Adelaide - Will It Be The Burial Ground!

Indian Cricket Teams - Thunder Down Under!

Come 24th January and you will be witnessing already battered and for certain lost Indian team against Australia at Adelaide. It would be the 4th and final test match of the series. India has already lost the series, so now its pride they play for. Australia has taken an unassailable lead of 3-0 in the series. A whitewash looks certain. So will Adelaide be the burial grounds or will India rise from ashes and sour high into the sky like phoenix.

Dravid and Laxman On A Song on Day 4 of India vs West Indies

India gains healthy lead

Well the headline says it all.Dravid and Laxman batted brilliantly on Day 4. Two masters of world cricket known for impeachable skills, style and patience. At the End of Day 4 India where 229/4 in 89 overs. India now lead by 240 runs. It now needs to be seen how soon on Day 5 Dhoni declares the innings. Today being the Last day India will need to grab all 10 wickets to win this match.

On day 4 Dravid yet again proved why he is such a lovely batsmen to watch. And why he is called the WALL. Dravid made 55 crucial rund of 171 balls. He finally got out on Fidel Edwards ball in the 61st over when he was caught by Ramnaresh Sarwan at first slip. Laxman stayed not out, end of of day at 72(171 Balls). He is being accompanied by Virat Kohli. Virat was still bating at 26(98 Balls).

Poor Batting by West Indies

The West Indies team seem to be struggling with ball now, having failed with the bat. West Indies where bowled out for 190 in their first innings. Marlon Samuels played well in first Innings scoring 78 (172 Balls) and was not out. However the rest of the West Indies team couldn't do much.Ishant Sharma was the pick of the bowlers for India. He bowled brilliantly and returned with figures of 6/55 in first Innings.

Now on 5th and the final day it needs to be seen if the maverick captain Dhoni is able to work his magic. Its going to be tough day for both the teams. West Indies will try hard to draw the game, whereas India would desire nothing but victory.

The game changing factor for the 2nd test was actually the rain. Had it not rained in the last few days, things might have been different and India might have had higher chances of wining the game.

India vs West Indies 2nd Test… The Battle Continues…

India vs West Indies 2nd test at Bridgetown in Barbados

Dhoni and his boys are all set to walk into Kensington Oval today to face a downhearted West Indies.  India is already one-up in the three test series after winning the first match and will be hoping to win this one as well and wrap up the series. However it may not be all that easy, after all India have a dubious record of 58-year winless streak since 1953 at this ground. 

The final squad for the match and the choices Dhoni will make are still unclear. With Munaf back in the team having recovered chances are Dhoni might opt for three fast bowlers for this match P. Kumar and Ishant Sharma being the other two pacers. In all probability leg-spinner Amit Mishra will be rested for the 2nd test being played today.

Experts say that the Barbados track is likely to have plenty of bounce and has generally been a result-oriented venue over the past decade. Hope the weather doesn’t play a spoil sport, if everything goes right with rain staying away this match could turn out to be an interesting one.

All eyes will be on Harbhajan Singh, he is just four wickets away from becoming the 3rd Indian bowler to pick 400 wickets.

West Indies Fight Back

On the other hand West Indies will be hoping that  Fidel Edwards and Ravi Rampaul will deliver their best on a wicket that is hard and bouncy. West Indies have decided to play Kirk Edwards in place of form vice-captain and batsman Brendan Nash. Captain Darren Sammy might also have few other surprise changes in mind which he might action before the match begins.

West Indies having lost the 1st test will be looking do well in 2nd Test and win the 2nd Test against India and level the Test Series. But the big question remains will West Indies be able to breach the WALL (Read - Rahul Dravid) and be able to beat India ranked currently World No.1 in Test ranking.

Return Of The Wall. India beat West Indies by 63 runs, Lead Test Series 1-0

Dravid Sizzles In Indian Victory Against West Indies

He has done it again... The maestro, Rahul Dravid delivered again when it most mattered. I fall short of words to describe the genius he is. Sachin may be adored as the god of cricket by billions of Indians. But sadly in his shadow a great legend is always forgotten. Nevertheless he has always delivered when it matters the most. Dravid hit his 32nd century and boy it will stay memorable forever, the man has class, need I say more. Dravid scored 112 runs of 274 balls in the 2nd innings which included 10 4’s and a six.


India secured a 63-run victory over West Indies on day four of the first cricket test at Sabina Park. Indian pace bowling was spearheaded by Praveen Kumar (3-42 in the 2nd innings), he made his debut in test cricket with this match. He claimed the key wickets of Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Darren Bravo in the second innings. West Indies, 131-3 overnight, were bowled out for 262. India scored 246 and 252, while West Indies had managed mere 173 in its first innings.

West Indies Bowled Out on day 4 by India

On day 3 West Indies began their 2nd Innings needing 326 runs to win the game. End of day 3 WI had lost just 3 wickets. WI needed 195 runs when they began their innings on day 4 and still had 7 wickets in hand. I would say they were still comfortably placed; they still had Bravo and Chanderpaul at the wicket when day 4 began. But hats off to Indian bowlers they left no stone unturned to ensure victory in the very first match of the series.


The turning point was when West Indies' Shivnarine Chanderpaul drived a ball off India's Praveen Kumar that was caught by Suresh Raina in the second innings for 30 runs. In the end WI side was bowled out for 262 in their 2nd innings.


With this victory the touring Indian side achieved a unique milestone. This is the first instance of an Indian win in the first Test of a series against West Indies in the Caribbean.


The outstanding performance for the Indian team was that of Rahuld dravid who scored 40 & 112 in the 1st and 2nd innings respectively. Suresh Raina’s 82 and Harbhajan Singh’s 70 runs in 1st innings was commendable. Pravin Kumar and Ishant Sharma picked 6 wickets each in the match (3 each in each of the innings).


For the West Indies Adrian Barath scored a 64 and 38 in the 1st and 2nd innings respectively. That was the best by any WI batsman in the match. Davendra Bishood was pick of the bowlers for West Indies as he took 7 wickets in all during the match.


In the end it was a disastrous start for the West Indies to the 3 test series. Rahul Dravid was honored with the man of the match title for his second-innings century that was instrumental in India’s victory at Kingston.

Ind vs WI: Brilliant Batting by Bravo steers WI to 7-wkt win, India bag the series 3-2

West Indies Win The 5th ODI

After a good show in the first 3 matches it was expected that Indians will have a smooth series and might even have whitewash victory of 5-0 against West Indies. But alas it was not to be, as WI not only won the 4th ODI but also ensured they win the 5th and final game at Kingston.


Darren Bravo also being hailed as Brian Lara Clone was at his best in this match and hit a career-best 86. West Indies contentedly defeated India by seven wickets in the fifth and final ODI. West Indies were chasing a target of 252, brilliant batting by Bravo and Ram Naresh Sarwan ensured they reach the target in 48.4 overs. In the end it was morale boosting victory for WI as they were able to reduce the series score to 3-2.


Ram Naresh Sarwan (75) and Darren Bravo (86) added 103 runs for the third wicket. Marlon Samuels (28) and Kieron Pollard (24) both not out till the end of game ensured that the good work of Sarwan and Bravo did not go in wane.


Earlier in the day Indian team put up a fighting score of 251 runs on board. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli both batted stupendously. Kohli looked confident enough to hit his first century of the series was unfortunately run-out at 94 (104 balls, 10x4). He along with Rohit Sharma (57, 72 balls, 2x4, 1x6) stitched together a partnership of 110 runs for fourth wicket.


Indian team however lost the momentum and the infamous fall of wickets like a pack of cards was at display again. India lost seven wickets for only 62 runs in 11.3 overs, middle and lower-order batsmen failed to make a mark.

India Win The ODI Series 3-2 In WI

Although having lost the final match of the ODI series India still won the 5 match ODI series 3-2.


The man of the match for the fifth ODI was WI pacer Andre Russell for picking up four wickets in 8.3 overs.


Indian middle order batsman Rohit Sharma was awarded with the man of the series award. He scored 257 runs with a stunning average of 128.50 in the five one day games against WI.


Now all the action shifts to the test series. Test series is the real cricket as every cricket fan rightly says. We will see the return of Dhoni and senior players like Dravid. Hope Indians are able to end the tour on a good note with series victory in Test’s as well.