The nightmare has finally ended for Indian cricket with another drubbing in the fourth and final Test match at the Adelaide Oval. If those who care about Indian cricket do not wake up and do something about it then the nightmares will recur again and again.

Never before has an Indian team left for Australia with such high hopes. There were no controversies about selection, there was no complaint that the team was going there late and not having enough games to tune up for the Test matches. If anything even the most critical agreed that this Indian team had it in them to beat Australia for the first time in a series.

Virat Kohli was the only batsman to score a century in the series against Australia.

Australia were going through tough times with losses to South Africa and New Zealand, there were questions asked about some of its stalwarts and its pace attack was raw and inexperienced.

Everything pointed favourably towards India. Even after the first day's play in Melbourne, the game was balanced and hopes were high. Then as happened in England, the Australian tail resisted and put on more runs than they should and that bolstered the feeling in the Aussie camp. All eyes were on how the new look pace attack would fare against the rampaging Sehwag and the solid Gambhir.

Ever since he fell on the back of his head in the Test in England, Gambhir has not looked the same player. He has been tentative and unsure and stamina wise too has given the impression that he was tiring just a little too quickly. His early dismissal meant that Dravid had to come in to face the new ball and bowlers who were fresh and had tasted blood.

Despite what the popular belief is, all of Sehwag's big innings have come when he has spent a good ten overs or so without playing any extravagant shot. After that, all his expansive shots also come off. Unfortunately, he did not give himself the time to settle down and tried to live upto the reputation of being a dasher and came a cropper because this time the Australians had planned well and placed fielders in the right positions and more importantly, bowled in the space that restricts his arms.

People made excuses that he is the one who will hit the ball if it is there to be hit as if others don't. It is shot selection that is the key to run-making and if that means giving more deliveries respect, then so be it. By not giving respect, he lost his wicket time and again.

Dravid in the last year or so, had stopped his back foot movement and was stretching out on to the front foot often ending up playing deliveries wide off the stumps and in doing so, his back foot was on the fifth stump outside leg. That is the reason when he missed the ball there was no back foot to stop it from crashing onto the stumps. Mind you he had got over 1000 runs with that technique earlier on in the last year.

Tendulkar looked in good touch in the first two Tests but his getting out when he was well set seemed to have affected his confidence too and in the next two Tests, he was not moving as well as he had in the first two. For Laxman, like Sehwag, the legs are there mainly to support the upper torso but their hand-eye coordination is such that they don't need to get their feet towards the pitch of the ball, but when a bad patch is happening, then the lack of feet movement is a big handicap.

Kohli was the one who fought battles on various fronts. He first battled with his own belief about his ability at this level, then with the crowds and he was always battling with the opposition. Unfortunately, not many others were prepared to submit their egos and change their approach like the young man did.

The bowling depended on Zaheer to get the breakthroughs regularly. Yadav was the only one to get a 'fiver' but his inexperience meant that he sprayed the ball on both sides of the stumps and was thus expensive. Ishant flattered to deceive and Ashwin bowled well without looking as if he would run through the team and with no all-rounder worth the name India were struggling whenever there was a partnership.

The fielding was hardly of international standards with too many players needed to be hidden which will change only when young fresh legs get in the team.

The wakeup call is loud and clear. Let's hope the snooze button is not pressed like it was after the England tour. — PMG

Sydney, January 30
Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke feels a "team-first orientation of sustained pressure and sacrifice" led to his side's thumping triumph over India in the just-concluded Test series. Australia whitewashed India 4-0 with just one Test going the full distance of five days. Clarke said the performance was a result of intense preparations.

"There has been no magic formula for our sustained success against India. One simple word sums up the reason why we dominated a series against some of the best players in the world - preparation," Clarke wrote in his column for 'The Daily Telegraph'.

"...team-first orientation of sustained pressure and sacrifice is the foundation of great teams and if we can keep doing it, we will be a great team one day," said the batsman, who was declared man of the series for scoring 626 runs in the four matches.

Clarke said the Australian team trained in match conditions to harden itself up. "Our training has been unbelievable. We trained so hard I am not surprised we achieved such success given all the work we've put in. We're training like it's a game, always applying pressure. Our attitude to training has certainly improved out of sight," he said.

"So to be rewarded for all that effort by beating India 4-0 when they were the No.1 side in the world just a few months ago is something all the guys can be immensely proud of," he said.

Clarke lauded the new players in the side for contributing their bit to the success. “One of the most pleasing aspects of our performance has been the arrival of so many new players," he said. — PTI

Sydney, January 30
Unfazed by the Test debacle as he was not a part of the team, Indian middle-order batsman Suresh Raina today said his side will play some "different cricket" to give a better account of itself in the shorter formats starting with a Twenty20 match against Australia here on Wednesday.

India lost the Test series 0-4 but Raina said the squad for Twenty20s and ODI tri-series, also featuring Sri Lanka, will deliver better performances. "We won the ODI series here last time. We have also won the World Cup. We won other series too. It's the same set of players largely. You would see different cricket from India now," said Raina.

India's disappointing show in the Test series would have little effect on a largely young team in coloured clothing and Raina took pains to stress the point. "Test matches were different. I was not part of it but what I watched, Australians played better cricket. They executed their plans well, bowled well, bowled in good areas. Unfortunately, we didn't bat well in pair. Hopefully, we will do well in next series."

Raina's confidence stems from the fact that most of the youngsters, including himself, have prepared well for the forthcoming series. "The youngsters have done well in the last couple of months. So we hope for the best. There are a lot of youngsters who have come from India. They have played good first-class cricket and done very well at home. I played three to four domestic matches and got a double century," he said.

Raina believes the present tour would be useful for the youngsters as the next World Cup in 2015, is scheduled in Australia and New Zealand.

"We will play 2015 world cup in Australia and New Zealand and the same youngsters would benefit a great deal," Raina said.

Raina said Australia should watch out for the young Indians and not bloat on their Test success too much. "We would play good cricket against Australia and Sri Lanka. It would be good if we can keep our intensity up. The boys are motivated. Unfortunately, we didn't do well in Test but are passionate to do well in the forthcoming one-day series.

"Twenty20 would be lot different from Tests. We beat Australia in quarter-finals in the World Cup and also are world champions," he said.

Raina has scored 3250 runs from 134 ODI matches at 34.95 with three centuries. He has 583 runs from 22 Twenty20 matches at 32.39. The left-hander spelled out his preparations ahead of the present series. — PTI

Melbourne, January 30
Australia today dropped the out of form duo of Brad Haddin and Shaun Marsh from their 14-member cricket squad for the ODI tri-series against India and Sri Lanka starting on February 5.

Australia won the Test series against India 4-0 and both Marsh and Haddin struggled in it, leading to speculation that they could be dropped. Matthew Wade will replace Haddin behind the stumps but the latter could be called back in the later stages of the series.

"Brad Haddin has come off a heavy program of Test cricket - the workload for a wicketkeeper/batsman is rigorous and resting him for the start of the series will refresh him for the coming international commitments while also giving us a chance to look at Matt Wade at this level," said National Selector John Inverarity after announcing the squad.

Inverarity said the squad is a talented mix of proven performers and young players not yet experienced at the international level. The newcomers and relative newcomers in the squad also include batsman Peter Forrest, all-rounders Mitchell Marsh, ironically the younger brother of Shaun, and Dan Christian and pacer Clint McKay.

"We want a flying start to the Commonwealth Bank Series against India and Sri Lanka and as always, have selected a group we are confident can win while also keeping an eye on development for the future," Inverarity said.

"Peter Forrest, Mitchell Marsh, Matthew Wade, Dan Christian and Clint McKay are in form and will have a chance to either prove or further prove themselves on the international stage. We have not at this stage named a vice-captain for the first three games with Brad resting and Shane Watson still unavailable while he completes his recovery from injury, and will assess that position when the squad assembles," he added. — PTI

Sydney, January 30
Desperate to redeem pride in shorter formats after being embarrassed in the Test series, the Indian cricket team was today left frustrated by wet practice pitches at the ANZ Stadium - the venue of its first Twenty20 International against Australia on Wednesday.

The Indians, who were outplayed 0-4 in the Test series last week, were out at the venue early - the giant Stadium that came into being for the 2000 Sydney Olympics - and indulged in their routine round of football a bit longer in the hope that the harsh sun would dry out the wet practice pitches.

As luck would have it, sun was of no use and the practice turf remained wet, leaving the players with no choice but to knock the throwdowns around, without bothering to put on pads or gloves. "It's been very wet in Sydney. It rained last week and since the practice pitches are round in the corner and there is no proper sunlight - because of the extended roof of the stadium - they are damp," said curator Les Burdett.

"Hopefully, it would be better tomorrow as it is drying." Indians though are taking no chances and have decided to train at the Sydney Cricket Ground on the eve of the match tomorrow.

India's one-day batting star Suresh Raina appeared nonchalant and said the players already have had three days of solid nets in Adelaide while the final Test was on last week. "We didn't have proper nets but we had a good fielding session in the morning. Anyway, the solid practice sessions at Adelaide Oval have been very helpful," he said.

The one-day squad, which arrived in Adelaide on January 25, used the last three days of the Test to tune up for the Twenty20 and ODIs to be played over the next five weeks. — PTI

London, January 30
Arsenal staged a stunning comeback to reach the FA Cup fifth round as the Gunners recovered from two goals down to snatch a dramatic 3-2 win against Aston Villa on Sunday. Arsene Wenger's side were heading for a shock fourth round exit after first half goals from Richard Dunne and Darren Bent put Villa in control at the Emirates Stadium.

But, facing the unpalatable prospect of a fourth successive defeat, the Gunners finally silenced the frustrated jeers of the home fans with a sensational second half display. Three goals in seven minutes - two Robin van Persie penalties sandwiching a lucky strike from Theo Walcott - overwhelmed Villa and earned Arsenal a last 16 trip to Sunderland or Middlesbrough.

After a torrid start to the new year this was exactly the kind of spirited effort Wenger desperately needed to lift the gloom surrounding the north London club. Wenger had endured a torrent of abuse following his ill-fated decision to send on Andrey Arshavin for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain during last weekend's defeat against Manchester United.

Young winger Oxlade-Chamberlain was back in Wenger's starting line-up here, while the much-maligned Arshavin had to be content with a place on the bench. Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen went close to providing the ideal start when his ferocious free-kick was pushed over by Shay Given.

But after a cautious opening, Villa went ahead with a well-worked goal in the 33rd minute. Stiliyan Petrov played a short corner to Robbie Keane, who returned possession to the Bulgarian.

As Arsenal's defenders stood off, Petrov had time to clip a clever back-heel to Keane, who floated a teasing cross to the far post where Dunne rose above Laurent Koscielny to power his header past Lukasz Fabianski. Stephen Ireland almost gifted Arsenal an immediate equaliser with a ridiculously careless pass in his own penalty area. Aaron Ramsey intercepted but his shot was scrambed away for a corner.

Villa were going forward with real confidence now and extended their lead with a majestic move in first half stoppage-time. Gabriel Agbonlahor started the attack from deep in his own half and Petrov then switched play to the right wing, where Ireland slipped a sublime pass behind the Arsenal defence for Bent to chase. — AFP

Melbourne, January 30
Novak Djokovic tore off his shirt, flexed his sinewy muscles and roared in celebration, but for once the machismo was not misplaced. After nearly six hours of the most gruelling final in Grand Slam history, the strutting Serb had shown he was not only supremely fit and talented, but as tough as they come.

The lanky world number one with the soft-spike hair came on court early on Sunday evening, played into the night and finished in the small hours of Monday. Until the very last shot, blocking his way to the Australian Open title was the ferocious Rafael Nadal, the 10-time Grand Slam-winner with aggression to burn and a fearless competitive streak.

Djokovic's white shirt lasted just five games before he removed it in disgust on a steamy Melbourne evening and threw his racquet to the floor after being broken. It was to be just the first act in a long, long night of plot twists and momentum changes which started tamely but slowly built into an epic.

Along the way, Djokovic rolled his right foot, punched the air in triumph and collapsed flat on his back after a punishing, 31-shot rally. At the other end, Nadal treated the crowd to his full range of fist-pumps and Hispanic snarls as both players went for broke.

Rain fell, workers with towels mopped the court and the stadium roof was closed. At the end of it all, around 1:40 am, it was Djokovic embracing his coach in triumph while Nadal was left to reflect on his most valiant defeat. Even the great Rod Laver watching from the stands had seen nothing like it. — AFP 

Kolkata, January 30
Italy's 2006 World Cup-winning captain Fabio Cannavaro got the maximum bid after being sold to Siliguri franchise, as a galaxy of world footballers and coaches went under the hammer here today for the Premier League Soccer to be held next month.

The former Italian defender who retired last year following a serious knee problem was sold to the Siliguri franchise for $830,000, while attacking French midfielder Robert Pires too was bid intensely by five teams before being gone to Howrah for $800,000.

Former Argentina and Chelsea midfielder Hernan Crespo, who once held the world record in transfer fee, was expectedly the top draw in the auction with the highest base price of $840,000 but the former Lazio star had no bidders as Barasat clinched the deal.

Crespo's lawyer Gianluca Chibbaro, who was present at the auction, said the Argentine star was looking forward to play in PLS.

"He is very excited to come to India and play. We all are too much excited. This is going to be hugely successful," Chibbaro told PTI.

The remaining two franchises, Kolkata and Durgapur, zeroed in on former English and Liverpool star Robbie Fowler ($530,000) and Jay-Jay Okocha ($550,000) respectively.

Okocha went unsold as Durgapur had to settle for the Nigerian midfielder.

The auction began with the bidding of English football manager Peter Reid, with a base price of $175,000, generated much of interest before being sold to Kolkata for $200,000.

Nigerian Samson Siasia, who was the first to go under the hammer, along with Icelandic Teitur Thordarson were the biggest beneficiaries after being sold to Durgapur and Barasat for $210,000 each.

There was no taker for iconic Bolivian Marco Etcheverry as Siliguri settled for the former Aucas and Oriente Petrolero manager. — PTI