'I thank Sachinpaaji for taking me to Coach Gary Kirsten and telling him that 'Sreesanth should play' (in the World Cup final against Sri Lanka) and thanks to Dhonibhai for giving me that opportunity.'
Matthew Hayden said he is not surprised by the constant friction in matches between Australia and India as the embittered sides prepare for third Test.
The victorious Indian team got a rousing welcome on Wednesday night when it arrived back home after the triumphant tour of New Zealand.
Australia skipper Ricky Ponting may be loathe to admit it, but his predecessor Steve Waugh has no qualms in saying that Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh play with the passion of the "baggy greeners" and without their spirit, Australia would already have been one up.
Rahul Dravid scaled another lofty peak in his illustrious career when he created the world record for the most number of Test catches by a fielder in Wellington on Monday.
Zaheer Khan, the architect of India's morale-boosting draw in the first Test, could not help taking a dig at Ricky Ponting and his men; he dubbed them the most defensive Australian side he has come across.
Zaheer Khan ripped through the New Zealand top order to give India complete control of the third and final Test in Wellington, on Saturday. Zaheer took five for 65 to help bundle out New Zealand for 197 in reply to India's first innings score of 379. In their second essay, India reached 51 for 1 in their second innings, stretching their overall lead to 233.
Statistical highlights of Day 2 in the first Test between India and Australia, at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore on Friday.
Left-arm seamer Zaheer Khan said India will have to win the day with the bat on Day 3 to get back in the second Test.
Kirsten is confident that barring any injuries in the next few days the Indian bowlers are capable of putting up a good showing in the upcoming Test series against Australia.
Sachin Tendulkar on Friday assured that the finger injury he sustained while fielding during New Zealand's second innings is not serious.
India left out off-spinner Ramesh Powar, preferring young leg-spinner Piyush Chawla instead for the day-night encounter.
Delhi Daredevils were already out of reckoning for Indian Premier League play-offs before Friday's match against Rising Pune Supergiant but their captain Zaheer Khan said that his side wanted to win as many matches as possible.
India registered a three-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in a low-scoring second ODI to level the five-match series 1-1.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Sunday blamed lack of bowling resources for their defeat to Sri Lanka in the fifth and final international in Colombo, which halted their stupendous nine-match winning run. India had rested key players such as pacer Zaheer Khan, spinner Pragyan Ojha and batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar but Dhoni said it was crucial to try out youngsters with the series already in their pocket.
India fended off a spirited challenge by Sri Lanka to snatch a thrilling 15-run victory in the second one-dayer and take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series, in Colombo on Saturday.
'Players want a lot of games to stay in touch. You take them away from the game and they lose touch.'
'What's the best thing about this attack is the fact that they are on top of their game'
Bangalore have been on a roll with skipper Virat Kohli enjoying one of the best phases of his career as he has four centuries under his belt.
'The cynic in me wonders whether the Speaker's defiance wasn't assisted by the knowledge that he cannot possibly be re-elected from Bolpur.'
Faced with a do-or-die situation, the inconsistent Delhi Daredevils will take on table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad in their penultimate Indian Premier League match.
From setting inspirational songs as his mobile ringtone to wearing I-Never-Give-Up T-shirts, pacer S Sreesanth has come up with unique methods to keep himself motivated as he waits for a recall to the Indian cricket team.
Refusing to underestimate the visitors, Australian captain Ricky Ponting gave India high ratings on all counts ahead of the Test series which gets underway on the Boxing Day in Melbourne on Wednesday.
India's pace spearhead Zaheer Khan has credited his return to form after months in wilderness to a reduced run-up, which he says has helped him become fitter and consistent.
Even as Sonam Kapoor threw a Diwali party, Amitabh Bachchan hosted a grand celebration too.
India won the toss and elected to bat. Batsmen Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh, and bowlers Irfan Pathan and Ishant Sharma were named in the side.
The selection committee, which met in Bangalore on Wednesday, also retained Anil Kumble captain for the Test series in Australia.
India left out Sourav Ganguly and frontline bowlers Zaheer Khan, Rudra Pratap Singh and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh. Young batsman Rohit Sharma, pacers S Sreesanth, and Praveen Kumar and left-arm spinner Murali Kartik came in.
India's current and former cricketers took to social media to wish one of India's greatest captains and current BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, who celebrated his 48th birthday on Wednesday.
Australian opener Matthew Hayden was happy that the ongoing Test series between his side and the Indians was being played in good spirit on and off the field but said he would have been disappointed had Zaheer Khan not been punished for sending him off during the Mohali Test.
The Indian bowlers -- Zaheer Khan in particular -- have so far successfully managed to tie him down, but Australia opener Matthew Hayden has vowed to bounce back when the third Test gets underway in Delhi from October 29.
As the Australian bowlers worked on adjustments to catch up Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma, pacer Mitchell Johnson has been identified as the front man to prepare the ball to extract reverse-swing early in the game.
Zaheer Khan was fined 80 per cent of his match fee on Tuesday after breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during India's record 320-run victory in the second Test against Australia in Mohali. At a hearing in front of match referee Chris Broad, Khan pleaded guilty to a Level 2 charge under clause C1 of the ICC Code of Conduct which states that players "shall at all times conduct play within in the spirit of the game as well as within the Laws of Cricket".
India completed a crushing victory over Australia by a record margin of 320 runs in the second Test in Mohali on Tuesday to seize a 1-0 lead in the four-match series. It was India's biggest ever Test win by runs, bettering their 280-run success over South Africa in Kanpur in 1996-97.
52 - number of extras conceded by Australia. This equals the worst performance by Australia in an innings. Australia had conceded 52 extras to England at Brisbane in 1982-83 in their score of 309.
80 - the runs added by Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan for the eighth wicket - best partnership in Indian innings.
Harbhajan Singh scored a dogged 54 and Zaheer Khan 35, as India rallied form 210-6 at tea to 313-8 by close on Day 3 of the first Test against Australia.
'It is something special and I am enjoying it,' the left-arm pacer said after claiming 5 for 91, his sixth five-wicket haul, in the first Test against Australia in Bangalore on Friday.
Ricky Ponting led from the front with a brilliant century to help Australia reach 254 for four at close on the opening day of the first Test against India.
BCCI on Tuesday appointed Bharat Arun as the Indian cricket team's bowling coach, ending days of drama surrounding the position.
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