Ind vs SL: Angelo Mathews strikes as Sachin Tendulkar misses ton again

Sachin Tendulkar, who was playing well and looked destine for 100th ton, was bowled by Angelo Mathews for 48 in the second ODI of the tri-series against Sri Lanka at the WACA in Perth.

The master blaster played a sensible knock of 48 off 63 balls, which included five hits to the fence, before Mathews got better of him in the 19th over.

Tendulkar added valuable 75-run for the second wicket with Virat Kohli to revive India run chase after they lost Virender Sehwag (10) early.

Chasing a modest 234-run target, India lost opener Sehwag in the third over to be reduced to 14/1 in 2.3 overs.

Sehwag started in a typical aggressive style as he hit two fours in his short 8-ball stay on the crease before Kulasekara took a running catch at the third man area off the bowling of Lasith Malinga.

Asked to field first, Ravichandran Ashwin (3-32) and Zaheer Khan (2-44) led a fine bowling display by India as they restricted Sri Lanka to 233/8 on Wednesday.

Ashwin dismissed three crucial Sri Lankan middle-order batsmen as the Islanders failed to increase their tempo in the entire match and set a modest 234-run target for the Indians. Ashwin finished his ten overs spell with impressive figure of 3 for 32 runs.

Zaheer started Indian attack on the right note as he took two early wickets after Sri Lanka decided to bat at the bouncy WACA pitch.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/series-tournaments/india-in-australia/top-stories/Ind-vs-SL-Angelo-Mathews-strikes-as-Sachin-Tendulkar-misses-ton-again/articleshow/11803427.cms

Cricket-Sri Lanka elect to bat v Australia

Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara won the toss and opted to bat first against Australia in their World Cup Group A match at on Saturday.

Holders Australia, who have not lost a World Cup match since 1999, are seeking their third straight win in the tournament but the co-hosts Sri Lanka are aiming for their third victory in four matches.

Sri Lanka opted to play all three front-line spinners Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis and Rangana Herath. They made one change from the team that beat Kenya by nine wickets on Tuesday as Mendis replaced fast bowler Nuwan Kulasekara.

Australia named an unchanged side from that which beat New Zealand by seven wickets in their last match played eight days ago.

Teams:

Sri Lanka - Kumar Sangakkara (captain), Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Thilan Samaraweera, Chamara Silva, Angelo Mathews, Lasith Malinga, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis, Rangana Herath.

Australia - Ricky Ponting (captain), Shane Watson, Brad Haddin, Michael Clarke, David Hussey, Cameron White, Steve Smith, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Shaun Tait, Jason Krejza.

India in good position in Mumbai Test

India took control of the third and final test match against Sri Lanka in Mumbai, with a record-breaking score of 726/9. In reply to Sri Lanka's first innings total of 393, India declared at 726/9, which is its highest score in test cricket. Sehwag was the top scorer with 293, while Dhoni remained unbeaten on 100.

India took a massive 333-run over Sri Lanka in the first innings and all set to press for a win in Mumbai. From here, India cannot lose the match. If they win this test, that will propel them to the No. 1 spot in the ICC Test Rankings.

Earlier, Virender Sehwag missed a milestone by a whisker. He was out for 293 and lost the golden opportunity to become the first cricketer in test history to score three triple hundreds. Sachin Tendulkar too fell short of completing his 13,000 runs in test cricket. He made 53. Laxman scored 62.

For Sri Lanka, Muttiah Muralitharan took 4 wickets, while Rangana Herath took 3 wickets. Sri Lanka were 11/0 at stumps on Day 3. It would be interesting to see whether the Sri Lankan batsmen can withstand the pressure and save this test match.

India Lead the Mumbai test Sehwag leads the day

Virender Sehwag smashed the second fastest double century in Test cricket and Rahul Dravid completed a fifty as India dominated with the bat on Day 2, in the third and final Test against Sri Lanka, at the Brabourne stadium, in Mumbai, on Thursday.

Sehwag celebrated the return of Test cricket to the Cricket Club of India (CCI) after nearly 37 years with an unbeaten 284 off 239 deliveries, batting nearly six hours and hitting as many as 40 boundaries and seven sixes.

At the other end, Dravid also looked quite comfortable as he finished unbeaten on 62 from 121 deliveries (five boundaries), the two batsmen having already added 222 runs in 224 deliveries for the second wicket.

India went past their own record for most runs in a day, as they finished Day 2 on a mammoth 443 for 1 in 79 overs, a lead of 50 runs, after Sri Lanka were dismissed for 393 in their innings. India's previous best score in a day's play was 419, which they put up in the previous Test in Kanpur.

The day belonged to Sehwag as he registered his sixth double century in Test cricket and his second double against Sri Lanka after the 201 not out he made in Galle last year.

Sehwag single-handedly dominated proceedings on the second day and was involved in two successive double century partnerships for the first and second wickets.

Murali Vijay, playing in only his second Test, played a fluent innings of 87 from 121 deliveries, having hit ten boundaries and a six, before he was dismissed leg before wicket by Rangana Herath.

The Tamil Nadu opener played a vital role in helping India get off to a blazing start as he added 221 runs for the opening wicket with Sehwag.

Earlier, Angelo Mathews fell agonizingly short of a maiden Test century when he was run-out for 99. Resuming on their overnight score of 366 for eight, Sri Lanka lasted 26 minutes on the second day, adding 27 runs before losing their last two wickets in 34 deliveries.

All-rounder Mathews was the first wicket to fall on the second day as he attempted a tight second run to complete his century, but Sachin Tendulkar caught him short with a brilliant throw from deep square leg.

Mathews stroked a breezy 99 from 131 deliveries, having hit 15 boundaries, before his dismissal reduced the visitors to 379 for nine in the 93rd over.

Pragyan Ojha finished off the innings when he trapped Chanaka Welegedara leg before wicket for eight. Harbhajan Singh finished as the most successful bowler for India, with figures of four for 112 in 32 overs, while Ojha claimed three for 101 in 23.4 overs.

On Day 1, Tillakaratne Dilshan smashed 109 from 160 deliveries, inclusive of ten boundaries and two sixes, his second century of the series to give the visitors a fine start.

India lead the three-match series 1-0 following their victory in the second Test at Kanpur by an innings and 144 runs. The first Test in Ahmedabad had ended in a high scoring draw.

India make their task fine in day 1 of Mumbai test

Sri Lanka finished Day 1 of the third and final test match in Mumbai at 366/8. Tillakaratne Dilshan led from the front and was wrongly given out on 109. Paranavitana and Prasanna Jayawardene made 53 and 43 respectively. Angelo Mathews is batting on 86. For India, Harbhajan Singh took 4 wickets.

The Sri Lankan batsmen played positive cricket throughout the day and scored at an average of above 4 runs per over. Indian fast bowlers were not so effective, while Harbhajan was the pick of the bowlers today. He took four wickets. Pragyan Ojha took 2 wickets.

Sri Lanka would like to score at least 425-450 and put pressure on the Indian batsmen on a turning wicket. Muralitharan and Herath have the abilities to run through the Indian batting order, while Gautam Gambhir's absence may hurt India badly.

Expectations on Murali

Sri Lanka are backing Muttiah Muralitharan to return to form in the third and final test against India starting on Wednesday, the master spinner's last overseas test.

The world record holder for test and one-day international wickets will retire from the Test cricket next year but the Sri Lankans are hoping he can help them record their first test win on Indian soil to square the series 1-1.

The 37-year-old had a rough time in the first two matches, picking up five wickets at a cost of 396 runs on unhelpful pitches.

"Murali is still the lead of our attack and we back him 100 percent to turn it around and win the match for us," Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara told reporters on Tuesday.

"He's still our best spinner and he still might be the best spinner in the world. When you have that quality in the side you have to back that quality, that ability."

Leg-spinner Ajantha Mendis will miss out as Sri Lanka opt for a more balanced attack after playing three specialist spinners in the second-test defeat in Kanpur.

Indian, SL players spend time with Deprived children

It crooked out to be a memorable evening for needy children from ‘Make A Wish Foundation’ as they got to spend few fun moments with members of the Indian and Sri Lankan team on Monday.

The juncture was a fun fair at the G D Somani School in south Mumbai here organized by the Yuvraj Singh Foundation.

Zaheer Khan, S Sreesanth, left arm spinner Pragan Ojha and stylish middle order batsman Yuvraj were present from the Indian side; the Sri Lankans were represented by Captain Kumar Sangakara and Mahela Jayawardene.

The children, many of them distress with life bullying diseases, had to wait for over two hours from the scheduled time but the cricketers made up for the delay by handing them gifts of their choice, besides taking stills with them.

“It’s a great opportunity to make a few wishes of these kids possible,” Yuvraj said on the occasion.

India's 1st Test victory in 1952 Century Victory in 2009 1952 victory in Madras(Chennai)2009 Victory in Kanpur put India on top of the table

India attains their biggest victory in opposition to Sri Lanka and in the process confirms their 100th Test win on the fourth day of the second Test in Kanpur. India's previous best against their neighbors was a victory by an innings and 119 runs in 1994 and they well again that with easy win today. Thilan Samaraweera resisted the inevitable with an assured fifty but it was always just a matter of time before India swathed up the match.

The only question at the start of the day was how long Sri Lanka would delay defeat. They batted positively, adding 149 runs in the first session, but India kept taking wickets at regular intervals. Samaraweera was involved in two fighting partnerships with Prasanna Jayawardene and Ajantha Mendis, which not only proved that the pitch wasn't bad for batting but also showed the top order in poor light.

India's only concern was Zaheer Khan's no-ball problems but he started the day by send away Angelo Mathews in his first over. Mathews had hit three consecutive fours, which included a pull, and Zaheer placed a man at deep square-leg and tested Mathews with more bouncers. The first was fended off in an ungainly manner and the next was top-edged to backward point where Rahul Dravid took a grabbing catch.

Samaraweera continued to stitch together a 61-run partnership with Prasanna who, much like in the first innings, grateful to mislead. He was looking good with his cuts and sweeps but was cleaned up by an off break from round the stumps from Harbhajan Singh. It glides away and broke back in but Prasanna left a big bat-pad gap and was bowled. Muttiah Muralitharan indulged himself with a typical hit-and-giggle knock filled with slog sweeps but fell, going for yet another big hit.

Samaraweera, who then added 73 runs with a determined Ajantha Mendis to frustrate India, was rarely troubled during his stay, the highlight of which was a whippy on-drive to a delivery on off and middle stump from Sreesanth. He rarely looked hurried, tackled the spinners and seemers and unfurled several pleasing on drives. The series now moves to Mumbai for the third Test that starts on December 2.

A Great Come back by Sreesanth in the Kanpur testhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

It was one of the greatest days of leading the side for MS Dhoni as his team almost dominated the Sri Lankan.

Sri Lanka were left staring at one of their most crushing defeats of recent times, hoping for a miracle as their scorecard at the end of the third day’s play read a dismal 57/4, trailing by 356 runs.

Sreesanth was emitting toxin all over again in the islanders’ second innings as he claimed opener Tillakaratne Dilshan early-on. Harbhajan too wasted no time in getting into the center of the action, getting the wicket of Captain Kumar Sangakara.

Virender Sehwag, the man with the good spin, came well and scalped Tharanga Paranavitana at a score of twenty runs, giving India its second breakthrough of the innings. It would have been sweeter if Dravid had not dropped Jayawardene yet again, but the outfit would look to amend such issues at the continuation of play tomorrow.

However, the fielding drifts was made-up for, with Yuvraj Singh being lightning fast to run Mahela Jayawardene out of his crease. The top order yet again futile to make for Sri Lanka, that too on the same 3rd day of the Kanpur test.

Dravid make India to pass 600 run mark

India piled up 642 in their first innings of the second Test at Kanpur and has Sri Lanka battling hard at 66 for 1 at Stumps on Day 2. The visitors had lost Tillakaratne Dilshan in the very first ball of their innings when he played a flick shot too early off Zaheer Khan to get caught off a leading edge. Paranavitana (30) and Sangakkara (30) have gone past some nervous moments against pace and spin to see the day through for Lanka who had to bat for 24 overs before stumps.

Overnight batsman Rahul Dravid went onto score 144 (from 226 balls with 15 fours and a six) before getting run out at the non-striker’s end for no fault of his. His overnight partner Sachin Tendulkar was the first to depart on the second day after failing in an attemt to loft Ajantha Mendis over mid off. It was in the same over that Tendulkar had taken the bowler for a straight six over his head. Sachin fell having scored 40 from 91 balls. VVS Laxman and Yuvraj Singh helped themselves to score 60s to put on a century stand for the fifth wicket.

India was charging towards the 700-run mark but were bowled out for less than 650 itself with left arm spinner Rangana Herath producing some late magic. Herath produced a couple of sensational deliveries that came back with the arm instead of turning away from the right hander. Skipper MS Dhoni and Harbhajan were the victims of those deliveries as they got bowled through the bat pad gap. Herath wrapped up the Indian innings with a five-wicket haul.

Virender Sehwag Expectations for the win in Kanpur test

Virender Sehwag smack a reverberating century at the placid Green Park Stadium pitch here and promptly predicted a score upwards of 700 for the home side. "Once we have 700 or 800 on the board, we can put them under strain and go for a win," said Sehwag, who struck 131 and was coupled in an important 233-run stand with opening partner Gautam Gambhir, the second double-century stand between the two at the venue.

"I think the pitch will help spinners later on in the match and I am optimistic we can bag the 20 wickets needed for a win. We have done that long-ago, against Australia in Mohali last year, and we can do it again," said Sehwag. "As of now, this pitch looks as good for batting as Motera, but it is slightly slower and the ball skids on a little. I think we have done a good job of capitalizing batting on the first day as it may not be so easy batting on it towards the end," he added.

Sehwag said the opening pair's plan of seeing off the early overs had paid rich dividends. "I got an early chance but I decided to leave balls outside the off stump from then on. I knew it was a matter of seeing off some overs and was confident of knocking the spinners around for some runs, though we were not targeting any bowler as such," said the opener, who was all extol for Gambhir. "Gautam is in superb form and I told him early on to concentrate and get a fourth consecutive century in Tests and go on to set some kind of record. He once hit centuries in five consecutive Ranji Trophy matches, so he is used to this kind of run," reminded Sehwag.

Sehwag said he was not concerned at missing a 150-plus score after passing that figure in each of his previous 10 Test centuries. "I don't repent playing that shot against to the spin of Muralitharan. And 131 is not a small score," he said.

India Ready for the Test inKanpur

Their batting inconsistency and bowling frailties laid bare in the yard-earned draw in Ahmedabad, India go into the second Test against Sri Lanka on Tuesday hoping not to repeat the follies again.

The famed Indian batting line-up both embarrassed and redeemed itself in the Ahmedabad shirtfront, where it collapsed like a house of cards in the first innings and then rose from its ruins in the second to salvage a draw from the jaws of a seemingly imminent defeat.

But to expect such resurgence everyday would be to invite trouble and Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men would do well to learn the lessons from their Ahmedabad escapade and mend their way.

Source: CNN

The Highlights of Day 4 in Ahmedabad test

Statistical highlights on fourth day of the first cricket Test between India and Sri lanka here today.

Mahela Jayawardene has created history by becoming the only player to share world records for three different stands - 624 for the third wicket with Kumar Sangakkara against South Africa at Colombo SSC in 2006; 437 for the fourth wicket with Thilan Samaraweera against Pakistan at Karachi in 2009 and 351 for the sixth wicket with Prasanna Jayawardene against India at Ahmedabad in November 2009.

Four Indian bowlers have conceded 100 runs or more in an innings - Amit Mishra, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma - the third instance for India against Sri Lanka.

Harbhajan has produced his worst bowling performance (48.4-4-189-2) in terms of runs gien, eclipsing the 53.3-6-185-2 against Sri Lanka at Colombo, SSC in 2001.

Mahela Jayawardene`s 275 is his second best – his career-best being 374 against South Africa at Colombo, SSC in July 2006. He is the ninth player (and the first Sri Lankan) to amass 9000 runs in Tests, taking 178 innings to reach the landmark, which is the fourth fastest, next to Rahul Dravid (176), Brian Lara (177) and Ricky Ponting (177).

Mahela Jayawardene`s innings is the highest individual by a visiting batsman in India, eclipsing Pakistan`s Younis Khan`s 267 for Pakistan at Bangalore in March 2005.

Mahela (1436) is the leading run-getter in India-Sri Lanka Tests, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar`s run-aggregate of 1412.

Sri Lanka have registered their highest overseas total, obliterating their 713 for three wickets declared against Zimbabwe at Bulawayo in 2004. The said total is the highest by a visiting team in India.

The first visiting team to register a total of 700 is Sri Lanka, surpassing the 652 for seven wickets declared by England at Chennai in 1984-85.

Gautam Gambhir has registered his 11th fifty in Tests - his fourth against Sri Lanka.

Gambhir (74 not out) has posted his highest innings at Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, eclipsing the 30 against Sri Lanka in December 2005.

Amit Mishra, for the first time, has conceded 200 runs in a Test innings. He became the fourth bowler to concede 200 runs or more in an innings against Sri Lanka, joining India`s Rajesh Chauhan (276 at Colombo RPS in 1997-98), Anil Kumble (223 at Colombo RPS in 1997-98) and South Africa`s Nicky Boje (221 at Colombo, SSC in 2006).

For the third time in an away Test, three batsmen have recorded hundreds in the same innings for Sri Lanka – the first two instances being vs Zimbabwe at Bulawayo in 2003-04 and vs Pakistan at Lahore in 2008-09.

Amit Mishra`s unbeaten 12 is his highest score against Sri Lanka - his career-best being 23 against England at Mohali in December 2008.

Rahul Dravid (177 & 38) has taken his run-aggregate at Motera to 666 at an average of 60.54 in six Tests, which is a new record at this venue. His tally includes two centuries and one fifty.

Virender Sehwag`s 51 off 67 balls is his 19th fifty in Tests, his second against Sri Lanka. The said innings is his first fifty at Motera, surpassing the 29 against New Zealand in 2003-04.

Sri Lanka (760 for seven wickets declared) have registered their second highest - the highest being 952 for six wickets declared against India at Colombo RPS in 1997.

Prasanna Jayawardene and Mahela have shared a sixth-wicket world record with their 351-run partnership, surpassing the 346 between Jack Fingleton and Don Bradman for Australia against England at Melbourne in 1936-37.

Mahela Jayawardene`s outstanding innings is now the highest at Sardar Patel Stdium, Motera, eclipsing Rahul Dravid`s 222 against New Zealand in 2003-04.

Mahela`s innings of 275 is his best overseas innings, beating the 240 against Pakistan at Karachi in February this year. The said knock is his best against India, obliterating the 242 against India at Colombo, SSC in 1998-99.

Sri Lanka Still Moving in a Good Position

Sri Lanka were 591 for five wickets at the close on the third day of the first test on Wednesday in reply to India's first-innings 426.

Scores: Sri Lanka 591 for five in 160 overs (T. Dilshan 112, M. Jayawardene 204 not out, T. Samaraweera 70, P. Jayawardene 84 not out); India 426 in 104.5 overs (R. Dravid 177, M. Dhoni 110; C. Welegedara 4-87, M. Muralitharan 3-97).

Sri Lanka Rules the day 2 in the firts test against India

The Sri Lankan cricket side took on the Indian cricket team yet again today, in the second day of the first test. It bowed out to be a great day for Sri Lanka, as they appeared to rule all the three sessions.

They handled to bowl out India in the first hour of the day, before there was a superb bang from Dilshan, who was his natural aggressive self. He scored his runs at a fast rate, to register the highest score by a Sri Lankan in Inida.

But then India controlled to fight their way back, with Zaheer getting purge of Sangakara and Dilshan in quick succession. But Mahela and Samaraweera made a good finish with a 81-run partnership for the 4th wicket, the day ends with the score of 275 for 3.

Dravid Completes his 11000 Runs in his Test history

Rahul Dravid on Monday became the second Indian to complete 11,000 Test runs when he took a single to take his individual score to 177 (not out) in opposition to Sri Lanka on Day 1 of the first Test in Ahmedabad.

The hosts, who were stumbled at 32 for four wickets at the start, ended the day at 389 for six.

Yuvraj was the first one to reach the half-century and was out at 68.

The partnership between Yuvraj and Dravid was 125 runs. Later, Dhoni joined Dravid and took India out of troubled waters. Dhoni made 110 before getting out. On the other end, Rahul Dravid kept his cool and completed 11,000 runs. At the close of the day, he was at 177 while night watchman Harbhajan was at 2 runs.

India vs Sri Lanka Full Schedule

With India losing the India Vs Australia 2009 series 4-2, India would very badly want to bounce back strongly in the India Vs Srilanka 2009 series which starts on November 16, Friday. Sri Lanka team has arrived in India on Sunday, November 8 and will play 3 test matches, 5 ODIs and two twenty20 matches against India.

Sri Lankan Captain Kumar Sangakkara would want to win the first ever test series in India and Indian Skipper MS Dhoni would want to keep the record of not losing a test series in India intact.

The schedule of India Sri Lanka series 2009:

Mon Nov 16 - Fri Nov 20
09:30 local, 1st Test - India v Sri Lanka
Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad

Tue Nov 24 - Sat Nov 28
09:30 local, 2nd Test - India v Sri Lanka
Green Park, Kanpur

Wed Dec 2 - Sun Dec 6
09:30 local, 3rd Test - India v Sri Lanka
Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai

Wed Dec 9
20:00 local, GMT
1st T20I - India v Sri Lanka
Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Jamtha, Nagpur

Sat Dec 12
20:00 local: 2nd T20I - India v Sri Lanka
Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh

Tue Dec 15
09:00 local : 1st ODI - India v Sri Lanka
Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground, Rajkot

Fri Dec 18
14:30 local :2nd ODI - India v Sri Lanka
Andhra Cricket Association-Visakhapatnam District Cricket Association Stadium, Visakhapatnam

Mon Dec 21
14:30 local: 3rd ODI - India v Sri Lanka
Barabati Stadium, Cuttack

Thu Dec 24
14:30 local: 4th ODI - India v Sri Lanka
Eden Gardens, Kolkata

Sun Dec 27
14:30 local : 5th ODI - India v Sri Lanka
Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi

Zaheer, Sreesanth, got back in the line up for Test Series against Sri Lanka

The 15-man Indian team for the three-Test series in opposition to Sri Lanka opening November 16 was announced in Mumbai on Tuesday.

The selection panels, headed by K Srikkanth summon up fast bowlers Zaheer Khan and S. Sreesanth to share the bowling responsibilities, while Ashish Nehra has again sidelined despite his consistent performance in the ongoing seven game ODI series against Australia.

Khan, who played his last Test match against New Zealand in Wellington in April, has recovered from his shoulder injury and proved his match fitness in a Ranji Trophy match last week.

Meanwhile, the batting order has been retained with Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, VVS Laxman and MS Dhoni.

The selectors have also recalled Tamil Nadu batsmen M Vijay and S Badrinath, left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha and leg spinner Amit Mishra.

The first Test will be played at Ahmedabad from November 16-20, the second at Kanpur from November 24-28 and the third at Mumbai from December 2-6.

Team:
MS Dhoni (Captain/wicket keeper), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, M Vijay, S Badrinath, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Sreesanth, Pragyan Ojha, Amit Mishra. (ANI)