'I think if you asked us at the start of the day if we'd take losing the toss and India being 9 for 250 at stumps, I think we'd bite your arm off'
New Zealand will bank heavily on reverse swing to emerge from the trial by spin that awaits them in the test series in India, coach Mike Hesson said on Tuesday. Last time they hosted a team, India rolled out turning tracks and flexed their spin muscles to crush South Africa 3-0 in the four-test series last year. Kane Williamson and his men can look forward to a similar treatment in the three-test series beginning in Kanpur on Sept. 22 but Hesson sounded upbeat.
Young striker Nikkin Thimmaiah scored a hat-trick as India produced their best performance of the tournament to stun world champions and title holders Australia 4-2 on Saturday and secure a place in the third and fourth place play-off at the Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament in Ipoh, Malaysia.
IMAGES from Day 4 of the 2nd Ashes Test played at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide on Tuesday
It was not long ago that Australia wicketkeeper Tim Paine was considering giving up the game entirely. Now he is set to captain the team as they look to pick up the pieces following the ball-tampering scandal.
'The way Vijay and Rahul batted in second innings, I think it was overcast and very important phase, they took on the bowlers, especially Rahul. I think those contributions should not be neglected. A 44-run contribution in the context of a 323-run target is massive'
'Getting used to the lights and the pink ball, especially early on, is the key.'
The primary aim for the Rohit Sharma-led India against minnows Hong Kong would be to get their combination right before the big game against Pakistan on Wednesday.
Australia's quest for a record hat-trick of titles started with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Ireland in the opening Pool D match of the men's hockey World Cup, in Bhubaneswar, on Friday.
After 138 years of its origin, Test cricket, is about to get a makeover in this week's first-ever day-night Test match between Australia and New Zealand in Adelaide.
He is expected to play an important role in the upcoming 13 Tests at home, but Ajinkya Rahane doesn't want to look too far ahead, as it can clutter one's mind.
Australia and England will play the first day-night Ashes Test at the Adelaide Oval in December next year, adding a bold new ingredient to one of cricket's oldest and fiercest rivalries.
Germany might be the twice Olympic champions defending their title in men's field hockey but top-ranked Australia will be the team to beat at next month's Rio Games.
Agarwal, thrusted into the squad following failure of KL Rahul and Murali Vijay, responded with a 76-run knock off balls, sorting out India's opening woes to some extent.
Mohammed Shami grabbed a match haul of seven wickets as Mohun Bagan beat Bhowanipore Club by 296 runs in India's first pink ball four-day match under lights, at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, on Tuesday.
The iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Saturday saw Indian cricket's first ever match with the pink ball during the Cricket Association of Bengal's Super League day-night final between Mohun Bagan and Bhowanipore.
Cheteshwar Pujara rose to the occasion with a maiden century in Australia, pulling India out of a deep hole to a respectable 250 for nine on day one of the first Test in Adelaide on Thursday.
Sloppy defending cost India dearly as Sam Ward scored a brace for England to hand the home team a heart-breaking 2-3 defeat in a hard-fought Pool B match of the Hockey World League (HWL) Final, in Bhubaneswar, on Saturday.
Indian captain Virat Kohli, on Thursday, staunchly supported Ravi Shastri, saying the growing perception of head coach being a 'yes' man to the skipper 'is the most bizarre thing he has ever heard'.
'I think that's probably been the most surprising thing. We have kept the ball in really, really good condition but it really gets soft easily here compared to the Kookaburra we used in Bangladesh, where we managed to get (reverse swing) quite a lot'
ohn Stephenson, MCC Head of Cricket, said the announcement "is a very positive step for Test cricket".
India wasted a golden opportunity to break their 32-year-old medal jinx in the Champions Trophy hockey tournament after going down to Australia 1-2 in a hard-fought bronze medal play-off match of the eight-nation meet in Bhubaneswar on Sunday.
Australia and Belgium got day two of the Champions Trophy hockey off to a roaring start with a stunning 4-4 draw.
'The one thing that a cricketer aspires for is earning the respect of the dressing room and that respect is earned only when any player puts his hand up in adverse conditions and does his job for the team.'
Akram explained that Shami's erratic strides at times hinder his consistency level.
Looking to salvage pride in the third Test beginning, in Johannesburg, on Wednesday, team India got down to business at the Wanderers with a practice session that lasted just under four hours.
India's head coach Anil Kumble says a 'pink ball Test' in the country is "still a long way" off, even though he conceded that day/night Tests are the future to sustain interest in the longer format.
South African pace ace Dale Steyn might not turn out to be as big a threat for India in next month's highly-anticipated Test series, feels senior spinner Harbhajan Singh.
India squandered a two-goal lead to suffer a 2-7 hammering at the hands of world champions Australia and crash out of the Hero Hockey World League Final in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Young chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav kept the opposition batsmen on tenterhooks with a maiden five wicket haul as he took India Red on the cusp of an outright victory against the Green team in the inaugural Day/Night Duleep Trophy encounter in Greater Noida on Thursday. Chasing a mammoth victory target of 497, the Green team was tottering at 217/7 at the end of penultimate evening with another 280 runs to win the match. Suresh Raina was at the crease batting on 35.
Aware of the range of challenges India will offer during Australia's upcoming four-match Test tour, fast bowler Mitchell Starc says he hopes to extract swing -- both conventional and reverse -- from the SG balls on the spin-friendly Indian pitches.
Olympic silver medallist Belgium created history by making their maiden appearance in the men's hockey World Cup summit clash, thrashing England 6-0 in a lopsided first semi-final.
Mayank Agarwal, who was the third opener for the West Indies series, is a contender for the yet-to-be-decided squad of 17 that will travel Down Under.
Batsmen have dominated Australia's series against New Zealand, but the pink ball and a green-tinged wicket should swing the balance of power back to the bowlers when Adelaide hosts Test cricket's inaugural day-night match.
India pacer Mohammed Shami allayed apprehensions that the experimental pink ball may not aid in getting reverse swing after he battled dehydration to grab five wickets in the CAB Super League final Super in Kolkata on Sunday. Playing for Mohun Bagan, Shami (5/42) was taken off the field after suffering from dehydration only to come back later on day 2 of the match against Bhowanipore, which is doubling up as the first day/night multiday experiment at the Eden Gardens. Shami looked unplayable with his pace and bounce that rattled the inexperienced Bhowanipore who recovered from 45 for seven to 153 all out (including 20 penalty) in 38.5 overs in reply to Mohun Bagan's first-innings total of 299.
Former Australia batsman Dean Jones feels the standard of bowling in international cricket has touched an "all-time low", voicing his concern at a time when 300-plus totals have become the norm in One-Day Internationals.
Phillip Hughes' demise will haunt the cricket world for years and to get over the tragedy the New South Wales cricket association did something unique by destroying the ball that fatally struck the young Australian during a Sheffield Shield match at the SCG last year.
England may have been utterly humiliated in their second World Cup pool match against co-hosts New Zealand but Sunday's nine-wicket defeat to Sri Lanka was much more damaging, according to former England captain Mike Atherton.
India's limited overs specialist Jasprit Bumrah is aware that bowling effective yorkers can't remain his only weapon at the highest level.
'In the future, you will get pacers who will bowl even faster than the current lot because these guys are currently setting new standards.'
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