Dhoni Banned For Two Matches

Dhoni banned for two matches, Sehwag named captain

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was on Saturday slapped with a two ODI ban for slow over-rate during the second cricket one-dayer against Sri Lanka here, dealing a huge blow to the home team’s prospects in the ongoing five-match series.International Cricket Council’s match referee Jeff Crowe imposed an immediate two match suspension on Dhoni for slow over-rate after conducting a hearing last night.

In the absence of Dhoni, dashing opener Virender Sehwag has been named the captain for the next two one-dayers in Cuttack on December 21 and Kolkata on December 24.

“ICC Match Referee, Jeff Crowe, has imposed an immediate Two Match suspension on M S Dhoni for slow over-rate after conducting a hearing last night,” the BCCI said in a statement. The Indian players have been penalised 40 per cent of their match fees.

“The Indian team for the next two ODIs will be led by Virender Sehwag,” the brief statement added. The thrilling second one-dayer ended about 45 minutes after the scheduled finish time because of frequent discussions between the Indian players during the closing stages of Sri Lanka’s chase.

The five-match series is currently tied 1—1 after India won the first match in Rajkot by three runs, while the Sri Lankans snatched a thrilling three wicket victory in the second game.

Sena attacks Sachin again

Shiv Sena on Sunday unleashed another attack on Sachin Tendulkar and compared him with Sunil Gavaskar who it hailed as a “true Maharashtrian“.

The attack came in an article in party mouthpiece ’Saamna’ by Sena MP Sanjay Raut days after party supremo Bal Thackeray accused the 36-year-old cricket icon of hurting Marathi sentiments with his “Mumbai for all” remark.

Comparing Tendulkar to Gavaskar (60), Mr. Raut alleged, “There has been no instance of Sachin extending a helping hand to other Marathi cricketers. Forget others, he did not even support Vinod Kambli.”

“In contrast, Gavaskar when he captained India, had half the team drawn from Mumbai and Maharashtra. He gave Test caps to many Marathi players including Suru Naik and Zulphikar Parkar at least for one match,” he said, while also acknowledging Tendulkar’s greatness as a cricketer.

“In this context, Gavaskar is a genuine ‘Maharashtrian’ and the whole country loves him even now in the same way,” the article claimed.

“Players like Sachin have become rich because of game of cricket. Sachin’s wealth has crossed Rs 200-crore mark. We expect Sachin to be as ‘proud’ of Maharashtra as Saurav Ganguly is of Bengal,” it said. “Rahul Dravid too is a Marathi player but he is loyal to Karnataka,” Mr. Raut said.

Mr. Thackeray’s remarks on November 16 had evoked angry reactions from a host of political leaders as also the BCCI, who came down heavily on the Shiv Sena chief for criticising Tendulkar, saying his statement was just right and nobody could take objection to it.

Mr. Thackeray had said that Tendulkar had, through his remark, “left the crease and moved to the pitch of politics” and this had hurt the Marathi psyche.

Earlier, Tendulkar had said, “I am a Maharashtrian and I am extremely proud of that. But I am an Indian first. And Mumbai belongs to all Indians.”

Don’t forget your roots, Sena tells Sachin

Protesting Sachin Tendulkar’s “I am an Indian first and Mumbai is for all” remark, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, in a letter to the cricketer in Saamna, said Sachin was not even born when Marathi people fought for Mumbai.

He referred to the bloody struggle for the formation of Maharashtra State and the martyrdom of 105 people for Mumbai. “Mumbai cannot belong to anyone else and even if it was the country’s economic capital, it was the capital of Maharashtra first.”

The Sena chief commended Tendulkar for his game and riches and the fact that he was a billionaire. However, Mr. Thackeray said, the cricketer’s statement that he was an Indian first and Maharashtrian later had shaken Maharashtrians.

A separate editorial, “Sachin’s no ball,” has reminded Sachin of his Marathi roots and told him not to forget where he had come from, among other things.

“Friendly advice”

Defending the diatribe as friendly advice, Sena leader Subhash Desai told a press conference that Mr. Thackeray had not said anything undesirable, adding he had the right to advise Sachin.

“Just as Sachin is the last word in cricket, Mr. Bal Thackeray is the last word for Mumbai and Maharashtra.”

Support for Sachin

However, support for the cricketer has come from Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, who told a television channel that Sachin had spoken from the heart and his remarks would unite the country.

Sachin’s remarks were made in the spirit of a sportsman, Mr. Chavan said. He did not attach any importance to Sachin’s critics.

None can object to Sachin’s stand - Jaitley

In a veiled attack on its alliance partner Shiv Sena, the BJP on Monday supported cricketer Sachin Tendulkar’s ‘Mumbai for all’ remark, saying nobody could object to his stand.

“Sachin is fully correct. I don’t think anybody can have objection to it ... India is proud of him and he is proud of being an Indian,” senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley told journalists in New Delhi

Mr. Jaitley, however, refused to respond to a question whether Sena chief Bal Thackeray had ‘insulted’ Sachin by accusing him of hurting Marathi sentiments.

Sri Lanka trail India by 51 runs at lunch on Day 3

Former captain Mahela Jayawardene approached his century and brought Sri Lanka close to India’s first innings total on the third day of the first cricket test on Wednesday.

Jaywardene was scored a fluent 86 as Sri Lanka moved to 375-5 at lunch -- 51 runs away from India’s total of 426.

Jayawardene raised the best partnership of the innings as he added 138 runs for the fourth wicket with Thilan Samaraweera (70) after Sri Lanka had resumed at the overnight 275-3.

Paceman Ishant Sharma provided the much-needed breakthrough with the second new ball when Yuvraj Singh took a splendid catch at short square leg to dismiss Samaraweera. Yuvraj timed his leap perfectly and held onto a superb catch as Samaraweera tried to pull a short pitched delivery.

Samaraweera hit nine boundaries in his 145-ball knock.

Jayawardene was in sublime form and hit fast bowler Zaheer Khan for three successive boundaries in one over with the new ball and also hit offspinner Harbhajan Singh for a straight six.

Jaywardene had hit eight fours in his knock and faced 138 deliveries.

Harbhajan gave India another breakthrough in the last over before lunch when he had Angelo Matthews (17) caught close to the wicket on the on-side by Gautam Gambhir.

Both India’s pacemen Zaheer (2-64) and Sharma (2-83) had two wickets apiece while Harbhajan had to wait until his 27th over to get his first wicket.

Sachin greatest batsman of my generation: Ganguly

Paying tribute to Sachin Tendulkar on his reaching the milestone of 20 years in international cricket, former India captain Sourav Ganguly described the Mumbai maestro as the greatest batsman of his generation on Saturday.

"Probably Sachin is the best batsman I have seen. He just amazes me. He just keeps going on and on. We hope he carries on some more years," Ganguly, who was Tendulkar's one-time opening ODI partner, said.

"It's not just about talent but it's how you use talent that makes you special. There have been a lot of players who had talents but they have not continued for a long time and that's what makes Sachin special. He uses his talent to the most," said Ganguly.

Congratulating Tendulkar, who will complete 20 years of international cricket tomorrow, Ganguly said, "First I want to congratulate him on completing 20 years in international cricket which is phenomenal. Starting at the age of 16 and going on to play for 20 years with this intensity is unbelievable."

Having featured in more than 400 matches with Tendulkar, Ganguly said he had scores of memories with the Mumbai batsman since they met in Indore during a U-15 national camp.

"I have got a lot of memories. I met him for the first time in 1987-88. I had heard a lot about him. From the day one, I knew he was special," Ganguly said.

"I wish him all the best. I was really fortunate to play nearly 400 games with him," Ganguly said.

Ganguly also remembered Tendulkar's sublime 175 in Hyderabad, his 45th ODI century, and said, "The way he batted in Hyderabad, it's probably his best one-day hundred knock that I have seen. Hopefully, he will give us a few more. Our fingers are crossed for 2011 World Cup. I hope he fires and the entire team fire and then we have a good chance," Ganguly said about Tendulkar who made his debut against Pakistan in Karachi on November 15, 1989.

FIFA Banned Maradona...

FIFA has banned Argentina coach Diego Maradona from all football activities for two months for his expletive-filled rants aimed at journalists after his team qualified for the World Cup.

FIFA’s disciplinary panel heard Maradona give evidence during a three-hour hearing before excluding him from football until January 15.

The 49-year-old coach will miss Argentina’s friendly against the Czech Republic on December 16. He also was fined 25,000 Swiss francs ($24,250; euro16,500).

FIFA said Maradona apologised to the world football family and showed “sincere remorse.”

The 1986 World Cup-winning captain launched his profane tirade at media critics after Argentina beat Uruguay 1-0 in its final qualifier last month

Sri Lanka Fighting...

* Dilshan strokes 112

* Sri Lanka 275-3 in reply to India's 426

Opener Tillakaratne Dilshan stroked his fifth test century of the year for Sri Lanka who reached 275 for 3 in reply to India's 426 at the close on the second day of the first test on Tuesday.

Dilshan hit 112 and shared in a first-wicket stand of 74 with Tharanga Paranavitana (35) and 115 for the next with skipper Kumar Sangakkara (31) to help the tourists make a solid reply on a good batting pitch at the Motera.

Left-arm pace bowler Zaheer Khan struck crucial blows for India when he dismissed Dilshan and Sangakkara in successive overs but Mahela Jayawardene (36 not out) and Thilan Samaraweera (45 not out) made sure no more wickets fell with a stand of 81.

Dilshan, who scored 92 and 123 not out in the first test against New Zealand in August, recorded his 10th test hundred that featured some fine stroke play.

India Vs Sri Lanka Test Match - Day 2

The Indian innings came to an end as the team was dismissed for 426 runs in the first innings on Day 2 of the first test match against Sri Lanka at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Rahul Dravid was the top scorer with 177 runs. He did not add to his overnight score. Skipper Dhoni made 110 runs. For the Lankans, the Chanaka Welegedara took 4/87 and Muttiah Muralitharan bagged 3/97.

India first innings (385-6 overnight)

G. Gambhir b Welegedara - 1

V. Sehwag lbw b Welegedara - 16
R. Dravid b Welegedara - 177
S. Tendulkar b Welegedara - 4
V. Laxman b Prasad - 0
Y. Singh c Dilshan b Muralitharan - 68
MS. Dhoni c P. Jayawardene b Prasad - 110
H. Singh b Muralitharan - 22
Z. Khan lbw b Herath - 12
A. Mishra not out - 7
I. Sharma st P. Jayawardene b Muralitharan - 0

Extras (b-2, lb-2, w-1, nb-4) - 9
Total: (all out; 104.5 overs) - 426

Fall of wickets:
1-14 2-27 3-31 4-32, 5-157, 6-381 7-389
8-414 9-426

Bowling:
Welegedara 22-4-87-4 (nb-1, w-1), Prasad
22-1-106-2 (nb-2), Mathews 12-1-50-0, Muralitharan 25.5-4-97-3
(nb-1), Herath 22-2-79-1, Dilshan 1-0-3-0.

Sri Lanka first innings

T. Dilshan not out 18
T. Paranavitana not out 18
Extras: (w-1) 1
Total: (no wicket; eight overs) 37

To bat:
K. Sangakkara, M. Jayawardene, T. Samaraweera, A.
Mathews, P. Jayawardene, D. Prasad, R. Herath, M. Muralitharan,
C. Welegedara.

Bowling:
Zaheer 4-0-17-0 (w-1), Ishant 3-0-13-0, Harbhajan
1-0-7-0.

Sri Lanka cautiously moved to 37 without loss, in reply to India's first-innings total of 426 all out, at lunch on the second day of the first test at the Motera on Tuesday.

India Vs Sri Lanka Test Match - Day 1

Dravid (177 not out) and Dhoni (110) raises India from a great fall. India was in a situation of 32 runs with a loss of 4 wickets. But India is now in a safe position by the powerful innings played by Dravid and Dhoni. In the first day, India scored 385 runs with 6 wickets in hands.

Dravid has build up his 27th test century and Dhoni made up his his 2nd test century. Dravid marked several records. This was his 78th 100 runs partnership. 177 runs was his highest score which was scored from a single day. By this innings Dravid joins the 11,000 test run club. He became the fifth player in Test history to score more than 11,000 Test runs.

India Vs Sri Lanka Test Match

India Vs Sri Lanka Test Match started on monday 16th November. The match was going on in Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera in Ahmedabad. This five-day test match will start from 04:00 GMT and 9:30 local time.

This Test series is going to be an acid test for home team India. Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is under huge pressure for this Test series. They should struggle hard to keep dominance in home ground.

Sri Lanka has not won any Test series in India either. So, Sri Lanka team should want to get a victory to make record in Indian soil. However, India is always strong in their home ground. No doubt, Sri Lankan cricket team will have to face a tough challenge against India.

There is no doubt that this test series is going to be a close one. Both teams have equal chance to win the series. Sri Lanka is in good form. It seems that Sri Lanka’s confidence is overflowing with enthusiasm. Series victory for Sri Lanka can be a befitting farewell for his retirement from overseas cricket.

¤ Teams:

* India
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Murali Vijay, Pragyan Ojha, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, Subramaniam Badrinath.

* Sri Lanka
Kumar Sangakkara (captain), Muttaiah Muralitharan, Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Tharanga Paranawithana, Thilan Samaraweera, Angelo Mathews, Thilina Kandambi, Prasanna Jayawardana, Kaushal Silva, Chanaka Welegedara, Thilan Thushara, Nuwan Kulasekera, Dhammika Prasad, Rangana Hearth, Ajantha Mendis.

Sachin - Thackeray Issue

The Indian Cricket Board today reacted angrily to Bal Thakre's criticism of Sachin Tendulkar for his 'Mumbai is for all' comments, saying the Shiv Sena chief should be brought to book as his verbal attack on the batting maestro was uncalled for.

In an interaction with the media on completing 20 years in international cricket, Tendulkar had said, "I am a Maharashtrian and I am extremely proud of that. But I am an Indian first. And Mumbai belongs to all Indians."

Thackeray criticised the statement saying, "There was no need to take a cheeky single by making these remarks. By making these remarks, you have got run-out from the "pitch" of Marathi psyche."

"You were not even born when the 'Marathi Manoos' got Mumbai and 105 Marathi people sacrificed their lives to get Mumbai," Sena mouthpiece 'Samana' quoted Thakre as saying.

The BCCI reacted sharply to Thackeray's statement with its Finance Committee chairman and spokesperson Rajiv Shukla saying that the Shiv Sena chief was "talking like Mohammad Ali Jinnah".

"These kind of comments are completely uncalled for. Shiv Sena have no business to talk like this. Tendulkar is a nationalist. He is for Maharashtra, he is for India. If somebody calls himself an Indian, is it a crime?" he fumed.

"No Marathi will support Shiv Sena if they talk in these terms. Tendulkar has spoken like an Indian, like a nationalist. They don't understand this. In order to get some votes, they are trying to provoke feelings. These people should be brought to book," Shukla added.

"Maharashtrians don't like such utterances. Only a handful of people will support this. Majority of them won't like this. They want to be called Indians first.

Thackeray said Tendulkar "left the crease and moved to the pitch of politics by making these remarks which have hurt Marathis".

To this Shukla retorted, "This is the same language that Mohammad Ali Jinnah spoke. Whole of India and all Maharashtrians, excluding a few Shiv Sena leaders and leaders of Raj Thackeray's party, are with Tendulkar."

Sachin's 20 Glorious Years In Cricket

20 years ago on November 15, 1989, a 16-year-old boy walked out to bat for India in a Test match.The match was against Pakistan in Karachi. At that time the commentators called him young Tendulkar but today he is a legend of the game. He is a player who is the game itself. He scored 17000 runs with 45 beautiful centuries for India. Now Sachin Tendulkar completes 20 glorious years in international cricket on Sunday.













Australian batsman Matthew Hayden had once said: "I've seen God. He bats at number 4 for India". These were the defining words for the man, the genius named Sachin Tendulkar.

There have been only two times in his career when he doubted whether he would be able to play - once after scoring just 15 in his first Test innings and then years later when he suffered a Tennis Elbow injury.

Sachin has played under many Captains and has seen the composition of the Indian team change around him many a time over the last 20 years but he's not one to compare teams.










Having completed 20 years in international cricket, Sachin said his teenage years of cricket is still in him. "Cricket lives in my heart. Somewhere still a 16-year-old boy lives within me. I don't have to make an effort to be enthusiastic." Tendulkar, now into his 37th year, has achieved the mind blowing figures through not just hard work, but also by keeping his focus firmly on his profession and feet firmly on the ground.