Gambhir best Indian opener after Gavaskar: Sehwag

Kanpur: Virender Sehwag has forced many a bowlers into submission by his explosive batting but he doffed his hat to Gautam Gambhir describing him as the best Indian opener after the legendary Sunil Gavaskar.

Gambhir (167) on Tuesday slammed his fourth successive century on the opening day of the second Test against Sri Lanka and Sehwag, who himself scored a blistering 131, said his younger opening partner can score another hundred in the next match.

"He (Gambhir) is best opener India had after Gavaskar. He has hit four successive Test centuries and already has eight Test centuries in 25-30 Tests. I think with the kind of form he is in, he can slam a ton in the next Test as well," Sehwag said after India piled on 417 for two on the opening day.

"He was in good form and hitting well. So we were still scoring at over three and his boundaries took the pressure off me and I could wait before playing my shots," he said.

Sehwag was seen interacting with Gambhir after the left-hander foozled a shot against Muttiah Muralitharan in the morning session.

Asked what he told his Delhi team-mate, Sehwag said, "I told him to think big. You are good enough to score four successive centuries. Stay three hours and you will automatically get a hundred."

Sehwag said India would look to pile up 700 plus runs on the second day and put enough pressure on Sri Lanka so that the visitors crumble.

Sehwag and Gambhir were involved in a blistering 233-run opening stand that proved the bedrock of India's stunning batting display on the opening day of the second Test and the right-hander insists his teammates cannot relax or relent yet.

"We are in a positive frame of mind. We have scored a good total for opening day and scored at a good rate (4.63) to boot. Tomorrow, we will try to get 700-800 and then put pressure on the Lankans and get those 20 wickets," he said.

Sri Lanka managed just two wickets after a hard day's toil but Sehwag believes his bowling colleagues can overcome the lack of life on the track and bowl his side to victory.

"We bowled out Australia twice in a placid Mohali track (last year) and there is no reason why we cannot do it here. I hope Zaheer (Khan), Harbhajan (Singh), (S) Sreesanth and (Pragyan) Ojha will do it for us," he said.

Sehwag's own knock was a well-paced compilation as the Delhi dasher overcame a wobbly morning hour before blooming into his aggressive self.

"With little moister in air, I knew the ball would do something and I have to be careful. They had three spinners and I fancied my chance against them. So I took time and concentrated a lot before playing my shots," he said.

"In Ahmedabad they dropped me and here too they grassed one. I told myself to play first 8-10 overs and concentrate hard. I tried to leave balls outside off-stump and it's only after first hour that I played my shots," said the explosive opener, who got a life on zero when Mahela Jayawardene dropped him off Chanaka Welegedara.

Source: http://cricketnext.in.com

Sehwag, Gambhir, Dravid shine on Day 1

India v Sri Lanka Nov2009 Kanpur, 2nd Test Day One

SCORE
India won the toss and elected to bat
India (Ist innings) 417 for 2
(Gambhir 167, Sehwag, 131, Dravid 85*)


Kanpur: It was India’s willow all the way on the first day of the second Test against Sri Lanka as the final scorecard read 417/2. The innings was studded with some elegant shot-making and one could only feel for the bowlers, who had no help from the Kanpur pitch either.

Gambhir was the man of the day, having crossed one hundred fifty runs, with the panache of the best stroke masters of cricket.

He finally fell to Murali’s guile and was caught out at a score of one hundred sixty seven runs.

Rahul Dravid continued with his good form with the bat, scoring a fine half-century as his shots were in sync with his centurion effort of the previous match.

The first and only jolt of the first half of the day had come in the form of Virender Sehwag’s scalp as the batsman was out at 131 runs from just 122 balls while trying to whack another one out of the park.

Muralitharan was his nemesis too, with the tweaker lofting one up to catch Sehwag’s fancy, resulting in his dismissal. However, Gautam Gambhir kept the tempo up, recording his 8th Test century in the process.

India were off to a great start with Sehwag and Gambhir hitting amazing knocks, reasserting the notion that they are the best opening pair in the world. Their stroke-play turned the scoreboard into a Tokyo taxi, with the total near the 250-run mark in a jiffy.

If the pre-lunch session had India stamped all over it, the post-lunch session was not much different either, barring the wicket of Sehwag.

It was an incredible session of play for India in the morning too, as the world’s most dangerous openers unleashed a flurry of boundaries on the islanders, rotating the strike at will.

There have been two changes floated into the Indian side with S Sreesanth and Pragyan Ojha coming in for Ishant Sharma and Amit Mishra respectively. Sri Lanka too made a change to their line-up, bringing in Ajantha Mendis, the mystery spinner to have a three pronged spin attack.

With the three spinner theory not working for Sri Lanka, Sangakkara would hope to use the morning dew tomorrow to try and shake the middle order from turning loose an array of records on a batsmen friendly pitch.

Source: http://cricket.zeenews.com

Tendulkar crosses 30,000 international runs

Ahmedabad: Sachin Tendulkar crossed yet another milestone on Friday by becoming the first batsman to score 30,000 runs in international cricket.

Batting in the second innings on the final day of the first Test against Sri Lanka, the batting maestro stroked his 35th run to achieve the latest landmark. Tendulkar, who recently completed 20 years in international cricket, is playing his 160th Test match for India.

Tendulkar has scored 17,178 runs at an average of 44 in 436 one-day internationals and 10 runs in the lone Twenty20 match that he has played, against South Africa. He ended his 160th Test here sitting on 12877 runs, with 43 hundreds and 53 half centuries at an average of 54.79.

The 36-year-old batting stalwart went on to score his 43rd Test hundred and remained not out exactly on 100 to help India draw the match after they had conceded a first innings lead of 334 runs to the Lankans.

Source: http://cricketnext.in.com

Full Score card - India v Sri Lanka Nov2009 Ahmedabad 1st Test

India 426 & 412/4 (129.0 ov)

Sri Lanka 760/7d

Match drawn

• Sri Lanka in India Test Series - 1st Test
• Test no. 1933 | 2009/10 season
• Played at Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad
• 16,17,18,19,20 November 2009 (5-day match)

	India 1st innings		R	M	B	4s	6s	SR
	G Gambhir	b Welegedara	1	13	10	0	0	10.00
	2.5 gone! Welegedara gets Gambhir with one that shapes to swing but doesn't do as much as he expected, hence the pretty poor attempt to push it outside the line and the result is a thin inside edge onto the stumps, he was looking to dab it away to the off but didn't time it 14/1
	V Sehwag	lbw b Welegedara	16	31	11	3	0	145.45
	6.1 long thought and then its given! Welegedara pitches it on about middle and off, 134k, just shapes it in wee bit and strikes Sehwag flush on the front pad as he gets two-thirds forward, bat just late to come down, and after taking some time to ascertain whether there was any bat on it Tony Hill raises his finger, and on replays it shows he is spot on, that was hitting middle and off 27/2
	R Dravid	b Welegedara	177	387	261	26	1	67.81
	92.4 big wicket! Welegedara continues with the full ball and this one just shapes back in a touch to Dravid, who looks to drive down the ground but leaves a gap between bat and pad and gets an inside edge onto middle and off 389/7
	SR Tendulkar	b Welegedara	4	3	3	1	0	133.33
	6.4 bowled em! Tendulkar pushes outside the line at one pitched back of a length, leaving a massive gap between bat and pad, and the ball misses the bat by not much before clipping the top of off 31/3
	VVS Laxman	b Prasad	0	6	4	0	0	0.00
	7.4 another one goes! Prasad now! Laxman perishes to a gentle off cutter outside off, doesn't move his feet as he pushes at the ball away from the body and he gets an inside edge onto leg stump, which goes cartwheeling some distance, that's what you get for playing poorly 32/4
	Yuvraj Singh	c Dilshan b Muralitharan	68	129	93	13	0	73.11
	36.1 what's this, he's gone! Yuvraj comes out of his crease, looking to drive past extra cover, but is beaten in the slow loopy flight and stabs at the ball with bat and pad and gets a faint inside edge that pops up straight to the man at cover, so simple 157/5
	MS Dhoni*†	c †HAPW Jayawardene b Prasad	110	200	159	10	1	69.18
	87.1 edged and taken! Dhoni goes for a brilliant 110, chasing a short and rising ball outside off stump and getting a thick outside edge to PJ behind the stumps 381/6
	Harbhajan Singh	b Muralitharan	22	82	54	2	0	40.74
	104.1 that's a give away, well Harbhajan will walk back feeling a little strange, you don't often reverse sweep Murali against the turn and get away with it, Harbhajan exposed all his stumps and inside edged it onto the woodwork 426/9
	Z Khan	lbw b Herath	12	40	29	2	0	41.37
	101.2 pushes it through at 79ks, its the one that goes the other way, pitches and slants down the leg side to Zaheer, who is rooted back in his crease, the bat is late to come down and he gets hit on the pad, they all go up and after a thought umpire Harper raises the finger, and replays show the ball would just have brushed leg stump 414/8
	A Mishra	not out	7	16	5	1	0	140.00
	I Sharma	st †HAPW Jayawardene b Muralitharan	0	3	4	0	0	0.00
	104.5 excellent stumping indeed! The doosra squares up Ishant, sneaks past the outside edge and Prasanna Jayawardene whips off the bails in a flash before Ishant can drag his foot back, his foot was just in front of the white line 426/10
	Extras	(b 2, lb 2, w 1, nb 4)	9
	Total	(all out; 104.5 overs; 460 mins)	426	(4.06 runs per over)

Fall of wickets1-14 (Gambhir, 2.5 ov), 2-27 (Sehwag, 6.1 ov), 3-31 (Tendulkar, 6.4 ov), 4-32 (Laxman, 7.4 ov), 5-157 (Yuvraj Singh, 36.1 ov), 6-381 (Dhoni, 87.1 ov), 7-389 (Dravid, 92.4 ov), 8-414 (Khan, 101.2 ov), 9-426 (Harbhajan Singh, 104.1 ov), 10-426 (Sharma, 104.5 ov)

	Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
	UWMBCA Welegedara	22	4	87	4	3.95	(1nb, 1w)
	2.5 to Gambhir, gone! Welegedara gets Gambhir with one that shapes to swing but doesn't do as much as he expected, hence the pretty poor attempt to push it outside the line and the result is a thin inside edge onto the stumps, he was looking to dab it away to the off but didn't time it 14/1 6.1 to Sehwag, long thought and then its given! Welegedara pitches it on about middle and off, 134k, just shapes it in wee bit and strikes Sehwag flush on the front pad as he gets two-thirds forward, bat just late to come down, and after taking some time to ascertain whether there was any bat on it Tony Hill raises his finger, and on replays it shows he is spot on, that was hitting middle and off 27/2 6.4 to Tendulkar, bowled em! Tendulkar pushes outside the line at one pitched back of a length, leaving a massive gap between bat and pad, and the ball misses the bat by not much before clipping the top of off 31/3 92.4 to Dravid, big wicket! Welegedara continues with the full ball and this one just shapes back in a touch to Dravid, who looks to drive down the ground but leaves a gap between bat and pad and gets an inside edge onto middle and off 389/7
	KTGD Prasad	22	1	106	2	4.81	(2nb)
	7.4 to Laxman, another one goes! Prasad now! Laxman perishes to a gentle off cutter outside off, doesn't move his feet as he pushes at the ball away from the body and he gets an inside edge onto leg stump, which goes cartwheeling some distance, that's what you get for playing poorly 32/4 87.1 to Dhoni, edged and taken! Dhoni goes for a brilliant 110, chasing a short and rising ball outside off stump and getting a thick outside edge to PJ behind the stumps 381/6
	AD Mathews	12	1	50	0	4.16
	M Muralitharan	25.5	4	97	3	3.75	(1nb)
	36.1 to Yuvraj Singh, what's this, he's gone! Yuvraj comes out of his crease, looking to drive past extra cover, but is beaten in the slow loopy flight and stabs at the ball with bat and pad and gets a faint inside edge that pops up straight to the man at cover, so simple 157/5 104.1 to Harbhajan Singh, that's a give away, well Harbhajan will walk back feeling a little strange, you don't often reverse sweep Murali against the turn and get away with it, Harbhajan exposed all his stumps and inside edged it onto the woodwork 426/9 104.5 to Sharma, excellent stumping indeed! The doosra squares up Ishant, sneaks past the outside edge and Prasanna Jayawardene whips off the bails in a flash before Ishant can drag his foot back, his foot was just in front of the white line 426/10
	HMRKB Herath	22	2	79	1	3.59
	101.2 to Khan, pushes it through at 79ks, its the one that goes the other way, pitches and slants down the leg side to Zaheer, who is rooted back in his crease, the bat is late to come down and he gets hit on the pad, they all go up and after a thought umpire Harper raises the finger, and replays show the ball would just have brushed leg stump 414/8
	TM Dilshan	1	0	3	0	3.00

	Sri Lanka 1st innings		R	M	B	4s	6s	SR
	TM Dilshan	c Dravid b Khan	112	203	133	12	0	84.21
	43.1 and it does! Zaheer drops short, Dilshan takes on the bouncer but it hurries onto him and comes off the shoulder of the bat, goes up high in the and settles in Dravid's palms as he calls for it and takes it jogging in from gully 189/2
	NT Paranavitana	c †Dhoni b Sharma	35	81	55	6	0	63.63
	16.5 great catch! Dhoni it is, who flings himself to his left and plucks an outer edge with one hand in front of first slip, as Paranavitana is forced to play at one that angles across, that's a good delivery from Ishant after a few ordinary ones, it pitches on about middle and off and goes across and forces the batsman to feel for it 74/1
	KC Sangakkara*	c Tendulkar b Khan	31	133	85	3	0	36.47
	45.3 gone, another one to Zaheer! Zaheer uses the bouncer again, its hurries onto Sangakkara as well who makes an utter mess of the hook shot and the top edge is taken by Tendulkar just at the edge of the boundary at fine leg 194/3
	DPMD Jayawardene	b Mishra	275	610	435	27	1	63.21
	193.5 WICKET! finally for India! Mahela skips down the track to a flighted delivery and tries to loft inside out over cover, he misses and gets bowled, he goes after a fantastic innings, and fittingly after breaking the record for the sixth wicket partnership 726/6
	TT Samaraweera	c Yuvraj Singh b Sharma	70	166	145	9	0	48.27
	86.4 good reflexes from the best catcher in the team - Yuvraj Singh, Ishant drops it short and the batsman pulls and the ball appears as if it's headed heavenward, Yuvraj at short square leg leaps up, cups it and tumbles down on the turf and throws it up in the air, Samaraweera's gone and the relief is palpable in the Indian camp 332/4
	AD Mathews	c Gambhir b Harbhajan Singh	17	44	34	1	1	50.00
	96.2 some relief for India at the stroke of lunch, Harbhajan tosses it up on middle, Mathews chips down the track and tries to clip that to the on side, the ball catches the top flap of the pad and Gambhir takes it one-handed at forward short leg, was there some bat on it? Harper and the rest thought so. I need to see another replay of that 375/5
	HAPW Jayawardene†	not out	154	415	314	11	0	49.04
	KTGD Prasad	c Mishra b Harbhajan Singh	21	28	35	2	0	60.00
	202.4 caught at deep midwicket and Sangakkara calls his batsmen in!! Prasad lofts the ball from middle stump but holes out to Mishra 760/7
	Extras	(b 5, lb 16, w 4, nb 20)	45
	Total	(7 wickets dec; 202.4 overs; 843 mins)	760	(3.75 runs per over)

Did not bat HMRKB Herath, M Muralitharan, UWMBCA Welegedara

Fall of wickets1-74 (Paranavitana, 16.5 ov), 2-189 (Dilshan, 43.1 ov), 3-194 (Sangakkara, 45.3 ov), 4-332 (Samaraweera, 86.4 ov), 5-375 (Mathews, 96.2 ov), 6-726 (DPMD Jayawardene, 193.5 ov), 7-760 (Prasad, 202.4 ov)

	Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
	Z Khan	36	6	109	2	3.02	(9nb, 2w)
	43.1 to Dilshan, and it does! Zaheer drops short, Dilshan takes on the bouncer but it hurries onto him and comes off the shoulder of the bat, goes up high in the and settles in Dravid's palms as he calls for it and takes it jogging in from gully 189/2 45.3 to Sangakkara, gone, another one to Zaheer! Zaheer uses the bouncer again, its hurries onto Sangakkara as well who makes an utter mess of the hook shot and the top edge is taken by Tendulkar just at the edge of the boundary at fine leg 194/3
	I Sharma	33	0	135	2	4.09	(3nb, 2w)
	16.5 to Paranavitana, great catch! Dhoni it is, who flings himself to his left and plucks an outer edge with one hand in front of first slip, as Paranavitana is forced to play at one that angles across, that's a good delivery from Ishant after a few ordinary ones, it pitches on about middle and off and goes across and forces the batsman to feel for it 74/1 86.4 to Samaraweera, good reflexes from the best catcher in the team - Yuvraj Singh, Ishant drops it short and the batsman pulls and the ball appears as if it's headed heavenward, Yuvraj at short square leg leaps up, cups it and tumbles down on the turf and throws it up in the air, Samaraweera's gone and the relief is palpable in the Indian camp 332/4
	Harbhajan Singh	48.4	4	189	2	3.88
	96.2 to Mathews, some relief for India at the stroke of lunch, Harbhajan tosses it up on middle, Mathews chips down the track and tries to clip that to the on side, the ball catches the top flap of the pad and Gambhir takes it one-handed at forward short leg, was there some bat on it? Harper and the rest thought so. I need to see another replay of that 375/5 202.4 to Prasad, caught at deep midwicket and Sangakkara calls his batsmen in!! Prasad lofts the ball from middle stump but holes out to Mishra 760/7
	A Mishra	58	6	203	1	3.50	(8nb)
	193.5 to DPMD Jayawardene, WICKET! finally for India! Mahela skips down the track to a flighted delivery and tries to loft inside out over cover, he misses and gets bowled, he goes after a fantastic innings, and fittingly after breaking the record for the sixth wicket partnership 726/6
	Yuvraj Singh	16	1	64	0	4.00
	SR Tendulkar	7	0	20	0	2.85
	V Sehwag	4	1	19	0	4.75

	India 2nd innings		R	M	B	4s	6s	SR
	G Gambhir	c Prasad b Herath	114	337	230	13	0	49.56
	79.6 both Sehwag and Gambhir perish to poor shots, Gambhir decides to give him the charge and loft against the spin, he doesn't get to the pitch of the ball and ends up splicing it high in the air to mid-off, Prasad jogs back and takes it, there's no real need to charge the bowlers when you're trying to save a game 275/4
	V Sehwag	c Mathews b Herath	51	73	67	7	0	76.11
	16.6 rush of blood and it's a very tame dismissal, the ball was tossed up generously on the off stump and invited the big hit, Sehwag was on his knee to slog but failed to get to the pitch of it, the top edge landed down Mathews' throat at mid-on 81/1
	R Dravid	lbw b Welegedara	38	98	66	6	0	57.57
	40.1 lbw!! Welegedara goes round the wicket and angles a full ball into Dravid who leans across to flick, he misses and the ball thuds into his pad, the Sri Lankans appeal in unision and Harper sends Dravid on his way, replays show the ball clipping the outside of leg stump, close call 169/2
	A Mishra	c Dilshan b Mathews	24	69	51	4	0	47.05
	55.6 sharp catch! Dilshan at leg gully! Mathews straightens his length and Mishra plays a very good-looking clip off the pads but Dilshan tumbles to his right and takes a one-handed blinder very low to the ground, at full stretch, and then lies on his back as his team-mates crowd around 209/3
	SR Tendulkar	not out	100	298	211	11	0	47.39
	VVS Laxman	not out	51	202	160	5	0	31.87
	Extras	(b 12, lb 9, w 2, nb 11)	34
	Total	(4 wickets; 129 overs)	412	(3.19 runs per over)

Did not bat Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni*†, Harbhajan Singh, Z Khan, I Sharma

Fall of wickets1-81 (Sehwag, 16.6 ov), 2-169 (Dravid, 40.1 ov), 3-209 (Mishra, 55.6 ov), 4-275 (Gambhir, 79.6 ov)

	Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
	UWMBCA Welegedara	21	1	76	1	3.61	(2nb, 2w)
	40.1 to Dravid, lbw!! Welegedara goes round the wicket and angles a full ball into Dravid who leans across to flick, he misses and the ball thuds into his pad, the Sri Lankans appeal in unision and Harper sends Dravid on his way, replays show the ball clipping the outside of leg stump, close call 169/2
	KTGD Prasad	13	0	56	0	4.30	(3nb)
	HMRKB Herath	40	6	97	2	2.42
	16.6 to Sehwag, rush of blood and it's a very tame dismissal, the ball was tossed up generously on the off stump and invited the big hit, Sehwag was on his knee to slog but failed to get to the pitch of it, the top edge landed down Mathews' throat at mid-on 81/1 79.6 to Gambhir, both Sehwag and Gambhir perish to poor shots, Gambhir decides to give him the charge and loft against the spin, he doesn't get to the pitch of the ball and ends up splicing it high in the air to mid-off, Prasad jogs back and takes it, there's no real need to charge the bowlers when you're trying to save a game 275/4
	M Muralitharan	38	6	124	0	3.26	(6nb)
	AD Mathews	15	6	29	1	1.93
	55.6 to Mishra, sharp catch! Dilshan at leg gully! Mathews straightens his length and Mishra plays a very good-looking clip off the pads but Dilshan tumbles to his right and takes a one-handed blinder very low to the ground, at full stretch, and then lies on his back as his team-mates crowd around 209/3
	TM Dilshan	1	0	2	0	2.00
	NT Paranavitana	1	0	7	0	7.00

Match details

Toss India, who chose to bat Series 3-match series level 0-0

Player of the match DPMD Jayawardene (Sri Lanka)

Umpires DJ Harper (Australia) and AL Hill (New Zealand) TV umpire AM Saheba Match referee JJ Crowe (New Zealand) Reserve umpire SD Ranade

Close of play 16 Nov day 1 - India 1st innings 385/6 (R Dravid 177*, Harbhajan Singh 2*, 90 ov) 17 Nov day 2 - Sri Lanka 1st innings 275/3 (DPMD Jayawardene 36*, TT Samaraweera 45*, 70 ov) 18 Nov day 3 - Sri Lanka 1st innings 591/5 (DPMD Jayawardene 204*, HAPW Jayawardene 84*, 160 ov) 19 Nov day 4 - India 2nd innings 190/2 (G Gambhir 74*, A Mishra 12*, 45 ov) 20 Nov day 5 - India 2nd innings 412/4 (129 ov) - end of match

Match notes

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 India 1st innings Drinks: India - 47/4 in 11.0 overs (R Dravid 15, Yuvraj Singh 9) India: 50 runs in 11.3 overs (69 balls), Extras 2 5th Wicket: 50 runs in 77 balls (R Dravid 29, Yuvraj Singh 20, Ex 1) India: 100 runs in 23.2 overs (141 balls), Extras 3 Lunch: India - 105/4 in 25.0 overs (R Dravid 45, Yuvraj Singh 35) R Dravid: 50 off 79 balls (5 x 4, 1 x 6) 5th Wicket: 100 runs in 146 balls (R Dravid 54, Yuvraj Singh 45, Ex 2) Yuvraj Singh: 50 off 77 balls (9 x 4) India: 150 runs in 35.3 overs (215 balls), Extras 4 India: 200 runs in 45.4 overs (276 balls), Extras 5 6th Wicket: 50 runs in 82 balls (R Dravid 24, MS Dhoni 25, Ex 1) Tea: India - 221/5 in 54.0 overs (R Dravid 98, MS Dhoni 29) R Dravid: 100 off 158 balls (14 x 4, 1 x 6) MS Dhoni: 50 off 80 balls (5 x 4, 1 x 6) India: 250 runs in 61.4 overs (372 balls), Extras 6 6th Wicket: 100 runs in 161 balls (R Dravid 47, MS Dhoni 51, Ex 2) Drinks: India - 299/5 in 70.0 overs (R Dravid 134, MS Dhoni 70) India: 300 runs in 70.1 overs (423 balls), Extras 6 6th Wicket: 150 runs in 211 balls (R Dravid 71, MS Dhoni 77, Ex 2) R Dravid: 150 off 216 balls (22 x 4, 1 x 6) India: 350 runs in 80.2 overs (484 balls), Extras 6 New Ball Taken: India 355/5 after 82.1 overs (R Dravid 166, MS Dhoni 94) 6th Wicket: 200 runs in 279 balls (R Dravid 103, MS Dhoni 95, Ex 2) MS Dhoni: 100 off 154 balls (9 x 4, 1 x 6) End Of Day: India - 385/6 in 90.0 overs (R Dravid 177, Harbhajan Singh 2) India: 400 runs in 95.2 overs (575 balls), Extras 7 Drinks: India - 423/8 in 103.0 overs (Harbhajan Singh 20, A Mishra 6) Innings Break: India - 426/10 in 104.5 overs (A Mishra 7) Sri Lanka 1st innings Lunch: Sri Lanka - 37/0 in 8.0 overs (TM Dilshan 18, NT Paranavitana 18) Sri Lanka: 50 runs in 11.2 overs (70 balls), Extras 2 1st Wicket: 50 runs in 70 balls (TM Dilshan 21, NT Paranavitana 29, Ex 2) Drinks: Sri Lanka - 92/1 in 20.0 overs (TM Dilshan 42, KC Sangakkara 11) Sri Lanka: 100 runs in 21.2 overs (132 balls), Extras 4 TM Dilshan: 50 off 65 balls (5 x 4) 2nd Wicket: 50 runs in 54 balls (TM Dilshan 29, KC Sangakkara 19, Ex 2) Sri Lanka: 150 runs in 32.4 overs (201 balls), Extras 7 Tea: Sri Lanka - 155/1 in 34.0 overs (TM Dilshan 88, KC Sangakkara 23) TM Dilshan: 100 off 120 balls (11 x 4) 2nd Wicket: 100 runs in 129 balls (TM Dilshan 67, KC Sangakkara 26, Ex 7) Drinks: Sri Lanka - 194/3 in 45.3 overs (DPMD Jayawardene 4) Sri Lanka: 200 runs in 48.2 overs (300 balls), Extras 12 Drinks: Sri Lanka - 218/3 in 56.0 overs (DPMD Jayawardene 14, TT Samaraweera 14) 4th Wicket: 50 runs in 92 balls (DPMD Jayawardene 20, TT Samaraweera 30, Ex 0) Sri Lanka: 250 runs in 63.4 overs (393 balls), Extras 13 End Of Day: Sri Lanka - 275/3 in 70.0 overs (DPMD Jayawardene 36, TT Samaraweera 45) TT Samaraweera: 50 off 97 balls (7 x 4) 4th Wicket: 100 runs in 174 balls (DPMD Jayawardene 42, TT Samaraweera 53, Ex 5) DPMD Jayawardene: 50 off 86 balls (4 x 4, 1 x 6) Sri Lanka: 300 runs in 74.6 overs (462 balls), Extras 17 New Ball Taken: Sri Lanka 306/3 after 80.2 overs (DPMD Jayawardene 56, TT Samaraweera 55) Drinks: Sri Lanka - 328/3 in 85.0 overs (DPMD Jayawardene 61, TT Samaraweera 67) Sri Lanka: 350 runs in 90.6 overs (559 balls), Extras 23 Lunch: Sri Lanka - 375/5 in 96.2 overs (DPMD Jayawardene 86) DPMD Jayawardene: 100 off 151 balls (10 x 4, 1 x 6) Sri Lanka: 400 runs in 100.6 overs (620 balls), Extras 24 6th Wicket: 50 runs in 67 balls (DPMD Jayawardene 24, HAPW Jayawardene 24, Ex 3) Drinks: Sri Lanka - 443/5 in 111.0 overs (DPMD Jayawardene 118, HAPW Jayawardene 31) Sri Lanka: 450 runs in 113.3 overs (699 balls), Extras 30 6th Wicket: 100 runs in 151 balls (DPMD Jayawardene 51, HAPW Jayawardene 42, Ex 7) Tea: Sri Lanka - 483/5 in 124.0 overs (DPMD Jayawardene 142, HAPW Jayawardene 43) Sri Lanka: 500 runs in 128.5 overs (791 balls), Extras 33 DPMD Jayawardene: 150 off 238 balls (14 x 4, 1 x 6) HAPW Jayawardene: 50 off 100 balls (2 x 4) 6th Wicket: 150 runs in 246 balls (DPMD Jayawardene 81, HAPW Jayawardene 59, Ex 10) Drinks: Sri Lanka - 531/5 in 139.0 overs (DPMD Jayawardene 172, HAPW Jayawardene 60) Sri Lanka: 550 runs in 145.4 overs (893 balls), Extras 34 Drinks: Sri Lanka - 564/5 in 151.0 overs (DPMD Jayawardene 187, HAPW Jayawardene 78) 6th Wicket: 200 runs in 356 balls (DPMD Jayawardene 108, HAPW Jayawardene 80, Ex 12) DPMD Jayawardene: 200 off 330 balls (17 x 4, 1 x 6) End Of Day: Sri Lanka - 591/5 in 160.0 overs (DPMD Jayawardene 204, HAPW Jayawardene 84) New Ball Taken: Sri Lanka 591/5 after 160.1 overs (DPMD Jayawardene 204, HAPW Jayawardene 84) Sri Lanka: 600 runs in 162.5 overs (998 balls), Extras 39 HAPW Jayawardene: 100 off 212 balls (8 x 4) 6th Wicket: 250 runs in 431 balls (DPMD Jayawardene 130, HAPW Jayawardene 103, Ex 17) Sri Lanka: 650 runs in 173.6 overs (1066 balls), Extras 41 Drinks: Sri Lanka - 651/5 in 174.0 overs (DPMD Jayawardene 239, HAPW Jayawardene 106) 6th Wicket: 300 runs in 512 balls (DPMD Jayawardene 163, HAPW Jayawardene 119, Ex 18) DPMD Jayawardene: 250 off 400 balls (25 x 4, 1 x 6) Sri Lanka: 700 runs in 187.6 overs (1151 balls), Extras 42 Lunch: Sri Lanka - 708/5 in 191.0 overs (DPMD Jayawardene 267, HAPW Jayawardene 134) 6th Wicket: 350 runs in 590 balls (DPMD Jayawardene 189, HAPW Jayawardene 143, Ex 18) HAPW Jayawardene: 150 off 302 balls (11 x 4) Sri Lanka: 750 runs in 200.5 overs (1228 balls), Extras 42 Innings Break: Sri Lanka - 760/7 in 202.4 overs (HAPW Jayawardene 154) India 2nd innings India: 50 runs in 9.4 overs (59 balls), Extras 1 1st Wicket: 50 runs in 59 balls (G Gambhir 22, V Sehwag 28, Ex 1) Tea: India - 77/0 in 16.0 overs (G Gambhir 28, V Sehwag 47) V Sehwag: 50 off 63 balls (7 x 4) India: 100 runs in 22.3 overs (138 balls), Extras 4 Drinks: India - 121/1 in 29.0 overs (G Gambhir 45, R Dravid 21) G Gambhir: 50 off 75 balls (5 x 4) 2nd Wicket: 50 runs in 83 balls (G Gambhir 26, R Dravid 23, Ex 2) India: 150 runs in 35.5 overs (222 balls), Extras 8 End Of Day: India - 190/2 in 45.0 overs (G Gambhir 74, A Mishra 12) India: 200 runs in 46.6 overs (290 balls), Extras 15 Drinks: India - 225/3 in 59.0 overs (G Gambhir 83, SR Tendulkar 13) G Gambhir: 100 off 188 balls (12 x 4) India: 250 runs in 66.5 overs (410 balls), Extras 16 Lunch: India - 256/3 in 74.0 overs (G Gambhir 105, SR Tendulkar 22) 4th Wicket: 50 runs in 111 balls (G Gambhir 25, SR Tendulkar 26, Ex 1) New Ball Taken: India 280/4 after 84.1 overs (SR Tendulkar 32, VVS Laxman 1) Drinks: India - 293/4 in 89.0 overs (SR Tendulkar 41, VVS Laxman 4) India: 300 runs in 90.3 overs (553 balls), Extras 22 SR Tendulkar: 50 off 127 balls (6 x 4) 5th Wicket: 50 runs in 115 balls (SR Tendulkar 20, VVS Laxman 16, Ex 14) Tea: India - 341/4 in 104.0 overs (SR Tendulkar 55, VVS Laxman 28) India: 350 runs in 105.3 overs (644 balls), Extras 31 5th Wicket: 100 runs in 209 balls (SR Tendulkar 44, VVS Laxman 40, Ex 16) VVS Laxman: 50 off 132 balls (5 x 4) Drinks: India - 397/4 in 120.0 overs (SR Tendulkar 87, VVS Laxman 51) India: 400 runs in 122.3 overs (748 balls), Extras 34 SR Tendulkar: 100 off 211 balls (11 x 4)

Tendulkar, Gambhir, dead pitch frustrate Sri Lanka

India v Sri Lanka Nov2009 Ahmedabad, 1st Test Day Five

SCORE
India (Ist innings) 426/10
Srilanka (Ist innings) 760 for 7 dec
India (2nd innings) 412 for 4
(Sachin Tendulkar 100*, Gautam Gambhir 114, VVS Laxman 51)
Full score card

Result
Match Draw


The Ahmedabad Test may have ended in a draw but if there was one winner it had to be the pitch.

The genius of Sachin Tendulkar (100*), the resolve of Gautam Gambhir (114) and the elegance of VVS Laxman (51) beautifully came together to crush Sri Lanka’s dream of registering their first Test victory on the Indian soil. For the game that saw a staggering 1,598 runs being scored for the loss of only 21 wickets – highest in a match played in India – it had to end in a draw.

In a game which saw as many as seven batsmen scoring centuries (see the first table below), Mahela Jayawardene stood out for his magical 257 — his first century in India. It also made him Sri Lanka’s highest Test run-getter and the ninth batsmen in the world to score over 9,000 runs. Quite deservingly he was declared player of the match. He shared a world record 351-run partnership with Prasanna Jayawardene (154) for the sixth wicket, which was probably the most remarkable phase of the match.

The men from the Emerald Isles failed to achieve the desired result even after having a tight stranglehold on the match for most of the sessions. Reason: the Indians fought back hard when it mattered the most.

The world wanted Tendulkar to mark his two decades of extraordinary career with a special knock and he obliged. The master notched up his 43rd Test century to save the match for India and on the way reached the stupendous landmark of 30,000 international runs (see the second table below). Apart from a brief phase of aggression when he charged down the ground to Muralitharan, Tendulkar was the epitome of caution during his unbeaten knock of 100. The innings was peppered with his signature drives, back-foot punches and crafty sweeps and included 11 boundaries.

Before the Little Master took over, the foundation of India’s fightback was laid by Gautam Gambhir, who carved out a pugnacious 114 runs. He showed immense maturity while getting to his seventh Test hundred and his sixth in the last eight Tests. Though the innings had no signs of heroics, it sure had moments of brilliance. The confident drives, the delicate late-cuts and the aggressive charge down the ground against Muralitharan brought up 12 sparkling boundaries in his innings.

The lunch-break probably wavered Gambhir’s concentration and indiscretion crept into his batting. He charged down the ground against the spin of Herath and holed out to mid-off.


The two centurions were well supported by VVS Laxman, the man who often thrives in the pressure cooker situation. The elegant right-hander once again stood up for his team, as he eased his way to an unbeaten 160-ball 51.

Mathews was the pick of the Lankan bowlers in the first session. He bowled according to the field, maintained a straight line and continued to bowl fuller length. The wicket of Mishra was a testimony to the all-rounder’s disciplined bowling effort. While Muralitharan continued to struggle, bowling flat on the dead track, Herath kept trying different things. He gave the ball a lot more flight, which lured Sehwag and Gambhir into suicidal big shots.

Apart from the first session of the match when the Sri Lankan fast bowlers ran through the Indian top order, the bowlers from both sides had very little to smile about. The spinners in particular, had a forgettable five days, as the batsmen mercilessly feasted on them. While Amit Mishra went for 203 runs and Harbhajan for 189, it was for the first time in his career that the wily old Muttiah Muralitharan went wicket-less in the second innings of a Test after bowling more than 25 overs.

source: www.cricketnirvana.com

Gambhir keeps Sri Lanka at bay

India v Sri Lanka Nov2009 Ahmedabad, 1st Test Day Four

SCORE
India (Ist innings) 426/10
Srilanka (Ist innings) 760 for 7 dec
India (2nd innings) 190 for 2
(Gambhir 74*, Sehwag 51)
trail by 144 runs
Final Score Card

Sri Lanka gave themselves a minimum of 135 overs and an ample cushion of runs to try and register their first Test win in India, but the Ahmedabad pitch got deader and deader with every passing minute. Gautam Gambhir got into long-innings mode, reminiscent of his match-saving effort in Napier earlier this year, but Chanaka Welegedara brought Sri Lanka right back with Rahul Dravid's wicket 15 minutes before stumps.

Sri Lanka seemed a little unsettled by a charmed innings from Virender Sehwag who survived his own ambitious mindset to score an aggressive half-century. The Sri Lankan fast bowlers failed to replicate the swing they got in the first innings, and apart from a few moments of indiscretion from Sehwag, it seemed they would spend the day without a wicket.

Sehwag escaped three chances before his eventual dismissal in the final session. In the first over he edged a no-ball, in the second another edge flew between wicketkeeper and first slip. He went on to take a suicidal run off a back-foot punch straight to mid-on, and then cut and edge past slip in the last over before tea. For the while Sehwag stayed in the middle, India hardly resembled a side trying to save the match, scoring at five an over, but it did work in India's favour. Kumar Sangakkara made the same mistake as MS Dhoni and set defensive fields too soon. Twenty-seven singles came in the 17 overs that Sehwag batted, and none of the bowlers could settle into any rhythm.

In between, for a brief while approaching tea, Sehwag did tighten his game: he left balls outside off, defended with soft hands, looked to run singles and rotate strike. In other words, he started to play more like Gambhir, who resisted from playing too far outside off stump, kept the big shots out, and drove only when close to the pitch of the ball.

Rangana Herath got Sehwag's wicket to a slog-sweep, but both he and Muttiah Muralitharan failed to trouble Gambhir and Dravid. The ball turned, but slowly. Both Gambhir and Dravid looked to play as late as possible. Even if they did play back to a fullish delivery, there was enough time to recover. Every now and then, Gambhir would step out and drive from out of the rough, but wouldn't give the ball any time to spin.

During 15 overs of spin, they added 41, without giving any of the close-in fielders a chance. Sangakkara brought back to Dammika Prasad and Welegedera. Prasad beat Gambhir with late movement right away, and five overs later Dravid too poked outside off. Just before stumps Sri Lanka got lucky when Welegedera got Dravid with a late swinging delivery from round the stumps. The ball seemed to be missing leg.

Nightwatchman Amit Mishra and Gambhir saw out the remaining 15 overs, without incident. The first half of the day, too, was without incident. India started by waiting, nay hoping, for a declaration from Sri Lanka, but the Jayawardenes accumulated ruthlessly, scoring at close to four an over, almost making sure Sri Lanka would not have to bat again. Along the way Prasanna went past 150 - his second Test century - Sri Lanka registered the highest total in India, Mahela reached 250 in the innings and 9000 Test runs, and their 351-run partnership was a new world record for sixth wicket.

India took the new ball as soon as it was due but the batsmen weren't troubled. Without taking risks, they kept getting boundaries, as the bowlers again failed to hit the same areas consistently. Zaheer Khan bowled off a shorter run, Ishant Sharma's pace wasn't up there - an edge that he induced when Prasanna was on 99 died on the keeper - and although the field setting suggested India wanted to stop the singles, the boundaries made up for it.

The game stayed on auto-pilot until the declaration came 11.4 overs into the second session. India had spent more than a day without a wicket, and looked it. The Jayawardenes didn't have to resort to frenetic hitting to go past their milestones. Mahela's innings - although rarely challenged by India once he got in on the second evening - stood out for how he maintained focus and didn't make an outright mistake until he finally missed an attempt at a big shot against Amit Mishra, who toiled for 58 overs for that lone success. A double-century came for Mishra, while Harbhajan fell just short, going for 189 in his 48.4 overs. India, while scoring 426 in their first innings, hit 59 fours and two sixes; Sri Lanka scored 71 fours and two sixes in 760. The statistic showed the difference in mindset of both teams when they came out to field.

Source: www.cricinfo.com

Jayawardene double flattens India

India v Sri Lanka Nov2009 Ahmedabad, 1st Test Day Three

SCORE
India (Ist innings) 426/10
Srilanka (Ist innings) 591 for 5
(Jayawardene 204*, Dilshan 112, Prasanna 84*, Samaraweera 70)
Lead by 165 runs
Final Score Card


Mahela Jayawardene ground the Indian bowlers into the Ahmedabad dust, almost ruling out a defeat for Sri Lanka in the first Test. This was only the second time that Sri Lanka took a first-innings lead in India, and only the first time they crossed 450 in the country. Jayawardene's sixth double-century, and twelfth 150, was one of his easier ones because for more than half his innings India didn't try to take his wicket, and only towards the end was he made to work hard for singles. The bowlers were not helped by the slowness of the pitch and the indiscipline of the spinners, who managed just one wicket in 102 overs, that too a dodgy decision against Angelo Mathews.

Jayawardene was supported by Thilan Samaraweera in the first session, Prasanna Jayawardene in the second and third, and by muddled thinking from India in both. Their fast bowlers couldn't generate any swing, conventional or reverse, but still looked the only ones capable of making things happen. The only blip for Sri Lanka came when Samaraweera was set up by Zaheer Khan and dismissed by Ishant Sharma, but Jayawardene had started assuredly, and never gave India a serious look-in. Despite that Mathews wicket to what turned out to be the last ball before lunch, the Jayawardenes thwarted any hopes of a quick Indian comeback.

Sri Lanka started the day 151 runs behind, knowing they needed a lead of at least 70 runs to compensate for having to bat last on a pitch that was turning. But the problem with that turn was its slowness, and both Jayawardene and Samaraweera negotiated it comfortably in the morning. India were made to bowl spinners for the first 10 overs before the new ball was due. And in a move that spoke a lot about their attitude, they came out in the containment mode, with a deep point for Harbhajan Singh. Not a single shot went there, and the fielder watched late-cuts from Jayawardene go to the third-man boundary.

The only blotch on Jayawardene's morning came when Amit Mishra drew an edge from him, but the ball died on Rahul Dravid at slip. Twenty-nine runs and two maidens came in those first 10 overs, the last of which had Mishra beating Samaraweera with a googly and missing out on an lbw call. Both batsmen reached fifties during that spell, and brought up their ninth 100-run stand. That last over was about the best Mishra had bowled, but MS Dhoni went for pace from the 81st over.

The sixth over with the new ball, bowled by Zaheer, was the best of the day from India's perspective. He beat Samaraweera with an away-going delivery, got him into an uncertain position with a bouncer, and then hit him in the midriff with another. Ishant continued from there in the next over, beating him with one that held its line. And then came a pull shot Samaraweera would otherwise have kept along the ground, but was hurried into this time.

Jayawardene made sure India wouldn't feel too excited when, two overs later, he drove Zaheer for three boundaries in four balls: through mid-on, wide of midwicket, and through covers. The last one of those shots took Jayawardene to 74, Sri Lanka to within 78 of India's total, and Zaheer out of the attack. The spinners came on soon, and failed to make an impact as Sri Lanka started to steadily push the accelerator.

Prasanna looked to sweep Harbhajan, while runs kept coming effortlessly for Jayawardene. Dhoni spread the field, but Mishra and Harbhajan struggled to keep the same batsman on strike for a considerable period. Despite the defensive mindset, India could manage only four maidens in the first two sessions. India's bowling was most insipid in the second session and the Jayawardenes capitalised fully. Without much fuss, Prasanna reached 42 by tea, and Jayawardene 142, another of his tons that seemed inevitable once he got in. By tea, the two had added 108 off 27.4 overs, 84 of which were run.

Post tea, both sides called ceasefire. Dhoni got spinners to bowl from round the stumps with 6-3 leg-side fields, while the Jayawardenes didn't seem interested in taking too many risks, and were happy scoring in ones and twos and occasional boundaries. In the 144th over of the innings, Sri Lanka ran their 200th single. In the 158th over, Zaheer bowled the 17th no-ball; and India had got only 21 runs from four of their top-six batsmen. While India managed to stem the run-flow in the final session - a total of 108 runs came in 36 overs - it didn't help much because there were still two days left in the match, and Sri Lanka got closer and closer to not having to bat again.

The senior Jayawardene didn't let fatigue get the better of him and reached the double with two overs to go, while Prasanna took the opportunity to move towards what would be a risk-free second century.

Source: http://www.cricinfo.com