Sachin becomes highest run-getter in Test Cricket

The long wait is finally over! India's prolific batsmen Sachin Tendulkar surpassed Brian Lara's record to become highest run-scorer in Test cricket history. He achieved this milestone against Australia in the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Mohali.

West Indies batting great Brian Lara scored 11953 runs in 131 Tests at an average of 52.89 while the Indian maestro reached this mark in 152* matches at an average of 54.11 runs.

In his 19-year-old career, Sachin made and broke many records. Sachin made his Test debut in 1989 at karachi against Pakistan then he was only a 16-year-old boy.

He's come a long way since then and has been India's batting mainstay for years. The 35-year-old is already the world's top-scorer in One-Day Internationals (16,361) and has the most centuries in Test matches (39) and one-dayers (42). He has scored 49 Test half-centuries and 89 ODI fifties.

Sachin crossed 12000 run mark in Test Cricket

Sachin's Career Records

I salute and congratulate to Sachin (The greatest cricketer ever) for his phenomenal achievement.

First Test Match ended in a draw

A target of 299 in a minimum of 83 overs, after Ricky Ponting had declared the Australian second innings at 228 for six after just five overs of batting on the final morning, the Indians finished at a comfortable 177 for four after six of the 15 last hour mandatory overs had been bowled when the two teams decided to shake hands and call it a day and match.
It was a tension filled-day for the Indian batsmen, whose reputation had taken a beating in the last series in Sri Lanka. Ponting had also timed the declaration well, giving himself the option of taking the second new ball for at least a few overs if it was required. The overnight batsmen Brad Haddin and Shane Watson were clearly under instructions to hit out. As many as 35 runs were added in a mere five overs before the bowlers were given the task of bowling the Indians out.
It is not very often that the Indian batsmen have come to the party in the fourth innings, be it batting out time or achieving a target. Monday was different even if wasn’t so at the beginning. With Virender Sehwag again finding the lone slip, Mathew Hayden pouching him low off Stuart Clark and the one man born to kill time, Rahul Dravid uncharacteristically falling to a catch at short midwicket, the stage seemed set for the usual ten pin like fall.
The fifth day pitch, with its varying bounce and wide cracks, and the Australian wisecracks were all dealt with ease. Young Gautam Gambhir (29) played his part in a 53-run third wicket stand with Tendulkar (49) but it was the master’s day even if he missed overtaking Brian Lara’s Test aggregate of 11,953 by 15 runs.
Its Tendulkar's calm batting that set the tone for Laxman (42 not out) and Ganguly (26 not out) to follow.

Scorecard

Ponting slammed his maiden ton in India in the first Test Match on Day1

Riding on skipper Ricky Ponting's 123 runs, Australia were 254 for the loss of 4 wickets at the close of day's play in Bangalore Test.

Ponting, who averages a little over 13 against India on their soil, had vowed to break the jinx before the series commenced and he did it in style as he slammed his maiden hundred on the Indian soil in the first Test.

This was his 36th Test century and sixth against India. Putting a 166-run partnership with opener Simon Katich, he strengthened Australia's position in the match. After Katich went, Mike Hussey joined him and added 60 runs.

Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh continued to be Ponting's nemesis as he got rid of the Australian skipper for the ninth time in Tests. Harbhajan pitched the ball outside the off-stump; Ponting expecting it to rise, tried to sweep, but the ball kept low and hit his pad. Vice-captain Michael Clarke joined Hussey (46*) after his departure and added 28 runs for the fourth wicket but Zaheer Khan trapped him for 11 runs in the last over. Umpires called it a day with four balls to spare.

While his captain's innings remains the highlight of day, Katich's contribution was no less significant as he kept one end intact and allowed Ponting to score freely. He scored 66 runs before Ishant Sharma got him caught behind.

Katich's opening partner, Hayden had a disappointing day as he perished to Zaheer for a zilch. Put in to field first, Zaheer struck with the third delivery of his first over. A fuller delivery forced the Australian to play it and wicketkeeper MS Dhoni made no mistake behind the stumps when the ball brushed past Hayden's bat.

Highlights of the day:

Ricky Ponting, playing in his 200th Test innings, posted his 36th hundred - his sixth against India and his first in India.

Ponting's 123 off 243 balls is his highest score against India in India, eclipsing his 60 at Kolkata in 1997-98.

Harbhajan has dismissed Ponting nine times in 10 Tests - the most times he has been dismissed by any bowler.

The 166-run stand for the second wicket between Katich and Ponting is Australia's best for this wicket-position at Bangalore, outstripping the 78 between Allan Border and Andrew Hilditch in 1979-80.

Cameron White became the 402nd Australian player to make his Test debut.

Scorecard

Saurav Ganguly anounced his retirement from test cricket

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly is to retire after the upcoming Test series against Australia in India.

Sourav Ganguly has said he will retire after the upcoming Test series against Australia. His statement, a moment of unscripted drama at the end of a routine press conference in Bangalore, ends widespread speculation over his future.

"Just one last thing lads, before I leave, I just want to say that this is going to be my last series," Ganguly said after taking the last question of his press conference. "I've decided to quit. I told my team-mates before coming here. These four Test matches are going to be my last and hopefully we'll go on a winning note."

With that, he got up and walked out, offering no explanation for what led to the decision.

Ganguly, 36, has played 109 Tests, 49 as captain, amassing 6,888 runs at an average of 41.74, including 15 hundreds and 34 fifties.

He played 49 Tests as captain, the most by an Indian. The 21 matches won during his tenure is also an Indian record, and his win percentage of over 40 is the highest for players who have captained India in more than one Test.

In 311 ODIs, he scored 11,363 runs at 41.02. He captained India in 147 ODIs. His last ODI was against Pakistan in Gwalior on November 15, 2007. He is one of only three players to complete the treble of 10,000 runs, 100 wickets and 100 catches in ODIs, Sanath Jayasuriya and Sachin Tendulkar being the others. Along with Tendulkar, he formed a prolific partnership at the top of the order, with 6609 runs at an average of nearly 50 per stand in 136 innings.

Ganguly made his debut in international cricket in 1992 by being selected for the one-day team and later entered the Test format in 1996.

His highest Test score was 239 and ODIs 183. In the latest shorter version of the game -- Twenty20 -- he scored 726 runs, at an average of 25.92, the highest being 91.

Starting with a hundred on debut, Ganguly's Test average has never dipped below 40.

"I salute to the southpaw for his remarkable contribution and achievement that felt us(Indian) proud. "

Lanka wins Asia Cup as India choke again in the final

Karachi: Sensational spinner Ajantha Mendis took six wickets for just nine runs to help Sri Lanka beat India by 100 runs in the final here on Sunday to successfully defend the Asia Cup title. As expected, the 23-yearold spinner mesmerised the Indian batsmen with career-best figures to cause a slump which saw India lose nine wickets for 97 runs and were bowled out for 173 in 39.3 overs. Sanath Jayasuriya hit a fighting 125 to help Sri Lanka post a decent 273 in their 50 overs on a flat National Stadium pitch. Mendis, playing for the first time against India since making his debut in April this year, bowled eight overs of beguiling spin to beat his previous best of 5-22 against United Arab Emirates in the first round last week. He also bettered the best bowling figures in Asia Cup history, erasing the 5-19 record set by Aaqib Javed for Pakistan against India at Sharjah in 1995. The spinner from Moratuwa finished with 17 wickets in the batsman-dominated tournament. India got off to a rapid start, reaching 36 by the fifth over when Gautum Gambhir (6) was caught in the covers of Chaminda Vaas. Mendis came into bowl the 10th over with Sehwag (60) dealing only in boundaries. Off his second ball, Mendis lured the Indian opener and had him stumped. Sehwag hit 12 boundaries during his 36-ball knock. Two balls later, Mendis beguiled Yuvraj Singh with a straighter delivery to bowl him without scoring and in his third over bowled Suresh Raina (16) with another peach to leave India at 93-4. In his fourth over, Mendis trapped Rohit Sharma with another one that skidded before spinning partner Muttiah Muralitharan ended a resolute 35-run stand between Dhoni and Robin Uthappa (20). Mendis returned to remove Irfan Pathan and Rudra Pratap Singh.

RajasthanRoyals win the nailbiting final of IPL against ChennaiSuperKings at Mumbai

Yusuf Pathan's phenomenal all-round act helped Rajasthan Royals win the Indian Premier League 2008 in a thrilling last-ball finish against Chennai Super Kings. In what must be one of the finest all-round performances in recent times, Pathan turned the match on its head twice --- first with the ball, then with the bat. Chennai were off to an assuring start. Parthiv Patel and S. Vidyut added 39 for the first wicket when Pathan struck. In fact, he went on to take the first three wickets, bowling his stump-to-stump spin. Then, with Rajasthan under the burner at 42-3 Pathan struck a characteristically brutal 56 (39 balls, 3 fours, 4 sixes) to bring his team at the doorsteps of a famous win. When Yusuf was run out by a blinding direct hit from point by Suresh Raina, the Royals needed 21 from 14 balls. Chennai were not spectacular with the bat, but they worked hard to get 163-5 runs on the board. The going wasn't easy --- Chennai managed just nine fours, to go with seven sixes --- and relied heavily on good running to reach their score. After an enterprising start by their openers Patel (38) and Vidyut (16), Chennai lost their way a bit against the off-spin of Yusuf Pathan who took 3-22, his best figures in the IPL. Raina provided the pulp to the innings with his 43 from 30 balls and left the stage to his skipper to provide the finishing touches. Dhoni made 29 (17 balls).Chennai must rue their finish. They made just 46 runs in the last five overs when they had six wickets in the dugout. But Shane Watson and Sohail Tanvir were not easy to get away. The two mixed their full tosses, bouncers, slow balls and yorkers to keep Chennai's batsmen guessing. Pathan walked away with the man of the match in the final game while Watson is the man of the series. Tanvir, for his 22 wickets, won the purple cap. The orange cap for the highest scorer went to Shaun Marsh of Kings XI Punjab. Warne's side received a cheque of USD 1.2 million, while the runners-up Chennai got half that amount.

Rajasthan Royals take on Delhi Daredevils in the first SF of the IPL

A high-octane contest between two well-balanced sides is on the anvil when table toppers Rajasthan Royals take on the confident Delhi Daredevils in the first semifinals of the Indian Premier League on Friday.The two teams, which finished first and fourth in the preliminary 56-game phase of the Twenty20 league, look evenly matched .The Shane Warne-led Rajasthan, impregnable at home in Jaipur, had finished with only three losses from their 14 preliminary phase ties and have a 1-1 head-to-head record against the Daredevils, led by Virender Sehwag, who got into the last four with seven wins and 15 points to their credit.Both the teams have depended on their top-order to fire well and pile up a big total, and middle orders of both the sides looked a bit under-prepared when chips were down. The battle between McGrath, with support from Sri Lankan Farveez Maharoof and V Yo Mahesh, and Rajasthan's successful innings launchers Graeme Smith (416 runs) and Swapnil Asnodkar could be crucial to the game's outcome.The same applies to the Sohail Tanvir-Shane Watson-Munaf Patel combine who will be up against the marauding Delhi opening pair of Gautam Gambhir (523) and Sehwag (403), as well as another in-form batsman at number three, Shikhar Dhawan.Tanvir, with his extra quick bowling arm action similar to another Pakistani Wasim Akram, has been a real revelation in the IPL and has hardly been collared by any rival batting line-up, indicated by his superb haul of 21 wickets at just 10 runs per victim. Winning the toss and fielding first has become the order of the day for matches which commence at 8 pm and the trend is likely to continue on Friday.It has been largely rain-free so far in Mumbai, barring light drizzles, and the IPL authorities must be hoping that the weather remains clear over the next few days.

Teams

Delhi Daredevils: Virender Sehwag (c), Gautam Gambhir, Shikhar Dhawan, Rajat Bhatia, A b de Villiers, Tillakratne Dilshan, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Brett Geeves, Glenn McGrath, Farveez Maharoof, V Yo Mahesh, Mithun Manhas, Amit Mishra, Pradeep Sangwan, Mayank Tehlan, Manoj Tiwary.

Rajasthan Royals: Shane Warne (c), Graeme Smith, Swapnil Asnodkar, Kamran Akmal, Yousuf Pathan, Mohd. Kaif, Shane Watson, Ravindra Jadeja, Niraj Patel, Sohail Tanvir, Siddharth Trivedi, Pankaj Singh, Munaf Patel, Mahesh Rawat, Dinesh Salunkhe, Morne Morkel, Taruwar Kohli.

RajasthanRoyals tame the DeccanChargers in front of their home crowd

9th Match 24th April

Hyderabad: Symonds's heroic effort goes in vain when warne got required 19 runs in his last over as DeccanChargers once again fell short in their third successive IPL League match. RajasthanRoyals get their batting act together in tremendous way.Yusuf pathan shows his hitting power and made 61 from just 28 balls, smith was exceptional and kaif also hit some good shots.

Brief Score:

DC

Batting: 214/5, Symonds-117*(11-4s, 7-6s), R sharma-36

Bowling: Afridi-3/28, D Kalyankrishna-1/30, C Vaas-1/42, RP Singh-1/44

RR

Batting: 217/7, Smith-71(9-4s, 2-6s), Y Pathan-61(4-4s, 6-6s), M Kaif-34, S Warne-22*

Bowling: Y Pathan-2/20, S Warne-2/47, S Watson-1/32

Result: RR won by 3 wickets

Sehwag shows his brilliance against DC, IPL update till 23rd April

6th Match 21st April

Jaipur: Shane warne's tremendous bowling effort and Shane Watson's sensible batting earns first victory for RajasthanRoyals against PunjabKingsXI.

Brief Score

PKXI

Batting: 166/8, Yuvraj-57(6-4s, 3-6s), Goel-26, Chawla-24*, Sangakara-20

Bowling: I Pathan-1/21, J Hopes-1/33, B Lee-1/35, Sreesanth-1/38

RR

Batting: 168/4, Shane Watson-76*(5-4s, 5-6s), R Jadeja-36*(5-4s, 1-6s)

Result: RR won this match by 6 wickets

7th Match 22nd April

Hyderabad: Sehwag's blitzkrieg knocks demolish DeccanChargers in their first home ground match.

Brief Score

DC

Batting: 142/8, Rohit Sharma-66(6-4s, 4-6s)

Bowling: RP Singh-1/27

DD

Batting: 143/1, Sehwag-94*(10-4s, 6-6s), Shikhar Dhawan-25*

Result: Delhi Daredevils won by 9 wickets

8th Match 23th April

Chennai: Chennai SuperKings defeat MumbaiIndians in a thriller by 6 runs.

Brief Score:

CSK

Batting: 208/5, M Hayden-81(12-4s, 2-6s), S Raina-52(3-4s, 3-6s), MS Dhoni-30(4-4s, 1-6s)

Bowling: Jogendar Sharma-2/29, Muralidharan-2/40, M Gony-1/18, Amarnath-1/57

MI

Batting: 202/7, A Nayar-45*(6-4s, 1-6s), R Uthappa-43(6-4s, 1-6s)

Bowling: M Khote-2/29, D Kulkarni-1/25, A Nehra-1/35

Result: CSK won by 6 runs.

IPL round up till 20th April Sunday

1st match 18th April

Bangaluru: Kolkata Knight Rider(KKR) defeated Bangalore Royal Challengers(BRC) by 140 runs thanks to the record breaking effort by Brendon Mcullum who made 158 from merely 73 balls.

Breif Score:

KKR

Batting: 222/3, Mcullum-158(10-4s, 13-6s), Ponting-20, D Hussey-12, Ganguly-10

Bowling: Agarkar-3/25, Ishant-1/7, Dinda-2/9, Ganguly-2/21, L Shukla-1/12

BRC

Batting: 82/10, Praveen-18*

Bowling: Zaheer-1/38, Noffke-1/40, Kallis-1/48

Result: KKR defeated BRC by 140 runs.

2nd Match 19th April

Mohali: Chennai Super Kings(CSK) won this match by 33 runs thanks to the Hussey's heroic effort 116 from just 54 balls as he taken only 50 balls to score fastest hundred in the league and broke the record of Mcullum 53 balls hundred that he created against BRC last night.

Breif Score:

CSK

Batting: 240/5, M Hussey-116(8-4s, 9-6s), S Raina-32, Badrinath-31*, Hayden-25
Bowling: Muralidharan-1/33, M Gony-1/42, Amarnath-1/42, Jogendar-1/47

PKXI
Batting: 207/4, Hopes-71(10-4s, 3-6s), Sangakara-54, Goel-24, Yuvraj-23, Katich-21*

Bowling: I Pathan-2/47, Bret Lee-1/35, Mota-1/24, Hopes-1/53
Result: CSK won by 33 runs

3rd Match 19th April

New Delhi: Delhi DareDevils(DD) won by 9 wickets as RajasthanRoyals(RR) put merely 129 on board, Gambhir and Dhawan made 58 and 52 not out respectively.

Breif Score:

RR

Batting: 129/8, R Jadeja-29, Salunke-26*, Watson-21

Bowling: Watson-1/31

DD

Batting: 132/1, Gambhir-58*(7-4s, 1-6s), Dhawan-52*, Sehwag-12

Bowling: Mahroof-2/11, Bhatia-2/17, Mcgrath-1/21, Vettori-1/35

Result: DD won by 9 wickets

4th Match 20th April

Kolkata: Kolkata KnightRiders(KKR) won by 5 wickets. Hyderabad DeccanChargers(DC) put only 110 runs on a rough wicket.

Breif Score:

DC

Batting: 110/10, Symonds-32(2-4s, 2-6s), Gilchrist-23

Bowling: Vaas-2/9, Ojha-2/18, RP Singh-1/15

KKR

Batting: 112/5, D Hussey-38*(1-4s, 3-6s), Ganguly-14

Bowling: Karthik-3/17, Agarkar-2/19, Hafeez-1/8, Ishant-1/9, Dinda-1/18, D Hussey-1/35

Result: KKR won by 5 wickets

5th Match 20th April

Mumbai: Bangalore RoyalChallengers(BRC) won this match 5 wickets. Mumbai Indians(MI) got weaker due to absence of Tendulkar.

Breif score:

MI

Batting: 165/6, Uthappa-48(5-4s, 1-6s), Jayasuriya-29, Pollock-28

Bowing: Harbhajan-2/36, Kulkarni-1/19, Jayasuriya-1/39, Nehra-1/45

BRC

Batting: 166/5, Boucher-39*(4-4s, 2-6s), Dravid-32, Kallis-25, R Taylor-23, Kohli-23

Bowling: Zaheer-2/17, Akhil-2/17, Praveen-1/29

Result: BRC won by 5 wickets

IPL all set to roll today in a few hours

Bangalore: History will be created here as the mutli-million dollar IPL event gets under way in just a few hours. In the past, the Chinnaswamy stadium has hosted cricket matches and Miss World pageants; but for the first time, entertainment and sport — in that order — will converge in a big way. It will be interesting to see which comes out on top at the end of the night. For their part, Bangalore fans will be hoping that their team hands out a royal defeat to Team Kolkata in the inaugural match on Friday night; the visitors will be hoping to ride on some luck and pluck to start off on a victorious note too. The organisers — thanks to the local association — have remembered to lay out a lush green outfield and a cricket pitch too; this despite the primary task of putting up a stage for the artists, along with power lasers from the rooftop and massive speakers all along the ground. People in charge have no doubts that the pitch will remain true for the entire 40 overs. But will the highly paid cricketers live up to expectations and deliver a cracker of an opener? We will have to wait and see. There is no dearth of stars in either side. Both are led by former Indian captains and contain a host of international stars, with four from each side allowed to take the field as per the rules of the tournament. The total prize money of Rs 12 crore (the winner gets Rs 4.8 crore), ensures that the players will be interested till the very end. Big money has attracted the biggest of stars and led to an international integration that will see Australians team up with New Zealanders, South Africans with Sri Lankans along with the mother of all combinations, Indians with Pakistanis. If Dravid, the Bangalore skipper, has players such as Jaques Kallis and Mark Boucher with the experience to help him out on the field, Kolkata’s Ganguly will look to Ricky Ponting for support.

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India level series against SA in Kanpur Test

Kanpur: It's a famous victory at the Green Park as India level the three-Test series against South Africa. Harbhajan Singh (four for 44), Ishant Sharma (two for 18) and Virender Sehwag (a blistering 22) have turned the match around. The stand-in skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni joined a very exclusive set of captains by winning very first test as a captain. South Africa resumed the third day positively but the ball turned viciously and the changes became even more rapid survival became impossible for the South Africans.They had only 61 to defend. To chase 61 India lost only two wickets of Sehwag and Jaffer. Saurav Ganguly was named the Man of the Match while Harbhajan got Man of the Series award.

Brief Score

South Africa

Batting

Ist Innings: 265/10, Smith-69, Hashim-51

2nd Innings: 121/10, Smith-35

Bowling

Ist Innings: Morkel-3/63, Steyn-3/71, Harris-3/101, Ntini-1/47

2nd Innings: Morkel-1/8, Harris-1/36

India

Batting

Ist Innings: 325/10, Ganguly-87, Laxman-50

2nd Innings: 64/2, Sehwag-22

Bowling

Ist Innings: Harbhajan-3/52, Ishant-3/55, Chawla-2/66, Sehwag-1/18, Yuvraj-1/39

2nd Innings: Harbhajan-4/44, Sehwag-3/12, Ishant-2/18, Sreesanth-1/9

Zaheer named Wisden's Cricketer of the year in their 2008 edition

Zaheer Khan has been chosen as one of the Wisden’s ‘Five Cricketers of the Year’ in their 2008 edition, to be released on Wednesday. Zaheer has been honoured in the 145th edition of the world’s longest-running sporting yearbook with a profile written by ToI’s Pradeep Vijayakar for his outstanding bowling on India’s tour to England last year in which he took 18 wickets in three Tests. India won the series 1-0 under the captaincy of Rahul Dravid, their first series triumph in England since 1986. Zaheer is joined by two other pace bowlers, England’s Ryan Sidebottom and West Indian Otis Gibson, who is also fast bowling coach for the England team. Gibson, last year at the age of 37, took all ten wickets for 47 runs for Durham against Hampshire in the English county championship. The other two are West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul England batsman Ian Bell. South Africa’s Jacques Kallis has been chosen as ‘Leading Cricketer in the World’, an award first constituted in 2004 and previously awarded to Ricky Ponting, Shane Warne, Andrew Flintoff and Muttiah Muralitharan. For the first time, five legendary cricketers who for some reason or the other were never named among Wisden’s Five, have been profiled. These include former India left-arm spinner Bishan Singh Bedi, who is profiled by former England captain Mike Brearley. The other four are Pakistan batsman Inzamam-ul Haq, West Indies fast bowling great Wes Hall, Australian pace legend Jeff Thomson and Pakistan’s master leg-spinner of the 80s, Abdul Qadir. Zaheer is the 13th Indian Test player to be named in the list of the famous five that was first instituted by Wisden in 1897.

SA crushed India by an innings and 90 runs in 2nd Test at Ahmedabad

India had to score 418 to avoid an innings defeat. South Africa declared immediately in the morning. India were thus left with the task of getting 418 runs to make the visitors bat again and avoid a humiliating innings defeat. Virender Sehwag started the day with a typically characteristic blast, pulling Dale Steyn for two sixes over fine leg in the first over itself. But SA got him soon enough as Ntini trapped him plumb in front in the eighth over. Sehwag’s second innings average dipped to 28.34 in the second innings, as compared to his first innings average of 67.69. Smith’s men netted Rahul Dravid and Wasim Jaffer’s scalps as well before lunch. VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly added 55 for the fourth wicket, but just as we thought something special was in store, Laxman perished to a faint edge. India’s fight back entered its best phase as Dada joined forces with Mahendra Singh Dhoni to take the innings to tea without any further loss of wickets. Sourav Ganguly scored his sixth fifty against South Africa, while Dhoni got his first. Dhoni escaped a difficult chance at fine leg and a much easier stumping opportunity off Paul Harris. After both added 110 runs for the fifth wicket, Ganguly got caught behind off a full length delivery off Steyn. Dhoni got out to a bad stroke and Irfan Pathan (43 not out) was the only one standing amongst the ruins as the tail failed to take the match into the fourth day. India finished at 328, to lose by an innings and 90 runs inside three days. This is South Africas biggest win over India. AB de Villiers (217 not out) was declared Man of the Match. Steyn finished with eight wickets, while Makhaya Ntini netted six. South Africa go one-up in the three-Test series.

Brief Score
India
Batting
Ist Innings: 76/10, Pathan-21*, Dhoni-14
2nd Innings: 328/10, Ganguly-87, Dhoni-52, Pathan-43*
Bowling
Ist Innings: Harbhajan-4/135, Sreesanth-2/87, Kumble-1/78
2nd Innings: Did not bowl
South Africa
Batting
Ist Innings: 494/7 Declared, Kallis-132, AB De Villiers-217*
2nd Innings: Did not bat
Bowling
Ist Innings: Steyn-5/23, Ntini-3/18, Morkel-2/20
2nd Innings: Steyn-3/91, Ntini-3/44, Morkel-2/87, Kallis-1/26, Harris-1/68

India bowls out for 76 on day 1 at Ahmedabad Test Match

India’s first innings lasted just 20 overs. The hosts, after winning the toss and batting, on a lively pitch, dished out a diabolical performance and were bowled out for 76. The intensity of the South African seamers, led by Dale Steyn 8-2-23-5, who was suffering from flu till Wednesday evening, Makhaya Ntini 6-1-18-3 and Morne Morkel 6-1-20-2, made a mockery of the Indian batsmen and their reputations. India were dismissed 10 minutes before lunch. It was India’s second lowest total at home, narrowly beating the 75 they aggregated against West Indies in 1987 at New Delhi’s Feroze Shah Kotla. That too was thanks to Irfan Pathan’s spunky unbeaten 21. Pathan’s 39-minute, 17-ball effort showed that there were more devils in the minds of the Indian batsmen, than the pitch. The manner in which the South African openers Neil McKenzie and Graeme Smith played to take South Africa past India’s score in the 16th over itself along with Jacques Kallis (60 not out) and Ab de Villiers (59), who added an unbeaten 106 for the fifth wicket, reinforced the view. Apart from Harbhajan Singh, who struck once between lunch and tea and twice after tea in a threatening 12-over spell, to dislodge McKenzie, Hashim Amla and Ashwell Prince, the Indian bowling was inspid. It allowed South Africa to recover from a wobbly 117-4 to a secure 223-4 at stumps on Day 1. It gives the visitors a lead of 147 runs with six wickets in hand. Earlier, the positive decision that Anil Kumble took by electing to bat and opting to play five bowlers (the last time India did that at home was against England at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, March 2006), deserved better results. But the ‘best batting line-up’ in the world, contrived to embarrass their captain and the nation. It took the South Africans only 21 balls and 17 minutes to start India’s slide. After a couple of wayward overs, Ntini reaped the rewards of pitching the ball up and getting Wasim Jaffer edge to Graeme Smith at first slip. Sehwag, who supposedly has a ‘chink’ in his armour against the short ball has a bigger ‘chink’ against the three quarter length delivery. Shaun Pollock, Glenn McGrath and Mohd Asif have all succeeded bowling that length to him and getting him bowled off the inside edge. Steyn hit that length and did the same. When Laxman joined Dravid, India had two men who love batting together, at the wicket. But they didn’t last long. Ntini had started hitting the right length and troubled Laxman with full length deliveries seaming away. Laxman, who was playing and missing at those deliveries, left one in the next over that darted in from outside off stump and hit it. At 3 for 30, Ganguly walked in to a crisis. That metamorphosed into a catastrophe two balls later when he played onto Ntini. The quickie had taken three wickets in the span of 12 balls. Dravid and Dhoni took the score past 50. That’s when Smith replaced Ntini after a dream spell of 6-1-18-3, with Steyn. The bowler responded by castling Dravid with the ball of the series, a full length delivery that pitched on middle stump and hit off. Morkel got rid of Dhoni and Kumble off the same over and Harbhajan played all across a full swinging delivery from Steyn to be lbw. At 55 for 8, India looked in danger of beating their record for the lowest score against South Africa (66 in Durban in 1996). But Pathan helped India avoid that embarrassment. A 100 looked in sight as RP Singh seemed determined to hang on and support Pathan. But Steyn’s mop up job denied India that luxury.

Kaif recalls for 2nd Test as Sachin injured

Sachin Tendulkar aggravated the groin injury he picked up during the Australia tour on Saturday and will therefore be unavailable to play the second Test at Ahmedabad starting on April 3. Tendulkar’s place will be taken by UP captain Mohammed Kaif, who returns to the Test team for the first time since the West Indies tour in 2006. It is possible that Tendulkar may not be available even for the third Test at Kanpur, but a final decision on that will be taken after the Ahmedabad game. Skipper Anil Kumble also suffers from a right groin strain which forced him to not field on the final day at Chepauk. Kumble’s condition will be assessed by physio Paul Close on April 2 in Ahmedabad. It is learnt that Kumble is also a doubtful starter even as Close told BCCI that he is ‘‘confident of getting Kumble to play the second Test’’, informed board secretary Niranjan Shah. Piyush Chawla is most likely to replace Kumble in the playing XI if the veteran misses out.

Salute to Viru's swashbuckling knock

The daredevil from Delhi displays an audacious strokeplay against South Africa, 319 off only 304 balls. The triple ton came off just 278 balls. The knock crossed Sehwag’s previous highest against Pakistan at Multan in 2004 — also the highest by an Indian — and was executed with even greater spunk and style. He hammered 42 fours and five sixes in batting-friendly conditions against a wilting South African attack. A deluge of statistical delights has been dished out in the bargain. This is the 10th straight time Sehwag has crossed 150 after getting a ton. He’s also the first since Denis Compton in 1954 to score over 250 runs in a day (Sehwag scored 257). Sehwag raced to his triple ton off only 278 balls, the fastest 300 in Tests, eclipsing Matthew Hayden’s 300 off 362 deliveries. Only 2 others —Don Bradman and Brian Lara – have two Test 300s. Sehwag only one to score his two 300s at different venues Sehwag has now converted his last 10 centuries into scores of 150 and above, extending his own world record It's the first triple century and the highest score on Indian soil by any batsman. The previous highest was 281 n.o. by VVS Laxman Average score of Sehwag’s 14 tons now works out to 198, a world record. Bradman next with 186 Sehwag got to 200 off 194 balls, the third fastest Test 200. He also has the second fastest (off 182 balls against Pakistan). The fastest 200 was scored by Nathan Astle off 153 balls 386 runs were scored on Friday, the most in a day in India Jaffer & Sehwag put on 213, Sehwag & Dravid have added 255 — the first case of 200-plus stands for first two wickets in a Test.

Stats
The scoreboard says it all

319 runs, 304 balls, 42 fours 5 sixes

Chennai Test ended in a draw

South Africa’s batsmen didn’t really find their feet against the Indian spinners, partly because they weren’t required to, but nevertheless managed to quell any hopes of an unlikely India win in the opening game of the three-Test series. Neil McKenzie led the way to a dreary draw, adding an unbeaten 155 on Sunday to his first innings 94, as South Africa formally declared their second innings closed at 331 for five, with a possible 14 overs left on the final day. Umpires Asad Rauf and Tony Hill, who had been on the field for all the five hot days, then conferred with acting Indian captain Dhoni and called off the match. Some of the blame for the inaction on the final day must be laid at the doors of the Indian spinners, even if the Indian captain Anil Kumble refused to acknowledge it at the post-match press conference minutes after his South African counterpart had admitted that his left-arm spinner Paul Harris wasn’t at his best during the Test. They need to be commended for their never-say-die efforts on Day One and Two but more was certainly expected of the combined experience of Kumble and Harbhajan Singh on this third-day like Day Five pitch, which, it must be said, never broke up but only ended up breaking just the bowlers’ hearts. Skipper Kumble went off the field shortly after lunch with a right groin niggle, which along with Sachin Tendulkar’s absence due to a groin strain and stomach problems, had the substitutes doing duty while vice-captain Dhoni led the side. The sweep was the most used shot on the day, perhaps the planned counter-measure against the spinners. One such shot provided the first real chance of the day, with McKenzie’s overnight partner, Hashim Amla, who turns 25 on Monday, receiving an early birthday gift by getting a reprieve. Sree Santh, positioned at long leg just for this rare chance, ran in a few yards but spilled the somewhat tough chance, only to earn a mouthful from the angry bowler, Harbhajan, who then proceeded to demonstrate to the Kerala pacer how it was done when he dived to stop a certain boundary. Amla (81), then on 55 in the day’s 12th over, was lucky again when RP Singh dropped him off his own bowling 17 runs later. Amla, though, was determined to get out on the day and soon enough he guided a Kumble delivery to Rahul Dravid at slip. Three more wickets fell on the day, Harbhajan picking up Jacques Kallis and Ashley Prince cheaply, after which Sehwag, who in Kumble’s absence was asked to bowl as many as 22 overs,snapped up AB de Villiers. Those wickets, however, came when the possibility of a result was long over.

Brief Score

South Africa

Batting

Ist Innings: 540/10, Hashim-159, Mckenzie-94, Smith-73, Boucher-70

2nd Innings: 331/5, Mckenzie-155, Hashim-81

Bowling

Ist Innings: Steyn-4/103, Ntini-3/128, Harris-3/203

2nd Innings: Did not bowl

India

Batting

Ist Innings: 627/10, Sehwag-319, Dravid-111, Jaffer-73

2nd Innings: Did not bat

Bowling

Ist Innings: Harbhajan-5/164, Kumble-2/106, Sehwag-1/37, Sreesanth-1/104

2nd Innings: Harbhajan-3/101, Sehwag-1/55, Kumble-1/57

Hashim cracks 159 as SA post 540 on day 2 at chennai test

There’s a little bit of steel in everybody’s life claims an advertising line on display at the Chidambaram Stadium. But out in the middle of the ground, there was no life and only steel on a surface that was supposedly made of clay, sand and stone. Why even the tracks just outside the stadium, the ones made of real steel and on which local trains run, seemed to have more life. Having got first use of such a surface, it was no wonder that the South African batsmen simply continued from where they had let off on day one. Batsman after batsman came, saw and went to sleep on the lifeless strip laid out for the first Test between India and South Africa here. No amount of conch-blowing or drum beating by the more than modest crowd that had gathered on another hot day served to wake up the Indian bowlers either, most of whom were forced to go through the motions as the visitors recorded their highest total in this country. November 2004 in Kanpur was when the Proteas had made 510 in their first innings. On Thursday, they made 30 more, ending with 540 from a little over 11 hours of easy-paced batting. Setting of new marks is bound to happen under the circumstances that have prevailed here over the first two days. But what will worry the Indians is that their previous highest against the South Africans is just 466, also made in the same Kanpur Test. The strong 82-run start that openers Wasim Jaffer (25 batting) and Virender Sehwag (52 batting) got them off to and the fact that the pitch doesn’t look ready to break anytime soon, may just help alleviate some of the fears of chasing down such a huge total. The day’s play can perhaps be best summed up by the fact that while only one batsman, Hashim Amla (159) scored a ton, as many as four Indian bowlers conceded over 100. But the Indian bowling didn’t wilt as much halt, a mere 23 overs in the morning session and 27 in the next, showing that like the batsmen, the normally hard-hitting Mark Boucher (70 from 146 balls) included, the bowlers too weren’t in any hurry. Only one man was in a different mood, AB de Villiers, looking to push from the word go. Like on the first day, a little bit of sledging from Sree Santh brought about a break in concentration and off he went edging to ’ketkeeper MS Dhoni. The 66-run fifth wicket association gave way to a 99-run partnership between Amla and Boucher which strangely enough was broken by way of a runout on a day when the Indian outfielding went from bad to worse. The mistake though was made by Boucher who called Amla for a run only to later turn his back on him. Having batted for nearly seven hours, Amla, who struck seven of his ten fours today towards the offside, may have even been relieved.