India reduced to 136-9 by South Africa quicks

CENTURION: South Africa's fast bowlers made up for lost time as they ripped through the Indian batting line-up on a rain-shortened first day of the first Test at SuperSport Park on Thursday. 

Scorecard 

Morne Morkel took four wickets and Dale Steyn three as India crashed to 136 for nine after being sent in on a green, damp pitch. 

Only Sachin Tendulkar, who made an elegant 36 off 34 balls, looked at ease as Steyn and Morkel confirmed their credentials as the world's most lethal new ball pair as they scythed through the side ranked number one in Test cricket. 

Steyn started the slide early when he had Virender Sehwag caught at third man for nought. He followed up with two superb, full, late-swinging deliveries to get rid of VVS Laxman and Tendulkar after the pair had mounted a mini-recovery after India had slumped to 27 for three. 

Laxman and Tendulkar put on 39 before Laxman and Tendulkar fell in successive overs from Steyn, sandwiched by the wicket of Suresh Raini, who lasted only three balls before edging Jacques Kallis to third slip. 

The tall Morkel took four for 20 in 12.1 hostile overs, including the wickets of Gautam Gambhir and Rahul Dravid in successive overs. He also dismissed tailenders Ishant Sharma and Sree Sreesanth before bad light ended play. Dravid was his 100th victim in his 29th Test. 

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, hitting out as he was forced to bat with the tail, finished the day on 33 not out. 

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Dravid becomes third highest Test run-getter

CENTURION: Rahul Dravid on Thursday overtook former West Indian captain Brain Lara as the third highest run-getter in the history of Test cricket when he reached 11 in the first of the three-match series against South Africa. 

Coming into the match needing 11 runs to surpass Lara's 11,953 in the all-time run-getter's list, Dravid reached the milestone with a double, clipping Dale Steyn off the back foot towards the square-leg region at the SuperSport Park. 

Dravid, who has an average of 53.31 before this Test, achieved the feat in his 148th match. 

His teammate and Indian batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar leads the chart with 14,3666 runs from 175 Tests, followed by Australian captain Ricky Ponting, who till date has scored 12,332 runs from 151 matches. 

Dravid is also just one short of becoming the first cricketer to take 200 catches in Test.

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The Ashes 2010: England on top at the Waca as Australia fall for 268

To England went the spoils of the first day, which means eight successive days, since the third day in Brisbane, or 20 successive sessions, won by the visitors.

Australia, put in to bat, were dismissed for 268, four overs before the second new ball was due, for which Andrew Strauss would cheerfully have settled beforehand. The end justified the means. But with the exception of a terrific performance from one paceman and another outstanding fielding display, this was an indifferent England, several notches below the complete game they managed in Adelaide.

Chris Tremlett was a giant in the literal and metaphorical sense, gaining steepling bounce and good pace to claim three wickets on his return to Test cricket, and more than justified his selection. But Jimmy Anderson was way off beam with the new ball, criminally so, his three-wicket return a bonus rather than an achievement, although he did manage the early wicket of Ricky Ponting, while Steve Finn was unable to locate the length required, erred either too full or, as the day wore on, too short and was handed out a near run-a-ball spanking as a result. Graeme Swann's two-wicket intervention ought not to have been necessary.

In the 12 overs bowled to them as the shadows lengthened across the Waca, the England openers, Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook, ensured that the day was not sullied, seeing out all four of the Australian seamers with no alarm other than one rasping square cut from the captain that seared at catchable height past Mike Hussey in the gully, squinting into the setting sun. Twice Cook carved short deliveries deliberately over the slip cordon, one of them for six. Twenty-nine without loss, and the initial hardness already going from the ball, was the ideal finish.

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Pathan powers India to win

Yusuf Pathan's maiden ODI century gave India their fourth straight win over New Zealand in a high-scoring affair in Bangalore.

Pathan finished on 122 not out as India chased down a target of 316 with seven balls to spare for a five-wicket triumph.

He shared an unbroken sixth-wicket partnership of 133 with Saurabh Tiwary (37no), who clinched the victory in style with a six off Nathan McCullum.

India lead the five-match series 4-0 and have the chance to complete a whitewash in Chennai on Friday.

Trouble

Pathan had walked out to the middle with India in trouble on 108-4 in the 20th over, left-arm paceman Andy McKay and off-spinner McCullum having taken two wickets each for the tourists.

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The Ashes 2010: England run riot against Australia to win second Test

It was only a morning, but it was one of the great mornings for England cricket in modern times. No weather to save Australia. In winning the second Test overwhelmingly, by an innings and 71 runs, they have achieved what no England side has managed for 24 years and won a Test in Australia while the Ashes were still at stake.

This represents a hammer blow to Australia, who must now win two of the final three Tests if they are to regain the Ashes, a prospect not helped by the news that their opener Simon Katich will miss the remaining matches with an Achilles injury.

There were tense final moments as England, a bowler down because of the injury to Stuart Broad which has also finished his involvement in the series, sought the final wicket with the two Australian tailenders at the crease. To gasps from the crowd and players, balls beat the bat.

Finally, at 11.27am precisely, almost an hour and a half into the day, Graeme Swann spun an off-break through the gate left by Peter Siddle to hit off stump and spark celebrations.

Swann had taken the last three wickets to finish with five for 91 and confirm his status as the leading spinner in world cricket. It was Swann who took the final wicket at The Oval when the Ashes were won last year. Only Marcus North, for almost an hour, offered resistance as Mike Hussey went to Steve Finn and the new ball for 52, and the tail folded. In 17 overs England took six for 64.

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Pietersen hits double century; England 551-4

Kevin Pietersen passed the double hundred mark for the second time in his Test career as England reached 551—4 at tea on Sunday on the third day of the second Ashes Test in Adelaide, taking a commanding 306—run, first innings lead over Australia.

Paul Collingwood was the only batsman to be dismissed in the second session, going out lbw to Shane Watson for 40. Earlier in the day, Alastair Cook was dismissed for 148, caught by Brad Haddin off Ryan Harris.

Pietersen was 213 not out at the break, while Ian Bell had 41.

England, following its 517—1 declared in the second innings of the first Ashes Test at Brisbane, has now passed 500 in consecutive innings for the first time against Australia.

Despite a sore hamstring, Pietersen reached his double century with a quick single to mid off and then punched the air and saluted the England fans on the hill at the Adelaide Oval.

The South African—born batsman, who came to the wicket before tea on Saturday afternoon, had gone 27 Test innings without making a hundred, dating back to March 2009.

Australia finally managed to dismiss Cook for 148 when he inside—edged Ryan Harris behind to Brad Haddin. That ended Cook’s run of 1,057 minutes without losing his wicket, going back to his second innings of 235 not out in Brisbane.

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India crush New Zealand by 9 wickets, clinch series

Gautam Gambhir celebrates his century

Indian team led by Gautam Gambhir displayed a splendid performance and managed to beat New Zealand  in a 9-wicket win in the third ODI and seal the five-match ODI series 3-0 at Vadodara today.

Earlier, James Franklin led New Zealand's revival with a fighting unbeaten half-century as the visitors recovered from a poor start to post 224 for 9.

Down 0-2 and faced with a must-win situation, the visitors made a shocking start by losing their openers within the first five overs and were struggling at 106 for seven before Franklin (72 not out) and Nathan McCullum repaired the innings with a stand of 94.

The left-handed Franklin batted sensibly after coming in at 49 for 4 in the 16th over even as continued to tumble from the the other end.

He top-scored for the Black Caps with the help of five fours and one six in 108 balls while McCullum made 43 in 53 balls with four fours.

Their eighth-wicket stand off 107 balls took the score to 200 after the Kiwis had lost half their side for 77.
Apart from the eighth wicket pair, only opener Martin Guptill (12) and Scott Styris (22) reached the double figures in a largely uninspiring display put up by the Kiwis after they were asked to bat first by the hosts.
For India, Zaheer Khan (2/31), Yusuf Pathan (2/37 and R Ashwin (2/49) shared six wickets among them while Munaf Patel chipped in with one scalp.

The pitch for the match was a major surprise at a venue that normally provides flat tracks. There was a lot of bounce for the pace bowlers and bounce and turn for the spinners.

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