2nd Test, Day 3: India score 503 in first innings after Pujara's double century

March 4, 2013

Pujaras_double_centuryHyderabad, Mar 4: Cheteshwar Pujara scored his second double hundred and shared a record partnership with Murali Vijay as India took a huge 266-run first innings lead against Australia on the third day of the second cricket Test on Monday.

Despite failure of the other middle-order batsmen, India scored a commendable 503 in their first innings and the tea break was taken after the fall of last wicket.

Pujara added a whopping 370 runs for the second-wicket with Vijay before the latter was dismissed for a well-made 167, ending his 361-ball knock, in which he hit 23 boundaries and two sixes.

India's newest 'Run-Machine' Pujara scored a magnificent 204 before holing out in the deep fine-leg region while trying to hook a James Pattinson delivery. Pujara faced 341 balls with 30 boundaries and a six.

Once the partnership was broken, India lost wickets in a heap with last six wickets falling for only 43 runs.

Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni played a cameo, smashing 44 off 43 balls and added 56 for the fifth wicket with Virat Kohli (34) but the lower middle-order were snapped out in a jiffy.

Debutant all-rounder Glenn Maxwell was the most successful bowler grabbing four for 127 while Xavier Doherty took three wickets at the expense of 131 runs.

During the course of the marathon partnership between Pujara and Vijay, a few record tumbled by the wayside. The duo also eclipsed the 34-year-old second-wicket partnership record of 344 runs, set by Sunil Gavaskar (182) and Dilip Vengsarkar (157), against West Indies at Kolkata in 1978.

Pujara reached his double hundred, when he came down the track to whip Maxwell through the mid-wicket boundary.

The Australian bowlers lacked penetration and failed to cause any damage whatsoever as not even once did the pair looked like getting out.

Pujara and Vijay were unlucky as they failed to surpass the VVS Laxman-Rahul Dravid record partnership of 376 runs for any wicket against Australia at the Eden by seven runs.

Funnily, Sachin Tendulkar also got associated with a record.

Coming in to bat at No 4, Tendukar had to wait till the fifth ball of the 118th over to come in which is by far the highest duration that he has waited at the pavilion with his pads on.

In the morning, it took nearly 25 overs for Australia to finally get a breakthrough as Vijay gloved an off-break from Maxwell to Ed Cowan at backward short-leg to give the debutant his maiden Test wicket.

However, the Tamil Nadu opener had done his job and has now secured the opening slot for the time being. Vijay’s performance would certainly put a lot of pressure on the national selectors to axe Virender Sehwag, as they select the squad for the last two matches at the end of this Test.

Pujara didn't show any signs of hurry as he had enough time to play his strokes. With the pitch getting slower, Pattinson’s bouncers were also losing sting as the Saurashtra lad completed another personal landmark of 1000 Test runs.

Pujara became the second fastest in terms of innings to reach the landmark in 18 knocks -- second to Vinod Kambli, who had achieved the feat in 14 knocks.

Tendulkar hit Pattinson for a boundary past backward point but was caught down the leg-side by glovesman Wade. As Pattinson and other players went up with a caught behind appeal, umpire Kumar Dharmasena referred the legality of the catch to third umpire S Ravi. The third umpire adjudged Tendulkar caught behind.

In red-hot form, Dhoni started clobbering the bowlers from the word go as he hit seven boundaries before failing to clear mid-off fielder. Once Indian captain was out, the visitors didn't take much time to polish off the lower order.

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News Network
March 2,2020

Mar 2: Indian captain Virat Kohli was left frustrated and deflated as New Zealand won the second Test inside three days in Christchurch on Monday to sweep the series.

India started the day at 90 for six and were all out for 124, before New Zealand chased down the required 132 to win for the loss of three wickets in 36 overs.

It ended a disappointing tour for India and Kohli as New Zealand, who won the first Test by 10 wickets early on day four, wrapped up the series with ease.

New Zealand are now unbeaten in their last 13 home Tests, winning nine of them, and in the past decade their record as hosts is played 39, won 20, drawn 13 and lost five.

In the latest series, on traditional New Zealand green wickets, India managed scores of 165, 191, 242 and 124, reflecting the low contributions from Kohli of 2, 19, 3 and 14.

Kohli came to New Zealand as the world's top Test batsman and oozing charm as he described New Zealand as the “nice guys” of cricket.

But during the series he lost his top ranking to Australian Steve Smith and when Kane Williamson went for three in the first innings of the second Test the pressure showed when he gave the New Zealand skipper a very animated send-off.

There was further evidence of frustration when he was caught on camera yelling an obscenity at a group of New Zealand supporters on Sunday.

The end came quickly for India on day three as Tim Southee and Trent Boult tormented the batsmen with their variety of inswing and outswing deliveries targeting both sides of the stumps.

Hanuma Vihari was the first to fall, in Southee's second over, when he turned a legside delivery too fine and was caught by BJ Watling diving to his left.

Five balls later and with no addition to the score, India's other overnight batsman Rishabh Pant was caught behind off a Boult delivery that swung away.

Mohammed Shami was caught for five by Tom Blundell at deep mid-wicket and Jasprit Bumrah was run out when trying to give the strike to Ravindra Jadeja, who was unbeaten on 16.

Boult and Southee signed for most of the dismissals with Boult taking four for 28 and Southee three for 36. The swing pair accounted for 25 of the 40 Indian wickets in the series.

There was enough seam and swing available for India to keep the New Zealand batsmen guessing but Bumrah and Umesh Yadav were unable to apply consistent pressure and Mohammed Shami was troubled by a sore shoulder.

New Zealand coasted through a century opening stand by Tom Latham and Blundell before losing three quick wickets.

Latham notched his 18th half-century and second of the Test before he was caught behind off Yadav for 52, Kane Williamson had a short stay for five, and Blundell went for 55.

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Agencies
June 6,2020

Malappuram, Jun 6: One more COVID-19 death was reported in Kerala on Saturday taking the toll in the State to 15.

The 61-year-old deceased, Hamsa Koya, a former footballer who represented Maharashtra in Santosh Trophy, had returned from Mumbai with his family on May 21.

Koya was undergoing treatment at Manjeri Medical College in Malappuram. The medical bulletin issued said that he was suffering from pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome.

On June 5, as his health deteriorated, he was administered plasma therapy on the advice of the state medical board. However, he did not respond to medicines and breathed his last at 6:30 am on Saturday.

The medical bulletin said that his family members including his wife, son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren of 3 years and a 3 month-old child also had tested COVID-19 positive and were earlier shifted to hospital for treatment.

With this, the total death toll in Kerala has reached 15. 

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News Network
February 24,2020

Feb 24: India captain Virat Kohli had no qualms in admitting that his team was outplayed by New Zealand in the opening Test but said they "can't help" if a few want to make a "big deal" out of the 10-wicket defeat. Hosts New Zealand thrashed India by 10 wickets at the Basin Reverse on Monday to go 1-0 ahead in the two-match series. This was India's first defeat in the World Test Championship, coming after two inept batting efforts. "We know we haven't played well but if people want to make a big deal out of it, make a mountain out of it, we can't help it as we don't think like that," the skipper said at the post-match media interaction.

Kohli said he fails to comprehend why one Test match defeat should be made to look like the end of the world for his team.

"For some people, it might be the end of the world but it's not. For us, it's a game of cricket that we lost and we move on and keep our heads high," Kohli said.

It is the acceptance of defeat that defines the character of a side, the world's premier batsman said.

"We understand that we need to play well to win, also at home. There's no cakewalk at international level as teams will come and beat you. You accept it and that defines our character as a side."

It is the acceptance of defeat that defines the character of a side, the world's premier batsman said. "We understand that we need to play well to win, also at home. There's no cakewalk at international level as teams will come and beat you. You accept it and that defines our character as a side."

If he had given credence to the "outside chatter", he said the team wouldn't have been where it is now.

"That's why we have been able to play this kind of cricket. If we would have paid attention to the outside chatter, we would again be at No. 7 or 8 in the rankings. We don't really bother about what people are saying on the outside," the skipper said.

One defeat can't make a team, which has been winning games of Test cricket, "bad overnight".

"If we have lost then we have no shame in accepting that. It means we didn't play this game well. It doesn't mean that we have become a bad team overnight. People might want to change our thoughts, but it doesn't work like that."

The self-belief is intact and Kohli was confident the team would come back stronger in the second Test, to be held in Christchurch in four days time.

"We will work hard, and after four days play just like we have played all these years. Just because we have lost one match in between all wins, doesn't mean that the belief is gone. The dressing room thinks differently and team atmosphere is different."

Kohli felt that there is a very thin line between being ultra-defensive and over-attacking, something that his team didn't get it right in this Test match.

"New Zealand got into the mind of the batsmen and make the batsmen do something that they don't want to. think that's a very thin line and a very delicate balance of when to attack and when to put bowlers under pressure which we failed to do in this match and there is no harm in accepting that."

According to Kohli, it was a combination of both good bowling from the Kiwis and Indian batsmen not putting the pressure back on bowlers, which led to the drubbing.

"That has got to do with partly good bowling from New Zealand and partly us not pressing that momentum on to them when required. "It was perfect for them because they bowled well and we allowed them to bowl well for longer periods rather than doing something about it in a partnership."

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