India A ride on Gautam Gambhir, Cheteshwar Pujara tons

October 11, 2013

Gambhir_pujaraHubli, Oct 11: Gautam Gambhir cracked his first century in more than two years as India A came up with a solid batting display to take firm control of the third unofficial 'Test' against the West Indies A. Day two saw host batsmen dominating throughout as out-of-form skipper Cheteshwar Pujara's also hit a brilliant ton to remain unbeaten on 139 when the stumps were drawn. Giving him company at the other end was Abhishek Nayar on 10.

India A were leading by 66 runs in their first innings with as many as seven wickets remaining at the KSCA Stadium. Despite a poor start as they lost overnight opener V A Jagadeesh (16) early after resuming at 10/1, India A went on to score 324 runs during the day.

Seeking to make a comeback to the national team, Gambhir, who was woefully out of form for a long time, notched up 123 off 236 balls with the help of 11 boundaries. The Delhi left-hander, who seemed determined to play a long innings in his quest to force the national selectors to sit up and take note, stroked his way to his 35th first-class century by flicking spinner Ashley Nurse for a boundary. He was finally dismissed by Narasingh Deonaraine after tea.

The opener showed glimpses of his old self, mixing aggression with defence as per the situation. Gambhir was flamboyant in the morning session when he cracked eight scintillating fours, but looked guarded in the second session as he did not score a single boundary.

He got good support from Pujara, who scored his runs after batting watchfully for nearly five hours and hitting 15 exquisite boundaries.

Both were involved in massive 207-run stand which put India A in a position from where they can win the match and level the three-match series.

Brief scores: West Indies A 268 vs India A 334/3 in 95 overs (G Gambhir 123, C Pujara 139 not out; D Johnson 1/50, N Miller 1/70)

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Agencies
January 5,2020

Mumbai, Jan 5: All-rounder Irfan Pathan on Saturday announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, ending an injury-ridden career that prevented him from realising his true potential.

The 35-year-old's retirement was on expected lines, considering he last played a competitive game in February 2019 during the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy for Jammu and Kashmir.

He did not even put himself in the IPL auction pool, last month.

The left-arm seamer's bowling was like a breath of fresh air when he made his India debut against Australia at the Adelaide Oval in 2003.

He never had express pace but his natural ability to swing the ball into the right-handers got him instant success, also drawing comparisons with the great Kapil Dev.

It seemed India had found the all-rounder they were looking for since Kapil left the scene. Pathan, who last played for India in October 2012, featured in 29 Tests (1105 runs and 100 wickets), 120 ODIs (1544 runs and 173 wickets) and 24 T20 Internationals (172 runs and 28 wickets).

He was part of the victorious Indian team at the 2007 World Twenty20 and was the man-of-the-match in the final against Pakistan.

One of his best performances came on the tour of Pakistan in 2006 when he became the second Indian after Harbhajan Singh to take a Test hat-trick, removing Salman Butt, Younis Khan and Mohammad Yusuf during the Karachi game.

He also played a big role in India winning a Test match against Australia on a tough Perth wicket, which offered steep bounce.

Injuries and lack of form troubled him thereafter and his ability to swing the ball deteriorated.

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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
February 29,2020

Feb 29: India were all out for 242 in their first innings following a stunning battling collapse, triggered by paceman Kyle Jamieson on the opening day of the second cricket Test against New Zealand at the Hagley Oval, here on Saturday.

India were steady at 194 for five at tea but lost wickets in quick succession after the play resumed. Jamieson returned figures of 14-3-45-5.

Hanuma Vihari top-scored for India with his combative 55 while Prithvi Shaw (54) and Cheteshwar Pujara (54) hit contrasting half-centuries.

Virat Kohli's (3) poor run continued while his deputy Ajikya Rahane (7) also fell cheaply.

India lost last five wickets for 48 runs, of which 26 were contributed by last-wicket pair of Mohammed Shami (16) and Jasprit Bumrah (10).

Brief Scores:

India 1st innings: 242 all out in 63 overs. (H Vihari 55, P Shaw 54, C Pujara 54 batting; Kyle Jamieson 5/45, Tim Southee 2/38, ).

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