came in 2002, when she beat Justine Henin in the final. That wa

When umpire Aleem Dar took his empowerment from technology to the next level, ruling Steve Smith out lbw in the WACA Test even when he was more than 2.5m down the wicket, amid the understandably heated debate, Channel 9s newest recruit and the man most in touch with contemporary cricket for them, Kevin Pietersen, made an astute point. Left-arm spinners bowling to right-hand batsmen and offspinners bowling to left-hand batsmen, Pietersen said, had brought lbws back into the game big time.Miles away, in Asia, the lbw and bowled to spinners - never mind the big turning pitches - have become the slow mens most potent weapon. More so when visiting batsmen face R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in tandem. It is often said about batting in India that it is all fine until the first one jumps at you and lobs up for a catch. With changing skills and pitches, though, the challenge of batting in India is evolving too. As Ashwin and Jadeja showed against New Zealand, and have indeed been showing for some time now, a batsman has to watch out for those two types of dismissals more than bat-pad catches or edges behind the wicket. It is a trend not limited to Indias fingerspinners: Sri Lankas spinners, led by Rangana Herath, dismantled Australia earlier this year through lbw and bowled dismissals. Over the last five years, the percentage of lbw and bowled dismissals for India spinners have gone up to 43.97 from 37.3 in years 2006 to 2010. The numbers in India have shot up dramatically since 2005: from 31.37% to 47.56% since 2011. Not just the Indian spinners, travelling spinners have benefited too: from 29.71% in the five-year period ending in 2005 to 40.51% since 2011. While the umpires have become more bowler friendly since the advent of DRS - and that effect plays out in non-DRS matches too - the numbers have actually fallen for fast bowlers: from 36.1% from 2001 to 2005 to 32.2% since 2011. This is no secret in the closed world of cricket circles. When Herath and friends were taking half of their 54 Australian wickets either lbw or bowled, the word around the visiting batsmen was: whatever you do, dont get beaten on the inside edge by a bowler meant to take the ball away from you. New Zealands coach Mike Hesson articulated this, and the challenge of batting in India, to ESPNcricinfo.In many ways it is actually natural variation, Hesson said. A lot of times you are actually not trying to bowl a straighter one. Sometimes it just lands on the leather and slides on. Other times it hits the seam and spins. You are obviously able to change the seam angle to have a little bit of control over there, but sometimes it is very accidental. That is the reality of it over here. And when it spins, it is extreme turn. You are just hoping that you play and miss.You need to be able to protect your stumps. If the ball spins past the outside edge, it is okay. We can accept that. You dont want to be beaten on the inside. Thats pretty much everybodys game plan. And around that you need to find ways to score. If it slides in, it is often going down. If it turns past the edge then you play and miss. And there is also a lot of balls that turn an abnormal amount. So you are dealing with three things. Thats the challenge of playing in India. Then as the game goes on, uneven bounce comes into play.Thirteen of the 27 lbws and bowleds that Sri Lanka spinners claimed against Australia were to the straighter delivery. New Zealand batsmen did much better when it came to not getting beaten on the inside: only eight of their 22 lbws and bowleds were to straighter deliveries from bowlers meant to take it away from you. Indias spinners showed great skill in finishing on the stumps by still having 22 lbws and bowleds in their 41 wickets; this 53.66% was a rise from 49.18% against South Africa last season.During the warm-ups on the third morning of the series between India and New Zealand, Ravindra Jadeja and coach Anil Kumble stood at the Green Park pitch in Kanpur and chatted. Kumble asked Jadeja to move his line for left-hand batsmen wider. The ball had started to turn appreciably now, and there was considerable rough outside the left-hand batsmens off stump. Kumble wanted Jadejas deliveries to end up on the stumps. Not that Jadeja needed an invitation to do so - he grew up listening to the wicketkeepers and captains shouting pag maan maar [hit the batsman on the foot] - but this has been the coming together of three spinners for India who just want to keep hitting the stumps again and again. It is a skill to bowl deliveries that both hit the batsman in line and go on to hit the stumps on pitches that turn so much.It doesnt translate into as many wickets for visiting spinners because the India spinners are much more accurate, and also because the India batsmen have slightly different techniques. They are adept at staying leg side of the ball, of planting their front foot down along the line of the leg stump and playing the incoming deliveries with their hands. So even when they get their inside edge beaten, because the umpire can see both the off and the middle stump, the ball is generally considered to be going down leg. Visiting batsmen try to get closer to the ball, thus plonking their front foot across and making similar deliveries look like they are hitting the stumps. When Tom Latham showed he was not going to get drawn across, denying Ashwin that lbw, Ashwin gave him the next test by moving over the wicket and successfully played on the outside edge.The drier the pitch, the more the natural variation. The more accurate you are, the more the chance for the natural variation to get you wickets. Thats why India and Sri Lanka spinners have done so well, and have become a mighty challenge for visiting teams. Throw in DRS-empowered umpires who are likely to support the bowlers, and you know how fingerspin has been revived in this post-doosra world. China Shoes Cheap . After Gasquet beat fifth-seeded Ivan Dodig of Croatia 7-5, 6-3, Tsonga followed up with a 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-2 win against sixth-seeded Edouard Roger-Vasselin in an all-French match. China Shoes Free Shipping . -- Vincent Lecavalier got everything but the desired result in his return to Tampa Bay. https://www.chinashoesshop.com/ . You can watch the game live on TSN at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. The Flyers had won seven of eight before dropping their last two outings on consecutive days over the weekend. Philadelphia was handed a 6-3 loss by the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon before dropping a 4-1 decision to the Rangers the following night in New York City. China Shoes Outlet . Bryant, who signed a five-year, $34 million contract as a free agent with Cleveland in March, reported symptoms on Monday morning, a team spokesman said. Cheap Shoes From China . After Martin Skrtel put the Reds in front from close range at Stamford Bridge after only four minutes, Hazard hit back in the 17th with a superb strike. Etoo gave Jose Mourinhos team a decisive lead from Oscars back pass in the 34th.ROME -- Serena Williams is on the longest winning streak of her career. And she feels better than ever at age 31. The top-ranked American rolled past Spanish opponent Carla Suarez Navarro 6-2, 6-0 Friday to reach the Italian Open semifinals and extend her victory run to 22 matches. Williams had twice won 21 in a row before, although both of those streaks came a decade ago, in 2002 and 2003. Martina Navratilova established the longest womens win streak in the Open Era at 74 matches in 1984. "Ive been pretty consistent, and pretty healthy -- knock on wood," Williams said. "I feel great -- never felt better." In the other half of the draw, two-time defending champion Maria Sharapova withdrew before her quarterfinal against seventh-seeded Sara Errani due to illness. In mens action, 36th-ranked Benoit Paire of France routed Marcel Granollers of Spain 6-1, 6-0 to reach his first Masters series semifinal. His next opponent will be either 17-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer or rising Polish player Jerzy Janowicz, who were playing in a night match. Showing off near-perfect form less than 10 days before the French Open, Williams has dropped just three games in her last two matches. Against the 22nd-ranked Suarez, the American hit winners seemingly at will. The 15-time Grand Slam winner has also won her previous three tournaments. Willliams will next face either two-time Rome winner Jelena Jankovic or Romanian qualifier Simona Halep, who were playing later on an overcast day at the Foro Italico.dddddddddddd Williams only title at this clay-court tournament came in 2002, when she beat Justine Henin in the final. That was also the year she won her only French Open title. Last year in Paris, Williams suffered her first ever opening-round loss in a major, falling to 111th-ranked Virginie Razzano of France. Sharapova said he was struggling with an illness she first contracted last week, when she was runner-up to Williams in the Madrid Open, although she showed no problems Thursday as she beat 16th-seeded Sloane Stephens 6-2, 6-1. "I was already a bit off in Madrid and played though it and it came back last night and I got sick again and its not smart to compete again," said Sharapova, adding that she had a fever after beating Stephens. "Obviously with the French Open coming up it is important to make smart decisions." The withdrawal means Errani advances to the semifinals. The Italians opponent will be either third-seeded Victoria Azarenka or ninth-seeded Sam Stosur. The last Italian to reach the semifinals in this tournament was Raffaella Reggi, who won the 1985 event, which was held in the southern city of Taranto. The French Open begins May 26. ' ' '