The ASHES:1st test draw

Alastair Cook's double ton along with centuries from Strauss and Trott led England's fightback as the first Ashes Test at the Gabba ended in a draw.Alastair Cook struck an unbeaten 235 and Jonathan Trott added 135 not out to help England reach 517 for one in their second innings, setting the hosts a nominal target of 297.Australia reached 107 for one when the captains shook hands on a high-scoring draw.

Cook's score was a career-best innings, while Trott was exactly 100 runs behind him when Andrew Strauss decided it was time for a bowl again.

Cook, who contributed to England's ground-record opening

India wins 1st ODI

Virat Kohli scored a century and Yuvraj Singh played the all-rounder's role as India defeated New Zealand by 40 runs in the first one-day international at Guwahati.Kohli scored 105, while Yuvraj hit 42 and then took three wickets as New Zealand were bowled out for 236 in reply to the hosts' 276.There was also 38 by Gautam Gambhir as the home side were bowled out in 46.3 overs.Andy McKay took four for 62 and Kyle Mills three for 42 for the tourists in the Nehru Stadium on an unusually easy pitch for the batsmen.

Yuvraj, Sreesanth and Ravichandran Ashwin each claimed three wickets as Ross Taylor led the New Zealand reply with 66 out of a total of 236 which lasted 45.2 overs.

1ST test drawn india vs New Zealand

Harbhajan Singh's maiden Test century earned India a hard-fought draw in the first Test against New Zealand.

At 15 for five and 65 for six last night, India appeared to be staring defeat in the face, but VVS Laxman (91) and Harbhajan, who recorded his second Test-best score of the match in reaching 115, put on 163 to see their side towards a second-innings total of 266.
New Zealand strolled to 22 for one before the teams shook hands at the start of the last hour.
With Hamish Bennett unable to bowl because of a groin strain, New Zealand were left with just one frontline seamer in Chris Martin, but he could not recreate the form which brought him five wickets yesterday.

Sri Lanka win at great style over Australia

A world-record ninth-wicket stand between Mathews and Malinga earned Sri Lanka a stunning win in the first ODI against Australia.

Chasing Australia's 239 for eight under lights in cool, drizzly conditions, the tourists were hopelessly placed at 107 for eight in the 26th over.
But the nerveless Mathews, who is unable to bowl in this series because of injury, showed that he can bat with the best of them, smashing an unbeaten 77 from 84 deliveries with no hint of panic and barely a false shot.He received magnificent support from the unlikely Malinga, whose tempered 56 included two towering sixes off Xavier Doherty and John Hastings.

India seal emphatic win at Vizag

Virat Kohli hit his highest ODI score to lead India to a five-wicket win over Australia in the second one-day international at Visakhapatnam.

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Kohli smashed 118, despite being hampered by a leg injury, to guide the hosts past Australia's 289 for three with seven balls to spare.
Stand-in Australia captain Michael Clarke had earlier returned to form as he hit his fifth ODI century, although his knock was overshadowed by a blazing late innings from Cameron White.

Brett Lee defends captain Ponting

Aussie paceman Brett Lee has leapt to the defence of Test captain Ricky Ponting and insisted the team will bounce back in the Ashes.

Ponting has been widely criticised for his tactics after his side went down 2-0 to India in their two-match series with former spinner Shane Warne particularly vocal in his disapproval of the field set when Nathan Hauritz was bowling.
The series loss means Australia now sit fifth in the world rankings, below England, who go Down Under for the Ashes next month.

Nepal grab u-19 Women championship again

Nepal won against Bhutan in the final match of the ACC U-19 women’s cricket tournament on Tuesday.
The Nepalese women’s team, also the defending champions of the ACC U-19 title, defeated the Bhutanese team by five wickets.
The Nepalese team managed to meet the modest target of 54 runs set by the Bhutanese team in 17.2 overs, losing five wickets.

Tendulkar's India win series 2-0

India completed their first ever series whitewash of Australia as Sachin Tendulkar led them to a comprehensive seven-wicket victory over the visitors in the second Test.
Tendulkar (53 not out) added a half century to his first innings double ton and capitalised on the foundation laid by debutant Cheteshwar Pujara (72) as India easily surpassed the target of 207 in the final session of the last day.
Tendulkar hit the winning runs, a two, off Nathan Hauritz half-an-hour into the final session to trigger wild celebrations at the Indian camp and among the Chinnaswamy Stadium crowd.
Rahul Dravid remained unbeaten on 21 and shared 61 runs with Tendulkar from 16 overs for the unbroken fourth wicket

Sachin 9 runs behind for double century

Sachin Tendulkar and Murali Vijay cracked hundreds to bring India close to Australia's first innings total.

The tourists rallied late in the day but India still closed on a commanding 435 for five as Sachin Tendulkar
edged towards his second double century against Australia.
The hosts' innings was built around a 308-run stand for the third wicket between Tendulkar and Murali Vijay, who celebrated his maiden Test ton with 139.
Australia toiled for long periods but left-armer Mitchell Johnson claimed two wickets in the final session - including that of Vijay in the 101st over - while Michael Clarke got rid of Suresh Raina (32), with India heading into day four still 43 runs short of the visitors' first-innings total.

Tendulkar: I am living my dream

Sachin Tendulkar said that playing for the country has been his childhood dream and that he has enjoyed every moment during the last 20 years.

"I have always been focused towards my game. When I started playing cricket, I never had any goals but always wanted to perform for my country and as long as I play for India, my focus will remain so," Tendulkar told the official broadcasters. He added, "Playing for India for 20 years has been magnificent."
The batting maestro said he has worked hard along with Gary Kristen for the last couple of years and the team is doing fantastically.

ICC Awards: Complete winner's list

Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar was named Cricketer of the Year at the ICC Awards night ceremony held in Bengaluru.

Tendulkar was also named as the first recipient of the inaugural LG People’s Choice Award and was named in both the Test and ODI Teams of the Year.
Tendulkar was joined on the winners’ list by team-mate Virender Sehwag, who took the Test Player of the Year award while South Africa batsman AB de Villiers was named ODI Player of the Year. England’s Steven Finn claimed his first ever ICC award when he was named Emerging Player of the Year.

Hilfenhaus swings balance in Oz favour

Ben Hilfenhaus claimed three late wickets on Day 4 to bring Australia back into the match after being bundled out for a paltry 192.

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The Australia paceman saw off the dangerous Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Suresh Raina before Doug Bollinger accounted for Rahul Dravid to leave the hosts on 55 for four chasing a victory target of 216.
Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma claimed three wickets each while spinners Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha got two apiece, as none of the Australia batsman, with the exception of first-inning centurion Shane Watson (56), showed any resistance.

India vs Austraila 1st test

Harbhajan Singh grabbed the wicket of Michael Clarke at a crucial time in the match. Despite occasional errors, Dhoni's men have kept it tight in the field.

Australia were 179/3 at the end of the second session.
Harbhajan Singh got rid of Michael Clarke as soon as he found his footing on the crease. Rahul Dravid took a sharp catch at the slips. Clarke scored 14 runs off 39 balls.
Suresh Raina ran Ponting out. Ricky Ponting managed to score 71 runs off 124 balls. Ricky Ponting enjoyed a 2nd wicket partnership of 141 runs with Shane Watson.
Earlier, Shane Watson and Ricky Ponting anchored the Australian innings and posed problems for the Indian bowling attack.

Amir points at Butt, Saeed resigns

Mohammad Amir alleged that he was lured into spot-fixing by Test skipper Salman Butt.

On a day when team manager Yawar Saeed stepped down from his post, the Pakistan Cricket Board was left to do more firefighting in the spot-fixing scandal with the latest revelation.
The 18-year-old left-arm pacer was suspended by the ICC for his alleged involvement in spot-fixing during the fourth Test against England at Lord's last month, along with Butt and Mohammad Asif.
Sources in the PCB said Aamir had told chairman Ijaz Butt that he never wanted to be part of this "business" (spot fixing) but was forced into it by Butt and Asif.

Chennai lift 2010 ACL T20 cup

Chennai Super Kings 132 for 2 (Vijay 58, Hussey 51*) Warriors 128 (Murali 3-16, Ashwin 2-16) by 8 wickets

It was a reverse sweep that changed the entire complexion of the game. Davy Jacobs had started off imperiously and catapulted Warriors to 45 in the sixth over. Then R Ashwin got one to turn quickly towards the leg stump, Jacobs went for the reverse sweep, but was trapped in front. It's a shot that he had successfully played in the previous game; the adventurous unorthodox spirit is his calling card, and he has reaped much success with that approach. But tonight it hurt his team. This can be a cruel game, sometimes.

After Jacobs fell, Muttiah Muralitharan suffocated the Warriors with his skill, and L Balaji maintained the pressure with a disciplined spell in the middle, keeping the Warriors to 128, which was never going to be enough. And it wasn't. This is the last time this group of players will turn out for Chennai, and they gave themselves a nice farewell present.

Warriors' Achilles heel is their lower order. Johan Botha bats at no 6; the batting isn't that deep. And so, the middle-order chose caution over valour and Chennai closed in. L Balaji, who grew in confidence with the Warriors' non-violent approach against him, slipped in a few quiet overs with his steady line and length stuff.

Warriors set final date with Chennai

The Warriors will meet Chennai Super Kings in Sunday's ACL T20 final after securing a 30-run victory over Redbacks in Centurion.
Colin Ingram (46) and Davy Jacobs (61) shared a 104-run partnership that was key to the hosts setting a victory target of 176.
They looked to be headed for an even bigger total, but Daniel Harris pulled it back with an impressive three for 18, before Nicky Boje smashed 22 from seven to lift his side.
The visitors were never in the game after Lonwabo Tsotsobe's two early wickets rocked their top order - the left-arm seamer removing in-form pair Harris (eight) and Michael Klinger (13).
Callum Ferguson did manage 71, but he lacked support as the previously unbeaten Redbacks ended on 145 for seven.
Shaun Tait (two for 38) looked lively in his first over when he was rewarded with the dismissal of Ashwell Prince for a duck off the second delivery.

Chennai into finals of ACL T20

Suresh Raina's scintillating 94-run knock powered Chennai Super Kings into ACL T20 finals at Kingsmead, Durban.

On a day where sell-out crowd braved rain and chill, Suresh Raina blitzkreig ensured that Chennai Super Kings had no hiccups in sealing a place for the Airtel Champions League Twenty20 final. MS Dhoni's team romped home with a comfortable 52-run Duckworth/Lewis win over Royal Challengers Bangalore in Durban.
The India batsman blasted six sixes and five fours in his 48-ball knock as his side set a 175 target in just 17 overs - revised to 176 after more than two-and-a-half hours were lost due to rain.

England won by 121 runs

England won the 5th odi by 121 runs against the Pakistan.England score 256/6 in 50 overs.Eoin morgan hit the century not out at 107 from 101 balls.Board and swann pick 3-3 wicket to lift the series against Pakistan.
Pakistan all out in just 135 runs in 37th over.Kamran Akmal score the highest runs for pakistan and Akhtar pick the 3 wicket with 4.0 E/R in 10 over.

Chennai books place on semi-final

Chennai set up an all-IPL semi-final against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the ACL T20 after a tense 10-run victory over the Warriors.

The Warriors, the South African Pro20 champions, also qualified for the final four but will be disappointed not to have won a low-scoring encounter in Port Elizabeth.
After losing the toss and being sent in to field, the Warriors managed to restrict the visitors to 136 for six, thanks largely to Justin Kreusch (three for 19). Michael Hussey (50) top-scored for Chennai.
But the Warriors failed to close out the victory on a sluggish pitch where captain Davey Jacobs top-scored in a losing cause.

Butt demands ICC CEO sacking

PCB chief Ejaz Butt demanded the sacking of Haroon Lorgat from the post of ICC CEO over his role in handling match-fixing row.

"It's terrible," Butt reacted when asked about the ICC's decision to investigate the third ODI.
"With no proof, just got some material from the media.
What's this, nonsense," he said.
"He (Lorgat) is an employee of ICC. ICC in their meeting should consider sacking him (Lorgat). They should also investigate the English team. Go ahead and investigate both sides and see who is responsible," Butt added.
As per ICC rules, Lorgat should have informed both the boards before taking any decision on the spot-fixing allegations levelled by a British newspaper 'The Sun' against the Pakistani team. But the ICC CEO, instead of consulting the two boards, issued a statement to the media.
Continuing his flip-flops, Butt had said that he was in no mood to back down from his strong statements against the ECB and ICC on spot-fixing allegations against his team.
The statement came after Butt did a U-turn where he said that he never accused the England team of match-fixing, barely a day after suggesting that English players had thrown the Oval ODI and that they should be investigated by the ICC.