Gäste Forum » Matsuhashi, Mimura, Uchida, Lotoahea

Martin Guptill walked out to bat with a simple brief: take down the bowling while you still can. David Beckham Jersey . It might not appear radically different to how he has batted all series, but the conditions made such an approach necessary. New Zealand had finally won a toss on the tour and batting first was a no-brainer on a pitch that had very little bounce and would become slower.Up to this point, Guptills only contribution with the bat was a half-century in Indore after the Test series was decided. Here was a chance to make a difference while the series was still alive. But, he had to do it while the ball still came on to the bat; there was little scope for playing himself in and then launching into attack.And so, Guptill approached it as a glutton would an all-you-can-eat buffet near closing time. He was edgy at the crease and twice jumped out to Umesh Yadav in the first over, but eventually played out a maiden. He found his release in the next over, as he smacked Dhawal Kulkarni over the infield for a brace of boundaries. When Kulkarni pitched it short, he belted out a ferocious cut.The loft over the infield was his first-choice weapon, and the cut and flick his failsafe when the bowlers compensated with a short ball. He and Tom Latham put on 96 runs in 15.3 overs, creating a buffer for the fallow spell in the middle overs. Guptill said hitting over the top was central to his limited-overs batting in the last year and a half. I enjoy hitting the ball over the top when I can. So I just tried to make use of the ball when it was hard and I got away with it today.Unlike Guptill, his opposite number Ajinkya Rahane hasnt struggled for form. Rahane was the second-highest run-getter in the Test series, but then his place in the ODI side has never been a given. There was pressure on him coming into this game after he failed to convert starts in Dharamsala and Delhi before falling cheaply in Mohali. Rahane now had two shots at best to show why he deserved to keep his spot before Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul returned from injury.But, Rahanes ODI game is seen to be at odds with sluggish pitches like the one in Ranchi. At times over the past two years, MS Dhoni has expressed his belief that Rahane needs pace in the pitch to score, and that he struggles to rotate the strike on sluggish surfaces. This was then a crucial innings from the point of view of Rahane career - a big score would not only help India clinch the series but also prove he could wing his limited-overs game to succeed on slow surfaces.In a departure from the first three ODIs, Rahane took first strike. He played his usual go-to shots - the back-foot punch and the straight drive - but the real sign of intent came through a dandy upper cut off Trent Boult to hit the first six of the match. Rahane, however, didnt deviate from his natural game. There were gorgeous boundaries hit, but the familiar problems persisted. Often, Rahane, standing on middle and off stump, missed quite a few balls angling into his legs - he was eventually dismissed by one such delivery - thus missing run-scoring opportunities.With a dot-ball percentage of more than 50, it could be argued his strike-rotation was once again suspect. However, a measure of the difficulty in rotating strike on this pitch could be seen in the 22 dots played out by Virat Kohli off the 51 balls he faced. Even after Kohlis dismissal, Rahane consolidated things along with Dhoni before falling to a good delivery just when he was looking to attack. Dhoni, though, felt Rahane had done an adequate job.At that point in time I think partnerships were needed more than anything else, Dhoni said after the match. According to the requirement of the match, he was batting well. Thats how he bats and I dont think there was anything wrong.This wasnt too dissimilar to how Guptills innings shaped up. After racing to 43 off 34 balls at the end of the first Powerplay, he gritted out it till the 26th over to finish with 72 off 84. When the spinners were bowling, the ball hardly came on to the bat, but Guptill hung around, with a little bit of help from Amit Mishras fielding. Before this match, he hadnt lasted for more than 21 balls this series.While Guptill didnt look at the innings as a redemptive effort, its value wasnt lost on him. It wasnt as fluent as I would have liked, but Ill take 72 any day of the week, he said. Once the ball became a bit softer the scoring became a lot tougher and you had to grind it out a wee bit. I was happy to get through that little period.Both Rahane and Guptill set up strong bases for their respective sides - it will be fair to assume they have also earned themselves some breathing space - but it was only the latters team-mates that saw through the effort to its logical conclusion. Juan Mata Jersey .ca NFL Power Rankings, overtaking the Denver Broncos and remaining ahead of NFC competition San Francisco, Carolina and New Orleans. Nick Powell Jersey .Y. -- Canadas Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse have another World Cup gold medal after winning the two-women bobsled race on Saturday in Lake Placid, N. http://www.jerseymanchesterunitedsoccer....-united-jersey/ . Uniteds eighth defeat of a wretched campaign means Liverpool, which currently occupies the fourth and final Champions League place, could go nine points clear of its fierce rival by beating West Bromwich Albion on Sunday. Charlie Adam scored both of Stokes goals at Britannia Stadium either side of Robin van Persies equalizer, with a miserable day for seventh-place United capped by first-half injuries to centre halves Jonny Evans and Phil Jones that forced them off. Saturday, kick-off 14:30 Principality StadiumWales and Rob Howley will look to build on their 24-20 victory over Argentina last weekend when Japan visit Cardiff on Saturday.Wales winning record, eight wins and one defeat, doesnt appear to be under threat from a side that has struggled to find the form which saw them defeat South Africa at last years World Cup and narrowly miss out on qualification to the knock-out stages on bonus points.Despite their victory over the Pumas last week, Wales need to find that killer instinct. They allowed Argentina back into a game that should have been done before the final quarter. It is a much changed Welsh side, but with Gareth Abscombe finally given the keys to the halfback kingdom for the very first time, we could see Wales play without the burden of expectation and with a licence to thrill.Team newsWales have made 10 changes to the team that beat Argentina last weekend, but despite the reshuffle, it is a side that poses a massive attacking threat. Jamie Roberts is restored to a back-line that sees Liam Williams start at full-back and Leigh Halfpenny start on the wing for the first time since the 2011 World Cup. Warburton is given the captains armband while 18 year-old Keelan Giles should make his debut from the replacements bench.Japan have made four changes to the team that beat Georgia last week, with wingers Akihito Yamada and Kenki Rukuoka been giving starting roles. The other changes sees prop Kensuke Hatakeyama and lock Samuela Anise come into the starting fifteen.Wales: Liam Williams, Halfpenny, J Davies, Roberts, Cuthbert, Anscombe, Lloyd Williams; Smith, Baldwin, Lee, Hill, Jones, Lydiate, Warburton, King. Replacements: Dacey, Gill, Andrews, Ball, Moriarty, G Davies, S Davies, Giles.Japan: Matsushima, Yamada, Lafaele, Tatekawa, Fukuoka, Tamura, Tanaka; Nakatani, Horie, Hatakeyama, Kajikawa, Anise, Ilaua, Nunomaki, Mafi. Replacemments: Hino, Yamamoto, Ito, Helu, Matsuhashi, Mimura, Uchida, Lotoahea. Henrikh Mkhitaryan Jersey. .Key head-to-headIf Japan have any chance of an upset, the boot of Yu Tamura will be vital in keeping the scoreboard ticking over. He tagged on two penalties last week but the one conversion from four tries against Georgia will not be good enough. For Wales, it is a trip into the unknown as Gareth Anscombe takes his first start at fly-half. There is no doubting his ability but whether he can stamp a real claim on the fly-half position is a different story.Key stats* The countries have met on nine occasions. Wales lead the series 8-1.* Wales record win against Japan was a 98-0 success in Cardiff 12 years ago, while Japans sole victory came in the 2013 summer tour, in a 23-8 win in Tokyo.* Wales have scored a total of 289 points during four previous Test match encounters at home against Japan.* Japans victory over Georgia in Tbilisi last weekend was their first win since Jamie Joseph took over as head coach.WeatherThe weather in Cardiff is never an issue with the roof at the Principality but it will be dry and cloudy for the game.VerdictWales have far too much firepower in their back-line and if they get an early score, will go on to record a comprehensive victory. The tries will come but nothing less than a demolition against Japan will do. Keenan Giles should be unleashed and his performance will also answer questions on whether hes ready for the international Test arena. With Liam Williams at full-back, any aimless kicking from Japan is going to be punished. Wales have stuttered so far in the autumn series and this provides them with a perfect opportunity to answer critics and lay down a marker ahead of the visit of South Africa next week. Expect them to win by 30. ' ' '