Australian Test leg-spinner Bob “Dutchy” Holland has died following a battle with brain cancer, aged 70, his family said yesterday.
Holland died after sustaining a brain bleed while in hospital being treated for broken ribs suffered in a fall last week, his son Craig said.
Holland was diagnosed with an aggressive brain cancer in late March and had surgery a week later to remove part of the tumor, followed by chemotherapy and radiation treatment.
Holland made his Test debut in 1984 at the age of 38 and spun Australia to victory with 10 wickets against the West Indies at the Sydney Cricket Ground in 1985.
He played in that year’s Ashes series in England taking five wickets at Lord’s and took another 10-wicket haul against New Zealand in Sydney.
He appeared in 11 Tests, taking 34 wickets and in 95 first-class matches, most of them for New South Wales.
Meanwhile, Pandya and Mahendra Singh Dhoni helped India recover from a top-order slump and post 281/7 in the opening one-day international against Australia in Chennai yesterday.
Electing to bat on a cloudy afternoon, the hosts lost five early wickets before Pandya, who hit 83, and Dhoni, who scored 79, shared a 118-run stand to put up a challenging total.
Fast bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile rattled the Indian batting with three quick strikes, including the prized scalp of skipper Virat Kohli for nought.
Kohli tried to slice a widish delivery on the off side by Coulter-Nile, but was caught by Glenn Maxwell, who timed his jump to perfection.
Coulter-Nile, who returned after a string of injuries that kept him out since June last year, also got opener Ajinkya Rahane, for five, and Manish Pandey, for zero, to reduce India to 11-3.
Rohit Sharma, who made 28, and Kedar Jadhav, who scored 40, tried to rebuild with their 53-run partnership before Marcus Stoinis sent the two batsmen back in the pavilion.
Dhoni then made it count along with Pandya for company.
The duo thwarted the Australian bowling with some stubborn batting before Pandya took a special liking to Adam Zampa’s leg-spin, as he smashed the bowler for a four and three successive sixes in an over to bring up his third ODI fifty.
Zampa though did get Pandya out for his only wicket in the innings, but the bowlers’ 10 overs cost 66 runs for his side.
Dhoni soon took over to get some vital runs in the last five overs as he put on 72 runs with number-eight Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who remained unbeaten on 32. The wicketkeeper-batsman, who hit four fours and two sixes, in his 88-ball stay lost his wicket to James Faulkner in the final over.
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