Why Cricket Needs Pakistan

I was listening to the infamous "forfeited" Test match between England in Pakistan back in August of 2006 when Inzamam-Ul-Haq's side refused to come out of the dressing room after tea. Pakistan had been penalized five runs for ball tampering by umpires Hair and Doctrove. As an American, I was quite confused...

Why all the fuss over only 5 runs?

As the events played themselves out that summer, many things unfolded. Umpire Hair's career went into ruin. The Pakistan team fell into chaos. And the ICC eventually restored (then unrestored?) the the game to a draw, then back to a victory for England.

As an avid sports enthusiast, it took me a long time to come to grips with the decision to protest the 5 run penalty by staying in the dressing room and the consequences that occurred. Certainly, Inzi was not fully aware of what would happen next, as he and his team eventually took the field, ready to play, only to find that the umpires had removed the bails and there were no batsmen out in the middle.

To be sure, even the Test Match Special team was unsure what was happening, relying on the Oval announcer to relay the fact that play was indeed done for the day.

But amidst all the confusion that reigned on that day, and all the fallout that came afterwards, I finally realized why it happened, and why it had to happen...

They did what they believed was right.

We in the West have lost touch with belief to some degree, especially in how we apply it to sport. Oh, there's certainly a large number of prayers and thank-yous that are said in the heat of a match, after a score, during a victory.

But the conviction one carries to the court, to the field, to the pitch is so much different when there's nothing to gain and so much to lose.

Pakistan had nothing to gain by staying in that dressing room. But what they thought they had to lose - their integrity, their sense of rightness and more importantly their perception as 'cheats' in the eyes of may cricket fans - was worth whatever the consequences.

Americans have lost this integrity, almost completely. We teach our kids 'sportsmanship', but that quickly turns to 'gamesmanship' - winning at any cost, bending the rules, trying to get away with murder. The money that has been poured into sport has completely skewed the sense of fairness and correctness from a very young age. What is your reputation worth if you can sign a $30 million dollar contract? What's a few rules violations if you can be drafted higher by a professional team?

I know that a lot has happened to the Pakistan cricket team in the past few years. Sometimes it seems they are a lightning rod for controversy. From the terrible attacks in Lahore to the spot fixing controversies of this past summer, it may look to many like cricket should cast away Pakistan and rid itself of its most troublesome nation.

But that would be wrong.

A few months ago, my small cricket club in Vermont, USA got an unexpected fan on it's Facebook page. Zulqarnain Haider, a backup wicketkeeper for Pakistan, 'liked' my club's page. I responded kindly, and congratulated him on his being chosen for the upcoming tour of England. After his brave 88 runs at Edgbaston, our club felt quite proud having a fan with actual Test runs under his belt. Little did we know that this knock was not what he'd forever be known for...

As everyone now knows, Haider fled Dubai after being approached by a bookie and threatened with harm to him and his family if he did not help fix a match against South Africa. Rather than comply, (which would have been the easy thing to do) he fled to the UK and told his story to the press. It was not about money, it was not about security.

It was about what he believed was right.

After hearing his story, it is not difficult to imagine the fears that may have led Mohammad Amir to make a decision, under similar circumstances, that led towards safety and away from fear. I cannot say what I myself would have done.

But when an individual like Haider, or a group like Pakistan's Test team under Inzi make a decision that flies in the face of "comfort" and "security" and heads into the deep waters of fear and the terrors of the unknown, perhaps we could all take a moment to try to understand the courage it takes to do so.

Not only would it benefit cricket in these times of almost perpetual crisis, but it might go a long way to benefit the rest of humanity as well.

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Biography-Matthew Hayden

The full name of Matthew Hayden is Matthew Lawrence Hayden. He was an aggressive and powerful left-handed opening batsman of Australia. He was famous for his ability to score quickly in both test and one-day matches. He has made the record of scoring the highest runs in both the ODI and test matches as an Australian. His highest run in the test is 380 and in ODI 181. He formed one of the most fruitful test partnership with Justin Langer, and ODI partnership with Adam Gilchrist.


He started his test career in 1993-1994 against South Africa at the New Wanderers Stadium of Johannesburg. In that match, he scored total 20 runs from both the innings. His ODI (One-Day International) career began in 1993 against England at Old Trafford of Manchester. He scored only 29 runs in that match.


Haiden has played a total 103 test and 161 one-day matches in his career. His highest scores are 380 and 181* in the test and one-day matches respectively. He has 30 test centuries and 10 one-day centuries. In test, his total run is 8625. For one-day, it is 6133. His overall batting average is 50.73 in test, and 43.80 in one-day. He also played 43 Tewnty20 matches where his highest score is unbeaten 93 runs.

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Biography-Ishant Sharma

Ishant Sharma is an Indian cricketer who earned a nick name “Lambu” because of his height as 193cm (6 ft 4 inch). He delivered the second fastest bowl as an Indian bowler, and the speed was measured 152.6 km/h or 94.8 mph. He performed this record against Australia in 2008 at the stadium named Adelaide. The fastest delivery (154.5km/h) was performed by Javagal Srinath in the 1999 World Cup Tournament. Sharma can move the ball in the both directions.

Sharma started his first test match against Bangladesh in 2007 played at Shere Bangla National Stadium of Dhaka. In that match, he hunted 1 wicket giving 49 runs in both the innings. He began his ODI career in 2007, in a match against South Africa at the Civil Service Cricket Club of Belfast. But in that match, he got no wicket.

Ishant has played a total 28 test and 45 one-day matches in his career. He took 83 test wickets and 63 ODI wickets. He got five and four wickets 1 and 4 times in the test match respectively and four wickets 3 times in the ODI match.

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Biography-Ashish Nehra

Ashish Nehra is an Indian left-arm fast bowler. He was born at Delhi in 1979. He was the only Indian bowler who had the economy rate less than 6 during the final match against Australia in the World Cup 2003 where Australia scored 359 runs. He was not able to strong his position to the national team, due to his successive injuries. His career statistics are better in the ODI than in test.

Nehra started his first test match against Sri Lanka in 1998-1999 played at Sinhalese Sports Club Ground of Colombo. In that match, he hunted 1 wicket giving 94 runs in the first innings. In the second innings, India did not need to do batting. He began his ODI career in 2001, in a match against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club. But in that match, he got 2 wickets giving 33 runs.

He has played a total 17 test and 108 one-day matches in his career. He took 44 test wickets and 146 ODI wickets. He got five wickets in ODI match two times. In the test match, he did not get five wickets ever, but four wickets two times.

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Biography-Zaheer Khan

The Indian bowler Zaheer Khan was born in 1978 at Shrirampur town of Ahmednagar district in Maharashtra. He became a member of the Indian cricket team since 2000. He is a left-arm pace bowler who has the ability to swing the ball in two ways. He has a record of making the highest test score (75 runs) as the last batsman against Bangladesh in 2004.

Zaheer made his test debut at Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka against Bangladesh in 2000/2001, where he got 3 wickets giving 69 runs in both the innings. He played his first ODI match against Kenya at Nairobi in the year of 2000 where he hunted 3 wickets giving 48 runs.

He has played a total 76 test and 175 one-day matches in his career. He took 261 test wickets and 241 ODI wickets. He got ten and five wickets 1 and 10 times respectively in test match and 1 time in the ODI match. His best bowling figure in the test is 7/87 and in the ODI is 5/42.

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Biography-Vijay Hazare

Vijay Samuel Hazare, known as Vijay Hazare, was an Indian cricket player. He was a right-handed batsman and right-arm medium bowler. He served his team from the year 1951 to the year 1953 as a captain. He was well-known for getting India the first test victory in the history against England at Madras in 1952. In that match, India won by one innings and 8 runs. Hazare scored 20 runs and got 1 wicket giving 15 runs in that match. It was the 25th test of India. India had to wait 20 years to win a test match after getting the test status.

Hazare was the first batsman of India who obtained the first triple century in the first-class cricket. He was the first Indian who scored a century (116 and 145 runs against Australia) in both the two innings of the test match. He also became the first Indian player to score 50 centuries in the first-class cricket.

He started the test cricket in a match against England at Lord’s in 1946. He scored 65 runs and took 2 wickets giving away 107 runs in that match.

Vijay Hazare has played a total 30 test and 238 first-class matches in his career. His highest scores are 164 and 316 in the test and first-class matches respectively. He has 7 test centuries and 60 first-class centuries. In test, his total run is 2192. For first-class match, it is 18740. His overall batting average is 47.65 in the test match and 58.38 in first-class match. As a bowler, he took 20 test wickets and 595 first-class wickets.

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Biography-Suresh Raina

Suresh Kumar Raina is an Indian cricket player from the Uttar Pradesh state who was born in 1986 at Ghaziabad. He is primarily a left-handed batsman and an occasionally off spinner of India. He is renowned due to his capability to strike the stumps from the infield.

Raina was included in the test squad in 2006, but he played his first test against Sri Lanka in 2010. He is the 12th Indian cricketer who got test century (120 runs) on debut. He played his first ODI (one day international) match against Sri Lanka too in the year of 2005.

He has played a total 6 test and 104 one-day matches in his career. His highest scores are 120 and 116 in the test and one-day matches respectively. He has 1 test centuries and 3 one-day centuries. In test, his total run is 364. For one-day, it is 2515. His overall batting average is 45.50 in test, and 36.44 in one-day. He also played 70 Tewnty20 matches where his highest score is unbeaten 101 runs.

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Biography-Ratanji Umrigar

The full name of Polly Umrigar is Pahlan Ratanji Umrigar. He was a famous Indian cricket player. He played first class cricket and test cricket for India. He was a middle-order batsman as well as a medium pace and off-spin bowler. He led his team between 1955 and 1958 in eight test matches. He is the first Indian player who made a double century in the test cricket against New Zealand. He is one of the two Indian players who scores a century and took five wickets in an innings of the test.

He started the test cricket in the second match between India and W. Indies in a series at Bombay in 1948. He scored 30 runs in that match and took no wicket giving 51 runs.

Umrigar has played a total 59 test and 243 first-class matches in his career. His highest scores are 223 and 252 in the test and first-class matches respectively. He has 12 test centuries and 49 first-class centuries. In test, his total run is 3631. For first-class match, it is 16155. His overall batting average is 42.22 in test and 52.28 in first-class match. As a bowler, he took 35 test wickets and 325 first-class wickets. He got five wickets 2 times in test match and 14 times in the first-class match.

After retiring from his cricket career, he became the Chairman of the Indian Cricket Team selection committee. He was also the Tour Manager and Executive Secretary of the BCCI. At last he died on the November 7, 2006, at the age of 80.

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Biography-Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir is one of the perfect batsmen of the present era. His nick name is “Gauti”, and was born in 1981 at Delhi. He is an opening batsman of the Indian cricket team.

Gambhir made his test debut at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai against Australia in 2004/2005, but he failed to show his performance in his first test match. He played his first ODI match in the TVS Cup against Bangladesh at Dhaka, where he made 71 runs in the third match of the series and became the man-of-the-match.

He has played a total 35 test and 100 one-day matches in his career. His highest scores are 206 and 150 in the test and one-day matches respectively. He has 9 test centuries and 7 one-day centuries. In test, his total run is 2914. For one-day, it is 3351. He also played 72 Tewnty20 matches where his highest score is unbeaten 86 runs. His batting average in the test match is 50.24 and in the ODI match is 38.07.

For the outstanding performance, Gambhir was signed by the team of Delhi Daredevils at the rate of US $725,000 in Indian Premier League (IPL) for the season of 2008. He played a total14 matches in IPL and scored 534 runs, including five half-centuries. He became the second highest scorer in the IPL, and it was 86. His strike rate was 140.89.

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The Glacier vs. The Mountain

Day three of the Gabba Test has shown Australia doing to England what England can never seem to do to any opponent: grinding them under their heel.

Test cricket is fascinating for many reasons, but when it comes to winning a Test match, one method produces more results than any other - the slow, steady accumulation of runs. More often than not, this method works for the team batting first. Win the toss on a flattish pitch and bat your way to a strong position of 400+ runs. Then, as the days pass and the pitch deteriorates, you can count on the conditions (and your opponent's fragile mental state) to help you bowl out the opposition for less than your total and win the match.

But rarely do we see what seems to be happening at the Gabba.

England, batting first, reached a substandard 260. Strauss' 3-ball duck was the first failure, attempting a brash cut just a little too soon in an attempt to get the upper hand in the first session. Trott, normally a batsman lost in his own island of concentration, played all around a less-than-fearsome ball from the less-than-fearsome Watson. Pieterson, once again having to come in at a fragile point for the tourists, (3-117), needed to get his head down, get stuck in and help create a partnership to drag England back into the match.

Alas, that never happened.

England seem to have a knack for letting themselves get knocked mentally out of a match. How else can you explain what happened yesterday? After getting themselves out 10 times, Australia came in with resolve and mental toughness. Sure, 5 wickets fell for 143 runs, but it would end there. Hussey and Haddin came to the middle and singlehandedly delivered the Aussies from a shaky position to an undefeatable one in a matter of a few strong-willed and chanceless hours.

The mind wins Test matches as much as the body.

The world's number one spinner in Graeme Swann looked toothless in the face of Hussey's singleminded approach - block anything on a length, smash anything short for four. Haddin treated him differently - smashing him straight for a six to bring up his century.

This no nonsense, iron-willed approach is one that will serve Australia greatly in the coming weeks, if they can keep it up. 

And it's one that England better start heeding themselves if they want to leave Australia with the urn they brought just a few short weeks ago.

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Siddle with a hat-trick in Ashes

Peter Siddle got his name in history making a hat-trick in the opening Ashes match at Brisbane today. He is proud to be the one with a six wicket hold including a hat-trick after the return to test cricket from a stress fracture which had made him stay away from cricket for months this year.

Siddle currently owns 60 wickets from 17 tests proudly celebrating his ever memorable 26^th birthday played well at the game today. This is his career best 6 for 54 which made England suffer with only 260 runs for all out. He claimed for six English wickets including the top heads Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Matt Prior, Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann.

"It's a good start but there's still 24 days to go and anything could happen in that time.", said Siddle with a careful consideration. He further added, "I knew if I could work hard enough and got everything right, I could come back a better cricketer and I've done that."

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Falling wickets in flashes

The English captain won the toss and chose to bat first. The first match of Ashes started with Andrew Strauss as the opener in the ground. The Ashes series was highly challenging and the most expected series for the English as they hadn’t won any Ashes series in the Australian soil since 1986.

Andrew Strauss faced the first two balls of Ben Hilfenhaus efficiently. But at a wonder the first English wicket slashed off as Strauss let the ball simply reach the hands of Mike Hussey who was in the Gully today putting every English supporter in a great disappointment.

Gabba was shocked and stunned for a moment as the major wicket of England, Andrew Strauss, simply fell off. The Aussies were much more energized to see the big head walking off the ground so early unexpectedly. It didn’t take such long for the second wicket to fall off and the English batsmen in the line up had to struggle off for a bit longer time to retrieve the English strength in the ground

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Ashes started to fire

Andrew Strauss won the toss and chose to bat in the first match of the Ashes series today. The Aussies team was announced yesterday with the three bowlers Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus into the team and the English team was just announced before the match with the same line up. Xavier Doherty is to play his first debut today.

A bright sunny day is prevailing in Brisbane where as a frequent amount of clouds can be observed. The rain might be little unpredictable at Brisbane with the clouds filling the sky. The English team has landed in Australian land after an Ashes series win in the Australia before twenty four years. This test might be highly challenging to the English players as they are in a dream of winning the Ashes in the Australian soil after years.

The series is very important to both the teams as the Aussies need to fill up the flaws of the recent loss with Sri Lanka.

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Just What Does It Mean To "Support" A Team?

I sit in my dark and quiet home here in the States on Black Friday - the day after our traditional Thanksgiving day of feasting - nursing a headache and drinking strong coffee instead of sleeping late. While others are starting thier shopping for the Christmas holiday, I'll be quietly conserving my energy and getting ready for tonight's early start at the Gabba. Why are my actions so different than those of everyone around me?

Because I am an American and also an England supporter.

This year, the Ashes are in Australia, which means late nights and early morning updates for me. But because I am a sports fan (short for fanatic), I've run into that familiar bit of trouble that all fans experience many times in their life: believing their actions actually affect the play of his team.

This behavior falls in line with any number of sporting superstitions that border on religious devotion - here in the States we have the 'rally cap' and the 'playoff beard' - but for anyone who follow England during the Ashes it can come to have some serious consequences.

Last night I believed beer brought us wickets.

After a full day of eating and gathering with family, I returned home with my family, put my young son to bed and got on the computer. It was early yet, but Australia hadn't looked troubled by the England attack yet. Watson and Katich had cruised into the thirties, England had lost an appeal to the UDRS and the boys were really starting to look up against it. I went to the kitchen to pour myself another beer when I hear a low roar from the other room - Anderson strikes!

My relief at the breakthrough was so great I thought nothing of my actions at the time - until after lunch. I had just returned to the computer with a fresh pint (#3) when suddenly - Ponting gone!

I looked down at my glass with some curiosity. Two beers, two wickets.

I watched an over or two before I put the clues together - these beers equal wickets!

Katich had reached his 50 and the match was starting to tip back towards Australia. I decided to get to work...

Sip. Sip. End of over. Sip, gulp. Maiden over. Finally holding an empty glass in my hand as Finn came in to bowl to Katich and CAUGHT AND BOWLED!

It was one of those rare moments in sports, one that all true sports fans experience time and again; it was also one of those moments that I knew I'd never be able to explain to my wife: I was controlling the Ashes!

I looked at the clock. I looked in the fridge. I did some math.

I could probably get one more beer in. I went to the fridge and pulled out a beer. I sat at the computer, bottle opener in one hand. I placed it on top of the bottle in my left hand as Finn ran in to Clarke. I started to lift the opener, slowly bending the cap and FEATHERED BEHIND AND CAUGHT! Clarke departs! 4 wickets down!

Hey, wait a minute...

I hadn't even opened it. Was my theory flawed? I sat there for a few more minutes, still clutching the bottle opener in my hand, as I watched Swann get North to nick a beautiful turner to Collingwood at slip.

:/

So much for my theory!

I laughed heartily to myself in the way every fan does when he realizes he's been foolish. Nice to think that I was controlling the Ashes, even if it was for a few short hours.

I went to bed, with 5 wickets down and England back in the game. If they could get into the tail while I slept, England could easily nudge ahead in this one.

...


When I awoke this morning, I found that Hussey had continued to defy England through the night as I slept. No more wickets fell.

As I slept...



No wickets fell...



OH NO!!!!!!!!!!!



:)

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Biography-Sourav Ganguly

Sourav Chandidas Ganguly, commonly known as Sourav Ganguly was a cricketer of India cricket team and was born in 1972 at Kolkata. He was one of the most successful Indian cricket captains. Under his captaincy, Indian cricket team won 21 test matches out of 49. It was one of the best success rates among all captains to perform. He was known as “Dada” to his fans and “Maharaj” to the teammates.

Ganguly started to play cricket in his early age. He was inspired by his elder brother named Snehashish who played in the Bengal cricket team. He started his one-day cricket career in 1992 against West Indies. But in that match he just scored 3 runs. His test career began through scoring 131 runs in Lord’s ground.

He has played a total 113 test and 311 one-day matches in his career. His highest scores are 239 and 183 in the test and one-day matches respectively. He has 16 test centuries and 22 one-day centuries. In test, his total run is 7212. For one-day, it is 11363. His overall batting average is 42.17 in test, and 41.02 in one-day. He also played 58 Tewnty20 matches where his highest score is unbeaten 91 runs.

Ganguly is declared as one of India’s all-time test cricket captain. After the incident of match fixing in 2000, he became the captain of India. Under his captaincy, the cricket team of India reached the final of the world cup in 2003. He led his team to 146 one-day international matches, where his team won 76 times. He got the Padma Shri award in the year of 2004.

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Biography-M.S.Dhoni

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the present captain of the Indian cricket team, was born in 1981 at Ranchi. He was made the captain of India in the year of 2007. He is known as “Mahi” by the huge number of his fans. He has proved himself as the hard-hitting batsman and one of the best captains of India.

Dhoni made the debut in the national team of India in the year of 2004. In his 5th ODI match against Pakistan, he scored 148 run which was the highest run in one ODI match performed by any Indian wicket-keeper till then. He scored a large number of runs and grabbed at the ranking one in the ODI by ICC (International Cricket Council) in the year 2005-2006. He became the captain of India cricket team during the second T20 world cup played in September 2007. His team achieved the second world cup victory under his leadership beating Pakistan in the final match.

He has played a total 50 test and 172 one-day matches in his career. His highest scores are 148 and 183 in the test and one-day matches respectively. He has 4 test centuries and 7 one-day centuries. In test, his total run is 2648. For one-day, it is 5733. His overall batting average is 39.52 in test, and 50.28 in one-day. He also played 78 Tewnty20 matches where his highest score is unbeaten 73 runs.

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Biography-Kapil Dev

Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj, the former Indian cricketer, was one of the great all-rounders. He was born in 1959 at Chandigarh and served the Indian cricket team as a captain. Under his captaincy, India won their first world cup in 1983.

He started his first test match against Pakistan in 1978 at Faisalabad. During his third test match, he scored a quick half-century playing only 33 balls. He began his ODI career in 1978 in a match against Pakistan at Quetta. In that match, he scored 13 runs and got 1 wicket giving 27 runs.

After winning the world cup, India had to face some awful defeats due to which Kapil was removed from captaincy, and Sunil Gavaskar became the captain of India in 1984 again. In the March 1985, Kapil got his captaincy back and led his team to the world cup 1987. In the semi-final match, India lost to Australia and in this way his captaincy came to an end.

He has played a total 131 test and 225 one-day matches in his career. His highest scores are 163 and 175 in the test and one-day matches respectively. He has 8 test centuries and 1 one-day centuries. In test, his total run is 5248. For one-day, it is 3783. As a bowler, he took 434 test wickets and 253 ODI wickets. He got 10 and 5 wickets 2 and 23 times respectively in test match and one time in the ODI match.

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Biography-Irfan Pathan

Irfan Pathan is one of the cricket players of India. He was born in 1984 at Gujrat and has been playing for the Indian national team since 2003. He was a left-arm fast-medium bowler in the early stage, but at last he involved himself as a bowling all-rounder. He made his test debut against Australia at the ground Oval in the year of 2003, at the age of 19. He only took the wicket of Matthew Hayden in that match giving 160 runs. His one-day international (ODI) career started in 2004, in a match against the same team Australia in the Tri-Nation ODI Tournament where India, Australia and Zimbabwe participated. In that match, he got no wicket giving 61 runs. He got 16 wickets in the total tournament with an average of 31 runs. He also got the award for man-of-the-match in a match against Zimbabwe after taking 4 wickets giving only 24 runs.
The starting of the year 2005 was not too potent for Pathan. He was dropped out of the team for his poor performance. At last he was called back for playing the Indian Oil Cup at Sri Lanka in August 2005 where he hunted 6 wickets.
The former coach of the Indian cricket team, Greg Chappell tried to establish him as a batsman too. He proved that also scoring 83 runs from 70 balls in the one-day international match against Sri Lanka in 2005. He also scores 93 and 83 runs in the second and third test matches respectively against Sri Lanka.

In 2007, I. Pathan became man-of-the-match in the final match of the ICC T20 World Cup 2007 against Pakistan. He took total 3 wickets in that match giving only 16 runs.

He has played a total 29 test and 107 one-day matches in his career. His highest scores are 102 and 83 in the test and one-day matches respectively. He also played 58 Tewnty20 matches where his highest score is unbeaten 91 runs. As a bowler, he took 100 test wickets and 152 ODI wickets. He got ten and five wickets two and seven times respectively in test match and one time in the ODI match

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Biography-Anil Kumble

Anil Kumble, who won India more test matches in history, was born in 1970 at Bangalore. He got the highest number of wickets as an Indian bowler in ODIs and tests. He has best bowling figure in ODI match against West Indies among all the Indian bowlers. He is also one of the two bowlers who got total 10 wickets in an innings of test cricket against Pakistan in 1999, held on Delhi. At a time, he also became the captain of the Indian test cricket team.
Kumble is the right-handed batsman and an excellent leg spinner. He has got the third number of test wickets in history and more than 300 wickets in ODI.
He started his ODI career in the Australasia Cup in 1989-90 at Sharjah against Sri Lanka. In that match, he took 1 wicket giving 42 runs. His test career began in 1990 against England at the ground Manchester where he took 3 wickets giving 105 runs in 43 overs.
He has played a total 132 test and 271 one-day matches in his career. His highest score is 110 in the test match. He has 1 test century and 5 test half-centuries. As a bowler, he took 619 test wickets and 337 ODI wickets. He got five wickets 35 times in test match and two times in the ODI match.
Kumble played the last one-day international match in 2007 at Port of Spain against Bermuda where he got 3 wickets giving 38 runs. He played the last test match against Australia in 2008 at Delhi in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy where he took 3 wickets giving 126 runs from both the innings.

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India heading away for a big lead

Today was another glorious day for India as Ishant Sharma and Ojha wrapped up the last few wickets of New Zealand in some time and they lost last three wickets for just 45 runs. It was Southee who kept India away from batting for a little while as he made a delightful 38 which also included three sixes in his innings but that could help New Zealand to finish for a score more then 193.

India came to bat with the opening pair of Sehwag and Gambhir, both of them played with much confidence and Sehwag as usual wacked the bowlers all round the park. Sehwag made a quick fire half-century in no time and had put up another century stand along with his partner Gambhir who was also looking well settled on the crease. Sehwag was dismissed my Vettori at last to bring some ease to the visitors but Gambhir also had regained his form and continued his delightful innings to complete his another half century.

Gambhir was also soon dismissed before he could reach to his century by Southee. Later on Dravid and Tendulkar occupied the crease to prevent any further casualties to India as they carried on form where Sehwag and Gambhir left to complete the day with India scoring 292/2 at the end of the day. Tendulkar completed his another half century and along with Dravid he had put up their 19^th century partnership.

New Zealand didn’t seem to have any ray of hope to make a comeback in the game as the Indian batsmen had left them into misery. New Zealand will have to come up with something special to get rid of the strong Indian middle order.

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AB de Villiers sizzles with double ton

The mighty Proteas finished for a mammoth score of 584 before they declared their innings to let Pakistan go in to show off their batting skills. AB de Villiers was the man for South Africa to help them reach such a mammoth score. AB de Villiers completed his double ton and made a mind bloggling 278 for South Africa, his innings also included six sixes.

AB de Villiers was helped by the South African lower order to put up such a huge score, he made up a partnerships of 42 with Botha, 59 with Dale Steyn and a impressive unbeaten 91 with Morkel. Pakistan were already thrashed and were left hopeless. Tanvir was the only bowler who had things to be glad about in the match as he finished for figures of 6 for 120 which were not so bad figures for a bowler on his debut, but none other bowler seemed to bring any help to Pakistan.

When Pakistan were sent on field by the Proteas to bat just after the tea, they lost their first wicket in no time to Steyn, though they had no more casualties to end the day with a score of 59/1. While South Africa will be thrilled with their performance.

 South Africa will be having many positives to look forward to after the day, AB de Villiers had made his best test score and some handy partnerships from the lower order. Pakistan on the other hand who were totally down physically and mentally with the hitting of AB de Villiers.

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A dull move turning splendorous

The second test match of the South African tour of United Arab Emirates is on. The second day of the test started this morning at Sheik Zayed Stadium. The South Africans started to bat and they did not pour out runs as expected. The Pakistanis too failed to shoot out for wickets in the morning.
As time went on AB de Villiers and then Mark Boucher slowly started off with singles. And then all of a sudden they turned into sixes and boundaries setting the Pakistani bowlers to go further tight. With just 45 runs mark boucher had to walk away and Tanvir Ahamed celebrated the dismissal with his team making it his fifth wicket of the innings. AB de Villeirs stood firm till he scored 188 and still in the ground striking the ball off. Mohamed Rehman led Botha and Steyn walk out of the ground at short scores.
The match is on with de Villiers still on the play firm and cautious.

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Alarm for Aussies before the Ashes

The Ashes series are about to commence in Brisbane on the 25^th of November. But the great loss against the lions has imparted a great disappointment among the Aussies.

The visitors easily scored over the home team winning the entire series. The loss in the series has put a great question ahead as to how the most keenly awaited Ashes series will go on. The Australian newspapers haven’t forgotten to accuse Ricky Ponting and his guys and they describe the Aussies as woeful.

The Australian bowlers were entirely knocked down by the Sri Lankan batsmen putting Dong Bollinger injured. He is set in doubt for the Ashes warm ups. The Sri Lankans stroke the ball around placing a high pressure on the Aussies. Mitchell Johnson and Michael Hussey are expected to be the Australian big shots at the Ashes this season. The Ashes series is going to be a great challenge for both the teams.

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Biography-Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan Singh, who born in Jalandhar of Punjab, is the player of passion and talent of India. He is the most successful Indian spin bowler. Among the top wicket takers, his position is three among all the off-spinners of the world and first among the Indians. He made his one-day and test debut in 1998. But his career was encircled that time by the investigations about his bowling action legality and disciplinary matters. In 2001, after the injury of leading leg spinner Anil Kumble, his career was revived after his inclusion to the team for Border-Gavaskar Trophy by the captain Sourav Ganguly. In that series, he proved his skill against Australia and made his position strong in the team by taking total 32 wickets and becoming the first Indian hat-trick bowler in test match.

In the recent ongoing series against New Zealand, Harbhajan has proved his batting skill too. He got two consecutive test centuries leading his team to the batting section.

Harbhajan Singh has played a total 89 test and 212 one-day matches in his career. His highest scores are 115 and 49 in the test and one-day matches respectively. He has two centuries and eight half-centuries in the test. His total test-match run is 1896. For one-day, it is 1083. He also played 70 Tewnty20 matches where his highest score is unbeaten 49 runs.

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Biography-Mohammad Azharuddin

Mohammad Azharuddin was one of the best players of India. He was the former captain of the Indian team. He was born in Hyderabad. He was famous because of his excellent wrist flicks which made the cricket a poetic creation. He showed his batting skill against spin bowlers. His clean and sharp batting was compared to the English batsman, David Gower.

Like everyone, the life of Azharuddin was not free from the dark side. The former captain of S. Africa, Hansie Cronje had confessed his involvement in the international match fixing which has also taken Azharuddin to the scandal for participating. The prime investigation agency of India named Central Bureau of Investigation found that Azharuddin had taken money from bookies to fix the matches. As a result, BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) decided to ban him from playing for a lifetime in the year of 2000.

He has played a total 99 test and 334 one-day matches in his career. His highest scores are 199 and 153 in the test and one-day matches respectively. He has 22 test centuries and 7 one-day centuries. In test, his total run is 6215. For one-day, it is 9378.

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Biography-Rahul Dravid

The profile of Rahul Dravid is changing day by day over many years. He is not only the batsman of India but also an excellent wicket-keeper and fielder too. He helped India to win 18 consecutive matches during his captaincy. Dravid started his international one-day career in 1996 against England at the stadium named Lord’s and test career in the same year against Sri Lanka in Singapore. His One Day International cricket career began with the match against Sri Lanka in 1996, in the Singer Cup.

The most prominent part of Dravid’s career is the unforgettable partnership with Laxman in the second test against Australia, in Kolkata, in the year of 2001. After the innings of 180 runs in this match, his position in the cricket has reached a new height. His nick name has been converted as “The Wall” at the present time for his nerveless batting skill.

He has played a total 146 test and 339 one-day matches in his career. His highest scores are 270 and 153 in the test and one-day matches respectively. He has 30 test centuries and 12 one-day centuries. In test, his total run is 1480. For one-day, it is 941. He also played 54 Tewnty20 matches where his highest score is unbeaten 75 runs. Rahul Dravid is probably one of the last classical batsmen for the test match.

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Biography-(V.V.S.) Laxman

Vangipurappu Vekata Sai (V.V.S.) Laxman is an excellent right-handed batsman and spin bowler of India. He was born in Hyderabad in 1974. He has showed his best skill against Australia both in test and one-day cricket matches for a maximum number of times.

Laxman started his test career in 1996 against South Africa at Ahmedabad. Since 1997, he had to alter his batting position. Now he plays as the opener for India.

In January 2000, he was in his team during the Australia tour. In that tour, he scored 167 runs. He found that his position was not suitable for him as the opener. For this reason, he gave up the international cricket and started to play domestic cricket again. After about one year, he returned again to the international team.

He has played a total 116 test and 86 one-day matches in his career. His highest scores are 281 and 131 in the test and one-day matches respectively. He has 16 test centuries and 6 one-day centuries. In test, his total run is 7695. For one-day, it is 2338. He also played 22 Tewnty20 matches where his highest score is unbeaten 78 runs.

It is amusing that he started his one-day cricket career with a duck (scoring as zero) in a match against Zimbabwe in 1998, and also finished that career with a duck in a match against S. Africa in 2006.

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Biography-Yuvraj Singh

Yuvraj Singh is an asset for Indian cricket team. He was born at Chandigarh of India in 1981. He served his team as the vice-captain since 2007 to 2008. He is famous for scoring 6 sixes in one over in the bowling of Stuart Broad in a Twenty20 match against the team of England in 2007.

He started his one-day cricket career in a match against Kenya at Nairobi in the year of 2000. In that match, he got no chance to bat and gave away 16 runs getting no wicket. But in the next one-day match, he scored 84 runs from 80 balls. He began the test career with a match against New Zealand in 2003 at Mohali. In that match, he scored 25 runs only.

Yuvraj Singh is considered better as a batsman facing the spin bowlers in comparison with the fast bowlers. He is one of the most efficient Indian fielders. He made a maximum number of run-outs in one-day matches from the year of 1999 to the year of 2005.

He has played a total 34 test and 255 one-day matches in his career. His highest scores are 169 and 139 in the test and one-day matches respectively. He has 3 test centuries and 12 one-day centuries. In test, his total run is 1639. For one-day, it is 7478. He also played 78 Tewnty20 matches where his highest score is 71 runs.

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Indian Bowlers dominate the first day of the final test

New Zealand had the things going in their way when they won the match and chose to bat on a flat pitch. They were expected to score big but Indian bowlers had come to spoil their party this time. Though India already had their top class bowlers ruled out of the final test due to injury.

Indian bowlers struck the visitors hard at the time when it wasn’t expected that Indian bowling was having any firepower left after Zaheer Khan already ruled out of the game and considering their performance in the previous tests.

New Zealand had to open with Guptil and McIntosh as McCullum had injured himself just before the match during fielding practice which meant that McCullum will have to come in the middle order this time. The openers didn’t provide much trouble to the Indian bowlers as Sreesanth removed both the openers in a short while and was getting into his rhythm as he was able to swing the bowl well.

New Zealand soon after lost Taylor and their skipper Vettori, Taylor provided some resistance to Indian Bowling but was dismissed by Sharma and Ojha respectively. Ishant Sharma was playing a game after a long break and was good to see him back in form with his in-swings and out-swings in positions.

New Zealand’s day was summed up by the wicket of Kane Williamson by Sharma again though Ryder made a fighting fifty to save his team from a shameful innings but was also struggling throughout his innings because of his calf injury. Brendon McCullum was sent in the middle order to provde some time to rest his injury but wasn’t provide much rest by the Indian bowlers as they had sent of all their top order batmen to the pavilion.

The day had been tough from the New Zealand point of view and also had in injury to their main batsmen and one batmen was already suffering from injury in the game. India showed off their classy performance to put the visitor on the back foot  on the opening day of the final test.

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Tanvir Ahmed impresses on debut

Pakistan won the toss and decided to field, South Africa were put on to bat. When South Africa occupied the crease with Greame Smith and Petersen opening for them, they were astounded by the performance of one of the oldest Pakistani debutant bowler Tanvir Ahmed as he took the first three wickets of the morning in no time to reduce the mighty Proteas to 33 for 3.

When the South African were struggling on a score of 33/3, Kallis and AB de Villiers came up and made a 176 run partnership to get them out of trouble with a classy knock from Kallis but this time he played in a more aggressive manner, while de Villiers played first a supportive innings. Kallis made 105 which also included three sixes and this hundred was also among one of his quickest in the tests. Kallis was also fell victim to the debutant Tanvir as he had things going on his way but so was not for Pakistan.

AB de Villiers carried his innings even after the loss of his partner and soon reached to his century as well. Prince was just looking to get settled in when he was dismissed by Hafeez. The day ended with AB de Villiers unbeaten on 120 and Boucher making 26 not out to end the day. Pakistan had only one thing to be happy about in the whole day as their debut bowler had a fantastic day and took the top four wickets of the mighty Proteas. While none of the other Pakistani bowlers posed much difficulty for the visitors.

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West Indies enforce follow on

The day was a spirit booster for the Caribbean side as they wrapped off the Sri Lankan innings just three runs short to avoid follow on. Their bowlers did a handsome job on the fourth day as Shane Shillingford and Kemar Roach shared seven wickets to help West Indies gain a 202-run lead over Sri Lanka and enforce follow on.

West Indies got their first wicket of the afternoon of Suraj Randiv gifted by Shillingford, later on Dammika Prasad and Jayawardene put up a 72-run stand to help their team along its way for survival. Prasad entertained the audience with his run a bowl 47 run innings including two sweetly struck sixes before Shillingford got rid of him. While Prasad played a beautiful knock and hitting boundaries in regular intervals but just gave his wicket away to Shillingford again when they were 14 runs short to avoid follow on.

Ajantha Mendis was the next man to came and went and soon Sri Lanka ended up just 3 runs short to avoid follow on. The Caribbean skipper took no time to invite the Sri Lankan side to come and bat again. The Sri Lanka openers provided a solid start with both the batsmen making 44 not out at the end of the day with a delicate and sensible batting. Sri Lanka finished on a score of 89/0 with the final day still to go.

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New Zealand enjoying the challenge in India

New Zealand coach Mark Greatbatch praised his side for the dedicated team effort and the fighting spirit they have shown in the past two games. When New Zealand came to India they came fresh from a defeat of 4-0 by Bangladesh, which also questioned whether the World No. 8 side will be able to take all the 20 wickets of the Champion side but the skipper showed that they can do that even by lacking firepower in their pace attack.

Mark Greatbatch also said that they have had a couple of positives from the past games as well, like Brendon McCullum was promoted to opening made a match-saving double hundred and the team played with lot of passion and patience need for a team.

New Zealand had also injured their main seamer during the first game, Hamish Bennett who had bowled only 15 over’s in the game. Still they overcame all the odds to let their performance not decline. New Zealand will be heading towards the final test in Nagpur will positive frame of mind and high spirits.

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Gayle cleared to play in T20 Big Bash

Chris Gayle has now been cleared to play for Western Australia in the T20 Big Bash by WICB. It came as a gift of the triple ton by him against the mighty Sri Lanka. WICB hesitated to give that NOC to Gayle to play for the Western Australia for the past one month.

Chris Gayle will be playing for Retravision Warriors instead of his home side as both the T20 Big Bash and Caribbean T20 Tournament dates will be clashing. Chris Gayle had also not signed any main contract with WICB this year, in the hope that he might be allowed to play in the T20 Big Bash.

He will not be the only Caribbean player playing in the Big Bash, as Dwayne Bravo is also set to return to Victoria and Pollard ready for the matches with South Australia and he is already their practising for the games.

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Paranavitana helped Sri Lanka achieve a draw along with rain

West Indies posted a huge total with Gayle smashing a thundering thriple ton but still West Indies lost a chance to win the game. Sri Lanka played well under pressure to help them draw the game and rain also intervened to add some troubles for West Indies.

Sri Lankan innings started with an early blow from Roach getting Dilshan for 54 and Sangakkara fr just 4 runs. The aggressive Roach raised hopes for the Caribbean’s but soon after there was a drought of wickets for the West Indies as Paranavitana had already settled himself in and Mahela Jayawardene who occupied the crease after the dismissal of the Sri Lankan skipper also chipped in and both played a solid knock.

The Caribbean debutant seamer though maintained consistent line and length in the morning but he lacked pace and firepower the tackle the batsmen. Mahela Jayawardene was solid with his innings as he was moving ahead and he finished his another half century before he was dismissed of part-timer Brendon Nash, while Paranavitana fell short of his century by just five runs.

Sri Lanka had quite a good day with their batsmen chipping in at the right time to get them to a safe slot till the game ended. West Indies though missed a great opportunity to win the game but they surely proved that they cannot be considered easy opponents and can rise to shock their opponents.  

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Biography-Garfield Sobers

The name of Sir Garfield Sobers ,A unforgettable legendary in history of world cricket and West Indies Cricket team.this great hero born in Bridgetown, Barbados Islands 28 July 1936.He is well known among the cricket lovers as 'Gray' (or Garry).Sobers regarded as greatest All rounder ever in the history of cricket.

Before his international career Sobers play for Barbados 1952-1974,South Australia 1961-1964 and for Nottinghamshire 1968-1974 in his Domestic life in cricket career.Sobers made his Test Debut against England in 30 March 1954 and ODI-One Day International debut against same country in 5 September 1972.His batting style is Left- Handed batsman. As he was a All rounder he has three styles in bowling left-arm fast medium (LFM),slow left-arm orthodox (SLA) and slow left-arm chinaman (SLC).

Sir Garfield is responsible for many awards in Cricket history.
He is the West Indies Cricketer of year 1958-1959 ,The Wisden Cricketer of the year 1964,He was able to get the Cricket Society Wetherall Award for the Leading All-Rounder in English First-Class Cricket in 1970,winner of Walter Lawrence Trophy in 1974 and honored as Wisden Cricketer of the Century 2000.

Some of Sobers, records are Still live.When he was twenty one years he made an incredible record of 365 runs without getting out, It was surpassed by Brian Lara after 36 years.And he is the first man who was able to six sixes from one over.Sobers was the captain of the West Indies team during 1695 and 1972,and also captain of Barbados team from 1966 to 1679 and Nottinghamshire from 1968 until 1971.

In 1975 Queen Elizabeth II, gave the Honor of Knight Bachelor for his services to cricket.

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