Sachin Tendulkar to be awarded Bharat Ratna

Sachin Tendulkar will become the first sportsperson to receive a Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour, the government announced hours after the batting great’s 200th and final test ended on Saturday.Cricket’s most prolific run-scorer bid an emotional farewell to the game at his home ground in Mumbai, ending a glittering 24-year career during which he bagged almost every batting record.

“Sachin Tendulkar is undoubtedly an outstanding cricketer – a living legend who has inspired millions across the globe,” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s office said in a statement.

“During the last 24 years, since the young age of 16 years, Tendulkar has played cricket across the world and won laurels for our country.

“He has been a true ambassador of India in the world of sports. His achievements in cricket are unparalleled, the records set by him unmatched, and the spirit of sportsmanship displayed by him exemplary.

“That he has been honoured with several awards is testimony to his extraordinary brilliance as a sportsman.”

A perfect role model for the country’s youth and the sport worldwide with his impeccable image on and off the field, Tendulkar was nominated to the Rajya Sabha last year.

He left the game after playing more test matches (200), scoring the most test (15,921) and one-day international (18,426) runs, and compiling more test (51) and one-day (49) hundreds than any other player in cricket history.

 

Sachin out of Champions League T20

Mumbai Indians skipper, Sachin Tendulkar will reportedly miss out on playing for his team in the Champions League as he has not fully recovered from the toe injury.

News site, NDTV reported that the Master Blaster will miss out on the multi-starrer tournament as he has not recovered from the toe injury in time to feature in the last year’s finalists squad.

India's Sachin Tendulkar (R) talks with India's Coach Duncan Fletcher

The Mumbai Indians are already struggling to deal with injuries to their key players, Rohit Sharma and Munaf Patel and the loss of their captain will come as a huge blow for the side.

Harbhajan Singh, who said he has completely recovered from the abdominal tear he suffered during the Tests againstEngland, is expected to lead the Mumbai side in Sachin’s absence.

Mumbai coach Robin Singh had earlier said that Sachin’s absence would not hurt the team much and it may be an opportunity for others to prove their mettle shoulld the batting maestro fail to regain full fitness in time.

                    

Preview:India look to wrap up series

A win away from clinching the series, India will bank on their explosive batting line-up as they battle history and injury in the fourth One-day international against Sri Lanka at the half-filled Eden Gardens here Thursday.

Indian cricketers Sachin Tendulkar, left, and Virender Sehwag interact during a practice session

The rollicking form of seasoned campaigners Sachin Tendulkar (208 at 104 average) and stand-in-skipper Virender Sehwag (194 at 64.66 average) is a big plus for the hosts with the duo having amassed nearly 400 runs between them in the five-game series that India lead 2-1.

But more vital is the way they have scored the runs. While Tendulkar has a strike rate of 94.97, Sehwag’s is an enviable 144.97, and the Lankan bowlers must be burning the midnight oil to find a way out to check their tormentors on a ground which is hosting an ODI after 32 months.

Gautam Gambhir, the other vital cog in the Indian batting department, has so far failed to fire in the series and the hosts would be hoping that he gets into form on the morrow in the absence of regular skipper and aggressive bat Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who is serving a two-game ban for India’s slow overrate in the second ODI at Nagpur.

India are also without the stylish left hander Yuvraj Singh, who has been ruled out of the remaining matches of the series with a finger injury.

In bowling, young left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja’s spectacular showing (4-32) in the third ODI at Cuttack has raised hopes of finding a suitable partner for experienced offie Harbhajan Singh, more so at Eden, where the spinners have often played a decisive role.

Having last staged an ODI in February 2007, one would have hoped to see a full house at the large Eden stadium, but the renovation of four galleries in preparation for the 2011 World Cup has reduced its capacity.

With only 53 percent of the seats in the 83,635-capacity stadium now available, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has done away with priced tickets for the match, which will be the fourth the two teams will play here. They have won one apiece while the other was a no-result.

For Sri Lanka, dashing opener Tillakratne Dilshan has been in superb form, cracking two back-to-back hundreds before a blitzy 18-ball 41 at Cuttack. Dilshan’s opening partner Upul Tharanga and skipper Kumar Sangakkara are also among runs, though Mahela Jayawardene is going through a lean patch.

Speaking to mediapersons on the match-eve, Sehwag said the Indians would aim to get Dilshan out quickly.

“It is difficult to stop him. It is better to try and get him out. If we can get his wicket, we can put pressure on the Sri Lankan middle order,” he said.

The visitors are also playing the series without several of their regulars, and the absence of the Muttiah Muralitharan — back home after the Test series following an injury — could hurt the Lankans the most Thursday.

The 40-year-old Sanath Jayasuriya, whose aggressive batting and part-time spin could come in handy for the Lankans, may make a comeback into the team after being dropped for two ODIs.

“There is always a chance for him to play. We haven’t finalised the 11,” said Sri Lankan coach Trevor Bayliss at the pre-match media meet.

Bayliss did not think Dhoni and Yuvraj’s unavailability would give a boost to his side. “They have only two players out of the team. We have five,” he pointed out.

The pitch appeared firm, but the extent of the wind and the dew could play a vital part in determining the course of Thursday’s game.

Sewhag said he would opt to field if he won the toss to avoid the problems the bowlers could face because of the evening dew.

Bayliss, however, said the wicket looked hard and good and full of runs.

Traditionally, the sprawling Eden Gardens has seen moderate scores, compared to the now-familiar scenes of teams belting 350 or even more in the 50-over games on other parks. Only once has a team scored 300 plus on this ground, and the credit goes to Sri Lanka who amassed 301 against Pakistan 12 years ago.

While India have emerged victorious in eight of their 15 limited over games at Eden, they lost three of their last four ties. One was rained out.

Sri Lanka have won three of their half-a-dozen games at Eden and lost two, while one was washed out.

Teams (from):

India: Virender Sehwag (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik (wicketkeeper), Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Pragyan Ojha, Ishant Sharma and Sudeep Tyagi.

Sri Lanka: Kumar Sangakkara (captain-wicketkeeper), Tillakaratne Dilshan, SanathJayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilina Kandamby, Chamara Kapugedera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Ajantha Mendis, Thilan Samaraweera, Upul Tharanga, Chanaka Welegedara, Muthumudalige Pushpakumara, Suraj Randiv and Thissara Perera.

Umpires: Marais Erasmus (South Africa), Sanjay Hazare (India).

Third umpire: Shavir Tarapore.

Match starts at 2.30 p.m.

Sehwag Powers India to Highest total

Virender Sehwag blazed to a career-best 146 to steer India to their highest one-day total of 414 for seven in the opening game against Sri Lanka on Tuesday.

Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag acknowledges the crowd after scoring a century during the first one-day international cricket match between India and Sri Lanka, in Rajkot, India, Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2009.

The opener hit his 12th one-day hundred off 66 deliveries and smashed 17 fours and six sixes to leave Sri Lanka gasping after skipper Kumar Sangakkara put India into bat hoping to exploit early life on the pitch.

Sehwag, 31, looked good to surpass the one-day record score of 194 until he edged a full toss from paceman Chanaka Welegedara to be caught at point in the 36th over.

He dominated a 153-run first wicket partnership with Sachin Tendulkar (69) and added 156 for the second with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni to demoralise the bowling attack.

Dhoni hit 72 with seven fours and three sixes after promoting himself to number three but was caught in the next over after Sehwag’s dismissal to give the visitors some respite.

The total bettered India’s record of 413-5 set against Bermuda at Port of Spain in the 2007 World Cup. It is also the highest notched against Sri Lanka, surpassing the 373 India made in the 1999 World Cup. At 311 for three in the 37th over, India looked set to surpass Sri Lanka’s ODI record of 443, but were checked by some tighter bowling.

Sehwag, whose previous highest one-day score was 130, raced to 50 off just 34 deliveries before easing off slightly as Tendulkar took over with a flurry of shots.

The record-breaking batsman notched his 92nd one-day fifty until he missed the line to be bowled by Fernando. Pace bowlers Nuwan Kulasekara, Chanaka Welegedara and Dilhara Fernando took two wickets each.

Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan and Indian batsman Yuvraj Singh missed out due to finger injuries.

India End Long Drought

Gambhir finished on 30 not out, while Dravid was on eight after Harbhajan Singh had ripped through New Zealand’s second innings with figures of six for 63 to set up the win.

India's Harbhajan Singh celebrates after dismissing New Zealand's Iain O'Brien on day four of their first test cricket match in Hamilton

The Indian offspinner had taken five wickets before tea and it was only a stubborn 76-run ninth wicket partnership between Brendon McCullum (84) and Iain O’Brien (14) that allowed the hosts to give India the small target to chase.

Needing to make at least 241 to force the Indians to bat a second time, New Zealand collapsed to 216 for eight at tea on the fourth day, still 25 runs short.

Harbhajan ripped through the Kiwis’ batting, capturing five wickets for 45 runs before tea as the tourists closed in on their first test victory on New Zealand soil since 1976.

However, just as it seemed as if they could force the game into an unlikely fifth day, O’Brien was caught in close by Vangipurappu Laxman to give Harbhajan his sixth wicket.

McCullum then decided to hit out and after hitting left arm spinner Yuvraj Singh for four, attempted to repeat the shot two balls later only to top-edge a catch to Laxman to end the innings.

BACK FOOT

New Zealand were always up against it after losing six wickets in the very first session of the match on Wednesday and started the fourth day in deep trouble at 75-3.

Any hopes of a miracle appeared dashed when they lost Ross Taylor and Jesse Ryder in the morning to limp to lunch on 146-5 then three more wickets by tea.

For Complete News Visit:.www.octansports.com/cricket/cricket-news/2304/India-Triumphant–in-Hamilton-.htm

India in Command

Gautam Gambhir and Rahul Dravid both helped themselves to half-centuries on Thursday as India closed in on New Zealand’s first innings total on the second day of the opening test in Hamilton.

Gambhir struck a patient 72 while a composed Dravid made 66 to guide the tourists to 197 for three at tea in reply to New Zealand’s first day total of 279.

When the second session ended, India were just 82 runs behind with Sachin Tendulkar unbeaten on 25 and Vangipurappu Laxman not out four.

Yuvraj Singh and Sachin Tendulkar

New Zealand had made a bright start to the day when they dismissed dangerous opener Virender Sehwag at the start of the morning session, which was delayed by 15 minutes because of overnight rain.

Sehwag had added just two runs to his overnight score of 22 when he was run out at the non-striker’s end by a direct hit from James Franklin.

But India, who had resumed on 29-0, dominated the rest of the morning on a placid Seddon Park pitch offering little assistance to the bowlers.

For complete news visit:www.octansports.com/cricket/cricket-news/2218/India-in-Command-at-Seddon-Park.htm

Sex in the Cricket – Sixploitation

As Indian Premier League approaches its season two and cheerleaders are ready to show more over sixs, a forgotten experience of past in the gentleman’s game hits the senses.

Title of the article gives feel of a cheap stunt in hope of gaining readers. Well a big “No” will be a lie, but a “Yes” is not true either. If this article would have been about naked Kevin Pietersen, Ponting not in covers, and Sachin’s strokes, surely above lines would have hold true with a chance of receiving hits, equivalent to search engine giant Google. But sadly it’s not. We are talking about a cricketing phenomenon of past called ‘Sixploitation.’

Cheer Leaders

Raw Sex, Poor Cricket

It was a perfect mixture of raw sex, thrilling action and poor quality cricket. Guess game played on backfoot in ‘sporty’ affairs of ‘The Swinging Sixties.’
In those ‘good’ old days Carnaby Street drenched with whites and Kings Road boutiques were full of batting gloves. Umpires roped with gangsters into the West End night spots with glamorous girls of London.

So When Did Sixploitation Started?

Well the history stretches from the days of Freddy Hill to the maverick film director of 1960s, Walter Less whose erotic celluloid work made sixploitation a notorious phenomenon.
The first major work of cricket based adult art was the infamous novel, Freddy Hill: Memoirs of an Umpire of Pleasure by Christopher Hogg in 1748. The fictions work was about a passionate young man Freddy Hill who comes to London and is forced to pursue umpiring by his landlord Mr. McCaffery. It was a detailed account of how Hill indulges in pleasure on the edges of London cricket circles and also showed a more innovative use of rubber batting grips.
The book was banned, author and publisher arrested. The ban persisted till D.H Lawrence brought arguably one of the most controversial books of all times, Lady Chatterley’s Lover. It is said that Lawrence was so influenced by Freddy Hill that he intended to have Lady Chatterley’s Lover as Nottingham League wicketkeeper Seth Mellors and the books title as Lady Chatterley’s Glovesman; the same was sold in Sotheby’s sale for pound 1 million.

Cheer leaders

Though Freddy Hill was banned, it gave birth to a series of imitators. Surprisingly London had a good base of readers to this cricket erotica which became a big business in publishing scene.
With Kama Sutra catching eyes in Europe for pornography under the disguised name of oriental spiritualism, Britsih publishing houses joined the band wagon in their own way of erotic sportsualism. Wisden came up with its own version of Kama Sutra, called as Fielding Positions – poses were termed as: Short Fine leg and Lon on. But the huge out cry led to the withdrawal and full page apology on Times.

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Cricket 2008- An Overview

Like reverse swing, cricket 2008 has seen some late swings!

The year 2008 witnessed the cricketing monarchs Australia routed at home by the Proteas who finally dropped the monkey of their back. But it doesn’t happen in a day, before Proteas, Indians have left the monkey to scare hell out of the Aussies in January 2008 at Sydney; it was the same monkey [Monkey Gate controversy] which has fuelled the rise of Indian test cricket in 2008.

Indian and England team

All these happenings on the test arena has set the route of a bigger competition in the classic five day version of the game in the coming years; but the future of five day cricket looks worrisome with the advent of T20 at the end of 2007. Now IPL (Indian Premier League) has brought the change in the way we have looked towards cricket [50 Overs or 5 day game without result]. As a sport, cricket has created a new dimension; IPL’s success story is an example of cricket’s ever changing shape.

If Tendulkar has surpassed Brian Lara to set a new record in test cricket, Brendon McCullum blitzkrieg in IPL made cricket more exciting in 2008.

Here at Octansports we have compiled cricket’s eight memorable moments of the year.

Monkey Gate Scandal:

Harbhajan Singh and Symonds at Sydney Test

An incident which has blackened the white shirt of the Gentleman’s game, for which Symonds and Harbhajan Singh can not ever be forgiven. Many believed that second test at Sydney has questioned the character and game ethics of cricket. The confrontation occurred during the second test of Border-Gavaskar trophy when Harbhajan racially abused Symonds, who later said that Harbhajan called him ‘Monkey’. It became more controversial after Harbhajan Singh’s reprieve.

IPL:

Brendon McCullum sending shiver down spines with his blitzkrieg

After the success of T20 World Championship 2007, Lalit Modi conceptualized ‘Indian Premier League (IPL)-a replica of English Premier League (EPL) with utmost success. It began with the blitzkrieg of Brendon McCullum, as the tournament progressed everyone witnessed an entertaining and exhilarating exhibition of modern day cricket. For many reasons IPL [first edition] will be remembered. It has thrown some gutsy batsman-ship as well as courageous bowling performances. If McCullum’s century was a watershed in batting, Sohail Tanveer’s figures of 4-0-14-6 have become an avalanche to climb in the shortest version of the game. Between all the pomp and show Englishmen decided not to be a part of it. Reason too much cricket!

Winner-takes-it-all:

“I will make you an offer which you can not refuse” the famous dialogue from ‘Godfather’ could aptly describe England’s refusal to participate in IPL [Indian Premier League] rather than too much cricket. And why not a three hour extravaganza pays you $20 million if you win!

West Indians with the Stanford Trophy

Allen Stanford, American billionaire has put a prize of $100 million to fund his five-year Stanford super series. It was Englishmen’s bad luck that they lost to West Indies-all-star side and got nothing out of it, but out to embarrassment by their wives whom Stanford lapped- wife of England’s player!!

Tendulkar Surpasses Brian Lara:

Sachin Tendulkar after Surpassing Lara's record

Records are set to be broken; In case of Sachin Tendulkar every record of cricket looks dwarf- forget his own height, his greatness knows no barrier, and he keeps on surpassing every hurdle without a blink. Tendulkar showed it in the second test against Australia at Mohali. The diminutive right hand batsman reached to the towering heights when he surpassed Brian Charles Lara’s record of most test runs (11,953). Today Tendulkar holds most of the cricketing records of test cricket: most test hundreds (41), One Day runs (16,422) with 42 centuries on his name.

Decline of the Monarchs:

Mitchel Johnson- a lone battle ahead

When the year 2008 began no one has ever thought that monarchs of test cricket Australia will be reduced to an average test team; now they are made to fight for every run or made to wait for batsmen’s to make mistakes for wickets. An invincible side within a year turned into beatable team on any given day. The year has seen Australians re-shuffling their line-up again and again for a combination which can either redeem their reputation or prevent anymore decline. Re-shuffling of 26 players in the playing eleven in 2008 is just an example of Aussies disgruntle.

Anil Kumble and Sourav Ganguly bid Adieu:

Anil Kumble waving to the crowd at Kotla

It was hurting to see India’s two great test players bidding adieu in a series. Top leggie Anil Kumble and middle order batsman Sourav Ganguly call it a day in the Border-Gavaskar series. While formers’ decision was surprising, later took the call after continuous pressure from the selectors.

India Wins at Home

India currently ranked second in test cricket

Indians have continued their chariot ride since their surprising win at 2007 T20 World Cup. Their 2-1 loss in the controversial series in Australia didn’t hamper the success; it was subdued in M.S. Dhoni’s leadership when they won the VB series 2-0. At home they had beaten Australia and England. Currently they are the second ranked side in the test cricket which is the biggest achievement since they entered the test scene in 1932.

3^rd Test- England Vs South Africa Edgbaston:

Graeme Smith at Edgbaston

For a batsman nothing holds better in his memories than his not-out hundred, which took his team to victory. It becomes more prominent in his career, when he finishes the draught of winning the series. South African captain and opener Graeme Smith did it against England at Edgbaston in the third test. The Proteas haven’t won a test series in England since their re-entry in the cricketing arena. It wasn’t all and all a test match with goods only for Proteas, but the test also saved Paul Collingwood who was under the knife for not performing- sometimes good players stand-up when everyone fails. Later in the evening after his innings Collingwood said, “Today was very special,” he said. “Everything went my way, and it was certainly a day I’ll never forget.”