October 16, 2019 issue
Cricket
The Indian juggernaut continued to roll as the hosts humiliated South Africa by an innings and 137 runs in the second Test to clinch the three-match series in Pune on Sunday.
The comprehensive victory, coming on the fourth day, has consolidated India's top position in the World Test Championship table. India now have 200 points in their kitty, a handsome 140 points away from nearest-rival New Zealand.
Competing in his 50th Test as captain, Virat Kohli has now led India to their 11th consecutive series at home, a world record.
After being asked to follow-on, South Africa were all-out for 189 in 67.2 overs just after the tea break.
Following a superb effort from the batsmen, it was an all-round effort from India's five-pronged bowling unit with comeback man Umesh Yadav claiming 3 for 22.
Ravindra Jadeja (3/52), Ravichandran Ashwin (2/45), Mohammed Shami (1/34) and Ishant Sharma (1/17) played their part in the comprehensive victory.
Like in the first innings, Vernon Philander (37) and Maharaj (22) again came together to delay the inevitable adding 56 runs in 21.2 overs. Once Philander was caught down the leg-side by Wriddhiman Saha, the resistance was over in a flash.
The third and final Test will be played in Ranchi from Oct 19.
In the morning, the stodgy Dean Elgar (48 off 72 balls) put up some stiff resistance before Ashwin (2/8) snuffed him out, in what was a decisive blow to the Proteas, just before lunch.
After going wicketless in the first innings, Ishant Sharma (1/17) struck with the very second delivery of the morning, a full-length in-dipper that struck Aiden Markram's pads (0) and umpire Nigel Llong had no hesitation in raising his finger.
After a long discussion with non-striker Elgar, Markram didn't opt for the review but TV replays clearly showed the ball was missing the leg-stump. The opener thus had the ignominy of bagging a 'pair' in this Test.
However it was Wriddhiman Saha's superb keeping skills that had everyone on the edge of their seats. He showed why he is so highly-rated in world cricket.
On the third morning during South African first innings, poor Theunis de Bruyn (8) had suffered trying to play an expansive cover drive off Umesh Yadav (1/14 off 5 overs) that Saha had plucked from thin air in-front of the first slip.
On the fourth morning, De Bruyn tried playing a delicate glance after Umesh had drifted on the pads. To his horror, he saw an airborne Saha pull off an acrobatic stunner that left everyone stunned.
Elgar and skipper Faf du Plessis (5 off 54 balls) added 49 runs and were ready to show patience, especially the skipper, who was presenting dead bat.
However, the ultra defensive tactic didn't work for a lengthy period as Du Plessis got out trying to drive an Ashwin off-break. The bat-pad inside edge kept low but Saha's sharp reflexes meant that he pouched it on the fourth attempt.
Elgar, who lost a bit of concentration, tried to play a lofted shot but didn't get his timing right as Umesh ran back from his mid-off position to take a fine running catch as India got the decisive breakthrough.
T20 series
Inexperienced Sri Lanka completed a 3-0 clean-sweep in their Twenty20 series with world number one Pakistan on Wednesday with a 13-run victory in Lahore.
Chasing a modest 148-run target, Pakistan were on course for victory with Haris Sohail's 50-ball 52 with four boundaries and a six but leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga turned the tables with 3-21 to restrict the hosts to 134-6 in 20 overs.
Hasaranga had Sohail stumped in the 16th over and then dismissed Pakistan skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed (16-ball 17) in the 18th to give Sri Lanka victory on a match day designated as Pink Day for breast cancer awareness.
“It's really a good victory,” said Sri Lankan skipper Dasun Shanaka. “All the players were bonded, that was the key to our success.
“There are no extraordinary players here — they're all talented, but the unity was the secret. If we play smart cricket, there's always a possibility to win.”
Oshada Fernando had struck a brilliant 48-ball 78 with three sixes and eight boundaries — the highest by a Sri Lankan player on T20I debut — to lift Sri Lanka to 147-7 in their 20 overs.
Jehan Mubarak and Danushka Gunathilaka — who both scored 46 each — had held the previous record for most runs on a Twenty20 debut for Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka's victory was their first-ever Twenty20 series whitewash and was achieved despite missing 10 of their top players, including regular T20 skipper Lasith Malinga, who refused to tour Pakistan over security fears.
However their absences did not hurt Sri Lanka as they staged a remarkable comeback after losing the one-day series 2-0 by winning the first two matches of the T20 series by 64 and 35 runs respectively.
Before this, Pakistan's only Twenty20 whitewash defeat was at the hands of England in the United Arab Emirates in 2015.
“I think we recovered well in the bowling, but we needed another good partnership in the middle but we were subdued; we didn't express ourselves throughout this series,” said captain Sarfaraz.
Pakistan's start was once again disastrous as they lost aggressive opener Fakhar Zaman off the first ball of their innings, bowled by Kasun Rajitha for nought.
Babar Azam (32-ball 27) and Sohail added 76 for the second wicket but Sri Lanka applied the brakes as boundaries dried up.
Iftikhar Ahmed hit a six and a boundary in his 17 but targets of 37 off the last two overs and 28 in the last were beyond Pakistan.
Earlier, Sri Lanka rode on a brilliant maiden half century by Fernando, who held the innings together after Sri Lanka lost two wickets for 28 runs in four overs.
They then slumped to 58-4 with Bhanuka Rajapaksa, the star of the second match, falling for just three. Fernando repaired the damage with a fighting 76-run stand for the fifth wicket with Shanaka, who made 12.
Pakistan were once again sloppy in the field, dropping four catches while Sarfaraz spurned a stumping chance behind the wicket.
Paceman Mohammad Amir, who went wicketless in the first two matches, finished with 3-27.
Sri Lanka had made five changes to check their bench strength, bringing in Sadeera Samarawickrama, Angelo Perera, Oshada Fernando, Lahiru Madushanka and Lahiru Kumara. They replaced Minod Bhanuka, Shehan Jayasuriya, Avishka Fernando, Isuru Udana and Nuwan Pradeep.
Pakistan left out the misfiring Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal while fast bowler Mohammad Hasnain was rested. They were replaced by Haris Sohail, Iftikhar Ahmed and Usman Shinwari.
The venue for the game, Gaddafi Stadium, was decked out in pink after the Pakistan Cricket Board joined hands with Pink Ribbon to create awareness about breast cancer.
Scores: DD, twelve '4s' and YB, thirteen '4s'. Games one and two were won by DD while the other three were taken by YB.
Inaugurated in 2017, to promote the SHORT '4' game, the friendly and fun-filled competition is played outdoors in the summer and indoors in the winter.
SHORT '4', sometimes called SLOW '4', originated in Guyana and can be played on a field of about 1200 sq ft in area. Basically, the wicket is placed on one end of the pitch while bowlers alternate their spells at the other end. To score, no running between the wicket and the bowler's end is necessary. The batsman scores one '4' when the played ball crosses the boundry after touching the ground or touching a fielder. The batsman is out in one of three ways: bowled, caught inside the boundary, or if the ball is hit clean outside of the boundary (normally considered a 6). Bowlers take a one-step run up to the bowling crease and are limited to four overs each in a twenty-over game.
SHORT '4' Cricket is a game for all ages, male and female.
Despite having a smooth tour of Pakistan, SLC President Shammi Silva isn't too satisfied with how things panned out and isn't sure if they will be touring Pakistan again any time soon.
Due to stringent security measures, the players were asked to stay put in the team hotels in the packed schedule for matches held in Lahore and Karachi. "Players had to stay inside their hotel. I was there and though I stayed for 3-4 days, I got fed up (about it). We have to think about that and discuss with the players and support staff. We are playing the Test Championship and we want to do well in that too," Silva was quoted as saying by Island Cricket.
While stating that staying put in the hotel had its upsides in terms of team bonding and security of players, he added that the downsides far outweighed it.
"Frankly in my opinion, it was good team bonding when they are staying in the hotel without their wives. Too much of freedom is also bad for the players. But, they have to go out to do shopping, they have to eat somewhere, all those things are there. They have to go out and see the world. They can't stay inside the hotel."
Sri Lanka finished the tour with a clean sweep of the T20I series after having lost the ODIs 2-0. While stating that process of travelling to the venue for the limited overs series was exhausting, he added that it might be tough for the teams to return and go through the same process for multi-day games.
"We have to reassess and see about Test matches. We owed something to Pakistan because they are there for us, because they always helped us. We were willing to bear that up (security hassle), but the problem is how much we could bear?
"I heard security there is getting better. I don't know because we were not allowed to go out, so may be by next year we might suddenly see Australia or England come and play.
Cricket Ireland chief executive Warren Deutrom has said that he expects Ireland to be invited to tour Pakistan in either 2020 or 2021. Pakistan have played almost all their home games in the United Arab Emirates since a 2009 attack on a Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore.
But Deutrom has travelled to Pakistan to assess conditions in the country. "We want to play our part in assisting getting international cricket back in Pakistan," said the Irish cricket boss.
"Just at a very human level until you see it with yourself, you come with a set of conceptions or preconceptions and I think this visit, which was generously made at the invitation of the Pakistan Cricket Board, would begin to change those perceptions.
"What we saw in Islamabad and Lahore is the extraordinary lengths to which the cricket authorities, the security authorities, the government and police [have gone]; everyone has been working incredibly closely together to building that confidence.
"It begins to build a sense of: OK, well, what are the reasons now to say why wouldn't we come if we have had all these sensitive comforts provided to us?"
Deutrom added that he and Cricket Ireland chairman Ross McCollum, who also travelled to Pakistan, now plan to hold discussions with other board members in the coming weeks.
"When we receive an invitation, we will go through the motions and will take it extremely seriously," he said.
"There is no date set. However, it wouldn't surprise me if that date or if that invitation was received by the end of the year for a tour taking place, perhaps next year, maybe the year after.
"I think that's something we should take extremely seriously."
Ireland made their historic men's Test debut against Pakistan at Malahide in May 2018, while other encounters included a shock World Cup win for the Irish in Jamaica in 2007.