Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has planned to present Sourav Ganguly with a golden bat when the former India captain is felicitated at the Eden Gardens on January 18.
To make it a grand occasion, CAB has also put aside its bitterness with Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officials by inviting all of them to the function. CAB joint-secretary Arun Mitra said"All the former and present Ranji cricketers from Bengal and BCCI officials have been invited.We have also invited all the past and present U-16, U-19 and U-22 Bengal players. Women cricketers and former CAB office bearers will also be invited."
"The one-hour function beginning at 6 pm would be an appreciation for Sourav's contribution to Indian and Bengal cricket for over a decade-and-half along with his glittering international career."
"A docufeature on India's former captain would also be screened on Eden's giant screen to make it a memorable event. He will also deliver a speech for the occasion," he said.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
SACHIN'S SUGGESTION TO SAVE THE TEST CRICKET
Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar urged cricket administrators to allow young fans free entry for Test matches to put a brake on the dwindling interest in the longer version of the game.
"My suggestion is that a couple of stands in the stadium should be thrown open, absolutely free, to the school and college students on Saturday and Sunday," the Indian batsman told an Indian newspaper Friday.
"It is very important for them to get a feel of Test cricket. Their first memories of Test cricket will stay with them for the rest of their lives.
"My suggestion is that a couple of stands in the stadium should be thrown open, absolutely free, to the school and college students on Saturday and Sunday," the Indian batsman told an Indian newspaper Friday.
"It is very important for them to get a feel of Test cricket. Their first memories of Test cricket will stay with them for the rest of their lives.
GAINS AND LOSSES OF INDIAN CRICKET IN 2008
2008 was a good year for Indian cricket.
We were able to beat the best team in the world in two different formats of the game. And even though Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble walked into the sunset with their heads held high in this year, the dawn of some enviable talent in the form of Ishant Sharma and Rohit Sharma gives a bullish outlook to our cricketing fortunes in the coming year.
The year started off with much hope, only to turn to utter despair as the events at the Syndey test took a fractious turn. India's reply, thankfully through their cricketing skill, was fitting to say the least - with some brilliant seam and swing bowling that reduced the mighty Australian batting line up to a state of ruin. Adelaide was another run fest for both teams, resulting in a draw, thereby allowing the Australians to continue their hold on the Border Gavaskar Trophy, but with India emerging victorious at least on moral grounds.
The Commonwealth Bank tri-series in its final edition saw some competitive match ups, with India managing to qualify for the finals ahead of Sri Lanka, without any of the last minute run rate oriented blushes. The finals were a Sashinating (read fascinating) experience as it was on the back of some inspiring knocks from Tendulkar, that India managed to win its first ever tri series tourney down under. Rohit Sharma in the first final and Praveen Kumar in the second final played their character roles to perfection, as Harbhajan Singh served out poetic justice by playing a hand in the dismissals of Mathew Hayden and Andrew Symonds in both games at crucial junctures. Full credit to Mahender Singh Dhoni for marshalling India to one of its finest one day series wins ever.
The series at home against South Africa lived up to the pre series hype. The first test at Chennai threatened to be a dampener as runs were scored by the dozen on a featherbed of a wicket. Sehwag dazzled with his less than a run a ball 319, but other than serve as a statistical treat, there was little the knock could do from the point of view of forcing a result. The next two tests played to both teams strengths - with Dale Steyn knocking over the Indian batsmen like nine pins on a fast paced Motera wicket in Ahmedabad and Harbhajan Singh leaving the South Africans bamboozled courtesy a rank turner at Green Park in Kanpur. On the whole, South Africa earned the psychological edge having drawn the series at 'The Final Frontier'.
Nest stop for the Indians were a couple of lack luster one day tournaments, played with their neighbours – the Kitply Cup and the Asia Cup. Unfortunately for the Men in Blue, in spite of dominating both tournaments in the league stages, Pakistan managed to keep its nose ahead in the final of the Kitply Cup while Sri Lanka delivered a knockout blow in the finals of the Asia Cup with an unorthodox spell of spin bowling from newcomer Ajantha Mendis (figures of 6 for 13) leaving the Indians in disarray.
The defeat in the Asia Cup finals set the perfect stage for India's test series with the Lankans in Sri Lanka. On the eve of the series, Dhoni's decision to withdraw from the series, citing the hectic international schedule ahead, added a bit of controversy. Also the ICC's decision to introduce the third umpire-player referral system added a touch of novelty to the series. At the end of it all though, the potent combination of 'M&M' (read Murali and Mendis) proved to be India's undoing as they lost the test series 2-1. The much vaunted Indian batting line had no answer to some high quality spin and other than for a double century from Sehwag in the second test, there was little the Indians did to prove themselves worthy competitors.
Given India's poor results in the test series, it was widely regarded that they would surrender the ODI's as well without too much of a fight, but with the return of the inspirational Dhoni at the helm of affairs, India managed to turn the tide decisively. They won the best of five series with one game to spare and played Ajantha Mendis with so much confidence that it was appalling to compare their initial travails against him in the tests. Dhoni's captaincy came in for much praise once again and his form with the bat ensured that he claimed the top spot in the ICC ODI batsman rankings.
And so after a brief hiatus the battle with Australia resumed, this time at home, over the course of a four test series. Ricky Ponting promised a brand of new age cricket that would leave the Indians spellbound. It seemed apocryphal as Ponting scored his first test century in India in the first test at Bangalore and the Indian batting seemed intent on self destruction. Yet a spirited partnership between 'Zaks' and 'Bhajji' paved the way for an Indian comeback and one from which the Indians never really looked back.
After the draw at Bangalore, they delivered the first punch with a thumping win at Mohali. A draw at Delhi came as an anticlimax, even as Anil Kumble announced his retirement at this very ground, which served as home away from home for him for many years. The final test at Nagpur was Ganguly's swansong and for a brief duration in the game, the Australians threatened to play spoilsport, but some inexplicable captaincy on the part of 'Punter' ensured that the Border Gavaskar Trophy made its way back to Indian shores after four long years. India had won the series 2-0 and Ponting admitted in no uncertain terms of his team leaving India with their tails between their legs.
With Kumble gone, Dhoni's elevation to captaincy in tests was celebrated in style, as the Indians took an impregnable lead of 5-0 against the visiting English side in the ODI's. Had the Mumbai terror attack not cancelled the remainder of an immensely lop sided series, the English might have had to deal with the embarrassment of a 7-0 whitewash.
Full marks then to Kevin Pietersen and co. for coming right back to India, in the aftermath of the horrors at Mumbai and immediately providing a cracker of a contest at Chennai. Victory was theirs for the taking after three and a half days of riveting test cricket, but a blitzkrieg by Sehwag, followed by a spirited partnership between Sachin and Yuvraj in the second innings meant that India chased down a daunting target of 387 runs with six wickets to spare. The second test at Mohali was yet another dull affair, but with some joy for Rahul Dravid, who courted form once again with a dour test century and his partnership with Gambhir in the first innings ensured that England were shut out of the series for good.
Full credit must be given to Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan, for having played a large hand in most of India's victories this year. They threatened the best of batsmen on benign wickets, both at home and away. Also the emergence of Gambhir and Sehwag as a quality opening pair lays the foundation for many more memorable Indian wins in the years to come. The coming of Amit Mishra as a quality leg spinner in test cricket and Praveen Kumar as a wicket taking bowler in one day cricket gives captain Dhoni some more cards up his sleeve. And with India playing a much younger side now more regularly in the shorter formats of the game, the ground fielding stands vastly improved vis-à-vis a decade ago. Gary Kirsten must also be appreciated for his behind the scenes work and he and Dhoni look set to forge another successful partnership like the Ganguly – Wright combine. Let's hope then that 2009 is not a case of two steps forward and three steps backward, for a team threatening to make the summit in all formats of the game.
We were able to beat the best team in the world in two different formats of the game. And even though Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble walked into the sunset with their heads held high in this year, the dawn of some enviable talent in the form of Ishant Sharma and Rohit Sharma gives a bullish outlook to our cricketing fortunes in the coming year.
The year started off with much hope, only to turn to utter despair as the events at the Syndey test took a fractious turn. India's reply, thankfully through their cricketing skill, was fitting to say the least - with some brilliant seam and swing bowling that reduced the mighty Australian batting line up to a state of ruin. Adelaide was another run fest for both teams, resulting in a draw, thereby allowing the Australians to continue their hold on the Border Gavaskar Trophy, but with India emerging victorious at least on moral grounds.
The Commonwealth Bank tri-series in its final edition saw some competitive match ups, with India managing to qualify for the finals ahead of Sri Lanka, without any of the last minute run rate oriented blushes. The finals were a Sashinating (read fascinating) experience as it was on the back of some inspiring knocks from Tendulkar, that India managed to win its first ever tri series tourney down under. Rohit Sharma in the first final and Praveen Kumar in the second final played their character roles to perfection, as Harbhajan Singh served out poetic justice by playing a hand in the dismissals of Mathew Hayden and Andrew Symonds in both games at crucial junctures. Full credit to Mahender Singh Dhoni for marshalling India to one of its finest one day series wins ever.
The series at home against South Africa lived up to the pre series hype. The first test at Chennai threatened to be a dampener as runs were scored by the dozen on a featherbed of a wicket. Sehwag dazzled with his less than a run a ball 319, but other than serve as a statistical treat, there was little the knock could do from the point of view of forcing a result. The next two tests played to both teams strengths - with Dale Steyn knocking over the Indian batsmen like nine pins on a fast paced Motera wicket in Ahmedabad and Harbhajan Singh leaving the South Africans bamboozled courtesy a rank turner at Green Park in Kanpur. On the whole, South Africa earned the psychological edge having drawn the series at 'The Final Frontier'.
Nest stop for the Indians were a couple of lack luster one day tournaments, played with their neighbours – the Kitply Cup and the Asia Cup. Unfortunately for the Men in Blue, in spite of dominating both tournaments in the league stages, Pakistan managed to keep its nose ahead in the final of the Kitply Cup while Sri Lanka delivered a knockout blow in the finals of the Asia Cup with an unorthodox spell of spin bowling from newcomer Ajantha Mendis (figures of 6 for 13) leaving the Indians in disarray.
The defeat in the Asia Cup finals set the perfect stage for India's test series with the Lankans in Sri Lanka. On the eve of the series, Dhoni's decision to withdraw from the series, citing the hectic international schedule ahead, added a bit of controversy. Also the ICC's decision to introduce the third umpire-player referral system added a touch of novelty to the series. At the end of it all though, the potent combination of 'M&M' (read Murali and Mendis) proved to be India's undoing as they lost the test series 2-1. The much vaunted Indian batting line had no answer to some high quality spin and other than for a double century from Sehwag in the second test, there was little the Indians did to prove themselves worthy competitors.
Given India's poor results in the test series, it was widely regarded that they would surrender the ODI's as well without too much of a fight, but with the return of the inspirational Dhoni at the helm of affairs, India managed to turn the tide decisively. They won the best of five series with one game to spare and played Ajantha Mendis with so much confidence that it was appalling to compare their initial travails against him in the tests. Dhoni's captaincy came in for much praise once again and his form with the bat ensured that he claimed the top spot in the ICC ODI batsman rankings.
And so after a brief hiatus the battle with Australia resumed, this time at home, over the course of a four test series. Ricky Ponting promised a brand of new age cricket that would leave the Indians spellbound. It seemed apocryphal as Ponting scored his first test century in India in the first test at Bangalore and the Indian batting seemed intent on self destruction. Yet a spirited partnership between 'Zaks' and 'Bhajji' paved the way for an Indian comeback and one from which the Indians never really looked back.
After the draw at Bangalore, they delivered the first punch with a thumping win at Mohali. A draw at Delhi came as an anticlimax, even as Anil Kumble announced his retirement at this very ground, which served as home away from home for him for many years. The final test at Nagpur was Ganguly's swansong and for a brief duration in the game, the Australians threatened to play spoilsport, but some inexplicable captaincy on the part of 'Punter' ensured that the Border Gavaskar Trophy made its way back to Indian shores after four long years. India had won the series 2-0 and Ponting admitted in no uncertain terms of his team leaving India with their tails between their legs.
With Kumble gone, Dhoni's elevation to captaincy in tests was celebrated in style, as the Indians took an impregnable lead of 5-0 against the visiting English side in the ODI's. Had the Mumbai terror attack not cancelled the remainder of an immensely lop sided series, the English might have had to deal with the embarrassment of a 7-0 whitewash.
Full marks then to Kevin Pietersen and co. for coming right back to India, in the aftermath of the horrors at Mumbai and immediately providing a cracker of a contest at Chennai. Victory was theirs for the taking after three and a half days of riveting test cricket, but a blitzkrieg by Sehwag, followed by a spirited partnership between Sachin and Yuvraj in the second innings meant that India chased down a daunting target of 387 runs with six wickets to spare. The second test at Mohali was yet another dull affair, but with some joy for Rahul Dravid, who courted form once again with a dour test century and his partnership with Gambhir in the first innings ensured that England were shut out of the series for good.
Full credit must be given to Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan, for having played a large hand in most of India's victories this year. They threatened the best of batsmen on benign wickets, both at home and away. Also the emergence of Gambhir and Sehwag as a quality opening pair lays the foundation for many more memorable Indian wins in the years to come. The coming of Amit Mishra as a quality leg spinner in test cricket and Praveen Kumar as a wicket taking bowler in one day cricket gives captain Dhoni some more cards up his sleeve. And with India playing a much younger side now more regularly in the shorter formats of the game, the ground fielding stands vastly improved vis-à-vis a decade ago. Gary Kirsten must also be appreciated for his behind the scenes work and he and Dhoni look set to forge another successful partnership like the Ganguly – Wright combine. Let's hope then that 2009 is not a case of two steps forward and three steps backward, for a team threatening to make the summit in all formats of the game.
Friday, January 9, 2009
DHONI RETAINS HIS TOP SPOT IN THE ICC ODI RANKINGS
Team India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni extended his stay at the top of the ICC ODI Rankings for the batsmen, which has his flamboyant teammate Yuvraj Singh at the number six position.According to the latest icc odi rankings of cricketers, Dhoni has 779 points and is closely followed by Australian Mike Hussey, who is just three points adrift of the The Jharkhand marauder.Yuvraj has 744 rating points for his sixth place and the next best Indian in the ranking chart is Sachin Tendulkar, who stands 12th with 708 points.Among the Indian bowlers, paceman Zaheer Khan (660) and spin spearhead Harbhajan Singh (617) feature in top 20 at 11th and 20th positions respectively
SACHIN WAS FELICITATED FOR HIS WORLD RECORD
Sachin Tendulkar was felicitated on Friday evening for becoming the world's highest run-scorer in Test cricket. The master batsman crossed Brian Lara's record against Australia recently.A host of dignitaries including the BCCI top-officials, Mumbai Ranji team, politicians and socialites gathered at the function hosted by the state cricket association to recognize Tendulkar's achievement.Tendulkar, who walked in with his family, proceeded to take the open forum to speak about the state of the game in general. He urged the BCCI to allow young fans, especially school children free entry for Test matches to halt the falling interest in the five-day game."Everybody has a dream, every sportsperson, every businessman. It's important to chase that. I have heard somewhere that dreams come true only if you are awake. You dream when you are asleep but you have to be awake and on your toes to realise them. That's what I am a firm believer of. I think you need to dream big," said Tendulkar at the function held by the Mumbai Cricket Association."If my senior colleagues had not dreamt big, Mumbai won't have won the Ranji trophy 37 times. Thanks a lot and we will take every possible step to inspire the next generation," he added.
REVOLUTIONIZATION OF INDIAN CRICKET IN 2008
No doubt 2008 will remain as a wonderful year in India cricket. Dhoni took on the test captaincy and now he is the captain of team India in all formats of the game. There are so many unforgettable moments like test series win against Australia in India, CB series win, test and ODI series win against England, IPL etc.. Sehwag, Gambhir, Tendulkar, Zaheer, Ishant, Harbhajan and Dhoni's captaincy took India to great heights.. Sehwag, Gambhir, Tendulkar and Laxman crossed 1000 runs in tests in a calender year..The year marked the end of an era with Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble bidding adieu to international cricket
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
INDIA SLIPS DOWN TO 3RD POSITION IN THE ICC TEST RANKING
INDIA HAS SLIPPED DOWN TO 3RD POSITION IN THE ICC TEST RANKINGS WITH 118 POINTS,AFTER SOUTH AFRICA'S SERIES WIN AGAINST AUSTRALIA BY 2-1.INDIA ENJOYED THE SECOND POSITION FOR 2 WEEKS AFTER SERIES WIN AGAINST ENGLAND.BUT THEN SOUTH AFRICA WON THE 2 TEST MATCHES BACK TO BACK AGAINST AUSTRALIA,BEATING THEM ON THEIR HOME GROUND,THOUGH AUSTRALIA WON THE LAST TEST MATCH.AUSTRALIA HAD NEVER LOST A TEST SERIES ON THEIR HOME GROUND FROM THE LAST 16 YEARS BEFORE THIS SERIES.NOW SOUTH AFRICA HAS 122 POINTS AND AUSTRALIA HAS 126 POINTS.
NOW IT'S A HEALTHY COMPETITION AMONG INDIA,AUSTRALIA AND SOUTH AFRICA FOR THE 1ST PLACE.EITHER INDIA OR SOUTH AFRICA TEAMS MAY BECOME NO.1 DURING 2009.
NOW IT'S A HEALTHY COMPETITION AMONG INDIA,AUSTRALIA AND SOUTH AFRICA FOR THE 1ST PLACE.EITHER INDIA OR SOUTH AFRICA TEAMS MAY BECOME NO.1 DURING 2009.
Monday, January 5, 2009
SACHIN STARTS THE YEAR WITH A CENTURY IN RANJI SEMI
In the Ranji trophy semifinal between Mumbai and Saurashtra,Wasim Jaffer's second career triple-hundred and his 227-run stand with Sachin Tendulkar put Mumbai on top in a match.Jaffer brought up his second double-hundred of this season early in the day. He was joined by Tendulkar who went on the attack immediately, hitting Makvana for a six and a four. He hit 9 boundaries and 5 sixes in his inning.He got to his fifty in 68 balls.He got to his century with a four driven through mid-on and retired at 122.
IT'S TOO EARLY TO SAY INDIAN TEAM "NUMBER ONE"-GANGULY
Sourav Ganguly, the former Indian captain, has said India must prove themselves overseas before claiming to be the world's best team.South Africa had the better team and attack - and the better record, home and away.
"To say that India would be number one, I think it's a bit too early", Ganguly told to a news channel. "Look at the ICC points rankings... Australia, though they have not played good cricket for the last 3-4 months, are still a few points away from the rest.
"India have a very good team but I believe their real test will be overseas, when India go to New Zealand and when they start travelling abroad. If you look at the last year, India has played a lot of cricket at home."
"To say that India would be number one, I think it's a bit too early", Ganguly told to a news channel. "Look at the ICC points rankings... Australia, though they have not played good cricket for the last 3-4 months, are still a few points away from the rest.
"India have a very good team but I believe their real test will be overseas, when India go to New Zealand and when they start travelling abroad. If you look at the last year, India has played a lot of cricket at home."
SRIKANTH EXPECTS FROM INDIAN TEAM TO BE NO.1
Kris Srikkanth, the chairman of India's national selectors, has outlined two important targets for the team - to be the No. 1 ODI team this year and top the Test rankings by 2010. He says India are currently the most balanced among the top three teams, including Australia and South Africa.
"I believe India are the best-balanced side, in batting and bowling, among the top three teams," Srikkanth told the Hindu. "But then, the development of a side is a process and cannot be done overnight. At the end of 2009, we should be the No. 1 team in the ODIs. By 2010, we should be the top team in Test cricket. This is the dream of the selection committee and the Board."
"We have been performing consistently well in all conditions. We have beaten the West Indies in the West Indies and England in England in Test cricket. But for the umpiring errors in Sydney, we could have won the series in Australia too. We won a Test in South Africa and came close to winning the series. In the one-day arena in 2008,India won the CB tri-series in Australia early last year followed by bilateral series victories against Sri Lanka and England.
"I believe India are the best-balanced side, in batting and bowling, among the top three teams," Srikkanth told the Hindu. "But then, the development of a side is a process and cannot be done overnight. At the end of 2009, we should be the No. 1 team in the ODIs. By 2010, we should be the top team in Test cricket. This is the dream of the selection committee and the Board."
"We have been performing consistently well in all conditions. We have beaten the West Indies in the West Indies and England in England in Test cricket. But for the umpiring errors in Sydney, we could have won the series in Australia too. We won a Test in South Africa and came close to winning the series. In the one-day arena in 2008,India won the CB tri-series in Australia early last year followed by bilateral series victories against Sri Lanka and England.
KAPIL,GAVASKAR AND BEDI- IN ICC HALL OF FAME
ICC RELEASED THE LIST OF ICC "HALL OF FAME" CRICKETERS WHICH INCLUDES 55 CRICKETERS.KAPIL,GAVASKAR AND BISHANSINGH BEDI ARE THE THREE INDIANS WHO ARE INCLUDED IN THE LIST.KAPIL DEV,THE CAPTAIN OF 1983 WORLD CUP WINNING TEAM AND ONE OF BEST ALL-ROUNDERS OF ALL TIME OF WORLD CRICKET HAS BEEN GIVEN THE PLACE IN THE LIST.SUNIL GAVASKAR,WHO MADE 34 CENTURIES IN THE TEST CRICKET AND BISHANSINGH BEDI,ONE OF THE GREAT SPINNERS OF ALL TIME- ARE ALSO INCLUDED IN THE LIST.
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