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/ 1 December 2007
Venkatsai Laxman and Sourav Ganguly hammered robust centuries to take India to a formidable total against Pakistan in the second Test on Saturday. Laxman scored an unbeaten 112 for his 11th Test hundred and left-handed Ganguly a solid 102 for his 14th, as India posted a mammoth 616-5 declared in their first innings after resuming at 352-3.
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/ 28 November 2007
Pakistan’s hopes of avoiding their first series loss in India in more than two decades suffered a setback following injuries and illness to key players ahead of Friday’s second Test in Kolkata. Pakistan were sweating over the fitness of paceman Shoaib Akhtar who was hospitalised on Tuesday due to a chest infection.
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/ 19 October 2007
A racism row has refused to go away in India where fans repeatedly taunted Australia’s only black player, tarnishing the country’s sporting image. Andrew Symonds was subjected to monkey chants from the crowd during the fifth game of seven in the India-Australia one-day series and booed and mocked in the final game in Mumbai on Wednesday.
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Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya and Australian paceman Glenn McGrath will be playing their last World Cup match on Saturday. The pair have been looking at their best, with left-handed opener Jayasuriya, a survivor of the 1996 World Cup-winning team, showing off his big-hitting in the early overs and McGrath displaying his disciplined pace and subtle variations.
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South Africa’s Graeme Smith on Wednesday confronts a riddle that no captain has so far unravelled — how to beat Ricky Ponting’s Australians in the World Cup. Smith has already failed once when his team were well beaten by Australia in a group match at St Kitts last month, but he hopes to be second-time lucky when the two sides clash in the semifinals.
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A Kevin Pietersen-inspired England kept their promise of winning the last World Cup match for coach Duncan Fletcher when they beat the West Indies by one wicket on Saturday. In-form Pietersen smashed a robust 100 and skipper Michael Vaughan regained form with a timely 79 as England surpassed their rivals’ total of 300 with one ball to spare.
Will Brian Lara be remembered as a batting genius in a declining West Indies cricketing era who was destined to court frustration with his team’s repeated failures? The debate will go on, but there is no denying that he was one of the best batsmen of the modern era who drew fans to the ground with his attractive and audacious stroke play.
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Struggling South Africa fast bowler Makhaya Ntini is battling to save his Caribbean World Cup dream. The 29-year-old was dropped from the team for the crucial Super Eights match against England in Bridgetown on Tuesday despite a Kensington Oval pitch having both pace and bounce.
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Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar conceded his team’s World Cup semifinal hopes are doomed after a four-wicket defeat against England in the Super Eights match in Bridgetown. ”Had we won today we’d be in the running for a semifinal place, but our chances are slim now,” said Bashar.
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Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar is looking forward to an improved all-round performance from his team in their World Cup Super Eights match against South Africa in Georgetown on Saturday. Graeme Smith’s side have already earned four points by beating Sri Lanka and debutants Ireland, while Bangladesh have yet to open their account.