Tag: India vs Australia

NAGPUR: Spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja eviscerated Australia in just over two hours to hand India a crushing innings-and-132-run victory Saturday inside three days of the opening Test.

The hosts took a commanding first-innings lead of 223 in Nagpur, then skittled out Australia for 91 in an extended second session to take a 1-0 lead in the four-match series.

Steve Smith was left to survey the ruins on 25 after Ashwin, who took five wickets in the innings and eight in the match, triggered a complete batting collapse inside a single session.

“We know playing a series like this it’s important to start well,” captain Rohit Sharma told reporters.

“Glad all our batters could put up a show, get 400 and enough lead then the spinners came into the picture.”

Ashwin rattled the opposition batting with his off-spin as he sent back Usman Khawaja (five), David Warner (10) and Matt Renshaw (two).

Jadeja, who grabbed five in the first innings, took two wickets including Marnus Labuschagne — Australia’s first-innings top-scorer with 49 — trapped lbw for 17.

But Ashwin ruled the afternoon to run through the Australian batting, which fell flat on a pitch where India’s tail — including Axar Patel (84) and Mohammed Shami (37) — scored handsomely in the first session.

“Their spinners are always going to be hard work when the wicket is spinning,” said Aussie skipper Pat Cummins.

“That first innings, the wicket spun but wasn’t unplayable. Would have loved another 100 or so runs and put a bit more pressure on their first innings. Obviously starting here is tough.”

Shami bowled Nathan Lyon for the ninth wicket to extend the session and finished the job when he trapped Scott Boland lbw.

Saving grace

Debutant spinner Todd Murphy was the tourists’ sole saving grace, adding two more wickets on Saturday morning to return figures of 7-124.

Murphy, who on Friday became the youngest Australian spinner to bag five in his first Test, bowled Jadeja for 70 early in the morning session to end an 88-run eighth-wicket partnership with Axar.

Jadeja, a left-hander making his international return from a knee injury, added just four to his overnight 66.

But Axar stood firm in his effort to bat Australia out of the game and found an able ally in number 10 Shami, who made the most of a dropped catch on six.

Shami smashed two fours and three sixes to boost the total before becoming Murphy’s seventh wicket.

Cummins took two wickets and bowled Axar at the stroke of lunch to wrap up the Indian innings. Senior spinner Nathan Lyon took one wicket.

Rohit’s powerful knock of 120 had put the hosts in the driver’s seat after they bundled out Australia for 177 on day one of the opener.

The skipper put on a key stand of 61 with Jadeja, and put India in the lead after they were in a spot at 168-5.

Jadeja set the tone for the thrashing with his figures of 5-47 that helped dismiss the visitors, who elected to bat first, soon after tea on the opening day.

The second Test begins Friday in New Delhi.

READ: Jadeja fined 25 pc of match fee for using ointment in Australia Test

NAGPUR: Skipper Rohit Sharma hit a brave 120 on a turning Nagpur pitch as India extended their lead to 144 despite Australian debutant Todd Murphy’s five wickets in the opening Test.

India were 321-7 at stumps with all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja proving his worth for the second straight day of his international return with an unbeaten 66.

The 22-year-old Murphy took regular wickets with his off-spin in his attempt to check India’s surge but Jadeja kept up the charge following Rohit’s dismissal soon after tea.

Jadeja was batting alongside fellow left-hander Axar Patel, who hit 52, as the pair put on an unbeaten stand of 81 for the eighth wicket.

Rohit led from the front with his ninth Test century to extend India’s dominance after they dismissed Australia for 177 on day one of the four-Test series.

The captain defied the spinners to reach his hundred with a boundary off Murphy in the second session, and took off his helmet to soak in the applause.

He put on a key 61-run sixth-wicket stand with Jadeja, who stood firm after Rohit’s departure to register a fifty after his five wickets in the Australian innings.

Jadeja, who has three Test hundreds, did his trademark sword swish with the bat to mark his 18th half-century in the five-day format.

Murphy stood out for the tourists with remarkable control to knock off the stalwarts of Indian cricket including Virat Kohli, caught behind for 12.

Murphy, who claimed KL Rahul as his first Test wicket on Thursday, trapped Ravichandran Ashwin lbw and got Cheteshwar Pujara caught at short fine leg in the first session.

Senior Australia spinner Nathan Lyon spoiled Twenty20 sensation Suryakumar Yadav’s Test debut after he bowled the batsman on eight to put India in a spot at 168-5.

But Rohit, who started the day on his overnight 56 and smashed Pat Cummins and Lyon for a six each, and Jadeja soon swung back the momentum with a mix of caution and aggression.

Cummins took the second new ball after tea to send back Rohit bowled, one ball after he was dropped by Steve Smith at second slip.

Murphy soon bagged his fifth as he trapped fellow debutant Srikar Bharat lbw — a decision that was given not out by the umpire but successfully reviewed by Australia.

Jadeja, who returned from a knee injury with a 5-47 on Thursday, soldiered on with Patel as they frustrated the opposition attack in the final hour of play.

Axar smashed eight boundaries en route to his second Test fifty.

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Controversy marred Indian spinner Ravindra Jadeja’s sensational comeback after he was spotted rubbing a mysterious substance on the ball on Thursday in the first Test against Australia.

Jaega, who picked up a five-wicket haul on the opening day of the Nagpur Test, was accused of ball tampering after his ‘mysterious’ rubbing video went viral.

The video captured Jadeja taking something off the hand of his teammate Mohammad Siraj with his right hand. He then rubbed his hands and finger near and around the ball though it was uncertain what exactly was happening.

This is absolutely shocking!

Jadeja is quite clearly applying a magic potion to his finger here, which has tricked the Australian's into forgetting they can use their bats.

12 month ban. Now. #AUSvINDpic.twitter.com/dukRDR1sni

— The Cricket Podcast (@TheCricketPod) February 9, 2023

The incident took place in the 46th over of the innings when Australia were batting at 120/5 with Alex Carry and Peter Handscomb at the crease.

A debate has been triggered about alleged tampering by Jadeja since the video went viral on social media.

“Interesting.” replied former Australian captain Tim Paine when the video was shared with him on Twitter.

Interesting

— Tim Paine (@tdpaine36) February 9, 2023

Similarly former England captain Michael Vaughan tweeted: “What is it he is putting on his spinning finger? Never ever seen this”

What is it he is putting on his spinning finger ? Never ever seen this … #INDvsAUS https://t.co/NBPCjFmq3w

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) February 9, 2023

Meanwhile, the Indian team denied the accusations and insisted that it was pain-relief cream that Jadeja was applying to the index finger of his bowling hand.

According to ESPNCricinfo, Jadeja along with India captain Rohit Sharma and the team manager were shown the video clip by the match referee Andy Pycroft after the day ended. However, no charge had been laid against Jadeja.

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NAGPUR: Indian spinner Ravindra Jadeja grabbed a five-wicket haul on his international return as India ruled the opening day of the first Test against Australia on Thursday.

Jadeja returned figures of 5-47 and fellow spinner Ravichandran Ashwin took three wickets to bowl out Australia for 177 in the final session on a turning Nagpur pitch.

In reply, India were 77 for one at stumps, with skipper Rohit Sharma on 56 and Ashwin, yet to score, at the crease. The hosts still trail Australia by 100 runs.

Rohit began by hitting three boundaries off Australian skipper Pat Cummins’ first over, and put on 76 runs with opening partner KL Rahul, who made a laboured 20.

The Indian captain reached his fifty with a four off Nathan Lyon and remained sharp to see off the day’s play.

Rahul fell caught and bowled off debutant spinner Todd Murphy, who celebrated his first Test wicket.

Jadeja, a left-arm orthodox bowler who came back into the Indian side after a knee injury, stood out with his guile, taking key wickets including those of Marnus Labuschagne (49) and Steve Smith (37).

Both Australians had launched a fightback with their third-wicket 82-run stand after losing openers Usman Khawaja and David Warner early in the day.

Peter Handscomb (31) and wicketkeeper-batsman Alex Carey (36) also put on a partnership of 53 before Ashwin ended Carey’s spell at the crease to record his 450th Test wicket.

Jadeja’s double strike on successive balls soon after lunch rocked the tourists as he sent back Labuschagne and then trapped Matt Renshaw for a first-ball duck.

He later bowled Smith with a delivery that went through his bat and pad.

Ashwin and Jadeja kept up the charge to get into the Australian tail when the tourists took tea at 174-8, and added just three runs in the final session.

Earlier, seamer Mohammed Siraj struck on his first ball to get Khawaja trapped lbw for one with a delivery that swung in to the left-hander, after the tourists elected to bat at the start of the four-match series.

An appeal was turned down by the on-field umpire but India successfully reviewed the decision.

Mohammed Shami raised the noise in the next over when the seamer bowled the left-handed Warner for one.

Australia controversially left out in-form left-hand batsman Travis Head, while India handed Test caps to Twenty20 sensation Suryakumar Yadav and wicketkeeper Srikar Bharat.

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NEW DELHI: Indian batting sensation Sarfaraz Khan said he wept after being ignored for the first two Test matches against Australia despite having a first-class batting average second only to Sir Donald Bradman.

The 25-year-old has been one of the most consistent performers in the local Ranji Trophy competition this season, scoring 431 runs in five games for Mumbai so far.

Last summer, Sarfaraz amassed 982 runs in six games at an average of 122.75, including four centuries.

In 36 first-class games so far, the middle-order batsman has accumulated 3,380 runs at an average of 80.47.

Only late Australian great Bradman (95.14) boasts a higher first-class average among batsmen who have played at least 50 innings.

“When the team was announced and my name wasn’t there, I was sad the whole day, when we travelled from Guwahati to Delhi, I was feeling very lonely. I cried too,” he was quoted as saying by the Times of India.

Sarfaraz then called up his father Naushad Khan, a coach, for help during the low phase.

“I called my dad to Delhi. He spoke to me, I practised with him, and then felt better.”

Indian selectors announced a 17-member squad on Friday for the first two Tests of the four-match series against Australia at home beginning on February 9.

Explosive batsman Suryakumar Yadav won a maiden Test call-up while Ishan Kishan, another white-ball specialist, was also named in the side with first-choice wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant recovering after a car accident.

Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah was left out over fitness concerns.

“I’m sure they (selectors) had certain plans in mind when they picked the team for the first two Tests,” said Sarfaraz.

“Since it’s not in my hands, I don’t want to think too much about it, otherwise I’ll go into depression.”

Sarfaraz also dismissed suggestions that he was left out because of his bulky frame and fitness issues.

“…I am very fit. Everyone has a different body structure, you can’t change it. I’ve cleared all the yo-yo tests (mandatory fitness test) in the past.”

Veteran cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle said the Test exclusion must be tough on Sarfaraz.

“Very hard on Sarfaraz Khan who has literally broken the door down in first class cricket. You can’t do more than he has,” he said on Twitter.

Former India cricketer Dodda Ganesh also tweeted in support of Sarfaraz.

“Spare a thought for Sarfaraz Khan. I don’t understand what else he needs to do to get into the Test team,” he wrote.

Australia last week named four spinners in their squad for the crunch four-Test series, including rising star Todd Murphy.

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NEW DELHI: Improving India’s bowling remains the team’s focus ahead of the Twenty20 World Cup next month, skipper Rohit Sharma has said, adding that he backs seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar to come out of a recent slump.

India went past Aaron Finch’s Australia by six wickets to clinch the three-match T20 series 2-1, and now host South Africa for a white-ball series starting Wednesday.

The team’s batsmen, including Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav, have been in good form and shared a 104-run partnership to secure victory on Sunday, but the final-overs bowling has been a cause of worry.

Kumar, once a champion of choking runs in the final overs of a T20 match, has been expensive lately. He leaked 21 runs in the 18th over in the series-decider, with Tim David hitting him for two sixes and a four.

“We know that he has had more good days than the bad days in the last so many years,” Rohit said of the veteran fast bowler in a post-match press conference.

“Yes, of late it has not been the kind of performance that he wants but that can happen to any of the bowlers. You can see the opposition as well, it’s not easy to bowl in the death.”

The 32-year-old Kumar, who remains a key member of the team’s plans for T20’s showpiece event in Australia, had just two wickets from two matches and an expensive economy rate of 13.00.

Rohit said the team will devise a better strategy in the three T20 internationals against the Proteas to help Kumar return to his miserly ways in the final overs.

“We’ve been working on some execution plans and hopefully we can give him more options to bowl in the death and he’ll be as good as he was before. And he is not short on confidence,” said the Indian captain.

“We want him to come back as quickly as possible because he has bowled those difficult overs in the past. As a team we believe in his ability. Time for us to show that faith in him and keep backing his skill set.”

Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and fellow quick Harshal Patel returned to the team from injuries and Rohit said he expected the bowling unit to hit form with more game time.

“Bowling is something that we have a lot more focus on than the batting at the moment,” said Rohit.

“Those three (Bumrah, Harshal and Axar Patel) who haven’t played much cricket in the past are playing now, so you got to give some time to them and get them back (in rhythm) as quickly as possible,” said Rohit.

“It’s just about getting their confidence and with the kind of individuals they are, I don’t think it will be too long.”

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MOHALI: Matthew Wade steered Australia to a four-wicket victory over India after a blistering knock by Cameron Green in the opening game of the three match Twenty20 series in Mohali on Tuesday.

Wade’s unbeaten 45 off 21 helped the visitors chase down India’s mammoth 209 runs with four balls remaining after Australia had stuttered briefly in the middle overs following quick losses.

But it was the all-rounder Green, who replaced star batsman David Warner for the India tour, who laid the foundation for the high score run chase, smashing 61 off 30 balls.

Green, the man of the match, smashed eight fours and four sixes after the Aussies lost skipper Aaron Finch for 22 in the third over.

The right-hand all-rounder stitched a 70-run partnership with Steve Smith before he was caught by Virat Kohli off Axar Patel.

Smith with 35 off 25 departed in the next over followed by Glenn Maxwell’s wicket in the same over for one.

However, Wade displayed a powerful batting performance, hitting six fours and two sixes helping the visitors to chase down the target in the 19th over.

Tim David, who made his Twenty20 debut, scored 18 off 14 balls while Josh Inglis made 17 off 10 balls.

Pat Cummins hit the winning shot off Yuzvendra Chahal to reach 211-6.

Patel picked three for 17 while Umesh Yadav took 2 wickets for 27.

It was Australia’s second-highest successful chase in the white-ball format and highest against India.

“At this ground, it didn’t worry us too much. Anywhere between 12-14 an over at the back end on a wicket like this and an outfield like this we back ourselves to get them,” Wade said.

In the first half, the visitors won the toss and opted to field, with all-rounder Hardik Pandya smashing a rapid 71 to help the hosts post a challenging total of 208-6.

Opener KL Rahul also made a half-century while Suryakumar Yadav hit 46 after losing skipper Rohit Sharma for 11 and star batsman Kohli for two in the powerplay.

Rahul compiled 55 off 35 balls, hitting four fours and three sixes before he was caught by Nathan Ellis off Josh Hazlewood at deep square-leg.

Yadav hit four sixes in his 25-ball stay before he was caught behind off Green.

But Pandya increased the scoring rate further, hammering 71 off 30 deliveries.

The 28-year-old all-rounder hit seven fours and five sixes including three back-to-back hits in the last three balls of the innings.

Ellis was the most successful bowler and finished with figures of three for 30.

The three-match series is being used as a warm-up for next month’s T20 World Cup in Australia.

The visitors are playing without pace spearhead Mitchell Starc and all-rounders Marcus Stoinis and Mitchell Marsh due to injuries.

India are looking to bounce back after crashing out of the Asia Cup this month before the knockout stage.

The teams will meet on Friday for the second Twenty20 match in Nagpur.

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BIRMINGHAM: Indian pacer Renuka Singh dismantled Australia’s top order before Ashleigh Gardner stole the show with a valiant 52 not-out and powered her side to a thrilling victory over India in the Commonwealth Games 2022 opener.

Coming out to bat at 34/4 while chasing 155, Australia’s middle-order batter Gardner displayed sheer grit as she steered her side over the line with an astonishing and unbeaten knock of 52.

The right-handed batter stopped the flow of wickets for India with her valiant effort and at the same time kept Australia in the hunt as she ticked the scoreboard at a decent pace. Gardner remained unbeaten on 52 off 35 deliveries, laced with nine boundaries.

Right-handed batter Grace Harris remained the other notable run-getter as she chipped in with a valuable 37 off a mere 20 deliveries with the help of five boundaries and two sixes.

Harris, alongside Gardner, put on an important 51-run partnership for the sixth wicket to strengthen Australia’s position in the game.

Following Harris’ dismissal, Gardner then joined hands with Alana King and put on an astounding 47-run unbeaten partnership for the second wicket which powered Australia to claim a scintillating victory in 19 overs. King scored 18 off 16 deliveries.

For India, Renuka led the way with four wickets for a mere 18 runs, while Deepti Sharma claimed two. Meghna Singh, on the other hand, made one scalp.

Batting first, India finished at a commendable 154/8 in the allotted 20 overs at the back of an outstanding half-century from their skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and opening batter Shafali Verma, who remained two runs short of the milestone.

Kaur led from the front as she top scored for the side with 52 off 34 deliveries, laced with eight boundaries and a six, while Verma scored 48 off 33 balls including nine boundaries.

Opening batter Smriti Mandhana scored a quickfire 24 off 17 balls at top of the order to provide her side with a flying start. The rest of the Indian batters, however, remained unable to get into the double figures.

Lef-arm spinner Jess Jonassen was the pick of the bowlers for Australia as she bagged four wickets for 22, while Megan Schutt claimed two. Darcie Brown, however, struck out a batter.

READ: Pakistan off to a dismal start in Commonwealth Games 2022 

COOLIDGE: Yash Dhull scored a magnificent century as India defeated Australia by 96 runs in the semi-final of the ICC U19 World Cup and booked their place in the final of the mega event.

With India’s convincing victory over Australia, the side will now face England in the final of the U19 World Cup.

Set to chase 291, Australia could only manage to score 194 in the second innings. Lachlan Shaw scored a gritty half-century; scoring 51 off 66 but his fighting inning went in vain as he too could not steer his side to the victory.

Corey Miller, on the other hand, also showed resistance up the order; scoring 38 while the rest of the batters failed to make a significant impact with the bat.

For India, Vicky Ostwal took three wickets, while Nishant Sindhu and Ravi Kumar picked two wickets each. Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Kaushal Tambe, on the other hand, made one scalp each.

Batting first, India posted a commendable 290-runs total, thanks to Dhull’s astonishing run-a-ball 110; smashing 10 boundaries and a six. Shaik Rasheed too, played vital innings; scoring 94 off 108 deliveries including eight boundaries and a six.

The rest of the Indian batters made small contributions as the side finished at 290/5 in the allotted 50 overs.

For Australia, William Salzmann and Jack Nisbet bagged two wickets each.

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