Exclusive Pics : Sachin Tendulkar at a Training Session in Hyderabad, Febraury 28,2013

The cricket teams of India and Australia arrived here amid tight security on Wednesday for the second Test to be played from March 2. The teams would started their practice on Thursday.

India won the opening Test in Chennai by eight wickets with skipper M S Dhoni scoring a historic 224.

Meanwhile, tight security arrangements are being put in place in the wake of the twin bomb blasts that rocked Hyderabad last week.

A team of officials from the BCCI and Cricket Australia has visited the stadium this week to look at the arrangements, particularly security.

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Would have traded 175-run knock for Indian win: Sachin Tendulkar

Senior batsman Sachin Tendulkar says he would have "gladly traded" his knock of 175 against Australia in 2009 for an Indian victory even though he "certainly" rates it as one of the very best in his glorious ODI career.

Chasing 351 runs in the fifth of the seven-match ODI series at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, Tendulkar fell awfully close to pulling off an unlikely win with an incredible innings.

"It was certainly one of my best innings, but I would have gladly traded those 175 runs for a victory," Tendulkar said about the match which India lost by three runs.

He scored those runs off 141 balls and smashed 19 fours and four sixes. Tendulkar completed 17,000 runs in ODIs during the course of that innings.

"It was one of those days when nothing seemed to be out of place. I was able to execute my strokes well. Our middle order failed, but Suresh Raina batted fluently. We had a good partnership of 137. Suresh was caught behind at 299 in the 43rd over.

"Harbhajan Singh fell soon after, to make it 300/6, but I believed we were very much in control. It was a question of hanging in there, running well and ensuring that bad balls were dealt with harshly," he said.

"We were only 19 away when I tried to lift (Clint) McKay over short fine-leg, only to be caught by (Nathan) Hauritz. It was a huge disappointment. The lower order tried hard, but more wickets fell, and we fell short by three runs," Tendulkar wrote in a piece for BCCI's official website.

Tendulkar mentioned about the comparisons made between that knock and his back-to-back hundreds against the same opponent in Sharjah back in 1998.

"I have been asked on a few occasions to compare the 175 with the back-to-back hundreds against the same team at Sharjah in 1998. I don't think a comparison can be made. The expectations were way higher at the final stages of the tri-series in Sharjah," he said.

"The Hyderabad hundred was scored in the middle of a bilateral series, and hence the circumstances were very different, physically and even mentally."

The pressure was certainly their on that November evening as well as the series was tied at 2-2 going into the fifth ODI.

"The seven-match series against Australia was even when we took the field for the crucial fifth game at Hyderabad. The winner would take a 3-2 lead, and the loser would be under tremendous pressure before the last two matches," Tendulkar said.

The stadium in Uppal, which was back then a newly-built one, came in for praise from Tendulkar.

"I had pleasant memories of the Lal Bahadur Stadium in Hyderabad. It was the venue where I had scored 186 against New Zealand in 1999-00. The new Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium has a much better facility. The ground was well-maintained, and the arrangements excellent for players and spectators," Tendulkar said.

"Of course, we weren't thinking about all that when Australia went on the offensive after winning the toss and electing to bat. Openers Shane Watson and Shaun Marsh put on 145 at a run a ball, and the middle order continued with the attack. When they finished with 350/4, not many gave us a chance," he said.

Tendulkar almost chased the target on his own but, with just 19 runs short, he got out and the rest choked, falling short by three runs with two balls still to go.

"One of the good things about chasing a big total is that there is no ambiguity regarding the strategy you have to adopt. We knew we had to go for it from the outset and play strokes. I felt that I wasn't timing the ball well, and went in for a change of bat. I shifted to a brand new willow, and that changed things," he said.

"Australia had a decent bowling line-up comprising four pacemen in Ben Hilftenhaus, Doug Bollinger, Clint McKay and Shane Watson. Nathan Hauritz was their main spinner, with the likes of Adam Voges chipping in with his left-arm spin. Mike Hussey also sent down a few overs that evening."

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Matthew Hayden feels a tiger resides inside a 'competitive little man' Sachin Tendulkar

A tiger resides inside the "little" frame of Sachin Tendulkar, feels former Australian batsman Matthew Hayden, who saw it when he started playing against the Indian veteran.

"I probably first heard Sachin's name in the early '90s. The one thing that always stuck in my mind about Sachin was that his size never ever matched his status," Hayden wrote in a book 'Sachin - Cricketer of the Century' by Vimal Kumar, which will hit the stands in the first week of March.

"He was an incredibly slight man for someone who was such a huge brand within the game. It wasn't until I really played against him that I understood that there was a tiger that lay within him: he was a very competitive little man," he said.

Hayden also recalled an interesting incident from the 2008 Test series in India.

"My favourite Sachin moment was at the Mohali Test where he broke the world record for the most number of Test runs. There was so much excitement around the ground that the fireworks actually stopped play for the better part of 20 minutes, whilst the smoke cleared away," he recalled.

Writing in the same book, former Australian coach John Buchanan compared Tendulkar with Australian great Ricky Ponting, who happened to be a contemporary of the Indian.

"Statistically, Tendulkar has a better record than Ricky Ponting. If Tendulkar is far more orthodox, far more classical and technical, Ricky is a little more unorthodox," he explained.

Buchanan, however, felt it was difficult to choose between Tendulkar and Ponting.

"Sachin definitely is a better player of spin bowling, more so on the challenging and spin-friendly wickets of the sub-continent," he said.

"I would have loved to see Ricky's domination over spinners in the same way as Sachin's, and vice versa, the Master's audacity on the front foot like the Tasmanian's against the best fast bowlers.

"Only if these two qualities were exchanged in their respective games could either of them have bettered Sir Bradman's Test average," he added.

Buchanan praised Tendulkar's mental toughness.

"Sachin has an exceptional ability to relax and can switch on and switch off with ease without any fuss. To get away from cricket and can come back recharged year after year for decades has been really marvellous. The Master has been the greatest exponents of doing that."

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If players like Sachin Tendulkar retire, Test cricket will die: Arjuna Ranatunga

Sri Lanka's World Cup-winning former captain Arjuna Ranatunga feels Test cricket would "die" if players like Sachin Tendulkar call it quits.

"If players like him (Tendulkar) don't play the longer version of the game, Test cricket will die. I pray to God he continues to play Test cricket. I was very happy to know he has retried from ODIs. For me Test is education and the shorter versions are entertainment," Ranatunga told PTI.

Ranatunga, who guided Sri Lanka to their first and only World Cup title in 1996, said Tendulkar still has a lot of cricket left in him.

Asked whether Sachin was on a comeback trail after scoring two centuries in domestic matches, Ranatunga said the Mumbaikar, despite being 39, is a much better player than some of the younger Indians.

"If he plays one good knock, I am sure he will play two-three years more without a problem," he said.

On to issues facing international cricket and Ranatunga came down heavily on the ICC, calling the sport's world governing body "toothless".

Instead of blaming the BCCI for the non-implementation of the controversial Decision Review System to avoid umpiring mistakes, Ranatunga turned his ire on the ICC.

"I am not blaming BCCI, but blaming ICC for not making DRS compulsory. They should not allow home countries to take decisions on the matter," he said on the sidelines of Sri Lanka Tourism promotion event here.

"They (the ICC) shout, but hardly bite. I have always said that they haven't changed. ICC should protect the game not individual countries on the DRS issue," he suggested.

Ranatunga said even if the Indian Board pushes the ICC into a corner, it should have the spine to take bold decisions and make it mandatory for all nations to use DRS.

"This system is the best thing that has happened to cricket in the last 20 years and I feel DRS should be adopted by all countries. We would have been better batsmen, bowlers and fielders if the DRS was there in our time," Ranatunga opined.

Ranatunga said Twenty20 has ruined cricket as it does not create technically sound players such as Sunil Gavaskar, Tendulkar, Gundappa Vishwanath, Mohammad Azharuddin or Dilip Vengsarkar.

"They are more concerned about playing the shorter version of the game, earning money, not playing for the country," he said.

"I still remember it was a great concern for us to get India out because they had quality batsmen like Rahul Dravid, Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly. Within four days we couldn't get them out.

"But now, we get to see a side folding up before lunch as it lacks technique. They are interested in hitting the ball rather than concentrating on technique," he argued.

On chances of India winning the ongoing four-match Test series against Australia, Ranatunga said the hosts' prospects are decent as the touring side is weak.

"Without technique you cannot survive in Test cricket. India have very good hitters but they need to concentrate on technique," he said.

"Technique of first six Indian top batsmen, barring few, is abysmal. Australia, on the other hand, is an inexperienced side," he said.

Asked about Mahendra Singh Dhoni's captaincy, Ranatunga said nobody should comment on his leadership because he is the only Indian who has won two World Cups.

"I think India should allow Dhoni to captain," he said.

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In Pics : Sachin Tendulkar Greets Teammates after India's Victory at Chepauk

India clinched the first cricket Test against Australia with a comfortable eight-wicket victory to take a 1-0 lead in the four-match series on Tuesday with their spinners taking all the 20 wickets for only the third time in their Test history.

The Indians took about 25 minutes in the morning to finally bring an end to the stubborn last wicket partnership between Moises Hendriques (81 not out) and Nathan Lyon (11) as Australia folded up for 241 in their second innings, leaving the hosts a small victory target of 50.

The hosts lost both their openers Murali Vijay (6) and Virender Sehwag (19) before overhauling the target with more than two full sessions to spare.

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In Pics : Sachin Tendulkar's 81 vs Australia, 1st Test Chepauk

Sachin Tendulkar took his run-aggregate at Chepauk to 957 at an average of 87.00 in ten Tests - the second highest tally at this venue, next only to Sunil Gavaskar's 1018 at an average of 59.88 in 12 Tests.
Tendulkar is averaging 95.75 against Australia at Chepauk - his aggregate being 383 in five innings (three Tests) - the sequence of scores being 4 & 155 not out in March 1998; 126 & 17 in March 2001 and 81 in February 2013.

Since posting 94 against the West Indies in the 2011-12 Mumbai Test, Tendulkar's 81 is his highest score in 19 innings.Tendulkar's aggregate of 3519 (ave.57.68) in 36 Tests against Australia is exceeded only by England's Jack Hobbs - 3636 (ave.54.26) in 41 Tests. Tendulkar's record against Australia in India is quite impressive - 1710 runs at an average of 63.33 in 16 Tests, including five hundreds and nine fifties.

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Exclusive Pics : Sachin Tendulkar at a Training Session in Chepauk, Feb 21,2013

The Indian team had their usual session at the Chepauk ground as the players went through their regular bump and grind routine.

Pacer Ishant Sharma slogged the most among the pace trio as he was seen bowling in one of the nets for the longest time.

Among the quartet of spinners, Ravindra Jadeja bowled the maximum while Ravichandran Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha also spent a fair bit of time bowling to the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Cheteshwar Pujara and  Virat Kohli.

Senior pro Harbhajan Singh also bowled for some time but didn't bowl as much compared to the other spinners.

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Exclusive Pics : Sachin Tendulkar at a Training Session in Chepauk, Feb 20,2013

The Indian team had their usual session at the Chepauk ground as the players went through their regular bump and grind routine.

Pacer Ishant Sharma slogged the most among the pace trio as he was seen bowling in one of the nets for the longest time.

Among the quartet of spinners, Ravindra Jadeja bowled the maximum while Ravichandran Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha also spent a fair bit of time bowling to the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Cheteshwar Pujara and  Virat Kohli.

Senior pro Harbhajan Singh also bowled for some time but didn't bowl as much compared to the other spinners.

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Exclusive Pics : Sachin Tendulkar Arrives in Chennai For 1st Test vs Aus

Indian players arrived here in Chennai on Tuesday for the first Test against Australia, which starts at MA Chidambaram Stadium on February 22.

The MS Dhoni-led side had a three-day preparatory camp in Bangalore and landed in the city from there. All 15 players focused on batting, bowling and fielding skills at the National Cricket Academy (NCA).

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Sachin Tendulkar will be really hungry to score runs : Ravi Shastri

Former India skipper Ravi Shastri is backing senior batsman Sachin Tendulkar to come good in the upcoming four-match Test series against Australia, starting in Chennai on February 22.

"He'll be hungry, he'll be really hungry. If Australia allow him to score in the first two Test matches this will be a very big series for Tendulkar," Shastri said.

"He will come out a little nervous, there will be nerves in the first couple of innings but if he gets a 50, 60 or 70 in one of the first two innings then this could be a big series for him," Shastri was quoted as saying by the 'Sydney Morning Herald'.

Tendulkar had last December retired from One-day International cricket to concentrate on Tests. Since then he scored two centuries in first-class cricket, including an unbeaten 140 against an attack, comprising Pragyan Ojha and Harbhajan Singh, who are both in contention to play in the first Test against the Aussies.

The batting great is without a century in his past 31 Test innings, spanning 17 matches and over two years, which also includes a poor outing in the last Test series at home against England.

But Shastri feels that Tendulkar is still the best bet in the Indian batting line-up.

"England bowled extremely well but I get the feeling the break he's had for a couple of months, he's gone back to the kind of preparation he's used to.

"I want him to be positive and not get into a defending kind of mode. He has to play his natural game, if he does that we're in for some entertainment," Shastri said.

India might have lost their last Test series Down Under 0-4, but Shastri felt the visitors could struggle in the sub-continent in the absence of quality spinners.

"I think you need two quality spinners to keep things tight and do the job," he said.

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Exclusive Pics : Sachin Tendulkar visits blind foundation in Bangalore

Just hours after a grueling training session with his India team-mates on Sunday, senior batsman Sachin Tendulkar spent time with members of a city-based blind foundation which requested him to play a charity match for it.

Soon after the end of the second day's training camp of the Indian team at Chinnaswamy Stadium, members of IDL Foundation and IDL Blind Band led by its founder and executive trustee P K Paul met Tendulkar and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Tendulkar and Dhoni spent some time with the blind members of the foundation and gave autographs.

During the meeting, Paul requested Tendulkar to play a farewell charity match for IDL Foundation.

"The world's best batsman should have got a fitting farewell which he missed after his abrupt decision to retire. We therefore requested him to either play his last comeback one-day game or participate in a farewell game for his foundation and fans," he said.

Tendulkar said he would think about it seriously and take a decision in this regard.(PTI)

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Exclusive Pics : Sachin Tendulkar at a Training Camp in Bangalore, Feb 17,2013

Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag were among those whose slogged out for batting practice, while off-spinner Harbhajan Singh had a lengthy bowling drill as the Indian team went for two grinding training sessions for the second successive day in Bangalore on Sunday.

Tailenders Ishant Sharma and Ashok Dinda also batted with remarkable seriousness at the nets at National Cricket Academy here facing out-of-system young bowlers. The duo batted for 45 minutes in turns apparently reflecting Indian team's earnestness to help the tailenders improve their batting.

Harbhajan, who could play in his 100th Test in the series against his favourite opposition side, spent considerable time bowling at the top order batsmen at the Chinnaswany Stadium ground.

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Exclusive Pics : Sachin Tendulkar at a Training Camp in Bangalore, Feb 16,2013

The Indian team on Saturday began their three-day training camp ahead of their Test series against Australia starting next week with a three hour-long practice session here, with senior batsman Sachin Tendulkar returning in the mix after his retirement from ODI cricket.

Tendulkar, who struggled against England in the recent home Test series, batted along with Virat Kohli for 45 minutes on the centre pitch at Chinnaswamy Stadium, facing Ashok Dinda, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Pragyan Ojha and R Ashwin.

Joining the Indian squad after a two-month gap, Tendulkar did not try anything unusual and paid attention to the basics. He played his shots and defended according to the merit of the balls.

Overall, Tendulkar appeared relaxed without asking any bowler to bowl to a particular line and length, probably feeling confident after scoring two hundreds in the recently-concluded Ranji Trophy season.

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