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/ 14 January 2008
Australia will hope to put the acrimony of recent days behind them as they chase a world record 17th straight Test win against India this week. Batsman Michael Clarke said the home team were ”keen as mustard” to get back on the field after the fall-out of the second Test in Sydney.
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/ 12 January 2008
Australian coach Tim Nielsen said one of the biggest issues facing his side as it prepared for the third Test against India at the Waca Ground was confronting the bitter fall-out from the controversial second Test in Sydney. The Australians have been subjected to accusations of poor sportsmanship, following their 122-run win over the Indians.
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/ 10 January 2008
India’s cricketers arrived in Canberra on Wednesday hoping to put the drama of the past week behind them and resume playing after being cleared to continue their troubled tour of Australia. The tour was suspended for two days when the Indian board ordered the players to remain in Sydney.
India resumed its cricket tour of Australia on Wednesday, arriving in Canberra two days behind schedule after the International Cricket Council brokered a peace settlement. The Indians are in the Australian capital for Thursday’s tour match against an Australian Capital Territory XI.
International cricket officials were on Monday night locked in intense negotiations to try to resurrect India’s tour of Australia after allegations of racism against one of the tourists’ leading players threatened to plunge the game into crisis. The Australians allege that Singh called Symonds a ”monkey” in a heated exchange during the second Test in Sydney.
Australia captain Ricky Ponting has been urged to hold peace talks with Indian skipper Anil Kumble to try and resolve the escalating crisis between their teams. Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland wants the rival captains to hold a private meeting to avert any threat of the tour being cancelled as tensions threaten to boil over.
Australia beat India by 122 runs in an amazing finish to the second test on Sunday to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and equal their own world record of 16 successive victories. Part-time spinner Michael Clarke captured three wickets in five deliveries to wrap up an incredible victory with just seven balls remaining after India looked to have done enough to salvage a draw.
Matthew Hayden scored his second century of the series on Saturday to equal Don Bradman’s career tally of 29 Test hundreds and provide Australia with a glimmer of hope of pressing ahead for victory over India in the second Test. The left-handed opener hit a stylish 123 to guide Australia to 282-4 at stumps in their second innings.
Sachin Tendulkar provided a masterful demonstration of batting to give India an unexpected but fully deserved lead in the second Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday. Tendulkar defied Australia’s bowling attack for almost seven hours, striking 14 boundaries and a six to chalk up his 38th Test hundred.
VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid evoked memories of two of India’s greatest comebacks with a scintillating 175-run partnership in the second Test against Australia on Thursday. Laxman smashed 109 and Dravid a watchful 53 to guide the tourists out of immediate danger to 216-3 at stumps on the second day at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Andrew Symonds smashed a breathtaking century in a record partnership with Brad Hogg to put Australia in control of the second Test against India on Wednesday. The powerful all-rounder demolished India’s bowling attack with an unbeaten 137 after Hogg made a vital 79 to steer Australia out of danger to 376-7 at stumps on the first day.
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/ 30 December 2007
Australian skipper Ricky Ponting says leg-spinner Brad Hogg will be a better and more confident bowler in Wednesday’s second cricket Test against India at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Hogg, singled out as a weakness by the Indian team before the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, responded with four match wickets.
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/ 29 December 2007
Australia thrashed India by 337 runs to win the opening Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series on the fourth day at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday. The Australians claimed their 15th consecutive Test victory and will look to equal their world record of 16 wins set from October 1999 to February 2001 in next week’s second Test.
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/ 28 December 2007
India will have to do what no other Test team has done before to come from behind and win the first cricket Test after Australia set them an historic run chase at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday. The Australians offered the Indians 499 runs to win with two days left after declaring their second innings at 351-7 late on the third day.
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/ 27 December 2007
Australia took a firm grip on the first Test after Stuart Clark and Brett Lee produced a sustained period of hostile and controlled pace bowling to bowl India out for 196 late on the second day on Thursday. Clark, who finished with an outstanding 4-28 off 15 overs, captured the valuable wickets of Sachin Tendulkar (62) and Rahul Dravid (four).
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/ 25 December 2007
India are considering playing two spinners to capitalise on their batting depth to pressure Australia in Wednesday’s opening match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, skipper Anil Kumble said onTuesday. Kumble said the team would be playing to their strengths and are contemplating using both spinners.
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/ 4 December 2007
Stand-in captain Younis Khan staved off a spin threat with a responsible century to help Pakistan draw the second Test against India on Tuesday. Younis scored an unbeaten 107 under pressure as Pakistan recovered from 78-4 to finish at 214-4 in their second innings chasing a stiff 345-run target off 81 overs on the fifth and final day.
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/ 4 December 2007
Former South Africa opening batsman Gary Kirsten has delayed taking over as India coach, saying he wants assurances from the players over the job. ”I have heard rumours about some senior players expressing their concern about my possible appointment and I would prefer to have clarity on that before I commit myself,” Kirsten said.
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/ 2 December 2007
Misbah-ul-Haq and Kamran Akmal scored battling hundreds to steer Pakistan to 358-6 against India on the third day of the second Test on Sunday. In-form Misbah, who struck 108 not out, and keeper-batsman Akmal, with 119, shared in a 207-run sixth-wicket stand after the visitors had lost four wickets in the morning session at Eden Gardens.
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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
Former South Africa batsman Gary Kirsten said on Tuesday he has been offered the job as India coach. ”They have offered me the job,” Kirsten said from Delhi. ”I asked them for some time to consider it and they were very obliging, but it’s an extremely exciting prospect and, provided a few details can be worked out, I’m looking forward to the challenge,” he said.
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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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/ 26 November 2007
Indian skipper Anil Kumble was delighted by the relentless pressure his team placed on Pakistan during their six-wicket victory in the first test on Monday. India eased to their fourth innings target of 203 on the final morning after dismissing Pakistan for below 250 in both innings at the Ferozshah Kotla ground.
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/ 23 November 2007
Venkatsai Laxman and Mahendra Singh Dhoni cracked responsible half-centuries to pull India out of trouble in the opening Test against Pakistan on Friday. The hosts had slipped from 71-1 to 93-5 in the space of seven overs before Dhoni (57) counter-attacked to put on 115 for the sixth wicket with Laxman on a day of fluctuating fortunes.
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/ 22 November 2007
Misbah-ul Haq struck a fighting 71 not out to rally Pakistan to 210-8 at the close on the opening day of the first Test against India on Thursday. Indian skipper Anil Kumble grabbed three wickets on his captaincy debut as the host bowlers dominated the first two sessions, reducing Pakistan to 142-8 at tea.
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/ 28 October 2007
An All Stars team containing some of the greatest names in world cricket was beaten in the final of the Hong Kong Sixes on Sunday by a team of little-known Sri Lankans. Over two days of carnival cricket, the All Stars — featuring captain Shane Warne, Brian Lara, Glenn McGrath and Anil Kumble — had produced explosive cricket.
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/ 27 October 2007
Cricketing greats Shane Warne, Brian Lara and Glenn McGrath on Saturday starred on the opening day of the Hong Kong Sixes — one of the sport’s most colourful tournaments. They led an All-Stars team competing in a weekend of quick-fire matches with innings of only five overs a side — a format that demands non-stop boundaries from the batsmen.
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/ 18 October 2007
Left-arm slow bowlers reaped rich harvest in the seven-match series between India and Australia, highlighted by Murali’s Kartik’s record-breaking performance in the final game in Mumbai. The 31-year-old Indian bowler scripted the team’s two-wicket consolation win in the day-night game on Wednesday with a haul of 6-27.
Skipper Graeme Smith and four other South Africans are among 10 current internationals to have signed up for the inaugural Indian Premier League (IPL) to be played next year, organisers said on Tuesday. Building on the national team’s Twenty20 World Cup triumph, the Indian cricket board is to launch its own multimillion-dollar professional Twenty20 league.