India Clinched Australia & Reclaimed ICC Test Mace

Team India ended their home season with a eight wicket series win over Australia at Dharamsala. Virat Kohli-led side beat New Zealand, England and Bangladesh before hosting Australia.

Team India with Border-Gavaskar Trophy 

 The Aussies are formidable opponents. They are proud and professional and they play hard. For the Aussies, only winning matters. Everything else is a waste of time. But this series saw a dramatic role reversal, with India trumping the Aussies. It’s been a fiery month, both on and off the field, it was produced riveting cricket, with players pushing the boundaries to get ahead of each other. In this tussle, harsh words were exchanged, allegations and accusations were hurled and charges were made, starting with the infamous Aussie Sikkper Smith's "Brain Fade" moment when he was seeking clue for DRS.

    Kohli’s Indian team is more settled, sorted and successful than teams before it. The core group has excellent work ethic and on the bench sits genuine quality, ready to step in if an opportunity was to present itself. 

India retained the ICC Test Championship mace and also won a cash award of USD one million for holding on to the top position in the Test Team rankings on the annual April 1 cut-off date.

S Gavaskar presenting ICC test mace to V Kohli

      At the end of what has been a gruelling season, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that Umesh Yadav has mastered the difficult skill of picking up wickets on sub-continent pitches.

Series Result: 

                              1. Ind v Aus, Pune 

                                   - Aus won by 333 runs.

                              2. Ind v Aus, Bengaluru

                                   - Ind won by 75 runs.

                              3. Ind v Aus, Ranchi

                                   - Match Drawn.

                              4. Ind v Aus,  Dharamshala

                                   - Ind won by 8 wickets. 

Photos: 

Ashwin won the ICC Cricketer of the Year & Test Cricketer of the year award

Indian Players with trophies

Indian Captains v/s all other opponents

Jadeja with Man of the Match & Series awards

  Stats:

            - Jadeja has hit 21 sixes, most by anyone in 2016-17. Bhajji hit 17 sixes 2010-11. 

            - Jadeja became the third player to take 50+ wickets & 500+ runs in a season.                                    Kapil Dev and Mitchell Johnson are the other two to achieve the feat.

            - Jadeja is now the 24th player to score 3000 runs and pick 300 wickets in international                  cricket. He is the fourth Indian to do so. 

            - India became the third nation to win Test series against all their opponents at the same                point of time. Others are Aus(2004-05 & 2006-07), S Africa(2012-13). 

            - Since 2008, India now have been won 4 consecutive test series vs Aus, a rare                              disntiction. 

            - For the first time, India have won seven consecutive Test series – from 2015 till date. 

            - It was Pujara's first duck at home, 3rd over all.

            - It's the fourth time India have come back to win the series after losing the first Test.

            - Pujara, 32nd player who faced 525 or more balls in an innings. 

On a funny note, Virender Sehwag, who is also known for witty side, gave out the #ViruGhareluAwards. In his ‘awards’, he awarded following 'titles’ to players from both the Indian and Australian teams :

        Viart Kohli -Holder, 

        Steven Smith -Tubelight, 

        Pujara -Inverter, 

       Jadeja -TulluPump, 

       KL Rahul -Stabilizer,

       Ashwin, Rahane- Desert Coolers.

Kumble's Haul of Fame on 7 Feb'99

Any sporting record that lasts over 40 years has got to be very very special -- and the effort that equals it, or tops it, has to be applauded to the rooftops.

Today, it was Anil Kumble whose name rings from the rafters -- an analysis that reads 26.3-9-74-10 being the reason why.
On February 7, 1999, Anil Kumble took all the 10 Pakistan wickets in the second Test at the Feroz shah Kotla, in New Delhi and in the process he wrote his name into the annals of cricket folklore and history. Kumble emulated Englishman Jim Laker's feat, finishing with 10-74 from 26.3 overs against Pakistan. The feat was made all the more special since as it was against arch-rival Pakistan, and that too the Test series was the first on Indian soil between the two teams in 12 years.

Kumble's brilliance saw India crush Pakistan by 212 runs in the second Test in New Delhi and square the short two-match series.

500th Test Match: A Landmark for India

The Forthcoming Test match between India and New Zealand at Kanpur is the test match number 500th for Indian Cricket team. It took more than eight decades to India to achieve the milestone. Also, The first test host ground, Green park at Kanpur is set to host its 499th test.

UPCA set to welcome team India for 500th test.

Credit: UPCA twitter handle

Team India have been played 499 test matches so far, in which 129 matches were won by them with 47% success rate and 157 lost and 212 were drawn.

     From 1932 to Sep 2016, a few major achievements of team India have been enumerated here. Where in 1932, India started to play test cricket. In 1999, veteran leg-spinner Anil Kumble who is now the chief coach of Indian team took 10 wickets in an innings with broken Jaw. In 2000, 'The wall' Rahul Dravid and wrist master VVS Laxman , together made a record shuttering partnership against Australia and Turbunator Harbhajan singh took a Hat-trick. In 2004, Sehwag best known for his attacking-batting-attitude, became the first Indian to make a triple century in a test and tagged as "Multan ka Sultan" after his compelling batting performance against Pakistan. In 2013, Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar called it a day from Test cricket after playing 200 test matches. The 200th test was against West Indies and in 2016, India set to play 500th test.

India's test cricket journey.

courtesy: Times of India(pic)

If we talk about the Captaincy, Some stats about the Indian test captains,

Without spinner one can't imagine the shape of test cricket. Spinners always make test cricket more interesting. Here are some greatest spinners from India,

     Moreover, to make the 500th test memorable, BCCI instructed the hotel in which both the teams stays  that it will serve 500 types of dishes to the players and management for all the five days according to the schedule.

Apart from this, Among those who will be present at Kanpur's Green Park Stadium are Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Ravi Shastri, Kris Srikkanth, Azharuddin, Anil Kumble, Kapil Dev, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag and MS Dhoni.
Good Luck TEAM INDIA for 500th test !

Ind vs NZ Test Series: A Tale of Numbers

Cricket world's two strong teams, India and New Zealand's Test matches series is beginning from September 22, 2016.

The First Test of the three test match series is also going to set a Landmark Indian cricket history as it will be the 500th test match for Indian cricket team.

India vs NZ test series about to begin

According to the schedule, first test is going to start from 22 September at Green Park stadium, Kanpur. Second test, from 30 September at Eden gardens   Kolkata and third one from 8 October at Holkar cricket stadium, Indore. All these three test timings are 9:30 hours, Indian Standard Time.
    
     Besides three-match Test series against New Zealand, India will also play five-match ODI series, starting on October 16 at HPCA Stadium.

 IndvsNZ Test History:
        The first ever test played between India and new Zealand , was on 19th Nov 1955 at Hyderabad. And till yet, A total of 20 series have been played, in which India and new Zealand have been met 54 times where India brought most victories as 18 wins, 10 matches won by Kiwis and rest, 26  are resulted as Drawn.

Series - 20
Matches - 54
Most win- India (18)
Most runs - Dravid (1659)
Most wickets- Sir Hadlee (65)


Breaking News : In a major setback, Indian pace spearhead Ishant Sharma who claimed eight wickets at an average of 32.12 in the recently-concluded four Test matches against West Indies, with his best figures of 3 for 70 coming in the third Test in St Lucia, ruled out of Kanpur Test with Chikenguniya, a mosquito-borne viral infection. While confirming the news, India did not take any replacement of Ishant.

Happy Birthday Cricket !

Many players Came and went back and all of you are fans of them like Sachin, Ganguly, Laxman and some others but it is privilege to be a fan of Rahul Dravid.  His Fans, Friends, Cricket opponents calls him The Wall and why do they not say so afterall by his consistency, class and commitment, he has proved that he is the best for this title. He is the GENTLEMAN of Cricket. Isn't it great to be a fan of Dravid Sir ?

He is sharing his birthday today and a little tribute to this great LEGEND from my side.

Some unforgettable achievements:
2012: Don Bradman Award with Glen McGrath
2011: NDTV Indian of the Year's Lifetime Achievement Award with Dev Anand
2004: ICC Test Player of The Year, ICC Cricketer of The Year
2004: MTV Youth Icon of the Year.





here is some very precious quotes on him :

There was and is only one Rahul Dravid. There can be no other. I have shared the best moments with him. For someone who has played 164 matches and over 13000 runs, no tribute can be enough. - Sachin Tendulkar






Wall for team but a shoulder for team mates. Impregnable for opposition, motivation fr us. That's Rahul bhai. Got my ODI & Test cap frm him - Suresh Raina





Rahul Dravid retires.. The worlds most respected cricketer over the last 20 yrs.. LEGEND- Michael Vaughan



Rahul Dravid-LEGEND!! Plain & simple.. congrats on an incredible career!! India WILL miss- Kevin Pietersen

THE WALL of indian cricket a role model for me. A true gentleman and great motivator. We will miss you on the field Rahul bhai- Ajinkya Rahane

Congrats on a Fantastic, Superb International Career! The Great Legend Rahul Dravid !!The wall will be miss!! - Chris Gayle








Rahul Dravid retires...cricket loses one of its finest batsmen, sport, one of its finest gentlemen. - Jeffrey Archer

Congrats to Rahul Dravid on an amazing career! You will be missed. Fantastic person and Cricketer! India's wall. - AB de Villiers

Rahul Dravid one of the games treasures a man that stood tall as a player & character. Many congratulations on a Stella career. - Tom Moody

Congratulations Rahul Dravid. Champion on and off the field, showed us all that sky is the limit with hard work, patience and discipline- Mahesh Bhupathi

Rahul Dravid is one of the all time greats of the game. One of the top 5 batters I played against. Lara Sachin Ponting Kallis the other 4. - Alec Stewart

Jam it was a pleasure & privilege to have playd with u and ur presence in the dressing room alwys added to our confidence. Will miss u lots. - Virender Sehwag

Dravid, A purist, in this mad world of limited overs cricket with limited edition heroes, whose kind may not be seen again on the field! - Rameez Raja

Rahul Dravid- What a true legend of the game! Think all bowlers around the world will be relieved!! - Luke Wright

An honour to play against a legend like Rahul Dravid, another one of the Greats retires from cricket. Great man & v humble. Good 2know him - Azhar Mahmood



 Try to take (Dravid) wicket in first 15 minutes. If u cant then only try to take the remaining wickets- Steve waugh
 Sledging Rahul Dravid was one of the biggest mistakes of my life.- Michael Slater



Stat:
- Dravid is one of the Int cricketers who average more away than home.
Home avg. is 51.35,
Away avg. is 53.03.
- only cricketer who hasn't duck in consecutive 120 odi.
- 406 catches he taken in his international career .


His bat was speak more than himself, that is the speciality in him. He only smile when someone sledge him.  Here is wishing the one and only Dravid sir a very happy birthday.