Niranjan

Lead-up to first Test is the key - Dhoni

MS Dhoni, the India captain, has said how his team utilise their time in Australia in the lead-up to the first Test will determine the outcome of the series. "It depends on how we prepare ourselves during the 12 days before the Test match and how we adapt to the conditions," Dhoni said. "Most of the batsmen have played there before. We are hoping we will do well there."


India have been poor starters overseas of late and have lost the first Test of the series on their previous trips to Australia, South Africa, Sri Lanka and England. But Duncan Fletcher, the India coach, said an early arrival in Australia for some of his players coupled with two warm-up games should be sufficient for the team to acclimatise to conditions. "You hope that they do adapt during that period of time. Probably it is enough," Fletcher said in Chennai ahead of the team's departure to Australia.


Australia have struggled recently, but Dhoni said this was not necessarily India's best chance to win a Test series in Australia, and that he would rather work on his side's strengths and weaknesses than concentrate on the opposition's form. "Even last time [in 2007-08] we had a very good chance and we did really perform well. It is not that if the opposition is not doing well it will be a best chance for us. We have to play to the level of the kind of talent that we have got and not worry about such things. We are more concerned about what we need to work on and are not too worried about what kind of opposition we are playing.


"Some people think that the last Australian team was much better than the current Australian side. Some of the present players were not part of the 2008 side. To judge them is quite a difficult task. Anil Kumble was part of our side [then]. The spinners coming into the team now are not as experienced as Anil. It applies to the Australian team also. They had big players like Adam Gilchrist and others.


"[Because they are] missing big names in the present setup, some people think that this is our best chance. But we did well that time also and quite a few things happened in the series. Most of you watched that. We will try to keep such things away. We are a good side and we need to do well on the field."

Fletcher agreed with Dhoni about the need for India to focus on their own game but added that Australia had some good players who were currently out of form and India would do well to keep things that way.


Zaheer Khan, who is returning after a long injury lay-off, will be crucial if India are to put pressure on the Australia line-up and Fletcher said that he did not want to rush his premier fast bowler back. "From the reports that I get, Zaheer had come to Mumbai and bowled in the nets there and he looked impressive. I think it is very important to be careful; he looked to be in very good condition even when he came to England.


"He has got through two games [in the Ranji Trophy, for Mumbai]. It will be ideal preparation for him. We do not want to rush him back too quickly. The one three-day game there will be important for him before the first Test."

Fletcher was also upbeat about Ishant Sharma, who was among the players who departed early for Australia. "He has had a nice rest. He was totally free from injury when he finished the Test match in Mumbai [against West Indies]. He has gone out there fresh. It is important that they have little breaks between series. Everything that we have heard so far is that they are ready to go."


Though seamers Praveen Kumar and Varun Aaron will be missing the tour due to injury, Dhoni was optimistic about the chances of his bowling attack. "If you see the injury list, it is quite blank as of now. More often than not, [of the] the 15 or 16 who are selected [in the squad] everybody will be ready for selection [in the XI]. That takes a bit of pressure off and you need not worry about the playing XI that much as most of the players get their berths on merit.


"Apart from that, the batting line-up is quite the same. Bowling-wise, Zaheer is back. We have got Umesh Yadav who can bowl over 140kph. I think it looks like a good pack."


Dhoni said he was not worried about the fact that only two of his bowlers had played more than 15 Tests as it was more important to have in-form bowlers than experienced ones.


"R Ashwin has just made his debut in the series against West Indies while Harbhajan Singh has played in 98 Test matches and is one of the leading wicket-takers for India," Dhoni said. "Nobody knew what Ashwin can do. But he ended up winning the Man-of-the-Series in the Tests. This is something that Duncan said that we have to be careful about. Just because the big names are not there, it does not mean the bowling attack is weak. Even when Shane Warne or Glenn McGrath made their debut they started from zero wickets. You may be having a [potentially] great bowler, who may be just starting his career and playing the first few games."

__________________
Grand Master - Checkmate

Niranjan

Vinay Kumar confident ahead of Australia tour

Vinay Kumar, the India seamer, has said he is confident of adapting to playing conditions in Australia and believes he is good enough to play Test cricket. A regular in the ODI squad over the last couple of years, Vinay was included in India's Test squad for the first time when he was named as a last minute replacement for the injured Varun Aaron for the tour of Australia.

"I have been to Australia earlier on three occasions with the Karnataka team, and once with India A," Vinay told the Indian Express. "So the place is not new to me and I know the conditions. I don't think adapting will be a problem for me.

"I know I am good enough to play in the longer formats. In 2007, I was the highest wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy and repeated the feat two years later. I really enjoy bowling long spells. I will have to adjust my line and length in Australia. Hopefully, I will get to play in the practice games and I will bank on my previous experience in Australia.

He is not taking anything for granted though, and plans to speak to former India players about what it takes to succeed at the highest level of the game. "I will speak to former medium-pacers like Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad who know what it takes to excel at the international level. The India team bowling coach Eric Simons has been of great help and the same goes for coach Duncan Fletcher. Fletcher has told me in the past that I have the game for Test cricket."

Asked about this potential as an allrounder, Vinay said it was important for everyone down to No.11 to be able to bat. "I started my career as a batsman. Today, even the No. 11 needs to be a decent bat. Last year, Ishant [Sharma] had a partnership with VVS Laxman in the Mohali Test against Australia, which helped us win the game. It was a wake-up call for every bowler, with regard to how valuable a contribution with the bat can be.

__________________
Grand Master - Checkmate

Niranjan

11 more Days

__________________
Grand Master - Checkmate

Niranjan

On top Down Under: Sachin in Australia


Mumbai, Dec 12: Allan Border, Craig McDermott and Merv Hughes saw him play in Australia while he was still in his teens. Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Mark Waugh battled against him in his prime. Steve Waugh, Damien Martyn and Stuart MacGill applauded his feats. Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist cheered him on in what they believed would be his last tour of their country. And as Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon and James Pattinson get ready to play India for the first time in their fledgling international careers, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar remains the only constant between touring Indian sides to Australia between 1991-’92 and 2011-’12.

Like Sunil Gavaskar before him against the West Indies, Tendulkar has made his performances count against the best side of his time, Australia, both home and away. The Indian legend averages an impressive 60.59 against the Australians over a span of 31 Test matches vis-à-vis a career average of 56.02. Playing away from home, in Australia, Tendulkar has been as prolific, having scored 1522 runs from 16 Test matches at the hugely impressive average of 58.53. Additionally, he has six centuries and five half-centuries to go with his formidable record in the proud cricketing nation that gave us Don Bradman. In terms of his individual record against the all-conquering Australians, Tendulkar sits ahead of his peers by quite some distance:

__________________
Grand Master - Checkmate

Niranjan

But just like a boundary may be scored off the inside edge as well as the middle of the bat, statistics alone never tell the impact made by a player during an innings. Tendulkar’s cricketing performances in Australia, similarly, warrant a more qualitative analysis.

When he toured Australia for the very first time in 1991-’92 as a precocious teenager, Sachin Tendulkar was one of the few bright sparks in a series that India lost 4-0. Only 18 years old then, Sachin hit two centuries on that tour; 148* at Sydney followed by 114 at Perth. While Sachin is often known to value the Perth innings as his best, the great Australian Richie Benaud rated the Sydney innings as ‘flawless’, more so because at 18 years and 256 days, Sachin became the youngest player ever to score a Test century in Australia. It is a record that stands to this day.

The disappointment of 1991-’92 was followed by an even more dismal tour of 1999-’00 where India suffered the ignominy of a whitewash (3-0). Yet Tendulkar came away from that series with his head held high. Saddled with the additional responsibility of captaincy, Tendulkar struck 278 runs from six innings, a performance which won him the Man-of-the-Series award. Tendulkar’s form stood in stark contrast to that of the other Indian batsmen who kept India’s average innings’ score in that series down to a mere 207 runs. To put things in perspective, in England earlier this year, when an injury-hampered India lost the Test series 4-0 to the hosts, India’s average innings score was a far healthier 256.

Then came the 2003-’04 tour when a struggling Tendulkar found the most improbable solution to get back to top form. Wiser from five previous dismissals in the series which saw him aggregate a mere 82 runs, Tendulkar stopped himself from offering a shot to anything remotely pitched on or outside the off stump. The result was a mammoth individual score of 241* at Sydney, characterised by abstinence rather than heroics.
2007-’08 was a memorable affair as the Indian legend carved the Australian attack for 493 runs from eight innings with hundreds at Sydney (154*) and Adelaide (153). However, while the Australians reeled under his onslaught in Tests, Tendulkar saved his best for the CB Series finals. With a maiden ODI century in Australia (117*), followed by an innings of 91, Tendulkar gave India their first ever tri-series win Down Under.

The ultimate vindication for Tendulkar’s standing as a batsman without equal in the Australian consciousness, though, can be heard in the country’s three most influential cricketing voices.

Not only did Bradman famously compare the Indian batsman to himself, he also considered Tendulkar to be the only international player from the current generation to be good enough to make it to his all-time XI. Richie Benaud, in an exercise similar to Bradman’s, included Sachin at No. 5 in his Greatest XI. Finally, Shane Warne, Tendulkar’s peer for most part of the latter’s career, saved Sachin the top spot on his list of 50 greatest cricketers. Warne even said of Tendulkar, “Outside grounds [in India], people wait until [Tendulkar] goes in before paying to enter […] [Tendulkar] grew up under the incredible weight of expectation and never buckled once – not under poor umpiring decisions or anything else.”

It is a tribute, too, to Tendulkar’s genius that he alone has managed to unite three generations of Australian greats thanks to their shared opinion of him.

All stats in the article as are as on December 12, 2011

__________________
Grand Master - Checkmate

Krishna

Dhoni and Co. reach Australia



The remaining members of the Indian cricket team, led by skipper MS Dhoni, Tuesdayday arrived in Australia to play the Test series starting December 26.
The players, including Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli, Zaheer Khan and coach Duncan Fletcher had left Chennai for Australia on Monday.

As soon as they landed in Melbourne, the team left for Canberra on a bus.

India are scheduled to play two warm-up matches against Cricket Australia Chairman's XI at Manuka Oval in Canberra -- first on December 15-16 and the second a three-day game from December 19 to 21.

"Different vibe in Australia. Lovin it though! Off to Canberra 3 hour drive. Not good after 13 hours of travelling," tweeted Kohli.

The batsman even posted a rather tired-looking picture of himself on his account. " On the way to Canberra!!! Sleepy as you can see," he wrote.

Seven members of the Indian squad -- Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Wriddhiman Saha and Pragyan Ojha -- are already in Australia in a bid to get acclimatised to the conditions ahead of the gruelling Test series which begins on December 26.

They had left India on December 8 and were training in Melbourne.

India are scheduled to play four Test matches, beginning from December 26, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, besides two Twenty20 Internationals and a triangular ODI series involving Sri Lanka.

The remaining Test matches are going to be held in Sydney (Jan 3-Jan 7), Perth (Jan 13-Jan 17) and Adelaide (Jan 24 to Jan 28).

http://www.espnstar.com/cricket/inte...ach-Australia/

__________________

Krishna

Marsh ruled out of Boxing Day Test

Australia were dealt a blow when opener Shaun Marsh was ruled out of the first Test against India as he is yet to recover from his lower back injury.
Marsh has been virtually ruled out of the first Test, starting December 26 and Shane Watson has been brought to Melbourne early to assess his fitness.

Hopes that Marsh, who is averaging 56.80 after just three Tests, would return at the MCG from the lower back injury he sustained last month in Cape Town all but evaporated when he was ruled out of the second Chairman's XI match against India to be played at Canberra's Manuka Oval from December 19-21.

Cricket Australia's general manager team performance Pat Howard conceded the left-hander basically had run out of time.

"While we are hopeful, Shaun's chances of recovering sufficiently in order to be considered for the first Vodafone Test against India are considered unlikely at this stage," Howard said in a CA statement.

Watson, who was recovering from his hamstring problem and a minor calf muscle strain, is unlikely to be able to bowl even if he is passed fit to return in the first Test. He has also not played any competitive game in more than a month.

Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey are though expected to retain their places despite their poor recent form.

The 30-year-old Watson hurt his hamstring in Australia's Test victory in Johannesburg last month and a mild calf strain last week further delayed his comeback.

"At the moment things are progressing well. Hopefully if everything continues to go well I'll definitely be fully fit to play on Boxing Day," Watson was quoted as saying by 'Sydney Morning Herald'.

Watson is expected to resume bowling in the nets next week but needs a fortnight of work under his belt before he has the conditioning required at Test level. That means Michael Clarke will have to wait until the second Test in Sydney from January 2 before he will have the all-rounder's invaluable seamers back at his disposal.

"If my body continues to progress the way I hope it does, that's more of a realistic goal without being too crazy," Watson said.

Coach and selector Mickey Arthur said the time had come for a decision to be made about Watson's long-term position in the batting order.

There is a view Watson would be better suited lower down the order to reduce the effect the physical and mental demands of bowling have on his batting.

"I think we've got to come to a point now where we make a decision on where Shane is going to bat in the batting order and how many overs we expect of Shane so there can be no more debate around the issue," Arthur said.

"We probably need to give him role definition before the Boxing Day Test match," he said.


Cricket | Marsh ruled out of Boxing Day Test | ESPNSTAR.com

__________________

Niranjan

Yuvraj targets return for Australia one-dayers


Yuvraj Singh, the India batsman who is recovering from a non-malignant lung tumour, is targetting a comeback during the limited-overs matches in Australia in February 2012. Yuvraj said he had resumed training and would be able to start "practising like normal" after a week.


"I will be ready for the one-dayers in Australia," Yuvraj told the Times of India. "I just can't wait to have that India logo on my shirt again. I want to wear that India cap again."

It has been a year of highs and lows for Yuvraj. He was the Player of the Tournament during India's 2011 World Cup victory and that performance raised hopes of a Test comeback. An injury kept him out of the tour of the West Indies, though, and his series in England was cut short by a finger injury sustained during the Nottingham Test. Yuvraj was then left out of the Test squad for the final match of the home series against West Indies in November. He asked the BCCI to not consider him for selection for the home ODIs against West Indies because he wanted time to regain fitness.


Yuvraj said he had been troubled by bouts of coughing and vomiting since the World Cup but had ignored the problem during the tournament, "assuming it was due to stress." Subsequent tests revealed "a golf-ball sized" growth on his left lung and Yuvraj was told it could be malignant.

"I was living my biggest dream, winning the World Cup and taking the Man-of-the-Tournament trophy too; and then I got to know that I had a tumour in my lung," he said. "I just couldn't understand how life could serve me both at virtually the same time … 2010 had already been bad for me. I had to fight one injury after another. And this [the tumour] came."

Yuvraj still went on India's disastrous tour of England but said he found it difficult to focus. "The non-playing days were tough. But once I was on the field, I forgot everything. The pain, the fear vanished." The finger injury ended Yuvraj's tour but he said his body needed a break by that time. "I needed rest. That's when I realised the big truth: I can't fight time. I can't fight my own body."

Yuvraj went through several rounds of medical procedures in order to ascertain the exact nature of the tumour, which was found to be non-malignant. "For the first time in a long while, I had a big smile on my face … it feels different, it's like a new life for me. It's almost like I am starting all over again.

"Enjoy all its [life's] small successes and sweet moments. I also realized that health is the most important thing. Money, fame, cars, and adulation … they all count for nothing. I just want to be 100% fit."

__________________
Grand Master - Checkmate

EL Mariachi

Mostly 1st testinnu lavanmar batting highway prepare cheyumayirikkum... their batsmen are short of form...

__________________

Don ko sirf 11 mulkon ki police hi nahi , main bhi doond raha hun. Mujhe RaOne ka paisa waapas chaahiye .

EL Mariachi

Already pani kittunna lakshanam annu... Looks like Ishant Sharma is injured


Fast bowler Ishant Sharma came from the field twice during the first session of India’s tour match against a Chairman’s XI side in Canberra today.

India broke through for a second wicket before the interval to have the Chairman’s team 2-53 at lunch on the first day of the two-day contest at Manuka Oval.

There was no word from the Indian camp on whether Sharma is struggling with an injury or the measures are purely precautionary.

Advertisement: Story continues below Sharma bowled the first over of the match before leaving the field, and appeared to look at the Indian physiotherapist and point to his foot.

The 23-year-old didn’t appear hampered at all when he returned to the action a few overs later and resumed bowling.However, the more alarming moment came three balls into his sixth over and about half an hour before lunch, when Sharma took his hat from the umpire and walked off.

__________________

Don ko sirf 11 mulkon ki police hi nahi , main bhi doond raha hun. Mujhe RaOne ka paisa waapas chaahiye .