Cricket News September 2005
India win first-ever women's cricket series
Sep 30, 2005
India routed Pakistan by eight wickets in the third one-day match in Lahore on Saturday, taking the first-ever women's cricket series between the arch rivals 3-0, with one match still to be played.
Pakistan, who went down by 33 and 30 runs respectively in the first two matches earlier in the week, once again failed to put up a big total. India's under-21 team successfully chased a 158-run target for the loss of only two wickets after they bundled their opponents out for 157 in 38.5 overs.
Two captains for India?
Sep 29 2005
Following the Ganguly-Chappell make up, BCCI is thinking of having separate captains for the Indian Test and ODI teams. The six-member review committee, which made the captain and coach kiss and make up, is scheduled to meet next month and on top of its agenda is the proposal to bifurcate captaincy. It's still not clear who would be the ODI captain and who the Test captain.
A possible scenario will be
Rahul Dravid as ODI captain and Ganguly as Test skipper.
Ganguly-Chappell camps
Sep 25 2005
There has been a clear polarisation in the team, into pro-Ganguly and pro-Chappell camps. The most vocal member of the pro-Ganguly camp has been Harbhajan Singh, who became the first member of this team to come out in defence of Ganguly, accusing Chappell of instilling "fear and insecurity" and slamming him for "double standards.
Meanwhile, the Punjab Cricket Association issued a show-cause notice against Harbhajan, asking him to meet its Secretary at the earliest. The BCCI has asked all Indian players to refrain from making any statement to the media, after Harbhajan Singh's outburst against coach Greg Chappell.
Former Indian coach Anshuman Gaekwad said a person had to be intimately involved with the team to know whether Ganguly creates differences among team members. "But if that was indeed the case, the team would not have done well under him... If he does not command respect within the team, he would not have achieved the results he has," he said.
Former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar said the matter between India captain Ganguly and Chappell had gone to such an extent that a reconciliation between the two looked impossible. Vengsarkar, also chairman of Indian cricket boards talent resource development wing, said he also wanted the board to find out why and by whom a confidential email had been leaked to the media as this development was likely to undermine Chappells faith in confidentiality that is followed by Indian board officials.
Another former captain Chandu Borde wondered whether what he read in the papers could be believed. "The matter looks very serious and the BCCI needs to look into the issue at the earliest as the issues raised by Chappell may spell an end to Gangulys career itself," Borde said from Pune.
In two days a panel including former captains Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri and Srinivas Venkataraghavan, will hear from Chappell and Ganguly.
Chappell's e-mail
Sep 25 2005
Greg Chappell's e-mail to the BCCI. This was first shown by India TV and published by DNA in Mumbai.
Due to comments made by Mr Sourav Ganguly during the press conference following his innings in the recently completed Test match in Bulawayo and the subsequent media speculation I would like to make my position clear on two points.
1. At no stage did I ask Mr Ganguly to step down from the captaincy of the Indian team and;
2. At no stage have I threatened to resign my position as Indian team coach.
Mr Ganguly came to me following the recently completed tri-series of one-day matches here in Zimbabwe and asked me to tell him honestly where he stood as a player in my view. I told him that I thought he was struggling as a player and that it was affecting his ability to lead the team effectively and that the pressure of captaincy was affecting his ability to play to his potential. I also told him that his state of mind was fragile and it showed in the way that he made decisions on and off the field in relation to the team, especially team selection....
.... On at least one occasion he did change the team and on the morning of the final I had to talk him out of making another last-minute change that I believe would have destroyed team morale and damaged the mental state of the individuals concerned... His reluctance to bat first in games I suggested was also giving wrong signals to the team and the opposition and his nervousness at the crease facing bowlers like Shane Bond from NZ was also affecting morale in the dressing room....
The following day Sourav batted in the match against Zimbabwe 'A' team in the game in Mutare. I am not sure of the exact timing of events because I was in the nets with other players when Sourav went in to bat, but the new ball had either just been taken or was imminent when I saw Sourav walking from the field holding his right arm. I assumed he had been hit and made my way to the players' area where Sourav was receiving treatment from the team physiotherapist, John Gloster.
Sourav had complained of pain to his elbow at various stages of the one-day series, but he had resisted having any comprehensive investigation done and, from my observation, had been spasmodic in his treatment habits, often not using ice-packs for the arm that had been prepared for him....
.... After the loss of Kaif, Yuvraj and Karthik to the new ball, Sourav returned to the crease with the ball now around 20 overs old. He struggled for runs against a modest attack and eventually threw his wicket away trying to hit one of the spinners over the leg side.
The next day I enquired with a number of the players as to what they had thought of Sourav's retirement. The universal response was that it was 'just Sourav' as they recounted a list of times when Sourav had suffered from mystery injuries that usually disappeared as quickly as they had come. This disturbed me because it confirmed for me that he was in a fragile state of mind and it was affecting the mental state of other members of the squad.
When we arrived in Bulawayo I decided I needed to ask Sourav if he had over-played the injury to avoid the danger period of the new ball as it had appeared to me and others within the touring party that he had protected himself at the expense of others...
More of Greg Chappells' e-mail
India Zimbabwe Two Test Series 2005 
September 13 to 24 2005
Second Test: Paceman Pathan inspires India win
September 21 2005
Irfan Pathan produced another quality performance as India completed a 10-wicket victory over Zimbabwe in the the second Test in Harare. Pathan took 5-67 for match figures of 12-126 as the home side were bowled out for 223, a lead of only 17 runs. Zimbabwe at least escaped an innings defeat thanks to Hamilton Masakadza (71) and Andy Blignaut (84 not out), who shared a stand of 116.
India, notched up their
first series victory outside the subcontinent since 1986, by reaching 21-0 to wrap up a 2-0 series win with two days to spare. Earlier Pathan and Zaheer Khan did the bulk of the bowling with spinners Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble given only a handful of overs by skipper Sourav Ganguly. Zaheer Khan took 4 for 58.
The left-arm paceman Irfan Pathan's sixth five-wicket haul in 15 Tests gave him 21 wickets in the series, equalling the
world record for a two-Test series. Left-arm spinner Johnny Briggs took 21 wickets in two Tests for England against South Africa in 1888/89, a feat matched by Anil Kumble against Pakistan in 1999.
Scores: India 366 & 21-0 beat Zimbabwe 161 & 223 by 10 wickets
Indian board to probe Ganguly-Chappell row
Sep 18 2005
The Indian cricket board will investigate the reported rift between Saurav Ganguly and Greg Chappell after the tour of Zimbabwe, president Ranbir Mahendra said on Sunday.
"Whatever has appeared in the press, that is there," Mahendra told Reuters, referring to media reports suggesting a falling out between coach and captain.
Ganguly, under pressure to retain his place after a prolonged batting slump, has told reporters he was asked to step down before the first test at Bulawayo.
"It's true, I was asked to step down but that's all I have to say at this stage," Ganguly said on Thursday after scoring 101, his first test hundred since late 2003.
He did not directly name Australian Chappell, who said he had only discussed the team composition and certain other issues after India wrapped up an innings victory inside four days.
Ganguly has notched up an Indian record 49 tests as captain but has been slammed in the media for making dressing room discussions public.
First Test: India crush Zimbabwean resistance
September 16 2005
India thrashed Zimbabwe by an innings and 90 runs in Bulawayo despite a brave lower-order resistance from the hosts on day four of the first Test.
Resuming on 67-6 and still 208 runs shy of making India bat again, Zimbabwe managed 185 in their second innings with skipper Tatenda Taibu making 52.
Harbhajan Singh finished off the tail to return figures of 4-59.
India's left-arm paceman Irfan Pathan was named Man of the Match for his match haul of 9-111. The second and final Test gets under way in Harare on Tuesday.
Scores: Zimbabwe 279 & 185 lost to India 554 by an innings and 90 runs.
ICC slams 'inaccurate' cricket match-fixing reports
Sep 14 2005
The International Cricket Council has slammed "utterly inaccurate" media reports of alleged match fixing during the Zimbabwe tri-series won by New Zealand this month.
The Times of India website yesterday reported the ICC had deployed two of its officials to India to investigate the allegations.
The ICC today released a terse statement rejecting the report.
"We do not normally comment on the operational activities of the ICC anti-corruption and security unit but in light of the volume of utterly unfounded reports relating to the recent tri-series in Zimbabwe it is important to make it clear that there is no investigation being undertaken into this series," ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed said.
"It is disappointing to see such wild and unfounded accusations circulating in the media and we have taken the unusual step of commenting on this speculation as we do not wish the reputation of the sport, the teams or the players to be tarnished by utterly inaccurate media reports."
Astle leads Kiwis to Videocon Tri-series glory
Sep 6 2005
A magnificent unbeaten century from Nathan Astle guided New Zealand to a four-wicket victory over India in the triangular series final in Harare. Skipper Stephen Fleming hit 61 from 66 balls. Astle reached 100 with a six and shared an unbroken 72 with Lou Vincent as victory came with 11 balls to spare.
Earlier Mohammad Kaif hit an unbeaten 93 but India faltered after an opening stand of 72 in 13 overs, losing nine wickets for 121 in a total of 276. Sehwag (75) and Ganguly (31) gave India a solid start. Sehwag's dismissal at 155 and Dravid's nought for the same score changed the complexion of the innings, with only 55 runs added for the loss of three wickets in the next 15 overs.
India 276 (49.3 overs) lost to New Zealand 278-4 (48.1 overs) by six wickets.
Man of the match: Nathan Astle
Man of the series: Shane Bond
India triumph over Zimb after early scare in Videocon Tri-series
Sep 4 2005
India overcame a difficult start to their reply before overhauling Zimbabwe's score of 250 with 11 balls to spare in Harare on Sunday. It was the final round robin match of Zimbabwe's home triangular one-day series - India and New Zealand will contest Tuesday's final.
At one stage India were 36-4 with a mounting required run rate.
But Yuvraj Singh (120) and
Mahendra Dhoni (67 not out) righted the ship and Zimbabwe were beaten by four wickets.
Ajit Agarkar finished with 3-34 while debutant Rudra Pratap Singh, who opened the bowling, had figures of 2-44. India rested left-arm seamers Irfan Pathan and Ashish Nehra.
Zimbabwe 250 all out lost to India 255-6 by 4 wickets.
Kaif century inspires India win over NZ in Videocon Tri-series
Sep 2 2005
Mohammad Kaif struck an unbeaten century as India ended New Zealand's unbeaten record in the triangular series with a six-wicket victory. Kaif struck 11 fours and was joined by Mahendra Dhoni, who smashed three fours and successive sixes in 37 off 27 balls to seal the win with 15 balls to spare. The Indian requirement went from 56 off the final 10 overs to 30 from the last five, but Dhoni eased any concerns by launching successive sixes off substitute spinner Jeetan Patel, who was making his debut.
New Zealand won the toss and chose to bat, posting 278-9 from 50 overs. Scott Styris (56) and Craig McMillan (40) put on 87 after Stephen Fleming had launched the innings with 47.
New Zealand 278-9 lost to India 279-4 (47.3 overs) by 6 wickets.
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