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THE HINDU FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2019 SPORT 19 EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE Kohli’s men look to sweep series Bumrah’s spell in first Test one of Pant’s form is, however, a worry the best by an Indian pacer: Arun INDIA IN WI formed admirably with Ajin­ Press Trust of India 318 runs in the opening tion part is perfect as the kya Rahane back in form Kingston (Jamaica) World Test Championship outcome is then taken care Press Trust of India with an under­pressure half­ ’s situational match. of. and a century. awareness is unmatched and “Bumrah is a thinking “Well, are the out­ Kingston (Jamaica) also justi­ his five­ haul in the se­ bowler. He is aware of situa­ come but I am not always Rishabh Pant will be desper­ fied his selection with a 93 in cond innings of the opening tions and adjusts himself looking at the outcome. I am ate to pay back the faith re­ the second innings, meaning Test against the West Indies beautifully. If you see the looking at the execution part posed in him by the team that ’s wait to is one of the “best spells of lengths that he bowled in the and that was exactly what management when India make the side could just get a fast bowling” by an Indian, second innings, he pitched was discussed with Bumrah looks to steamroller West In­ bit longer. feels the team’s bowling the ball up and was getting after the first innings,” Arun dies with another dominant The pace bowling was coach Bharath Arun. appreciable movements,” said. “His execution (in the show in the second World near flawless in the first game Bumrah, who was given a Arun said. first innings) was a trifle Test championship encoun­ with and Jas­ month’s break after the “That’s the best spell of short and with his style of ter starting on Friday. prit Bumrah looking menac­ World Cup, looked rusty in fast bowling I have seen bowling, he should have ing. was the first innings in Antigua from an Indian in a long, pitched it up. Wickets were Tinkering unlikely also very effective in short but came back to claim five long time,” he added. not a concern as the process It is unlikely that India will be bursts, while five for seven in 8 overs as In­ For Arun, a coach’s prior­ of bowling right lengths will tinkering with its playing XI proved his utility as an all­ dia thrashed West Indies by ity is to ensure that execu­ eventually get you wickets.” after a big win even though rounder. Pant’s form has been a bit of For West Indies, there a concern of late. hasn’t been much to write More than the runs home about as none of its No Dhoni, but Hardik is back scored, it is the manner of his players even got a half­centu­ dismissals that is causing ry in two innings. The saving frustration, considering that SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT to the young Rishabh Pant. grace for them was the new­ the Indian establish­ ball pair of “We will focus on him for ment has invested heavily in and , who bow­ All­rounder , some more time,” he said. the 21­year­old from Rour­ led their hearts out. who was rested for the tour Prasad added that Dhoni kee. His sequence of scores The teams (from): India: Virat of the West Indies because of has himself not responded across formats during this Kohli (Capt.), K.L. Rahul, lower­back issues, has been to them about his plans. current tour has been 0, 4, 65 , Cheteshwar picked for the three­match The chairman refused to , 20, 0, 24, 7. Pujara, , Hanu­ T20I series to be played engage in any debate on the With veteran Wriddhiman ma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk), against South Africa. subject. Saha back in the dressing Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Hardik has replaced The squad: room and the gutsy K.S. Bha­ Shami, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit seamer Bhuvneshwar Ku­ (Capt.), Rohit rat waiting in the wings, Pant Bumrah, mar who was in the team for Sharma (vice­capt.), Shikhar can ill­afford to take things (wk), R. Ashwin, the T20I series against the Dhawan, K.L. Rahul, Shreyas for granted. and . West Indies. Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Opener Mayank Agarwal West Indies: V.V. Subrahmanyam re- Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ra­ (Capt.), Kraigg Brathwaite, Dar­ vindra Jadeja, , wasn’t in his element either ports from Hyderabad ren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, , Rahul Cha­ in the first Test but it is ex­ John Campbell, , BCCI senior selection har, Khaleel Ahmed, Deepak pected that he would get , Shane committee chairman M.S.K. Chahar, and . another opportunity, which Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Prasad informed The Hindu The schedule: he rightfully deserves having , , that M.S. Dhoni was not con­ Sept. 15, Dharamshala; Sept. worked hard in Australia. Keemo Paul and Kemar Roach. Flip side: The manner of Rishabh Pant’s dismissals marked a downside to India’s dominant show sidered, as the panel pre­ 18, Mohali; Sept. 22, Bengalu­ M.S. Dhoni. The middle­order per­ Match starts at 8 p.m. IST. in the first Test. * AP ferred to give more chances ru. * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT Dube and Axar star for India­A Akshath puts India Green in command

The former takes advantage of three reprieves; Chahal claims five DULEEP TROPHY covers for four. Sarwate was later neatly dispatched over dricks in the death overs was the sight­screen, as was part­ SA-A VS INDIA-A Shreedutta Chidananda cannon fodder for both Axar timer Mahipal Lomror. Aksh­ Bengaluru M.R. Praveen Chandran and Dube, who muscled the ath completed his hundred ball over the fence with ease. An assured 146 by opener (off 174 balls) with a boun­ Thiruvananthapuram South Africa­A needed a Akshath Reddy put India dary off Sarwate, stepping The fielding from both sides bright start from its openers Green in a commanding po­ out to the left­arm spinner was slipshod and catches but Janneman Malan and sition on the opening day of before drilling him through were put down fairly regular­ Reeza Hendricks were its Duleep Trophy clash with mid­wicket. ly, but in the end, the three circumspect. India Red. At the other end, fellow catches which South Afri­ Akshath’s 15th First Class opener Faiz Fazal had fallen ca­A dropped off Shivam Damage hundred, and his 137­run for 18, caught at fine­leg pull­ Dube cost it the match. Spinners stand for the third wicket ing Avesh. Dhruv Shorey Dube profited from the re­ and Krunal Pandya did the with Siddhesh Lad, helped made 44 before edging the prieves to carve out a game­ intial damage to derail the lay the foundation for a mas­ Madhya Pradesh paceman changing innings of 79 not chase. Hendricks (110), who sive total after Green elected behind, shortly after lunch. out (60b, 3x4, 6x6). rode his luck, and Zondol to bat. At stumps at the Alur Lad looked confident during His hard­hitting knock (30) added 66 for the fourth grounds on Thursday, Green his 64, which included two and an unbroken 121­run se­ wicket. was 308 for four, with Pri­ Giving it the treatment: Akshath Reddy came up with an huge sixes, one of which venth­wicket stand with an yam Garg and Akshay Wad­ assured century against India Red. * FILE PHOTO But the run­rate kept in­ landed outside the com­ equally belligerent Axar Pa­ Making it count: carved out a game­changing kar at the crease. creasing and it was all over pound. The Mumbai bat­ tel (60 not out, 36b, 6x4, innings of 79 not out. * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT too full and it went up.” tive yet, when the Hyderabad when Hendricks holed out sman eventually perished at­ 3x6) was the cornerstone of Blunting the attack Akshath had only ever amassed 797 runs in after reaching his century. tempting another big shot. India­A’s emphatic 69­run ers as both Dube and Axar ing start, India­A lost three Akshath fell in the final half­ looked in trouble in the the , at an aver­ Heinrich Klassen struck a India Green clearly had a win in the opening unofficial cut loose. quick wickets and then, hour of the day’s play, caught morning, when Jaydev Unad­ age of 54.4. The 28­year­old plan against Wakhare and one­day cricket match at the Manish Pandey (39) and Ish­ few lusty blows to minimise on the mid­wicket boundary kat, Sandeep Warrier and picked up from where he the damage. Sarwate, not wanting either Sports Hub here on Late assault an Kishan (37) repaired the slog­sweeping Akshay Wak­ had beaten the had left off in that campaign. spinner to settle. The two The scores: India­A 327 for six Thursday. The visitors, till the late as­ damage with a 75­run stand hare. It brought to an end his bat several times during a He took no risks against the bowlers, who toiled hard, Dropped on three, 13 and sault from the southpaws, for fifth wicket. They both in 47 overs (Shubman Gill 46, 248­ball effort, after he had testing first hour. He pace bowlers and raised a 29, Manish could be in for another long 66, Dube’s charge saw In­ were very much in the game departed in quick succession firmly blunted the Red attack dropped anchor thereafter, steady half­century off 90 Pandey 39, 37, Shi­ day under the sun. dia­A amass 327 for six in a after left­arm spinner Bjorn to give South Africa­A the ad­ va,m Dube 79 n.o.) bt South all day. “I missed an oppor­ and was not distracted even balls. The scores: India Green 308 for match reduced to 47 overs Fortuin put in a tidy shift in vantage. Africa­A 258 in 45 overs (Reeza tunity there,” he said later. by the multiple stoppages to Akshath was more expan­ four in 90 overs (Akshath Red­ due to wet outfield. the middle overs to strangu­ However, profligate bow­ Hendricks 110, Khaya Zondo 30, “There were only six overs get the ball changed. sive against spin, charging dy 146, Siddesh Lad 64, Dhruv South Africa conceded late the run­rate. ling by medium­pacers Ju­ Heinrich Klaasen 58, Yuzvendra left. I wanted to keep the The last domestic season down the pitch to Aditya Sar­ Shorey 44, Priyam Garg 30 bat­ 105 runs in the last eight ov­ After Shubman Gill’s blaz­ nior Dala and Beuran Hen­ Chahal five for 47). shot down but the ball was was Akshath’s most produc­ wate and lofting him over ting) vs India Red. Top stars have it tough Playing Federer and taking a set off him... Rain affects Wednesday’s schedule couldn’t have asked for more: Nagal US OPEN umphed here in 2008, ral­ lied to beat 99th­ranked Bos­ EXCLUSIVE sport — as you have seen — many thousands of people nian Damir Dzumhur 3­6, [in which] a lot of people cheering, making noise. It’s Agence France-Presse 6­2, 6­3, 6­4. who have done amazing in a just a great, great, great NEW YORK Sriram Lakshman The 38­year­old Swiss week or two weeks, they just feeling. Washington DC Serena Williams nearly third seed, who also continue their run. So you al­ You chose tennis in a land of crashed out of the rain­hit dropped the first set against Fast­rising Indian tennis ways, always keep trying, cricket… US Open on Wednesday Indian qualifier Sumit Nagal player Sumit Nagal was ec­ keep giving yourself an op­ I used to play a lot of cricket while top­ranked defending in his opener, answered the static when he was drawn to portunity and you never when I was young. I used to champion Novak Djokovic wake­up call despite 17 first­ meet the legendary Roger know where you are going to spend a lot of hours on crick­ battled through shoulder set unforced errors. Federer in the opening end up. et. But my dad was not too pain and Roger Federer ad­ There were wins for se­ round at the U.S. Open. Na­ Tell us about the moment happy about it, he wanted vanced despite a weak start. venth seed Kei Nishikori, gal caused a flutter by getting you heard you’d be playing me to play an individual Eighth seed Serena, seek­ French Open champion Ash­ the better of the legend in Federer — apparently you got sport and that’s how I got in­ ing her 24th career Grand leigh Barty and third seed the first set before going a text message? to tennis. Slam title to match Margaret Karolina Pliskova. However, down in four. The 22­year Yes, I got a text message from Court’s all­time record, got a seven­time Grand Slam win­ old shared his experience in my coach saying you are Meeting Mahesh Bhupathi was a turning point in your scare before ousting 17­year­ ner Venus Williams crashed an interview with The Hin- Guts and gumption: Sumit Nagal was hardly overawed either playing Federer and I was so, journey… old US wildcard Caty McNal­ out. Petkovic... packing a punch. du. Excerpts: by the big stage or the celebrated opponent. * AFP so happy and I was like, Meeting Mahesh was a turn­ ly 5­7, 6­3, 6­1. * AP “Yes!”. Because when we “I survived tonight. I’m Kvitova knocked out Congrats on your match on competed. fighting every point. I think saw the draw on Thursday ing point. He has played a big Monday. How would you role in my tennis, in my life. not too pleased with the way On Thursday, Czech sixth was knocked out by Germa­ How was the transition from that’s what matters. and we saw that Federer was assess yourself? He has been a part of my I played at all,” said Serena. seed Petra Kvitova, a two­ ny's 88th­ranked Andrea clay to hardcourt? In 2018 you were ranked in going to play a qualifier, I journey for the past twelve Djokovic, winner of four time Wimbledon champion, Petkovic 6­4, 6­4. First of all, thank you. Com­ I didn’t have too much time the 400s after injuries and wanted so bad to play him. years. I have been playing of the past five Slam titles, ing from not playing too ma­ to practise on hardcourt as match losses. You’re now And this is what I got. So it tennis for fourteen years, so was treated for a sore left IMPORTANT RESULTS ny hardcourt tournaments when I was playing at Ham­ ranked 190 and on the first was amazing, what hap­ shoulder throughout his 6­4, this year and then qualifying burg, [in] my last tourna­ night of the Open you took pened that night. it does affect [things] a lot. He has always been there­ 7­6(3), 6­1 victory over Ar­ Thursday: Second round: Men: Bradley Klahn (USA) 6­2, 4­6, for a slam, beating really ment I fell on my ankle, it the first set from Federer. Did Apart from the fact that it …whenever I needed fund­ gentina’s 56th­ranked Juan 15­David Goffin (Bel) bt 6­3, 7­5. good players in the qualies was not in great shape so I you think that would was Federer you were Ignacio Londero. Gregoire Barrere (Fra) 6­2, 6­2, Women: 5­Elina Svitolina (Ukr) [qualifying rounds], then had to take a few weeks off happen? playing, what specifically ing, he would find whatever 6­2; Women: Andrea Petkovic Djokovic’s injury casts bt Venus Williams (USA) 6­4, playing Federer and taking a and had to pull out of the The funny part with tennis stood out for you about he could to support me. (Ger) bt 6­Petra Kvitova (Cze) grave doubts on his bid to be 6­4; 10­Madison Keys (USA) bt set off him, playing in the next two tournaments after is, anything is possible. You Monday’s match? What next for you? 6­4, 6­4. Zhu Lin (Chn) 6­4, 6­1; 3­Karo­ the first US Open repeat win­ biggest stadium in tennis his­ Hamburg. But since then I do not know what is going to Ah, the crowd. The crowd I am planning to play some Wednesday: Men: 1­Novak lina Pliskova (Cze) bt Mariam and atmosphere. You cannot ner since Federer won from Djokovic (Srb) bt Juan Ignacio Bolkvadze (Geo) 6­1, 6­4; 8­ tory… I think I couldn’t have tried whatever I could. I happen the next morning be­ tournaments on clay in Eu­ complain about it. It is phe­ 2004­2008, admitting he Londero (Arg) 6­4, 7­6(3), 6­1; Serena Williams (USA) bt Caty asked for more. Overall, I tried to spend as much time cause you wake up and feel rope and South America and wondered if he would even 3­Roger Federer (Sui) bt Damir McNally (USA) 5­7, 6­3, 6­1; 2­ was happy with my perfor­ on the hardcourt, but I amazing and the other per­ nomenal to play in New York then maybe finish the year get through the first set. Dzumhur (Bih) 3­6, 6­2, 6­3, Ashleigh Barty (Aus) bt Lauren mance, with the tourna­ didn’t play great tennis but I son can feel like [it’s] his City, in Flushing Meadows, with some hardcourt tourna­ Federer, who last tri­ 6­4; 7­Kei Nishikori (Jpn) bt Davis (USA) 6­2, 7­6(2). ment, with the way I was competing a lot, I was worst day ever. Tennis is a under those big lights, so ments in China and India.

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