Australia 505 all out in 1st innings, lead by 97 runs

December 19, 2014

Steven Smith

Brisbane, Dec 19: India's ineptness at getting rid of the tailenders once again cost them dear as Australia reached 505in the 1st innings, taking a 97-run lead, at tea on day three of the second Test at the Gabba here Friday.

India have the worst average in Test cricket of giving away runs to tailenders. The visitors have given away 84 runs on an average to take the eighth, ninth and 10th wickets.

Captain Steven Smith (133) and Mitchell Johnson (88) put together 148 runs for the seventh wicket as Australia smashed 282 runs in two sessions of play on day three.

To add to India's woes No.8 batsman Mitchell Starc struck a quickfire 52 runs.

Starc combined first with Nathan Lyon (23) to add 56 runs for the ninth wicket and then with debutant Josh Hazlewood (31 not out) for a 50-run stand for the final wicket to give the hosts a handy lead.

Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav took three wickets each while Varun Aaron took two and Ravichandran Ashwin chipped in with one.

Smith and Johnson, who counter-attacked with great fervour, though, laid the foundation of the fightback. They carried on from where they left off at lunch and continued to attack the Indian bowlers.

To their credit, the Indians did bowl a little fuller than they did in the previous session but still found the going hard against the Australian duo.

It finally took an Ishant over to get rid of the two. The Indian pacer first got Johnson with a wide and full delivery and then castled Smith with an sharp in-swinger.

Earlier, a blistering unbeaten 104-run partnership between captain Smith and Johnson took Australia to 351 for six at lunch.

The Australians seemed to be in a spot of bother when overnight batsman Mitchell Marsh (11) and wicketkeeper Brad Haddin (6) were dismissed early in the session.

But a breathtaking counter-attack from Smith and Johnson, who scored 104 runs in just 84 balls, wrestled the momentum away from the Indians.

Australia scored 130 runs in the session losing two wickets in the process. The session started as India's best bowling session of the match but ended up as their worst.

The visitors began with discipline, attacking the channel outside off, and were rewarded with two early wickets.

Ishant clean bowled Mitchell Marsh and then Varun removed vice-captain Haddin with a perfectly executed bouncer.

However, India switched their plan and bowled short deliveries indiscriminately and Johnson feasted on them to run away to a 37-ball half-century.

Smith moved to his second century of the four-match series as well, as India's 187-run lead at the start of the day shrunk to 57. The Indian pacers stepped over the line with their aggressiveness and were made to pay dearly.

Left-hander Johnson carted the Indian bowlers all over the ground, smashing 10 fours and a six in his innings of 67 from 53 deliveries.

Smith took more calculated risks but was just as punishing to take his team to a strong position at the end of the session.

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News Network
June 23,2020

Karachi, Jun 23: Pakistan cricketers Shadab Khan, Haris Rauf and rookie Haider Ali on Monday tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

"The Pakistan Cricket Board has confirmed three players - Haider Ali, Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan - have tested positive for Covid-19," said the PCB in a statement.

"The players had shown no symptoms until they were tested in Rawalpindi on Sunday ahead of the Pakistan men's national cricket team's tour to England."

The infected players will go into self-isolation.

"The PCB medical panel is in contact with the three who have been advised to immediately go into self-isolation," the statement said.

Earlier this month, former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi was tested positive for the deadly virus.

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News Network
January 31,2020

Wellington, Jan 31: A nervous New Zealand threw it away yet again as a perseverant India prevailed in the Super Over for the second successive time to take a 4-0 lead in the T20 International series on Friday.

Needing just 11 runs off the last two overs with seven wickets in hand, New Zealand dug a hole for themselves yet again, taking the game to a Super Over two nights after doing the same in Hamilton.

New Zealand managed 13 runs in six balls and India got there effortlessly.

KL Rahul smashed 10 runs off the first two balls before he was caught. Then, a fired-up Virat Kohli and Sanju Samson finished the game in style.

Earlier, Manish Pandey proved his value to the team with an unbeaten 50 off 35 balls, taking India to 165 for eight from 88 for six in the 12th over.

India's total wasn't enough considering the batting-friendly conditions but the hosts made life a lot tougher for themselves from a commanding position before succumbing to pressure.

The entertaining knocks from Colin Munro (64 off 47) and Time Seifert went in vain (57 off 39).

Mohammed Shami, who was rested on Friday, had bowled a brilliant 20th over on Wednesday and man of the match Shardul Thakur was up to the task this time, conceding just six runs when the opposition needed seven for victory.

With the series already in the bag, India gave opportunity to Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar and Navdeep Saini for the first time in the five-match series, resting Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja and Shami. However, none of them was able to make an impact in the game.

Chasing 165, New Zealand lost Martin Guptill early. But Munro and Seifert put on 74 runs for the second wicket to put themselves on track.

Munro scored a half-century of 38 deliveries, inclusive of six fours and three sixes. He was out against the run of play as Kohli's direct hit surprisingly found the target after a relay throw from the deep.

It was the turning point as New Zealand lost regular wickets. Yuzvendra Chahal bowled Tom Bruce (0), but Seifert found a partner in Ross Taylor as they pushed the score past 150 in the 18th over.

Seifert scored a half-century off 32 balls, including four fours and three sixes. But the great choke was yet to come again. Needing 18 off 18, the Black Caps lost four wickets in the last over bowled by Thakur.

Taylor holed out of the first ball, while Seifert was run out two balls later. Daryl Mitchell (4) was caught next and Mitchell Santner (2) couldn't steal two runs off the last ball as the sides engaged in a tie-breaker for the second game running.

This was after New Zealand won a fourth consecutive toss and opted to field. Kane Williamson didn't take part in the match owing to a shoulder niggle.

Tim Southee was the stand-in skipper, with the Black Caps making two changes.

Put in to bat, the visitors were struggling at 88-6 at one stage before Pandey's lonesome rescue act took them to a respectable total. KL Rahul contributed 39 runs off 26 balls, inclusive of three sixes and two fours.

Leg spinner Ish Sodhi got into the act and ran through India's batting order. First to go was Shreyas Iyer (1) and then Shivam Dube (12) was caught at mid-wicket.

Sodhi finished with 3-26 while Santner dismissed Sundar for nought as the New Zealand spinners rounded up a good outing with 4-54 in eight overs.

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News Network
June 10,2020

Jun 10: "It is never too late to fight for the right cause," said opening batsman Chris Gayle as he came out in support of former T20 World Cup-winning skipper Darren Sammy. The debate around racism in sport has kickstarted once again after former Windies T20 World Cup-winning skipper Darren Sammy alleged racism during his stint with SunRisers Hyderabad in the 2014 Indian Premier League. Taking note of Sammy's revelation, Gayle tweeted: "It's never too late to fight for the right cause or what you've experienced over the years! So much more to your story, @darensammy88. Like I said, it's in the game".

Earlier, Gayle had also revealed that he too has been a victim of racism, and added that racism is something that has been bothering cricket as well.

On Tuesday, Sammy had released a video specifying that the racial slurs against him were used within the SunRisers camp.

"I have played all over the world and I have been loved by many people, I have embraced all dressing rooms where I have played, so I was listening to Hasan Minhaj as to how some of the people in his culture describe black people," Sammy said in a video posted on his Instagram account.

"This does not apply to all people, so after I found out a meaning of a certain word, I had said I was angry on finding out the meaning and it was degrading, instantly I remembered when I played for SunRisers Hyderabad, I was being called exactly the same word which is degrading to us black people," he added.

Sammy said that at the time when he was being called with the word, he didn't know the meaning, and his team-mates used to laugh every time after calling him by that name.

"I will be messaging those people, you guys know who you are, I must admit at that time when I was being called as that word I thought the word meant strong stallion or whatever it is, I did not know what it meant, every time I was called with that word, there was laughter at that moment, I thought teammates are laughing so it must be something funny," Sammy said.

The former Windies skipper has been a vocal supporter of the protests that are currently going on in the United States over the death of an African-American man named George Floyd.

Sammy had also made an appeal to the ICC and other cricket boards to support the fight against social injustice and racism.

Ever since the demise of Floyd, protests erupted from the demonstrations in cities from San Francisco to Boston.

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