Sports India

BCCI has announced the squad slated to tour Sri Lanka for a tri-series, begining from August 14. Sachin Tendulkar who has been sidelined owing to a shoulder injury has come back into the team after a gap of three months.

Dinesh Mongia, Punjab’s left-handed batsman, was also included in the series. Anil Kumble, who was the highest wicket-taker in the Test series against the West Indies was not included in the team. Zaheer khan was also not included in the squad.

The squad includes: Rahul Dravid (captain), Virender Sehwag (vice-captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Suresh Raina, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wicket-keeper), Irfan Pathan, Sreesanth, Rudra Pratap Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Romesh Powar, Munaf Patel, Ajit Agarkar and Dinesh Mongia.

Sachin Tendulkar has been included in India’s one-day squad for the forthcoming triangular tournament in Sri Lanka, along with batsman Dinesh Mongia, who has been handed a surprise recall. The pair replace Venugopal Rao, the middle order batsman, and youthful opener Robin Uthappa following disappointing tours of the West Indies.

Tendulkar has been subjected to a four-month layoff due to a shoulder-injury, but received the all-clear to play in the tournament this week after a successful spell playing cricket in England for celebrity side Lashings. Mongia’s recall is based on strong domestic performances over the last few years, both at home for Punjab and for Leicestershire in county cricket.

The triangular series, involving hosts Sri Lanka, India and South Africa, will take place between Monday 14 and Tuesday 29 August, with all seven matches scheduled to take place in Colombo.

India Squad
Rahul Dravid (captain), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Suresh Raina, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Irfan Pathan, Sreesanth, Harbhajan Singh, Ramesh Powar, Ajit Agarkar, Munaf Patel, Rudra Pratap Singh, Dinesh Mongia

India batsman Mohammad Kaif is confident about his side’s prospects ahead of the forthcoming tour of Sri Lanka.

India face the hosts and South Africa in a one-day international tri-series, and Kaif believes they will go into the series in a good frame of mind.

“We’ve got a training camp coming up in a few days’ time,'’ he told News TV.

“Hopefully we can go there and regroup as a team, as a squad. We’ll train hard, see how we go from there and make some plans for the tour.'’

Kaif believes that the Indians have the measure of the islanders after their recent contests.

“We have done well against Sri Lanka when they toured here last year,'’ said the 25-year-old.

“They must be keeping the same in their mind. They are a good side obviously when they play at home, but we have been there before and we have played well recently so we have got the confidence.”

Click Here to get your England and Australia Replica shirts

For Young Muslims across India, Mohammad Kaif is more than just a sporting icon. He is a symbol of achievement and outspokenness.

Now, while some politicians use the Mumbai blasts to score political points and polarise the country even more, Kaif has spoken out against those who carried out the blasts thinking it would get Mumbai and the country down.

“We have shown that we are united. These kinds of incidents will not be able to stop the country’s progress,” said Kaif on Saturday.

It is not the first time that Mohammad Kaif has taken a position on national issues. The Allahabad-born paceman who’s in terrific form, is known to speak his mind on issues beyond cricket.

On the blasts, his strong position follows Tendulkar’s, who has joined hands with other Mumbai celebrities to record a message against this kind of violence.

“It is very tragic as lots of people have lost their life. But the way people are fighting back. It seems they have come out of the shock – they were back on the trains the next day. It shows that we are not giving up – everyone is there supporting each other,” he said.

Kaif’s straight talking will not help politicians who would like to use the Mumbai blasts to typecast the Muslim community.

“We have shown those who are behind the blasts that India is going forward everyday and every month – no one can stop it. (Those who are behind the blasts) won’t be able to achieve their aim,” Kaif declared.

And though the all rounder isn’t mentioning any political party or politician directly, it’s quite clear he’s as upset with them as he is with those behind the blasts.

Dismissed for 200 on the opening day of the fourth Test, India struck back strongly on the second morning here at Sabina Park. Sreesanth uprooted the dangerous Chris Gayle’s off-peg in the first over as the left-hander played inside the line. Nought for one.

The first runs on Saturday came in the fourth over when Daren Ganga edged Munaf Patel at catchable height between second and third slip. Brian Lara, who walked out at three in place of the injured Sarwan, pulled, cover-drove, and glanced Sreesanth, whose radar seemed to lose calibration.

On Friday, Rahul Dravid kept India in the game with an innings that commingled great mental control and the highest levels of defensive play. Having decided to bat, the right move considering his team’s composition, the skipper saw his openers dismissed in the first 20 minutes.

“The wicket was challenging to bat on,” said Dravid. “The ball stopped and came on, and in the morning it seamed around a bit. We expected to play out that juice in the wicket. The idea (behind batting first) was to get them batting fourth against two quality spinners.”

Uneven bounce

There was enough surface moisture and uneven bounce to make life difficult. Dravid and Laxman played out the period till lunch with utmost caution. Runs came at under one an over — the West Indies bowlers bowled excellent lines to deny India’s batsmen room.

With neither the quickest between wickets, the sharp single — a lifeline on such a track — never made an appearance. India made 29 off 29 overs in the first session: as tough as the track was, and as disciplined as the bowling was, India should have turned over the strike better, and scored at least 25 more.

“I think we did well to bat out till lunch,” said Dravid. “The key was to get through the new ball. Unfortunately we lost Laxman immediately after the break.” The 31-year-old played a slack stroke outside off to be held at gully; the painstakingly put-together foundation was ruined. Yuvraj Singh began to strike it sweet — no little achievement considering everyone else struggled with timing.

A critical juncture had arrived: Yuvraj needed to stay with his skipper to ensure a score of near 300 — a total that would give India early control. But, Jerome Taylor, much like he had in the third Test, removed both Yuvraj and Mohammad Kaif.

Middle-order collapse

The 22-year-old quick did the duo in with the two-card trick; except, he needed only a card for each. A sharp yorker beat Yuvraj’s lofty back-lift and hit shoe, as the left-hander limped off. Kaif was given a bouncer that lifted.

“I think we lost a wicket too many in the middle order,” said Dravid. “A couple of partnerships would have helped us get to 250-260 which is a good score on this wicket.”

Dhoni slashed fatally, to leave India at 91 for six. Anil Kumble, who averages over 25 in his last ten Tests, made his second successive forty to give his skipper crucial support, putting on 93 in 29.2 overs for the seventh wicket, and falling two deliveries before the second new ball was due. The innings drew high praise from Dravid.

The Indian captain, who thrillingly pulled Taylor twice before lunch, flipped and off-drove in the five-and-a-half hour knock marked by the soft-handed defensive stroke.

“It’s not a score we’ll be happy with, but we fought back well from 92 for six,” said Dravid. “It’s a fighting score. This innings gave me great satisfaction because it was one of the most challenging purely from a batting point of view.”

Taylor cleaned up the tail to finish with his first five-wicket haul in Test cricket.

Among the Indian cricketers, brows furrowed, and worry lines creased. A couple of pairs of weary shoulders dropped. The broadcast technicians had raced on to the field at a noisy Sabina Park twenty minutes earlier to replace their precious stump-camera-laden middle pegs with ordinary wooden substitutes: a procedure they follow in anticipation of an impending stump-grabbing victory celebration.

They were convinced, with West Indies 180 for eight chasing 269, that the end was nigh. Except, no one told Denesh Ramdin. After tea on the third day of the incredible blink-you-miss-it fourth Test, Rahul Dravid’s India had put itself within a gossamer strand of victory; the skipper was two wickets away from joining Ajit Wadekar (1971) as only the second Indian to have lead his side to a series win in the Caribbean.

Tactic fraught with risk

Dravid, who walked on water for his two defining half-centuries and picked up the Man of the Match award, then had his first bit of indecision. He chose to spread his field for Ramdin — retaining a slip and a short-leg — allowing the West Indian wicket-keeper the single early in the over.

It’s a tactic fraught with risk against a shrewd batsman. As a captain you are telling him, “I’m not trying to get you out; let me have a look at your partner’. If he can farm the strike by picking the fourth ball for a single, and choosing the delivery to hit, the batsman, can make a fool of this tactic. As Ramdin did for nearly ten extremely tense overs for the Indians. “Our bowlers were really keen to have a crack at their tail-enders,” said Dravid.

“I wanted to see what Ramdin would do. I was thinking as the partnership developed whether I had done the right thing by spreading it early. But, I thought he played some fantastic shots to be honest. It was also a case of us trying too hard, which is natural when you’ve got only the last two.”

Ramdin backed himself, and went after India’s experienced, world-class spinners. The 21-year-old thought little of exposing his stumps and cutting behind point, or sweeping on length from bent knee. The short ones that came as a consequence of the attack were pulled, as Harbhajan went for 41 off six overs.

Ramdin on-drove Kumble to bring up his 50, and deposited the venerable leg-spinner over long-on. This was getting dangerous. Fortunately, India had, in Anil Kumble, the very man it needed.

Where the callow would have tried too hard, the 35-year-old pegged away at the stumps. In the penultimate designated over of the day, he trapped Collins in front, and a ball later, had Collymore caught at the wicket to finish with six for 78.

The reserves rushed out to join the throbbing huddle, as hugs were exchanged and hair pulled. It’s not every day that history of such magnitude is scripted and that in a match that saw 40 wickets fall in nine sessions.

It was India’s third Test win in under three days! Harbhajan Singh lifted coach Greg Chappell off the dressing room floor, while Mohammad Kaif tried hoisting Dravid. Ramdin trooped off with an unbeaten 62 (85 balls, 8 x 4, 1 x 6).

The only time other West Indies threatened was when Ramnaresh Sarwan and Dwayne Bravo added 70 for the sixth wicket in 16.4 overs.

Sarwan batted beautifully, his injured left knee not hampering his balance when driving. But, the spry right-hander got a dish from Sreesanth that moved away.

Bravo swung across Kumble’s line, as the pair left within an over of each other.

The big catch for India was skipper Brian Lara. The 37-year-old could, in a prolonged moment of genius, have controlled the pursuit of 269 — bear in mind the highest successful chase here is 212 (West Indies v Sri Lanka, 2003) — but Munaf Patel, so splendid this series, trapped him in an error of misjudgement of length.

“In a low scoring game, 49 is quite a big margin,” said Man of the Series Dravid. As is 1-0.

SCOREBOARD

India — 1st innings: 200.

West Indies — 1st innings: 103.

India — 2nd innings: W. Jaffer c (sub) Morton b Taylor 1, V. Sehwag lbw b Taylor 4, V.V.S. Laxman c Lara b Collymore 16, R. Dravid b Collymore 68, Y. Singh c Lara b Collymore 13, M. Kaif b Collins 6, M.S. Dhoni b Taylor 19, A. Kumble c Bravo b Collymore 10, H. Singh c Lara b Collymore 9, S. Sreesanth c Lara b Taylor 16, M. Patel (not out) 0; Extras (b-4, lb-3, nb-1, w-1) 9. Total (in 65.1 overs) 171.

Fall of wickets: 1-1 (Jaffer), 2-6 (Sehwag), 3-49 (Laxman), 4-63 (Yuvraj), 5-76 (Kaif), 6-122 (Dhoni), 7-141 (Kumble), 8-154 (Dravid), 9-171 (Sreesanth)

West Indies bowling: Collins 22-8-61-1, Taylor 15-4-45-4, Collymore 24.1-9-48-5, Bravo 4-1-10-0.

West Indies — 2nd innings: C. Gayle c Laxman b Sreesanth 0, D. Ganga b Sreesanth 16, B. Lara lbw b Munaf 11, R. Sarwan c Dravid b Sreesanth 51, S. Chanderpaul lbw b Kumble 13, D. Bravo b Kumble 33, M. Samuels lbw b Kumble 5, D. Ramdin (not out) 62, J. Taylor lbw b Kumble 20, P. Collins lbw b Kumble 3, C. Collymore c Dhoni b Kumble 0; Extras (lb-2, nb-3) 5. Total (in 69.4 overs) 219.

Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Gayle), 2-27 (Ganga), 3-29 (Lara), 4-56 (Chanderpaul), 5-126 (Sarwan), 6-128 (Bravo), 7-144 (Samuels), 8-180 (Taylor), 9-219 (Collins).

India bowling: Sreesanth 15-2-38-3, Munaf 12-2-26-1, Harbhajan 16-3-65-0, Kumble 22.4-3-78-6, Sehwag 4-0-10-0.

ON ONE HAND there was Jerome Taylor. On the other was Rahul Dravid.

Almost everyone else seemed to be limited participants.

Taylor, lively and bouncy on a Sabina Park pitch that offered more assistance than the previous two in the Digicel Series between West Indies and India, grabbed an impressive five-wicket haul on the opening day of the fourth and final Test here yesterday.

Dravid proved to be more difficult to topple than the Berlin Wall with a resolute 81 that occupied almost six hours and prevented an embarrassment from a hopeless position of 91 for six.

India were rocked by two wickets at the start and Taylor’s double-strike after lunch that ensured West Indies made all the running in the first two sessions, but Dravid, in tandem with Anil Kumble, however, resurrected India’s effort with seventh-wicket partnership of 93.

With India managing to eke out only one run an over for the first two hours to labour to 29 for two at lunch and in dire trouble as tea approached, Dravid dropped anchor but Taylor, who finished with five for 50 off 18.4 overs, came back to grab two wickets at the end when India’s last four wickets fell for 16.

Jerome rocks

the Indians again

Not for the first time in the series, Taylor produced a telling spell that rocked the Indians.

In the middle of the post-lunch session, the Jamaican fast bowler, urged on by his countrymen in the George Headley Stand, produced bounce to unsettle the Indians and dislodge Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif, two batsmen he also dispatched in a similarly inspiring spell in the third Test.

The left-handed Yuvraj, still without a major in the series, was the most free-scoring batsman of the day until Taylor knocked him over to win a lbw decision with a direct yorker.

It sent the left-hander to the turf in obvious pain and it caused him to limp off the field.

Kaif had shown some vulnerability in handling the lifting stuff from Taylor and it was no surprise when he gloved a rising ball to second slip.

By then, Taylor had already announced himself with his first wicket 20 minutes into the day when he bowled down Wasim Jaffer.

As solid as a rock

We know why they call Dravid ‘The Wall’ and yesterday was just further confirmation.

While everyone else around him could not negotiate the bowling or the pitch, the India captain was unflappable for all of five-and-three-quarter hours in which time he cautiously negotiated 215 balls.

He was as solid as the big concrete structure at the northern end that is being erected for Cricket World Cup 2007. In circumstances which dictated a stablising influence, his role was tremendous.

At no stage was he in trouble. This gutsy display showed the value of responsibility and level-headedness.

As he progressed towards a century, he also moved towards becoming the sixth batsman in Test cricket to reach 9 000 runs and the fastest to do so in terms of number of innings; but he was stopped when he edged a good one from Corey Collymore to the ‘keeper when the second new ball paid dividends.

Dravid needed another 19 runs to reach the landmark and has two innings to reach there faster than Brian Lara did.

The pitch verdict

Head groundsman Charlie Joseph was somewhat accurate in his prediction on what to expect from the pitch.

While West Indies captain Brian Lara had his concerns on the eve of the match, the surface had its share of bounce that made life uncomfortable for batsmen.

At the same time, however, there were signs of varying bounce.

There was the odd occasion of pace which came when Taylor got one to hurry through to bowl the usually compact Wasim Jaffer in the fourth over.

The most disconcerting bounce came midway into the day when Taylor forced Mohammad Kaif to fend off a lifter only for Daren Ganga, jumping a gully, to muff the chance.

Finally, there was a pitch the bowlers could relish after the lifeless surfaces of Beausejour and Warner Park. Let’s see how it behaves for the next few days before passing judgment.

Where’s that express fast bowler?

To a point, Brian Lara’s call for a bowler of more than fast-medium appeared to be a justifiable request.

While Taylor was able to generate the bounce that worried the Indians, no one else could sustain it at the opposite end.

Collins, Collymore and Bravo each chipped in with a wicket, but a Tino Best, Jermaine Lawson or an Andew Richardson could have caused more trouble.

At one point, Taylor had Kumble unconvincingly backing away to square-leg. Later, the same batsman would be stretching long forward to defend the medium-pacers with aplomb.

When there was need for the ball to be coming into his chest, there was no one to do so while Taylor was rested. Eventually, Bravo got one to bounce which Kumble played into his stumps after batting for two hours.

The bowlers have had a good time on the Sabina Park wicket, but this has been Rahul Dravid’s test match so far.

Buoyed by their captain’s gritty 62 followed by a crucial 81 in the first innings, India were 225 runs ahead of West Indies in their second dig after dismissing the hosts for 103 in the first innings yesterday.

India were 128 for 6 when stumps were drawn. Giving Dravid company at the crease was Anil Kumble.

Jerome Taylor hit back with three wickets for West Indies after Harbhajan Singh collected five wickets for the 19th time in test cricket.

Taylor removed openers Wasim Jaffer and Virender Sehwag in a pacy opening burst and then later cleaned up MS Dhoni.

Dravid and VVS Laxman took the onus on them after India crumbled to six runs for two wickets inside the first half hour.

Taylor had Jaffer spectacularly caught at third slip for one when the batsman edged a drive and substitute fielder Runako Morton held the catch with his right-hand, and then gained an lbw verdict over Sehwag, who scored four. Taylor has so far taken three wickets for 28 runs from 10 overs.

Harbhajan’s high-five

Earlier, Harbhajan snared five wickets for 13 runs from just 4.3 overs, as India fought their way back into the test and dismissed West Indies for 103, replying to the visitors’ first innings total of 200.

It was West Indies’ lowest total in a test against India. Harbhajan collected four of the last five West Indies scalps that went down after the home team resumed after the interval on 80 for five.

Harbhajan removed Dwayne Bravo for zero, Ramnaresh Sarwan for seven, and Denesh Ramdin for 10 to close-to-the-wicket catches, then wrapped up the innings when Pedro Collins lofted a delivery to long-on and was caught for zero.

In between, Taylor was run out for six, after he and Collins completely muddled a single. Before lunch, disciplined bowling and their opponents’ typically careless batting had provided India with the window of opportunity.

The Punjab off-spinner completed a sensational morning for the Indians, when he had Daren Ganga adjudged lbw in the final over before the interval for the top score in the West Indies innings of 40 playing back and across to a delivery that spun sharply from outside the off-stump.

Fast bowler Shantha Sreesanth supported with two wickets (including West

Indies captain Brian Lara) for 34 runs from nine overs.

Sreesanth inflicted the early blows, when left-handed opener Chris Gayle played down the wrong line to the fourth delivery of the day and was comprehensively beaten and bowled for a four-ball duck. Lara survived an lbw appeal off the second ball, but he got off the mark with a crunching pull through mid wicket for four.

A brilliant five-wicket haul from Jerome Taylor has helped the West Indies bundle India out for just 200 on the first day of the fourth Test in Jamaica.

Taylor decimated the Indian batsman in scenes reminiscent of the West Indian glory days, his lightning-fast pace seeing him finish the innings 5-50.

Only a typically gutsy effort from Rahul Dravid, and a supporting knock from Anil Kumble, saved the tourists from further embarrassment after they had slumped to 6-91.

The Indian skipper smashed 10 fours on his way to 81, while Kumble hit seven boundaries during a valuable 45-run knock.

After the first three Test matches in the series failed to produce a result, the hosts were keen to get off to a positive start, and they wasted no time in doing so.

Pedro Collins claimed the wicket of opener Virender Sehwag for a duck on just the third ball when Ramnaresh Sarwan held onto a brilliant catch at forward short leg.

Taylor picked up his first scalp two overs later when he uprooted the stumps of Wasim Jaffer (1) to have the visitors 2-3.

The wicket brought Dravid to the crease and he immediately set about making amends for the shaky start, but it would prove difficult for him to keep a partner for too long.

VVS Laxman was unable to repeat his century from the previous Test and was caught by substitute Runako Morton off the bowling of Dwayne Bravo.

Yuvraj Singh looked to have mastered the West Indian attack, but the re-introduction of Taylor soon brought an end to that when he produced the perfect yorker that left little doubt in the umpire’s mind, his demise taking India to 4-58.

Mohammad Kaif (13) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (3) were of little help to their skipper, and the visitors looked to be heading for disaster on 6-91.

Kumble joined Dravid at the crease and the pair combined for the first decent stand of the match, their 93-run partnership restoring some hope for the beleagured side.

Bravo’s second wicket shattered the recovery when he bowled Kumble, and after Dravid eventually feathered a Collymore delivery through to the keeper, the end came quickly.

Jerome Taylor recorded his first five-wicket haul in Tests as the Indian first innings folded up for 200 runs at stumps on day one of the fourth and final Test against West Indies at Kingston on Friday.

India’s decision to bat first backfired with the Indian top order giving an extremely inept batting display as the West Indies bowlers impressed with some blistering spells.

The visitors got off to a disastrous start losing both their openers for just three runs on the board.

Virender Sehwag was the first to go, caught brilliantly by Ramnaresh Sarwan at short leg for a duck.

Sehwag tried to turn a ball on his pads from Pedro Collins only to find the ball in the hands of Sarwan.

Wasim Jaffer also did not last long. He made one run before he was bowled by Taylor and India were three for two.

In between, Sarwan had to be taken off the field after he was hit on the knee from a Jaffer shot.

Indian captain Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman then came together to stem the rot. However, runs were not easy to come by and at lunch the visitors were 29 for two.

Laxman was dismissed immediately after the break. He was caught by Runako Morton at gully off a Dwayne Bravo delivery for 18.

Yuvraj Singh’s poor run of form in the series continued. He was trapped leg before for 19 runs by Jerome Taylor.

Twenty runs later, Mohammad Kaif followed him to the pavilion.

He played awkwardly at a short delivery from Taylor that kissed his glove and went straight to Brian Lara at second slip. Kaif made 13 and was Taylor’s third victim.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni also could not forge a partnership with skipper Dravid.

The wicketkeeper-batsman made just three runs before being caught by Dwayne Bravo at slip to give Corey Collymore his first wicket of the match.

Anil Kumble, in keeping with his recent good run with the bat, gave good support to his skipper and added 93 runs for the seventh wicket that gave some respectability to the Indian scorecard.

He played on a Bravo delivery onto his stumps for a well-compiled 45 from 101 balls.

Dravid, who played a resolute captain’s knock at the other end, finally fell to Collymore. He was caught behind by Denesh Ramdin. Dravid made 81 runs from 215 balls and hit 10 boundaries.

Taylor bowled S Sreesanth for a duck. The local lad then picked up the wicket of Munaf Patel, also for naught, when he had him caught behind by Ramdin to finish with figures of five for 50.