Tendulkar wants India to get back on top


Senior batsman Sachin Tendulkar today said India will focus to get back to the pinnacle of Test rankings rather than thinking about taking revenge against England in the upcoming home series in November.

"It's not about revenge (the home series against England). It's taking pride to play for India and for me that is really important. It (revenge) can be against any other nation but I take lot of pride in playing for India. That's what matters to me. It doesn't matter with whom we play. As long as we produce quality performance expected from us, that is important," said Tendulkar.

"For four years, I mean post-2007 World Cup till the 2011 World Cup, we played quality cricket and got to No 1 ranking. No 1 ranking does not happen overnight. It takes some time and only when you produce good cricket for number of years. We were able to get there but slipped down. It's important to again get back there," Tendulkar said.

India lost eight consecutive Test matches against England and Australia last season but the maestro feels that the defeats in England and Down Under was not because of over-confidence.

"I wouldn't say that World Cup victory had something to do with that (losses in England and Australia) and the players became complacent or over-confident. It was nothing like that.

"We all know our responsibilities. You go out there to perform well but sometimes it just does not work. They have been tough tours for us and we need to regroup ourselves and take stronger steps forward and see to it that these performances don't get repeated," said the 39-year-old cricketer.

Tendulkar said the back-to-back series defeats were difficult to digest and it was a "rough patch" for Team India.

"It was really difficult to digest all those things. You have a huge responsibility when you go out there and look to win every match. But that's not possible. It's equally important that we perform well and live up to our own expectations."

The master batsman also admitted that things didn't go as per plan in England and Australia.

"The Indian cricket team will always have a plan for a year. We have to admit that it did not go accordingly at all. It was a rough patch. Prior to that for three years we really played well," he said.

Tendulkar said that club cricket can never replace international tournament but a tournament like IPL provides an ideal platform for domestic players to showcase their talent.

"Club cricket can never take country cricket's place but it's a brilliant platform. Cricket is the only sport which has three formats - T20 cricket gives the opportunity to new players to showcase their talent.

"More importantly, it gives a chance to first class players who may have worked hard for years but never made it to the national team. It helps them earn money which is important because they sacrificed many of their years to fulfill their dreams to play for India," he said.
READ MORE - Tendulkar wants India to get back on top

I have heard of the talks of being made India captain



Having led Kolkata Knight Riders to the Indian Premier League triumph, Gautam Gambhir says he is ready to captain the Indian Test side.

Asked if he is ready to lead the Test side, Gambhir replied, "Absolutely, it is the biggest honour. I am ready for it.

"Ready for the responsibility of the challenge, because you want to take different challenges as well. That's where your mental toughness and character will be tested."

"I have heard of the talks [of he being made India captain], but, as I have said, a captain is as good as the team. It's a successful team that makes a successful captain and not that a successful captain makes a successful team," he said.
READ MORE - I have heard of the talks of being made India captain

Sri Lanka crush Pakistan by 37 runs in a low scoring First T20I


Sri Lanka put on a brilliant bowling and fielding performance to post a comfortable 37-run victory over Pakistan in their opening Twenty20 international on Friday.

Pakistan were bowled out for 95, their lowest T20 total against Sri Lanka, after restricting the hosts to 132 for 7 in Hambantota. Sri Lankan pacemen Nuwan Kulasekera, Angelo Mathews and Lasith Malinga and debutant off-spinner Sachithra Senanayake took two wickets apiece after Man-of-the-Match Thisara Perera scored a crucial 32 not out.

Opener Ahmed Shehzad top-scored for Pakistan with 36, while the extras contributed 19 runs, the second-highest of the innings. Umar Akmal (12) was the other batsman to reach double-figures. Pakistan never recovered after losing two wickets off the first two balls of the innings, with Kulasekera removing skipper Mohammad Hafeez and debutant Shakeel Ansar.

The Sri Lankan bowlers were backed by their fielders, with Perera and Kulasekera each taking a superb catch. Left-arm paceman Sohail Tanvir earlier grabbed three big wickets as Pakistan restricted Sri Lanka. He jolted the top order when he dismissed skipper Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara in his opening three overs to reduce the hosts to 31 for 3. Tanvir finished with 3 for 12 off four tight overs, his best performance in Twenty20 internationals, while off-spinner Saeed Ajmal bagged two wickets for 20 runs.

Perera smashed two sixes and as many fours in his 16-ball knock to help his team make 43 runs off the last 22 balls. Lahiru Thirimanne, making his T20 debut, was the other main scorer with a 25-ball 30. Sri Lanka made a poor start after electing to bat, losing four wickets in the opening eight overs with just 39 on the board. Tanvir struck with his third delivery when he had Jayawardene caught by Shoaib Malik in the covers and then had Dilshan caught by Umar Gul at fine-leg in his next over.

Sangakkara (19) hit three successive fours off paceman Mohammad Sami before he inside-edged a Tanvir delivery onto his stumps. The second and final Twenty20 match will be played on Sunday.
READ MORE - Sri Lanka crush Pakistan by 37 runs in a low scoring First T20I

Pakistan v Srilanka 1st T20 International Cricket Match Live Streaming


Pakistan tour of Sri Lanka, 1st T20I: Sri Lanka v Pakistan at Hambantota, Jun 1, 2012

Sri Lanka squad
DPMD Jayawardene*, LD Chandimal, TM Dilshan, CK Kapugedera, KMDN Kulasekara, KS Lokuarachchi, SL Malinga, AD Mathews, NLTC Perera, KC Sangakkara†, SMSM Senanayake, WU Tharanga, HDRL Thirimanne, I Udana

Pakistan squad
Mohammad Hafeez*, Ahmed Shehzad, Hammad Azam, Haris Sohail, Khalid Latif, Mohammad Sami, Raza Hasan, Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi, Shakeel Ansar†, Shoaib Malik, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Akmal, Umar Gul, Yasir Arafat


Pakistan tour of Sri Lanka, 2012
Hambantota International Cricket Stadium, Hambantota, Sri Lanka
June 1, 2012


Sri Lanka won the toss, and elected to bat first
Pakistan: 95-all out (17.4 Ovs)
Sri Lanka: 132/7 (20.0 Ovs)
Sri Lanka won by 37 runs
MOM: Thissara Perera
READ MORE - Pakistan v Srilanka 1st T20 International Cricket Match Live Streaming

 
 
 

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