Shami strikes thrice to leave SA at 173/5 at lunch

Agencies
January 16, 2018

Centurion, Jan 16: India pacer Mohammad Shami’s three-wicket burst reduced South Africa to 173 for five in the second innings, taking their lead to 201 runs at lunch on day four of the second Test here.

At the break, Faf du Plessis was batting on 12 not out while Vernon Philander was giving him company on three not out.

This was after news broke that Virat Kohi has been fined 25 per cent of his match fees and received one demerit point for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct during the final session on day three.

The Indian skipper had protested animatedly to on-field umpires Paul Reiffel and Michael Gough that the ball was too wet when play resumed after a brief rain break. He later pleaded guilty to the charge.

Starting from overnight 90 for two, AB de Villiers (80 runs, 121 balls, 10 fours) and Dean Elgar (61 runs, 121 balls, 8 fours, 1 six) took their third wicket partnership to 141 runs.

Jasprit Bumrah (2-47) and Ishant Sharma (0-29) started proceedings for India.

While Bumrah attacked the batsmen more, Ishant was content on keeping the run-rate down. It allowed an easy first hour for the batting pair as they added 54 runs until drinks.

Their 100-stand came off 167 balls. South Africa crossed 100 in the 33rd over and then 150 in the 43rd.

The turn-around came when Shami (3-38) was introduced into the attack and he immediately started getting the ball to reverse.

First, he induced an edge off de Villiers in the 42nd over with the batsman surprised by extra bounce and was caught behind.

Four overs later, Elgar pulled a short ball off Shami straight to KL Rahul at deep square leg. The fielder fumbled but managed to hold on.

In the 47th over, Rahul fumbled again at backward short leg off R Ashwin (0-57) and this time dropped du Plessis (on 6). It was a tough chance but he managed to get a full hand to it on diving to his right.

In the very next over, Parthiv Patel misjudged another chance as Shami induced an edge off Quinton de Kock (12), with the keeper moving in the opposite direction to the ball.

It didn t prove too costly, even as de Kock hit three consecutive boundaries, all of edges and then edged again off Shami with Patel holding on this time.

South Africa had lost three wickets for 19 runs in the space of 39 balls and were reduced to 163 for five.

Du Plessis and Philander stemmed the mini-collapse even as the lead crossed 200 in the 52nd over.

On day one, South Africa won the toss and chose to bat with the pitch surprising everyone with its flat nature. Aiden Markram top-scored with 94 as Ashwin took 4-113.

On day two, India finished with 183/5 at stumps. On day three, Virat Kohli went on to score 153, his 21st Test hundred as the visitors were bowled out for 307, conceding a 28-run first innings lead. Morne Morkel took 4-60.

South Africa won the first Test in Cape Town by 72 runs and lead the three-Test series 1-0.

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News Network
January 8,2020

Indore, Jan 8: Former opener Gautam Gambhir is mighty impressed with the way K.L. Rahul batted during India's comfortable seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the second T20I and said it amazes him why the right-handed batsman can't play the same way in Tests. On Tuesday, Rahul top-scored with a 32-ball 45 as India chased down the meagre target of 143 with utmost ease at the Holkar Stadium.

"Rahul is in unbelievable form. It amazes me every time I see Rahul bat that why didn't he play the same way in Test cricket," Gambhir told the host broadcasters. "It's not about only white-ball cricket; it is about Test cricket too. He just got into a shell too much. With the kind of quality he posses, he is someone who can get you a 50-ball 100 in Test cricket as well. The kind of shots he has is superb," he added.

Shikhar Dhawan, who is making a return to the team after an injury lay-off, also contributed with a "rusty" 30-ball 32. Both Dhawan and Rahul are virtually playing for the second opener's slot for the World T20, with Rohit Sharma set to be one.

And Gambhir feels going by the current form, Rahul should be opening the batting alongside Rohit in Australia. "You can't compare IPL to international cricket. When you're playing for Delhi Capitals, you know there's no one waiting for the opportunity, but when you're playing for the country and you know there's someone who's actually can replace you, there'll always be pressure. And today it was shown who's in better form," Gambhir said.

The cricketer-turned-politician, however, exuded confidence that Dhawan will bounce back strongly in the next game. "Shikhar Dhawan looked rusty but it's a good thing that he got some runs under his belt. It will help him when he walks out to bat in the next game. Had he got out early, the pressure would have been more," he said.

India will play Sri Lanka in the final T20I in Pune on Friday before taking on Australia in a three-match ODI series beginning January 14 in Mumbai.

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Agencies
June 4,2020

Bengaluru, Jun 4: Indian men's hockey team defender Harmanpreet Singh is delighted and honoured to be nominated for the Arjuna Award by Hockey India.

The Indian women's hockey team captain Rani Rampal has been nominated for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award while her compatriots Vandana Katariya, Monika and Harmanpreet Singh have been nominated for the Arjuna Award.

"I was extremely delighted to hear the news. It's an honour to be nominated for the Arjuna Award and I am sure the nomination will motivate me to perform even better in the upcoming years. All of us have received tremendous support from Hockey India over the years and I was extremely happy to know that Rani has been nominated for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and Vandana Katariya and Monika have been nominated for the Arjuna Award. They have put up some brilliant performances in the recent past and I would like to extend my congratulations to them," Harmanpreet said.

The 24-year-old dragflick sensation stepped up his role in the team and shouldered the responsibility of vice-captain with aplomb. As a defender-dragflicker, he was instrumental in the team's winning performance in the FIH Series Finals in Odisha. At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Test Event, he captained the team to victory in the absence of Manpreet Singh who was rested for the tournament.

Harmanpreet was also part of the Indian team that won the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers against Russia last year. Harmanpreet said that he has been able to perform for the team only because of the support he has received from his teammates.

"I am very happy with the way I have been contributing to the team in the last couple of years. However, I have been able to come up with the goods only because of the way my teammates have supported me. Hockey is a team sport and all of us ensure that we are contributing to the team's cause in some way or the other. If we score a goal, then it's not only the goal scorer, who takes the credit, but the entire team is credited for a particular effort," said the defender.

Harmanpreet added that booking a place in the Tokyo Olympic Games was the biggest achievement for the team in 2019.

"It was simply amazing to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics in front of our home crowd last year. I will cherish the memory forever. The balance of our side was fantastic and everyone chipped in to make the tournament a memorable one. Now, we will give everything we can to come up with great results at the Olympics next year. It's our sole target at the moment and all of us are up for the challenge. Hopefully, we will become a much better side once we play our first match in Tokyo," he said.

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News Network
February 17,2020

Hamilton, Feb 17: Mayank Agarwal found form on his birthday and Rishabh Pant mixed caution with his customary aggression as India’s warm-up fixture against New Zealand XI ended in a draw here on Sunday.

The match was called off an hour after lunch with India reaching 252 for four just 48 overs into their second innings.

Agarwal, who had gone through a wretched period since the second Test against Bangladesh, retired on 81 off 99 balls with 10 fours and three sixes to his name.

To the relief of the Indian team management, Pant played in his customary manner to reach 70 off 65 balls, but also showed discretion when the opposition bowlers were in the midst of a good spell. There were four sixes -- two each off leg-spinner Ish Sodhi and off-spinner Henry Cooper.

While Sodhi was hit down the ground, Cooper was dispatched over extra cover on a couple of occasions. He didn’t curb his aggression, though, there were times when he was ready defend the spinners and also leave some of the deliveries.

Even though Pant is considered a better batsman than Wriddhiman Saha, the innings might have come too late in the day considering that the latter is a better keeper and possibly a more responsible batsman in pressure situations.

The biggest positive to have emerged from the New Zealand second innings is Agarwal’s poor run coming to an end. The Seddon Park track easing out was definitely a factor but Agarwal’s footwork was more assured as he played some glorious on-drives and pull-shots off fast bowlers.

Before this game, Agarwal had played 10 competitive games including first-class, ODIs and List A matches and couldn’t cross the 40-run mark in 11 completed innings. He even bagged a pair against New Zealand A in an unofficial Test match.

Once he had got his form back, he didn’t come out to bat after lunch giving Saha an opportunity to score an unbeaten 30, his runs coming mostly against non-regular bowlers.

The Agarwal-Pant pair added 100 runs in 14.3 overs and it also helped that part-timers like Cooper was introduced into the action.

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