The Return of the Wall

Rahul Dravid is set to return to One Day International cricket after being included in India’s squad for the upcoming tri-series in Sri Lanka and the autumn’s Champions Trophy. Although Dravid hasn’t played an ODI since 2007, his performances in this year’s IPL and the relative weakness of India’s middle order in the World Twenty20 [...]

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Weekend Youtube: Dhoni steals it

India looked to be up against it when they needed 34 from the last four overs (and even when they needed 11 from the final over) in yesterday’s Third ODI against the West Indies, but their captain stepped up to ease them home:

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India slump to heavy defeat

India evidently used up all their runs in the First ODI against the West Indies, as they only managed 188 at the same ground as they slumped to defeat in the second match. Of the 188, 95 were made by Dhoni, sharing a century partnership with RP Singh to rescue the tourists from the depths [...]

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West Indies vs India: One Day Series Preview

After the sugary delights of the World Twenty20, it’s back to the slightly more balanced diet of 50-over cricket for the West Indies and India with the four-match ODI series which starts tomorrow at Sabina Park. The tourists have been hit by injury (Sehwag, Raina) as well as the desire to give some key players [...]

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Abhishek Nayar and Ashish Nehra in India squad

India’s squad for their upcoming tour of the Caribbean makes interesting reading. In the absence of Sehwag and Raina (injured), Tendulkar and Zaheer (rested), and Munaf Patel and Irfan Pathan (dropped), there are one or two names that require a little mental exploration before recognition is achieved. Ashish Nehra hasn’t played for India since 2005, [...]

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ICC World Twenty20 Preview: Group A

The ICC World Twenty20 gets underway from Friday. Here’s part one of my preview: India, the defending champions, will face high expectations after emerging triumphant from the thrilling finale last time out.  The intervening years have of course seen the development of the Indian Premier League, a competition that means India’s players have a wealth [...]

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IPL 2009 Preview: Part 1

The second season of the IPL (or the first season of the SAPL, if you prefer) gets underway this weekend, so here’s the lowdown on the teams taking part: Bangalore Royal Challengers Bangalore’s main pre-season activity was the purchase of Kevin Pietersen and KP will join a host of his fellow countrymen in Kallis, Steyn [...]

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Tendulkar: still awesome

In these troubled and unpredictable times, it’s comforting to have some constant, reliable events to fall back on: Liverpool being drawn against Chelsea in the Champions League, England being rubbish at Twenty20 cricket, and Sachin Tendulkar scoring centuries. Sachin’s latest against New Zealand was his 42nd in Test cricket, and his 85th in international cricket [...]

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Solid partnership saves England

England were looking a little wobbly in their second innings of Second Test at 43/3, but arguably the two least glamourous batsmen in England’s lineup put them back on track. Strauss and Collingwood, neither of them what you might call marquee players, put on an unbroken partnership of 129 runs to leave the tourists with [...]

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Ricky’s big call

After a grinding third day when a mere 166 runs were scored, the Fourth Test between India and Australia exploded into life on the fourth day. It ended with Australia needing another 369 to win and square the series, and the target could have been much lower were it not for some ‘interesting’ tactics from [...]

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Kudos to Kumble

Anil Kumble has bowled in a Test match for the final time (see his final over here), more than 18 years after doing do for the first time. His retirement comes at a convenient time for India, with MS Dhoni and Amit Mishra seemingly ready to take over his captaincy and bowling commitments respectively, and [...]

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India prosper, Australia perspire

Gambhir and Laxman both scored double tons for India against Australia, and both were special: Gambhir’s effort showed real maturity from the new Sehwag, whilst Very Very Special‘s was very, very special. Meanwhile, Australia toiled in the field until India declared, with Brett Lee finishing the innings with figures of 1-119 and even Ponting bowling a [...]

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