India Beats Pakistan!

Anil Kumble's tenure as India captain got off to a perfect start at his happy hunting ground as the hosts thumped Pakistan by six wickets in the first Test to go 1-0 up in the three-match cricket series in the Capital. Kumble's tryst with Ferozeshah Kotla continued unabated and the Man of the Match award came as the icing on the cake for the veteran leg-spinner, who claimed seven wickets in the match, besides scoring a defiant 24 runs in the first innings. Needing 32 for a facile win, India completed the formalities in little over half an hour 32 minutes to be precise to score the required runs in 6.2 overs and record their seventh consecutive Test win at Kotla. Sachin Tendulkar 56 not out scored the winning run in style, rocking to his back foot to cut Danish Kaneria past the point fielder for a scorching boundary. Trying to pull Shoaib Akhtar, Ganguly offering a swirling catch to Sohail Tanvir at fine leg to leave without adding to his overnight score. Ganguly's 48 came off 64 balls in two hours, during which he hit eight boundaries. Tendulkar, however, provided the reason for celebration for the sparse Kotla crowd by notching up his 46th Test fifty via a full-blooded cut off Kaneria. Both the teams now move to Kolkata for the second Test, which gets underway on 30th November.

Sachin Declines

Indian master blaster cricketer Sachin Tendulkar turned down the offer to become the captain of India's Test cricket team just two days before his appointment was to be formally announced. The veteran batsman, who had initially agreed to take over the mantle after Rahul Dravid stepped down, has informed the Indian Cricket Board President Sharad Pawar and national selectors about his decision. The veteran batsman, who had initially agreed to take over the mantle after Rahul Dravid stepped down, has informed the Board President Sharad Pawar and national selectors about his decision. Confirming the report, the board said that Sachin had told Pawar to look towards younger players. In a letter written to Sharad Pawar and national selection team, Sachin didn’t disclose the reason but says that he does not want to be the Test captain at this stage. The selectors will meet on Thursday to announce team for the remaining three one-dayers against Pakistan and also the new Test captain. With Tendulkar now out of the equation the 26-year-old Dhoni, who has been impressive in the Twenty20 and ODIs, appears to also take up the responsibilities in the longer of version of the game. however, on the other hand former India coach Greg Chappell feels Mahendra Singh Dhoni, front-runner to become the Test captain after Sachin Tendulkar turned down the offer, needs at least another year to be ready to take up the responsibility.
Chappell said Dhoni was still learning by leading the team in the ODIs and Twenty20 and would be ready for Test captaincy in next 12 months.While former skipper Ravi shastri says, Mahendra Singh Dhoni may have impressed with his leadership skills in the one-dayers but burdening him with the Test captaincy would be asking for too much from the youngster. Dhoni had proved his mettle as skipper but it was not the right time to anoint him Test captain. It will put him under a lot of pressure. In future he may do it but not at this moment.

Sania Aims to Crack Top 20

After a season that saw more highs than lows, Sania Mirza has set herself an ambitious target. In her sixth year on the WTA senior circuit the Indian poster girl, who is currently ranked 32, wants to crack the top-20. Sania Mirza, who parted ways with South African trainer Heath Mathew ahead of the US hard court season, said that she was zeroing in on a few names as a permanent travelling coach. "My game will not be affected with the frequent change of coaches. As of now, I have not decided about filling the vacancy. I have a few names in mind. I will disclose them at the right time." The 2007 season, punctuated by frequent injuries, was bittersweet for Sania. She breached the top-30 for the first time with successful runs on the US hard-court circuit and cut short her season after re occurrence of her injuries. The 20-year-old will start her 2008 campaign at the Hopman Cup in Perth where she and Rohan Bopanna have a direct entry for their good show this year. Sania said doing well at the mixed doubles challenge in January is her immediate goal. Four doubles titles came her way this season with victories at Morocco with Vania King of the US, Cincinnati with Bethanie Mattek of the US, Stanford with Shahar Peer of Israel and New Haven with Mara Santangelo of Spain. Sania, who ended the year with a 32-11 record in doubles, however says singles is her priority. Sania reached her only singles final of 2007 at Stanford in July. She had some notable wins over Martina Hingis, Dinara Safina and Patty Schnyder. Her best Grand Slam result for the year was a third round spot at the US Open in August - eventually losing to good friend and on court nemesis Anna Chakvetadze.