Gibbs recalled by South Africa as cover for Kallis

STAFF WRITER 16:33 HRS IST
Pretoria (South Africa), Nov 23 (AP) Herschelle Gibbs has been recalled as cover for injured all-rounder Jacques Kallis for the remainder of South Africa's limited-overs international series against England.

Kallis is expected to be sidelined for a month with a rib injury, discovered after a scan at the weekend. Kallis missed the seven-wicket loss to England at Centurion yesterday, which put the hosts behind 1-0 in the five-match ODI series.

It is not certain whether 35-year-old Gibbs, with 21 ODI centuries from 245 appearances, will play in the next match in Cape Town on Friday as the least experienced batsmen in the Proteas' top five, Alviro Petersen and Hashim Amla, both scored half centuries yesterday.

Gibbs, who scored a record six 6s in one over against Netherlands at the 2007 World Cup, was initially overlooked for this serie

Motera-like tracks would kill Test cricket: Harbhajan

NEW DELHI, Nov 21: Miffed with the docile pitch in the drawn Ahmedabad Test against Sri Lanka, feisty Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh on Saturday said such batting-friendly tracks would kill cricket’s longest format. “Such pitches will kill Test cricket. It’s a free ticket to batsmen and offer no contest,” Harbhajan said. The Motera track has drawi flak from all quarters and both captains Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Kumar Sangakkara said they expected the pitch to offer some assistance to the bowlers on the last two days.

Gambhir, Tendulkar script India's great escape

Sachin Opener Gautam Gambhir
AHMEDABAD: Gautam Gambhir and Sachin Tendulkar hit opportune centuries as India came up with a spirited batting display to salvage a draw in the Sachin Opener Gautam Gambhir conjured up yet another marathon innings of 114 runs, result of his six-and-half hour vigil, before Sachin Tendulkar (100 not out) took the centrestage to chase down yet another milestone of 30,000 international runs en route to his 43rd Test ton.

With VVS Laxman (51 not out) also chipping in with his 40th Test half-century, India batted their way out of trouble to maintain their impressive home record against the Lankans.

Going into the final day's play needing just eight wickets to snap their 14-match winless streak on Indian soil, the exasperated Sri Lankans could only watch haplessly as the hosts showed the kind of application and determination that had been missing in their shoddy first innings display.

Resuming with 144 runs in the arrear, the Indians finished the day at 412 for four with Gambhir, Tendulkar and Laxman scoring bulk of the runs on a shirtfront of a wicket that simply had nothing for the bowlers.

Both the teams now move to Kanpur for the second Test starting on November 24.

Milestone man Tendulkar reached yet another landmark in his glittering career when he turned swing bowler Chanaka Welegedara backward of square for a single to take his tally of runs in Tests, ODIs and T20 internationals to 30,000.

Overall, it was a poor advertisement for Test cricket as nearly 1600 runs were scored while just 21 wickets fell over the five days' play leading to this stalemate.

The match also saw the highest number of centuries -- seven --- being scored on the sub-continental soil.

Tendulkar's unbeaten 211 ball knock included 11 hits to the fence.

Trailing the visitors by a massive 334 runs in the first innings, India wiped off the deficit in the last over before tea.

The two Indian batsmen out today were Amit Mishra (24), who did an excellent job in the unaccustomed nightwatchman's role, while Gambhir virtually threw his wicket after notching up his seventh Test century.

Earlier, Mishra stuck to his task for over 45 minutes after India started the day 144 runs behind the Lankans at 190 for two.

The leg-spinner was eventually dismissed by Angelo Mathews, caught brilliantly at leg gully by Tillakaratne Dilshan.

Tendulkar straightaway started stroking the ball sweetly as he cover-drove the accurate and miserly Mathews for a four and then hit danger man Muttiah Muralitharan for successive fours in one over.

Gambhir, batting solidly from the other end, also opened out and raced to his hundred by hitting left-arm spinner Rangana Herath for two fours before he glanced Mathews to the rope. It was his first hundred against Sri Lanka.

India lost Gambhir in the sixth over of the second session. He was lured by a well-tossed up ball from left-arm spinner Rangana Herath and, in trying to hit it into the vacant leg side area, got the leading edge to be caught at mid-off by Dammika Prasad.

It was the Delhi left-hander's third hundred this year and in as many Tests since making his marathon match-saving 137 against New Zealand at Napier in March. The ICC Test Player of the Year faced 230 balls and struck 13 fours in his six and a half-hour stay.

Tendulkar was joined by Laxman and the duo ensured that no further wickets were given away to either pace or spin by forging an unbeaten 137-run fifth wicket partnership.

Soruce: TOI

Indian batsmen need to score heavily, says Kirsten

AHMEDABAD, Nov 19: India coach Gary Kirsten has urged his batsmen to come up with “something special” to save the first test against Sri Lanka.

The hosts are faced with an uphill task on the final day on Friday after Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene (275) and Prasanna Jayawardene (154 not out) extended their sixth wicket stand to a world record 351 on Thursday.

The tourists, aiming to win their first test on Indian soil in 27 years, declared their first innings at 760 for seven for a first innings lead of 334.

India closed day four at 190 for two, still 144 runs behind with eight wickets in hand. Opener Gautam Gambhir led India’s fightback with an unbeaten 74.

“To be honest so far it has turned to be a fantastic batting wicket,” the former South Africa opener said.

Dammika Prasad doubtful for second Test against India

STAFF WRITER 18:57 HRS IST

Ahmedabad, Nov 20 (PTI) Sri Lankan pacer Dammika Prasad is a doubtful starter for the second cricket Test against India starting in Kanpur from November 24 due to a hamstring injury, captain Kumar Sangakkara said today.

"I don't think he (Dammika) would play as it seems right now he may not be available," Sangakkara said at the post-match press conference after the first Test ended in a draw here.

Prasad bowled just four overs today out of the wicketless 13 overs he sent down in India's second innings before a hamstring problem forced him to leave the field.

The 30-year-old right arm pacer scalped two wickets during India's first innings, giving away 106 runs from his 22 overs.

Prasad has so far represented Sri Lanka in only four Tests and five One-Day Internationals and scalped 13 and five wickets respectively.

Sachin Tendulkar mounts peak 30K

NEW DELHI: After completing 17,000 runs in the 50-over format of the game, Sachin Tendulkar achieved another milestone by completing 30,000 runsSachin Tendulkar mounts peak 30K in his international career during the first Test against Sri Lanka at Sardar Patel stadium in Ahmedabad.

Master Blaster Sachin became the first batsman to complete 30,000 international runs when he scored his 35th run in the second innings against Sri Lanka on the fifth and final day of the first Test.

He has so far played 160 Tests, 436 ODIs and a lone Twenty20 scoring 87 international hundreds and 145 fifties in all.

Tendulkar touched the magical 17,000-run mark in One-Day International cricket earlier in this month. Sanath Jayasuriya is second on the list with 13,377 runs followed by Aussie captain Ricky Ponting who has a lot of catching up to do.

Sachin has scored 17178 runs in One-dayers thus far. The Indian batting legend has 45 One-day hundreds and 91 ODI fifties under his belt. The veteran batsman has scored 42 hundreds and 54 half centuries in the Test format of the game.

The diminutive Mumbaikar, who made his ODI debut Pakistan in 1989, is already way ahead of his contemporaries when it comes to accumulating runs.

TOI

Lanka ride on Jayawardene’s double ton to take control

Ahmedabad, Nov 18: Mahela Jayawardene gave a fine exhibition of skill and temparament to score a crafty unbeaten 204 as Sri Lanka took tight control of the first cricket Test by taking a commanding 165-run first innings lead against a defensive India here today.

Jayawardene anchored the innings brilliantly to notch up his 27th Test century and his sixth double ton, and found an able partner in Prasanna Jayawardene (84 not out) as the visitors pushed the hosts on the backfoot by reaching a mammoth 591 for five at close on the third day.

It turned out to be a hard grind for the Indians as the Lankans capitalised on a good batting strip at the Motera stadium to consolidate the position on a day which again saw more than 300 runs being scored. Resuming at the overnight score of 275 for three in reply to India’s 426, the islanders lost the wicket of Thilan Samaraweera (70) and Angelo Mathews (17) in the pre-lunch session but the two Jayawardenes put on a marathon undefeated 216-run partnership to put Sri Lanka on course for their first Test triumph on Indian soil.

India fightback to save Test after Lankan run feast

AHMEDABAD: India fought back gallantly in their bid to save the first Test but were still not completely out of danger after Sri Lanka piled up the agony on the hosts with a record-breaking run deluge on Thursday.

After being buried by a massive 334-run first innings lead mainly built around a world record sixth wicket partnership between Mahela Jayawardene (275) and Prasanna Jayawardene (154 not out), the Indians reached 190 for two in their second innings at stumps on the penultimate day, still trailing by 144 runs.

The hosts still have a daunting task to prevent the Lankans from recording their first Test triumph on Indian soil as they have to bat out the entire last day on a Motera track which was expected to deteriorate and assist the spinners.

But the Indians have an experienced batting line up and should fancy their chances of saving the match which has turned out to be a nightmare for the bowlers.

Gautam Gambhir (74) and night watchman Amit Mishra (12) were at the crease at stumps on a day which saw Mahela and Prasanna breaking the 72-year-old world record for the highest sixth-wicket partnership in Tests by putting on a 351-run stand.

The home team first lost Virender Sehwag (51) and then Rahul Dravid (38) was distincly unlucky to get a dubious leg before decision at the fag end of the day.

Sri Lanka's mammoth lead also left the hosts with the monumental task of batting out for a minimum of 135 overs and for more than four and a half sessions, to save the opening match in the three-Test contest.

The 32-year-old Mahela also set a slew of records during his marathon innings. He became the joint highest individual scorer against India in this country and the fourth to compile a 250-plus knock in the latter's backyard and also crossed the 9000-run milestone.

Resuming at his overnight 204, the elegant Mahela continued and Prasanna who notched his second Test century, continued to pile frustrate the Indians and thereby surged to the sixth-highest Test tally ever, the list being led by their own world record tally of 952 for six declared in Colombo 12 years ago.

The Lanka reply was also an apt rejoinder to India's record score of 676 for seven scored against them at Kanpur in 1986. The previous best total by any visiting team in India was 652 for seven declared by England in January, 1985.

All the four frontline Indian bowlers gave away over 100 runs each, with Zaheer Khan being the most economical and impressive with 2 for 109.

The spinners were far from impressive. While Harbhajan Singh gave away 189 runs for his two wickets, hardly looking menacing, leggie Mishra was even more pathetic and went wicket less after conceding 203 runs in a marathon stint of 56 overs.

In the morning, Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's ploy of taking the third new ball immediately after play started today did not pay dividends as the two Jayawardenes easily saw off the new ball duo of Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma.

The duo's massive and morale-destroying partnership reached the 300-mark in 510 balls before Mahela completed his 250 with a single off the totally non-penetrative Harbhajan Singh in 400 balls. Later he became the ninth batsman in the world to reach 9000 runs.

Spinners Harbhajan and Amit Mishra who hardly made any impression gave away over 370 runs for a lone wicket in combination.

TOI

The Islanders restore parity on Day 2

AHMEDABAD, Nov 17: Tillakaratne Dilshan produced a scintillating century as Sri Lanka put up a spirited batting display to leave the first Test against India evenly poised at the end of the second day on Tuesday.

After polishing off the remaining four wickets in quick time to restrict India to 426 in the first innings, the in-form Dilshan (112) took centrestage with a fine exhibition of strokeplay to steer the islanders to a comfortable 275/3 at close on the second day.

Dilshan notched up his 10th Test century — and the fifth this year — to lay the foundation for a strong Lankan reply in excellent batting conditions at the Motera stadium which again saw more than 300 runs being scored.

Mahela Jayawardene (36) and Thilan Samaraweera (45) were at the crease at stumps with the visitors still trailing the hosts by 151 runs.

Earlier, resuming at the score of 385/6, India lost their last four wickets for 41 runs and were all out soon after the first drinks break to allow the visitors to claw their way back into the game.

Captain Kumar Sangakkara (31) and young opener Tharanga Paranavitana (35) got the starts but could not translate those into big knocks, falling to injudicious shots.

Pacer Zaheer Khan struck twice in quick succession by evicting Dilshan and Sangakkara in the last session with short-pitched deliveries to bring India back into the game but Jayawardene and Samaraweera ensured that there were no further setbacks.

The morning session turned out to be quite disappointing for the hosts who could not really carry on the good work and saw the remaining four wickets fall without much resistance.

Left arm swing bowler Chanaka Welegedara got the important breakthrough early in the morning by getting rid of the well-set and ominous-looking Rahul Dravid at his overnight score of 177.

Dravid, looking all set to score his sixth double hundred, fell to the 10th ball he faced without any addition to his overnight score. He dragged a ball from Welegedara on to his stumps while trying to drive on the front foot.

In all, the Bangalore stalwart batted for 19 minutes over six hours, faced 261 balls and struck 26 fours and a six.

Dravid’s departure just a quarter hour into day two dashed India’s hopes of taking the score to the 500 mark.

Harbhajan Singh (22), not out 2 on Monday evening, and Zaheer Khan (12) put on a brief stand worth 25 runs, but it was just a matter of time before they fell.

Zaheer, who was felled by a beamer from fast medium bowler Dammika Prasad after having struck two successive fours with slashes off the right-arm bowler, was trapped leg before when he played back to left arm spinner Rangana Herath.

The pace bowler’s dismissal came soon after India crossed the 400-mark in the 96th over just past the half hour.

Harbhajan, who played some good drives off the pace bowlers, was castled by Muttiah Muralitharan while trying to reverse sweep the wily off spinner who then accounted for last man Ishant Sharma in the same over to bring down curtains on the Indian innings.

Harbhajan’s stay of 83 minutes yielded him two fours in 64 balls. Amit Mishra remained unbeaten on 7.

For Lanka, left armer Welegedara grabbed the bowling honours, claiming 4/87 — the prized scalps being those of Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, all on Monday, and Dravid.

Muralitharan, snapped up 3/97, taking two wickets on Tuesday for seven runs in 23 balls, while Prasad, who was not shy of using bumpers and got a warning for the beamer bowled at Zaheer, picked up 2/106. Herath took the remaining wicket.

Lankan openers Dilshan and Paranavitana then prevented the home team from creating an early breakthrough before lunch.

The only wicket that the visitors lost in the post-lunch session was that of young left-hander Tharanga Paranavitana (35), who edged Ishant Sharma to wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni who caught it brilliantly one-handed by diving to the left in front of first slip Sachin Tendulkar.

Paranavitana, who looked hardly in trouble with Dilshan, was lured by a ball angled away from him and took the edge of his bat. He and his opening partner added 74 runs in quick time and Paranavitana hit six fours in his 55-ball knock.

This was the lone success for the Indian bowlers in the session between lunch and tea that yielded 118 runs in 26 overs.

Runs came at a brisk pace as the Lankans added 55 runs in 12 overs in the first post-lunch hour of play for Paranavitana’s wicket and then 63 runs without losing a wicket in 14 overs till tea.

Dilshan, who has scored four centuries and over 900 runs this year, drove powerfully to the off side and played very few false strokes.

Both the pre-lunch and post-lunch sessions belonged to the visitors as they first fought back since yesterday’s position and dismissed the last four Indian wickets for only 41 runs Tuesday morning.

Scorecard

India: first innings (overnight 385/6) Gautam Gambhir b Welegedara 1; Virender Sehwag lbw b Welegedara 16; Rahul Dravid b Welegedara 177; Sachin Tendulkar b Welegedara 4; VVS Laxman b Prasad 0; Yuvraj Singh c Dilshan b Muralitharan 68; Mahendra Singh Dhoni c Jayawardene b Prasad 110; Harbhajan Singh b Muralitharan 22; Zaheer Khan lbw Herath 12; Amit Mishra not out 7; Ishant Sharma st Prasanna b Muralitharan 0

Extras (b 2, lb 2, w 1, nb 4) 9

Total (all out in 104.5 overs) 426

Fall of wickets 1-14 (Gambhir, 2.5 overs), 2-27 (Sehwag, 6.1), 3-31 (Tendulkar, 6.4), 4-32 (Laxman, 7.4), 5-157 (Yuvraj, 36.1), 6-381 (Dhoni, 87.1), 7-389 (Dravid, 92.4), 8-414 (Khan, 101.2), 9-426 (Harbhajan, 104.1)

Bowling: Chanaka Welegedara 22-4-87-4 Dammika Prasad 22-1-106-2 Angelo Mathews 12-1-50-0 Muttiah Muralitharan 25.5-4-97-3 Rangana Herath 22-2-79-1 Tillakaratne Dilshan 1-0-3-0

Sri Lanka: first innings

Tillekaratane Dilshan c Dravid b Khan 112; Tharanga Paranavitana c Dhoni b Sharma 35; Kumar Sangakkara c Tendulkar b Khan 31; Mahela Jayawardene batting 36; Thilan Samaraweera batting 45

Extras (lb 5, w 2, nb 9) 16

Total (for three wickets in 70 overs) 275

Fall of wickets 1-74 (Paranavitana, 16.5 overs), 2-189 (Dilshan, 43.1), 3-194 (Sangakkara, 45.3)

Bowling: Zaheer Khan 15-2-45-2; Ishant Sharma 14-0-53-1; Harbhajan Singh 20-2-72-0; Amit Mishra 18-0-89-0 (3nb) Yuvraj Singh 3-0-11-0 (PTI)

‘The Wall’ stands tall as India in command

Dravid completes 11,000 runs in Test cricket • Lankan bowlers toil hard on Day 1

Ahmedabad, Nov 16: In a rare exhibition of dazzling strokeplay, Rahul Dravid hammered an unbeaten 177 and inspired his skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni to hit a century and Yuvraj Singh a fifty as India recovered from a nightmarish 32 for four to end the opening day of the first Test against Sri Lanka at 385 for six here on Monday.

Seldom has one seen Dravid in such an aggressive mode. He has never scored so many runs in a day’s play. In the process he has crossed the 11,000-run mark and was involved in two century partnerships — 125 with Yuvraj and 224 with Dhoni. It was his 78th century partnership, a world record. All added up to another record, the highest score by India in a day’s play.

After Dhoni decided to bat, within the first hour India lost their top four batsmen, three of them to fast bowler Chanaka Welegedara (3/75) in what looked like a re-run of their disastrous batting display when they were shot out for 76 by South Africa in April last year at the Sardar Patel Stadium in the Motera neighbourhood of Ahmedabad.

Dravid and Yuvraj decided to take the bull by the horns. In an unusual display of counter-attack, they smacked the bowlers all around the park, scattering the fielders breathing down their necks.

Yuvraj hit Dhamika Prasad (2/90) for two fours in the 10th over to set the tone of the partnership. He smashed Muttiah Muralithran (1/90) for a boundary in the spinner’s first over while Dravid lifted left-arm spinner Rangana Herath for a huge six straight down the ground.

Despite wickets tumbling at the other end, 100 runs came up in the 24th over and India went into lunch at 105 for four. Even after the break, Dravid was in full flow and hit Welegedara for three fours in the 29th over to step up the run rate.

Yuvraj hit 13 fours during his 93-ball stay at the crease. He was foxed by a loopy delivery by Muralitharan and gave an easy catch to Tillekaratne Dilshan.

After Yuvraj’s departure, Dhoni went on match Dravid stroke for stroke.

Dravid’s 251-ball stay was studded with 26 fours and a six while Dhoni hit 10 boundaries and a six in his 159-ball knock. The duo played some crisp shots on both sides of the wickets as 164 runs came off 36 overs in the last session.

Dhoni got to his century in style hitting a four off Dhamika Prasad but failed to carry on after edging the fast bowler to wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene in the next over.
Earlier, Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara might have thought that it was a good toss to lose after Welegedara and Prasad gave excellent starts.

Welegedara provided the breakthrough as Gautam Gambhir (1) played on, dragging an outswinger onto the stumps. Welegedara was on fire as he went on to pick up Virender Sehwag (16) and Tendulkar (1) in three deliveries to put India on the backfoot. Prasad chipped in crashing through the defence of V V S Laxman, and India lost four wickets in 30 deliveries.
For Dhoni it might have looked like a bad toss to win in the first seesion but at stumps India were clearly dominating.

Scorecard
India: Gautam Gambhir b Welegedara 1; Virender Sehwag lbw b Welegedara 16; Rahul Dravid batting 177; Sachin Tendulkar b Welegedara 4; VVS Laxman b Prasad 0; Yuvraj Singh c Dilshan b Muralitharan 68; Mahendra Singh Dhoni c Jayawardene b Prasad 110; Harbhajan Singh batting 2

Extras (b-2, lb-2, w-1, nb-2) 7
Total (for six wickets in 90 overs) 385
Fall of wickets 1-14 (Gambhir, 2.5 overs), 2-27 (Sehwag, 6.1), 3-31 (Tendulkar, 6.4), 4-32 (Laxman, 7.4), 5-157 (Yuvraj, 36.1), 6-381 (Dhoni, 87.1)

Bowling: Chanaka Welegedara 17-3-75-3 Dammika Prasad 18-1-90-2 Angelo Mathews 12-1-50-0 Muttiah Muralitharan 23-3-90-1 Rangana Herath 19-1-73-0 Tillakaratne Dilshan 1-0-3-0 (IANS)

Sri Lanka eye win in landmark Tendulkar Test

AHMEDABAD, Nov 14: Sri Lanka will have to curb an inspired Sachin Tendulkar, on the threshold of another landmark, as they attempt to win a Test series in India for the first time.
Sri Lanka have not won any of the 14 matches they have played in India since their first Test visit in 1982, but skipper Kumar Sangakkara feels has the potential to pull off a surprise in the three-Test series.

Sri Lanka are second behind South Africa in the official Test rankings and are looking to extend their winning streak after defeating Pakistan and New Zealand at home by identical 2-0 margins in July and August.

To achieve this, however, they will have to contend with Tendulkar’s hot form and a strong home side that is rallying to give the record-breaking batsman a winning start to his 21st year in international cricket.

Tendulkar, 36, will join a list of 15 players whose international careers have spanned more than 20 years when he plays in the first Test starting at the Motera on Monday.

The Mumbai batsman holds the record for most Test runs (12,773), Test centuries (42), ODI runs (17,178) and ODI centuries (45) and hit a stirring 175 in the ODI series against Australia this month to underline his good form.

“I am enjoying my game and there is a lot of cricket left in me,” Tendulkar told reporters this week.

Tendulkar made his Test debut as a chubby, curly-haired 16-year-old against Pakistan in Karachi on November, 15 1989.

“You run out of superlatives for Sachin,” Sangakkara told a news conference on Sri Lanka’s arrival.

Sri Lanka are missing the express pace of Lasith Malinga and the tourists are banking on all-rounder Angelo Mathews to lend balance to an attack led by record-breaking spinner Muttiah Muralitharan.

Spinner Ajantha Mendis proved a handful for the Indians when they were beaten 2-1 in the Test series on their tour of Sri Lanka last year.

Only Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan in a strong batting line-up have Test experience in India although Thilan Samaraweera is in excellent form.

“(The) Sri Lankans are a better-prepared side now and can give the Indians (a) tough time during the series,” India batsman Vangipurappu Laxman said this week.

Dishan suffered a sprained ankle at practice on Wednesday but is expected to play in the first Test.

Sri Lanka go into the series without sufficient match practice after their tour opener against an Indian Board President’s XI was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to rain. Sri Lanka lost 2-0 on their previous tour in 2005.

The hosts, who have been strengthened by the return of left-arm paceman Zaheer Khan from a lengthy injury layoff, suffered a one-day series defeat to Australia this month.
Sangakkara said the pressure was on India.

“We have a lot of work to do but we are here to do well and try and win and change all this never winning a Test match in India,” he said.

“Responsibility is on India to stop us from doing that.” (Agencies)

PCB under fire for appointing Yousuf as Test skipper

LAHORE, Nov 12: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is under fire for appointing Mohammad Yousuf as the captain of the Test team.

Former players and officials have criticized the PCB for the sudden change in the leadership and blamed the board for not standing by Younus Khan, who has been going through a rough patch in his career.

Former opening batsman Aamir Sohail said the PCB should have supported Khan following reports of some senior players volleying against him.

“The same PCB had given full support to Younus some two weeks ago following the National Assembly row and should have once again conveyed a warning to the rebel players to either support the captain or go out,” The Dawn quoted Sohail, as saying.

“I think this old culture and problem of player-power should be rooted out completely from Pakistan cricket. If any player or players think they are bigger than the team, they should be dropped at once,” he added.

Sohail raised questions over the PCB’s way of handling issues saying the board had snubbed Yousuf earlier and had appointed Shoaib Malik the captain of the squad.

“When Yousuf was not good enough then, howcome the PCB finds him suitable for leadership now?” he questioned.

Former chief selector Salahuddin Ahmed came down hard on board chairman Ijaz Butt for his unprofessional way of handling things at the apex cricket authority in the country.

“The way Ijaz Butt has changed three skippers in one year’s time and sent home legendary former Test cricketers like Javed Miandad, Abdul Qadir, Aamir Sohail one after the other from the PCB offices proves his inability to hold such an important post in Pakistan cricket,” Ahmed said.

He said the board should have sent a ‘no-nonsense’ message to the players who were complaining against Younus Khan’s leadership.

Former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, however, has criticised Khan for opting out of the Test series against the Kiwis.

He said it is not right for a captain to leave his team in a lurch during a much important series.
Younus concedes there were problems with teammates

Giving an insight into the turmoil in the Pakistan cricket team, captain Younus Khan on Thursday conceded that problems with some senior players was the reason why he opted out of the Test tour of New Zealand.

“I was already facing problems with some players and my poor form didn’t help as it is a fact that when the captain is not scoring runs it becomes difficult for him to turn things his way,” Younus said.

“No one ever came to me directly and told me his grievances. Otherwise I would have tried to resolve the issues,” he said.

Younus, who has been replaced as captain by Mohammad Yousuf for the three Tests against New Zealand starting November 24, has taken a break from cricket after Pakistan’s One-Day series loss to the Kiwis.

The senior batsman said though he wants to play for Pakistan, he had no idea where his career was heading.

“Only time will tell what happens and where my career goes. But I have every intention of wanting to play for Pakistan again,” he said. (PTI)

Sreesanth to share new ball with Zaheer

Mumbai, Nov 10: Fast bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth makes a surprise comeback to the Indian Test side after more than a year while a fit Zaheer Khan expectedly finds a place in the 15-member squad for the first two cricket Tests against Sri Lanka.

The national selectors, who met here on Tuesday, also recalled left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha while Tamil Nadu batsmen Murali Vijay and Subramaniam Badrinath also found a place in the side.

With a third spinner coming in, there is no place for a third seamer and so Munaf Patel and Ashish Nehra could not get in.

Sreesanth, whose last Test was against South Africa in 2008, has had his share of controversies off the field and had been issued a final warning by the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) over disciplinary issues. In fact it is the last chance for the 26-year-old to resurrect his international career.

Zaheer has recovered well from the shoulder injury he sustained during the Indian Premier League (IPL) in South Africa. Though he hasn’t missed a Test match after getting injured, he has missed out on ODIs.

While Sreesanth’s comeback was surprising, the exclusion of Munaf and Nehra was baffling.

Munaf played a crucial role, picking five wickets in India’s 10-wicket win over New Zealand in the Hamilton Test. India won the three-match series 1-0.

Nehra also made an impressive return to international cricket and spearheaded the Indian attack in Zaheer’s absence. He had a good run in the Champions Trophy, with eight wickets from three matches, despite India making an early exit.

The first Test is in Ahmedabad from November 16 while the second Test is at Kanpur from November 24.

Squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain-wicketkeeper), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Murali Vijay, Subramaniam Badrinath, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha, Ishant Sharma, Zaheer Khan, S Sreesanth. (IANS)

Sreesanth surprise pick, Zaheer returns for Lanka Test series

S Badrinath
MUMBAI: Temperamental paceman S Sreesanth, whose on-field antics have often landed him in trouble, was on Tuesday surprisingly included inSreesanth India's 15-member squad for the first two Tests against Sri Lanka starting on November 16 in Ahmedabad.

Pace spearhead Zaheer Khan expectedly returned to the squad after recovering from a shoulder injury, which had kept him out of the tri-series in Sri Lanka and the ensuing Champions Trophy in September.

The team to be captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni also includes Tamil Nadu players opener Murali Vijay and middle-order batsman S Badrinath, while pacers Ashish Nehra and Munaf Patel were ignored.

Nehra did reasonably well in the ongoing One-day series against Australia, but failed to find a place in the squad announced by BCCI secretary N Srinivasan after a meeting of the selection panel here.

The selection of Sreesanth raised eyebrows as the Kerala pacer has not really done anything significant in the domestic circuit since recovering from a back injury.

The selection seems all the more baffling given the fact that the bowler, who has a history of disciplinary indiscretions, was only last month given a final warning by the BCCI to mend his ways.

The 26-year-old Sreesanth will return to the Test fold after more than a year having played his last Test in April 2008 against South Africa in Kanpur.

India last played a Test match in April this year against New Zealand and the players to miss out from that squad are pacer Laxmipathy Balaji, wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik and Dhawal Kulkarni.

Batsmen Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and pacer Praveen Kumar, who are playing in the ongoing series against Australia, were not considered for selection for the three-match Test series.

As expected, the veteran batting duo of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman retained their places.

Barring Sreesanth's comeback, there were no major surprises in the squad, which has eight specialist batsmen, three pacers, three spinners and one wicket-keeper in Dhoni.

Zaheer's return will bolster the pace department which also has an off-colour Ishant Sharma, who has been retained despite his indifferent performance in last few months.

Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh will lead the spin attack with leg-spinner Amit Mishra and young left-armer Pragyan Ojha supporting him.

While Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir will open the innings, Murali Vijay has been picked as reserve.

The middle-order has a stable look with Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Laxman and Yuvraj Singh forming a formidable line-up.

The Indian play the first Test in Ahmedabad followed by two more Tests in Kanpur (November 24 to 28) and Mumbai (December 2 to 6).

After the Test series, the Sri Lankans will play two Twenty20 matches and five One-dayers.

Team:

Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, M Vijay, Pragyan Ojha, S Sreesanth and S Badrinath.

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Series lost, India play for pride in final ODI against Oz

DY Patil Stadium
MUMBAI: The series already out of their grasp, India will have just pride to play for against the depleted but confident Australia in the seventh Dhoni and final One-dayer at the DY Patil Stadium on Wednesday.

The Indian morale has hit a low following successive lost at Mohali, Hyderabad and Guwahati against what is essentially a very inexperienced Australian bowling line-up.

With the full series of Tests, ODIs and Twenty20s coming up against Sri Lanka only four days after the conclusion of the rubber against the world champions, it is imperative for Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men to pull out all stops and reduce the margin of defeat.

A 3-4 score, that would happen if they can win Wednesday's clash in the swanky Navi Mumbai stadium hosting its first ODI, would be a massive boost for the beleaguered home side as it prepares for the battle against a determined Sri Lanka eager to set right a winless past record in Tests on Indian soil.

A victory would be the ideal tonic for India before they lock horns with a new set of rivals in the longest format of the game from November 16 at Ahmedabad.

The main reason for India's slump against an injury-ravaged Australia is lack of consistency in both batting and bowling.

While the Indian top order has fired only in fits and starts, with the blazing hundreds from skipper Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar, who also completed 17,000 ODI runs in the process, being the shining beacons, the bowling too has not performed in total.

Virender Sehwag, in particular at the top of the batting order, has come up with a few cameos and then thrown away his wicket when seemingly on top of the rival bowlers. He needs to stay longer at the crease to make a meaningful impact on the contest.

Fellow opener Gautam Gambhir started the series in impressive style by slamming vital half centuries and playing a sheet-anchor role in the first two matches at Vadodara and Nagpur before going off the boil, a neck injury sustained in Delhi also not helping his cause.

Tendulkar was slow to get off before playing the incandescent knock of 175, his second-highest score, in Hyderabad. Had India won that match chasing an imposing 351 for victory, the series would have been alive notwithstanding the rout at the next tie in Guwahati.

The master batsman, on the doorsteps of entering his 21st year in international cricket, would be eager to sign off from the series with another biggie against his favourite opponents.

Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh too have contributed in a few ties, but overall the batting has been a big letdown in three out of the six matches.

There has been none from the Indian squad to show the sort of consistent form, which has been the hallmark of Australian vice-captain Michael Hussey, who has tallied 313 runs averaging over 100 in the series so far.

The left-hander, with his risk-free approach and hard running between the wickets, has been unstoppable in this rubber.

All the Indian bowlers, including spin spearhead Harbhajan Singh, have been clueless on how to stop Hussey who came to India under severe pressure to retain his place in the Test team in the upcoming home series against the West Indies.

Hussey's approach is a lesson in what India lacked on a consistent basis after Gambhir's first two knocks. If an Indian can replicate it in the middle on Wednesday, the home team would benefit immensely.

Another star performer for Australia has been Shane Watson (256 runs at over 40 and 10 wickets). The all-rounder has contributed both with the bat and the ball, bowling at medium pace to take crucial wickets.

Skipper Ricky Ponting has also led from the front without a very big score to show for and the Indians would be hoping he has not reserved his best for last.

Ponting is most vulnerable at the beginning of his knocks and the Indian new ball bowlers, in which Ashish Nehra has been the pick despite his poor display in the last couple of matches, need to take this chance and send him back before he gets settled.

Leg spinner Amit Mishra has not been given a game thus far and the match offers the right platform to ease him back into the playing eleven ahead of the series against Lanka where he is expected to play second fiddle to Harbhajan.

The visitors, having lost Brett Lee and James Hopes after the opener at Vadodara and the impressive Peter Siddle later, have found their man on Friday in Doug Bollinger who has filled up the breach in admirable fashion.

With fellow-left-arm bowler and senior Mitchell Johnson too re-discovering the right length to bowl in India, the Australian attack looks healthier.

Another unsung hero for the Australians has been off spinner Nathan Hauritz who has been very consistent but for the caning he received from Tendulkar at Hyderabad.

And in fielding, Australia have outmatched India easily and the hosts need to perk up in this department.

The track prepared for the tie is a good one, according to DY Patil Academy in-charge and former India pacer Abey Kuruvilla.

A full house of over 50,000 spectators would be rooting for the home team who need to take advantage of every little morsel thrown at them and stop Australia from flying home with another win under their belt.

Teams (from):

Australia: Ricky Ponting (captain), Michael Hussey (vice captain), Shane Watson, Cameron White, Shaun Marsh, Doug Bollinger, Nathan Hauritz, Jon Holland, Ben Hilfenhaus, Mitchell Johnson, Graham Manou, Adam Voges, Clint McKay, Andrew McDonald, Burt Cockley.

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel, Ashish Nehra, Praveen Kumar, Amit Mishra, Sudeep Tyagi, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja.

Umpires: Ashoka de Silva, Amiesh Saheba
Match Name: 7th ODI
Teams: India vs Australia
Venue: DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai
Time: 1430 IST

TOI

College cricket

GUWAHATI, Nov 9 – The second edition of the prize-money Inter College Cricket Tournament for the Pramoda Kanta Sarma Trophy will commence at Latasil playground here from November 20.

Interested colleges may contact the organisers, NEEDS, at Star Mobile Zone near the ground before November 17, a press release said.

Lack of consistency let us down: Dhoni

STAFF Reporter
GUWAHATI, Nov 8 – Blaming the batsmen for today’s drubbing and the loss of the ODI series against Australia, Indian skipper MS Dhoni today stated that the failure of the Indian batsmen in putting their act together at crucial times eventually cost them the home series.

“We lacked consistency in batting throughout the ODI series, which was the deciding factor. Our bowlers, however did their best and I am happy with the way they applied themselves on the field,” Dhoni said during the post-match press conference today.

Lankan official reviews security arrangements ahead of cricket tour

Kanpur, Nov 5: After the attack on Sri Lankan cricket team in Pakistan earlier this year, the Sri Lankan Cricket Board is leaving no stones unturned to ensure their team’s safety during the island nation’s Test and ODI tour in India starting this month. A special Security Consultant, Lorence Fernando, has flown to India and is visiting various States to review the security arrangements in the stadiums where the Sri Lankan team is scheduled to play. He visited Kanpur on Thursday and expressed satisfaction at the security arrangements that he has been promised. “I’m visiting all the district associations, our team is visiting ten states. So, I’m happy with the arrangements made by the district associations and also by the senior police officers, in charge. We have discussed the matter at length and I’m sure they will have very good security here,” Fernando said. Earlier in March, six Sri Lankan cricketers and their British assistant coach were wounded when militants attacked their bus in Lahore. The Sri Lanka team will arrive in India on November 8 and play tests in Ahmedabad, Kanpur and Mumbai. Rajkot, Visakhapatnam, Cuttack, Kolkata and Delhi will each host a one-day international, while the Twenty20s will be played in Nagpur and Mohali. (Agencies)

India slump to three-run defeat despite Tendulkar's heroic

HYDERABAD:

HYDERABAD: Sachin Tendulkar produced a breathtaking 175 to very nearly take India to a sensational win in a nerve-wrecking fifth One-dayer

against Australia but the hosts floundered in the dying stages to succumb to a three-run defeat and give the visitors a 3-2 lead in the series.

Chasing Australia's mammoth 350 for four, built mainly around Shaun Marsh's 112 and Shane Watson's 93, the Indians rode on Tendulkar's heroic 141 ball knock to come within sniffing distance of a remarkable win but the tailenders faltered under pressure to be all out for 347 with two balls to spare.

It was a remarkable exhibition of strokeplay by Tendulkar, who not only notched up his 45th ODI hundred but also became the first cricketer in the history of the game to cross the 17,000-run mark.

It was also the fastest century by an Indian against the Australians as well as the highest individual score against the visitors.

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The jam-packed Rajiv Gandhi International stadium witnessed an extraordinary contest which saw as many as 697 runs being scored in a game which fortunes fluctuated from one end to the other till the very end.

The two teams will now travel to Guwahati for the sixth One-dayer to be held on Sunday.

Tendulkar was at his ominous best from the onset as he clobbered the Australian attack to all parts of the ground, hitting 19 fours and four sixes.

Opening the batting, he first shared 66 runs with Virender Sehwag (38 off 30) and then stitched a vital 137 runs with Suresh Raina, who made a run-a-ball 59, for the fifth wicket in exactly 19 overs to power India to the victory.

But Tendulkar's dismissal in the first ball of the 48th over, caught when he played the scoop shot at fine leg by a diving Nathan Huaritz, unhinged the Indian innings as the remaining tail-end batsmen proved unequal to the task of scoring 19 runs in 17 balls.

Ravindra Jadeja (23) and Praveen Kumar (9) were run out, while Ashish Nehra fell for one as India slid to defeat from 299 for four in the 43rd over.

The Indian innings was floundering at 162 for four when Tendulkar was joined by Raina and their excellent stand for the fifth wicket brought India on the doorsteps of victory, but it was not to be.

Except for Sehwag and Tendulkar, the Indian top order failed as Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni departed cheaply to leave Tendulkar with the huge task of guiding India past the finishing line.

Tendulkar, who had been outstanding in the field while most of his other teammates fumbled when Australia batted, got the ideal partner in young Raina.

The duo piloted the innings from a difficult 162 for four in the 24th over with their century stand with Tendulkar guiding and cajoling his younger partner to a nicety. They were separated only when India needed 52 runs from 45 balls, Raina top-edging a sweep to keeper Graham Manou.

The hosts asked for the batting Power Play when 46 were needed from the last six overs with four wickets in hand, after Harbhajan Singh made a first ball duck, but to add to India's misery, Tendulkar started to develop leg cramps by that time.

India needed 31 runs from the last 24 balls and then 19 from 18 when Tendulkar and Ravindra Jadeja departed at the same score. The equation was brought down to 16 from 12 when Ashish Nehra was out.

The hosts needed eight of the last over and got four of those before Praveen Kumar was run by Hauritz after the right-hander went for the second run.

Tendulkar, who notched his fourth 150-plus innings in his 435th ODI, played with a lot of freedom once he reached the landmark of 17,000 runs.

Tendulkar and Sehwag were going great guns before the Delhi dasher top-edged a hook off Ben Hilfenhaus to fine leg.

Ponting decision to bring in Clint McKay into the attack in place of the expensive Bollinger worked as Gambhir although greeted the debutant with a four, the right-arm pacer got his revenge getting the lefthander's wicket, caught at third man.

Tendulkar, after reaching his 50 with a single in 47 balls that included seven hits to the fence, lofted the 26-yar-old McKay to the long on fence for his eighth four.

The champion batsman, whose previous highest score in this series was 40 made at Mohali in the fourth tie, then turned on the heat at Nathan Huaritz and struck the off-spinner for successive fours. He also hoisted him for two sixes off successive balls.

In between, Yuvraj Singh was caught and bowled in a tame manner while trying to flick Watson after he added 34 runs in 30 balls with Tendulkar.

Skipper Dhoni too departed early, caught brilliantly at gully off McKay to leave India in a spot of bother at 162 for four in the 24th over.

But Raina fully utilised the life handed by Cameron White at slip in the first ball he faced from McKay and blossomed in Tendulkar's company, hitting 10 fours and three sixes to take India inches closer to the win before the tail made mess of their efforts.

Earlier, strapping Queensland all-rounder Shane Watson smashed 93 off 89 balls with three sixes and eight fours, while left-handed Shaun Marsh's maiden ODI century took Australia to their second highest total against India.

The 26-year-old son of former Australian opener Geoff made a run-a-ball 112 with the help of two sixes and eight fours, putting on 145 runs for the first wicket with Watson.

Marsh was out in the slog phase, caught just inside the boundary line off Ashish Nehra.

Skipper Ricky Ponting too chipped in with a run-a-ball 45 and was also involved in a breezy 91-run stand for the second wicket with Marsh in 82 balls to set up the late assault in which the visitors added 105 runs in the last 10 overs.

Cameron White (57 in 33 balls with 5 sixes and 2 fours) and Michael Hussey (31 in 22 balls with 2 sixes and one four) struck lusty blows against the three Indian pacers.

Electing to bat first on a perfect batting track after Ponting had won the toss for the fourth time in five ties, the right-left duo of Watson and Marsh put on the first century stand in the series on either side to lay a strong foundation.

The Indian spinners, particularly Harbhajan Singh, applied the skids on the tourists' runaway start, to keep Australia well under check by denying them boundaries for 80 balls in the middle overs.

The Indian bowlers had a total off day barring Harbhajan whose two spells cost 28 runs in eight overs and 16 in his last two for the wicket of Watson. Nehra and Praveen Kumar were just not in their elements and were punished mercilessly by the batsmen. Munaf, in his first match, was equally unimpressive and left-arm slow bowler Ravindra Jadeja was hammered for 44 runs in five overs.

To top it all, the Indian fielding too was below par barring a few diving stops as there were a number of mis-fields, Nehra in particular being pathetic with his slow running and poor anticipation.

Sachin Tendulkar crosses 17000-run mark in ODIs

NEW DELHI: After completing 17,000 runs in the 50-over format of the game, Sachin Tendulkar scored his 45th ODI century off just 81 balls during

the fifth One-Day International against Australia in Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, Hyderabad.

Earlier, Tendulkar finally touched the magical 17,000-run mark in One-Day International cricket, when he completed the formality of scoring seven runs needed to reach another milestone in his glittering career.

Sanath Jayasuriya is second on the list with 13,377 runs while Aussie captain Ricky Ponting has a lot of catching up to do.

The moment Tendulkar attained that mark the packed vociferous Rajiv Gandhi Stadium crowd jumped out of their seats and erupted in jubilation.

Tendulkar's wait to reach the 17,000-run mark in One-dayers continued in Mohali as he missed the milestone by just seven runs after getting dismissed for 40 on a dubious decision in the fourth ODI against Australia.

The 36-year-old scored the requisite seven runs to put another feather in his cap, which is already full of feathers but still managing to have some more. The Indian batting legend has 45 One-day hundreds and 91 ODI fifties under his belt.

The diminutive Mumbaikar, who made his ODI debut Pakistan in 1989, is already way ahead of his contemporaries when it comes to accumulating runs.

Rated as the world's best batsman after Australian legend Sir Donald Bradman, Tendulkar has an awe-inspiring Test record. In the whopping 159 matches that he has played thus far, Tendulkar has scored 12,773 runs at an average of 54.58.

The veteran batsman has scored 42 hundreds and 53 half centuries in the longer format of the game.

One-day cricket's leading run-scorers

Sachin Tendulkar (IND) 17,000
Sanath Jayasuriya (SRI) 13,377
Ricky Ponting (AUS) 12,286
Inzamam-ul Haq (PAK) 11,739
Sourav Ganguly (IND) 11,363
Rahul Dravid (IND) 10,765
Brian Lara (WIS) 10,405
Jacques Kallis (RSA) 10,328

The break-up of Tendulkar's run tally against various opponents:

2995 runs in 66 matches vs Australia
1335 runs in 36 matches vs England
1750 runs in 42 matches vs New Zealand
2389 runs in 67 matches vs Pakistan
1655 runs in 52 matches vs South Africa
2749 runs in 74 matches vs Sri Lanka
1571 runs in 38 matches vs West Indies
1377 runs in 34 matches vs Zimbabwe
354 runs in 10 matches vs Bangladesh
57 runs in 1 match vs Bermuda
4 runs in 1 match vs Ireland
647 runs in 10 matches vs Kenya
152 runs in 1 match vs Namibia
52 runs in 1 match vs Netherlands
81 runs in 2 matches vs UAE.

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