The Great Game Called Cricket...

India storm to series win in Dhaka
A sensational ten wicket haul by Zaheer Khan and hundreds by Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid helped India coast to a ten wicket victory against Bangladesh in Dhaka.

INDIA WIN BY 10 WICKETS

A dramatic collapse by Bangladesh helped India win the series 2-0 and maintain their numero uno sopt in the ICC Test rankings. They now go home to await the South Africans, number two in the rankings to determine the best side in the world.

Zaheer Khan finished with seven wickets in the second innings and ten in the match to help wrap up Bangladesh's innings.

India were also aided by Tendulkar's 45th Test ton and Dravid's 29th. Skipper MS Dhoni was impressive too, scoring 89, most of them with the tail.

A sensational morning session saw Bangladesh lose six wickets- three of them to Zaheer Khan in the same over- as India stormed towards victory in the second Test.


Zaheer Khan did most of the damage with a six wicket haul. Three wickets in the same over for the left arm seamer and India are on the verge of victory against Bangladesh in Dhaka.

Zaheer Khan snapped up his fourth one and only Raqibul Hasan knew what he was trying to do, letting go a delivery that seemed like coming into him. India are not complaining though as the ball hit the timber.

Zaheer then removed Mahmudullah and Shaifiul Islam in the same over to nip Bangladesh in the bud.

Pragyan Ojha removed skipper Shakib-al-Hasan as India finally charged aggressively towards a win.

Harbhajan Singh and Ojha struck in successive overs to get rid of Shahadat Hossain and Mohammad Ashraful with Bangladesh inching close to the visitors' lead.

Finally, a wicket for India this morning. After making a mess of the first chance, substitute fielder Amit Mishra caught Shahadat Hossain off Harbhajan Singh.

Bangladesh are well on their way to wiping off India's first innings lead. Mohammad Ashraful and nightwatchman Shahadat Hossain had been impressive and solid this morning.

India declared with a lead of 311 runs yesterday but ran into an aggressive Tamim Iqbal, who blasted the fastest Test hundred by a Bangladeshi batsman before being done in by Zaheer Khan for 151. Junaid Siddique was solid in a 200 run partnership with the opner, grinding his way through to a patient 55.

Zaheer did all the damage last night, picking up all three wickets to fall. There was a hint of reverse swing for Zaheer in the last half an hour.

With the pitch expected to wear down further on the penultimate day, MS Dhoni would want his spinners to come to the party.


Recap of day three

Tamim Iqbal cracked a dazzling century and led a strong fightback from Bangladesh on the third day of the second Test against India in Dhaka.

India had declared on 544 for eight in their first innings, injury to Yuvraj Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni's dismissal off the last delivery before the lunch interval for 89 hastening an early closure to the innings.

It left India with a lead of 311, but Tamim's brisk 151 and a 200-run stand with a more staid Junaid Siddique (55) revived the home side, but late wickets had undermined their progress.

At close, Bangladesh reached 228 for three, only needing 84 runs to make India bat again.

Shahadat Hossain and Mohammad Ashraful were freshly arrived at the crease when play ended for the day.

Bangladesh's second innings had begun poorly, the home side losing Imrul Kayes early.

Zaheer Khan had rattled the opener with a series of short balls, one of which had hit him on the helmet and then lured him into the drive with a good-length delivery, the batsman only managing to spoon a catch to Dinesh Karthik at cover.

Pakistan held a 204-run lead with one wicket in hand at the end of day two of the second Test after a late Australia rally at the SCG.

The hosts took seven for 141 in the final session to at least limit the damage after the tourists were 205 for two at one stage.


Pakistan, who resumed on Monday on 14 without loss in reply to Australia's meagre 127, reached 331 for nine at stumps with last pair Danish Kaneria (two) and Mohammad Asif (nought) at the crease on what is now a beautiful batting deck.

Faisal Iqbal (27) was the first to fall after tea - victim of a wonderful Shane Watson catch. He slashed at a wide delivery from Peter Siddle and Watson, back-pedalling furiously, took a terrific catch at deep point.

Skipper Mohammad Yousuf (46) was next to go with the score on 236 - this time Brad Haddin pulling off a brilliant catch. The wicketkeeper stretched high and wide to his right to accept a one-handed snare, giving Mitchell Johnson his second scalp.



Umar Akmal was typically frenetic in clubbing nine fours in his 48-ball 49 before Doug Bollinger trapped him lbw, albeit after the decision was referred to the third umpire.

Bollinger soon had his second wicket with the second new ball as Misbah-Ul-Haq (11) edged to Haddin.

He grabbed a third scalp when Watson at deep point held onto a catch from the dangerous Kamran Akmal (14) to leave the visitors 295 for seven.

Umar Gul (12) and Mohammad Sami (12) also fell before the close, both to Watson for 12, as Australia battled back into contention.

Earlier, Imran Farhat, dropped on 11 by Marcus North off Siddle, brought up his 13th Test half-century off the second delivery of the post-lunch session but soon found himself back in the pavilion for 53.

Having lived dangerously for the majority of his 188-minute stay, the left hander's luck ran out when he top-edged an attempted sweep off Nathan Hauritz to Haddin, who accepted a simple catch on the run.

Salman Butt guided the visitors past Australia's total but was fortunate to survive soon after when he edged Johnson just over North's outstretched hand at first slip.

Johnson soon had his man, though, when Butt attempted an off drive without any notable foot movement and only succeeded in edging to Haddin for 71.

Virender Sehwag may have missed out on a record third triple Test hundred but established a string of records in the course of a sensational 293.

The Delhi mauler became the ninth Indian player to make 6,000 runs in Tests.

Sehwag has taken 123 innings to achieve the distinction, which is the third fastest by an Indian batsman for completing 6000 runs, next only to the 117 innings by Sunil Gavaskar and 120 by Sachin Tendulkar.

Sehwag is now the first to make 200 runs for India through boundaries - 202 (40 fours and seven sixes) during his knock of 284 not out.

He is the fourth overall to complete 200 runs or more through boundaries. England's John Edrich holds a record for making 238 in his unbeaten 310 against New Zealand at Leeds in 1965), followed by Matthew Hayden (218 in 380 against Zimbabwe at Perth in October 2003) and Inzamam-ul-Haq (206 in 329 against New Zealand at Lahore in 2002).

Sehwag's knock is the highest individual innings at the Brabourne Stadium, surpassing Vinoo Mankad's 223 against New Zealand in 1955-56.

Between tea and close of play on the second day, Sehwag made 133 runs - a record by an Indian batsman in one session of play and only three batsmen have registered more runs than Sehwag in one session - 173 by England's Denis Compton between lunch and tea against Pakistan at Nottingham in 1954; 150 by England's Wally Hammond between lunch and tea against New Zealand at Auckland in 1932-33 and 140 by New Zealand's Ian Smith between tea and close of play against India at Auckland in 1989-90.

Sehwag's knock is the third highest against Sri Lanka - the top two innings being Younis Khan's 313 for Pakistan at Karachi in February 2009 and Martin Crowe's 299 for New Zealand at Wellington in January/February 1991.

Sehwag, with his innings, became the first to make six innings of 200-plus, obliterating Rahul Dravid's tally of five double hundreds. His feat is now exceeded in Test Cricket by Australia's Sir Donold Bradman (12), West Indian, Brian Lara (9) and England's Wally Hammond (7).

Having made an unbeaten 201 at Galle in 2008, Sehwag is now the second batsman after Brian Lara to make two double hundreds against Sri Lanka. Lara had posted 221 at Colombo SSC in November 2001 and 209 at Gros Islet in June 2003.

Sehwag's 293 is now the second highest in India-Sri Lanka Tests, next only to Sanath Jayasuriya's 340 at Colombo RPS in August 1997. Sehwag is the first Indian to register four innings of 250-plus - two against Pakistan at Multan (309 in 2004) and Lahore (254 in 2006) and one each against South Africa at Chennai (319 in 2008) and against Sri Lanka at Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai (284 not out). Only Bradman, with five such knocks, has posted more innings of 250-plus than Sehwag.

Sehwag also became the first Indian to make 250 runs or more in a day's play twice. Apart from his 284 (at the end of the second day) against Sri Lanka, he had made 257 in a day's play against South Africa at Chennai in 2007-08. No other Indian has achieved the distinction even once.

Sehwag, with seven sixes (the most by him in an innings) during his 293, became the first Indian batsman to complete 75 sixes in Tests. He is now the seventh batsman in Test annals to have recorded 75 sixes or more, joining Australa's Adam Gilchrist (100), West Indian, Brian Lara (88), New Zealand's Chris Cairns (87), West Indian, Vivian Richards (84), England's Andrew Flintoff (82), and Australia's Matthew Hayden (82).

Is Adrian Barath the youngest West Indian - or the youngest from anywhere - to score a Test century?

Adrian Barath, who made 104 on his Test debut against Australia in Brisbane last week, aged 19 years 228 days, is indeed the youngest West Indian to score a Test century. The previous record-holder for them was George Headley, who was more than a year older when he made 176 against England in Bridgetown in 1929-30. But Barath is only 17th on the overall list of youngest Test centurions, a roll of honour headed by Bangladesh's Mohammad Ashraful, who was only 17 years 63 days old when he scored 114 on his debut, against Sri Lanka in Colombo in September 2001.

How many players have ended up on the losing side after scoring more than 200 runs in their debut Test, as Umar Akmal did in Dunedin?

Pakistan's Umar Akmal, who scored 129 and 75 on his debut against New Zealand in Dunedin last week, is only the third batsman to score 200 or more runs yet finish on the losing side in his first Test. Australia's Archie Jackson made exactly 200 - 164 and 36 - in vain against England in Adelaide in 1928-29, but the overall leader is England's KS Ranjitsinhji, who made 216 runs - 62 and 154 not out - on his Test debut against Australia at Old Trafford in 1896 but still lost. A further 16 players have made a century on Test debut yet finished on the losing side, the most recent ones being Barath and Akmal's Pakistan team-mate Fawad Alam, who made 168 against Sri Lanka in Colombo in July. Fawad was also (to answer another question received this week, from Anurag Sachdeva) the only previous Pakistani to score a century on Test debut overseas.

Recently India completed their 100th Test win. Which player has appeared in most of these wins?

Sachin Tendulkar has appeared in 52 of India's Test victories, while Anil Kumble played in 43. Rahul Dravid comes between them on the list, though - he has taken part in 45 Test victories so far. Sourav Ganguly was on the winning side 37 times, a number matched by VVS Laxman during India's 100th Test victory in Kanpur last week. Of players whose careers ended before 2000, Kapil Dev led the way with 24 wins, one more than Sunil Gavaskar.

Is West Indies' 187 at the Gabba the lowest Test total to include a century?

Rather surprisingly, perhaps, there have been five lower all-out Test totals that included an individual century than West Indies' 187 in Brisbane last week. Top (or bottom) of the list is New Zealand's 159 in Christchurch in 1962-63, which included exactly 100 from their captain John Reid. Also in Christchurch, in 2006-07, Sri Lanka's 170 against New Zealand featured 100 not out from Kumar Sangakkara, while in Cape Town in 1898-99 Jimmy Sinclair made 106 (South Africa's first Test century) in a total of 177 against England. At Lord's - the one in Durban, not the rather more famous one in London - in 1913-14, South Africa's Herbie Taylor made 109 out of 182 against England, and in Sydney in 1998-99, Australia's 184 included no fewer than 123from Michael Slater.

Ricky Ponting just won his 91st Test. Has anyone finished on the winning side more often?

Actually there's one person ahead of Ricky Ponting, who did indeed finish on the winning side for the 91st time in a Test against West Indies at Brisbane last week: his old team-mate Shane Warne won 92 Tests. Ponting might well overtake him during the current Australian season. Not surprisingly, perhaps, this particular list is dominated by recent Australians: Steve Waugh finished on the winning side 86 times, Glenn McGrath 84, Adam Gilchrist 73 (out of 96 Tests played), Mark Waugh 72, Matthew Hayden 71 and Justin Langer 70. Next comes the first non-Aussie: South Africa's Mark Boucher, with 65 wins, one ahead of his long-time team-mate Jacques Kallis.

Is Chris Martin's Test batting average the lowest ever for someone who has batted more than 20 times?

Chris Martin's current Test batting average is 2.30, but somewhat amazingly there are two players who batted more than 20 times in Tests with worse records. Australia's Jack Saunders, chosen as a left-arm bowler, averaged 2.29 from 23 innings in the early 1900s, but the man on top of the list is a much more recent one: the former Zimbabwe medium-pacer Mpumelelo "Pommie" Mbangwa - now a commentator - managed just 34 runs from 25 innings (eight of them not out) to finish with a batting average of exactly 2.00.

Out-of-favour seamer Irfan Pathan finds inspiration in S Sreesanth's spectacular return to international cricket.

And, Irfan believes he too can claw his way back to the Indian team with some solid performance in domestic cricket.

Back in action for the ongoing Ranji Trophy, Irfan said he would leave no stone unturned in his efforts to impress the selectors and stage a comeback like Sreesanth did.

"Sreesanth has made an excellent comeback. He was doing well in domestic matches earlier and after returning to the India team, he put up an performance which is quite inspirational. I want to make a comeback like him," Irfan told PTI from Vadodara.

"I met him before Ranji match, I am impressed with his body language also. This kind of comeback strengthens the believe that you can also do it in same manner by improving your performance," said the left-arm seamer.

Back from a 19-month hiatus, Sreesanth was instrumental in India's 144-run victory in the second Test, where his five-wicket haul in the first innings forced the Lankans to follow-on in Kanpur.

Irfan said every domestic match has become of immense importance for him and it would take a string of good performance to make a comeback.

"Every cricketer has to improve to cement his place in the national team. I am trying to give my best in every domestic match and hope it will get the attention of selectors," said Irfan, who was recently demoted from Grade B to Grade C in BCCI's central contract.

Irfan played his last Test match against South Africa in Ahmedabad last year, while his last one-day appearance came against Sri Lanka when India toured the island nation earlier this year.

Irfan said he was free of niggles and was in good nick with the bat.

"I am totally fit now and bowling long spells. I have also cracked a half-century recently. It would be better had I been in India team in this series. But it's nice to see India claiming its 100th Test victory," he said.

Irfan, who has 100 wickets from 29 Tests, also feels that their next Ranji Trophy Super League match against Group B leader Karnataka is going to be a tough encounter.

"It is going to be a very important match for us. They are the group leader and playing well, but we are also ready to take them on at our home ground," Irfan said.

On the incident in which four Baroda bowlers, including Salim Veragi, Rajesh Pawar and Sankalp Vohra were called up for suspect actions, Irfan said, "This is a new system introduced by the BCCI and the umpires are only following the rules. They cannot do much about it."

India will reach the top spot in the ICC Test Championship table if it beats Sri Lanka in the third and final Test match in Mumbai.

The Mumbai Test starts from Wednesday.

India lead the series 1-0 and are currently placed third in the Test rankings with 119 points.

If India can beat Sri Lanka in the Mumbai Test and wrap up the series 2-0, they will 124 points pushing South Africa (122) and Sri Lanka behind.

But, in case the Mumbai Test ends in a draw, India will find themselves tied on points with South Africa.

In case Sri Lanka wins the Test, both teams will retain their present standings.

The Test Championship table is updated only after the end of a Test series.

The contentious anti-doping code will top the agenda when the ICC's Chief Executives' Committee sits down for its last meeting of the year.

The Committee will also discuss preparations for the 2011 World Cup and the post-2012 FTP

The Decision Review System will also be discussed during the meeting.

The two-day meet, to be chaired by ICC Chief Executive Officer Haroon Lorgat, will also consider the host country of the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.

"Among the matters up for discussion are the ICC events for the period 2012-2020 and beyond as well update on decision review system (DRS), online piracy and the Future Tours Programme post-2012," an ICC statement said.

"The CEC will receive an update report on preparations for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. It will also receive update reports on global response to broadcast piracy and online infringements, match officials' performances, the anti-racism and anti-doping codes and international cricket results," it added.

The CEC will also begin discussions on the location and scheduling of ICC events for the period after 2015.

ICC President David Morgan and the Chairman of the ICC Cricket Committee Clive Llyod, will also attend the meeting, which will be the fourth such gathering this year.

The CEC comprises the chief executives of the 10 Test-playing Members and three representatives from the ICC Associate and Affiliate Members.