Wednesday, November 19, 2008
VV Vinayak in Nenithe......
Monday, November 10, 2008
India reclaim Border-Gavaskar trophy
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That it happened in the same city where Australia famously conquered the final frontier four years ago was poignant. India regained the coveted Border-Gavaskar Trophy, their first series win over Australia in eight years, after they bowled Australia out for 209 to win by 172 runs. It was a dramatic day, with an energetic India following up three early wickets with dropped catches to allow Matthew Hayden score a pugnacious 77 and give Australia a whiff of victory. India's spinners held their nerve, however, and relentlessly plugged away with precision and hostility to snuff out the seven wickets required to regain the trophy squandered in 2004. India confidently stepped into a new era with their captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, winning his third Test in a row.
India began the day well. Simon Katich had played the horizontal shot a couple times, once connecting with a swing to the deep square-leg boundary, but trying to work a short ball across to the on side once too often, he skied Ishant Sharma into orbit. Dhoni didn't for a second take his eyes off the swirling ball - 29 for 1.
Zaheer Khan produced an edge from the first delivery bowled to Ponting, squared up on the back foot, but the ball didn't carry to Rahul Dravid at first slip. One classy on-drive later, Ponting was wastefully run out for 4. He dabbed and set off for an extremely ambitious single and Amit Mishra, screaming in from mid-off, threw down the stumps with a brilliant underarm pick-up and fling - 37 for 2.
Ishant couldn't believe Michael Clarke wasn't given lbw by the umpire Billy Bowden in the next over when the ball incriminatingly thudded into his left pad - replays showed it would have clipped leg stump - and Zaheer had to grit his teeth when the batsman twice edged wide of second slip in three balls. Hayden also chopped through the slips, looking to score off almost every delivery against the new ball. India missed a big opportunity when he was on 30. Harbhajan Singh came in after 12 overs and cursed under his breath when Dhoni dropped a regulation edge as Hayden tried to cut the second ball for four.
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The dismissal of Clarke for 22, nibbling at a lovely delivery as Ishant plugged away on an exemplary length, seemed to have nailed it decisively India's way at 82 for 3. Then Dravid, at slip, dropped Hayden on 36 when the batsman went for another powerful reverse-sweep. To add to the mess, needless overthrows and misfields in the circle allowed Australia easy runs as they set about chasing a big score.
It was evident that Hayden had victory on his mind. Swatting away almost everything the spinners tossed him, Hayden rediscovered the rhythm that had eluded him for much of this series. He continued to pick his spots with powerful sweeps - the shot with which he made his name in 2001 - and some deft reverse-sweeps. Harbhajan was swept for consecutive boundaries, both shots bisecting two men in the deep, and a six off Virender Sehwag over mid-on set the pulses racing. The run-rate had now gone well past five an over.
Then Mishra struck with a superb piece of wrist spin to dismiss Michael Hussey. Mishra fizzed up a topspinner on nearly a perfect length and extracted bounce, which drew an edge to Dravid at slip. This time he held it cleanly and Mishra erupted.
The worst came four deliveries later for Australia. Harbhajan floated down an airy, turning delivery and Hayden, having just smashed a four through midwicket, shuffled across and was struck beneath the knee roll, plumb in front. A flatfooted Brad Haddin then scooped Mishra to mid-off, feeding Sachin Tendulkar his 100th catch in Test cricket, and the end was nigh. Shane Watson nibbled a cut off Harbhajan into Dhoni's gloves for 9, Jason Krejza was stumped when two-thirds down the track to Mishra, and Brett Lee edged Harbhajan to short leg.
In a touching tribute to Sourav Ganguly, who signed off in this Test, Dhoni let him captain the side as the final rites were being administered. When the last wicket fell just before tea, Mitchell Johnson trapped lbw by a Harbhajan doosra, Ganguly and Dhoni embraced at the centre of India's raucous celebrations. Ganguly had played a key role in shaping cricket's most enthralling current rivalry back in 2001, and he can leave the game knowing that it has been passed on into worthy hands. Dhoni led his team off in style, while people made room for Ganguly to say his final goodbyes. There was no overly emotional reaction from Ganguly; bar one fling at Lord's, his touch had always been too nuanced for that.
For Indian fans this win may not be as emotional or emphatic as Rawalpindi in 2004 or Jamaica in in 2006 - where India broke elusive and painstaking barriers - but there's no denying the significance of this Indian autumn.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Tendulkar gets his 40th ton on day-1 of 4th test
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Almost everything Sachin Tendulkar did today - from opening his account with a brush off the pads for four, to punching gloves with VVS Laxman at lunch to strutting back after tea - pointed to a batsman full of intent. His efforts paid off, despite a run-out chance on 74 and drops on 85 and 98 off the persevering debutant Jason Krejza, as he scored his 40th Test hundred to lead India's recovery, after a pre-lunch flurry of wickets, to 311 for 5 on the opening day in Nagpur.
India lost debutant M Vijay, Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag in 29 deliveries towards the end of the first session before the two in-form veterans shored up the innings. For nearly three and a half hours, Tendulkar and Laxman batted gracefully for 146 runs, their stand the highlight of India's day.
Tendulkar looked at ease since replacing Dravid - out for a duck - driving straight and impregnable in defence. He was the early aggressor in the partnership with Laxman, unfurling a slog-sweep over midwicket and a lofted on-drive in one Krejza over to raise India's 150. While the faster men were driven through cover, flicked to midwicket quite fluently or on-driven with laser-like precision, the spinners were tackled with excellent footwork.
Laxman, not at his most silky and sublime, collected his runs slowly and mechanically. As in Delhi, where he stroked 259 unbeaten runs, he stood firm, as has become his trademark. Even when the ball stopped on him, Laxman relied on those supple wrists and worked Krejza over the infield. The only phase when he was troubled was during Brett Lee's second spell, when the bowler obtained a bit of reverse-swing.
The scoring rate dipped with each session, from five - after Sehwag had blazed away - to four and under, but the objective rarely wavered. The pair scurried hard singles and dispatched anything loose - of which there was plenty - and almost always picking their mark whenever they went aerial.
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Tendulkar slowed down as tea approached, perhaps mindful of his mistakes in Mohali and Delhi. His teatime 62 comprised eight fours, seven of which were muscularly hit on the leg side. He still outpaced Laxman on resumption, adding another 47 in the final session. A fierce sweep from outside the off stump and over wide mid-on took Tendulkar into the eighties and he should have stayed there. Tendulkar waltzed down to Krejza, didn't get to the pitch of the ball, and Mitchell Johnson dropped a comfortable chance running back from mid-off. The next delivery, Laxman coolly went past fifty with a drive wide of sweeper-cover, but a loose shot against Krejza, making room to cut, was snapped up on the second attempt by Brad Haddin.
Proximity to his century seemed to have fired up Tendulkar, who dashed out, very untypically, against Krejza on 98 and looked on as Lee spilled a running catch at mid-off. Having spent 11 deliveries on 99, Tendulkar raised his bat in the warm Nagpur air after raising his hundred - and tenth against Australia - with a spanking cut. He hardly played a shot thereafter and fell lbw to Johnson for 109 with 15 minutes to go.
A 98-run partnership between India's new opening pair occupied much of the morning session before Australia fought back, led by Krejza's double-strike. Sehwag took care of the new-ball threat from Johnson, driving and scooping him through backward of point, slashing him over third man, and whipping him delectably across the line. A genuine outside edge off Johnson, which bounced low in front of Matthew Hayden at first slip, when Vijay was on 11, was the nearest Australia came to a chance early on.
Sehwag's panache was complemented by Vijay's solidity on perhaps the easiest track to make your debut as a batsman. Allowed to drive on the up mid-way through the first session, he also tucked the straighter deliveries for singles that kept the score ticking. Vijay was shaping well, and India had the ideal platform, when Shane Watson struck. Sehwag looked set for a hundred, hitting nine fours and a six in his 66, but couldn't capitalise on his good start, and dragged a turning delivery from Krejza back onto his stumps shortly after Dravid fell.
One down in the series, with a highly creditable draw in Delhi following a drubbing in Mohali, Australia were aiming to salvage their bruised pride. Evenly split in pace and spin, but mellowed by another under-performing display from Lee, Australia relied on Krejza to handle the bulk of the bowling. He came in under a degree of pressure and showed enough stomach for a fight after he was mauled in his first three overs. The Tendulkar drops would have hurt, but Laxman's wicket was reward for an encouraging debut.
Lee, steady of line, lacked in speed. Watson lacked variety, and though he mixed up his pace he remained innocuous after removing Vijay. Cameron White, employed only reluctantly, turned his legbreak painfully slowly and never threatened. Johnson obtained disconcerting lift but his tendency to pitch too full made it easy for the batsmen. Over the next four days, Australia will need to be far more productive in their attempt to avoid their first series loss since 2005.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Laxman ends Third test in a Tame Draw.,.......
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Anil Kumble's 18-year Test career ended without the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in his hands but India still have a strong chance to claim the prize in Nagpur after batting out a draw at the Feroz Shah Kotla. Kumble did get a chance to bowl one final time following his surprise declaration half an hour after tea and there was a tear in his eye as he embarked on his final over.
He took the new ball, although he couldn't add to his 619 Test wickets and his last ball in 132 Tests was a full toss that was driven straight down the ground for four by Matthew Hayden. A better way to remember Kumble might be his final Test wicket; he had closed Australia's first innings with a running catch off his own bowling that demonstrated his courage as he had 11 stitches in his left hand.
The handshakes and pats on the back Kumble received as he left the field for the final time meant an emotional end to a day that had looked as predictable as a Mills and Boon novel after Australia struggled to spark the collapse they needed in the first few hours. They picked up two wickets in the first session and one in the third but India's resolute middle order, led by VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar, had little trouble on a pitch that had less life than John McCain's presidential campaign.
Laxman added an unbeaten 59 to his first-innings double-century, Tendulkar made a useful 47 and Sourav Ganguly threw in a couple of lusty blows towards the end as the game fizzled out of reach of both teams. Not for the first time this series Australia looked incapable of claiming the 20 wickets typically needed to win a Test - they snared only 12 in this game - but on this occasion the benign surface was more responsible than their bowlers.
The day had started with Australia searching for eight wickets, preferably in a hurry, to give themselves a realistic run-chase. India were happy to play for time and, despite losing Gautam Gambhir and Rahul Dravid before lunch, never did they appear in serious danger.
In what was effectively a short encore of his unbeaten 200, Laxman flicked deliveries through leg and crunched Michael Clarke's spin through the off-side for simple but well-executed boundaries. He brought up his half-century with just such a stroke - a four driven through cover when Clarke sent down a full toss.
He combined with Tendulkar for a 52-run partnership that ate up nearly 21 overs and was, by their exquisite standards, remarkably sedate. But that was exactly what India needed and by the time Cameron White picked up Tendulkar for the second time in the series, with an edge to slip from a genuine legbreak, the pair had dead-batted the life out of the match.
Tendulkar did provide some enjoyable moments for the Delhi crowd; a couple of excellent back-foot drives for four off Brett Lee early in his innings brought loud cheers. But he eased into an unhurried and cautious mindset once he lost his initial partner Gambhir, who was unfortunate to be judged lbw for 36 to a Johnson inswinger that would have missed leg stump.
Unlike Tendulkar and later Laxman, Gambhir seemed to forget entirely about scoring and in an hour and a half he added only 15 to his overnight total. He was clearly keen to build a wall of his own after India's usual brick barrier, Dravid, played on to a fast Lee inswinger for 11. The two strikes gave Australia a glimmer of hope but the pitch refused to crumble and so did India's middle order.
Despite the inevitable outcome, both teams will take positives to Nagpur. Australia's top five each passed fifty and the bowlers showed genuine enthusiasm in unhelpful circumstances. India witnessed double-centuries from two class batsmen, although whether Gambhir will play in the final Test is still uncertain as he awaits the result of an appeal against his one-Test ban.
In any case, India ensured that they will regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy unless Australia pinch a series-ending victory. The strange thing is that if they do take possession of the trophy, it won't be Kumble who first gets his hands on it.
Anil Kumble retires from International Cricket

Anil Kumble, India's Test captain, has announced his retirement from international cricket and will not play the last Test of the series against Australia in Nagpur. His announcement came during the fifth day's play in Delhi, the scene of his greatest bowling effort, at the end of which he was carried off the field by teammates in an emotional farewell.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni will now lead India in the Nagpur Test as they hold on to their 1-0 lead from Delhi.
In 132 Tests, Kumble took 619 wickets, the most among Indians and third on the all-time list. He also led the team in 14 Tests, but struggled with the ball in 2008, taking 28 wickets in ten Tests at an average of 50.57.
He was also plagued by injury concerns during the current series - picking up a shoulder injury in the first Test in Bangalore and injuring his finger in the third Test in Delhi - which ultimately sealed his decision to retire. "It's a tough decision when you have played 18 years of cricket and been so competitive. But my body helped make the decision and also, this [finger] injury," he said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
He captained India to three wins, with the 72-run victory at Perth against Australia in January undoubtedly one of the high points during his reign.
The legspinner was also the second player in history, after Jim Laker, to bag 10 wickets in an innings when he ran through Pakistan in the second innings at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi. A fitting farewell that his last match was also at the same venue.
In December 2001, in Bangalore, he became India's first spinner to take 300 Test wickets, and a year later, he became the first to do so in one-dayers. In August 2007, at The Oval he went past Glenn McGrath's 563 wickets and in January 2008 crossed the 600 mark, to stand behind only Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan, emphasising his contribution to spin's golden era. And at The Oval he scored his only Test century after 17 years and 118 matches.
