India vs South Africa Test Series

INDIA VS SOUTH AFRICA TEST SERIES in India, FEB 2010

India will play two-match Test series against South Africa at Nagpur and Kolkata, and also three one-day internationals during the tour starting February.

First Twenty20 Match

Australia beats New Zealand in Twenty20 first

Ricky Ponting did the bashing and Michael Kasprowicz the crashing as Australia welcomed Twenty20 cricket into the international arena with a 44-run thumping of New Zealand at Eden Park.
Ponting blitzed a 55-ball unbeaten 98 to propel the world champions to an imposing 5-214 at Eden Park before Kasprowicz took 4-29 to dismantle the Black Caps for 170.
The victory completes a 128-year clean sweep by Australia which also took out the first-ever Test match in 1877 and inaugural one-day international in 1970.
Ponting deserved to become the first-ever centurion in the 'bash and crash' game after lustily swiping the penultimate over of the innings for 30 runs. The skipper hit Daryl Tuffey for four sixes, a boundary and a two to take his score to 93. But he only faced three balls in the final over off Andre Adams to fall short by two. In all Ponting, who dug his side out of trouble at 4-53 with the help of Simon Katich (30 off 25) and Mike Hussey (31 not out off 15) belted eight fours and five sixes. Kasprowicz was just as impressive, taking wickets with his first two balls after NZ started impressively to be 0-49 after five overs.

In Picture: Craig McMillan celebrates after taking a catch to send back Clarke.

In Picture: The New Zealand team members pose in their retro 80s uniform before the Twenty20 international match against Australia at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand, on Thursday. The New Zealanders wore the same beige uniforms they wore in the 1980s and some of the players were sporting facial hair and wigs.

In Picture: The Australian team members pose in their retro 80s uniform before the start of the match. Australia captain Ricky Ponting smashed an unbeaten 98 off 55 balls as the visitors piled on 214-5 from their 20 overs. In reply, New Zealand were bowled out for 170 on the last ball of the match despite 66 from Scott Styris and 36 from Brendon McCullum.

Match Details: Australia opener Michael Clarke hits a six in the first over of the match to get the innings off to a blazer. However, Clarke was caught off the last ball of the first over to be dimissed for 7 by fast bowler Daryl Tuffey. The Australian top order failed to click and they were reduced to 54 for four in the sixth over. Ponting, batting at four, began cautiously but was soon into his full stride, as he amassed 98 from 55 balls, including eight boundaries and five sixes. He shared two vital partnerships with Simon Katich, who made 30, and Mike Hussey, who finished unbeaten on 31. The skipper was at the non-strikers' end with two balls to go and might have reached his hundred had Hussey taken a single off the penultimate ball instead of belting it for six.
New Zealand made a strong start to their reply with Brendon McCullum and Fleming cracking 49 off the first five overs. Kasprowicz then had Matthew Sinclair caught for a golden duck. He missed his hat-trick but claimed the scalps of Brendon McCullum and Chris Cairns to finish with 4-29.
The New Zealand middle order and lower order, featuring big hitters like McMillan, Cairns, Hamish Marshall and Andre Adams, failed to click and the hosts found it difficult to get close to the huge target. Styris struck five fours and three sixes in his 39-ball knock before Brett Lee bowled him in the penultimate over.
After the match, both teams said they believe the abbreviated form of the game could become a regular part of the international calendar. "It was a great spectacle... everyone was excited by it. There's still a lot of issues to be worked through with how we're going to fit it into the international programme but tonight was certainly a good start," Ponting said.

The Black Caps may have fallen short but the 29,317-strong crowd went home happy - fuelled by 17 sixes, 31 fours and countless number of memorable 1980s tracks. It was topped off by Glenn McGrath pretending to deliver the final ball to Tuffey underarm. Umpire Billy Bowden abruptly stopped him and then showed a red card, much to the Aucklanders' delight. The hits and misses never let up in the entire three hours of the ultra-abbreviated game. The laughs flowed freely also with the "Beige Caps" impersonating their cricketing forefathers by turning out wearing retro 1980s uniforms. They also got into the spirit by growing beards and moustaches in an in-team competition which earned the winner several crates of beer for his home club.

Australia Innings 214 for 5 (20.0 overs)

New Zealand Innings 170 all out (20.0 overs)

Batsman			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
A C Gilchrist	c C D McMillan	b K D Mills	1	3	0	0
M J Clarke	c C D McMillan	b D R Tuffey	7	4	0	1
A Symonds	c B B McCullum	b K D Mills	32	13	4	2
R T Ponting	not out		98	55	8	5
D R Martyn		b K D Mills	3	5	0	0
S M Katich		b C L Cairns	30	25	2	1
M E K Hussey	not out		31	15	1	3
Extras		3w 9lb	12
Total		for 5	214

Bowler O M R W D R Tuffey 4.0 0 50 1 K D Mills 4.0 0 44 3 C L Cairns 4.0 0 28 1 J W Wilson 4.0 0 43 0 A R Adams 4.0 0 40 0

Fall of wicket Batsman 10 M J Clarke 21 A C Gilchrist 46 A Symonds 54 D R Martyn 137 S M Katich

Batsman			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
B B McCullum	c R T Ponting	b M S Kasprowicz	36	24	5	1
S P Fleming		b M S Kasprowicz	18	13	3	0
M S Sinclair	c S M Katich	b M S Kasprowicz	0	1	0	0
S B Styris		b B Lee	66	39	5	3
C D McMillan	c M E K Hussey	b J R Hopes	9	8	0	1
C L Cairns	c G D McGrath	b M S Kasprowicz	1	4	0	0
H J H Marshall		b A Symonds	8	7	0	0
A R Adams	run out		7	7	1	0
J W Wilson		b G D McGrath	18	14	2	0
K D Mills	c M S Kasprowicz	b G D McGrath	0	1	0	0
D R Tuffey	not out		5	2	1	0
Extras		2w	2
Total		all out	170

Bowler O M R W B Lee 4.0 0 26 1 G D McGrath 4.0 0 48 2 M S Kasprowicz 4.0 0 29 4 J R Hopes 3.0 0 23 1 A Symonds 3.0 0 33 1 M J Clarke 2.0 0 11 0

Fall of wicket Batsman 49 S P Fleming 49 M S Sinclair 67 B B McCullum 93 C D McMillan 95 C L Cairns 105 H J H Marshall 121 A R Adams 161 S B Styris 165 J W Wilson 170 K D Mills

Umpires: B F Bowden, A L Hill
New Zealand: S P Fleming, B B McCullum, A R Adams, C L Cairns, C D McMillan, H J H Marshall, K D Mills, M S Sinclair, S B Styris, D R Tuffey, J W Wilson
Australia: M J Clarke, A C Gilchrist, A Symonds, R T Ponting, D R Martyn, S M Katich, M E K Hussey, J R Hopes, B Lee, M S Kasprowicz, G D McGrath

Twenty20 Cricket Matches

Harbhajan Singh Memorabilia

Singh's Magnificent Hat Trick

On the 1st Day of the 2nd Test, India versus Australia, in March 2001, at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, Harbhajan Singh achieved what no other Indian cricketer had ever done - he snared a magnificent Hat Trick.
Limited Edition Magnificent photographic collage of the three dismissals with the hat trick at Calcutta capturing photograph in each piece being personally signed by Harbhajan Singh. Each piece .encased in a timber frame with Perspex glazing and is supported by A-Tag microchip authentication technology, and comes complete with a Certificate of Authenticity.
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