The Great Game Called Cricket...

"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

"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

"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

What an afternoon there at Gwalior. It was easy to see early in the innings when India elected to bat first that it was a pitch totally in favour of the batsmen, and whoever the bowler was the odds were really stacked against him. The pitch was flat, the ground is small and just the atmosphere there - every second of third ball was disappearing for four. Considering all that, India needed to do something special given the team they are with so many world- class batsmen and so much depth in their batting. And that is what they did ending up with more than 400 runs and of course, Sachin Tendulkar's milestone.

It was incredible; 200 runs in an ODI innings is quite an achievement. Sachin has close to a hundred centuries in international cricket but he really needed this; something very special in an individual innings. He has got so many very good hundreds, but he needed that one knock that would create history. He doesn't have a triple hundred in Tests, he doesn't have the quickest fifty or hundred [in ODIs] or the fastest hundred in Tests. He has just got loads of very good Tests and ODI hundreds. So this is something he will especially cherish. He has that one individual innings that he can be really proud of.

It is a feat that has taken a while despite the number of ODIs being played and no one has really come close. Recently Charles Coventry got into the 190s but going past 200, like Sachin did and so comfortably - he didn't really struggle for much time or overs and got there quite easily in the end, [a testimony] to his fitness.

One of the changes that I have seen with Tendulkar in the last couple of years and which was noticeable in this innings was that two years back he would set his mind on a hundred right at the start of the innings. What has changed in the last two years is that he goes out there to enjoy his batting and play his shots and then when he is in his nineties, he gets conscious of a hundred and then goes past it.

On this occasion when he got past his hundred I don't think he was aiming for a double hundred. He realised quickly that these conditions were best for batting and he was just having a great time hitting the balls for fours and sixes and there were some excellent shots in that innings. Just when he came to the 190s he realised he had a great opportunity to get a double hundred and that was when he started thinking of that. That is one change you have seen in him in the last two years and its no surprise that some of his big hundreds in the last one year or so: the 160 [163] against New Zealand and the 170 [175] against Australia and now a double hundred against South Africa. It was a terrific innings and there is no one more deserving of getting that record than Tendulkar himself.

GWALIOR: Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar dedicated his history-making unbeaten knock of 200 to the people of India. In the post-match ceremony,
Tendulkar said that throughout his 20-year career, he got amazing support from his fans and the people of India. "I dedicate this ton to the people of India. I thank those who supported me and this is indeed a special moment," he said.

Tendulkar also expressed satisfaction that his body lasted 50 overs in the match that was a do-or-die game for the visiting South African team here at the Roop Singh stadium on Wednesday. ‘‘In my heart, I always feel what I am doing should be good for the team. I am always motivated to do right things for the team. Today, I was striking the ball well and I felt happy about it,’’ he said.

On being asked when he actually felt that he could topple all the records and even become the first man to reach such a huge milestone, Tendulkar said: ‘‘I was batting on 175 in the 42nd over and that time it crossed my mind that there was a chance. When I really reached close to it, I started rotating the strike because MS (Dhoni) was striking the ball really well. It feels good that I lasted 50 overs in the middle.’’

Like always, Tendulkar also praised the rest of his teammates, who partnered with him in the match. ‘‘Yusuf (Pathan), Dinesh (Karthik) and MS played crucial knocks and that helped us reach such a huge score. Earlier , a target of 340 to 350 was there in my mind, but the way Yusuf and MS started hitting the ball, it changed the momentum completely,’’ Tendulkar said.

South African skipper Jacques Kallis also hailed Tendulkar for using the home conditions well, while Dhoni said: ‘‘ He carried his innings through and later on in the innings , used the pace of the ball very well.’’ The Gwalior cricket officials decided to dedicate a stand in the stadium in the name of Tendulkar and also gifted him a silver bat along with a cheque for Rs 10 lakh to honour his stupendous achievement.

New Delhi: Cricket fraternity hailed Sachin Tendulkar for becoming the first batsman in the history of one-day cricket to smash a double century, describing the feat as an incredible achievement.

Accolades also came from none other than India’s President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

"Sachin Tendulkar has yet again re-written the record books of cricket, by climbing yet another Mt Everest of the game," Patil said in a message.

She said in setting a new benchmark for the highest score by a batsman in one-day internationals as well as in notching up a double century, "the master batsman has set stiff targets" for future generation of cricketers to break.

Terming it a "magnificent achievement", the Prime Minister said that Sachin has led by "example and that all Indians are proud of his achievement".

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar said Tendulkar has established himself as the greatest batsman ever.

"There is just no question about that. He is the greatest batsman the game has ever seen," Gavaskar gushed.

"See his record! Who else has got 90-plus centuries, 17000-plus runs in ODIs and 13000-plus runs in Test cricket? He is comfortably the greatest batsman ever," said Gavaskar.

Gavaskar, meanwhile, advised Tendulkar not to stop here. "He should aim for more. Maybe a Test innings of 450 or a ODI knock of 250. And then he himself wants to win next year's World Cup," said the batting legend.

"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. A lot of others with his record would have had called it enough. But I guess there is no word called enough in Tendulkar's dictionary," said Gavaskar, whom Tendulkar often looks upto.

"I think he should go for the triple century in Test cricket. This is something he doesn't have but he is very capable of. This is well within his reach and he should go for it," Gavaskar said.

Former Test player Bapu Nadkarni found it difficult to find words to describe the feats of Tendulkar and said, "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," Nadkarni said.

Spin legend Shane Warne, who enjoyed many a duel with Tendulkar, followed the innings and kept posting on his Twitter page, egging the Indian to achieve the milestone.

"(I'm) nervous for my good friend Sachin," Warne posted as Tendulkar approached 200.

"Come on Sachin my friend get your 200. World record to please! You deserve it," he said.

Once Tendulkar reached the milestone, the former player posted "Yes, yes, yes! Well done Sachin my friend. Congrats and well done! (It's) awesome."

Former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar paid rich tribute to Tendulkar, saying it was an incredible feat that spoke volumes of the batting master's toughness.

"It's an amazing feat to get 200 in a day and that too off only 147 balls," Vengsarkar said. 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," Vengsarkar said.

Indian Premier League commissioner Lalit Modi also lavished praise on Tendulkar, calling him the greatest sportsman.

"Sachin - the greatest ever player - without any doubt," the IPL boss wrote on his Twitter page.

"I salute Sachin...world's greatest sportsman. We can see him only rise. (He is an) inspiration to us all. He is the best," Modi said.

Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara also paid his tribute. "What an innings it was! He came close to achieving it twice. I always felt that Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya are capable of doing that," Sangakkara said.

Former Pakistan captain Javed Miandad said he was always convinced of Tendulkar's greatness and stands vindicated.

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

Another former Pakistan captain Aamer Sohail attributed Tendulkar's success to his humility.

"I think if you ask Saeed Anwar (who jointly held the previous record for highest ODI knock), he would say he's happy that Tendulkar broke his record," Sohail said.

"The reason for his success is that he has a great respect for the game," Sohail reasoned.

Sachin Tendulkar: "Since I was timing the ball well, I could be more aggressive and put pressure on the bowlers"

Sachin Tendulkar, who broke the record for the highest individual ODI score, overtaking Saeed Anwar and Charles Coventry on his way to the format's first double-hundred, has said his ability to bat the entire 50 overs was a testament to his fitness after having played the game for more than 20 years.

"It feels good that I lasted for 50 overs, a good test of my fitness. I'd like to bat another 50 overs at some stage and see that the fitness level doesn't drop," Tendulkar said after his effort helped India take a unassailable 2-0 lead in the series. "The ball was coming onto the bat and I was striking the ball well. So when everything falls into its place, it feels nice. It was one of the innings where I felt I was moving well. Since I was timing the ball well, I could be more aggressive and put pressure on the bowlers."

Tendulkar, while dedicating his feat to the people of India, credited coach Gary Kirsten for the team's success in both forms of the game after the debacle in the World Cup in the Caribbean. "I've enjoyed various challenges; after the 2007 World Cup things have looked different and I'm enjoying the game," he said. "The credit also goes to Gary [Kirsten], he has really held the team beautifully. It's about togetherness and playing for each other. You see during the practice sessions that Gary himself trains as hard as anyone else, or probably harder than anyone else as he's the one giving us practice all the time."

Tendulkar said he sensed an opportunity to break the record and reach a double-century when he had gone past 175 in the 42nd over. The record eventually came in the 46th over, and the 200 in the 50th. "When I was near 175-180, I thought I could get a 200 as there were quite a few overs left," he said. He added that he would prefer his achievement to be upstaged by an Indian. "I don't play for records, I play for enjoyment and play with lots of passion. That's how cricket started. I didn't start playing cricket to break all the records; it's happened along the way. The dream was to play for India and do my best.

"I don't think any record is unbreakable. Records are made to be broken. I hope that if this record is broke, it's done by an Indian."

This was India's third-highest score in ODIs, and Tendulkar said the 400-mark would not have reached if not for some big hitting by Yusuf Pathan and MS Dhoni. "I thought a target of 340-350 would be a good one, but Yusuf Pathan and MS Dhoni came in and hit the big shots and cleared the ropes consistently and helped us pass 400."

Tendulkar added that India were not relaxing despite having put up a mammoth score, for they were aware South Africa were the only team to have chased down a target in excess of 400. "This was the team that chased 434 against Australia. So we didn't get complacent and told ourselves that we had just got through the half-way stage by scoring 401. And what we did in the second half was extremely important. We were aiming at getting early wickets and putting them out of the game."

Dhoni, who witnessed Tendulkar surpass the record from the other end, said: "I think one of the best innings, you can say. It's always good to be on the other side, watching him score 200 runs. When he is tired and can't play the big shots, he was very clever to use the pace of the bowler and it's very difficult for the bowlers as they don't know where exactly to bowl."

India lost Virender Sehwag early, and Tendulkar was assisted in three sizable stands where runs came at a brisk pace, with Dinesh Karthik, Yusuf and Dhoni. "Once Viru got out, it was important to get some kind of a partnership going. They [Tendulkar and Karthik] went on with their innings, and they set a platform after which we were sure we would get 350-plus which would be a difficult target," Dhoni said. "Yusuf was sent up the order and with the talent he's got, he can be a great asset to the side."

Yusuf scored a quickfire 36 and was particularly lethal during the batting Powerplay, while Dhoni proved destructive at the death, bludgeoning 68 off 35 in a century-stand with Tendulkar in just 53 balls. "I have changed my batting a bit, but the situation demanded that kind [attacking] of innings," Dhoni said. "The ground is a small one, and we were a bit worried about the dew factor. But once they lost 3-4 early wickets, it was difficult for them to get back into the game."

For South Africa and their stand-in captain Jacques Kallis, it was a case of the basics gone wrong. "The toss was quite vital. Our basics were just weren't good enough today. We were outplayed," Kallis said. "We lost wickets at crucial stages, our basics let us down. A fantastic innings by Sachin; he took advantage of some good conditions and he played superbly. We let ourselves down in some areas."

It took nearly 40 years of waiting and it was well worth it. Sachin Tendulkar chose one of the better bowling attacks doing the rounds, to eclipse the record for the highest score, before bringing up the first ever double-hundred in ODI history. The spectators at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium became the envy of Indian cricket fans as they witnessed one of the country's favourite sporting heroes play a breathtaking innings which not only set up a 153-run annihilation but also the series victory. He may have been run-out cheaply in the previous match, but nothing could deny him today - be it bowlers, fielders, mix-ups or cramps. Dinesh Karthik, Yusuf Pathan and MS Dhoni stood by and admired as the master unfurled all the shots in his repertoire.

At 36, Tendulkar hasn't shown signs of ageing, and his sparkling touch in both forms of the game has ruled out all possibilities of him checking out anytime soon. Fatigue, cramps and paucity of time have stood in the way of batsmen going that extra mile to get to the 200-mark. Tendulkar did cramp up after crossing 150, but he didn't opt for a runner. His experience of 20 years at the international level came into play in this historic innings, staying at the crease from the first ball to the last, never once losing focus. There were no chances offered, no dropped catches, making his innings absolutely flawless.

A swirl of emotions must have run through his mind as he approached one record after another but he ensured he was never lost in the moment. His running between the wickets remained just as swift as it had been at the start of the innings. The humidity in Gwalior was bound to test him but he stood above it all and played like he owned the game, toying with the bowling with a mix of nonchalance and brute power.

In the 46th over, with a flick for two past short fine-leg, Tendulkar broke the record for the highest ODI score, going past the 194 made by Zimbabwe's Charles Coventry and Pakistan's Saeed Anwar, and to say that he acknowledged his feat modestly would be an understatement. His muted celebration on going past 194, true to style, made his innings all the more endearing. He didn't raise his bat, merely shook hands with Mark Boucher and simply carried on batting amid the din. Coming from a man who is not known to showing too much emotion with the bat in hand, it wasn't surprising. He reserved his celebrations for the magic figure of 200, which he reached in the final over with a squirt off Charl Langeveldt past backward point. He raised his bat, took off his helmet and looked up at the skies and it was only fitting that one-day cricket's highest run-getter reached the landmark.

Tendulkar's innings featured strokes of the highest quality, but his true genius was exemplified by one particular shot which rendered even the best bowler in the world helpless. In the first over of the batting Powerplay - taken in the 35th over - Dale Steyn fired it in the block-hole for three deliveries outside off to keep him quiet. Tendulkar, feeling the need to improvise, walked right across his stumps and nonchalantly flicked him across the line, hopping in his crease on one leg to bisect the gap at midwicket. A helpless Steyn watched the ball speed away and merely shrugged his shoulders. There was no use searching for excuses or venting frustrations at the temerity of that shot. It was just that kind of afternoon for the bowlers.

It wasn't all just about the cheekiness of his shots. His timing and placement were the hallmarks at the start of his innings. On a road of a pitch which offered no margin of error for the bowlers, he squeezed out full deliveries past the covers and off his pads. With no seam movement on offer, Jacques Kallis took the slips off and placed them in catching positions within the 15-yard circle, hoping to induce a mistake. But Tendulkar outplayed all of them, making room to manoeuver it past a number of green shirts. There were a minimum of two runs on offer each time the ball was placed wide of them and the quick outfield did the rest.

Once he got his eye in, the short boundaries and the flat pitch were too inviting. Virender Sehwag's dismissal for 11, caught at third man, was just an aberration as Karthik, Pathan and Dhoni traded cricket bats for golf clubs. Driving and lofting through the line had never been this easy. Tendulkar could have driven them inside out in his sleep.

The two century stands, with Karthik and then with Dhoni, may well get lost in the scorecard but they were vital building blocks. Karthik rotated the strike well in their stand of 194, struck three clean sixes and helped himself to his career-best performance. That partnership sent out ominous signs to the South Africans that they were in for something massive. Add Dhoni's bludgeoning hits and scoops and you had a score in excess of 400.

Tendulkar reached his fifty off 37 balls and his century off 90. Ironically, he struck his first six - over long-on - when on 111. Pathan bashed it around at the other end, clubbing full tosses and short deliveries in his 23-ball 36, as India amassed 63 runs in the batting Powerplay. The South African seamers made the mistake of trying to bowl too fast and as a result, sent down too many full tosses and full deliveries. The unplayable yorkers remained elusive and Tendulkar, who was seeing it like a beach ball, picked the gaps, made room and improvised.

He reached his 150 by making room to Parnell and chipping him over midwicket with a simple bat twirl at the point of contact. The heartbreak of Hyderabad, when his scintillating 175 all but won India the match against Australia last year, must have lingered in his mind as he approached that score again. A towering six over long-on later, he not only eclipsed Kapil Dev's 175 but also looked set to wipe out his own record. He started clutching his thighs, indicating that cramps had set in, but even that could not stop him today.

He equalled his highest score of 186 by pulling a lollipop of a full toss off Kallis and broke his own and India's record with a single to square leg. Fortunately, he didn't have to do much running and played the spectator's role for a change as Dhoni bulldozed his way to a 35-ball 68, muscling four sixes. The Dhoni bottom-hand is the strongest in the business these days and the exhausted spectators had enough energy left in their vocal chords to cheer him on as well.

The record of 200, however, was yet to be attained and the crowd were desperate for Tendulkar to get the strike. Dhoni tore into Steyn for 17 off the 49th over and retained the strike for the 50th. After hammering the first ball of the 50th for six, he shoveled a full toss to deep midwicket where Hashim Amla made a brilliant save. Tendulkar settled for a single and the crowd were on their feet as they watched him make history. It was all the more fitting for another reason because it was on this very day, back in 1988, that he and Vinod Kambli added a mammoth 664 - then a world record - in a school match.

There was to be no repeat of the 434-chase at the Wanderers, when South Africa took guard, perhaps mentally and physically shaken after the assault, and with a partisan crowd to contend with. AB de Villiers' attacking ton got completely lost in the chase as South Africa merely went through the motions. It was all a question of how quickly India could wrap it up.

Herschelle Gibbs, Hashim Amla, Roelof van der Merwe and Jacques Kallis all got out cheaply within the first 15 overs. de Villiers motored along at more than a run-a-ball, and collected 13 fours and two sixes. South Africa had to rely on the services of nine men to muster 200 - for India one man sufficed.

Tendulkar's knock drew parallels with Brendon McCullum's frenetic 158 in the IPL opener in Bangalore two years ago. The match was all about individual brilliance but not a contest. While such games are good in small doses, for one-day cricket to survive on the whole, it needs more contests between bat and ball.

Virender Sehwag's 293 against Sri Lanka was chosen for the best Test batting prize

Virender Sehwag has won the Test batting prize for the second year running in the ESPNcricinfo Awards. Sehwag's audacious 293 against Sri Lanka in Mumbai was chosen over Andrew Strauss's 161 at Lord's in the Ashes and Chris Gayle's unbeaten 165 in Adelaide, by a jury of former cricketers, commentators and Cricinfo's senior editors.

The six awards, for performances in the three international cricket formats in 2009, were shared between players from three countries: India, Pakistan and West Indies. Gayle won the Twenty20 batting award for his 50-ball 88 against Australia at The Oval in the World Twenty20. His West Indies team-mate Jerome Taylor's rout of England in Jamaica was voted the Test bowling performance of the year.

The ODI batting award went to Sachin Tendulkar for his fighting 175 in a match India lost by three runs to Australia.

Shahid Afridi, who was nominated for his Twenty20 bowling as well, won for his career-best 6 for 38 in in Dubai, also against Australia.

The award for Twenty20 bowling went to Umar Gul, who was nominated twice in the category, for his five-wicket haul against New Zealand at The Oval, also in the World Twenty20 - a performance of reverse-swing bowling in which, according to former Australia captain and jury member Ian Chappell, "for three overs he looked like he was going to take a wicket every ball and damn near did".

Of the winners, Gul, Gayle and Afridi were among eight players to receive two nominations each. Fifty-seven performances from 2009 were shortlisted in the six categories early in January and voted on by the jury.

Former England opener Geoff Boycott, one of the members of the jury, which also included Tony Greig, David Lloyd, Ramiz Raja, Daryll Cullinan and Sanjay Manjrekar, said Sehwag's win was hardly surprising. "It is extraordinary to watch him play. I have seen some people score quickly and get big scores," Boycott said. "Part of the time it is brute force, but not so with him. It is just simplicity itself. I watch him bat and it seems as though he sees the shot even before the bowler has bowled. It is quite extraordinary. He doesn't play with great power; it is grace, timing and effortless ease, and his range of shots is quite exciting."

In addition to the performance awards, the ESPNcricinfo Awards also comprise the Statsguru Awards, which are based on detailed statistical analyses of the year's performances. Indian players won the top batting awards here as well. Gautam Gambhir was adjudged the Batsman of the Year, based on a score arrived at by adding Test batting average to ODI batting index (batting average multiplied by strike rate). He was also the Test Batsman of the Year. Sehwag was voted the ODI Batsman of the Year. The bowling awards went to Stuart Broad (Bowler of the Year), Mitchell Johnson (Test Bowler) and James Anderson (ODI Bowler). Other Statsguru Awards winners included Shane Watson (Most Consistent Test Batsman), Tillakaratne Dilshan (Most Runs in Test Wins), and Brendon McCullum and Jesse Ryder (ODI Opening Batting Pair of the Year).

Cricinfo readers were invited to vote on the nominees and their picks mirrored the jury's in all but one category: Twenty20 batting, where they picked Tillakaratne Dilshan's unbeaten 96 in the World Twenty20 over Gayle's 88.


Awards 2009 : Test batting: Virender Sehwag
Awards 2009 : Test bowling: Jerome Taylor
Awards 2009 : ODI batting: Sachin Tendulkar
Awards 2009 : ODI bowling; Shahid Afridi
Awards 2009 : Twenty20 batting; Chris Gayle
Awards 2009 : Twenty20 bowling: Umar Gul
Awards 2009 : Statsguru Awards: Sehwag, Dilshan, Johnson win
Awards 2009 : Readers' Choice
News : Virender Sehwag "would love" to bat at No.4
Teams: India | Pakistan | West Indies

Viv Richards, the only captain under whom West Indies never lost a series, speaks about the sense of confrontation he brought to his cricket, his first Test in Antigua and his success against England

What was it like having all those great West Indian fast bowlers to face in practice?
You may say it was good enough practice. But I've never enjoyed being in the nets, because I felt enclosed. My batting practice would be a guy throwing balls in the way in which I liked it. It was all about getting ball on bat, rather than something whizzing past your ear. Each bowler has his own pride when bowling in the nets but it's vital that you get ball on bat and then you are ready to use the opportunity when you are out in the middle.

In 1969 you refused to walk when given out in a match for Antigua, sparking crowd trouble. How do you look back on that now?
It was a difficult start to my career, but if you are confident enough about the decisions that you make and about how you can correct them, then it becomes history. It's all about pushing on and learning from mistakes. You are going to have some hiccups, especially as a young man. I felt I wasn't out at the time and I stamped my feet - I've seen people not be banned for worse. Obviously this sent a message to the crowd that all wasn't well. The crowd reacted and I was responsible. I paid my dues - I was banned from first-class cricket for two years. If you do a crime, you must do the time.

What was it like arriving at Somerset in 1974?
There seemed to be a lack of self-esteem with certain individuals at the club. You heard about Somerset not winning anything in over 100 years. I've always been a competitive guy. I want to win. I want to make an impact. At the time I was on the fringes of the West Indies team and I was going to a club that knew nothing about me. I felt I could bat. I looked around the county circuit and saw the professional cricketers and I'm saying, "Wow, I could do a little bit better than that." I tried to pump that motivation into my team.

What was Brian Close like as a captain?
Closey is someone I have an enormous amount of respect for. I was fortunate to have him around at that time. He was instrumental. I felt he saw something in me. He took me under his wing and I would travel with him on most occasions. In those days county cricketers travelled their own way. I was Closey's co-pilot. During the long journeys around the country we would talk about the game, about what I could do to move forward. He taught me about being tough with your decisions and fighting hard. Closey did not reap the success of the team and the characters he built. In came Brian Rose and by that time the players were ripe. They were battle-hardened by playing under one of the hardest skippers I'll ever know. It was the perfect platform. And in the end it came good for Somerset. We became a fancied county. The Garners and the Bothams came on board and we had a good connection.

You were more successful against England than against any other Test side. Was there added motivation?
When I first came to this country there were folks who felt I was coming from a hotter climate so I wouldn't adapt to English conditions. They thought I wasn't going to do well because of my style of play - of hitting across the line. I didn't call it hitting across the line. I felt it was inventive. If you stay to the basics - hitting the ball in the V - it would be a rather boring game. I felt I was an artist. If I hit a fielder I wasn't doing my job well enough. It was all about avoiding fieldsmen and scoring runs. No one was going to put me off my plan.

I could have hit the ball through the off side as well as any. I know that. It was my choice when to and when not to. So I wanted to prove these guys wrong, prove that I am a soldier where the bat is concerned. Wherever the fight is, I'm going to be fighting. I didn't want to be rude to anyone, but anyone who is rude to me, then I was going to be rude in the right way: my bat was going to tell the story. You had guys who didn't believe in the black man. If you feel you are superior to me, then you should be knocking me over every goddamn time. There were a few ass***** out there. All these factors were a motivation for how my innings would go.

Perhaps Tony Greig's promise in 1976 that the West Indies would "grovel" helped too?
I'm not into the talk stuff. You have guys who talk a lot but cannot deliver. Tony was talking himself and England into believing what they could do. Maybe he took the wrong route. I'd played against Tony a few times and didn't see anything that was extra special, apart from the lip he had at the time. I felt he was a guy who knew he didn't have any trump cards and was bluffing.

Did anyone dislike your famous leisurely walk to the crease?
There were crowds who wanted to test me, especially in a hostile environment like Yorkshire. "Hurry up!" they'd say. That's why, when you look at the records and see Vivian Richards' record against Yorkshire, I think I could be high up where averages and runs are concerned. Sometimes you get crowds who give you that opportunity to hate everyone. My beef was with them. And it was the guys who were representing them on the field who were going to suffer. That was a simple, plain fact.


What about bowlers who confronted you?
I love a guy who is up in my face. I didn't like it when a guy would beat my bat and just smile. I wanted him to say something, to give me something to fuel my emotions. Guys used to tell me to eff off when I was out. I enjoyed that. I wanted to come back every time. I thought, "Have your day. You knock me over, it takes only a couple of seconds to walk off, but I tell you, I back myself enough to know that so long as I'm batting you are going to see my face for a long time and it's going to hurt. Big time."

What are your memories of Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket?
It was the hardest cricket I played in my life and I loved it. There were no prizes for coming second. That period had the best fast bowlers in the world. Everyone had somebody. I got a few centuries and I think it's unfair that they are not officially recognised. There was no cricket like that. I hope that the establishment look back and provide some sort of clemency.


What was it like scoring a hundred in 1981 in the first Test to be played in Antigua, where you were born?
My game was all about emotion. There must be something on the line - then Viv Richards is at his very best. Some people are weak in situations like that; they need a second chance. But sometimes there is no second chance. This was a great opportunity to prove myself. A Test in Antigua - wow! We in the Caribbean are pretty hard to convince. The people had listened to John Arlott and heard I was okay, but they wanted to see for themselves. The whole persona of that innings was about how I felt and what I wanted to achieve. You dream of these things: scoring a Test hundred in front of the folks you grew up with.

How did captaincy suit you?
I didn't quite have the numbers as captain. In those days we didn't have all these coaches; the captain and manager were responsible for keeping everyone fit and arranging practice. With captaincy you tend to ignore yourself a little. I didn't do enough work on my batting because I had to channel my energies into the team. Captaincy slowed me down and put my thinking cap on, but it also took away what I contributed as a player - like being in the field, running around and picking the ball up. I loved my fielding. As captain I had to be a bit closer to the activity and I missed being in the outfield. I was pretty handy out there as well.


What is your greatest achievement as a cricketer?
I don't look solely at what I achieved. I look at what the Caribbean and the other guys achieved in showing what teamwork can do. We all think so differently in the various parts of the Caribbean. We each have our different spices, we boast about them and other things because we are from another country and we represent that country. Being able to be in the same team as all these guys, to know the differences between us but still fulfill your goals - that to me was the greatest achievement. On a personal note, I didn't wrap myself up in cotton wool - with a helmet, a chest guard, an elbow guard - I did it the way men should and I'm proud of that. When the helmet came into play it helped a lot of careers. Batsmen felt they had this suit of armour on. Guys who could never hook a ball in their lives suddenly felt they could do it. That's when you started getting more injuries.

Do you have any regrets about your career?
I may have regrets but I hate to lament them because it could have been much worse. Today I walk in the streets and people remember me for my style of play. I'd like to be playing today. That's the only thing I'd love to change. If I was playing today, I would have been seriously rewarded for what I feel I would have given to the game.

Wherever the fight is, I'm going to be fighting. I didn't want to be rude to anyone but anyone who is rude to me, then I was going to be rude in the right way: my bat was going to tell the story. You had guys who didn't believe in the black man

Reflecting on their thrilling one-run defeat against India at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, South Africa captain Jacques Kallis has said Wayne Parnell's performance with the bat, under pressure, was one of the positives they could take out of the game. Parnell, batting at No.9, scored 49 and was run out off the final ball with South Africa needing three runs to win.

The left-arm seamer didn't make much of an impression with the ball, taking 1 for 69 off nine overs. He walked in in the 36th over of the chase with South Africa in trouble at 180 for 7. Kallis and Parnell had added 45 for the eighth wicket, but when the captain fell, India were still well in control. But Parnell's stand of 65 with Dale Steyn gave their side a fighting chance of pulling off an improbable win. Steyn smashed a 19-ball 35 before falling in the final over, as South Africa's hopes rested on the well-set Parnell.

"He's a talented cricketer and he's going to take a lot away from today. Everytime he plays he's going to learn. He's still very new to the subcontinent," Kallis said. "He's got all the attributes of becoming a good allrounder and that's something that he's working on. He's a man for the moment, so he's certainly got a bright future ahead of him."

One of the biggest turning points in the chase was Sachin Tendulkar's save at the boundary in the final over. Charl Langeveldt pulled the ball to long leg where Tendulkar dived full length to his right and pulled it back before the rope. Replays weren't conclusive if Tendulkar had simultaneously made contact with the rope and the third umpire gave the benefit of the doubt to the Indians. The South Africans ran three but that extra run was the difference between a tie and an Indian win.

Kallis accepted the third umpire's call but referred to another bizarre incident, also involving Langeveldt, in the final over of India's innings. Langeveldt's yorker to Ashish Nehra had hit the stumps but the bails weren't dislodged. To add to South Africa's ill luck, the ball deflected to the third man boundary, adding a crucial four runs to India's total of 298.

"That's not our call - that's what third umpires are there for and he saw that it wasn't four and we've got to accept it and get on with it," Kallis said of the Tendulkar incident. "I think what came back to haunt us was Charl Langeveldt's second last ball that hit the stumps and went for four, which was incredible."

Kallis said he was pleased they had managed to restrict India to just under 300, but the real worries were with the batting. Kallis scored 89 but the rest of the batsmen failed to rise to the challenge, which left plenty for the lower order to handle. The recognised batsmen struggled against the left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, who took 2 for 29 from his 10 overs on a good batting pitch.

"I think on the whole we're pretty happy with the way things have gone, although obviously there are things we need to work on. Our death bowling has been a problem for a while but the guys did really well there. At one stage it looked like India would make 330," Kallis said. "On the batting front we need to make sure we don't lose wickets along the way and get some big partnerships going to set the game up. Perhaps we've got to come up with ideas for the way Jadeja bowled - I thought he bowled really well and tied us down for a while, so we've got to make sure that we're strong on our game plans there."

Indian captain MS Dhoni, on the other hand, said India needed to work hard on their bowling.

"It was a team effort and from that perspective it was a good show, but we need to do better with our bowling," Dhoni said. "We cannot give away the runs we did with the new ball, although we were a bit hampered by the absence of Sehwag in the field. He made himself unfit while batting and could not bowl.

"When there are so many runs needed and when the No.9 and 10 batsman are at the crease, you don't really expect your best bowlers to get hit the way they did. Credit must go to the batsmen, but I'm sure we would do better in the next game if the conditions are the same."

It went down to the last ball but when Jacques Kallis fell in the 43rd over, with South Africa requiring an improbable 74 from 43 balls and only two wickets in hand, it looked like game, set and match to India. From there, Dale Steyn and Wayne Parnell threatened to pull of an incredible heist but India held their nerve to clinch a final-ball win in Jaipur.

The quality of cricket was actually below-par from both sides - India's bowling threatened to completely disintegrate under the pressure and barring Kallis, South Africa's batting was quite dismal - but the contest was made memorable by the tailenders Steyn and Parnell. This is how it panned out in the end: Steyn lashed two straight sixes in the 46th over bowled by Suresh Raina, the pair pinched three boundaries in the 48th over bowled by an errant Sreesanth and when both batsmen struck audacious sixes down the ground against Ashish Nehra in the 49th over, South Africa required only 10 from the last over.

Praveen Kumar bowled Steyn with a slower one off the second delivery but the drama wasn't over yet. Charl Langeveldt pulled the penultimate delivery to long leg where Sachin Tendulkar dived full-stretch to prevent the boundary. Many replays later, the third umpire ruled it a legal save and South Africa had to be content with three runs but had the well-set Parnell on strike for the last delivery. More excitement lay ahead as Praveen hurled a wide leaving South Africa needing three to win. Parnell squeezed out the final delivery to third man where Sreesanth fielded the ball cleanly and threw in a slightly wide throw but MS Dhoni had enough time to break the stumps with Parnell just one yard short of levelling the scores.

Until those dramatic end overs where India threatened to choke, they had actually done most things necessary to win the game. No batsman got a big score, but there were enough handy contributions from the top-order to push India to a strong 298. No bowler got more than two wickets but there was enough combined discipline in the attack, till they crumbled under the Steyn & Parnell show, to restrict South Africa.

For their part, South Africa might have come very close in the end but the stand-in captain Jacques Kallis was the only top-order batsman to offer any resistance in the chase where Ravindra Jadeja starred for India with his unspectacular but steady spell of left-arm spin where he used the arm-ball quite liberally to keep the batsmen honest. When Jadeja came on to bowl South Africa were sitting pretty at 60 for 1 from nine overs. When he finished his first spell that read 8-2-23-2, and included the vital wickets of Herschelle Gibbs and AB de Villiers, South Africa had slowed down to 127 for 3 from 24 overs.

He didn't get the ball to turn but repeatedly slipped the one that went straight on with the arm to suffocate the batsmen. The ball also tended to skid on in this surface and at times kept a touch low and the batsmen struggled to put away his armers. He lured Gibbs to slice to long-off and troubled both Kallis and de Villiers with his skidding deliveries. de Villiers tried to wriggle free with an attempted cut shot that proved fatal as he completely failed to connect.

From then on South Africa were always chasing their own tail despite Kallis' effort and though Steyn and Parnell played the one-day innings of their lives, they fell short in the end.

Like South Africa, India too didn't have any centurion today but, unlike the visitors, there were enough contributions to charge them to a strong score. On a day when Virender Sehwag played a couple of typically stunning shots - a slashed six over third man and another flamboyantly carved over covers being the picks - two innings, from men who are yet to secure their spots in the playing eleven, caught the eye. Karthik's entertaining 44 and Raina's attractive 58 stood out for their sparkling shots, and also for their untimely dismissals. Both fell when they were well-set and had the opportunity to take India to an unassailable position.

India were at 32 for the loss of Tendulkar in seven overs when Karthik started to go for his shots. Until then, he was playing the conventional strokes and even timing them well but was unable to find the gaps.

Everything changed in the eighth over bowled by Parnell. The first ball, a short of a length delivery outside off stump, was flat-batted - a forehand cross-court swat - over the bowler's head. Off the third delivery, he walked down the track to upset the line and length and whipped through midwicket for another boundary and a pull off the fifth delivery fetched him a couple before he collected another pulled boundary off the last ball.

Karthik continued to innovate and play the big shots - a slog-swept six against Johan Botha being the highlight - before he fell. This ability to manufacture shots and pull out the big hits irrespective of the match situation has been his strength and weakness. Shot selection hasn't always been his strong point but it looked like today was going to be his day until he was dismissed against the run of play, mistiming a pull shot off Langeveldt straight to mid-on.

Raina took over after Karthik's exit, starting off with a delightful, on-the-up, cover-driven boundary off Albie Morkel, and handled himself well against the short stuff from Kallis. The pitch was a flat beauty and there wasn't great pace or bounce to cause any trouble and Raina collected boundaries with upper cuts and a couple of pull shots. He went on to heave a back-of-length delivery from Parnell over wide long-on boundary but in the 44th over, with India on 260 for 6, he moved away from the stumps to try an expansive inside-out drive over the covers, only to edge Kallis behind the wicket.

It was left to the tail to push India towards 300, which proved more than enough in the end courtesy a fine spell from Jadeja. Kallis carried on gamely with a characteristic innings but he received no support from his team-mates: Mark Boucher edged a slightly wide delivery, Alviro Petersen was run out as he failed to ground his bat, and both Morkel and Botha fell playing across the line. Kallis dealt in singles initially, put away most of the bad balls, and tried to manufacture a few big shots in the end overs but the stiff target proved too much for him to pull off a one-man-show. Steyn and Parnell nearly pulled off the improbable but couldn't complete a fairy-tale finish.

Kolkata: "If I don't do well you will show me as one of '3 Idiots'. It is a shame and it should not be done" is how Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh lambasted the media for criticising him.

Fumed at the criticism for his recent poor performance, Harbhajan Singh, who helped India win the second Test against South Africa with a five wicket haul, said it was a fitting reminder to the media who have portrayed him as one of the '3 idiots', that he is still a match winner.

"I have been hearing a lot of things from the media but today they were on the receiving end. They (media) should be getting that kind of treatment because they should know what to play on national television and what not to play," said India’s spin spearhead.

Asked about his celebration in front of the press enclosure after clinching the last wicket, the feisty off-spinner said he was angry at the media for picking him whenever he had a lean phase.

"Thanks to all the media, they create sensations that Bhajji is not bowling, that Bhajji is doing this, doing that. We play for our country with a lot of passion and it disappoints all the players sometimes to see what characters they make out of us," Harbhajan said.

But if that is the way you want to sell your programmes we are not worried about that. I was there for a bigger purpose, I was playing for my country which was more than anything for me. I won a game for my country and that is a special feeling and I am sure the whole country is happy today," said Harbhajan who finished with five for 59 to give India a dramatic win.

He was also angry that a section of the media said that India's Test number one status was a fluke.

"There has been a lot of talk about us that it was a fluke to be the number one side and all that. It was not a fluke at all, we have worked really hard to reach the top and today we have showed the world that we deserve to be number one," he said.

Harbhajan was though all praise for the South Africans for putting up a tough fight in the series.

"To be honest, South Africa are really a good side and they played fantastic cricket in Nagpur. We played better cricket here and we set our fields, bowled according to the fields and we created pressure.

"We batted well, (VVS) Laxman was special, (MS) Dhoni was brilliant, Sachin (Tendulkar) was amazing and so was Viru (Virender Sehwag). I think overall we played terrific cricket and we are very happy," said the off-spinner.

has credited India for bouncing back and levelling the series, retaining the No. 1 Test team crown in the process, but he also praised his team for keeping the hosts waiting till almost the last minute.

"The game could have been easily over just after tea [on the first day] going by where we were sitting," Smith said. "If anything, we created pressure on India. In this series, they had everything to lose and we had everything to gain. So we have come up with our heads above the water in terms of what we have achieved."

However, Smith could not deny the fact that Thursday's result hurt South Africa, who once again came so close to winning a series in India for the second consecutive time as the home team escaped to series-levelling victory again in the final Test. Hashim Amla and Ashwell Prince started the final day confidently but once Prince fell to a rare rush of blood just before lunch, the onus was solely on Amla to carry on the visitors' resistance. Wayne Parnell and Morne Morkel understood that all they needed to do was follow Amla's orders and they took the fight till the end.

"I think the grit and determination was there the whole day," Smith said. "The fact is we needed to come out and bat on a fifth-day wicket to save the Test match. Hashim is the glue who held it all together and we managed to find some guys to bat around him. Especially guys like Wayne and Morne, who got stuck in facing 50 to 60 balls, which is a terrific effort from a tailender under these conditions."

Smith felt the team had shown their will after the collapse after tea on the first day. Seven South African wickets fell from a position of 228 for 2 at the end of the second session; after the 100-plus partnership between Amla and debutant Alviro Petersen, the batting succumbed to pressure and good bowling.

"We just let ourselves down in the last session [on the first day] and gave India the advantage, which they took with both hands," Smith said. "We know that in the subcontinent it is very difficult to play catch-up cricket. Once we gave them the upper hand, they really drove the bus through the door."
Comparing the two Tests, Smith felt South Africa lacked precision in Kolkata, as opposed to the clinical victory in Nagpur. "We were not precise enough in our first innings with bat and ball. We dropped a few chances and we never really bowled in the right areas like we did in Nagpur."

Four catches and a stumping were missed during the Indian innings, resulting in four centuries from Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and MS Dhoni. It was also surprising to see the waywardness of Dale Steyn, Morkel, Parnell and Paul Harris after their accuracy in the first Test. "They [India] scored at a high rate, which we weren't able to control with the ball, which probably was disappointing as well," Smith said. "We started the Test in a really solid way. At tea [on the first day], we were sitting really pretty. Then we just go into a situation where we lost two in-batters [Petersen and Jacques Kallis]."

Smith added the failure of rest of the middle order hurt the team's chances. "The guys coming in were lacking in confidence and suddenly wickets fell in a chunk and the pressure was created as it was the case with India in Nagpur where we were able to create pressure on them with the reverse swinging ball," he said.

He also confessed that the presence of Mark Boucher, sitting out with to a back injury, could have helped them take control of the situation. "Maybe, that is where we lacked someone with experience, someone like Mark [Boucher], who has played a huge amount of Test cricket," Smith said. "We just never had anyone who could stop the momentum that India gained in that last period. There were nine balls left but 20 minutes of play [as well]. The way India were getting through the overs we probably would have got another three or four overs after that."

Smith is returning home tonight, after being ruled out of the ODI series with a finger injury sustained on the eve of the second Test. Even if South Africa are likely to feel his absence, Smith had a positive message for his team. "The fact that we have been able to come and draw in India is a credit to in itself. If you look at recent stats and recent records of teams that have come here, not many teams have been able to push India like we have been able to push them in these conditions. So that is a positive for us and the credit to our character."

We just let ourselves down in the last session [on the first day] and gave India the upper hand and they took it with both hands. We know that in the subcontinent it is very difficult to play catch-up cricket. Once we gave them the upper hand, they really drove the bus through the door

Discretion has never been a quality associated with Harbhajan Singh and, after the euphoria of helping India to a series-levelling innings win came the outpouring of anger. Having sprinted more than halfway to the boundary to make his point to the media gallery, he didn't mince words at the press conference that followed.

"I have been hearing a lot of things from them [the media], but today they were on the receiving end," he said in response to an unrelated question. "They should be getting that kind of treatment because they should know what to play on national television and what not to play. We play for our country with a lot of passion and it disappoints all the players sometimes to see what characters they make out of us. If I don't do well on the ground they will show us as 3 Idiots (a Bollywood flick). Harbhajan is one of the idiots, MS Dhoni is the other. That is not right. I know it sounds funny but it is not.

"It's a shame and it should not be done. But if that is the way you want to sell your programmes, we are not worried about that. I was there for a bigger purpose. I was playing for my country, which means more than anything else for me. I won a game for my country and that is a special feeling."

The last 12 months have presented Harbhajan with a new challenge. Anil Kumble is no longer around to wheel away metronomically at the other end and, with neither Amit Mishra nor Pragyan Ojha established as India's second slow bowler, the onus has been on Harbhajan to deliver. Against South Africa at Eden Gardens on Thursday, that responsibility was increased by the thigh strain that prevented Zaheer Khan from even taking the field.

"Zaheer was definitely missed in the second innings," said Harbhajan. "I think all three bowlers and Sehwag also, the fourth bowler, we have taken the pressure, we have taken the responsibility. We knew that we were one guy short and we had to do it with whatever resources we had.

"I think Zaheer has been fantastic in the last three or four series. We have got the unit, we have got young bowlers, talented bowlers and we need to help them. As for myself, I need to work hard in the nets and keep on getting better and fitter so I can perform well in the future."

There was praise too for Mishra, whose every step is dogged by the shadow of Kumble. "Those are big shoes to fill," he said. "Anil bhai was fantastic from the other end and Mishra is still very new and young in international cricket. He is learning everyday but he bowled well in the second innings and even in the first innings. He is improving with every game and I am sure he will play for India for a long time."

As for him, the love affair with Eden Gardens remains a passionate one. "Every player has his own special ground. Anil bhai always enjoyed bowling in Delhi and I always enjoyed bowling at the Eden Gardens because I have always done well here.

"The crowd was fantastic. Eden has always been special. I have not heard this kind of noise anywhere in India. In Test matches, we don't even get crowds but Eden is probably the best ground as you get the crowds for the whole five days. It does not matter whether India is batting or bowling, so it's fantastic."

Despite widespread criticism of his performance in Nagpur, Harbhajan insisted he had changed very little for this match. "The whole game I have been just been very relaxed and I knew that if I bowled in the right areas then I would create the opportunities to get batsmen out. I was very focused and I knew what I was doing. I knew my plans and we got it right. I wanted to pitch the ball up and I wanted to get him [Morkel] leg before wicket or bat-pad at silly point or in the slips, so there were a lot of options. That is what I was trying to do by keeping things simple."

Having snatched victory at the last, there was appreciation too for Hashim Amla's lionhearted display. "Obviously Amla batted very well," he said. "Most of the teams when they come here, they don't know much about the spin, whether it is turning, bouncing or keeping low from the wicket. But he was very calm throughout his batting and that was probably the key. He kept on playing his style of cricket, he never took any chances, he never looked to do something fancy, he just played cricketing shots. I think he was the best batsman in the South African batting line-up."

In the build-up to this game, media reports referred to Harbhajan seeking advice from Kumble, but having bowled through the pain barrier - "I was in a lot of pain today. My shin was hurting but I tried to bowl the way I can do" - he scotched such speculation. "Anil Kumble will probably always be the one who will call me and tell me that there is nothing wrong with you. It's just that you guys [media] have been creating sensational stories and calling Kumble to ask what is wrong with Harbhajan.

"He just told me to be the way you are and you will bowl well. 'You have taken 300-plus wickets and it doesn't come through fluke. You know what you can do and I have played so much with you. You just have to be confident and it is just a matter of time before you will get the wickets'. He was pretty much right. I would like to give him big thanks for the advice and even on the field settings for batsmen like Jacques Kallis."

In Harbhajan's eyes, the drawn series was a fair reflection of nine days that saw some exceptional cricket played. "To be honest, South Africa are a really good side and they played fantastic cricket in Nagpur. I wish we had won the toss in Nagpur. Things might have been different. We played better cricket here and we set our fields, bowled according to the fields and we created pressure. We batted well - Laxman was special, Dhoni was brilliant, Sachin was amazing and so was Viru. I think overall we played terrific cricket and we are very happy.

"We have learnt that if we fight till the end, we will do special things. Everyone was up for the fight and we knew that it was an important game for all of us. There has been a lot of talk about us that it was a fluke to be the number-one side and all that. It was not a fluke at all. We have worked really hard to reach the top and today we have shown the world that we deserve to be number one. I hope now you guys will put some positive stories about it."


I wish we had won the toss in Nagpur. Things might have been different. We played better cricket here and we set our fields, bowled according to the fields and we created pressure. We have learnt that if we fight till the end, we will do special things

As Amit Mishra bowled the 131st over of the innings, with South Africa a minimum of 18 balls from survival, the stands at the Eden Gardens resembled a cauldron about to bubble over. The only man impervious to it all was Hashim Amla. Leg break, googly, slider - it made no difference to him. As each ball was painstakingly kept out with no hint of fatigue, some fans became exasperated. A policeman stormed off in a huff to smoke in the stairwell, a young man stamped his feet and others just groaned.

Then, as though they were aware of how the collective mood might affect those on the field, the backdrop was transformed. By the time Harbhajan Singh had the ball in his hand at the High Court End, most people in the crowd were on their feet. Many clapped a staccato beat, others roared. A turbaned Sikh at the front of the stand above the clubhouse waved the Indian flag as Sourav Ganguly had once whirled his shirt at Lord's. It could have been the Rumble in the Jungle.

It was pure theatre. When the umpire's finger went up three balls later and Morne Morkel sank to his knees in despair, the Eden roar that once celebrated the halting of an Australian juggernaut could be heard again. In their infinite wisdom, India's cricket administrators had scheduled no Test cricket here since December 2007, giving games to undeserving venues where barely a couple of thousand bother to turn up. Here, the 12th-man factor was undeniable, and it only reasserted why this hallowed ground is the true cathedral of Indian cricket.

Every great amphitheatre needs its heroes though, and India found several on a day when fortunes ebbed and flowed as they can only in the most intriguing form of the game. The loss of Zaheer Khan, usually so effective with the old ball, would have been disheartening but MS Dhoni mixed and matched his resources to get the best possible results.

Predictably, Harbhajan was right in the thick of things. Back in 2001, he had taken 13 of the Australian wickets to fall. And in 2004, it was his 7 for 87 in the second innings that clinched a series victory against Graeme Smith's side. There's something about the buzz at this ground that appeals to his gladiatorial instincts, and he was magnificent on a final-day pitch that was as far from being a bunsen as you could imagine.

Extra flight and a more tempting line ended Ashwell Prince's morning of defiance, while JP Duminy made the mistake of trying to negotiate him from well within the crease. Dale Steyn was clueless about one looped beautifully from round the wicket and then Morkel, after a 126-ball partnership with Amla, was struck on the pad by one that beat his tentative push. After some of the rubbish aired on television in the past week, you could forgive him the angry gesticulations. He had more than proved his point.

As had Mishra. Wicketless in Nagpur and discarded for the second Test in Bangladesh, he has had the unenviable task of trying to fit into Anil Kumble's size 11s. And while Harbhajan will get the plaudits, it shouldn't be forgotten that it was Mishra who removed two South African batsmen capable of playing epic innings, Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis. On the final day, he added the wicket of AB de Villiers, the hero of the Perth run-chase befuddled by a perfectly pitched googly.

Spare a thought too for Ishant Sharma, struggling for form and rhythm and entrusted with a man's job in Zaheer's absence. Some of the balls he bowled betrayed his problems, but he deserves immense credit for persevering. Wayne Parnell had annoyed the Indians for nearly 25 overs when Ishant induced a lazy stroke, and the wicket of Paul Harris, who played his part in the MCG heist of 2008, was just as vital.

And what of Dhoni? The purists will quibble at the fields he set, with the silly point missing for long periods and Amla given freedom to work the ball around, but he kept rotating the bowlers all day in conditions where you had to do far more than land the ball on a rough patch. The introduction of Sachin Tendulkar was almost an inspired move, with Morkel fortunate to survive a Warne-like delivery, and even when the game appeared to be slipping away, the mask of composure that he wears so well remained.

The victory against Australia at the Wankhede in 2004 had this edge-of-seat quality, albeit on a pitch that reduced batsmanship to roulette. But unlike that dead rubber, this was a match with plenty at stake. The media obsessed about the No.1 ranking, but for the players it was primarily about restoring pride after they had allowed South Africa to walk all over them in Nagpur.

Such tests of character and rites of passage are mandatory for any side aspiring for champion status. Over the past two years, India have passed several with flying colours. The greatest one awaits in South Africa at the end of the year. Given how this rivalry has grown in stature, that series can't come soon enough.

They couldn't out Hashim Amla at all. So India, down to three bowlers and led by an exceptional Harbhajan Singh, found a way around him, leaving him stranded with nine mandatory balls to go and sealing a heart-stopping, series-levelling win that also meant they retained the top spot in the ICC rankings. As was fitting, it was Harbhajan who brought about the final wicket with a slider to the left-hand batsman Morne Morkel, who had put together a 76-minute last-wicket stand with Amla. The final few steps didn't come easy for India: the last three wickets batted out 53.3 overs to set up a beautiful Test-match finish.

For eight hours and 19 minutes in this innings, which took to 23 hours and 22 minutes the total time he's spent at the wicket for the series, Amla saw everything: offbreaks, topspinners, unintended doosras, big legbreaks, googlies, bouncers, full ones, a blow to the elbow, the bowlers' joy, their frustration, and Harbhajan's eruption on taking the last wicket. At every stage - when he reached fifty or his hundred, when he was hurt, when he was concentrating, when he was defending, during those final few overs of counting each delivery down, and when he was walking back after one of the biggest disappointments he has experienced on a cricket field - the calm expression on his face was unchanged.

Amla batted like the Monk who didn't need to sell a Ferrari, and it took a special bowling effort to deny his side the series win. Harbhajan answered India's call with spin bowling aggressive and patient, smart and persistent, and came up with that wicket-taking delivery when it had deserted the other bowlers.

If Amla never looked like getting out, Harbhajan never looked like letting anyone settle. India had 98 overs to get seven wickets but 52.2 of them were a write-off: they were bowled to Amla, and this man was not going to get out. Not today. They did well, though, to create enough pressure in the remaining overs - despite two dropped catches - to finish off the match with 16 minutes remaining in the day's play.

India woke up to a bright and sunny day, but were thwarted in the first session by Amla and Ashwell Prince. For about two hours, Amla kept killing their hopes, Prince kept raising them only to not edge to hand. Finally, just when the draw started to become the favoured result, Harbhajan came back for his second spell of the day, from his favoured High Court End.

In the first spell, he had tried to get Prince lbw in a fashion similar to the one in the first innings, and failed. In his second he went over the stumps and made it difficult for Prince to judge which deliveries to leave. The leg line troubled Prince, and finally he jabbed at one outside off and lobbed it to mid-off.

Amit Mishra once again produced the special delivery out of nowhere, this time a googly to take out AB de Villiers in the penultimate over before the lunch break, the third time he had taken a wicket just before a break in the innings. de Villiers' was the big wicket because he was the one batsman capable of using his feet and hitting spinners off their length.

In the second spell, six overs each either side of lunch, Harbhajan looked menacing with almost every delivery. After lunch, Harbhajan went on to suggest JP Duminy might become his new Ponting. Offbreak, offbreak, slider. Duminy caught in front again. Dale Steyn didn't have a clue about deliveries spinning down the leg side, and kept getting beaten. Harbhajan smartly moved round the stumps, and trapped him too.

Thereafter Amla found an able partner in Parnell, who looked much more assured than Steyn, and helped by a dropped catch by Suresh Raina at a wide fourth slip, played out 24.2 overs. Amla manipulated the strike well: out of eight overs that Harbhajan bowled during that stand, Parnell got away by facing only 12 balls from the best bowler around.

A soft shot befitting a No. 9 arrived duly, after which Amla shielded Paul Harris for a while. From facing four balls of each over, he gradually let Harris face three each, and by the time Harris generated enough confidence in Amla, a soft shot befitting a No. 10 came by. Ishant got both the wickets, but 8.3 more overs had been negated.

That started the most exciting period of the match. Morkel batted solidly along with Amla, they both judged the leaves well, they both defended with soft hands, they both frustrated India more with every passing delivery. Towards the end, mind games began. Amla took a single late in a Mishra over to face Harbhajan in the next over, Dhoni removed Harbhajan and tried the part-time stuff from Sachin Tendulkar and Sehwag, and got Harbhajan to bowl at Morkel again.

Nothing gave. Amla seemed to have found a partner who was holding his nerve well. The desperation on Indian faces kept getting more and more apparent with every passing delivery. With 3.2 overs to go, Amla cut Tendulkar towards the boundary, took a single so as to face two more overs as opposed to one. Sehwag hoped it would reach the boundary as he chased, but slyly tried to kick it over when he saw it stop inches before the rope. Just to keep Morkel on strike. That's how much it mattered.

Amla duly played out the next over, Dhoni duly saved Harbhajan for the over after that. Harbhajan had six more balls left, from the High Court End. The first pitched middle, turned away. The second pitched leg, and broke towards off. The third was the killer slider, Morkel made his first mistake in 60 deliveries. Harbhajan roared, Amla's expression didn't change much.

New Delhi: A few of the players, who were lost to the rebel Indian Cricket League, will be making their comeback with the third edition of Indian Premier League, starting from Mar 12. All the eight franchisees of the IPL announced their squads for the tournament on Saturday. The IPL-3 will have as many as 60 games spread over a 45-day period.

Some of the players of the rebel league, who’ll be seen in the IPL, are Reetinder Singh Sodhi, S Sriram, Hemang Badani, Rohan Gavaskar, Ambati Rayudu and Shalabh Srivastava. In addition, a couple of new exciting international cricketers like Adrian Barath from West Indies and the Australia’s winning U-19 captain Mitchell Marsh will also be seen in action.

Here is the list of squads of all the franchises:

Deccan Chargers:
Adam Gilchrist (Captain), Andrew Symonds, Ryan Harris, Mitchell Marsh, Chaminda Vaas, Herschelle, Gibbs, Dwayne Smith, Kemar Roach, VVS Laxman, Rohit Sharma, RP Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Venugopal Rao, Arjun Yadav, Ravi Teja, T Suman, Anirudh Singh, Ashish Reddy, Harmeet Singh Bansal, Rahul Sharma, Bodapati Sumanth, Azhar Bilakhia, Monish Mishra

Royal Challengers Bangalore:
Anil Kumble (Captain), Rahul Dravid, Rabin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, Praveen Kumar, Vinay Kumar, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Akhil Balachandra, Shreevats Goswami, KP Apanna, S Sriram, A Mithun, Jacques Kallis, Ross Taylor, Dale Steyn, Roelof van der Merwe, Mark Boucher, Kevin Pietersen, Steven Smith, Dillon du Preez, Eoin Morgan, Cameron White

Rajasthan Royals:
Shane Warne (Captain), Graeme Smith, Shaun Tait, Dimitri Mascarnehas, Michael Lumb, Morne Morkel, Damien Martyn, Johan Botha, Yusuf Pathan, Munaf Patel, Kamran Khan, Naman Ojha, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, Siddharth Trivedi, Shrikant Wagh, Abhishek Raut, Swapnil Asnodkar, Sumit Narwal, Faiz Fazal, Syed Ahmed Quadri, Amit Paunikar, Amit Singh

Mumbai Indians:
Sachin Tendulkar (Captain), Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Abhishek Nayar, Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Saurabh Tiwary, Aditya Tare, Chandan Madan, R Sathish, Ishan Malhotra, K Syed Sahabuddin, Dhawal Kulkarni, Rahul Shukla, Ali Murtaza, JP Duminy, Dwayne Bravo, Ryan McLaren, Graham Napier, Sanath Jayasuriya, Keiron Pollard, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando

Chennai Super Kings:
MS Dhoni (Captain), Parthiv Patel, Suresh Raina, S Badrinath, Shadab Jakati, Sudeep Tayagi, Manpreet Gony, Murali Vijay, R Ashwin, L Balaji, Hemang Badani, Ganpathy Chandrashekhar, Arun Karthik, Thilan Thushara, Michael Hussey, Albie Morkel, George Bailey, Justin Kemp, Thisara Perera, M Murlidaran, Matthew Hayden, Jacob Oram, Makhaya Ntini

Delhi Daredevils:
Gautam Gambhir (Captain), Dinesh Karthik, Virender Sehwag, Ashish Nehra, Amit Mishra, Aavishkar Salvi, Mithun Manhas, Rajat Bhatia, Kedar Jadhav, Pradeep Sangwan, Joginder Singh, Umesh Yadav, Sarandeep Singh, Shashi Ranjan, Sarabjeet Ladda, TM Dilshan, David Warner, AB de Villiers, Wayne Parnell, Dirk Nannes, Moises Henriques, Farveez Maharoof, Andrew McDonald

Kings XI Punjab:
Kumar Sangakkara (Captain), Adrian Barath, Amanpreet Singh, Bipul Sharma, Brett Lee, Irfan Pathan, James Hopes, Karan Goel, Love Ablish, Mahela Jayawardene, Manvinder Bisla, Mohammad Kaif, Piyush Chawla, Ramesh Powar, Ravi Bopara, Reetinder Singh Sodhi, Shalabh Srivastva, Shaun Marsh, S Sreesanth, Tanmay Srivastava, Vikramjeet Malik, Yusuf Abdulla, Yuvraj Singh

Kolkata Knight Riders:
Sourav Ganguly (Captain), Varun Aaron, Iqbal Abdulla, Ajit Agarkar, Eklakh Ahmed, Ashoke Dinda, Rohan Gavaskar, Chris Gayle, Brad Hodge, Harshad, Khadiwale, Charl, Langeveldt, Angelo Mathews, Brendon McCullum, Ajantha Mendis, Murali Kartik, Chirag Pathak, Cheteshwar Pujara, Wriddhiman Saha, Owais Shah, Ishant Sharma, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Manoj Tiwary, Ganpathi Vignesh

Just what is it with the Eden Gardens and dramatic collapses? Nearly a decade ago, in the match that few in this part of the world will ever forget, Australia were in complete command at tea on the opening day. Matthew Hayden had biffed his way to 97 in typically muscular fashion and the scoreboard showed 193 for 1. Four balls after the interval, he went to hit Harbhajan Singh against the turn and found Hemang Badani at deep midwicket. Six more wickets fell in the final session, with Harbhajan taking a hat-trick, as Australia closed on 291 for 8.

On the final day of the same game, Waugh's side plummeted from a relatively secure 161 for 3 at tea to 212 all out. That collapse changed the course of an enthralling series, but what we witnessed in 25 overs after tea today was an even more drastic reversal of fortune.

Alviro Petersen's debut innings had ended shortly before tea, but there'd have been few alarms in the dressing room with the score a rudely healthy 228 for 2. But two indiscreet shots, from the two men who were the foundation of the victory in Nagpur, and everything changed. Hashim Amla misjudged a pull off Zaheer Khan, and Jacques Kallis top-edged a slog-sweep off Harbhajan that VVS Laxman took brilliantly over his shoulder while running towards fine leg.

"When you looked at it at tea, we were in trouble," said Gary Kirsten, India's coach. "Let's be honest about that. All credit to the bowlers for turning it around. They showed tremendous resilience. They have bowled pretty well this series without the rewards. When you're picking four bowlers every Test, it's an enormous workload on them. We've got to give them credit for the way they run in Test after Test. This is our fourth on the trot."

Perhaps the key passage of play had come just before the tea break, when Ishant Sharma gave a glimpse of what he can do when the rhythm is right. He went wicketless in a four-over spell that cost 12 runs, but Amla, who had eased to a hundred with few alarms, suddenly appeared troubled. Zaheer, who replaced Ishant, continued the good work, putting together an outstanding spell either side of the interval - 6-3-11-2.

"We've felt that he's just on the edge of doing some good stuff again," said Kirsten of Ishant's spell. "We know that he's an exceptionally talented bowler and he's just coming back to some really nice form. He bowled a nice aggressive spell. He wanted to get his pace up closer to the 140s where he wants to be. He was letting the ball go beautifully today. It was a very important spell because more than getting wickets, it set the tone for what we wanted to achieve after tea."

Suddenly, the same attack that had looked largely innocuous for the first two sessions found its bite. More importantly, chances were grabbed, and the stumps hit to catch the dangerous AB de Villiers out of his ground. "If you're not getting wickets because the ball's doing a bit, you've got to build pressure," said Kirsten. "And there's no better way of building pressure than getting a few wickets.

"It happened to us in the first Test. We were going nicely with the bat, we lost a wicket and pressure was created. We did that in this game. We mustn't always be looking for assistance to get wickets. When you can create pressure by doing some creative things on the field, which I thought we did today, batsmen play very differently."


For two sessions, with both spinners seemingly incapable of bowling a maiden, the decision to go in with two slow bowlers and leave Sreesanth out had looked decidedly dubious. Amit Mishra was unlucky with a couple of leg-before shouts, and Harbhajan far from amused after Laxman dropped a straightforward chance at slip when Amla had made just 60. But there were too many four balls, and too little pressure, especially with a debutant at the crease.

"We'd always like to have a third seamer, and two spinners," said Kirsten, explaining the omission of Sreesanth. "But the balance of our team doesn't work that way. We either have to opt for three seamers and one spinner or two and two. We felt that an extra spinner on this wicket is going to be important."

And after the criticism that Harbhajan Singh has received in recent times, Kirsten was understandably delighted with his efforts after tea, with both Ashwell Prince and JP Duminy quickly joining Kallis in the pavilion in a passage of play that utterly changed the complexion of the game. "I thought Harbhajan bowled really well in the last game, and I thought the South Africans played him very well," he said. "Even though he was in good rhythm, he needed to come up with ways to get wickets. I've been very confident that his rhythm has got better and better as the series has gone along. When the confidence is going and the rhythm's good, he's going to get wickets."

The [Dale] Steyn menace looms large on day two, but Kirsten was quietly confident that there was nothing in the conditions to worry his batsmen. "We didn't feel it took too much turn," he said. "We didn't feel that it offered that much assistance to the seamers. There's a long way to go in the Test, but it looks a fairly good wicket at the moment. There was a lot less grass on the wicket today than there was yesterday, otherwise we would have gone for three seamers."

There was little encouragement in the Nagpur pitch either, but Steyn still ended up with a 10-wicket haul. It's advantage India for the moment, but on a pitch where there's been enough bounce for those willing to hit the deck hard, it would be foolhardy in the extreme to discount South Africa. Back in 2001, India were dismissed for 171 after Waugh had stretched Australia's innings to 445 all out. If Monday sees that kind of drama, the roof might just come off a stadium that's already half rubble.

They must have read about it. They must have heard about it. They must have planned for it. Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and Hashim Amla have played a Test there before. Nothing, though, can be preparation enough for an Indian comeback from the dead at Eden Gardens.

On Sunday, South Africa met the devil himself, and didn't know what to do. They had reached 218 for 1 in 58 overs, via assured and quick centuries from Amla and debutant Alviro Petersen, when the famous Eden Gardens turnaround began. Eight wickets fell for 43 runs, Harbhajan Singh took three in two overs, VVS Laxman ran from first slip to short fine leg to take a catch, the crowd seemingly intimidated the batsmen, two of the middle-order batsmen just froze, AB de Villiers ran himself out, Zaheer Khan hit with a pick-up-and-throw, and the batsmen forgot about scoring runs.

And, by the way, there were only about 35,000 present in the ground because half the stands have been brought down for renovation. And it was virtually a two-man attack, with Ishant Sharma and Amit Mishra looking innocuous for most of the day. And Amla and Petersen had all but beaten the hapless looking fielding unit into submission.

Parallels with The Test were inescapable. Australia had pummelled India in Mumbai back in 2000-01, much like South Africa did in Nagpur. Australia had reached 193 for 1 in Kolkata when the Harbhajan show began with the wicket of Matthew Hayden.

Today, though, it was Zaheer who started the magic. Ishant had just bowled a spell full of bouncers in the afternoon, hitting Amla - not out on 100-plus - on the arm guard once, but had overdone the short stuff. Zaheer, though, got the wickets, dismissing a centurion either side of tea. He did Petersen in with slight seam movement away from off, and then got a top edge from Amla. Two wickets for 11 runs, game on again.

Harbhajan, who had got drift and bounce, looked better than he did in Nagpur, and had Amla dropped when on 60, could now sense it. He tossed the ball up nicely, got dip and drift, Kallis and de Villiers tried to hit him off rhythm by lofting him for straight boundaries. Harbhajan kept at it, didn't fire deliveries into the pads, didn't overdo doosras. Only six times he pitched on middle and leg to the right-hand batsmen, that too when bowling from round the stumps.

The breakthrough finally came when Kallis looked to slog-sweep him, and top-edged a sharp topspinner. It went high towards short fine leg, Laxman - a dropped sitter in his account already - ran back from slip and made this blinder. Harbhajan held arms aloft, gestured towards the crowd, and they responded. They were going to be the 12th man now.

In his next over, Harbhajan got Ashwell Prince, back in the middle order but still low on confidence. This was no magic delivery, just a straight topspinner, and Prince played for the big offbreak. Harbhajan knew he had got him when he appealed, ran straight towards the boundary, and sent the crowd into delirium. The crowd fed off Harbhajan, Harbhajan fed off the crowd. JP Duminy should have known better than playing for an offbreak, instead he got Harbhajan's ball of the day. Drifting, dipping, going straight with the arm, and getting another plumb lbw. Dale Steyn survived the hat-trick, but the day had turned.

Harbhajan Singh celebrates Ashwell Prince's wicket, India v South Africa, 2nd Test, Kolkata, 1st day, February 14, 2010
Harbhajan Singh led India's riposte after tea © Getty Images

In the next over, de Villiers wanted a single and the strike, Steyn reckoned there was no need to panic, and sent him back. Zaheer ran in from mid-off to cover, picked up and threw in one motion, and found de Villiers short. Ishant and Mishra came back too, getting their first wickets of the series, in their 43rd and 71st overs of the series. Sitting inside the dressing room, Petersen must have wondered just what had happened to what was supposed to be his day.

After the early fall of Graeme Smith, both Petersen and Amla batted with clarity of thought that sets apart teams that are ahead in a contest. Amla began as if 253 not out overnight, and took his tally to 367 runs in the series before he got out. Petersen, a late bloomer in first-class cricket, took little time to get into his stride and became only the third South African to score a century on Test debut.

Both of them counterattacked - without fuss, without manic hitting, without needing to go in the air - bringing up the 100 in 20 overs, hitting 17 boundaries in that period. Ten of those came from Petersen, who was composed and decisive in his footwork.

Petersen's plan revolved around the front foot: press forward whenever possible, defend if the line is good, and go for runs if it is either too wide or too straight. No runs down the ground, four flicks for boundaries, and two gorgeous cover-drives worked fine for him in the first half of his effort, after which he became more circumspect and let Amla lead the scoring.

The first ball Amla faced, he moved across to Zaheer, and eased an accurate delivery past square leg for two - not much power, just good timing. The two gorgeous cover-drives he played early on in the innings, one each against Zaheer and Ishant, put him into the high strike-rate mode too. Throughout his effort Amla confidently whipped from in front of stumps, and cut with ease.

In the middle session, Amla survived a good spell from Harbhajan, and even played his first aerial shot of the series, clearing mid-off, Mishra, by inches. Both the batsmen reached their centuries without further incident, but Kolkata was up to mischief soon after.