Sports
10 Overs, 0 Wickets: Mohammed Shami Makes Poor Return To Competitive Cricket In Ranji Trophy
India pacer Mohammed Shami returned wicket-less from his 10 overs in a subdued comeback to competitive cricket after 360 days as Bengal struggled in their Ranji Trophy Group C game against Madhya Pradesh in Indore on Wednesday. Electing to field first, MP were 103/1 at stumps after bowling out Bengal for 228 in their first innings. The visitors need an outright win to keep their slim quarterfinal hopes alive. Bengal’s attack is depleted by injuries to Ishan Porel and Rishav Vivek, while Mukesh Kumar and Akash Deep are on national duty. All eyes are now on Shami to not only prove his fitness but also rejuvenate his state team’s campaign.
Bowling on the Holkar Stadium green-top, the 34-year-old Shami, who was sidelined with an Achilles tendon injury on his left leg for which he underwent a surgery, returned figures of 10-1-34-0.
Shami, who was last seen in action in India’s ODI World Cup final against Australia in Ahmedabad on November 19 last year, bowled four overs in the first spell, giving away 16 runs. He conceded three fours and bowled 17 dot balls in that spell.
His second spell was slightly better with figures of 6-1-18-0. Shami’s fitness will be closely monitored by the BCCI think-tank, with hopes that a strong performance would secure him a spot in the Indian squad for the high-profile Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, starting in Perth on November 22.
Shami was also seen for the first time playing with his younger brother Mohammed Kaif, who took the only wicket to fall in the MP innings, trapping opener Himanshu Mantri for 13.
But the other opener Shubhranshu Senapati showed resilience, and was batting on 44 from 103 balls at stumps, while India batter Rajat Patidar was 41 not out off 55 balls.
Earlier, Bengal’s top-order crumbled, with opener Shuvam Dey and No. 4 Rohit Kumar getting out for golden ducks, while Sudip Chatterjee (15), Sudip Gharami (10) also got out cheaply, leaving Bengal reeling at 42/4.
However, Shabaz Ahmed played a stellar knock, rescuing the team with a gritty fifty.
Bengal were 79/5 when Shahbaz joined skipper Anustup Majumdar to put together a crucial 96-run partnership.
After Anustup’s dismissal, Shahbaz (92) upped the ante and marched towards a second first-class century but fell short by eight runs, signalling the arrival of Shami who batted with his brother Kaif for the first time in a competitive match.
Aryan Pandey (4/47) was the pick of MP bowling, while left-arm pacer Kulwant Khejroliya bagged 4/84.
Koushik’s five in a row
Karnataka seamer Vasuki Koushik claimed a five-wicket haul for the second consecutive match as Uttar Pradesh were bowled out for just 89 at Ekana Stadium.
Koushik finished with 5/20, following his 5/38 against Bengal in their previous game, marking his fourth five-wicket haul in first-class cricket.
Young pacer Vidyadhar Patil supported him well, taking 2/22, while debutant Yashovardhan Parantap chipped in with 1/19.
Together, the Karnataka pacers shared eight wickets as UP lasted just 40.3 overs.
In reply, Karnataka reached 127/5, led by a brisk 68 not out (77 balls) from wicketkeeper-batter Krishnan Shrijith.
Lomror, Sharma tons power Rajasthan to 362/4 against Uttarakhand
Middle-order batters Mahipal Lomror and Kartik Sharma struck unbeaten hundreds, punctuating their knocks with 11 sixes to power Rajasthan to 362 for four against hosts Uttarakhand on the first day of their Group B Ranji Trophy match in Dehradun on Wednesday.
Invited to bat, Rajasthan were off to a steady start but soon found themselves in trouble after sipping to 188 for four in the second session.
Having seen three batters walk back to the dressing room after getting their eye in, Lomror stitched an excellent partnership of 174 runs for the fifth wicket to steer the visiting side to a comfortable position.
Among the batters to have failed on the day was Rajasthan skipper Deepak Hooda (10 off 29 balls), who was caught behind off the bowling of Deepak Dhapola, signaling the arrival of Sharma into the crease.
Uttarakhand did not taste any success thereafter as Rajasthan completely dominated the final session of play with the duo of Lomror and Sharma in total control of the proceedings in the elite group game.
At the close of play, Lomror was batting on 141 off 189 balls while Sharma was going strong on 113 off 114 deliveries, having scored at almost run-a-ball.
During his stay in the middle, Lomror found the fence 14 times and cleared it on five occasions, while Sharma entertained those present at the ground by smashing 11 fours and six sixes.
Earlier in the day, Uttarakhand’s decision to field first did not bring them great returns as Rajasthan reached 100 for the loss of just one wicket in Abhijeet Tomar (20).
Ram Chouhan (29) fell with the score reading 106 but still the visitors did not have enough reasons to worry.
However, losing two more wickets, including that of their skipper, with the team score yet to cross 200, put Rajasthan in a spot of bother. In between, Zubair Ali made 26 in 40 balls, getting dismissed after settling down.
That’s when Sharma joined Lomror in the middle, and the two first steadied the ship and then placed their team ahead with their dominant batting display.
The big, undefeated partnership between Lomror and Sharma helped Rajasthan take honours on the first day.
For Uttarakhand, there was a wicket each for Dhapola, Abhay Negi, Avneesh Sudha and Swapnil Singh, as stumps were drawn with eight overs still to be bowled due to bad light.
Jharkhand crawl to 136 for 3 vs Delhi on a curtailed Day 1
Opener Sharandeep Singh scored a dogged unbeaten 64 as Jharkhand batters were painstakingly slow in their approach reaching 136 for 3 on a weather-curtailed opening day of the Ranji Trophy group D fixture against Delhi. Having lost to Chattisgarh in the last game, Delhi in their final home game of the season made wholesale changes under new skipper Ayush Badoni.
The three pacers — Money Grewal (1/43 in 14 overs), Simarjeet Singh (1/16 in 14 overs) and left-armer Siddhant Sharma (1/32 in 14 overs) — were primarily used by Badoni keeping the conditions in mind.
Sharandeep, who hit nine boundaries was ready to dead bat most deliveries and leave a lot during his undefeated 183-ball innings. He added 93 for the third wicket with southpaw Utkarsh Singh (46 off 86 balls) before Siddhant dismissed the latter towards late afternoon.
The match also saw Simarjeet making a comeback to the playing eleven after missing out on last three matches and he kept things tight at one end.
Jharkhand started on a cautious note adding 24 in almost an hour’s play before young Money had Nazim Siddique edge one to former skipper Himmat Singh in the slip cordon.
Simarjeet was rewarded when he breached Aryaman Sen’s defence but Sharandeep and Utkarsh showed good defensive technique during the day.
Few of the boundaries slammed off Simarjeet were streaky and came behind the square along with a few crisp on-drives.
The spinners got to bowl only 13 overs between them and they didn’t look very penetrative on the day.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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Sports
“I Am Nobody”: Kapil Dev’s Intriguing Take As Gambhir, Rohit Face Flak Over Harshit Rana Selection
File photo of Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma© BCCI/Sportzpics
Team India’s 10-wicket loss in the pink-ball Test against Australia at Adelaide has prompted calls for changes in the team. Rookie pacer Harshit Rana went wicket-less in Adelaide, with his selection putting head coach Gautam Gambhir and skipper Rohit Sharma in the line of fire. Some even allege that Harshit’s selection in the XI was down to his Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) connection with Harshit. When former India captain Kapil Dev was asked about the controversy regarding selection matter, he gave a rather intriguing response.
Kapil Dev, one of India’s legendary cricketers, feels it is not his responsibility to judge such calls made by the team management. Hence, his opinion doesn’t make a difference.
“I am a nobody. How can I judge? There are people up there who have the responsibility to decide who should be in the team,” he told reporters on the sidelines of Vishwa Samudra Open, a PGTI event set to begin at the Delhi Golf Club.
Kapil expressed his confidence on the team management’s ability to select the best possible team and get the work done in Australia.
“We shouldn’t talk. My former colleagues are sitting there, and I hope they will do a good job,” he said.
India vs Australia 3rd Test
With the series 1-1, India face a daunting task ahead of them as the players group together for the third match of the series in Brisbane. Known for producing daunting bouncy pitches, handling Australian pacers at the Gabba is expected to be a tricky task for Indian batters.
India also have to get the maximum possible wins out of the next three matches of the series if they are to qualify for the ICC World Test Championship final. At present, India are placed third in the points table, with South Africa and Australia occupying the top 2 spots.
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Sports
Shaheen Afridi Scripts History, Becomes First Pakistan Player In History To…
Shaheen Afridi claimed 3 wickets in 1st T20I vs South Africa© AFP
Ace seamer Shaheen Afridi etched his name in the history book by becoming Pakistan’s first bowler to take 100 wickets in each format of international cricket. In the first innings of the opening T20I against South Africa in Durban here on Tuesday night, Shaheen struck once in the powerplay, then in the middle phase and once towards the end to complete a three-wicket haul and arrive at the rare feat. With a three-wicket haul, Shaheen completed 100 T20I wickets and became the first Pakistan bowler to have 100 wickets in each format. Apart from T20Is, the 24-year-old left-arm seamer boasts 112 scalps in ODIs and 116 in Test cricket.
With his record-shattering spell, he also the became third Pakistani bowler to achieve 100 T20I wickets, behind Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan.
Shaheen hit the three-digit figure milestone in his 74th T20I game for Pakistan. He became the second-fastest to take 100 T20I wickets for Pakistan after scorching pacer Haris Rauf, who achieved the feat in 71 T20I matches.
Overall, Shaheen became the youngest to achieve the feat and joined the ranks of New Zealand’s Tim Southee, Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan, and Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga.
Coming to the match, Shaheen cleaned up Rassie van der Dussen for a golden duck with a pinpoint yorker. He came back to send in-form David Miller before he could bring up a well-deserved century.
In the last, he trapped Nqabayomzi Peter in front of the stumps to claim his 100th T20I wicket and enter the exclusive club. Shaheen ended the first T20I with figures of 3/22 in his four-over spell.
Despite Shaheen’s heroics, Pakistan fell to a narrow 11-run defeat. While chasing a challenging total of 184, skipper Mohammad Rizwan found no support from the other end. His 74 drove Pakistan’s score but it wasn’t enough to take the visitors past the finishing line.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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Sports
Another Twist In Mohammed Shami Tale, Pacer Not Flying To Australia After Rohit Sharma’s Revelation
File photo of Mohammed Shami© BCCI/Sportzpics
With the Indian team in desperate need of bowling reinforcements in Australia, the wait for veteran pacer Mohammed Shami to join the team continues. It looked like Shami could be ready to feature in the final two Tests of the series but his fitness concerns have prevented the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) from flying him Down Under anytime soon. India captain Rohit Sharma was asked about Shami’s status after the conclusion of the pink-ball Test in Adelaide. Rohit kept the door open for Shami but refused to give any timeline.
The India captain also suggested that the pacer is dealing with a swollen knee problem as he prepares to regain match fitness in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for Bengal.
A report in the Indian Express claimed that Shami has undergone a fresh fitness test which indicates that the pacer isn’t yet ready for 5-day cricket. Hence a flight to Australia anytime soon can be ruled out. But, Shami will feature in Bengal’s quarterfinal against Baroda at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, where his fitness and knee issues could be put under another test.
There are doubts about whether Shami is ready to bowl lengthy spells in the red-ball format, considering he is facing swollen knee issues even as he is bowling 4 overs for Bengal’s T20 side.
Since making a comeback to competitive cricket, Shami has featured in one Ranji Trophy and has also played in each of Bengal’s seven matches so far in the SMAT, shining both with the ball and the bat.
What Rohit Sharma said about Mohammed Shami’s situation
Rohit didn’t sound too optimistic about Shami’s potential return, highlighting the knee issues that the veteran pacer continues to face. The India captain asserted that he doesn’t want to rush Shami back into the team unless he is assured of his 100% fitness.
“We want to be more than 100% sure with him because it has been a long time. We don’t want to put pressure on him to come here and do the job for the team. There are some professionals monitoring, we will take a call based on what those guys feel. They are the ones watching him every game, how he pulls up after the game, after bowling four overs, standing for 20 overs. But the door is open for him to come and play anytime,” Rohit had said.
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