World champions Australia are looking to put India’s veterans under pressure when their eagerly awaited four-Test series opens on Thursday.
After the smoke trails of fireworks have evaporated and the cheerleaders have put away their pompoms, India has begun to question whether its new billion-dollar cricket league is a sign of a nation breaking free of a colonial legacy or just a crass money-making machine.
Australia captain Ricky Ponting strode majestically to his 35th Test hundred to help his side recover from a shaky start in the opening Test against the West Indies on Thursday. Ponting used a West Indies attack hamstrung by the withdrawal of key strike bowler Jerome Taylor to serenely progress to 158.
The Indian cricket board banned off-spinner Harbhajan Singh for five one-day internationals on Wednesday for a slapping incident involving Shanthakumaran Sreesanth during a domestic Twenty20 league match last month. The ban meant the 27-year-old off-spinner will miss the forthcoming tri-series in Bangladesh in June and the start of the Asia Cup in Pakistan.
South Africa’s pace attack made optimum use of bowler-friendly conditions to dismiss India for just 76 runs before lunch on the opening day of the second Test on Thursday. Spearhead Dale Steyn finished with five wickets after Makhaya Ntini claimed three victims in 12 deliveries to rip through India’s top order after the hosts won the toss and opted to bat.
South Africa are confident of burying India’s spin threat yet again with a determined batting performance in the second Test starting in Ahmedabad on Thursday. The visitors kept the spin duo of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh at bay in the drawn opening Test in Chennai as they posted 540 in the first innings and 331-5 in the second.
South Africa hold the psychological edge going into the second Test on Thursday against an India team weighed down by major fitness issues. The visitors will look to drive home their confidence of tackling the hosts’ experienced spin bowlers after rallying to draw the first match of the three-Test series, which ended on Sunday.
Neil McKenzie and Hashim Amla moved up the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test rankings on Monday after outstanding performances in the drawn match against India. McKenzie, who made 94 and 155 not out, made his first appearance in the top 40 in four years and is ranked 36th in the world, while Amla’s 159 and 81 saw him shoot up 10 places to 24th position.
India’s star batsman Sachin Tendulkar will miss the second Test against South Africa after aggravating a groin injury, officials said on Sunday. Tendulkar, who needs 172 runs to overtake West Indian Brian Lara as Test cricket’s leading run-getter, did not field for most of the final day’s play in the first Test which was drawn earlier in the day.
Indian batsman Rahul Dravid said on Saturday it had been beyond his dreams to achieve 10 000 Test runs. The 35-year-old Dravid became only the sixth player to reach the landmark while scoring 111 for his 25th century on day four of the first Test against South Africa.
Opener Virender Sehwag finally fell on 319 but India took a first-innings lead in the first Test against South Africa on Saturday. Rahul Dravid was one run short of his 25th Test hundred after becoming the sixth batsman to complete 10 000 Test runs.
South Africa captain Graeme Smith on Tuesday voiced confidence his team can ”do the job” against India despite arriving with only 13 players. The tourists have been badly hit by the race selection row while left-arm spinner Robin Peterson has delayed his arrival due to personal reasons. The three-Test series starts on Wednesday.
Indian media on Wednesday rewarded the cricket team’s conquest of world champions Australia with front page banner headlines, celebrating a victorious end to an acrimonious tour. ”Triumph against all Oz” screamed the mass-selling Hindustan Times a day after the young Indian team completed a 2-0 whitewash of Australia.
India ended their tour of Australia on a high note when they beat the hosts by nine runs on Tuesday to win their best-of-three finals series 2-0. Sachin Tendulkar scored a superb 91 and paceman Praveen Kumar went on to capture four wickets as the tourists followed up Sunday’s six-wicket win in Sydney with a thrilling victory at the Gabba in Brisbane.
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/ 26 February 2008
India thrashed Sri Lanka by seven wickets at Hobart on Tuesday to book their place in the tri-series finals against Australia. India wrapped up a comprehensive victory with more than 17 overs to spare when they bowled Sri Lanka out for 179 before reaching their target for the loss of just three wickets.
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/ 12 February 2008
Sri Lanka hammered India by eight wickets on Tuesday to revive their hopes in the rain-hit tri-series. Set a revised 154 to win from 21 overs, Sri Lanka reached the rain-adjusted target with two overs to spare for their first win of the series. Rain has played havoc with the series, with the first two matches washed out.
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/ 10 February 2008
Teenage fast bowler Ishant Sharma reinforced his status as one of the most exciting young talents in world cricket with a man-of-the-match performance to inspire his side to victory in a tri-series match against Australia in Melbourne on Sunday.
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/ 5 February 2008
Torrential rain forced the abandonment of Tuesday’s tri-series limited-overs match between Sri Lanka and India at the Gabba in Brisbane. It was the second match in a row that had fallen victim to the foul weather after Sunday’s opening game between India and Australia was also washed out.
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/ 29 January 2008
India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has been cleared of racial-abuse charges at a hearing in Australia, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said on Tuesday. ”He has been cleared — the racial charge has been dropped against him,” BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah said.
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/ 28 January 2008
Australia earned a 2-1 series victory over India on Monday after the fourth and final Test ended in a draw at Adelaide Oval. With neither side in any position to push for a result, India opted to bat out the last day before their captains agreed to an early finish.
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/ 27 January 2008
Australian captain Ricky Ponting equalled Sunil Gavaskar by notching up his 34th Test century on the fourth day of the fourth Test against India on Sunday. But retiring wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist fell cheaply in what is likely to be his last Test innings as the home side went to tea at 509 for six.
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/ 25 January 2008
Captain Anil Kumble fell short of a second Test century as India’s tail wagged strongly to help the tourists post a big score in the fourth Test against Australia on Friday. After winning the toss and electing to bat, India were dismissed for an imposing 526 just after tea on the second day, Sachin Tendulkar top-scoring with a majestic 153.
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/ 25 January 2008
Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh completed half-centuries as India’s tailenders piled on the runs in the fourth and final against Australia on Friday. Kumble crafted an unbeaten 86 over more than four hours while Harbhajan blasted a quick 63 as India reached 525 for nine in their first innings when tea was taken.
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/ 24 January 2008
Indian superstar Sachin Tendulkar posted a fairy-tale century to lift his side towards a challenging total on the first day of the fourth and final Test against Australia on Thursday. In what seems certain to be his last Test on Australian soil, Tendulkar shook off a personal hoodoo at Adelaide Oval to score his 39th Test hundred.
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/ 18 January 2008
Australia were battling to avoid their first defeat since the 2005 Ashes series after India seized control of the third Test in Perth on Friday. The Indians piled on 294 in their second innings to set Australia a near-impossible target of 413 to win, then picked up two early wickets to leave the home team in deep trouble when play ended on the third day.
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/ 17 January 2008
Australia’s bid to break their own world record for consecutive Test wins was on shaky ground on Thursday after their batting collapsed on a dramatic second day of the third Test against India in Perth. India bowled the Australians out for 212 in 50 overs and then added 52 runs for the loss of one wicket, reaching stumps with an overall lead of 170.
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/ 16 January 2008
India’s master batsmen Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid made half-centuries before Australia fought back with a flurry of wickets on an absorbing opening day of the third Test on Wednesday. Dravid top scored with 93 while Tendulkar made 71 after steering the tourists out of trouble early on to reach stumps on 297-6 in their first innings.
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/ 15 January 2008
India are poised to recall Virender Sehwag for the third Test against Australia starting at the Waca on Wednesday as the tourists look to keep the series alive. The dashing opener pushed his claim with a century in the tour match in Canberra at the weekend and captain Anil Kumble said he was almost certain to be picked.
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.
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.