Dravid resigns as India captain

Team India cricketer Rahul Dravid has offered to step down as captain of the Indian cricket team.

"I have nothing to say as of now," Dravid told the news channel Times Now .

According to reports, Dravid met BCCI President Sharad Pawar on September13 and expressed his desire to step down as captain. Dravid also said that he needn't be captain for the upcoming Australia series.

BCCI’s Prof. Ratnakar Shetty confirmed Dravid’s offer to resign as skipper of Team India. Shetty told Times Now , “I can say that it did come as a surprise. He will play Australia Test and ODI series”

“It’s for selectors to pick Dravid’s successors,” added Shetty.

Nevertheless, Dravid told BCCI that he will always be available as batsman for Team India.

Dravid’s resignation has come as a surprise to the cricket fraternity. Sourav Ganguly expressed shock on his resignation. Team India manager Chandu Borde also said that there was no prior indication of Dravid’s resignation. Former Indian cricketer Bishen Singh Bedi too expressed shock to Dravid’s resignation.

Bedi said, “I hope this is not a desperate move to get out of responsibility.”

“I hope Dravid has considered the pros and cons before resigning,” he added.

The BCCI will make the big decision to decide on Dravid’s successor on September 18. Rajiv Shukla, BCCI vice-president, said there are quite a few options available. Shukla said the board respects Dravid’s decision.

Although Dravid had offered to step down after the 2007 World Cup, his batting came under scrutiny during the recently concluded England tour.

Zimbabve Stun Aussies

Zimbabwe sent shockwaves through the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa as they recorded a remarkable five-wicket victory over Australia in Cape Town.The Australians, who have not played any competitive cricket since winning the ICC World Cup back in April, looked decidedly ring-rusty and ultimately paid the price against an inspired Zimbabwe outfit.Having won the toss and opted to bat first, Australia lost wickets at regular intervals and rather stumbled to 138-9 off their 20 overs with Brad Hodge top-scoring with 35 not out.Zimbabwe's run-chase was blighted by persistent rain which forced the teams from the field at one point.However, on their return, Zimbabwe were guided home by man-of-the-match Brendan Taylor (60 not out) who showed a cool head to help his side find 12 runs from the final over to clinch a famous victory.

Easy Wins for New Zealand and Pakistan

Four wickets each for Shahid Afridi and Umar Gul helped Pakistan to a comfortable 51-run win over Scotland in their World Twenty20 match in Durban.

The Scots performed well in the field to restrict Pakistan to 171 for nine from their 20 overs at Durban but the target proved beyond them.Opener Fraser Watts hit an excellent 46 but a middle-order collapse, in which Shahid Afridi claimed four quick wickets, undermined their efforts.Afridi finished with four for 19 while paceman Umar Gul took four for 25 including the wickets of Craig Wright and John Blain in successive balls.
Watts gave Scotland hope but he could not establish a significant partnership as the quality of Pakistan's attack shone through.Gul removed captain Ryan Watson and Navdeep Poonia early on and when former England all-rounder Gavin Hamilton swept Aridi into Gul's hands in the deep, the Scots began to fold.They slumped from 53 for three to 79 for seven in the space of four overs before Gul returned late on to bowl Wright and Blain and put Pakistan on the brink.They were eventually finished off for 120 in the final over as Mohammad Asif bowled Majid Haq for 14.

Earlier, Younis Khan top-scored for Pakistan with 41 but the Scots applied pressure and took wickets at regular intervals to keep themselves in the game.Wright shone with three wickets for 29 from his four overs, including that of dangerman Afridi.

New Zealand blew away minnows Kenya for a record low total at Kingsmead to begin their World Twenty20 campaign with a crushing nine-wicket win.

The Kenyans, whose previous apppearance in Durban was for the 2003 World Cup semi-final, never recovered from a whirlwind start and were eventually dismissed for a paltry 73.Any chances of an early tournament shock were dispelled inside the first two overs as Kenya were reduced to one for four.Fast bowlers Shane Bond and Mark Gillespie caused mayhem by moving the ball in the air and off the surface at pace, after New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori won the toss.Each of the first four Kenyan batsmen fell for ducks and runs did not overtake wickets until deep into the fourth over.Although Collins Obuya (18) and Thomas Odoyo (18) added some respectability with a stand of 36, the gulf in class saw Kenya shot out inside 17 overs.Gillespie finished returned to clean up the tail and finished with four for seven, the best figures in the short lifespan of international 20-over matches.The Black Caps cantered home inside eight overs with Lou Vincent, Brendon McCullum and Peter Fulton all hitting sixes to emphasise the difference in power between the sides.It was a fine start to Vettori's career as full New Zealand captain, having taken over the Test leadership earlier in the day from Stephen Fleming.

Shameful Defeat

India suffered a shameful defeat at the hands of England. India had a lot of point to prove and at the end the showed that they are chokers when it comes to crunch matches.

England started brightly with Anderson troubling Ganguly on the first ball of the match. Thereafter Ganguly hit some fours but was supposed to be caught atleast 4-5 times with the ball landing between 2 players for atleast 3 times. Then Ganguly decided that enough is enough and gave a practice catch to Flintoff at slips. Gambhir came and settled immediately but soon after he got some runs he too decided that, thats enough for next series and he too got out. Then there was two bad decision of Dravid's and Sachin's which Indians thought that it costed them them the whole match. Yuvraj and Uthappa then took charge and were scoring runs at a steady pace. Then they too decided to get out and then came Dhoni who played little sensibly. But at other end things were getting worse and each batsman appeared in a hurry to leave the field as if there was a competition of who would come back first. And at last came R.P.Singh who gave support to Dhoni and then Dhoni too decided that he had batted for too long time. He hadn't batted for this much duration even in tests. He also got out playing a very loose shot.

Then comes that part of our performance for which we have specialist coaches i.e bowling and fielding. Zaheer appeared aggressive as ever, and he ensured right from the start that as always this time also there would be competiton for who would give most extras and RP singh was also not far behind in this competition. First 10 runs coming from extras. Then RP Singh showed that selectors were correct in picking him for last match ahead of Agarkar by taking two quick wickets. But that was all. Pietersen and Bell then took command and were scoring at the rate of 5+ when the asking rate was only 3+. Indians were bowling as if they were defending a total of 450. England effortlessly won the match. At the end of the series Venkatesh Prasad and RObin Singh would be two proud caoches. So what if they couldn't improve our bowling and fielding atleast it has certainly become worse than before. There's some difference. They should be credited for it................

Highlights of 6th ODI

Yuvraj Smashed
Master Blaster
India Finished in Style

Eng v Ind ODI: Dravid looks for series win

India captain Rahul Dravid is targeting a series victory after his side levelled the seven-match NatWest series 3-3 at The Oval on Wednesday.

A week ago, India were 3-1 down, but Dravid insists his side were never downhearted. "We still felt we could win," he said.

"At 1-3, we knew we'd lost a couple of close games that could have gone the other way."

The sixth match was the most enthralling of a compelling series - which ends at Lord's on Saturday - with England battling back from a poor start to post 316-6.

India then seemed to be cruising as Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly put on 150 for the first wicket, only for the momentum to tip back England's way after a series of wickets.

Robin Uthappa, though, kept his nerve amid the chaos, scoring an unbeaten 47 to win the game with two balls to spare.

"We got a bit of the rub of the green, but we have shown a lot of resilience after a long tour," Dravid went on. "It should be a cracker of a game at Lord's."

He had particular words of praise for his much-decorated opening duo.

"When you're chasing 320 you need to get off to a good start," Dravid said. "They got 150 which makes a big difference - especially on a slow wicket when you know it'll get harder to play shots.

"Definitely we were worried when we lost a few wickets in the middle.

"But that happens. Even after a good start you're still chasing 6.5 runs an over.

"It's not easy for a new batsman on a slow wicket so you have to get runs when the ball is hard."

Paul Collingwood habitually speaks of "taking the positives", but on this occasion they were clearly there to be taken.

To reach 316 having been 137-5 was a remarkable effort, and the England captain paid tribute to the contributions of Owais Shah, who hit a maiden one-day international centrury, debutant Luke Wright, who scored 50, and Dimitri Mascarenhas, who blasted five sixes off the final over.

"We were put under a lot of pressure, but I was delighted by the way we fought back," he said.

"Owais put in a swashbuckling effort to change the momentum of the game."

The pendulum shifted straight back with India's opening partnership, but England again dug deep.

"We were pegged back by the start they had," Collingwood said. "I can't fault any of the lads for the effort they put in.

"When games are that tight, you've got to look at misfields and ask if we were bowling in the right areas.

"When you see a team fighting like that it's a great thing for a captain."

He insisted that his side will be able to pick themselves up for Saturday's decider.

"We have to get our heads held high because we know we've done good things today," he said.

"We've got to prove we're still playing good cricket, which we are doing."