All that I know

The skipper and Neil McKenzie opened the innings for the Proteas, but the pair did not lat long as a beauty from Siddle bowled the latter in just the second over the match. Proteas were troubled at regular pace as they found very difficult to face the pace attack. At one stage the Aussies were ruling the game when proteas were hanging at a score of 141 for the loss of 6 wickets. The new comer JP Duminy was the only recognized batsman at the crease. His temperament was good and he did not look as if he is playing his second test match. He was fully matured in shot selection and scoring runs. His batting style was excellent. It was a treat for the eyes. Steyn on the other end understood the conditions and contributed accordingly. The young chap scored his first test century against the world champions. It was a day to be remembered for the rest of his life.

The second test began on the 26th of December at the Melbourne Cricket Grounds. This test is referred to as the Boxing Day test match. The Australian skipper won the toss once again in the series and elected to bat first as the conditions supported batting. Hayden seems to be out of form for many a months and he proved the same with his bat by getting out for just 8 runs. Katich and the skipper gave some hope for the team and they added 127 runs for the second wicket as Steyn bowled Katich. Ponting was on a full flow and he went on to score his ton in less than 130 balls. Vice captain Clarke took sometime to get settled as wickets were falling at regular intervals on the other side. Dale Steyn took five wickets in the innings. Finally, the Aussies were bundled out for 394 runs in the first innings.

It’s a frustrating time for the Aussies as they have lost the test series against the Proteas. The South Africans are in a tour to Australia to play 3 test matches, 2 T20 Internationals and 5 ODI’s. The first test was played at Perth. The host team cannot withstand the power of the Proteas as they chased a huge total of 414 in the final innings. It was a historic win for the visitors and it is only the second highest run chase ever in the history of test cricket. AB de Villiers was declared the man of the match for his consistent performance in both the innings. The confidence in the team was so high because they had beaten the No.1 in their home soil. Moreover, there was an equal contribution from all the three departments, which boosted the morale of the team. They were very eager to face the upcoming matches with the same spirit.

I guess this would be sad news for the Pakistan Cricket Board and the people of Pakistan because the BCCI has decided to call off the upcoming tour. As a result of the terror attacks in Mumbai last month that sapped the lives of more than 200 people, this decision has been taken by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

There is buzz around the media that the terrorists who were involved in these attacks are from Pakistan. One of the top officials of the BCCI, Mr. Rajeev Shukla, said that team India will not tour to Pakistan considering the overall circumstances that is prevailing at present. Meanwhile the PCB secretary said that they had just received an e-mail from the BCCI stating that India will not tour Pakistan. He termed the decision taken by the BCCI as “disappointing”. He also added that the PCB would lose around 25 million dollars if the tour is to be put off. India was about to play 5 ODI’s, 3 tests and 2 T20 internationals that were scheduled to begin on 3rd of January. The tour was planned to carry on till the 20th of February.

The Indian players will be happy, as they will be relived from continuous cricket at least for the next few weeks. The PCB has decided to continue the schedule with some other team and so they have sent an invitation to the Sri Lankan cricket board and they are eagerly awaiting their nod.

This post is about my favorite car Ferrari. Ferrari was founded in the year 1947. It is a brand of sports car that is manufactured in Italy. I think most people would love this car not only for its look but also for the technical aspects and the comfort it gives you while driving. I feel very proud, as I own a Ferrari GTB Fiorano that was manufactured in the year 2007.

I am very much interested in automobiles and so I am used to watching formula one racing regularly. I am the biggest fan of Ferrari and I always stand by it. My all time favorite driver is the legend Michael Schumacher. In fact he also drove for Ferrari and had won races and championships many times.

The hottest news is that the Indian IT giant Tata Consultancy Services and Ferrari have entered into an agreement. TCS has assured them of providing a compact and enhanced technology. As a part of it, the logo of the company bearing the name TCS will feature on the Ferrari F-1 racing car in the 2009 Formula one season. Ferrari has won the constructor championship for 16 times in the F-1 racing. No other teams participating in this event has achieved this feet. Ferrari rocks…

The English players have decided to tour India for the 2 match test series that is likely to be played in Chennai from the 11th of this month. They have been promised tighter security because of the last week’s terror attacks. The English players were on a 72-hour discussion with the security personnel and the Government officials before they decided to travel for India. The ECB announced that the players will leave for Abu Dhabi on Thursday and they will play a warm up game at the Abu Dhabi cricket club. The team for the touring side will be the same except for Stuart Broad who is carrying an injury, announced the ECB. Meanwhile the ECB’s Chief Security Officer Mr. Reg Dickason visited the stadium in Chennai and he reported that he was quite convinced with the security arrangements.

The TNCA Joint Secretary said that the practice sessions would go on in the main stadium and the media persons may not have an access for it and if situation demands they would be given a separate stand. Mr. Dickason also reviewed the venue for the 2nd test yesterday in Mohali and he is about to submit his report to the ECB.

The second innings started and everyone saw the experienced opening pair for India. Sehwag was sizzling in his own style at one end as the Master Blaster took some time to get settled. The ball was flying in all directions and the Indians gained full control over the game. Score reached the 100 run mark with 10 wickets in the bag. Sehwag hit Swann for 21 runs in his 1st over to get his half-century completed. It was a treat for the audience. A bowling change favored the English as Harmison bowled Sachin for 50. Then came in the man in form Yuvraj Singh with loud applause but the joy did not last longer as he was dismissed for just 6 runs. Sehwag was out with just 9 runs short of his century. Then skipper MS Dhoni and the youngster Raina helped India in reaching the target with 6 wickets in hand and with 38 balls to spare. Sehwag was adjudged the man of the match for his 91 runs. This is India’s 5th consecutive win in this 7 match series. India leads the Hero Honda cup series 5-0. The Indian skipper praised Sehwag for his contribution with the bat and also said that it was a total team effort. The next match is to be played at Guwahati on the 29th of this month. Indians are now aiming for a 7-0 whitewash.

Let me present my views on the 5th ODI of the Hero Honda cup between India and England. It was a day and night game played at Cuttack. There were few changes in both the teams. MS Dhoni, the captain of the men in blue team won the toss and chose to field first as there could be some dew on the pitch as the game proceeds. Irfan Pathan was given the new ball to operate. Ravi Bopara and Alistair Cook opened the innings for England. Cook was caught in the 1st slip by Tendulkar as Zaheer struck early in his spell. Then entered the field was the skipper with a huge responsibility resting on his shoulder. He and Bopara went on put a 34 run partnership and Zaheer struck once again. Bopara was out for 24 runs. Yuvraj Singh caught him at point. Pieterson and the No.4 batsman Collingwood yielded 89 runs for the 3rd wicket. Then a change in bowling was made. The skipper brought in Ishant Sharma and to his delight he scalped the wicket of ‘ferocious’ Flintoff. He went back to the pavilion without opening his account. Pieterson went past 3000 runs in ODI’s. Owais Shah on the other end helped ticking the scorecard and he scored his half-century with an unbeaten knock of 66 runs. Pieterson was unbeaten with a score of 111. The English innings came to an end with a score 270 for the loss of 4 wickets.

Sachin Tendulkar is considered as one of the best batsmen in the history of world cricket. He was born in Mumbai in the year 1973 to Mr. and Mrs.Ramesh. He started playing international cricket at the age of 16.It was his elder brother who stood by his side and made him enter into the world of cricket. He made both his test and ODI debut against their rival nation Pakistan in the year 1989.

Sachin is now the highest run getter in both the forms of the game. He has 40 centuries to his name in tests and 42 in ODI’s, the most by any batsmen in the world. He along with his team mate and friend Vinod Kambli involved in an unbroken 664 runs partnership in the year 1988.Later in the year 1995 he married Anjali,a pediatrician by profession. He was the first cricketer to be awarded the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, India’s highest honor for achievements in sports. He was also awarded Padma Shri and Padma Vibhushan in the year 1999 and 2008 respectively.

Rahul Dravid, one of the finest cricketers the world has ever seen. He was born in the city of Indore in the year 1973. He started playing from the age of 12 and he represented his state in under-15, under-17 and under-19 tournaments. Apart from batting, he also possesses keeping skills. But later he didn’t concentrate on keeping wickets on the advice given to him by the senior players.
He made his test debut against England in 1996 along with his fellow cricketer Sourav Ganguly. He has more than 10,000 runs in both the forms of the game. He is called as “The Wall” by his teammates because of the resistance that he shows while playing. At present he is dropped from the Indian ODI team because of his poor performances but still plays test cricket. He is now the captain of the Bangalore Royal Challengers IPL team. He has many records to his name. Some of them are as follows:

• He is the top scorer in the 1999 world cup.
• He is only the third batsman after Tendulkar and Lara to have more than 10,000 runs in Test and ODI.
• He is the only player to score a century against the entire test playing nations in their soil.