Friday, 15 November 2013
India's next generation thrives after Tendulkar 74
India's next generation of batting talent flourished as West Indies were pummelled into submission but even the delectable strokeplay of Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli couldn't wipe out the anti-climactic feel of much of the second day's play.
During the first hour, however, Test cricket had rarely felt so alive. With Sachin Tendulkar playing what could be his final Test innings, his legion of fans were put through the emotional wringer. This whole series has been drenched in Tendulkar nostalgia, and every vintage shot he played today only highlighted what fans are going to miss in the days ahead. Every mis-step - like two attempted upper cuts off Tino Best - caused massive anxiety. Fans were uncertain whether they wanted Tendulkar to be on strike - so they could lap up a few more of his shots - or at the non-striker's end as the tension was close to unbearable when he batted.
The assuredness with which Tendulkar played had made it seem inevitable that there would be a fairytale century in his final Test. You'd think the year-long wait for the 100th hundred would have taught Indian fans to be wary about expecting fairytale Tendulkar centuries. Clearly they hadn't, and like at the Wankhede in 2011, a slip catch from Darren Sammy cut short Tendulkar's innings on 74 and stunned an expectant crowd into silence. The mute-button was on only for a few moments though, as the crowd regained its voice to appreciatively roar Tendulkar off the field. Tendulkar muttered a few words to himself, but as has been the case over virtually his entire career, he maintained his poise after being dismissed, acknowledging the adoring crowds as he trudged off.
His partner for the entire innings was Cheteshwar Pujara, who perhaps would have been more worried about making a wrong call to run Tendulkar out and risking the wrath of Wankhede than about the challenge posed by the ineffectual West Indies attack. Pujara's every single was cheered with the fervour that usually accompanies centuries, and he remained mostly under the radar. When he played the straight drive for four, you were reminded - unfairly for Pujara - about how much more pristine and non-violent the shot was when Tendulkar played it.
Still, it was a cracking innings, full of controlled aggression. He pounced on the width routinely provided, adroitly playing the cut past point, as he kept he run-rate brisk. His one moment of fortune - thanks to a frankly awful decision from the third umpire - was when he was adjudged not out on 76, though replays clearly showed Kieran Powell's fingers under the ball as he grasped a chance at short leg.
Pujara wasn't perturbed by all the emotion over Tendulkar's dismissal, and continued his march towards his fifth Test century, underlining his reputation as a man for the big score. Of the eight times he has reached fifty in Tests, he could have converted seven of them into hundreds, but two of those innings were unbeaten half-centuries in successful chases. He was scratchy against the tireless offspinner Shane Shillingford after reaching triple-figures today and a leading edge resulted in a caught-and-bowled chance that ended his stay on 113.
Kohli, the man tipped to take over Tendulkar's No. 4 spot, began with a series of boundaries to help Pujara maintain the momentum. Like in his one-day innings, where his high scoring-rate surprises given the lack of big shots, he zipped to his half-century at nearly a run a ball almost unnoticed. He was looking untroubled but he too perished to a Sammy slip catch, undone by a straighter one from Shillingford.
If the first half of Pujara's innings was overshadowed by one Mumbai batsman, his innings will recede further in fans' mind due to an astonishing century from another Mumbai batsman. Rohit began his long-awaited Test career with a game-changing 177 in Kolkata, but there seemed little chance of him making another century in Mumbai as he was only on 46 when the No. 11 Mohammed Shami walked in.
By then Shillingford had taken his fifth successive five-for, matching a feat last achieved by Alec Bedser in 1952-53, and Sammy had equalled the record for the most catches by a non-wicketkeeper, snapping up five. India had lost three wickets in two overs either side of tea, and West Indies looked likely to have to bat almost an entire session.
Instead, Rohit scripted a masterclass in batting with the tail to inflate the total by 80 runs, and joined an exclusive club with two hundreds in their first two innings. Shami is not the worst No. 11, but Rohit skilfully farmed the strike, so much so that in the first seven overs Shami only faced seven deliveries. Even when the partnership was close to 50, Shami was still on 0.
West Indies were desperate to get Rohit off the strike. In the 99th over, when Rohit gently tapped the final ball past the closely packed field for a single, West Indies' dispirited fielders weren't keen on chasing it down though it wasn't going to reach the rope. Briefly, Rohit contemplated whether he had time to take three.
In between protecting Shami, Rohit unleashed a blizzard of strokes which he commonly shows off in limited-overs matches. His one moment of panic was when he holed out to deep midwicket when on 85, only to be reprieved when the replays showed Shillingford had overstepped. Soon after, he reached his hundred with a six over long-on - it had taken him only 118 deliveries, and Shami had only made 1 in a 64-run stand.
The innings finally ended on when Shami whipped a catch to deep square leg, and the lead was a massive 313. West Indies had about an hour to bat out, but even in that short space lost three wickets to the spinners. Once again, R Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha had the ball spinning and turning, and on the evidence so far, West Indies will do well to stretch this game as long as the end of the third day.
South Africa seal T20 series after rush of Pakistan wickets
South Africa sparked another Pakistan batting collapse to win the second Twenty20 international by six runs in Dubai on Friday, taking the two-match series 2-0.
It was another batting failure for Pakistan, who, chasing 151, were cruising along nicely at 101-3 in the 14th over before being restricted to 144-9 in their 20 overs.
Paceman Wayne Parnell took 3-25 while leg-spinner Imran Tahir claimed 2-21 and spearhead Dale Steyn finished with 2-20 to rock Pakistan who lost seven wickets in the space of 43 runs.
Sohaib Maqsood top-scored with 37 while Shahid Afridi (14) tried valiantly but failed in the end.
Pakistan lost Ahmed Shehzad (21) and Mohammad Hafeez (nought) in quick succession but Maqsood carried on in style, hitting two boundaries and a six off 26 balls before Pakistan lost three wickets at 112.
Tahir bowled Shoaib Malik (15)and Abdul Razzaq (nought) off successive deliveries while Quinton de Kock held a smart catch off Parnell to dismiss Maqsood as Pakistan slump from 112-4 to 112-7.
South Africa won the first match by nine wickets on Wednesday.
South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis hailed his team's comeback.
"It's a great achievement by the team. We played really well under pressure and Pakistan were in a position to win but we pulled it back remarkably," said Du Plessis.
"We said we wanted to come here and win 2-0 and we did that. As a bowling unit we have certainly grown a lot over the last couple of months. Credit to them for the time and effort they have put into it. There is always room for improvement.
"Nice to be back in South Africa and looking forward to another series against Pakistan. We will try to beat them again 2-0," said Du Plessis of the coming two T20 and three one-day series in South Africa between November 20-30.
Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez bemoaned his team's inability to see out matches.
"I think this is the sequence of the (one-day) series," said Hafeez of Pakistan's 4-1 loss.
"Not finishing games very well. When we needed to play normal cricket, we didn't handle the pressure. Credit goes to South Africa for bowling in the right areas. Every time we thought we were there, we couldn't finish it."
South Africa rode on Du Plessis's 48-ball 58 not out and a sedate 41-ball 48 by Hashim Amla, who lifted the innings during their 78-run second wicket stand after they won the toss and batted.
De Kock chipped in with a quickfire 19-ball 30, studded with six boundaries to give his team a rapid start.
Off-spinner Saeed Ajmal pulled things back for Pakistan by dismissing De Kock and Amla. Amla hit two sixes and three boundaries before he holed out on Ajmal.
Du Plessis held one end intact, hitting three sixes and one boundary to lift South Africa to their highest Twenty20 total against Pakistan, beating the 142-9 they made at Nottingham in 2009.
South Africa tied the two-Test series 1-1 on the tour.
Vintage Tendulkar promises grand exit in farewell Test
Delirious crowds greeted India's Sachin Tendulkar as he walked out to bat in his last Test match on Thursday, an emotional farewell game for a national hero whose 24-year career has made him a cricketing legend.
Crowds at the Wankhede stadium in his home town of Mumbai erupted as Tendulkar headed for the crease on the first day of the match, walking through a guard of honour created by his West Indian opponents, television pictures showed.
Each run was greeted with raucous applause and cheering, with several textbook cover drives exhibiting the elegant strokeplay that has marked Tendulkar out since his international debut in 1989.
He finished the day unbeaten on 38, having hit six boundaries off 73 balls, setting the scene for further excitement on Friday.
The 40-year-old is ending an international career during which he became the all-time leading Test and one-day batsman and the only man to score 100 international centuries.
Ahead of the match, he said the last 20 years had been “marked by some of the most challenging, exhilarating, poignant and memorable moments of my life”.
“The game has seen so much change over the last two decades -- from advances in technology, new formats, yet the basic spirit and passion surrounding the game remains the same,” he wrote in a front-page Hindustan Times article.
The end of the “Little Master”, who has almost god-like status in his cricket-mad country, has been met with nationwide nostalgia for his sporting feats.
As he strode to the crease, acknowledging the applause with a modest raising of his bat, Indians all over the country huddled around television sets and Twitter exploded with messages wishing him luck.
Tendulkar led the team out onto the field at the stadium in the morning and the toss took place with a specially minted coin bearing his image on one side, footage showed. Cries of “Sachin! Sachin!” echoed throughout the day.
Excitement around the game has been building since last month, when he announced his intention to retire. Highlights of his innings and interviews have been looping on news channels.
“He's not just a cricketer. For me he's an ideal son, an ideal friend. The biggest thing about him is his humility,” said fan Himanshu Kapadia, queueing for entry to the stadium with his two sons.
Among the spectators was Sudhir Gautam, Tendulkar's celebrity fan, who travels across the world to watch him while painted in the colours of the Indian flag -- with his idol's name written across his chest and back.
The star's wheelchair-bound mother Rajni was also watching him bat for the first time after a special ramp was built for her at the south Mumbai stadium.
She normally stays away out of fear of bringing bad luck.
Along with Indian politicians, businessmen and Bollywood stars, cricketing greats Brian Lara and Shane Warne flew in for the game at Wankhede, where a huge security force has been deployed.
Many followers expressed disappointment that only 5,000 out of 32,000 seats were for the general public, with the rest reserved for VIPs such as sponsors and cricket club members.
“We will be very fortunate if we get another Sachin,” Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said at the toss. “So it is important that we learn from the great man.”
Since 16-year-old Tendulkar made his debut in Karachi in 1989, he has racked up an astonishing 15,847 runs in 199 Tests, helping India win the 2011 World Cup and reach the top of the world rankings.
Along with murals, banners and billboards that have sprung up ahead of his last match, Mumbai's tattoo parlours have reportedly seen a surge in requests for designs of the sporting icon.
On a beach in the eastern state of Odisha, an artist created a huge sand sculpture of 200 cricket bats and Tendulkar's face.
“Sachin Tendulkar was the best batsman of my generation and it will be a privilege to be in Mumbai,” wrote Australia's Warne, who is commentating on the match.
British Prime Minister David Cameron, on a visit to New Delhi, called him “absolutely an all-time great” and said he was an example and inspiration to cricket-lovers.
Despite his glowing status, Tendulkar's cricketing powers have waned in recent years and some suggested he should have retired earlier. The latest of his 51 Test centuries was back in January 2011 against South Africa.
Friday, 8 November 2013
Abysmal Pakistan hands South Africa ODI series
Dale Steyn returned his best one-day bowling figures while opener Quinton de Kock hit a maiden hundred as South Africa beat Pakistan by 28 runs in the fourth day-night international in Abu Dhabi on Friday.
Steyn (5-25) derailed Pakistan in the 47th over with the wickets of Umar Akmal (22), captain Misbah-ul Haq (65) and Saeed Ajmal (0) to wreck the opposition from 228-5 to 238 all out in 49.2 overs.
South Africa's win gave them an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series ahead of the fifth and final match in Sharjah on Monday.
South Africa won the first match by one run in Sharjah and third in Abu Dhabi by 68 runs while Pakistan claimed the second match in Dubai by 66 runs.
With Misbah and Umar at the crease, and with 41 needed in five overs, Pakistan looked set to level the series but Steyn improved on his previous best of 5-50 against India at Nagpur in 2011 to help South Africa snatch an unexpected win, like they did in the first match.
Misbah, along with debutant Sohaib Maqsood (56), put Pakistan in charge but Steyn removed Maqsood in the 37th over to give his team a sniff of the victory.
When Misbah holed out, after hitting four boundaries and a six off 76 balls, Pakistan's hopes were suddenly dashed.
“I am very happy and proud of the boys with this series win away from home, especially after a really bad show in Sri Lanka,” said South Africa captain AB de Villiers whose team lost their last series 4-1 in Sri Lanka in July.
“Quinton is a serious talent for the future in South Africa. Nice to have Steyn in the team, he has that killer instinct.”Misbah said Steyn's devastating over had changed the game.
“We were in a good position until the last five overs. We had two set batsmen and the equation was 30 balls, 41 runs which was gettable but Steyn's over put pressure on us,” said Misbah.
Pakistan had raced to 74 without loss in a cautious start before they lost three wickets in the space of 12 runs.
In the 19th over, Ahmed Shehzad was run out for 43 as he failed to reach the striker's end after Mohammad Hafeez went for a sharp single. He hit five boundaries and a six off 59 balls.
It became 85-2 when leg-spinner Imran Tahir bowled Hafeez (33) and a run later Asad Shafiq miscued a drive and was caught off paceman Lonwabo Tsotsobe for just one.
Misbah and Maqsood went on the attack, with the debutant hitting two huge sixes off Tahir.
Maqsood, likened to former Pakistan batting master Inzamam-ul Haq, reached his half-century with a superb flick off paceman Morne Morkel for his fifth boundary. In all he hit six boundaries and two sixes off 54 balls.
But he played one shot too many and was smartly caught at deep mid-off by AB de Villiers off Steyn who also had Sohail Tanvir for one.
Quinton de Kock anchored the South African innings. The 20-year-old left-hander made the most of a dropped catch at slip by Hafeez off Tanvir when he had made only two.
He went on to make a 135-ball 112 to bolster the South African innings who had won the toss and batted.
De Kock lifted lanky paceman Mohammad Irfan over long-on for a big six to reach the three-figure mark off 127 balls, anchoring the innings with a 87-run opening stand with Hashim Amla (46) and another 69 for the third wicket with skipper De Villiers who made a 40-ball 30.
In all, De Kock hit nine boundaries and a six during his attractive knock before he and De Villiers fell in succession to paceman Junaid Khan who finished with 2-42.
Ryan McLaren (28) and Jean-Paul Duminy (25) added a quickfire 52 for the unbroken sixth wicket stand, hitting two sixes off Saeed Ajmal's 49th over.
Teams: Pakistan: Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Ahmed Shehzad, Asad Shafiq, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Irfan, Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi, Sohaib Maqsood, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Akmal
South Africa: AB de Villiers (capt), Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock, Jean-Paul Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, Ryan McLaren, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe.
Umpires: Ahsan Raza (PAK) and Steve Davis (AUS) TV umpire: Richard Illingworth (ENG) Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI)
Pakistan v South Africa ODI Series - 4th ODI
- ODI no. 3431 | 2013/14 season
- Played at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi(neutral venue)
- 8 November 2013 - day/night (50-over match)
| South Africa innings (50 overs maximum) | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |||
 | Q de Kock† | c Misbah-ul-Haq b Junaid Khan | 112 | 135 | 9 | 1 | 82.96 | |
| HM Amla | b Mohammad Hafeez | 46 | 50 | 6 | 0 | 92.00 | |
| F du Plessis | c Saeed Ajmal b Mohammad Irfan | 10 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 43.47 | |
| AB de Villiers* | c Mohammad Hafeez b Junaid Khan | 30 | 40 | 2 | 0 | 75.00 | |
| DA Miller | lbw b Mohammad Hafeez | 5 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 | |
| JP Duminy | not out | 25 | 21 | 1 | 1 | 119.04 | ||
| R McLaren | not out | 28 | 21 | 3 | 1 | 133.33 | ||
| Extras | (b 1, lb 9) | 10 | ||||||
 | ||||||||
| Total | (5 wickets; 50 overs) | 266 | (5.32 runs per over) | |||||
| Did not bat DW Steyn, M Morkel, LL Tsotsobe, Imran Tahir |
| Fall of wickets 1-87 (Amla, 18.1 ov), 2-129 (du Plessis, 26.5 ov), 3-198 (de Villiers, 40.2 ov), 4-210 (de Kock, 42.3 ov), 5-214 (Miller, 43.4 ov) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |||
| Mohammad Irfan | 8 | 0 | 51 | 1 | 6.37 | ||
| Sohail Tanvir | 6 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 6.33 | |||
| Junaid Khan | 9 | 0 | 42 | 2 | 4.66 | ||
| Saeed Ajmal | 10 | 0 | 53 | 0 | 5.30 | |||
| Shahid Afridi | 8 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 4.75 | |||
| Mohammad Hafeez | 9 | 0 | 34 | 2 | 3.77 |
| Pakistan innings (target: 267 runs from 50 overs) | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |||
| Ahmed Shehzad | run out (de Villiers/†de Kock) | 43 | 59 | 5 | 1 | 72.88 | |
| Mohammad Hafeez | b Imran Tahir | 33 | 60 | 4 | 0 | 55.00 | |
| Sohaib Maqsood | c de Villiers b Steyn | 56 | 54 | 6 | 2 | 103.70 | |
| Asad Shafiq | c Morkel b Tsotsobe | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 | |
| Misbah-ul-Haq* | c de Villiers b Steyn | 65 | 76 | 4 | 1 | 85.52 | |
| Sohail Tanvir | c Amla b Steyn | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20.00 | |
| Umar Akmal† | c Morkel b Steyn | 22 | 23 | 2 | 0 | 95.65 | |
| Shahid Afridi | run out (du Plessis) | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 60.00 | |
| Saeed Ajmal | b Steyn | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | |
| Mohammad Irfan | not out | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 66.66 | ||
| Junaid Khan | b McLaren | 4 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 | |
| Extras | (lb 1, w 7) | 8 | ||||||
| ||||||||
| Total | (all out; 49.2 overs) | 238 | (4.82 runs per over) | |||||
| Fall of wickets 1-74 (Ahmed Shehzad, 18.5 ov), 2-85 (Mohammad Hafeez, 20.5 ov), 3-86 (Asad Shafiq, 21.1 ov), 4-174 (Sohaib Maqsood, 36.4 ov), 5-180 (Sohail Tanvir, 38.4 ov), 6-228 (Umar Akmal, 46.1 ov),7-230 (Misbah-ul-Haq, 46.4 ov), 8-231 (Saeed Ajmal, 46.6 ov), 9-232 (Shahid Afridi, 47.4 ov), 10-238 (Junaid Khan, 49.2 ov) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |||
| DW Steyn | 10 | 1 | 25 | 5 | 2.50 | (2w) | |
| LL Tsotsobe | 10 | 0 | 49 | 1 | 4.90 | (2w) | |
| M Morkel | 10 | 0 | 44 | 0 | 4.40 | |||
| R McLaren | 9.2 | 0 | 59 | 1 | 6.32 | (3w) | |
| Imran Tahir | 8 | 0 | 51 | 1 | 6.37 | ||
| JP Duminy | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 4.50 |
| Match details |
| Toss South Africa, who chose to bat Series South Africa led the 5-match series 3-1 |
| ODI debut Sohaib Maqsood (Pakistan) Player of the match DW Steyn (South Africa) |
| Umpires Ahsan Raza (Pakistan) and SJ Davis (Australia) TV umpire RK Illingworth (England) Match referee RS Madugalle (Sri Lanka) Reserve umpire Zameer Haider (Pakistan) |
| Match notes |
|
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