India can beat Australia :Symonds

Symonds says India can beat the Kangaroos Down Under.

"Indians can put pressure on the young Australian players. They have a good opportunity to beat Australia in their home country. I think there are good chances of India beating them," said the swashbuckling batsman.

"However, the young Australian players too have an opportunity to beat the Indians. There are positive chances for both the sides. One needs preparation and also needs to respond properly in big games," he averred.

Sachin may score his 100th century in Australia.

"Sachin is an enormous person. There is lot of pressure on him for the 100th ton. I hope he gets the century at the earliest so that the burden that he faces is reduced and he can carry on with the game. He has the ability to do it soon. There are chances that he might score the century during the India-Australia series.It would be a great thing for him to score it in Australia,"

Talks about Ponting's retirement were unnecessary, he felt.

"It is disappointing that reports of that sort are coming out. They are unnecessary. He is a good batsman. It is up to him to decide whether to be in the game. He should be left alone," he said.

Meanwhile, Saha, the Indian reserve wicket keeper is confident about his future Down Under.

"I will not be curious of the conditions there. I have played there and have some good memory (of winning the title under Virat Kohli). So I will wait for an opportunity" Saha said.

"As a batsman you need to give a little extra there. But for a wicketkeeper, the conditions are ideal as the ball comes along nicely."

"He (Sourav) has told me to stay focused and concentrate on my style of play. Besides, he has given me few cricketing tips and I'm confident of a good show if given an opportunity.

"It's a big opportunity for me. But I'm not extra cautious. I am taking it as any other tour. I don't have any specific target other than improving my performance day by day," said the whirlwind wicketkeeper.

Rohit sparkles, but India lose !

The Indian top order failed again. Patel & Co were 85/5 against WI, which cost them the match.

Rampaul wrecked India with the devastating figures of 4/57 to give the WI a 16 run victory.

Earlier, a half century by Samuels ( 58 off 93 ) and cameos by Sammy ( 41 off 17 ) and Russell ( 40 off 18 ) helped WI to put up a challenging 260/5, after India asked them to bat.

The two allrounders plundered 43 runs in the last two overs. WI blasted 52 in the last three overs, 73 in the last fie and 93 in the last seven. 79 runs came in just 34 balls for the sixth wicket.

The WI innings started off shakily with Simmons ( 1 off 8 ) deaprted early. But then it was Mithun who struck for India, as he removed Hyatt ( 20 off 39 ), caught behind by Parthiv.

Bravo had to grapple with a hamstring injury and he had to retire hurt for 26 off 41.

Samuels reached his 22nd ODI fifty off just 78 deliveries. Ramadin looked good for his 38 off 52, till he was unsettled by a Yadav delivery.

When India batted, she lost two wickets, that of Sehwag and Gambhir in quick succession to Ravi Rampaul. Then Samuels removed Parthiv. Then Rampaul scalped Raina and India were 85/5 ! Then Jadeja was run out and India were in the doldrums.

Lusty hitting by Rohit, supported ably by Ashwin did revive India but all was in vain as Rohit was dramatically run out for 95. Narine trapped Ashwin and that was the end of the road for India !

Kohli and Rohit maul Windies !

The issue was never in doubt. A glorious 163 run partnership between Rohit and Kohli sealed the fate of the second ODI, as Kohli brought up his 8th ODI hundred, enhancing his reputation as an expert in successful chases.

Rohit again proved to be dependable, as he guided India to a five wicket victory, with 90 not out.

Umesh Yadav struck early in the Windies innings, taking two wickets. Darren Bravo threatened to take the game away, but perished to Vinay Kumar. V Kumar also accounted for Hyatt for a duck and Windies were tottering.

At 170/9, they looked like the lamb to the slaughter. Then Rampaul played an innings of rare aggression, as he smashed 86, thus spoiling the figures of the Indian bowlers.

The asking rate was always under control, as Rohit and Kohli hit the WI bowlers to all parts of the field. India rolled over to an easy victory, after being 86/3, after the loss of lacklustre Sehwag !

A big blow was dealt to India as Sehwag tried to loft Samuels, but only holed out to long off. But Kohli's classic fifty confirmed India's recovery. Boundaries came with regularity along with the ones and twos to keep the scoreboard moving, much to the discomfiture of the Carribeans.

Rohit also made his half century. He completed it with a four off the last ball of the 35th over to take India to 172/3, needing just 98 off 90 deliveries with seven wickets intact. It was Advantage India, as the powerplay came in the next over from No 36 to 40.

India win by one wicket !

Sehwag won the toss and fielded, as he thought there will be dew after 0500 PM. Patel will open the innings with Sehwag and the spin dept will be handled by Jadeja and Ashwin and pace by Aaron, Yadav and V Kumar. WI brought back all rounders Pollard and Andre Russel and rested Rampaul.

In 21.2 overs, WI are 88/3. The Indian pace attack struck, with V Kumar, Aaron and U Yadav taking one wicket each. Yadav bowled exceptionally well, bowling consistently around 147 kph.

Hyatt had lofted Jadeja for a six and WI are 96/3.

Pollard is gone, lofting one Ashwin delivery into the hands of Kohli. Ashwin strikes !

Darren Bravo played magnificently for his 60, till he was clean bowled by Raina !

In the 5th over, an outswinger from V Kumar accounted for Barath (17). In the 6th over, Samuels hit Yadav for two fours.In the 7th over, Simmons hit V Kumar for a six and a four, plundering 13 runs in that over.

In the 9th over, Aaron clean bowled Samuels (10). In the 10th over, Yadav clean bowled Simmons.

In the 27th over, Hyatt is unfortunately run out. WI 127/4. In the 33rd over, six runs were amassed and WI reach 150.

Now the score is 173/7. Jadeja clean bowls Sammy for a duck and all Indian bowlers become successful.

Wi are all out for 211. Indian bowling has been very impressive, says Gavaskar.

The Cuttack stadium was full. Shastri opined that there were thousands of motorbikes that it will be difficult for the owners to identify their bikes ! Jampacked stadium to watch No 2 team in action !

In reply, India are 41/2, losing both left handers, Patel and Gambhir to one Kemar Roach over.

India now are 201/9, with only Aaron and Yadav left. 11 more runs are needed with only these two inexperienced players left. Seems to be a cliff hanger.

Aaron hits a four and Yadav hits a four and India has won by one wicket ! Normally India do not win close games, but this was a fantastic game !

There is no excuse for not scoring: Sehwag

Sehwag was equivocal about the the efforts of the lower-order batsmen for pulling off a thrilling win over the West Indies in the first one-dayer here on Cuttack, but averred that there was no excuse for the top order's lack of application, including himself !

India's complacency was evident as she stumbled to 59/5. But Rohit Sharma's 72 and resolute showings by Varun Aaron and Umesh Yadav gave India the much needed victory.

"In India you hardly see the team tottering at 59/5. Our batsmen made mistakes. Hope we will come up with strong batting performance in next games," Sehwag said. "We have to learn from our mistakes. There were two good balls. The ball came in and we (myself and Virat Kohli) played early and made mistakes"

The way Raina, Gambhir and Patel got out confounded many an analyst.

"There were three soft dismissals of Parthiv Patel, Gautam Gambhir and Suresh Raina. We have to bat really well in coming games. There is no excuse for anybody to not scoring runs."

Sehwag said India will put up a better show in the remaining ODIs.

"We have to back our batting. We have some exciting youngsters playing for last three four years. But I am happy with bowling and fielding."

He praised Rohit for his heroic, character innings.

"Rohit is one of the talented batsmen. He is improving match by match. He is proving himself. He is one of the best. A win is a win. It does not matter by one wicket or 10, it was important that we started well. We are 1-0 up. Full credit to Rohit Sharma, Jadeja and Vinay Kumar. They built on partnerships. One by one they did it for us."

About his decision to field first, he said "My decision was absolutely right. You were chasing 212 after all. When you lose five quick wickets, it's difficult to come back. I praise Rohit Sharma and Jadeja as their partnership took us there.

After that Vinay and Rohit had a good partnerships. It's not easy when you lose five six wickets. The way Rohit, Jadeja and Vinay batted it was great to see that."

He praised the team's resilience.

"We just stay cool and calm. That's the quality of Indian dressing room. We believe that we can win from any situation."

About the massive crowd turnout, he said "It feels great when people come to watch a game. People come and support us. It was a good game at the end of the day. Nobody expected Windies would make only 211 and then we will be five down so early and win the game in this exciting way.

"We hope people will come and support us in the next matches. It was much important to start off on a winning note.

"We want to become No. 1 and for that we have to win the series. Our process is going on we have to concentrate on it."

Talking about the pitch, he said, "It was a good track. We were expecting them to score 270-280 but our bowlers did well."

Matches in smaller towns is a good idea. "I love to play in smaller towns. People give so much respect and love. They bring all kinds of food and stuff to you to make sure you are happy."

A remarkable last ball tie !

West Indies were happy to draw with India. India needed two off the last ball. Ashwin was slow in running and was run out with India needing one more to win !

This is an incredible tie. Ojha and Ashwin brought India back into the game with some superb spin bowling, skittling out the Carribeans for a paltry 134.

India lost wickets at regular intervals and the maestro Sachin was out for 3. Bishoo and Samuels bowled superbly to restrict India to 242/9.

"Defeat would have broken our hearts" said Sammy. "I had all sorts of feelings coming into my mind. At one time, the feeling of a tied Test too came to my mind. I was speaking to Kirk (Edwards) at covers and he said 'we can draw, we won't lose.' To lose the game after scoring 590 would have been heart-breaking for us," a visibly-relieved Sammy said . India just needed 3 runs to win off the last over with 2 wickets in hand and only managed to get only two when Ashwin, the Man of the Match and the Series, was run out, when he attempted a non-existent double.

Sammy was hopeful of victory when this dramatic finale happened.

"Obviously, happy with the result, but a win would have been the icing on the cake. We would have loved to win against a higher-rung team. It would have given us some points. Our goal is to make it to the top five in Test cricket," Sammy said. "To win a match like this, we need to bat well in both innings. But (in the end) it was a good game of cricket."

India's haste gave WI chance of victory,averred the WI skipper.

"When (Virat) Kohli and (MS) Dhoni were batting, there were about 15 overs left and about 50-55 runs to win. Ravi (Rampaul) was bowling well, along with (Devendra) Bishoo. They (Indians) decided to go for the runs but in the process lost Kohli and Ishant. They were going for the runs, but we also had an opportunity to win the game."

WI lost 8 wickets for 53 runs and India were on course for victory.

"We were hoping to get about 300-plus when we came to the ground this morning. But after we lost seven or eight wickets, we had to go back to the dressing room and plan out the game. We didn't bat well but we kept believing that we could get a draw or a win," Sammy said. He was shocked to see 17 wickets fall on the last day.

"I didn't foresee that. But it was a disappointing performance with the bat. Some of the shots we played were uncalled for. You have to be prepared to bat for a long time," Sammy said.

"But the way we fought back with me not bowling, Bishoo bowling on one leg, (Marlon) Samuels bowling 20 consecutive overs and Ravi and Fidel (Edwards) doing well, it's heartening. The bowlers showed fight and that's the positive we can take from here."

He praised the duo of Ashwin and Ojha, who took 22 and 20 wickets each. "They (Ojha and Ashwin) did well for India. Ashwin not only bowled well but did well with the bat too. Both have an extremely bright future for India."

He was also happy about the progress of the WI team. "We have progressed well. We dominated the two Tests against Sri Lanka, did well against Pakistan and competed well against India. The players now have the belief that they can do well."

" We lost wickets at the wrong time" said Dhoni.

"It was a superb final day and again it was proven that the match is not yours until it's in your kitty. We lost wickets at the wrong time and they also played good cricket," Dhoni averred.

"Last time when we played at the CCI (Brabourne Stadium), the ball turned less as the match progressed. This time we wanted to start safely and didn't want to concede too many runs. Luckily we got wickets and didn't concede runs. So we could put some fielders in catching positions. Having said that, I would expect tracks here to start offering turn from the first day evening rather waiting till the fifth day."

Dhoni said he needed a break. "It is a much-needed break. I have been playing continuous cricket for quite sometime now. More than the physical break, I am looking forward to the mental break before the Australia tour," he said.

The Man of the Series and Match Man, Ashwin, said he was disappointed that he could not socre one more run to win for India."I wanted to squeeze a few boundaries when the field came up but unfortunately couldn't get them. Off the last two deliveries, the plan was to defend the first one and go after the last ball. The plan didn't work."

"As the ball got old, it bounced and stopped. Ojha really bowled well and built the pressure. I chipped in at the back end as well."

Ashwin's start in Tests is a dream come true. "I will be taking confidence from this series but will have to really work hard on different facets of my game."

Kohli gets 50

"I played with a clear mind" said Kohli, who got his maiden Test fifty. He had struggled in the Carribean, but this time he got 52 off 111 balls and he put on a 97 run partnership with Ashwin, to help India avoid following on.

"I was tagged as someone who cannot play the short ball after the West Indies tour. When I went in today, I knew they will throw the short balls at me. I had a blank mind before playing every ball, which helped," said Kohli on Friday. "Test matches are mental mind games and the more clear I leave my mind, the better decision I can make."

"To a certain extent I thought I got the West Indies call because so many people took rest. Not having done well there, scoring runs again in a calendar year and getting back into the team was satisfying."

"It was a better feeling that you are included as that way you know the selectors and the team management are showing faith in you in doing well in that format. It's a confidence-booster."

It was Sachin who instructed Virat to play normally.

"It's all about having a good mindset. Being in good form is fine, but I needed to be in the right frame of mind to go and perform. It was one of those days today when I thought 'I am going to get my full stride out and if I can leave from the front foot, nothing better.' I left them quite well. Sachin told me to prepare normally and I did so. It helped," said Kohli.

Kohli felt that Sachin was unnecessarily pressurised by the formidable media and that is how he missed out of his epic century of centuries.

"A lot of people have put unnecessary pressure on him. I don't know why. He has achieved so much and people are making such a fuss about it," said Kohli.

Sachin, he said, was relaxed in the dressing room, after missing out the most wanted hundred.

"I was still batting when he came back so I don't know instantly what happened. He was pretty relaxed afterwards. It has happened to him a lot of times. Obviously, he will be disappointed on missing out on a ton, but he has been around long enough not to get bothered by it. He was pretty relaxed in the dressing room."

Kohli was all praise for Ashwin, who took five for and scored a brilliant hundred.

"He batted brilliantly, timed the ball well. I could see standing at the other end, his mind was totally free. He was totally relaxed and pretty much sure of what he wanted to do and reacting to the ball," said Kohli. "The confidence from his bowling rubbed off. He just came out and started timing the ball very well."

"We all knew he has batting abilities. He has two first-class tons. He is in a good space as he has taken wickets (18) in this series. Getting a hundred is always special for a bowler. It was a brilliant innings."

Ashwin at the other end allowed Kohli to settle down and that he is how he played well for his fifty.

"It was good to have Ashwin scoring from the other end. I could also take my time and just get myself to spend more time in the middle. It was a very good innings from him."

India may very well win this Test on Sunday, feels the formidable batsman.

"Our aim was to get early breakthroughs, which we got. We would have loved to have them four wickets down, but that did not happen unfortunately. Tomorrow could be interesting if we could get early wickets. We will try and put pressure on them. The game is still very much alive," he insisted.

WI were 81/2 and India have to get eight wickets and score the necessary runs on the fourth innings to wrap up this Test, a possibility echoed by Kohli.

Ashwin, not Sachin, scores hundred !

Ashwin scored a brilliant 103 and along with Virat Kohli (52) saved India from the ignominy of following on.

Unfortunately Sachin's jinx of falling in the nineties manifested again. He was out for 94.

India scored 482, leaving a 108 run lead to the West Indies. Laxman was taken for 32, Sachin for 94, Kohli for 52 and Ashwin was the last to go for 103 and India had saved the follow on !