Zaheer Khan out of 2nd Test

India fast bowler Zaheer Khan was ruled out of second test against England at Trent bridge with a hamstring injury, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said Thursday.

Zaheer fast left-arm broken in the first test at Lord 's, who manages India lost by 196 runs, after taking two wickets for 18 13.3 overs innings before and did not Bowl again in the match.

The 32 years was instrumental in the seven-wicket win over India in the corresponding Trent Bridge Test against England four years ago, taking nine wickets for 134 runs in the match. Now his place is set to go to fast bowler seamer Shanthakumaran Sreesanth and Munaf Patel.

"I believe that ruled out of this game," Dhoni, speaking to reporters at Trent bridge Thursday, the day before the start of the second test, said Zaheer.

"It's always good to have him in the side because he is our most experienced bowler, especially when it comes to England, he played a game of cricket here for counties and the last time India were here (in 2007) hit it really well.

"It's a bit disappointing not to have him for selection in the first XI, but it is something that is beyond our control and gives the possibility for the bowlers to prove their courage when it comes to international cricket."

Dhoni has added: "in General is a win-win situation for the Indian team because we cannot really sit down and say Zaheer is not there. We must look at the positive, that is some of the other bowlers will get to have a look international cricket. "

Wicketkeeper-batsman Dhoni, who refused to disclose the identity of replacing Zaheer at Trent bridge, he said that he hoped the spearhead of India would be fit in time for the third test of this series of four-match, starting at Edgbaston on 10 August.

"We expect. Began light training yesterday (Wednesday), but again is something that we cannot 100 percent sure about but most likely seems to want. "

India also have a question about opening batsman Gautam Gambhir, who suffered an elbow injury when he was hit in the leg, short of the Lord. "We'll give it some time and see how you go through the NET sessions today (Thursday)," Dhoni said Swann.

"He is the only person who can judge the right amount of pain can go through and still be able to run".

Gambhir, Dhoni asked if was doubtful for the second test, replied: "now, Yes." If Rahul Dravid was ruled out, as happened in the second innings of the Lord, would be promoted to open the innings with Yuvraj Singh in line to take the place of Swann in the team.

Dravid stands in ICC, Tendulkar drops to 4.

Rahul Dravid, courtesy, a brilliant hundred in the first test between India and England at Lord 's, won seven seats to be 15, while teammate Sachin Tendulkar lost two places to fourth after a show in ordinary Tests, on the 2000th latest Test International Cricket Council (ICC).

England batsman Jonathan Trott and fast bowler James Anderson rose to second place in the standings after the emphatic victory of their team.

Trott has climbed two places, especially Tendulkar and Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara, for second place in the batting standings, after his innings of 70 and 22 in the opening game of the four-match series.

Kevin Pietersen, whose magnificent unbeaten double-century earned him the man of the match award, he returned to the top 20, climbing 14 places to 15 in the rankings next to Dravid.

Other Centurion in the match, England wicket-keeper Matt Prior, has achieved a new best rating, 10 seats rising and 21.

Seven-wicket haul in the match, Anderson including his haul of five-wicket Test 11 5-65 in the second inning, saw him overtake teammate Graeme Swann in bowling, with a new career best ranking.

Chris Tremlett four Wickets in the match helped him in ninth place, earning a new career best rating, while Eion climbs four seats to join Harbhajan Singh, who falls to four-seater, 11° joint position. The Council has also moved to fifth in the ranking of all-rounders.

India have yet two bowlers in the top ten with Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma lying in fifth and seventh place respectively.

Dravid stands in ICC, Tendulkar drops to 4.


Test rankings:

Batsmen:

1.Jacques Kallis (South Africa) 883 ranking points

2.Jonathan Trott (England) 840

3.Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) 838

4.Sachin Tendulkar (India) 832

5.Alastair Cook (England) 783

6.Shivnarine Chanderpaul (West Indies) 775

7.V.V.S. Laxman (India) 771

8.Thilan Samaraweera (Sri Lanka) 766

9.AB de Villiers (South Africa) 760

10.Virender Sehwag (India) 759

Bowlers:

1.Dale Steyn (South Africa) 899

2.James Anderson (England) 800

3.Graeme Swann (England) 780

4.Morne Morkel (South Africa) 751

5.Zaheer Khan (India) 735

6.Mitchell Johnson (Australia) 727

7.Ishant Sharma (India) 665

8.Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh) 648

9.Chris Tremlett (England) 638

10.Daniel Vettori (New Zealand) 623

All-rounders:

1.Jacques Kallis (South Africa) 451

2.Daniel Vettori (New Zealand) 364

3.Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh) 338

4.Shane Watson (Australia) 315

5.Stuart Broad (England) 284

India were not prepared for the first Test

Former England captain Nasser Hussain said India do not value their World No.1 Test status and came underprepared for the Lord's Test which they lost by 196 runs.

'I am so pleased that England won because they set the perfect template on how you should prepare for and then perform in a very important game of Test cricket,' Hussain said.

'India were exactly the opposite. They just turned up with totally inadequate preparation and expected everything to be alright on the night. Do they not value their status as the best Test team in the world? They did not seem to here,' the Daily Mail quoted Hussain as saying.

India's pace spearhead Zaheer Khan, Gautam Gambhir and Sachin Tedulkar were playing a Test after six months. They missed the series against the West Indies. There was only a three-day warm-up match against Somerset before the first Test. Zaheer strained his hamstring on the first day and did not bowl for the rest of the match.

Hussain said England were better prepared for the important series.

'Everything that England have done this summer has been geared towards making sure their players are as ready as possible for this Test series, including Andrew Strauss playing at Taunton and Stuart Broad playing for Notts,' he said.

'In contrast, India expected their top strike bowler in Zaheer Khan and their premier batsman in Sachin Tendulkar to rock up without playing a Test since January and just have a bit of a hit and giggle against Somerset before the big one. They did not help themselves,' he said.

Hussain said the Indian cricket board had not planned well for the series.

'India simply were not ready in this game. India have real issues. Zaheer is injured, quite probably because his body was not right for this game, and it is difficult to see how he can play in the second Test,' he said.

'After that match, India just have a two-day game at Northants to get ready for the third Test, when they will again have little opportunity to get themselves right for the second half of the series. What's going on with them?' he asked.

Hussain also criticised India for not using the Decision Review System for lbws.

'For us to have a halfway house, mish-mash of a decision review system in this series has been driven by India and frankly it's confusing and pathetic. Either we have the full system or we don't use it at all. Let's not say we can have HotSpot because India like it but we can't have Hawk-Eye because they don't,' he said.

west indies cricket cheerleaders

West Indies crush India by 103 runs in fourth ODI

West Indies Bowling produced a clinical benefit after Kieron Pollard and Lendl Simmons laid the foundation with liquid fifties as India crushed by 103 runs in the  4th One-day International.

The Indians lead the five-match series 3-1, after taking an unbeatable lead in the series with a three-wicket victory last Saturday at the same place.

Sent into bat after winning toss Suresh Raina, Pollard's top scorer with a typically aggressive 70 off 72 balls while opening Simmons won a fluent 67 off 78 deliveries to lift the hosts to 249 for eight, their highest total in the series after Indian Bowling had them in a spot of bother at 89 for four.

In reply, India crumbled in light of a job covered by the host Bowling, especially Antonio Martins and Andre Russell, who shared seven wickets between them to end the visitors to 146 in 39 overs.

The victory not only broke a sequence of three consecutive defeats, but also restored some pride for the hosts. India made three changes to the team lead in Aswin Ravichandran, Ishant Sharma and Manoj Tiwary.

Tiwary, Shikhar Dhawan to play in place, failed to capitalize on the opportunity to edge Darren Sammy Baugh in Carlton, but Parthiv Patel took a few good boundaries to set it up for India.

But after getting his eye, Patel headed a uppishly for Sammy to complete a beautiful left-handed catch of his bowling. This was the case with Virat Kohli (22 off 33 balls) came out, courtesy of a clever piece of work Baugh off the bowling of leg-spinner Martin.

As for Subramaniam Badrinath was concerned, looked out of his mind from the start and the Caribbean Bowling, especially Russell, tormented him with knitted card before all-rounder had batsman caught behind Chennai.

If the order was the top back in the pavilion with not much on the card, there was still hope for India until the fittest Rohit Sharma and skipper Suresh Raina were at the crease.

But Martin had other ideas as Raina drew a fuller length delivery which batsman hit straight to mid wicket Pollard.

Yusuf Pathan, who has a reputation for throwing away his wicket, he lived up to billing, playing a shot useless against Simmons, who has not been clear long-off. When Sharma top-edged a Martin delivery to give Darren Bravo a simple catch in the circle, it was as good as over for India.

Former Pollard smashed six fours and two sixes in the highest score of 70 from 72 balls to spark a revival of West Indies, after having stumbled to 103 for five, more than 27 Simmons supported with 67 from 78 balls, Carlton Baugh Jr for 39 and Andre Russell, the hero of the West Indies beat the previous game, added 25th

The new ball pair of Ishant Sharma and Kumar, one of three changes for India in the lineup for the race, hit early, leaving the hosts on 12 for two. Sharma had opener Danza Hyatt caught in arrears to a point in the second over, and Ramnaresh Sarwan Kumar was caught in the same position with the same score in the fifth over.

The Indians met with opposition in the form of a 53-run stand between left-hander Darren Bravo and Simmons first Mishra sparked another mini-crisis, the Caribbean lose pair, as Marlon Samuels for 38 over 65 deliveries.

The visitors were again placed in the back-foot when Pollard and Baugh added 96 - largely peaceful - for the sixth wicket Caribbean is moving in the right direction.

But off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin Pollard was caught long in the 45th over - most of the second Powerplay Batting - before Baugh and Russell continued attacks intention West Indies, abruptly putting on 41 for the seventh wicket.

Kumar returned to his final spell and removed Baugh and Russell from each other balls in the final against her - the penultimate of the inning - but the West Indies would feel reasonably satisfied with their final total.

India made three changes, bringing Sharma, Ashwin, and left-handed batsman Manoj Tiwary, Munaf to replace Patel, Harbhajan Singh and Shikhar Dhawan. West Indies made two changes, exchange Bravo and leg-spinner Anthony Martin Kirk Edwards and Devendra Bishoo respectively.

Praveen Kumar was the most successful bowler with three for 37 from 10 overs in India, and leg-spinner Amit Mishra captured two for 56 from 10 overs as the visitors again maintained beaten West Indies in control over another hard, true Vivian Richards Cricket Ground pitch .

West Indies vs India, 4th ODI

For the West Indies, it is to regain the pride that lies in tatters after three demoralizing defeats.
Captain Darren Sammy has struggled to explain why his players are finding in heavy conditions at home against an opposition that is without its top stars.

It 'been vocal in his criticism of the apparent lack of demand from his players.

Sammy blamed the lack of "killer instinct" as a reason for the team not being able to win.

He admitted that the batsmen were not up to running the label and that he expected a bit 'fast bowler Kemar Roach more.

"We were always runs at the top. We just lacked the finishing touch. On our bowling, Kemar is one of our strike bowlers and we needed a little 'more from him. But I can not blame anyone who has did a good job in recent months. If you put the ball in the right areas, you may bear fruit on this wicket, "Sammy said.

What is encouraging for the West Indies is the inspiration to knock Russell. A hurricane unbeaten 92 from number nine hitter is just the kind of inspiration the host batsmen to hit big in the remaining two matches and make the final score more respectable.

An unbeatable 3-0 in hand, India would now aim for a clean sweep, while trying new players when they take a side demoralized West Indies in the fourth game of the five matches irrelevant one-day international series here tomorrow.

Led by Suresh Raina, India's second string team gave a good account of itself dominating the struggling Caribbean, which has been further weakened by the lack of big hitting Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo as reliable performers.

 

In reality, the series has made a world of good for the young Indian players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Raina himself.

They have proved as combatants in situations of tension, prompting coach Duncan Fletcher said that given the talent pool, its departments are set to dominate world cricket for another decade or so.

"It 's because of the amount of talent in India. Cricket in India is in a very, very healthy now," Fletcher said after India won the series with a three-wicket victory yesterday.

The right hand batsman Manoj Tiwary could get a look at after Raina has made it clear that the reserve players may be fielded for the remaining two games.

India vs West Indies, 3rd ODI

India has won the toss and elected to field first in the third ODI being played against West Indies on June 11, 2011 at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound in Antigua.

Even after the first two losses against India, West Indies bowler will be a sigh of relief that there was no need to bowl to the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Virendra Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir. The young Indian Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been particularly so impressive that one wonders is the West Indian bowling lackluster or is that Indian boys are too talented for them.

As yet another series defeat looms large on the Caribbean side, one is still confused as to why the West Indies cricket board is not always Chris Gayle back in the side. Whatever the reason may be, the Indian bowlers are not complaining. He has started really well, to tie the batsmen of the West Indies and limit them to reasonable scores.

If India beat was spectacular, the bowling is too much in the capable hands as Amit Mishra, Munaf Patel and Praveen Kumar have impressed with their performance being regulated. Yousuf Pathan and Harbhajan Singh, have also performed quite well, but one of them should be much better against the West Indian batting line-up. But do not complain either.

beat West Indies' has clearly tried to miss the inspiration and the decision of the selector to rest Dwayne Bravo is just as baffling as their choice not to induction Chris Gayle in the side. Lendl Simmons beaten with contemptuous ease in the last game and the way Ramnaresh Sarwan is grinding its way through suggests that he may soon find his touch.

Bowling The Caribbean side was another weak point for the team and wonder where they all went fearsome fast bowler. Bishoo, having impressed against Pakistan, must now be going through a reality check against the Indian batsmen, who are the best players of spin bowling. Ravi Rampaul has impressed in patches, but is still a work in progress and should do well in the future.

Cup West Indies' trouble is spilling over, but there is one thing that should be taken and their skipper, Darren Sammy. Never the most gifted of players, which in a way similar to the determination of Rahul Dravid, who knew his limitations and has worked hard to improve them.

Sammy, Dravid is not in the joke is not a player to be feared, but as an athlete, the most important thing is the effort and it does so in abundance. While his place in the side can conjure up a bit 'of an application, but given the way West Indies have slipped down, it will certainly be the right man to inspire the team and lead them out of the rut.

As has been the trend so far in this series are India heads and shoulders above the West Indies and are the favorites to win the game and the series here. West Indies appear to be no possibility of upsetting the apple-cart in India unless India play course significantly below par or grit rubs Sammy and effort to his teammates and inspires them to play outside the skin and fight until the end .

Teams (likely):

West Indies: Lendl Simmons, Kirk Edwards, Darren Bravo, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Marlon Samuels, Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell/Anthony Martin, Darren Sammy (capt), Carlton Baugh (wk), Kemar Roach, Devendra Bishoo

India : Parthiv Patel (wk), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, S Badrinath, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina (capt), Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra, Praveen Kumar, Munaf Patel