India vs New Zealand 1st Test Preview at Hamilton from 18th March 2009

New Zealand won the 2 match T20 series by 2-0 but India bounced back and won the 5 match ODI series by 3-1. Now both team shifting their momentum to longest version of the game as 1st test will be played from Wednesday, 18th March to Sunday, 22nd March, 2009 at Hamilton.

Test specialist Rahul Dravid and VVs Laxman will come back in theIndian team to strengthen the middle order while M Vijay will give more opening option other than Gambhir and Sehwag. L Balaji and spinner Amit Mishra will be new bowling options.

After loosing ODI series New Zealand is looking for some pride and regained some pride after a consolation win in the last ODI. James Franklin after a long injury has been included in the team as an all rounder.

Hamilton wicket will seam initially and 1st 2-3 hour will be crucial.

Indian Test Team, Squad for Test Series against New Zealand

India will now concentrate in the longest version of the game after winning the 5 match ODI series by 3-1 as 1st test is starting from 18th March, 2009. Some test specialist like Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, M Vijay and bowlers L Balaji and spinner Amit Mishra has been included in the Indian team

Find the Indian Team, Squad for test series against New Zealand.

Indian Test Squad, Team for 2009 tour of New Zealand:

Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt/wk)
Virender Sehwag
Gautam Gambhir
Rahul Dravid
Sachin Tendulkar
VVS Laxman
Yuvraj Singh
Harbhajan Singh
Zaheer Khan
Ishant Sharma
Munaf Patel
M Vijay
Amit Mishra
L Balaji
Dhawal Kulkarni
Dinesh Karthik (wk)

Ind vs Aus 4th & Final Test Live Score, Streaming - M Vijay will Open

The climax of the 2oo8 India vs Australia test match series is going begin from Thursday, 6th November, 2008 as the fourth and final test match between two top team will start the all new stadium of Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground, Nagpur, at 9.30 IST.

For India its a special match for so many reason like, last match for Saurav Ganguly, 100th test match for VVS Laxman and a chance to win the Border Gavaskar trophy after a long time.

In form batsman and highest run scorer in the series Gautam Gambhir is out due to 1 match ban and M Vijay, the Tamil Nadu opener, will open the inning in his international debut match. Harbhajan Singh will also like come back after injury for spin friendly wicket with Amit Mishra.

For Australia its do and die match for them in order to level the series and retain the trophy, as they have not lost any test series since 2005 Ashes. Important thing is that Matthew Hayden's return to form during the Delhi Test and spinner Jason Krejza could make his debut.

India's Playing Eleven for the Fourth and Final Test:

M Vijay, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Capt/wk), Harbhajan Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma.


Australia's Playing Eleven for the Fourth and Final Test:

Matthew Hayden, Simon Katich, Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, Shane Watson, Brad Haddin (wk), Cameron White, Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, Stuart Clark/Jason Krejza.

Ind vs Aus 3rd Test Drawn - Kumble Retires from Cricket

India's Test captain Anil Kumble announced his sudden retirement from International cricket on Sunday, 2nd November, 2008 after the 3rd test match between India and Australia ended in a draw at Kotla, Delhi. Kotla was the same ground where Kumble took his famous 10 wicket in an inning against Pakistan.

The Indian skipper announced his retirement just before declaring India's second innings on 208 for five, a lead of 244 and given Australia a profilic task of 245 runs in maximum 23 overs. Kumble started with the new ball in the 2nd inning before match ended in a draw.

VVS Laxman announced Man of the Match for his first innings double hundred and an unbeaten half-century in the second earlier on the fifth day. Australia started the morning with 2 quick wickets but Gautam Gambhir (36) and Sachin Tendulkar (47) kept India afloat until Laxman (57 not out) and Sourav Ganguly (32 not out) led India to their declaration total deep into the final session.

Kumble was the second player in history, after Jim Laker, to bag 10 wickets in an inning. He took 619 wickets, in 132 tests, the most among Indians and third on the all-time list. He also led the team in 14 Tests with 3 wins.


Match Summary:

India 1st Inning - 613/7 dec. in 161 overs.

Australia 1st Inning - 577 all out in179.3 overs.

India 2nd Inning - 208/5 dec. in 77.3 overs.

Australia 2nd Inning - 31/0 in179.3 overs.

Toss - India, who chose to bat first.

Result - Match drawn.

Man of The Match - VVS Laxman (India).

Series - India led the 4-match series 1-0.


India is going with 1-0, as Mahendra Singh Dhoni will now lead into the fourth and final Test at Nagpur, starting from Thursday, 6th November to Monday, 10th November, 2008.