Kohli’s brilliant hundred was the perfect icing on the cake for India after opener Yashasvi Jaiswal put the visitors in the driver’s seat with a brilliant 161
Published Date – 24 November 2024, 03:43 PM
Indian Cricketer Virat Kohli
Perth: Talismanic batter Virat Kohli smashed his 30th Test hundred ‘and the first of this year’ as India set Australia a target of 534 runs to chase after declaring their second innings at 487/6 in 134.3 overs on Day Three of the first Test at Perth Stadium here on Sunday.
Kohli’s unbeaten century came off 143 balls and was laced with eight fours and two sixes. In front of a vociferous crowd which included his actor-producer wife Anushka Sharma, Kohli feasted on a tired bowling line-up to bring up his seventh Test hundred on Australian soil and draw level with Walter Hammond.
Kohli’s brilliant hundred was the perfect icing on the cake for India after opener Yashasvi Jaiswal put the visitors in the driver’s seat with a brilliant 161.
The final session began with Kohli getting a thick inside edge off Cummins going for four and was followed by taking three runs off him to get his fifty.
Despite Washington Sundar being castled while trying to sweep off Nathan Lyon, Kohli continued to be glorious in his driving and found good support in Nitish Kumar Reddy, who whipped Mitchell Marsh for a powerful six, before smashing him for a hat-trick of fours in the next over.
Kohli launched Lyon for a straight six over the non-striker’s end, before pulling and flat-batting Marnus Labuschagne for two boundaries. With Jasprit Bumrah removing his arm guard, a declaration looked imminent.
While Nitish muscled Labuschagne over long-on for a six, Kohli reverse-swept Lyon for four, before sweeping Labuschagne for four and getting his elusive century, also his 80th ton in international cricket as he walked off with cheers from the crowd chanting his name.
Brief scores: India 150 and 487/6 in 134.3 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 161, Virat Kohli 100 not out; Nathan Lyon 2-96) lead Australia 104 by 533 runs.
Shami, formerly with Gujarat Titans, missed the previous season due to knee surgery. He made his comeback to competitive cricket earlier this month, playing for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy. Shami is expected to join the Indian team in Australia for the latter part of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Hyderabad, who earlier expressed interest in buying Rishabh Pant and Arshdeep Singh, finally got the first buy of the day after acquiring the services of Shami in the first pick of the second marquee set.
Shami, who was part of the Gujarat Titans squad, missed the last season due to knee surgery. He recently made his return to competitive cricket earlier this month for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy. He is expected to join the Indian team in Australia for the latter stage of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Before the auction, Hyderabad retained Pat Cummins, Abhishek Sharma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen and Travis Head.
Lucknow Super Giants, on the other hand, bought South African batter David Miller for Rs 7.5 crore. After the big-ticket purchase of Rishabh Pant for an unprecedented Rs 27 crore, Miller became the second buy of the day in Jeddah.
Lucknow retained Nicholas Pooran, Ravi Bishnoi, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan and Ayush Badoni ahead of the auction.
Despite finishing eighth on the leaderboard with 892 points after five rounds, Teeoff outperformed the Chargers, who led with 959 points. In other quarterfinals, Valley Warriors triumphed over Team Dasos in a playoff after a 3-3 draw, Reitz Masters narrowly defeated MYK Strikers 3.5-2.5, and Golden Eagles won 4-2 against Team MYSA. The semifinals are scheduled for Wednesday.
Published Date – 24 November 2024, 07:01 PM
Hyderabad: Team Teeoff Fairmount delivered a stunning upset in the quarterfinals of the Sreenidhi University Telangana Premier Golf League (TPGL) Season 4, defeating table-toppers Atum Chargers 4-2 at the Hyderabad Golf Association on Sunday.
Despite finishing eighth on the leaderboard with 892 points after five rounds, Teeoff outperformed the Chargers, who led with 959 points. In other quarterfinal clashes, Valley Warriors edged past Team Dasos in a playoff after a 3-3 tie, Reitz Masters narrowly overcame MYK Strikers 3.5-2.5 and Golden Eagles beat Team MYSA 4-2. The semifinals are set to take place on Wednesday.
After a morale-boosting 2-1 away victory over Kerala Blasters FC before the FIFA International break, HFC are eager to maintain their momentum.
Published Date – 24 November 2024, 10:20 PM
HFC head coach Thangboi Singto (left) and forward Allan Paulista in Hyderabad on Sunday.
Hyderabad: Indian Super League (ISL) action returns to the GMC Balayogi Stadium in Hyderabad on Monday as Hyderabad FC (HFC) face Odisha FC. After a morale-boosting 2-1 away victory over Kerala Blasters FC before the FIFA International break, HFC are eager to maintain their momentum.
Speaking ahead of the match, Hyderabad FC head coach Thangboi Singto expressed satisfaction with the team’s recent performances. “The win against Kerala Blasters was a big positive for us. We’re looking to carry that rhythm forward despite the long break, which can sometimes disrupt continuity. However, the break allowed us to rest, analyse our opponents and prepare well,” he said.
Hyderabad FC will be aiming for their third win in four games as they take on the ninth-placed Juggernauts, who have struggled for form and remain winless in their last three fixtures. Despite Odisha FC’s position on the table, Singto was cautious, highlighting the strength and experience of their opposition. “Odisha have a highly accomplished coach in Sergio Lobera, who has previously won the league. Their squad features some of the league’s best foreign players like Roy Krishna, Diego Mauricio, Hugo Boumous, Ahmed Jahouh, Carlos Delgado and Mourtada Sergine Fall. It’s going to be a tough game, but we’re prepared,” he added.
The two teams have faced each other 10 times in the ISL. Hyderabad and Odisha have won four and five games respectively, and one match resulted in a draw. For Lobera’s side, the season has been underwhelming thus far, with nine points from eight matches. If Hyderabad score on Monday, it will mark the second time since the 2020-21 season that Odisha have conceded in each of their first nine ISL matches. For Lobera, one of the league’s most brilliant tacticians, it’s a record he will be eager to correct.
Meanwhile, Hyderabad FC’s campaign has shown promising signs after a difficult previous season. They have managed two wins and a draw in seven matches, collecting seven points. Currently placed 11th, HFC trail sixth-placed Punjab FC by just five points, keeping their playoff aspirations alive.
Singto emphasised the team’s growth this season. “The perception of Hyderabad FC has changed. Last season, teams took us lightly, but that’s no longer the case. We’ve built a strong squad with good bench strength. Our focus is to secure a win against Odisha and climb up the table,” he concluded.
Rishabh Pant became the most expensive player in the history of IPL as Lucknow Super Giants splurged a humongous Rs 27 crore to buy the flamboyant India keeper-batter in the tournament’s mega auction here on Sunday.
Updated On – 24 November 2024, 11:06 PM
Jeddah: Rishabh Pant became the most expensive player in the history of IPL as Lucknow Super Giants splurged a humongous Rs 27 crore to buy the flamboyant India keeper-batter in the tournament’s mega auction here on Sunday.
The amount LSG spent for Pant ensured Shreyas Iyer’s record of being the tournament’s costliest player lasted barely a few minutes after Punjab Kings broke the bank to buy the India batter for Rs 26.75 crore.
Moments before Pant emerged as the most expensive player, Iyer surpassed the record held by Australian pacer Mitchell Starc, who was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 24.75 crore in the last auction.
Pant went to LSG after his former franchise Delhi Capitals did not use the Right to Match card to buy him back.
Starc got a much lower price this time and was sold to Delhi Capitals for Rs 11.75 crore, while England’s Jos Buttler went to Gujarat Titans for Rs 15.75 crore.
Among others, left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh’s consistency earned him a massive bid of Rs 18 crore, also from Punjab Kings via the Right to Match card, while South African speedster Kagiso Rabada was bought for Rs 10.75 crore by Gujarat Titans.
Iyer, the former Kolkata Knight Riders captain, started with a base price of Rs two crore.
Delhi Capitals had the bid at Rs 26 crore for him but PBKS raised the amount to get the player.
Chennai Super Kings started with the first bid for Arshdeep, whose base price was also Rs two crore.
Eventually, after an intense bidding war, the seamer was bought back by Punjab, who exercised the right to match option to complete the deal, having released him earlier.
This is the second time an IPL auction is being held outside the country after last year’s event in Dubai.
Venkatesh Iyer was the surprise show-stopper as he was bought back for Rs 23.75 crore by his former franchise Kolkata Knight Riders
Published Date – 25 November 2024, 09:32 AM
Arshdeep Singh, Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer. — File Photo
Jeddah: On the first day of the IPL mega auction, a total of 84 players (72 sold and 12 unsold) went under the hammer with teams breaking the bank for the marquee Indian cricketers.
While India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant pipped Shreyas Iyer (Rs 26.75 crore) to become the costliest buy in IPL’s history with a Rs 27 crore winning bid from Lucknow Super Giants, Venkatesh Iyer was the surprise show-stopper as he was bought back for Rs 23.75 crore by his former franchise Kolkata Knight Riders.
Here is the team-wise list of the players sold by the end of the first day of the auction along with those unsold (price in INR):
Chennai Super Kings: Ravichandran Ashwin for Rs 9.75 crore Devon Conway for Rs 6.25 crore Rachin Ravindra for Rs 4 crore Rahul Tripathi for Rs 3.40 crore Khaleel Ahmed for Rs 4.80 crore Noor Ahmad for Rs 10 crore Vijay Shankar Rs 1.20 crore
Delhi Capitals: KL Rahul for Rs 14 crore Mitchell Starc for Rs 11.75 crore Jake Fraser-McGurk for Rs 9 crore Harry Brook for Rs 6.25 crore T Natarajan for Rs 10.75 crore Sameer Rizvi Rs 95 lakh Karun Nair Rs 50 lakh Ashutosh Sharma Rs 3.80 crore Mohit Sharma for Rs. 2.20 crore Retained: Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Tristan Stubbs, Abhishek Porel.
Punjab Kings: Shreyas Iyer for Rs 26.75 crore Yuzvendra Chahal for Rs 18 crore Arshdeep Singh for Rs 18 crore Marcus Stoinis for Rs 11 crore Glenn Maxwell for Rs 4.20 crore Nehal Wadhera for Rs 4.20 crore Harpreet Brar for Rs 1.50 crore Vishnu Vinod for Rs 95 lakh Vyshak Vijaykumar for Rs 1.80 crore Yash Thakur for Rs. 1.80 crore
Retained: Shashank Singh, Prabhsimran Singh
Royal Challengers Bengaluru:
Josh Hazlewood for RS 12.50 crore Phil Salt for Rs 11.50 crore Jitesh Sharma for Rs 11 crore Liam Livingstone for Rs 8.75 crore Rasikh Salam for Rs. 6 crore Suyash Sharma for Rs. 2.60 crore
Retained: Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Yash Dayal
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Ishan Kishan Rs 11.25 crore Mohammed Shami Rs 10 crore Harshal Patel for Rs 8 crore Adam Zampa for Rs 2.40 crore Rahul Chahar for Rs 3.20 crore Abhinav Manohar for Rs 3.20 crore Atharva Taide Rs 30 lakh Simarjeet Singh for Rs. 1.5 crore Retained: Pat Cummins, Abhishek Sharma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen, Travis Head.
Lucknow Super Giants: Rishabh Pant for Rs 27 crore Avesh Khan for Rs 9.75 crore David Miller for Rs 7.50 crore Mitchell Marsh for Rs 3.40 crore Aiden Markram for Rs 2 crore Aryan Juyal for Rs. 30 lakh Retained: Nicholas Pooran, Ravi Bishnoi, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan, Ayush Badoni.
Siraj bowls a couple of incisive morning spells to remove seasoned Usman Khawaja and out-of-form Steven Smith
Published Date – 25 November 2024, 10:27 AM
India’s Mohammed Siraj appeals unsuccessfully for the wicket of Australia’s Travis Head on the fourth day of the first cricket test against Australia in Perth on Monday. — Photo:AP
Perth: India is on the cusp of victory as Mohammed Siraj bowled a couple of incisive morning spells to remove the seasoned Usman Khawaja and out-of-form Steven Smith as Australia gasped to 104 for five at lunch on day four of the first Test against India.
Chasing a near impossible target of 534, Australia, who resumed on 12 for three, were reduced to 17 for 4 when Khawaja’s mistimed pull off Mohammed Siraj (3/34 in 10 overs) was well taken by IPL’s three million dollar man Rishabh Pant running backwards.
But then India’s new nemesis Travis Head (63 batting, 72 balls) started counter-punching in the presence of Smith (17), who was trying his best to dig in with desperation to come out of his current rut. However Siraj, who had poor series against New Zealand at home, was all over the Australian batters on a pitch that has ‘misbehaved’ considerably with variable bounce coming into play.
If Khawaja was disposed with a delivery that got big on the southpaw opener, Smith got a delivery that was pitched on perfect length and deviated enough to kiss his outside edge as Pant completed the formalities diving to his right ending a 62-run stand. Smith and Marnus Labuschagne’s dip in form during this World Test Championship cycle is a major cause of concerns for the hosts.
Smith, in fact, did away with his trigger movement towards the off-stump. knowing fully well that he could be a leg before candidate whenever Indian bowlers attack the stumps on a pitch with variable bounce. Head, who got a beauty from Harshit Rana in the first innings, knew that survival wasn’t an option on a deteriorating track and he didn’t let the loose balls go unpunished as anything pitched up was driven and the short ones were cut disdainfully. His fifty came with a perfect ramp over the keeper’s head and needed only 63 balls to achieve that feat.
The Indian contingent will travel to Canberra on Wednesday for two-day tour game starting November 30
Updated On – 25 November 2024, 11:28 AM
Team India captain Rohit Sharma practising in the nets.
Perth: India captain Rohit Sharma, who was on a paternity break, arrived in Perth on Sunday evening and was quick to hit the nets. Rohit was seen batting in the nets during the lunch session on Monday as he faced reserve pacers Navdeep Saini, Yash Dayal and Mukesh Kumar.
The Indian contingent will travel to Canberra on Wednesday for two-day tour game starting November 30. That practise game doesn’t have first-class status.
However, the match will have some amount of significance as it is a ‘Pink Ball’ Day/Night game which will serve as preparation for the second Test in Adelaide starting December 6.
Rohit is expected to play the game in Canberra as the pink Kookaburra in Adelaide offers a different kind of challenge for the batters especially in the famous twilight hour when the ball is known to jag around more than usual.
Says nothing sets off Nattu’s loss. Every team goes through it, whether you try and find the players early and…pounce on opportunities or you try and wait for the back end
Updated On – 25 November 2024, 01:11 PM
T Natarajan. — File Photo
Jeddah: Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach Daniel Vettori was most excited about securing Ishan Kishan on day one of the IPL mega auction here but admitted that losing T Natarajan to Delhi Capitals was a loss.
Kishan, who made his name at the Mumbai Indians, was sold to SRH for Rs 11.25 crore on Sunday. The left-arm batter has had a tumultuous year, having lost his place in the Indian team as well as a BCCI central contract for defying the board’s diktat to play domestic cricket. However, he is back playing Ranji Trophy.
SRH bought as many as eight players on day one including pacers Mohammed Shami (Rs 10 crore) and Harshal Patel (Rs 8 crore). However, they were not able to buy back T Natarajan and Vettori said nobody could offset the loss of the left-arm pacer.
SRH had retained five players ahead of the auction including skipper Pat Cummins, Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Heinrich Klaasen and Nitish Reddy.
“Nothing sets off Nattu’s loss (smiles). Every team goes through it, whether you try and find the players early and…pounce on opportunities or you try and wait for the back end,” said Vettori in a media interaction.
Natarajan was bought by Delhi Capitals for Rs 10.75 crore. “…we decided today to try and sense an opportunity when they came along and Mohammad Shami was one and then Harshal Patel, they were two guys that we potentially didn’t think would go for those prices (bargain buys).
“And then Ishan Kishan was a huge deal for us. We really wanted to secure him and we thought he, once again, we thought he’d go for more. so extremely happy that we got those three players as well as the rest,” said Vettori, who took time off from his coaching duties for Australia in the ongoing first Test against India.
Vettori said skipper Cummins is in agreement with all the picks. “Yes, yes there were (inputs from Cummins). A sad captain tonight (referring to Australia being behind in Perth), he had a hard day. I spoke to him earlier today (Sunday) and he understood the logic of the players that we’d gone for and then he had some ideas for obviously the rest of the squad building,” said the former New Zealand spinner.
Leg-spinner Rahul Chahar was a steal at Rs 3.2 crore. Vettori said they factored both recent performance and pedigree before going for the players. “We identified players that we thought had performed in the IPL previously. So we put a premium on that experience. And we’ve seen that pay off time and time again.
Nikhil’s explosive innings, studded with 18 boundaries and a six, propelled Jaisimha to an imposing 355/6 in 50 overs.
Updated On – 30 November 2024, 06:58 PM
Nikhil’s explosive innings, studded with 18 boundaries and a six, propelled Jaisimha to an imposing 355/6 in 50 overs.
Hyderabad: Ravula Nikhil’s scintillating 162 off 131 balls and T Devendar Reddy’s five-wicket haul powered ML Jaisimha to a massive 256-run victory over Royal in the HCA C Division One-Day League on Saturday.
Nikhil’s explosive innings, studded with 18 boundaries and a six, propelled Jaisimha to an imposing 355/6 in 50 overs. Devendar then delivered a masterclass with the ball, dismantling Royal’s batting lineup, as they crumbled for just 99 runs in 38.5 overs.
Brief Scores: ML Jaisimha 355/6 in 50 overs (Ravula Nikhil 162, Daiwik Khatri 54, Shashank T 3/69) bt Royal 99/10 in 38.5 overs (T Devendar Reddy 5/11), Adams XI 46 in 22.1 overs (G Jeevan 3/14, Charan Teja 4/13, G Varun 3/3) lost to Abhinav Colts 46/0 in 9.4 overs, Greenlands 170 in 39 overs (B Guhan 50, Ajith 4/44, M Pranay 5/51) lost to Deccan Colts 174/3 in 31.1 overs (V Thanush Reddy 91, Mahaprasada 57 no), HPS B 208 in 40.4 overs (Kavin Karthik 47, Abdul Qader Amoodi 5/32, Maroof Bin Abdullah 3/22) bt Kishoresons 161 in 29 overs (Abdul Muqtadeer 54 no, Ruhaan Verma 3/35), International 199 in 35.4 overs (Aryan Rath 51, V Arush Chandra 50 no, M Suhas 3/24, SC Chetan 4/38) lost to Ranga Reddy 202/5 in 31 overs (Sai Vardhan 94 no, Aaryan Rath 3/35), Walker Town 308/6 in 50 overs (Praneeth 72, Khushiswar 41) lost to Starlets 313/4 in 47.3 overs (RD Sree Charan 114, Gokul 58, S Karthik 89 no).
