Controversial AB decision as weather gods shine on Giants
The weather and a dubious umpiring decision cost the Spartans the chance of starting a four-game home run on a positive note Sunday.
A fairly gentle storm - by Highveld summer standards - put paid to the Spartans’ chase at the start of the sixth over, right at the fall of AB de Villiers’ wicket.
The Spartans captain however was the victim of what appeared a poor decision by Umpire Bongani Jele, given out lbw as he attempted to sweep the left-arm medium pacer Carmi le Roux’s first ball.
De Villiers was outside the offstump INDIA’S Virat Kohli led from the front with a sparkling 61 not out to help secure a series-levelling six-wicket victory over Australia in the third and final T20 international yesterday.
Chasing 165 to win, India suffered a mid-innings slump that left them needing 52 off the last five overs. Kohli combined with Dinesh Karthik, who made 22 not out, to see India home with two balls to spare.
India got off to a blistering start as Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan collected 20 runs from the first three overs before accelerating.
They plundered 20 runs from the as he attempted the shot, the ball striking him on the front leg and appearing to be going passed offstump.
Had the decision not gone the bowler’s way, the Spartans would have tied the game, as they needed to be on 35 with two wickets down.
“The weather gods were certainly with us,” Giants opener Marco Marais, who made 47 and was named man of the match, said afterwards.
Marais described the pitch as being two-paced and that the Giants felt a total in region of 160 would be next over from Nathan Coulter-Nile, while Marcus Stoinis bled 22 in the following over.
To stop the carnage, Aaron Finch brought back Mitchell Starc and the left-arm quick, playing his first 20-over international in more than two years, did not let his captain down, trapping Dhawan lbw for 41 to end the 67-run stand.
Adam Zampa bowled Rohit, who hit two sixes in his 23, in his maiden over and India slumped to 108/4 after KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant fell in successive deliveries.
Kohli added 60 runs with Karthik defendable.
As it was they ended up short of that but through good fortune earned a third win in the competition.
Earlier the Giants started rapidly after De Villiers chose to field, hammering 36 runs off the first four overs. Jon-Jon Smuts was looking set for another punishing performance until he picked out Sean Williams on the deep midwicket boundary to be dismissed for 19.
The bowler Corbin Bosch had only just been drafted into the Spartans a few days earlier as the replacement for the injured Lungi Ngidi, and the performance that followed from him was all the more remarkable given he hasn’t played a competitive match – at any level – since breaking his foot eight months ago.
He varied pace and length cleverly and accurately - to give the home team a measure of control from the latter and sealed the victory with back-to-back fours.
Having won the toss and elected to bat, home captain Finch (28) combined with D’Arcy Short (33) to give Australia a flying start but the hosts could not make the most of it.
They added 68 runs for the opening partnership when Krunal Pandya got into the thick of the action in the ninth over.
The all-rounder caught Finch at short fine leg, before dismissing Short and Ben McDermott off successive deliveries to drag India back into the contest. stages of the power play onwards.
Bosch set the tone and the Spartans would grab wickets at regular intervals.
Marais had to rein in his aggression to hold the Giants innings together but it was only when Rudi Second arrived at the crease at the fall of the fourth wicket that the visitors were able to put on a reasonable partnership.
They shared a stand of 42 for the fifth wicket but it needed to be more. Marais was bowled by the impressive young fast bowler Lutho Sipamla after top scoring with 47 (41b, 5x4, 1x6) and in the next over Sri Lankan import Jeevan Mendis bowled Second for 26 off the inside edge as the right hander attempted to sweep.
It was a procession of Giants batsmen thereafter with Mendis finishing with 4/22, while Sipamla continued his impressive progress finishing with 3/29.
Alex Carey denied Pandya a hattrick, but eventually fell to the left-arm spinner after making 27.
Stoinis made a breezy 25 not out down the order as Australia overcame their mid-innings slump and collected 57 runs from the last five overs.
Pandya’s 4/36 was the best by a spinner in Australia in T20 internationals, while Kuldeep Yadav also impressed conceding only 19 in a tidy four overs that included Finch’s wicket.
Australia, who won the rain-hit series opener in Brisbane, could not manage a single six in their innings against India’s eight. | Reuters AARON RAI held off a hard-charging Matthew Fitzpatrick to claim the Hong Kong Open by a solitary shot and secure his first ever European Tour win in pouring rain at Fanling Golf Course yesterday.
The Englishman needed all of his six-shot overnight lead to edge out compatriot Fitzpatrick as the 23-yearold’s 17-under-par total, courtesy of a one-under-par final round, secured him victory in the first event on the 2019 European Tour calendar.
“It felt a little bit different today,” Rai said.
“It’s nice, winning in the past, and that helps you to expect or know the situation you’re going to have, but it did feel a little bit different today in terms of just how big the event is and the attention of the people.
“Also, playing with two real worldclass players in terms of Tommy Fleetwood and Matt Fitzpatrick. The more you play against world-class guys like that, you kind of expect them to come at you and never make it easy.
“You have to repeat the same messages as you go along the way, consolidate and stay patient and really just focus on your own game.”
Fitzpatrick put Rai under pressure throughout the final day’s play as he emerged from the chasing pack to hit a 6-under-par 64 to finish five shots clear of third-placed pair Jason Scrivener of Australia and Frenchman Victor Perez.
Yesterday’s charge saw Fitzpatrick move to within a shot of the lead with two holes remaining before a bogey at the 17th, when he missed a four-foot par putt, effectively ended his title bid as Rai took a two-shot lead down the last. That cushion meant a bogey on the final hole was good enough for Rai to secure the win. |