Tag: Australia vs India

Australia remained in command of the World Test Championship final against India despite an error-strewn display at The Oval on Friday.

Ravindra Jadeja removed first-innings century-makers Steve Smith and Travis Head but a third day of dropped catches, wickets off no-balls and rash shots still ended with Australia 296 runs ahead at 123-4 in their second innings of the WTC Final.

Marnus Labuschagne, the world’s top-ranked Test batsman, survived several painful blows on a pitch of variable bounce to be 41 not out at stumps.

“We have quite a formidable score already but you just never know,” Labuschagne told BBC Radio.

The 28-year-old added: “My hands are just about hanging on. I’ve got good bone density. It is lively out there, and that does make it challenging when they bounce like that off a length, but that happens as a batter and you’ve just got to find a way through it.”

The WTC Final is taking place just a week before Australia face England in an Ashes opener at Edgbaston.

“We’re certainly not taking this game as Ashes preparation,” said Labuschagne. “But it is certainly handy to have a Test of this calibre before a very big series.”

When Scott Boland knocked over Srikar Bharat’s stumps with just the second ball of the day, India were 317 runs behind with only four first-innings wickets standing.

But Ajinkya Rahane (89) and Shardul Thakur (51) then made the most of Australia’s mistakes during a seventh-wicket stand of 109 before India were eventually dismissed for 296.

Australia captain Pat Cummins took 3-83 in his 20 overs but his figures would have been better but for six no-balls.

“We made a bit of a meal of it in the morning,” said Labuschagne, adding: “Pat just addressed it, said we weren’t good enough and we’ve all played enough cricket to know that was fair.

Rahane insisted all was not lost for India in the WTC Final.

“Australia are slightly ahead of the game,” he told Sky Sports. “In the morning the first hour will be very crucial. We know funny things can happen.”

Australia were 2-1 when the under-pressure David Warner, who had managed just one century in his previous 33 Test innings, was caught behind off Mohammed Siraj.

Usman Khawaja, Warner’s opening partner, fell cheaply for the second time in the WTC Final when, on 13, he followed a first-innings duck by being caught behind carelessly edging a wide ball from paceman Umesh Yadav.

Left-arm spinner Jadeja then removed Smith and Head, although both batsmen played a part in their own downfall.

Star batsman Smith had spent just over five-and-a-half hours at the crease for 121 in Australia’s first-innings 469.

But on Friday he gave his wicket away for 34 when he skied a drive off Jadeja to cover.

Head’s dynamic 163 had established Australia’s strong position in the final. He continued to attack Friday only for a quickfire 18 to end when, attempting a booming drive against the turn out of the rough, his miscued shot gave Jadeja a simple return catch.

Earlier, both Rahane and Thakur were struck by nasty blows, while all-rounder Thakur was dropped twice in single figures, including on eight when he edged Cummins to gully only for Cameron Green to floor a straightforward chance.

And just before lunch Thakur appeared lbw to fast bowler Cummins only for a review to reveal a no-ball.

Rahane, who would have been lbw for 17 on Thursday but for another Cummins no-ball, hooked the Australia skipper for a sweetly timed six to complete a 92-ball fifty — a shot greeted by raucous cheers from a sun-drenched and India-dominated crowd of over 25,000, witnessing the WTC Final.

Rahane was reprieved again on 72 when he edged Cummins only for wicketkeeper Alex Carey not to commit to a catch, with first slip Warner unable to hold onto a desperate left-hand grab.

But Rahane was denied a hundred in his first Test in over a year after an edge off Cummins was brilliantly caught one-handed by a diving Green in the gully.

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Steve Smith scored his 31st Test century before Australia captain Pat Cummins sparked India’s collapse in the World Test Championship (WTC) final on Thursday.

Smith, 95 not out overnight, followed team-mate Travis Head in going to three figures with 121 in a first-innings total of 469 at The Oval.

Fast bowler Pat Cummins, in his 50th Test, then removed opposing skipper Rohit Sharma to initiate India’s second-day slump.

Ajinkya Rahane (29 not out), struck some painful blows on the glove, held firm with Ravindra Jadeja (48) after India had been reduced to 71-4.

But India were 151-5 at stumps, a huge deficit of 318 runs.

Rohit was plumb lbw for 15 to a full-length ball from Cummins, who had close figures of 1-36 in nine overs.

Four balls later, India were 30-2 when Shubman Gill (13) was bowled playing no shot to Scott Boland after being deceived by a sharp off-cutter.

England’s Stuart Broad tried to rile Australia before the WTC Final by saying he hoped Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli kept Cummins’s men in the field for a long time ahead of next week’s first Ashes Test at Edgbaston.

But both senior India batsmen fell for 14 on Thursday.

Pujara was bowled leaving a delivery from all-rounder Cameron Green and Kohli was undone by a spiteful, lifting ball from Mitchell Starc that took the shoulder of the bat, with Smith holding an excellent leaping catch above his head at second slip.

Left-hander Jadeja defied Australia in an aggressive 51-ball knock featuring seven fours and a six.

But he succumbed to off-spinner Nathan Lyon, edging a well-flighted and turning delivery to slip in a tame end to a stand of 71 with Rahane.

“We are in a really good spot so hopefully we can get a few more wickets in the morning,” Boland told Sky Sports.

“The pitch is going a little bit up and down so it should be harder for the India batters tomorrow (Friday).”

India were facing a potentially huge Australian first-innings total with Smith and Head (163) at the crease.

But their pacemen struck as Australia lost four wickets for 41 runs, including Head and Smith, to slip from 361-3 to 402-7.

India bowled out Australia after lunch, fast bowler Mohammed Siraj taking 4-108 from 28.3 overs.

Smith reached three figures in the opening over on Thursday, joining compatriot Steve Waugh on seven Test hundreds in England.

Among non-England batters, only Australia great Don Bradman, with 11 centuries, has scored more.

Smith’s 31st Test century left him 12th on the all-time list.

Head extended his first overseas Test century to 150 but a short ball proved his undoing when he tried to whip Siraj legside and gloved a catch to wicketkeeper Srikar Bharat.

Head’s dismissal ended an impressive stand of 285 runs with Smith after they had come together with Australia in trouble at 76-3.

Shardul Thakur then captured the prized wicket of Smith, who inside-edged an outswinger into his stumps to the delight of the large India contingent in a crowd of over 23,000.

The WTC is the only major men’s cricket trophy Australia have yet to win.

India are appearing in their second WTC final, having lost to New Zealand in the inaugural 2021 showpiece match in Southampton.

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LONDON: Travis Head’s dashing century was the centrepiece of an Australia fightback against India on the opening day of the World Test Championship (WTC) final at The Oval on Wednesday.

Australia were in a commanding position on 327-3 at stumps after losing the toss, with Travis Head 146 not out and Steve Smith 95 not out.

Steve Smith brought up the pair’s 250 stand off the last ball of the day when he guided Mohammed Shami through the covers for a sweetly timed four.

The fourth-wicket duo had come together with Australia in trouble at 76-3 after being sent into bat in bowler-friendly conditions in the WTC Final.

But as the sun burst through the clouds in south London, the runs started to flow.

Travis Head had his moments of good fortune but by counter-attacking from the start of his innings — 24 of his first 27 runs came in boundaries — the left-hander put the pressure back on the bowlers.

With Steve Smith, who before this match averaged nearly 98 in Tests at The Oval, batting in more conventional fashion it gave the 29-year-old Head freedom to keep playing his shots.

By the time India tested Head with the short ball, he was well set and a pulled single off Shami took him to a sixth Test hundred in just 106 balls, including 13 fours and a six.

By contrast, Smith took 144 balls for his fifty.

But a superb driven four off Mohammed Siraj saw Smith into the 90s as he eyed a 31st Test hundred.

India took the new ball as soon as they could, with Australia 301-3 off 80 overs, but it made little difference.

India captain Rohit Sharma would have been looking for many more wickets after opting to bowl first.

And as Smith and Head repelled India, he might also have wondered about the wisdom of leaving out off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, the world’s top-ranked Test bowler, who could have been a threat against an Australia top five featuring three left-handers.

India had started strongly in what was their second WTC Final after losing to New Zealand in the inaugural 2021 showpiece in Southampton.

Siraj removed Usman Khawaja for a duck with an excellent wobble-seam delivery and Australia, to the raucous delight of an overwhelmingly pro-India crowd, were 2-1.

But David Warner, who had managed just one century in his previous 32 Test innings, dug in before the increasingly assured opener struck Umesh Yadav for three fours in successive deliveries.

The 36-year-old left-hander’s promising innings ended on 43 when a gloved pull off medium-pacer Shardul Thakur was well caught down the legside by diving wicketkeeper Srikar Bharat.

Marnus Labuschagne, the world’s top-ranked Test batsman, fell early in the second session for his lunch score of 26 when he was bowled between bat and pad by a Shami inswinger.

Head was troubled by Ravindra Jadeja but then drove the left-arm spinner for four — one of nine boundaries in a 60-ball fifty.

The WTC is the only major men’s cricket trophy Australia have yet to win.

The WTC Final also marks the start of a packed schedule of six Tests in eight weeks for Australia, including a five-match Ashes series against England.

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LONDON: Right-arm pacer Scott Boland will feature in the World Test Championship final as Australia captain Pat Cummins revealed his side’s bowling group for the big clash against India, starting on Wednesday at The Oval.

Scott Boland pipped Michael Neser, who was included in the Australian squad as a replacement for the injured Josh Hazlewood.

While Skipper Pat Cummins confirmed Boland’s selection, he did not name the complete playing XI which will take on India in the Final.

However, he expressed there will be “no surprises” in the playing XI which means Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Boland round out Australia’s pace attack while Nathan Lyon spearheads the spin department.

“Scott is a seam bowler on a good length, but he just offers something slightly different to Joshy Hazlewood, and Starcy being a left hander is bit different,” he told reporters on Tuesday.

“In the past here in England, because the ball does talk a little more, I’ve seen players get too caught up in trying to take wickets every ball because you’ve suddenly got the ball swinging and seaming,” he added

“Someone like Scotty, it’s just a really simple game-plan – you hit your good areas and you stay there all day and hopefully the ball will do the work for you.

“He’s had a few bowls over here now and has looked good. But he looks good whenever he bowls.”

The 34-year-old Boland has so far taken 28 wickets in his first seven Tests at an average of just 13.42. He made a remarkable start to his career during the last Ashes series in 2021-22 where he took 18 wickets.

Probable Australia XI: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland

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DUBAI: Australia Men’s Cricket Team climbed to the top of the ODI Team Rankings following their 2-1 away triumph over India, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced on Wednesday.

Spinners Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar turned the series decider to hand Australia a series-winning 21-run victory over India after the hosts bundled out for 248 in response to Australia’s 269.

The 21-run victory puts Australia slightly ahead of India at the top, with the visitors earning 113.286 rating points to the Men in Blue’s 112.638. Prior to the start of the last ODI, India had 114 rating points against Australia’s 112.

We have a new World No.1 🎉

Australia climb to the top of the @MRFWorldwide ICC Men's ODI Team Rankings after the series victory against India 👏

🗒: https://t.co/CXyR2x0PJJ pic.twitter.com/Ujz1xrWpw0

— ICC (@ICC) March 22, 2023

 

The visitors had to fight hard for the series triumph and they eventually managed to edge past the dominant hosts to take the series 2-1. The series defeat marked India’s first at home in ODIs since 2019.

Opting to bat first, Australia could accumulate 269 before bundling out in 49 overs with their stand-in opener Mitchell Marsh leading the way with a run-a-ball 47.

Wicketkeeper batter Alex Carey (38) and opening batter Travis Head (33) remained the other notable run-getters while the rest of the batters also contributed significantly except skipper Steven Smith, who bagged a three-ball duck.

All-rounder Hardik Pandya and Kuldeep Yadav led the bowling charge for India as they struck thrice apiece. Mohammed Siraj and Axar Patel, however, bagged two wickets each.

The hosts were cruising in the first 10 overs of their chase before skipper Rohit Sharma fell after a brisk 17-ball 30 with the team at 65/1.

His in-form opening partner Shubman Gill soon followed him as he fell victim to Zampa. He could score a gritty 37 off 29 deliveries.

India’s star batter Virat Kohli and KL Rahul then stitched a crucial 69-run partnership for the third wicket and kept their side in the hunt.

However, Zampa struck again to break the threatening partnership as he removed Rahul on 32 in the 28th over. Axar Patel’s stay at the crease also remained brief as the all-rounder could score two runs in four balls before getting run out in the next over.

Agar then further dented India’s march in the run chase as he removed in-form Kohli (54) and top-ranked T20I batter Suryakumar Yadav for his third consecutive golden duck in the first two balls of the 36th over to leave the hosts reeling at 185/6.

India’s lower-middle order then offered minor resistance before all-rounders Hardik Pandya (40) and Ravindra Jadeja (18) both fell to Zampa, who finished with 4/45 in his quota of 10 overs.

Zampa’s spin partner Agar, however, returned with 2/41 while pacers Sean Abbott and Marcus Stoinis made one scalp each.

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CHENNAI: Australian spinners Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar turned the match to hand India their first one-day international series defeat at home since 2019 in a thrilling third and final match in Chennai on Wednesday.

Left-arm spinner Agar removed in-form Virat Kohli (54) and the world’s top-rated Twenty20 batter Suryakumar Yadav for his third consecutive golden duck in the first two balls of the 36th over to leave the hosts reeling at 185-6 with a target of 270 to win.

The visitors won the match by 21 runs after bowling out the hosts for 248 in the last over after Australia’s stand-in-captain Steve Smith won the toss and chose to bat first in the series-decider.

The series was important practice on South Asian pitches for Australia before the ODI World Cup in India later this year.

India bowled out Australia for 269 and were cruising in the first 10 overs of their chase before skipper Rohit Sharma fell after a 17-ball 30 with the team at 65-1.

Sharma’s in-form opening partner Shubman Gill too fell soon afterwards after a steady 49-ball 37 to leg-spinner Zampa.

India’s star batters Kohli and KL Rahul struck a busy 69-run partnership before Rahul also fell to Zampa for 32.

The hosts’ otherwise reliable lower-middle order offered little resistance after all-rounders Hardik Pandya (40) and Ravindra Jadeja (18) also fell to Zampa, who finished with 4-45 in his 10-over spell.

Zampa’s spin-partner Agar finished with 2-41 while pacers Sean Abbott and Marcus Stoinis took one wicket each.

Three wickets apiece from Hardik Pandya and Kuldeep Yadav left India in need of 270 to win the series, which stood at 1-1 going into the final game.

Earlier, Pandya (3-44) and India’s left-arm spinner Kuldeep (3-56) played an important role in restricting Australia to a chasable 269 in the 49th over.

By the eighth over, in-form openers Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh Suryakumar Yadav registers unwanted ODI batting recordhad hit 10 boundaries between them, including three sixes, and looked set for a commanding partnership before Pandya took three quick wickets of Head (33), Smith (0) and Marsh (47).

Yadav had the better of the middle order beginning with David Warner, who made 23 batting at number four on his return from the elbow fracture that forced him out of the second Test in February.

Marnus Labuschagne (28) was next but Alex Carey stubbornly held on for another 10 overs before his departure on 38.

Left-arm spinner Axar Patel and frontline pacer Mohammed Siraj each took two wickets apiece as Sean Abbott (26), Agar (17) and Mitchell Starc (10) added important runs to a below-par score.

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CHENNAI: Top-ranked T20I batter Suryakumar Yadav on Wednesday, became the first Indian batter to register three consecutive golden ducks in ODIs amid his side’s third ODI against England.

Yadav, who is going through a rough patch in the 50-over format, registered his third consecutive golden duck in the ongoing home series against Australia.

The right-handed batter was trapped leg before by Mitchell Starc in the first two ODIs before Ashton Agar castled him on the first delivery in the series decider on Wednesday.

Following his miserable run, Yadav became the first Indian batter to register three consecutive golden ducks in ODIs and the second overall in all formats.

Notably, his compatriot Washington Sundar has a likewise dubious record in T20Is. Sundar was dismissed on the first delivery in three consecutive matches in 2020 against West Indies, Sri Lank and New Zealand.

Meanwhile, Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar has also been dismissed on three consecutive ducks in 1994 but all came on the second delivery.

It is pertinent to mention that Yadav was the 14th batter to register three golden ducks in a row in the ODIs. The unwanted list for batters includes notable names like Alec Stewart, Andrew Symonds and Shane Watson.

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VISAKHAPATNAM: Mitchell Starc’s 5-53 and a blazing 66 by Mitchell Marsh helped Australia demolish India by 10 wickets in the second one-day international to level the series at 1-1 on Sunday.

Starc, a left-arm quick, rattled the Indian batting with his pace and swing to bundle out the opposition for 117 in 26 overs in Visakhapatnam.

Openers Travis Head (51) and Marsh, who smashed six sixes in his 36-ball blitz, then took apart the Indian bowling to romp home in 11 overs and level the three-match series with one game left.

Australia finished the chase with 39 overs to spare and bounce back from their opening loss.

Starc led the team’s lethal attack with the wicket of Shubman Gill for a duck after the tourists decided to bowl first after overnight rain.

Two successive strikes from Starc to get returning skipper Rohit Sharma for 13 and then Suryakumar Yadav, out for a second straight first-ball duck, pushed India onto the back foot.

KL Rahul played out the hat-trick ball but lasted for just 11 more deliveries before falling leg before wicket to Starc, who returned figures of 4-31 in his first spell of six overs.

Skipper Steve Smith took a stunning one-handed catch at first slip to dismiss Hardik Pandya for one off the bowling of Sean Abbott, who took three wickets.

Smith went full stretch to his right and was airborne when he took the catch off an edge from Pandya, setting social media abuzz with praise for his “superman” effort.

Virat Kohli attempted to hit back for India with a score of 31 that included four boundaries before he was trapped in front by Nathan Ellis.

Wickets kept tumbling and the departure of Ravindra Jadeja, the hero from Friday’s first match in Mumbai, for 16 off the bowling of Ellis added to India’s woes.

Starc wrapped up the innings with his ninth ODI five-wicket haul. Axar Patel, who came into the team in place of Shardul Thakur, was unbeaten on 29 after hitting two sixes.

The left-handed Head and Marsh came out firing as they smashed Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami to all parts of the ground.

Head began the attack with two straight boundaries off Siraj and Marsh soon joined the charge with a string of fours and sixes.

Marsh, who hit 81 in his team’s opening loss, hit two straight sixes off Pandya to reach his fifty off 28 balls.

Head soon raised his fifty and Marsh hit the winning boundary to take the series decider to Chennai on Wednesday.

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MUMBAI: Mohammed Shami’s bowling figures of 3-17 and an unbeaten 75 by KL Rahul helped India beat Australia by five wickets in the first one-day international on Friday.

Australia were bowled out for 188 in 35.4 overs after a dramatic collapse following opener Mitchell Marsh’s 65-ball 81 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

In a tricky chase, India were in trouble at 39-4 before Rahul stayed calm and put on key partnerships including an unbeaten 108-run stand with Ravindra Jadeja, who made 45, to achieve victory in 39.5 overs.

The hosts lead the three-match series 1-0 with the two teams warming up for the 50-over World Cup later this year in India.

Bowlers ruled in the ODI opener with Shami and Mohammed Siraj taking three wickets each to make Australia slide from a strong 129-2 after being invited to bat first.

The Australian innings turned on its head after Marsh, who is playing as a specialist batsman after recovering from an ankle injury, departed in the 20th over.

He put on 72 runs for the second wicket with skipper Steve Smith and smashed 10 fours and five sixes to take the wind out of the Indian bowlers who hit back with wickets.

Marsh reached his fifty with a boundary and another four got Australia past 100 before he fell to Jadeja in his attempt to go after the left-arm spinner and got caught.

Australia suddenly lost their way as Shami with help from Jadeja and Siraj ripped through the rest of the Australian order.

Josh Inglis, who donned the wicketkeeping gloves after Alex Carey was ruled out sick, looked good in his knock of 26 before being bowled by Shami.

Shami then sent back Cameron Green (12) and Marcus Stoinis (5) to break the back of the opposition batting.

Australia’s pace spearhead hurt India early in the chase with three his wickets after fellow quick Stoinis took down left-handed opener Ishan Kishan lbw for three.

Starc, a left-arm quick, then struck on successive deliveries to send back Virat Kohli (4) and Suryakumar Yadav (0) — both lbw.

Rahul, who recently lost his place to Shubman Gill in the final two Tests against Australia after an extended batting slump, played out the hat-trick ball but Starc got Gill out for 20.

Rahul and skipper Hardik Pandya, who made his debut as ODI captain in the absence of regular skipper Rohit Sharma, put on 44 runs.

Pandya fell to Stoinis on 25 but Rahul stood firm with the left-handed Jadeja, who hit the winning runs.

Rahul reached his 13th ODI fifty and then changed gears as he hit Adam Zampa for a four and six as India won with more than 10 overs to spare.

The second ODI is on Sunday in Visakhapatnam.

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AHMEDABAD: India won their fourth series in a row against Australia after a fourth and final Test lit up by an epic 186 by Virat Kohli ended in a draw on Monday in Ahmedabad.

The hosts won the series 2-1 and the world’s two top-ranked teams will do battle again on June 7-11 at The Oval in the World Test Championship final.

Even before the players shook hands on day five, India knew they had reached the WTC decider thanks to New Zealand’s thrilling last-ball win over Sri Lanka earlier in the day.

It will be India’s second successive WTC final, having lost the inaugural edition to New Zealand in 2021.

Australia reached 175-2 in their second innings in the final session of play at the world’s biggest cricket stadium when the players of both teams called it a day.

“We do understand the importance of this series and the opposition. Lot of hard work has gone into this,” India skipper Rohit Sharma said.

Coach Rahul Dravid told broadcaster Star Sports: “It was a really hard-fought series, there were moments where we were put under extreme pressure by a really good cricket team and we responded.”

India similarly lifted the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at home in 2017 and then beat the Australians in their own back yard in 2018-19 and 2020-21, each time 2-1.

Travis Head (90) and Marnus Labuschagne (63 not out) snuffed out India’s push for a victory on the final day with a stand of 139 after nightwatchman Matthew Kuhnemann fell early for six.

The left-handed Head, capping a successful series after being left out of the first Test, missed out on his century after being bowled by Axar Patel.

Regular opener Usman Khawaja did not to bat due to “lower leg soreness” after getting hurt while fielding on day four.

The match in Ahmedabad belonged though to Kohli, who hit a masterful knock on day four to end a Test century drought of 1,205 days since his previous ton.

The marathon 364-ball knock blocked every chance of a potential defeat for the hosts after Australia posted 480 on a vastly different pitch from the previous three Tests.

Kohli, one of the best players of his generation, recorded his 28th Test century to power India to 571 all out on Sunday as India managed a lead of 91 after their first innings.

“I think in Test cricket I wasn’t able to play with my tempo and template that I have played with for the last 10 years for a while now,” said the man-of-the-match.

Kohli’s partnership of 162 for the sixth wicket with Axar, who hit his third half-century of the series with an attacking 79, marked India’s dominance on Sunday.

Opener Shubman Gill hit 128 to lead India’s reply and make the most of his opportunity after being added to the team in place of struggling KL Rahul in the third Test.

Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin excelled with his six wickets in Australia’s first innings, in a run-filled match which was at odds with the first three Tests.

Ashwin managed 25 wickets in the series, ahead of Ravindra Jadeja’s 22, as the spin duo received the player-of-the-series award jointly.

Not to be outdone, Australian spinner Nathan Lyon took 22 wickets including three in the final Test and was ably supported by up-and-coming spinners Todd Murphy and Kuhnemann.

“The spinners bowled really well,” said stand-in-skipper Steve Smith.

“Murphy and Kuhnemann bowled with composure. Lyon bowled his best in the first innings here, the best I have seen him bowl.”

An Australia team which lost several players to injury and personal circumstances had appeared on the brink of chaos after being well beaten inside three days in the first two Tests.

But the tourists roared back to win the third match in Indore in just over two days on a viciously turning track to keep the series alive until the final match.

Smith led Australia in the final two Tests after regular captain Pat Cummins returned home to be with his seriously ill mother. She died last week.

The two teams now head into three one-day internationals starting Friday in Mumbai, ahead of the 50-over World Cup in India later this year.

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