Pragyan Ojha's success at Motera proves left is might

November 22, 2012

Pragyan_Ojha

Mumbai, November 22: To earn the trust of your captain is perhaps the second-most important task for any spinner, other than his bowling. A good bowler who has his captain's backing is doubly potent, as Pragyan Ojha is now discovering.

The left-arm spinner, who rose nine places in the ICC bowling charts post the Ahmedabad Test to make it to the top-five, is becoming captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's most effective weapon on Indian soil. With 84 wickets in 17 Tests, and 44 of them coming this year, Ojha has been a valuable contributor.

Stick to the basics, maintain a particular line and make the batsmen starve - that's the role Ojha was assigned when it was clear last season that he and teammate R Ashwin would go on to lead India's spin attack at home. Ashwin, on the other hand, was supposed to be the attacking one.

"That is where Ashwin got it wrong in Ahmedabad," says former left-arm spinner Maninder Singh. "He tried too much. All he had to do was make the batsmen drive. It was a slow pitch, driving was difficult. Not sticking to one particular line did not help," he says.

Ojha, on the other hand, was exactly the opposite. As he had told TOI in an interview before the start of the series, bowling a particular line and restricting the flow of runs would be his priority. The effort saw him pick a match-winning nine-wicket haul in the first Test.

"His biggest positive seems to be that he knows exactly what his limitations are and what he needs to do staying within those limitations," adds Maninder.

Lately, it's been a delightful time for left-arm spinners. While Bangladesh's Shakib-al Hasan played his first Test in a year, Sri Lankan Rangana Herath picked up 11 wickets against the visiting New Zealand team this week. Ojha's spree only adds to the glow that's returned to the beautiful art of bowling left-arm orthodox spin.

"He hadn't been given his due. He's easily India's main strike bowler when it comes to bowling spin today and I believe he was always capable of being there," says former India left-arm spinner and selector Venkatapathy Raju.

The 26-year-old Ojha returned with match figures 9-165 from 77.2 overs as India defeated England by nine wickets at Motera, taking a crucial 1-0 lead in the four-match series. Dhoni praised his bowlers for earning the team 20 wickets. On that count alone, Ojha delivered what his captain expected from him.

Ashwin is yet to unravel his 'mystery ball' and looked particularly ordinary against the left-handed Alastair Cook in the second innings, but Ojha kept the England captain in check when the latter came up with a fighting century. The bowler was aptly rewarded in the end, getting Cook bowled and allowing India to finish the match early next day.

"He has managed to show amazing control over the line he can maintain and that is something I've always believed he could deliver," says another left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi. England arrived in India thinking a lot about how to counter Ashwin. As they arrive in Mumbai, Ojha takes centre stage.

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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
June 20,2020

Jun 20: Bengaluru FC (BFC) have signed Brazilian striker Cleiton Silva for a one-year deal, the ISL club said in a statement on Saturday.

As per the agreement, BFC have the option of extending Silva's contract for another year.

The 33-year-old, who started his career with Brazilian side Madureira, moved to Thailand where he spent the better part of the decade playing for Muangthong United and Suphanburi, apart from stints in Mexico and China.

Silva, who also operates on the wing, became the first foreign player to reach the 100-goal mark in Thailand and finished top scorer of the Thai League 1 for two seasons. He also tops the charts of the all-time leading scorers of the League.

His biggest success came at Muangthong where he racked up 57 goals in 79 appearances and won three major trophies in as many seasons at the club.

The Brazilian, who was in talks with the Blues last season before the deal didn't materialise, said he was glad to have finally made the move.

"I've signed with Bengaluru FC because I want to be a champion and this is a club that is always after titles. I have that opportunity once again at BFC. I want to make the club and its fans happy. I have been following the club for some time now because we were in talks a while ago. And I liked what I saw. I am looking forward to making my way to Bengaluru and am excited to meet my new teammates, the fans and embrace the city," said Silva.

Silva, thus, became BFC's first new foreign signing of the season after the club had handed extended deals with Juanan Gonzalez, Dimas Delgado and Erik Paartalu.

Bengaluru FC coach Carles Cuadrat said Silva's addition was an important one, given his penchant for scoring.

"Cleiton has a proven track record when it comes to scoring and this is an area we needed to strengthen on the squad. The goals aside, he even has an eye for a quality final pass and we're looking forward to working with him," he said.

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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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