With the series levelled 1-1, India will heavily depend on their star-studded batting line-up for a morale-boosting overseas series triumph as they go into the third and final cricket one dayer against South Africa here tomorrow. The six-wicket victory in the second game yesterday has not on

Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan's splendid nine-wicket haul against Bangladesh has pushed his tally to 916 points in the ICC Test bowlers rankings, only 16 points away from Sydney Barnes who tops the all-time list. Muralitharan, the only contemporary bowler having more than 900 r

Put in to bat, South Africa scored 226 for six in 50 overs in the second one-day cricket international against India here today. Brief scores: South Africa: 226 for six in 50 overs (M Van Vyk 82, M Boucher not out 55; Yuvraj Singh 3-36).

The return of Sourav Ganguly has made Team India a more resolute unit, feels South African cricket coach Mickey Arthur who is still mystified as to why the former skipper was kept out of ODI fold for so long. "I personally think Sourav Ganguly in the squad gives a huge amount back to

Paceman S Sreesanth was today ruled out of the second cricket one-dayer against South Africa as India continued to be dogged by injuries and illness in their tour of the United Kingdom. While the Kerala bowler will sit out for the second successive game, there is also a question mark on th

Grappling with a cold bug and struggling to stay afloat in the three-match series, a depleted India face a do-or-die battle when they meet South Africa in the crucial second cricket one-dayer here tomorrow. With a flu virus reducing the dressing room virtually to a medical ward, India stru

After Jacques Kallis forced a four-wicket defeat down Team India's throat, Rahul Dravid doffed his hat at his opposite number, saying the South African captain made all the difference in the first of the three-one dayers here today. "Kallis made all the difference. If you are playing

Sachin Tendulkar missed his century by just one run as India overcame early jitters to post a fighting 242 for eight in their first cricket one-dayer against South Africa here today. Tendulkar was run out in tragic fashion going for what would have been his 42nd ODI hundred but not before

Hit by a viral bug which has left several players indisposed, the Indian team management was today forced to seek the services of Baroda paceman Rakesh Patel to make up the numbers for the first ODI against South Africa. Patel, a right-arm paceman, who is currently playing in England has bee

Hit by a virus, which has left half the team indisposed, a worried Indian team management has asked young cricketer Arjun Yadav, son of former Indian test cricketer Shiv Lal Yadav to join the Indian team for the first cricket one-dayer against South Africa here tomorrow. Yadav is the secon

India might struggle to put 11 players on the park even as they look for revenge when they take on South Africa in the first one-day international of the three-match Future Cup series here tomorrow. After Mahendra Dhoni pulled out of India's opening game due to high fever, players like Sac

With Australia's blunt refusal to visit South Africa to play Tests on the traditional dates of December 26 and January 2, Cricket South Africa CEO Gerald Majola has said the national team's 2008-09 tour of Down Under would be their last away series in the peak holiday time. Australia a

South Africa will aim to improve their bench strength by giving better performers at the domestic level a look-in at the international stage as the Proteas embark on a hectic international cricket season. "On the international front, we will be using this season with its seven tours t

Currently languishing at the sixth place, thanks to their World Cup flop show, Team India can move upto fourth in the ICC cricket rankings with a clean sweep in the forthcoming ODIs against Ireland, South Africa and Pakistan over the next fortnight. Rahul Dravid's side, which reached Belfa

Australian pacer Shaun Tait's participation in the upcoming Twenty20 cricket World Cup is in doubt as he undergoes an arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow tomorrow. "Shaun is undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow on Tuesday to relieve soft-tissue impingement," Austra

Recalled to the Indian one-day side, Sourav Ganguly says that apart from his regular role with the bat, he could also be useful as a bowler in the favourable conditions of England and Ireland. "I think I can contribute with the ball. It (conditions) will definitely help the ball to mo

Despite his unbeaten 139 in the Afro Asia Cup final in Chennai, Indian wicket-keeper batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni remained in the fourth place in the latest LG-ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen. Dhoni, who hit the highest-ever ODI score by a number seven batsman in Chennai, now trails th

Senior Pakistan batsman Younis Khan has made himself available for the upcoming one-dayers against India and Scotland in the United Kingdom. The national selectors contacted Younis, who relented after refusing initially, sources close to the batsman said. The selectors, however, will make

International Cricket Council (ICC) acting President Ray Mali today pledged his total commitment to the development of the game and said he would like to lead the world body as a team. "I am not going to lead it all by myself. I believe in leading ICC as a team and look forward to eve

Three concurring pathology reports, done with the help of modern forensic science expertise, have confirmed that Bob Woolmer died from natural causes and the Jamaican police would announce it formally next week, a newspaper claimed here today. Exclusive tests on the broken hyoid bone in Wo

In its efforts to do better on foreign tours regularly, Pakistan Cricket Board has decided to provide challenging surfaces to its batsmen at home by laying as many as 90 bouncy pitches across the country by October this year. A PCB official said the project was aimed at preparing batsmen, wh

The ICC Cricket Committee has expressed deep concern at the crammed international calendar, saying "the addition of many ODIs" to the Future Tour Programme was bound to have a "severe impact" on the standard of the game and the players' fitness. "The committee expr

Nimbus today bagged the telecast rights for the four cricket one-day internationals to be played by India in Ireland in June. Nimbus would pay USD 6.05 million per match for the series that is to be played from June 26 to July 1, Cricket Board (BCCI) Vice President Lalit Modi announced her

The much-maligned Afro Asia Cup cricket tournament today received a major setback with Nimbus threatening to pull the plug on the telecast of matches. Nimbus, which had bagged the television rights for the inter-continental event from the Asian Cricket Council, has said that relevant terms o

Indian Cricket Board's (BCCI) five-year broadcast deal with Zee Television has been cancelled, plunging the three-match ODI series against South Africa next month in doubt, a report said today. India were scheduled to play South Africa in three one-dayers in Belfast from June 26 to July 1

Former South African bowler Allan Donald believes that subcontinent cricketers "lack discipline" which often resulted in a rift with their coaches. Citing the fall-out between the Indians and Australian Greg Chappell who guided them for two years till the World Cup, Donald said the

Riding on his two centuries against Bangladesh, Sachin Tendulkar jumped back in the top-20 of the latest LG-ICC Player Rankings for Test cricket batsmen. The 34-year-old veteran player scored a hundred in each match, at Chittagong and Mirpur, compiling a total of 254 runs at an average of

The Cricket Board has expressed its inability to pencil in more than one tour game prior to the four-match Test series in Australia later this year as desired by the players. "There's no chance to add any extra games. The players may want more but where's the time," BCCI secretary

Cricket Australia Chairman Creagh O Connor today mourned the death of International Cricket Council President Percy Sonn and said the South African did his best to make cricket a better game. O'Connor said Australian cricket was saddened by the death of 57-year-old Sonn, who died yeste

South African President Thabo Mbeki today paid glowing tribute to late ICC President Percy Sonn, describing him as a "prolific administrator" who unified cricket. The 57-year-old Sonn passed away at a health clinic in Cape Town yesterday following complications after he underwent