Australia v. WI, 2nd Test: Chandrapaul and Sarawan Help WI to Draw!

Ponting described the Australian bowling attack was not better and that was the reason for not picking the wickets on the final day to clinch the test.

Of course after losing two main bowlers to retirement--McGrath and Shane Warne, Australian bowling attack was not that same.

Though Brett Lee was there as the main strike bowler and Stuart Clarke picked 5 wickets in the first test, the attack did not go beyond that.

In the first innings, Kaitch and Michael Clarke scored 113 and 110 respectively and helped Australia to declare at 479.

Chandrapaul scored 107 not out and helped West Indies avoid the follow on, but WI still conceeded 127 run lead to Australia.

Australia declared their 2nd innings at 244 and set a target 372 for West Indies.

West Indies struggled by losing the first two wickets with 19 on the board. Smith and Marshall were dismissed for a duck and 5 respectively. For the third wicket, Mortan and Sarwan added 65. Lee dismissed Mortan for 14. Sarwan and Chandrapual fought through the innings and ensured that WI did not lose the test. Though they did not go for winning or even tried to attack Australian bowling, they were able to manage the decent pace attack. They played 53 overs together in which they added 143 runs for the 4th wicket. Sarwan scored a wonderful century, his 11th in test cricket.

Chandrapaul was declared man of the match for his century in the first innings and test saving innings with his 77 in the second innings.

Test: 2
Venue: Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua
Teams: Australia and West Indies
Captains: Rickey Ponting and RR Sarwan
Toss: Australia won the toss and decided to bat
Match Result: Match Drawn
Series Result: Australia leading 1-0 (2nd Test Drawn)
Man of the Match: S Chandrapaul off West Indies
Score:

Australia 1st Innings 479 for 7 declared in 136 overs (SM Katich 113, RT Ponting 65, MJ Clarke 110, BJ Haddin 33, B Lee 63 not out, MG Johnson 29 not out, JE Taylor 3 for 95)
West Indies 1st Innings 352 all out in 107 overs (XM Marshal 53, RS Sarwan 53, S Chandrapaul 107, DJ Bravo 45, B Lee 5 for 59, MG Johnson 2 for 72, MJ Clarke 2 for 20)
Australia 2nd Innings (lead by 127 runs) 244 for 6 declared in 61.5 overs (PA Jaques 76, MEK Hussey 40, PT Ponting 38, A Symonds 43 not out, FH Edwards 2 for 28, JE Taylor 2 for 33)
Drew with West Indies 2nd Innings (372 target) 266 for 5 in 93 overs (RR Sarwan 128, S Chandrapual 77 not out, B Lee 3 for 51)

Click here to read 1st Test Result!

Click here to read 3rd Test Result!

Australia v. WI, 1st Test: Australia Wins the First Test!

The intersting chase in the 2nd innnings was in the cards in the first test between the home side West Indies and the touring Australia. Bowled out for 167 in the 2nd innings and with the lead of 119, Australia set 287 as the target for West Indies.

But, West Indies neither was able to chase the target nor could play for a draw. Though they ended day 4 at 46 for 1, they had 241 to get in 90 overs with 9 wickets. Stuart Clark rattled the batting of West Indies by picking 5 wickets.

Earlier, skipper Ponting scored his 35th test hundred, just 4 behind Tendulkar. He scored 158 in the 224 ball innings which comprised of 16 fours and a six. He was supported by Hussey (56), Hodge (67) and Symonds (70 not out). For West Indies, Edwards picked 5 wickets.

West Indies gave a good reply, but couldn't reduce the lead to less than 100 runs. Though Chandrapaul was hit by a Lee's bouncer, he scored a brilliant fighting 118. This was his 18th test hundred which came off 276 balls with 13 fours and a six. Morton scored 67, the only other half-centurian.

Started the 2nd innings with 119 runs lead, Australia were bundeld out for 167 in 56.5 overs. Symonds scored his second fifty and saved some pride for Australia. He was the top scorer in the 2nd innings with 79. Bravo picked 4 wickets, while Powell and Edwards picked 3 each.

SR Clark was declared man of the match.

Test: 1

Venue: Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica

Teams: Australia and West Indies

Captains: Rickey Ponting and RR Sarwan

Toss: Australia won the toss and decided to bat

Match Result: Australia won by 95 runs

Series Result: Australia leading 1-0

Man of the Match: Stuart Clarke off Australia

Score:

Australia 1st Innings 431 all out in 126.5 overs (RT Ponting 158, MEK Hussey 56, BJ Hodge 67, A Symonds 70, FH Edwards 5 for 104, DJG Sammy 2 for 78)

West Indies 1st Innings 312 all out in 106 overs (DS Smith 32, RS Morton 67, S Chandrapaul 118, DJ Bravo 46, B Lee 3 for 63, MG Johnson 2 for 63, SR Clark 3 for 59, SCG MacGill 2 for 100)

Australia 2nd Innings (lead by 119 runs) 167 all out in 56.5 overs (BJ Hodge 27, A Symonds 79, DBL Powell 3 for 36, FH Edwards 3 for 40, DJ Bravo 4 for 47)

Beat West Indies 2nd Innings (287 target) 191 all out in 67 overs (DS Smith 28, D Ramdin 36, DJG Sammy 35, DBL Powell 27, B Lee 2 for 81, SR Clark 5 for 32, SCG MacGill 2 for 43)

Click here to read 2nd Test Result!

Click here to read 3rd Test Result!

West Indies Announces Squad for Australian Test!

The West Indian Cricket Board today announced their 14-member squad for the first test against Australia, starting on Thursday May 22.

The skipper Chris Gayle is yet to recover from the groin injury he suffered during the one day series against Sri Lanka.

It's been a month since he suffered the injury and is still to recover. He will not be playing the first test as he is yet to recover. The team will be lead by Ramnaresh Sarwan. Dwayne Bravo will be his deputy.

This will be a good test for Sarwan as a captain and for the entire squad as they are playing against the world champions.

The Squad: Ramnaresh Sarwan (captain), Dwayne Bravo (vice-captain), Sulieman Benn, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Fidel Edwards, Ryan Hinds, Amit Jaggernauth, Runako Morton, Darren Sammy, Devon Smith, Brenton Parchment, Daren Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Jerome Taylor.

Good luck West Indies!

West Indies win rain affected match! Wins Series!

In a rain curtailed match, West Indies posed an easy win to clinch the series 2-0 with one more match to go.

After winning the toss and deciding to field first, West Indies restricted Sri Lanka with a over all run rate of less than 4 per over. Knowing the conditions very well that it might rain, Gayle won the crucial toss and rightly chose to bowl.

Sri Lanka lost wickets in successive intervals and no big partnership was built in the innings. From 78 for 2, the Sri Lankan batting collapsed to 112 for 5.

Only Tharanga was able to manage the bowling attack. He scored 40 in 82 balls. Rain stopped the play during the 3rd ball of the 31st over. Since it was raining heavily and considering the time lost, Sri Lankan innings was considered completed. West Indies were given a target of 125 in 25 overs.

Though Gayle, Bravo, and Sarwan were cheaply dismissed, once again Chandrapaul came to the rescue for West Indies. From 18 for 3, he along with Samuels played sensibly and took West Indies past the winning runs. Chandrapaul was not out 52 off 42 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes and Samuel was not out on 54 off 49 balls with 3 fours and 3 sixes.

Match Details:
Match: 2nd ODI of 3 match series
Venue: Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad
Date: April 12, 2008
Toss: West Indies won and decided to field
Result: West Indies won by 8 wickets with 4.3 overs remaining (D/L method)
Man of the Match: Chandrapaul (West Indies)
Score:
Sri Lanka 112 for 5 in 30.3 overs (Tharanga 40, Sangakkara 28, Gayle 2 for 6) lost to West Indies (Target 125 in 25 overs D/L method) 125 for 3 in 20.3 overs (Chandrapaul 52 not out, Samuels 54 not out, Kulasekara 3 for 28)
Toss:

Chandrapaul's Six of Last Ball Helps West Indies Win the Thriller!

The last ball six by Chandrapaul of the last ball of the 50th over gave a unbelievable win to West Indies.

Requiring 13 of the last over and with one wicket in hand, Vaas was bowling to Edwards and had a good chance winning the match:

Ball 1--6 balls, 13 runs, 1 wicket: Vaas to Edwards, low full toss, played to short cover, no run
Ball 2--5 balls, 13 runs, 1 wicket: Vaas to Edwards, full outside off, played between point and cover, 1 run
Ball 3--4 balls, 12 runs, 1 wicket: Vaas to Chandrapaul, low full toss, played to long on, 1 run
Ball 4--3 balls, 11 runs, 1 wicket: Vaas to Edwards, low full toss, played to midwicket, 1 run
Ball 5--2 balls, 10 runs, 1 wicket: Vaas to Chandrapaul, overpitched on the off, driver past long off, 4 runs
Ball 6--1 ball, 6 runs, 1 wicket: Vaas to Chandrapaul, full toss, hit it over midwicket fielder Jayawardane's head for a SIX!

Match went to West Indies.

Score:
Match: 1 of 3 match series
Toss: West Indies and decided to field
Venue: Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad
Date: April 10, 2008
Result: West Indies won by 1 wicket
Man of the Match: Bravo (West Indies)
Score:
Sri Lanka 235 for 7 in 50 overs (LPC Silva 67, CK Kapugedera 95, Edwards 2 for 57, Bravo 4 for 32) lost to West Indies 236 for 9 in 50 overs (Gayle 52, Sarwan 35, Chandrapaul 62 not out, Bravo 36, KMDN Kulasekara 3 for 43, BAW Mendis 3 for 39)

Sarwan helps West Indies Win 2nd Test and Equal Series!

Sarwan's 10th century helped West Indies to equal the 2 test match series 1-1. With a target of 253 to win the test, Sri Lanka gained upper hand until Sarwan and Chandrapaul built an 157 run partnershp for the 4th wicket.

Gayle was dismissed for 10, followed by Chattergoon for 11. The much expected Samuels dismissed for 11 leaving West Indies struggle at 73 for 3. Requiring another 180 runs for West Indies and Sri Lanka requiring another 2 or 3 wickets to gain complete control before the tail-enders start to play.

Sarwan and Chandrapaul had to play one more match winning knock to see West Indian cricket lovers smile, especially when the cricket in West Indies is not in its glory as it used to be.

After losing the first test, for Gayle, it was an important game for himself and the team.

Sarwan scored 100 off 151 balls with 15 fours and Chandrapaul crossed his 50 in 99 balls with 2 boundaries. Both of them took the innings away from Sri Lanka and they both added 157 runs in 42.3 overs. Muralitharan's spell this time did not bother the West Indies and they handled him ver well.

Finally Sarwan was caught by Dilshan to give the first wicket for Muralitharan in the 2nd innings. With 23 runs more to win, Smith and Chandrapaul finished the formalities in the next 6 overs without much trouble.

For his wonderful match winning innings, Ramesh Sarwan won the man of the match and for the way he played in the series, he won the man of the series too.

Earlier, trailing 16 runs in the 2nd innings, Sri Lanka were struggling 99 for 6. Taylor's good spell rattled the top order and looked like they will surrender meekly. But, Samaraweera's century helped Sri Lanka to come back in the game and gave a good chance of winning the series. Samaraweera scored his 100 off 173 balls with 15 fours. Vaas who scored 45 accompanied Samaraweera and they both added 138 runs for the 7th wicket. The remaining 3 wickets fell for 31 runs.

West Indian players went through the ground and thanked them for full support. The presentation ceremony started:

Mahela: We gave ourselves a chance but Ronnie and Shiv batted really well. We had few half chances but couldn't capitalise. But West Indies played some very good cricket and deserved to win. It has been a tough series but we have thoroughly enjoyed it. Both teams should take credit for the way we performed. I am looking forward to the ODI series."

Gayle Well done to the guys. It was a shaky start but they came out on the top in the end. The bowlers did a tremendous job, Taylor, Fidel. It was a terrific effort from Sarwan. Credit to Mahela and his team. It was a good series, We enjoyed every minute of it. This win does lots of good for the morale of the team. We have come from behind to equal the series."

Man of the Match and Man of the Series : Sarwan : It was an important innings. It was important to get the partnership with Shiv. I have been positive, picking the right balls to hit. I have continue in this way. It has been hard work back, it has taken ten months to come back. Chris has been doing a wonderful job, every one has been around him and supporting him.

Score:

Match: 2nd Test
Venue: Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad
Date: April 3-7, 2008
Toss: West Indies and decided to field first
Captain: Gayle (West Indies) and Jayawardane (Sri Lanka)
Umpires: Bowden (New Zealand) and Taufel (Austraia)
Match Result: West Indies won by 6 wickets
Series Result: West Indies and Sri Lanka win 1 match each; Series equal 1-1
Man of the Match: Ramesh Sarwan (West Indies)
Man of the Series: Ramesh Sarwan (West Indies)

Score:

Sri Lanka 1st Innings 278 all out 64.5 overs (Vandort 30, Warnapura 35, Jayawardane 26, Dilshan 62, Silva 76, Powell 2 for 59, Taylor 74, Edwards 4 for 84)
West Indies 1st Innings 294 all out in 76.2 overs (Gayle 45, Chattergoon 46, Sarwan 57, Smith 47, Bravo 26, Vaas 2 for 76, Mirando 2 for 72, Muralitharan 5 for 79)
Sri Lanka 2nd Innings (trail by 16 runs) 268 all out in 75.1 overs (Samaraweera 125, Dilshan 25, Vaas 45, Taylor 4 for 52)
West Indies 2nd Innings (253 to win) 254 for 4 in 68.3 overs (Sarwan 102, Chandrapaul 86 not out, Vaas 2 for 52)

Sri Lanka wins First Test!

Sri Lanka have beaten West Indies for the first time in West Indies. Vaas was the pick of the bowlers taking half of the West Indian wickets.

Resuming the last day at 96 for 1, West Indies needed 341 runs and Sri Lanka wanted 9 wickets.

Bravo and Sarwan were batting well and didn't hurry at all. They're not going for win, but trying to save the game. They added 134 for the 2nd wicket and it looked like Sri Lanka was losing the grip in the game. Muralitharan, the experienced and leading test wicket taker gave the break through by dismissing Bravo through a beautiful caught and bowled. That was the turning point of the game. Samuels was caught behind off Vaas for 10. Chandrapaul followed him for 3, bowled by Vaas. WI were struggling at 178 for 4 with 50 overs to bat out.

Both Muralitharan and Vaas were getting wickets and providing break throughs for Sri Lankans. Gayle was the lonely warrior battling in the field. When 8th wicket fell at 89th over, West Indies needed to play out 24.3 overs. Both Gayle and Taylor were negotiating with Muralitharan's doosra and off-spin.

They played out 12 overs very well. New ball was taken by skipper Jayawardane and given to Vaas. He gave the break through with a short ball which edge to slips. With Gayle and Powell on the crease with 10.5 overs to spare. They were batting well, but the poor shot selection by Powell off Vaas finished the match. He tried to hit the ball over mid-off, but Muralitharan jumped and took a one-handed catch to give Sri Lanka the lead in the series. Gayle was not out on 51, which actually does not matter.

Score:

Toss: Sri Lanka

Venue: Providence Stadium, Guyana

Date: March 22-26, 2008

Captains: Jayawardane (Sri Lanka), Gayle (West Indies)

Man of the Match: Vaas (Sri Lanka)

Short Score:

Sri Lanka 1st Innings 476 for 8 declared in 162 overs (Vandort 52, Warnapura 120, Sangakkara 50, Jayawardane 136, Vaas 54 not out, Taylor 4 for 110, Gayle 2 for 66)

West Indies 1st Innings 280 all out in 111.5 overs (Sarwan 80, Hinds 37, Ramdin 38, Senn 28, Taylor 27 not out, Vaas 3 for 48, Mirando 3 for 59, Muralitharan 3 for 112)

Sri Lanka 2nd Innings 240 for 7 declared in 57 overs (Warnapura 62, Jayawardane 33, Samaraweera 56 not out, Bravo 2 for 54, Benn 3 for 59)

West Indies 2nd Innings (437 to win 113 overs) 315 all out in 106.2 overs (Bravo 83, Sarwan 72, Gayle 51 not out, Vaas 5 for 61, Mirand 2 for 70, Muralitharan 3 for 112)