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Daily Round-up | Jan 8: India dominate Day 2, Steve Smith enters elite club

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India have been dominant on the second day of the third Test against Australia in Sydney while the head coach of Pakistan Misbah-ul-Haq has explained the reason behind Pakistan’s dismal run in New Zealand. Here are the daily updates from the cricketing world. 


India dominate day 2


The Indian team held the fort strong at the SCG after bundling out Australia for 338, followed by a positive start with the bat in the first innings. India were 96/2, trailing by 242 runs with Cheteshwar Pujara and stand-in captain AJinkya Ratane still at the crease at the end of the second day's play. Shubman Gill who opened the innings with Rohit Sharma scored his maiden half-century. Earlier, Steve Smith who was going through a rough patch finally got his form back and smashed his 27th Test ton. For India, it was Ravindra Jadeja who was the pick of the bowlers as he picked up a four-for and hit the bull’s eye to send Smith packing. The four-match series is levelled at 1-1. 


Misbah-ul-Haq blames bad fielding for NZ loss


Pakistan had a dismal run in New Zealand across all formats, but losing both the Tests have hurt the coach Misbah-ul-Haq. Talking about the defeats, head coach Misbah-ul-Haq has said that the dropped catches were one of the major reasons for the team’s dismal show. 

“I think the biggest thing in front of us, that we have seen in the past with Pakistan cricket as well, is our dropped chances," the head coach said in a PCB podcast. "I think that has really affected our chances in this series. We missed a lot in both Tests, in which if we had grabbed them, we could have taken the Test further, but we missed them. We need to work on that."

The Pakistan team had to suffer a defeat by 101 runs in the first Test while lost the second match by an innings and 176 runs. 


Queensland entitled to protect its people and similarly BCCI its players: Gavaskar


Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has said that the BCCI has all the right to “protect its players” by seeking a quarantine relaxation ahead of the fourth Test while justifying the strict protocols being imposed by the Queensland authorities. “The Queensland government is fully entitled to protect its people. Similarly, I believe the BCCI is fully entitled to protect its team. I think that’s something we should never forget,” Gavaskar said during commentary on Channel 7.

“In Sydney, there are people coming to the ground and then going back and having dinner at a restaurant or having a gathering of 20, 30 people in a pub.”


Steve Smith joins elite club


Australia batsman Steve Smith scored his 27th Test ton and 8th against India. With this hundred, Smith became the second-fastest after Don Bradman to reach 27th ton in Test cricket. He achieved the feat in his 136th innings while Bradman took just 70 innings to do so. The right-handed batsman expressed his joy after completing his ton. “It was nice to come back in the form. It was about two-three weeks ago I think I scored two hundreds at the SCG. It sometimes makes me laugh at people. Missed out on first two matches obviously and came back today and scored some runs to put us in a decent position,” Smith said at the virtual media interaction after the end of Day 2.

“Always special, I love playing here at the SCG. It is a great place to bat, my home ground. My mom and dad were here and able to see that. Proud to get the three figures on the board and spend some time out in the middle and help us post a decent total,” he added.


Paul Stirling shines


Ireland opener Paul Stirling scored a fine hundred against UAE in the first ODI in Abu Dhabi on Friday. Stirling’s knock comprised of 9 fours and four maximums as Ireland completed their 50 overs at 269/5. Apart from Stirling, captain Andy Balbirnie notched up a half-century during the course. 

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Steve Smith joins elite club

Australia batsman Steve Smith was back in form after scoring a hundred during the first innings of the third Test in Sydney on Friday. Smith completed his 27th Test ton and 8th against India during the course of his 131 before getting runout, courtesy a fine piece of fielding from Ravindra Jadeja who hit the bull’s eye to send the right-hander packing. Smith became the second fastest after Don Bradman to reach 27th ton in Test cricket. He achieved the feat in his 136th innings while Bradman took just 70 innings to do so. India skipper Virat Kohli is at number three in the list as he reached the milestone in 146 innings. Smith also stands at number two in the list of the batsmen with most number Test hundreds since 2010. Kohli is at the helm with 27 tons while Smith follows him with 26 centuries to his name. Kane Williamson and David Warner have scored 24 while former England captain Alastair Cook has notched up 23. The former Australian skipper has now scored 1570 Test runs against India in 25 inns (with an average of 74.76). “I’m reading a lot of things people say that I’m out of form but think I think there’s a difference between out of form and out of runs,” Smith told Fox Cricket at the drinks break. “Just nice to score a few and maybe keep a few people quiet.” Australia were bowled out for 338 in the first innings of the third Test. Will Pucovski who made a debut in this match scored 62 while Marnus Labuschagne missed out on a hundred by just 9 runs to end his innings at 91. Jadeja picked up a four-for for India while debutant Navdeep Saini scalped a couple of wickets. The four-match series is presently levelled at 1-1.