[Cricket] Team India defeats South Africa in South Africa!

[Anand]

Source- Cricketnext.com

The wait is finally over.

Team India have registered their first Test win against South Africa in South Africa at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Monday.

Needing 402 to win, South Africa were bundled out for 278 runs despite a defiant 97 by Ashwell Prince in the first match of the three-Test series to give India victory by 123 runs and a 1-0 lead in the series.

The win was the result of a good showing by Indian bowlers led by the young Kerala pacer Shantakumaran Sreesanth and the old guards Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman both of whom excelled with the bat.

On top of it was the aggressive captaincy of Rahul Dravid who never let the South Africans to comeback into the match after the hosts had been bundled out for just 84 runs – their lowest against India in a Test – in the first innings.

Dravid, though not successful with the bat, kept up the pressure with an attacking field placement and changing his bowlers to keep the South African batters on their toes to register one of India’s most famous overseas win.

When the fourth day’s play began South Africa faced a mountain to climb to save the match with overnight not out pair of Ashwell Prince and Mark Boucher taking guard in the middle.

But it was not long before the Indian pacers made the breakthrough.

Boucher failed to add to his score of 23 and was sent back into the pavilion trapped lbw by Zaheer Khan in the third over of the day.

Shaun Pollock who replaced Boucher in the middle showed that he was not going down without a fight and belted Zaheer for two fours in the same over in which Boucher got out.

In the next over of Zaheer, Pollock smashed a six and a four and continued in the same vein hitting boundaries at will.

Seeing his pacers making not much of an impact on Pollock and the rock-solid Prince, skipper Rahul Dravid introduced leggie Anil Kumble.

Continued on Page 2 and 3 on Cricketnext.com

Finally, Laxman figured out how to make runs against teams other than Australia!

I hope Team India continues the good show at Durban, where the pitch is expected to be flat and bouncy.

[snyper]

us irish are still trying to grasp the concept of cricket.

We qualified for the next world cup, i dont know how, and we beat the west indies in a one day test 2 years ago.

But our best batts man then jumps ship and declares to play for england. If we cared less we'd hate him! :D.

[red.]

Yeah great news. I was constantly refreshing cricinfo yesterday at work trying to follow the match.

good all round performance by India and especially good bowling in the first innings.

However Sreesanth got fined twice for the dismissal of Amla.

[Pallab]

Durban has been a nightmare ground for India. It would be tought, but if the batsman really apply themselves then they can still do well. Offcourse, I am hoping that SA gets a bit scared by this loss and makes a flat pitch there.

[Anand]

Durban has been a nightmare ground for India. It would be tought, but if the batsman really apply themselves then they can still do well. Offcourse, I am hoping that SA gets a bit scared by this loss and makes a flat pitch there.

A flat pitch will not suit India. Indians have swing bowlers, with the exception of Munaf Patel and VRV Singh. If it's a green pitch, then the Indian bowlers have a better chance as they keep the ball up. We saw this in this match, too. Andre Nel's egoistic nature got the better of him, and he bowled short. Pollock was amazing, though.

So, as Alan Donald said, a flat pitch would be to the advantage of SA, and a green, seaming pitch would suit India!

[Crazysah]

us irish are still trying to grasp the concept of cricket.

We qualified for the next world cup, i dont know how, and we beat the west indies in a one day test 2 years ago.

But our best batts man then jumps ship and declares to play for england. If we cared less we'd hate him! :D.

I have never heard of a one day test? Must have been a one day game. Also btw - I don't think the World Cup teams (after top 8) have been selecteD? I don't think the last 4 have been selected.

Anyways,,, I saw all the days of the test live on TV (I am a Indian and big cricket fan) and I must say wat a performance by the Indian Cricket team! Awsome. Good to bounce back after the one day humiliation.

[snyper]

I have never heard of a one day test? Must have been a one day game. Also btw - I don't think the World Cup teams (after top 8) have been selecteD? I don't think the last 4 have been selected.

yes it was a one day test/game..im not sure!!

as for the world cup,sorry, i stand corrected..:/

Ireland Confirm Squad For World Cricket League

Ireland today confirmed their squad of 15 who will participate in the first division of the World Cricket League in Kenya. The six team tournament runs from January 30th 2007 until February 7th.

The competition features the top six ranked countries below Test level, namely Kenya, Scotland, Ireland, Canada, The Netherlands and Bermuda.

An added incentive for the Irish to do well is the fact that the top two finishers will receive $250,000 and a place in the inaugural ICC Twenty20 Championships, which are to be held in South Africa in September 2007.

The squad will again be captained by Trent Johnston, and contains the same 15 players who led Ireland to European Championship glory in Glasgow this summer. Irish coach Adrian Birrell is looking forward immensely to the WCL, saying, “It should be very competitive cricket with so much at stake. The players have been working very hard over the winter months, and we set off in early January for Port Elizabeth to continue our preparations. I’m confident that the players will be in ideal shape come the commencement of the competition. We have no injury worries or availability problems, so the squad has taken on a very settled look.”

Stephen Kirkpatrick, Head of Banking NI, wished the team well saying, “Next year promises to be one of the most exciting and challenging in the history of Irish cricket, and Bank of Ireland is delighted to be part of that. 2006 has been an incredible season for cricket at all levels in Ireland, winning an amazing 6 European trophies. Hopefully the greater exposure that the World League and World Cup will bring will mean even more participation in cricket throughout Ireland.”

Warren Deutrom, the newly installed Chief Executive of Irish cricket, looked forward to 2007 saying, “It’s a great time to be at the helm of Irish cricket. The next 12 months will be without a doubt the most memorable in Irish cricket, and I’m delighted to be involved. I’d like to wish Adrian and the team all the best in their endeavours, and I’m sure they’ll do us all proud.”

The Ireland squad in full is as follows:

? Trent Johnston (Clontarf) Captain

? Andre Botha (North County)

? Jeremy Bray (Eglinton)

? Kenny Carroll (Railway Union)

? Peter Gillespie (Strabane)

? Dave Langford-Smith (Phoenix)

? Kyle Mc Callan (Waringstown)

? John Mooney (North County)

? Paul Mooney (North County)

? Eoin Morgan (Middlesex)

? Kevin O’ Brien (Railway Union)

? Niall O’ Brien (Railway Union)

? William Porterfield (Rush)

? Boyd Rankin (Derbyshire)

? Andrew White (Instonians)

We are a rugby, football and a GAA nation

[kingroach]

Ganguly should be included in the test team from now on.. He might not have the form to play oneday but he still is a good test player.. I smell some anti-bengali sentiment in the india cricket board after Dalmia was sacked..

[snyper]

Are india in the top 3 nations of cricket?

What are the world rankings?

[Pallab]

Current Rankings

1.Australia 130

2.England 119

3.Pakistan 112

4.India 111

Btw, Barry Richards and Sunny Gavaskar wants India to drop one opener and pick Pathan (and make him open)! Now, thats a really bold suggetion.

Edited December 19, 2006 by Pallab

[Anand]

Current Rankings

1.Australia 130

2.England 119

3.Pakistan 112

4.India 111

Btw, Barry Richards and Sunny Gavaskar wants India to drop one opener and pick Pathan (and make him open)!

I wanted to read Barry's article. Where did you read it? He spewed venom on India throughout the ODI series. Let's see what he has to say now.

[red.]

I wanted to read Barry's article. Where did you read it? He spewed venom on India throughout the ODI series. Let's see what he has to say now.

Same.

Anyway Pathan opening would be silly IMO and put unecessary pressure on him. Even though it wouldn't make much of a difference seeing as Jaffer's not doing much. However he did get a double century on that last tour, maybe too soon to give up on him? Gambhir is another option.

[Anand]

Same.

Anyway Pathan opening would be silly IMO and put unecessary pressure on him. Even though it wouldn't make much of a difference seeing as Jaffer's not doing much. However he did get a double century on that last tour, maybe too soon to give up on him? Gambhir is another option.

Gautam Gambhir should play. He is a good opener, and his only weakness will be negated on South African pitches. He can't play balls that stay low and come in.

[snyper]

i didnt think england were near number 2...they seem to be always loosing!

[Crazysah]

I really want Pathan and Sehwag to open together and see how it goes. Would love to see how Pathan handles the opener slot!

[Pallab]

I wanted to read Barry's article. Where did you read it? He spewed venom on India throughout the ODI series. Let's see what he has to say now.

He said it on NDTV.

I think Barry's critisism of Indian team was justified. They didnt apply themselves at all during the ODI series.