Perth Test: Virat Kohli leads India's fightback against Australia on Day 2

Agencies
December 15, 2018

Perth, Dec 15: Captain Virat Kohli determinedly led India`s fightback on an engrossing day two at the Perth Stadium on Saturday, blunting Australia`s bowling attack to leave the second Test hanging in the balance.

In reply to Australia`s first-inning total of 326, India fought back on the green-tinged pitch to reach stumps at 172 for three with Kohli 82 not out and his deputy Ajinkya Rahane unbeaten on 51.

The home side bowled accurately but the much-hyped pitch, marked with widening cracks, settled down late in the day.

A fired-up Mitchell Starc (2-42) rebounded after coming in for some criticism for his bowling during Australia`s 31-run defeat in the first Test in Adelaide.

After losing two wickets in their first six overs, Kohli rescued India through half-century partnerships with the in-form Cheteshwar Pujara and Rahane.

Kohli started confidently smashing four drives to the boundary in his first 10 deliveries faced, before playing watchfully against some tight Australian bowling.

Kohli and Pujara initially rebuilt India`s innings with a 74-run partnership after a shaky start saw them lose openers Murali Vijay (duck) and Lokesh Rahul (two) cheaply either side of lunch.

Pujara, who was India`s hero in the first test with scores of 123 and 71, fell tamely for a hard-fought 24 when he was caught behind feathering a Starc delivery down the leg side.

An aggressive Rahane counter-attacked to break the shackles, as Kohli reached his first-half century against Australia in almost four years with a powerful cut shot to the boundary.

The India talisman had scored just 83 runs in his past seven test innings against Australia, but his 181-ball knock has given his team hope of reeling in Australia`s competitive first innings total.

Australia, desperate for a victory to level up the series, batted doggedly through the morning under overcast skies to add 49 vital runs to their overnight score.

Tim Paine (38) and Pat Cummins (19) combined for a crucial seventh-wicket partnership of 59.

Big quick Ishant Sharma (4-41) will start Australia`s second innings on a hat-trick after running through the tail as the home side lost their last four wickets for 16 runs.

Marcus Harris top-scored with 70, with Aaron Finch (50) and Travis Head (58) also making half-centuries in the fierce heat of the opening day.

The Test is the first at the new 60,000-seat stadium located in Burswood after a 47-year run at the WACA and Australia will be keen to end a run of six tests without a victory against an India side seeking a first series win Down Under.

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News Network
January 10,2020

Srinagar, Jan 10: Real Kashmir FC made a strong comeback in the second half to play out a 1-1 draw against former champions Punjab FC in their home I-League match here on Friday.

The 'Snow Leopards' equalised in the 62nd minute through Gnohere Krizo in front of a partisan crowd of 8,500 spectators after Makan Chothe had given Punjab FC the lead in the 21st minute at the TRC ground.

After Thursday's draw, Punjab FC is placed third on the table with 10 points from seven games. Real Kashmir FC remained at eighth with six points from five matches. This was Real Kashmir's third home match on the trot.

The match was a story of two halves as the first belonged to the visitors who enjoyed a 62 per cent possession of the ball, whereas the second belonged to the home side.

Both the teams were looking to gain an early advantage and Punjab FC took the lead after 21 minutes.

Confusion inside the Real Kashmir box because of a long ball from Punjab opened up an opportunity for Chothe and he made no mistake as he smashed the ball at the back of the net.

As the fans cheered on, Real Kashmir created a flurry of chances, but none of the home side players could find the back of the net. Punjab was able to hold on to their slender lead heading into the tunnel.

The second half resumed with Real Kashmir pressing high up the field and pressurising Punjab.

In the 56th minute, Real Kashmir playmaker Kallum Higginbotham cut through two defenders on the left side of the box and the ball fell to Mason Robertson, whose shot was too weak to trouble the Punjab goalkeeper.

Soon after, it was Danish Farooq who tried a curler from a distance but his shot did not have enough bend to trouble the Punjab goalkeeper. The home team's effort finally paid off in the 62nd minute.

A miscalculated header by Danilo Augusto fell at the feet of Gnohere Krizo, who was one-on-one with the keeper. He made no mistake in striking the ball into the opponent's goal to score the equaliser.

Real Kashmir was in their groove now, and Kallum came in from the right with a beautiful low cross across the face of the goal but Mason could not get a touch as the chance went begging.

The duo of Kallum and Mason were proving difficult for Punjab to deal with. In the 82nd minute, a beautiful long ball by Kallum found the head of a towering Mason, but the effort went just over the crossbar.

Within a few moments, Punjab again had another nervous moment as Chesterpoul Lyngdoh's cross from the right side hit the arm of Thoiba Singh but the referee turned down an appeal for penalty.

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Agencies
February 20,2020

New Delhi, Feb 20: Grappler Divya Kakran on Thursday became the second Indian woman to win a gold medal at the ongoing Asian Wrestling Championship.

Divya, a bronze medallist at Asian Games 2018, earned her first gold by winning all her four bouts against Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Uzbekistan and Japan.

Her final bout against Naruha Matsuyuki of Japan was the closest one but she managed to outclass her opponent 6-4 to seal her name on the gold medal. The 68 kg category was played in round-robin format as only five wrestlers were in the fray.

India is likely to add some more medals to its tally when Nirmala Devi, Pinki, and Sarita go out to grapple for the yellow metal in their respective weight categories.

Three-time Commonwealth championship gold medallist, Nirmala Devi (50 kg) first defeated Munkhnar Byambasuren of Mongolia in the quarterfinals by 6-4 to reach the semis.

In the semi-finals, Nirmala got the better of Dauletbike Yakhshimuratova of Uzbekistan by 10-0 and will play against 2018 Under-23 World Champion Miho Igarashi of Japan for the gold medal.

Pinki (55 kg) started her day on a winning note against Shokhida Akhmedova of Uzbekistan by 12-4 in round 3 and lost to Kana Higashikawa of Japan to enter the semis where she defeated Marina Zuyeva of Kazakistan by a score of 6-0.

Pinki will play in the gold medal bout against Dulguun Bolormaa of Mongolia.

Sarita (59 kg) will now face Battsetseg Altantsetseg of Mongolia in the gold medal bout after winning against her opponents in the qualifiers, quarterfinals and semi-final by a score of 10-0, 11-0 and 10-3, respectively.

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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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