3rd Test: WI finish at 224/6 on Day 4

Roseau, Dominica: A fighting century on debut by Kirk Edwards, and some hostile fast bowling by his namesake Fidel Edwards led to a comeback of sorts by the West Indies at the end of the fourth day’s play of the third and final Test against India at Dominica, Roseau on Saturday.
At stumps, the hosts were 224/6 with Shivnarine Chanderpaul at the crease on 73 along with his skipper Darren Sammy who was batting on 1. West Indies lead by 81 with four second innings wickets in hand.

Praveen Kumar sent back West Indies wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh (10) in the fag end of the day after Harbhajan Singh’s twin blow in one over helped India regain the momentum.
Edwards became the 14th West Indian to score a Test century on debut as he along with Chanderpaul put on161 runs for the fourth wicket after the West Indies were looking down the barrel at 40/3 early on in their innings.
Edwards struck nine boundaries and a six during his 195 ball stay before falling to Harbhajan for 110.
Edwards was caught behind by Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Samuels followed suit soon after for a duck as the home team lost their fifth wicket.
Samuels was adjudged leg before wicket, though replays suggested that the ball would have gone on to miss the off stump.
Earlier, Edwards brought up his maiden Test fifty, and was involved in an unbeaten stand of 76 runs with Chanderpaul as the West Indies went into tea at 116/3.
The hosts lost their third wicket after lunch when Darren Bravo's attempt to hit Harbhajan Singh out of the ground only went as far as Praveen Kumar at the wide mid-off region who took a comfortable catch.
Bravo made 14 and was involved in a 30 run partnership with Chanderpaul.
India's new ball bowlers, Ishant Sharma and Praveen Kumar struck early by removing the West Indian openers in the opening session. While Adrian Barath fell to Kumar for six, Kieron Powell was snapped up by Sharma after making just four.
West Indies pace bowler Fidel Edwards grabbed his 10th five wicket haul in the traditional form of the game as the Indian innings folded up for 347.
Carrying on from their overnight score of 308/6, the visitors added 39 more runs to take a healthy lead of 143 before being bowled out.
Edwards returned with figures of 5/103 and took three of the four Indian wickets to fall on day four which included the prized scalp of Dhoni who top scored with 74.
Full Scorecard

Eng, SL lock horns in series decider

Manchester: Alastair Cook is determined to show the world that he can change perceptions of his batting style, and change them quickly.
In little more than a week Cook has gone a long way to shedding his tag as a plodder. Before the ODI series began Cook had scored 868 runs at an average of 33.00 and a strike rate of 71.38. After four matches against Sri Lanka his overall average and strike rate have risen to 38.79 and 76.27. He is the leading run-scorer on either side in the series with 267 at 89.00, at a strike rate of 97.80.

Craig Kieswetter, recalled as opener to provide impetus at the top of the order has 161 runs at 53.66 in the series, with a strike rate of 96.41, but has been overshadowed by the new captain's strokeplay.
Thanks to a 10-wicket win in the fourth ODI at Trent Bridge — following an unbeaten opening stand of 171 by the pair — England now has a chance to win the series, currently tied at 2-2.
The Old Trafford wicket used to have a reputation for pace and bounce, though that has changed since the square was turned 90 degrees during ground renovations over the winter. It is the most spin-friendly pitch of the regular international venues in England, with an average of 3.16 wickets a match falling to spin in ODIs.
The prospect of turn for the slow bowlers may prompt the selectors to pick Samit Patel, though he has yet to play in this series. His only outing for England this summer was in the Twenty20 international at Bristol, where he was run out third ball without scoring and bowled two overs for 18. Patel last played an ODI in November 2008.

Afridi joins Renegades for Big Bash

Sydney: Melbourne Renegades named Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi as one of their two overseas recruits for Australia's revamped domestic Twenty20 league on Friday.

The former Pakistan captain ignored more lucrative offers to join compatriot Abdul Razzaq, who was also named in the Renegades' 16-member squad, local media said.

Afridi retired in acrimony in May, citing differences with the Pakistan Cricket Board.

Meanwhile, England's Owais Shah has joined Pakistani paceman Rana Naveed as the second foreign recruit at Hobart Hurricanes.

West Indian Chris Gayle (Sydney Thunder) and Englishman Paul Collingwood (Perth Scorchers) are among other foreign players who have signed for the eight-team 'Big Bash' tournament starting on December 16

Ganguly fans wish him on 39th birthday

Kolkata: He may have quit international cricket for three years now but the love and affection Sourav Ganguly received on his 39th birthday was enviable.

As a large number of his fans gathered outside his Behala residence this morning, the former Team India captain took time off from his hectic shooting schedule for a TV show to cut the customary birthday cake for the photojournalists before rushing to a studio at Rajarhat.

Later in the day, the Ganguly fans distributed cakes and sweets to schoolchildren and donated a football kit to an underprivileged 10-year-old kid from Sarsuna.

There were more such scenes on the streets of Kolkata.

At Gariahat, 'Dada Force' a Facebook fan club with 880 members, have plans to celebrate Ganguly's birthday by paying a visit to Rajarhat studio in the evening.

"We have fixed an appointment with him through a private agency. We will give him flowers and gifts besides cutting the cake," Sourav Bhattacharya of the club said.

He further said Ganguly will release a book titled 'Dadagiri Unplugged' written by the group members.

Vendors were also seen selling potraits of Ganguly and former Bengal chief minister Late Jyoti Basu, both of whom share their birthday.

Ganguly these days is busy shooting for a popular Bengali quiz show where he recently hosted Bollywood actor Aamir Khan and his producer-director wife Kiran Rao. He is soon to shoot a special episode with current India opener Gautam Gambhir before leaving to do television commentary in England

Feisty Harbhajan joins elite club

There have arguably been better spinners than Harbhajan Singh in Test history but on Thursday he became the 11th bowler to take 400 wickets. And that's no mean achievement
In his 96th Test, off his 26,961st delivery, Harbhajan Singh became the 11th man in Test history, and the fourth spinner, to claim 400 wickets. The relief-drenched celebration came out with a pumped fist and a roar. It would have been perhaps even more fitting had it come through a shout for an lbw or a catch as Harbhajan would then have performed his signature backpedal-and-appeal routine.

The mode of celebration was understandable as he was made to wait for the landmark. He needed seven wickets at the start of the series and in the first two Tests, on pitches that suited the seamers, he took five wickets at an average of 35.60. The wait ended today. With Ishant Sharma threatening to run through the tail, Harbhajan removed Darren Sammy with the typical bat-and-pad dismissal he is known for. The ball dipped and bounced as it turned in and Sammy edged his defensive poke to the short-leg fielder. In his next over, he got one to turn in from just outside off and cramped Carlton Baugh for room. Baugh went for the cut, almost stumbled out to the leg side and lost his stumps.

Cameras flashed in the Indian dressing room. Out in the middle, Harbhajan was enveloped by warm hugs from his team-mates. Slowly he extricated himself, walked towards the top of his run-up, placed his right hand on his chest and looked up to the skies.

It's been a common sight through his 13-year career. Often he gives the feeling he is fighting the world. Often you get the feeling the world is fighting against him. It's been a career with heady peaks and puzzling troughs.

Rarely has any other bowler with 400 Test wickets received so much criticism. It's as if his critics expect greatness from him and feel disappointed that he has let them down.

On his bad days his line drifts to leg and middle, the pace is too quick and his attacking instincts evaporate. The critics have a field day announcing the end and then suddenly he shuts them up with a match-winning spell. On his good days he can be a handful. The ball will drift, dip, and bite and batsmen will succumb, unable to contend with the extra bounce and turn. It's as if there are two different bowlers. Other top spinners rarely gave this illusion of split personality. Harbhajan does.

He is a good bowler. Some believe he can be better than good. Some believe he is not as good as he is purported to be. The truth must lie somewhere in the middle. He has confounded his critics through his career. It's often been said that he needs spin-friendly tracks to be effective. However, in his previous two outings away from home, in New Zealand in 2009 and in South Africa in 2010, he has excelled. He was perhaps at his best away from home during that tour of New Zealand. Deploying over spin, side spin, and top spin, he was at the top of his art. The drift he got was mesmerising. A couple of months after that tour, Daniel Vettori named Harbhajan as the bowler whom he admired the most in international cricket.

Later, in the Cape Town Test, a wicketless first innings that had the critics hollering was followed by 7 for 120 in the second. Through his career he has been a different bowler once he's got early wickets. In recent times, he hasn't used the doosra much and has preferred to use the topspinner. It's been a puzzling development.

Today, however, was a day to bask in personal glory. The list of top wicket-taking spinners reads: Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh. There might have been better spinners than Harbhajan in Test history but only three others have picked up 400 wickets. And it's no mean achievement. It will be interesting to see how history views him. Will he judged by what he has done or will he be judged by what some think he could have done - what more he could have done?