Murali Kartik

Full Name: Murali Kartik
Born: 11 September 1976, Madras (now Chennai), Tamil Nadu
Major Teams: Railways, India.

Batting Style: Left Hand Bat
Bowling Style: Slow Left Arm Orthodox
Wisden overview
A left-arm spinner in the classical mould, Murali Kartik has long been on the fringe of the national team. He has a high arm action straight from the coaching manual, and has all the weapons in his armoury - the tantalising loop, the ability to extract sharp turn and bounce, and the subtle variations. But he hasn’t had the breaks. He forced his way into the Indian team by sheer weight of wickets, but didn’t seem to enjoy his captain’s confidence and was either used as a defensive option or underbowled. Kartik was injured for much of the 2000-01 season, but forced his way into the one-day team against West Indies with a bagful of wickets in domestic cricket. Bowling with exceptional control and guile, Kartik immediately lent an incisive edge to the attack, keeping the runs in check and taking wickets in the middle overs. Despite that performance, a place in the World Cup squad remained elusive. He did tour the West Indies and England with the A teams, and remains a good bet to come back into the Indian team in both forms of the game.

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11:22 AM

Ramesh Powar

Full Name: Ramesh Rajaram Powar
Born: 20 May 1978, Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra
Major Teams: Mumbai.

Batting Style: Right Hand Bat
Bowling Style: Right Arm Off Break
A stocky offspinner who is more than handy with the bat, Ramesh Powar had a huge role to play in Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy success in the 2002-03 season. His 20 wickets with his flighted stuff was useful enough, but even more crucial was the runs he contributed. He never batted higher than No. 7 – sometimes going in as low as No. 10 – but ended up as the second-highest scorer for Mumbai in the tournament, with 418 runs at more than 46. More importantly, a bulk of those runs came with his team in strife. Powar started off as a carefree striker, but has learnt the benefits of grinding a big score. His performances for Mumbai in 2002-03 were enough to warrant a place among the 36 probables for the following season. However, Powar needs to bring in more variations to his bowling, and develop more consistency in his batting, to progress to a higher grade.

Career Statistics:


M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 0 - - - - - - - - -

Balls M R W Ave BBI 5 10 SR Econ
Bowling 0 - - - - - - - - -

ONE-DAY INTERNATIONALS
(including 19/03/2004)
M I NO Runs HS Ave SR 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 2 2 1 32 18* 32.00 110.34 0 0 0 0

O M R W Ave BBI 4w 5w SR Econ
Bowling 10 0 52 0 - - 0 0 - 5.20

FIRST-CLASS
(1999/00 - 2003/04)
M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 40 53 8 1635 131 36.33 4 9 23 0

O M R W Ave BBI 5 10 SR Econ
Bowling 1226.3 294 3349 118 28.38 6-30 4 0 62.3 2.73

LIST A LIMITED OVERS
(2000/01 - 2003/04; last updated 22/04/2004)
M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 37 25 5 319 33 15.95 0 0 14 0

O M R W Ave BBI 4w 5w SR Econ
Bowling 295.2 9 1378 47 29.31 5-53 2 1 37.7 4.66

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4:09 AM

Manoj Tiwary

Manoj Tiwary
India
Full name Manoj Kumar Tiwary
Born November 14, 1985, Howrah, Bengal
Current age 22 years 81 days
Major teams Bengal, Bengal Under-19s, India Green, India Under-19s, Reebok XI
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Legbreak googly

Manoj Tiwary symbolises Bengal's new brand of cricket, one built on youth and fearlessness. Within two years of first-class cricket, he has become the most talked-about name outside the Indian team, a refreshing fact in this day and age when it's largely international players and Under-19 stars who get most of the attention. Tiwary has a minimalistic approach towards batting; bowlers are meant to be hit, and the purpose of batting anywhere is to make runs. He goes about doing that in the most aggressive of manners. He has idolised Kevin Pietersen, evident through his mannerism on the field, and favours the front foot more.

After being shunted up and down in his first full season in 2005-06, he got a more certain No. 4 position in the next season and made it his own. He scored three scores of 150-plus and his average of 99.50 took his overall first-class average to 57.50. At 21, he has already led Bengal to a Cooch Behar Trophy triumph, and was also asked to captain the state in the Twenty20 championships, despite the presence of Deep Dasgupta and Sourav Ganguly. An aggressive and passionate Bengal cricketing fraternity has already nicknamed him chota dada (in reference to Ganguly's nickname, dada) and, on the back of India's World Cup debacle, was fast-tracked into the one-day side for the tour to Bangladesh in 2007. He made his one-day debut in Australia in February 2008.

‘I have the confidence to perform’
Ahmedabad, April 20: Bengal all-rounder Manoj Tiwary’s call-up for national duty was expected, after the way he was instrumental in taking Bengal to the Ranji Trophy final. The writing was there on the wall.
This is such great news. My hard work has paid off. Now I will have to work harder and play well for my country,” said the right-handed batsman and leg-break bowler when contacted by The Indian Express.

“I have the confidence to perform at the highest level. I play according to the requirement of the team. My job is to perform. It makes a difference when some great cricketer praises you (talking about Greg Chappell’s comments). There is an added responsibility to do well. But when I am on the field, I only think of my game, everything else blurs out of my vision.
So was he expecting the call? “Yes, definitely. After such a lovely domestic performance I was expecting it. I got the news from the media at the hotel lobby,” said Tiwary, who is still in Ahmedabad after finishing his Twenty20 assignment for Bengal yesterday.
The speculation in the media about his possible call to Team India had added to Tiwary’s excitement. “Yes, I was reading about it and was waiting for it. But I didn’t allow any tension to creep in. Last night I had dinner and quietly went off to sleep. But this morning I couldn’t control my emotions. They spilled out,” said Tiwary.

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11:21 AM

V.V.S. Laxman

Vangipurappu Venkata Sai Laxman Statistics
Born: 1 November 1974, Hyderabad
Major Teams: Hyderabad, India.
Known As: VVS Laxman
Batting Style: Right Hand Bat
Bowling Style: Right Arm Off Break

Profile:
V.V.S. Laxman is a stylish right-hander from Hyderabad who will always be remembered for the fine knock of 167 he scored in the third Test against Australia at Sydney in January 2000. Since his debut he has been in and out of the Indian team but one of the main reasons for that is that he is unable to have a secure batting position. To be fair to Laxman, he is not a natural opening batsman and has had the job thrust upon him. Laxman's fine technique however makes him a safe bet to open the innings. Some people have labeled him as a Test batsmen who cannot bat aggressively hence have marked him unfit for the one dayers.
This however is not true as his aggressive nature is visible even in the Test matches. Laxman may lack some of the glamour that is associated with some of his teammates but he prefers to be what he is - a quietly efficient and determined cricketer. He is a batsman for whom patience, timing and technique are of utmost importance.

The term 'Hyderabadi stylist' is one that is not new to Indian cricket. First popularised by the late ML Jaisimha, an attacking batsman, the mantle was taken over for many years by Mohammed Azharuddin. Today, VVS Laxman has honourably made the title his own. A spate of high scores in the 1999-2000 Ranji Trophy season, including ten centuries in as many first class matches, confirmed Laxman's pedigree and penchant for tall scores. In Test cricket however, apart from a sparkling 167 against Australia at Sydney in a losing cause, Laxman had done little to show that he was a world beater. All that changed dramatically when the Australians toured India in early 2001.

Going into the series with a Test average of just under 28, Laxman was not a major cause of concern for the Aussies. In a rare display of attacking yet consistent batting, Laxman notched up 503 runs at an average of over 83. More than the sheer volume of runs scored, it was the manner in which he made his record breaking 281 at Kolkata that will remain etched in memory for years to come. It was a flawless innings under pressure that changed the complexion of a whole series, and signaled the emergence of a new batting hero. Laxman's 281 surpassed Sunil Gavaskar's record innings of 236 not out against West Indies at Madras in 1983 as the highest Test score by an Indian. Riding on the back of Laxman's efforts, India pulled off a sensational 2-1 win in a closely contested series. Spurred on by the success in Tests, Laxman was a changed man in the one-dayers, scoring his maiden ton in the fifth match against the Aussies at Goa. In short, the series against Australia changed Laxman's destiny as a cricketer. Rather, Laxman rewrote Indian cricket's destiny at the expense of the Australians.


Test Debut:India v South Africa at Ahmedabad, 1st Test, 1996/97
ODI Debut:India v Zimbabwe at Cuttack, Pepsi Triangular Series, 1997/98

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11:53 AM

Murali Vijay

Murali Vijay Krishna
Born April 1, 1984, Chennai
Current age 24 years 219 days
Major teams Tamil Nadu
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm offbreak

Career statistics
First-class debut - Delhi v Tamil Nadu at Delhi, Nov 23-26, 2006
Last First-class - India A v New Zealand A at Chennai, Oct 3-6, 2008
List A debut - Karnataka v Tamil Nadu at Secunderabad, Feb 16, 2006
Last List A India Blue v India Red at Cuttack, Oct 26, 2008 scorecard
Twenty20 debut - Goa v Tamil Nadu at Visakhapatnam, Apr 4, 2007
Last Twenty20 - Punjab v Tamil Nadu at Mumbai (BS), Apr 21, 2007

Profile
A tall, solid opening batsman, M Vijay was an instant success in his debut Ranji season with Tamil Nadu, finishing as the third-highest run-getter with 628 runs in seven games at a 50-plus average. His half-century on debut was a sign of things to come, as he followed it up with 179 against Andhra in his home ground and rounded off the season with 277 runs in the Ranji one-dayers, finishing second in the run charts for his state. He shrugged off an ordinary start to the 2007-08 season with an unbeaten double hundred against Saurashtra and almost matched his exploits from the previous season, boosting his selection for the Duleep Trophy. He carried on his good form to the one-day tournament, averaging an impressive 51 in seven matches, pushing his selection in a fringe Indian squad for a short tour of Israel.

Vijay was picked for the India A squad to face New Zealand A in two Tests at the start of the 2008-09 season, and scored 200 runs in four innings. Included in the India Red team for the Challenger Trophy, he finished as the tournament's second-highest run-getter. He carried that form into the first game of the Ranji Trophy, with 243 against Maharashtra. With Gautam Gambhir facing a one-Test ban, Vijay was called up as cover for the fourth Test against Australia in Nagpur. The next day he was included in the squad for the first three ODIs against England.
Murali Vijay Krishna started his "First-class" Cricket career against Delhi Cricket team, which was held at Delhi from November 23 to 26 in 2006. He has played in altogether 17 "First-class" matches with an average of 46.60. His total scorecard reading in these matches is 1305 runs, which includes four centuries, two half-centuries, 147 fours and 20 sixes. The highest score of Murali Vijay Krishna in any of the "First-class" matches is 230 runs and striking rate is 43.05.

While in bowling, Murali Vijay Krishna has taken only one wicket by losing 32 runs out of the 60 balls he played in the "First-class" matches. His bowling average is 32.00 and economy is 3.20. The latest "First-class" match of Murali Vijay Krishna was against East Zone Cricket team, which was held at Mumbai from February 3 to 6 in 2008.

In the "List A" matches, Murali Vijay Krishna had his debut against Karnataka team, which was held at Secunderabad on February 26 in 2006. He has played in overall nine "List A" matches with an average of 36.88. His total score in these matches is 332 runs, which includes one century, a half-century, 32 fours and four sixes. The maximum score of Murali Vijay Krishna in any of the "List A" matches is 112 runs and striking rate is 69.31.

With ball in hand, Murali Vijay Krishna, could not collect any wicket and has given six runs out of the 12 balls he played in the "List A" matches. His bowling economy in these matches is 3.50. His latest "List A" match was against Uttar Pradesh, which was held at Delhi on March 20 in 2007.

The "Twenty20" match debut of Murali Vijay Krishna was against Goa, which was held at Visakhapatnam on April 4 in 2007. He has played in nine "Twenty20" matches with an average of 18.28. The total scorecard reading of Murali Vijay Krishna in these matches is 128 runs, which includes six fours and five sixes. His highest score in any of the "Twenty20" matches is 35 runs and striking rate is 120.75.

Whereas in bowling, Murali Vijay Krishna could not pick up any wicket and has given for runs out of the six balls he played in the "Twenty20" matches. His bowling economy is 4.00 in these matches. Murali Vijay Krishna`s latest "Twenty20" match was against Punjab team, which was held at Mumbai on April 21 in 2007.


Cricket: India name Murali Vijay in place of suspended Gambhir
India won the toss and elected to bat in the fourth and final Test against Australia at the newly built Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Jamtha here today.
India capped Murali Vijay, a 24-yar-old Tamil Nadu player who got the chance to represent the country in the highest level of the game because regular opener Gautam Gambhir had to sit out after being banned by the ICC from playing in the tie for an altercation with Australian all rounder Cameron White in the third Test at Delhi.

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10:11 AM