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England in SA: Supporting cast turn showstoppers in South Africa's near-glory vigil

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South Africa's elbow grease to post a figure of note on the scoreboard had reached a crescendo. On the final ball of the penultimate, George Linde spanked Chris Jordan's half-volley flat and hard along the carpet to Ben Stokes at mid-on. Generally the tidiest of all customers, Stokes let the cherry burst through his fingers, mayhap due to some awkward bounce. Linde screamed his throat hoarse to partner Rassie van der Dussen, having gauged the prospect of a readily available brace. With Stokes even slipping once in his back-pedalling quest to retrieve the misfield, Linde's feet itched for a third run. No prize for guessing, Stokes' bullet at the non-striker's end proved the adventure a fool's errand. 

Stokes had fumbled, recovered, lost balance, found it and then given chase to hammer the sixth nail in South Africa's coffin. Their eventual card of 146/6 gave the impression that ala Stokes, England might hardly break a sweat in procuring an unassailable 2-nil lead. Although the series was tucked into the pocket in retrospect, it wasn't a walk in the park by any stretch of the imagination. 

In what looked an unhappy marriage of swashbuckling batsmen and a pudding of a pitch, South Africa kept throwing tantrums at England like a bitter spouse. As many as four times in the first three overs did they came lasciviously close to knocking the opening domino. For all of his hawk-eye vision and stupendously fast hands, Jason Roy was a cat on hot bricks against Linde's spin web. An encore of Newlands and another golden duck lied in store but his funky square-cut found nothing but air. 

Jos Buttler took on the arm of the pocket dynamite that is Temba Bavuma and escaped a direct hit by a hair's breadth. Anrich Nortje, his stoke ired at the unwarranted exclusion in the curtain-raiser, dinged Roy on the boot with a missile projected at 152 clicks an hour only for technology to save his nose. Kagiso Rabada then spilt an absolute dolly at mid-on to deny his compatriot Ngidi the prized scalp of Buttler. England were well and truly living on the knife's edge when South Africa pulled out the jackhammer. 

Gone are the days when Roy's willow used to bear a passing resemblance to a railway sleeper. A lump sum of 24 is the maximum he has managed in the last ten trips to the crease with three noughts in there adding insult to injury. Ngidi subtracted him from the equation while Tabraiz Shamsi relayed the baton forward. Let alone being spoken off in the same breath as Kuldeep Yadav, the cricketing fraternity considers him nothing more than a trapeze artist performing in the circus of franchise leagues. If and when he rocks the headlines its more for his celebratory gimmicks or neon green shoes than his art and guile with the leather in tow. Today, the skill came to the fore. 

Having already mowed Ngidi for three consecutive boundaries, devastation against the seemingly innocuous Shamsi was now a bee in Buttler's bonnet. He danced down the deck with gusto only to witness the chinaman drag his length back as the ball mocked the almighty heave and cannoned into the leg stump. A giant roar echoed through the pastures of Eurolux Boland. The game was pretty much alive and kicking. 

The decibels were raised again in the next over as England's hero from Cape Town, Jonny Bairstow chose the wrong delivery to sweep and yanked a skier to mid-wicket. Stokes got down on his haunches to pummel Shamsi into the grass banks but the tweaker wasted little time in fighting redemption, with a top-edged hoick landing in the cosy comforts of Quinton de Kock's mitts. Career-best returns of 19/3 saw Shamsi grant South Africa a puncher's chance to draw level, but it isn't for nothing that Dawid Malan is ranked numero uno in the T20I sphere. 

England's adopted son from the serene shores of South Africa refused to hurl in the towel and applied the binding glue at a juncture when Shamsi was exploiting with a hint of mischief their bugbear of spin. 29 sought of 18, Malan hoisted a couple to the fence and a gun-barrel sizzler into the sightscreen before falling prey to Reeza Hendricks' boundary-juggling effort, as good a harbinger of the new normal as virtual education itself. The stuff went right down the wire but Malan's propulsion worth 55 had ensured that the asking rate was merely a puppet to be cajoled. 

"Dawid batted really well. Captain at the back also came in and finished it off. Just need to stay positive and keep learning I guess. When I came out I thought 150 could be a good score here. Maybe if one or two small things went our way we could've won the game. Shamsi was disappointed after his last game. To come out and make a statement, I'm really happy for him. The group are still learning. Every game you play in South Africa is different, with the pitches.", skipper de Kock weighed in on a tough day at the office. 

Battered and bruised, South Africa's warriors will curl into their beds tonight with a bittersweet feeling of 'so near, yet so far.' Though Linkin Park's chartbuster might provide a soothing balm - I tried so hard, and got so far; but in the end, it doesn't even matter.

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Tried to whack the ball too hard in IPL: Smith says his finesse is back

The former Australian captain and currently the biggest threat to Indian prospects in its ongoing tour of Australia, Steve Smith feels that he tried to hit the ball really hard in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and that’s why couldn’t really get going. Speaking at the post-match presentation during his Man of the Match interview, Smith said he seems to have more finesse in his batting now. “I tried to whack the ball too hard in the IPL but I've started hitting it with more finesse I should say, which is working for me. Nice to score some runs again for the team and get us to a good total. I thought the boys were outstanding in the field as well,” the 31-year-old said. Talking about the current game, the New South Wales man said that he minimized errors from the last game and as a result didn’t really give Indian bowlers any chance. “I think last innings I probably could have been caught at long-on, a close lbw. I didn't give any chances today and I just felt good from ball one. I was able to get myself in and go hard,” said Smith who scored a 62 ball hundred today as well. David Warner and skipper Aaron Finch had laid down yet another solid foundation and Smith, who scored 104 of 64 balls acknowledged it as well. "I felt good from ball one. It was another great foundation set by Finch and Davey. It's just summing up conditions and what's in front of you. Against India, you need to score big totals. Fortunately, it's come off,” Smith added. It was Smith's fifth hundred vs India and second consecutive one against the same opponent. No doubt, Sydney Cricket Ground is his favorite ground, but what would he do in Canberra is yet to be seen. Five of his 11 ODI centuries have come against the Men in Blue.

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Aus vs Ind | 2nd ODI: What Experts said as classic Smith shines in Aussie' series winning effort

Australia, led by brilliant knocks from Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell outdid India twice in three days at the Sydney Cricket Ground to clinch attain an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series. The Indian team found it hard chasing down an imposing target of 390 runs and never looked like achieving it as wickets fell on regular intervals. In the end, even after some fighting half-centuries by KL Rahul and skipper Virat Kohli, all that the Men in Blue could manage to reach only 339 for 9 in their allotted 50 overs losing the game by a huge margin of 51 runs. Captains' Viewpoints Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, winning skipper Aaron Finch called it a perfect performance with the bat from his team. “Anytime you get in the high 300s is good. Very pleased to wrap it up in two wins. David Warner had got injured while fielding and updating on his situation, Finch said that he really didn’t have much idea about it, but was sure that he would not be available for the next game. “No idea. We've got to reshuffle it around, I don't think he'll be available,” he said. Finch, 33, further praised Warner’s quick innings saying, “The way Davey played upfront was unbelievable.” “Then Smithy played out of his skin for two matches in a row,” he added, lauding the man who now has five centuries vs India in ODIs, out of a total of 11. Talking about the bowling, Finch said that their bowlers got an idea of how to bowl from Hardik Pandya’s slower ones. “Henriques bowled to a simple plan and changed his pace a lot. As Virat said, we probably got a blueprint with Hardik's bowling, he was really hard to hit with pace off deliveries,” concluded Finch. On the other hand, the Indian skipper Virat Kohli was seen rueing missed opportunities in the sense that he couldn’t really bat till the 40th over alongside Rahul. “KL and I thought even 100 in the last ten overs with Hardik to come was achievable. If KL and I had stuck around till the 40th over, we could have put them under pressure. The wicket was beautiful to bat on,” said Virat. Agreeing that the Indian team was completely outplayed, the skipper reasoned that it was because as a bowling unit, they were unable to execute their plans. “I think with the ball we were not that effective. Didn't hit the areas we wanted to consistently. They've got a strong batting lineup and know the angles. Their total was a bit too steep if you see we got 340 and still lost by 51 runs,” Smith said. “With the areas they bowled, they were in a position to create chances, and with those chances taken, they were on top,” added Kohli, who scored an 87 ball 89, but couldn’t take the team home. Pandya bowled for the first time and Kohli said that he just casually asked in one of the mini-conferences and the all-rounder agreed. “I think he gave away a bit of a bowling plan on this pitch, a lot of them bowled cutters (smiles). His bowling was out of nowhere I just asked him,” said Kohli. Expert Opinion The experts centered their commentary on four main issues including the over rate, Steve Smith's brilliance with the bat, Indian bowling not being able to execute the plans, and most importantly the Indian batsmen losing the plot under pressure. Vikrant Gupta, a cricket journalist, though summed up all in one tweet saying that signs are not good for Team India going ahead on the tour. On the other hand, a well-known journalist and cricket expert, Ayaz Memon put the blame on the bowlers and rightly so as in both the matches, the batsmen have crossed the 300 hurdles quite easily, while in none have the Indian bowlers been able to dismiss the Aussie openers in the powerplay. Known commentator and one who is respected for his words on cricket worldwide once again brought out a point that went unnoticed by many. Harsha Bhiogle pointed out how the fifth bowler, a combination of Moises Henriques and Glenn Maxwell, a weak link in the Australian line up, went for just 68 runs in 12 overs in a run chase of 390 runs. Gaurav Kalra, as always was up with his wits, pointing out how Virat Kohli was doing well, while others came and went. Mr. Kalra was once again in the business, this time though with his commentary on the slow over-rate. In the same tweet, former cricketer turned analyst and cricket pundit, Aakash Chopra also got involved and discussed how slow over rates are turning out to be a big boon for the entire series. Harsha Bhogle's one more comment on the way, Steve Smith has batted throughout the series so far. It probably was the best description attributed to his efforts so far. The series now moves on to Canberra with the final match of the three ODIs to be played there. Team India would not only be playing for the pride but also the much needed momentum to the tour as well as crucial Cricket World Cup Super League points.

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AUS vs IND | 2nd ODI: Steve Smith, Australia overpower Virat Kohli, India at SCG

Australia defeated India by runs and won the ODI series 2-0 with a match remaining to be played in Canberra on December 02. Virat Kohli led by other teammates in the middle order tried their best to keep India in with the chance of chasing a massive target of 390 runs but fell short as sparks of brilliance ended promising innings one after another for India. The chase started well for the men in blue with Mayank Agarwal finding the best of his timing from the word go as Micthell Starc who was punished for being too full in the first over in search of swing. Dhawan too came to the part as he opened his account with a drive on the up in his signature style through the cover. But, in the end, Josh Hazlewood proved to be too accurate for Dhawan’s search of too many boundaries in the powerplay while Agarwal was undone by a beauty off Cummins that left him from the line outside the off stump. Both Agarwal and Dhawan would be disappointed for not converting their aggressive starts into something bigger and substantive for the team. A focused Virat Kohli followed Dhawan’s departure of Dhawan and he was soon joined by Shreyas Iyer at the crease and both started steadying the ship with chipping in at the required rate with a handful of boundaries at regular intervals. After gifting his wicket in a so uncharacteristic ultra-aggressive manner, Kohli made sure that he did not commit any mistake of over attacking the bowlers while Iyer kept on teasing the boundary riders more frequently than his captain. The level of Kohli’s focus on the big prize of chasing the mountain of 390 runs could be assessed in the manner he turned around to adjust his gloves in signature style after completing a fifty without acknowledging it. He was proactive as a batsman while being very flexible in his shot-making. He was not getting his usual flat batted drives on to the offside against the leg spinner Zampa and gave up on the shot after a point and took him on over the extra cover, stepping out to the crease of the ball. Virat Kohli, the batsman was well on course to help his team in pursuit of the big chase but his inning was cut short in the manner of an unlucky captain of a team for whom nothing is going in their favour. He was not at his fluent best, but Starc provided him with the option of showing what his best may look like when he flicked his half volley pitched outside leg stump way over the long-leg boundary. It was similar to the one he had played in the last game off Pat Cummins. KL Rahul proved his worth lower down the order as he unleashed his range of strokes and belted all bowlers over the boundaries. He was especially severe against the short ball and was smart enough to pick the shorter side of the ground to attempt his big shots. Hardik Pandya had an anti-climax kind of day as he struggled for timing as the required run-rate kept on climbing and his continuous failure to get the run rate going saw KL Rahul attempting big shorts invariably ever ball and ultimately Zampa used the advantage of shooting required rate and to beat Rahul in the game of patience. Earlier, Australian captain Aaron Finch won the toss and elected to bat first. In a completely familiar script to the one in the first match. Both him and David Warner waited for a brief spell to see off the initial overs of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Sami before teeing off. There was a slight bit of difference today as Warner was the dominant force while Finch took his time more than the left-hander. All Indian bowlers looked flat both in attitude and bowling while their inability to strike through or even control the flow of the game was once again exposed as the Aussie batsmen started taking the game away from them. Right from the start, it all looked like the first game where the openers tired down the pacers and then the long batting lineup of Steve Smith, and Glenn Maxwell made full use of their inaccuracies. Bumrah’s problems to not find a wicket along with Shami’s struggle to find the suitable lengths were continued on a pitch as flat as a highway. Highly promising Navdeep Saini was not able to deliver even half of what he had promised before the tour so far and at once was conceding runs in excess of 10 runs per over. Finch was taken away by Shami but only after he and Warner had put Australia on a perfect track to better their score in the last match. Before Virat Kohli and his bowlers could start afresh to checkback their momentum, Steve Smith started from where had left in the last match and denied men in blue any chance to even think of coming back to control a passage of play. He was aggressive from the outset, and unlike the last match, did not take too many balls to settle down before climbing onto the bowlers. He showed the kind of form he was batting in when Shami overpitched a delivery near his pads on the stump line and Smith responded with a classical straight drive as it gets in the ODIs. Warner was soon gone after his arrival but he was not lost of partners who could match his shot makings as Marnus Labuschagne played a second fiddle inning at the start to aptly support the audacious and extravagant stroke-making of Smith. From Bumrah to Shami and Chahal to Jadeja, every bowler was put to the sword as Smith scored a masterful century in one ball less than the last century two days back. Labuschagne and Maxwell reaped all the benefits out of a bowling attack depleted by the onslaught from the Australian top three and guided the Kangaroos that put the Indian batting lineup out of the game pushing against the wall even before they walked out to bat. Such was the dominance of the Smith- Labuschagne-Maxwell trio that Australia could score a massive 2020 runs from the last 20 overs and it was always an uphill task for the men in blue who are without the best opening batsman Rohit Sharma. If being outplayed in both the batting and bowling departments were not enough, the Indian team was outplayed in the fielding too. While the catch dropping spree of the Virat Kohli's men that started in the last game was unstoppable in the second as well, Aussies were up to the task as two blinders took two consecutive wickets of Shreyas Iyer and Virat Kohli when both of them were looking settled for a big inning. While the Aussies would have celebrated Kohli’s wicket more widely, Steve Smith who is yet to set a foot wrong in the series so far dived valiantly to cling onto a shot nailed by Iyer at the short mid-wicket position. Iyer’s wicket clogged the momentum of the batting after the duo had started putting balls into the gaps and were batting with a risk-free approach. Virat Kohli and his men can hold their head high as they have been able to put on a strong batting performance but at the same time, lacklustre fielding efforts in two consecutive games along with undiscerning bowling throughout the 50 overs and especially with the new balls would leave them embarrassed. To be fair to the Indian pacers, their Australian counterparts, too, did not get any amount of swing in the air or help from the pitch but the fact that they extracted more bounce and took the help of everything that the pitch offered by bowling slower bouncers and cutters would make the Indian bowlers soul searching as the ODI series as slipped out of hands before they head to Canberra for the final and inconsequential match of the three-match series.