Showing posts with label test. Show all posts
Rahul Dravid: The Dark Knight of Indian Cricket
The Nice Guy who Finished First
The Wall, Rahul Dravid, turns 42 today... Phew!! That sounds old right?I still remember growing up watching him grind the opposition to dust in all types of conditions. Got a Green-Top Wicket?... Humid Conditions?... Overcast Conditions?...Following-On?...Batting Collapse? Injury Issues?.. Don't worry we have this Reliable person called Rahul Dravid on our side, he can take care of it. The man who never said never, who has more match-saving & match winning knocks than anyone else, one who lived for the pack, who achieved the epitome of success, all a test player could imagine, yet coming from the humblest of backgrounds. Yes, this is the story of Rahul Sharad Dravid, the Dark Knight of Indian Cricket.
The perfect footwork, the copy-book shots, the sound technique reflected the amount of hard-work put in by the Wall. The ability to bat for long, long hours was never noticed like this. From the ravishing cut-shot to the eye-pleasing cover drives, all described this man's abilities to counter all kinds of conditions against any bowling attack. Sachin was born with his talent, a one in a billion genius he was, but Dravid, he was all about hard-work , and grit, and determination. Every young cricketer aspires to be a Sachin, but every coach wants his student to be a Dravid first.
Cricket is a game of partnerships, that is why Dravid's accomplishments often include some form of an important input from another player & not solo. He has played the most number of balls in test cricket, never dismissed for a first ball duck, played 90-odd consecutive tests since his debut, has featured in the most number of partnerships, most century partnerships and holds many more such records. Whats important is that along with all these records, he held the team together at all the times, dropping anchor at one end. The Viewers may have him boring, but he was the most technically sound batsman and the purists of the game enjoyed watching him. What appeared as a struggle, or slow scoring to the viewers, was Dravid protecting the batsmen at the other end from the new ball, or the in-form bowler, facing their destructive spells, grinding down on their confidence till they surrendered.
I still remember being an avid fan of Rahul since watching him score 76 against New Zealand in 2002. I was just 7 years old back then & didn't know what I adored so much in this man. Waking up at 5 AM just to watch you bat whenever the Indian team toured Australia, my parents were always shocked! What the hell is he doing so early in the morning??!!
Check out this conversation between Harsha Bhogle and Dravid....
This will make you wonder how a human being can be so selfless....
Harsha Bhogle to Dravid:
You made a very good hundred in Headingley
in 2002. Tell us about that.....Dravid:
Yeah that was a good innings but Sanjay
Bangar played well too. He was asked to open
on a tough pitch and fought very well. Its not
easy to do that......
Harsha Bhogle:
You were brilliant for India in test cricket
from 2002 to 2005
Dravid: But we won test matches because of
our brilliant spinners.....
Harbhajan and Kumble
used to take heaps of wickets on Day 4/5 of
the test match....
Harsha Bhogle:
That is how Rahul Dravid is. You tell him he
played well and he will tell you that somebody else played well too
It hurts, as a fan, when people compare Dravid & Tendulkar. Every player has his role in the team. Both of them contributed equally to the team if not more than the other. It hurts when people undermine Dravid's contributions by comparing him with Sachin, as if he did nothing throughout his career other than catching up with him. Whatever the stats may say, in my opinion, Rahul Dravid was a better test batsman than Sachin Tendulkar & perhaps he was the greatest Indian Test Batsman and I know deep down in your heart you agree with me may although you may not admit it.
There is a famous saying in Cricket "The Best Batsman of the team Bats at Number 3". Ever wondered why Dravid batted at 3 & Sachin at 4? Because Dravid was more reliable in tests. Simply saying, India WANTED Sachin to fire, but they NEEDED Dravid to fire. I have no intentions of disrespecting Sachin whatsoever, I just want to get my message across the masses. The 2 highest ODI stands in the history of cricket belong to Indian pairs, Dravid & Tendulkar's 331 against New Zealand followed by Ganguly & Dravid's 318 against Sri Lanka, both coming in 1999. Doesn't that say volumes about this great cricketer? He had a better overseas average as compared to his home average. Dravid won 8 of his 11 Man of the Match awards in overseas tests!
In the 21 matches under Saurav Ganguly, Dravid amassed 2,571 runs at an astonishing average of 102.84. These 21 matches had 9 hundreds, 3 of which were double hundreds.
Dravid debuted against England at Lord's on June 22, 1996 and scored a Brilliant 95. It was the same match in which Ganguly scored a century on his debut & was somewhat overshadowed by him. He had a bet with former Indian pacer Venkatesh Prasad that if Prasad would take 5 wickets & get his name up on the honor's board of the Lord's, Dravid would score a 100 too. However, he missed out by just 5 runs but fulfilled his promise 15 years later.
Dravid scored a masterclass 148 in difficult conditions at Johannesburg, his maiden hundred, and followed it with an 81 in second innings to earn a valiant draw for India . This effort earned him the Man of The Match Award.
He became the third Indian Batsman to score twins centuries when he scored 190 & 103 against New Zealand at Hamilton in 1999 to earn another hard fought draw for India.
 |
| Laxman & Dravid during their 376 run stand |
Then came the defining point for two greats of the Indian Cricket, Rahul Dravid after being dismissed by Warne twice in 3 innings was demoted to number 6 with Laxman replacing him at 3. Following-on in the 2nd innings, the two put on a mammoth 376 run partnership battling the heat for a 100 overs giving India a lead of 383 runs. An Australian downfall in the 2nd innings handed India an improbable triumph. The match has been called "The Greatest Test Ever" by many Cricket Experts.
In 2002, Dravid smashed 4 consecutive centuries. He scored 115, 148 & 217 in England and followed up with an unbeaten 100 against West Indies. The 148 scored at Headingley was a well compiled innings in difficult conditions. Though Tendulkar scored more runs than him, Dravid was adjudged Man Of The Match thanks to his great composure & negotiation of the new ball.
 |
| Dravid & Laxman during their 303 run stand. |
2003: The stage was set for another Kolkata-esque miracle after Australia amassed 556 in Adelaide, the duo added a staggering 303 for the fifth wicket with the roles reversed, this time Dravid scored 233 & Laxman contributed 148, lifting India to 523. Dravid again leads India to a fantastic victory with an unbeaten 72. He also hits 90 plus scores in the remaining two Tests to top the Indian averages - 619 runs at a staggering 123.80.
After failing miserably in the first two tests against Pakistan in 2004, Dravid demolished the Pakistanis with a career best 270 leading India to their first test series win in Pakistan. He became the first man in the history of cricket to score a hundred in all test-playing nations when he scored 160 against Bangladesh in Chittagong, a record which can only be equaled.
Dravid was named the ICC Test player of the year and player of the year in September 2004 at the Inaugural ICC Cricket Awards.
He starred once again at Eden Gardens in 2005 scoring 110 & 135 in a single game against Pakistan hurting them badly. In 2006, against the same opposition, he scored 128 not out combining with Virender Sehwag to produce an astonishing opening stand of 410 runs.
India conquered in West Indies after 35 long years in 2007 thanks to Dravid's impeccable contributions, shielding & dodging his way to the scores of 81 & 68 in a single game, where no other batsman could settle down.
He was dropped from the ODI squad in 2007 for evidently no real reasons, but was later recalled in 2009 for the Champions Trophy to be held in South Africa due to India's woes against short pitched bowling. He scored an unbeated 76 in a defeat against Pakistan which ultimately caused India's exit from the event but was still dropped from the one day side.
Dravid scored an invaluable 93 at Perth in the 2007-08 tour to Australia, helping India to another famous victory.
With his yogic concentration, Dravid was arguably the best slip catcher in the world. He holds the record for most number of test catches by a non-wicket keeper in Tests with 210 catches. His 200th catch came in an away series against New Zealand in 2009 in which he scored 4 fifties in 5 innings. He then scored back-to-back centuries against Sri Lanka to end a lean patch.
A late revival came in England for The Wall, when all the other batsmen failed badly in swinging conditions, Rahul Dravid smashed 3 centuries in India's 4-0 drubbing by England. In the fourth test at the Oval, Dravid carried his bat with an unbeaten 146, opening for India. He finished the series with 461 runs at an average of 76, whereas all the Indian batsmen around him surrendered against the seam & swing of the England Bowlers. Dravid ended 2011 with 5 centuries in his bag and was the leading run-scorer in the world for the year.
On the back of his performance in the test series, Dravid was called back to the Indian one day side. He smashed Samit Patel for 3 consecutive sixes in his one and only T20 innings of 31(21). Dravid announced his retirement from ODIs after the series. He scored 69 off 78 in his last ODI innings.
India fared badly in the 2011-12 tour of Australia & Dravid could score only one half century from 8 innings. Australia won the series 4-0 after which Dravid quietly announced his retirement in a press conference.
"My approach to cricket has been reasonably simple: it was about giving everything to the team, it was about playing with dignity and it was about upholding the spirit of the game. I hope I have done some of that. I have failed at times, but I have never stopped trying. It is why I leave with sadness but also with pride."Truly, a gentleman loved & adored by all, he served the nation for 16 years without asking for anything. He played in the shadow of some greats and quietly faded into the shadows after the Australian tour of 2011-12.
Thank You Rahul Dravid for giving yourself to the team selflessly, for being Mr Dependable, for Inspiring the nation as a player, and as a person. Many Great Batsmen will Come and Go, but there will never be another Wall like him!
And for those of you who may be questioning Dravid's abilities in ODI cricket please take a look at these:
Rahul Dravid 50 off 22 Balls against New Zealand
Rahul Dravid 92 off 63 Balls against England
Rahul Dravid 85 off 63 Balls against Sri Lanka
These are just some of the innings in the list ;)
Happy Birthday My Hero, Rahul Dravid!
And for those of you who may be questioning Dravid's abilities in ODI cricket please take a look at these:
Rahul Dravid 50 off 22 Balls against New Zealand
Rahul Dravid 92 off 63 Balls against England
Rahul Dravid 85 off 63 Balls against Sri Lanka
These are just some of the innings in the list ;)
MS Dhoni-- A Mediocre Test Captain at Best
Mahendra Singh Dhoni announced his immediate retirement from Test Cricket quietly after the drawn test against Australia. It was indeed a Practical End to a Practical man's Test Career. A man who carried on with his business quietly, never saying anything, letting the World talk aimlessly. Dhoni grew as a player, as a man when he was given the captaincy of the test outfit. The level of Calmness, Composure & Maturity shown by him was untouchable. This brought an end to a glorious test career spanning almost a decade.
For some, He was a Legend, for others He was just an ordinary guy who got Lucky more often than not. For me, He was a mix of both. While his Captaincy performances in ODIs & T20s have been exemplary, his test record does not indicate the truth behind it.
Let us first go through some of his Highs & Lows as a Test Captain:-
Highs
- India achieved number 1 Test ranking for 18 months starting from December 2009.
- Captained in 60 of the 90 tests he played for India.
- Had a winning percentage of 45%.
- Crossed Saurav Ganguly's record of 21 Test wins to become India's most successful captain.
- Won home series against Australia in 2008, England in 2008-09, Sri Lanka in 2009-10, Australia and New Zealand in 2010-11, and the West Indies in 2011-12 and 2013-14 respectively.
- Whitewashed Australia 4-0 in Border Gavaskar Trophy in 2013 played at Home.
- Defeated New Zealand 1-0 in New Zealand.
- Dominated in Home Tests.
- Built the careers of many young players even if it meant compromising some Legends.
Lows
- India won only 4 out of 25 tests outside sub-continent under MS Dhoni.
- Whitewashed 4-0 by England in 2011 in England.
- Whitewashed 4-0 by Australia in 2011-12 in Australia.
- Lost 1-2 to England in 2012 after gaining a lead of 1-0 in Home series.
- Lost 1-3 to England in 2014 after gaining a lead of 1-0.
- Criticized for too much defensive captaincy in Tests.
- Never scored a Hundred outside Asia. Failed to inspire team to victory overseas unlike Ganguly.
- 8 Consecutive Test Losses.
- One more away Loss would have held him at par with Stephen Fleming for most number of away test losses as Captain.
All these points I made are only pertaining to Test Cricket. His biggest achievement remains Leading India to Number 1 Test Ranking built on a series of home dominance and performances by the Golden Generation & himself. Thus, making him a Mediocre Test Captain at best. MS Dhoni is a perfect example of "Zero to Hero", "Fortune favors the Brave" & "An ordinary man rising through the Ranks to Lead his Country to Glory".
Regardless of the stats, Dhoni will be remembered for many years to come & it will be very challenging for Captains of the coming generations to surpass his achievements.
We wish him the Best for Indian Team's title defense in the World Cup 2015 hoping that he will once again provide some moments of Joy for Indian fans, after all changing formats does wonder for him! ;)
We wish him the Best for Indian Team's title defense in the World Cup 2015 hoping that he will once again provide some moments of Joy for Indian fans, after all changing formats does wonder for him! ;)
Misbah dazzles to record fastest ton against Australia
Misbah scores Hundred off 56 Balls
Misbah earlier completed the fastest fifty in test match cricket off just 21 deliveries breaking the previous record made by Jacques Kallis against Zimbabwe at Cape Down in 2004.
He pelted the Australian bowlers to all parts of the ground, Steven Smith being the victim of his all out attack, recieving 3 sixes and a four in a single over and another six in his next over.
The previous record for the fastest fifty in test cricket for Pakistan was held by Shahid Afridi (26 balls)--against arch-rivals India at Bangalore in 2005 whereas the record for fastest ton was recorded by Majid Khan in 1976 off 74 balls against New Zealand at Karachi.
Pakistan are pushing for their first test series victory against Australia since 1994 & are already 1-0 ahead after winning the first test by 221 runs & setting up a mammoth target of 603 runs in the second test with Australia reeling at 143/4 at the end of play on Day 4.
England Complete their "Perfect Test"
England v India, 3rd Investec Test, Ageas Bowl, 5th day
 |
| Anderson after dismissing Rohit Sharma |
Skipper Alastair Cook remarked during the presentation that it was "indeed a perfect test match for the team".
Yes indeed it was, their Batsmen put runs on the board, most importantly Cook scoring 95 & 70*, their fast bowlers cleaned up India's 1st innings, and the part-timer Moeen Ali displaying the attributes of an All-Rounder.
The Off-Spinner bagged 6 wickets to grant England to a cruising 266-run victory over India on 5th day that leaves the series at 1-1 with 2 matches to go.
India crumbled to 178 all out in their 2nd innings on Thursday morning thanks to Ali's superb figures of 6/67, his 1st 5-wicket haul in tests.
England thus, secured their 1st Test victory since they beat Australia at Durham last August, ending their 10-mach winless streak.
Moeen dismissed Jadeja, B Kumar & Shami within 12 deliveries, before he bagged the final wicket of Pankaj Singh.
Earlier, James Anderson, led England off to the perfect start by getting the key wickets of Rohit Sharma & MS Dhoni.
India's lone warrior Ajinkya Rahane played with tremendous composure scoring his 2nd half-century of the match, but his unbeaten 52 was in vain as he got little to no support from the other end.
Anderson got Sharma to edge one faintly through to the debutant wicket-keeper Buttler before dismissing Dhoni in similar a fashion with a ball that swung away from the right-handed batsman.
Just then captain Cook made a crucial bowling change, by bringing Moeen who bowled Jadeja before getting Kumar's wicket, who edged on to his pad and the ball looped up to Anderson at gully.
He continued to trouble the Indian batsmen & bowled Shami and Singh to wrap up a well-deserved victory for the side.
The 4th Test will take place on 7-11 August at Old Trafford, Manchester.
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England Pile On Runs On 2nd Day
England v India, 3rd Investec Test, Ageas Bowl, 2nd day
 |
| Debutant Jos Buttler launching an assault on the Indian Bowlers. |
England declared on 569/7 & then Anderson got Dhawan out early as India ended the day on 25/1 in 14 overs.
The Three Lions were led in by their centurions, Ballance and Bell, with Cook following behind after a hard day's work.
Led by Captain Cook's 95, England scored 569 runs for 7 wickets in the 1st innings of the 3rd Test. B Kumar was the most successful bowler for India, scalping 3 wickets. Buttler scored a quick-fire 85 in the end. At one stage of the innings he 2 back-to-back sixes off Pankaj Singh and then scored a boundary to gather 21 runs from the 163rd over.
Earlier, Ian Bell & Gary Ballance were near-perfect for England, they seldom missed, rarely edged & looked completely dominating as they raised the run-rate in the first session. It looked like a perfect day for batting. Ian Bell never looked like a man who has been out of form for a long time and hasn't scored a test.
MS Dhoni changed the bowling 15 times in as many overs in order to extract something from the Indian Attack. B Kumar, who has constantly been India's go-to man, couldn't do much himself. Shami continued his undisciplined bowling & Pankaj Singh lost his steam after bowling impressively at the start of both days.
England declaration meant that Indian openers had 14 overs to survive but it was a huge task cut out the way Broad & Anderson squared them up time and again. Both of them were swinging the ball at high speed consistently.
While M Vijay fended off most of them well enough, it was Dhawan who edged one to Alastair Cook at 1st slip after Anderson attack him from round the stumps. Poor Dhawan couldn't be blamed entirely for the dismissal such was the quality of the England Attack that it looked impossible stay for those 14 overs.
In the end Vijay & Pujara guided India to 25/1 on stumps without any further loss.
In the end Vijay & Pujara guided India to 25/1 on stumps without any further loss.
Cook and Ballance amongst Runs as England Dominate India
England v India, 3rd Investec Test, Ageas Bowl, Southampton, 1st day
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Southampton:Alastair Cook fell justagonisingly short of ending his dismal spell without a Test century as he led from the front against India at Southampton on Sunday.
The England Captain won the toss & then made 95 out of England's 247/2 at stumps on the first day of the 3rd Test.
Gary Ballance, who with his captain put on 158 for the 2nd wicket, then reached three figures to be 104 not out at stumps along with Bell who was 16 not out.
Ballance has now smashed 3 hundreds & 2 fifties in his first 6 Tests.
The Indian Attack missed Ishant who was unfit for the game.
The first-wicket partnership of 55 was ended when Mohammed Shami squared up the Australia-born & Jadeja held the catch in the slips.
2 cut shots off spinners Rohit Sharma, playing in place of Stuart Binny, and Jadeja helped Cook to 48 not out at lunch.
He completed a 98-ball fifty as the crowd signalled its support with a standing ovation.
At tea, England were 186/1, with Cook 82 not out and Ballance 72 not out.
Alastair Cook's 5-hour innings ended when he got a bottom edge, while swiping at a long hop from left-arm spinner Jadeja, & was caught down the legside by wicketkeeper MS Dhoni.
Umpire Marais Erasmus took his time before giving him out, but replays confirmed that he was correct.
As he walked back, Cook received another standing ovation, having faced 231 balls including 9 boundaries en route to his gritty 95.
England now were 213/2, hey were fortunate when Bell survived an LBW appeal from Pankaj Singh after the bowler's excellent outswinging delivery wrapped him on the pads.
However, Singh deserved better than his figures of 0/62 in 20 overs but his was just one of several economical contributions as Indian bowlers kept England's run-rate below 3 per over .
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South Africa scamper to 98/3 on Day 2 of second test
Sri Lanka v South Africa, 2nd Test, SSC, 2nd day
Colombo: Hashim Amla faced a painstaking test of character as captain after South Africa lost 3 big wickets against a sharp Sri Lankan bowling attack in the 2nd Test Friday.
Amla, 31, dug in with a battling 46 off 134 balls as South Africa trailed Lanka by 323 runs with 7 wkts in hand at stumps on the 2nd day at the SSC ground in Colombo.
At stumps, the visitors were 98-3 with de Villiers (11 not out) being the other batsman at the crease.
Amla is leading the South African team after being named captain last month following the retirement of Graeme Smith.
With the wicket showing signs of deteriorating, South Africa now face a stern task to put up a fighting total in reply to Sri Lanka's 421 in the 1st innings, largely due to a solid 165-run knock by Jayawardene and a defiant 72 by debutant Niroshan Dickwella.
"I think 400 plus is a good score," said Jayawardene. "It's not an easy wicket to play and it's slowing down.
"We just need to keep things tight, create more opportunities and put them under pressure," he said.
The Africans were off to a shaky start, losing their openers in the 1st 9 overs before seamer Suranga Lakmal sent back du Plessis for a fighting 36.
Left-arm spinner R Herath caught opener Alviro Petersen (2) off his own bowling and off-spinner Dilruwan Perera had Dean Elgar (1) caught at short leg.
Amla along with du Plessis tried to rebuild the innings with some patient batting but Lakmal broke their 58-run partnership 30 minutes before close.
Du Plessis edged a widish delivery from Lakmal to Dickwella who dived to his left to take a one-handed catch just inches off the ground.
South Africa wraped up the Sri Lankan innings in the 2nd session of the day, starting with the dismissal of Dilruwan Perera who lobbed a simple catch to Amla off Imran Tahir (1/121).
Sri Lanka then lost Dickwella, who failed to make his ground while taking a cheeky single. Dickwella smashed 1 six & 8 fours in his innings of 72 from 116 balls.
Philander then had both Mendis & Lakmal caught behind in successive overs to finish off the innings.
India knock-out England at Lords
India tour of England, 2nd Investec Test: England v India at Lord's
Indian Team played all-round cricket and wrote history when the side - led by Ishant Sharma's career best 7/74 - defeated England by 95 runs to win at Lord's after 28 years and take 1-0 lead in the series.
India's overseas win drought ended finally after more than 3 years, the last one being in West Indies 2011.
This new generation of Indian players showed the perfect blend of skill and confidence to script a memorable win for the visitors. They played with heart & celebrated with passion as the locals stood up to take note of history being unfolded.
Indian pacer Ishant Sharma gave a stellar bowling performance that ripped through England's batting line-up in the 2nd innings. Ishant returned splendid figures of 7/74, his career-best in Tests,.
The tall pacer came into the series under some severe pressure to perform & his poor bowling figures in the warm-up games did not help him. But he never stopped backing himself.
Ishant (7/74), Jadeja (68 in 2nd innings & 3 wickets total) and B Kumar (52 runs in 2nd innings & 6 wickets in 1st) led the attack and forced England to cave in. Such was the affect that England - needing 214 on the 5th day and with 6 wickets to spare - failed to resist even remotely. It took them just a little less than 2 sessions to fold up the remaining batting & allow India to a systematic and, more importantly, historic triumph.
Steyn, Morkel star in Big Victory for SA
Sri Lanka v South Africa, 1st Test, Galle, 5th day
South Africa 455 for 9 dec (Elgar 103, Duminy 100*) and 206 for 6 dec (De Villiers 51, D Perera 4-79) beat Sri Lanka 292 (Mathews 89, Tharanga 83, Steyn 5-54) and 216 (Sangakkara 76, Morkel 4-29, Steyn 4-45) by 153 runs
Pace-duo of Dale Steyn & Morne Morkel bowled South Africa to their 3rd Test win in Sri Lanka taking 16 wickets in Galle, including 7 on the final day.
Sangakkara remained the biggest obstacle in the South Africans' path, and he was dropped off Morkel, but later gave his wicket away to a JP Duminy long hop. Sri Lanka began the day on 110/1, 260 runs short of the target of 370.
Sri Lanka suddenly lost 5 wickets for 40 runs in 18.2 overs, Angelo Mathews left alone again. He put on a fight, like in the 1st innings & Rangana Herath fought with him briefly. The Proteas could not bring down Mathews, but they finally broke through at the other end.
Sri Lankans sent out the injured Eranga to bat for the 2nd time in the match, but Morkel ended the match with 2 wickets in 2 balls.
India on Brink of Historic Win
England v India, 2nd Investec Test, Lord's, 4th day
London India were on the verge of their 2nd Test win at Lord's, the 1st one being in 1986, as Alastair Cook's latest batting failure fumed the debate about his future as England captain.
England were 105 for four at stumps on Sunday's fourth day, needing a further 214 runs to reach their victory target of 319.
Joe Root was not out on 14 & Moeen Ali on 15 at stumps, after England lost 3 wickets for just 2 runs from 70/1 to 72/4.
Captain Cook fell for 22 off 93 to make it 27 innings since scoring the last of his England record 25 hundreds.
His departure came shortly after Ian Bell, the most experienced batsman in England's top order, had been dismissed for 1, his 19th innings without a Test hundred.
Fast bowler Ishant Sharma removed both Bell & Cook no runs in 7 balls.
At lunch, India were 267/7, a lead of 243.
But the 10 overs post lunch saw Jadeja and seamer B Kumar score 66 runs.
Jadeja made a rollicking 68 while Kumar was last man out for 52, his 3rd fifty in 4 innings this series after his best bowling figures of 6/82 in England's 1st innings.
Ajinka Rahane Controversial Dismissal BCCI's fault?
England v India, 2nd Investec Test, Lord's, 3rd day
After Liam Plunkett struck on consecutive deliveries to remove Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli, India needed none other than Ajinkya Rahane to steady the ship. Rahane came out to bat with a first innings century on his back and looked good for the very first seven balls the Mumbai batsman faced, but then came the shocker.
A rising delivery from Stuart Broad ricocheted off Rahane’s right elbow and popped up in the air with wicketkeeper Matt Prior running and diving forward to complete the catch, England fielders appealed and soon bowler joined in. A dreaded finger of umpire Bruce Oxenford went up and Rahane had a dejected long walk back to the pavilion.
It gets cruel when a batsman in prime form and fresh from hundred gets his innings cut short by an umpiring error. Rahane was quick and natural to show his dissatisfaction behind the decision as he walked past umpire. This is not new, in fact in first innings of this Test match England batsman Joe Root and Indian all-rounder Stuart Binny too were at the receiving end. Going back to first test there were few goofed decisions also.
While most of the Test playing nations prefer and take assistance from technology to aid umpires and use the Umpire Decision Review System India have decided against it. BCCI has continuedits stance against the UDRS and it has actually hurt Team India on field, with verdicts going against them at crucial times, like the Rahane one.
It is part and parcel of the game and umpires after all are humans, so any rare error in judgement istolerable, but if there is a technology on offer and that too when you are the richest cricket board in the world rejecting it is no way the shrewdest of the decisions. BCCI believes that UDRS is not 100% accurate, but it would have needed no ground-breaking technology to call back Rahane if review would have been in place. It is indeed a time BCCI put on their thinking cap and say yes to UDRS, at least we won’t have more Rahane like dismissals, that is for sure.
Murali Vijay keeps India Alive in Even Contest
England v India, 2nd Investec Test, Lord's, 3rd day
London:Murali Vijay anchored India's innings with asolid fifty after England looked to take charge of the 2nd Test at Lord's on Saturday.
India lost 3 wickets for just 5 runs in space of 19 balls to be 118/1 to 123/4 with a lead of just 99 runs.
At stumps on the third day they were 169/4, leading by 145 runs.
Opening batsman Vijay, batting for almost 5 hours, was 59 not out and India captain M S Dhoni unbeaten on 12.
Meanwhile, England's Liam Plunkett had a brilliant day with both bat & ball. Hescored a Test-best 55 not out to help his team to a first-innings lead & then took 2 big wickets in 2 balls.
Sikhar Dhawan was looking to attack upfront with Vijay playing calmly.
But on 31, Dhawan failed to get over the top of a cut off Ben Stokes & was caught by Joe Root at backward point to leave India 40/1.
Fast bowler Plunkett pitched the ball up & he was duly rewarded.
First, he drew Pujara (43) forward & got his outside edge which ended a 2nd-wicket stand of 78 in 30 overs.
Next ball, Virat Kohli made an awful mistake of leaving a ball which came back and was clean bowled for a golden duck.
Plunkett then wasted his hat-trick delivery as Rahane left a ball well wide of off stump.
Rahane, the centurion from 1st innings, was given out controversially because of the absence of DRS in this series.
Another concern for England was the slow over-rate which may result in a ban for the captain, Cook, who has now gone 26 innings without scoring a Test hundred.
Earlier, B Kumar took 6/82 as he recorded his Test-best figures for the second time in this series..
But even he could not prevent England gaining a slender 1st-innings lead of 24.
England's tail added 100 runs to the overnight score of 219/6 before being bowled out for 319.
Plunkett and Anderson, struck a flurry of boundaries as they added 39 in 43 balls.
Kumar had reduced England to 280/9 in initially overcast conditions on Saturday as he bowled Ben Stokes for a duck with a swinging delivery and then had Broad caught at 1st slip.
Related:
Ajinka Rahane Controversial Dismissal BCCI's fault?India claw back after Ballance century
India tour of England, 2nd Investec Test: England v India at Lord's
On Friday, India took 2 quick wickets in the closing hour of the game after Ballance scored his 2nd Test century, very much like Ajinkya Rahane did, to rescue England & put the game in balance. Ballance and Moeen Ali, two of England's success stories
in recent times, combined to good effect putting on 98 for the 5th wicket, having come together when their side was in trouble at 113/4.
England captain Alastair Cook had yet another failure with the bat. B Kumar picked up the top 4 English batsmen returning with impressive figures of 4/46 in 23 overs as the home side reached 219/6 at stumps on day 2 of the 2nd Test at Lord's.
Cook nicked a good length away swinging ball from Kumar to wicketkeeper Dhoni.
Sam Robson drove loosely at a wide ball & was caught behind scoring just 17. Ian Bell also departed for a mere 16 runs.
Root was lbw for 13 to left-armer Ravindra Jadeja.
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Dale Steyn Bursts through Lanka
Rahul Dravid joins Laureus World Sports Academy
Dale Steyn Bursts through Lanka
Steyn picks up 5 wickets on a dull track
Dale Steyn unleashed fiery bowling on a dry and flat track to bag his 23rd five-wicket haul in Tests finishing with figures of 5-50.
Sri Lanka stumbled to 283/9 at stumps on day 3 thanks largely to Skipper Angelo Mathews' brave 89 run knock & Upul Tharanga's 83. Upul Tharanga, making his return to test cricket after 6 years, scored a gutsy 83 which included 14 fours & a six.
Steyn's 1st victim was opener Kushal Silva who was caught spectacularly by Vernon Philander while trying to hook him. This brought Sangakkara to the crease who had scored record 7 50s in his last 7 innings. Sanga & Tharanga started domonating the Lankan bowlers a little bit when Sanga chopped one onto his stumps from Morkel.
Jaywardene, due to retire in August, was trapped LBW by Steyn for just 3.
Scorecard
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Rahane Stands Firm as Wickets Tumble
Elgar shines for South Africa
Sri Lanka v South Africa, 1st Test, Galle, 1st day
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| Dean Elgar on route to his century. |
In his first Test as captain, Hashim Amla had won the toss on a pitch expected to turn later. Elgar, in only his third Test innings as opener, and his first outside South Africa, had responded with an innings full of positivity and equally high on concentration. Faf du Plessis, batting at No. 3 for the first time in Tests, had battled his way through scoreless periods with aggressive footwork against spin. By tea, the second-wicket partnership had grown to 124. Alviro Petersen's fall against the run of play for 34 in the morning had been the only blip for the visitors. To add to Sri Lanka's worries, Shaminda Eranga had been restricted to nine overs after splitting the webbing of his right hand while fielding.
But Sri Lanka had found some promising reverse swing after lunch, and they did so again after tea. The first examination yielded no results but during the second Elgar went after a Suranga Lakmal delivery that held its line and edged it behind. A small, but significant opening had been made.
Amla was intent on driving at anything pitched up, but the timing just wasn't there. He tried to loft the tireless Rangana Herath over the off side, but only spooned a catch to wide mid-off for 11.
England charges Jadeja in return
India tour of England 2014
Indian player Ravindra Jadeja has been charged with a Level 2 offence under the ICC Code of Conduct for his role in the incident involving England bowling spearhead James Anderson on the 2nd day of the Trent Bridge Test. The charge against Jadeja was brought by England team manager in response to India's charging of Anderson with a Level 3 offence.
"It is alleged that after the players entered the pavilion, Jadeja turned suddenly and took steps towards Anderson in an aggressive and threatening manner," the ICC said. Anderson is alleged to have abused and pushed Jadeja.
All Level 2 breaches implies a fine of between 50-100% of the match fee or 2 suspension points. Two suspension points results to a ban of one Test, or two ODIs.
Jadeja was reported under Article 2.2.11, which states: "Where the facts of the alleged incident are not adequately or clearly covered by any of the above offences, conduct that either: (a) is contrary to the spirit of the game; or (b) brings the game into disrepute."
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