Tendulkar will be really hungry: Ravi Shastri

Melbourne:  Former India skipper Ravi Shastri is backing senior batsman Sachin Tendulkar to come good in the upcoming four-match Test series against Australia, starting in Chennai on February 22.

"He'll be hungry, he'll be really hungry. If Australia allow him to score in the first two Test matches this will be a very big series for Tendulkar," Shastri said.

"He will come out a little nervous, there will be nerves in the first couple of innings but if he gets a 50, 60 or 70 in one of the first two innings then this could be a big series for him," Shastri was quoted as saying by the 'Sydney Morning Herald'.

Tendulkar had last December retired from One-day International cricket to concentrate on Tests. Since then he scored two centuries in first-class cricket, including an unbeaten 140 against an attack, comprising Pragyan Ojha and Harbhajan Singh, who are both in contention to play in the first Test against the Aussies.

The batting great is without a century in his past 31 Test innings, spanning 17 matches and over two years, which also includes a poor outing in the last Test series at home against England.

But Shastri feels that Tendulkar is still the best bet in the Indian batting line-up.

Obama's Stunning Comment on Tendulkar

 
BARACK OBAMA :
I don't know about cricket but still I watch cricket to see Sachin play.... Not because love him play its because .... I want to know the reason why my country production goes down by 5% when he's in batting.

SALUTE THE LEGEND
Sir.Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely acknowledged as the greatest living batsman, and second only to Don Bradman in the all time greatest list in Test cricket. 

Born: April 24, 1973 (age 39), Mumbai, Maharashtra , India.

Nickname Tendlya, Little Master.

Height: 1.65 m

Spouse: Anjali Tendulkar

Awards: Arjuna award, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Padma Vibhushan, Wisden Cricketers of the Year, Maharashtra Bhushan Award, Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World, World Test XI, Wisden India Outstanding Achievement Award, ICC World ODI XI, Outstanding Achievement in Sport, BCCI Cricketer of the Year, LG People's Choice Award, Castrol Indian Cricketer of the Year, People's Choice Award

Parents: Ramesh Tendulkar, Rajni Tendulkar

 

				Career statistics Competition ODI Matches 463 Runs scored 18,426 Batting average 44.83 100s/50s 49/96 Top score 200* Balls bowled 8,032 Wickets 154 Bowling average 44.32 5 wickets in innings 2 10 wickets in match n/a Best bowling 5/32 Catches/stumpings 140/–
				International information National side India Test debut (cap 187) 15 November 1989 v Pakistan Last Test 13 December 2012 v England ODI debut (cap 74) 18 December 1989 v Pakistan Last ODI 18 March 2012 v Pakistan ODI shirt no. 10 Only T20I (cap 11) 1 December 2006 v South Africa Domestic team information  Years Team 1988 Cricket Club of India 1988–present Mumbai 1992 Yorkshire 2008–present Mumbai Indians

British Prime Minister Cameron says, he is Sachin's fan

British Prime Minister 'David Cameron' launched a charm offensive ahead to his high profile visit to India, stating that he is a great fan of 'The Cricketing Maestro' Sachin Tendulkar.  "I'm a massive cricket fan".  One of my proudest possession is the bat which 'Batting Legend' Tendulkar gave me that's signed by him, Cameron said. He spoke about two things he loves in India — hot curries and Sachin Tendulkar. He further adds "My message is that I think Britain and India can be one of the greatest partnerships of the 21st century. I think it can be a special relationship; there's the history, there are the      family ties, there's the culture, there's the language, there's the love of things like cricket."

History of Cricket

Cricket is a bat and ball game played between two teams of 11 players on a field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the runs scored by the batting team. A run is scored by the striking batsman hitting the ball with his bat, running to the opposite end of the pitch and touching the crease there without being dismissed. The teams switch between batting and fielding at the end of an innings. The objective of the game is for a team to score more runs that its opponent. In some forms of cricket, it may also be necessary to dismiss the opposition in order to win the match, which would otherwise be drawn.  
                    
                  " In the earliest known reference to the 
                       sport in 1598, it is called creckett."

In professional cricket the length of a game ranges from 20 overs of six bowling deliveries per side to Test cricket played over five days. The Laws of Cricket are maintained by the International Cricket Council (ICC) with additional Standard Playing Conditions for Test matches and One Day Internationals.


 A cricket match is divided into periods called innings. During an innings (innings ends with "s" in both singular and plural form), one team fields and the other bats. The two teams switch between fielding and batting after each innings. All eleven members of the fielding team take the field, but only two members of the batting team (two batsman) are on the field at any given time.

The two batsmen face each other at opposite ends of the pitch, each behind a line on the pitch known as a crease. The fielding team's eleven members stand outside the pitch, spread out across the field.

Behind each batsman is a target called a wicket. One designated member of the fielding team, called the bowler, is given a ball, and attempts to bowl the ball from one end of the pitch to the wicket behind the batsman on the other side of the pitch. The batsman tries to prevent the ball from hitting the wicket by striking the ball with a bat. If the bowler succeeds in hitting the wicket, or if the ball, after being struck by the batsman, is caught by the fielding team before it touches the ground, the batsman is dismissed. A dismissed batsman must leave the field, to be replaced by another batsman from the batting team.
If the batsman is successful in striking the ball and the ball is not caught before it hits the ground, the two batsmen may then try to score points (runs) for their team by running across the pitch, grounding their bats behind each other's crease. Each crossing and grounding by both batsmen is worth one run. The batsmen may attempt one run, multiple runs, or elect not to run at all. By attempting runs, the batsmen risk dismissal, which can happen if the fielding team retrieves the ball and hits a wicket with the ball before either batsman reaches the opposite crease.
If the batsman hits the bowled ball over the field boundary without the ball touching the field, the batting team scores six runs and may not attempt more. If the ball touches the ground and then reaches the boundary, the batting team scores four runs and may not attempt more. When the batsmen have finished attempting their runs, the ball is returned to the bowler to be bowled again. The bowler continues to bowl toward the same wicket, regardless of any switch of the batsmen's positions.
After a bowler has bowled six times (an over), another member of the fielding team is designated as the new bowler. The new bowler bowls to the opposite wicket, and play continues. Fielding team members may bowl multiple times during an innings, but may not bowl two overs in succession.
The innings is complete when 10 of the 11 members of the batting team have been dismissed, one always remaining "not out", or when a set number of overs has been played. The number of innings and the number of overs per innings vary depending on the match.

LEGENDS of first class cricket

"Sachin Tendulkar" recently completed 25,000 runs in First Class Cricket. With an unbeaten 140 against the Rest of India in the Irani Trophy match, Tendulkar equaled Sunil Gavaskar’s record 81 tons in first class matches. It is a monumental achievement for a batsman, having survived the rigors of the game for over two decades. This record calls for a peek into the older records set by batsmen forgotten and who were a part of timeless matches.

First on the list is Sir Jack Hobbs. He is the most prolific batsman in the history of the game (first class matches). Hobbs played 834 matches over a career span of 29 years. He scored a staggering 61,760 runs at an average of 50.70. Not only does he hold the record for maximum runs, he holds the record for maximum centuries as well. Sir Hobbs ended his career scoring 199 centuries. Hobbs was equally proficient on the international circuit too. He scored 5410 runs in only 61 matches for England, at a rate of 56.94 per dismissal. He remains the oldest cricketer to score a Test century at the age of 46.

Frank Woolley is easily the best all-rounder the game has ever seen. By all-round, I mean his exploits with the bat, the ball and in the field. Woolley scored 58,959 runs, picked up 2066 wickets and held on to 1,015 catches. Further, he scored 145 centuries and a mesmerizing 295 half-centuries. He retired when he was well past the half-century of his age. He took Kent to its first County Championship victory in 1906.

Yet another English player, Patsy Hendren, shares the podium with the aforementioned gentlemen. Third on the list of most runs in the career at 57,611, he holds the record for the second-highest centuries at 170. An entertaining character on-field, he was a favorite in the dressing room for his skills with mimicry and wit.

The top three players are names immortal in the history of the game, but are relatively unknown to contemporary followers. We also have a few players of our generation who have made it to this list.

My favorite commentator, Geoff Boycott, played 609 First Class matches, scoring 48,426 runs. He scored 151 centuries, 22 of them coming in Test matches. The stylish batsman rose to captaincy after making a strong comeback in 1977. However, he held the throne only for four matches in 1978.

Graham Alan Gooch won’t be easily forgotten by Indian fans. Gooch scored a mammoth 333 against India at Lords in 1990. Gooch is the most prolific run-getter ever. Gooch played in an age stormed by One Day Internationals. He scored 67,057 runs in all forms of the game put together, which puts him well ahead of Sir Jack Hobbs. Gooch captained the side for five years, though his records do not testify the professionalism and work-ethic he brought to the team.

Other players who have made similar contributions are:

Graeme Hick – 41,112 runs with a highest score of 405*

Gordon Greenidge – 37,354 runs in 523 matches

Sir Vivian Richards was a phenomenon that stormed international cricket. One of the most successful captains in the history of the game, he is regarded as the most destructive batsman in the long as well as the shorter format of the game. Viv scored tonnes of runs in international as well as domestic cricket.

The realms of cricket are unlimited and there are many more frontiers for Sachin to still conquer.

The GOD

Sachin Tendulkar still god-like among teammates: Joe Dawes

India's fast bowling coach Joe Dawes has described cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar as still having a god-like status among his teammates and cricket fans.

The former Australian cricketer, who has been a constant companion to Tendulkar for the past nine months, said that Tendulkar's teammates copied his every little gesture, even carrying their bats with them on the team bus like the Little Master, News.com.au reports.

Dawes joked that this attitude reached the point when he had to tell the tail-end batsmen they are never going to survive as international batsmen unless they bring their bat on the bus.

Chennai Super Kings sign five uncapped bowlers

In a continuation of their auction strategy, Chennai Super Kings have beefed up their bowling department further by signing five Indian uncapped bowlers. The players are UP fast bowlers Imtiaz Ahmed and Ankit Rajpoot, Haryana quick Mohit Sharma, Karnataka pacer Ronit More and Tamil Nadu left-arm spinner R Karthikeyan.

Imtiaz is the most experienced of the lot with 15 first-class matches to his name. In the Ranji Trophy this season, Imtiaz was the leading wicket-taker from Uttar Pradesh taking 37 from nine matches at an average of 25.45, including three five-wicket hauls. He was with the Pune Warriors in IPL 2011 but did not get a game.

His UP team-mate Rajpoot made his first-class debut this season against Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy and collected 31 wickets from seven matches at an average of 18.80. He has not played limited-overs domestic matches so far.

Mohit played eight Ranji matches this season, taking 37 wickets, averaging 23.24 runs per wicket. Mohit has also played six List A matches, the last one being a warm-up match against England XI in January before the five-match ODI series. He took two wickets in the match, of Ian Bell and Craig Kieswetter, in eight overs.

More made his first-class debut this season playing two matches, and also has seven List A and one domestic Twenty20 to his name. The lone spinner among the new signings, Karthikeyan, plays for TI Cycles in the first division league of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association.

Stephen Fleming, Super Kings' coach, had said two days before the auction that the team would focus on local seam bowling options. At the auction on Sunday, Super Kings bought three quicks - Dirk Nannes, Ben Laughlin and Jason Holder, allrounder Chris Morris and spinner Akila Dananjaya.