Sehwag’s record ODI score powers India to its highest total

Indore, Dec 8 (IANS) Virender Sehwag set the One-Day International’s highest individual score (219)ever here Thursday with some sensational hitting in the fourth ODI against the West Indies that took India to its highest ODI total of 418/5.

Sehwag surpassed Sachin Tendulkar’s unbeaten 200. His 149-ball carnage of the West Indies bowling was laced with 25 fours and seven sixes. Tendulkar’s 200 off 147 balls (25×4, 3×6) came against South Africa at Gwalior, also in the state of Madhya Pradesh, in February 2010. He was the first cricketer ever to score a double century in ODIs.

Sehwag now has the distinction of being India’s top scorer in both Tests and ODIs. His Test best is 319 against South Africa in Chennai in 2008.

Riding on Sehwag’s power-packed performance, India surpassed its best ODI total of 414/7 against Sri Lanka at Rajkot in 2009.

The stand-in captain, Sehwag was lucky to win the toss for the fourth consecutive time in the series and decided to bat.

The explosive opener took his regular partner Gautam Gambhir (67) to open the innings, having batted with Parthiv Patel for three matches without any success. In fact, the top-order batting was becoming bit of a bother for India.

But Sehwag responded the way only he can, tearing apart the West Indies bowlers. The spectators were literally up on their feet as Sehwag dealt in fours and sixes.

Sehwag and Gambhir blasted 176 runs in 22.5 overs, setting the pace for the big total on a belter of a track.

Gambhir, who survived a dropped chance, hit 11 fours before being run out.

Suresh Raina, who was also going through a bad patch in the series contributed 55, and was involved in a 140-run stand with Sehwag. Raina was also run out of from Andre Russel throw from the deep.

Sehwag was the dominating partner in both the partnerships. He stroked the ball with immaculate timing.

He got a life when he was on 171 with West Indies captain Darren Sammy dropping a sitter.

Excitment was pitch high as Sehwag neared his double century. He made the most of the life and got past Tendulkar’s record with a four through point off Andre Russel, sparking celebrations in the packed Holkar Stadium. On reaching the landmark, Sehwag punched the air in elation and raised his hands to acknowledge the cheers from the crowd. Sehwag’s double ton came in 142 balls.

He was finally dismissed by Kieron Pollard, caught by substitute Anthony Martin at long on.

Sehwag’s top score before this innings was 175 against Bangladesh in the World Cup opener earlier this year.

Virender Sehwag overtakes Sachin’s 200 runs in ODIs

Indore, Dec 8 (IANS) Riding on skipper Virender Sehwag’s record 219, the highest ever individual score in an ODI, India thrashed the West Indies by 153 runs in the fourth One-Day International at the Holkar Stadium here Thursday. India now take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series.

Sehwag set ODI’s highest individual score, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar’s 200 unbeaten, with some sensational hitting and powered India to its highest ODI total of 418/5.

Sehwag’s 149-ball carnage of the West Indies bowling was laced with 25 fours and seven sixes.

Tendulkar’s 200 off 147 balls (25×4, 3×6) came against South Africa at Gwalior, around 500 km from here and also in the state of Madhya Pradesh, in February 2010. He was the first cricketer ever to score a double century in ODIs.

Sehwag, who has two triple centuries in Tests, now has the distinction of being India’s top scorer in both Tests and ODIs. Sehwag’s Test best is 319 against South Africa in Chennai in 2008.

For West Indies the target was a huge challenge. All they needed was a great start and a big partnership, but couldn’t get either. Opening batsmen Lendl Simmons (36) and Marlon Samuels (33) were flashy and perished soon.

Wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin scored a fighting run-a-ball 96 but didn’t get good support from the other end.

Riding on Sehwag’s power-packed performance, India surpassed its best ODI total of 414/7 against Sri Lanka at Rajkot in 2009.

The stand-in captain, Sehwag was lucky to win the toss for the fourth consecutive time in the series and decided to bat.

The explosive opener took his regular partner Gautam Gambhir (67) to open the innings, having batted with Parthiv Patel for three matches without any success. In fact, the top-order batting was becoming bit of a bother for India.

But Sehwag responded the way only he can, tearing apart the West Indies bowlers. The spectators were literally up on their feet as Sehwag dealt in fours and sixes.

Sehwag and Gambhir blasted 176 runs in 22.5 overs, setting the pace for the big total on a belter of a track.

Gambhir, who survived a dropped chance, hit 11 fours before being run out.

Suresh Raina, who was also going through a bad patch in the series contributed 55, and was involved in a 140-run stand with Sehwag. Raina was also run out of from Andre Russel throw from the deep.

Sehwag was the dominating partner in both the partnerships. He stroked the ball with immaculate timing. He got a life when he was on 171 with West Indies captain Darren Sammy dropping a sitter.

Excitment was pitch high as Sehwag neared his double century. He made the most of the life and got past Tendulkar’s record with a four through point off Andre Russel, sparking celebrations in the packed Holkar Stadium.

On reaching the landmark, Sehwag punched the air in elation and raised his hands to acknowledge the cheers from the crowd. Sehwag’s double ton came in 142 balls.

He was finally dismissed by Kieron Pollard, caught by substitute Anthony Martin at long on.

Sehwag’s top ODI score before this innings was 175 against Bangladesh in the World Cup opener earlier this year.

India Aim to Seal ODI Series at Motera

Ahmedabad: With a 2-0 lead in hand, India are firmly on course to record a second successive one-day series triumph at home as they take on West Indies in the third ODI of the five-match rubber at the Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium in Motera on Monday. 

Although it has not been without some hiccups, the hosts look all set to hand out another defeat to the visiting side and take a winning 3-0 lead at the ground where they dethroned 2007 champions Australia on March 24 on their way to grabbing cricket's most coveted crown - the World Cup. 


India, by all counts, are holding all the trump cards and should clinch the series unless they self-destruct or the Windies punch above their weight. A win on Monday would give a consecutive series triumph to India after they mauled England 5-0. 


The Virender Sehwag-led hosts have shown exemplary tenaciousness in the face of deep trouble to win the first two games of the series at Cuttack (by a narrow one wicket) and Vishakhapatnam (by five wickets). 


They struggled to overcome a very modest target of 212 set by the Darren Sammy-led Windies in the first ODI and then failed to deliver the knock-out blow when they had the visitors on the hop at 170 for 9 in the second match. 


On the first occasion, Virender Sehwag and company had to be rescued by the last wicket pair of Varun Aaron and Umesh Yadav who stitched a vital stand of 12 runs to pilot them across the finish line. 


In the second game too India allowed Ravi Rampaul to smash a world record score for a no. 10 batsman, 86 not out in 66 balls with six sixes and as many fours, to help his team amass a challenging 269 after they were 170 for 9 through a fighting, unfinished last wicket stand of 99 with Kemar Roach who made 24 not out. 


It needed a determined and tenacious stand of 163 runs between young guns Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to guide India to a victory after they were in difficulties at 84 for 3. 


What must be pleasing to the home team's management is that the victories had been achieved without significant contributions from the Big Two in the batting line-up - stand-in captain and opener Sehwag and no.3 Gautam Gambhir. 


With Parthiv Patel too flopping badly at the top, India had to bank on Sharma's consistency and Kohli's return to form to shore up the middle and dig them out of difficulties in game two. 


Sharma has had a very good run since his return to the team after the unfortunate first-ball injury he sustained in the ODI series in England that ruled him out of the return series. 


The talented Mumbai batsman was in very good touch in the Caribbean and seems to have taken a liking to the Windies bowling attack. 


Kohli, who was part of the Dhoni-led team that lifted the coveted World Cup in Mumbai on April 2, has also scored runs aplenty in ODIs this year. 


The Delhi youngster has become the second-highest batsman after England's Jonathan Trott with a tally of 1258 runs from 31 games at just over 46 with four centuries to boot, three of them in his last eight appearances. 


In the absence of Sachin Tendulkar at the top and regular captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni at the end of the innings, as well as Yuvraj Singh, the batting has relied a lot on these two youngsters and it is time for the likes of Sehwag and Gambhir fire. 


To add to the batting woes of the hosts is the indifferent form of another fine finisher Suresh Raina, who has poor scores of 5 and 0 going into the third game. 


The bowlers, too, have had a mixed bag, outstanding at Cuttack and expensive at Vizag where rookies Varun Aaron and Ravichandran Ashwin were brought down to the earth from their recent Test highs conceding 66 and 74 runs respectively. 


It will be a challenging task for the duo tomorrow to put that forgettable display behind them and bowl as they are used to while the team management has the option of replacing Aaron with Abhimanyu Mithun. 


Umesh Yadav seems to have carried forward his form in the Tests to the ODIs, his five wickets at an economical rate being a clear pointer, while Vinay Kumar too has done his bit along with left arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja. 


The West Indies batting has flopped, barring the odd spark. The top order has failed to fire in unison which has led to collapses. 


A senior batsman like Marlon Samuels has scored only 14 runs so far at no. 3 while Darren Bravo showed his class in scoring 60 in difficult batting conditions at Cuttack before falling cheaply at Vizag. Lendl Simmons' 78 was a saving grace for the visitors before they were bailed out by the unexpected blitz from Rampaul. 


Captain Sammy's contribution itself had been very poor, a duck at Cuttack and 2 at Vizag. 


In bowling, Rampaul bowled his heart out at Vizag after missing the opening game while Roach has also been impressive, but the others have not risen up to the task against the strong and long Indian batting order. 


It would be interesting, however, to see what the captain who wins the toss does in the third game after India's Sehwag inserted the tourists in to bat in the first two matches, probably to factor in the effects of dew. 


Night temperatures are yet to dip steeply in this textile city and experts reckon dew may not be that big an issue in the third game of the series. 


Teams from


India: Virender Sehwag (captain), Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Parthiv Patel (wk), R Ashwin, Abhimanyu Mithun, R Vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron, Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Rahul Sharma 


West Indies: Darren Sammy (captain), Lendl Simmons, Adrian Barath, Marlon Samuels, Darren Bravo, Danza Hyatt, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Andre Russell, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Anthony Martin, Sunil Narine, Kieran Powell, Jason Mohammed. 


Pitch and conditions
The track at the Sardar Patel Stadium will allow the bowlers to extract pace, curator Dhiraj Parsana said on the eve of the match. 


Stats and trivia


India have now won 11 successive one-dayers at home, comfortably a record, beating their previous longest victorious streak of seven matches between 1981 and 1983.
Viat Kohli is now 57 short of Jonathan Trott in the race to be the highest run-getter of the year in one-dayers.
West Indies have played India at the Sardar Patel Stadium four times, winnings on three occasions.
Match facts
Monday, December 5, 2011 (day/night)
Start time 1430 local (0900 GMT)

INDIAN TIGERS AGAINST AUSTRALIAN KANGAROOS

India vs Australia Cricket match History, One Day International Records Australia vs India, Test matches since 1947, and all One day records, Twenty20 International history between India and Aussie
India v Australia


India in Australia (1947-48)
Australia won 5 Test match series by 4-0. First Test at Brisbane Australia won by an innings and 226 runs (Australia 382/8d; India 58 and 98 f/o). Second Test at Sydney drawn (India 188 and 61/7; Australia 107) while 3rd Test at Melbourne Australia won by 233 runs (Australia 394 and 255/4d; India 291/9d and 125). Fourth Test at Adelaide Australia won by an innings and 16 runs (Australia 674; India 381 and 277 f/o). 5th Test at Melbourne Australia won by an innings and 177 runs (Australia 575/8d; India 331 and 67 f/o)
Result Australia 4, India 0, Drawn 1

Australia in India (1956-57)
First Test at Madras, Australia won by an innings and 5 runs (India 161 and 153; Australia 319). Second Test Bombay end with drawn (India 251 and 250/5; Australia 523/7d) and final Test in Calcutta, Australia won by 94 runs (Australia 177 and 189/9d; India 136 and 136). Benaud finished the series with 23 wickets.
Result Australia 2, India 0, Drawn 1

Australia in India (1959-60)
First Test at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi Australia won by an innings and 127 runs (India 135 and 206; Australia 468). At Kanpur, second Test India won by 119 runs (India 152 and 291; Australia 219 and 105), this is India's first Test victory against Aussie. 3rd Test in Bombay drawn (India 289 and 226/5d; Australia 387/8d and 34/1). Forth Test in Madras Australia won by an innings and 55 runs (Australia 342; India 149 and 138 f/o) and final Test at Eden Gardens, Calcutta drawn (India 194 and 339; Australia 331 and 121/2)
Result Australia 2, India 1, Drawn 2

Australia in India (1964-65)
At Madras, first Test Australia won by 139 runs (Australia 211 and 397; India 276 and 193). 2nd Test at Brabourne Stadium, Bombay India won by 2 wickets (Australia 320 and 274; India 341 and 256/8) while third Test in Calcutta Match drawn (Australia 174 and 143/1; India 235) and the series was tied 1-1. 
Highlights: India save series first time against Australia.
Result Australia 1, India 1, Drawn 1

India in Australia (1967-68)
Australia cleansweep India won the series 4-0. First Test match at Adelaide Oval Australia won by 146 runs (Australia 335 and 369; India 307 and 251). 2nd Test at Melbourne Australia won by an innings and 4 runs (India 173 and 352; Australia 529). 3rd Test at Brisbane Cricket Ground, Woolloongabba, Brisbane Australia won by only 39 runs (Australia 379 and 294; India 279 and 355) and final Test at Sydney Cricket Ground, Australia won by 144 runs (Australia 317 and 292; India 268 and 197)
Result Australia 4 India 0, Drawn 0

Australia in India (1969-70)
First Test played at Bombay Australia won by eight wickets (India 271 and 137; Australia 345 and 67/2). The second Test, a low-scoring draw (India 320 and 312/7d; Australia 348 and 95/0). India won Delhi Test by seven wickets (Australia 296 and 107; India 223 and 181/3) and leveled the series 1-1, this match is debut match of Gundappa Viswanath. At Kolkata Australia bounced back with a ten-wicket win (India 212 and 161; Australia 335 and 42/0). In the final Test at Chennai Australian beat India by 77-runs (Australia 258 and 153; India 163 and 171)
Result Australia 3, India 1, Drawn 1

India in Australia (1977-78)
First Test match at Brisbane Australia won by 16-run (Australia 166 and 327; India 153 and 324). In Perth Test Australia went up 2-0 (India 402 and 330/9d; Australia 394 and 342/8). Bedi took ten, Mohinder Amarnath had scores of 90 and 100, and Gavaskar hit 127 but finally Australia to victory. Melbourne Test, Gavaskar his a third century Test, Chandrasekhar capturing 6 for 52 in both innings, as India won by 222 runs (India 256 and 343; Australia 213 and 164). This is India's first victory in Australia. At Sydney India won again and levelled the series by an innings and 2 runs (Australia 131 and 263; India 396/8d). Australia came back hard at Adelaide, and won the match by 47-run (Australia 505 and 256; India 269 and 445) and win the series by 3-2.
Highlights: Sunil Gavaskar hit three hundreds Down Under in 1977-78 but Australia won 3-2
Result Australia 3, India 2, Drawn 0

Australia in India (1979-80)
This was Australia's first tour of India in ten years, six months after the dispute with Kerry Packer's World Series had been settled. India seal six Test match series by 2-0. First two Test match were drawn at Madras (Australia 390 and 212/7; India 425) and Bangalore (Australia 333 and 77/3; India 457/5d). India won Kanpur Test by 153-runs (India 271 and 311; Australia 304 and 125). The fourth and fifth Test at Delhi (India 510/7d; Australia 298 and 413 f/o) and Calcutta (Australia 442 and 151/6d; India 347 and 200/4) draw as well. India went into the final Test at Bombay (Now Mumbai) in a position from which they could not lose the series. India won by an innings and 100 runs (India 458/8d; Australia 160 and 198 f/o).
Highlights: India' first time won Test series against Australia
Result India 2, Australia 0, Drawn 4

India in Australia (1980-81)
Three Test match series drawn at 1-1. First Test at Sydney Australia win by an innings & 4-runs (India 201 and 201; Australia 406), while as second Test match played at Adelaide was a draw (Australia 528 and 221/7d; India 419 and 135/8). But the third Test match at Melbourne India won 59-runs (India 237 and 324; Australia 419 and 83). Australia all out in second innings only 83 runs.
Result India 1, Australia 1, Drawn 1

India in Australia (1985-86)
All Test matches played at Adelaide (Australia 381 and 17/0; India 520), Melbourne (Australia 262 and 308; India 445 and 59/2) and Sydney have draw (India 600/4d; Australia 396 and 119/6 f/o). Australia save last Test match after follow-on.
Result Australia 0, India 0, Drawn 3

Australia in India (1986-87)
History was made on September 22 at the Chepauk Stadium when only the second Test in history was tied. India needed four runs from the final over of the day but their chance as Maninder Singh was given lbw to the last ball of the game with the scores level (Australia 574/7d and 170/5d; India 397 and 347). It was a thrilling climax. Other two Test played at Bombay (Australia 207/3d; India 107/3) and Delhi end with draw (Australia 345 and 216/2; India 517/5d). In One-day series India beat Australia by 3-2.
Highlights: Maninder Singh protests at being given out lbw to Greg Matthews as the Test ends in a tie, only the second test was tied.
Result 
Tests: Australia 0, India 0, Tie 1, Drawn 2
ODIs: India 3 Australia 2

India in Australia (1991-92)
Excellent bowling from Craig McDermott and Bruce Reid consigned India to ten and eight wicket defeats at Brisbane (India 239 and 156; Australia 340 and 58/0) and Melbourne (India 263 and 213; Australia 349 and 128/2), but come Sydney and a 19-year-old dazzled in a draw (Australia 313 and 173/8; India 483). Sachin Tendulkar, on a slow track, hit what many regard as his best Test innings, a brilliant 148. The fourth Test at Adelaide was a tight contest, but Australia came back from a poor first-innings to make 451 and won by 83 runs (Australia 145 and 451; India 225 and 333). Tendulkar hit another sublime century at Perth but Mike Whitney's bowling outshone him and hundreds to Boon, Jones and Tom Moody resulted in a 300-run victory (Australia 346 and 367/6d; India 272 and 141).
Result Australia 4, India 0, Drawn 1

Australia in India (1996-97) Border-Gavaskar Trophy
Australia's attempt to record a first Test success in India since 1969-70 were dashed as India won the one-off at Delhi by seven wickets (Australia 182 and 234; India 361 and 58/3). Anil Kumble took 4 for 63 (and 5 for 67 in second inning) to bowl Australia out for 182 on day one. Nayan Mongia took advantage of depleted bowling attack to hit his only Test hundred, adding 131 for the 2nd wicket partnership with Sourav Ganguly. India crossed the target of 58 for 3 in 13.2 overs .
Result India 1, Australia 0, Drawn 0

Australia in India (1997-98) Border-Gavaskar Trophy
Warne got his man for just 4 in the first innings of the opener at Chennai as India made 257 but Tendulkar replied in the second innings with a brilliant unbeaten 155 that included four sixes and 14 fours. India won first two Test matches at Chennai (India 257 and 418/4d; Australia 328 and 168) and Kolkata (Australia 233 and 181; India 633/5d). Tendulkar hit 177 in the final Test at Bangalore but Mark Waugh's 153 not out and Michael Kasprowicz's 5 for 28 earned Australia a consolation victory (India 424 and 169; Australia 400 and 195/2).
Highlights: Series known as Tendulkar v Warne series
Result India 2, Australia 1, Drawn 0

India in Australia (1999-2000) Border-Gavaskar Trophy
Australia washout India by 3-0, but Sachin Tendulkar declared Man of the Series for brilliant batting. First Test at Adelaide Australia won by 285-runs (Australia 441 and 239/8d; India 285 and 110) and second Test won by 180-runs at Melbourne (Australia won by 180 runs). At Sydney Test Australia beat India by 141-runs (India 150 and 261; Australia 552/5d).
Result Australia 3, India 0, Drawn 0

Australia in India (2000-01) Border-Gavaskar Trophy
This series best series in the World of all time. Australia won first Test at Mumbai by 10 wickets in three days (India 176 and 219; Australia 349 and 47/0). Kolkata Test India won by 171 runs (Australia 445 and 212; India 171 and 657/7d f/o), India were staring at defeat after following-on. Enter Laxman, who scripted a flawless 281 in a 376-run stand with Rahul Dravid, whose 180 was perhaps the best supporting act in history. A zestful Harbhajan Singh, who took India's first hat-trick in the first innings, took 6 for 73. At Chennai, Harbhajan taking 15 wickets and Tendulkar hitting 126 after Hayden's first double-century, in a pulsating two-wicket win (Australia 391 and 264; India 501 and 155/8). In One-day International Australia beat India by 3-2.
Highlights: VVS Laxman's epic 281 at Kolkata spurred India to a fantastic series win. Also popular first Harbhajan Singh took hat-trick in Kolkata Test
Result 
Tests: India 2, Australia 1, Drawn 0
ODIs: Australia 3, India 2

India in Australia (2003-04) Border-Gavaskar Trophy
A four Test match series have drawn. First Test at Brisban intrupted by rain, Indian captain Sourav Ganguly hits a century (Australia 323 and 284/3d; India 409 and 73/2). In the second Test Australia were looking ominous at 400 for 5 but Kumble's five got them to 556 and Indian inning one time India lose five wicket under 100 runs before Dravid's heroics toppled the hosts. His 233 and Laxman's 148 took India to 523 and Ajit Agarkar's 6 for 41 shot Australia out for 196, setting India 230 to win. True to form, Australia fought hard but Dravid's unbeaten 72 sealed a fantastic win by 4 wickets (Australia 556 and 196; India 523 and 233/6). Australia bounce back Boxing Day Test and level the series by 1-1. Sehwag thrilled with a first-day 195. Ponting's second consecutive double-century powered Australia to 558 and an eventual nine-wickets win (India 366 and 286; Australia 558 and 97/1). The final Test at Sydney (India 705/7d and 211/2d; Australia 474 and 357/6), Waugh's home farewell, saw India put up their highest score, 705 for 7, Tendulkar's unbeaten 241 and Laxman's classy 178, but Australia save the match in final day and series end at 1-1.
Result Australia 1, India 1, Drawn 2

Australia in India (2004-05) Border-Gavaskar Trophy
Australia won the first Test at Bangalore by 217 (Australia 474 and 228; India 246 and 239). Michael Clarke's 151 and Gilchrist's murderous 104, while Harbhajan excelled with 11 wickets in the match. Second Test match rain scuppered a classic as the India teams moved to Chennai (Australia 235 and 369; India 376 and 19/0). Kumble took 7 for 48 and Virender Sehwag blazed 155 out of India's first-innings. Australia seal the series with big win at Nagpur (Australia 398 and 329/5d; India 185 and 200 ) that was highlighted by Martyn and Clarke. The final Test, on a minefield of a pitch at the Wankhede Stadium, went India's way as Australia were bowled out for 93 in a low-scoring thriller. India win by 13-run (India 104 and 205; Australia 203 and 93), Tendulkar and Laxman scripted fighting half-centuries before Clarke nipped out six wickets, but Harbhajan and Murali Kartik bowled very well Australia bowled out on 93.
Result Australia 2, India 1, Drawn 1

India in Australia (2007-08) Border-Gavaskar Trophy
Australia won the first two Test matches at Melbourne (Australia 343 and 351/7d; India 196 and 161) and Sydney (Australia 463 and 401/7d; India 532 and 210). The Sydney Test end at second last over of the match. Sydney Test popular for bad umpiring, umpires given 11 wrong decision in this Test match, 10 decision favour of Australia and only one decision favour of Indian. India bounce back at world fastest pitch at Perth and beat Australia first time at Perth (India 330 and 294; Australia 212 and 340). Last test match at Adelaide end with draw (India 526 and 269/7d; Australia 563). 
Highlight: Bad umpiring and superb bowling by Ishant Sharma, specially an 8 overs spell against Australia captain Ricky Pointing
Result Australia 2, India 1, Drawn 1

Australia in India (2008-09) Border-Gavaskar Trophy
First Test at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, Oct 09-13, 2008, Drawm (Australia 430 and 228/6d; India 360 and 177/4).
2nd Test at PCA Stadium, Mohali, Oct 17-21, 2008, India beat World Champions by 320 runs (India 468 and 314/3d; Australia 268 and 195).
Third Test at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi, Oct 29-Nov 02, 2008, Drawm (India 613/7d and 208/5d; Australia 577 and 31/0).
4th Test at Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground, Nagpur, Nov 06-10, 2008, India beat Australia by 172 runs (India 441 and 295; Australia 355 and 209).
Result India 2, Australia 0, Drawn 2
Highlights This is last series of Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble. Man of the Series - Ishant Sharma
Captain: Australia - Ricky Ponting, India - Anil Kumble for 1st and 3rd Test, while MS Dhoni for 2nd and 4th Test.

Australia in India (2010-11) Border-Gavaskar Trophy
1st Test at PCA Stadium, Mohali, Oct 01-05, 2010, India won by one wicket (Australia 428 and 192; India 405 and 216/9).
2nd Test at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, Oct 09-13, 2010, India won by seven wickets (Australia 478 and 223; India 495 and 207/3).
Result India 2
Highlights Sachin Tendulkar complete 14000 runs in Test cricket. Man of the Series - Sachin Tendulkar
Captain: Australia - Ricky Ponting, India - MS Dhoni.

Dravid set to make T20 debut

MANCHESTER: Veteran India batsman Rahul Dravid is set to play his first - and last - Twenty20 international in the one-off game against England at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

The 38-year-old Dravid was one of India's few successes in their recent 4-0 Test series defeat by England, scoring three hundreds as the hosts replaced the injury-hit tourists at the top of the ICC's Test standings.

That series ended at The Oval just over a week ago in a match where India batsman Gautam Gambhir suffered an injury after falling on his head trying to take a catch.

And with Gambhir still to recover fully, that means Dravid, the second highest run scorer in Test history behind India teammate Sachin Tendulkar and with 339 one-day internationals to his credit, is set to make a Twenty20 debut for his country.

If he plays, it will also be Dravid's last Twenty20 match for India as he has said he will retire from shorter formats of the international game to concentrate on prolonging his illustrious Test career.

Gambhir, an opener, batted down the order in both innings at The Oval and the 29-year-old left-hander was still suffering with blurred vision in the nets at Old Trafford on Monday.

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni all but ruled Gambhir out of the Twenty20 clash, telling reporters at Old Trafford on Tuesday: "He's going to see a specialist which means he is most unlikely to play in tomorrow's (Wednesday's) game.

"It's the result of the same fall. It's because of that he's having a problem," Dhoni added.

"Losing Gambhir will be a big loss for us but you can't control injuries.

"Hopefully someone will stand up and take the responsibility."

Dynamic opening batsman Virender Sehwag and all-rounder Yuvraj Singh have both already been ruled out of the Twenty20 fixture - a format in which Tendulkar no longer plays - and the subsequent five one-dayers against England.

Dhoni was unwilling to speculate on how long Gambhir will be out but was glad to be able to turn to Dravid, who has not played a one-day international for India for nearly two years,

"It looks like Rahul will play," Dhoni said.

"You don't want to be a batter light, in this format you want your top seven batsmen. So Rahul will most likely get a chance."

Fast bowlers Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma have also been struck down with injury on tour and that has again reopened the debate about whether India's top players are playing too much cricket - and in particular devoting too much time to the lucrative domestic Indian Premier League Twenty20 competition.

But Dhoni, while in favour of resting players, said it was too simplistic to blame the IPL for the ills of the Indian game.

"Whenever anything bad happens in Indian cricket it is put down to the IPL," he said.

"Irrespective of the fact we play in April and we lose a series in August.

He added: "I think we'll have to (look at resting players) because the schedule looks quite cramped.

"It's more to deal with the mental aspect than the physical aspect. A bit of good rest in between also helps keep the injuries away.MANCHESTER: Veteran India batsman Rahul Dravid is set to play his first - and last - Twenty20 international in the one-off game against England at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

The 38-year-old Dravid was one of India's few successes in their recent 4-0 Test series defeat by England, scoring three hundreds as the hosts replaced the injury-hit tourists at the top of the ICC's Test standings.

That series ended at The Oval just over a week ago in a match where India batsman Gautam Gambhir suffered an injury after falling on his head trying to take a catch.

And with Gambhir still to recover fully, that means Dravid, the second highest run scorer in Test history behind India teammate Sachin Tendulkar and with 339 one-day internationals to his credit, is set to make a Twenty20 debut for his country.

If he plays, it will also be Dravid's last Twenty20 match for India as he has said he will retire from shorter formats of the international game to concentrate on prolonging his illustrious Test career.

Gambhir, an opener, batted down the order in both innings at The Oval and the 29-year-old left-hander was still suffering with blurred vision in the nets at Old Trafford on Monday.

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni all but ruled Gambhir out of the Twenty20 clash, telling reporters at Old Trafford on Tuesday: "He's going to see a specialist which means he is most unlikely to play in tomorrow's (Wednesday's) game.

"It's the result of the same fall. It's because of that he's having a problem," Dhoni added.

"Losing Gambhir will be a big loss for us but you can't control injuries.

"Hopefully someone will stand up and take the responsibility."

Dynamic opening batsman Virender Sehwag and all-rounder Yuvraj Singh have both already been ruled out of the Twenty20 fixture - a format in which Tendulkar no longer plays - and the subsequent five one-dayers against England.

Dhoni was unwilling to speculate on how long Gambhir will be out but was glad to be able to turn to Dravid, who has not played a one-day international for India for nearly two years,

"It looks like Rahul will play," Dhoni said.

"You don't want to be a batter light, in this format you want your top seven batsmen. So Rahul will most likely get a chance."

Fast bowlers Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma have also been struck down with injury on tour and that has again reopened the debate about whether India's top players are playing too much cricket - and in particular devoting too much time to the lucrative domestic Indian Premier League Twenty20 competition.

But Dhoni, while in favour of resting players, said it was too simplistic to blame the IPL for the ills of the Indian game.

"Whenever anything bad happens in Indian cricket it is put down to the IPL," he said.

"Irrespective of the fact we play in April and we lose a series in August.

He added: "I think we'll have to (look at resting players) because the schedule looks quite cramped.

"It's more to deal with the mental aspect than the physical aspect. A bit of good rest in between also helps keep the injuries away.

Dhoni blames batsmen for T20 loss against England

KOLKATA: Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni blamed an ordinary display by his batsmen for the hosts' six-wicket defeat at the hands of England in the lone Twenty20 International.


Opting to bat, India struggled for a good partnership in the middle as the 121-run victory target was easily achieved by England with eight balls to spare on Saturday.


Dhoni said they were always short on runs despite playing with eight batsmen.


"We were short of runs. We were playing with eight batsmen. We always knew that wicket would be on a slow side. It was important for batsmen to continue till end. We did not get off to a good start.


"If you see the comparison between the two sides, the big difference was the four-wicket and the eight-wicket fall. So, there we lost the game," said Dhoni at the post-match press conference.


Asked about the Eden strip which he had termed 'ugly' for the ODIs, Dhoni said it was a decent one.


"It was not the wicket where you look to score 160-170. 130-135 would have been a very good score on this wicket. But Kevin Pietersen batted well, they calculated the game really well.


"The wicket was on a slower side. As the game progressed, it did not change a lot. It was a bit slow compared to ODIs, overall a decent one. I would not say that it was a bad wicket," he said.


India were drubbed in England this summer as they were whitewashed in all three formats of the game but Dhoni said they were never short on confidence something that helped them bounce back.


"We did not completely need to revamp the conditions. Even when we lost the series in England we were in a positive frame of mind. If you know what went wrong, it becomes a bit easy to focus on those areas and improve as a team.


"I think the gap we got in the middle, the individuals got some time to work on those areas. If you see, the fast bowlers did a good job for India. Also the spinners were brilliant. It was like not down and out. The mood was always good in the camp. That helped us bounce back," the skipper added.


With an eye on India's tour to Australia late this year, the selectors have picked a relatively young side for the three-Test series against the West Indies at home starting next month. Dhoni said it would be a challenge for the youngsters.


"Test cricket is a bit different. You need to spend time in the middle. It's a bit difficult that requires slightly different temperament. A bit different to shorter version. The red ball spins a bit more, bowlers get reverse swing. It's a completely different challenge. Experience is very important. You will see the transition as they play more and more cricket they improve."


Dhoni also rubbished reports that he wanted to be rested for the West Indies series.

"I've never answered all these questions."

India look good to make it 5-0 against England at Eden

KOLKATA: World champions India brushed aside England by 95 runs in the fifth and final one-day international in Kolkata on Tuesday to sweep the series 5-0.

Scorecard | Match in Pics 

Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni smashed an unbeaten 75 off 69 balls to power India to 271/8 after the hosts were sent in to bat by England captain Alastair Cook at the Eden Gardens.             

Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja then grabbed 4-33 and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin claimed 3-28 as England were shot out for 176 in 37 overs after a promising start in the day-night match.

The whitewash made partial amends for the disastrous tour of England in July-September, when India were routed 4-0 in the Test series to lose the world number one ranking and were blanked 3-0 in the one-dayers.

India swept the series despite the absence of seven players, including star batsman Sachin Tendulkar, who were part of the team that won the World Cup final against Sri Lanka in Mumbai in April.

India have beaten England in 16 of their last 18 one-day internationals at home, losing one and tying the other during the World Cup earlier this year.

India were reduced to 123/4 before Dhoni hit his way out of trouble, pounding four sixes and three boundaries, to help the hosts put up a challenging total on a sluggish wicket.

The late flourish led by the captain saw India plunder 84 runs in the last eight overs, including 39 off the final 12 balls.

Left-arm seamer Samit Patel claimed three for 57, while fast bowler Steven Finn took 2-47.

Cook and Craig Kieswetter provided the best start for the tourists in the series as they put on 129 for the first wicket by the 21st over.

Both hit half-centuries before India grabbed five wickets for 12 runs to reduce England to 141/5 in the 26th over.

Fast bowler Varun Aaron triggered the collapse by bowling Cook for 60, while Kieswetter was leg-before to Jadeja for 63.

Ian Bell, making his first appearance in the series in place of the injured Kevin Pietersen, had made two when he was caught behind by Dhoni off Ashwin.

Jadeja then removed the two Jonathans, Trott and Bairstow, in eight balls to open up the lower order.

Ravi Bopara was bowled by Suresh Raina round his wickets and Tim Bresnan holed out against part-time spinner Manoj Tiwary.

The rivals will return to the Eden Gardens on Saturday for a one-off Twenty20 international before England return home.