Nagpur, December 2015. In a match that will be remembered for the havoc the spinners caused, South Africas fast bowlers were hurting India with reverse swing. Morne Morkel had swung one in to bowl Ajinkya Rahane, and swung one away to nick off Virat Kohli.At 116 for 5, in walked Wriddhiman Saha. He got off the mark on the fourth ball he faced, edging Morkel wide of gully. Then Kagiso Rabada, playing only his third Test match, replaced Morkel and showed his precocious gifts included an ability to manipulate the old-ball. He curled three balls away from Saha, all on a good length, and beat him three times in a row. Sahas bat was swishing at the ball, its angle far from perpendicular, and his front foot, skating rather than stepping forward, was catching up after the ball had passed.Saha would be beaten repeatedly by Rabada that afternoon, but at the end of it, aided partially by the fortune of missing rather than edging all those balls, he would become the only Indian batsman to play an innings lasting over 100 balls in the match. It wasnt news to anyone that Saha could fight for his runs. He had done it many times before, whether it was at the same ground on a Test debut made in strange circumstances five years previously, or in Adelaide, Sydney, Galle or Colombo. But there had always seemed something homespun, something not wholly secure about his technique.He seemed to have, all at once, a short front-foot stride, a tendency to try and compensate by reaching for the ball, a dominant bottom hand that caused his bat to trace unusual arcs while driving, and a tendency to play across his front pad. And here he was, playing another innings of grit and smarts making up for an iffy technique. He was playing for a team that was beginning to play five specialist bowlers at every opportunity, as the wicketkeeper-batsman bridging a short top-order and a long lower-order. His wicketkeeping was often a joy to watch, but was his batting good enough to hold down a long-term place in a side packed with bowlers?On Monday afternoon Saha walked in with India 126 for 5 and R Ashwin at the other end. At the start of the series, Ashwin had been promoted to No. 6, one place above Saha in the batting order. It was a statement of confidence in Ashwins batting, but it could also be read as a statement of mistrust in Sahas.None of that really mattered now. India were desperate for a partnership. Their scoring rate had dwindled considerably, but there was no quick-fix. Saha, at any rate, wasnt looking for one. He got off the mark on the fifth ball he faced, and waited until his 33rd ball to score his next runs. In that early phase of his innings, Jason Holder - against whom he scored no runs off 22 balls - did not bowl outside off stump as he has mostly done through this series but on and around it, his line a constant but his length never predictable, making Saha play as much as possible.There was one iffy leave that could have resulted in a wicket another day - the ball came in to hit his front pad, and ball-tracking suggested it may have hit off stump - but Saha was otherwise secure, the most impressive feature of his play the lateness - and closeness to his body - of his defensive play, particularly against the odd ball that jumped at him.Early on the second day, Saha produced a superlative example of this against Shannon Gabriel. The ball reared uncomfortably at him, but he seemed to have a little extra moment to adjust, get on top of the bounce and drop his bottom hand upon impact. It rolled away harmlessly into the leg side.By now, he had gone past fifty, and was in tune with the pace - slower than day one - and bounce, still generous, of the pitch. By now, he was in the third distinct phase of his innings.The first two phases had come on the first afternoon, fetching him 12 runs in his first 71 balls and 34 off his next 51, a bulk of them against the second new ball. His last two scoring shots before stumps had been boundaries, a flick and a straight drive off successive Holder deliveries. Now, at the start of day two, Saha was retrenching; he scored only 10 runs off the first 42 balls of the day, and India only 21 in their first 13 overs. West Indies, as they had done ever since the second Test at Sabina Park, were bowling with control, with discipline.They had an ally in the slowest outfield in a series of slow outfields. Ashwin, who had scored 48.79% of his Test runs in boundaries before this match, had only hit four fours in 227 balls. He was batting on 83, and Saha on 56. At that point came the first drinks break of the day, and perhaps India decided then that Saha would shift gears.Off only the second ball he faced after drinks, Saha steered a wide, full ball from Alzarri Joseph, a ball he may have left alone before the break, to the point boundary. A couple of overs later, he slog-swept Roston Chase over midwicket. Chase had bowled - and been allowed to bowl, by Indias situation - with no one on the square boundary on the leg side for most of his 24 overs till that point. The partnership had taken India out of trouble and perhaps to parity, and this shot seemed to signal a shift in the balance of play.Saha has made a number of attacking hundreds in the Ranji Trophy, but he hadnt, before this, had any real opportunity to showcase his range of shots in Test cricket. Now he had his chance. He became willing to whip balls off the stumps and into the leg side, even if it meant meeting them with a closed bat-face. One such whip, off Miguel Cummins, went over the fielder at square leg and ran away for four. Then came a pull, and a couple of drives through the off side, one along the ground, squarer off Gabriel, and the other in the air, straighter off Kraigg Brathwaites offspin.As Ashwin inched towards his hundred at the other end, Saha threatened to overtake him. At lunch, they were batting on 99 and 93 respectively.Ashwin got to the mark first, doing so for the fourth time in his career. Then it was Sahas turn, and this was his first time. He drove Chase against the turn, ran two, and paused, kneeling by the pitch, to undo his helmet strap, before rising to take it all in. He was 31 years and 291 days old, playing the 14th Test match of a six-and-a-half-year career mostly spent as an understudy to a wicketkeeping great. He was here now, this was his moment. Soccer Jerseys Outlet . In what the team had called a retirement, Ryan said Thursday that he is resigning as chief executive of the Rangers in a move effective at the end of this month. Clearance Soccer Jerseys . The Masters champion and winner of last weeks Australian PGA has a three-round total of 14-under 199 at Royal Melbourne. "Im in a really good position for tomorrow," Scott said. https://www.soccerjerseyschina.us/ . The Clippers were angry about blowing a big lead; the Kings didnt like being in that kind of hole and nearly digging themselves out only to lose. Stitched Soccer Jerseys . The home side created most of the chances but struggled to break down Braunschweigs resilient defence, resulting in the Bundesligas 1,000th scoreless draw. Wholesale Soccer Jerseys China . -- There were so many positives from the Orlando Magics first victory of the season that it was hard for coach Jacque Vaughn to stop praising his players. MINNEAPOLIS -- Kennys Vargas, Max Kepler and Miguel Sano hit home runs, Tommy Milone beat his old team and the Minnesota Twins topped the Oakland Athletics 11-4 in a game that ended early Wednesday morning after a severe thunderstorm delayed the start by 2 hours and 42 minutes.Marcus Semien hit his 18th home run in the second, but that was all the As managed against Milone (1-2). Winning for the first time in eight starts since Sept. 28, Milone finished the sixth inning for only the second time this season. He allowed five hits and one walk to the team that traded him to the Twins two summers ago.Milone averaged 4 1/2 innings over his first six starts this year. With top prospect Jose Berrios on a tear for Triple-A Rochester, the left-hander was likely pitching to keep his spot in the rotation.Danny Valencia hit a three-run homer in the eighth to bring the As within 7-4, but Sano hit his three-run shot in the bottom of the inning to seal it and help the Twins (28-55) move ahead of Atlanta (28-56) in the race for the worst record in the major leagues.Vargas, recalled Monday from Triple-A Rochester, went deep for the first time since June 22, 2015, with a two-run, two-out home run in the fifth against Sean Manaea (3-5). Then Kepler homered on the next pitch.After a meager four-hit performance Monday, the Twins brought their bats to life. Kurt Suzuki, another former As player, had two RBI. Byron Buxton had two doubles, driving in one.The dark clouds rolled in early enough to cancel batting practice, but with both teams scheduled to travel Wednesday evening (Minnesota to Texas and Oakland to Houston) the preference on both sides was to avoid a doubleheader. So they waited out the heavy rain, swirling wind and thunder and lightning, and the tarp was pulled off the infield at 9:17 pp.ddddddddddddm. local time. The game started at 9:52 p.m. and ended at 1 a.m.Paid attendance was announced at 16,938, the smallest crowd in Target Fields seven seasons. The upper decks were completely empty and the actual number of people in the seats at first pitch couldnt have been much more than 1,000. The Twins granted fans ticket exchanges for a future game because of the long delay.ALL-STAR SELECTIONSOakland catcher Stephen Vogt was selected for his second All-Star Game. He had the night off.Minnesota shortstop Eduardo Nunez was picked for his first All-Star Game. He went 2 for 5 with a double and an RBI.TRAINERS ROOMOakland reserve catcher Josh Phegley, placed Sunday on the DL, had minor surgery in San Francisco to remove a cruciate ligament cyst on the inside of his right knee that was causing swelling and inflammation. Hell be reassessed in 10 days. Matt McBride has taken over as the backup.Buxton was back in the Minnesota lineup after two days off to rest bumps and bruises. He crashed hard into the wall in left-center making a catch in the game Friday. In the seventh inning, Buxton made a sprinting grab of Jake Smolinskis smashed line drive and collided with the fence around the same spot.UP NEXTOakland RHP Sonny Gray (3-7, 5.42 ERA) will pitch Wednesday against Minnesota RHP Ervin Santana (2-7, 4.50 ERA) in the series finale.Gray is 0-2 with a 4.42 ERA in six starts since coming off the DL due to a trapezius muscle strain between his shoulder and neck. Santana gave up only three hits in his last start, going 6 2/3 innings in a defeat by Texas. That was his lowest hits total since opening day, when a rain delay limited him to two innings. ' ' '