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IPL 2: Team Preview : Mumbai Indians

it would have been music to the ears of JP Duminy when he heard that he was bought for a whooping $950,000 by the Mukesh Ambani owned Mumbai Indian side for the second season of the IPL. Other steals were Bangladesh captain Mohammed Ashraful who was bought for $75,000, Kiwi fast bowler Kyle Mills . Zaheer Khan will be a vital addition to the side given his current form with the ball. In other swaps, Mumbai sold Ashish Nehra to Delhi Daredevils and bought Shikhar Dhwan who could well compensate for Utthapa's departure to the Bangalore Royal Challengers side.




Dwayne Bravo, has been given a permanent deal having played for Mumbai Indians last year. Two other key signings also came before the auction. They are limited-over specialists from the English county circuit, all rounders Graham Napier and Ryan McLaren - a Kolpak player South Africa wanted to get back after their ODI losses in England last year.

The team has three Sri Lankans in Sanath Jayasuriya, Lasith Malinga and Dilhara Fernando, all of whom are available for the entire tournament. Mumbai were unlucky last time to miss Sachin Tendulkar, who was injured, and Harbhajan Singh - banned for his infamous slap - for the bulk of the tournament. If they manage to get it right, they would perhaps be able to do justice to Mumbai's tag of domestic giants.


Probable XI: 1 Sanath Jayasuriya, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 Shikhar Dhawan, 4 & 5 Dwayne Bravo/ Ryan McLaren/ JP Duminy/ Graham Napier, 6 Abhishek Nayar, 7 Yogesh Takawale (wk), 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Dhawal Kulkarni, 11 Lasith Malinga/ Dilhara Fernando/ Kyle Mills.





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IPL 2: Team Preview : Delhi Daredevils

Delhi may now no longer have the services of their Pakistani duo in the name of Shaoib Malik and Mohammed Asif, but the team looks even more dangerous after their imports in the likes of Australian opening batsman David Warner and the England Duo of Owais Shah and Paul Collingwood.Warners sensation T20 debut for Australia against South Africa proved his worth for the Delhi daredevils side. Having played these games in South Africa might help his cause. Delhi also have all rounder Allan McDonald, who too debuted for Australia in the recent T20 matches, and left-arm fast bowler Dirk Nannes, an out-and-out Twenty20 specialist.



Delhi were in great form last year and made it to as far as the semi finals when they lost to Chennai Super Kings in a one-off match. Gambhir and Sehwag put up partnerships that no teams had answer to. There was no one way to get them out, The only way the duo lost their wickets were to run outs most of the time. When the opponents eventually succeeded in picking them, In walked Shikhar Dhwan who played even better than the duo. sadly, Shikhar Dhawan will play for the Mumbai Indians side this year, leaving an open spot for Develliers to walk in and continue his form with the bat. Glenn McGrath continued to live up to the reputation, while Daniel Vettori who said that he was happy to be in Sehwag's side as he will not have to bowl to him will bring in his experience.


Dilshan and Collingwood could prove useful with both bat and ball, as Amit Mishra spinned a web around the batsman last year. Ashish Nehra, Yo Mahesh and Pradeep Sangwan will be battling for the second and third seamers spot with the foreign players. With most of their foreign players free for tournament, the only headache for Delhi could be getting their XI right.

Probable XI: 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Tillakaratne Dilshan/ Owais Shah, 4 Manoj Tiwary/ David Warner, 5 AB de Villiers/ Dinesh Karthik (wk), 6 Rajat Bhatia/ Paul Collingwood, 7 Daniel Vettori 8 Amit Mishra/ Ashish Nehra, 9 Farveez Maharoof/ Yo Mahesh, 10 Dirk Nannes/ Pradeep Sangwan, 11 Glenn McGrath.





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Australia in South Africa: 4th ODI Review : Gibbs powers SA to a series win

April 13 2009: After the No.1 spot in ICC ODI Rankings changed hands through the series, South Africa have made sure that they finish in the same position thanks to Herschelle Gibbs 21 ODI century that helped them win the 4th ODI and the series 3-1 to Australia at Port Elizabeth. His 110 came almost off a run a ball after having battled the first few overs in partnership with Smith. Australi who perished in the name of Van De Merwe never looked like being in the game.



An out of form Australia were always likely to be on the back foot heading into their do or die stint. They made a couple of changes bringing in Shane hardwood for Lauglin who didn't look like taking any wickets as Gibbs and AB Develliers powered SouthAfrica to a score of 317 leaving Australia with almost no margin for error run chase. For a while they looked Flauless, Haddin and Micheal Clarke clicked as a pair for the first time in the series putting on a 129 run stand, but both men loast their wicket at the half way mark. Clarke became victim to a vicious spinner pitching on leg and turning away from him to knock the off stump, a classical Van de Merwe delivery.

Merwe playing only his 3rd ODI picked up 3 for 46, the two other wickets coming in the name of Callan Ferguson and Micheal Hussey. Ferguson, Man who restored pride in the falling top order in the previous games was promoted to No.4 lost his wicket stumped by Boucher. Hussey soon followed, out LBW playing the wrong line. 129 for 0 suddenly turned 150 for 4 in a matter of 4 overs. Haddin's aggressive approach imbued Australia with hope and he batted instinctively in compiling 78 from 61 balls, including four sixes. But after he holed out to long-on off Johan Botha it was a steady decline for Australia and the tail succumbed to Dale Steyn, who finished with 4 for 44. The chase was always going to be difficult after Gibbs and de Villiers dominated with the bat.



Both Develliers and Gibbs kept the scoreboard moving also played some aggresive shots off the bad deliveries. Australian bolwers failed to offer any threat and the biggest worry turned out to be in the name of the spinners Micheal Clarke and Nathan hauritz who between them sent down 10 overs for 73. Both suffered in the hands off Gibbs who posted a ODI century after 14 months, Develirs suddenly turned the aggresson in the partnership as he trashed consecutive deliveries off Hauritz over long on and Mid Wicket boundaries.

The 61-run victory ensured Graeme Smith's men the honor of becoming the first team to triumph in three successive bilateral ODI series against Australia - a streak that dates back to their historic victory in the 438 match in Johannesburg three years ago. It also means that when the teams return to the Wanderers for Friday's fifth and final match, it will be to contest a dead rubber. Smith and his men have now won 7 out of their 10 games against the world champions - Australia. They deserve their 1st spot in the rankings, They've earned it.

In Other News: Botha, after being reported for suspect action has been cleared after tests found that the bending of his hand is well below the limit. His doosra and the faster ball came into the line of fire after match referee decided to report it for a test. Reports suggest that the Doosra measured a 9 deg bend while the off spinner measured 11 deg bend, well below the 15 deg limit set by the ICC.





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IPL 2: Rajasthan Royals - Practice match

Rajasthan Royals and Captain Shane Warne lost the first of the two T20 warm-up matches against the Cape Cobras by 28 runs. If there is one thing that Captian Warne would be regretting is the absence of his stars, Shane Watson and Sohail Tanvir. The Cobras fielded a new look side of what is normally a star studded side, which includes the likes of Gibbs and Morkel brothers. The cobras have been rated as the top T20 side in South Africa. Cobras won the toss and batted first. Much to Warne's likeliness the cobras lost early wickets, at one point 30 for 3. For the Royals it was kamran Khan a new addition to the 27 member Rajasthan royals squad. Kamran khan,18, rattled a few stumps with his slinging action and surprise pace.



The Cobras middle order batted sensibly and kept the scoreboard ticking before the final on-slaught to reach a score of 142 for 8 in their 20 overs. With not many experienced cricketers in the Royals side, The target proved to be a tough ask as they were bowled out for just 114 leaving cobras with a 28 run victory. Shane Warne was particularly pleased with the effort as most of them are new to South African conditions and will take time to settle down to. He hopes that addition of the international cricketers to the team will help in their performance. Warne was particularly thankful to the Cobras for the practice and said that he hoped this would help the players prepare for the task ahead.







Shane also mentioned that he would miss his stars of the last season, Watson who is on the Australian squad named for the series in Pakistan in Abu Dhabi and Sohail Tanvir who was forced not to participate following pakistan boards diapproval of the IPL. Both were instrumental with the performance RR posted last time around. Warne hopes that the new imports in the name of Henderson will prove as good replacements for the men he's lost.

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Australia in South Africa: 4th ODI: Preview

There's not much that Australia would want to change in their side after they lost the 3rd ODI agaist South Africa. They didn't do badly in the last game, All they now have to do is bowl a decent line and bat a little longer. Fergusson has been doing the mop-up job after the top order keeps falling. Only two more matches and what has been a fascinating summer that has been played between the two sides will come to an end.South Africa lead the series 2-1 and one more victory will seal it for them. Australia on the other hand will be looking to to finish 2-2 at the end of this game which could help a fitting finale at the wanderes. Not many would have forgotten, but for the record, SA and Australia, at the same ground, three years ago, rewrote one day international history.. The 438 run match from whcih South Africa came out champions..



First things first: Australia must win this game to keep alive their hopes of a series win and of regaining the No. 1 ODI ranking that began a couple of weeks ago in South African hands and has alternated through the series. After Australia's batsmen failed in Centurion and their bowlers struggled to do a containing job at Newlands, they need to find a satisfying balance in Port Elizabeth. Specifically, they need to find a fast bowler who can adequately support Mitchell Johnson and their top order must not again leave all the work up to the young No. 6 Callum Ferguson.

Team News
There is not much that South Africans would want to change.. van De Merwe proved his position in the team with three important wickets he picked bowling his left arm orthodox spin. Every single player in the team is doing well and Smith will be hoping they continue to do so. Not many teams around the world would want to change the winning combination and there is a least possibility that SA will do otherwise. The rest of the players in the squad might have to prepare themselves for another day of spectating.

South Africa squad Graeme Smith (capt), Herschelle Gibbs, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, JP Duminy, Vaughn van Jaarsveld, Mark Boucher (wk), Roelof van der Merwe, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Johan Botha, Dale Steyn, Wayne Parnell, Makhaya Ntini.

Australia have added the Victorian Shane Harwood to their squad for this match, calling him over from the Rajasthan Royals' camp and he may edge out Ben Laughlin in the starting line-up. Harwood, 35, played Australia's two Twenty20 internationals late last month in South Africa before being sent home. Brett Lee and Stuart Clark will both be in South Africa when the match is played but neither will come into contention. Lee is training there with his IPL side and doesn't officially join the ODI squad until the series in the UAE, while Clark will have only just arrived. Clark will meet the squad in Johannesburg ahead of Friday's fifth and final one-day international.


Australia squad Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin (wk), Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Hussey, David Hussey, Callum Ferguson, Marcus North, James Hopes, Cameron White, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Hauritz, Stuart Clark, Nathan Bracken, Shane Harwood, Ben Laughlin.






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Australia in South Africa: 3rd One Day: Review

South Africa powered to yet another victory after they beat the touring Australians by 25 runs in the third match of the five match one day series. South Africa now lead the series 2-1. Earlier South Africa won the toss and elected to bat first on what looked like a slow and dry wicket. Australian quickies made a good start as they restricted Smith and Gibbs from scoring big runs. The first South African wicket came at the expense of Smith in the 7th over caught behind to Johnson. South Africa were 28-1 in 6.2 overs.


Playing his 289th match and with piles of runs,ten thousand plus, around his name South African all rounder Jacques Kallis joined Gibbs. The duo put together a partnership of just 22 off 48 balls before Gibbs lost his concentration and wicket to Johnson. He was caught behind by Haddin. Johnson was the pick of the bowlers until then with figures of 5 overs 2 maidens and just 7 runs for his 2 scalps. In the company of AB De velliers, Kallis cruised the sinking South African ship past the 100 mark.

Kallis suddenly uped the anti and powered South Africa past the 150 scoring almost at a run a ball. De velliers also played some excellent shots. The duo added 114 off a 124 balls before Kallis(70) pulled a short delivery straight into the hands of Hopes fielding at midwicket. A surprise scalp for Brett Geeves. 34 runs later De velliers(80) lost his wicket to a leading edge skier comfortably held by Hauritz at extra cover saw South Africa at 198-4 in the 41st over, just when South Africa had called the batting power play. Duminy(32) in partnership with Albie Morkel added 32 runs in 20 balls before he was held in the covers trying to make the best use of the powerplay.

Morkel (29) and Boucher(28) added 53 in 5 overs to take South Africa to 283 before Morkel lost his off stump to Johnson. Merwe scored a six off the remaining 4 balls as South Africa reached a score of 289 for 6 at the end of 50 overs. Johnson was the stand out bowler for his effort of 4-34 in his 10 overs.


Australia started off cautiously, both Clarke and Haddin played defensive shots to keep wickets intact as Steyn and Parnell whizzed past their outside edges quite a number of times. Haddin scored 15 off 34 balls before he was out run out by Duminy in what was a quick single.

Ponting joined Clarke with Australia at 30-1 in 9.4 overs. Ponting played cautiously but also dismissed the bad balls to the boundary with confidence. Clarke picked up his strike rate as the duo took Australia past the 50 in 15 overs. It looked like a strategy by South Africa to bowl at the legs of Ponting as the spinner Botha bowled quite a few deliveries on the legs of the batsman. Ponting eventually lost his cool as he tried to force a shot coming down the track popping a simple catch to Botha. He was out for 20 leaving Australia at 66-2 in 17.5 overs. Van De Marwe was called into the attack and immediately he picked Clarke out bowled to a classical left arm spinner delivery. It pitched and turn.

Micheal Hussey then lost his wicket LBW to merwe as Australia received their 4th blow at the score of 83. It was all spin, Duminy in his first over picked the in-form David Hussey caught at long on. Australia(114-5, 30.2 Overs) never looked like getting home with the last recognized pair of Ferguson and Hopes at the crease still requiring 176 off 118 balls.

Both the batsman stitched together a decent partnership and mixed caution with aggression to take Australia past the 200 run mark. 45th over of the match, Fergusson(63) lost his wicket to van de merwe caught by Develliers at long on. Johnson(9) soon followed out run out to a combination of Duminy and Boucher. All door were shut as Hopes finished not out leaving Australia 25 runs short off target.

Kallis was declared man of the match for his all round performance with the bat and the ball. It was the spinner who made the difference, Botha and Duminy kept things tight, while Van de Merwe chipped in with 3 wickets. With Spinners doing well, South Africa now look a complete side, a team that can win in any condition. The next match will be played at centurion on the 13th of April.

Do Join me then for more updates, news, previews and reviews.





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Test Cricket: Wisden Test XI for 2008

If the world wasn't surprised by India making inroads into the test arena, The latest announcement of the Wisden test XI brings in more surprises. Five Indians make it to the list of 11 test cricketers in the WISDEN TEST XI FOR 2008. When i read the news story in the news papers this morning, I was happy to see the inclusion of five indians but had to raise a few eyebrows about the selection of few other players. Taking a look at the team for the second time makes me realize that the selection is based on the batting order in which they line up. Each one of them has been the best in the world throughout the year 2008 for their respective teams.. Read on as we discuss the team and the players..



THE WISDEN TEST XI OF 2008
Opening the batting for the Wisden Test XI will be the dashing Indian opener Virender Sehwag who with his batting skills overshadowed all the critics in 2008. The man has already scored two triple hundreds and 9 out of 10 test centuries over the score of 150. The aggresion that he brings into the team and the rate at which he scores his runs put team India in winning situations more often than not. No wonder he became the obvious choice for No.1 spot in the batting order.

At No. 2 is the South African captain Graeme Smith. He played some courageous knocks over the last year. Who can forget the scene of watching him walk on to the pitch on the last day of the Adelaide test bandaged all around his body. Smith walked into batting with a fractured rib and broken right hand to help his team save the last test. South Africa lost the test, but won the series 2-1. Smith won more accolades than ever for his effort with the bat thro the series. He led the South African team to the number one spot in both Test and one day rankings, therefore deserves his spot at no.2 in this team.

Most important position in any batting order is no.3. This one went to the Austrlian Captian Ricky Ponting. Not in the best of form with the bat through 2008, and with his captaincy over the year, Ricky took the suprise third spot in this team. Gautam Gambhir who scored over 1100 runs in the last year with an average of above 70 could have been an ideal choice for this spot, but like i said, the choices are depending on where these batsman and bowlers play in their respective teams.. Given that no other No.3 batsman around the world did better than Ricky Ponting in the test side, Ricky won this spot hands down.

At No.4 is the Little master, Sachin Tendulkar. He has played well through out the year and has been one of the success stories for India's run through the test arena over the last year. Known to trouble the opposition by his batting, Sachin Tendulkar spelled disaster for the kiwi side as he picked some quick wickets in the last inning of the last test match in the recently concluded test series in new Zealand which India won 1-0. The man does magic with both ball and bat, If there was a vacant spot for No.4 in this team, Sachin Tendulkar should be the obvious choice.

The costliest player os season 2 of the Indian premier League (IPL), Kevein Peitersen takes the surprise No.5 spot in the team. If i thought the team was picked based on the regular batting order, this proves me wrong. My personal choice for this spot would have been Austrlian batsman Micheal Hussey or South African new-born JP Duminy. Both these players have proved to be the success stories for their sides during the last year. Not to forget Jesse Ryder, he could have well made to this team had he played more games during the season.

Only west Indian to make it to the side this time is Shivanarain Chanderpaul at No.6. If West Indies has done well in the test series in 2008 it's because of this man and Ramnaresh Sarwan. Chanderpaul makes the cut for his witty style of batting and his ability to change gears at will.

No prizes for guessing who should be the captain of this team. Team India captain Mahinder Singh Dhoni has been named the captain of his side for his consistent performance with the bat and his ability as a captain. Ex-Cricketers from around the world are all accolades for Dhoni and his style of leading the team. If ever there was a reason for India's success in 2008, Dhoni is just one of them. Dhoni has been slated to bat at No.7 for the Wisden Test XI.


Fourth Indian on the list and at no.8 in this team is Harbhajan Singh. Having picked 16 wickets, most by a bowler in the recent test series against New Zealand Harbhajan becomes the lone spinner in this wisden XI. I can't think of any other spinner who has out done Harbhajan in the wickets department. He bats at No.8 in this side.

Mitchell Johnson leads the Australian pace bowling attack in the absence of Brett Lee. The Australian-Slinger as they call him has picked wickets consistently through 2008 and has been the only bowler to stand out with performances in the absence of the experienced bowlers. His ability with the bat puts him at No.9.

At. No.10 is the South African quickie Dale Steyn. A reason for South Africa's success in Australia. Dale Steyn picked up crucial wickets even on the flattest of batting tracks all through 2008. His recent 4 for in the second one day against Australia who were at one stage 20 for 5 finds the 10th spot in the Wisden XI.

The last spot in the team, and a well deserved one goes to Zaheer Khan of India. Zaheer has never looked back since his comeback to the team in 2006. Three years after his comeback Zaheer continues to bowl with the same pace and accuracy, only spilling more poison into every delivery. If Ishant Sharma has been a revelation for team India, Zaheer has been the man who's led him from the front. Zaheer takes the most deserving 11th spot in the team.

The 12th man was not announced, But my choice would simply have been Gautam Gambhir who has remained consistent through out the year and has continued to show his skills with both offensive and defensive style of batting.





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IPL 2: Shilpa Shetty : New Owner.. New Cheerleader.. New Begining

Shilpa Shetty, The hot young bollywood actress who now is a 12 percent stake holder in Rajasthan Royals, the champions of the inagural season of the IPL, will be hoping for a repeat performace form the side as the first batch of 9 players arrived in Johanesburg. This bacth includes Mohammed Kaif, Yusuf Pathan and Ravindra Jadeja who expressed that sentiment before departing for South Africa for the second edition of the IPL. Both Kaif and Yusuf agreed that the pressure would obviously be there because of their fairy-tale like victory in the inaugural season last year.



Kaif said that they will have to treat the tournament as a new beginning to nullify all the pressure that is upon them as defending champions. "It will be a fresh start because last year we played in India, the conditions suited our bowlers and the batsmen and fielders supported them well," Kaif said. "But this is a new start." Adapting to foreign conditions will be another key factor to the team and kaif agreed as he indicated that the bounce and pace of wickets in South Africa are not the same as they are in India.

South Africa has always hosted good batting tracks which also has good pace and bounce for the bowlers which helps keep the match alive. SA had successfully hosted the inaugural season of the T20 world championships 2 years back and none of the matches could be called low scoring. The only thing that the teams will be missing thsi time around is the local support, but what we see from watching the current matches between SA and Australia, the crowd support is very high and there are one or two Indian flags amongst the crowd, always. If not for the players, the spectators may flood the stadiums to catch Shah Rukh Khan, Priety Zinta, Shilpa Shetty in action :P

The presence of Smith in the team will help the team in performance. Smith brings in experience playing on South African conditions and the form that he carries playing host to the Australian team now. He will also be assisting Shane Warne as the vice captain of the team and the addition of Tyron Henderson will give the additional boost. However the team will miss the services of Pakistan fast bowler Sohail Tanvir who played a major part in the win last year both with the bat and the ball. The Pakistan Player contracts were suspended after the refusal of the Pakistan cricket board to participate in the IPL following the attack in Mumbai.

"We are going to miss some key players: Tanvir did really well last season and his four overs were something special every game," Kaif said. "Kamran Akmal did his job well whenever given the chance, both behind the stumps and with the bat. We have some new players this season so I'm looking forward to meeting the entire squad."


Yusuf said Tanvir was just one of the building blocks of Rajasthan's success and this year the team would need to move ahead in his absence. "Having won the championship will help us," Kaif said. "That and the youngsters having done well last season will also help. That was the secret to our success. In this format the opposition will look for the new players they don't know about and that helped last year for us." Jadeja, who hit headlines with his power cameos last year, said the responsibility is now on players like him to remain consistent. "The key player will be that one who will start well, remain consistent and then perform well in the main games as the tournament progresses."

Addition of Shipla Shetty will add to the glamor quotient and the players will want to perform really well to receive hugs and kisses from their owner, specially after they saw Priety Zinta throw a few at her players in the last season :P Jokes apart, There will be battles fought both on and off the field as to which team has the best looking owner this season :P





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India in NewZealand: Dhoni Speaks : Team India celebrates the test series win

"Of course it is a bit disappointing not to win this Test," captain MS Dhoni said. India's disappointment was evident at not winning the Test, despite a charismatic spell of legspin bowling from Sachin Tendulkar, who combined really well with Harbhajan Singh. Harbhajan, with 16 wickets, ended as the highest wicket-taker in the series. The smiles on the faces of the seniors said it all, "I have come here 3 times and I'm happy we finally won" said Rahul Dravid.

The only disappointment was when the series came to an end in a rain affected match. There was no running for the stumps for souvenirs, There was No high fives and group hugs.. There was no grabbing the Indian Flag and taking the victory lap.. History only creeped in slowly.. 2-0 or 1-0 Dhoni and his men were given the task of getting back home with series win and that is what they are coming back with.


But the obvious question was whether India brought it upon themselves by declaring too late, despite having known the forecast for rain. India were 531 ahead when they started the fourth day, but batted on for half a session. India perhaps didn't want to leave anything to chance after having come so close. "You can't really bank on the weather," Dhoni said. A lot has been said about Dhoni and his delayed declaration in media, but the only answer to silence this attack is with a smile and the trophy in the hand and that is what Dhoni did as he posed for photographs after the press conference.

"What we wanted to do in the second innings was to attack, attack and attack so that even if one ball goes in the air, you want a fielder to catch it. That's only possible when you have the extra 70-80 runs. You don't want to change your plan, whatever position you are in. With two days of play, we knew it may rain, but at that point of time, it was not certain. With the amount of wind that goes around, there was a very good chance that the clouds would have been blown away also." He added. The safety-first approach highlighted India's lack of success overseas. The value of this win was immense and its enormity is beginning to be understood. "It's a fantastic atmosphere [in the dressing room], can't get better," Dhoni said.

"We have set the benchmark," Dhoni said. "Next time when we come to New Zealand, people expect you to win. You have achieved something that's big, but the tough part is to maintain it, to sustain it. It never gets easy for a cricketer. If you have not achieved something, there's pressure on you to achieve it. Once you have achieved it, there is pressure to sustain it. Nothing comes easy, it will be tougher for the guys who come on the next tour."

Criticism: This is the worst NZ side of the past, the wickets were flat and suited the Indians. The absence of Shane Bod and other experienced players has affected the way the Kiwis perform. That probably signifies the reason for Kiwi's at no.8 in the test rankings. India on the other hand had every single person in the team in supreme form which was not when the team toured in the past. In the past the wickets were lively and Indians found it tough to stay on the wicket. It would have been bad for Indian cricket if they had not won on this easy paced tracks.


"Contributions came when they were needed," he said. "Wickets were on the flatter side, there wasn't much in it for the bowlers, so they have to keep on changing their plans and improvising at times. The same applied with the batsmen as well. Overall, the effort by the bowlers was really great, and the lower-order contribution is very important because that really takes the morale of the team up. Whenever it was really needed from them, the lower-order contributed.

"We didn't rely on one specific individual, everybody contributed. Each and every batsman scored at some point in the series and the same applies to the bowlers also. At times, there was one end, which was not favoring the seamers, maybe because of the wind or not much help from the wicket. Still, bowling your heart out from that end, you really need quite a determined body and mind to do that. Quite happy with the performance overall."

No matter what team India has achieved in terms of performance and criticism, They come back with a series win, and a tough 41 year record off their backs. This is not the first time this team has had records off their backs, here are some list of the 'First's' that India achieved in the last months (If i can recall)

1st ever CB Series win in Austrlia
1st Series win in South Africa
1st Clean sweep of 5-0 against England
Highest margin of victory of 300 + runs over Australia
Highest run chase of 342 runs in the last innings to win a test match
1st one day series win in NewZealnd soil
1st test series win in NZ after 41 years
1st one day series win in west Indies
And many other such records.

Talking about records, Rahul Dravid now holds the record of highest number of catches taken by any cricketer around the world. Every run that Sachin Tendulkar scores is a record in itself. He scored some fantastic fifties and hundreds throughout the tour. Sehwag showed his form with the bat in the one day series, Gambhir did it during the tests. Dhoni and Laxman contributed with the bat. Harbhajan took 16 wickets, highest in the series and scored a match winning 60 in the last test. Zaheer chippe in with the bat and the ball. Only disappointments for India would have been the form of Ishant Sharma and Yuvraj Singh. Third Seamer Munaf patel did well but needed t step up his game to help India dominate the matches.

with almost no test cricket for India until December 09 in Bangladesh, Team India will be hoping to find some fresh talent and more importantly a bowling all rounder to complete the test side. The players are now headed home, and after spending sometime with their families they will be off to South Africa for IPL followed by their visit to England for the world Twenty20.

All player Statements courtesy CricInfo






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India in NewZealand: 3rd Test : Review

41 years after a Indian side won a test series in New Zealand, Dhoni and his men have succesfully put records on their back and have rewritten history by winning the current series against New Zealand 1-0. It could easily have been 2-0 if the last session wouldn't have been washed out by rain. No more a few drops of rain, it's certainly become a drizzle. The umpires signalled the groundsmen to get into their job and the players start walking off. Vettori walked off the field with a sigh of relief on his face as the Indian players looked reluctantly at the sky.

15 minutes later the umpires walked on to the field, when players should not have left the field one would imagine. It was misty and overcast at that moment but it didn't rain. The umpires waited for the weather to clear, but much to the local team's happiness the rain became heavier and the umpires were forced to walk off the field again. There was a strong wind blowing across the ground, India's only hope one would say. It got heavier and heavier and the umpires were forced to call off the play. The match ended as a No result for the teams, but Indian players celebrated the 1-0 win.



New Zealand were 281 for 8 when rain stopped play. India's chances of winning the series 2-0 looked slim as James Franklin and Ross Taylor played the first session of the final day with ease. Pace bowlers Zaheer Khan and Ishant sharma bowled their heart's out, but there was no swing. Harbhajan Singh brought the first break through of the day picking Ross Taylor for 105 out bowled. It was bowled from around the wicket, Ross taylor was defeated by the drift on the full length ball which hit the middle stump to take his wicket. McCullum and Franklin continued defending the Indian bowlers as the NZ hopes of playing put til the rain intervention rised. The rain was quite evident and was forcasted for much earlier in the day.

It took 76 overs for captain MS Dhoni to hand the ball to Sachin Tendulkar who picked surprise 2 wickets just before lunch on the final day . He picked McCullum to a classical Leg spinner delivery, forcing the batsman into the bludgeoned drive which took the outside edge of the bat offering easy catch for Rahul Dravid at slip. Franklin was out LBW to a full straight delivery from Sachin. NZ left the field with 250 + for 7 at lunch. It was a 45 minuted break and the Indian players prayed and hoped the rain stayed away for that time. The rain clouds were thick and heavy as the play resumed after lunch. Harbhajan picked up Tim southee almost immediately after lunch caught behind to MS Dhoni. Daniel vettori at the other end hoping for rain and interventions. NZ batted out 5 more overs before the rain gods finally answered the NZ players wish for the rain.

Earlier in the match NZ won the toss and put India into bat on what looked like a hard and good pitch to bat on. Captain MS Dhoni joined the team after recovering from a back spasm replacing his counter part Dinesh Karthick. NZ brought back Tim Southee after his consistent performances in the domestic tournaments. Much to everyones surprise Sehwag played some defensive shots in what looked like a sensible knock from him and Gambhir. The duo put on 73 for the first wicket before Sehwag edged a good length delivery to McIntosh waiting at first slip off the bowling of Obrein. Gambhir followed soon out LBW to franklin as India were left tottering at 75 for 2. Sachin and Dravid put a good partnership, before Sachin was out caught by McCullum off the bowling of Martin.



Laxman lost his wicket playing a useless shot handing a simple catch to McIntosh at slips while Yuvraj singh continued his poor form as he lost his wicket for a score off 9 out lbw to Jesse Ryder. A lot was said and spoken about the decision and the way the umpire reacted, but neverthless replays confirmed that Yuvraj was given out lbw which was considered a valid decision. 20 runs later it was Rahul Dravid leaving India at 204/6 with NZ into the tail. Harbhajan Singh a good innings of 60 in partnership with Dhoni(52) to take India past the 275 mark. Contributions from Zaheer (33), Ishant(18), Munaf(15) took India to a respectable and match winnig total of 379.

It was early in the morning as the NZ openers walked into the middle with Zaheer with the ball in the hand and swing very much there. The Indian Pacer Zaheer Khan got his carrer's 6th five-for as the Indian seamers broke into the NZ batting dismissing the team all out for 197. Harbhajan chipped in with three wickets, but the man of the moment was Zaheer Khan. NZ avoided the follow on and India were forced to come out to bat with a lead of 182 on board and three days left to play.

India batted out the third day completely dominating the NZ bowlers who without swing looked like school boys bowling practice balls to the Indian batsman. Gambhir(167) got his second hundred of the series only this time it came at a strike rate of 65 as against 32 in his previous hundred during the second test match at napier. Rahul Dravid, laxman and Dhoni chipped in with fifties to their names as India declared the innings at 434 for 7 early in the fourth day with an overall lead of 616. A late decision as one may call it, but with two days left and the track still looking good for batting India didn't want to take chances and made sure they batted NZ completely out of the game.

A target of 617 looked a tall order for the NZ batsman and all they could do is to play out 6 sessions, just like India played out the second test match. They needed a gambhir style innings from one of their top order batsman. NZ Started off cautiously and played cautiously thro the rest of the day. NZ ended the day at 160 for 4 with a day remaining and positive chances of rain. NZ were surprisingly welcomed by bright sunshine but the chances of rain during the afternoon were quite high and so it happened. The rest is history.






India managed to put another history behind them as Dhoni and his men lifted the trophy. Dhoni has proved to be the best captain after having won both the One day and the Test series in NZ, but if you could call this luck or just plain captaincy, the Indians were treated to home like conditions on most of the pitches they played on. Dead batting tracks, with a batting order that India carries and new young bowlers on the NZ side a win was always on the cards. It was not anywhere close to what India faced 8 years back when on the same ground India lost a test match to NZ in less than 2 days when fast bowler Shane bond rattled the Indians with good swing bowling. If not for the form of Zaheer and Ishant, Indians could have received the same treatment from NZ, by giving good batting tracks NZ played the series into NZ hand's.

India will now be seen defending their world T20 title at the world championships in England starting June 5 2009. The players however will be hoping to practice hard playing the season 2 of the IPL staring April 18th in South Africa.

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Kunal Janu

PS: I personally apologize to people who have been on this blog looking for reviews on the current WI-Eng encounter and the Aus-SA encounters. I have been just too busy to post anything, or even watch the match.
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Australia in South Africa: 2nd One Day: Review

April 5, 2009 Sunday: Open-ing bowlers Dale Steyn and Wayne Parnell produced devastating performances as South Africa bounced back with a convincing seven-wicket victory in the second one-day international against Australia at Centurion Park here on Sunday. Australia were bowled out for 131 after their top order batsmen were blown away by Steyn and the teenaged Parnell. South Africa needed just 26.2 overs to level the five-match series after being beaten by 141 runs in the opening clash in Durban on Friday.



Australia crashed to 19 for five before Callum Ferguson led a partial recovery, making 50. Steyn took four for 27 and the leftarmed Parnell, 19, claimed four for 25 in his second one-day international. Steyn started the slide when he bowled Brad Haddin off an inside edge with the sixth ball of the match. Australian captain Ricky Ponting hit the first ball he faced from Steyn for six but made only two more runs before edging a drive against Parnell to wicketkeeper Mark Boucher.


Man-of-the-match Parnell dismissed Michael Clarke and Mike Hussey leg before wicket with full deliveries that swung late and had figures of three for three after four overs, while Steyn had David Hussey caught behind. Ferguson and Mitchell Johnson put on 63 off 107 balls for the seventh wicket in the only substantial partnership of the innings before Johnson was deceived by a doosra from off-spinner Johan Botha.

Ferguson made 50 off 83 balls before falling to a vicious lifter from Steyn in the fast bowler’s second spell, gloving a catch to backward point.





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Kunal Janu

PS: I personally apologize to people who were looking for a more detailed post. I have no time to what so ever publish my thoughts on the game. This post is courtesy Deccan Chronicle.
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F1: Race 2 : It's Button Again

April 5, 2009 Sunday: Britain’s Jenson But-ton splashed to victory in a chaotic, rain-shortened Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday for his second triumph in two races for the new Brawn GP team. Half points were awarded for only the fifth time in Formula One history because only 32 of the scheduled 56 laps had been completed before a torrential downpour turned the track into a lake. With thunderclaps and lightning streaking across the darkened Sepang skies, making driving conditions impossible even behind the safety car, the race was red-flagged and then abandoned. Button, who had again started from pole position after a Brawn one-two in the Australian season-opener last weekend, was leading behind the safety car when officials signalled the halt.



The Briton, who also won in Melbourne with the safety car deployed, had already made four pitstops in the changing conditions and was only third at the end of the opening lap after a slow start. “What a crazy race, it really was,” said the 29-year-old after some slippery podium celebrations. “I still haven’t seen the chequered flag (this season) without the safety car in front.

Germany’s Nick Heidfeld was second, for the eighth time in a so far winless career, for BMW-Sauber, with compatriot Timo Glock third for Toyota with the results based on the positions at the end of the 31st lap. Italian Jarno Trulli, who was third for Toyota in Melbourne, finished fourth ahead of Brawn’s Brazilian Rubens Barrichello and Red Bull’s Australian Mark Webber in sixth. McLaren’s world champion Lewis Hamilton, at the centre of a furore after he and his team were found to have deliberately misled stewards in Australia, was seventh while Germany’s Nico Rosberg collected half a point for Williams in eighth.

“All I could do was try and keep the car on the track,” said Hamilton.

Rosberg, who had warned earlier in the week that the late-starting race was likely to be halted by the weather before the scheduled twilight finish, had led the first 15 laps until he pitted. Champions Ferrari, still without a point from two races, had Brazilian Felipe Massa ninth and 2007 champion Kimi Raikkonen 14th after he changed to full wet tyres too early and paid a heavy price.There was confusion after the race was abandoned, with drivers awaiting the unlikely chance of a re-start while the clock ticked towards the twohour limit and the daylight faded. With Glock ahead of Heidfeld at the red flag, there was also uncertainty about the final podium positions.

“My engineer told me: ‘You are P2 (second place)’and then I came up here and I’m P3,” said a bemused Glock. “I’m fine with second,” replied Heidfeld.

SUTIL 17TH, FISICHELLA 18TH Force India’s experiment with extreme wet tyres fell flat on their face with Adrian Sutil finishing 17th and Giancarlo Fisichella 18th in the race.



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IPL 2: Team Preview :Chennai Super Kings

A team built around Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Chennai Super Kings now have a player by the name of Andrew Flintoff taking higher salary than the captain himself. Team Chennai Super Kings lost their only match of the tournament to end runners up in the inaugural season of the tournament. Mahendra Singh Dhoni who has already proven to be the best captain around the world, will be aiming for one better performance from the players to have his hands around the IPL trophy this year.



Andrew Flintoff is the second highest paid cricketer next to his fellow countrymen Pietersen, He will however be losing out on his full amount as he will be missing the last part of the tournament as the England team plays host to West indies for a return series. Mathew hayden having retired completely from International cricket has made Chennai his second home and will be available for the Full length of the tournament.

Hard Hitting all rounder Albie Morkel who is already proving to be the next Lance Klusner of South Africa if lives up to the reputation will leave some captains sobbing. Micheal Hussey has announced his willingness to go back home after the series with Pakistan in Abu Dhabi, leaving CSK a batsman less.Adding to team's firepower is NewZealand Monster Jacob Oram who is yet to fire this season. Muralitharan will lead the bowling attack, the man has already earned a reputation of a good T20 bowler. Flintoff bolsters the bowling while Sri Lankan left-armer Thilan Thushara could be the dark horse among the foreign recruits.

Chennai's third signing at the auction was Tasmanian batsman George Bailey, but he is unlikely to feature given the team has consistent performers in Suresh Raina and S Badrinath. Suresh Raina seems to be in blistering form and Badrinath has already scored a few hundreds in the domestic tournament.


Chennai Probable XI: 1 Matthew Hayden, 2 Michael Hussey/ S Vidyut, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), 5 S Badrinath 6 Albie Morkel, 7 Andrew Flintoff/ Jacob Oram/ Joginder Sharma, 8 Manpreet Gony, 9 L Balaji 10 Muttiah Muralitharan, 11 Makhaya Ntini/ P Amarnath.

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IPL 2: Team Preview : Rajasthan Royals

The inaugural season's champins Rajasthan Royals managed to work out a winning formulas under the guidance of shane Warne, and would expect to do the same this year too. The team may not have the big names in the squad but they proved that playing as a team and celebrating other players success is the winning formula. Fined for not spending enough money on the side, Emerging Media, team owners are hopeful of a repeat performance with new recruits in the likes of Shaun Tait and Tyron Henderson.


Their Indian players were not the best of the lot, but Warne turned them into a formidable unit, and found two highly successful foreign recruits in Sohail Tanvir and Shane Watson. Tanvir is unavailable and Watson doubtful due to Australia's schedule and fitness worries, but Rajasthan have found adequate replacements at the auction. Shaun Tait the tall fast bowler with slinging action from Australia is tailor made for Twenty20, and Tyron Henderson, one of the surprise picks at US$650,000, has proved his worth with skills in batting and bowling playing for MiddleSex. Yet to make international debut, Tyron will make his first international appearance courtesy Rajasthan Royals.

It will be a tall order to match Watson's heroics from last season, but Henderson is an impact player in this format. The team will also be boosted by the availability of Morne Morkel and Justin Langer. Both had to miss the inaugural edition due to commitments to the specific counties..Dimitri Mascarenhaus will only make Rajasthan a stronger side. Yusuf Pathan made his way into the national side courtesy his power hitting and match winning performances. Mohammed kaif, Munaf patel and the likes of Ravindra Jadeja will have to play out of their skins to impress the national selectors. The big doubt however lies over the availability of Graeme smith who is expected to have a surgery post the current South Africa - Australia series. One other important person missing in the team is Kamran Akmal.

Rajasthan Royals play their first match of this season on April 18th against the Bangalore Royal Challengers. for Full match schedules go here: IPL 2 Schedule

Both Kamran Akmal and Sohail tanvir's contract has been suspended, which means they cannot be picked by any other team for a contract period of 2 years. Both players are serving their second year of the contract. If they were terminated, they would have been available for transfer to other teams. Currently all contracts with the Pakistani players stand suspended immaterial of the team they belong to.


The Rajasthan Royal Squad:
Graeme Smith, Niraj Patel, Justin Langer, Swapnil Asnodkar, Mohammad Kaif, Shane Watson, Tyron Henderson, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Mahesh Rawat (wk), Shane Warne, Shaun Tait, Morne Morkel, Siddharth Trivedi, Munaf Patel.

Playing XI that i assume will be used for the matches:
1 Graeme Smith/ Niraj Patel/ Justin Langer, 2 Swapnil Asnodkar, 3 Mohammad Kaif, 4 Shane Watson/ Tyron Henderson/ Dimitri Mascarenhas, 5 Yusuf Pathan, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Mahesh Rawat (wk),8 Shane Warne, 9 Shaun Tait/ Morne Morkel, 10 Siddharth Trivedi, 11 Munaf Patel.

Do Join me later for more previews and Team news following the IPl Season 2 starting in South Africa on April 18 2009.

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IPL 2: Hussey backs out of the IPL

Many Australian players have decided to withdraw from this year's IPL, one who has lately joined the list is Micheal Hussey. He will not participate this year in an effort to regain lost form before the Ashes. Hussey is one of only two Australians, along with Brad Haddin, to have played in all 12 Tests and 10 one-day internationals since last year's tour of India, and was due to join the Chennai Super Kings after the limited-overs series against Pakistan next month. He has now decided to take a breather spending time with family in perth.


Hussey has been instrumental in a number of victories for Australia, and the Chennai Super Kings. In the IPL's inaugural season, Hussey posted the tournament's third highest score (116 not out) and the fourth highest batting average (84.00) in his four-game stint for the Super Kings. But he has struggled for form of late, averaging just 23.00 in eight Tests since the start of the Australian summer.

Hussey believes that his contribution with the bat in the Ashes will be more important than him playing in the IPL. Hussey will lose out on over 5 million dollars having made this decision and he doesn't regret the decision. He believes in practicing harder and peaking in form will be of top priority before the ashes. Hussey could have traveled to South Africa for the last fortnight of the IPL, but will instead follow the lead of his national captain, Ricky Ponting, in standing down from the tournament. Mitchell Johnson and Michael Clarke did not nominate for the 2009 IPL auction, citing their desire to focus on international cricket.

In addition to the IPL, he is also believed to be considering standing down from Australia's six matches against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates as he seeks to rejuvenate both body and mind. He will play the one-day series in South Africa, which begins in Durban on Tonight.


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England In West Indies: 5th ODI Preview : Match on

With the series hanging in balance at 2-2, the decider one day between England and West Indies was still in doubt. The West Indies Cricket Board had been locked in crisis talks with the Players' Association, with the threat looming, not only of a boycott of Friday's fixture, but - going forward - a mass withdrawal from the tour of England which commences later this month, and clashes head-on with the lucrative Indian Premier League. Chris Gayle in a statement with the media cleared all doubts, "The Final ODI will be played at St.Lucia" said Gayle.


West Indies would have had to make 11 team changes if the controversy wouldn't have ended. Thanks to the decision by the players, it was down to only one. Tall, Left arm Orthodox bowler Suleman Benn has been named in the playing 11 in place of Nikita Miller who hurt his back trying to smash the ball out of the ground off a free hit during the last match. His omission was something of a surprise to England, given his starring role in the Jamaica Test victory, as well as two Twenty20 triumphs, starting with the Stanford Superstars in Antigua last year.

West Indies Playing 11: 1 Chris Gayle (capt), 2 Lendl Simmons, 3 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 4 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Dwayne Bravo, 7 Darren Sammy, 8 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 9 Lionel Baker, 10 Sulieman Benn, 11 Fidel Edwards.

As for england, there couldn't have been a possible change, their bowlers did well in the last match, the batsman have been doing well. Pietersen and Flintoff will play in the final ODI, after doubts were raised of whether they would be fit as both were nursing injuries on the hands. Pietersen was forced to leave the field after the injury while Flintoff require heavy strapping to continue in the match. Scans revealed no fractures or significant damages to the fingers allowing them to be a part of the series decider.

England 11 (Which hopefully will eb unchanged) 1 Ravi Bopara, 2 Andrew Strauss (capt), 3 Kevin Pietersen, 4 Owais Shah, 5 Paul Collingwood, 6 Andrew Flintoff, 7 Matt Prior (wk), 8 Dimitri Mascarenhas, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 Steve Harmison, 11 James Anderson.


It's been an exciting series so far. WI could have led the England team in the sixes department with a score of 23-3, but thanks to complex logic of the Duckworth Lewis England managed a win in the second match after rain forced play to abandon the match. The series is tied at 2-2 and if the weather stays good, we should have a exciting finish with both teams playing for reputation over the other. Do join me for review later this week.

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Australia in South Africa: 1st One Day: Preview

South Africa will try to retain their first spot in the ICC ODI Rankings by winning the 5 match one day series against Australia starting today. Australia conceded their first spot to South Africa after they lost both the one day and the test series in the host series prior to this tour. Australia came out strong in the test series and regained the first spot in the rankings for Test's. It just seems that every time these two teams go head to head, the No. 1 Ranking is always up for grabs.



South Africa took the top ODI spot thanks to their 4-1 victory in Australia in January but to retain their new status they need to stop Australia winning this five-game series.Captain Graeme Smith will return after a injury to the right hand, while all rounder Jaques Kallis will miss the first match because of a groin injury. He should however return to the team in the second one-day on Sunday. Morne Morkel and Makhaya Ntini have been added after being rested for the Twenty20s, while Yusuf Abdulla, Robin Peterson, Justin Ontong and Johann Louw were the Twenty20 squad members to make way. South Africa couldn't find a place for Vaughn van Jaarsveld, Roelof van der Merwe or Wayne Parnell in the starting line-up.

South Africa Starting line-up for the first one day: South Africa 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Herschelle Gibbs, 3 Hashim Amla, 4 AB de Villiers, 5 JP Duminy, 6 Mark Boucher (wk), 7 Albie Morkel, 8 Morne Morkel, 9 Johan Botha, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Makhaya Ntini.

For Australia, Shane Harwood and David Warner have flown home after the Twenty20 matches. It was a shocker when Philip Hughes was not named as the part of the squad, even after his aggressive debut in the tests. Australia will rely on their opening pair of Micheal Clarke and Brad Haddin. Ponting believes the key to their success in the one-day series will be the bowling of Nathan Bracken. He was hit for 44 runs off his four overs in the second T20 match. Ben Laughli, a carpenter by profession made a paccy debut in the T20 matches and will be hoping for a debut int he one day matches. He is nippy and exciting to watch. Australia have not named the playing XI so far.

Australia squad: Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin (wk), Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Hussey, David Hussey, Callum Ferguson, Marcus North, James Hopes, Cameron White, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Hauritz, Brett Geeves, Nathan Bracken, Ben Laughlin.


End of this series ends a fascinating summer between the two sides. This will be the last chance for the South African player to prove their potential as South Africa at the end of this series play no International Cricket till October except the World T20 Championship, and the Champions Trophy in September. The Australians on the other hand will head straight to Abu-Dhabi for a 5 match one day series against Pakistan. The venue was shifted to Abu-Dhabi after concerns over player security in Pakistan, this decision was however taken well before the terrorist attacks on SriLankan cricketers earlier this year.

Match starts 6PM IST.

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India in NewZealand: 3rd Test : Team News

Faced with a must-win situation to level the series and salvage pride, New Zealand captain Daniel vettori will be hopeful of a better performance from the side after losing momentum in the middle of the second test match at Napier. For India, Dhoni has been slated to be part of the team, however this decision still hangs in balance after the team management announced that the final decision will only be taken on the first morning of the match. For New Zealand, Injured Daniel Flynn returns, Tim Southee has also been recalled.


The Conditions and the pitch will assist the faster bowlers. NZ have named additional fast bowler, Tim Southee in their 13 man squad for the third test at wellington to be played on April 3rd 2009. The 13 man squad also includes Daniel Flynn who returned to the side after sustaining a injury on the left hand during the second test. Jamie How, who played in the place of Daniel Flynn has also been named in the squad as cover player for Flynn. Addition of Southee could spell his return to the test squad having not played since the Adelaide test against Australia in December. Southee however made an appearance during the christchurch ODI where he was hit for over 100 runs in his ten overs courtesy Virender Sehwag. His return however is marked by consistent performances in the domestic tournaments. Catain Daniel Vettori will hope for a repeat performance from his batsman as they face up against what proved to be a strong batting line-up from India.

A lot will however depend on the opening batsman from both the sides. For India, Gautam Gambhir displayed a full range of defensive strokes in his innings of 137 to save the second test match. Virender Sehwag will be looking to settle down before he displayed his full range of strokes against the kiwi bowlers. For NZ, Martin Guptill and Tim McIntosh will need to build a bigger and a better partnership to give Jesse Ryder the kind of start he needs to build his innings on. Indian Bowlers on the other hand have to find a way to get Jesse Ryder out, The only way he's gotten out in the innings he's played so far is a stroke of lack of concentration, But all this came only after he'd scored big hundreds. India should also be looking to field better as they had a very bad outing on the field during the second test.

Zaheer and Ishant should be a handful given their ability to swing the ball even though most of the Kiwi batsmen have played a lot of cricket at this venue. Munaf Patel is the ideal third seamer in the Indian scheme of things.Though there was no official word on Dhoni’s fitness, the Indian captain looks set to wrest the reins after sufficient rest for his bad back, if his energetic practice sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday are any indication. It is evident that the skipper is eager to get another series win in his bulging bag.



Brendon McCullum on Conditions: “I think they (the Indians) will find it a little bit cold. If we find it cold here, no doubt they will be freezing. I am sure from their point of view they will be hoping that the wind dies down and the sun comes out but from ours, it will be great to have them on the park when the conditions are like this. I am sure we are going to find the conditions a little bit more pleasurable than they are,” he said on Wednesday.

“It’s usually a pretty good surface but depending on what the overhead conditions do over the next few days it will determine whether some moisture goes into it from those or whether it remains dry and plays as flat as it is predicted,” the 27year-old added. “We are more confident than we were after the Hamilton Test. It’s just the nature of how we competed in the last game and whilst we didn’t get the result, we should be a little bit wary about the confidence we do have,” he said.

Match telecast at 3.30 am IST on Friday.

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India in NewZealand: 3rd Test : India welcomed by cold and wet weather

Indians arrived at wellington with a indispensable lead of 1-0 and when they reached the gorund, Basin Reserve, two days before the test, there was a chill in the air and the skies overcast. The Temperature was at 10 degrees celcius and the winds blowing at around 30 kmph, 30 % of what Harbhajan bowls. The match hangs in the balance between weather and conditions more than how the teams line up. If there were tough conditions to play cricket on any where around the world, it's here at Basin reserve, Wellington, New Zealand in the month of April with the winter just strating to set in.



Having felt at home in the first 2 matches treated to Home like conditions, The Indian team will most likely find it difficult to face up with the swinging ball in the park. There is hardly any cover around the ground, the stands are grass lands with almost no height what-so-ever. A chill hangs in the air here and the Indians, so far in their comfort zone, will most likely find it difficult to negotiate the swinging ball on the park. They do not have a good record at the Basin either.

The last time they played a Test here, in 2002, the Indians were exposed, being bowled out for a mere 161 and 121 in the two innings as they lost the match by 10 wickets inside three days.

Only Rahul Dravid (76) and Sachin Tendulkar (51) could manage a half-century each in the match. However, Zaheer Khan had exploited the windy conditions very well to take a five-wicket haul. A similar show will be expected of him this time around as well. Ishant Sharma will test the NZ batsman with nippy bouncers and in swinging deliveries. That is if the weather holds good.

New Zealand have a pretty good record at this ground, having scripted massive victories — either by innings or 10 wickets. They have won three of the last five Tests played at the venue. Much is at stake as the hosts will be keen to keep their record at home against the Indians intact — India have not won a Test series in New Zealand since 1968. However, Dhoni and his men are determined to do it against the odds. It would take some application and courage though, to withstand the conditions. That the present Kiwi bowling line-up is not too penetrative and is sapped of strength having been put through the grind for 273.5 overs in Napier should work in visitors’ favor. But the Indians would do well to remember their collapse in the first innings of the second Test and not take the opposition lightly in surroundings that suit them.

The Weather looks good for the first 2 days with the Met department predicting sunny days on Thursday and Friday, weekends have been predicted cloudy. With the ground located at the base of the mountains, The chances of rain are simply unpredictable. Last time WI played NZ at this ground and most part of the match was washed out. A lot also depends on the wicket.It should offer a lot of bounce for the fast bowlers, the batsmen will be put through tough tests without doubt. But the Indians can draw confidence from the fact that five of their top six batsmen have scored at least a half-century in the Napier Test.



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