There was a stark contrast between the shot selection of Damien Martyn as opposed to Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid. This can partly be attributed to the sea of difference between the bowling of the two sides – one woefully profligate and the other manfully disciplined. The slowness of the pitch as the match wore on was also one of the factors, but the contrast was definitely glaring.Damien Martyn scored 31% of his runs (31 off 100) in the V between long-on and long-off, while Tendulkar and Dravid hardly drove down the ground with the full face of the bat. Tendulkar scored only 14.7% of his runs (10 off 68) in this region while the corresponding figure for Dravid was 13.6% (8 off 59). The figures become even more baffling when one considers that the Australian seamers hardly pitched it short and stuck to a straight line throughout their spells. Tendulkar exhibited some artistic touch with some delectable glides and swipes, but this ultimately led to his dismissal.
Where Martyn got his runs
Runs
Runs off boundaries
Behind wicket – off side
6
4
Square of wicket – off side
13
8
Cover – off side
18
8
Front of wicket – off side
10
4
Front of wicket – on side
21
14
Midwicket – on side
13
4
Square of wicket – on side
11
0
Behind wicket – on side
8
4
Zaheer Khan’s early spell reminded one of the World Cup final, when he was dismantled by a rampaging unit. He bowled 45 balls out which of 15 drifted down leg side. On a pitch that demanded a stump-to-stump spell he should learn a few lessons from young Nathan Bracken, whose swing and control left most batsmen clueless. In a spell of 4 for 29 Bracken bowled only 3 balls on the middle and leg stump and of his 61 balls, 44 zeroed in outside the off stump. His length too was immaculate and 52 out of his 61 balls were pitched on a good length, 7 were pitched up and only 1 was short – a statistic that would have made Glenn Mcgrath proud.
Whitewashing visiting cricket sides is becoming quite a common feature withSri Lankan national teams and Sri Lanka A are looking for a three-nil cleansweep when they take on Kenya in the final unofficial Test at Dambulla onThursday.Jayasuriya and Co. completed 3-0 whitewashes against West Indies andZimbabwe in recently concluded series. Chandana’s boys have taken astranglehold in the series against Kenya with two convincing wins in thefirst two Tests which has given them an unassailable 2-0 lead.”I think it is very important for us that we win against Kenya here,” saidSri Lanka ‘A’ senior coach and manager Roshan Mahanama.”Kenya are a better one-day side and if we can thrash them like we did inthe first two Tests it will boost our morale and give us a psychologicaladvantage over them for the one-day series,” he said.The disappointing aspect from Kenya’s viewpoint is that there is nocontinuity in their batting line up which has seen only one individualperform in each innnings.In the first Test, it was Ravindu Shah’s knock of 94 that held their firstinnings together, while Steve Tikolo stood out in the second innings makinga bright 65.The story was very much the same at Matara, where Shah once again top scoredin the first innings with 106, and Tikolo followed in the second inningswith 117.None of the other recognised batsmen have been able to build bigpartnerships with Shah and Tikolo.To get down to the cold statistics, Kenya’s highest partnership in theseries so far is 59 for the fourth wicket between Shah and Hitesh Modi inthe first innings of the first ‘Test’.In contrast, Sri Lanka ‘A’s success has largely been on their ability tobuild on big partnerships which has seen them run up totals of 414 and 574-6declared.The other factor, which weighs heavily against Kenya is the inability shownby their batsmen to cope with spin on surfaces, which encourage turn. Elevenwickets fell to spin at the Sara Stadium and 17 at Matara.To add to their woes Kenya are leaving their options of picking their finalsquad until the morning of the match because of injuries to key playersThomas Odoyo, an all-rounder of repute and Mohammad Sheikh, their left-armorthodox slow bowler.Odoyo is still recovering from a right hamstring injury, which prevented himfrom batting in both innings at Matara. Indications are that he may berested for this ‘Test’ in order to have him fully fit for the three-matchone-day series starting on February 20.Sheikh dislocated a finger in his left-hand at fielding practice on Tuesdayand is receiving treatment for it.Kenya’s manager said that because of the injuries the team will not befinalised until the morning and that all 16 players in the squad wereavailable for selection.Sri Lanka ‘A’ on the other hand have less worries with hard-hitting openerAvishka Gunawardana having recovered from the ‘flu that laid him low atMatara and likely to play here.Upekha Fernando who stepped in for Gunawardana and scored an impressive 86off 98 balls is expected to open with Gunawardana relegating Ian Daniel tothe reserves.The selectors have brought in fast bowler Dulip Liyanage to replace PrabathNissanka in the 14 for Dambulla, but the final choice of whether to go withseam or spin will only be decided on the morning because of the pitchgetting damp due to some rain falling over in the past two days.Ruchira Perera and Pulasthi Gunaratne are likely to be the two in therunning for the seamer’s berth and skipper Chandana and left-armer RanganaHerath for the spinners.Liyanage and off-spinner Muthumudalige Pushpakumara will have to await theirfate until the morning of the match.SRI LANKA ‘A’ (from):Upul Chandana (captain), Avishka Gunawardana, Upekha Fernando, MichaelVandort, Tillekeratne Dilshan, Chamara Silva, Prasanna Jayawardene,Muthumudalige Pushpakumara, Ruchira Perera, Rangana Herath, PulasthiGunaratne, Dulip Liyanage, Ian Daniel, Gayan Wijekoon.KENYA (from):Maurice Odumbe (captain), Kennedy Otieno, Ravindu Shah, Steve Tikolo, HiteshModi, Otieno Suji, Collins Obuya, Lamech Onyango, Martin Suji, Brijal Patel,Joseph Angara, Josephat Sorengo, David Obuya, Thomas Odoyo, Mohammad Sheikh.UMPIRES:Gamini Silva and D.A.S. Dissanayake, Match Referee : RanjithMadurasinghe.
Pankaj Dharmani and Dinesh Mongia, with an unbeaten 330-run partnership forthe fourth wicket put Punjab in a position of considerable strength atclose of play on the second day of their North Zone Ranji Trophy leaguematch against Jammu & Kashmir at the Burlton Park in Jullundur on Monday.After being 36 for three in reply to J&K’s first innings total of 168,Punjab at stumps were 366 for three.Medium pacer Surendra Singh rocked Punjab by taking the wickets of RavneetRicky (6), skipper Vikram Rathour (23) and Manish Sharma (3) in his firstseven overs and suddenly the J&K first innings total looked veryimpressive. However over the next 76.5 overs, Dharmani and Mongia changedthe scenario dramatically. They did pretty much what they liked with thebowling. Eight bowlers were tried but to no avail as the fourth wicket pairscored at will. Mongia was slightly the more aggressive of the two and byclose he had hit 176 in 296 minutes. He faced 253 balls and hit eight foursand five sixes. The experienced Dharmani was no less impressive in hisstokeplay and his 148 took him 306 minutes to compile. He faced 210 ballsand hit eleven fours and three sixes. Surendra Singh by stumps had threefor 52 off 16 overs but the rest of the bowling was harshly dealt with.
Rangers have had a fairly eventful season at Ibrox so far having said goodbye to one manager and replacing him with their current boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst who has been trying to regain the title for the Gers.
At this stage of the campaign, Rangers are currently in the quarter-finals of the Europa League too and will be neck and neck with Celtic if they manage to beat them in the upcoming Old Firm Derby once the latest international break draws to a close.
In terms of their individual players and which of them have stood out from the crowd to push the team towards reaching their goals, one figure that deserves praise and recognition is midfielder Joe Aribo, who has been described as “dynamic” in the past by Van Bronckhorst.
Since arriving from Charlton Athletic back in the 2019 summer window on a free transfer, the Nigerian has made a total of 136 appearances across all competitions, scoring 24 goals and providing 23 assists along the way.
This season has highlighted just how crucial the midfielder is to the team by appearing in the vast majority of their domestic and European games, finding the back of the net seven times with eight assists provided in the process.
In the league, only defenders James Tavernier and Connor Goldson have played more minutes than Aribo, who is currently earning a weekly wage of £14k-per-week according to Salary Sport, showing that he is wholeheartedly Rangers’ first-choice midfielder.
The dynamic Nigerian has also been superb for his country, being described as a “beautiful footballer” and “unplayable” by journalists Josh Bunting and Oluwashina Okeleji during AFCON.
In terms of what he offers Van Bronckhorst’s side on the pitch aside from his very useful goals and assists, which is what could help fire the Gers to the league title, on the ball, the midfielder has racked up an average of 1.8 key passes per game, the joint-third highest of any player in the squad as well as 1.8 shots per game.
Off the ball, the 25-year-old has not shirked away from his defensive responsibilities when his side doesn’t have the ball, which isn’t very often with Van Bronckhorst’s men boasting an average possession percentage of 64%, with an average of 1.6 tackles per game, the third-highest of any Rangers player to start more than three league games.
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While Alfredo Morelos may be the Gers’ main man in terms of scoring goals on a regular basis, it’s arguably Aribo that could fire Van Bronckhorst to the title if he can keep adding to his tally in that respect, but could also be seen as a more important player for the team given his work on and off the ball around the pitch.
In other news: Wilson disaster: Rangers dropped the ball over “unbelievable” £2.2m-rated “class act”
As warm-up matches go, the players didn’t get very warm. India’s only game before the Boxing Day Test was called off after only 48 overs because of persistent heavy rain in Melbourne.Three days against Victoria were scheduled at the Junction Oval but overnight showers and a wet pitch meant no play was possible on the third day. It leaves their bowlers with no match practice before the first Test as the Indians finished at 4 for 133 with Rahul Dravid on 38 and Yuvraj Singh on 6.Two-and-a-half hours were played on the first day before torrential rain saturated the ground and only ten overs were possible on day two. The Indians used much of the downtime to train at the MCG indoor nets and they will have little choice but to complete their preparations under cover with more rain expected over the next couple of days.However, the Test should not be affected with a warm change forecast for Melbourne on Christmas Day. Sunny conditions are predicted for the first few days of the Test.
Tasmania will play in the Pura Cup final starting on March 19 but their opposition and the location of the match are still undecided with one round left. New South Wales are in prime position to secure a place against the Tigers but Western Australia and Victoria remain in the mix.Three games begin on Thursday and all could shape the final. The top-of-the-table clash between Tasmania and New South Wales at Hobart looms as the key match and a win to the Blues would close the door for the Warriors and the Bushrangers.However, Tasmania have plenty of reasons to compete as a loss would force them to travel to Sydney to play off for the title. The importance of hosting was clear after last year’s final, in which Queensland, needing only a draw to lift the cup, batted Victoria out of the contest with 6 for 900 in their first innings.The Tigers must forget about their last effort against New South Wales five weeks ago, when the Blues smashed them by an innings and 165 runs at Sydney. Even a draw would ensure a Hobart final for the first time and give Tasmania their best chance yet to win their maiden Pura Cup.Tasmania, led by George Bailey in the absence of Dan Marsh with a calf injury, are unchanged after completing an easy eight-wicket victory against a dreadful South Australia on Sunday. New South Wales could not finish off Queensland last week and question-marks over Simon Katich, who led the Blues with 205, and Grant Lambert, the in-form allrounder, make the Tigers favourites.Western Australia and Victoria each must win their last-round matches to have any chance of extending their campaign for another week. The two teams are four points behind New South Wales, meaning if they both win and the Blues do not, Victoria progress to the final as they would have the most outright victories.The Warriors, who are fourth, have a high quotient so they would likely make it through should they win and both Victoria and New South Wales lose or draw. However, they are the team relying most on results from other games.
Western Australia should be confident for their Adelaide clash with a Redbacks unit that has lost six of its nine games this season. The Warriors inflicted one of South Australia’s worst performances this year when they thrashed the Redbacks within two days in January, as Steve Magoffin and Ben Edmondson twice tore the heart out of the top order.Justin Langer led the Warriors with two superb innings as they went agonisingly close to beating Victoria on Sunday. His terrific state form has added venom to an already strong line-up that features Marcus North, Adam Voges and the competition’s leading run-scorer, Chris Rogers.The Bushrangers face a more difficult task at Brisbane, against Queensland, a side they have not beaten in a Pura Cup match since 2004. It will be even harder without their leading wicket-taker, Shane Harwood, who has a buttock strain.An inexperienced attack consisting of Peter Siddle, Clinton McKay, Dirk Nannes, Grant Lindsay and Bryce McGain is available for Victoria, which is perhaps an appropriate end to an injury-plagued season for the state’s bowlers. The batting looks stronger, with David Hussey, Nick Jewell and Andrew McDonald all in form.Last week’s games gave the Tigers and the Blues the chance to seal their own destinies; only Tasmania took the opportunity. Now three teams are fighting for one place in the final and just one thing is certain: their efforts to this point of the season mean little unless they win this week.
Barbados wicketkeeper Patrick Browne and Leeward Islands fast-medium bowler Gavin Tonge have been drafted into the West Indies A 13-man squad for the second unofficial Test against England A, starting on Friday at St Lucia’s Beausejour Stadium.They take the places of Carlton Baugh and Jermaine Lawson in a move designed to expose more players for development.West Indies A Sylvester Joseph (capt), Sewnarine Chattergoon, Lendl Simmons, Dale Richards, Marlon Samuels, Ryan Hinds, Narsingh Deonarine, Patrick Browne, Richard Kelly, Dave Mohammed, Tino Best, Andrew Richardson, Gavin Tonge.
No. 4 – World Cup quarter-final 1995-96 ScorecardFor subcontinental fans, every World Cup has two narratives: the one about who actually wins the tournament; and the equally important one of who wins the encounter between India and Pakistan. For that one match, the tournament goes beyond sport and into nationalism. A defeat in the tournament can be forgiven; a loss against the neighbour cannot.In 1996, controversy set in before the match began, when Wasim Akram, Pakistan’s captain, decided not to play because of injury. (His house was to be stoned later after the defeat.) Aamer Sohail took over the captaincy and promptly lost the toss. Mohammad Azharuddin, India’s captain, chose to bat.Waqar Younis began with a hostile spell first up, as Sachin Tendulkar batted with a restraint befitting of the importance of the occasion. But the longer innings he set himself up for did not materialise. Instead, it was Sidhu who was to be the fulcrum of India’s innings. Batting with a runner because of a leg injury, he gritted his way to an invaluable 93 before Mushtaq Ahmed got him with a flipper.A score of 250 seemed likely, but all that was transformed at the end of the innings. Ajay Jadeja, who had once harboured dreams of opening the innings for India, came in at No. 6 and seized the day, and the momentum. He smashed 45 off 25, as Waqar’s last two overs went for 40. Those were decisive runs.India’s 287 was a daunting total in those days, but Pakistan began well. Sohail and Saeed Anwar added 84 in 10 overs before Anwar was out for 48, off just 32 balls. Then came a defining moment of the game, as hothead met hothead. Sohail, having smashed Venkatesh Prasad for a four to extra-cover, indicated to the bowler that the next ball would disappear there as well. Prasad, a mild-mannered man outside the field of cricket, glared at him, strode back to his mark, and rushed in. Sohail tried to make room for the shot he had promised, and the ball middled the off stump.That was the decisive turning point. Prasad, mixing it up beautifully, then took the wickets of Ijaz Ahmed and Inzamam-ul-Haq, and Anil Kumble had Pakistan on a leash after that. Javed Miandad, playing his last one-day international, came out at No. 6, but his day was done, and so was the game. India won, in the end, by 39 runs.Firecrackers went off across India. A different kind of welcome awaited the Pakistanis at home.Amit Varma is contributing editor of Cricinfo. He writes the independent blogs, India Uncut and The Middle Stage.
Sachin Tendulkar started the trend last year, and now it’s Sourav Ganguly’s turn. Ganguly is all set to turn TV host, presenting ESPN’s Cricket show, along with Harsha Bhogle, ESPN-Star Sports’ commentator and anchor.Starting September 26, the Cricket Show will be aired every Friday at 2130 IST. It will feature the week’s cricket from across the globe, with personalities like Tendulkar, Geoffrey Boycott and Sunil Gavaskar roped in to provide the expert analysis. The show will also leave Indian shores, and episodes are planned while the Indian team tours Australia later this year.RC Venkatesh, ESPN-Star’s Managing Director, said, “ESPN Star Sports, through ESPN Cricket Show, will present the game of cricket in its entirety to the viewer. An interactive analysis of the week’s cricket played the world over by the experts and the India captain will give the viewer a unique perspective. Besides cricket’s on-pitch excitement ESPN Cricket Show will entertain viewers with on-ground initiatives, talent-hunts, consumer contests and the new Super Selector.”As for Ganguly, he said, “I have enjoyed the challenging experience of writing a column for newspapers and websites. I believe that the ESPN Cricket Show will offer me the chance to share my philosophy of the game with an enlightened audience. I am looking forward to joining Harsha Bhogle in presenting the ESPN Cricket Show to the knowledgeable fans, some of whom I expect to be interacting with on the show as well.”
Andhra Pradesh sent off their coach Syed Abid Ali in fine style, steamrolling Karnataka in their Ranji one-day match at Visakhapatnam on Tuesday.Winning the toss, Karnataka skipper J Arunkumar opted to bat. But, barring a steady 58 from Barrington Rowland, none of the other batsmen could really get going. Only minor contributions from B Akhil (25) and SN Shinde (29) helped Karnataka achieve a total of any substance. They were bowled out for 174 in 44.3 overs.Chasing 175, Andhra Pradesh suffered few hiccups in their effort. Y Venugopal Rao and MSK Prasad used all their experience to good effect, piloting their side to a win within 46.4 overs. Rao scored 51 off 97 balls, while Prasad made 46 off 57 balls.