Cricket Reviews

At last a mettlesome squad for India

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 15:22:00 +0000

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday rested master blaster Sachin Tendulkar, and dropped out of form batsmen Yuvraj Singh and Yusuf Pathan from the 15-member squad selected for the Asia Cup to be played in Sri Lanka from June 15. Virender Sehwag is back in the squad after his injury and has been appointed Mahendra Singh Dhoni's deputy. Jharkhand's budding all-rounder Saurabh Tiwari, who was quite impressive in the third edition of the India Premier League (IPL) tournament, is the new face in the team.

The fifteen member squad is: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain), Virender Sehwag (Vice-Captain), Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Pragyan Ojha, Ashok Dinda, R Ashwin and Saurabh Tiwary. (ANI)

Oxis and their products

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 15:15:00 +0000

In the preceding, I started out to think of aging. That's, however could I come across once I was thirty or forty yrs? I surely don't appear indeed alarming. And on spinning top of that, I surely don't prefer to experience self-conscious with the State

There is a lot of ad views relating to anti-aging wareses out there. Later on getting along a few inquiry, leastwise I experience that ruining individual liveliness in the cells in the physical body by radicals. and cell harm could be cut back, however by using antioxidant factors such as glutathione however still a lot don't experience, antioxidants, which could well be comfortable to come up! Things just like fruit, tea and some other nutrients loaded up with antioxidants. Nevertheless some other sources, if you look for”best”physical structures anti-aging carry through, is to bring forth an artificial antioxidants.

I came over an Oxis called network that particularises in anti-aging, antioxidant wareses. Such that like their arrogates on their webpage in both Oxis on Twitter or Oxis on facebook as comes after:

Boosting technology in oxidative emphasize Oxis worldwide, Inc is the premier for the powerful antioxidant, Ergothioneine and through and through their patented fabricating process synthetic is all the same only remarkable commercial source of everlasting l-ergothioneine globally.

Kholi setup trivial Win

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 17:40:00 +0000

With a place in the final already clinched and nothing much at stake, most of India's batsmen batted sloppily. However there was no such charity from Virat Kohli as he struck a mature unbeaten century to ensure that India went into Wednesday's game on the back of three successive wins. Shakib Al Hasan's 85 and a 106-run partnership with the lively Mahmudullah had lifted Bangladesh from a dismal 95 for 5 to 247 for 6, but on a placid track and against a line-up in form, it was nowhere near enough. India cantered home with seven overs to spare.

Kohli played with commendable concentration until victory was in sight, driving and cutting beautifully even as wickets fell around him. He got his first reprieve on 83, when Mohammad Ashraful put him down at deep midwicket off Syed Rasel, and the butter-fingers epidemic appeared to catch on, with Mushfiqur Rahim fluffing a stumping off Shakib in the next over. Ashraful's woeful outing continued when he dropped Suresh Raina two balls later. It summed up Bangladesh's evening in the field though the match was as good as over by then.

The only interest towards the end of the game centred around whether Kohli would get to his second century. The first 50 had taken just 47 balls, and he was especially severe on Shafiul Islam in his final spell, off-driving and pulling with authority. Naeem Islam was punched off the back foot for four and when Rasel decided to test him with a short one, he pulled it behind square for four. Victory and three figures were completed in a hurry, with an off-drive and a leg-side swish off Shakib.

Bangladesh needed early wickets to send any tremors through the Indian ranks but they didn't get them. Shafiul bowled some fine deliveries, but also offered width that Dinesh Karthik was quick to capitalize on, cutting powerfully past the inner ring for fours. With Gautam Gambhir glancing anything directed at his pads and Karthik easing one through the covers, India were off and away.

When Abdur Razzak came on, Karthik greeted him with a fierce heave over midwicket, but his cameo ended on 34 when he under-edged Shafiul to the keeper. Shafiul continued to be expensive though, with Gambhir taking three fours in an over, and it was left to Naeem to strike in his first over and give the team some hope.

Gambhir sauntered down the track to Naeem and swiped airily, only to see his stumps broken. But with Kohli cutting Shakib for boundaries and playing a gorgeous on-drive, the asking rate was in no danger of climbing. Yuvraj Singh was becalmed against spin though, and after a superb cover-drive, Naeem had him playing down the wrong line to be trapped in front. MS Dhoni glimmered briefly for 32 before clipping Shakib to mid-on, but there were no further alarms as Raina and Kohli saw it home in dew-heavy conditions.

Naeem had contributed a brisk 22 late in the Bangladesh innings as they took 47 from the batting Powerplay and 95 from the final 10 overs to reach a respectable score. Mahmudullah continued his good form against India, remaining unconquered on 64. Shakib was dropped by Dhoni off Yuvraj when he had made just 38 and he took advantage with some punishing strokes in the final stages of the innings. A huge six over midwicket off Ravindra Jadeja started the acceleration, and he took Amit Mishra in the same direction when he dropped short.

There was some fortune, with a top edge clearing Dhoni for four, but there was also plenty of ability, with Sudeep Tyagi being pulled for two fours and then scooped impudently down to fine leg. But when he tried to repeat the stroke off Ashish Nehra's slower ball, he only found Dhoni's gloves.

Mahmudullah had started off with a thump over cover off Mishra, and he then lofted Nehra to long-off for four more. Sreesanth was cut powerfully to the ropes and Mishra hit over long-on for six as the runs came far more freely in the final stages. Naeem swung Nehra for a six at the end and slashed another four as the sparse crowd celebrated a frenetic finish to the innings.

India had started much the better. After a maiden from Tyagi, Imrul Kayes had flailed twice through the off side as Sreesanth pitched too wide, but when he tried the same approach against Tyagi, Kohli snaffled him at point. Ashraful had no thoughts of consolidating - after playing one reckless shot to third man, he decided to give Sreesanth the charge and played on via the pads.

Raqibul Hasan played some chancy strokes, and a delightful pull off Tyagi, while Tamim Iqbal, after a cautious start, lofted Sreesanth over mid-on and then pulled him for four. But again, a wicket fell when they could least afford it, with Tamim driving Nehra on the up to mid-off, where Tyagi took an excellent catch on the run.

Raqibul was then run out as Yuvraj managed to deflect a Shakib drive on the stumps, and though Shakib gave the fans something to cheer with some crisp strokes through the off side, Mushfiqur lobbed a slower one from Yuvraj straight to the man at cover to leave the side in disarray with half the overs remaining. Honour was partially restored by the end, but once again India were just too strong, even with Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan not taking the field.

India road to final

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 16:29:00 +0000

India's best fielding performance in ODIs since the Champions Trophy in September last year set up their march to the final by way of a thumping win. It wasn't anything spectacular: half chances were taken and easy ones not missed, marking a big improvement on their recent fielding form. That, coupled with impressive bowling from Zaheer Khan and Amit Mishra, pulled Sri Lanka from an explosive start and restricted them to a paltry 213, which was chased down with 17.2 overs to spare.

Zaheer was the pick of the bowlers, creating one half chance, and two fairly easy ones. At one stage his figures read 6-2-11-2. Sri Lanka had chosen to bat to allow their bowlers experience first-hand the wet conditions before the final, but it took resilient half-centuries from Kumar Sangakkara and Suraj Randiv to take the match far enough for the dew to set in.

If Sangakkara and Randiv had to work hard, India's runs came with predictable ease: Gautam Gambhir scored his 19th half-century, Dinesh Karthik narrowly missed a fourth, and Virat Kohli made it to his fourth 50-plus score in his last five innings.

But it was the first 11 overs of the match that staged the decisive action: two wicket-maidens, a wicket in the first over of new spells on three occasions and, between that, scintillating batting from Tillakaratne Dilshan. Coming back from a groin injury, Dilshan decided to do away with the running. He just drove, cut, pulled and late-cut eight boundaries in 17 deliveries to deflate any confidence India and Sudeep Tyagi would have gained from getting Upul Tharanga out in the first over.

When Zaheer was brought on, in the sixth over, Dilshan had hit seven boundaries in his 29, and Sri Lanka nine in their 38. He was pulled for a four second ball. The next ball took a thick edge, and was dying on Gambhir at fine gully before he snared it. Zaheer was pumped, and proceeded to bowl to a plan that worked just fine for him. Nothing to drive, a short cover in place, playing on the batsmen's patience with the nagging accuracy. Mahela Jayawardene gave in, driving a ball that should not have been driven, and Kohli hung on to a sharp catch at short cover.

Back came Sreesanth, whose first two overs had gone for 16, and Thilan Samaraweera walked across to a straight delivery and missed. Forty-two for 1 in 5.2 overs became 61 for 4 in 10.2. Soon Thilina Kandamby was run out, his fifth such dismissal out of 23. This time, though, he was sold a dummy by his captain, and was done in a by a smart throw from Karthik and quick backing-up by Zaheer.

Thissara Perera, bounced and verbalised by Zaheer, tried to target Mishra, but Yuvraj Singh pulled out a diving catch at wide long-on, not his last contribution to Sri Lanka's woes. Sangakkara, who had reached 32 off 42 by then, responded to Perera's wicket by stepping out and hitting Sreesanth for four. He dominated a seventh-wicket partnership that took Sri Lanka closer to 150, but that's when Yuvraj struck.

Sangakkara had tried to make full use of every loose delivery that came his way, and also took calculated risks to keep the scoreboard from stagnating. But when he pulled a Yuvraj delivery which was too full, he had completed 43 innings without a century. Randiv and Thilan Thushara added 59 for the eighth wicket, a stand that saw Randiv through to his first List A fifty. But when the time came to press on, when they opted for the Powerplay in the 44th over, the tail came up short, and Sri Lanka were bundled out by Zaheer and Mishra, with four overs still to go.

If there was any doubt to which way the match was going, Karthik and Gambhir removed it by taking 86 off the first 10 overs. Sri Lanka's last chance of preventing India from getting the bonus point vanished when Dilshan and Tharanga dropped Gambhir on 41 and 44 respectively.

Karthik did no harm to his chances of pushing for a place in further matches by following up a catch and a smart run-out with a dominating role in the opening partnership. He started off with a streaky boundary past the slip but soon got into the groove, punishing errors in both line and length. Anything straying on the pads was flicked through midwicket, and the ones short were cut through point and covers. Gambhir smartly assumed the second fiddle, capitalising on width when not milking singles.

Once with Kohli, and with fields spread, the two got down to exploiting the gaps, running almost on intuition, scoring 60 off their 72-run partnership on foot. Upon Gambhir's dismissal, Kohli asked for the Powerplay and quickly finished Sri Lanka off, accelerating from 33 off 48 to 71 off 68.

Transportation in games

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 16:23:00 +0000

Players generally believe ascertaining the finest (firmest, flashiest, most effective) formulas for transportation system to make up a game take exception yet whenever these isn't overt in the game conventions. To arrive at the finest exercise of these, a journeying game requires to be fashioned in a style that admits different formulas of acting, ranging from walk-to and cycling to thumbing and taking cabs. From the design standpoint, this formula is radically a different while it concerns esthetics and trip time. Whenever the game design acts upon finest on a sealed fashion of transportation system, these have to be either formulated in the conventions or actuated in the back-story of the game. Every physical apparent movement takes away time. When Larry could bring in a new leisure time accommodate from the storage on a couple of stroking of the keyboard, it could bring a player 60 minutes commotion as is melting off the real life. Reckoning how such times a trip up bequeaths acquire is rattling hard. Mobilizing big groupings of players brings yearned than mobilizing little groups, hits over-crowding and jobs on world transport bear on the travel time, and, as pervading games oftentimes take players to unidentified functions of town, players incline to acquire lost from time to time. To check out more navigate to web-articles.info. There you can notice some vital topics like Top Five Reasons to Obtain a Current Credit Report and more.

Dhoni, Kholi aid India to win

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 03:26:00 +0000

A superbly crafted century from MS Dhoni helped India defeat Bangladesh by four wickets in the triangular one-day series in Dhaka. Bangladesh had surprised all by choosing to bat first despite the dew factor, but skipper Shakib Al Hasan's decision was somewhat vindicated as openers Tamim Iqbal (60 from 42 deliveries) and Imrul Kayes (70) raised a solid platform and Mahmudullah (60 not out) added the finishing touches as Bangladesh posted 296 for six - their highest-ever ODI total against a Test-playing nation. The home side then made early inroads, but Dhoni (101) took control and, aided nicely by Virat Kohli's 91 and Suresh Raina's unbeaten 51, guided India to victory with 15 deliveries to spare.

India's bowling at the start was anything but composed and Bangladesh's openers took advantage.

Tamim dished out the early fireworks, driving new-ball bowler Ashish Nehra for a straight boundary for his first runs and thereafter keeping up the pressure.

Nehra took a battering and although Dhoni rang in the changes, there was no respite.India's woeful display with the ball was only compounded by an even poorer performance in the field, epitomised by Harbhajan Singh's failure to hold a simple catch from Kayes while the batsman was on four - Nehra the unfortunate bowler.

Tamim reached his 12th ODI half-century off only 33 deliveries and the opening pair added 80 for the first wicket, 73 of those runs coming in the first 10 overs.

Sreesanth, who shared the new ball with Nehra, eventually secured the breakthrough in his second spell by snaring Tamim, courtesy of a smart catch by Gautam Gambhir at short mid-wicket.

Mohammad Ashraful (29) and Kayes then consolidated, the pair adding 68 for the second wicket and the latter reaching a maiden fifty in the process.

India bounced back with the wickets of Ashraful, captain Shakib - run out for a duck - and Kayes in fairly quick time and Yuvraj Singh helped keep things quiet with a tidy spell.

But Raqibul Hossain chipped in with a useful 32 and Mahmudullah's excellent batting at the death gave the hosts a solid total.

India began their reply poorly, losing their top three wickets inside nine overs.

Virender Sehwag was run out, the result of brilliant work from bowler Abdur Razzak, Gambhir dragged a delivery from Rubel Hossain onto his stumps and Yuvraj was bowled playing down the wrong line to Syed Rasel.

At 51 for three, India were in a spot of bother, but Dhoni and Kohli hauled the visitors back from the brink.

The fourth-wicket pair, playing a risk-free and sensible game, gave India the edge with a 152-run stand.

Kohli, troubled by cramps, had called for a runner shortly after reaching his 50 and was within sight of a century when he perished, Shakib holding a good return catch.

Raina then starred in a 94-run undefeated stand for the fifth wicket, reaching his half-century with what was the final delivery of the innings.

Dhoni had reached his seventh ODI century only two deliveries earlier, the milestone garnishing an emphatic victory for India.

My best ODI strike says Gambhir

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 12:01:00 +0000

Elated after guiding India to a facile, series-clinching win, star batsman Gautam Gambhir said he would rate tonight's unbeaten 150 against Sri Lanka as the best innings of his career. Gambhir said it was very satisfying to stay till the end and guide the team to victory. "This is the first time I finished a game remaining unbeaten. It feels great," Gambhir said in the post-match conference.

"It was important for me to get going and convert it into a big one. It feels great that I finished the game," Gambhir, who was adjudged Man of the Match, said.

It was a brilliantly paced innings by the left-hander who added 224 runs with Virat Kohli (107) for the third wicket to put India's chase back on track.

Explaining his early caution, Gambhir said, "While chasing it's always important to have wickets in hand. When you have wickets in hand, it's always easy to chase down about 130 in the last 15 overs."

India's win came without regular skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who is serving a two-match ban, and star batsman Yuvraj Singh, who is nursing an injured finger.

Gambhir said tonight's victory was made possible by the team's impressive bench strength. "We have enough guys in the bench who can prove themselves even in the absence of great players like Dhoni and Yuvraj," he said.

Web directories

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 11:31:00 +0000

Did you comprehend that you can deeply polish your profits by with element netting directories to establish operation for your undertaking? A clever lattice book contains an itemize of discreet websites which have been compiled by website reviewers. When hunting for a website listing for functional course for your crisis, it is in charge to confer a few issues. Unparalleled of these is your circumstances end. While intelligent for relations from biz website directories, you lasciviousness to analyze those that twin to your berth of scutwork.For tide, if you are looking for marketing income, then reconnaissance for those website directories with marketing family. Learn to piddle depressed your explore so that you can get more intentional contact. A turmoil lace work almanac should have separateness of websites scheduled on it. There are some directories that present many consubstantial relatives, and this haw not be superior if you miss to travel for unseasoned types of relations in the same almanac. To overpass such disappointments, make rank that you only make govern of websites that commercial opposite websites. You also worth to be considerate with the dope of the website directories you are with. Some of these websites may lure you with faraway offers and point advertisements, while in the rank intellectuality there might be insignificancy to do with fortitude in the websites that they list. These websites are reviewed and planned by person beings like you and me. This may cease some occasion for mistakes. Make decided that you cut website directories that pragmatic to be oracular. Scare Up a listing that promises to get you course to other sites that are frequented most by your foil sell. Mind that the different approximation is to optimize your profits, do not do instrument that might jeopardize this.

The Yahoo! Listing is unrepeated of the flattest of the Openwork Directories being utilized by online place owners through out the system. There are other online biz directories coin such as the Found Index Beetle and Almanac Archives which can go a pronounced way in factor you get impact of the links that you are expedition. Another is Business.com, an unbounded index. The sui generis build up that website directories have over question engines is their efficiency. They do not rely on sharp relating; instead the craving interrelation you the stead tender of the website that you depletion. Of course, this makes your close much easier since you do not have to through myriad unlike WebPages to get your improved pair. Now then, if you would very like to see your development rise to preferable heights, get manually a subsidiary company lacework directory. You lay on be agitated at how accelerated humanity remit coin responding to your online affair and the profits objective yea come liquid in.

Gambhir, Kohli steadies the ship

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 15:08:00 +0000

In one swift act of acceleration, and solid consolidation thereafter, Upul Tharanga almost single-handedly undid India's much-improved new-ball bowling and ground fielding. Tharanga's seventh century, his first in 53 innings and more than three years, made sure Sri Lanka recovered from the slowest start of the series, as well as the early dismissals of Tillakaratne Dilshan and Sanath Jayasuriya. India's fielding was a huge improvement over their earlier efforts, but they still dropped Tharanga and Kumar Sangakkara. That cost them 171 runs, and left them chasing 300-plus - a total that did scant justice to the efforts of Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra who took 4 for 117 between them.

Before Tharanga opened up, though, some of the best opening bowling of the series was on display, making his effort all the more significant. Both Zaheer and Nehra came out with an effective plan for the Sri Lanka openers, and implemented it to near perfection. They kept two men on the leg-side boundary for Dilshan, the third man was left vacant, but no room was given and neither was he offered anything to drive.

As a result, India managed their first maiden of the series - bowled by Nehra - and not one boundary was conceded in the first five overs. In the first three matches, Sri Lanka reached their 50 in 3.4 overs, 6.3 overs, and 7.2 overs. At those various stages, Sri Lanka had scored 6 for 0, 23 for 0 and 24 for 0 today. It could have been worse for them had Nehra held on to a tough return catch from Tharanga, who was 7 then. The spell of containment proved too much for Dilshan, who finally pulled Nehra to fine leg, where Kohli took a smart low catch.

The dropped catch apart, Tharanga kept the bowlers at bay. He manufactured a couple of shots, backing away and pulling over mid-on, and made sure Sri Lanka were always one special over away from getting back on even terms. The moment arrived when Ishant Sharma was introduced, with the score 48 for 1 after 11 overs. Ishant provided him driving length, and also width. The first ball was slapped square, the second driven to cover where Raina saved four, the third lofted over point, the fourth and fifth gorgeously threaded through the gap between mid-off and extra cover, and a thick edge off the last ball ran fine of third man. All of a sudden, Tharanga was 45 off 43 balls.

Even through Zaheer got rid of Jayasuriya in the next over, the momentum was lost when Harbhajan Singh dropped Kumar Sangakkara at third man, off Ishant. Sangakkara got off the mark with the reprieve, and to rub it in, Tharanga crashed the next ball through the covers, bringing up his 10th boundary and his fifty in 45 balls.

A period of consolidation followed, and the pair added 126 runs in 23.4 overs without any concern. Tharanga continued to torment Ishant though, hitting back-to-back boundaries in his fifth over, and sent him out of the attack with figures of 0 for 55 in six overs. During the partnership, Tharanga cruised through to his century at nearly a run a ball, and Sangakkara looked ominous as he accelerated to another fifty. But he got too adventurous, and looked to paddle Harbhajan into the V behind the wicket, and was stumped.

However, the visitors were poised for the late assault. Zaheer and Nehra came back with good finishing spells, but India were shocked by debutant Thissara Perera who smashed 31 off 14 balls. To restore balance, Zaheer removed Tharanga, and Nehra accounted for Perera and Mahela Jayawardene. With the forces pulling in opposite directions, and failed flood lights providing a hold-up that would eat into the supper break, Sri Lanka added 79 in the last eight overs.

SL bat in must-win match

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 09:10:00 +0000

Kumar Sangakkara won the toss on a pitch that was expected to become low and slow during the second half of the match. Accordingly Sri Lanka chose to bat first, and Virender Sehwag said he would have fielded anyway because of the dew concern. The toss notwithstanding, Sri Lanka received their share of inauspicious news in the lead-up to the must-win match. Chanaka Welegedara injured his groin during the warm-up, which meant Thissara Perera got a debut. Sanath Jayasuriya was drafted back into the XI, slated to bat in the middle order, replacing Nuwan Kulasekara.

This move to strengthen the batting line-up seemed a direct reaction to their collapse in the Cuttack ODI. They chose to rest Ajantha Mendis, giving Suranga Lakmal aother game. Chamara Kapugedera was dropped too, with Thilan Samaraweera bringing the solidity to the middle order. To even things out, this was the first time India were playing without both their most successful middle-order batsmen, MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh - for the first time since Dhoni made his debut in the last month of 2004. Yuvraj's place was taken by Virat Kohli, the only change to the XI that secured a 2-1 lead in the Cuttack ODI.

Sri Lanka: 1 Upul Tharanga, 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (capt/wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Thilan Samaraweera, 6 Thilina Kandamby, 7 Sanath Jayasuriya, 8 Suraj Randiv, 9 Suranga Lakmal, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Thissara Perera.

India: 1 Virender Sehwag (capt), 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 Gautam Gambhir, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Ashish Nehra.

Web Directories

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 08:24:00 +0000

Did you comprehend that you can deeply polish your profits by with element netting directories to establish operation for your undertaking? A clever lattice book contains an itemize of discreet websites which have been compiled by website reviewers. When hunting for a website listing for functional course for your crisis, it is in charge to confer a few issues. Unparalleled of these is your circumstances end. While intelligent for relations from biz website directories, you lasciviousness to analyze those that twin to your berth of scutwork. For tide, if you are looking for marketing income, then reconnaissance for those website directories with marketing family. Learn to piddle depressed your explore so that you can get more intentional contact. A turmoil lace work almanac should have separateness of websites scheduled on it. There are some directories that present many consubstantial relatives, and this haw not be superior if you miss to travel for unseasoned types of relations in the same almanac. To overpass such disappointments, make rank that you only make govern of websites that commercial opposite websites. You also worth to be considerate with the dope of the website directories you are with. Some of these websites may lure you with faraway offers and point advertisements, while in the rank intellectuality there might be insignificancy to do with fortitude in the websites that they list. These websites are reviewed and planned by person beings like you and me. This may cease some occasion for mistakes. Make decided that you cut website directories that pragmatic to be oracular. Scare Up a listing that promises to get you course to other sites that are frequented most by your foil sell. Mind that the different approximation is to optimize your profits, do not do instrument that might jeopardize this.

Shane Bond retired from Test cricket

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 08:08:00 +0000

New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond has announced his retirement from Test cricket due to a recurring battle with injury. He will continue to represent his country in one-dayers and Twenty20s. Bond, 34, revived his international career earlier this year after quitting the unofficial Indian Cricket League. He made a comeback to the limited-overs side during the tour of Sri Lanka, before working his way back to the Test squad.

Following a match-winning performance in the first Test against Pakistan in Dunedin, he was forced to withdraw from the two remaining games after tearing an abdominal muscle. The injury setback - the latest in a career punctuated by back, feet and soft tissue problems - left him disappointed, prompting him to reassess his future as a Test player.

"The hardest thing is that I've always considered myself a Test bowler - and it was such a great feeling to be back in the team last month and playing Test match cricket with the Blackcaps," Bond said.

"I've worked really hard to get back to Test match fitness - it's what I've been working towards for the past two years - and I feel I gave as much as I could. But looking back, so many of my injuries have come during Test cricket. Unfortunately my body just won't let me continue to play at that level, given the workload and demands of Test cricket.

"I don't want to end on an injury and I am absolutely committed to playing for the Blackcaps. This way I hope I've got a better chance of continuing to play. I hope I'll be able to continue to contribute to the team and to New Zealand cricket fans for a while yet.

"It's been a tough call, because Test cricket remains the ultimate form of the game - but I'm comfortable I've made the right choice."

Bond said he is targeting the one-dayers against Australia starting February for his comeback. He added that he would start playing club cricket in January before representing Canterbury in one-day games the following month.

Justin Vaughan, the CEO of New Zealand Cricket, sympathised with Bond's decision.

"Shane really showed his never-say-die attitude in his comeback this season, especially in the Test Match against Pakistan - and I know how tough this decision has been for him," Vaughan said. "Of course we're disappointed that he won't be part of the Test line-up, but New Zealand Cricket supports his decision to focus on limited-overs cricket and hopes that this decision will prolong his international career.

"He remains one of the best fast bowlers in the international game and we're delighted that he's doing all he can to keep playing."

One of the fastest bowlers in world cricket since the 2000s, Bond has the distinction of being the quickest New Zealander to 50 wickets in Tests and ODIs. However, since his debut in 2001, he has managed to play only 18 Tests, taking 87 wickets, and 77 ODIs. Stress-fractures to his feet and back forced him to miss numerous games and tours, including the 2004 series in England. After a successful tour of Zimbabwe in 2005, a knee injury ruled him out for nine months. He joined the ICL in 2007, had his New Zealand Cricket contract terminated, but was readmitted to the international ranks earlier this year when the Twenty20 league offered amnesty to its players.

He ends his Test career regarded by many as New Zealand's best fast bowler since Sir Richard Hadlee.

Blog Advertising Store

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:34:00 +0000

There are a side of reasons to get labyrinthine in the journal business heavenly body of popular form of advertising. The Internet and blog advertising in direct, methods of receipt action for your charge, goods, or navy has briskly mount the most soul fabricate of advertising, supine eclipsing television and radio as the enhanced media of nice. Companies expanded and characteristic have jumped on the bandwagon and have coeval to cry on blogs because it is not only cheaper than partly any other media chart around, it is superlatively more brain.

Advertise on blogs you not only get severally cursive reviews of your wares and services they are Worldwide. The jot down ups are exterior for the activity of the journal and are tender searchable when someone types your keyword into a delve into machine wherever in the concern. If a conference has the financial filthy lucre to dinero for televised commercials many of the same limitations that control feature media still administer. Unless your pockets are below it is dubious you destination be forcible to allow offer acne that enclose more than your limited district. If you can get native news it is still often relegated to your ingrained pastoral. Blogs are extensive. You fascination save the same worldwide marketing as the 'lavish boys', who can sustain to lifetime the microcosm with high-priced media marketing. Equal those hulking conglomerates have observed the royal and come over to journal advertising. The marketing profit fund was sensational and the pomp meet as something if not sophisticated than any other media - who ISN'T online? Regulars now pay 85% of their shopping dollars online and equable if they are arranging on purchase offline they aim for the crop maiden on the Internet. Contract them good buy YOU, and contract them dig up about your lines in unrepeated of the most socially munificent ways likely. Clients consortium blogger letter ups much more than the gimmicky fair ads, flamboyant banners, and alert albescent pages. Each of your advertisements written in a blog vocation comes unerring from that inbred blogger's flag of writing and is defined and inviting.

Sri Lanka collapses to 239

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 14:25:00 +0000

Tillakaratne Dilshan blazed his way to 41 from just 18 balls, and with Upul Tharanga and Kumar Sangakkara building on that, Sri Lanka were on course for another massive total after deciding to bat first in Cuttack. But from 165 for 1 after 22.2 overs, they collapsed in terrible fashion, undone by a combination of Indian spin (led by Ravindra Jadeja) , poor shot selection and two wickets in two balls from Ishant Sharma, who had gone for a whopping 46 in his first three overs. They had lost the remaining nine wickets for 74 runs and slumped to 239 all out.

The spinners had restored a measure of sanity to the proceedings after the pace bowlers, Ashish Nehra apart, were treated with utter disdain. It was left to Virender Sehwag, captaining in place of the banned MS Dhoni, to give the team some respite, having Sangakkara stumped for 46, despite Dinesh Karthik initially fumbling the take. And that success was built on soon after, with Tharanga losing his off bail in Jadeja's opening over after an attractive 73.

Sri Lanka never recovered from those twin blows. Mahela Jayawardene's poor series continued when he slugged a long hop from Harbhajan Singh to short midwicket, where Suresh Raina timed the leap perfectly to take the catch. Thilina Kandamby and Chamara Kapugedera stopped the rot for a few overs, but then Jadeja and Ishant combined to end all hopes of a large total.

First, Kapugedera played on off Jadeja, and then Kandamby too found the inner edge off Ishant. When Suraj Randiv got a thin edge to one that moved away, it was 210 for 7. Jadeja then trapped Nuwan Kulasekara plumb in front as Sri Lanka unravelled completely. When Jadeja slid one through the defence of Ajantha Mendis, he had 4 for 32 from his 10 overs.

It had been so different at the start of play, with Zaheer Khan bowling three wides in an opening over where Dilshan added two fours for good measure. Ishant, in the side in place of Praveen Kumar, was greeted with a crisp shot to long-on and two meaty flails through cover. With Tharanga then whacking one down the ground for six, and Dilshan slapping another ball through cover, the 50 took just 3.4 overs, the fastest-ever against India.

Nehra came on to stem the tide, and Dilshan could have gone on 36, only for Karthik to make a mess of a flick on to the stumps that would have run him out. It wasn't a costly miss though, with a top-edged heave at Nehra ending up in Karthik's hands soon after. By then, the run-rate was 10 though, and with Tharanga steering and cutting the ball neatly, the runs continued to mount.

Sangakkara drove Ishant straight down the ground to bring up the hundred, and when Tharanga edged Harbhajan down to third man, he had his half-century from 51 balls. Sangakkara then lofted Sehwag for a straight six, and things were looking exceedingly grim for India until the spinners and Ishant had their say. They were helped too by Sri Lanka succumbing to the Christmas spirit of giving.

Windows Xp Common Problems

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 14:09:00 +0000

Although Windows XP is arguably the most stable and reliable version of Windows thus far, occasionally you might hit a few digital potholes that throw XP out of alignment.To ensure a smooth ride and eliminate common XP problems just navigate to Web article.info.This portal which solves most of the common issues encountered in todays. There you can also find hiring tips and tricks for your system and to provide providence. What happens when you force it to shut down by using the Task Manager,Sometimes files can become corrupt, in which case Windows XP prevents you from deleting them and displays an error message that says the files cannot be deleted because they are currently in use, Even if you restart your computer and try to delete the files again, usually you see the same error message,to delete videos with the file extension .avi,Restore Windows to a Healthy State,use system restore when windows won’t start,protect windows from a botched software installation,temporarily disable anti-virus or anti-spyware software,download a newer version of software,download a patch these are the common issues with solutions you can find out there.

This website is not responsible for the information contained by this article. Web-articles is a free articles resource.If you need fresh, daily updated content for your website, use their service for free.

Sri Lanka's steady reply

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 06:24:00 +0000

Rahul Dravid laid the platform for the hosts with a serene, yet commanding 144 before Yuvraj Singh and VVS Laxman hit fluent fifties to lead India to a position of immense strength in Kanpur. India consolidated their position further by removing Tillakaratne Dilshan for a first-ball duck, and would also have been boosted by a probing spell from Harbhajan Singh and an encouraging one from Pragyan Ojha. Sri Lanka found a reason to smile due to Rangana Herath's five-for that terminated the Indian innings just after tea but it was a little too late for the visitors and the result of the game will now depend on how the pitch behaves.

Spare a thought for Dilshan, though. After toiling in the field for nearly two days, he was out first ball, getting a leading edge while attempting to flick an innocuous delivery outside leg stump from Zaheer Khan. Contrast it with the fortunes of Virender Sehwag who was dropped in the first over yesterday. It has been that kind of Test for Sri Lanka; not much has happened for them and till Herath introduced some drama into the game, nothing went right for them even today.

It was a classic grind-to-dust approach by the Indians led by Dravid, who, during the course of his 28th century went past Allan Border's run tally in Tests. The stand-out factor in Dravid's batting during this series has been his intent. He's been decisive, in defense and attack, and has been aggressively looking to score. Today he displayed the full repertoire: the charges down the track, the gorgeous inside-out cover drives on a stretched front foot, and the skillful punches off the back foot all were there but what stood out was a late cut against Mendis. The ball was skidding towards off stump, Dravid checked his forward press, waited for the ball to arrive before opening the blade and gliding it past backward point. There was no violence, just pure timing, and the stroke captured the spirit of his innings.

Dravid seemed impossible to dismiss, and when his end came, it was bizarre and perhaps, as that cricketing cliché goes, the only way he would have got out today. VVS Laxman hit one hard back at the bowler Rangana Herath, who spilled the catch, and the ball fell on the stumps with Dravid out of the crease at the non-striker's end.

Dravid left after leading India's charge and, in a reversal of their usual roles, was the dominant batsman in a 94-run partnership with Sachin Tendulkar. Tendulkar didn't hit a single boundary till his 87th delivery, when he pranced down the track to lift Mendis over long-off. A few balls later, however, he was dismissed trying to repeat the shot but couldn't clear mid-off. The credit must go to Mendis for dragging back the length this time around.

Following the two dismissals, the afternoon saw some classic yawn-inducing Test cricket: The pitch was benign, the sun was out, Sri Lanka were flattened and India were almost on auto-pilot with Laxman and Yuvraj cruising to half-centuries without breaking a sweat.

Yuvraj, who can be an iffy starter against quality spin, faced no problems as he settled in with imperious drives and a few sweep shots. His best was a late cut against Mendis: He had just lifted the previous delivery to long-on boundary and Mendis shortened the length of the next one and got it to skid away from the stumps. Yuvraj went back and played a late slice-cum-cut to the third-man boundary. It reflected his confidence against his previous nemesis and also said much about the state of the pitch and the match.

Laxman, too, looked set for a hundred until he sliced a flighted delivery from Herath straight to mid-off. Till then, he worked the angles well against the spinners, using his wrists to flick and drive the ball, and unfurled couple of caressed drives against the seamers.

Herath gave Sri Lanka some thing to cheer about by striking with his carrom balls. He removed a clueless MS Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, and Pragyan Ojha with finger-flicked deliveries that broke back in from outside off to hit the stumps or the pad and lured Zaheer to edge to slip.

Not only Herath but Muttiah Muralitharan too turned in an improved performance today. His flight was always there but today the loop and the dip gained potency. India would have been lifted by the couple of balls from Murali that spun and bounced appreciably in the first session and the amount of spin, though slow, Herath and Harbhajan found late in the day. Perhaps the pitch was showing some signs of life. Maybe it was just an oddity. Only time will tell.

Governmental control of the media

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 06:19:00 +0000

"Experts who study overseas trade," the David Graham report announced, "have identified that the UK has a competitive advantage in Creative and Media Industries." The specific work cited by David Graham was an "Export Strategy Review" (unavailable publicly) written by the DTI in conjunction with the British Overseas Trade Board, which, based in turn on International Monetary Fund and United Nations data, estimated that at 3.04, the UK had a higher "Revealed Competitive Advantage" (RCA) in the Creative and Media Industries than in any other economic sector. What did this actually mean? Across all sectors, the data suggested, the UK had a 5.3 percent share of world exports; its world share in the Creative and Media Industries, meanwhile, was an impressive 16 percent, meaning that the UK was three times more competitive in this "sector" than across the economy in general. And while of course the Creative and Media Industries included television, David Graham and his team calculated that the UK's global share specifically of television export trade was "only" 9 percent (by volume).

Anyone even remotely familiar with the UK media and communications industries would be able to pinpoint what was, perhaps, the main rationale: convergence. Prior to the formation of Ofcom, UK media and communications regulation was administered by five separate bodies (six if one includes the BBC Board of Governors): two for radio, one for television, one for both radio and television (the Broadcasting Standards Commission) and one for telecommunications. In a world of "converging" communications (where digital radio can be used to transmit data, telephone networks can be used to broadcast video, and so on), the argument went, a "converged" regulator made a lot more sense than the jumble of fragmented and often overlapping governance that characterized the legacy regulatory regime. That Ofcom was driven by convergence is self-evident. My argument, to be clear, is not that the impetus lay elsewhere, but that convergence alone was arguably not enough: it was a necessary but not sufficient argument. Convergence by itself may or may not have justified the time, effort and money expended on disbanding the five existing regulators and replacing them with a new one; what it was insufficient to warrant was the endowment, in and through Ofcom, of a raft of new and enhanced powers.

Ultimately, the government needed to show that the media and communications sector was not only converging but complex, large and growing, and thus in need of greater control. The white paper's appeal to the Creative Industries Mapping Document provided just such an argument. To check more info about this navigate to Article Input. Also there you can find some vital topics like Effects of continuous hormonal infusions and more.

Vettori dominates at rain-hit day

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:19:00 +0000

Daniel Vettori and Brendon McCullum punished Pakistan on a day on which only 36 overs of play were possible due to rain and bad light in Dunedin. When Vettori bunted Saeed Ajmal for a single minutes into the second session, he beat Shane Warne as the highest run-getter at No. 8. While Warne's 2005 runs came at an average of 19.09 in 91 Tests, Vettori got there in less than half the number of matches with an average of 43.86. Vettori, however, missed becoming the first No. 8 to score back-to-back Tests hundreds by one run.

The pitch seemed to have eased out on the second day, Pakistan went on the defensive too early, and Vettori and McCullum applied themselves remarkably during their 164-run seventh-wicket partnership. The seam bowlers did create a couple of chances, both against McCullum. The first was in the second over of the day when Mohammad Asif induced an outside edge that flew through third slip, a fielding position that was left vacant in order to have a deep point. McCullum had added one to his overnight 25 by then. In the 12th over, Umar Gul got a leading edge that flew over midwicket. Mohammad Aamer and Asif hit the bodies of McCullum and Vettori once each with bouncers. And that's all Pakistan had to cheer about.

All the cheer was in the New Zealand camp with their captain, statistically their best batsman in recent years, leading from the front. Vettori had trouble against the bouncer but anything loose was punished with certainty. Both versions of the cut were on view; the full-blooded one to the left of point, the late one to the right. And when Vettori received one bouncer too many, he upper-cut Aamer over slips.

While Vettori was doing what came naturally to him - good eyes, smart batting, big heart - McCullum had to continue curbing his natural attacking game. He did that just fine in the last hour on the first evening, and improved on the second morning. After that edge early in the day, he tightened his game further. He negated Asif effectively, covering all stumps, taking the lbw and bowled out of the equation by getting outside the line, and using soft hands when playing outside off. The odd over-pitched delivery was driven down the ground mercilessly.

Once Aamer and Asif were played out, with 41 runs added in 10 overs and both batsmen through to their fifties, it became more about accumulation against Saeed Ajmal and Gul. Vettori was involved in a seventh-wicket 100-run partnership for the sixth time but, just when it seemed the duo was close to inflicting irreversible damage, Gul produced - out of nowhere - a yorker in the last over before lunch to send McCullum back.

After the break, though, persistent rain sent the players in and they returned with hands in pockets deep into the final session. In the 4.5 overs possible before bad light ended play for good, Vettori drove nicely through covers, was again dropped at first slip, before missing out on a century. On 99, Vettori looked to cut a full delivery from Gul, and an edge finally went to hand, making sure Gul remained the only centurion in the match. The catcher in this case, Kamran Akmal, was the record-holder along with Vettori for most centuries for a No. 8, three.

India sets record score on opening day

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:49:00 +0000

It was a run orgy at the Green Park stadium in Kanpur. The first session witnessed a semblance of a battle, at least in the first hour, but the rest of the day was a one-way street, with India utterly dominant. Gautam Gambhir notched up his seventh hundred in nine Tests - and his fourth on the trot - Virender Sehwag completed a feisty century, Rahul Dravid was close to his ton and the end-of-day score was the highest in a day for India.

The situation was summed up by the sight of Rangana Herath bowling over the stumps and outside leg when Dravid had just walked out to the crease. It said everything about Sri Lanka's attitude and India's total domination. With the pitch expected to assist spin later in the Test, it could get even tougher for Sri Lanka over the next few days.

It wasn't just the runs, it was the manner in which they were compiled from the second hour on that was telling. The batsmen seemed to do as they wished: Gambhir punctuated his charges down the wicket with delicate late cuts, Sehwag went either inside-out or carved across the line, and Dravid, who hit the last ball of the day for a four, pierced the off-side field at will.

Inevitably, there were plenty of records to note: it was the first time India scored over 400 in a day, it was the highest opening partnership between Gambhir and Sehwag, and even Muralitharan, at one point, was leaking more than 6 runs per over.

The most telling statistic was the spinners' figures. Sri Lanka had managed to keep the scoring rate down with the new ball but things went pear-shaped for them after the spinners were introduced, with Sehwag and Gambhir looting 73 runs off nine overs before lunch and little changing after the break. They weren't allowed to settle in by the openers, who lashed out at them with a calculated assault that was breathtaking.

Gambhir went after Herath in his first over, hitting him for three fours: he whipped one through covers, cut past point and stepped out to loft to the straight boundary. When Herath returned later, Gambhir went repeatedly down the track to drive him to distraction. If Gambhir reserved the best of his aggression for Herath, Sehwag went after Mendis in the first session and took care of Muralitharan in the second. Mendis floated a full toss, offered a long-hop and slid one down the leg side in his first spell and Sehwag sent each one to the boundary. The attacking intent was best seen in the last over before lunch when Sehwag despatched an offbreak from Mendis high over long-on. That aggression continued after lunch with Sehwag collecting five boundaries against Muralitharan, including two fierce off drives, an inside-edge, and a tuck to the fine-leg boundary which brought up his hundred. He fell to Muralitharan, though, against the run of play, trying to play an inside-out drive to a but failing to clear cover.

What facilitated India's dominance was the clarity of thought in the approach by all the batsmen. Gambhir paced himself superbly, playing out the new ball, and then indulging himself against the spinners on a first-day track. There were a couple of occasions when he hung his bat out to the new ball and was seen immediately reprimanding himself. Gambhir had different approaches to the spinners: he stepped out often against Herath, used his crease well against Muralitharan, going either well back or stretching forward, and worked the angles against Mendis. There were several delightful late cuts that showcased his skill but his stand-out stroke was a gorgeous, almost nonchalant, straight drive off Muralitharan. However, he fell to the same bowler, beaten by the dip and scooping a difficult return catch, which Muralitharan accepted with a dive to his right.

Dravid was decisive in everything he did right from the start. When he defended he showed the full face of bat and deployed soft hands, and when he chose to attack, he either stretched well forward to drive or rocked right back to punch through the off side. There were many skilful punches on the back foot but his best shot was a gorgeous inside-out extra-cover drive off Muralitharan.

However, the most interesting of the three knocks was Sehwag's. Initially, It seemed he was waging a battle against himself. He chased the third ball he faced - a wide delivery from Welegedara - and edged it but was dropped when Prasanna Jayawardene dived across and distracted Mahela Jayawardene at first slip. Sehwag then tried to go hard at Angelo Mathews a couple of times and was beaten. Those near-misses could have forced Sehwag into a reckless response, but to his credit, he changed his approach, playing defensively with the full face of the bat and as close to the body as possible. That his first boundary came only off his 27th delivery said much about his mindset. There were many typical forceful hits but what stood out was a delicate late steer to third man off Welegedara, when he waited on the front foot before opening the bat face at the last minute to get it between gully and the slip cordon.

The presence of three spinners and just one frontline seamer was always going to pose problems for Sri Lanka after they lost the toss. India's emphatic opening act has set them up perfectly to put Sri Lanka under intense pressure over the next four days.

Taylor, Asif shines on day one

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:24:00 +0000

Mohammad Asif - he of the persuasive wrist, the smug smile, the quietly provocative mannerisms - was back. Ross Taylor - scratchy start followed by spurts of arrogant strokeplay followed by spells of quiet prudence - played one of his more mature knocks at Test level. The support cast was there too: Mohammad Aamer and Saeed Ajmal, a surprise success on a first-day seaming track, kept the batsmen grounded; Martin Guptill got his maiden fifty and started New Zealand's recovery, and Brendon McCullum and Daniel Vettori thwarted the bowlers in the final session. Result: an engrossing day's play with New Zealand claiming a slim advantage thanks to Pakistan's poor fielding.

UDRS debuts

Two similar appeals, two different decisions, but same end results. That's how the new Umpire Decision Review System's first day in Test cricket went. In the 41st over of New Zealand's innings, Mohammad Asif bowled an offcutter to Ross Taylor and the appeal was turned down by Billy Doctrove. Pakistan asked for a review, and the replay showed Taylor was hit just outside the line. Another appeal from Asif - the offcutter hit Brendon McCullum's pads - in the last over of the day got a positive response from Simon Taufel. This time the batsman didn't agree with the umpire, and replays against suggested he was hit just outside the line of off stump, and the decision was overturned.

It was no surprise that the day should have begun eventfully. Mohammad Yousuf became the first ICL player to captain a national side, Vettori perhaps the first captain to call at the toss in a Test being played in his country. Then the start itself. Aamer must have grown up - if that is possible for someone aged 17 - watching Pakistani bowlers demolish New Zealand in New Zealand with swinging yorkers, and he did the same. The first ball of the series swung into Tim McIntosh, who got hit on his boot on the full. The ball then went on to the bat and through to the stumps.

Guptill looked to counter-attack, driving emphatically, using the tiny straight boundaries and the third-man gap to his advantage. New Zealand raced to 22 in four overs, Guptill to 18 off 17 balls. All three Mohammads then combined superbly for immediate gains: Yousuf put in a fourth slip to block the third-man gap and Asif and Aamer pulled back the lengths a touch, having realised there was no swing to be had. Result: Asif caught Daniel Flynn on the crease, and an inside edge made it 27 for 2.

Taylor and Guptill then dug deep into their reserves of patience and judgement, and a bit of luck, to keep the menacing Pakistan seamers at bay through their 117-run partnership. Aamer, Asif and Umar Gul hit near-perfect lengths in the first session, bowling just short of a length and outside off, and letting the seam do the rest. Asif was especially dangerous, getting the ball to both hold its line and dart back in.

During that testing period, both Taylor and Guptill played out of their skins. Taylor kept getting beaten outside off with Asif getting it to seam either way. Thrice he took his eyes off Aamer's deliveries, and took body blows. When Gul bowled seven consecutive maidens, he hardly scored; his score read 2 off 29 and 6 off 44 at two different stages of the innings.

Guptill, too, had to get used to not getting anything to drive, and with the third-man gap plugged, scoring became an afterthought. Gul drew Guptill forward on the defence, and then, suddenly, mixed in the shorter ones. One such short delivery that seamed away a touch got the edge but Imran Farhat dropped it at first slip. Five runs later, it was Gul doing the dropping: at the fine-leg boundary, a top-edge off Aamer, and Guptill had survived twice on 26.

After those two lives, both Taylor and Guptill opened up, and simultaneously Pakistan relaxed a bit. Taylor punched well off the back foot, and Guptill got the driving length too. Post lunch, Yousuf didn't get the seamers to work in tandem. Saeed Ajmal bowled 13 straight overs in the second session. Given that there wasn't much wind, the move seemed a bit inexplicable. But Ajmal would go on and get the most important wicket of the day.

Before that, though, Taylor overtook Guptill at the 50-mark. Unlike Guptill, Taylor managed to play forcing shots off the back foot, and during one period of acceleration that included a slog-swept six, he went from 19 off 74 to 51 off 97. Things would have been rosier for New Zealand had Aamer not struck in the first over of his third spell. He first hit Taylor on the back of the head, then got Guptill to top-edge another.

Taylor had reached 64 then, and looked good to go by his conversion rate (five fifties and four hundreds before this). This time, though, in his 90s, Taylor got edgy and went to drive Ajmal against the spin, far from his body and edged to first slip - six short of his century. With the ball soft, and the pitch eased out, both the batsmen missed out on a real chance to dominate the bowling.

It was the best possible time for Peter Fulton and Grant Elliot to start their innings; they survived nine-odd overs before Asif turned the day again. In two overs he removed them both, the length being crucial again. Both batsmen were kept on the crease: Fulton got one that stayed a touch low, Elliott one that moved in, made him play uncertainly, and took the edge.

Time, then, for Pakistan's hallowed fielding to raise its head: Farhat - still in the slips - dropped a tough chance from Vettori when the latter hadn't even scored. McCullum and Vettori went from strength to strength, and batted New Zealand through to stumps, having added unbeaten 65 for the seventh wicket. Just in case there wasn't enough drama already, the review system proved Simon Taufel wrong. The penultimate ball of the day was a sharp offcutter from Asif, an appeal that was upheld. McCullum challenged it, and was seen being hit outside the line of off.

India pass 300 aggressively

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:17:00 +0000

The first session witnessed a semblance of battle, at least in the first hour, but play post lunch was a one-way street heading India's way. Gautam Gambhir notched up his seventh hundred in nine Tests, Virender Sehwag completed a typically feisty century, Rahul Dravid got into the groove immediately and India went past 300 with a full session left in the day. It wasn't just the runs, it was the manner in which they were compiled. The batsmen seemed to do as they wished: Gambhir punctuated his charges down the wicket with delicate late cuts, Sehwag went either inside-out or carved across the line as his mood seized him, and Dravid pierced the off-side field at will.

The situation was summed up by the sight of Rangana Herath bowling over the stumps and outside leg to the newly arrived Dravid. It said so much about what Sri Lanka were thinking and about how totally India had dominated. Things are likely to get worse for Sri Lanka with the pitch expected to break up in a couple of days.

The most telling statistic was the spinners' figures. All three main spinners struggled, with even Muttiah Muralitharan leaking at over 6 runs per over. Sri Lanka had managed to keep the scoring rate down with the new ball but things went pear-shaped for them after the spinners were introduced, with Sehwag and Gambhir looting 73 runs off nine overs before lunch and little changing after the break. They weren't allowed to settle at all by the openers who lashed out at them with a calculated fury that was breathtaking to watch.

Gambhir went after Herath in his first over, hitting him for three boundaries: He whipped through covers, cut past point and stepped out to loft to the straight boundary. Gambhir had different approaches to the spinners: He stepped out often against Herath, used his crease well against Muralitharan, going either well back or stretching forward, and worked the angles against Ajantha Mendis.

If Gambhir reserved the best of his aggression for Herath, Sehwag went after Mendis in the first session and took care of Muralitharan in the second. There was some edginess initially as Sehwag mistimed the first few deliveries but Mendis couldn't capitalise on it. He floated a full toss, offered a long-hop and slid one down the leg side and Sehwag sent each one to the boundary. The attacking spirit was best seen in the last over before lunch when Sehwag launched an offbreak from Mendis high over long-on. That aggression continued post lunch with Sehwag collecting five boundaries against Muralitharan: Two fierce off drives, an inside-edge, and a tuck to fine-leg boundary which brought up his hundred. He fell to Muralitharan though, against the run of play, trying to play an inside-out cover drive to a length delivery but failing to clear cover.

The brisk, confident scoring through most of the day was possible because the openers showed patience in the first hour against the new ball and laid a good platform. It seemed as though Sehwag was waging a battle against himself initially. He chased his third ball - a wide delivery - and edged it but was dropped when Prasanna Jayawardene dived across and distracted Mahela Jayawardene at first slip. Sehwag then tried to go hard at Angelo Mathews a couple of times and was beaten. It was the make or break moment: he was either going to combust from impatience or would change tack and be more watchful. He chose the latter route and started to play defensively with the full face of the bat and as close to the body as possible.

It has to be said, though, that the seamers did their best to tempt him into indiscretion. They kept the ball full and outside off, inviting Sehwag to drive, but he resisted after the initial nervy period. That his first boundary came only off the 27th delivery he faced said much about his mindset. Welegedera occasionally got the ball to nip back in and even had a plausible shout for lbw turned down, but couldn't break through.

Gambhir was the more assured of the openers against the new ball. He was dismissed playing away from the body against Welegedera in the last Test and took care to play close to his body today. He scored quite a few runs in the third-man region but the slow pitch was always going to throw up that kind of a wagon wheel.

The presence of three spinners and just one frontline seamer was always going to pose problems for Sri Lanka after they lost the toss. And the early results are there for all to see.

Dhoni declared fit to play

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:38:00 +0000

Sri Lanka started brilliantly in the first Test but were thwarted first by Rahul Dravid and then the pitch in Ahmedabad. Momentum is an over-rated word, though, and both teams will start afresh in Kanpur. Experts reckoned that both captains were a little too defensive in the first Test and allowed the batsmen to dictate terms with easy singles. The main reason for that was perhaps the docile pitch but both teams will know that they must up their game if they are to go past South Africa and claim the No. 1 Test spot.

Both teams had a few problems in the spin department: Sri Lanka went in with Rangana Herath, who was outstanding in the home series against Pakistan, but he couldn't do much damage here. Muttiah Muralitharan too wasn't at his best but Sri Lanka will still consider him as their first-choice spinner. Ajantha Mendis is likely to replace Herath as he is quicker through the air and the faster spinners have been more effective on Indian tracks.

For India, Harbhajan Singh is yet to recapture the form he showed on the tour of New Zealand, where he was at the top of his game. The usually skillful Amit Mishra had a poor game, struggling for control and looking out of sorts. Will India see it as a one-off bad game and trust Mishra with another? While Herath and Mishra didn't perform well the onus, though, would be on the senior spinners, Muralitharan and Harbhajan, to show the way.

Thilan Samaraweera: His profile uses the adjectives adhesive and well-organised; to that, add prolific - he has averaged 81.56 in the last year. There isn't a single shot that stands out in a Samaraweera innings but that's a tribute, not a criticism. Solidity over flashiness seems to be his mantra and Sri Lanka will hope he never gets ahead of himself.

Virender Sehwag flopped in the first innings at Motera and hit a fifty in the second that, though chancy, shifted the momentum of the game and no one will be surprised if he goes on to hit a big hundred. He has the game but is he in the mood for a substantial innings?

VVS Laxman also failed in the first innings and stitched together a patient fifty in the second to help draw the Test. He has the style, the class and, importantly, the form; expect a big one from him in Kanpur.

Team news

There were concerns over the fitness of MS Dhoni but he has been cleared to play. The question mark now hangs over the second spinner, but Mishra is likely to be retained. Considering how Mishra struggled due to lack of match practice, India might also retain Ishant, ahead of Sreesanth who last played for India 19 months ago. Not that Ishant did well - but not many bowlers did on that placid track.

India : (probable) 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 VVS Laxman, 6 Yuvraj Singh, 7 MS Dhoni (capt/wk), 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Amit Mishra.

Dilshan broke his nose after colliding with a team-mate during practice but he has recovered and will play. Fast bowler Dammika Prasad, however, is likely to miss out after suffering a grade one hamstring strain. He could be replaced by either Nuwan Kulasekara or Dilhara Fernando. The big question, though, will be over the second spinner to partner Murali. Will Mendis be given a chance?

Sri Lanka: (probable) 1 Tharanga Paranavitana, 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (capt & wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Thilan Samaraweera, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Prasanna Jayawardene (wk), 8 Nuwan Kulasekara/Dilhara Fernando, 9 Chanaka Welegedara, 10 Muttiah Muralitharan, 11 Ajantha Mendis/Rangana Herath.

Pitch and conditions

The last time India played a Test in Kanpur, they prepared a spin track to trounce South Africa by eight wickets. They even opened the bowling with Harbhajan in the second innings. This time around the curator says it will be a sporting track with the spinners coming into play from the third day. A lot of attention has been showered on the pitch in the lead-up to this Test.

India salvage draw

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:39:00 +0000

A match that began with a celebration of Sachin Tendulkar, ended with a celebration by Sachin Tendulkar. But like for much of his life, the celebration of him was loud, unending and rapturous while the celebration by him was animated, brief and not over the top. Tendulkar had combined with Gautam Gambhir to keep Sri Lanka at bay and earn a draw for India, on a pitch that was a bad advertisement for Test cricket. Both Tendulkar and Gambhir scored centuries - bringing the the total number of centuries in the match to seven - but their knocks were more about their mind conquering their impulses than their mind and skills conquering the bowlers and the conditions.

India began the day, trailing by 144 runs, and ended it leading by 78. In between, Sri Lanka picked up the wickets of nightwatchman Amit Mishra and centurion Gautam Gambhir.

Mishra and Gambhir had ended Day 4 well for India, with Mishra displaying decent batting talent. He continued the good work in the morning, while Gambhir looked like he had set himself up to bat throughout the day. Mishra had progressed to 24, when he flicked Angelo Mathews off his pads for a good-looking shot, only to see Dilshan come in between the ball and its intended course towards the boundary. It was a brilliant reflex catch, and was so unexpected that Mishra actually stood for a while in disbelief. However, this innings would have not only given him the confidence to bat in future Test matches, but it will also be a valuable, though subtle, confidence boost in the minds of the established batsmen who will now know that Mishra can be relied upon to hang around if they find themselves batting with him towards the end of an innings.

After Mishra's fall, Tendulkar walked out to the crease to join Gambhir. On a road of a pitch, Tendulkar and Gambhir eschewed any risks, but didn't pull down the shutters altogether and kept the scoreboard moving. They took India to lunch, still trailing Sri Lanka by 78 runs, but with no threat to losing their wickets if they kept their heads. Gambhir had reached his seventh Test century in the first session, displaying an uncanny ability to lift his game when his team needed him the most. This was his 6th century in his past 8 Test matches, underlining the rich vein of form he has been in during the past year and more. This was also the fourth time Gambhir had made a century in his second innings during a Test match. In fact, Gambhir's average in the second innings of all Test matches he has played went up to an astounding 63.67. Taken in conjunction with a very good first innings average of 48.70, it tells you just why Gambhir has been so valuable for India at the top of the order.

However, after lunch, Gambhir momentarily lost his cool and had to pay for it with his wicket. He charged down the track to Rangana Herath and, much like his friend and opening partner Sehwag, ended up giving a dolly to mid-off. Gambhir had done his job though and played a large part in taking India to safety. After Gambhir departed for 114, the old warhorses - Laxman and Tendulkar - got together and their partnership was unbroken till the end of the match. The final day's play had been in stark contrast to the frantic run-gathering of the previous four days, but at no stage did either Laxman or Tendulkar look discomfited. They took India's total past the deficit-mark of 334, and progressed serenely towards their respective individual landmarks - Laxman to his fortieth half-century and Tendulkar to his forty third century.

As Tendulkar reached the nineties, Sangakkara changed bowling tactics, with all the bowlers bowling negative lines. However, Tendulkar was equal to the task, once turning a ball from miles outside off-stump to the square-leg boundary, and once stroking the ball through a packed off-side cordon for another boundary. He reached his century with a scampered single off Welegedera, and had an animated but brief celebration. The match was then called off at the end of the over, with Tendulkar unbeaten on 100 and Laxman on 51.

It is worth noting that but for the brief burst from Welegedera on the first morning, there was nothing in the pitch for the bowlers. The Indian cricket administrators have consistently maintained that they want to uphold the purity and sanctity of Test cricket, and they are not merely looking to cash in on the popularity of the limited-overs formats. However, with pitches like these, it is the surest way of killing interest in Test cricket. This pitch would have been great for an ODI or a Twenty20 match with the likelihood of big scores from both sides. But for a Test match, that demands an equal battle between bat and ball to be compelling, it was a disaster. There were almost 1600 runs scored in this Test, and only 21 wickets were lost.

In the immediate future, Sri Lanka would be hoping for more sporting pitches to end their win-drought on Indian soil. In the extended future, every fan of Test cricket would be hoping for more sporting pitches so that the most challenging format of the game is alive and flourishes.

India fighting for survival

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:35:00 +0000

Sri Lanka had ended Day 3 by reaching an ominous position and they spent half of Day 4 strengthening that position, until they reached a total that they could be sure had batted India out of the match. While it couldn't have been fun for the Indian team to toil away while the Lankan batsmen helped themselves to tons of runs, the Lankans batted for a tad too long and showed a defensive and conservative mindset, when they ought to have been aggressive while trying to notch their first Test win on Indian soil.

However, picking too much on the Lankans for batting a tad longer than necessary would be churlish. They put on a magnificent batting display right from the start through till the end of the innings. The Jayawardene combo continued to torment the Indians for much of the time, being unseparated till lunch time. During the first session, Prasanna Jayawardene reached his second Test century and first against India, while Mahela Jayawardene went past 250, as the partnership crossed the 300-run mark. Both batsmen looked like they had never left the pitch yesterday, taking no time at all to settle in and play their shots. The bowlers, unfortunately for India, looked to be in the same state, and they couldn't make an impression on the duo. After a while, the Indians were just going through the motions, and waiting for Sri Lanka to declare.

Being reduced to waiting for the opponents to declare is one of the most powerless, and worst, feelings a player can have - no matter if you're playing gully cricket, school cricket or international cricket. For Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar - the only two surviving members from the team of 1997 that conceded a world record 952/6 declared to Sri Lanka - it must have brought back unpleasant memories. Finally after lunch, the Indians - who must have forgotten the feeling of taking a wicket - got one, when Mahela Jaywardene was bowled by the otherwise unimpressive Amit Mishra. Jaywardene had made 275 runs - nearly each one coming of silken strokes. By the time he was out the score-board read an imposing 726/6. With the lead at 300 runs, the Lankans could very well have declared right then, but they chose to bat on. Eventually Dammika Prasad was dismissed with the score at 760, and that is when Sangakkara decided that they had enough on the board to send the Indian batsmen in.

Prasanna Jayawardene had remained unbeaten on 154 and during his partnership with Mahela Jayawardene, they had both set some records. The most famous one they set was when they broke a 72-year old world record for the sixth wicket partnership, bettering none other than the great Sir Donald Bradman and Jack Fingleton. (For a full list of the records they broke, click here.)

The Sri Lankans thus had a 334-run lead, and had left themselves four and a half sessions in which to either bowl the Indians out for less than that or bowl them out early enough so that Sri Lanka could chase down whatever target India set. When India came out to bat, it very nearly looked like they would lose by an innings. Sehwag started off in his usual style, blazing away. But he failed to curb his instincts in the face of such a large deficit and was lucky to survive when two he was dropped twice of edges and was saved from being run-out by miles when the throw missed the stumps. Although one of the drops was off a no-ball, it should have served as a warning to Sehwag, but he blithely ignored it even if it did.

India survived the session without losing a wicket, as Gambhir - looking very solid at one end - and Sehwag settled down after the initial rush. However, disaster struck at the start of the last session of the day, when Sehwag - still displaying a maddening inability to control his rushes of blood, played an ugly slog to a flighted Herath delivery only to see it take the top-edge and spiral safely into the hands of Angelo Mathews. It was a dismissal that Sehwag would not like to see on any replay ever in his life, and it put India in a needless spot of bother. The openers had added 81 runs, and looked set for more, when Sehwag had his rush of blood.However, solidity returned to the proceedings with the arrival of Rahul Dravid. Dravid too looked like he was merely continuing his first innings, and looked in good nick from the time he took guard.

Slowly but surely, Dravid and Gambhir chipped away at the deficit, maintaining a healthy scoring rate without taking any risk. They both displayed great concentration and looked intent on carrying India through to safety at least till the end of the day. Gambhir reached a well deserved half-century, and Dravid looked set to join him before an umpiring error ended his stay. Dravid played across the line to a ball from Welegedera that was bowled round the wicket and angling in, and was rapped on the pads only for umpire Harper to uphold the appeal. To the naked eye, the ball looked like it was clearly sliding down the leg side, and Hawkeye suggested that it would have had the faintest possible contact with the leg stump. Dravid was disappointed and justifiably so, because on a batting beauty and in good form, he had looked immovable till then. India then sent out Amit Mishra as the night watchman, and he kept Gambhir company till the close of play. India ended at 190/2, still 144 runs adrift, but with Gambhir looking assured on 74.

With the pitch not holding any demons, what India have to do is guard against the sort of collapse that happened on the first day of the match, because on the fifth day such a collapse would prove fatal, especially with Rahul Dravid not around to bail them out this time. If the batsmen keep their cool, it should be easy for India to draw the match, but there are two things they must guard against - any rushes of blood and the possibility of Muralitharan weaving magic on a last day pitch.

India wilt under Jayawardene display

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:10:00 +0000

It was a day that the Indian bowlers would like to forget in a hurry, in fact as soon as Sri Lanka's batsmen next come out to bat - whether in this Test or the next. None of them could make any impression on the Sri Lankan batsmen, and of only two wickets to fall in the entire day, one came off a bad decision. Although the Indian bowlers had a forgettable day, Mahela Jayawardene had a memorable one. The veteran Sri Lankan notched up his 6th Test double-century while taking Sri Lanka to their highest total on Indian soil and a lead of 165 runs, to end the day at 591/5.

The first two days had seen the pitch giving some assistance to the bowlers in the first hour, after easing out into a batting beauty. Thus, from the Indians' point of view, it was imperative that they made the first hour count. When they lost the first hour to Sri Lanka, for whom Samaraweera and Jayawardene, played in an assured manner, the writing was on the wall for the Indians and they would have known that they were in for a long hard day in the field.

And it proved to be just that. The first bit of cheer for the Indians came when Yuvraj took a brilliant catch at short leg to get rid of Samaraweera. The batsman was batting fluently and had reached 70, when an attempted pull was intercepted by Yuvraj. The duo of Jayawardene and Samaraweera had added 138 runs though and Sri Lanka were still in a comfortable position at 332/4. Mahela Jayawardene motored along with his trademark eye-pleasing shots, and none of the Indian bowlers looked likely to come within sniffing distance of a wicket. The Sri Lankans were particularly harsh on Amit Mishra, as he was carted for runs all over the park. Mishra seemed unable to find the right line, length or speed to bowl at, and unless he turns in something special in the second innings, he might well lose his spot in the side to Pragyan Ojha.

At the stroke of lunch, India had a slice of luck, as they got the wicket of Angelo Mathews caught at forward short leg again. However, Angelo's bat had not made contact with the ball, and he was thus distinctly unlucky to be given out. Post lunch, it was a Jayawardene duo at the crease with Mahela being joined by wicket-keeper Prasanna. Mahela progressed serenely to his 27th Test century, reaching there with Sri Lanka on the verge of taking the lead from India. This they duly did, but the Jayawardenes pressed on, eager to make the most of the pitch and the bowling on offer.

Within a few balls of each other, they crossed further personal landmarks, with Mahela going past 150, and Prasanna going past 50. The partnership crossed the mark of 138 between Mahela and Samaraweera, to become the highest of the innings, as the Indian bowlers continued to toil away on an unforgiving day. The bowlers soon got into a totally defensive mindset, with Mishra coming round the wicket to the right-handers and bowling into the rough, with a field setting designed to choke runs rather than take wickets. Dhoni, in fact, seemed to have gotten into a defensive mindset a little too early, right from the start of the day. However, during the partnership of the Jayawardenes, this seemed a lot more pronounced. The upshot of it was that the batsmen were not likely to lose their wicket, and because there was no urgency to score, they could milk singles at will - secure in the knowledge that two full days of play remained in the match.

As the close of the day approached, everything about the Indians seemed to sag - their shoulders and their spirits - but the Jayawardenes continued to shine bright even as the sun set. Their partnership kept flourishing until almost as if it was inevitable and pre-ordained, Mahela Jayawardene scampered a single to reach the sixth double hundred of his career, and second against India. He had played flawlessly, not giving even a half-chance to the bowlers and was greeted by warm applause as the day came to a close with him still unconquered. The other Jayawardene - Prasanna - had not done too badly himself, ending up on 84 not out in a stand that was worth 216 runs. Sri Lanka ended the day at 591/5, for an overall lead of 165 runs. With two full days remaining, they can afford to bat for a session tomorrow before declaring and leaving India facing a mountainous task.