GUYANA CHRONICLE, Saturday October 12, 2019
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Kohli double ton punishes South Africa (ESPNCRICINFO) - ON day two of Test two, Virat Kohli and friends just stood there and beat every bit of fight out of a tattered and directionless South African side. Kohli could have chosen to bat on and have a stab at a triple, Ravindra Jadeja could have got a hundred had he not pushed too strongly towards a declaration, and then Umesh Yadav announced his comeback with two wickets in his first two overs. South Africa, meanwhile, dropped catches, misfielded regularly, conceded overthrows, snapped at each other, bowled 11 no-balls, and just waited for declaration. Oh and they also made strides towards having the worst
Virat Kohli now has more double-centuries (7) than any other Indian batsman. (BCCI)
series for a set of spinners in India, and none of their three fast bowlers charged in for the last 18 overs of the innings, even when Keshav Maharaj was off the field with injury. Retirements, talent drain, relative quality of this South African side compared to their other teams are things beyond the scope of this report, but it is hard to remember an untidier effort from them in the field. Even the forecast rain refused to come to their rescue. South Africa’s spinners now average 95; only two sides have ended a series with worse numbers in India. Maharaj has gone at 4.04 an over so far and has averaged 85.66, putting him in the worst five on both counts. While these are mid-series
numbers, it will take some correcting to not walk away with dubious honours by the time Ranchi is done. India’s honours were the farthest thing from dubious. Kohli was tested with the new ball in the first hour, but South Africa’s cordon didn’t help themselves by refusing to move closer. Thrice Kohli edged in the first exchange, but none of those went to hand. That South Africa could draw edges through traditional channel bowling tells you how sporting the pitch was. Kohli was less sporting whenever the bowlers erred, and they erred frequently. No matter how honest they kept him with length balls outside off, Kohli was brutal
on any that were too full or too straight. This was one of Kohli’s more difficult home hundreds. Only on a crazy seaming track in Kolkata, against Sri Lanka, did Kohli have a worse control percentage over his first 100 runs than the 87.86 here. He was respectful accordingly, even with debutant Anrich Nortje. Ajinkya Rahane was less fluent with his ongoing struggles against spin. He took 33 balls to score his first run off Maharaj. To the first 100 runs of the 178-run partnership with Kohli, Rahane contributed just 25; he took 100 balls to do so. Against pace he opened up a little, but Maharaj dismissed him on 59.
Left-arm spin did come close to getting Kohli out: but three outside edges off Maharaj refused to go to Faf du Plessis at slip. This, though, happened well after
he
had
reached
his
hundred and was now pushing for quicker runs. That was one of the reasons why Jadeja was promoted to No.6, but Kohli was so dominating
that
Jadeja
could score just six in the first 50 runs of the 225-run partnership.
‘Benna Boys’ tame Golden Jaguars 2-1 … Guyana to host Antigua and Barbuda on Monday
By Rawle Toney ANTIGUA and Barbuda edged Guyana 2-1 at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium last evening, to secure their second win in the inaugural CONCACAF Nations League. It was a crucial three points secured by the Benna Boys, as Golden Jaguars slumped to their second consecutive defeat, following their 4-0 drubbing by the ‘Reggae Boyz’. Coach Marcio Maximo surprised everyone when he left Sheldon Holder out
of the line-up, and opted to start with Trayon Bobb, who hasn’t touched a pitch locally and for the national side, since Guyana’s qualification tournament for the Gold Cup earlier this year. Nonetheless, along with Bobb, Maximo started with Akel Clarke in goal, skipper Samuel Cox, Kevin Layne, Matthew Briggs, Kadell Daniel, Elliot Bonds, Neil Danns, Keanu Marsh-Brown, Clive Nobrega, and Emery Welshman. Golden Jaguars seemed shaky in the opening minutes of their first game against
CRICKET QUIZ CORNER (Saturday October 12, 2019) COMPLIMENTS OF THE TROPHY STALL-Bourda Market & The City Mall (Tel: 225-9230) & CUMMINGS ELECTRICAL COMPANY LTD-83 Garnett Street, Campbellville, Georgetown (Tel: 225-6158) Answers to yesterday’s quiz: (1) Barbados Tridents (2) 4 times (2013, 2014, 2016, 2018) Today’s Quiz: (1) Who scored the first century in CPL 2019? (2) Which team (in 2019) failed to make the Play-off stage of a CPL Tournament for the first time? Answers in tomorrow’s issue
Golden Jaguars fell 1-2 to Antigua and Barbuda in their latest CONCACAF Nations League match.
Antigua and Barbuda since their November 29, 2010 1-0 defeat, as the Benna Boys pressed forward with relentless attack. The Antiguans looked to threaten on almost every possession, and went on to score two goals in two minutes through Quinton Griffith (15th) and Junior Benjamin (17th), as the home side sat on a 2-0 cushion throughout
the first half. However, Golden Jaguars came out hungry in the second stanza and five minutes into play, Danns slipped a ball through to Welshman, and the forward, who plays with Hapoel Haifa FC in the Israeli Premier League, calmly put his effort past Molvin Jones in goal. It was redemption for Welshman, who had a clear-
cut chance in the second half to score, but, as they say in Guyana, he ‘bubble’ on the attempt. Sheldon Holder, who scored Guyana’s lone goal in the Nations League so far, came on late in the half, replacing Trayon Bobb, and made an immediate impact on the game. Guyana’s unyielding push for another goal didn’t
materialise and Benna Boys held on for the win which puts them on six points and second place in Group C of League B behind Jamaica. The Golden Jaguars will return home tomorrow evening and will host Antigua and Barbuda on Monday at the National Track and Field Centre, in a must-win affair.