India Cricket Match

World T20, 2nd Semi-Final

India vs West Indies

at Mumbai, Mar 31, 2016

West Indies 196/3 beat India 192/2 by 7 wickets

India Cricket News October 1 - 15, 2008

India vs Australia 2008 Cricket Series in India

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Australia in India 2008 Cricket Test Series

IND v AUS, 1st Test, Bangalore, Day 5: India drew with Australia

The first Test of the Border-Gavaskar series between India and Australia ended in a draw in Bangalore. VVS Laxman (42) and Sourav Ganguly (26) remained unbeaten.
Though the series is held 0-0, Australia definitely have some advantage going into the second Test at Mohali. While their batsmen chipped in with runs at crucial moments, including Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey's hundreds, their bowlers did not let India's famed batting line-up score big. Had it not been fighting knocks from Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan in the first innings, India would have been in deep trouble. Zaheer was the only India player who looked to trouble the opposition, both with the ball and the bat. Hopes dashed once again for Sachin Tendulkar as he failed to take over Brian Lara's record of highest Test runs as Cameron White claimed him as his maiden wicket. And the wait continues for the Little Master!
When Australia declared their innings for 298 runs on Monday morning, match suddenly opened up for both the sides but it reached its anti-climax. Australia batted half an hour and added just 35 runs before inviting India to bat. Losing five wickets on Sunday, Aussies lost one wicket of Shane Watson on the last day.

IND v AUS, 1st Test, Bangalore, Day 5: Australia 430 & 228-6 (73.0 overs) drew with India 360 & 177-4 (73.0 overs)

India Cricket Players

Sourav Ganguly announces his retirement from cricket

In a major development, Sourav Ganguly has announced his retirement from cricket. On Monday, Ganguly had warned his side not to underestimate the touring Australians after they struggled with bat and ball during a drawn four-day match in Hyderabad over the weekend.
Ahead of the Test series starting Thursday, Ganguly, a long-time nemesis of the Australians and a former India captain, said Ricky Ponting's men remained formidable opponents.
The outspoken Ganguly rattled Australia, especially former captain Steve Waugh, when he led India to a thrilling 2-1 win at home in 2001 and earned a credible 1-1 draw Down Under two years later. The left-hander, 36, was regarded by the Indian media as a controversial selection for the first two Tests of the upcoming series after being ignored for a domestic trial match last month.
But the experience of the 109-Test veteran with 6,888 runs forced the selectors to keep faith in Ganguly despite his lean trot with the bat during the recent 2-1 loss in Sri Lanka.

Sachin unveils Dravid's statue

Rahul Dravid's 10,000 Test runs were celebrated here at Chinnaswamy stadium with Sachin Tendulkar unveiling a wall of 10,000 bricks.
Built by a Bangalore-based realtor group, the Wall projects Dravid in metal statue playing his trademark cover-drive and features the legendary batsman's finest cricketing moments in both forms of cricket. Dravid is popularly considered to be 'the wall' of Indian batting for his impenetrable technique and diligence.
Unveiling the Wall, Tendulkar said Dravid truly deserved such recognition and it would remain a testimony for all his achievements. 'It is a great credit to his family. More than a great cricketer and a great batsman, Rahul is a perfect gentleman on and off the field. The Wall will inspire every budding cricketer to emulate Rahul and his batting skills,' Tendulkar said. A live electronic unit in the top corner on the right displays Dravid's current score - 10,246 runs in Test cricket. The unit will keep ticking as Dravid scores runs in Tests played in India or overseas.
Dravid’s parents - Sharad and Pushpa - were present on the occasion. Located strategically outside the pavilion-end, the Wall is visible from the famous MG Road in downtown and a few yards away from Kumble circle, christened after Indian Test skipper's 10-wicket haul in second Test against Pakistan in February 1999 in Delhi. 'The Wall is a tribute to Dravid's legendary contribution to Indian cricket and his outstanding achievements on and off the field. The tall structure will be a new landmark in India's IT hub and serve as an immortal reminder of Dravid's great feats,' Prabhu, a classmate of Dravid, said in his brief address on the occasion.
In his remarks, Dravid said though he was humbled by the honour, he felt embarrassed to be present in the midst of legendary cricketers like Sachin, former off-spinner EAS Prasanna, yesteryear spin bowler BS Chandrasekhar, former wicketkeeper Syed Kirmani and others.
'For me the greatest thing is to play for the country and be in the company of a legendary cricketer who also scored over 10,000 plus runs. I am sure this Wall will inspire budding cricketers. I am also touched that the Wall is erected where I began my cricketing career,' Dravid said amidst applause.

Australia in India 2008 Cricket Test Series

Skipper Ricky Ponting says Australia can handle Indian spinners

Australian skipper Ricky Ponting believes his team is equipped to handle Indian spinners, who are expected to pose a big threat to the tourists in the four-Test series that begins Thursday.
Australia drew its only warm-up match Sunday against the Board President's XI where the touring team's vulnerability to spin was exposed by leg-spinner Piyush Chawla and left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha. Nine wickets in Australia's first innings of the warmup game fell to the spinners but Ponting is unfazed going into the opening Test.
"When they are bowling 75 per cent of their overs with spin, the chances are that you are going to lose wickets to them at some stage," said Ponting, ahead of Monday's departure to Bangalore, venue for the series opener. "That's the way the Indians play their cricket, the spinners do bowl a lot of overs. I don't think it was disappointing for us," he said. "When we get to Bangalore we will fine-tune our preparations."
Michael Hussey was the only Australian batsman who made good use of the warmup game, scoring 126 and featuring in a 96-run partnership for the last wicket with Stuart Clark that saved the visitors from an embarrassing follow-on. "I think the two spinners who played here are definitely good enough to play test cricket and would be successful at that level," said Hussey. "They bowled well in tandem and they put a lot of pressure on the batsmen."
Chawla and Ojha do not feature in India's Test squad, where the spin attack will be led by skipper Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh. "It was very important, very good to get some time out in the middle," Hussey said. Hussey said the Australian batsmen just need "a bit more time and they'll be fine."
"Coming into a Test match, our intensity levels will rise another cog and we will be definitely up for the battle," Hussey said. Hussey felt skipper Ricky Ponting and Brad Haddin batted quite well against the prodigious spinners. "I thought Ricky looked really good, he was beaten by a pretty good ball from Chawla" in the first innings, said Hussey.
"Matthew Hayden is a class player and has been successful in Indian conditions, while Michael Clarke is our best player of spin bowling," he said. Returning from injury, Ponting was pleased with his form after hitting an unbeaten 58 in the second innings.
"The time I spent in the middle in this game will hold me in good stead," said Ponting. "I'm back from an injury, which always makes it a little hard to get going."

BP XI v AUS, warm up match, Hyderabad: Yuvraj, Jaffer flay Aussies in drawn India tour cricket match

Indian Test rejects Yuvraj Singh and Wasim Jaffer enhanced their claims for a comeback by pounding Australia's bowlers in a practice match on Sunday.
Left-handed Yuvraj struck a belligerent 113 with seven sixes and as many boundaries while Jaffer hit 93 for the Indian Board President's XI on the final day of the four-day match here. The hosts piled up 292-4 in their second innings before skipper Yuvraj declared 50 minutes after lunch to set the tourists an improbable victory target of 434 in a minimum of 53 overs.
Australia used the time for valuable batting practice ahead of the first Test in Bangalore on Thursday, making 127-2 before the match was called off as a draw after 38 overs. Skipper Ricky Ponting, looking to make amends for a disappointing average of 12 in eight Tests on Indian soil, followed his 41 in the first innings with an unbeaten 58.
Vice-captain Michael Clarke made 36 not not, sharing a third wicket stand of 75 with Ponting after openers Simon Katich and Matthew Hayden had fallen cheaply. The tourists were embarrassed by India's second string over the four days, first allowing the hosts to pile up 455 in the first innings before being bowled out for 314 in reply.
The reliable Mike Hussey's gritty 126 on Saturday was the lone bright spot for the world's number one side, who struggled to cope with a slow, barren pitch. Yuvraj and Jaffer, excluded by the selectors for the first two Tests of the four-match series, vented their frustration on the hapless bowlers.
The pair put on 200 for the third wicket as the home team, resuming at 110-2 with an overall lead of 251 runs, hammered 130 runs in the two-hour morning session. They were particularly severe on rookie off-spinner Jason Krejza, effectively ending the Tasmanian's hopes of playing the first Test by plundering 63 runs from his six overs before lunch. Krejza, who returned figures of 0-123 in the first innings, was hammered for 76 runs in 11 overs in the second.
"Australia will definitely miss a quality spinner in the series," said Yuvraj. "Shane Warne is not there now, so the fast bowlers have a real tough job on their hands. "But it would be foolish to underestimate the Aussies. They always have a plan and will prove to be formidable opponents."
Ponting defended Krejza, 25, who has taken over as the team's number one spinner after leggie Bryce McGain was sent home due to a shoulder injury. "For him it's all a learning curve," said the Australian captain. "There is no doubt he has got the skills and he has got the talent. "But he has just got to work out for himself, and we have got to work out in a pretty short time how we are going to best use him."

Australia lose injured McGain for India cricket tour

Australia's spin woes deepened in India on Friday when ageing leg-spinner Bryce McGain was ordered to return home because of a shoulder injury.
The 36-year-old Victorian, who sustained the injury during last month's Indian tour by the Australian 'A' team, missed the ongoing four-day match against the Board President's XI here. Australian team physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said the decision to send McGain home was made after it was confirmed he would not be able to bowl for the majority of the tour.
"Bryce suffered a setback at training on Tuesday in an attempt to be available for the four-day match," Kountouris said in a Cricket Australia statement. "As a result, it has been decided that Bryce will not be available for selection for the majority of the tour."
A decision on who will replace McGain for the four-Test series, which starts next week, will be taken after Australian chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch arrives here early Saturday. It is expected that left-armer Beau Casson, a surprise exclusion from the original squad after making his Test debut in the Caribbean earlier this year, will be the likely replacement.
McGain was widely tipped to make his Test debut as the first choice spinner ahead of fellow newcomer Jason Krejza, who went for 0-123 in the practice match earlier on Friday. The world champions are struggling to throw up a quality spinner following the retirements of legendary Shane Warne and fellow wrist spinner Stuart McGill in quick succession over the last two years.
The series for the Border Gavaskar Trophy opens in Bangalore next Thursday, followed by back-to-back Tests in Mohali, New Delhi and Nagpur.

Ganguly included for first two Tests against Australia

Sourav Ganguly's Test career today received fresh lease of life with the newly-appointed national selection panel naming him in India's 15-member squad for the first two Tests against Australia starting October 9.
Virtually ignoring the previous selection committee's stand on the elegant left-hander, the new team of selectors -- headed by former captain Krishnamachari Srikkanth -- included the 36-year-old Ganguly in the squad which also has Tamil Nadu batsman S Badrinath and Delhi leg-spinner Amit Mishra as the two new faces. After being dropped from the Rest of India squad for the Irani Cup match, Ganguly's selection was a subject of intense speculation with rumours being rife that he might quit the game if omitted from the national side.
While Badrinath and Mishra got the selectors' nod, middle-order batsman Yuvraj Singh was ignored yet again for the longer version of the game. Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Kaarthick and Pragyan Ojha, who figured in the Indian squad during the last Test series against Sri Lanka, were omitted from the team announced by new secretary S Srinvisan through a press release.
Immediately after the team was announced, there was speculation that Ganguly had been given the opportunity for an "honourable exit" but it could not be immediately confirmed whether the BCCI indeed had such plans. Indian Team: Anil Kumble (Captain), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel, R P Singh, S Badrinath, Amit Mishra.

ICC moves to douse fire before India-Australia Tests

Cricket's governing body on Wednesday took pre-emptive steps to ensure the upcoming Test series between India and Australia is free from acrimony and bitterness.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) kept umpires Steve Bucknor and Mark Benson off the roster for the eagerly awaited four-match series starting in Bangalore on October 9. The duo officiated in the ill-tempered Sydney Test between the two nations earlier this year that almost saw India pulling out of the series after a string of controversial decisions.
An angry India agreed to continue the tour only after the ICC pacified them by standing down West Indian Bucknor from the subsequent Perth Test, which he was due to officiate. England's Benson had not been named for the rest of the series.

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