Eden pitch ugly wicket says MS Dhoni

Kolkata: Less than a fortnight after it was criticised by Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni as an 'ugly' wicket, the Eden Gardens strip is back in focus again.

Staging the second India, West Indies Test from November 14, the much-criticised Eden wicket will hold the cetrestage with milestone man Sachin Tendulkar eyeing his 100th ton in international cricket.
Understandably, Eden curator Prabir Mukherjee who has been in the business since 1989 is under some pressure.

Even as the 80-year-old maintains that there's no added pressure on him, his recent hush-hush meeting with CAB boss Jagmohan Dalmiya tells a different story.

The CAB refuses to confirm but sources claim the Board has sent instructions to the curator for a specific tailor-made wicket, especially after India's Twenty20 loss to England on October 29.

Incidentally, there was an air of displeasure among the Bengal and Gujarat cricketers during their Ranji Trophy Super League opener earlier this week.

But the Eden curator asserted that an ideal Test wicket had been laid out for the second Test.

"People love to make concocted stories. They see me meeting with (Jagmohan) Dalmiya and write stories that he has issued me a warning, likewise," Mukherjee said.

IND VS WI 2nd test live streaming

New Delhi: Itching to attain peak fitness ahead of the tough tour of Australia later this year, pace spearhead Zaheer Khan reckons the emergence of youngsters like Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron augers well for Indian cricket.

Yadav caught the eye of many during India's one-day series against England and the subsequent first Test against the West Indies here and Aaron was equally impressive in the ODIs, and their efforts did not escape Zaheer's attention.

"It is a positive sign for Indian cricket. I was watching the morning session (of day 2 of the first Test against West Indies) and it was heartening to see Umesh bowl in that channel. They have the pace," Zaheer told PTI.

Training with his Mumbai Ranji Trophy teammates for the past few couple of weeks, Zaheer said his immediate aim was to regain 100 per cent fitness, following which he will take a call on which match he would play in the top domestic tournament.

"I have not yet decided but I will take a call on that very soon. I am trying to regain 100 per cent fitness. I have been doing full session and will take a call in consultation with the physio at the National Cricket Academy," he said.

Mumbai are scheduled to play Karnataka from November 17, followed by matches against Orissa from November 29 and Saurashtra from December 6, and Zaheer is likely to play in at least one of the three matches to prove his fitness ahead of the Indian team's departure for Australia on December 13.

Troubled by various injuries for a major part of his career, the left-arm seamer said that he wants to be part of the Indian team in Australia from start to finish.

"I have never been part of a full tour of Australia, so I want to play the full tour this time around," Zaheer said.

Zaheer broke down after bowling only 13.3 overs, during which he picked up two wickets, in the Lord's Test against England in July.

Troubled by a recurrent hamstring strain, Zaheer also underwent a surgery in England for an ankle impingement on his right foot.

He was on crutches for some time following the surgery, but later improved to be able to bowl at the nets.

"The emphasis is on bowling. I have been bowling for about two weeks. I am feeling good, and I am only building up (towards match fitness)," the 33-year-old said.

Asked about the hype around Sachin Tendulkar's impending hundredth international century, Zaheer said the fans expect nothing less than a century whenever the champion batsman walks out to bat.

"You always expect a century from Sachin. He will score, but the question is when," he said.

Tendulkar seemed on course to achieve the much-awaited landmark before a Devendra Bishoo googly foxed him when on 76 during India's victory in the first Test.

INDIA VS WESTINDIES 2nd TEST:India, West Indies teams arrive in Kolkata

Kolkata: The Indian cricket team sans Sachin Tendulkar and Ravichandran Ashwin along with their West Indian counterparts arrived in Kolkata for the second Test beginning on Monday.

Eyeing his impending 100th international century, Tendulkar is expected to join the team on Saturday, while offspinner Ashwin, who is getting married, will join the squad on the eve of the match, team sources said.

The Chennai spinner is tying the knot with Preethi Narayanan on Sunday and is expected to fly straight to Kolkata after taking the wedding vows.

Ashwin scalped nine wickets, including six in the second innings in the opening Test to earn the Man-of-the-Match award in his debut match in New Delhi.

Both the teams opted to rest on Friday and according to the local manager India will practice at 1 pm on Saturday.

Leading 1-0 by virtue of their five-wicket win in the first Test, India will aim to seal the three-match series with a victory here.

Australia vs south africa 1st test highlights:SA beat Aus by 8 wickets inside three days

Cape Town: Captain Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla blasted centuries to send South Africa racing to a crazy eight-wicket win over an embarrassed Australia in the first Test on Friday.

South Africa won inside two-and-a-half days at Newlands after trailing by a hefty 188 runs on the first innings, completing a staggering turnaround in an amazing match to lead the two-Test series.


Smith made 101 not out - the fourth time he's made a century in a successful fourth-innings run chase - and Amla 112 as South Africa hurried to their victory target of 236 for just two wickets before lunch on Day Three.

The pair shared a dominating 195-run partnership and Australia's bowlers took just one wicket on the third day in Cape Town.

This, after Australia were skittled for 47 in a game-changing collapse in their second innings on Thursday, their lowest score since the 19th century.

After that chaotic second day when 23 wickets fell and the game swung wildly in the space of four frantic hours in the afternoon, Smith and Amla restored sanity. The Proteas' pair played fluently to take South Africa to an absurd victory after they trailed by a big margin in the first innings just a day ago.

"It's quite incredible. Yesterday was a bit of a mind boggle for all of us," Smith said. "I think it's probably a win I have to give to the bowlers, the way they fought back after a bad batting display and got us back in the game and being able to close it off was terrific."

"Hopefully the next match is less stressful than this one."

Led by 151 from captain Michael Clarke, Australia made 284 batting first and blasted out South Africa for 96 for their 188-run lead, seizing complete control of the match.

But Australia suddenly slumped to their worst batting score in Tests since 1896 - and their fourth lowest total ever - to see their dominant position disintegrate in a heap of wickets on the second afternoon.

"We were in a good position but we let that slide very quickly," Clarke said. "We have no excuses for that, we played disgraceful shots. Our shot selection was horrendous, our execution with the ball today wasn't great and we let the Test match slide. Like I say, we have no excuses. We have a lot of work to do before the second Test match."

Australia also missed two crucial chances off Amla in the final stages of a traumatic Test for the Baggy Greens, dropping the right-hander off the last ball of the second day and again early on Friday when he was on 30, when Shane Watson spilled a regulation catch at first slip.

Amla sent flashing drives through the covers for his 13th Test century and first against the Aussies, powering the Proteas to victory with 21 fours in a 134-ball innings.

Amla made the most of his two lives to go on the attack. He carved three straight boundaries off Ryan Harris - the bowler who produced the two missed chances from Amla - to cruise to three figures before edging a catch to Clarke in the gully off Mitchell Johnson with South Africa 14 short of victory.

But Smith saw South Africa home with his unbeaten hundred, and first Test ton in a year, nudging a single through midwicket to complete a dramatic turnaround in a hectic Test that lasted barely two days but is set to be remembered for years.

The 195-run partnership between Amla and Smith set a record for the second wicket for South Africa in games against Australia, beating another mark that had stood for over 100 years - another milestone in a match that produced a string of records amid the madness, mainly down to the inexplicable failure of the batters, on Thursday.

All four innings featured on Day Two, 17 consecutive batsmen were dismissed without reaching double figures, and the most wickets fell on a day of a Test in more than 100 years.

Australia's dramatic second-innings slump, where they were bowled out in just 18 overs and were in danger of recording the lowest Test score ever, sent the tourists crashing to defeat in stunning and unexpected fashion.

"We got rolled for 47 and the sun was shining," Clarke said. "It's cricket, there's plenty of tough times throughout your career and I guarantee this is one tough time for our team."

"Our goal is to fight hard in the second Test and get a win and try to level the series before we get on a plane back home."

Organizers announced they allowed spectators who had tickets for Days Four and Five to use those passes instead on Friday, because of what they called "the freakish course of this exciting Test match."

The second Test starts next Thursday in Johannesburg.

Australia vs south africa 1st test highlights 96 allout

Australia vs south africa 1st test highlights 47 allout