AUSTRALIA VS ENGLAND 3rd TEST :Aussies are still vulnerable says Pietersen

Melbourne: England batsman Kevin Pietersen thinks Australia is still "very vulnerable" despite leveling the Ashes cricket series and claims the home team's new verbal aggression shows it is "under huge amounts of pressure."


In an interview with English media, Pietersen escalated vocal sparring between the teams, describing England's 267-run third Test loss at Perth as a "hiccup" and saying it was still confident of a historic series win.

Australia has credited its third Test win to its return to a more aggressive approach, shelved after its 2008 Sydney Test against India sparked a public and official backlash against "sledging" — the slang for verbal assaults on an opposing team.


In recent days, Paul Marsh, head of the Australian Cricketers' Association, said fear of the consequences of sledging had affected Australia's form and opponents had been quick to exploit its "weakness."


Marsh said Australia's win over England in Perth, which followed its innings and 71-run loss in the second Test at Adelaide, had resulted from a return to its "natural instincts."


Verbal sparring between the teams has noticeably increased. England wicketkeeper Matt Prior criticised Australian fast bowler Peter Siddle for giving him a verbal "send-off" after his dismissal in the third Test.


Siddle responded by saying England only complained because it lost.


"We won the game. That's why they're making such a big deal of it," he said.


Pietersen increased the ante on Thursday.


"When you're under extreme amounts of pressure, you talk a lot more," he said. "And the good thing about our team is, we're on a plateau. We do what we do.


"We made a hiccup last week. Yes, we were constructive in the criticism that we chucked around the team meeting about preparation and whatever. But we haven't come out and made any bold, huge statements about this and about that."


Pietersen said the English squad is keenly aware of Australia's vulnerabilities.


"There are a lot of areas in their team that are very vulnerable and we just need to do what we do and wipe the slate clean and forget Perth," he said. "Think about Adelaide, think about how well we did there and how well we did in Brisbane. We're absolutely fine."


England hasn't won an Ashes series in Australia since 1986-87 but Pietersen said the current team remained confident of revising history.


"I just think we've got a wonderful opportunity to do something that hasn't been done for 25 years," he said. "That's driving us all on to do something amazing."


Australian captain Ricky Ponting looks increasingly likely to play in Melbourne after breaking the little finger on his left hand attempting a slips catch in Perth. Pietersen said he was not surprised.


"I've played in a series with a finger broken," he said. "You just ring-block it. It's not a huge drama. You just numb it so you don't feel the pain.


"Ricky Ponting might bat without gloves; he's so tough!"


Australia wicketkeeper Brad Haddin said Ponting remained a key figure in the Ashes campaign despite his loss of batting form.


"He's our leader and we get a lot of inspiration from him," Haddin told a news conference Thursday. "He's been a great leader for Australia for a long time and especially with this group of players.


"You just have to see the turnaround we had from Adelaide to Perth to see the effect he has on the cricket team. It's very important that he plays."

INDIA VS SOUTH AFRICA 2nd TEST 2010:Optimistic Dhoni confident of bouncing back

Stung by the humiliating defeat against South Africa at Centurion, Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Wednesday said it is imperative for his team to rectify the growing tendency of losing the first Test match of a home or overseas series.

"That's one quality we have," a sarcastic Dhoni told reporters here, referring to India's innings and 25 runs defeat in the first Test."We don't really do well in the first Test. It's not only in India but even overseas. However, if you look at the previous records, we have come back well in the later stages.

Hopefully, we will be back in the next two Test matches," an optimistic Dhoni said.

The Indian captain conceded that even though they devised a few plans for the South African batsmen, it didn't work out well.

The Indian bowlers were plundered for 620 runs at the Centurion and they managed to dismiss only four South African batsmen.

"It was difficult because there was not much help from the wicket. We don't have bowlers with express pace. They don't bowl in 140s so they have to be even more precise with their line and length," Dhoni tried to defend the pace trio of S Sreesanth, Ishant Sharma and rookie Jaydev Unadkat.

"We tried different fields. We tried to contain them but were unsuccessful for the better part of their innings," the Indian captain said.

When asked whether pace spearhead Zaheer Khan's absence made a big difference in the first Test, he said, "It's not that whenever Zaheer plays, he gets wickets. But with the amount of experience in his repertoire, he always has a back-up plan ready in case the first strategy doesn't work."

"It's always difficult to predict the performance of an individual. Especially, we talk a lot about an individual when he is not present," Dhoni added.

India vs South africa 2nd test Live streaming

India vs South africa 2nd test Live streaming coming soon

Ashes 2010 3rd Test live streaming

 

Australia VS England 3rd test Live streaming 2010 coming soon 

Ashes 2010 3rd Test: Warne asks Australia to play a spinner at MCG

Australia need to play a spinner in this week's fourth Ashes Test and should consider utilising all-rounder Shane Watson's ability with the ball to bolster the pace attack, according to former spin-bowling great Shane Warne.

Australia tormented England with a four-pronged pace attack on a lively wicket in Perth last weekend to win the third Test by 267 runs and level the series at 1-1, prompting calls for the same tactics to be used in Melbourne.

"I am sure the Australian selectors will want to stick with the same winning team. Historically, Melbourne Test match has always needed a spinner, as you don't always pick a team for the first innings," Warne wrote in a blog on the Daily Telegraph website.

"It's hard to change a winning team but I think a spinner will play."

Warne took 708 test wickets before retiring at the end of the 2006-07 Ashes series and Australia have used nine spinners in a vain attempt to replace him since.

On Warne's recommendation, they ditched the ninth, Xavier Doherty, after a crushing second Ashes Test defeat in Adelaide and plucked a 10th, Michael Beer, from obscurity for the squad for the Perth Test.

Left-armer Beer, who had played just five first class matches, ended up carrying the drinks as 12th man at the WACA but was retained in the squad for the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) test, which starts on Sunday.

Warne thinks consideration should be given to a recall for off-spinner Nathan Hauritz, who has taken 63 wickets in 17 tests and responded to being dropped from the Ashes series with a string of strong performances for New South Wales.

"I think Beer was a horses for courses selection," Warne wrote. "What has impressed me about Hauritz, he's gone back and taken wickets and made runs.

"As I said before the Test series, I think Hauritz deserves first chance and if he didn't work out, try the next in line. So I think it still stands that Hauritz deserves a chance for Melbourne and Sydney."

Despite allegations in the British media that Australia had switched the playing strip for the fourth Test to a grassier pitch to suit the seamers, Warne said there was unlikely to be too much life in it.

"It's a drop-in wicket so there's not much you can do to (it)," wrote Warne, who comes from Melbourne and knows the MCG well. "It will be flat and hard work for the bowlers after the new ball has lost it's hardness after that 30-35 over mark.

"It's warm in Melbourne and staying like this for the next week so there might be a bit more grass on it at the start but I don't think it's a conspiracy ..."

Opening batsman Watson had always considered himself to be an all-rounder and should be considered as a bowling option to make way for a spinner, Warne added.

"For everyone that's asking about the four quicks, remember we have Watson to bowl quick as well when conditions suit, so if we play four quicks and Watson we have five seamers."

"Watson didn't bowl a ball in Perth so I think there is still room for a spinner and four quicks, with Watson being one of those four quicks."

INDIA VS NEWZELAND 5th ODI 2010 Live Streaming

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Yousuf blistering performance marks his arrival back to the Indian team

An unbeaten century and three crucial wickets. After being there or thereabouts for quite a while, Yusuf Pathan finally announced his arrival on the big stage with a splendid all-round show which helped India get over the line in the fourth ODI against New Zealand at Bangalore, hence keeping their hopes of a series whitewash alive.

A maiden ton and an innings studded with seven fours and seven sixes augers perfectly for Team India who are still in the process of finalising an ideal squad which will lead them to World Cup glory.

Even though the search for a genuine all-rounder continues for the Indians, Yusuf could probably fit the bill as a stop-gap arrangement at least for sub-continental conditions keeping in mind that India will host the bulk of the 2011 World Cup matches.

Regarded more of a T20 specialist in the early part of his career since making his debut in the finals of the 2007 ICC World T20 tournament, Pathan has since been attempting to cement a permanent place in the playing eleven of the ODI format.

Although a renowned hitter in the shorter version of the game, Pathan's weakness against the short-pitched delivery has been witnessed on numerous occassions. Having said that, he is by no means the only Indian batsman to struggle against the rising ball.

The entire unit was at sea during the ICC World T20 Championship in England in 2009 and it was well exploited by the opposition every time the Indians came in to bat.

Yusuf first came into the international limelight when he, along with younger brother Irfan, won a T20 game for the Indians against the Sri Lankans in Colombo early last year when the visitors seemed to be down and out.

Yusuf, who was a then a relatively unknown quantity in the global arena, snapped up two wickets and smashed 22 runs of 10 balls to end up with the man of the match award.

Coming lower down the order in ODIs, Pathan has a reasonable batting average of just under 30 with a stagerring strike rate of 110. He fares even better in the slam bang (T20) form of the game, where his strike rate exceeds 150.

Yusuf has also been a consistent performer for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL extrvaganza with a century to his name and an astounding 61 sixes in three seasons.

One might also add that Pathan is a prolific scorer in domestic cricket which was brought to light during his magnificent double ton which enabled West Zone to lift the Duleep Trophy by chasing down a record 541 in the fourth innings against South Zone.

Pathan can at best be termed as a part-time off-spinner, but his performance against the Kiwis towards the end of the innings in the Bangalore one-dayer indicates that he could possibly be groomed into a useful death bowler which could be priceless to the team's cause.

Ashes 2nd Test Highlights day 5:England win 2nd Ashes Test by an innings

Graeme Swann took three of the last six wickets to tumble on Tuesday as England dismissed Australia for 304 to complete a comprehensive innings and 71-run victory in the second Ashes Test.
England wrapped up the Test and a 1-0 series lead before lunch on the final day, with Swann, Jimmy Anderson and Steven Finn combining to claim the last six wickets for 66 runs after Australia had resumed at 238-4 with high hopes of salvaging a draw or being saved by forecast rain.

"We don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves, but if we keep these standards we have a good chance of winning the series," England captain Andrew Strauss said.The third Test starts Dec. 16 in Perth and England, which holds the Ashes after winning at home last year, could conceivably retain the old urn by taking a 2-0 lead ahead of the fourth and fifth Tests in Melbourne and Sydney.

"We've been totally outplayed this game, there's no hiding that," Australia captain Ricky Ponting said. "Now we have to find a way to get better for Perth.

"No doubt it's a bad loss for us, there's no hiding that fact, an innings and 70 runs having won the toss on a good Adelaide wicket, probably just about says it all."

Australia rallied for a stunning comeback win at Adelaide in the previous Ashes series at home, and went on to complete a 5-0 series sweep to avenge losing the previous series in England.

But after a draw to open this series in Brisbane and the loss in Adelaide, Ponting's squad looks vulnerable to slumping to its first Ashes series loss on Australian soil in more than two decades.

After Michael Clarke was out on the last ball on Monday evening to part-time spinner Kevin Pietersen, Australia's hopes rested on Mike Hussey working with the middle order and tailenders.

But Finn made the crucial breakthrough when Hussey mistimed a pull to Anderson at mid-on to depart for 52.

Three wickets in four balls effectively ended Australia's chances of a draw. Anderson had Brad Haddin caught behind for 12 and trapped Ryan Harris lbw with consecutive deliveries.

Harris' exit gave him two first-ball dismissals, known as a "king pair." He is only the second Australian batsman after Adam Gilchrist in 2001 who has had that dubious milestone in Test cricket.

Two balls later, Swann had Marcus North trapped lbw for 22. England's appeal was initially turned down but the video umpire ruled that the ball had struck the Australian batsman in front of the stumps and would have gone on to dislodge the bails.

Swann then bowled Xavier Doherty and Peter Siddle to finish with a five-wicket haul and complete England's 100th Test victory over Australia.

Before the wickets fell, North had a reprieve on 3 when Swann struck his pad but he was adjudged not out by the video umpire.

A chance from Hussey was dropped in the same over. But England took the new ball and three overs later, the breakthroughs followed.

The only setback for England was the abdominal injury for Stuart Broad which will rule the paceman out for the serious.

Australia's woes continued with veteran opener Simon Katich injuring his Achilles and likely to miss the remainder of the series.

Kevin Pietersen was voted player-of-the-match after scoring a career-best 227 in England's 620-5 declared — helping the visitors to a 375-run first-innings lead — and taking the crucial wicket of Clarke to end the fourth day.

"It's pretty incredible, (England) having been so bad four years ago to be 1-0 up in the Ashes," Pietersen said. "If we keep doing the right things, we'll win the Ashes."

INDIA VS NEWZELAND 4th ODI highlights

Bangalore: Having already clinched the series with an unassailable 3-0 lead, stand-in captain Gautam Gambhir is eyeing a clean sweep as India take on New Zealand in the fourth ODI in Bangalore on Tuesday.

"Our target is to win all five games. The team that plays better cricket in the 100 overs will win. We are looking forward towards performing well and hopefully we will keep the momentum going. We need to maintain the same intensity with which we played the earlier three matches," Gambhir told the media persons on Monday on the eve of the penultimate one-dayer.

Gambhir, however, refused to divulge about the playing XI and said that he would take a call after consultation with the coach.

The Delhi lad praised his teammates and said that at this point of time there aren't any such area where improvement is needed.

"We are always tested in international cricket. It is not that we have not got runs at the top of the order. But I must say that the bowlers have done well in all the matches where conditions were different. Be it the flat tracks in Jaipur or the seaming wicket in Vadodara, they have done well for us. Bowlers deserve the maximum credit for us winning the series ," the skipper said.

"In the next two outings, all we need to do is to play to our potential. We should stick to our strengths and hopefully we will win," he said.

Gambhir also ruled out any chance of complacency and stressed on the fact they needed to field their best side in order to win.

"It is a young side and we have some experienced players in the squad too. It is an international game and we need to field a best team. It is not like that we have won the series and we will be taking things lightly," he sounded cautious.

"The good thing is that we don't take any game lightly.

"In the due course, if youngsters get an opportunity, I think they need to grab it. Right now, we would like to field the best amongst the available lot for the match."

When asked whether team's bowling in the slog over is a concern, the southpaw said, "It is difficult for bowlers to contain with the old ball and it applies more so in third powerplay as well. It is always difficult for bowlers in such situations in one-day games."

Although it is a known fact that some of the juniors will have to again warm the benches when the seniors like Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Suresh Raina come back, Gambhir feels that everyone should get enough opportunities to prove their worth at the international level.

"They have done it in the past and I think they should get enough opportunity to express themselves in international cricket. For example, if you see, Ravindra Jadeja or Yusuf Pathan have not got enough opportunities with the bat."

"Pathan had batted in the last 10 overs only. He has not got enough chance to take on the bowlers. We can still think of giving them the opportunity by putting them in early so that they can use those chances to their advantage."

"If you have watched the first game, you will find that Yusuf batted with tail-enders. He was in a situation that he had to go after each and every delivery."

He said, "I may just ensure that Yusuf gets to bat with the top-order so that he can play enough deliveries and use his destructive batsmanship to good effect."

The skipper termed the Baroda batsman as a match-winner.

"He is a match-winner. I would personally see what's the situation in our tie tomorrow. The top four have really done well and I do not think Pathan could be brought up in that order. If the situation arises, we might promote him at number five."

When the skipper was asked about his splendid return to form with back-to-back centuries, he replied, "I think I had always been saying that the captain is as good as the team."

"I have got such quality in the side that I do not need to do much. Bowlers like Zaheer, Ashish and Munaf have played enough international matches and Yuvraj has been of great help to me in the middle. If I need to take any suggestions, I know that there is someone to whom I can walk up to."

"I have enough players in the side to deliver for me and I must say that I am lucky as to having such a great bunch of guys and I always believed that the captain is as good as his team. It's not the captain only who wins you a game but the team effort is the main reason.

"I have enjoyed captaincy. It is a responsibility and to live to the best of my ability and hopefully I can continue in the next two games."

INDIA VS NEWZELAND 4th ODI Live Streaming

Bangalore: With an unassailable lead in hand, the rampaging Indian cricket team will now push for a series whitewash when it takes on a grossly mismatched New Zealand in the inconsequential fourth cricket one-dayer of the five-match rubber here on Tuesday.

Stand-in skipper Gautam Gambhir has led from the front with back-to-back centuries to inflict one of the worst series defeats on the visitors in the two countries' bilateral history which dates back to 1975-76.

The second string team's exemplary performance in the absence of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh has also given a boost to the side's World Cup aspirations.

The young players such as Virat Kohli, Murali Vijay and Saurabh Tiwary have made an impact and would have impressed regular captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni just a couple of months ahead of the World Cup being hosted in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Chairman of the national selection panel, Krish Srikkanth, said the youngsters have done well for themselves and their performance has shown that team's World Cup preparations are going according to plan.

"Youngsters in the team have proved that the bench strength is good. It is important that we keep winning all our matches up to the end of the World Cup," Srikkanth said ahead of the match.

"Overall, I am confident that the players will perform to their potential and keep the momentum. I am glad that the preparation for the World Cup is on the right track," he said.

As for Tuesday's match, the Indian players are an upbeat lot and would be looking to keep the momentum going for a whitewash.

Despite being a second-string side, the Indians have proved themselves better on all counts against a short-of-confidence New Zealand, which came here after being hammered 0-4 by minnows Bangladesh.

The Indian line-up has not exactly missed the dashing Virender Sehwag or the reliable Sachin Tendulkar as the likes of Virat Kohli have stepped in effortlessely against a rather ineffective Kiwi attack.

Kohli, who has been in good nick in the domestic circuit, has been solid so far along with Murali Vijay.

The Indian bowling has been spearheaded well by senior pacer Zaheer Khan along with the spinners. Young off-spinner R Ashwin has, in fact, managed to make quite an impact but he has to be more economical in the middle overs.

The Kiwis, on the other hand, have been struggling and skipper Daniel vettori has to do a lot of head-scratching to find a way out of the slump that has gripped the team after a fighting performance in the Test series.

Vettori and his men would be desperate to regain confidence which has been dented severely by three defeats on the trot.

The key to it is a solid batting performance and the visitors will look towards Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum to give them the rare cracking start. Ross Taylor and Scott Styris can consolidate from there on.

Kiwi new ball bowlers Kyle Mills and Andy McKay and one-change pacer James Franklin have the ability to disturb any combination along with Vettori but the quartet has so far struggled on pitches which have always been a batsman's delight.

Ashes 2nd Test Day 5 Live streaming

Adelaide: Kevin Pietersen struck vital blows with bat and ball against Australia on Monday as England moved into a winning position in the second Ashes Test.

After scoring a career-high 227 in England's first innings of 620 for five declared, Pietersen dismissed Michael Clarke for 80 in the last over to seriously dent Australia's resistance and leave the hosts hoping that forecast rain on Tuesday will wash out the fifth and final day.

Australia was 238-4 at stumps on day four, still 137 adrift with three sessions remaining.

Clarke and Mike Hussey (44 not out) put on 104 for the fourth wicket before the Australian vice-captain pushed a ball from part-time spinner Pietersen to Alastair Cook at short leg. The umpire initially rejected England's appeals but the decision was successfully challenged in a fitting finish to a brilliant day for Pietersen.

His double century helped England to a 375-run first innings lead and exposed even more concerns for Australia's misfiring bowling attack — which has taken only six wickets at a cost of more than 1,100 in England's last two innings.

Before Pietersen's breakthrough, despite pressure from Graeme Swann — who bowled 34 straight overs from the Cathedral End — and Steven Finn, England had rarely troubled the Australian fourth-wicket pair before or after the 57-minute postponement for bad light and heavy rain in the third session.

Earlier, Simon Katich (43), Ricky Ponting (9) and Shane Watson (57) fell during the middle session to leave Australia three-down at tea.

The Australia openers had survived unscathed until lunch before Swann struck twice shortly after the resumption.

He had Katich caught behind to a ball moving away from the left-hander. Ponting played positively hitting Swann for two boundaries before he was deceived by a top-spinning delivery and edged to Paul Collingwood at slip.

Stuart Broad dropped a tough caught-and-bowled chance from Watson after the ball was driven back at him. Shortly afterwards the fast bowler left the field with a strained stomach muscle and did not bowl for the rest of day four.

Watson didn't last much longer before he nicked Finn to Andrew Strauss at slip. Finn was England's most dangerous paceman, and particularly troubled Hussey with reverse swinging deliveries.

Earlier in the day, England added 69 runs in 41 minutes to its overnight score of 551-4 but elected not to push to surpass its highest ever total batting in Australia: 636 all out scored in Sydney in 1928.

Ian Bell ended the innings on 68 not out, Prior scored 27 off just 21 deliveries.

IND VS NZ 3rd ODI : Gautham Gambhir's blistering knock pose a easy win over kiwis

Vadodara: Skipper Gautam Gambhir cracked an unbeaten 126, his second century on the trot, to power India to a series-clinching nine-wicket victory over New Zealand in the third ODI here on Saturday.


The Delhi left-hander played a captain's knock that followed his match-winning unbeaten 138 in the second ODI in Jaipur on December 1 as India easily chased down the target of 225 in 39.3 overs to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.


Gambhir, who smashed 16 boundaries with his flicks and drives in the 117 balls he faced, put on 115 runs for the opening wicket with Murali Vijay who made a slow 30 in 50 balls before being run out.


The solid foundation laid by Gambhir, who notched up his ninth ODI hundred in 103 matches, with Vijay was carried forward by number three Virat Kohli, who continued his form from where he left in the previous two matches.

Kohli, who had scored a match-winning ton at Guwahati and a half century in Jaipur, remained unbeaten on 63 in 70 balls with six fours and two sixes. He also hit the winning runs, a six over long on.

The second wicket duo of Gambhir and Kohli put on 114 runs in 125 balls without being separated to help the home team score a comprehensive victory in front of a weekend, capacity crowd.

Today's win, India's ninth successive ODI victory over New Zealand, left the remaining two matches in the five-match series in Bangalore (December 7) and Chennai (December 10) just mere contests of academic interest.

The hosts won the opening match at Guwahati by 40 runs and then took a 2-0 lead with a thumping eight-wicket victory in the second ODI in Jaipur.

Chasing New Zealand's modest score, built around James Franklin's unbeaten 72, India were on the offensive from the first ball thanks to Gambhir who raced to his 50 in only 30 balls with nine fours and then got his next 50 in 58 balls with the help of four fours.

He struck left arm Andy McKay for three successive fours after having dispatched the other new ball bowler Kyle Mills for two in as many balls previously.

The manner in which the 29-year-old Delhi player batted blew away any hopes New Zealand might have nurtured to come back into the match after posting a modest score when conditions were slightly in favour of the bowlers.

Earlier in the morning, another left-hander, James Franklin, led New Zealand's revival with an unbeaten half century and helped the visitors recover from a poor start to post a fighting score.

The visitors made a disastrous start by losing their openers within the first five overs and were struggling at 106 for seven before Franklin (72 not out) and Nathan McCullum staged the recovery act with a stand of 94.


Left-handed Franklin batted sensibly after coming in at 49 for 4 in the 16th over even as continued to tumble from the the other end.


He top-scored for the Black Caps with the help of five fours and one six in 108 balls while McCullum made 43 in 53 balls with four fours.


Their eighth-wicket stand off 107 balls took the score to 200 after the Kiwis had lost half their side for 77.


Apart from the eighth wicket pair, only opener Martin Guptill (12) and Scott Styris (22) reached the double figures in a largely uninspiring display put up by the Kiwis after they were asked to bat first by the hosts.


For India, Zaheer Khan (2/31), Yusuf Pathan (2/37 and R Ashwin (2/49) shared six wickets among them while Munaf Patel chipped in with one scalp.


The pitch for the match was a major surprise at a venue that normally provides flat tracks. There was a lot of bounce for the pace bowlers and bounce and turn for the spinners.


New Zealand batsmen, having played on low bouncing tracks after coming to India in early November, were undone by the extra bounce.


Zaheer Khan utilized the bounce to the fullest extent in his splendid first spell of seven overs as he made early inroads into the Kiwi top order.


Coming off after a three-week lay-off, the left-arm paceman struck in the second legal ball of his first over when he prised out danger man Brendon McCullum, who also came into the series after missing the opening two ties because of a back problem.


McCullum was caught in second slip by Murali Vijay off a rising ball that moved away a shade.


Munaf bowled tightly to return with one for 28 while spinners Yusuf Pathan and Ashwin did their but in the middle overs to claim 2 for 27 and 2 for 49 respectively.


When India batted, Gambhir straightaway got into his groove by singling out Mills for special treatment.


Though Vijay crawled at the other end, the aggressive approach by his captain ensured that the hosts were never put under any pressure.

IND VS NZ :Indian squad for remaining ODI's

Zaheer Khan made a comeback to the Indian ODI squad while Suresh Raina and S Sreesanth were rested ahead of the important South African series on Thursday when the BCCI Selection Committee announced the teams for the last three ODIs against the visiting New Zealand team.


The selectors, however, chose to announce two teams - one for the third ODI and another one for the last two matches of the series.

Apart from Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar and R Vinay Kumar are the other two who returned to the team.


Team for the third ODI: Gautam Gambhir (c), Murali Vijay, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Sourav Tiwary, Yusuf Pathan, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), R. Ashwin, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Praveen Kumar, Munaf Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Vinay Kumar


For the last two ODIs of the series, the selectors decided to have a look at Parthiv Patel and Rohit Sharma. While Parthiv replaces Wridhiman Saha for the fourth and fifth ODIs, Sharma comes in place of R. Vinay Kumar


Team for the fourth and fifth ODI: Gautam Gambhir (c), Murali Vijay, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Sourav Tiwary, Yusuf Pathan, Parthiv Patel (wk), R. Ashwin, Ashish Nehra, Munaf Patel, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, Ravindra Jadeja, Rohit Sharma

INDIA VS NEWZELAND 2nd ODI: Gambhirs blistering performance leads to a easy win over the kiwis

S Sreesanth's inspired spell at the death helped India restrict NZ to 258/8 after Scott Styris and Martin Guptill notched up contrasting half centuries in the second ODI here on Wednesday.

Opting to field after the coin landed in his favour, the Gautam Gambhir-led India rode on S Sreesanth's four wickets to restrict the Kiwis to a manageable target after Styris and Daniel Vettori threatened to take the match away from India with a swashbuckling half-century stand at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium here.

Sreesanth's wickets included opener Jamie How, Styris, Daniel Vettori and Kyle Mills. Munaf Patel, Yusuf Pathan and Ravichandran Ashwin took a wicket each even as opener Martin Guptill played the sheet-anchor's role to perfection.

The Kiwi was given out in controversial circumstances when he fell caught behind to Ashwin after making a painstaking fifty. His innings was laced with three boundaries and a lofted six off Pathan over midwicket.

Styris and Vettori took over after Guptill's dismissal.

Styris powered his way to a breezy 59 off 56 balls with the help of five fours and a huge six, while Vettori contributed 31 off 32, an innings that included four hits to the fence.

Sreesanth, however, had other ideas and struck when India needed him the most, removing dangerman Styris and Kiwi skipper Vettori off successive balls. Nathan McCullum survived the hat-trick ball.

Often perceived to be profligate with the new as well as the old ball in the shorter format of the game, thanks to his high economy rate, Sreesanth on Wednesday bowled much better, hardly straying in line and length.

It was no surprise to see the Kerala bowler give India the first breakthrough, in the form of Jamie How's wicket. It was a fullish delivery just outside off that moved away late on landing. How went for a drive but only managed to get an edge and wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha did the rest.

The temperamental pacer not only used his stock ball - the out-swinger that moves away late from a good length - to good effect but also brought the batsmen forward without bowling half volleys and the occasional incoming deliveries kept the Kiwis on their toes.

First-change Munaf, coming in for the mediocre Ashish Nehra, impressed immediately, posing some serious questions to Guptill and Williamson. Maintaining a good line and length instead of bowling flat out, Munaf was rewarded for his discretion when he went through the gate of Williamson in his fourth over.

The young Kiwi was just shaping up to play a good innings when Munaf got one to swing in slightly from a good length that clipped the bail on the off-stump.

Munaf could have had another in his bag, when Ross Taylor attempted an extravagant shot off the bowler, but Ravichandran Ashwin, positioned in the region between deep square-leg and deep mid-wicket, dropped a sitter to deny the bowler what should have been a well-deserved wicket.

That miss, however, didn't turn out to be a costly one as Yusuf Pathan flummoxed Taylor with the first ball of his spell.

Taylor, who top-scored for the visitors in their 40-run defeat in the first match in Guwahati, went for a slog-sweep to a delivery that pitched over midwicket, but could not clear the waiting hands of Virat Kohli.

Ashish Nehra, on the other hand, was nowhere close to his best in his first spell, though he managed to hit the pads a few times. When he pitched the ball short, Kane Williamson was equal to the task pulling him over square for a boundary, his first scoring shot during his brief but impressive innings.

The over-pitched ones were either driven through the cover or straight down the ground while the length balls were punched through the cover-point region by the Guptill and Williamson.

Nehra was brought back in the 38th over of the Kiwi innings, immediately after Guptill's dismissal, but he hardly looked threatening.

Ashes : Englands top orders brilliancy pose the first test to end in a draw

England head to this week's second Adelaide Test with all the momentum after dominating Australia over the final two days of the Ashes opener which ended in a draw at the Gabba on Monday.

England ensured they would not be beaten in the first match of their Ashes defence after conceding a 221-run innings deficit when Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott shared in England's highest partnership in Australia of 329 runs.

Cook became only the fourth Englishman to score a Test double-century in Australia with his unconquered 235, while Trott hit 135 not out before skipper Andrew Strauss called a halt at 517 for one, 40 minutes before tea.

Australia tried to avoid further collateral damage in their 26 overs to the close and were 107 for one when the match finished in a draw.

Ricky Ponting scored his 56th Test half-century to be 51 not out and Shane Watson was on 41.

Records and personal bests kept tumbling for England on the anti-climactic last day as Cook and Trott pummelled the Australian bowlers.

Cook joined Wally Hammond (3), Reg Foster and Paul Collingwood as double centurions with his 625-minute epic off 428 balls in the highest score by either team in 19 Ashes Tests at the Gabba.

Their unbroken partnership surpassed the previous highest stand by England in this country of 323 held by Jack Hobbs and Wilfred Rhodes at Melbourne in 1911-1912.

When Trott's 100 came up it was the first time three English players have scored a century in an innings of a Test match since 1924.

On that occasion the top three batsmen -- Jack Hobbs (211), Herbert Sutcliffe (122) and Frank Woolley (134 no) -- all scored hundreds against South Africa at Lord's.

Cook surpassed his previous highest Test score of 173 and also passed Ian Botham's 138 as the highest English run scorer at the Brisbane ground, set back in 1986.

It was also only the second match in Test match history to feature two 300-plus partnerships following Mike Hussey-Brad Haddin's 307-run stand in Australia's first innings 481.

The other was the drawn Pakistan v India first Test in Lahore in 2006.

England landed psychological blows on the Australians as Cook and Trott had frolicked before a small last-day crowd dominated by England's taunting Barmy Army fans, which made it more like a Test at Lord's.

More salt was rubbed into Australia's wounds with two more embarrassing dropped catches, making a total of five for the match.

Vice-captain Michael Clarke put down a regulation chance off Trott (75) at slip off Shane Watson's bowling and Ponting dropped Cook (222) in the slips.

It only got worse when Simon Katich was caught at first slip by Strauss off Stuart Broad for four in the sixth over of Australia's second innings.

Australia will have plenty to ponder ahead of Friday's second Test at the Adelaide Oval after England came away from the Gabba without losing for the first time since the drawn Test in 1998.

Over the course of the five days only 22 wickets fell, and just seven over the last three days on the bat-friendly flat Gabba pitch.

IPL 4: Sachin, Dhoni's base price 1.84cr

Around 62 Indian cricketers will be up for auction for the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) with Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and the legendary Sachin Tendulkar in the top-bracket of cricketers valued at Rs 1.84 crore.


However, Tendulkar and Dhoni are likely to be retained by their respective franchises -- Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings.



Former India captains Sourav Ganguly, Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid along with VVS Laxman are in the third bracket which has a base price of Rs 92 lakh.


The cricketers who will command the highest base price of Rs 1.84 crore are Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh.


The second bracket is that of Rs 1.3 crore where Twenty20 specialist Yusuf Pathan finds a place alongside speedster Zaheer Khan and the talented Suresh Raina.


Similarly stand-in ODI captain Gautam Gambhir, who didn't have a great IPL 2 and 3, has been priced in the third bracket at Rs 92 lakh along with the likes of Virat Kohli, Irfan Pathan, Robin Uthappa, Ashish Nehra, Ishant Sharma, Praveen Kumar and veterans such as Ganguly, Kumble, Dravid and Laxman.


The fourth bracket is of Rs 46 lakh which consists of domestic cricketers and the fringe India players who have represented the country since 2005.


Bengal players Wriddhiman Saha, Manoj Tiwary, Ashok Dinda along with Saurashtra's Cheteshwar Pujara are some of the players in the fourth bracket.


The fifth and final bracket is of Rs 23 lakh where there are India discards such as Manpreet Gony, Sudeep Tyagi, Sridharan Sriram to name a few.


The five brackets of base price: 1st: Rs 1.84 crore; 2nd: Rs 1.3 crore; 3rd: Rs 92 lakh; 4th: Rs 46 lakh; 5th bracket: Rs 23 lakh


List of Players up for auction


Andhra: Yelakka Venugopal Rao; Assam: Sridharan Sriram Baroda: Yusuf Pathan, Irfan Pathan, Ambati Rayudu, Munaf Patel;


Bengal: Sourav Ganguly, Manoj Tiwary, Wriddhiman Saha, Ashok Dinda;


Delhi: Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, Ashish Nehra, Ishant Sharma


Gujarat: Parthiv Patel, Siddharth Trivedi Haryana: Joginder Sharma, Amit Mishra


Hyderabad: VVS Laxman, T Suman, Pragyan Ojha


Jharkhand: Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Saurabh Tiwary


Karnataka: Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, Manish Pandey, Abhimanyu Mithun, R Vinay Kumar, Robin Uthappa


Kerala: S Sreesanth


Mumbai: Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan, Wasim Jaffer, Abhishek Raut, Rohit Sharma, Abhishek Nayar, Ramesh Powar


Madhya Pradesh: Naman Ojha


Punjab: Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Manpreet Gony, VRV Singh


Railways: Murali Kartik Rajasthan: Pankaj Singh


Saurahstra: Ravindra Jadeja, Cheteshwar Pujara


Tamil Nadu: Dinesh Karthik, S Badrinath, R Sathish, R Ashwin, M Vijay, L Balaji


Uttar Pradesh: Mohammed Kaif, Suresh Raina, Praveen Kumar, Sudeep Tyagi, Piyush Chawla, Rudra Pratap Singh


Vidarbha: Umesh Yadav.

ASHES : COOK FIGHTING BACK THE AUSSIES

Centuries from Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook set up a dominating fourth day for England as the tourists reached 309-1 at stumps on Sunday and closer to a likely draw with Australia in the first Ashes Test.


England came into the day 202 runs behind Australia, but enters the final day leading by 88 with Cook unbeaten on 132 and Jonathan Trott on 54.



Strauss and Cook shared a 188-run opening stand to produce England's best ever partnership at the Gabba ground before the England captain was dismissed for 110, stumped by Brad Haddin off Marcus North.


Cook needs seven more runs to record England's best score at the Gabba and surpass Ian Botham's innings in 1986-87.


The opening partnership surpassed the stand of 160 by Graeme Hick and Graham Thorpe in 1994.


Strauss was dominant in the morning session, being particularly severe on Shane Watson who he hit for four boundaries in five overs. He brought up his first century in Australia with a superb late cut off Xavier Doherty.


Strauss then seemed to lose his rhythm, scoring just 10 from his next 40 deliveries, before a rash cross-batted shot caused his demise.


Cook looked less assured, but ground his way to his second century against Australia.


Although England toiled in the field for much of the previous day against centurions Mike Hussey and Brad Haddin, their bowlers produced a much better comeback at the end of the day, taking five wickets for 31 runs. In contrast, Australia's bowling attack failed to make an impact Sunday and, despite overcast conditions, there was no discernible swing.


In a day of few opportunities for the Australians, Trott gave a slight chance to Michael Clarke at point off the bowling of Peter Siddle.


Australia's hero in England's first innings, Siddle was also unlucky in the morning session as Cook edged just wide of third slip and later Strauss missed his leg stump from an inside edge.


Strauss was given a reprieve before lunch while on 69 when he hit a Doherty ball to Mitchell Johnson at mid-on, but the chance was dropped.


England scored 260 in the first innings before Australia notched 481 in reply with centuries from Hussey and Haddin.

IND VS NZ 1st ODI: INDIA CLINCH A EASY VICTORY OVER KIWIS

Virat Kohli's sparkling century helped India script a 40-run win against an injury-hit New Zealand in the first ODI to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series here on.


Chasing a challenging target of 277 at the Nehru Stadium here, New Zealand were short on experience with skipper Daniel Vettori and explosive opener Brendon McCullum missing out due to back injuries as the visitors were all out for 236 in 45.2 overs.



Stand-in skipper Ross Taylor top-scored for the Kiwis with a fighting 66 from 69 balls studded with three sixes and three boundaries.


At 169 for eight, New Zealand looked to give up easily but Nathan McCullum (35 from 35 balls, 4x4) and Kyle Mills (32 from 28 balls, 2x4, 2x6) produced a 67-run ninth wicket stand to give India some tough time in the middle.


But Sreesanth (three for 67) broke the partnership dismissing Nathan and Mills with te former being brilliantly caught by skipper Gambhir as India won the match with 28 balls to spare.


Under intense scrutiny, Yuvraj Singh failed with the bat but he was really effective with his bowling claiming three for 43 from his full quota of 10 overs, while off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin took a career-best three for 50 to help India take the series lead.


Thanks to a compact 105 by in-form Kohli, the new look Indian side under Gautam Gambhir put on 276 as they were bowled out in 49 overs after the hosts were sent in to bat.


Fresh from his back-to-back centuries in Ranji Trophy, the Delhi lad played a neat and chanceless knock from 104 balls with 10 boundaries for his second consecutive and fourth overall one-day century.


But Kohli's dismissal brought in a stunning Indian collapse as the lower-order managed 26 runs from last six overs something that exposed the new look side's inexperience at this level.


At 250/4 in the 44th over, with Kohli going great guns, a total in excess of 300 looked within easy reach but it was not the case after the centurion's dismissal by Andy McKay.


But New Zealand fought back with a planned and calculated bowling in the fag-end especially by left-arm seamer McKay who returned with a career-best figures of 10-1-62-4.


New ball bowlers Kyle Mills and Daryl Tuffey claimed three for 42 and two for 56 respectively.


With no McCullum, the New Zealand openers of Jamie How and Martin Guptill lacked the firepower as the visitors were slow and cautious to start with.


Nehra broke the opening stand for 32 scalping How (9) as his partner Guptill, after being dropped twice by Murali Vijay, did not last long departing for 30.


Stand-in skipper Taylor held the fort even as wickets kept falling in at the other end with Yuvraj doing a great job for India with his slow left-arm orthodox spin.


Taylor and Kane Williamson (19) looked good during their 67-run third wicket stand but Yuvraj did not let the partneship going.


Just when Taylor was beginning to look dangerous with his towering sixes, Ashwin gave the crucial breakthrough as New Zealand were reduced to 154 for seven after 33.3 overs.


Earlier Kiwi new ball bowlers, Mills and Tuffey, extracted some fine seam movements early on as openers Vijay (29 from 32 balls, 5x4) and Gambhir (38 from 38 balls, 6x4) survived some anxious moments in the early morning start.


The Indian duo however did not look under any pressure in absence of Virender Sehwag as they stitched 44 for the opening wicket before Vijay was done in by Tuffey with wicketkeeper Gareth Hopkins taking a brilliant catch running backwards.


Kohli settled soon his second-wicket partnership of 48 did not last long with Gambhir falling in a soft dismissal to McKay.


Due for a big knock, Yuvraj was slow and watchful to start that saw India scoring just 17 in the five overs in the bowling powerplay from 10-15 overs.


Having consumed 28 balls for his first eight runs, Yuvraj opened up to the New Zealand spin attack that missed Vettori sorely as Nathan McCullum and Kane Williamson bowled their conventional off-breaks.


Kohli, meanwhile, raced to his ninth half-century in a rather nondescript way but he ensured that they were on track for a big total.


In their 88-run stand for the third wicket, Kohli was compact and flexible in rotating the strike while Yuvraj looked to score in boundaries before he edged one behind the stumps.


A jaded Suresh Raina (13, 1x4) continued with his poor Test run into the ODIs, as the southpaw lasted 18 balls before becoming Mills' victim.


After Kohli's dismissal for 250 in the last ball of 44th over, the Indian inexperience showed as the lower order collapsed.


Yusuf Pathan played a cameo of 29 from 19 balls laced with three fours and one six, as debutant Wriddhiman Saha (4), Ravichandran Ashwin (0), Ashish Nehra (0) and Sreesanth (1) were dismissed cheaply.


But the total was enough to rattle New Zelanders who missed their regular skipper Vettori and opener McCullum badly to trail in the five-match series 0-1.


India have rested their star performers including skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh who were not considered due to injury concerns.

Three months to go - inspire your CWC team

 

To mark three months to go to the start of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, fans from across the globe are being asked to pick which inspirational images should go on the dressing room walls of their favourite team at the event.

Repeating the concept that proved to be very popular with players and supporters at the ICC World Twenty20 2010, supporters are being asked to choose their favourite images and leave good luck messages for the team.

Using this feedback, the most popular images will then be selected to go on the dressing room walls for the tournament.

Fans can select their favourite images and leave their inspiration messages on the ICC’s official Facebook page which is accessible from www.facebook.com/cricketicc.

Photos will be added during the course of the next month, with India fans having the first chance to have their say on 19 November.

Haider urges ICC to increase its vigil

Runaway Pakistan wicket-keeper Zulqarnain Haider has admitted that he deserted his team midway through a series as he feared for his life and has asked the ICC to monitor suspected players phone calls and movements to eradicate corruption from the game.

In a hurriedly convened press conference at a restaurant in Southall on Wednesday, Haider confirmed that he had met ICC's Anti Corruption and Security Unit and spoke at length about his decision to abandon his team in the middle of an ODI series against South Africa in Dubai earlier this week after receiving death threats.

"It was very hard for me when I got threats from one person in Dubai. I just felt very nervous that he gave me threats," he said.

"The best way is to record all the players' phones and where they are going. I've heard back in Pakistan that a lot of people are involved in fixing but I think the ICC is doing a good job," he said.

"I just want cricket to be clear of any fixing and all bad things," he added.

Haider reiterated the threat made to him before the fourth ODI against South Africa in Dubai but said the person who issued the warning was not known to him.

"I was told if you work with us, we will give you a lot of money; if not, we will not select you again in cricket and if you go back home, we will kill you and your family," he said.

"I think they were interested to 'book' me for the fourth and fifth ODI."


The 24-year-old stumper fled to London, where he sought temporary asylum and later retired from international cricket citing threats to his life from match-fixers.


"This country is very humane, very co-operative and there are very nice people here and there are very good rules here for my safety. That's why I came here," Haider said.


He, however, insisted that he had no plans of seeking permanent asylum in the UK.


"I don't want any aid from the British government. I want to be a good citizen and I am a good citizen also in Pakistan. I want to live in peace."

The 24-year-old stumper refused to accuse any of his team-mates of fixing matches and explained why he took the extreme step without informing anyone.

"I didn't want to explain all things to my management because if I tell them, maybe it would create problems for my teammates and my management," Haider said.

He mantained that he was clean and had never involved himself in any wrongdoing.

"Check all my accounts around the world."

Haider also said that he had a meeting with Pakistan High Commission in London on Wednesday and have sought protection for his family back home.

"I wish they will protect my family because I have two daughters and a wife. So I want to be safe," he said.

INDIA VS NEWZELAND 2nd Test:KIWIS HARD DAY AT THE NETS

India batsman V.V.S. Laxman will play his first ever Test in his home city of Hyderabad on Friday when Test cricket returns there for the first time in 22 years as the hosts take on New Zealand.


India will be hoping they will not need to rely on Laxman as much in the second Test of the series as it did in the first, when he scored a resolute 91 to help the hosts salvage a draw after being reduced to a humiliating 15-5 in their second innings.



Though Harbhajan Singh outscored him with 115, he acknowledged that Laxman had played the pivot during their match-saving partnership of 163 for the seventh wicket.


"I knew I needed to just stay there and things were made easier because Laxman was there with me," Harbhajan said as India escaped with a draw after starting the series as clear favorite against the eighth-ranked Test side.


Laxman has played decisive roles in his last three Test appearances.


The 115-Test veteran had scored 103 not out against Sri Lanka at Colombo earlier this year for a five-wicket win and then made 73 not out in a dramatic one-wicket victory over Australia in Mohali. He had missed the next test that India played against Australia due to an injury before returning for the New Zealand series.


"We know we can always rely on Laxman," said India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who was positive about his team's prospects despite the mediocre display in the first Test. "It was for just one hour at Ahmedabad that we did not play well."


New Zealand paceman Chris Martin's spell on the fourth day, when he accounted for Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar among others in his five-wicket haul, helped the Black Caps quickly forget a shock 4-0 loss to Bangladesh in a limited-overs international series last month.


He had little support from a depleted bowling attack that missed debutant pace bowler Hamish Bennett and useful seamer Jesse Ryder due to injuries during the match.


Bennett, who had a groin injury, has subsequently been replaced in the tourists' squad by James Franklin.


"We are happy with the way we played at Ahmedabad," New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor said after Wednesday's practice session.


"Martin's spell has given us a lot of confidence, but it would be wrong to say that we held the edge in the match. It was an even contest and a good match of test cricket," added Taylor.


Taylor felt there would be a better chance for bowlers here.


"Spin might play a big part and this pitch will not be as flat as the one at Ahmedabad," said Taylor.


The Rajiv Gandhi Stadium is a new addition to the list of Test grounds, as the previous three tests in the city had been held in the older Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium. Those three tests were also against New Zealand.


Test cricket returns to the city at a time when Hyderabad is struggling in domestic cricket, having been bowled out by Rajasthan for a record low of 21 in the national Ranji Trophy championship earlier this month.

Tendulkar named as ICC's ambassador ICC CWC

With exactly 100 days to go, the ICC today announced the appointment of India batting legend Sachin Tendulkar the official event ambassador for cricket's flagship event, the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.

Throughout his long and successful career to date Tendulkar has inspired hundreds of millions of cricket lovers around the world with his personality, skill, temperament and love for the game.

Since making his debut for India in 1989 at the tender age of 16, on the field he has scored more international runs than anyone else in history while also adhering faithfully to the spirit of cricket. Off the field he has always carried himself as a true champion, making him a perfect role model and one of the most recognisable and popular sportsmen of his generation.

In his role as ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 ambassador he will be called upon to promote and support a variety of ICC initiatives for the tournament, which is the third biggest sporting event in the world and will take place in Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka from 19 February to 2 April next year.

"There are just 100 days to go and I am really looking forward to playing in another Cricket World Cup," said Tendulkar, who will join Pakistan's Javed Miandad as the only other player to take part in six World Cups.

"In terms of limited-overs cricket, the ICC Cricket World Cup is the highest level you can play so it is always a thrill to take part in such an important and widely followed event.

"The fact that the 2011 event will be staged here in the sub-continent makes it even more special for me and I am keen to ensure we play well. As a team we would be doing everything we can to win the world cup on home soil " he said.

ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said: "We are very lucky to have such an extraordinary player as Sachin supporting our flagship event.

"I don't think any other player has inspired a nation like he has and the respect and affection he enjoys goes way beyond his native India. Many other athletes and sports fans around the globe admire what he consistently achieves and what he does for cricket."

Three-wicket Hilfenhaus rocks India

Mohali: The Indian top order crumbled under pressure as the home team lost four wickets chasing 216 to win the first Test match against Australia at the PCA stadium on Monday.


At stumps on Day 4, Sachin Tendulkar (10) was on the crease and he was being supported by Zaheer Khan (5). For Australia, Ben Hilfenhaus took three wickets, while Doug Bollinger chipped in with one wicket.Earlier, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Rahul Dravid were back in the pavilion as India got off to the worst possible start.


The spin duo of Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha struck in the second session as India kept the Australians on a tight leash, reducing them to 165 for six at tea.


Wicketkeeper batsman Tim Paine was batting on nine after Harbhajan dismissed Marcus North of the last delivery before tea being caught by substitute Cheteshwar Pujara at silly point.


The visitors now enjoy an overall lead of 188 runs with four second innings wickets in hand.


After Ishant Sharma rocked the Australian top-order in the morning session, the post lunch session belonged to spinners Harbhajan and Pragyan.


Starting the session at 100 for three, Ojha, who got a bit of stick in the morning session, drew Simon Katich forward as the ball spun away from the left hander. The edge was taken by Mahendra Singh Dhoni behind stumps. Katich scored 37 with the help of two fours.


Michael Hussey (28) got a bad decision when he was adjudged leg before trying to sweep a Harbhajan delivery that pitched well outside leg stump. He ended the Test on a disappointing note.


Earlier in the morning session, pacer Ishant Sharma produced a hostile spell to grab three quick wickets on a dead track and reduce Australia to 100 for three after they raced away to 87 for no loss in the first hour and half.


Watson smashed 56 off only 59 deliveries -- an innings which was in stark contrast to his toiling century in the first essay -- before Ishant snared three quick wickets to bring India right back in the match.


Watson added 87 runs with Simon Katich for the opening stand before Ishant bowled a deadly second spell from the pavillion end to dismiss the all-rounder, rival captain Ricky Ponting and his deputy Michael Clarke in a space of two overs to bring the hosts right back into the match.


Ishant, who started in an erratic manner giving away 17 runs in two overs, had brilliant figures of 3-2-8-3 to show for in his second spell. His pre-lunch session figures read 5-2-25-3.


Among his three victims, Watson should curse himself for doing a hara-kiri.


Ishant bowled one wide outside the off-stump and the opener went for a wild slog over deep mid-wicket but dragged it back onto his stumps. Watson hit seven boundaries and a huge six off Pragyan Ojha during his knock.


Ponting started with a boundary but Ishant got his man when the Australian skipper pulled a short one straight into the hands of backward square leg which was specifically stationed for that particular shot. Suresh Raina took a well-judged catch.


The lanky speedster from Delhi was over the moon when he got Michael Clarke to flick one to short mid-wicket where Virender Sehwag was standing.

ICC Ambassadors for 2010 - 2011 announced

The ICC today announced the appointment of five current leaders of cricket as its ambassadors for 2010-2011 which includes ICC's flagship event - the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.

Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara, England's ICC World Twenty20 2010-winning captain Paul Collingwood, Australia vice-captain Michael Clarke, India vice-captain Virender Sehwag and Simon Taufel of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires have agreed to become ICC Ambassadors for a 12-month period.

As such, these highly respected individuals will be called upon to promote and support a variety of ICC events and initiatives, including the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, THINKWISE, Spirit of Cricket and the Pepsi ICC Development Programme.

By making appearances at press conferences, social events and coaching clinics, the ICC Ambassadors will also provide valuable support and general awareness of the activities of the ICC and its key stakeholders.

Given the distinguished performances of this elite group of professionals, both on and off the cricket field, and the prestige associated with being appointed an ICC Ambassador, 2010-2011 promises to be an exciting year ahead.

For Sangakkara and Taufel, it is the third successive time that they have been appointed as ICC Ambassadors since the programme was launched in 2008 while Collingwood, Clarke and Sehwag have been appointed for the first time.

Previous ICC Ambassadors include Rahul David (India), JP Duminy (South Africa), Charlotte Edwards (England) and Lisa Sthalekar (Australia).

ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said: "To have such fantastic personalities who are hugely respected figures within the game give their support to the work we do is reassuring.

"Virender, Michael, Kumar, Paul and Simon have so much to offer and to have access to their valuable time and energy for issues of importance to the ICC is beneficial to the game as a whole," he said.

Chennai lift Champions League trophy

Johannesburg: The Chennai Super Kings created history by winning the Champions League Twenty20 event, the first by any Indian side, after beating the Warriors by 8 wickets in the summit clash on Sunday.


Murali Vijay (58 off 53) and Michael Hussey (51 not out off 46) chased down the 129-run target set by the opponents with an over remaining.Though, Warriors' bowlers created few jitters at the end of Chennai's innings, but the home side was fighting a lost battle since the time their batters finished with a below-par score.


Super Kings' skipper MS Dhoni (17 not out off 12) provided the finishing touch as he hit a huge six and two fours in the penultimate over of Juan Theron.


Earlier, wickets, including the price scalp of skipper Davy Jacobs, at regular intervals derailed the once steady-looking Warriors' innings as the home side struggled to put up a challenging total in the final.


For the IPL champions, Chennai, the spin combination of R Ashwin and Muttiah Muralitharan proved a lethal weapon as the duo shared five wickets between them.


Even though, CSK knew what Davy Jacobs could do once he gets going, and that is what the Warriors' skipper did, hitting a flurry of boundaries from the beginning.


Jacobs took the attack straight away to the opposition, hitting two boundaries off Doug Bollinger in the very first over. The Warriors' skipper followed it up with a spanking cover drive in the next over of Albie Morkel.


He further dented Chennai's plans with four more boundaries in the subsequent overs. But Chennai got the breakthrough in the form of Ashwell Prince (6 off 9), who was castled by Bollinger.


Ashwin, who has been a revelation for the Chennai side in this tournament, provided the wicket of Jacobs (34 off 21) as soon as Dhoni brought him into the attack. The Warriors' skipper misjudged the line of the off-spinner and was strapped in front of the wicket while trying a reverse sweep.


After Jacobs' wicket, the tussle for survival started for the Warriors' batsmen as they struggled to decode the spin of Aswhin and seam-up deliveries of L Balaji.


The pressure did the trick for Chennai as Colin Ingram (16 off 23) lofted a full-length delivery of Morkel which was neatly taken by Suresh Raina while running backward.


Warriors would have expected a lot from Mark Boucher (5 off 11), but the seasoned wicket-keeper stuck in the web created by spin legend Muralitharan.


Raina took the second blinder of the day as he dived in the mid-wicket region to sent Justin Kreusch (17 off 17) back to the dug out.


Craig Thyssen, with his big hitting, damaged the bowling figure of Balaji as the right-handed batsman hit two fours and a six off the medium pace bowler. He was foxed by Muralitharan and with that the Warriors innings finished with 128/7.


In reply, the Chennai openers made a solid start and once seeing off few early overs, both Vijay and Hussey started tearing Warriors' bowlers apart with their free flowing play.


While Vijay was the aggressive between the two, Hussey always kept the required run-rate under control and ensured a thumping win for his side.

CSK VS RCB : RAINA "S THUNDERING BLAST HELPS CSK TO MARCH INTO THE FINALS

Ever since Dale Steyn walked off the field without bowling a ball, events unfolded in Chennai's way. It started from Suresh Raina murdering bowlers and continued into the Bangalore innings that never gained momentum and eventually folded up for 123/9 to concede a comprehensive 52-run win.


After water from the heavens turned the Twenty20 affair into a 17-over showdown, it was fours (5) and sixes (6) from Suresh Raina's bat that stormed the Kingsmead as the big-match player butchered Bangalore bowlers, punishing them for 94 runs in 48 balls.



Bangalore were always behind the eight ball chasing a revised target of 176 as per the D/L method. Rahul Dravid got a golden ball duck, which triggered a procession of Bangalore batsmen that continued until the fall of last wicket.


Only Manish Pandey (52 off 44) put up some fight against a Chennai attack that showed teeth right from the first ball. Both Doug Bollinger (3 for 27) and Albie Morkel (1 for 13) were unplayable and took full advantage of a freshened-up pitch under overcast skies.


The middle and lower order of Bangalore tried to use the long handle but were doing that in a losing cause and in that endeavour became victim to Muralitharan (2 for 38), R Ashwin (1 for 32) and L Balaji (1 for 13).


The turn of events started in the Chennai innings when Steyn hurt himself after the rain delay while taking a catch to dismiss Michael Hussey (6). The premium fast bowler hit his head and back badly on the ground, which left him dizzy and not in a state to bowl a single ball.


Bangalore became a bowler short and that too of the quality of Steyn who could run through an opposition with his sheer pace.


From that point on, it was exclusively a Suresh Raina show. The southpaw feasted on Bangalore bowlers who had no answers to Raina's prolific stroke play. Watching Raina go berserk, Bangalore almost resigned to the fact that they would be chasing a mammoth total and looked like waiting for their turn with the bat.


Murali Vijay was the other notable contributor in the Chennai's 174-run effort, scoring 41 off 32 balls in an 81-run second-wicket partnership with Suresh Raina.


Chennai will now face the winner of second semifinal between South Australia Redbacks and Warriors to be played on Saturday.

SHOAIB BALL TAMPERING CAUGHT ON THE CAMERA

Pakistan troubled England tour ended with another controversy as their premier fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar was caught on television allegedly tampering with the ball during the last ODI at Rose Bowl, the Daily Mail reported on Thursday.


The pacer could be seen apparently running his left thumb along the ball's seam before dropping the ball on the ground and standing on it with his spiked right boot during the game on Wednesday.Pictures were taken in the 41st over of England's innings as Shoaib prepared to bowl to Paul Collingwood.


It is not the first time Shoaib, 35, has come under the spotlight at the Rose Bowl. Four years ago, he was filmed by Sky cameras flicking at the ball with his thumb during a one-day international here against England.


On that occasion Shoaib was cleared but was warned about his behaviour after being accused of tampering with the ball during a Test match in Zimbabwe in late 2002.


The following year he was banned for two ODIs and fined 75 per cent of his match fee after being found guilty of the same crime against New Zealand in Sri Lanka.

CSK VS WARRIORS: CHENNAI MARCH TO THE SEMIS TO FACE RCB

Chennai went on to beat the Warriors by 10 runs on Wednesday and set up a semifinal clash with Bangalore in the Champions League. The spinners played an instrumental role in defending a paltry 136 by claiming six of the eight wickets to fall.

Warriors' chase never gained momentum, more so against the spinners than the faster men. The South African club never looked in against R Ashwin who opened the bowling with Doug Bollinger. And later spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan, Shadab Jakati and part-timer Suresh Raina joined Ashwin to have Warriors in knots.

They kept losing way with wickets at regular intervals. Ashwell Prince (9) fell to a superb one-handed diving catch from fellow South-African Justin Kemp at the slips. It started the slide with the score at 24, which soon became 63/3 once Davy Jacobs (32) and Colin Ingram (17) fell to Shadab Jakati and Suresh Raina respectively.


It was clear that Warriors had one eye on 109, a score which would ensure a semifinal outing for them. But in doing that, they almost conceded the match to Chennai.


Once Warriors had 109 on board, Boucher did try to press home for a win, which in the end proved a little too late on a spinning track.


With 15 needed off the 20th over, bowled by Murali, the Warriors had their backs against the wall facing the wily Sri Lankan legend.


All-rounder Johan Botha looked at sea against the turning ball and in the end Warriors were found 10 runs short of the target.


Earlier in the evening, Justin Kreusch's 3/19 raised serious question marks over Chennai registering a win and qualifying for the semifinals in the must-win encounter against tournament favourites Warriors.


Chennai openers backed skipper MS Dhoni's decision to bat first with an opening stand that went from steady to authoritative as Michael Hussey and Murali Vijay registered fifty of the partnership.


But the hero of Warriors' bowling lineup, Justin Kreusch, struck in the nick of time by removing Vijay (35 off 27). It triggered a mini collapse for Chennai who lost 4 wickets for 36 runs after being 63 for no loss.


Suresh Raina (6) and S Badrinath (2) too fell prey to Kreusch's dream spell of 4-0-19-3. But the scorecard wore a worried look when Johan Botha got rid of top-scorer Hussey (50) soon after.


From there on, Warriors tightened their grip on the proceedings, stifling Dhoni and Anirudh Srikkanth for runs that came in ones and rare twos.


Just when it seemed the Warriors were executing their death-bowling plans to perfection, arrived a 17-run penultimate over that gave Chennai hope to finish with a flourish but it wasn't to be.


Rusty Theron removed Srikkanth (7) in the last over, followed by Justin Kemp's one-ball stay at the wicket that ended with him sacrificing his wicket to get Dhoni on strike.


The desperation didn't work for Dhoni and Chennai as Theron finished with a five-run last over that restricted Chennai to a paltry total of 136/6.


Chennai now face Bangalore and Warriors take on the Redbacks in the semifinals.