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MatériaMais Notícias

Com a venda do volante Jaílson para o Fenerbahçe (TUR) e a saída do centroavante Hernane Brocador rumo ao Sport, o Grêmio realizou o preenchimento dessas duas vagas em aberto na lista da Libertadores com os jovens Jean Pyerre e Matheus Henrique.

Ambos os atletas são crias das categorias de base do Tricolor Gaúcho e constantemente ganham oportunidades principalmente quando a equipe opta por poupar titulares visando jogos de competições eliminatórias.

Como, por exemplo, deve ocorrer nesse sábado (15) quando os comandados de Renato Portaluppi recebe o Paraná na Arena do Grêmio a beira do primeiro jogo nas quartas de final da Liberta contra o Atlético Tucumán na Argentina para acontecer na próxima terça-feira (18).

O nome de Jean Pyerre, aliás, ganha força até mesmo pensando no 11 inicial da terça, já que os dois centroavantes do elenco (André e Jael) estão fora de combate por problemas de lesão.

Esse fato somado aos bons minutos que o garoto de 20 anos de idade desempenhou no GreNal 417 tem colocado em pauta a possibilidade de Jean entrar na função que seria de Luan com o camisa 7 passando ao papel de homem centralizado no ataque e Everton completando o trio ofensivo.

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The Duleep Trophy has been, and largely still is, a showcase of the country’s best domestic talent

Abhishek Purohit in Indore11-Feb-2012

For a tournament that comprises four games between five entities called ‘zones’, making them assemble teams that are together for barely three weeks, the Duleep Trophy still attracts its share of attention. It is perceived by some as having become irrelevant in a packed domestic season; others say it is still the gold standard for domestic cricket. It is the only tournament in which the Kookaburra ball is used, as opposed to the SG which is the norm in India.One thing is clear though. The Duleep Trophy has been, and largely still is, a showcase of the country’s best domestic talent. The finalists this time, Central Zone and East Zone, have their share of fringe India players like Wriddhiman Saha and Piyush Chawla, and past stars like Mohammad Kaif.They have the first-class season’s top three wicket-takers – Ashok Dinda, TP Sudhindra and Pankaj Singh. They have the top two run-getters – Robin Bist and Vineet Saxena. A couple of national selectors are expected to watch the game.This is the final chance for Test hopefuls to get noticed before the season descends into a spate of state one-dayers, zonal one-dayers, state Twenty20s … all climaxing into the clutter of the IPL.Both sides are banking on their fast bowlers, with the grassy Indore pitch looking a complete contrast to the lifeless strip that made for a sleepy Ranji Trophy final in Chennai last month. Chawla, the Central Zone captain, remarked on how green the surface appeared – an unusual sight in India, except when a desperate home team dishes out green tops in search of an outright win.Indications were that the grass would stay tomorrow. It did for the Ranji quarter-final between Madhya Pradesh and Mumbai in January. The visitors saw the grass, the overcast conditions and the cold weather, and chose to bowl. Fifteen wickets fell on the first day, two on the second, six on the third, and one on the fourth. Mukesh Sahni, the MP coach, had said then that despite all the green cover, the pitch tends to ease out on the second day, and becomes good for batting. The surface was looking dry beneath the grass, with the afternoon sun beating down hard.Samundar Singh Chauhan, the curator, said that the pitch for this game had more live grass compared to the one for the Ranji quarter-final. Seemingly, Central – who have several MP players for whom this is a home ground – would bowl if they won the toss.Chawla said that this being a five-day game, sides always had a chance to come back even if they did poorly in the first innings. A five-day game also leaves a side with a huge disadvantage if one of the bowlers gets injured, which is why Central were worried about the fitness of Pankaj.The fast bowler was feeling stiffness in his shoulder, though he practised without any visible discomfort. Chawla said Pankaj had a 70% chance of playing; Rituraj Singh will take his Rajasthan team-mate’s place if Pankaj is ruled out tomorrow morning.East were also hit by an injury to one of their fast bowlers. Debashish Mohanty, the East coach, said that Abu Nechim had been ruled out. One of Bengal’s Shami Ahmed or Tripura’s Rana Dutta will replace Nechim.Mohanty was understandably confident about his side’s chances, with East having beaten West outright by five wickets in the quarter-final and then North on the first-innings lead in the semi-finals.East have historically been the weakest side in the Duleep Trophy and are the only zone never to have won the tournament. Of the four other zones, Central have won the least number of times. Both sides would feel this is their best chance.

Aizaz Cheema, the Pakistan fast bowler, has said Pakistan will have the advantage of being more used to conditions similar to those in the UAE when they take on England there later this month

Umar Farooq05-Jan-2012Aizaz Cheema, the Pakistan fast bowler, has said Pakistan will have the advantage of being more used to conditions similar to those in the UAE when they take on England there later this month. The pitches in Dubai and Abu Dhabi are generally slow and batsman-friendly but Cheema said they were not too different from those in Pakistan and therefore he was confident of taking wickets on them.”Through my life I have played on similar pitches and I earned my place in the national side with the wickets I took on them,” Cheema said after the second day of Pakistan’s training camp in Lahore. “The conditions won’t make a difference to me. I have pace but the main thing is being disciplined in my bowling. If I hit the right line and length it will be a problem for any batsman.”I will try not to give runs in any spell I bowl and will try to take wickets. Our experience of the conditions is more than theirs because there is not much difference in the tracks in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates.”Cheema only played in one of the Tests during the three-Test series against Sri Lanka in the UAE last year, with Pakistan picking two spinners for the matches in Dubai and Sharjah. He will face further competition for his place this series with Wahab Riaz, the left-arm quick, returning to the squad. Cheema has impressed since earning his Test cap days before his 32nd birthday. He picked up eight wickets on debut in Zimbabwe and nine over the two Tests in Bangladesh in December last year, and has hit speeds up to 145kph. He recognised, however, that the England batting line-up was filled with quality players and that the series against the World No. 1 Test side would be a stiff challenge.”I can’t pick one name from the England line-up whom I am targeting because on the whole the England side is a quality side. I will try to dismiss whoever comes in.”Pakistan went through 2011 without losing a Test series, and go into this series after beating Zimbabwe away, Sri Lanka in the UAE and Bangladesh away. Cheema said they had not allowed themselves to become complacent, and he and some of the other players had started training just two days after returning from the tour of Bangladesh. “We are doing extensive hard work. Many of us started training just two days after we came back from Bangladesh. The camp in Lahore is helping us keep our rhythm and avoid becoming complacent.”Pakistan have recalled Umar Akmal for the three-Test series against England after leaving him out of the Tests against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Umar continued to do well in the limited-overs formats but after repeated failures in Tests, the selectors suggested he go back to domestic cricket and learn how to play long innings. Mohsin Khan, the chief selector and interim coach, said Umar needed to “stop being selfish”, and convert starts into important knocks. Umar, who averaged 71.00 in the six innings he played in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Division Two, said he would not stop playing his shots but would try to do a job for his team at the No. 6 position.”I have played at No. 6 throughout my career, and I enjoy playing under pressure. When you take the team out of a pressure situation, only then can you be called a player for your country.”Nobody is stopping me from playing my shots but I am trying to play according to the situation and I feel there’s a lot of improvement in my batting.”Umar will find it hard to displace Asad Shafiq from the XI after Shafiq scored a century in Chittagong, but if given a chance said he would concentrate on contributing to the team’s cause rather than looking for big scores.”I will try to give 100%. At the number at which I am playing it’s rare to score big totals. You usually get around 50, 60, 70; whatever I can contribute to the total is an achievement for me. When I get promoted up the order, only then can I try to score hundreds.”The first Test between Pakistan and England starts January 17 in Abu Dhabi.

نجح الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي سموحة، في تحقيق فوز ثمين على نظيره إنبي، اليوم الأحد، ضمن منافسات بطولة الدوري المصري الممتاز.

والتقى الفريقان على أرضية ملعب استاد “بتروسبورت” في إطار مواجهات الجولة السادسة عشر من عمر المسابقة المحلية.

وتعد مباراة سموحة اليوم هي الأولى تحت قيادة المدير الفني أحمد سامي، الذي تولى منصبه بعد توجيه الشكر لـ طارق العشري.

طالع أيضًا | سموحة يُعلن ضم لاعب جديد من الأهلي على سبيل الإعارة

وسجل محمود شبانة الهدف الأول لسموحة بعد مراوغة من حسين فيصل لمدافع إنبي من الجبهة اليسرى داخل منطقة الجزاء، ثم أرسل عرضية وصلت لـ شبانة ليضعها برأسه في الشباك بالدقيقة 25.

وعزز الفريق السكندري تقدمه في الدقيقة 55، بعد عرضية أرضية من حسام حسن، وصلت لـ أحمد مصطفى الذي وضعها في الشباك من لمسة واحدة.

بهذه النتيجة، يصل سموحة للنقطة 19 ويرتقي للمركز العاشر في جدول ترتيب الدوري المصري الممتاز، فيما يتوقف رصيد إنبي عند النقطة 13 بالمركز الرابع عشر. أهداف مباراة سموحة وإنبي في الدوري المصري

MatériaMais Notícias

O Flamengo foi ao Monumental de Nuñez, nesta quarta-feira, enfrentar o River Plate-ARG com a chance de assumir a liderança do Grupo 4 da Libertadores, mas não fez por onde. Precisando vencer, o Rubro-Negro teve uma postura cautelosa e o duelo e Buenos Aires terminou sem gols. O 0 a 0 foi melhor para os argentinos, que dominaram a partida e terminam a chave no primeiro lugar.

Assim, o clube da Gávea estará no Pote 2 do sorteio a ser realizado para definir os confrontos das oitavas de final e enfrentará o líder de alguma das chaves.

RIVER ENCURRALA UM FLAMENGO ‘MANCO’

Sem Diego, Barbieri optou por Jean Lucas, fortalecendo o meio de campo e deslocando Everton Ribeiro para o lado direito. O início do jogo foi equilibrado, mas o River impôs o ritmo e, a partir do 20 minutos, encurralou o Fla na defesa.

A culpa não foi do garoto Jean Lucas, que mostrou intensidade na marcação. Mas, com Everton Ribeiro entregue à função defensiva, o time ficou “manco”, indo ao ataque em arrancadas de Vini Jr, que esteveà vontade no Monumental.

O River Plate rondou perigosamente à área adversária, mas as finalizações de Scocco e Lucas Pratto foram fracas, fáceis para Diego Alves. As atuações de Léo Duarte e Rhodolfo também contribuíram para o placar seguir zerado.

O Rubro-Negro ainda teve a melhor chance antes do intervalo. O cruzamento de Rodinei cruzou a pequena área. Só faltou um pé para desviar para o gol.

RUBRO-NEGRO COM O “FREIO DE MÃO” PUXADO
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Com a vaga garantida na próxima fase, o Flamengo tinha pouco a perder. Mesmo assim, a postura do time seguiu a mesma na volta do intervalo. Enquanto isso, o River foi crescendo e perdendo chances. O Rubro-Negro só voltou a ameaçar aos 24, com chute de Henrique Dourado por cima do gol. Foi a primeira participação efetiva do camisa 19.

Com o passar dos minutos, o River Plate diminuiu o ritmo. O perigo só surgiu quando Diego Alves dominou mal uma bola recuada. O camisa 1 se redimiu defendendo a finalização forte de Scocco. Na sequência, Rhodolfo limpou.

SUBSTITUIÇÕES VÊM TARDE DEMAIS
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Mesmo com esse cenário, o Fla só mexeu depois dos 35: as entradas de Jonas e Lincoln, como era de se esperar, pouco mudaram o jogo – para não dizer em nada. Depois, Marlos substituiu Vini Jr. Quem chegou perto de abrir o placar foi Borré, mas a bola explodiu no travessão. Ficou barato para o Rubro-Negro.

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FICHA TÉCNICA
RIVER PLATE 0 X 0 FLAMENGO

Estádio: Monumental de Nuñez, em Buenos Aires (ARG)
Data-hora: 23/5/2018, às 21h45
Árbitro: Andrés Cunha (URU)
Renda/Público: Não divulgado
Cartão amarelo:Ignácio Fernández, Ponzio, Enzo Pérez e Maidana (RIV); Lucas Paquetá e Jean Lucas (FLA)
Cartão vermelho: Não houve.
GOLS: Não houve.

RIVER PLATE:Armani; Montiel, Maidana, Pinola e Saracchi; Ponzio, Enzo Pérez, Palacios (Rojas, 32’/2ºT) e Ignácio Fernández; Scocco (Mora, 38’/2ºT) e Lucas Pratto (Borré, 32’/2ºT) – T: Marcelo Gallardo

FLAMENGO: Diego Alves; Rodinei, Réver, Léo Duarte e Renê; Cuéllar, Jean Lucas (Jonas, 36’/2ºT), Lucas Paquetá e Everton Ribeiro; Vinicius Júnior (Marlos Moreno, 42’/2ºT) e Henrique Dourado (Lincoln, 36’/2ºT)- T: Maurício Souza

يلتقي فريق برشلونة، مساء اليوم الأربعاء، مع خصمه فريق إنتر سيتي في بطولة كأس ملك إسبانيا.

ويستضيف ملعب “انتونيو سولانا” مباراة الفريقين في إطار منافسات دور الـ32 من كأس ملك إسبانيا، موسم 2022/23.

ويلعب فريق إنتر سيتي في الدوري الإسباني الدرجة الثالثة. موعد مباراة برشلونة وإنتر سيتي

من المقرر أن تنطلق المباراة في تمام الساعة العاشرة مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة، الحادية عشر بتوقيت السعودية. القناة الناقلة لمباراة برشلونة وإنتر سيتي

تُذاع المباراة عبر قناة SSC1 HD.

يمكنكم مطالعة مواعيد ونتائج جميع المباريات لحظة بلحظة من مركز المباريات من هنا.

رفض المدير الفني لمنتخب الأرجنتين، ليونيل سكالوني، النظر لمواجهة فرنسا على أنها ستكون بين مبابي وميسي، في نهائي كأس العالم قطر 2022.

الأرجنتين ستواجه فرنسا في نهائي كأس العالم قطر 2022، غدًا الأحد، على ملعب لوسيل بالعاصمة القطرية الدوحة، في الخامسة مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة.

ليونيل سكالوني مدرب الأرجنتين أكد في المؤتمر الصحفي الخاص بالمباراة: “مواجهة الغد لن تكون فردية بين ميسي ومبابي، كلانا لديه الأسلحة اللازمة حتى يمكن للاعبين الآخرين تحديد اللعبة، وليس الاثنان فقط، ليو بخير ونأمل أن يقودنا للقب”.

وأضاف: “فرنسا ليست مبابي فقط، هو لاعب جيد للغاية، ولكن لدى فرنسا العديد من اللاعبين الآخرين الذين يقدمون أداء أفضل، هو لا يزال شابًا ويتحسن كل يوم، لا شك في خطورته، لكنها ستكون مباراة جماعية”.

وواصل: “أنا فخور ومتحمس للغاية باللحظة التي نعيشها، هذه لحظة جميلة للاستمتاع، الهدف هو أن نستمر في تقديم أداء جيد قناعتي الدائمة هي أننا كلما استمتعنا بالأجواء كلما قدمنا أفضل مستوى لنا”.

وأكمل: “هذه اللحظات سوف يسجلها التاريخ، نحن نعيش أوقاتًا رائعة وفي أفضل حالاتنا، نيكو وكوريا ومارتينيز ودومينجيز وكذلك لوسيلسو، لا أريد نسيان أي لاعب، لكن لمن دواعي فخرنا أنهم يريدون أن يكونوا معنا لأنهم لم يتمكنوا من المشاركة. الكل في الأرجنتين على قلب رجل واحد الآن”.

وعن حكم المباراة: “مارشينياك كان جيدًا في مواجهتنا أمام أستراليا، ولا أعتقد أن الحكم يمكن أن يؤذي أي فريق، علينا السماح له بأداء وظيفته وننتظر منه أفضل أداء”.

طالع أيضًا | إيمليانو مارتينز: صدمة السعودية قادتنا إلى النهائي.. وميسي يقدم كل شيء مع الأرجنتين

وأردف: “إذا كانت آخر مباراة لـ ليونيل ميسي علينا أن نفوز بالكأس، وسيكون ذلك رائعًا بالنسبة له، وأفضل سيناريو في نهائي كأس العالم، لكن دعونا نرى ما سيحدث بعد ذلك”.

وشدد: “لدينا أفضل مشجعين في العالم، هم بحاجة إلى الفرح، تصلنا صورهم وانفعالاتهم وعواطفهم الجامحة، لأن كرة القدم في الأرجنتين أكثر من مجرد رياضة، نحن بشر وكون الناس سعداء في كأس العالم فهو أمر رائع بالنسبة لنا”.

وعاد بالحديث عن فرنسا: “نحن مستعدون لكل شيء، لديهم متغيّرات في طريقة اللعب، مدربهم بطل العالم في النسخة الأخيرة.لقد قمت بعملي، ويمكنني أن أخطئ وأن أصيب، وهذا ما حدث على مدار البطولة”.

واختتم: “منتخب الأرجنتين جاهز لنهائي كأس العالم، وعلى الجماهير أن تكون على ثقة تامة من ذلك، نحن سنقدم كل شيء من أجل العودة إلى الوطن بالكأس”.

أعرب كاليدو كوليبالي مدافع منتخب السنغال عن أسفه الشديد بعد الخسارة القاسية التي تلقوها أمام إنجلترا اليوم بثلاثة أهداف نظيفة وتوديع كأس العالم قطر 2022.

وودع منتخب السنغال المونديال من دور الـ16 بعد هزيمته من إنجلترا بثلاثة أهداف سجلها كل من جوردان هندرسون وهاري كين وبوكايو ساكا، بينما تأهلت إنجلترا لمواجهة السنغال في ربع النهائي.

طالع أيضًا.. فودين يكرر إنجاز الظاهرة رونالدو في مباراة إنجلترا والسنغال

وقال كاليدو كوليبالي خلال مقابلة على قناة “الكاس” بعد اللقاء: “لقد كانت مباراة صعبة ضد فريق كبير، ونحن ندرك أن إنجلترا مرشحة للفوز بالمونديال، ونأسف لأننا استقبلنا 3 أهداف، لكنها كلها جاءت من هجمات مرتدة”.

وأضاف: “لقد أعطينا صورة جيدة لبلدنا ونأسف لهذه الهزيمة، لأننا قمنا بأشياء جميلة، وعمومًا سوف نكبر مع الوقت ونتعلم من أخطائنا، وأتمنى أن نكون هنا في غضون 4 سنوات”.

وتابع: “فخور بأن أكون قائد هذا الفريق، ولا يمكن أن أنتقد باقي الأعضاء، قاوموا منذ البداية وأعطوا كل ما في وسعهم، ونأسف لأن المشوار انتهى اليوم، وأعود وأشكر الجمهور لأنهم دعمونا حتى النهاية على الرغم من تلقينا 3 أهداف”.

واختتم: “كل ما قمنا به من أجل المشجعين ونأسف لهذه النتيجة ولكن سنتحسن، على الرغم من خيبة الأمل هذه”.

Sunderland sporting director Kristjaan Speakman is poised to endure a busy summer of work at the Stadium of Light at the end of the season.

Irrespective of what division the Black Cats are competing in next term, he will be tasked with putting together a squad for Alex Neil to work with – either to stay in the Championship or fight for promotion out of League One.

Speakman will also need to keep hold of the club’s talented young players to give Neil a pool of academy prospects to nurture with a view to them making their way through to the first team in the future.

One such gem who they are in danger of losing is 14-year-old Chris Rigg as Newcastle and Everton are reportedly keen on a deal for him this summer.

Rigg is already playing for the U18’s at the age of 14 and Sunderland are said to want £1m from any interested parties.

They must now avoid repeating the brutal disasterclass they endured when they sold teenager Joe Hugill to Manchester United for £300k. The striker has since been compared to England captain Harry Kane and is progressing through the ranks at Old Trafford.

Sky Sports News reporter James Cooper said this about the youngster: “Joe Hugill’s progress has come as a pleasant surprise to the coaching staff at Manchester United who recognised his potential when they brought him in from Sunderland.

“But the speed of that progress has exceeded expectations, bearing in mind he’s only been at the club for three months.

“Hugill was part of a recruitment drive that has seen some of Europe’s best young talent arrive at Manchester United in recent weeks to not only bolster the club’s Academy but also provide Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with more options further down the line.”

These quotes and the comparisons to Kane suggest that Sunderland dropped a clanger by allowing him to leave for £300k.

Speakman must now ensure that they do not repeat that mistake with Rigg. He cannot allow the talented youngster to leave the Stadium of Light and must do everything in his power to convince the teenager that staying at the club is the best option for him.

Sunderland fans do not want to be sat on their sofas in six years watching Rigg dominating in the Premier League and wondering how they only got £1m for him in 2022.

AND in other news, Fewer touches than Patterson: £2.7k-p/w SAFC gem with 87.5% duels lost flopped…

A day ahead of the India-New Zealand Test, Ahmedabad is more concerned about Diwali than the cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Nov-2010Match FactsThursday, November 4
Start time 09.30 (04.00 GMT)
India will look to consistency from Sreesanth and Ishant Sharma•Associated PressThe Big PictureThe only buzz in Ahmedabad is about the Diwali, the festival of light and sound. The odd cracker goes off at night, the shopping malls are packed, as are the ‘soda shops’ with thirsty people waiting for their spouses to finish shopping. In this atmosphere of joy, temptation, greed, commerce and bonhomie, cricket seems a trivial affair but here we are with an India v New Zealand contest.The knee-jerk prediction for this series would have evoked memories of former BCCI secretary Jaywant Lele’s 0-3 prediction ahead of an Indian tour Down Under, obviously in reverse. Yet Indians have rarely bossed their opposition like that, even at home. The last time was in 1992-93, when a poor English side was tormented by Anil Kumble & Co. The image of that series was of Richard Blakey being harassed and hustled by Kumble.India have rarely been that dominant since. The designer dustbowl pitches have been replaced by largely batting-friendly surfaces, the visiting batsmen have grown more adept at playing spin and the playing field has become relatively level. Even Zimbabwe were no pushovers when Andy Flower was in full bloom. So the general feeling that New Zealand will surrender tamely might be an erroneous assumption – and dangerous for India.It’s difficult to see New Zealand take 20 Indian wickets; it’s difficult to see them bat well in the second innings on turning tracks, and it’s difficult to see them consistently maintain pressure with bat or ball over sessions but it’s not difficult to see them bat well in the first innings in good batting conditions.Mark Richardson, that masterfully dour former New Zealand opener, recently wrote that the line-up per se – Watling, McCullum, Guptill, Taylor, Ryder, Williamson, Vettori – gives him confidence but not its achievements; barring Vettori and the untested Williamson, the players have failed to deliver on their potential. They could do worse than acquiring some of Richardson’s patience.India are in a unique stage in their cricketing history in that their fans are looking ahead to the overseas series against South Africa rather than what’s playing now. It almost feels like the Australians and English, who obsess about the Ashes and treat anything in between as practice. Nevertheless, India have some issues to deal with. A couple of things stand out: Gautam Gambhir and Rahul Dravid getting some big runs, and Ishant Sharma and Sreesanth showing some consistency.Form guide(most recent first)
India :WWWDL
New Zealand: LLWDLWatch out for…Jesse Ryder and Brendon McCullum need to up their game•AFPJesse Ryder was New Zealand’s best batsman when they last played India. For a man who is waging an inner battle to keep his head in control off the field, he showed a remarkably cool head in the middle. He batted almost as if in a trance and what especially stood out was how little he deviated from his game plan. The footwork was minimal but very precise, the shot-selections were awesome and his patience supreme. Can he perform an encore?Pragyan Ojha is not a headliner but he might be the one who troubles New Zealand most. Harbhajan Singh has been afflicted with injuries since his fine performance against South Africa in Calcutta in February this year and hasn’t turned in match-winning spells since. Considering how New Zealand struggled against the Bangladeshi left-arm spinners – Ojha is of course no equal to the vastly accomplished Shakib Al Hasan – Ojha might strangle them with his accurate spin.Pitch and conditionsNo one can predict this Motera track. The last two Tests have been chalk and cheese: South Africa crushed India for 76 in April 2008 while Sri Lanka amassed 760 in the next Test in 2009. Ten Indian wickets fell in 20 overs in the first Test while 21 fell over five days in the next. And there could be more strange behaviour in store for us this time around: an unprecedented cloudburst early in August flooded the stadium and it took three days to drain out the water. This will be the first big game after that. The curator reckoned that there would be help for seamers on the first day.TeamsNew Zealand (probable): 1 Tim McIntosh, 2 Brendon McCullum, 3 BJ Watling, 4 Ross Taylor,5 Jesse Ryder, 6 Kane Williamson, 7 Daniel Vettori (capt), 8 Gareth Hopkins (wk), 9 Tim Southee, 10 Hamish/Bennett/Andy McKay, 11 Chris MartinIndia (probable): 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 VVS Laxman, 6 Suresh Raina, 7 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Ishant Sharma, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Pragyan OjhaStats and trivia Vettori needs 38 runs to become the third allrounder after Kapil Dev and Ian Botham to have 4000 runs and 300 wickets If Dravid takes a catch of Harbhajan’s bowling, it would be the 50th time the pair have been involved in a dismissal. They would become the fourth pair in Tests to do so: Muralitharan-Jayawardene (77), Kumble-Dravid (55) and Warne-Taylor (51). Dravid needs two more catches to become the first player to hold 200 catches in Tests. Sachin Tendulkar needs one more hundred to make it 50. If he hits two fifties in this series it will be his 13th against New Zealand and with it, he will join Javed Miandad who has scored the most 50s against New Zealand. Vettori is set to become the second player after Stephen Fleming to play 100 Tests for New Zealand.Quotes”More than fast bowling support to Zaheer, I am concerned about injuries. Not one series we have been able to play our full strength team.”

“I think we are trying to improve our Test match ranking, trying to get better as a team and if you start off with a mindset of draws being acceptable, then it gets difficult. I want to go out there wanting to win and we will take it from there.”