Spin leaves New Zealand reeling – Cricket News Roundup – Part 2 – August 24, 2012
The spin of Ravichandran Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha considerably dented New Zealand’s charge after the tourists bowled out India for 438 on day 2 of the first Test, currently being played at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium.
The hosts resumed from 307 for 5, with centurion Cheteshwar Pujara partnering skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Both added 64 in the first session before falling shortly after the resumption, with Jeetan Patel claiming both scalps - the former scoring 159, while the latter managing 73.
New Zealand started aggressively before early introduction of spin came to their demise. Ojha picked out the dangerous Brendon McCullum, after which Ashwin dismantled the middle order to reduce the visitors at 55 for 4.
Rain has delayed the start of the 1st ODI between England and South Africa after the visiting team skipper, AB de Villiers, won the toss and decided to bowl first in another top ranked battle at Cardiff.
The hosts brought in Ravi Bopara, who made himself available for selection after missing out the final two Tests. Chris Woakes also makes an appearance in the absence of the rested Stuart Broad.
The tourists also made two changes to their line-up, bringing in debutant Dean Elgar in place of the veteran all-rounder Jacques Kallis, while also resting Dale Steyn and playing the inform Wayne Parnell. A win for the Proteas today would see them simultaneously hold supremacy across all formats of the game.
Australia’s opening batsman, David Warner, says that the team is looking forward to face plenty of spin in their upcoming tour of UAE, where they will meet Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The Aussies will play a 50-over game against the associate nation before taking on the Men in Green in three ODIs, followed by three T20Is. The conditions will offer a different challenge for many of the Aussie players but Warner is confident that the pre-tour training, held at Darwin, will help team cope with the slow turning pitches.
“Everyone says we struggle against spin and we know they (Afghanistan and Pakistan) are going to have a lot of spin bowling,” Warner told reporters. “The boys challenged themselves and we got through it pretty well and now we’re looking forward to that challenge.”
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