INDIA's WOES CONTINUE

India were ousted in both Australia and Bangladesh...Sorry,I couldn't cover the Australian series as I had my exams..India played much better than the test series but were still ousted..

THE LAST STAGES OF THE TOURNAMENT

India needed a bonus point from their last league match which was against Sri Lanka for an outside chance for getting into the finals..India won the match inside 40 overs ( chasing ) and got a bonus point..Virat Kohli produced a blinder in that match.Sri Lanka won their last league match.Had that match been lost by Sri Lanka,India would have qualified for the finals...Australia went on to win the series.In the best of 3 finals.Australia won 2-1.


THE ASIA CUP

In Bangladesh,in the Asia Cup,India's first match was against Sri Lanka..India seeking for revenge won the match by 50 runs.India scored 304 for the loss of 3 wickets in their 50 overs with Gambhir and Kohli scoring 100 and 108 respectively.The finishing touch was provided by MS Dhoni and S Raina.Sri Lanka were bowled out for 254 in 45.1 overs with Jayawardane scoring 78 and Sangakkara scoring 65.IK Pathan took 4 wickets.Vinay Kumar and Ashwin took 3 wickets.Virat Kohli was adjudged the Man of the Match.

In the second match India lost to Bangladesh.Even though India lost they were happy that Sachin tendulkar scored a ton,the 100th Hundred..India  scored 289 for 5 in their quota of 50 overs with Sachin scoring 114.Kohli scored 66 and Raina scored 51.MS Dhoni and Jadeja provided the finishing touch..But Bangladesh won the match quite easily scoring 293 for 5 in 49.2 overs with Tamim Iqbal scoring 70,Jaharul Islam sored 53,N.Hossain scored 54..Shakib Al Hasan scored 49..His Innings accelerated Bangladesh to a convincing victory.Not to forget Rahim's contribution of 46*.Rahim demolished India's bowlers and went on to win the match.Praveen Kumar took 3 wickets but was expensive in his last few overs.Shakib Al Hasan was adjudged the Man of The Match.

The next match was against Pakistan.Pakistan was off to a flier with openers Hafeez and Jamshed scoring centuries.Younis Khan scored a pacy half century.Pakistan scored 329 for 6 in their 50 overs.P.Kumar and Dinda took 2 wickets each.The target was 330 from 50 overs.India lost their first wicket even before they could put a run on the board.Then came Virat Kohli..He and Sachin put on 133 for the second wicket before Sachin fell after scoring 52.Rohit Sharma came in.Rohit along with Virat put on a 172 run partnership for the third wicket before Rohit fell for 68.Virat Kohli was out for 183 in the48th over but he had done his job..MS Dhoni and Raina finished the remaining job..India won the match by 6 wickets and 13 balls to spare..Virat Kohli was adudged the Man of the Match for his stunning innings..

India needed Sri Lanka to win against Bangladesh but Bangladesh won easily..India failed to qualify for the finals..This was the worst tournament for Sri Lanka in their history of Asia Cup as they failed to register a win..Pakistan won the finals by winning the finals 2 runs..
Sachin Tendulkar finally got the monkey off his bat and Virat Kohli was in Red hot form..India's woes continues but Indian supporters hope this would stop..India will play a one off T20I against South Africa on March 30.

Australia TRASHES India

Australia decimated India by winning the 4 match test series 4-0! With this series loss,India's Overseas test result is 8-0 from 8 matches.
                               
The first match was played at the MCG. Australia won the toss and chose to bat. Ed Cowan was the debutant for the test.He played really well,scored 68.Ponting scored 62.Australia were all out for 333.Zaheer Khan who made his test comeback took 4 wickets.Ashwin and Yadav chipped in with 4 wickets each.India who came out to bat lost their first wicket for 22.Sehwag scored 67,Dravid scored 68 and Sachin Tendulkar top-scored with 73.India were bowled out for 282.Hilfenhaus took 5 wickets and Siddle took 3.In the second innings Australia struggled and were all out for 240 with M.Hussey scoring 89 and Ponting scoring 60.Yadav took 4 wickets and Z.Khan took 3 wickets.The target was 292 runs but India were all out for 169.Siddle took 3 wickets and Pattinson took 4 wickets in the second innings.The match was finished within 4 days.Pattinson who took 4 wickets in the second innings was adjudged the Man of The Match.
                                                                                                                               
The second match was played at the SCG. Oh my Goodness what a knock by MJ Clarke,the skipper of the Australian Cricket team.He scored a triple century and was ably supported by R.Ponting and M.Hussey.The match was finished within 4 days.India won the toss and chose to bat which offered a lot for the bowlers.India were out for a mere 191 in the 1st innings with skipper MS Dhoni scoring a fightung 57*.Pattinson took 4 wickets.Hilfenhaus and Siddle took 3 wickets apiece.Australia needing 192 to lead scored a humongous 659 for 4 with MJ Clarke scoring 329*.Ponting scored his first century in 2 years afer scoring 134 and M.Hussey remained unbeaten at 150.In the second innings,India were bowled out for 400.It was the 1st time they scored 400 overseas after the West Indies series in West Indies.Sachin Tendulkar scored 80,Laxman scored 66,Gambhie scored 83 and Ashwin scored  62.Australia won the match by an innings and 68 runs.MJ Clarke was adjudged Man of the match for his 329 and a wicket.The wicket of Sachin Tendulkar.
                                                                   
 The third test match was played at the WACA.Australia won the toss and asked India to bat first.India collapsed for 161 with Kolhi scoring 44.Ryan Harris who replaced an injured could only take one wicket but Hilfenhaus again bowled extremely well taking 4 wickets.Siddle took 3 wickets and Starc who replaced Lyon took 2 wickets.Australia were all out for 369 with Warner scoring 180.His century was the 4th fastest test century and the fastest by an opener.U.Yadav took 5 wickets.India were bundled out for 171 with Kolhi showing some resistance by scoring 75.It was again Hilfenhaus. He took 4 wickets.Australia won the match by an innings and 37 runs.David Warner was adjudged the Man of the match.The Match was finished within 3 days.
                                                                 
 The fourth test match was played at the Adelaide.Sehwag led the side as Dhoni was handed a one match ban for slow over rate.Australia once again won the toss and chose to bat.Australia made a humongous total once again scoring 604 runs for the loss of 7 wickets with Clarke scoring 210 and Ponting scoring 221.Ashwin took 3 wickets.India were all out for 272 with Kolhi scoring 116.Siddle who bowled with full of energy throughout the series took 5 wickets.Australia didn't enforce the follow on and scored 167 for the loss of 5 wickets.India's target was 500 and were bundled out for 201 with Sehwag making 62.Lyon took 4 wickets.Australia won the match by 298 runs.Siddle was adjudged the Man of the Match.

Man of the Series-MJ Clarke

The series was much expected for Sachin's 100th 100 but he couldn't get it.Many news channels said that this was the easiest chance for India to win at the start but India were trashed.It was a good team effort by Australia.Many people criticized only a single player : MS Dhoni for his poor captaincy.But that's a bad thing afterall cricket is a team game.There were also rumors that Sachin,Dravid and Laxman are gonna retire but those are fae according to news channels.
The 2 t20s and ODIs will start from February 1.Come on guys India needs our support!!

India Trashes West Indies

India maintained their awesome run by beating West Indies 2-0 in the test series and 4-1 in the ODI series.The first test match was won by India by 5 wickets! West Indies scored 304 with Chandrepaul making 118 and P.Ojha picking up 6 wickets.India were all out for 209 all out with Sehwag making 55 and Dravid making 54.West Indian captain Sammy picked up 3 wickets.In the second innings West Indies were bowled out for a mere 180 with Chandrepaul making 47 and debutant Ashwin picking up 6 wickets.India  needed  276 runs to win the match and India wn it easily with the little master making 76 and Laxman making 58*..R.Ashwin was adjudged the Man of the match.In the second test India won by an innings and 15 runs.India wn the tss and chose to bat.Ondia made a mammoth 631 for 7 wickets decl.! There were 3 centurions. VVS Laxman made 176*,Indian Skipper MS Dhoni making 144 and R.Dravid making 119.West Indies were bundled out for 153 with Ojha picking up 4 wickets and U.Yadav picking up 3 wickets.U.Yadav bowled with brilliant pace all through out the series.West Indies batted really well in the second innings by making 463 runs with Darren Bravo making 136 and M.Samules making 84.but it was not enough! VVS Laxman was adjudged the Man of the Match. The third test was very thrilling.West Indies made  590 with Bravo scoring 166 and Ashwin getting 5 wickets.India smade 482 with Ashwin getting to his maiden test century scoring 103 and Tendulkar making 94.In the second innings West indies were bundles out for 134 with Ojha picking up 6 wickets and Ashwin picking up the rest.India needed 243 runs in 64 overs.The end was thrilling.India needed 2 runs to win from 2 balls.India was at 241 for 8.Anything could have happened.A tie,A west indies win,An Indian win.Ashwin defended the 5th ball ensuring India won't lose the test.Ashwin pushed the last ball to long on and completed a run.Varun Aaron was quick and made it to the non-striker's end with ease but the throw was t the keeper's end and Ashwin was too late to react and was gone with the scores level.Ashwin was adjudged the Man of the match and the series.
                                                      In the ODI series Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni were rested.The first match was thrilling in which India won by a wicket.West Indies scored 211/9 with Darren Bravo scoring 60.India scored 213 for 9 with R. Sharma making 72.The tail enders held their nerves and ensured India a victory.The second match was a hard fought win even though India won it by 5 wickets.West Indies were reeling at  170 for 9.Ravi Rampaul changed gears and went on.He scored 86* and the 10th wicket partnership was worth 99 runs.Rampaul's 86 was the highest by any No.10 batsman in the world and the partnership was the 3rd highest.India needed 270 to win.India were reeling at 84 for 3 when Virat Kolhi joined R. Sharma. They together put on a 163 run partnership.Virat Kolhi reached his century but was out for 117 but Rohit Sharma was unbeaten scoring 90*.The third ODI was won by West Indies by 16 runs.West Indies made 268/5 with some power hitting from Sammy and Russel down the order.India kept on losing wickets regularly and India were all out for 244 with R.Sharma scoring 95.The fourth match was a memorable one with Sehwag scoring 219 which included 7 sixes and 25 fours,the highest ever individual score in ODI's eclipsing Sachin's 200* against SA in Gwalior on 24th february 2009.Sehwag's innings was a blinder after he was under pressure not scoring runs in the previous games.India piled up 418 runs,their highest score in ODI's.Evenually India won thegame by 153 runs.Sehwag was the Man of the match.In the last ODI Manoj Tiwary scored his maiden ODI century  and V.Kolhi scored 80 to take India to 267 for 6.West Indies were struggling at 36 for 4 when Keiron Pollard came in.he too scored his maiden ODI century scoring 119 whicj included 10 sixes.But his efforts were in vain as West Indies fell 34 runs short.The tour was much expected for Sachin to get to his 100th ton but he couldn't get it! Harbhajan wasn't picked for any game and Ashwin was the new find in the test series for India.Irfan Pathan made it into the last two ODI's but played only the last one.He picked up 2 wickets.Rahul Sharma also bowled exceedingly well.It was a good series for India and West Indies as it found many youngsters performing well! Sunil Narine made it into the ODI squad.The next series is going to be one of the toughest tests for India....India tour of Australia which includes 4 tests,2T20Is and 15 ODI's...

England HUMILIATED by INDIA

India trashed England 5-0 in the recently held series in India..India outplayed England in all the departments..The hosts stunned the visitors by whitewashing them!The series was termed as 'The Revenge Series' by a news channel..MS Dhoni termed the word 'revenge' too strong a word to be used! In the first match India played well and got to a score of 300..England started steadily but lost wickets at regular intervals..That too after the dismissal of captain Cook the wickets started to fall down quickly..India won the match by 126 runs ! India won the second game in which the total was more than 230! Virat Kohli hit a magnificent century..not to forget Gambhir's knock , India won the second game convincingly by 8 wickets..The third game was the most interesting one..The match was held at mohali..England made 298 with Trott scoring 98*..Anjikaye Rahne scored 91 runs and Dhoni's cameo at the end ensured a victory of 5 wickets!In the 4th ODI England made a modest 220..India chased down the total easily finishing it in just 40.1 overs..India won the match by 6 wickets..In the last game England looked good but Dhoni ensured that the brittle bowling attack of England got a good trashing as he scored 75* in 69 balls India's total was 271/8..Again the batting of England was brittle..England got out to a flyer as the score read 129-0..Both Cook and Kieswetter had jit half centuries..One who was seeing the match would have imagined alas england would win but england lost all the 10 wickets within a space of 47 runs and were bowled out for 176 all out..England won the only t20 by 5 wickets..MS Dhoni wasn't dismissed in the series!(not also one time)Thanks to a good knock from Kevin Pietersen..India struggled as the got only 120 runs from the quota of 20 overs! England finally had dismissed MS Dhoni!Robin Utthapa was recalled and he failed .. even yusuf pathan.. He was run out! England got out  to a good start and lost Kieswetter and Hales in the first 7 overs but the start was good enough..Raina played a good knock but he got out and even he dropped a catch of Kevin Pietersen when he was only on one! Had that catch been taken the game would have turned on its head ! But past is past! It was a good series for India as all the youngsters excelled and there was no services of Sachin,Sehwag,Zaheer due to injury and Harbhajan was dropped! Jadeja who was recalled did exceedingly well by bowling,batting and fielding brilliantly ! The thing i loved from england's fielding was the diving of the keeper,Kieswetter..India will play against West Indies after 2 weeks!
Man Of the series ( ODI ) : MS Dhoni
Man of the match (t20) : Kevin Piertersen

Mumbai Indians win CLt20!

Wouldn't you believe it!  Mumbai Indians were down with injuries even before the start of the tournament!They lost Sachin Tendulkar,Rohit Sharma,Munaf Patel,Ali Murtaza and many more! After the tournament started they lost South Africa's Davy Jacobs who injured himself while practicing..Harbhajan Singh led the side..The finals was all an Indian affair..It was between Mumbai Indians and the Royal Challengers of Bengaluru..The cLt20 consisted of two groups..Group A consisted of Chennai Super Kings,Mumbai Indians,Trinidad and Tobago,Cape Cobras and New South Wales Blues..Group B consisted of Royal Challengers Bengaluru,Kolkata Knight Riders,South Australian Redbacks,Somerset and Warriors..All the ten teams had a chance of qualifying to the Semi Finals but only four made the cut..They were RCB,MI,Somerset and NSW Blues..Trinidad & Tobago were awesome in the last two games and won it! They were really awesome and lost their first two games in a very very narrow margin..Suni Narine was the most awesomest bowler you would have ever seen..He spun the ball both the ways which made batsmen difficult to understand..Even they had a chance of qualifying but they failed..CSK lost the first game as MI's Malinga hit a cameo,37* off 18 balls..CSK won against Cape Cobras and lost to T&T and NSW Blues!They would have qualified if they had chased down NSW Blues total of 202 in 102 balls but even they failed..MI and NSW qualified from Group A and RCB who lost their first two games qualified with Somerset..Somerset were a good team rigt from the beginning and RCB gained a spot in the semi finals after winning against Redbacks which was a last ball thriller..KB Arun Karthik of RCB hit six runs which was required from one ball.!Somerset lost against Mumbai Indians..Malinga bowled beautifully in the semi finals and RCB chased down NSW's total of more than 200 in the semi final! David Warner hit back to back centuries( against CSK in the group stage and against RCB in the semi final )!And it was a mouth watering final between RCB and MI ..RCB needed 140 off twenty overs..One would have imagined that RCB would win after Dilshan got to a flyer..But Malinga got the initial breakthrough and Gayle and Virat struggled in the Chennai pitch which offered a lot for the bowlers..Bhajji and Chahal bowled well and RCB were restricted to 108 all out! It was a great event
Man of the series : Malinga
Man of the final    : Harbhajan
Golden wicket(most wickets):Malinga
Golden Bat(most runs):Warner

England TRASHES India!!

India would just like to forget this tour as India didn't win a single match..India lost 4-0 in the Test Series,lost the one off T20 and lost the ODI series 3-0..Most of the matches were interrupted by rain and again umpiring was not up to the mark..There was  review system in all the matches played and Raina once again suffered the most..India who have the weakness of short ball mostly got out playing the wrong shots for the deliveries which were bowled short..India were plagued by injuries..Virender Sehwag played only 2 tests;the 3rd and the 4th! England defeated India in all the tests!! India lost its No.1 rankings in Tests after losing all the 4 matches..The last match was a thrilling one in which England won by an innings and 8 runs..Sachin Tendulkar and Amit Mishra batted splendidly..At times when a review was taken HotSpot  revealed nothing..In the 3rd test match.Dravid's bat touched the lace of his shoe but he was given out and dravid didn't take a review! Dravid's batting..!! gosh!! a person could learn how to be patient from him..He notched up 3 centuries! he was adjudged as India's Man of the series and Kevin Pietersen was adjudged England's..He scored a double century in the 1st test at Lord's!! India's bowling was brittle..India lost Zaheer Khan in the 1st test..He suffered a hamstring injury after bowling 13 odd overs!! India lost the one off T20...England won in the last over thriller!! Samit Patel was the hero and Eoin Morgan also made 49..In the ODI series,India lost 3 matches..all by D/L method!! not in a single match 100 overe were played!! The first match was abandoned,The second match was reduced to 23 overs..The 3rd match would have been really a nightmare for India until MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja rescued India!! Ashwin played few amazing strokes at the end of the innings but England won it by 3 wickets..The 4th ODI ended in a tie..At 48.4 overs the rain came and both the scores were tied!! Again by D/L method the match ended in a tie!! In the last ODI Virat Kolhi scored a century,Rahul Dravid hit a half century and MS Dhoni's 50 off 26 which was studded by 2 monstorous sixes ensured that India reached a score of 304 for 6 in 50 overs but again the skies opened up and England's target was reduced to 241 runs from 34 overs 11 england did it successfully !! Debutant Bairstow scored 41 off 21!! MS Dhoni was adjudjed The Man of the series for scoring 3 consecutive 50's!! India slips to 5th in the ODI ranking and England rise to 4th place!!

The ICC Awards Function

Cricketer
of the Year :  Jonathan
Trott
Test Cricketer of the
Year : Alastair Cook
ODI Cricketer of the
Year : Kumar
Sangakkara
People's Choice Award :
Kumar Sangakkara
Spirit of Cricket Award :
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Emerging Player Award :
Devendra Bishoo
ICC Associate and
Affiliate Player : Ryan
ten Doeschate
Twenty20 International
Performance of the
Year : Tim Southee
Umpire of the Year :
Aleem dar
ICC Women's Cricketer
of the Year : Stafanie
Taylor
Four Indian Cricket
Team | ICT player
named in ICC ODI Team
of Year:
TM Dilshan, V Sehwag,
K Sangakkara, AB de
Villiers, S Watson,
Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra
Singh Dhoni [Captain &
WK], G Swann, Umar
Gul , D Steyn, Zaheer
Khan, L Malinga