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Rajkot: England were all out for 537 in their first innings on day 2 of the opening cricket Test against India here Thursday.
England opted to bat after winning the toss in the first of the five-match series.
Brief scores:
England 1st innings: 537 all out in 159.3 overs (Ben Stokes 128, Joe Root 124, Moeen Ali 117; Ravindra Jadeja 3/86, Mohammed Shami 2/65).
(Agencies)
Kagiso Rabada (centre) took 7-170 in the match and has 36 wickets at 24 apiece in nine Tests
by BBC
Australia slipped to a fourth successive Test defeat as South Africa won the opening Test of their three-match series by 177 runs in Perth.
Set a notional 539, the hosts were bowled out for 361 shortly before tea on the final day thanks to 21-year-old pace bowler Kagiso Rabada’s 5-92.
Usman Khawaja made 97 and Peter Nevill an unbeaten 60 for Australia, who lost 3-0 in Sri Lanka in August.
Victory was South Africa’s third in a row at the Waca, after 2008 and 2012.
It was completed without Dale Steyn, the world’s number two-ranked bowler who was ruled out of the series on Friday with a fractured shoulder.
Australia, 169-4 overnight, survived for 119 overs in total in the fourth innings on a pitch featuring large cracks.
However, their first-innings collapse proved costly, slipping from 158-1 to 244 all out in response to South Africa’s 242.
JP Duminy made 141 and Dean Elgar 127, putting on 250 for the third wicket in South Africa’s second-innings 540-8 declared.
The second Test in Hobart starts on Saturday and the final Test in Adelaide on 24 November.
Australia batsman Joe Burns will replace Shaun Marsh, who suffered a broken finger in Perth, for the second Test, while the uncapped Callum Ferguson has been added to the squad.
Mumbai: He has no qualms in conceding that England will be underdogs in the upcoming Test series against India but captain Alastair Cook feels that status itself will take a the pressure off his side and make it more competitive in the five-match rubber.
England, in spite of losing a Test against minnows Bangladesh inside three days before arriving here, will start the series from November 9 in Rajkot.
World No.1 India have not lost a home series since going down 1-2 in 2012 to the England led by the 31-year-old Cook.
“It’s a big challenge. Any time you play the No. 1 or the No. 2 ranked team in their backyard, who are very comfortable in their conditions, it’s a huge task for us. It’s a huge challenge to these guys who have not played a huge amount of cricket in the subcontinent as a group,” said Cook.
“What this side has done over the last couple of years is to exceed expectations in big series. We have played really good cricket in big series. Last year we went to South Africa and won away from home when they were No. 1.
“These are different conditions, but being underdogs takes a lot of pressure off us,” said the Lancashire player who has a superb record against India.
“We have got some big selection calls to make but the process has started like always when you know two games (in Bangladesh) have happened,” said Cook, who has scored four centuries and averages over 60 in eight Tests on Indian soil and 54 in 20 Tests overall.
Saying the team has regrouped well after its humiliating loss to Bangladesh in the second Test at Dhaka late last month, Cook recalled what he had said at a media conference four years ago after his side had lost the series opener in Ahmedabad by a big margin.
“I remember saying in the press conference after the first Test when talk was India will win 4-0 that we might turn around and win 3-1. Anything is possible.
“Whatever challenge we have thrown up to these guys in big games someone has stood up and played good cricket that’s the challenge we face here where we are the underdogs,” said the stylish left-handed opener, whose highest Test score of 294 was notched against India.
Mumbai: Star batsman Rohit Sharma was sidelined due to an injury while all-rounder Hardik Pandya is the lone new face in the India squad for the first two cricket Tests against England, BCCI announced here on Wednesday.
Seasoned opener Gautam Gambhir retained his place in the Virat Kohli-led side while Delhi pacer Ishant Sharma made a comeback to the squad after being sidelined due to Chikungunya during the three-match Test series against New Zealand.
The first of the five-match Test series against England will be played at Rajkot from November 9 to 13 followed by the second at Visakhapatnam from November 17 to 21.
Team:
Virat Kohli (Captain), Ravichandran Ashwin, Gautam Gambhir, Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra, Mohammad Shami, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha, Karun Nair, Murli Vijay, Umesh Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ishant Sharma, Jayant Yadav.
(IANS)
Visakhapatnam: India posted a massive 190-run victory over New Zealand in the fifth and final One-day International to clinch the five-match series 3-2 here today.
Brief scores:
India: 269 for six in 50 overs (Rohit Sharma 70, Virat Kohli 65; Trent Boult 2/52).
New Zealand: 79 all out in 23.1 overs (Kane Williamson 27; Amit Mishra 5/18).
(IANS)
(AP Photo/Tsering Topgyal)
Ranchi: Indian Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni lost his first match in his home-town as the hosts went down fighting by 19 runs, enabling New Zealand level the five-match One-Day International (ODI) cricket series at the JSCA International Stadium here on Wednesday.
Chasing 261, tailenders Dhawal Kulkarni (25 not out) and Umesh Yadav (7) put up a record 10th wicket stand of 34 against the Kiwis but the equation was too steep for them. In the end, India were all out for 241 in 48.4 overs.
Pacer Tim Southee (3/40) and all-rounder James Neesham (2/38) wrecked India’s chase as the hosts had only opener Ajinkya Rahane (57) scoring a fifty, failing to once again convert his good start.
Virat Kohli (45) and Axar Patel (38) tried to hold fort but wickets tumbled around them with Dhoni (11) also falling cheaply to Neesham.
The downslide started with Rohit Sharma (11) falling early to a peach of an outswinging delivery from Southee.
Rahane was looking good tonking the first six of the match off Boult in the 6th over. The right-hander carted for fours off Southee and Boult.
With the fielding restrictions lifted after the first Powerplay, the Kiwis introduced spin, bringing Santner in the 10th over. Three over later, Ish Sodhi joined Santner but the skills of the Indian batsmen scored almost everytime over their rivals’ bowling.
One late cut off Sodhi in the 14th over by Kohli summed it up as the hosts were having a ball with spin from both ends.
Just when the hosts were looking to cruise to an easy win with both Kohli and Rahane stitching a 79-run second wicket partnership at 5.04 per over, Sodhi sent the former packing.
Lunging at a poor delivery way outside off-stump, Kohli (45) looked to cut in vain giving an outside edge to Watling who took a fine catch.
Meanwhile, Rahane brought up his 16th fifty in the 25th over off Devcich as the tourists perhaps missed a trick by playing the left-armer who seemed to ease the pressure off Dhoni and Rahane at a time India could have been put in a spot of bother after the dismissal of Kohli.
But Neesham, in his second spell, did the damage getting Rahane LBW after the latter shuffled his stance and played across.
Neesham was on the money again, this time castling the Indian captain with an incoming delivery which Dhoni missed all ends up with no foot movement whatsoever.
Manish Pandey and Axar Patel looked to put up a semblence of a fight before Pandey fell to a superb catch by Tom Latham at mid on with Southee picking up Kedar Jadhav plumb in front with his next delivery.
Amit Mishra and Axar Patel showed character for a 38-run eighth wicket stand until Mihra ran for a non-existent second run allowing Santer time to get him run out.
Patel followed suit in the same over, Boult yorking him from around the wicket.
Kulkarni and Yadav tried their best but in the end the target proved too big for the lower orer batsmen.
Earlier, Martin Guptill top-scored for the tourists with 72 off 84 balls to set India a target of 261.
Williamson’s charges rued not putting more runs on the board after getting off to a flying start where they hit 12 boundaries in the first ten overs but only managed 13 in the next 40.
Mishra returned with best figures of 2/42 getting the important scalps of Williamson and Neesham.
The Black Caps got off to a flying start and they were also helped by a missed catch. Amit Mishra grassed a difficult catch of Guptill (29) at mid-on in the seventh over, diving to his left but parrying his one-handed attempt towards long-on.
Patel outfoxed Latham (39) just when he and Guptill were looking good, with a slower one which the in-form opener swept to Ajinkya Rahane at short fine leg.
Moments later, Guptill brought up his fifty in 56 balls. Guptill continued to score freely, racing to 72 in no time as the tourists reached 138/1 by the 26th over.
Just when things were looking good for Guptill, Pandya snapped his stay with a short of length delivery that the right-hander edged to Dhoni behind the stumps.
Williamson met the same fate albeit a little earlier in his innings. Looking set at 41 off 58 deliveries laced with four fours, the right-hander fell prey to Mishra’s guile trying to cut the leggie and in the process nicking to Dhoni.
Neesham soon followed suit, this time Kohli taking a superb catch diving low to his left at cover off Mishra.
Watling and Taylor tried to up the ante but a swing of the bat from the wicket-keeper, who replaced Luke Ronchi, went only as far as Rohit Sharma who took a simple catch at fine leg.
Dhoni again accounted for Taylor soon after with the former collecting the ball in front of the stumps and then deflecting it back onto the stumps, all in one motion to catch the latter unaware.
Umesh picked up Anton Devcich as the Kiwis set India a target of 261 to wrap up the series.
(IANS)
Ranchi: New Zealand failed to capitalise on a good start by their openers as they managed to put up 260/7 on the board against India in the fourth One-Day International (ODI) at the JSCA International Stadium here on Wednesday.
Martin Guptill top-scored for the tourists with 72 off 84 balls. His innings was laced with 12 boundaries. Guptill and Tom Latham put together a 96-run stand before Axar Patel (1/38) took the latter’s wicket.
The Kiwis lost wickets at regular intervals in the middle overs which stymied their flow of runs despite going at a good run rate.
The Black Caps got off to a flying start with Guptill taking a liking to Dhawal Kulkarni — playing in place of an ill Jaspreet Bumrah — hitting him for three fours in his first over.
Amit Mishra grassed a difficult catch of Guptill (29) at mid-on in the seventh over, diving to his left but parrying his one-handed attempt towards long-on.
Patel outfoxed Latham (39) just when he and Guptill were looking good, with a slower one which the in-form opener swept to short fine leg for a catch to Ajinkya Rahane.
Moments later, Guptill brought up his fifty in 56 balls. The right-hander, who is looking to hit a purple patch, drove Kedar Jadhav to long-on albeit his celebrations at reaching the landmark were subdued.
Guptill continued to score freely, racing to 72 in no time as the tourists reached 138/1 by the 26th over. Just when things were looking good for Guptill, Pandya snapped his stay with a short of length delivery that the right-hander edged to Dhoni behind the stumps.
Kane Williamson met the same fate albeit a little earlier in his innings. Looking set at 41 off 58 deliveries laced with four fours, highly-rated right hander fell prey to Mishra’s guile tryin to cut the leggie and in the process nicking to Dhoni.
All-rounder James Neesham soon followed suit, this time Virat Kohli taking a superb catch diving low to his left at cover off Mishra.
Watling and Taylor tried to up the ante as New Zealand were running out of overs. But a swing of the bat from the wicketkeeper who replaced Luke Ronchi went only as far as Rohit Sharma who took a simple catch at fine leg.
Smart wicketkeeping from Dhoni accounted for Taylor soon after with the former collecting the ball in front of the stumps and then deflecting it back onto the stumps, all in one motion to catch the latter unaware.
Umesh Yadav picked up Anton Devcich as the Kiwis set India a target of 261 to wrap up the series.
India lead the five-match 2-1 at the moment.
(IANS)
(AP Photo/Tsering Topgyal)
Ranchi: After taking a 2-1 lead in the five-match One-Day International (ODI) series, hosts India will aim to pocket the series when they take on New Zealand in the fourth game at the JSCA International Stadium on Wednesday.
Post the six-run setback in the second ODI in Delhi, India got back to their winning ways after thumping the Kiwis by seven wickets at Mohali.
Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (80) and his Test counterpart Virat Kohli (154 not out) joined forces with a brilliant 151-run third wicket stand to outplay the visitors after an inspiring bowling effort by the Indians helped restrict them to a modest total.
Going into the fourth game, all eyes will be on India’s struggling opening duo of Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane, who have failed to fire in the first three outings.
Rohit has so far managed just 42 runs in the first three matches with a dismal average of 14 while Rahane has got the starts with scores of 33, 28 and 5 but failed to translate his Test form in the 50-over format of the game.
With the track at the JKSA assisting the batsmen, the Ranchi crowd will once again hope for another batting exhibition from the likes of Rohit, Kohli, Rahane, Manish Pandey and local favourite Dhoni.
Dhoni, who came to bat at No. 4 in the Mohali match, is once again expected to bat at the same position with Pandey, Maharashtra batter Kedar Jadhav and Baroda all-rounder Hardik Pandya to follow.
The bowling department has been very impressive in all matches so far. Seamer Umesh Yadav will lead the pack consisting of Jasprit Bumrah and Pandya.
Leg-spinner Amit Mishra along with left-armer Axar Patel has also been among the wickets but more importantly it is Jadhav, who has proved to be Dhoni’s go-to man in the series so far.
With six wickets in his kitty so far, the diminutive part-time off-spinner has emerged as an effective surprise weapon for Dhoni to put the brakes on during the middle overs.
Moreover, with the selectors retaining the same side for the remaining two games, Dhoni as usual isn’t expected to tinkle with the winning combination.
On the other hand, Wednesday’s encounter will give the New Zealanders a golden opportunity to draw level and go into the final match with a chance.
Barring opener Tom Latham, the Kiwis have failed to ensure a consistent batting effort in the three matches so far.
Skipper Kane Williamson, who hit a century in the Delhi game, will once again be the focal point of the Kiwi batting apart from the likes of Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor, Corey Anderson, Luke Ronchi and James Neesham.
After a dismal Test series, Guptill, who is considered one of the more dangerous ODI openers, has failed to click on all three occasions.
To add to their woes, the Black Caps lack variety in their bowling. Pacers Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Doug Bracewell, Matt Henry have been far from impressive in the subcontinental conditions.
Despite having three spinners in Mitchell Santner, Anton Devcich and Ish Sodhi at his disposal, Williamson’s poor luck at the toss has restrained him from using their services to the fullest where dew played a part in all three matches so far.
Squads:
India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain & wk), Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Mandeep Singh, Kedar Jadhav, Axar Patel, Amit Mishra, Hardik Pandya, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jayant Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (Captain), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham, Luke Ronchi (wk), Corey Anderson, Tim Southee, Martin Guptill, B.J. Watling (wk), Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi, Mitchell Santner, James Neesham, Anton Devcich, Trent Boult, Doug Bracewell
(IANS)
Mohali: Virat Kohli scored an unbeaten 154 off just 134 deliveries as India beat New Zealand by seven wickets to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match One-Day International (ODI) cricket series here on Sunday.
Kohli, who scored his 26th ODI century, shared a 151-run stand with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (80) as India chased down New Zealand’s total of 285 all out with 10 balls to spare.
Tom Latham (61) and James Neesham (57) played pivotal roles in New Zealand’s total as they overcame a middle-order batting failure at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) Stadium.
The show was dominated by right-hander Kohli, who hit 16 fours and a six as he and Manish Pandey (28) shared an unbeaten 97-run stand before taking India home.
It was a day of records for Dhoni, who not only became the fifth Indian to complete 9,000 ODI career runs during his 61st fifty but also became the first wicket-keeper to effect 150 stumping dismissals.
However, Dhoni’s start to the day as a captain was not as bright as he would have expected as the visitors looked good from the beginning after being asked to bat on a pacy wicket.
Martin Guptill (27 off 21) and Latham managed to score quickly after the first two silenced overs.
The seventh over saw Yadav dismissing Guptill with a leg before wicket (LBW) decision. By this time, New Zealand were 46 for one in 6.4 overs.
The partnership between captain Kane Williamson (22) and Latham lasted for only 34 runs as the former attempted a sweep off a Kedar Jadhav delivery that went on to hit the pads, resulting in a LBW.
Later, Latham was joined by Taylor and the right-hander, whose highest score on this tour so far was 36, showed ominous signs of posting a big score.
With ones and twos, he and Latham managed to drive New Zealand ahead and their partnership flourished and it looked like their team would manage to score more than 300.
But it was not to be. A classical leg-spin delivery from Mishra sharply spun away from Taylor who had stepped out of the crease, giving home captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni to record his 150th stumping dismissal — the first wicket-keeper in the world to do so. After the end of the 73-run stand, New Zealand were 153/3 in 28.3 overs.
From thereon, New Zealand’s shortcomings in shot selection came to the fore as they lost three wickets within the space of four overs.
While left-hander Corey Anderson (6) offered a catch to Ajinkya Rahane at mid-off to a full toss from Jadhav, Mishra enticed Luke Ronchi (1) out of his crease and the batsman missed the ball before Dhoni did another stumping.
The big wicket of Latham also came through a poor shot as he drove straight a Jadhav delivery at Pandya at short cover. Latham’s innings witnessed three hits to the fence and one over it.
All-rounder Mitchell Santner (7) too perished, as a leading edge off a Jasprit Bumrah delivery went to Virat Kohli at point, reducing the visiting side to 180/7 in 34.2 overs. Tim Southee (13) was bowled by Yadav as the New Zealanders reeled at 199/8 in 37.5 overs.
But Neesham got good support from tail-ender Henry as the duo formed a partnership to bail the team out of trouble.
While Neesham scored 57 off 47 deliveries with the help of seven fours, Henry showed a lot of composure in his 37-ball unbeaten 39.
In the chase, India’s start in pursuit of the New Zealand’s total was poor with the opening duo of Rohit Sharma (13) and Ajinkya Rahane (5) falling early.
In between Kohli too struggled but stayed on after being given a reprieve by Ross Taylor at slip off a a pacer Matt Henry delivery when the Indian was batting on six.
Then, Dhoni joined hands with Kohli as the underperforming captain promoted himself up the order. It was a statement of intent from Dhoni who has been recently criticised for poor batting form.
New Zealand’s hopes of putting Dhoni under pressure evaporated as soon as Dhoni moved out of his crease to whack a bouncer from paceman Tim Southee.
The duo of Kohli and Dhoni played fluently afterwards. Mixing caution with aggression, they plundered boundaries at regular intervals to ease the run rate pressure.
Dhoni smashed six fours and three sixes during his 91-ball innings and when he got out — a catch by Taylor at short cover off Henry delivery — his team was in a strong position with 94 runs required from 16.1 overs.
Later, Kohli and Pandey sealed India’s win.
(IANS)
(AP Photo/Tsering Topgyal)
Mohali: After a batting collapse in the second One-Day International, India would like to make the full use of the batsman-friendly Mohali pitch when they take on a reinvigorated New Zealand side in the third One-Day International (ODI) cricket match here on Sunday.
After the bruising Indian batsman received at Ferozeshah Kotla in Delhi and many big names failed, it is probably not an ideal situation for Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni as they failed to chase down a 243-run target.
Usually the top order tends to finish games off but at Kotla they left the job to Dhoni and a set of batsmen not accustomed to finishing an innings. India’s batting mainstay Virat Kohli, who failed to live up to his reputation in the last game will be expected to showcase his masterclass at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) Stadium.
So to make sure India do not suffer anymore unexpected setbacks, batsmen have to show some maturity to take the team out of a tricky situation. On the other hand, New Zealand exploited that weakness and pulled off a six-run stunning victory to level the five-match series at 1-1. It was their first win in the ongoing tour and they will be confident going in to the third ODI. Whoever wins the match will take the lead in the five-match series and that will be enough motivation for both the teams.
Skipper Kane Williamson led from the front and played a crucial role in the revival as well. He came to the crease in the first over and did not budge until the 43rd. By that time he had 118 runs off 128 balls.
But apart from him, no other batsmen stepped up to the occasion, so to continue their slight winning momentum they have gained with their first win of the tour players like Martin Guptill and Ross Taylor Luke Ronchi and Mitchell Santner have to return to form.
Squads: India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain and wicket-keeper), Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Amit Mishra, Axar Patel, Umesh Yadav, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jayant Yadav, Mandeep Singh.
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (captain), Tom Latham, Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor, Luke Ronchi (wk), Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Jimmy Neesham, Corey Anderson, Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Anton Devcich, Doug Bracewell, Matt Henry, BJ Watling.
(IANS)