SPORTS

From "one of the lowest phases" of her life following her omission from the 50-over World Cup, to a tension-easing half-century as India began the 20-over version with victory against Pakistan, Jemimah Rodrigues likes how life is going right now, but says she owes her turnaround to some turners on Mumbai's maidans.

Rodrigues' unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 58 with Richa Ghosh handed India a seven-wicket victory after their opponents set them 150 to win.

They got there with just one over to spare and afterwards Rodrigues, who scored a 38-ball 53 not out, said that playing alongside 14-year-old boys in Mumbai after being dropped from last year's squad exposed her to the sort of pressure needed to help pull off India's highest successful run-chase at a Women's T20 World Cup.

Virat Kohli's wicket was a dream come true moment for Todd Murphy, who made his Test debut in the series opener of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at Nagpur on Thursday. Batting icon Kohli showcased a rare batting failure in the 1st innings as the former India skipper was dismissed for cheap by spinner Murphy on Day 2 at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium. Dissecting Kohli's dismissal, former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri observed that the veteran batter was unlucky to get dismissed in an unusual manner at Nagpur.

India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was the standout performer in the first innings of the opening Test against Australia. The left-armer finished with impressive figures of 5/47 in his comeback game. He was out of action since August 2022 due to a knee injury and recently played a Ranji Trophy match to prove his fitness.

Jadeja was too good for the Australian batters, as they were bundled out for just 177 after opting to bat first.

In the meantime, an Aussie fan has shared a video on Twitter claiming that Jadeja applied a substance on his spinning finger to get a better grip on the ball and even tagged former Australian captain Tim Paine.

Australia skipper Pat Cummins made it clear on Wednesday that his side is not bothered by the discussion regarding the pitch in Nagpur ahead of the first Test match starting February 9. Ian Healy started the controversy by saying that the hosts will be making the pitch in order to suit their game plan and there were several reports claiming India were trying to “doctor” the pitch. Cummins said that it will be a challenge for the side considering the conditions will be “custom-made” for India.

“These series always throw up different challenges on the field or off the field, and embracing it is what makes these tours so special. That's part of the challenge of playing away. Home teams want to win at home. In Australia, we're lucky we've normally got pace and bounce. Home match advantage, I don't think it's a terrible thing. It's another challenge and makes touring over here even harder when you know the conditions are custom-made for them,” Cummins said.

Things dramatically spiked up on Tuesday evening at the Jamtha stadium as the ground staff descended on the pitch for some special fine-tuning in the age-old Indian way. The entire surface was first watered, then only the centre of the pitch got the roller treatment, and extra watering done outside the left-hander’s leg stump. What was happening?

When pushed to ‘designer mode’ Indian groundsmen can be very creative, treating the pitch as not one organic whole but segmented in patches.

“These spots would be generally hard to spot by visiting teams. Because what happens is, the top layer is usually rough and the bottom layer will be hard. It is basically a trap, which many visiting teams fall for. The centre of the pitch will be watered, but the amount will be gradually brought down. Some of us use garden showers just to ensure the pitch gets only the right amount of water. Closer to the game, the grass will be culled. The top layer will expand when it absorbs water and it will get loose,” a curator, who doesn’t wish to be named and who has produced Test pitches in the past explains.