West Indies tour of India 2011/12

[sheem]

West Indies tour of India 2011/12 Fixtures

[DexteR]

Thank you for sharing.. one sided hi ho ga yeh tour tou. 2nd test match chal raha hai. pehla india jeet chuka hai. West Indies k paas acha chance tha match jeetnay ka but second innings mei batting collapse ho gayi jiski waja sey chutti ho gayi becharon ki

[sheem]

aho one sided hi hona hai, india mai ho raha hai dosra batting line strong india ki tesra west indies k pass koi khas bowling attack nahi bottom line: boring series

[Nida_Ali_Nido]

same opinion

me to dekh hi nahi rahi

[DexteR]

Rohit replaces Yuvraj for third Test

Yuvraj Singh has been replaced by Rohit Sharma in the India squad for the third and final Test against West Indies. The rest of the squad is unchanged. Yuvraj was unable to convert his starts in the Delhi and Kolkata Tests against West Indies, managing 23, 18 and 25 in three innings. Rohit made a match-winning 175 against Railways and followed that up with 100 against Rajasthan in Mumbai's first two games of the ongoing Ranji Trophy season.

While refusing to comment on selection issues before the announcement of the team for the third Test, MS Dhoni, the India captain, had said today that what mattered was scoring runs. "It does not matter where you score runs," Dhoni said after the end of the Kolkata Test. "Yes, he [Yuvraj] is going through a tough phase but it's important to show confidence in him. We all know he is talented.

"One more reason is that he has been in and out of the side. It's very difficult to back yourself. You have that bit of tentativeness. It's a bit tough on him. But hopefully he will recover and do well for India."

Yuvraj has featured in only 37 Tests over eight years since making his debut against New Zealand in 2003. He was kept out of the Test side by a strong middle order that included Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. Once Ganguly retired, he was given an extended run in the side but couldn't cement his place.

He fell ill before the second Test in Sri Lanka in 2010, and a century from Suresh Raina on debut in that game meant Yuvraj was once again relegated to the sidelines. His Man-of-the-Series performance in the 2011 World Cup put him back in contention for a Test place, but an injury kept him out of the tour to the West Indies and his series in England was cut short by a finger injury he sustained during the Nottingham Test.

Raina, who made an unbeaten 204 against Punjab in Uttar Pradesh's opening Ranji game, was ignored, as was Praveen Kumar.

India squad: MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, V V S Laxman, Rohit Sharma, Ishant Sharma, R Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha, Umesh Yadav, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rahul Sharma, Varun Aaron

[DexteR]

Chanderpaul likely to play in Mumbai

Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the West Indies batsman, is expected to play in the third Test against India, despite an injured calf muscle. Chanderpaul had missed West Indies' practice session in Mumbai on Sunday, but he should be fit for the Test that begins at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday, according to media manager Philip Spooner.

"He [Chanderpaul] has taken a break from practice today to rest his calf muscle that he strained in Kolkata," Spooner told PTI. "But he should be able to play in the Test here." Chanderpaul had sustained the injury during the second Test in Kolkata last week.

If Chanderpaul does not play the pressure would pile on West Indies' young crop of batsmen. Chanderpaul has played 133 Tests, while the rest of the West Indies team aggregates 139 matches. Kirk Edwards, one of West Indies' young top-order batsmen who scored a dogged half-century in the second innings in Kolkata, said the side is in good spirits going into the Mumbai Test.

"Of course, we will be going into this Test match with confidence," Edwards said. "I think we were pretty confident as a team even before the second innings [in Kolkata]." West Indies had offered stiff resistance in the second innings, piling up 463, after being bowled out for 153 in their first attempt and made to follow on. West Indies go into the Mumbai Test trailing 2-0 in the three-match series.

Edwards has scored two hundreds in five Tests, with a century on debut against India in Dominica in July this year. He is still working on learning all he can at the highest level, he said. "You have to try to understand how the pitches play and try to adjust your game. That's what I am doing, [I'm] in the process of learning. Every time I go out to bat, I try to lay a solid platform for my team."

Playing against India's senior batsmen and observing them from close quarters is helping that learning process, Edwards said. "Sometimes, I find myself focusing on him [Sachin Tendulkar] so much that I am not focusing on my fielding. I admire [Rahul] Dravid and [VVS] Laxman too. I admire a majority of those guys, but playing a game with Sachin was something special."

[sheem]

aaj tu mar par rhe india ko

[DexteR]

Tendulkar phir 94 pe out. 100th century nahi ho rahi becharay ki

[DexteR]

yeh match draw ho ga in case West Indies dont have another collpse

[DexteR]

I want pitches to turn from first day - Dhoni

After a stirring final day's play in Mumbai during which 17 wickets fell, 14 of which were bagged by spinners from both sides, India captain MS Dhoni has asked for Test pitches across the country that will take the kind of turn witnessed today at the Wankhede right from day one. Such pitches, he said, could only ensure better quality contests and make the toss less relevant.

"What I would like to see [in Tests in India], played out on fifth-day wicket [in Mumbai]; I want the pitches to turn from the very first day," Dhoni said, expressing surprise at the ample turn and bounce offered on the final day. "It sets off a bit of panic in the opposition's dressing room and, at the same time, you [India] are under pressure to perform as well. That what makes it interesting."

In contrast to the first four days when 1153 runs were scored for the fall of 22 wickets, the final day's play witnessed the same ebb and flow all great Test matches became memorable for. A combination of expert spin bowling from Pragyan Ojha and R Ashwin and senseless batting from West Indies' middle order resulted in a collapse in which eight wickets went down for just 53 runs. A target of 243 from a maximum of 64 overs was never out of reach for India, especially with Virender Sehwag in the ranks.

Sehwag, aided by three lives, set the tempo and by the time he departed India were in a comfortable position. However, with the pitch taking ample turn, Marlon Samuels bowled his off breaks in a marathon 25-over spell from the North Stand end, while Devendra Bishoo bowled tight lines from the Pavilion End, hardly giving any free hits. Subsequently, from a position of authority, India were forced to concede control to the visitors, who kept their wits intact all through. Off the final over, India needed three runs, West Indies two wickets. Eventually India got two runs off a fabulous Fidel Edwards over, in which he stuck to a straight line.

"Frankly, I really don't what happened [to the pitch]. It started to turn in the morning," Dhoni said. "Till yesterday, everything was fine. It was among the flattest of wickets. Something happened in the morning and it started to turn. Most people thought it will be a draw, but it turned into a close game."

On flat pitches, like the ones on offer in Delhi and Kolkata, and for the first four days at the Wankhede, a team that loses the toss cannot do much to run through the opposition, Dhoni said. "I think if you see the first three or four days [in Mumbai], losing the toss doesn't really help. I don't know when was the last time we played on a wicket that was really turning square [from day one].

"The last time [it came close to an outright turner] was when we played at CCI [Brabourne Stadium, against Sri Lanka in 2009]. Then it was turning, but that was in the morning session. There was bounce also for the spinners, but as the game progressed there was not much even there. I am hoping that we [Indian grounds] stick to our kind of wickets that turn from the first day, which doesn't make the toss very important."

Darren Sammy, West Indies' captain, said he was not as surprised by the different nature of the pitch today. "It did bounce and turn more than on all the previous four days, but it was nothing that we shouldn't have been able to handle," Sammy said.