Skip to main content

Australia hammer India by 333 runs, take 1-0 lead

Pune: Left-arm spinner Steve O'Keefe wrecked havoc on the Indian batters as Australia emphatically defeated India by 333 runs on the third day of the first Test here at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium here on Saturday.

Chasing a mammoth target of 441, the Virat Kohli-led side suffered a second batting collapse in two days and were bowled out for 107 runs in the second innings.

The loss ended India's winning streak of 19 matches on the trot and also the 17 match home-winning streak. This was also Kohli's first defeat as captain in Test cricket at home.

India last tasted a home defeat in Tests in 2012 against England.

On a dry, turning pitch that should have suited India's spinners, Smith scored the only hundred of the match and Steve O'Keefe took as many wickets as Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja combined. Keefe was declared Man of the Match.

The hosts began their chase on a disastrous note as openers KL Rahul and Murali Vijay were dismissed inside seven. Both were dismissed LBW and opened the floodgates for the Aussies to cash in.

Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara then tried to steady the ship, but the Indian captain shouldered his arms to a straight delivery from O'Keefe to lose his off stump. No other Indian batsmen could stay at the wicket and the Indian batting fell like a pack of cards.

Earlier in the day, captain Steve Smith hit a superb century as Australia set a world record 441-run target for India to win.

His 12 for 69 were the best figures ever by a visiting spinner in a Test on Indian soil. He was well supported by Nathan Lyon who picked up four in the second innings.

India are now 0-1 down in the four-match series and going into the second Test, they have a lot to think about, especially about their batting. 



via Sify.com http://ift.tt/2mnZGeN
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Virat Kohli and co. leave for West Indies

The Virat Kohli led Indian team left for the West Indies for the four-Test series starting July 21st. The team was accompanied by its newly appointed head coach Anil Kumble and other support staff. The 16-member squad will play a tour game against the West Indies Cricket Board President's XI at Warner Park in Basseterre, St Kitts on July 9 and 10. The journey begins. #TeamIndia leaves for the tour of West Indies. #WIvIND http://pic.twitter.com/ebK1jkoFiN -BCCI (@BCCI) July 5, 2016 That will be followed by a three-day warm-up fixture at the same venue from July 14 to 16. The first Test match will be held at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground in Antigua from July 21 to 25. The other three Test matches will be held at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica (Jul 30-Aug 3), Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in Gros Islet, St Lucia (Aug 9-13) and Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad (Aug 18-22). When India last toured West Indies in 2011, the visitors won the series 1-0....
Post a Comment
Read more

India withdraw Smith protest as boards make peace in DRS row

India have withdrawn an official protest about the actions of Australia captain Steve Smith in the second test as the governing bodies of both countries moved to bring an end to the acrimony surrounding the ongoing four-match series. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had earlier registered a complaint to the International Cricket Council (ICC) over Smith looking to the dressing room for guidance on whether to review an lbw decision during the Bengaluru match. Despite the hosts winning the test to level the series at 1-1 on Tuesday, India skipper Virat Kohli alleged the tourists had indulged in the practice throughout the match, sparking a war of words in the media and a robust response from Australia. The boards released a joint statement on Friday saying the chief executives of both bodies had met in Mumbai on Thursday and agreed to try and bring the focus "back to the game" ahead of next week's third test in Ranchi. "India has always cherished a c...
Post a Comment
Read more

AB de Villiers becomes top ranked batsman in ODIs

Dubai: South Africa's star batsman AB de Villiers on Friday regained the top spot in the ICC player rankings for One-Day International batsmen after leading the list of run-scorers in the recent series against New Zealand. De Villiers's 262 runs in the series, including a highest of 85 in the third ODI at Wellington, have helped him overtake Australia opener David Warner at the top of the ladder, reclaiming the top spot within two months of losing it to India captain Virat Kohli, according to the International Cricket Council's (ICC) statement. The 33-year-old batsman is on 875 points, four points ahead of Warner and 23 clear of Kohli. Among other batsmen, England's Joe Root and Alex Hales are major gainers as they have reached career-best rankings. Root has reached fourth spot after scoring 195 runs including 101 in the final match in Bridgetown against West Indies while Hales, who knocked up 110 in the same match, his fifth century in the last 20 ODIs, has gained...
Post a Comment
Read more