Exciting Test match after that
stupid one sided test match ......
Good to see Test bowlers doing
good again & batsmen struggling
out there.
As long as such contests exists &
result orientated Test matches
exists...Test matches will survive
for many more years.
Hats off to Indian
Bowlers...specially Zaheer
Khan & Harbhajan Singh at
his best in this one . Zaheer &
Bhajji just gave the Indian Team
another chance to redeem
themselves from the pathetic
defeat in last match & a chance
to cement their No.1 Test
ranking.
All we need the batsmen to do is
hand a decent target to fight for.
The batsmen on the other
end...flopped again inspite of an
impressive lineup....... Murali
Vijay has just experienced how
difficult international cricket
against quality bowlers can be.
Dravid & Sachin were very
ordinary in this match.
Laxman hits his Six in 5
years...whattttttt !!!! ...&
people wonder why this guy
isnt playing ODIs ???
Sehwag, like I pointed out last
time, was supposed to play
responsibly...but he messes up
again . Dhoni looks like the
only responsible batsman out
there in this series ...trying to
add in runs.Dhoni-Bhajji
partnership was useful in the first
innings. Good to see Laxman
back into some runs.
This Match belongs to the
bowlers... Dale Steyn is the
world's best.... Zaheer, Bhajji
doing their best too.
Go Zaheer, Go Bhajji, Go Team
India !!!!!!!!!!
Seven Indian cricketers in fray for ODI dream team
Dubai, Dec 22 (IANS) Seven
Indian cricketers, including
Sachin Tendulkar, are among 48
players in the fray for the dream
One-day international (ODI)
team being selected to mark the
40th anniversary of ODI cricket.
The International Cricket
Council's (ICC) official website is
asking supporters from across
the globe to select a dream team
from a shortlist of 48 players and
also pick their favourite game
from a choice of 10 memorable
matches.
Former captain Sourav Ganguly
and Virender Sehwag are the
other two Indian batsmen whose
names have been nominated for
selection among eight openers
for the first two batting slots in
the dream team.
India's World Cup winning
captain Kapil Dev is in the
running for the all-rounder's slot
while current skipper Mahendra
Singh Dhoni will be competing
with seven others for the wicket-
keeping position.
Harbhajan Singh and Anl
Kumble, along with six others,
will fight for the lone spinner in
the dream team.
'Supporters can vote on
www.icc-cricket.com until Jan 2
to make their selections. They
can also send in their dream
teams and favourite matches via
www.facebook/cricketicc or
www.twitter.com/cricketicc,' ICC
said in a statement.
The names will be announced
Jan 5 to coincide with the 40th
anniversary of the first-ever ODI
match between Australia and
England.
'With the ICC Cricket World Cup
2011 now less than two months
away, excitement and interest in
the One-day format of the game
will intensify. We know that fans
will enjoy having the chance to
remember some of the great
games and great players to have
played in ODI cricket during the
past 40 years,' said ICC chief
executive Haroon Lorgat.
'Cricket Australia will mark the
40th anniversary of ODI cricket
with a number of events,
including a reception with
members of Australia's first ODI
team at Victoria's Government
House, during Melbourne's
Cricket Weekend Jan 14-16.
The Australian ODI team from
1971 will also be presented to
the crowd during the innings
break of the first ODI match of
the series between Australia and
England at the MCG Jan 16.
Greatest ODI team of all time
(from)
Opening batsmen (2) - Saeed
Anwar, Sourav Ganguly, Gordon
Greenidge, Matthew Hayden,
Sanath Jayasuriya, Virender
Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Glenn
Turner.
Middle-order batsmen (3) -
Michael Bevan, Martin Crowe,
Aravinda de Silva, Inzamam-ul
Haq, Brian Lara, Javed Miandad,
Ricky Ponting, Viv Richards.
All-rounder (1) - Ian Botham,
Kapil Dev, Andrew Flintoff,
Richard Hadlee, Jacques Kallis,
Imran Khan, Lance Klusener,
Shaun Pollock.
Wicket-keeper (1) - Mark
Boucher, M.S. Dhoni, Andy
Flower, Adam Gilchrist, Romesh
Kaluwitharana, Moin Khan, Alec
Stewart, Kumar Sangakkara.
Fast bowlers (3) - Wasim Akram,
Allan Donald, Joel Garner,
Michael Holding, Dennis Lillee,
Glenn McGrath, Chaminda Vaas,
Waqar Younis.
Spinner (1) - Shahid Afridi, Carl
Hooper, Anil Kumble, Muttiah
Muralidaran, Saqlain Mushtaq,
Harbhajan Singh, Shane Warne,
Daniel Vettori.
The saga of Sachin's 50 Test centuries
New Delhi: Cricket saw one of
the most famous chapter added
to its history book on Sunday
when another record fell to the
feet of arguably the greatest
player to play the game - Sachin
Tendulkar - when the legend
scored his 50th Test hundred at
the Centurion.
While it might turn out to be a
century for the losing cause, it
will hold a special place not only
in the record books but in the
heart of every cricket fan.To silence those who say Sachin
plays for records, the master
himself trashed those talks on
Sunday. "I never think about
records. I love to focus on
preparation and trying to give
more than 100 per cent on the
field. I love to play, try and keep
improving. If I would have been
chasing records, I would not
have opted out of few ODIs,"
said Tendulkar.
However, one can't run away
from the fact that Sachin, in fact,
is the 'Record Man' of cricket
with almost every run-making
record having his name inscribed
on it. To add to that series, here
is a list of some interesting
records related to Sachin's Test
tons.
- Most 100s against an
opponent: 11 v Australia.
- Most 100s in a calendar year: 7
in 2010.
- Most 100s on a ground: 5 at
Chepauk (Chennai).
- Most 100s in a country: 22 in
India (the most he has scored
outside India is 6 in Australia).
- Most 100s on a particular
position: 43 at number 4 (he has
hit 5 at No. 5 and 2 at No. 6).
- Most 100s under a captain: 15
under Mohammad Azharuddin
(in 47 matches).
- Result-wise summary of 100s:
20 in matches won, 19 in
matches drawn and 10 in
matches lost.
- Break-up of 100s at home and
abroad : 22 at home, 28 abroad.
- Innings-wise break-up of
Tendulkar's 100s: 20 in first
innings of match, 17 in second
innings of match, 10 in third
innings of match and 3 in fourth
innings of match.Group Lotus to take Renault stake in long term deal
Group Lotus has confirmed its
much-rumoured partnership
with Renault F1 from 2011, with
the team to be renamed Lotus
Renault GP. The deal is for seven
years to the end of the 2017
season and will see Group Lotus
inject title sponsorship in excess
of £100m over that period.
The new partnership has been
enabled by Renault selling its
remaining 25% share in the team
to Genii Capital. Group Lotus will
subsequently become a major
equity partner in Lotus Renault
GP, which it will co-own with
Genii. Renault will continue its
strong support as a supplier of
engines and technological and
engineering expertise. The team
will continue to compete with
the Renault chassis name and
Renault will enjoy pre-eminent
brand exposure on the livery.
"We are delighted that we can
now go public with the news that
we will be racing as Lotus
Renault GP in 2011," said Genii
Capital boss Gerard Lopez. "It is
extremely exciting to begin a new
era for the team in partnership
with Group Lotus, and we will
continue to enjoy a strong
relationship with Renault over
the coming seasons. It is a tribute
to the excellent work this year by
the team in Enstone that we
have been able to attract both
major sponsorship and new
investment for a very bright
future."
The team has also revealed its
new black and gold livery - two
months in the making - as it
intends to recapture the iconic
associations of the colour
scheme prompted by the John
Player Special Lotus sponsorship
of the seventies and eighties. As
things stand, however, the Tony
Fernandes/Mike Gascoyne-led
Lotus Racing, has announced
similar plans for its team,
entered as Team Lotus in 2011...
The matter of ownership rights
to the Team Lotus name in F1 is
currently the subject of an action
due in the British High Court
after Fernandes purchased the
disputed rights from David Hunt
earlier this year.
Group Lotus CEO Dany Bahar,
who has recent F1 experience
with both Ferrari and Red Bull
Racing, said: "I can think of no
better platform for automotive
brand communications than
motorsport and F1 is the very
pinnacle of open-wheel racing.
We're well aware that there has
been a lot of controversy around
the usage of our brand in F1
and I'm delighted to be able to
formally clarify our position once
and for all: we are Lotus and we
are back."
Group Lotus intends to use F1 to
spearhead the marketing of a
new era of sportscar production
aimed at moving the brand up-
market. Lotus New Era was
unveiled at the Paris Motor Show
in October, featuring the new
Esprit, Elan, Elite, Elise and
Eterne. It is understood that
politics apart, Group Lotus
wanted an association with a
team capable of running at the
front in F1 rather than waiting
for the Fernandes/Gascoyne
operation to develop the
necessary infrastructure.
Genii, meanwhile, is also offering
Group Lotus-owning Proton, "the
ability to leverage existing
business relationships in Russia
and other parts of the world, as
a means to expand Proton's
global reach. Through Genii,
Proton can also potentially
access advanced automotive
technologies by virtue of Genii's
association with Mangrove, a
venture capital group."
The Russian associations could
lead to the assumption that
Vitaly Petrov's seat alongside
Robert Kubica is safe, athough
Petrov was not confirmed at the
same time as the announcement,
which may have been
anticipated. Some sources
continue to suggest that Nicolas
Todt's associations with Bahar
and Felipe Massa's relatively
troubled year alongside Felipe
Massa at Ferrari could lead to
both being part of the new Lotus
Renault association going
forward.
Enquiries along those lines were
met with a denial, however, and
we understand that it is 'likely'
that Petrov will retain his seat
with the team.
Hulkenberg eyes Force India seat
Nico Hulkenberg admits that
Force India is the team he is
most likely to land a race-seat
with.
Having been let go by Williams,
Hulkneberg is on the lookout for
a new drive, and the young
German spoke earlier in the
week of his strong belief that he
would be successful in his quest.
The 23-year-old now reveals that
he is in talks with Force India
about a contract, and hopes to
have resolved the situation in the
coming weeks.
"Right now as we talk I am not
sure. I hope, and we are working
very hard, to get a deal done
but it is no secret that there are
not many good race seats left,"
he told the official Formula One
website.
"The hope is still there and I am
not giving up. I hope I can give
you a positive answer very soon.
Hopefully before Christmas.
"Force India is our best shot, but
it is also no secret that quite a
few drivers are trying to land a
seat there. We are talking to
them and let's wait and see what
develops."
Hulkenberg largely impressed
during his debut season, with the
highlight undoubtedly a pole
position in Brazil, a feat he
admits he had hoped would
secure his place at Williams.
"Of course [I hoped it would be
enough]. This Brazilian pole
position was something that
Williams had not tasted in years,
but then again, one lap does not
change the course of history," he
explained.
"There had been signs before
that there was something
brewing, because the team
repeatedly delayed contract
talks, putting it off to 'manana',
so I was forewarned that
something was going on.
Nevertheless I would have liked
to stay with them."
Hulkenberg's replacement at
Williams, Pastor Maldonado, has
secured the backing of a handful
of sponsors, including the
Venezuelan government, and
Hulkenberg concedes that it is
becoming near impossible to
make it in F1 on talent alone.
"It has become much, much
harder to open doors if your
application does not come with a
serious sponsor package and you
really only rely on your talent as
the sole 'sales argument'," he
said.
"This is quite frustrating and
somewhat sad - especially if you
can show you have had a good
season as a reference."
Asked where he would look next
if a deal was not made with
Force India, the 2009 GP series
winner was defiant in his answer:
"I don't want to think about a
Plan B. My focus is 100 percent
on finding a good race seat for
2011. That is where all my efforts
are going right now."
People's choice for IPL dream team: Sachin best as captain
Though the auction for the
fourth edition of the Indian
Premier League (IPL) is yet to be
kicked off, few teams have
already grabbed their favourite
players, thus saving them from
the auction bid.
However, as per the rules of the
IPL Governing Council, no team
is allowed to retain more than
four players. According to the
rules, among the retained
players, atleast three must be
Indian and one foreigner.
Your Dream Team
Dainik Bhaskar had conducted a
survey to ask the readers about
their dream team. We had asked
you which players you would
want in your team being the
owner of an IPL team. We got
maximum participation and
tremendous response from our
readers.
Readers picked a balanced team
After counting the votes, we
found that the team you
selected was quite balanced and
included openers, middle order
batsmen, spinners, fast bowlers
and wicketkeepers.
Sachin Tendulkar - top choice
for captaincy
Master blaster Sachin tendulkar
emerged as the first choice for
captaincy. However, many
readers want to see Virendra
Sehwag and Mahendra Singh
Dhoni as a captain.
Virender Sehwag and Yousuf
gets maximum votes
As a player in the dream team,
Viru and Yusuf Pathan got
maximum votes, followed by
Sachin, Yuvraj, Watson, Gambhir,
Raina, AB Markel, Zaheer Khan,
Mallinga, Harbhajan and Dhoni.
Following is the IPL Dream Team
of dainikbhaskar.com readers
Opener
Virender Sehwag, Gautam
Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar
(captain)
Middle Order
Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf
Pathan
Wicketkeeper
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
All-rounder
Shane Watson, AB Markel
Bowler
Zaheer Khan, Lasith Mallinga,
Harbhajan Singh
Wife expecting, Anderson returns to England
Sydney: England fast bowler
James Anderson has returned
home to be present at the birth
of his child but plans to return
to Australia in time for the third
Ashes test in Perth, coach Andy
Flower said on Wednesday. It’s
not ideal, it’s not perfect but we
try to get the balance right
between our commitments to
England and our responsibility to
the individual and his family,
Flower said.
