Vijay may open in the final Test!

The Tamil Nadu opener M Vijay is expected to open the innings along with Sehwag in the fourth and final test against Australia in Nagpur on November 6, 2008.

He was included in the team as a replacement to Gautam Gambhir, who was banned for one test match by match referee Broad. The ICC appeal commission upheld the decision and hence Gambhir could not play the fourth test.

Though BCCI has sent a letter to ICC indicating that they cannot accept the decision, the selection committee headed by Krish Srikanth added the Tamil Nadu opener to the team.

With no other opener in the squad, either Dravid will open, but it is very unlikely to happen. So, M Vijay is expected to make his debut against Australia and will face the fastest and intelligent bowler Brett Lee.

All the Best Vijay! Make India and Tamil Nadu proud!
(Picture courtesy: Cricinfo.com)

Tendulkar Rested for First 3 ODIs against England!

Tendulkar, the master batsman, record holder of highest run scorer in ODI and Test Cricket has been rested for the first three ODIs against England starting November 14, 2008. The BCCI said that the decision was taken keeping in mind the request from Sachin.

His last appearance in ODI was in the CB Series Final against Australia in April 2008. He was the man who gave the cup to India through his unbeaten century in the first final and followed by 90 plus runs in the second final. Though it was a team work, majority of the appreciation should go to him for the way he batted and lead the youngsters like Rohit Sharma.

Due to groin injury, he could not play in the Asia Cup and also the Kitply Cup played in Sri Lanka.

Tendulkar had requested that he be rested, citing the heavy workload as the reason, and the selectors kept that in mind when they met in Nagpur on Wednesday evening to pick the team.

Everyone hopes that he will be back in action from the 4th ODI.

The Indian Team for the first 3 ODIs: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt & wk), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, Ishant Sharma, Pragyan Ojha, RP Singh, Virat Kohli, M Vijay

Indian Squad Announced!

The Indian team for the forthcoming ODI series was announced today by the BCCI. This team will play in the first three ODIs. The team for the remaining four ODIs and two test matches will be picked later.

Sachin has been rested and the BCCI said that the request was from Sachin and not from BCCI. As per his request, we have given him rest for the first 3 ODI matches.

Tamil Nadu opener M Vijay has been included in the team, though it is not sure whether he will get a chance to play in the first three matches unless Gambhir or Sehwag make a big mistake or get injured.

Tendulkar had requested that he be rested, citing the heavy workload as the reason, and the selectors kept that in mind when they met in Nagpur on Wednesday evening to pick the team. He was expected to play this series after last featuring in the CB series in Australia back in April. A groin injury picked up during the tournament kept him away from the Kitply Cup held in Dhaka and the Asia Cup in Pakistan that followed.

Yousuf Pathan made a come back. He replaced Tamil Nadu skipper Badrinath. Sehwag, who was out due to ankle injury in the Sri Lankan ODI series is back in the team. Ishanth Sharma was rested for the Sri Lankan ODI series, made a come back to the team.

The Team for the First Three ODIs:

Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt & wk), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, Ishant Sharma, Pragyan Ojha, RP Singh, Virat Kohli, M Vijay

India v. Australia: 3rd Test: Score Board

Test: 3rd Test
Venue: Feroz Shah Kotla Ground, Delhi
Dates: October 29-November 2, 2008
Teams: India and Australia
Hosts: India
Captains: A Kumble and Ricky Ponting
Toss: India
Match Result: Drawn
Series Result: India lead 1-0
Man of the Match: VVS Laxman (India)

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 577 all out in 179.3 overs (Hayden 83, Katich 64, Ponting 87, Hussey 53, Michael Clarke 112, Watson 36, Haddin 17, White 44, Lee 8, Johnson 15, SR Clark 1 not out, Extras--57 (b 28, lb 17, w 2, nb 10), Zaheer Khan 23-5-86-0, I Sharma 25-5-84-0, Kumble 43.3-9-112-3, Mishra 47-12-144-2, Sehwag 40-9-104-5, 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), 5-399 (Watson, 122.1 ov), 6-426 (Haddin, 131.5 ov), 7-532 (White, 162.5 ov), 8-555 (Lee, 175.4 ov), 9-567 (Clarke, 178.1 ov), 10-577 (Johnson, 179.3 ov)

India 2nd Innings (lead by 36 runs) 208 for 5 declared in 77.3 overs (Gambhir 36, Sehwag 16, I Sharma 1, Dravid 11, Tendulkar 47, Laxman 59 not out, Ganguly 32 not out, Extras--6 (lb 4, w 1, nb 1) Lee 17-3-48-2, SR Clark 12-6-22-1, MJ Clarke 20.3-7-56-0, Katich 1-0-5-0, Johnson 12-0-23-1, White 8-0-23-1, Watson 7-0-27-0)

Fall of Wickets: 1-29 (Sehwag, 8.2 ov), 2-34 (Sharma, 9.1 ov), 3-53 (Dravid, 20.4 ov), 4-93 (Gambhir, 36.5 ov), 5-145 (Tendulkar, 57.1 ov)

Australia 2nd Innings (target 245 runs) 31 for no loss in 8 overs (Hayden 16 not out, Katich 14 not out, Extras--1 (lb 1), Kumble 4-0-14-0, Sehwag 2-0-14-0, Mishra 2-0-2-0)

1st Test Score Board

2nd Test Score Board

3rd Test: Ind v. Aus: Day 5: Match Drawn, Laxman MoM!

The last day did not see much of battle except for the first hour when Dravid fell to Lee. Rest of the day belong to India where they played silently and did not bother to add score quickly. In Test cricket, it is not possible to score quick runs on the fifth day, especially with a small lead of 36 runs.

With Sehwag out on the 4th day, the rest cannot play like him to add quick runs in the new ball, except for Tendulkar.

Three or four quick wickets before Lunch would have given Australia a chance, but India played well to ensure that they did not do that. India were 94 for 4 at lunch with Sachin batting on 24 and Laxman on 6.

Dravid and Gambhir fell on 5th day in the 6th and 12th over of the day respectively. Dravid dragged the ball inside and was bowled by Lee for another 11. Gambhir was unlucky to be given out leg before when the ball showed missing the leg stump. He scored 36. Tendulkar settled well and scoring nicely was a victim of soft dismissal. Once again White claimed the wicket of Tendulkar through a well flighted delivery pitched on off stump and spun away. Tendulkar tried to play the ball towards point, but played with the spin, steered it to slip and gave a simple catch to Hayden. He missed his 52nd half century by 3 runs.

Laxman scored another 50, his 36th in test cricket. He was not out on 59 with 7 fours. Ganguly remained not out on 32.

India declared the innings with 208 on the board and set a target of 245 in 23 overs.

Both teams agreed for a draw when Aussies were 31 for no wicket in 8 overs. In the remaining 15 overs, they needed 214 runs, which is not possible.

Laxman was awarded the man of the match award for his 200 not out in the first innings and 59 not out in the 2nd innings.

Scoreboard at the end of Day 5:

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 577 all out in 179.3 overs (Hayden 83, Katich 64, Ponting 87, Hussey 53, Michael Clarke 112, Watson 36, Haddin 17, White 44, Lee 8, Johnson 15, SR Clark 1 not out, Extras--57 (b 28, lb 17, w 2, nb 10), Zaheer Khan 23-5-86-0, I Sharma 25-5-84-0, Kumble 43.3-9-112-3, Mishra 47-12-144-2, Sehwag 40-9-104-5, 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), 5-399 (Watson, 122.1 ov), 6-426 (Haddin, 131.5 ov), 7-532 (White, 162.5 ov), 8-555 (Lee, 175.4 ov), 9-567 (Clarke, 178.1 ov), 10-577 (Johnson, 179.3 ov)

India 2nd Innings (lead by 36 runs) 208 for 5 declared in 77.3 overs (Gambhir 36, Sehwag 16, I Sharma 1, Dravid 11, Tendulkar 47, Laxman 59 not out, Ganguly 32 not out, Extras--6 (lb 4, w 1, nb 1) Lee 17-3-48-2, SR Clark 12-6-22-1, MJ Clarke 20.3-7-56-0, Katich 1-0-5-0, Johnson 12-0-23-1, White 8-0-23-1, Watson 7-0-27-0)

Fall of Wickets: 1-29 (Sehwag, 8.2 ov), 2-34 (Sharma, 9.1 ov), 3-53 (Dravid, 20.4 ov), 4-93 (Gambhir, 36.5 ov), 5-145 (Tendulkar, 57.1 ov)

Australia 2nd Innings (target 245 runs) 31 for no loss in 8 overs (Hayden 16 not out, Katich 14 not out, Extras--1 (lb 1), Kumble 4-0-14-0, Sehwag 2-0-14-0, Mishra 2-0-2-0)

Result: Match Drawn
Man of the Match: VVS Laxman

Fall of Wickets: 1-29 (Sehwag, 8.2 overs), 2-34 (Sharma 9.1 overs)

3rd Test: Ind v. Aus: Day 4: Match Goes Towards Draw!

,
The day 4 of the game almost took the game towards draw, with little chance for either to team to win.

India lost a great opportunity to win the series when Ishanth Sharma dropped Michael Clark--the centurian, on 21. The drive to mid off in the bowling of Mishra was not properly judged by Ishanth Sharma and went through the gap of the hands just above the head level.

If Ishanth did not miss it, the match would have turned in India's favor. Clarke was dropped again by Laxman at mid-wicket. Clarke swept Sehwag, but the ball took the edge and went high in the air. Laxman would have taken 90 out of 100, and this catch was one among those 10%.

He was again dropped by Amit Mishra at deep mid wicket. By then, all the damages were done and he was finally out trying to hit Mishra over long off and was caught by Zaheer Khan. He saved the match for Australia.

Australia scored 577 giving India lead of 36 runs, which could have been more than 150.

Kumble injured his finger in the process and had to take 11 stiches to his fingers. He finished with 3 wickets.

Sehwag picked his first 5 wicket haul in test cricket when he dismissed watson. The ball spun from outside off stump which Watson tried to play backfoot and glance it to fine leg. He missed the ball and did not read the big turn which hit the leg stump. What a turn and wonderful dismissal to watch!

India were 43 or 2 at the end of the day with Sehwag once again falling for Lee and night watchman Ishanth Sharma giving simple lolly pop catch to silly mid off of a bouncer.

India has to score at least 250 to set a target of 290 for Australia for which India need to face at least 57 overs at the rateof 3.5 runs per over. This gives Australia 31 overs with almost 9.5 runs per over, an impossible chance.

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 577 all out in 179.3 overs (Hayden 83, Katich 64, Ponting 87, Hussey 53, Michael Clarke 112, Watson 36, Haddin 17, White 44, Lee 8, Johnson 15, SR Clark 1 not out, Extras--57 (b 28, lb 17, w 2, nb 10), Zaheer Khan 23-5-86-0, I Sharma 25-5-84-0, Kumble 43.3-9-112-3, Mishra 47-12-144-2, Sehwag 40-9-104-5, 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), 5-399 (Watson, 122.1 ov), 6-426 (Haddin, 131.5 ov), 7-532 (White, 162.5 ov), 8-555 (Lee, 175.4 ov), 9-567 (Clarke, 178.1 ov), 10-577 (Johnson, 179.3 ov)

India 2nd Innings (lead by 36 runs) 43 for 2 in 13 overs (Gambhir 21 batting, Sehwag 16, I Sharma 1, Dravid 5 batting, Extras--0, Lee 1 wicket, SR Clark 1 wicket

Fall of Wickets: 1-29 (Sehwag, 8.2 overs), 2-34 (Sharma 9.1 overs)

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)