Riding on the match-saving hundred against New Zealand in the second cricket Test, Indian batsman VVS Laxman on Tuesday returned to the top-20 of the ICC Rankings, up six places to 15th in the latest list.
VVS Laxman scored an unbeaten 124 and Yuvraj Singh 54 as India played out a draw with New Zealand in the second Test in Napier on Monday. India had a lead of 162. With no hope of a result both captain agreed to call of the match with 17 overs remaining.
India may be in dire straits but middle order batsman VVS Laxman believes all is not lost yet and the team can conjure up 'something special' on Day 4 to save the second Test against New Zealand. 'It's a great opportunity not only for me but the entire team to do something special. We are all looking forward to the next two days and I'm quite confident that we'll do something special,' Laxman said after the third day's play.
India, following-on after being dismissed for 305, were 47 for 1 in their second innings, still 267 runs behind the Kiwis, on Day 3 of the second Test.
He joined fellow Indian icons Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly on the prestigious list of MCC Honorary Life Members.
Birthday wishes pour in for captain cool Dhoni
The Indian Premier League will be a boon, not bane, for India's World Cup-bound players, VVS Laxman believes amid a raging debate around players' workload management programme.
More than the expectations of fans and scrutiny by the experts of the game, Indian cricket's 'Fab Four' are burdened by their own high expectations which puts them under pressure every time they step on the field, feels India one-day skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Asserting that senior batsmen -- Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid -- still have a lot to offer, Dhoni said the quartet deserves a graceful exit as and when they decide to quit.
Former Australia captain Allan Border does not consider picking five players on the wrong side of 30 in the Indian squad to play against Australia a wise decision but said the selectors might be giving the seniors one last opportunity to perform and exit with a bang. Border said personally he would have preferred more youngsters in the team but would not outrightly criticise the selectors for picking the seniors.
Australia's Adam Gilchrist has replaced VVS Laxman as the captain of the Deccan Chargers in the Indian Premier League.
India captain Anil Kumble gave his full backing to the senior batsmen ahead of the Australia Test series, terming their failure in Sri Lanka as a "one-off."
His father Mohammad Azharuddin began his career at Eden Gardens and now an 18-year-old Mohammad Ashaduddin, called for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) selection trials, hopes the venue will do the magic for him as well in his quest to make it big in cricket. A product of St John's Academy -- a club where VVS Laxman learned his basics -- Ashaduddin is yet to make it big anywhere, but he is hoping that the KKR call-up will help him establish in the big league.
Statistical highlights on the fourth day of the second and final cricket Test between India and England in Mohali on Monday.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Thursday revealed the team think-tank is toying with the idea of dropping off-colour Rahul Dravid in the batting order but said it is in two minds fearing the ploy may boomerang in the second and final Test against England in Mohali. Dhoni, however, once again threw his weight behind the senior batsman and said once he manages to survive the early overs, things would be alright for Dravid.
Sachin Tendulkar gained one place to be joint 16th and Yuvraj Singh climbed eight places up to 56th in the latest ICC Test rankings after they guided India to win in the first cricket Test against England in Chennai.
Talent they say is over-rated but in Rohit Sharma's case, the word had been thoroughly used and abused till Mahendra Singh Dhoni made him an opener, who could be beautifully destructive.
Among his wards, Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw and Hanuma Vihari have taken to Test cricket like duck to water, all-rounder Vijay Shankar is staking World Cup claims, while Shubhman Gill broke into the ODI team in New Zealand.
Some current and former players paid their tribute to one of India's greatest players in limited overs cricket.
100-Test up VVS Laxman talks about his journey in the game thus far, the pain of not playing in an ODI World Cup and why Australia brings the best out of him.
Except for Mahendra Singh Dhoni's shock pull out, there were no major surprises in the 16-man Indian squad for the forthcoming three-Test series against Sri Lanka.
India's most successful captain Sourav Ganguly is set to bid farewell to the international game at the end of the ongoing fourth Test against the Aussies at Nagpur. The left-hander walked in to bat at the fall of VVS Laxman's wicket in India's first innings on Thursday afternoon.
India's most successful captain Sourav Ganguly is set to bid farewell to the international game at the end of the ongoing Test against the Aussies at Nagpur.
Tamil Nadu opener Murali Vijay was handed his Test debut in the fourth and final Test against Australia. Harbhajan Singh, who missed the last match due to injury, made it back to the team.
The young India opener, who scored 206 and 36 in the drawn third Test against Australia, rocketed 11 places to 18th in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen. He started the series in 37th position but climbed 18 places after three Tests in which he has scored 463 runs.
The Indian middle order batsman is expected to be available after the completion of the second leg of the Indian Premier League tournament and will remain with the county side until the end of the 2009 domestic season.
He is on the verge of becoming the highest run-accumulator in Test cricket, but Sachin Tendulkar continues to fall in the ICC rankings for batsmen, dropping a spot to 24th in the latest list released on Tuesday.
Resolute batting by Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman, coupled with fading light, helped India escape with a draw against Australia in the first Test, at the M Chinnaswamy stadium, in Bangalore, on Monday.
The Committee of Administrators is facing practical problems in implementing the Conflict of Interest guidelines on the day-to-day BCCI operations, CoA member Diana Edulji conceded.
VVS Laxman smashed 109 and Rahul Dravid a watchful 53 to guide India to 216 for three at stumps on day two of the second Test.
Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi on Friday sought to clarify that he never demanded removal of Deccan Chargers' captain VVS Laxman and claimed his remarks that the Indian was not suitable for Twenty20 version was quoted out of context in the media. Afridi confirmed that he had been conveyed the inquiry into his issue with Laxman is over now.
The master batsman salutes Sourav Ganguly on completing 100 Test matches.
Rajneesh Gupta presents some interesting numbers from Day 3:
Royal Challengers Bangalore scored their second win of the Indian Premier League when they edged Deccan Chargers by three runs at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.
Sourav Ganguly completed his maiden double century in Bangalore Test. His innings is now the seventh highest by an Indian batsman.
Ganguly-Yuvraj partnership in the third Test against Pakistan is now the second highest partnership for the fifth wicket on Indian soil.
Ahead of start of play on Day 2, the former pacer was also seen having a chat with India's bowlers including Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja.
The cricketer-turned-politician has sort of demolished his opponents, securing close to seven lakh votes, leaving close rivals -- Congress's Arvinder Singh Lovely and Aam Aadmi Party's Aatishi -- way behind.
Look at your career before commenting on Dhoni: Shastri
Ganguly however feels Dhoni has a lot of cricket left in him, especially in one-dayers.
