India vs Sri Lanka 3rd Test Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai | Practise photos, In & SL players

3rd ODI on 2nd December (Wednesday) between India vs Sri Lanka at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai | Photo of practice session of Indian Team and Sri Lanka team

Zaheer Khan trains under the surveillance of Gary Kirsten the Indian Coach

M Vijay, who replaces Gautam Gambhir for the 3rd Test match gets some valuable tips from the Indian Coach and former South African opener Gary Kirsten

Mahela Jayawardene & Kumar Sangakara shares strategies to draw the series level with a win in Mumbai

Tharanga Paranavitana and Tillakaratne Dilshan practise at the net session

Muttiah Muralitharan poses for a cop as he is stationed for security for the 3rd ODI at Brabourne Stadium between In vs SL

Thilina Kandamby stretches himself in preparation for the 3rd ODI at Mumbai

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Murali unsure about his future | Might quit before 2011 World Cup | Poor performance against India

Muttiah Muralitharan ( Murali ) losing the fizz...

Muttiah Muralitharan the world highest wicket taker in both the forms of the game (ODI's & Test Match cricket) is feeling low and weary; claiming age has taken toll and he may consider to quit from both the forms of game if his bad form continues.

Here is what he has to say.

"I am 37 years old and I can't bowl as much as those days because I get tired after 15-16 overs. But I will try and play a little bit of one-day cricket - that's only 10 overs to bowl. If I find everything is not going well I might retire from both forms of the game before the World Cup," Murali says."

Murali has not been able to make a mark in the current series against India. His last 5 wickets has cost him more than 350 runs

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Brilliant Anderson pins down South Africa | England def. South Africa by seven wickets

James Anderson was on song claiming 5 wickets to romp England to victory.

England: 121 for 3 (Trott 52*) beat South Africa: 119 (Petersen 51, Anderson 5-23) by seven wickets

Twist of fortune for South Africa, from a great performance in the last game to an utter disgusting performance by the high profile South African side.

James Anderson the star of the day took his first 5 wicket haul in one day cricket for England. Anderson suffering for a knee niggle was brilliant with the ball. Eng bowlers destroyed SA for 119, their lowest-ever ODI total at home. England losing 3 wickets managed to get the required runs in 31.2.

England lead the series 2-1 with this emphatic win.


South Africa innings

• Power Play 2: Overs 10.1 - 15.0
• South Africa: 50 runs in 13.1 overs (82 balls), Extras 3
• Drinks: South Africa - 62/4 in 16.0 overs (AN Petersen 15, MV Boucher 3)
• Power Play 3: Overs 29.1 - 34.0
• Drinks: South Africa - 98/8 in 32.0 overs (AN Petersen 36, M Morkel 2)
• South Africa: 100 runs in 32.1 overs (197 balls), Extras 4
• AN Petersen: 50 off 73 balls (5 x 4)
• Innings Break: South Africa - 119/10 in 36.5 overs (CK Langeveldt 0)

England innings

• Lunch: England - 31/0 in 7.0 overs (IJL Trott 20, AJ Strauss 8)
• England: 50 runs in 11.6 overs (74 balls), Extras 3
• 1st Wicket: 50 runs in 74 balls (IJL Trott 25, AJ Strauss 22, Ex 3)
• Drinks: England - 97/3 in 25.0 overs (IJL Trott 47, EJG Morgan 9)
• England: 100 runs in 27.2 overs (167 balls), Extras 4
• IJL Trott: 50 off 74 balls (7 x 4)

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India Vs. Sri Lanka 2nd Test Video Highlights, IN vs. SL Test Highlights

India won their 100th test win as they beat Sri Lanka by an inning and 144 runs.

Sreesanth is Man of the Match for his 6 wickets haul.

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India Win 2nd Test match against Sri Lanka | IN beat SL by an Innings and 144 runs at Kanpur

Harbhajan celebrates - as India go on to beat Sri Lanka in 2nd test match at Kanpur

A thumping win by India claiming the 2nd Test match at Kanpur against Sri Lanka. This match has historic value as its India's 100th Test win in International Cricket history.

India outperformed Sri Lanka in all departments by scoring a huge score of 642 and them getting them out early in the first innings and finishing off the game in the fourth day of the test match. Sreesanth performed well to claim the Man of the Match with his 6 wickets effort.

This is what Sangakkara had to say after the match: "It was a very good wicket. A bit in it for a few overs. It got slower and slower and made it a bit difficult to bat on. Exceptional performance by Sreesanth, great first innings by India and a poor one from us. that decided the match."

This is what Dhoni had to say after the match: " It was important that we got that many runs on the first day. The changes in side brought in some fresh legs, Sreesanth is one of the best reverse swing bowlers in India. Ojha had a very good debut. It was important to win this big and gain the momentum; there will be something for the fast bowlers as well as spinners in Mumbai. It's a moment of pride for me, this 100th win, and I am honoured to be part of this side."

Man of the Match Sreesanth said: "God's been kind. I have lots of people to thank. Yet to read all those messages. I'm working on my pace, am trying to get it to the 145 kmph mark, I'm feeling good. I want to thank Warwickshire and the Indian board for letting me play there, I played quite a bit of domestic cricket too and learnt a lot. There is room for improvement and I want to keep on learning. "

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Sreesanth is back in action claiming 6 wickets in 2nd test match against Sri Lanka at Kanpur

Sreesanth is back in action being the best bowler of the first innings, claiming 6 wickets destroying the hopes of Sri Lanka to outscore India's mammoth total.

Sreesanth 6 wicket haul Photos - 2nd Test match against Sri Lanka at Kanpur.

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Pak vs NZ 4th day score - Asif's 4 wicket gives Pakistan an edge

Mohammad Asif took 4 wickets for 41 runs in the 2nd inning and brought back Pakistan in the match as New Zealand was struggling at 147-8 at the stump of day 4 with the total lead of 244 runs and 1 day to go.

New Zealand wrapped the Pakistan inning early in the morning with the addition of 25 runs and Shane Bond took 5 wickets for 107 runs well supported by Martin with 3 wickets and got a crucial 97 runs 1st inning lead.

Pakistan then back strongly with 2 wickets without a run but Ross Taylor again made a good contribution with 59 runs but Asif and Aamer bowled brilliantly with 4 wickets and 2 wickets respectively and restricted New Zealand to 147-8 with a total lead of 244 runs and 2 wickets in hand.

Match is still wide open with one day to go, if New Zealand set a target of around 300 runs on the final day it will be a good contest.

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Gautam Gambhir will miss 3rd Test (Mumbai) against SL | Gautam Gambhir will attend Sisters wedding

Gautam Gambhir the Indian opening stalwart who is in prime form will be missing the 3rd Test match against Sri Lanka to be held at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai from 2nd December 2009. Gautam Gambhir will be attending his sister’s wedding ceremony.

(pic: Gautam Gambhir with his sister Ekta)

Gautam Gambhir scoring two consecutive centuries (big ones) will be missed by India and a big sigh for Sri Lanka. M Vijay might take his place in the opening slot, who opens for the Tamil Nadu.

India squad for third Test: MS Dhoni (capt), Rahul Dravid, Harbhajan Singh, VVS Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar, Pragyan Ojha, Zaheer Khan, Sreesanth, Virender Sehwag, Amit Mishra, Yuvraj Singh, Ishant Sharma, M Vijay, S Badrinath.

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Sreeshant & Harbhajan makes it up together | Team India enjoy the joyful moment

Harbhajan congratulates Shreeshant (slapgate victim) as the team waits in anticipation

The game goes on, as Harbhajan congratulates Sreeshant for the early breakthrough's which he provided for India. Shreeshant taking three wickets with a good burst of fast bowling. (As i write this post he takes his fourth victim that or P Jayawardene) Both noticed first time together after the infamous slapgate incidence during the inaugural IPL season.

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BCCI apologizes for missing out Irfan Pathan in the National retainer contract renewal

Last minute entry for Irfan Pathan while Ashish Nehra romps back in the national contract after about of injuries

BCCI yesterday announced the list of Indian players who have made it into the various grades of contract with the India Cricket Board. Unfortunately when the announcement was made they had missed out Irfan Pathan’s name in it. Which they apologized later and included him in Grade C.

Ashish Nehra made it into the Grade B aftera a revived performance coming out of injury.

Below are the obvious ones who have made it into the various grades.

Grade A (Rs 60 lakh): Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh.

Grade B (Rs 40 lakh): Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Munaf Patel, RP Singh, Ishant Sharma, Praveen Kumar, Ashish Nehra.

Grade C (Rs 25 lakh): S Badrinath, Wasim Jaffer, Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, Pragyan Ojha, Sreesanth, Dinesh Karthik, Amit Mishra.

Grade D (Rs 15 lakh): Piyush Chawla, Ravindra Jadeja, Robin Uthappa, Parthiv Patel, Cheteshwar Pujara, Mohammad Kaif, Virat Kohli, Ashok Dinda, Wriddhiman Saha, M Vijay, R Ashwin, Shikhar Dhawan, Sudeep Tyagi, Dhawal Kulkarni, Abhishek Nayar, Ajinkya Rahane, Manoj Tiwary.

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Umar Akmal's Century on 3rd Day of first Test saves Pakistan to Collapse

Pakistan trailing by 122 runs with 2 wickets in hand in the first inning of 1st test match against New Zealand at the stump of day 3 on Thursday, November 26 at Dunedin. New Zealand all out on 429 and Pakistan made 307-8.

New Zealand started the day from 404-8 and all out on 429 runs as Mohammad Asif and Ajmal wrapped the inning quickly. Asif was pick of the bowlers with 4-108 in his come back match.

Pakistan got a poor start as the were struggling at 85-5 due to fine peace of fast bowling by Shane Bond who took 4 wickets for 93 runs 3 but 176 runs partnership between Akmal brothers Kamran and Akmal brought them back in the match as they scored 82 and 129 runs respectively.

Match is still alive and can go both the way but New Zealand has slight edge if weather permits.

Pakistan vs New Zealand 1st Test Day 3 Photo Highlights:

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Rangana Herath takes 5 wickets, India all out for 642 in 1st Innings of IN vs SL 2nd Test Live match

A great score and an equally great collapse by India. India got bowled out for 642 runs. Once upon a time they were sailing high at 613 for 4. Rangana Herath taking 5 wickets demolished the Indian tail, starting just before tea, using his "mystery" ball to spin out the remaining 5 wickets.

India 1st innings	Dismissals	Runs
G Gambhir	c & b Muralitharan	167
V Sehwag	c Dilshan b Muralitharan	131
R Dravid	run out (Herath)	144
SR Tendulkar	c Samaraweera b Mendis	40
VVS Laxman	c Dilshan b Herath	63
Yuvraj Singh	c Sangakkara b Mendis	67
MS Dhoni*†	b Herath	4
Harbhajan Singh	b Herath	5
Z Khan	c DPMD Jayawardene b Herath	1
S Sreesanth	lbw b Herath	0
PP Ojha	not out	1

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Dravid crosses Allan Border by scoring 11,174 runs in Test Cricket

Dravid punches one during his century stand to break Allan Borders record.

Dravid scored yet another century and doing this he overtook Allan Border's record of 11,174 Test runs to become the fourth-highest run-scorer in Test cricket. India piled a huge 417 a record in itself for India being the highest score scored by India on the first day of a test match.

Rahul Dravid himself had scored 85 runs out of the humongous first day score. Before Dravid could come to the crease Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir had already scored centuries with an opening stand of 233 runs.

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India Vs. Sri Lanka 2nd Test Video Highlights, IN vs. SL Test Highlights

Watch Video highlights of the 1st day of the 2nd Test match between India (IN) vs. Sri Lanka (SL) played at Kanpur Green Park stadium.

Enjoy the great batting performance by the Indian batsmen as the likes of Virender Sehwag (131), Gautam Gambhir (167), Rahul Dravid (85*) and Sachin Tendulkar who had arrived to the crease was at 20.

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Pak s NZ 1st Test 2nd Day Score - Vetttori's 99 runs helps New Zealand made 404/8 in a rain hit day

New Zealand in a comfortable position at the stump of day 2 as they were 404-8 in a rain hit day as only 36 overs were possible in the day on Wednesday, November 25 at Dunedin.

New Zealand started the day from 276-6 with MucCullum on 25 and Vettori on 40 runs and they added 164 runs for th 7th wicket as McCullum contributed 78 runs while Vettori was bit unlucky as he was out on 99 runs and missed a deserving century.

For Pakistan it was a tough day as they manged only took 2 wickets and both taken by fast bowler Umar Gul. Play will start half an hour early tomorrow to compensate the today's loss.

Watch the Photo Highlights of the 2nd Day of First Test Match:

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India score 321 by Tea on the First day of 2nd Test between India vs Sri Lanka at Kanpur

India 307 for 1 (Sehwag 131, Gambhir 140*, Dravid 32*) v Sri Lanka

Swashbuckling knocks by Indian openers Virender Sehwag (131 in 122 balls) & Gautam Gambhir (140 not out in 180 balls)

Sehwag was dropped at zero, which turned out to be a very costly miss for Sri Lanka. Sehwag was a bit jittery in the beginning but then he took the bowlers to the laundry, with the introduction of the spinners Muralitharan & Mendis, both Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir drove them all over the park.

Enjoy the remaining part of the first day here.

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Pakistan vs New Zealand 1st Test Live Scorecard - NZ made 276-6 on day 1, taylore hit 94 runs

In the first test match between New Zealand and Pakistan, New Zealand made 276-6 at the stumps of day 1 om Tuesday, November 24, 2009 at Dunedin as the match is balanced fror both the side.

New Zealand reduced to 27-2, but then Guptill and Ross Taylor put 117 runs for the 3rd wicket scored 60 and 94 runs respectively. Pakistan bounced back with 3 wickets for 10 runs and balanced the match.

For Pakistan fast bowlers Mohammad Aasif took 3 wickets and Aamer took 2 wickets. Wicket keepr Brandon McCullum playing on 25 runs while captain Daniel Vettori on 40 runs at the stumps of day1.

Watch the live score with ball by ball commentary of first test match between Pakistan and New Zealand Here

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Ind vs SL 2nd Test Live Scorecard - India vs Sri Lanka 2nd Test Commentary

After a dull draw in first test match between India and Sri Lanka both neighbors are ready for the 2nd test starting from Tuesday, November 24th at Green Park, Kanpur from 09:30 IST, 04:00 GMT.

Good news for India is that captain MS Dhoni is declared fit for this test as host is looking for a lead as only 2 test matches remains in the series. Amit Mishra will likely retain his place after a bad match at Ahmedabad.

Sri Lanka is still looking for their 1st win in India and they will be pleased with the way their batsman performed in the 1st test specially Tilakratne Dilshan and Mahea Jayawardhane.

India vs Sri Lanka 2nd Test Live Scorecard:

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Gambhir and Tendulkar scored century on 5th day as 1st Test Drawn

Gautam Gambhir and Sachin Tendulkar scored their 7th and 43rd test century on the 5th and final day of 1st test match and helped India to save the test on Friday, October 20th 2009 at Ahmedabad.

India started the final day from 190/2 and trailing by 153 runs with Gambhr batting on 74 and night watcman Amit Mishra and after Mishra got out its master blaster Sachin Tendulkar first put 66 runs for the 4th wicket with Gambhir who scored 114 runs and then put 137 runs not out with Laxman who hit unbeaten 51 runs while Tendulkar made unbeaten 100 before both captain agreed for a draw on the flat pitch.

Mahela Jayawardhane got Man of the Match for his double century 275 runs in the 1st inning.

Brief Score:

India 426 (Dravid 177, Dhoni 110, Welegedara 4-87) and 412 for 4 (Gambhir 114, Tendulkar 100*) drew with Sri Lanka 760 for 7 decl. (Jayawardene 275, Prasanna 154*, Dilshan 112)

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Sachin Tendulkar crosses 30,000 runs in International Cricket, Sachin’s yet another milestone

Sachin Tendulkar crosses 30,000 runs in International Cricket

Brilliant Sachin Tendulkar crosses yet another milestone by crossing 30,000 runs in International cricket, both Tests and ODI’s cumulative.

Sachin Tendulkar became who is the highest run scorer in Cricket reached the mark of 30,000 international runs as he scored his 35th run in the second innings against Sri Lanka on the fifth and final day of the first Test.

Brief stats on Sachin Tendulkar:
Test played: 160 ODI played: 436 T20 Played: 1 Total Centuries: 87 Total Half Centuries: 145

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