India vs Sri Lanka: India take 1st place in Test cricket

December 06, 2009 By: admin1 Category: Cricket News No Comments →

Moving to the No. 1 place in Test Cricket, the Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni described the status as a dream come true. He also conceded that it would be a tough job to maintain the top slot.

After the team swamped Sri Lanka by an innings in the third Test to win the series 2-0 and become the world’s best Test team, Dhoni said, “It was a dream come true. But what we actually do is to try and play every game well and ratings take care of themselves. It was a constant process for the last 18 months. Whatever Test cricket we have played we have played really well. I think it’s a team effort.”

“It’s a bit of a concern we are playing only two Test matches in the next six months. It will be tough for us to maintain this top position. At the same time we have done something remarkable. We would celebrate the feat rather than thinking about anything else. At the moment we would like to just be with the achievement, which is because of the whole team,” he said.

Dhoni felt the side was blessed in its journey to the top by the fact that more or less the same cricketers played for the last some months without injuries.

Dhoni felt the dressing room atmosphere also contributed a lot to the achievements on the field.

Indian opener Virender Sehwag who broke a number of records on his way to the huge 293 runs in the third test topped the batting charts with 491 runs from three matches with an average of 122.75.

Sehwag was declared man of the match and player of the series.

Rahul Dravid took the overall second place in the batting chart with 433 runs from same three matches with an average of 108.25.

Harbhajan Singh who claimed 13 wickets from three matches but conceded 533 runs. Zaheer Khan took 10 wickets while Sreesanth and Pragyan Ojha made 8 and 9 wickets rom two matches each.

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India vs Sri Lanka: India’s 100th Test Win

November 27, 2009 By: admin1 Category: Cricket News No Comments →

After the first test match going for a draw, the host India bowled out Sri Lanka for 269 runs in the second innings of the second test to beat the neighbours by an inning and 144 runs on fourth day to climb at the top spot in Test rankings on Friday. India now lead the three Test match series 1-0.

With this win, Team India has registered its 100th win in Test matches.

Forced to follow on after a first-innings collapse, Sri Lanka were 206/8 at lunch on the fourth day and although the visitors managed to make up 149 runs in the morning, they were still 207 adrift of India’s huge first innings total of 642.

Middle-order batsman Thilan Samaraweera was unbeaten at 54 at the interval alongside tail-ender Ajantha Mendis (5), with India looking set to wrap up an innings victory after the interval.

Fast bowler S Sreesanth’s six-wicket heroics on the third day had helped dismiss Sri Lanka for 229 in the first innings and hand India a 413-run lead.

Harbhajan (3-70) led the bowling on the fourth morning after Sri Lanka resumed on their overnight 57/4.

Left-arm paceman Zaheer Khan struck in the second over by forcing all-rounder Angelo Mathews to miscue an attempted pull to Rahul Dravid at gully for 15, after he had blasted three fours in a row in the over.

Prasanna Jayawardene added 61 runs for the sixth wicket with Samaraweera in a show of resistance until Harbhajan sneaked through his defences to bowl him for 29. The spinner also trapped Rangana Herath (13) and Muttiah Muralitharan (29) fell to left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha next to make it 191/8.

Sri Lanka’s flurry of runs helped them avoid their biggest two innings defeats that had come against South Africa.

The third and final Test will start in Mumbai on December 2.

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Indian squad for India vs Sri Lanka Tests series 2009

November 10, 2009 By: admin1 Category: Cricket News No Comments →

After his poor on-field behaviour, Sreesanth is now selected in India’s 15 member squad for the first two test matches against Sri Lanka. Sreesanth will be sharing with Zaheer Khan, who has recovered from his shoulder injury.
The selectors have recalled Pragyan Ojha and s Badrinath. M Vijay will also be reatined as reserve batsman.
Indian Team: MS Dhoni (capt/wk), 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.

After his poor on-field behaviour, Sreesanth is now selected in India’s 15 member squad for the first two test matches against Sri Lanka. Sreesanth will be sharing with Zaheer Khan, who has recovered from his shoulder injury.

The selectors have recalled Pragyan Ojha and S Badrinath. M Vijay will also be reatined as reserve batsman.

Indian Team: MS Dhoni (capt/wk), 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.

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