Saurav Ganguly

Full name: Sourav Chandidas Ganguly
Nickname: Dada, Maharaj, Bengal Tiger, Prince of Calcutta, Lord Snooty
Born: July 8, 1972, Calcutta (now Kolkata), Bengal
Major teams: India, ACC Asian XI, Bengal, Glamorgan, Lancashire
Height: 5.11 ft
Education: St Xavier's College
Relations: Brother - Snehasish C Ganguly

Batting style: Left-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm medium

Test debut: England v India at Lord's - Jun 20-24, 1996

ODI debut: India v West Indies at Brisbane - Jan 11, 1992

Born on 8th July, 1972, Saurav Ganguly made his One Day International debut against Australia in 1992, and a Test debut versus England in 1996. He went on to become the captain of Indian cricket team from 2000 to 2005. He has led India to the World Cup 2003 finals, and holds the Indian captaincy record for the most Test victories. He was dropped from the national team in early 2006 due to conflicts with the then new coach Greg Chappell. He was recalled to the Indian Test side in December, to fill the position of a left handed batsman (Yuvraj Singh) who was injured. With reasonably consistant scores during the 2006 - 2007 Indian tour of South Africa, this could be remembered as his succesful comeback to international cricket

Some felt he couldn't play the bouncer, others swore that he was God on the off-side; some laughed at his lack of athleticism, others took immense pride in his ability to galvanise a side. Sourav Ganguly's ability to polarise opinion led to one of the most fascinating dramas in Indian cricket. Yet, nobody can dispute that he was India's most successful Test captain. When he took over the captaincy after the match-fixing exposes in 2000, he quickly proved to be a tough, intuitive and uncompromising leader. Under his stewardship India started winning Test matches away, and put together a splendid streak that took them all the way to the World Cup final in 2003.

His downfall began in Nagpur match ODI where he was withdrawn from the team. Then his consistent failures went side by side with the consistent failures of the Indian team, which was at its best in the upto 2003. The ban of 6 matches did the plot. Rahul Dravid became the captain which led to the remarkable revival of the team. The odd 20-30 runs didn't help Saurav and he was dropped from the team in October 2005. Seeing his then good performance in the English County Season and domestic cricket he was recalled to the team in December 2006. On January 12th 2007 he was recalled for the one day squad as well, where India play host to West Indies and Sri Lanka in a one day tournament. On January 21st, Ganguly hit a match winning 98 against the West Indies.
Also Visit http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/india/content/player/28779.html

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Anil Kumble

Full name: Anil Kumble
Nickname: Jumbo, Kumbles
Born: October 17, 1970, Bangalore, Karnataka
Major teams: India, ACC Asian XI, Karnataka, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Surrey
Education: Mechanical Engineer from R.V. College of Engineering

Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Leg break googly

Test debut: India v England at Manchester - Aug 9-14, 1990

ODI debut: India v Sri Lanka at Sharjah - Apr 25, 1990

1996 - Wisden cricketer of the year 1996

PROFILE
He is one of those rare personalities in the cricket world who has the qualities of both a great player and a great person. Though stardom has always evaded Kumble, he has never felt sad or disappointed. Every delivery he bowls is with a new spirit and enthusiasm and onfeild behaviour is an example for others. His record list, which is a never ending list, speaks of him. In 1999 he became the first and the only Indian player to take all the 10 wickets in an innings, the feat performed only once before by Jim Laker back in 1955. Its Anil only who holds the Indian record of the most number of wickets in both ODI and test. Kumble also owns the Indian record of the most the test wins by a bowler.....disheartened

Anil Kumble who hails from Banglore in Karnataka, has his parental background in village Kumble situated in the Kasargod district of Kerala. After doing mechanical engineering from R.V. college of engineering he decided to take up cricket as his profession. He made his debut as a right arm medium pacer but soon established himself as a leg spinner. Due to this very reason, his bowls are nearer to the medium pace speed. By the year 1992 he had become a regular member of the national team owing to some spectacular regular performances.

The season 1995-96 was a golden period as Kumble's ODI perfomance was awesome. He took 61 wickets at an average of 20.24 and strike rate of just 4.06. It was same year in which the World cup was held in Asia. Owing to such great performance he was also named as the Wisden Cricketer of the year.

Anil Kumble is rather an unorthodox leg spinner. His deliveries have more of speed and less turn. With a clever mix of top-spinners, googlies, leg-breaks, flight and a variation of pace he has ability to frighten the best batsmen of the world. His flipper is one deadly deliveries which rather than hanging in the air speeds up after hitting the ground. His bowling ability can been seen by the no. of players he has dismissed by LBW's.

After arrival of Harbhajan Singh, Anil Kumble has been sidelined as a test player. He has been regularly been dropped from the ODI team though his place in the test squad has been firmly held by him. Even then he has been able to make to the Indian world cup squads in 1999, 2003 and now even in cricket world cup 2007. Recently he also announced that world cup would be his last ODI tournament.
View Anil Kumble's stats at http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/india/content/player/30176.html

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Zaheer Khan

Full name: Zaheer Khan
Nickname: Zak
Born: October 7, 1978, Shrirampur, Maharashtra
Major teams: India, ACC Asian XI, Baroda, Surrey, Worcestershire

Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Left-arm fast-medium

Test debut: India v Bangladesh at Dhaka - Nov 10-13, 2000

ODI debut: India v Kenya at Nairobi (Gym) - Oct 3, 2000

Twenty20: Debut India v South Africa at Johannesburg - Dec 1, 2006

PROFILE
Zaheer Khan has been one of the best findings of the Indian team. Zaheer who made his international debut in 2001, left his engineering studies in between to pursue a career in cricket. Showing great skills at the national arena, Zaheer was selected in 2000 for the first intake of the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore. Soon he made his international debut in both test and ODI in the same year.

Zaheer's impressive debut in the ICC Knockout, when two yorkers in three balls speared into the off stumps of Kenyan batsmen, heightened people's expectations. He lived to these expectations and took India to the finals of the world cup 2003. He ended the world cup as the fourth highest wicket taker with 18 wickets from 11 matches at an average of 20.

Zaheer holds the world record for the highest Test score by a number 11 when he scored 75 for India v Bangladesh in Dhaka, 2004. His partnership with Sachin Tendulkar, which produced 133 runs is an Indian-record for the tenth-wicket. Also he hit 4 sixes off the last 4 bowls of the innings to Henry Olonga in Jodhpur which unveils his other potent dimension.

Zaheer Khan has the rare courage to bowl to all batsmen with the same aggressiveness and vigor. He has the talent to swing the ball both ways off the wicket and swing the old ball at the same pace. But after a hamstring injury in late 2003, Zaheer has lost both his pace and place in the team to the new pace generation. But a great English County Season, 2006 and Ranji Trophy, 2006 has got him a place in the national team of which he made the most. Now he is sure to be part of the Indian team for 2007 world cup. Good Luck Zaheer!
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Irfan Pathan

Full name: Irfan Khan Pathan
Nickname: Guddu
Born: October 27, 1984, Baroda, Gujarat
Major teams: India, Baroda, Middlesex
Relations: Brother - YK Pathan

Batting style: Left-hand bat
Bowling style: Left-arm medium-fast

Test debut: India v Australia at Adelaide - Dec 12-16, 2003

ODI debut: India v Australia at Melbourne - Jan 9, 2004

Twenty20 debut: India v South Africa at Johannesburg - Dec 1, 2006

2004 - ICC Emerging Player of the Year 2004

PROFILE
Irfan Pathan was born to an impoverished father who served as a muezzin in a local mosque. Thus Irfan and his brother spent most of their childhood days in the mosque corridors. Irfan Pathan's parents wanted their sons to be Islamic scholars but the two brothers took more interest in cricket. Slowly and steadily Irfan developed his bowling skills. Irfan practiced for more than six hours daily to sharpen his cricketing skills. Soon under the guidance and supervision of the former Indian captain, Datta Gaekwad, Pathan was selected in the under-14 Baroda team.

Pathan, who rejoiced watching Wasim Akram bowling, made his first class debut at the age of 16 in the 2000-01 season. Soon in the year 2002 he was selected for the Under 19 world cup to be held New Zealand. His haul of 18 wickets in the U-19 Asian tournament got him selection in the national team. Pathan debut games in both the versions of the game were not so good but he came back strongly in both the versions. He earned his first man of the match award in his first ODI series only against Zimbabwe at Perth. After such a glorious start to the carrer, Pathan just blew away to new heights.

Before the team's departure to Pakistan in 2004, Javed Miandad commented that bowlers like Irfan could be found in every street of Pakistan. Pathan soon proved that Miandad had made a mistake as he ended the series as one of the top wicket-taker and helped India to secure its first series victory over Pakistan in two decades. Irfan's regular performances also earned him the prestigious award of the ICC Emerging Player of the Year 2004

Greg Chappel, who took over as the new team coach in 2005, saw Irfan as the the best allrounder in India's cricket history after Kapil Dev. He sparkled Irfan's batting skills and Irfan also showed results. His 83 vs Sri Lanka is one of his memorable innings. Since then Irfan has batted at all positions from opening slot to ninth down. But to his and our dismay, Irfan's form and pace, both have dropped since then. During 2006, for most of the time, he has remained out of the national team due to poor form. In December 2006, he became the first player to be sent back from a foreign tour when he was sent back from the tour of South Africa to find his form. Besides all this Pathan has been selected in the world cup 2007 squad owing to his past form and reputation.
View Irfan's stats at http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/india/content/player/32685.html

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MS Dhoni

Full name: Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Nickname: Mahi
Born: July 7, 1981, Ranchi, Bihar
Major teams: India, Jharkhand, East Zone, Bihar

Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm medium
Fielding position: Wicketkeeper

Test debut: India v Sri Lanka at Chennai - Dec 2-6, 2005

ODI debut: India v Bangladesh at Chittagong (MAA) - Dec 23, 2004

Twenty20 debut: India v South Africa at Johannesburg - Dec 1, 2006

PROFILE
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, popularly known as Dhoni is an aggressive batsman with good wicketkeeping skills. This lad from the backwaters of Jharkhand and With Adam Gilcrist as his idol, started playing for Bihar in 1999 at the age of just 18 years. Initially his performance with both bat and gloves were only modest but he kept on improving. After regular good performances he was noticed by the national selectors and was selected to represent India 'A' on the tour of Kenya. No sooner he was selected to represent the national team and awarded by the BCCI with a B-grade contract.

Dhoni on entering the Indian team showed them how important was he for the team. In Dec. 2005 he hit an amazing 183 off just 145 deliveries against Sri Lanka, equaling Saurav Ganguly's score for the highest individual score by an Indian in Odi. He also hit 10 huge sixes and surpassed the previous Indian record of 7 and just short of world record of 11. Averaging over 50, he soon overtook the Aussie captain Ricky Ponting as number one in the ICC ODI batsmen ranking, in Apr2006 but was soon dethroned. But even then he stills continues to be in the top 10.

In such a short time Dhoni has already written a list of records in his name, which is expected to expand by multiples in future. Such performances have ousted the likes of Dinesh Kartick and Parthiv Patel and Dhoni has taken over the responsibility of the Indian wicketkeeper cum batsman. Since then this man has never looked back and has become the most beloved player of all Indian cricket fans. The chicks have been fida on him due to his great looks and not to forget his long hair.

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Dinesh Karthik

Full name: Krishna Kumar Dinesh Karthik
Born: June 1, 1985, Madras (now Chennai), Tamil Nadu
Major teams: India, India A, India Under-19s, Indian Board President's XI, Tamil Nadu

Batting style: Right-hand bat
Fielding position: Wicketkeeper

Test debut: India v Australia at Mumbai - Nov 3-5, 2004

ODI debut: England v India at Lord's - Sep 5, 2004

Twenty20 debut: South Africa v India at Johannesburg - Dec 1, 2006

PROFILE
Dinesh Karthik started playing cricket at the age of 10 under the coaching of his father Krishna Kumar. His father, a first division cricket player from Chennai always wanted his son to excel in cricket. He had suffered when he was forced to put studies ahead of cricket and didn't want his son to face the same. So training under his father, Karthik, made his first class debut at a young age of 17 for Tamil Nadu. Initially he was just a batsman but he added wicketkeeping to his game to give himself better future prospects. Robin Singh also regarded him as having very high level of fitness.

In his first first class season, Karthik couldn't make a mark. Though his batting was pretty good and he averaged over 35, his regular mistakes behind the wicket went against him and he was dropped for the final matches. So to improve his wicketkeeping he joined an off-season wicketkeeping camp under the guidance of India's former wicketkeeper and the then chief selector Kiran More. He came back as a better and wicketkeeper and batsman as he accumulated 438 runs and took 20 catches. This also included a century in both semi-final and final of the Ranji Trophy.

Despite such good performances, Dinesh was ignored for the South Zone team for the Duleep Trophy. But Dinesh Karthik continued his good run as he scored a gritty 70 off 39 balls in the under 19 cricket world cup in Bangladesh. At last Kartik was selected in the national team after the selectors decided to cease using Rahul Dravid as a part time wicketkeeper. So he made his ODI debut in sept, 2004 but was out for just 1 run. His continuing batting slump forced the selectors to drop him and the lad from the state of Jharkhand, MS Dhoni took over his place in the one day side.

Karthik made his test debut in the late 2004 against Australia after Parthiv Patel was dropped due to poor form. Though he could add only 16 runs and 2 catches to his kitty, he was praised for his wonderful wicketkeeping. His memorable innings came in early 2005 when he scored an outstanding 93 against Pakistan at the Eden Gardens. However his batting didn't show the required promise and MS Dhoni took over his place.

After being dropped from both the teams, Karthik remained out of international arena for over a year. Meantime he played first class cricket to improve his batting skills. Owing to his regular good performances at the first class level, Karthik was recalled to the ODI team in April, 2006 mainly to give Dhoni some rest. With Yuvraj Singh injured in late 2006, he was included in the team as a specialist batsman. Though he was not played in all the matches, he proved himself in every game he played. He even bagged his first man of the match for his score of 63 against WestIndies at the Barabati Stadium. Such good form has also awarded this youngster a place in the Indian squad for the world cup 2007
View Karthik's stats at http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/india/content/player/30045.html

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Yuvraj Singh

Full name: Yuvraj Singh
Nickname: Yuvi
Born: December 12, 1981, Chandigarh
Major teams: India, Punjab, Yorkshire
Relations: Father - B Yograj Singh

Batting style: Left-hand bat
Bowling style: Slow left-arm orthodox

Test debut: India v New Zealand at Chandigarh - Oct 16-20, 2003

ODI debut: Kenya v India at Nairobi (Gym) - Oct 3, 2000

PROFILE
Yuvraj Singh is primarily a left-handed batsman but can bowl part-time left-arm orthodox spin. This flamboyant batsman first came into attention when he made a dashing 358 captaining the the Punjab U-19 team in the final of the Cooch-Behar Trophy against Bihar U-19s. Owing to his superb performance he was then selected in the U-19 national team for the world cup to be held in Sri Lanka in 1999 under the captaincy of Mohammad Kaif. Being part of the winning team of the U-19 world cup, Yuvraj Singh was chosen in 2000 for the first intake of the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.

Yuvraj made a classy start to his international career. It was his second ODI, when he made a quickfire 84 off 82 and that too against the Aussies studded with bowlers like McGrath, Lee and Gillespie. But after that innings he subsequently dropped from the team due to his poor form. But soon he made a wonderful return to the team with a score of 98 against the Lankans. One of his most memorable innings was a partnership with Mohammad Kaif in the NatWest Series final against England in July 2002 which led India to victory and it cemented his place in the Indian team.

The 2005-06 season proved to be a watershed for Yuvraj, with 1161 runs at 58 in the one-dayers, as he transformed himself into one of the keystones in India's batting line-up. Besides being a gifted batsman, Yuvraj is a great fielder also. Very often he can be seen standing at the Jonty Rhodes Corner. He has the ability to take stunning catches and make awesome stops. A Cricinfo report published in late 2005 showed that since 1999, he was the fourth most prolific fielder in effecting ODI run outs, and of those on the list of prolific fielders, he had the second highest rate of effecting a run out. Even he also a good part time bowler who has the ability to take wickets. After having a great 2005-06 season he was out of action for oer three months due to knee injury and made his return in January, 2006.

Though being such a talented player Yuvraj has had a number of critics. Many complain about his attitude. Also he attracted attention by angry gesticulations to the Indian dressing room after he reached his century against West Indies, which was postulated to be due to his clashes with team management - Greg Chappell had been appointed as the new Indian coach and he had criticised Yuvraj. He later praised Chappell's techniques.

Owing to his great personality, Yuvraj was signed by Microsoft to be a brand ambassador for the Xbox 360 video game console when it was launched in India in 2006. He appeared in advertisements for the console alongside Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar. A cricket game with his endorsement, Yuvraj Singh International Cricket 2007, was announced for release in 2007 in India. Besides this Yuvraj has also walked down the ramp in various fashion shows alongside other celebrities and models.
Veiw Yuvraj's stats at http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/india/content/player/36084.html

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Ajit Agarkar

Full name: Ajit Bhalchandra Agarkar
Born: December 4, 1977, Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra
Major teams: India, Middlesex, Mumbai

Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm fast-medium

Test debut: Zimbabwe v India at Harare - Oct 7-10, 1998

ODI debut: India v Australia at Kochi - Apr 1, 1998

Twenty20 debut: South Africa v India at Johannesburg - Dec 1, 2006

PROFILE
Ajit Agarkar gave a speedy start to his career as he became the fastest to reach 50 wickets in One Day Internationals. But such speed was accompanied by batting slump of 7 ducks in a row against Australia. Besides them he has many records to his name. He holds the world record of being the quickest in terms taking least no. of matches in reaching the feat of 200 wickets and completeing 1000 runs in ODI. He completed this feat in 133 matches breaking the previous record held by Shaun Pollock in 138. He also holds the fastest Indian record of hiiting a ODI half-century, hitting it in just 21 balls

Agarkar was born in the Shivaji Park area of Mumbai and was raised by his grandparents. He from the starting took interest in cricket. Agarkar, at the school level, was a top order batsman who could bowl a bit. Once he was made to open the bowling attack and he performed well. So he started opening the bowling attack. When he played at the state level, he was an allrounder. At the national level, under the captainship of Md. Azharuddin he was a bowler and a lower order batsman. But by the time Azhar left, he was left as a pacer and a tailender.

Agarkar records in the one day arena has been a good one. When he is to his terms he can take quick wickets. But in other cases he can expensive. Though a lean and not so tall personality, unlike other quicks, he has the rare talent to swing the ball both ways and generate a speed of 140 kph regularly. Agarkar's run in test matches has been disappointing. Besides some good performances he has not been able to make a mark in the longer version of the game. But he too has to his name the unbeaten test century at Lords in 2002, while batting at eighth number.

Agarkar, besides being such a good bowler has been in and out of the team, sometimes due to form, in other cases due to injury. Since now he has made nine comebacks in the national team and won the match of the award in 5 of these comebacks. But he has been able to make to all the three world cups, since he made his international debut in 1998. Though he played only 3 matches in the 1999 world cup and not even a single match in 2003 world cup, he is expected to spearhead the Indian bowling attack allong with Zaheer Khan in the Cricket world cup 2007.

View Ajit Agarkar's stats at http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/26184.html

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Sachin Tendulkar

Full name: Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar
Nickname: Tendlya, Little Master, Master Blaster, Slashin Sachin, The Bombay Bomber, 10dulkar, 4+6=10dulkar
Born: April 24, 1973, Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra
Major teams: India, ACC Asian XI, Mumbai, Yorkshire
Height: 5.05 ft
Education: Sharadashram Vidyamandir School

Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Legbreak googly

Test debut: Pakistan v India at Karachi - Nov 15-20, 1989

ODI debut: Pakistan v India at Gujranwala - Dec 18, 1989

Only Twenty20 Int.: South Africa v India at Johannesburg - Dec 1, 2006

Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1997
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna 1997-98
Padma Shri 1999

PROFILE

The name, Sachin Tendulkar, itself spells excellence. It won't be wrong to call him a genius batsman. He became the first batsmen to reach the 50 centuries mark in international cricket and at present leads the list of the number of runs scored in ODI cricket. He is the best ever batsman in the Indian cricket history and can be called second only to the legendry cricketer Sir Donald Bradman. His bravery was proved after he was hit on the head on his Test debut in Pakistan, when he was only 16; and his commitment to the Indian cause has never been in doubt.

Sachin, born in a middle class Rajapur Saraswat Brahmins community in Bombay, now known as Mumbai, was named after his family's favorite music director Sachin Dev Burman. His late father Ramesh Tendulkar was a Marathi novelist. He was encouraged to play cricket by his elder brother, Ajit Tendulkar. While at school, he was involved in an unbroken 664-run partnership in a Harris Shield game in 1988 with friend and team mate Vinod Kambli, who also went on to represent India. He also became the only player to score a century while making his Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy and Irani Trophy debut before entering the international arena.

Tendulkar's debut in both test and one day cricket was disappointing but he soon showed signs that he is the best out there. Tendulkar, succeeded Mohammad Azharuddin as captain and led India on a tour of Australia, where the visitors were comprehensively beaten 3-0 [5] by the newly-crowned world champions. After another Test series defeat, this time by a 0-2 margin at home against South Africa, Tendulkar resigned, and Sourav Ganguly took over as captain in 2000. In the CWC1996 he scored with an awesome average and scored 673 runs in the CWC2003 to win the Man of the series award. Shane Warne, the Australian cricketer once ruefully joked that he was having nightmares about his Indian nemesis.

But after all these things he has always been in a grip of injuries. A chronic back problem flared up when Pakistan toured India in 1999. Tennis elbow then took its toll on Tendulkar, leaving him out of the side for the first two Tests when Australia toured India in 2004. In 2006 again he remained out of action for over 2 months following shoulder injury. After recovering from this injury he has returned to the team but can't be said in top of his form. But even then he it can't be said Tendulkar is finished. Let's hope that like the previous world cup, Tendulkar becomes the largest runs scorer and helps India bring world cup 2007 home.

Also visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sachin_Tendulkar

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Robin Uthappa

Full name Aiyudda Robin Uthappa
Born November 11, 1985, Coorg, Karnataka
Major teams India, India Under-19s, Karnataka, Reebok XI

Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm medium
Fielding position Wicketkeeper

ODI debut India v England at Indore - Apr 15, 2006

PROFILE
Son of an international hockey referee, Venu Uthappa, Robin is a very promising cricket. In his international debut only he scored a illustrious 86 before being run out. It is the highest score by an Indian on his international debut in the limited overs game. Robin Uthappa was initially a wicketkeeper-batsman. But to concentrate on batting more, he gave up wicketkeeping and started bowling medium pace.

Robin Uthappa's batting is a treat to watch. He is a batsman who is not afraid to play his shots and has all type of shots in his book. He has the ability to hit huge sixes along with lofty fours. Besides this he is not a batsman who settles down before playing his shots. Besides this he is also quick on the field.

He scores at a speed of over run a ball. Uthappa first class record is just a modest one where he averages a so-so 32. But when it comes to the limited overs version he has something to say with his averages touching the forty mark and strike rate of over 93. He first came into limelight when he scored a brilliant 66 for India B against India A in the Challenger Trophy in 2005. But a blistering ton off 93 balls in the very next edition of the same tournament showed his ability to strike the ball.

After giving a remarkable start to his international career with a 86 on debut, his next two outings weren't great. Subsequently he was dropped from the side but he did return to the squad in Jan, 2007 for the series against West Indies. Here again he proved his mettle with fifty. He smashed 70 from just 41 deliveries. Recently he has been included in the Indian squad for the world cup 2007 to be held in West Indies and is the only one who is yet to make his test debut. He is expected to open the innings there.
View Robin's stats at http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/england/content/player/35582.html

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Virender Sehwag

Full name: Virender Sehwag
Nicknames: Viru, Nawab of Najafgarh, Sultan of Multan
Born: October 20, 1978, Delhi
Major teams: India, ACC Asian XI, Delhi, ICC World XI, Leicestershire, Rajasthan Cricket Association President's XI

Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm offbreak

Test debut: South Africa v India at Bloemfontein - Nov 3-6, 2001

ODI debut: India v Pakistan at Chandigarh (Punjab C.A.) - Apr 1, 1999

Twenty20 debut: India v South Africa at Johannesburg - Dec 1, 2006

2005 Selected in the ICC World XI for the 2005 ICC Super Series
2005 "Most exciting opener in the world" by Wisden

PROFILE
This dashing batsman has everything in his batting which the spectators enjoy- huge sixes, lofty shots, straighter straight drives, powerful backfoot punches and not to forget the aggresiveness. Virender Sehwag, son of a grain merchant was born in Delhi. Academically poor, he pestered his parents to pursue a carrer in cricket. But at the age of 12, when he broke his tooth while playing cricket, his father tried to end his carrer but with help of mother Krishna Sehwag he was able to continue playing. Sehwag made his debut in first class cricket in 1997-98 season playing for Delhi. The very next season he was selected to represent the north zone and he also made his ODI debut. His regular performances at the national and international level made him a regular member of the Indian team.

After making ODI debut in 1999, Sehwag made his first fifty agianst Australia in his fourth match scoring at a strike rate of over 100. But it took some time for Sehwag to score a century which came in 2001 only. But it was a hundred of just 69 balls and it earned him his first man of the match award. Since then he became the permanent member of the Indian team and played at the opening slot mainly with Sachin or Saurav.

In tests, Sehwag got a flying start, hitting a ton on his debut. He was awarded one match suspension in his second match for over appealing which became a political issue. The failure of experiments with other players for the opening slot awarded him the a new position which took him to new heights. In early 2004 he became the only Indian to cross the triple century mark(which he completed with a six) scoring 309 against Pakistan at Multan. His other memorable innings is 254 vs Pakistan at Lahore sharing the second best opening stand with skipper Rahul Dravid.

Since 2005 Sehwag has been on a drier side. His one day form has been dreadful. He was even dropped from the team in the early Jan-Feb, 2007 due to his poor form. He was selected in the final 15 Indian squad for the world cup 2007 to be held in WestIndies only due to Rahul Dravid's immense confidence on him. Besides batting, Sehwag is a handy offspinner also who has the knack to take wickets at odd times.

Sehwag who has his idol in Sachin Tendulkar, has much in common to him. His straight drives, backfoot punches, leg glances often reminds you of the old Sachin. Besides cricket Sehwag also opened a resturant named Sehwag favourites at Fun Republic cineplex in 2005 , here also following his idol. Sehwag also does a lot of charity work for Unicef. He donated for the tsunami victoms, auctioning his bat for Rs.70000 with which he had hit the triple century.
Veiw Sehwag's stats at http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/india/content/player/35263.html

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Sreesanth

Full name: Shanthakumaran Sreesanth
Nicknmes: Gopu, Kerala express, The Prince of hat-tricks
Born: February 6, 1983, Kothamangalam, Kerala
Major teams: India, Kerala, Kerala Under-19s

Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm fast-medium

Test debut: India v England at Nagpur - Mar 1-5, 2006

ODI debut: India v Sri Lanka at Nagpur - Oct 25, 2005

Twenty20 debut: India v South Africa at Johannesburg - Dec 1, 2006

PROFILE
"To me, the find of the series for India has undoubtedly been Sreesanth and irrespective of what happens, this lad has the ability to go a long way and serve his country with merit and distinction." This is what Moin Khan said after the 3rd test at Multan. Blessed with unique capability to swing the ball late and generate sudden movement off the pitch, Sreesanth's rise has been quite rapid. Since making a debut he has usually been a regular member of the national team and at many times spearheaded the bowling attack.

Sreesanth was initially a leg-spinner and being a great fan of Anil Kumble, he tried to copy his bowling action. But his habit of bowling the yorkers forced him to convert to pace bowling. Sreesanth made his first class debut in the year 2002-03 against Goa. His fine bowling and large haul of wickets earned him place in the South Zone Team for the Duleep Trophy in the very same season- a feat accomplished by many few cricketers. But during a warm -up match against the touring New Zealand team he suffered a hamstring injury which kept him out for a month. But he returned with much more energy and claimed his first Ranji hat-trick against Himachal, also the first one for Kerala in Ranji Trophy ever. This also earned him the nickname The 'Prince of hat-tricks' among the Keralites.

In his international ODI debut in Oct, 2005, Sreesanth was a bit expensive during the opening overs but he later came back to take two wickets. He was subsequently dropped from the playing eleven before being recalled for the fourth, fifth and sixth ODI. But Sreesanth's good performances starting coming after the Tour of Pakistan in 2006 where in the last match he ended with a figures of 4/58. In the very next home series against England, Sreesanth earned his first man of the match award.

It took a long 5 months for Sreesanth to make a test debut after making his international debut. Sreesanth was included in the squad at the expense of Zaheer Khan for the Ist test at Nagpur against England in 2006. He recorded figures of 4/95 on his debut. After that he went to the tour of West Indies as the leading pace bowler. But it the tour of South Africa,2006 after which he rose to fame, helping India to score its first test win on South African soil. Besides this he has been fined by the ICC twice, once for breaching the ICC logo policy and the other time for sending South African Batsman Hashim Amla back after dismissing him. He has also been involved in a spat while batting with pacer Andre Nel, responding to the taunt of the fast bowler by charging the next delivery, hitting for a six and the most of it, running and swinging his bat after Nel to perform dance(Video can be seen below)

Besides cricket Sreesanth has varied talents and interests. He is an accomplished break dancer who has even won a national award for this in the eighth standard. He also good at playing football, table tennis and hockey. Also he is capable of speaking Tamil, Hindi and English besides his mother tongue Malayalam. Another fact about Sreesanth - he studies psychology at university when not playing cricket.

View his stats at http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/india/content/player/34274.html

Sreesanth swinging his bat

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Munaf Patel

Full name: Munaf Musa Patel
Born: July 12, 1983, Ikhar, Gujarat
Major teams: India, Mumbai, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Indian Board President's XI, Reebok XI

Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm medium-fast

Test debut: India v England at Mohali - Mar 9-13, 2006

ODI debut: India v England at Margao - Apr 3, 2006

PROFILE
Born in a anti-cricket family, Munaf can be indisputably said as the fastest pacer this pace-starved nation has found. Much before he made his first class debut, he was invited to join the MRF Pace Academy in Chennai after Kiran More saw him practising at nets. While he trained under the legendary Australian player Dennis Lillee, he even surprised the all time great, Steve Waugh, with his pace. The surprised and impressed fellow shot out 'This bloke's quick, where did he come from.

While Munaf trained at the MRF Pace Academy, he even impressed the Little Master - Sachin Tendulkar. Seeing his tremendous abilities, Tendulkar asked him to join the Mumbai team. So before Munaf could debut for Baroda or Gujrat he had been transferred to Mumbai. Even then the road ahead was not clear. Before he could make his first class debut from Mumbai, he was made the strike bowler for the team as Avishkar Salvi was down with an injury and Ajit Agarkar was playing for the national team. Even then he took a respectable haul of 14 wickets in his first season.

Regular performances at the national level - not to forget 10 wickets against England while playing from Board's President XI, at last earned him a place in the national team. Patel recorded an awesome figures of 7/97 on his debut with 4 wickets in the second innings, a feat rarely accomplished. He bowled regularly at a speed of over 87 mph and touching the 90 mph regularly. But its his pace along with control on line and length that he was able to rip through the English line up. Again when West Indies toured India he proved his mettle by bowling at over 85mph with control regularly. But during the same series he was forced to face the dishonour of being hit for 6 fours in an over by Ramnaresh Sarwan.

Though Munaf has been the fastest Indian pacer unearthed till now, his injuries are a worrying factor. He has been surrounded by a stint of injuries in his early career only. His rounded bowling action, unsteady head and other reasons has kept him injured most of the time. He missed most of the 2004-05 season playing only three games due to various injuries and was written off by many. He was even sent to the Australian Institute of Sport, Canberra for bio-mechanical tests on his bowling action. Munaf was also down due to sore ankle for over two months in the late 2006 and missed almost whole of the tour of South Africa. Due to these varied injuries his speed has dropped from the quick 145 kph to a normal 130 kph. Besides this he isn't quick on the field, another point against him. Even then he has been picked for the world cup 2007 to be held in the Caribbeans. Bets of luck Munaf!
View his stats at http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/india/content/player/32965.html

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Harbhajan Singh

Full name: Harbhajan Singh
Nicknames: Bhajji, Turbanator
Born: July 3, 1980, Jullundur (now Jalandhar), Punjab
Major teams: India, Punjab, Reebok XI, Surrey

Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm offbreak

Test debut: India v Australia at Bangalore - Mar 25-28, 1998

ODI debut: India v New Zealand at Sharjah - Apr 17, 1998

Twenty20 debut: South Africa v India at Johannesburg - Dec 1, 2006

PROFILE
Harbhajan Singh is the only son of businessman Sardar Sardev Singh who owned a ball bearing and valve factory. Bhajji was to take up the family business but he showed interest in sports and specially in cricket. So his father encouraged him to take up cricket as career and reach the national team. Harbhajan was initially trained as a batsman by his first coach, but due to the coach's early demise he took up offspin bowling. Sheer hard work and sweating helped him master spin bowling and become India's most successful offspinner of all times.

Harbhajan made his first class debut in 1997 at the age of 17. Though his performances in the few first class matches he played was just a modest one, he was selected for the national team, ahead of many other better performers. He made his test debut against Australia where he recorded modest figures of 2/136. He was dropped for the ODI series that followed but was selected for ODI series in Sharjah, where he made his ODI debut against New Zealand.

After failing to make a mark in both the ODI and test arena, Harbhajan was regularly dropped from the team. Also Anil Kumble was back in form to head the spin attack. During the two year phase, from 1999 to 2001, Harbhajan Singh remained completely out of international cricket being overlooked as the selectors tried other spinners including Kartik, Sunil Joshi and Sarandeep Singh. The revival for this offspinner came in the Border-Gavaskar trophy held in March, 2001. It was Harbhajan who led the spin attack. He even recorded a hat-trick (Ponting, Gilcrist, Warne) to become the first Indian bowler to take a hat-trick in Tests. He managed to take a whooping 32 wickets in the series claiming well deserved Man of the Series award and two Man of the Match award.

Harbhajan has not been able to maintain that top class form he showed against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Though he was included in the squad for the next series but was subsequently dropped owing to poor performances. After Greg Chappel took over as the coach he has been mainly out of form. His occasional good performances has helped him maintain his place in the squad. The year 2006-07 has seen a drought of wickets for Harbhajan as he failed to quantify on given opportunities. Even then he has been able to make it to the Indian squad for world cup 2007 at the expense of Ramesh Power owing to his previous form.

Hurbhajan has been in news all through his career for one or the other reason. He was reprimanded and fined by the ICC referee in his very first international series as his on-field behaviour was adjudged as breach of ICC code of Conduct. In 2000, when Harbhajan remained out of the team, was expelled on disciplinary grounds by director Hanumant Singh during a training Camp at the National Cricket Academy. In 2002 he sustained minor injuries after he broke into a scuffle with the police personels in Guwahati. Ironically he had been offered the post of an honorary Deputy Superintendent of Punjab Police by the Govt. of Punjab some weeks before. After that he again came into news when he commented on Greg Chappel's tactics. This time he was called by the Punjab Cricket Academy for giving explanations but was not punished after he gave a apology. The most recent case-Harbhajan's appearing in an Royal Stag commercial without a turban created a lot of anger among the orthodox Sikhs.

Bhajji is an aggressive player. He has the rare capability to ball the 'doosra' which is one of the deadliest ball to understand and play. Besides spinning the ball, he can put some quick runs on the board with some huge sixes and lofty fours. He also has to his name 2 fifties while in ODI, he has plenty of 30+ scores.
Veiw Harbhajan's stats athttp://content-usa.cricinfo.com/india/content/player/29264.html

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Rahul Dravid

Full name: Rahul Sharad Dravid
Nickname: The Wall, Jammy, Mr. Dependable, The Great Wall of India
Born: January 11, 1973, Indore, Madhya Pradesh
Major teams: India, Scotland, ACC Asian XI, ICC World XI, Karnataka, Kent
Education: St. Josephs High School

Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm offbreak
Fielding position: Occasional wicketkeeper

Test debut: England v India at Lord's - Jun 20-24, 1996

ODI debut: India v Sri Lanka at Singapore - Apr 3, 1996

Ceat Cricketer of the 1999 World Cup
Wisden Cricketer of the Year 2000
ICC Test Player of the Year 2004
ICC Player of the Year 2004
Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy 2004
Padma Shri 2004

PROFILE

Rahul Dravid born in Indore, grew up in Bangalore as his father worked for Kissan, the company known for jams and pickles. This led his friends to call him Jammy. Rahul showed the interest and excelence in batting from a very early age. Dravid first came to prominence whilst attending a summer coaching camp at the Chinnaswamy Stadium where his talents were spotted by former cricketer Keki Tarapore who was coaching at the clinic [1]. He went on to score a century on debut for his school team and was selected for the U-15 Karnataka cricket team, scoring a double century against the U-15 Kerala cricket team. Along with batting he was keeping wickets but left that on the advice of former cricketers. He then showed his calibre in the Ranji Trophy and Dullep Trophy to be ready to represent India at international level.

The first few matches for him at the international level were not that good and soon he was dropped.He made a strong comeback to the team when he scored 95 against England on his test debut in 1996 and since then there has been no looking back. He became the backbone of the Indian batting line up batting at no.3 position. Beginning with the reputation of being a defensive batsman who should be confined to Test cricket, he was dropped from ODIs as he was slow in making runs. Of late, however, Rahul Dravid has defied early perceptions to become the mainstay of the Indian batting line-up in ODIs as well as in Tests.

After taking up the captaincy from Saurav Ganguly in 2004, he took India onto a winning spree. Under his captaincy India won 8 matches in a row and 15 consequetive matches chasing total. Also Rahul Dravid has been appointed to lead India in the cricket world cup 2007. So lets see if he can win India their II World Cup!

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WC Remembrances - 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup

Indian captain Saurav Ganguly was quoted as saying "They played as real champions". Yes! The Aussies led from the front by Ricky Ponting, won 2003 ICC cricket world cup defeating India in the finals. The Aussies remained invincible through out the tournament. The final just like the 1999 world cup final came up as a one sided match with India facing a humiliating 125 runs defeat just like that of Pakistan in 1999. Australia, batting first, plundered a hefty 359 in the given 50 overs loosing just 2 wickets. Their captain, Ricky Ponting did the blunder for India. His blistering 140 and Damein Martyn's 88 took Australia well past the previous highest score in a final - the West Indies' 291 (off 60 overs) in 1975. In reply India made a shaky start as man of the tournament, Sachin Tendulkar, lasted for just 4 balls. Except Sehwag, no one could make a considerable contribution to the teams total.

This world cup saw 14 teams contesting with Namibia, Holland and Canada being new to the world cup cricket. Except a 10 group matches being played in Zimbabwe and Kenya, other were played in South Africa. The world cup had all the 14 teams being divided into two pools of 7 teams each and they had a match with each other's. 4 points were awarded for each win and 2 for NR/Tie. The top 3 teams of each pool went into the super-six stage. There each team played 3 matches against the teams who qualified for the super six stage from the other pool. And then the top four teams went to the knockout stage, semifinals, and then came the finals.

The world cup started with a somewhat a rough note as New Zealand and England refused to play their group matches against Kenya and Zimbabwe respectively due to security reasons. Thus these matches were awarded to Kenya and Zimbabwe by walkover. Also Shane Warne tested positive for a banned steroid. Beside this issue the world cup was a grand success. The world cup was full of interesting events. For the first time a non test playing nation(Kenya) reached the semifinals and looked it was ready to carry the trophy before it was defeated by India in the semifinals. Shoiab Akhtar touched the 100 mph mark and Bret Lee showed the vengeance of pace attack. Sachin showed that he is the real master blaster with his brilliant knocks. The innings of John Davis of Canada against West Indies is even more memorable. But unfortunately injury led to a premature retirement for Jonty Rhodes.

Powered by Sachin's batting India showed guts after a shaky start to world cup run. After performing poorly against Holland and loosing the second match against Australia, India came back strongly and remained invincible till the finals before loosing again to Aussies in the finals. In their world cup outing India also made two 300+ scores. Brilliant batting by Sachin also fetched him the man of the series and three man of the match awards.

Summary of results

Pool B: South Africa v West Indies at Cape Town - February 9, 2003
West Indies won by 3 runs. West Indies 278-5 (50 ov); South Africa 275-9 (49 ov).

Pool A: Zimbabwe v Namibia at Harare - February 10, 2003
Zimbabwe won by 86 runs. Zimbabwe 340-2 (50 ov); Namibia 104-5 (25.1 ov).

Pool B: New Zealand v Sri Lanka at Bloemfontein - February 10, 2003
Sri Lanka won by 47 runs. Sri Lanka 272-7 (50 ov); New Zealand 225 (45.3 ov).

Pool A: Australia v Pakistan at Johannesburg - February 11, 2003
Australia won by 82 runs. Australia 310-8 (50 ov); Pakistan 228 (44.3 ov).

Pool B: Bangladesh v Canada at Durban - February 11, 2003
Canada won by 60 runs. Canada 180 (49.1 ov); Bangladesh 120 (28 ov).

Pool A: India v Netherlands at Paarl - February 12, 2003
India won by 68 runs. India 204 (48.5 ov); Netherlands 136 (48.1 ov).

Pool B: South Africa v Kenya at Potchefstroom - February 12, 2003
South Africa won by 10 wickets. Kenya 140 (38 ov); South Africa 142-0 (21.2 ov).

Pool A: Zimbabwe v England at Harare - February 13, 2003
Zimbabwe won by a walkover.

Pool B: New Zealand v West Indies at Port Elizabeth - February 13, 2003
New Zealand won by 20 runs. New Zealand 241-7 (50 ov); West Indies 221 (49.4 ov).

Pool B: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka at Pietermaritzburg - February 14, 2003
Sri Lanka won by 10 wickets. Bangladesh 124 (31.1 ov); Sri Lanka 126-0 (21.1 ov).

Pool A: Australia v India at Centurion - February 15, 2003
Australia won by 9 wickets. India 125 (41.4 ov); Australia 128-1 (22.2 ov).

Pool B: Canada v Kenya at Cape Town - February 15, 2003
Kenya won by 4 wickets. Canada 197 (49 ov); Kenya 198-6 (48.3 ov).

Pool A: England v Netherlands at East London - February 16, 2003
England won by 6 wickets. Netherlands 142-9 (50 ov); England 144-4 (23.2 ov).

Pool A: Namibia v Pakistan at Kimberley - February 16, 2003
Pakistan won by 171 runs. Pakistan 255-9 (50 ov); Namibia 84 (17.4 ov).

Pool B: South Africa v New Zealand at Johannesburg - February 16, 2003
New Zealand won by 9 wickets. South Africa 306-6 (50 ov); New Zealand 229-1 (36.5 ov).

Pool B: Bangladesh v West Indies at Benoni - February 18, 2003
No result. West Indies 244-9 (50 ov); Bangladesh 32-2 (8.1 ov).

Pool A: England v Namibia at Port Elizabeth - February 19, 2003
England won by 55 runs. England 272 (50 ov); Namibia 217-9 (50 ov).

Pool A: Zimbabwe v India at Harare - February 19, 2003
India won by 83 runs. India 255-7 (50 ov); Zimbabwe 172 (44.4 ov).

Pool B: Canada v Sri Lanka at Paarl - February 19, 2003
Sri Lanka won by 9 wickets. Canada 36 (18.4 ov); Sri Lanka 37-1 (4.4 ov).

Pool A: Australia v Netherlands at Potchefstroom - February 20, 2003
Australia won by 75 runs. Australia 170-2 (36 ov); Netherlands 122 (30.2 ov).

Pool B: Kenya v New Zealand at Nairobi - February 21, 2003
Kenya won by a walkover.

Pool A: England v Pakistan at Cape Town - February 22, 2003
England won by 112 runs. England 246-8 (50 ov); Pakistan 134 (31 ov).

Pool B: South Africa v Bangladesh at Bloemfontein - February 22, 2003
South Africa won by 10 wickets. Bangladesh 108 (35.1 ov); South Africa 109-0 (12 ov).

Pool A: India v Namibia at Pietermaritzburg - February 23, 2003
India won by 181 runs. India 311-2 (50 ov); Namibia 130 (42.3 ov).

Pool B: Canada v West Indies at Centurion - February 23, 2003
West Indies won by 7 wickets. Canada 202 (42.5 ov); West Indies 206-3 (20.3 ov).

Pool A: Zimbabwe v Australia at Bulawayo - February 24, 2003
Australia won by 7 wickets. Zimbabwe 246-9 (50 ov); Australia 248-3 (47.3 ov).

Pool B: Kenya v Sri Lanka at Nairobi - February 24, 2003
Kenya won by 53 runs. Kenya 210-9 (50 ov); Sri Lanka 157 (45 ov).

Pool A: Netherlands v Pakistan at Paarl - February 25, 2003
Pakistan won by 97 runs. Pakistan 253-9 (50 ov); Netherlands 156 (39.3 ov).

Pool A: England v India at Durban - February 26, 2003
India won by 82 runs. India 250-9 (50 ov); England 168 (45.3 ov).

Pool B: Bangladesh v New Zealand at Kimberley - February 26, 2003
New Zealand won by 7 wickets. Bangladesh 198-7 (50 ov); New Zealand 199-3 (33.3 ov).

Pool A: Australia v Namibia at Potchefstroom - February 27, 2003
Australia won by 256 runs. Australia 301-6 (50 ov); Namibia 45 (14 ov).

Pool B: South Africa v Canada at East London - February 27, 2003
South Africa won by 118 runs. South Africa 254-8 (50 ov); Canada 136-5 (50 ov).

Pool A: Zimbabwe v Netherlands at Bulawayo - February 28, 2003
Zimbabwe won by 99 runs. Zimbabwe 301-8 (50 ov); Netherlands 202-9 (50 ov).

Pool B: Sri Lanka v West Indies at Cape Town - February 28, 2003
Sri Lanka won by 6 runs. Sri Lanka 228-6 (50 ov); West Indies 222-9 (50 ov).

Pool A: India v Pakistan at Centurion - March 1, 2003
India won by 6 wickets. Pakistan 273-7 (50 ov); India 276-4 (45.4 ov).

Pool B: Bangladesh v Kenya at Johannesburg - March 1, 2003
Kenya won by 32 runs. Kenya 217-7 (50 ov); Bangladesh 185 (47.2 ov).

Pool A: Australia v England at Port Elizabeth - March 2, 2003
Australia won by 2 wickets. England 204-8 (50 ov); Australia 208-8 (49.4 ov).

Pool A: Namibia v Netherlands at Bloemfontein - March 3, 2003
Netherlands won by 64 runs. Netherlands 314-4 (50 ov); Namibia 250 (46.5 ov).

Pool B: Canada v New Zealand at Benoni - March 3, 2003
New Zealand won by 5 wickets. Canada 196 (47 ov); New Zealand 197-5 (23 ov).

Pool B: South Africa v Sri Lanka at Durban - March 3, 2003
Match tied. Sri Lanka 268-9 (50 ov); South Africa 229-6 (45 ov).

Pool A: Zimbabwe v Pakistan at Bulawayo - March 4, 2003
No result. Pakistan 73-3 (14 ov).

Pool B: Kenya v West Indies at Kimberley - March 4, 2003
West Indies won by 142 runs. West Indies 246-7 (50 ov); Kenya 104 (35.5 ov).

Super Six: Australia v Sri Lanka at Centurion - March 7, 2003
Australia won by 96 runs. Australia 319-5 (50 ov); Sri Lanka 223 (47.4 ov).

Super Six: India v Kenya at Cape Town - March 7, 2003
India won by 6 wickets. Kenya 225-6 (50 ov); India 226-4 (47.5 ov).

Super Six: New Zealand v Zimbabwe at Bloemfontein - March 8, 2003
New Zealand won by 6 wickets. Zimbabwe 252-7 (50 ov); New Zealand 253-4 (47.2 ov).

Super Six: India v Sri Lanka at Johannesburg - March 10, 2003
India won by 183 runs. India 292-6 (50 ov); Sri Lanka 109 (23 ov).

Super Six: Australia v New Zealand at Port Elizabeth - March 11, 2003
Australia won by 96 runs. Australia 208-9 (50 ov); New Zealand 112 (30.1 ov).

Super Six: Kenya v Zimbabwe at Bloemfontein - March 12, 2003
Kenya won by 7 wickets. Zimbabwe 133 (44.1 ov); Kenya 135-3 (26 ov).

Super Six: India v New Zealand at Centurion - March 14, 2003
India won by 7 wickets. New Zealand 146 (45.1 ov); India 150-3 (40.4 ov).

Super Six: Australia v Kenya at Durban - March 15, 2003
Australia won by 5 wickets. Kenya 174-8 (50 ov); Australia 178-5 (31.2 ov).

Super Six: Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe at East London - March 15, 2003
Sri Lanka won by 74 runs. Sri Lanka 256-5 (50 ov); Zimbabwe 182 (41.5 ov).

Semi-Final: Australia v Sri Lanka at Port Elizabeth - March 18, 2003
Australia won by 48 runs. Australia 212-7 (50 ov); Sri Lanka 123-7 (38.1 ov).

Semi-Final: India v Kenya at Durban - March 20, 2003
India won by 91 runs. India 270-4 (50 ov); Kenya 179 (46.2 ov).

Final: Australia v India at Johannesburg - March 23, 2003
Australia won by 125 runs. Australia 359-2 (50 ov); India 234 (39.2 ov).

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WC Remembrances - 1999 ICC Cricket World Cup

In 7th version of the ICC cricket world cup, Australia emerged victorious, comprehensively beating Pakistan in the finals by a whooping 8 wickets. Pakistan, which throughout the world cup looked in great touch, lost it when they needed the most. While the Australians who just cleared every stage to enter next stage, produced a major setback in the finals when they bowled out the Paks for just 132 and chased it in just 20.1 overs loosing just 2 wickets.

Desperately needing a win to enter the super sixes, Australia won their last group stage game against the West Indies after they had score of just 12 runs in 10 overs, chasing 110. Similarly needing a win to enter the semi-finals, they won the last super six encounter against South Africa. In the semifinals the situation was die-hard when the match was tied because Lance Klusner, the last man left, was run-out with 1 run needing from 3 balls with only 1 wicket remaining, but given the advantage of winning their super sixes match against them. But whatever it is, the Aussies bid farewell to their captain in an ideal way.

The format this time was a bit confusing. The 12 entrants were split into two groups, and the top three in each group went into the Super Six, carrying with them the points they had earned against the two teams who had also qualified from their group. They then played the qualifying teams from the other group, creating a final all-played-all league table, with the top four going into the semi-finals. Confused? Most people were.

Also there were some matches/statistics, which can't be forgotten. The first one is the team in form, Pakistan, loosing to minnows Bangladesh in the group stage. Also at the end of the group stage they had won all except match against Bangladesh. Quite debatable! Also once again the Proteas lost a berth in the finals when they deserved it, because of their semi-final match tied with a Australia. And another, Zimbabwe firstly got a place in the super sixes leaving behind the Lankans and the British and after that was placed at the top among the teams which qualified for the super sixes before its start.

The players who bid farewell to world cup cricket include many high profile names. It includes the duo of Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose (who topped the list of most economical bowlers), Arjun Ranatunga and Arvinda de Silva (last world cup heroes) and not to mention the Waugh brothers. But there were three people besides them, Shane Warne (after failing drugs test during 2003 world cup), Mohammad Azharuddin and Hansie Cronje (due the match fixing scandal).

As for India, they were somewhat unfortunate. They entered the super six matches with empty pockets as both the countries against whom they had lost the group matches also qualified for the super sixes. In the super sixes they were ruled out even after securing a comprehensive victory over the then world cup favorites, Pakistan. But the present India captain, Rahul Dravid got his name enshrined in the world cup history when he topped the most runs table with 461 runs.

A summary of results

Group A: England v Sri Lanka at Lord's - May 14, 1999
England won by 8 wickets. Sri Lanka 204 (48.4 ov); England 207-2 (46.5 ov).

Group A: India v South Africa at Hove - May 15, 1999
South Africa won by 4 wickets. India 253-5 (50 ov); South Africa 254-6 (47.2 ov).

Group A: Kenya v Zimbabwe at Taunton - May 15, 1999
Zimbabwe won by 5 wickets. Kenya 229-7 (50 ov); Zimbabwe 231-5 (41 ov).

Group B: Australia v Scotland at Worcester - May 16, 1999
Australia won by 6 wickets. Scotland 181-7 (50 ov); Australia 182-4 (44.5 ov).

Group B: Pakistan v West Indies at Bristol - May 16, 1999
Pakistan won by 27 runs. Pakistan 229-8 (50 ov); West Indies 202 (48.5 ov).

Group B: Bangladesh v New Zealand at Chelmsford - May 17, 1999
New Zealand won by 6 wickets. Bangladesh 116 (37.4 ov); New Zealand 117-4 (33 ov).

Group A: England v Kenya at Canterbury - May 18, 1999
England won by 9 wickets. Kenya 203 (49.4 ov); England 204-1 (39 ov).

Group A: India v Zimbabwe at Leicester - May 19, 1999
Zimbabwe won by 3 runs. Zimbabwe 252-9 (50 ov); India 249 (45 ov).

Group A: South Africa v Sri Lanka at Northampton - May 19, 1999
South Africa won by 89 runs. South Africa 199-9 (50 ov); Sri Lanka 110 (35.2 ov).

Group B: Australia v New Zealand at Cardiff - May 20, 1999
New Zealand won by 5 wickets. Australia 213-8 (50 ov); New Zealand 214-5 (45.2 ov).

Group B: Pakistan v Scotland at Chester-le-Street - May 20, 1999
Pakistan won by 94 runs. Pakistan 261-6 (50 ov); Scotland 167 (38.5 ov).

Group B: Bangladesh v West Indies at Dublin - May 21, 1999
West Indies won by 7 wickets. Bangladesh 182 (49.2 ov); West Indies 183-3 (46.3 ov).

Group A: England v South Africa at The Oval - May 22, 1999
South Africa won by 122 runs. South Africa 225-7 (50 ov); England 103 (41 ov).

Group A: Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe at Worcester - May 22, 1999
Sri Lanka won by 4 wickets. Zimbabwe 197-9 (50 ov); Sri Lanka 198-6 (46 ov).

Group A: India v Kenya at Bristol - May 23, 1999
India won by 94 runs. India 329-2 (50 ov); Kenya 235-7 (50 ov).

Group B: Australia v Pakistan at Leeds - May 23, 1999
Pakistan won by 10 runs. Pakistan 275-8 (50 ov); Australia 265 (49.5 ov).

Group B: New Zealand v West Indies at Southampton - May 24, 1999
West Indies won by 7 wickets. New Zealand 156 (48.1 ov); West Indies 158-3 (44.2 ov).

Group B: Scotland v Bangladesh at Edinburgh - May 24, 1999
Bangladesh won by 22 runs. Bangladesh 185-9 (50 ov); Scotland 163 (46.2 ov).

Group A: England v Zimbabwe at Nottingham - May 25, 1999
England won by 7 wickets. Zimbabwe 167-8 (50 ov); England 168-3 (38.3 ov).

Group A: India v Sri Lanka at Taunton - May 26, 1999
India won by 157 runs. India 373-6 (50 ov); Sri Lanka 216 (42.3 ov).

Group A: Kenya v South Africa at Amstelveen - May 26, 1999
South Africa won by 7 wickets. Kenya 152 (44.3 ov); South Africa 153-3 (41 ov).

Group B: Australia v Bangladesh at Chester-le-Street - May 27, 1999
Australia won by 7 wickets. Bangladesh 178-7 (50 ov); Australia 181-3 (19.5 ov).

Group B: Scotland v West Indies at Leicester - May 27, 1999
West Indies won by 8 wickets. Scotland 68 (31.3 ov); West Indies 70-2 (10.1 ov).

Group B: New Zealand v Pakistan at Derby - May 28, 1999
Pakistan won by 62 runs. Pakistan 269-8 (50 ov); New Zealand 207-8 (50 ov).

Group A: England v India at Birmingham - May 29, 1999
India won by 63 runs. India 232-8 (50 ov); England 169 (45.2 ov).

Group A: South Africa v Zimbabwe at Chelmsford - May 29, 1999
Zimbabwe won by 48 runs. Zimbabwe 233-6 (50 ov); South Africa 185 (47.2 ov).

Group A: Kenya v Sri Lanka at Southampton - May 30, 1999
Sri Lanka won by 45 runs. Sri Lanka 275-8 (50 ov); Kenya 230-6 (50 ov).

Group B: Australia v West Indies at Manchester - May 30, 1999
Australia won by 6 wickets. West Indies 110 (46.4 ov); Australia 111-4 (40.4 ov).

Group B: Bangladesh v Pakistan at Northampton - May 31, 1999
Bangladesh won by 62 runs. Bangladesh 223-9 (50 ov); Pakistan 161 (44.3 ov).

Group B: Scotland v New Zealand at Edinburgh - May 31, 1999
New Zealand won by 6 wickets. Scotland 121 (42.1 ov); New Zealand 123-4 (17.5 ov).

Super Six: Australia v India at The Oval - June 4, 1999
Australia won by 77 runs. Australia 282-6 (50 ov); India 205 (48.2 ov).

Super Six: Pakistan v South Africa at Nottingham - June 5, 1999
South Africa won by 3 wickets. Pakistan 220-7 (50 ov); South Africa 221-7 (49 ov).

Super Six: New Zealand v Zimbabwe at Leeds - June 6, 1999
No result. Zimbabwe 175 (49.3 ov); New Zealand 70-3 (15 ov).

Super Six: India v Pakistan at Manchester - June 8, 1999
India won by 47 runs. India 227-6 (50 ov); Pakistan 180 (45.3 ov).

Super Six: Australia v Zimbabwe at Lord's - June 9, 1999
Australia won by 44 runs. Australia 303-4 (50 ov); Zimbabwe 259-6 (50 ov).

Super Six: New Zealand v South Africa at Birmingham - June 10, 1999
South Africa won by 74 runs. South Africa 287-5 (50 ov); New Zealand 213-8 (50 ov).

Super Six: Pakistan v Zimbabwe at The Oval - June 11, 1999
Pakistan won by 148 runs. Pakistan 271-9 (50 ov); Zimbabwe 123 (40.3 ov).

Super Six: India v New Zealand at Nottingham - June 12, 1999
New Zealand won by 5 wickets. India 251-6 (50 ov); New Zealand 253-5 (48.2 ov).

Super Six: Australia v South Africa at Leeds - June 13, 1999
Australia won by 5 wickets. South Africa 271-7 (50 ov); Australia 272-5 (49.4 ov).

Semi-Final: New Zealand v Pakistan at Manchester - June 16, 1999
Pakistan won by 9 wickets. New Zealand 241-7 (50 ov); Pakistan 242-1 (47.3 ov).

Semi-Final: Australia v South Africa at Birmingham - June 17, 1999
Match tied. Australia 213 (49.2 ov); South Africa 213 (49.4 ov).

Final: Australia v Pakistan at Lord's - June 20, 1999
Australia won by 8 wickets. Pakistan 132 (39 ov); Australia 133-2 (20.1 ov).

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WC Remembrances - 1996 ICC Cricket World Cup

The sixth edition of the ICC cricket world cup known as the Wills World Cup cricket tournament conducted in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka was completely dominated by the Sri Lankans. The Lankans cruised to a 7-wicket victory with 3.4 overs remaining in the finals against the Aussies to win the world cup tournament. It was victory achieved by the dint of hard work and dedication. The Lankans remained unbeaten throughout the tournament and extended their winning streak to the finals at Lahore. In there way to the cup they felled the Zimbabweans, the Kenyans, the Indians and the Australians in the finals. In the finals chasing a target of 241 in 50 overs the Lankans finished the job in 46.2 overs, thanks to the glorious century by Arvinda de Silva.

This world cup was rather an eventful tournament. The world cup started on a rather rough note with Australia and West Indies adamantly refusing to play their group matches in Sri Lanka with an excuse of security reasons, as there had been a bomb blast in Colombo a fortnight ago. Also the opening ceremony was a big flop. The 1 lakh people who gathered for the ceremony were left wondering on what on earth they were watching as the mainstay of the ceremony, the laser show malfunctioned. Even the then BCCI chief Jagmohan Dalmiya was accused for wasting public money and misappropriation of accounts. But what was waiting was even more humiliating. The semi-final at Calcutta between India and Sri Lanka was abandoned after bottle throwing and fire lighting in the terrace after a dismal batting show by India, which is a disgrace for the standards of sportsmanship.

The world cup was characterized by one good thing that the whole world cup was telecasted on TV. As against the last version of the world cup, when on only 9 teams participated, there were 12 teams with 3 non test-playing nations namely Kenya, Holland and UAE. The teams also tried to get more than 100 runs in the first 15 overs rather the trend of 60-70 runs with the trend being set by the Lankans. The Lankan master blaster Sanath Jayasuriya was judged as the most valuable player of the tournament. Sachin Tendulkar topped the most runs table with the most number of runs (523) while Anil Kumble with the most number of wickets (15).

The Indians showed so-so performance. They won 3 of their 5 group matches and advanced to the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals they won against Pakistan but lost in the semifinals after the match referee Clive Lloyd awarded the match to Sri Lanka.

A summary of the results

Group B: England v New Zealand at Ahmedabad - February 14, 1996
New Zealand won by 11 runs. New Zealand 239-6 (50 ov); England 228-9 (50 ov).

Group A: West Indies v Zimbabwe at Hyderabad - February 16, 1996
West Indies won by 6 wickets. Zimbabwe 151-9 (50 ov); West Indies 155-4 (29.3 ov).

Group B: South Africa v United Arab Emirates at Rawalpindi - February 16, 1996
South Africa won by 169 runs. South Africa 321-2 (50 ov); United Arab Emirates 152-8 (50 ov).

Group A: Sri Lanka v Australia at Colombo - February 17, 1996
Sri Lanka won by a walkover.

Group B: Netherlands v New Zealand at Vadodara - February 17, 1996
New Zealand won by 119 runs. New Zealand 307-8 (50 ov); Netherlands 188-7 (50 ov).

Group A: India v Kenya at Cuttack - February 18, 1996
India won by 7 wickets. Kenya 199-6 (50 ov); India 203-3 (41.5 ov).

Group B: England v United Arab Emirates at Peshawar - February 18, 1996
England won by 8 wickets. United Arab Emirates 136 (48.3 ov); England 140-2 (35 ov).

Group B: New Zealand v South Africa at Faisalabad - February 20, 1996
South Africa won by 5 wickets. New Zealand 177-9 (50 ov); South Africa 178-5 (37.3 ov).

Group A: India v West Indies at Gwalior - February 21, 1996
India won by 5 wickets. West Indies 173 (50 ov); India 174-5 (39.4 ov).

Group A: Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe at Colombo - February 21, 1996
Sri Lanka won by 6 wickets. Zimbabwe 228-6 (50 ov); Sri Lanka 229-4 (37 ov).

Group B: England v Netherlands at Peshawar - February 22, 1996
England won by 49 runs. England 279-4 (50 ov); Netherlands 230-6 (50 ov).

Group A: Australia v Kenya at Visakhapatnam - February 23, 1996
Australia won by 97 runs. Australia 304-7 (50 ov); Kenya 207-7 (50 ov).

Group B: Pakistan v United Arab Emirates at Gujranwala - February 24, 1996
Pakistan won by 9 wickets. United Arab Emirates 109-9 (33 ov); Pakistan 112-1 (18 ov).

Group A: Sri Lanka v West Indies at Colombo - February 25, 1996
Sri Lanka won by a walkover.

Group B: England v South Africa at Rawalpindi - February 25, 1996
South Africa won by 78 runs. South Africa 230 (50 ov); England 152 (44.3 ov).

Group A (replayed): Kenya v Zimbabwe at Patna - February 26, 1996
No result. Zimbabwe 45-3 (15.5 ov).

Group B: Pakistan v Netherlands at Lahore - February 26, 1996
Pakistan won by 8 wickets. Netherlands 145-7 (50 ov); Pakistan 151-2 (30.4 ov).

Group A: India v Australia at Mumbai - February 27, 1996
Australia won by 16 runs. Australia 258 (50 ov); India 242 (48 ov).

Group A: Kenya v Zimbabwe at Patna - February 27, 1996
Zimbabwe won by 5 wickets. Kenya 134 (49.4 ov); Zimbabwe 137-5 (42.2 ov).

Group B: New Zealand v United Arab Emirates at Faisalabad - February 27, 1996
New Zealand won by 109 runs. New Zealand 276-8 (47 ov); United Arab Emirates 167-9 (47 ov).

Group A: Kenya v West Indies at Poona - February 29, 1996
Kenya won by 73 runs. Kenya 166 (49.3 ov); West Indies 93 (35.2 ov).

Group B: Pakistan v South Africa at Karachi - February 29, 1996
South Africa won by 5 wickets. Pakistan 242-6 (50 ov); South Africa 243-5 (44.2 ov).

Group A: Australia v Zimbabwe at Nagpur - March 1, 1996
Australia won by 8 wickets. Zimbabwe 154 (45.3 ov); Australia 158-2 (36 ov).

Group B: Netherlands v United Arab Emirates at Lahore - March 1, 1996
United Arab Emirates won by 7 wickets. Netherlands 216-9 (50 ov); United Arab Emirates 220-3 (44.2 ov).

Group A: India v Sri Lanka at Delhi - March 2, 1996
Sri Lanka won by 6 wickets. India 271-3 (50 ov); Sri Lanka 272-4 (48.4 ov).

Group B: Pakistan v England at Karachi - March 3, 1996
Pakistan won by 7 wickets. England 249-9 (50 ov); Pakistan 250-3 (47.4 ov).

Group A: Australia v West Indies at Jaipur - March 4, 1996
West Indies won by 4 wickets. Australia 229-6 (50 ov); West Indies 232-6 (48.5 ov).

Group B: Netherlands v South Africa at Rawalpindi - March 5, 1996
South Africa won by 160 runs. South Africa 328-3 (50 ov); Netherlands 168-8 (50 ov).

Group A: India v Zimbabwe at Kanpur - March 6, 1996
India won by 40 runs. India 247-5 (50 ov); Zimbabwe 207 (49.4 ov).

Group A: Sri Lanka v Kenya at Kandy - March 6, 1996
Sri Lanka won by 144 runs. Sri Lanka 398-5 (50 ov); Kenya 254-7 (50 ov).

Group B: Pakistan v New Zealand at Lahore - March 6, 1996
Pakistan won by 46 runs. Pakistan 281-5 (50 ov); New Zealand 235 (47.3 ov).

Quarter-Final: England v Sri Lanka at Faisalabad - March 9, 1996
Sri Lanka won by 5 wickets. England 235-8 (50 ov); Sri Lanka 236-5 (40.4 ov).

Quarter-Final: India v Pakistan at Bangalore - March 9, 1996
India won by 39 runs. India 287-8 (50 ov); Pakistan 248-9 (49 ov).

Quarter-Final: Australia v New Zealand at Chennai - March 11, 1996
Australia won by 6 wickets. New Zealand 286-9 (50 ov); Australia 289-4 (47.5 ov).

Quarter-Final: South Africa v West Indies at Karachi - March 11, 1996
West Indies won by 19 runs. West Indies 264-8 (50 ov); South Africa 245 (49.3 ov).

Semi-Final: India v Sri Lanka at Calcutta (Kolkata) - March 13, 1996
Sri Lanka won (match conceded). Sri Lanka 251-8 (50 ov); India 120-8 (34.1 ov).

Semi-Final: Australia v West Indies at Mohali - March 14, 1996
Australia won by 5 runs. Australia 207-8 (50 ov); West Indies 202 (49.3 ov).

Final: Australia v Sri Lanka at Lahore - March 17, 1996
Sri Lanka won by 7 wickets. Australia 241-7 (50 ov); Sri Lanka 245-3 (46.2 ov).

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