India go ballistic

It may be an innocuous pitch, the bowling may not have been great, but 417 runs for two wickets in one day is still pretty special. Virender Sehwag‘s 131 from 122 balls was spectacular enough, but Gambhir (167 – his seventh century in nine Tests) and Dravid (85 not out) got in on the act [...]

Read Full Post »

India vs Sri Lanka: Test Series Preview

The build-up to India’s Test series with Sri Lanka has been somewhat overshadowed by the continuing coverage of Sachin Tendulkar’s 20th year in international cricket, but with top spot in the ICC Test Rankings up for grabs, the contest has much to offer. Sri Lanka’s record in India suggests that the tourists will face a [...]

Read Full Post »

Champions Trophy: Group B Preview

South Africa have always been the nearly men of 50-over cricket, but they did win the Champions Trophy back in 1998, since when they have developed a reputation as big tournament bottlers. This is South Africa’s best chance in years to win some ICC silverware, as well as to cast off the ‘chokers‘ tag. New [...]

Read Full Post »

Sri Lanka Planning their Ascent

Sri Lanka’s 2-0 series win over New Zealand now means that, if things don’t work out for South Africa against South Africa B England this winter, Kumar Sangakkara’s side could potentially end the year as the world’s top-ranked team if they win the series in India. If India were to win the series 2-0, then [...]

Read Full Post »

Sri Lanka vs New Zealand: Test Series Preview

Away from the tension, hype and seagulls (yes, honestly, seagulls) of the build-up to the final Ashes Test, New Zealand and Sri Lanka are preparing for a Test series of their own. For most of the tourists, Test cricket in Sri Lanka will be a new experience (only three members of the Black Caps’ squad [...]

Read Full Post »

Pakistan’s dead cat bounce

Yesterday’s recovery from Pakistan has proved to be somewhat of a dead cat bounce, as the tourists lost their last 9 wickets for just 35 runs (only the top three made it into double figures) to allow Sri Lanka to wrap up a historic win (and their first home series win against Pakistan) within three [...]

Read Full Post »

Sri Lanka vs Pakistan: Test Series Preview

The build-up to the imminent Test series between Sri Lanka and Pakistan may have brought up memories of two recent meetings between the sides – the recent World Twenty20 final, and of course the sadly curtailed Test series of four months ago – but there’s change afoot for both sides. For the hosts, Kumar Sangakkara [...]

Read Full Post »

Flintoff vs Pietersen

Much of the talk (in England at least) ahead of Bangalore Royal Challengers against Chennai Super Kings was of Pietersen vs Flintoff, but it was Muralitharan and Hayden who made the biggest contributions as Chennai rolled over Pietersen’s side, claiming victory by 92 runs. To be fair to Flintoff, he did hit 22 from 13 [...]

Read Full Post »

Sri Lanka pound Pakistan

Sri Lanka have ‘welcomed’ Pakistan back to Test cricket in the same way that Daily Mail readers might ‘welcome’ the invasion of their home by a burgular – by repeatedly (in Sri Lanka’s case metaphorically) bashing them over the head with a cricket bat. Most of the bashing was done by Mahela Jayawardene and Thilan [...]

Read Full Post »

Pakistan vs Sri Lanka: Test Series Preview

For Pakistan, heading into their first Test series since 2007 with a new captain, there has been much talk of fresh starts and new beginnings. A pre-series ‘isolation camp‘ spoke volumes about the perceived need for greater team spirit in the wake of Shoaib Malik’s removal/resignation as captain. For Sri Lanka, heading into their last [...]

Read Full Post »

Murali breaks the world record

Muttiah Muralitharan has finally surpassed Wasim Akram as the top wicket-taker in ODI history. The record-breaking wicket is shown in the below video.

Read Full Post »

Have India figured out Mendis?

The first time India faced the twin threat of Muralitharan and Mendis, in the Asia Cup final of July 2008, the Sri Lankans ripped through the Indian batting order. In the subsequent Test series, the ‘spin twins’ continued to cause all kinds of problems. By the time of August’s One Day series, however, there were [...]

Read Full Post »