Indian bowlers restrict Australia to 236/7
Hyderabad, Mar 2: Indian bowlers controlled the proceedings like seasoned puppeteers pulling strings at will to restrict Australia to a sub-par 236 for 7 in the first ODI here Saturday.
It was a vastly different performance from the bowling unit which maintained discipline for the better part of the 50 overs with Mohammed Shami (2/44 in 10 overs) showing the way.
Kuldeep Yadav (2/46 in 10 overs), Ravindra Jadeja (0/33 in 10 overs) and Kedar Jadhav (1/31) made up for a rare off-day by Jasprit Bumrah (2/60 in 10 overs), that too, by his standards.
Even Usman Khawaja (50) and Glenn Maxwell (40) the top two contributors for Australia weren't exactly comfortable against an Indian attack that bowled as many as 169 dot balls.
This effectively meant Australia couldn't score 28.1 overs out of the 50 overs during Indian innings.
What the statistics won't reveal is the contribution of Kedar as the sixth bowler and Jadeja, who stifled the Aussies during the second Powerplay.
This was after Shami bowled a brilliant wicketless first spell which was seen off by Marcus Stoinis (37, 53 balls) and Khawaja (50, 76 balls), who added 87 runs for the second wicket after early dismissal of Aaron Finch.
It was Khawaja, who was first to break the shackles with a cover drive off Bumrah and a six off Kuldeep, introduced in the last over of the first Powerplay.
With only 38 runs coming in the first Powerplay, the duo especially Stoinis decided to up the ante against Indian bowling's weakest link Vijay Shankar (0/22 in 3 overs), hitting him for a flurry of boundaries.
In the next five overs, Australia scored 33 and looked like regaining ground when Jadhav (1/31 from 7 overs) got a lucky breakthrough with a rank half-tracker. Stoinis mistimed the pull shot to Virat Kohli at mid-wicket.
Khawaja completed his sixth half-century in ODIs but couldn't get the elevation while giving Kuldeep the charge. Shankar took a well-judged catch at deep mid-wicket boundary running sideways.
Maxwell joined Peter Handscomb at 97 for three and the duo farmed the strike well during their run-a-ball partnership.
Handscomb was using his feet well but Kuldeep managed to produce a classical chinaman's delivery. Handscomb was deceived twice first in the air and then it broke back sharply for Dhoni to complete the easiest of glovework.
Once Handscomb was out, India controlled the second Power Play with Kedar and Jadeja choking the run-flow.
Despite not getting wickets, Jadeja bowled two miserly spells 5-0-15-0 and 5-0-18-0. To top it, he was hit for only two boundaries and bowled 34 dot balls.
It was a tough period to bat as Maxwell and debutant Ashton Turner (21) found out during their 36-run stand for the fifth wicket before Shami got his reward in his second spell, removing both of them.
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3 held in Kolkata for trying to dupe man of Rs 5 lakh by posing as functionaries of TMC MP's office
Kolkata (PTI): Three persons were arrested here for allegedly trying to dupe a 64-year-old man of Rs 5 lakh by impersonating functionaries of the office of Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee, police said on Friday.
The man, a resident of Kalna in Purba Bardhaman district, lodged a police complaint, alleging that the accused demanded the money on the pretext of a false promise of providing various facilities by "applying political influence", a senior officer said.
Acting on the complaint, the police arrested the three accused at MLA hostel on Thursday, he said.
“They impersonated functionaries of the office of Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee and misled the complainant with forged documents. They demanded Rs 5 lakh as part payment on the pretext of a false promise of providing assorted facilities by applying political influence," the officer said.
According to the complaint, the accused used a WhatsApp number with Banerjee’s photograph being used as a profile picture to establish credibility and deceive the man.
The case was registered at Kalna police station on December 25 under the various sections of the BNS Act, 2023, and the investigation is underway, the officer added.
