Zaheer still doubtful; Tendulkar, Gambhir declared fit

 

                                     The prospects of India pace spearhead Zaheer Khan playing in the second Test at Trent Bridge seems to be remote.

"He has shown a considerable improvement and we would take a call on him on the eve of the match in consultation with the team physio," stated team manager Anirudh Choudhary.

But anyone who witnessed Indian team`s training session knew that the manager statement was far from convincing.

Zaheer bowled 13-odd overs at the Lord`s before a strain in the right hamstring forced him to sit out and severely handicapped the Indian bowling attack as England thrashed India by 196 runs.

As soon as Zaheer arrived at the training session with his teammates, the prying eyes of the Indian media contingent was on the injured speedster.

Long after almost all the Indian players had their nets, Zaheer came out in company with team physio Ashish Kaushik.

He did a few rounds of lap of the ground; did some sprints under the physio`s observation and then picked up his jumper, only to disappear again inside the dressing room.

His bearing wasn`t the one of man who is looking to bowl for India in 48 hours.

Ishant Sharma didn`t bowl a delivery in anger and it was apparent he had a few other personal issues to handle like shaving off his flowing hair which have been much like his personal statement in the last four years.

His new look created a huge buzz among the electronic media.

Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir were two of the other notable cricketers who had fitness issues during the Lord`s Test.

Tendulkar, unlike his second innings appearance, was crisp and smartly shaven and was one of the first ones to walk to the nets. Gambhir too look eager to have a hit even though the bowling on offer wasn`t great shake.
Ishant didn`t bowl at all and neither did Munaf and Sreesanth, after bowling a few serious overs.

Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, certainly rattled by his recent batting failures, indulged himself in some furious hitting down the ground. Abhinav Mukund, the young opener, later tried to brush up his fielding. By the looks, he would be at point during the second Test and not forward short leg where he hasn`t, truth be told, distinguished himself.

Sachin Tendulkar Biography

 Sachin Tendulkar biography is so impressive that anyone can get inspired from it. When 16 years old Sachin entered the world of cricket against Pakistan, experts said a lot of things about Sachin Tendulkar height, but tallest of the bowlers have proven short in front of Sachin Tendulkar height. Although Sachin Tendulkar height is 5ft 5 inch but bowlers like Courtney Walsh, Curtley Ambrose and Tom Moody, who are some of the tallest bowlers in Sachin’s era, have received thrashing from Sachin’s heavy bat. With time, Sachin Tendulkar height and stature in world cricket has become tallest.

Sachin Tendulkar profile : If you talk about Sachin Tendulkar profile, he has done everything to make his profile just the perfect one. If any cricketer in the world can include even 1% of ingredients of Sachin Tendulkar profile in his approach towards Cricket, he’ll be a good player, if not great. A short Sachin Tendulkar profile includes following details of Sachin Tendulkar.

    * Full name: Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar
    * Father’s name : Ramesh Tendulkar
    * Mother’s name : Rajni Tendulkar
    * Sachin Tendulkar birthday : April 24, 1973 , Bombay (now Mumbai)
    * Current age 36 years 150 days (as on 21 Sep 2009 )
    * Major teams: India , Asia XI, Mumbai, Mumbai Indians, Yorkshire
    * Nickname: Tendlya, Little Master, Master Blaster
    * Batting style: Right-hand bat
    * Bowling style : Right-arm offbreak, Legbreak googly
    * Sachin Tendulkar height : 5 ft 5 in
    * Education: Sharadashram Vidyamandir School
People in India want to know complete Sachin Tendulkar biography. When anyone goes through Sachin Tendulkar profile or Sachin Tendulkar biography, he comes to know how a young boy from Mumbai rose to the height of popularity in the world of Cricket. Sachin Tendulkar height may not be that big, but his stature is the biggest in the Cricketing world. This website puts a full-stop on your search for Sachin Tendulkar biography.

A bit more on Sachin Tendulkar profile: Sachin Tendulkar is considered one of the complete batsmen ever. He has all the shots in the book. Also, he is unarguably the biggest crowd puller and icon of the game. Even, all time great Late Sir Don Bradman told his wife that Sachin reminded him of himself. Few people know that Sachin actually wanted to become a fast bowler, but legendary pacer Denis Lillee turned away Sachin from MRF Pace Academy , based in Chennai. Debuted at the age of 16, a glimpse of greatness was seen by another Indian great Kapil Dev, when he continued to bat with a blood soaked shirt, as he was hit by a Waqar Younis bouncer in his debut match. He even had 16 international Hundreds before the age of 25. In 2008, he passed Brian Lara as the leading Test runs scorer and the first bastman to score 12,000 runs. There were times in Indian households, when Sachin Tendulkar used to get out, people used to turn off their Television sets.

Sachin Tendulkar birthday is on April 24. In India , Sachin Tendulkar birthday is like a festival among cricket lovers. India is already a cricket crazy country and thus, Sachin Tendulkar birthday is celebrated like a festival. Millions of fan mails and wishes are received by Sachin Tendulkar every year on Sachin Tendulkar birthday. We even wonder, whether there would be a national holiday on Sachin Tendulkar birthday, after he retires from Cricket.

When he was 14, Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar a great Indian batsman of that time, gave him a pair of his own light pads. This touching gesture greatly encouraged the budding cricketer, who 20 years later broke Gavaskar’s world record of 34 Test centuries.
In 1988, when he was just under 16, he scored 100 not out in for Bombay against Gujrat. This was on his first-class debut. He then scored a century in his first appearance in the Deodhar and Duleep Trophy. Mumbai captain Dilip Vengsarkar picked him up after seeing him batting Kapil Dev in the nets. That season he was Bombay’s highest run-getter. In the Irani Trophy final, He made an unbeaten century. He scored a century in all three of his Irani Trophy, Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophy debuts, and became the first player to do so. He was selected for the tour of Pakistan next year.

At the very young age of 16, Sachin played his first Test match against Pakistan in Karachi in 1989. In this Test, he received several blows to his body at the hands of Waqar Younis, a pace bowler. He made just 15 runs. In the last test in Sialkot, he had a bloody nose from a bouncer, but he went on playing. He scored better in the subsequent games, scoring 53 runs of 18 balls at Peshawar.

In the 1990 Test in England he scored a century at Old Trafford. The English were highly impressed by his disciplined display of immense maturity. He played many types of strokes. His off-side shots from the back foot greatly impressed the English. Though short in height, he confidently faced short deliveries from the English pace bowlers. His great performance made him look the embodiment of Gavaskar, India’s former famous opener.

During the 1991-1992 tour of Australia Tendulkar scored and unbeaten 148 in Sydney and another century on a bouncing pitch a Perth.

At the age of 19, Tendulkar was in England, playing for Yorkshire in 1992. He scored 1070 runs at an average of 45.25 while playing for the English county as the first overseas player.

SACHIN-TENDULKAR-WALLPAPERIn the 2003 Cricket World Cup, he made 873 runs in 11 matches which enabled India reach the final. Although Australia won the trophy Tendulkar was given the Man of the Tournament award.

Shortly after this Tendulkar developed a tennis elbow and he was out of cricket for a while. But by 2005, he was back in form. He played well against Australia, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

Tendulkar performed very well against Bangla Desh and he was adjudged the Man of the Series in the Future Cup against South Africa.

Today Tendulkar is a national icon to fans all over the world. He is the most worshipped cricketer in the world. Tendulkar has been granted the Padma Vibhushan, Padma Shri, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award, Padma Vibhushan by the Indian government.

Personal Life

In 1995, Sachin married Anjali, a doctor and the daughter of Gujarati industrialist Anand Mehta. They have two children, Sara and Arjun. Tendulkar now sponsors 200 underprivileged children every year through a Mumbai-based NGO.

Arjun Tendulkar plays at Lord's with Yuvi

 

While the Indian team was practising hard at the Lord's ground for its 100th Test against England, there was another player who caught everyone's eye for obvious reasons. Arjun, Sachin Tendulkar's 11-year-old son was seen practising with Yuvraj Singh

England boss, but India avoid follow-on

	Atypical celebrations after a typical hundred © Getty Images

Fifteen years and 153 Tests later, Rahul Dravid returned to Lord's to make it to the honours board and help India avoid the follow-on. On a day that belonged to England, on a day when everybody willed Sachin Tendulkar to get his 100th hundred, Dravid, 38 years and 193 days old, stole the spotlight. Only Alec Stewart has scored a Test century with a longer tooth in this millennium. India were still behind by 193, looking at having to bat about four sessions to save the match. Had India followed on, though, it wouldn't have been that straightforward.

Thespotlight could easily have belonged to Stuart Broad alone. On notice and the subject of "enforcer" jokes, he responded with lovely, controlled outswing and should have removed all of India's top five, but watched as Dravid and VVS Laxman were dropped in the slips in the same over. Broad's figures would have read 5 for 25, and India 159 for 5, had those catches been taken. While England recovered fairly well from those lapses, Dravid added 61 to his score after he was reprieved, 23 of them with the tail.

Implored to bowl fuller in the lead-up to the match, Broad did so, bowling the best lengths of all the English quicks, three times breaking burgeoning partnerships. First he separated Abhinav Mukund and Gautam Gambhir when the new-ball bowlers looked unthreatening. Then he ended the sublime partnership between Tendulkar and Dravid when they were racing towards safety. The 35-run stand between Praveen Kumar and Dravid threatened to eat substantially into the lead but once again Broad returned to dismiss Praveen.

Chris Tremlett, not at his best against the left-hand openers, came back superbly to build up the pressure, helping Broad with the wickets. He was the one who brought the follow-in into the picture, removing MS Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh in the same over after Dhoni had added 57 with Dravid. India needed 34 then to avoid the follow-on, and Dravid 20 to get to the century. Praveen came out and swung merrily, and the 35-run stand helped Dravid achieve both the landmarks.

The way the first two sessions began, it didn't seem England would bowl themselves to a position of such strength. James Anderson and Tremlett failed to engage the openers, who left alone 45 of the 134 deliveries they faced. Abhinav had the odd loose moment but whipped off the hips in a manner reminiscent of India's other Tamil Nadu left-hand opener, S Ramesh.

Broad interrupted that state of affairs, getting Gambhir in his third over with a perfect outswinger. Half an hour before lunch, Abhinav's nerves consumed him when he played on on 49, but Broad contributed, too, by changing the angle and going round the stumps.

The afternoon session was worth every penny spent by the 30,000 to be at Lord's today. In the first hour of that session, Tendulkar and Dravid scored 48 of the most couth runs in seven overs, taking India to 150 for 2. Then England made a rousing comeback. Tremlett sowed uncertainty in the minds of the right-hand middle order, and Broad delivered the big blow with an outswinger that took Tendulkar's edge for 34, three short of his best at Lord's.

For a while after that England showed they were very much the gracious hosts, matching India's tally of drops in one Broad over. It was neat outswing bowling, but Andrew Strauss missed Laxman at first slip, and Graeme Swann reprieved Dravid at second. Strauss redeemed himself through superb bowling changes in the rest of the innings. Like Broad did Tendulkar, Tremlett claimed Laxman in the first over of a new spell. Swann half-made up by trapping Suresh Raina 20 minutes before tea. England had upped their game in that session of play: Broad, Tremlett and Swann probed persistently; the final 23 overs of that middle session brought 43 runs and three wickets. Not to mention the drops.

Dravid, though, remained classy. Putting behind him the drop, he covered the swing, played late, and didn't let the occasional miss affect him. The way he read the Anderson inswingers, keeping every single one of them out, summed up his watchfulness. He was equally good against the low bounce from Swann. Having scored 42 off the first 80 balls, he went through a period of 50 balls for just 17, but when the wickets fell, he was urgent in hitting three boundaries in the 80s and 90s.

With the injured Zaheer Khan for company, he clipped Tremlett past midwicket to bring up the hundred, celebrating emotionally. He raised one arm even as he scrambled back for the second, punched the air, and then let out a scream. The crowd, the balcony, and Strauss applauded generously.

Anderson showed up then, claiming Zaheer and Ishant Sharma with late swing, gently serving a reminder that England were still on the ascendent, and that India will need to defend grimly to get away with a draw. Mini reassurance for India - and they can do with some - is that only one of Dravid's 33 centuries has come in a defeat.

Talks on to sell IPL's Deccan Chargers: Sources

 

Mumbai: Deccan Chronicle Holdings has restarted efforts to sell its Indian Premier League franchise Deccan Chargers, and is in talks with Perth businessman Vikas Rambal and Adani Group, sources with direct knowledge of the talks, have said.

Deccan Chronicle is looking for about $200 million, said the sources, who did not want to be identified, as talks were still going on. That is nearly double what it paid for getting the Hyderabad-based franchise in 2008.

One of the sources said talks were also on with Malaysian state oil firm Petronas.

Deccan Chronicle officials did not respond to phone calls and e-mails seeking comment.

Rambal, the chairman of Perdaman Industries, is a sponsor for Champions League Twenty20 side WACA Warriors in Australia. A spokeswoman for Perdaman Industries declined comment on the talks to buy the Indian IPL team.

An Adani spokesman said the group would not comment on speculation, while Petronas was not immediately available for comment.

Deccan Chronicle has been trying to sell the team since 2009, and media reports had cited Adani as a suitor in 2010 as well.
Deccan Chronicle paid $107.01 million in 2008 for the Hyderabad-based franchise for 10 years. The team finished last in the inaugural eight-team Indian Premier League (IPL) but came back strongly to win the next 2009 South African edition.

The IPL revolutionised cricket with its shortest twenty20 format, player auctions, post-game parties and heavy advertising, dazzling fans and offending purists.

Celebrity owners are part of the show and include Reliance Industries (RELI.NS) chief Mukesh Ambani, India`s richest man, as well as spirits and airline magnate Vijay Mallya and Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan.

The cost of franchises have soared. Pune Sahara Warriors and Kochi Tuskers paid $370 million and $333 million respectively for successful bids last year -- far more than the roughly $90 million average for the eight original sides.

UK-based Brand Finance placed Deccan Chargers sixth among the eight original IPL teams in terms of brand value in 2011, at $38.76 million, up from $34.44 million in 2010.

Earlier this year, Deccan Chronicle merged wholly-owned subsidiary Deccan Chargers Sporting Ventures Ltd, through which it held the stake in Deccan Chargers, with itself.

Bureau Report

Rare childhood/Teenage photos of Indian Cricketers

  1. A very young Rahul takes a bite of a banana as mother Pushpa watches


                       

2.A very young Rahul plays with his father,Sharad Dravid.

Mr.Dependable Rahul Dravid.

Rahul THE WALL

DADA.....saurav expecting call from ODI selectors as well !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Master Blaster and Sachin with childhood friend

MS Dhoni When he won his first trophy in school days

Zaheer with bat and not ball....looks like this practice made him make some runs in this srilanka series....

India, England fight for bragging rights

London: The bragging rights of Test cricket supremacy are at stake and where better to see this battle unfold and watch blow-by-blow action than at the birth place of the gentleman's game.
India and England will battle it out in a four-match Test series, the first of which begins at the iconic Lord's cricket ground on Thursday. It also happens to be the 100th Test between the two sides and the 2000th in the history of the game.

While India have been playing the box-office brand of cricket which has seen the BCCI's cash registers ringing like a seven-piece orchestra, England have taken up the effective way, grinding out results throughout the five days with disciplined and strict batting and tireless displays of bowling.
The hosts sent off the perfect warning signal by taking out a consistent Sri-Lankan side and in turn help Chris Tremlett and James Anderson emerge as better bowlers at the end of the series, which England won 1-0.
What has been an integral part of England's progress is the ability to pick 20 wickets in a game, something which was left wanting for a long time.
In captain Andrew Strauss, Jonathan Trott and run-machine Alastair Cook, England have a solid,reliable top three which can be a pain in the backside for any bowling side.
As far as the Number 1 Test side in the world, India are confident, buoyant and have proved their worth by sending a second-string team to the Caribbean and winning both ODI and Test honours for the first time in their history.
Under Mahendra Singh Dhoni's leadership, the sky is the limit for this Indian team which has infused youthfulness and enthusiasm even in seasoned veterans like VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid.
And add to that the return of match-winners like Zaheer Khan, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar and its impossible to look away from the visitors' team-sheet without drooling over it.
If ever Test cricket wanted an advertisement to boost its reputation, this series would serve as the perfect pay-per view.
In the event that England beats India by a margin of two tests they will leapfrog South Africa to go top of the ICC world rankings for the first time.
What will work in the favour of Strauss' team will be the fact that they are unbeaten in their last eight series and have won the last five.