Dravid, Yuvi doubtful for 1st SA Test

Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh, both nursing injuries, are doubtful starters for the first Test against South Africa, coach Gary Kirsten said.

"Yuvi will be out for a while. He would be struggling for the first Test (against South Africa). And for Dravid, he is also not sure. It is a bit of concern because we want a full strength side against South Africa," Kirsten said.

Dravid had his cheek bone fractured by a Shahadat Hossain bouncer after which he retired hurt. Yuvraj too has a ligament tear in his left wrist, which ruled out his further participation in the ongoing second Test against Bangladesh.

India's first Test against South Africa begins on February 6 in Nagpur.

"It is a difficult situation we are in. But you cannot do anything about injuries. It's out of our control. We have to wait and watch and what stands for these players in the few days ahead," Kirsten said.

The South African, however, assured that Sachin Tendulkar was fine.

"Sachin is all right, he is fine," said Kirsten.

Tendulkar came tumbling down while trying to catch Tamim Iqbal off Virender Sehwag.

Kirsten said despite their injuries, Dravid and Yuvraj would not be sent home.

"It was quite a nasty hit on Rahul and we have to see if he needs to consult a specialist. He is not going back now.

"Yuvi had torn cartilages on his left wrist and but he will also stay back," Kirsten said.

Dwelling on the match, Kirsten conceded his bowlers were not too impressive.

"We did not bowl as good as we can though the wicket is not easy for the bowlers. After taking 300-plus lead, you want early breakthroughs and knock the opposition down as soon as possible. There might have been some impatience," he said.

Bangladesh rode on the record 200-run stand between Tamim Iqbal (151) and Jumnaid Siddique (55) to reach 228 for three, having lost two quick wickets in the final session.

"We are happy that we got two quick wickets towards the close. We did well towards the close of play. Zaheer Khan was getting reverse swing from his final overs. The wicket will deteriorate tomorrow and hopefully it will assist the spinners," Kirsten added.

"We are leading by 83 runs and we want to get early wickets tomorrow morning. There are two more days to go and we are backing ourselves to win the game," he said.

Asked about Tamim Iqbal's aggressive 151, Kirsten said, "He is an aggressive player. We have Virender Sehwag like him.

It is good for your team. An aggressive player at the top of order can damage the opposition but knocking off quick runs early on.

Subscribe in a reader

One of my most fluent knocks:Dravid

Rahul Dravid described his unbeaten knock of 177 in the first Test against Sri Lanka as one of his most fluent efforts in recent times.
"It's one of my most fluent efforts in the last two-three years. My feet was moving well and I felt I was in control," said the 36-year-old Bangalore stalwart after returning unbeaten to the dressing room.

The hosts were reeling at 32 for four before Dravid's 27th Test hundred, studded with 26 fours and a six, lifted them from a morass and placed them at a sound 385 for six at the close.

Dravid said when the team stuttered after losing four quick wickets, the rout for 76 against South Africa in April 2008 was at the back of the mind when he started his repair work in the company of Yuvraj Singh (68).

"When we were 32 for four, the collapse for 76 against South Africa was at the back of our minds. But we knew it was just a question of having some partnerships going, hang in there till lunch and that's what we did," he said.

"The partnership with Yuvraj steadied the innings in the first session, we consolidated in the second and then with Mahi (MS Dhoni) the partnership set it up. Both are attacking players and we knew if they can bat for 150-160 balls then 100 runs would be scored," Dravid said.

Dravid first put the innings on an even keel with a stand of 125 with Yuvraj for the fifth wicket and then increased the tempo with a belligerent partnership of 224 in 306 balls with skipper Dhoni (110) who too notched up a hundred.

The end-of-the day total was one short of the record 386 piled up by India against South Africa in 2007-08 season.

The one-down stalwart said that the pace at which India had scored the runs would come handy when they press for a win.

Dravid said that the wicket was a bit sticky initially and the Lanka bowlers utilised it well.

"It happens. The first day of the Test and there was some movement. The Lankans bowled well. It was a good toss to win though we lost four quick wickets. It became a very good wicket to bat on after an hour and a half," he said.

Dravid, who completed 11,000 runs and shot past Steve Waugh of Australia in the leading run-getters' list, said the aim now was to pile on 500-plus runs.

"We have to score 500-plus runs. The wicket looks as if it will not do much till the fourth day. Then it should help our spinners and our fast bowlers to reverse the ball. But I had played a match against New Zealand (1998-99) here that was drawn and nothing happened even on the fifth day," he said.

Dravid said his stints in Ranji Trophy helped as it gave him the requisite confidence ahead of the match.

"Time in the middle always helps. I had a couple of games against UP and Delhi and was pretty confident going into this match," he said.

Dravid was surprised at the Lankans' decision to ignore Ajantha Mendis in favour of left-arm spinner Rangana Herath.

"It was a big of a surprise. He (Mendis) has been a bit successful against us. But Rangana Herath is the man in form and has bowled well (against New Zealand and Pakistan) and we have learned a few things on how to play Mendis over the last year or so," he said.

Subscribe in a reader

Dravid, MSD help India consolidate

Rahul Dravid and MS Dhoni put Sri Lanka's inexperienced attack to the sword by smashing centuries as India regained the advantage on the opening day of the first Test in Ahmedabad.

Sri Lanka began brightly with Chanaka Welegedara claiming three wickets in his first four overs with the new ball to leave the hosts reeling at 32 for four.
Dravid, however, led India's revival with an excellent unbeaten 177 and put on 125 for the fifth wicket with Yuvraj Singh (68) and a 225-run stand with Dhoni (110) as India reached a commanding 385 for six at stumps.

Welegedara, playing only his second Test match, exploited the moisture in the pitch in the morning to prise out Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar cheaply.

Dammika Prasad, who had shared the new ball with Welegedara, added to the destruction by bowling VVS Laxman via an inside edge as India crumbled.

Dravid was then joined by Yuvraj and they pieced together India's recovery.
Although Yuvraj was watchful once master spinner Muttiah Muralitharan was introduced, the runs flowed steadily.

Dravid even clubbed left-arm spinner Rangana Herath for a rare six and reached his half-century off just 79 deliveries.

Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara was forced to do without frontline bowlers Thilan Thushara and Nuwan Kulasekara through injury and the inexperience of Prasad and Welegedara - the two have played only four Test matches between them - gradually emerged.

Muralitharan, who had stuck to a hardly menacing leg-side line right through the innings, ended the partnership in the afternoon session by snaring Yuvraj.
The left-hander stepped down the track but only managed an inside edge which ballooned off the pad straight to Tillakaratne Dilshan at cover.

If Sri Lanka expected some respite thereafter it failed to transpire. Dhoni quickly hit his stride, maintained the momentum and accelerated nicely in the final session to ensure his decision to bat first would count despite the early carnage.
Dhoni did offer a couple of chances however.

An edge just after he had reached his half-century flew past wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene and Mahela Jayawardene at a nice height and a good shout for lbw was turned down by umpire Tony Hill.

Sri Lanka then took the second new ball with just eight overs remaining in the day, but Dhoni reached his second Test hundred with a boundary - his ninth - off Herath.
Dravid by then had gone past 150 and later went past 11,000 career runs in Test cricket.

Dhoni fell with just under three overs left, top-edging Prasad to Prasanna, but Dravid and Harbhajan Singh saw off the last few deliveries without further blemish.

Subscribe in a reader

Dravid happy with Ranji warm-up for SL Tests

New Delhi: Rahul Dravid, gearing up for the Test series against Sri Lanka at home next week, feels the start of the Ranji Trophy Super League couldn't have been timed better.

Dravid, who is here to play the Ranji tie against Delhi, starting on Tuesday, felt that for him the national championship matches ahead of the Test series was important to be match sharp.

Dravid, who was dropped for the one-day internationals against Australia, is bound to figure in the Test series against Sri Lanka, who arrived in Mumbai on Sunday to play three Tests, five one-day internationals and two Twenty20 matches.

Dravid is leading Karnataka in the absence of Robin Uthappa, who is away playing for the Board President's XI against the Lankans.

"It's good to play some domestic cricket and get some time in the middle leading up to the Test series. It should be a good series. So, I am looking forward to the match," said Dravid.

The 36-year-old India stalwart says he enjoys playing for Karnataka where in he has rubbed shoulders with three generations of payers.

"I have always enjoyed playing for Karnataka. I have now played with three generation of players from Raghuram Bhatt, Sujit, Sunil Joshi, Anil (Kumble) Srinath and Venky. Now, we have a whole new bunch of players coming.

"There are some of the young boys I haven't even seen before and this gives me a chance to see the talent and help them if I get a chance to do so," he said.

When asked how his side is preparing to take on an injury-hit Delhi, Dravid quipped: "I don't like to take any depleted side lightly."

"We are playing them in their home conditions so it's something we need to be aware of.

"To beat Uttar Pradesh at home was a very satisfying way to start off the season. We have a young team and the win has given them a lot of confidence," said Dravid who struck 97 and 51 not out in match.

"Our side has some potential youngsters. Abhimanyu Mithun bowled beautifully on a lifeless pitch. Manish (Pandey) showed a lot of promise. He showed it in Twenty20 and it's good to see he is doing so well at the Ranji as well."

Subscribe in a reader

Why drop Dravid, asks Kumble

Former India spinner Anil Kumble has questioned the decision to drop Rahul Dravid for the upcoming one-day series with Australia.

Dravid was recalled to the national side for the recent Champions Trophy in South Africa following an absence of two years as a replacement for the injured Virender Sehwag.

But with the explosive opener having recovered from a shoulder problem and hard-hitting batsman Yuvraj Singh also returning from a fractured finger that ruled him out of the 50-over tournament, the 36-year-old - who top-scored in India's disappointing campaign in South Africa - found himself surplus to requirements.

However former team-mate Kumble, who is set to once again wear the Indian colours at the Hong Kong Sixes at the end of the month, believes Dravid should have been retained for the seven-match series.

He said: "I don't know why they didn't continue with him. It's a call that the selectors made.

"I don't think someone who has played that long, of that stature, should have been dropped in that way after having performed in the Champions Trophy.

"I certainly would have wanted him to continue but probably the selectors thought that he came as a replacement for Virender Sehwag and Sehwag was fit so he had to go, maybe that was the reason."

India have failed to impress in their last two tournaments - they fell at the group stages in both the Champions Trophy and World Twenty20 - but Kumble believes any talk of a crisis is premature.

"People are reading too much into a couple of tournaments," he added.

"Twenty20 is a format where you can't really say who's going to win. Nobody ever thought that Pakistan would win, I don't think anybody gave them a chance.

"In terms of the Champions Trophy, it was disappointing that India didn't qualify (for the semi-finals) but if you look at the format, one loss in the opening game and you can't really recover. It's not that India has done poorly in the last two years."
Indeed with the emergence of players such as Gautam Gambhir, Amit Mishra, Munaf Patel and Praveen Kumar, Kumble feels India now have the tools to dominate the world stage for the foreseeable future.

"It will all depend on the bowling strength India possess, they have a good fast-bowling unit, Harbhajan (Singh) and Mishra are really good spinners and the batting is obviously pretty sound so in that sense, we have a complete package," he said.

"In the recent ICC events, a couple of major players were injured and that probably cost us the tournament. Going forward, India has a great opportunity to dominate international cricket, I'm sure they'll at least be in the top two.

"It's going to be an interesting couple of years, I don't think one team will dominate like Australia did for 10 years but I see India being in the top one or two slots."

Kumble himself, meanwhile, revealed he has no plans to return to the game in a coaching capacity.

"Not in the immediate future," he said. "At some point in time I'd like to be a mentor, I don't really believe too much in coaching. I certainly feel that if I can share my experiences of playing at the international level, I'd like to be a part of that."

Subscribe in a reader

Dravid dropped for Australia ODIs

Rahul Dravid, brought in to shore up the middle order in bowler-friendly conditions in South Africa, has been dropped for the first two ODIs against Australia, a home series expected to be played on flat tracks. Both Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh made comebacks from their injuries, taking the places of Dinesh Karthik and Dravid.

Yusuf Pathan and RP Singh - struggling for form - and Abhishek Nayar, tried only for three overs in three games, have been dropped for Ravindra Jadeja, Munaf Patel and the uncapped Sudeep Tyagi. Ishant Sharma has been persisted with despite his struggles in the limited-overs format.

The thorniest question of the selection, though, remained Dravid. Since his comeback, he has scored 14, 47, 39, 76 and 4 in five innings; the 39 came in a crucial 95-run opening stand in the final of the tri-series in Sri Lanka. It was expected that Sehwag and Yuvraj would replace Karthik and Virat Kohli, their original replacements, but the selectors put faith in Kohli.

RP and Yusuf have been disappointing and added to India's struggles in the last few months. RP, after his comeback in the West Indies, averaged 53.20 and gave away 5.91 runs an over. Yusuf, in his last 11 innings, reached double-figures twice, and in 30 matches overall has sent down 111.2 overs. It does not reflect his captain's faith in his bowling. The same applied for Nayar, who has been in the squad for three different series did not score a run or take a wicket.

Jadeja, Munaf and Tyagi, their replacements, all impressed during the Irani Cup and Challenger Trophy. Jadeja's 77, scored with the lower order in company, and Munaf's five-for got Rest of India the match-winning first-innings lead in the Irani tie. Munaf was the highest wicket-taker in the Challenger Trophy, while Tyagi's five wickets came at 18 apiece and Jadeja bowled 20 overs at an economy-rate of 3.7.

India squad MS Dhoni (capt/wk), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra, Munaf Patel, Sudeep Tyagi, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra.

Subscribe in a reader

Dravid's axe surprises Dada

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly expressed surprise over Rahul Dravid's exclusion from Team India for the ODI's against Australia.


"I don't know whether this is experimentation or what.

I don't think the selectors will experiment in a series against Australia," he said when asked to comment on the squad picked for the first two ODIs of a seven-match series.

"But I am a little surprised at the decision (of dropping Dravid). But it's a decision by the selectors and they know what is better for the side," Ganguly, himself a victim of selectors' decisions on several occasions, said.

On the ICC Champions Trophy debacle, the southpaw said, "It's sport and there will be ups and downs. It's important to support them (the team) when they are not doing well. I hope they will be back to their winning ways against Australia."

Having made a comeback to the one-day fold recently in the September tri-series in Sri Lanka and the Champions Trophy in South Africa, Dravid failed to find favour with the selectors.

Dravid had a decent show since his return with 180 runs from five matches at an average of 36.

The seven-match series against Australia is beginning from October 25.

Subscribe in a reader