India win

India beat Australia by five wickets to win their third match in the survivor series. India moved to the top spot while Australians were pushed to second in the league table. This win can be contributed to the spirited bowling performance by the Indian Pace factory. Ishanth Sharma picked up four wickets and the rest of the pacers shared two wickets each. Regarding batting, Sachin got out after making 43 runs. Rest of the wickets fell cheaply. Dhoni and Rohit managed to stay at the crease till the end to guide India to a historic five wicket win.

Gilchrist Retires

Adam Gilchrist announced his retirement from the test cricket. He made this shocking announcement earlier today after the conclusion of the third day's play in Adelaide. He also said that he will retire from the ODI after the triangular series. Gilchrist currently surpassed the record for most number of dismissals by any wicket keeper. It would be really difficult job for Australia to find a replacement for him. This Adelaide test will be his last one. Earlier Australia ended the day at 322 for 3. The match is clearly heading towards a draw. R P singh injured himself and will not play for the next couple weeks.

India in control

Indians ended their first innings at a mammoth total of 526 runs with half centuries from Kumble and Harbhajan Singh taking India past the 500 run mark. Indians started the day badly as they lost both Sachin and Dhoni in quick succession. Dhoni failing yet again in this innings as he managed only 16 runs of just 64 balls. Sachin crossed 150 run mark and fell to a bouncer from Lee. Indians were reeling at 359 for 7. That marked the beginning of the partnership between Kumble and Bhaji. Kumble played a captain's knock and scored 87 runs. Bhajji got out after crafting 63 runs to his credit. This is his second fifty in this series. They held a partnership of 107 runs. R P singh departed as soon as he came. Ishanth Sharma was unbeaten on 14. Kumble was the last wicket to fall to Johnson. Gilchrist crossed the world record for most number of dismissal by a wicket-keeper by taking the wicket of Kumble. Australians were 62 for no loss at stumps on day 2.

India conquers Perth

Finally, the battle of Perth ended in just four days. Australians were sent packing out of WACA. Indians have created history by winning the third test match against Australia by 72 runs. India playing with 11 against 11 (not 13 or 14 this time) managed to take 20 Australian wickets in just under 2 days. That's really special. Australians have not lost a match in Perth for the past ten years. But by this victory, Indians halt the winning run of the Australia and denied Ponting to be the most successful captain with more consecutive wins in the history of test cricket. Earlier in the day Ponting and Hussey continued the proceedings until Ishanth Sharma struck. He dismissed Ponting for second time in the same match. Ponting misjudged the bounce and edged on back which was taken safely in the slips.
Hussey fell to R P singh's brilliant delivery. He was out LBW when he was on 43. Clarke was in sublime touch and continued to threaten the Indians. He along with Symonds scored at his own will. Jumbo got rid of Symonds and turned the tide. Gilchrist tried to settle in but captain, Kumble made a wise decision by giving the ball to Sehwag. Sehwag picked up two quick wickets to put Aussies in the back foot. From then on, it was India all the way. Finally R P Singh dismissed Tait to claim the much fought Indian victory. Australians fell short of 72 runs to their assigned 413 target. There will be wild celebrations all over the country and I'm going to join them.

India in control

Indians are in full control of the third test match against Australia in Perth. Yes, its true. Indians are leading the Aussies by 170 runs. Sehwag and Pathan are still in crease. In a day which saw loss of 15 wickets (10 of them are Australians), Indians did managed to get out of the umpiring saga and performed extremely well. At close of play, Indians were 52 for the loss of 1 wicket. Wasim Jaffer was the man to go and tomorrow's play will determine the winner. If India manages to score 350 plus runs in the third day then they are the winners. But on the other hand, if Australians get rid of India below 300, then it will be their 17 straight win. So, the match is said to be evenly poised but the Indians have an edge over the Aussies. Let's hope for some real action on day three.

Is this a victory?

Atlast ICC has officially announced that it has replaced the umpires by a new set and hence Bucknor will not be officiating in the third test. But unfortunately for this announcement itself most of the people were celebrating down the street. This is not a victory at all. Still we have Bhajji's decision pending. ICC has given him some respite by saying that he can play until the final verdict arrives. But I do not think there is any action taken against Punter, Clarke and Hogg. This clearly shows that somewhere something went terribly wrong. Now the fate of the series lies in the hands of ICC's decision. Meanwhile, Indian players took a day off from the happenings by enjoying the Sydney beach. Lets hope the series doesn't get uglier and ends in a fair manner.

Who is Racist?

An Australian newspaper morphed Symonds' face with that of god Hanuman and published it after his truimph over Harbhajan Singh. This has led to strong protest across the country. Earlier, Bhajji was awarded a three match ban. But many believed that he did not utter any sort of nonsense. There were alleged reports that there is no direct evidence that proves Bhajji to be offensive. But the committee decided against him. BCCI has decided to appeal against the ban. The future of the ongoing series lies in this verdict. Reports suggest that Indians might cancel the tour if the ban is not lifted. They have not yet moved out of Sydney. Let's hope the ban gets lifted yet team India cancels its tour!?

****ing umpiring decisions

In a match where Ricky ponting became the third umpire and Indians were playing against 13 on field opponents yet they manged to bring it down the wire. Top three batsmen were given out based on the appeals by the australians, worst of all Ganguly was given out by Ponting rather than the umpire. Just a chat with any Australians regarding this will land them into trouble of racial slur. Umpires have judged Sachin 4 out of 6 times wrongly when he was in the late nineties last year. Now a match which India could have won easily was forced to a defeat. Indians almost managed to come out of a defeat but the umpires stood in the way. BCCI has expressed concern over these things. They are planning to lodge an official complaint to the ICC. But I think it will not do any good, Ponting and the umpires have to be fined for breaching the rules and if this situation continues, the Indians should recall the tour. They should not have any regrets in doing so. Indians are cheated right from the start of the series down under. Seven decisions went against the Indian team when they were batting and four when they were bowling. So these decisions turned the match entirely in favor of Australia. The Australians should be 200 to 300 runs short but with the help of the umpires they have made it. It takes great team effort, technique and character to win a test match, in this manner, Ponting should be really proud about this win.

Please note : The four letters in the title is just "hurt" and not any other four letter word. click the play button twice to play the video.

Unparalled old gems

After India has won the T20 world championship many believed that seniors are just burden to the team rather than assets. With Ganguly, Dravid and Laxman being out of form, Sachin with his injury woes, they all thought that team India will no longer require their services. Youngsters proved that in the shorter version of the game against Pakistan. But when it comes to test cricket, where technique mattered more than power, courage counted more than aggression, the youngsters failed. Dhoni, Yuvi and Jaffer have not crossed the 20 run mark in the first three innings of the test series down under. To accommodate Yuvraj, the entire Indian batting line up was shattered yet he failed three consecutive times. He failed to capitalize on the opportunity given to him by the team management.
If we have a look at the Australians, then we can learn that they will not compromise an established position for a new comer. For example Ricky ponting did not sacrifice his position for any new comer. They allowed the new comer as opener and he performed well. This is what the Indians should have done. When they are having the world's best one-down batsmen, why are you converting him as an opener and wasting him? Laxman is also know for his ability to bat with the tail. By sending him up the order, we are wasting him too. This is all done for Yuvi but he failed to cross the double digit mark.
Now coming Dhoni, he has not proved his point in test cricket. He "was" a great one-day player but in tests he still has room for improvement. He also cannot take his place in the test team for granted. He should put a price on his wicket, then only he will justify his selection. He got out playing similar shots in almost all the three innings. It would be better if we bring Sehwag in and reshuffle the entire batting order to the old one. Let's hope it is implemented sooner rather than the end of a series white wash.

Sachin "Ton"dulkar

Oops, he did it again!! Ya. But it is for the 38th time in his cricketing career, Sachin has gone past the triple digit mark. This time in a much needed situation. He was on 154 when he ran out of partners and India were dismissed for a mammoth 532 with Ishanth Sharma, RP singh and Harbhajan contributing nearly 200 runs. Sachin crafted his innings with 14 fours and a six. His innings over-shadowed the wristy Laxman's tremendous century of just 140 balls. Dhoni as usual failed with the bat managing to score only 2 runs. Harbhajan and Sachin's seventh wicket partnership was worth 129 runs in which Bhajji contributed 63 runs. RP Singh got out after a well made 13 runs. Lee dismissed Ishanth for 23 runs to seal his fifth victim of the match.