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Fletcher suffered back-to-back Test whitewashes
Last updated on: March 16, 2013 08:51 IST

Duncan Fletcher (April 2011 onwards)

Duncan Fletcher's name was suggested by Kirsten, but he never quite matched the standards set by the South African.

Fletcher has the worst Test record among all India's foreign coaches, with a win percentage of 36.36, for just eight wins in 22 games.

India have also not performed to expectations in the ODI format and have struggled overseas.

The back-to-back Test wins against Australia in the ongoing series is the only high point of an otherwise disappointing tenure so far.

Matches Won Lost Drawn Tied Won %
Tests 22 8 10 4 0 36.36
ODIs 44 25 16 1 2 56.81
T20Is 17 9 8 0 0 52.94

 

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Select your team for the Delhi Test: Should Rahane play?

India will be keen to carry their good showing into the fourth Test in New Delhi and complete a clean sweep in the four-match series against Australia.

The home team outclassed the visitors in the first three matches, in Chennai, Hyderabad and Mohali, the first time it defeated Australia in three successive Tests, and can now dream of completing 'the revenge' it was looking for.

It was about a year ago that Australia whitewashed India 4-0. Now the team has a chance to subject the men from Down Under to the same humiliation.

It will be interesting to see whether the winning combination is persisted with in the fourth Test, beginning at Feroz Shah Kotla on March 22, or the team goes in for a few changes considering the series is already won.

India have a problem, though, at the top of the order, with Mohali centurion Shikhar Dhawan likely to miss out on his home ground, having suffered an injury on the field.

Will Ajinkya Rahane get a chance?

Or should Cheteshwar Pujara continue to open with Murali Vijay, as was the case in the second innings in Mohali?

Here is your chance to help the selectors pick the eleven for the fourth Test.

 

[Karthik]

Kevin peterson ruled out of last test against NZL starting on friday due to injury.

 

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IPL: Delhi Daredevils in trouble; Sehwag doubtful for opener
Last updated on: April 02, 2013 12:36 IST

Already missing a few key players due to injuries, Delhi Daredevils [ Images ] may suffer another setback as explosive batsman Virender Sehwag [ Images ] is a doubtful starter for Wednesday's IPL opener against Kolkata Knight Riders [ Images ] due to a back problem.

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-Check out the IPL 2013 schedule

"He is having back spasm. We have no idea when he's joining the side. We will take a call after he's here," coach Eric Simons said hinting that the team is prepared to play without the swashbuckling opener.

The team will also miss out on last season's Purple cap holder Morne Morkel [ Images ], who bowled Titans to a semi-finals place in the Ram Slam T20 Challenge in the South Africa [ Images ] domestic cricket.

"They are playing semis tomorrow and if they make final (on April 7) we may miss him for another game," Simons added.

The Daredevils are already missing English batsman Kevin Pietersen [ Images ] who had been ruled out for the entire season owing to a knee injury.

They will also miss Jesse Ryder [ Images ] since the big-hitting is badly injured following a brutal assault in a Christchurch bar.

 

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Won't bowl in IPL as I did in Big Bash: Ponting
Last updated on: April 02, 2013 12:13 IST

Mumbai Indians [ Images ] captain Ricky Ponting [ Images ] ruled out bowling during the Indian Premier League [ Images ] (IPL), saying the grounds in India are too small for him to bowl in match situation.

Also Read

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Ponting had bowled a bit during the Big Bash T20 tournament back in Australia [ Images ].

"I have told the Mumbai Indian boys that I had bowled a bit in the Big Bash. However, I am not in the league of Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. I won't be bowling in the IPL. The grounds are not big enough here. We haven't have enough spare balls for me to come and bowl," he said.

 

[Karthik]

Sad news for sehwag fans.

 

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IPL 6 kicks off on April 3
Last updated on: April 2, 2013 08:10 IST

Cricket fever will reach its peak again next month when the sixth edition of the Indian Premier League kicks-off.

Seventy-six matches, spread all across the country, will see the leading international cricketers battle it out against each other in the Twenty20 format.

- Check out the IPL 2013 schedule

This year's IPL has a new team in Sunrisers Hyderabad, which was formed when SUN TV network took over Deccan Chargers after Board of Control for Cricket in India axed the franchise, after its owners failed to produce a Rs 100-crore bank guarantee before the Bombay high court, a condition that had been set for the struggling team's survival in the league.

The nine teams will also get their first taste of the two new venues this season -- the international cricket stadium in Raipur and the JSCA international stadium in Ranchi.

New additions, like Ricky Ponting, to the teams from this year's players' auction will add to the excitement and the hype. The former Australia batting ace and skipper was snapped up by Mumbai Indians and named as captain, while young Virat Kohli will lead Royal Challengers Bangalore.

A look at how the teams stand ahead of the tournament, which commences on April 3:

 

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Chennai Super Kings
Last updated on: April 2, 2013 08:10 IST

Chennai Super Kings is the most successful team in the IPL, having won the tournament twice, in 2010 and 2011, and finished runners-up as many times.

Led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who is on a high after leading India to a 4-0 rout of Australia in the just-concluded Test series, they go into the tournament with a relatively unchanged squad. India's latest cricketing sensation Ravindra Jadeja will be the one to watch out for among the men in yellow.

They also boast of other T20 specialists in Suresh Raina, who leads the tally for most runs in IPL, and the in-form Murali Vijay, who always enjoys playing T20s.

South Africa's Faf du Plessis and Australia's Michael Hussey are the other two batting stars, while the bowling also looks top notch with the likes of Ben Hilfenhaus, Dwayne Bravo, Albie Morkel, Dirk Nannes and Nuwan Kulasekara.

Without no doubt, the Super Kings start as favourites for the title this season too.

They signed up international players Nannes, Ben Laughlin, Jason Holder, Chris Morris and Akila Dananjaya at this year's auction, while also boosting their domestic pool by snapping five uncapped bowlers in UP's Imtiaz Ahmed and Ankit Rajpoot, Haryana's Mohit Sharma, Karnataka's Ronit More and Tamil Nadu's R Karthikeyan.

 

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Delhi Daredevils
Last updated on: April 2, 2013 08:10 IST

Delhi Daredevils will play under a new captain Mahela Jayawardene, Virender Sehwag having stepped down before the Champions League last year.

Originally, Delhi boasted of one of the most explosive batting line-ups in the league, featuring the likes of Mahela Jayawardene, Virender Sehwag and David Warner, but Kevin Pietersen and Jesse Ryder absence, due to injuries, will affect them badly.

The bowling line-up is also a good collection of experienced pace bowlers in Morne Morkel, Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar, Ashish Nehra, Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron.

Youngster Unmukt Chand will be the player to watch out for following his impressive performances at the domestic level for Delhi. He captained India to the Under-19 World Cup title last year and hit a match-winning century against Australia in the final last year.

 

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Kings XI Punjab
Last updated on: April 2, 2013 08:10 IST

Kings XI Punjab's hopes will be driven by their aged star players in captain Adam Gilchrist, batsman David Hussey and all-rounder Azhar Mahmood, who made a good impression last year.

Shaun Marsh has been one of the most consistent batsmen in the IPL and Punjab will be hoping his continues his love affair with India again this season. Praveen Kumar, who was dumped from the Indian team and also had a few disciplinary issues in domestic cricket, will be looking for a good showing with the ball to launch a comeback.

Paul Valthaty was a revelation with the bat a couple of seasons ago, but since then lost touch. He too will be keen to get among the runs times.

All eyes will be on Sandeep Sharma, India's star bowler at the Under-19 World Cup. Can he make a mark on the big stage?

Kings XI will also hoping Piyush Chawla clicks with his leg-spinners and power hitting down the order.