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Somewhere between taking off from Visakhapatnam and touching down in Mohali, England would have run into a dear old friend.Winter.Its set quite nicely in the north and although the temperatures would not dip as low as they do at home for them, Alastair Cook and his men would know they have one less thing to fight against in India. The heat.They are also likely to notice a drop in the crowd. The PCA IS Bindra Stadium had hummed to Virat Kohli the last time he was here - an ODI against New Zealand - and could not believe what he was doing to Australia the time before that - at the World T20. There is hope that they would be just as interested in watching him perform as Indias Test captain, but it is not the strongest.There are other potential pick-me-ups for England, assuming they have looked at the data.M Vijay averages 43 when in the first Test of a series but it dips to 25.50 by the time the fourth arrives. Cheteshwar Pujara has a similar downward trend - 70.55 slips to 36.50. They have played only one five-match series before - against England in 2014 - and the sample is too small to indicate a trend. For the record though, Vijay averages 10 and Pujara 7.50 in the fifth Test of a series.Both men scored near-flawless hundreds in Rajkot. But in the first innings in Visakhapatnam, Vijay was bounced out in the fifth over. The surprise that had been in Englands eyes for the longest time had barged into his own as the new ball leapt up to take the glove and loop over to gully.A delivery at his throat would not be the first thing on a batsmans mind when the game is barely into its first half hour. Further still if the bowler was James Anderson, a man known to take his wickets with swing, seam and guile. But Vijay just wasnt ready for the ball that bested him even though it had pitched halfway down the pitch. While its line - right on off stump - was perfect, there is an argument that had Vijay been more alert to the length he might have dropped his wrists and swayed away. Instead, he tried to defend and the ball thudded into his top which was up around head height.This could well be reading too much into a batsman undone by a good un before he could get set and Vijay has had his share of them in the recent past against New Zealand - two in the Kolkata Test and a rip-roaring catch at short leg in Indore - along with incidents like the second innings at Holkar Stadium where he did not put in a dive to prevent himself getting run-out. A player of his caliber - the gift of timing, endless reserves of patience and shots all around the park - should have had a much better series by now. Culling out the minor carelessness in his game may well be the key.Pujara is a tad less easy to categorise as lax. He is, however, a nervous starter, especially against deliveries moving into him and it was Anderson again who exploited this weakness with a superb display of reverse swing in the second innings in Visakhapatnam. Twenty-six of his 62 dismissals are either bowled or lbw. Oppositions tend to take note of that and if conditions are such that there may be swing in the air - like in Mohali on a wintry morning - Pujara will have his work cut out. He probably would not have it any other way. Vijay too. Theyve beaten tough odds before.India do not often play lengthy Test series. Touring South Africa in 2013, their bowlers could not handle back-to-back Tests. The first they drew. The second and final they lost. In 2016, though, they outpaced West Indies quite handsomely over four matches. Well three, considering the rain and outfield in Trinidad. They held New Zealand off superbly at home and are living up to the standards they have set for themselves.Kohli is at the centre of this revolution. He thrives on any kind of pressure, whether it is making sure he scores because there are only five batsmen in the side or showing that pitches dont matter when you have intent or keeping his performances up. The Indian captain averages 51, 44, 50 and 56 in the first, second, third and fourth Tests of a series. He is the one England are most worried about so he is the one his team-mates will do well to follow.Ray Nitschke Jersey . -- Bobby Ryan helped the U. Marcedes Lewis Jersey . P.A. Parenteau scored early in the third period to help the Avs edge Toronto 2-1 on Tuesday night. Cory Sarich also scored for Colorado (3-0-0), which is off to its best ever start. http://www.wholesalepackersjerseys.com/?tag=youth-danny-vitale-jersey . 10 VCU 85-67 on Thursday night at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. The Seminoles (4-0) have scored at least 80 points in each of their games. Teo Redding Jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Jawill Davis Jersey . Third-seeded Murray had the easiest path to victory on New Years Eve, barely breaking a sweat during his 6-0, 6-0 win over 2,129th-ranked Qatari wildcard recipient Mousa Shanan Zayed.TROON, Scotland -- Rory McIlroy felt the wrath of the Postage Stamp.Strange, too, since this par-3 hole is more in line with what youd expect at the local muni, at least from a distance standpoint.If you get greedy at all there ..., said Kevin Na, his voice fading off.Enough said.The most famous hole at Royal Troon is one of the shortest youll find at any major championship. A mere 123 yards at its maximum, roughly the length of an American football field with the end zones included.But, ohhh, this tiny little patch of Scottish coastline, somehow crammed in between a gully and clinging to a sandhill at the far edge of the course hosting this weeks British Open, is a treacherous place indeed.Just ask McIlroy, who lofted a tee shot that drifted to the right during a practice round Tuesday.The ball skidded into a pin-high bunker, one of five penal pits strategically placed around the long but diabolically narrow green.McIlroy surveyed what he had done, and attempted to play out.Six swings later, he was finally on the green, having knocked three shots off the stacks of sod that line the pot bunker, two more that actually cleared the lip but rolled back into the sand.Had he actually been keeping score for real, it wouldve have been a 9.That didnt go too well, McIlroy said. There is a lot of sand in the bunker. So when the ball just trickles in back into the bunkers, it doesnt go into the middle. It sort of stays. Obviously that lip there is basically vertical, so it sort of just stayed there. And every time I tried to get it out, it would go back into the same spot.He can only hope that doesnt happen when the shots start counting for real on Thursday.Its one of those holes where you just try to hit it in the middle of the green, McIlroy said. Even though its only 115, 120 yards, you just have to not be that aggressive. Try to hit it in the middle. Hitting it into the middle of the green is a good shot, and then take two putts.While McIlroys struggles were a bit of an anomaly, European Tour up-and-comer Andrew Johnston endured what is likely to be a more common chain of events during the Open.Late in the afternoon, after the sun broke through the clouds for the first time in days and the nearby Irish Sea glistened in the glow, Johnston struck a tee shot that was right on the flag, careering into the green about 6 feet short of the cup.Then, the ball spun back off the ledge that serves as another line of defense, nnot stopping until it had dropped into the front bunker.ddddddddddddUnlike McIlroy, Johnson got it out with one swing, the ball stopping about 12 feet past the flag. But the treacherous downhill putt came up short, leaving him with a bogey if he was actually keep score.Even for the best players in the world, par is an acceptable score.If you make four 3s there this week, McIlroy said, youre probably going to gain a bit of ground on the field.The hole got its name when two-time Open champion Willie Park Jr., writing in Golf Illustrated sometime after the turn of the last century, described it as a pitching surface skimmed down to the size of a postage stamp.The name stuck, and it couldnt be more appropriate.Its a special hole the way that the short par 3s of this world are special, said Colin Montgomerie, no doubt referring to others such as the 155-yard 12th at Augusta National.Theres never been a decent par 3 over 200 yards, in my opinion, built. (At) 123 yards, the expectation raises dramatically into, you are on that tee and you are a professional golfer, its your job and youre expected to hit this green at 123 yards. You could throw it on, really. I wish I could. And thats why its difficult.When the pin is at the back of the green, the Postage Stamp is especially challenging.You have to hit a shot where you know you are going to come up short, or just play to a certain spot, rather than whacking one up there and hoping for the best, Matthew Southgate said. Its one of them where you have to be precise. Ive got my mind on picking a small target and forget where you are, hit a good yardage and dodge the bunkers.On a calm day, it can be easy pickings for the pros.Of course, this being Scotland, the wind is usually blowing.Thats when the misery really begins.Anyone who wants to see potential train wrecks, if its blowing hard into it off the left, that would be the place to sit, Henrik Stenson said. On the scorecard, it doesnt look much, but when the wind is blowing and youve got to be precise with a 7-, 8-, 9-iron, something like that, into the wind there, its quite tricky.Thats what makes a marvelous hole.The Postage Stamp certainly delivers.---Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/paul-newberry .Cheap Jerseys China NFL Jerseys[ a marvelous hole.The Postage Stamp ceolesale Baseball Jerseys ' ' '