Team India on top in test

It has been a 77 years long stay. Indian cricket team, under the leadership of captain MS Dhoni, reached a historic achievement when it secured 124 points in ICC Test rankings to attain at the top spot. India defeated Sri Lanka on the home soil by an innings and 24 runs, thereby confirm the 3-match Test series win with 2-0. It was the second consecutive innings defeat of the Sri Lanka. Now, South Africa has been consigning to the second place. Surely it was the combined team efforts, as commented by skipper Dhoni did the magic. It was the excellent contribution of all departments of the game- the batsmen, the bowlers and the fielders, which saw the defeat of the Lankans. Sehwag's super performance has merited him with `Man of the Match' and the `Man of the Series' award. Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakara put the defeat due to the shortcomings of their bowlers. Brabourne stadium saw Test cricket returning to it after 36 years where the fans had turned up in great numbers to cheer for the team.

Now, the real defy lies with the Indian boys to sustain the top honor. Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar has termed the side under MS Dhoni to be the best one. It is the combined efforts of the players which has made India proud to be on the number one spot in the Test matches.

Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar expressed his delight at India becoming the No. 1 Test team in the world. It's not just the team and the support staff, you also have to give it to the selection board, who often get criticized, to the cricket board, which has backed the team, which has backed the support staff and the selection committee,".

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.