After starting tight in the first couple of overs, Shaun Pollock beat his ex-captain Graeme Smith with good change of pace, and had him stumped by Yogesh Takawale on the second attempt. The loss of his opening partner didn't seem to have any effect on the diminutive Swapnil Asnodkar, who continued playing his natural game, eliciting comparisons with the little dynamite Romesh Kaluwitharana from Sri Lanka. The other big draw for the Royals so far in the tournament, Yusuf Pathan tried to whip a full delivery from Ashish Nehra only to miss the ball and find his middle stump uprooted. Shane Watson, the Royals' leading run scorer in the tournament walked out to bat with his team in a spot of bother at 21 for 2 in the fourth over, and went about doing the consolidation with Asnodkar. The duo added 53 runs in 5.4 overs, when Watson (32) played a reckless stroke and dragged the ball back onto his stumps.

This was the opening the hosts needed, and from thereon, they kept picking up wickets at regular intervals. Lesser-experienced bowlers like Dhawal Kulkarni and Rohan Raje used change of pace to good effect and picked up two wickets apiece, while Ashish Nehra (3-19) and Dwayne Bravo (2-12) combined well and cleaned up the tail. Change of pace did the trick for the hosts; as many as four Royals' wickets fell to slower ones or ones that were marginally quicker than normal deliveries. The visitors were shot for 103, their lowest score in the tournament, with as many as 22 deliveries remaining in their allotted 20 overs. Asnodkar was top scorer with 39, while as many as eight other batsmen were dismissed for single digit scores.

Credit should also go to the Mumbai Indians fielders, for they were sharp on the field today. Yogesh Takawale, the wicketkeeper, who had a hand in the dismissal of Graeme Smith at the top of the innings, pulled off two sharp chances later on, one running backward and then diving forward, and one diving forward to send back Ravindra Jadeja and Mahesh Rawat respectively.

Faced with a target of 104, the Mumbai Indians' went about their task of knocking off the runs in a very calm manner - very unusual in Twenty20 cricket. The first three overs only produced eight runs, and just as the required run rate was inching closer to the six-runs-per-over mark, Munaf Patel's second over (fourth over of the innings) went for 13 runs, and the Mumbai Indians again had things under control.

The opening pair of Yogesh Takawale and Sanath Jayasuriya put together 41 runs in 45 balls, when Jayasuriya, who was just getting into his stride, holed out to Yusuf Pathan on the mid wicket fence. Shane Warne introduced himself into the attack later than most expected, but he needed very little time to get amongst the wickets; Yogesh Takawale didn't read his first delivery, the quickish zooter and went back to cut it, only to miss it and have his off stump pegged back; he would be dismissed for a well-compiled 27. Dwayne Bravo's short stay at the wicket saw him let off once at short cover, but he failed to capitalise on that let-off and soon holed out to the man at short midwicket. It was left to the Mumbai Indians' Bangalore-import Robin Uthappa and the impressive local lad Abhishek Nayar to see the home team through. Uthappa finished with 34 runs, while Nayar remained unbeaten on 12.

Mumbai Indians, by virtue of the 7-wicket win here at the DY Patil Sports Stadium in Navi Mumbai, move into fifth place in the points table, while the Rajasthan Royals, although equal on points with Kings XI Punjab, slip down one place to second by virtue of a lower net run rate.

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Earlier, South Africa were bowled out for 540 on day 2. This mammoth score was put up due to the heroics of Hashim Amla, who slammed his maiden century against India.

Harbhajan, only claimed 2 wickets in his 1st 40 overs but later he swept the SA tail with his 21st five-wicket haul.

I wasn't able to watch the match due to my busy schedule but saw the post day-2 analysis on NDTV 24x7. I personally like the way the news channel presents the coverage - very crisp. The channel is available in the US only through DirecTV amongst other Indian channels.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) asked legendary cricketer and former India captain Sunil Gavaskar to step down as Chairman of the ICC Cricket Committee due to a conflict of interests between his post and his paid role as a columnist and commentator.

Gavaskar had been critical of the Aussie aggressiveness during the series. The ICC executives felt that Gavaskar's position in the Cricket Committee conflicted with his work as a columnist and commentator.

Gavaskar had described Australia and England as "dinosaurs", who were unable to "open their eyes and see the reality" that India is the new superpower both on and off the field.

Gavaskar could have used better words to describe Australia & England.

I think NDTV 24x7 is a must for all the Indians living in the US who wish to stay abreast of latest happenings in India. The news channel amongst other Indian channels is available through DirecTV. I have been using DirecTV's satellite TV service since a couple of months,  the picture and sound quality is simply superb.

I would say that the South African's do not want to experience defeat through agitating the Indian Team. I saw the coverage on NDTV 24x7.

Coach Mickey Arthur has said his players will be on their guard from the time they arrive in India on March 22.

The Proteas are currently in the final stages of their tour of Bangladesh.

Arthur said the South Africans had always dominated India when they toured the Rainbow Nation in the past, but things were different now.

"I have to admit it's going to be a very tough series. We have walked all over them whenever they came to South Africa and have never seen them retaliate to the abuses we have spat out. But now there's a big change. When they came to South Africa in 2006 they were a little different" 

 I will get back with further updates on the South Africa's tour of India as NDTV 24x7 updates me. The channel is available in the US only through DirecTV in the US.

The battle has been won and the warriors are back.

NDTV got exclusive access to the Indian cricket team on their flight from Melbourne to Mumbai. NDTV 24x7 is a boon for Indias living in the US.
The exhausted players were catching up on some much needed sleep, after a grueling 84-day tour Down Under.

The Indian team was accorded little chance of winning the Commonwealth Bank Series. Australia was the bookies' favourite for winning in the second final in Brisbane.

The new-age Indian team proved most pundits wrong, wrapping-up the series with a comfortable 2-0.

A lot of credit has rightfully gone to Captain M S Dhoni, considering his fearless team selection and the immense faith he displayed in the young side.

NDTV 24x7 is a must for Indians residing in the US. The incisive news channel is available in the US only through DirecTV. For more information visit the Squidoo Lens.

The most outstanding moment from today's match featured Andrew Symonds putting a streaker on his backside. Got him, yes! Clip below features commentary from the Channel 9 team, listen to Mark Nicholas state that you "can't take your eyes off a single ball", and Richie Benaud's dry retort.

Harbhajan Singh may consider Matthew Hayden one of the most disliked cricketers around, but retiring wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist disagrees, calling his one-day opening partner "one of the most well-respected people in our team."

Hayden had added fuel to an already explosive tour when he described Harbhajan as an "obnoxious little weed" and challenged young Indian paceman Ishant Sharma to a boxing bout in an interview to 'Brisbane Radio'.

The Indian off-spinner replied by claiming Hayden was one of the most disliked players on the international cricket circuit.

"Who is Matthew Hayden? You only need to speak to international cricketers... to know in what opinion they hold Hayden," Harbhajan had said.

Speaking ahead of tomorrow's inconsequential tri-series match against Sri Lanka here, Gilchrist, however, sprung to the defence of his teammate.

I think Australia fears the Indian batting line-up and the bowling attack, that's the reason they are focusing more on mind-games rather than on-field sporty cricket. I will keep the readers updated as soon as NDTV 24x7 updates me. The news channel is available in the US only through DirecTV.

He said the whole thing has started only to checkmate Indian Cricket League (ICL), the rebel league promoted by Subhash Chandra-led Essel Group.

Dubbing the auctioning of cricketers by the BCCI-promoted Indian Premier League as ''a gambling game of industrialists'' Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray asked the Cricket Board President Sharad Pawar to stop it.

The IPL auction of cricketers is drawing severe criticism from political leaders as well. Janata Dal United leader Sharad Yadav has called the auction a national shame and a violation of human dignity.

I think NDTV 24x7 is the best way to stay connected with Indian News while living in the US. The fantastic news channel is available only through DirecTv in the US. I also came across a Squidoo Lens on NDTV.

The Jaipur franchise has been penalised for falling short of spending the mandatory minimum amount in the IPL players' auction.

The Jaipur Franchise of the DLF Indian Premier League bought just eight players spending Rs 11.7 crores that is short of the Rs 13.2 crore that was the minimum that any team had to spend.

Jaipur's new headache comes as a huge surprise considering there are 5 teams Mohali, Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi and Kolkata that have exceeded the Rs 20 crores that was the cap.

Jaipur will now be penalised and will now have to deposit the difference between the amount and the minimum they had to pay at that auction.

Thanks to NDTV 24x7 or else I wouldn't know about IPL at all. Its a fantastic Indian news channel.

I prefer watching NDTV 24x7 as it provides up–to–the–minute, 24/7 news with unparalleled coverage of the latest in Indian and international news. NDTV 24x7 is available in the US only through DirecTv. Here is the URL for DirecTv:

http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/packProg/channelChart2.jsp?assetId=1200042

"Yes, I am happy, You don't need too many batsmen in Twenty20 cricket. The team we have got is okay"

Australian Ricky Ponting and David Hussey, Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar, West Indies opener Chris Gayle, New Zealand Wicketkeeper-batsman Brendon Mcculum, as also Indian cricketers Ajit Agarkar, Ishant Sharma are among the players the Kolkata Team won in Wednesday's auction.

The IPL will start from April 18. I am not sure if I will get to watch any of the matches but NDTV 24x7 will definitely update me on all the happenings of IPL.

I prefer watching NDTV 24x7 as it provides up–to–the–minute, 24/7 news with unparalleled coverage of the latest in Indian and international news. NDTV 24x7 is available in the US only through DirecTv. Here is the URL for DirecTv:

http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/packProg/channelChart2.jsp?assetId=1200042

The Chennai franchise of the Indian Premier League (IPL) announced on Tuesday that its cricket team would be called the Chennai Super Kings.

Chandigarh's franchisee is Preity Zinta and Kolkata's Shah Rukh Khan. The DLF Indian Premier League team from Chennai might not have any big Bollywood names attached to it, but the Chennai Super Kings are looking to make up for it by scoring where it matters the most, bagging some of the biggest international cricketers in their team including Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Shaun Pollock.

The Chennai Indian Premier League decided on the name Chennai Super Kings following an SMS poll with almost 25,000 entries. Apart from Ishant Sharma, RP Singh and Rohit Sharma, franchise owner India Cements Limited is also looking at some big international names.And while the team will have to wait until February 20 to make a final bid, Krishnamachari Srikkanth has been named the Super King's brand ambassador.

NDTV 24x7 is a fantastic news channel and DirecTv is doing a great job of providing the channel in the US. Here is the URL of DirecTv:

http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/packProg/channelChart2.jsp?assetId=1200042

As I said in another post, I think these players have talent. They may be a bit raw but certainly the natural ability is there. I think you will get the idea. The Indian players are all very classy. Plenty of future stars in action.

Remember, these guys are Under-19 players. There are five 10 minute videos covering the entire match.
Link

Ganguly was responding to queries about the uncertainty over the Kolkata team's participation in the IPL with CAB affiliate units resenting the drastic 80 per cent cut in their quota of tickets during IPL matches as compared to what is alloted to them during international matches at Eden Gardens.

"Eden Gardens is a world renowned stadium. It should always keep hosting test, ODIs and also games in the new Twenty20 format"

Ganguly is one of my favorite cricket players.The Indian team could have avoided the defeats if Ganguly was in the current squad.

Whenever I talk to my friends from India I always have an upper hand despite the fact that I stay in the US. I owe this to NDTV 24x7 as the news channel keeps me updated about all the happenings in India.

Former Indian skipper Rahul Dravid is all set to lead the Bangalore side in the Indian Premier League.

The Bangalore side is scheduled for a gala launch on April 18 at the chinnaswamy stadium.

Vijay Mallya owned Bangalore team's CEO designate, Charu Sharma, confirmed that Dravid would lead the side.

Indian test skipper Anil Kumble and youngster Robin uthappa are the other prominent players on the Bangalore team's radar.

In the latest development, the former India captain has moved the Delhi High Court against the Board. 

Kapil Dev's stormy relationship with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) continues with a fresh spate of allegations.

He filed an affidavit with the Delhi High Court on Tuesday, alleging that the BCCI deliberately amended the rules, after he joined the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL), in order to stop his post-retirement benefits.

The legendary player had been receiving pension and other benefits since the year 2000, when the BCCI announced its pension scheme for retired cricketers.

However, after the inception of the ICL, the BCCI announced that anyone joining the rebel league would not be considered for any benefits.

I wonder when Sachin Tendulkar or Rahul Dravid or MS Dhoni or Yuvraj Singh retire would they bother about pensions as their endorsement earn them in multiples of the cricket earnings.

The start hadn’t been all that brilliant. Matthew Hayden, dropped in Ishant’s first over, pinched 18 runs off his second.

But like Ishant himself said after the game, “I didn’t think about the batsman’s strengths, I stuck to mine.”
That attitude paid off. Hayden scratched one to Dhoni to get Ishant off the mark.

Then, Ricky Ponting, who has been the best batsman around for some years now, was done in - again - by one that exploded off good length and went to slip.

It brought back memories of the 1996-97 Test series in Australia when Glenn McGrath made Brian Lara look like a fool again and again through the series.

The quick wickets allowed India to settle down and helped Ishant get into rhythm. He added Andrew Symonds and Stuart Clark to his kitty. After his first two overs read 0-24, the next 7.1 read 4-14.

NDTV 24x7 is available in the US through DirecTv. The combination is very good as NDTV 24x7 is India’s best news channel and DirecTv’s signal is never down.

Here is the URL for DirecTv:

http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/packProg/channelChart2.jsp?assetId=1200042

The tourists ended Australia's hopes of a record 17th consecutive Test triumph to cut their series deficit to 2-1.

"Considering the fact that no visiting team gets any chance coming into Perth and being 2-0 down, it was a great effort and a brilliant win," he said.

"This is at the top. Whatever victories I've been involved in home and away, this ranks as one of the best."

Australia, who were set 413, were bowled out for 340 on day four after resuming on 65-2.

They were 253-8 at one stage but Mitchell Johnson, who made his maiden Test fifty, and Stuart Clark (32) frustrated India until the second new-ball finished the tail off.

The Indians now move on to Adelaide, where they won in 2003, confident of squaring the series.

Kumble's men arrived in Perth on the back of an acrimonious defeat in Sydney which ended with allegations of bad sportmanship and racism.

"We had our moments in the first two Tests, but we grabbed it here and nailed it," the skipper, who took his 600th Test wicket during the match, added.

"It was a great team effort, and the way we regrouped says a lot about the character this team has. It was a very special win.

"We will take this confidence to Adelaide. It's important we take this momentum forward and ensure we level the series after what happened in the first two Test matches."

Australia skipper Ricky Ponting blamed a poor batting display on day two for his side's failure to move beyond the 16 straight wins the current team and Steve Waugh's Aussie line-up achieved from 1999 to 2001.

"Our first innings was where the game was lost - 212 on that wicket was nowhere near enough and some of the batsmen played some pretty ordinary shots," he said.

"Whenever you're more than 100 runs behind in a Test it's pretty hard to fight your way back into it.

"The bowlers did an outstanding job by dismissing India for manageable totals, but when it mattered we didn't produce the runs."

Ponting said opener Matthew Hayden, who missed out on Perth with a hamstring problem, would return for the finale.

And he warned the Indians to expect an improved display from his team.

"Matty's been doing a lot of pretty intense work over the last five or six days to give himself the best chance of being right for Adelaide," Ponting added.

"He was pretty hard to leave out of this game, he just wasn't quite 100%, so he should be right for Adelaide.

"India thoroughly deserved to win, they totally outplayed us, so we've got a bit of work to do.

"Adelaide's a ground and set of conditions India like - they beat us there last time, which was the last Test match we lost in Australia before this - so they will go out of this game with a fair bit of confidence.

"The Indians are pretty good front-runners so we have to make sure we hit the ground running in Adelaide.

"We will train harder than India in the next few days, and it is up to us to show what this team is made of.

"Australian teams historically have been able to bounce back. We can turn things around pretty quickly."

To extend their remarkable winning sequence to a 750th day and an unprecedented 17th Test, the Australians will need to complete the highest successful fourth-innings run chase on home soil and the second highest in Test history, from today.

Consider it mission improbable, rather than impossible. With the WACA Ground pitch showing few signs of wear, and much of the shine taken off the new ball last night, Australia's batsmen will approach the 413-run victory target in relatively high spirits, given their penchant for executing the greatest of cricketing escapes in recent times.

Standing in their way will be an Indian side with a history of halting Australian winning streaks at 16 games, and a more recent mastery of swing bowling. The tourists will enter the fourth day buoyed by the wickets of Chris Rogers and Phil Jaques yesterday - both claimed by Irfan Pathan (2-22), completing a forgettable outing for Australia's rookie openers - and the fact that history is well and truly on their side. Only the West Indies have completed a larger successful fourth-innings run chase, and no team in the 131-year history of Test cricket in this country has successfully mowed down a total in excess of 370.

The Australians headed to stumps on the third day at 2-65, requiring a further 348 for victory, with Ricky Ponting (24) and Michael Hussey (5) to resume their innings today. The pair hold down the three and four positions in both the Australian order and the ICC Test rankings and will be relied upon heavily by the home side in their pursuit of history.

That pursuit may well have been impossible if not for the efforts of Australia's senior pacemen yesterday. With a confidence-sapped Shaun Tait barely figuring in Ponting's plans, and a slow over-rate compiling the pressure on the captain, Stuart Clark (4-61) and Brett Lee (3-54) carried the attack to restrict India to 294 in the second innings, providing the home side with a glimmer of hope of a famous 17th consecutive victory.

"It's an achievable result for us," Australian coach Tim Nielsen said. "We feel we have the quality of batsmen and the conditions on our side to make it really difficult for India if they're not right on their game.

"I don't think we'll look at it as a total … we'll try to look at it hour by hour, partnership by partnership. In the back of their minds they've got the thought that this will be a pretty special thing if they chase it. That tends to fire them up a little bit and get them enthusiastic about that. One way or another we'll give ourselves a big chance to chase down a really big total and get the record that we're looking for

It was great to be able to bowl India out today and keep them to a manageable total. It's going to be a big effort tomorrow morning to set up a good platform. The good thing is the wicket is still in pretty good shape … [and] if you can get through that first 10-minute period, it's still a good batting wicket. It's still quite a positive mood. Everybody is pretty aware of what needs to be done."

Clark set the wheels in motion for Australia with the first breakthrough of the third day, removing the dangerous Virender Sehwag for 43. Sehwag loomed as the obvious dangerman for the Indians in the morning session after pulverising the Australian pacemen for five boundaries the previous evening, but was unable to repel a fullish Clark delivery that got between bat and pad.

The metronomic paceman had previously dismissed India's other opening batsman, Wasim Jaffer (11), on the second evening, and returned later on the third day to unseat the tourists' most obstinate lower-order contributors, Pathan (46) and RP Singh (30).

Clark received solid support from Lee, who claimed India's "big three" of Rahul Dravid (3), Sachin Tendulkar (13) and VVS Laxman, though not before the latter had compiled a patient innings of 79 that may yet prove to be India's defining knock of the series.

If not for Laxman's ability to bat with the tail, Australia's run chase today would have proven far more manageable. Should the home side fall short, Laxman will again have played a major role in halting an Australian winning streak at 16 games, albeit without the theatrics of his double century in Kolkata seven years ago.

"If we can win this match, it will be a great result for all of us," Laxman said. "Anil [Kumble], in the one over he bowled to Ricky Ponting, had good bounce. He will be a big factor tomorrow."