Ravindra Jadeja marked his comeback with a five-wicket haul as Australia were bowled out cheaply by India on day one of the Test series at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium.
Much of the talk ahead of the match in Nagpur was over the condition of the pitch and Jadeja took centre stage with the ball, where the tourists collapsed to 177 all out after Pat Cummins won the toss and elected to bat.
Jadeja, playing his first international since August after undergoing knee surgery, took 5-47 and Ravichandran Ashwin (3-42) reached the 450 Test-wicket milestone in fewer matches than any other India bowler as Australia folded from 84-2.
India were 77-1 at stumps in reply as part of a great start to their quest to lift the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Rohit Sharma unbeaten on 56 as both sides bid to secure a place in the World Test Championship final at The Oval in June.
Australia were reduced to 2-2 with Mohammed Siraj trapping Usman Khawaja leg before wicket with an outswinger before Mohammed Shami sent David Warner's off stump flying.
Marnus Labuschagne (49) and Steve Smith (37) put on 82 for the third wicket, but Jadeja had the number three stumped and was on a hat-trick after getting Matt Renshaw lbw early in the afternoon session.
Spinning all-rounder Jadeja struck a huge blow by bowling Smith through the gate, but Peter Handscomb – preferred to Travis Head – and Alex Carey briefly steadied the ship with a stand of 53.
Ashwin then came to the fore to join the 450 club, cleaning up Carey (36) and sending Cummins on his way before Jadeja got rid of debutant Todd Murphy without scoring and Handscomb (31).
Tweaker Ashwin saw the back of Scott Boland to end Australia's innings in the 64th over, and although Murphy had KL Rahul caught and bowled late in the day, Rohit was still there at stumps along with nightwatchman Ashwin.
Jadeja has his day in the sun
As he prepared to make his comeback this week, Jadeja said he "hadn't felt the sun for about five months" during his recovery.
Australia felt the heat as the left-armer shone on day one of the four-match series, claiming his 11th five-wicket Test haul.
This was his fourth five-wicket Test haul against Australia, the most he has claimed against any nation. Since the 34-year-old's debut in December 2012, only Stuart Broad (six) and Ashwin (five) have picked up more against Australia.
Ashwin second-fastest to 450
It was another day to remember for Ashwin, who took his tally of wickets in the longest format to 450 in his 89th match.
That beat the previous India record held by Anil Kumble, who reached that incredible tally in 93 contests. Only Muttiah Muralitharan got to the landmark in fewer matches, the Sri Lanka spinner achieving the feat in his 80th Test.
Walton’s unbeaten 80 powers TKR to seven-wicket victory over Amazon Warriors and place in 2023 Republic Bank CPL final
Chadwick Walton scored 80 not out as Trinbago Knight Riders secured their place in the 2023 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) final on Sunday with a seven-wicket win over Guyana Amazon Warriors in Qualifier 1 on Wednesday night.
Trinbago Knight Riders won the toss and chose to bowl first. Led by Waqar Salamkheil and Terrence Hinds they produced a disciplined bowling performance to restrict Guyana Amazon Warriors to 166-7 after 20 overs, Despite another super innings from Saim Ayub, it was Guyana Amazon Warriors lowest score this season when batting first.
The Knight Riders chase was headlined by Chadwick Walton, with the opener ensuring his side never fell below the run rate and eventually guiding them across the finish line with a brilliant innings of 80 not out that ensured they progressed to the final on Sunday.
Ayub continued his brilliant maiden CPL season with a score of 49 as he once again opened with Odean Smith. Their 53-run partnership would prove to be the foundation of the Amazon Warriors innings. Despite losing leading run scorer Shai Hope in the ninth over, they would manage to reach 166-7 largely thanks to the late runs scored by Romario Shepherd and Gudakesh Motie.
Salamkheil and Hinds would both prove to be vital for the Knight Riders, as they took wickets and contained the scoring.
Trinbago Knight Riders raced away to 41-0 after 4 overs as Walton and Mark Deyal combined to give their side an ideal start to the chase.
Imran Tahir would bring himself on to bowl and strike with his first ball, trapping Deyal lbw. Nicholas Pooran replaced Deyal and together with Walton, forged a 51-run partnership before the former was caught off the bowling of Dwaine Pretorius for 33.
However, Walton would silence the Providence crowd with his innings of 80*, which included nine boundaries. He was supported by Captain Kieron Pollard as TKR surged towards victory and a place in Sunday’s final.
Qualifier 2 between Guyana Amazon Warriors and Jamaica Tallawahs will take place on Friday evening at Providence Stadium.
Scores: Trinbago Knight Riders 167-3 (Walton 80*, Pooran 33; Pretorius 2-36, Tahir 1-30) beat Guyana Amazon Warriors 166-7 (Ayub 49, Khan 36; Salamkheil 2-28, Hinds 2-32) by seven wickets
US venues for next year's T20 World Cup selected
The established Central Broward Regional Park Stadium has been announced as one of three venues which will host matches on the United States leg of the men’s Twenty20 World Cup next year.
Located in Lauderhill, Florida, the venue has already hosted six One-Day Internationals and 16 Twenty20 Internationals and will be joined by Grand Prairie in Dallas and the yet-to-be constructed Eisenhower Park in New York.
The T20 World Cup is being jointly hosted by West Indies and the United States from June 4-30.
“We’re delighted to announce the three USA venues that will host part of the biggest ICC Men’s T20 World Cup ever staged, with 20 teams competing for the trophy,” said ICC Chief Executive Geoff Allardice.
“The USA is a strategically important market, and these venues give us an excellent opportunity to make a statement in the world’s biggest sport market.
“We explored a number of potential venue options in the country, and we were hugely encouraged by the enthusiasm the event generated amongst prospective hosts, reinforcing the growing awareness around cricket’s massive fanbase and its power to unite diverse communities.”
He continued: “We are very excited about the opportunity to use modular stadium technology to present world class cricket in a location that has not previously hosted an ICC global event giving USA cricket fans the chance to watch the world’s best on their doorstep.
“This technology has been used at previous ICC events to increase venue capacity and it’s routinely used in other major sports around the world.
“In the USA, it will give us the opportunity to increase the size of the venues in both Dallas and Florida and create what is going to be a stunning venue in New York.”
The ICC said Wednesday the Eisenhower Park, to be constructed in Nassau County, would be built to a capacity of 34 000 and take the form of a purpose-built sports and events park.
Nassau County is an affluent area located on Long Island, on the outskirts of New York City.
“Whether it be PGA events, record breaking concerts in our parks, or the annual Belmont Stakes, we are no stranger to hosting large scale events on the world stage,” said Nassau County Executive, Bruce Blakeman.
“I look forward to bringing our many diverse communities together to watch some of the best cricket in the world, right here in Nassau County.”
Grand Prairie, meanwhile, came to cricketing prominence earlier this year when it hosted matches in the inaugural Major League Cricket tournament.
2023 CG United Super50 Cup to bowl off October 17 with new eight-team league format
Cricket West Indies (CWI) has announced the match schedule and venues for the CG United Super50 Cup 2023. The region’s premier List A 50-over tournament will bowl off on Tuesday, 17 October and conclude on Saturday, 11 November in Trinidad with a new eight-team league format followed by semi-finals and finals to determine the champions.
The tournament will feature 31 matches to be played at three venues - the Brian Lara Cricket Academy (BLCA), the Queen’s Park Oval (QPO) and the Sir Frank Worrell Cricket Grounds of the University of the West Indies Sport and Physical Education Centre (UWI SPEC) at the St. Augustine Camus. All 13 matches at the Brian Lara Academy, including the semi-finals and final, will be televised live on ESPN Caribbean, with 12 of those matches being day/night games.
This year’s CG United Super50 Cup will feature a new eight-team league with each of the teams facing each other once. The top four in the league will qualify for the “final four”.
First place will play fourth place, with second place playing third place in the two semi-finals which are slated for BLCA on Wednesday, 8 November and Thursday, 9 November.
The final will be at the same venue on Saturday, 11 November, where the winners will be become CG United Super50 Cup Champions and lift the Sir Clive Lloyd Trophy.
The West Indies Academy and Combined Campuses & Colleges (CCC) will again join the traditional six franchises – defending champions Jamaica Scorpions, Barbados Pride, Guyana Harpy Eagles, Leeward Islands Hurricanes, Trinidad & Tobago Red Force and Windward Islands Volcanoes.
Home side Trinidad & Tobago Red Force open this year’s tournament when they take on the CCC at the Queen’s Park Oval on 17 October at 9am. Later on that day the Guyana Harpy Eagles face Windward Islands Volcanoes at BLCA at 1pm in the first televised contest.
“This is a crucial stage in our planning as we look to build towards the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027. We see the upcoming CG United Super50 Cup as the perfect platform to establish and incentivize a West Indies brand of play in the 50-over format, and for the emergence of new talent,” said Miles Bascombe, CWI’s Director of Cricket.
“The introduction of the round-robin format will provide players with more ‘playing time’ in the middle as well as a balanced way of gauging individual and team performances. We are pleased to again have CCC and the West Indies Academy participating at the senior level as they join the other six franchise teams as we look to widen the pool of players.”
Dominic Warne, CWI’s Commercial Director said believes the league format will provide fans with greater entertainment.
“The move to an eight-team league in the CG United Super50 Cup provides fans with an exciting tournament schedule with 31 matches scheduled in 26 days. Every game will be available from first ball to last either live on ESPN Caribbean or streamed live on the Windies Cricket YouTube channel,” he said. “The new windiescricket.com Live Match Centre will also give fans full match analysis plus live ball-by-ball scoring and commentary for all 31 matches giving the widest access and coverage to the CG United Super50 Cup than ever before. We again welcome and thank our title sponsor and CWI Official insurance partners CG United for their fifth consecutive year of support which provides significant investment in cricket throughout the West Indies.”
FULL MATCH SCHEDULE
Venues: Queen’s Park Oval (QPO); Brian Lara Cricket Academy (BLCA); UWI SPEC
All other matches streamed live on the Windiescricket YouTube channel.
17 October: Trinidad & Tobago Red Force vs CCC at QPO – 9am
17 October: Guyana Harpy Eagles vs Windward Islands Volcanoes at BLCA – 1pm
18 October: Leeward Islands Hurricanes vs Jamaica Scorpions at BLCA – 1pm
19 October: Trinidad & Tobago Red Force vs Windward Islands Volcanoes at QPO – 9am
19 October: CCC vs West Indies Academy at BLCA – 1pm
20 October: Barbados Pride vs Jamaica Scorpions at UWI SPEC – 9am
21 October: Leeward Islands Hurricanes vs West Indies Academy at QPO – 9am
21 October: Trinidad & Tobago Red Force vs Guyana Harpy Eagles at BLCA – 1pm
22 October: Windward Islands Volcanoes vs CCC at UWI SPEC – 9am
23 October: Guyana Harpy Eagles vs Leeward Islands Hurricanes at QPO – 9am
23 October: Barbados Pride vs West Indies Academy at UWI SPEC – 9am
25 October: Windward Islands Volcanoes vs Barbados Pride at BLCA - 9am
25 October: West Indies Academy vs Jamaica Scorpions at QPO – 9am
25 October: Guyana Harpy Eagles vs CCC at UWI SPEC – 9am
26 October: Trinidad & Tobago Red Force vs Leeward Islands Hurricanes at BLCA – 1pm
27 October: Jamaica Scorpions vs CCC at UWI SPEC – 9am
28 October: Trinidad & Tobago Red Force vs West Indies Academy at QPO – 9am
29 October: Barbados Pride vs Guyana Harpy Eagles at UWI SPEC – 9am
29 October: Jamaica Scorpions vs Windward Islands Volcanoes at BLCA – 1pm
31 October: Windward Islands Volcanoes vs Leeward Islands Hurricanes at QPO – 9am
31 October: CCC vs Barbados Pride at UWI SPEC – 9am
1 November: West Indies Academy vs Guyana Harpy Eagles at UWI SPEC – 9am
2 November: Trinidad & Tobago Red Force vs Jamaica Scorpions at QPO – 9am
2 November: Leeward Islands Hurricanes vs Barbados Pride at BLCA – 1pm
3 November: West Indies Academy vs Windward Islands Volcanoes at UWI SPEC – 9am
4 November: CCC vs Leeward Islands Hurricanes at QPO – 9am
4 November: Jamaica Scorpions vs Guyana Harpy Eagles at BLCA – 1pm
5 November: Trinidad & Tobago Red Force vs Barbados Pride at BLCA – 1pm
8 November: Semi-Final 1 at BLCA – 1pm
9 November: Semi-Final 2 at BLCA – 1pm
11 November: Final at BLCA – 1pm
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