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In the hunt for a victory to level the series, India found the spoiler to its well-founded dreams in the form of weather gods that wrecked damage on the day four of the second test between India and South Africa. Play had just started at 10.30 a.m. and a delayed lunch at 1.45 p.m. saw the gloom darken, forcing the players to remain indoors, as the play again resumed only at 3.20 p.m. India, so far, in its quest to maintain the home record as well as keep the No 1 ICC test ranking to itself had removed two architects of the South African batting line-up, as both Smith and Kallis were outwitted, and the first innings hero and debutant Alviro Petersen also fell cheaply. But, Hashim Amla on 49, in top notch form held forte, and being dismissed only once in this test series, Indian think tanks will have to come out with a novel idea to get the better of this man on the fifth and final day. The weather forecast for Thursday remains to be encouraging for the Indians, and in theory, Indian

VVS Lakshman, with a brilliant 143 and M.S Dhoni notching up 132 played their roles to perfection as the South Africans felt the heat when the pair consolidated India’s position on the third day of the second cricket test between India and South Africa. The South Africans were not their usual self, as the visiting team dropped many catches, with the seventh wicket partnership between Lakshman and Dhoni registering 259 runs, taking the total lead to 347. It must have been a declaration made from sheer instincts, as Dhoni declared the innings and let the South Africans face five deliveries, who were 6 for no loss, before play was called off owing to poor light. Earlier, the day had plenty to offer as both India and South Africa were expected to battle it out to take control of the second test. Lakshman, the artistic wonder, played some lovely flicks and drives to the delight of the audience with Amit Mishra proving to be a thorn in the South African flesh. Dropped by Kallis, Amit Mishr

Sachin is ageing, but like wine, with his stints at the crease providing the testimonial evidence, as he can be best described as a phenomenon in the world of cricket. The second day of the Eden Gardens test between India and South Africa witnessed classical centuries from the Master, Sachin Tendulkar, and from the breezy Shewag as India were 342 for 5 at the close of second day’s play. A blistering 165 from just 174 deliveries by Shewag and a crafty 106 from Tendulkar saw India wrestle advantage from the South Africans, though a late comeback brightened the hopes of South Africa. India lost three wickets in quick succession, as Tendulkar, Shewag and Badrinath were back in the pavilion, within a space of three runs. Earlier the South Africans put on 30 runs, after resuming play at 266 for 9, when Zaheer Khan struck for the Indians with the wicket of Wayne Parnell. Zaheer with figures of four for 90 and Harbajan with three for 64 tasted maximum success with the ball. The visitors pl

South Africa seemed to be sailing pretty, as they were well placed at 218 for one, after Graeme Smith had won the toss and elected to bat. With Hashim Amla (114) and debutant Alviro Petersen (100) exhibiting a sparkling batting display, South Africa seemed to be cruising along to reach a comfortable total to scuttle an Indian victory, and with it to re-conquer the Number 1 spot concerned with the ICC Test rankings. But Zaheer Khan and Harbajan Singh had different ideas altogether, as Zaheer sent both the centurions back to the pavilion with Harbajan scalping three victims. India, with the influence of the electrified atmosphere at the Eden Gardens that worked to is advantage reduced South Africa to 266 for 9, when stumps were drawn for the day. The pitch offering enough bounce produced a marked influence on Zaheer Khan, as he sent the off-stump of the South African captain, cart-wheeling, but, both Ishant and Zaheer failed to be consistent to produce a significant impact during the

Both Dhoni, captain of the Indian team, and Smith, the South African captain on separate occasions have alluded to the IPL cricket, which according to them has lent a helping hand to the foreign teams to get adapted to the Indian conditions in a better way. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who represents the Chennai Super Kings for the IPL tourney opined that the South Africa’s first test win over India at Nagpur resulted from some fine batting display on the part of South Africa, and particularly batsmen handling the spin attack proved to be the decisive factor for South Africa to clinch the test match, which according to him was made possible due to the exposure to spin bowling as while playing in the IPL. Graeme Smith, on the other hand, who plays for the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, was quick to admit that the South African team had made a study of Indian cricketers from footages related to the Indian Premier League, ahead of the test that had commenced at the Eden Gardens. It becomes e

Shoib Mallik is a worked up victim of accusations after having been blamed by skipper Mohammad Yousuf as one of the players who had let the team down with sketchy performances. Mallik has now decided to battle it out with Yousuf in the open, after his name has been dragged into the muck. The former captain is in no mood to accept this blame game after Yousuf had ruffled his feathers by coming out in the open to accuse him of his shoddy performance, which had been one among the many reasons for the disastrous defeat at the hands of the mighty Australians. He has instead vowed to expose Yousuf to the public eye, and has gone as far as to say that Yousuf had attacked him after he was made the captain for the Twenty 20 matches against Australia. He has reiterated that he has been a team man all along and that he hadn’t muddied the dressing-room atmosphere, as he has opined that the allegations made are utterly baseless. Earlier, Yousuf had accused Mallik of exhibiting disrespect for th

Hurt by the ligament damage to one of his fingers, Graeme Smith is a doubtful starter for the second test starting from February 14 at Kolkata. At a fielding practice session, Smith had injured the little finger pertaining to his left hand, and the swelling could force him to miss the test, though the medical team had expressed their confidence about the subsiding of the swelling. Meanwhile, VVS Laxman will again don the Indian cap in this second test at Kolkata after the recovery from that of a finger injury. This elegant and key middle-order batsman is expected to strengthen the Indian batting brigades, which is still missing the services of ‘The Wall’, Rahul Dravid, as well that of the flamboyant Yuvraj Singh. South Africa thrashing India in the first test will again grab the number one spot as with Test ranking if they manage to hold the Indians at bay during the second test. The first test between the two countries witnessed stellar performances from Jacques Kallis, who made 1

After the humiliating defeat at the hands of the mighty Australians, the Pakistan Cricket Board is looking for a new coach for the Pakistan Cricket team, and there have been speculations indicating Greg Chappell to fill the spot as replacement for Intikhab Alam, the present Pakistan Cricket team coach. The PCB insiders have hinted that the pathetic performance of the team entwined with increasing indiscipline could catapult Greg Chappell to the post owing to his worthy credentials that reflect a tough taskmaster in Greg Chappell. Though no official word trumpeting the appointment of a foreign coach has been heard, the word from the horse’s mouth, as from Wasim Bari, the Chief Operating Officer of the PCB has provided clear notions as to the intentions of PCB, as the board stays open to all options for the nonce. Greg Chappell on the other hand expressed his keenness to don the mantle of a coach for the Pakistan Cricket team and to join the team as their official coach before the Pa

The former Pakistan skipper, Shoaib Mallik will don the role of a captain again as he has been chosen to lead the Pakistan team in the Twenty 20 contest against Australia, which is scheduled to take place on February 5 at Melbourne. This decision comes at the wake of a match ban imposed upon Shahid Afridi, the regular T 20 captain, who was reprimanded for a ball-tampering incident that took place at the last of the ODIs at Perth. Mallik becomes the third captain in this Australian tour after Afridi and Yousuf, the captain for the test team, who doesn’t figure in the Twenty 20 squad. Another ace Pakistan cricketer with rich experience, Younus Khan, had earlier announced his retirement from the T 20 format after the 2009 World Twenty 20 victory. Kamran Akmal had also been overlooked, after he didn’t find a place in the final ODI at Perth. Mallik had earlier captained Pakistan in all of the three formats of the game, as he had captained the side for three tests and for 36 ODIs, after