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Rahul Dravid Personally Rewards Ground Staff Of Green Park Stadium For Preparing Sporting Pitch

Rahul Dravid personally rewards ground staff of Green Park stadium for preparing sporting pitch

The new head coach of the Indian team, Rahul Dravid has given a sum of Rs 35,000 to the ground staff of the Green Park stadium in Kanpur for preparing a sporting pitch for the first Test against New Zealand.

“We would like to make an official announcement. Mr Rahul Dravid has paid Rs 35,000 personally to our groundsmen,” the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) announced in the press box after the game.

Talking about the game, the clash saw some brilliant performances during the course. While Shreyas Iyer became the first Indian to score a ton and a fifty on his debut in Test cricket, spinner R Ashwin surpassed Harbhajan Singh to become the third highest wicket-taker for India in the format.

The hosts had handed a target of 284 runs to the Kiwis and the visitors lost one wicket in the final session of the penultimate day to end the proceedings at 4/1.

The overnight batsmen Tom Latham and William Somerville had a decent start to the final day as the two batsmen didn’t let any wickets fall in the first session. But the Indian bowling unit made a strong comeback to scalp eight wickets in the next two.

But some solid batting from Rachin Ravindra and Ajaz Patel helped the side to end the match in a draw as New Zealand scored 165/9 in the second innings. Ravindra Jadeja picked up four wickets for India.

The second Test will be played in Mumbai from December 3.

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IND vs NZ | Ravindra to rescue & Twitter can’t have enough of the debutant’s determination

The meme makers were having a ball after Rachin Ravindra, a man who was named after two Indian batting legends Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid was denying another Ravindra, the Jadeja from India the wicket and also taking the win from the Indian team. Along with him was another Kiwi of Indian origin, Ajaz Patel and he also denied India and another Patel, the Akshar from India the wickets as the duo battled 52 balls for the 10th wicket partnership and drew a game which for certain looked like an India win. While Ravindra batted 91 balls to score only 18 runs and partnered many players including Tom Blundell, Kyle Jamieson and Tim Southee to try and get a draw and finally found an able partner in Ajaz to complete the task. The Indian bowlers did try their best, but their best was not enough to get the last wicket and thus the match ended in a draw.

IND vs NZ | 1st Test: Ravindra Jadeja's efforts go in vain as New Zealand manage a draw

India spinner Ravindra Jadeja’s efforts with the ball went in vain after New Zealand managed to hold on to a draw in the first Test of the two-match series in Kanpur on Monday. Setting a target of 284 runs, India were in the driver’s seat especially in the second and third session of the final day after reducing the visiting side to 155/9 but a spectacular performance from Rachin Ravindra and Ajaz Patel at the end helped the Kiwis to end the match in a draw. Jadeja scalped a total of four wickets in the innings at the cost of 40 runs which included the priced dismissals of captain Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor. Apart from these two, the left-arm spinner dismissed Kyle Jamieson and Tim Southee. But the Blackcaps saved the day and eventually concluded the proceedings at 165/9. Apart from Jadeja, R Ashwin picked up three wickets and is now the third highest wicket-take for India in Tests. Left arm-spinner Axar Patel and pacer Umesh Yadav also had a wicket apiece to their names. The second and final Test of the series will now be played in Mumbai from December 3.

Ashes 2021-22 | Ben Stokes narrates his near-death experience

England all-rounder Ben Stokes might not be available for the first Ashes Test between Australia and England after a horrible accident with his pills. Narrating about the incident in his column for Daily Mirror, the left-handed batter explained how he had a near-death experience with tablets. “It was actually down to a simple tablet that went down the wrong way and got stuck in my windpipe causing me to choke horribly before the glands in my face went into overdrive to flush it out,” Stokes wrote. “Until it actually came out, I thought this might be the end. We’ve all had those moments when something gets stuck in the throat, and usually, someone can help you out. But I was on my own in my room and I couldn’t breathe as it became lodged and started to dissolve… it was a genuinely frightening experience,” the all-rounder added. The 30-year-old, who missed out on the T20 World Cup and the second leg of the IPL 2021 due to a mental health break, decided to turn up for Ashes after not being named initially in the squad. Revealing how it was the working mechanism of his body that got him out of the situation, Stokes wrote, “The team doctor came to see me straight away and she explained what had happened with the body reacting the way it did. I’m glad it did, even though I was a mess.” Ashley Giles, the Director of the England Men’s team said that the team doctors and physios would be working to get Stokes fit before the first game, but nothing is guaranteed as of now. “I’m hopeful and I’d always like to be confident, but we’ve got to treat Ben carefully, as we would anyone else who’s been in that position, of not having a lot of cricket under their belts. But he’ll be a difficult man to hold back if he’s ready to go,” he said.

SL vs WI | T20 World Cup hero for Sri Lanka, Charith Asalanka makes his Test debut

Charith Asalanka, who was the hero for the Sri Lankan team with the bat in the recently concluded T20 World Cup, has been handed his Test cap. The left-arm batter and right-arm slow bowler was given his Test cap by skipper Dimuth Karunratane. The 24-year-old, who has played eight ODIs and 10 T20Is so far for the national team will become Test player number 157 for the island nation. He is making his debut in the second Test of the two-match series that Sri Lanka is hosting against West Indies as part of the World Test Championship 2021-23. The Sri Lankans lead the series 1-0 heaving won the last game at the same venue of Galle. Asalanka, who replaced Dinesh Chandimal in the T20 World Cup playing xi, hit 231 runs in six innings at an average of 46. For his first Test, the Galle born has replaced fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera. Sri Lanka are going into the Test with just one pacer. On the other hand, West Indies replaced Shanon Gabriel and Rahkeem Cornwall with Kemar Roach and Veerasammy Permaul respectively.