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India walk redemption path after Adelaide debacle; Batsmen not looking too far ahead

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When Indian pacers were extracting a good amount of help from the first-day pitch at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), experts on air were constantly arguing if India did not start on a disadvantageous note by not batting first, and that ‘it was a good toss to lose.’ In hindsight, it might have been true as well since India got time away from batting worries after the debacle on the third morning in Adelaide. Instead, they got the opportunity to put pressure on Australian bowling line-up.

A lot of speculations were doing the rounds about the captaincy style of Ajinkya Rahane who, for the first time in his career, is set to lead the team for three consecutive matches. It was believed that Rahane was not risk-averse and that, when presented with a situation or a dilemma on whether to take the aggressive or defensive route, he has the habit of taking the bull by the horns. He showed heart for a fight against an Australian side that was jumping with joy over dismissing their opponents for their lowest score in Test format. The evidence for this was the Indian team playing five bowlers - a move that showed he was ready to move on from the Adelaide collapse which Virat Kohli had labelled as the ‘worst collapse ever seen.’

But, the real test awaited Rahane, the captain, when he took the field on the first day. Jasprit Bumrah got India off to a brilliant start while Umesh Yadav too did not bowl badly in his initial spell. Surprisingly, in a move that sent many experts into a frenzy, Rahane brought Ravichandran Ashwin into bowl when the ball was relatively new, instead of debutante Mohammed Siraj. The decision looked out of place, but for Rahane, it did not lack vision. Ashwin heard the clarion call and dismissed Mathew Wade and the big fish Steve Smith to vindicate his captain’s move. Rahane proved he could see what others were missing in that plot and that it was not purely an instinctive decision but a rational one looking at the moisture present on the pitch.

“When we were bowling in the morning, there was some moisture on the wicket, so you saw Ashwin and Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja) got some spin. Because we wanted to make the most of the moisture, we were trying to use them, he (Ashwin) was getting good bounce,” Jasprit Bumrah said in the virtual press conference after the end of the first day’s play.

While the pitch was offering a fair bit of assistance for the bowlers and the real challenge was in and around off stump for the batsmen, Indians were able to get the scalps of the big stars in the Australian batting line up - Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith. Smith was brilliantly lured by Ashwin by a delivery that pitched on the off stump while Labuschagne too was lured by delivery on the straighter line by Siraj. The wicket of Labuschagne could be attributed to a false shot by the batsman, but Bumrah refuted to accept that the wicket was not a result of the plan B that the team adopted after batting conditions got better in the middle session.

“There were constant discussions going on between bowlers and the captain. The wicket changed after the first session. It got better to bat on in the second session and moisture went away. We were just trying to communicate what kind of lines we wanted to bowl so that we can set the field accordingly. When there was less help, we tried to change the line accordingly,” Bumrah added on why India had a fielder in the leg slip/gully position where Labuschagne was caught by debutant Shubman Gill, handing another debutant Mohammed Siraj his maiden Test wicket.

Siraj got Labuschagne at the start of his second spell and was bowling well for a man playing his first Test. For the most part of the first day, he outbowled the senior pacer in the group - Umesh Yadav. He was incisive and bowled with good control. The over in which he set up Cameron Green showed he belonged to the level of Test cricket and his excellent first day on the field was not lost on his senior in the bowling line up.

“He has worked really hard and come up the ranks. He was eager to bowl in the first session itself. There wasn’t a lot happening after lunch and he (Siraj) bowled with a lot of control,” Bumrah said. “Suddenly he started getting some movement and wanted to make the best of it. Playing his first Test match, he bowled really well and had the confidence of using all his skills. It’s a heartening sign for us and hopefully, he will continue doing that,” Bumrah said.

After dismissing the home side for195, India had to bat a total of eight overs towards the end of the play, and the opener Mayank Agarwal and debutant Gill had their task cut out against the likes of Cummins and Starc with the new ball. Unfortunately for India, Agarwal could not handle the fiery first over of Starc and was found late on a ball that moved back towards the stumps.

Ironically, India finished the day on 36 - a score that would haunt them till the time the team reach another historic low. But the story was quite different this time around as India have their nose ahead in the game with Gill looking composed and not batting under pressure, by the looks of it, and Pujara looking to hold one end. 

The batting line up would be under some pressure to avoid another Adelaide like debacle with the bat, after being in such a leading position in the game. But Bumrah said that the team would not be mentally constrained by the failures they had in the first Test. He reaffirmed the stance that Virat Kohli had taken after the loss in Adelaide, but said that the team is not looking too far ahead and they will not lag in confidence while facing the trio of Cummins, Starc, and Hazlewood on day two of the Boxing Day Test.

“We don’t want to be conservative in our mindset and be positive. Control the controllables. Not being reckless but playing with confidence will be the motive going forward. We are trying to focus on things that are in our hands. The focus will be on the first session tomorrow,” Bumrah stated.

The batting unit should put the failure behind them and remind themselves that if they can play session by session and as per their potential, they can leave the hosts way behind in the game on the second day itself. But a collapse of any sort can bring the hosts back in the game, and for that, they will have to be watchful.

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BBL 10 | Thunder vs Renegades: Sydney's power-packed performances blow off Melbourne

The Sydney Thunder made light work of the batting lineup of the Melbourne Renegades and handed a massive defeat by 129 runs in the 14th match of the Big Bash League. The Thunders were in supreme form in Canberra and put out complete team performances in all the departments of the game, and left the Renegades toothless in chase of a big score. For the Thunder, the stars of the show were leg spinner Tanveer Sangha, who took four wickets for only 14 runs in his 3.2 over bowling efforts and Oliver Davies who blasted 48 runs off 23 balls to keep the momentum going for the Thunder. The Renegades were given a steep target of 209 runs to chase, and the experienced opener Shaun Marsh and Aaron Finch could not get going against the opening bowling pair of Adam Milne and Daniel Sams. But, the opening big wicket of Shaun Warsh was scalped by Nathan McAndrew, who is keeping his stocks shining with every game. The next man in, Sam Harper started to get the Renegades back into the game as the duo took 13 runs off Adam Milne in the first five balls of Milne, but the Kiwi got the better of Harper on the last ball to clog back the momentum. After the end of the powerplay, Callum Fergusson introduced Tanveer Sangha and he was at the short cover to catch one of the best batsmen in the Renegades batting line up—Aaron Finch when he tried to power one shortish delivery of Sangha through the off side. Next set of batsmen Beau Webster and Rilee Rossouw tried to take the game into the Thunder camp, but it wasn’t the Renegades' night at the Manuka Oval as Sangha accounted for Webster in his next over. The problem got deeper when Chris Green got Rossouw caught slog sweeping in pursuit of a higher required run rate. The jolts were too much to handle for the Renegades and when Sangha came back to dismiss Mohammad Nabi and Green accounted for Imad Wasim, the night was set to be longer for the Renegades, who now have lost three of their four matches in the campaign this year. The men in red and black could sustain only 12.2 overs while the Thunder plundered 209 runs and it emphasized the kind of routing the team suffered in both the departments and it might have left Renegades skipper Aaron Finch booking back on his decision to field first. The Thunder were off to a splendid start as the opening pair of Alex Hales and Usman Khwaja took full toll of the listless bowling from the new ball bowlers of the Renegades. Khwaja was particularly severe on Peter Hatzoglou and took him for 6 runs to provide a rollick platform for the Thunder. Finch tried to slow down the pace of the game by introducing Imad Wasim but Hales was up to the task and sent the left-arm spinner for long journeys over the fence. By the end of the powerplay, the Thunder were already at 50/0 and both Hales and Khwaja were looking in devastating form. By the time Khwaja was sent back to the pavilion courtesy a screamer by Zak Evans at the end of the sixth over, the Thunder were already at a dictating position of 71/1. Hales quickly followed Khwaja to the dugout but the next man in, Oliver Davies was looking in menacing form and treated all Renegades bowlers with disdain. He smashed four sixes off Mohammad Nabi and when Finch brought Will Sutherland to check his hitting, he too was greeted with a big hit over the midwicket fence. However, the right armer got the better of Davies on the third ball of his third over with a searing yorker. On the other end, Callum Ferguson struggled to get going and could only score at a strike rate of 100 runs per balls, but Daile Sams and Nathan McAndrew made sure that the Thunder finished strongly with the bat. Kane Richardson tried to bring momentum in Renegades' favour as three wickets fell in the 19th over, but McAndrew came hard at Zak Evans to slog him for three sixes to lead the Thunder past 200-mark which ultimately proved too steep for the Renegades to reach. On the back of this one-sided win, the Thunder has surged to the top of the points table with three wins out of four games while the Renegades have been relegated to the bottom half of the points table.

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Inside out | Mohammed Siraj bided his time, now shows strengths on Test debut

When Mohammed Shami was ruled out of the Test series after fracturing his wrist in Adelaide, there were huge rounds of disappointments as India were already without Ishant Sharma, and the absence of Shami meant Ajinkya Rahane was left with only Jasprut Bumrah as someone he could rely on to bring wickets. But, in a team sport, pain for one is again for someone else, and it was obvious that one of Navdeep Saini and Mohammed Siraj had to gain from Shami’s injury. There was a direct toss-up between Siraj and Saini, but all within the Indian camp and commentariat believed Siraj was more prepared for the debut at the MCG in the Boxing Day Test and ultimately the pacer from Hyderabad got India cap from Ravichandran Ashwin. Siraj has an excellent record in the first-class cricket and for India A and he has bid his time well to earn the call-up. He was brought to the Indian team set up but failed to impress in the T20 format and it was widely argued that he was given chance in the wrong format and that he is suited more in the long form of the game where he could do what he does best-- bide his time. On his first day of international career, Siraj was made to wait by Rahane although he had the option of easing him through when Australian were under pressure after the fall of Steve Smith but Rahane had other ideas. Rahane was keen to check if Ravindra Jadeja could extract the same amount of purchase off the pitch as his partner Ashwin was able to get in the spell where he dismissed both Matthew Wade and Steve Smith and all Siraj could do was to wait for his opportunity fielding at mid-off and fine leg positions. Rahane introduced Siraj straightaway with the first over after the lunch and Siraj showed his readiness to play Test cricket and fulfil the role India expect him to play. He was on the money from the word go and his first ball pitched on the off stump line at the back of a length and Travis Head was forced to play at it, albeit not unconvincingly. The Kookaburra ball used in Test matches does not swing for too long and the art of controlling the flow of the innings and bowling in a channel holds the key for the success of any bowling attack, especially in Australia. After a couple of overs when he leaked out few driveable deliveries to Head and Marnus Labuschange, Siraj started honing at the perfect length and line just outside the off-stump to keep batsmen guessing if they had to play at his deliveries or to leave them. His first spell lasted for six overs when he bowled unchanged till the drinks break in the afternoon session post the lunch interval and his figure read 6-0-24-0. He was impressive and bowled incisive lengths but wickets did not come for him. By the time he returned to his second spell in the 48th over of the innings, Head was sent back by Bumrah and the new man in- Cameron Green was not getting the top of the bowling attack, especially Ashwin at the other end. Rahane would have expected Siraj to bowl as per the plans and Siraj was once again ready. The second over of second spell brought him his first Test wicket and that too of the well set Marnus Labuschagne and his dismissal was laid down to a perfect trap set by the captain Rahane and Siraj, and the bowler showed repaid the faith of captain bowling complete on the plans and Labuschagne was gone and with him, a big opening was also created. Siraj had bid his time, waited for his opportunity to showcase what he has to offer and now it was the time to show his strength. He started bowling in a nice rhythm and the bowling in the channel was going flawlessly for him. He kept on challenging the outside edges of both Tim Paine and Cameron Green as India were looking to get on top of it. Siraj was looking like the bowler who could chip in with the role of a supporting bowler if can’t fill the big void left by Mohammed Shami. He showed commendable maturity being a rookie at the international stage, but all those long spells with the red ball for India A were showing its effects as Siraj showed exemplary temperament and set up the batsmen Green instead of searching for glory balls every over and trying to take wickets every ball. Siraj was into his long spell and was troubling Green with away going deliveries pitched on good lengths, but all of a sudden one delivery nipped back sharply off the seam and found Green in front of the stumps. Umpire Paul Reifel adjudged Green LBW and the delight at Siraj’s face was for everyone to see. Siraj has put a big price on the opportunity has got in Melbourne as he could not decide on leaving the tour midway after his father passed away due to illness. The decision must have been tough, but Siraj’s resolve for success at the highest level, which was also the dream of his late father and the commitment for the game was overweighing the pain and mental weakness he could have felt after hearing the fact that he won’t be able to see his father again. Siraj has come a long from a very humble background, but this is not a celebration of the journey. Enough has been said on the level of his achievements in his long and hard journey off the filed, and it’s time for him to perform on the field for his success story to replace the story of his background. Hopefully, he has set off for it at the MCG today.

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Williamson's brilliance trumps spirited Pakistan in battle of attrition on day 1

The first day of the Boxing Day Test between hosts New Zealand and Pakistan at Mount Maunganui witnessed a high-quality, intense brand of attritional Test cricket. At the end of the day, the home side has a clear edge, but it required incredible hard work and patience for them to get there. Pakistan won the toss and put New Zealand in to bat on a surface that was green, though not as green as the pitches served up for Tests against West Indies. The visitors, led for the first time by Mohammad Rizwan, opted for a four-pronged seam attack. The two opening bowlers - Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Abbas gave their team a perfect start. Shaheen got Tom Latham out on the third ball of the match when a rising delivery, which straightened from an incoming angle to the left-handed Latham, took the edge and was caught at gully. Abbas, whose forte has been bowling with utmost accuracy and getting the ball to just do enough, lived up to his reputation and delivered a first spell where he did not waiver from the nagging line that he bowls and got the ball to swing as well. Shaheen got the other opener, Tom Blundell, out as well when he tried to drive a delievry that was going away from him. This put New Zealand in trouble at 13/2 and brought their two best batsmen - Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor to the crease. The two men showed immense self-restraint and relied heavily on leaves and a tight technique to see off the challenge of Shaheen and Abbas. While Williamson stood like a rock that he has come to be for his team, Taylor's self-abnegation was all the more impressive given his preference for full-flowing strokeplay. Abbas hardly bowled a bad ball in his first spell and Shaheen wasn't too far behind him. The two other seamers in the line-up - Faheem Ashraf and Naseem Shah - couldn't match the accuracy that the opening bowlers had but even they were treated with great caution by the duo of Taylor and Williamson. The Kiwi captain is renowned for playing the ball late and with soft hands. This came in handy today as he showed tremendous judgement of line and length to never play a shot which was inappropriate for a delivery. Whenever the ball was pitched up, Williamson did put his front foot down and play the drive. But that was a rarity. Even Yasir Shah, the sole spinner in the team, bowled well though without any bite, mainly due to the lack of help from the wicket. At lunch, the Kiwis were 55/2 in 26 overs. Williamson had looked solid, though he was dropped at the score of 18 in the slips when he got an edge that was dying as it came near the slip fielders. Otherwise, he was flawless. Taylor was more positive and played some of his trademark cut shots and flicks. After lunch, the pitch had eased out and there wasn't much help for the bowlers. But Abbas and company still managed to hold onto an accurate line and length. There was a period of play where New Zealand didn't score a run for more than eight overs. But both Williamson and Taylor displayed incredible composure in not letting this blockade of runs affect them. Both kept digging in. Taylor reached his half-century in 127 balls, the second slowest of his career. Then, the former captain decided to cut loose and launch a fierce attack on Yasir. He slog swept him, first for a six and then for a four. Williamson kept soldiering on and reached his own fifty in 150 balls. The two senior batters took their team to the tea break at 128/2. After the break, Shaheen jumped into the action again and got Taylor to edge another one of his deliveries which was angled across the right-hander. The breakthrough came when the team was at 133. Taylor scored 70 off 151 deliveries. Henry Nicholls joined the resistance while his captain looked imperious. He was hardly beaten and didn't play a single false shot. Despite all the best efforts of Abbas, the Kiwis avoided further damage. The lack of effective bowling from Naseem and Faheem also gave respite to Williamson and Nicholls. Yasir bowled fine but was completely innocuous on an unsympathetic wicket. Pakistan's hopes now rested completely on the new ball. When it was taken, there was some trouble for Williamson. The New Zealand captain had become a little more intent on scoring and played a couple of fantastic pull shots in front of square when the bowlers pitched short. On the score of 84, Williamson was dropped again. Another slice of luck was Pakistan not asking for a review of a not out decision against an lbw appeal. The umpire thought the ball hit the bat first and Pakistan too didn't challenge the decision. But replays showed that Williamson was hit full on the pad first and the ball was heading towards the stumps. Notwithstanding these near-mishaps, Williamson's innings was a masterclass of how to bat in challenging conditions against a capable line-up. His technique and mental fortitude was of the highest quality. The way he left most deliveries that he didn't need to play showed the discipline he bats with. At the end of play, Kiwis were 222/3 and Williamson unbeaten on 94 off 243 balls. Nicholls was not out on 42 off 100. Pakistan didn't do much wrong on the day. It was just the sheer determination and solidity of Williamson, and also Taylor, that gave New Zealand the advantage.