NEU » Ds responsible for, set by Drew Brees

On day three of the series, New Zealand came face to face with the enormity of the task that is playing India in India on turning pitches. Against much better - crucially, much more experienced - spinners, on a track that had become much more difficult than in the first innings, New Zealands batsmen did a lot of things right. In fact, they batted much better than India did in their first innings, and even denied India when they got on their first roll, but they still ended up conceding a 56-run lead, which is good as 150 when you have to bat last on such a pitch.Before that final collapse, for 90 overs, we had a near perfect innings featuring two excellent spinners at the top of their game, bowling in their own conditions against batsmen using every sinew of discipline, technique and awareness to counter them. As it happens in such contests, the errors were few and far between. There was a passive attempt by a batsman here, a freebie on the pads there, but quite a few spells of play deserved to be part of a classic; they were denied that distinction by the eventual 56-run deficit.Martin Guptill defied low expectations by taking a toll on the fast bowlers when the ball was new, and then starting off well against spin. At first, Ravindra Jadeja had long-off back for him, doubting if Guptill could score without going aerial. Guptill waited, took singles, and forced Jadeja to bring the fielder up. Aware that he had to score too because there werent going to be too many scoring opportunities, Guptill went over mid-off immediately. Then the fielder went back, and he started taking singles again.As can often happen, Guptill worked hard against the threatening bowlers, and dropped his guard against pace, which normally serves mainly as relief for the spin bowlers - and the batsmen. Guptill played across the line of an Umesh Yadav delivery and paid the price. The lbw call was touch and go, but would likely have returned an umpires call verdict had DRS been available and called upon.Kane Williamson and Tom Latham then put up a masterclass much like Cheteshwar Pujara and M Vijay had. They picked the length early, they moved decisively, either well forward or right back, they swept the right lines, and they didnt let Jadeja run through his overs. This should not be confused with what India complained about. India complained about the comfort breaks; this was more about making Jadeja wait till they were ready. While it may not make that much of a difference, it doesnt let Jadeja dictate the pace. The bigger difference was their techniques.India began with in-out fields, looking to see if the batsmen had the patience and the skill to score runs without lofting the ball. They also wanted to keep a lid on the scoring while the partnership was on because they knew on this pitch one could bring many. New Zealand passed that test. Ones and twos kept coming. R Ashwin didnt get to bowl more than six balls in a row at one batsman. There were no traps being laid.On the third morning, the fields changed. Anil Kumble, Indias coach, asked Jadeja and Ashwin to make sure the ball was ending up on the stumps. That is typical Kumble. He made a career out of balls ending up on the stumps. The fields changed too. Singles dried up. Ashwin now bowled 11 straight balls at Latham. He wouldnt need more. The 11th was an offbreak that didnt turn. After all the hard work, Latham, who played for a marginal amount of turn was beaten on the inside edge.Williamson fell to the pitch, a massive offbreak from well outside the off, accompanied by an explosion off the pitch and low bounce. He stayed back, he didnt open the face, but it still spun past his defence. Having lost three wickets in four overs, New Zealand were in danger of conceding a huge lead, but Luke Ronchi and Mitchell Santner were about to arrest the collapse.Ronchi showed enterprise, Santner defence. India threw the bait. Jadeja and Ashwin bowled with no point to Ronchi. At every ball slightly short of driving length, Ronchi would go back, but not go ahead with the cut shot if it wasnt there for the taking. Once he even left an Ashwin offbreak alone after shaping to cut. For the first five overs of the partnership, there was nothing. The batsmen were in the bowlers sights. There were close calls. The pressure - and anticipation of the spinners - was palpable.Then, bowling his eighth straight over of the morning, Ashwin blinked. Ronchi was 8 off 28, Santner 1 off 18, the partnership 3 off 32. A slight drop in length was all Ronchi needed, and he was all over it. Ashwins next three overs went for 19. The tide was turning. Indias advantage had come down to 121. Ashwin was taken off. Against Yadav, there were few problems. By the time Ashwin came back, the deficit was down to 111, and there were 36 minutes to go to lunch. This was a crucial 36 minutes. New Zealand had more to lose because India could easily take three wickets in those 36 minutes.Ashwin dropped another ball short. Santner picked up another boundary. Rohit Sharma was tried for an over. He conceded a four too. With the lead under 100, just before the start of the 80th over, Ajinkya Rahane had a word with Jadeja, who went over the wicket to change the angle. Now was the time for the umpire to make an error. As a rule, you dont give lbws for left-arm bowlers to right-hand batsmen unless the ball has turned back or straightened or it is so full there is no time for the angle to take it past the stumps. Ronchi swept, had a stride in, but was given out lbw.Santner continued to concentrate hard and take Ashwin on. The way he hit two boundaries after stepping out to Ashwin was pure class. Down the pitch, not worried about the stumping while he was, right to the pitch of the ball, using his levers not power to chip over mid-off and back over Ashwins head. Just after lunch India made a mistake. Five overs of pace were not just mental relief but offered two free leg-side fours and a third that could have been, and a half-volley that Santner drove beautifully back past the bowler.Not for the first time a New Zealand batsman was looking like he could play a blinder despite the obvious disadvantages they face when playing in India. They were against spinners who were at the top of their game on a pitch that one of them, Jadeja, termed as similar to the underprepared ones he has played all his domestic cricket on. They didnt know which way Jadeja was turning the ball so they had to pick the length early and play him off the pitch. Still, they had come within 67 of Indias first-innings score with five of their wickets standing.This time Ashwin produced the special delivery. Going over the wicket, changing the angle, spinning one big, taking the edge of Santners bat for an extraordinary catch for Wriddhiman Saha. This was a thick edge. Saha had to follow the ball quite quickly. It stuck in the webbing. Another potential classic was nipped in the bud. The fact that so much mental energy was spent and it was still in the bud shows you how difficult it is when these two spinners bowl for almost two sessions and their errors can be counted on your hands. Jadeja then ran through the tail.While you appreciated Indias skill and composure even as New Zealand got closer and closer, you felt a little sorry for New Zealand. They had zero rub of the green. They lost the toss, another umpire might have given Rohit out on 16 fewer than his eventual 35, and Ronchi definitely got a rough one to end a 49-run stand on a pitch where new batsmen found it extremely tough to bat.These are not the things you budget for. You expect to win matches despite losing tosses. You expect to get over an umpiring call here or there. New Zealand certainly werent complaining. These things are not in their control. What was in their control is for every batsman to follow his game plans; that Ross Taylor couldnt will hurt New Zealand the most. He had a platform coming in at 159 for 2, he held the potential of playing around with Indias discipline with his unorthodox sweeps, but he made the biggest error. When you are not picking which way Jadeja is turning the ball, you want to pick the length early and either smother the turn or stay back to adjust. Taylor played passively, stayed on the crease, and was beaten on the inside edge. Batsmen who have followed the series between Sri Lanka and Australia will tell you that you dont want to be beaten on the inside edge.It is a little harsh to single out Taylor based on a two-ball innings, his first in the series, but such is the nature of the beast when you havent had enough acclimatisation to the kind of bowling you are facing and you are having to stretch every sinew to even think of parity with the favourites. Nike Flyknit Cheap China . William Carrier opened the scoring for Cape Breton (6-4-2), but Andrew Ryan tied the game and Brent Andrews put the Mooseheads (8-6-0) in front for good with a short-handed goal at 13:49 of the second period. Cheap Nike Flyknit Shoes . While hell be dialed in to that tournament on a course he loves, you can forgive him if his eyes glance down the calendar just a bit, towards April. http://www.nikeflyknitclearance.com/ . Tests earlier this week revealed a Grade 2 left hamstring strain for Sabathia, who was hurt in last Fridays start against San Francisco. Its an injury that will require about eight weeks to heal. He finished a disappointing campaign just 14-13 with a career-worst 4. Nike Flyknit Shoes Outlet . Cote was eligible to become a free agent Feb. 15. Cote helped running back Jon Cornish run for a league-high 1,813 rushing yards en route to being named the leagues most outstanding player. Nike Flyknit Cheap Online ., for the next three years with the signings on Monday of Daryl Townsend and Michael Carter. COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Ohio State is finally playing the brand of football necessary to vie for a national championship.The task now is to sustain the momentum.Coming off an ego-boosting 62-3 rout of then-No. 10 Nebraska, the sixth-ranked Buckeyes (8-1, 5-1 Big Ten, No. 5 CFP) seek their third straight victory Saturday against backpedaling Maryland.The Terrapins (5-4, 2-4) have lost four of five, including a 59-3 humiliation last week at Michigan. Throw in the 101 points that Ohio State has scored in its last two games against Maryland, and this shapes up to be a huge mismatch.The Buckeyes dont view it that way.I dont take any game for granted or see them as lesser than any other team, Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett said. You can get beat any time in the Big Ten. We need to take the same approach against Maryland that we took against Nebraska.After getting upset at Penn State on Oct. 22 and squeezing past Northwestern at home the following week, the Buckeyes found their groove against the overmatched Cornhuskers. Barrett threw four touchdown passes, Curtis Samuel accounted for 173 all-purpose yards and Ohio State never called on punter Cameron Johnston.We have the capability to do what we did Saturday night. We want to do that every game, offensive lineman Pat Elflein said. We want to score a bunch of points. Everything was just clicking on every cylinder Saturday night.That spells trouble for a Maryland defense that has yielded 101 points and 1,310 yards over the past two weeks to Indiana and Michigan. The Terrapins have only two senior starters on defense, and it showed against the Wolverines.I feel like our guys gave it their best shot and we got hit in the mouth, defensive coordinator Andy Buh said. When you play these younger players, these games tend to show your youth a little bit.---Some other things to know about the third meeting between Ohio State and Maryland:TOP OF THE HILLS: The Terrapins offense relieves heavily on fifth-year senior quarterback Perry Hills, who reinjured his right shoulder at Michigan and is questionable for Saturday. In a 49-28 loss to Ohio State last year, Hills ran for 170 yards -- most ever by a Terps quarterback. If Hills cant go Saturday, senior CCaleb Rowe or true freshman Tyrell Pigrome will start.dddddddddddd Neither has been effective this season.WEBER RUNS WILD: Ohio State running back Mike Weber is trying to become the third freshman at the school to rush for 1,000 yards. Robert Smith ran for 1,126 in 1990 and Maurice Clarett rolled up 1,237 in 2002, his only year in college football. Weber has rushed for 842 yards and seven scores. He had 72 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries last week but left the game in the third quarter after falling hard on his shoulder Coach Urban Meyer said Weber has a sprained shoulder . Weber was held out of contact in practice this week but is expected to play against Maryland.COACHES REUNION: Maryland first-year coach DJ Durkin was an assistant for Meyer at Bowling Green in 2001-02 and Florida in 2010. Im very close with him and I love him to death, Meyer said. I love his family. Hes from Youngstown (Ohio). Hes a great guy, great football coach. The coaches keep their distance during the fall, for competitive reasons and because both coaches are too usually too busy to chit-chat. We dont talk too much during the season, Durkin said. Were in the same conference. Hes a friend and a good guy to seek advice from.MOVE OVER, BREES: Barrett needs just two more scores to break the Big Ten record of 95 TDs responsible for, set by Drew Brees with Purdue from 1997-2000. Thats just crazy to think about, Barrett said this week. If you would have told me when I was a sophomore in high school that J.T. would be doing this, I would have called you a liar. I wouldnt have believed you.CANT STOP NOW: Meyer rarely lets the outside world know whats happening in the Ohio State locker room, but he made an exception when asked what he told the team this week. Ill share a little bit of it with you, he said. A group of players made a decision to play very well, and now you can throw that one away if you dont follow up with another good week of practice and preparation. Thats been the message, to a degree.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 ' ' '