
Monday, November 30, 2009
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Murali frustrated
Muralitharan, who has already announced his Test retirement after next year's series against the West Indies, said he may walk into the sunset before the 2011 World Cup in the sub-continent. Sri Lanka is currently trailing 0-1 in the three-match Test series against India the final game of which starts December 2 in Mumbai.
"I am 37 years old and I can't bowl as much as those days because after 15-16 overs I get tired. But I will try and play a little bit of one-day cricket that's only 10 overs to bowl. If I find everything is not going well I might retire from both forms of the game before the World Cup," Muralitharan said.
"Everything depends on how much my body can take. My body may hold for one-day cricket because it's a fifty-over game.
In Test cricket it's a little bit harder because I have always been a threat to other sides. At the moment it's not looking like that because others are playing me well. I think I made the right decision to retire from Test cricket at the end of the West Indies series next year," he was quoted as saying by 'The Nation'.
Muralitharan said his body now struggles to respond to the demands of international cricket's grind and time has come for Sri Lanka to look beyond him to get the results.
Murali to retire
Muralitharan, who has already announced his Test retirement after next year's series against the West Indies, said he may walk into the sunset before the 2011 World Cup in the sub-continent. Sri Lanka is currently trailing 0-1 in the three-match Test series against India the final game of which starts December 2 in Mumbai.
"I am 37 years old and I can't bowl as much as those days because after 15-16 overs I get tired. But I will try and play a little bit of one-day cricket that's only 10 overs to bowl. If I find everything is not going well I might retire from both forms of the game before the World Cup," Muralitharan said.
"Everything depends on how much my body can take. My body may hold for one-day cricket because it's a fifty-over game.
In Test cricket it's a little bit harder because I have always been a threat to other sides. At the moment it's not looking like that because others are playing me well. I think I made the right decision to retire from Test cricket at the end of the West Indies series next year," he was quoted as saying by 'The Nation'.
Muralitharan said his body now struggles to respond to the demands of international cricket's grind and time has come for Sri Lanka to look beyond him to get the results.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
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Murlai hopes for great finish
Muttiah Muralitharan is the highest Test wicket taker of all time and it is highly unlikely that anyone in contemporary cricket or in the near future can even approach the world mark the champion Sri Lanka bowler would set before retiring.
The ace off-spinner, who has grabbed a whopping 789 wickets to date from 131 Tests, is frustrated that he has been unable to make an impact in the ongoing three-Test series against India in which the visitors are trailing 0-1 going into the third and final match at Mumbai here from December 2.
The Kandy-born Muralitharan, at 37, in the autumn of his prolific career that commenced in the early 1990s, has threatened to walk into the sunset before the 2011 World Cup in the sub-continent because he feels he's no longer the silent assassin of yore.
Muralitharan has already announced his intention to quit the highest form of the game after his country's series against the West Indies next year but has now indicated he may quit ODIs too before the mega-event.
"I am 37 years old and I can't bowl as much as those days because after 15-16 overs I get tired. But I will try and play a little bit of one-day cricket that's only 10 overs to bowl.
If I find everything is not going well I might retire from both forms of the game before the World Cup," he told a Sri Lankan newspaper after his country's massive innings defeat to India in the second Test at Kanpur.
In two Tests in the current series, Muralitharan has taken only five wickets after bowling over 100 overs, conceding close to 400 runs with a best of 3 for 97 to show for.
Even his overall record in India in Tests is not very impressive, considering his stupendous performance in his long career during which he has grabbed 10 wickets in a match on 22 occasions and five wickets in an innings 66 times.
Digital cameras
Mendis to miss out
Mendis burst onto the scene with 26 Indian wickets in three Tests last year but has taken only a further 18 in seven subsequent appearances.
The Sri Lankans fielded a three-pronged spin attack last week in the second Test in Kanpur, where they lost by an innings to trail 1-0 in the three-match campaign.
Requiring a first win on Indian soil to avoid a series loss, Sri Lanka are intent on drafting in another paceman at the Brabourne Stadium.
"Mendis will have to sit it out," captain Kumar Sangakkara confirmed at the pre-match press conference.
Sri Lanka will recall either Nuwan Kulasekara or Dilhara Fernando, with the former favourite to make the tourists' XI.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
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.Lanka miss Dammika
Prasad, who has taken 13 wickets in four Tests, returned figures of 2-106 off 22 overs in India's first innings during the first Test in Ahmedabad but could bowl just 13 overs in the second essay.
He did not play the second Test in Kanpur, which the Lankans lost by an innings and 144 runs inside four days.
His injury may lead to the inclusion of either Nuwan Kulasekara or Dilhara Fernando in the Sri Lankan team.
Friday, November 27, 2009
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Number one beckons India
As Test cricket returns to the Cricket Club of India's Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai after more than three and a half decades, the hosts are clear favourites to wrap up the rubber with another victory following the landmark 100th win at Kanpur inside four days.
A 2-0 victory margin in the series would take India to the top of the ICC Test rankings table, two points above current number one South Africa.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men appear to carry too big an arsenal, especially in batting, for the comfort of Kumar Sangakkara's visiting team which needs to buckle up and leave behind the morale-shattering innings defeat in Kanpur.
Dhoni has been lucky with the toss in the first two Tests, though his team faced down the barrel at 32 for four on the first morning of the series at Ahmedabad before being rescued by the tenacity of Rahul Dravid and the grit of Yuvraj Singh.
India would be without in-form opener Gautam Gambhir, maker of four Test hundreds on the trot in as many matches since the March-April tour of New Zealand and seven in his last nine Tests. The Lankans would hope to drive a wedge into the home team's rock-solid top order in the Delhi left-hander's absence, who has opted out to attend his sister's wedding.
Young Tamil Nadu innings-launcher Murali Vijay has got his second opportunity to show his capabilities at the Test level due to Gambhir's pull-out. He needs to not only grab it with both hands but also play the ideal foil to the swashbuckling Virender Sehwag.
Sehwag and Vijay had forged good partnerships of 98 and 116 in their previous association for India as openers at Nagpur just over a year ago in the fourth Test against Australia.
Vijay stepped in for Gambhir, who was serving a one-Test ban on disciplinary grounds after elbowing all rounder Shane Watson, at the previous Delhi Test. He made 33 and 41.
Vijay got his chance to make his Test debut after being rushed into the highest form of the game straight from the Ranji Trophy tie in Nashik against Maharashtra on the strength of associating with a plus-400 stand with Abhinav Mukund.
Sri Lanka's Chanaka Welegedara, who can bowl good in-swingers would fancy his chances against Vijay. The Lankans will once again miss Dammika Prasad, who has not yet recovered from a hamstring injury picked during the opening Test.
The visitors need to curb Sehwag at the earliest before the Delhi dasher takes the game away with his audacious shots as he did in Kanpur.
But for this to happen, Sri Lanka would need their ace spinner Muthiah Muralitharan to lead from the front.
Muralitharan has not made an impact in the series so far and it is his last chance to make a mark in India as he's unlikely to be around when they visit next.
After the Kanpur loss, Sangakkara said Muralitharan's lack of success was a worry but also backed Test cricket's leading wicket taker, who is 12 short of touching the 800-mark.
Sangakkara is also hoping for a change in his luck with the toss after having called wrongly on the first two occasions.
Winning it and piling up a huge score looks to be the best way of applying pressure on the home team's strong batting order boasting of Sehwag, Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, V V S Laxman, Yuvraj and Dhoni
The pitch at the Brabourne is a virgin one, having not been used at all this season as the Ranji Trophy tie between Mumbai and Orissa was held on the adjoining track.
It is expected to be a slow turner after giving initial help to the fast bowlers and more importantly the swing bowlers from both teams would get good help from the breeze that wafts across the ground.
S Sreesanth, the Indian bowling hero at Kanpur whose swing bowling after his return to the team following a lengthy gap undid the Lankans, is expected to use the breeze to the full as also Zaheer Khan.
Back from 19 months of international wilderness, Sreesanth's five-wicket haul in the first innings flattened Lanka and forced them to follow-on.
The Kerala bowler struck an important blow in the second innings too to walk away with the man of the match award, a splendid way to return to top-flight cricket after his well-chronicled on and off-field antics in between.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Docket Port
Dream for ashwin
Ashwin comes in place of regular off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who has been rested for India's two-match T20 series against Sri Lanka.
The Tamil Nadu cricketer, who is in Orissa for Ranji Trophy Super League against Orissa, said he would be really happy even if he could achieve half of Bhajji.
"Bhajji is a great off-spinner having won so many matches for India. I don't see myself as his replacement but even if I can achieve half of what he has achieved, I will be really proud," Ashwin told PTI.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
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quarterfinal at stake
A quarter-final place at stake, a resurgent Delhi will take on group laggards Maharashtra in their last Ranji Trophy Super League Group B encounter in the Capital.
Under new skipper Virat Kohli, Delhi defeated Saurashtra to revive their campaign and the hosts will look to continue the good work against Maharashtra, who have lost two of their four matches so far.
Delhi have nine points from four outings, having lost one, won one and drawn two matches so far.
Although regular captain Aakash Chopra has returned to the squad after getting married, Kohli has been retained as skipper.
The left-hander is in red-hot form and has scored a century and a fifty in three innings he has played so far.
Delhi boast of a strong middle order with Rajat Bhatia, Gaurav Chhabra and Puneet Bisht in their ranks and a lot would depend on these players' performance in the match.
Almost all the teams have scored big against Maharashtra and Delhi's strong batting line-up is also expected to milk their bowling around.
Paceman Samad Fallah and left-arm spinner K Adhav are the only real threats for the hosts.
For Delhi, paceman Sunit Narwal initially did very well but in the last two matches has not got any wickets. He has to provide the early breakthrough for Delhi to do well.
Maharashtra's batting has been unpredictable and inconsistent. But if they play to their potential, they can spoil Delhi's chances.