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Hello Jammu News at 2:17:00 PM 0

Skipper Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara put on 62 runs for the third wicket after losing both the openers, steering India to 70 for two at tea on day two of the second Test against Australia, here Saturday.


Perth, Dec 15 (PTI) Skipper Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara put on 62 runs for the third wicket after losing both the openers, steering India to 70 for two at tea on day two of the second Test against Australia, here Saturday.

At the break, Kohli was batting on 37 while Cheteshwar Pujara was unbeaten on 23 as India trail by 256 runs.

After losing Murali Vijay (0) at the stroke of lunch, India were immediately under the pump as Josh Hazlewood (1/30) knocked over KL Rahul (2) in the third over after resumption of play. 

Rahul was in two minds about how to play a full delivery aimed at the off-stump and was beaten all ends up as the ball destroyed his stumps.

It brought Kohli and Pujara together at the crease, and the duo concentrated on defence in order to push back the Australian attack.

The session turned out to be an intense battle with Nathan Lyon keeping both batsmen under wraps as they tried not to play too many strokes against the off-spinner.

At the other end, Kohli also contended with Hazlewood who bowled an extended spell. The star batsman stood outside the crease and moved early on his front foot to deny any chance of a repeat with what happened at Rahul's dismissal.

They made slow progress, adding 37 runs in the first hour of play after lunch, and their 50-partnership came up in 135 balls.

There were a few more shots towards the end of this session, but overall Australia kept a tight leash on proceedings with both set batsmen deciding not to counterpunch.

Earlier, Australia's lower order added crucial 49 runs after resuming at 277 for six as paceman Ishant Sharma finished with 4 for 41.

Skipper Tim Paine (38) and Pat Cummins (19) frustrated Indian bowling and extended their eighth-wicket partnership to 59 runs.

In doing so, they took Australia past 300 in the 100th over. For their part, India were guilty of bowling too short again and there weren't enough full deliveries attacking the stumps or making batsmen play.

India were content with keeping a lid on the scoring as only 29 runs came in the first hour of play. They started the day's proceedings with Ishant and Mohammed Shami (0/80), with Umesh Yadav (2/78) starting as first change.

Jasprit Bumrah (2/53), who was India's standout bowler on day one, was the fourth to bowl in an inexplicable tactic from the skipper.

There was certain hint of variable bounce from the pitch, but again India didn't bowl full enough to exploit the same as the Australian tail wagged.

Finally, Yadav got the breakthrough with an over of full deliveries, knocking off Cummin's off-stump in the 105th over. Two balls later, Bumrah trapped Paine lbw and the decision stayed despite a DRS review from the batsman.

Nathan Lyon (9 not out) stayed unbeaten for the third innings in a row as he added quick-fire 16 runs with Mitchell Starc to push Australia to a healthy total on a tough wicket.

Ishant then finished off things with two wickets in two balls, with Starc and Josh Hazlewood (0) caught behind with some acrobatic help from Rishabh Pant.


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Hello Jammu News at 3:30:00 PM 0

The green pitches have ceased to be "alien" for the Indian team, declared captain Virat Kohli, who is hoping that Australia will not take off the grass from the pitch for the second Test, beginning Friday.


Perth, Dec 13 (PTI) The green pitches have ceased to be "alien" for the Indian team, declared captain Virat Kohli, who is hoping that Australia will not take off the grass from the pitch for the second Test, beginning Friday. 

India took a 1-0 lead in the four-match series with a 31-run win in Adelaide, and will bank on the five pace bowlers to go 2-0 up in the four-match series. 

"We certainly get more excited than nervous looking at lively pitches. We understand that we have a bowling attack that can bowl out the opposition now.

I hope no more grass is taken off it. We as a team are pretty happy with that," said a confident Kohli at the pre-match press conference. 

"We just have to challenge ourselves as a batting unit and play positively, backing the bowlers to do what they did at Adelaide as well. I think this pitch is going to offer significantly more than it did at Adelaide. That is something we are very excited about. 

India named their 13-man squad for this Test, with R Ashwin and Rohit Sharma ruled out owing to injury concerns. There is every chance that India will go in with a four-pronged pace-only attack for only the third instance in their Test history, after Johannesburg (2018) and Perth (WACA, 2012).

"I have played all around the world for 10 years now and I have never played on a wicket like the one at Johannesburg to be honest. I have played at Perth as well in 2012 but was not even close to what Johannesburg was. We are not alien to pitches like these and this is nothing new for us. We know what to expect on a pitch like this. On a lively wicket where there is grass on the pitch and the surface being hard, you are as much as in the game as the opposition." 

When asked about how it feels to be the Indian captain to unleash this best-ever Indian pace attack', Kohli said, "I am lucky that when they are at their peak I am the captain. To be honest I haven't gone scouting for them, they have been playing for a while and it is just that these five have come into their own when I was the captain. So I am not going to sit here and take credit for unleashing some one." 

"If you don't get 20 wickets you don't win a Test match, regardless of whether you scored 600 or 700 or 800. It is insignificant. If you get 300 on the board and you have guys who can get 20 wickets then you are fine as a team. The way they have bowled in the last three tours, it is amazing. They are hungry for wickets and are not giving easy runs. I am sure it is very exciting for those who are watching us play." 

Kohli also emphasised that though it is very "exciting phase" to be in, but they need to build on it. 

"We cannot be complacent and be satisfied with just one win. We need to keep repeating the good things to win a series. Playing away is always challenging but even if you want to win games at home, you need to be consistent and that is something that we are working on, he said.

Certain DRS issues have cropped up after the Adelaide Test, with Australia particularly miffed at some of the marginal decisions not going their way. For India, there is also the issue of no balls, but Kohli underlined that the concerned bowlers have already worked on those.

"We had a word with the umpires. You have to take all the pros and cons of it. Sometimes the inconclusive decisions go your way, sometimes they don't. Sometimes there is a spike in the snickometer but no hotspot. There are variables in the technology for sure. But if it weren't for DRS, you probably would be in a different situation in a game. Probably as a batter or as the fielding side, you don't have any second chance of checking a decision that could be game changing. I am okay with it." 

"Nothing is going to be perfect. There is human error too. I don't think anything can be totally error-free. I just think that until a few things are rectified we need to take these in our stride," Kohli said.

Talking about the no balls, he added, As I mentioned about this after the last game, Ishant (Sharma) himself was very keen to rectify it. So I don't think it was something that needed to be spoken about again and again." 
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Hello Jammu News at 3:27:00 PM 0

Most Indian teams of the past would be wary of a green top but the Virat Kohli-led side will see it as an opportunity to bulldoze the Australians when the second Test begins on a pitch offering plenty of pace and bounce at the brand new Optus Stadium, here Friday.


Perth, Dec 13 (PTI) Most Indian teams of the past would be wary of a green top but the Virat Kohli-led side will see it as an opportunity to bulldoze the Australians when the second Test begins on a pitch offering plenty of pace and bounce at the brand new Optus Stadium, here Friday. 

The mood in the Indian camp was summed up best by the skipper after a green pitch was unveiled on eve of the maiden Test at the new facility. 

"We get more excited than nervous looking at lively pitches now," said Kohli, who has a potent pace attack at his disposal. 

Curator Brett Sipthorpe is trying to produce the 'bounciest' pitch he can and that could very well work in India's favour as the visitors aim to take a 2-0 lead in the four-Test series, 

India won the first Test in Adelaide by 31 runs.

Keeping with tradition at the good old WACA, a raging quick wicket has been laid for this inaugural five-day game. It has a healthy layering of grass which could impact strategies for both sides.

The visitors will surely name a changed eleven as they have been hit by a couple more injuries. India named their 13-man squad for this second Test, with R Aswhin and Rohit Sharma the two notable absentees. Ashwin is ruled out owing to a left-abdominal strain while Rohit is laid low due to a back issue that he sustained whilst fielding in the first Test at Adelaide.

The batsman missed out on both days of practice leading to the second Test. 

Ashwin also skipped the optional training on Wednesday, and while he was present for warm-ups during Thursday practice, he didn't bat or bowl in the nets. Meanwhile, Prithvi Shaw continues to be ruled out, meaning India will retain their opening combination of KL Rahul and Murali Vijay.

For the other two spots in the playing eleven, Hanuma Vihari, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav have been included in the 13-man squad. It gives rise to different permutations and combinations, and Kohli does have prior history of picking an all-pace attack earlier in 2018. 

At Johannesburg, on another raging green-top wicket, he picked a four-pacer attack with Hardik Pandya as the all-rounder.

India also have played an all-pace attack in Perth back in 2012, when MS Dhoni fielded Zaheer Khan, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma and R Vinay Kumar at the WACA Ground. Virender Sehwag bowled 7.2 overs of off-spin in that Test, and it provides a template for Kohli to follow. 

With Rohit out injured, Vihari is likely to play his second Test after his maiden appearance at the Oval, wherein he scored 56 runs in the fifth Test against England.

Vihari is a handy off-spinner as well, and the team management hasn't been shy to use him as such. At the Oval, when India did play with four full-time bowlers, he bowled 10.3 overs. 

In the practice game in Sydney too, Vihari bowled 12 overs against Cricket Australia XI. Along with Vijay, picking Vihari allows the Indian think-tank to go in with a four-pacer strategy, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar coming in for the injured Ashwin.

Even so, recent records need to be considered. In November, Western Australia hosted New South Wales for a Sheffield Shield game at this new ground as a dry-run for this maiden Test. 

Out of 40 wickets to fall in that four-day game, eight went to spinners with Nathan Lyon taking seven wickets for 120 runs in two innings and left-arm spinner Ashton Agar picking the one wicket for 69 runs in two innings.

Clearly, Lyon as the off-spinner was able to exploit the bounce on offer. If Ashwin had been available, Kohli perhaps would have still been tempted to play him. With Jadeja in the squad though, there is still possibility to go in with a spinner albeit the temptation is greatly reduced. 

The Indian batting line-up should otherwise be unchanged. On Thursday, the three Indian pacers, who played in Adelaide, didn't bowl at all. They did pad up and have a hit in the nets.

Australia could make a tactical change to their batting line-up as well. Aaron Finch has come under sharp criticism for his shot selection in the first Test and there are growing concerns about him going into this match. 

After Wednesday's practice sessions, there was growing opinion that either Usman Khawaja or Shaun Marsh could open in his place, with Finch slotting down in the middle order.

All-rounder Mitchell Marsh still only has an outside chance to play in this Test with skipper Tim Paine declaring himself fully fit after being hurt on his right hand in Adelaide. Australia are expected to field the same bowling line-up and barring any surprising injuries, Peter Siddle is not in consideration.

Squad: 

India (13-players): Virat Kohli (capt), KL Rahul, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav.

Other squad players: Parthiv Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Prithvi Shaw, R Ashwin, Rohit Sharma.

Australia (expected eleven): Tim Paine (capt & wk), Marcus Harris, Aaron Finch, Usman Khawaja, Travis Head, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood.

Other squad players: Mitchell Marsh, Peter Siddle.

Match starts at: 7.50am IST.
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