Swann scalps Yuvraj, India five down

KOLKATA: Sachin Tendulkar marked his return to form with a patient 76 but England claimed the honours on the opening day by reducing a jittery India to 273 for seven in the first innings of the third Test on Wednesday.

Scorecard

Tendulkar played a composed innings under pressure facing 155 balls and hitting 13 boundaries in the process. His partnership of 79 for the fifth wicket with Yuvraj Singh was the highlight of the Indian innings as most of the other top order batsman failed to capitalise on starts.

He missed a century when he was forced to edge one off seamer Jimmy Anderson and the catch was taken by wicketkeeper Matt Prior diving to his right.

Anderson got the ball to reverse consistently in the post tea session which saw England get three wickets after getting two each in the first couple of sessions on a Eden Gardens track which appeared good for batting.

It was Tendulkar's first half-century since the Sydney Test as he appeared relieved after getting to the mark with a boundary of pacer Steven Finn.

Electing to bat on flat wicket that had little to offer, India had a promising start from Gautam Gambhir (60) and Virender Sehwag (23).

But Gambhir could not convert his fine start for yet another time, while Virat Kohli's poor form in the series continued as he could manage only six runs.

Anderson (3/68) rocked the home team at the fag end of the day with the second new ball. He bowled a perfect off-cutter that breached Ravichandran Ashwin's defence.

At stumps, skipper Dhoni was unbeaten on 22 (from 59 balls) along with Zaheer Khan who was yet to open his account. This is the first time that floodlights were used in a Test match at the Eden with the last 40 minutes being played under artificial lights.

It was a complete lack of application from the Indian batsmen while Sehwag's run-out can be attributed to his partner Gambhir's poor judgement.

The opening duo raced to 45 from 10 overs as Sehwag was found batting with consummate ease scoring run-a-ball before Gambhir's indiscretion ended his innings.

In display of poor communication, Gambhir did not listen to Sehwag's call, as he stood watching the ball while the right-hander almost reached the other end before Samit Patel completed an easy run-out.

The shocker in the 10.1 overs seemed to be a huge blow as India failed to recover from it to find themselves in a tricky situation.

After the departure of Sehwag who was looking fluent during his innings of 23, India struggled with Cheteshwar Pujara, Kohli and Yuvraj who didn't make significant contributions.

In-form Cheteshwar Pujara managed only 16 this time before Monty Panesar's wrong 'un foxed him as it knocked his middle-stump back.

Tendulkar had to walk in just a quarter hour before lunch and was tested by Cook with both spinners as well as pacers.

Gambhir's Test century that has eluded him for nearly three years now didn't come this time as he tried to cut a rising delivery from Panesar which was too close to his body and the thickish edge flew to Jonathan Trott at slip. The left-hander faced 124 balls and hit 12 boundaries.

Kohli was done in by Anderson as the talented batsman edged one to the slip cordon.

At 136 for four, Yuvraj joined Tendulkar and both of them started the repair job.

Tendulkar and Yuvraj started off cautiously before taking the attack back to the opposition camp.

Yuvraj hit back to back boundaries -- with one of them an elegant straight drive -- off Swann bringing smiles back in the Indian camp.

The hosts went into the tea session with the scoreboard reading 172 for four with Tendulkar batting on 46.

Just after the post-tea session started, Tendulkar clipped Finn towards long leg boundary to complete his 66th half century in Tests and acknowledged the cheers from the dressing room.

A flurry of boundaries followed from blades of the both batsmen as runs started coming quickly.

Most disappointing was Yuvraj who looked set having scored 32 and then got out in a tame fashion as he lobbed a simple catch to Alastair Cook in the short cover region while trying to punch a regular off-break from Graeme Swann.

The fact that India struggled to put on partnerships and failed to convert the good starts mounted the pressure on the subsequent batsmen.

The wicket was a typical Eden Gardens wicket where there was something for both batsmen and bowlers. While Anderson got the ball to move both ways, there was turn and bounce on offer for Panesar.

As far as the Indians were concerned, it was conducive for batting as Tendulkar and Gambhir's innings were prime examples but most of them save Sehwag were out playing poor shots.

As has been the case with Eden for decades, Anderson swung the ball prodigiously during the evening getting Tendulkar with and outswinger and Ashwin with an off-cutter.

In the only change to the Indian line-up, Ishant Sharma returned after a 10-month lay off as the lanky pacer was included in place of Harbhajan Singh.

For England, Ian Bell and fast bowler Steven Finn replaced Jonny Bairstow and Stuart Board.

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India suffer huge blow as Sachin falls

NEW DELHI: England produced the stunning bowling display to dominate the whole day as India stuttered to reach 273/7 at stumps on Day 1 of the third Test at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday.

Scorecard

Skipper MS Dhoni and Zaheer Khan were unbeaten on 22 and 0 respectively at the close of play.

England pacer James Anderson was the pick of the bowler as he took three crucial wickets. India suffered a massive jolt when Anderson dismissed Sachin Tendulkar to leave India in spot of bother.

Anderson also struck in the penultimate over of the day, dismissing Ravichandran Ashwin to pile more misery on struggling hosts.

The master blaster, who battled back into the form, scored a fighting 76 with the help of 13 boundaries. Tendulkar got out on first delivery after drinks when keeper Matt Prior pouched a low and one handed catch to end Sachin's hard fought knock.

Graeme Swann had Yuvraj Singh caught by captain Alastair Cook at short extra cover as India lost their fifth wicket on the first day of the third Test.

Yuvraj played well for his 32 runs that included a six and four fours and added 79 runs for the fifth wicket with Sachin Tendulkar.

Tendulkar reached his 66th Test fifty, his first in ten innings, on the first ball after tea.

Tendulkar and Yuvraj resumed the Indian first innings after tea.

James Anderson bowled a superb spell and was rewarded with the wicket of Virat Kohli as he had him caught by Graeme Swann at second slip to reduce India to 136/4.

That was the first wicket for a seamer in this series since Gambhir's first-over dismissal in the second Test at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

India lost their third wicket when Monty Panesar had Gautam Gambhir caught by Jonathan Trott at first slip.

Gambhir tried to cut a ball that was just a touch too close, Panesar got a bit of extra bounce and it flew off the edge quickly but Trott pouched it safely.

Gambhir hit 12 fours in his 60-run knock.

Gambhir and Sachin Tendulkar resumed the Indian first innings after lunch.

Gambhir reached his 21st Test half-century in the over after Monty Panesar clean bowled Cheteshwar Pujara.

This is Gambhir's fourth Test fifty against England.

Panesar bowled a length delivery on off that went straight on with the arm, Pujara was lazy in bringing his bat down and missed the ball that hit the middle stump.

England got a lucky breakthrough as Virender Sehwag was run out.

Sehwag flicked a James Anderson delivery beautifully past mid-wicket and Steven Finn gave the chase, Samit Patel came running from deep square leg and dived to his left and flicked it back inside brilliantly, Sehwag wanted a third and was half way down the track.

Gambhir shouted no-no but both the batsmen were ball-watching and Sehwag came down halfway for a third, but realizing that Gambhir wasn't looking at him and turned back to get to his crease. But Finn for the deep threw it to wicket-keeper Matt Prior who whipped the bails off and Sehwag was caught way short of his ground.

The breakthrough for England came after Indian captain MS Dhoni won the toss and chose to bat.

India replaced Harbhajan Singh with Ishant Sharma.

England brought in Ian Bell and Steven Finn in place of Jonny Bairstow and Stuart Broad.

Having lost the first Test in Ahmedabad, England hit back hard in Mumbai to square the series 1-1.

Teams:

India: MS Dhoni (Capt.), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Cheteshwar Pujara, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin, Zaheer Khan, Pragyan Ojha, Ishant Sharma.

England: Alastair Cook (Capt.), Nick Compton, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Samit Patel, Matt Prior, Graeme Swann, Monty Panesar, James Anderson, Steven Finn.

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3rd Test: India 273/7 at stumps on Day 1

KOLKATA: Sachin Tendulkar marked his return to form with a patient 76 but England claimed the honours on the opening day by reducing a jittery India to 273 for seven in the first innings of the third Test on Wednesday.

Scorecard | Match in Pics

Tendulkar played a composed innings under pressure facing 155 balls and hitting 13 boundaries in the process. His partnership of 79 for the fifth wicket with Yuvraj Singh was the highlight of the Indian innings as most of the other top order batsman failed to capitalise on starts.

He missed a century when he was forced to edge one off seamer Jimmy Anderson and the catch was taken by wicketkeeper Matt Prior diving to his right.

Anderson got the ball to reverse consistently in the post tea session which saw England get three wickets after getting two each in the first couple of sessions on a Eden Gardens track which appeared good for batting.

It was Tendulkar's first half-century since the Sydney Test as he appeared relieved after getting to the mark with a boundary of pacer Steven Finn.

Electing to bat on flat wicket that had little to offer, India had a promising start from Gautam Gambhir (60) and Virender Sehwag (23).

But Gambhir could not convert his fine start for yet another time, while Virat Kohli's poor form in the series continued as he could manage only six runs.

Anderson (3/68) rocked the home team at the fag end of the day with the second new ball. He bowled a perfect off-cutter that breached Ravichandran Ashwin's defence.

At stumps, skipper Dhoni was unbeaten on 22 (from 59 balls) along with Zaheer Khan who was yet to open his account. This is the first time that floodlights were used in a Test match at the Eden with the last 40 minutes being played under artificial lights.

It was a complete lack of application from the Indian batsmen while Sehwag's run-out can be attributed to his partner Gambhir's poor judgement.

The opening duo raced to 45 from 10 overs as Sehwag was found batting with consummate ease scoring run-a-ball before Gambhir's indiscretion ended his innings.

In display of poor communication, Gambhir did not listen to Sehwag's call, as he stood watching the ball while the right-hander almost reached the other end before Samit Patel completed an easy run-out.

The shocker in the 10.1 overs seemed to be a huge blow as India failed to recover from it to find themselves in a tricky situation.

After the departure of Sehwag who was looking fluent during his innings of 23, India struggled with Cheteshwar Pujara, Kohli and Yuvraj who didn't make significant contributions.

In-form Cheteshwar Pujara managed only 16 this time before Monty Panesar's wrong 'un foxed him as it knocked his middle-stump back.

Tendulkar had to walk in just a quarter hour before lunch and was tested by Cook with both spinners as well as pacers.

Gambhir's Test century that has eluded him for nearly three years now didn't come this time as he tried to cut a rising delivery from Panesar which was too close to his body and the thickish edge flew to Jonathan Trott at slip. The left-hander faced 124 balls and hit 12 boundaries.

Kohli was done in by Anderson as the talented batsman edged one to the slip cordon.

At 136 for four, Yuvraj joined Tendulkar and both of them started the repair job.

Tendulkar and Yuvraj started off cautiously before taking the attack back to the opposition camp.

Yuvraj hit back to back boundaries -- with one of them an elegant straight drive -- off Swann bringing smiles back in the Indian camp.

The hosts went into the tea session with the scoreboard reading 172 for four with Tendulkar batting on 46.

Just after the post-tea session started, Tendulkar clipped Finn towards long leg boundary to complete his 66th half century in Tests and acknowledged the cheers from the dressing room.

A flurry of boundaries followed from blades of the both batsmen as runs started coming quickly.

Most disappointing was Yuvraj who looked set having scored 32 and then got out in a tame fashion as he lobbed a simple catch to Alastair Cook in the short cover region while trying to punch a regular off-break from Graeme Swann.

The fact that India struggled to put on partnerships and failed to convert the good starts mounted the pressure on the subsequent batsmen.

The wicket was a typical Eden Gardens wicket where there was something for both batsmen and bowlers. While Anderson got the ball to move both ways, there was turn and bounce on offer for Panesar.

As far as the Indians were concerned, it was conducive for batting as Tendulkar and Gambhir's innings were prime examples but most of them save Sehwag were out playing poor shots.

As has been the case with Eden for decades, Anderson swung the ball prodigiously during the evening getting Tendulkar with and outswinger and Ashwin with an off-cutter.

In the only change to the Indian line-up, Ishant Sharma returned after a 10-month lay off as the lanky pacer was included in place of Harbhajan Singh.

For England, Ian Bell and fast bowler Steven Finn replaced Jonny Bairstow and Stuart Board.

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West Indies bowl out Bangladesh for 227

DHAKA: Sunil Narine returned to his best as the wily spinner took four wickets to restrict Bangladesh to 227 in the third one-day against the West Indies at Shere Bangla stadium on Wednesday.

Scorecard

The tourists, vying to keep the five-match series alive after losing the first two one-day, sent Bangladesh into bat and kept them in check through Narine's 4-37 and left-armer Veerasammy Permaul who finished with 2-40.

Mohammad Mahmudullah (52), Mushfiqur Rahim (38) and Anamul Haque (33) were the main run-getters for Bangladesh.

Tamim Iqbal (22) and Anamul looked solid before Bangladesh lost four wickets in the space of just 21 runs, with Narine taking three.

The 24-year-old spinner's form was a concern for the West Indies as he managed just three wickets in the preceding 2-0 Test series win and only one wicket in the first two one-day matches, but he finally returned to his best.

Narine struck in the 13th over when he dismissed Iqbal and Naeem Islam (four) in one over before trapping the second match centurion Anamul leg-before in his next over.

A sixth wicket stand of 58 between Rahim and Mahmudullah allowed the hosts to get back on track. Mahmudullah hit three fours and a six off 70 balls and ensured his team got past 200.

At the end Sohag Gazi scored a fighting 36-ball 30 with the help of five boundaries.

Bangladesh were forced to bring in Rubel Hossain for injured paceman Abul Hasan while the West Indies left out Lendl Simmons and Andre Russell for Kieran Powell and Permaul.

Bangladesh won the first match by seven wickets and the second by 160 runs -- both in Khulna.

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Ojha best-placed Indian at number five

DUBAI: Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha was the best-placed Indian at number five in the latest ICC Test Rankings issued on Tuesday, while Sachin Tendulkar was the only batsman to have found a place in the top-20 list.

Team Rankings | Batting Rankings | Bowling Rankings | All-Rounder Rankings

Ojha dropped a place with 767 points, and so was Sachin Tendulkar, who was placed 18th with 669 points.

Seamer Zaheer Khan was ranked 14th in the bowlers' list with 652 points.

Pujara, who dropped a place, was ranked 21st with 665 points.

South Africa's Hashim Amla moved within four ratings points of becoming the number-one ranked batsman.

Amla, who was declared man of the match in the Perth Test, moved up two places to third position with 875 ratings points following his match-winning knock of 196 in the second innings of the series-decider.

West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul is now the top-ranked batsman with 879 ratings points. Australia captain Michael Clarke, who made five and 44, slipped to second after regaining the number-one spot last week at the conclusion of the Adelaide Test.

Among the bowlers, Dale Steyn continued to lead the table. Vernon Philander moved up a place to jointly hold the second spot with Sri Lanka spinner Rangana Herath.

South Africa fast bowler Morne Morkel also moved up a spot to seventh. For Australia, fast bowler Mitchell Johnson returned to the top-20 after moving up three places to 20th position.

The biggest mover in the bowlers' table is Mitchell Starc who now moved up 21 places to 53rd.

Jacques Kallis continued to head the all-rounders' table followed by Shakib Al Hasan in second and Shane Watson in third place.

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Harbhajan rests after recovering from flu

KOLKATA: Senior off-spinner Harbhajan Singh on Tuesday decided to take rest after recovering from a bout of flu and opted out of the Indian team's final practise session ahead of the third Test against England starting from Wednesday.

"I am fit today but I have been down with flu for the past few days. Since I am recovering from flu, I thought it is better to take rest today," Harbhajan said.

Earlier, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni informed that the veteran of 99 Tests is down with flu and a call would be taken only after assessing his condition.

"Harbhajan is down with flu and he stayed at the hotel and did not come down for the practice. We will have to go back to the hotel and check his condition. Only after assessing his condition, we will take a call," Dhoni told reporters at the pre-match media conference.

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Should stick to playing on turners: Dhoni

KOLKATA: Despite facing criticism from all quarters for openly asking for rank turners, India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Tuesday remained adamant about his demand for designer tracks.

"When it comes to the subcontinents, it's about the spinners who play a crucial role. Whatever the result maybe we should stick to those kind of wickets which is our speciality," Dhoni said while addressing the media on the eve of India's third Test against England.

"We will stick to the turning tracks. That's what our strength is. That's what home advantage means," he reiterated.

"As I said when you come to India, you want to play on the turning tracks. Irrespective of the results -- we lost the last game -- we want to play on a wicket that suits the sub-continent conditions. That's what it is."

"It's a big part. The concept of playing around the world and the challenge attached with it goes down the drain. Sometimes we see that even five days are not enough to get a result. I feel the challenges are when you play on tracks that assist the spin. It does not matter if you lose a few games or win the series."

After their loss in Motera, England bounced back on turning wicket of Wankhede to thrash India by 10 wickets and level the series 1-1.

But Dhoni said it did not matter if they lose or win but sticking to the home conditions was important.

"It's about providing the different conditions where all the teams want to do well."

Asked whether they reassessed the situation after English batsmen tamed the Indian spin attack in Mumbai, Dhoni said: "Not really. We will stick to tracks that offer turn. It's like Australia and England winning games in there conditions but they stick to the speciality there. It's the same for sub-continental teams."

Hinting at two-pace attack, Dhoni said, "I don't think there will be much help for the spinners initially. At this time of the year, fast bowlers get some swing at the start of the play and towards the end. Fast bowlers will be really crucial."

The India captain maintained that first innings lead will be crucial.

"It's important to take a first innings lead. It sets up the game. It's very important to be at par in the first two or three days as we have seen the games changes in the last two days. Then we see what kind of wear and tear."

Asked on the inconsistent form of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, he said: "We have a side that relies a lot on the openers. But we don't want to put any extra pressure on them, we want them to enjoy the game. Viru is someone who loves to express himself. It takes a matter of time."

Facing criticism of late for his own form, the World Cup winning skipper said, "Especially when you have led the side for three years, you would get into the situation. You see both the sides of the coin. The most important thing is to choose the middle path. It's the most difficult thing to do as emotions get in. The bottomline is to stay in the middle."

Asked whether the extra burden of wicketkeeping has bogged him down, he said: "It's very demanding but I don't really think it affects your game a lot. It's important to back what your strength is.

On slump in his batting form, he said, "In India, you get a lot of support when you do well and the people will try to pull you down when the team is not doing well. I am not really bothered. I am just trying to do to the best of my potential."

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'Fewer intl tours during domestic season'

NEW DELHI: In order to ensure availability of the top-rung players during the domestic season, BCCI President N Srinivasan says they are looking to establish a "prime" home season, which will reduce the team's touring commitments during that period.

"We are starting to look at and define our prime season, and during your prime season you should be playing at home," Srinivasan said.

"We want to have possibly one or two visiting teams during our domestic season, starting in September all the way up to March, and we'll see the extent to which we don't tour outside.

"Given the FTP that is there, we are going to see how we can adjust." Srinivasan was quoted as saying by a sports website.

He said the domestic season would be rescheduled to make Tests at home the centre of attraction, and encourage international players to play in the Ranji Trophy.

"This year we also encouraged our big players and stars to play domestic cricket. This is a change from the last several years," he said.

The Ranji format has been changed to three groups of nine teams each. Last month, Delhi's Ranji tie against Uttar Pradesh saw international players like Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina sweating it out for their home states at a packed stadium in Ghaziabad.

Srinivasan reiterated BCCI's stand on the DRS technology and said it will continue to oppose it, even as the ICC has the right to use it in their events.

"We don't believe in it (DRS), so after discussion members have agreed it should be bilateral. I don't want to dictate to other people. We don't believe the technology is good enough," he said.

Srinivasan said the ICC's statement that the DRS technology had "improved further" was in a way "acceptance that it was not good enough then".

"But it was touted as being good at that point in time. Our problem is that when they say it is all right, then they say it'll get better tomorrow, or an improved version now.

"So we concede the fact that there was less than adequate perfection. Which is our point, if you want to use technology it must be perfect," he said while rejecting allegations of being an 'obstructionist' to the DRS.

Srinivasan's words seemed to be laced with a bit of sarcasm as he further elaborated on the technology.

"If you don't have faith in the umpire, which itself is a contradiction as in cricket the umpire's verdict is final, if a player shows dissent you fine him. But now you're saying that I have two attempts to question your decision. So the reconciliation between that is difficult.

"So if you take it to the end point of it, then you have two lampposts with coloured lights red, yellow and green, you don't need an umpire at all, as you refer every decision, so let an automatic reply come from there after a review and you say red or green."

He also accepted that there is no possibility of a window for the IPL due to packed international calender.

"....you have ten Full Members, they play each other home and away once in four years. The number of ICC events has increased from ten years ago, so there's a lot of clutter. So the BCCI accepts the fact that there is no real window and that whoever is available plays."

Srinivasan termed team India's criticism as 'not fair' for playing badly overseas as every country tends to perform in their home conditions.

"It's not that we get exposed when we go abroad. Every country is used to its own conditions, whether it is England, South Africa, Australia, so they tend to play better in home conditions, which is what we also do."

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Hope Sachin gets a ton at Eden: Dada

KOLKATA: Facing criticism for his prolonged form slump, Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar got some words of encouragement from his former captain and opening partner Sourav Ganguly ahead of the third cricket Test against England starting here on December 5.

Addressing a gathering which had all members of the Indian team, Ganguly said, "Many stories are being written about the match. I wish all the luck to Sachin. I hope he scores a ton at Eden Gardens."

Ganguly shared the dais with Tendulkar and Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Ganguly feels that India would bounce back to win the series.

"The series is levelled 1-1 but I hope India will win the series convincingly," he said.

England levelled the series after thrashing India by 10 wickets in the second Test in Mumbai. The fourth Test is scheduled in Nagpur (December 13-17).

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'We all wanted to be like Pankaj Roy'

KOLKATA: Former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly on Monday said his generation of players in Bengal all wanted to be like celebrated Test opener Pankaj Roy when he started playing cricket.

"The modern generation wants to be like (MS) Dhoni, (Rahul) Dravid or Yuvraj (Singh) but when we started playing cricket all we knew was about Pankaj-da," said Ganguly at the launch of a book on Bengal's cricket legend Roy.

Pankaj Roy is best known for establishing the world record opening partnership of 413 runs with Vinoo Mankad against New Zealand at Chennai in 1956, which remained unbroken for 52 years.

The Bengali version of the biography 'Pankaj', written by journalist Gautam Bhattacharya and edited and conceptualised by Roy's son Pranab - also a former Test cricketer - was released by cricketing icon Sachin Tendulkar at the glittering function graced by the entire Indian cricket team and a host of Bengali film celebrities and business magnates.

"I never got to see the great one play. I have only heard stories about him. It will be good to know more things about him and his contribution to the sport," said Tendulkar.

Current India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni released the English edition of the book along with Ganguly.

"Pankaj Roy was known to me as Pranab's father when I started playing cricket. His views about cricket were different from the cricket we play nowadays. The book will give a good insight because everything during Pankaj's days was not covered by the media and everything was not available on Google and other such platforms. Overall it will be very good to read," said Dhoni.

The book contains a preface by Ganguly.

For author Gautam Bhattacharya, penning the biography was like travelling back into time.

"While I travelled back into time to Pankaj's India when writing the book, one was shocked and amazed to see the state of affairs in the team. The team was just a loose collection of 11 individuals who incidentally wore the same cap," said Bhattacharya.

Terming his experience of putting together the book as 'emotionally and physically draining', Bhattacharya added: "He did not get to see the birth of Team India under Sourav Ganguly since he (Pankaj) passed away in early 2001."

Turning to Dhoni, he said: "Team India has only changed hands, Team India has remained Team India. Pankaj up there must be smiling and nodding in approval and wishing he could have played for Team India."

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