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TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2016
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Kiwis skittle Pakistan
C O M M E N TA RY
Pandya could be just the kind of all-rounder India is looking for
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Henry hit four sixes and the same number of fours in his 30-ball 48 while McClenaghan, who was hit by an Anwar Ali bouncer that went through the gap in his helmet, smashed 31 in 18 balls as New Zealand scored 71 off their last five overs
WELLINGTON: New Zealand pacemen Trent Boult and Grant Elliott shared seven wickets as the hosts bundled out Pakistan for 210 to win the first One-day International at the pacy Basin Reserve by 70 runs on Monday. Elliott did the early damage while Boult, the world’s topranked ODI bowler, ran through Pakistan’s lower order as the touring side were shot out in 46 overs, chasing a target of 281 in the first of the three-match series. Pakistan captain Azhar Ali and Ahmed Shehzad fell early to Elliott but Mohammad Hafeez (42) and Babar Azam (62) added 81 for the third wicket to put them back on course. A mid-innings collapse, however, saw Pakistan lose their last seven wickets for 68 runs despite New Zealand being a bowler short
BAD BLOW: Mitchell McClenaghan of New Zealand falls to the ground after being hit by the ball above the eye during the first One-day International at the Basin Reserve in Wellington. – AFP
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in the absence of Mitchell McClenaghan, who suffered a blow to his eye while batting and was forced to retire hurt. New Zealand, put in to bat, were reduced to 99-6 in the 23rd over before man-of-the-match Henry Nicolls rescued them with a knock of 82. The left-hander, playing only his sixth ODI, added 79 for the seventh wicket with Mitchell Santner (48) before Matt Henry and McClenaghan launched a late assault to power New Zealand to 280-6 in their 50 overs. Henry hit four sixes and the
same number of fours in his 30ball 48 while McClenaghan, who was hit by an Anwar Ali bouncer that went through the gap in his helmet, smashed 31 in 18 balls as New Zealand scored 71 off their last five overs. The left-arm fast bowler suffered a small fracture above his left eye and will undergo a minor surgery on Friday, local media quoted a Black Caps spokesperson as saying. The injury is likely to keep the 29-year-old out of the remaining matches against Pakistan. “Thanks for all the concerns. Everything is as good as it can be just a few broken bones. Great win for the boys!” McClenaghan tweeted with a picture showing heavy bruising around his left eye. Mohammed Amir was the most successful Pakistan bowler with
NEW ZEALAND M. Guptill c Riaz b Irfan 11 T. Latham c S. Ahmed b Amir 11 K. Williamson b Anwar Ali 10 H. Nicholls b Anwar Ali 82 G. Elliott b Anwar Ali 0 C. Anderson c S. Ahmed b Amir 10 L. Ronchi c S. Ahmed b Amir 5 M. Santner c S. Ahmed b Irfan 48 M. Henry not out 48 M. McClenaghan rtd hurt 31 T. Boult not out 4 Extras (b-4 lb-3 w-13) 20 Total (for 8 wickets, 50 overs) 280 Fall of wickets: 1-23, 2-25, 3-70, 4-70, 5-93, 6-99, 7-178, 8-203 Bowling: M. Irfan 10-0-43-2 (w-1), M. Amir 8.1-0-28-3 (w-3), Anwar Ali 9.5-0-663 (w-3), W. Riaz 10-0-67-0 (w-3), I. Wasim 8-0-47-0 (w-2), Azhar Ali 4-0-22-0 (w-1) PAKISTAN Azhar Ali c Nicholls b Elliott 19 A. Shehzad c Williamson b Elliott 13 M. Hafeez c Nicholls b Williamson 42 B. Azam c Nicholls b Anderson 62 S. Maqsood c sub b Elliott 10 S. Ahmed c Anderson b Boult 30 I. Wasim c Ronchi b Santner 1 Anwar Ali c Latham b Boult 16 W. Riaz not out 5 M. Amir b Boult 0 M. Irfan b Boult 0 Extras (lb-2, w-10) 12 Total (all out, 46 overs) 210 Fall of wickets: 1-33, 2-37, 3-118, 4-142, 5-168, 6-170, 7-205, 8-206, 9-210, 10-210 Bowling: M. Henry 8-0-43-0 (w-4), T. Boult 9-1-40-4 (w-3), G. Elliott 10-1-43-3 (w-2), C. Anderson 9-1-35-1 (w-1), M. Santner 8-0-36-1, K. Williamson 2-0-11-1 Umpires: Nigel Llong and Derek Walker TV umpire: Bruce Oxenford Match referee: David Boon
3-28 but had to leave the field injured after bowling the first delivery of his ninth over. Anwar took 3-66. The second match of the series will be played in Napier on Thursday. - Reuters
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ith the impressive win in the final one-day game under their belt the Indian team will no doubt be high on confidence as they take on the hosts in the three match T20 series. India’s Republic Day and Australia Day matches are invariably played at the beautiful Adelaide Oval. The pitch there is one of the best for batting while it also helps the ball to turn a bit. The straight boundaries are quite long despite the ropes being pulled in to accommodate the six hitters but the square boundaries are the spinners nightmare and horizontal shot makers delight. The Indians and most Australian players play the most number of the T20 matches in the world and so there is no shortage of experience. Both teams have players who can change the situation of the game in a jiffy and there won’t be a moment to relax. India have brought back Yuvraj Singh, Ashish Nehra and Harbhajan Singh and they will have a big role to play. Nehra has not lost much in pace and his mix of bouncers and yorkers is so cleverly done that it has been hard for the batsmen to get after him. Harbhajan too is bowling quite superbly in this format where his variation in the line that he bowls more than the length is what is stumping batsmen. Both these experienced cam-
paigners will be expected to keep the lid on the Australian scoring. However the most looked forward to return in India’s colours is that of Yuvraj Singh. He seems to relish this format more than the others and if he gets going then the spectators better put on their helmets for the ball is going to keep finding them. His innocuous looking left arm spin often picks wickets and gives Dhoni more flexibility in rotating his bowlers. The other exciting player is Hardik Pandya. He is among the numerous players from Gujarat now making it to the Indian team. Gujarat is fanatical about cricket and it’s always been a wonder why it has not regularly produced international cricketers. That is changing now as the game is seen as a serious career option and so the likes of Jadeja, Pujara, Bumrah, Pandya, Patel are deservedly getting India caps with players like the Pathan brothers, Parthiv Patel also waiting for their chance. Pandya is just the kind of all rounder that India is looking for and if he keeps making the kind of progress he is doing then India will have another game changer in its ranks. - PMG
T20 PREVIEW
Team India aim revival in Twenty20Is against Australia ADELAIDE: Outplayed in the ODIs, a faltering India will look to get the balance right as they eye redemption in a three-match Twenty20 series against Australia starting here on Tuesday which also kicks off their build-up for the World T20 Championships in March-April. The Indian team
was comprehensively beaten in the ODIs, losing the series 1-4 and the T20Is would be an opportunity for the side to pick some positivity from the so far disappointing tour. Both teams will also begin their run-in for the ICC tournament, particularly the Men in Blue who only have T20Is lined up before
the big tournament begins. The Indian team doesn’t really play too many T20I matches. Since the addition of the format to the international schedule in 2006, they have only played 57 games, with 28 of them across five World T20 events in 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2014. As such, since
December 2006, when the Men in Blue first played a T20I against South Africa, they have only featured in 29 bilateral matches. And their record outside the World T20 isn’t particularly impressive, with 15 losses and 14 wins. These records won’t really play heavily on the Indian team
management as they prepare for this T20I series, but the conditions here definitely will. The just-concluded Big Bash League has been a high scoring encounter, much like the ODI series in the first leg of this trip, and the pitches are expected to be flat and have ample bounce for the batsmen
to make merry. The difference in conditions from the World T20 in India won’t really allow either side to judge their spin options, but they will be busy evaluating different permutations and combinations. For India, it will be about getting their team balance right, in particular their strength, batting. - PTI
TEST CRICKET
Rabada strikes as Proteas scent victory PRETORIA: Firebrand fast bowler Kagiso Rabada bagged two wickets as South Africa reduced England to 52 for three at the close of day four of the final Test on Monday. The tourists, who have already won the series, need a further 330 for what would be a record-breaking victory on the final day but must do so on a wicket showing variable bounce and prodigious turn at Centurion Park. England’s hopes of an unlikely victory or survival will rest on Joe Root (19 not out) who is at the crease with James Taylor (19 not out) after Rabada gave the hosts the perfect start. The 20-year-old forced another failure from opener Alex Hales who was trapped lbw for one by a ball that kept low and jagged into him. Rabada claimed his ninth wicket of the match when he had Nick Compton (six) caught behind, the England batsman unsuccessfully reviewing what seemed an obvious edge. With a tense final day likely, England will hope that wasted review does not come back to haunt them.
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South Africa 1st innings: 475 England 1st innings: 342 South Africa 2nd innings: S. Cook c Bairstow b Anderson 25 D. Elgar c Bairstow b Anderson 1 H. Amla c Bairstow b Broad 96 A. de Villiers lbw b Anderson 0 J. Duminy c Bairstow b Stokes 29 T. Bavuma not out 78 Q. de Kock not out 9 Extras (b-2, lb-5, w-3) 10 Total (for 5 wickets, 83.2 overs) 248 Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-49, 3-49, 4-106, 5-223 Bowling: J. Anderson 18-5-47-3, S. Broad 15-4-33-1 (w-1), B. Stokes 16-436-1, C. Woakes 13.2-0-53-0 (w-2), M. Ali 17-3-60-0, J. Root 4-0-12-0 England 2nd innings: A. Cook c & b M. Morkel 5 A. Hales lbw b Rabada 1 N. Compton c de Kock b Rabada 6 J. Root not out 19 J. Taylor not out 19 Extras (lb-2) 2 Total (for 3 wickets, 21 overs) 52 Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-8, 3-18 Bowling: M. Morkel 6-4-12-1, K. Rabada 6-2-15-2, K. Abbott 1-0-6-0, D. Piedt 5-27-0, D. Elgar 2-1-8-0, J. Duminy 1-0-2-0
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In between, Morne Morkel grabbed the prize scalp of England captain Alastair Cook (five) with a brilliant one-handed caught and bowled to leave the latter still 36 runs short of 10,000 test runs after a poor series. South Africa should have celebrated the wicket of Root as well, but wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock failed to take the ball after spinner Dane Piedt had drawn the batsman from his crease and beaten the edge. South Africa earlier declared their second innings on 248 for five. Hashim Amla fell four short of a second century in the match when he uncharacteristically flashed wildly at a wide deliver from Stuart Broad in the pursuit of quick runs. Amla added 117 for the fifth wicket with Temba Bavuma (78 not out), who showed great application and maturity. — Reuters