India tour to Pak in Danger!

India tour to Pakistan is in danger. India is blaming Pakistan for the recent bomb blasts and terror attacks in Mumbai. Indian Government has claimed that they have vital proofs to show that Pakistan is involved.

India also asked for handing over of 20 top terrorits from Pakistan. With Australia cancelling their tour few months back, if India also pulls out, it will kill the PCB.

Recently Pakistan played against West Indies in a neutral venue, Abu Dhabi.

PCB is requesting India to vist Pakistan not worrying about the security threats. There is almost a bomb blast in Pakistan every week. India is worried about that and also about the attacks in Mumbai.

If Pakistan government does not respond properly, then the tour will mostly be called off.

Venue Changed Again! Ahemadabad Out, Mohali In!

The venue and the match schedule has been changed again for the England tour to continue. The England team went back to their home after cancelling the last two ODIs after the terror attack in Mumbai.

The 2nd Test was scheduled to be played in Mumbai, but it was changed to Chennai. Now, the schedule has been drawn again eliminating the practice match against the Indian Board President's XI.

The first test will be played in Chenni and the second test will be played in Mohali. Ahemadabad has been removed as the venue for the first test and Mumbai has been replaced by Mohali.

The revised schedule:

Dec 5-7, 2008: Indian Board President's XI v. England XI - Vadodara - CANCELLED
Dec 11-15, 2008: 1st Test: India v. England - Chennai
Dec 19-23, 2008: 2nd Test: India v. England - Mohali

World Cup May out of India!

With the recent terror attacks in Mumbai on 26th November 2008, the current England tour was disturbed. The team went back to England cancelling the remaining two ODIs. In the seven match series, England lost the first 5 ODIs and were supposed to play the last two ODIs in Guwathi and Delhi.

The terror attack in varous places of Mumbai completely shaken the England team and made them go back to England. CST, Taj Mahal Hotel, Trident-Oberoi Hotel, and Nariman House were attacked on November 26th which lasted till November 28, 2008.

English media reported that with these kinds of terror attacks in India, and in fact in Pakistan as well, the sub-continent may lose the chance of hosting the 2011 world cup. With already Australia declining to visit Pakistan and England returning home, if in the next years, if India is attacked, there is a chance that the world cup may be hosted by another country.

Let us see what BCCI has to say about it! I expect them to ignore this threat!

Venue Changed for England Test Series

After the recent terror attacks in Mumbai at Taj Mahal Hotel, Trident-Oberoi Hotel, and Nariman House on 26th of November 2008, England team called off the remaining 2 ODIs and went back to England citing security concerns. After a detailed discussions with the ECB, BCCI has agreed to change the venue of the test series.

Below is the revised schedule with change in the venue:

December 5-7, 2008 - Practice Game - Indian Board Presidents XI v. England XI - Vadodara
December 11-15, 2008 - 1st Test - India v. England - Ahmedabad
December 19-23, 2008 - 2nd Test - India v. England - Chennai

The venue of the 2nd test has been changed to Chennai.

Australian team fined again!

The Australian team again was fined by the match referee for slow over rate against New Zealand in the first test match. The team was fined 30% of the match fee though they have won the first test comfortably.

Ponting's Take On Bowling, Over Rates, and Symonds

Australian skipper Ricky Ponting's comments in Australia after the 0-2 loss to India in the four match series in India.

Ponting has written in his "Captain's Daiary 2008" about bowling in India, the over rates and also about Symonds.

On Bowling in India:

"I have said since I got back that there are a host of things that conspire against you in India. It is a hard place for fast bowlers to get through their overs."

On Slow Over Rates:

"There is a great responsibility for everyone around the world to look at this over rate issue and make sure each team is doing the right thing by the game."

On Andrew Symonds:

"I don't expect him to be the model citizen when he comes back into the side, I expect him to be the Andrew Symonds of old. That's what we all love about him."

India v. England Test Venue Changed to Chennai!

With the recent terror attack in Mumbai, England team called off the remaining 2 ODI matches supposed to be played at Guwhati and Delhi. They wanted to go back to England. In a metting between BCCI and ECB Team Management, the decision to call off the ODIs was taken.

They have also decided to postpone the two test series. The first test will be played in Ahemadabad as planned, but the second test venue was changed from Mumbai to Chennai. Both the teams have two weeks before they start the first test on December 11.

All the cricketing personalities are of the view that no player should be forced to stay or play cricket in India for now. ECB and Kevin Pietersen are also of the same view and are not forcing anybody to stay or play the matches.

As of now, the test matches will be played as scheduled except the venue of second test changed to Chennai.

5th ODI: Ind v. Eng: Sehwag put India 5-0 Up!

In the 5th ODI played in Kanpur, India beat England one more time and lead the series 5-0. With two more matches to go, England has to find some tactics to handle the Indians.

Kevin Pietersen was surprised when Dhoni elected to field and expressed it during the interview after the toss.

Cook replaced Bell and opened the innings with Bopara. England started slowly and also lost wickets in between. Kevin Pietersen played a captain's innings and scored an unbeaten 111 off 128 balls with 10 fours and a six. He built a good 89-run partnership of with Collingwood and took the score to 157 at the end of 30 overs. Flintoff out for a duck on the third ball he faced. He was caught by Tendulkar of Ishanth Sharma. Pietersen then built another partnership with with Shah (66 not out) took the score to 270.

Once though to be a 300+ score was restricted by the Indian bowlers who really bowled well. The spinners curtailed and in the later overs, the pace bowlers helped India to have a reasonable target.

Chase started with Sehwag and Tendulkar opening the innings. Gambhir was given rest and replaced by Rohit Sharma. Tendulkar and Sehwag added another 100-run partnership to their list of partnership. They added 136 runs for the first wicket with Sachin bowled one more time between the bat and pad. He scored his 90th fifty.

Sehwag was smashing the ball to boundaries at the other end. He reached his 33rd ODI fifty in just 41 balls with 10 fours and a six. He hit 20 runs of Swann's first over which included 3 fours, a six and a two.

Yuvaraj was promoted to No. 3, but could not stay in the crease for long. He checked his shot of the ball pitched on middle and gave a return catch to Bopara. Sehwag got out in the next next ball, unlucky to be given leg before. The ball was clearly missing the leg stump but Broad was lucky to get the wicket.

Dhoni and Rain scored fifty each and took the score closer to the target. Dhoni was leg before to Swann, but Rain and Rohit completed the formalities with 6.2 overs to spare.

Sehwag was declared man of the match for his swashbuckling innings of 91 in 72 balls with 15 fours and a six.

Scoreboard:

Match: 5th ODI
Venue: Barabati Stadium, Cuttack
Teams: India and England
Captains: MS Dhoni and Kevin Pietersen
Toss: India won the toss and decided to field
Match Result: India won by 6 wickets with 38 balls remaining
Series Result: India leading by 5-0
Man of the Match: Virendera Sehwag (India)

England 270 for 4 in 50 overs (RS Bopara 24, AN Cook 11, KP Pietersen 111 not out, PD Collingwood 40, A Flintoff 0, OA Shah 66 not out, Extras--18 (lb 14, w 4), Irfan Pathan 10-1-57-0, Zaheer 10-1-60-2, Ishanth Sharma 10-0-54-1, Harbahajan 10-0-47-1, Yuvaraj Singh 10-0-38-0)

Fall of Wickets: 1-33 (Cook, 5.5 ov), 2-68 (Bopara, 9.5 ov), 3-157 (Collingwood, 29.6 ov), 4-158 (Flintoff, 30.4 ov)

India 273 for 4 in 43.4 overs (Sehwag 91, Tendulkar 50, Yuvaraj Singh 6, Dhoni 50, Raina 53 not out, Rohit Sharma 8 not out, Extras--15 (lb 5, w 8, nb 2), Harmison 10-1-50-1, Broad 8.4-0-54-1, Flintoff 9-0-43-0, Patel 3-0-23-0, Swann 7-0-56-1, Bopara 6-1-42-1)

Fall of Wickets: 1-136 (Tendulkar, 19.5 ov), 2-156 (Yuvraj Singh, 22.6 ov), 3-156 (Sehwag, 23.1 ov), 4-250 (Dhoni, 40.6 ov)

Modi says Test Match Stays!

Lalit Modi, in an interview to the television channel said that the remaining ODI matches stands cancelled due to the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, the financial hub of India.

It was decided in the meeting between England Team Management and the BCCI. Lalit said that Test Match schedule remains the same. The test matches will be played as scheduled except that the venue of the second test to be played in Mumbai will be changed.

The new venue will be identified in 24 hours time.

England ODIs Called Off

After the recent bomb blast and terrorist attack in Mumbai, India, England team management met the BCCI officials. Looks like the England Team Management discussed with every player about the current situation and their stand.

It was decided to call of the remaining 2 ODI matches and postpone the Test matches.

The matches to be played in Guwathi and Delhi were cancellled with the tour ending with India winning the series 5-0.

Hayden May Retire After Ashes

Hayden who is believed to have been told by the CA selectors that his career will not last longer than a year from now, has said that he is no certainty to be around once this summer is over.

He said, "I reckon there is a chance of that always. When you get to my age, you get to a point where the next 12 months is a long, long way away."

Souravj Joins BCCI

Sourav Ganguly was named on the BCCI's technical committee, which plays a significant role in deciding all cricketing matters.

The new 10-member tehnical committee headed by Sunil Gavaskar--which includes 5 representatives from all zones, the chairman of selectors, a former Test cricketer, a former umpire and the secretary of the board--was nnounced in September after the BCCI AGM in Mumbai.

The former Test cricketer post was vacant for sometime and recently filled in by Ganguly.

3rd ODI: SA v. Bang: Match Abandoned! SA win Series 2-0!

The third and final ODI between South Africa and the touring Bangaldesh was abandoned due to rain without a ball bowled. With the final match washed out, South Africa win the series 2-0!

Match: 3rd ODI
Date: November 12, 2008
Venue: Buffalo Park, East London
Teams: South Africa and Bangladesh
Captains: Greame Smith and Mohammad Ashraful
Toss: No Toss
Match Result: Match Abadoned
Series Result: South Africa win series 2-0 (last match abandoned)
Player of the Series: HM Amla (South Africa)

2nd ODI: SA v. Bang: South Africa Register second Win and also Claim Series!

SA beat the tourist Bangladesh by a big margin of 128 runs and also seal the series 2-0. The final ODI is meaningless, but Bangladesh should win and take away some pride.

Match: 2nd ODI
Date: November 9, 2008
Venue: Willowmoore Park, Benoni
Teams: South Africa and Bangladesh
Captains: Greame Smith and Mohammad Ashraful
Toss: Bangladesh
Match Result: South Africa won by 128 runs
Series: South Africa lead the 3 ODI series 2-0
Man of the Match: Amla (South Africa)

Scoreboard:

South Africa 358 for 4 in 50 overs (HM Amla 140, GC Smith 65, JH Kallis 49, AB de Villiers 54 not out, MV Boucher 6, JA Morkel 37 not out, Extras--7 (lb 1, w 6), Mashrafe Mortaza 1 for 54, Syed Rasel 1 for 75, Abdur Razzak 1 for 88, Naeem Islam 1 for 64, Shakib Al Hasan 0 for 67, Mohammad Ahsraful 0 for 9) beat Bangladesh 230 all out in 49.2 overs (Tamim Iqbal 41, Imrul Kayes 14, Junaid Siddique 47, Mohammad Ashraful 5, Raqibul Hasan 4, Shakib Al Hasan 17, Naeem Islam 16, Mushfiqur Rahim 2, Abdur Razzak 20 not out, Mashrafe Mortaza 34, Syed Rasel 1, Extras--29 (b 1, lb 3, w 23, nb 2), DW Steyn 3 for 48, J Louw 1 for 45, M Morkel 1 for 61, JA Morkel 1 for 37, J Botha 3 for 27, JP Duminy 0 for 8)

1st ODI: SA v. Bang: South Africa win 1st ODI!

South Africa won the first ODI match by 62 runs and lead the series 1-0.

Match: 1st ODI
Date: November 7, 2008
Venue: Senwes Park, Potchefstroom
Teams: South Africa and Bangladesh
Captains: Greame Smith and Mohammad Ashraful
Toss: South Africa
Match Result: South Africa won by 62 runs
Series: South Africa lead the 3 ODI series 1-0
Man of the Match: Dale Steyn (South Africa)

Scoreboard:

South Africa 283 for 8 in 50 overs (HM Amla 35, JL Ontong 27, JH Kallis 50, AB de Villiers 35, JP Duminy 36, MV Boucher 8, JA Morkel 32 not out, J Botha 23, J Louw 23, M Morkel 6 not out, Extras--8 (lb 3, w 3, nb 2), Mashrafe Mortaza 1 for 52, Syed Rasel 1 for 56, Shakib Al Hasan 2 for 48, Abdur Razzak 0 for 55, Naeem Islam 3 for 60, Junaid Siddique 0 for 9) beat Bangladesh 222 all out in 44.2 overs (Tamim Iqbal 24, Imrul Kayes 1, Junaid Siddique 2, Mohammad Ashraful 73, Mushfiqur Rahim 1, Shakib Al Hasan 51, Raqibul Hasan 0, Naeem Islam 25 not out, Mashrafe Mortaza 0, Abdur Razzak 0, Syed Rasel 7, Extras--38 (lb 11, w 25, nb 2), DW Steyn 4 for 16, J Louw 0 for 50, JA Morkel 3 for 40, M Morkel 2 for 44, J Botha 0 for 30, JH Kallis 0 for 31)

T20: SA v. Bang: SA win by D/L Method!

South Africa win the only T20 of the series by beating the tourist Bangladesh by 12 runs. The match was reduced to 14 overs a side due to rain.

Match: T20
Date: November 5, 2008
Venue: New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
Teams: South Africa and Bangladesh
Captains: J Botha and Mohammad Ashraful
Result: South Africa won by 12 runs through D/L method
Man of the Match: Abdur Razzak (Bangladesh)

South Africa 118 for 7 in 14 overs (LL Bosman 28, HH Gibbs 18, JL Ontong 6, AB de Villiers 36, JP Duminy 6, JA Morkel 6, RK Kleinveldt 3 not out, J Botha 1, J Louw 1 not out, Extras--13 (lb 7, w 6), Syed Rasel 1 for 36, Shahadat Hossain 0 for 19, Abdur Razzak 4 for 16, Shakib Al Hasan 2 for 21, Naeem Islam 0 for 19) beat Bangladesh (target 122 in 14 overs) 109 for 8 in 14 overs (Tamim Iqbal 25, Junaid Siddique 4, Mohammad Ashraful 21, Raqibul Hasan 3, Shakib Al Hasan 4, Naeem Islam 15, Mushfiqur Rahim 12, Mehrab Hossain Jr. 6 not out, Abdur Razzak 0, Shahadat Hossain 4 not out, Extras--15 (lb 5, w 10), DW Steyn 2 for 18, J Louw 0 for 18, RK Kleinveldt 1 for 20, M Morkel 1 for 15, J Botha 2 for 15, JA Morkel 0 for 18)

Bangladesh tour to South Africa - 2008-09

The Bangladesh team is touring South Africa in November 2008. The one month starts with a T20 game and then 3 ODIs. The Bangladesh team is also playing in a two-day practice match against the South African Airways Challenge XI which is followed by two test matches. The Bangladesh team is lead by Mohammad Ashraful and SA is lead by Greame Smith.

South African Team List:

T20 Squad: Johan Botha (Captain), Loots Bosman, AB de Villiers (Wicket-Keeper), Jean-Paul Duminy, Hershelle Gibss, Rory Kleinveldt, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Justin Ontong, Greame Smith, and Dale Steyn

ODI Squad: Greame Smith (Captain), Johan Botha (Vice-Captain), Hashim Amla, Mark Boucher (Wicket-Keeper), AB de Villiers, Jean-Paul Duminy, Jacques Kallis, Johann Louw, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Justin Ontong, Dale Steyn, and Monde Zondeki

Test Squad: Greame Smith (Captain), Ashwell Prince (Vice-Captain), Hashim Amla, Mark Boucher (Wicket-Keeper), AB de Villiers, Jean-Paul Duminy, Paul Harris, Jacques Kallis, Neil McKenzie, Morne Morkel, Makhaya Ntini, Robin Peterson, Dale Steyn, and Monde Zondeki

Bangladesh Team List:

ODI Squad: Mohammad Ashraful (Captain), Mashrafe Mortaza (Vice-Captain), Abdur Razzak, Imrul Kayes, Junaid Siddique, Mahbubul Alam, Mehrab Hossain Jr., Mushfiqur Rahim (Wicket-Keeper), Naeem Islam, Nazmul Hossain, Raqibul Hasan, Shahadat Hossain, Shakib Al Hasan, Syed Rasel, and Tammim Iqbal

Test Squad: Mohammad Ashraful (Captain), Mashrafe Mortaza (Vice-Captain), Abdur Razzak, Imrul Kayes, Junaid Siddique, Mahbubul Alam, Mehrab Hossain Jr., Mushfiqur Rahim (Wicket-Keeper), Naeem Islam, Nazmul Hossain, Raqibul Hasan, Sajidul Islam, Shahadat Hossain, Shakib Al Hasan, and Tammim Iqbal

Schedule:

Wed Nov. 05, 2008 - D/N - T20: South Africa v. Bangladesh - Johannesburg

Fri Nov. 07, 2008 - D/N - 1st ODI: South Africa v. Bangladesh - Potchefstroom
Sun Nov. 09, 2008 - Day - 2nd ODI: South Africa v. Bangladesh - Benoni
Wed Nov. 12, 2008 - D/N - 3rd ODI: South Africa v. Bangladesh - East London

Sat Nov. 15-16, 2008 - Day - Practice Game: South African Airways Challenges XI v. Bangladesh - Kimberly

Wed Nov. 19-23, 2008 - 1st Test: South Africa v. Bangladesh - Bloemfontein
Wed Nov. 26-30, 2008 - 2nd Test: South Africa v. Bangladesh - Centurion

4th ODI: Ind v. Eng: India win series, up 4-0!

India beat England in the crucial 4th ODI by 19 runs and lead the 7-match series by 4-0. England has to play for pride in the next three ODI matches as the result has no impact on the series.

The weather forecast indicated rain though the match was started on time. India opened with Sehwag and Sachin after put into bat by Pietersen.

Sachin was bowled through a beauty by Broad. The ball pitched on the off, came in, Tendulkar missed the line and the off stump was knocked out.

The rain stopped play at the end of 14 overs. At the time, India were 82 for 1 with Sehwag on 45 and Gambhir on 23. After bowling one more over, the confusion started with the power play overs that should be decided by India. As per D/L method, the power play was over for India and they couldn't chose their powerplay overs. What a stupid logic? The match was reduced by 6 overs.

Again at the end of 17 overs, rain intervened when India were 106 for 1. The play was stopped for almost 3 hours. When the play resumed, the match was reduced to 22 overs a side.

If India scores another 38 runs in the 5 remaining overs, regardless of the wickets lost by India, England's target would be 181 in 22 overs as per D/L method.

In the last 5 overs, India scored 60 runs and set a target of 198 in 22 overs. Yuvaraj Singh hammered 25 off just 11 balls with 3 sixes. While Pathan hit a six off the last ball. Sehwag was out for 69 in the 18th over. He consumed just 57 balls and hit 9 fours and 3 sixes.

What a strange rule? The batting team scores 166 and set a target of 198!

England did not do well in the power play. At the end of 6 overs, they were 38 for 1. The Indian bowlers restricted England very well.

Shah tried from one end to take England closer to the target, but the brilliant effort was curtailed by short of overs. He scored 72 off 48 balls with 9 fours and 3 sixes before caught by Tendulkar of Zaheer.

Flintoff, though scored 41 off 30 balls which included 3 fours and a six, could not do much except play out the crucial overs in the middle than scoring fours and sixes. His scoring came in the 2 power play overs chose by England.

Sehwag was given the bike for the man of the match award for his firing 69. With this victory, India win the series regardless of what happens in the remaining 3 matches. Sure that India will rest some of the fast bowlers and key players and give chance to others.

Scoreboard:

Match: 4th ODI
Venue: Chinnasamy Stadium, Bengaluru
Teams: India and England
Captains: MS Dhoni and Kevin Pietersen
Toss: England won the toss and decided to field
Match Result: India won by 19 runs by D/L method
Series Result: India leading by 4-0
Man of the Match: Virendera Sehwag (India)
Overs: Match was stopped twice due to rain; first time, the match was reduced by 6 overs and the next time, the match was reduced to 22 overs a side

India 166 for 4 in 22 overs (Sehwag 69, Sachin 11, Gambhir 40, Yuvaraj 25 not out, MS Dhoni 9, Y Pathan 6 not out, Extras--6 (b 1, lb 1, w 4), Anderson 5-0-33-0, Broad 6-1-49-1, Flintoff 5-0-20-0, Patel 3-0-24-0, Swann 2-0-21-2, Pietersen 1-0-17-0)

Fall of Wickets: 1-38 (Tendulkar, 7.5 ov), 2-117 (Sehwag, 18.1 ov), 3-142 (Gambhir, 20.2 ov), 4-160 (Dhoni, 21.5 ov)

England 178 for 8 in 22 overs (India won by D/L Method: Target 198 in 22 overs)(Bopara 1, Bell 12, Shah 72, Pietersen 5, Flintoff 41, Collingwood 22, Patel 11, Swann 5, Prior 0 not out, Broad 0 not out, Extras--9 (b 3, lb 2, w 3, nb 1), Zaheer Khan 5-0-20-2, Munaf Patel 4-1-22-2, I Shrama 5-0-41-2, Yusuf Pathan 1-0-17-0, Harbhajan Singh 4-0-42-1, Yuvaraj Singh 3-0-31-0)

Fall of Wickets: 1-1 (Bopara, 1.2 ov), 2-44 (Bell, 7.4 ov), 3-52 (Pietersen, 8.5 ov), 4-134 (Shah, 16.5 ov), 5-141 (Flintoff, 17.4 ov), 6-161 (Patel, 19.6 ov), 7-178 (Swann, 21.4 ov), 8-178 (Collingwood, 21.5 ov)

England in India 2008

The England Tour to India between November and December of 2008 is covered here with match analysis, scoreboards, and pictures! Hope you enjoy them!

Match Report of Practice Games:

Practice Game 1: England v. Mumbai XI
Practice Game 2: England v. Mumbai Cricket Association XI

Match Report of ODIs:

ODI 1: India v. England
ODI 2: India v. England
ODI 3: India v. England
ODI 4: India v. England
ODI 5: India v. England
ODI 6: India v. England
ODI 7: India v. England

Still more to come!

Sachin is back! Who is No. 3?

With Sachin Tendulkar back in the side, who will open the innings for India and who will play No. 3 spot? With both Sehwag and Gambhir in good form in both ODI and Test, the Delhi pair is becoming one of the best opening pair for India.

They both are aggressive and has dominated Australia during the test series and in the first 3 ODIs against England.

Sachin can be asked to play at number 3 utilizing his experience, but the master batsman was successful in number 1 position than in any other position.

He has just scored 92 runs in 10 innings including one not out. The average is 10.22 runs per innings.

So, it is better he is given back his position of opening the innings.

Sachin is back in the team!

Sachin is back in the ODI squad for the next two ODI matches against England. The master batsman will be playing in ODI matches after a gap of 8 months. The last match he played was against Australia in Australia where he lead the Indian team to win the trophy.

Irfan Pathan is also back in the squad as a replacement for RP Singh. Vijay, did not play any game was shown the door as a replacement for Sachin.

With England already struggling against India and down 0-3 in the series, is expected to face more problems. Sachin is in form an is the leading run getter in both forms of cricket.

Irfan is picked on the weightage that he is an all rounder where as RP Singh cannot bat. Dhoni is backing RP Singh and said "It's a bit of a surprise," a source in the Indian team revealed. "He needs to play more matches. He is absolutely fit. He was getting better despite not playing much in the last few matches."

Practice Game: MCA XI v. England XI: Poor Show by England, MCA Thrash England! First Loss!

The first loss of England started with the practice game in Mumbai. This definitely should have put question in England players mind on their own performane. Mumbai Cricket Association surprised England and beat them by 124 runs. Couple of days back England beat Mumbai by 122 runs and they have experienced the same margin defeat today.

England wsa bowled out for 98 and couldn't play the full quota of 50 overs. They were bundled out in 25 overs, a surprising loss.

Scoreboard:

Match: Practice Game (ODI)
Venue: Barbourne Stadium, Mumbai
Date: November 11, 2008
Teams: Mumbai Cricket Association XI and England XI
Captains: OJ Khanvilkar and Kevin Pietersen
Toss: England XI won the toss and decided to field first
Result: MCA XI won by 124 runs

Mumabi Cricket Association XI 222 for 7 in 50 overs (Waghela 4, Valthaty 44, Marathe 65, Khavnvilkar 0, Bagade 25, Moto 0, Shaikh 37, Salunkhe 19 not out, Sufiyan 14 not out, Extras--14 (lb 5, w 8, nb 1), Anderson 1 for 35, Harmison 2 for 38, Flintoff 0 for 21, Swann 1 for 32, Patel 2 for 50, Pietersen 0 for 19, Collingwood 1 for 22) beat England 98 all out in 25 overs (Bell 6, Prior 3, Pietersen 0, Collingwood 8, Patel 13, Bopara 9, Flintoff 5, Wright 1, Swann 24 not out, Harmison 4, Anderson 20, Extras--5 (b 1, w 4), Verma 2 for 12, Walingankar 5 for 37, Shaikh 3 for 35, Salvi 0 for 13)

Practice Game: Mumbai v. England XI: The Only win So Far!

The only win so far England tasted in the 2008 tour to India till the completion of the 3rd ODI was against the Mumbai team during the first practice game. It was a comfortable win for England. They scored 297 and restricted Mumbai for 175.

Scoreboard:

Match: Practice Game (ODI)
Venue: Barbourne Stadium, Mumbai
Date: November 9, 2008
Teams: Mumbai and England XI
Captains: Nilesh Kulkarni and Kevin Pietersen
Toss: Mumbai won the toss and decided to field first
Result: England won by 122 runs

England 297 for 4 in 50 overs (Bell 58, Prior 13, Shah 83, Pietersen 6, Flintoff 100 not out, Collingwood 22 not out, Extras--15 (lb 8, w 6, nb 1), Sinha 1 for 32, Prashan Bhoir 0 for 57, Valthaty 1 for 56, Yeligati 1 for 41, Kulkarni 1 for 40, Salunkhe 0 for 63) beat Mumabi 175 for 8 in 50 overs (Bagade 3, Marathe 36, Shetye 50, Valthaty 25, Shashank Singh 23, Sufiyan 2, Salunkhe 2, Poojary 15, Yeligati 2 not out, Kulkarni 1 not out, Extras--16 (b 2, lb 7, w 7), Anderson 3 for 15, Broad 0 for 21, Flintoff 1 for 22, Harmison 0 for 24, Swann 0 for 37, Patel 2 for 38, Pietersen 0 for 5, Collingwood 1 for 4)

3rd ODI: Ind v. Eng: Harbhajan, Sehwag and Bad Light help India Win!

As rightly predicted by Dhoni after losing the toss, bad light did come into play and India won by Duckworth-Lewis method. Even otherwise, India would have won easily as they needed 43 from 9 overs with 5 more wickets in hand when bad light stopped play.

After losing the toss, Dhoni said to Ravi Shastri, that in one-way it is good to lose the toss because towards the end of the day, the light may fade and bad light may come into play. As righly guessed by Dhoni, umpires awarded the light in favor of the batsman at the end of 40 overs when India were 198 for 5. India needed 182 at that stage as per Duckwork-Lewis method.

India made one change with Ishanth replacing RP Singh. England brought in off spinner Swann in place of Harmison.

Winning the toss in a delayed start match, England decided to bat first. The match was delayed due to bad weather and was reduced to 49-overs. The start was slow in the first six overs, but Bell and Bopara took it to more than 5 runs an over in 13 overs. Bell was out in the 15th over caught behind off Munaf when tried to steer the ball to third man.

Harbhajan picked 3 wickets including a beautiful doosra which deceived Collingwood. He was short of his crease and Dhoni stumped him quickly. When he dismissed Shah caught by Zaheer Khan, he reached the milestone of 200 wickets in ODI. He recently touched the 300 wicket mark in Test Cricket against Australia when he clean bowled Ricky Ponting in the fourth test.

England were all out for 240 in the last over. The start was not that good with Gambhir getting out for 14 when the score was 31. Raina once again failed, bowled by Broad for 1. An important innings is expected from Rohit Sharma to save his place in the side, but he got out for 28. He played well, looked solid, but edged the ball when tried to cut the short ball of Swann.

Yuvaraj Singh scored 38 with one six and got out Flintoff. India were 177 for 5 and needed 54 runs 13 overs. Dhoni and Yusuf Pathan added unbeaten 21 when bad light stopped play.

During the last few overs before play was stopped, India was ahead always in the D/L method. At the end of 40 overs, with 5 wickets lost, India should have scored 182 and they were ahead by 16 runs.

Kevin Pietersen was not happy and was seen discussing with the umpires. Finally he shook hands and moved away conceding defeat.

Harbhajan was adjudged as man of the match for his spell of 10-2-31-3.

Scoreboard:

Match: 3rd ODI
Venue: Green Park, Kanput
Teams: India and England
Captains: MS Dhoni and Kevin Pietersen
Toss: England won the toss and decided to bat
Match Result: India won by 16 runs by D/L method
Series Result: India leading by 3-0
Man of the Match: Harbhajan Singh (India)
Overs: Start delayed due to bad weather; match started with 49-overs a side

England 240 all out in 48.4 overs (Bopara 60, Bell 46, Pietersen 13, Collingwood 1, Flintoff 26, Shah 40, Patel 26, Prior 5, Swann 5 not out, Broad 0, Anderson 1, Extras--17 (lb 3, w 9, nb 5), Zaheer Khan 10-0-45-1, Munaf Patel 6.4-0-36-2, I Shrama 9-0-60-2, Yuvaraj Singh 10-0-54-1, Harbhajan Singh 10-2-31-3, Yousuf Pathan 2-0-7-1, Sehwag 1-0-4-0)

Fall of Wickets: 1-79 (Bell, 14.3 ov), 2-102 (Pietersen, 19.1 ov), 3-106 (Collingwood, 21.2 ov), 4-133 (Bopara, 28.5 ov), 5-167 (Flintoff, 36.2 ov), 6-203 (Shah, 43.4 ov), 7-231 (Patel, 46.4 ov), 8-231 (Prior, 46.5 ov), 9-235 (Broad, 47.5 ov), 10-240 (Anderson, 48.4 ov)

India 198 for 5 in 40 overs (India won by D/L Method: Target 182 in 40 overs) (Gambhir 14, Sehwag 68, Raina 1, Rohit Sharma 28, Yuvaraj 38, MS Dhoni 29 not out, Y Pathan 12 not out, Extras--8 (lb 5, w 3), Anderson 6-0-47-0, Broad 9-2-36-1, Flintoff 9-0-31-3, Swann 10-0-47-1, Patel 3-0-18-0, Pietersen 3-0-14-0)

Fall of Wickets: 1-31 (Gambhir, 6.5 ov), 2-34 (Raina, 9.1 ov), 3-107 (RG Sharma, 22.4 ov), 4-125 (Sehwag, 25.2 ov), 5-177 (Yuvraj Singh, 35.6 ov)

3rd ODI: Pak v. WI: Pakistan does White Wash! Win Series 3-0

Pakistan beat West Indies in the third and final ODI match in Abu Dhabi. They outplayed West Indies completely and won the series 3-0. Gayle's second hundred of the series did not help West Indies to register a consolation win.

He scored 122 off 137 balls with 5 fours and 6 sixes. When he got out, West Indies needed 42 off 37 balls with 3 wickets in hand. Pakistan bundled the tail-enders within 10 runs and won the final game by 31 runs.

Earlier, Younis Khan scored his 6th ODI hundred and helped Pakistan to put a fighting total. Salman Butt was out in the first legal ball of the match for a duck. Younis Khan added 85 for the 2nd wicket with Manzoor and then added 103 for the 3rd wicket with Misbah. They both took the score from 88 for 2 to 191 for 3. Misbha remained not out on 79.

Scoreboard:

Match: 3rd ODI
Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Teams: Pakistan and West Indies
Captains: Shoaib Malik and Chris Gayle
Toss: Pakistan won the toss and decided to bat
Match Result: Pakistan won by 31 runs
Series Result: Pakistan won the series 3-0
Man of the Match: Younis Khan (Pakistan)
Man of the Series: Chris Gayle (West Indies)

Pakistan 273 for 6 in 50 overs (Salman Butt 0, Khurram Manzoor 30, Younis Khan 101, Misbah-ul-Haq 79 not out, Shoaib Malik 13, Shahid Afridi 6, Kamran Akmal 21, Extras--23 (b 1, lb 2, w 20), Powell 10-0-45-1, Taylor 10-0-50-2, Baker 10-0-70-1, Miller 10-0-55-1, Gayle 10-0-50-1)

Fall of Wickets: 1-3 (Salman Butt, 0.1 ov), 2-88 (Khurram Manzoor, 21.2 ov), 3-191 (Younis Khan, 41.4 ov), 4-226 (Shoaib Malik, 45.4 ov), 5-233 (Shahid Afridi, 46.4 ov), 6-273 (Kamran Akmal, 49.6 ov)

West Indies 242 all out in 46.3 overs (Gayle 122, Chattergoon 6, Sarwan 62, Chanderpaul 3, Marshall 0, Findlay 5, Nash 1, Taylor 17, Miller 5 not out, Powell 0, Baker 2, Extras--19 (lb 5, w 14), Sohail Tanvir 7.3-0-32-2, Umar Gul 8-2-31-3, Iftikhar Anjum 9-0-59-4, Saeed Ajmal 10-0-35-0, Shoaib Malik 3-0-29-0, Shahid Afridi 9-0-51-1)

Fall of Wickets: 1-17 (Chattergoon, 6.2 ov), 2-168 (Sarwan, 32.3 ov), 3-176 (Chanderpaul, 34.2 ov), 4-177 (Marshall, 34.6 ov), 5-191 (Findlay, 38.1 ov), 6-193 (Nash, 39.4 ov), 7-232 (Gayle, 43.5 ov), 8-239 (Taylor, 45.1 ov), 9-239 (Powell, 45.2 ov), 10-242 (Baker, 46.3 ov)

2nd ODI: Ind v. Eng: Second Continuous Hundred by Yuvaraj! India 2-0 Up!

What a series Yuvaraj is having! He scored his 10th ODI hundred and second continuous hundred--back-to-back, to give India a solid lead of 2-0 in the seven match ODI Series.

He won his second continuous man of the match also for his scintilating century, especially when the team needed it.

India, after put into bat by England, lost three quick wickets with just 29 runs on the board. Sehwag (1), Raina (4), and Rohit Sharma (3) returned to pavilion before the end of 8th over. Stuart Broad picked all the three wickets and gave a chance to Pietersen. The decision to put India bat first proved to be sucessful for England.

But Gambhir and Yuvaraj had different plans--sure even they don't know what it is. The beauty is that they played their natural game and did not succumb to the pressure.

They added 134 runs for the 4th wicket and helped India to move towards a respectable total. Gambhir scored 70 off 76 balls with 6 fours and a six. When he was looking good, a poor shot selection to tap the ball to leg side for a single cost his wicket. The ball pitched on off stump took the edge and hit the stumps.

Dhoni couldn't add more to the scoreboard this time and was bowled through a straight delivery by Collingwood for 15. But, this did not stop Yuvaraj from hitting hard on the other end. He reached his 100 in 107 balls with 12 fours and 2 sixes. He was caught behind off Broad for 118 off 122 balls.

Yusuf Pathan made a match on his birthday. He hit four sixes and 2 fours to score his maiden ODI fifty in the last ball of the innings. In the last over, he hit two sixes and a four to take India to a fighting total of 292. His 50 came in 29 balls and increased the scoring rate for India in the last 5 overs. Broad ended with 4 for 55 with a maiden in his 10-over spell.

England had a chance in hand. Bell was out in the first over due to poor decision in taking a single. He played it to short covers and went for a single. Raina picked and threw at bowlers end where TV replay found him well short of his crease.

Prior (38) and Shah (58) added 96 for the 2nd wicket but both of them well one after the other. Flintoff and Pietersen added 74 for the 4th wicket. Yuvaraj had Flintoff trapped leg before and Pietersen bowled to give India the winning signal. Both of them returning to pavilion in the same over was the turning point of England innings and they never came back in the game. Yuvaraj ended with 4 for 28 in his 10 overs. Sehwag picked 3 wickets. It proved to be spinning track as against England where Broad picked 4 wickets.

Scoreboard:

Match: 2nd ODI
Venue: Maharani Usharaje Trust Cricket Ground, Indore
Teams: India and England
Captains: MS Dhoni and Kevin Pietersen
Toss: England won the toss and decided to field
Match Result: India won by 54 runs
Series Result: India leading by 2-0
Man of the Match: Yuvaraj Singh (India)

India 292 for 9 in 50 overs (Gambhir 70, Sehwag 1, Raina 4, Rohit Sharma 3, Yuvaraj 118, MS Dhoni 15, Y Pathan 50 not out, Harbhajan Singh 8, Zaheer 1, RP Singh 4, Munaf Patel 0 not out, Extras--18 (b 3, lb 9, w 4, nb 2), Anderson 6-0-26-0, Broad 10-1-55-4, Flintoff 9-0-49-0, Harmison 7-1-50-1, Patel 5-0-37-0, Collingwood 8-0-43-1, Pietersen 5-0-20-1)

Fall of Wickets: 1-4 (Sehwag, 1.2 ov), 2-15 (Raina, 3.4 ov), 3-29 (Sharma, 7.3 ov), 4-163 (Gambhir, 29.6 ov), 5-206 (Dhoni, 38.6 ov), 6-239 (Yuvraj Singh, 43.4 ov), 7-258 (Harbhajan Singh, 46.3 ov), 8-261 (Khan, 47.5 ov), 9-274 (Singh, 49.1 ov)

England 238 all out in 47 overs (Bell 1, Prior 38, Shah 58, Pietersen 33, Flintoff 43, Collingwood 2, Patel 20, Bopara 3, Broad 22, Harmison 6, Anderson 1 not out, Extras--11 (lb 2, w 6, nb 3), Zaheer Khan 8-1-37-0, Munaf Patel 7-0-31-0, RP Singh 5-0-49-0, Yuvaraj Singh 10-0-28-4, Harbhajan Singh 10-0-45-1, Sehwag 5-0-28-3, Yousuf Pathan 2-0-18-1)

Fall of Wickets: 1-6 (Bell, 0.6 ov), 2-102 (Shah, 23.1 ov), 3-109 (Prior, 25.5 ov), 4-183 (Flintoff, 37.2 ov), 5-184 (Pietersen, 37.5 ov), 6-187 (Collingwood, 39.5 ov), 7-191 (Bopara, 41.1 ov), 8-222 (Patel, 44.4 ov), 9-233 (Harmison, 46.2 ov), 10-238 (Broad, 46.6 ov)

1st ODI: Ind v. Eng: Yuvaraj's firing Ton helps India take 1-0 Lead

India beat England in the first ODI of the seven match series. Yuvaraj played a scintilating knock which helped India to score a mamooth total of 387 in 50 overs. The start was excellent with Gambhir (51) and Sehwag (85) adding 127 runs for the first wicket. Sehwag's 85 came off 73 balls with 10 fours and 3 sixes.

Though the ground was small, the batsmen has to clear them. If they miss the timing or if they do not put the use the power, it will land in fielder's hand as it happened in the case of Gambhir.

Raina and Yuvaraj added 89 for the 3rd wicket off which Raina scored 43 runs off 44 balls with 3 sixes. Yuvaraj then started blasting all the bowlers all over the ground. Yuvaraj's 50 came off 42 balls with 5 fours and 2 sixes. He scored his next fifty in just 22 balls to reach his 100 which consisted off 11 fours and 4 sixes. When India finished their innings at 387, he was not out on 138 off 78 balls with 16 fours and 6 sixes. This is his 9th hundred in ODI and has 3 centuries to his account in test cricket.

Broad once again proved costly against India. He was hit for 6 sixes by Yuvaraj in T20 world cup and now he was demolished by Yuvaraj once again. His figures were 0 for 74 in his 10 overs. Harmison conceded 75 runs in his 10 overs picking 2 wickets. Patel finished with 2 for 78 in 9 overs.

Chasing huge total requires big knock from the top order in lesser deliveries. Starting the innings with the required run rate of 7.76 runs per over, England lost the first 4 wickets for 38 runs. Skipper Pietersen top scored for England with 63 runs off 66 balls. Bopara played consolation knock off unbeaten 54 off 38 balls with 2 fours and 5 sixes. England ended their innings at 229 in 37.4 overs, giving India the victory by a margin of 158 runs. Zaheer Khan picked 3 wickets.

Yuvaraj Singh was declared man of the match for his wonderful, firing century which helped India to start the series with a victory.

Scoreboard:

Match: 1st ODI
Venue: Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground, Rajkot
Teams: India and England
Captains: MS Dhoni and Kevin Pietersen
Toss: India won the toss and decided to bat
Match Result: India won by 158 runs
Series Result: India leading by 1-0
Man of the Match: Yuvaraj Singh (India)

India 387 for 5 in 50 overs (Gambhir 51, Sehwag 85, Raina 43, Yuvaraj 138 not out, Y Pathan 0, MS Dhoni 39, Rohit Sharma 11 not out, Extras--20 (b 1, lb 9, w 10), Anderson 8-0-52-0, Broad 10-0-74-0, Flintoff 10-0-67-1, Harmison 10-0-75-2, Patel 9-0-78-2, Collingwood 1-0-15-0, Pietersen 2-0-16-0)

Fall of Wickets: 1-127 (Gambhir, 19.5 ov), 2-153 (Sehwag, 23.6 ov), 3-242 (Raina, 36.5 ov), 4-247 (Pathan, 37.3 ov), 5-352 (Dhoni, 47.1 ov)

England 229 all out in 37.4 overs (Bell 25, Prior 4, Shah 0, Pietersen 63, Flintoff 4, Collingwood 19, Patel 28, Bopara 54 not out, Broad 26, Harmison 0, Anderson 0, Extras--6 (lb 2, w 4), Zaheer Khan 7-1-26-3, Munaf Patel 6-1-20-1, RP Singh 4-0-25-1, Yousuf Pathan 3.4-0-41-1, Sehwag 9-0-68-1, Harbhajan Singh 8-0-47-1)

Fall of Wickets: 1-12 (Prior, 3.2 ov), 2-17 (Shah, 4.5 ov), 3-34 (Bell, 10.3 ov), 4-38 (Flintoff, 10.6 ov), 5-76 (Collingwood, 17.4 ov), 6-147 (Patel, 26.1 ov), 7-150 (Pietersen, 27.1 ov), 8-195 (Broad, 35.3 ov), 9-207 (Harmison, 35.6 ov), 10-229 (Anderson, 37.4 ov)

2nd ODI: Pak v. WI: Pakistan win the series!

Pakistan beat WI by 24 runs in the 2nd ODI played on November 14, 2008 at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Both teams are playing in 3 ODIs in the netural venue due to security concerns in Pakistan.

Winning the toss and batting first, Misbah's half century and Kamran Akmal's 45 helped Pakistan to put a decent total of 232. Not sure what happened to WIs as they were bundled out for 208 with 7 more deliveries which needed 25 runs to equal the series.

Chanderpaul's century couldn't help WI though he was playing in one end, the wickets were falling on the other end. Umar Gul was the pick of the bowler picking 3 wickets. The other disaster for WIs were the poor running between the wickets. Marshal and Findlay were run out for 1 and 12 respectively.

Sohail Tanvir picked Gayle for a duck in the first over. In the fifth over, he picked the other opener Chattergoon also for a duck. For his two wickets and for scoring 26 crucial runs in batting, he was given man of the match award.

Earlier, struggling at 7 for 2, Younis Khan and Misbah put on 51 runs for the 3rd wicket. Later, Kamran Akmal and Shahid Afridi added 52 runs for the 6th wicket to put a moderate schoolf of 232.

Scoreboard:

Match: 2nd ODI
Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Teams: Pakistan and West Indies
Captains: Shoaib Malik and Chris Gayle
Toss: Pakistan won the toss and decided to bat
Match Result: Pakistan won by 24 runs
Series Result: Pakistan leading by 2-0
Man of the Match: Sohail Tanvir (Pakistan)

Pakistan 232 all out in 49 overs (Salman Butt 7, Khurram Manzoor 0, Younis Khan 34, Misbah-ul-Haq 52, Shoaib Malik 10, Kamran Akmal 45, Shahid Afridi 28, Sohail Tanvir 26, Iftikhar Anjum 7, Umar Gul 13, Saeed Ajmal 4 not out, Extras--6 (lb 3, w 2, nb 1), Powell 8-0-50-3, Taylor 9-1-38-3, Baker 10-0-35-1, Miller 10-0-39-1, Gayle 10-0-44-0, Sarwan 2-0-23-0)

Fall of Wickets: 1-7 (Salman Butt, 1.6 ov), 2-7 (Khurram Manzoor, 2.3 ov), 3-58 (Younis Khan, 13.6 ov), 4-87 (Shoaib Malik, 22.5 ov), 5-125 (Misbah-ul-Haq, 33.1 ov), 6-177 (Kamran Akmal, 40.5 ov), 7-179 (Shahid Afridi, 41.2 ov), 8-199 (Iftikhar Anjum, 45.2 ov), 9-218 (Sohail Tanvir, 47.5 ov), 10-232 (Umar Gul, 48.6 ov)

West Indies 208 all out in 48.5 overs (Gayle 0, Chattergoon 0, Sarwan 45, Chanderpaul 107 not out, Marshall 1, Findlay 12, Baugh 3, Taylor 0, Miller 12, Powell 6, Baker 0, Extras--22 (lb 6, w 16), Sohail Tanvir 9-0-32-2, Umar Gul 9.5-3-44-3, Iftikhar Anjum 9-0-40-1, Shahid Afridi 10-0-42-1, Saeed Ajmal 9-1-38-1, Shoaib Malik 2-0-6-0)

1st ODI: Pak v. WI: Pakistan wins the Thriller

With the last over requiring 17 runs, Alam and Kamal played Taylor like a tennis ball bowler and scored the required runs to take Pakistan. Alam took single of the first ball. Kamran Akmal hit six of the 2nd and 3rd ball. The target changed to 4 runs off 3 balls.

Kamal scored 3 runs of the 4th ball. The ball was hit to deep midwicket where the fielder dived and saved the boundary. But poor throw cost one more run. Two balls 1 run and it was scored easily by Alam.

Earlier, in the last 3 overs, Pakistan needed 33 runs. Taylor gave 10 runs including a six of the last ball and picked the wicket of Shoaib Malik. Gayle bowled a superb 49th over giving away just 6 runs.

Akmal hit hat-trick sixes of Taylor's bowling. He hit a six off the last ball of 48th over and then hit two sixes off the first two balls he faced in the 50th over.

Earlier, in West Indian batting, Gayle came back to form with a wonderful century. His 100th run came off 90 balls with 10 fours and 5 sixes. He got out for 113 in 106 balls with 11 fours and 5 sixes in the last ball of the 35th over.

Sarwan scored 55 and the top order consisting of Chattergoon (33), Chanderpaul (36), and Marshall (26) helped WI to put a good total on the board.

For Pakistan top scorers were Manzoor (69), Younis Khan (56), and skipper Shoaib Malik (66).

Scoreboard:

Match: 1st ODI
Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Teams: Pakistan and West Indies
Captains: Shoaib Malik and Chris Gayle
Toss: West Indies and decided to bat
Match Result: Pakistan won by 4 wickets with 1 ball to spare
Series Result: Pakistan leading by 1-0
Man of the Match: CH Gayle (West Indies)

West Indies 294 for 9 in 50 overs (Gayle 113, Chattergoon 33, Sarwan 55, Chanderpaul 36, Marshall 26, Baugh 5, Nash 9, Taylor 3, Powell 0, Miller 0 not out, Extras--14 (lb 6, w 6, nb 2), Sohail Tanvir 10-1-42-3, Abdur Rauf 9-0-77-0, Umar Gul 10-0-66-3, Shoaib Malik 10-0-43-1, Shahid Afridi 10-0-45-1, Fawad Alam 1-0-15-0)

Fall of Wickets: 1-125 (Chattergoon, 19.3 ov), 2-198 (Gayle, 34.6 ov), 3-213 (Sarwan, 37.3 ov), 4-255 (Marshall, 43.3 ov), 5-276 (Baugh, 46.4 ov), 6-285 (Chanderpaul, 47.2 ov), 7-294 (Taylor, 49.3 ov), 8-294 (Powell, 49.4 ov), 9-294 (Nash, 49.6 ov)

Pakistan 295 for 6 in 49.5 overs (Salman Butt 24, Khurram Manzoor 69, Younis Khan 56, Misbah-ul-Haq 7, Shoaib Malik 66, Shahid Afridi 4, Fawad Alam 24 not out, Kamran Akmal 24 not out, Extras--19 (lb 6, w 10, nb 3), Powell 10-0-58-0, Taylor 9.5-0-54-2, Baker 9-0-47-3, Gayle 6-0-33-0, Miller 10-0-64-1, Nash 5-0-33-0)

Fall of Wickets: 1-64 (Salman Butt, 15.1 ov), 2-142 (Khurram Manzoor, 29.4 ov), 3-159 (Misbah-ul-Haq, 32.1 ov), 4-206 (Younis Khan, 39.5 ov), 5-224 (Shahid Afridi, 41.6 ov), 6-262 (Shoaib Malik, 47.1 ov)

West Indies v. Pakistan: Schedule and Squad

With the recent cancellation of Champions Trophy in Pakistan and many countries avoiding tour to Pakistan citing security reasons, West Indies and Pakistan agreed to play three ODI matches in a neutral venue.

Both the team agreed to play 3 ODI matches in Abu Dhabi in the month of November 2008. West Indies team is lead by Chris Gayle and Pakistan still has Shoaib Malik as the captain.

Schedule:

Wed Nov 12, 2008: 1st ODI: Pakistan v. West Indies, Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Fri Nov 14, 2008: 2nd ODI: Pakistan v. West Indies, Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Sun Nov 16, 2008: 3rd ODI: Pakistan v. West Indies, Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Squad:

Pakistan Team: Shoaib Malik (Captain), Misbah-ul-Haq (Vice-Captain), Abdur Rauf, Fawad Alam, Iftikhar Anjum, Kamran Akmal (WK), Khurram Manzoor, Saeed Ajmal, Salman Butt, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Akhtar, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Gul, Younis Khan

West Indies Team: Chris Gayle (Captain), Ramnaresh Sarwan (Vice-Captain), Lionel Baker, Carlton Baugh (WK), Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Sewnarine Chattergoon, Shawn Findlay, Leon Johnson, Xavier Marshall, Nikita Miller, Dave Mohammed, Brendan Nash, Daren Powell, Kemar Roach, Jerome Taylor

Gavaskar Border Trophy 2008 - Pictures

The pictures of the recently concluded Border Gavaskar Trophy 2008 is presented below for your beautiful eyes! Enjoy them! Photographs are from www.cricinfo.com

Pictures:











To read match analysis report, click here!

To see scoreboard, click here!

Gavaskar Border Trophy 2008 - Scoreboard

The scoreboard of all the four test matches of the recently concluded Border Gavaskar Trophy 2008 is given below!

Scoreboard:

1st Test: Scoreboard
2nd Test: Scoreboard
3rd Test: Scoreboard
4th Test: Scoreboard

To read match analysis report, click here!

To see Pictures, click here!

India v. Australia: 4th Test: Score Board

Test: 4th Test
Venue: Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur
Dates: November 6-10, 2008
Teams: India and Australia
Hosts: India
Captains: MS Dhoni and Ricky Ponting
Toss: India
Match Result: India won by 172 runs
Series Result: India win the series 2-0
Man of the Match: Jason Krejza(Australia)
Man of the Series: Ishanth Sharma (India)
Trophy: Airtel Border Gavaskar Trophy Won by India

India 1st Innings 441 all out in 124.5 overs (Sehwag 66, Vijay 33, Dravid 0, Tendulkar 109, Laxman 64, Ganguly 85, Dhoni 56, Harbhajan Singh 18 not out, Zaheer 1, Mishra 0, Ishanth Sharma 0, Extras--9 (b 4, lb 2, w 1, nb 2), Lee 16-2-62-0, Johnson 32-11-84-1, Watson 20-5-42-1, Krezja 43.5-1-215-8, White 10-1-24-0, Katich 3-0-8-0)

Fall of Wickets: 1-98 (Vijay, 17.5 ov), 2-99 (Dravid, 18.4 ov), 3-116 (Sehwag, 22.3 ov), 4-262 (Laxman, 68.4 ov), 5-303 (Tendulkar, 82.5 ov), 6-422 (Dhoni, 116.4 ov), 7-423 (Ganguly, 116.6 ov), 8-437 (Khan, 122.3 ov), 9-437 (Mishra, 122.4 ov), 10-441 (Sharma, 124.5 ov)

Australia 1st Innings 355 all out in 134.3 overs (Hayden 16, Katich 102, Ponting 24, Hussey 90, MJ Clarke 8, Watson 2,Haddin 28, White 46, Krejza 5, Johnson 5, Lee 1 not out, Extras--28 (b 12, lb 3, w 2, nb 6, pen 5), Zaheer 28-8-68-1, Harbhajan Singh 37-7-94-3, Ishanth Sharma 26-8-64-2, A Mishra 23.3-5-58-2, V Sehwag 18-2-38-0, Tendulkar 2-0-13-0)

Fall of Wickets: 1-32 (Hayden, 6.5 ov), 2-74 (Ponting, 17.1 ov), 3-224 (Katich, 70.6 ov), 4-250 (Clarke, 84.4 ov), 5-260 (Hussey, 89.5 ov), 6-261 (Watson, 91.4 ov), 7-313 (Haddin, 115.5 ov), 8-328 (Krejza, 126.1 ov), 9-347 (White, 133.2 ov), 10-355 (Johnson, 134.3 ov)



India 2nd Innings (lead by 86 runs) 295 all out in 82.4 overs (Sehwag 92, Vijay 41, Dravid 3, Tendulkar 12, Laxman 4, Ganguly 0, Dhoni 55, Harbhajan Singh 52, Zahher 6, Mishra 7, Ishanth Sharma 1, Extras--22, Johnson 14-4-22-0, Lee 10-3-27-1, Krejza 31-3-143-4, Watson 15.4-2-42-4, White 2-0-15-0, Hussey 4-2-3-0, Clarke 6-1-29-0)

Fall of Wickets: 1-116 (Vijay, 28.2 ov), 2-132 (Dravid, 32.5 ov), 3-142 (Sehwag, 35.1 ov), 4-163 (Laxman, 47.1 ov), 5-163 (Ganguly, 47.2 ov), 6-166 (Tendulkar, 49.5 ov), 7-274 (Dhoni, 77.1 ov), 8-286 (Khan, 79.2 ov), 9-288 (Harbhajan Singh, 80.1 ov), 10-295 (Mishra, 82.4 ov)

Australia 2nd Innings (382 runs in 92 overs) 209 all out in 50.2 overs (Hayden 77, Katich 16, Ponting 8, Clarke 22, Hussey 19, Watson 9, Haddin 4, White 26 not out, Krejza 4, Lee 0, Johnson 11, Extras--13 (b 6, lb 1, w 4, nb 2), Zaheer 8-0-57-0, Ishanth Sharma 9-0-31-2, Harbhajan Singh 18.2-2-64-4, V Sehwag 4-0-23-0, Mishra 11-2-27-3)

Fall of Wickets: 1-29 (Katich, 5.4 ov), 2-37 (Ponting, 6.6 ov), 3-82 (Clarke, 15.5 ov), 4-150 (Hussey, 28.4 ov), 5-154 (Hayden, 29.2 ov), 6-161 (Haddin, 32.4 ov), 7-178 (Watson, 38.4 ov), 8-190 (Krejza, 43.5 ov), 9-191 (Lee, 44.4 ov), 10-209 (Johnson, 50.2 ov)

4th Test: Ind v. Aus: Day 5: India win Border Gavaskar Trophy; Aus down 0-2

On the fifth and final day of the last test match between India and Australia ended in favor of India! The last time when Australia came here, India beat them 2-1, raising from 0-1 down in the series.

With the tough target of 369 runs set in 90.3 overs on the 5th day, Australia played positively and wanted to win this match. They have nothing to lose because if they win, they will equal the series 1-1, else they will lose it 2-0 instead of 1-0.

So, they decided to chase on the batsmen friendly wicket though the pitch had quite few foot-marks which helped the spinners during the first four days.

Katich played positively and scored a run-a-ball. He was out for 16 when tried to pull the short ball from Ishanth. He played across and the ball took the edge, flew high in the air in point direction. Dhoni owned it, stumbled a little bit at the end, but took a good catch. Ishanth provided the break through, Australia were 29 for 1.

Hayden was dominating the bowling attack on the other end. He played very good shots in the air and also drove on both sides.

Ponting, like Hayden did in the first innings, committed the crime in the 2nd innings. He took on Amit Mishra at mid off and went for a quick single. But, Mishra was quick this time, dived forward and hit the bowlers stumps under-arm. Ponting knew he was out and third umpire confirmed the same. Australia were 37 for 2.

Clarke, unwell, played with Katich as his runner. Hayden and Clarke added 45 for th e3rd wicket. Clarke had couple of edges went past the slips. Ishanth bowled on the off stump and Clarke edged that to Dhoni. He scored 22. At lunch, Australia were 111 for 3 in 23 overs with Hayden on 46 and Hussey on 14. India bowled just 21.3 overs in the first session.

Hayden played very well and finally found his form. He came down the track, picked the ball with at the pitch and hit a six off Sehwag.

The danger man Hussey edge the one from Mishra to Dravid. He was out for 19. Luck favored Hayden when Dhoni dropped the thick edge of Harbhajan when he was on 30. Dravid dropped another catch for Hayden when he was on 35. Hayden playing reverse sweep, hit it to Dravid who was not alert and the ball went through his hands.

He reached his 29th half-century and looked dangerous for Indians. After Hussey's departure, Harbhajan claimed him in the next over with a plumb leg before decision. He bowled the first ball short which was pulled easily to mid wicket boundary by Hayden. The next ball was pitched on a good length, Hayden played across but this time the ball hit him on the pads in front of the middle stump. Billy had no hesitation in giving him out. With Hayden gone for 77 and the scoreboard reading 154 for 5, India started smelling victory.

Haddin came down the track and gave a simple catch to Tendulkar off Mishra. That was Tendulkar's 100th catch in Test Cricket. Watson, was caught behind trying to cut Bhajji. Aussies were 178 for 7.

Krejza was stumped off Mishra. Lee was caught bat-pad off Harbhajan. Johnson, not playing the doosra was judged leg before for 11 and Aussies were bundled out for 209, giving India a 172-run victory.

It's been 20 years since Aussies lost like this, a 2-0 loss. The last time it happened against West Indies in 1983-84 season against Clive Lloyd's captaincy.

Jason Krejza was judged man of the match for his 12 wickets in the debut match. His match figure was 74.5-4-358-12. A costly debut in test history.

Ishanth Sharma was judged man of the series for his 15 wickets. He played a vital role in the Indian win.

Scoreboard at the end of Day 5:

Toss: India

India 1st Innings 441 all out in 124.5 overs (Sehwag 66, Vijay 33, Dravid 0, Tendulkar 109, Laxman 64, Ganguly 85, Dhoni 56, Harbhajan Singh 18 not out, Zaheer 1, Mishra 0, Ishanth Sharma 0, Extras--9 (b 4, lb 2, w 1, nb 2), Lee 16-2-62-0, Johnson 32-11-84-1, Watson 20-5-42-1, Krezja 43.5-1-215-8, White 10-1-24-0, Katich 3-0-8-0)

Fall of Wickets: 1-98 (Vijay, 17.5 ov), 2-99 (Dravid, 18.4 ov), 3-116 (Sehwag, 22.3 ov), 4-262 (Laxman, 68.4 ov), 5-303 (Tendulkar, 82.5 ov), 6-422 (Dhoni, 116.4 ov), 7-423 (Ganguly, 116.6 ov), 8-437 (Khan, 122.3 ov), 9-437 (Mishra, 122.4 ov), 10-441 (Sharma, 124.5 ov)

Australia 1st Innings 355 all out in 134.3 overs (Hayden 16, Katich 102, Ponting 24, Hussey 90, MJ Clarke 8, Watson 2,Haddin 28, White 46, Krejza 5, Johnson 5, Lee 1 not out, Extras--28 (b 12, lb 3, w 2, nb 6, pen 5), Zaheer 28-8-68-1, Harbhajan Singh 37-7-94-3, Ishanth Sharma 26-8-64-2, A Mishra 23.3-5-58-2, V Sehwag 18-2-38-0, Tendulkar 2-0-13-0)

Fall of Wickets: 1-32 (Hayden, 6.5 ov), 2-74 (Ponting, 17.1 ov), 3-224 (Katich, 70.6 ov), 4-250 (Clarke, 84.4 ov), 5-260 (Hussey, 89.5 ov), 6-261 (Watson, 91.4 ov), 7-313 (Haddin, 115.5 ov), 8-328 (Krejza, 126.1 ov), 9-347 (White, 133.2 ov), 10-355 (Johnson, 134.3 ov)

India 2nd Innings (lead by 86 runs) 295 all out in 82.4 overs (Sehwag 92, Vijay 41, Dravid 3, Tendulkar 12, Laxman 4, Ganguly 0, Dhoni 55, Harbhajan Singh 52, Zahher 6, Mishra 7, Ishanth Sharma 1, Extras--22, Johnson 14-4-22-0, Lee 10-3-27-1, Krejza 31-3-143-4, Watson 15.4-2-42-4, White 2-0-15-0, Hussey 4-2-3-0, Clarke 6-1-29-0)

Fall of Wickets: 1-116 (Vijay, 28.2 ov), 2-132 (Dravid, 32.5 ov), 3-142 (Sehwag, 35.1 ov), 4-163 (Laxman, 47.1 ov), 5-163 (Ganguly, 47.2 ov), 6-166 (Tendulkar, 49.5 ov), 7-274 (Dhoni, 77.1 ov), 8-286 (Khan, 79.2 ov), 9-288 (Harbhajan Singh, 80.1 ov), 10-295 (Mishra, 82.4 ov)

Australia 2nd Innings (382 runs in 92 overs) 209 all out in 50.2 overs (Hayden 77, Katich 16, Ponting 8, Clarke 22, Hussey 19, Watson 9, Haddin 4, White 26 not out, Krejza 4, Lee 0, Johnson 11, Extras--13 (b 6, lb 1, w 4, nb 2), Zaheer 8-0-57-0, Ishanth Sharma 9-0-31-2, Harbhajan Singh 18.2-2-64-4, V Sehwag 4-0-23-0, Mishra 11-2-27-3)

Fall of Wickets: 1-29 (Katich, 5.4 ov), 2-37 (Ponting, 6.6 ov), 3-82 (Clarke, 15.5 ov), 4-150 (Hussey, 28.4 ov), 5-154 (Hayden, 29.2 ov), 6-161 (Haddin, 32.4 ov), 7-178 (Watson, 38.4 ov), 8-190 (Krejza, 43.5 ov), 9-191 (Lee, 44.4 ov), 10-209 (Johnson, 50.2 ov)

England Tour of India - 2008 - Squad

The England team is touring India for playing 7 ODIs and 2 test matches. The England team is lead by Kevin Pietersen and India is lead by Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The squad arrived in India and will be playing 2 limited overs practice matches. The first ODI begins on November 14 at Rajkot.

The England Squad for 7 ODIs:

Kevin Pietersen (c), Tim Ambrose (wk), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Andrew Flintoff, Steve Harmison, Samit Patel, Matt Prior (wk), Owais Shah, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme Swann, and Luke Wright

Click here for England Tour Schedule!
The England Squad for 2 Test Matches:

Kevin Pietersen (c), Tim Ambrose (wk), James Anderson , Ian Bell, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Andrew Flintoff, Steve Harmison, Matt Prior (wk), Owais Shah, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme Swann, Monty Panesar, and Andrew Strauss

The Indian Squad for the first 3 ODIs:

MS Dhoni (c & wk), Virender Sehwag (vc), Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Virat Kohli, Pragyan Ojha, Munaf Patel, Yusuf Pathan, Suresh Raina, Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, RP Singh, Murali Vijay, and Yuvraj Singh

Click here for England Tour Schedule!

Ishanth Injured, to miss 1st ODI

Ishanth's ankle injury has put him under rest for at least 5 days. He will not be playing the first ODI against England and India has to depend on RP Singh or Munaf Patel.

The tall fast bowler won the man of the series award in the Border Gavaskar Trophy played between India and Australia. Ishanth played a vital part in India winning the trophy 2-0. He captured 15 wickets of the 138 overs he bowled.

It was said that he strained too much during the test series, especially as a striking fast bowler for India.

Either Munaf Patel or RP Singh is expected to replace the gap. After a MRI Scan, Ishanth's progress and availability will be known!

Image courtesty: www.cricinfo.com

England tour to India 2008 - Schedule

England is touring India in November-December 2008. The team lead by Kevin Pietersen will be playing in 2 practice games, 7 ODIs and 2 Test Matches. With Dhoni's men in full form after beating Australia 2-0 in the Border Gavaskar Trophy will be ready to take on the English Challenge.


ODI Practice Games Schedule:

Sun Nov 09, 2008: Mumbai v. England XI in Mumbai
Tue Nov 11, 2008: Mumbai Cricket Association XI v. England XI in Mumbai

ODI Schedule:

Fri Nov 14, 2008: 1st ODI: India v. England in Rajkot
Mon Nov 17, 2008: 2nd ODI: India v. England in Indore
Thu Nov 20, 2008: 3rd ODI: India v. England in Kanpur
Sun Nov 23, 2008: 4th ODI: India v. England in Bangalore
Wed Nov 26, 2008: 5th ODI: India v. England in Cuttack
Sat Nov 29, 2008: 6th ODI: India v. England in Guwahati
Tue Dec 02, 2008: 7th ODI: India v. England in Delhi

Three-Day Practice Games Schedule:

Fri Dec 5 to Sun Dec 7, 2008: To be Decided v. England XI in Baroda

Test Match Schedule:

Thu Dec 11 to Mon Dec 15, 2008: 1st Test: India v. England in Ahemadabad
Fri Dec 19 to Tue Dec 23, 2008: 2nd Test: India v. England in Mumbai

Can the Indians continue the performance and outplay England to capture the No. 1 position in Test Rankings? Can Dhoni's team do it again?

All the best to both the teams!

Kumble Retired! Jumbo Ends His Career!

The Jumbo of Indian Cricket and the skipper of Indian cricket hung his boot at the end of the third test match against Australia in the Border Gavaskar Trophy. He was injured on the fourth day and had to put to 10 stiches to his right little finger. He couldn't bowl and field with his full potential. He was ruled out of the fourth test and there is no time left for him to come back. So, the injury forced him to call it a day.

Few pictures are loaded here for your eyes as a tribute to one of the legends of Indian cricket who holds the record for highest wicket taker for India.

4th Test: Ind v. Aus: 4th Day: Challenge of the Series! Poor Decision by Ponting!

On the 4th day, resuming from scratch, Sehwag and Vijay played the first hour very well. Sehwag as usual utilized the new ball and the pace to hit few fours. In addition to missing the nice chance to score a hundred, he also got out caught by Haddin on the leg side. The ball pitched on the leg stump, he tried to glance it, got outside edge. He was out for 92 off 107 balls with 10 fours and a huge six.

The first man to go was Vijay, leg before to Watson. He missed a good opportunity to score his mainden half century by 9 runs. Dravid's poor form continued in the 2nd innings of this test as well. He was caught behind of Watson, another break through by Watson. He scored just 3. Sehwag and Tendulkar added 10 before Sehwag was caught behind of Lee, his only wicket in the innings. India were struggling at 142 for 3.

Laxman and Tendulkar played very slowly adding 21 runs in 12 overs. The 4.11 runs per over rate during the first wicket partnership (116 in 28.2 overs) was brought down 3.46, but it was important that they don't lose wickets.

But against the plan, Laxman got out by a beauty from Krejza. The ball pitched on outside the line of off stump and turned well. Laxman tried defend it forward but the ball went in the gap between pad and bat and uprooted the leg stump. Both Krejza and Laxman were surprised. India were 163 for 4 and needed big partnership from Dhoni and Tendulkar. With the overall lead of 249 runs, one more wicket would put India on trouble.

When Tendulkar was batting, Haddin threw his gloves at the ball to send the ball to leg slip. Tendulkar checked it with umpire to see whether it is allowed. Both the umpires discussed and awarded 5 penalty runs. Few minutes later, Krejza pluged the skin of the ball, which is not allowed as per ICC rules. The ball should be given to umpires and they will do it. Otherwise, the involved player will be accused of ball-tampering. Umpires talked to Ponting and gave the feedback and warned them.

Unexpected favor happened for Australia and luck favored them. In the last over before tea, Tendulkar pushed the ball to covers and ran for a single. By the time he realized that Dhoni did not come for the run he was in mid of the wicket. It was easy for White to throw the ball to Haddin who remove the bails. Big blow for India with score on 166 for 6. The overall lead was 252 and another 50 runs for with 4 wickets would give a great chance to Australia to equal the series.

In tea time, the umpires warned Ponting about the lower over rate. Aussies were 10 overs behind and had to bowl 25 overs in an hour and fifteen minutes. If they don't bowl, Ponting could face a suspenion for a test match. So, he decided to bowl the part-time bowlers Hussey and Clarke in addition to Krejza and White.

India went to tea with more pressure and Australia went with lot of condience. Australia needed the four tail-enders wickets as quickly as possible to start chasing and equal the series. But the poor selfish decision by Ponting gave a chance to Indian team.

Harbhajan Singh once again provided the life for India. He scored another wonderful half century, his fourth against Australia. Dhoni reached his 50 which was crucial to the Indian total. He played sensibly picking singles and twos sweeping the part time bowlers. One over of White added 13 runs to India which actually gave confidence to Dhoni and Harbhajan. They added 108 runs 27.2 overs.

Dhoni trying to sweep got the edge and it was a good catch by Hussey. The score was 274 for 7. Harbhajan followed him after a 12-run partnership with Zaheer. He was bowled by Watson through a straight quicker delivery which hit the off stump.

Zaheer and Mishra were bowled by Krejza for one and zero respectively. India were bowled out for 295 and with 86 runs lead, Aussies were set a target of 382 runs in 92 overs. With two more overs left in the day, Aussies scored 13 runs in the first over bowled by Zaheer. Hayden scored a boundary and Katich scored two fours. Ishanth Sharma bowled 3 balls in the 2nd over and umpired checked the light meter. They asked the batsman whether they want to play or go and they wanted to go.

On the last day, Aussies require 369 runs in 90.3 overs with all the 10 wickets in hand. One mistake by Ponting, put Aussies behind and India ahead. Both the teams have good chance of winning. Aussies would chase the total because it does not matter whether they lose 1-0 or 2-0. But if they win, they will equal the series. It is still a good batting wicket, but playing on the fifth day and scoring at 4 runs per over will always be difficult. The Indian has a very good bowling attack--both pace and spin.

Scoreboard at the end of Day 4:

Toss: India

India 1st Innings 441 all out in 124.5 overs (Sehwag 66, Vijay 33, Dravid 0, Tendulkar 109, Laxman 64, Ganguly 85, Dhoni 56, Harbhajan Singh 18 not out, Zaheer 1, Mishra 0, Ishanth Sharma 0, Extras--9 (b 4, lb 2, w 1, nb 2), Lee 16-2-62-0, Johnson 32-11-84-1, Watson 20-5-42-1, Krezja 43.5-1-215-8, White 10-1-24-0, Katich 3-0-8-0)

Fall of Wickets: 1-98 (Vijay, 17.5 ov), 2-99 (Dravid, 18.4 ov), 3-116 (Sehwag, 22.3 ov), 4-262 (Laxman, 68.4 ov), 5-303 (Tendulkar, 82.5 ov), 6-422 (Dhoni, 116.4 ov), 7-423 (Ganguly, 116.6 ov), 8-437 (Khan, 122.3 ov), 9-437 (Mishra, 122.4 ov), 10-441 (Sharma, 124.5 ov)

Australia 1st Innings 355 all out in 134.3 overs (Hayden 16, Katich 102, Ponting 24, Hussey 90, MJ Clarke 8, Watson 2,Haddin 28, White 46, Krejza 5, Johnson 5, Lee 1 not out, Extras--28 (b 12, lb 3, w 2, nb 6, pen 5), Zaheer 28-8-68-1, Harbhajan Singh 37-7-94-3, Ishanth Sharma 26-8-64-2, A Mishra 23.3-5-58-2, V Sehwag 18-2-38-0, Tendulkar 2-0-13-0)

Fall of Wickets: 1-32 (Hayden, 6.5 ov), 2-74 (Ponting, 17.1 ov), 3-224 (Katich, 70.6 ov), 4-250 (Clarke, 84.4 ov), 5-260 (Hussey, 89.5 ov), 6-261 (Watson, 91.4 ov), 7-313 (Haddin, 115.5 ov), 8-328 (Krejza, 126.1 ov), 9-347 (White, 133.2 ov), 10-355 (Johnson, 134.3 ov)

India 2nd Innings (lead by 86 runs) 295 all out in 82.4 overs (Sehwag 92, Vijay 41, Dravid 3, Tendulkar 12, Laxman 4, Ganguly 0, Dhoni 55, Harbhajan Singh 52, Zahher 6, Mishra 7, Ishanth Sharma 1, Extras--22, Johnson 14-4-22-0, Lee 10-3-27-1, Krejza 31-3-143-4, Watson 15.4-2-42-4, White 2-0-15-0, Hussey 4-2-3-0, Clarke 6-1-29-0)

Fall of Wickets: 1-116 (Vijay, 28.2 ov), 2-132 (Dravid, 32.5 ov), 3-142 (Sehwag, 35.1 ov), 4-163 (Laxman, 47.1 ov), 5-163 (Ganguly, 47.2 ov), 6-166 (Tendulkar, 49.5 ov), 7-274 (Dhoni, 77.1 ov), 8-286 (Khan, 79.2 ov), 9-288 (Harbhajan Singh, 80.1 ov), 10-295 (Mishra, 82.4 ov)

Australia 2nd Innings (382 runs in 92 overs) 13 for no loss in 1.3 overs (Hayden 5 batting, Katich 8 batting, Extras--0, Zaheer 1-0-13-0, IshanthSharma 0.3-0-0-0)

4th Test: Ind v. Aus: Day 3: India lead by 86 runs depsite Katich century!

The tactics played by Dhoni and the Indian team paid off well at the end, though Gavaskar and Shastri criticised them earlier.

I would agree with Shasthi in saying that ICC should change the rules in terms of field set on the off side as it is in leg side.

The third day which was thought to be a Australian day, turned out to be India's day. Resuming the day from 189 for 2 with Katich on 92 and Hussey on 45, both of them played very slowly and consumed lot of balls to score runs.

Australia, in a do or die position to equal the series should have taken the initiative early in the day to dominate the little bit of negative bowling. I won't call it completely negative becasue both Zaheer Khan and Ishanth Sharma were bowling on the off stump with 8 men covering the field. The batsmen couldn't play against it on the leg side because all the balls were bowled on the off stump.

Dravid dropped a lolly pop catch--a typical slip catch in the 2nd slip for Hussey. One of the turning points in the match. It was the third over of the day and Ishanth invited Hussey forward for a drive, which took the edge and flew to 2nd slip.

A steer to third man boundary helped Katich to reach his first hundred of the series. He played 69 balls in the day to add another 10 runs to his overnight score. He was trapped leg before by Zaheer

At lunch, Aussies were 231 for 3, added just 42 runs in the 24 overs. Ishanth picked Micheal Clarke through a beauty, a typical fast bowler dismissal. The ball pitchd on the middle and off, swung away. The ball took the outside edge and went straight to Dhoni.

The real turning point came in the form of another run out by Vijay. He was standing in silly point. Hussey played between covers and point. He started to run, but Vijay stopped the ball extending his right hand and saw Hussey was running. He threw the ball to Dhoni immediatley who pushed it to the stumps. The television replays showed that Hussey was out of the crease and given out. Outstanding fielding and prompt action from Vijay and Dhoni. He was out for 90 off 229 balls with 8 fours.

Watson played forward of a flight delivery from Harbhajan, but the ball went back to stumps. Watson turned back to stop it, but it was too late and the ball removed the off stump bail.

Three quick wickets put India back in the game especially with low scoring rate. From 231 for 3 at lunch, they lost 3 wickts in the span of 30 runs.

At tea, Australia were 275 for 6 in 102 overs scoring just 86 runs in 53 overs.

Mishra picked his first wicket by bowling on the leg stump and turning it. Hadding played forward with the pad. The ball turned well, missed the pad, but clipped the bat and went to Dravid in the slip. Hadding out for 28 and Aussies were 313 for 7.

Ishanth trapped Krejza leg before and then the last two wickets were when the batsmen tried to slog and add runs to the board. White hit it over long on and was caught by Sehwag for 46. Johnson was caught by Zaheer at long on.

India had to play one over to finish the day and Sehwag negotiated it with Johnson without scoring runs. India will start fresh with 86 runs lead.

Scoreboard at the end of Day 3:

Toss: India

India 1st Innings 441 all out in 124.5 overs (Sehwag 66, Vijay 33, Dravid 0, Tendulkar 109, Laxman 64, Ganguly 85, Dhoni 56, Harbhajan Singh 18 not out, Zaheer 1, Mishra 0, Ishanth Sharma 0, Extras--9 (b 4, lb 2, w 1, nb 2), Lee 16-2-62-0, Johnson 32-11-84-1, Watson 20-5-42-1, Krezja 43.5-1-215-8, White 10-1-24-0, Katich 3-0-8-0)

Fall of Wickets: 1-98 (Vijay, 17.5 ov), 2-99 (Dravid, 18.4 ov), 3-116 (Sehwag, 22.3 ov), 4-262 (Laxman, 68.4 ov), 5-303 (Tendulkar, 82.5 ov), 6-422 (Dhoni, 116.4 ov), 7-423 (Ganguly, 116.6 ov), 8-437 (Khan, 122.3 ov), 9-437 (Mishra, 122.4 ov), 10-441 (Sharma, 124.5 ov)

Australia 1st Innings 355 all out in 134.3 overs (Hayden 16, Katich 102, Ponting 24, Hussey 90, MJ Clarke 8, Watson 2,Haddin 28, White 46, Krejza 5, Johnson 5, Lee 1 not out, Extras--28 (b 12, lb 3, w 2, nb 6, pen 5), Zaheer 28-8-68-1, Harbhajan Singh 37-7-94-3, Ishanth Sharma 26-8-64-2, A Mishra 23.3-5-58-2, V Sehwag 18-2-38-0, Tendulkar 2-0-13-0)

Fall of Wickets: 1-32 (Hayden, 6.5 ov), 2-74 (Ponting, 17.1 ov), 3-224 (Katich, 70.6 ov), 4-250 (Clarke, 84.4 ov), 5-260 (Hussey, 89.5 ov), 6-261 (Watson, 91.4 ov), 7-313 (Haddin, 115.5 ov), 8-328 (Krejza, 126.1 ov), 9-347 (White, 133.2 ov), 10-355 (Johnson, 134.3 ov)

India 2nd Innings (lead by 86 runs) 0 for no loss in 1 overs (Sehwag 0 batting, Vijay 0 batting, Extras-0, Johnson 1-1-0-0)

4th Test: Ind v. Aus: Day 2: India missed Chance! Australia picking up!

India lost the chance of having runs on the boad on the day 2 of the fourth and final test in Nagpur. India leading the series 1-0, should either draw or win it to ensure that they retain the Gavaskar-Border Trophy.

They succummbed to the off spin of debutant Krejza, who captured 8 of the Indian wickets. Though he conceeded close to 5 runs per over and went beyond 250 runs in bowling, the wickets were crucial for Australians.

Resuming the day at 313 for 5, both Ganguly and Dhoni played well and ensured that they keep the score board moving. They played the crucial first hour very well. Both of them scored half-century and built 119 runs partnership for the 6th wicket. Dhoni was the first to go on day 2, bowled by Krejza. Two balls later, Ganguly was caught at short leg by Clarke, 5th victim of Krezja. India went down to 423 for 7 from 422 for 5. In a span of one run, they lost 2 good wickets.

Dhoni was out for 56 of 97 balls with 4 fours and Ganguly missed a good chance to score a century in his last test. He was out for 85 of 153 balls with 8 fours and a huge six of Krejza.

The tail immediately went back to the pavilion not able to tackled the spin and bounce of Krejza. Zaheer Khan was bolwed for 1, Mishra was also bowled in the next ball giving the debutant a hat-trick chance. Ishanth Sharma saved the hat-trick but got in the next over caught by Katich, giving the 8th wicket to Krejza. Harbhajan remained not out on 18.

India ended the first innings with just 441 where they could have easily crossed 550.

With 50 over remaining in the day, Australians started positively. They definitely wanted to win to square the series. Hayden was run out when he attempted a quick single against the youngster Vijay. He picked the ball running from mid on and hit directly on the bowlers stump. That gave a lucky break through for India.

Soon, Ponting was Bhajjis victim and became his 300th test victim. He was bowled by Harbhajan for 24. The Hussey and Katich pair built the innings from where Ponting left--74 for 2. Katich reached a well played half century which laid the fight back. End of the day, Katich is on 92 and Hussey is on 45 and Australia are 189 for 2.

India need quick break through on the morning of day 3 to remain in the competition. The first hour is crucial. Bhajji should take couple of wickets in the morning and bring back India to the game. Australians have played aggressively and consistently scoring above 4 runs per over except on the last hour. They are just below 4 runs per over rate and if they play out till lunch without losing wicket, they can go past beyond by tea time and India will be under pressure to put a good total in the 2nd innings.

So, it is cricital that India get quick wickets tomorrow. Bhajji, all the best!

Scoreboard at the end of Day 2:

Toss: India

India 1st Innings 441 all out in 124.5 overs (Sehwag 66, Vijay 33, Dravid 0, Tendulkar 109, Laxman 64, Ganguly 85, Dhoni 56, Harbhajan Singh 18 not out, Zaheer 1, Mishra 0, Ishanth Sharma 0, Extras--9 (b 4, lb 2, w 1, nb 2), Lee 16-2-62-0, Johnson 32-11-84-1, Watson 20-5-42-1, Krezja 43.5-1-215-8, White 10-1-24-0, Katich 3-0-8-0)

Fall of Wickets: 1-98 (Vijay, 17.5 ov), 2-99 (Dravid, 18.4 ov), 3-116 (Sehwag, 22.3 ov), 4-262 (Laxman, 68.4 ov), 5-303 (Tendulkar, 82.5 ov), 6-422 (Dhoni, 116.4 ov), 7-423 (Ganguly, 116.6 ov), 8-437 (Khan, 122.3 ov), 9-437 (Mishra, 122.4 ov), 10-441 (Sharma, 124.5 ov)

Australia 1st Innings 189 for 2 in 49 overs (Hayden 16, Katich 92 batting, Ponting 24, Hussey 45 batting, Extras--12 (b 4, lb 2, nb 1, pen 5), Zaheer 8-0-41-0, Harbhajan Singh 16-0-57-1, Ishanth Sharma 8-2-25-0, A Mishra 9-1-31-0, V Sehwag 6-1-11-0, Tendulkar 2-0-13-0)

Fall of the Wickets: 1-32 (Hayden, 6.5 Overs), 2-74 (Ponting, 17.1 Overs)

4th Test: Ind v. Aus: Day 1: Tendulkar's Hundred Put India on Top!

What an innings by Sachin, though he had two chances! He scored his 40th Test Hundred and 10th against Australia.

Dhoni won the toss again and rightly decided to bat. The debutant Murali Vijay and Sehwag gave a good start with 98-run partnership for the first wicket. Vijay never looked nervous, may be he just hid it.

He got off the mark with a good drive to covers with a two. Hen then drove Lee through covers for a four. Sehwag was devastating playing through his legs, driving and hitting in the air.

Sehwag hit debutant Krejza for a four and six successively in his first over. Vijay also came down the track and hit him over long on for a boundary. This showed his confidence. Vijay scored 33 runs with 2 boundaries off 53 balls. A good bouncer at chest height clipped the shoulder of the bat and went to Haddin. Though he moved little on the leg side but moved rightly moved his hands to grab the catch.

The break through was given by Watson and subsenquent wickets were taken by Krejza. Dravid's poor form continued in this innings also. He was out for a duck in the 2nd ball he faced. The well flighted ball on the off stump, spun and bounced which clipped the glouse and went to short leg where Katich took an easy catch.

Soon, Sehwag was also departed. He was playing with full confidence, trying to play backfoot, but the ball took the inside edge and clipped the stumps. He scored 66 off 69 balls with 9 fours and a six. The score when he departed was 116 for 3.

Laxman and Tendulkar had huge responsibility on the shoulder. Both of them took India to 122 for 3 at lunch. Tendulkar played well driving, glancing, hitting over the fielders head. Laxman pulled Krejza for few boundaries off the short balls.

Laxman playing his 100th test wanted to make a mark on it. Though he was in danger once when he tried to play through mid wicket and the ball took the edge and flew in the air over the fielders head. Other than that, he looked solid and scored another 50 of the series--the third concequtive time he crossed in 3 innings.

Sachin and Laxman added 146 runs for the 4th wicket. Laxman moved towards leg stump to give room for himself and tried to drive it through covers. The bounce and turn surprised him, took the outside edge. Haddin fumbled it but the ball rested between his thighs. Laxman scored 64 off 141 balls with 5 hits to the boundaries.

Soon, Sachin scored his 40th Test hundred, the leading centurian in both Test and ODI. When he was on 85, he tried to hit Krejza over long off for a six, but he miss timed it and hte ball went straight to Johnson. He tried to catch the ball at his head level in the typical Australian way with pams facing the sky. The luck favored Sachin and the ball went through his hands. Australians generally don't miss these kinds of catches.

Once again on 96, Sachin tried to hit over long off but the ball went high in the air over Lee's head. Lee was running chasing the ball going ahead of him in the air. He judged it almost 90%, but the 10% went once again in favor of Tendulkar.

He stayed in 99 for almost 10 balls. Ponting even delayed his hundred by talking with the bowler. But, the next ball was a short ball on the off stump which was cut through the point boundary for a four. What a way to get to the hundred! He did it in 166 balls with 12 fours.

The 2nd new ball provided the great break through in the form of LBW. Saching playing within the crease, trying to play it through mid wicket, shuffling, trapped on the front leg at knee level. Johnson's appeal was accepted by the Billy. Sachin was out for 109 off 188 balls with 12 fours.

Ganguly and Dhoni remained not out on 27 and 4 respectively. Krejza picked 3 wickets, but was costly. He finished day 1 with 3 for 138 in his 28 overs with the economy rate of 4.92.

Scoreboard at the end of Day 1:

Toss: India

India 1st Innings 311 for 5 in 87 overs (Sehwag 66, Vijay 33, Dravid 0, Tendulkar 109, Laxman 64, Ganguly 27 batting, Dhoni 4 batting, Extras--8 (b 4, lb 2, w 1, nb 1), Lee 12-1-46-0, Johnson 21-8-54-1, Watson 13-2-35-1, Krezja 28-1-138-3, White 10-1-24-0, Katich 3-0-8-0)