Cricket

West Indies 204 and 224 for 6 (K Edwards 110, Chanderpaul 73*, Harbhajan 3-61) lead India 347 (Dhoni 74, F Edwards 5-103) by 81 runs. India edged a day of fluctuating fortunes to take complete control of a rain-marred third Test in Dominica and closed in on a 2-0 series victory despite a century on debut from Kirk Edwards. His confidence and composure while approaching his landmark was a contrast to his edginess and uncertainty early in his innings, and he was guided along by Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who fought his own battles and survived to take the game into the fifth day. However, the loss of three wickets in the final session, made possible by an improved spell from Harbhajan Singh, meant the game was still India's. Edwards had big boots to fill when he was picked for this Test ahead of Ramnaresh Sarwan. He was left out of the West Indies squad for the final two ODIs against India and would have been under some pressure coming in to this game, then being dismi...

West Indies 75 for 3 (Bravo 22*, Chanderpaul 17*, Ishant 2-23) v India Steady rain blighted a promising start under clear skies and bright sunshine in the first ever Test in Dominica - the 106th Test venue - to reduce the opening day to just 31.1 overs. In that time, India had made good use of their only opportunity to bowl first this series, removing three top-order batsmen on a good batting track. India's decision to bowl was prompted by the moisture in the pitch, but it didn't play a significant role; instead the seamers were persistent against the inexperienced batting that included two debutants. Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Darren Bravo then added 40 runs in a rebuilding effort before the rain swooped in. It was a day of landmarks for West Indies today: Chanderpaul became the most-capped West Indies Test cricketer, overtaking Courtney Walsh, and he fittingly handed out the maroon caps to the two debutants, Kieran Powell and Kirk Edwards. There was wobbly swing for Praveen...

Struggling West Indies batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan has been dropped for the third and final Test against India in Dominica. Kieran Powell, a 21-year-old batsman from Leeward Islands, has been named as his replacement. Sarwan, 31, back in the Test side for the ongoing home season after nearly one-and-a-half years out, has struggled for form right through, starting with the Pakistan Tests. He managed only 54 runs in four innings against Pakistan, and his form nosedived further in the series against India, where he managed only 29 runs over the first two Tests. Sarwan seemed to have been informed of his axing soon after the second Test in Barbados. An hour after bad light ensured a draw, Sarwan tweeted: "Wishing the guys all the best in Dominica! Miami here I come." Warner Park in Dominica is the venue for the third Test.

Kris Srikkanth, chairman of the Indian selection committee, has backed Yuvraj Singh to come good in Test cricket. Despite being a fixture in India's limited-overs plans for many years, Yuvraj has not managed to seal a permanent Test spot, but has forced his way back into the squad for England on the back of his starring role in the World Cup. "We all know that Yuvraj has quality," Srikkanth told the Indian Express . "Yes, I agree that he has so far failed to carry forward his ODI form into Test cricket. But he still has many years of cricket left in him. If he can cement his place in the Test squad, then that will surely augur well for Indian cricket."

Delhi finally feels like home for Delhi Daredevils. With players such as Virender Sehwag, David Warner and Morne Morkel in the side, they had been frustrated by lifeless home tracks that made stroke-play and pace bowling difficult. Before this game Sehwag demanded pace, and then in the company of Warner showed just why. They added 146 for the first wicket in 11.4 overs, an ideal platform for a comfortable win despite an equally remarkable innings by Shaun Marsh, and despite the continuing good luck of Kings XI Punjab's openers who were both dropped on nought. With the ball coming on well on this green pitch, Warner and Sehwag let the bowlers feel their wrath. They were like beasts who had been uncaged after years of confinement, gorging on anything remotely loose. It is a scary thought to imagine what Sehwag would have managed had he not got out for 77 off 35, trying a fourth successive six off the fourth delivery of a David Hussey over. Sehwag even dived into his cr...

Chris Gayle has arrived. He smashed his way to his first IPL century, the second-fastest in this edition of the competition, and was the architect of Bangalore's victory over his former team, Kolkata. Gayle formed powerful partnerships with Tillakaratne Dilshan and Virat Kohli as Bangalore were untroubled in their chase of 172, winning by nine wickets. The pitch was proving to be tricky for the quicks and Kolkata opted to start with a spinner after having posted 171. Yusuf Pathan, who was battling a knee niggle, opened the bowling. After three good deliveries, Yusuf strayed on the leg stump and Dilshan cashed in with four through square leg. With that, the flood gates were opened. In the fourth over, Gayle had scored just three singles - while Dilshan had notched up 19 - when he was offered a full toss. He drove it down past the non-striker for the first of his 17 boundaries. It didn't matter what Bangalore tried after that. Jaidev Unadkat was dispatched with ...

Don't shake Paul Valthaty 's hand any time soon. You might just turn to gold. He followed up his century in Kings XI Punjab's previous game by surprising everybody with his split-finger slower balls, in the Dilhara Fernando mould, taking 4 for 29, the best figures by any Punjab bowler, and then - with a 47-ball 75 - made a mockery of a target he had himself kept down to 165. The turnaround for Punjab began with a good piece of fielding, and then a fortuitous lob off what should have been a leg-side wide. Until then Kumar Sangakkara and Shikhar Dhawan had put up a fine display of driving in a 75-run second-wicket stand, Deccan's best for any wicket this season, but both fell within three runs to send the hosts into rebuild mode for the best part of the second half of their innings. Deccan Chargers had reached 88 for 1 in the 11th over, and the set batsmen were just looking to open up further when a diving Shaun Marsh at extra cover made sure Sangakkara st...

Kolkata Knight Riders won by nine wickets and with nine deliveries to spare. It shouldn't have been that easy but Gautam Gambhir and Jacques Kallis starred in a supremely well-paced chase as Kolkata successfully hunted down a potentially tough 160-run target on a sluggish track in Jaipur. The first game-seizing moment of the chase came in the sixth over, bowled by Amit Singh. Kolkata were 44 for 1 from five overs and it was obvious that they had to fully utilise the new ball and the Powerplay on this slow track. It was an over that could have tilted the game either way: Amit tried to keep it tight, Gambhir took risks, two shots eluded palms of fielders in the off side but not by much, and Gambhir looted 18 runs. He flat-batted the first ball past the diving Ross Taylor at extra cover, slashed the third past the diving Abhishek Raut at point, glanced the fourth to fine-leg, and crashed the final delivery over mid-off. The second turning point was Gambhir's cont...

Two weeks ago, the crowd at the Wankhede was delirious though a fervently anticipated Sachin Tendulkar century didn't materialise. On Friday, the same crowd went home dejected despite Tendulkar crafting his first Twenty20 century, as Kochi Tuskers Kerala busted their party with one of the most memorable chases in IPL history. Two of the world's finest Twenty20 batsmen, Brendon McCullum and Mahela Jayawardene, constructed chalk-and-cheese half-centuries to power Kochi's pursuit of 183. Both perished to Lasith Malinga's deadly deliveries but Kochi, who had stumbled in the final stretch of their first two games, didn't slip up this time as Ravindra Jadeja and Brad Hodge muscled boundaries to finish the game with an over to spare. Tendulkar's effort checked off another item on his ever-shrinking to-do list, and Mumbai ran up a tall total without needing contributions from Rohit Sharma, Andrew Symonds and Kieron Pollard. It was then assumed that the bowl...

The IPL's northernmost franchise found a hero with roots in the south, as Paul Valthaty stunned Chennai Super Kings to clinch a maiden win for Kings XI Punjab this season after a disappointing performance in their opening game. Valthaty was a surprise promotion to the opening slot, instead of the regular Shaun Marsh, and he answered the call with a blistering start, keeping his team on par with the required-rate in the middle overs and surging again at the death to complete victory after achieving a spectacular century. At 27, with just one List A game and 13 Twenty20 matches, Valthaty had been on the sidelines of the Mumbai team on India's domestic circuit. His previous highest in the IPL was 6, but whatever he must have done at the practice sessions ahead of this game sparked a potentially career-changing turn of events. Punjab had been deflated at the end of the Chennai innings, after they had squandered the perfect start of two wickets off the first two ball...

Sachin Tendulkar added one more to his already bulging cap of feathers when he was named Wisden's leading cricketer in the world for 2010. Tendulkar enjoyed what was even by his standards an outstanding year in 2010, hitting over 1500 Test runs with 7 hundreds. He also went past the previously unthinkable mark of 50 Test match hundreds in 2010. In ODIs, he became the first batsman to hit the 200-run mark, doing it against the might of the South African attack. The master batsman, who began this month with what he described as his proudest moment when he helped India win the World Cup on his home ground in Mumbai, is the seventh recipient of the Wisden award. Unlike the winners of Wisden's coveted five cricketers of the year, it is possible to be named the world's best in the almanack more than once - and Tendulkar made it an Indian hat-trick, after Test opener Virender Sehwag took the honour in each of the last two years. Tendulkar's citation concludes:...

Rajasthan Royals executed a well-calibrated chase against an off-colour Delhi Daredevils attack to register their second win in two games and move atop the IPL leaderboard. The senior players soaked up the pressure - Rahul Dravid set up the chase and Johan Botha anchored it - while the youngsters, Ashok Menaria and Ajinkya Rahane, batted with freedom to keep the required-rate under control. Ross Taylor added the finishing touches with his trademark leg-side lashes. While Rajasthan's batting flowed seamlessly, their bowling was a tale of two halves. Their fortunes were typified by Shaun Tait's four one-over spells. He got rid of Virender Sehwag and Aaron Finch - two parts of Delhi's powerful top-order trinity - in first two overs. David Warner, the third part, survived Tait and saw off a sublime spell from Shane Warne before counter-punching along with Venugopal Rao. Tait was either too short or too full in his final spell, and allowed Delhi to haul themselves f...

  Shane Watson hits 15 sixes in an ODI Shane Watson knocked Bangladesh's bowlers senseless with a world record tally of sixes as the Australians galloped to a nine-wicket victory in the second limited overs match in Mirpur to seal the series. The target of 230 had appeared a possible banana skin on a slow pitch offering some turn, but Watson made such light work of it, that his unbeaten185 from 96 balls now stands as the highest ODI score by an Australian, overtaking Matthew Hayden's 181 against New Zealand in 2007. Xavier Marshall's 2008 mark for most sixes fell when Watson swung his 13th over the rope, the second six in as many balls off the bowling of Abdur Razzak. Watson added two more for good measure, laying claim to one of ODI cricket's more enduring records, for the highest individual percentage of runs in a completed innings. His 79.74% bested Viv Richards' 69.48% in his momentous 189 not out, out of 272 for 9, against England in 1984.

A significant rally by Bangladesh wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim, with the help of the lower order, allowed the hosts to set Australia a target of 230 in order for the visitors to seal the limited-overs series in the second match in Mirpur. Australia dropped Cameron White for Callum Ferguson as they sought a second victory in three days and were in total command when Bangladesh slid to 88 for 5. But Rahim, allrounder Mahmudullah and left-arm spinner Suhrawadi Shuvo pushed Bangladesh to 229 for 7, a total that will require a diligent pursuit on a slow pitch that offers turn. Shahriar Nafees had done his best to keep the first half of the innings from petering out entirely but he was not helped by the funereal approach of opener Imrul Kayes, who lingered 41 balls to gouge out five runs. Mitchell Johnson and Steve Smith shared five well-deserved wickets, while Brett Lee was short of luck during a spell that was damaged after he leaked 17 runs in his final over. Seeking pari...

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Date Local/IST No. Match Details Venue 8-Apr-11 20:00 1st Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 1st IPL Chennai 9-Apr-11 16:00 2nd Deccan Chargers vs Rajasthan Royals, 2nd IPL Hyderabad 9-Apr-11 20:00 3rd Kochi Tuskers Kerala vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, 3rd IPL Kochi 10-Apr-11 16:00 4th Delhi Daredevils vs Mumbai Indians, 4th IPL Delhi 10-Apr-11 20:00 5th Pune Warriors vs Kings XI Punjab, 5th IPL Navi Mumbai 11-Apr-11 20:00 6th Kolkata Knight Riders vs Deccan Chargers, 6th IPL Kolkata 12-Apr-11 16:00 7th Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Daredevils, 7th IPL Jaipur 12-Apr-11 20:00 8th Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Mumbai Indians, 8th IPL Bangalore 13-Apr-11 16:00 9th Kings XI Punjab vs Chennai Super Kings, 9th IPL Mohali 13-Apr-11 20:00 10th Pune Warriors vs Kochi Tuskers Kerala, 10th IPL Navi Mumbai 14-Apr-11 20:00 11th Deccan Chargers vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, 11th IPL Hyderabad 15-Apr-11 16:00 12th...

Dashing Kevin O'Brien (113) smashed the fastest World Cup century to set up Ireland's scintillating three-wicket win over England at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday. The right-handed batsman completed his century off just 50 balls to beat Matthew Hayden's record of century in 66 balls in the 2007 tournament. Man of the match Kevin O'Brien lashed 13 boundaries and six sixes in his memorable One-day century to silence the spirited, in majority, English supporters at the Bengaluru stadium. The stadia were all on their feet after witnessing a stunning display of sportsmanship by the Irish team over their old enemy. Kevin, a lookalike of Andrew Flintoff from the stands, played his strokes fearlessly on a wicket where the ball came nicely on to the bat. The destructive middle-order batman played a typically attacking innings, racing to his century with a flick towards the mid-wicket. The crowd and Irish box went up in roar to celebrate Kevin's second One-day ...

Box broke TV, not bat, says Ponting Australia captain Ricky Ponting said it was his box, employed to protect a batsman's most sensitive area, and not his bat which damaged a World Cup dressing room television set. <a href="http://in.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=15q6imoiu/M=794523.14593216.14400487.13990286/D=insports/S=2023151593:SKY/Y=IN/EXP=1298708484/L=UCDP0XllmL56UWqcTVYKaBUcykGIjU1om.QABPg9/B=PhdBAnllkJE-/J=1298701284342407/K=mIb4wKIa2mIt.lRUxCfvbg/A=6337188/R=2/id=noscript/SIG=11j8gqt7c/*http://www.credila.com/vsf_index.html?media=Yahoo" target="_blank"><img src="http://l.yimg.com/t/i/in/adv/credila_cri/794523_harbhajan_cricket_120x600_021811.gif" width="120" height="600" border="0"></a> <iframe src="http://in.adserver.yahoo.com/a?f=2023151593&p=cricket&l=SKY&c=h&bg=white" width=...

India's in-form opener Virender Sehwag will be fit for the crucial World Cup clash with England despite receiving a painful blow to the ribs in the nets on Friday. <a href="http://in.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=15qkhc3p4/M=794523.14593216.14400487.13990286/D=insports/S=2023151593:SKY/Y=IN/EXP=1298707786/L=C2IiK3llmL56UWqcTVYKaAgtykGIjU1omSoACX3V/B=R3w7AnllkJI-/J=1298700586638113/K=ATDkEGvRtwdaRrPASVsQDw/A=6337188/R=2/id=noscript/SIG=11j8gqt7c/*http://www.credila.com/vsf_index.html?media=Yahoo" target="_blank"><img src="http://l.yimg.com/t/i/in/adv/credila_cri/794523_harbhajan_cricket_120x600_021811.gif" width="120" height="600" border="0"></a> <iframe src="http://in.adserver.yahoo.com/a?f=2023151593&p=cricket&l=SKY&c=h&bg=white" width="120" height="600" marginwidth=0 marginheight=0 hspace=0 vspace=0 frameborder=0 scrolling=no> </iframe> ...

<a href="http://in.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=15qaf71um/M=794523.14593216.14400487.13990286/D=insports/S=2023151593:SKY/Y=IN/EXP=1298142257/L=th3VQ3llmL56UWqcTVYKaAagykGIjk1f.BUADCTE/B=Q6nYnHllmQY-/J=1298135057949096/K=.4FTbnvVV8srL2P1d_OGPg/A=6337188/R=2/id=noscript/SIG=10pacveis/*http://www.credila.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://l.yimg.com/t/i/in/adv/credila_cri/794523_harbhajan_cricket_120x600_021811.gif" width="120" height="600" border="0"></a> <iframe src="http://in.adserver.yahoo.com/a?f=2023151593&p=cricket&l=SKY&c=h&bg=white" width="120" height="600" marginwidth=0 marginheight=0 hspace=0 vspace=0 frameborder=0 scrolling=no> </iframe> Mirpur: Played like the World Cup favourites, check. Negated the toss and dew factor, check. Outbatted the opposition, check. Avenged the 2007 defeat, check. Gave the 2011 World Cup a memorable sta...

India 's Virender Sehwag hit the first century of the 2011 World Cup on Saturday in the opening match against Bangladesh. &amp;lt;a href="http://in.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=15qn2oo5j/M=794523.14593216.14400487.13990286/D=insports/S=2023151593:SKY/Y=IN/EXP=1298131613/L=BepT23llmL56UWqcTVYKaBRbykGIjk1fzn0AClVh/B=f4YAm3llkJM-/J=1298124413687278/K=C0qkfC2ByGfARuW0X6W_JQ/A=6337188/R=2/id=noscript/SIG=10pacveis/*http://www.credila.com/" target="_blank"&amp;gt;&amp;lt;img src="http://l.yimg.com/t/i/in/adv/credila_cri/794523_harbhajan_cricket_120x600_021811.gif" width="120" height="600" border="0"&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; &amp;lt;iframe src="http://in.adserver.yahoo.com/a?f=2023151593&amp;amp;p=cricket&amp;amp;l=SKY&amp;amp;c=h&amp;amp;bg=white" width="120" height="600" marginwidth=0 marginheight=0 hspace=0 vspace=0 frameborder=0 scrolling=no&amp;...

  For Latest Cricket Scorecards,News,Videos Visit http://crick4all.blogspot.com Superstar batsman Sachin Tendulkar returns to bolster India's batting line-up on Wednesday as the World Cup favourites play their last warm-up game ahead of the much-anticipated tournament opener. India take on New Zealand in their second and final practice match in Chennai ahead of the first World Cup clash against co-hosts Bangladesh in Dhaka on Saturday.   For Latest Cricket Scorecards,News,Videos Visit http://crick4all.blogspot.com The other top team in action on Wednesday is England, playing minnows Canada as the three-time finalists look for a confidence boost after a 6-1 mauling at the hands of Australia, the top-ranked ODI side. As teams finalise their preparations, on Tuesday strongly fancied Sri Lanka comfortably beat the West Indies, South Africa thumped three-times defending champions Australia and Pakistan crushed Bangladesh. Tendulkar, who has a record 17,629 runs in a st...

 For More news on cricket Visit http://crick4all.blogspot.com Mahendra Singh Dhoni smashed a blazing century to set up India's crushing 117-run victory over New Zealand in a World Cup warm-up match on Wednesday. The Indian skipper cracked three sixes and 11 fours in a 64-ball 108 not out to help his team post an imposing 360-5 and virtually bat New Zealand out of the day-night match in Chennai. New Zealand were bowled out for 243 after a brisk 94-run stand for the opening wicket between Brendon McCullum (58) and Martin Guptill (38) to suffer their first defeat in two practice matches. Jesse Ryder (32), Nathan McCullum (29 not out) and Scott Styris (20) were the other main contributors. Indian spinners, who played a big role in their team's win over defending champions Australia in a warm-up match on Sunday, again struck it rich as they shared seven wickets. For More news on cricket Visit http://crick4all.blogspot.com Leg-spinner Piyush Chawla, off-spinner Harbhaja...

Dogged by poor form and repeated squabbles with their cricket board over the last few years, West Indies are striving to rediscover the magic that won the Calypso charmers back-to-back World Cup titles in the 1970s. Pooled in Group B, along with tournament co-hosts India and Bangladesh, England, South Africa, besides minnows Ireland and Netherlands, the Darren Sammy-led West Indies are a far cry from the all-conquering team of "Super Cat" Clive Lloyd. Still a passage into the last eight, at the very least, remains within their grasp. However, for this to happen their top three batsmen - former skipper Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan - need to fire consistently. The left-handed Gayle is capable of giving the Caribbeans the flying start. Sarwan and Chanderpaul - with their vast experience and ability to play spin well - should provide the solidity in the middle overs for players such as Dwayne Bravo and the hard-hitting Kieron Pollard to take adva...

Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi is banking on ageing fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar to come up trumps for his side in their bid to lift the World Cup trophy for the first time in nearly two decades. Afridi said Akhtar is working hard on his fitness and hoping to give his best in what could be his last World Cup. "Let me tell you that Shoaib Akhtar is working really, really hard because he wants to be at his best in the World Cup. In terms of fitness, Shoaib may be a bit down but he is totally committed and is improving day by day," Afridi said. "I won't be surprised if he is back at his brilliant best at the World Cup," he said ahead of Pakistan's first warm-up game against Bangladesh at Mirpur tomorrow. The sub-continental tracks are known to assist slow bowlers and Afridi said his side could go with an extra spinner in the World Cup, starting here on February 19. "The playing conditions would be quite different to what we encountered during our t...

England captain Andrew Strauss has said his side has an excellent chance of winning the World Cup in the Indian sub-continent despite a 6-1 defeat to Australia in the recent One-day series. Strauss said England were not tired despite playing for over three months at a stretch and his boys were now "motivated and excited" to play the International Cricket Council's showpiece event starting on Saturday. "We have had a lot of very good one day cricket for the last 18 months or so. We did not play so well in Australia, which is disappointing to us. But we've got a solid squad, a settled side," Strauss said in the Bangladeshi capital. "We really feel we can do very well in the tournament. We are excited about it," he said, adding: "We here to win it, obviously - no doubt about that. I think we feel like we have got excellent chance." The English captain said triumph in last year's World Twenty-20 cricket has boosted the team's...