All Eyes On Sehwag Before Warm-Up Game

All Eyes On Sehwag Before Warm-Up Game

 

Virender Sehwag is being touted as the messiah who will pull India out of the rut and no wonder once the opener trudged into the indoor nets here, the waiting media contingent started minutely following each and every movement.

Such was the clamour from electronic media to record every move of Sehwag that Gautam Gambhir’s intense knocking session facing throwdowns from fielding coach Trevor Penny and monitored by coach Duncan Fletcher largely went unnoticed.

While Sehwag is returning from a shoulder injury, Gambhir had been rendered out of action because of the impact his right elbow received due to a ferocious Matt Prior sweep in the first Test at the Lord’s last month.

Another injured cricketer Zaheer Khan kept himself away from indoor nets but his recovery has been on expected lines and he has begun to bowl with growing vigour over the last three days.

All three will be keenly observed in the two-day match against Northamptonshire beginning tomorrow.

India would look to field all three of them in the third Test in Edgbaston on August 10 even if their presence and productivity is reduced to minimum in the two-day tie.

The tie will be of equal concern for skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni who needs to do well with both the willow and big gloves.

And so it must be for Suresh Raina who has again got his critics going over his handling of intimidatory fast bowling.

Both Dhoni and Raina were two early turn-outs at the nets, along with Sehwag and Gambhir, as the visitors look to regain belief and respect in the eyes of millions of fans.

Within an hour, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman too were showing up at the indoor nets as a determined India announced its intention to set its house in order.

AMCO INTERNATIONAL SPECIAL (Brand: AMCO)

AMCO INTERNATIONAL SPECIAL  (Brand: AMCO)

• Non-laminated factory processed top of 19 mm thickness complete with seasoned wooden frame fixed to table top
• Metallic legs of 32 x 32 mm with heavy duty level adjustment wheels of 75 mm ( 4 wheels with brake and 4 without) and legs with levellers supplied with posts and nets.
• Easy for one person to fold and roll.

 

Ojha, Kohli Called Up To Replace Yuvraj, Harbhajan

Ojha, Kohli Called Up To Replace Yuvraj, Harbhajan

Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha and middle-order batsman Virat Kohli were today called up to join the injury-hit Indian team as replacements for Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh, both of whom have been ruled out of for the Test series against England.

While Harbhajan has suffered a grade I abdominal muscle strain, Yuvraj has fractured his left index finger during the second cricket Test against England which the visitors lost by a massive 319 runs.

“The All-India Senior Selection Committee has picked Virat Kohli and Pragyan Ojha as their replacements. Both players will join the Indian team at the earliest,” BCCI secretary N Srinivasan said in a statement. Yuvraj, who struck a half-century in the second Test, injured his finger when he got hit by a Tim Bresnan snorter during an improbable 478-run chase at Trent Bridge. Harbhajan, who has struggled to find form in the series so far, also picked up the injury during the second Test.

The off-spinner bowled just 13.4 overs in the second Test and has been woefully out of form in the series. The tweaker grabbed 1 for 69 in the second Test after his 1 for 218 in the first at Lord’s.

Yuvraj’s injury may take around four weeks to recover, while Harbhajan is likely to get back to full fitness in three weeks’ time, which leaves a question mark over their participation in the first few matches of the five-match ODI series starting September 3.

The Indians have been besieged by injury concerns even before the start of the series.

Virender Sehwag, who joined the team today and is expected to play in the third Test at Edgbaston, had to pull out of the first two matches owing to a shoulder injury. The Indians were struck another body blow when pace spearhead Zaheer Khan suffered a hamstring strain on the first morning of the first Test.

Gautam Gambhir picked up an elbow injury after being hit by a full-blooded sweep shot by Matt Prior at Lord’s. He missed the last Test but is set to play at Edgbaston.

On the verge of losing their world number one status after suffering crushing defeats in the first two Tests, India will have to play out of their skin to salvage their reputation.

PROFLEX (Brand: SG)

• Ergonomic design, moulded for comfort fit
• Dual density fabrication comprising lightweight
• High Density and Low Density foam
• Superior quality fine elastic velcro straps

Sachin And Dravid Rise In ICC Test Rankings

Sachin And Dravid Rise In ICC Test Rankings

England's continuing dominance on world number one India in the ongoing Test series is beginning to reflect in the ICC rankings as well with several of their players rising to career-best positions in the list released on Tuesday.

Down 0-2 in the four-match series, India's players, with the exception of Rahul Dravid (up four places to 11th) and Sachin Tendulkar (up one place to third), either slipped or just managed to hold on to their places.

Dravid, who made his second consecutive Test match hundred of the series, continued his climb up the rankings and is on the verge of breaking back into the top 10, with his best batting rating since India's last Test series in England in 2007.

But VVS Laxman slipped a couple of rungs to ninth in the batting chart, while Ishant Sharma lost a spot to be eighth in the bowling list.

India is in fact in real danger of losing the numero uno spot to England as a win of two clear Tests in the four-match series (2-0 or 3-1) will see Andrew Strauss's men topple the visitors. The table is updated only at the end of each series.

For England, Ian Bell broke into the top five after recording a career-high batting rating following his 159 against India in the second Test at Trent Bridge, the ICC said in a statement.

Stuart Broad's all-round heroics helped him climb to third in the all-rounder rankings, while he has also jumped to seventh in the bowling table following match figures of 8-76.

Bell, who recorded his fourth century in the space of six Test matches, has achieved a new career-high rating and is just 16 rating points behind England and county teammate Jonathan Trott, who has slipped two places to fourth.

Matt Prior (21st), Stuart Broad (44th) and Tim Bresnan (joint 75th) have also achieved new career-high ratings following England's 319-run victory.

It is, however, not all good news for England's batters as Alastair Cook has slipped six places to 11th following a disappointing series in which he has made just 20 runs in four innings.

Tim Bresnan has risen 14 places in the bowling rankings, following his first five-wicket Test haul, which put him 25th on the list, while his innings of 90 in the second innings has helped him rise to 13th in the all-rounder standings.

B23400-C (Brand: Total Sports)

• 40mm 3 Star Ball Three Pack
• ITEM NAME MAGNETIC UPRIGHT BIKE
• COMPUTER JS-144B Big LCD display shows scan,time,speed,distance,calorie,total distance,hand pulse.
• DESCRIPTION 8-tension control, double direction, belt driven outside magnetic resistance system,5 KG flywheel,
   high class weight pedal,confortable saddle,vertical and horizontal seat adjustment.handlebar with hand pulse
• PACKINGSIZE: 66.5*26*66 CM
• ASSEMBLYSIZE: 90*58*130 CM
• MAX USER 1
• WEIGHT: 100KGS
• N.W.: 22.5 KGS
• G.W.: 25.5 KGS

resnan bowls England to crushing victory over India

 

Bresnan bowls England to crushing victory over India

 

NOTTINGHAM, England (Reuters) - Tim Bresnan bowled England to a crushing 319-run victory over India in the second test on Monday with a test best of five for 48 as the world number one side capitulated for 158 with a day to spare.
Paceman Bresnan followed up his 90 with the bat earlier in the day with a match-winning effort with the ball on the fourth evening to put England 2-0 up in the four-match series.
Sachin Tendulkar, seeking his 100th international century, top scored with 56 but failed to go on to the much-anticipated milestone. Harbhajan Singh entertained briefly with 46 from 44 balls after just one of the top seven batsmen reached double figures.
England, bidding for their sixth straight series victory, need to win by two clear tests to topple India at the top of the world rankings.
India lost the key wicket of Rahul Dravid (6) before lunch and another experienced batsman in VVS Laxman (4) followed him 12 balls after the interval. Rookie opener Abhinav Mukund (3), Suresh Raina (1), Yuvraj Singh (8) and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (0) were the other key victims.
Dravid, who scored 117 in the first innings following an unbeaten century at Lord's, edged a good ball from Stuart Broad to keeper Matt Prior. Laxman was bowled by a James Anderson delivery that swung in and then left him to take his off stump.
Mukund survived a "king pair" when Bresnan dropped him at second slip off Anderson's first ball of the innings. But having endured 41 balls he fended an uncomfortable Bresnan bouncer to Andrew Strauss at first slip.
Raina was peppered with a barrage of short-pitched bowling as England clearly felt he was vulnerable and he vindicated their strategy by top-edging a hook off Bresnan to substitute Scott Elstone at fine-leg.
Yuvraj almost exited earlier when England celebrated his wicket, but the left-hander survived a review when replays showed a deflection to Prior from Broad's bowling came off his elbow.
He did not remain much longer, though, failing to handle another Bresnan bouncer and gloving the ball to Alastair Cook at short gully.
The score plummeted to 55 for six when Dhoni played no stroke to his first delivery and was lbw to a Bresnan inswinger. Bresnan's hat-trick ball to Harbhajan was a full toss that was hit for four.

ANDERSON DISMISSES TENDULKAR
After tea, Tendulkar, who had earlier played some stunning straight drives off Anderson and Broad, was lbw when he played no stroke to Anderson, who has now taken his wicket seven times in eight matches. Only Sri Lankan Muttiah Muralitharan has dismissed him more (eight times in 19 matches).
Harbhajan top-edged Bresnan to Elstone for his fifth wicket, Anderson bowled Praveen Kumar for 25 and Broad finished off the match by bowling Shanthakumaran Sreesanth for a duck.
England were bowled out for 544 in their second innings before lunch after Bresnan's rapid effort, while Prior made 73 and Broad 44. Ian Bell hit a stylish 159 on Sunday having received a controversial reprieve from India after a run out when on 137.
The momentum swung significantly after Saturday when India achieved a first innings lead of 67 runs that might have been more had Broad not claimed England's 12th test hat-trick. India then crashed from 267 for four to 288 all out.
Broad also led England's fight-back on day one when they were 124 for eight at tea having lost the toss/ His 64 in 66 balls raised the total to 221.