Better than Lara and Ponting; Gavaskar and Border; and the Don

A selection of tributes on Sachin Tendulkar's double-century

Sachin Tendulkar is congratulated by MS Dhoni after rewriting the record books, 2nd ODI, Gwalior, February 24, 2010

Aamer Sohail: "If you ask Saeed Anwar, he would say he's happy that Tendulkar broke his record"

"Better than Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting, the other two great players of my era. Better than Sir Viv Richards, Sunil Gavaskar and Allan Border. And I would even say better than Sir Don Bradman himself."
Nasser Hussain runs out of comparables for Tendulkar

"Nobody else does deserve to get there. It's only Sachin who deserves to scale that peak. 200 is a big score in one-day cricket. It's not easy to get there. It took him 20 long years to get there. He has come a long way. It's Sachin's greatness. Records are meant to be broken. I heard somebody [Charles Coventry] equalled my record sometime ago. But I did not know him. It's great that my friend from Mumbai Sachin broke it. I am very happy for him."
Saeed Anwar may have been pushed down the special list, but he's full of praise for the incumbent

"He should aim for more. Maybe a Test innings of 450 or an ODI knock of 250. And then he himself wants to win next year's World Cup. There is a little boy in Tendulkar who wants to keep playing. That spirit keeps him going. It's absolutely incredible how he keeps going."
Keeping with the Mumbai ways, Sunil Gavaskar is not yet sated

"Come on Sachin my friend get your 200. World record to please! You deserve it… Nervous for my good friend Sachin everything crossed for you mate… Glad I'm not bowling to him today ha ha ha."
Tendulkar's old pal Shane Warne tweets his excitement as he nears the double-century

"I thought the way he celebrated when he reached his 200 epitomised the man's persona. There was no running laps around the field, no aggressive gestures, nothing over-the-top. He did what he always does, raised both his arms, closed his eyes for a moment and quietly acknowledged that it had been done."
Anil Kumble applauds a long-time team-mate

I was very proud to have held the record for a little while but there could be no better man in the history of the game to break through the 200 barrier. Zimbabwe versus Bangladesh.. India versus South Africa. Not quite in the same bracket, are they?"
Charles Coventry downplays his own achievement in scoring 194* against Bangladesh, and joins in the applause

"The unbeaten 200 that Sachin made at Gwalior is a benchmark for others to follow. Now, there will be lot of players who believe that they can also make 200 in an one-day international. We will wait and see."
VVS Laxman tells DNA that it was a path breaking innings

"He has always respected the game and is dedicated to it. But I think this is not enough for him. He is hungry and I am sure he will keep creating new records. He is a dedicated student of the game and is still keen to learn things."
Ramakant Achrekar, Tendulkar's childhood coach

"I think if you ask Saeed Anwar, he would say he's happy that Tendulkar broke his record. The reason for his success is that he has a great respect for the game."
Aamer Sohail, Saeed Anwar's good friend and opening partner, pays a fitting tribute to the new record-holder

"He has got so much class. His greatest strength is the longevity, to be able to be so successful at a young age and to still be doing the same thing 20 years on. We're blessed to still have such a great player playing this game."
Michael Clarke didn't watch the innings, but plans to catch the highlights

"If any person deserved to do better than me it was Tendulkar. I am happy for him, there are no real regrets."
Saeed Anwar, whose 194 was the previous highest ODI score.

"It shows his mental and physical toughness. He's a player who does not throw away his wicket once he's set. He always places a huge price on his wicket."
Dilip Vengsarkar salutes the attributes that such a knock needs

"Sachin - the greatest ever player ever - without any doubt… I salute Sachin... World's greatest sportsman. We can see him only rise. (He is an) inspiration to us all. He is the best."
IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi waxes beyond eloquent, on his twitter page

"What an innings it was. He had come close to achieving it twice. I always felt that Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya are capable of doing that."
Kumar Sangakkara has not forgotten Tendulkar's recent dazzling form

"He is my favourite player. I had said that one day he would go on to break all batting records and now you see him scoring runs and runs."
Javed Miandad kinda saw it coming

"Whatever record is seen to be impossible to achieve, he makes it possible. That's all I can say. It seems as he's getting older, he is becoming more and more mature. No wonder Sir Donald Bradman saw himself in the way Sachin bats."
King of parsimony Bapu Nadkarni is not parsimonious with his praise

Source: cricinfo.com

Sri Lanka see opportunity in India's injuries

Thursday, December 24
Start time 14:30 (09:00 GMT)

The absence of Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni gives the injury-hit visitors a chance to draw level in Kolkata

News : Sehwag urges youngsters to grab opportunities

Series/Tournaments: Sri Lanka tour of India

The 2-1 scoreline is not unexpected given the way India have pushed Sri Lanka to the brink in all but one game - a Twenty20 - played in the limited-overs leg of the tour. But now, with the home team missing two match-winners, a hurting Sri Lanka have a realistic chance of leveling the series.

This will be the first time since MS Dhoni's debut in 2004 that India play an ODI without him and Yuvraj Singh. Dhoni has often said that missing Yuvraj is a big blow, so how India cope with the loss of their captain and best batsman in ODIs in addition to Yuvraj will be crucial.

The tour has seen so many players succumbing to injuries it's a surprise the rest have managed to get so far. Sri Lanka have lost the services of Thilan Thushara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Dilhara Fernando and Angelo Mathews. Nuwan Kulasekara missed the Tests but returned for the shorter versions. Yuvraj had a recurrence of his finger injury and has been indefinitely ruled out. Sreesanth is yet to feature after getting the flu, while Lasith Malinga overcame it in time for the last game. Thankfully, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Virender Sehwag overcame minor scares.

But there is always fear - especially among bowlers - of another injury around the corner. Three of them have shouldered the burden of carrying their respective attacks: for the hosts, the experienced duo of Harbhajan Singh (187.2 overs bowled so far) and comeback man Zaheer Khan (131) are in need of breaks. On the other hand, Sri Lanka thrust the rookie Chanaka Welegedara (126 overs) into the forefront on his first major series and he will be longing for a breather at the business end of a testing tour. This is the start of another busy season for India and there isn't much time to think ahead. Wrapping up the series in Kolkata will allow India to rest weary players ahead of the Bangladesh tour starting January 4. Sri Lanka also feature in the tri-series that kicks off that tour but, needing to win both their remaining matches in India, cannot afford the luxury of rotation.

The pitch, one that's expected to play slow and low in the latter half, will favour India's spinners who found rhythm and confidence in Cuttack. Chilly temperatures, the dew factor and a slow-paced track mean that the bowlers will need to produce another special performance. With bitter cold and early morning fog expected to have a telling impact in Delhi, the venue for the fifth match, India will be keen to wrap up the series here.

Form guide
(last five completed matches, most recent first)

India - WLWLL
Sri Lanka - LWLLL

Watch out for...

Tillakaratne Dilshan v Harbhajan Singh and Ravindra Jadeja: Sri Lanka's strength lies, keeping with tradition, at the top of the order. In Tillakaratne Dilshan they have a batsman at the height of his powers, equally adept at firing in the first over and taking charge of the slog overs. A converted opener, Dilshan has acquitted himself superbly this year and his centuries in Rajkot and Cuttack kept India sweating all the way. His ability to play unconventional shots on either side of the stumps makes it critical for the spinners to plot their modus operandi against him with care. In the first match of the series, Dilshan collected 36 runs from 23 deliveries faced against Ravindra Jadeja but was more sedate against Harbhajan Singh, who allowed just 17 from 26 balls before he bowled Dilshan for 160. In the second ODI, Dilshan took 33 runs from 27 balls faced from Harbhajan, but just 18 from the 33 Jadeja bowled at him. Dilshan didn't last long enough to face spin in Cuttack, and if the pair comes up against him tomorrow, the margin for error will be miniscule.

Lasith Malinga v Virender Sehwag: Lasith Malinga's ability to sling out top-order batsmen hasn't been evident recently on the international stage, owing largely to the injuries that have restricted him to just 10 ODIs in 2009. In the absence of Muttiah Muralitharan and Dilhara Fernando, Sri Lanka's most experienced bowler has to deliver early if Sri Lanka want to keep Virender Sehwag quiet. Fast bowlers have accounted for Sehwag in his last nine innings, and getting him out early in every game was crucial to Australia's recent series win in India. On his comeback in Cuttack, Malinga's first over cost 16 with Sehwag blasting three fours. Sehwag was dismissed by Chanaka Welegedara and didn't get a chance to face Malinga further, but sparks could fly if they face off in Kolkata.

Team news

Virat Kohli will step in for Yuvraj and hope to build on his impressive 54 last week.

India: 1 Virender Sehwag (capt), 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 Gautam Gambhir, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Ashish Nehra.

Sri Lanka don't have any new fitness worries but they need to address their middle-order problems. Chamara Kapugedera struggled for fluency in Cuttack before a loose shot sent him back, and Sri Lanka should really reconsider Sanath Jayasuriya over Thilan Samaraweera not least because of the left-arm spinning option he creates.

Sri Lanka: 1 Upul Tharanga, 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (capt/wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Sanath Jayasuriya/Chamara Kapugedera, 6 Thilina Kandamby, 7 Nuwan Kulasekara, 8 Suraj Randiv, 9 Lasith Malinga, 10 Ajantha Mendis, 11 Chanaka Welegedara.

Pitch and conditions

Kolkata's Eden Gardens is set to host an ODI after nearly three years. It last hosted an ODI in February 2007, when Sri Lanka toured India for a short series before the World Cup. The dew factor is expected to play a large role and with a 2.30pm start, and the sun setting fairly early, the teams could have some slippery conditions while fielding under lights.

Stats and trivia

    * The highest ODI total at the Eden Gardens is Sri Lanka's 309 in 49.4 overs against Pakistan in 1997.
    * Head-to-head in Kolkata, India and Sri Lanka have each won and lost a game, with the third being ruined by February rain.
    * The largest margin of victory in an ODI at this venue is India's 102-run win over West Indies in in 1993.

Source:cricinfo.com

Dropped catches hurt us - MS Dhoni

India v Sri Lanka, 1st Twenty20, Nagpur

Sri Lanka 215 for 5 (Sangakkara 78*, Kapugedera 47) beat India 186 for 9 (Gambhir 55) by 29 runs

MS Dhoni has said one of the reasons for the 29-run run defeat to Sri Lanka in Nagpur was because India tended to take Twenty20 internationals as a "warm-up for the one-dayers to follow". India have now lost seven of their last ten Twenty20s and two of their three wins were against Bangladesh and Ireland.

"I don't think we were in the groove for a Twenty20 game and too often we treat it as a warm-up for the one-dayers to follow," Dhoni said. "It's probably the reason for our defeats in these games."

Another, and more significant, reason for Wednesday's defeat was India's terrible fielding. They dropped five chances - two off the Sri Lankan openers before they made a start - and frequently fumbled balls in the outfield. Yuvraj dropped Sanath Jayasuriya on 4, Ishant grassed Tillakaratne Dilshan on 13 and Kumar Sangakkara as well, Rohit Sharma let off Chamara Kapugedera on 14, and Pragyan Ojha failed to reach a tough chance given by Angelo Mathews in the final over after which the batsman hit two sixes.

"The catching is a bit of concern," Dhoni said. "We are not a brilliant fielding side, but we don't drop too many catches. That also hurt us also to some extent."

Had India taken their chances, Sri Lanka would have struggled to reach 215. In the over after he was dropped, Jayasuriya hit Ashish Nehra for five consecutive boundaries and provided the acceleration after a slow start. The opening stand of 43 set the platform for Kumar Sangakkara to score 78 off just 37 deliveries. Kapugedera provided propulsion by scoring 47 off 20 while Mathews made 15 off four balls.

"What really set us up was the two openers batting for six overs, even if they didn't get a flying start," Sangakkara said. "They really applied themselves and got those 40-odd runs and we could launch our innings from there. I've been in good form, but I've been getting out cheaply because I've never really applied myself. I thought it was about time I really did something to inspire the side."

Sangakkara also described Jayasuriya's four-over spell during India's chase as "magic". Jayasuriya came on after India had raced to 88 in seven overs and brought down the scoring-rate dramatically. He conceded only 19 off his four overs and also took the wickets of MS Dhoni and Yusuf Pathan. Sri Lanka's bowlers were also supported by far superior fielding effort and Sangakkara acknowledged as much.

"I thought the fielding was outstanding, we were excellent in the first 16 overs and I thought we could have been a little more ruthless in the final four overs and finished the game off," he said. "Overall, everyone played really hard and they showed a lot of hunger to win.

Source: cricinfo.com

India plunder 417 on opening day

India 417 for 2 (Gambhir 167, Sehwag, 131, Dravid 85* and Sachin 20*) v  Sri Lanka

Virender Sehwag drives off the back foot, India v Sri Lanka, 2nd Test, Kanpur, 1st day, November 24, 2009
After being dropped on zero, Virender Sehwag scored 131 off 122 balls © AFP
Related Links
Analysis : Sri Lanka count positives in bruising draw
Players/Officials: Gautam Gambhir | Virender Sehwag
Matches: India v Sri Lanka at Kanpur
Series/Tournaments: Sri Lanka tour of India
Teams: India | Sri Lanka

It was a run orgy at the Green Park stadium in Kanpur. The first session witnessed a semblance of a battle, at least in the first hour, but the rest of the day was a one-way street, with India utterly dominant. Gautam Gambhir notched up his seventh hundred in nine Tests - and his fourth on the trot - Virender Sehwag completed a feisty century, Rahul Dravid was close to his ton and the end-of-day score was the highest in a day for India.

The situation was summed up by the sight of Rangana Herath bowling over the stumps and outside leg when Dravid had just walked out to the crease. It said everything about Sri Lanka's attitude and India's total domination. With the pitch expected to assist spin later in the Test, it could get even tougher for Sri Lanka over the next few days.

It wasn't just the runs, it was the manner in which they were compiled from the second hour on that was telling. The batsmen seemed to do as they wished: Gambhir punctuated his charges down the wicket with delicate late cuts, Sehwag went either inside-out or carved across the line, and Dravid, who hit the last ball of the day for a four, pierced the off-side field at will.

Inevitably, there plenty of records to note: it was the first time India scored over 400 in a day, it was the highest opening partnership between Gambhir and Sehwag, and even Muralitharan, at one point, was leaking more than 6 runs per over.

The most telling statistic was the spinners' figures. Sri Lanka had managed to keep the scoring rate down with the new ball but things went pear-shaped for them after the spinners were introduced, with Sehwag and Gambhir looting 73 runs off nine overs before lunch and little changing after the break. They weren't allowed to settle in by the openers, who lashed out at them with a calculated assault that was breathtaking.

Gambhir went after Herath in his first over, hitting him for three fours: he whipped one through covers, cut past point and stepped out to loft to the straight boundary. When Herath returned later, Gambhir went repeatedly down the track to drive him to distraction. If Gambhir reserved the best of his aggression for Herath, Sehwag went after Mendis in the first session and took care of Muralitharan in the second. Mendis floated a full toss, offered a long-hop and slid one down the leg side in his first spell and Sehwag sent each one to the boundary. The attacking intent was best seen in the last over before lunch when Sehwag despatched an offbreak from Mendis high over long-on. That aggression continued after lunch with Sehwag collecting five boundaries against Muralitharan, including two fierce off drives, an inside-edge, and a tuck to the fine-leg boundary which brought up his hundred. He fell to Muralitharan, though, against the run of play, trying to play an inside-out drive to a but failing to clear cover.

What facilitated India's dominance was the clarity of thought in the approach by all the batsmen. Gambhir paced himself superbly, playing out the new ball, and then indulging himself against the spinners on a first-day track. There were a couple of occasions when he hung his bat out to the new ball and was seen immediately reprimanding himself. Gambhir had different approaches to the spinners: he stepped out often against Herath, used his crease well against Muralitharan, going either well back or stretching forward, and worked the angles against Mendis. There were several delightful late cuts that showcased his skill but his stand-out stroke was a gorgeous, almost nonchalant, straight drive off Muralitharan. However, he fell to the same bowler, beaten by the dip and scooping a difficult return catch, which Muralitharan accepted with a dive to his right.

Dravid was decisive in everything he did right from the start. When he defended he showed the full face of bat and deployed soft hands, and when he chose to attack, he either stretched well forward to drive or rocked right back to punch through the off side. There were many skilful punches on the back foot but his best shot was a gorgeous inside-out extra-cover drive off Muralitharan.

However, the most interesting of the three knocks was Sehwag's. Initially, It seemed he was waging a battle against himself. He chased the third ball he faced - a wide delivery from Welegedara - and edged it but was dropped when Prasanna Jayawardene dived across and distracted Mahela Jayawardene at first slip. Sehwag then tried to go hard at Angelo Mathews a couple of times and was beaten. Those near-misses could have forced Sehwag into a reckless response, but to his credit, he changed his approach, playing defensively with the full face of the bat and as close to the body as possible. That his first boundary came only off his 27th delivery said much about his mindset. There were many typical forceful hits but what stood out was a delicate late steer to third man off Welegedara, when he waited on the front foot before opening the bat face at the last minute to get it between gully and the slip cordon.

The presence of three spinners and just one frontline seamer was always going to pose problems for Sri Lanka after they lost the toss. India's emphatic opening act has set them up perfectly to put Sri Lanka under intense pressure over the next four days.

source: cricinfo.com

Mendis, Sreesanth and Ojha in as India bat

India v Sri Lanka, 2nd Test, Kanpur, 1st day
Mendis and Sreesanth in as India bat

November 24, 2009

India chose to bat v Sri Lanka

On a pitch that is likely to break up over the next couple of days, MS Dhoni won the toss and chose to bat in the second Test in Kanpur.

Though there was some grass cover on the pitch at Green Park, it was the obvious decision to make as the surface had a few cracks that the experts reckoned would widen and break up. The spinners are expected to come into play but the seamers too can be among the wickets on this surface with variable bounce.

India have made two changes: Sreesanth, whose last Test was here in 2008, replaced Ishant Sharma and Pragyan Ojha came in for Amit Mishra, who took just one wicket in the Ahmedabad Test. Sri Lanka have gone in for three spinners as they have brought in Ajantha Mendis for the injured Dammika Prasad.

India: 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 VVS Laxman, 7 MS Dhoni (capt/wk), 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Pragyan Ojha, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Sreesanth.

Sri Lanka: 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Tharanga Paranavitana, 3 Mahela Jayawardene, 4 Kumar Sangakkara (capt), 5 Thilan Samaraweera, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Prasanna Jayawardene (wk), 8 Ajantha Mendis, 9 Rangana Herath, 10 Muttiah Muralitharan, 11 Chanaka Welegedara.

source: cricinfo.com

Tendulkar, Gambhir, dead pitch frustrate Sri Lanka

India 426 (Dravid 177, Dhoni 110, Welegedara 4-87) and 341 for 4 (Gambhir 114, Tendulkar 100*) drew with Sri Lanka 760 for 7 decl. (Jayawardene 275, Prasanna 154*, Dilshan 112)

Sachin Tendulkar crossed 30,000 international runs, and reached his 88th international century © AFP

Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, and a dead Ahmedabad pitch (21 wickets and seven centuries in five days) put paid to Sri Lanka's dream of a first Test win in India. Gambhir played out 110 deliveries for 40 runs, and Tendulkar 211 for 100 runs; both of them looked entirely at home in the role of saving a Test, not letting dot balls affect their minds.

By the time the final session of the match arrived, the only question left unanswered was whether Tendulkar would get to his 88th international century. Kumar Sangakkara didn't seem pleased with being kept on the field in the mandatory overs while Tendulkar moved towards the ton. The bowlers started bowling way outside off stump, and Tendulkar retorted in his own inimitable manner. He walked across to a delivery so wide it would have been called in an ODI, and flicked it to the square-leg boundary to get into the 90s. He had to work similarly hard for the rest of the runs too. As soon as he got there, the captains agreed to call off the match with six overs still to go.

Sri Lanka started the day 144 ahead, and needed eight Indian wickets to force a result, but met a docile pitch and determined batting. The only break in concentration came in the second session when Gambhir stepped out to launch Rangana Herath out of the ground, and ended up losing his wicket. That was not before he had reached his seventh century: four of them, including his last three, have come in the second innings, two of them in match-saving scenarios. He now averages 59.55 in the second innings, against 54.22 overall.

Sri Lanka were not helped by the hamstring injury to Dammika Prasad, who didn't bowl in the first session, and Muttiah Muralitharan's ineffectiveness: he didn't take a wicket in 38 second-innings overs. Previously Murali had gone wicketless in the second innings of a match only six times; the most he had bowled in such scenarios was 17 overs. Their problems on the unhelpful pitch were summed up by how Amit Mishra, nightwatchman from yesterday, got to his personal best score and frustrated them for 26 deliveries on the fifth morning.

Gambhir, at the other end, was in his Napier-like mode from earlier this year, when he batted 643 minutes for 137 runs to save the Test. Even today, he was not interested in scoring, or in other words he didn't let being stuck at one end bother him much. Angelo Mathews bowled well in Prasad's absence, hitting good lengths consistently, getting some of them to stay low and getting the odd one to seam away off the rare crack on the pitch. But Gambhir took most of the strike to him, playing 30 consecutive balls from Mathews for no run in the first hour, certain in his judgement outside off, and coming forward to straighter deliveries to negate the odd shooter.

Against spinners, Gambhir preferred to stay back, or jump out of the track and get close enough to the delivery. He did pull out the big hits in the 90s, as he is used to doing because he prefers to get the 90s done with quickly. He took 61 deliveries to move from overnight 74 to 90, but then hit three boundaries in six balls to reach his century quickly. And then scored two runs in 25 deliveries. The approach in the 90s was similar to that in Napier, when he stepped out and lofted Daniel Vettori and Jeetan Patel for fours in consecutive overs.

Post lunch, when Gambhir played his only rash shot, he left the saunter towards safety in Tendulkar's hands. Tendulkar had started off fluently, driving Murali against the spin for two boundaries, and punching Mathews for one, and once he got comfortable in the middle he too opted to play for time. Between them Gambhir and Tendulkar played out 24 overs. The latter had reached 32 off 75 deliveries, and slowed down even more after that.

Sri Lanka tried one of the last rolls of the dice, taking the new ball and getting Prasad to bowl despite the injury. But neither Prasad nor Chanaka Welegedara could find enough from the pitch to disturb Tendulkar or VVS Laxman. For a while Tendulkar shut shop completely, scoring three runs in 26 deliveries. By that time he had reached 30,000 international runs, and it seemed torturous to make the fast bowlers keep bowling on this pitch.

The spinners came back on, the match started moving towards a slow draw again. By tea Tendulkar had crossed 50, India had erased the deficit, and Tendulkar and Laxman had played out another 24 overs. Post the interval, both Tendulkar and Laxman batted with more intent, in the knowledge that the game had been saved. Sri Lankan bowlers tried various angles of attack, but there was little left to play for, and both the batsmen duly reached personal milestones.

source:cricinfo.com

No Mendis no Thusara

Update from the field.

  
Sri Lanka in India Test series
1st Test, 2009/10 season
Played at Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad (16 - 20) November 2009

India have won the toss and elected to bat first.

Below is the final eleven for the 1st test.

Sri Lanka
TM Dilshan, NT Paranavitana, KC Sangakkara(C, WK), DPMD Jayawardene, TT Samaraweera, AD Mathews, HAPW Jayawardene†, KTGD Prasad, UWMBCA Welegedara, HMRKB Herath, M Muralitharan

India
G Gambhir, V Sehwag, R Dravid, SR Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, VVS Laxman, MS Dhoni(C, WK), Harbhajan Singh, Z Khan, A Mishra, I Sharma