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Jeetan Patel says England must learn from how Ravichandran Ashwin and Virat Kohli mastered such tough conditions as the tourists prepare to "shake a stick" at pulling off an unlikely win in Chennai.

India are well on course to levelling the four-match series at 1-1 after dominating the third day at M. A. Chidambaram Stadium on Monday.

Ashwin was the star of the show on his home ground, making a brilliant 106 after taking 5-43 on day two, and captain Kohli struck 62 as India recovered from 106-6 to post 286 all out in their second innings.

England were in deep trouble on 53-3 at stumps, needing a mammoth 429 more runs to go 2-0 up, with Kohli's side looking destined to seal a crushing victory.

Axar Patel dismissed Dom Sibley and nightwatchman Jack Leach either side of the magnificent Ashwin getting rid of Rory Burns as India tightened their grip on a pitch that has turned sharply from day one.

Dan Lawrence and Joe Root made it through to stumps and England spin bowling consultant Patel expects the tourists to show fight when they resume on day four.

The former New Zealand spinner said: "I think Ashwin and Kohli were fantastic.

"Kohli, right from the first innings where maybe his footwork was I suppose a touch lazy compared to the second innings – where he was fantastic with the way he got down to the ball and across his stumps.

"The way he forced us to bowl in areas he wanted to, we need to take heed from that. Especially with the way Ashwin came out and swept early, got the field he wanted and then could manipulate the lengths from there.

"They are in a really strong position, there is no doubt about that, but we are going to have work really hard to grab some of that back."

He added: "There's still lots to do, but there's match-winners in this group, we've seen that before.

"I'm not about to say that we are 100 per cent going to win this game, but what I am going to say is we will shake a stick at it."

Patel says it is vital England take a positive approach as they try to dig themselves out of a huge hole.

"I think it's just to keep staying positive, we've got stroke-makers in the group and we want them to keep expressing themselves," he said. 

"The thing that has been the strengths so far in the three matches we have played in the subcontinent is to still try to score. 

"If we sit there and try to defend for two days, we're going to have much success and we're not going to go anywhere in the game. We can certainly look to learn a lot about ourselves while looking to score.

"I think Dan Lawrence was fantastic, the way he played this evening was exactly how he wants to play cricket and how he can contribute to this team."

Chris Barnwell’s maiden List A hundred led Guyana Jaguars to a huge win over Jamaican Scorpions on Sunday night at the Coolidge Cricket Ground. It was their third consecutive victory and took them to the top of the table with 12 points.

With Jaguars in trouble on 21-3 in the ninth over, Barnwell scored 107 off just 90 balls to rescue the innings. The career-best knock surpassed his previous highest of 99 not out.

Wicket-keeper Anthony Bramble followed up by smashing 69 from 49 balls, also the highest score of his List A career. Then lower-order batsman, Ramaal Lewis, hit a whirlwind 35 off 22 balls, to help lift the Jaguars to an imposing 299-9 off their 50 overs.

Barnwell struck four boundaries and six sixes, first adding 91 for the fourth wicket with Akshaya Persaud (25) before putting on a further 88 for the fifth with the attacking Bramble.

Left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie then spoiled the Scorpions run chase, as he picked 4-55 to move his tally to nine wickets from three matches.

Seamers Niall Smith (2-15) and Romario Shepherd (2-26) supported with crucial wickets as Scorpions declined from 116-3 in the 28th over, to 190 all out in the 45th over.

Andre McCarthy top-scored with 48 from 55 balls, captain Rovman Powell chipped in with 32 from 44 while Aldaine Thomas scored 29 but the Jamaicans failed to build any meaningful partnerships and lost their second match of the tournament.

Shimron Hetmyer led Jaguars in the absence of injured captain Leon Johnson and noted the side’s winning streak was important. “It’s really nice to be on the winning side to be honest and it’s always good to win back-to-back games. That’s what we always talk about and it’s a good feeling for us,” he said.

 

 

Ravichandran Ashwin scored a magnifcent century on his home ground as India made England toil on day three of the second Test in Chennai.

India need seven wickets to level the four-match series after all-rounder Ashwin made a sublime 106 on a sharply turning pitch at M. A. Chidambaram Stadium on Monday.

Ashwin played with great application and skill to craft a fifth hundred in the longest format, having also taken 5-43 as England were bowled out for only 134 on the second day.

Captain Virat Kohli made 62 but it was all about Ashwin, roared on by a vociferous crowd, once again as India were bowled out for 286 – setting the tourists a mammoth 482 to win.

The excellent Axar Patel dismissed Dom Sibley and nightwatchman Jack Leach, while Ashwin got rid of Rory Burns to leave England 53-3 at stumps and facing a huge defeat.

Moeen Ali (4-98) and Jack Leach (4-100) thrived on a track that has offered significant turn from day one as India lost five wickets in the morning session.

Ashwin and Kohli mastered the conditions impressively to strengthen India's grip on the match, though, putting on 96 for the seventh wicket.

Moeen saw the back of Kohli, who spent five hours at the crease and struck seven boundaries, but went from strength to strength in an imperious knock, hitting a six and 14 fours.

England were finally put out of their misery when Olly Stone cleaned up Ashwin after Mohammed Siraj added insult to injury with a couple of lusty blows over the rope.

Axar (2-15) then got Sibley lbw for only three and Ashwin had Burns (25) caught by Kohli, before Leach fended the first ball he faced from his fellow left-armer to Rohit Sharma at leg slip.

India were convinced Joe Root should have been adjudged lbw when he was struck in front by Axar, but the third umpire ruled he was hit outside the line of off stump in the final over of a great day for India.

 

False dawn for England

The tourists started the third day on the ropes, with India leading by 249 runs on 54-1 after 15 wickets tumbled on a dramatic day two.

Cheteshwar Pujara fell in the first over, comically run out when he lost his grip on his bat after jamming it in the pitch and was out of his ground following fine work from Ollie Pope at short leg.

India were 106-6 with Rohit, Rishabh Pant, Ajinkya Rahane and Axar back in the pavilion, as Ben Foakes produced two excellent stumpings for Leach and Moeen.

Ashwin and Kohli rub England's noses in it

The magnificent Ashwin put England in a spin on Sunday and showed his class with the bat in front of his adoring crowd in what is turning out to be a dream Test for the all-rounder.

Ashwin and the classy Kohli made England suffer on a hot day, with Root's tiring side becoming increasingly sloppy in the field with a combination of dropped catches and a missed stumping.

Kohli looked untroubled until he was pinned in front by Moeen, but Ashwin continued to take a positive approach after bringing up a 64-ball half-century.

He smashed Moeen for a huge six to move three shy of three figures and there was a huge roar when he struck a streaky boundary to complete a brilliant hundred. Only Ian Botham (five) has scored a century and taken a five-wicket haul in the same Test more times than Ashwin's three.

Nkrumah Bonner’s outstanding Test debut against Bangladesh saw him being awarded the Man-of-the-Series at the conclusion of the second and final Test in Dhaka on Sunday.

Mohammad Nawaz and debutant Zahid Mahmood starred as Pakistan held their nerve to a seal a 2-1 Twenty20 series win over South Africa despite the best efforts of David Miller and Tabraiz Shamsi.

The Proteas were rocking at 65-7 and thinking of the plane home, with the brilliant Zahid taking 3-40 and Nawaz 2-13 to leave the tourists in a spin in Lahore.

All-rounder Miller made it a contest by clubbing an electric 85 off just 45 deliveries to steer South Africa to 164-8.

Shamsi's outstanding 4-25 made things even more interesting but ultimately the poor showing from the top order told as Pakistan secured a four-wicket win with eight balls to spare.

South Africa started poorly as Mohammad Nawaz's ripper clipped off Reeza Hendrick's (2) thigh and from his next over more early turn saw JJ Smuts (1) sky one that Babar Azam pouched running back from the ring.

Pite van Biljon (16) struck Hasan Ali for three consecutive fours in the sixth over before trying for one too many and seeing the spinner find a huge gap.

Zahid then came to the fore, Heinrich Klaasen (0) top-edging to short fine leg and Janneman Malan trapped lbw, while Andile Phehlukwayo (0) survived a leg before appeal in the same over.

Phehlukwayo fell to Usman Qadir in the next over and Zahid had a third when Dwaine Pretorius (9) - star of the second T20 - had his middle stump torn up.

It was Miller time from there, though, as South Africa's dangerman single-handedly made it a contest - slapping seven sixes and five fours in a sensational knock.

Miller cleared the ropes a couple of times off Zahid in the 13th over, before unloading for four sixes from the final set off Faheem Ashraf to give Pakistan a genuine chase.

Pakistan were looking pretty serene with a 51-run opening stand between Mohammad Rizwan (42) and Haider Ali (15) but Shamsi's turner left the latter's technique exposed and the same man had the former trapped plumb lbw.

Things became even more tense with Shamsi accounting for Hussain Talat (5) and Asif Ali (7), with Babar's industrious 44 coming to an end between those dismissals.

Faheem fell for 10 as Pakistan's legs wobbled but Nawaz (18) and Hasan (20) steered the hosts over the line, the latter clubbing a six over midwicket to seal the series in style.

Kraigg Brathwaite has praised his team for their discipline and resilience following the West Indies’ thrilling 17-run victory over Bangladesh today that sealed a 2-0 series win.

Chasing 231 with more than four sessions to play, Bangladesh were bowled out for 213 with less than 10-minutes to go on the penultimate day of the match. Rahkeem Cornwall was the hero of the piece taking 4-105 and nine-wickets in the match.

Brathwaite, who captained the team following the withdrawal of Jason Holder and several senior team members, said the victory was due to a collective effort from a group of players, who were not expected to win.

“People wrote us off. But we kept it simple, enjoyed it, and we proved them wrong,” said the proud captain afterwards.

“I would say it's a team effort. The one-day team not doing well, but we wanted to here. We had a plan, enjoyed it, and happy to win the series.”

The Barbadian opener, who had scores of 47 and 6 in the match, perhaps his biggest contribution with the ball taking 3 for 25 including the openers Tamim Iqbal for 50 and Soumya Sarkar, who enjoyed an opening stand of 59 that threatened to wrest the match from the West Indies.

“I wasn't surprised with my wickets of the openers,” he said, “wanted to come on, keep it tight. Nice, it's a series win in Asia since 2012.”

He expressed his gratitude for being selected to lead the team and how the players responded to his leadership.

 “Very thankful to God for the opportunity to captain West Indies. (The) boys stuck to their plans, they were very disciplined. Very proud of the boys. Means everything back home. Cricket means everything to us. People will be proud,” he said.

Ravichandran Ashwin said he never envisaged bowling for his country when he was a teenager let alone taking more Test wickets in India than Harbhajan Singh after tormenting England on Sunday.

Ashwin took 5-43 on a dramatic day two in Chennai, where the tourists were bowled out for only 134 in reply to India's 329 all out.

Virat Kohli's side were 54-1 at stumps – leading by 249 runs – and well on course to level the four-match series.

Ashwin generated huge turn and bounce, with the spinner's drift also causing the England batsmen all sorts of trouble.

Only the great Anil Kumble (350) has more Test scalps than Ashwin in India after the 34-year-old moved past Harbhajan's total of 265.

Ashwin vividly recalls watching Harbhajan take 15 wickets in Chennai to secure a series win over Australia 20 years ago, and expressed his pride after bettering the Indian great's tally of scalps on home soil.

"When I watched the 2000-01 series, when Bhajju Pa [Harbhajan] played, I didn't even imagine I would go on to become an off-spinner for my country," Ashwin said.

"I was still a batsman for my state. Trying to accelerate towards batting and playing for my country. I wasn't even sure I would go on to become a player for the Indian team.

"Lots of my team-mates from that age, from that generation, used to make fun of me because in my action I used to try to bowl like Bhajju Pa.

"From there on to come on and go past him has to be incredibly special. I didn't know of it. Now that I know of it, I am incredibly happy. Sorry, Bhajju Pa."

Ashwin put England under huge pressure in such tough conditions as he took his 29th five-wicket Test haul – putting him level with Glenn McGrath in seventh on the all-time list.

The wily Ashwin has now claimed the wickets of 200 left-handers in the longest format, a landmark he reached by bowling Stuart Broad.

Lendl Simmons made his sixth List A century as Trinidad and Tobago Red Force notched their second win of the 2021 CG Insurance Super50 Cup on Saturday night at the Coolidge Cricket Ground.

Man-of-the-math Rahkeem Cornwall took four wickets today, spurring West Indies to a nail-biting 17-run against Bangladesh inside four days to sweep the closely fought Test series 2-0.

Ravichandran Ashwin claimed his second successive five-wicket haul as India skittled England out cheaply on day two to put themselves in total command of the second Test.

Fifteen wickets tumbled on what look more like a final-day pitch at M. A. Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday, with Moeen Ali (4-128) and Olly Stone both striking twice to bowl India out for 329.

The tourists, leading the four-match series 1-0, were dismissed for only 134 in reply, giving India a first-innings lead of 195 runs in Chennai.

Jack Leach got rid of Shubman Gill but first-innings centurion Rohit Sharma was unbeaten on 25 at stumps, with in complete control on 54-1 - leading by 249 runs.

Ashwin followed up his six-wicket haul in the second innings of the first Test by taking 5-43 in a brilliant exhibition of spin bowling in dream conditions for the spinner, who generated sharp turn and bounce.

Ishant Sharma (2-22) trapped Rory Burns leg before without scoring and Dom Sibley fell for 16 after India added only 29 runs to their overnight total of 300-6.

Debutant Axar Patel (2-40) claimed the huge scalp of in-form England captain Joe Root, caught by Ashwin at short fine leg for only six to become the spinner's first Test victim.

England were reeling on 39-4 after Ashwin got big turn and bounce to see the back of Dan Lawrence and there were more roars from a crowd of 10,000 when the wily tweaker bowled Ben Stokes (18) early in the afternoon session.

Ollie Pope made 22 before falling to Mohammed Siraj and although Ben Foakes (42 not out) played superbly against the spinners, England were all out from 59.5 overs when Stuart Broad was cleaned up by Ashwin.

Leach snared Gill lbw and Rohit successfully reviewed after he was given out in the same fashion but got an inside edge, while also possibly getting away with it when he padded up not offering a shot, but India are well on course to level the series.

West Indies spinner, Rahkeem Cornwall, has already made a massive contribution with the ball after claiming five wickets against Bangladesh on day three of the second Test but has already targeted having a say with the bat as well, should he get the opportunity.

Cornwall, who has previously shown himself to be a good striker of the ball, particularly in the cricket's shortest format, is yet to translate any of that skill in recent Test team call-ups.  In five innings so far, Cornwall has a high of 10 runs, which he scored against England in July.

In Bangladesh, Cornwall, batting far down the order, scored 2 in the first innings of the first Test and ended without scoring in the second.  He added 4 not out in the first innings of the second Test.  If he is called upon, for Saturday’s fourth day, the bowler could be looking to free his arms for a useful total.

“Once I get the opportunity I would always love to contribute with the bat,” Cornwall said following day three.

“I don’t think my batting ability is showing at the moment, but I think runs are around the corner for me.  I just have to keep putting in the work with the coaches and when my opportunity comes I make good use if it.”

Guyana Jaguars roared to a five-wicket victory over the Leeward Islands Hurricanes, thanks to a brilliant century from the bat of captain Leon Johnson, in the CG Insurance Super50 Cup, at the Coolidge Cricket Ground on Friday night.

The Hurricanes openers posted the highest first-wicket partnership of the tournament so far, after Kieran Powell and Ross Powell had a slow but steady start of 152 in 31 overs.

Ross Powell made 61, which included eight fours, but became the first victim of left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie, who took 4-45 and won the CG Insurance Man-of-the-Match award.

Kieran Powell looked well set to reach triple figures, but on 94 he smacked a drive to Johnson, at extra cover, to give Motie his second wicket. The knock came off just 97 deliveries, with four fours and four sixes.

There was little resistance left as the Leewards Hurricanes finished their 50 overs on 244-9. Motie was the pick of the Jaguars bowlers, while seamer Nial Smith had 3-47 also from 9 overs.

Assad Fudadin and Chanderpaul Hemraj started a cautious run-chase, as they posted 45 before Hemraj was dismissed for 24 off 22 balls. Shimron Hetmyer was run out for nine from a brilliant diving throw-in from Hayden Walsh Jr at point.

But it was the partnership of the most experienced players, captain Johnson and Chris Barnwell that took the game away from the Hurricanes. Barnwell was the aggressor, striking three sixes and a boundary on his way to a valiant 49 before Sheeno Berridge caught him slashing behind.

Johnson soldiered on despite battling cramps. He eventually brought up his second List A century in style with a drive to mid-off for a boundary. With Romario Shepherd at the other end, the pair rotated the strike to lead the Jaguars to the second victory of the tournament with 2.1 overs remaining.

Spinner Rahkeem Cornwall claimed a five-for to put the West Indies in a strong position but Bangladesh struck back immediately to leave the second Test delicately poised at the end of the third day.

By the final session of the day, the West Indies had dismissed the hosts for 296 to begin the second innings with a 113-run lead.  However, they ended the day at 41 for 3, having lost captain Kraigg Brathwaite (6), John Campbell (18), and Shayne Mosely (7) before long.

The West Indies captain was the first casualty, miscuing a shot off Nayeem Hasan, which caught the top of his gloves before being taken by wicketkeeper Liton Das.  Shayne Moseley then departed after edging to second slip, in the process becoming Mehidy Hasan’s 100th Test wicket.  Brathwaite’s opening partner Campbell was then dismissed in bizarre fashion, with the ball spinning back off the ground to hit the stumps after he had attempted to play a defensive stroke.

Earlier, Das and Mehidy, who got together before lunch, played out a crucial session after the break – with the team still over fifty short of avoiding the follow-on and looking at one point like they would have headed in that direction.  Eventually, the two accounted for a valuable 126-run partnership and looked set to potentially cause even more severe damage.

Cornwall, however, ensured it would not be the case.  Having earlier removed both captain Mominul Haque (21) a confident-looking Mushfiqur Rahim (54) and Mohammad Mithun (15), earlier, he put an end to the partnership after removing Das.  The batsman took the dreaded walk after getting an edge off an attempted paddle, for 71.  Cornwall added No. 9 Nayeem Hasan to complete his tally.  It was pace bowler Shannon Gabriel who accounted for Mehidy after an attempted drive.

Cornwall ended the innings with figures of 5 for 74, while Gabriel ended with 3 for 70.  Nkrumah Bonner (8) and Jomel Warrican (2) will be the batsman resuming the day at the crease for the West Indies on the fourth day.

 

West Indies legend, Clive Lloyd, is hopeful the region will not soon be locked in a battle for the services of burgeoning talent who may be tempted by the prospect of playing in big-money T20 leagues.

Since the advent of the cash-rich shortest format of the sport, the top Caribbean players have often found themselves caught between representing the regional team and earning from the major payday provided by the global T20 calendar.

With the emergence of a new generation of talented West Indies players, the likes of Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, and particularly more recently Kyle Mayers, Nkrumah Bonner, and Joshua Da Silva, Lloyd is already worried Cricket West Indies could find itself in a similar position to several years ago.

“I impress on the board and all those that are in charge, to make sure that these guys stick with our cricket,” Lloyd told the Mason and Guest radio program.

 “We can’t afford to lose another three guys because I know the IPL fellows are going to come knocking and it’s very difficult for them to say no,” he added.

“They have a lot of T20 games in which they will be able to make money, but the point is the other countries seem to be able to harness their talent.  They go to those places and play but when international cricket is being played, they are back there.  Let’s just hope that we keep these young men we are grooming that we work hard with and they’ve now come to fruition; so that the captain or whoever will have people to call on.  If you keep losing players, it’s like digging a hole to fill a hole.”

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