India continue first position in test cricket

A beautiful contest between two very good teams,but SA will really feel digusted with their performance.They let a golden oppurtunity slip for a series win with some mediocre individual performances.Players like Prince,Duminy and De Villiers have been absentees throughout this series,and that puts too much pressure on the rest of the line-up.

India bats man working a great rool to win this match, on the other hand have a great batting line-up, but the need for a quality quickie and allrounder is clearly showing.The number 1 ranking was achieved with solid home performances,but I can't recall any significant away wins over the last couple of years. Bangladesh and New Zealand do not really count now do they? SA has the best away record of all the test nations,but inconsistency haunts them at home.

For India to be really considered the top side in the world, they have to start winning away from home, and improve their pitches at home,so they can developed a more balanced side. Quick,bouncy wickets Down Under and in SA has always been India's undoing. You can't play every delivery of the front foot or bowl waist high bouncers.

Prepare proper wickets to be inclusive of all the aspects of test cricket,and cut back on IPL and one-dayers. Indian cricket will be much better for it,and maybe then they will be able to claim to be the best test side around.

Gambhir's Success Story

He missed out on equaling a famous record held by the greatest batsman of them all but at least drew level with another famous record held by a cricketing legend. But then that's Gautam Gambhir for you. The days are long past when he was in the 'little league' as just another promising young batsman.

He is now in the big league sharing the records section with the likes of Vivian Richards, Mohammad Younis and Jacques Kallis and being chosen as the ICC Test player of the year. He is setting batting marks left, right and centre and is very much an integral part of the most lustrous batting line-up in the game.

In fact Gambhir has been so outstanding over the past year or so that the question now is how much better can he get? Not too long ago he was the small boy among the big men. Now he is well on his way to upstaging the big men. The remarkable transformation of Gambhir has been the talking point of 2008 and 2009, and the way the year has started for him he could well be the cynosure in 2010 too.

Gambhir holds on to top spot in ICC Test rankings

From being in and out of the team he is now not only a permanent fixture – as permanent as the superstars – but one has also come to expect great things from him. It is now impossible to think of the Indian team without a substantial contribution from him at the top of the order. Virender Sehwag put it succinctly last year when he described him as the 'Second Wall'’ following his marathon in the Napier Test against New Zealand that played a major role in India comfortably staving off defeat.

For once this was no exaggeration for there were aspects of Rahul Dravid’s batting approach during the 643 minutes that Gambhir was at the crease.

Unexpected heroes are the favourite subjects for fiction writers and Gambhir’s success story has been nothing short of sensational. At 28 the pugnacious left-hander from Delhi had over the first three years of his Test career experienced the ups and downs being in and out of both the Test and ODI squads.

But since the Test series against Sri Lanka in 2008 he has been a tower of strength at the top of the order, striking a particularly fruitful association with Sehwag his Delhi mate and good friend and made it that much easier for the exalted middle order to play more freely. Mental strength allied to his natural talent and the capacity to rise to the occasion when the chips are down have seen Gambhir make giant strides.

It is his positive attitude that has helped Gambhir to make a strong statement with the bat. As he said in a recent interview when asked the reasons for his success 'the plan is simple. See the ball, hit the ball and play in the 'V'. I have a simple mantra in life. You don't win a silver, you lose a gold.' The inference is clear and taken from the saying 'second best is still a loser.

Gambhir joins Richards, but misses Bradman

That's the kind of ambitious approach that takes you places and Gambhir has suddenly emerged as the man of the moment. Uniquely he was the only cricketer to score over 1000 runs in both Tests and ODIs in 2008. His career average in the longer version of the game which was in the early 30s in mid 2008 is now approaching the 60 mark.

And to think that Gambhir made a limp start to his Test career being dismissed for scores of three and one albeit on a minefield of a pitch at Mumbai against Australia in November 2004. Later the same month however he got an impressive 96 in his second Test against South Africa and was marked for great things. It was during this innings that he shared a partnership of 218 runs with Sehwag - the second highest stand for the first wicket for India after the famous 413-run association between Pankaj Roy and Vinoo Mankad.

A month later he got his first Test hundred against Bangladesh and some good scores against Pakistan and Zimbabwe. But then followed a lean period against Sri Lanka and he was replaced by Wasim Jaffer.

Gambhir's success story began with his showing in the CB Series in early 2008 where he was the leading run getter. Thereafter there was no looking back and he finished as the leading run getter in ODIs and third in Tests in 2008. This underlined his remarkable progress. He was a model of consistency and his ability to play long innings and run up tall scores – centuries and even a double century – saw him emerge as one of the bulwarks fitting admirably into the most lustrous batting line-up in the game today.

Through a combination of his own talent and hard work Gambhir has made himself into a complete batsman. He has displayed in no uncertain terms technique, temperament and the ability to rise to the occasion. He is also one of the very few players to have an accomplished record in all three forms of the game. He is the only Indian batsman with six half-centuries in Twenty20.

MIDDLE ORDER FAILS AS DHONI & CO. LOSE FIRST TWENTY20 MATCH

Ashok Dinda exults after dismissing Sanath Jayasuriya in Nagpur on Wednesday. (AFP)

Nagpur: Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara Wednesday showed the Indian batsmen that T20 cricket is not just about mindless slogging and demonstrated the necessity of a sound technique for consistent power-hitting.

It was Sangakkara’s 37-ball 78 (11x4, 2x6) which was the difference between the two sides as Sri Lanka comfortably won the first of two T20 Internationals at the VCA Stadium, in Jamtha, by 29 runs.

Sangakkara’s innings was an example of clean hitting, correct footwork and the ability to find the gaps with elan while most of the rival players batted as if they were looking to finish off the game in one over.

A target of 216 with an asking rate of close to 11 runs per over was always going to be challenging but not impossible. Save in-form Gautam Gambhir (55, 26 balls, 11x4), none of the other batsmen were ready to play sensible shots. The manner of the Indian middle-order’s caving in was a classic case of come, slog and perish.

India, who were coasting along at 93 for one, slumped to 129 for seven in a matter of 5.3 overs. When Suresh Raina holed out to Tillekaratne Dilshan at the long-on boundary off Muthumudalige Pushpakumara’s bowling, the chances of a win were as good as gone. In the end, India finished at 186 for nine, falling 29 short of the target.

Another aspect that made a difference was the fielding. While the Indians were guilty of dropping simple catches, the Lankans took everything that came their way. The star in that department would definitely be Lasith Malinga, who covered at least 20 yards to take a brilliant diving catch that dismissed Yusuf Pathan (0).

Earlier, Virender Sehwag started in characteristic manner, hitting Nuwan Kulasekera and Dilhara Fernando before an upper cut was pouched by Angelo Mathews at deep point. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni promoted himself at No.3 but didn’t do much during the 61-run second wicket partnership with Gambhir.

The Delhi opener seems to have carried his Test form into the shortest format as he notched his sixth T20 half-century off only 19 balls. In one Malinga over, he repeatedly bisected the off-side cordon to collect four boundaries. He also played some audacious paddle shots before it brought his downfall. His leg stump went for a walk and that was the turning point of the match. Dhoni (9) couldn’t clear the deep mid-wicket boundary off a Sanath Jayasuriya long hop.

Much was expected of Yuvraj but he only managed to find Kulasekera in the deep off Mathews.

While the Indian bowlers, especially Ashish Nehra and off-spinner Yusuf, were guilty of dropping it short, the Lankan bowlers reaped rich dividends by bowling a much fuller length.

The Lanka innings was dominated by a 69-run fourth wicket partnership between Sangakkara and Chamara Kapugedera. While Sangakkara used his feet to perfection against the spin trio of Pathan, Pragyan Ojha and Rohit Sharma, Kapugedera simply blasted the bowlers.

Ishant Sharma went wicketless but was the only bowler to earn some respect from the opposition batsmen. He was unlucky twice — when Yuvraj dropped Jayasuriya at cover in the first over of the evening and when, in the very next over, he failed to collect a simple return catch from Dilshan.

For debutant Ashok Dinda (1/34 in three overs and 19 runs), it was a dream start when he dismissed Jayasuriya caught at deep third man by Ishant. The youngster, however, couldn’t maintain the tempo as the vastly experienced Sangakkara gave him a taste of what international cricket is all about.

Tendulkar to play T20 cricket at Lord's

[Sachin Tendulkar could revisit the county scene for the first time after 1992.]
Sachin Tendulkar could revisit the county scene for the first time after 1992.
Sachin Tendulkar could revisit the county scene for the first time after 1992.
Sachin Tendulkar could revisit the county scene for the first time after 1992.[© AFP]
[Adam Gilchrist still packs a punch when he hits the ball.]
Adam Gilchrist still packs a punch when he hits the ball.
Adam Gilchrist still packs a punch when he hits the ball.
Adam Gilchrist still packs a punch when he hits the ball.
English county Middlesex say they are close to signing Sachin Tendulkar and Adam Gilchrist in a deal that will be partly funded by the MCC, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph.
Middlesex is signing the cricketing greats to play five Twenty20 matches - all at Lord's - and are believed to have got the nod from Gilchrist, while Tendulkar is waiting for permission from the BCCI to join.
"We expect to make an announcement shortly," Keith Bradshaw, chief executive of the MCC said. "The two clubs [MCC and Middlesex] are working closely together."
Tendulkar, who completed 20 years in international cricket on November 15 will return to the England county circuit after playing for Yorkshire in 1992 as a 19-year-old. He was the county's first overseas player and scored more than 1,000 runs averaging 46.52.
Gilchrist has never played for a county side, and this would be his first stint. He is expected to continue his association with the Middlesex though, and could even represent the county in a 50-over match against Australia.

Though the signings are expected to cost a fair amount, the organizers expect to recover the money through gate receipts and lucrative television sponsorship deals, especially to India, once Tendulkar is signed on.

Dhoni Ka Dhamaka

As Cricket Australia rushed replacement

wicketkeeper Graham Manou to India, paceman

Mitchell Johnson conceded the overcrowded

schedule and heavy injury toll were affecting the

Australian team's focus.

A relentless merry-go-round of cricket that began

last September with a Test tour of India and will

continue after this trip with a full home summer and

tours to New Zealand, West Indies and England

has left the team dangerously over-stretched.

The latest injury, a broken finger to wicketkeeper

Tim Paine, forced a scramble to get Manou to

Delhi in time to prepare for Saturday's third limited

overs contest against India, even as the team

tries to make sense of Wednesday's horrid 99-run

defeat at Nagpur which levelled the series.

Manou follows allrounder Moises Henriques as a

mid-tour call-up to reinforce the battered squad.

Paine's loss followed ailments picked up by Brett

Lee (elbow), James Hopes (hamstring) and

Johnson (ankle), who battled manfully to get

himself fit in time to play game two.

Vice captain Michael Clarke (back), Nathan

Bracken (knee), Callum Ferguson (knee) and Brad

Haddin (finger) were all unable to make the tour

due to injury, and Johnson acknowledged the

string of injuries were a distraction.

"With a few little niggles around, the focuses do

tend to go towards that, but we've got to regroup,

sit in our team meetings and talk about what went

wrong and what we thought we did right out there

as well," Johnson said.

"We've got a few (two) days until the next game (in

Delhi), so the games are pretty tight and you've

just got to move on to the next one."

Asked about the amount of time off he and other

members of the side had received over the past

year, Johnson did not want to whinge, but still

acknowledged there was a serious imbalance.

"I'd like a bit more (downtime). Obviously the

international schedule is pretty intense at the

moment and any chance we get to have a little bit

of downtime or be home is great," Johnson said.

"It is a heavy schedule and look, playing for our

country I can't complain, we only play cricket for a

short time in our careers, so we've got to make the

most of the opportunities while we can.

"But I think you've also got to balance it out with

your life at home as well."

Johnson's figures of 3-75 from 10 overs were

hardly the return he would have been seeking in

Nagpur but he fared better than Ben Hilfenhaus

(1-83 from 10) and the strangely out of sorts

Shane Watson (0-47 from five), who again lacked

the control he had shown in earlier tournaments.

Indian captain MS Dhoni (124, 107 balls) played

one of his finest innings to batter the tourists and

help run up 7-354, his side's highest-ever score

against Australia, after first building a platform with

the pesky Gautam Gambhir (76).

The Australians were never in the chase, leaving

Johnson to hope for the return of Lee in Delhi to

add much-needed seasoning to the attack.

"Brett was disappointed to miss a game for

Australia but I'm sure he'll be trying to get back as

quickly as he can and get out there," Johnson

said.

"He's played a lot of one day cricket and that

experience definitely helps. We had a fairly young

bowling attack out there, so it's always good to

have someone like that in the side.

Cometry of tomorrow match

Click here for the winning moments of the match
Hope you have had loads of fun following our coverage for this series opener. This series promises to be a real humdinger, don't you dare miss out on a single bit of action. Until we meet next time for the second ODI, it's me - Shirshendu Roy alongwith my co-commentators, Mayank Wadhi and Srivathsa, wishing you good luck. Adios...
Mike Hussey, the Man of the Match: Not sure whether I made it look easy. It was a good pitch to bat on and the outfield is really quick. The conditions are generally good for batting in India, the crowd was superb, it was enjoyable.
Ponting: I'm quite happy with our performance and I congratulate India for their fighting efforts, unfortunately for them, they couldn't cross the line. I asked Siddle to stay calm, that worked.
Dhoni: We lost too many wickets in the batting powerplay, thanks to Bhajji and Praveen, we fought back and came this close. I think we can do a lot better on the bowling front and the batsmen should contribute more too. There will be ups and downs in a 7 match ODI series, that is what you expect when the top two teams are playing at this level.
Cut-throat competition in the field comes to an end finally. The Australians have prevailed in this closely fought battle. The Indians had lost all their hopes when they were seven down and it took some mind-boggling batting from Harbhajan Singh and Praveen Kumar to bring India to sniffing distance from victory. 84 runs stand between the duo left Australia gasping for breath and it was never over and finally the last delivery decided the fate of this contest. Well, friends, this indeed has been a rivetting contest and if these are signs to go by, we are all in for a fascinating ODI series. The start has been eventful, let's see how the rest goes. Till you wait for the presentation to begin, keep racking your brains to find out what the turning point was? Praveen Kumar missing out on a boundary ball off the very first delivery of the last over or was it Harbhajan Singh's dismissal? Keep thinking!
Australia win by 4 runs
The all new HCL ME laptops - 7 hrs battery backup, 500 GB HDD, lightweight
49.6
Siddle to Nehra, 1 run, driven hard down the ground for a single only, the Australians prevail despite the scare given by Harbhajan Singh and Praveen Kumar!
Six off the last ball, can Nehra do it for India?
49.5
Siddle to Praveen Kumar, 1 run, Siddle fires in the yorker and Praveen Kumar clips it to mid wicket for a single, all eyes on Nehra now!
49.4
Siddle to Praveen Kumar, no run, very full and driven hard, good stop by Siddle, Yuvi puts his hands up on the head, this is getting all the more tighter
49.3
Siddle to Nehra, 1 run, right up there in the blockhole, Nehra gets an inside edge onto the pads, enough for a single, importantly for India, Praveen Kumar comes on strike now
Ashish Nehra comes in now, Bhajji has a word with him
Siddle to Harbhajan, leg byes, no run, out Bowled!! The turbanator has left without completing his job, Siddle kept it straight and on the stumps, Harbhajan swings across the line to only see his off stump shattered, Harbhajan is gone now, the Indian balcony is disappointed. Harbhajan b Siddle 49(31) [4s-4 6s-3]
Get yourself featured on the cover page of AllSports magazine!
49.2
Siddle to Harbhajan, THATS OUT!! Bowled!!

CRIC CHAT
Login | Signup | Refresh
Change password | Logout | Refresh
User Name [Max field length is unknown]
Password [Max field length is unknown]
Chat policy | Forgot password?

Noodlles:lol...poor Divya
moo:heheheh
Rajni2703:Kakaeshwar Ji :-)
SakatHotMaga:is tensach from the same state as General Admiral Air Marshal Lalit Modi ji?
LordOfDCric:@vicky ji can :) :)
Noodlles:Sane your 'working day' coming to an end??? 9 to 5.30 chatting?? :)
moo:3 mins it was
SakatHotMaga:lol
saneindian:TA nagpur ground hasnt hosted an ODI yet :) wonder on what basis you are saying this is a batting wicket or blah blah :)
Rajni2703:TA ..howcome u stopped ur Anti MSD posts ??
tensach:divya removed, hope HE now understands moderator performance
vicky64:LoDC: uttappa a cab driver?
moo:TA tell harby and pk that
SakatHotMaga:abe saale matlab pyar se saaleshwar ji.
saneindian:lol mr double L you have been caught..stop impersonating someone
Noodlles:Sane because of 18 hour chatting you seem to have thick specks........I think tensach as well as I explained why 0 becomes O or l becomes LL
divya_:mo pls dont talk to me you are sick person
moo:rajni when raw pace is here why do you hide? why is it always me that has to boo him off
vicky64:divya_: can you please move on and stop this crap?
techAnalyst:more batting friendly....more it favours AUS's.. as they have more powerhitters...

Afrid's vue

slamabad, Oct.24 (ANI): Flamboyant Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi has made it clear that he has no intention of playing Test cricket until the 2011 World Cup and would be concentrating solely on the shorter versions of the game.

Afridi told PakPassion.net that since the selectors did not consider him good enough for the five-day game, he decided to focus only on T20 and 50 over cricket, which suited his style more.

“I was keen in the past to play test cricket and my record in test cricket is there for everyone to see. I have previously made myself available to the selectors for test matches, but wasn’t given a chance, so I have decided to focus solely on 20 over and 50 over cricket until at least the World Cup in 2011,” Afridi said.

Afridi said with so much cricket being played nowadays, it was important to keep himself free and fresh for the shorter versions of the game.

“There is so much cricket being played these days and the international schedule is so hectic, that I feel that its in my best interests to keep fresh for the shorter versions of the game, especially with both World Cup competitions to be played in the next two years,” said the captain of Pakistan’s T20 squad.

Afridi, who averages over 37 with the bat and under 35 with the ball in Test cricket said he is training hard for the forthcoming one-day series against New Zealand, starting November 3 in Abu Dhabi.