Sachin Tendulkar, The Superstar; Don, the Legend

In India nothing is bigger than Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. And today he showed just why.

He stops everything for couple of minutes...heart, breath, work...even the life...but at last Milestone man Sachin Tendulkar rewrote the record books today, hammering the first double century in the history of one-day cricket to add another feather to his maestro cap.

The crowd at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium, Gwalior witnessed history on Wednesday as Tendulkar, statistically the greatest batsman the game has ever seen, pushed a Charl Langeveldt delivery through the off-side and ran a single to achieve a feat which no other cricketer has achieved.

One Day International cricket, since its 1971 inception, had to wait nearly four decades to see a batsman score 200. The previous best mark was shared by Zimbabwean Charles Coventry (194 not out) and Pakistan’s Saeed Anwar (194).

The little master was on fire and the South African bowlers bore the brunt as they were literally made to bleed runs at the short ground. His sublime unbeaten 200 came off just 147 balls and was bejeweled with 25 fours and three sixes.

He was walking on a pitch freely, timing the ball sweetly. He was not hitting the ball so hard just stick to the basics - timing and placement.

He went past Kapil Dev's 175 with a towering six over long-on. He equalled his highest score of 186 with a pull to fine leg, before Dhoni took over.

In the 46th over, with a flick for two past short fine-leg, Tendulkar broke the record for the highest ODI score, going past the 194 made by Zimbabwe's Charles Coventry and Pakistan's Saeed Anwar, and to say that he acknowledged his feat modestly would be an understatement. He didn't raise his bat, merely shook hands with Mark Boucher and simply carried on batting.

Sachin Tendulkar chose arguably the best bowling attack doing the rounds, to eclipse the record for the highest score ever before bringing up the first ever double-hundred in the game's history.

Although in the end Sachin stays at 199 for 10 balls. The whole nation was holding his breath.Indian skipper MS Dhoni hit the form of his life at the other end.

Tendulkar just one short of his double century had two overs to reach the milestone when suddenly Dhoni started taking apart Dale Steyn. As balls disappeared into distant corners of the Captain Roop Singh stadium, the whole nation for the first time perhaps in history, didn't want any big hits from the Indian skipper's bat.

Dhoni bludgeoned Steyn in the penultimate over to reach his fifty in just 29 balls. But India had never been less appreciative. The country didn't want sixes. They wanted history to be made. To make matters worse, Dhoni took a single off the last ball.

Six balls to go. Dhoni on strike. Tendulkar still on 199. Charl Langeveldt runs in and the whole nation chants for a single. But Dhoni smashes it for a huge six. Never has there been such a subdued response in India.

Hearts started beating louder but Dhoni connects another cleanly. Another sureshot boundary but a diving Hashim Amla stops the ball and Tendulkar shouts loud - NO - to a second run. The whole stadium erupts. First for Amla. Then for Tendulkar.

Again Sachin batting on 199...3rd ball of 50th over..

Langeveldt to Tendullkar, he pushed a delivery through the off-side and ran a single to achieve a feat which no other cricketer has achieved, first double-hundred in ODIs, takes off his helmet and waves to the crowd, which is on its feet, so are his team-mates in the dressing room, a fan's blowing a conch.

Some graceful moments of Sachin's inning :

Hits of the day

• T20 World Cup probables to be announced on friday

The preliminary list of 30 Indian players for the forthcoming ICC World Twenty20 Championships in the West Indies would be announced by the national selection panel headed by Krishnamachari Srikkanth in Chennai on February 26.

The final squad for the April 30-May 16 event will be finalised one month before the commencement of the tournament as per the world governing council's guidelines.

India won the inaugural event in 2007 in South Africa.

• Waqur front runner for Pakistan coach's job
  

After considering the names of high-profile international coaches like Greg Chappell and Mickey Arthur, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) seems to have settled for former Test pacer Waqar Younis as country's new coach.

A board source told IANS that it has zeroed in on Waqar and is expected to finalise a contract with him in the next few days.

• Aussie pacer Brett Lee to quit Test cricket

Tired of battling one injury breakdown after another, Australian pacer Brett Lee is all set to announce his Test retirement on Wednesday after being persuaded to do so by good friend Andrew Flintoff.

According to a report in the 'Sydney Morning Herald', the 33-year-old Lee, nursing an elbow injury right now, discussed the matter with Flintoff and the star English all-rounder convinced him to give up the five-day format for a longer stint in ODIs and Twenty20s.

Warner thrash Windies, Australia set another record

Australia 2 for 142 (Warner 67, Watson 62*) beat West Indies 7 for 138 (Deonarine 36*, Harris 2-27) by eight wickets


David Warner scorched the second fastest international half century in Twenty20's short history as Australia completed their unbeaten summer with a bang at the SCG on Tuesday.

In reply to the West Indies' 138 for 7, the home side reached the target with eight wickets and 50 balls to spare. Warner (67 off 29 balls with seven sixes) and Shane Watson (62no off 33 balls) caned the touring side's attack.

India's Yuvraj Singh holds the record for the fastest Twenty20 half-century from 12 balls against England in South Africa in 2007.

There was some drama in Warner's innings with the left-hander warned by the umpire for taking strike as a right hander as spinner Narsingh Deonarine came in to bowl.

The debutants Ryan Harris and Christian grabbed two early wickets each and Steven Smith was everywhere in the field, producing one of the most memorable catches of the summer. The trouble started when Chris Gayle tried to flick Harris over square leg and top-edged to Smith at third man for 12.

Another record for Australia, they completed a successful home season without suffering a single defeat in international cricket.

They played 19 games comprising six tests, ten ODIs and three T20Is against West Indies and Pakistan.

They emerged victorious in as many as 17 matches, drew a test and were involved in a no result ODI versus Windies for a magnificent winning ratio of 89.47.

Following are details of countries remaining unbeaten in the entire season at home in all internationals matches, arranged in the order of most number of wins:

Country	Matches	Won	Tied	Drawn	NR	Winning %	Season
South Africa	21	20	1	0	0	95.24	2002-03
Australia	19	18	0	1	0	94.74	2005-06
South Africa	17	17	0	0	0	100.00	2007-08
Australia	19	17	0	1	1	89.47	2009-10
India	18	16	0	2	0	88.89	2005-06

ICC Intercontinental Cup 2009/10

They've done it again. Afghanistan have chased down an incredible 494 to beat Canada, a quite brilliant run chase. Mohammad Shahzad was Afghanistan's hero with an unbeaten 215 as they pulled of a monumental chase

Mohammmad Shahzad's unbeaten 215 helped them pull off a sensational chase of 494 to beat Canada by six wickets in the Intercontinental Cup at Sharjah.

They now top the table and can credibly lay claim to being one of the strongest Associate nations. That they would even be in a position to draw this match seemed unlikely after Canada racked up 566 batting first before rolling Afghanistan over for 264. However, needing to bat out the day to survive, 18-year-old Shahzad shared two century stands, first with captain Nowroz Mangal and then Mohammad Nabi, that set up and all-but sealed the victory which came with 2.2 overs to spare.

Yet again, Afghanistan have proved inspirational and the celebrations will reverberate all the way back to Kabul.

Gwalior pitch curator promises 'batting paradise'

In what would come as music to the ears of swashbucklers like Virender Sehwag, curators at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium have promised a "batting paradise" for the second India-South Africa ODI in Gwalior on Wednesday.

India have already taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match series after winning by one run in a thriller in Jaipur last night.

Gwalior Division Cricket Association (GDCA) curator Ajay Sahasrabuddhe on Monday said that We are sure that we will see a high scoring game. It is a 300-plus pitch.

Gwalior has also been a favourite hunting ground for the hosts. Out of the 11 One-dayers held here, India have played nine and won seven of them and lost two ( 73-run loss to West Indies in the inaugural match in 1988 and the upset victory by Kenya in the Coca Cola Cup in 1998 ). The last time an ODI was played here was in November 2007 when India beat archrival Pakistan while chasing.

The buzz is slowly building in Gwalior ahead of the second One-dayer at the Captain Roop Singh stadium on Wednesday and once again expectations are the little big man of Indian cricket, Sachin Tendulkar, will deliver.

Tendulkar has played some very special knocks in Gwalior on a wicket that has traditionally been on the slower side. His masterly 97 last time, in 2007, helped India clinch their first home ODI series against Pakistan since 1983. The Mumbai batsman looked set for a century before inside-edging an Umar Gul delivery on to his stumps, but India went on to triumph by six wickets.

The genius was in the act earlier too, hammering a century (100) against Australia in a 2003 match which the home team won by 37 runs. That game also saw VVS Laxman scoring a superb 102.

Aussies crush Windies in T20 tie

Australia 8 for 179 (Warner 49) beat West Indies 8 for 141 (Ramdin 44, Nannes 3-21, Tait 3-30) by 38 runs

Same script in this match also. 9 games so far for the visitors and they lost 7 out of them and 2 went draw. The journey start with series of test matches, Australia won the 3-match series by 2-0, then comes ODIs this time Australia won the 5-match series by 4-0. West Indies have one T-20 game left to save his gravitas. That will be on 23rd feb.

Talking about the first match of T-20. Australia have won this comfortably, though had West Indies prevented that horrendous start to their chase.

Whirlwind paceman Shaun Tait quickly extinguished any hope the West Indies had of winning their Twenty20 clash against Australia at Bellerive Oval.

The tourists limped to 141 for 8 in reply to Australia’s 179 for 8 after the Aussies struggled in the middle of their innings.

Australia easily claimed its 38-run win, its first in two matches against the Windies.

India clinch stunner

India 298 for 9 (Raina 58, Sehwag 46, Karthik 44, Kallis 3-29) beat South Africa 297 (Kallis 89, Parnell 49, Jadeja 2-29) by one run

Man of the Match : R Jadeja

MS Dhoni perhaps can’t blame his bowlers for almost losing the match they had in their pockets. He trimmed down the attack to its bare minimum strength — he went into the match with just three regular bowlers and without a specialist spinner — but the bowlers just about held their own to script a memorable one-run victory despite a fighting all-round effort from Jacques Kallis (89 run and three wickets) and a heroic 65-run run partnership between Wayne Parnell and Dale Steyn for the ninth wicket.

The nail-biting Eden Gardens Test was the perfect envoy to the first ODI between India and South Africa. The Sawai Mann Singh Stadium in Jaipur witnessed something that will go down as one of the most thrilling contests in the history of One-day cricket. And it was India who prevailed in the last ball photo-finish by a solitary run and take a 1-0 lead in the three-ODI series.

Well, a lot of people would have put their money on SA to chase this down but, the Indians did well to get wickets at regular intervals and put the pressure on the visitors.

Jadeja was the pick of the bowlers taking two crucial wickets and conceeding only 29 runs in his ten overs. Kallis fought a lone battle and kept things at bay but his well made 89 was not sufficient to take them home. Sreesanth came back well after being hit for 31 runs in his 3 overs and got 2 important wickets including that of Kallis. Steyn and Parnell hit a few big ones towards the end to cause a few hiccups but it was all too late by then.

SA are tagged 'chokers' but they did everything to prove that wrong today. India won the match by 1 run at the end. Dhoni shuffled his bowlers pretty well, and with this win, India inch closer to retain the No 2 spot in the ICC rankings. All they need to do is to win one more game out of the two that are left.

At one stage, this game looked dead and buried for SA, but they found 2 unlikely heroes with the bat, in Parnell (49-47 balls) and Steyn (35-19 balls) who got them within sniffing distance.

In the end, even the normally composed Dhoni was looking extremely nervous out there. What a start to the series. This is just an indication of what is to come in the remaining 2 matches. Fantastic stuff really....Praveen Kumar, however, held his nerves to eke out a thrilling one-run win for the team.

Trivial Facts of Cricket

                            Decision Points

It's amazing sometimes, when you look back into the history of cricket and discover some uncanny facts, statistics, comments, etc, etc, about this great game of cricket. Below are just some of these remarkable (or insubstantial) facts and statistics.

Trivial Facts

• Sir Len Hutton (England) is the only batsman to have been given out obstructing the field.

• The first ever test match was held between England and Australia, at Melbourne, from the 15th to the 19th of March, 1877. Australia won by 45 runs. Exactly 100 years later (15th-19th March, 1977) a match between England and Australia was held at Melbourne to commemorate the 100 years of test cricket. Remarkably Australia won....... by 45 runs!!!

• The first one-day international was also held between England and Australia at Melbourne in 1971. Actually the first four days of a test match had been rained out, so on the final day the first ever one-day international was organized. Australia won the match.

• The first two twins to play in the same test match were not Steve and Mark Waugh of Australia, but Rosemary and Elizabeth Signal of New Zealand, versus England in 1984; in women's cricket!!

• There are 10 ways in which a batsman can get out in cricket:
  
  1. Caught
  2. Bowled
  3. Leg Before Wicket
  4. Run Out
  5. Stumped
  6. Handling the ball
  7. Obstructing the field
  8. Hit the ball twice
  9. Hit Wicket
  10. Timed Out

• The shortest ever test was between Sri Lanka and India in Colombo, in 1996. All but 50 minutes of the match was rained out.

• Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, the youngest ever test captain, and a very fine batsman played for a long time with a glass eye.

• India played her first test match in 1932. New Zealand played their first in 1930.

• The first cricketer to be knighted was Sir Pelham Warner of England. Sir Neville Cardus was the first cricket writer to be knighted.

• Charles Bannermann ..... name ring a bell?? Well the Australian is the man who faced the first ball in test cricket. He also scored the first test century, in the same innings (168*). He also holds the distinction along with David Houghton of Zimbabwe to have scored a century on his country's debut in test cricket. .

• Bhagwat Chandrashekhar is the only cricketer to have scored fewer runs in his test career than the number of wickets he took. (242 wickets and 177 runs).
• Wilfred Rhodes (England) has batted at all 11 positions in test cricket. His feat was emulated by Vinod Mankad (India).

• Mohammed Azharuddin (India) is the only batsman to have scored three centuries in his first three test matches.

• Hanif Mohammed once batted for 16 hours and 10 minutes - nearly 3 full days - against the West Indies, scoring 337*.

• Brian Lara (West Indies) today is the world record holder for the highest individual test innings, 400, versus England (10 Apr 2004). He also holds the world record for the highest individual score in first-class cricket, 501* for Warwickshire, versus Durham (6th June, 1994). The only other person to have held both these records was Sir Donald Bradman (339* in test cricket, and 452* in first-class cricket).

• Bhausaheb Nimbalkar (India) was on 443* (Highest in Indian 1st Class Cricket) against Kathiawar (now saurashtra) in a Ranji Trophy match at Pune in 1948-49, with one day to go in a first-class match, just 9 short of the then world record 452* held by Bradman, but the opposition left the field when Nimbalkar was 443, did not come back and conceded the match. Bradman sent Nimbalkar a greeting note congratulating him on his innings.

• Marvan Attapatu (Sri Lanka) had scores of 0,0,1,0,0,0 in his first three test matches. No prizes for guessing what he scored in his first one-dayer..... yes 0 !!!!

• In 1952, versus England at Leeds, India were reduced to 0 for 4.

• Sir Donald Bradman retired from test cricket having scored 6,996 runs at an average of 99.94. In his last test innings he needed 4 runs to have an average of 100. He scored 0.

• Sri Lanka once scored 951 for 6 versus India, in 1997 - the highest ever team-total in test cricket.

• Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka) scored 340 against India, in India, in 1997. Sri Lanka scored a world record 951 for 6 in that innings. In the next match Jayasuriya was dismissed for 199.

• New Zealand have the dubious distinction of having scored the lowest ever team test score – 26, against England in 1954-55

• According to Sir Donald Bradman (Australia), the best innings he has ever seen was his compatriot Stan Mcabe scoring 232* against England, in England in 1938.

• Sir Garfield Sobers (West Indies) first test century was a then world record 365*. Brian Lara's (West Indies) first test century was 277. He later went on to break Sir Garfield's record, scoring 375.

• Against England, at Lord's in 1990, India needed 24 runs to avoid the follow-on, with 1-wicket in hand. After playing the first 2 balls of the over defensively Kapil Dev hit off-spinner Eddie Hemmings for 4 consecutive sixes (the only time this has ever been done), to avoid the follow-on.

• The contemporary batsman who Sir Donald Bradman (Australia) thinks bats a bit like he did is Sachin Tendulkar of India.

• Jim Laker (England) has the best bowling figures in a test match. Against Australia he took 9 for 37 in the first innings, and 10 for 53 in the second innings giving him match figures of 19 for 90. The only other wicket, that of Burke, was taken by Tony Lock.

• The best test bowling figures on debut are those of Narendra Hirwani (India). He took 16 for 136 versus the West Indies. He broke Bob Massie's record of 16 for 137.

• West Indian fast bowler Andersson Cummins, playing for the first time on South African soil (against Pakistan in a one-day international) took two wickets with his first two balls.

• In his 20th test match Anil Kumble (India) needed 5 wickets to complete 100 test wickets, and thus tie Erapalli Prasana for the record fewest test matches taken by an Indian bowler to complete 100 wickets. In the 1st innings he took 4 wickets. In the second innings two catches were dropped off his bowling, but he never got that elusive wicket

• When India hosted Sri Lanka, and Kapil Dev was nearing Sir Richard Hadlee's world record 431 wickets in test cricket, the Indian skipper Mohammed Azharuddin asked Kumble to intentionally bowl outside the off stump so as to avoid taking too many wickets, and thus denying Kapil Dev the shot at the record in that match. Eventually Kapil succeeded in having Hashan Tilekratne (Sri Lanka) caught at forward short leg by Sanjay Manjrekar to secure his 432nd test victim.

• The only bowler to have got Sir Donald Bradman (Australia) out hit wicket was the Indian, Lala Amarnath.

• In the 1932-33 'Bodyline' series, Harold Larwood (England) was not the only bowler bowling 'Bodyline'. Bill Voce (England) also did the same.

• The only wicket keeper to have stumped Sir Donald Bradman (Australia) was Prabir Sen of India.

• Sri Lanka hosted India for a 3-test series in 1994. They used different keepers in each match - Ashley de Silva, Pubudu Dassanayake and Romesh Kaluwitharna.

• The only declaration in limited overs cricket was when Natal scored 361 for 2 in 54 overs against a South African XI at Kingsmead on 25/Oct/1975. Alan Barrow, 202 not out, and Henry Fotheringham, 128 not out, pasted the opposition to all parts of Kingsmead and scored a mammoth 303 unbroken for the third wicket.

• In a women's league match in Denmark the new batswoman was several months pregnant. She tired while batting and asked permission for a runner - the umpire declined on the grounds that the incapacity had not occurred during the course of the match !

• In a Trophy Final in Karachi in 1958 the scorecard read:
  1st Innings : Abdul Aziz, retired hurt, 0
  2nd Innings : Abdul Aziz, did not bat, dead, 0

Viru, Sachin win ESPNcricinfo Awards

Virender Sehwag was voted for the best individual Test batting performance in the third annual ESPNcricinfo Awards.

Sachin Tendulkar was picked for the ODI honour for 2009.

The third batting award, for Twenty20 cricket, went to West Indies captain Chris Gayle.

West Indies pacer Jerome Taylor bagged the Test bowling award, while the bowling honours in the ODI and Twenty20 formats went to two Pakistanis, Shahid Afridi and Umar Gul, respectively.

Gautam Gambhir was chosen as the batsman of the year 2009 as well as Test batsman of the year for Statsguru Awards while Sehwag was the ODI batsman of 2009.

The panel for the jury award consists of Geoffrey Boycott, Ian Chappell, Sanjay Manjrekar, Harsha Bhogle, Daryll Cullinan, David Lloyd, Tony Greig, Peter Roebuck and Ramiz Raja and Cricinfo's senior editors.

Jury Awards, 2009:

Test Batting Performance of the Year
Virender Sehwag, 293 v Sri Lanka, third Test, Mumbai

Test Bowling Performance of the Year
Jerome Taylor, 5 for 11 v England, first Test, Kingston

ODI Batting Performance of the Year
Sachin Tendulkar, 175 v Australia, fifth ODI, Hyderabad

ODI Bowling Performance of the Year
Shahid Afridi, 6 for 38 v Australia, first ODI, Dubai

Twenty20 Batting Performance of the Year
Chris Gayle, 88 v Australia, World Twenty20, London

Twenty20 Bowling Performance of the Year
Umar Gul, 5 for 6 v New Zealand, World Twenty20, London


Statsguru Awards, 2009:


· Batsman of the Year: Gautam Gambhir, India

· Bowler of the Year: Stuart Broad, England


Test

· Test batsman of the year: Gautam Gambhir, India

· Most consistent batsman of the year: Shane Watson, Australia

· Batting pair of the year (opening - at least 8 innings): Simon Katich & Shane Watson, Australia

· Batting pair of the year (others - at least 8 innings): Mahela Jayawardene & Thilan Samaraweera, Sri Lanka

· Highest percent of team runs: Ross Taylor, New Zealand

· Most runs in wins: Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sri Lanka

· Most percentage runs in boundaries: Ross Taylor, New Zealand

· Highest strike rate: Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sri Lanka

· Best strike-rate (cut off 30 wickets): Mitchell Johnson, Australia

· Best Test bowler (cut-off 30 wickets against top teams): Mitchell Johnson, Australia

· Best spinner (cut-off 30 wickets): Graeme Swann, England

· Best third and fourth-innings bowler (cut-off 15 wickets): Harbhajan Singh, India


ODI

· ODI batsman of the year: Virender Sehwag, India

· ODI bowler of the year: James Anderson, England

· Highest strike-rate: Virender Sehwag, India

· Batting pairs of the year (at least eight innings, opening): Brendon McCullum & Jesse Ryder, New Zealand

· Batting pairs of the year (at least eight innings, other pairs): MS Dhoni & Suresh Raina, India

· Highest percentage runs scored in boundaries: Virender Sehwag, India

· Lowest dot ball percentage: Michael Hussey, Australian

· Highest percentage of team runs scored: AB de Villiers, South Africa

· Highest percent of team runs in wins (cut-off 400 runs in wins): AB de Villiers, South Africa


Team

· Most dominant, Tests: India

· Most dominant, ODIs: India

· Most disciplined, ODIs: New Zealand

source : http://www.cricinfo.com/awards2009/content/current/story/448835.html

Harbhajan heroics keep India at No. 1

India 643 for 6 dec (Sehwag 165, Laxman 143*, Dhoni 132*, Tendulkar 106) beat South Africa 296 (Amla 114, Petersen 100, Zaheer 4-90, Harbhajan 3-64) and 289 (Amla 127*, Harbhajan 5-59, Mishra 3-78) by an innings and 58 runs.

Player of the series HM Amla (South Africa)

India just about managed to thwart a stubborn resistance from South Africa's Hashim Amla and the tailenders to clinch a series-levelling innings and 58 runs victory in the final Test to retain their status as the number one Test team here on Thursday.

The hosts, who needed to pick up the remaining seven wickets to draw the series 1-1, were made to wait till the very fag end of a dramatic fifth day's play for their moment of glory with Hashim Amla nearly carrying the Proteas to safety with a defiant unbeaten 127.

Resuming at 115 for three after conceding a mammoth 347-run first innings lead, the South Africans were all out for 289 with just 15 minutes remaining on a nail-biting last day.

Spinners Harbhajan Singh (5/59) and Amit Mishra (3/84) were the wreckers-in-chief as they ripped through the South African middle order but it was the stout resistance from Amla and the tailenders which delayed the victory.

It was a remarkable effort by Amla who not only notched up his 10th Test ton but showed amazing temperament and skill to negotiate the Indian bowlers on a fifth day Eden Gardens track and very nearly saved the game for his team.

After the tea break, the Indians were literally racing against time to dismiss the last three wickets in the tense post-tea session and the injury-induced absence of Zaheer Khan did have a bearing.

Harbhajan claimed the last wicket of Mornie Morkel, trapping him leg before wicket, to mark India's victory and send the vociferous Eden crowd into a frenzy.

The fiesty off spinner ran towards the boundary line and was soon hugged by his teammates who celebrated the victory.

Amla and Morkel defied the Indians for 124 balls to frustrate the hosts who just could not get the breakthrough despite deploying an attacking field right through thWith the Test series ending with honours shared, both the teams will now gear up for the three-match one-day series beginning in Jaipur from Sunday.

South Africa really a good side and they played fantastic cricket in Nagpur. We played better cricket here and we set our fields, bowled according to the fields and we created pressure.

We batted well, VVS Laxman was special, MS Dhoni was brilliant, Sachin Tendulkar was amazing and so was Virender Sehwag. I think overall we played terrific cricket

New IPL teams to be announced on March 8

IPL commissioner Lalit Modi said on Wednesday that the two news teams to be added to the fourth edition of the tournament will be known on March 8.

According to Modi, Ahembdabad, Nagpur, Kanpur, Dharamshala, Indore, Cuttack, Gwalior, Vishakapatnam are the current cities with stadia that can invite bids.

"Rajkot, Pune, Baroda and Cochin which have new stadia going under construction are also eligible to be bid for," he added.

Details for the bidding process for two new teams will be posted on IPL's official website on February 21.

The base price for the two new teams is USD 225 million.

Modi said that the new team owners and management will have access to IPL season 3 to better prepare them for Season four.

India's victory surge halted by rain at Eden

South Africa 296 and 115 for 3 (Amla 49*, Mishra 2-15) trail India 643 for 6 dec by 232 runs

India were left with just one day to push for a series-leveling win after rain and bad light truncated most of the penultimate day's proceedings in the second Test against South Africa on Wednesday.

Only 34.1 overs could be bowled between the weather disruptions and the Indian spinners managed to knock off three South Africans wickets to reduce them to 115 in 35 overs.

Hashim Amla once again stands between India and victory after his patient 80-ball 49 with Ashwell Prince (0) giving him company at stumps.

South Africa still need 232 runs to make India bat again in the match even though the hosts would hope to polish off the remaining seven wickets on Thursday to draw the series and remain the number one Test team.

Both the Indian spinners Amit Mishra (2-15) and Harbhajan Singh (1-31) troubled the South African batsmen with plenty of turn that was on offer at the Eden Gardens pitch.

Even though Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men are eager to have a go at the South Africans, there is bad news for them as the Met office forecast predicted more rain for Thursday.

The final day's proceedings will be held half-an-hour in advance and the play is scheduled to begin at 0845 hrs IST.

Today match got off to a delayed start of about one-and-half hours and less than three hours' play was possible.

Lets hope for the best....Stay attuned

Cheers!

Yusuf, Ashwin in ODI squad

Gambhir and Yuvraj was left out because of injury while Tamil Nadu off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was named in ODI squad and Yusuf gets reward of its destructive batting. Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has also not been picked because of personal reasons.

Allrounder Yusuf Pathan has been recalled to the ODI squad for the first two matches against South Africa, along with fast bowler Praveen Kumar. R Ashwin, the Tamil Nadu offspinner, has also been called up, as has Mumbai allrounder Abhishek Nayar, to the 15-man squad.

Yusuf made a strong case for himself with his performances on the domestic circuit. His two centuries for West Zone - 210 off 190 balls in the second innings - helped them achieve the highest chase in first-class cricket in the Duleep Trophy final against South Zone.
He strengthened his chances by smashing a century off 40 balls - the third fastest century in List A matches - for Baroda in their Vijay Hazare Trophy match against Maharashtra in Ahmedabad.







The first ODI will be played in Jaipur on February 21 while Gwalior will host the second match on February 24. The three-match series will end in Ahmedabad on February 27.


Squad: M S Dhoni (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli, Dinesh Karthik, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Sudeep Tyagi, Praveen Kumar, Abhishek Nayar, Yusuf Pathan and Amit Mishra.

HITS of the Day

• Massive total put NZ on top against Bangladesh

Bangladesh 87 for 1 (Tamim 56*) trail New Zealand 553 for 7 dec. (Guptill 189, McCullum 185, Rubel 5 for 166) by 466 runs

A terrific 339-run sixth-wicket stand between Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum put the hosts firmly in the driver's seat on the second day of the one-off Test at Seddon Park.

Both batsmen came agonisingly close to maiden double-centuries, before falling to an inspired Rubel Hossain spell soon after drinks in the second session, and New Zealand later declared with a massive total.

Bangladesh started their innings in smashing form, with Tamim Iqbal looking comfortable against the New Zealand bowlers, but the visitors still face a mountain to climb.

( source : http://www.cricinfo.com/nzvbdesh2010/content/current/story/448456.html )

• Ganguly, Leander Paes cheer India at Eden

Among the third day audience of the second Test between India and South Africa were two of Kolkata's favourite sons - Sourav Ganguly and Leander Paes - cheering for the home team.

• IPL now shifts two Deccan games to Cuttack

The IPL on Tuesday sent out a revised schedule for the Deccan Chargers , with two of their home matches now allotted to Cuttack.

The twists and turns continued in the Chargersversus IPL battle after the decision to withdraw Hyderabad and Vishakapatnam as venues for the event in view of the Telangana agitation in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

On Monday the IPL had relocated the Chargers' home matches to Mumbai and Nagpur. But now two matches were shifted yet again, the one against Kings XI Punjab on March 19 and Delhi Daredevils on March 21.

• PCB asks J Miandad to coach Pakistan
  

Laxman, Dhoni centuries put Eden test in India's grip

South Africa 296 and 6 for 0 trail India 643 for 6 dec. (Laxman 143*, Dhoni 132*) by 341 runs


VVS Laxman (143) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (132) slammed sparkling unbeaten centuries to compound South Africa's misery as India took a stranglehold of the second and final cricket Test with a mammoth 347-run first innings lead on Tuesday.

Laxman notched up his 15th Test ton while Dhoni recorded his fourth as the hosts piled up a monumental 643 for six, their highest total against South Africa, before declaring their first innings about half an hour before close of play on the third day.

VVS Laxman strengthened his bond with the Eden Gardens by bringing up 1,000 runs at the venue with 4 centuries and 4 half centuries in 9 test matches.

The visitors got to face just five balls and were six for no loss before bad light forced play to be stopped early on a day completely dominated by the home team.

Laxman and Dhoni gave a fine exhibition of strokeplay as they stitched a record 259-run partnership for the seventh wicket to put India in a commanding position from where they can push for a series-levelling victory.

HITS of the day

• Nissan Vehicle for Afghanistan team
  

Members of the Afghanistan cricket team, already reveling in their qualification for the World Twenty20 tournament, have been promised new Nissan vehicles by an Afghanistan-based businessman.

Aziz Hotak, described only as a 'national trader', has reportedly announced that each player in the team which won the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier tournament will receive a vehicle. He was present at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Saturday when the team won the final against Ireland by eight wickets.

• Guptill and McCullum saves the day for Kiwis

New Zealand 258 for 5 (Guptill 80*, McCullum 58*, Rubel 3 for 86) v Bangladesh

In-form batsman Martin Guptill led New Zealand’s recovery against Bangladesh in the Hamilton Test on day-one. The Black Caps were 258 for 5 after 68.1 overs at stumps when bad weather forced early end of play.

Bangladesh bowled well to knock the Kiwi top order off, picking up regular wickets to have them in a spot of bother at 158 for 5.

Earlier, Bangladesh won the toss and opted to field. Thick cloud cover over the ground helped the Bangladesh bowlers to swing the ball as the Seddon Park pitch also had a tinge of green.
But Guptill batted resolutely to finish the day with an unbeaten 80, which included 10 hits to the fence. Guptill found a partner in Brendon McCullum (58*) and the duo added 100 runs for the sixth wicket in a crucial stand.

• Shane Watson wins Allan Border Medal
  Watson (125 votes) won the Allan Border Medal by a comfortable 35-vote margin. Vice-captain M Clarke finished second with 90 votes and reigning ICC Cricketer of the Year Mitchell Johnson (87) rounded out the top three.
  ( source: http://cricket.com.au )
  
  
  
  • India Women team names squad for England series
  Full squad: Jhulan Goswami (captain), Mithali Raj, Anjum Chopra, Rumeli Dhar, Amita Sharma, Priyanka Roy, Anagha Despande, Poonam Raut, Harmanpreet Kaur, M.D Thirushkamini, Gouhar Sultana, Nooshin Al Khadeer, Preeti Dimri, Sinia Dabir
  ( source :http://icc-cricket.yahoo.net/newsdetails.php?newsId=2700_1266224460 )
  
  
  
  • Deccan Chargers issue legal notice to IPL
  The Deccan Chargers have issued a legal notice to the Indian Premier League for shifting their matches out of Hyderabad. They have threatened to sue the Indian Premier League authorities and skip the third edition of the Twenty20 league beginning next month if its home matches are not re-allotted to Hyderabad and Vishakapatnam.
  ( source : http://www.espnstar.com/cricket/indian-premier-league/news/detail/item397707/Chargers-issue-legal-notice-to-IPL/ )

Sachin, Sehwag charge India

India 342 for 5 (Sehwag 165, Tendulkar 106) lead South Africa 296 (Amla 114, Petersen 100, Zaheer 4-90) by 46 runs


Sachin Tendulkar notched up his fourth consecutive Test ton and Virender Sehwag cracked 165 as India relied on the sheer class of the experienced duo to take control of the second and final Test against South Africa on Monday. Sachin at one end not only guide his inning even he also act as a mentor for Sehwag. He regularly guide him not to go for any waste shot.

After polishing off South Africa's first innings at 296, the hosts rode on Tendulkar's 47th ton and Sehwag's 19th century to reach 342 for five at close on the second day which saw the home team lose three key wickets in quick succession at the end.

At stumps on an eventful day, VVS Laxman (9) and night watchman Amit Mishra (1) were at the crease with India having taken a lead of 46 runs. They will now look to take a substantial first innings lead and push to level the series 1-1 in the remaining three days.

These two Indian masters put on a 249-run partnership for the third wicket to torment the South Africans, who need to win the match to dislodge India from the number one position in the Test rankings.

Dale Steyn, first Test hero for the visitors, found the going tough with Sehwag creaming him for three consecutive boundaries and went on to concede 29 runs in his forgettable first spell of five overs. His 174-ball 165 contained 23 boundaries and two sixes.

Hope for best tomorrow.

Cheers!

Australia destroy West Indies

Australia 7 for 324 (Ponting 106, White 63) beat West Indies 8 for 274 (Deonarine 53, Pollard 62, Smith 58*) by 50 runs.


Skipper Ricky Ponting’s sparkling century led way as they registered a 50-run victory over West Indies to seal the five-ODI series 3-0 at the Gabba. Now just one last match to go in Melbourne.

A rampant Australia cracked 324 for seven with Cameron White (63) continuing his glorious summer after Calypso skipper Chris Gayle inexplicably ordered Australia to bat.

The Windies never looked on course to chase down the highest ODI score at the Gabba, and their fate appeared confirmed when Gayle (34 off 21 balls) departed.

However, a late flurry from big-hitting muscleman Kieron Pollard (62 off 55 balls) and Dwayne Smith (58 n.o) helped the 'Windies save some face.

The tourists finished on 274 for eight as Australia completed a 50-run win as their quest to complete an unbeaten summer continues ahead of Friday's final One-dayer at the MCG.

The man of the hour was Ponting who belted his first One-day century of the summer to show that he was far from the fading force that some cricket observers feared.

By hitting his first ODI century at the Gabba and his 29th overall, Ponting moved to outright No. 2 on the list of ODI century- makers behind Indian great Sachin Tendulkar (45 centuries).

Zaheer-Bhajji duo flatten SA

Gorgeous hundred from Amla (114 from 166 balls) and a hundred on debut by Petersen (100 from 164 balls) pushed South Africa to a commanding position at tea break when it happened. Kallis decided to play a slog sweep but was done in by the top spinner from Harbhajan and by a good catch from VVS Laxman. The doors were open and the Indians gatecrashed into the South African party.



Brilliant centuries from South Africa's Alviro Petersen and Hashim Amla were weakened by magnificent bursts from the duo Zaheer Khan (three for 77 from 21) and Harbhajan Singh (three for 60 from 23 overs) as India effected a stunning turnaround. They triggered a collapse that sent South Africa packing to 266 for 9 at stumps from a confident looking 218 for 1. The 25 overs of the last session produced an incredible 7 wickets for just 38 runs.

If it’s Eden Gardens, it has to be Harbhajan Singh. There is something about the venue that brings the best out of the ‘Turbanator’. Now ask about Harbhajan's future from Arthur.Hope you all remember his statement about bhajji two days back.



Earlier, after Dhoni lost the toss at Eden garden, Zaheer once again provided India with an early breakthrough, dismissing Graeme Smith in his second over.

The left-arm pacer was the only bowler for the first half of the day, who looked like taking a wicket. He exploited the early morning conditions and was the most consistent of the Indian bowlers. It was Zaheer who did all the hard work by dismissing both centurions, Amla and Petersen to set the stage nicely for Harbhajan to get into the act.

Ishant Sharma and Amit Mishra also bolwed heart out though they got just one wicket each. Petersen, who had survived several good appeals for lbws, particularly against leg-spinner Amit Mishra.

The Teams:

India: M S Dhoni (c), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Murali Vijay, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, S Badrinath, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Amit Mishra, Ishant Sharma.

South Africa: Graeme Smith (c), Alviro Petersen, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, Ashwell Prince, J P Duminy, Dale Steyn, Wayne Parnell, Morne Morkel, Paul Harris.

Afghanistan pip Ireland in World Twenty20 Qualifier 2010 (Final)

Afghanistan 147 for 2 (Shahzad 65, Johnston 1-28) beat Ireland 142 for 8 (Cusack 28, Nangal 3-23) by eight wickets with 15 balls remaining.

Afghanistan - new lighting in the cricket, they prove their worth. Today, it was their commitment, hard work, team effort which makes them proud.

Great achievement by this young team, they beat Ireland in the final of qualifier event by 8 wickets.

I commend each of them for their dedication and hard work. They deserve to be proud of their achievement. They really deserved this victory. They beat some of the best teams among the associates in this event. And today they finished the qualifying tournament in style cantering to victory over Ireland, much more reputed team amongst associates.

Now they will join India and South Africa in Group C of the event in the West Indies, joyful moment for them.

Ireland won the toss and elected to bat first - at Dubai International Cricket Stadium - in this final match of the event. They scored decent 142 for 8 in 20 overs.
Nowroz Mangal come up with a good spell of 3 for 23 in 4 overs for Afghanistan.

While chasing, Afghanistan lose 2 wicket and with the brilliant inning of Mohammad Shahzad (65 from 46 balls) they chase the score in 17.3 overs.

It's a bizarre quirk of the fixture list that means runners-up Ireland will be in Group D, which features, on paper at least, the slightly easier prospects of England and West Indies. Afghanistan, however, won't mind a jot and will feel like they can beat anyone following their triumph today.

Some pics of their remarkable victory:

ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier 2010 - Super four

Both the unbeaten teams of the event face defeat in their first match of Super four.

Afghanistan suffer its first defeat, lost to Netherlands by 4 wickets.


Netherlands 132 for 6 (Kervezee 39, Nabi 3-23), Afghanistan 128 for 9 (Ahmadzai 23, Jonkman 2-23).
Man of the match: RN ten Doeschate (Netherlands)


Ireland complete 22-run win over UAE.



Ireland 152 for 7 (O'Brien 46, Nawaz 3-23) beat UAE 130 (Ali 63, Cusack 3-23) by 22 runs.
Man of the match: AR Cusack (Ireland)


Albeit ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier is still wide open with all four remaining sides still in with an equal chance of securing the two available slots in the ICC World Twenty20 2010 to be staged in the West Indies from 30 April to 16 May.

Joint-defending champions Ireland and the Netherlands had to produce their best all-round performances to end the unbeaten runs of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Afghanistan respectively, that has left all the four teams on equal points after the penultimate day's action in this five-day tournament.

This means tomorrow's matches at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai Sports City between the UAE and Afghanistan, and Ireland and the Netherlands will be as good as the semi-finals with the winners progressing to the main event.

In addition to this, winners of tomorrow's matches will also go head to head in the final to be played later in the evening. The winner of the final will join South Africa and India in Group C of the event in the West Indies and the losing finalist will join Group D which includes the West Indies and England.