mpetitive upper hand is to put on a better race than its competition. Santa Anita wouldnt think twice if it were able to poach a horse from the Foster, and Belmont wouldnt shed a tear if it did the same to the Gold Cup.However, the absence of a tangible incentive for tracks to fashion more cooperative

India 239 for 7 (Pujara 87, Rahane 77, Henry 3-35) v New ZealandScorecard and ball-by-ball detailsSince 2015-16, most of Indias Tests at home have been played on pitches that were prone to turn in the first hour. Kanpur wasnt as extreme, but there was nothing there for the fast bowlers. New Zealand would have arrived in Kolkata expecting more of the same. The grass on the pitch could well have been arranged to spell surprise. Kane Williamson was stuck in the dressing room with a fever, but his men gave him a get well card that read Skipper, we applied pressure for longer as they reduced India to 239 for 7.Matt Henry helped them forget they had lost another toss. He courted the outside edge and Eden Gardens was only too willing a wingman. The entire square had been dug up and relaid for the new season and bowling back of a length posed a serious challenge to the batsman because of inconsistent bounce. Henry bowled Shikhar Dhawan in his first over of the match and then dismissed the in-form M Vijay with a beauty. Trent Boult set a trap for Virat Kohli and sprung it before the batsman could reach double-digits.India needed someone capable of playing time. They lost three wickets in the morning session, but with the sun beating down, conditions would change. If a batsman could last the early stages, he could really cash in. Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane did for nearly 50 overs, each setting himself up for a century. But New Zealand didnt let them get to the landmark. In the final session of play, Neil Wagner had Pujara caught at short cover for 87 and Jeetan Patel deceived Rahane with pace to trap him lbw for 77.Part of New Zealands success was down to their ability to keep the runs down. Even when they couldnt pick up any wickets in the second session, they allowed India only 79 runs in 31 overs. By doing so, they were able to make sure India couldnt bat them out of the Test as they had done in the second innings in Kanpur. Ross Taylors captaincy and field placements were important in that regard. He had catching men on the drive and the flick, knowing the pitch was offering extra bounce. His bowlers were either wide outside off stump, testing the batsmens patience, or at the stumps, knowing they had protection on the leg side, where India could secure only 12 boundaries. These were either scored off overpitched deliveries - Pujaras flicks early in his innings - or really good shots - Rahanes flick in the 61st over after getting on top of a Santner delivery turning away from him.Indias run-rate struggled to get over three, but they had two batsmen who could lay the foundation for a big first innings. The thing was, when they made the mistake, New Zealand pounced on it. Pujara drove on the up, was caught by Martin Guptill, on his birthday, and a 141-run partnership was broken. Rahane was trapped by a quicker ball from Jeetan Patel after he had forced the batsman back into his crease. The 36-year old offspinner had long abandoned hopes of playing international cricket again. He was chosen ahead of Ish Sodhi despite having only a day and a bit to acclimatise. But his control of line and ability to drift the ball made him dangerous.Only four batsmen reached double-figures for India. Dhawans comeback was limited to 10 balls, Henry making him drag a cut onto his stumps. The 24-year old fast bowler repeatedly beat the right-handers outside edge by straightening the ball off the seam and eventually dismissed Vijay by going a bit wider of the crease, although that may just have been a quirk of fortune because Henry had just been warned for running onto the danger area by umpire Rod Tucker.Kohli had come out had come out seeming determined not to let the bowling get the better of him. He had made a point to prepare for the ball bouncing awkwardly and was quite circumspect when Wagner banged it in. He was 5 off 24 balls when, from the other end, Boult presented a full, but not quite overpitched, delivery. It was hit through the covers for four. The width on offer had triggered the run-scoring instincts in Kohli. In trying to repeat the stroke, to a ball even wider outside off stump, a ball that he probably could have left, he nicked to gully where Tom Latham took a super catch over his head.Henry finished the day on a high for New Zealand with the second new ball, pinning R Ashwin lbw in the 84th over, although replays indicated it may have slid down leg. They would know, though, that Indias bowlers are capable of being as disciplined as they were and they have to win without their best batsman to stay alive in the series. nike vapormax plus greece . Paul Pierce couldnt believe he missed at the end. 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Supported by three-run homers from Jayson Werth and Wilson Ramos, the young right-hander went seven strong innings in the Washington Nationals 8-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night. nike vapormax plus γυναικεια . -- If Henry Burris has his way, he will be the starting quarterback to lead the Hamilton Tiger-Cats back to the Grey Cup next year. One of the biggest events, if not the biggest race, on Saturdays strong Stars & Stripes Festival card at Belmont Park is the Belmont Derby for 3-year-old males on the turf. And one of Saturdays four stakes at Arlington Park is the American Derby, also for 3-year-old males, and also on the turf.The American Derby has a purse one-tenth the size of the $1.25 million purse of the Belmont Derby and, at 1-1/8 miles, the American Derby is one furlong shorter than the Belmont Derby. The American Derby is also something of a means to an end. It is the local springboard to next months Secretariat Stakes. The Belmont Derby, with its outsized purse, is an end. The American and Belmont Derbies are not exactly mirror images of each other. But there are still compelling similarities between the two races.And thats the point. The Belmont Derby and American Derby are two turf stakes for 3-year-olds going long on the turf run on the same day. And yet, the Belmont Derby drew a field of 13, and the American Derby drew a field of 11. Even after you separate the wheat from the chaff, thats a lot of numbers. Who knew there were so many 3-year-old grass horses?Well, these 3-year-olds are still young, lightly raced, and full of hope. So clashing, competing stakes schedules -- not exactly a new matter -- are not quite the issue for this group that it is for other divisions which have been compromised to a greater extent by the contraction of the general pool of available race horses.Consider the older male division, and recent overlapping opportunities for this group.On June 18, the Grade 1, $500,000 Stephen Foster Handicap at 1-1/8 miles was run at Churchill Downs. The Foster drew a field of seven, and was won by Bradester. Bradester, a 6-year-old, is an admirable hard hitter, and on some level, it was nice to see his persistence finally rewarded with a score in a big spot. However, in 22 prior starts over four years, Bradester had never, ever been confused with a true Grade 1 performer.One week later, on June 25, the Grade 1, $500,000 Gold Cup at Santa Anita at 1-? miles was run. The Gold Cup attracted a field of eight, and it was won by Melatonin. Before his 5-year-old season this year, Melatonin had made only two starts in stakes races, and was unsuccessful in both. But the Gold Cup was his second major victory this year; he earlier won the prestigious Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap. Melatonins emergence is a welcome development regardless of tthe reason for it.dddddddddddd Still, its only natural to wonder if Melatonins ascendency is due more to a weakened division lacking quality depth than to considerable improvement on his part.One week later, on July 2, the Grade 3, $300,000 Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap at 1-1/8 miles was decided at Prairie Meadows. The 5-year-old Smack Smack, another one of those admirable campaigners who had previously finished third or better in 18 of 25 career starts, beat eight opponents in the Cornhusker for his first career graded stakes win. Despite having plenty of opportunity during a very active career, Smack Smack had only taken his chance in three prior graded stakes races, and never finished better than fifth in those graded stakes attempts.On Saturday, one week after the Cornhusker, two weeks after the Gold Cup at Santa Anita, and three weeks after the Foster, which represents a fast turnaround for race horses these days, one of the undercard stakes at Belmont is the Grade 2, $300,000 Suburban Handicap at 1-1/4 miles for, you guessed it, older males. The Suburban drew a field of eight, but the only previous front line race winners in it are Noble Bird, and Effinex, one of two in the Suburban making that fast turnaround from the Foster.Look, I understand racetracks are in competition with each other, and realize that one way for a track to gain a competitive upper hand is to put on a better race than its competition. Santa Anita wouldnt think twice if it were able to poach a horse from the Foster, and Belmont wouldnt shed a tear if it did the same to the Gold Cup.However, the absence of a tangible incentive for tracks to fashion more cooperative -- hey, lets make that read logical -- stakes schedules paves the way for an unappealing diet of diluted stakes events that frankly dont do the sport much good.I mean, look at the four stakes I referenced above. They all drew from the same pool of talent -- older males going nine to 10 furlongs on dirt -- and that pool is shallow this year. But even in years when there is a bit more depth to the older male division, its difficult to see the sense of four so similar stakes races run in a three week window. Not when you could have done a mash up between the Foster, Gold Cup, Cornhusker, and Suburban, and wound up with two very nice, much better races. ' ' '