India dominated South Africa on Sunday to win the third Test by eight wickets inside three days, squaring the series 1-1 and retaining their world number-two Test ranking. In an extraordinary final day, India turned what had been an evenly poised match at the start of play into a rout.
Sourav Ganguly cracked a gutsy 87 on a difficult pitch to help India gain a slender advantage on the second day of the third and final Test against South Africa in Kanpur on Saturday. India were struggling at 123-4 before reaching 288-9 in their first innings at stumps in reply to South Africa’s 265 on a day of fluctuating fortunes.
Teenage paceman Ishant Sharma and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh shared six wickets as India restricted South Africa to 265 in the third and final Test in Kanpur on Friday. South Africa were comfortably placed at 152-1 before losing their way on a spin-friendly pitch. Skipper Graeme Smith (69) and Hashim Amla (51) led the way with solid half-centuries.
South Africa relied on their bowlers’ disciplined performances to thrash India by an innings and 90 runs on the third day of the second Test on Saturday. Trailing by 418, India were bowled out for 328 in their second innings despite fighting half-centuries from former captain Sourav Ganguly (87) and wicket-keeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (52).
South Africa closed in on a resounding victory in the second Test against India on Saturday, the tourists grabbing three wickets before lunch on the third day to maintain their stranglehold on the match. Openers Virender Sehwag and Wasim Jaffer, and batting mainstay Rahul Dravid were all undone by the South Africa pace attack.
Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers consolidated South Africa’s strong position with half-centuries after Dale Steyn sparked a sensational Indian collapse in the second Test on Thursday. The 24-year-old Steyn gave a magnificent display of fast bowling on a lively track to finish with 5-23 as India crashed to 76 all out in their first innings.
South Africa built on fast bowler Dale Steyn’s superb five-wicket effort to seize the initiative in the second Test against India on Thursday. The visitors batted steadily to reach 100-2 in their first innings at tea in reply to India’s 76. Hashim Amla was unbeaten on 15 at the break.
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.
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.
Virender Sehwag smashed a spectacular 309 not out as India gave South Africa a dose of their own medicine in the first cricket Test in Chennai on Friday. The hosts made light of South Africa’s daunting first-innings 540 as they rode on Sehwag’s blitzkreig to pile up 468-1 by stumps on the third day at the Chidambaram Stadium.
Indian openers Virender Sehwag and Wasim Jaffer gave South Africa a dose of their own medicine with an unbroken 176-run stand in the first cricket Test in Chennai on Friday. India, kept in the field for over five sessions as South Africa piled up 540 in their first innings, hit back in style on a barren wicket.
India made a confident reply to South Africa’s record 540 in the first cricket Test, reaching 82 without loss by stumps on the second day on Thursday. Virender Sehwag smashed a typically aggressive 52 and Wasim Jaffer chipped in with 25 as the Indian openers emerged unscathed from the 21 overs they faced before close.
South Africa revelled in good batting conditions to pile up 304-4 on the opening day of the first cricket Test against India on Wednesday. Neil McKenzie (94), skipper Graeme Smith (73) and Hashim Amla (85 not out) laid the foundation for a big total as the Indian bowlers toiled in oppressive weather and an unresponsive wicket at the Chidambaram Stadium.
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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.
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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.
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.
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.
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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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/ 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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/ 8 December 2007
Yuvraj Singh and Sourav Ganguly hammered explosive centuries to lead India’s fightback in the third and final Test against Pakistan in Bangalore on Saturday. Yuvraj celebrated his comeback with a career-best 169 and Ganguly scored a fluent unbeaten 125 as an injury-hit India recovered from a horror morning session.
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/ 3 December 2007
Wasim Jaffer hit a brisk half-century as India kept alive their hopes of forcing a win in the second Test against Pakistan on Monday. The opener followed his first-innings 202 with 56 to help the hosts reach 141-2 in their second innings for an overall lead of 301 at stumps on the penultimate day.
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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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/ 30 November 2007
Wasim Jaffer’s unbeaten 192 steered India to a commanding 352-3 at stumps on the first day of the second Test against Pakistan on Friday. Opener Jaffer shared in two century partnerships to lay the foundations for an imposing total after the hosts chose to bat on a benign Eden Gardens pitch.
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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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/ 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.