'I dedicate this performance to Sachin'

KOLKATA: Basking in the glory of a dream Test debut, talented speedster Mohammed Shami on Wednesday dedicated his four-wicket haul to Sachin Tendulkar, who is playing the second-last match of his illustrious career.

Shami said it was a dream come true for him to play alongside Sachin Tendulkar who will retire after the second Test against the West Indies in Mumbai.

"It's a big thing for me that I made my debut in a match where Tendulkar was playing. It's the biggest achievement for me that I could play alongside Sachin Tendulkar. I dedicate this performance to Tendulkar."

"I was already a part of the T20 and ODI squads, so the dream was only to play for India in the Tests and do something for my country. That's the biggest thing for me," he added.

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Bowler Tendulkar entertains Eden crowd

KOLKATA: Sachin Tendulkar fans were on Wednesday left disappointed as they could not watch him bat on the opening day of his penultimate and 199th Test, but they had moments of celebration when he took a West Indian wicket.

Scorecard | Sachin Special

Die-hard Tendulkar fans would have loved to see him bat on the opening day of the first Test itself but they were left disappointed after India lost the toss. But they had something to cheer when a tricky delivery from Tendulkar deceived West Indies player Shane Shillingford and the whole stadium stood up to cheer the retiring senior batsman.

Shouting 'Sachin Sachin' on the top of their voices and vigorously waving the Indian tri-colour, a festive atmosphere engulfed the stadium all of a sudden as Shillingford was adjudged LBW off Tendulkar on five in the 63rd over at the Eden Gardens. This was his 46th Test wicket.

In the two overs he bowled, Tendulkar gave only five runs, while grabbing a wicket.

It was at the same venue Tendulkar had conceded just three runs in the last over in the Hero Cup semifinal in November 1993 to deny South Africa a win.

Meanwhile, only half of the 70,000-seat capacity stadium was occupied as West Indies batted first. Even after buying tickets, many people chose to wait for another day to see Tendulkar in action.

"I came here to see Sachin batting for the last time in my life. But when he took the wicket, we all got very excited as we know he is also a good bowler and loves to contribute to the game in whatever capacity he can," said Sachin fan Sudhir Kumar who has cheered the cricketer many times on the field.

As the Indian team ended the day with 37 for no loss in reply to West Indies' 234 all out, all eyes would be on Tendulkar Thursday as he may get a chance to bat. CAB officials said they expect a full-house on Thursday.

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India bundle out Windies for 234 runs

KOLKATA: Pacer Mohammed Shami announced his arrival on the Test arena by scalping four wickets in a dream spell against the West Indies as a dominant India started Sachin Tendulkar's farewell series by taking early control of the first Test on Wednesday.

Scorecard

Shami returned impressive figures of 4-71 in 18 overs as India bowled out the visitors for a paltry 234 after they opted to bat at the Eden Gardens on the opening day.

At stumps, India were comfortably placed at 37 for no loss with the two openers, Shikhar Dhawan (21) and Murali Vijay (16), at the crease. At the end of first day's play, India trailed the West Indies by 197 runs with all their wickets intact.

West Indies skipper Darren Sammy's decision to bat may have prevented the crowd from watching Tendulkar bat on the first day itself, but the 40-year-old retiring legend did his bit with the bowl picking up a wicket in his first over itself, taking his Test wicket tally to 46.

While Tendulkar was undoubtedly the cynosure of all eyes, Shami grabbed the opportunity with both hands as he rocked the West Indies middle-order with a hostile spell that included quite a few reverse-swinging deliveries.

The 23-year-old Shami's wickets included Kieran Powell, top-scorer Marlon Samuels, Denesh Ramdin and Sheldon Cottrell.

Earlier, West Windies were placed were placed comfortably at 107 for two at lunch, but Shami wreaked havoc in the second session, extracting excellent reverse swings from the Eden pitch to trigger a collapse. The touring side lost eight wickets for 96 runs to be skittled out in 78 overs.

Samuels scored 65 off 98 balls with the help of 11 fours and two sixes.

About 40,000 turned up on the first day, expecting Tendulkar to bat. While that did not happen, with the ball he turned the clock back as he trapped Shane Shillingford in front of the wicket with a straighter one after bowling three turning deliveries.

Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha (1-62) too impressed with his tidy bowling but he was unlucky twice with skipper Dhoni dropping Samuels and Shane Shillingford on two occasions. Ravichandran Ashwin claimed 2-52.

Born in Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh, Shami moved to Bengal eight years ago on coach Badruddin SIddique's insistence as there were not many opportunities for the young pacer in his home state.

Son of a farmer, Shami, who hails from a remote village called Sahaspur about 22kms from Moradabad, found his calling in Kolkata where club cricket was very much active as he went on to ply his trade for clubs like Dalhousie AC and Town before being called for Bengal under-22.

He was also a part of the Kolkata Knight Riders squad in IPL 2011 and the tips from bowling consultant Wasim Akram proved invaluable.

It was a good move by Dhoni as he preferred Shami over the out-of-sorts Ishant Sharma, who, incidentally, gave the Test cap to the debutant pacer. The other debutant of the day was Rohit Sharma and he got the cap from Tendulkar.

Shami showed fine fitness as he bowled in four spells with the third being the longest and most fruitful (7-0-30-2). He was at his best in the last spell that read 3-1-2-1.

Shami was also instrumental in Darren Bravo's run-out as West Windies committed a harakiri in the middle, losing three wickets in as many overs to tilt the match in favour of India.

Shami got his maiden Test scalp in the form of Powell (28) after Bhuvneshwar Kumar gave the initial breakthrough, taking the prized wicket of Chris Gayle (18).

India exploited the slow Eden pitch to good effect as Bhuvneshwar dismissed Gayle with a low delivery. Both the WI openers looked impatient and got out in the space of four overs.

Playing his first Test at his home ground, Shami was impressive from the first over as he troubled both the openers.

With his second ball, Shami nipped one back against Powell, but the height saved the left-hander who appeared a little tentative to start with.

Gayle, on the other hand, went about in his usual brisk manner and even had an inside edge off Shami but was lucky as the ball missed the stumps.

Dhoni made a smart change, bringing in Shami from the High Court end that resulted in the wicket of Powell.

Samuels slowly repaired the damage as he completed his 19th half century in his happy hunting ground, where he had scored his maiden Test hundred in 2002, as the Caribbeans went to lunch smiling.

Shami castled Samuels with a sharp in-cutter to grab his second wicket, which broke a fine 91-run partnership with Bravo.

Dhoni gave the last over before tea to Tendulkar, bringing the crowd on its feet. It turned out be a masterstroke by the 'Captain Cool'.

After bowling three deliveries, the maestro unleashed a flipper and Shillingford had no answer.

Teams:

India: MS Dhoni (Capt.), Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Pragyan Ojha.

West Indies: Darren Sammy (Capt.), Chris Gayle, Kieran Powell, Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Denesh Ramdin, Shane Shillingford, Veerasammy Permaul, Sheldon Cotterrell, Tino Best.

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1st Test: India 37/0 at stumps on Day 1

KOLKATA: Pacer Mohammed Shami announced his arrival on the Test arena by scalping four wickets in a dream spell against the West Indies as a dominant India started Sachin Tendulkar's farewell series by taking early control of the first Test on Wednesday.

Scorecard | Match in Pics

Shami returned impressive figures of 4-71 in 18 overs as India bowled out the visitors for a paltry 234 after they opted to bat at the Eden Gardens on the opening day.

At stumps, India were comfortably placed at 37 for no loss with the two openers, Shikhar Dhawan (21) and Murali Vijay (16), at the crease. At the end of first day's play, India trailed the West Indies by 197 runs with all their wickets intact.

West Indies skipper Darren Sammy's decision to bat may have prevented the crowd from watching Tendulkar bat on the first day itself, but the 40-year-old retiring legend did his bit with the bowl picking up a wicket in his first over itself, taking his Test wicket tally to 46.

While Tendulkar was undoubtedly the cynosure of all eyes, Shami grabbed the opportunity with both hands as he rocked the West Indies middle-order with a hostile spell that included quite a few reverse-swinging deliveries.

The 23-year-old Shami's wickets included Kieran Powell, top-scorer Marlon Samuels, Denesh Ramdin and Sheldon Cottrell.

Earlier, West Windies were placed were placed comfortably at 107 for two at lunch, but Shami wreaked havoc in the second session, extracting excellent reverse swings from the Eden pitch to trigger a collapse. The touring side lost eight wickets for 96 runs to be skittled out in 78 overs.

Samuels scored 65 off 98 balls with the help of 11 fours and two sixes.

About 40,000 turned up on the first day, expecting Tendulkar to bat. While that did not happen, with the ball he turned the clock back as he trapped Shane Shillingford in front of the wicket with a straighter one after bowling three turning deliveries.

Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha (1-62) too impressed with his tidy bowling but he was unlucky twice with skipper Dhoni dropping Samuels and Shane Shillingford on two occasions. Ravichandran Ashwin claimed 2-52.

Born in Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh, Shami moved to Bengal eight years ago on coach Badruddin SIddique's insistence as there were not many opportunities for the young pacer in his home state.

Son of a farmer, Shami, who hails from a remote village called Sahaspur about 22kms from Moradabad, found his calling in Kolkata where club cricket was very much active as he went on to ply his trade for clubs like Dalhousie AC and Town before being called for Bengal under-22.

He was also a part of the Kolkata Knight Riders squad in IPL 2011 and the tips from bowling consultant Wasim Akram proved invaluable.

It was a good move by Dhoni as he preferred Shami over the out-of-sorts Ishant Sharma, who, incidentally, gave the Test cap to the debutant pacer. The other debutant of the day was Rohit Sharma and he got the cap from Tendulkar.

Shami showed fine fitness as he bowled in four spells with the third being the longest and most fruitful (7-0-30-2). He was at his best in the last spell that read 3-1-2-1.

Shami was also instrumental in Darren Bravo's run-out as West Windies committed a harakiri in the middle, losing three wickets in as many overs to tilt the match in favour of India.

Shami got his maiden Test scalp in the form of Powell (28) after Bhuvneshwar Kumar gave the initial breakthrough, taking the prized wicket of Chris Gayle (18).

India exploited the slow Eden pitch to good effect as Bhuvneshwar dismissed Gayle with a low delivery. Both the WI openers looked impatient and got out in the space of four overs.

Playing his first Test at his home ground, Shami was impressive from the first over as he troubled both the openers.

With his second ball, Shami nipped one back against Powell, but the height saved the left-hander who appeared a little tentative to start with.

Gayle, on the other hand, went about in his usual brisk manner and even had an inside edge off Shami but was lucky as the ball missed the stumps.

Dhoni made a smart change, bringing in Shami from the High Court end that resulted in the wicket of Powell.

Samuels slowly repaired the damage as he completed his 19th half century in his happy hunting ground, where he had scored his maiden Test hundred in 2002, as the Caribbeans went to lunch smiling.

Shami castled Samuels with a sharp in-cutter to grab his second wicket, which broke a fine 91-run partnership with Bravo.

Dhoni gave the last over before tea to Tendulkar, bringing the crowd on its feet. It turned out be a masterstroke by the 'Captain Cool'.

After bowling three deliveries, the maestro unleashed a flipper and Shillingford had no answer.

Teams:

India: MS Dhoni (Capt.), Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Pragyan Ojha.

West Indies: Darren Sammy (Capt.), Chris Gayle, Kieran Powell, Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Denesh Ramdin, Shane Shillingford, Veerasammy Permaul, Sheldon Cotterrell, Tino Best.

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Calm Tendulkar trains at Eden Gardens

KOLKATA: Despite the hype around him, Sachin Tendulkar appeared calm as the senior most Indian batsman walked out for his first practice session ahead of his 199th Test at the Eden Gardens on Monday.

There was nothing special about the way he went about his routine nets session as he batted for exactly 52 minutes.

Showered with confetti and flower petals as he checked into the Eden Gardens at 10.30 this morning, Tendulkar went to the field and had a long discussion with coach Duncan Fletcher.

All padded up, Tendulkar waited patiently for his turn as Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan batted in the two nets meant for pacers and spinners.

Tendulkar's turn finally came as he batted for about 10 minutes in the pace bowling net with India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav forming the attack, apart from the local bowlers.

In the adjoining net, Tendulkar batted a little longer against the spinners that comprised of Pragyan Ojha, Ravichandran Ashwin and Vijay.

He had a glimpse of the wicket while going to another net for throwdowns.

Tendulkar ended the session with catching practice from the far end.

Another highlight of the two and half hour practice was coach Fletcher and Dhawan's session that lasted for more than half an hour.

It seemed Fletcher was speaking about the nuances of batting as Dhawan was all ears.

Earlier, a five-feet four-inch statue of Tendulkar greeted the 40-year-old batsman while the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) rolled out a grand welcome when he disembarked from the team bus.

Former Australia opener Matthew Hayden's quote on Tendulkar -- 'I've seen God. He comes out to bat for India at No 4.' -- was displayed prominently right above the India dressing room door while the wax statue was installed next to the door.

The statue may not have the finesse of a Madame Tussauds but Tendulkar came and stood near it after his practice session.

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Sachin prepares hard for his 199th Test

KOLKATA: Preparing for his last outing at the iconic Eden Gardens, legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar was a picture of focus and concentration as the Indian team hit the nets on Monday ahead of the all important Test match against the West Indies beginning November 6.

Tendulkar started off with some warm-up exercises and subsequently rolled his arm over at the nets.

Bowling in tandem with spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha, Tendulkar dished out leg breaks and Murli Vijay had some difficulty negotiating the spin at the nets. He was beaten on a couple of occasions by Tendulkar's sharp turning deliveries.

After bowling for a few minutes, the little master padded up and chatted with coach Duncan Fletcher as he waited for his turn at the nets.

He first faced the pacers, displaying his watertight defence. While other batsmen at the adjacent nets missed or edged a few, Tendulkar looked at ease hitting his trademark drives.

He tackled the pacers for around 15 minutes before moving to the adjacent net where the spinners were on the job. He also asked Ojha, who was bowling more at the stumps, to alter his line which the left arm obliged.

Tendulkar, who seems to have lost none of the zeal for batting despite spending a marathon 24 years in top flight cricket, was in his element against the spinners as he executed elegant drives and cuts much to the delight of a motley crowd of aspiring cricketers.

The batting legend knocked at the nets for another 20 minutes and then made way for the others, as he watched the youngsters practice at the nets.

After a brief rest and chat with teammates, Tendulkar moved to the far away net where local club bowlers were in action. He knocked a few balls and later gave a few tips to the youngsters.

Meanwhile, Fletcher was seen engaged in an animated chat with opener Shikhar Dhawan whose stint at the nets was uncomfortable as he continuously missed or edged. The coach was seen gesturing to Dhawan about ways to play the rising ball.

At the fag end of the practice, when the Indian players were busy in fielding drills, Dhawan spent some time discussing matters with Tendulkar.

Before moving out with his teammates, Tendulkar had a brief fielding session where he concentrated on some catching practice.

Earlier, on his arrival at the venue. Tendulkar was greeted by his wax replica placed at the entrance of the dressing room by the local staging body, Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), which is leaving no stone unturned to make the master's swansong Eden outing for India memorable for him, the city, as also his countless admirers.

One hundred youngsters stood on both sides of the stretch from the main gate of the stadium upto the dressing room and formed a human chain when the Team India bus arrived and Tendulkar alighted from the vehicle.

Saluting 24 golden years of Tendulkar's international playing career, 24 confetti cannons burst spraying red paper on the cricketing genius.

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'Celebrations will not affect Tendulkar'

KOLKATA: As a Sachin Tendulkar mania sweeps Kolkata, West Indies operations manager and former skipper Richie Richardson says the little master deserves all the adulation, but that will not affect his focus once he enters the field.

Describing Tendulkar, who plays the 199th and penultimate Test match of his career at Eden Gardens beginning November 6, Richardson said: "He has been a great ambassador of the game. He deserves every bit of adulation and celebrations surrounding him. But once he enters the field, the celebrations will not affect his focus."

Tendulkar will be retiring after the second and the last Test - his 200th - at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, November 14-18.

Richardson said Tendulkar was a great both as a sportsperson and a human being.

"It is difficult to express in words Tendulkar's contribution to cricket and humanity. What I like most about him is he is humble despite his achievements, and always smiling," said Richardson after Windies' practice session at the Eden Gardens.

"He is a great human being. You do often find somebody who is great at sports, but may be he is not equally great as a person. But Sachin is blessed to be both. People admire him forever," he said.

Richardson said the Caribbeans were happy to be a party in the final two matches of Tendulkar's Test career. "But at the same time we are here to play, to compete and to win."

He praised the Indian team, and said the visitors needed to work hard to make a mark in the two Test series.

"India are playing very well at the moment. They have some very good players, and they will come hard at us. We will have to work hard, but we will be pretty competitive," he said.

Richardson listed dashing opener Chris Gayle, middle-order batsmen Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Marlon Samuels, pacer Kemar Roach and offie Shane Shillingford as the players to look out for in his side.

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Tendulkar 'upset' with farewell frenzy

KOLKATA: Sachin Tendulkar is reportedly "unhappy" with Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) officials' attempts to go overboard with their celebrations for his 199th Test match in his farewell series against the West Indies starting from Wednesday.

There were contradictory statements from two joint secretaries of CAB with Sujan Mukherjee admitting that the maestro indeed was not amused with all the arrangements while the other joint secretary Subir Ganguly said that everything was under control.

As Tendulkar was the first to step down from the team bus this morning, confetti were burst near the gate, while 80 schoolchildren wearing T-shirts with the Mumbai batsman's photo and 199 written on the back, lined up till the dressing room to greet the seniormost cricketer.

If that was not enough, the CAB tried to do a Madame Tussauds erecting a life-like wax figure of Tendulkar next to the dressing room entrance but the finesse was missing in the statue with the face not exactly resembling the icon.

According to sources, Tendulkar reportedly said he's not bigger than the sport and it's not him only there are 14 other players who are part of the Indian squad.

"I too heard that Tendulkar was upset with the confetti burst and other things. He also cancelled his visit to a photo exhibition at the Bhowanipore Tent," senior joint secretary Mukherjee said.

It is learnt that the CAB officials later did some damage control as Tendulkar came and gave a photo-op near the wax statue and praised the wax craftsman Susanta Ray of Asansol.

"Sachin and everyone else in the team was happy with the grand arrangements," the other joint secretary Ganguly, said.

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B'desh win 3rd ODI, series 3-0 vs Kiwis

FATULLAH: Shamsur Rahman led Bangladesh to a stunning victory over New Zealand on Sunday, completing a 3-0 sweep of the one-day international series.

Scorecard

Shamsur's 96 rocketed the home side to 309-6, steaming past New Zealand's 307 with four balls and four wickets to spare at the packed Khan Shaheb Osman Ali stadium at Fatullah just outside Dhaka.

The 25-year-old opener hit seven fours and four sixes in his 107-ball knock as Bangladesh successfully chased down a 300-plus total for only the second time in their playing history.

Shamsur, playing only his second one-day international, fell short of what would have been a well- deserved century when his attempted drive off a Corey Anderson delivery became an edge and flew to wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi.

Naeem Islam continued to lead the charge after Shamsur's departure before he was run out for 63 after facing 74 balls.

Nasir Hossain (44 not out) stayed till the end to ensure Bangladesh never lost their way in the chase on the batting-friendly pitch.

Earlier, Ross Taylor hit his eighth one-day century as New Zealand posted their highest total in the series.

The visitors were desperate to avoid another humiliating whitewash, after their previous one-day series against Bangladesh.

Taylor, who was part of the New Zealand squad that lost 4-0 to Bangladesh in 2010, remained unbeaten on 107 while Colin Munro made 85 to give the tourists a fighting chance of victory.

The pair put on 130 for the fourth wicket after Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim won the toss and elected to bowl at the Fatullah ground, which was hosting its first international match for seven years.

Former captain Taylor made the most of his chances after Rubel Hossain dropped him off his own bowling on 12, hitting nine fours and three sixes in his 93-ball innings.

Anton Devcich (46) and Tom Latham (43) gave New Zealand a decent start with a 66-run opening stand. But Bangladesh struck back soon afterwards through their spinners to reduce the visitors to 101-3.

Munro, playing his first match in the series, led the initial charge to complete his fifty before he fell to off-spinner Mahmudullah.

The left-hander smashed seven fours and two sixes in his 95-ball innings.

Taylor was initially sedate but accelerated after reaching his fifty off 69 deliveries.

His three sixes came in consecutive deliveries off a Sohag Gazi over as New Zealand added 73 in the last five overs to cross the 300-run mark.

The two teams will now play a Twenty20 International on November 6 in Dhaka before New Zealand fly to Sri Lanka for an ODI and Twenty20 series.

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B'desh win 3rd ODI, series 3-0 vs Kiwis

FATULLAH: Shamsur Rahman led Bangladesh to a stunning victory over New Zealand on Sunday, completing a 3-0 sweep of the one-day international series.

Scorecard

Shamsur's 96 rocketed the home side to 309-6, steaming past New Zealand's 307 with four balls and four wickets to spare at the packed Khan Shaheb Osman Ali stadium at Fatullah just outside Dhaka.

The 25-year-old opener hit seven fours and four sixes in his 107-ball knock as Bangladesh successfully chased down a 300-plus total for only the second time in their playing history.

Shamsur, playing only his second one-day international, fell short of what would have been a well- deserved century when his attempted drive off a Corey Anderson delivery became an edge and flew to wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi.

Naeem Islam continued to lead the charge after Shamsur's departure before he was run out for 63 after facing 74 balls.

Nasir Hossain (44 not out) stayed till the end to ensure Bangladesh never lost their way in the chase on the batting-friendly pitch.

Earlier, Ross Taylor hit his eighth one-day century as New Zealand posted their highest total in the series.

The visitors were desperate to avoid another humiliating whitewash, after their previous one-day series against Bangladesh.

Taylor, who was part of the New Zealand squad that lost 4-0 to Bangladesh in 2010, remained unbeaten on 107 while Colin Munro made 85 to give the tourists a fighting chance of victory.

The pair put on 130 for the fourth wicket after Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim won the toss and elected to bowl at the Fatullah ground, which was hosting its first international match for seven years.

Former captain Taylor made the most of his chances after Rubel Hossain dropped him off his own bowling on 12, hitting nine fours and three sixes in his 93-ball innings.

Anton Devcich (46) and Tom Latham (43) gave New Zealand a decent start with a 66-run opening stand. But Bangladesh struck back soon afterwards through their spinners to reduce the visitors to 101-3.

Munro, playing his first match in the series, led the initial charge to complete his fifty before he fell to off-spinner Mahmudullah.

The left-hander smashed seven fours and two sixes in his 95-ball innings.

Taylor was initially sedate but accelerated after reaching his fifty off 69 deliveries.

His three sixes came in consecutive deliveries off a Sohag Gazi over as New Zealand added 73 in the last five overs to cross the 300-run mark.

The two teams will now play a Twenty20 International on November 6 in Dhaka before New Zealand fly to Sri Lanka for an ODI and Twenty20 series.

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