IND VS AUS 6th ODI:INDIANS LOST THE PRIDE SERIES TO AUSSIES

Dejection written on his face after losing the ODI series to Australia, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said his team lost Sunday's do-or-die match in the first 15 minutes itself.


Dhoni's gamble to bat first on a tricky track boomeranged and the match virtually slipped out of their hand by nine overs when the home side was gasping for breath at 27 for five.


"During the toss I said that the first half hour will be crucial for us but the first 15 minutes proved more than enough," Dhoni said after the match."We lost quite a few wickets after that we never really were in the game," he explained.


With the win, Australia took an unassailable 4-2 lead in the series.


For Australia, pace duo of Doug Bollinger (5/35) and Mitchell Johnson 3/39) made merry on a wicket which offered generous movement even though Dhoni defended his decision to bat first and felt a score in the vicinity of 220 could have been enough.



"Of course there was a bit of movement in the wicket but overall I think the Australians bowled really well. We could have batted second looking at the conditions but then also it would have been tough because the spinners were getting great amount of turn. I think we were fortunate enough to score 170 as at one stage, 150 was looking tough. We fell short by 50-55 runs," Dhoni said.


The Indian captain said losing a couple of close games made all the difference in the series.


"The Mohali game followed by the Hyderabad game, we should have won both. In both the matches the Australians took the game away from us. A couple of mistakes we made in the field and we lost the games," he added.


His counterpart Ricky Ponting, meanwhile, lauded his team for their spirited display, especially after losing some of their key players to injuries and said it was a memorable series win for him.


"I couldn't be happier. (This is) probably one of the best series I have been involved with. It was heartening to see the boys gel as a group especially after so many injuries. The performance of the team in the last two games have been satisfying," an ecstatic Ponting said.

PAK VS NZ ODI SERIES : NZ LEVEL THE SERIES

Brendon McCullum hit a return-to-form hundred and Scott Styris took three wickets in two overs as New Zealand beat Pakistan by 64 runs in the second day-night international here on Friday.


McCullum notched 131 to help the Black Caps post a challenging 303-8 on a flat Abu Dhabi Stadium pitch before Styris (3-23) triggered a middle-order collapse which saw Pakistan bowled out for 239, leaving the three-match series level at 1-1.


Pakistan won the first match by 138 runs on Tuesday. The final match will be played here on Monday.Chasing a daunting target, Pakistan got off to a solid start of 77 with Khalid Latif (45) and Salman Butt (59) setting the tempo. Even after Latif fell leg-before to New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori in the 17th over, Pakistan were well on course.


Butt and Younus (19) added another 47 for the second wicket before Styris struck three times in ten balls to turn the match in his team's favour.


Bowling for the first time in 13 months, Styris had Younus smartly caught at short mid-wicket by a diving Ross Taylor and then next ball induced Shahid Afridi (0) to play into the same fielder's hands. In his next over, Styris had Kamran Akmal (four) caught at short cover before Butt was run out after being sent back by Mohammad Yousuf.


Vettori then trapped Yousuf (18) to push Pakistan to the brink of defeat.Although Shoaib Malik (26) and Abdul Razzaq (35) resisted, it was too little too late against a professional New Zealand.


Earlier, New Zealand had McCullum to thank for repairing the innings through a second wicket stand of 126 with Martin Guptill (62).


Stripped of the vice-captaincy to allow him to concentrate on batting last month, McCullum steadied the innings, driving and cutting with authority during his 129-ball knock. He hit 14 boundaries and three sixes.Guptill hit five boundaries and two sixes during his 70-ball knock before holing out to paceman Razzaq.


McCullum also added 44 for the fifth wicket with Vettori (30) before Razzaq returned for his second spell to have the New Zealand captain caught behind off a miscued hit.


McCullum reached the three-figure mark off 108 deliveries. He was finally dismissed in the 47th over, bowled off an inside edge by paceman Umar Gul.


He also added 56 for the seventh wicket with Jacob Oram who made 33 not out.


Pakistan brought back Malik after resting him in the first match, while New Zealand included fit-again Kyle Mills and Neil Broom.

ENGLAND VS SOUTH AFRICA ODI SERIES

Captain Andrew Strauss hit one of three half-centuries as England made a solid start to their tour of South Africa, piling up 294 for seven in their 50-overs match against the Diamond Eagles franchise team in Bloemfontein on Friday.


Strauss hit 72 and shared a second wicket stand of 123 with Jonathan Trott (85) as England took advantage of good batting conditions after being sent in to bat.


Eoin Morgan slammed a quick 67 not out off 52 balls as the innings ended with a flurry of scoring.
Eagles opening bowler CJ de Villiers took an early wicket when he bowled Joe Denly for three but Strauss and Trott put the tourists in command.


Strauss made his runs off 85 balls with seven fours and a six before holing out to square leg against the medium-paced Ryan Bailey.


Trott took 81 balls to reach his fifty but needed only another 23 deliveries to reach 85, with seven fours, before he was bowled by Bailey.

AMITHA BACHAN PRAISES SACHIN

Praises are pouring in from all quarters after Sachin Tendulkar scored 17000 runs in One-day cricket. And, this time it came from none other than Bollywood super star Amitabh Bachchan.

Bachchansaid: "Every time he (Sachin Tendulkar) sets a new example in front of us. I congratulate him and the entire country is proud of him."This came when the world cricket fraternity was competing with each other on congratulating the little master for his rare feat.

POINTING'S CHAT IN THE MIDDLE INSPIRED THE AUSSIES

Skipper Ricky Ponting asked his team to be brave and face the might of Sachin Tendulkar and India in the nail-biting fifth ODI at Hyderabad, which Australia won by three runs.


An emotional pre-match talk from Ponting was the catalyst for a remarkable match as the Australians overcame an extraordinary 175 from Tendulkar to win by three runs.


With his team ripped apart by injuries and in a hostile environment, it was effectively an Australia 'A' attack that somehow managed to hang on as they claimed a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series, The Daily Telegraph reports."That's what I'm most proud of. Everything that's happened over the last couple of weeks, for us to keep finding ways to win games says a lot about the team, a lot about the individual players and the way we go about it," Ponting said.


"I actually asked the guys for a little bit extra, asked them to be really brave and to play the best form of cricket they possibly could and back themselves at every opportunity. I thought the first half of the game with our batting we did that to a tee, and I think even in the last half of the game with the bowling we did that really well, so it a great day for us."


Ponting also lauded Tendulkar's effort, as the Indian star became the first batsman to pass 17,000 one-day runs. His 175 came off 141 balls, but his dismissal as India needed 19 runs from 17 balls was decisive.


India must win Sunday's clash in Guwahati and again in Mumbai on Wednesday to clinch the series and top ranking from Australia.