International Cricket

England got 'klapped' by India.

India have beaten England by nine wickets to take the first Test after lunch in Ahmedabad on Monday.

Hope the Proteas do better in the 2nd test. We were a bit lucky in the 1st. The rain saved us.

SA need to win the next test match, cos the last one is ganna be very difficult for SA

Another absolute belter of a batting track at Adelaide. Aussies scoring at over 5.5 an over with Tahir going at over 7 an over from 20 overs. After Kallis made Ricky P look ridiculous it seems he pulled a hamstring and has not been seen since. Could be Steyn has a hamstring twitch also. Warner went on to get approx a run a ball ton, Clarke has gone on to a double ton and Hussey 100. With the new ball just being taken... at 455-4 if SA can't make something happen now they look like any thoughts of winning will be gone.

Clarke has just become the first batsmen in history to score 4 double centuries in a year. A great effort by the Aussie Captain. (tu)

Well said Shrek (tu) Second consecutive one as well. In fact, the Aussie scorecard in many ways is a mirror image of Brisbane. Clarke currently 464 not out in this test series... :

Eish......2nd highest score ever in the 1st day of a test match. Our attack was bullied by the Aussies. Awesome batting and Clarke top class. Hope Kallis is ok to continue.

Great stuff by the Aussies - cracks beginning to show in an ageing Protea line-up - Tahir absolutely hopeless - surely there must be a better spinning option somewhere in SA?

It will take a huge effort by the SA batsmen to not lose this one

Day one and we only playing for the draw

What about the century by the number 10 on Test debut for Bangladesh. I know Tino Best for West Indies made 95 batting at number 11 against England earlier in the year. He would have been the first number 11 to get a century but holds the record now for the highest score by a number 11.

No. 10 Abul Hasan's debut ton revives Bangladesh

The Report by Abhishek Purohit

West Indies bulldozed through the first eight Bangladesh wickets on a flat, low and slow Khulna pitch. In came debutant Abul Hasan, all of 20, and proceeded to do something that had been done only once before in 2059 previous Tests dating back to 1877, by Reggie Duff over a century ago in 1902. Abul, who goes around as a fast bowler, became only the second Test debutant to make a hundred at No. 10. Abul's incredible innings, and his record unbroken ninth-wicket stand of 172 with Mahmudullah, himself on 72, rescued Bangladesh from 193 for 8, and left honours even on day one.

The cluelessness of being a debutant No. 10, if any, was restricted to the first four deliveries of Abul's knock, and a few scattered nervy moments against the second new ball as he approached his hundred. Barring those, the innings was a fresh breeze of audacious boundaries, and sensible defending, which blew the spotlight away from the continuing inadequacies of the specialist Bangladesh batsmen.

He was beaten four successive times at the start by Fidel Edwards, who had come in for the injured Ravi Rampaul to take five wickets before being upstaged by Abul. The fifth delivery was timed neatly down the ground for three runs, and Abul was a changed man thereafter.

Fast bowlers were pulled and driven with panache, a medium-pacer was charged and lofted, spinners were slog-swept and cut, and all of them were defended against solidly. He even ensured a part-timer was taken for runs when he hit Marlon Samuels for three fours in an over. Soon, he was dancing out and heaving Darren Sammy for six over long-off to go past fifty.

Smart stats
Abul Hasan's unbeaten 100 is the second Test century by a No.10 batsman on debut. The previous such effort was in 1902, by Australia's Reggie Duff, who was actually a frontline batsman who was held back due to a sticky wicket at the MCG.
Abul's knock makes him the fourth No.10 batsman to score a century - the last such performance came from South Africa's Pat Symcox.
Bangladesh's previous-highest at this position was Tapash Baisya's 66 against New Zealand in 2004.
Abul is also the third player from Bangladesh to score a Test hundred on debut, after Aminul Islam and Mohammad Ashraful.
The unbeaten 172-run stand between Abul and Mahmudullah is the fourth-highest for the ninth wicket in all Tests, and 23 away from equalling the record. Bangladesh's previous-highest for the ninth wicket was 77.
Since the fall of their fifth wicket at 98, Bangladesh have added 267 runs, which is their highest for the last five wickets in an innings.
It would be an understatement to say the assault left West Indies stunned. Coming towards the end of a hard toil on an unresponsive pitch, it gave them no time to regroup. Every delivery and everyone went for runs. Sammy was caught between going for the remaining two wickets and setting fields to plug the torrent of runs. Abul eventually forced him to set defensive fields.

It was a largely chanceless innings; he was put down once, on 42, at forward short leg off Veerasammy Permaul, who made three attempts at the catch but could not hold on. The second new ball was taken when Abul was on 84. He responded by a couple of blind charges at Edwards' short deliveries, and was fortunate not to get hit.

Abul's recovery against Edwards showed the kind of touch he was in. He coolly made room to a short of a length delivery and punched it past point for four. Some more tense moments against Edwards followed, but Abul broke into a roar after a tuck to leg for two off Sunil Narine, whose returns for this series now stand at 3 for 295.

Mahmudullah's contribution was not far behind. He let the man of the day go about his business, and motored along without fuss. He didn't try to match Abul for spectacle, although he did come close in terms of strokeplay, the highlight being a charge-and-whip off Narine which raced through square leg, and a short-arm controlled pull through midwicket off Edwards.

The ninth-wicket partnership was already Bangladesh's highest, and also the fourth-highest ever in Tests. Not even the staunchest Bangladesh supporters who had filled the stands in Khulna could have hoped for a better opening day's play at Test cricket's latest, and 107th venue, especially after the struggles of the specialist batsmen.

In each of the first two sessions, Bangladesh were jolted early. In each session, they fought back. And in each session, with depressing familiarity, they also gave away whatever ground they had regained. The result was that despite Bangladesh's best batsman, Tamim Iqbal, batting nearly two hours, and Nasir Hossain counter-attacking with a fifty, it was West Indies who dominated.

In Tamim's defence, he had at least fallen trying to preserve his wicket close to lunch. Nasir's brain fade came moments before tea, when he charged at Permaul and lofted him straight to mid-on. Till then, Nasir had batted with the confidence he had shown in Mirpur against the West Indies spinners.

After Edwards had dismissed Shakib Al Hasan and Naeem Islam in successive overs after lunch, Nasir and Mushfiqur Rahim put on 87 for the sixth wicket in quick time. From 98 for 5 to 185 for 5 had been a swift mini-recovery, but even as the crowd's hopes rose and tea beckoned, Nasir blew it.

Proceedings had been similar in the morning. West Indies started with the tactic that had won them the Mirpur Test - a barrage of short balls - but soon realised the pitch had hardly any life for the gambit to sustain for long. Sammy focussed on the old-fashioned and unglamorous strategy of sticking to one line outside off stump, varied his angle, and reaped the rewards. He broke a growing second-wicket stand by removing Shahriar Nafees, and then took the big wicket of Tamim.

Sammy's strikes won West Indies a session that seemed to be slipping away from them. Tamim and Nafees had several close moments against the short ball, with a few fends carrying over the infield, but soon settled down to play the pull effectively.

Edwards, moving the old ball at pace, was in business early in all the three sessions but no one had reckoned for Abul.

SA need to choose the FreeState spinner. He is a good tactitian and also varies his pace well. Tahir does not spin the ball enough and is easy to read.

ryan mclaren should be in the team before fatso from the cape....

Magi Wrote:

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> Day one and we only playing for the draw

Adelaide is often like that Magi, no need for panic. Obviously not best but Adelaide always produce excellent batting tracks... and I think in general the Aussies are producing more batsmen friendly wickets in acknowledgement that their bowling attack is now a zillion light years from what it was a decade or so ago. No reason at all why SA should not do the same, even if Kallis doesn't bat you should have more than enough talent to post a very decent score yourselves. Frodo, not being funny, but have SA ever produced a truly excellent spinner? Agreed though, Tahir was village standard today, not easy but he sent down far far far too many bad (being nice!) balls.

Yes indeed Naresh, a fine achievement by Hasan (tu)