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Big question at the moment of every Indian cricket lover is the same. Is everything ok with Irfan Pathan and the skipper of Indian team Mahender Singh Dhoni. A report from a news channel recently caused this havoc a few days back, that there is a rift in between the skipper and the national selectors.

Irfan Pathan and Dhoni

Skipper MS Dhoni offered his resignation a few days back on the issue of selection of Irfan Pathan in the team in place of Rudra Pratap Singh. Every cricket lover in India is worried about this question and they are praying to the God that it should not be true.

Although Team India has won the Hero Honda Cup against England last night only, cause they have taken a lead of 4-0 in the series and now a few players will sure to get the chance on the next three matches who are not in the present playing eleven. This type of the news of rift can only cause the demoralization of the players rather than doing any thing good for India.

People are aware from the fact that MS Dhoni and RP Singh are close friends, but Dhoni should also remember this thing that he is the captain of the Indian National team. He should not bring his friendships in between the selection procedure. We can understand that this might be a rumor of the media but if it is true then Dhoni should take a look at this, because this will hurt his image only.

If he was backing Yuvraj Singh during the day of the bad form, then too it was your friendship with him, but as Yuvraj regained his form and that too in a terrific way then no one will put the finger on you, but if you are supporting some one who is not performing well then every one is going to put finger on you.

We wishes Team India a good luck for the coming remaining three ODI matches of the Hero Honda Cup, while we would like to congratulate them too for defeating them by a margin of 4-0.

Tags: Captain, Dhoni, Dhoni and Pathan, England, Hero Honda Cup, India, Irfan Pathan, Mahender Singh Dhoni, MS Dhoni, Rdura Pratap Singh, RP Singh, Skipper, Team India, Yuvraj, Yuvraj Singh

India defeated Sri Lanka in 3rd ODI by 46 runs today and won the five day match series by 3-1 with one match still to go on. India won the first ever One Day Series against Sri Lanka on Sri Lanka ground creating an historical record.

India won the toss and set a respectable target of 259 but the hosting team was all out in 46.2 overs at a score of 212 only. Led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the Indian youth brigade done a fabulous job. Dhoni (71), Raina (72) and Kohli (54) are those who made their half century and contributed most to the victory.

Opener Gautam Gambhir (17) was the first one who was sent back to pavilion by Kulasekara. yuvraj singh was struck off by Chaminda Vaas before opening his account. Yuvraj became his 400th victim when he flicked a simple catch at short mid-wicket to Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene for a duck.

Virat Kohli, the Delhi lad was seemed in form but was departed after making 54 runs giving a big blow to India. But soon the India skipper MS Dhoni walked in to take charge with Suresh Raina. Both have been cracked their half centuries scoring 71 and 72 respectivily before departing. The duo powered the Indian total past 202 runs in 38 overs.

Among other players Rohit Sharma scored 18, Harbhajan Singh soon departed after making only 2 runs, while Badrinath gave 6.

In Sri Lankan team, only Jayasuriya (60) cracked his half century and added some good runs to the scores. Thushara and Kapugedera devoted 40 and 30 runs respectively. Others are departed back to pavilion one by one. After 30 overs, Lankans were 132/5. After 33 overs, they were struggling at 142/6. And after 42 overs, Sri Lanka was tottering at 194/8.

Suresh Raina was awarded Man of the Match. For complete score card, please visit Cricket Updates.

Tags: Badrinath, Cricket, Dhoni, Gambhir, Harbhajan, India, Jayasuriya, Jayawardene, Kapugedera, Kohli, MS Dhoni, ODI, ODI Cricket, Raina, Rohit Sharma, Sri Lanka, Thushara, Vaas, Yuvraj

India won its second Asia Cup beating Pakistan today after a gap of 20 long years, a first since 1988. Sehwag contributed this grand success with his wonderful inning at a score of 119 runs off just 95 at the National Stadium in Karachi.

Pakistan set a target of 300 runs against India after elected to bat first in Karachi at a loss of four wickets. Pakistan opener Shoaib Malik, who gave a magnificent century, has to go back to pavilion while playing after getting troubled with his cramps and he left the ground disappointed. He made 125 runs out off 119 including 16 fours and 1 six.

Pakistan was very slow at start until Shoaib had given superb shots one by one with a strong partnership with Younis who made 59 runs to achieve a respectable score for the team.

The second opener butt only scored 35 runs out off 64. Mohammad Yousuf was run-out due to a misunderstanding on the pitch for a score of 30 runs in just 20 balls. The home team had managed to amass a good score of 261 as Shahid Afridi came in to bat in the final five overs with Misbah-ul-Haq to support him.

Both, India and Pakistan were tough competitors for the Asia Cup. Indian team had made two changes for today’s match. Manpreet Goni and Robin Uthappa are swapped by Yuvraj Singh and Ishant Sharma.

Virendra Sehwag was the hero of the match who scored 119 runs out off only 95 balls including 12 boundaries and 5 sixes. Suresh Raina also given a magnificant score of 84 runs out off 69 balls. The duo hit the ball one after another and acheived a 150 mark quickly.

After Sehwag, M S Dhoni came with his bat to crease with Yuvraj Singh. Dhoni who remain on ground till the target achieved, had scored 26 runs out off 30 balls while Yuvraj scored 48 runs in 47 hits.

India crossed the target within 42.1 overs and won the match by 6 wickets. Suresh Raina was declared the Man of the match.

Tags: Aisa Cup, Dhoni, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, Raina, Sehwag, Yuvraj

Pakistan won the Kitply Tri-series Cup by beating India in the final match on Saturday at Dhaka by 25 runs.

After Pakistan’ Captain Shoaib Malik won the toss and elected to bat, the team put an untouchable target of 316 at a loss of three wickets only. Salman Butt made a brilliant score of 129 out off 136 including twelve 4s and three 6s. After giving such a magnificent inning, he was hurt and retired of the play.

Younis Khan’s century helped the team to reach the untouchable target by giving 108 runs at 99 balls with 8 boundaries and 3 sixes.

Team India can only score 290 before getting all out. Chasing the huge target of 316 runs, India had a slow start. Virendra Sehwag was sent back to pavilion after making just 2 runs. Rohit Sharma and Gambhir tried their hard to help the team but Rohit was out at 24 runs and Gambhir devoted 40 runs for the team.

Yusuf Pathan was the fourth wicket of team India which was sent after making only 25 runs. Yuvraj Singh, however, scored his half century but soon dismissed after scoring 56 runs. M S Dhoni, the captain also helped the team by his score of 64 runs out off 59 balls but it couldn’t help to achieve the success. The last wicket to fall was of Dhoni.

Irfan Pathan and Suresh Raina respectively made 28 and 24 runs. Pravin and Piyush Chawla were soon dismissed at 5 and 2 runs respectively.

Tags: Bangladesh, Dhoni, India, Kitply Cup, Kitply Cup 2008, Pakistan, Shoaib Malik, Yuvraj

Mumbai Indian stand-in captain Harbhajan Singh on Saturday downplayed the controversy regarding him allegedly slapping S Sreesanth to bring the Kings XI Punjab pacer to tears, saying the issue “had been sorted out”.

Sreesanth said the incident as “shake hand on a wrong side” and said he would not file a complaint against him.

“Not exactly (slapped), it was a shake hand on a wrong side. I don’t want to file any complaint against him,” said Sreesanth who was seen bitterly crying on the ground last night.

After the Punjab team won the tenth IPL match on Friday night against Mumbai Indians by 66 runs, aggressive Harbhajan allegedly hit Sreesanth when the pace man said something to him but later Bhajji apologized him in the dressing room of the home team.

Harbhajan said that all things are sorted out now. Sreesanth, on his part, also said everything was “normal” between him and Harbhajan.

“A lot of things happen in a family. We are part of one family. I think a lot of things which are coming out in the media, whatever has happened we have sorted out all, everything is fine now,” Harbhajan said before leaving for Mumbai with his team this morning.

“Everything is normal, there is nothing between us,” said Sreesanth.

Mumbai Indians captain Sachin Tendulkar, who missed the IPL matches because of his groin injury, gave no comments regarding the issue.

Harbhajan had preferred to maintain silence on the issue in the post match conference but Punjab team captain Yuvraj Singh had described the incident as “ugly”.

“I do not know what exactly happened but one does not want to see such things happening.” said Yuvi.

The pace man was seen crying bitterly on the ground at the end of the IPL match.

Harbhajan is known for his short tempered nature. There were lots of controversies associated with his name. Many times he loses his temper and got involved in offensive incidents on cricket ground. He must take care of his temper and should remain calm with players and on the cricket ground.

Tags: Harbhajan, IPL, Sachin, Slap, Sreesanth, Yuvraj

The sixth IPL match was named to Rajasthan Royals who won the match by 6 wickets against Kings XI Punjab in Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur.

Punjab Kings elected to bat first scored 166 runs at lose of 8 wickets. Watson’s brilliant play helped Rajasthan Royals to reach the manageable target within 18.1 overs losing 4 wickets.

Watson scored highest of the team with 76 runs for 49 balls including 5 fours and 5 sixes. Jadeja scored 36 out of 25 including 5 fours and 1 six. Both led the team to victory doors.

Other players include Lehmann who scored 17 out of 16 balls while Akmal gave 15 runs. Pathan (7) and Kaif (5) couldn’t score much.

Royals’ captain Shane Warne (3-19) and pacer Sidharth Trivedi (2-25) were the main wicket-takers.

Despite of brilliant performance of Captain Yuvraj Singh who struck a half century and raced to 57 runs in 34 balls including six fours and three sixes, Kings XI Punjab have to face second successive lose.

Karan Goel (26) and Piyush Chawla (24) were the other contributors with the bat who led the team to set a target of 167.

Hopes gave 16 runs out of 16 balls while Sangakkara also scored 20 out of 8 balls.

Other players are dull today. Irfan Pathan’s batting added 12 more runs only while Brett Lee disappointed his fans and left the ground without opening his account.

Watson was elected Man of the Match scoring highest run of 76.

Australian cricket player Shane Warne has now retired to be the new face of 888.com. Visit here to see if his cricket skills match his poker skills!

Tags: IPL, Jaipur, Kings XI, Punjab, Rajasthan Royals, Shane Warne, Shane Watson, Yuvraj

Chennai Super Kings have beaten Kings XI Punjabs by 33 runs while the second match of DLF Indian Premiere League (IPL) ends today in Mohali. Watch the full coverage of the match by clicking here.

Kings XI Punjab, co-owned by bubbly Bollywood actress Preity Zinta and her boy-freind Ness Wadia was leaded by Yuvraj Singh while Chennai Super Kings is owned by India Cements, captained by M S Dhoni.After winning the toss by Chennai Super Kings, Dhoni decided to bat first.

Hussey’s century lead Chennai stars to knock a big score of 240. He gave his fast century within 50 balls only. He knocked 8 fours and 9 sixes contributing a magnificent score of 116 runs in just 54 balls, not out.

Hussey got able support from Hayden, Raina and S Badrinath to build up partnership. Rana contributed 32 runs to the team. Oram (13) was dismissed by Pathan while Badrinath with 31 runs stay on the pitch along with Hussey till end of the 20th over. Of course he is the man of the match.

Openers Hayden (26) and Patel (15) were sent back to pavilion soon while captain Dhoni (2) was dull on the ground.

On the other side, Punjab batsmen start a steady start against a huge target of 241. The opener Goel gave 24 before he was dismissed by Gony. Hopes gave a little hope to win. He made 71 runs making his half century but was then departed soon.

Captain Yuvi tried his efforts but could make only 23 while chasing the big challenge and the team lost the momentum after his depart. Sangakkara making his half century contributed 54 runs but the team was unable to reach near the target.

Pathan (3) and Katich (21) were the last pair struggling to win but couldn’t catch the winning flags.

Dhoni and Yuvraj who are great friends off-field were playing like rivals on the field. Preity who was much excited for the match and for her team must get disappointed after the loss.

Australian cricket player Shane Warne has now retired to be the new face of 888.com. Visit here to see if his cricket skills match his poker skills!

Tags: Chennai Super, Dhoni, IPL, Kings, Kings XI, Mahender Singh Dhoni, Mahi, Super Kings, Yuvi, Yuvraj, Yuvraj Singh

The 14 member team for the test matches going to start from March 26 against South Africa is announced today. Off spinner Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj are in while India’s new pace sensation Ishant Sharma and in-form batsman Gautam Gambhir are out.

Ishant Sharma Who has done wonderful job while the recent Australia tour have been overlooked for the matches because of his finger injury.

The team is announced by Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Niranjan Shah after the selection committee met in Bangalore on Monday afternoon.

Mumbai opener Wasim Jaffer was retained in the squad which has Virender Sehwag as the other specialist opener while in-form batsman Gambhir is not considered for the play.

Harbhajan Singh is among the specialist spinners in the team while R P Singh, S Sreesanth and Irfan Pathan make up the pace department.

Ishant will undergo a fitness test after the first Test, starting March 26, and if found fit will be considered for the last two matches, said Niranjan Shah, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India,

Murli Kartik who was picked up for the squad was ruled out later for 3 weeks as he got injured and dismissed for the first test match.

Wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh will undergo fitness tests March 21 in Bangalore.

“If they are found unfit, they will be replaced by wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik and leg-spinner Piyush Chawla.”

The first Test will be played in Chennai from March 26 to 30 and the second Test in Ahmedabad from April 3 to 7.

The indian team is like this: Anil Kumble (captain), Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wicketkeeper), Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, Rudra Pratap Singh, Vangipurappu Laxman, Murli Kartik, Yuvraj Singh, Wasim Jaffer and Virender Sehwag, Piyush Chawla (as cover for Harbhajan), Dinesh Kartik (stand-by for Dhoni)

Tags: Bhajji, Dhoni, Dravid, Gambhir, Ganguly, Harbhajan, India, Ishant, Kumble, Sachin, South Africa, Team India, Yuvraj

Though India has restricted Australia at 203 runs for nine wickets in 50 overs but still Australians produced a superb bowling display to beat India by 50 runs and go nine points clear in the CB Series.

The Indian team collapsed in just 41.2 overs for 153 runs only.

Australia also managed to bag an additional bonus point from the win and is virtually assured of a place in the final.

When Sachin Tendulkar was out on score of only 20, the viewers were not so worried about the victory. Target of 203 was not so far if Indian team could make itself on ground till 50 overs. But when Irfan Pathan was coming from Pavilion to ground as the third player all the audience were shocked. Though he is good at batting but he is not a regular batsman and he was not the perfect man for that situation. Also he didn’t perform so well to praise about Dhoni’s decision. This choice by Dhoni at number three was not understandable and appreciable.

Irfan Pathan (14), Gautam Gambhir (34) and Rohit Sharma (1) departed within eight balls to leave India staring at defeat at a critical time.

Many decisions by Dhoni on Sunday were surprising including bowling by Yuvraj. When the fast bowlers of India were enough to trouble the Australians then what was the need of Yuvraj? Is Yuvraj a regular bowler, who needs to bowl? Inclusion of Munaf Patel can also be considered as a bad decision.

Is India loss because of wrong decisions of Dhoni? Or it’s all fate of Indian team?

Tags: Australia, Dhoni, India, Munaf, Team India, Yuvraj

Yuraj slides to 4 steps to 19th in the latest ICC ODI ranking list while the Master Blaster Sachin rises in top ten positioning number 7 in the list. Indian Captain Dhoni secured position 13th and Gautam Gambhir improved his position by step two in batting chart to acquire 35th rank, which continues to be headed by the Australian Captain Rickey Ponting.

In the bowling chart, Harbhajan Singh is the only Indian in top 20 after rising by two good steps at position 18.

Teenage pace sensation Ishant Sharma who has claimed six wickets in four ODIs of the ongoing tri-series has shot up 96 places to 154th position and continues to make a significant improvement.

Meanwhile, retiring Australian wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist has climbed 10 places to second position after a superb 118 in Perth.

India’s bowling has been quite ineffective during this series and that reflects in the rankings. Harbhajan Singh is top ranked at 29, the next the bowlers are in the 30’s, and Sreesanth has dropped a massive 11 points from 41st to 52nd.

In the ICC ODI Championship table, Australia is still at the top of the table leading South Africa by three ratings points. India is at four and New Zealand at third position while Sri Lanka is two ratings point down in sixth place. England is seventh with 106 ratings points.

Tags: Cricket, India, Rankings, Sachin, Yuvraj