India's upcoming tour of DownUnder 2011

The last time I put together my thoughts before India (the then Twenty20 World Champions) toured Australia, and predicted an exciting time, little did I realise that the tour would become infamous for all the wrong reasons. This time around, both teams have resolved to play cricket in the spirit that it is meant to be played. Michael Clarke will be leading a relatively inexperienced side against the one day World Champions who not so long ago where also the leading Test team. Both sides have a lot to prove. Clarke will be hoping to assert his leadership early in the series while the Indians will be hoping to go 1-up early.

The Boxing Day Test which will be viewed by about 60,000 fans at the MCG including myself will see Tendulkar, Dravid, Laxman and possibly even Ponting play a Boxing Day test for perhaps the last time in their long and illustrious careers.Lets hope that these stalwarts get the best possible opportunity to perform before an adoring legion of fans and we are treated to some superb cricket in the Boxing Day test and through out the series. I guess this series will in all probability see Tendulkar (barring an injury) get his 100th International hundred and it will be a well-deserved milestone that will perhaps stand the test of time, just like the Don's famous average of 99.94 will.

Addendum : The first day of the Boxing Day test was attended by 70,068 fans, a record for an India-Australia test match and the day lived up to its billing. Tough cricket was played out by both sides with neither willing to give an inch and the match looks headed for an exciting finish.Here are some pictures from day one of the test.

India wins a big one at the Sydney Cricket Ground

Indian cricket's new youthful face came of age at the Sydney Cricket Ground when they won the 1st final in the Commonwealth Bank Series. The match was special in more ways than one. The Indians lost the toss and saw the Aussies bat first. Something that is daunting in itself but the Indian team did not look down.The bowlers first stymied the Aussie batting Juggernaut by restricting them to measly 239 runs.Measly when you consider the batting might of the Aussies.

The Indian batsmen came out cautiously but positively.The scoreboard was always ticking with the Indian batting master , Sachin Tendulkar in full flow. A lot has been written about his lack of form, his repeated failures in crunch matches, his inability to produce a 100 in his previous 39 matches 0n Aussie soil. Today was a different day. As the sun set over the Sydney Oval, Sachin took the Australian bowlers to task. Not even cramps or a searing 143 kmph beamer from Brett Lee that hit his shoulder could stop Sachin.His batting chart showed shots to all parts of the ground. His 117 not out took India across the line and answered a lot of critics.

The rubber still has two matches to go and India are still the underdogs but now underdogs with the ability to ask questions of the opposition.

India's upcoming tour of DownUnder 2007

Later this month, the Twenty20 champions will be traveling DownUnder to play the mighty Australians on their home-turf.

The tour will perhaps be the last visit for a number of Indian stalwarts who will be looking to leave a lasting impression. The team is a good blend of youth and experience and with a new coach (in Gary Kirsten) looking on as a consultant (He joins the team as a coach officially after the tour), the guys will be looking to create the right impression. On the other hand, the Australian team will be without their long time warriors, Warne, Martyn, Langer and McGrath but it hardly seemed to make much of a difference while clinically destroying the Sri Lankans on their recent tour of two test matches.

Can India do any better?? Only time will tell.

We (in DownUnder) are in for an an exciting time this summer and it never really looked better.

Twenty20 Cricket: India are World Champions

5 runs was the difference and India were on the right side of the victory margin for once. They have finally shed the losers tag to pick up the first Twenty20 world championships. On the way to the final they beat South Africa, Australia and Pakistan. All exciting and close matches. It was ultimately a question of who could hold their nerve and hit furtherest and we all know that now.
A fitting victory to the Indian cricket team which was without their big stars, did not have a coach, a new captain and nothing to lose.

India edge out Australia

There are cricket matches and then there are those cricket matches. The India-Australia Twenty20 2007 World Cup semi-final was one of those cricket matches. It began at 2am Australia time and we got to see some scintillating cricket from both teams.

The Indian team, written off before the start of the tournament was a revelation. Sensible batting, clean hitting and some top class bowling in the dying moments of the match meant that India had finally outplayed the world champions,Australia and registered a convincing victory. The Indian Cricket Board was quick to rush in and announce an award of US$1 million for vanquishing Australia and entering the Finals and there was a Porsche911 for the man of the match, Yuvraj Singh.

Having won 6 out of 7 matches in the tournament, there is only question left?Can India lift the cup by beating Pakistan or have they just had their final moment of glory? Tomorrow, we will know the answer.

Arising from the murky depths...

The Indian cricket team finally has something to smile about after the final test ended in a tame draw. To say that India outplayed the match and took it beyond the reach of the English would be an understatement, although losing three quick wickets in the second innings showed a glimpse of what could have happened.

Rahul Dravid, justifiably proud finally has something to talk about and for once everyone in the team can smile. They have all contributed in a deserving win. It isn't often that there is a Team effort evident in an Indian win but in this case, it was the main reason for their success.

The series win could also be a fitting swan song to the top five veterans who might retire in the near future and could boost their morale to an exciting upcoming series in Australia. Three years ago, India came close, very close to a win Down Under but a gritty 80 from a certain Mr. Waugh prevented the sun from shining for India that day.

This year, half of that famous Australian line up will be missing. Will India captalise or capitulate? Only time will tell..

Another milestone :Tendulkar reaches 15000

After a disappointing, OK..that was not right, horrendous World Cup campaign, the Indian cricket bandwagon seems to have shaken off some of its sluggishness to overcome the Spring Boks yesterday,after losing the first match. Yes, they did crush Bangladesh a month ago but then Bangladesh is not Australia and 1 billion people want to see India perform and equal giants in the cricket world.

There were two interesting things about yesterday's win.Tendulkar crossed 15000 runs. A mammoth achievement by any standards. If you have ever played cricket and passionately live the game, you'll know what I am talking about. A minor blimp in Tendulkar's achievement was his second failure in a row in missing out on a century after getting into the nineties, but I guess a guy who already has 41 centuries to his name in One-day cricket and another 37 in Test match cricket is only going to shrug this off. Watch Tendulkar's bat for more fireworks.