OMGSACHIN: Eng Tour of India 2012-13

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In Pics : Sachin Tendulkar During Day 1 of Nagpur Test vs England

6:39 AM

NDTV.COM: It’s a match India must win, if only to save face and avoid humiliation – a Test series defeat at home after a 0-4 drubbing when on tour in England last year. So India versus England it was at the Vidarbha Cricket Association ground in Nagpur, but the highlight of the day was provided by the pitch – almost white, dry and starting to crack, making batting very difficult while not yet assisting the spinners much. So much so that though India, after being asked to field, picked up only five wickets, they would feel good after allowing England to score only 199 runs at a rate of 2.05.

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In Pics : Sachin Tendulkar During India's Training Session at Nagpur

5:44 AM

NDTV.COM : Down in the dumps after back-to-back defeats, India's under-fire cricketers will have to pull themselves up by the bootstraps and compete on equal footing against a confident England in the perform-or-perish fourth and final Test commencing on Thursday.

Trailing the buoyant visitors 1-2 in the rubber after being outplayed in the second and third encounters at Mumbai and Kolkata, the home players need to sort themselves out on several fronts to level the series at the VCA Stadium in Jamtha.

Under-performing senior players in the Indian line-up, including skipper Mehendra Singh Dhoni and veteran batsman Sachin Tendulkar, are under severe pressure not only to lift the side with supreme personal efforts but also to save their careers after India's spineless displays at the Wankhede Stadium and the Eden Gardens.

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Sachin is the best man to have in the side : Dhoni

4:50 AM

Well aware of Sachin Tendulkar's penchant for proving his detractors "wrong", Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Wednesday advised everyone to stop speculating about the senior batsman's future in international cricket.

"When it comes to Sachin I feel the best thing to do is not to speculate. He has proved everybody wrong throughout his career. But I am not Sachin Tendulkar, may be when he comes for pc (press conference) you will have to ask him," Dhoni said.

The skipper was addressing the media a day ahead of the fourth and final Test against England.

Dhoni was of the opinion that Tendulkar's mere presence in a crisis situation like this is important from the team's point of view.

"He's the best man to have in the side in a game like this. The kind of experience he has and the kind of performances he has come up with over the years... he is someone we all look up to," Dhoni said.

Tendulkar has averaged 25 in 2012 and his innings of 76 at Calcutta against England was his first Test half century since January 3.

© NDTV

Why Blame Sachin alone For India’s Defeats : Sourav Ganguly

6:10 AM

INTERVIEW WAS GIVEN BEFORE THE START OF EDEN GARDENS TEST MATCH. Former India captain Sourav Ganguly on Tuesday said that the media should refrain from criticising Sachin Tendulkar who is likely to play his last Test at the Eden Gardens starting Wednesday.

Post Ricky Ponting's retirement, there has been talks that Tendulkar should also follow suit, but Ganguly thinks otherwise.

"The retirement of Ricky Ponting does not mean that Tendulkar should also quit. We all hope he goes with his with his head held high. The problem with Tendulkar is that people always look at his negative sides. Nobody talks about his centuries and the wins he has given us," Ganguly told during a promotional event of STAR CRICKET's Hindi commentary panel.

Wishing Tendulkar luck ahead of his probable last Test at Eden, Ganguly said it's important for him to get past 30-mark.

"It will be important for him to cross the 30-mark. If he gets past the mark, I'm sure he will go on to make it big at the Eden Gardens. Yes, he is 39 plus and is going through a slump in form but we all hope he gets back to runs soon."

Sharing the same platform, Navjot Singh Sidhu criticised media for talking too much about Tendulkar as he cited example of the Australian side supporting Mark Taylor during the former skipper's bad form.

Sidhu said: "Media should stop criticising Sachin. Nobody has achieved what Tendulkar has. He is our pride (shaan)."

"We should need to respect our heroes. He is an institution in himself. But there are some legless men who are trying to teach him how to run. I remember Australia skipper Mark Taylor going a poor run and did not have a 50 for one and half years but Australia stuck to him. Taylor later went on to score a triple century."

Sidhu said change is not always the progress and the likes of Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara need a Sachin Tendulkar in the dressing room.

"We have no Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman... We cannot make wholesale changes, it has to be a mixture. The likes of Kohlis and Pujaras need one Tendulkar and a solid captain in the dressing room."

Harbhajan Singh hasn't been in the best of form but Ganguly feels that the senior off-spinner is going through a learning curve.

"Harbhajan Singh is only 31 and has time left in him. He has to be patient. No player goes on improving, such lows do come..."

"I had gone through for five-six months. For Bhajji, it's for a bit longer. More than 15 months or so. But he has to see it as a learning curve. To be patient is important. It would only brings the best out of you."

There were also talks about MS Dhoni's defensive captaincy and his string of poor shows in the longer version, as Kapil Dev said: "He is still the best wicketkeeper we have seen. His records speak for himself.

"Like Sachin Tendulkar, we should give some more chance.

He has the ability to make it big."

© Cricketcountry

Nobody good enough even to tie Sachin Tendulkar’s shoelaces : Ravi Shastri

5:55 AM

“Forget what some people may say... Right now, there’s nobody good enough even to tie Sachin Tendulkar’s shoelaces... I rest my case there,” former India captain and cricket manager Ravi Shastri told The Telegraph.

Speaking on Wednesday evening, after the opening day’s play in the third Test, Shastri added: “Of course, the team needs Sachin... There’s no replacement... There’s none to take his place... Take out his 76 and where would the team have been today (Wednesday)?"

“In the context of this Test and possibly the series (tied 1-1), Sachin played a very important innings... He’d been under pressure on multiple fronts, but that’s bound to happen at this stage in his career. In fact, the pressure won’t get less..."

“Sachin took his time to settle down and, once he was past 40 or so, the fluency was back... It was important for him to be out there and to soak the pressure... He did so.”

For the record, the 76 is only Sachin’s second fifty at the highest level this year — the first being 80 in the second innings of the year-launching Test at the SCG.

Making the point that the Eden wicket was somewhat two-paced, Shastri said that the addition of 50-60 runs to India’s close-of-play total of 273 for seven would be “very handy.”

“James Anderson (three for 68) was brilliant, particularly after lunch, when the ball reversed... Looking ahead, everything depends on how we bowl... It’s definitely not a wicket where you can roll England over,” Shastri signed off.

Eyebrows, meanwhile, have been raised at Gautam Gambhir’s comments during his interaction with the media.

“You have to take responsibility, rather than thinking I’m only seven or 10 Tests old... For me, when you’re representing the country, you have to deliver,” Gambhir maintained, talking about the middle-order.

What’s being asked is if Gambhir had Virat Kohli in mind. Kohli has been totally out of touch in the ongoing series.

The Eden Test is Kohli’s 13th.

Cheteshwar Pujara, playing his eighth Test, couldn’t have been the ‘target’ as he’s in form.

Surely, Gambhir didn’t have Sachin or Virender Sehwag or Yuvraj Singh in mind.

© Yahoo

In Pictures : Sachin Tendulkar in action during day 3 of Eden Test

4:14 AM

India are still only second favourites to win in Kolkata, but as modern captains say, MS Dhoni can take a few positives from the third day of the third Test. England finished Thursday (December 7) at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on 509 for 6 — a lead of 193 — after Alastair Cook made a silly error to be run out for 190. The ball turned, giving the Indian spinners well-deserved wickets late in the day. And, more importantly, a smidgeon of hope for the fourth innings.
Scorecard

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Sourav Ganguly praises Sachin Tendulkar for gutsy knock

6:33 PM

Lauding master batsman Sachin Tendulkar for a "gutsy" innings on day one of the Eden Gardens cricket Test against England, former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly on Wednesday said that the knock would give him the platform to play well in subsequent essays.

"Tendulkar may not have got a hundred, but he played well. It may not be one of his most fluent knocks, but it was a gutsy innings," said Ganguly.

Tendulkar struck 76, his first half century since an early January Test match against Australia at Sidney.

"The knock shows he is regaining confidence," he said.

However, Ganguly said while English spinners posed no problems for Tendulkar, he could have played the fast bowling better.

"He did not use his feet well to play (pacer) James Anderson," he said.

© NDTV

Sachin Tendulkar completes 34000 runs in international cricket

6:31 PM

Even when Sachin Tendulkar isn't having a great time with his bat, he manages to make records.

Soon after the lunch session, when Tendulkar scored his second run off England Monty Panesar on Day 1 of the third Test at the Eden Gardens, he completed 34000 runs in international cricket, highest by any cricketer in the history of the game.

In his 23-long career, Sachin has scored over 15560 runs in 192 Tests and 18426 runs in 463 ODIs.

Sachin, who made his international debut in November 1989 against Pakistan, is also the only cricketer to have scored a ton of tons (51 in Tests and 49 in ODIs).

However, since he achieved his hundredth hundred (vs Bangladesh in the Asia Cup earlier this year), he hasn't managed to score big. His last century in Test cricket came in January 2011 against South Africa

© NDTV

In Pics : Sachin Tendulkar's 76 vs England, Eden Gardens December 5,2012

4:35 AM

TOI : India suffered a massive jolt when England pacer James Anderson dismissed Sachin Tendulkar to leave India in spot of bother on Day 1 of the third Test at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday

Tendulkar reached his 66th Test fifty, his first in ten innings, on the first ball after tea.

Tendulkar and Yuvraj resumed the Indian first innings after tea.

James Anderson bowled a superb spell and was rewarded with the wicket of Virat Kohli as he had him caught by Graeme Swann at second slip to reduce India to 136/4.

That was the first wicket for a seamer in this series since Gambhir's first-over dismissal in the second Test at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

©PTI

Exclusive Pics : Sachin Tendulkar at Nets a Day Before 3rd Test vs England in Kolkata

7:14 AM

NDTV: Indian batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar, who has lately been struggling with his form, was a picture of concentration Monday. He was slogging hard at India's net practice at the Eden Gardens here before the Test match against England beginning Wednesday.

With all the bowlers at Tendulkar's disposal, the other batsmen at the net had to be content with club bowlers with only Ojha as the saving grace.

Tendulkar practised some of his trademark strokes and also hit some lofty shots off the spinners, much to the delight of a motley crowd of school children.

As the other batsmen took turns at the nets, Tendulkar continued facing Dinda and Ashwin while coach Duncan Fletcher kept a keen eye on him.

After around 30 minutes, he walked out to another of the practice pitches in the corner of the ground and continued knocking down the balls thrown at him by Fletcher. He would pause for a while, discuss something with Fletcher and get back to knocking.

While his teammates, including the batsmen, did some fielding dribbles and catching practice, Tendulkar kept on playing at the nets. Later on he was seen chatting for long with Fletcher. Even as others took some time to rest, Tendulkar went on knocking. This time the team masseur threw the ball at him.

©PTI

Sachin Tendulkar teaches youngster how to bowl

8:11 PM

Sachin Tendulkar, who has 200 international wickets to his name, during net practice at the Eden Gardens here on Monday was seen giving bowling tips to a youngster who had come to bowl at the nets.

After a gruelling session at the nets, Tendulkar was watching others practice when he called out a boy who was bowling leg-breaks to India skipper M.S. Dhoni at the nets.

The boy came running to him and the master demonstrated how to bowl the leg-break. The boy kept on watching keenly as Tendulkar took pains to explain the position of the bowling arm and the wrist while delivering the ball.

After the nets, as Tendulkar picked up his kit bag and headed for the dressing room, the youngsters who had come to bowl at the nets gathered around him.

As they walked ahead, Tendulkar was seen giving out valuable suggestions to them as the budding players listened keenly.