Team India FC - Page 76

Heavyweights descend on Malaysia

Australia, India and West Indies will hone their one-day form when they clash in a hastily arranged Tri-Nations series in Malaysia starting on Tuesday.

The event, from September 12-24, will act as a warm-up for next month's Champions Trophy in India.

Australia will use the series to help fast bowler Glenn McGrath regain his fitness after a self-imposed nine-month exile to be with his sick wife.

"I think we'll try and give Glenn as much bowling as we can," Australian captain Ricky Ponting said.

"We need to make sure we're really monitoring his progress and try to get a fair bit of bowling into him. I'm sure he'll play the first couple of games and we'll just see how he pulls up after those."

West Indies will look to fine-tune their game for their defence of the Champions Trophy, which starts on October7.

"We will be coming up against two very good teams and I think we have to take things in our stride," captain Brian Lara said.

"I think the main focus at this time is to defend the ICC Champions Trophy.

"We have got four games, maybe five if we reach the final but it is all going to be a lead-up to winning the ICC Champions Trophy -- the one major trophy that we have won in recent years."

Australian Greg Chappell, meanwhile, says he is feeling no extra pressure at facing his countrymen for the first time since taking over as India coach more than a year ago.

"I will focus on what we need to do and plan accordingly. I am only concerned about how we play and win," he said.

India will be looking for much from Sachin Tendulkar who shone in practice before heading to Malaysia.

"Sachin was looking very good," Chappell said. "We have no concerns about him at all."

Australia play West Indies in the opening match on Tuesday. The teams play each other twice before the top two meet in the final on September 24.

Originally posted by: delilah

so viru is your fav??...Nice to know that..lets hope he plays well during the tri-series!!

yeh i hopee sooo too !! so whose ur fav😛

Originally posted by: delilah

Yuvraj Singh out of first ODI


India suffered a big blow ahead of the cricket tri-series with key ODI player Yuvraj Singh being ruled out of the first match against the West Indies on Thursday.

Yuvraj is down with fever but the team management is optimistic that the aggressive middle-order batsman would be fit in time for the remaining matches of the series. The tri-series kicks off on Tuesday with a match between West Indies and Australia.

"Yuvraj is sick. He may play later in the series," said a team official.

The Indians, who could not play a single match on the recent tour of Sri Lanka due to rains, were also worried on the count of the weather. Sudden downpours in the afternoons are quite common at this time of the year in this tropical country and could affect the day-night matches.

The series would provide Rahul Dravid's men some serious competition ahead of the Chapions Trophy which India host in October-November and they are keen to test their opponents in advance.

Coach Greg Chappell admitted as much, saying his team would treat the tournament as a "warm-up" for the Champions Trophy.

"We will treat this tournament as a practice for us ahead of the Champions Trophy," Chappell said after the team's net session this morning at the Selangor Club ground.

Chappell said although the team could not play any matches in Sri Lanka, it had kept itself occupied with a rolling camp and practice matches within themselves prior to departing for Malaysia.

"The players have such a hectic schedule that we don't get such time off from the field often. So we utilised the break (in Colombo) to focus on other aspects of the game," Chappell said.

The former Australian captain also said weather would not pose any problem for his team which is used to playing in hot conditions.

"Weather is not a worry for us. We are used to hot conditions," he said.

The weather also did not seem to dampen the enthusiasm among the locals, hundreds of whom braved the scorching sun to catch a glimpse of the Indian stars at this off-shore venue.

The female fans were spotted drooling over Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India's new batting sensation. Shouts of "Dhoni! Dhoni" pierced an otherwise quiet atmosphere at the club ground. (😡Stay away girls...He is already TAKEN........ He is MINE!!)

But it was Sachin Tendulkar who was the most sought-after player, his blue India jersey standing out in the midst of his teammates who were all clad in white, the official dress with sponsors' logo. (Sachin tum jiyo hazaroon saal..aur barsao runs bar bar..pathetic attempt i know..😊)

After finishing their practice, the Indian stars had a busy time signing autographs for the fans.

yuvi is sick

lol oo mein samajh gayee who ur fav is now😆

Originally posted by: delilah

India third in ICC ODI rankings

Pakistan's three-wicket loss to England in the fifth ODI helped India move a place up to third and swap places with Inzamam-ul-Haq's side in the latest LG ICC ODI Championship table.

India with 113 points, is now two points ahead of Pakistan but ten points behind second-placed South Africa and 18 behind leaders and world champions Australia.

If India wins their four matches in Malaysia tri-series against Australia and West Indies starting on Tuesday, they will lift the rating to 119 points, closing the gap on South Africa in the process.

Pakistan has the same number of points as fifth-placed New Zealand but is ranked higher than the Black Caps when the ratings are recalculated to three decimal places.

The two successive wins against Pakistan following a eight-match losing streak have not been enough to lift England up the Championship table . They still lie in eighth position level with the West Indies, directly above it.

- Complete list: ICC ODI rankings

Meanwhile, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (4th), Yuvraj Singh (9th), Rahul Dravid (12th) and Virender Sehwag (19th) retain their places in the Adam Gilchrist-led batting chart which saw no change in the top 10 batsmen rankings.

Sachin Tendulkar, who has fully recovered from shoulder injury and is part of the Indian team for Malaysia tri-series, is placed 23rd.

West Indian Ramnaresh Sarwan is second behind Gilchrist and Aussie captain Ricky Ponting following Sarwan in third place in the batting list.

- Complete list: ICC Test rankings

Among the bowlers, South Africa's Shaun Pollock still heads the chart followed by Shane Bond of New Zealand and comeback man Glenn McGrath of Australia, while Irfan Pathan lies in seventh spot, spinner Harbhajan Singh is joint ninth (along with South Africa's Makhaya Ntini) and Ajit Agarkar shares 11th spot with Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka.

yayyyyyyy !!! finally we move up da chartt

hey moony!! how are u doing?
aap to bahut jaldi smajh gayi ki who is my fav.....
u r righjt!! i simply luv dhoni 😊 😳 😳

am fine delilah !! how r u ??
haha mere ko samjh agaya wen i read 'back of galz hes mine' 😆
i also like dhonii !! hes such a class player 😛

Originally posted by: moon_uk

oo wicked !! can i join guyz 😳

heyy..!!...welcum to this club..

im sonal😃

Originally posted by: delilah

awww ..poor soni ..lets hope dat ur wish comes true!!!...BTw, Soni dear, Vijeta is not his stupid dat...she is his wife 😆😆😆

Hmm...........u didnt know that i luv dhoni...thats suprising becoz i make it soooooo obvious!!!!....I even watch all the ads that feature him no matter how many times they repeat it!!!!😳😳

i noe....vijeta is his stupid wife....😡🤢...but i dont really care...i still like himm...😆

well...i noe...u luv dhoni.....😉