A wonderful 100th test wins for the Indian team at Kanpur. A good all-round display from the players took India to a massive victory which gave them a good advantage in the test series. There have been lot of records in this game and to list a few are Dravid crossed Allan record and more u\runs scored in a day and a very good opening partnership for the Indians. It all started right from the time of toss when the India captain won the toss and elected to bat. It was a flat track and the curator is the only nervous person in the world when the match started since he went under lot of criticism during the South African tour to India. The duo from Delhi gave India a solid start and they stroked the ball very well to get 400+ in day 1 of test cricket. The home side capitalized the start given by the openers and finally the Indians had 600 + runs in the board which is a mammoth total. When Sri Lankans came in to bat their most expected and dangerous batsmen Dilshan gone very first ball by giving a catch to debutant Ojha of a delivery from Zaheer. Then it was all Sreesanth who is left out of International cricket for 18 months came back strongly in to the side with five wickets in first innings. His length was good and he made the ball to reverse and Indians got a very good first innings lead and the visitors were forced to follow on by the India captain. Then it was completely spinners who closed things in style. The home side gone 1-0 up in the series and I will be back with my review of the third test at Mumbai.
The Indians have failed to capitalize on a flat track and finished with a decent score to defend and everyone felt it was a good score. But the way Lankan batsmen played was amazing and it’s obvious that Indian batsmen failed to do that. The second day started for the Indians like the previous day and they have bowled out for 426 just adding less than 50 runs to the overnight total. The visitors have started the day strongly with Dilshan scoring his tenth test century and well supported by the other batsmen. Zaheer took two wickets in quick session which gave some hopes of recovery for the team India. But the visitors ended the day on high finishing at 275 for 3 trails by just 151 runs. The classy Jayawardene and stubborn Samaraweera are at the crease and started their innings brilliantly. Let’s see how the home side execute their plans on day three and takes the lead over the visitors.
Is the wall is back? Rahul Dravid who undergone lot of criticism over the past few months have come up with a brilliant and fluent century on day one of the first test played against Sri Lanka. The Lankan pacemen rattled up the Indian top order and India was pushed to 32 for 4 at one stage. Then the partnership started growing between Yuvi and Dravid and it was fruitful for the Indian team. Once Yuvi got out, then joins the Indian captain along with the wall and they took home team to a commanding position. Both together added more than 200 runs at a good run rate. Rahul Dravid reached his 27th Test century and then became the fifth cricketer to cross 11,000 runs and highest run getter in test cricket. Sachin, Lara, Ricky Ponting and Allan Border are the players who have crossed this mark and Dravid joins the elite club today. He His innings was class, technically sounded and shots of the book. He scored runs quickly and he scored his second fastest hundred in his career and the way he paced his innings was amazing. The home side ended the day on high but has lost wickets. Let’s see how Dravid going to take the team score with tailenders. Rahul Dravid innings was excellent and if he is going to carry this form for the rest of the tournament it would be a different Indian team.
The black caps have won the series in style and the entire Pakistan fans were disappointed because the game looked like it completely belong to Pakistan at one stage. Pakistan spinners kept the black caps in hunt and they have reduced the target to 212. Kiwi’s captain had won the toss and chose to bat first. McCullum again started splendidly but once the spin was introduced they have changed the game and it was all Pakistan. The total seemed to be very easy on a flat batting track and the Pakistan openers were on their way. They build a good platform but later the middle order batsmen failed to capitalize but Ameer whose bowling was excellent throughout his career shown his skills in batting because he took his team from 101 for 9 to 204. He kept everyone at their feet as he brought the chase very close but couldn’t win the game. But still the tenth wicket partnership was applauded by both the New Zealand players and as well as the small crowd left in the park. That’s the game spirit and this young man named man of the match and McCullum as man of the series. I will be back with posts about the upcoming test series between India and SriLanka. Cheers till then.
The second match between Pakistan and Kiwis at UAE was a day night match. For the first time in the series Kiwis skipper Daniel Vettori had won the toss and decided to bat first. Kiwis batting line up was not at their best in the first one dayer but when Brendon found his form the entire Kiwis line up looked to be very strong. Brendon batted splendidly and kept the Kiwis scorecard tickling and he was well supported by the iceman Guptill. During the 40th over, when Kiwis looked to set a mammoth target, Pakistani bowlers sweat hard and kept the run rate under control. The Pakistani openers were up to a good start when Salman Butt found his form and Latif carried his form from the first one dayer. They gave Pakistan a good platform and Vettori gave kiwis the first breakthrough. But all went wrong for Pakistan when Scott Styris came in to bowl and Taylor pulled a blinder to send off the Pakistani captain to the pavilion. In the same over, Afridi was also sent back in the same way and after it the game belonged to Kiwis. They bowled well, fielded well and won the game in style and kept their hopes alive for the next and final ODI. The next game is going to be a final and let’s hope for an exciting game in dessert ground at UAE.