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It was a day for an underdog to come out all guns blazing against a fancied opponent in Melbourne and eventually prevail while in neighbouring Brisbane, South Australia, a visiting cricket team showed spine after being humbled in the opening Test but failed to fully capitalise on the situation by the end of the day's play.
At Melbourne, which is playing host to the year's first Grand Slam--the Australian Open, Noval Djokovic, the World Number 1 men's tennis superstar and holder of 24 Grand Slam titles, crashed out in the semifinals after losing to rising 22-year-old Italian Jannik Sinner. While Djokovic has more Grand Slams to his credit than the number of birthdays that Sinner has celebrated to date, it hardly mattered on the day as the Italian produced some of his best tennis to get the better of the champion. In the biggest upset of the tournament, the defending champion was outplayed in four sets in a clash that pitted experience and vintage against unbridled talent and the fearlessness of youth. At the end of the fascinating clash, which spanned three hours and 21 minutes, Sinner came through against the seasoned and battle-hardened Serbian. The eventual scoreline read 1-6, 2-6, 7-6 (6), 3-6 in favour of the 22-year-old Italian. The result, coming in the face of heavy odds, made Sinner the first player to defeat Djokovic in the semifinal of the Australian Open. Throwing caution to the winds and going all-out against the 24-time Grand Slam winner, Sinner made Djokovic work hard for every point and as the opening set went to the Italian, there were murmurs in the stands that an upset could be on the cards. And, so it turned out after four sets as the wiry Italian lifted his maiden Grand Slam trophy at the year's first major. Meanwhile, as Djokovic found the going tough against the Italian, cricketing giants Australia, who have mastered all formats and have most world titles to their credit, struggled literally to put bat to ball in the face of fiery bursts from West Indian quicks on Day 2 of the ongoing second Test at the Gabba in Brisbane on Friday. However, by the end of the day's play, the match was on an even keel with the hosts managing to reduce the deficit and boldly declare while they were within sniffing distance of the Caribbean total with the last pair standing. Earlier, as play resumed on Day 2, debutant Kevin Sinclair waged a brave battle in the company of wicketkeeper Joshua DeSilva, scoring a fine half-century. Their enterprising association in the middle helped the visitors close their first innings at a respectable score of 311. After a late-order cameo with the bat, speedster Alzarri Joseph, in the company of bowling spearhead Kemar Roach, put the Kangaroos in a tight corner in the fortress--The Gabba. Bowling at fiery and extracting deadly bounce off the surface, the Windies' quicks made the Aussies sniff the leather, sending half the side back to the hutch with not many runs on the scoreboard. For Australia, skipper Pat Cummins (64*), Usman Khawaja (75) and Alex Carey (64) helped the hosts save their blushes after they were reduced at one point to 24/4. After lifting the score to a few runs short of the West Indies target, largely on the back of a rearguard revival, the Aussies declared boldly at 289/9. However, the visitors did well not to crumble in the face of the new-ball bursts by the Aussie quicks, as they closed the day's play at 13/1, stretching their lead to 35 runs. As the visiting Caribbeans closed the day's play in Brisbane with their noses slightly in front, England were set further back in Hyderabad as hosts India piled on the lead on Day 2 of the opening Test, with three wickets still in hand. On a surface that aided spin, the Indians produced a batting masterclass led by gorgeous hands from Yashasvi Jaiswal (80), KL Rahul (86), Ravindra Jadeja (81*) and Axar Patel (35*). Even as the ball gripped the surface and turned viciously, 22-year-old Jaiswal frustrated England's frontline spinners as they were at the receiving end of a reverse-'Bazball' from the Indians. Jaiswal's robust style of play and KL Rahul's patience provided the ideal platform for the late-order heroics from Ravindra Jadeja and Axar. The left-handed batter dipped into his batting repertoire and pulled out a range of shots to pile the pressure on the visitors. The star all-rounder broke into his signature sword celebration after reaching a deserving 20th Test half-century and was in sight of a ton at the close of play on Day 2. He will look to reach the three-figure mark and further extend India's commanding lead of 175 runs. (ANI)
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