Sensing India's dwindling bowling resources in the absence of pace spearhead Zaheer Khan, Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni bowled his gentle medium-pace stuffafter lunch on the second day of the first Test against England on Friday. Dhoni bowled five overs during the post-lunch session to give his pacers Ishant Sharma and Praveen Kumar some respite after a long spell in the opening session of the day.
Dhoni gave away 20 runs but Kevin Pietersen survived a caught behind appeal after getting a successful review in his favour.
Pietersen was batting on 73 when Dhoni angled one into him and it looked like the batsman nicked it to part-time keeper Rahul Dravid. Umpire Billy Bowden had raised his finger but Pietersen decided to review it and was adjudged not out.
Although he didn't trouble Ian Bell too much, Pietersen did survive a confident leg before shout in the firstball of his spell. The decision went in favour of the batsman as it apparently struck Pietersen outside the line of stumps.
Though Dhoni has previously turned his arm over in Tests three times, he has never ever bowled beyond the first over. He bowled for the first time in a Test match against Pakistanat Faisalabad and then against England at Mohali and New Zealand at Ahmedabad.
Interestingly Dhoni has a wicket in ODIs against West Indies. He had bowled Travis Dowlin in an ICC Champions Trophy match at Johannesburg.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Tendulkar ready to celebrate 100th international ton of his career
Mirror.co.uk :-
SACHIN TENDULKAR will go in search of a mind-boggling 100th international ton this week as he bids to etch his name on the most special board of them all.
Somehow Tendulkar has managed to strike Test triple figures at 31 different grounds around the world, yet Lord’s remains elusive for the little master.
He knows the ground so well, owning a property nearby so that he can bring his son to practise on the hallowed turf, but it has not been kind to him.
A top score of 37 is the best he has mustered so far in north London in four previous matches, but he has a habit of saving his greatest achievements for the latter part of his career.
“Every cricketer’s ambition is to score a hundred or take five wickets at Lord’s,” said England skipper Andrew Strauss.
“While you’re playing it is not the first thing on your mind, but to be able to walk into the dressing room and see your name up there is a special feeling.
“It is the most special honours board of the lot because of its history and tradition, and by the very nature of sport there are one or two guys who you would expect to be there who aren’t.
“If you’re lucky to get up there, then it will be remembered for all time and that is satisfying in itself.
“It would be a fantastic way for Sachin to reach 100 hundreds. It would be a fairy tale, but I am not a big fan of those sort of fairy tales, to be honest with you. I prefer our own.”
England’s skipper, though, realises that there could be very little his side can do to stop a player that already has 51 Test tons and 48 one-day hundreds to his name.
And having hit four tons at Lord’s himself, Strauss will also remember that the last time he had Test success against India with twin tons in Chennai, Tendulkar reached 103 not out to win the game. “I’m not thinking of records,” India’s talisman claimed last week. “I’m just thinking of enjoying this tour, the secret to any performance is not chasing records.”
Yet it is the records that define Tendulkar and make him the stand-out batsman in either side.
There have been more elegant batsmen like David Gower, or more destructive batsmen like Ricky Ponting, or more match-turning batsmen like Brian Lara.
But where Tendulkar beats them all is with his sheer numbers and volume of runs together with a longevity that puts every other cricketer to shame.
And there is no doubt that Tendulkar’s team-mates will be doing whatever they can to help him out.
“I hope he gets there in this match, it would make it the perfect numbers game,” said Zaheer Khan. “It has been such a privilege to play with him and see him reach so many fantastic landmarks, this would be the perfect way for him to get his 100th hundred – in the 100th game between England and India and the 2,000th Test match.
“We all know he will get there, it is just a matter of when and the whole team is behind him to do it at Lord’s and create history for himself there.”
Tendulkar has already been honoured ahead of the game by being named in the ICC’s greatest Test XI of all time after an online poll.
However, with eight of the team coming from India and Australia, and with every player having played in 1994 or later bar Sir Donald Bradman and Sunil Gavaskar, the side should be taken with a pinch of salt.
After revealing the side, ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat continued to pile pressure on India to adopt the umpire decision review system which is hardly in use this series.
He said: “I am disappointed some sides do not want to use it because I am a believer in technology. It has worked and I hope those that don’t believe in it will soon be persuaded.”
Somehow Tendulkar has managed to strike Test triple figures at 31 different grounds around the world, yet Lord’s remains elusive for the little master.
He knows the ground so well, owning a property nearby so that he can bring his son to practise on the hallowed turf, but it has not been kind to him.
A top score of 37 is the best he has mustered so far in north London in four previous matches, but he has a habit of saving his greatest achievements for the latter part of his career.
“Every cricketer’s ambition is to score a hundred or take five wickets at Lord’s,” said England skipper Andrew Strauss.
“While you’re playing it is not the first thing on your mind, but to be able to walk into the dressing room and see your name up there is a special feeling.
“It is the most special honours board of the lot because of its history and tradition, and by the very nature of sport there are one or two guys who you would expect to be there who aren’t.
“If you’re lucky to get up there, then it will be remembered for all time and that is satisfying in itself.
“It would be a fantastic way for Sachin to reach 100 hundreds. It would be a fairy tale, but I am not a big fan of those sort of fairy tales, to be honest with you. I prefer our own.”
England’s skipper, though, realises that there could be very little his side can do to stop a player that already has 51 Test tons and 48 one-day hundreds to his name.
And having hit four tons at Lord’s himself, Strauss will also remember that the last time he had Test success against India with twin tons in Chennai, Tendulkar reached 103 not out to win the game. “I’m not thinking of records,” India’s talisman claimed last week. “I’m just thinking of enjoying this tour, the secret to any performance is not chasing records.”
Yet it is the records that define Tendulkar and make him the stand-out batsman in either side.
There have been more elegant batsmen like David Gower, or more destructive batsmen like Ricky Ponting, or more match-turning batsmen like Brian Lara.
But where Tendulkar beats them all is with his sheer numbers and volume of runs together with a longevity that puts every other cricketer to shame.
Without the records Tendulkar would not be worshipped like he is by a billion people so, on the occasion of the 2,000th Test match of all time, the question is whether he will get there this week.
And there is no doubt that Tendulkar’s team-mates will be doing whatever they can to help him out.
“I hope he gets there in this match, it would make it the perfect numbers game,” said Zaheer Khan. “It has been such a privilege to play with him and see him reach so many fantastic landmarks, this would be the perfect way for him to get his 100th hundred – in the 100th game between England and India and the 2,000th Test match.
“We all know he will get there, it is just a matter of when and the whole team is behind him to do it at Lord’s and create history for himself there.”
Tendulkar has already been honoured ahead of the game by being named in the ICC’s greatest Test XI of all time after an online poll.
However, with eight of the team coming from India and Australia, and with every player having played in 1994 or later bar Sir Donald Bradman and Sunil Gavaskar, the side should be taken with a pinch of salt.
After revealing the side, ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat continued to pile pressure on India to adopt the umpire decision review system which is hardly in use this series.
He said: “I am disappointed some sides do not want to use it because I am a believer in technology. It has worked and I hope those that don’t believe in it will soon be persuaded.”
The 2,000th Test match - Test number 2000 gets underway at Lord's
The series opener between India and England at Lord's on Thursday marked the 2000th match in the 134-year history of Test cricket and also the 100th between the two countries.
The four-match series is being touted as the fight between the two best teams of the world.
England, who need to win the four-Test series by a margin of 2-1 or 3-1 to become the top-ranked Test side, have not won two Tests in a home series against India since the 3-0 win in 1974.
If India win or draw, they will hold on to the number one spot. If England win 1-0, they will replace South Africa from number two in the rankings while India will stay on top.
But equations could change if England win the historic series 4-0. They will then become the No.1 Test side and India will slip to third position behind South Africa.
India have not lost a single series under Mahendra Singh Dhoni's captaincy and have won six of their last nine assignments.
England, on the other hand, lost 1-0 to West Indies before holding on for a 1-1 draw in South Africa in 2009-10.
But after that, they registered emphatic series wins against Pakistan at home and Australia away.
Out of the 99 Tests played between the two teams so far, India have won 19 Tests and lost 34. But the visitors' display in England since 2000 has been encouraging, winning five Tests and losing two.
They registered a come-from-behind victory to level the series 1-1 in 2002, and went on to win 1-0 in 2007 after winning the second Test at Trent Bridge.
A cause for concern in the Indian dressing room is their poor record at Lord's, the venue for the first Test. Apart from their sole win in 1986, they haven't had much success, losing ten Tests at the venue.
In contrast, England have won 12 and lost three matches at the venue since 2000.
At Lord's, India have played 15 Tests -- won one, lost 10 while four resulted in a draw.
The match assumes significance for India's batting champion Sachin Tendulkar who is just one short of an incredible milestone of 100 international centuries.
As far as another individual record is concerned, if Dhoni takes one more catch, he will set the record for most catches by an Indian wicket-keeper in Tests. Both Dhoni (57 Tests) and Kirmani (88 Tests) have 160 catches to their credit.
The four-match series is being touted as the fight between the two best teams of the world.
England, who need to win the four-Test series by a margin of 2-1 or 3-1 to become the top-ranked Test side, have not won two Tests in a home series against India since the 3-0 win in 1974.
If India win or draw, they will hold on to the number one spot. If England win 1-0, they will replace South Africa from number two in the rankings while India will stay on top.
But equations could change if England win the historic series 4-0. They will then become the No.1 Test side and India will slip to third position behind South Africa.
India have not lost a single series under Mahendra Singh Dhoni's captaincy and have won six of their last nine assignments.
England, on the other hand, lost 1-0 to West Indies before holding on for a 1-1 draw in South Africa in 2009-10.
But after that, they registered emphatic series wins against Pakistan at home and Australia away.
Out of the 99 Tests played between the two teams so far, India have won 19 Tests and lost 34. But the visitors' display in England since 2000 has been encouraging, winning five Tests and losing two.
They registered a come-from-behind victory to level the series 1-1 in 2002, and went on to win 1-0 in 2007 after winning the second Test at Trent Bridge.
A cause for concern in the Indian dressing room is their poor record at Lord's, the venue for the first Test. Apart from their sole win in 1986, they haven't had much success, losing ten Tests at the venue.
In contrast, England have won 12 and lost three matches at the venue since 2000.
At Lord's, India have played 15 Tests -- won one, lost 10 while four resulted in a draw.
The match assumes significance for India's batting champion Sachin Tendulkar who is just one short of an incredible milestone of 100 international centuries.
As far as another individual record is concerned, if Dhoni takes one more catch, he will set the record for most catches by an Indian wicket-keeper in Tests. Both Dhoni (57 Tests) and Kirmani (88 Tests) have 160 catches to their credit.
Monday, July 11, 2011
India win Test series after draw with West Indies
Shivnarine Chanderpaul recorded his 23rd Test century as West Indies and India drew the third Test with the tourists clinching the series 1-0.
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| Chanderpaul's unbeaten 116 helped salvage a draw for the West Indies |
But with India, who travel to England later this month, on 94-3 the captains agreed to an early finish and the draw.
Chanderpaul also earned his 133rd Test cap, a West Indian record.
"It is always an honour to become the most capped Test cricketer. It just shows what hard work can do for you," said Chanderpaul.
"The whole series I was getting out in 20s and 30s, so I was very happy to carry on past the three-figure mark."
India failed to get to grips with not only Chanderpaul but Fidel Edwards (30) as the pair shared an eighth-wicket stand of 65 that lasted 37 overs.
Edwards then took the new ball and struck with the first delivery - trapping Abhinav Mukund leg before wicket.
Ravi Rampaul struck twice to dismiss Murali Vijay for 45 and Suresh Raina for eight before the game ended when it was clear India were no longer chasing the target.
"We decided to call it off because the gamble was quite high for us, we were risking a series win.
"I think we did our best, and had a go, but we then realised it was not worth it, and called it a day," skipper Mahendra Dhoni explained.
India will now turn their attention to the first Test against England at Lord's on July 21.
West Indies captain Darren Sammy, meanwhile, was delighted with his team's fighting effort in front of a sizeable final-day crowd at Windsor Park.
"We are very pleased with this result, and the way the crowd responded to us made it feel like a Twenty20 game and that we had won," he said.
"It shows that when we, as a team, go out there and fight, the Caribbean people still love us, and it was pleasing to see them turn out in their numbers over the last few days and support us."
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