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Day 4: English bowlers keep India on leash
Mark Wood and Moeen Ali struck vital blows late on against India on Sunday to give England a slight edge on Day 4 of the second Test.
India were 181-6 in their second innings, a lead of 154 runs, when bad light forced an early close.
Wood on fire
Play resumed Sunday with England 27 runs ahead after Root’s superb 180 not in a total of 391.
Mark Wood, recalled after Stuart Broad suffered a series-ending calf injury, was the bowling star of the day.
He rocked the Indian batting line-up and had figures of 3-40 in 14 overs.
Wood’s first wicket was that of KL Rahul who fell for five when he edged a 93 mph (150 kph) delivery to wicketkeeper Jos Buttler.
Rohit helped India neutralise the 27 runs lead when he pulled a 91 mph Wood ball for six.
However, Rohit tried to repeat the shot just three balls later, even though three fielders were out for the hook.
As a result, he he was caught by Moeen, running in from deep square leg, for 21.
India were now effectively 0 for 2.
India was in even greater trouble at 55-3 when Sam Curran captured the key wicket of Indian captain Virat Kohli.
Earlier, Kohli survived left-arm swing bowler Curran’s review for lbw on height.
When he had made 20, Kohli played for an in-swinger off a Curran delivery angled across him and was caught behind off a thin edge.
Pujara Rahane rescue act
Just when England’s tails were up, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane fought back with a big partnership.
Pujara (45) and Rahane (61) blunted England’s attack for 59 overs and put on 100 runs for the fourth wicket.
Pujara consumed 206 balls for his 45.
However his innings ended when a Wood delivery bounced unevenly off a good length ball and took the edge of the bat, landing gently in the hands of Joe Root at second slip.
At this time, India was 155-4.
Worse was to come as two more wickets fell for just 20 runs.
Off-spinner Moeen Ali got into the act and removed vice-captain Rahane and the dangerous Ravindra Jadeja cheaply.
Rahane was caught behind trying to cut Moeen.
Moeen then produced an unplayable delivery – which turned and bounced to clip the top of the Jadeja’s off stump.
Mooen, in for dropped batsman Dan Lawrence, had figures of 2-52 in 20 overs.
Shortly before play ended, the umpires appeared to suggest the game could not proceed if England took the new ball, even though the floodlights were on.
England, however, did not want to risk conceding runs in those circumstances, with Rishabh Pant 14 not out and Ishant Sharma unbeaten on four.
England will be hoping to wrap up the Indian innings quickly on Day 5 and go for victory.
With Jimmy Anderson in the attack and a new ball on offer, England will be relishing their chances.
India 181 for 6 (Rahane 61, Pujara 45, Wood 3-40, Ali 2-52) and 364 lead England 391 by 154 runs
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Smriti Mandhana and Ellyse Perry star in RCB women’s comeback win against UP Warriorz in WPL 2024
RCB women overcame UP Warriorz by 23 runs to clinch their third win of the season. The home side outperformed Warriorz in all the facets of the game and emerged victorious. A collective team effort, particularly with the bat, helped RCB women to beat Warriorz for the second time in the season. They now have three wins in their five matches in the WPL 2024.
Alyssa Healy won the toss and opted to field first. Given how things have panned out in the league so far, it needed a great batting performance from RCB to challenge the chasing side. The home side did exactly that. They were full of intent which was lacking in the last few games. Right from the start, S Meghana and Smriti Mandhana smashed the bowlers.
It was the night of the RCB skipper. The Southpaw scored 80(50) in her stay. S Meghana perished after a valuable 28(21). Ellyse Perry batted well and registered her first fifty of the WPL 2024. She was aided well towards the end by Richa Ghosh whose 21(10) propelled RCB to a score of 198 on the board. It was the highest team total in the WPL 2024.
Alyssa Healy’s efforts go in vain
Chasing the daunting total, UP Warriorz were off to a flier. The opening duo of Healy and Kiran Navgire gave a fiery start to the visiting side. When the two were batting in the PP overs, it seemed like the Warriorz could pull off an insane chase. However, Sophie Devine brought RCB back into the game with crucial wickets. At Bengaluru, the home crowd was literally behind the RCB women.
It helped the home side to stay calm and do their job with ease. Sophie Molineux and Asha Sobhana were the pick of the bowlers, who claimed 2/29 each in their spell of four overs. While Healy scored a fifty and Deepti tried her best in the death overs, ten daunting targets could not be chased down. Despite the early hiccups, RCB managed to restrict UP Warriorz to a score of 175 and won by 23 runs.
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WATCH: Ellyse Perry in disbelief as her six breaks car’s window
Ellyse Perry smashed a six in the match against UP Warriorz in the WPL 2024. It was an interesting six as the ball travelled towards the boundary ropes and fell exactly on the window of the car. As a result, the glass of the window was broken. The car is set to be provided as a reward for the player of the tournament.
It was the over of Deepti Sharma towards the last few moments of RCB’s innings. Before Perry struck, the home side was in a great position in the match, thanks to a great start provided by Smriti Mandhana. The star batter scored 80 (50) and shined in front of the home crowd. Her form helped RCB to have a good momentum towards the death overs.
Watch the viral video here –
ELLYSE PERRY HAS BROKE THE GLASS OF THE CAR…!!! 🤯
– The reaction of Perry was priceless!! pic.twitter.com/zaxiQLLN1r
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) March 4, 2024
Perry, who was struggling till that point, opened up and smashed the bowlers for fun. She went hard against the spinners like Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Deepti Sharma who were asked to bowl at the death. The right-handed batter smashed back-to-back sixes in the over of Sharma. One of those travelled towards the mid-wicket region where the car was stationed. The video of her shot has gone viral on X.
RCB teammates laugh, Ellyse Perry in disbelief
As the ball fell on the car and damaged the window, the fans erupted. There was no end to the joy of the fans who started chanting “Perry.. Perry..” and lit the atmosphere of the stadium. However, Perry was in disbelief. As she saw the impact of the ball damaging the car’s window, the Australian batter could not believe her eyes and thought about what she had just done.
On the other hand, the RCB teammates of Perry were in awe of the shot. They looked at the replays and appreciated the shot of Perry. At the same time, players like Sophie Molineux and Sophie Devine had a laugh about the car’s window getting damaged. Ellyse scored a fifty and helped her team score 198 runs with her batting in front of the home crowd.
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Praveen Kumar addresses Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer’s negligence of taking part in Ranji Trophy
Praveen Kumar has given his opinion on the preferences of Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer in recent times. The duo did not take part in the Ranji Trophy matches for their respective teams despite being fit. It did not go well with the Indian Cricket Board which landed the duo without a ventral contract which was announced a few days back.
Praveen Kumar has reacted to the issue recently. The former India pacer claimed that he has been of an opinion on the issue for a long time. Praveen felt that one should definitely earn money but not at the cost of neglecting to play for domestic and national teams. The right-arm pacer felt that players today are having a certain mentality which is not good.
The former pacer claimed that the players have a mindset that they can rest for a month before taking part in the IPL, thereby bypassing playing for their national team or the domestic teams. Praveen felt that the players could not resist letting go of money which they could earn by taking part in the IPL and other T20 leagues (For foreign players).
‘Ye mentally hota hai, ki mai itne paise kaise chodun’ – Praveen Kumar
“This thing is now firmly in the mind of players. Mai ek mahine pehle rest kar lunga, fir IPL khel lunga. Ye mentally hota hai, ki mai itne paise kaise chodun,” said Praveen in the interview. He claimed that youngsters these days are spoilt and are behind money. The former RCB pacer felt that it is not fair on the part of the young players to neglect the country over the IPL.
Kumar felt that a player needs to maintain a balance between playing for the IPL team and for the country. He felt that money is an important factor, but not at the cost of playing for the national team. “But this is not fair at all. A player needs to balance things. Money is important, but this (giving franchise cricket the priority) is wrong,” said the former Indian bowler in the interview.
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