A walkover was given to Kisona Selvaduray of Malaysia, who was to play her first-round match of the Thailand Open against Saina on Tuesday

BANGKOK: Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal and badminton player HS Prannoy have tested positive for coronavirus. Both players, who were competing in the Thailand Open, have been taken to the hospital for further tests.

A walkover was given to Kisona Selvaduray of Malaysia, who was to play her first-round match of the Thailand Open against Saina on Tuesday.

As a result, Selvaduray moved to the second round of the tournament without competing in the first round. Meanwhile, Saina’s husband Parupalli Kashyap has also been taken to hospital but his report status is not yet confirmed.

Saina Nehwal and HS Prannoy tested positive for COVID. They have been taken to the hospital. P Kashyap has also been taken to hospital but his report status is not confirmed yet,” sources told ANI.

Last week, Saina had raised concerns over the fitness of the athletes after physios and trainers were restricted from meeting the badminton players during the entirety of their Thailand tour.

Having undergone coronavirus tests, Saina had asked Badminton World Federation (BWF), to sort the mess as this was impacting the performance of the players on the court.

India’s hopes in the final session rest on the shoulders of an injured Hanuma Vihari, whose movement is hindered after tweaking a hamstring, and their tailenders.

SYDNEY: Australia removed the dangerous Rishabh Pant and Cheteshwar Pujara before tea on day five Monday to leave them needing five wickets to win the third Test and India battling for 127 more runs to pull off an unlikely upset.

India’s hopes in the final session rest on the shoulders of an injured Hanuma Vihari, whose movement is hindered after tweaking a hamstring, and their tailenders.

Vihari was not out four and Ravi Ashwin on seven as they reached 280 for five.

Australia grabbed the prize wicket of Pant for 97 as his explosive innings fell short of a century when he was caught by Pat Cummins off Nathan Lyon going for another big hit.

Josh Hazlewood bowled the stoic Pujara, who brought up 6,000 Test runs before his resistance was broken after a battling 77 off 205 balls.

India resumed at 98-2, still needing a further 309 runs after being set a huge 407 to win after Australia declared their second innings at tea Sunday on 312 for six.

No team has ever bettered 288 to clinch victory in the fourth innings at the Sydney Cricket Ground, with Australia achieving that mark against South Africa in 2006.

Australia accounted for openers Shubman Gill (31) and Rohit Sharma (52) before stumps on day four, and when Lyon got captain Ajinkya Rahane in Monday’s second over without adding to his overnight four the end appeared nigh.

But Pant, who took a nasty blow to his elbow while batting in the first innings and didn’t keep wicket on Sunday, surprisingly came in at number five ahead of Vihari and produced some fireworks.

He had no strapping on the hurt elbow and, after settling in and surviving a missed catch by Tim Paine on three, began to hit out, smacking a four and a six off Lyon on consecutive balls. 

Batting more like it was a Twenty20 match, he then clobbered two more sixes in a row off Lyon before bringing up his third Test 50 off just 64 balls.

Paine dropped him again on 56, both times off Lyon.

He kept the scoreboard ticking over after lunch and a third Test century looked imminent only for the 23-year-old to throw his bat one time too many.

His wicket shattered a 148-run partnership with Pujara, who resumed the day on nine and slowly reached a second consecutive 50.

In the process he brought up 6,000 career runs, the 11th Indian to achieve the feat, before falling to Hazlewood.

Vihari hurt his hamstring on a quick single, adding to India’s injury list. It is not clear whether Ravindra Jadeja, who has a fractured thumb, will pad up if needed after tea.

India were bowled out for 244 in their first innings in reply to Australia’s 338.

Sydney: A relentless Patrick Cummins and a mean Josh Hazlewood dismissed India for 244 after Cheteshwar Pujara’s slowest half-century helped Australia take complete command at tea on the third day of the third Test here on Saturday.

Australia took a first-innings lead of 94 runs and it would be an uphill task for India to make a comeback in this match.

Pujara’s (50 off 176 balls) ultra-defensive approach put tremendous pressure on his colleagues and India never quite got the momentum going as Cummins (4/29 in 21.4 overs), Hazlewood (2/43 in 21 overs) and Mitchell Starc (1/61 in 19 overs) continuously attacked the batsmen — first with a leg-side field and short-ball strategy and then on the corridor of uncertainty.

Pujara doesn’t play the pull or hook shot well and he wasn’t allowed room to either cut or drive. While he never tried to rotate the strike, the likes of Ajinkya Rahane (22 off 70 balls) and Rishabh Pant (36 off 67 balls) felt the urge to break the shackles in the absence of any such intention from the other end.

It also resulted in three run-outs including the one-off Hanuma Vihari (4 off 38 balls), who fell short while going for a quick but non-existent single.

It was then left to Ravindra Jadeja (27), who had to throw his bat around to bring the lead down to less than 100 runs, but that would be of little comfort considering that India would now have to bat fourth to save the match.

A total of 84 runs from 34 overs in the first session, with lack of intent especially from Pujara, didn’t help India’s cause and Rahane’s dismissal was purely due to the scoreboard pressure.

The Indian captain failed to get a move-on initially on a slow track where bounce became variable as the session progressed.

He did hit a cover drive and then tried to take on Nathan Lyon by lofting him for a six over long-on.

However, Cummins bowled one where he got an extra bounce in his off-cutter, cramping Rahane for room and he was played on. The duo added 32 runs in 22.3 overs and it didn’t help the team in any way.

Had KL Rahul been fit, there could have been a case of Vihari getting dropped as he didn’t show in any way that he was in control during his half an hour stay at the crease.

Pant got into the groove quickly but a nasty blow on the forearm did affect his shot-making and the result was a caught behind off Hazlewood, after a 53-run stand in a little over 20 overs.

Pujara, at the other end, was bowled short initially with three men on the leg side and then on the off-side with his cover drive dried up.

Even the drive wide off mid-on didn’t fetch him boundaries. In the first 100 balls, he didn’t have a single boundary.

Finally, after completing his slowest ever half-century in Test cricket, Cummins got one to rear up from short of a length and it was that one good ball every batsman gets when he is not scoring runs.

From 195 for four, suddenly it was 210 for eight and there was only Jadeja left to score a few runs.

Siraj got emotional with tears rolling down his eyes while singing the national anthem moments before the start of play on day 1 of the SCG Test.

SYDNEY: Before the start of play on day one of the third Test between India and Australia, pacer Mohammed Siraj was seen tearing up while singing the national anthem. Siraj getting emotional as the national anthem of India was being played before the start of play on day one of the third Test.

Asked to bowl first, India got off to a perfect start as Siraj dismissed David Warner (5) in the fourth over of the innings. Warner went for a drive, but he only managed to get an outside edge and a simple catch was given to Cheteshwar Pujara at first slip.

This is the first time in four years that Warner has been dismissed for less than 10 runs in a home Test.

With Australia’s score at 21/1 in the eighth over, rain played spoilsport and the play had to be halted and as a result, early lunch was called. Will Pucovski (14*) and Marnus Labuschagne (2*) ensured that the side does not suffer from hiccups in the first session.

For India, Navdeep Saini is playing his first Test while Pucovski is playing his first Test for Australia.

India playing XI: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, Navdeep Saini.

Australia playing XI: David Warner, Will Pucovski, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Matthew Wade, Tim Paine (c), Cameron Green, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.

Siraj had made his debut in the Boxing Day Test against Australia and the pacer managed to impress one and all, as he went on to take five wickets in the Test match.

Sydney: India batsman K L Rahul was on Tuesday ruled out of the remaining two Tests against Australia after sustaining a wrist injury during training in Melbourne, the BCCI said on Tuesday.

Rahul had not played any match of the ongoing series in which the third Test starts on Thursday here.

“KL Rahul sprained his left wrist while batting in the nets at the MCG during Team India’s practice session on Saturday,” the BCCI said in a statement.

“The wicketkeeper-batsman will not be available for the remaining two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as he will need about three weeks time to recover completely and regain full strength,” it added.

Rahul has returned to India and will head to the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru for rehabilitation.

The injury also puts him in doubt for the four-match home Test series against England, which begins February 5.

Ajinkya Rahane’s 112 and Ravindra Jadeja’s 57 took India to a decent first innings score of 326 and a handy 131 run lead.

MELBOURNE: A relentless India marched toward a dominant series-levelling victory after their formidable bowlers scythed through Australian batting, pressing home the advantage of a sizeable first-innings lead on the third day of the second Test, here on Monday.

Australia were wobbling at 133 for six at stumps on the third day of the Boxing Day Test at the magnificent Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Aiming to exorcise the ghosts of being bowled out for a record lowest 36 in the series-opener, the visitors had put up 326 on the board for a 131-run lead in reply to Australia’s first-innings total of 195 all out.

Australia were ahead by only two runs at close of play.

Seeking to wipe out the deficit, Australia began their second innings on a disastrous note as Joe Burns (4) not only got out for a poor score, but also wasted a review after pacer Umesh Yadav (1/5) opened him up with one that swung away very late.

Introduced early into the attack, seasoned off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (1/46) once again showed his class when he bamboozled Marnus Labuschagne (28 off 49 balls) with a slider that went straight with the angle.

Ashwin let one slid across and with the batsman looking to defend.

The ball went the other way and took an outside edge on its way to Rahane at first slip.

Matthew Wade (27 batting, 89 balls) and Steve Smith (6 batting, 20 balls) survived the remaining overs prior to the tea break, which they took at 65 for two.

At that point in time, the hosts trailed India by 66 runs.

More miseries awaited Australia in the final session when they lost four wickets for the addition of 68 runs, as India closed in on an equaliser in the four-match series after the humiliating defeat in the opener at Adelaide Oval.

Smith’s horror run in the series continued as he was bowled by Jasprit Bumrah (1/34) round his legs when the ball clipped the bails of the off-stump after the batsman had shuffled too much.

Wade, looking the best among Australian batsmen, was trapped in front of the wicket by Ravindra Jadeja (2/25) at 98 for four.

And while the score remained the same, Australia lost another wicket in Travis Head a couple of overs later.

There was no encore of skipper Tim Paine’s battling knock in the first Test as he was caught behind off the bowling of Jadeja.

Australia could have been seven down had Pant held on to a Pat Cummins edge off Ashwin.

However, India too have a cause for concern as Umesh hobbled off the field after suffering a calf injury in the innings’ eighth over.

Bowling his fourth over, the pacer had complained of pain in his calf and had been taken for scans after being assessed by the BCCI medical team.

Earlier, riding captain Ajinkya Rahane’s classy hundred and Ravindra Jadeja’s 15th half-century, India managed enough runs on the board to put Australia under pressure despite losing their five remaining wickets for only 49 runs after resuming the day on 277 for five.

Jadeja (57) added 123 runs for the sixth wicket with skipper Rahane, whose vigil came to an when he was run out, his first in Tests, after making a classy 112 with the help of 12 boundaries in 223 balls.

The call was Jadeja’s and the run out was needless, but nevertheless, the all-rounder looked solid in the middle before he was set up by a Mitchell Starc (3/78 in 26 overs).

The Australian left-arm fast bowler tested Jadeja with a barrage of short balls and the ploy worked as the all-rounder pulled one straight to the deep mid-wicket fielder for a polished 57 that included three boundaries and his trademark sword celebration.

On a Day 3, MCG pitch that hardly contained any demons, the Australian bowlers failed to pose any serious threat to the well-settled Indian batting duo of Rahane and Jadeja.

The hosts desperately needed a wicket and given how Rahane had been batting, it had to be a run out.

Nearing his half-century, Jadeja took off for a needless single after playing it towards short cover and Rahane responded positively instead of sending him back, but narrowly failed to make his ground at the striker’s end despite giving his best shot.

That pegged India back as Australia looked to claw their way back.

Nathan Lyon (3/72 in 27.1 overs) and Josh Hazlewood (1/47 in 23 overs) then polished off the tail.

Adelaide, Dec 17: India’s tail-enders contributed precious little as the first innings folded at 244 early on the second day of the first Day/Night Test against Australia here on Friday.

Mitchell Starc (4/53 in 21 overs) and Pat Cummins (3/48 in 21.1 overs) dismissed the last four batsmen for an addition of only 11 runs to the overnight score.

In fact, India lost seven wickets for 56 runs starting with Virat Kohli’s run-out engineered by a poor judgement call from vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane.

On Friday, Ravichandran Ashwin (15) got one to rear up from length as Cummins got his second wicket and India’s seventh in the first over of the day.

Wriddhiman Saha (9) also didn’t trouble the scorers getting out on his overnight tally chasing a wide delivery from Starc.

Umesh Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah hit a boundary each but that was just a tail-ender’s bravado as the innings folded in just 25 balls on the second day.

If one goes by how pink ball matches at Adelaide have panned out, India have scored at least 75 runs less than what should have been a fighting first innings total.