w tactic for M Vijay - a couple of pleasing cover drives by the batsman led not just to the placement of a deep point but also t

Following the ballKane Williamson followed the ball for the first few overs. Wherever the ball went, fielders followed. Gautam Gambhir hit one square cut for four and that was enough for Matt Henry to place a fielder manning the point boundary. The ball that went to the fence was short and wide but, instead of altering the length, New Zealand placed a fielder for a bad ball. Trent Boult also employed an interesting new tactic for M Vijay - a couple of pleasing cover drives by the batsman led not just to the placement of a deep point but also to the bowler varying angles by changing between over and around the wicket a few times in his first three overs. This is the first time in the series that New Zealand have changed their plans so swiftly in a such a short time span.Gambhirs new stanceGambhir has changed his stance to prevent his front foot from going too far across, opening up his stance from the feet to the shoulders. This new stance has opened up the on side for him, both off the front foot and back foot. It has also allowed him to play the short ball well on both sides of the pitch. Gambhirs comfort against short balls was evident right from the start of his innings. The only flip side to such a stance, as highlighted by Gambhirs wagon-wheel, is that it limits the batsman from playing the full ball through covers and mid-off. Bafflingly, New Zealands fast bowlers did not bowl full enough to Gambhir on a consistent basis.Data sets the fieldIn years gone by, it was considered preposterous not to have a fielder at deep square leg or deep midwicket. But, in todays era, tactics are driven by the available data. Cheteshwar Pujara neither sweeps, nor plays the slog sweep and, therefore, Jeetan Patel opted to leave that entire area in the deep unmanned. That not only allowed the bowler to cut off an easy single, but also challenged Pujara to go out of his comfort zone. Since Pujara often steps out to hit down the ground, the fielder at mid-on was pushed back. Kohlis demonstration of technique against spin...On the fourth ball of the 46th over, Mitchell Santner dropped short and Virat Kohli went back to half-flick, half-punch the ball to the midwicket fence. When a spinner drops short, a batsmans natural tendency is to go deep inside the crease and play a horizontal-bat shot through midwicket. Instead, Kohli played the shot with a straight bat, which is the right way to play spin off the back foot on subcontinental pitches. Other batsmen would do well to take a cue from this shot for the rest of the game....and against the bouncerKohlis handling of the short ball has been impeccable thus far. Ever since he got out to Neil Wagner in Kanpur, there has been a concerted effort from New Zealand to bowl a few bouncers to Kohli early on. Today, he looked in complete control, both when ducking under the ball and when playing the pull shot. It is not easy to leave a few bouncers and then pounce on one thats hittable. As a result, New Zealands seamers did not overdo the bouncer trap against Kohli.By contrast, it took some time for Ajinkya Rahane to find a workable strategy against the bouncers. He tried both pulling and riding the bounce in the initial stages of his innings but found himself in trouble on both occasions. Only when he decided to abandon all attempts to play the bouncer did his life become easier. He took a couple of blows on the body and looked more assured once his mind was uncluttered. Red Auerbach Jersey Large . LOUIS -- Roman Polak was celebrating even before Alexander Steen scored the winning goal in Saturdays 4-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Custom Paul Pierce Jersey .Y. - Free agent outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, fresh off winning the World Series with Boston, reached agreement with the rival New York Yankees on a seven-year contract worth about $153 million, a person familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday night. http://www.customcelticsjersey.com/custom-shaquille-oneal-jersey-large-327e.html . -- For the first time in two months, an opponent was standing up to Alabama. Larry Bird Jersey Large . -- Al Jefferson found a groove just in time for the Charlotte Bobcats. Walter Brown Jersey Large . -- The Missouri Tigers might not have a roster full of superstars. HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- If Elliott Sadler needs any additional motivation on Saturday as he vies for the Xfinity Series title, he can just think about his mother watching him race.Bell Sadler is attending the race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and that is no small feat.Having battled gallbladder and septic problems the past few months, Bell Sadler wanted to watch her son compete for the Xfinity title. With one of Sadlers best friends being her doctor, she got permission to come with doctor in tow to see her son battle Justin Allgaier, Daniel Suarez and Erik Jones for the championship.She has been [out of] the hospital for a couple weeks, Sadler said. Shes gotten her energy back up, her strength back up.?She was fired up this week. She wanted me to stay focused and make sure I had my head on straight when I came to Miami.She came by to visit me [Wednesday] night to send me off on my way before I came down. Shes back to her old ways.?She wants her son to be focused.This isnt the first time Sadlers mom has battled health issues. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007.Her mental toughness through breast cancer, being a survivor, going through what weve been through the last couple weeks, its pretty inspirational for me, Sadler said. I need to have that same type of mental toughness in the race car. Im definitely drawing strength from her.Sadlers mom also plaayed a pivotal role in helping him through the complications after the birth of his son, Wyatt, in 2010.dddddddddddd Wyatt spent 10 weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit after two surgeries in his first two weeks of his life for issues with his appendix and intestines.The worst thing in the world is being a dad, not knowing if your son is going to live or not, Sadler said. To watch him go through everything he did -- incubated, shots, IVs -- it was a tough time.I definitely leaned on my mom a lot during that time, just because she had been a parent; she understands what its like to see your kids go through tough times. I leaned on her a lot.That experience continues to fuel Sadler.To watch [Wyatt] fight for his life, not knowing if he was going to make it, just changed my whole perception, Sadler said. It just built a fire in me not to be a failure. I want him to look up to me. I really looked at it, if I can see my son fight for his life the way he did, I sure as hell can fight to be a driver, a race car driver, to be a champion.His power to want to live and to still be here with us has given me a lot of drive as a person and as a driver. Thats why I think I still eat, sleep, drink racing so much. Ive kind of fed off him. ' ' '