India is looking ahead to stand strong against the South African bowling attack, as opener Virender Sehwag exited early. Gambhir on the other side has stood firmly along with Rahul Dravid who is trying to stabilize India, and trying hard to win the test match. The South Africans took the field and were aggressive from the first over itself, and this was seen when Gautam Gambhir got his hand battered on the ball of Dale Steyn.

Once again Sehwag exited the game early, as he was caught behind by kissing an edge. 62 overs now remain and they will try to pull out all the nine wickets needed to win this match. However India is not going to give up this game and they will try to prove the world that they are world no.1.

One Twenty20 and an entire One Day series remains after the completion of this test match. India will surely need to shift gears in its One Day department, as the South Africans are well known for the performance in this form of the game. As of now India needs more than 250 runs to win, with just a little more than half a day left.

Source: CricInfo

South African all rounder, Jacques Kallis has once again slammed a century against India and has set a target of 340 runs to win. It will be a painstaking task for India, if they want to win this game on the last day, 340 runs in only 90 odd overs is something which will need them to shift gears.

Kallis got his 40th century under his belt and this the second consecutive hundred in just one test match. The Proteas were looking weary when the resumed stumps on day four, and started to lose wickets in quick successions, but Kallis stood firm guided them to a thrilling run stock pile.

It will be a miracle if India pulls this off, and especially speaking on pitch that is already more than four days old. Once again the team will be eyeing Sachin Tendulkar, as Sehwag and the Captain have not performed impressively this series. It was indeed a superhuman feat from Kallis’ side, as he scored a century against India when it was needed the most. It will now make India consider, the options to win, and they have only one day to do it.

Source: CricInfo

It was a tense day at Cape Town as the India vs South Africa third test is moving towards a dramatic outcome. Sachin Tendulkar has successfully slammed his 51st test century against the South Africans and Dale Styen on the other hand claimed five wickets. India were not at all looking positive as the third day began, and the Indian batsmen fell consistently against the proteas bowling attack, except Sachin and Harbhajan Singh.

During the second day’s play the highlight for India were Sachin and Gambhir, but after Gambhir was plucked at 93, no other batsmen from the team stood up to their potential. Later Harbhajan Singh and Sachin created a partnership that saved India from trail.

Harbhajan Singh once again performed well and managed to score 40 odd runs, giving India that 2 runs lead against the South African total. Sachin score 141 runs, and was bowled just before he could stare into his 150, but still his contribution has helped everyone. After South Africa commenced their second innings they are 52/2 and it will really be exciting to see how they perform on day four.

Source: CricInfo

Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir have once again stood firm against the South African bowling attack, as India lost two wickets in quick successions. South Africa, who were struggling against India, crossed the 300 runs mark with ease, as Jacques Kallis guided them in Cape Town. The all rounder smacked his 39th test century in his career, making him the only all rounder in the world to attain this feat.

South Africa scored 362 runs on the board, and the last 79 runs came by the contribution of the last two batsmen. Just as the Proteas, India too lost two wickets in the beginning of the game, in the form of Sehwag and Dravid.

Sreesanth looked very dangerous against South Africa, and this had pumped some steam among them. But the last two batsmen managed to give South Africa the edge and piled up over 70 runs. During the third day, India will look ahead to outperform the hosts and gain a strong lead, as so they can chase them and win the entire series.

Source: CricInfo

Indian bowler, Sreesanth has done miracles on the second as the youngster from Kerala has ripped through the South African bowling line up, eventually making the proteas limp. Sreesanth scalped Mark Boucher and Ashwell Prince in just two ball, bringing him on the verge of striking a hat-trick against the South Africans.

South Africa slowly lost two more wickets in the form of Dale Styen and M. Morkel, bringing their situation at 293/8. South Africans will look to cross the 300 runs mark, and provide India with a decent score to defend with. Jacques Kallis on the other hand stands on the crease with an unbeaten century, as he is the only hope for the Proteas from now on.

During the commencement of the first test, the South Africans had aimed of crossing the 400 runs mark, and secure this final test, but the rains played spoilsport, making the pitch conditions horrible. Even though India have been playing very well, they had many opportunities to put them under severe pressure on the first day itself.

Source: cricnext

Jacques Kallis and Hashim Amla have successfully guided South Africa through the first day of the third test, as the Indian bowling attack looked quite dangerous after the commencement of the game. Rains had delayed the start of the game and the pitch did become unpredictable, one of the most common circumstances was the sudden bounce and speed of the ball.

Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma and Sreesanth were the the highlight, as their bowling looked very unpredictable, thanks to the uneven bounce that had been created by the light drizzle during the morning hours. But once again Kallis and Amla withstood the bowling attack and went ahead with another consecutive partnership steering away South Africa to safety.

Smith and Peterson were sent back soon, and this worried the South African team, as were they going to lose this final decider. With Amla gone, and Kallis on 82 not out, South Africa have reached 232/4, which is impressive according to the bowling conditions for the first day. After the struggle witness in the South African batting line up, it will not need strong mettle from the Indian side to withstand the Proteas bowling department and the unpredictable pitch.

Source: CricInfo

Australian Cricketer Ricky Ponting will be missing out the upcoming Sydney test due to a finger injury that he has recently sustained. Ponting had received a fracture in the little finger of his left hand during the first test itself, later he played the series with a heavily strapped left hand. It is really sad to see Ponting miss the last test and this will indeed hamper the team’s morale.

After an X-ray of his finger, it shows that it has been damaged once again, and he will need treatment for it urgently. Michael Clarke the vice captain will be taking over Ponting’s captainship for the final test. This is really a worrisome situation for Australia as they are looking forward to square up the Ashes test, but with Ponting out, matters have just worsened.

Australia has been clearly outperformed by England and the English team is in its best form in this series. Ponting has not played well the entire season and that has indeed raised questions regarding his performance and health. Everyone is just wishing he will be fit and well before the 2011 World Cup in India.

Source: BBC

Virender Sehwag, India’s spearhead and explosive opening batsman, will be missing the South African one-dayers due to a shoulder injure that he has received. The Indian Cricket Board has said that Sehwag has been rested out for the remaining tour against South Africa because of his injury. The Indian batsman did play the two test against South Africa, where he was doing quite well with his health, it now that he that an injury has been discovered.

India is still in the series and has levelled the game 1-1, and the decider will be played this Sunday. It is apparent that Sehwag will be taking over the field on Sunday against South Africa, but his performance is under great doubt.

In the one day squad, Rohit Sharma will be taking Sehwag’s place, and he has really performed well in his previous appearances. It will be upto Rohit himself that he does not disappoint India in the limited overs game, for a loss here will be a stain in India’s career statistics just before the World Cup 2011.

Source: AFP

At last it was VVS Laxman who turned out to be a saviour in India’s second innings against South Africa, as the Durban pitch has now started to test the mettle of both the teams. India once again failed to fire back, even though they had restricted South Africa to a very low score. Wickets kept falling at regular intervals and it looked as India could not provide the Proteas with a decent target to chase.

But in the shadow of the falling wickets, there was one batsmen who just stood there and played his natural game, which eventually resulted in giving a strong target to the South Africans. Laxman was the man who withstood the Proteas bowling attack, and gave them a tough time to pluck his wicket.

He played impressively and scored 96 runs, once again rescuing India from a shameful fall. The target provided to the hosts is 303 runs, and they have already lost 3 wickets for 111 runs. The last day is yet to begin, India will look to clinch this match and avoid the South Africans from winning it.

Source: CricInfo

Finally India had a point to smile after the bowlers feasted over the South African batsmen in Durban. The Indian bowlers managed to the pluck the entire Proteas batsmen for a mere 131 runs. It was a shock to everyone that South Africa underperformed against the Indians for the first time this series.

Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan were the highlight of the day, as they dominated the Kingsmead track and made the African’s feel very uncomfortable. For the Indians this was the best time to crawl back into the series, and the Africans were really surprised. Everything was going quite well for South Africa, but the session after lunch was something they will be regretting for a long time.

India finally started to bat, and have decided to provide the South Africans with a decent target to chase. But now India has got into a wobbling start and have lost as many as five wickets for 137 runs. India have earned a lead by more than 200 runs, and after looking at the pitch conditions it seems it will be tough for the South Africans to clinch this match with a decent performance.

Source: CricInfo