The India vs South Africa 1st test match will be commencing on the 16th December at Centurion, but India has found themselves in a very unusual situation as they are going to miss Zaheer Khan during the first game. Zaheer is the spearhead of the Indian bowling attack and has been well known for his exceptional bowling performance in South Africa.

M.S. Dhoni, captain of India made a statement a day before the match saying that they will be making a last minute call before the match, but Zaheer seems to be doubtful for the game. The bowler has been injured because of his Hamstring issue that he has been undergoing for sometime now.

Experts state that they will indeed take a huge gamble to go in without Zaheer, as his bowling is just exquisite and has perfect control of himself, rather of the fact Ishant and Sreesanth will be looking quite dangerous against the Proteas, Zaheer is whole different level. Dhoni lauded his performance and importance in the team, and the injury just before the World Cup is really worrisome.

Source: CricInfo

New York Yankees right handed pitcher, A.J. Burnett is said that he will be getting a divorce from his wife, and there are loads of speculations into this news as it could really be shocking. The news broke out after a comment made by radio host Colin Cowherd on ESPN’s ‘The Herd’ where he revealed it. It was quite sensational for the media but a shock for sports persons in baseball.

Cowherd spoke on the radio show “A.J. Burnett went through a terrible divorce and he still might going through it. His wife was vindictive and spiteful. I don’t even feel comfortable telling you everything. The stories are ugly,” He made this comment on Wednesday and it seems that news will be true after all.

Some sports journalists say that the divorce could be the main cause of his under performance during the last season, and this is indeed a point of worry. Burnett has been playing baseball for the major league since 1999 and has been a good sportsman and performer of the game.

Source: HuffingtonPost

India won the 5 match one day internationals against New Zealand impressively and it was their dominating performance from the beginning of the series which eventually led to a white wash. New Zealand on the other hand has lessons to learn from this series, as of how the Indian subcontinent pitches could behave unexpectedly. In addition to this they will need to concentrate a lot for the upcoming World Cup 2011, which will be played during the commencement of summer next year.

Yuvraj Singh and the other youngsters in the team have a strong share in India’s dominative performance. Gautam Gambhir has now become an inspirational player in the team and thanks to his performance and captainship, India is indeed doing really well.

What will now be exciting to watch is that India is heading towards South Africa to commence its last tour before the world cup, and India will need to perform to its level best if wants to make a mark to win this year’s World Cup. India has a strong advantage this world cup, as it is playing in its own country and the subcontinental conditions will be favouring them.

Source: TimesOfIndia

It was sealed as India beat New Zealand in the 5th ODI played in Chennai and claimed a 5-0 white wash in the series. India from the beginning of the series itself looked quite strong and firm, and the Kiwis on the other hand were almost immobile. The Indian bowlers limited the Kiwi batsmen to a mere 103 and took the initiative to seal the series.

Gambhir and Kohli took the pitch and commenced the game but were sent the pavilion very soon, and India were 10/2. It was a moment of relief for the New Zealanders as they felt that they could make this match a miracle for themselves, and then Parthiv Patel and Yuvraj Singh took the field.

It was after these batsmen who took the field slaughtered the New Zealand bowling attack and easily claimed the series. Indeed the Indian conditions were really drastic for the New Zealanders, as they were not able to push in their 100%, but we should also keep in mind that the weather throughout the series was quite cool and pleasant, something that can be argued over.

At the end of the day, India stood victorious and made a mark by claiming the series, New Zealand on the other hand has a lesson to learn, that all matches aren’t played in the Australia and New Zealand, as the game moves to the subcontinent its whole different issue.

Source: CricInfo

The 5th ODI played between India vs New Zealand, has become quite interesting as New Zealand have been crushed by the Indian bowling attack at a mere 103 runs only. New Zealand could just crawl past the three figure mark at the Chennai ground, as the Indian bowlers managed to smack their wickets at regular intervals.

As the Indian innings began, Kohli and Gambhir, India’s top batsmen for now, had been sent back to the pavilion early with only 10 runs on the board. Later Yuvraj Singh and Parthiv Patel managed to bring India back on track an stabilized the innings. Before New Zealand could inflict any serious damage on India, Yuvraj and Patel managed to keep India floating in the game.

India will be looking to win this match impressively and it will also result to a first ever white wash against New Zealand. India have performed quite well in the series, as this could also be said, as the first step towards an exciting World Cup 2011.

Source: CricInfo

The India vs New Zealand 5th ODI which is being played at Chennai, looks to be a game of saving some respect for New Zealand, but India on the other hand does not look in the favour of letting them do so. The Kiwis lost three wickets at a mere 28 runs, and it looked that India will be trampling them once again. During the whole series, New Zealand has not been able to clinch even a single game, and this last one day is their only hope.

Both Guptil and McCullum have been sent back by the Indian bowlers at very low scores and this was quite disheartening for the boys in the New Zealand dressing room. But later even Taylor was on his way to the pavilion before he could begin the show, as he was caught behind by Patel as Nehra clinched him.

New Zealand has said that they indeed had a tough time during this series, and it will be something they will have to pay attention to during the upcoming subcontinental ICC World Cup 2011. If India wins this match, it will be their first ever white wash against any cricketing team, and yes they will be looking ahead to it.

Source: CricInfo

India has beaten New Zealand in the 3rd ODI which was being played at Vadodara, and eventually clinched the series 3-0. The five match series has now become nullified for the New Zealanders as they gave their best against the Indian bowling and batting attack. Even after providing their best in the series they failed to snap even one win against India, less this could have made the series more exciting.

Gautam’s team chased the 224 runs target set by the kiwis, with ease having 9 wickets and 10 overs to spare. He himself scored yet another century, and this has become a very special one, as he is the captain of India, which as won the series, a strong achievement in his career.

The captain was awarded the Man Of The Match, and was quite calm during the presentation ceremony. New Zealand’s captain, Daniel Vettori on the other hand said that he will not be relaxing now even after the fact that they have lost the series, they need to fight back against India to maintain an image, as they are the visitors for this series.

Source: TimesOfIndia

The 3rd ODI being played between India and New Zealand at Vadodara looks to be going one sided, as the Indian bowlers have thawed through the Kiwi batting line up. The New Zealanders were struggling at 106/7 and they needed someone who could support the team from being crumbled. J. Franklin and N. McCullum stood firm against India and managed to crawl across 200.

There was some exquisite show of inswing and outswing portrayed by Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra and Munaf Patel, during the morning hours. As it is winter across India the series is really exciting to play, with perfect weather conditions, the players will experience less fatigue.

From India’s point of view, the game is going on really well, thanks to the bowlers they have controlled the match but there were number of instances when India’s fielding stats were questioned. The players were looking quite sloppy on the field as they dropped catches and slipped balls for the boundaries. Team India needs to really work hard on this and they need to come strong with their fielding department, but for now India needs to halt the New Zealanders before they go on to make an eligible target.

Source: CricInfo

Qatar will be officially organizing the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and what a moment for joy as the managing committee from Qatar will be celebrating after hearing this decision. Russia will be hosting 2018 FIFA world cup, and yes that will be one really cold World Cup we would be remembering for a long time and Qatar will be exactly opposite to that.

The main concern during the bid was the hot temperatures during the summer in Qatar, because it has a desert surrounded region, and this will be utterly inappropriate for the players and the matches that will taking place there. It is said that Qatar has already started plans of bringing in a technology that will reduce the temperatures within the stadium.

Even though there was a lack of infrastructure today, FIFA did not deter to give Qatar the opportunity of hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2022. With more than a decade to go, Qatar has time, technology and finance, so it will be just perfect for them that they will be up with the proper infrastructure before 2022.

Source: yahoonews

The India vs New Zealand 2nd ODI in Jaipur turned out to be another thriller, as Gautam Gambhir and his bowlers guided India to a 2-0 lead over the guests. New Zealand had to bat first after Gambhir who was the captain in place of M.S. Dhoni chose to bowl, and the visitors managed to score only 258 odd runs on the score board. The pitch was tricky and India had a task ahead of them, they had to win this game at any cost.

After Gambhir and his men took the field, the captain showed the world that he is capable of taking responsibility too, and impressively scored a ton. He clocked 138 runs from 116 balls, as he toyed around with the Kiwi bowlers.

We cannot blame the New Zealanders for their loss and sad performance, India needs to consider that they played in very extreme conditions compared to their country. The pitch was slow and cracking and this is something directly opposite to what they have back home. Indian bowlers took their wickets at regular intervals and as a matter of fact they failed to perform, giving India only 258 runs to chase. What will be exciting to see is that if India clinches the next match, then we have the series.

Source: CricInfo