Though Indian bowlers impressed on Sunday, with debutant Shami Ahmed, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ravindra Jadeja bowling a disciplined line and length, it had a lot to do with the conditions too, reports
Khurram Habib.
India's series loss against Pakistan failed to lessen the enthusiasm of cricket-crazy fans, who braved a chilly morning and thronged the Feroze Shah Kotla stadium to watch the inconsequential third and final one-dayer between the two arch-rivals on Sunday.
While India have been struggling to find a fifth bowler, Pakistan have the luxury of good part-time spinners in Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik.
HT reports.
The Ferozeshah Kotla was shut out to all forms of cricket for almost a month before this India-Pakistan tie to be played on January 6.
Pakistan's dominance in the ongoing ODI series against India has surprised the country's former captain Zaheer Abbas, who feels the host team looks jaded after playing too much cricket.
What would have brought a massive cheer to the India camp, apart from Yuvraj Singh's blitzkrieg, is their bowlers' showing in the death overs.
The loss of two back-to-back games would be a worry for India and they will have to pick themselves up in Ahmedabad against Pakistan. Sourav Ganguly writes.
Medium pacer Praveen Kumar is on the path to recovery and will stake claim to an India berth in the home series against Australia in February-March next year. Sharad Deep reports.
Captain Michael Clarke trumped Ricky Ponting as Australia's highest run scorer in a calendar year with another century as his team clamped an iron grip on the second Test against Sri Lanka on Thursday.
A cold wave is blowing across the sub-continent, but Dhoni and company are surely feeling the heat. After their loss in the first T20 of the series, it is clear that India will not win this series also. Inzamam Ul-Haq reports.
India bowlers have struggled to keep rival batsmen guessing in crunch situations in the end, resulting in two successive defeats.
Subhash Rajta reports.
Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal and pacer Ishant Sharma, who were fined after a verbal duel in the first T20 international at Bangalore, have buried the hatchet and are now the best of friends, according to a leading Pakistani newspaper.
The importance of first impression and sense of occasion can't be overstated. In his debut game on Tuesday, Bhuvneshwar Kumar demonstrated he was keenly aware of both.
Subhash Rajta reports.
Instant impact
The ICC on Wednesday penalised Indian pacer Ishant Sharma and Pakistan batsman Kamran Akmal for an altercation during the opening Twenty20 International between the arch-rivals in Bangalore.
The cricket teams of India and Pakistan arrived in Ahmedabad for the second and final Twenty20 international, to be played on Friday.