Ponting becomes the most successful Test captain ever in the history of cricket

Ricky Ponting carved his name out in the history books of Test cricket with golden letters as a player and captain with most number of Test wins, when Australia defeated Pakistan in the Boxing day test match at Melbourne.

The success at the MCG was the 93rd occasion when Ponting was a part of a winning Australian team. He surpassed legendary spinner Shane Warne, who held the honour with 92 Test wins.

It was also the 42nd time when the skipper had led his country to a Test win, the most by any captain in the history of Test cricket. Ponting achieved this feat by overhauling predecessor Steve Waugh, who has 41 wins under his belt when at the helm.

'They're things I'll probably be most proud of when I'm done. We all play to win games of cricket, and be involved in teams that win a lot of games at cricket. It is a great record within itself, and I've been lucky enough to play in some great teams.

''It's my 42nd win as Test captain as well. They're things I'm very proud of. Hopefully, there are lot more wins around the corner,” Ponting said.

Source: Cricket Nirvana

Ricky Ponting's Profile

England beats South Africa in the second test match

Graeme Swann took five for 54 as England wrapped up victory by an innings and 98 runs on the fifth day of the second Test against South Africa at Kingsmead on Wednesday. The win gave England a 1-0 lead in the four-match series.

It took England just 75 minutes to complete their win after South Africa resumed in a hopeless situation at 76 for six on Wednesday morning. They were bowled out for 133.

"It's not far off the best performance I've seen by an England team," said England captain Andrew Strauss, "but I'm aware the series is very much alive and there is still hard work to be done."

South African captain Graeme Smith admitted his side had been outplayed. "We've got to look at ourselves in the mirror and bounce back very quickly," he said.

The third Test starts in Cape Town on Sunday.

Source: Cricket Nirvana

South Africa Vs England 2nd Test Scorecard

Australia beat Pakistan by 170 runs

It was the 5th and the final day of the first test match being played between Australia and Pakistan in Melbourne.

The 28-year Queenslander, Nathan Hauritz, ripped through Pakistan batting on final day of the Test to bring up his maiden five-wicket haul in first-class cricket and along with the fiery Mitchell Johnson, bundle out Pakistan for 251.

It was a Test of various firsts. Apart from Hauritz’s fifer in the last innings, Mohammad Aamer’s brilliant five for 79 and Shane Watson’s maiden Test ton were the highlights of the MCG Test. However, it was Watson’s consistency with the bat that set up the mammoth victory for the hosts. The young all-rounder top-scored in both innings, with 93 and undefeated 120 respectively and indeed deserved the player of the match award.

Australia now leads the series 1-0 with two more tests to go.

Source: Cricket Nirvana

Australia Pakistan 1st Test Scorecard

Cricket 2009: Rewind!

The year 2009 has been extraordinary for Cricket! Lets rewind the most important happenings of 2009 in the cricketing world...

1) India defeated Newzealand in Newzealand after more than 40 long years...!! (WELL DONE INDIA)
2) Cricket's worst moment when Srilankan cricketers were attacked by the terrorists at the Liberty Square near Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadiu... (BARBARIC)
3) IPL became the sixth biggest sporting brand in the world when the domestic tournament had to take a huge risk of being played way beyond the Indian boundaries, in South Africa! Deccan Charges were the champions this time! (CHARGED UP)
4) On June 21st, at Lords, Pakistan defeated the in form Srilanka to win the T20 World Cup (SOMETHING TO CHEER ABOUT FOR PAK)
5) Flintoff ended his Test Career on a happy note as England defeated Australia in the Ashes at home. (ASHES TO ENGLAND)
6) Aussies lifted the Champions Trophy (50 over edition) in South Africa for the second consecutive time (AUSSIES ON REVIVAL)
7) The Great Sachin Tendulkar completes 20 years in International Cricket. (SACHIN TRULY A LEGEND)
8)Rahul Dravid became the most successful slip fielder in Test Cricket beating the record of Mark Waugh
9) Gambhir ended the year with an average of 90.87 in Test Cricket. Hasn't he been awesome in all forms of cricket this year? (THAT IS CALLED HUNGER FOR RUNS)
10) Dilshan and Sehwag were absolutely on fire with their devastating batting performances throughout the year! (DEMOLITION MEN)
11) India emerged as a dominant force in world cricket under Dhoni by becoming the number one team in Test Cricket for this year! They are on the second position in ODI rankings... Dhoni is on the top position of the ODI batsmen rankings from last 12 months and Gambhir is currently on the top in Test batsmen rankings... (IMPRESSIVE)

Lets hope the year 2010 brings an equally exciting cricketing moments for us....
We all love cricket and long live this great game!!!

Dhoni receives Test Championship mace

Indian Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni received the Test Championship mace from ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat after leading his team to the pinnacle of ICC Test rankings.

"It is a special feeling to receive this mace. I am taking this on behalf of the team and BCCI. Being an Indian it is a proud moment. We have really worked hard as a team in the last 14 months to get to this position. We want to remain here longer and everything depends on our performance," said the Indian skipper.

India is the third team after Australia and South Africa to become the number Test side, after their 2-0 series victory over Sri Lanka early this month.

The ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat hailed the achievements of Indian cricketers in the recent past and said the team deserved to be on the top with such talented players. "In the last 14 months India has been dominating the world. In October 2008 India was ranked third in ICC Test Championships and in the last 14 months has risen to number one.

"In the ODI also, India is now ranked number two. Then you have Gautam Gambhir at the top of ICC Test batsmen ranking while Dhoni is on top in ODI chart. Dhoni is the ICC ODI player of the year for two consecutive years and chosen captain of both the ICC Test and ODI teams of the year.

"Then you have Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid who have immensely contributed to this transition. It reflects on the talent you can boast of. India has players who after a few years will be considered as legends of the game," Lorgat said.

Source: Cricket Nirvana

Latest ICC ratings

Gautam Gambhir says "It was my best ODI knock"

Elated after guiding India to a facile, series-clinching win against Sri Lanka, star batsman Gautam Gambhir said he would rate the unbeaten 150 as the best innings of his career so far. He also expressed satisfaction of staying till the end and guiding the team to victory.

"This is the first time I finished a game remaining unbeaten. It was important for me to get going and convert it into a big one. It feels great that I finished the game," Gambhir said after being named as the man of the match for the Kolkata contest. It was a brilliantly paced innings by the left-hander who added 224 runs with Virat Kohli (107) for the third wicket to put India's chase back on track.

Gambhir said the series-clinching victory was made possible by the team's impressive bench strength.

"We have enough guys in the bench who can prove themselves even in the absence of great players like Dhoni and Yuvraj," Gambhir said.

Source: Cricket Nirvana

England escapes with a draw against South Africa at Centurion

Last man Graham Onions played out a tense final over from Makhaya Ntini as England escaped with a draw on the fifth and final day of the first Test against South Africa at SuperSport Park on Sunday. The match seemed to be heading for a routine draw when Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen batted together for more than three hours but South African new cap Friedel de Wet produced an inspired spell with the second new ball to leave England hanging on.

De Wet dismissed Trott in the second over with the new ball and had a spell of three for three in five overs. Five wickets fell in the final 15 overs but Paul Collingwood and Onions survived the last 20 balls . England, set 364 to win, finished on 228 for nine on Sunday.

South Africa takes on England in the second test at Kingsmead, Durban from 26th of December.

Source: Cricket Nirvana