David Warner kissed the ground in Phillip Hughes’ memory to lead an Australia run spree with an emotional century on the opening day of the final Test against India yesterday.
The dynamic opener posted his third ton of the series and 12th in Tests as he honored the memory of his fallen friend Hughes, who was fatally struck by a bouncer at the same Sydney Cricket Ground in November.
Upon reaching the symbolic score of 63 that Hughes had made when he was hit, Warner kissed the ground and then looked skyward before clapping in tribute.
Photo: Reuters
Warner scored 101 and shared in an opening stand of 200 on a benign SCG pitch with veteran Chris Rogers, who again fell short of a ton in his fifth consecutive half-century of the series.
Skipper Steve Smith and Shane Watson maintained Australia’s grip with an unbroken 144-run stand after winning the toss to put the home side at a formidable 348-2 at the close.
Smith, who glided to his half-century for his fifth innings beyond 50 in the series, was unbeaten on 82 with Watson on 61.
Watson was dropped by Ravichandran Ashwin at slip off the second-to-last delivery of the day.
It is now seven consecutive Tests that the in-form Smith has scored a 50 or a 100.
India have already conceded the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with Australia holding an unassailable 2-0 lead following wins in Adelaide and Brisbane.
The tourists have won only one of their past 22 Tests overseas and have been successful in only one of their 10 Tests at the Sydney Cricket Ground, that sole victory coming 37 years ago.
Warner batted for 180 minutes and stroked 16 fours, pulling Mohammed Shami to the boundary to bring up his century.
He was out soon afterward for 101, caught at slip off a leading edge from spinner Ashwin.
Rogers, who gave chances on 19 and 90, followed Warner to the pavilion six deliveries later when he was bowled for 95 by Shami.
The Sydney Test was being played against the poignant backdrop of the tragic death of Hughes.
Warner posted his first Test century at the SCG and he, along with Smith, Watson, Brad Haddin and Nathan Lyon, were all on the field when Hughes was felled by the short-pitched ball.
A plaque honoring the batsman has been installed outside the home dressing room at the SCG and served as a reminder for the Australia players of their former teammate.
India, with Virat Kohli leading the team after the sudden Test retirement of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, made four changes with Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Wriddhiman Saha and Bhuvneshwar Kumar coming into the side.
The tourists left out opener Shikhar Dhawan with Lokesh Rahul promoted to open the innings, Sharma replacing Cheteshwar Pujara and Saha for Dhoni at wicketkeeper, while Kumar came in for paceman Ishant Sharma.
Australia made only one change with Mitchell Starc replacing injured paceman Mitchell Johnson.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB