[Nasheman news] Sydney Australia posted 198/5 in their first innings, trailing India by 424 runs, at tea on the third day of the fourth cricket Test here on Saturday.

At the break, Peter Handscomb was batting on a patient 21 while Tim Paine was on 5 at the other end.

After a somewhat quiet opening session, the Indians took the upper hand after lunch as the Australians lost wickets at regular intervals.

Left-arm spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav took two wickets each for India.

Brief scores:

Australia (first innings): 198/5 (Marcus Harris 79; Kuldeep Yadav 2/50, Ravindra Jadeja 2/51) vs India (first innings): 622/7 declared at tea on Day 3 .

Nasheman News : Cheteshwar Pujara missed a double ton as India posted a healthy 491/6 at tea on second day of the fourth test against Australia here on Friday.

Pujara (193) could only manage to add 12 runs to his individual score in the second session before he was caught and bowled by spinner Nathan Lyon.

Rishabh Pant (88) and Ravindra Jadeja (25) were at the crease when umpires called for the tea break.

Starting the session with overnight score of 389/5, Pujara was the only batsman to depart. He played 373 balls and slammed 22 boundaries.

Earlier in the first session, India was at 389/5 at lunch.

Pujara (181 runs in 332 balls) and Pant (27) were at the crease when umpires called for the break.

Starting the day with overnight score of 303/4, Pujara and Hanuma Vihari (42) could only manage to add 26 runs to the total as Vihari was dismissed when the scoreboard was reading 329. 

Vihari played 96 balls before he got dismissed by spinner Nathan Lyon in 102nd over.

The fall of wicket brought in Pant. Pujara and Pant then played throughout the first session, making sure they don’t lose their wickets.

In the process, the duo played some beautifully crafted shots.

Nasheman News : Cheteshwar Pujara came up with a typically gritty century as India posted 303/4 in their first innings at stumps on the opening day of the fourth cricket Test against Australia here on Thursday.

Pujara was batting on 130 when the umpires decided to call it a day. His 250-ball stay in the middle was studded with 16 hits to the fence. Hanuma Vihari was batting on 39 at the other end.

For Australia, Josh Hazlewood was the most successful with figures of 2/51. Fellow pacer Mitchell Starc and off-spinner Nathan Lyon bagged a wicket each.

India are 2-1 up in the series.

Brief scores: 

India (first innings): 303/4 (Cheteshwar Pujara 130 batting, Mayank Agarwal 77; Josh Hazlewood 2/51) at stumps on Day 1 vs Australia.

[Nasheman news] Pune World Championship silver medallist PV Sindhu began the New Year with a morale-boosting win over compatriot Saina Nehwal to give defending champions Hyderabad Hunters a 3-1 lead over North Eastern Warriors in the fourth edition of the Premier Badminton League (PBL) at the Balewadi stadium here on Tuesday.

Sindhu, who had lost her last two matches in the PBL against Sung Ji Hyun and Beiwen Zhang, was keen to start the year with a win and there couldn’t have been a bigger opponent across the net than Saina as the two shuttle queens of Indian badminton would have been keen to earn the bragging rights early in the year, as Sindhu finally ended the match with a 11-15, 15-9, 15-5 win.

Saina, who had sat out of the earlier three matches of North Eastern Warriors due to a shin injury, was definitely not 100 percent and was seen struggling for stamina following long rallies but the way she fought back from a 7-10 deficit to clinch seven straight points and then wrap up the opening game showed that the former world number one was not going to go out without a fight.

But Sindhu simply managed to raise the tempo in the second game as she raced to a 8-3 lead and though Saina fought back to close the gap to 6-8, the 23-year-old always looked in control. 

Saina clearly looked tired in the third and final game and Sindhu simply dominated the proceedings thereafter as the Commonwealth Games gold medallist struggled to lunge towards her forehand and lost the decider rather easily.

Earlier, the experienced Lee Hyun Il got the Hunters back into the contest from the brink as he fought back from a game down to win the trump match against Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk.

With the Hunters trailing 0-1 following the 8-15, 14-15 loss of Kim Sa Rang and Eom Hye Won in the opening mixed doubles match against Kim Ha Na and Liao Min Chun, Lee had to win the team’s trump.

And it looked an arduous task when Tanongsak dominated the opening game and looked on a roll. But Lee is a veteran of many a battles and the 38-year-old showed why he is still considered the most dangerous opponent on the circuit as he moved his Thai opponent all around the court to take a 7-1 lead in the second game and then held on to the advantage to force a decider.

Tanongsak seemed to lose steam after the Lee masterclass in the second game as he was always chasing the game in the decider and the Hunters earned two points with a 10-15, 15-13, 15-9 win before Saina and Sindhu took the court for the Super Match of the Day in front of a packed stadium, as the league now proceeds to Ahmedabad.

[Nasheman news] MelbourneIndia defeated Australia by 137 runs in the third cricket Test to take a 2-1 lead in the four-match series here at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Sunday.

With the fourth Test starting on January 3, the Indians are now in with a chance to register their first ever series win on the Australian soil.

The play on the fifth and final day was delayed due to rain.

Most of the opening session was lost to the inclement weather, and the play resumed in right earnest only after lunch.

Resuming their second innings at the overnight score of 258/8, the Australian batsmen could battle for only 27 deliveries before being dismissed for 261 runs.

Pat Cummins, who had delayed the Australian defeat with a heroic half-century on the fourth day, was the first to return to the pavilion on the fifth day.

The tail-ender had added only two runs to his overnight score when he edged a delivery from Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah to Cheteshwar Pujara at first slip.

Cummins scored 63 off 114 balls, hitting five boundaries and a six over the course of his gritty innings.

Ishant Sharma then dismissed Nathan Lyon with a short pitched delivery to complete the victory.

Lyon tried to go for the pull, only to edge a simple catch to wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant.

The victory saw Virat Kohli become the first Indian captain to retain the Border-Gavaskar trophy on the Australian soil. The Indians had clinched the trophy in the 2016-17 season when they pipped Australia 2-1 in a four-Test series at home.

Kohli also equalled former skipper Sourav Ganguly’s record as the most successful Indian captain on foreign soil.

This was Kohli’s 11th away win as captain in 24 Tests. Ganguly had achieved the same number of wins off 28 matches. 

The current Indian team has registered four Test wins away from home this year. They thus notched up the most away Test wins by an Indian team in a calendar year. The previous record was three Test wins, all of which were achieved in New Zealand way back in 1968.

Pacer Ishant Sharma, who dismissed Nathan Lyon to complete the victory, became the sixth most successful Indian bowler in Test cricket with 267 wickets to his name.

The list is headed by leg-spin great Anil Kumble with 619 scalps. He is followed by Kapil Dev (434), Harbhajan Singh (417), Ravichandran Ashwin (342) and Zaheer Khan (311).

Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah also cornered a piece of history by notching up the best-ever figures by an Indian pacer in Australia with his match haul of 9/86. The previous best was achieved by Kapil Dev with his 8/109 during the Adelaide Test in 1985.

Bumrah has claimed 48 wickets in 2018, the best ever by an Indian in his debut year in Test cricket. He is third on the overall list behind former Australian pacer Terry Alderman and former West Indies star Curtly Ambrose.

Alderman had 54 Test scalps to his name in 1981 while Ambrose took 49 wickets during his debut year in 1988.

With 42 dismissals in 2018, India’s rookie wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant equalled former Australian stumper Brad Haddin’s record of most dismissals by a wicket-keeper in his debut calendar year. Haddin had set the record in 2008.

Brief scores:

Australia: 151 & 261 (Pat Cummins 63, Shaun Marsh 44, Usman Khawaja 33; Ravindra Jadeja 3/82, Jasprit Bumrah 3/53) vs India: 443/7(d) & 106/8(d) (Mayank Agarwal 42, Rishabh Pant 33; Pat Cummins 6/27)

 Nasheman News : Venus Williams prevailed over younger sister Serena 4-6, 6-3, 10-8 in an exhibition match at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship.

Serena, 37, broke 38-year-old Venus’ serve twice to win the first set, but faltered in the second, dropping three service games on the way to losing 6-3 here on Thursday, reports Efe.

The contest went to a super tie-break.

While Venus dropped her opening serve, she outlasted Serena to win 10-8.

“Serena said I was playing well. I think we can only go up from here and that’s our plan,” Venus said after defeating the winner of 23 Grand Slam titles.

“It was really fun and so good to see everyone come out to support myself and Venus. It was really fun out here,” Serena said.

MIndia slumped to 54/5 in their second innings even as they opened up a lead of 346 runs at the end of the third day of the third cricket Test against Australia here on Friday.

Mayank Agarwal was batting on 28 while Rishabh Pant was on six at the other end when the umpires decided to call it a day.

Australian Pat Cummins continued his good form from the first innings with four crucial wickets to return figures of 4/10 off his six overs. His victims included the dangerous Virat Kohli and the in form Cheteshwar Pujara, both of whom were dismissed for zero in the same over.

Earlier in the day, Australia were bundled out for 151 runs in their first innings. Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah was the standout performer for India with figures of 6/33.

Spinner Ravindra Jadeja got two wickets while fast bowlers Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami bagged one each.

Brief scores: 

India: 443/7 & 54/5 (Mayank Agarwal 28 batting; Hanuma Vihari 13; Pat Cummins 4/10) vs Australia (first innings): 151 (Marcus Harris 22, Tim Paine 22; Jasprit Bumrah 6/33, Ravindra Jadeja 2/45) at stumps on Day 3.

Nasheman News : India declared their first innings after scoring a mammoth 443/7 to leave Australia with just seven overs to bat on Day 2 of the third Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) here on Thursday.

India’s massive total was powered by a classic century from Cheteshwar Pujara (106) and half centuries from skipper Virat Kohli (82), debutant opener Mayank Agarwal (76) and Rohit Sharma (63 not out).

To add to Australia’s woes, vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane (34) and stumper Rishabh Pant (39) also got decent starts but more importantly, were engaged in crucial partnerships with Rohit.

For the hosts, pacer Pat Cummins emerged the hero with the cherry, returning with figures of 3/72 on a docile MCG track while Mitchell Starc contributed with two wickets.

Josh Hazlewood and lone spinner Nathan Lyon worked hard for their one wicket apiece.

Brief Scores: India 443/7 (Cheteshwar Pujara 106, Virat Kohli 82, Mayank Agarwal 76, Rohit Sharma 63 not out; Pat Cummins 3/72) vs Australia.

Nasheman News : Australian openers survived the early jitters to post 8/0 at stumps on Day 2 of the third Test after India declared their first innings at a mammoth 443/7 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) here on Thursday.

Aaron Finch (3 batting) and Marcus Harris (5 batting) went back unscathed after the Indian new ball duo of Ishant Shamra and Jasprit Bumrah bowled some hostile stuff to spice things up for an exciting contest on Day 3.

Earlier, India’s massive total was powered by a classic century from Cheteshwar Pujara (106) and excellent half centuries from skipper Virat Kohli (82), debutant opener Mayank Agarwal (76) and Rohit Sharma (63 not out).

To add to Australia’s woes, Indian Vice Captain Ajinkya Rahane (34) and stumper Rishabh Pant (39) also got decent starts and more importantly, were engaged in crucial partnerships with Rohit.

Resuming the final session at 346/4, India lost Rahane quickly to his old nemesis, Nathan Lyon, who sweated for 40 overs to get that one wicket in India’s first essay.

Interestingly, this was the ninth occasion Rahane fell to Lyon, making it the most number of times the tweaker has dismissed any player.

Australia could have had Rohit dismissed even before Rahane’s departure if only substitute fielder Peter Siddle had not dropped a sitter at backward square leg off Lyon and on the very next ball Travis Head made a mess of a catch, when the Mumbai right-hander was on 15.

Rohit, who by now had added 62 runs for the fifth wicket with his Mumbai teammate Rahane, took full advantage of the two lives to not only get to a crafty half century but also add another vital 76-run stand with Pant for the sixth wicket. 

Pant looked in fine touch but inexperience overpowered the southpaw as he succumbed to pacer Mitchell Starc once the third new ball was taken.

New man Ravindra Jadeja hardly got his eyes in before being caught behind, even as Kohli signalled the declaration of the tourists’ first innings, leaving almost 6-7 overs for Australia to bat.

Earlier, resuming the second day at 215/2, Kohli and Pujara played out a wicketless first session, scoring 62 runs to take it to 277/2 at lunch.

After coming back, Kohli (82) made his intentions clear and went after the Australian bowlers until he jarred his back while playing a pull shot against Starc.

The back continued to trouble the India skipper, who eventually fell playing an uppercut off Starc to be caught comfortably by Finch at third man.

Interestingly, this is the first time Kohli has not reached three figures after reaching 50 in first innings in Tests in Australia.

Two overs after Kohli’s departure, Pat Cummins, the sole wicket-taker on the opening day, doubled the joy for the hosts with a fuller delivery that ended Pujara’s 319-ball marathon innings.

Pujara was undone by a ball that stayed too low and crashed into his stumps, once again underlying the confusing nature of the pitch at the MCG here.

For the Aussies, pacer Pat Cummins emerged the hero with the cherry, returning with figures of 3/72 on a docile MCG track while Mitchell Starc contributed well with two wickets.

Josh Hazlewood and the lone spinner Nathan Lyon worked hard for their one wicket apiece.

Brief scores: 

Australia (first innings): 8/0 (Marcus Harris 5 batting, Aaron Finch 3 batting) vs India (first innings): 443/7 (Cheteshwar Pujara 106, Virat Kohli 82, Mayank Agarwal 76, Rohit Sharma 63 not out; Pat Cummins 3/72).

By Gaurav Sharma (14:50) 

Nasheman News : Chasing her dreams despite the innumerable obstacles in her way, India’s first female wrestler in WWE, Kavita Devi, has urged women athletes to take part in the WWE talent try-outs in March 2019.

The four-day tryout in Mumbai will give up to 40 athletes from India an opportunity to showcase their abilities with the goal of being selected to begin training at the state-of-the-art WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. 

The 32-year-old had etched her name in the history books when the she became the first Indian woman to take part in the Mae Young Classic in 2017.

“This time the aspiring athletes have a great chance as WWE has arrived to India to take tryouts and I want more and more athletes to take part in it,” Kavita told IANS in an interview.

“WWE is a world level game and have some world class athletes. So in order to match that level you have do a lot of hardwork. It is not necessary that in order to enter this field you need wrestling. You can give try-outs,” she added. 

Kavita also cautioned the athletes that problems might arise but it is the attitude that matters. 

“I have also faced several problems. But I never stopped. You will fall but the will to rise again matters. My secret for success is that I never stopped and never gave up despite several problems,” Kavita said.

“WWE has always helped women to grow in this field and the women’s athletes in this field also showed that they are not less than any other male athletes,” she added. 

WWE superstar Matt Hardy, who was on a three-day visit to India earlier this month, also asked athletes to participate in the try-outs.

“There is try-outs coming here in March 2019 which will give best opportunity to Indian wrestlers to be at the highest platform,” he said.

Matt Hardy burst onto the scene in a set of plaid tights in 1994 at age 19. His partner Jeff also helped to revolutionise tag team wrestling in the industry.

Matt also gave advice for the aspiring athletes and said: “You have to have a true passion to be in this industry. Obviously you have to be an athlete and need to be in a best athleteic shape as possible because it is such a hard and tough job both mentaiily and physically.”

“India has a great potential to be a talent pool for WWE besides such a great market for WWE. There are so many amazing athletes that came out from India especially Oympic athletes. I think those guys cane have an amazing transition to be an WWE superstar,” he added.