News reports and photos - India/Eng 2008

[goose]

i'm liking this guy Simon Hughes. ttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/international/england/3777883/Sachin-Tendulkar-enjoys-proudest-moment.html Sachin Tendulkar enjoys proudest moment Victory in the first Test and a century were highly significant for India's most iconic player, Sachin Tendulkar, and his country. By Simon Hughes Emphasising India's solidarity in a time of trouble, it was the partnership between a Hindu and a Sikh that clinched their cricket team a famous victory on Monday. The latter, the colossal Yuvraj Singh, lifted the former, the diminutive Tendulkar, aloft as the winning runs were secured and they were soon joined by India's leading bowler, Zaheer Khan, a Muslim, in their celebrations. It was a powerful display of unity, symbolising the way forward for India in the aftermath of a brutal assault. For Tendulkar it was a special moment. A resident of Mumbai, the terrorist attacks affected him profoundly – this was clear from his emotional reaction on the field at the climax of the Test and his sombre press conference afterwards – and seemed to give him extra motivation. He expressed enormous gratitude to England for returning to play the series and seized the opportunity to make a statement of defiance against those who threaten his country. This was the first of his 41 Test hundreds that had carried India to victory in the fourth innings. If it was not his career's defining achievement, then it was his proudest. From the first day of the game he seemed imbued with added determination. As the Indian bowlers warmed up on a side pitch before the toss, Tendulkar emerged fully padded and helmeted, stood to side of the stumps and shadow-batted a series of deliveries, rehearsing the leave, the drive and the back cut. Each morning afterwards he grooved his strokes in a practice net more meticulously than he had ever done. Invariably he was the last back to the dressing-room and returned for more practice in the twilight at the end of the day. In the field he acknowledged his idolising fans more than ever before, as if appreciating his responsibility towards them. At the crease he seemed more deliberate than usual, taking extra time between balls to properly assemble his thoughts and channel his concentration. In partnership with the luxuriant VVS Laxman he allowed himself a higher backlift and a few liberties. Once he was joined by the more flaky Yuvraj he delivered a motivating pep talk and reined in his ambition. He donned a chest guard to better withstand Monty Panesar's occasionally spitting deliveries. England were treated to a master class of nimble footwork and neat deflection. He wielded his chunky 2lb 12oz blade like a scalpel, cutting his innings to a precise pattern. He manipulated the field. When Panesar pitched up he swept. At first the shot was intercepted, but soon the fielder was pushed back and he could nurdle the ball for one into the resultant gap. He could angle balls to deep cover in his sleep. There were 45 singles and only eight boundaries in his hundred and maidens were scarcer than Indian frowns. Fortified by Tendulkar's calm accumulation, Yuvraj gave the innings impetus with some lusty blows. He closed his ears to Andrew Flintoff's provocation and his savage pull for six off Panesar got the target down to 94. Then it was 70, then 50, and the ecstatic crowd bellowed them home from there. What of England: could they have done more? Well, maybe. Steve Harmison was lacklustre, James Anderson uncertain and Panesar a little robotic. He is still reluctant to try anything different, including going round the wicket to the left hander to explore a different angle. The debutant Graeme Swann was more versatile and more threatening. Kevin Pietersen's safety-first fields allowed too many easy singles. When Tendulkar attempted to explore the vacant pastures early on by going over the top he nearly perished. England were not disgraced. They could justifiably say they stretched every Indian sinew before conceding defeat. But the Indians wanted it more. In the end no one could deny the scriptwriter who had the favourite son of Mumbai hitting the winning runs in a record-breaking run chase and registering a hundred. And after all that's happened, who would begrudge them that?

[goose]

Another one. Simon Hughes trumpeting a side that makes a Muslim from Mumbai feel at ease. Don't dare post this one 'next door'. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/international/england/3710245/Indias-Zaheer-Khan-no-longer-the-poor-mans-Wasim-Akram.html India's Zaheer Khan no longer the poor man's Wasim Akram The effect of the Mumbai attacks on the Indian players themselves has been largely forgotten. By Simon Hughes Mahendra Singh Dhoni admitted he had hardly slept for four days after the attacks in Mumbai, and Sachin Tendulkar offered his heartfelt sympathy to the victims. In the aftermath, the remainder of the Indian team returned to their homes for a few days and mostly kept their counsel. Zaheer Khan may have felt more apprehensive than most about the resumption of the series. As the only Muslim in the team, and a Mumbaikar to boot, he would have feared an anti-Muslim backlash and represented a prime target. He didn't allow it to blur his focus leading into this test, and he didn't make any public pronouncements. On Thursday, he made the ball talk instead. It was his post-tea spell that buckled England's secure foundations and left the whole edifice looking decidedly shaky. Zaheer's idol is Wasim Akram, and his bustling run-up and aggressive method often led him to be a called a poor man's Wasim. Not any more. He may not have Wasim's manic delivery or alarming pace, but he makes up for that with clever disguise and excellent nous. The nervy, erratic bowler who buckled under the pressure of the 2003 World Cup final is gone for good. Unhelpful conditions and resilient England openers tested his skills to the full on the first day, and he was sparsely used in the first two sessions. Even then he was the only bowler who had come close to taking a wicket, seeing two miscued pulls from well-directed bumpers fall agonisingly short of the fielders. But in a country where everything from food to accurate information takes longer to arrive, the Indians are masters at biding their time. The bowlers play a waiting game, surveying the prey from a distance. The fielders stroll languidly about like resting vultures. When their opportunity comes, they pounce. England were 164-1 at tea, with Strauss and Bell in residence. Zaheer produced three waspish maidens straight afterwards, in one of which he found a hint of reverse swing to trap Bell lbw. Kevin Pietersen, his application corrupted by a battle of machismo with Yuvraj Singh, was surprised by Zaheer's skiddy bouncer and ballooned a simple catch. With Collingwood's tame, though unlucky dismissal, and the end of Strauss' valiant innings, the turnaround was complete. Zaheer had been the catalyst and, with the retirement of Anil Kumble, India's suffocating blanket. The onus will be on him more often. A relatively late developer, having been forced in his early 20s to move state from Bombay to Baroda to earn first class recognition, Khan is ready. He is very much the heartbeat of the Indian bowling now and, judging from the way he advises others, its mind as well. Strauss's innings was a triumph of mind over matter. With no serious cricket since late August he was jumping in at the deep end. It was early afternoon before he was able to unleash his favourite cut, and after a couple of initial alarms, he kept his pull well and truly sheathed. Instead he paddled and poked in the shallows. He was like a big game fisherman having to survive on minnows. But snaring a century in this tricky current is a 4lb salmon in anyone's book.

[Desi Cartman]

Article on the age.com http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/12/15/1229189539905.html

[Desi Cartman]

This is the best one http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/talk/content/multimedia/382302.html?template=audioplayerv2

[goose]

bumble you legend !

[The Outsider]

This is a terrific read : http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/cricket/stephen-brenkley-a-sporting-spectacle-to-savour-and-an-inspiration-for-mumbai-1128240.html

Test cricket can do no more. The humdinger of a match which finished yesterday in a deserved victory for India embodied the essence of cricket, maybe of all sport. This is a tall claim to make but anybody deluded enough to think that Twenty20 is the only way to go after this may as well take to supporting one-legged underwater pancake racing for their kicks. England lost for all sorts of reasons, not least their reluctance to push for victory, but they played a significant part in a contest which went to the last hour of the last session on the last day and will be remembered down the ages. India successfully chased 387 to win, the fourth highest winning pursuit in the whole history of Test cricket, now numbering 1898 matches. It beat by more than 100 runs the previous highest winning fourth innings in the country and the man who secured the victory in sublime fashion was the iconic Sachin Tendulkar. In accumulating the 41st Test hundred of his matchlessly auspicious career he was simply consummate. For almost two decades he has epitomised the advance of Indian cricket and for most of that time he has been idolised and worshipped by the entire country. But there was something more resonant yesterday. It was his city, Mumbai, which was so rudely disfigured by terrorists a fortnight ago, and he is its favourite and most famous son. That Tendulkar should bat with such assurance yesterday, supplying a masterclass of how to pace an innings and measure strokes, was a reminder that Mumbai will return. He himself was clearly touched. In the immediate aftermath of victory he paid tribute to those who died in Mumbai and to those who stood up to the terrorists. "It is hard to recover from that and cricket is a lesser thing but if we contribute in some small manner to people's happiness then we have done that," he said. Teams are not meant to score so many on wearing pitches but from the moment India started their innings on Sunday evening, with Virender Sehwag deliciously rampant, there was an air of inevitability. India wanted victory, they craved it, England somehow were afraid of it. But that is the nature of sport and it demonstrated ultimately why India are the best side in the world and why England are still a work in progress. The occasion demanded a match such as this. It so nearly did not take place after the horrific attack on Mumbai which forced the temporary abandonment of England's tour. In a way, it was sufficient that both sides turned up: the triumph of the human spirit in adversity and all that. But what then ensued represented the very best of a brand of the game which has been besmirched by a series of cut price offerings parading as the real thing and remains under constant pressure from shorter forms, which are in truth merely quick fixes. Those among us who counselled further delay before resuming this tour were wrong. It was not always scintillating in Chennai – it demanded patience by player and spectator alike. There was sometimes a chance to put the kettle on or read a chapter of your book, and that was just the participants. For the first three days there was hardly anybody there. It was worrying and made a nonsense of the assertion by England captain Kevin Pietersen that they wanted to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Indian nation in their hour of need. There was nobody there to stand shoulder to shoulder with. But it stayed engrossing, partly because England were slugging it out with a genuinely great side and for around two thirds of the tussle were ahead on points. And on the final two days the people of Chennai turned up, sensing that they were about to witness history, recognising that Test cricket did indeed have it all. By the time Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh propelled India to victory, the past and the future combining in the here and now, the place was heaving and vibrant with expectation. It was, of course, completely appropriate that Tendulkar should be instrumental in this epic victory. But then there was Yuvraj, scourge of England in the recent one-day series when he scored two centuries. He has never made it in Test cricket and his ebullient temperament might be a defect. But he was not for disturbing yesterday and by refusing to be upset he upset England. He was marvellous. England could and should have bowled better. In the heat of the battle, Pietersen will have learnt something about himself and his players. There was confirmation that Monty Panesar, so lauded on his initial entry to Test cricket, has simply not progressed as required. This could have been his time but Panesar showed, as insipid over after insipid over went by, that he was not ready. His eyes gave the game away. He was not in control and he did not know how he might gain control. Perhaps it will be the making of him, perhaps it will help England to move to the next stage. They will know they could, probably should have won but it will be an enormous task for them to regroup in time for the second Test at Mohali, beginning on Friday. But that is for later. What mattered yesterday was that Test cricket displayed all its finery in front of an enraptured crowd and that one of the greatest cricketers of this or any other age commanded the stage.

[goose]

delicious !

[Holysmoke]

[Rajan]

Geoff Boycott-On sachin & Panesar http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/international/england/3777237/England-and-Monty-Panesar-must-learn-from-the-pain-of-defeat.html For 90 per cent of the match they thought they were winning it and had it in the bag. Everything was going their way and on the last morning they were favourites to win. Remember the ball was jumping, turning and behaving unpredictably. England will be going over and over how they managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. The big danger is it could eat away at some of the players. Fortunately for England they cannot dwell on it for too long as they will be in the thick of it again on Friday when the second Test starts. That hands them an opportunity to redeem themselves quickly and to save the series. I take my hat off to England for sticking together as a unit and deciding to play in difficult circumstances. But it is still a kick in the guts to lose. Even with the cocky, ebullient Kevin Pietersen as captain, all the upbeat talk in the world will not cover up this defeat. We saw a pitch that was under prepared, mainly because the groundsman did not have enough time to work on the surface and get it to bind together. The good thing for the batsmen was that it was slow and got slower. These days, unless you play regularly in Sri Lanka or India, you do not come across a pitch like this very often. I grew up on these pitches in the 1960s. We used to get a number of them in county cricket at places like Worksop, Bristol and Hull. In Kent, Essex, and Yorkshire where they used a lot of grounds, often they were just club or park pitches. On this type of slow, unpredictable turning pitch the hardest time for a batsman is at the start of his innings. That is when you are vulnerable because the ball is turning and doing things. But once you get in, because it is so slow, you have time to wait and pick the length. As confidence grows it becomes much easier to bat. I thought Andrew Strauss was absolutely superb and he played on this type of pitch perfectly. He came in, occupied the crease and made the bowlers work hard and wore them down. He was very careful in shot selection. He stayed on the back foot and only came forward when he had to. The old English adage of 'if in doubt, play forward' is rubbish. Strauss scored in two areas behind square on the leg-side and square on the off-side. Simply one word. Brilliant. Especially when you remember he has had no cricket since September, except for a couple of hits in the Stanford circus. To make two hundreds in a Test and be on the losing team – my God that would keep me awake at night and I hope it doesn't have that effect on him. It was a fantastic performance. Sadly, I cannot say the same for Monty Panesar. Shane Warne's comment is very appropriate. He basically said Panesar has not learned a thing in Test cricket. To be a great spin bowler, it is not enough to spin the ball and bowl it on a length ball after ball. That is only the simple basics. You have to think batsmen out by subtlety and variation. You have to be able to cope with pressure. It demands a different mindset when you bowl in the fourth innings and have to get a team out to win the match. For a spinner there is no bigger pressure than bowling at Indian and Sri Lankan batsmen, because they are brought up with spin and are very, very good at playing it. Monty simply has a lot to learn. The opposite can be said for Sachin Tendulkar. While a bowler is under pressure to get wickets in the fourth innings, a batsman has to make runs and win the match. As a batsman it is not how many runs you make but whether you do it when it matters. Tendulkar showed all his experience, skill and ability. As he gets older he does not dominate bowling as he did in his younger days. He does not have the same range of shots and has to use his brain instead. It makes no difference because he is just as effective as he ever was. This year alone he has made over 1,000 runs in Test cricket at an average of over 50. As they age all batsmen and bowlers must be able to fall back on what they have learned so that when that little bit of youthfulness has gone, you make up for it with experience and knowledge. Panesar and Tendulkar are two opposites. Panesar has talent but has learned nothing. Tendulkar is brilliant and has learned everything.

[DomainK]

The match in images

Looming large. Dhoni rising like a sun behind KP making him look small.

[DomainK]

Sitting right on top of it.

[DomainK]

Roar of a tiger and the reason is right in the background.

[DomainK]

The foreground and the back ground tell a tale of extraordinary cricket.

[DomainK]

One or many?

[DomainK]

Lets beat the hell out of them Sehwag says moodily to Dhoni.

[DomainK]

Hints at both teams on a collective mission.

[DomainK]

Yes. Much more than just cricket.

[King Tendulkar]

great pics

[Rajan]

thanks, super pictures.good comments too.

[Shane]

Great pics Dom !!!