Dinda replaces Yadav for third Test

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Dinda replaces Yadav for third Test

Bengal pacer Ashok Dinda has replaced an injured Umesh Yadav for India's third Test against England in Kolkata.

Dinda had been called as a cover for Ishant Sharma in the first Test and Yadav in the second Test though he did not get to play.

The selection panel headed by Sandeep Patil was to announce the team for the remaining two Test matches but did so only for the Kolkata match in a clear perform-or-perish message for some of the under-performing players.

"The teams for the fourth Test and the T20 International series, will be picked later," BCCI Secretary Sanjay Jagdale said in a statement.

India lost the Mumbai Test by 10 wickets inside four days and there was intense speculation a leg-spinner would be drafted into the squad to bring more variety in the spin department.

But the selectors reposed faith on the spin trio of R Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha and Harbhajan Singh despite their failure to exploit the pitch in Mumbai which was tailormade to suit India's demands.

Harbhajan retained his place in the squad despite picking up two wickets in the Mumbai Test where he bowled just 23 overs unlike Ashwin and Ojha who sent down nearly 45 overs each.

Also retained was senior batsman Sachin Tendulkar, who has been going through a prolonged form slump with his last 10 innings yielding just 153 runs at an average of 15.3, the lowest by an Indian top-order batsman in the corresponding period.

In the current series he has scored merely 13, 8 and 8 and has looked clearly out of sorts.

Opener Gautam Gambhir, who has also been out of form, did well in the second innings of the Mumbai match to hang on to his spot in the side.

The third Test will be played at Eden Gardens, which has been the venue of some of India's historic triumph, while Nagpur will stage the fourth and final Test from December 13 to 17.

The two Twenty20 Internationals after the Test series will be played in Pune and Mumbai on December 20 and 22 respectively. 

India Squad: M.S. Dhoni (Captain), Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Cheteshwar Pujara, R. Ashwin, Ashok Dinda, Pragyan Ojha, Ajinkya Rahane, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Murali Vijay, Zaheer Khan

Samaraweera gives Lanka hope

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Samaraweera gives Lanka hope

A half-century from Thilan Samaraweera gave Sri Lanka renewed hope against New Zealand on day three of the second Test in Colombo.

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Having started the day on a precarious 43 for three, a solid 90-run partnership between Angelo Mathews (47) and Tharanga Paranavitana (40) got the home side going before the pair were dismissed late in the morning session.

Samaraweera then continued the fightback in the final two sessions thanks to his unbeaten 97-run seventh-wicket stand with Suraj Randiv.

The 36-year-old was 76 not out when bad light brought an early end to proceedings with Sri Lanka on 225 for six - 187 runs of their first-innings target of 412.

New Zealand had gained the upper hand on day two by going past the 400-run mark and then reducing their opponents to 12 for three at one point.

Mathews and Paranavitana managed to steer Sri Lanka through to the close, and the pair resumed this morning as the hosts looked to mount a challenge.

Paranavitana struck three fours on his way to 40 but then edged a Tim Southee delivery to Kruger van Wyk behind the stumps.

Mathews followed his team-mate just two overs later, Southee snaring his fourth victim with a teasing delivery which was steered to Martin Guptill at second slip.

Mathews' knock of 47 had at least been an entertaining one for the crowd, with five boundaries and a six.

Prasanna Jayawardene and Samaraweera saw the home side through to lunch on 107 for five, but the former could only see out a few overs of the afternoon session before he fell on 12 to Jeetan Patel, Kane Williamson taking the catch at square leg.

Samaraweera kept his head, though, and with the help of Randiv, the pair soon became a source of frustration for New Zealand's bowlers.

Samaraweera was two short of his fifty by tea and knocked off the runs needed in the first over after the interval, passing the mark off 114 balls with three fours.

Randiv had to be more patient in his search for runs but still managed two boundaries as Sri Lanka threatened a more respectable total than had seemed possible at one stage.

Samaraweera had taken his score to 76 at stumps with Randiv unbeaten on 34, and hopes will rest on the pair again tomorrow as Sri Lanka look to rescue a result.

Kapil to selectors: Speak to Sachin

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Kapil to selectors: Speak to Sachin

Kapil Dev reckoned it was time for Sachin Tendulkar and the selectors to have an honest discussion while also raising questions on MS Dhoni's place in the team.

Tendulkar's poor run continued in the recently-concluded second Test against England which the visitors won in just four days despite the track being tailormade to India's demands.

Following the 39-year-old's most recent failure, ex-captain Sunil Gavaskar said it was time for him to speak to the selectors. And now, Kapil has echoed his former teammate's view.

"Either selectors should speak to him or Sachin should himself have a word with them. The problem is that Sachin does not speak about it openly and the selectors have also been mum about it till now," Kapil told a TV channel.

"This results in confusion amongst the fans and also invites criticism from everyone, especially when Sachin performs badly. Selectors should talk to him openly. He (Sachin) is a hero and one feels really bad to see fingers being pointed at him," he said.

After the defeat against England in the Mumbai Test, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is also facing the ire of former players. Kapil said Dhoni's place in the playing XI is in itself questionable.

"It is a big loss, indeed. We never let other teams dominate us in our own conditions. But, this loss has raised some serious questions. We all know that Dhoni has performed badly in the last 8-10 Tests and going purely by performance, his place in the playing XI seems a bit doubtful.

"When you win, a captain takes the entire credit and similarly he will also be blamed when the team loses. He has let himself down and fans are feeling the same," said the 1983 World Cup winning skipper.

Kapil said that the team is going through a transition phase after retirement of legends such as Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman but hoped that it will bounce back in the remaining two Tests against England.

Broad form is concern for England

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Broad form is concern for England

Stuart Broad's lacklustre bowling form is an "issue" England need to confront as they seek to consolidate their famous second-Test win over India.

Alastair Cook's tourists levelled the four-match series with a 10-wicket victory at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday, where Kevin Pietersen and the captain's centuries and Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann's wickets were too much for the hosts.

Hopes are therefore raised that they can become the first England team since 1984-85 to win a Test series in India.

An atmosphere of renewed confidence is evident throughout the team, with the exception of vice-captain Broad - who declared himself fit for the second Test, despite feeling unwell the day beforehand, and then managed only 12 wicketless overs at a cost of 60 runs.

England bowling coach David Saker is doing all he can to help Broad rediscover his best form in time for the third Test in Kolkata - a match which could yet instead feature Steven Finn.

The latter was on Tuesday set to test his recovery from a thigh strain, in a three-day match for the England Performance Programme squad against the DY Patil Academy in Mumbai.

As for Broad, Saker said: "It is a bit of an issue.

"He has not bowled as we would have liked. But he's not the first bowler to come over here and find it hard."

Even some of the world's best all-time pace bowlers have struggled, in fact, to be effective in sub-continental conditions.
Saker added: "Stuart's not a great yet. He has to learn ways to become great.

"If he gets the next Test he has to be ready for it.

"During my tenure as bowling coach, I haven't had too many players down in confidence and form. "I hope I can do some stuff over the next few days that can help."

Finn has played no part on tour, since injuring himself after just four overs in the first warm-up match against India 'A' last month.

If he fails to come through the EPP fixture safely, he will go home.

But England are reluctant to tread that path, because they know their tallest seamer could yet be the missing ingredient which could help to see them to another precious victory here.

"We've got our fingers crossed he gets through, number one; if he gets through unscathed and bowls well, his name will definitely be talked about for selection," said Saker, with an eye to Kolkata.

"He's got that x-factor, a bit of pace, that height that always means you could get variable bounce over here - so his name will be bandied around for sure for that second seamer's spot."

Finn appeared to be recovering well until a setback just before the second Test, and for that reason England are taking nothing for granted.

"We were really confident he'd be right for this Test, so I'm not sure," said Saker.

"I've just got my fingers crossed he gets through; if he does, we can make a decision.

"We're not getting too far ahead of ourselves. We want to make sure he gets through his three or four spells and gets some rhythm; then his name will come up."

Proteas ponder Kallis replacement

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Proteas ponder Kallis replacement

South Africa captain Graeme Smith concedes his side may need to call upon a replacement if Jacques Kallis does not recover in time for the final Test against Australia in Perth this week.

Kallis injured his hamstring while bowling on the first day of the drawn second Test at Adelaide Oval.

Scans later revealed the all-rounder had strained his hamstring and could not bowl, although the veteran was able to bat through the pain to notch his 56th Test half-century in South Africa's first innings.

The 37-year-old added 46 on the final day in the tourists' second dig and combined for a stout 99-run stand with Faf du Plessis (110 not out) to drag South Africa to a memorable draw.

However, Kallis still remains a doubt for the third Test at the WACA according to Smith.

"The nature of the way this tour's gone for us, I think we may need a replacement with the build-up," Smith said.

"We need to reassess how Jacques pulls up tomorrow and how he goes well over the next few days.

"He's definitely not going to bowl (in Perth), but if we can have him as a batter that would be ideal.

"He played two very important knocks (in Adelaide), and his experience and skill definitely shone through, and ideally we would love to have him fit for Perth.

"Hopefully that will be the case, if not we will deal with it the way we've dealt with the other curve balls that have been thrown at us in this series."

Beyond Kallis' gutsy knock, Du Plessis was superb on Test debut to post a maiden century and claim man-of-the-match honours.

The rookie faced an astonishing 376 balls in his second innings to force a draw after Australia set the visitors a daunting 430 for victory.

AB de Villiers (33), who recorded the longest innings in Test history in terms of deliveries faced without a boundary, was also impressive.

The wicketkeeper formed a painstaking 68-over partnership with du Plessis to keep Australia's bowling attack at bay.

Smith said he was realistic about South Africa's slim chances to snatch a draw on Monday and was ultimately blown away by his team-mates' resistance.

"There was that little bit of hope this morning but at four down last night, the writing was probably on the wall. I just wanted to see the guys show a little character," Smith said.

"It was incredible to see the guys who represented us out there today with the skill, the determination and the pride in which they took in their performances, they represented us and a lot of people back home immensely and that was the most fulfilling thing for me.

"It's really a strengthening point for us considering we haven't played very well and that we had another couple of big injuries in this Test match that created some hassles for us.

"We still managed to scrap after not being in great positions. We know we haven't been at our best, but we still haven't been beaten and that is a very rewarding feeling."

The powerful left-hander hopes the defiant display can prompt a 'special' performance in Perth.

"We are level-pegging going into Perth and that is great," Smith said.

"We have five days left on this tour and an opportunity to create something special and that's what we were fighting for today.

"We wanted to go to Perth in that position and give ourselves a chance of winning a series here again in Australia and we now have that opportunity."

CSA laud players for fightback

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CSA laud players for fightback

Cricket South Africa lauded the national squad on what it called "a magnificent rearguard action and, in particular, Faf du Plessis for his phenomenal performance on debut" to earn a draw in the second Test against Australia in Adelaide.

Du Plessis became the first South African to score a century and a half-century on Test debut. His aggregate of 188 was the second best for the Proteas after Jacques Rudolph who made 222 from one innings against Bangladesh in 2003.

"Faf played with great skill, determination and pride, and the hallmark was the calmness he displayed, particularly in guiding the tail-enders through an extremely difficult last hour," commented CSA Acting CEO Jacques Faul.

"These are all the characteristics that have made our Test side such a world-class unit over the past few years and demonstrated just how hard they are to beat.

"Faf's performance in this match was world-class by any standards but to do it on debut in an away Test against Australia was absolutely phenomenal. There is a great skill involved in playing match-winning innings but playing match-saving innings can often be even more difficult," he added.

Du Plessis' innings lasted 16 minutes short of eight hours and enabled the Proteas to bat out the last day. The match also produced yet another statistical landmark for Jacques Kallis who has now scored 50 or more runs in a Test innings on 100 occasions.

"Faf was by no means a one-man band in saving this match and we congratulate everybody for the way they knuckled down to complete a job well done.

"This has been an engrossing series of Test cricket to date which underlines the greatness of the five-day format, and all South Africans will be looking forward to another keen encounter at Perth from Friday."

Cook, Pietersen lead England charge

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Cook, Pietersen lead England charge

Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen's unbroken century partnership put England in a position of great promise on day two of the second Test against India.

Scorecard
Cook (87no) and Pietersen (62no) joined forces at a critical point in an intriguing contest, on this spinners' pitch, after England had lost two wickets for as many runs to Pragyan Ojha.
From 68 for two shortly before tea, in reply to 327 all out, they then saw out the day to the tune of 178 without further loss - and England's prospects of battling back here after their nine-wicket defeat in the first Test of four were significantly bolstered.
There was an England all-time record-equalling 22nd Test century on offer as extra motivation for each of the third-wicket pair.
But it was the opportunity to be associated with a famous victory here which had to be the principal guiding force.
England fared well almost throughout, save the setbacks of losing Nick Compton and Jonathan Trott in such quick succession.
After Monty Panesar completed his five-wicket haul, and Graeme Swann finally shifted Cheteshwar Pujara (135), openers Cook and Compton shared an encouraging stand of 66.
Cook was less crease-bound than in his heroic but vain 176 in Ahmedabad - and after the captain had twice hit Ojha over the top, once for six over long-on, Compton too was emboldened to use his feet against India's three-strong specialist spin attack.
It was only when slow left-armer Ojha returned for his second spell that Compton was undone, caught at slip off a full ball which turned enough to take the edge of his forward-defence.
Then Trott went fatally back, as he has tended to on this tour, and was stone-dead lbw for his second duck in three Test innings in India.
Ojha, Ravichandran Ashwin and Harbhajan Singh had conditions in their favour.
But Cook and Pietersen answered every question, in their contrasting styles, each needing a little luck as well as plenty of skill as edges were controlled short of slip and the line of the stumps protected when sharp turn often beat the bat.
Pietersen began with a cover-driven four off Harbhajan, and reached his 63-ball 50 with a back-foot stroke in the same direction for his eighth boundary off Ashwin.
Cook's tempo was slower, but his presence equally assured, taking more than twice as many deliveries to reach his half-century but hitting six fours and that six along the way.
Only when he escaped a sharp chance to Virender Sehwag, on 85, in the last over of the day from Harbhajan did he make a notable mistake.
Panesar and Swann had combined well too this morning, to take India's last four wickets for 61 runs. By the time Swann had Pujara stumped half an hour before lunch, the near immovable India number three had batted for almost 18 hours without being dismissed in the series since first taking guard at the Sardar Patel Stadium last week.
He underpinned a total which had appeared highly unlikely when the hosts stumbled to 119 for five yesterday (Friday), and his stand of 111 with Ashwin (68) was a source of particular frustration for England. Ashwin had hardly batted like a number eight, since his arrival at the crease last night (Friday).
But he was deceived by Panesar (five for 129), who followed a series of stock balls with one that hurried on to hit the back pad just on off-stump and win an lbw as Ashwin picked the wrong one to cut.
Harbhajan survived on one when an outside-edge off Panesar flew between wicketkeeper and first slip for four, and clubbed the slow left-armer for a six wide of long-on before Swann (four for 70) ended his fun - lbw walking across his stumps.
England's off-spinner then achieved what no one else had since this series started - getting Pujara up the wicket and missing on the forward-defence as an arm ball slid past the outside edge for Matt Prior to complete a routine stumping.
It was an underwhelming way for the new 'Wall' to fall at last, in an India innings which closed soon afterwards when Swann had Zaheer Khan caught at short-leg - off pad and shirt, on replay evidence, but to England's relief nonetheless.
By close of play, thanks to Cook and Pietersen, the visitors' dressing-room was doubtless an altogether more optimistic place.

Australia on top despite collapse

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Australia on top despite collapse

Australia ended the third day of the second Test against South Africa in a familiar position, with the in-form duo of Michael Clarke and Mike Hussey at the crease.

Scorecard
Unlike in recent times, though, the pair had the job of stabilising things rather than making hay, seeing the Baggy Green through to 111 for five at stumps, an overall lead of 273.
Such an advantage could prove to be enough on its own for Australia to take the Test but, having wracked up 550 in their first innings - Clarke making 230 and Hussey 103 - and taken five South African wickets for 17 in the morning session, they will have hoped for better.
The two men currently occupying the crease should be able to push on beyond 300 on Sunday, but captain Clarke will not have been happy at having to head to the middle before the close.
It had looked like being another Australian run fest when they eased out to 77 without loss, but when David Warner (41) found cover off the bowling of Rory Kleinveldt, a mini collapse began.
The luckless Rob Quiney was next in, returning to the pavilion just two balls later with an unwanted pair on debut, getting cramped up by Kleinveldt and edging to AB de Villiers behind the stumps.
Ed Cowan was next man out, with Kleinveldt (three for 14) finding the gap between bat and pad, with Ricky Ponting also having his stumps rearranged by Dale Steyn for 16.
Peter Siddle was sent in as the night watchman but the move backfired as he failed to stick around, nicking Morne Morkel to de Villiers, so Hussey was sent out to accompany Clarke and the pair closed on five and nine respectively.
For a time it had not looked as though Australia would be batting again today as South Africa headed towards the follow-on, only for Jacques Kallis to play through the pain barrier and keep them on an even keel.
After the Proteas lost five for 17 it left Kallis, who limped off the field on day one with a hamstring strain, and Test debutant Faf du Plessis with work to do after lunch to pass the follow-on total of 351.
The pair added 93 for the eighth wicket and when Kallis was out for 58, Du Plessis (78) guided the Proteas to 388 all out, though whether Australia, who took a first-innings lead of of 162, would have made them bat again anyway was a moot point given James Pattinson was absent with a reported side injury.
If yesterday (Friday) was close to perfect for South Africa in Adelaide, today (Saturday) they had just six overs of comfort before it all went wrong.
Nathan Lyon began the collapse as he drew a false shot from Jacques Rudolph (29), who drove straight to Quiney at extra cover.
The big moment came in the next over as Graeme Smith (122) got a faint edge on a Siddle delivery and was caught behind having added just 11 to his overnight score.
Smith was visibly annoyed when the review upheld Billy Bowden's original decision, but Hot Spot showed contact.
Wickets continued to fall as the excellent Siddle got his second, de Villiers wasting the final review on a plumb LBW, before Ben Hilfenhaus got Steyn to edge to slip and comprehensively bowled the hapless Kleinveldt.
That was the signal for Kallis to emerge and, though he grimaced with pain more than once, he kept Australia out until lunch.
With his footwork hindered, Kallis came out swinging after the break, hitting three consecutive Siddle deliveries for four, albeit with a little luck.
The all-rounder took three more boundaries off another Siddle over, and this time they were all off the meat of the bat, then smashed a four and a six off Clarke to pass 50.
The Australia skipper got his revenge in the next over as Kallis was given out on review, caught behind as the ball ricocheted off his glove as he attempted to sweep.
Du Plessis, who had taken a back seat to Kallis, took a single to reach 50 on debut and drove Siddle for a stunning six over long on.
But Morkel had been bowled round his legs by Lyon by that point and, with Imran Tahir looking unlikely to hang around for long, Du Plessis started to take chances and was caught by Clarke close in on the leg side off Hilfenhaus (three for 49) on the stroke of tea.

Bangladesh fight but Windies on top

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Bangladesh fight but Windies on top

Bangladesh have a tough task at hand as the hosts closed Day 4 at 226 for 6, still 35 runs behind. The final day could turn out to be a formality.

Scorecard
Day report to follow...
Bangladesh 387 & 226 for 6, West Indies 648 for 9 declared
Tea
Tino Best ripped through Bangladesh`s top order in the afternoon session on day four of the second Test in Khulna, putting the hosts on course for a series defeat.
The Bajan paceman took three for 11 from his four overs to help reduce Bangladesh to 85 for five in their second innings at tea, still some 176 runs shy of making the Windies bat for the match.
Best cleaned up Tamim Iqbal for 28 and also snared Shahriar Nafees (21) and Naeem Islam (two) and, although the Tigers still have first innings centurion Abul Hasan to come, the chances of him replicating his swashbuckling debut score appear remote as he has a finger injury.
Also in the wickets were Fidel Edwards and Veerasammy Permaul, with the former trapping Nazimuddin with just the third ball of the innings and the latter accounting for Mushfiqur Rahim.
The reason the hosts have such a mountain to climb is West Indies` mammoth score of 648 for nine declared - although their stay at the crease did yield a positive for the home side.
Shakib Al Hasan became their leading wicket-taker in Tests and went to lunch on a hat-trick, but that was just about the only plus point.
Shivnarine Chanderpaul wound up unbeaten on 150, all this coming after Shakib found his range and took four wickets in quick order, starting with the tourists' wicketkeeper Dinesh Ramdin.
West Indies, looking to complete a series whitewash in this second and final Test, resumed on 564 for four in reply to the hosts' 387.
The going was slow this morning as the overnight pair of Chanderpaul and Ramdin took their partnership past 50, and there was bad news for Bangladesh as Hasan, who made a century with the bat on debut but suffered a fracture to a finger while doing so, tried and failed to bowl.
Shakib gave his side something to smile about though as he got Ramdin to edge behind and Mushfiqur took a juggling catch, before Darren Sammy was caught in the slips to give the spinner his 100th Test wicket later in the over.
And there was more joy for Shakib two overs later as, in the last two deliveries before lunch, Permaul and Sunil Narine were caught by close fielders.
Shakib could not complete his treble after lunch, though, and after Chanderpaul nudged his way to 150, West Indies were called back to the pavilion.

'I'm glad Pujara recorded a century'

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'I'm glad Pujara recorded a century'

R Ashwin's support was key in Cheteshwar Pujara scoring a century and the India spinner says it would have been a "shame" had his colleague missed out on a hundred.

Pujara was going strong while other top-order batsmen struggled but the young batsman found an able ally in Ashwin, who supported him well with a magnificent 60.

Ashwin had joined Pujara when six top Indian batsmen were cooling their heels back in the pavilion and stayed with him till the end of the play.

Ashwin lauded Pujara's technical efficiency and his controlled knock.

"I thought it was a brilliant knock. The amount of time he trusted his defense and kept on defending was brilliant. He eased the nerves as he batted on, defending beautifully. I thought it was a very well-paced knock and it would have been a shame if he had not got a hundred," said Ashwin after the first day's play.

Pujara, who came into the second Test with an unbeaten double hundred (206) and 41 not out in the first Test, ended the day with an unbeaten knock of 114.

The 25-year-old's knock rescued India from deep trouble as India were struggling at 119 for 5 at one stage and ended the day at a more comfortable 266 for 6.

Pujara and Ashwin (60) shared a partnership of 97 for the unfinished seventh wicket.

Ashwin said Pujara's run-appetite was phenomenal.

"He has great temperament, he is in great form and he keeps on grinding the runs and even in domestic cricket he does not get small hundreds, he gets big ones," said Ashwin, adding they knew each other from the teenage years.

"We have played together since 16-17 years old. We have been at the national cricket academy and all that," he said.

Ashwin, who scored his second half-century, said though his team was not out of trouble, they can put pressure on England by piling on more runs on Saturday.

"We batted pretty well to be at the position where we are. There is lot of work to be done. We are not totally out of the woods. We need to gather a few more runs. The morning session will be crucial, we need to just pass the 350 mark and I think we have the game really on," Ashwin said.

The wily off-spinner also praised the strip saying it has something for both the spinners and fast bowlers.

"The wicket has more bounce than Ahmedabad which was low and slow. There is enough bounce to encourage fast bowlers who can bend their backs as was shown even at the end of the day's play. It is one of the best wickets in the country and when it starts spinning, it becomes quite tough to bat on unless you get through the first 15-20 minutes," he said.

Talking about his own knock, he said he did not do anything different. Ashwin batted confidently and was even aggressive as he struck England pace spearhead James Anderson for three fours in an over with the second new ball.

"I just batted the way I know to bat. I have always batted like this. I used my feet up and down. We don't go into any Test with any particular total in mind," he explained.

'Delighted with Sachin's wicket'

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'Delighted with Sachin's wicket'

Monty Panesar said that out of the four wickets he took against India, it was the wicket of Sachin Tendulkar that he cherished the most.

"Obviously for me it has got to be the prince of India, Sachin Tendulkar. I was absolutely delighted with that," said Panesar, who pushed India on to the backfoot by sending back Virender Sehwag and Tendulkar in the space of 11 balls before the hosts fought back in the last session.

This was the third time that Panesar had dismissed Tendulkar. Previously it was at Nagpur in 2006 and at Lord's in 2007.

Panesar, who ended with the figures of four for 91 in 34 overs, said he had worked hard with England bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmed to get his action right and that paid rich dividends at the Wankhede stadium.

"During the practice session I have worked quite a lot with Mushy bhai in trying to get my action right. The previous ball, I remember, I got my action slightly wrong and dropped it. The next ball, I thought, I have to make sure that I get all the process I worked with Mushy bhai right. It seemed to click," said Panesar.

"I got my action right and got my fingers nicely around the ball. These kind of things obviously work and it came out nice. Mushy bhai has been valuable for us. He has played a lot of cricket in the subcontinent. He understands the rhythm of the game out here and he helps us -- me and Swanny (Graeme Swann) -- a lot to understand the type of cricket that Indians play out here.

"And you have got to adjust to that, adjust to the conditions, to the heat, to the crowd noise. All of that comes into play when you are a spin bowler. You have to adjust to the flamboyant shots that they play and accept that and keep bowling the next ball," he added.

Panesar was confident that his team could restrict the hosts, who ended the first day at 266 for six, to 300 on Saturday morning.

"They (Ravichandran) Ashwin and (Cheteshwar) Pujara obviously built a good partnership. So what we are hoping is to restrict them to 300, and that will be good for us. That kind of partnership has obviously given the momentum to India but overall I don't think they expected us to dominate the first two sessions like that.

"I thought we struck really well out there. We, especially, applied lot of pressure early on Indian batters, it was something that the Indian team didn't expect. They won the toss and thought they would only have a few wickets down with may be 300-plus score. But we as a team put pressure on them, and having five wickets down early on is a testament to how we applied pressure on the team out there," he explained.

Stating that there was plenty of turn in the wicket, Panesar said, "Me and Swanny both provided each other a good platform. They have already played a Ranji trophy match there so the wicket is already been used. There is obviously turn and bounce in the wicket. They have prepared a pitch, on which a four-day match (Ranji Trophy tie between Mumbai and Railways) was played on, so they have prepared a pitch that is going to turn and bounce.

"Bowling at all these world-class cricketers, I probably will need every help down in the pitch to get them out and that obviously helped me. Those are the kind of balls you need to bowl at these players to get them out. They are very good players in their own conditions." .

Panesar, who was brought on to bowl his first over after just six overs of pace, said he enjoyed bowling with a hard ball.

"I have got various responsibilities with the new ball and sometimes you have to do holding role, sometimes I do attacking role. I just want to do them to the best I can and try and get the best for the team out there.

"I knew there was an option where the captain may want to use me with the new ball and I was kind of prepared for that.

"It is something that I quite enjoy. It is something new that I have gone into but I do enjoy bowling with new ball. I have obviously had the experience in the Pakistan series in Dubai, when I bowled with the new ball," said the bowler.

The spinner, who was surprisingly omitted from the opening game that England lost in Ahmedabad, said he was certainly upset at not having played in the series opener.

"Obviously there was a slight disappointment I didn't play, but I am happy to be playing in this match. It would have been nice to play but I am delighted to be playing this one," said Panesar.

Morkel praises leader Smith

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Morkel praises leader Smith

Morne Morkel hailed a captain's performance from Graeme Smith, whose century put the tourists back in contention in the second Test against Australia.

Australia began the second day on 482 for five, but Morkel's five-wicket haul helped South Africa restrict the hosts to 550 on a good pitch.

Smith then made an unbeaten 111 by the close as the Proteas closed on 217 for two - a deficit of 333 - on day two.

"He's a fantastic leader ... one of the best captains I've ever played with," Morkel said of Smith.

"We've seen it again today. We needed a guy up front to be solid and he is still out there on 111 not out, and I really hope tomorrow can be a big day for him.

"The amount of passion and pride he shows for his country, the way he gets the guys going like yesterday which was a tough day ... to get us up and pick us up, it's unbelievable.

"I think its experience you don't buy at the supermarket as they say."

Morkel admitted day three would be crucial in the final outcome of the Test and that the Proteas would increase the run rate to hack away more rapidly at Australia's mammoth first-innings score to force a result.

"We always know day three is the moving day and important for us as a unit. Come play tomorrow there's going to be 11 very hungry South Africans taking the field," Morkel said.

"For us now the key is to build the partnerships and hopefully by the end of the day we can be in range or close to their target and take it from there.

"We will fight now for the next three days."

LIVE: India vs England, 1st Test

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LIVE: India vs England, 1st Test

Alastair Cook continued to defy India with a historic century as England's faint hopes of saving the first Test remained marginally intact.

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Tea: England 264/5
Cook (138no) became the first batsman to make a hundred in his first three Tests as captain, his previous successes as Andrew Strauss' deputy in Bangladesh two-and-a-half years ago before his permanent appointment for this four-match series.
He would doubtless swap the personal glory for a piece of collective escapology too here, after England yesterday conceded a first-innings deficit of 330.
But the mission improbable stayed that way, despite Cook's stoic heroics, as wickets fell at the other end on day four - twice in pairs, first for the addition of only four runs and then none when Umesh Yadav put himself on a hat-trick.
Following on, Cook and Nick Compton reprised their century opening stand this morning - but by teatime, only the captain remained in a total of 264 for five.
Cook's 21st Test hundred took him past his mentor, and England's current batting coach, Graham Gooch in the list of those to make the most for his country.
Ahead of him still are Geoff Boycott, Colin Cowdrey and Wally Hammond on 22 - and level are Strauss and Kevin Pietersen.
England lost only Compton in the first hour, to the relief of Mahendra Singh Dhoni who had just missed a chance to stump the debutant opener.
Compton ate up 128 balls and lasted 45 overs for his 37 runs - a handy contribution in the context of the match - before he toppled over in defence against Zaheer Khan's left-arm inswing, and fell lbw.
Jonathan Trott then appeared to be getting himself in, after his first-innings duck, and could hardly be criticised for edging behind on the forward-defence when Pragyan Ojha turned one sharply from a perfect line and length.
Pietersen has long disputed he has a weakness to left-arm spin, but fell to that variety for the 25th time in his career when Ojha followed up yesterday's success against him.
Bowled middle-stump playing inside one that turned then, this time Pietersen got so far across to sweep that he was bowled round his legs by a delivery that took the off bail.
Ian Bell was under extreme pressure after his first-innings rush of blood against Ojha, and the resulting embarrassment of a golden duck.
But he confidently drove his second ball from the same bowler through extra-cover for four, and soon afterwards Cook completed his 181-ball century in more prosaic fashion with a push for two into the leg-side off Yadav.
Bell went in early afternoon, the first of two lbws in two deliveries for Yadav - thanks to reverse-swing, with a ball almost 80 overs old.
Both Bell and then Samit Patel could just have easily survived, each time the ball shaping in towards the outer limit of leg-stump, with a suspicion of inside-edge too on the second occasion.
Cook badly needed, and surely deserved, more lasting support as he closed out a third successive session - and until tea, it came in the doughty shape of Matt Prior in an unbroken stand of 65.

Lanka recover after Southee strikes

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Lanka recover after Southee strikes

Sri Lanka, from 50 for five, did the repair work to reach a respectable score at lunch after Tim Southee put the hosts on the mat on day two of the first Test in Galle.

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Sri Lanka endured a miserable first few overs with the removal of Tharanga Paranavitana for nought meaning both openers departed having scored a duck.
However, Mahela Jayawardene and Angelo Mathews shared a stand of 55 without loss to guide the hosts to 105 for five at the break.
Resuming on seven for one, Sri Lanka made the worst possible start, losing Paranavitana without any further runs on the board.
Southee produced a full delivery which was moving away from the left-hander who got a thick inside edge on to his leg stump after failing to meet his feet.
Southee continued to torment the hosts and in the eighth over almost took his second victim of the day when Suraj Randiv was dropped by Brendon McCullum at a good height.
However, that was merely a reprieve for the batsman who, from the very next ball, got a thick outside edge on a swinging delivery only to find Martin Guptill at second slip, and this time there was no fumbling.
Randiv had made just nine and Sri Lanka were 18 for three.
Just four deliveries later and Kumar Sangakkara was out, as he also got an outside edge to McCullum, the fielder holding on this time with the batsman making just five.
Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraweera attempted to stabilise the innings but again Southee struck, removing the latter for 17, the batsman not even offering a shot after the New Zealander's delivery came back in.
Mathews came to the crease and from 50 for five he and Jayawardene guided the hosts on to 105 for five at lunch.

Gambhir flies back to Delhi

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Gambhir flies back to Delhi

India opener Gautam Gambhir flew back to Delhi before commencement of the fourth day's play in the first Test against England following the death of his grandmother.

Confirming the development, media manager Vinod Deshpande said that the opener took a flight to Delhi this morning (Sunday) after hearing the news of his grandmother's death.

"I don't know when he will be back. It probably will depend on what happens in the match," Deshpande said.

Reserve Ajinkya Rahane came as a substitute for Gambhir when play started at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera on Sunday.

Five-star Best shines in Windies win

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Five-star Best shines in Windies win

Tino Best wreaked havoc with the ball as West Indies beat Bangladesh by 77 runs in the first Test match at Mirpur.

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Chasing 245 for a first ever Test win over an established nation, Bangladesh were skittled for 167 after Windies quick Tino Best snared a career-best five for 24.
Best completed victory, and his first Test five-wicket haul, when he bowled Mahmadullah midway through the evening session.
It was a disappointing end to a day that had begun so promisingly for Bangladesh after their bowlers had seemingly paved the way for a memorable win.
After grabbing five late wickets last night the Tigers needed just an hour this morning to take the final four and bowl out the tourists for 273.
That left Bangladesh chasing 245 for a victory that seemed highly unlikely when the West Indies had declared their first innings on 527 for four on day two.
But despite the early loss of Tamim Iqbal for just five, Bangladesh looked like making a go of it as Junaid Siddique and Shahriar Nafees built the foundations of a decent partnership.
That came to an end, however, in the penultimate over before the break when Best got Siddique to edge behind to go for 20.
Bangladesh went into lunch at 45 for two and Best then took centre stage after the interval.
The quick drew Nafees into an ill-judged pull shot that he could only balloon back before Shakib Al-Hasan was caught on the crease as he edged behind to leave his side 55 for four.
There was more to come from Best as he removed Mushfiqur Rahim with a ball from wide on the crease that trapped the skipper in front.
Bangladesh's task was made emphatically harder when first-innings centurion Naeem Islam departed with the score on 106. Veerasammy Permaul was the wicket-taker, in his first over, after Islam played down the wrong line of a ball that straightened into his pads.
Permaul was upstaging his higher-profile spinner Sunil Narine, who went wicketless in 18 overs after being thrown the new ball, and the debutant grabbed a fifth wicket of the afternoon session when he spun one into Nasir Hossain's stumps.
That left Bangladesh with 116 runs to get but just three wickets in hand with a session to play.
Sohag Gazi and Mahmadullah returned to the crease after tea with the intent to suggest they had not given up hope, with both clearing the ropes within five overs after the final break.
But Permaul (three for 32) had Gozi caught in the deep when he went for one shot too many.
Shahadat Hossain then fended Ravi Rampaul to short leg before Best wrapped up the win.
The second and final Test begins in Khulna on Wednesday.

Prior heartened by recovery

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Prior heartened by recovery

England did their best to put a "shocker" of a first innings behind them as they followed on 330 runs behind against India at the Sardar Patel Stadium.

It was hard to make much sense of a day of two halves in which the tourists lurched from 41 for three to 191 all out by teatime to the spin of Pragyan Ojha (five for 45) and Ravichandran Ashwin (three for 80), yet then moved serenely to stumps on 111 without loss.

Captain Alastair Cook tried to lead from the front both times, getting as far as 41 first time round and then an unbeaten 74 at the second attempt in an unbroken century stand with debutant Nick Compton.

With two days remaining in the first Test, it is tough to work out which England will turn up on Sunday.

Wicketkeeper Matt Prior is struggling to make sense of events so far, but is pinning his hopes on the belief that England have learned the errors of their ways.

"We all know our first innings was a bit of a shocker," said Prior, whose battling 48 from number eight was England's best first-innings score.

"As a professional sportsman, you have to look forward - and the way Compo (Compton) and Cookie (Cook) went about their business was absolutely fantastic.

"To end up none down at close of play, we'll take a huge amount from that."

Prior is both a realist and an optimist.

"We're still behind in the game, obviously, but it gives us a lot of confidence so we can go out tomorrow (Sunday) and try to bat for a long period of time - which we need to do," he said.

"I sat here two days before the Test match and said 'It's all very well talking - you've got to go out and do it'.

"Unfortunately, in the first innings we didn't do it.

"I think we're all honest enough to hold our hands up and say 'Right, we didn't get that right'.

"Maybe we got a little bit too ahead of ourselves, and a bit panicky."

Kevin Pietersen was perhaps the least convincing of all, while Ian Bell's first-ball exit was the most embarrassing after he went down the wicket and was caught at mid-off.

Prior knows of old both are capable of world-class batting, and said: "'KP' is one of our main batters, but he's only one player.

"We watched Kevin batting at Headingley against (Dale) Steyn and (Morne) Morkel (last summer), at Colombo getting 150.

"But because he doesn't get runs today, we can't all fall apart. He's one player in a team of 11, and we all need to hold our hands up."

Bell was anxious to dominate Ojha from the outset, but never gave himself a chance.

"Belly is one of the finest batters at hitting over the top that I know, and the one thing we talk about is playing your own game and backing yourself," added Prior.

"Only Belly will know the plan he had ... and it didn't come off.

"These are the fine lines in sport. It doesn't come off, and it doesn't look great admittedly.

"But you cannot question the quality and class of a batsman like Ian Bell. We all know, and hope he's going to show it.

"There's no point sulking. He knows he probably got it slightly wrong. But we've got a big second innings coming up, and I'm sure he'll be as motivated as any of our batters to get a big score."

Whoever makes good on the start Cook and Compton have made, Prior believes it is still feasible to eke out a draw.

"In the second innings we seemed to be a lot calmer," he said.

"There are no demons. Yes, it's turning a bit and bouncing a bit - but you can bat out there.

"It's certainly not a snakepit by any stretch of the imagination.

"There's no point crying over spilt milk - you have to move on.

"We knew that we under-performed - no one was more frustrated than the guys sitting in the dressing room - but most importantly, we've gone out there (again) and we're none down for 111.

"That's a fantastic turnaround.

"We're still in this game. We're behind in the game, but we're still in it and fighting hard. That's all you can do.

"If we get anything from this game, it will be a fantastic effort. But it's not unrealistic."

Ton-up Kaif bails UP out of trouble

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Ton-up Kaif bails UP out of trouble

Mohammad Kaif bailed Uttar Pradesh out of trouble with an unbeaten century on the first day of their Ranji Trophy match against Karnataka.

India discard Kaif was the lone Uttar Pradesh batsman to shine on a day when most of the other struggled to get going.

Kaif remained unbeaten on 105 when stumps were drawn, while Imtiaz Ahmed was yet to open his account.
Earlier, Karnataka debutant Hosagivappa Sharath claimed five wickets including that of Suresh Raina
Besides the left-handed Raina, the 19-year-old medium pacer sent back opener Ali Murtuza, and middle-order batsmen Parvinder Singh and Arish Alam after his team chose to field.
Brief scores:

Uttar Pradesh: 245 for 8 in 82 overs (M Kaif 105 not out; H S Sharath 5/44)
Rayudu leads the way
Stand-in captain Ambati Rayudu led from the front with an impressive half-century as Baroda ended the first day's play at a comfortable 252 for three against Delhi in a third round Ranji Trophy Group B encounter.
Brief Scores: Baroda 1st innings 252/3 (A Rayudu 83 batting, A Chauhan 82 batting, Aditya Waghmod 54, Rajat Bhatia 2/20)
Maharshtra restrict Tamil Nadu to 273/9
Maharashtra came up with an impressive bowling effort to restrict last year's finalist Tamil Nadu to 273 for nine in their first innings at stumps on the opening day of a third round Ranji Trophy Group B match.
Pacers Shrikant Mundhe (3/38) and Samad Fallah (2/49) shared five wickets between them while spin trio of Akshai Darekar (2/86), Satyajit Bachhav (1/48) and Chirag Khurana (1/30) accounted for other Tamil Nadu wickets to fall on the day.
Yo Mahesh top-scored for the hosts with a 130-ball 81 during which he struck eight boundaries and three hits over the fence.
Brief Scores:
Tamil Nadu: 273 for nine in 90 overs (Yo Mahesh 81, Ramaswamy Prasanna 56, Malolan Rangarajan 50 batting; Shrikant Mundhe 3/38)

Advantage Punjab on Day 1
Pace trio of Manpreet Gony, Sandeep Sharma and Siddarth Kaul shared six wickets between them as Punjab restricted Railways to 193 for seven in their first innings at stumps on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Group A match.
Gony (2/20), Sandeep (2/32) and Kaul (2/62) scalped two wickets apiece while left-arm spinner Bipul Sharma (1/15) accounted for the other Railways batsman on the first day of the encounter which produced only 74 overs.
Brief Scores:
Railways: 193 for seven in 74 overs (Nitin Bhille 41, Ashish Yadav 34; Manpreet Gony 2/20)

Gujrat recover to reach 230/6
An undefeated 66-run seventh wicket partnership between left-hander Manpreet Juneja and seasoned Rakesh Dhruv helped Gujarat reach 230 for six against Bengal on a curtailed opening day of a third round Ranji Trophy encounter.
Due to bad light, only 73 overs of play was possible on the day as Bengal bowlers had Gujarat on the mat at 164 for six before Juneja-Dhruv carried out a recovery act.
Brief Scores: Gujarat 230/6 (Smit Patel 67, Parthiv Patel 61, Sourav Sarkar 3/57)
Anshul, Yashpal take Services to 277/3
Anshul Gupta and Yashpal Singh scored a century each as Services finished the first day of their Ranji Trophy Group C match against Tripura at a dominating 277 for three.
The duo raised an unbeaten 211 runs for the fourth wicket to help their team sit comfortably at the draw of stumps after Tripura bowlers struck in quick succession to reduce the visitors to 66 for three.
Brief Scores:
Services: 277 for three in 86 overs (Anshul Gupta 112, Yashpal Singh 110; Rana Dutta 39/1)
Odisha humiliate Haryana
Haryana were caught badly in the 'green-trap' that they had set for their opposition with minnows Odisha bundling them out for a meagre 66 in a third round Ranji Trophy.
Odisha then came out to bat and took their score to 177 for six and now have a handy 111-run first innings lead.
Brief Scores:
Haryana: 66 in 32.1 overs (Rahul Dalal 21, Basant Mohanty 5/24, Biplab Samantray 3/17)

Odisha: 177/6 (Natraj Behra 44, Biplab Samantray 42, Deepak Behra 31, Mohit Sharma 4/37)
Jharkhand end day one at 222/2
Jarkhand top-order fired in unison to finish the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Group C match against Goa here on a strong 222 for two.

At the close of play, Ishank Jaggi was unbeaten on 56, and giving him company was Saurabh Tiwary on 34.

Brief scores:

Jharkhand: 222 for two in 90 overs (Manish Vardhan 73, Ishank Jaggi not out 56; Shadab Jakati 53/1)
Kerala 211/5 against Assam on Day 1
Off-spinner Arlen Konwar scalped three wickets to keep Assam in the hunt after hosts Kerala ended the opening day at 211 for five in their Ranji Trophy Group C match.
Konwar returned with figures of three for 49 to bring Assam back into the match after Abhishek Hegde (46) and V A Jagadeesh (40) gave Kerala a solid start, sharing 85 runs for the opening stand.
Brief Scores:

Kerala: 211 for five in 90 overs (Abhishek Hegde 46, V A Jagadeesh 40; Arlen Konwar 3/49)
Rajasthan bowl out MP for 256
Pacers Pankaj Singh and Rituraj Singh shared eight wickets between them as Rajasthan restricted Madhya Pradesh to 256 all out on the opening day of their Group A Ranji Trophy match.

The visitors hit back by reducing the hosts to seven for one at close on an eventful day.

Ashwin, Pujara leave England reeling

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Ashwin, Pujara leave England reeling

England made a hapless start in their efforts to save the first Test, despite an eight-and-a-half-hour demonstration from Cheteshwar Pujara of the skills they need to do so.

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India's 521 for eight declared owed much to Pujara's tour de force 206 not out, and more than a little, too, to the adventure of Virender Sehwag with his destructive hundred on Thursday.
The upshot on day two at the Sardar Patel Stadium was that new England captain Alastair Cook and debutant Nick Compton's first task, in pursuit of an opening stalemate in this four-match series, was to come through 18 overs unscathed.
Cook survived. But Compton, nightwatchman James Anderson and then Jonathan Trott could not stay with him in a distinctly unpromising stumps total of 41 for three.
England were confronted immediately with Ravichandran Ashwin's much-hyped variations, and spin at both ends by the 10th over when slow left-armer Pragyan Ojha joined in.
A big off-break was too much for Compton, turning between bat and pad to hit leg-stump and give Ashwin his 50th Test wicket, in record Indian time.
Anderson went bat-pad to Ojha an over later, and then in the next Trott fell likewise to Ashwin.
Pujara had earlier ploughed on remorselessly to a maiden double-hundred at this level in only his sixth Test.
He shared a fifth-wicket stand of 130 with Yuvraj Singh (74), and put on another 66 for the seventh with Ashwin before England were granted a rest - after 160 overs of hard and largely unrewarded slog in the sun.
Graeme Swann eventually took his wicket tally to five, for the 14th time for his country, but his successes here came at a cost of 144 runs on a lifeless surface offering only slow and irregular turn.
If there was a consolation for England, it was that this pitch has yet to show any significant signs of deterioration - and therefore their prospects of closing out a draw should remain viable.
During their second consecutive wicketless morning, Yuvraj passed a poignant comeback half-century - in his first Test innings since recovering from cancer - and Pujara completed India's second individual hundred of the match.
Yuvraj reached his 98-ball 50 with a big hit over midwicket off Swann for his fifth four, to go with a one straight six also off the off-spinner.
England gave the ball, only four overs old, to Swann rather than seam at each end this morning (Friday).
But the closest they came to a breakthrough before lunch was with a series of lbw appeals, the most convincing of which was Swann's from only the second ball of the day when Yuvraj missed a sweep without addition to his overnight 24.
He and Pujara then appeared to target Swann, taking 15 off one over - including that six from Yuvraj - but Cook kept his nerve, and the off-spinner continued.
By then, Pujara had moved from his start-of-play 98 past his hundred, from 190 balls.
It soon turned into a 'groundhog' experience for England - although, to defensive fields, runs did not come as quickly as they had for Sehwag 24 hours earlier.
Cook employed some unconventional fielding positions at times, posting a seven-two off-side arrangement - with no catchers behind the bat - to help Anderson dry up the run-rate against Pujara.
The stoic number three is not a batsman to respond with a loss of patience, however, and it seemed England's best hope was to try to out-bore him and hope for a mistake from Yuvraj.
It was not until early afternoon that they had any respite.
Yuvraj clubbed a Samit Patel full-toss to Swann in the leg-side deep, and then the off-spinner put himself back in the wickets column too when Mahendra Singh Dhoni deflected an attempted sweep down on to his stumps.
Pujara remained less co-operative, still showing no signs of weariness as he negotiated a third successive full session in an innings which would eventually encompass 389 balls.
It also contained 21 fours, many classy deflections to leg and a collection driven down the ground - until England's damage limitation left him little option but to pick off runs into that packed off-side.
Kevin Pietersen had Ashwin edging a cut behind, but it was not until Zaheer Khan speared an attempted drive at Anderson to Trott at backward point that the first wicket at last fell to pace.
Shortly afterwards, with Pujara's double-century safely in the book, Dhoni decided it was time for England's batsmen to be tested.

'You can't compare Pujara with Dravid'

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'You can't compare Pujara with Dravid'

Kapil Dev heaped praise on double-centurion Cheteshwar Pujara but said it was too early to say that the Indian team has found Rahul Dravid's replacement in him.

"He has just started. He has shown great temperament but you cannot compare him with Rahul so early. Let him make his own position in the team and name for himself. It is unfair to put him under pressure and say he is the replacement of so and so," said the 1983 World Cup winning captain.

"Rahul gave 15 years to cricket and then became what he is," added Kapil.

Another former skipper, Ajay Jadeja, said he was impressed with Pujara's hunger for runs.

"What stands out for me is someone who is not content. Pujara even after completing his hundred, worked hard to get to the double century. He is showing he wants to get better, and thats a good sign," said Jadeja.

Besides Pujara, Yuvraj Singh, playing his first Test since recovering from a rare germ cell cancer, was the other notable performer on the second day of the opening Test on Friday against England. He scored a fluent 74.

But Kapil felt that the talented left-hander should take care of his health first.

"He is one of the finest cricketers and he has a long way to go but he must look after his health first and then he can go on playing," said Kapil.

Asked if Yuvraj can sustain this kind of form for long, Jadeja said it was not for anyone else to say or decide but for the player himself.

"Cricket is very simple... you play till you can sustain. You play as long as you are good enough and Yuvraj himself will say whether he is good enough to sustain for whatever number of years.

"Right now Yuvraj is making a statement and it is not important whosoever is saying what," insisted Jadeja.

On the Ahmedabad pitch, which is tailor-made for the Indians, Kapil said the goal is to win the Test.

"You must win a Test match and that is important. India must see what is their biggest strength and they should play to that.

"But in domestic cricket the wickets should improve. That must be monitored," Kapil said on the sidelines of the 'HT Leadership Summit'.

'Trott breached the spirit of cricket'

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'Trott breached the spirit of cricket'

Sunil Gavaskar said England's Jonathan Trott breached the spirit of cricket by refusing to acknowledge that he had not cleanly taken a catch.

Fielding at first slip on the first day of the first Test between India and England, Virat Kohli offered a catch which Trott claimed to have taken cleanly but then the TV replays showed otherwise.

"It was quite clear that the spirit of cricket was breached. I think there should have been a sanction against Trott," Gavaskar said.

Gavaskar recalled a similar incident that had taken place in the past, during a match between England and Pakistan.

"The way he claimed it, I believe that we have seen in the past when there was a Pakistani wicketkeeper who appealed against Ian Botham. That was a similar situation and the English media tore him (Pakistan player) apart.

"I don't know what the English media has written now. I do believe if that particular thing needed a sanction (this should also)," he told NDTV on Friday.

Gavaskar further said: "If he (Trott) had said he didn't know what had happened, it would have been a different situation. But he was actually accepting high-fives from the bowler, the fielders and that means he was quite sure that it was a catch."

Post-tea, when India were at 259 for three, Kohli, who was on four, went for a cut shot off Graeme Swann's bowling but edged the ball to Trott at slip.

The ball struck Trott's forearm and he dived backward to complete the catch. He, however, dropped it on the turf but still appealed and forced the on-field umpires to refer the matter to third umpire Sudhir Asnani.

But TV replays clearly showed that the ball spilled out of his hand as he dived backward and his body covered the ball before he scooped it up and appealed.

Gavaskar was full of praise for Cheteshwar Pujara, who has slammed his maiden double century to put India in the driver's seat.

"As long as he is performing, he is going to be an asset to the Indian team. He brings calmness to the middle-order. His temperament will tested when he goes out to bat at the fall of an early wicket when the bowler is fresh. But he has got all the ingredients to have a long career."

Pujara taking one match at a time

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Pujara taking one match at a time

India's double-centurion Cheteshwar Pujara said that missing out on a hundred against the same opposition in the warm-up game inspired him to score big.

"I got out for 87 in the practice match (for Mumbai 'A' before the series). That inspired me to score a hundred and then a double hundred," said Pujara, who batted for close to nine hours for his unconquered knock of 206 runs in India's first innings total of 521 for eight declared against England in the first Test match at Motera.

The 24-year-old Saurashtra batsman, who became the sixth Indian batsman to record a double ton against England, said he was comfortable against all the opposition bowlers on the slow-paced, low bounce track of the Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera.

"I faced all the bowlers except (Graeme) Swann in that game. I was watchful for a few overs against him and then I was comfortable against all the bowlers," said Pujara.

Pujara has taken the crucial number three spot vacated by Rahul Dravid, who retired from international cricket in March this year, and the Saurashtra batsman said it brings a lot of responsibility with it.

"It's always important to bat up the order. Batting at number three is a huge responsibility. You are most of the time facing the new ball," said the Rajkot-born player, who has consistently scored big in the domestic circuit to make his way into the Indian squad.

Pujara also informed that he received a congratulatory message from Dravid hailing his performance.

"I got a message from Dravid congratulating me."

Pujara said that India were always targeting a score in excess of 500 and with England's three wickets down already, their batting looks 'fragile' on a turning track.
"We were always targeting the 500-run mark and now have got it. There is a lot of rough and the ball is turning quite big. We can get them out tomorrow and then press for victory.

It is going to be difficult for them. They look to be fragile from what we saw today," Pujara said.

"I never like to get out. I always put a price on my wicket. That is the reason I never wanted to give away my wicket. That is the reason for being able to score big runs", he said.

Asked about his future strategy, Pujara said he is taking one match at a time and focused on the task at hand.

"Right now, I am concentrating on getting big runs and taking one match at a time. I batted well in the New Zealand series and got a lot of confidence. I always believe in preparations," said Pujara, who got his maiden century against New Zealand at Hyderabad in August when he cracked 159.

The batsman credited Indian coach Duncan Fletcher for his insights.

"He asked me to keep things simple and has given me some tips which have been helpful."