India vs South Africa 3rd Test: India crush South Africa by an innings and 202 runs, complete 3-0 whitewash

Agencies
October 22, 2019

New Delhi, Oct 22: A formidable Indian team ticked all the boxes with ease as it completed a 3-0 rout of an out-of-sorts South Africa with an innings and 202 runs victory in the third and final Test on Tuesday.

With another 120 points in the ongoing World Test Championship, India now sit pretty on top of the table with 240 points as the formalities were completed within the first two overs of the fourth day.

This was Virat Kohli's 11th series win as captain and the first clean sweep over the Proteas who were no match for the hosts. This was India's 11th successive series triumph on home soil.

The scoreline was not only an indicator of India's absolute dominance but also the decline in standard of South African cricket as the visitors couldn't handle the might of India's batting and the fiery pace attack led by Mohammed Shami (13 wickets in the series).

Debutant left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem (2/18 in 6 overs) wrapped it up in the second over of the day as South Africa were all out for 133 in their second innings, 30 runs short of their dismal first innings score of 162.

This was India's sixth clean sweep at home in a three-Test series and the side didn't put a foot wrong during the three-match series, winning the first Test by 203 runs and the second one by an innings and 137 runs.

If Rohit Sharma's coming of age in his new role as an opener with 529 runs, turned out to be a masterstroke in home conditions, Mayank Agarwal also consolidated his place in the side with a double century and a ton, easing India's long time opening woes.

"I was very happy to make my debut in Australia and make little contributions to the team. It's hard work over a period of many areas," Agarwal said after the match.

However, what stood out during the series was how lethal the Indian pace attack looked despite their premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah's absence due to a stress fracture.

Rarely has there been a series where the impact of pacers has been as much as the spinners.

If Ravindra Jadeja (13 wickets) and Ravichandran Ashwin (15 wickets) shared 28 among themselves, Mohammed Shami (13 in 3 Tests), Umesh Yadav (11 in two Tests) and Ishant Sharma (2 in 2 Tests) picked 26 wickets.

"We are always ready to fulfill our responsibility. As a captain, Virat gives you confidence, lets you do what you want. We try to keep the ball in the right areas and bowl the right length," Shami said at the end of match.

"Fitness matters a lot, the atmosphere in the team is such that we are focussed on fitness. The Indian team has become a unit which enjoys each other's success and that helps our confidence. As fast bowlers, we have gone up a rung," said the senior speedster.

It was one such series, where South African batsmen looked scared and scarred by the ferocity of India's pace attack. The pacers did a lot of damage with the new ball and reversed the old ball.

Two hundreds and four fifties is all that the South African batting line-up managed and South African skipper Faf du Plessis agreed that they were completely outplayed on sporting tracks unlike the ones in 2015 where the ball was turning square.

"They were ruthless and they were better than us in every department - spin bowling, fast bowling, batting and even the fielding. They are a difficult team to overcome," Du Plessis agreed.

Pleased as punch, skipper Kohli couldn't agree more with his opposite number.

"You guys have seen how we're playing. Making things happen on pitches that don't seem to offer too much, is something we're very proud of," Kohli summed it up aptly.

India had won the first Test in Vizag by 203 runs and then registered a massive innings and 137-run win in the second Test in Pune.

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News Network
February 11,2020

Dubai, Feb 11: Two Indian players-- Akash Singh and Ravi Bishnoi -- and three Bangladeshis have been charged by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for involvement in the quarrel just after the U-19 cricket World Cup summit clash in Potchefstroom, South Africa on Sunday.

Akash and Bishnoi and three Bangladeshi players -- Md. Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain and Rakibul Hasan -- were found guilty of breaching the ICC Code of Conduct after a few players from both sides nearly came to blows after Bangladesh beat India by three wickets to win their maiden U-19 World Cup title.

"Five players have been found guilty of a Level 3 breach of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Support Personnel ... (they) were charged with violating Article 2.21 of the code, whilst Bishnoi received a further charge of breaching Article 2.5," the ICC said in a statement.

"All five players have accepted the sanctions proposed by ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup Match Referee Graeme Labrooy," it added.

A near brawl broke out after Bangladesh’s historic win over India in the final. The Bangladesh players were aggressive during the Indian innings with lead pacer Shoriful Islam frequently sledging the Indian batsmen.

As soon as the match ended, Bangladeshi players rushed into the playing area.

"India's Akash accepted the charge of breaching Article 2.21 and has received a sanction of eight suspension points, which equates to six demerit points, which will remain on his record for two years," the ICC said.

Compatriot Bishnoi accepted the charge of breaching Article 2.21 and has received a sanction of five suspension points, which equates to five demerit points.

"Bishnoi also accepted a level 1 charge of breaching Article 2.5 for a separate incident during the match, where he used language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batter following the dismissal of Avishek Das in the 23rd over," said the ICC.

"For this he received a further two demerit points meaning seven demerit points will remain on his record for the next two years."

Bangladesh's Towhid Hridoy accepted the charge of breaching Article 2.21 and has received a sanction of ten suspension points, which equates to six demerit points, which will remain on his record for two years.

Shamim Hossain accepted the charge of breaching Article 2.21 and has received a sanction of eight suspension points, which equates to six demerit points, which will remain on his record for two years.

Rakibul Hasan accepted the charge of breaching Article 2.21 and has received a sanction of four suspension points, which equates to five demerit points, which will remain on his record for two years.

All charges were levelled by on-field umpires Sam Nogajski and Adrian Holdstock, third umpire Ravindra Wimalasiri as well as fourth umpire Patrick Bongni Jele. Level 3 breaches carry a minimum penalty of four suspension points and a maximum penalty of 12 suspension points.

The suspension points will be applied to the forthcoming international matches the players are most likely to participate in at either senior or U-19 level. One suspension point equals a player being ineligible for one ODI or T20I, U-19 or A team international match.

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News Network
July 14,2020

New Delhi, Jul 14: Indian bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who features in the list of A category players released by BCCI, has revealed his first-ever paycheck.

Bhuvneshwar was participating in a question and answer session on Twitter where he gave his take on fans' queries.

The 30-year-old bowler was asked about his first paycheck by a fan and Bhuvneshwar responded by saying, "It was for Rs 3000. I shopped and still managed to saved some."

During the question and answer session Bhuvneshwar picked Barcelona striker Lionel Messi over Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo.

The right-arm bowler also revealed that football and badminton are his favourite sports other than cricket.

Earlier this year, Bhuvneshwar was named in the list A category of players. BCCI had released the list of centrally contracted players for the period from October 2019 to September 2020. Annually, A category players get Rs 5 crore.

The right-arm bowler would have been in action for Sunrisers Hyderabad if the Indian Premier League (IPL) had commenced from March 29. However, the tournament was postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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News Network
July 21,2020

Melbourne, Jul 21: Cricket Australia's chief executive Nick Hockley has said that the Indian players and staff will most likely be asked to face two weeks of quarantine before the four-match Test series.

This scenario will bring the Adelaide Oval and its newly constructed hotel firmly into view as the sort of biosecure bubble, ESPNCricinfo reported.

India and Australia are slated to face each other in a four-match Test series, which is to begin from December 4 at Brisbane.

"The two-week quarantine is pretty well-defined. What we are working on is making sure that even within that quarantine environment, the players have got the absolute best training facilities, so that their preparation for the matches is as optimal as it can possibly be," ESPNCricinfo quoted Hockey as saying.

"Certainly the fact that the Adelaide Oval has a hotel. It does provide a facility not dissimilar to Old Trafford or Ageas Bowl where the hotels are integrated into the venue," he added.

Hockley also said that an exacting standard of biosecurity and testing would be applied before the series against India as the coronavirus cases are spiking in the subcontinent.

"It's widely known and it's unlikely that international travel restrictions would have lifted by the time that India will be due to come into the country. Clearly there will be testing regimes. We will be able to test people before that they get on to the plane and it is the nature of the situation of making sure we have the quarantine arrangements in line with government and health authority protocols," Hockley said.

"The key thing for the players is that there's regular testing and that we appropriately quarantine them when they come in and all of those plans are currently in development," he added.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday announced the postponement of the T20 World Cup 2020 slated to be held in Australia from October 18-November 15 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Following the announcement, the BCCI is likely to go ahead with the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the October-November window. However, it is known where the T20 tournament will be played as cases continue to rise in India.
"I think the BCCI has made no secrets that they are considering what that means for the IPL. For us, it's about getting a bit of an understanding and certainty around what that means. Clearly, in a normal course, some of our best players are obviously top picks for those IPL teams," Hockley said.

"It's a bit premature to speculate on that. We need to understand what the plans are if any and once we understand that we will make decisions accordingly," he added.

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