India spinner Harbhajan Singh faces a charge of racial abuse against Australian player Andrew Symonds under the International Cricket Council’s code of conduct, the ICC said on Saturday. The citing follows an alleged incident during Friday’s third day of the second Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
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.
England fast bowling duo Sajid Mahmood and Simon Jones are among several Test cricketers set for on-screen roles in a new Bollywood movie about cricket. Victory is a film that charts the story of a boy fulfilling his dream of playing for India. Shooting will start this month in Australia.
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.
Australian Skipper Ricky Ponting says there is more pressure on India to win Wednesday’s second cricket Test than on his team to equal the record of most consecutive Test victories. Ponting on Tuesday had the luxury of naming an unchanged 12 for the second match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.
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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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/ 26 December 2007
Stuart Clark struck a body blow for Australia with two wickets, including the crucial wicket of Sachin Tendulkar, just before tea to leave India struggling at 122 for five on the second day of the first Test on Thursday. Tendulkar, who with Saurav Ganguly had been rebuilding India’s innings from 55 for three, chopped a delivery from Clark onto his stumps to be dismissed for 62.
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/ 19 December 2007
Australia’s bowlers backed up captain Ricky Ponting’s second successive one-day international century to lead their side to a 114-run win and series victory against New Zealand in Hobart on Thursday. Ponting, who made 107 not out in Australia’s seven-wicket victory in the first game in Adelaide, struck an unbeaten 134.
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/ 14 December 2007
Ricky Ponting scored his 24th one-day 100 and Adam Gilchrist clubbed a ferocious half-century to steer Australia to a convincing seven-wicket win over New Zealand in the opening Chappell Hadlee Trophy series game in Adelaide on Friday. Skipper Ponting cruised to an unbeaten 107 off 108 balls with 13 boundaries to glide Australia home to victory.
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/ 21 November 2007
South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn has left his mark on the LG International Cricket Council (ICC) player rankings following his man-of-the-series performances against New Zealand. Steyn, who took 20 wickets in two matches against the Black Caps, has rocketed up to third in the latest listings for Test bowlers, a reflection of his recent potency.
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/ 20 November 2007
Australia beat Sri Lanka by 96 runs on Tuesday to win the second Test at Bellerive Ova and complete a 2-0 series sweep. The Australians wrapped up victory in the third over after lunch on the fifth and final day when Sri Lanka were dismissed for 410 despite a defiant 192 from Kumar Sangakkara.
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/ 19 November 2007
”We’re a Test team on the up” was the way Proteas captain Graeme Smith described South Africa’s innings and 59 run victory over New Zealand in the second Castle Lager Test on Sunday. South Africa bowled New Zealand out for 136 after tea on the third day, to clinch the match and the series with two days to spare.
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/ 18 November 2007
Australian strike bowler Brett Lee has supported Ricky Ponting’s decision not to enforce the follow-on in the second Test against Sri Lanka despite the temptation of chasing a quick kill. The Australians had the option of making the Sri Lankans bat again after bowling them out for 246 — 296 runs behind the home side’s first innings total of 542.
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/ 18 November 2007
Australia resisted the option to enforce the follow-on after dismissing Sri Lanka for 246 after tea on the third day of the second test at Bellerive Oval on Sunday. Sri Lanka finished 296 runs behind Australia’s first innings total of 542-5 after a batting collapse but were spared the ignominy of being sent back in after Ricky Ponting decided to give his bowlers a rest.
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/ 11 October 2007
Seamer Mitchell Johnson claimed his first five-wicket haul in one-day internationals to lead Australia to a crushing nine-wicket victory over India in the fifth match of the series on Thursday. The 25-year-old took 5-26 in a display of remarkable swing bowling to bundle the hosts out for 148 in 39.4 overs.
A Mahendra Singh Dhoni-inspired India stunned Australia with a thrilling eight-run win in the fourth one-dayer on Monday, throwing the series wide open. Chasing India’s challenging 291-4, Australia made 283-7 to allow India to pull one back in the seven-match series and reduce the margin to 2-1. The first game was abandoned due to rain.
Australia overcame a century by Yuvraj Singh to defeat India by 47 runs in the third limited-overs international on Friday in the southern city of Hyderabad. Having set a target of 291 for India, Australia bowled the home team out for 243 thanks to paceman Brett Lee (3-37) and spinner Brad Hogg (3-46). Australia went 2-0 up in the seven-match series, with the opening match abandoned.
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/ 25 September 2007
Cricket has shed its image as a dull, unattractive and lengthy sport after the spectacular success of the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship. The event, which ended on Monday with India beating Pakistan by five runs in a rousing finale, created such a stir that Twenty20 is now being hailed as a revolution.
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/ 20 September 2007
Openers Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist continued their prolific form to take Australia into the Twenty20 World Cup semifinals after a 10-wicket win over Sri Lanka at Newlands on Thursday. Hayden lashed 58 from 38 deliveries with seven fours and two sixes while Gilchrist remained unbeaten on 31 from just 25 balls.
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/ 16 September 2007
Fast bowler Brett Lee took the first hat-trick in 20-over internationals as Australia crushed Bangladesh by nine wickets in their Twenty20 World Championship Super Eight match at Newlands in Cape Town on Sunday. Bangladesh were restricted to 123-9 after being sent in.
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/ 14 September 2007
Australia bounced back from the embarrassment of defeat against Zimbabwe to crush England by eight wickets in a Twenty20 World Championship match at Newlands on Friday. Needing a win to advance past the group stage, Australia produced an emphatic performance, bowling out England for 135 and then racing to victory in 14.5 overs.
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/ 12 September 2007
Minnows Zimbabwe upset tournament favourites Australia in the first shock of the Twenty20 World Championship at Newlands on Wednesday. Opening batsman Brendan Taylor guided Zimbabwe to a five-wicket win after Australia limped to 138-9 in their 20 overs after choosing to bat on a slow pitch.
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/ 6 September 2007
Australian paceman Brett Lee, who missed the one-day World Cup with an ankle injury, is ready to make up for lost time at the Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa. ”We aren’t the most experienced team and there will be a bit of pressure on us,” Lee said.