Aleem Dar’s 17 year wait ends; will officiate in first home Test

Abhishek Singh

Three times winner of the prestigious David Shepherd Trophy for the Umpire of the year award by the International Cricket Council, Aleem Dar is excited about officiating in his first-ever Home Test. 

The 52-year-old Lahore-born has been chosen as the on-field umpire for the two Tests between Pakistan and South Africa, the first of which begin on 26th January at the National Stadium in Karachi. Speaking about the opportunity, Dar said, “It will definitely be an emotional moment for me to umpire in a Test involving Pakistan. It has been nearly 17 years and 132 test wait but it’s about to be over. Like the players, even we want to umpire in matches on home soil. I have officiated in white-ball cricket at home, but Test cricket is the pinnacle of the game.”

“I am delighted that I will be standing in two home matches involving two very high-class Test teams,” added the elite panel umpire who has so far officiated in 132 Test, 211 ODIs, and 48 T20Is. 

Dar will be accompanied for the Test by Ahsan Raza as the second on-field Umpire. Raza has so far umpired in 37 ODIs and 57 T20Is. Both of them would be umpiring in the three-match T20I series as well while Muhammad Javed Malik will be the match referee for all matches in the entire tour. 

South Africa is visiting Pakistan for the first time since their last tour 2006-07.

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Confident, technically sound Rohit Sharma doesn't regret his dismissal at Gabba

A lot was riding on the openers’ shoulder if India were to challenge the score of 369 put up by the hosts on a Gabba surface that was showing signs of quickening up on the second day. Openers Rohit Sharma and Shubamn Gill could not repeat their stellar partnerships from the last game as Pat Cumins stamped his domination with the ball once again, but Rohit was looking calmer and assured in his crease at the other end. He has been supreme in picking the length of balls bowled at him and has passed the first test of seeing off the new ball in all the three occasions in the series. But, as always has been the case with him, he has failed to convert those valuable starts into something sizable that can steer the team into a driving position in a game, he perished in the process of taking the game into Natahn Lyon who proved to be too clever for him to be rattled. His wicket and especially the manner of his departure created a furore as cricket experts and fans zoomed in on his mental toughness to deal with tough situations and build on for big innings. Former cricketers called his shot that brought his downfall as needless and irresponsible while others named the moment as ‘brain fade.’ For Rohit though, the shot did not come out of nowhere but that it has been part of his process whenever he gets settled. He said that once he gets his eyes in, he focuses on dominating the opposition bowling attack, and although the way he got out today looked awful in the context of the game, he would not back down against playing those shots. "It's not that it is (that shot) coming out of nowhere. It's a shot that I have played well in the past. That's something that I back myself to play and that's the kind of role I play in this team. When it looks like that, it looks bad, but I don't think too much as my focus is to make it count once I am in," Rohit said in the virtual post-match conference after the end of the second day’s play at the Gabba. "Having said that, there is a process I like to follow. Sometimes you get out and sometimes it goes over the ropes. Unfortunate and sad dismissal in the end to be honest. Like I said, those are my shots and I will keep playing them," the senior player was forthright about his mind-set.” Rohit has successfully unlocked his potential in limited overs cricket but success, especially overseas in whites still eludes him. Indian team took a punt on him and the belief was that any India team is richer with him in the playing XI than him being out of it. Rohit has never worried about what critics say about him as he has enjoyed never-lasting support from the team management irrespective of the change in leadership groups. "The team has shown a lot of confidence in me. It's just that I have to do what the team expects me to do and not worry about what happens anywhere else or what people talk about,” Rohit added. Rohit has been batting with such assurity in the three innings so far that it never looked like he was away from the game for so many weeks before getting right back into the playing Xi from a hard quarantine. He has batted like a batsman who is aware of where his off stump is and who has made specific adjustment to his technique to counter the balls pitched in and around the off stump length. At times he has looked best among openers from either side in the way he has handled the new ball that too against the likes of Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins. Addressing the changes he has made in his technique to survive and thrive at the top of the order, Rohit said that he has shuffled across to the off stump line in order to cover the line of the balls and avoid searching for the ball because that would result him poking the balls that could be left alone. He pointed out that opening on the pitch at the SCG and Gabba presented different set of challenges and he had to bring minute adjustment to his technique. In Sydney, there wasn't much bounce, so I was staying on leg stump of the ball and here I knew the line and lengths particularly of the two right handers (Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood), they try and test you outside the off-stump all the time. So, here, I came a little bit on the off-stump to make sure that I cover the line and don't push my hands outside the off-stump. That's the little adjustment that I did," Rohit emphasized. Rohit has got three starts in three innings (27,52, 44) and on all the occasions he has been guilty of throwing his wicket away. He was caught at the deep fine leg while attempting a hook shot off Cummins towards the end of the day’s play while Nathan Lyon trapped him into a well-laid trap. To his defence, Rohit said that with the quality of the Australian bowling attack, nothing comes easy and hence it is necessary to put pressure back on them by scoring runs off loose deliveries. “I was watching the first two Tests and saw the discipline that Aussie bowlers had and you have to try and figure out ways to score runs against these guys. They don't give anything easy. What has really worked in the first half of my batting is getting closer to the ball and trying to leave anything outside the off-stump. And then once I am in, try and play a few shots as well because that's what you want to do, score runs and see how they react when you score runs," Rohit added. The most experienced pair from the Indian side in Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara at the crease and Rohit said that there is no reason India can’t match the first innings total of 369 put by the home side. However, he suggested his teammates should proceed with the game in session by session manner instead of looking at the bigger picture of 369 runs and the context of the game and the series. "We have got solid batters to come in now. Two of the most experienced players are still out there in the middle. The pitch is good and I don't see any reason why we can't get to that total of the first innings.,” Rohit said. "We should focus on what's there in front of us rather than thinking too far ahead. It's a big score and we have to focus on sessions, take it as it comes. The pitch is playing good and we have to back ourselves. We have the guys to do it and I don't see why we can bat well on day three.” The Border Gavaskar Trophy is levelled at 1-1 and even a draw would mean India will rahe trophy. Rain and thunderstoms poiledthe major parttheday’ay n Brisbanettdy d he wthrfoecast suggests of some more rain in the radar over the next three days of the Test. India need to make sure they don’t collapse like in the Adelaide Test in order to push Australia hard for the win and that can create chances for them to even press on for a winmatch. Rohit would be hoping his wicket would not prove to be too costly for India is the series decider.

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BBL 10: Josh Philippe anchors Sydney Sixers to comprehensive win over Perth Scorchers

Sydney Sixers beat Perth Scorchers by 7 wickets in Canberra after chasing down a target of 164 in 18.5 overs. Opener and wicket-keeper batsman Josh Philippe led the chase and smacked an unbeaten 84 off 52 deliveries that included 10 fours and a maximum. James Vince who came in at number too chipped in with a half-century. Earlier, Perth had a decent start to the innings with an opening stand of 76 runs between Jason Roy and Livingstone. Roy was the first one to depart after Christian cleaned him up for 21 while Livingstone was sent back in the hut by Jake Ball for 67. Livingstone’s departure was followed by a fall of wickets in quick succession and they were soon reduced to 121/5 to eventually end the innings at 163/7 in 20 overs. Ball, Brathwaite and Christian picked up a couple of wickets each. Philippe who was adjudged man of the match credited the bowlers to pull back things in their favour. “The plan was to take it on in the first four and then read the situation of the game. They got off to an absolute flier. We bowled well in the back end. Our bowlers have been fantastic. They got it to a total we thought we could chase and we ended up chasing it. I feel super relaxed at the moment, that's when I play my best cricket. There's always a few nerves, especially against Scorchers. I like to stay as calm as possible. He (Vince) is very calm. Nice to see him get back into some form,” he said after the match. Sixers are at the helm of the points table with 8 wins and 32 points from 11 matches while Scorchers are at three with 5 wins and 20 points.