Travis Head's ability to judge the short ball early is the reason behind his success in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, feels Ravi Shastri. He further stated that Team India would like to have a balm for the "Headache." Travis Head after being dismissed for 11 in the first innings went on to score 89, 140 and 152 runs in the next three appearances. He played a crucial role for Australia in the pink ball Test match which the hosts won by 10 wickets. "I think he (Head) is very smart. From what I saw of him three years ago, he has improved immensely. Especially with the way he plays the short ball. He's prepared to leave it. He has learned to leave it well at times," Shastri said on the ICC Review. The former India coach Ravi Shastri added that Travis Head's ability to judge the delivery's line and length quickly gives him time to play the right stroke. Also Read: KL Rahul attended to by physio after getting hit on hand "It's not a big shot all the time off a short delivery angled at his armpits or something. He's prepared to either ride it or go for the big shots. And if it is middle, middle and off, then he hits it in front of square as well," Shastri said. The Indian legend further said when on song, Head is difficult to stop. "He picks up length very well. That's one of his great strengths. And he has a flashing blade for the offside. So he's a hard man to contain. And he's in the form of his life." Ravi Shastri labelled Travis as a "Headache" and India is looking for a balm. "They are looking for balms in India. For foot problems, ankle problems (and) even a headache they are looking for a balm. He is ideal for that." Team India lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah has been a troublemaker for every Australian batsman. The speedster claimed 21 wickets with an average of 10.9 in the ongoing series. But Travis Head has been on a solid run against Bumrah. The left-hander has garnered 83 runs off 91 deliveries. "We all knew he was dangerous, but that first shot he played off Jasprit Bumrah, that cover drive, off the front foot. It was in many ways a little bit on the up, off a good delivery, decent delivery. It told me that this is a player in prime, prime form," said Shastri. The cricketer-turned-commentator said Head's batting prowess gave an insight into his uncluttered mind. He went on to show exactly that (clear mind). And the thing with him is there's no, his mindset is very clear. There's no clouded mindset. He's very clear about the situation. This is my strength. "I am going to play in that fashion. Yes, I will watch the state of the game. I might shift from fourth gear to third gear. But I will always be in third and fourth gear once I get my eye on," Ravi Shastri added. (With PTI Inputs)
22 December,2024 03:53 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentTeenage spinner AM Ghazanfar's impressive bowling figures of 5-33 propelled Afghanistan to defeat Zimbabwe by eight wickets in third ODI at the Harare Sports Club on Saturday to clinch a 2-0 series win. It’s also the sixth successive time Afghanistan have got an ODI series win over Zimbabwe. Electing to field first, Afghanistan ran through Zimbabwe’s fragile batting line-up to skittle them for 127 in 30.1 overs. Ghazanfar, 18, bowled his quota of overs unchanged to torment Zimbabwe and picked his second ODI five-wicket haul in just 11 matches. Providing ample support to Player of the Match Ghazanfar was premier leg-spinner Rashid Khan, who took 3-38. For Zimbabwe, the veteran Sean Williams top scored with 60 off 61 balls, hitting six fours and three sixes and be the long ranger for the hosts’ with the bat. Also Read: KL Rahul attended to by physio after getting hit on hand In reply, Afghanistan completed the chase in 26.5 overs, despite losing two wickets. Opener Sediqullah Atal scored 52 off 50 balls, laced with four fours and two sixes, after having scored 104 in the second ODI. He shared an 84-run opening stand with Abdul Malik (29) before Rahmat Shah (17 not out) and captain Hashmatullah Shahidi (20 not out) finished off the chase well. Atal was also bestowed with the Player of the Series award in Afghanistan’s emphatic series triumph after first ODI was washed out due to rain. Zimbabwe and Afghanistan will now play a two-match Test series starting in Bulawayo on Thursday. The match will also be Zimbabwe’s first Boxing Day Test at home since playing a rain-hit draw against England in 1996. Brief Scores: Zimbabwe 127/10 (Sean Williams 60; AM Ghazanfar 5-33, Rashid Khan 3-38) lost to Afghanistan 131 /2 (Sediqullah Atal 52; Trevor Gwandu 1-27, Richard Ngarava 1-32) by eight wickets This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
22 December,2024 03:33 PM IST | Harare | IANSTeam India batsman KL Rahul was hit on his hand during the session ahead of the fourth Test match against Australia. The batsman was further attended by the team physio. India's star batsman KL Rahul was hit on his right arm and was seen in discomfort at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The same venue will host the fourth Test match which will kick start from December 26. The five-match Test series between India and Australia is levelled at 1-1. There is no clarity on the extent of injury and the team management has also not issued any statement on why KL Rahul had sought medical attention. In a video that surfaced on social media, Rahul was seen holding the right hand while receiving treatment. Rahul has been the team's in-form batter in the ongoing tour, scoring 235 runs from six innings at an impressive average of 47. Also Read: "Only Hindi" questions in Melbourne leave Australian media disappointed The elegant right-hander has so far struck two half-centuries and is set to open the batting alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal in the fourth Test. Overall, he is the second-highest scorer in the marquee series behind Australia's swashbuckling middle-order batter Travis Head, who has already smashed two centuries. Battling through multiple rain interruptions, Rahul held firm with a vital knock of 84 in India's first innings of the third Test in Adelaide, the innings going a long way in helping India to save the match. In the ongoing series, KL Rahul has been opening the innings for India. This has made traditional opening batsman and skipper Rohit Sharma come down the order. The further point to be noted is that the skipper has been struggling to find himself among the runs. Ahead of the fourth Test, will Rohit return to his opening slot or Rahul will continue to shoulder Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top? (With PTI Inputs)
22 December,2024 03:19 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentKL Shrijith’s whirlwind unbeaten 150 trumped Shreyas Iyer’s fiery 114 as Karnataka etched a memorable seven-wicket win over Mumbai in a Group ‘C’ match of the Vijay Hazare Trophy here on Saturday. Shreyas’ unbeaten 55-ball knock (5x4, 10x6) combined with fifties from Hardik Tamore (84), Ayush Mhatre (78) and Shivam Dube (63 not out) guided Mumbai to an imposing 382 for four in 50 overs. Also Read: ‘Mum was in tears, I was trying not to cry’ But Shrijith, who was sold to Mumbai Indians for Rs 30 lakh in the recent IPL auction, hammered 150 off 101 balls with 20 fours and four sixes to help Karnataka scale down 383 with 3.4 overs to spare. He was ably supported by KV Aneesh (82), Praveen Dubey (65 not out). Meanwhile in Hyderabad, Madhya Pradesh pacer Avesh Khan took three wickets to restrict Bihar to 196 all out. MP then rode on an unbeaten 55 by skipper Rajat Patidar and an 83 by Harsh Gawali to secure six-wicket win. Brief scoresMumbai 382-4 in 50 overs (S Iyer 114*, H Tamore 84, A Mhatre 78; P Dubey 2-89) lost to Karnataka 383-3 in 46.2 overs (K Shrijith 150, K Aneesh 82; J Khan 2-70) by seven wickets This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
22 December,2024 07:55 AM IST | Ahmedabad | PTIAustralian batter Sam Konstas, 19, currently representing Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League, reflected on his maiden Test call-up to the men’s national team on Saturday. Also Read: T20I: Smriti Mandhan-led India dominate West Indies by 2-1 series win “Mum was in tears, I was trying not to cry and dad was super proud. I was in the nets and I got the call from George Bailey, he told me I was in the Test squad so I called my parents straight away,” said Konstas. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
22 December,2024 07:52 AM IST | Sydney | IANSIndia will be eager to exploit their recent form and a historical advantage to subdue the West Indies in the three-match Women ODI series, beginning here on Sunday. India notched up their first home T20I series win in over five years with a 2-1 victory over the Caribbeans in Mumbai earlier this week. Also Read: "Only Hindi" questions in Melbourne leave Australian media disappointed Dating back to 2017, India also hold a significant 4-1 head-to-head lead over the Windies in ODIs. The lone worry for India will be the fitness of regular skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who missed the last two T20Is with a knee niggle. Smriti Mandhana led India in Harmanpreet’s absence and she made a strong impression in the T20Is, striking three fifties. The graceful batter will be keen to continue in the same vein in the ODIs as well. Her form in the last 10 ODIs is outstanding, scoring 599 runs at an average of 60 while striking at 98. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
22 December,2024 07:50 AM IST | Vadodara | PTIThe temperature on Day 1 of the Boxing Day Test is expected to soar to 39 degrees, but tensions between the Indian and Australian media seem to have already hit boiling point. After Virat Kohli’s disagreement with a Channel 7 reporter at Melbourne Airport last Thursday, a fresh controversy erupted at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Saturday during Ravindra Jadeja’s press conference following the team’s practice session. The interaction, organised primarily for the travelling Indian media, saw only Hindi questions being asked, with Jadeja responding in the same language. While neither the player nor the Indian media team had any issue with taking questions in English, the reporters present chose to ask only in Hindi. Also Read: Rishabh Pant waiting to explode The Indian media manager clarified that the session was arranged for Indian journalists as part of regular touring engagements, given the week-long gap between the fourth and fifth Tests. While Australian reporters attended without being explicitly invited, the Indian team welcomed their presence without imposing restrictions.Time constraints, however, prevented even several Indian journalists from posing their questions as the team bus was scheduled to leave. This appeared to frustrate some Australian media members, who voiced objections over the absence of English questions—a demand outside the session’s intended purpose. Matters escalated after the nine-minute session ended, with a few Australian journalists confronting the Indian media manager and journalists in a visually aggressive manner. An Australian videographer’s attempt to film the incident, despite protests from the Indian contingent, further heightened tensions.
22 December,2024 07:46 AM IST | Melbourne | Sandipan BanerjeeRishabh Pant is a huge star in this part of the world. It’s not hard to see why. He made a century six years back, on his first tour of Australia, in the final Test in Sydney. In January 2021, he fashioned an outstanding Indian Test and series victory in Brisbane with a supremely composed unbeaten 89 when the team was missing more than half the regulars and chasing a venue record 328. He is also the peoples’ champion. Through the course of this tour, he has obliged requests for selfies with a smile, remaining grounded and humble. Smart and thoughtful lad Pant has stared death in the face and lived to tell the tale, so it’s unlikely that he will be too fazed by the pressures that a game of cricket can impose. Even before that horrendous accident of December 30, 2022, the likeable young man came across as smart, thoughtful and equanimous in success and failure. He is perhaps even more so now, considering the last 24 months of his life and the manner in which he has bounced back when many feared whether he would even walk again. Also Read: "When top order doesn't score runs, pressure increases in lower order": Ravindra Jadeja Since returning to competitive cricket nine months ago at the IPL, Pant has waltzed back into the national team. After a strong start at the T20 World Cup in New York, he went somewhat cold when the tournament moved to the Caribbean but celebrated his return to Test cricket in September against Bangladesh with a flowing second-innings century. His grand form with the bat spilled over to the NZ series when he made 99 in the second innings of the first Test and almost hauled India to victory in Mumbai until a contentious TV umpire decision thwarted those designs. Pant made a splendid 64, his second half-century of the game on a decidedly dodgy surface, and it was then widely believed that in Australia, on truer wickets with more pace and bounce, he would positively enjoy himself. That hasn’t been the case. Five innings have produced a mere 96 runs with a highest of 37 and an average of 19.2. At No. 5, he has almost always walked into a newish ball — in the 17th over in the first innings in Perth, 21st and 15th overs in Adelaide, and the eighth over in Brisbane — against which batting has been very tricky against a terrific pace attack. New ball challenge Pant’s counterpart at No. 5, Travis Head, has had the luxury of coming in mainly after the new ball has been blunted, after which he has been able to play his shots with impunity. Early forays to the batting crease haven’t helped Pant’s cause, but the left-hander has been around long enough to not use that as an excuse. Pant’s Test career received a second lease in Melbourne four years back, when he was recalled after being benched in the series opener in Adelaide. Maybe it’s here too that he will turn his series around next week. Now, what a story that will be.
22 December,2024 07:40 AM IST | Melbourne | R KaushikStar India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja on Saturday said lack of runs from the top-order builds pressure on the lower-order and called for an improved performance from the batting unit in the Boxing Day Test here. Jadeja played a crucial role in the rain-hit third Test against Australia at Brisbane, scoring a gritty 77 in the first innings to help India secure a draw. “Top-order runs are very important when you play outside India, especially in Australia and South Africa. When the top order doesn’t score runs, the responsibility and pressure increase on the lower order,” Jadeja said during an interaction at the MCG. Also Read: African Gold for HPSL Indian 2000 Guineas (Gr 1) “Hopefully, the top-order and the middle-order do well in this Test. As a team, we need the top order to perform. If everyone contributes in the batting unit, the team will do well.” India’s top-order struggled in Brisbane, barring opener KL Rahul, who scored a valiant 84. The rest of the top and middle order crumbled, but Jadeja, playing his first match of the tour, kept India afloat. While Washington Sundar was preferred in the opening Test in Perth, Ravichandran Ashwin featured in the second Test in Adelaide. Jadeja said missing the first two matches worked to his advantage as it allowed him to acclimatize to the conditions and prepare for the Gabba Test. “I got a nice few days to understand and get used to the conditions. I was here so many days, I used to bowl and bat on the tracks here. I got more familiar with the conditions here,” he said. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
22 December,2024 07:36 AM IST | Melbourne | PTICricket legend Sachin Tendulkar has lauded a young girl's 'smooth and effortless' bowling action, likening it to former India pacer Zaheer Khan, who too praised her technique in a social media exchange that created a lot of buzz. On Friday, Tendulkar shared a video on 'X' featuring the young girl, Sushila Meena, delivering a ball with an extraordinarily fluid left-arm pace bowling action, reminiscent of Zaheer's signature style. Smooth, effortless, and lovely to watch! Sushila Meena’s bowling action has shades of you, @ImZaheer. Do you see it too? pic.twitter.com/yzfhntwXux — Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) December 20, 2024 Tendulkar also tagged his longtime India teammate Zaheer in his video, which was in slow motion. "Smooth, effortless, and lovely to watch! Sushila Meena's bowling action has shades of you, @ImZaheer. Do you see it too?" the Indian batting legend said in his post. Also Read: Anmolpreet slams fastest List A ton by Indian as Punjab beat Arunachal Pradesh Responding to the post, Zaheer said: "You're spot on with that, and I couldn't agree more. Her action is so smooth and impressive, she's showing a lot of promise already!" The barefooted Sushila, a Class 5 student from Rajasthan, showcased her natural flair and passion for the game, with her action, including a signature jump before delivery, bearing striking similarities to Zaheer's bowling style. The video highlights the immense raw talent emerging from rural India, underscoring the country's potential in nurturing future cricket stars. The interaction between Tendulkar and Zaheer has drawn widespread attention on social media, garnering lakhs of views and an outpouring of appreciation for the young bowler.
21 December,2024 06:06 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentAnmolpreet Singh smashed the quickest List A hundred by an Indian, a 35-ball effort, to guide Punjab to an easy nine-wicket win over Arunachal Pradesh in a Group C Vijay Hazare match on Saturday. Anmolpreet, who went unsold in the recent IPL auction, broke the record of former India all-rounder Yusuf Pathan, who had scored a hundred off 40 balls for Baroda against Maharashtra in 2009-10. This knock is also the third fastest List A hundred behind Aussie Jake-Fraser McGurk, who smashed a 29-ball ton for South Australia against Tasmania in 2023-24, and South African AB de Villiers' 31-ball hundred against the West Indies at Johannesburg in 2014-15. The right-handed Anmolpreet made 115 off 45 balls (12x4, 9x6) as Punjab chased down a target of 165 in just 12.5 overs, reaching 167 for one. 🚨 Record AlertAnmolpreet Singh smashed the fastest List A 💯 by an Indian, reaching the milestone in just 35 balls 💥 He achieved this feat playing for Punjab against Arunachal Pradesh in the #VijayHazareTrophy in Ahmedabad 👏Watch 📽️ snippets of his knock @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/SKzDrgNQAO — BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) December 21, 2024 After the early fall of skipper Abhishek Sharma (10), Anmolpreet and Prabhsimran Singh (35 not out, 25b) milked 153 runs for the unbroken second wicket alliance to guide Punjab home. Earlier, Arunachal were bowled out for 164 with pacer Ashwani Kumar and leg-spinner Mayank Markande taking three wickets apiece. Brief scores: Arunachal Pradesh: 164 all out in 48.4 overs (Tech Neri 42, Hardik Varma 38; Ashwani Kumar 3/37, Mayank Markande 3/31) lost to Punjab: 167/1 in 12.5 overs (Anmolpreet Singh 115 not out) by 9 wickets (With agency inputs)
21 December,2024 05:58 PM IST | Ahmedabad | mid-day online correspondentADVERTISEMENT
