows?

"But I would actually say the more important job, to be honest, is running BCCI. Being head of ICC is an honour, there is a lot that can be done by ICC, but actually look at the rankings, look at where the power is heading up. BCCI is definitely the bigger job," he said.

On the cricketing front, Gower believes World Test Championship has given the format much-needed context.

"The idea of this World Test Championship has come about for one very simple reason that people are worried about the survival of Tests. Back in the seventies, eighties, I don't think we needed context to be fair.

"Test cricket was very much more obviously the most important format and if there was anything to be judged by, it was the performances in Test matches both as an individual and as a team.

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March 7,2020

Melbourne, Mar 7: He will be supporting Australia for sure but former pacer Brett Lee feels an Indian victory in Sunday's T20 Word Cup final could be a "start of a major breakthrough" for the women's game in the cricket-mad country.

India and Australia will lock horns in what is expected to be a blockbuster title clash at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

"As an Australian, I'd love nothing more than for (Meg) Lanning's team to do the job. But if India were to win the World Cup for the first time, victory would do so much for women's cricket in a country that already adores the sport," Lee wrote in an ICC column.

"This could be the start of a major breakthrough, particularly with the amount of talent that is coming through."

The former speedster said Australia will have to look for ways to counter the in-form 16-year-old Shafali Verma.

"In Shafali Verma, India boast one of the most talented players in the world and you feel that for Australia to win the game, dismissing her will likely be their first job.

"I've been so impressed with the opener - it's staggering to believe she's only 16 with the confidence she has in her own ability and the way she strikes the ball so cleanly.

"She's such good fun to watch and I'm not sure the women's game has seen anyone like her for such a long time."

Shafali has been the star of the tournament, having amassed 161 runs at a strike rate of 161, consistently providing India solid starts, and that was not lost on Lee.

"To be the world's best T20 batter already shows just how far she has progressed in such a short space of time and the experience in this tournament will hold her in good stead for years to come.

"Even with the way she's played in Australia and her fearless brand of cricket, you still get the feeling she has more to come as well."

He reckoned Shafali may have another big score awaiting her.

"She's got a big score in her locker and there's probably no better place to do that than the MCG. Shafali is already a record breaker but if she can steer her side to their first Women's T20 World Cup title at just 16, then the sky really is the limit for her career."

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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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