Australia were 170 for three in the first innings at tea on the opening day of the Boxing Day Test against India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) here Monday.
Debutant Ed Cowan was batting on 58 and captain Michael Clarke on seven. Indian pacer Umesh Yadav picked up three wickets, including that of Ricky Ponting who made 62.
Earlier, India pacer Umesh Yadav struck twice reducing Australia to 68 for two in the first innings on the first morning of the Boxing Day Test as rain brought an early lunch break at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) here Monday.
Australia were 68 for two in the first innings against India as rain halted play shortly before the lunch break on the first day of the first cricket Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) here Monday.
Debutant opener Ed Cowan was batting on 14 and Ricky Ponting 15 when rain stopped play prompting an early lunch. India pacer Umesh Yadav picked up the two wickets of David Warner (37) and Shaun Marsh.
Australian captain Michael Clarke won the toss and elected to bat in the first Test of the four-match series at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) here Monday.
India's two frontline fast bowlers, Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan, were included in the side and will form the pace attack with Umesh Yadav while off-spinner
Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand can now be given India’s highest civilian honour, Bharat Ratna, as the government of India has made a necessary change in the eligibility criteria for a person to get the award.
The Bharat Ratna will now be awarded in recognition of exceptional services or performance of the highest order “in any field of human endeavour” covering almost every field which was not in the purview, the Times of India reported.
The award was earlier restricted to fields such as arts, literature, science and public service, as the government found it difficult to consider those outside these fields including sports.
A look back at cricket history being made on this day, from international cricketers born on this day to those scoring centuries and taking five-wicket hauls.
Included in today's show are cricketers such as Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Saqlain Mushtaq, Carl Hooper and Tillakaratne Dilshan.
Irfan Pathan along with Abhimanyu Mithun, with more than a little help from the on-field umpires, reduced the Windies to 36 for four inside 10 overs.
The swing was back and he bowled with enthusiasm. His first spell was better, as he was on the spot both line and length on a pitch assisting in the initial overs.
What this performance does is that makes him a good candidate for the Australia ODI and T20 series.
Despite an unbeaten hundred by David Warner, New Zealand won the 2nd Test in Hobart by seven runs.
New Zealand produced a stunning seven-run victory to claim its first test win in Australia since 1985, with Doug Bracewell triggering a batting collapse and taking the final wicket on Monday to square the two-test series.
The 21-year-old paceman finished with 6-40 from 16.4 overs as Australia was dismissed for 233 chasing 241 to win, losing its last eight wickets for 74 runs.
The Australians were coasting at 159-2 on day four before Bracewell removed ex-skipper Ricky Ponting (16), then Michael Clarke and Mike Hussey for ducks in quick succession, sparking a collapse which saw the home team slump to 199-9.
Panel of cricket experts discusses the blistering double hundred Sehwag scored against West Indies in Indore.
Virender Sehwag set the highest individual score in One-day internationals here Thursday, scoring a sensational 219 in the fourth ODI against the West Indies that took India to its highest ODI total of 418/5.
Sehwag surpassed Sachin Tendulkar's unbeaten 200. His 149-ball carnage of the Windies bowling was laced with 25 fours and seven sixes.
Sehwag got a life when he was on 171 with West Indies captain Darren Sammy dropping a sitter. He was finally dismissed by Kieron Pollard, caught by substitute Anthony Martin at long on.
Sehwag's top score before this inning was 175 against Bangladesh in the World Cup opener
Australia firmly took control of the 2nd Test as New Zealand fumbled on a green top at Hobart. New Zealand were tottering at 83 for six at Lunch.
Skipper Michael Clarke won the toss and sent the Black Caps in to bat on a receptive pitch, and was richly rewarded. Dean Brownlie was unbeaten on 20 with Doug Bracewell on five.
James Pattinson, the man-of-the-match in Australia's nine-wicket win over the Kiwis at the Gabba last weekend, had 3/39 with Peter Siddle claiming 2/12.
The Kiwis woes were compounded with the loss of experienced all-rounder Daniel Vettori with a hamstring injury on the morning of the Test and replaced by newcomer Trent Boult.
The preparation for the much-anticipated India’s tour of Australia has also started. It’s been almost three years since India embarked on probably the hardest of all tours -- the eventful 2008 Down Under tour.
Everything was there to make the series a memorable one. It was marked by breach of trust by the host captain, threat of pulling out of the tour by the tourists, on field sledging, off-field allegations and counter allegations.
India showed tremendous fighting qualities against a team which was still the superior force in world cricket. Not only on the cricket field, but off it as well the demeanor of the Indian team was professional. The then Indian skipper Anil Kumble’s handling of the ‘Sydneygate’ is an
Former Australian wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist is expecting an enthralling contest when India take on Australia in Tests.Gilly revealed that the two teams have put the acrimony of the past behind them but there will be no let up in the intensity.
According to him, the presence of young players in either side makes the series enthralling. He is sure that the young Indian bowlers will enjoy bowling in the Australian conditions as much as James Pattinson and Pat Cummins. He was all praise for the young Indian bowlers.
“Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron looked to me like good bowlers. They are not like the stereotypical Indian fast bowlers. I see a new breed of cricketers coming through, with stronger physique. If they manage to
Playing for India against England and Australia last summer and at the beginning of 2008, many commentators thought that Sachin Tendulkar's normal aggression and daring were missing from his game. His form was also heavily criticized after the 2007 World Cup, and injury forced him out of the international series against South Africa.
But for the man used to batting away tricky deliveries, this criticism gets a typical positive response: "I'm not one to dwell on the past. I like to move forward and these challenges, these hurdles in between, they bring the best out of me. They motivate me even more."
He's currently facing the challenges of the rapid-fire version of the game in the Indian Premier League (IPL), masterminded
In 2000 Sachin Tendulkar became the first batsman to score 50 international hundreds, and is the highest scorer in One Day internationals. He joined an elite group in 2007 when he became only the third player to pass 11,000 runs in Test cricket.
Nicknames in cricket are common, but only if you're a really exceptional player do you get one that's complementary. Tendulkar has joined that elite as the "Little Master" which sits nicely next to other great batsmen, Viv "Master Blaster" Richards and Brian "The Prince" Lara.
But perhaps no higher praise came from Australian cricketing legend Donald Bradman who once said that Tendulkar was the only player that reminded him of himself.
In India Sachin Tendulkar is an icon and to the rest of the cricketing world he's simply known as one of the greatest ever batsmen.
He picked up a bat at the age of 4 in Mumbai and from that day on fell in love with the game.
"The only thing that was on my mind was, 'I want to play for India one day,' and I was pretty sure and confident that one day I will," he told CNN in Mumbai
In fact he made his Test debut for India at the age of 16 facing Pakistan's fearsome bowling attack, just two years after making his first-class debut for Mumbai.
Despite a baptism of fire in that first international match and getting hit on the mouth by a ball from Waquar Younis, he took his own game forward and has become known for the
Irfan Pathan has taken seven wickets in their ongoing Ranji Trophy match against Delhi and hopes this will open up an opportunity to get back to the Indian team.
The Baroda swing bowler (5 for 82) got his second five-wicket haul of the season in the first innings. It was also his best Ranji bowling figures, taking his tally to 21 scalps from five innings this season.
"I am feeling completely fit and happy to get the swing back," said the Baroda all-rounder.
Well-known bowling coach and former India pacer TA Sekhar reckons that the left-arm seamer is hitting the right areas to make an international comeback.
"Irfan is on a comeback trail. He is bowling well enough to be playing for India. He is getting the ball to move
New Zealand posted a competitive score of 295 against Australia in the 1st Test at Brisbane.
A gutsy Kiwi lower order display saw a true Test contest emerge after honours were even at lunch. New Zealand was bowled out for 295, with Dean Brownlie unbeaten on 77.
Australia have reached 2-77 chasing New Zealand's 295.
A PROMISING partnership between Ricky Ponting and Usman Khawaja has Australia officially on top in the first test against New Zealand.
The pair have notched a 50-run partnership in fast time and look settled after overcoming early trouble.
Khawaja has slapped several cover drives to the boundary in his 35 from 48 balls while Ponting is slowly finding the middle of the bat, scoring 24.
