CRICINFO

Sachin Tendulkar : The Legend

2010-03-01T01:11:00.000+05:00

Sachin Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer. He has scored centuries (100 or more runs) in Test matches and One Day International (ODI) matches, organized by the International Cricket Council. Tendulkar has scored a total of 47 centuries in Test matches and 46 centuries in ODIs, both are world records for highest number of centuries by a batsman.

In Test matches, Tendulkar has scored centuries against all the Test-cricket playing nations. He has scored a century in at least one cricket ground of all Test-cricket playing nations, except Zimbabwe. He leads the list of century-makers, ahead of Ricky Ponting who has made 39 Test centuries. His first Test century was achieved against England in the Test match played at Old Trafford, Manchester in 1990, where he scored 119 not out. His highest score is an unbeaten 248, against Bangladesh in 2004 at Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka. Tendulkar, among 47 centuries, has scored four double centuries and remained unbeaten on 15 occasions. His centuries have come in 29 different cricket grounds with 23 of them being scored in venues outside India. Just short of a century, he has been dismissed seven times above the score of 90.

In ODIs, Tendulkar has scored centuries against 10 different opponents. He has scored centuries against all cricketing nations that have permanent One Day International status, except Bangladesh. His first ODI century was against Australia in the 3rd match of the Singer World Series, held in the R. Premadasa Stadium at Colombo in 1994. His highest ODI score is 200 not out, which he scored against South Africa at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium, Gwalior in 2010. His 46 centuries in ODIs is a world record, followed by Sanath Jayasuriya and Ricky Ponting who both have 28 centuries.He has scored 17 ODI centuries in home grounds and 28 centuries in away or neutral venues. Seven of these centuries were hit at the Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium at Sharjah. He has been dismissed 18 times between the score of 90 and 99 and 17 times between the score of 80 and 89.

India win thriller despite heroic Amla

2010-02-18T23:03:00.001+05:00

They couldn't out Hashim Amla at all. So India, down to three bowlers and led by an exceptional Harbhajan Singh, found a way around him, leaving him stranded with nine mandatory balls to go and sealing a heart-stopping, series-levelling win that also meant they retained the top spot in the ICC rankings. As was fitting, it was Harbhajan who brought about the final wicket with a slider to the left-hand batsman Morne Morkel, who had put together a 76-minute last-wicket stand with Amla. The final few steps didn't come easy for India: the last three wickets batted out 53.3 overs to set up a beautiful Test-match finish.

For eight hours and 19 minutes in this innings, which took to 23 hours and 22 minutes the total time he's spent at the wicket for the series, Amla saw everything: offbreaks, topspinners, unintended doosras, big legbreaks, googlies, bouncers, full ones, a blow to the elbow, the bowlers' joy, their frustration, and Harbhajan's eruption on taking the last wicket. At every stage - when he reached fifty or his hundred, when he was hurt, when he was concentrating, when he was defending, during those final few overs of counting each delivery down, and when he was walking back after one of the biggest disappointments he has experienced on a cricket field - the calm expression on his face was unchanged.

Amla batted like the Monk who didn't need to sell a Ferrari, and it took a special bowling effort to deny his side the series win. Harbhajan answered India's call with spin bowling aggressive and patient, smart and persistent, and came up with that wicket-taking delivery when it had deserted the other bowlers.

If Amla never looked like getting out, Harbhajan never looked like letting anyone settle. India had 98 overs to get seven wickets but 52.2 of them were a write-off: they were bowled to Amla, and this man was not going to get out. Not today. They did well, though, to create enough pressure in the remaining overs - despite two dropped catches - to finish off the match with 16 minutes remaining in the day's play.

India woke up to a bright and sunny day, but were thwarted in the first session by Amla and Ashwell Prince. For about two hours, Amla kept killing their hopes, Prince kept raising them only to not edge to hand. Finally, just when the draw started to become the favoured result, Harbhajan came back for his second spell of the day, from his favoured High Court End.

In the first spell, he had tried to get Prince lbw in a fashion similar to the one in the first innings, and failed. In his second he went over the stumps and made it difficult for Prince to judge which deliveries to leave. The leg line troubled Prince, and finally he jabbed at one outside off and lobbed it to mid-off.

Amit Mishra once again produced the special delivery out of nowhere, this time a googly to take out AB de Villiers in the penultimate over before the lunch break, the third time he had taken a wicket just before a break in the innings. de Villiers' was the big wicket because he was the one batsman capable of using his feet and hitting spinners off their length.

Nothing gave. Amla seemed to have found a partner who was holding his nerve well. The desperation on Indian faces kept getting more and more apparent with every passing delivery. With 3.2 overs to go, Amla cut Tendulkar towards the boundary, took a single so as to face two more overs as opposed to one. Sehwag hoped it would reach the boundary as he chased, but slyly tried to kick it over when he saw it stop inches before the rope. Just to keep Morkel on strike. That's how much it mattered.

Amla duly played out the next over, Dhoni duly saved Harbhajan for the over after that. Harbhajan had six more balls left, from the High Court End. The first pitched middle, turned away. The second pitched leg, and broke towards off. The third was the killer slider, Morkel made his first mistake in 60 deliveries. Harbhajan roared, Amla's expression didn't change much.

India vs. South Africa: Live 2010 cricket score for 2nd test

2010-02-18T22:56:00.000+05:00

If you’re a cricket fan, then you may just be watching the match that is taking place at Eden Gardens in Calcutta today, between India and South Africa. But don’t worry if you have not been watching it, as we have an update on the scores for you.

According to a report at merinews.com, it appears that both Hashim Amla and Ashwell Prince of South Africa frustrated the Indian bowlers in this morning’s 2nd test match. Hashim Amla one again played solidly, defying the Indian attack.

Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni used four bowlers, but it didn’t bring any success India’s way unfortunately. Amla, who was playing in his typical characteristic style, managed to score another half century, to keep India at bay.

To retain the number one position in the ICC test ranking, India need to win today’s match. South Africa on the other hand, only needs a draw now to win the India vs. South Africa series and go on to become the top test team in the world.

Indian Squad announced for Series against South Africa

2010-02-13T20:38:00.000+05:00

Loss in the 1st test by an inning and 6 runs was so much disheartening that Indian selectors have dropped few of the players like S.Tyagi and Abhimanyu Mithun without giving them a chance to prove their talent.

Just after the loss, Indian squad were picked for the 2nd test match to be played from 14th of February 2010 to 18th of February at historic venue Eden Garden, Kolkata. The surprise inclusion in the squad is left handed batsman Suresh Raina, he has never played a test match for India so far however he is a regular member of the Indian T20 and ODI squad.

S.Sreesanth as expected has made comeback into the team after recovering from injury. While V.V.S. Laxman, who missed the first Test as he had not fully recovered from a finger injury, is certain to play, which is apparent from the fact that the selectors have withdrawn his cover Rohit Sharma from the squad.

The Bengal wicketkeeper W.Saha who played in the first test match was also axed from the squad after poor show with the bat in the first test match.

Selectors has kept faith in S.Badrinath and M.Vijay and kept them in the 15 member squad as announced by Indian selectors.

While Yuvraj Singh and Rahul Dravid is not picked into the squad because of injury.

India Squad for 2nd Test Match: MS Dhoni (Captain/WK), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, S Badrinath, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha, Ishant Sharma, M Vijay, S.Sreesanth, D.Karthik, S.Raina.

South Africa Test squad: Graeme Smith (Captain), Hashim Amla, Johan Botha, Mark Boucher (WK), AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Paul Harris, Jacques Kallis, Ryan McLaren, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Alviro Petersen, Ashwell Prince, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe.

South Africa ODI squad: Graeme Smith (Captain), Loots Bosman, Johan Botha, Mark Boucher (WK), AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Alviro Petersen, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Roelof van der Merwe.

Ottis Gibson confirmed as West Indies coach

2010-02-02T14:57:00.000+05:00

Ottis Gibson will take over as West Indies coach in time for the home series against Zimbabwe later this month. The WICB chief executive Ernest Hilaire has confirmed reports that Gibson left his post as England's bowling coach to take up the vacancy created by the sacking of John Dyson last year.

"Ottis will begin his appointment from the start of the home series against Zimbabwe," Hilaire said in a CBC Radio interview. "I think we need to take Ottis' appointment in stride. He will be the head coach of the WICB, and not just head coach of the senior team. He will have responsibility for coaching right across all of our representative cricket teams.

"This will give him an opportunity to stamp a particular style of coaching a West Indies way across all the teams. This is really important because by the time our players reach the senior team, they should be the finished article, and they really ought to be focussing mainly on their strategy, tactics, how they win games, and being able to execute."

The interim coach David Williams will remain in charge for the one-day tour of Australia, which starts over the next week, before becoming Gibson's assistant. The Zimbabwe series begins with a Twenty20 international in Trinidad on February 28 and Hilaire said it was important to give Gibson time to stamp his mark on the team.

"I think this has to be a long-term project," he said. "This is not a short-term project. We are not asking Ottis to turn around the West Indies fortunes and make them a winning team overnight. There has to be a gradual chain of development."

A fast-bowling allrounder during his playing days, Gibson represented West Indies in two Tests and 15 one-day internationals, and had a long first-class career in the Caribbean, South Africa and England. He coached within the ECB academy system before taking on the role as England's bowling coach in 2007 and Hilaire said Gibson's experience made him the best candidate.

"We hope that with him responsible for all coaching, he can start outlining to the coaches of all our teams the kind of players and approaches he wants from the players to ensure there is a clear career pathway as they move from the junior ranks to the senior team.

"He is a new era coach, and someone who has been exposed to all of the technologies and new approaches to coaching. We are hoping that he will bring to this task, an understanding of West Indies cricket. He will have all requisite knowledge and skills."

PCB confident of ICC ruling on WACA security breach

2010-02-02T14:56:00.000+05:00

The PCB is confident that the ICC is best placed to take further the issue of the security breach that saw a spectator run onto the field and tackle a Pakistan player on the field in Perth, during the fifth ODI between Australia and Pakistan on Sunday.

Khalid Latif was taken down by a fan as the game drew to a close at the WACA; the man in question has been charged with assault and been handed a life ban from the ground. The incident spurred the Pakistan sports minister into urging Cricket Australia (CA) to set up barriers at grounds and put a ban on alcohol. The PCB, however, says only that the ICC will handle the matter from here on.

"We have been in touch with CA and the ICC. The ICC has a set of procedures in place that govern such issues in bilateral series so they will act accordingly now," Wasim Bari, the PCB's chief operating officer, told Cricinfo.

The ICC has already asked CA for a report on the matter and expressed its concern over the breach of security. The matter is now likely to be discussed at the executive board's meeting in Dubai from February 9.

"Obviously with any incident of this kind, we are concerned," Bari said. "It is the responsibility of the home state and the home board and they have very strict state laws in place for such things. But there is a procedure in place to handle it and it will be done in that way. It will probably be brought up at the ICC meeting."

Bari refused to comment on reports that CA had communicated an apology to the PCB over the incident, maintaining only that there "has been some correspondence between us."

The country's sports minister, however, believes this may be a good time for CA to bring in the kind of barriers and security measures in place at subcontinent venues. ''The thing that really worried me, what if that person had a knife on him, he got there and could have done anything he wanted,'' Ijaz Jhakrani told the Sydney Morning Herald.

''They should ban alcohol at grounds. There should be some kind of barrier or restriction to stop people entering the ground. This is the right time to think about these things. It is no good waiting for someone to die before making decisions.''

Pakistan's players are not, however, overly concerned about the breach according to team officials in Australia. "The players are fine. They are not concerned at all about this," an official told Cricinfo. "Security came and apologized to us for the breach and we're confident it will be ok in Melbourne."

The incident was one of several ones to occur at grounds through their long tour this summer. There is one match to go, a Twenty20 international at the MCG on February 5, in front of what is expected to be a big crowd. During the Boxing Day Test earlier, one spectator managed to run diagonally almost across the entire ground before he was brought down by security staff.

Bangladesh look to create an upset

2010-02-02T14:55:00.001+05:00

Bangladesh begin their tour of New Zealand with a Twenty20 fixture in Hamilton and, despite the gulf between their respective standings in the pecking order of the game, both sides will look forward to the face-off as an opportunity to settle nerves and fire a strong opening salvo.

It can be argued that Shakib-al-Hasan's young Bangladesh side is cut out for the Twenty20 format. In the recent Tests against India there were passages of play where their batsmen combined premeditated aggression with caution, often several times in the same over. The newest format of the game, however, gives them the license to not have to shoulder arms, and to throw the kitchen sink at everything - something that their cavalier batting line-up will fancy. Add the attraction of a smaller ground and the absence of Shane Bond, and Bangladesh emerge as serious contenders for the solitary Twenty20 fixture at Seddon Park.

Even as the higher-ranked teams struggled to come to grips with the format, Bangladesh got off to a strong start in Twenty20s, winning three of their first four matches, including one against West Indies in the inaugural World Cup. Reality has caught up with them since, and the next nine matches ended in defeat.

The hosts have their own problems to address, and will hope that Mark Greatbatch's appointment as coach will end a tumultuous period that began with Andy Moles' resignation in October. One of the biggest problems New Zealand have faced in recent times, albeit in the longer formats, is their misfiring top-order. Greatbatch has already identified it as a priority area and will hope his batsmen use this platform to ease back into form.

Pakistan Vs Australia 2nd Test Live Stream

2010-01-04T00:57:00.000+05:00

Fast bowler Mohammad Sami staged his comeback with a bang as he devastatingly bowled to grab all three wickets which Australia lost in the first hour’s play after captain Ricky Ponting won the toss and elected to bat first on the rain-affected opening day of the second Test against Pakistan at the SCG.

Play started a while after lunch in overcast conditions on a pitch with plenty of grass on it.
Shane Watson opened the innings with Phillip Hughes coming in for the injured Simon Katich but they could not resist against the devatating bowling by Mohamamd Asif and Sami.

Hughes was dropped by Umar Akmal in the gully off Sami’s very first ball but soon he was dismissed on duck, caught in the slips by Faisal Iqbal and then Ponting got first ball duck.

However, Sami could not get hat-trick as his appeal for lbw was rejected after referral was called. The replay showed that Watson was struck outline the of off and he was playing a shot.

Later, Watson, fresh from making his maiden Test century in Melbourne, also departed caught behind by Kamran Akmal gain off Sami.

Australia are now struggling at 25 for three with Michel Hussey and Michael Clarke batting on 13 and 3, respectively.

Sami has so far taken three wickets for 11 runs from seven overs, four of which were maiden. He is being assisted by Asif and Umar Gul.

Australia made one change in their team with Phillip Hughes at the top of the order while Pakistan made three changes with bowlers Sami, Umar Gul and Danish Kaneria replacing injured Mohamamd Aamer, Abdul Rauf and Saeed Ajmal.

Jacques Kallis hits ton after England set early pace

2010-01-04T00:46:00.000+05:00

Jacques Kallis hit his 33rd century in Tests as South Africa recovered from 127-5 to reach 279-6 on day one of the third Test against England.

Kallis made a chanceless unbeaten 108, and featured in an 89-run stand with Mark Boucher (51) for the sixth wicket.

James Anderson and Graeme Swann each took two wickets for England, who opted to field first on winning the toss.South Africa dropped Makhaya Ntini for Friedel de Wet in the only change made by either side at picturesque Newlands.

After England won the toss and put South Africa in to bat, the focus in Cape Town quickly switched to how South Africa could overturn their 1-0 deficit in the series.And that they still had a reasonable chance to do so when stumps were drawn was all because of Kallis.

This three-figure score put him fifth on the all-time list of Test century-makers as he went ahead of Steve Waugh, and one ton shy of Brian Lara in fourth place.

De Villiers now pounced on a couple of shorter balls from Swann to hit boundaries but had not made good his escape when justice was done for England. Attempting to clip a ball through the on-side he tamely chipped a catch to Strauss at short mid-wicket and England celebrated wildly as they ended an important 76-run partnership.

There was more joy to come from the very next ball when JP Duminy got a thin edge and Prior did the rest, leaving South Africa in strife with half their wickets gone and 150 not yet on the board.

Boucher, one of the South Africans whose position in the side has been questioned, responded to the situation with some positive cricket, including three consecutive fours in a rare poor Swann over.

By tea, Kallis had reached his half-century and South Africa were 183-5, but there was reverse swing on offer now for England's bowlers.

Eventually, Broad capitalised with a delivery that curved back into Boucher, removing the right-hander lbw.

South Africa pushed Dale Steyn two places up the order from his customary number 10 berth, and he responded solidly as Kallis reached his century by driving a wide full-toss from Kevin Pietersen to the extra-cover fence.

It had been a masterful innings from the 34-year-old whose most alarming moment came when he top-edged a pull shot over the slip cordon.

If there was only one really memorable shot played, a dreamy on-drive for four off Onions, it was a classic example of how building an innings in Test cricket is all about high-quality defence and putting away the bad ball.

Pakistan stars miss deadline for Indian Premier League

2009-12-29T23:26:00.000+05:00

Pakistan players under contract with Indian Premier League clubs must go through the auction process if they are to play in the 2010 season.

That is despite belatedly securing clearance from both governments.

Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Gul, Kamran Akmal and Sohail Tanvir have secured visas, but IPL chief Lalit Modi says they missed the 7 December deadline.

As a result, three franchises have already replaced Pakistan players with alternatives from South Africa.

Bangalore Royal Challengers have secured South Africa's Roelof van der Merwe in place of Misbah, Charl Langeveldt has replaced Gul at Kolkata Knight Riders while Rajasthan Royals - who have both Akmal and Tanvir on their books - have brought in Johan Botha.

In the inaugural IPL season of 2008, 11 Pakistan players took part, but they were banned from the 2009 competition after the Mumbai terrorist attacks, although the competition was moved to South Africa.

Pakistan won the ICC World Twenty20 this year, and under normal circumstances their players would be in high demand, but relations between the neighbouring countries remains strained.

It remains to be seen whether star all-rounder Shahid Afridi, spinner Saeed Ajmal and new pace sensation Mohammad Aamer will be in the market for the IPL auction. None of them have signed contracts with franchises.

Graeme Swann & Stuart Broad set up England victory bid

2009-12-29T23:12:00.000+05:00

England will need to take just four wickets on the final day in Durban to win the second Test and seal a first victory in the city since 1964.

A remarkable burst from Graeme Swann (3-22) and Stuart Broad (3-18), which saw four wickets fall for seven runs, reduced South Africa to 50-6.

The hosts were 76-6, still 156 behind, when bad light and rain ended play.

England had earlier declared on 575-9, 232 ahead, with Ian Bell making 141 from 227 balls and Matt Prior 60.

As South Africa then reached a fairly comfortable 27-0 from their first nine overs in their second innings on a wicket with a reputation for going flat, the draw looked the likeliest result by a long way.

But Swann removed Ashwell Prince with his second ball, thanks to a sharp catch from Bell at silly point, and clean bowled Hashim Amla on the stroke of tea.

Bell, whose place has been under intense scrutiny, reached his ninth Test century and first since July 2008 with a lofted on-drive for four off Paul Harris, but the run-up to lunch was otherwise a dull passage of play, with neither Bell nor Broad showing much adventure.

Thankfully, that all changed after lunch as Broad muscled Harris onto the grass banks for six in an over costing 15, before edging Duminy to slip.

Swann wasted no time playing himself in, pulling Makhaya Ntini for a huge six in making 22 from 14 balls, and Bell added two post-lunch boundaries before finally chasing a wide one from Dale Steyn. The declaration followed 10 balls later.

Wednesday, which should provide at least two full sessions of clear weather should they be needed, is likely to see Centurion man of the match Swann take centre stage once again.

It has been quite a 12 months for the Nottinghamshire man, who on Tuesday became the first English spinner to take 50 wickets in a calendar year.

Paul Collingwood, meanwhile, dislocated a finger in the warm-up on Tuesday and is unlikely to play any further part in the match. However an X-ray has confirmed there is no fracture and he may be available for the third Test in Cape Town from 3 January.

India v Sri Lanka 5th ODI – Match Abandoned because of Dangerous Pitch

2009-12-29T22:57:00.000+05:00

What a shame on Indian cricket Board and DDCA, the final ODI between India and Sri Lanka is called off after 23.3 overs of play. The pitch behaved very differently right from the start. There are only two occasions where Sri Lankan batsmen were hit on their body parts. On a Kotla pitch where the bounce varied from shin to shoulder in as short a spell as three deliveries.

In the 24^th over, suddenly one ball of debutant Sudeep Tyagi took off and almost got passed over M.S.Dhoni head. And at that stage Sri Lankan players decided that enough is enough and they don’t want to take any risk with some important series coming up.

The pitch at Kotla was also criticized in Champions League 2020 where even scoring 120 runs in 20 overs looks impossible on this wicket, however curator has prepared a fresh pitch for the ODI but it behaved more differently than early stripes.

Full of action, the 23.3 overs featured a wicket first ball; a dropped catch first ball of the second over; blows on the elbow, shoulder, fingers; frenzied running; thick edges flying past third man; and wickets for Zaheer Khan, Tyagi and Harbhajan Singh. Dhoni, coming back from a two-match ban, was stupendous behind the stumps, getting his legs together for the shooters and reacting well to the lifters. Not one bye was conceded.

After winning the toss M.S.Dhoni put Sri Lanka into bat, Zaheer Khan give India a perfect start removing last match centurion Upal Tharanga for first ball duck. Then after few overs he removed dangerous Dilshan.

Match was looking well in the bag for the Indians with visitors on 83/5 in the 24^th over but with so much uneven bounce on the wickets, both team captains decided it is dangerous to take any chance on playing the game on such unfit pitch. But despite of such dangerous pitch all the wickets fell during Sri Lankan innings was of a very good ball or with the help of some superb fielding from Suresh Raina.

All the players went off the field around 11:40 AM, but it took 1 hour 10 of debate before they officially abandoned the game.

So a very sad end to such wonderful ODI series between India and Sri Lanka. Let’s hope that BCCI and DDCA will learn from this and will take some hard decision in improving the pitch as well as cricket facility around the India.

Match Summary (Match Abandoned)

Sri Lanka– 83/5 in 23.3 Overs

S.Jayasurya- 31 T.Dilshan– 20

Z.Khan – 8-1-31-2 S.Tyagi- 6.3-1-15-1

India wins the series by 3-1 and now they will travel to Bangladesh for a triangular series between Sri Lanka & Bangladesh. Also they will play two test matches against Bangladesh.

Andrew Strauss unworried by Alastair Cook's form

2009-12-25T18:35:00.000+05:00

England captain Andrew Strauss is not worried about the form of fellow opener Alastair Cook in the run-up to Boxing Day's second Test against South Africa.

Cook, who celebrates his 25th birthday on Christmas Day, scored 15 and 12 in the drawn first Test at Centurion.

But Strauss said: "I am happy with the way he is playing and happy with some of the adjustments he has made.

"There are times when cricket is tough but I know Alastair has the character and temperament to come through it."

Strauss added: "I have been through it and just about every member of our batting unit has been through it at one stage or another."What it boils down to is how much you are willing to guts it out and I know that Alastair will do that. I'm not overly concerned by the way he is playing or anything like that.

"I think he is playing nicely and it's just one Test match. I think it is always wrong to judge people on the basis of two innings because you can get a couple of good balls and unfortunately that is the way the game is."

England have to decide the make-up of their team for the match in Durban.

They only played four specialist bowlers in the opening draw at Centurion, with specialist extra batsman Ian Bell contributing just seven runs in his two innings.

"We're very mindful of picking the right side for the conditions here," said Strauss.

"Sometimes you're looking into the crystal ball a little bit, because you're not entirely sure how the wicket is going to play and what conditions will be later on in the match."

4th ODI: India beat Sri Lanka by 7 wickets, seal series

2009-12-25T18:25:00.000+05:00

Virat Kohli maiden ODI century (107 runs of 114 balls) and Gautam Gambhir seventh ODI century (150* runs of 137 balls) helped India to comprehensively chase down 316 runs with ease and seal the series here at Eden Garden. India were reduced to 23/2 in chase of 316 runs in the fourth over but youngster Virat Kohli grabbed the opportunity with both hands along with Gautam Gambhir and scripted a historic win by 7 wickets.

It was one of the most comprehensive successful run chase by the Indians in their ODI history with such an ease. The duo put on record 224 runs of just 214 balls for the third wicket to inject a fresh life into the chase after reduced to 23/2. In the end India reach the target with 11 balls to spare. With this win now India will go into Delhi with Karbon Mobile Cup already in their bag.

Mind you India chased down this mammoth total without two of their star players (M.S.Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh). When both Gambhir and Kohli joined together India was in deep trouble with two of their most experienced players already back in the pavilion and two already not in the team.

Right from the start Kohli was looking for boundaries and that helped Gambhir at other end to calm down. Both batsmen played cleverly and whenever they got the lose ball they have converted it into boundary ball and on good deliveries they have kept rotating the strikes which kept required run rate in check.

Both batsmen reached their centuries in consecutive deliveries. However in trying to finish of the game Virat Kohli holed out to long-on, but Gambhir made sure there were no further mishaps, scoring 47 off the 70 remaining runs. Dinesh Karthik played his part with unbeaten 19 runs of 22 balls.

Earlier Sri Lankan captain won the toss and elected to bat first. Riding on the well made century from the opener Upul Tharanga (118 runs of 128 balls) Sri Lanka posted a mammoth total of 315/6 on the board. Kumar Sangakara (60 runs of 72 balls) was another player who have done bulk of the scoring for his team. Other players also chipped in with cameos that helped Sri LankaEden Garden, Kolkata. in the end to post a highest total at

Gautam Gambhir was declared Player of the Match for his superb unbeaten 150 runs of just 137 balls however he showed an excellent gesture by handing over his Man of the Match award to Virat Kohli for his maiden ton.

Mohammad Yousuf retained captain for Australia

2009-12-24T12:35:00.000+05:00

Pakistan have left out Younis Khan from a 16-man squad for the three-Test series against Australia, beginning in late December. Younis had not informed the selection committee or board of his availability for the series, having relinquished the captaincy and his place in the side after an ODI series loss to New Zealand last month.

Mohammad Yousuf, captain in Younis' place, will continue to lead the team in Australia. Yousuf's brief captaincy experience, incidentally, includes two Tests as leader on the 2004-05 tour to Australia; Pakistan lost both Tests though they were markedly improved from the side that lost the first Test at Perth by 491 runs under Inzamam-ul-Haq. Yousuf also scored a fine hundred in the Melbourne Test as captain.

"Younis wanted to rest but he didn't play in the domestic cricket since the one-day series against New Zealand," chief selector Iqbal Qasim told reporters. "He didn't give his availability to us and therefore we did not select him." Younis stepped away from the game after claiming he had "lost command" of the side, following months of strained relationships with a number of senior players.

Younis was Pakistan's leading run-getter on their last tour to Australia, the start of a period in which he established himself as one of Pakistan's most reliable batsman at one-down. Alongside Yousuf and Inzamam, he formed a formidable middle order, but Inzamam's retirement and Yousuf's time away with the ICL has weakened the batting considerably; a perpetually unreliable opening pair has added to the kind of woes seen in the current series with New Zealand, where only the Akmal brothers have had any consistent success.

Yousuf will also lead the ODI side in Australia, with Shahid Afridi as his deputy.

Squad:
Mohammad Yousuf (capt), Salman Butt, Khurrum Manzoor, Imran Farhat, Shoaib Malik, Fawad Alam, Faisal Iqbal, Misbah-ul-Haq, Kamran Akmal (wk), Danish Kaneria, Saeed Ajmal, Umar Gul, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Aamer, Abdur Rauf, Umar Akmal.

Pakistan vs Australia 2009 / 2010 - Fixtures and Schedules

2009-12-24T12:14:00.000+05:00

Pakistan tours Australia at the end of December 2009 for 3 tests, 5 ODIs and 1 T20 match. The tour starts from December 26 2010 and will end on February 5 2010. The first test between them is the boxing day test match. The tour starts immediately after Australia's test series against West Indies.

Here are the complete fixtures and schedules of Aus Vs Pak 2010:

Date	Match Details	Time (GMT)	Time (IST)	Venue	Ground	City
Dec 26 Sat – Dec 30 Wed	Australia v Pakistan, 1st Test	00:01	05:31	26/12/2009 00:01	Melbourne Cricket Ground	Melbourne
Jan 03 Sun – Jan 07 Thu	Australia v Pakistan, 2nd Test	00:01	05:31	03/01/2010 00:01	Sydney Cricket Ground	Sydney
Jan 14 Thu – Jan 18 Mon	Australia v Pakistan, 3rd Test	00:01	05:31	14/01/2010 00:01	Bellerive Oval	Hobart
Jan 22 – Fri	Australia v Pakistan, 1st ODI	03:15	08:45	22/01/2010 03:15	Brisbane Cricket Ground	Brisbane
Jan 24 – Sun	Australia v Pakistan, 2nd ODI	03:15	08:45	24/01/2010 03:15	Sydney Cricket Ground	Sydney
Jan 26 – Tue	Australia v Pakistan, 3rd ODI	03:15	08:45	26/01/2010 03:15	Adelaide	Adelaide
Jan 29 – Fri	Australia v Pakistan, 4th ODI	04:30	10:00	29/01/2010 04:30	W.A.C.A.	Perth
Jan 31 – Sun	Australia v Pakistan, 5th ODI	04:30	10:00	31/01/2010 04:30	W.A.C.A.	Perth
Feb 05 – Fri	Australia v Pakistan, Only T20I	08:35	14:05	05/02/2010 08:35	Melbourne Cricket Ground	Melbourne

Bouncers on menu for Ponting and Hughes

2009-12-23T13:28:00.001+05:00

It won't matter whether Ricky Ponting or Phillip Hughes play against Pakistan on Boxing Day, they can both expect a barrage of short balls. Australia are waiting on Ponting's fitness after he was hit on the left elbow ducking a Kemar Roach bouncer in Perth and Chris Gayle, the West Indies captain, said they unearthed a glaring weakness in the Australian's game.

Gayle said other teams should study the way Roach operated to Ponting in dismissing him three times in the series and forcing him to retire hurt. "Our plan to bowl short at him worked really well and I think they are tactics that other Test teams can use with a lot of success against him," Gayle wrote in his Daily Telegraph column.

"Ricky is a person who will always hook and pull - those are some of his favourite shots - but they can also be his major weakness. If you have a bowler with a bit of pace I think you can give him some real trouble."

Gayle said Roach tried to hustle Ponting by bowling at his body and getting him to hook or pull. "Ricky definitely looked very uncomfortable," he said. "The plans that we came up with weren't from watching any videos of Ricky, they were just my gut instinct."

Hughes is on standby for Ponting and had his own problems with the short ball during the tour of England, which included some rough treatment from Steve Harmison in a warm-up game and Andrew Flintoff in two Tests. He has re-found form after being cut from the national squad and is hoping to get a chance to show he is ready for a long-term run in the side.

''Being dropped is a part of the sport, and I'm a big believer in that,'' Hughes said in the Sydney Morning Herald. ''That's life. What has happened has happened.

''To be in a squad now for a Boxing Day Test, it's the one as a kid you always love to watch and always want to be involved in. It's such a big thing. I've been feeling good in myself but to get the numbers on the board in this game [he scored 122 and 7 against Victoria] � I'll go to Melbourne and be ready if a chance does come up."

Cricket stadium runs out of beer

2009-12-23T13:21:00.000+05:00

The opening day of the first Castle Lager Test match between South Africa and England was characterised by an embarrassing shortage of the sponsor's popular beverage

We all know the saying lampooning someone’s inability to organise frenzied mass consumption in a brewery.

Well, on the opening day of the first Castle Lager Test between South Africa and England the suppliers of the sponsor’s product here were not only understaffed, which made for election day queues, but some of their outlets first ran out of the amber ale and later out of cups to serve it in.

The mercury reached the early 30s on the Day of Reconciliation but spectators are going to be hard pressed to reach out, and as the spirit of the day demands, embrace Test cricket.

No wonder Cricket South Africa (CSA) recently enlisted some outside help to try and determine why crowds at international matches are dwindling.

A myriad of reasons were said to negatively impact on attendances and on Wednesday it was again clear why some may feel the couch and relative close proximity of their fridge is a better option.

While there may be very legitimate reasons for not allowing spectators to bring alcohol into the ground it then certainly is incumbent on the hosts to provide adequately staffed and stocked refreshment outlets.

If the heat was felt in the queues, the players, especially England, also had reason to be a little hot under the collar.

They expressed reservations about the use of the umpire review system and by the time stumps were drawn that may have graduated to the realm of suspicion.

The system, in use for the first time on these shores, is supposed to limit the number of incorrect umpiring decisions but without the full range of techno laden tools at the third umpire’s disposal, the system, as witnessed on Wednesday, is rather fraught.

Due to recessionary constraints the hotspot and snickometer were conspicuous by their absence and England will feel that it seriously undermined their use of the system on the opening day.

England were convinced that they had AB de Villiers caught behind off Graeme Swann but in the absence of the hotspot, an infra-red imaging system, or ‘Snicko’, the graphically illustrated sound wave, the available evidence proved inconclusive.

Without the benefit of the tools designed to determine whether or not a batsman has hit the ball, England had no luck with the review system but their misfortune of course directly benefited the South African cause.

Ashwell Prince was the first to benefit from a successful referral after he was adjudged to be lbw off Graeme Onions with his score on 19. After umpire Steve Davis had raised his finger Prince quickly consulted with Hashim Amla at the non-striker’s end.

The path the ball was predicted to travel however suggested that it was likely to miss the offstump and Prince remained.

England’s frustrations were compounded by delays caused by the sight screens which at times, failed in its core purpose.

When the bowler runs in from the opposite end the sight screens at Centurion moonlight as advertising boards but changing on cue at the end of each over has become a bit of a lottery, which mind you, in the reliability stakes on the opening day places it on par with the service at the bars and the referral system.

England coach Andy Flower believes the new Umpire Decision Referral System (URDS) features "illogical anomalies"

2009-12-23T13:00:00.000+05:00

TV replays showed Kevin Pietersen was bowled off a no-ball by Morne Morkel in the first innings of the drawn first Test against South Africa in Centurion.

But the decision could not be reviewed under the current process.

"We have technology to call no-balls for every ball," Flower told BBC Radio 5 Live. "We see the evidence on TV but the batsman is back in the pavilion."

He added: "There are some illogical anomalies. If we are going to use it, then we should use it properly.

"I would prefer the umpire to make the decision and people get on with it.

"It seems we have gone way past that and can never go backwards. We've had experience with the system in the West Indies and it was pretty shambolic.

"It was nice and simple but the new system just seems to be leading to more and more complications."

The UDRS is an updated version of the TV referral system which was trialled during England's Test tour of the West Indies in January and February.The International Cricket Council (ICC) approved the UDRS for Test matches in June following trials at domestic and international levels."I don't like the system because it promotes this sort of disagreement with the umpires," added Flower. "But in that case I do have a little sympathy with Stuart because there is this grey area of how much time teams can take to ask for the review and, in that instance, it did seem to take forever."Equally, I have spoken to match referee Roshan Mahanama and Stuart. None of us want to see someone questioning the final decision by an umpire and Stuart has assured us that will not happen again."

England scrape draw in first Test with South Africa

2009-12-22T00:42:00.000+05:00

The tourists resumed on 11-1 needing a distant 364 but two wickets fell in the first 13 overs before Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott calmly shared 145.

But Pietersen (81) inexplicably called for a run and Trott stood his ground.

Trott made 69 before debutant Friedel de Wet struck three times as five fell for 13 but Graham Onions kept out the final over as England closed on 228-9.

Having slumped to 27-3, the fourth-wicket partnership left all results still possible at the tea interval, with 195 needed from the remaining 35 overs.

Even after Pietersen's needless dismissal, Trott's resolute fifty, to add to his century on his debut in the final Ashes Test last summer, looked to have guided England to a comfortable draw. Such was the dominance of England's South African-born pair that Smith called on Jacques Kallis to send down three experimental overs despite not being fully fit following a rib injury.

There were few alarms until Pietersen pushed a single without even looking at his startled partner and arrived at the non-striker's end whilst Trott was still bellowing a refusal of the run.

Bowler De Wet simply gathered the ball and took off the bails in mid-stride and suddenly it looked a different game.The final over was given to Makhaya Ntini, in his 100th Test, but Onions defended resolutely, keeping out one that crept low and would have defeated many a top order player, and England escaped to ensure the series heads to Durban for the Boxing Day Test with the series still 0-0.

India Vs Sri Lanka 3rd ODI: India wins at Cuttack

2009-12-22T00:29:00.000+05:00

India have won the third one-day international match against Sri Lanka by seven wickets powered by a brilliant 96 runs by Sachin Tendulkar and a cameo of 36 runs by Dinesh Karthik, who supported Tendulkar well to finish off the match.

This win at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack has also given

India

2-1 lead in the five match series and this would certainly put pressure on the visiting team.

Chasing 239 runs in fifty overs,

India

started well with Virender Sehwag belting the ball to the fence for his 44 runs before he was caught by Tilakratne Dilshan on the bowling of Chanaka Welegedera.

Gautam Ghambir was next to go, caught and bowled by Suraj Randiv but this proved to be a minor setback as Indians were chasing a small total and Sachin Tendulkar had no intention of letting the match go from Indian grip.

Sehwag was ballistic in his inning as he hit both Kulasekara and Lasith Malinga for three fours in an inning. Tendulkar was also in his elements as he played brilliant shots in all parts of the ground.

Yuvraj Singh also got out in his twenties and was caught by Kumara Sangakkara on the bowling of Welegedera at 23. However, this proved only a blip as both Tendulkar and Dinesh Karthik took the Indians safely to home.

Australia VS West Indies 3rd Test Resuit - Australia won by 35 runs

2009-12-20T14:43:00.000+05:00

Australia beat West Indies, by 35 runs, 3rd test match, on Sunday, 20th December, 2009 at Western Australia Cricket Association Ground, Perth, (West Indies) got Man of the Match, and Series, CH Gayle 1st iining - 102 runs in 2nd inning 21 runs.

Match Summary:

Australia 1st innings - 520/7 130.4 overs, (SM Katich 99, BJ Haddin 88, SR Watson 89)

West Indies 1st innings - 312/all out; 81, overs, (CH Gayle 102, TM Dowlin 55, DE Bollinger 5-70)

Australia 2nd innings - 150/all out; 51.3 overs, (SR Watson 30, DJ Bravo 4-42, SJ Benn 3-29)

West Indies 2nd innings (target: 359 runs) - 323/all out; 94.3 overs, (N Deonarine 82, Bollinger and Johnson 3 Wicket)

Toss - Australia, who chose to bat

Man of the Match - CH Gayle (West Indies)

Man of the Match Series - CH Gayle (West Indies)

Result - Australia won by 35 runs

Series - Australia won the 3-match series 2-0

Sachin To Participate In Olympic Torch Relay

2009-12-20T14:08:00.000+05:00

Sachin Tendulkar, on Monday April 7, 2008 consented to be a part of the Olympic torch relay slated for April 17 in New Delhi. The master blaster said that he was looking forward to run with the Olympic torch. He however refused to comment on the ongoing controversy surrounding the protests. Beijing Olympic Games are scheduled for August 8-24 and would witness more than 200 countries of the world and Head of the States participating in the games. The recent mobilization of Chinese army in Tibet has called for protests from different sections of the world.

Suresh Kalmadi, President Indian Olympic Association confirmed Sachin’s participation in the Indian leg of the Olympic torch relay. Indian football team captain, Bhaichung Bhutia however had refused to be a part of the Olympic torch relay in wake of the recent developments in Tibet at China’s behest. Further, sporting giants of India who would be a part of the Olympic relay team include, Pullela Gopichand, Milkha Singh and Anju Bobby George among others.

Kalmadi further stated that India will make sure that no untoward incident takes place during the Olympic torch relay in New Delhi. Several protestors disrupted the relay during it’s London leg by shouting slogans like ‘shame on China’. A similar protest is apprehended in India, which is home to several Tibetans living in exile here. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has already announced the shortening of the Olympic torch relay route from 9 km to 3km in wake of security concerns.

Angelo Mathews to miss rest of one day internationals

2009-12-20T14:05:00.000+05:00

Sri Lanka all-rounder Angelo Mathews who did it with the bat during the second ODI will miss rest of the Karbon Mobile ODI Series. The medium-pacer strained his right quadricep during his match-winning 37 not out in Friday's second ODI.

Thissara Peera is called for to take the place of Angelo Mathews.

Sri Lanka ODI Squad (Updated): Kumar Sangakkara (capt/wk), Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Chamara Kapugedara, Tilina Kandamby, Upul Tharanga, Thilan Samaraweera, Sanath Jayasuriya, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekera, Ajantha Mendis, M.Pushpakumara, Suraj Randiv, T.Peera.

Indian team is announced for the next two ODI’s

2009-12-20T14:04:00.000+05:00

Indian selectors have announced the 15 man squad for the next two one day internationals against Sri Lanka to be played on 21^st and 24^th of December 2009 at Barabati Stadium, CuttackEden Garden, Kolkata. and

There are only two changes in the squad which was announced for the first two ODI’s. Ishant Sharma is called back in place of S.Sreesanth and wicket keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik is called for banned Indian captain M.S.Dhoni.

The captaincy job is handed over to Virendra Sehwag while Gautam Gambhir will be his deputy.

Selectors have kept Yuvraj Singh in the 15 member squad who has not played a single match because of a finger injury and flu, which is an indication that the elegant left hander was expected to be fit for the remaining three matches of the five-match series.

India Squad for 3rd and 4th ODIs: Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag (Captain), Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik (WK), Hrbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Ishant Sharma, Pragyan Ojha, Sudeep Tyagi, Virat Kohli.