We failed to execute our plans: Dravid

Captain Rahul Dravid said failing to execute the gameplan saw India's sequence of successful chases come to an end in the second cricket one-dayer against the West Indies.
"Had to end one stage or the other, probably not when chasing a modest target. But we did not go about our plans well," Dravid said after India's numbing one-run loss at the Sabina Park on Saturday.
After restricting the West Indies to 198 for nine, India were all out for 197 in 49.3 overs, which broke a 17-win streak while chasing.
Dravid attributed the low scoring game to a combination of bad batting and the slow wicket.
He, however, took heart from the fact that picking Ramesh Powar ahead of Rudra Pratap Singh turned out to be right.
"We got out selection right. The wicket had slowed down and the spinners proved to be crucial for both the sides.
"But we did not execute our plans well. Hopefully we can learn from here and move on."
Winning captain Brian Lara gave credit to his bowlers, particularly part-time spinners Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels, for the victory.

Courtesy- NDTV

Dravid, Tendulkar shine in India's huge win

By Sify Sports Desk
Tuesday, 25 October , 2005, 16:06

Nagpur: Rahul Dravid made a smashing debut as the new Indian captain in the land of his in-laws, Nagpur, on Tuesday. With his batsmen and bowlers firing, Dravid, who also was named Man of the Match, had the joy of leading his side to a huge 152-run in the first of seven ODIs against Sri Lanka. Click here for detailed scores

The platform was laid by the talismanic Sachin Tendulkar. The little champion showed no signs of rustiness despite his long lay-off from the game for surgery. The zest was back, so was the hunger as he smashed 93 off just 96 balls after opening the Indian innings with Sehwag on a morning when Dravid won the toss and elected to bat. With Irfan Pathan (83 off 70 balls) and Dravid (85* off 63 balls) also joining in the fun, the hosts made 350 for six.

On a wicket that offered little assistance for the quicks, Sri Lanka made a thumping start to their chase despite losing skipper Marvan Atapattu for just one. Kumar Sangakkara and Sanath Jayasuriya plundered 64 runs off 49 balls, but the early introduction of Harbhajan Singh threw the visitors' innings off the rails. The off-spinner consumed the wickets of both Jayasuriya (27 off 28) and Sangakkara (43 off 37) in the space of seven deliveries as the Lankans slumped from 74-1 to 76-3.

With Murali Kartik also getting into the act, Sri Lanka were never in the hunt from there on. There were a few lusty hits from Chaminda Vaas in the end, but debutant pacer Sree Santh returned to claim the last two wickets and seal an emphatic win.



It was the second time that Tendulkar was making a 93 at Nagpur. The 32-year-old, who underwent elbow surgery in May, was aggressive from the start.

He shared an entertaining 164-run second wicket partnership with youngster Irfan Pathan, who made 83 from 70 balls including eight fours and four sixes after being promoted up the order.

Once the two men fell in quick succession – within two runs of each other - Dravid took over and lashed an unbeaten 85 from 63 balls.

Tendulkar, who struck nine fours and two sixes and faced 96 balls, wore an elbow support but showed no discomfort, playing many lofted shots to frustrate the Sri Lankan bowlers.

He drove Farveez Maharoof through cover and flicked him past square leg for two fours off the second and third balls he faced.

Although Chaminda Vaas made an early breakthrough when he had Virender Sehwag (20) caught behind, Tendulkar lofted seamer Dilhara Fernando over mid-on for six and hit him for a straight four.

He swept off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan for four and pushed him to midwicket for single to reach his 70th one-day fifty.

Tendulkar and Pathan kept up a run rate of well over six an over to bring up the 200 in the 31st over before the visitors briefly fought back.

Pathan was caught at mid-off against off spinner Tillakaratne Dilshan. Tendulkar, suffering from cramp, missed out on his 39th one-day hundred when he edged a wide ball from Maharoof to wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara, who took a diving catch.

Dravid quickly settled down before playing an unusually attacking innings, the highlight of which was a stunning six over point off Vaas.

Sachin’s return will make a huge difference

Sachin’s return will make a huge difference
By Tom Moody
Tuesday, 25 October , 2005, 00:02
Notwithstanding the loss against the Mumbai Cricket Association President’s XI in our warm-up game in Mumbai, we will take several positives from that match into our opening one-dayer against India at Nagpur. We as a team have taken stock of our performance in Mumbai, reviewed the areas that needed improvement, and come up with positive solutions. And I think it is fortunate that we have had the chance to do so after a warm-up game rather than after three or four international matches.
When all is said and done, it is extremely difficult for a player to generate the same amount of intensity for a practice match as for an international encounter. Try as you might, the adrenalin rush just isn’t the same. A practice match is more of an arena for the individual - whether batsman or bowler - to polish his skills, but for an international match, the same bunch of individuals will operate as a close-knit team, and I fully expect that to happen with us at Nagpur.
Teamwork is one area in which Sri Lanka have improved vastly over the last few years, owing to a combination of factors. While Marvan Atapattu has provided excellent leadership – based on my short stint with the team, I think he is an exceptional leader of men - the skills and experience of the likes of Sanath Jayasuriya, Chaminda Vaas, Muthiah Muralitharan and Mahela Jayawardene have complemented his efforts.
So the Sri Lankan team of today is unlikely to reflect on the drawn series of 1998, or on the fact that of the last 11 Tests that Sri Lanka have played in India, they have won just one. What happened eight years ago happened eight years ago, and we will focus only on the here and now -no dwelling on the past - just as we know that our victory over India in the Indian Oil Cup is irrelevant.
Playing India on home soil is a completely different package, as every team knows. Challenging and tough are two words that spring to mind easily in the circumstances. However, our team will be bolstered by the inclusion of Chaminda and Murali, who were rested from the warm-up game considering their workloads.
As for the Indian team, the biggest factor is obviously the return of Sachin Tendulkar. Not only will it influence the Indian players, I am sure we will see a huge upsurge in terms of spectator interest, with the entire nation watching his every move, just as we saw when Murali came back to international cricket after nearly a year away from the game. India also have a new captain at the helm, who has won worldwide respect as a player, though it is too early to say how captaincy will affect his game.
We know the days ahead won’t be easy and are concentrating hard on our gameplan. Despite what many people think, the turmoil that Indian cricket has been in of late is of no relevance to us, because we are interested solely in what happens on the field. Like all cricket-playing nations, we are looking ahead to World Cup 2007 and the series against India is crucial for our young players like Upul Tharanga, Thilan Samaraweera, Dilhara Lokuhettige and Farveez Maharoof. Courtesy -http://sify.com/sports

Sachin on his way to hit form again: Chappell -Courtesy -Sify.com/sports

Friday, 21 October , 2005, 18:27
Bangalore: India's cricket Coach Greg Chappell on Friday said Sachin Tendulkar is on the path to finding his form again in the coming series against Sri Lanka and South Africa. "Looking back at Mohali through the first two days, training here and his batting today, I think he is well and truly on track to be back in good form both mentally and physically," he told reporters at the end of a three-day conditioning camp for the team members in Bangalore. "So, I think, that's a very positive thing...We are happy that from fitness point of view, he got through the three days very well. The camp was good to Sachin," Chappell said. "What he needs at the moment is to play some cricket and get more time in the middle, get more match fitness. But I see improvement (in him) each day. Through Mohali, I think it's been very positive," he said. Chappell said Tendulkar, who is returning to international cricket after a six-month lay off following a tennis elbow surgery, "has been fantastic with the squad selected for the first two games against the Sri Lanka." "Sachin's knowledge, experience and his ability can only help young players. He has spent a lot of time with young players here and even in Mohali." He said it was beneficial for the young players to have someone of Tendulkar's knowledge and experience around.

Dravid blessed with a baby boy

Tuesday, 11 October , 2005, 14:47
Nagpur: India vice-captain Rahul Dravid on Tuesday became a proud father after his wife Dr Vijeta gave birth to a baby boy at a private nursing home in Nagpur, family sources said.
Vijeta and the newborn baby are healthy, sources added.
However, the Indian batting mainstay could not be with his wife as he is away in Australia as a member of ICC World XI team, which will take on Australia in a six-day Test match to be played at Sydney from October 14.

>> Courtesy sify sports news

Kallis, Flintoff share ICC Player of the Year award

Tuesday, 11 October , 2005, 18:42

Sydney: South Africa's Jacques Kallis and England's Andrew Flintoff shared the Player of the Year award at the International Cricket Council (ICC) awards on Tuesday.

Both polled 86 votes ahead of Australians Glenn McGrath (39), Adam Gilchrist (29) and Ricky Ponting (19).
Kallis also won the Test Player of the Year award and England's Kevin Pietersen was crowned the One-day Player of the Year.
Flintoff had 366 runs at 30.5 and claimed 44 wickets at 24.68 at Test level in the voting period from August 1 2004 to July 31 2005, which only included the opening Test of England's recent 2-1 win over Australia in the Ashes series.
During the voting period, Kallis played 15 Tests and was comfortably the most prolific batsman in the world during that time, with 1,497 runs at 71.28, including six hundreds, the most by any player, and a total of 14 scores of 50 or more. He took 20 Test wickets and 16 catches, mainly in the slip cordon.
Kallis was named the Test Player of the Year well ahead of McGrath and Shane Warne. The all-rounder polled 115 votes to comfortably defeat McGrath (41) and Warne (29).
Pietersen was named the One-day Player of the Year beating teammate Andrew Flintoff for the award.
Pietersen, 25, polled 91 votes ahead of Flintoff (52) and Australia's Andrew Symonds (26). Pietersen also won the Emerging Player of the Year award.
"It's been a whirlwind, the last 12 months. I'm just thrilled to be here, and I thank all the people that have helped me in achieving this success," Pietersen said at the presentation.
During the voting period from August 1, 2004 to July 31, 2005, Pietersen played 21 one-day internationals and scored 786 runs at an average of 87.33 with three hundreds, all against South Africa.
The South African-born right-hander made four other scores of 50 or more and those runs were made with a remarkable strike-rate of 99.49 runs per hundred balls.
Australian Simon Taufel was named Umpire of the Year for the second successive year. Taufel, 34, was the clear winner of the trophy ahead of Pakistan's Aleem Dar and Rudi Koertzen of South Africa after votes were tallied from the captains of the ten Test-playing countries and the seven members of the Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees.
The England cricket team were named as the recipients of the Spirit of Cricket Award.
The award goes to the team which, in the opinion of the elite panel of umpires and referees and the captains of the ten Test teams, has best conducted itself on the field within the spirit of the game.
The World XI Test Team of the Year named was: Virender Sehwag (India), Graeme Smith (South Africa), Ricky Ponting (captain, Australia), Jacques Kallis (South Africa), Brian Lara (West Indies), Inzamam-ul-Haq (Pakistan), Andrew Flintoff (England), Adam Gilchrist (wicketkeeper, Australia), Shane Warne (Australia), Chaminda Vaas (Sri Lanka), Glenn McGrath (Australia). 12th man: Anil Kumble (India).
The World ODI Team of the Year announced was: Marvan Atapattu (captain, Sri Lanka), Adam Gilchrist (wicketkeeper, Australia), Rahul Dravid (India), Kevin Pietersen (England), Inzamam-ul-Haq (Pakistan), Andrew Flintoff (England), Andrew Symonds (Australia), Daniel Vettori (New Zealand), Brett Lee (Australia), Naved-ul-Hasan (Pakistan), Glenn McGrath (Australia). 12th man: Jacques Kallis (South Africa).

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