Kirsten bats for India's wicketless spinners

Ahmedabad: India coach Gary Kirsten sprang to the defence of his spinners after both Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra went wicketless on the second day of the first cricket Test against Sri Lanka here on Tuesday.

"I thought Harbhajan bowled really well with as good a rhythm as I have seen him bowl for a while. I think he was happy with his performance," Kirsten said after the second day's play.

In reply to India's first innings total of 426, Sri Lanka ended the day at a strong 275 for three and neither Harbhajan nor leg-spinner Amit Mishra could manage a single wicket.
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Kirsten blamed it on the docile nature of the pitch and the rustiness of Mishra, who has not bowled for nearly a month in a competitive match despite being part of the one-day team against Australia.

"It's a good wicket for batting. Amit has not bowled for a while. It's his first one (game) for a while. He had not had many games to play. He would have liked his rhythm too to be better," he said.

He, however, was confident that both the spinners would play key roles in the remainder of the match.

"I am pretty confident both of them are going to be a factor in this Test," Kirsten said.

The India coach felt that the match stood even at the end of second day.

"We would have loved to have got a few more runs. But it's a tremendous effort from 32 for four to get to 426. We will be happy with that," Kirsten said.

"Sri Lanka also batted well. To me the game is pretty even. At the moment it's a good wicket to bat on. Hopefully it will start taking more and more turn. Bowling last on that wicket is going to suit us," he said.

Dwelling on pace spearhead Zaheer Khan, Kirsten praised the left-arm seamer who came back after a long injury lay-off to claim two quick wickets today.

"It's good to have him back. He's an experience and clever bowler. He bowled exceptionally well. Hopefully we can continue to use his skills throughout this match for the rest of the match and into the next one," Kirsten said.

The South African said the team had expected more reverse swing than what was evident today and hoped it would become more pronounced from tomorrow.

"We are hoping for a bit more. It did reverse a bit. In conditions like this it helps to get the ball to reverse. We will hopefully get a bit more in the second innings and tomorrow as well.

"It's not an abrasive surface. The outfield is good and the table around the pitch too is good. Ball has not been hit consistently on to rough patches," he explained.

Source: http://cricketnext.in.com

One of my most fluent knocks, says Dravid

Playing the waiting game initially and then flourishing to remain unbeaten on 177 against Sri Lanka in the first Test in Ahmedabad, Rahul Dravid called his knock on Monday as one of his best innings in recent times. Studded with 26 boundaries and a straight six off Rangana Herath, Dravid helped India recover from 32 for 4 to 385 for 6 at the end of the first day.

"I have been playing fluently in all forms of the game. It's one of my most assured efforts in the last two-three years. My feet were moving well and I felt I was in control," Dravid said.

After stumbling initially with the loss of four quick wickets, Dravid said his partnership with Yuvraj Singh (68) helped restrict the bleeding. "When we were 32 for four, the collapse against South Africa for 76 was at the back of our minds. But we knew it was just a question of having some partnerships going, and to hang in there till lunch. That's just what we did," the former India skipper said.

On the attack

While the 125-run stand with Yuvraj was damage control, Dravid and India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (110) went on the attack during their 224-run partnership, propelling India towards their highest opening-day score. The total at stumps was just one run short of India's single-day record of 386 runs, piled up against South Africa in the 2007-08 season. While the records tumbled, Dhoni notched up his second Test century.

"The partnership with Yuvraj steadied the innings in the first session, we consolidated in the second and then with Mahi, the partnership set up the big score. Both are attacking players and we knew if they can bat for 150-160 balls then 100 runs would be scored."

Dravid felt that the wicket was a bit sticky initially and the visitors utilised it well. "There was some movement. The Lankans bowled well," he said, adding: "It was a good toss to win even though we lost four quick wickets. It became a very good strip to bat on after an hour and a half."

The Karnataka captain credited his stint in the Ranji Trophy in giving him the required impetus to go into this match with confidence. "Time in the middle always helps. I had a couple of games against UP and Delhi and was pretty confident going into this match," he said.

Having climbed above former Australian skipper Steve Waugh in the all-time run getters list, Dravid is not resting on his laurels. "We have to score 500-plus runs. The wicket looks as if it will not do much till the fourth day. Then it should help our spinners and our fast bowlers to reverse the ball."

source: http://cricket.yahoo.com

Sri Lanka retaliate with Dilshan hundred

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

SCORE
India (Ist innings) 426/10
Srilanka (Ist innings) 275/3 in 70 overs
Mahela Jayawardene 36*
Samaraweera 45*
Final Score Card

A superb day for Sri Lanka then as they dominated all three sessions. They bowled out India in the first hour of the day before a superb knock from Dilshan. Dilshan was his usual aggressive self, scoring his runs at a brisk pace to register the highest score by a Sri Lankan in India. India fought their way back as Zaheer got rid of Dilshan and Sanga in quick succession but Mahela and Samaraweera ensured that there were no further hiccups with an 81-run partnership. India's bowlers have looked uninspiring, especially Mishra who didn't bowl a single maiden over in 18 overs while their fielding was sloppy. Can they do better tomorrow or will SL gain a lead? Join us tomorrow for that.

I am no god, I just love playing for India: Tendulkar

New Delhi: Legions of fans may adore him as god of cricket but Sachin Tendulkar insists that he is only a mortal who loves playing for his country. "I'm glad so many people follow my career.

But I am not a god. I just love cricket, playing for India," said Tendulkar, who completed 20 years in international cricket today.

India opener Virender Sehwag had said Tendulkar was not just a legend of the game but was actually the god of cricket. Incidentally, former Australia opener Matthew Hayden also once famously said, "I have seen god, he bats at number four for India.

"Tendulkar said he was just a cricketer, who happened to enjoy the support of a sea of humanity. "I'm an individual but there is a huge force behind me, a big team.

My teammates, family, kids, friends and fans. When I go out to bat, I play on their behalf," he said.

"I had not thought of playing for so long for the country but thanks to the support from all quarters I could play for 20 years for my country," he told NDTV.

In his illustrious 20 years of international cricket he has broken numerous batting records but Tendulkar said twice in his career he had thought his career was over.

"The first one was on my first Test against Pakistan. I scored just 15 and I thought whether I would get the chance to play the next match but I got. When I scored 58 or 59 in the second Test I was relieved," he said, recollecting that match in Karachi on November 15, 1989.

source: http://cricket.yahoo.com

'Little Master' Sachin completes 20 years in international cricket

New Delhi: Sachin Tendulkar on Sunday completed 20 years in international cricket and became the first Indian and only the 16th in the history of the game to have a career spanning more than two decades.

Tendulkar, who made his debut as a 16-year-old against Pakistan way back in November 15, 1989, will reach the milestone of 20 years and one day in international cricket when he comes out to play against Sri Lanka in the first

Test of the three-match series in Ahmedabad tomorrow.

In his Test career spanning 19 years 143 days till date, Tendulkar has represented India in a record 159 Tests. He also played a record 436 50-over matches in his 19 years and 325 days one-day career, thus becoming only the second player after Pakistan's Javed Miandad to have the longest ODI career.

The Indian batting maestro is also the only active cricketer to feature in the longest Tests career list and at 36 years of age he is still going strong. In his two decades long career, Tendulkar had written many records which catapulted him to the honour of being the milestone man.

Even though he holds the record of being the highest run-getter and century maker in both the Tests and ODIs, he is everlasting hunger for runs knows no boundary. A perfectionist by nature, Tendulkar has till date amassed a staggering 12,773 runs from 159 Tests at a robust average of 54.58 with a mindboggling 42 centuries and 53 half centuries.

His record in ODIs are too unmatchable. The Mumbaikar recently achieved another milestone when he became the only batsman in the history of the game to break into 17,000 run mark.

With a mammoth 17,173 runs from 436 ODIs, Tendulkar is in the threshold of another feat as he is just nine centuries short of touching the magical figure of 100 tons. Tendulkar is also just 54 runs short of becoming the only batsman in the world to score a whopping 30,000 run in international cricket -- combining both Tests and ODIs.

Tendulkar's special talent was evident right from his school days after he notched up an unbeaten 664-run stand with buddy Vinod Kambli in the Lord Harris Shield Inter-School Game in 1988.

The diminutive right-hander's colossal batting exploits have completely overshadowed his utility as a part-time bowler who has 44 Test wickets and 154 scalps in ODIs. If there was any grey area in Tendulkar's canvas, it has been his captaincy and despite having two jabs at it, he preferred to shrugg it off his shoulders to concentrate on his batting, which only blossomed once he shunned the leadership duty.

But despite his success and worldwide fame, Tendulkar remained a firmly grounded man. Just like a true champion, he never allowed fame and adulation to get on to his head and effect his batting. Till today he continues to be a keen learner of the game and spends hours in the net to finetune his batting crafts, although there is hardly anything left for the champion batsman to master.

Source: http://cricket.expressindia.com