More than just the series at risk for Ponting

Former England captain, Michael Vaughan, has spoken out at his fears for Ricky Ponting’s international career and captaincy, saying that his fading form and current squad which is weakening around him will lead to his retirement from Test cricket next month, regardless of the result in this year’s Ashes series.

Whilst Vaughan doubts that Cricket Australia would actually sack the influential Ponting, he said that the 150-Test veteran, who turns 36 next week, would walk away from the game with no fears over his reputation:

“From what we have seen so far it is clear this will be Ricky Ponting’s last series – he is the right man to carry on until it finishes but he has to lead by scoring a gallon of runs.”

Ponting has had a number of issues this series over selection, and has stopped only just short of criticizing chairman Andrew Hilditch when discussing the omission of paceman Mitchell Johnson in Adelaide while his decision to go with fellow Tasmanian Xavier Doherty over Nathan Hauritz backfired when the spinner was badly exposed as being as threatening as Pingu when it came to bowling the English batsmen out.

Ponting however has accepted this week that he is failing with the bat, but not as a leader, and has accepted that his return of nine runs in two innings in the second Test is unacceptable.

However, Mike Gatting, the last England captain to taste victory in an Ashes series down under, believes Ponting could prolong his batting career if he gave up the Australia captaincy, saying: “that might re-invent Ricky Ponting for three or four years which would be great for Australian cricket.”

VVS Laxman: Australian for Fear

Source: Hindu

Source: Rediff

Source: Hindu

1. Fosters have started a new campaign: VVS Laxman, Australian for Fear.
2. The scale which measures 'resistance to pressure' (or 'resilience') has been edited. 'Laxman against Aussies' is the maximum achievable value.
3. Cockroaches originated in Australia. This is proved by the fact that they are killed by application of Laxmanrekha.
4. Team India has changed the phrase 'one-man army'. From now on it is known as the 'Lax-man Army'.
5. People have complained that Laxman doesn't do much in the Ramayan. It was because Raavan was from Sri Lanka and not Australia.
6. Indian students put on high alert in Australia, they are the only Indians in the universe criticizing Laxman today.
7. Gandhi's last words were - 'Hey Ram', Ponting's last words would be 'Hey Laxman'.
8. There is a cheat code in the International Cricket 2010 video game that lets you have two Laxmans in your team. Australia has complained to the ICC and the UN Atrocities Commission against this.
9. Australia is called 'Down Under' not because of its location on the map, but because of their state after Laxman bats against them.
10. In the last continental drift, Australia broke away from Asia. They knew Laxman was coming, and were trying to get away.
11. Kangaroos keep their young in a pouch in their bellies to protect them from Laxman.
12. A new festival has been instituted in India. Lord Ram's conquest over Lanka is currently celebrated as Ramnavami. Laxman's conquest over Aussies has given way to a five day festival called Laxmanpanchmi. Ravan is replaced by Ponting, and the 10 heads by heads of Aussie players. Instead of an arrow killing Ravan effigy, finale includes a bat hitting a ball and bringing down the modified effigy. Ishant is happy to play the role of Hanuman.
13. When someone dies in Australia, they chant 'Laxman naam satya hai'.
14. Ricky Ponting doesn't need to watch horror movies. He just sets up a slideshow of Laxman pictures.
15. The Ashes have a new meaning in Australia - they are what you're reduced to when Laxman is done with you.
16. Sachin is one of the most common first names in India today. In 10 years, it will be Vangipurappu.
17. There is a brand of shoes in Australia that is used to discipline donkeys. Its name: VVS Laxman, because Laxman kicks your ass.
18. The day VVS Laxman retires from Test cricket, it will be a National holiday in Australia.
19. Reports coming in from Cloud 9 indicate that this is the first time when more people are chanting Laxman than his much more revered brother Ram.
20. The Laxman fan club have applied for his canonization. They already have proof of his miracles, the latest one involving the Cricinfo server crash. The first time such an out of the world thing happened was when an existing God scored 200.

Source: Lolland

Australia..Can you retain No.1 spot?

Australia have posted a tempting total for SA to chase in the 3rd test. I don't know if it was a wise decision from Ponting.

SA chased 414 easily in the first test at Perth. SA has been good against Australia in chasing 'big' totals.SA stunned the world by chasing 434 against Australia in a ODI in 2006.

I don't think it won't at all be a problem for SA to chase this total with all of SA batsmen in good touch.

But let's see if Australia can win/draw this match to retain their No.1 spot.

The struggle continues

After 2-0 humiliation by India, Australia is now playing against New Zealand and their struggle continues, especially Ponting's poor form.

New Zealand did well to restrict Australia to a low first innings total. Except Michael Clark, no one showed the signs of offering resistance. Tim Southee was the star of the day with his superb bowling.

But New Zealand has a reputation for inconsistent performance. If NZ bowlers can bowl out Australia then New Zealand may be bowled out for a score less than Australia's. Anything can happen with New Zealand. But the clash between Australia and New Zealand is always interesing.

Unusual thing happened:
Andrew Symonds scored 8 runs of one ball when he hit O'Brien and ran four runs and then got four overthrows from New Zealand fielding.

What say now, Ponting?

Ponting felt that Dhoni and his side are better suited for T20 than Tests.

Dhoni made his point clear to Ponting during VB series and Border-Gavaskar Trophy. So Ponting, do u really think u were right?

India regains Border-Gavaskar Trophy

India ended Australia's record 16-match winning streak, when India recorded one of their most amazing Test victory in the third cricket Test match against Australia at Perth earlier this year. But this win today and the series win ends Australian domination in the world cricket. It was an awesome win and a perfect team effort.

India regained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a 172-run win over Australia to wrap up a deserved 2-0 series win at Nagpur in the fourth and final test match. The Indians celebrated by hugging each other after Harbhajan trapped last man Johnson in front of the wickets. It ended a dramatic day of test match cricket.

Australia resumed their innings on 13/0. 369 runs in 90.3 overs on the last day of the test match in India was never going to be easy. But Hayden attacked indian bowlers from the begining. He was dropped twice by Dhoni and Dravid. Both were easy ones. Ishant got the breakthrough by dismissing Katich in the 6th over of Australian innings. In the next over, Amit Mishra run out Ponting. It was similar to the Hayden run out in the first innings. Clarke was promoted ahead of Hussey. Clarke was gone for a beauty from Ishant.

Mishra struck in his first over of the day by dismissing Hussey with a beautiful delivery. Hayden(73) was dropped twice by Dhoni and Dravid before he was trapped in front of the wickets by Harbhajan. Hayden was looking to take the match away from India. But his wicket was a big relief for India. It was very easy for the Indians there after. Mishra and Harbhajan ripped through Australian tail. Mishra dismissed Haddin and Krejza while Harbhaja dismissed Watson, Lee and Johnson to bowl out Australia for 209, win the match by 172 runs and the series 2-0.

Dhoni let Ganguly captain for a few overs at the end of the Australian Innings. Ganguly made his debut as the captain of India 8 years ago on this day.

Jason Krejza received man of the match for his great debut (12 wickets). Ishant received man of the series awrad for his excellent bowling (15 wickets) throughout the series.

The ultimate reason Australia lost this test match, the series is Ponting. They had a chance to win the match and level the series when India were 6-down yesterday. But bowling changes by Ponting cost them the match and the series. Ponting has to face a lot of criticism now. Cricket Australia is already ready to question him over his tactics on day-4.

Billy Bowden is the next Steve Buckor?

7.2 Sharma to Clarke, no run, big big shout for lbw. That looked very close. It was full, it was swinging and thudded into the pad in front of middle. It would have taken out the leg stump. Hawk eye confirms that. Ishant can't believe that Bowden has not given it out. That's that. Let's move on.

Billy has given out M Vijay for a delivery that was going down the leg-side. But here, the ball was in line and as per Hawk-Eye it was going to hit the middle of off and leg stump.


Goodluck Ganguly and Kumble for the future...

Australia responds well to India's big total

It was a good day of test cricket.
An excellent start from the openers Hayden and Katich, a well built innings from the captain Ponting and a patient half century by Hussey put Australia in a safe position in the 3rd test of Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2008 at Ferozshah Kotla, Delhi.

Katich played well for his 64 and was bowled by Amit Mishra. Hayden(83), who has been struggling to score runs in this series, finally came up with a wonderful knock. He was dismissed by Sehwag. But Ricky Ponting played with patience and made sure they did not loose another wicket. He faced the spinners very well. He used his feet very wel against the spinners. He had some problems facing Ishant. He bowled beautifully to Ponting. Sehwag dismissed Ponting(87) with a beautiful ball. The ball turned much for Sehwag.

Michael Hussey(53) played a well composed innings. He did not play any loose shots. He was very cool and patient. Sehwag bowled him with another good ball just before the close of the day's play.

Sehwag used the conditions well and bowled pretty well today. He turned the ball, bounced it well. He was pick of the bowlers today. Amit Mishra too bowled excellently. One of his overs to Ponting was top class. Ponting had no answers to Mishra in that over. Mishra was simply superb with his turn. He ended the day with an excellent googly to Michael Clarke. Kumble was injured after lunch and he was out for the day's play. Ishant and Zaheer bowled well but they did not get any wickets.

None of the Australian batsmen looked uneasy against the Indian bowlers, except Ponting at sometimes against Ishant. They must be happy with the way they batted. The ball might turn much tomorrow and Australians have to be careful in facing the spinners in the next two days. This test is going to be an interesting one.

Australia is on 338/4 at the end of day-3. Michael Clarke and Shane Watson are at the crease.

India in driver's seat on day 1

Gambir had Australia in a spot of bother on the first day of the third test at Ferozshah Kotla, Delhi today. An unbeaten 149 by Gambhir, a good knock of 68 by Sachin and a quick unbeaten 54 by Laxman have put India in a commanding position at the end of Day 1 of the third test of Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2008. The way Gambir, Sachin and Laxman batted, India looked set for a big first innings total.

Everything went in India's way from the time Kumble won the toss. The day clearly belonged to Gautam Gambhir who scored an excellent century. Brett Lee gave the perfect start to Australia by removing Sehwag in the third over. Sehwag was one run away, when he was out, to become the leading run scorer in 2008 in tests. Dravid was out for a wide delivery from Johnson. India were 27/2 when Dravid was out.

Tedulkar joined Gambhir after Dravid was dismissed. Gambhir started slowly while Sachin played some excellent shots at the other end. He looked dangerous in their 130 run partnership. He played most of the shots on back foot today. He was well set to score a century. But he was dismissed by Johnson just before tea. Gambhir played his natural game after Sachin's dismissal. Gambhir brought up his third century in style by hitting a six when he was on 99. He scored back to back centuries, that too against Australia. He must be happy. Gambhir was absolutely delightful to watch. Laxman too scored quickly in contrast to his natural game. The unfinished fourth-wicket association of 139 between Gambhir and Laxman promises to be a big one.

The Australian pace bowlers were all working on reverse swing in the one week gap between the second and third tests. But none of them could reverse swing the ball in this test match except Brett Lee for some balls. The pitch was very sluggish and only Stuart Clark bowled well with his nagging deliveries. Ponting was once again in trouble for the slow over-rate. He used Simon Katich, Michael Clarke to reduce the slow over-rate. One should wonder what is the role of Cameron White in the playing XI for Australia. He was used for only 4 overs today.

There were a couple of heated moments in the game today.

The first one occured in 51st over. Gambhir hit the ball off Watson for 2 runs. Watson said somethig when Gambhir ran the first run. Gambhir then hit Watson with his shoulder as he went past him for the second run.

The second one occured in 78th over. When Laxman hit a ball off Katich straight to him, Laxman wanted a single. But Katich did not allow Gambhir to run by blocking his way. They exchanged some words there and Billy Bowden intervened and calmed them down.

India is on 296/3 at the end of day 1. India have a great chance of sealing the series 2-0 at Ferozshah Kotla, which is considered a fortress for India.

Can Ponting beat Sachin?

There has been a lot of speculation over whether Ponting will beat Sachin or not. After Sachin broke Lara's record of most test runs, many people gave their thoughts on whether or not Ponting is going to beat Sachin.
Lara said "Ricky Ponting (with 10,239 runs, currently sixth on the all-time run-scorer's list) is the guy who can break Sachin's records. He is young enough. I think he is a class player, who may take away the record from Sachin in the future."
Former English batsman Allan Lamb has said that though Indian master blaster Sachin was a brilliant cricketer, but Australian captain Ricky Ponting was closely chasing his world record of maximum Test runs.
No one can even come closer to Sachin in ODI format.
Well..coming to tests, it depends on Sachin's fitness.
Sachin has 12037 runs in 152 matches where as Ponting has 10246 runs in 121 matches. Sachin is 35 years old. He can still play some more years. If Sachin continues his good form for 2-3 years more, no one can beat him.
Sachin says he wants to play the 2011 world cup. But if he plays more of limited over matches, fitness problems may arise for him. I think he needs to concentrate more on the test cricket as a lot of promising young cricketers are proving their talent in the limited overs format.
Ponting can also play for 3 or more years. I think it will be difficult for Ponting to surpass Sachin, but it is not impossible.
If Sachin wants to keep his record safe for a long long time, he better keeps an eye on Ponting and set that record out of his reach before he retires.

India crushes Australia in the second test at Mohali

When it comes to rivalry in cricket, people talk about India Vs Pakistan matches and Australia Vs England matches. But India Vs Australia matches seem to surpass the traditional rivalries and the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy between the two teams proves so.

India beat Australia to take 1-0 lead in the series. Australia was totally outplayed by India. It all worked for India from the moment Dhoni came out for the toss. India never looked ot of touch from the moment it won the toss. India registered a 320 run victory which is the biggest margin of victory by runs for India. Resuming at the overnight score of 141/5, Australia slipped to 144/8 when Zaheer Khan grabbed three quick wickets on the fifth day. Leg-Spinner Amit Mishra got the last two wickets and that made 7 wickets in his debut match. India's bowling performance throughout the match is superb. All the bowlers played their part prefectly and contributed to their victory. Dhoni was named Man of the Match for his aggressive batting and his captaincy.

Here's the progress of the match.

Day-1:
It was the day of records as Sachin broke Lara's record of most test runs. Ganguly crossed 7000 runs in tests. After a flying start from the openers Gambhir and Sehwag who added 70 runs to their first wicket, India lost 3 quick wickets. But Sachin and Ganguly ensured that the good start wasn't wasted. They added 142 runs between them. They became the sixth pair to score more than 4000 runs when batting together in tests. India were 311/5 at the end of the day with Ganguly batting on 54.
It was all Sachin's day.

Day-2:
Ganguly's elagant century, Dhoni's aggressive 92 took India to a massive total of 469. Dhoni played his natural game after a long time. Dhoni played agressively and carried the momentum set by Sachin Tendulkar. It was nice to see him playing this way. Ganguly makes his last test series a sweet one with his hundred in the first innings of the second test and a good performance in the first test. He was cool and confident throughout his innings and did not play a too many unnecessary shots. He constructed his innings with ease.

Zaheer Khan removed Hayden third time in a row in this series. After Harbhajan Vs Ponting, it is Zaheer Vs Hayden now. Ishant Sharma dismissed his favourite batsman, Ricky Ponting with a good length ball that nipped back into right hander after pitching. The bebutant Mishra joined the party by removing Katich and Clarke. Australia were 102/4 at the end of the day.
It was the day of Ganguly and Dhoni.

Day-3:
It was the spinner's day, especially the debutant Mishra's. His 5 for helped India to restrict Australia to 268 and take a first innings lead of 301 runs. Amit Mishra is the sixth Indian bowler to take five wickets in his debut. Ishant Sharma removed Hussey for a fantastic delivery. Shane Watson and Brad Haddin resisted Indian bowling for sometime before Harbhajan removed Haddin with a flighted delivery. Australia were all out for 268. Watson played well for his 78. He showed sense in the difficult situation. His 78 came in handy when his team needed a good innings.
Aggressive batting from the Indian openers Sehwag and Gambhir took India to 100/0 at the end of the day.
It was the day of Amit Mishra and Shane Watson.

Day-4:
Gambhir went on to score a magnificent century where as Sehwag fell for 90. The pair added 182 for the first wicket. Dhoni promoted himself up the order to score the runs quickly. He scored an unbeaten 68 to set Australia a mammoth target of 516.
Australian openers started their chase aggressively. But that did not help Australia as both the openers fell in one over looking to play for big shots. Harbhajan removed both the openers in an over before tea. He dismissed Hussey just after tea. It was Ishant Sharma then who carried the momentum. He bowled two top class deliveries to dismiss Ricky Ponting and Shane Watson. Both the balls were pitched just outside off and nipped back into right handers sharply. It was an excellent stuff from Ishant Sharma.

It was the day of Gambhir, Harbhajan and Ishant.

Day-5:
Starting the day with the overnight score of 141/5, Australia was slipped to 144/8 thanks to the excellent bowling from Zaheer Khan. He grabbed 3 wickets in a span of 4 balls.It was then Amit Mishra who took the last two wickets to end the match.

Here's my ratings of both the teams in this match.

India:

Batting: 4.5 out of 5
Indian batsman made use of the batting conditions and scored well. They were amazing in their own conditions. Sehwag and Gambhir played aggressively from the start of the match. Both of them faced the Australian bowlers well. Tendulkar and Ganguly set a big partnership and they crossed some milestones. Dhoni too played aggressively to take his team to a big total. Dravid too played his part in the first innings. It was a bit disaponting for Laxman in the first innings. Dravid and Laxman did not get a chance in the second innings. It was a collective performance from all the batsman.

Bowling: 5 out of 5
This is the main difference between the two teams. On a pitch where Australians struggled to swing the ball, Ishant and Zaheer swung the ball very well and troubled the Australians throughout the match. Ishant's bowling was superb. His deliveries to Ponting and Watson in the second innings were top class. The two pacers claimed 8 wickets between them. Harbhajan bowled excellently in the second innings. He took 5 wickets in the match. The debutant Amit Mishra got 7 wickets in the match. His variations made the Australian batsman struggle. The spinners claimed 12 wickets between them. Full marks to India in the bowling department. Indian bowlers were on song throughout the match.

Fielding: 3.5 out of 5
Indian test side is full of senior players like Laxman, Dravid, Sachin and Ganguly. But it did not affect their fielding in this match. Sachin took a terrific catch off Simon Katich. It was a fine fielding from India though there were some minor mistakes.

Australia:

Batting: 3 ot of 5
Except Hussey, Clarke and Watson to some extent none of the batsmen peformed well. Had Hayden, Ponting performed well, the reslt would be different. Hussey, Clarke and Watson faced the indian bowlers well. These batsman batted with focus and determination. They held the Austrlian innings together for sometime.

Bowling: 3 out of 5
Brett Lee was the major problem for Australia in this match. He was not upto the mark. He took just two wickets. Indian batsman were never troubled by Brett Lee in the match. Mitchell Johnson was the only Australian bowler to perform well. Peter Siddle, the debutant, was predictable. Shane Watson, Michael Clarke and Cameron White shared just two wickets among them. Australia definitely needs a quality bowler. On a pitch where Indian bowlers could find some assistance, Australian bowlers could find no assistance in the pitch and struggled to trouble the Indian batsmen. Indian batsman played them comfortably.

Fielding: 3 out of 5
Rarely we see the Australians misfield. Australia's fielding in this match is not upto their potential. Ponting misfielded a few times and they given away so many extras in the form of over throws, byes.

This is one of the finest moments of Indian test cricket.The important aspect of this test was indians played attacking and sensible cricket. Dhoni once again led from the front. Australia were outplayed in every department.
India will look to wrap up the series in the third test match starts at Delhi on October 29. The Australians will need to regroup after this crushing loss.

Ishant and Harbhajan leaves Australia in tatters

Would you believe Australia lost 5 wickets in a span of 9 overs (9 runs) ? Thanks to the excellent bowling from Harbhajan Singh and Ishant Sharma. While chasing 516, Australia is struggling with 141/5 at the end of day 4. Clarke and Haddin are at the crease resisting the Indian bowling. They added 83 runs for the sixth wicket. Australia were looking good when Hayden and Katich were playing. Harbhajan provided the early breakthrough in his first over by removing both the openers in one over. Sachin Tendulkar took an excellent catch to remove Katich. Harbhajan got Hussey just after tea. Harbhajan is just one wicket away from his 300th test wicket.

Ishant Sharma joined the party by removing his 'favourite batsman', Ricky Ponting, and Shane Watson. He produced two top class deliveries to remove them.

10.2	Sharma to Ponting, OUT, Ishant hits the timber, superb delivery, pitches around the off stump and comes back in off the pitch, Ponting commits early to the forward prod but somehow the ball sneaks through the daylight between bat and pad and knocks the off stump back, Ishant now gets Ponting for the fifth time in as many matches
	RT Ponting b Sharma 2 (11b 0x4 0x6) SR: 18.18

16.3	Sharma to Watson, OUT, Koertzen gives him the slow death, Ishant pitches it just a fraction short of a good length fairly wide outside off and gets it to nip back in very sharply, Watson is caught at the crease and fails to cover the sudden movement, the ball hits him in line with the off and middle stumps
	SR Watson lbw b Sharma 2 (22b 0x4 0x6) SR: 9.09

He gets Ponting for the fifth time in the tests. Ricky Ponting is still working out how to tackle Ishant Sharma. Ishant reminded us of his exceptional spell in the third test against Australia in Perth earlier this year. Sharma's high-arm action attacking on and around the batsman's off-stump gives him the ability to bring the ball back in to right-handed batsman and also swing it through the air quite considerably, while extracting a great deal of bounce. This ability makes this young man a dangerous bowler. Ponting himself admitted that Ishant is a dangerous bowler. Ishant has been bowling well and his bowling performance today is one of his best performances. Ishant Sharma is certainly a good prospect for india. Ishant you beauty...