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.

Nasheman News : Tamil Thaliavas and Haryana Steelers played out an exciting 40-40 tie in the ongoing sixth season of Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) here on Tuesday.

Haryana avoided a defeat as they scored two points in the last minute. Monu Goyat top scored for Haryana with 17 points by putting in a stellar performance. Ajay Thakur was in fine form for Tamil Thalaivas and he too scored 17 points. 

Haryana ended their league campaign on a positive note as did Tamil Thalaivas. Both teams finished at the bottom of the table in their respective zones. 

Thalaivas began strongly and led 3-0 after three minutes with Ajay picking up a raid point. Haryana came back to trail 3-4 after five minutes. It was a close affair in the first 10 minutes. Monu picked up a two-point raid in the 7th minute to level the match at 6-6.

Haryana forced a super tackle in the 13th minute as they tied the match at 11-11. Anand was the star raider for Thalaivas in the first half, picking up three raid points in two minutes as they led 16-14 at the end of the first half. 

Thalaivas inflicted an all out at the start of the second half to lead 19-16. Haryana weren’t deterred by the all out and kept picking up raid and tackle points. 

In the 26th minute, Haryana inflicted an all out to lead 27-23. Ajay made a super raid in the next minute to bring Thalaivas back in the match. In the 29th minute, Thalaivas inflicted another all out to lead 32-28. 

It was a closely fought encounter with both teams level on 36-36 with four minutes left. Ajay picked up two raid points in two minutes to give Thaliavas 39-37 lead after 38 minutes.

However, Thalaivas and Haryana picked one and three points respectively in the dying moments to end their season six campaign on a draw.

Nasheman News : Bengal Warriors continued their hot streak in their home leg as their beat Telugu Titans 39-34 in Pro Kabaddi Season 6 match here on Tuesday.

Maninder Singh scored 12 raid points for Bengal Warriors to lead his team’s charge. Maninder also became the fastest man to reach 500 points in Pro Kabaddi League as he achieved the feat in 56 matches. 

For Telugu Titans it was the youngster Armaan who stood out and scored 11 points. Bengal Warriors have already qualified for the playoffs while Telugu Titans ended their campaign with a defeat.

Bengal Warriors got off to a flying start with Jang Kun Lee getting a super raid in the second minute.ATelugu Titans fought back to level the match at 7-7 after five minutes. 

Maninder Singh continued to pick the points for Bengal Warriors in the first half. At the end of the first half, Bengal Warriors 23-15 with Jang Kun Lee getting a raid in the 20th minute.

Bengal Warriors inflicted an all out in the 26th minute to lead 30-18. For Telugu Titans the performance of Anand was a revelation as he picked up raid points at will. After 30 minutes, Bengal Warriors led 32-22 and were in full control of the match.

The Titans did try to mount a comeback but the deficit proved too much in the end as they crashed out of the league.

 [Nasheman news] MelbourneIndia were 123/2 at tea on the opening day of the third Test on Boxing Day at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) here on Wednesday.

India lost just the wicket of Mayank Agarwal (76) in the second session of play, while Cheteshwar Pujara was batting on 33 when the break was taken.

Pacer Pat Cummins, who earlier dismissed opener Hanuma Vihari (8) in the morning session, also accounted for the wicket of the debutant opener.

The visitors added 66 runs in the afternoon session, thanks to a crucial 83-run partnership between Mayank and Pujara.

Brief Scores: India 123/2 (Mayank Agarwal 76, Cheteshwar Pujara 33 batting; Pat Cummins 2/24) vs Australia at Tea on Day 1.

Nasheman News : Both India and Australia will aim to take a lead in the four-match Test series, currently leveled 1-1, when they square-off in the much awaited Boxing Day clash at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), starting here from Wednesday.

While India on Tuesday dropped both its openers — Lokesh Rahul and Murali Vijay, Australia made one change to their playing 11, bringing in Mitchell Marsh in place of Peter Handscomb for the third test of the Border-Gavaskar series.

Rahul has scored only 48 runs in four innings this series, which includes a highest of 44 in the second innings at the first Test in Adelaide. On the other hand, Vijay has scored just 49 runs from the four innings, including a highest of 20 in the second innings in the Perth Test. 

The Indian openers have scored just 95 runs between them in eight innings of the first two tests in Adelaide and Perth. Meanwhile, the Indian selectors opted for left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, has recovered sufficiently from his shoulder stiffness, and debutant Mayank Agarwal, who is expected to open with Hanuma Vihari.

Jadeja’s inclusion comes after off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was ruled out of the third Test, who needs more time to recover from left abdominal strain. 

Batsman Rohit Sharma has also been declared fit after he missed the Perth test, but ace pacer Umesh Yadav has been left out.

“Our aim is to put enough runs on the board to help our bowlers capitalize. And if we are batting second, we try to amass enough lead if the situation allows or at least match the target of the opposition’s total,” Indian skipper Virat Kohli told reporters on the eve of the third test.

“Our batsmen need to step up collectively. I won’t point out anyone individually whether someone needs to do that or not, but as a batting unit, we have to definitely put up a better performance,” he said. 

Australian skipper Tim Paine said his bowlers have had a really big workload and the selectors felt the team needed Marsh’s bowling. Handscomb’s highest score in the last four innings has been just 34.

“We think Mitch can come in and do a really good job with the bat and, obviously, he will be great support for our bowlers,” Paine told reporters.

Playing XI:

India: Virat Kohli (captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Mayank Agarwal, Hanuma Vihari, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah.

Australia: Tim Paine (Captain-wicketkeeper) Aaron Finch, Marcus Harris, Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood. 

Nasheman News : World champion Carolina Marin had to find a special gear against 2018 India Open champion Beiwen Zhang to help Pune 7 Aces earn their first points in the fourth edition of the Premier Badminton League at the NSCI Dome here on Monday.

Marin, who had lost her first match of the new season against Hyderabad Hunters’ P.V. Sindhu in the tournament opener, was under a lot of pressure after her team lost the first two matches of the second tie, having lost all the five matches on Saturday.

Zhang was clearly high on confidence with her team already 3-0 ahead and that showed in her aggressive play in the opening game and had a 9-7 lead before Marin strung a series of four points to get a two-point advantage.

Marin then showed the trademark big match temperament to see off a spirited fight from Zhang, who closed in at 14-13, by raising the tempo of the rally to pocket the game.

The Spaniard seemed to be in a hurry to finish the match as she simply raised the pace of the rallies and was seen moving quickly between points as she raced to a 8-1 lead.

Zhang fought back well after the mid-game interval as she managed to close the gap at 11-8 but Marin kept her composure to win 15-13, 15-9 to claim two points of the trump match and close the gap on Awadhe Warriors.

Earlier, Pune’s hopes of starting the second tie of the tournament with a win did not fructify despite Brice Leverdez putting up a strong fight against Awadhe Warriors’ icon player and World No 5, Son Wan Ho.

The Frenchman, who had beaten the likes of former world number one, Lee Chong Wei on the BWF Tour, looked primed to spring an upset when he came back from an 11-8 deficit to earn two game points at 12-14 in the first game. 

But that was not to be as the South Korean Son dominated the net on the next three points to pocket the first game and never looked under pressure in the second, racing to a 15-14, 15-7 win.

Pune 7 Aces, who this time patterned Vladimir Ivanov with skipper Mathias Boe for men’s doubles, would have hoped that the experienced duo could finally find a way to that elusive point which would get them rolling in the competition.

But Lee Yang and Mathias Christiansen cruised in the opening game and those Ivanov and Boe fought back from a 6-12 deficit to take the game till the decider point then ended up losing the match 15-12, 15-14.

The result meant that Awadhe Warriors now have a 3-0 lead in the tie and Pune 7 Aces icon player Carolina Marin now needs to win her trump against Beiwen Zhang to keep the team alive in this tie and the Spaniard did that in style.

Nasheman News : With the four-Test series between India and Australia currently locked at 1-1, India Test Vice Captain Ajinkya Rahane on Monday urged his team’s batsmen to step up and support the bowling unit in the third Test starting at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) here on Wednesday.

“The batsmen definitely need to step up. When we discuss the batting unit, that point is very important. Especially when we are abroad, the bowlers have been taking 20 wickets since South Africa, so if the batsmen help the bowlers the results will be favouring us,” Rahane told reporters here.

The right-hander, who has scored 164 in his last four Test innings, including two fifties, further said there was no point in looking back at what went wrong in the second Test at Perth, where India lost by 141 runs, and rather insisted on looking forward to a better performance in the upcoming match.

“I am really happy and excited about this Test match. We all know how big this Boxing Day is. Coming here at 1-1 is really good as we expected that Australia will bounce back in Perth,” he said.

“We had our chances in Perth but it is important to stay in present right now and give our best rather than thinking about what happened in the Perth or in Adelaide.

“It is important to give our best in every session. I think this is what matters in Test cricket. We have to give our more than 100 percent because the game can change in a session. We need some good batsman-ship in these two Test matches and I am sure our batsmen will take that responsibility,” he added.

Commenting on his individual effort with the willow in the opening two Tests, the 30-year-old exuded confidence on converting his half-centuries to a ton in the remaining two games.

“It (century) will definitely come. I`m really sure it will come in this Test match with the way I am batting since Adelaide,” he said.

“I think I will get two hundreds but it will be important for me not to think about it and continue the way I am batting. If I can read the situation well and bat accordingly it will be better for the team. Personal milestones can come later,” he added.

On being enquired about premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and middle-order bat Rohit Sharma’s injury updates, Rahane passed the query to the team management.

Ashwin sustained a left-sided abdominal strain ahead of the Perth Test while Rohit jarred his lower back when he was fielding in the opening Test at the Adelaide Oval.

“Team management is assessing him (Ashwin). They will be in a better position to answer,” he said. 

“I guess Rohit is fit because he batted yesterday in the net and he is looking really good. We will, however, take a call after the net session tomorrow,” he added.

New Delhi,The BCCI has confirmed the appointment of former India batsman W.V. Raman as head coach of the women’s team.

Raman’s selection was based on recommendations of the ad-hoc committee comprising India’s first World Cup-winning skipper Kapil Dev, former India opener Anshuman Gaekwad and ex-women’s team member Shantha Rangaswamy.

The ad-hoc committee conducted interviews of the shortlisted candidates at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai on Thursday.

According to a statement from the board, “The ad-hoc committee decided on the following three names in the order of preference:AGary Kirsten, WV Raman and Venkatesh Prasad.”

“However, Kirsten was unable to take up this assignment due to his ongoing contract with an Indian Premier League franchise, which would have entailed conflict of interest as per the BCCI constitution.”

“In view of this, the BCCI appointed Raman as the head coach of the Indian women’s team,” it added.

Panchkula,  Jaipur Pink Panthers ended their home leg with a 37-37 tie against Dabang Delhi in the Vivo Pro Kabaddi League here on Thursday.

Dabang Delhi would feel disappointed as they were in control for most of the match but lost their composure in the last five minutes. 

Deepak Hooda scored eight points for Jaipur while Sandeep Dhull got a high five. Chandran Ranjit (11 points) and Pawan Kadian (9 points) were among the top scorers for Dabang Delhi.

Dabang Delhi made a strong start and led 5-0 after four minutes as they picked up a couple of raid and tackle points. 

A super tackle in the 5th minute opened Jaipur Pink Panthers’ account. Jaipur Pink Panthers were kept alive in the match because of their defence as they forced another super tackle in the 8th minute to level the match at 6-6.

Dabang Delhi took the lead once again as they inflicted an all out in the 11th minute to lead 11-7.

Selvamani’s super raid in the 13th minute got Jaipur back in the match once again. It was a see-saw of a match with Jaipur cutting the deficit every time Delhi threatened to run away with the match. 

Ajinkya Pawar’s two-point raid in the 17th minute made it a one point gap. At the end of the first half Dabang Delhi led 18-17.

Pawan Kadian made a super raid in the 21st minute to give Delhi a 21-18 lead. But Selvamani’s brilliant four-point raid in the 24th minute got Jaipur back in the match once again.

With less than five minutes to go Jaipur were trailing by five points when Ajinkya Pawar made a two-point raid to reduce the gap to three. 

In the 38th minute Jaipur inflicted an all out as they trailed 35-36 and Deepak Hooda levelled the match in the next minute with a successful raid.