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Zak strikes back after Strauss’ ton
India-England Test series |
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400 would be a good total,
says Strauss JCT humble Sporting Clube
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Zak strikes back after Strauss’ ton Chennai, December 11 Strauss, who was not part of the one-day squad, notched up his 13th Test century but his sheet-anchoring role was somewhat neutralised as the visitors lost quick wickets in the last session to be reduced to 229 for five at close on the opening day. Electing to bat, Strauss and his opening partner Alastair Cook (52) provided a solid launch pad with a 118-run partnership but the cheap dismissals of Ian Bell (17), Kevin Pietersen (4) and Paul Collingwood (9) helped the hosts to tilt the balance slightly in their favour on a placid track at the M A Chidambaram stadium. Andrew Flintoff (18) and night watchman James Anderson (2) were at the crease at stumps in a match held under extraordinary circumstances after the recent terror attacks in Mumbai. England joined the Indian players in wearing black bands and observing a minute’s silence for the victims before play began. The visitors were cruising along comfortably at 164 for one at one stage but suddenly lost the plot to be gasping at 221 for five, losing four wickets in the span of 57 runs to fritter away a good position. The dismissal of Strauss late in the day came as a big blow for the tourists who now have only Flintoff and Matt Prior as the two recognised batsmen to steer the team to a decent total. Anderson, who was sent in as the night watchman, played out a few anxious overs to ensure that England did not lose more wickets before stumps. England openers Cook and Strauss adapted to the slow track which offered little for the fast bowlers in the morning session as the duo went for lunch at 63 without being separated. The two openers made their intentions clear by not taking any risk and rarely stepping out to both new ball bowlers, Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma. Zaheer and Ishant could not extract any swing and movement in the air on the placid track in the morning even though they made the England openers hard to score runs. Even the two spinners - Harbhajan Singh and Amit Sharma - got little help from the Chepauk pitch. Harbhajan, who was brought in for Zaheer in the ninth over of the innings, gave fours runs in his first over. The England openers pushed up the pace of scoring a bit in the later half of morning session but they took 88 minutes and 19 overs to reach their 50 partnership. Both miscued their pull shots on few occasions but no damage was done. Harbhajan Singh provided the breakthrough midway through the post lunch session by getting the scalp of Cook much to the delight of his teammates. Cook came up with a determined batting display before losing his composure to a tossed up delivery from Harbhajan Singh and return to the hut. Strauss did not allow the fall of Cook's wicket to distract his focus and with Bell kept the scoreboard ticking, often deploying the sweep shot against the spinners. Barring a couple of bat-pad appeals, which were turned down by umpire Daryl Harper, the proceedings were bereft of any action in the second half of the post-lunch session as England hoisted 150 in 51.4 overs with Strauss moving into the 90s. The complexion of the game changed in the last session with Zaheer and Ishant managing to get the reverse swing going. The Indians claimed four wickets for 65 runs in the session. The pitch also started to give some assistance to the spinners in the last session, which means that India will have to ensure that the visitors do not get a big first innings total. The dismissal of Bell started the slide for England as Zaheer trapped him leg before wicket. He then scalped the prized wicket of captain Pietersen with a short-pitched delivery. Pietersen attempted to hook Zaheer's bouncer but mistimed the shot completely and the bowler made no mistake with the return catch. Paul Collingwood fell victim to a dubious decision by umpire Billy Bowden as television replays showed that the bat was nowhere near the ball as Gautam Gambhir took the catch off Harbhajan Singh. Leg spinner Amit Mishra then did his bit for the team when he got rid of the well-settled Strauss late in the day. — PTI Scoreboard England (1st innings): Strauss c&b Mishra 123 Cook c Zaheer b Harbhajan 52 Bell lbw b Zaheer 17 Pietersen c&b Zaheer 4 Collingwood c Gambhir b Harbhajan 9 Flintoff batting 18 Anderson batting 2 Extras (lb-4) 4 Total (5 wkts, 90 overs) 229 Fall of wickets: 1-118, 2-164, 3-180, 4-195, Bowling: Zaheer 17-7-36-2, Ishant 15-2-29-0, Harbhajan 26-2-67-2, Mishra 20-4-63-1, Yuvraj 11-2-22-0, Sehwag 1-0-8-0.
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Jitender, Lakra also in semis 4 Indians assured medals Moscow, December 11 Lakra got a walkover against Mexican Arturo Reyes Santos, who was deemed over-weight before the bout. India’s last medal at the event was through V Devarajan, who managed a bronze at the 1994 edition. Before that, Joran Thanga also won a bronze in the 1990 World Cup in Mumbai. Jitender next faces Pan-American Championships gold medallist Hernandez Lafita of Cuba, who beat Moldovan Alexandr Riscan 10-6. Lakra, on the other hand, would either be up against World Championship bronze medallist Yang Li of China or Cuba's Idel Torriente. An aggressive Jitender dominated the proceedings from the word go and took early initiative by leading 5-0 after the first round. He cooled off a bit in the second round and landed just three scoring punches but a tight defence ensured that Gage's score-sheet remained blank. The 22-year-old Haryana-boxer, who bravely fought with 11 stitches on his chin during his quarter-final loss in the Beijing Olympics, was back to his attacking best in the penultimate round and earned seven points against his opponent's three to ensure a comfortable lead going into the final round. "I couldn't sleep the whole night. Although I had not even seen Gage before today, my coaches had prepared a detailed plan and I just had to ensure that I applied it well. I read him in the first round besides being aggressive which made sure that I had taken a good lead by the third round," Jitender told PTI after the bout. “Akhil is my mentor and he ensures that I am never short of confidence no matter which opponent I face. Like him, my target is always the gold medal,” he added. Akhil, meanwhile, will be up against Beijing Olympics silver medallist Yankiel Leon Alarcon of Cuba in the semi-finals on December 13. Dinesh will face Vladimir Cheles in the last-eight stage. — PTI
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England’s toss, India’s day Sunil Gavaskar writes First things first; a big thank you to the England and Wales Cricket Board, and to Kevin Pietersen and his team for agreeing to come back to India to play the two Test matches. This is a brave decision which would not have been an easy one to make. Kevin Pietersen’s comment that we need to stand ‘shoulder to shoulder’ with India at this hour, will win him not just many more followers in India abut all over the world which is tired of the attempts of a misguided few to change the world’s thinking to their own. There will be cynics of course who will suggest that it is the lure of cash rewards that helped make up the minds of the players, and that is rich coming as it does from those who were in their day prepared to stab their country’s cricket boards in the back for a few dimes more in a banned country. England’s meandering approach in the session before tea took them nowhere, as India came back to take a grip on the match. The advantage of winning the toss was lost as England grew more tentative by the minute, especially after Alastair Cook threw his wicket away to a horrible shot. He had done the hard work and built a good solid partnership with Andrew Strauss, but it was as if he was happy having reached his fifty when he suddenly had an ugly hoick at Harbhajan, and skied the ball to Zaheer at mid on. It was a typical T20 shot with the front leg moved out of the way, but in doing so he had to reach for the ball as it turned a bit away from him and ended up with no control over it and hitting it high up in the air. The sweep shot was Strauss’s most productive shot and he used it intelligently against the spinners, especially Amit Mishra. Strauss hit the leggie with the turn from way outside his off stump, but because he was always attempting to hit it along the ground he didn’t look in any trouble. The other shot he played with certainty was the cut shot, and he profited from it every time Harbhajan dropped it fractionally short. Apart from that he just pushed and nudged the ball away for singles and twos. It wasn’t an elegant innings but an effective one, and but for his gritty effort England would have been in a worse position than they are in now. Zaheer was the pick of the Indian bowlers as he used the reverse swing to good effect, and had the batsmen bewildered. The wicket of Pietersen was a clever piece of bowling as he banged in a short ball across the English skipper, and had him caught as he tried to hook it over his right shoulder. England will be hoping that Flintoff will add some more to the total and give their bowlers some runs to work with. They have two spinners in their team and so will be bowling last, and that’s why it’s crucial for India not to allow the English tail to wag and get them past 300 runs. The toss was England’s, but the day’s honours went to India. — PMG Stats of the day lZaheer (191 wickets in 61 Tests) has surpassed Prasanna’s wicket-aggregate of 189 in 49 Tests. l
England is now the first visiting team to play 50 Tests in India. l
Andrew Strauss posted his third century this year. His overall record this year is: 843 runs in 11 Tests at an average of 46.83, with three centuries and three fifties. l
Strauss' 13th century in Tests is his second hundred (123 off 233 balls) against India. l
Strauss is the third English left-handed player after Geoff Pullar and David Gower to make two centuries against India. l
Strauss completed his 4,000 runs in Test Cricket - 4066 (average 41.91) in 54 Tests. He is the 27th English player to register the feat. l
Strauss and Alistair Cook were associated in a partnership of 118 - their best stand for the first wicket against India, eclipsing the 95 at Nagpur in 2005-06. l
Cook's third Test fifty against India is his 15th overall. — PTI |
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400 would be a good total, says Strauss
Chennai, December 11 “Generally in India, 400 is a good first innings total. So we have to work really hard tomorrow, the wickets would be deteriorating later in the day so if we can bat the first session well we can reach the 400 mark,” he said after the opening day’s play, which the visitors ended with 229 for 3 on the board. With Indian pace spearhead Zaheer Khan, who scalped two wickets, already reverse swinging, Struass said it would made life difficult for the batsman tomorrow. “It is difficult for batsman out there. Zaheer Khan is a great bowler, especially his skills of reverse swinging the ball. I mean we knew what to expect but going there facing it is very difficult,” he said. Struass, who scored 123 before being caught and bowled by Amit Mishra, said he was delighted to notch up a century despite staying after a long lay-off. “I am delighted and very happy to get the century. I had not played much cricket of late but Abu Dhabi was fantastic. I was not even with a bad form, I was literally without any form and so going into the match and getting the runs it feels great,” Struass said after the day’s play. “I would have loved to stay there overnight but I hope the other guys do well tomorrow,” he added.
— PTI |
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Barasat, December 11 The Goan side's performance today was in stark contrast to that of the I-League which allowed JCT to dictate terms and settle the issue in the first half itself. Balwant Singh gave JCT the lead in the 23rd minute, converting a corner from Julius Akpele. Julius's flag kick took a prodigious turn and Balwant capitalised on a goalmouth melee to head home the opener. Five minutes before the breather JCT got their second. Brazilian Eduardo Escobar collected a Julius through pass and slammed the ball home. The goals exposed Sporting Clube's vulnerability in defence. They tried to bounce back and made a few sorties on the rival defence but poor finishing dashed their hopes. Sporting Clube coach Vishwas Gaonkar admitted the defensive lapses. “Our boys did not play to their potential. They looked relaxed and our defence did not do well,” said the coach. The Goan outfit got a chance to reduce the margin after Nathaniel Amos was brought down near the edge of the box. But the free-kick from Wilton Gomes was wayward. JCT had a chance to boost their tally but Daljit Singh's effort lacked direction. Coach Sukhwinder Singh was happy with the performance. “It’s a refreshing start. We’re deserved victors today, with the boys doing a good job. They created chances and finished well. We had problems in the first 10-15 minutes but from thereon we dominated throughout,” said Singh. — PTI
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Andrew Strauss cracked a composed 123 but England squandered a solid start to allow India claw back into the game with four wickets in the last session and wrest the initiative in the first cricket Test here today.
