Throwing his weight behind Brad Hogg, spin legend Shane Warne said the chinaman bowler has done well against India in the one dayers and there is no reason why he can't do it against them in the forthcoming Test series as well. Warne admitted supple wrists and nimble footwork of the In

Indian vice-captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has admitted that the side goes into the Boxing Day Test against Australia short of match practice as just one warm-up game before the four-Test series was not enough to get acclimatised with the conditions here. "It's always better to have

Skipper Mohammad Kaif struck a determined 91 as Uttar Pradesh opened up a vital first innings lead over Bengal on the second day of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group B outing here today. At stumps, the visitors were 437 for seven with Praveen Kumar (50) and Amir Khan (30) unbeaten in the middl

Australia have warned India of a hostile series Down Under but vice-captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said they will not shy away from maintaining that aggressive tempo which unnerved the World Champions during their visit here for the ODI series. "It will be interesting. They are famo

Left-arm spinner Brad Hogg was today included in the 12-man Australian squad, announced by Cricket Australia for the first three Tests of the four-match series against India. Hogg, who last played a Test for Australia in October 2003, replaced injured spinner Stuart Macgill. Express bowl

Skipper Anil Kumble and his teammates today left for Australia bidding to create history by becoming the first Indian team to conquer the Aussies in their own backyard. Kumble and his men left by a morning flight to Singapore en-route to Melbourne, firm in their belief that they had

Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh today claimed Australia is short on spin bowling options and Indian batsmen would feast on Brad Hogg's bowling should the left-arm chinaman bowler be selected for the first Test in Melbourne. The Punjab bowler declared Hogg was not close to the illustr

Gung-ho after the triumph over Pakistan, India captain Anil Kumble today put the onus on the star-studded batting line-up to deliver the goods and notch up a rare series win against formidable Australia. Addressing a press conference on the eve of the team's departure for a four-match

Pakistani speedster Shoaib Akhtar has urged the Australians to pick Shaun Tait for the upcoming Test series against India as the slinger would be a scary proposition for Anil Kumble's men on the quick tracks here. "The Australians must pick Shaun Tait. I'm telling you, the I

Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson today faced the music for the Test and ODI series loss to arch rivals India with the PCB making it clear that they were not happy with the performance of the Australian. Skipper Shoaib Malik though escaped the heat as Pakistan Crikcet Board reposed fai

Captain Shoaib Malik will be grilled by the officials of Pakistan Cricket Board at a meeting in Lahore less than 24 hours after returning from India following humiliating series defeats in one-dayers as well as Tests. Malik and team manager Talat Ali Malik will attend the meeting to be

Batting lower down the order has denied him several centuries, says former India captain Sourav Ganguly, who feels VVS Laxman too has "suffered" in terms of scoring hundreds because of batting at number six. "I have batted lower down the order for a lot of time and Rahul D

Delhi Jets entered the semifinals of the ICL Twenty20 tournament here today after skipper Marvan Atapattu led from the front, hitting an unbeaten 64, to guide them to a six-wicket win over Chennai Superstars. Chasing 175 runs to win after electing to field, openers Taufeeq Umar (20)

Former South African all-rounder Mike Procter was today appointed match referee for the four-match Test series between India and Australia starting December 26 in Melbourne. Mark Benson of England and New Zealand's Billy Bowden will be in charge of the first Test in Melbourne, while

India very nearly snatched a dramatic victory in the third and final cricket Test against Pakistan but their late bid to push for a historic 2-0 series triumph was thwarted by bad light here today. After setting a stiff victory target of 374 in 48 overs, the Indians had the visitors gaspi

The third and final cricket Test between India and Pakistan was stopped because of bad light here today. Chasing 374 for win, Pakistan were 162 for seven when the play was stopped in the post tea session on the fifth and final day of the match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Yousuf was battin

Former England great Tony Greig has criticised the BCCI's decision to rope in Gary Kirsten as India's cricket coach, saying the new appointee would be nothing more than a puppet in the hands of senior players. "It (Kirsten's appointment) came as a bit of a surprise to me. It pro

Showering accolades on Yuvraj Singh, Sri Lankan cricketing great Aravinda de Silva described the middle order batsman as the Brian Lara of India. Admiring Yuvraj's entertaining batsmanship, de Silva expressed surprise that a player of his calibre was being kept out of the Test eleven.

Sourav Ganguly does not really freeze at the prospect of facing on-field taunts when he travels Australia later this year and the former captain asserts the Indian squad is mature enough to handle such hostile reception Down Under. Australia's recent tour of India earlier this year was b

Chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar would be able to watch the third and deciding Test match between India and Pakistan at Bangalore on all five days following the rescheduling of his meeting with Cricket Board chief Sharad Pawar to next week. "Vengsarkar is expected to meet Pawar next we

Despite Sachin Tendulkar being a doubtful starter and a depleted pace attack, India will try hard to pull off a series win against Pakistan, which just managed to come out of a leadership crisis ahead of the crucial third and final cricket Test beginning here tomorrow. That Tendulkar has h

Former South African batsman Gary Kirsten has decided to delay his decision about taking over as Indias next cricket coach following reports that senior players are unhappy about his appointment. The South African, who was scheduled to convey his willingness to the board by today, said he d

Pakistan middle-order batsman Misbah ul Haq today said a draw in the second cricket Test against India would boost his side's morale after they fought back strongly in tough conditions. "I think, psychologically, a draw will be a big boost for us. We had lost the toss and batting seco

Local boy Sourav Ganguly shook off his Eden Gardens jinx to post a century as India piled on the misery on the Pakistan bowlers by reaching an intimidating 552 for five at tea on the second day of the second Test here today. Ganguly (102) played an array of scintillating strokes while

There has been no complaint on the bowling action of Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar from the Indian team to the Cricket Board, according to a top BCCI official. "We have not received any complaints from any Indian team member or management (on Akhtar's bowling action)," B

Wasim Jaffer slammed a majestic unbeaten 192 as India took firm control of the second cricket Test against Pakistan by laying the foundation for a mammoth first innings total here today. The 29-year-old Jaffer notched up his fifth Test century as he stole the limelight with some breathta

Indian captain Anil Kumble today said the retirement of Inzamam-ul-Haq has left the visiting Pakistan team vulnerable in their middle order. "It affects the team when somebody of such stature retires from international cricket. But at the same time I'll say that they are a good team,&qu

Speedster Shaun Tait is preparing himself for the possibility that Australian selectors will opt for a four-pronged pace attack for the first cricket Test against India starting here on December 26. Pain-free in his right elbow for the first time in 12 months, Tait is aware he mu

The BCCI-backed Indian Premier League may have the best of current players on its roster but the Indian Cricket League recruit Chris Cairns feels the so-called rebel venture would be a bigger hit with the fans as it has more local youngsters. "The IPL will have a lot of current player

The 2nd Test match between India and Pakistan will be held here as scheduled from November 30, despite an e-mail threat to disrupt the match and kill the Pakistani cricketers. "The match will be held as scheduled," West Bengal Home Secretary Prasad Ranjan Roy told newsmen here to