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End of India's successive series win

2006-06-04T23:55:00.000-07:00

Hi!
West Indies played with India in a 5 match ODI series in west Indies.
The 1st match was played at Jamaica on 18th May,2006.India won the toss and elected to field first.Due to rain,5 overs from each innings were reduced.West Indies scored 251-6 after 45 overs.Chris Gayle scored his 12th ODI century and took the hosts' score to 251.He scored 123 of 131 balls.Agarkar took 2-83.India were set a target of 252 and they had 45 overs to reach the target.At 86-3,India's win looked impossible,but Sir Dravid made it possible by scoring 12th ODI century of his career.He scored 105 of just 102 balls.India won the match by 5 wickets.Sir Dravid got the man-of-the match award for his match winning innings of 105.India were leading the series 0-1.
The 2nd match was played at Jamaica on 20th May,2006.India won the toss and elected to field first.At 4-43,West Indies' defeat looked unpredictable,but Ramnaresh Sarwan had other ideas.He scored 98* of 138 balls and helped the hosts to a total of 198.Pathan took 3-45 of 9 overs.India were set target of 199.It looked a very easy target.India were 197-9 of 49.2 overs.Yuvraj Singh was on strike who was already batting on 93.India needed 2 runs of 4 balls.It looked that Yuvraj would easily snatch victory.But Dwayne Bravo bowled Yuvraj of a slowere delivery and made his team victorious.West Indies won by 1 run.Ramnaresh Sarwan was named the man of the match for his innings of 98*.The series was tied 1-1.
The 3rd ODI was played at Warner Park,Basseterre,St Kitts on may23rd ,2006.India won the toss and decided to bat first.India scored 245-9 of 50 overs.Shwag scored 93 of just 87 balls.Bradshaw and Bravo took 2 wickets each.West Indies were set a target of 246.Ramnaresh Sarwan scored 115* of 119 deliveries and took the hosts to victory.West Indies won the match by 4 wickets.Agarkar took 2-32.Ramnaresh Sarwan was named the man of the match for his match winning knock.West Indies were leading the series 2-1.
The 4th ODI was played at Trinidad on 26th May,2006.West Indies won the toss and chose to field first.India scored 217 runs at the loss of 7 wickets from 50 overs.Kaif and Yuvraj scored 62 and 52 runs,respectively,Kaif's innings being the quicker one.He scored 62 of 84 balls and Yuvraj scored 52 of 78 balls.Dhoni scored 46*.Bravo took 3-32 of his 5 overs.West Indies required 218 to win.Gayle scored 46.Lara and Bravo scored 69 and 61,respectively.Bravo's innings of 61 was his career best innings.This was his 1st half century.West Indies easily won the match by 6 wickets with 6 overs to spare.Powar took 2-56 of 9 overs.Bravo was named the man of the match for his all-round winning performance.West Indies were leading the series,3-1.
The 5th ODI was played at Trinidad on May 28,2006.India won the toss and chose to field first.West Indies scored 255 runs at the loss of 6 wickets from 50 overs.Gayle,Sarwan and Bravo scored half centuries,Bravo's innings being the highest.They scored 51,52 and 62*,respectively.Agarkar took 2-44 of 10 overs.India required 256 to win.They even failed to win the 5 th ODI as West Indian bowlers ended their innings on 236.Sehwag scored 95.None othe Indian batsman was able to take his individual score past 50.Taylor and Mohammed took 3 wickets each.Bravo was named the man of the match while Sarwan was named the man of the series.West Indies won the series 4-1.
After this defeat India slipped 2 places in the ICC ODI rankings.Earlier they were 3rd in the rankings table and now they are 5th.There was no change in the West Indies rankings.They still remain on the 8 th position.
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Sir Dravid through a harsh patch

2006-05-26T22:39:00.000-07:00

Hi!
Sir Dravid,who is the Indian captain and also a very important batsman for his side is not having the best times of his career nowadays.He has been an architect of the Indian innings on many occassions and many times has taken India to victory single-Handedly.
Let us take the example of the South African tour of India in November,2005.Sir Dravid couldn't do much with the bat in the 1st,2nd and the 4th match.South Africa were leading the series 2-1.There was only 1 match to go.India were 7th in the ICC ODI Ranking.Improvement of their ranking was largely dependant on the result of the last match.In the last match,South Africa were put on to bat by The Indian Captain(Sir Dravid).South Africa set a target of 222 for the hosts.It looked an easy target and it seemed that India would take away the series by winning the last match,but the South African bowlers had other ideas.Ntini struck early and got Gambhir's wicket.Soon after Sehwag also fell to Pollock.At 46-2,Sir Dravid walked in.As he was trying to build the Indian innings,South African bowlers kept the pressure on.Tendulkar also soon got out.The score was 83-3.But Sir Dravid was not effected by such frequent falling of wickets.He scored 78* runs and was named the man of the match.It was due to his efforts that India won the 5th ODI and were able to draw the series.
Such an effort was made by him in the 1st match against the West Indies that was played at Jamaica on 18th May,2006.India were set a target of 252 by the West Indies and they had only 45 overs to reach the target.Chris Gayle scored a century in the West Indian innings and it was due to his innings that Windies were able to reach a score of 251.He scored 123.India lost Sehwag 0n 56.On 86-3 in 17.4 overs the target looked impossible for India,but it was again Sir Dravid who took India to victory and was named the man of the match for his brilliant innings of 105 of just 102 deliveries.
Even at very difficult situations,he has always been able to pull victory from the jaws of defeat.He has been a very important batsman for the Indian cricket team in both the versions of the game since long.
But now he has not been performing very well in the 2nd,3rd and 4th ODIs againdst the West Indies.India have already lost the series.I hope he performs well in the 5th ODI as well as the test series against the West Indies because if he doesn't play well even in the test series against the Windies,then India's defeat in the test series will be unavoidable.
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India move up to 2 in the ICC test rankings

2005-12-22T01:48:00.000-08:00

Hi!
India played with Sri Lanka in a 3 match test series in India.The 1st match of the series was scheduled to begin on december 2,2005,but the 1st 3 days and more
than half of the 4th day were abandoned due to rain and poor ground conditions.The match began on the 4th day.Sehwag scored 36 of just 28 balls.India were all out for 167.This was India's lowest score against Sri Lanka in tests ever.Chaminda Vaas took 4-20.For Sri Lanka,Mahela Jayawardene scored 71.At stumps on Day5 Sri Lanka were 167-4.Kumble took 3-41.The match ended in a draw,Chaminda Vaas being the man of the match. 2nd test was played at New Delhi which began on 10 December,2005.India won the toss and decided
to bat first.In the 1st innings,Tendulkar scored a century and broke Sunil Gavaskar's record of
34 centuries with his 35.He scored 109.India were all out for 290.Muralitharan took 7-100.Sri
Lanka were all out for 230.Atapattu scored 88.umble took 6-72.India,with a lead of 60 runs scored 375-6 declared.Pathan scored 93 and Sir Dravid scored 53.Vaas took 2-65.Sri Lanka were set a target of 436 runs,but in the 2nd innings they were all out for only 247.Atapattu and Jayawardene scored 67 each.Kumblke took 4-85 and this match became his 9th 10 wicket match.He was named the man of the match for taking 10 wickets in the match.India were leading the series at that time 1-0.3rd test was played at Ahmedabad which began on 18 December,2005.Sir Dravid had to miss this match as he was suffering from gastroentiritis.He has played 96 consecutive tests for India since his debut.In the 3rd test,India won the toss and decided to bat first.India were all out for 398.Laxman scored 104 and Pathan scored 82.Muralitharan and Malinga took 3 wickets each.In their 1st innings,Sri Lanka were all out for 206,Dilshan scored 65.Harbhajan Singh took 7-62.India still had a lead of 191 runs.In their 2nd innings,India scored 316-9 declared.Yuvraj Singh scored 75 runs of just 83 balls.Muralitharan and Bandara took 3 wickets each.Sri Lanka had to make 509 runs to win the match and draw the series,but they fell on 249.Mahela Jayawardene scored 57.Kumble took 5-89.Harbhajan Singh took 3 wickets and this became a 10-wicket match for him.India won the match by a good 259 runs and also won the series 2-0.Harbhajan Singh was named the man of the match while Anil Kumble was named the man of the series.After wiinning this test series,India have moved up to 2nd place in the ICC test rankings pushing England down to 3rd.

Pakistan too good for England

2005-12-21T07:29:00.000-08:00

Hi!
Pakistan played against England in a 5-ODI series in Pakistan.
The 1st ODI was played at Lahore on 10 December,2005.England won the toss and elected to bat 1st.Strauss scored 94 runs.Flintoff scored 72* and Pietersen scored 56 of just 39 balls.England ended up scoring 327-4.Pakistan gave a good fight but that was not enough to win the game.All Pakistani batsman made good contributions.Salman Butt,Younis Khan,Mohammad Yousuf and Shoaib Malik scored 67,60,59 and 50,respectively. Plunkett took 3-51.Pakistan were all out on 285.They lost the match by 42 runs.Strauss was named the man of the match.
After the 1st ODI England was leading the series at 0-1.
2nd ODI was also played at Lahore on 12 December,2005.England won the toss and decided to bat first.England were all out on 230.Plunkett was the only English batsman to cross 50.He scored 56.Shoaib Akhtar took 5-54.Pakistan was set a target of 231 which was not very difficult.
Kamran Akmal,Pakistani wicket keeper scored 102 and took Pakistan to victory.Pakistan won the match by 7 wickets.Akmal was named the man of the match for his match winning innings.
At that particular point of time the series was level at 1-1.
The 3rd ODI was played at Karachi on 15 December,2005.England won the toss and put the opposition on to bat.Pakistan scored 353-6 after 50 overs.Akmal scored 109.This was his 2nd Successive ODI century and the third of his career.Plunkett took 2-61.For England Ian Bell scored 37*.England were all out on 188.Shoaib Malik took 3-29.Pakistan won the match by 165 runs.Kamran Akmal was named the man of the match for his 2nd successive ODI century.Pakistan were leading the series at 2-1.
The 4th ODI was played at Rawalpindi on 19 December,2005.Pakistan won the toss and decided to bat first.Pakistan were all ot on 210.Inzamam-ul-Haq scored 81*.or England,Flintoff scored 40.England were all out on 197.Afridi took 3-34.Pakistan won the match by 13 runs and also won the series 3-1.Inzamam-ul-Haq was named the man of the match.
The 5th ODI was played at Rawalpindi today i.e 21st December,2005.England won the toss and decided to bat 1st.Vikram Solanki scored 49.England ended up scoring 206-9.For Pakistan,Yasir Hameed and Mohammad Yousuf scored 57 and 54,respectively.They scored 200-9 and lost the match by 6 runs.James Anderson took 4-48 and he was named the man of the match.Pakistan won the series 3-2 and Kamran Akmal was named the man of the match.
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Australia maintain their winning run

2005-12-11T05:29:00.000-08:00

Hi!
Australia played in the 3 match ODI series against New Zealand in New Zealand to defend the Chappell-Hadlee trophy.
The 1st OdI was played at Auckland 3rd December.New Zealand won the toss and elected to field first.Australia scored 252-8 after 50 overs.Ponting scored 63 while Vettori,Styris and Cairns took 2 wickets each.New Zealand were bowled out for 105.Cairns scored 37*.Brett Lee's bowling figures were amazing.He bowled 6 overs and took 3 wickets at the loss of only 5 runs.He was named the man of the match for his brilliant effort.
2nd OdI was played at Wellington on 7th December.Australia won the toss and elected to bat first.Australia scored 322-5 at the end of 50 overs with the help of Andrew Symond's remarkable 156.Michael Clarke scored 82*.Mills took 2-60 after 10 overs.The Kiwi's gave their best to win the match.They were bowled out for 320,just 3 away from victory.Vincent scored 71 of just 49 balls and Mc Cullum scored 48 of just 33 balls.Australia won by 2 runs and Andrew Symonds was named the man of the match.Australia won the series 2-0.
3rd OdI was played at Christchurch on 10 December.New Zealand won the toss and put the opponents on to bat.Australia ended up scoring 331.Hussey scored 88* of just 56 balls.Ponting and Hodge scored 75 and 59,respectively.Martin took 3-65.It looked a one-sided match but wasn't.It is difficult to believe bu New Zealand won this match.Styris scored 101 of just 96 balls and Mc Cullum scored 50* of just 25 balls.New Zealand scored 332-8.They won the match by 2 wickets and 1 over to spare.New Zealand have the lost the series 2-1 but they must be very happy with their performance in the last ODI.Styris was named the man of the match for his match winning 101.
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India move up to 4

2005-11-30T08:41:00.000-08:00

Hi!
India played South Africa in the Pepsi cup ODI series which included 5 ODIs.The series began on 16th November,2005 and ended on 28th November,2005.
THe 1st match of the series was played on,as mentioned earlier,16th November,2005 at Hyderabad.It was a day match.South Africa won the toss and elected to field 1st.India got some early shocks and were 35-5 at 1 stage.But then some great batting display from Yuvraj Singh,Irfan Pathan and Harbhajan Singh took India to 249-9 after 50.Yuvraj scored 103.Pollock,Ntini and Nel took 2 wickets each while Botha,on his debut, took 1.For S.Africa Kallis scored 68*and South Africa won by 5 wickets.Yuvraj Singh picked the man of the match.
2nd ODI was played at Bangalore on November 19,2005.It was a Day/night match.India won the toss and put S.Africa on to bat.South Africa were all out on 169.Andrew Hall scored 32 and Pathan took 3-23.India won by 4 wickets ,Sehwag being the highest scorer.He scored 77*.Both Pollock and Ontong took 1 wicket each.Pathan was named the man of the match.The series was tied 1-1.
3rd match that was going to be played at Chennai on 22nd November was abandoned due to rain.
4th match was played at Kolkata on 25th November.South Africa won the toss and elected to field.India ended up scoring 188.Yuvraj and Kaif scored 53 and 46.Pollock and Hall took 3 wickets each.Guess what! South Africa won the match by 10 wickets.Smith played a captain's innings and scored 134* of 124 balls while Hall scored 48*.Smith picked up the man of the match.South Africa were leading at that point of time 2-1.
5th match was played at Mumbai on 28th November.It was a day/night match.India won the toss and elected to field.Kallis scored a patient innings of 91 of 146 deliveries.Pathan took 3 wickets while Harbhajan took 2.South Africa scored 221-6 after 50.For it was their captain who stood rock solid till the end.He scored 78* and took India to victory.He was the only one who helped India draw the series and move up in the ratings.India won by 5 wickets,Nel took 2 wickets for his country.Sir Dravid was named the man of the match.The series was drawn 2-2.
India have moved up in the ICC ODI cricket ratings and are now 4th while South Africa have maintained their 2nd position.
Graeme Smith and Yuvraj Singh shared the man of the series award for scoring same number of runs at the same average in the series.
Sir Dravid has become the highest run-scorer in 2005 with over 1080 runs this year.He has also been appointed the captain for the forthcoming test series with Sri Lanka.

India shines again

2005-11-12T08:49:00.000-08:00

Hi!
India and Sri Lanka played a series of 7 ODIs in India.The 1st match was played at Nagpur on 25th October,2005.India won the toss and elected to bat 1st.After a break of 6 months Tendulkar was in a fine mood.He scored 93 runs.Irfan Pathan was sent to bat at number 3 and he scored 83 at the same position.But it was the Indian captain who took the Indian score above 300.He scored 85* of just 63 balls.His innings was comprised of 8 4s and a 6.India scored 350 after 50 overs at the loss of 8 wickets.Sri Lanka got out for 198.Murali Kartik and Harbhajan Singh were the highest wicket takers for India in the 1st ODI.Sir Dravid was named the man of the match for his brilliant 85*.India was leading the series 1-0.
2nd ODI was played at Mohali on 28th October.In this match,India won the toss and elected to field 1st.It was a very poor performance from the Sri Lankans, or we should say that the Indians performed brilliantly.Sri Lanka was all out on just 122.Sangakkara was the highest scorer for Sri Lanka.He scored 27.Pathan took 4-27 in his 8 overs.It was a very easy task for India to win.India won by 7 wickets.India scored 123-3.Tendulkar being the highest scorer for India.He scored 67*.Sir Dravid scored 2*.India was still leading 2-0.
3rd ODI was played at Jaipur on 31st October,2005.Sri Lanka won the toss and decided to bat.Sri Lanka scored 298-4 after50.Sangakkara scored 138*.This time it was Dhoni who brought the victory for India.He scored 183*(highest score by a wicket keeper in OdIs ever).India scored303-4.India won by 6 wickets.Dhoni picked up the man of the match.India leading the series 3-0.
4th OdI was played at Pune on 3rd November 2005.India won the toss and put the opposition onto bat.Sri Lanka was all out at 261.Atapattu scored 87.Agarkar took 5-44.Sir Dravid guided India to victory.He scored 63 runs.It was a very crucial innings for India.Dhoni and Suresh Raina scored 45* and 39*.India won the match by 4 wickets.Agarkar was named the man of the match.India won the series 4-0.
5th OdI was played at Ahmedabad on 6th November,2005.Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bowl 1st.There were 2 centurions for India.1st one was Gautam Gambhir who scored his maiden ODI century.He scored 103.The 2nd one was the Indian captain,the wall,Sir Dravid who scored his 11th one day hundred.He scored 103*.India scored 285-8 after 50.The match was fully in India's control till Dilshan came out to bat.At one stage Sri Lanka was 155-5.But Dilshan and Arnold got the victory for Sri Lanka.Dilshan scored 81* and Arnold scored 49*.Dilshan was named the man of the match.
6th ODI was played at Rajkot on 9th November,2005.India won the toss and put the opposition on to bat.Sri Lanka was all out on 196.RP Singh took 4-35.Dilshan scored 59.Yuvraj and Kaif took India to victory.Yuvraj scored 79* and Kaif scored 38*.India won by 7 wickets.RP Singh was named the man of the match.India was leading 5-1.
7th ODI was played at Vadodara today i.e. November 12,2005.Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat.Sri Lanka scored 244-9 after 50. Arnold and Atapattu scored 68 and 59.Dhoni scored 80 and Sir Dravid 31*.Pathan and Sehwag scored 35 each while Tendulkar scored 39.India won the match by 5 wickets.Pathan picked up the man of the match while Mahendra Singh Dhoni was named the player of the series.India won the series 6-1.
It is a great victory for the Indians which they wouldn't forget,atleast for 2 to 3 years.Let us hope for some more good performances from India and from Sir Dravid in the next Indian series that will be played between India and South Africa in India.The series will start from 16th November,2005.
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Australia crush the world again

2005-10-22T10:55:00.000-07:00

Hi!
Australia defeated the world11 in the only 6 day test which was held in Sydney From 14th-19th October by 210 runs.Australia won the toss and elected to bat 1st.Australia made 345 in the 1st innings.Hayden scored a century for Australia.He scored 111.Gilchrist unfortunately got out on 94.Flintoff did well with the ball.He took 4 wickets for 59 runs in the 1st innings.
Australia got The World 11 all out on 190.Sehwag scored 76.Macgill was impressive as he took 4 wickets for 39 runs.
In the 2nd innings Australia was all out on 199.Hayden again being the top scorer for Australia.He scored 77 runs.Harmison,Flintoff and Muralitharan took 3 wickets each.
World 11 had to make 355 runs to win.But they were not able to do so.In the 2nd innings,The World 11 was all out on 144.Kallis being the top scorer.He scored 39*runs.Macgill again was the highest wicket taker in the 2nd innings.He took 5 wickets for 43 runs.
Hayden was named The Man of the match for his brilliant 111 in the 1st innings and match saving 77 in the 2nd innings.
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Australia-The best team in the world

2005-10-12T09:36:00.000-07:00

Hi!
Australia won the three ODI matches of the Super series and proved again(after losing the ashes)that they are the best team in the World.Australia won all the 3 matches with huge difference in the scores of both the teams.Australia won the 1st match by 93 runs and the 2nd by 55 runs.In this blog I'll write abot the 3rd match of the super series.
Australia won the toss and elected to bat first as in the 1st 2 games.Gilchrist who got a century of just 73 balls and Clarke who was not so impressive in this series opened the batting for Australia.Australia lost Clarke when Their score was 15.Gilchrist got out when Australia were 58.He went for 32.Ponting scored 68 and then gave his wicket to Muralitharan.Australia were 143-3.Symonds and Martyn soon followed him.Australia's score being 148-5 in 27.5 overs.Then Mike Hussey accompanied by Shane Watson took Australia's score to 293-5 at the end of 50 overs.Hussey scored 75* while Watson scored 66*.
It was a huge total which the World11 tried to chase but failed.Gayle and Sehwag opened World11's innings just on the 2nd ball of the match Lee Got Gayle.Then Sangakkara got out,followed by Kallis and Lara.World11 was struggling at 27-4.Then Flintoff went for 27,Sehwag for 37.World 11 were still struggling at 99-6.Then Sir Dravid also got out just for 16.World11 were 119-7.Soon after Sir Dravid's dismissal Vettori,Pollock and Afridi also got out.World11 was all out at 137.
It was surprising to see the best players of the world losing against Australia.Perhaps The World11 can win the 6 day test that will be held on 14th October and tell Australia that they are not as good as they think themselves to be.
Watson picked the man of the match for the 3rd match while Gilchrist was named the Man of the Series.
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India in action.First Test:Day 2

2005-09-21T10:02:00.000-07:00

Hi!
Today was the second day of the second test of the Royal Stag Cup between India and Zimbabwe.The 2nd day did not prove to be useful for the batsmen as 2 of the Indian batsmen missed their centuries by 2 and 3 runs.
Just in the beginning of the day Gambhir missed his century by 3 runs when he was caught behind by Taibu on a ball by Mahwire.Sir Dravid brought up his 50.Wickets kept on falling for India.Laxman went on 8.He was declared lbw on a ball by Streak.Then Mwayenga took his 1st test wicket when Sourav Ganguly was caught behind by Taibu on a ball by him.He went for 16.Yuvraj Singh went for 25,Karthik for 1.Both of these wickets were taken by Streak.Sir Dravid was getting closer and closer to his 21st century in test cricket.But,unfortunately he got out on 98.He was bowled by Mahwire.But still his efforts should be appreciated by us.Pathan went for 32,Kumble went for 8 and Zaheer Khan for 2.Harbhajan Singh remained not out on 14.India were all out on 336.India were leading by 205 runs.
Streak's bowling figures were 6-73,bowling figures for Mahwire were 2-86,for Blignaut were 1-80,for Mwayenga were 1-79 and for Dabengwa were 1-35.
Zimbabwe had to cover a trail of 205 runs and make a good lead.But at stumps it seemed that they'll fail to do so.They lost very early wickets of Taylor who went for 4 and Duffin who went for 10.He was caught By Sir Dravid on a ball by Pathan.Ebrahim went for 4.He was caught by Yuvraj Singh on a ball by Zaheer Khan.Taibu went for 1 and Masakadza remained not out on 11.
Bowling figures for India were:Pathan 2-25,Zaheer Khan 2-9 and Harbhajan 0-2.At stumps,Zimbabwe were 39-4.
Though Sir Dravid missed his century by 2 runs.But it was he who slowly and steadily built up India's innings.He once again proved to be the saviour of the Indian cricket team.

India in action.First Test:Day1

2005-09-20T09:24:00.000-07:00

Hi!
Today India played the second and the final test of the Royal Stag cup vs Zimbabwe.
India won the toss and elected to bowl first.India straight away came in action.Taylor was dismissed very early during the day,Just on the 3rd ball of the match.He went for 4.He was caught on slips by Sir Dravid on a ball by Pathan.Duffin got out on a ball by Pathan.He was caught at slips by Laxman.He went for 12.Ebrahim went for 14.Taibu,who was the star for Zimbabwe of the previous game got out for a duck.Masakadza went for 27,Streak for 14.Coventry got out for 37,Blignaut for 13,Dabengwa for 18,Mahwire for 1.Mwayenga remained not out on 14.
The best bowling figures for India were those of Pathan.His figures were 7-59.It was really a brilliant effort from him.Figures for Khan were 1-24,for Harbhajan were 2-45.Figures for Ganguly and Kumble were 0-10 and 0-19.Zimbabwe were all out on 161 and played just 44.2 overs.
Now India had to set a good score.Sehwag and Gambhir who are India's regular Test openers came to open the innings.These 2 added 75 for the first wicket.This partnership was broken by Streak when Sehwag was caught behind by Tatenda Taibu.He went after scoring 44 of 44 balls.Now it was the turn of The Wall of India(Sir Dravid) to come to the crease.He played a very good innings.At stumps India were 195-1.Gambhir remained not out on 95 and Sir Dravid on 49.
The only wicket taker for Zimbabwe was Heath Streak.His bowling figures were 1-34.

India loses again

2005-09-06T23:47:00.000-07:00

Hi!
Yesterday India played against New Zealand in the final of the Videocon cup 2005.India won the toss and elected to bat first.
Sehwag and Ganguly were the Indian openers.They had a good partnership of 72 runs.But then Ganguly was caught by Hamish Marshall on a ball by Oram.Sehwag was still firing.Kaif then came to the crease.Kaif also had a good partnership with Sehwag of 83 runs.But then Sehwag got out after scoring a fast 75 of just 65 balls.He was caught by Vincent on a ball by Vettori.Then Sir Dravid(Rahul Dravid) was also declared lbw in the same over.He went for a duck.Yuvraj also got out on 20,caught by Bond,bowled by Mills.Venugopal,Yadav,Dhoni and Agarkar got out after scoring 8,11,o and 6.Pathan got out for 10 and Nehra on 0.Kaif remained not out on 93.India was all out in the 50th over for 276.The best bowling figures for New Zealand were those of Oram.His figures were 4-58 after 8.3 overs.
It seemed that it was India's game.But Stephen Fleming and Nathan Astle changed the face of the game.Pathan was smashed for 5 fours in an over by Stephen Fleming.They had a great partnership of 121 runs in just 18.1 overs.Stephen Fleming was caught and bowled by Sehwag.Hamish Marshall got out on 3.He was declared lbw on a ball by Sehwag.Styris went for 37 after having a good partnership of 58 with Astle.He got out when he was stump out by Dhoni on a ball by Sehwag.Mc Millan was caught by Dhoni on a ball by Yuvraj.He went after scoring 13.Lou Vincent scored 33 not out.He was dropped twice.First he was dropped by Suresh Raina and the second time he was dropped by Sir Dravid.But Sir Dravid's one was a very difficult catch.Astle scored his 15th ODI century.He remained not out on 115.New Zealand scored 278 and won by 6 wickets.The best bowling figures for India were those of Sehwag.His figures were 3-44 after 10 overs.
Nathan Astle was declared the man of the match for his match winning 115*.Shane Bond being the man of the series as he took 11 wickets in the series.

A Fair Win

2005-09-06T04:26:00.000-07:00

Hi!
Day before yesterday India had a match against Zimbabwe.India won the toss and decided to bowl first.Zimbabwe's openers were not so good as Sibanda got out on 1 and Masakadza got out on a duck on balls by R.P Singh,who was making his ODI debut.Then Taylor was run out by Yuvraj.Then Taibu and Coventry had a good partnership of 116 runs which took the score from 50-3 to 166-3.Then Taibu was bowled out by Yadav.He got out after scoring 71.After Taibu,the next man to go was Coventry.He went after scoring a masterful 74 with Zimbabwe's score at 227-5 after 44.5 overs.Blignaut was stumped by Dhoni on a ball by Yuvraj on 41.Zimbabwe's score was 232-6.Ewing,Mahwire,Utseya and Williams got out after scoring 7,2,0 and 8.Ireland remained not out on 1.Zimbabwe's score at the end of 50 overs was 250 all out.
India got a shock in the beginning when Sehwag got out for 12 on a ball by Mahwire.India's score was 15-1.Ganguly was the next man to follow him on 2 with India's score at 23-2.Then, unfortunately Sir Dravid also got out after scoring just 6 with India's score at 34-3.Soon after Sir Dravid's dismissal Kaif also got out with India's score at 36-4.It was a nightmare for India.India was losing against Zimbabwe.Venugopal got out for 27 with India's score at 91-5.Now Dhoni came on the crease.Yuvraj made his 4th ODI century.Yuvraj and Dhoni made a brilliant partnership of 158 runs.This was India's highest partnership for the 6th wicket against Zimbabwe.Yuvraj got out after scoring a brilliant 120 with India's score at 6-249.Dhoni brought up his fifty and was not out at 67.India won the match by 4 wickets.Initially,the Indians were worried.But then Yuvraj and Dhoni turned the match in India's favour.
Yuvraj Singh was named the man of the match for his 120.

India back in the game

2005-09-02T21:32:00.000-07:00

Hi!
Yesterday there was a match between India and New Zealand.New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat first.
New Zealand opened their innings with Stephen Fleming and Nathan Astle.New Zealand was doing well till Astle was caught by Dhoni on a ball by Agarkar.Astle went for 11.Then, after some time Fleming was run out by Agarkar.He went for 47.Lou Vincent was looking very dangerous as he scored 37 of just 23 balls.Yuvraj Singh dived and stopped the ball at point.From there only 1 stump was in his view.He hit the stumps with the ball.Vincent was run out.What a superb run out that was.Hamish Marshall went for8.He was bowled by Yadav.Styris played a controlled innings.He scored 56 of 89.He was caught by Sehwag.Then McMillan went for40,McCullum for 28 and Oram for 14.Adams got out for 3.Cairns and Mills were not out at 6 and 2.New Zealand managed to reach a total of 278 at the loss of 9 wickets after 50 overs.
Now it was India's turn to bat.Sehwag and Ganguly had a good partnership of 66 runs of just 42 balls before Ganguly was caught at fine leg by Jeetan Patel on a ball by Mills.Just after 9 runs Sehwag was also bowled by Oram.He went for 45.Now Sir Dravid came to the crease.Sir Dravid and Mohammed Kaif played brilliantly and added 101 runs.Sir Dravid played a supportive innings in the match.But unfortunately he got out for 39 when he was bowled by Styris.Yuvraj Singh got out on 22.India's score was 223-4 when Yuvraj got out.Soon after Yuvraj's dismissal Kaif scored his century.It was his 2nd ODI century.India needed 19 runs to win from 21 balls.Dhoni was on strike.After 2 balls,India needed 7 of 19 balls.Yes,Dhoni smashed Kiwis for 2 sixes.India easily won the match by 6 wickets with 15 balls to spare.
Kaif was declared the man of the match for his brilliant 102*.

What a come back

2005-08-27T23:43:00.000-07:00

Hi!
On 26th there was a match between India and New Zealand.Stephen Fleming(New Zealand captain)won the toss and elected to bat first.India started well and got Loe Vincent,the star of the last game out at 4.The seemers were able to swing the ball and as a result New Zealand was in a bad situation and were only 36-5 aftaer 12.1 overs with Vincent,Fleming,Astle,Marshall and Styris out.Then Mc Millan and Oram were looking good as they helped New Zealand to reach 127 after 28 overs.But then there was a mix up with the batsmen and Oram got runout after making 36.Just one over after Oram's departure Mc Millan also departed when he was caught by Pathan on a ball by Agarkar.New Zealand were 130-7.However,they managed to reach a respectable score of 215.
It seemed that it was India's game before Bond got Ganguly,Sehwag, Venugopal Rao and unfortunately Sir Dravid out.India was 39-6.Then Dhoni and Agarkar also went back to the dressing room for 2 runs each on balls by Adams.It was a nightmare for India as they were 44-8.Then Pathan and Yadav made a partnership of 118 runs.Both of them scored half-centuries.Then Pathan touched a wide ball by Bond and was caught behind.He departed after making 50 runs.Soon after Venugopal also got out at 69 on a ball by Oram.India was all out at 164.New Zealand won the match by 51 runs.Shane Bond was named the man of the match for his brilliant bowling performance.His Bowling figures were 6-19 after 9 overs that he bowled.

An Incredible innings(New Zealand)

2005-08-24T05:03:00.000-07:00

Hi!
Today Zimbabwe is playing against New Zealand.Due to delay in the start of play the overs were decreased and each team was supposed to bat for 44 overs instead of 50 overs.New Zealand started well with Lou Vincent and Stephen Fleming on fire.Stephen Fleming played a captain's knock and got out after scoring fine 93.He got out when he was caught by Streak at a ball by Ireland.Then McMillan came to join Vincent out in the middle.McMillan also played a good knock and scored 47 runs of just 26 balls.He was caught by Mahwire on a ball by Blignaut.Chris Cairns was not so good with the bat as he got out just on 14.McCullum helped New Zealand to reach a very big score which I'll write in the end of this blog.McCullum scored an unbeaten 51 of just 22 balls.Oram got out on a duck.Vincent scored a brilliant 172 of just 120 balls.Utseya took a brilliant,diving catch and dismissed Vincent on a ball by Blignaut.New Zealand reached 397 at the loss of 5 wicketsin just 44 overs.The inninngs was decided to be of 44 overs.They fell just 1 run short of the world record i.e 398 which Sri Lanka scored against Kenya in 1998.Vincent's 172 was a record score as no other New Zealand batsman has been able to reach 172 in ODIs.Zimbabwe needs 398 to win in 44 overs at 9.05 runs per over which is not only difficult but impossible for them.

Cricket-rules

2005-08-20T07:43:00.000-07:00

Hello!
Cricket is a technical game which requires a lot of concentration and patience.When one loses
his cocentration and patience, he pays a heavy price for it.Cricket has gained a lot of popularity for the last few years.In this blog Iam going to write about some simple rules of cricket as many people in the world are not familiar with it.Cricket is a game played between 2 teams each team plays with 11 players.The captains of the team decide that which team will bat or bowl first by a coin toss.Two players from the batting team come out in the middle to play and the rest stay in the dressing room.There is a 22 yards long pitch in the middle of the ground.The batsmen stand on either ends of the pitch.One is the strikers end and other is the non striker end.The batsman on the strikers end faces the ball.A wicket-keeper stands behind the batsman on the strikers end and stops the ball if the batsman leaves any ball.The objective of the team batting first is to accumulate as many runs as possible in a limited no. of overs i.e.10,20 or 50.The objective of the team bowling first is to get the batting team all out at the least possible score or finish all the overs and restrict the team to such a score that is easy for them to chase afterwards.After the team batting first finishes its batting,the other team comes to bat.Now the objective of the team that is batting is to make more runs than the other team made.The objective of the bowling team is to get all the players of the batting team out or restrict them from making runs more than the bowling team made.If the batting team is not able to reach the target which was set for them,then the bowling team wins.If the batting team is able to reach the target which was set for them,then the team batting second wins.These were the rules for ODI(One-Day International) cricket.There is another kind of cricket known as test cricket.The rules of test cricket are little bit different from those of ODI cricket.There are many other complex rules in cricket about which I have not written.

Sir Dravid-brilliant knocks

2005-08-19T06:49:00.000-07:00

Hello!
Sir Dravid(Rahul Dravid) has been a saviour of the Indian Cricket Team since long.In 1996/97 in a match against Pakistan he scored his maiden ODI century (107) when Pakistan set a target of 328 for India.Saeed Anwar scored 194 in the same match(highest score by a batsman in ODIs).Though India list the match by 35 runs but fighted back well.Especially Sir Dravid's innings was a great knock under pressure.It was a marvellous innings.I don't have words to describe Sir Dravid's innings.Many of his great scores hve been match saving scores.Recently in the 1st match against Pakistan in the beginning of this year he scored 104.When he came to the crease India were 4 at the loss of 2 wickets.His innings was a great innings under pressure.He helped India to reach 281.India,fortunately won that match getting Pakistan all out at 194.There many more innings which he has played to save India and has taken India to victory several times.I don't have time to write about all those innings just now.But I'll keep on writing about him.Please keep on reading my blogs about Sir Dravid and Cricket.

The next Indian Matches

2005-08-18T08:28:00.000-07:00

Hello!
The next Indian series is a tri-series against New Zealand and Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe..The first Indian match is On 26th August against New Zealand.The series will start on 24th August.But the 1st match will be played between New Zealand and Zimbabwe.Iam sure Sir Dravid(Rahul Dravid) will come out with a good result.I was very disappointed when the selection pannel announced that Sir Dravid was no more the captain of the Indian Cricket Team.The selection pannel further announced that Sir Dravid was not even the vice-captain of the Indian Cricket Team for ODIs which was obviously very disappointing.Iam sure that Sir Dravid will score many runs in the forthcoming series and the selection pannel will have to change their opinions about Sir Dravid for the next Indian tour after this tri-series.

Sir Dravid-The great

2005-08-16T11:02:00.000-07:00

Hello!
The Lords test on 20th June 1996 against England was a great test as it welcomed a new,great test player-Sir Dravid(Rahul Dravid).He made 95 on his debut,which is very difficult to do at International level on debut.He has proved to be avery good test player for India.He has played 89 tests and 151 innings.He has made 7696 runs in tests at an average of 57.86(the highest average by an Indian batsman in tests ever).He has made 20 centuries,36 half centuries and 5 double centuries(the highest no. of double centuries by an Indian batsman ever).He has played 89 consecutive test matches for India since 1996.He has also been incredible in ODIs.In ODIs also he has proved to be very good.He has made 8319 runs in ODIs at an average of 40.18 and has made 10 centuries and 62 half centuries in ODIs.153 being his highest score which he made against New Zealand on15th November,1999 at Nagpur.He has been a saviour of the Indian Cricket Team since 1996.Indian Cricket has found a gem in the form of a player.

Some records made by Sir Dravid

2005-08-15T03:37:00.000-07:00

Hello!
Iam going write about Sir Dravid.As most of the cricket fans must be knowing that Donald Bradman(Australia) was Knighted because he was a good test player.He scored 12 double centuries at an average of 99.96, just .04 away from 100.Sir Dravid(Rahul Dravid) also has that capability of becoming a good player like Sir Donald Bradman.He has already made 5 double centuries(highest by an Indian),270 against Pakistan at Rawalpindi being his highest score in Tests.After making his 18th century in tests against Bangladesh,he became the 4th person after Steve Waugh, Gary Kirsten and Sachin Tendulkar to make a test century against every test playing nation.But he became the 1st player to make a century in every test playing nation.He has made 62 half centuries in ODIs(3rd highest by any player in the world).He's very close to Aravinda-De-Silva's 64 half centuries and after scoring 65 half centuries he'll become the 2nd highest half centurion in the world.He is a gem that Indian Cricket has ever got.

About Sir Dravid

2005-08-14T08:13:00.000-07:00

Hello!
Iam writing about Sir Dravid.He's the greatest player of the Indian Cricket team(at present).He's not only my favorite player but he's like an Idol for me.That's a different matter that I don't want to become a cricketer but still i have a lot of respect for him.He's like a saviour of the Indian Cricket team.All the big scores that he's made were always needed by the Indian cricket team.Earlier he was known as a Test player because of his a little slow strike rate.But he has emerged as a great ODI player since 1999.He made 6 centuries in 1999,made 145(highest score by a wicket keeper in World Cup) and closed the mouth of those who said that he is just a test player.These are the reasons and there are many more reasons that I have not written because of which he's known as The Wall,M.R. Dependable etc.

Hello World!

2005-08-14T03:30:00.000-07:00

Hi
Iam Harsh Dandona from India.Iam new to this blogger world.So, i don't know much about this site.U can find everything about cricket in my blog,espicially about Sir Dravid(Rahul Dravid).Your comments and suggestions are very valuable.So, keep commenting.