3rd Test: Ind v. Aus: Day 3: Sehwag keeps India still on Top on Flat Pitch!

Virendra Sehwag kept India's hope alive by taking 3 crucial wicktes out of the 4 wickets that fell on Day 3. The first hour of play was well played by Hayden and Katich. They did not lose their cool and ensured that they stay in the crease.

Hayden, the usual aggressive batsman compared to Katich was slow today mostly due to his poor runs in the first two tests. Katich reached his 50 in 91 balls with 8 boundaries. The first wicket added 123 runs before Katich was bowled by Mishra. The much awaited break through for Indians came in the 20th over of the day.

Ponting and Hayden played good shots of the pads, swept few deliveries and hit few on the point region. Hayden scored his maiden fifty of this series in his 96th delivery with 9 fours and a six off Mishra.

Sehwag trouble Hayden a little bit. The edge dit not carry to Dravid at slip and was beaten couple of times. When the score was on 202, Sehwag changed the angle and brought one quicker and straight to the stumps. Hayden was caught on the crease hitting just above the knee roll and trapped leb before. He scored 83.

Ponting reached fifty and looked comfortable to score another 100 in this tour. He hit two fours off Zaheer Khan and that should have added more confidence to him. In the next over, Sehwag flighted the delivery on the off stump which invited Ponting to come out and drive. Ponting missed the ball and the ball turned and knocked the middle stump. Ponting scored 87 with 14 fours.

Kumble injured his right little finger while trying to catch in short mid-wicket. He was sent to hospital for treating his bleeding finger.

Dhoni took the new ball, but brought in Sehwag quickly realizing that he is turning the ball well. He bowled Hussey through a typical off-spinner delivery that pitched on the middle stump and turned to strike the off stump. Hussey scored 53.

Michael Clarke survivied the last ball of the day through a lucky inside edge. Otherwise, one more time in the series, he would have been out in the last over.

The session before lunch is crucial for India, if they wanted to win. They have to pick at least 4 more wickets before lunch and complete the Australian Innings at least one hour before Tea.

Assuming India has 150 runs lead and can score at 4 runs per over in the 40 overs, they can end the day with 310 run lead. Score another 50 runs in the morning 8 overs and have Australia bat at least 80 overs which would be difficult on the last day.

Scoreboard at the end of Day 3:

India 1st Innings 613 for 7 declared in 161 overs (Sehwag 1, Gambhir 206, Dravid 11, Tendulkar 68, Laxman 200 not out, Ganguly 5, Dhoni 27, Kumble 45, Zaheer Khan 28 not out, Extras--22 (b 6, lb 8, w 2, nb 6), Lee 30-2-119-1, S Clark 33-9-69-0, Johnson 32-4-142-3, Watson 20-4-66-2, White 15-1-73-0, M Clarke 14-0-59-0, Katich 15-3-60-1, Ponting 2-0-11-0)

Fall of Wickets: 1-5 (Sehwag, 2.1 ov), 2-27 (Dravid, 10.4 ov), 3-157 (Tendulkar, 51.5 ov), 4-435 (Gambhir, 123.6 ov), 5-444 (Ganguly, 126.2 ov), 6-481 (Dhoni, 133.4 ov), 7-579 (Kumble, 155.4 ov)

Australia 1st Innings 338 for 4 in 105 overs (Hayden 83, Katich 64, Ponting 87, Hussey 53, Michael Clarke 21 batting, Watson 4 batting, Extras--26 (b 16, lb 3, w 1, nb 6), Zaheer Khan 16-4-57-0, I Sharma 19-5-46-0, Kumble 17-3-53-0, Mishra 30-7-95-1, Sehwag 22-4-66-3, Tendulkar 1-0-2-0)

Fall of Wickets: 1-123 (Katich, 34.1 ov), 2-202 (Hayden, 57.2 ov), 3-284 (Ponting, 85.4 ov), 4-326 (Hussey, 101.6 ov)

3rd Test: Ind v. Aus: Day 2: Two Double Hundreds Put India on Top!

India is almost sure not to lose the series! Gambhir and Laxman scored double hundred and put India on top with 613 on board. Kumble declared after Laxman scored his second double hundred against Austrlia. It was a composed innings by both Gambhir and Laxman.

When most of the Indians were debating about including Laxman in the third test, the timing of his double hundred has been good for him and also the country. In a dead wicket like this--with no spin and pace and bounce, the batsmen utilized the opportunity provided to them.

The Australian bowling attack could not do anything including the cheap tactic--the usual sledging. It only lead to couple of incidents involving Gambhir--with Katich and Watson.


Gambhir scored 206 and was bowled by Watson through an inner edge. He consumed 380 balls and hit 26 fours and a six. Laxman on the other hand was not out on 200 which came off 301 balls with 21 fours.

Ganguly and Dhoni threw their wicket trying to add quick runs to the scoreboard. Kumble added 45 to his score while Zaheer scored some quick runs. He added 28 in 21 balls with 5 fours.

Kumble declared with 613 on the board and forced Australia to bat 15 overs in the remaining day. Hayden and Katich played safely as they finished the day with 50 for no loss.

Scoreboard at the end of Day 2:

India 1st Innings 613 for 7 declared in 161 overs (Sehwag 1, Gambhir 206, Dravid 11, Tendulkar 68, Laxman 200 not out, Ganguly 5, Dhoni 27, Kumble 45, Zaheer Khan 28 not out, Extras--22 (b 6, lb 8, w 2, nb 6), Lee 30-2-119-1, S Clark 33-9-69-0, Johnson 32-4-142-3, Watson 20-4-66-2, White 15-1-73-0, M Clarke 14-0-59-0, Katich 15-3-60-1, Ponting 2-0-11-0)

Fall of Wickets: 1-5 (Sehwag, 2.1 ov), 2-27 (Dravid, 10.4 ov), 3-157 (Tendulkar, 51.5 ov), 4-435 (Gambhir, 123.6 ov), 5-444 (Ganguly, 126.2 ov), 6-481 (Dhoni, 133.4 ov), 7-579 (Kumble, 155.4 ov)

Australia 1st Innings 50 for no loss in 15 overs (Hayden 16 batting, Katich 29 batting, Extras--5)

2nd Test: NZ v. Bangladesh: Match Drawn. NZ Wins Series 1-0

The 2nd test was mostly affected by rain. The match started on fourth day with NZ team was looking for a win. They played positive cricket, but Bangladesh had to play slowly to ensure that they do not lose the rain affected game.

NZ declared their innings with 262 for 6 in 75 overs. Ryder top scored with 91. Bangladesh were struggling at 13 for 3 at the end of Day 4. Resuming the last day, they were pushed to 44 for 6, and NZ was looking for a win. But, Bangladesh lower order batsman played sensibly and saved the follow on. This helped Bangladesh to draw the second test and save second continuous loss in the series.

Man of the Match and Series was given to Vettori, the skipper of New Zealand. He was the right choice.

Scoreboard:

Bangladesh won the toss and decided to field first.

New Zealand 1st Innings 262 for 6 declared in 75 overs (AJ Redmond 2, JM How 8, JD Ryder 91, LRPL Taylor 19, BB McCullum 66, DR Flynn 35 not out, DL Vettori 22, GD Elliott 8 not out, Extras--11 (b 6, lb 3, nb 2), Mortaza 1 for 21, Alam 1 for 37, Razzak 1 for 72, Hossain 1 for 39, Al Hasan 1 for 57, Hossain Jr. 0 for 20, Ashraful 1 for 7)

Bangladesh 1st Innings 169 for 9 declared in 58.1 overs (Iqbal 24, Siddique 4, Ashraful 0, Saleh 0, Hossain Jr. 7, Rahim 7, Al Hasan 49, Mortaza 48, Razzak 16 not out, Hossain 4, Extras--10 (lb 2, w 6, nb 2), Mills 0 for 22, O'Brien 3 for 31, Patel 1 for 45, Vettori 5 for 66, Redmond 0 for 3)

New Zealand 2nd Innings (lead by 93 runs) 79 for 1 in 31 overs (How 8, Redmond 30 not out, Ryder 39 not out, Extras--2 (b 1, lb 1), Mortaza 1 for 14, Alam 0 for 12, Razzak 0 for 12, Al Hasan 0 for 2, Hossain 0 for 20, Siddique 0 for 2, Ashraful 0 for 4, Hossain Jr. 0 for 11, Iqbal 0 for 1)

1st Test: NZ v. Bangladesh: New Zealand wins first test!

New Zealand won the firs test though they were in an uncomfortable position in the first innings. Skipper Daniel Vettori lead from the front and turning the match in kiwis way. He scored 55 not out in the first innings and scored 76 crucial runs in the 2nd innings which helped NZ to win the test by 3 wickets.

Bangladesh had a good chance of winning the first test, but would say that they missed it. Though skipper Ashraful tried different bowling changes, it didn't work and they didn't put enough pressure on the batsman. With the lead of 74 runs in the first innings, the start once again was poor. From 71 for 5, Musharaf Rahim and Hasan added 56 for the 6th wicket. The top order batting did not add value to Bangladesh in both the innings.

I would say the match was in favor of Bangladesh when the Kiwis started chasing 317. The bowlers didn't apply much pressure and Vettori promoted himself up in the order to rescue NZ from 145 for 2. In a span of 11 runs, they lost 3 wickets to add pressure to themselves. Flynn added valuable 49 to give NZ the victory path without much trouble in the end.

Vettori was decalred man of the match.

Scoreboard:

Bangladesh won the toss and decided to bat first.

Bangladesh 1st Innings 245 all out in 122.1 overs (Tamim Iqbal 18, Junaid Siddique 0, Rajin Saleh 2, Mohammad Ashraful 2, Mehrab Hossain Jr. 83, Mushfiqur Rahim 79, Naeem Islam 14, Shakib Al Hasan 5, Mashrafe Mortaza 0, Abdur Razzak 11, Shahadat Hossain 0 not out, Extras--13 (b 12, lb 1), KD Mills 0 for 46, IE O'Brien 3 for 36, JDP Oram 0 for 14, JD Ryder 0 for 10, JS Patel 2 for 67, DL Vettori 5 for 59)


New Zealand 1st Innings 171 all out in 64.5 overs (AJ Redmond 19, JM How 16, JD Ryder 1, LRPL Taylor 12, BB McCullum 25, DR Flynn 19, JDP Oram 0, DL Vettori 55 not out, KD Mills 4, JS Patel 0, IE O'Brien 5, Extras--15 (b 8, lb 6, nb 1), Mashrafe Mortaza 0 for 13, Shahadat Hossain 0 for 35, Shakib Al Hasan 7 for 36, Abdur Razzak 1 for 51, Mehrab Hossain Jr. 0 for 8, Naeem Islam 1 for 11, Mohammad Ashraful 1 for 3)

Bangladesh 2nd Innings (lead by 74 runs) 242 all out in 107.3 overs (Tamim Iqbal 33, Junaid Siddique 6, Rajin Saleh 6, Mohammad Ashraful 0, Mehrab Hossain Jr. 6, Mushfiqur Rahim 32, Shakib Al Hasan 71, Naeem Islam 19, Mashrafe Mortaza 44, Abdur Razzak 18, Shahadat Hossain 0 not out, Extras--7 (b 4, lb 1, nb 2), KD Mills 1 for 55, IE O'Brien 2 for 28, DL Vettori 4 for 74, JS Patel 2 for 53, JDP Oram 0 for 19, AJ Redmond 1 for 8)

New Zealand 2nd Innings (317 to win) 317 for 7 in 137.5 overs (JM How 36, AJ Redmond 79, JD Ryder 38, DL Vettori 76, LRPL Taylor 9, BB McCullum 2, DR Flynn 49, JDP Oram 8 not out, KD Mills 1 not out, Extras--19 (b 13, lb 3, w 3), Mashrafe Mortaza 1 for 37, Shahadat Hossain 0 for 46, Abdur Razzak 3 for 93, Shakib Al Hasan 2 for 79, Mehrab Hossain Jr. 0 for 6, Naeem Islam 0 for 16, Mohammad Ashraful 0 for 24)

3rd Test: Ind v. Aus: Day 1: Gambhir's Ton put India on Top!

It was India's day except the first hour of play in which India lost the first two wickets with just 27 runs on the board.The Indian line up this time had to miss Harbhajan due to the toe injury and retain the leggie Amit Mishra. The long and vigorous debates on whether Kumble should be back or not with debutant Amit Mishra performing well in the 2nd Test went without much further deliberations as Kumble was back and Amit Mishra playing his second test. Australia made one change with Siddle sitting in the dressing room giving way for experienced Stuart Clark.

Kumble winning the toss and batting first, would have expected a good start. But, Sehwag was dismissed in the first ball of the third over by Lee. The ball strum plumb in front of the wicket and India were 5 for 1. Dravid looked like settling, but his poor short selection sent him back. It was surprising to see Dravid chasing the ball that was pitched well away from the off stump and swinging further away. The ball took the outside edge and went straight to first slip where Hayden took a good low catch to his right. Dravid out for 11 and India were 27 for 2.

The little master Tendulkar walked in played another life of his innings. With Johnson and Clark bowling, he waited patiently for sometime and then starting punishing the bad balls from Johnson.

Couple of bouncers would have struck Tendulkar if it were old age where no helmets were available. He drove through covers or drove straight back when Lee was firing with his full pace. Sachin reached his 51st fifty in Test Cricket off 79 balls with 8 fours.

He added 130 runs for the third wicket along with Gambhir. He was caught by Haddin of Johnson for 68 with 11 fours.

The series is turning out to be very good for Gambhir in his career. The agressive batsman scored another scintilating century (back-to-back). His storke play for amazing and good to watch. He is in great form--probably, the form of his life.

After Tendulkar's departure, Gambhir and Laxman played sensibly not taking any risks. Laxman has to score in this match and clear that he was under tremendous pressure. He did not perform the in the last two matches and he was expected to score runs in this crucial time when India had a moderate score of 157 for 3.

Gambhir reached his 100 in style. He was on 91 and hit two fours in the over of Johnson. With one run required to reach his second 100 of this series, he came down and hit Watson for a good six over long on. A six to reach his 3rd Test Hundred of his carrer, 2nd against Australia. He scored 100 in 190 balls with 15 fours and a six.

At the end of the day, India is in strong position at 296 for 3 in 89 overs with Gambhir batting on 149 and Laxman batting with 54. If India can post another 200 runs and put pressure on Austrlia, India has a good chance of winning the series.

We see all kinds of changes in the Australian cricket. They have used 7 bowlers including Katich. Main spinner White bowled just 4 overs in the day. Stuar Clark was the most economical bowler with 1.38 runs per over.

Scoreboard at the end of Day 1:

India 296 for 3 in 89 overs (Sehwag 1, Gambhir 149 batting, Dravid 11, Tendulkar 68, Laxman 54 batting, Extras--13 (b 4, lb 5, nb 4), Lee 19-1-70-1, S Clark 21-8-29-0, Johnson 17-1-69-2, Watson 13-4-41-0, White 4-0-27-0, M Clarke 9-0-34-0, Katich 6-1-17-0)

India v. Australia: 2nd Test: Score Board

Test: 2nd Test
Venue: Punjab Cricket Associatin Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh
Dates: October 17-21, 2008
Teams: India and Australia
Hosts: India
Captains: MS Dhoni and Ricky Ponting
Toss: India
Match Result: India won by 320 runs
Series Result: India lead 0-0
Man of the Match: Zaheer Khan (India)

Scoreboard:

India 1st Innings 469 allout in 129 overs (Gamhhir 67, Sehwag 35, Dravid 39, Tendulkar 88, Laxman 12, Ganguly 102, Ishanth Sharma 9, Dhoni 92, Harbhajan Singh 1, Zaheer Khan 2, Mishra 0 not out, Extras--22 (b 4, lb 2, w 5, nb 3), Lee 24-5-86-1, Siddle 28-5-114-3, Johnson 27-4-85-3, Watson 24-3-71-0, Clarke 7-0-28-0, White 19-0-71-2)

Fall of Wickets : 1-70 (Sehwag, 14.2 ov), 2-146 (Dravid, 40.5 ov), 3-146 (Gambhir, 41.1 ov), 4-163 (Laxman, 45.1 ov), 5-305 (Tendulkar, 81.5 ov), 6-326 (Sharma, 89.6 ov), 7-435 (Ganguly, 119.1 ov), 8-442 (Harbhajan Singh, 123.1 ov), 9-469 (Khan, 127.6 ov), 10-469 (Dhoni, 128.6 ov)

Australia 1st Innings 268 all out in 101.4 overs (Hayden 0, Katich 33, Ponting 5, Hussey 54, Michael Clarke 23, Watson 78, Haddin 9, White 5, Lee 35, Johnson 9 not out, Siddle 0, Extras--17 (lb 13, nb 4), Zaheer Khan 25-7-56-1, Ishanth Sharma 21-4-68-2, Harbhajan Singh 29-9-60-2, Amit Mishra 26.4-8-71-5)

Fall of Wickets: 1-0 (Hayden, 0.3 ov), 2-17 (Ponting, 7.5 ov), 3-62 (Katich, 21.6 ov), 4-102 (Clarke, 40.5 ov), 5-130 (Hussey, 47.5 ov), 6-146 (Haddin, 55.3 ov), 7-167 (White, 62.2 ov), 8-240 (Lee, 90.1 ov), 9-262 (Watson, 99.2 ov), 10-268 (Siddle, 101.4 ov)

India 2nd Innings (lead by 201 runs) 314 for 3 declared in 65 overs (Gambhir 104, Sehwag 90, Dhoni 68 not out, Ganguly 27, Tendulkar 10 not out, Extras--15 (b 3, lb 4, w 5, nb 3), Lee 14-0-61-1, Siddle 15-1-62-1, Johnson 14-0-72-0, White 8-0-48-0, Watson 5-0-20-0, Hussey 8-0-38-0, MJ Clarke 1-0-6-0)

Fall of wickets: 1-182 (Sehwag, 39.1 ov), 2-224 (Gambhir, 47.5 ov), 3-290 (Ganguly, 61.6 ov)

Australia 2nd Innings (516 to win) 195 all out in 64.4 overs (Hayden 29, Katich 20, Ponting 2, Hussey 1, MJ Clarke 69, Watson 2, Haddin 37, White 1, Lee 0, Johnson 26, Siddle 0 not out, Extras-8 (b 4, lb 4), Zaheer 15-3-71-3, I Sharma 13-4-42-2, Harbhajan 20-3-36-3, A Mishra 11.4-2-35-2, Sehwag 5-2-7-0)

Fall of Wickets: 1-49 (Hayden, 7.2 ov), 2-50 (Katich, 7.6 ov), 3-52 (Hussey, 9.5 ov), 4-52 (Ponting, 10.2 ov), 5-58 (Watson, 16.3 ov), 6-142 (Haddin, 46.6 ov), 7-144 (White, 48.2 ov), 8-144 (Lee, 48.3 ov), 9-194 (Johnson, 62.6 ov), 10-195 (Clarke, 64.4 ov)

2nd Test: Ind v. Aus: Day 5: India Win by Huge Record Margin, 1-0 Up!

India beat Australia by 320 runs--a new record for India on day 5 of the 2nd Test played at Mohali. The victory was already in sight at the end of day 4, but the runs margin and the time of victory was not certain, like any future happenings. The match was completed in the 19th over of the morning--well before lunch.

Resuming the last day from 141 for 5, Australia needed a big effort to save the test. The victory to them was no even in the sight with 375 runs required with the last recognized pair in the crease.

In the first over, Zaheer bagged his first wicket of the second test. He bowled Haddin and he had no clue on what happend. The reverse swing did the trick. In his next over, he had White caught behind for 1. India just needed 3 more wickets and Lee came in. The beauty from Zaheer pitched on middle and swung away completed deceived Lee and struck his off stump, giving him a hat-trick chance.

Johnson negotiated the hat-trick and he added 50-run partnership which also helped Clarke to reach his 50, his first in the series.

The last two wickets were picked by Mishra to give a match figure of 7-106.

MS Dhoni was given the man of the match for his consistent 92 and 68 not out in the 2nd innings and his leadership skills.

India now, 1-0 up in the series, has to play the next text positively with more pressure on the Aussies as they have not lost like this.

During the presentation, Dhoni said: We got the perfect start after winning the toss and we were up to the mark in all departments. It was a very good track to bat on. I think Mishra bowled really well after a perfect start from the fast bowlers. It was a perfect Test match for us ... A lot depended on how quickly we could get the reverse swing going for nothing much was happening with the new ball. We were able to reverse swing the ball from the 12th or teh 13th over and after that it became hard for the batsman."

Ponting said, "Right from the first morning India were nice and aggressive. they took the momentum away from us early in the game. They thoroughly deserve their victory and congratulations to them ... We'll probably have a couple of days off after this, back to back matches are always hard. We'll fine-tune our skills before the next Test ... They're a very good bowling attack, their two seamers were terrific and they used the reverse swing well."

Sachin Tendulkar was given a momento for achieving the world record of highest run scorer and also for reaching the 12,000 run mark in test cricket.

Ganguly was also given momento for reaching 7000 test runs.




Score at the end of day 5:

India 1st Innings 469 allout in 129 overs (Gamhhir 67, Sehwag 35, Dravid 39, Tendulkar 88, Laxman 12, Ganguly 102, Ishanth Sharma 9, Dhoni 92, Harbhajan Singh 1, Zaheer Khan 2, Mishra 0 not out, Extras--22 (b 4, lb 2, w 5, nb 3), Lee 24-5-86-1, Siddle 28-5-114-3, Johnson 27-4-85-3, Watson 24-3-71-0, Clarke 7-0-28-0, White 19-0-71-2)

Fall of Wickets : 1-70 (Sehwag, 14.2 ov), 2-146 (Dravid, 40.5 ov), 3-146 (Gambhir, 41.1 ov), 4-163 (Laxman, 45.1 ov), 5-305 (Tendulkar, 81.5 ov), 6-326 (Sharma, 89.6 ov), 7-435 (Ganguly, 119.1 ov), 8-442 (Harbhajan Singh, 123.1 ov), 9-469 (Khan, 127.6 ov), 10-469 (Dhoni, 128.6 ov)

Australia 1st Innings 268 all out in 101.4 overs (Hayden 0, Katich 33, Ponting 5, Hussey 54, Michael Clarke 23, Watson 78, Haddin 9, White 5, Lee 35, Johnson 9 not out, Siddle 0, Extras--17 (lb 13, nb 4), Zaheer Khan 25-7-56-1, Ishanth Sharma 21-4-68-2, Harbhajan Singh 29-9-60-2, Amit Mishra 26.4-8-71-5)

Fall of Wickets: 1-0 (Hayden, 0.3 ov), 2-17 (Ponting, 7.5 ov), 3-62 (Katich, 21.6 ov), 4-102 (Clarke, 40.5 ov), 5-130 (Hussey, 47.5 ov), 6-146 (Haddin, 55.3 ov), 7-167 (White, 62.2 ov), 8-240 (Lee, 90.1 ov), 9-262 (Watson, 99.2 ov), 10-268 (Siddle, 101.4 ov)

India 2nd Innings (lead by 201 runs) 314 for 3 declared in 65 overs (Gambhir 104, Sehwag 90, Dhoni 68 not out, Ganguly 27, Tendulkar 10 not out, Extras--15 (b 3, lb 4, w 5, nb 3), Lee 14-0-61-1, Siddle 15-1-62-1, Johnson 14-0-72-0, White 8-0-48-0, Watson 5-0-20-0, Hussey 8-0-38-0, MJ Clarke 1-0-6-0)

Fall of wickets: 1-182 (Sehwag, 39.1 ov), 2-224 (Gambhir, 47.5 ov), 3-290 (Ganguly, 61.6 ov)

Australia 2nd Innings (516 to win) 195 all out in 64.4 overs (Hayden 29, Katich 20, Ponting 2, Hussey 1, MJ Clarke 69, Watson 2, Haddin 37, White 1, Lee 0, Johnson 26, Siddle 0 not out, Extras-8 (b 4, lb 4), Zaheer 15-3-71-3, I Sharma 13-4-42-2, Harbhajan 20-3-36-3, A Mishra 11.4-2-35-2, Sehwag 5-2-7-0)

2nd Test: Ind v. Aus: Day 4: Gambhir Scores Hundred! India on the way to Victory!

At the end of day 4, Dhoni and team could see the light at the end of the tunnel. Yes, India is sensing huge victory against the Australians. Resuming the day with 100 for no loss in addition to the lead of 201 runs, India were sensing victory in the 2nd Test.

The questions in everybody's mind was, "when will Dhoni declare?" "what is the optimum score to set as target for Australia?"

Sehwag and Gambhir dominated the Australian bowling attack. Indians were scoring more than 4 runs an over, which is normally the Aussie way. Sehwag missed the hundred by 10 runs, his usual style of batting. He is not worried about whether he is on 0 or 40 or 90. He plays his short.

Gambhir scored his 2nd century and it came at a very good time, giving India the huge lead. Sehwag was caught behind off Siddle and the first wicket partnership was 182 runs in just 235 balls. Gambhir reached his 100 with 7 fours and a six. His mistimed shot was a wicket to White.

Dhoni and Gambhir added 42 for the 2nd wicket in 52 balls. Ganguly, who came early of Tendulkar scored 27 off 37 balls with 2 fours was caught by Michael Clarke off Lee.

Dhoni reached his second consecutive 50 of this match and was not out on 68 off 84 balls with 3 fours and a six. Tendulkar was not out on 10 with a four.

India went past 300 and Dhoni declared the innings at 314 for 3 in 65 overs at a run rate of 4.83 per over.

The target set for Australia was 516 runs in 136 overs.

During the Australian bowling, a misunderstanding and an argument took place between Lee and skipper Ponting. Lee was not happy that he was not given the ball to bowl during the first session of play. Hussey, Watson, White were bowling but not him. When he had a chat with Ponting on the field, they were discussing and after a while, Lee walked away, inspite of Ponting wanted to talk.

Starting the 2nd innings with a huge target, Hayden and Katich played well. Hayden was positive, but very much agreessive. He scored few good boundaries of Zaheer and Ishanth. When they were about to build the partnership, Harbhajan provided the break-through. When the score was 49, Bhajji bowled round the wicket, pitched the ball on the middle stump, Hayden tried to sweep it and missed the ball. He was trapped in front of the wicket for 29.

In the same over, four balls later, Katich tried to cut the ball, which went in the air to point where Tendulkar misjudged it for a second, but realized it soon and took a diving catch. The ball was dipping than he anticipated which forced him to dive for the catch. This really put the Aussies on the back foot. With 50 for 2, Hussey, the inform batsman, tried to pull a short ball from Harbhajan's next over. The ball did not bounce as expected and hit him in the pad in front of the middle stump. The first three wickets were picked by Harbhajan and Aussies were struggling at 52 for 3.

Skipper Ponting and his deputy Clarke had to take the responsibility and play the innings of their lives.

Ishanth had his man and he sent a superp delivery to send Ponting back to pavilion. This is the 5th time he is getting his wicket in the last 3 test matches.

The ball pitched outside the line of off-stump, swung in, Ponting played forward with a gap between pad and bat. The ball came in quick and sharp, went through the gap to remove his off stump. He was bowled for 2 with score on 52.

Watson was trapped leg before for 2 for which he took 22 balls. He was struk in front of the wicket off Ishanth leaving Australia at 58 for 5.

Aussies were never in this position in the recent history of cricket. They used to have the opponent in such a situation, but the World Champions had no clue on what was happening to them.

Clarke and Haddin played the rest of the day though Haddin survived few edges. At the end of the day, Australia were 141 for 5 with Clarke on 42 and Haddin on 37. they added 83 runs for the 6th wicket.

If Indian can break this partnership on Day 5, as early as they can, the victory will be in sight that fast.

Score at the end of day 4:

India 1st Innings 469 allout in 129 overs (Gamhhir 67, Sehwag 35, Dravid 39, Tendulkar 88, Laxman 12, Ganguly 102, Ishanth Sharma 9, Dhoni 92, Harbhajan Singh 1, Zaheer Khan 2, Mishra 0 not out, Extras--22 (b 4, lb 2, w 5, nb 3), Lee 24-5-86-1, Siddle 28-5-114-3, Johnson 27-4-85-3, Watson 24-3-71-0, Clarke 7-0-28-0, White 19-0-71-2)

Fall of Wickets : 1-70 (Sehwag, 14.2 ov), 2-146 (Dravid, 40.5 ov), 3-146 (Gambhir, 41.1 ov), 4-163 (Laxman, 45.1 ov), 5-305 (Tendulkar, 81.5 ov), 6-326 (Sharma, 89.6 ov), 7-435 (Ganguly, 119.1 ov), 8-442 (Harbhajan Singh, 123.1 ov), 9-469 (Khan, 127.6 ov), 10-469 (Dhoni, 128.6 ov)

Australia 1st Innings 268 all out in 101.4 overs (Hayden 0, Katich 33, Ponting 5, Hussey 54, Michael Clarke 23, Watson 78, Haddin 9, White 5, Lee 35, Johnson 9 not out, Siddle 0, Extras--17 (lb 13, nb 4), Zaheer Khan 25-7-56-1, Ishanth Sharma 21-4-68-2, Harbhajan Singh 29-9-60-2, Amit Mishra 26.4-8-71-5)

Fall of Wickets: 1-0 (Hayden, 0.3 ov), 2-17 (Ponting, 7.5 ov), 3-62 (Katich, 21.6 ov), 4-102 (Clarke, 40.5 ov), 5-130 (Hussey, 47.5 ov), 6-146 (Haddin, 55.3 ov), 7-167 (White, 62.2 ov), 8-240 (Lee, 90.1 ov), 9-262 (Watson, 99.2 ov), 10-268 (Siddle, 101.4 ov)

India 2nd Innings (lead by 201 runs) 314 for 3 declared in 65 overs (Gambhir 104, Sehwag 90, Dhoni 68 not out, Ganguly 27, Tendulkar 10 not out, Extras--15 (b 3, lb 4, w 5, nb 3), Lee 14-0-61-1, Siddle 15-1-62-1, Johnson 14-0-72-0, White 8-0-48-0, Watson 5-0-20-0, Hussey 8-0-38-0, MJ Clarke 1-0-6-0)

Fall of wickets: 1-182 (Sehwag, 39.1 ov), 2-224 (Gambhir, 47.5 ov), 3-290 (Ganguly, 61.6 ov)

Australia 2nd Innings (516 to win) 141 for 5 in 46 overs (Hayden 29, Katich 20, Ponting 2, Hussey 1, MJ Clarke 42 batting, Watson 2, Haddin 37 batting, Extras-8 (b 4, lb 4), Zaheer 8-1-44-0, I Sharma 9-4-29-2, Harbhajan 15-2-23-3, A Mishra 9-1-34-0, Sehwag 5-2-7-0)

2nd Test: Ind v. Aus: Day 3: India on Top! Debutant Mishra Picks 5 Wickets!

India did not give follow on to Australians, probably the after a very long gap were in a situation to be forced follow on. Australia was dismissed for 268 runs, just 2 runs short of avoiding the follow on.

Resuming the day at 104 for 4, the Australians lost wickets at regular interverls. Hussey was caught behind by a beauty from Ishanth Sharma. Then it was left to Watson and Haddin. Watson stayed in the crease for long time than any Australian batsman and also lucky to get not out from Rudy for a plumb LBW from Ishanth.

Haddin was bowled by a beauty from Harbhajan Singh. He was beaten by flight and turn and lost his off stump. White also did not lost long. Brett Lee and Watson delayed the proceedings by building a partnership. For a short while, everyone thought that they may go beyond the follow on cut off 269. Let hit few good drives, especially from Ishanth Sharma and Zaheer.

Even the new ball did not deter Lee and Watson though Lee got hit on the back when ducking a bouncer from Ishanth. Lee greeted him with a kissing sign. Harbhajan broke the partnership to send Lee back to the pavilion. The new ball provided the bounce and drift. The ball took the outside and edge and flew to Dravid at slip.

Watson scored a beautiful and crucial 50 which took Australia close to the follow-on avoding total. He missed ball that pitched inline and hit his pads. It would definitely hit the leg stump. That was Mishra's fourth wicket.

With 8 runs more to avoid follow on, Johnson hit a six off Harbhajan to bring the target to 2 runs. Siddle, playing his first test, couldn't resist coming out of the wicket, but did not read the wrong-one. He was beaten by flight and Dhoni removed the stumps in a flash to give the debutant Amit Mishra the five wicket haul.

Though Australia were 201 runs short, Dhoni did not force follow on. The right decision by Dhoni because the bowlers would have been tired; or if Australia scored 350+, then in the fourth innings, India had to chase that which would be difficult. So, it is an apt decision to bat and add 200 or 300 to the existing lead of 201 runs. Score 100 runs in each session and leave the last four sessions to Australia with a target of around 450.

India ended the day with 100 for no loss in 23 overs. Sehwag reached his fifty and kept the run rate about 4, which was good. The next two session on day 4 is crucial for India in terms of scoring runs at a higher run rate. They can bat for another 55 overs in which if the score 3.5 runs per over, it would around 200 runs. Adding to the exisiting 100 and lead of 201, the target would be around 500 for Australians. This would give India four full sessions of 120 overs to bowl them out. Let us see what happens.

Scoreboard at the end of Day 3:

India 1st Innings 469 allout in 129 overs (Gamhhir 67, Sehwag 35, Dravid 39, Tendulkar 88, Laxman 12, Ganguly 102, Ishanth Sharma 9, Dhoni 92, Harbhajan Singh 1, Zaheer Khan 2, Mishra 0 not out, Extras--22 (b 4, lb 2, w 5, nb 3), Lee 24-5-86-1, Siddle 28-5-114-3, Johnson 27-4-85-3, Watson 24-3-71-0, Clarke 7-0-28-0, White 19-0-71-2)

Fall of Wickets : 1-70 (Sehwag, 14.2 ov), 2-146 (Dravid, 40.5 ov), 3-146 (Gambhir, 41.1 ov), 4-163 (Laxman, 45.1 ov), 5-305 (Tendulkar, 81.5 ov), 6-326 (Sharma, 89.6 ov), 7-435 (Ganguly, 119.1 ov), 8-442 (Harbhajan Singh, 123.1 ov), 9-469 (Khan, 127.6 ov), 10-469 (Dhoni, 128.6 ov)

Australia 1st Innings 268 all out in 101.4 overs (Hayden 0, Katich 33, Ponting 5, Hussey 54, Michael Clarke 23, Watson 78, Haddin 9, White 5, Lee 35, Johnson 9 not out, Siddle 0, Extras--17 (lb 13, nb 4), Zaheer Khan 25-7-56-1, Ishanth Sharma 21-4-68-2, Harbhajan Singh 29-9-60-2, Amit Mishra 26.4-8-71-5)

Fall of Wickets: 1-0 (Hayden, 0.3 ov), 2-17 (Ponting, 7.5 ov), 3-62 (Katich, 21.6 ov), 4-102 (Clarke, 40.5 ov), 5-130 (Hussey, 47.5 ov), 6-146 (Haddin, 55.3 ov), 7-167 (White, 62.2 ov), 8-240 (Lee, 90.1 ov), 9-262 (Watson, 99.2 ov), 10-268 (Siddle, 101.4 ov)

India 2nd Innings (lead by 201 runs) 100 for no loss in 23 overs (Gambhir 46 batting, Sehwag 53 batting, Extras--1( nb 1), Lee 6-0-22-0, Siddle 8-1-30-0, Johnson 7-0-43-0, White 2-0-5-0)

2nd Test: Ind v. Aus: Day 2: Ganguly scores century! Australia Struggling at 104 for 4

Resuming the day 2 from 311 for 5, Ganguly scored his 16th test hundred with a boundary of White. Ishanth was dismissed in the morning for 9. Dhoni and Ganguly played a responsibile innings and helped India put a good total on the board. They added 109 runs for the 7th wicket.

Ganguly scored his 2nd century against Australia and finally got out to White. He came down the track and the ball was pitched away from off stump which he tried to slog it over long off, but ended up hitting it high in the air and was caught at mid-off. He scored 102 off 225 balls with 5 boundaries. He should be a happy man that he is in good form, but will be saddening too because this is his last international series.

Dhoni missed his century by 8 runs and he should blame himself for that. Harbhajan was bowled by a wrong one. Dhoni took unnecessary single forcing Zaheer to run a risky single. Zaheer batted well in the Bangalore test. Dhoni should have trusted him, but he didn't. He played the ball to mid on and started for a single. The bowler White was standing on the way forcing Zaheer to go around him. Going around the bowler to reach the crease on time in a quick single is suicidal and Zaheer was not an exception.

In the next over though easy singles could have been taken on many occassions, Dhoni didn't do it. Last ball of the over, the ball hit his boot on full and was given LBW.

Dhoni scored 92 off 124 balls with 8 fours 4 huge sixes--two sixes each of Siddle and White. Amit Mishra did not get a chance to bat in his debut test. Siddle picked 3 wickets in his debut match. Johnson also picked 3 wickets.

Starting the innings before tea, Zaheer struck in the first over third ball one more time. He picked Hayden in the 3rd ball of the first over of the match at Bangalore. This time, he brought the ball in which clipped the pad, bat and hit the middle stump.

Ishanth Sharma had his man--Ricky Ponting plumb in front of the wicket. The ball nipped back, pushing him backward and hit him on the pads. Katich and Hussey played well, took the score from 17 for 2 to 62.

Amit Mishra picked his first international test wicket by bowling Katch. The ball hit the bat, crease and went back to stumps. He scored 33. Michael Clarke joined Hussey and played some good shots. Dhoni dropped a little diffuclt chance to Hussey of Harbhajan.

Once again, Michael Clarke got out in the last over. Changing the angle to round the wicket, Mishra bowled straight on the stumps which hit him on the pads and the bat was not behind the pads. Mishra picked his 2nd wicket.

Australia ended the day at 104 for 4 trailing India's score of 469.

India 1st Innings 469 allout in 129 overs (Gamhhir 67, Sehwag 35, Dravid 39, Tendulkar 88, Laxman 12, Ganguly 102, Ishanth Sharma 9, Dhoni 92, Harbhajan Singh 1, Zaheer Khan 2, Mishra 0 not out, Extras--22 (b 4, lb 2, w 5, nb 3), Lee 24-5-86-1, Siddle 28-5-114-3, Johnson 27-4-85-3, Watson 24-3-71-0, Clarke 7-0-28-0, White 19-0-71-2)

Fall of Wickets : 1-70 (Sehwag, 14.2 ov), 2-146 (Dravid, 40.5 ov), 3-146 (Gambhir, 41.1 ov), 4-163 (Laxman, 45.1 ov), 5-305 (Tendulkar, 81.5 ov), 6-326 (Sharma, 89.6 ov), 7-435 (Ganguly, 119.1 ov), 8-442 (Harbhajan Singh, 123.1 ov), 9-469 (Khan, 127.6 ov), 10-469 (Dhoni, 128.6 ov)

Australia 1st Innings 104 for 4 in 40.5 overs (Hayden 0, Katich 33, Ponting 5, Hussey 37 batting, Michael Clarke 23, Extras--4 (lb 1, nb 3), Zaheer Khan 13-4-24-1, Ishanth Sharma 9-3-28-1, Harbhajan Singh 10-2-28-0, Amit Mishra 8.5-1-21-2)

Fall of Wickets: 1-0 (Hayden, 0.3 ov), 2-17 (Ponting, 7.5 ov), 3-62 (Katich, 21.6 ov), 4-102 (Clarke, 40.5 ov)

Appreciation for Sachin for becoming Highest Run Scorer!

Top politicians and eminent cricketers have showered their praise on Sachin for becoming the highest run scorer in Test Cricket History. He is also the leading run scorer in ODI.

Manmohan Singh - Prime Minister, India

Sachin is trully worthy of the mantle of the greatest run scorer in Tests. I have been following his cricket and there is no doubt that he is a genius.

Dilip Vengsarkar - Former Indian Captain and Chairman of Selection Committee

He is a genius. He is in great form. I feel he should be playing for at least a year or two.

Chetan Chauhan - Former Indian Opening Batsman

He is a great player, a genius, a jewel of India. We all just adore the man.

Gundappa Viswanath - Former Indian Captain

He always kept a very cool mind throughout, whether he is playing or even otherwise. That shows the greatness of Tendulkar.

Javid Miandad - Formder Pakistan Captain and Coach

Records are meant to be broken but this one is special because it shows the enduring qualities of Sachin's batting.

Zaheer Abbas - Former Pakistan Batsman

Tendulkar is a superb player of any bowling and under any conditions. The way he has kept on scoring runs all these years proves his staying power and world class quality.

Sharad Pawar - Former BCCI President

It is a moment of great joy and pride for India that Sachin Tendulkar now becomes the highest run-getter in Test cricket.

Krish Srikkanth - Former Indian Captain and Current Chairman of Selection Committee

I saw him score his first run and now I consider myself fortunate that he has surpassed Brain Lara's records when I am the chairman of the selection committee. Since I was his first captain, I always knew that he had a great future. For me he is still the same batsman I saw in 1989. India needs him for some more time because the team is going through a bad phase.

Ian Chappell - Former Australian Captain

He has brought this domination of all bowlers - pace and spin - to Indian cricket and they can take great pride in the way he has played.

Sachin's Test Match Records: Test Runs - Home v. Away - Test Cricket

Location	T / I	Runs	Highest	100s	50s	0s
Home	65 / 106	5206	217	16	22	4
Away	87 / 141	6821	248*	23	28	10

Sachin's Test Match Records: Test Runs - Country Wise - Test Cricket

Country	T / I	Runs	Highest	100s	50s	0s
Aus	27 / 50	2502	241*	9	10	4
Bang	5 / 6	556	248*	3	0	0
Eng	22 / 35	1994	193	6	10	0
NZ	16 / 27	1062	217	3	5	1
Pak	18 / 27	1057	194*	2	7	2
SA	20 / 36	1202	169	3	5	3
SL	19 / 27	1408	148	7	3	0
WI	16 / 25	1328	179	3	7	3
Zim	9 / 14	918	201	3	3	1
Total	152 / 247	12027	248*	39	50	14

Sachin's Test Match Records: 1000 Runs - Test Wise

Test No.	Runs	# of Tests
19th Test	1000 Runs	19 Tests
32nd Test	2000 Runs	13 Tests
45th Test	3000 Runs	13 Tests
58th Test	4000 Runs	14 Tests
67th Test	5000 Runs	9 Tests
76th Test	6000 Runs	9 Tests
85th Test	7000 Runs	9 Tests
96th Test	8000 Runs	11 Tests
111th Test	9000 Runs	15 Tests
122nd Test	10000 Runs	11 Tests
139th Test	11000 Runs	17 Tests
152nd Test	12000 Runs	13 Tests

Sachin's Test Match Records: 1000 Runs - Year Wise - Test Cricket

Year	Runs
1992-93	1000 Runs
1993-94	2000 Runs
1996-97	3000 Runs
1997-98	4000 Runs
1998-98	5000 Runs
1999-00	6000 Runs
2001-02	7000 Runs
2001-02	8000 Runs
2003-04	9000 Runs
2004-05	10000 Runs
2007	11000 Runs
2008	12000 Runs

Sachin's Test Match Records: Shortest 1000 Test Runs!

It's been 19 wonderful years for Sachin! His career started with Pakistan and is still continuing. His shortest 1000 runs in a year came in 9 tests thrice.

4001 to 5000 - 59th test to 67th test
5001 to 6000 - 68th test to 76th test
6001 to 7000 - 77th test to 85th test

If you look at his first 1000 runs in test cricket, you would be amazed to realize that he took 19 test matches.

Ganguly scores his 16th Test Hundred!

Ganguly should be a relieved man towards the end of his career. He performed well in the Bangalore test and in the 2nd Test in Mohali, he scored his 16th test hundred and 2nd against Australia.

When he was in 96, flicked the ball from White towards square leg where it reached the boundary to bring his hundred. Though he played little slow, it was required for the Indian team to ensure that they do not lose the wickets. His innings was perfectly played. He consumed little 224 balls for his 102, a well played innings.

Congratulations DADA!

Records on Day 1, 2nd Test!

What a day for India!! Four records for Indians, three for Tendulkar and one for Ganguly!

Yes, Tendulkar became the highest run scorer in test cricket history taking over from West Indian batsman Lara. Though Sachin reached this milestone in 152nd test as against 131 by Lara, his long career and dedication to the game of cricket and nation took him to such great heights.

When he crossed his 50, that was his fiftieth test 50 in test cricket.

When he reached 62, he reached 12,000 run mark in test cricket. He is the leading run scorer in both test cricket and ODI. Good that T20 was not introduced 10-15 years ago.


Ganguly reached his 7000th run during his innings. It is not easy to reach 1000 runs in test cricket, but legends have reached it. Well done PRINCE OF KOLKATA!

2nd Test: Ind v. Aus: Day 1: Tendulkar Creates World Record, puts India ahead!

Winning the crucial toss on this batting wicket, Dhoni rightly decided to bat. The openers gave a good start with 70-run stand for the first wicket. The first day was a good day for Indian camp with a good total on the board, Ganguly batting well, Dhoni to come, creating the most important record by Tendulkar, Ganguly reaching 7000 runs in test cricket, Ishanth Sharma scoring his 100th test run.

India ended the day with 311 for 5 in 85 overs. The game was stretched for 30 more minutes and Sachin got out just before end of play. Sehwag and Gambhir started positively hitting few boundaries. Sehwag was caught behind of a ball pitched on the leg stump trying to glance it, took the edge and went to Haddin.

Dravind and Gambhir added 76 and both of them were looking strong and solid. They added 76 runs for the 2nd wicket. Dravid dragged the ball to the stumps off Lee. The ball was close to off stump and he tried to push hit, took the edge and fell on stump.

Gambhir also fell immediately caught behind of Johnson. Trying to drive the ball pithced on the off, the ball took slight edge of the bat and went straight to keeper Haddin.

India were strugging at 146 for 2. Laxman joined Tendulkar and both of them were new at the crease. Tendulkar needed 15 runs to overtake Lara. Laxman did not last long and left India struggling at 163 for 4.

Tendulkar and Ganguly played sensibly and did not rush through the innings. First ball after tea, the moment of the life came for Sachin. He just steered the ball to third man of Siddle, picked three runs and overtook Lara. The fans became alive and the fireworks did not stop for sometime. The play was stopped for a while until the fire works were stopped.

Tendulkar crossed his 50th fifty and ensured that the scoreboard is moving. When he reached his 62nd run, he reached 12,000 runs test cricket. Ganguly reached his 7000 runs in test cricket.

They both added 142 runs for the 5th wicket before Tendulkar edged the new ball from Siddle and Hayden took a good low catch. Siddle picked his first test wicket. In the Bengaluru test, White picked Tendulkar as his first test wicket. Tendulkar scored 88 with 10 boundaries.

Ishanth Sharma and Ganguly negotiated the remaining overs to end the day at 311 for 5 in 85 overs.

Test: 2nd Test
Venue: Punjab Cricket Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh
Dates: October 17-21, 2008
Teams: India and Australia
Hosts: India
Captains: MS Dhoni and Ricky Ponting
Toss: India

Score at the end of Day 1:

India 311 for 5 in 85 overs (Gamhhir 67, Sehwag 35, Dravid 39, Tendulkar 88, Laxman 12, Ganguly 54 batting, Ishanth Sharma 2 batting, Extras--14 (b 4, lb 2, w 5, nb 3), Lee 18-5-56-1, Siddle 18-2-80-1, Johnson 20-3-68-3, Watson 14-3-47-0, Clarke 7-0-28-0, White 8-0-26-0)

Fall of Wickets: 1-70 (Sehwag, 14.2 ov), 2-146 (Dravid, 40.5 ov), 3-146 (Gambhir, 41.1 ov), 4-163 (Laxman, 45.1 ov), 5-305 (Tendulkar, 81.5 ov)

Tendulkar Created World Record! Beats Lara!

Tendulkar crossed the big milestone and added one more world record to his name. He made every Indian proud by surpassing Brain Lara's 11953 runs in Test Cricket History.

The fans of Sachin were rocking the stadium with continuous fireworks which even stopped the play for a while.

Earlier, Gavaskar was holding the record for highest run scorer which was taken over by Allan Border. He was surpassed by the West Indian legend Brain Lara.

Incidentally Brain Lara overtook Allan Border against Australia in 2005. Sachin overtook Lara against Australia in India in 2008.

He has achieved this milestone in the first ball after tea bowled by Siddle. It was 52nd over of the innings and he needed two runs. The ball was glided to third man and he picked three runs. When he completed the 2nd run, he pumped his fists in the air.

He got a rousing standing ovation from the crowd and also from the rival Australian camp. All the Australian players rushed to congratulate him and it was a good and happy scene to watch!

He starte the innings with 15 runs needed to cross this milestone and did in the 23rd ball he faced.

Congratulations Tendulkar! You made every Indian proud today! Keep going!

Indian Team for 2nd Test!

The Indian team for the 2nd test most likely will be without Anil Kumble. Due to injury, he is expected to sit out. Not fully fit, it will not help Indian in anyway. He should play only if he is 110% fit.

The most likely Indian team will be:

1. Gambhir
2. Sehwag
3. Dravid
4. Tendulkar
5. Laxman
6. Ganguly
7. Dhoni (Captain and Wicket-Keeper)
8. Harbhajan Singh
9. Zaheer Khan
10. Amit Mishra
11. Ishanth Sharma

With Mohali pitch expected to help spinner, if Jumbo does not play, it is better to play the debutant Mishra, the leg spinner. The part-time spinner and partnership breaker Sehwag and Tendulkar are available, if required. Also, Ganguly is available as a part-time medium pace bowler.

Let us wish both the teams the best!

Tendulkar 15 runs short! Plays for country than Record-Rajput!

Tendulkar is just 15 runs short of becoming the highest run scorer in test cricket history. He is lead by the West Indian batsman Brain Lara with 11953 runs. If he scores 62 runs, he will touch 12,000 run mark in Test Cricket.

Though his record is very nearer, Lalchand Rajput said that, "Sachin is not a player who plays for record. If he plays for record, he would not have told the umpires about the fading light during the last day of the first test. I am sure it is not in his mind as he wanted to conquer the Australians than his personal records. When the plan was worked out for the 2nd test, there were talks about his records, which he set aside. He is looking for winning the test and series. Though he has taken more tests than Lara, a record is a record. Each player is different and the conditions they play are different."

Well, he is playing his 152nd test tomorrow, and if India bats first, everyone will be looking for him to score those important 15 runs and then blast Australians.

Let us all wish him the best tomorrow!

Zaheer Sledges Oz! Ricky Responds!

Zaheer was declared man of the match for the first test match played in Bengaluru aka Bangalore. Zaheer picked 5 wickets in the first innings which helped India to restrict Australia for 430. He dismissed Hayden in the first over of the series for a duck and dismissed Michael Clarke in the last over of the first day.

He was involved in a crucial 80-run partnership with Harbhajan and then another 31-run partnership with skipper Kumble for the 9th wicket. Most important thing was he played out 121 balls which took 189 minutes. This irritated Oz and delayed the 2nd innings batting of Aussies. This also reduced the lead to 70 runs as against the expected lead of close to 200.

In his partnership with Harbhajan, they both played 22 overs and 12.3 overs with Kumble. He scored 57 not out with 7 fours.

During the 2nd innings, he provided the break through by sending Hayden back again.

He was declared man of the match though there were two centurions--Ponting and Hussey. During the interview, he said:

"... I have not seen any Australian team play such a defensive cricket. This is good for us."

Ricky reponded saying, "I do not know what he meant. We played aggressive cricket. We provided challenging total. We played positive cricket. You have to ask him what he meant."

When asked Zaheer, he said, "They score 4 runs per over as an average but in this gave they have scored at an average of 2.87. This tells that they have played defensive cricket. They couldn't get us (me and Harbhajan) out."

Well, he has opened up a controversy and we have to wait and see how Aussies are going to respond.

3rd ODI: NZ v. Bangladesh: NZ wins series!

Winning the toss and deciding to bat, NZ skipper Vettori was right in his decision. New Zealand won the series 2-1 by beating Bangladesh in the 3rd and final ODI by 79 runs. Taylor was declared man of the match for his century performance and Oram was declared man of the series for his consistent all round performance.

Tour: New Zealand on tour to Bangladesh
Match: 3rd ODI
Teams: Bangladesh and New Zealand
Date: October 14, 2008
Venue: Chittagong Divisional Stadium
Captains: Mohammad Ashraful and Daniel Vettori
Toss: New Zealand
Match: New Zealand won by 79 runs
Series: New Zealand win series 2-1
Player of the Match: LRPL Taylor of New Zealand
Player of the Series: Jacab Oram of New Zealand
Scoreboard:

New Zealand 249 for 7 in 50 overs (JD Ryder 3, McCullum 6, How 73, Taylor 103, Styris 12, Oram 3, Flynn 5, Vettori 19 not out, Mills 18 not out, Extras--7 (lb 4, w 3), Mortaza 10-2-50-2, Rasel 10-0-40-1, Razzak 10-0-52-1, Hasan 10-0-41-2, Naeem Islam 8-0-50-1, Hossain 2-0-12-0) beat Bangladesh 170 all for 8 in 50 overs (Tammim Iqbal 35, Junaid Siddique 1, Kayes 12, Ashraful 8, Hasan 1, Naeem Islam 46 not out, Rahim 15, Mortaza 9, Razzak 27, Hossain 12 not out, Extras--4 (w 4), Mills 8-1-24-2, Southee 10-0-40-1, Patel 10-3-29-2, Oram 8-2-16-2, Vettori 10-0-39-0, Ryder 3-0-16-1, Flynn 1-0-6-0)

2nd ODI: NZ v. Bangladesh: NZ take Revenge! Equals Series!

New Zealand take sweet revenge on Bangladesh to equal the series 1-1. Batting first and posting a moderate total of 212, fought back to remove Bangladesh for 137 with Mills picking 3 wickets. Bangladesh succumbed to 3 run outs and demolished themselves. They had very good chance of winning the series against one of the teams, but almost missed it. Jacob Oram scoring 75 runs and picking two wickets for New Zealand was rightly declared man of the match.

Tour: New Zealand on tour to Bangladesh
Match: 2nd ODI
Teams: Bangladesh and New Zealand
Date: October 11, 2008
Venue: Mirpur
Captains: Mohammad Ashraful and Daniel Vettori
Toss: Bangladesh
Match: New Zealand won by 75 runs
Series: 1-1
Player of the Match: Jacab Oram of New Zealand
Scoreboard:

New Zealand 212 for 9 in 50 overs (JD Ryder 30, McCullum 12, How 0, Taylor 33, Styris 0, Flynn 25, Oram 75 not out, Vettori 1, Mills 17, Southee 0, Patel 4 not out, Extras--15 (lb 12, w 2, nb 1), Mortaza 10-1-29-1, Rasel 10-4-23-3, Razzak 9-0-67-0, Hossain 7-0-41-0, Hasan 10-0-20-2, Naeem Islam 4-0-20-2) beat Bangladesh 137 all out in 42.4 overs (Tammim Iqbal 0, Junaid Siddique 32, Rahim 11, Ashraful 40, Hasan 10, Naeem Islam 0, Mahudullah 8, Mortaza 27, Razzak 3, Hossain 0, Rasel 0 not out, Extras--6 (lb 5, w 1), Mills 6.4-3-13-3, Southee 9-0-33-1, Oram 8-2-23-2, Styris 6-0-23-0, Patel 4-0-15-0, Vettori 9-0-25-1)

1st ODI: NZ v. Bangladesh: Bangladesh beat NZ!

New Zealand is touring Bangladesh that started with the ODI series. The first ODI was played in Mirpur. With the Bangladesh cricket board banning some of its players becuase they entered Indian Cricket League, added new players to the national squad.

In the short scored match, Bangladesh won by 7 wickets with 4.5 overs remaining. Losing the first 6 wickets for 79 runs, New Zealand never was back in the game except for a 70-run partnership for the 7th wicket between Oram and Vettori.

Mortaza picked the first two wickets and then the fourth wicket. Abdur Razzak picked 3 wickets.

Though Tamim Iqbal was dismissed early for 12, Siddique and Rahim added 67 for the 2nd wicket and ensured the team sail in the winning path. Siddique and skipper Ashraful put on 109 runs for the 3rd wicket and lead Bangladesh to victory. Siddique scored 85 and bagged the man of the match award, while Ashraful was unbeaten on 60.

Tour: New Zealand on tour to Bangladesh
Match: 1st ODI
Teams: Bangladesh and New Zealand
Date: October 9, 2008
Venue: Mirpur
Captains: Mohammad Ashraful and Daniel Vettori
Toss: Bangladesh
Match: Bangladesh won by 7 wickets with 27 balls remaining
Series: Bangladesh leading 1-0
Player of the Match: Junaid Siddique of Bangladesh
Scoreboard:

New Zealand 201 for 9 in 50 overs (JD Ryder 34, McCullum 14, How 7, Taylor 2, Styris 4, Flynn 6, Oram 57, Vettori 30, Mills 16, Southee 19 not out, Gillespie 2 not out, Extras--10 (lb 5, w 5), Mortaza 10-3-44-4, Rasel 2-0-18-0, Hossain 6-0-29-1, Hasan 10-0-30-1, Razzak 10-0-33-3, Naeem Islam 10-0-34-0, Mahmudullah 2-0-8-0) lost to Bangladesh 202 for 3 in 45.3 overs (Tammim Iqbal 12, Junaid Siddique 85, Rahim 30, Ashraful 60 not out, Hasan 5 not out, Extras--10 (lb 6, w 4), Mills 7-0-28-1, Gillespie 8.3-1-37-1, Southee 9-0-41-0, Oram 5-0-11-0, Vettori 9-0-48-0, Styris 6-0-22-1, Ryder 1-0-9-0)

Kumble is Doubtful! Staurt Clark is out!

The Indian skipper Anil Kumble is doubtful for the second test starting tomorrow. He was suffering from shoulder injury during the first test and was in dressing room. He was not able to bowl for almost 4 hours during the crucial 4th day.

In addition to that, he also got injured while bowling the first ball on 5th day. The straight catch given by Haddin to Kumble was missed, but his right thumb got injured.

Though Robin Singh said he will be ready for the 2nd Test starting on October 17 at Mohali, the situation does not look like that. He is still not fit and may not be playing. In his absence, Dhoni is expected to lead the side.

On the Australian side, Stuart Clark also got injured. His elbow injury will keep him out of the 2nd test and will give an opportunity Peter Siddle. If that happens, it will be debut in test cricket.

Dates announced for CT!

The Champions Trophy is likely to happen next year as the dates for the tournament was announced by the ICC. The CT is played every year as a mini world cup and this year it was cancelled citing security reasons.

Australia, New Zealand, England and South Africa threatened to pull out of the tournament if conducted in Pakistan. Few bomb blasts in the venue country created panic in the member countries and the major cricketing nations decided to withdraw from participating in the tournament.

ICC bowed to their demands and cancelled the tournament for this year though they had the option of changing the venue. They have decided to conduct the event next year in the same venue between September 24 and October 5, 2009.

This would impact the Champions League and the subsequent ODI Series between India and Australia to be played in India. BCCI has decided to postpone the dates of these events by two weeks each.

Gavaskar Border Trophy 2008

The Airtel sponsored Border Gavaskar Trophy match analysis, scoreboards, pictures are given here! Hope you enjoy them!

Match Reports:

1st Test, Day 1: Details
1st Test, Day 2: Details
1st Test, Day 3: Details
1st Test, Day 4: Details
Options before Australia and India
1st Test, Day 5: Details

2nd Test, Day 1: Details
2nd Test, Day 2: Details
2nd Test, Day 3: Details
2nd Test, Day 4: Details
2nd Test, Day 5: Details

3rd Test, Day 1: Details
3rd Test, Day 2: Details
3rd Test, Day 3: Details
3rd Test, Day 4: Details
3rd Test, Day 5: Details

4th Test, Day 1: Details
4th Test, Day 2: Details
4th Test, Day 3: Details
4th Test, Day 4: Details
4th Test, Day 5: Details

To see scoreboard, click here!

To see Pictures, click here!

India v. Australia: 1st Test Score Board

Test: 1st Test
Venue: Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
Dates: October 9-13, 2008
Teams: India and Australia
Hosts: India
Captains: Anil Kumble and Ricky Ponting
Toss: Australia
Match Result: Match Drawn
Series Result: 0-0
Man of the Match: Zaheer Khan (India)

Score at the end of Day 5:

Australia 1st Innings 430 all out in 149.5 overs (ML Hayden 0, SM Katich 66, RT Ponting 123, MEK Hussye 146, MJ Clarke 11, SR Watson 2, BJ Haddin 33, CL White 6, B Lee 27, MG Johnson 1, SR Clark 0 not out, Extras--15 (lb 11, w 1, nb 3), Z Khan 29.-4-91-5, I Sharma 30-7-77-4, Harbhajan Singh 41-8-103-1, A Kumble 43-6-129-0, V Sehwag 6-0-19-0)

Fall of Wickets: 1-0 (Hayden, 0.3 ov), 2-166 (Katich, 54.4 ov), 3-226 (Ponting, 78.4 ov), 4-254 (Clarke, 89.2 ov), 5-259 (Watson, 92.3 ov), 6-350 (Haddin, 122.6 ov), 7-362 (White, 126.5 ov), 8-421 (Lee, 147.5 ov), 9-429 (Johnson, 149.1 ov), 10-430 (Hussey, 149.5 ov)

India 1st Innings 360 all out in 119 overs (G Gambhir 21, V Sehwag 45, R Dravid 51, SR Tendulkar 13, VVS Laxman 0, SC Ganguly 47, MS Dhoni 9, Harbhajan Singh 54, Zaheer Khan 57 not out, A Kumble 5, I Sharma 6, Extras--52 (b 23, lb 23, nb 6), B Lee 26-6-64-1, S Clark 17-3-58-0, M Johnson 27-4-70-4, S Watson 19-4-45-3, White 13-2-39-0, M Clarke 17-3-38-2)

Fall of Wickets: 1-70 (Gambhir, 19.2 ov), 2-76 (Sehwag, 22.6 ov), 3-94 (Tendulkar, 28.4 ov), 4-106 (Laxman, 32.6 ov), 5-155 (Dravid, 49.5 ov), 6-195 (Dhoni, 65.4 ov), 7-232 (Ganguly, 77.3 ov), 8-312 (Harbhajan Singh, 99.3 ov), 9-343 (Kumble, 111.6 ov), 10-360 (Sharma, 118.6)

Australia 2nd Innings (70 runs lead) 193 for 5 in 68 overs (Hayden 13, Katich 34, Ponting 17, Mike Hussey 31, Micheal Clarke 6, Watson 41, Haddin 35 not out, White 18 not out, Extras--33 (b 13, lb 10, w 6, nb 4), Z Khan 17-4-46-1, I Sharma 14-3-40-3, Harbhajan Singh 27-5-76-2, V Sehwag 7-1-12-0, A Kumble 8-0-31-0)

Fall of Wickets: 1-21 (Hayden, 12.2 ov), 2-49 (Ponting, 22.2 ov), 3-99 (Katich, 44.3 ov), 4-115 (Clarke, 47.5 ov), 5-128 (Hussey, 50.5 ov), 6-203 (Watson, 69.2)

India 2nd Innings (target 299 runs in 83 overs) 177 for 4 in 73 overs (Gambhir 29, Sehwag 6, Dravid 5, Tendulkar 49, Laxman 42 not out, Ganguly 26 not out, Extras--20 (b 16, lb 3, nb 1), Lee 11-3-26-1, S Clark 11-6-12-1, Watson 5-2-8-0, Johnson 8-3-23-1, M Clarke 20-7-40-0, White 18-4-49-1)

1st Test: India v. Australia: Tendulkar and Laxman Help India Draw the Match!

On the climax day of the first test, Ponting took his share of 50% risk by declaring after playing 5 overs and scoring 35 runs. Resuming the day at 193 for 5, Kumble dropped the catch of the very first ball. He opened the attack and the first ball was a straight driven caught and bowl chance given by Haddin. He dropped it and and got injured in his right thumb. Watson hit a four in the same over and hit another four in the next over first ball bowled by Ishanth. Watson got out in the next delivery clean bowled by Ishanth Sharma for 41.

White and Haddin played the remainig 3.5 overs and scored 25 runs. Ponting declared giving himself a chance to bowl with 2nd new ball if required. India was set a target of 299 in 83 overs.

It was all dependent on how the start goes for India. To chase at the rate of 3.6, India needed a good start, especially from Sehwag.

Sehwag was dropped by Haddin in the 5th over bowled by Lee. It was a regulation outswinger taking the outside edge went between Haddin and Hayden at slip. It went off Haddin's gloves.


Sehwag should have utilized this chance, but he got out in the next over from Stuart Clark. The ball pitched close on the leg stump and swung to offstump. Sehwag tried to play towards midwicket but it took the outside edge and flew to Hayden and he took a good low catch.

Dravid did not last longer and fell to a trap set by Lee and Ponting. Lee bowled on the pads and Dravid flicked little away from Ponting's right. He took a superb catch to send Dravid back to pavilion for 5. India were 24 for 2 in the 9th over. India has to bat another 74 overs with 8 wickets in hand.

Sachin already with the pressure of surpassing Lara and also saving the match, occupied the crease. He played a sensible innings. He ensured that he stayed in the crease as long as he can.

He was inching towards his world record of becoming highest run getter. Gambhir and Sachin added 53 runs before Johnson's straight slower delivery knocked the stumps. It was a straight delivery which Gambhir missed to read and the ball went below the bottom of the bat. He scored 29 and India were 77 for 3.

Laxman joined Tendulkar and they added 61 runs for the 4th wicket. The important thing was they played out 25.4 overs among them. Tendulkar got out for 49 when the entire Bengaluru crowd was expecting him to go past Lara's record. He also missed to reach his 50th fifty in test cricket.

Tendulkar played a soft drive towards cover and gave a simple catch to Micheal Clarke. This was White's first test wicket and he was emotional about it. Tendulkar got out in the 53rd over 2nd ball leaving Laxman and Ganguly the responsibility to play the remaining 29.4 overs and they did it. Laxman was not out on 42 off 142 balls and Ganguly was not out on 26 off 68 balls.

Bad light stopped play couple of times and this definitly should have played in the mind of players, especially Aussies. Umpires asked the fielders to leave after checking the light meter on two occassions.

This should have played in the mind of Tendulkar as well as he was looking at lights and would have lost the concentration.

With 10 overs remaining, both the teams realized that it is not worth continuing as the match is sailing towards a draw. The players greeted each other and agreed for a draw, which in my opinion is against the philosophy--Try till the last ball is bowled! Anyway, giants of cricket have decided to call it a draw before the actual end of the match.

I would say, the star of the Indian 2nd Innings is Tendulkar for the way he played and tackled the good bowling attack especially in a pitch with lot of cracks and uneven bounce. His 49 came off 126 balls with 4 fours. Only once he played a dangerous shot which went above slip and Haddin's head. He played out 21 overs himself and Laxman played almost 24 overs for his 42. Gambhir (81 balls) and Ganguly (68) balls played almost 25 overs.

Man of the match was rightly given to Zaheer Khan for his 6 wickets in the match and for a match saving 57 not out in the first innings. I think he has opened a new controversy, rather I would say, he has sledged Aussies and provoked their ego to come out. He said,

Test: 1st Test
Venue: Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
Dates: October 9-13, 2008
Teams: India and Australia
Hosts: India
Captains: Anil Kumble and Ricky Ponting
Toss: Australia
Match Result: Match Drawn
Series Result: 0-0
Man of the Match: Zaheer Khan (India)

Score at the end of Day 5:

Australia 1st Innings 430 all out in 149.5 overs (ML Hayden 0, SM Katich 66, RT Ponting 123, MEK Hussye 146, MJ Clarke 11, SR Watson 2, BJ Haddin 33, CL White 6, B Lee 27, MG Johnson 1, SR Clark 0 not out, Extras--15 (lb 11, w 1, nb 3), Z Khan 29.-4-91-5, I Sharma 30-7-77-4, Harbhajan Singh 41-8-103-1, A Kumble 43-6-129-0, V Sehwag 6-0-19-0)

Fall of Wickets: 1-0 (Hayden, 0.3 ov), 2-166 (Katich, 54.4 ov), 3-226 (Ponting, 78.4 ov), 4-254 (Clarke, 89.2 ov), 5-259 (Watson, 92.3 ov), 6-350 (Haddin, 122.6 ov), 7-362 (White, 126.5 ov), 8-421 (Lee, 147.5 ov), 9-429 (Johnson, 149.1 ov), 10-430 (Hussey, 149.5 ov)

India 1st Innings 360 all out in 119 overs (G Gambhir 21, V Sehwag 45, R Dravid 51, SR Tendulkar 13, VVS Laxman 0, SC Ganguly 47, MS Dhoni 9, Harbhajan Singh 54, Zaheer Khan 57 not out, A Kumble 5, I Sharma 6, Extras--52 (b 23, lb 23, nb 6), B Lee 26-6-64-1, S Clark 17-3-58-0, M Johnson 27-4-70-4, S Watson 19-4-45-3, White 13-2-39-0, M Clarke 17-3-38-2)

Fall of Wickets: 1-70 (Gambhir, 19.2 ov), 2-76 (Sehwag, 22.6 ov), 3-94 (Tendulkar, 28.4 ov), 4-106 (Laxman, 32.6 ov), 5-155 (Dravid, 49.5 ov), 6-195 (Dhoni, 65.4 ov), 7-232 (Ganguly, 77.3 ov), 8-312 (Harbhajan Singh, 99.3 ov), 9-343 (Kumble, 111.6 ov), 10-360 (Sharma, 118.6)

Australia 2nd Innings (70 runs lead) 193 for 5 in 68 overs (Hayden 13, Katich 34, Ponting 17, Mike Hussey 31, Micheal Clarke 6, Watson 41, Haddin 35 not out, White 18 not out, Extras--33 (b 13, lb 10, w 6, nb 4), Z Khan 17-4-46-1, I Sharma 14-3-40-3, Harbhajan Singh 27-5-76-2, V Sehwag 7-1-12-0, A Kumble 8-0-31-0)

Fall of Wickets: 1-21 (Hayden, 12.2 ov), 2-49 (Ponting, 22.2 ov), 3-99 (Katich, 44.3 ov), 4-115 (Clarke, 47.5 ov), 5-128 (Hussey, 50.5 ov), 6-203 (Watson, 69.2)

India 2nd Innings (target 299 runs in 83 overs) 177 for 4 in 73 overs (Gambhir 29, Sehwag 6, Dravid 5, Tendulkar 49, Laxman 42 not out, Ganguly 26 not out, Extras--20 (b 16, lb 3, nb 1), Lee 11-3-26-1, S Clark 11-6-12-1, Watson 5-2-8-0, Johnson 8-3-23-1, M Clarke 20-7-40-0, White 18-4-49-1)

Click here to read Day 1 Report

Click here to read Day 2 Report

Click here to read Day 3 Report

Click here to read Day 4 Report

Kumble Injured!

Anil Kumble injured on his shoulder and left the field for few hours and hence couldn't bowl until 3:32 PM (a little over an hour after tea). That was a blow as he could not pair up with Harbhajan Singh.

The fielding coach Robin Singh came in support of the jumbo and said that he is fit for the rest of the series. There was a question whether Anil Kumble would be fit for the next test match, because he left the field and during Indian innings, he did not come to bat early as he used to it. He sent Harbhajan and then sent Zaheer.

On the morning of Day 5, he again got injured in the thumb while trying to get hold of a caught and bowled chance. Haddin hit the ball hard straight back to him just below the chest level and he couldn't hold on to it.

He again left the field for further treatment. The stand-in-captain Dhoni lead the team during his absence.

Looked like he was low on confidence as well as his body language did not show any aggressiveness. He missed two caught and bowled chance, he missed two run out chances by himself, he did not come to stumps to collect the ball for a run out, did not pick a single wicket in both the innings.

Jumbo, get well soon, come back and knock Aussies Down!

1st Test: Australia Declares! Indian Target 299 Runs!

Australia batted five overs on the morning of day 5 and added 35 runs. They also lost the wicket of Watson, bowled by Ishanth Sharma.

This means India has 83 overs to play and score 299 runs at the rate of 3.6 runs per over. Well, the target is not easy to chase considering the uneven bounce and turn on the pitch.

The key points Ponting would have considered are:

1. Aussy bowlers need at least 80 plus overs to bowl out India;
2. For taking new ball, the team should have completed 80 overs. So he has the advantage of taking a new ball;
3. Most of the wickets in this match was taken by pace bowlers; in all the three innings played so far, 26 wickets have fallen and spinners have taken only 5 wickets and fast bowlers have taken 21 wickets.
4. If they can take Sehwag out, they will get the confidence that India will not chase the target, so either it is a draw or Australia winning; So it is worth taking the risk.

All the Best India and Australia!

Missed Chances by India!

India missed quite a few chances during the 2nd Innings of Austrlian batting. Couple of them are difficult chances but others were missed due to lack of technique or concentration.

1. Gambhir reacted late to at short-leg to give a life to Katich off Harbhajan Singh. Katich was on 5 and the score ws 19 for no loss. Could have been 19 for 1.

2. A run-out chance for sending Ponting to pavilion was closely missed by substitute Badrinath. He tried for direct hit, but the ball went few inches away from the stumps at bowlers end. Ponting was on 14 and the score was 42 for 1 could have been 42 for 2.

3. Watson should have gone in over of Bhajji if Sehwag was placed few steps close the boundary. He was standing half way and the shot ball was pulled just over his head. He was on 8 and the score was 129 for 5 which could have been 129 for 6.

4. Kumble missed to collect the throw cleanly from Zaheer Khan to run out Watson when he took the chance for 2nd run. He was on 29 and the score was 185 for 5. Could have been 186 for 6.

5. Haddin survived the run-out as no one stood near the stumps when they were taking chances on the 2nd run. Watson tapped the ball towards point and took chance with Ganguly on the 2nd run. No one was at the bowler's end to collect the throw--bowler Zaheer or Kumble from short mid on or Ishanth from mid-on. Kumble should have come because he was standing nearer to the runner. Haddin was on 25 and the score was 187 for 5 which could have been 188 for 6.

6. Laxman dropped a sharp chance from Watson. He just played it along the line which was pitched on the leg stump. The ball went between the stretched legs of Laxman at leg gully. Watson was on 13 and the score was 139 for 5 which could have been 139 for 6.

7. Kumble missed a caught and bowled chance for Haddin. Haddin hit the ball hard towards left of Kumble. He reacted late and the ball crossed him over his head. Sharp chance, but could have been taken if he had at least tried. He ducked his head and the ball went past him for four. Haddin was on 7 and the score could have been 147 for 6.

8. First ball on day 5, Haddin gave a return catch to Kumble and he again fumbled and dropped it. It was just below the chest height and he did not take it. In fact his right thumb got injured.

These could have reduced Australia to much less total and put pressure on them, but Indians have missed those chances.

Ganguly Announces Retirement!

The former Indian Skipper Sourav Ganguly has announced his retirement plans and also created a controversy. The most successful captain of India, said in a press conference that the Australian series will be his lost series and will hung his boots after that.

He said, he is not part of the ODI and T20 team already and is focusing on Test cricket. He has taken the decision on his own, but because of the humiliation he suffered because of the selectors.

He is the most successful captain of Indian team and had a rough patch with former coach Greg Chappel. During the Indian tour to Zimbabwe, Ganguly came out open and said that, "coach Greg Chappel is asking him to step down." This created controversy and Ganguly was dropped from the team after that.

He came back after that for the world cup and also for the Pakistan series. His innings against South Africa helped India to equal the series.

His ODI Records:

Batting:
Matches Played: 311
Innings Played: 300
Runs Scored: 11,363
Highest Score: 183
100s: 22
50s: 72
Average: 41.02

Bowling:

Matches Played: 311
Innings Bowled: 171
Balls Bowled: 4,561 (760.1 overs)
Runs Given: 3849
Wickets Taken: 100
Best Bowling: 5 for 16
5 wickets: 2
Economy Rate: 5.06
Average: 38.49


His Test Records:

Batting:

Matches Played: 109
Innings Played: 180
Runs Scored: 6,888
Highest Score: 239
100s: 15
50s: 34
Average: 41.74

Bowling:

Matches Played: 109
Innings Bowled: 99
Balls Bowled: 3,117 (519.3 overs)
Runs Given: 1,681
Wickets Taken: 32
Best Bowling in an Innings: 3 for 28
Best Bowling in a Match: 3 for 37
5 wickets in an Innings: 0
10 wickets in a Match: 0
Economy Rate: 3.23
Average: 52.53

As far his test captaincy record his concerned, he lead India in 49 Test Matches with 21 victories, 13 losses and 15 drawn.

Courtesy: Statistics are from www.cricinfo.com

1st Test: India v. Australia: India has 20-80 Chance!

On the final day of play, I expect a 20-80 chance for India to win the first test against the guests Aussies. Aussies are leading by 263 runs with 5 wickets in hand. Though this is the last recognized batting pair, even if one gets out and the other stays in the crease till they declare, Aussies would put aroudn 350 on the board.

The pitch has lot of cracks with uneven bounce. This would make batting difficult on the last day. So, even 250 would be difficult to chase. It depends on how Sehwag play the 2nd innings and how long he stays in the crease.

Options favoring Australia:

Option 1: Watson and Haddin stay for the first hour and score 4 runs an over for the first 10 overs and 6 runs for the next 5 overs. In the 15 overs, they score 70 and set a target of 334. This would allow India to play 70-75 overs with a chance to chase the target. This would give both the teams a chance, but more to Aussies than India considering the pitch condition.

Option 2: Australia score another 100 runs to be on the safe side and take the over all lead to 370. To reach this target, they have to play till lunch. This would mean, India has to chase 370 in 60 overs at a rate of around 6 runs per over. If India lose Sehwag early, India will not try for a win. It means either it is a draw or Aussy winning.

Option 3: Play till target is set to 400, whch means they have to score 137 runs on day 5. This would require at least 40 overs--playing after lunch. India will have to negotiate another 45-50 overs to make the first test draw. This is the poor option and I hope Ricky won't pick it.

Options favoring India:

Option 1: Take couple of quick wickets in the morning and put pressure on the remaining batsman. Two quick wickets before than add another 25 runs. Bundle Australia to less than 225 and chase 300.

Option 2: Depends on how long Sehwag stays in the crease. The longer he stays, more the chances for India. The way he bats, he can turn the game on India's favor. He should not play bad shots chasing wide balls.

Option 3: Have the fast bowlers bowl the first hour. This means, they cannot bowl more than 13 overs. In 13 overs, even if Australia score 40 runs, it means, they will be less than 300. Ponting would not be comfortable considering the previous records and the chance against Sehwag.

Let us see what happens! Good luck India and Australia!

1st Test, Day 4: India v. Australia: Advantage Aussies!

Zaheer and Harbhajan denied Aussies a big lead which was expected by everyone. The lead was thought to be over 180, was reduced to 70 runs by Harbhajan and Zaheer as they both crossed their 50 run mark. Harbhajan was dismissed for 54 towards end of day 3, but Zaheer was in the crease to start day 4.

Zaheer crossed his 50 in style by coming down the track and hitting Watson over his head for a straight four. Zaheer and Kumble reduced the gap to less than 100. They added 31 for the 9th wicket, off whcih Kumble scored 5. Zaheer Khan hit two boundaries in the morning and released the pressure.

Kumble was the first one to go, leg before to Watson. He played 33 balls for his 5. Ishanth played well and Zaheer had the confidence in Ishanth. They added 17 before Ishanth was bowled by M Clarke. Zaheer Khan was not out on 57 off 121 balls with 5 fours. He was the highest scorer for India, followed by Harbhajan. The last three wickets played 41.3 overs, that is, 249 balls. Isn't this amazing?

Australia started the 2nd innings with a lead of 70 runs and had 68 overs in hand. Sure that Ponting would be in double mind--whether to attack or to play defense and based on loss of wickets, either attack or defend. Any captain would expect a good start to put a good total on the board.

Hayden went first, unlucky decision! LBW to Zaheer. He fell to Zaheer in both the innings. Ponting, played well, but couldn't continue his first innings form. He was caught at mid wicket off Ishanth Sharma. Australia where 49 for 2 in 22.2 overs.

Katich and Hussey added 50 for the third wicket and they consumed 133 deliveries to reach this mark. The top spinner from Harbhajan hit the top of the Katich bat and and poped an easy catch at silly mid off where Laxman grabbed it easily. His 34 came off 140 balls with 3 hits to boundary.

The vice captain Micheal Clarke did not last long. He was caught at covers of Ishanth Sharma for 6 and Aussies were 115 for 4.

The century scorer Mike Hussye did not read Harbhajan's incoming delivery. He thought it would leave him, but it came in and knocked the stumps. He was bowled for 31 off 72 deliveries with 3 fours.

Watson should have gone in the over by Bhajji if Sehwag was placed few steps close the boundary. He was standing half way and the shot ball was pulled just over his head.

Earlier, Gambhir reacted late to at short-leg to give a life to Katich.

A run-out chance for sending Ponting to pavilion was closely missed by substitute Badrinath. He tried for direct hit, but the ball wnet few inches away from the bowlers end stumps.

Shane Watson and Brad Haddin 65 runs for the 6th wicket and took the lead beyond 250. They survived close run-outs which were missed by Indians. No one stood near the stumps when they were taking chances on the 2nd run. In one instance, Kumble or Ishanth could have collected the throw from Ganguly, but they were standing in their own position.

Watson is on 32 and Haddin is on 28 and the score is 193 for 5. What will be Ponting's plan for day 5? When will he declare? Or will India pick all the wickets in less than 300 runs? How much overs will India have to negotiate or to score the target? The target will be around 325--this my expectation!!!

Test: 1st Test
Venue: Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
Dates: October 9-13, 2008
Teams: India and Australia
Hosts: India
Captains: Anil Kumble and Ricky Ponting
Toss: Australia

Score at the end of Day 4:

Australia 1st Innings 430 all out in 149.5 overs (ML Hayden 0, SM Katich 66, RT Ponting 123, MEK Hussye 146, MJ Clarke 11, SR Watson 2, BJ Haddin 33, CL White 6, B Lee 27, MG Johnson 1, SR Clark 0 not out, Extras--15 (lb 11, w 1, nb 3), Z Khan 29.-4-91-5, I Sharma 30-7-77-4, Harbhajan Singh 41-8-103-1, A Kumble 43-6-129-0, V Sehwag 6-0-19-0)

Fall of Wickets: 1-0 (Hayden, 0.3 ov), 2-166 (Katich, 54.4 ov), 3-226 (Ponting, 78.4 ov), 4-254 (Clarke, 89.2 ov), 5-259 (Watson, 92.3 ov), 6-350 (Haddin, 122.6 ov), 7-362 (White, 126.5 ov), 8-421 (Lee, 147.5 ov), 9-429 (Johnson, 149.1 ov), 10-430 (Hussey, 149.5 ov)

India 1st Innings 360 all out in 119 overs (G Gambhir 21, V Sehwag 45, R Dravid 51, SR Tendulkar 13, VVS Laxman 0, SC Ganguly 47, MS Dhoni 9, Harbhajan Singh 54, Zaheer Khan 57 not out, A Kumble 5, I Sharma 6, Extras--52 (b 23, lb 23, nb 6), B Lee 26-6-64-1, S Clark 17-3-58-0, M Johnson 27-4-70-4, S Watson 19-4-45-3, White 13-2-39-0, M Clarke 17-3-38-2)

Fall of Wickets: 1-70 (Gambhir, 19.2 ov), 2-76 (Sehwag, 22.6 ov), 3-94 (Tendulkar, 28.4 ov), 4-106 (Laxman, 32.6 ov), 5-155 (Dravid, 49.5 ov), 6-195 (Dhoni, 65.4 ov), 7-232 (Ganguly, 77.3 ov), 8-312 (Harbhajan Singh, 99.3 ov), 9-343 (Kumble, 111.6 ov), 10-360 (Sharma, 118.6)

Australia 2nd Innings (70 runs lead) 193 for 5 in 68 overs (Hayden 13, Katich 34, Ponting 17, Mike Hussey 31, Micheal Clarke 6, Watson 32 batting, Haddin 28 batting, Extras--32 (b 13, lb 10, w 6, nb 3), Z Khan 15-4-30-1, I Sharma 12-3-27-2, Harbhajan Singh 27-5-76-2, V Sehwag 7-1-12-0, A Kumble 7-0-25-0)

Fall of Wickets: 1-21 (Hayden, 12.2 ov), 2-49 (Ponting, 22.2 ov), 3-99 (Katich, 44.3 ov), 4-115 (Clarke, 47.5 ov), 5-128 (Hussey, 50.5 ov)

Click here to read Day 1 Report

Click here to read Day 2 Report

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1st Test, Day 3: India v. Australia: Bhajji and Zaheer fight back for India!

With the top order letting down once again, except the retiring man Ganguly and Dravid, the remaining two VVS Laxman and Tendulkar once again failed in scoring runs for India. After Gambhir dismissed by Lee on the morning of Day 3, Sehwag and Dravid were expected to play sensibly. Dravid played slowly and steadied his innings. But, Sehwas soon fell chasing a wide delivery which took the bottom edge and flew to Hayden at slip. India lost two wickets after in quick succession.

Tendulkar came in and played positive shots. He scored 3 boudaries in his 13 and fell for a slower ball from Johnson. He was caught at covers when he did not read the slower ball and checked his shot. Laxman was out for a duck caught behind of Johnson.

India were 133 for 4 at lunch with Dravid batting on 35 and Ganguly on 7. Dravid cross his 50 off 102 balls with 7 fours. He fell immediately at 51, LBW to Johnson. This was a doubtful decision and should have favored Dravid than Johnson.

With the last recognizd pair in the crease with the scoreboard 155 for 5, it was all left to Ganguly and Dhoni. They added 40 for the 6th wicket before Dhoni was beaten and bowled by Michale Clarke. Out of the 40, Dhoni scored 9 off 51 balls.

Ganguly stayed solid at one end but couldn't reach his half-century. Though he is getting retired after this series, he played sensibly and should applaud his efforts. When he got out for 47 off 115 balls with 3 fours (trapped LBW by Johnson), the score was 232 for 7. Ganguly and Harbhajan added 37 for the 7th wicket and the follow-on was avoided.

Everyone thought the innings would get over soon and in fact thought India would not score 231 to avoid the follow-on. But, things didn't go as per Australia's plan and it was tackled well by Harbhajan and Zaheer Khan.

Bhajji scored his third consecutive test 50 against the Aussies. He scored 63 each in Sydney and Adelide and crossed 54 in Bengaluru. He tried to cut the half valley but it took the edge and went to Haddin, the keeper. He scored 54 off 110 balls with 5 fours. He surprised Lee, Clarke and Johnson when he stepped out to play them.

When Dhoni got out, it was 66th over. Everyone thought Kumble would come out next, but he sent Bhajji. Ganguly and Bhajji tackled another 70 balls before Ganguly was out on the 71st ball.

Then Bhajji and Zaheer added 80 runs for the 8th wicket and the important thing was they played neat cricket and did not show anywhere that they are tail-enders. Another key point is that they played out the overs which irritated the Aussies. The bowlers were frustrated as the day progressed. Both Harbhajan and Zaheer played 22 overs together for their 80-run stand. Harbhajan was caught behind of Watson for 54. During their stand, rain prevented play for sometime, but they resumed the innings.

Kumble and Zaheer played the rest of the day before umpires awarded the lights in favor of batsmen. They played just 9 balls after Bhajji's dismissal which Bhajji could have played himself and reduced further lead for Aussies.

Test: 1st Test
Venue: Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
Dates: October 9-13, 2008
Teams: India and Australia
Hosts: India
Captains: Anil Kumble and Ricky Ponting
Toss: Australia

Score at the end of Day 3:

Australia 1st Innings 430 all out in 149.5 overs (ML Hayden 0, SM Katich 66, RT Ponting 123, MEK Hussye 146, MJ Clarke 11, SR Watson 2, BJ Haddin 33, CL White 6, B Lee 27, MG Johnson 1, SR Clark 0 not out, Extras--15 (lb 11, w 1, nb 3), Z Khan 29.-4-91-5, I Sharma 30-7-77-4, Harbhajan Singh 41-8-103-1, A Kumble 43-6-129-0, V Sehwag 6-0-19-0)

Fall of Wickets: 1-0 (Hayden, 0.3 ov), 2-166 (Katich, 54.4 ov), 3-226 (Ponting, 78.4 ov), 4-254 (Clarke, 89.2 ov), 5-259 (Watson, 92.3 ov), 6-350 (Haddin, 122.6 ov), 7-362 (White, 126.5 ov), 8-421 (Lee, 147.5 ov), 9-429 (Johnson, 149.1 ov), 10-430 (Hussey, 149.5 ov)

India 1st Innings 313 for 8 in 101 overs (G Gambhir 21, V Sehwag 45, R Dravid 51, SR Tendulkar 13, VVS Laxman 0, SC Ganguly 47, MS Dhoni 9, Harbhajan Singh 54, Zaheer Khan 35 batting, A Kumble 0 batting, Extras--38 (b 23, lb 10, nb 5), B Lee 21-5-49-1, S Clark 17-3-58-0, M Johnson 20-4-62-4, S Watson 15-3-37-2, White 13-2-39-0, M Clarke 15-2-35-1)

Fall of Wickets: 1-70 (Gambhir, 19.2 ov), 2-76 (Sehwag, 22.6 ov), 3-94 (Tendulkar, 28.4 ov), 4-106 (Laxman, 32.6 ov), 5-155 (Dravid, 49.5 ov), 6-195 (Dhoni, 65.4 ov), 7-232 (Ganguly, 77.3 ov), 8-312 (Harbhajan Singh, 99.3 ov)

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