News Analysis India

Tag: Wriddhiman Saha

  • India record lowest Test score of 36, Australia need to 90 to win

     Virat Kohli-led side might have had a 62-run lead entering the third day of the first Test, but the side squandered the advantage as the batsmen failed to rise to the occasion and Australia made light work of the visitors.

    India was bundled out for 36 in the second innings, setting a target of 90 runs for Australia to go 1-0 up in the series. This score of 36 is India’s lowest-ever score in Test cricket. Before this, India’s lowest score was 42 in Test cricket against England in 1974.

    Resuming day three at 9/1, India lost the wickets of Jasprit Bumrah (2) and Cheteshwar Pujara (0) in quick succession as Pat Cummins sent both the batsmen back to the pavilion. In the very next over of Pujara’s dismissal, Josh Hazlewood prized the wickets of Mayank Agarwal (9) and Ajinkya Rahane (0), and India was left reeling at 15/5 with just a lead of 68 runs over the hosts.

    Things turned worse for the visitors as Pat Cummins had Virat Kohli (4) caught at the hands of Cameron Green at gully. Wriddhiman Saha and Ravichandran Ashwin also failed to leave a mark and India was left reeling at 26/8.

  • Virat Kohli wins toss, opts to bat first

    India won the toss and has elected to bat first against Australia in Adelaide.  Australia has played and won 7 matches under lights, four of them at the Adelaide Oval. India, on the other hand, played its first and only win late last year against Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens.

    The first Test of the four-match series is played with pink-ball while the rest of the series will be played with red-ball. Virat Kohli-led side announced their playing XI a day before the game which included Prithvi Shaw and Wriddhiman Saha.

    The visitors have opted for three seamers and one spinner in the first Test. Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, and Umesh Yadav are the three pacers while Ravichandran Ashwin has been chosen as the lone spinner.

    On the other hand, Tim Paine-led side has handed a debut Test cap to all-rounder Cameron Green before the toss. Pacer Pat Cummins presented the 459th Australian Test cap to Green.

    India playing XI for the 1st Test against Australia: P Shaw, M Agarwal, C Pujara, V Kohli, A Rahane, H Vihari, W Saha, R Ashwin, U Yadav, M Shami, J Bumrah

    1st Test. Australia XI: J Burns, M Wade, M Labuschagne, S Smith, T Head, C Green, T Paine, P Cummins, M Starc, N Lyon, J Hazlewood

  • Rishabh Pant, Hanuma Vihari warm up for Test series with tons

    It turned out to be a batting festival for India on the second day of the three-day pink-ball warmup game against Australia ‘A’ on Saturday, with Rishabh Pant running amok with an unbeaten 103 and Hanuma Vihari too scoring a century.
    The Australia ‘A’ pacers seemed to be weary and merely going through the motions at the end of the day at the Sydney Cricket Ground, and Pant gave the team management something to think about as he hammered 22 runs off the last over, bowled by tired-looking right-arm medium pacer Jack Wildermuth, to complete his century.
    In all probability, the team management may have already settled on Wriddhiman Saha as the main wicketkeeper for the pink-ball Test in Adelaide starting December 17. Pant, however, made it clear with his strokeplay that he will be up for the challenge if given an opportunity.

  • Huge amount of talent,’ Kane Williamson says India youngster is an ‘exciting player for the future’

    Sunrisers Hyderabad displayed a fighting spirit in the Indian Premier League 2020 as they fought hard to make way to the 2nd Qualifier. But in the do-or-die clash against Delhi Capitals, the David Warner-led side lost by 17 runs and failed to make way into the final. SRH suffered a major set back with Wriddhiman Saha, who had been integral in helping SRH through to the playoffs, suffering an injury and getting ruled out from the match.

    SRH had to include Sreevats Goswami in the playing XI once again. Being asked to chase 190 by DC, SRH decided to promote youngster Priyam Garg to the opening slot in place of Saha – a move that did not pan out as expected.

    Garg was cleaned up by Marcus Stoinis after scoring 17 runs in 12 balls in the 5th over. SRH batsman Kane Williamson was asked about the move at the post-match press conference, and he said that the India youngster has a great future ahead of him.

    “I don’t know the exact thoughts but what I feel is that Priyam has a huge amount of talent and throughout this season, he had a lot of repeated opportunity,” Williamson said. Garg did not enjoy a good season with SRH, scoring just 14 runs in 10 games at an average of 14.77 and a strike rate of 119.81. But Williamson insisted that Garg has an exciting future ahead of him.

    “Every time you watch him play in the nets, you can see how well he hits the ball. He hit some beautiful shots and he is an exciting player for the future, for sure,” The New Zealand captain said. Meanwhile, Delhi Capitals will now face off against the Mumbai Indians in the final of IPL 2020.

  • The late riser of Sunrisers Hyderabad

    It was possibly the most spectacular meltdown of IPL 2020. Chasing 127 against Kings XI Punjab, Sunrisers Hyderabad cruised to 56/0 in 6.1 overs and the win increasingly looked like a formality. Then came the sucker punch of losing all 10 wickets for the next 58 runs, turning their remaining three league games into must-win affairs.

    Desperate times demanded desperate measures. SRH played a gambit by removing the dangerous opener Jonny Bairstow to include Kane Williamson, bolstering a faltering middle-order. But who would replace Bairstow, not just an opener but also the team’s regular wicketkeeper? They turned to Wriddhiman Saha, who had, until then, played just one game where he scored 30, from 31 balls.

    But Saha knows what it takes to walk a tightrope. He got a chance in the Bengal Ranji team only because Deep Dasgupta had signed up with the rebel Indian Cricket League. He made his Test debut as a batsman only because Rohit Sharma injured himself before the toss. And he became a Test regular only once MS Dhoni had decided to hang up his whites. It was no different this time around.

    Just three games into his late starting eleven re-entry, Saha has become the unlikely trump card for SRH. In those three matches, Saha has top-scored for his team twice and also notched two half-centuries. Called up to fill in for a more reputed name in white-ball cricket, Saha has done the star turn, playing a crucial role in helping SRH defeat all the other three play-off qualifiers – Delhi Capitals, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians – in their last three must-win games.

    “Very smart batting. Improvised his shots after picking the line and length of the ball. There was no slogging at all. Played a fantastic innings which I thoroughly enjoyed watching,” Sachin Tendulkar exclaimed on Twitter after watching Saha’s effort that earned him a Player of the Match award.

    But when it came to talking about himself, Saha was humble as ever. “I got the opportunity for the second time this year and I took chances in the powerplay for the team, and that’s it. It’s easy to play when there’s Warner at the other end. In the powerplay I just play my natural cricketing shots,” Saha said.