Tendulkar credits coach Kirsten for India's success

Indian batting stalwart Sachin Tendulkar credits coach Gary Kirsten with helping the team become a force in world cricket again.
India won their first test series on New Zealand soil in four decades this week, their third successive test series victory since defeating top-ranked Australia in November.
"The secret to this success is the players are playing their natural game," Tendulkar told Mumbai tabloid Mid Day on Friday.
"That can only happen if the atmosphere is good and the mind is free of any kind of pressure.
"... it's the case of natural instincts taking over and that can be credited to Gary (Kirsten). The team environment is allowing players to play their natural game. That's probably the secret," Tendulkar added.
Tendulkar, the world's highest run-getter in test and one-day cricket, was second behind Gautam Gambhir in the runs tally for the team in the test series with 344 runs.
Former South African opener Kirsten took over from Greg Chappell last year and has helped the Indian team improve their performances, earning the respect of the players for his quiet approach following a turbulent period under the Australian. (Reporting by Sanjay Rajan; Editing by Peter Rutherford. To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

India record first Test win in New Zealand in 33 years

March 21 (IANS) Harbhajan Singh’s six wicket haul in the second innings broke India’s 33-year Test jinx in New Zealand as the visitors wrapped up the first cricket Test here Saturday with a 10-wicket win and a day to spare.India knocked off the required 39 runs in the second innings through Gautam Gambhir (30) and Rahul Dravid (8) after bowling out New Zealand for 279, which included a Brendon McCullum half-century.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s team now has a 1-0 lead in the three-match series, with the second Test slated to begin at Napier Thursday.
The win was India’s first in New Zealand since 1976 that had come under the captaincy of Sunil Gavaskar. It was also Dhoni’s first overseas Test win, and fifth in six Tests. The Indian team will now eye a series win in New Zealand for the first time since 1968, when they also recorded their maiden overseas Test series win.
India could have wrapped the proceedings earlier had McCullum not come in the way. Skipper Dhoni made the mistake of spreading out the field when New Zealand were eight down for 199, still 42 short to make India bat again.
McCullum shepherded the tail, scoring 84 off 135 balls that included 11 fours, and took his chance to reach three figures with only the last man in sight before holing out to V.V.S Laxman off Yuvraj Singh.
India would gain a lot of confidence from the way they played this Test. The bowlers responded beautifully to Dhoni’s call of taking the field. The pace trio of Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma and Munaf Patel extracted the maximum from the fresh wicket on day one and reduced the Black Caps to 60 for six. Daniel Vettori and Jesse Ryder fought back with centuries but the Kiwis finally folded up for 279.
Sachin Tendulkar, who perhaps is on his last tour here, knocked a majestic 160 to carry India to 520.
The New Zealand batsmen once again lost the plot in the second innings and were three down for 75 Friday, with Munaf removing Kyle Mills with the last ball of the day.
If Indian pacers ruled the roost in the first innings, the turbanator unleashed himself on the New Zealand batsmen Saturday. Harbajan’s figures of 6-63 was his best overseas performance.
India grabbed the wickets of two attacking batsmen Ross Taylor for four and Jesse Ryder 21 before lunch Saturday. They should have consumed Daniel Flynn (67), too, had Dhoni not muffed a caught-behind chance off Harbhajan.
Munaf Patel and Harbhajan claimed a wicket each, but overall the Indian attack was more purposeful with Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma doing their bit as the hosts struggled to score 71 runs off 26 overs in the session.
Flynn began the day on a dashing note, cutting and pulling Zaheer for fours. He then forced Munaf past point for two more and drove Ishant through the covers for another to get to his 50 off 118 balls.
New Zealand, who needed 42 overs to see the hundred on the board, lost Taylor, slashing Munaf straight to Virender Sehwag at point.
Ryder came to the crease with a positive intent and his first scoring stroke could have ended up as a catch to Harbhajan in the covers. He continued in the same vein to pull Zaheer for a four and a six.
The first innings century-maker was beaten on the defence by a beauty from Harbhajan and it was an easy leg before decision for umpire Simon Taufel, the ball striking the back leg.
The Kiwis lost three quick wickets after lunch, all taken by Harbhajan Singh.

HISTORY OF THE INDIAN CRICKET TEAM

The British brought cricket to India in the early 1700s, with the first cricket match being played in 1721. In 1848, the Parsi community in Bombay formed the Oriental Cricket Club, the first cricket club to be established by Indians. After slow beginnings, the Europeans eventually invited the Parsis to play a match in 1877. By 1912, the Parsis, Hindus, and Muslims of Bombay played a quadrangular tournament with the Europeans every year. In the early 1900s, some Indians went on to play for the English cricket team. Some of these, such as Ranjitsinhji and KS Duleepsinhji were greatly appreciated by the British and their names went on to be used for the Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophy-two of the major domestic tournaments in India. In 1911, an Indian team went on their first official tour of England, but only played English county teams and not the English cricket team. India was invited into The Imperial Cricket Council in 1926 and made its debut as a Test-cricket-playing-nation in 1932 led by CK Nayudu. The match was given Test status despite being only 3 days in length. The team was not strong in its batting at this point and went on to lose by 158 runs. The Indian team continued to improve throughout the 1930s and '40s but did not achieve an international victory during this period. The team's first series as an independent country was in 1948 against Sir Donald Bradman's Invincibles (a name given to the Australian cricket team of that time). Australia won the five-match series, 4-0.
India recorded their first Test victory against England at Madras in 1952. Later in the year, they won their first Test series, which was against Pakistan. They continued their improvement throughout the early 1950s with a series win against New Zealand in 1956. However, they did not win again in the remainder of the decade and lost badly to strong Australian and English sides. The next decade saw India's reputation develop as a team with a strong record at home. Although they only won two series (both against New Zealand), they managed to draw home series against Pakistan, England and Australia.
The key to India's bowling in the 1970s were the Indian spin quartet - Bishen Bedi, E.A.S. Prasanna, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar and Srinivas Venkataraghavan. This period also saw the emergence of two of India's best ever batsmen, Sunil Gavaskar and Gundappa Viswanath. Indian pitches have had tendency to support spin and the spin quartet exploited this to create collapses in opposing batting lineups. These players were responsible for the back-to-back series wins in 1971 in the West Indies and in England, under the captaincy of Ajit Wadekar. Gavaskar scored 774 runs in the West Indian series while Dilip Sardesai's 112 played a big part in their one Test win.

WORLD CUP HERO - 2011

Who will win 2011 World cup ……?

Will M Dhoni be the hero of Cricket world 2011 ?

We can wait for the days……..

PAKISTAN ATTACK - New report

BCC took the decision that; India will not play in Pakistan at least five years since there is no guaranty for the security. The former England Cricket captain Dominic Cork told to the local media that, He will never again return to Pakistan as a commentator for Pakistan television.

The World Cup 2011

The 10th Cricket World Cup is going to be a very nice time to all Indians.

Indian stadiums are getting ready for the battle.


Let us enjoy.........