India vs Pak: Who will win this time?

It's time for India vs Pakistan! The last time these two teams met was at the World Cup semi-final at Mohali, where the hosts and eventual champions India outplayed the visitors. A lot of things have happened in the year after that, and the situation is very different from how it was back then. Pakistan have become a much more consistent team, and India have been jolted by losses abroad.

The Asia Cup encounter is more important for India than it is for Pakistan, as the latter have already qualified for the final. India, coming after a shock-loss to Bangladesh, will have to play out of their skins against their arch rivals in a high-pressure game.

India and Pakistan have faced each other nine times in the Asia Cup, each winning four games. They will meet on Sunday again. India's attacking batsmen and Pakistan's spin wizardry promise to make this an exciting contest. Let's take a look at the previous nine games.

- 5th Match scheduled to begin at 13:30 IST, Shere Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka

India squad

MS Dhoni(c & wk), Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ashok Dinda, Gautam Gambhir, Ravindra Jadeja, Praveen Kumar, Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, Suresh Raina, Sachin Tendulkar, Manoj Tiwary, Vinay Kumar, Rohit Sharma, Rahul Sharma

Pakistan squad

Misbah-ul-Haq(c), Sarfraz Ahmed(wk), Aizaz Cheema, Mohammad Hafeez, Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi, Umar Gul, Younis Khan, Abdur Rehman, Asad Shafiq, Hammad Azam, Nasir Jamshed, Wahab Riaz, Umar Akmal

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9:21 AM

Tendulkar Hits Hundreth 100

DHAKA - Sachin Tendulkar finally ended his year-long wait to score a record 100th international century but that failed to stop India stumbling to a shock five-wicket defeat by Bangladesh which threw the Asia Cup tournament wide open on Friday.

Tendulkar, who had gone 33 innings without scoring an international ton since chalking up 111 against South Africa last March, stroked a single off left-arm spinner Shakib Al Hasan to square leg in the 44th over to reach the landmark.

While the Little Master's achievement sparked celebrations among his team mates in the Shere Bangla National Stadium and brought the roaring crowd to their feet, Tendulkar simply raised his head skywards before kissing the Indian logo on his helmet.

"I am not God. After scoring 99 centuries, I needed a year to score another. It shows scoring a hundred from 99 is tough," a hugely relieved Tendulkar told reporters.

"It has been a test of my character and patience. Somebody who has not gone through this will not understand this. It has been really challenging.

"It was a tough journey. Now that it is out of the way things can come back to normal."

Tendulkar's determination to get the milestone out of the way may in the end have cost India the match as uncharacteristically he got bogged down in the 80s and it took him almost 15 overs to get the final 20 runs needed to cross three figures.

After a jittery innings featuring 12 fours and a six, he eventually perished for 114 after edging Mashrafe Mortaza's delivery to the wicketkeeper.

With the Indians still buzzing at Tendulkar's feat, Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib gatecrashed the visitors' party with their quickfire knocks and overhauled the 290 victory target with four balls to spare.

Tamim Iqbal (70), Jahurul Islam (53) and Nasir Hossain (54) laid the foundations for the win by notching up fifties before Shakib scored 49 off 31 balls and Mushfiqur added an unbeaten 46 off 25 to help Bangladesh cruise past India's 289-5.

CLOSE DECISION

After Hossain and Shakib added 68 off 48 balls for the fourth wicket, India appeared to have snatched back the momentum when they dismissed Shakib in a close stumping decision.

However, skipper Mushfiqur tore apart the Indian attack, belting two huge sixes off seamer Irfan Pathan in the 48th over.

With Bangladesh needing 16 off 12 balls, Mushfiqur hit a four and a six in the first two balls of Praveen Kumar's next over to wrest control of the match.

Although Kumar went on to dismiss Nasir soon after, it was too late for India to salvage the contest and their defeat revived Bangladesh hopes of reaching next Thursday's final.

Pakistan top the standings with nine points while India and Bangladesh have four. Sri Lanka, who play the hosts in the final round robin match on Tuesday, have yet to win a match.

Sent in to bat first, India lost opener Gautam Gambhir (11) early on before Tendulkar added 148 runs with Virat Kohli for the second wicket.

Kohli missed out on a third consecutive one-day hundred when he was bowled by left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak for 66.

Tendulkar, however, could not be denied and scored his first ever ODI century against Bangladesh to complete his set against test playing nations.

India face arch-rivals Pakistan in their final round robin game on Sunday.

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2:26 AM

Asia Cup Match 2 - India vs Srilanka; Will India fire in familiar territory?

Another ODI between India and Sri Lanka. Before you cringe in disgust, the mitigating factor in favour of the latest match is that it is not part of another hastily arranged bilateral series. The teams have no option but to meet once, at the least, in the Asia Cup.

One silver lining, if it can be called that, for India on the disaster that was their recent tour of Australia was their performance against Sri Lanka in the Commonwealth Bank series, which culminated in that record chase led by Virat Kohli in Hobart. Out of four meetings between the two sides, India won two and tied another.

India know that will count for little; Hobart and Mirpur are two different worlds as far as conditions are concerned. For the record, they are the defending champions in this tournament. India go into this series with several questions to answer. Among them is the role and future of Sachin Tendulkar in the ODI side. At least the rotation policy at the top of the order that was employed in Australia has become dormant for the moment with no Virender Sehwag in the squad.

The middle order comes with its list of young batsmen with much to prove. Are Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma the men who will perform for India in the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand? Their presence in the squad shows that the selectors believe they will; the Asia Cup in Bangladesh, unfortunately, is not the place for them to prove they can.

In a way, India are in a cannot-win situation. If they do well in this tournament, it will be said that they are back to doing what they are best at - making merry on flat subcontinent pitches. If they do not, the talk will be that if they cannot do well even in these conditions …

Sri Lanka are in a much better position. This was not a statement you could have made before the CB series. What a difference the change of captain has made. Under Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sri Lanka looked rudderless and stagnant. Under Mahela Jayawardene, they seem to have found their way again. What's more, Dilshan has rediscovered himself as a batsman too.

Jayawardene has said that his appointment is short-term and his immediate goal is to make Sri Lanka win again. He started well in the CB series with Sri Lanka narrowly losing out in the finals to Australia. Back in familiar conditions, and considering how rusty Pakistan and India have looked in ODIs recently, Sri Lanka will go in to the tournament as favourites.

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12:18 AM

Jayawardene succeeds where Dhoni fails

The value of good captaincy may be debatable but there can be no disputing that strong leadership improves a cricket team's performance. Sri Lanka'sMahela Jayawardene is a good example.

His vibrant leadership during the CB Series inspired and took his team to the brink of a tournament victory. From the moment Jayawardene elevated himself to the top of the Sri Lankan order, his team became a threat. He also led the way with some brilliant fielding, but just as important as his individual contributions, it was his faith in his players and the respect he has earned that have elevated the level of Sri Lanka's play.

Good captaincy can be seen in the moves a skipper makes on the field but strong leadership is harder to quantify. It mostly involves work done behind closed doors but the rewards are reaped on the field.

Jayawardene showed enormous faith in Lasith Malinga following a horror night in Hobart. And his lead bowler continued to contribute despite a niggling injury. The rapport between the two was obvious when Jayawardene hugged Malinga after his outstanding finishing effort in the must-win match against Australia at the MCG.

In the end Sri Lanka fell just short of winning the trophy, but without Jayawardene's strong leadership and shrewd captaincy, it's doubtful they would have even reached the finals.

Compare Sri Lanka's playing-above-themselves competitiveness with India's under-performance throughout the Australian tour. There's no doubt India had a more talented line-up than Sri Lanka, but other than Virat Kohli's electrifying night at Bellerive, the Indian team was unable to live up to its reputation.

MS Dhoni is a good captain, better in the short forms of the game than Test cricket but a solid skipper nonetheless. However, he has been unable to inspire his team on two lacklustre tours and consequently eight overseas Tests have been lost on the trot. There may have been extenuating circumstances in England, where injuries took their toll, but the Australian tour was an unmitigated disaster

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11:17 PM

India beat Australia in 4th ODI at Oval

India weren’t perfect today. But they beat Australia the hard way. And nothing satisfies a team more than a hard-fought win when it is going through a rut.

A pale-looking MS Dhoni got off to an agonisingly slow start of three runs in 17 balls. But he caught up with the pace at the end, capping off a tight chase for 270 by getting India the 13 needed in the final over from Clint McKay.

It helped India burst past some glass ceilings – they had never beaten Australia in an ODI in Adelaide, and had never chased more than 242 against the hosts in their country. More importantly, the win would take the attention away from the howls of protest after Sachin Tendulkar was rested today.

Gambhir Shines

The chase was set up by Gautam Gambhir’s 92 and a couple of thirties from Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina. But each time they seemed at ease, Indian batsmen got out to rash shots to complicate matters.

Virender Sehwag (after adding 52 with Gambhir) got out to McKay trying to flick a loose ball on the leg. Virat Kohli was caught at the cover boundary trying to hit a six. And Rohit, having looked in total ease, played a ridiculous chip shot to be caught at long-off.

The win was in sight before India nearly botched it the chase by playing out two quiet overs from left-arm spinner Xavier Doherty in which Raina yorked himself, and Ravindra Jadeja holed out to midwicket, leaving the game precariously balanced.

Monster Six

Dhoni biffed McKay’s second ball into the banks behind long-on, one of the biggest boundaries in international cricket. The hit may have easily been about 120 metres long. Dhoni swung the next ball, a waist-high full-toss to midwicket, where it was caught by David Warner. The no-ball was called, leaving India three runs to get from three balls.

He swung it to midwicket again, taking three runs, coolly collecting a souvenir stump and walking off the park. At the award ceremony, Dhoni said he had hit a longer six in his pre-India days. It put in the shade a pull shot by Rohit for six – probably the most authoritative shot an Indian batsman had done on this tour of Australia.

India Raise Fielding Standards

India did two things well today. They fielded well, and bowled tightly in the last 10 overs (conceding 57-4), displaying a real urgency to keep Australia’s score down. India scored four run-outs in the second T20 in Melbourne. Today they had three, plus a sharp catch by Virender Sehwag to dismiss Hussey.

Sehwag’s catch was crucial. Australia looked set for a score close to 300. Sehwag’s tumbling effort at square leg cut short Hussey’s stay at 72. But the run-outs of David Warner and Daniel Christian were also crucial in keeping Australia under check.

Forrest Shines On Debut

The merits of the rotation system is another topic. The fact is that Australia have come out of their worst slump in years on the basis on really good selections. Today, the right-handed Peter Forrest came in for Mike Hussey, who has been given a week’s rest.

Forrest in only 26 and has played just 37 First Class games. This is in sharp contrast with Hussey, who was 30 and nearly 15,000 First Class runs down before he wore the Baggy Green. But like Hussey when he appeared on the scene, Forrest looked ready for the big league.

On his international debut, Forrest looked at ease – off the front-foot, off the back-foot, against pace or spin. You’d expect an Australian batsman coming out of Brisbane to be really good against pace bowling. But Forrest impressed with his footwork against Indian spinners too.

Twice he walked down to Jadeja and Rohit – that walk is rarely seen in the stand-and-deliver era – and lofted them over the straight field for six. If you could find one blemish in the innings, it was that Dhoni didn’t consider exposing Forrest to Zaheer Khan, and gave a long run to his spinners, none of whom were particularly impressive today.

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4:03 AM

Give Sachin Tendulkar a break in Sydney test

Predictably, the lead up to the Sydney Test centered around Sachin's much awaited hundredth international century (babies have arrived sooner). This time even the Aussie media went berserk, eulogising on how wonderful it would be for Tendulkar to reach the landmark in Sydney Cricket Ground's 100th Test.

What was most disappointing was to see former cricketers and experts give so much importance to the landmark. An otherwise level-headed Mark Nicholas, went to the extent of quizzing Dhoni at the toss, not on who made India's XI or their strategy for the game, but on how he would like it if Sachin scored his ton of tons in Sydney.

When Sachin walked in to the middle with India already reeling on 30 for 2, Ravi Shastri (not one to be outdone) spoke of how the master blaster would be nervous. Not because of the precarious position his side were in or due to the menacing bowling he was about to encounter, but because as Shastri claimed "he is approaching such a big milestone." Facepalm moment anyone?

With India's first innings wrapping for 191, India most definitely have more important things that merit their attention.

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1:07 AM

Brilliant Australia blow India away in Melbourne

The most gripping day of the Melbourne Test ended in an anti-climax with Australia crushing India by 122 runs.

Australia had their backs to the wall at the start of Day 4, but their positive intent and perfect execution of bowling plans laid low their opponents. India were bizarrely defensive with the ball and showed no stomach for a fight with the bat chasing a stiff 292.

One of Australia’s finds of the season, James Pattinson, and Peter Siddle made the most of India’s trigger-happiness with the bat. They bowled in the right areas — Pattinson’s high pace in particular troubled every batsman — and India obliged them with outside edges.

This was the sort of wicket were the home team also made the same mistakes with the bat. But the key to winning this game was building partnerships. Australia had several; India, none.

India let momentum slip

In the morning session, Mike Hussey, Pattinson and Ben Hilfenhaus thrived with MS Dhoni’s conservative field settings that allowed them to pick easy singles and score the occasional boundary.

India, 230 runs behind at the start of the day, let the momentum drift. No team has chased more than 250 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground since 1961.

Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir fell cheaply. The contest practically ended when Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli fell within a few overs of each other in the noon session. What came to hurt India bad was their conservative tactics against the Australia lower order.

Their last four wickets added 119 runs in the first innings and 92 in the second. In a low-scoring game such as this, 211 runs were a lot to give away to the tail-end. To Australia’s credit, they fought tooth and nail and the 60 runs they added this morning caused a seismic momentum shift.

Pattinson took seven wickets in the game, and batting at No. 10, was unbeaten in both innings in making 18 and 37. But this wouldn’t have been possible had Dhoni applied greater pressure on him his partners.

Former Australia captain and commentator Ian Chappell in particular was critical of Dhoni’s methods. Today, he described them as “... ridiculous... an absolute blue print on how to lose a Test match.” India proved him right.

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1:59 AM

The Best chance to beat Australia Down Under: Dhoni

Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni reckons that the upcoming four-Test series is his team's "best chance" of upsetting Australia in their own backyard but will not take them lightly despite their recent slump. India and Australia will square off from December 26 in a highly-anticipated series in which the visitors seem to have a good chance given the struggle through transition that Michael Clarke's men are enduring. On a day the Indian players head Down Under, Australia were upstaged in a Test at home by New Zealand for the first time in 26 years. "Even last time we had a very good chance and we did perform well. It is not like that the opposition is not doing well (but) it will be the best chance for us," Dhoni told reporters in a pre-departure press conference here in Chennai. "We have to play to the kind of talent that we have got and not worry about such things. We need to work on our strengths and weaknesses. We are more concerned about where we need to work on and not worry about what kind of opposition we are playing," the skipper stated. India's two first-choice pacers, Praveen Kumar and Varun Aaron, were ousted due to injuries even before the tour started but Dhoni insisted that led by the experienced Zaheer Khan, bowling will click Down Under. "Our bowlers are talented. Of course, when you do not have your main bowlers you need a bit of time. Once the youngsters play more and more games, that is how they get experienced at the top level. I think talent wise we are there. We have a good exposure for the youngsters who are part of the side now touring Australia," he said. Dhoni took a break from cricket by opting out of the just-concluded ODI series against the West Indies at home and he said he is back a rejuvenated man. "I needed the break and I am happy that I got it. The team also did really well. I am looking forward to the Australian tour," he said. "We have enough time for some preparation also before the start of the first test match that we play. Looking good as of now. Hopefully we do not have too many injuries before the start of the Test series," he added. Asked which aspect of the game the Indian team needs to improve on, Dhoni said, "You want to improve in all three departments (bowling, batting and fielding) always. You have seen cricketers who have been part of international cricket for more than 10 years still believe in improving and they keep improving. It is a constant process and everyone is part of it." He stressed on how important the catches would be and hoped that Indian fielders, certainly not the best in circuit by his own admission, would latch on to catches that come their way in Australia. "We would like to improve in all the three departments. Catching will be very crucial. Last series that we played in India we did not have so many catching fielders. We need to have a bit more catching fielders. They say catches win matches, which is true. So that will be one of the areas where we have to work on. On big grounds, running between wickets and trying to keep the batsman on strike are also necessary. All these small things help you put pressure on the opposition," he explained. Despite the couple of injury setbacks before the tour, Dhoni hoped that players would remain fit through the gruelling tour, which also features a tri-nation ODI series in February-March. "If you see the injury list, it is quite blank as of now. More often than not, the 15 or 16 who are in the team will be ready for selection to play. That takes a bit of the pressure off and you need not worry about the playing eleven that much and most of players get their berths on merit. Apart from that, if you see, the batting lineup is quite the same. Bowling wise we have got Umesh Yadav who can bowl over 140 kmph. I think it looks like a good pack. We need to do well on the field rather than looking at it as to how we look on paper." he said. Tours to Australia almost always include a bit of controversy, the ugliest of which was perhaps the 2008 'monkeygate scandal'. The two protagonists of the drama, Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds, are not part of the series this time and Dhoni hoped that there wouldn't be any face-offs of that kind. "We will try to keep the fireworks off. Someone like Virender Sehwag starts playing their game, then there will be fireworks on the field. Not on the verbal side but with the bat and if the bowlers are going the ball will do the talking. Hopefully, we will keep the controversy away," Dhoni said. Indian coach Duncan Fletcher, who was also present at the media interaction, said having around half a dozen players including Sachin Tendulkar early in Australia will work to India's advantage. "We have sent some of the players early to Australia. By putting up two warm-up games you hope that they adapt during that period of time. Probably it is not easy enough. Perhaps at the nets if they give us the same set of quality and from that they will be able to adapt enough. We will see when we go in to the first Test." he said. On Zaheer's fitness status, given his history of breaking down on long tours, Fletcher said, "From the reports that I get, Zaheer had come to Mumbai and bowled at the nets there and he looked impressive. I think it is very important that he looked to be in very good condition from what we saw in him even when he came to England. Secondly, he has got these two games. It will be preparation for him. We do not want to rush him too quickly. The one three day game there, will be important for him before the first Test." he added.

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1:45 AM

West Indies beat India in 3rd ODI

Ahmedabad, (Reuters): Rohit Sharma's sparkling 95 was in vain as West Indies beat India by 16 runs in the third One-Day International to stay afloat in the five-match series at Ahmedabad's Sardar Patel Stadium on Monday.

Having dropped Sharma on 33, West Indies skipper Darren Sammy redeemed himself with a direct throw in the 44th over as India, chasing 261 for a third successive win that would have sealed the series, folded for 244 in 46.5 overs.

Sharma's 100-ball knock, which included 10 hits to the fence and a six, was his third successive half-century in the series which his team lead 2-1.

Ravi Rampaul (4-57) derailed India's chase almost as soon as it began by removing the scoreless duo of captain Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir with his first two deliveries.

Sehwag edged to depart caught behind while Gambhir was trapped leg before, leaving India tottering on eight for two wickets.

Barring opener Parthiv Patel (39), none of the Indian top order batsmen could do justice to their reputation and it was Sharma's 91-run seventh-wicket stand with Ravichandran Ashwin (31) that took India near the target.

West Indies were put into bat and Marlon Samuels top-scored with a sedate 58 but it was the unbeaten 79-run stand between Sammy (41 not out) and Andrew Russell (40 not out) off 5.4 overs that helped West Indies to overcome a sluggish start and post 260 for five.

The visitors lost opener Lendl Simmons (1) in the third over and were also denied the service of another in-form player, Darren Bravo (26), when the batsman retired hurt with a hamstring problem.

Samuels tried to steady the innings but the run rate nosedived, prompting him to go after Umesh Yadav in the 19th over, hitting the bowler for a couple of fours and a six.

West Indies lost three cheap wickets to slump to 181 for five in the 45th over before Sammy paired up with Russell to provide the late surge to power them past 250.

Sammy hit Abhimanyu Mithun for two sixes and as many fours in the 49th over, while Russell struck two fours and a six off the final over sent down by Yadav.

West Indies milked 93 runs off the last seven overs and 43 off the last two. Indore hosts the fourth One-dayer on Thursday.

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10:39 PM

Tendulkar likely to play the last two ODIs against WI

His 100th international century eagerly awaited across the nation, veteran Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar is likely to play the last two one-dayers against the West Indies.

Tendulkar, who failed to reach the milestone despite coming close at least twice during the Test series, might be selected for the last two matches of the ongoing ODI series when national selectors meet on Monday.

India leads the five-match rubber 2-0 with the third ODI scheduled here on Monday.

Tendulkar had been rested from the squad for the first three matches but sources say the 38-year-old wants to play the remaining two matches of the series scheduled on December 8 and 11 in Indore and Chennai respectively.

The Kris Srikkanth-led selection panel will meet on Monday to pick the squad for the remainder of the series besides picking injured pacer Praveen Kumar's replacement for the upcoming four Tests against Australia.

Tendulkar's last international century came on March 12 during a World Cup group league match against South Africa at Nagpur.

It has been more than eight months that the entire nation has been waiting with bated breath for the elusive century.

The last missed opportunity came in the third Test against Caribbeans when Tendulkar was dismissed six runs short of the milestone.

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12:40 AM

India look to seal series against Windies Today

Ahmedabad, Dec 5 (IANS) India would look to seal the series against the West Indies when they they clash in the third One-dayer at the Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium in Motera here Monday.

For the visitors, it will be their last chance to keep the five-match series alive. The Carribbean team has given a good account of themselves in the two ODIs but inconsistency has brought their downfall.

After losing the second match, despite bouncing back in a stellar fashion, West Indies captain Darren Sammy's blank expression said it all. 'We just can't get over the line though. Sooner rather than later we can get that final push.'

'We'll keep our head up and come strongly at the Indians again,' Sammy said.

For that, West Indies will have to sort out their batting problem that has troubled them througout the Test and ODI series. Another inexplicable collpase at Visakhapatnam left them tottering at 5-163. Lendl Simmons and Ravi Rampaul bailed the team out with gritty knocks. Rampaul smashed an unbeaten 86, hitting the Indian bowlers all over the park.

India had a shaky start with stand-in captain Virender Sehwag, Parthiv Patel and Gautam Gambhir leaving early. But Virat Kohli and Rohit sharma played with maturity to see the team home. Kohli hit his eighth ODI century while Sharma again showed that he has learnt his lessons after being dropped.

Another high point for India was the bowling of the pacers. Youngsters Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar and Varun Aaron bowled with pace and swing, exploiting the conditions, and pinning down the West Indies batsmen.

Sehwag may not be scoring runs, but his captaincy has come as a whip of fresh air. Quite like his batting, he has been aggressive with his captaincy. He always had fielders in catching positions that put pressure on the West Indies batsmen. There were no easy runs on offer.

Teams:

India: Virender Sehwag (captain), Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Parthiv Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Abhimanyu Mithun, R.Vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron, Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Rahul Sharma

West Indies: Lendl Simmons, Adrian Barath, Marlon Samuels, Darren Bravo, Danza Hyatt, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin, Darren Sammy (captain), Andre Russell, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Anthony Martin, Sunil Narine, Kieran Powell, Jason Mohammed.

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10:26 PM

short of six to sachins 100th 100

Mumbai, November 25, 2011 (AFP) - Sachin Tendulkar fell agonisingly short of an unprecedented 100th hundred while Ravichandran Ashwin hit a maiden century as the third Test between India and the West Indies headed for a draw on Friday.

Tendulkar scored a superb 94 and Ashwin a robust 103 in only his third Test before India were bowled out for 482 in their first innings in reply to the West Indies' 590 on the penultimate day.

The tourists were 81-2 in their second innings at stumps for an overall lead of 189 with eight wickets in hand, with teenager Kraigg Brathwaite (34 not out) and Darren Bravo (27 not out) at the crease.

Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, who opened the attack, removed Adrian Barath (three) and Kirk Edwards (17).

India, needing 391 to avoid the follow-on, were struggling at 331-6 before Virat Kohli (52) and Ashwin added 97 valuable runs for the seventh wicket at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Ashwin also became the third Indian after Vinoo Mankad and Polly Umrigar to grab five wickets in an innings and score a century in the same Test. He hit two sixes and 15 fours in his 118-ball knock.

It was the first time in the history of Test cricket that 11 half-centuries or more were scored in the first innings of a match, with the West Indies making six and India five.

Tendulkar looked set to complete a century of centuries as he had been timing the ball remarkably well before he attempted to drive paceman Ravi Rampaul on the up and was caught by Darren Sammy at second slip.

While the West Indies celebrated the huge success, the "Little Master" walked back dejectedly and nearly 15,000 cheering spectators suddenly fell silent at the 32,000-capacity stadium.

With the spectators applauding each run from Tendulkar and chanting "Sa-chin, Sachin", the batting star started the day with an attacking stroke when he flicked Rampaul past square-leg for a four in the opening over.

Tendulkar, 67 overnight, continued to play attractive shots as he straight-drove Rampaul for a four and then uppercut paceman Fidel Edwards over the slips for a six to move into the nineties before the disaster struck. He smashed two sixes and eight fours in his 153-ball knock.

Skipper Sammy's words came true a day after he said his team hoped to break a "few Indian hearts" by trying to get local hero Tendulkar out early with a disciplined bowling performance. In fact, his team broke millions of hearts.

It was the 10th time in an illustrious 184-Test career that Tendulkar had fallen in the nineties.

Tendulkar, who scored his 99th international hundred against South Africa in a World Cup match in Nagpur in March, also came close to achieving the feat in the fourth Test in England in August before being dismissed for 91.

India, resuming 281-3, lost two more wickets in the morning as Venkatsai Laxman (32) was caught by Marlon Samuels at gully off Edwards off the first ball he faced and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (eight) was bowled by Sammy.

India lead 2-0 in the series after winning the opening Test in New Delhi by five wickets and the second match in Kolkata by an innings and 15 runs.

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8:42 AM

Tendulkar very closer to 100th ton, Dravid crosses 13,000-run mark

Mumbai, Nov 24 (IANS) Rahul Dravid Thursday became the second player in the world to score 13,000 runs in Test cricket after Sachin Tendulkar, who himself was 33 short of his 100th international century, as India ended the third day of the third and last cricket Test at 281 for three in reply to the West Indies' first-innings score of 590.

Dravid missed his hundred by a mere 18 runs, though he crossed the thousand runs in the calendar year, and Tendulkar was still there batting on 67 and with him at stumps was V.V.S.Laxman on 32.

All the top-order Indian batsmen, barring Virender Shewag (37), got half-centuries, Dravid top-scoring with 82 (149 balls, 11x4) was involved in two good partnerships -- 71 for the second wicket with Gautam Gambhir and 86 runs for the third with Tendulkar.

Gautam Gambhir (55) and Sehwag gave India the customary rousing start, knocking up 67 runs at over five runs an over, after off-spinner Ravichandran Aswhin (5/156) picked up his second five-wicket haul as the West Indies innings came to a close within 15 minutes of the morning play.

Sehwag brought up the 50 of the innings, greeting Darren Sammy with a huge six over the covers.

Sammy, however, was rewarded for his accuracy in his third over when he pitched it just short of driving length and it nipped back enough to rattle Sehwag's stumps. This was the third time the Indian opener was dismissed by the West Indies captain in the series.

India were 74/1 at lunch break, and in the second session Gambhir and Dravid got going untroubled. Dravid reached the milestone of 13,000 runs with a classic drive for four off Sammy as he moved from 19 to 23.

Gambhir reached his half-century with a lofted shot over mid-wicket off Sammy and a ball later struck the medium-pacer to the on for a four.

The re-introduction of fast bowler Ravi Rampaul did the trick. Gambhir looked good for a big innings when he tried to hook a bouncer and was adjudged caught behind. The Delhi batsman was seen shaking his head as he walked off and the TV replays and snickometre were not conclusive.

In walked hometown hero Tendulkar to a rousing welcome from the crowd in the hope of his hundredth international century. Even he looked confident and secure, timing his shots to perfection till an intended late-cut off Devendra Bishoo was dropped by Carlton Baugh.

He was on 58 then, but there was no hint of such an aberration as he drove off Rampaul for four or upper-cut Fidel Edwards sailing 15 rows into the stand for a six.
Dravid was also in great touch, getting to his half-century off 99 deliveries, and was on his way to his 37th Test century. Unaccountably, he tried to cut off-spinner Marlon Samuels and missed. The ball took the bail off.
Earlier, the West Indies, resuming at 575/9, survived just 3.1 overs before their innings folded up, last man Bishoo being bowled by Ashwin, who finished with five for 156.

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8:57 AM

Opening the door for American Cricket

Union Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor today suggested that cricket series between the arch-rivals India and Pakistan could be organised in a neutral venue like the USA.

Pointing out that the USA has many cricket enthusiasts, Tharoor, who had his education in that country, today hoped that an Indo-Pak cricket series would well be appreciated by the public there.

"We have a large patriotic population of both Indians and Pakistani in the USA and a handful of cricket enthusiasts as well. That`s a very, very good way to organise cricket in third countries when terror strikes have stopped cricket between the two countries," Tharoor said.

"It will be terrific to see a baseball stadium in the USA crowded for a cricket match, though the stadium will be small by cricket standards," he added.

"There is a lot at stake in Indo-Pak rivalry as there is some historical baggage (of Partition). There is a greater degree of detachment among spectators which makes Indo-Pak cricket so exciting," said Tharoor, who has co-authored a book `Shadows Across the Playing Field` with former Pakistan Cricket Board chief Shaharyar Khan.


Recalling the resumption of Indo-Pak cricket in 2004 that was termed as a friendship tour, Tharoor said, "For the first time so many cricket visas were given. The atmosphere was so good among fans."

"In earlier days, a total of about 200 used to be quite competitive. Now the standard has gone up. Test cricket is considered as the highest degree," Tharoor said.

"If there is any record in this ongoing seven-match India-Australia series, it will not linger much in your memory, but an achievement in Test cricket has an embedding quality which would be remembered for 40-50 years," Tharoor said.

Tharoor was speaking at the launching ceremony of his book in the city.

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12:02 AM

Glory for Pakistan and agony for India

India ’s fate in the ICC Champions Trophy hinged more on the result of the Australia-Pakistan game at the Super Sport Park in Centurion than their own against the West Indies at the Wanderers in Johannesburg .

Both the matches were taking place on the same day (September 30) and it was to India’s advantage that their encounter was a day-nighter, meaning it started a few hours later than the other one being played entirely in sunlight.

Pakistan had already qualified for the semifinals with the blessings of the Nature as the washed out tie between Australia and India allowed them this luxury even before taking the field for the final league outing.

Australia and India were the two contenders for the single semifinal slot that remained vacant. India were to get a lifeline only if Pakistan managed to defeat Australia . In other words India ’s fate was lying in Pakistan ’s hands.

Pakistan had all cards in their pocket entering the game against Australia and their peace of mind was reflected in body language. Younis Khan and his boys were absolutely relaxed while playing pressure-free cricket.

Australia had everything to play for but Pakistan were not supposed to be pushed about it. The manner in which Pakistan batted had made it clear that they were more interested in going through the motions rather than making efforts to do anything sensational. The idea of conserving energy for the upcoming knockout games might also have been in their mind.

Pakistan , who are known for making the most of the death overs even with tail-enders make hay, scored only one run in the penultimate over of the innings with specialist batsmen at the crease. The batting powerplay overs were hardly utilized.

Australia were cruising towards a cakewalk victory when suddenly the match opened up with the departure of Michael Hussey. There was tension in their camp and the wickets kept on tumbling as soon as the Pakistan bowlers applied pressure.

The pace trio of Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan bowled exceptionally well in their final spells and the Australians were absolutely clueless. It was happening at the same time when India were in the process of wrapping up the West Indian innings.

Obviously the Indians must have become interested but their excitement was short lived because the Australians somehow got the winning run on the final ball of their innings. That meant the end of the road for India as far as the tournament was concerned.

Had Australia succumbed to defeat, the Indian would have been in a rush to chase their target of 130 against the West Indies . Since that didn’t happen they had full 50 overs at their disposal to register a consolation win, their first in the competition.

The Indian captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who himself got a wicket against the West Indies, very right pointed out that it was the defeat to Pakistan that crippled their chances of qualifying for the semifinals. The road had to be bumpy afterwards and so it turned out.

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8:40 AM

Washout hurts India, takes Pakistan into semifinals

Just the other day one of the most respected names in the banking circles, in a one-to-one chat, shared his gut feeling that Pakistan might win the ongoing Champions Trophy in South Africa.

When enquired about the reason of this thought coming to his mind he very candidly pointed out that the way things were falling in place for them there’s a great possibility of the trophy coming their way.

That discussion had taken place earlier in the day in Karachi on September 28, quite a few hours before the start of the Australia-India tie at the Super Sport Park in Centurion.

Little did I know, at least, that Pakistan would be progressing to the semifinals of the event without worrying for the outcome of their last league fixture against Australia! How could have anyone predicted a washout game when none of the previous matches had been affected by rain.

It was a do-or-die situation for India and the composition of their team suggested that they were not taking any chances. They had packed their side with five specialist bowlers, having dropped the struggling Yousuf Pathan.

The spin bowling department was reinforced with the induction of ‘leggie’ Amit Mishra who was right on the money from the first ball he bowled. He could have been even more lethal if a catch was not dropped off his bowling in the slips quite early in his spell. Harbhajan Singh was retained on past reputation because he deserved to be axed or rested after his below-par performance against Pakistan which cost India the game.

The tale of horror continued for the Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni because his fastest bowler, Ishant Sharma, looked completely out of sorts in the crunch game. Just as you can’t set a field for bad bowling obviously you can’t be prepared for your premier speedster to lose his way so dramatically.


Dhoni must have been a concerned man as nearly every Australian batsman was occupying the crease and doing the business fearlessly. India could have pulled it back in the final overs but still they would have been chasing something close to 300 if not more, had the rains not disrupted the game.

On the other hand if the rains had stopped after a couple of hours, India could have been set a target on DL method in which the asking rate would have been higher but the number of overs would have been considerably reduced.

I can never recall the rains having come to India’s rescue and as it had happened in the past on numerous occasions the match could not resume much to the dismay of their supporters.

The only beneficiary of the washout game between Australia and India was Pakistan who acquired complete peace of mind by going into the semifinals. The situation could have been tense for Pakistan if India defeated Australia in which case they would have been required to perform well in their last league outing against Australia.

India are not out of the tournament yet theoretically but the chances of them moving ahead in the prevailing circumstances are remote.

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3:03 AM

India take Australia in a must-win game

India brace up for a colossal challenge as they take on defending champions Australia in their second Group A match of the Champions Trophy.

The 54-run loss to Pakistan on Saturday night has not just exposed the frailties of India's bowling and batting but has also put them in danger of crashing out of the event in case they lose today.

The injury-hit team is up against an opponent which came into the event after mauling England 6-1 in an ODI series.

But the world champions looked a bit rusty, surviving quite a few nervous moments against a rag-tag West Indies in their opening 50-run win Saturday.

That, however, can hardly be of any comfort for Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men.

Ripped apart by Mohammad Yousuf and Shoaib Malik, the Indian bowling is in for a overhaul and serious consideration is being given to the idea of going in with two frontline spinners.

Despite the mauling against Pakistan, Harbhajan Singh is expected to retain his spot but leg-spinner Amit Mishra might just get a look-in in the must-win clash against Australia.

Indian seam bowlers were a liability at the Centurion with the trio of Ashish Nehra, Ishant Sharma and RP Singh conceding 153 runs from their 27 overs. .

By the evidence so far, good spinners are a must on the slowish track at Centurion. Sri Lankan Ajantha Mendis did a star turn against South Africa in the tour opener and Saeed Ajmal was similarly impressive last night.

"Dhoni`s boys face a masdsive challenge when they take on Australia in Group A match of ICC Champions Trophy.

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2:37 AM

Team India left to SA for Champions Trophy

Mumbai: Team India today departed for South Africa to play the ICC Champions Trophy that starts from September 22.

The team left by the Dubai-bound flight from the Chhatrapati Shivaji International airport, Mumbai, and from Dubai, they will be taking a connecting flight to Johannesburg.

The ‘Men in Blue’ returned from Sri Lanka on September 15 after lifting the Compaq Cup in the tri-series that also included New Zealand.


The victory has made them the favourites for the Champions Trophy, which will see the participation of eight teams; India, Australia, England, West Indies, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, South Africa.

The team will play a warm-up match against New Zealand on September 20. Placed in Group A along with Australia, Pakistan and the West Indies, Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men will open their league engagements on September 26 against Pakistan.

Gautam Gambhir, who was forced to quit the tri-series mid-way due to a groin strain, has been given a clean chit for the Champions Trophy, which will indeed prove to be a big boost for the team.

India will miss the services of opener Virender Sehwag due to his shoulder injury.

The Squad: MS Dhoni (c/wk), Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Rahul Dravid, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, Dinesh Karthik, Praveen Kumar, Amit Mishra, Abhishek Nayar, Ashish Nehra, Yusuf Pathan, Suresh Raina, Ishant Sharma, RP Singh.

Coach: Gary Kirsten

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10:57 PM

Pakistan will beat India in Champions Trophy: Gul

UAE:Pakistan has never beaten India in an ICC tournament and pacer Umar Gul says his team is desperate to break the jinx when the two sides come face to face in next month’s Champions Trophy in South Africa.

“While every match will be important, the game against India, as always, will be special for both the sides. No rivalry can match that between India and Pakistan and I think the September 26 match will be something billions of people all over the world will be waiting for,” Gul said.

“For us, the match is also important for the simple fact that we haven’t beaten them in an ICC event and we’re desperate to break that sequence,” he added.

“I believe we have an excellent team for one-day cricket and it is the combination that makes us a quality side. The return of Mohammad Yousuf and Rana Naved has provided further impetus to the side which is bubbling with confidence after its victory in the ICC World Twenty20 in England in June.”

“But we’re aware that it is not going to be easy at all in South Africa and we’ll have to be at our best all through to win,” Gul said in an ICC news letter.

Pakistan is grouped with Australia, the West Indies and India. Gul said the Pakistani team is high on confidence after winning the World Twenty20 Championships in June but is also feeling the pressure of expectations.

“Although it is a different format, it is always good to go in as a champion side because it gives you that extra confidence which is vital in big tournaments. However, our victory in England has raised the bar of expectations and our supporters want us to win everything. That puts us under more pressure.”

India is the only country that has won all the three major ICC events – the 50-over World Cup (in 1983), ICC Champions Trophy (jointly with Sri Lanka in 2002) and ICC World Twenty20 (in 2007).

Gul believes it is Pakistan’s turn to add the one trophy which is missing from its cabinet by winning the eight-nation tournament to be staged from September 22 to October 5.

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5:54 AM

India is going to become top ranked ODI side

The Indian team has had the habit of disappointing their fans with the most horrible performances against the run of play. For some reasons they have not been consistent enough despite being in the possession of a quality outfit.

At times one gets the impression that the movers and shakers in the Indian Board are quite content in watching their team take the second position when they appear quite capable of being on top of the three.

The Indians don’t really look all that keen to attain the number one position. It’s hard to comprehend their reluctance to occupy the top slot. Be it a tournament or the rankings of the International Cricket Council (ICC) they make others feel that they are more than happy to be placed among the top teams rather than being the leading outfit.

There have been numerous tournaments over the years when the fancied Indian outfits have fallen away in the final after being in the driving seat throughout. I think they have lost more one-day finals than any other team.

The latest ODI rankings issued by the ICC, following the conclusion of the recent Zimbabwe-Bangladesh series show India just one point behind leaders South Africa. It very clearly means that Mahendra Singh Dhoni stands a very good chance of taking his team to the top of the points table if his team plays to its potential in the upcoming triangular series in Sri Lanka.

That’s a million dollar question. Will the Indians aim for the number one ahead of the Champions Trophy being held in South Africa next month or will they remain contended with the second spot.

We have seen it so many times the Indians giving it away against unfancied opponents. Neither Sri Lanka nor New Zealand have that kind of powerful team as India but one can’t be sure if Dhoni’s men would be pushing hard for victory.

If the Indians do go hard at both their opponents there’s very little chance of them not accomplishing the goal of winning the tournament and taking the number one position in the rankings. We need to wait a little to know that.

South Africa currently occupy the top position in the ICC’s ODI ranking with 127 points while India are just a solitary point adrift at second position. Australia are placed third with 119 points while England are number four with 111 points.


New Zealand (110), Pakistan (109) and Sri Lanka (104) are not that far behind on the next three positions but the West Indies have only 78 points to be at the eighth position.

Bangladesh, on a high of late, are fast closing the gap having accumulated 55 points to be ranked number nine. The tenth position is taken by Ireland with 27 points with Zimbabwe having slipped to the second last position on the list with only 26 points. Kenya remain at the bottom, not having gained any point yet.

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10:07 PM