Mumbai Indians won the thriller match against Pune Warriors India. Tension prevailed till the last ball of the match. Both teams tried hard to capture the victory, but finally it was the Mumbai Indians who were victorious in another low scoring match. Today it was a bowlers match. MI captured their second victory over PWI.

Pune Warriors Indians were successful in restricting the Mumbai Indians for just 120 runs. But, they were not able to chase such low score and at the end they were fall short of 2 runs to win. They lost a early wicket of Robin Uthappa in the hands of Munaf Patel. There after, they lost wickets on regularly.

It was Mithun Manhas, who stood unbeaten and scored 42 runs in 34 balls with 5 boundaries. He was also the highest scorer of today’s match. Apart from him, none other among his teammates made some good score. Lasith Malinga took the 2 crucial wickets, that too in the correct time, which helped for Mumbai Indians victory.

Earlier, during the Mumbai Indians innings, the openers Sachin Tendulkar, and James Franklin gave a good start to their innings. Apart the loss of these two wickets, this good start could not continued by the middle order batsmen. There after, they lost wickets regularly and could only just score 120 runs. Ashish Nehra, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar took 2 wickets each.

Teams:

Mumbai Indians: Harbhajan Singh, James Franklin, Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Thisara Perera, Robin Peterson, Lasith Malinga, Pragyan Ojha, Munaf Patel, Ambati Rayudu.

Pune Warriors India: Sourav Ganguly, Jesse Ryder, Steven Smith, Robin Uthappa (wk), Mithun Manhas, Michael Clarke, Wayne Parnell, Murali Kartik, Ashok Dinda, Ashish Nehra, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

The monkey is finally off his back.

At about half past four at Mirpur’s Shere Bangla Stadium, Sachin Tendulkar tapped a delivery from Shakib Al Hasan on his pads behind square. He scampered to the non-striker’s end for a single. There was no exaggerated celebration; just a tired-looking glance heavenwards, a raised bat accepting the congratulations, and a finger pointed at the tri-colour on his helmet.

He was embraced by Suresh Raina in the middle before the Bangladesh players also ran up to congratulate him. The crowd welcomed the moment. They didn’t mind that the home team had been at the receiving end of this milestone. The oldest man on the park had finally done it.

With that single, Tendulkar completed his hundredth century in international cricket — an unprecedented feat that will not be passed again by anyone in a hurry. It was also his 49th hundred in an ODI, ending his year-long wait for a three-figure knock.

There may have been a more befitting stage for such an incredible milestone than an Asia Cup encounter against a weak bowling attack. Less befitting was the manner in which he crawled to the mark. There were 82 dot balls in Tendulkar’s innings, completely in contrast with how Virat Kohli, Raina, and several of the Bangladeshi batsmen played this game. He was a shadow of his former aggressive self in this innings, but what’s beyond doubt is Tendulkar’s place among the greatest sports persons of all times.

A hundred hundreds in international cricket was unheard of. In 1998, Tendulkar took the record at 36 hundreds held jointly by Sunil Gavaskar, Vivian Richards and Desmond Haynes. He has nearly tripled the mark, and this incredible feat of longevity will put him along such sporting icons as Pele, Navratilova and Federer.

Tendulkar, who is now in the 23rd year of his international career had been searching for this landmark since March 12 2011 when he last scored a hundred, against South Africa in Nagpur during the World Cup. Since then, he went 33 innings — including whole tours to England and Australia — without a hundred.

With each failure, the clamour around the milestone grew louder, with experts even questioning his motives behind continuing playing for India at the expense of young players waiting in the wings.

Today, India lost the early wicket of Gautam Gambhir in the sixth over when Shafiul Islam clean bowled the left-handed opener. Tendulkar and Virat Kohli (66) then added 148 runs for the second wicket, setting the stage for a big score.

Tendulkar scored his half-century in 63 balls with a lofted drive over extra cover off Shakib. He’d had a rough tour of Australia and this was also his first fifty since the 85 he scored against Pakistan in the World Cup semi-final.

He took 138 deliveries to score his century, which is one of his slowest in ODIs, but the occasion was so historic that it shouldn’t take the sheen off the landmark.

Tendulkar scored 114 from 147 balls before he was caught behind off Mashrafe Mortaza’s bowling in the 47th over of India’s innings which ended at 289-5 in their allotted 50 overs.

‘It was mentally tough’

Talking to Neo Cricket commentator Rameez Raja after India’s innings, Tendulkar said it has been a tough phase for him even though he started the season batting “reasonably well”. Asked if he had been thinking about the milestone, Tendulkar said he hadn’t.

Tendulkar said the hype around his hundredth century was started by the media and he was asked about it wherever he went – be it restaurants, house-keeping, or even while ordering room service. “Whoever met me spoke about it,” he said.

“I was not (thinking about it) to be honest. Nobody spoke about the 99th hundred when I got it in the World Cup. But since then, I have been asked about it wherever I have gone. ”

“It became difficult mentally because I am not playing only for my hundredth hundred.”

“Everybody has their opinions but I’ve got to do what it important for the team.”

He conceded the moment hadn’t sunk in yet but said “I have lost about fifty kilos.”

Asked what he would advice young people watching him at this moment, Tendulkar said, “Enjoy your game and chase your dreams. Dreams do come true.I had to wait for 22 years to realise my dream of winning the World Cup. Don’t stop chasing your dreams.”

Congratulations galore

India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was amongst the first to wish Tendulkar and said he has made the country proud. “Tendulkar’s long career has been a triumph of class, character and courage. I wish him many more innings and feats to continue inspiring the youth,” Singh said in a press release.

Tendulkar was also congratulated by ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said he is a marvel to cricket lovers around the world, adding he is a true role model. “On behalf of every cricket fan around the globe I congratulate Sachin on becoming the first person to score 100 centuries for his country. This is indeed a magnificent feat and not likely to be easily emulated,” Lorgat was quoted as saying in an ICC release.

Lorgat also said: “Like millions of others I have personally followed his career ever since he first played for India as a gifted 16-year-old and now, more than two decades later, his passion and personal records, which include more than 33,000 runs at international level, is a modern day wonder.”

Tendulkar scored his first international century – 119* – against England at Old Trafford in August 1990; while his first ODI century (110) came against Australia at Colombo on 9 September 1994.

Tendulkar scored 12 centuries in 1998 – the most he has in a year in his career. He has scored eight centuries in three different years (1996, 1999 and 2010).

Tendulkar, who is the most capped player in Tests and ODIs, holds an array of batting records including for the most runs and centuries scored in those two formats of the game.

In his 188 Tests, Tendulkar has scored 15470 runs, including 51 centuries; and in his 462 ODIs, the batting maestro has scored 18,374 runs, including 49 centuries.

Tendulkar has scored 1000 or more runs in a calendar six times – 1997, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2008, 2010. He has also scored 1,000 or more ODI runs in a calendar year seven times – 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2003 and 2007.

Source: Yahoo Cricket

The second Test laboured to its predictable end but not without some encouraging signs for India on the final day. The tenth-wicket pair of Ishant Sharma and Pragyan Ojha, who had offered resistance in Galle, repeated the feat with more ease and kept the Sri Lankan bowlers at bay for 27.1 overs before the Indian bowlers, who have been dominated in this series, took three wickets, auguring well for the final Test at the P Sara Stadium.

The start to the Sri Lankan second innings, however, gave little indication that India’s bowlers would do better. The seamers often dropped short and Tharanga Paranavitana promptly slashed both Abhimanyu Mithun and Ishant Sharma for boundaries through point. He also cashed in when the ball was pitched up, driving Ishant confidently down the ground. Mithun got a bit of movement with the new ball and beat Paranavitana on a couple of occasions, but it was a short delivery that earned him a breakthrough as Tillakaratne Dilshan mistimed a pull to midwicket.

Though the run-flow remained steady, the spinners targeted the footmarks to unsettle the batsmen. They found grip as well as some extra bounce, prompting MS Dhoni to attack with more close-in fielders. Harbhajan Singh bowled fuller than he had in the first innings and occasionally got sharp turn against the left-handers when coming round the wicket. Paranavitana, who had scored a century in each of his two innings before this, edged one straight to slip.

Harbhajan, who had three slips at one stage, almost put an end to Mahela Jayawardene’s prolific run by inducing a top-edged sweep but was denied by Mithun’s misjudgement in the deep. The turn eventually did Jayawardene in, as he was hit on the pads by Virender Sehwag, though replays suggested the ball would have missed leg stump. Sri Lanka saw through some testing overs by Ojha before Kumar Sangakkara and Dhoni decided to end the game 70 minutes before the scheduled close of play.

The improved performance with the ball backed up a spirited stand by Ishant and Ojha, who took India to their highest score in an overseas Test in also their longest innings away from home in terms of overs faced. Sangakkara persisted with spin for the first hour and the batsmen survived a few close shaves: several lbw appeals, though none were close enough, a run-out attempt and an edge that just fell short of slip. But Ishant and Ojha were largely comfortable, firm in defence, adept at picking Ajantha Mendis’ variations on a slow pitch and committed to delaying the Sri Lankan second innings. Runs came at a trickle, and the highlight for each batsman was an elegant cover drive for four.

The fast bowlers had a bit more to cheer, as they ruffled the tailenders with some short deliveries when brought on after the drinks break. Ojha preferred to back away than play from the crease, and Ishant, though more assured, eventually spooned a catch to gully off Dilhara Fernando to end Sri Lanka’s frustration. Sangakkara, however, will be presumably discouraged that his bowling attack, irrespective of the match-winners missing from the first Test and the flat track on offer, took as long as it did to finish things off.

Amid the suffering, Sri Lanka edged the contest between the two weakened bowling line-ups. The three-wicket burst on the third morning by Mendis and Suraj Randiv had given the visitors a genuine scare, and it could have got worse had Sachin Tendulkar, who was dropped on 29, and Suresh Raina, who survived a close lbw shout, not had their moments of fortune. But a more rewarding final day for the Indian bowlers, particularly their spinners, should give them some reason for cheer going into the third Test.

Siddhartha Talya is an editorial assistant at Cricinfo

Under the provision of grant of honorary rank by Armed Forces to eminent personalities acknowledging their contribution towards the nation, the Hon’ble President and the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of India is pleased to confer Shri Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar the honorary rank of Group Captain of the Indian Air Force (IAF).

In recognition of Sachin’s glorious achievements as a cricketer and sports icon par excellence, IAF had mooted a proposal to confer the honorary rank of Group Captain. Besides the recognition, his association with the IAF will motivate the younger generation to join the Air Force to serve the country.

Accepting the honour, Sachin, who is presently out of the country, expressed his pleasure over the honour being bestowed. “It is indeed a great honour that I have been considered for the honorary rank of Group Captain in the Indian Air Force. As an Indian, I am very proud to be associated with this Dynamic Force and I shall do my very best to be a brand ambassador for the IAF.”

Expressing his eagerness to interact with the air warriors, he said, “I am looking forward to familiarizing myself with the Indian Air Force. I once again salute the Indian Air Force for this great honour bestowed on me”.

Till date 21 persons have been granted the honorary ranks from Flight Lieutenant to Air Marshal. The last person to be conferred the honorary rank of Air Commodore was Shri Vijaypat Singhania on 08 Oct 90.

Source: NDTV Cricket

The top 50 rates Tendulkar as the number one influencer in India, followed closely by IPL Chairman Lalit Modi at second spot and liquor baron Dr Vijay Mallya in third.

Union Agriculture Minister and President elect, ICC Sharad Pawar, Indian cricket team skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and BCCI president Shashank Manohar are fourth, fifth and sixth on the list respectively.

Some of the names in 50 most influential people in Indian sports including Tendulkar, tennis ace Sania Mirza (50th on the list), Beijing Olympics gold medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra (41st), Churchill Brothers Team owner Churchill Alemao (48th), Dempo Sports Team owner Shrinivas Dempo (49) were felicitated during a function here late last night.

“I wanted to play cricket whole-heartedly for the country. I am living my dream and have played with two-three generations. I wanted to be a special member of the team and I have done it,” Tendulkar said on the occasion.

Tendulkar added he was still receiving congratulatory messages for becoming first batsman in the history of One-day cricket to score a double hundred and that he was enjoying the good time.

“It has taken many years for a batsman to get a double-hundred (in ODIs). I am still getting great feedback. It feels terrific,” he said.

Source: Yahoo Cricket

Sachin Tendulkar rewrote history by smashing the first double ton in one-dayers as India crushed South Africa by 153 runs in the second ODI…

And with this victory India clinched the three-match series with one game to spare.

Tendulkar (200 not out) became the first batsman in the four-decade history of ODI to hammer a double century as India piled on a mammoth 401 for three and then skittled out South Africa for 248 in 42.5 overs for a facile win.

With this victory, India not only took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series and rendered Saturday’s third and final match in Ahmadabad inconsequential but also ensured there was no threat to their status as the number two ODI side in the world.

For them, Dinesh Karthik (79 off 85 balls), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (68 not out off 35 balls) and Yusuf Pathan (36 off 23 balls) starred with the bat but the day belonged to Tendulkar.

Everything else paled in comparison to Tendulkar’s epic 147-ball blistering knock, studded with 25 fours and three sixes, as the master blaster treated the capacity crowd at the Captain Roop Singh stadium to a stunning exhibition of strokeplay.

It was not only Tendulkar’s 46th ODI century but also the highest score in one-dayers, eclipsing the previous record of 194 which was held jointly by Pakistan’s Saeed Anwar and Zimbabwe’s Charles Conventry.

Teams:

India: Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Dinesh Karthik, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni (C) (W), Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Praveen Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Sreesanth

South Africa: Hashim Amla, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis (C), AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Alviro Petersen, Mark Boucher (W), Wayne Parnell, Roelof van der Merwe, Dale Steyn, Charl Langeveldt

Source: ESPN Star

The capacity crowd at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium witnessed history on Wednesday as Tendulkar, statistically the greatest batsman the game has ever seen, pushed a Charl Langeveldt delivery through the off-side and ran a single to achieve a feat which no other cricketer has achieved.

One-day international cricket, since its 1971 inception, had to wait nearly four decades to see a batsman score 200. The previous best mark was shared by Zimbabwean Charles Coventry (194 not out against Bangladesh in 2009) and Pakistan’s Saeed Anwar (194 against India in 1997).

As the crowd erupted with unbridled joy, Tendulkar, tired but composed, took off his helmet, looked skyward, closed his eyes to offer a silent prayer.

His captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni came down from the striker’s end to shake hands and hug him.

And as Tendulkar set on his way back to the pavilion after the completion of the Indian innings, a tumultuous celebration greeted him.

The crowd gave him a standing ovation as the entire stadium erupted in euphoria while his teammates were simply ecstatic as they clapped and hugged each other, basking in the glory of their senior teammates.

Tendulkar batted like a man with a mission on Wednesday and the South African bowlers simply had no clue where to bowl.

Once he crossed the 150-mark, the crowd anticipated something special and Tendulkar did not let them down.

A six off Roelof van der Merwe took him past Kapil Dev’s 175 not out and in the next over, he hit Jacques Kallis for a four to equal his previous best of 186 not out that had come against New Zealand in Hyderabad in 1999.

The crowd got restless as Tendulkar approached the 194-run mark and a couple off Wayne Parnell saw him eclipse it.

His teammates and spectators were on the edge of their seat with a double century round the corner but with Dhoni going berserk at the striker’s end and facing most of the deliveries, it was an agonising wait for all.

Dhoni took singles off the final deliveries of the 47th-49th overs and Tendulkar finally took strike with four balls left in the innings.

The first ball he received from Langeveldt was steered past point and Tendulkar ran for a single to remain unbeaten after an unforgettable unbeaten 200 that came off just 147 balls with 25 fours and three sixes in it.

It was yet another milestone for the man, who has some 30,000 international runs under his belt, including 93 centuries (47 in Tests and 46 in ODIs).

Source: Times of India

The Sehwag storm struck South Africa with full force and pretty much blew everything in its way to a 13th 150-plus score. Amid the mayhem, it was easy to forget the cool, pleasant breeze that was Sachin Tendulkar’s 92nd international century – his fourth in four Tests. They added 249 runs for the third wicket and kept South Africa wicketless for 57.4 overs but, once the two quietened, South Africa struck back with three quick wickets to retrieve some of the momentum in the match.

Sehwag rattled them with a vicious assault on the new ball, put behind him the Gautam Gambhir run-out and, after a brief quiet, punished them some more. His 87-ball hundred would have been even faster but for a relative lull of 10 off 21 balls. Tendulkar enjoyed playing in the shadow of Sehwag’s strike-rate, kept scoring at an even pace and, unlike Sehwag, didn’t give South Africa a single chance.

Two critical moments in the first session determined the flow of the game. Sehwag – 43 off 21 then – had the fastest Test fifty and a few other records in sight when he ran Gambhir out, and he chastised himself by playing disciplined cricket for a while. Around the same time Morne Morkel indulged in some reverse-rattling, took out M Vijay, troubled Sehwag with accurate bouncers and induced an edge only to see JP Duminy – at first slip because of the finger injury to Graeme Smith – drop him on 47. Sehwag could have gone at an even more frenetic rate but for the run-out. South Africa could have been in control had Sehwag fallen then.

Sehwag’s onslaught started when Dale Steyn failed to get any swing. Somehow the ball didn’t come out right, the seam wobbled, and Nagpur was a distant memory. When there is no swing, Steyn’s pace is his biggest enemy so today the faster they came the faster they went. Nor did he get the Morkel’s bounce, which meant that when Steyn went for the ribs, Sehwag could easily flick it past midwicket.

The storm started with that gentle little flick and then came three boundaries in three balls in the third over: placed over point, whipped to square leg, and slashed past point. Morkel got the treatment in his third over too: three boundaries through the off side, one off a delivery that clocked 152.6kmph. Wayne Parnell replaced Morkel immediately, and immediately he was carved for a four and a six into the rubble of a stand under reconstruction.

The next ball Sehwag faced he hit an off-drive for four, and then came the run-out. It was time for drinks and Sehwag threw away his protective gear in disgust. That was when Morkel came back but his charged-up, accurate burst seemed to have ended with that dropped chance.

When Sehwag came back from lunch, the cautious approach had been thrown out and he was blazing away again. For company he had Tendulkar. If you were a bowler, there was nowhere to hide.

Sehwag showed that to Steyn early in his second spell. Punch, whip, steer, 10 runs off three deliveries. Steyn to Sehwag then: 11 balls, 25 runs, five boundaries. Tendulkar joined the fun, defending everything full but steering Steyn for two boundaries. Paul Harris, meanwhile, didn’t have the luxury of a big score, bowled round the stumps, and was slog-swept and hit inside out by Sehwag for a six and a four.

Back came Morkel, the best bowler on the day, to be given the worst sort of treatment a best bowler can be given. This time Tendulkar took the lead. Two fullish deliveries, two clips to the on side, one to the left of square leg, one to the right. In his next over, he gave Sehwag width with three deep fielders on the off side. One to the left of deep point, and one to the right. Sehwag 89 off 72, Tendulkar 38 off 61. India were 165 for 2 in 30.2 overs, with the bonus of South Africa’s two best bowlers negated.

In between the hard-hitting there was some toying, with paddles from outside off, reverse-sweeps, clips past midwicket as Sehwag reached his hundred and Tendulkar his fifty without further incident. Harris eventually started bowling over the wicket, and was called wide 12 times because, unlike in Nagpur, he was not looking to get wickets here.

The runs slowed down post tea. When Sehwag was 128, AB de Villiers, the replacement keeper, missed an easy stumping. By the time Duminy made good his mistake, getting Sehwag in his first over, it might just have been too late. Not quite. Harris went round the wicket in the next over – inexplicably it took him until the Sehwag dismissal to do so – and got a false shot out of Tendulkar.

Steyn came back right away, got his swing back, and beat S Badrinath in the man-versus-boy contest. VVS Laxman struggled to fight the momentum and edged Harris in the next over. It flew wide of slip, the light deteriorated and India ended the day retaining the upper hand despite that late South African surge.

Sidharth Monga is a staff writer at Cricinfo

Paul Harris is a character straight out of a Vegas gambling film. He says “perception is often reality” and batsmen perceive him to be an innocuous bowler, and that’s where he says he gets his wickets. He played around with his own perception to become the most successful spinner in the match, his “innocuous” outside-the-leg line from over the stumps getting him the wickets of Sachin Tendulkar and M Vijay, the only men who looked like they could deny South Africa. Thanks to Harris, the fast bowlers didn’t need to bust their gut in consigning India to their third innings defeat at home in the last 10 years – all three to the same opposition.

Tendulkar’s 91st international century, just like Virender Sehwag’s 30th in the first innings, was a remarkable innings in isolation but inadequate given the thin middle order. Once he got out with India still 133 behind, it was always going to be a matter of when, not if. The when came at 4.27pm, with Dale Steyn completing his fourth career ten-wicket haul, taking out a resolute Wriddhiman Saha and Amit Mishra in quick succession.

On a day that Graeme Smith went easy on his pace bowlers, Harris provided his captain with just what was required: control over the run flow, a lion’s share of the overs bowled and the big wickets. He came on to bowl as early as the fifth over of the day, and was the main bowler until tea, sending down 31 overs for 64 runs and three wickets, the third being MS Dhoni’s.

Given how Dhoni got out to Harris in the first innings, padding up and gloving one that kicked from the rough, the leg-line wasn’t quite as defensive as it is perceived to be. Neither of the overnight batsmen, Tendulkar and Vijay, wanted to keep padding up to him for long. Tendulkar was more convincing in getting right to the pitch of the ball, and playing it out of the rough. The flick for four through midwicket early in the day stood out. Vijay kept Harris interested with the sweep, and finally one delivery found the top edge and then Morne Morkel at fine leg.

Tendulkar had moved to 37 by then, having found balance between attack and defence. Against Harris he kicked away the deliveries outside leg, as opposed to waiting for them to hit his pads. When he made up his mind to play scoring shots, he made sure he was close to the pitch of the ball. From the other end, Smith rotated his fast bowlers, who gave Tendulkar nothing to drive.

Tendulkar was up to the task, scoring through deft touches and glances against aggressive bowling. He hit ten boundaries in his 68 runs behind square alone. The innings did feature a drop when on 45. Wayne Parnell, bowling from round the stumps, got it to straighten and hit the edge, but Jaques Kallis missed a tough one low to his right.

That was the only blotch on an innings that progressed at a fair pace. It didn’t quite become a threatening knock because no one at the other end looked nearly as convincing once Vijay got out. S Badrinath kept middling the ball, kept finding fielders, and got off the mark off the 17th ball he faced. Against Parnell, he could survive just three balls. The first one beat a defensive shot, and was angling down when it hit his pad. The second one straightened, took the edge, fell short, and went for four. The third carried.

Along with Dhoni, Tendulkar negotiated 25.5 overs but neither man made an attempt to hit Harris off his line. Vijay’s wicket could have had that effect. Eventually one bounced slightly more than expected, hit Tendulkar on the pad, then onto the elbow, and onto the stumps.

Dhoni, too, 25 off 112, eventually got the one accurate delivery from Harris that made him play, took the inside edge onto the pad, and his first defeat as captain would come soon. The unfortunate Saha, who unwittingly drew the ire of many by debuting as a specialist batsman, put in a fight with a 101-ball 36. Stands of 50 and 59 with Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan took them close to saving the innings defeat, but Kallis and Steyn took the last three wickets in one quick go. The messed-up stumps of Mishra at the hands of Steyn, bringing up the 10-for, was a fitting end.

Sidharth Monga is a staff writer at Cricinfo.

Sachin Tendulkar struck his 45th Test century and Rahul Dravid his 29th as India toyed with the Bangladesh attack to tighten their grip over the second and final Test on Monday.

The Indian top order fired in unison but the second day’s highlight was the 222-run third wicket stand between Tendulkar (143) and Dravid (111), who retired hurt after a Shahadat Hossain bouncer had hit him on the ear guard.

India were 495 for five — 226 runs ahead of their hosts — when stumps were drawn after Harbhajan Singh’s (13) dismissal in the 103rd over of the innings. India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was batting at 22 at stumps.

The 103-run opening stand between Gautam Gambhir (68) and Virender Sehwag (56) provided the perfect platform for the visitors to push for a big total and the Dravid-Tendulkar stand — their record 17th century partnership — ensured the pressure on Bangladesh only intensified.

Tendulkar’s cause was helped by Raqibul Hasan, who twice dropped him — first off Rubel Hossain when on 27 and off Shahadat on 50.

Dravid too had his share of good fortune. Batting on 28, he was caught in the slip off Rubel Hossain but it turned out to be a no-ball.

Tendulkar’s fluent 182-ball knock was studded with 13 fours and a six, while Dravid hit 12 fours during his 188-ball knock before he had to leave the field.

Dravid and Tendulkar eclipsed the 16 century-plus partnership record shared by the Mathew Hayden-Ricky Ponting (Australia) and Gordon Greenidge-Desmond Haynes (West Indies) pairs.

In the top half of the Indian line-up, only Murali Vijay missed out on a half-century, falling after a 49-ball 30.

The day also saw Gambhir equalling West Indian legend Vivian Richards’ record of 11 fifty-plus knocks in consecutive Tests.

After dominating the match right from the word go, India would now look to post a big first innings score so that they do not have to bat for the second time in the match.

India scored at a brisk pace on the second day, amassing 390 runs from the 89.5 overs they faced.

Earlier, twin half-centuries by Sehwag and Gambhir gave India to a flying start.

Resuming on his overnight personal score of 41, Sehwag reached his half-century in the third over of the morning with a boundary off Shahadat who, four overs later, had the batsman caught behind. Sehwag needed 61 balls for his quick knock of 56 which he made with the help of seven fours.

Gambhir, who resumed today on 26, caught up with his senior opening partner with a flurry of fours, including two from consecutive balls off Shahadat in the fifth over of the morning and reached his 11th fifty in 60 balls.

Gambhir, however, failed to negotiate a Shafiul Islam bouncer and the resulting edge was easily collected by Mushfiqur Rahim behind the stumps half an hour before lunch. Gambhir’s 68 came from 83 balls and included nine hits to the boundary.

Dravid and Tendulkar then denied the hosts another breakthrough for nearly three and half hours, virtually ending their comeback hopes.

With the two senior most Indian batsmen in the middle, the Bangladesh bowlers toiled hard with little success.

Tendulkar and Dravid cut off risks and rotated strike by taking mostly singles. The duo surpassed the Bangladesh first innings total in the 51st over inside the first hour after lunch. They opened up a bit towards the tea break with Tendulkar hitting two fours of consecutive balls each off Mahmdaullah Riyad and Mohammad Ashraful.

While Tendulkar got two lives in his knock, Dravid wasn’t unlucky either. Batting on nine, Dravid was adjudged not out by the third umpire after a Gambhir drive had hit the stumps with Dravid out of the crease and bowler Shahadat suggesting the ball had brushed his finger.

Three overs before lunch, Dravid was caught at the first slip by Junaid Siddique off Rubel Hossain and the Indian had started walking back to the pavilion only to be called back as umpire Billy Bowden ruled it a no ball.

After Dravid had retired hurt, Tendulkar fell to a soft dismissal when he chipped a Shakib Al Hasan delivery to the mid-wicket fielder Imrul Kayes.

Source: Times of India