Razzak and Shakib maul Zimbabwe

Razzak and Shakib maul Zimbabwe

It was a commanding performance from Bangladesh, marshalled by left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak and captain Shakib Al Hasan as they drew level in the series against Zimbabwe. First up, Razzak's stellar effort of 5 for 29 restricted the visitors to 219 on a grassless track at the Shere Bangla National Cricket Stadium while the thunder during the chase was provided by Shakib. He smashed 105 off 69 balls, including 15 boundaries and three sixes, to take Bangladesh home in the 30th over.

Opting to bat on a grassless track, Zimbabwe were given the perfect start by Hamilton Masakadza and Chamu Chibhabha, who put on 59 for the opening wicket. The seamers were taken apart early on as Masakadza set the tone with a flurry of boundaries off Nazmul Hossain and Dolar Mahmud. While Nazmul was smashed for two fours to third man and square leg, Dolar was carted for three boundaries in the next over.

Shakib was forced to bring himself on as early as the fifth over to try put the brakes. And with more slow options in Naeem Islam and Razzak, the move paid off with the run-rate plunging from 7.25 to 5.3. Naeem provided the first breakthrough, removing the dangerous Masakadza with Bangladesh having taken the bowling Powerplay immediately after 10 overs.

The spinners kept the reins on Zimbabwe in the next passage of play, as the visitors managed just 37 in the next 10 overs. A frustrated Chibhabha was stumped off Mohammad Ashraful for 39 off 40 balls. A double blow followed in the very next over, as Razzak castled Brendan Taylor with his first ball and had Charles Coventry caught at slip for a duck four deliveries later.

The responsibility was on Taibu and Stuart Matsikenyeri to revive the visitors, and they put on 34 for the fifth wicket before Ashraful had Matsikenyeri caught behind for 14. Malcolm Waller began cautiously, but two fours off Nazmul Hossain in the 37th over meant a late charge was on the cards. Zimbabwe needed Taibu to stay till the end but Nazmul had him holing out to Raqibul Hasan at deep midwicket with the batting Powerplay yet to be taken.

Waller ended on 40 - hitting four fours and a six off Ashraful - becoming Razzak's third victim in the 44th over. There was to be no final thrust from the tail, with Shakib and Razzak completing formalities by the 48th over.

The Bangladesh openers began at a blistering pace as Tamim Iqbal and Junaid Sidique tore into the opposition seamers. Tamim set the tone with two delightful fours through deep midwicket and cover in the first over sent down by Kyle Jarvis. Elton Chigumbura was also shown no mercy as the first and fifth balls of the second over disappeared for sixes.

Junaid was playing like a batsmen possessed as he clubbed Jarvis for four fours in the next over. With 43 in three overs, it was turning out to be a riot, but Chigumbura, Zimbabwe's hero from the last match sent Junaid back to the pavilion with a meaningful stare after getting him caught and bowled. The good start was thrown away when Ashraful departed in Chigumbura's next over for 3, and Chamu Chibhabha had Tamim top-edging to mid-off off the first ball of the next over.

At 57 for 3, Shakib and Raqibul Hasan had to take up the responsibility to avoid Bangladesh going down 0-2. The batting Powerplay was taken after 10 overs, but Jarvis met with the same treatment, being hit for a four and six by Shakib off the first two balls. An odd boundary every over triggered off a vital revival phase for Bangladesh.

While Raqibul was more sedate, Shakib was scoring at almost a run-a-ball as the fifty partnership came up in a little more than ten overs. The introduction of spinners failed to turn the tide Zimbabwe's way. Shakib cut loose in Graeme Cremer's third over, hitting three consecutive fours, one off a free hit. There was no stopping him from there on as Price was taken apart in the next over for two fours and a six over long-on. With the seven-plus run-rate, Bangladesh were on course for a quick finish.

Sixteen runs off Chibhabha's seventh over took Shakib to 94, and Bangladesh 12 adrift off victory. Chibhabha's eighth was to be the last of the innings as Shakib got to his fourth ODI hundred with a four to third man and another four sent the crowd into raptures.

Big-hitting Dhoni helps level series

Big-hitting Dhoni helps level series


First, he consolidated the innings with Gautam Gambhir. Then, in tandem with Suresh Raina, he ripped the bowling to shreds. MS Dhoni's superb 107-ball 124 was the foundation for India's highest-ever total against Australia, a mammoth 354 for 7, and once Praveen Kumar and Ishant Sharma winkled out Australia's top three for just 45, the match was effectively over. Michael Hussey's 53 provided a lone note of defiance as India romped home by 99 runs, to leave the series all square as the teams packed their bags and headed to Delhi.

The match slipped out of Australia's grasp in the final 11 overs of the Indian innings. When the batting Powerplay was taken with the scoreboard showing 238 for 4, the run-rate had dipped close to six. But with 47 coming from those five overs, and the mayhem continuing unabated afterwards, Ricky Ponting's decision to bowl first in view of the dew factor didn't look too clever. Peter Siddle bowled with impressive pace and accuracy, while Nathan Hauritz was tidy, but the rest were taken to the cleaners on a day when Dhoni appeared to rediscover his big-hitting mojo.

It was no one-man show though, with Gambhir contributing 76 from 80 balls and Raina lashing 62 from just 50 deliveries. When Gambhir departed, run out by a direct hit from Hauritz at mid-off after Dhoni had miscued a slower ball from Siddle, the stage was set for a final onslaught, but few could have predicted how devastating it would be. The first five overs of the Dhoni-Raina partnership produced just 22 runs, but from the moment Dhoni slugged Siddle though cover to end the first over of the Powerplay, the wheels came off for Australia.

Raina kept heaving Mitchell Johnson through midwicket, and with Dhoni slapping one straight down the ground, 18 came from the over. Ben Hilfenhaus's return to the fray was greeted with an astonishing flat six over midwicket and two mighty wallops over long-off from the hapless Shane Watson took Dhoni to his century, his first against Australia, from just 94 balls.

Raina then took over, racing to his half-century from 42 balls in a Hilfenhaus over that went for 18. And though Johnson, who'd gone for 70 in his first nine overs, returned to dismiss both in the final over, the damage had been done, with the partnership worth 136 in just 93 balls.

They had started as explosively, with Virender Sehwag in terrific form. Hilfenhaus took the new ball in Brett Lee's absence, and Sehwag wasted no time, with a lofted cover-drive and powerful cut setting the scoreboard in motion. At the other end, Sachin Tendulkar got off the mark with a neat tuck off the pads for four, but when Siddle got one to dart away a touch after pitching outside off stump, he could only edge to first slip.


Prime Numbers

12

The number of times India have scored 350 or more in ODIs, which is the most by any team. South Africa have done it eight times, and Australia six.
354

India's total, which is their highest against Australia, and the highest by any team when batting first against them. The previous highest by a team batting first had been 343, by Sri Lanka in Sydney in 2003.
124

MS Dhoni's score, which is the highest by a captain in an ODI against Australia. The previous highest had been Sanath Jayasuriya's 122 in the match mentioned above. It's also the highest by a wicketkeeper against Australia,bettering Kamran Akmal's 116 not out in Abu Dhabi earlier this year. In fact, it's only the fourth century by a wicketkeeper against Australia.
99

The margin of victory, which is India's fourth-largest in terms of runs against Australia. It is their biggest win against them in more than eight years.
136

The partnership between Dhoni and Suresh Raina, which is India's second-highest for the fifth wicket against Australia.
87

The number of runs India scored in their last seven overs.




Sehwag though carried on undaunted, clipping Hilfenhaus for two leg-side fours, prompting Ponting to bring on Johnson in the seventh over. Siddle was bowling furiously quick, stinging Tim Paine's fingers with a misdirected bouncer, but it was all India as Sehwag clouted a slower ball from Johnson over long-on for six.

The next slower ball had a different outcome. This time, Sehwag could only find mid-off, and with 67 already on the board, Australia delayed the Powerplay by an over and called back Hilfenhaus. Yuvraj Singh, back in the side in place of Virat Kohli, promptly worked him through midwicket for four, and when Paine grassed a tough chance to his left with Gambhir on 20, it seemed as though it wasn't to be Hilfenhaus's day.

But the break for drinks changed that, with Yuvraj slamming the first ball, another slow one, straight back down the pitch. Hilfenhaus took it at shin height. The next ball struck Dhoni on the back of the helmet. By that stage, Ponting had turned to his slow bowlers. Hauritz had been lofted for a straight six by Yuvraj, but both he and Adam Voges were getting sharp turn and for a while, the Indians were reliant on singles and twos to keep the score ticking over.

But a Dhoni straight-drive off Hauritz and two impressive shots from Gambhir through the covers broke the boundary shackles, and with both men running brilliantly between wickets, the bowlers were never allowed to settle. Both took 55 balls for their half-centuries, and it took a moment of carelessness on Gambhir's part to end the partnership which was worth 119 from 113 balls. But with Raina filling the breach so effectively, India never flagged. As for Dhoni, he was simply unstoppable.

Praveen didn't start too well with the new ball, and it seemed that the mistakes of Vadodara were being repeated. But then he got a full delivery to swing and take the inside edge of Paine's bat. The leg stump went cartwheeling and India were on their way. Conscious of the asking rate, Ponting got going with a lovely off-drive off Ashish Nehra, prompting Dhoni to bring Ishant on in the 10th over.

The very first ball he bowled reared up at Watson, and was fended off the face to Tendulkar at slip. As Watson walked off, angry words were exchanged. The potentially decisive blow came from the other end, as Praveen nipped one back to strike Ponting right in front. At 45 for 3, Australia were on the ropes.

Hussey revived the innings somewhat with three consecutive fours through the off side when Harbhajan was introduced, but when Cameron White's stop-start innings ended with a tame clip to midwicket, the asking rate was on its way towards 10 an over. Ravindra Jadeja then bowled Hussey through the gate, bringing the curtain down on the contest long before the last ball was bowled.

Pietersen refreshed after injury break

Pietersen refreshed after injury break

Kevin Pietersen, the England batsman, has said that his forced break from international cricket due to an Achilles injury had refreshed him at a time when he was beginning to fall "out of love with the game".

"The big thing is the mental rest," Pietersen told the Times. "This year has been one of the toughest of my career, with the captaincy debacle in January plus the injury. My Achilles won't hamper me any more and I definitely feel fresh mentally. I'll be starting off really enjoying myself -- and this year I haven't particularly enjoyed playing cricket because I was in pain and because of what happened in January. It's been a tough thing for me."

"I believe everything happens for a reason and these three months have happened to refresh me and knowing that I was sort of falling out of love with the game, it was a symbol or a sign for me to refresh and recharge my batteries."

Pietersen last played for England in the second Ashes Test at Lord's after which he had surgery on his Achilles. He then missed the following seven-ODI series against Australia, the ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa and the inaugural Champions League Twenty20, where he would have played for the Bangalore Royal Challengers.

England's next assignment is a tour of South Africa, which begins in the first week of November. Pietersen is expected to travel to South Africa on November 9 or 10 and, if fit, his comeback match could be the warm-up fixture against South Africa A in Potchefstroom on November 17.

"I can't wait," he said. "I haven't been at my best since India last year. Preparation is what I bank on and preparation has definitely been hampered because of external thoughts. These last three months have cleared my brain and my thoughts."

Tendulkar should play fewer ODIs - Border

Tendulkar should play fewer ODIs - Border

Former Australian captain Allan Border has said Sachin Tendulkar should play fewer ODIs to prolong his Test career. Tendulkar, who is a few weeks away from completing 20 years as an India player, is one of the senior-most players on the international circuit. Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya is the only other current international who began his career in the 1980s.


Tendulkar has played 432 ODIs - second behind Jayasuriya's 441 - and 159 Tests since 1989. Over the last couple of years, he opted out of Twenty20 internationals to focus on the game's longer formats. He has, however, participated in both seasons of the IPL, as captain of the Mumbai Indians franchise.


"I have high esteem for Tendulkar and his achievements in international cricket," Border told PTI. "But I think it would be better for him to appear in fewer limited-over matches, including one-dayers. It would help him to prolong his Test career."

Border said it was a remarkable feat for anyone to sustain a 20-year career with injuries on the rise. Tendulkar's career has been plagued by injuries, the most notable being his troublesome tennis elbow. Recently, he had to miss the four-match ODI series in the West Indies due to a finger injury he picked up during the IPL.


"Representing your country for 20 years in international arena is not a small achievement," Border said. "There is always a lot of pressure on an international cricketer and I must say he [Tendulkar] has managed it beautifully. Like many others, his career was also disturbed by injuries. But even after many ups and downs, Tendulkar still has the same passion and love for the game."


Border himself lasted 16 years as an international player before retiring in 1994. His 156 Test appearances was a world record before Steve Waugh overtook him.