VVS Laxman continued his love affair with the Eden Gardens with an unbeaten 176 and Mahendra Singh Dhoni slammed a century as India buried a hapless West Indies under a mountain of runs to take complete control of the second Test on Tuesday.

Laxman produced yet another classy knock at his favorite ground where he averages an astounding 110, while Dhoni struck a belligerent 144 (175b, 10×4, 5×6) to record his first century in 21 months as India declared their first innings at a colossal 631 for seven in the post-tea session.

The hosts then dismissed both the West Indies openers to reduce the visitors to a shaky 34 for two before the second day’s play was called 50 minutes early because of bad light. West Indies are trailing by 597 runs.

Laxman and Dhoni stitched 224 runs together for the seventh wicket in an alliance that put India in complete command on what looked to be a good batting track.

Such was the batting domination by India that the hosts had one two-hundred plus, one-hundred plus and four half-century partnerships with Laxman in the middle in three of them.

Indian bowlers did well to claim the early wickets with Umesh Yadav and Ravichandran Ashwin taking one wicket each.

Yadav gave the breakthrough when he had the wicket of comeback-man Adrian Barath (1) who was caught at the second slip by Virender Sehwag in the second over with West Indies 3/1.

Newly-married R Ashwin took the other opener Kraigg Brathwaite (17) in the 12th over of the day which became the last over as the play was called off because of bad light. Play will start half an hour early on Wednesday.

Source: Times of India

Indian spinners led by Ravindra Jadeja bowled out England for 176 to win the fifth and final ODI by 95 runs at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Ravindra Jadeja was pick of the bowlers for India to start England’s downfall after the visitors got off to a great start. The left-arm spinner took four wickets by giving away 33 runs.

It all started when Jadeja dismissed Craig Kieswetter, Jonathan Trott and Jonny Bairstow in successive overs to put India on top.

Jadeja first trapped Kieswetter plumb in front of the wicket for the second breakthrough. Kieswetter hit a six and 9 fours in his 64-ball 63.

In his next over, Jadeja had Trott caught by Virat Kohli at first slip and in his next over Bairstow edged his delivery straight into the hands of Ajinkya Rahane at backward point.

Jadeja’s triple strike came after Varun Aaron clean bowled England skipper Alastair Cook, who hit 8 fours in his 61-ball 60.

R Ashwin gave India the third breakthrough when he had Ian Bell caught behind by captain MS Dhoni.

The England run chase got off to a great start with Kieswetter and Cook putting up an opening stand of 129 runs.

Cook and Kieswetter got off to a steady start chasing a target of 271 and didn’t seem to be in any kind of hurry.

Earlier, Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni smashed an unbeaten 75 off 69 balls to power India to 271/8 in Kolkata on Tuesday.

England, hoping to avoid a 5-0 series whitewash after losing the first four games, grabbed wickets at regular intervals after skipper Alastair Cook asked India to bat in the day-night match.

India were reduced to 123-4 before Dhoni hit his way out of trouble, pounding four sixes and three boundaries, to help the world champions put up a challenging total on a sluggish wicket.

The late flourish led by the captain saw India plunder 84 runs in the last eight overs, including 39 off the final 12 balls.

Left-arm spinner Samit Patel claimed three for 57, while Steven Finn took 2-47.

Indian openers Gautam Gambhir and Ajinkya Rahane put on 80 runs in 17 overs when England hit back with three wickets without a run being added.

Finn, England’s most impressive fast bowler in the series, bowled Gambhir (38) and the in-form Virat Kohli with the first and last deliveries of his sixth over.

In the next over, Tim Bresnan forced Rahane (42) to edge a ball to wicket-keeper Craig Kieswetter, who dived to his right to pick up a superb catch.

Kolkata local Manoj Tiwary, making his first appearance in the series in place of opener Parthiv Patel, scored 24 with the help of four boundaries when he was caught behind off Stuart Meaker.

Suresh Raina helped Dhoni lift the total to 162/4 in the 37th over, before he was run out for 38 by a direct throw from Ravi Bopara.

Patel dismissed Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin in successive overs, but Dhoni stepped in to steer India to a competitive total.

England gave seasoned batsman Ian Bell his first game in the series in place of Kevin Pietersen, who has a fractured thumb.

Source: Times of India

MS Dhoni marked India’s homecoming with a brutal innings of 87 not out from 70 balls, before the left-arm spin of Ravindra Jadeja sparked a dramatic English batting collapse, as the team that failed to win a single international fixture on their recent tour of England returned to form with a crushing 126-run victory at Hyderabad.

Dhoni’s performance was his fourth half-century in as many international innings, but whereas the last three had been insufficient to force victory, this performance was more reminiscent of his last performance in a home international – his crushing 91 not out in the World Cup final against Sri Lanka in April.

After winning his first toss in six attempts against England, Dhoni chose to bat first on a slow surface, but India were struggling on 139 for 4 after 34 overs before he and Suresh Raina turned on the after-burners as a further 161 were added in the final third of the innings. As had regularly been the case in England, he started cautiously against a disciplined attack, and had reached 5 from 18 balls before belting his first boundary, from Ravi Bopara, to signal India’s late charge.

In total, Dhoni belted 10 fours and one six in his innings, the latter coming from a trademark helicopter flick off Steven Finn in the penultimate over of the innings. Finn had started his day’s work with impressive pace and accuracy, and should have had a first-over wicket when Jonathan Trott dropped a sitter off Ajinkya Rahane at second slip – a moment that only the 26,000 crowd were able to witness, thanks to a TV rights dispute that caused a three-over blackout. But Finn finished with the bruised figures of 1 for 67 in nine overs, with his solitary wicket that of Raina in his seventh over, moments after he had been battered for another six over long-on.

Raina, whose brutality against the full length ball was a sight to behold, crunched 61 from 55 balls, with both of his sixes coming from the final four balls of his innings. Like Dhoni, he had opted for circumspection in the early part of his stay, but the longer his 62-run stand for the fifth wicket continued, the more boisterous the Hyderabad crowd became.

It had been a more muted affair in the early part of India’s innings. Parthiv Patel was run out at the non-striker’s end for 9 as Finn fingertipped a Rahane drive onto the stumps, while Rahane himself had reached 15 from 41 balls when Graeme Swann dragged him out of his crease with his third delivery of the match to give Craig Kieswetter an easy stumping.

In his first match since recovering from concussion, Gautam Gambhir confirmed his fitness with a fluent 32 from 33 balls. However, Jade Dernbach’s liquorice allsorts proved hard to pick and tough to get away on the surface, and the slower ball that did for Gambhir was a beauty. It looped up above the batsman’s eyeline and dropped sharply to rap his shin in front of leg stump.

At 79 for 3 after 18 overs, the game was very much in the balance. However, England’s position could, and probably should, have been even better after 25 overs, when Samit Patel repeated Finn’s trick of dropping his fingertips on a straight drive. It was Raina this time who was in peril as the bails were dislodged, but after a lengthy delay for the TV adjudication, he was given the benefit of the doubt by the third umpire, Sudhir Ashani.

In the final analysis, however, it really didn’t matter. Though Alastair Cook continued his impressive form as England captain with 60 from 63 balls, his dismissal in the 23rd over of the innings precipated a dramatic collapse at the hands of Jadeja and R Ashin. England tumbled from 111 for 2 to 134 for 7 in the space of 40 balls, and only Samit Patel (16) and the No. 10, Finn, with a run a ball 18, provided any resistance.

Praveen Kumar, India’s star bowler from their ill-fated tour of England, had launched India’s defence in fine style, opening up with a maiden to Cook, and he had not conceded a run when he extracted Kieswetter with his eighth delivery, a full-length ball that jagged off the seam to take a thin edge through to Dhoni.

The loss of their top-order powerhitter caused England to rejig their conventional batting order, with Kevin Pietersen emerging at No. 3 ahead of the more staid Trott. The plan looked to be paying off as Pietersen launched his innings with ominous resolve, but having struck three fours in a 28-ball 19, he attempted a quick single to mid-on where Ashwin nailed him with a direct hit.

Trott then appeared at No. 4, and for 13.3 overs he and Cook steadied the innings, adding 71 for the third wicket to give England a solid platform. But then, having brought up his fifty at exactly a run a ball, Cook gave his innings away with a loose clip to deep midwicket off Ravindra Jadeja, and thwacked his pad with his bat in frustration as he left the crease.

Worse was to follow for England two overs later. Trott, whose 26 from 42 balls had been a typically measured performance, attempted an ungainly smear across the line against Jadeja and lost his leg stump, and eight balls later, Ravi Bopara drove loosely at Ashwin and chipped a simple return catch to the keeper.

Jadeja by now was on a roll with the crowd fully behind him, and he extended England’s collapse to four wickets in 26 balls when Jonny Bairstow, the hero of the run-chase in Cardiff, last month, also offered up a return catch. His figures after four overs were 3 for 17, and England’s unbeaten run against India in 2011 was soon all over.

Andrew Miller is UK editor of ESPNcricinfo

India built up a lead of 104 runs over West Indies with four first-innings wickets remaining at the close of the third day of the third and final test in Dominica on Friday as the tourists moved closer to securing a series victory.

India lead the three-test series 1-0 and it is hard to see how, barring a second-innings catastrophe, they can lose that advantage in the final two days of a rain-affected test.

Half centuries from Abhinav Mukund (62) Vangipurappu Laxman (56), Suresh Raina (50) and skipper MS Dhoni (65 not out) were the backbone of India’s 308 for six at the end of what, for this series at least, was a rare day of rain-free cricket.

West Indies were hampered by the absence of seamer Ravi Rampaul who did not bowl at all due to a virus which kept him at the team hotel for most of the day.

With the other pace bowler Fidel Edwards also having some physical difficulties, West Indies skipper Darren Sammy, who opened the bowling with his medium pace, bowled 26 overs while spinner Devendra Bishoo worked his way through 35 overs.

West Indies even turned to the occasional spin of Kirk Edwards and Shivnarine Chanderpaul – with the latter producing a surprise wicket when the Guyanese had Laxman stumped in unusual fashion by Carlton Baugh.

The day began brightly for the hosts when Murali Vijay (5) was caught behind off a rising delivery from Edwards and then India found themselves 18 for two after Rahul Dravid (5) was bowled by Sammy.

Mukund and Laxman saw the tourists through to 102 for two at lunch and the 98-run partnership between the pair laid the foundations for India’s innings.

Mukund, who had made his maiden test half-century, must have been fancying his chances of going on to a first hundred but he was caught, off a bat-pad, by Adrian Barath from Bishoo’s spin.

Virat Kohli was then caught behind off Sammy to leave the tourists at 168 for four and a key breakthrough for the home side came with the dismissal of Laxman who, on 56, let go an innocuous, wide delivery from Chanderpaul but lifted his foot briefly and wicket-keeper Baugh reacted sharply to stump him.

At 172 for five, West Indies, despite injuries also appearing to affect Sammy and Edwards, would have fancied their chances of getting into the Indian tail but a 103-run partnership between Raina and Dhoni put paid to those hopes.

Raina was trapped lbw by Edwards with the new ball and Harbhajan Singh (12) saw the session to a close with a confident-looking Dhoni.

Source: Yahoo Cricket

Defending champions Chennai Super Kings cruised to the top of points table by inflicting an 18-run defeat over Delhi Daredevils in their IPL match at MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai on Thursday.

Ravichandran Ashwin and Dwayne Bravo took two wickets each after fifties by Subramaniam Badrinath and Mahendra Singh Dhoni as Chennai won the match comfortably.

Chasing a stiff victory target of 177 runs, Delhi managed to score 158/6 in 20 overs with Irfan Pathan top scoring for the visitors with an unbeaten 34-ball 44 that came with the help of 2 sixes and 3 fours.

Bravo took his second wicket when Michael Hussey took a good catch running in from long-off to dismiss Delhi captain James Hopes.

Delhi lost their fourth wicket when Ravichandran Ashwin clean bowled Venugopal Rao to reduce the hosts to 107/4.

Bravo struck in his first over when he had David Warner caught by Murali Vijay at deep mid-wicket as Daredevils lost their third wicket in pursuit of 177.

Warner hit 2 fours in his 25-ball 21 before falling to Bravo.

Bravo took a superb catch at backward point to dismiss Colin Ingram off Ravichandran Ashwin as Delhi lost their second wicket.

Ingram scored 7 before falling to Ashwin.

Delhi lost their first wicket when Albie Morkel had Naman Ojha caught by Shadab Jakati at mid-off.

Ojha hit 2 sixes and 3 fours in his 14-ball 25 before falling to Morkel.

Earlier, Subramaniam Badrinath and Mahendra Singh Dhoni smashed fifties to power Chennai Super Kings to 176/4.

Dhoni’s unbeaten 31-ball 63 was studded with 4 sixes and 5 fours.

Badrinath reached his half-century off 41 balls and Dhoni reached his fifty off 28 deliveries.

Badrinath hit a six and 6 fours in his 43-ball 55 before he was run out.

Murali Vijay hit a 33-ball 35 before Ajit Agarkar had him caught by Venugopal Rao at deep mid-wicket off a full toss.

Vijay hit 2 sixes and 2 fours in his knock before falling to Agarkar.

Varun Aaron had Suresh Raina caught by Irfan Pathan at fine-leg as Chennai lost their second wicket.

Raina hit a six and a four in his 10-ball 14 before mistiming a short ball from Aaron that resulted in his dismissal.

Irfan Pathan gave Delhi an early breakthrough when he trapped Michael Hussey plumb in front of the wicket in the first over.

The breakthrough came after Chennai captain MS Dhoni won the toss and chose to bat.

Chennai are unchanged from the last match while Delhi have brought in Andrew McDonald and Varun Aaron in place of Morne Morkel and the injured Virender Sehwag.

Teams:

Chennai Super Kings: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Capt.), Michael Hussey, Murali Vijay, Suresh Raina, Albie Morkel, Subramaniam Badrinath, Dwayne Bravo, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Doug Bollinger, Shadab Jakati.

Delhi Daredevils: James Hopes (Capt.), David Warner, Naman Ojha, Yogesh Nagar, Venugopal Rao, Colin Ingram, Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar, Shahbaz Nadeem, Andrew McDonald, Varun Aaron.

Source: Times of India

Twenty-eight years on from the match that transformed the history of world cricket, India recaptured the crown that Kapil Dev and his men first lifted at Lord’s in 1983, and this time they did so in their very own back yard. An iron-willed 97 from Gautam Gambhir was matched for intensity by the finest captain’s innings since Ricky Ponting in Johannesburg eight years ago, as MS Dhoni trumped a poetic century from Mahela Jayawardene to pull off the highest run-chase ever achieved in a World Cup final.

Against a triumphant backdrop at the Wankhede Stadium, victory was sealed by six wickets with 10 balls to spare, as Dhoni – who had promoted himself to No. 5 to heap extra lashings of responsibility onto his own shoulders – rushed through the gears as the victory target drew nearer. With 15 required from 17 balls, he flicked Sri Lanka’s only true threat, Lasith Malinga, through midwicket for consecutive boundaries, before smoking Nuwan Kulasekara over long-on to finish on 91 not out from 79 balls, and spark the most delirious scenes of celebration ever seen on the subcontinent.

However, the final margin did little justice to the tussle that had preceded it. Even the toss ended up being disputed, as Kumar Sangakkara’s initial call was drowned out by the crowd, but it was the ebb and flow of Zaheer Khan’s day that epitomised the fluctuations of a compelling contest. Zaheer opened his account with three consecutive maidens and the scalp of Upul Tharanga in a peerless spell of 5-3-6-1, only to be clobbered for 17 and 18 runs in his ninth and tenth overs, as Sri Lanka monstered 63 runs in the batting Powerplay to post an imposing 274 for 6.

And India’s day got much worse before the team’s fortunes began to inch upwards. Virender Sehwag had hit a boundary from the first ball of six of India’s previous eight innings in the tournament, but this time Malinga’s slingers dealt him a second-ball duck, as he skidded a full delivery into his back pad. And then Sachin Tendulkar, for whom the script had seemingly been written, was drawn into a loose drive by a fast Malinga outswinger, having set the stadium on standby for instant history with 18 sumptuously accumulated runs from his first 12 deliveries.

At 31 for 2 in the seventh over, India were struggling to keep their toehold in the contest, and it was all too much for a faithless few in the crowd who turned their backs and set off for home. But Gambhir and Virat Kohli epitomise a generation that does not easily accept defeat, and their third-wicket stand of 83 laid the foundations for an epic turnaround. The prospect of a seam-friendly surface, allied to the grievous loss of Angelo Mathews to a thigh strain, had tempted Sri Lanka into four key changes to the team that had triumphed over New Zealand in Colombo, and with Muttiah Muralitharan lacking bite in the final wicketless appearance of his 19-year career, Malinga alone could not carry the day.

The hard-hitting of Nuwan Kulasekara and Thisara Perera had been instrumental in hoisting Sri Lanka’s total to such heights, but in their primary role as front-line seamers they lacked menace and were all too easy to squeeze as 119 runs came from their combined allocation of 17.2 overs. The newcomer to the squad, Suraj Randiv, caused a moment of alarm with his high-kicking offspin when Gambhir, on 30, was dropped by a diving Kulasekara at long-off, but as the innings progressed, his lack of guile proved costly. The decision to omit both Ajantha Mendis and Rangana Herath, whose combined efforts had been so effective against England and New Zealand, is one that will haunt Sri Lanka for years to come.

But this was a victory that still had to be grasped, and India found the men who were willing to do so. The 22-year-old Kohli, who was greeted with a stern word of encouragement as he replaced the outgoing Tendulkar, showed all the mettle for the big occasion as he eased along to 35 from 49 balls before falling to an outstanding return catch by Tillakaratne Dilshan, who dived full-length across the crease to intercept a leading edge. But it was Gambhir and Dhoni to whom the ultimate duty fell. Their 109-run stand was the highest by an Indian pairing in three World Cup final appearances, and even when Gambhir gave away the chance for an unforgettable century with a tired charge and slash at Perera, the result was no longer in doubt.

Gambhir struck nine fours in a 122-ball statement of indomitability, and both he and Dhoni required treatment for stiff backs as the sapping Mumbai heat took its toll. Dhoni at one stage looked so immobile that a precautionary retirement seemed the only logical response, but after some harsh work from the physio he resumed his stance and responded with another trademark filleting of the extra cover boundary, an area in which he scored six of his eight fours – three of which helped to blunt Murali’s attacking instincts.

Both teams contained numerous veterans of World Cup final defeat, with no fewer than five Indians still remaining from the team that lost to Australia back in 2003, and as a consequence this was a match thick with performances that spoke of the wisdom of experience. Though each of the previous five centurions in finals had gone on to lift the trophy, as well as seven of the nine teams that had had the chance to bat first, Jayawardene had the misfortune to become an exception to both rules. His stunning 103 not out from 88 balls was proof that finesse has as much of a place at this level as brutality, but ultimately it was not enough to deny India their destiny.

Four years ago at Sabina Park, Jayawardene produced a supreme century against New Zealand to carry his side to their second World Cup final, but this was an innings of even more exquisite application. He came to the crease with his side under the cosh at 60 for 2 in the 17th over, having been throttled by Zaheer’s supreme new-ball spell. But he responded with a tempo that scarcely wavered from a run a ball, until with Kulasekera for company, he opened his shoulders to power through to his hundred from 84 balls.

For an occasion of this magnitude, cool heads were the order of the day, and though his final figures did not show it, no-one was cooler in the opening exchanges than Zaheer. On his watch, Sri Lanka were limited to 31 for 1 in their mandatory Powerplay, their lowest ten-over score of the tournament, and the hapless Tharanga was restricted to two runs from 20 balls before snicking to Sehwag at slip, whose sharp low take epitomised a fielding effort that was rarely less than totally committed. Then, when he returned in the 37th over, Zaheer deceived Chamara Kapugedera with a beautiful slower ball that was driven to short cover, on route to equalling Shahid Afridi as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker, with 21.

And yet, the speed with which his figures were vandalised was astounding. Though each of Jayawardene’s 13 fours was a classy stroke in its own right, none was better than the last of them, an inside-out cover-drive to one of Zaheer’s trademark outswinging yorkers, as he premeditated the late movement and filleted the ring of fielders on the off-side. The outright acceleration came from the other end, however, where Kulasekera made 32 from 30 balls before his sacrificial run-out led to a pat of gratitude from Jayawardene as they parted. And then, by the time Perera, who made 22 from nine balls, had sealed his onslaught with a dismissive thump for six over midwicket, the decibel levels in the Wankhede had plummeted.

But run by run, over by over, minute by minute, India picked themselves up, dusted themselves down, and turned the screw on Sri Lanka with a determination that a lesser group of men could not have begun to muster, amid the sure knowledge that several billion countrymen were investing all their hopes in their actions. And though he himself played just a walk-on part in the wider drama, it was Tendulkar who was chaired from the field as the celebrations began in earnest. “He’s carried the burden of our nation for 21 years,” said the youngster Kohli. “It was time to carry him on our shoulders today.”

Andrew Miller is UK editor of ESPNcricinfo

The Indian batting emphasised why they are such a feared unit by piling up 360 against New Zealand, despite the failures of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli, two batsmen who tormented New Zealand in the one-day series three months ago, crafted a century partnership to set the base, before MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina, two batsmen who are crowd favourites in Chennai for their IPL exploits, delighted the fans with brutal hitting that was frenetic even by Twenty20 standards. The final 16 overs brought a jaw-dropping 193 runs to further demoralise a struggling New Zealand outfit, who were eventually crushed by 117 runs.

It had been run-of-the-mill stuff till the 34th over, with the bowling mostly mediocre and the batsmen mainly concerned with consolidation. The mandatory ball change in the 35th over prompted the batting Powerplay, and began an hour-long period of carnage. Gambhir started it with lap sweeps and carves over extra cover, followed by three successive boundaries off Tim Southee in the 37th to pick up 31 off 12 deliveries before nicking to the keeper.

If New Zealand felt that would provide some respite, there were emphatically proved wrong by Dhoni and Raina, both of whose one-day fortunes have hit a trough in the recent past. Dhoni showed that the bludgeoner of old wasn’t gone for good, by thrashing a 61-ball century that had plenty of heaves over midwicket and power-packed drives down the ground. There were some deft placements as well from Dhoni to collect boundaries past short third man and short fine leg. Raina joined in the fun, with his patented swipes towards midwicket fetching him loads of runs in a 25-ball half-century.

Jacob Oram’s bowling performance perfectly illustrated how New Zealand wilted after a solid beginning. Oram, fighting for a place in the starting XI, started the day with the massive wicket of Virender Shehwag off his first delivery. It got even better for him when he returned for his second spell; he had Kolhi poking at an extremely wide delivery that ended up as a nick to the keeper, and his figures read 7-1-30-2. The smile was off his face in his final burst, though, as Dhoni picked five successive fours off him before Raina swung him for three sixes over midwicket in four balls. Oram kicked the ground in disgust as he ended with 9-1-70-2.

The Chennai fans wouldn’t have expected such a treat when the superstar opening pair of Tendulkar and Sehwag fell within the first ten overs. It was Kohli who led the recovery initially after the loss of the two wickets, continuing to be in the fluent form that has led to a chorus of calls for finding him a place in the World Cup XI. A combination of hard-hit lofted drives and delicate dinks behind square brought him a half-century, which along with Raina’s whirlwind innings will leave the Indian team management reaching for the aspirin when they have to decide which of the two to leave out in the opening match in Dhaka.

New Zealand’s team management will have headaches of their own, but not as pleasant as India’s. The batting can’t be blamed for coming up short in the face of a mammoth target, but the bowling, which was taken apart on Wednesday, had shipped loads of runs in the first warm-up against Ireland as well. New bowling coach Allan Donald will have his hands full during the tournament.

New Zealand began their chase spiritedly with Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill scoring quickly against the quick bowlers. As on Sunday against Australia, it was the spinners that applied the brakes for India. New Zealand had sprinted to 94 for 0 in 15 overs, when offspinner R Ashwin removed Guptill with a delivery that spun sharply and bounced, flying off the bat handle to Dhoni. McCullum was then dismissed attempting a misjudged run, before Harbhajan Singh removed the two other big names in the New Zealand batting, Jesse Ryder and Ross Taylor. At 147 for 5, the game was up, though New Zealand’s lower order lingered around for another 18 overs.

Several worries remain for India. Firstly, the ineffectiveness of the fast bowling in the absence of Zaheer Khan. The quicks have been blunted by the opposition openers in both practice games, leaving India pondering who to pick to partner Zaheer on Saturday. The other is the fielding, with two straightforward catches being put down – one by Gambhir at midwicket, and another by Munaf Patel at deep square leg.

Dhoni will be satisfied overall with the two wins in the pratice matches, but he won’t be getting carried away by these results, especially after India’s disastrous 2007 World Cup campaign which had begun with two massive victories in the practice matches.

Siddarth Ravindran is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

“It was not fatigue at all. It is the mental preparation level…to be in the same scenario…to be 100 per cent for a (warm-up) game,” Dhoni clarified ahead of the second warm-up match against New Zealand tomorrow.

“We are more used to prepare for a game 100 per cent and all of a sudden you have to prepare for a warm-up game which I have not played many, right from the start of my career from school cricket or district,” he explained.

“It was a different scenario and you have to prepare differently.

Source: PTI

The legend of Sachin Tendulkar continued to grow on Sunday as the Indian batting maestro hit his 50th Test century and shared a remarkable partnership with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on the fourth day of the first Test against South Africa at SuperSport Park.

It was almost certainly not enough to save his team from defeat, with India finishing the day on 454 for eight in their second innings, still 30 runs short of making South Africa bat again.

But it was an heroic effort which salvaged the reputation of an Indian side which took a battering in the first innings.

Tendulkar (107 not out) and Dhoni (90) put on 172 for the seventh wicket and defied the South African bowlers for a minute short of three hours.

“It was extremely important for us to come back strong and to send out a strong message,” said Tendulkar, adding that the world’s top-ranked Test team needed to recover from the first innings in which they were bowled out for 136 before conceding 620 for four declared when South Africa batted.

“I think we have been able to do that,” said Tendulkar.

“Many positives have come out of this match. We just need to continue with this in the remaining part of the series.”

It took a special delivery from fast bowler Dale Steyn to end the Tendulkar-Dhoni stand shortly before bad light and an approaching thunderstorm ended play for the day.

Steyn produced a vicious bouncer which Dhoni could only fend to wicketkeeper Mark Boucher. In the next over Harbhajan Singh edged left-arm spinner Paul Harris to slip, almost certainly ending any hopes of a miracle reprieve for India, although more storms are forecast for the final day on Monday.

South Africa seemed set for an early win when they took four wickets before lunch, with a new ball available 13 balls after the break. At that stage India were 277 for six, still trailing by 207 runs.

But Dhoni counter-attacked in thrilling fashion and South Africa’s new ball pair, Steyn and Morne Morkel, were on the receiving end of some cracking drives and cuts as Dhoni raced to a half-century off 40 balls with nine fours.

South African captain Graeme Smith was forced into making bowling changes with the ball still relatively new and Harris was brought on after 56 runs had been scored in nine overs against the new ball.

Having seen off the immediate threat of the pace pair, Dhoni settled down to play a more conventionally watchful innings and he made his 90 off 106 balls with 14 fours.

After the interval, the focus switched to Tendulkar, the highest-scoring batsman in international cricket history. Resuming at 80 he continued a calm innings during which he was seldom troubled.

He went to 95 with a straight six off Harris. On 97 he was beaten by a ball from Morkel which cut back and missed the inside edge of his bat. He pushed Steyn to midwicket for two, then drove the fast bowler to deep cover to reach his century after 258 minutes of watchful batting, during which he faced 197 balls and hit 12 fours and a six.

As he ran to complete the single he jumped in the air and lifted his bat to the heavens. No other batsman has scored more than 39 centuries in Tests.

“He’s a great player,” said South African spinner Harris. “It’s just good for a player like me to be able to bowl to him.”

Harris said he thought South Africa bowled well on what he described as a day of “proper” Test cricket.

“Dhoni and Tendulkar showed the fight we expected from them,” he said.

Sharma frustrated the South African bowlers for the first 48 minutes of the day, looking awkward against short-pitched deliveries but finding a straight bat to keep out anything aimed at his stumps. He eventually fell to Steyn when he prodded a catch to Hashim Amla at short leg after making 23 and batting for a total of 71 minutes, facing 51 balls.

Dravid became the third batsman, behind team-mate Tendulkar and Australia’s Ricky Ponting, to make 12 000 Test runs, reaching the mark when he had scored 43. He was congratulated by Tendulkar but did not add to his score before edging a lifting ball from Morkel to wicketkeeper Mark Boucher. The previous ball, pitched well outside off stump, had kept low.

Laxman and Raina fell cheaply, edging Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Jacques Kallis to gully and first slip respectively, with Raina out in the last over before lunch.

Source: Times of India

Rahul Dravid struck a classy 191 as India declared their first innings at 566 for eight and enjoyed a 349-run lead over New Zealand at the end of the third day’s play in the third and final cricket Test here Monday.

New Zealand, who had a great chance of pulling off a series win at the start of the match, were 24 for one in their second innings at close with Brendon McCullum batting on 15 and Gareth Hopkins on one with the visitors staring at the huge task of avoiding an innings defeat at the Vidharbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium at the Jamtha.

New Zealand were bowled out for 193 runs in their first innings.

Resuming at the overnight score of 292 for two, India lost Sachin Tendulkar quickly. The batting maestro could add just four runs to his overnight total of 57 and was caught behind off the bowling of Andy McKay. V.V.S. Laxman (12) and Suresh Raina (3) were also dismissed cheaply and it was left to skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni to arrest the slide with his stroke-filled 98.

Rahul Dravid and Dhoni added 193 for a record sixth-wicket stand and the partnership was broken by New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori, who took a fine catch off his own bowling to remove Dhoni.

Dravid completed his second century of the series — he made 104 in Ahmedabad — and 31st of his career with a flick for two off Vettori. He fell nine short of what could have been his sixth double century when he gave a catch to Martin Guptill at long-off on the bowling of part-time offspinner Kane Williamson.

India declared shortly after Dravid’s fall and gave 13 overs to the bowlers to make some early inroads. Spinner Harbhajan trapped Tim McIntosh (8) leg before leaving New Zealand at 24 for one at stumps.

The previous two Tests, in Ahmedabad and Hyderabad, ended in draws.

Source: Yahoo Cricket