Cricket

West Indies bowlers bowled their heart out and almost dominated the opening day of the first Test against India. In fact, if it was not for the valiant counter-attack worth 146 runs from Suresh Raina (84) and Harbhajan Singh (70), India would have ended the day on an extremely embarrassing note. Instead, the visitors managed to claim a wicket and keep Darren Sammy’s side 212 runs behind at close of play.

India did manage to win the toss but it was Ravi Rampaul who snared the openers early on to seize the early initiative. Murali Vijay (8) became his first victim while debutant Abhinav Mukund (11)was cleaned up soon after.  India’s top-order looked ill at ease as VVS Laxman (12) surrendered to Devendra Bishoo and Virat Kohli (4) edged one behind off Fidel Edwards. The break for lunch would not have left the Indians with much of an appetite with the score on 69 for 4.

Though Rahul Dravid did manage to add 40 runs to his Test statistics, it was ended abruptly by Bishoo with India now totering at 83 for 5. In walked skipper MS Dhoni and played all of a single delivery before he was sent back by Bishoo who now looked unforgiving.

It was now that Raina and Harbhajan got together and the duo looked edgy at first but soon settled in. Harbhajan raced to his half-century despite coming in after his partner and his eventual score of 70 came off just 74 deliveries.

Raina played the mature innings and helped himself to 82 runs off 115 deliveries but once Harbhajan departed, it was mayhem once again. India lost four of it’s remaining wickets for 16 runs as Edwards cleaned up the tail to finish with four wickets.

West Indies replied with a chase that would better be termed as painfully slow rather than watchful. Ishant Sharma  rose to the occasion with the ball and eventually got rid of a tentative Lendl Simmons (3). The other opener in Adrian Barath (26*) and Ramnaresh Sarwan (2*)  denied the Indian bowlers any further success and finished the day with the team score on 34, 212 still remaining before a lead can be mounted.

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has a chance to regain the top slot in the batting list while his team can climb up to the second place in the ICC’s ODI championship table if they do well in the Asia Cup starting June 15 in Sri Lanka.

Dhoni slipped to third behind Australia’s Michael Hussey and South Africa’s AB de Villiers in the rankings for batsmen after deciding to skip the tour to Zimbabwe where Sri Lanka won the triangular series after defeating Zimbabwe by nine wickets in the final.

As a player loses half a per cent of his ratings points for every ODI he misses, Dhoni conceded 16 ratings points and slipped to third position, the ICC said in a statement.

However, he still has the number-one ranked Hussey and second-placed de Villiers firmly within his sights as he trails the Australian by eight ratings points and the South African by just two ratings points.

With India scheduled to play a minimum of three ODIs in Sri Lanka, a couple of good performances with the bat will help Dhoni regain his number-one position.

Also aiming to maintain his upward movement will be Virat Kohli who achieved career-best ranking to date after good performances in Zimbabwe last week.

Kohli scored 168 runs to jump to 13th position after a leap of seven places.

Also moving up the order after the Zimbabwe series was Rohit Sharma. Sharma’s series aggregate of 260 runs has given him a lift of 44 places and puts him in 47th position which he shares with Pakistan’s Kamran Akmal.

However, Suresh Raina, who captained India in Zimbabwe, had a disappointing series and he slipped to 20th after scoring 83 runs in four matches.

In the rankings for ODI bowlers, Sri Lanka boasts two bowlers inside the top 20 while Pakistan has two and Bangladesh and India have one each.

Harbhajan Singh represents India in the top 20 in 11th spot whereas Pakistan’s captain Shahid Afridi is seventh and his countryman Saeed Ajmal is in 18th spot.

In the ODI Championship table, India will start in third place after dropping behind South Africa following their three losses in Zimbabwe.

However, it can regain the number-two spot if they win both their matches against Bangladesh and Pakistan.

If they manage to achieve this, they will join South Africa on 119 ratings points but will be placed higher after the ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point.

Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni continued to top the One-day batsmen chart with his deputy Yuvraj Singh occupying the second position in the latest ICC ODI Player Rankings released on Wednesday.

Apart from Dhoni and Yuvraj, Delhi dasher Virender Sehwag, at the seventh spot, is the other Indian to feature in the top 10 batsmen list.

Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir are at the 14th and 17th spot respectively in the chart.

However, no Indian features among top 10 ODI bowlers with left-arm pacer Zaheer Khan languishing at the 17th spot in the list which is being headed by Sri Lankan Nuwan Kulasekara, followed by Kyle Mills and Daniel Vettori of New Zealand.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan continued to top the ODI all-rounders table, followed by England’s Andrew Flintoff in the second spot and Kiwi Jacob Oram at the third position.

India also managed to hold on to their second best ODI team status with 126 rating points.

South Africa tops the table with a point lead over India, while World Champions Australia is lying third with 119 points.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni played a captain’s knock as India battled inclement weather to defeat the West Indies by six wickets via the Duckworth-Lewis method and take an unassailable 2-1 lead in the four-match ODI series at the Beausejour Stadium in St. Lucia on Friday.

Needing 11 runs off the last over after the target was revised to 159 from 22 overs, Dhoni (46 not out) sent Jerome Taylor’s second delivery for a six over mid-wicket as India won with a ball to spare.

The One-dayer was almost reduced to a Twenty20 fixture as it witnessed as many as four stoppages due to rain during the West Indies innings — including a two hour and five minutes delay at the start of the match. The interruptions forced the overs to be brought down to 27 per side.

The West Indies, put into bat after Dhoni won the toss, rode on Ramnaresh Sarwan’s 62 to post a competitive 185 for seven and India were set a revised target of 195 following the D/L method.

The visitors needed a strong start and Dinesh Karthik (47 off 43 balls) and Gautam Gambhir (44 off 38) did just that.

The duo put on 84 runs before a direct throw from Ravi Rampaul ended Karthik’s innings.

Gambhir and Dhoni took the score to 95 for one off 13.3 overs when rain intervened for the fifth time and following a 22-minute delay, the target was revised to 159 in 22 overs.

Needing another 64 runs from 51 deliveries, India lost Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh (2) in quick succession.

With 11 runs required off the last seven deliveries, Rohit Sharma too departed leaving Dhoni to see the team through. The skipper’s 34-ball unbeaten knock included a couple of boundaries besides the six in the last over.

While Dhoni sparkled, opening partnership too did the job.

Karthik and Gambhir not only complemented each other but also gave the visitors perfect launchpad to go for victory after Sarwan’s 58-ball 62 guided the West Indies to 185 for seven.

Sarwan was involved in two crucial partnerships, 51 runs with Runako Morton (22) and another 48 with Shivnarine Chanderpaul (15) before he was run out going for a non-existent second.

Gambhir’s strong throw found Sarwan short of the mark. His innings included five fours and a six.

He carried on the momentum provided by captain Chris Gayle (27), who gave the hosts a rollicking start after the match started two hours and five minutes late following a rain delay that first reduced the match to 41 overs a side.

Gayle hit Ishant Sharma for a couple of boundaries in each of his first two overs.

Left-arm pacer Ashish Nehra (3/21) received similar treatment in his second over, another couple of boundaries, before rain intervened with the West Indies at 27 for no loss from 3.3 overs.

Play resumed after a 15-minute delay but the distraction was enough to unsettle the West Indies captain, who departed chasing a widish delivery from Nehra.

Gayle slashed the first ball after resumption and Dhoni did the rest behind stumps. His 14-ball stay at the crease had six hits to the fence.

Morton (22 off 34 balls), who was a silent spectator till then was joined by Sarwan and the duo took the score to 56 for one from 9.1 overs before rain intervened for a third time.

Following another 15-minute delay, the overs were reduced to 36 per side.

However, rain forced play to be suspended again just two deliveries on re-start with the hosts on 57 for one.

This time play remained suspended for an hour and 20 minutes before it resumed with the overs reduced to 27 a side.

Morton greeted RP Singh with a four but fell soon after. Sarwan though didn’t let the stoppages affect his rhythm as he took 16 runs off one Yuvraj over to help the hosts go past the 100-run mark in 16 overs.

Along with the vastly experienced Chanderpaul, the duo put on 48 runs before the left-hander departed trying to hoist Yusuf Pathan over mid-on and Nehra doing the rest.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s defiant 95 went in vain as India suffered a humiliating eight-wicket defeat at the hands of an inspired West Indies in the lopsided second cricket One-Day International on Sunday. 

After dismissing the visitors for a modest 188 in 48.2 overs, the Caribbean team rode on openers Chris Gayle (64) and Runako Morton (85) to overhaul the target in 34.1 overs and level the four match series 1-1.

Earlier, electing to bat first, Dhoni waged a lonely battle as India succumbed to a batting collapse against a ferocious pace attack lead by West Indies pacer Ravi Rampaul.

Rampaul produced a career best four-wicket haul and combined with Jerome Taylor (3/35) to rip through the top-order before joining hands with Dwayne Bravo (3/26) to polish the lower order.

Chasing 189 to win, West Indies got off to a rollicking start with Gayle taking the Indian attack by the scruff of its neck and Morton playing initially the second fiddle.

Gayle looked dangerous as he punished the bowlers at will. Ashish Nehra faced his wrath in the 8th over when he clobbered the left-handed pacer out of the park and followed it up with a couple of boundaries to amass 16 runs.

Gayle also slog swept Harbhajan Singh for a six in the 15th over to bring up the hundred before his blitzkrieg innings was brought to an end by a stunning catch by Gautam Gambhir at long off in the next over.

Ramnaresh Sarwan then added 15 runs before being deceived by Rohit Sharma as Dhoni completed an easy stumping.

However, Morton chugged along nicely and with Shivnarine Chanderpaul (18) made sure there were no more hiccups as West Indies cruised to 192 for two.

Earlier, Dhoni struck six boundaries and a couple of sixes in his innings and stitched together a record 101-run partnership for the ninth wicket with RP Singh to lead India’s recovery after they were reduced to 82 for eight in 22 overs.

Dhoni’s decision to bat first backfired as India lost half their side inside 15 overs with three batsmen going for a duck.

The visitors had a pathetic start losing Dinesh Karthik (4), Gautam Gambhir (0) and Rohit Sharma (0) — to be left tottering at eight for three in 1.4 overs.

Playing his first match in the tournament, pacer Ravi Rampaul struck twice in his first over but it was his partner Jerome Taylor who drew first blood removing Karthik in the fifth ball of the innings.

Karthik’s outside edge found Ramdin, while a lame poke at an outside delivery brought Gambhir’s demise. Rohit also followed suit when his edge flew to Ramdin, who popped it to Runako Morton at second slip.

Yuvraj Singh (35) and Dhoni then steadied the ship and indulged in singles and twos to take India across the fifty in 11 overs.

Yuvraj played some scintillating shot, which included five boundaries and a flat six off Rampaul in the 10th over, before falling prey to Taylor, two overs later.

With India on the backfoot, Skipper Chris Gayle’s decided to take the fielding powerplay after 10 overs and it paid off straight away as West Indies scalped two wickets giving away just 11 runs to reduce India to 57-5 in 14.2 overs.

After Yuvraj was sent packing, new-man Yousuf Pathan (0) also didn’t last long and was done in by a short-pitch delivery off Dwayne Bravo.

Ravinder Jadeja (7) also gave a catching practice to Denesh Ramdin off Rampaul, while Harbhajan Singh (7) edged one from Bravo. Praveen Kumar (1) also was back in the hut after some time as India reeled at 82 for eight in 22 overs.

Running short of partners, Dhoni decided to take the third powerplay after the 22nd over and along with RP singh crossed the 100-run mark in 27 overs en route to their record partnership.

Singh (23) departed in the 48th over to put an end to the partnership, while Dhoni too fell five runs short of a well-deserving century when his furniture was rocked by a slower delivery from Taylor in the 49th over.

Ahead of the ODI series against West Indies beginning on Friday, reports suggest that the Indian captain gave team members a dressing down.

Dhoni reportedly told his team members that everyone needs to be truthful about injuries or any other personal issues that could affect team’s performance.

The other issue Dhoni is said to have dealt with was related to players’ fatigue. He said that in case anyone felt tired and not 100 per cent fit, they should take rest in order to recuperate.

Dhoni has been forced to address these issues after the severe criticism that the Men in Blue faced after their performance in England.

“For me, it’s the team first and then the individuals and I’d hope it’s the same with everyone else in the group,” Dhoni is said to have stated. “If rest is the cure for an injury, a cricketer ought to opt for it rather than let fatigue or niggle become a major setback to him and to the team,” he reportedly said.

Also it came to light that several players went to England despite carrying injuries.

The Indian team physio had given the BCCI a report in this regard but the BCCI nevertheless selected players who were carrying injuries.

Dhoni must have been forced to address these issues because of what happened to his deputy Virender Sehwag in England. When the Delhi batsman arrived for the World T20, he was said to have only a shoulder niggle. However, he was found to have a Grade 1 tear following which he underwent a surgery.

“If anyone wants to take a break from the game, please let me know or the BCCI,” was what Dhoni said.

Dhoni did not spare the seniors in the team. “I would urge seniors to give more and more inputs for the betterment of the team,” stated Dhoni. He was referring to Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir and Harbhajan Singh who will be playing four ODIs against the West Indies. Alongside the warning to the seniors, Dhoni also urged juniors to take up more responsibility and chip in with their inputs.

The Indian squad, led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, left early Thursday morning for New Zealand on a 47-day tour comprising two Twenty20 Internationals, five One-Day Internationals and three Test matches.

The squad for the limited overs events departed while the members of the Test team, who are not part of the T20 and ODIs squads, would leave later.

The team: M S Dhoni (Captain), V Sehwag (vice Capt.), Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan, Rohit Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Suresh Raina, Irfan Pathan, Zaheer Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Munaf Patel, Pragyan Ojha, Praveen Kumar and Dinesh Karthik.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni faces the toughest challenge of his fairytale-like career to date when he leads India in New Zealand from this month, his first full tour as captain.

The 27-year-old has reached dizzy heights in a short space of time, rising from a lowly and poorly paid railway employee in his home town Ranchi in eastern India to become one of the country’s most celebrated sportsmen.

The dashing batsman-wicketkeeper, who made an uninspiring one-day debut in December 2004, captained India when senior players opted out of the inaugural Twenty20 world championships in South Africa in 2007.

Dhoni and his rank outsiders went on to win the tournament and he found himself elevated to both the one-day captaincy and deputy to Test skipper Anil Kumble after Rahul Dravid resigned.

Dhoni was finally given charge for all three forms last October when Kumble called it a day, even as critics feared the excessive workload of keeping wicket and leading the team could burn him out.

But the cool, composed and supremely fit Dhoni has shrugged off any concerns, securing wins in four of his five Tests as captain, with the fifth ending in a draw.

Under him, India have won 28 of 46 one-day matches and six of 10 Twenty20 internationals, raising Dhoni to the status of cult figure in the cricket-obsessed country.

Lucrative sponsorship deals have followed — Dhoni currently endorses 19 products — and he is the highest-paid home star in the Indian Premier League with a 1.5-million-dollar-a-year contract with the Chennai Super Kings.

Dhoni’s India begin the New Zealand tour next week buoyed by victories in the recent home Test series against Australia and England, and a 4-1 rout of hosts Sri Lanka in a one-day series.

But Daniel Vettori’s New Zealand, playing on home soil, will test the Indian team’s mettle.

History is also against the tourists — India last won a Test series in New Zealand 41 years ago, when Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi’s team prevailed 3-1.

On the previous tour of New Zealand, in December 2002, India lost both Tests inside three days with totals of 161, 121, 99 and 154 in the four innings on bowler-friendly seaming wickets.

The Black Caps also went on to win the one-day series 5-2.

Only six players in the touring squad have played a Test in New Zealand before — Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Dravid, Venkatsai Laxman, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh.

India’s back-breaking itinerary of two Twenty20 internationals, followed by five one-day matches and three Tests, does not include a single practice match to acclimatise to the conditions.

“It’s going to be a big challenge,” Tendulkar, a veteran of six New Zealand tours, admitted to reporters last week.

“Ours is a fairly new team and playing in New Zealand is a completely different experience from what most are used to.”

India, who arrive in New Zealand on February 20, open the tour with the two Twenty20 matches in Christchurch (Feb 25) and Wellington (Feb 27).

The five one-dayers will be played between March 3-14 before the first Test starts in Hamilton on March 18.

The remaining two Tests will be played in Napier (March 26-30) and Wellington (April 3-7).

Tourism Auckland has invited Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni for a bungy jump from atop the city’s Harbour Bridge during the upcoming tour of New Zealand commencing later this month.

The tourism department of the New Zealand city said in a media release that the flamboyant cricketer, known for his penchant for fast bike rides in his hometown Ranchi, was welcome to take up the challenge in his free time on the tour to take the 40-metre plunge as a “stress buster”.

Tourism Auckland’s Chief Executive Graeme Osborne said that he wanted the Indian players to “experience the best of what Auckland has to offer and a bungy off our iconic harbour bridge is a superb way to see the city in all its glory”.

International celebrities, including pop music bands AC/DC and U2, apart from the world’s number one golfer Tiger Woods and England football ace David Beckham have bungy-jumped from the Auckland Harbour Bridge, the release added.

India are to play the fifth and final ODI against New Zealand in Auckland on March 14.

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and star off-spinner Harbhajan Singh will get special honours during the annual BCCI Awards Ceremony on February 18.

BCCI secretary N Srinivasan said in a statement that Dhoni, who received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and Padma Shri, will get a special award.

Similarly, Harbhajan too will be felicitated for taking 300 Test wickets and receiving the Padma Shri.

The function will commemorate the outstanding performers of the 2007-08 season.

The BCCI had earlier announced that former Test star GR Viswanath will receive the CK Nayudu award, while opener Virender Sehwag will get the Polly Umrigar Award.

This year’s Madhavrao Scindia Award Will go to Saurashtra run-machine Cheteshwar Pujara and Uttar Pradesh pacer Sudeep Tyagi, with each getting Rs one lakh.

The BCCI also announced the MA Chidambaram Trophy for under-15, under-17, under-19 and under-22 categories with the winners getting Rs 50,000.

Former India captain Mithali Raj was named Best Woman Cricketer while MD Thirushkamini of Tamil Nadu won the award in the junior category. Both will get Rs 50,000 each.

List of the awardees:

CK Nayudu Award: GR Viswanath (Rs. 15 lakhs)

Polly Umrigar Award: Virender Sehwag (Rs 5lakh)

Madhavrao Scindia Award (Batsman): Cheteshwar Pujara

Madhavrao Scindia Award (Bowler): Sudeep Tyagi

MA Chidambaram Trophy (Under-15): Ankit Bawane (Maharashtra)

MA Chidambaram Trophy (Under-17): Mandeep Singh (Punjab)

MA Chidambaram Trophy (Under-19): Bhuvneshwar Kumar (UP)

MA Chidambaram Trophy (Under-22): Rahul Dewan (Delhi)

MA Chidambaram Trophy (Best Woman Cricketer): Mithali Raj

MA Chidambaram Trophy (Best Junior Woman Cricketer): MD Thirushkamini

Special Awards:

Maharashtra: Best Overall Performance in the 2007-08 season.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni: For receiving the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and Padma Shri

Harbhajan Singh: For taking 300 Test wickets and receiving the Padma Shri.