rlins this season while Brad Hand was claimed off waivers in

The world became a strange place on Wednesday. The last thing you expected to happen came over, sat down and gave you a big fat kiss. A bit like Bugs Bunny; that wascally wabbit always comes out trumps.Rajkots events may not trouble the wider public, but from the moment the coin fell in Englands favour, India were in unfamiliar territory. At least as far as recent memory goes. Virat Kohli has been able to win seven out of seven tosses since his first match in charge at home. Only once had he chosen to field, in the rained-out draw against South Africa in Bangalore a year ago. Every other time he and his men put runs on the board and won the game.Here, Alastair Cook called heads. It came down as heads. England batted for the rest of the day. India became a set of Elmer Fudds for the rest of the day: clumsy to start with and unthreatening for large parts.The dropped catches - three in the first half-hour - should be held against them. But they cant be faulted for effort. R Ashwin did get his offbreaks to drift and dip. Ravindra Jadeja did trap the batsman in his crease. Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav did generate reverse swing. So what was missing? Why did they concede 311 runs and the first century scored by a visiting batsman since 2013?Scoreboard pressure. India had to make do without it.The Saurashtra Cricket Association was hosting its first Test. The schedule has been arranged in such a way that the fourth and fifth days fall on the weekend to encourage a large crowd to come over. So, measures were taken to avoid quick finishes or meandering run-fests, both of which are common when domestic teams play Ranji Trophy first-class matches here. The pitch was dressed up with patches of grass, and in between there were several bare patches. This led to some variable bounce, but crucially there was very little turn.So the three spinners - Ashwin, local boy Jadeja and Mishra - had almost nothing to work with.Since 2015, particularly at home, they have come on with a horde of close-in fielders. Slips, silly points, gullies, leg gullies, short legs. A veritable group of bandits ready to swindle the batsman of his confidence. Additionally, until now, India had batted first in six out of seven matches. That meant their bowlers were given a pitch which had been worn down by a lot of cricket, ranging from 68 to 169 overs.As a result, there had been a lot more turn to exploit. There could be awkward bounce as well. Then, factor in Ashwin and Jadejas talent for maximising natural variation. Thats a heck of a lot for a batsman to handle. The immediate thought in such a situation is: Why not get off strike? Thats easier said than done. As former Test opener Aakash Chopra has articulated before, manoeuvring the ball into gaps on a turning pitch is very hard. Opening the face brings the slips into play. Closing the face invites the risk of being dismissed in any number of ways. Bowled by the dip, lbw while playing across the line. Caught off the leading edge.Okay, do something drastic then. Hit out. Upset their rhythm.Seems simple enough, yes. But theres a psychological deterrent - in the back of your mind, you always know a false shot might not only be the end of you but of your team too. In the final innings in Indore, New Zealand went from 80 for 2 to 138 for 9 after Ross Taylor was bowled playing an awful sweep.These are the devastating advantages of scoreboard pressure. And India had none of it in Rajkot.So Kohli, having to manufacture some, operated with in-out fields. With the lack of turn, though, Joe Root and Moeen Ali were able to nudge the ball into the gaps and keep the score ticking along. Their 179-run partnership included only 14 fours and a six - essentially 62 runs in boundaries - all the rest came via singles and twos. They still maintained a run-rate of 3.70.And when Kohli tried to bring men up to make the rotation of strike difficult, Root and Moeen deliberately went over the top and Indias captain had to go on the defensive again. It was beautifully paced cricket, with a distinct lack of frills. Only late in the day, when Root was past his hundred and Moeen was approaching his own, did they break into the toy cupboard and pull out the reverse sweeps or advance on Jadeja, he who fires them in at 90kph, and smack him into the sightscreen.In 62 overs of spin, India could manage only six maidens. Thats less than 10%.Having to bowl first, India wanted to be on the money, and preferably not the 500- or the 1000-rupee variety, which went defunct overnight and are to be replaced. There were encouraging signs. Cooks outside-edge was an affable guest star in a half-hour episode of When Shami And Umesh Bowl Well Together. Ashwin out-thought young Haseeb Hameed and Ben Duckett. India went to lunch happy despite the dropped catches.But it was England who were ahead of the game, with no scoreboard pressure on them, and faced with a pitch on which their own seamers could prove to be the danger, thanks to reverse swing and a bare patch of uneven bounce on a good length. Root and Moeen tucked into every over of spin that was bowled. One of them will return on Thursday hungry for more. Cheap Vapormax Ireland . Louis Rams wide receiver Stedman Bailey last Sunday. The fine is the fourth this season for Goldson. He was fined $30,000 for a hit on the New York Jets Jeff Cumberland in Week 1. Cheap Air Foamposite .J. Ellis hit two-run homers and the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres 4-0 Saturday night. http://www.outletvapormaxireland.com/ . - Goaltender Philippe Desrosiers of the Rimouski Oceanic has broken a shutout record that was only three months old in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Vapormax Plus Black Ireland . They had already blown a double-digit lead, fans were hitting the exits, and a long seven-game road trip waited at the end. Vapormax Flyknit Womens Ireland . The head of USA Boxing came out swinging Tuesday with an open letter to Tyson -- a former Olympic hopeful himself -- that accuses the former heavyweight champion of trying to poach fighters who might be candidates for the U. MIAMI -- Chris Johnsons run-scoring ground-rule double with two outs in the bottom of the ninth gave the Miami Marlins a 7-6 win over the San Diego Padres on Friday night.The Marlins scored three runs in the eighth to tie it before Johnson gave the Marlins their third walk-off win of the season. Johnson hit a deep fly ball to right-center field that took one bounce before landing in the Marlins bullpen. Center fielder Travis Jankowski converged on the ball, but was unable to make the catch.Martin Prado, Christian Yelich, and Marcell Ozuna each drove in two runs for the Marlins.Luis Sardinas homered and drove in four runs and Ryan Schimpf also homered for the Padres.Fernando Rodney (2-3) pitched an inning in relief to pick up the win.Brandon Maurer (0-4) blew the save in the eighth and lost it in the ninth, allowing four hits and one run in one inning.San Diego starter Jarred Cosart allowed two runs and five hits over five innings in his first appearance against his former club where he spent parts of the last three seasons. He was traded to San Diego in a seven-player deal involving pitcher Andrew Cashner on July 29.The Marlins scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth to tie the score at 6-6. Maurer entered with the bases loaded and gave up a two-run single to Prado and an RBI single to Yelich. It was Maurers fifth blown save in 11 chances.Miami starter David Phelps allowed four runs and two hits with three walks in 3 2/3 inningsSardinas, who was 1 for 8 coming in, had a three-run double and a home run -- his third in 115 career games.Ozunas RBI double and Yelichs RBI groundout gave the Marlins a 2-0 lead.The Padres took the lead with a four-run fourth keyed by Sardinas bases-clearing double as nine men went to the plate. An error by Phelps covering first base on a grounder gave the Padres a 4-2 lead and ended his night.Schimpfs home run,, his 15th, into the upper deck in right field pushed the lead to 5-2.dddddddddddd His 15 home runs are tied for the fifth-most by a Padres rookie.Sardinas made it 6-2 with a solo homer in the fifth.The Marlins pulled within three on Ozunas RBI single in the seventh.PADRES PITCHERS WITH MARLINS TIESCosart is one of four active San Diego pitchers that were with the Marlins during spring training.Edwin Jackson and Paul Clemens both pitched for the Marlins this season while Brad Hand was claimed off waivers in April after being designated for assignment.Its different Im sure, but thats how this game is, Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. Its funny. Its really weird, but I think sometimes you get kind of connected with a team front office-wise with deals that go that direction or you get a relationship going and things kind of happen.TRAINERS ROOMPadres: RHP Tyson Ross (right shoulder) made a rehab start with Class-A Lake Elsinore on Thursday allowing four runs in 2/3 of an inning. When we look at Tyson the only thing that really matters is health, manager Andy Green said. I dont really read too much into rehab starts. . I think hes going to throw another start in the minor leagues before he pitches for us. ... LHP Christian Friedrich will be skipped in the rotation to give him rest. ... CF Jon Jay (forearm) took swings inside the batting cage on Friday and is eyeing an early September return.UP NEXTPadres: LHP Clayton Richard (0-3, 4.44) will start Saturdays game. Richard is 0-2 with a 1.64 ERA in two starts this season.Marlins: RHP Jose Urena (2-4, 6.33) will make his sixth start of the season. Urena picked up his first victory as a starter this season in his last start at Pittsburgh allowing two runs in six innings. ' ' '