Cricket

Dhoni too busy for domestic cricket

2009-01-11T13:19:00.000-08:00

New Delhi: It looks like Mahendra Singh Dhoni will have to pay a price for enjoying a break away from cricket. The Indian skipper has lost his captain's cap of the East Zone team to Orissa's Shiv Sundar Das for the upcoming Duleep Trophy matches.

It is believed that the East Zone selector Raja Venkat, after having repeatedly tried and failing to get in touch with the Indian skipper, handed the duty to the Orissa opener.

Dhoni is said to be on a holiday in Coorg with billiards champion Pankaj Advani and former India team mate Robin Uthappa.

The East zone team is slated to take on the West Zone at the Brabourne Stadium from January 29.

Jharkand State Cricket Association selector Jodh Singh was clueless about Dhoni's availability.

A source close to Dhoni told PTI in Ranchi that the Indian skipper was busy with his commercial commitments and so could not be contacted.

Hero rises from horrors of Mumbai to fashion fated Test victory for India

2008-12-15T09:32:00.000-08:00

Was this karma, the cause and effect as defined in Hinduism? Was this Test match, not just India's stunning beautiful victory but the fact that ultimately it was fashioned so perfectly by the genius of Mumbai's most celebrated figure, simply meant to be after the atrocity inflicted on that vibrant city a fortnight ago? Or was it merely a magnificent sporting contest, as good as any cricket can be when given extra meaning by the peculiar circumstances that surrounded it?

I'm a romantic and lean towards the former. I like to think that sometimes things happen for the right reason and although the England team would have been disconsolate in the immediate aftermath of the match, with the celebratory clamour around them, the softer hours of their wind-down time may persuade them that this was one such occasion.

There was no disgrace to be had in losing at Chepauk. I hope, indeed I'm sure, that Kevin Pietersen will have reminded his team of this and then of the part they played in an event of massive significance on the subcontinent, firstly by turning up to play where others may have allowed their natural reservations to take precedent, and then, as with their opponents, competing in such a feisty manner. The financial donations they made towards emergency funds were a fine gesture but the biggest gesture of all was being there.

By all the natural laws that govern the progress of Test matches, England should have won the match. Another time they would have. The batting of Andrew Strauss and Paul Collingwood (two players, lest it be forgotten, who have been scrabbling for their Test careers throughout the past year) and disciplined bowling from an attack properly balanced for the anticipated conditions had set up a situation as the fourth day headed into the final session for which they would have grasped greedily had it been offered before the match began. On a wearing fifth-day pitch, slow but offering help for spinners and reverse swing for seamers, they might expect to win perhaps 19 times out of 20.

Then, though, comes the genius factor. The fast bowlers broke ranks with the new ball, feeding Virender Sehwag's insatiable appetite for the cut (with Alastair Cook like a coconut in a shy in the gully), and by the start of the final day the brilliant, calculated, carefree assault had reduced the target to manageable proportions. England could no longer afford the côterie of close catchers that would have been expected when the declaration came, leaving the gate ajar.

Sehwag, however, had set the stage for the master. Sachin Tendulkar had a score to settle with this stadium, having once previously, with a stupendous century — one of his very finest, scored despite labouring with a bad back — taken his side to within a spit of a successful run chase against Pakistan, only to falter, along with the India lower order, with the finishing post in sight. This time, in the course of constructing an innings so sublimely suited to the conditions that it should be made available to coaches everywhere, he found an ally in Yuvraj Singh, a devastating one-day batsman returned to the Test side to resume an unfulfilled career, susceptible to the fast short ball from which he is given immunity by unfair one-day regulations, and worked over magnificently by Andrew Flintoff in the first innings in such a way that it reinforced how Test cricket can provide scintillating passages of play for which there is just no time in the limited-overs game.

Yuvraj played his perfect part but the day, the match and the country demanded it belong to Tendulkar. It could not have been scripted more perfectly: a boundary to win the match and complete a century. It had to have been preordained. Had to be. And Tendulkar's articulate, measured summary of what it all meant, even as the euphoria reigned all around him and the adrenalin still coursed through his veins, placed it all into a proper context.

India and Australia - cricket as a relational metaphor

2008-10-05T00:25:00.000-07:00

Cricket, it wouldn’t be wrong to suggest, was and is, the true national game in both India and Australia. This is precisely because it could be played against the English as part of the great imperial project. Hockey in India or Aussie Rules in Australia could not, and hence their legacies, like their origins, remain very curious in the sporting hierarchies of the two countries. It is important to answer, Why cricket and not hockey in India? Answers lie in the George Orwell axiom, “Serious sport is war minus the shooting.” If sport is in fact a metaphor (and in some cases a metonym) for war, then cricket simply was the necessity in India. Prowess in sport wasn’t enough.

Accomplishments had to be demonstrated in empire sport, which would mark a symbolic victory against the ruling colonial state. To substantiate the point: even when India won gold medals in field hockey in the Olympic Games in the years 1928-1956, hockey could never rival cricket in colonial India. This is because Britain refused to participate in Olympic hockey contests in the years 1928-1936, knowing that the Indians were favourites to win the gold. This is especially interesting because Britain had won the Olympic gold in field hockey in 1904 and 1920, the only years when hockey was played before 1928 and years when India did not participate. Absence of competitions against the coloniser, it can be argued, relegated hockey in the Indian sporting hierarchy.

Speaking to the press at New Delhi on 8 June 2005, the former Australian Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer stated: “I think Australia and India, which have a long historic relationship, can build on some of the history of our relationship. Now…our two countries love cricket and the Foreign Minister, Pranab Mukherjee and I both love cricket. So, we spent a good deal of time over the lunch talking about our respective cricket teams and their prospects. We think that what we should do between us, between Australia and India, is to have a touring exhibition of Sir Donald Bradman’s memorabilia here in India. And we think that this exhibition, which should be jointly supported by Australia and India, would be very popular and this exhibition of Bradman memorabilia would go to major centres in India — New Delhi, Calcutta, Bombay, Chennai and so on.”

Tendulkar says Australia rivalry bigger than Pakistan

2008-09-19T02:56:00.000-07:00

Star Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar says India's cricketing rivalry with Australia is now bigger than that with arch-enemy Pakistan, the latter a rivalry so intense that fans have reportedly taken their own lives over it.

Speaking in Mumbai ahead of the Australian team's visit to India next month, Tendulkar reflected on the last volatile match-up of the two sides - in Australia last summer - when allegations of racism and bad sportsmanship rocked the series.

Because of recent history, India now held its rivalry with Australia higher than its battles with Pakistan, Tendulkar said.

"I think it [India v Australia] has become bigger largely because of the competitiveness. All the series, from 2001 onwards, have been keenly fought and have been very close ones," he said.

"We have gone to Australia and beaten them. We have been able to surprise them and that's what the Australian public likes: competition and high standards of play.

"They love to see challenges and competitiveness."

However, Tendulkar was confident the racism row that marred India's last tour would not cast a shadow over next month's series.

"I don't think there is any friction between us," he said.

Cricket matches between India and Pakistan have been shadowed by the history of the neighbouring nations, who have been to war four times in the last 50 years.

In 2005, the Asia Times wrote: "After India lost the Kolkata match against Pakistan on November 13, a cricket fan, Rabindranath Adhikari, committed suicide, setting himself on fire at his house in Batikar village of Birbhum district in West Bengal. Such fits of insanity are not rare."

Cricket Australia to review security situation in India

2008-09-14T06:42:00.000-07:00

Australia were due to depart Sep 21 for a four-Test series in India. The first Test is in Bangalore Oct 9 while Delhi will host the third Test starting Oct 29.

The Australian team's security expert Reg Dickason has been asked to compile the report in conjunction with CA and the Australian Cricketers' Association (ACA).

New spinners will be Australia’s weak link: Bhajji Casson upset at being left out of Oz squad

Dickason will work with ACA and CA General Manager of Cricket Michael Brown, who will speak to the Indian cricket board, the Australian high commission in New Delhi and security agencies to gain information.

"The fundamental principle that always comes first is the safety of the team and the team officials," CA spokesman Peter Young said. "We will seek advice from the Australian government.

"Based on this report and other inputs, we will take a decision on the tour next week or so," he said.

Symonds' absence will help us: Sehwag Stats: Oz team

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) remains hopeful that the tour will continue.

"The blasts are a concern, but I don't think it will have an impact on the Australian tour," BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah said.

Young said that so far there was no danger for the tour to be called off.

"Well, so far the tour is on unless we get any reports, we are progressing with our plans to go ahead. There's a standard process for every tour. Such is the way of the world these days that this process is completed before we go anywhere."

Australia expressed safety fears ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy tournament due to be held in Pakistan this month.

Sachin Tendulkar fit to play again

2008-09-06T02:01:00.000-07:00

In what would be good news for Indian cricket fans, Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar, who missed the ODI series against Sri Lanka due to an elbow injury, has declared himself fit and will take part in Irani Cup, just ahead of the all important Indo-Australia sereis.

Sachin had injured his elbow in the 3rd Test match against Sri Lanka in August 2008 and was forced to miss the following ODI series that India won 3-2. The Little Master had a poor run of form in the Test series and failed to topple Brian Lara as the top run scorer in this form of the game.

But now fit-again Sachin can finally achieve that milestone at home in the 4 Test series against World Champions Aussies. He will also feature for the rest-of-India squad which takes on Ranji Champions Delhi in the Irani trophy that takes place from September 24 to 28th at Vadodara.

"I will be participating in the Irani Trophy. Just now I'm fine," declared the master batsman at a promotional event for Aviva Insurance of which he is a brand ambassador.

BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah has already informed that the squad, to be selected by the senior national selection panel led by Dilip Vengsarkar, would be a virtual Test side barring those who would be representing Delhi like Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Ishant Sharma.

SRI LANKA RECOVER IN COLOMBO

2008-08-29T10:24:00.000-07:00

Jehan Mubarak helped Sri Lanka set India a target of 228 to win the final one-day international at the Premadasa Stadium on Friday. Zaheer Khan gave India a flying start, removing flamboyant opener Sanath Jayasuriya (one) in the second over, but Malinda Warnapura (30) and Mahela Udawatte (43) put Sri Lanka back on track with a 77-run stand for the second wicket.

Irfan Pathan, however, removed both batsmen in the space of four deliveries and Kumar Sangakkara (one) and captain Mahela Jayawardene (12) both fell cheaply as Sri Lanka slipped to 104 for five. Jayawardene finally won a toss in the series, but India's new-ball bowlers again turned in tight opening spells to put the Sri Lankans under pressure.

Warnapura, dropped on six by Rohit Sharma, and Udawatte were unconvincing but effective as they built the innings.

But Pathan, brought into the team for Praveen Kumar, struck twice in his second over to send back both batsmen. Warnapura skied a delivery to Gautam Gambhir at cover, while Udawatte was trapped plum in front three deliveries later. Sangakkara recorded another failure, attempting a lazy cut shot off RP Singh and nicking to Gambhir in the slips.

Ojha had troubled Chamara Kapugedera (26) at the start and thought he had the middle-order batsman when he dived forward to take a return catch.

Kapugedera was on six, but he survived that close call after third umpire Gamini Silva deemed the ball had touched the ground.

Ojha, however, struck in successive overs to send back Jayawardene and Kapugedera as the hosts' middle-order caved in yet again.

First Champions League to be held in India

2008-07-27T23:59:00.000-07:00

The first Champions League will be played in India this year, said Lalit Modi, the Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) official and the Indian Premier League (IPL) commissioner on Monday.

The matches will be played in three venues - Jaipur, New Delhi and Mohali from September 29 to October 8.

Eight teams are expected to participate in the event that will include the teams securing the first and the second positions in the domestic Twenty20 events of South Africa and Australia, besides the winner and runners-up of the IPL.

Apart from this, one team from Pakistan will also take part in the tournament and the PCB has ensured its complete cooperation in this regard.

However, because of the differences that occurred between the India and the England boards on some administrative matters of the Champions League, no team from England is likely to take part in the competition.

But Modi is not too worried about the issue and confirmed if no team comes from England then any team from Sri Lanka or New Zealand would fill the gap.

The details of the event is scheduled to be finalised in Mumbai on Wednesday at a meeting that is suppose to be attended by officials from the BCCI, Cricket South Africa (CSA) and Cricket Australia (CA).

The idea of the Champions League was first proposed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India when they launched the Indian Premier League. The Champions League is supposed to be an annual event which will have two domestic teams from each Test-playing nation competing in the competition.

Sri Lanka add Prasad to Galle test squad v India

2008-07-27T23:56:00.000-07:00

Sri Lanka have called up uncapped paceman Dammika Prasad as an additional bowling option for the second test against India in Galle starting on Thursday.

The 25-year-old played three one-day internationals in 2006 before suffering a series of injuries but has since impressed with the A team and recently against the Indians, claiming 4-58 in a warm-up game.

Prasad, however, is unlikely to play with Sri Lanka expected to retain the same side that won the first test by an innings and 239 runs.

Sri Lanka squad: Mahela Jayawardene (captain), Michael Vandort, Malinda Warnapura, Kumar Sangakkara, Thilan Samaraweera, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Prasanna Jayawardene, Chaminda Vaas, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis, Nuwan Kulasekera, Chamara Silva, Thilan Thushara, Chamara Kapugedera, Dammika Prasad.

India clinch Asia Cup hockey title after dramatic fight back

2008-07-18T12:44:00.000-07:00

Chak de India all over again at the Gacchibowli Stadium here on Friday evening as Diwakar Ram scored a ‘golden goal’ to see the hosts retain the junior Asia Cup hockey title, beating South Korea 3-2.After missing two penalty-corners in the scheduled time, which ended in a 2-2 draw, all eyes were on ace drag-flicker Diwakar Ram, when the hosts were awarded a penalty-corner in the fourth minute of extra-time. And the cool as cucumber Diwakar did not lose his focus and shot the ball home in style. Diwakar completed a ‘Perfect 10’ as he has scored two goals each in the five matches he’s played.Nam Hyun Woo scored both the goals for Korea, while S.V. Sunil and Diwakar Ram restored parity for India in the scheduled time. Down two goals to nil at the 59th minute mark, the Indians staged a remarkable comeback with captain Gurbaj Singh setting the tone with an accurate hit inside the circle. Following a goalmouth melee, S.V. Sunil sounded the boards with ease in the 60th minute.

This allowed the Indians to press hard, and in the 63rd minute, ace drag-flicker Diwakar Ram levelled the score with a zooming hit into the right corner of the goal.
Earlier, as expected, the Koreans maintained their rhythm from the word go and didn’t allow the Indians much leeway in the midfield.
Two minutes later, Indian goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh denied Korea’s Bae Jong Suk a chance with a brilliant save.

India refuse to change England tour itinerary

2008-07-15T02:52:00.000-07:00

India will not alter the schedule of England's cricket tour later this year despite protests from the visitors about being made to play in smaller venues, an official said on Tuesday. On Monday it was upset that India's regular Test venues like Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai and Mohali were not given matches during the six-week tour.

India want the two Tests in December to be played in Ahmedabad and Mumbai, while the seven preceding one-dayers were spread across various centres like Rajkot, Guwahati, Cuttack and Jamshedpur.The itinerary for the England tour has been finalised on the basis of this rotation policy.

The website, which belongs to the official broadcaster of the series, Nimbus Communications, reported that Shah was unhappy that the ECB had made its protest public. ECB has chosen to air its grievances over this policy in the media, whenever the Indian team has toured England, some of the venues have not been up to the mark in terms of facilities for Indian players and supporters

Sri Lanka win Asia cup .

2008-07-06T10:46:00.000-07:00

Asia cup final held today. Two finalists are India and Sri Lanka. Some time I have predict different item. About Asia Cup it’s my first and last prediction. Those who read my blog they know before I’ve some predict about EURO 2008 and all of my calculate became turn true. I‘ve huge experience about cricket because since 1987 world cup that’s was held India-Pakistan I was related with cricket as an audience.
As a Bangladeshi I’ve huge Interested about Cricket and my experience Sri Lanka should absolutely win Asia Cup by beating India because last ten years India not beat Sri Lanka any final and last six final they meat Sri lanka won four and two match not be finished because of bad weather .
The excessive fan of

India

knows why

India

not win Asia cup. They are fantastic team and its true they have able to achieve the trophy but every one knows about them in Final. If you called any match final maximum time

India

lost. If you calculated how much they played final in various tournaments and how they win. I’m unhappily said 1983 world cup and T20 final rest of the maximum time they lost final its world cup or other tournament.
So the opponent should happy when they get

India

final any kind of tournament.

India

is stronger than

Sri Lanka

now but I told you

Sri Lanka

beat

India

and win Asia Cup InshaAllah.

Asia Cup: India wins toss, elects to bowl against Sri Lanka

2008-07-06T08:11:00.000-07:00

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss Sunday and opted to bowl first against defending champion Sri Lanka in the final of the Asia Cup at National Stadium.

India made one change from the team that won its last Super Four game against Sri Lanka on Thursday with middle-order batsman Robin Uthappa replacing fast bowler Praveen Kumar.

Sri Lanka brought in main bowlers — left-arm paceman Chaminda Vaas and spinner Ajantha Mendis — who replaced fast bowlers Kaushal Weeraratne and Dilhara Fernando.

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2008-07-03T06:03:00.000-07:00

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Dhoni leads India to 308-7 against Pakistan

2008-07-02T22:42:00.000-07:00

Mahendra Singh Dhoni led from the front with a fighting 76 to steer India to 308-7 in their Asia Cup Super League match against archrivals Pakistan at National Stadium here on Wednesday.

Dhoni hit four boundaries during his 96-ball knock and added an invaluable 112 runs for the fifth wicket with Rohit Sharma (58) and another 41 for the seventh with Irfan Pathan (38 not out) after India won the toss and batted.

India nearly spoiled a robust start after being restricted to 129-4 but Dhoni and Sharma ensured all was not lost, initially pushing for singles and then opening up later.

Virender Sehwag (49) and Gautum Gambhir (35) shared a rapid first-wicket partnership of 88 in 63 balls as India threatened a big total before the home team hit back by taking three wickets in the space of just three runs and nine balls.

Paceman Rao Ifktihar, who finished with 3-51, had Gambhir caught at cover-point before pace partner Abdur Rauf struck twice in his sixth over.

Rauf, playing only his second one-day match, forced an edge off Sehwag to wicket-keeper Sarfraz Ahmed before dismissing the in-form Suresh Raina (one), caught hooking in the deep.

Yuvraj Singh too threatened to take the attack apart during his 32-ball 37 (four boundaries and a six) before he edged Iftikhar for Sarfraz to take a diving left-handed catch.

Sharma and Dhoni steadied the innings through their 139-ball partnership. Iftikhar returned for his second spell to have Sharma caught at long-off. Sharma hit four boundaries during his 71-ball knock.

Dhoni miscued a heave off Sohail Tanveer in the penultimate over and was caught by Sarfraz.

Pakistan, in a must-win situation after losing to Sri Lanka in their opening Super League match on Sunday, suffered a big blow when captain Shoaib Malik failed to pass a fitness test after suffering dehydration.

Misbah-ul Haq led the team in Malik's absence as Pakistan brought in Nasir Jamshed for Malik. Pakistan also included paceman Rauf and off-spinner Saeed Ajmal in place of Wahab Riaz and Mansoor Amjad.

Ajmal, 30, made his one-day debut.

India, who will qualify for the final if they win this match, made four changes. Opener Sehwag, paceman Praveen Kumar and leg-spinner Piyush Chawla -- all rested in the last match -- returned with the fit-again Irfan Pathan.

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2008-07-02T07:09:00.000-07:00

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India to strong when bat Bangladesh

2008-06-29T09:41:00.000-07:00

Suresh Raina continued his fine Asia Cup form, scoring a second tournament century to ease India to a seven-wicket win over Bangladesh in the first super league stage match at the National Stadium in Karachi on Saturday.

Together with opener Gautam Gambhir (90), the pair put on a third wicket stand of 139 to help India to 284 for three after 43.2 overs in reply to Bangladesh's 284 for six.

The partnership overshadowed a maiden century from Bangladeshi allrounder Alok Kapali who stunned the Indians with a powerful 115 to steer Bangladesh to a fighting total.

Mohammad Ashraful, the Bangladesh skipper described Kapali's innings as one of the best he had seen for Bangladesh but rued his side's missed chances.

"We had a good total thanks to Kapali but our fielders didn't support the bowlers. Maybe if we had got Gambhir and Raina early it could have made a difference," he said.

Raina, who notched 101 against Hong Kong and 84 against Pakistan earlier in the tournament, hit 11 fours and three sixes on his way to an undefeated 116 following scores of 101 and 84 against Hong Kong and Pakistan to spoil Kapali's day.

SHAKY START

India started shakily as makeshift opener Robin Uthappa was beaten for two by an in-swinger from Shahadat Hossain and Rohit Sharma flicked Hossain straight to Farhad Reza after a quickfire 22 from 23 balls.

Gambhir and Raina, who were both lucky to survive dropped catches earlier in the innings, then set to their task with India reaching 100 in just 16 overs.

Gambhir eventually fell for 90 when he was caught at mid-wicket by Mashrafe Mortaza off Reza. Yuvraj Singh (36) joined man of the match Raina at the crease to see the game out.

Earlier Kapali, only in the squad because of an injury to batsman Aftab Ahmed, celebrated his lucky inclusion in the team with a superb innings.

He hit 115 from 96 balls and his record sixth wicket stand of 112 with Mahmudullah (26 not out) took Bangladesh past their previous highest total against India of 257-9, made in 2004.

India next face Pakistan in Karachi on Wednesday while Bangladesh play Sri Lanka at the same venue on Monday.

However having player three matches in four days, Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhon was unhappy with the tournament's tight schedule.

Sehwag runs rampage as India beat Pakistan

2008-06-26T12:42:00.000-07:00

Virendar Sehwag punished Pakistan's bowling with an aggressive hundred to lead India to a comfortable six-wicket win in the final Group B Asia Cup match here on Thursday.

Sehwag smashed a 95-ball 119 and Suresh Raina hit a 68-ball 84 during their 198-run second wicket stand to help India overhaul Pakistan's 299-4 with 7.5 overs to spare.

Earlier, Shoaib Malik hit his first century as captain to help Pakistan post a challenging target.

However it proved a cake walk for India who were indebted to some lusty batting by Sehwag and Raina as the duo tore apart the home bowling which lost its bite after frontline paceman Umar Gul broke down with a side strain.

Without Gul, who limped off in the third over, the Pakistani bowling looked a shadow of the side which beat India by 25 runs in the final of the tri-series held in Bangladesh earlier this month.

Sehwag hit five boundaries and five towering sixes in his ninth one-day century before he holed out at long-off with just 68 runs left. Yuvraj Singh with a 47-ball 48 and Mahendra Singh Dhoni with unbeaten 26 saw the home team through in the 43rd over.

Raina was as ruthless as Sehwag, hitting 10 boundaries and three sixes during his 69-ball innings before he miscued a drive off paceman Rao Iftikhar and was caught at covers. The duo took just 149 balls for their partnership.

Raina made his maiden hundred in India's 256-run win over Hong Kong on Wednesday.

Both India and Pakistan reached the Super League stages of the tournament but India carry two points into the next stage by virtue of this win.

Sri Lanka and Bangladesh also qualified from Group A. The Super Leage starts from Saturday with India taking on Bangladesh.

Indian captain Dhoni said his batsmen clicked on "world's flatest track."

"It was a big total but the wicket was very placid and there was nothing for the bowlers. We were quite optimistic about chasing and Pakistan lost Gul and after that had not much to do," said Dhoni.

Malik agreed the loss of Gul was a blow.

"A target of 300 was defendable and we could have defended that but it was hard to come back after losing Gul," said Malik.

Earlier, Malik added 90 for the opening wicket with Salman Butt (35) and another 129 for the second wicket with Younus Khan (59) to propel Pakistan who won the toss and decided to bat.

Butt and Pakistan were slow off the mark, managing just 58 runs off the first 15 overs. Once Butt went, caught off leg-spinner Piyush Chawla in the 22nd over, Younus and Malik upped the tempo.

Malik reached his sixth century, third against India, in one-day internationals off 104 balls. His last one-day century came against India at Lahore two years ago.

The Indians were scrappy in the field as they let off Malik twice in one over from Yusuf Pathan, first when Chawla grassed one with the batsman on 116 and then Gautam Gambhir five runs later.

Malik finally retired hurt after suffering cramp in his leg. He hit 16 boundaries and a six during his 119-ball knock.

Younus followed him in the next over when he holed out off Yusuf in the deep. He hit five boundaries during his 60-ball knock.

Pakistan drop keeper Akmal

2008-06-20T12:59:00.000-07:00

Akmal was omitted from a list of 20 players picked to attend a short training camp, from which a 15-member squad will be named for the June 24-July 6 contest in Pakistan.

India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong are the other countries taking part.

Akmal, 26, has been axed after being ever-present since 2004 although he was rested for three one-day games last year in which the selectors tried out young keeper Sarfraz Ahmed.

"Kamran remains our number one keeper but we also wanted to give chances to others and we felt Kamran also deserved to take a well deserved rest," chief selector Salahuddin Ahmed said.

Akmal who has played in 38 Tests and 88 one-dayers, has been told to get over a extended period of inconsistent form behind the stumps.

The final squad is due to be named on June 22. The selectors had no other surprises for the tournament although pacer Mohammad Asif will not take part as he remains in detention in Dubai on suspicion of carrying illegal drugs.

Pakistan squad:

Shoaib Malik (Capt), Salman Butt, Nasir Jamshed, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-ul-Haq, Sarfraz Ahmed, Shahid Afridi, Fawad Alam, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Gul, Rao Iftikhar, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Khan, Asad Rauf, Yasir Hameed, Bazid Khan, Mansoor Amjad, Naumanullah, Saeed Ajmal.

India Win From 140 runs

2008-06-11T03:48:00.000-07:00

India showed how the hectic pace of Twenty20 cricket could be replicated in ODIs, pounding 330 on a sluggish pitch before their bowlers rounded off a thumping win in their opening match of the tournament. Pakistan, coming off 12 successive wins against weak opposition, crashed to their worst defeat against India and their coach Geoff Lawson, who had hoped for a 150-run win, would have been embarrassed to see the shoe on the other foot.
Their mammoth total was made possible not by one but three batsmen: Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir made the most of some sloppy catching, getting within four runs of India's highest opening stand against Pakistan, before Yuvraj Singh raised visions of a 375-plus total. They settled for 330 but that didn't matter in the final analysis. Once Pakistan crumbled to 26 for 3, it was only a case of picking up the pieces.

Cricket-India in command against Pakistan in tri-series match

2008-06-10T10:03:00.000-07:00

Half centuries by three top-order batsmen helped India to score a challenging 330 runs for eight wickets against Pakistan in a triangular series match on Tuesday. Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh scored 89, 62 and 55 runs to register their 25th, eighth and sixth ODI half centuries respectively after India won the toss and opted to bat in their first match in the tournament that also includes hosts Bangladesh. Sehwag and Gambhir beating the Pakistani pace bowlers until their partnership collapsed on 155 as Gambhir was caught behind by keeper Kamran Akmal off a delivery from Wahab Riaz, who ended 2-86.

Pace bowler Omar Gul took three wickets for 61 runs while leg spinner Shahid Afridi and pacer Sohail Tanvir ended 2-52 and 1-57 respectively.

Sehwag also got a break on 43 runs when the third umpire dismissed an appeal after Akmal caught him behind off a delivery from Iftkhar.

76 balls, hit a six and 13 boundaries while Gambhir, who faced 62 balls, hit six fours.

Rajasthan Royals are first IPL Champs

2008-06-05T12:00:00.000-07:00

Published: Monday, 2 June, 2008, 02:00 AM Doha Time

JUBILANT: Rajasthan Royals celebrate their victory over Chennai in the IPL T20 final match at DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai, yesterday

Yusuf Pathan inspired Rajasthan Royals to a three-wicket defeat of Chennai Super Kings in a thrilling Indian Premier League final here yesterday.
He took three wickets to reduce Chennai, who lost the toss and were put into bat, to 163 for five, and then smashed 56 - including four sixes and three fours - in a 39-ball innings.
Needing eight runs off the final over, Shane Warne (nine not out) and Sohail Tanvir (nine no) kept their cool to reach the target, with the latter grabbing the one run needed for victory off the final ball of the match.
Rajasthan made a shaky start as they chased down Chennai's target, losing Niraj Patel in the fourth over for just two runs off 11 balls.
He played Manpreet Gony on to his leg stump attempting a pull, but fellow opener Swapnil Asnodkar (28) looked in better touch.
He seemed to have the measure of Makhaya Ntini, hitting the South African for consecutive fours, but could not cope with the pace of Albie Morkel and slashed at a wide ball to Suresh Raina at point.
The Royals suffered a double blow as in the same over Kamran Akmal (six) went for a suicidal single after nudging to mid-on and was run out by Ntini's direct hit.
Pathan proved he was just as capable with the bat as with the ball, although he was lucky to be dropped by Raina in the 11th over on 13.
Raina's error proved costly as Pathan went on to smash Muttiah Muralitharan for back-to-back sixes.
Shane Watson chipped in with a quickfire 28 off 19 balls but succumbed when he came down the track to Muralitharan but missed and was bowled.
Needing 52 off the last five overs, Pathan launched Lakshmipathy Balaji for 12 off one over and then dished out the same treatment to Muralitharan, hoisting the spinner over midwicket to bring up his half century.
But Mohammad Kaif then lobbed Muralitharan into the hands of Mahendra Singh Dhoni at cover and Ravindra Jadeja followed the next ball when he lamely pulled Morkel straight to Kapugedera at mid-on.
Rajasthan's hopes were knocked when Pathan was run out by Raina's superb direct hit but Warne and Tanvir steered the Royals to victory.
Earlier, Chennai openers Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan and Parthiv Patel put on 39 before the former was dismissed in the sixth over. He tried to pull Pathan over deep midwicket but mistimed it and was caught by Jadeja sprinting in from the boundary.
Patel looked a touch nervy from the off and survived two decent lbw appeals, but he hit five fours in a 38-run innings off 33 balls before being caught behind by Akmal off Pathan.
Morkel attempted to accelerate the run rate and smashed two sixes before he became Pathan's third victim, top-edging behind high behind him.
Akmal backpedalled to take the catch, despite
colliding heavily with Kaif who was running in from short fine leg.
Aiming for a flurry of runs in the final few overs, Raina tried one shot too many and was caught on the long-off boundary by Jadeja off the bowling of Watson, and Chamara Kapugedera did not last long, adding just eight runs before lofting to Asnodkar at long on off Tanvir.
Dhoni smashed 29 off 17 balls, including a huge six in the last over, and Subramaniam Badrinath made six off the final two balls of the innings to reach 163 for five but it proved insufficient. (Agencies)

IPL is over what's next now

2008-06-04T09:30:00.000-07:00

Indian Premier League has been a nation-wide hit and there is no second opinion about that. A lot has been said about how it has given a platform to youngsters to showcase their talent and how rivals have turned friends on the field and vice-versa. Now with the culmination of the first season, it's time to see what are the side effects and after-effects of this cricket carnival. Positives are there for everyone to see. But what lies ahead for cricket as a game?

With the success of the first edition of the Indian Premier League, other cricket boards are already mulling over launching their own versions of the league. Except Dmitri Mascarenhas, no other English cricketer participated in the cricket extravaganza. So did they miss out on the big moolah? Yes! But now England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has decided to come up with their 'League' in a few years from now. Cricket Australia and Pakistan Cricket Board are also pondering over launching their leagues after witnessing the success of their players in the tournament.

And did I mention the Stanford T20 tournament in West Indies! Of course, it came into existence before the IPL. Last but not the least is the ICL (Indian Cricket League), which has become a condemned refuge for the retired players or the players who have been overlooked or damned by their national boards. But the rebel league does not bother the ICC. The problem lies ahead!

Chennai super kings

2008-06-03T11:48:00.000-07:00

Chennai: After their eight-wicket defeat at the hands of the Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur, the Chennai Super Kings have a very good opportunity to get back to winning ways when they take on bottom-placed Deccan Chargers in the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 tournament here on Tuesday.

It is a critical game for both teams as it comes at the halfway stage in the league. The Super Kings are currently placed fourth on the leaderboard that they once led with four consecutive victories. The Chargers occupy the last spot with one win from six outings.

If anything, the Super Kings would not have to deal with another Sohail Tanvir or a Shane Warne as the Chargers are struggling to put up an effective combination that can fetch them much-needed success.

But the Super Kings' much-vaunted batting line-up has not really clicked since the departure of the two Australians, Matthew Hayden and Mike Hussey. They are also missing the big-hitting all-rounder Jacob Oram who left for New Zealand just as he was getting into a wicket-taking mode.

Aussie plan of getting Windies trade secrets fails

2008-05-31T05:25:00.000-07:00

Australia's ploy to get inside information from the West Indies camp before the Test series went futile as the compatriot they had banked on refused to divulge the trade secrets. Nash, who missed out on a berth in the West Indian Test squad for the current Test series, has played with the likes of Chris Gayle, Daren Powell and Jerome Taylor and could have provided some important tips about the West Indian gameplan to the Aussies.

But he chose to turn down the insinuation on moral grounds.

"I would not feel comfortable giving those sort of trade secrets and that sort of information out to the Australians," Nash was quoted as saying in 'The Australian.'

"It would be like giving up information against my own team because I am hoping to play for the West Indies.

"I have played with or against every one of the West Indies players in the domestic competition. So I know a fair bit about them, and their strengths and weakness, but I'll be keeping that close to my chest," he said.

Thirty-year-old Nash was a moderately successful left-handed batsman. He moved to Jamaica to continue his cricket career there, while his father represented the Caribbean nation as an Olympic swimmer.

Australia won the first Test against the hosts earlier this week.

Shah Rukh Khan last gift for our Knight Rider team

2008-05-26T12:04:00.000-07:00

Shah Rukh, who was angry with the media for rumour-mongering, signed off by giving his team gold-plated helmets and promising their fans that the next season will be much better for his Knight Riders.
If Shoaib Akhtar or any of the Knight Riders were ever to be marooned on a deserted island, they'd certainly be able to entertain themselves with their new playstations, laptops, speakers and watches. The biggest prize that you can have for trying in life is this golden helmet so you can only desire this helmet if you deserve it and I don't think nobody deserves it more than all the young boys and all the men who have played for Knight Riders.
SRK and his team are still one big happy family with the actor rubbishing reports of a rift with captain and coach. He was also quite categorical in saying that he's not about to abandon his team.

Deccan Chargers

2008-05-23T13:26:00.000-07:00

Deccan Chargers look to play for pride when they take on Kings XI Punjab on Friday. The Preity Zinta-owned team would be looking to seal another win to confirm their berth in the semi-finals of the Indian Premier League. It by no means would be an easy task as the Chargers are up against a team that would be playing on their home turf and have won eight of their 11 games so far.
The Punjab side, that on Wednesday defeated Mumbai Indians by one run in a thrilling encounter in Mumbai, know that despite having almost qualified for the semi-finals, they will need one more win to be on the safer side when the list of four teams is drawn.
Punjab Cricket Association curator Daljit Singh, also the chairman of BCCI’s grounds and pitches committee, said he had been keeping the wickets covered for the past couple of days. “If wickets are covered for long, it will result in moisture which will make the ball seam more. It won’t be a good situation for the batsmen. But we are hoping that rain doesn’t fall on Friday at least.
We have three super soppers and other equipment to dry the ground, which should not be a problem, but only thing is that we should get some sunshine for a few hours,” Daljit said.

With his Australian counterpart 23-year-old Luke Pomersbach, both the left-handers are emerging as a dangerous combination. Then there are the likes of Sri Lankan pair Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene and captain Yuvraj Singh, who even though has not had a good run with the bat, is still capable of launching an attack single-handedly.

On Cricket Australia having begun formulating regulations to start a IPL-type competition Down Under, the Australian wicket-keeper batsman said he read but was not much aware much about it.

Marsh and Pomersbach set Good target against mumbai indian

2008-05-21T05:43:00.000-07:00

In Mumbai Shaun Marsh and Luke Pomersbach's 134-run partnership set up a big total for Kings XI Punjab against the Mumbai Indians. Mumbai's bowlers failed to contain the damage even after Marsh was dismissed as Pomersbach led the mad rush for runs at the end of the innings and added 55 in the final five overs.
Marsh was the more orthodox of the two, playing the spinners by getting inside the line while cutting and pulling the faster bowlers. While both used their feet against the spinners, Marsh cashed in by lofting Vikrant Yeligati inside-out for a six over long-off and Siddharth Chitnis for one over long-on. He failed to connect when trying to sweep the spinners and also swung his bat wildly at Dilhara Fernando's slower deliveries. But two brutal shots came off his bat in the third over against Ashish Nehra - he lifted a good length delivery for six over long-off before swivelling round to pull a four to midwicket.
He hooked Fernando for a six to fine leg and flicked Chitnis to four to take Punjab past 50 in the seventh over. He got to his fifty in 35 balls.
In the third over, Marsh danced out of the crease to a shorter delivery by Pollock but changed his mind halfway and just popped the ball to point where Robin Uthappa dropped a diving catch.
It was Chitnis who got Marsh in the end, but it was only because by then Marsh was going for the runs. Chitnis deceived him with a slower one and Marsh holed out to long-on.

Yusuf pthan powers Rajasthan in semi final

2008-05-21T05:38:00.000-07:00

A disciplined performance with the ball, followed by a counterattacking blitz from Yusuf Pathan, sealed a six-wicket win at Eden Gardens for the Rajasthan Royals who, with 18 points from 11 matches, become the first team to seal a spot in the semi-finals. At the toss, Shane Warne had said his intention was to knock out the Kolkata Knight Riders and the loss leaves the home side nearly out of the running for a semi-final place. Warne decided to stick with his tried-and-tested policy of fielding first, with the pitch offering assistance to the bowlers. They kept Kolkata on a leash, and a regular stream of wickets ensured the home side could manage only 147.
Warne's experiment to send in Sohail Tanvir at No. 3 didn't come off and Saha's acrobatic one-handed take to get rid of Graeme Smith continued the fightback. Watson seemed to be in the mood when he deftly nudged Sourav Ganguly past short third man but he was soon to be bowled trying to heave an inswinger across the line.

Dhoni take Chennai Super Kings to 156

2008-05-14T12:28:00.000-07:00

Subramaniam Badrinath and Mahendra Singh Dhoni revived Chennai Super Kings with a near-century stand after the Mumbai Indians' pace attack had taken early control of their Indian Premier League clash at the Wankhede Stadium here today. Badrinath made 53 off 32 balls with seven fours and two sixes while his skipper Dhoni made an unbeaten 43 in 35 balls with six fours and a six. Mumbai Indians pace attack put them on the rack on a bouncy track to restrict them to 46 four in the ninth over before Badrinath and Dhoni led their revival with a splendid stand.

Chennai Kings' final tally looked inadequate against Mumbai Indians' strong batting line-up that included the fit-again Sachin Tendulkar for the first time in the tournament.

Chennai vs Punjab

2008-05-10T13:20:00.000-07:00

Chennai and Punjab clashed for the first time in the second match of the Indian Premier League and a century from Michael Hussey ensured that the match was a no-contest. However, since then Punjab have hit a formidable run of form, and are on a five-match winning streak, while Chennai took a beating after their foreign players left. Chennai, though, have been expermineting with their batting order which has seen the emergence of players like Albie Morkel come to fore. Chennai will be looking to continue the much gathered momentum and also put an end to Punjab's 5-match winning streak.
Said the Kings IX captain on Friday (May 9) while coach Tom Moody said the team "have got a good combination of attacking bowlers, attacking batsmen and batsmen who can adjust to certain roles.
After three consecutive losses Dhoni's men have got back to winning ways and once again their key players will need to fire. Suresh Raina has been in good nick and his form will be good for the middle order. Albile Morkle's all-round contribution has made the difference in the side.

Deccan Charges beat chennai super kings

2008-05-07T00:43:00.000-07:00

Deccan Chargers (148 for 3) beat Chennai Super Kings (144 for 7)

Chennai Super Kings have plenty to ponder after losing to the Deccan Chargers by seven wickets, their third successive defeat. Their top order failed again and their total of 144 was easily overhauled by Deccan, inspired by a blazing 54 by stand-in captain Adam Gilchrist.

Deccan's bowlers exploited the helpful conditions early on to slice through the Chennai top order. Just as in the previous two matches, the batsmen floundered against the moving ball in the first over. Parthiv Patel troubles with the bat continued as he survived a close lbw call first ball, was dropped by the bowler P Vijaykumar off the fourth, before RP Singh took a fine running catch to dismiss him sixth ball.

IPL

2008-05-05T09:26:00.000-07:00

Delhi International Cricket Council (ICC) will look at ways to protect Test cricket in the wake of Twenty20's growing impact at a two-day board meeting starting in Dubai on Monday.
IPL was launched last month involving several high-profile players and has taken the cricket world by storm with the England board also planning their own league.
Committee will discuss international cricket as the pinnacle of the game, the impact of Twenty20 cricket on other formats of the game and the impact of domestic leagues on the international game," an ICC statement said.

Harbhajan Got Banned For This IPl

2008-05-02T09:30:00.000-07:00

I think Friend You Know That When Harbhajan Sing Slap to Sreesanth and BCCi take Action for this matter now Harbhajan Singh has been banned for the remainder of the current IPL season for his altercation with Sreesanth at the end of Mumbai Indians' match against Kings XI Punjab on Friday. The ban is for 11 matches, including last Sunday's game, extendable to 13 if Mumbai progress to the semi-final and final.
The duo embraced at the end of the hearing after Harbhajan offered an apology in front of the cameras. Harbhajan will not be appealing against the ban.

Harbhajan vs Sreesanth

2008-04-25T23:20:00.000-07:00

In first time indian cricket carrer:-Upset over the row between Mumbai Indians stand-in captain Harbhajan Singh and Kings XI Punjab paceman S Sreesanth, Indian Premier League Chairman Lalit Modi on Saturday said it was a "serious matter" and was not good for the cash-rich Twenty20 tournament.
In any tournament it should not happen, it's unfortunate what happened yesterday," Modi told reporters here.
Harbhajan allegedly slapped Sreesanth after Mumbai Indians lost their IPL match to Kings XI Punjab on Friday night and the paceman was seen bitterly crying on the field.
There is no clear evidence at this moment, there are different versions about what may have happened. But at the end of the day we have to take cognizance of the fact that happened on the field.
The tournament is being played under the ICC guidelines, besides there are also tournament guidelines for the players," he said. The Kings XI team, led by Yuvraj Singh, is reportedly planning to lodge a complaint against the off-spinner, who later apologised to the paceman in the dressing room of the Punjab team.

No Cheer girl In match

2008-04-24T12:30:00.000-07:00

Scantily dressed cheeerleaders may have added to the fizzy cocktail of cricket and film stars at IPL cricket matches but they have stirred a moral debate with political leaders calling them "worse than bar dancers" who are making a "mockery of cricket. The saffron party demanded a ban on the shows by the cheerleaders who have been described as "cricket's item numbers." Sinha said it is "difficult to find cricket in these matches" and it is making a mockery of the sport. (If you are so interested in deploying these cheer girls who dance after hits of fours and sixes, it is better to give chance to the bar girls who became unemployed after Maharashtra government banned their dance in bars)

Knight Riders VS Royal Challenge

2008-04-19T03:48:00.000-07:00

Indian Premier League as he struck the highest-ever individual Twenty20 score to lead the Kolkata Knight Riders to a 140-run opening-match victory against the Bangalore Royal Challengers.New Zealand opener went some way to fulfilling his $700,000 price tag as he smashed 10 fours and 13 sixes to finish unbeaten on 158 from just 73 balls.
Knight Riders' Bollywood actor owner, Shah Rukh Khan, who watched on as McCullum's one-man assault led his franchise to 222 for three. It was McCullum who stole all the headlines on the opening night of this eagerly-anticipated tournament.
Following a 45-minute opening ceremony Bangalore captain Rahul Dravid won the toss and elected to field in front of a capacity crowd at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Praveen Kumar's opening over proved anti-climactic with only one run coming from the bat, a mis-timed pull by McCullum from the final ball.
But the New Zealander was quickly into his stride belting four consecutive boundaries from Zaheer Khan's next over, including a fortuitous top-edge over third man. The home reply began poorly as they lost the early wickets of Rahul Dravid (two) and Virat Kohli (one) before Jacques Kallis struck the first boundary of the innings in the fourth over, planting Ajit Agarkar over mid-off.

IPL Match History

2008-04-18T06:53:00.000-07:00

April 18: Bangalore v Kolkata at Bangalore
April 19: Mohali v Chennai at Mohali and Delhi v Jaipur at Delhi
April 20: Mumbai v Bangalore at Mumbai;
Kolkata v Hyderabad at Kolkata
April 21: Jaipur v Mohali at Jaipur
April 22: Hyderabad v Delhi at Hyderabad
April 23: Chennai v Mumbai at Chennai
April 24: Hyderabad v Jaipur at Hyderabad
April 25: Mohali v Mumbai at Mohali
April 26: Bangalore v Jaipur at Bangalore; Chennai v Kolkata at Chennai
April 27: Mumbai v Hyderabad at Mumbai; Mohali v Delhi at Mohali
April 28: Bangalore v Chennai at Bangalore
April 29: Kolkata v Mumbai at Kolkata
April 30: Delhi v Bangalore at Delhi.
May 1: Hyderabad v Mohali at Hyderabad; Jaipur v Kolkata at Jaipur
May 2: Chennai v Delhi at Chennai.
May 3: Hyderabad at Bangalore at Hyderabad; Mohali v Kolkata at Mohali
May 4: Mumbai v Delhi at Mumbai; Jaipur v Chennai at Jaipur
May 5: Bangalore v Mohali at Bangalore
May 6: Chennai v Hyderabad at Chennai
May 7: Mumbai v Jaipur at Mumbai
May 8: Delhi v Chennai at Delhi; Kolkata v Bangalore at Kolkata
May 9: Jaipur v Hyderabad at Jaipur
May 10: Bangalore v Mumbai at Bangalore; Chennai v Mohali at Chennai
May 11: Hyderabad v Kolkata at Hyderabad; Jaipur v Delhi at Jaipur
May 12: Mohali v Bangalore at Mohali
May 13: Kolkata v Delhi at Kolkata
May 14: Mumbai v Chennai at Mumbai; Mohali v Jaipur at Mohali
May 15: Delhi v Hyderabad at Delhi
May 16: Mumbai v Kolkata at Mumbai
May 17: Delhi v Mohali at Delhi; Jaipur v Bangalore at Jaipur
May 18: Hyderabad v Mumbai at Hyderabad; Kolkata v Chenna at Kolkata
May 19: Bangalore v Delhi at Bangalore
May 20: Kolkata v Jaipur at Kolkata
May 21: Mumbai v Mohali at Mumbai; Chennai v Bangalore at Chennai
May 22: Delhi v Kolkata at Delhi
May 23: Mohali v Hyderabad at Mohali.
May 24: Delhi v Mumbai at Delhi; Chennai v Jaipur at Chennai
May 25: Bangalore v Hyderabad at Bangalore; Kolkata v Mohali at Kolkata
May 26: Jaipur v Mumbai at Jaipur
May 27: Hyderabad v Chennai at Hyderabad
May 28 and 29: Rest days
May 30: First semi-final at Mumbai
May 31: Second semi-final at Mumbai
June 1: Final at Mumbai

In kanpur india beat south africa now series draw

2008-04-13T05:38:00.000-07:00

indian win by 8 wicket, india won the third and final Test against South Africa at the Green Park stadium by eight wickets to level the series 1-1. It was only the eighth Test in Kanpur (out of 20) to have produced a result with India winning five of them and preserved the home team's record of having not lost a Test match here. The series ended in a 1-1 draw, with the visitors having won the second Test at Motera by an innings and 90 runs and the first Test at Chepauk having ended in a tame draw. This was also the second straight Test match after Motera to end in three days.

Harbhajan is man of the match

2008-04-13T05:30:00.000-07:00

in kanpur test harbhajan singh choss man of the match and he got car nice play by harbhajan he was a man of the match.harbhajan singh took 13 wicket in this series.

In Kanpur Ishant and Harbhajan Singh star

2008-04-11T05:22:00.000-07:00

In Kanpur Ishant and Harbhajan Singh took 3 wicket each and got star.It wasn't exactly a see-saw battle on day one of the third and final Test but more of South Africa having India on the mat and then throwing it away. India bowled out South Africa for 265 just before stumps at the Green Park stadium here on Friday.
MS Dhoni will be relatively happy with his first day at office as India’s Test captain. India took one wicket in the first session, three in the second and six in the last to end the South African innings in 87.3 overs.
Dhoni, who became the first wicketkeeper to lead an Indian Test side, lost the crucial toss and India had to field, which meant would bat last on a languished pitch that would disintegrate faster than the Indian top order had in Ahmedabad and South Africa got off to a confident start on a pitch.
But the Proteas were unable to capitalise as none of their batsmen converted their starts to big scores. Skipper Graeme Smith top scored with 69 and Hashim Amla notched up a half-century, Piyush Chawla, who had struck in his first over of his first spell, did the same in his second as de Villiers' attempted heave against the turn proved costly with Sourav Ganguly pouching the skier.
Prince (16) and Morne Morkel (17) fell victim to some disciplined bowling by Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh as the South African tail was left exposed. Ishant Sharma in a deadly spell cleaned up Mark Boucher (29) and after Harbhajan dismissed Dale Steyn for nought, the lanky pacer sent Paul Harris’s off-stump cartwheeling for 12 to end the South African innings

Ishant, Munaf, Powar play in third test match

2008-04-06T07:02:00.000-07:00

India bolstered their bowling attack for next
week's third and final test against South Africa by including fit-again paceman Ishant Sharma and recalling medium-pacer Munaf Patel to a 16-man squad on Sunday.19-year-old Sharma has been out of action since returning from an impressive tour of Australia, due to injuries to his foot and finger, and missed the first two tests against South Africa, while Munaf last played a test in December.
The visitors went 1-0 up in the three-test series on Saturday after winning the second game in Ahmedabad by an innings and 90 runs inside three days."The team is keen to play three spinners and hence Powar has been added to the line-up," Indian board secretary Niranjan Shah told reporters.
Powar, who has played two tests, has been named partly as cover for skipper and leg-spinner Anil Kumble, who suffered a groin strain in the drawn first test and did not seem fully fit in the second.
Shah said both Sharma and Kumble would be subject to fitness tests on April 10, a day before the final test starts in Kanpur.
The hosts will be without talismanic batsman Sachin Tendulkar, who aggravated a groin injury in the first test which ruled him out of the remaining part of the series.
Squad: Wasim Jaffer, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Saurav Ganguly, Vangipurappu Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Irfan Pathan, Anil Kumble (captain), Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla, Ramesh Powar, Ishant Sharma, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, Munaf Patel.

South Africa Vs India test Macth 2nd Day Story

2008-04-04T05:22:00.000-07:00

Jacques Kallis along with AB de Villiers continued their on slaught from where they had stopped at stumps on day one. The pair of Kallis and de Villiers powered South Africa's innings as the visitors went past the 400-run mark on the second day of the on-going second Test at Ahmedabad. After lunch Kallis however is lucky to be still there at the crease after a Harbhajan Singh devliery hit the stumps but failed to take off the bails at 61. He eventually fell prey to the bowling of Sreesanth, who cleaned Kallis up,Indian bowlers who have struggled to get any breakthroughs on second day so far, face a tough challenge to get India back in the game at Motera.
All happening at the greentop in Motera yesterday (April 3), as the Indian batsmen lost their feet and timbered to a rampaging South African attack and followed another sub-100 score from a vaunted batting line-up. It was upto the Indian bowlers to restore some pride, by striking early on the second day's play in the Motera, Ahmedabad.Harbhajan is certainly looking to fightback and even though he has inflicted the maximum danger to the Proteas batting line-up picking up 3 wickets, the turbanator didn't mince any words about the pitch which dug the graveyard of Indian batsmen.Skipper Anil Kumble's request to shave the grass off the 22-yard strip was met with stiff resistance by the pitch curator and this left the mild-mannered captain quite agitated. South Africans have already buried the Indians and over the course of the Ahmedabad Test, Kumble and his men will hope to turn their words into action.

Shoaib Akhtar banned for 5 years

2008-04-02T10:33:00.000-07:00

Shoaib Akhtar, right, is ineligible to play in Pakistan or for Pakistan anywhere else in the world [AFP]

Shoaib Akhtar, Pakistan fast bowler, has been banned for five years by the Pakistan Cricket Baord (PCB) for repeated disciplinary breaches, effectively ending the paceman's controversial career.

The 32-year-old appeared before a disciplinary committee charged with publicly criticising the country's cricket board, and was already on two years' probation for hitting teammate Mohammad Asif with a bat last year.

Akhtar, the world's fastest bowler, immediately vowed to contest the ban in court to save an 11-year career that has been plagued by injuries, discipline problems and a doping scandal in 2007.

"The committee has recommended a five year-ban on Shoaib Akhtar," Nasim Ashraf, PCB chairman, told reporters.

"He will be ineligible to play in Pakistan or to play for Pakistan anywhere else in the world.

Tendulker not fite against South Africa

2008-03-30T22:56:00.000-07:00

*Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar will miss the second test against South Africa starting on Thursday due to a groin injury, the Indian board said on Sunday.The player did not take the field on the final day of the first test which ended in a draw in Chennai on Sunday.

*Tendulkar had declared himself fit before the series when many of his team mates were directed to report to the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore to undergo fitness tests.

*Mohammad Kaif has been named as his replacement.

*India captain Anil Kumble, who was also off the field in the final two sessions on Sunday, faces a final fitness decision on Wednesday before the test in Ahmedabad, Shah said."I had a slight niggle while I was bowling and I didn't want to take a chance," Kumble told reporters. "The match was probably over by then."It was important for me to ensure that I recover well for the second test."

Sehwag Run Card

2008-03-28T05:14:00.000-07:00

	6s
	5s
	4s
	3s
	2s
	1s

Sehwag has joined the elite club of Brian Lara and Sir Don Bradman by scoring his 2nd TRIPLE CENTURY. He has also equalled his highest test score and also registered the highest individual score on this ground. The partnership between Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag is also the highest for the 2nd wicket at this stadium. Virender Sehwag has become the first man in the history of the game to be involved in two 200 plus partnerships in a single innings. This is also the first instance when the first two partnerships of an innings have been 200 plus. His triple ton is also the fastest in terms of number of balls taken. This is also the first triple ton on Indian soil. Hoof!! I'm out of breath...

What a magnificent day of cricket for India. 386 runs scored today for the loss of just one wicket. This is the highest number of runs scored in a single day in India. Virender Sehwag stole the show by his sheer brilliance and now the pressure that South Africa is under is inexplicable. We are set to witness a fantastic day of cricket tomorrow. Do join us for that. Till then it is good bye and good night from all of us...

Sehwag News, Sehwag racord

2008-03-28T05:09:00.000-07:00

Virender Sehwag launched into the South African attack, taking only 194 balls to reach his fourth Test double-century © AFP

By tea on the third day, Sehwag had made more than two-third of India's runs, with 287 being added to the overnight total of 82 at well over four an over. The first-wicket partnership ended at 213, with Wasim Jaffer contributing a dogged 73, but that was merely the signal for Sehwag to unleash a fusillade of strokes before the intervals. South Africa's five bowlers toiled away with no reward on an unforgiving pitch and by tea, a couple of them were looking a little shell-shocked.He did get some late swing, but nothing that could be construed as threatening and the bulk of the work went to Paul Harris, who finally switched to a round-the-wicket line to snare Jaffer. Jaffer's had been the perfect anchor role, and when he flirted at one outside off stump that actually turned a little, Jacques Kallis took a fine catch low at slip.

Every so often the ball would be flayed through the covers when the pace bowlers gave him a bit of room, and when it came to Harris, there was either the inside-out loft over cover or the finely placed paddle sweep. Smith had brought back Makhaya Ntini, who had gone for 22 from three overs in the morning, and Sehwag whipped a massive six over long leg to get to 199. A ball later, a twirl of the wrists sent the ball speeding through midwicket, taking him to 202 from just 194 balls.

It was his 10th successive hundred in excess of 150, an unprecedented feat, and it must have made the selectors who dropped him from the Test side cringe more than a little. India had started the day as though they meant business, with Jaffer pulling Ntini for four, and Smith was soon forced into an early change. Ntini's three overs went for 22. Steyn bowled at lively pace, but again there was so little assistance from the conditions that he was soon left to make disgruntled and rueful faces.The pick of the bowlers was Morkel, who sent a couple of deliveries thudding through at express pace and beat the outside edge more than once. But apart from a Jaffer edge that fell well short of Mark Boucher, there weren't even half-chances to encourage the bowlers. Jaffer eventually got to his 50 from 107 balls, more than content to paddle in Sehwag's wake.

There was also a powerful reverse-sweep that sped behind point for four.

Chennai News

2008-03-26T06:58:00.000-07:00

At stumps on Wednesday, his side was sitting pretty at 304-4, with the captain himself, Neil McKenzie (94) and Hashim Amla (85 not out) putting it across the Indian attack. Anil Kumble was left holding the consolation prize of four wickets With Amla and A.B de Villiers (10) at the crease, and Mark Boucher and Morne Morkel still to bat, South Africa could well be in a position to force the issue here. India, on the other hand, would be hoping for contributions from all the bowlers, not just the spinners.Once Graeme Smith won the toss and predictably elected to bat, all the Indians could do was hope that their limited bowling strength would be able to do the job.India went in with the expected two spinners, while RP Singh and S Sreesanth got the nod for sharing the new ball, Irfan Pathan having to sit out. While there may be questions raised about his being left out, the fact remains that there was no place for three seamers, and playing both left-armers did not look like such a great idea.In any case, both RP Singh and Sreesanth have shown greater wicket-taking knack off late.He got rid of Smith (73) and then Ashwell Prince (23), the latter thanks to a sprawling caught and bowled, which was definitely the highlight of the Indian batting on day one.

Strauss and Bell

2008-03-24T04:07:00.000-07:00

Strauss, who had not scored a hundred in his last 30 test innings, was on his highest test score of 173 not out and Bell made 110 to guide the tourists to 416 for five at the close on the third day.Their highest successful run chase was 324 for five against Pakistan at Christchurch in 1994.

Tim Ambrose was the other not out batsman on 28. Daniel Vettori had figures of three for 135.The England batsmen applied themselves throughout the day on the batter-friendly pitch and demonstrated how easy it could be to accumulate runs in the near-perfect conditions. They scored 325 runs in 90 overs for the loss of three wickets.

"They batted really well and showed us what is (achievable) on that wicket, New Zealand offspinner Jeetan Patel told reporters.

"I don't think we bowled poorly, they just stuck around and hung in as hard as they could."

Strauss, recalled for the series after being dropped last year, surpassed his previous highest score of 147, made against South Africa in 2005, and the biggest individual total (160) at McLean Park.

He had brought up his 11th test century with a cover drive off Chris Martin for his 16th boundary shortly before tea.The 31-year-old's last test century was the 116 he scored against Pakistan in Leeds in August 2006

Bell was the more aggressive and scored 88 runs between lunch and tea. However, he was dismissed after the break for 110 when he hit the ball straight to Mathew Sinclair off Vettori to end his 187-run fourth-wicket partnership with Strauss.

Paul Collingwood produced a cameo 22 before he popped a return catch to Vettori, though the wicket was barely celebrated by the New Zealand team.

Kevin Pietersen, who scored 129 in England's first innings, was the only other wicket to fall when Ross Taylor made a fine reflex catch at first slip off Vettori to dismiss him for 34 in the morning.

New Zealand won the first test by 189 runs and England the second by 126 runs.

Greg Chappell

2008-03-22T06:26:00.000-07:00

Greg Chappell is worried that heavy bats are taking the beauty out of the game, The former Australia captain, himself a graceful driver of the ball, observed here Wednesday that the trend of playing with heavy bats is not confined to India. Chappell is here on a talent search mission for a private company.

"Heavy bats are a worry because they tend to make batsmen pushers rather than drivers," Chappell told reporters at the Jamia Millia Islamia University where he saw over 1,200 youngsters in action over two days as part of the talent hunt.

Another aspect of the modern game that concerns Chappell is the vanishing breed of off-spinners.

"And that is why selection becomes critical," he said.

The increasingly cramped cities also worry Chappell.

"With people coming over to urban areas, there are no empty spaces in cities - an issue that cricket has to deal with," said the man who had an eventful tenure as India's coach, from 2005 to 2007.

Frazer, who worked with the Indian team during Chappell's reign, said that Indian youngsters should have proper diet to help them develop bodies that are able to bear the strain of the increasing demands of the modern game.

Pakistan's Inzy 'disgusted' but Australia cheers Hair return

2008-03-20T11:41:00.000-07:00

Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq was "shocked and disgusted" by controversial umpire Darrell Hair's reinstatement but Australia welcomed the move on Wednesday.

Inzamam clashed with Hair in the forfeited Oval Test between Pakistan and England in August 2006, which led to the Australian umpire's ban from standing in top-level matches.

"I am terribly shocked and disgusted at the news," Inzamam said from India, where he is featuring in the Indian Cricket League.

Hair was recalled to the elite panel of umpires on Tuesday after the International Cricket Council (ICC) decided to reinstate him in its board meeting held in Dubai.

"I would blame the Pakistan Cricket Board for bowing down in Hair's case and no player will now stand against injustices at international level," Inzamam said.

"Hair was at fault but he is reinstated like a hero."

Ishant Shrma Not played Agianst South Africa

2008-03-18T12:45:00.000-07:00

Sharma, 19, was the find of the tour in Australia where India lost 2-1 in the four-Test series that featured a divisive second Test in Sydney marred by poor umpiring, but won the tri-series finals 2-0 against the hosts.

He suffered a toe injury during the tour and a finger injury after his return and was advised to take three weeks' rest.

Indian Cricket Board secretary Niranjan Shah told reporters after the selection meeting in Bangalore, attended by new coach Gary Kirsten and Test captain Anil Kumble, that Sharma would be considered for the second Test if he recovered in time.

The first Test will be played in Chennai from March 26 to 30 and the second in Ahmedabad from April 3 to 7.

Leg-spinner Piyush Chawla will be on stand-by as cover for both Harbhajan and left-arm spinner Murali Kartik, who was picked as third spinner, and wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik for Dhoni, who is suffering from a finger sprain.

Kartik, who last played a Test in 2004, sustained an ankle sprain while playing in a domestic match on Monday.

Left-arm fast bowler Rudra Pratap Singh comes back after missing the tri-series in Australia with a hamstring injury to bolster the pace attack in the absence of Zaheer Khan, ruled out with a foot injury since the second Test in Sydney.

Wasim Jaffer, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Vangipurappu Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wicketkeeper), Irfan Pathan, Anil Kumble (captain), Harbhajan Singh, Murali Kartik, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, Rudra Pratap Singh.

Now BCCI Fitness test on Yuvi, Bhajji on Monday

2008-03-16T22:59:00.000-07:00

Team India's fitness worry continues ahead of the crucial selection of the squad for the home series against South Africa. The Fitness tests for Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Ishant Sharma have been posponed till Monday (March 17), ahead of the selection for the first two Tests.

Dilip Vengsarkar led selection committe will meet in Bangalore on Monday along with newly appointed coach Gary Kirsten, to select a team for the first two Tests. Anil Kumble, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, RP Singh and VRV Singh have already passed fitness at the NCA.

South Africans are slated to arrive in Chennai on March 21 for three Tests, the first of which begins at the MA Chidambaram Stadium (Chennai) on March 26.

Under scanner

Outgoing Physio John Gloster in his fitness report after the Australia series mentioned concerns over fitness of Yuvi, Bhajji and Ishant.

As per the report, Yuvraj Singh's knee injury returned to haunt him with the reccurence of the injury during the Perth Test and Gloster in his report had infact mentioned the need of surgery if enough rest wasn't provided to the left-handed batsman.

Harbhajan Singh's left hamstring injury found a mention in the Gloster report and had advised him rest for atleast three weeks.
Ishant Sharma who injured his finger during the first final at Sydney had also been deemed serious by the physio

दूसरे कपिल बन सकते हैं धोनी!

2008-03-15T12:04:00.000-07:00

अब तक के सबसे सफल कप्तान सौरव गांगुली जो काम नहीं कर पायें हैं वो काम धोनी ग्वालियर में कर सकते हैं। दादा अपने कप्तानी में पाकिस्तान को वन डे सीरीज में अपनी जमीन हिंदुस्तान पर जीत नहीं दिला पाएं हैं हालांकि वो इकलौते कप्तान हैं जिसने पाकिस्तान में वन डे और टेस्ट सीरीज में पाकिस्तान को धूल चटाई है। भारत अगर इस वन डे सीरीज में पाकिस्तान को हराने में कामयाब हो जाता है तो ऐसा दूसरी बार होगा, इससे पहले 1983 की विश्व विजेता टीम ने 1983 में ही पाकिस्तान को भारत में 2-0 से हराकर वन डे सीरीज जीती थी। उस समय कपिल देव कप्तान थे इस बार भी हालात कुछ वैसे ही हैं वर्तमान में भारत विश्व चैम्पियन (20-20) है। इस बार कप्तानी टीम के सबसे कामयाब उभरते खिलाडी धोनी के पास है। ऐसी उम्मीद करने में कोई गलती नहीं होगी कि भारत इस बार पाकिस्तान को वन डे सीरीज में हराने में कामयाब होगा। अभी तक के सीरीज में भारत खेल के हर पहलू पर भारी ही पड़ा है। बेशक भारत की गेंदबाजी चिंता का विषय है पर अगर पाकिस्तान इसी तरह खेलता रहा मसलन फील्डिंग और खराब कप्तानी तो भारत को इस सीरीज में जीत से कोई नहीं रोक सकता। हालांकि पाकिस्तान ग्वालियर में बराबरी करने का कोई मौका नहीं चूकना चाहेगा पर भारत भी यहीं सीरीज का परिणाम तय करने के लिए उतरेगा। भारतीय टीम मैनेजमेंट को श्री संत को आखिरी दो वन डे में मौका देना चाहिए। वैसे तो इन दोनो जीत में स्पिनरों की भूमिका अहम रही है लेकिन श्री संत की कमी खल रही है। अगर खेलजुबान से भी होता है तो श्री संत की कमी और खलेगी और ऐसा हो भी सकता है कानपुर में उसकी शुरुआत हो चुकी है। वैसे तो अफरीदी के माफ़ी के बाद इस बात कि उम्मीद kam ही है लेकिन याद रहे पाकिस्तानी जब हारतें तो वो किसी भी हथकंडे को अपनाने से नहीं चूकते हैं !

Tendulkar come hear in NO 1 ODI Bastsmen displaces of Smith

2008-03-15T11:54:00.000-07:00

After the satisfaction of seeing his team on top of the ODI rankings, Graeme Smith had a personal milestone to celebrate as well, as he went past Sachin Tendulkar to take the No. 1 spot in the ICC's ODI rankings for batsmen.

Smith began the three-match series against Bangladesh in third place, 24 points behind Tendulkar, but pushed him to second spot after scoring 199 and being dismissed just once in the three ODIs. In fact, Smith has been in glorious form in one-day internationals over the last seven months, scoring nine half-centuries and a hundred in his last 19 innings, for an average of 52.35.

Tendulkar's reign at the top thus lasted less than two weeks - he claimed the spot after leading India to victory in the CB Series - but Smith is likely to keep that spot for at least three months since both India and Australia aren't scheduled to play ODIs before June.

AB de Villiers was the other South African batsman who made significant progress, going up six places to a career-best No. 9 after being the second-highest run-getter in the series with 109 runs.

Among the bowlers, Andre Nel, who has been left out of the Test squad for the series against India, made the biggest improvement, going up ten places to No. 6 after claiming seven wickets in the series.

Now M.S Dhoni doing graduation

2008-03-13T09:50:00.000-07:00

M.S Dhoni has tackled the best bowlers in the world and beaten the Australians on their own turf. Now the Indian cricket team captain's wish to tickle his grey cells and become a graduate has a Jharkhand college in a tizzy.

We will only gaze at him from outside the classroom.Dhoni did his schooling from DAV Shayamli, but after that cricket took over. He discontinued his studies as he got busy playing Ranji Trophy before being called to don the national colours.

Even the teachers are happy that the Indian skipper is setting the right precedent and being a good role model. "People earn name and fame after completing education but he (Dhoni) will be the first who has earned name, fame and money and then decided to join college," said Walter Bhengra, head of mass communication department at St. Xavier's.

But it may not be cakewalk for the master wicketkeeper-batsman. The college authorities are still finding ways to 'accommodate' their star student.

"Dhoni is an extra-ordinary case. We will try to condone his attendance shortfall. We will have to take up this issue to the academic council of the Ranchi University," Nicholas Tete, principal of St Xavier's, told IANS. "Dhoni has just expressed his desire to pursue B Com (Bachelor of Commerce) course for academic year 2008-2011. He is yet to submit his application form. He will be admitted through sports quota only if he has the required documents," remarked Tete.

Sreesanth hands free air tickets

2008-03-13T09:45:00.001-07:00

Dubai: Indian speedster S Sreesanth might be an aggressive person on the field, but there is another side of the player and that got reflected when he distributed free air tickets to prisoners who have completed their jail terms.
The 25-year-old pacer, who is the brand ambassador of Dubai-based Snow-White Garments, handed over more than 50 free air tickets to the inmates of Al Aweer Jail in Dubai who had completed their jail terms but were unable to return home, as they could not afford the costly air tickets.
Also Read: Dhoni's graduation plans leaves future college mates in a tizzy Aggressiveness comes naturally to me: Sreesanth
The initiative was a part of Snow-White Garments social responsibility project.
"It was a different experience for me. I appreciate the initiative, as I believe that all of us have a role to play in the society. We cannot walk away from the responsibilities," Sreesanth was quoted by The Gulf News as saying.
"I feel lucky to be part of this novel project. I always want to do something for the underprivileged people," he added.
Click Hear

Indian Wining Snaps Some Comments

2008-03-04T11:04:00.000-08:00

Australia's batsmen Stuart Clark, right, and James Hopes, second from right, watch as Indian cricket team members celebrate their victory over Australia following the second final of their tri-nations one day international cricket series in Brisbane, Australia, Tuesday, March 4, 2008.

Indian cricket team members spray champagne as they celebrate their victory over Australia following the second final of their tri-nations one day international cricket series in Brisbane, Australia, Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Cricket Ground Bad News

2008-03-04T10:57:00.000-08:00

Andrew Symonds beat guy
Australia's Andrew Symonds, foreground, prepares to check a pitch invader to the ground during the second final of their tri-nations one day international cricket series against India at Brisbane, Australia, Tuesday, March 4, 2008.

Finely India beat Australia And win tri-series

2008-03-04T10:44:00.000-08:00

Sachin Tendulkar scored a superb 91 and paceman Praveen Kumar went on to capture four wickets as the tourists followed up Sunday's six-wicket win in Sydney with a thrilling victory at the Gabba in Brisbane.
The Australians, who also lost last year's tri-series finals at home to England, recovered from a terrible start to give themselves a glimmer of hope when James Hopes (63) and Matthew Hayden (55) made half-centuries, only to come up short.
Tendulkar just missed out on back-to-back centuries after helping India post 258 for nine after they won the toss and batted first.
The master batsman followed up his unbeaten hundred in Sydney with a patient display to set India on the road to victory.
The tourists were heading for a much bigger total when Tendulkar and Robin Uthappa (30) piled on 94 for the first wicket before Australia's bowlers struck back.
Part-time spinner Michael Clarke (3-52) captured three wickets, including the prize scalp of Tendulkar, while paceman Nathan Bracken (3-31) also picked up three wickets in the frantic final few overs.
Tendulkar was untroubled as he cruised to his half-century off 70 balls but missed out on his hundred when he misjudged a delivery from Clarke and spooned a catch to a diving Ricky Ponting at mid-on.
Yuvraj Singh made a run-a-ball 38 in a 54-run stand with Tendulkar but their dismissals triggered a lower-order batting collapse.
The Indians lost six wickets for 50 runs in the last 11 overs after looking as though they would get closer to 300.
Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni kept the tail wagging with 36 from 37 deliveries but received little support from his team mates as the Australian bowlers stemmed the run flow.
The Australians made a terrible start to their run-chase when they lost three wickets in the first nine overs.
Adam Gilchrist, in his final appearance before retiring from international cricket, was caught behind for two off the third ball of the innings then Ponting (one) and Clarke (17) quickly followed.
Hayden and Andrew Symonds steadied the innings with a fourth wicket partnership of 89 before they both departed in the same over.
Hayden was run out at the non-strikers end for 55 and Symonds was trapped lbw by Harbhajan Singh for 42.
Mike Hussey and Hopes kept Australia in the hunt with a stand of 76 but the wickets began tumbling as the world champions were forced to take risks to reduce the required run-rate and they were bowled out for 249 in the last over

Sachin Takes 42 Hundred In Our ODI Record

2008-03-02T09:54:00.000-08:00

In Sydney ground (PTI): Sachin Tendulkar hit back at his critics who questioned his inability to strike form in one-day cricket of late, saying he did not bother about the comments of those without any credibility.

Tendulkar scored an unbeaten 117 to guide India to a six-wicket win against Australia in the first match of their best-of-three finals of the cricket tri-series.

"A lot of those people who can't do certain things themselves, they talk, so let them talk," Tendulkar said.

"I look at the credibility of the person who is writing. I prefer to listen to those people who matter to me. They do pick up the phone and tell me," he said.

Tendulkar said he was thrilled to get the century and more so because it was a match-winning effort.

"Yes, to score a century in Australia was something I wanted to do. It was also a terrific occasion to do so," said Tendulkar, whose unbeaten 42nd century sank the hosts.

He also talked about the niggles which hampered his progress during his innings as well as the beamer from Brett Lee which hit him smack on his shoulder.

"There has been a niggle in the groin which hasn't been allowing me to move freely. Still you try to push yourself. It was little difficult as I was cramping also.

"As for the beamer, I know Brett pretty well. It wasn't intentional. I jokingly told him that when he comes to play the IPL, he would have to face one from my son who is a great fan of his. There surely are no hard feelings."

Cricket King Sachin Tendulker 51 Success Point

2008-03-02T09:30:00.000-08:00

Sachin Tendulkar who going on famous cricketers in international cricket is still dominating cricket world. And in 15 year middle age, he is still in prime form. And in his way he is breaking record one by one. And Now, this legendary batting great who is seems to a god to his fans is now in attraction in India vs Pakistan Test series. I know most of you are eagerly waiting to know his details history.However, dear fans I have made a list of 51 things about Sachin Tendulkar where you will get many things from his cricket career to personal life.

.Tendulkar was born in a Saraswat Brahmin family in Bombay, now known as Mumbai.

.He father is a Marathi novelist.

.His father named him after his favourite music director Sachin Dev Burman.

.He was encouraged to play cricket by his elder brother Ajit. He has 2 more siblings - brother Nitin and sister Savitai.

.In 1995, Sachin Tendulkar married Anjali, the paediatrician daughter of Gujarati industrialist Anand Mehta.

.Tendulkar sponsors 200 under-privileged children every year through Apnalaya, a Mumbai-.based NGO associated with his mother-in-law, Annaben Mehta.

.He has many pseudonyms like 'The Little Master’ or 'The Master Blaster'.

.His date of birth is born 24 April 1973 and according to his date of birth his zodiac sign is Taurus. .He is 5ft 5inch (1.65m) tall. .He is the only Indian cricketer who has got Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna. He got this highest sporting honor for his performance in 1997-98.

.Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar debut his Test career against Pakistan in Karachi in 1989 under the leadership of Krish Srikkanth.

.Sachin Tendulkar scored 15 runs in his debut match before being bowled out in the ball of Waqar Younis, who also made his debut in this match. However, after few days he scored his maiden fifty at Faisalabad. .He debut his One Day International cricket on December 18, 1989 against Pakistan team at Gujranwala.

.But his debut ODI match was disappointed. He got out before making any score in the ball of Waqar Younis.

.He was 16 year old boy when he debut in international cricket. And he was the youngest boy in ODI cricket who debut in early age.

.He got his maiden Test century in tour of England in August 1990 at Old Trafford. He scored 119 against England in 1990.

.He was 17 years and 112 days old boy when he scored his maiden century. He was 30 days older than Pakistani batsman Mushtaq Mohammed when he became the youngest player to score a Test century against in 1990.

.Tendulkar is still playing both Test and ODI for Indian team and he is the highest Test centurion in Test cricket. Now he has already played 142 Test matches where he scored 37 Test centuries.

.Most of you already know that Sachin Tendulkar has broken the record of Pakistani batsmen Inzamam-ul-Haq’s highest Test fifty. Now, Sachin Tendulkar has 47 Test fifty where Inzamam is one fifty away from him.

.He has been ‘Man of the match’ 11 times in Test matches and ‘Man of the series’ twice, both times in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.

.He has become the first Indian cricketer to surpass 11000 Test run mark and the third international cricketer behind Allan Border (11174) and Brain Lara (11953).

.He is the second Indian batsman after Sunil Gavaskar who scored 10,000 runs in Test matches. .However, this world famous batsman got his first century against Australia in Sri Lanka at Colombo in 1994. He scored 110 runs in his maiden century.

.It had taken him 79 ODIs to score a century. .Tendulkar made 673 runs in 11 matches in the 2003 World Cup, helping India reach the final.

.Sachin Tendulkar is the second player in the world after Sri Lankan Sanath Jayasuriya who has played 400 ODIs.

.Both Sachin Tendulkar and Brain Lara are the fastest to score 10,000 runs in Test cricket history. They have achieved this in 195 innings.

.Only four players could surpass 11,000 runs mark in ODI cricket where Sachin Tendulkar is in top position. His total score in ODI is 15962.

.Sachin Tendulkar is the first and only one cricketer in the world who has scored 15000 runs in ODI cricket.

.He reached his 15000 mark in his 387th match against South Africa.

.Before this match, Tendulkar had 14950 ODI runs under his belt with 41 centuries against his name and an average of 44.10.

.South African pace bowler Andre Nel also the part with his record. Because he reached his 15000 runs in his over. In his 387th match, Tendulkar hit Andre Nel for an awesome six, then the fourth ball of 18th over to get 45 after and after a dot ball, he drove the pacer into covers and darted for a single, while the overthrow from covers raced to the boundary to complete his half century.

.This batsman has already made a record of highest ODI century. He scored 41 ODI centuries in 407 matches.

.On December 10, 2007, at Feroz Shah Kotla, he delighted his fans after breaking the record of 35th Test century against Sri Lanka.

.And he has set his record in a place where no one can reach or it takes many times for any players to reach in this place after scoring his 39th ODI century against Pakistan on 6 February 2006.

.In 2003 the list was revised and Viv Richards was re-ranked at number 2 behind Sachin Tendulkar making Tendulkar the greatest ODI batsman of all time.

.He attended Sharadashram Vidyamandir high School where he began his cricketing career under the guidance of his coach and mentor Ramakant Achrekar.

.He went to the MRF pace academy during the early days as a school boy cricketer but he went back home.

.Legendary fast bowler Dennis Lilee told him ‘Just focus on your batting’ and that word turned him back. And this simple comment would result in the birth of one of the greatest batsmen in the world.

.When Sachin was young then he would practice for an hour and would often get bored. So, his coach used to put coin on the top of the stumps. If the bowlers dismissed Sachin would get this coin. On the other hand, if Sachin passed the whole session without getting dismissed then coach would give him the coin.

.Sachin says even today that those 13 coins are his most prized possessions. .While he was at school, he was involved an unbroken 664-run partnership with his team mate Vinod Kambli in a Harris Shield game in 1988. Vinod Kambli also went to represent in India team.

.Sachin scored over 320 in this innings and scored over a thousand runs in the tournament. .Until 2006 it was the record partnership in any form of cricket but now, it was broken by two under-13 batsmen in a match held at Hyderabad in India.

.He started first-class cricket in 1988-89. He scored unbeaten 100 in his first class match for Bombay against Gujarat. At an age of 15 year and 232 days, he is still the youngest cricketer to score a century on his first-class debut.

.Tendulkar is the only player to score a century while making his Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy and Irani Trophy debut.

.Sachin Tendulkar has got out 23 times between 90 and 100 in his international career. Recently he got out on 99 against Pakistan in an ODI on 8 Nov 2007 at Mohali to the bowling of Umar Gul caught by Kamran Akmal.

.Tendukar has effective performance being not regular bowler. He has already taken 41 wickets in 137 Tests and 152 wickets in 388 ODIs.

.He can bowl medium-pace,leg spin and off-spin with equal ease.

.He got 5 wickets against Australia at Kochi in the 1997–98 Series.

.His destructive bowling setIndia 269 runs to win.

Sachin Tendulker Life Story

2008-02-25T08:25:00.000-08:00

Full name: Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar

Born: April 24, 1973, Bombay
Current age: 33 years 197 days
Major teams: India, ACC Asian XI, Mumbai, Yorkshire
Nickname: Tendlya, Little Master
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Legbreak googly
Height: 5.05 ft
Education: Sharadashram Vidyamandir School
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Criticism

Of late, as Wisden has noted, Tendulkar has not been as aggressive or cavalier as he was in his younger days. Expert opinion is divided on whether this is due to his increasing years or the lingering after-effects of injuries over 17 years at the highest level. He somewhat silenced these doubts by scoring a comeback hundred and a half-century in Malaysia tri-series.Despite his record of scoring the most Test centuries, none of Tendulkar's innings found a place in the "Wisden 100", a statistics-based list released by Wisden in 2001 of the 100 "greatest Test batting performances". Tendulkar's close rival, Brian Lara, however, finds several places in the top 100, including at the no.2 position. Ton-by-ton guide to Sachin Tendulkar's feat in surpassing Sir Don Bradman's 29 Test centuries. 1990 At the age of 17, Tendulkar reaches three figures for the first time in a Test as he makes 119 not out against England at Old Trafford. The innings includes 17 fours but the match is drawn.
1992,
Tendulkar shows the Australian fans what he is capable of by batting almost five hours for an unbeaten 148 in the third Test at Sydney, but once again the game is drawn. The following match in Perth sees him make 114 off 161 balls, with 16 fours, but India are beaten by 300 runs. Tendulkar is a class apart as he makes 111 out of an Indian first innings total of 227 against South Africa in Johannesburg and at 19 years and 217 days becomes the youngest player to reach 1,000 Test runs.
1993
England are on the receiving end as Tendulkar scores his first century on home soil, hitting a six and 24 fours in his 165 as India win by an innings and 22 runs in Madras. Next up are Sri Lanka and Tendulkar's second innings 104 not out helps India to a 235-run victory in Colombo.
1994
Tendulkar returns home to face Sri Lanka again and it is a similar story as he collects 22 boundaries in a first innings score of 142 at Lucknow as India triumph by an innings and 119 runs. The year comes to an end with a home series against West Indies and Tendulkar defies Courtney Walsh and co for almost seven hours to make 179 in Nagpur. The game ends in a draw.
1996
Tendulkar is in brilliant form on his second tour to England, marking the start of a three-match series with 122 at Edgbaston, but he is unable to prevent the home side from winning by eight wickets. The third match at Nottingham sees Tendulkar score 177, including 26 fours, and he shares a stand of 255 with Sourav Ganguly. The match, however, ends in a draw.
1997
India are beaten 2-0 in South Africa at the start of the year, but Tendulkar marks the second Test in Cape Town with a score of 169, which features 26 boundaries. Tendulkar makes Sri Lanka suffer again by making 143 in an Indian total of 537 for eight declared in Colombo, but the game is drawn. The second Test follows a similar pattern with Tendulkar this time batting for six and a half hours to reach 139. There is no let-up for the Sri Lankans as they travel to India only to suffer another Tendulkar onslaught - 148 including three sixes and 20 fours in Bombay, but they escape with a draw.
1998
Australia visit India in early 1998 and Tendulkar greets Mark Taylor's men by hitting fours sixes and 14 fours in his 155 not out at Madras as India win by 179 runs. He does even better in the third Test at Bangalore with an innings of 177, but Australia prevent a clean sweep with an eight wicket win. Tendulkar makes his first Test hundred against New Zealand, but his 113 cannot save India from a four-wicket defeat. Arch-rivals Pakistan visit India and Tendulkar helps himself to 136 in Madras, only for India to lose an exciting match by 12 runs.
1999
Once again Tendulkar feasts on Sri Lanka's bowling, making 124 not out in the drawn Test in Colombo. India return home to play New Zealand and Tendulkar scores 126 not out in the drawn Test at Chandigarh. A landmark innings in the third Test sees Tendulkar make 217, his first Test double century, in a 344-ball innings which includes 29 boundaries. India are outplayed in Australia at the end of the year, but Tendulkar shows his class by scoring 116 in the second Test at Melbourne. The home side win the game, however, by 180 runs.
2000
Tendulkar plays the supporting role to Rahul Dravid with 122 as India beat Zimbabwe by seven wickets in Delhi. Dravid scores 200 not out. It is Tendulkar's turn to double up in Nagpur as his 201 not out off 281 balls leads India to 609 for six declared, but the match is drawn.
2001
India complete a magnificent 2-1 triumph over Australia by winning the final Test by two wickets in Madras, with Tendulkar contributing 126 in India's first innings. Partnered by protege Virender Sehwag, Tendulkar hammers 155 off 184 balls against South Africa in Bloemfontein, but the home side win by nine wickets. England try to keep Tendulkar in check, but it does not work at Ahmedabad, where he scores 103 in a drawn Test

2008-02-21T09:48:00.000-08:00

After 8 rounds of bidding in Mumbai Indian players ruled the roost as Mahendra Singh Dhoni led the way with 1.5 Millions US$ most expensive player in the market and shocking to see Andrew Symonds the most hated by indian fans a month ago turns out to be the 2nd most expensive player with 1.35 Million US$ ahead of 37 year old Sri Lankan All rounder Sanath Jayasuriya who has just been dropped from Odi squad against West Indies were the top 3 gainers apart from Iconic players who were Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh & Virender Sehwag representing their home clubs.
Young Indian cricketers like Rohit Sharma, Gautam Gambhir, Ishant Sharma, Robin Uthappa, R.P.Singh, Suresh Raina, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Sreesanth and much forgotten Mohammad Kaif Bagged more Dollers than some great International players like Muttiah Muralitharan, Ricky Ponting, Mathew Hayden, Anil Kumble, Chaminda Vass & VVS Laxman this shows the players were purchased according to their Off-feild value rather then their On-feild values. Their were no takers for Glenn Mcgrath, Micheal Hussey, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Justin Langer, Simon Katich & Loots Bosman initially and had to wait for the reserve round.

From Jaipur
Team Manager-

Shane Warne-US$450,000,Graeme Smith-US$475,000,Younis KhanUS$225,000,
Kamran,Akmal-US$150,000,Yusuf Pathan-US$475,000 ,Mohammad Kaif-US$675,000,
Munaf Patel-US$275,000,Justin Langer-US$200,000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From Chennai:
Team Manager-
MS Dhoni-US$1.5 million,Muttiah Muralitharan-US$600,000,Matthew Hayden-US$375,000
Jacob Oram-US$675,000,Stephen Fleming-US$350,000 ,Parthiv Patel-US$325,000
Joginder Sharma-US$225,000,Albie Morkel-US$675,000,Suresh Raina-US$650,000
Makhaya Ntini-US$200,000,Michael Hussey-US$350,000
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From Mumbai:
Tean Manager-
Sachin Tendulkar-icon,Sanath Jayasuriya-US$975,000,Harbhajan Singh-US$850,000
Shaun Pollock-US$550,000,Robin Uthappa-US$800,000,Lasith Malinga-US$350,000
Dilhara Fernando-US$150,000,Loots Bosman-US$175,000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------From Bangalore:
Team Manager-
Rahul Dravid-icon,Anil Kumble-US$500,000,Jacques Kallis-US$900,000
Zaheer Khan-US$450,000,Mark Boucher-US$450,000,Cameron White-US$500,000
Wasim Jaffer-US$150,000,Dale Steyn-US$325,000,Nathan Bracken-US$325,000
Shivnarine Chanderpaul-US$200,000
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From Hyderabad:
Team Manager-
Adam Gilchrist-US$700,000),Andrew Symonds-US$1.35 million), Herschelle Gibbs-US$575,000), Shahid Afridi-US$675,000), Scott Styris-US$175,000), VVS Laxman -US$375,000), Rohit Sharma-US$750,000), Chamara Silva-US$100,000 RP Singh-US$875,000 Chaminda Vaas-US$200,000,Nuwan Zoysa-US$110,00
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From Mohali:
Team Manager-
Yuvraj Singh-icon,Mahela Jayawardene-US$475,000,Kumar Sangakkara-US$700,000
Brett Lee-US$900,000,Sreesanth-US$625,000,Irfan Pathan-US$925,000
Ramesh Powar-US$170,000,Piyush Chawla-US$400,000,Simon Katich-US$200,000
Ramnaresh Sarwan-US$225,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From Kolkata:
Team Manager-Shah Rukh's team,Sourav Ganguly-icon,Shoaib Akhtar-US$425,000
Ricky Ponting-US$400,000,Brendon McCullum-US$700,000,Chris Gayle-US$800,000
Ajit Agarkar-US$330,000,David Hussey-US$675,000,Ishant Sharma-US$950,000
Murali Kartik-US$425,000,Umar Gul-US$150,000,Tatenda Taibu-US$125,000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From Delhi:
Team Manager-
Virender Sehwag -icon,Daniel Vettori -US$625,000,Shoaib Malik -US$500,000,Mohammad Asif -US$650,000 ,AB de Villiers -US$300,000,Dinesh Karthik-US$525,000,Farveez Maharoof-US$225,000
Tillakaratne Dilshan-US$250,000,Manoj Tiwary-US$675,000,Gautam Gambhir-US$725,000,Glenn McGrath-US$350,000

Ponting Tops Indian Auction List

2008-02-19T04:30:00.000-08:00

Australia Captain Ricky Onting Has Confirmes His Participation in the indian premier league's inaugural Twenty20 tournament:

Leading non-Indian players 'for sale'

..Australia: Ricky Ponting, Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Brett Lee, Matthew Hayden, Mike Hussey, Justin Langer

..Bangladesh: Mohammad Ashraful, Mashrafe Mortaza

..New Zealand: Stephen Fleming, Daniel Vettori, Jacob Oram, Brendan McCullum

..Pakistan: Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Yousuf, Shoaib Akhtar, Younis Khan

..Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Sanath Jayasuriya, Lasith Malinga

..South Africa: Graeme Smith, Shaun Pollock, AB de Villiers, Herschelle Gibbs

..West Indies: Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul

Dhoni:yovi remains one of our key batsmen

2008-02-17T21:49:00.000-08:00

In Adelaide:Mahendran sing dhoni on staurday spoke
out for yovraj singh saying he still had a lot of confdent
in him and that the left-hander could still play a key role
in the middle order of the list our mistek are is we gave
yovraj bating in third number.

2008-02-12T09:24:00.000-08:00

Sri Lanka hammered India by eight wickets on Tuesday to revive their hopes in the rain-hit tri-series. Set a revised 154 to win from 21 overs, Sri Lanka reached the rain-adjusted target with two overs to spare for their first win of the series. India made 195 for five from 29 overs after an early downpour delayed the start of play, but the game was shortened again when further rain arrived during the break between innings. Rain has played havoc with the series, with the first two matches washed out. After veteran opener Sanath Jayasuriya gave Sri Lanka, thrashed by Australia by 128 runs in their previous match, a flying start with 27 from 13 balls they were always comfortably placed to reach the Indian total. Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene said his side showed great character in a match they needed to win. "We needed to show character. I thought the guys did show character today and fought really well," he said. "Winning the toss was a bit of an advantage on that wicket earlier on. "We managed to keep them to a decent score and the chase was well-calculated so credit to the guys for the way they handled themselves today." Jayasuriya sparked Sri Lanka when he hit two massive sixes in one Shanthakumaran Sreesanth over that went for 23. It was a nightmare match for the fiery Indian quick, who conceded 48 runs in only three overs and was also pulled for another six by Tillakaratne Dilshan. Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said his side were always on the back foot after the flying Sri Lankan start. "The kind of start they got I think was really amazing," Dhoni said. "There's nothing much you can do as a captain. "It was really amazing to see Dilshan bat and the way he carried on with his innings." Although Ishant Sharma removed Jayasuriya, Dilshan's classy half-century guided his side safely to the target. Man-of-the-match Dilshan was unbeaten on 62, having faced just 59 balls, hitting six boundaries and one six. He put on 85 with Jayawardene (36 not out). Only spinner Harbhajan Singh, who claimed Kumar Sangakkara with his first ball and finished with 1-15 from four overs, was able to trouble the Sri Lankan batsmen. After Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bowl, young batsman Rohit Sharma again impressed with 70 not out to anchor the Indian effort. Sharma struggled for touch early, but grew in confidence as his innings progressed and played some wonderfully inventive shots. The 20-year-old struck one powerful six off Muttiah Muralitharan and faced just 64 balls, hitting six boundaries. Sharma and skipper Dhoni reprised their match-winning partnership against Australia on Sunday to boost the Indian total late on. The pair put on 68 in just 46 balls after coming together when Gautam Gambhir, who was also looking dangerous, was run out for 35 (off 33 balls).

Dhoni made 31 from 26 balls before he too was run out attempting a risky second run. Veteran Sachin Tendulkar threatened to tear the Sri Lankan attack apart at the top of the order and played some glorious strokes, particularly through the leg side. But on 32 (from 30 balls) he tried to heave the recalled Farveez Maharoof over mid-on and only succeeded in getting a thick outside edge, the ball flying to deep third man. The result evened up the tri-series ladder considerably, with India on top on eight points.

2008-02-07T10:50:00.000-08:00

1.India's Davis Cup captain Leander Paes on Monday said that there is still some work needed to be done at the grass courts in DLTA before the Asia Oceania Group I tie against Uzbekistan begins on Friday.
2.Paes, who visited the courts on Monday, said the grass on the under prepared court is too long and it has to be cut down.
3."I saw the court today. The grass is too long. It needs to be cut down," Paes told reporters after the practice session of the Indian team at National Sports Club of India.
4."Also the surface underneath at the DLTA is concrete and so it does not absorb water," he said. 5.Paes has ruled himself out of the tie due to an injury and said unless it becomes too important for him to play, he will be happy to play the role of non-playing captain.
6.Rohan Bopanna said the practice was going on well and the team was looking forward to give their best.
7."We had a good practice. We have not seen the court and we don't know how it will behave," he said.
8.India's other singles players Prakash Amritraj missed Monday's practice session due to a bad stomach.

2008-02-06T02:23:00.000-08:00

Bhaji and Symonds
In Sydney: Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds may patch up soon - thanks to an Indian chewing gum manufacturer's offer to make a television advertisement in which the two warring players are supposed to say "Gum Mein Hai Dum (This gum has power)".
[An Indian chewing gum manufacturer could bring a quirky end to cricket's great racial spat by doing what the game's top officials couldn't ... It is understood initial feelers have already been sent out to the warring cricketers and they will examine the proposal in the coming weeks, said Daily Telegraph.]
"The extraordinary proposal could cool tensions between Harbhajan and Symonds who have been at each other.

2008-02-06T02:07:00.000-08:00

Guatam Gambhir made 102 runs Sri Lanka pay for an early reprieve by blasting his way to a century, but rain again had the final say as the one-day match in Brisbane was draw out.

First two tri-series matches have now failed to be resolved after the opening match, between Australia and India last Sunday, also at the Gabba, fell victim to the elements.

{On Tuesday, the rain cut down a match that was tantalisingly poised at the halfway mark after Gambhir, dropped on 11 by wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara, posted a scintillating unbeaten 102 from 101 balls, including 10 fours and a six, to steer India to 4-267.}
{The 26-year-old and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (88 not out off 95) combined for a 184-run stand that rescued India after they had slumped to 4-83 in the 21st over.}

2008-02-06T02:02:00.000-08:00

Gilchrist to play in IPL Twenty20 in April:
Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist has got Cricket Australia's (CA) green signal to play in the cash-rich Indian Premier League in April after he was given a waiver of certain conditions concerning retiring cricketers, his agent said.
Manager Stephen Atkinson said Cricket Australia had given Gilchrist the understanding that he would get a waiver of an agreement between IPL organisers and national boards that there will be a two-year waiting period for retiring players.
"[Gilchrist] could well be playing in the IPL this year - Cricket Australia has indicated there would be no problems with it," Atkinson told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Gilchrist's other current Australian team-mates are, however, uncertain to join the inaugural edition of the BCCI-backed multi-million Twenty20 venture, as CA has asked its contracted players not to sign the completed contract before sorting out some issues.
is anxious to protect its sponsors and does not want to see its contracted players in a team bearing branding of other sponsors which are in competition of its sponsors.
Moreover, Australia is scheduled to visit Pakistan in March-April though it is uncertain due to security reasons.
Atkinson denied the waiver could become a precedent for other international stars who want to retire prematurely.
"That two-year limit is really designed for young players, so it stops a player like Michael Clarke retiring and then signing a 10-year deal with the IPL," he said.
The agreement had arisen out of worry that top stars could quit national duties prematurely in the quest.

2008-01-21T00:15:00.000-08:00

Following rules need to be incorporated by ICC WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT to give the other teams a perfect clarification ------------------------------------------------------------ (1----- Ponting (THE TRULY GENUINE CRICKETER OF THE CRICKET ERA AND WHOSE INTEGRITY SHOULD NOT BE DOUBTED ) should be considered as the FOURTH UMPIRE. As per the new rules, FOURTH UMPIRE decision is final and will over ride any decisions taken by any other umpires. ON-FIELD umpires can seek the assistance of RICKY PONTING even if he is not on the field. This rule is to be made, so that every team should understand the importance of the FOURTH UMPIRE . ------------------------------------------------------------ (2)---- AUSTRALIAN TEAM is bowling, If the ball flies anywhere close to the AUSTRALIAN FIELDER(WITHIN 5 metre distance), the batsman is to be considered OUT irrelevant of whether the catch was taken cleanly or grassed. Any decision for further clarification should be seeked from the FOURTH UMPIRE. This is made to ensure that the cricket is played with SPORTIVE SPIRIT by all the teams. ---------------------------------------------------------- (3)-----while BATTING, AUSTRALIAN (except Adam Gilchrist) players will wait for the ON-FIELD UMPIRE decisions only (even if the catch goes to the FIFTH SLIP as the ball might not have touched the bat). Each AUSTRALIAN batsman has to be out FOUR TIMES (minimum) before he can return to the pavilion. In case of THE CRICKETER WITH INTEGRITY, this can be higher ------------------------------------------------------------ (4)-----umpires should consider a huge bonus if an AUSTRALIAN player scores a century. Any wrong decisions can be ignored as they will be paid huge bonus and will receive the backing of the AUSTRALIAN team and board. ------------------------------------------------------------ (5)------AUSTRALIAN players are eligible to keep commenting about all players on the field and the OPPONENT TEAM should never comment as they will be spoiling the spirit of the AUSTRALIAN team. Any comments made in any other language are to be considered as RACISM only. ------------------------------------------------------------ (6)------MATCH REFREE decisions will be taken purely on the AUSTRALIAN TEAM advice only. Player views from the other teams decisions will not be considered for hearing. MATCH REFREES are to be given huge bonus if this rule is implemented. ------------------------------------------------------------ (7)------NO VISITING TEAM should plan to win in AUSTRALIA . This is to ensure that the sportive spirit of CRICKET is maintained. ------------------------------------------------------------ (8)------THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE : If any bowler gets RICKY PONTING - "THE UNDISPUTED CRICKETER WITH INTEGTIRY IN THE GAME OF CRICKET" more than twice in a series, he will be banned for the REST OF THE SERIES. This is to ensure that the best batsman/Captain will be played to break records and create history in the game of CRICKET. These rules will clarify better to the all the teams VISITING AUSTRALIA
------------------------------------------------------------

2008-01-07T05:48:00.000-08:00

As indicated below, I'm off to Oz. Any Aussie-resident bloggers that feel like meeting up for a beer at the MCG or the SCG drop me a line at samirchopra1 AT YAHOO DOT COM (with your mobile number). It'd be nice to talk about the cricket at the cricket. Over a cold one.

Happy New Year everyone!

Prakash,
Dhawan

2008-01-06T08:27:00.000-08:00

3rd Day India vs Australia Test 2 Session 1 Highlights 2

2008-01-06T08:26:00.000-08:00

3rd Day India vs Australia Test 2 Session 1 Highlights 1

2008-01-06T08:16:00.001-08:00

Despite of a huge score in third test cricket match between India and Pakistan, India could not bowled out entire team before the follow on target and Pakistan again escaped. This is the second time Indian batsman has scored this big total of 626 runs. It the plus point of India that they are continuously performing better in batting but another thing that force us to thing “that is bowling” why Indian bowlers are not still performing better when you have a huge target. You should not have to worry for losing the game as no one team can about lose when they have made this big total. It’s a batting pitch as well as well. But now it seems that match is going towards draw.

2008-01-06T08:09:00.000-08:00

Book Review - Silence of the Heart by David Frith

Many commentators have said that cricket is, when you break it down to its purest essences, just a game. This definition is certainly simplistic, and perhaps even a little sacrilegious for many, but ultimately it is true. Nonetheless, cricket is a subject that arouses great passions in people all around the world, and the results of either their team or their own performances can have a decided impact upon an individual’s state of mind. Cricket has also been called a team game played between individuals. Sadly, cricket has attracted many participants who have battled themselves and their own inner daemons as much as any opposition players. David Frith’s book, Silence of the Heart (originally published as ‘By His Own Hand’), is a look at the tragedy of those cricketing heroes who were unable to cope with the demands of an existence post-cricket, and who sadly chose to end their own life.
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suicide would appear to be a very strange topic for a cricketing book, and without reading Frith’s work, it certainly appears quite macabre on face value. However, Frith has managed to look at many cricketers who have killed themselves, and produced one of the most fascinating books on the sport. Cricket has a suicide rate that exceeds the national averages for the respective cricketing nations, and it is estimated that more than one hundred and fifty professional cricketers have chosen to end their own lives. The hallmark of all Frith’s books is impeccable research, however, in Silence of the Heart he also manages to write with great poignancy and respect for the individuals concerned.
************************************************************************************
It is possible to read the book from start to finish, but the subject matter almost encourages the reader to instead take a more measured approach and dip into it over a period of time. Frith has written the book as a mini-biography of selected players, which allows the reader to take the time to examine and evaluate each individual situation without becoming overwhelmed by underlying sadness that each case invokes.
************************************************************************************
Frith’s research records the famous to the almost unknown, from legends of the past such as Shrewsbury and Stoddart through to more recent cases such as David Bairstow. However, it does not, and could not, provide the answers to why. Whilst some of the suicides described could be understood in the light of financial pressure, marital breakup or depression, others remain a complete mystery. One of the most striking aspects of the book for me personally were the pictures; you can see the face each cricketer presented to the outside world, but their inner turmoil remains hidden. Looking at the many photos of smiling and seemingly happy cricketers affected me more than I would have thought. I look back now and I know what fate is to befall the person in the photo, but they appear ignorant of their future despair. I can’t help but wonder what more could have been done to help them.
************************************************************************************
This is ultimately a very sad and moving book, but one of great value to both cricket lovers and the wider community. 4 stars.

2008-01-06T08:01:00.000-08:00

Australia Carries Natwest Challenge

Australia beats England in the next two cricket matches to win the Natwest Challenge. Down 0-1 they beat England by 7 wickets in the 2nd cricket match. In the 3rd cricket match Australia beat England by 8 wickets. Starting of with a 1-0 lead England lost to the Aussies 2-1 in the Natwest Challenge. The Star performers for Australia were Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist with the bat and Brett Lee with the ball. Brett Lee took 5/41 (man of the match) restricted England to a score of 223-8. Flintoff scored 87 his score highest against Australia. Ponting (111) shared a third-wicket stand of 120 with Damien Martyn, who was 39 not out as his side reached a target of 224 with six overs remaining.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the Final match Gilchrist scored a match winning century of only 101 balls.

Final Scores 2nd cricket match Australia won the toss and decided to field England 223 for 8 (50.0 overs) A Flintoff 87 (112) B Lee 41/5 Australia 224 for 3 (44.2 overs) Ponting 111(115).

Final Score 3rd cricket match Australia won the toss and decided to field England: 228-7 ( 50.0 overs ) K P Pietersen 74 (84) J N Gillespie 44/3 Australia: 229-2 ( 34.5 overs ) A C Gilchrist not out 121(101).

2008-01-06T07:58:00.000-08:00

Is Indian Cricket in struggling??

1.Just as things seem to be going well for Indian cricket ........... Over the recent past there were many upheavels mostly off the Field. After a success pak series Indian coach John Wright called it a day and the former Australian great player Greg Chappell took on the coaching responsiblity. First it was the Ganguly the new coach having issues, then after matters were settled with Ganguly gone and Dravid taking over the captain reigns, some promising new commers on the side in the like of Dhoni, Indian cricket was sailing smoothly, but for injuries keeping Sachin, Zaheer and Harbhajan out of the team for periods of time.

2.Most recently the Sehwag's removal as vice captain and departure of the "Wall" from scene due to injuries. India has turned back to the likes of VVS Laxman and Ganguly. Not to forget the terrible form Sehwag is in, India seems to be struggling. By no means undermining the ablilty of fine players like Ganguly and Laxman. They along with Sachin and Dravid during the hay days have given even Australia the run for their money. The memorable innings that VVS played at Kolkata to win the match was the iceing on the cake. That team looked likely to win the World cup last time.

3.The Indian team that played well the during the last World Cup, did poorly to say the least this time in the one day series which recently concluded in SA against them. Different cricket pundits have their opinions! The clean sweep of the ODI series......... By no means SA's game play can be undermined. Hmmmmmmmmm

4.The last time right before the World Cup India toured the South African subcontinent and played much to the disappointment of the Indian cricket fans! But came back with a Bang during the World Cup. Will history repeat itself! Only time will tell what is in store for Indians in 2007 World Cup in the caribbean islands.

2008-01-01T07:48:00.000-08:00

Pakistan pacer Asif recovering after surgery

Pakistani pacer Mohammad Asif has undergone successful keyhole surgery in Australia to fix a chronic elbow problem that forced him to miss the ongoing series in India.A Pakistan cricket Board official said the surgery was carried out by a well known Australian specialist in Sydney on Monday."The initial reports are that it was not a major operation and it has been successful," Shafqat Naghmi, chief operating officer, told Reuters on Tuesday."But Asif could recover up to three months before he resumes playing cricket," he said, adding that a specialist would soon determine how long the full rehabilitation period will be."We fear he would require to rest for three months, which means he is certainly out of next month's home series against Zimbabwe," he said.Naghmi said Asif would also face a race against time to be 100 percent fit for the home series against Australia tentatively scheduled for March 9.The Australians are due to send a delegation to Pakistan in January after general elections to assess the security situation ahead of their tour, which includes three tests, five one-day internationals and a Twenty20 match.Asif has this year had to sit out four one-day games against South Africa and was ruled out of the Indian tour.And here is the rest of it.

2008-01-01T06:40:00.000-08:00

West Indies - Winner 1975
Final: West Indies v Australia
Venue: Lords, England
Result: West Indies won by 17 Runs
West Indies Total: 291 runs in 60 overs at 8 Wickets
Australia Total: 274 runs in 58.4 overs all out

2007-12-29T04:44:00.000-08:00

Sachin Tandulker When Hes Come For 50th
India vs west indies

2007-12-29T04:39:00.000-08:00

Irfan pathan Vs Riki Ponting
India vs Australia

2007-12-29T04:24:00.000-08:00

India vs Pakistan
Gautam Gambhir Vs Shahid Afridi
When into a heated argument

2007-12-28T11:28:00.000-08:00

Defending champions India were placed in an easy group A alongside Bangladesh and Zimbabwe for the 2009 ICC Twenty20 cricket World Championships in England.The grouping for the 2009 Twenty20 World Cup was decided in a two-day ICC board meeting, which concluded on Wednesday.

The early decision on the matter was taken on the request of hosts England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), who want to proceed with the venue event bidding process which would allow match tickets to go on sale at the earliest.

Since not enough matches have been played in the shortest format of the game to allow viable official rankings, the board decided to group teams on the basis of their finishing positions in the inaugural edition of the championship this year.
ODI World Champions Australia have been placed in group C along with Sri Lanka and West Indies.

2007-12-28T11:01:00.000-08:00

1. So the BCCI has gone ahead and placed a request with Cricket Australia to reduce the duration of the practise game between the 2nd and the 3rd tests from 3 days to.

2. And here we were wondering if India wasn't short of practise matches already. Just in case you are thinking that this wisdom may have been prompted by a concern for sufficient rest between the two test matches, Team India would have got a proper 3 days rest before the next game began at the WACA.