Wednesday, December 24, 2008

India v West Indies - First Test


Eden Gardens, Kolkata

India: SM Gavaskar, MH Mankad, M Amarnath, VS Hazare, M Azharuddin, *MAK Pataudi, Kapil Dev, +SMH Kirmani, M Prabhakar, S Venkataraghavan, BS Chandrasekhar.
West Indies: CG Greenidge, DL Haynes, GA Headley, RB Kanhai, IVA Richards, *GStA Sobers, +PJL Dujon, MD Marshall, MA Holding, LR Gibbs, CA Walsh.

Debuts: Nil
Umpires: Khizer Hayat (PAK) & CJ Mitchley (SAF)
Toss: West Indies

Winning the toss is nearly always an advantage in any Test match, and an Eden Gardens pitch that was expected to take spin as early as the second day made it an exceptionally good toss to win for Garry Sobers at the start of this three Test series. India fielded three spinners compared to West Indies' one, but with the first day proving to be by far the best day for batting, West Indies rattled up a handy total of 351-9 by the time stumps were drawn, Rohan Kanhai's second ATG century the main contribution.

Kanhai was only in the side due to Clive Lloyd's injury, but his sublime innings made him the only man to pass fifty as numbers 1-8 in the tourists' batting order all made starts but failed to press on. Richards briefly threatened with 38 before edging a kicking delivery from Chandrasekhar through to Kirmani, then Sobers made a very fluent 49 before both he and Kanhai fell in quick succession shortly after tea. India recovered well in the final session of day one, reducing West Indies from 278-4 to 356 all out early on the second morning, but a disastrous second day for the hosts all but secured victory for West Indies with over half the match still to play.

Fourteen wickets fell on a humid day two, thirteen of them Indian, as the home side were routed for just 109 then reduced to 39-3 in their second innings by the close of play as they followed-on. Marshall started the slide first time around, taking three of the first four wickets in an opening burst of 3-5, and after Hazare (49*) and Pataudi (32) briefly rallied with a stand of 53, Gibbs swept away the tail with his best ever ATG figures to leave the Indians 247 behind on first innings.

Sobers duly enforced the follow-on, and it was Walsh who made the early in-roads this time, including Hazare first ball and Gavaskar to an absolutely stunning catch from a full-stretch Dujon for 11. Overcast conditions on day three offered swing to go with the spin served up by the pitch, and only a pair of forties from Amarnath and Pataudi held up West Indies for any length of time as wickets fell at regular intervals throughout the day. It was all over by tea, Chandrasekhar last man out as Dujon claimed his fifth catch of the innings and Sobers his third wicket, and India's total of 192 had given West Indies a surprisingly comfortable innings victory with more than two whole days to spare.

West Indies have now won their last three matches on the subcontinent, two in Pakistan and this one here in Kolkata, whilst India have now lost their last four matches at home, with the unforgiving expectations of the fans seeming to work against the team. West Indies could secure the series with a win in the second Test in Mumbai, so India will need to bounce back quickly if their fans are to avoid yet more disappointment on home turf.

Scores
WI 1st Inns 356 (Kanhai 130, Sobers 49; Chandrasekhar 4-58)
IND 1st Inns 109 (Hazare 49*; Gibbs 5-29)
IND 2nd Inns 192 (Amarnath 43, Pataudi 41)

WEST INDIES WON BY AN INNINGS & 55 RUNS


Man of the Match: RB Kanhai

Friday, December 19, 2008

India v West Indies - Tour Match

Board President's XI v West Indians
Green Park, Kanpur
4 Day Game

Umpires: RB Gupta & MV Gothoskar

Toss: West Indians


BPXI: K Srikkanth, ML Jaisimha, *AL Wadekar, DN Sardesai, VL Manjrekar, SM Patil, SA Durani, RG Nadkarni, C Sharma, +NS Tamhane, BKV Prasad.
WI: CG Greenidge, DL Haynes, GA Headley, RB Kanhai, IVA Richards, *GStA Sobers, +PJL Dujon, MD Marshall, MA Holding, LR Gibbs, CA Walsh.

A slow, lifeless pitch in Kanpur just about consigned this tour game to a draw before a ball was even bowled, but there was opportunity enough for a number of the touring party to find some form before the first Test in Kolkata.

The West Indians' first innings was dominated by a stand of 135 for the sixth wicket between Sobers and Dujon, both batsmen showing the patience necessary to score runs on this type of wicket, patience that was noticeably lacking in the top part of the order. Prasad bowled well to claim the first three wickets, and whilst Nadkarni and Durani both bowled long, economical spells, Sobers and Dujon were content to push ones and twos to keep the scoreboard moving, recording a worthy century and fifty respectively.

The Board President's XI began their first innings on the second afternoon, with skipper Wadekar's four hour 57 anchoring the first half of proceedings before Patil and Sharma added a relatively breezy 87 for the eighth wicket as the hosts finished just nine runs short of the West Indians' total. Only Walsh failed to take a wicket as the tourists' attack received a good work out, but he was then able to put his feet up and watch Gordon Greenidge construct the innings of the match as his team got some further batting practice on the final day.

Greenidge slammed 96 off 152 balls, no mean feat on this pitch, and he was eventually out attempting to raise his hundred with what would have been his fourth six, Jaisimha taking the catch on the midwicket boundary off Nadkarni. Sobers declared at this point, setting the home side an unlikely target of 173 off 23 overs, and understandably the game petered out into the expected draw over the course of the final hour or so. The only real worry in the tourists' camp ahead of the first Test is over Clive Lloyd, who missed this match with a groin strain, and there is every possibility that the XI on display here will be the same XI that take the field for the first Test.

Scores
WI 1st Inns 311 (Sobers 121, Dujon 59; Nadkarni 4-59)
BPXI 1st Inns 302 (Patil 69, Wadekar 57, Srikkanth 50)
WI 2nd Inns 163-5 dec. (Greenidge 96)
BPXI 2nd Inns 63-3

MATCH DRAWN

Sunday, December 14, 2008

India v West Indies - Series Preview


Both previous meetings between these sides have resulted in 2-1 victories for West Indies, with the last series in India producing some very competitive, exciting cricket. India return home for the first time since their 3-0 humiliation at the hands of England, but under the captaincy of Pataudi a 2-0 win over New Zealand in the interim will have given them renewed confidence, and Kapil Dev enters the series in unarguably the best form of his ATG career.
West Indies could be viewed as the form team in world cricket, having won their last three series against Australia, South Africa and Pakistan, and they retain the bulk of the squad that toured Pakistan for the second half of their engagement in the subcontinent. One man with a point to prove will be Viv Richards, who endured a lean time in Pakistan and also failed to fire on West Indies' previous visit to India, and one wonders whether Pataudi's team will feel his wrath over the course of the three Tests.

West Indies Squad
GStA Sobers (c), CH Lloyd (v/c), CEL Ambrose, PJL Dujon, J Garner, LR Gibbs, CG Greenidge, DL Haynes, GA Headley, JL Hendricks, MA Holding, RB Kanhai, MD Marshall, IVA Richards, AL Valentine, CA Walsh.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

South Africa v Pakistan - Series Summary

A 3-0 scoreline somewhat flatters South Africa, for whilst they probably just about deserved to win the series, Pakistan could very easily have won three Tests themselves. The series had a very symmetrical pattern about it; there were high scoring draws at its beginning and end, and a crushing South African victory in the third Test was sandwiched by a pair of thrilling, down to the wire finishes in Centurion and Cape Town. South Africa's recovery from 23-6 on the first morning in Centurion was a turning point in the series, and dramatic collapses from Pakistan's lower order blighted the tourists' chances in all but the final game.

Hansie Cronje's selection as captain for this series was certainly a gamble, but South Africa's new skipper did not let the selectors down; he was consistent with the bat - his 164 in Cape Town was arguably the innings of the series - and his captaincy showed few flaws. Former skipper Trevor Goddard had his best ever series with the ball, but his poor form with the bat presents the selectors with an interesting dilemma for the future. Graeme Pollock finished the series strongly and led the batting averages as is generally the custom, but with the ball dominant for much of the series the rest of the order struggled somewhat, with Dudley Nourse ploughing a particularly deep trough.

Cronje's opposite number, Imran Khan, enjoyed a reasonably profitable series with the ball, but his batting was in a slump even worse than that of Nourse, and it was his wicket that often opened the door for the succession of lower order collapses suffered by Pakistan. Wasim Akram was by far the best bowler for the tourists, and his absence through injury in the fourth Test possibly cost Pakistan the win. Waqar continues to disappoint after his miracle series in New Zealand last season, and injuries to Abdul Qadir and his replacement, Iqbal Qasim, limited the options available to Imran. On the batting side, Mohsin Khan made the most of his recall to the team, but Javed failed to get going and those collapses really did cost Pakistan any chances they might have had of winning the series.

South Africa now move back up into third place in the rankings, and their series in England next season should prove a very stern test of Cronje's team. Pakistan meanwhile now languish in sixth place, but they should have an easier task in their next outing as they host Sri Lanka for three Tests, and they will be hoping to reverse the 3-0 scoreline that they were on the wrong end of here.

Leading Series Averages

South Africa Batting
RG Pollock 580 runs @ 64.44, WJ Cronje 411 @ 45.67, BA Richards 314 @ 34.89, DJ Cullinan 261 @ 32.63, DT Lindsay 260 @ 28.89

South Africa Bowling

TL Goddard 25 wkts @ 17.52, NBF Mann 11 @ 25.55, MJ Procter 20 @ 28.25, AA Donald 19 @ 31.89, PS Heine 7 @ 36.86

Pakistan Batting

Saleem Malik 201 runs @ 67.00, Mohsin Khan 456 @ 45.60, Javed Miandad 328 @ 36.44, Asif Iqbal 227 @ 32.43, Majid Khan 281 @ 31.22

Pakistan Bowling

Wasim Akram 23 wkts @ 18.78, Imran Khan 23 @ 26.61, Asif Iqbal 10 @ 28.70, Abdul Qadir 10 @ 29.70, Waqar Younis 14 @ 36.00


SOUTH AFRICA WON THE SERIES 3-0


Men of the Series: WJ Cronje & Wasim Akram

Thursday, December 11, 2008

South Africa v Pakistan - Fifth Test


The Wanderers, Johannesburg

South Africa: BA Richards, TL Goddard, *WJ Cronje, RG Pollock, AD Nourse, DJ Cullinan, +DT Lindsay, MJ Procter, HJ Tayfield, NBF Mann, AA Donald.
Pakistan: Mohsin Khan, Mudassar Nazar, Majid Khan, Javed Miandad, Saleem Malik, Asif Iqbal, *Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, +Wasim Bari, Abdul Qadir, Waqar Younis.

Debuts: Nil
Umpires: LH Barker (WI) & BC Cooray (SL)
Toss: South Africa

What appeared to be the best batting surface of the series awaited the teams in Johannesburg, and this was proved to be the case as both sides piled up the runs in their respective first innings. Hansie Cronje won the toss, and under a cloudless sky Barry Richards flicked the first ball of the match for four, thereby setting the tone for what was to come. The early going was dominated by Richards, who looked dead set for a spectacular century until, on 95, he fell lbw to Mudassar's first ball, deceived by a distinct lack of pace from the part-timer. South Africa were 147-2 at this stage, and with the medium pace of Mudassar and Asif causing a fair few problems, the innings stuttered somewhat to 250-4, at which point Dennis Lindsay joined Pollock in a stand of 103 at almost a run a ball to reassert the Proteas' superiority.

Lindsay spanked 56 of his 63 runs in boundaries, and when he was finally caught by Javed off Imran on the second morning, Pollock took over the bulk of the scoring. Cronje contributed a brave 44 after being forced to retire hurt on the first day when he was hit 'below the belt' by a ball from Waqar, but Pollock went on to notch his second century of the series in remorseless fashion, eventually reaching 159 out of South Africa's final total of 474. With pace proving ineffectual, an extended spell from Qadir allowed him to mop up the tail, and his five wicket haul would have given some hope to South Africa's spin twins Mann and Tayfield, the latter of whom had been included in place of Peter Heine, the hosts' only change of personnel in the entire series.

Mohsin and Mudassar gave Pakistan a solid start however, and after Majid (30) and Mohsin (75) both fell in the space of three deliveries on the third morning to set the score back to 148-3, two successive century stands handed the momentum squarely back to the tourists. Saleem Malik was the constant factor in both partnerships, first adding 127 with Javed and then 143 with Asif Iqbal before he became bogged down in the nineties and eventually fell two runs short of a maiden ATG hundred, trapped lbw by Procter early on day four. The recalled Asif continued to bat like a prince though, soon moving on to the fourth century of his career, and fifty stands with Imran and Akram ensured that there would be no lower order collapse for Pakistan this time.

Asif was finally out for a career best 151, Donald bowling him with the new ball to claim his only scalp of the innings, and a brief shower shortly after Asif's dismissal brought about a declaration from Imran, Pakistan having racked up an impressive 542-8, the highest score in the series by either side. We were now halfway through day four, and although they held a lead of 68, Pakistan would have to bowl very well if they were to put South Africa under any sort of pressure on what was still a good batting strip. Wickets did fall though, and a close of play scoreboard that read 153-4 gave Pakistan some hope going into the final day.

Pollock was still there however, and with Cullinan dropping anchor at the other end he taught the tourists' bowlers a harsh lesson on the fifth morning. He survived a stumping chance off Qadir when he was on 90, and that reprieve allowed him to complete his second century of the match, just the seventh time such a feat has been recorded in 185 ATG Tests. Pollock had made 128 and had added 132 with Cullinan when Waqar finally breached his defences on the stroke of lunch, and although Imran and Akram were able to clean out the tail with the new ball in the afternoon, South Africa's total of 315 set Pakistan an unlikely target of 248 off 43 overs in light that was fading rapidly. Unsurprisingly, the tourists were unable to mount anything like a realistic challenge, and with 20 overs still remaining bad light and drizzle brought the match and the series to a damp, dank end.

Graeme Pollock was inevitably presented with the man of the match award, but South Africa's man of the series accolade went to Hansie Cronje, who not only contributed over 400 runs off his own bat but led the side superbly in his first series as skipper; nail biting victories in the second and fourth Tests sandwiched the most comprehensive of wins in the third, and South Africa now move back up to third place in the world rankings after languishing in fifth before the start of the series.

Scores
SAF 1st Inns
474 (Pollock 159, Richards 95, Lindsay 63, Cronje 44; Abdul Qadir 5-98)
PAK 1st Inns 542 (Asif Iqbal 151, Saleem Malik 98, Javed Miandad 80, Mohsin Khan 75)
SAF 2nd Inns 315 (Pollock 128, Cullinan 55, Cronje 46; Imran Khan 4-72)
PAK 2nd Inns 68-3

MATCH DRAWN


Man of the Match: RG Pollock

Friday, December 5, 2008

South Africa v Pakistan - Fourth Test


Newlands, Cape Town

South Africa: BA Richards, TL Goddard, *WJ Cronje, RG Pollock, AD Nourse, DJ Cullinan, +DT Lindsay, MJ Procter, NBF Mann, AA Donald, PS Heine.
Pakistan: Mohsin Khan, Mudassar Nazar, Majid Khan, Javed Miandad, Zaheer Abbas, Saleem Malik, *Imran Khan, +Wasim Bari, Fazal Mahmood, Abdul Qadir, Waqar Younis.

Debuts: Nil
Umpires: HD Bird (ENG) & LH Barker (SL)
Toss: Pakistan

At 2-0 down with two to play, Pakistan simply had to win at Newlands, and whilst South Africa named the same XI for the fourth consecutive match, the tourists made four changes in an effort to register their first victory of the tour. With Qadir finally fit, Akram injured and Asif dropped, Pakistan's bowling attack underwent a major overhaul, but it was the batting that proved the weak link once again as for the third match in succession, the side batting first was bowled out inside a day.

Imran elected to bat upon winning the toss, but after Donald's opening over went for 15 runs it was all South Africa as the Proteas' pacemen made best use of a fast paced pitch. A devastating opening spell from Procter reduced Pakistan to 25-3, and after a stand of 86 for the fifth wicket between Javed and Saleem Malik (36) gave the tourists some hope, the last six wickets fell for 61 to leave Pakistan 203 all out and Javed stranded on 99*, just the second batsman after Allan Border to suffer such a fate in ATG Tests.

Javed had been dropped on 8, and Hansie Cronje received a similar let off when South Africa came to bat, Majid Khan the culprit shortly before stumps on the first day. Cronje was on 13 at the time, and he spent most of day two making Pakistan pay as his maiden ATG century rescued his team from the prospect of an unwelcome first innings deficit. South Africa were 106-6 at one stage, but Cronje put together partnerships of 92 for the seventh wicket with Procter (25) and 69 for the eighth with Mann (25) to haul the Proteas out of trouble and into a first innings lead. Cronje eventually made 164 out of a total of 278, the very definition of a captain's innings, and Pakistan now had it all to do as the game entered day three.

The Newlands pitch had lost much of its early fire by this stage though, and with Donald's radar malfunctioning badly, Mohsin and Mudassar were able to put on 135 for the first wicket as Pakistan roared right back into contention. Both made fifties, with Mohsin in particular seeming set for a century, but Trevor Goddard removed both men either side of lunch, and the innings lost its way somewhat in the afternoon session. Mann dismissed Zaheer for 5 in controversial fashion, eventually inducing a leg side stumping after being called for three leg side wides earlier in the same over, and it was not until Majid Khan and Saleem Malik managed to add 73 runs for the fifth wicket that Pakistan got back on track.

At 275-4, Pakistan led by exactly 200 and looked like setting South Africa a stiff target, but the taking of the new ball changed things round in dramatic fashion, and for the second time in the match the tourists' lower order capitulated without much of a fight. Once Majid edged Procter behind for 68, the last six wickets tumbled for just 39 runs, and a final total of 314 meant that South Africa had five and a half sessions to score 240 and clinch the series with one Test to play. South Africa's batsmen soon began to prove that batting was easier now than on the first day, but three times they lost wickets in pairs just as a partnership had established itself, and by the close of day four the scoreboard read 177-6, and a nervy South Africa entered the final day still requiring another 63 runs to win.

There was no Cronje this time - Qadir had brought him back down to earth the previous day by bowling him first ball - and it was now down to Dudley Nourse to guide South Africa home. Nourse had been in atrocious form in the series up to this point - a return of just 29 runs in six innings meant that he was very fortunate to be in the side at all - but he chose this moment to steel himself for the challenge. Waqar removed both Procter and Mann with the new ball to leave South Africa 203-8 and still 37 short of victory, but Donald managed to cling on for the best part of an hour, allowing Nourse to eke out the runs that finally took the Proteas staggering across the line.

It had been nerve shredding stuff, but Nourse's undefeated innings of 77 had sealed the series win for South Africa, and had given them three consecutive Test victories for the first time. Pakistan meanwhile are now without a win in seven matches, their worst ever run, and they really missed the services of Wasim Akram in this game. Pride will be on the line in the final Test in Johannesburg, and Pakistan will be determined to come away with something after running the South Africans so close here.

Scores
PAK 1st Inns
203 (Javed Miandad 99*; Procter 4-38)
SAF 1st Inns 278 (Cronje 164; Waqar Younis 4-63)
PAK 2nd Inns 314 (Mohsin Khan 84, Majid Khan 68, Saleem Malik 67, Mudassar Nazar 51; Procter 4-83)
SAF 2nd Inns 242-8 (Nourse 77*, Goddard 47)

SOUTH AFRICA WON BY 2 WICKETS


Man of the Match: WJ Cronje

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