Will be Fit Soon - Tendulkar

Tendulkar will be missed for the 4th ODI against New Zealand in Hamilton. Tendulkar was injured during the 2nd ODI when tried to pull O'Brien delivery which hit his abdomen. Though he experienced pain, he continued to play and scored more than 50.

The MRI scan done on India's premier batsman has revealed internal bleeding in his stomach.

"I had stiffness in the region before the third ODI, but I had stretched myself too far. But I should be ready to play in a couple of days time," Tendulkar said.

So, the in-form Sachin should be available for the final ODI to be played on March 14, 2009 at Auckland.

Gary Kirsten said that the team is not worried about Sachin's absence and will be able to manage the 4th ODI without him.

The expectation from the team is much more after Tendulkar's remark that this is the best batting line up in the past 20 years. The team is expected to perform without his presence on March 11, in the 4th ODI.

Fast Bowlers Lost Confidence - McCullum, Brendon

The New Zealand captain in the 3rd ODI and the vice captain of the New Zealand team accepted that the confidence of the Kiwi fast bowlers has been demolished by the devastating batting by the Indian batsmen.

"I suppose from their perspective it would have knocked their confidence a little bit. It could happen when you go around the park like we did in the last couple of games. It is not a nice thing to happen for fast bowlers," said McCullum.

"It is a skill issue of not being able to execute their plans. Or it maybe a mental issue with being apprehensive and almost trying too hard not to get hurt rather than just trying to grab the ball and do as well as you can."

"We just have to try and execute the plans that were set out for us. So far, in the last couple of games we haven't quite been exact enough with our execution."

"The mental approach against such a strong batting line-up can make you a bit apprehensive so we need to try and relax and implement the plans that we've got in place because we know they do work," he added

(excerpts from msn.co.in)

"We managed to put them under pressure. We saw some pretty big hitting in the end as well. Obviously, they will be a little wary, knowing that the wicket is good and the ground is pretty small."

"They will have to be exact in their plans. If we can get some momentum with the bat and put them under some pressure then there's no reason why we can't post a big score and possibly win," he said. Will Tendulkar's absence make any difference to New Zealand? "I am sure it does, but they have still got Sehwag, Dhoni, Yuvraj and Raina. So they still have a pretty strong batting line-up. We saw how well Sachin played the other day. To know that he will not be in the side will be a lift for our bowlers," he said.

"We will welcome him back with open arms, especially me. It will be great to have him back in the fold. His experience and skill will be handy," McCullum said.

"Jacob's progressing really well. It is just a matter of being a little bit cautious with his body. He is obviously gone through a lot of niggles and injuries over the last few seasons. So we just have to be a little cautious with that."

Tendulkar Injured and to Miss 4th ODI against NZ!

Tendulkar's injury got worsened during the 3rd ODI against NZ in Christchurch. During his firing knock of 163 not out, the injury aggrevated and forced him to retire-hurt. He missed the nice chance to become the highest individual scorer in ODI history.

While trying to pull O'Brien's shot pitch ball, he missed it and the ball hit his abdomen. He still continued to play and got out after 50.

"Towards the end I was hopeful I would be able to get it (200) if I stayed there to the 50th over, it was in the vicinity," Tendulkar said.

"In the previous game I got hit in my abdomen by O'Brien and the muscle was quite sore. When I was batting with 65-70, I started feeling a stiffness in that area. But towards the latter half of my innings I started getting a twitch and it kept getting worse. And I knew that I was effectively damaging it and I had reached a stage when I couldn't go on."

Kiwis were trying to stop Sehwag and Gambhir and they were successful with Gambhir so far. Now, they have all the opportunity in the world with Little Master staying in the pavilion.

But with Sachin's remark as the best batting line up in the past 20 years, India should not worry about it! Get well soon Sachin! We miss you!

IPL is on, Awaiting New Schedule!

After several rounds of outbursts and open statements through media, both the Government of India and the IPL cricketing body have come to a conclusion. The IPL is not postponed or cancelled as it would result in huge loss for the organizers, players in addition to several inconveniences.

"We are extremely grateful and thankful to Home Minister (P Chidambaram) that security will be provided for IPL matches. We will shortly have a new schedule out. The IPL is on," said Lalit Modi, IPL Commissioner.

Modi also said that the tournament will not be hosted outside India. He also added, "there have been lots of speculation, please discount those speculations. We are working through the schedule. It is a cumbersome process. There will be no matches in the cities on the day they go to polls and there will be no matches on the day of the counting (May 16) at all."

So, the IPL sports enthusiats should wait for some more time to see the schedule coming out! The whole world will be looking at the IPL to see how far the security is provided for the players, umpires, staff, spectators, press, media, etc.

Photo credit: Cricketnext.com

Australia tour to South Africa - Schedule

After losing the series to South Africa in the home soil in 2008, Australia is touring South Africa for a revenge in 2009. The tour starts with a 3-day practice match followed by test matches, T20s and ODIs. Australia is lead by Ricky Ponting and hopefully South Africa has its captain Greame Smith back from the injury for leading the team.

Pracitice Game Schedule:

Practice Match: Fri Feb 20-22, 2009, Australia v. SA Board President's XI at Potchefstroom at 10:00 Local, 08:00 GMT, 13:30 IST

Test Match Schedule:

1st Test: Thu Feb 26-Mar 2, 2009 at Johannesburg at 10:30 Local, 08:30 GMT, 14:00 IST

2nd Test: Fri Mar 6-10, 2009 at Durban at 10:30 Local, 08:30 GMT, 14:00 IST

3rd Test: Thu Mar 19-23, 2009 at Cape Town at 10:30 Local, 08:30 GMT, 14:00 IST

T20 Schedule:

1st T20: Fri Mar 27, 2009 at Johannesburg at 18:00 Local, 16:00, GMT 21:30 IST

2nd T20: Sun Mar 29, 2009 at Centurion at 18:00 Local, 16:00 GMT, 21:30 IST

ODI Schedule

1st ODI: Fri Apr 3, 2009 at Durban at 14:30 Local, 12:30 GMT, 18:00 IST

2nd ODI: Sun Apr 5, 2009 at Centurion at 10:00 Local, 08:00 GMT, 13:30 IST

3rd ODI: Thu Apr 9, 2009 at Cape Town at 14:30 Local, 12:30 GMT, 18:00 IST

4th ODI: Mon Apr 13, 2009 at Port Elizabeth at 10:00 Local, 108:00 GMT, 13:30 IST

5th ODI: Fri Apr 17, 2009 at Johannesburg at 14:30 Local, 12:30 GMT, 18:00 IST

1st T20: Ind v. NZ: McCullum gives NZ 1-0 Lead!

Brendon McCullum once again proved that he is a dangerous customer to negotiat with. He gave the home team 1-0 lead in the two match T20 series with his blistering unbeaten 56. His knock came off 49 balls with timely sixes and fours. He hit 3 sixes and 2 fours.

Guptill survived a plumb leg before of the first ball he faced, but came back strongly and scored useful 41 off 28 balls.

None of the Indian bowlers could take wickets at crucial times of the game. Zaheer and Harbhajan bowled economically, but not able to break partnerships often.

Earlier, poor batting by Indian batsmen pushed them to 82 for 6. Yousuf Pathan hit 3 continuous success of Nathan McCullum but got out when he tried hit the fourth. SK Raina who came in as number 3 batsman stayed till the end of the innings and was the highest scorer for India with 61 off 43 balls with 5 sixes and two fours.

Sehwag started beautifully but could not continue his threatening hits. He hit four sixes and scored 26 off just 10 balls. He was bowled when trying to slog O'Brien over mid-wicket.

Scoreboard:

Tour: India to New Zealand
Series: T20
Match #: 1
Date: Wednesday February 25, 2009
Venue: Christchurch
Captains: Daniel Vettori (NZ) and MS Dhoni (Ind)
Umpires: GAV Baxter and EA Watkin; AL Hill-third umpire
Toss: NZ won the toss and decided to field
Match: NZ won by 7 wickets with 7 balls remaining
Man of the Match: BB McCullum off NZ

India 162 for 8 in 20 overs (G Gambhir bowled O'Brien 6, V Sehwag bowled O'Brien 26, SK Raina 61 not out, RG Sharma caught BB McCullum bowled Butler 7, Yuvaraj Singh LBW Vettori 1, MS Dhoni bowled Butler 2, Yousuf Pathan caught Oram bowled Nathan McCullum 20, Irfan Pathan caught Nathan McCullum bowled Ryder 12, Harbhajan Singh bowled Southee 21, Extras--6 (lb 3, w 3), TG Southee 4-0-42-1, IE O'Brien 4-0-36-2, IG Butler 4-0-29-2, DL Vettori 4-0-18-1, NL McCullum 2-0-27-1, JD Ryder 2-0-7-1)

Fall of Wickets: 1-25 (Gambhir, 1.6 ov), 2-32 (Sehwag, 3.1 ov), 3-54 (RG Sharma, 5.2 ov), 4-56 (Yuvraj Singh, 6.2 ov), 5-61 (Dhoni, 7.5 ov), 6-82 (YK Pathan, 9.4 ov), 7-101 (IK Pathan, 13.3 ov), 8-162 (Harbhajan Singh, 19.6 ov)

New Zealand 166 for 3 in 18.5 overs (JD Ryder LBW Ishanth Sharma 1, BB McCullum 56 not out, MJ Guptill LBW Harbhajan 41, LRPL Taylor bowled Zaheer Khan 31, JDP Oram 29 not out, Extras--8 (w 5, nb 3), Zaheer Khan 4-0-20-1, Ishanth Sharma 4-0-35-1, Irfan Pathan 3-0-38-0, Harbhajan Singh 4-0-19-1, Yousuf Pathan 2.5-0-37-0, Yuvaraj Singh 1-0-17-0)

Fall of Wickets: 1-2 (Ryder, 1.1 ov), 2-56 (Guptill, 6.4 ov), 3-106 (Taylor, 13.2 ov)

India's Tour to New Zealand - Schedule

India is touring New Zealand in Feb-Mar 2009. The team will play 2 T20s, 5 ODIs and 3 Test Matches. The schedule is given below:

T20 Schedule:

1st T20: Wed Feb 25, 2009 at Christchurch, 19:00 Local, 06:00 GMT, 11:30 IST

2nd T20: Fri Feb 27, 2009 at Wellington, 19:00 Local, 06:00 GMT, 11:30 IST

ODI Schedule:

1st ODI: Tue Mar 3, 2009 at Napier, 14:00 Local, 01:00 GMT, 06:30 IST

2nd ODI: Fri Mar 6, 2009 at Wellington, 14:00 Local, 01:00 GMT, 06:30 IST

3rd ODI: Sun Mar 8, 2009 at Christchurch, 14:00 Local, 01:00 GMT, 06:30 IST

4th ODI: Wed Mar 11, 2009 at Hamilton, 14:00 Local, 01:00 GMT, 06:30 IST

5th ODI: Sat Mar 14, 2009 at Auckland, 14:00 Local, 01:00 GMT, 06:30 IST

Test Match Schedule:

1st Test: Wed Mar 18-22, 2009 at Hamilton 11:00 Local, 22:00 GMT, 05:30 IST

2nd Test: Thu Mar 26-30, 2009 at Napier, 10:30 Local, 21:30 GMT, 05:00 IST

3rd Test: Fri Apr 3-7, 2009 at Wellington, 10:30 Local, 21:30 GMT, 05:00 IST