Sports
Ashwin four-for helps India gain healthy lead
A valiant, unbeaten 73 from skipper Tim Paine was not enough for Australia to prevent conceding a lead for the first time in a day-night Test. India finished 53 ahead thanks to a collective bowling effort led by R Ashwin’s four-wicket haul.
Australia staged a fightback with Paine stitching together important stands with the lower order that saw Australia move from 111/7 at one stage to 191 all out. The skipper first started to counter attack with the help of Mitchell Starc (16) before taking on the lead role. Driving, sweeping and reverse-sweeping his way to a quick fifty, Paine provided the right reply to Australia’s predicament despite the inherent risk it carried. Australia benefited through dropped chances that were a consistent feature through the innings, but did not manage to nullify the advantage Ashwin had given India earlier.
Ashwin’s rhythm was set in his first over of the series when he had Steve Smith nicking to slip against a quicker, straighter one. After a mighty sprint in celebration, Ashwin settled down to produce a top-class spell. He had Travis Head beaten in flight to have him caught and bowled and then troubled debutant Cameron Green through his 24-ball stay before a Virat Kohli stunner at mid-wicket gave Ashwin his third of the innings.
While Marnus Labuschagne rode his luck, having been dropped twice, over the course of his 46, he found little support from the other end. The luck finally ran out in the final session when Umesh Yadav trapped him LBW with one keeping low. Yadav raised India’s hand again by getting Pat Cummins caught off a snorter in the same over before Paine managed to land a few counter punches.
Earlier India had managed to land some counter punches themselves after starting the day in timid fashion, being bowled out in just 25 balls.
Umesh Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah started with consistent lines outside off that enabled four maiden overs on the trot against Australia’s new-look opening pair of Joe Burns and Matthew Wade. Both batsmen countered the lines with disciplined leaving although India went a touch too wide and short at times.
With the opening stand looking steady, Australia looked set to take control of the opening session. However, Jasprit Bumrah in his second spell corrected his lines by attacking the stumps more often. It resulted in both openers being trapped LBW, with DRS decisions supporting the umpire’s call on both occasions.
These blows had helped offset Australia’s advantage in the first session where they picked up the last four Indian wickets for just 11 runs. R Ashwin and Wriddhiman Saha were looked upon by their team to extend their stand and get India close to 300. However, Ashwin fell first nicking Pat Cummins’ delivery in the first over of the day without adding to his overnight score. Saha, off the first ball he faced in the day, chased a wide one from Mitchell Starc to nick behind as well, thus kick-starting the collapse. A wildly swinging Umesh and less than comfortable Shami provided no resistance in the first innings.
However, India ended the day in stark contrast with nightwatchman Jasprit Bumrah seeing out eleven balls and remaining unbeaten after Prithvi Shaw was bowled for the second time in the match to ensure that India’s advantage did not get dented any further.
Brief Scores:
India 244
(Virat Kohli 74, C Pujara 43, A Rahane 42; M Starc 4-53, Pat Cummins 3-48)and 9/1 (Pat Cummins 1-6)lead Australia 191 all out (Tim Paine 73*, Marnus Labuschagne 47; R Ashwin 4-55, Umesh Yadav 3-40) trail by 62 runs
(Cricbuzz)
It’s taking longer than most expected, but Bangladesh are inevitably moving towards history. Bangladesh and Pakistan will go into a fifth day in Sylhet, with Bangladesh on the cusp of another 2-0 clean sweep of Pakistan. They need just three wickets to get there, with Mohammed Rizwan, unbeaten on 75, the final, valiant point of resistance for a visiting side who still need an improbable 121 for victory.
It was thanks primarily to Rizwan, and his 134-run partnership with Salman Agha in the final session, that kept Bangladesh waiting for so long when they appeared to be on course to finish Pakistan off. But two crucial wickets from Taijul Islam – who bowled more than a third of the overs on Tuesday – in the final half hour saw that partnership broken, and the hosts burrow deep into Pakistan’s tail.
Rizwan and Agha got together off the back of three quick wickets, and a resurgent Bangladesh sniffing for a quick knockout. Instead, they held them at bay for over three hours, counterattacking early on before seeing off wave after wave of spin and seam from Bangladesh. Even as Bangladesh attacked with the field, the duo kept run-scoring front and centre of their survival strategy, using their feet against spin and timing the ball expertly when pace returned.
That the stand had begun to frustrate Bangladesh became evident when tempers flared in the final hour, with Litton Das taking exception to Rizwan slowing play down after disturbances from the sightscreen. The contest took on a distinct edge, but the Pakistan pair did not lose focus, inching their way towards stumps.
No more wickets might have given Bangladesh a sleepless night, but Taijul put them at ease. With Nahid Rana operating with a new ball from the other end, Taijul produced an arm delivery that skidded through Agha’s defences and knocked back his stumps, prompting wild celebrations from the hosts, who understood the importance of the moment. Hasan Ali, whom Rizwan curiously decided against shielding from the strike, posed little resistance, leaving Bangladesh just three wickets adrift.
Brief scores:
Pakistan 232 and 316 for 7 (Shan Masood 71, Babar Azam 47, Salman Agha 71, Mohammad Rizwan 75*; Taijul Islam 4-113, Nahid Rana 2-58) need another 121 runs to beat Bangladesh 278 and 390
[Cricinfo]
Sri Lanka Cricket’s new transformation committee has had “cordial and constructive” discussions with Imran Khwaja, the ICC’s deputy chair, according to a member of the new SLC committee.
Khwaja had been in Ari Lanka over the last few days to gather information as the ICC decides what its response to the sweeping government-led changes at SLC should be. During the course of that visit, Khwaja not only spoke with members of SLC’s transformation committee, but also met with Sri Lanka’s president Anura Kumara Dissanayake, whose government had installed the committee after ousting the previous board.
Sidath Wettimuny one of the committee’s nine members, said SLC’s new administrators were hopeful the ICC would continue to treat the board as a regular Full Member.
But the ICC has a track record of reprimanding SLC because of perceived government interference. In 2023, SLC was suspended over “extensive government interference” and, in 2015, the ICC had also frozen payments over a previous “interim committee” having been appointed by the then government.
This current committee, however, has said its goals were to replace SLC’s archaic constitution, before making way for a new set of elected officials.
The ICC has so far made no comments on the change of administration at SLC.
The committee, formally unveiled on April 30, has nine members, including Kumar Sangakkara, Wettimuny and Roshan Mahanama. The majority of the members, though, hail from corporate, legal, and political spheres, with former member of parliament Eran Wickramaratne appointed as chair.
“Our immediate priority is a total overhaul of the governance framework at SLC,” Wettimuny had said after the committee members were named. “The cornerstone of this effort will be the implementation of the new constitution, ensuring it serves as a robust, modern foundation for the sport.”
The committee’s second priority would be to ensure “excellence on the field,” Wickramaratne had said. “We will focus on establishing the structures, world-class facilities, and incentive models necessary to empower our national teams. Our goal is to enable our players to consistently deliver world-class performances and elevate Sri Lanka back to the top tier of international rankings.”
[Cricinfo]
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