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Wednesday, December 29, 2010

2 nd test won by india vs South africa presentation

Laxman fighting 94 Innings agaist South Africa

India level series win 87-run win

India 205 and 228 beat South Africa 131 and 215 (Sreesanth 3-35, Zaheer 3-57) by 87 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
India emphasised that they are poor travellers no more by pulling off a series-levelling win in Durban, where they had suffered one of their worst Test defeats in 1996. The victory in Kingsmead, after a humiliating loss in the first Test in Centurion, joins the other famous successes over the past decade at some of the world's most fast-bowler friendly tracks - Headingley, Jamaica, Nottingham, Johannesburg and Perth.
Zaheer Khan picked up Mark Boucher's wicket, South Africa v India, 2nd Test, Durban, 4th day, December 29, 2010
The match was even at the start of the fourth day, but India's bowlers barely sent down a bad ball in the morning session to seize control of the Test. A Sreesanth snorter to Jacques Kallis started South Africa's slide, before two lbws - one a marginal decision and the other a howler - that are sure to refuel the UDRS debate, hurt them further. Ashwell Prince tried to resist but India plugged away to remove the tail an hour into the second session and set up a decider in Cape Town next week.

Full report to follow ...

South Africa 131 and 182 for 7 (Prince 27*, Harris 7*) need 121 runs to beat India 205 and 228

Zaheer Khan picked up two wickets in a session where India stayed incisive through out © AFP
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Matches: South Africa v India at Durban
Series/Tournaments: India tour of South Africa
Teams: India | South Africa
A defiant Ashwell Prince stood in the way of India's charge for their second Test win in South Africa. In front of a disappointingly thin crowd at Kingsmead, the venue where India suffered one of their worst-ever Test defeats in 1996, their bowlers rarely bowled a bad delivery on the fourth morning, to put their side in sight of victory. A Sreesanth snorter to Jacques Kallis started South Africa's slide, before two lbws - one a marginal decision and the other a howler - that are sure to refuel the UDRS debate, hurt them further. India are firmly in charge at lunch, but teams have fought back from seemingly hopeless situations before in this Test.

If the match has to-and-fro-ed over the week, so has Sreesanth's bowling form. The wayward, antic-loving Sreesanth was missing on the fourth morning, as he sent down an accurate spell of sustained hostility. The highlight was in the seventh over of the day - an utterly unplayable bouncer which reared up sharply and jagged in to Kallis, who had no way to avoid it, arched his back in an attempt to get out of the way, but could only glove it to gully. It was the snorter that was needed to remove the kingpin of South Africa's batting.

That wicket put India slightly ahead, and there was no doubt who were front-runners after AB de Villiers decided to not offer a shot to a Harbhajan Singh delivery from round the wicket. He was struck in front of middle and looked lbw and the umpire agreed, though Hawk-Eye suggested the ball would have bounced over the stumps.

Over a decade in international cricket, Mark Boucher has built his reputation as a scrapper, and with Prince also around, it wasn't yet lights out for South Africa. Boucher, though, made only one before he was given lbw to a delivery that was angling across him and going to comfortably miss off stump.

South Africa had lost three wickets, and there was still no boundary in the morning, a testament to the scarcity of bad deliveries. When the first four did come, from Dale Steyn, it was an edge to third man. Steyn had pinged Zaheer Khan on the helmet with a quick bouncer on Tuesday, and the Indian responded with a string of short balls to the South African spearhead. After three of those, Zaheer slipped in a fuller delivery, which Steyn duly nicked to slip.

At 155 for 7, with lunch still 45 minutes away, the game looked set for a quick finish. Prince and Paul Harris, however, resisted with some dour batting, in addition to a couple of confident boundaries from Prince. They batted out the 10 overs to the break, to leave South Africa 121 adrift of an improbable win.

Monday, December 20, 2010

Sachin 50th Test Century

Post Presentation 1st test southafrica

Tendulkar and Dhoni delay South Africa's win

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Sachin Tendulkar celebrated century No. 50 but India ended the day on the verge of defeat © Associated Press
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Analysis : India show fight at last
Features : Ishant's revenge and a lesson in patience
Analysis : South Africa's two moments of brilliance
Features : Tendulkar focussed amid the frenzy
Audio/Video: Extra object id | Harris: We expected a hard fight from India | Wessels: Dhoni's wicket was the key
Matches: South Africa v India at Centurion
Series/Tournaments: India tour of South Africa
Teams: India | South Africa
When strong winds and storm clouds forced the players off SuperSport Park late on the fourth day, South Africa were on the verge of winning a Test they had dominated entirely. That they hadn't won by an innings already, and would spend the night hoping the foul weather vanishes in time to take two wickets, was because Sachin Tendulkar scored his 50th Test century in trying circumstances and, with MS Dhoni, forged a counterattacking 172-run partnership that took India to within 30 runs of wiping out the monstrous 484-run deficit.

South Africa had taken such a significant stride towards victory by scalping four wickets during the first session that it seemed as though their 1-0 series lead would be secure before tea. However, they faced resistance: first from Tendulkar, whose concentration did not waver as his middle-order mates departed meekly, and then from Dhoni, whose belligerent approach brought rewards thanks to a sparsely-populated outfield. South Africa did not take a wicket between lunch and tea. India made 117.

Tendulkar and Dhoni continued to blunt a tiring attack during the final session and whittled the deficit below 100. It needed Dale Steyn - supremely fit, aggressive, and pumped up for one last burst - to bowl a bouncer that rose steeply and seamed towards Dhoni, dismissing him for 90 - an innings that began the fightback. Steyn screamed in angry celebration as Dhoni failed to sway out of the way and Mark Boucher dived to his right to catch the edge. India were 449 for 7 and the dream of saving the Test was over. Harbhajan Singh nicked to slip soon after and Tendulkar, watching unbeaten from the other end as Jacques Kallis roared uncharacteristically after taking the catch, knew that he would need substantial help from the weather to help India escape.

There was little hope of a jailbreak when Dhoni joined Tendulkar right after lunch with India on 277 for 6, trailing by 207. The desperateness of the situation allowed Dhoni to play aggressively and he did so, driving Lonwabo Tsotsobe past mid-off and through cover in the 79th over of the innings. Seeking a quick end, Smith gave the second new ball to Steyn and Morne Morkel, urging them to take the wicket that would expose India's tail. It did not happen. Tendulkar was calmness and good judgment personified, while Dhoni attacked, sometimes merely pushing the ball with enviable timing through the off side, sometimes lashing drives and cuts with a high back-lift and fierce follow-through. Both approaches yielded boundaries, and he began to catch up with Tendulkar.

Mokel leaked 13 in his second over with the new ball. Tendulkar cut him fiercely, and Dhoni pulled and drove through cover. There were a glut of boundaries in the first hour after lunch, three of which Dhoni took off consecutive deliveries from Kallis, leaving the bowler muttering to himself at the end of the over.

Paul Harris got the odd ball to jump, turn and trouble Tendulkar, but he was largely ineffective, considering he was operating on a fourth-day surface. As the deficit decreased, Dhoni tempered his aggression while Tendulkar continued batting resolutely, his cutting and driving off the back foot being the standout features of his innings.

Tendulkar resumed after tea on 80, his fluency uninterrupted, and flicked and steered Morkel for boundaries to accelerate towards his milestone. South Africa attempted to delay the century by deploying boundary-riders. Out of the blue, Tendulkar charged Harris, lofting cleanly over mid-off to steam into the nineties. He played the paddle sweep, mis-timed another charge against Harris, and was nearly involved in a disastrous mix-up with Dhoni, before punching Steyn through cover point to become the only batsman with 50 Test centuries.

At Old Trafford in 1990, Tendulkar's first Test hundred was made in adversity and it helped India avoid defeat. His 50th, like his first and so many others, was also an attempt at saving the match. His celebrations were not extravagant because India were still struggling.

As the light grew dimmer and the clouds darker, South Africa needed inspiration to end India's resistance and Steyn provided it. During the spell in which he dismissed Dhoni, Steyn hit speeds of 145kph, smacking Tendulkar on the gloves and thudding a bouncer into his shoulder. He raised South Africa's intensity levels single-handedly.

Before India began to fight, however, they had lost four wickets in quick time, the last of which was Suresh Raina, brittle as ever, hanging his bat outside off stump in the final over before lunch to edge Kallis to slip. His dismissal was the perfect end to the session for South Africa, who had performed with patience. Dravid and the nightwatchman Ishant Sharma had played carefully and their partnership lasted 48 minutes, holding up South Africa. The frustration didn't last much longer, however, as Steyn had Ishant caught at short leg.

During his composed innings, Dravid went past 12,000 Test runs but India needed much more from him than 43. Morkel accounted for him with one that was angled in and then seamed away, and grazed the outside edge of Dravid's tentative push. Laxman wasn't comfortable against pace, either, and eventually edged a full ball to gully, giving Tsotsobe his first wicket of the match. At that point, few would have expected South Africa to face the difficulty they did.

George Binoy is an assistant editor at Cricinf

Sunday, December 19, 2010

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Tendulkar focussed amid the frenzy

He was in a foreign land. At least a land that has stayed the most foreign to India even after their resurgence away from home. They started chanting "Sachin, Sachin" from the time he guided one past short third man to move to 88. There were whites, there were blacks, there were browns at the grass banks of SuperSport Park, and all they wanted was for Sachin Tendulkar's 50th Test hundred to come in front of them.
Sachin Tendulkar became the first player to score 50 Test centuries but South Africa were on the brink of victory at the end of the fourth day in Centurion
It was difficult to not let that affect you, but Tendulkar was in a different sphere. He was trying to save a game, trying to kill time, trying to run through the deficit. He took his time to get to 89, and South Africa tried to cut out boundary-scoring areas. A forward short leg came in, Morne Morkel bowled bouncers - around the helmet area, and into the ribs. Tendulkar kept ducking, the lower ones he kept keeping out; if he was nervous, he wasn't showing it. Against Paul Harris, who has somehow managed to be India's nemesis, he hit a straight six to send the crowd into frenzy again.

The chants started again. When at 97, he faced another flurry of bouncers. One of them went for five wides. Ten deliveries he spent on 97. Then came Dale Steyn. He got an inside-edge past midwicket to move to 99. Then he squirted one between cover and extra cover, celebrating as he ran the 100th run. Not extravagantly. The helmet came off, the back arched a bit, and he looked up to the skies.

Tendulkar later spoke of the moment when he reached the milestone. "The first thing obviously I thought of was my father because I wanted to do it for him," he said. "Yesterday was his birthday, and I would like to dedicate this to him."

Tendulkar didn't know what to make of the landmark. Perhaps the match situation - India are on the verge of a defeat despite his and MS Dhoni's effort - had something to do with it. Perhaps it is taking time to sink in. "I don't know. I am okay. It's just another number for me. It's nice. Obviously I can't say I am not happy, I am happy. But I don't know how to express this. It's good that it has come. Hopefully it doesn't stop, it continues."

Tendulkar remembered his first Test that was played against an attack that comprised three greats. He was quick to remind the reporters of Abdul Qadir's presence too, to go with Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Imran Khan. "It was challenging," he said. "I thoroughly enjoyed it. I learned a lot on that tour and whenever I have played them. It's been a fantastic contest."

Twitter reaction
Sanjay Manjrekar: "He has got it finally! and judging from his reaction..meant a lot to him...the 50th test ton..this is one record that is there to stay."
Harsha Bhogle: "All great players redefine their profession.50 Test hundreds was considered unthinkable. Sachin has done it."
Yuvraj Singh: "Greatest achievement by a bats man ever! His name is sachinnnnnnn tendulkarrrrrrrrrr!! Wooohooooooooo."
Iain O'Brien: "Congrats you little massive legend!"
Tendulkar has had a bumper 2010, this being his seventh Test century to go with the only double-century in the history of ODIs. Of his remarkable form, he said: "Just been batting and enjoying. Sometime you are striking the ball really well and that is when you need to cash in as much as possible. I only try to do that. I felt that the last couple of years I have been moving well. Also the frame of mind. It's a habit, and once you build that habit, it's a good habit to carry on tours and back home in India as well."

Tendulkar also reiterated that records have just happened to come his way while he has been doing what he loves the most. "I am playing for the love of it," he said. "If I was chasing records, I wouldn't have missed those one-day matches in between. I have had to pace myself. I thought I was not in top physical condition, and I needed some break and requested the board for the rest so I stay fresh. If I were chasing records, I wouldn't have done that. Its about producing quality cricket, and that's what I want to do."

Sidharth Monga is an assistant editor at Cricinfo

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Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Ganguly, Dravid shown the door, Kohli stays on

Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh and Gautam Gambhir are among the big names released by their IPL franchises, along with Brendon McCullum, Chris Gayle and Andrew Symonds, while Virat Kohli is the surprise retention for his team for the next three seasons. Wednesday was the deadline for the franchises to name the players they would retain from their current squads and while there is no common thread running through the choices of players retained and released, the key factors seem to be form, brand appeal and age.

Kolkata Knight Riders, Deccan Chargers and Kings XI Punjab have decided not to retain any of their players, while all the other IPL franchises have held back at least one current player. Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians, the 2010 finalists, have retained the maximum of four players each, in the process parting with half of the $9 million salary cap available to teams.

According to the auction rules for IPL 4, teams can retain up to four players, only three of whom can be Indians. The retained players - who must have been part of the franchise's registered squads for the 2010 season - will be valued at $1.8 million for the first player, $1.3 million for the second, $900,000 for the third and $500,000 for the fourth.

Mumbai, as expected, held on to Sachin Tendulkar, the highest run-scorer of the 2010 season, offspinner Harbhajan Singh, West Indies allrounder Kieron Pollard and Sri Lanka seamer Lasith Malinga. Chennai took the Indian trio of MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina and M Vijay out of the auction, in addition to South African allrounder Albie Morkel, their regular opening bowler. Delhi Daredevils retained only Virender Sehwag, meaning Gambhir - their captain for the last two seasons - is in the auction pool.

The retained players
Mumbai: Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh, Kieron Pollard, Lasith Malinga
Chennai: MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, M Vijay, Albie Morkel
Rajasthan: Shane Warne, Shane Watson
Delhi: Virender Sehwag
Bangalore: Virat Kohli
The most interesting choice came from Royal Challengers Bangalore whose sole retention is Virat Kohli, currently on an impressive run in ODIs. There is no place for Dravid, their icon player, nor for Anil Kumble, their captain and the head of the state association. Kolkata's decision to drop Sourav Ganguly, the biggest cricketing name to emerge from the city and the face of the franchise's on-field persona, is a bold step.

Punjab's decision to release all their players was expected following their dismal 2010 season, which means Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Yuvraj Singh will go under the hammer.

Siddhartha Mallya, owner of the Bangalore franchise, said the decision to retain just one player was backed by financial logic. "You must realise that with retention, a big chunk of your budget gets taken away," Mallya told ESPNcricinfo. " Mumbai and Chennai have kept four players, which means that half their budget is gone. It finally comes down to how much money one was going to lose. We have a big balance sheet but we have lost $1.8 million for keeping one player. We still have about $7-odd million left but if we had retained four then we would have had to buy virtually an entire squad with the remaining half."

Age is not a universal disqualification. It didn't count in Tendulkar's case, nor in that of Shane Warne, Rajasthan's coach and captain, who was retained by Rajasthan Royals, along with Shane Watson, a day ahead of the deadline. One franchise official explained the difference: "Warne is a global brand so that only helps to promote the franchise."

If Rajasthan opted for Warne because they have always viewed the IPL as a global brand, Mumbai went with Tendulkar and Harbhajan for their popularity. Pollard and Malinga may have made the cut on account of being impact players, who have backed up their strong Twenty20 credentials with consistent performance.

Sehwag's match-winning abilities, coupled with his rapid emergence as a brand, clearly had a say in Delhi's decision to retain him. MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina must have been shoo-ins for Chennai following their compelling IPL and international form. Vijay's performances, coupled with his potential to attract a strong local fan-base, must have tilted the scales in his favour, while Morkel's proven all-round skills were always going to be an asset. If there is a stranger in this crowd, it could be Kohli. Despite his owners trumpeting his recent performances, Kohli is still work in progress. But he is young, ambitious and has the youth appeal - all qualities of the UB Group's target audience.

Friday, October 29, 2010

Dhohi with her couple in Goa beach





Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Magical Laxman seals thrilling one-wicket win


India 405 (Tendulkar 98, Raina 86, Johnson 5-64) and 216 for 9 (Laxman 73*, Hilfenhaus 4-57, Bollinger 3-32) beat Australia 428 (Watson 126, Paine 92, Zaheer 5-94) and 192 (Watson 56, Ishant 3-34, Zaheer 3-43) by 1 wicket
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

VVS Laxman pulls during his match-winning innings, 1st Test, Mohali, India v Australia, 5th day, October 5, 2010
Australia ran into VVS Laxman once again © Getty Images
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Features : 'These situations get the best out of me' - Laxman
News : A special innings from Laxman - Dhoni
Analysis : Australia's unfortunate dozen, and India's favourite venue
Analysis : India's Atlas, Australia's nemesis
Analysis : Ishant's attitude wins hearts
News : Ponting defends Smith's throw of the dice
News : We were wary of Laxman - Ponting
Bulletin : Australia sniff victory after fluctuating day
Audio/Video: Australia's batting a worry
Players/Officials: Doug Bollinger | Ben Hilfenhaus | VVS Laxman | Ishant Sharma
Matches: India v Australia at Mohali
Series/Tournaments: Australia tour of India [Sep-Oct 2010]
Teams: Australia | India

VVS Laxman overcame his sore back to become the hero of a nail-biting one-wicket victory for India, who retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in dramatic fashion in Mohali. In one of the most memorable finishes in recent history, Pragyan Ojha picked up two leg-byes off Mitchell Johnson to seal the result, which until that delivery could also have been a tie or an Australian win.

The match was firmly in Australia's grasp when the No. 10 Ishant Sharma joined Laxman with 92 runs still required, but the pair ground Australia down and left a dejected Ricky Ponting still winless as a Test captain in India. The visitors' hopes were raised again when Ben Hilfenhaus (4 for 57) trapped Ishant lbw - although the ball would have missed leg stump - with 11 runs needed.

In the final, chaotic scenes, Australia continued to attack, desperate for one wicket. They thought they had it two balls before the winning runs were struck, when Mitchell Johnson rapped Ojha on the pads only to have a strong lbw shout denied. Adding to the commotion, Ojha wandered out of his crease and a throw from gully that would have found him short missed the stumps and ran away for four overthrows.

When the winning leg-byes arrived, the Indian players streamed onto the field as the Australians thrust hands on heads. For sheer on-field tension, the finish ranked up there with Australia's last-minute SCG win of 2007-08. But that match was overshadowed by claims of poor sportsmanship; this time there should be no such post-script.

On that occasion Ishant was the last man out as the sun set over Sydney; in Mohali he was every bit as important as Laxman, with a defiant innings of 31 in their partnership of 81. But Laxman was the star. The Australians will wonder how they let such a golden opportunity slip; the answer lies in the hands, or wrists, of one of their chief tormentors of recent years.

Entering the final day, Ponting's men feared Sachin Tendulkar, who went to stumps unbeaten on 10, much more than they were concerned about Laxman. They knew that in the first innings VVS had been very, very sore. He'd batted at No. 10, with a runner, and was hampered in his strokeplay. Two days later, the man with the most unique initials in cricket was very, very stubborn.

Again he had a runner, Suresh Raina, but just as important were the eight boundaries he struck in his 73, which came from 79 deliveries. Had he not started to farm the strike in the dying stages, he would have finished with a strike-rate of more than 100 for only the fourth time in his 188 Test innings.

Smart Stats

* This was India's first one-wicket victory in Tests and the 12th such result overall. India's two closest victories previously were by a margin of two wickets, both coming against Australia.
* This was the 17th occasion when India has won a Test after conceding a lead. In eight of these matches, they have batted second and on the other nine occasions, they have batted first. Nine of these victories have come against Australia.
* The 81-run partnership for the ninth wicket between VVS Laxman and Ishant Sharma was the second-highest against Australia, behind the 89-run stand between Harbhajan Singh and Irfan Pathan in 2004. It was also the second-highest ninth-wicket stand for India in the fourth innings of Tests.
* During that 81-run stand, Ishant played 71% of the total deliveries (92 out of 130).
* Laxman is one of the few batsmen who averages more in the second innings in Tests. He averages 45.67 in the first innings, but 50.47 with five centuries in the second innings.
* India have a win-loss ratio of 4.00 in Mohali, the best among all home venues that have hosted ten or more matches.
* Sachin Tendulkar became the only batsman to aggregate 1000 runs in a calendar year for the sixth time, surpassing Ricky Ponting, Brian Lara and Matthew Hayden, who have done so on five occasions each.

Laxman flicked the ball through gaps and was always looking to counterattack as Ponting continued to set aggressive fields. His approach was critical, for Australia had all the momentum in the hour before lunch when Doug Bollinger, who did not take the field after lunch due to abdominal stiffness, made two breakthroughs, including the key wicket of Tendulkar for 38.

But try as they might, Australia under Ponting simply haven't been able to close out a victory in India. In 2008 he was over-defensive, failing to push for wickets and grab opportunities when they arose. This time Ponting didn't do much wrong; Laxman was just too good.

India began the day needing 161 runs and for an hour they were cruising, as Tendulkar and Laxman brought the target down with a rapidity that alarmed Ponting. Nathan Hauritz had picked up the night-watchman Zaheer Khan, caught at slip, but was leaking runs and when he conceded 14 off an over, Ponting knew the fast men were his only option.

Cheers went around the ground as Tendulkar passed 1000 Test runs in a calendar year for the sixth time in his career, and it seemed that he was destined to deliver India to victory. But his desire to score quickly brought his undoing, when he tried to cut Bollinger over the cordon to the vacant third-man region.

The ball was too close to his body and he steered it to gully, where Michael Hussey grabbed the sharp chance. Tendulkar was gone, and the atmosphere cooled down slightly as the runs began to dry up. Then came the second big moment of joy for Australia, when the presence of a runner cost MS Dhoni his wicket.

Laxman drove Bollinger to mid-on and his runner Raina took off for what should have been a comfortable single. But Dhoni appeared confused by Laxman remaining in his ground and the hesitation was enough to give hope to the fielder Hilfenhaus, whose superb direct hit at the striker's end finished Dhoni's stay on 2.

When Bollinger's fast, well-directed bouncer had a fending Harbhajan Singh caught at slip two balls later, Australia were in control. Laxman and Ishant had other ideas, and the rest is history. The great shame is that this is only a two-match series.

Saturday, September 25, 2010

'India will win the series if they bat well' - Ganguly

Australia's strong batting performance on the first day of their match against the Board President's XI in Mohali had no impact on former India captain Sourav Ganguly's view as to how the forthcoming Test series will go. Ganguly said, "India will win the series if they bat well."
Sourav Ganguly arrives at the IPL auction, Mumbai, January 19, 2010
Regardless of India's revolving-door bowling attack, Ganguly said the venues of the two-Test series help the home team maximise its spin resources. "Bangalore may not offer assistance early for spinners, but there's a bit for them later and Mohali has always been a good venue for us", Ganguly said at the India Today Youth Summit in Delhi this afternoon.

He picked Suresh Raina and Cheteshwar Pujara as the leaders of the next generation of Indian batsmen who have it in them to go the distance. Raina, while inexperienced in the Test format, has shown great improvement according to Ganguly. Pujara, picked for the first time in the Indian team to play Australia, has what Ganguly called a "terrific attitude towards batting. I've seen him with the [Kolkata] Knight Riders and he can bat all day, he just loves it."

As India's strong middle-order draws closer to the end of its era, the team, Ganguly said, had plenty of options. "There is talent in Murali Vijay; there is talent in Yuvraj Singh. There are many other young players who have got talent, but it's what they do with that talent that is important."

Ganguly, who was captain of the Indian team that kicked off India's now-celebrated rivalry with the Australians in 2001, said his advice to current India captain M S Dhoni did not include making Ricky Ponting wait for the toss, a habit which had incensed Steve Waugh in the 2001 series. "The series is going to be really enjoyable and Ricky's a great guy", he said.

Ponting and Ganguly were teammates at the Kolkata Knight Riders for the last three years, an association that will most probably end when the IPL hosts its latest player auction later this year. Ganguly said he agreed with Sachin Tendulkar about maintaining and building a team, but thought the IPL had "done well to leave player retention in the franchises hand, to make it their decision".

The most essential ingredient of every franchise's team, according to Ganguly, was "identity". He said, "So what happens if Tendulkar doesn't play for Mumbai? If Tendulkar plays for Bangalore then it looks like something different, doesn't it?"

As one of the speakers in the Youth Summit, Ganguly's brief speech was followed by an exchange with an audience made up mostly of university students. He spoke openly of the time he took over as India captain in 2000, which is when the match-fixing controversy first broke. "We had some worries once the news came out in the open. We would speak to each other but none of us knew what to do, or to deal with the situation - we'd not been approached or anything."

The six month break between seasons that followed made a difference, Ganguly said. "The BCCI decided to take players off the team and we got a lot of youngsters into the side. So we didn't have to deal with those issues, but we had it at the back of our mind".

Ganguly said he had not come across any experience to say that matches were fixed "in my entire cricketing life personally, and I can vouch for that ... Now I presume those guys, they know whom to approach. It's not just about Pakistani cricketers but players all around the world. Maybe they can just judge someone's character and know they might get through to one player and not another".

When he was asked if would ever like to coach the Indian team, Ganguly said, "Yes, not very shortly but at some stage of my life. I would really want to do it because anything connected with Indian cricket is an honour".

Ganguly also replied to a question about a 'five-point programme' on coaching that he would give to Greg Chappell, who had a controversial tenure as India coach from 2005 to 2007. "Don't be too friendly with the media," Ganguly said, "be honest with the players and don't talk to them through the media, always work with players, get confidence out of players and stay on the backstage. The captain is the boss of the team."


'India will win the series if they bat well' - Ganguly


Thursday, September 23, 2010

Yuvraj Singh dropped, Cheteshwar Pujara gets maiden call-up

Yuvraj Singh has been dropped for next month's Test series against Australia with Cheteshwar Pujara, the Saurashtra batsman who has been scoring heavily in domestic and other first-class cricket, replacing him. The selectors, who met in Chennai on Monday, made one more unexpected decision in dropping Karnataka seamer Abhimanyu Mithun, who impressed the team management in Sri Lanka in the absence of Zaheer Khan and Sreesanth.
Cheteshwar Pujara guides the ball through the off side, Karnataka v Saurashtra, 2nd quarter-final, Mumbai, Ranji Trophy Super League, 4th day, December 29, 2008

Zaheer and Sreesanth both made comebacks from injury, along with Harbhajan Singh and Gautam Gambhir. All four missed India's series-levelling win at the P Sara Oval last month. Zaheer and Harbhajan were part of Mumbai Indians' unsuccessful campaign in the Champions League T20 in South Africa. Gambhir and Sreesanth began their return in the Corporate Trophy and will continue it in the three-day game between the Board President's XI and the Australians, starting September 25 in Chandigarh.

Kris Srikkanth, the chairman of selectors, said "everything - form, fitness" was considered while picking the squad. On Pujara's selection, he said, "He has done well in the last two domestic seasons, and on sheer weight of performance he has muscled his way in. All cricket - domestic, A tours, international - was given weightage."

It was indeed getting increasingly difficult to ignore Pujara, a run-machine in domestic cricket. He first caught headlines in 2006-07, when he scored 600 first-class runs at an average of 50. It was just the beginning of the Pujara story: he went on to pile up centuries in the next three first-class seasons, averaging 53.35, 65.56 and 82.33. The A tour of England earlier this year, when he scored an unbeaten double-century, perhaps sealed the deal. He will be playing the tour game against the Australians to try and convince the selectors they have made the right call.

Yuvraj, meanwhile, has been asked to lead the Rest of India side in the Irani Cup clash against Mumbai, which starts the same day as the first Test against Australia.

His last Test assignment summed up the kind of unfortunate year he has had. After being dropped for the Asia Cup, his first limited-overs axing since he became a regular in the early 2000s, he made a satisfactory comeback to the Test side in Sri Lanka. He scored a century in the tour game even as others struggled, and then went onto score a fifty in the first Test. Before the second Test, he came down with fever, and Suresh Raina made full use of the opportunity, scoring a match-saving century, and keeping the place for the final Test. From the sidelines, amid water-boy chants, he saw India level the series. The lacklustre tri-series that followed in Sri Lanka didn't help Yuvraj's case.

It is clear now that Raina is the preferred No. 6 batsman in the Indian line-up and, had Yuvraj been in the squad, there was a good chance he would be sitting out the first Test in Mohali. It is reliably learnt that the selectors agreed Yuvraj needed to spend more time in the middle rather than on the Indian bench, an experience that would be of greater benefit to a more inexperienced batsman like Pujara. Yuvraj's match practice will, they hope, turn his form around in time for the one-day series against Australia that follows the two Tests.

One selector said Yuvraj would be India's "trump card" at the World Cup and the team needed him to be at his best in February. It is not known whether any of the selectors, team management or captain Dhoni had informed Yuvraj about their plan in advance.

India squad MS Dhoni (capt. & wk), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Suresh Raina, Cheteshwar Pujara, M Vijay, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Pragyan Ojha, Sreesanth and Amit Mishra

Rest of India squad Yuvraj Singh (capt.), Abhinav Mukund, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, S Badrinath, Saurabh Tiwary, Parthiv Patel (wk), Piyush Chawla, R Ashwin, Jaydev Unadkat, Umesh Yadav, R Vinay Kumar, Manish Pandey, Abhimanyu Mithun and Ravindra Jadeja

Chennai pip Warriors, both make semi-finals

It's not often that both contestants of a sporting encounter celebrate at the end of a match. That strange sight was on offer in Port Elizabeth after Chennai Super Kings prevailed over Warriors in a tense league match, paving the way for both teams to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League Twenty20 at the expense of Victoria.
Michael Hussey and M Vijay added 63 runs upfront, Warriors v Chennai Super Kings, Champions League T20, Port Elizabeth, September 22, 2010
Chennai's chances seemed to have evaporated when they stumbled to 136 after choosing to bat in a must-win match, but on a spin-friendly track their strategy of packing the team with slow bowlers paid off as they tenaciously defended that total to set up an all-IPL semi-final against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Durban.

Briefly, midway through the chase, it looked as though an IPL team would break the hearts of the home crowd for the second day in a row but it was the Chennai fans who faced some panicky moments when Justin Kreusch and Mark Boucher revived the Warriors with a 44-run fourth-wicket stand.

Two Boucher sixes off Shadab Jakati left Warriors needing a gettable 32 off three overs with seven wickets remaining and two set batsmen at the crease. Chennai's edginess was shown by Muttiah Muralitharan's tirade at S Badrinath after a run-out chance was muffled following some kamikaze running between the wickets in the 16th over.

R Ashwin, battered in the Super Over against Victoria, then returned to virtually ensure David Hussey's side will be returning home early. His carrom ball worked to perfection in the 18th over, foxing both Kreusch and Boucher, to swing the game Chennai's way, though a four in between raised the biggest cheer of the day as it confirmed Warriors' qualification - they needed 109 to seal a place in the final four. Chennai's key bowlers, Doug Bollinger and Murali, then held their nerve against Warriors' non-specialist batsmen to preserve their team's 100% record of progressing from the league phase of every tournament they have played in so far.

Victoria would never have felt more confident of making the semi-finals than when Warriors captain Davy Jacobs was batting in his usual thrill-a-minute style to power the chase of a seemingly inadequate target early on. Jacobs survived in the second over when the ball rolled off his bat onto the stumps and Warriors confidently progressed to 38 for 1 in the Powerplays, but Chennai clawed back after that.

Shadab Jakati and Murali choked the runs, before Jacobs fell to a well-judged overhead catch from Michael Hussey at deep midwicket. Three overs later, Suresh Raina's magic arm earned a wicket with his third delivery to further slow down the home team. In seven overs after the Powerplays, Warriors made only 28 and lost two major wickets, pushing the asking rate to double digits. The game then tilted the Warriors' way before Ashwin's intervention proved decisive.

Chennai's bowlers saved the blushes of a highly rated batting unit, which struggled against a disciplined home side. Warriors have five bowlers with international experience in their line-up but it was the sixth, medium-pacer Kreusch, who made the biggest impact. His no-frills wicket-to-wicket bowling fetched him three wickets and ruined the platform Chennai's openers, Hussey and M Vijay, had constructed.

The other impressive Warriors bowler was Johan Botha, one of the tournament's most economical, who again handcuffed the opposition and dismissed Hussey in the 14th over, one ball after he reached his half-century, to change the course of the innings. From what was a potentially threatening 94 for 2, Chennai could only scrape 20 runs in the next five overs, when they should have been launching an all-out attack.

Chennai's openers had made a rock-solid start, setting up their side for what should have been a far more challenging target. Vijay was the dominant partner in a 63-run stand. Hussey was more circumspect early on, knocking the singles around - his first stroke of aggression as in the fifth over, charging down and lofting Lonwabo Tsotsobe towards long-on. A powerful reverse-sweep for four followed off Nicky Boje, before he started peppering his favourite midwicket region. There were only two dot balls in his final 21 deliveries.

His dismissal, however, sandwiching those of Raina and S Badrinath to Kreusch, derailed Chennai. They got going again only in the 19th over, when MS Dhoni clubbed 17 runs off Tsotsobe, including a giant six over midwicket. In a low-scoring encounter, 136 proved enough.

The result was a hard pill to swallow for Victoria, who are eliminated despite losing only one match in the tournament.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

sachin-tendulkar-at-joy-of-giving-press-meet

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Cricket-Sri Lanka dial 'third M' for Murali replacement

Sri Lanka will look to their third 'M' to bring victory over India in the second test as they bid to replace the visitors atop the ICC test rankings.
Already 1-0 up in the series, a win over India in the second test starting on Monday would propel them to top spot and, according to Sri Lanka Cricket Secretary Nishantha Ranatunga, be the hosts' greatest accomplishment in the sport.
"In the event we manage to beat India 2-0 in the current test series we will be ranked as the number one test team in the world, which would be the greatest cricketing achievement since winning the 1996 World Cup," said Ranatunga.
Sri Lanka are currently fourth in the standings behind India, South Africa and Australia.
Ajantha Mendis is the likely successor to Muttiah Muralitharan, who retired after the first test at Galle with a record haul of 800 test wickets, and will have another opportunity to display his varied spin against the Indians.
While he was left out of Muralitharan's farewell test, Mendis showed what he is capable of in a three-day warm-up game against India when he took six wickets for 67.
With Muralitharan out of the picture and Lasith Malinga rested because of a sore knee, Mendis has a big challenge ahead of him to spearhead the Sri Lankan bowling attack.
"It is now Mendis' turn and we need to give him a go. We feel he's a bowler for the future," said Sri Lanka's chairman of selectors Aravinda de Silva.
"The only way we can make Mendis a better bowler is to play him against top class opposition. He may go for a lot of runs but that is where he will start learning."
FRESH IDEAS
Sri Lanka have Dilhara Fernando replacing Malinga for the second test, while Dammika Prasad could take the place of left-armer Chanaka Welegedara, who bowled poorly at Galle.
Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath's place is also in danger as uncapped off-spinner Suraj Randiv is pushing hard for a place in the test side.
The hosts have had some good news in that middle-order batsman Thilan Samaraweera will be fit to play after dislocating a finger while fielding at Galle.
India, with an inexperienced bowling attack, will have to come up with some fresh ideas if they are to get back into the series. They were exposed badly at Galle when Sri Lanka hit 520-8 declared.
Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said flat wickets did not help his limited bowling attack, which has been shorn of Zaheer Khan and Shanthakumaran Sreesanth. [ID:nLDE668210]
"As a bowling unit, you have to keep putting the pressure on and force the batsman to commit a mistake or you come up with brilliant deliveries like Muralitharan and Malinga did for Sri Lanka," said Dhoni.
"Apart from that, if you are a bowler with a normal action and if you don't have much variety in your bowling, it gets really difficult to get the batsmen out once they are set. We will have to wait and see how the wickets behave." (Editing by Peter Rutherford)

Pakistan scripts an exciting cricket victory but without Pakistan

Bangalore: It was a glorious day for Pakistan, no doubt. However it came in Leeds, instead of Lahore, or Karachi.

On Saturday, Pakistan defeated Australia for the first time in 15 years in a Test match. It also ended a run of 13 straight Test defeats by Australia—a record for one country against another. A memorable occasion, you will agree.

But, Salman Butt and boys are playing the home series against Australiain England, far away from its ardent supporters.International cricket in Pakistan has been suspended after an armed attack on Sri Lanka’s team bus in Lahore in March last year.

With three wickets left, tail-ender Umar Gul ran for a single with a drive through cover off Mitchell Johnson. That was the winning run, which came with more than a day and two sessions to spare. Coming after the 150-run crushing loss in the first Test played at Lords, this three-wicket victory should spread cheer despite the imploding situation back home.

As the Pakistan team took a lap of honour around the sparsely-attended ground in what was Butt’s first Test as captain, a smattering of vocal Pakistanis cheered them.

"Honestly, it was a bit nerve-racking but that’s the way cricket goes. When you have this added responsibility (as captain) you think a bit more. Thank God, it went positively and we won," Butt said. "It means a lot, it’s a new beginning for Pakistan," added Butt.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Watch Asia cup live

Date and TimeMatchWeather The Weather Channel
Tue Jun 15          
09:00 GMT | 14:30 local
14:30 IST
1st Match - Sri Lanka v Pakistan
Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium
N/A
Wed Jun 16          
09:00 GMT | 14:30 local
14:30 IST
2nd Match - Bangladesh v India
Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium
N/A
Fri Jun 18          
09:00 GMT | 14:30 local
14:30 IST
3rd Match - Sri Lanka v Bangladesh
Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium
N/A
Sat Jun 19          
09:00 GMT | 14:30 local
14:30 IST
4th Match - India v Pakistan
Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium
N/A
Mon Jun 21          
09:00 GMT | 14:30 local
14:30 IST
5th Match - Bangladesh v Pakistan
Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium
N/A
Tue Jun 22          
09:00 GMT | 14:30 local
14:30 IST
6th Match - Sri Lanka v India
Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium
N/A
Thu Jun 24          
09:00 GMT | 14:30 local
14:30 IST
Final - TBC v TBC
Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium
N/A

Thursday, April 29, 2010

ICC World Twenty20 2010 Fixtures


    - Day and Night- Covered by Cricinfo
Date and TimeMatchWeather The Weather Channel
Fri Apr 30
17:00 GMT | 13:00 local
22:30 IST
1st Match, Group B - New Zealand v Sri Lanka
Providence Stadium, Guyana
Scattered Thunderstorms 23 - 31° C 
Fri Apr 30          
21:00 GMT | 17:00 local
02:30 IST +1d
2nd Match, Group D - West Indies v Ireland
Providence Stadium, Guyana
Scattered Thunderstorms 23 - 31° C 
Sat May 1
13:30 GMT | 09:30 local
19:00 IST
3rd Match, Group C - Afghanistan v India
Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia
Scattered Showers 26 - 31° C 
Sat May 1
17:30 GMT | 13:30 local
23:00 IST
4th Match, Group A - Bangladesh v Pakistan
Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia
Scattered Showers 26 - 31° C 
Sun May 2
13:30 GMT | 09:30 local
19:00 IST
5th Match, Group C - India v South Africa
Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia
Scattered Showers 26 - 31° C 
Sun May 2
17:30 GMT | 13:30 local
23:00 IST
6th Match, Group A - Australia v Pakistan
Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia
Scattered Showers 26 - 31° C 
Mon May 3
13:30 GMT | 09:30 local
19:00 IST
7th Match, Group B - Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe
Providence Stadium, Guyana
Scattered Thunderstorms 23 - 30° C 
Mon May 3
17:30 GMT | 13:30 local
23:00 IST
8th Match, Group D - West Indies v England
Providence Stadium, Guyana
Scattered Thunderstorms 23 - 30° C 
Tue May 4
13:30 GMT | 09:30 local
19:00 IST
9th Match, Group B - New Zealand v Zimbabwe
Providence Stadium, Guyana
N/A
Tue May 4
17:30 GMT | 13:30 local
23:00 IST
10th Match, Group D - England v Ireland
Providence Stadium, Guyana
N/A
Wed May 5
13:30 GMT | 09:30 local
19:00 IST
11th Match, Group A - Australia v Bangladesh
Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados
N/A
Wed May 5
17:30 GMT | 13:30 local
23:00 IST
12th Match, Group C - Afghanistan v South Africa
Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados
N/A
Thu May 6
13:30 GMT | 09:30 local
19:00 IST
13th Match - TBC v TBC (A1 v D2)
Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados
N/A
Thu May 6
17:30 GMT | 13:30 local
23:00 IST
14th Match - TBC v TBC (C1 v B2)
Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados
N/A
Fri May 7
13:30 GMT | 09:30 local
19:00 IST
15th Match - TBC v TBC (A2 v C2)
Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados
N/A
Fri May 7
17:30 GMT | 13:30 local
23:00 IST
16th Match - TBC v TBC (B1 v D1)
Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados
N/A
Sat May 8
13:30 GMT | 09:30 local
19:00 IST
17th Match - TBC v TBC (A1 v B2)
Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados
N/A
Sat May 8
17:30 GMT | 13:30 local
23:00 IST
18th Match - TBC v TBC (D2 v C1)
Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados
N/A
Sun May 9
13:30 GMT | 09:30 local
19:00 IST
19th Match - TBC v TBC (C2 v D1)
Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados
N/A
Sun May 9
17:30 GMT | 13:30 local
23:00 IST
20th Match - TBC v TBC (B1 v A2)
Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados
N/A
Mon May 10
13:30 GMT | 09:30 local
19:00 IST
21st Match - TBC v TBC (A1 v C1)
Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia
N/A
Mon May 10
17:30 GMT | 13:30 local
23:00 IST
22nd Match - TBC v TBC (B2 v D2)
Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia
N/A
Tue May 11
17:00 GMT | 13:00 local
22:30 IST
23rd Match - TBC v TBC (B1 v C2)
Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia
N/A
Tue May 11          
21:00 GMT | 17:00 local
02:30 IST +1d
24th Match - TBC v TBC (D1 v A2)
Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia
N/A
Thu May 13
15:30 GMT | 11:30 local
21:00 IST
1st Semi-Final - TBC v TBC
Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia
N/A
Fri May 14
15:30 GMT | 11:30 local
21:00 IST
2nd Semi-Final - TBC v TBC
Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia
N/A
Sun May 16
15:30 GMT | 11:30 local
21:00 IST
Final - TBC v TBC
Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados
N/A

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