Sehwag's record-breaking 219

Quite naturally, the only memory that will remain of the India vs West Indies 4th ODI is that of Virender Sehwag smashing his way into the record books with 219 bludgeoned runs, but along the way Sehwag also crossed the significant landmark of 8000 ODI runs. Sehwag is on the cusp of 8000 Test runs too and it's a safe bet that he will end his career with 10,000 runs in both forms of the game. Another facet that completely escaped notice during Sehwag's innings was that in terms of balls faced, the 149 that he lasted today was the longest Sehwag has ever batted in ODIs. His previous best was during the opening match of the 2011 World Cup where he batted for 140 balls while bludgeoning 175 runs against Bangladesh. Given that Sehwag had stated before the World Cup that he would aim to stay for the full 50 overs at the crease - and given the devastating results when he does stay for long - this is a welcome sign for the Indian team. It also means that if Sehwag continues to have innings where he aims to last the full quota of overs, he could have another mammoth score soon to join in the list of best ever scores in ODI cricket.

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4:02 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

Tendulkar and Dhoni rested for West indies Tour

India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, leading the side in the ongoing Test series against the tourists, has been rested for the entire series, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said in a statement on Friday.

Hard-hitting opener Virender Sehwag will lead the team in Dhoni's absence.

Tendulkar, with 51 hundreds in Tests and 48 in one-day internationals, came close to scoring the 100th century before falling for 94 in the ongoing third and final Test in Mumbai on Friday.

All-rounder Yuvraj Singh was not named in the 15-man squad for the opening three matches as he was not fit. "Yuvraj was not considered for selection as he has informed that he is not fully fit," the BCCI said.

The opening one-day international starts in Cuttack on November 29.

India's one-day squad for first three matches:

Virender Sehwag (capt), Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Parthiv Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Praveen Kumar, Vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron, Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Rahul Sharma.

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10:01 PM

Lakshmipathy Balaji

Full Name: Lakshmipathy Balaji
Born: 27 September 1981, Madras (now Chennai), Tamil Nadu
Major Teams: Tamil Nadu, India.

Also Known As: Naidu
Batting Style: Right Hand Bat
Bowling Style: Right Arm Medium Fast
Profile:
Just 21 years of age, much is expected of medium-pacer Lakshmipathy Balaji. The youngster, still finishing university in Chennai, has risen to the national level in a short span of time. With Tamil Nadu opting for a predominantly mediumpace driven strategy in the Ranji Trophy, with something in the home wicket for the quick men, Balaji has become an intergral part of his state team. Bowling with a whippy, quick-arm action, Balaji has the ability to bowler quicker deliveries, yorkers or bouncers without a perceptible change in action. When he took five-wicket hauls in several consecutive Ranji Trophy matches in the last season, his name began doing the rounds in cricket circles. With the World Cup in mind, the Indian think tank has used the one-dayers against West Indies to try out several cricketers and this, more than anything else, has fast-tracked Balaji's rise to the highest level.
Career Statistics:

(including 16/10/2003)
M I NO Runs HS Ave SR 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 2 1 0 4 4 4.00 17.39 0 0 0 0

O M R W Ave BBI 5 10 SR Econ
Bowling 67 21 183 1 183.00 1-84 0 0 402.0 2.73

ONE-DAY INTERNATIONALS
(including 24/01/2004)
M I NO Runs HS Ave SR 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 7 1 1 0 0* - - 0 0 4 0

O M R W Ave BBI 4w 5w SR Econ
Bowling 55 3 299 8 37.37 4-48 1 0 41.2 5.43

FIRST-CLASS
(2001/02 - 2003/04; last updated 24/01/2004)
M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 40 39 12 313 37 11.59 0 0 14 0

O M R W Ave BBI 5 10 SR Econ
Bowling 1303.2 299 3717 146 25.45 7-42 10 4 53.5 2.85

LIST A LIMITED OVERS
(2001/02 - 2003/04; last updated 24/01/2004)
M I NO Runs HS Ave SR 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 38 15 7 60 18 7.50 60.60 0 0 10 0

O M R W Ave BBI 4w 5w SR Econ
Bowling 334.1 21 1579 64 24.67 5-36 1 2 31.3 4.72

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8:47 AM