India strike West Indies by 5 wickets to lead series 1-0

India hit West Indies by five wickets in the first test to take a 1-0 go ahead in the three-match series on Wednesday.

Sachin Tendulkar cut down short of his 100th international ton but his luminous 76 helped India beat West Indies by five wickets in the first test on Wednesday.

Tendulkar, who reach 15,000 test runs on Tuesday, together his 62nd test half-century as India chase down the 276-run victory aim just after the lunch smash with the loss of five wickets.

India’s run-chase had a solid basis lay by Virender Sehwag’s fifty on day three, and Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman faced every confront posed by the WIndies on Wednesday; however, it was disaster for the swarm as the little master once once more unsuccessful to complete his ton of tons.

After Tendulkar bring up his 62nd half century, all eyes were on him even as strokes came with regularity off VVS Laxman’s bat. Tendulkar reacted by playing a few violent strokes that swelled his score to 76. But he misread the length of a Devendra Bishoo delivery and was adjudged lbw at 76.

Rahul Dravid was the first man to fall on to reduce India to 162/3. Dravid could add only one to his immediately score of 30. Tendulkar and Laxman then combined for a 71-run fluent partnership, which broken with the former’s removal from office when India needed just 43 more to win. Yuvraj Singh and Laxman then took the total to 254/4 at Lunch as India scored 102 runs in the first session off 29 overs.

Laxman finished his 55th half century in the post-Lunch session off 91 balls. It was also his 11th next to the West Indies. However, Yuvraj got out for 18 when India wanted just one run to win. Dhoni then came out to accompany Laxman, who hit the winning boundary to end at 61 not out as India won by five wickets.

Debutant Ravichandran Ashwin was named the Man of the Match for his 9-wicket pull in the match.It was a much-needed win for India, who lost their top test ranking after a 4-0 whitewash in England.

The second Test begins from November 14 at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens.

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Sachin Tendulkar fall small of ton in win

Sachin Tendulkar slam a solid 76 to help India score a at ease five-wicket victory over the West Indies on Wednesday in the first test, taking a 1-0 lead in the three-game series.

Sachin Tendulkar miss out on a potential 100th international century, but his innings put India in a winning place on the fourth day at the Ferozeshah Kotla Stadium.

He added 67 for the third wicket with Rahul Dravid (31) and 71 for the next with V.V.S. Laxman (58 not out) as India cruise to the win with approximately five sessions to spare.

Yuvraj Singh (18) was bowled by West Indian captain Darren Sammy with just one run wanted for victory, departure captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the other not out batsman without scoring a run.

Tendulkar, who resume on 33, stopped up in on the historic 100 centuries milestone but was attentive lbw by leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo when trying to pull a short-pitched delivery. He hit 10 fours in his 148-ball innings.

A crowd of more than 10,000 had turned up at the ground to watch Tendulkar get another three-figure mark but went back dissatisfied as the Mumbai batsman failed to do so.

Tendulkar, who became the first batsman to reach 15,000 test runs on Tuesday, has been on 99 centuries since the World Cup in March-April this year when he strike tons against England and South Africa.

Tendulkar smashed two fours each off over’s from pace bowlers Darren Sammy and Ravi Rampaul to lift hopes of ensure a win as well as attainment the milestone.

Laxman, who had started with a couple of brand shots off the leg to pace bowler Fidel Edwards early in his innings, struck six fours off 105 balls.

The wristy Hyderabad batsman ensures India returned to winning ways in style after an unmemorable earlier test series which it lost 4-0 in England.

Earlier, overnight batsman Dravid was out for 31, adding only one run to his overnight score.

Pace bowler Fidel Edwards bowled a striking incoming delivery that went between bat and pad. Dravid bat for a total of 154 minutes, beating only three fours off 101 balls.

The West Indies, which had won a earlier two-test series in Bangladesh by a 1-0 margin, had a at ease 95-run first innings lead but failed to drive home the benefit when India bowled the visitors out for only 180 in the second innings.

"That was a big lead, we all feel we did not bat the way we should have in the first innings," Dhoni said. "It was not an easy wicket to score; you had to be aware of the ball that kept low."

India's well-known batting lineup, which had folded for only 209 in the first innings, made few mistakes the second time around and also hidden fears of low bounce on a pitch which did not see huge scores.

"When you play next to a top team, you want to create the chance to win which we did that in the first innings," Sammy said. We did not bat well in the second but consider we can win matches here."

The next test will be detained in Kolkata from Nov. 14 to 18 and the final game in Mumbai from Nov. 22 to 26. The tests will be follow by a series of five one-day internationals.

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New Zealand cricket in most terrible state in a decade - Adams

Auckland all-rounder Andre Adams has hit out at New Zealand cricket saying it's in a "worse state than it's been for some time".

The former Black Caps yesterday led Auckland to a 19-run victory over Northern Districts in the opening round of the Plunked guard, final the match with figures 11-123.

The 36-year-old, who has been playing in England since 2007, lashed out at the New Zealand Cricket board today saying it has too lots of "old people".

"I think New Zealand cricket is in a inferior state than it's been for some time. That's not being harsh that's just a directly outlook on it. There are so many things here that are wrong and players are crying out for the right structure," he told RadioSport's Tony Veitch.

"The New Zealand Players Association is working actually hard to get things sorted out. The biggest difficulty is the board; there are too many old people on the board. They're not with the professional era. That's the issue. For us to move forward we need to sort that out sooner rather than later or else the game is going to stagnate."

Adams played 42 ODIs and one test for New Zealand before moving to England to play county cricket with Nottinghamshire. He has excelled in the England finishing as the third top ticket taker in the County Championship last season with 67 wickets. He said New Zealand Cricket has gone backwards in recent years.

"We've lost what was an institution. With Radio Sport not having the cricket yesterday that would have been a unbelievable game to have enclosed but the fact is New Zealand Cricket have gone so far backwards that we're not even covered on radio and that's an reflection on the game, that's a real shame.

"If things carry on as things are, we didn't even have a sponsor last year for the New Zealand one-day domestic, there's no excuse for that sort of substance that's just poor. If we want cricket to move further in this country we must sort this stuff out sooner rather than later and not just make excuses like we don't have sufficient funds or we have to go out and find those funds. Whatever has to happen - has to happen very quickly."

Adams, who is disqualified to play for New Zealand due to his playing agreement with Nottinghamshire, optional that New Zealand Cricket should think big and try to attract bigger names to the domestic competition.

"To make cricket have more of a crash it needs to be more thrilling and it needs to appeal to people over the summer. Otherwise they're going to do something else. You're not going to get people to come along and see something they've seen before and know that it's boring." he said.

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