Bowler-friendly conditions will help India, says Dhoni

DURBAN (Reuters) - Bowler-friendly conditions in Durban will help India in the second test against South Africa starting on Sunday, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said on Saturday.
India are coming off an innings defeat in the first test at Centurion but Dhoni said that the cloudy, humid conditions and green wicket would help his team take the 20 wickets they need to level the three-test series.
"In the last game we were not even able to take 10 wickets, which is always a worry if you want to win a test match," Dhoni told a news conference in Durban.
"Here it looks as if the bowlers will have the upper hand, which means we will look to strike with the ball. The weather forecast suggests it will be quite cloudy during the match and the stats say that whenever it's cloudy in Durban the ball does a bit."
India have been boosted by the return to fitness of fast bowler Zaheer Khan, who has taken 261 wickets in 76 tests.
"Zaheer Khan will be back in the side, which is a big bonus for us. We know that our bowlers have the talent, they just need to execute our plans well and be patient," he added.
A loss in Durban would see South Africa win the series but Dhoni said that did not place any extra pressure on his team.
"When you are the number one side in the world every game is important, irrespective of where you stand in a series," he said.
"We don't place any extra emphasis on an individual match because if you do that you just create extra pressure for yourself."

Hand injury puts Gambhir in doubt

Gautam Gambhir is not a sure starter for the crucial Boxing Day Test in Durban. He was hit around the knuckles of his left hand in the first Test, and it has swollen a bit. He had batted in the nets all three days of India's training leading into the Test. What is a concerning bit of news for India, though, is that the swelling seems to have grown on the match eve, and Gambhir spent a long time in the nets sitting on an ice box, with an icepack on his left hand.

If Gambhir doesn't make it, M Vijay will be his natural replacement. Looking at the contingency, India chose to give Vijay a long hit in the nets on the eve of the match. Vijay has done well in the past as a back-up opener, even when he has been called up on short notice. His last effort as replacement opener was 139 against Australia in Bangalore, which contributed to India's 2-0 series win. For somebody who always gets called up on short notice, Vijay has a healthy average of 42.41 in eight Tests. If he gets picked, though, this will be Vijay's biggest Test, on a green, rock-solid pitch, with overhead conditions likely to contribute to swing and seam movement.

India trail 1-0, and South Africa are looking to close out this series before they enter the next year.

Kirsten expects bowling to bounce back

Gary Kirsten has said he trusts his bowling unit, bolstered by the return of a fit and eager Zaheer Khan, to prove the critics wrong. Responding to former South African cricketers' comments on the weak bowling unit and lack of pace, Kirsten said, "Bottom line is, we need to get 20 Test wickets. I think we have shown in the last three years that we have the ability to get 20 Test wickets in any conditions. It's up to us to prove to every one that we can do that here. It's up to us to prove to ourselves too that we can do that. Obviously nice to have Zaheer back. We look forward to whatever conditions are given to us, and we have the quality in our bowling line-up as well."

Going by the first looks, the conditions should assist the bowlers. Kirsten didn't go to the rock-hard and green Kingsmead pitch, but observed from the change room. "Looks a similar colour to the outfield," he said. "Let's see what comes up in two days' time."

If there is rain in the lead-up to the Test, as the groundstaff fear, the pitch will retain a lot of moisture, potentially creating a situation where batting first might be as difficult as it was in Centurion. Kirsten said the batsmen would need to be prepared for such a challenge, applying themselves better.

"We were well prepared for the last Test," he said. "It was a tough wicket to bat on on the first day. We probably let ourselves down a bit. We have got to assess the situation and get the best we can get out of the surface as a batting unit. I felt we were 100 runs short in the last Test, and we have got to apply ourselves. The preparation has been very good. The guys are working as hard as they have ever worked. I am happy from that point of view. At the end of the day they have to get on the field and make a play. The players are determined, they are really motivated to do well. They are going to give it their best shot, that's what we can ask of the players."

Kirsten spoke of the importance of putting up scores close to 400 in the first innings. "We know that if one of our top six is getting a decent score, a big hundred, we are going to get a score in excess of 400," he said. "The guy that's in, and it could be anyone, and can get in and bat for a decent amount of time, that will allow us to get to scores of 400. We know that in Test cricket if you are not around about that mark in the first innings, you are going to put yourself under pressure."

The Indian team returned to training on Thursday, after a two-day break following the first Test. MS Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh and Suresh Raina decided to stay off the optional training session at the Kingsmead. Raina is under pressure to keep his place in the side after a twin failure in the first side, but Kirsten said no decision has been made regarding the No. 6 spot.

ICC calls on supporters to vote for greatest ODI matches and players

To mark the 40th anniversary of One-Day International (ODI) cricket, the ICC's official website is asking supporters from across the globe to select their choice of the greatest ODI match and team of all-time.
Voting on www.icc-cricket.com is now open asking supporters to select a dream team from a shortlist of 48 players and pick their favourite game from a choice of 10 memorable matches.
Supporters will have until midnight Dubai time (GMT+4) on 2 January 2011 to make their selections, with the fans' choices set to be announced on 5 January 2011 to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the first-ever ODI match between Australia and England.
While fans have the chance to vote using the nominations suggested by the ICC on www.icc-cricket.com, the ICC is also requesting supporters to send in their dream teams and favourite matches via www.facebook/cricketicc or www.twitter.com/cricketicc.
ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said: "With the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 now less than two months away, excitement and interest in the one-day format of the game will certainly intensify. We know that fans will enjoy having the chance to remember some of the great games and great players that have played in ODI cricket during the past 40 years."
The list of players and matches that fans are being asked to vote on at www.icc-cricket.com is listed below.
Cricket Australia will also mark the 40th anniversary of ODI cricket with a number of events, including a cocktail reception with members of Australia's first ODI team at Victoria's Government House, during Melbourne's Cricket Weekend - which also includes a Twenty20 International - from 14-16 January.
The Australian ODI team from 1971 will also be presented to the crowd during the innings break of the first ODI match of the series between Australia and England at the MCG on Sunday 16 January.
Greatest ODI team of all time
Opening batsmen (2) - Saeed Anwar, Sourav Ganguly, Gordon Greenidge, Matthew Hayden, Sanath Jayasuriya, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Glenn Turner
Middle-order batsmen (3) - Michael Bevan, Martin Crowe, Aravinda de Silva, Inzamam-ul Haq, Brian Lara, Javed Miandad, Ricky Ponting, Viv Richards
All-rounder (1) - Ian Botham, Kapil Dev, Andrew Flintoff, Richard Hadlee, Jacques Kallis, Imran Khan, Lance Klusener, Shaun Pollock
Wicket-keeper (1) - Mark Boucher, MS Dhoni, Andy Flower Adam Gilchrist, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Moin Khan, Alec Stewart, Kumar Sangakkara
Fast bowlers (3) - Wasim Akram, Allan Donald, Joel Garner, Michael Holding, Dennis Lillee, Glenn McGrath, Chaminda Vaas, Waqar Younis
Spinner (1) - Shahid Afridi, Carl Hooper, Anil Kumble, Muttiah Muralidaran, Saqlain Mushtaq, Harbhajan Singh, Shane Warne, Daniel Vettori

Greatest ODI match of all-time

- West Indies beat Australia by 17 runs at Lord's, 21 June 1975
- India beat West Indies by 43 runs at Lord's, 25 June 1983
- Pakistan beat India won by one-wicket at Sharjah, 18 April 1986
- England won by three wickets against Australia at Sydney, 22 January 1987
- Australia won by one-wicket against West Indies at Sydney, 12 January 1996
- Australia tied with South Africa at Edgbaston, 17 June 1999
- Pakistan tied with Sri Lanka, at Sharjah, 15 October 1999
- India beat Pakistan by five runs at Karachi, 13 March 2004
- Bangladesh beat Australia by five wickets at Cardiff, 18 June 2005
- South Africa beat Australia by one-wicket at Johannesburg, 12 March 2006

England playing better than Australia: Bell

Melbourne: Australia may have momentum from their big Perth Test win but England are playing better cricket going into the fourth Ashes Test, England batsman Ian Bell said on Thursday.
Australia's stunning reversal of form to win last week's third Test by 267 runs and level the five-match series at one-all has given Ricky Ponting's men a massive confidence boost.
"Certainly, they have got some momentum going into it (the fourth Test)," Bell said on Thursday.
"They played some fantastic cricket at the WACA. (But) out of the three Test matches I'd say we've been playing the better cricket. We're going to have to start the Test match well," he said. "We don't want Australia winning the first hour or that first session. It'd be great for us to be able to come out and win that first session, whether we're batting or bowling, and try and take (back) a bit of that momentum."
Bell, 28, is second in England's batting averages for the series with 213 runs at 71.00, trailing opener Alastair Cook's tally of 495 at 123.75.
His sparkling form, including top-scoring with 53 in England's first-innings total of 187 in Perth, has prompted calls for Bell to be promoted to number five ahead of Paul Collingwood.
Collingwood is averaging 15.50 in the series and looked out of sorts in Perth, making 5 and 11. "It's always nice to get moved up the order," Bell said, but the 60-Test veteran added he has not spoken with team management about a promotion. Whether I move up the order doesn't really matter as long as we're winning the next two Test matches," he said.
"That's the most important thing to me, contributing to this team winning the Ashes. It's probably one of the most exciting Test matches we're going into. Playing in Melbourne is something you look forward to, a Boxing Day Test match is always special."
Bell, who averaged just 25.68 in 13 previous Ashes Tests before the current series, feels he has improved significantly in the past 18 months. However, a century in an Ashes Test eludes him.
"I'm desperate for an Ashes hundred, there's no doubt about that. I'm hoping with the way I'm playing there's one around the corner," he said.

Tendulkar used scruffy old bat to reach record

New Delhi: Indian cricket superstar Sachin Tendulkar scored his record 50th Test century this week using a damaged and patched-up "lucky charm" bat which has now scored 14 hundreds, a report said on Thursday.
Tendulkar's favourite piece of willow showed plenty of war wounds caused by hours of hard-hitting at the crease, with tape across its toe (bottom) and shoulder.
But its effectiveness was in no doubt as he scored an unbeaten 111 against South Africa in Centurion to notch up his 50th Test century -- sparking national jubilation and a message of congratulations from the prime minister.
Somi Kohli, the owner of Beat All Sports which makes Vampire bats, said that he had insisted on repairing the bat after seeing Tendulkar trying to do the job himself earlier this year.
"Sachin's knowledge about bats is phenomenal but I told him that just like doctors are specialists, a willow also needs to be looked after by bat doctors," he said.
"Even though Sachin was reluctant, I took the bat away from him. The edges were repaired and we did a bit of grafting and protected the toe too. Sachin couldn't believe how good the bat was when I returned it to him."
Kohli said Tendulkar, the most prolific batsman in history, never uses his special bat during practice but instead saves it for matches.
"I hope he can bat with this willow till the end of the World Cup," Kohli said. "We will repair it again. But I pray he gets a big century in the final of the World Cup with this bat."
The World Cup will be hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh between February and April.

Tendulkar returns to India's One-day squad

New Delhi: Sachin Tendulkar was on Tuesday named in India's One-day squad for a five-match series in South Africa, ending a self-imposed 10-month lay-off from limited-overs cricket.
Tendulkar, 37, decided to rest from One-Day Internationals after smashing an unprecedented double-century against South Africa in Gwalior on February 24.
He missed 22 one-dayers this year, but a return was imminent for the away series in South Africa to prepare for the World Cup in South Asia in February-April.
Tendulkar, the world's leading run-getter, became the first batsman to score 50 Test hundreds during the opening Test at Centurion on Sunday.
The star batsman was included in a 16-man squad for the limited-overs contests which begin after the three-Test series ends on January 6.
Tendulkar is unlikely to feature in the the lone Twenty20 game in Durban on January 9 because he does not play the shortest form at the international level.
The five One-dayers will be played in Durban (Jan 12), Johannesburg (Jan 15), Cape Town (Jan 18), Port Elizabeth (Jan 21) and Centurion (Jan 23).
India's limited-overs squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Praveen Kumar, Munaf Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Yusuf Pathan, Piyush Chawla, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth.

South Africa complete comprehensive victory

South Africa 620 for 4 dec (Kallis 201*, Amla 140, de Villiers 129) beat India 136 (Morkel 5-20, Steyn 3-34) and 459 (Tendulkar 111*, Dhoni 90, Gambhir 80, Steyn 4-105) by an innings and 25 runs

Once the players woke up to clear skies in Centurion, it was only a matter of time before South Africa took the final two wickets that stood between them and a 1-0 lead in the series. The other question was whether they could inflict an innings defeat on India, something they had never done at home. They did, dismissing the tailenders in less than six overs on the fifth day, while Sachin Tendulkar remained unbeaten on 111.

The length of South Africa's wait was going to be determined by Tendulkar's approach, and once he showed no intention of farming the strike, exposing Sreesanth and Jaidev Unadkat by taking singles, the home team knew Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn wouldn't make them field for too long.

Sreesanth prodded forward to a short of a length delivery outside off from Morkel, and AB de Villiers caught the thick edge comfortably at second slip. Unadkat faced 10 out of the 14 balls following Sreesanth's dismissal and the Test ended when he fended a short ball from Steyn to gully.

Indian media hails Tendulkar's 50th test century

Sachin Tendulkar's 50th test century was greeted with front-page newspaper headlines Monday heralding the landmark by the master batsman.

News channels and websites started celebrating Tendulkar's half-century of centuries on Sunday when the legendary batsman reached the three-figure mark _ 107 not out _ in the first test against South Africa at Centurion.

They continued to highlight the achievement on Monday and invited fans to send in their messages for Tendulkar.

Newspapers gave liberal column space to the star player, who is fondly called the "God of cricket" here by media and fans alike, after he became the first man to complete 50 test centuries.

"Don of a new era" said the country's largest-selling English newspaper The Times of India, which carried a photograph of Tendulkar with hands raised on reaching the mark, and also carried statistical highlights alongside its main story.

"Legend, 50 times over," said the Hindustan Times in a similar page-one article while The Indian Express carried a boxed piece on its front page with the headline "Sachin cricket enters 51st century."

Newspapers also carried pictures from the past on their sports pages, highlighting his various career achievements, milestones and memorable moments.

Former India cricketers praised Tendulkar, whose 50th ton had been anticipated in a recent three-test home series against New Zealand, but finally came in an away match that saw the famed Indian batting lineup struggle.

"Indeed, coming generations will pinch themselves in disbelief that a cricketer such as Sachin Tendulkar ever walked in flesh and blood on this earth," wrote former India all-rounder Ravi Shastri in his column in Hindustan Times.

"The master kept appointment with his 50th test century in a situation most dire for the visitors," he added.

Former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar called 50 test hundreds a "mind-boggling number" in his column in The Times of India.

"It's a number that will put even people who played test cricket in a bit of a daze. Imagine the effect on the poor cricket fan!" he wrote.

Tendulkar helped India reach 454-8 in its second innings Sunday when play was halted 50 minutes early because of strong winds at the SuperSport Park ground. It left the visiting team 30 runs short of South Africa's first-innings total of 620-4 declared.

India can win the ICC World Cup: Kapil

Jamshedpur: India's only World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev said with a combination of experience and youth and a little bit of luck, Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men could win the 2011 quadrennial event to be hosted jointly by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
"The present Indian team has good track record. The combination of experienced and young players would help the team to win the ICC World Cup," the legendary all-rounder, who led India to its only world title way back in 1983, said during a promotional event.
When apprised that none of the World Cup organising country could win the trophy at home ground till date, Kapil said perhaps, India will break the jinx this time.
"No team can win the World Cup depending on a particular player. A total team effort is required to emerge champion," he said when asked to name one dependable player in the Indian team.
To a query whether India skipper Dhoni could repeat his 1983 feat, he said, "He could achieve much more than me."
Kapil was of the view that all the participating teams are strong contenders and whoever, performs during the mega-event would emerge as the winner.
Asked whether Test cricket would survive in the wake of Twenty20 format's popularity, Kapil said the traditional version of the game will never die.
About local lad Saurav Tiwary, who has been named in 30-men ICC World Cup probables list, he said: "If he could perform, he will get a chance and prosper like Dhoni."

Pakistan underlines its focus on arrival in New Zealand

The Pakistan cricket team arrived in New Zealand on Sunday determined to focus on the game and reluctant to talk about the corruption accusations swirling around the team.
Pakistan will play three Twenty20 matches followed by a Test and One-Day International series against New Zealand over the next seven weeks in a final build-up to the ICC Cricket World Cup starting in India on 19 February.
Team manager Intikhab Alam said the players on the New Zealand tour had been made aware of the standards expected of them.
"Everybody's been briefed, everybody's very clear in their minds what is expected from management, what is expected from the players as well. I have no doubt in my mind we cannot afford any more such unfortunate incidents," he said.
"They understand what we expect from them, what the country expects from them, what the board expects from them."
Pakistan arrived on the back of drawing two Tests and narrowly losing a one-day series 2-3 against South Africa while New Zealand are in one of their worst-ever slumps, having lost their last 11 one-day matches -- four against Bangladesh and five against India.
"South Africa's probably one of the best teams at the moment, so it was a morale booster after all that we went through," coach Waqar Younis said.
Younis said that given New Zealand's recent record, Pakistani supporters would expect his side to do well although he expected New Zealand to be much tougher at home than they were were on the sub-continent.
"It's always been a tough time for them on the subcontinent and this time they didn't really play the best of their cricket," he said.
"This is an opportunity for us also but we don't really want to forget that New Zealand in their own country, they are a very fine side. We've got to make sure we do the basics right and try to win the maximum we can."
Pakistan plays the first of the three Twenty20 matches against New Zealand in Auckland on 26 December before playing two Tests and six One-dayers.

Obanda leads Kenya XI to series win over Uganda XI

Alex Obanda stroked a 111-ball 100 to help Kenya XI register a comprehensive 94-run win over the visiting Uganda XI in the second One-dayer at Mombasa on Friday, 17 December.
With this win, Kenya XI claimed the three-match series 2-0. The last game is to be played on Sunday, 19 December. The three-match series is part of a build-up programme to ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 for Kenya XI.
Batting first Kenya XI was well served by a 158-run opening stand between David Obuya (74: 97b, 10x4) and Obanda (11x4, 2x6). Later, Collins Obuya scored an unbeaten 56-ball 71 with five boundaries and three sixes. Kenya XI ended at 304 for four in its 50 overs. For Uganda XI, Charles Waiswa picked up 3-62 off eight overs.
Uganda XI's chase never really took off as it lost wickets at regular intervals. Hiren Varaiya picked up 3-41 and skipper Jimmy Kamande ended with figures of 3-31. Opener Arthur Kyobe top-scored with 57 off 51 balls. Uganda XI folded up for 210.

இந்திய முக்கிய அரசியல்வாதிகளைப் படுகொலை செய்யும் திட்டம் எம்மிடமில்லை: புலிகள் மறுப்பு

இந்தியாவின் முக்கிய அரசியல்வாதிகளை படுகொலை செய்ய விடுதலைப் புலிகள் திட்டமிட்டுள்ளதாக வெளியான செய்திகளில் எந்தவித உண்மையும் இல்லையென்று விடுதலைப் புலிகள் அமைப்பின் சார்பில் மறுப்புத் தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.
தமது போராட்டத்தின் நியாயத்தை மழுங்கடிக்கும் நோக்கில் மேற்கொள்ளப்படும் பொய்ப் பரப்புரையே அது என்று அவர்கள் வன்மையாகக் கண்டனம் தெரிவித்துள்ளனர்.
இது தொடர்பாக விடுதலைப் புலிகளின் தலைமைச் செயலகம் விடுத்துள்ள அறிக்கை வருமாறு:
தலைமைச் செயலகம்,                                                  
தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள்,
தமிழீழம்.
18/12/2010
இந்தியப் பிரதமர் மன்மோகன் சிங் அவர்களையும், இந்திய தேசிய காங்கிரஸ் தலைவர் திருமதி சோனியா காந்தி, உள்துறை அமைச்சர் பா. சிதம்பரம், தமிழக முதலமைச்சர் மு. கருணாநிதி  ஆகியோரையும் தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள் கொல்லத் திட்டமிட்டுள்ளார்கள் என இந்திய புலனாய்வுத் துறையினரால் எச்சரிக்கை விடப்பட்டுள்ளதாக வரும் செய்திகளை முற்றாக மறுப்பதுடன் வன்மையாகக் கண்டிக்கின்றோம்.
சிங்களப் பேரினவாத அரசு தமிழர் மீது கட்டவிழ்த்து விட்ட காட்டுமிராண்டித்தனமான படுகொலைகளைக் கண்டித்து மனிதநேயமுள்ள நாடுகளும் அமைப்புக்களும் போர்க்குற்றம் தொடர்பான விசாரணைகளை முடுக்கிவிட்டுள்ள இக்காலப் பகுதியில் எமது போராட்டத்தின் நியாயத்தை மழுங்கடிக்கும் நோக்குடன் மேற்கொள்ளப்படும் பொய்ப் பரப்புரையின் ஒருபகுதியாகவே இச்செய்தியை நாம் பார்க்கின்றோம்.
கடந்த ஆண்டு மே மாதம் 17 ஆம் நாளன்று ஆயுதங்களை மெளனிப்பதாக நாம் வெளிப்படையாக அறிவித்திருந்தோம்.
ஜனநாயக வழியிலான மக்கள் எழுச்சியின் பலனாக எமது போராட்டத்துக்கு அனைத்துலக ரீதியில் எழுந்துவரும் ஆதரவையும் தமிழ் மக்களது அரசியல் - இராஜதந்திர நகர்வுகளையும் தகர்த்து,  தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் போராட்டம் ஆயுதவழியில் மட்டுமே நாட்டங்கொண்டது என்பதைக் காட்டுவதற்கு சிறிலங்கா அரசு பல சதி நடவடிக்கைகளில் ஈடுபட்டுள்ளது என்பதை நாம் நன்கு அறிவோம். 
இத்தீய எண்ணங்கொண்ட சிங்கள அரசின் அணுகுமுறைக்குத் துணைபோகாமலும் அவர்களின் சதிவலைக்குள் வீழ்ந்துவிடாமலும் இருக்க வேண்டுமென்று இந்திய, தமிழ்நாட்டு அரசியல் தலைவர்களையும் மக்களையும் அன்போடு வேண்டி நிற்கின்றோம்.
நன்றி.

“புலிகளின் தாகம் தமிழீழத் தாயகம்”

இராமு.சுபன்,
இணைப்பாளர்,
தலைமைச் செயலகம்,
தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள்,
தமிழீழம்.

இவ்வாறு தகவல்கள் தெறியவந்துளன