Even if you dont go looking for it, you get comments on pitches in India. Before this Test began, in response to a photo of the pitch tweeted by the BCCI, Harbhajan Singh, Indias most successful offspinner, tweeted it looked like a two-day-old pitch already, and predicted a finish in three-and-a-half days. With India batting for almost two days, people on Twitter began to ridicule Harbhajan. His response was to wait and watch for the turn, and that he got such turners only twice - Kanpur 2008 and Mumbai 2004 - in his whole career in India. He reckoned his and Anil Kumbles wicket tally would have been something else if they got the pitches India have been playing on in the last four years.If this was unsolicited, R Ashwins first answer at a press conference after completing his 20th five-wicket haul, which bowled New Zealand out for 299, was to mention how difficult a pitch it was. He was asked how important the other bowlers were - Ashwin got six, he ran two batsmen out, and Ravindra Jadeja got two wickets - and he looked bemused. He seemed to stop himself from answering sarcastically lest it be misconstrued, and said, It was very important. It was a very, very difficult wicket to bowl on. The way Shami and Umesh bowled in the morning, they never let go of the steam. Especially Umesh bowled very quick through the day. Hopefully they can get some good returns in the second innings.Tom Latham, the only man besides Rohit Sharma to have scored a half-century in each of the Tests, was presented a similar sentiment by a journalist. He was asked if he agreed the pitch didnt offer much turn or didnt crack up. Lathams response was sharp too. Not sure what game youre watching, Latham retorted. Certainly starting to turn. Lot of footmarks there. Might not be cracking up so much but there are dust and a lot of footmarks for bowlers to work with. Theyll be targeting those in the second innings so got to find a way of rectifying that.The truth about the pitch might be somewhere in between. It is not the classic Indian pitches that Harbhajan bowled a lot on during his day, but it hasnt turned out to be like Nagpur last year or even Kanpur this year. At the outset this looked a lot like the Kanpur pitch with a lot of cracks and expected to turn sharply from day two. It certainly hasnt because India have now been officially warned for two players - not in the act of bowling - running on the danger zone despite cautionary warnings from the umpires. Latham said it was not something they could worry.Out of our hands as players, Latham said. Weve got nothing to do with it, its up to the umpires. They make the call.However, it was wicketkeeper BJ Watling, who alerted the umpires just before M Vijay was officially warned for running on the danger area when batting on the third evening. On the second evening, Jadejas transgression after three warnings - two informal and one official - had resulted in a five-run penalty for India and three demerit points for Jadeja. India didnt contest the charge, and Jadeja stands one demerit point short of being suspended for a Test or two limited-overs internationals.Latham chose to not get involved when asked if he felt it was deliberate. Its cricket, he said. Guys are going to walk on the wicket. Weve got a big job to do in the second innings. Going to focus on that.India clearly feel the pitch needs to deteriorate more, which is one of the reasons why they didnt enforce the follow-on. Let there be more overs on it, let it bake more in the sun, and then give New Zealand somewhere around five sessions to bat to save this Test. Ashwin said they were going to take a call on when to make the declaration in the middle session on day four. He felt the pitch could do with some more wear and tear.Were just giving it every chance to wear over the time that we bat on over the next session or two, Ashwin said. And see how it turns out. But from one side, from the Pavilion End, there is a lot of rough. From the other end its not spinning a lot. Hopefully it will deteriorate.Toronto Raptors Shirts . Paul Pierce couldnt believe he missed at the end. Young scored a season-high 26 points to spark a huge effort from the leagues most productive bench, and Los Angeles beat the Brooklyn Nets 99-94 on Wednesday night after blowing a 27-point lead. Toronto Raptors Pro Shop .J. Jefferson has been charged with assaulting his girlfriend. https://www.cheapraptors.com/ . SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. Wholesale Raptors Jerseys . The Dane followed up his first European Tour title last weekend with eight birdies and just a single dropped shot on Thursday for a one-stroke advantage over South Africas Allan Versfeld and Portugals Ricardo Santos. Custom Toronto Raptors Jerseys . -- There were a lot of firsts for the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night.MILWAUKEE -- When DeMar DeRozan finds his spot, the Milwaukee Bucks learned just how hard he is to stop.DeRozan scored 26 points, including a contested jumper with 16 seconds left over Tony Snell and Giannis Antetokounmpo, to lead the Toronto Raptors to a 105-99 victory over the Bucks on Friday night.The mid-range, thats his hot spot, Snell said. It was a tough shot (against) good defense.DeRozan again tormented Milwaukee and Kyle Lowry scored 19 as Toronto hit a season-high 14 3-pointers to continue its dominance against the Bucks. The Raptors have won 11 of the last 12 meetings, and six straight in Milwaukee.Im not concerned about our offense, Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. But until we commit to the defensive end, were kidding ourselves.Antetokounmpo scored 29 points and added 11 assists, while Snell had a season-high 16 points.But with the game on the line, Lowry hit from 27 feet out with 1:06 left and DeRozan knocked down a 16-foot jumper over Snell and Antetokounmpo to make it 101-97.We tried to throw different bodies at him, show him different looks, and he made the shot that counted, Bucks coach Jason Kidd said.What did DeRozan see with two defenders bearing down?The basket, he said.TIP-INSRaptors: DeRozan, who has scored 25 points or more in 13 of 16 games, also finished with four assists, the eighth straight game hes had at least four. . . . Toronto also hit six 3-pointers in the first quarter.Bucks: Milwaukee recalled guard Rashad Vaughn from the NBA Development League, but did not play. The D-League didnt have practice for three days, so we had to bringg him back, Kidd said.dddddddddddd It was not a vacation. . . . It was the first of four `Fear the Deer games this season, featuring black jerseys and an alternate court design. . . . Milwaukees last lead came at 29-27 in the second quarter.THREE-POINT PROWESSTwo nights after the Raptors made 12 3-pointers in a win at Houston, they went 14 of 31 from behind the arc against the Bucks, who came in with the No. 1 defensive 3-point percentage in the league at 30.6 percent.We arent forcing anything, DeRozan said. We have guys who can penetrate and kick, and guys who can make wide open shots.GREAT TRIPThe Raptors completed their longest road trip with a 3-2 record, also including wins at Houston and Denver.We need to get all the wins we can on a road trip, said Terrence Ross, who finished with eight points. It is going to feel good to be back in front of the home crowd, getting to sleep in our own beds.MONROE SIGHTINGRarely seen Bucks big man Greg Monroe, who signed a $50 million, three-year max deal in 2015, scored eight points and adding 10 rebounds in 19 minutes of play.He had received just 20 minutes in the previous four games combined, scoring just eight total points and grabbing eight rebounds.UP NEXTRaptors: Host Philadelphia on Monday to start a season-high stretch of six home games in 11 days.Bucks: At Orlando on Sunday following Tuesdays 93-89 victory against the Magic, when Antetokounmpo notched his first triple-double of the season. ' ' '
