Sports

Kohli 186, Axar 79 give India a chance to push for a win

Published

3 years ago

2023/03/13

Virat Kohli’s Test century drought has been broken and the floodgates could open on Australia as they face a battle to save the game on the final day after India’s lengthy batting line-up piled up 571 for 9 on the fourth day in Ahmedabad.

Kohli made a magnificent 186 from 364 balls while Axar Patel blasted five fours and four sixes in a blazing 79 to hand India a first-innings lead of 91 after posting 50-plus partnerships for each of the first six wickets of the innings. It could have been more but Shreyas Iyer was unable to bat or take the field on day four due to lower back pain. He left the venue early in the day to have scans.

Australia suffered an injury of their own on a day where their bowlers’ figures were badly bruised as they failed to make inroads, or even create chances, on an unhelpful surface. Usman Khawaja hurt his left leg while attempting to take a catch on the rope just after drinks in the middle session. He landed awkwardly and limped from the field shortly after with Australia’s team physio. Details of his injury were not confirmed but he did not return and did not bat late in the day with Matt Kuhnemann opening as a nightwatcher. Khawaja has suffered a torn ACL and torn meniscus in his left knee in the past having had surgery to repair both tears.

Kuhnemann and Travis Head survived six overs for three runs as Australia remains 88 runs behind with three sessions of cricket remaining to either salvage a draw or somehow manufacture a result to level the series 2-2.Kohli, and it seems most of India, had been waiting the agonizing 1205 days for his 28th Test century. But he was willing to wait as long as was necessary to reach three figures against some disciplined Australian bowling in the first two hours of the day.

He was near faultless in reaching his 75th international century just after lunch. It was the second slowest of his Test career, off 241 deliveries, and featured just five boundaries in his first 100 runs and none in the first session of the morning.

The discipline and patience he showed was rewarded handsomely thereafter, as the burden of the three-year wait washed away and the dominant Kohli of old returned. He tore into Australia’s two fast men Cameron Green and Mitchell Starc during attempted hostile spells with the reversing ball. He also became ever more expansive and extravagant against the two offspinners Nathan Lyon and Todd Murphy, who he treated with the utmost respect in the first session.

He got wonderful support all the way through the day. His 168-run partnership with Axar was the fruit of his morning labour. The pair scored with incredible freedom compared to the grind pre-lunch. Australia’s bowlers flagged in the afternoon sun. Kohli struck 10 classy boundaries in the afternoon unfurling some sublime drives on the up and some supreme pull shots off Lyon in particular, trusting the Ahmedabad bounce with cross-bat shots having fallen foul to them previously in the series on less trustful surfaces.

While Kohli got into line and prospered mostly through the leg side, Axar gave room to carve through the off. But he did mix in four brutal slog sweeps, three that landed in the stands and one that bounced into the fence at warp speed. Axar did have some luck against Lyon, edging him to slip where Smith couldn’t hang onto an incredibly difficult one-handed chance high to his right. There were some other nervous moments defending Lyon but otherwise, it was smooth sailing.

The pair looked nailed on for a double-century stand and twin milestones with Kohli’s 200 and Axar’s maiden Test century in sight. But Axar fell by the sword, chopping Mitchell Starc onto the stumps trying to flay him on the up through cover.

Kohli ran out of partners as R Ashwin holed out in the deep and Umesh Yadav was run out by a brilliant direct hit from the deep from Peter Handscomb for a diamond duck trying to keep Kohli on strike.Kohli was dropped himself by Handscomb in the deep off Lyon on 185, a difficult chance diving low at long-on. It only cost one run as he holed out swinging for the fence next over.

Earlier, Kohli also shared half-century stands with Ravindra Jadeja and KS Bharat in the morning but India only managed 73 runs in the first session. Lyon and Murphy bowled superbly to keep a lid on the scoring, with Kohli really battling to break free from very disciplined lines and lengths although he was never threatened in defence. Jadeja eventually did smacking Murphy down the ground, but he holed out meekly to mid-on not long after.

Bharat slog-swept his second ball for six over wide long-on but battled to 25 from 70 at lunch. However, he hit the accelerator after lunch when Cameron Green tried to pepper him with short balls under instruction from his captain Steven Smith with a heavy legside field. After ducking a full over of short balls, he unfurled two pulls for a six and a cut for four in the following over.

Lyon knocked him over shortly after with turn and bounce. It was one of only three wickets he took for the innings across a marathon 65 overs. It is the most he has ever bowled in a Test innings and he deserved better reward than he got. Murphy also took three wickets from 45.5. They were Australia’s best two bowlers by far as indicated by their workloads. Smith did not have as much faith in the other three with the two quicks lathered to all parts while Kuhnemann was nowhere near as effective on this surface as he had been in Indore. (cricinfo)

Scores:

Australia 480 all out and 3 for no loss

India 571 all out (Virat Kohli 186, Axar Patel 79, Shubman Gill 128; Nathan Lyon 3/151, Todd Murphy 3/113)

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Latest News

India to host Zimbabwe for maiden women’s bilateral series

Published

8 hours ago

2026/05/7

Priyan

India Women have never played an international game against Zimbabwe [Cricinfo]

The India and Zimbabwe women’s teams are all set to play an international fixture against each other for the first time when Zimbabwe tour India for white-ball fixtures this October.

The tour comprises three T20Is and three ODIs and will be Zimbabwe’s first visit to India; India are yet to tour Zimbabwe for bilateral fixtures.

The three T20Is will be played in Raipur on October 16, 18 and 20, and the ODIs are on October 23, 25 and 28 in Baroda.

The fixtures were announced by the BCCI on Wednesday, along with two home series for the India A women’s side against Australia A in September and England A in December. Both those series comprise three T20s, three List A games and one multi-day fixture.

The India Under-19 women’s team will also host Sri Lanka U-19 in June and July for three T20s and three 50-over games, and England U-19 in November and December for five T20 fixtures.

The Australia A men’s side will tour India for two multi-day fixtures and three one-dayers in September and October, while the Australia U-19 side will visit India for two multi-day fixtures and three one-dayers also in September and October.

[Cricinfo]

Sports

Fast bowlers to get more opportunities as new format introduced for Under-15 Division I tourney

Published

10 hours ago

2026/05/7

Sahan Weerasooriya

St. Joseph's College won the last edition of the Under 15 Division I cricket tournament

The Inter-Schools Under-15 Division I cricket tournament will be conducted under a revamped format this year, with organisers shifting the focus back to limited-overs cricket while introducing new rules aimed at promoting fast bowling.

‎The tournament, organised by the Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association (SLSCA), will see only the top-tier Division I competition played in a 50-over format. Meanwhile, Division II and Division III matches will continue under the one-day, four-innings structure.

‎SLSCA Secretary Saman Hettiarachchi said the changes were made following consultations with experts from Sri Lanka Cricket, with a clear objective of providing greater opportunities for pace bowlers.

‎”We opted for the limited-overs format for Division I in consultation with Sri Lanka Cricket. The lower divisions will copete in the innings format as we have observed matches ending early without utilizing the full quota of overs,” Hettiarachchi told ‘The Island’.

‎A key feature of the revised rules is the compulsory allocation of overs for fast bowlers. In a full 50-over innings, a minimum of 20 overs must be bowled by pacemen. Additionally, during the first 10 overs, at least eight overs must be delivered by fast bowlers. If an innings is reduced to 30 overs or fewer, at least six of the first eight overs must be bowled by pace.

‎”It was made mandatory to give more opportunities to pacemen,” Hettiarachchi explained.

‎Meanwhile, the official draw for the Division I tournament has been released, featuring 70 teams divided into 16 groups from Group A to Group P for the preliminary round. Each team is guaranteed multiple matches during the opening stage.

‎Defending champions St. Joseph’s College headline Group A, where they will meet Nalanda College, Dharmapala College, St. John’s College, Lumbini College and De La Salle College.

‎With traditional cricketing powerhouses spread across the groups, it will be interesting to see how the first round pans out in the new-look tournament.

‎Under 15 Division I Tournament First Round Groups

GROUP A

‎St. Joseph’s College, Colombo

‎Nalanda College, Colombo

‎Dharmapala College, Pannipitiya

‎St. John’s College, Nugegoda

‎Lumbini College, Colombo

‎De La Salle College, Colombo

‎GROUP B

‎D.S. Senanayake College, Colombo

‎S. Thomas’ College, Mt. Lavinia

‎Presidents’ College, Kotte

‎Wesley College, Colombo

‎Carey College, Colombo

‎Sri Dharmaloka College, Kelaniya

‎GROUP C

‎St. Anthony’s College, Wattala

‎St. Sebastian’s College, Moratuwa

‎Dharmapala Vidyalaya, Kottawa

‎St. Peter’s College, Colombo

‎C.W.W. Kannangara MV, Colombo

‎Ashoka College, Colombo

‎GROUP D

‎St. Benedict’s College, Colombo

‎Royal College, Colombo

‎Gurukula College, Kelaniya

‎Lyceum International School, Wattala

‎Bandaranayake MMV, Gampaha

‎St. John’s College, Panadura

‎GROUP E

‎De Mazenod College, Kandana

‎Isipathana College, Colombo

‎Christ King College, Ja-Ela

‎Thurstan College, Colombo

‎Ananda Shastralaya NS, Kotte

‎St. Joseph Vaz College, Vennappuwa

‎GROUP F

‎Mahanama College, Colombo

‎Piliyandala MMV, Piliyandala

‎Ananda College, Colombo

‎Sri Jayawardenapura NS, Kotte

‎Presidents College, Maharagama

‎St. Thomas’ College, Kotte

‎GROUP G

‎Wadduwa MMV, Wadduwa

‎Sri Sumangala College, Panadura

‎Prince of Wales College, Moratuwa

‎Moratu Vidyalaya, Moratuwa

‎Revatha College, Balapitiya

‎Royal College, Panadura

‎GROUP H

‎Dharmaraja College, Kandy

‎St. Mary’s College, Kegalle

‎Kegalu Vidyalaya, Kegalle

‎Kingswood College, Kandy

‎Vidyartha College, Kandy

‎Ibbagamuwa MMV, Ibbagamuwa

‎GROUP J

‎Maris Stella College, Negombo

‎Maliyadeva College, Kurunegala

‎Harischandra College, Negombo

‎Maliyadeva Adarsha MV, Kurunegala

‎Galahitiyawa MMV, Ganemulla

‎Sandalankawa MMV, Sandalankawa

‎GROUP K

‎St. Anthony’s College, Kandy

‎St. Sylvester’s College, Kandy

‎Trinity College, Kandy

‎Royal College, Polonnaruwa

‎St. Thomas’ College, Matale

‎Jaffna Hindu College, Jaffna

‎GROUP L

‎Sri Pangnananda MMV, Raddoluwa

‎St. Anne’s College, Kurunegala

‎St. Mary’s College, Chilaw

‎Sri Sumangala NS, Wariyapola

‎St. Peter’s College, Negombo

‎St. Xavier’s College, Marawila

‎GROUP M

‎Devapathiraja College, Rathgama

‎St. Aloysius College, Galle

‎Holy Cross College, Kalutara

‎Dharmasoka College, Ambalangoda

‎Kalutara Vidyalaya, Kalutara

‎Vidyaloka College, Galle

‎GROUP N

‎Mahinda College, Galle

‎Tissa MV, Kalutara

‎Rahula College, Matara

‎Debarawewa NS, Debarawewa

‎St. Thomas’ College, Matara

‎Meepawala Amarasuriya MV

‎GROUP P

‎St. Servatius’ College, Matara

‎Richmond College, Galle

‎Sri Devananda College, Ambalangoda

‎Karandeniya MMV, Karandeniya

‎P. De S. Kularathna MV, Ambalangoda

‎President’s College, Embilipitiya.

by Reemus Fernando

Sports

Women’s Cricket receives a shot in the arm from the Mercantile Cricket Association

Published

10 hours ago

2026/05/7

Sahan Weerasooriya

Girls teams of the MCA's Cricket Academy line up at the commencement of the acadamy inter house tournament

With the success the seven MCA men’s cricket tournaments have achieved, the Executive Committee of Mercantile Cricket Association (MCA) have decided to give Women’s Cricket in Sri Lanka a boost by introducing a hard ball Women’s Cricket Tournament for the corporate sector.

With the international recognition women’s cricket has gained at present, it is no secret that there still are many talented lasses aspiring to reach the zenith of the game.

Even with the measures Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) the game’s governing body through the Schools Cricket Association (SLSCA) have taken to promote girls cricket in schools, a considerable number of talented players, specially in the provinces do not have an opportunity to be recognized.

It is the MCA’s belief that with the introduction of a MCA Women’s Cricket Tournament, the corporate sector will be encouraged to field teams, and in doing so will give a hand to talented lasses and school leavers by providing them with employment as well as the opportunity to realise their aspirations in the Women’s Cricket arena.

At present in addition to the seven major Men’s tournaments the MCA organise the

Mercantile Six-a-Side tournament, the Over-40 Sixes competition, the 20×20 league, and the esteemed MCA Inter Academy Invitational tournament,

As an initial step, the MCA will be conducting a Women’s six and side soft ball cricket tournament for the corporate sector teams on Saturday 23rd May 2026 at the Mercantile Cricket Association grounds.

For further information please contact Chamara on 0759592488 or Prasad 0759809777.