Last chance for the wizard to spell magic on Indian soil

MUMBAI, Nov 30: Muttiah Muralitharan is the highest Test wicket taker of all time and it is highly unlikely that anyone in contemporary cricket or in the near future can even approach the world mark the champion Sri Lanka bowler would set before retiring.

The ace off-spinner, who has grabbed a whopping 788 wickets to date from 131 Tests, is frustrated that he has been unable to make an impact in the ongoing three-Test series against India in which the visitors are trailing 0-1 going into the third and final match from December 2.

The Kandy-born Muralitharan, at 37, in the autumn of his prolific career that commenced in the early 1990s, has threatened to walk into the sunset before the 2011 World Cup in the sub-continent because he feels he’s no longer the silent assassin of yore.

Muralitharan has already announced his intention to quit the highest form of the game after his country’s series against the West Indies next year but has now indicated he may quit ODIs too before the mega-event.

“I am 37 years old and I can’t bowl as much as those days because after 15-16 overs I get tired. But I will try and play a little bit of One-day cricket that’s only 10 overs to bowl. If I find everything is not going well I might retire from both forms of the game before the World Cup,” he told a Sri Lanka newspaper after his country's massive innings defeat to India in the second Test at Kanpur.

In two Tests in the current series, Muralitharan has taken only five wickets after bowling over 100 overs, conceding close to 400 runs with a best of 3 for 97 to show for.

Even his overall record in India in Tests is not very impressive, considering his stupendous performance in his long career during which he has grabbed 10 wickets in a match on 22 occasions and five wickets in an innings 66 times.

In total contrast are his returns in India, a meagre 36 wickets in 10 matches with a best of 7 for 100 at a high cost of plus-45 runs per wicket. He has also not taken a 10-wicket haul in India.

This pales even against his modest record of 93 wickets in 20 Tests at home and away combined against India with an average of just under 33 per wicket, including two 10-wicket hauls at home.

But Muralitharan is not an isolated case as far as legendary spin bowlers coming a cropper against India in the latter's backyard is concerned.

Australian leg-spin legend Shane Warne has a similar poor record in India, having finished with only 34 out of his total haul of 708 wickets from the nine Tests he played in this country.

The final match in Mumbai’s Brabourne Stadium, which is hosting a Test after more than three and a half decades, now offers the final chance to Muralitharan to redeem his record in India.

He is not expected to be part of the islanders’ team when they return for their next series.

While Muralitharan, whose best visit to India was in 2005-06 when he took 16 wickets in three Tests, has not been able to trouble the Indian batsmen.

New Zealand’s John Bracewell, an off-spinner of modest credentials who ended up with a haul of 102 wickets in 41 matches, bowled his team to a memorable series-levelling victory in the November, 1988 in Mumbai.

Bracewell snapped up six for 51 to give splendid support to the great Richard Hadlee (4 for 39) to bundle out India for a meagre 145 runs in less than 50 overs in the second innings as New Zealand emerged victors by 136 runs. He took two for 81 in the first innings.

Jason Krejza, the Australian off spinner, grabbed 12 wickets on his debut in the Nagpur Test in November 2008 and could play just one more Test before he lost his place. He’s struggling in the ‘A’ team ranks now.

Going back further in time, another Australian off spinner Ashley Mallet, who finished with 132 wickets in 38 Tests, picked up a match-winning 10-144 in the Chennai Test of the 1969 series against India to power his team to a 3-1 series triumph.

Mallet had a fine series dominated by the Indian spin twins, Erapalli Prasanna and Bishen Singh Bedi, grabbing 28 wickets in five Tests.

Former captain Dilip Vengsarkar has some explanation on this strange fact.

“Indian batsmen have been brought up on such wickets and against such bowlers. Warne and Murali are great bowlers but the Indians tended to treat them with respect,” he said.

“The batsmen used to get after the others when they did not want to take chances against great bowlers like Richard Hadlee,” said Vengsarkar who was the India captain in the 1988 series that his team finally won 2-1. (PTI)

Villiers helps South Africa to 112-run win

NEWLANDS, Nov 28: AB de Villiers lashed a sensational century as South Africa beat England by 112 runs in the third one-day international at Newlands on Friday to level the series at 1-1.

De Villiers showed skill and superb control as he reached a hundred in just 75 balls, the second fastest by a South African and ended with 121 off 85 deliveries as the home side smashed 354 for six, their highest score against England and equalling their best at Newlands. South Africa’s previous highest total against England was 311 for seven in East London in 2004/5. The fastest one-day century for South Africa is in 44 balls by Mark Boucher against Zimbabwe in 2006. South Africa won the toss and openers Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla ensured they made a flying start with a stand of 107 off 111 balls. Captain Smith was bowled by Luke Wright for 54 off 56 deliveries, while Amla batted with application and wristy elegance through to the 32nd over when he edged Stuart Broad to wicketkeeper Matt Prior for 86. De Villiers reached his century in the 44th over and went on to make the highest score by a South African against England, beating the 118 Herschelle Gibbs made in Durban in 2005. The 25-year-old shared in stands of 94 with Amla and 95 with Alviro Petersen (51 not out) as South Africa made full use of the powerplay overs. Broad claimed four wickets for England, but was punished for 71 runs in his 10 overs. England openers Andrew Strauss and Luke Wright played some breathtaking strokes as they raced to 41 in 5.3 overs, but returning fast bowlers Wayne Parnell and Morne Morkel then reduced the visitors to 58 for three. Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood shared a gritty 84-run partnership until part-time off-spinner JP Duminy removed Pietersen, sweeping a ball back on to his stumps, for 45.

Highlights of the match

Highlights of the match

The resounding victory against Sri Lanka in the second Test at Green Park stadium here on Friday is India’s 100th Test win. In 432 Tests, India have won 100, lost 136 and drawn 195. One Test against Australia ended in a tie. The victory here by an innings and 144 runs is India’s third biggest win against Sri Lanka, bettering the innings and 119-run triumph in 1993-94. The margin is also India’s third biggest in Test cricket - the top two being by an innings and 239 runs against Bangladesh at Mirpur in 2007 and by an innings and 219 runs against Austrlia in the 1997-98 Kolkata Test. Other statistical highlights of the third Test. # It is India’s second victory in five Tests (the other three being drawn) this year, the only nation not to lose a Test match this year. # Sri Lanka’s defeat to India is their first in ten Tests in 2009 - their tally of five wins is the most recorded by any team this year. # Sri Lanka have suffered their fifth biggest defeat in Tests. # Shanthakumaran Sreesanth took his second five wicket haul. The first came against South Africa in Johannesburg. # Sreesanth received his second Man of the Match award - his first against Sri Lanka. # Thilan Samaraweera, with his third half-century against India, his 21st overall, has taken his aggregate to 1233 at an average of 82.20, including four hundreds and four fifties in Tests. He is the top run-getter in 2009. # Samaraweera and Ajantha Mendis were involved in a 73-run stand — Sri Lanka’s best ever for the ninth wicket against India. # Harbhajan Singh became the third bowler to complete 20 wickets or more at Green Park - the top two bowlers at this venue being Kapil Dev (25 in seven Tests) and Anil Kumble (21 in three Tests) # India have won six out of nine Tests played in Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s captaincy. # The winning per cent 66.66 is the highest by an Indian captain. # India have now recorded 26 victories by an innings margin - seven against Sri Lanka, four against England, three each against Australia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, two against New Zealand and one against West Indies. # The Indian triumph at Kanpur is their ninth in 16 Tests against Sri Lanka in India. # Sri Lanka is yet to post a Test win in India. # Prasanna Jayawardene became the second Sri Lankan and the fourth batsman in the present series to complete 200 runs or more - 222 at an average of 111.00. The top four batsmen in the series are: Rahul Dravid (359), Mahela Jayawardene (332) and Gautam Gambhir (282). # Prasanna has completed 200 runs or more in a Test series for the first time. (IANS)

Lanka up against India’s 642 on a dicey track

Kanpur, Nov 25: India’s lower-order crash triggered by left-arm spinner Rangana Herath after Rahul Dravid’s 28th century may have rattled the Sri Lankans seeing the way the Green Park pitch responded to the spinners in the second cricket Test here on Wednesday.

Though the Sri Lankans lost only one wicket scoring 66 in reply to India’s 642, they realise that it is getting increasingly difficult to survive on a pitch of variable bounce and turn.

Kumar Sangakkara (30) and Tharanga Paranavitana (30) survived a harrowing last hour as off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and debutant left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha made batting look difficult.

Harbhajan was in good rhythm, troubling both the batsmen, and could have got a couple of leg-before appeals in his favour. India were delighted to get rid of dangerous Dilshan with the first ball of the innings when he top-edged a Zaheer Khan delivery and Pragyan Ojha pouched it. IANS

Gambhir joins Gavaskar, Dravid

Kanpur, Nov 24: Opener Gautam Gambhir on Tuesday earned a rare distinction by becoming the third Indian batsman after Sunil Gavaskar and Rahul Dravid to score four consecutive Test centuries.

Gambhir scored 167 as India made 417 for two in the first innings against Sri Lanka at the end of first day’s play in the second cricket Test here at the Green Park Stadium.

In the first Test in Ahmedabad, Gambhir had scored a match-saving 114 in the second innings. In the last Test series in New Zealand, he had scored 137 and 167 in Napier and Wellington.

Gambhir has been in terrific form this year and has also been adjudged by the International Cricket Council (ICC) as the Test player of the year. He has also scored seven hundreds in his last nine Tests.

Sena again slams Sachin

PUNE, Nov 22: Shiv Sena on Sunday unleashed another attack on Sachin Tendulkar and compared him with Sunil Gavaskar who it hailed as a “true Maharashtrian”.

The attack came in an article in party mouthpiece Saamna by Sena MP Sanjay Raut days after party supremo Bal Thackeray accused the 36-year-old cricket icon of hurting Marathi sentiments with his “Mumbai for all” remark.

Comparing Tendulkar to Gavaskar (60), Raut alleged, “There has been no instance of Sachin extending a helping hand to other Marathi cricketers. Forget others, he did not even support Vinod Kambli”.

“In contrast, Gavaskar when he captained India, had half the team drawn from Mumbai and Maharashtra. He gave Test caps to many Marathi players including Suru Naik and Zulphikar Parkar at least for one match,” he said, while also acknowledging Tendulkar’s greatness as a cricketer.

“In this context, Gavaskar is a genuine ‘Maharashtrian’ and the whole country loves him even now in the same way,” the article claimed.

“Players like Sachin have become rich because of game of cricket. Sachin’s wealth has crossed Rs 200-crore mark. We expect Sachin to be as ‘proud’ of Maharashtra as Saurav Ganguly is of Bengal,” it said. “Rahul Dravid too is a Marathi player but he is loyal to Karnataka,” Raut said.

Thackeray’s remarks on November 16 had evoked angry reactions from a host of political leaders as also the BCCI, who came down heavily on the Shiv Sena chief for criticising Tendulkar, saying his statement was just right and nobody could take objection to it. (PTI)

Teams arrive in Kanpur

Kanpur, Nov 21: The cricket teams of India and Sri Lanka arrived here today for the second Test match, beginning Tuesday at Green Park Stadium. However, the Indian trio of Vireder Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh and Gautam Gambhir have not arrived with the Indian team as they have gone to Delhi and will reach here tomorrow. The teams landed in the city in the afternoon and amidst a tight security were taken to a city hotel. The hotel staff welcomed the players by presenting them roses and putting on traditional “tika” on their forheads. Indian run-machine Sachin Tendulkar was presented a memento for completing 20 glorious years in international cricket while skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was welcomed with a big bouquet. (PTI)

‘Suggesting Sachin greatest is demeaning to others’

LONDON, Nov 19: Sachin Tendulkar is a great batsman but to suggest he is the best ever is demeaning to those former greats who survived the bodyline series and stood at the crease without any modern-day safety gears, feels former England skipper Mike Atherton.

“To suggest that Tendulkar — or, indeed, any modern, armoured or, to use (Viv) Richards’s phrase, “pampered” player — is the best ever is demeaning to those former greats who stood at the crease in the knowledge that their next ball could be their last,” Artherton wrote in The Times.

Atherton feels modern-day protections have made life easier for current batsmen compared to yesteryears and so it remains to be seen how Tendulkar’s career would have shaped up if these gears were not available.

“Images of Tendulkar have adorned newspapers and websites throughout the week. Images, mostly, of the Little Master at the crease, compact and balanced. So compact and balanced, in fact, that Bradman said Tendulkar was the modern player whose method most closely resembled his own.

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.

Lee not ready to end Test career

BRETT Lee is going to use his injury-enforced absence from cricket to decide if he has the hunger to fight for his spot in the Test team.

''I want to keep playing for Australia but to be totally honest with you, I need to get away from the game to work out what the future holds,'' Lee said yesterday while nursing an elbow injury and giving the impression he's bracing himself for the possibility he will never play cricket for his country again.

''If I need surgery, that would need anywhere between six to 12 to weeks away and that would be perfect for me to work out exactly what I want. There are personal issues I need to sort out, which I keep pretty close to my chest. It's a really, really tough time for me but also an exciting time to think of what the future holds. I think I spent, up until last week, two nights at home in close to nine months. That's a massive issue. I don't want to spend that amount of time away from home ever again. That was very tough, I'll be very honest.''

Lee's three-year-old son Preston had his birthday on Monday. The situation is complicated by the divorce of Lee and Preston's mother, Liz Kemp, this year. Lee has seen Preston on Skype more than in the flesh lately.

''I have to be honest with you guys, I have to be honest with myself, there are a lot of things I need to work out both with cricket and my personal life,'' he said. ''There's a lot more to me than just a fast bowler, I can tell you. There are a lot of other interests.''

Preston is the biggest. Music is another, a likely future career. Cricket still rates highly but sadly, the truth is that an outstanding Test career is as good as gone. Even if elbow surgery is successful, a recall in the traditional format would be unlikely as he turns 34. It is probable that Lee will spend his twilight playing days in one-dayers and Twenty20. He's always been intent on being the first speedster to reach 400 one-day wickets. He's on 324.

''It [retirement] is a very tough question,'' he said. ''The things that have been tough for me over the past six, eight, nine months is getting injured prior to the Ashes series, but most importantly being six months away from my little boy. That's been really tough. They're all things I need to weigh up. If I don't play another game for Australia, or play another game of cricket ever again, I'm very pleased with what I've achieved. More than I ever would have expected when I was at the age of 10. But I also think there's a lot of good cricket left in me yet, which is why I'm not making any big call about my future.''

Lee was primed for the Ford Ranger Cup game on Sunday. The plan was to let rip against Tasmania before letting rip in the shield match at the SCG this week.

''I'm very disappointed my elbow hasn't pulled up the way I wanted it to,'' he said. ''I was below par, couldn't bowl full pace. Under different circumstances, in a different game, I probably would have pulled out after the first spell but I needed to find out how far I could push the elbow, if it would get better. But, by the third spell, I'd only reached 140km/h. That's way down on pace. I had to be honest with myself - I was kidding myself if I thought I would be right to play today.

''I hope to know ASAP about surgery. I've had one opinion from a specialist and I want two or three others to work out why the pain is happening, what's causing it, pretty much exhaust every avenue and every possibility prior to going under surgery. That's the last resort, the surgery, but if that's going to fix the problem and allow me to keep playing cricket, I'll do it.

''The pain was pretty excruciating on Sunday. I knew the first two or three balls. I've got no doubt that if it's a successful operation, I'll be back to bowling fast. But if I can't bowl fast, then I won't bowl. When you try to bowl 155km/h for 16, 17 years, there's a lot of wear and tear in the body. There have been comments that I've been injured all the time. You can't play 76 Test matches if you've been injured all the time. I've always found a way to bounce back but how long that hunger will be there for, I don't really know.''

Blow for Test match cricket

FEARS for the future of Test cricket have been heightened by new research in which only seven per cent of cricket followers in the sport's modern heartland, India, nominate Tests as their preferred form of the game.

The poll was commissioned by the Marylebone Cricket Club and covered fans in three countries where Test crowds have declined - India, South Africa and New Zealand. Armed with the findings, which have raised fresh concerns about whether Tests can remain relevant in the Twenty20 age, the MCC's World Cricket Committee implored administrators to give the longest form of the game the ''loving care and attention'' it deserves.

The Lord's-based group also renewed its push for Tests to be staged at night and to be given greater context in a global Test championship. Tony Lewis, the former England captain who chairs the committee, told The Age: ''It's not as if the game is falling apart, but it has been scooped by Twenty20 and I think we would be foolish if we didn't think it was universal.''

The key findings were presented to the International Cricket Council's cricket committee earlier this month in Dubai, where both groups reaffirmed their commitment to preserving all three forms. Interestingly, the survey shows the maligned 50-over game is alive and kicking; despite reports of public fatigue it remains the most popular format with 36 per cent of fans across the three countries.

But in India, Twenty20 internationals rule, with 58 per cent of the respondents declaring these as their favourite compared with 31 per cent for ODIs, 7 per cent for Tests and 4 per cent for the billion-dollar Indian Premier League. Overall, 13 per cent said they preferred Tests to the limited-overs contests.

In India, 58 per cent of respondents said the emergence of Twenty20 had reduced their interest in Test cricket, while 23 per cent of South Africans and 13 per cent of New Zealanders felt the same. But almost two-thirds of Indians and three-quarters of South Africans said Twenty20 might spark their interest in the longer formats.

The research, which is expected to be presented to chief executives of the Test-playing nations at their next meeting, should sound alarm bells with administrators who have already been accused of devaluing Test cricket by scheduling too many meaningless limited-overs matches. The crowded calendar, coupled with the emergence of new and lucrative opportunities in Twenty20 leagues, persuaded all-rounders Andrew Flintoff and Jacob Oram to retire from Test cricket, meaning that Test cricket can no longer be assured of showcasing the best players.

The study also challenges the assumption that slow over-rates and dull pitches are most instrumental in keeping people away from Tests. Instead, it suggests ticket prices and timeslots are key factors. The study also reaffirms the power of television - 89 per cent of people surveyed watch cricket live on TV. Sachin Tendulkar last October broke the world runscoring record in a Test against Australia in Mohali in front of only a few thousand people at the ground.

''We just can't sit back and let that happen,'' said Lewis. ''Test matches need loving care and attention, and they need to be played when people can watch. Can people afford to support all the brands of cricket? That's a really big question, I think. Australia and England don't feel the pinch so much in Test-match cricket but other countries do.''

He believes it is inevitable that Tests will be staged under lights and the MCC was moving closer to a trial with a pink ball. ''It's bound to happen,'' he said. ''We have a new agreement with Abu Dhabi - this is, MCC - to play cricket there, to do some preseason work when it's freezing cold [in England] and that is the sort of place where we can experiment with balls.''

The World Cricket Committee comprises figures such as Steve Waugh, Rahul Dravid, Geoff Boycott and Tony Dodemaide. The sample for the study was small - about 500 in each country - but market research company TNS Sport insisted this was big enough for meaningful conclusions.

Lewis expressed alarm about the prevalence of limited-overs cricket in India, which generates two-thirds of world cricket revenue. ''It did shock me because having played Test cricket in India you know how feverish the whole business is,'' he said.

The MCC is the custodian of the laws of cricket and Lewis said while it had moral authority it had no actual power. He vowed to keep lobbying the ICC until changes were made to preserve the most precious form of cricket.

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2009/11/17/1258219839902.html?page=1

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)

Gayle heads home to be with ailing mother

Melbourne, Nov 18 (PTI) West Indies captain Chris Gayle is doubtful for the first Test against Australia starting November 26 after he suddenly left for Jamaica today to be with his ailing mother. The West Indies Cricket Board said the left-hander was granted time off to be with his mother who suddenly fell ill and was admitted in a hospital in Jamaica.

Gayle will miss the four-day tour match against Queensland starting today, West Indies'' only practice game before the three match Test series. Vice captain Denesh Ramdin will lead West Indies in Gayle''s absence.

"Gayle will leave from Brisbane this afternoon and will miss the four-day first-class match against Queensland Bulls at the Allan Border Field, which starts," Cricket Australia said in a statement on behalf of WICB. West Indies manager Joel Garner said they were hopeful about Gayle''s return before the opening Test. "The management and players in the team as well as the WICB are with Chris and his family at this time.

We also want to wish his mother a speedy recovery," Garner said.

Dravid joins 11,000 Test run club

AHMEDABAD, Nov 16 (PTI) : Senior batsman Rahul Dravid today added another feather to his cap by becoming the second Indian, fifth overall, to score 11,000 runs in Test cricket.

Dravid went into the three-match series against Sri Lanka needing 177 runs to reach the milestone and he achieved it in the opening day itself with an unbeaten 177.

It was an elegant innings that not only earned him an individual record but also came at a time when the team needed it most. Dravid’s moment of glory came in the 89th over when he cut pacer Chanaka Welegedara for a single at deep point and he raised his bat in acknowledgment of the cheers at the Sardar Patel Stadium.

The Karnataka batsman now joins the elite list which has compatriot Sachin Tendulkar at the top with 12,777 runs in Test cricket.

West Indies batting great Brain Lara is second in the list with 11,953 runs from 131 matches, followed by the Australian duo of Ricky Ponting (11,345 runs from 136 Tests) and Alan Border (11,174 runs in 156 matches).

Nicknamed as ‘The wall’, Dravid has an awe-inspiring Test career where he scored 27 hundreds and 57 half-centuries at an average of 53.39 in 135 Tests.

The 36-year-old batsman also has a whopping 10,765 runs from 339 ODIs at a average of 39.43 where he scored 12 hundreds and 82 fifties.

Meanwhile, Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni crossed 2,000 runs in Tests cricket in company of Dravid. Dhoni reached the mark during the course of his second Test century.

‘The Wall’ stands tall as India in command

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.

India keen to back in business

First Test at Motera • SL look to overcome Indian Jinx • Dravid, Laxman add solidarity to middle order
AHMEDABAD, Nov 15: India will look to put behind the disappointment of their One-day drubbing at the hands of Australia and bounce back to winning ways when they take on Sri Lanka in the first match of a three-Test series starting on Monday.

For this to happen, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men would have to switch into the Test mode from the more frenetic One-day frame of mind when they go into the first Test at the Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium in Motera.

The Indian team has had a non-stop dish of limited-over cricket, 50-over and Twenty20, over the last six months and played their last Test series against New Zealand in March-April early this year.

The Indian middle order has been bolstered by the return of Test specialists Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, who were not part of the squad that lost to Australia after squandering a 2-1 lead by losing the next three matches in-a-row.

Both Dravid and Laxman, especially the former, are coming into the match on the back of some good displays in the Ranji Trophy and would be eager to hit the straps.

Latif admits of cheating against Bangladesh

KARACHI, Nov 12: Six years after he claimed a dropped catch as a clean take against Bangladesh in the Multan Test, disgraced former Pakistan wicketkeeper Rashid Latif has admitted that he had lied. “I dived to my right to take a nick from Kapali. The ball dropped from my gloves as I rolled over, but quickly picked it up from the ground before claiming it as a clean catch,” The News quoted Latif, as saying. Bangladesh were in a strong position in the 2003 Multan Test. (Agencies)

Guwahati ODI Shame

Team India’s ignominious defeat at the Nehru Stadium in Guwahati on Sunday must jerk it to serious rethinking if they want to remain in the business of one-day cricket. Both the batsmen and bowlers of the Indian side failed miserably; more so the batsmen of the likes of Sehwag and Tendulkar, with all their experience. Were they doing net practice? While one would question Dhoni’s decision to bat first (given the nature of the Guwahati pitch), blame really goes to the top-order batsmen for having played so irresponsibly. They all knew the pitch very well. Former captain Saurav Ganguly is right when he says ‘‘the Nehru Stadium is not a fulltime cricket ground’’ where ‘‘football is played for most of the year’’ and ‘‘so the wicket doesn’t have a very solid base for it to hold up for cricket matches’’ — a fact ‘‘known to all the Indian batsmen’’. But why did they play as if they were playing on that wicket for the first time, unaware of the nature of the pitch? This, the batsmen must answer. They have no right to make a joke out of a serious game with such a huge bearing on the reputation of the team and its morale. And how did Ricky Ponting’s men go about? Like a team, with the captain proving yet again that his excellent management of the team’s resources has made it the unbeatable in international cricket. Had it not been for Ravin Jadeja and Praveen Kumar, the Indian scoreboard would have looked the worst in the history of one-dayers. And this brings us to what the BCCI should do at the earliest: get pragmatic, nourish and encourage new talents, and do away with the dependence on those who have nothing now to prove except for their personal records. THE SENTINEL

Lack of consistency let us down: Dhoni

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.

India lost the match by six wickets in Guwahati, conceding an unassailable lead in the series, with one more match to go.

On the Nehru Stadium wicket, Dhoni said the Guwahati wicket was a good one and there was nothing to complain.

“The new ball did move a bit in the initial overs and that is when our batsmen were undone. The Australians bowled really well and once we were reduced to 27 for five, it was difficult to make a comeback,” the Indian skipper quipped.

“The plan was to negotiate the early overs and then put a decent total on the board. It did not work out the way we wanted and it was disappointing,” the wicket-keeper batsman stated. “Partnerships were not happening for us, which is why we could not put a decent total,” he pointed out.

“At one moment, it looked as if we would not get even get to 150, but thanks to our lower-order batsmen, we managed 170,” he stated.

On losing out the chance to dethrone Australia from the number one slot in the ICC ODI Rankings, Dhoni said, “To able to secure the top slot, one needs to win matches consistently, which of course has not happened in this series.”

Dhoni however refused to read to much into the decision that got him out in today’s match, saying, “Sometimes, you get a good decision and sometime not. That is part and parcel of the game.”

“We are not really worried about earning the number one tag. Having said that, there are a number of games ahead after this series and will try to do well there,” he reiterated.

“The focus of the team, after this series, would be on the Test match series against Sri Lanka,” he added.

No warning for proven chuckers, BCCI tells umpires

MUMBAI, Nov 8 (PTI): Having sent a whopping 32 players with suspect bowling action for rehabilitation, the Cricket Board has cracked the whip by asking the umpires to call these bowlers for chucking without issuing a warning if they transgress the law in domestic matches.

After providing the list of the 32 bowlers with doubtful actions to match referees, umpires’ coaches and its panel of umpires as well as all affiliated associations, the BCCI has asked match officials to stay away from suggesting or instructing any cricket association or captains “not to play a particular player.”

“During the pre match meeting the match referee will only convey the warning and the outcome as per action replay if any bowler from the circulated list plays and bowls with suspect action,” said the guidelines issued by BCCI chief administrative officer Ratnakar Shetty.

“Since the warning is already conveyed to the captain during the pre match meetings by match referee, there is no need for an umpire to give any furtherwarning to such bowlers on field of play.

“If the bowler with suspect action plays and if in the opinion of the umpires he bowls with suspect action they can immediately call and stop him from bowling as per the law. He should not be allowed to bowl during the match. This action should be clearly communicated by match referees to team officials,” the BCCI guidelines said.

The Cricket Board also stressed that umpires and referees “should not encourage any discussions with reference to 15 degrees criteria or comparison with any international bowler who may have peculiar action.”

The 32-strong list of bowlers with suspect action includes twelve whose degree of transgression ranged from 0 to 15 degrees which has been accepted as permissible by the International Cricket Council.

The other 20 bent their arms to a higher degree, with five doing it between 15-20 degrees and fifteen by more than 20 degrees, as per a copy of the guidelines available with PTI.

Among those who underwent rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore for bending their arm above 15 degrees, four bowlers belonged to Kerala Cricket Association and the rest were from Tripura (3), Maharashtra (2), Bengal (2), Assam (2), Baroda (2), Gujarat (2), Hyderabad (1), Vidarbha (1) and Jammu and Kashmir (1).

The guidelines identified these 20 bowlers as “proven chuckers as their actions could not be rectified during the rehabilitation.”

However, the BCCI has asked its officials to be vigilant even with those who bend their arms below 15 degrees “as rehabilitation at the NCA and bowling during match situations are two different issues.”

The guidlines also gave a list of 10 bowlers who were called for chucking during this season’s junior and senior Twenty20 tournaments.

The list : Mohnish Parmar, Amit Singh (both Gujarat), Sagar Sawant (under-19 player from Maharashtra), Mohammad Norman (UP), Yogesh Nagar (Delhi), Rohan Thapa (Baroda), Sayed Zaki (Orissa), Ankur Jund (Punjab), Vobhor Bisen (Vidarbha), Debabhakt Jamta (Tripura) and Arlen Konwar (Assam).

The following bowlers with suspect action underwent rehabilitation at the NCA:

Category (0–15 degrees): Achyut Reddy (Baroda), Utkarsh Patel (Baroda), Debanth J (Tripura), Kundan Singh (Jharkhand), M Kumar Singh (Tripura), M Parmar (Gujarat), Sunil Raju (Karnataka), Swarupam Purkayastha (Assam), Sarandeep Singh (Himachal Pradesh), Syed Ali (Hyderabad), Amit Singh (Gujarat), Salin Viragi (Baroda).

Category (15-20 degrees): Kartik Kathri (Gujarat) Mohammmed Hasim (Vidarbha), Abijith Dey (Tripura), Ganesh Kukade (Maharashtra), Kedar Deodhar (Baroda).

Category (More than 20 degrees): Keyur Patel (Gujarat), Prasant Nathe (Maharashtra), Sadam A Das (Kerala), Sadanand Anish (Kerala), Amit Das (Bengal), Sameer Khajuria (J&K), Rakesh KJ (Kerala), Konwar A (Assam), Chetri B (Assam), Rajesh Pawar (Baroda), Ritum Kundu (Bengal), Shakeer M A (Hyderabad), Fahadh A K (Kerala), Mani Shankar (Tripura)Samir Debbarman (Tripura).

Indo-Pak cricket will resume soon: Butt

KARACHI, Nov 5: The BCCI might have ruled out immediate resumption of cricketing ties with Pakistan but PCB chief Ejaz Butt is confident that the two countries would be facing each other in a bilateral series as early as next year, albeit at a neutral venue.

Butt, who returned from his visit to India on Wednesday, told the media at Lahore airport that a bilateral series with India could be held next year.

“I think, in the existing circumstances the only way to resume bilateral cricket ties is by playing at a neutral venue acceptable to both teams,” Butt stated.

The Indian Cricket Board officials have made it clear that they don’t see resumption of bilateral ties any time soon due to the hectic schedule of the Indian team. BCCI has also insisted that bilateral cricketing ties are possible only when diplomatic relations between the two countries improve.

However, Butt said despite these issues, cricket between the two arch-rivals could resume soon.

“I had talks with the BCCI and Indian authorities which were good and meaningful and they will yield productive outcome in due course of time,” he said.

“It is good to see that both the cricket boards are having meetings to explore possibilities for resuming cricket,” he said. (PTI)

Bangladesh crush Zimbabwe to win series

Chittagong, Nov 3: Bangladesh won their five-match one-day international cricket series against fellow minnows Zimbabwe in style after beating the visitors by six wickets in the fourth match here today.

The visitors were shot out to one-day international cricket’s fifth lowest total, setting the hosts an easy target of 45 to seal the series 3-1 before Thursday’s final match.

In reply, Bangladesh overcame some moments of panic, losing four wickets in five runs after the openers added 33 runs in 6.3 overs, before cruising home to a well-deserved victory in front of 20,000 fans at Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.

Stand-in Zimbabwean captain Hamilton Masakadza won the toss but came to rue his decision to bat first as Bangladesh opted for the same pace-spin opening attack that paid rich dividends on Saturday. “Obviously, we misread the wicket. It was slower than we thought,” Masakdza said, conceding that his batsmen also gave away wickets cheaply.

The visitors lost their four top batsmen for eight runs, due largely to some innocuous shots on a wicket that was forecast to be a batting paradise.

All-rounder Malcolm Waller (13) tried to build the innings with Stuart Matsikenyeri (11), but once he lofted a catch at cover-point off Bangladeshi captain Shakib Al Hasan, Zimbabwe’s innings folded up for just 44 in 24.5 overs.

Shakib, the world’s number one one-day allrounder and Wisden magazine’s international cricketer of the year, was the wrecker in-chief, picking up three wickets and conceding just eight runs in 6.5 overs.

“When we started playing, we thought it was a flat track but when our spinners came in it was doing a bit and they landed the ball in the right areas,” the 22-year-old captain said. Left-arm spinner Enamul Haque got three wickets, repeating his brilliant feat on Saturday.

But it was the pace-spin opening attack of Nazmul Hossain and Abdur Razzak which triggered the collapse, both grabbing two wickets each while giving away only 10 runs apiece. Nazmul was adjudged man of the match for picking the heavyweight wickets of Masakadza and Charles Coventry and the brilliant catch that sent back Waller.

“I just tried to bowl straighter and stump to stump,” said Nazmul. In reply, Tamim Iqbal played a quick-fire 22 in front of his home crowd. But once he was gone, trying to sweep Raymond Price, three more followed in some unnecessary panic that the hosts are known for. It needed the steady hands of Raqibul Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim to guide Bangladesh to one of their best victories in one-day cricket. Both sides play the fifth and final match at the same venue on Thursday. (PTI)