• Home
  • Cricket News
  • Wi Vs Sa 1St Test Day 2 Centurion Quinton De Kock Fiery Bowlers Push Windies On The Brink

WI vs SA | 1st Test Day 2: Centurion Quinton de Kock, fiery bowlers push Windies on the brink

There was no end to the struggle for the West Indies batting lineup in the second innings as well after a disciplined century from Quinton de Kock put South Africa in a commanding position at the end of the second day’s play of the first Test between the sides.

Having been bundled out for an abysmal 97 in the first innings and conceded a big lead of 225 runs, the Windies were rocked early once again in their return to the crease.

Kagiso Rabada, who was a bit unlucky in the first innings did not waste the new ball and sent both Kraigg Brathwaite and the concussion substitute Kieron Powell with sharp incoming deliveries. Anrich Nortje took on from there and sent back Shai Hope, who did not make good use of the comeback opportunity and failed due to lack of discipline outside off stump in both innings.

Kyle Mayers, who was guilty of playing an outrageously ambitious shot to get out started once again on an uncomfortable note. The story was a little different this time around but Nortje once again found the edge of his bat with the one that was slanted across him. 

However, the hero of the day for the tourists was Quinton de Kock, who established his quality as a batsman in South Africa after being relinquished of the captaincy burden. He resurrected South Africa’s batting efforts with sublime strokes that have become part of his reputation at the world stage.

At first, he stitched a valuable partnership with Rassie van der Dussen to bring South Africa in the ascendency and followed it up with qualitative partnerships with every batsman coming to join him in the middle. 

When he started falling short of partners, he switched to his T20 mode and smashed Windies to all corners of the ground and took the game beyond their grasp. De Kock scored a total of 141 runs in the first innings for the tourists.

South Africa are at the top of their game in this Test and it would need Windies batsmen to play out of their skin to come back in the contest. Needless to say, the task is not at all easy against an in-form trio of Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, and Anrich Nortje.

Discover more
Top Stories
news

R Ashwin banks on experience to take on well-prepared New Zealand in WTC final

India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has conceded that New Zealand will have an upper hand going into the World Test Championship final for the fact that they have been in England for some time and have got used to conditions having played two Tests against England. He also rated Blackcaps a ‘fantastic’ side that possess ‘exciting’ players but said that India too have played the game well in the last two years to deserve a place in the WTC final against New Zealand. "We have played well to get to the World Test Championship final and we are deservedly there. (New Zealand) are a fantastic team and have a lot of exciting cricketers. The fact that they would have played a couple of Test matches before the final will be good preparation for them. So we have to adapt, use our experience, and be ready,” Ashwin said Sportstar. He also expressed his delight over the International Cricket Council’s idea to make Test cricket more relevant and bilateral series more context through the World Test Championship. He said the ICC has done a ‘phenomenal’ job of pulling off a global tournament such as the WTC and scheduling a final in the middle of a pandemic. "I think (World Test Championship) is always going to get better. The idea of having some context to the whole Test arena is amazing. It was long pending and I'm so pleased the ICC has done it," Ashwin told Sportstar. "Some areas will be addressed, but considering the pandemic, they have done a phenomenal job. To sustain the health of Test cricket is healthy for cricket. The more Test cricket is played, the more cricketers are going to get rounded, and it will help other forms of the game as well," he added. Ashwin should walk into the Indian team for the WTC final if Virat Kohli and the team management decide to go ahead with two spinners in the playing XI considering pitch conditions in Southampton. However, his place is not guaranteed with the presence of Ravindra Jadeja in the squad.

news

ENG vs NZ | 2nd Test Day 2: Hosts feel the heat as Conway, Will Young take Blackcaps to driving seat

A big wicket of well-set Will Young on what turned out to be the last delivery of the day tilted the game a little bit back in the balance after the two back to back partnerships put the visitors on the driving seat in the second Test against England at Edgbaston. England would sleep peacefully with the departure of Young, who batted with impeccable concentration throughout the day, to the part-time spin of Dan Lawrence. Young walked out to bat in the first session of the day after the early wicket of Skipper Tom Latham, who became yet another helpless victim of a raging Stuart Broad from round the wicket angle and started on a very cautious note. He played deliveries very late, in a quite similar manner to Kane Williamson—the man he replaced in the playing XI and the number three in the New Zealand batting order. He was very watchful around his off stump and never looked uncomfortable while the England bowlers, especially Broad whopped the ball around in the last session. Apart from Young’s brilliance with the bat, life seems to be going on easy for Devon Conway batting at the top of the order for New Zealand and more pleasantly in England conditions which have been known for asking some soul-searching questions of the batsmen, more so of the visiting batsmen and to be more particular the openers. After the heroic double hundred at Lord’s in the first Test, he was ruthless in his strokeplay from the word go and notched up another fifty to put the Blackcaps firmly in control of the game. He survived a close call when Zak Crawley claimed a low catch but only to be overruled by the third umpire on the soft signal of not out by the on-field umpire Richard Kettlebourough. He looked all set to bring up another three-figure mark before he pulled out the lone man standing at the square leg boundary when he tried to dispatch Broad in the same manner he had reached his maiden double ton in the last game. The next man in Ross Taylor has been out of nick and it was telling in how late he was on the ball as English bowlers started targeting his pads right from the start. However, with passing balls and overs, he got his eyes in and capitalised on loose deliveries, especially from Olly Stone who has not had a great game so far with the ball on his home ground. For England, it was another disappointing day where the level of disappointment was reduced every now and then with a piece of luck or brilliance. Broad picked up an early wicket but along with Anderson failed to run through the Kane Williamson-less Blackcaps side while the third and fourth seamer in Mark Wood and Stone failed to apply pressure for a long period of time. England would have hoped for a better return with the ball swinging a lot more than it did at Lord’s but it was only the wicket of Young by Lawrence that would have given Root some sort of relief and hope of getting New Zealand out cheaply on the third day morning. England also could not add a lot of runs in their tally albeit Wood played some delightful strokes off a desperate New Zealand bowling attack that kept pitching the ball up in search of swing. His departure was soon followed by Stuart Broad and although Lawrence tried all the fuel he had up his sleeves, the journey could not last long enough to put New Zealand under insurmountable pressure.

news

Ruturaj Gaikwad relishes maiden India call-up, underlines 'limited opportunities'

One of the most talked-about players among the rich pool of talented Indian players, Ruturaj Gaikwad has outlined the ‘limited opportunities’ he has in his hands while he is relishing his maiden call up in the squad for the tour of Sri Lanka. Apart from he is also keen to regroup with Rahul Dravid, who has been assigned the task of coaching the young side over the course of a three-match long ODI and T20 series, and said that the series will hold more meaning than just the ‘performance or scorecard.’ “The opportunities would be limited but I’m just looking forward to learn from this journey as much as I can. There are experienced players in the group and obviously once again I will get a chance to reconnect with Rahul Sir. The last India A tour happened one and half years ago, so again, there is a chance to regroup with him (Rahul Dravid) have a chat about the game, so there is lot more than just performance or scorecard,” Gaikwad said to PTI. Calling the selection into the Indian team a milestone he ‘wanted to reach’, Gaikwad recalled the people who have contributed to his rise over the years with feelings of being ‘proud’ and ‘happy’. “I am just happy. Right from the moment I got to know about it, you know a journey comes in front of your eyes that from where you started and where you wanted to reach…it’s a pretty emotional feeling. You get the thought of people who have supported you throughout the journey, be it my parents, friends or coaches. So, obviously proud feeling for everyone and happy feeling for everyone,” he said. Gaikwad has been selected in a young squad for the tour of Sri Lanka under the leadership of Shikhar Dhawan as the senior members of the Indian team are there in England to play the World Test Championship final and a five-match long Test series against England. The tour of Sri Lanka will commence with the ODI series in Colombo on July 13 followed by two more games on July 16 and 18. The ODI series will be followed by an equally long T20 series comprising three games starting July 21.

news

Humbled by the opportunity to lead my country: Shikhar Dhawan

The All India Selection committee has announced the squad for the Sri Lanka tour and opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan would be leading the side which is slated to play three ODIs and as many T20Is. Dhawan expressed his delight in a Twitter post. “Humbled by the opportunity to lead my country. Thank you for all your wishes,” tweeted Dhawan. The left-handed batsman has played 34 Tests, 145 ODIs and 65 T20Is for India. While Dhawan would be leading the side, fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been named as his deputy. The squad has some new faces as well. Nitish Rana, Devdutt Knight Riders batsman Nitish Rana, Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Devdutt Padikkal, Rajasthan Royals' Chetan Sakariya, Chennai Super Kings’ Ruturaj Gaikwad and K Gowtham have received the call-up. The series will commence with the first ODI taking place on July 13 at the R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium, Colombo with all the fixtures taking place at the same venue. The T20I series will begin on July 21. India’s squad: Shikhar Dhawan (Captain), Prithvi Shaw, Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Suryakumar Yadav, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Nitish Rana, Ishan Kishan (Wicket-keeper), Sanju Samson (Wicket-keeper), Yuzvendra Chahal, Rahul Chahar, K Gowtham, Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Vice-captain), Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini, Chetan Sakariya Net Bowlers: Ishan Porel, Sandeep Warrier, Arshdeep Singh, Sai Kishore, Simarjeet Singh