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NEWS Cricket World Cup 2007>Indian cricket oscillated between sublime and ludicrous in 2006 31st Dec 2006 19.27 IST By Manish Kumar The Indian cricket team oscillated between the sublime and ludicrous in the year 2006 which was glittered by remarkable Test victories but also saw a slump in ODI cricket. India's tale in one-dayers was all about experiments which failed to work. The team played 30 one-dayers in all, winning 13, losing 15 and two ending in no results.
India played won three, lost two and drew six out of a total of 11 Tests in the year 2006. The year did not start on an auspicious note for the Indians as they lost the three-Test series against archrivals Pakistan 1-0. The first Test at Lahore ended in draw but the highlight was a 410-run opening wicket partnership between Indian captain Rahul Dravid and Virender Shewag , who fell just four runs short of breaking the world record of Vinoo Mankad and Pankaj Roy, made against New Zealand in the Madras Test (1955-56). After the draw in the second Test in Faisalabad, India lost the third Test in Karachi by a whopping 341-run margin despite Irfan Pathan 's hat-trick in the very first over at the National Stadium and Yuvraj Singh 's 122. But India's indifferent batting in both the essays and poor bowling in the second innings cost India the series. But soon after, India thrashed Pakistan 4-1 to make some amends for the defeat in the Test series. India's next engagement was a series against England at home. The first Test at Nagpur ended in a thrilling draw when India chasing 368 for a win, ended on 260/6 with Wasim Jaffer hitting a 100 and Dravid 71. India won the second Test by nine wickets in Mohali but lost the third and final match in Mumbai by 212 runs as Andrew Flintoff making his debut as Test skipper, helped his side earn a creditable draw in the series. The Mumbai Test will also be remembered as the one in which Sachin Tendulkar was booed at his home ground after making a low score India then beat England 5-1 to restore some of their pride but as all good things come to an end, India's dream run was cut short in the West Indies where they lost the series 4-1. But the Indians also rewrote history when they won their first Test series in the Caribbean in 35 years Dravid leading a side sans an injured Tendulkar with great aplomb. India were denied a deserving win in the first Test at Antigua when the last West Indies pair Fidel Edwards and Corey Collymore held on to snatch a draw for the hosts. In the second Test, rain Gods and Brian Lara ensured India did not win again. The third Test at St. Kitts saw another draw with India, needing 392 for a win, ending on 298/4. But the Indians were not to be denied for long as they won the fourth and final Test at Jamaica by 49 runs, thanks to the heroics of leg-spinner Anil Kumble who took 6/78 in the second innings. India then played a short two-match series against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi, drawing it 1-1. Another ODI series played at a neutral venue Kuala Lumpur also brought little cheer for Indian fans as they saw their team failing to make it to the final of the tournament which Australia won defeating the West Indies. India's tour of Sri Lanka for a Tri-series, also involving South Africa , was lost to a bomb blast and rains as the players returned without playing even a single match. The team's poor form returned to haunt in the Champions Trophy which turned out to be a party without the hosts as India were ousted in the league stage itself. India drubbed England in the first match before going down to the West Indies and the eventual champions Australia . India were then blanked 4-0 in the ODI series against South Africa, the opening match of which was washed out by rains. The year 2006 will also be remembered for one of the greatest comebacks scripted ever in cricket history. Sourav Ganguly made a sensational comeback to the Indian Test team after nearly a year in wilderness for the tour of South Africa towards the end of the year. Ganguly's comeback coincided with India making history they won their first ever Test in South Africa to continue their good run of form in the longer version of the game. The Indians battled tough conditions to etch out a 123-run victory in the first Test at Johannesburg. But the Indians then ended the year on a sour note by losing the second Test by 174 runs in Durban. The major highlights of the year 2006 in Indian cricket were: Tendulkar became the first player to score 14,000 runs in One-Day Internationals. Tendulkar also became the most capped Indian Test player when he played his 132nd Test against England in Mumbai on March 18. He also became the most capped ODI player during the second match against South Africa at Durban on November 22, overtaking Inzamam-ul-Haq s mark of 370 appearances. India created a new record of consecutive successful run chases, beating West Indies erstwhile record of 14 successful chases in 1984-85 when they won the Kochi ODI against England in April to clinch the series with three more to go. India also won a Test series in West Indies after a gap of 35 years. India played their first Twenty20 international in South Africa, winning the match by seven wickets. Dravid became the sixth Indian player to play 100 Tests when he led the side against England in Mumbai on March 18. Kumble became the first Indian and the fifth bowler in the world to take 500 wickets when he claimed the wicket of Stephen Harmison in the second Test against England in Mohali. The leg spinner also became the 13th player to score 2000 Test runs and take 200 wickets. Also View In-Depth Coverage: Cricket World Cup 2007 Team Page: India Team Page: West Indies | LIVE CRICKET COVERAGE NEWS ~ Gilchrist has no plans to retire after World Cup ~ Ganguly's new batting approach may cost him sixer record ~ India 'squash the Orange' in World Cup warm-up game ~ Symonds gets a new hairdo for World Cup ~ Dhoni readies himself for stand-up act at World Cup (more in NEWS) FACE-TO-FACE ~ 500-mark a possibility in World Cup: Hayden ~ Minnows add charm to World Cup: Dravid (more in FACE-TO-FACE) COLUMNS ~ Will Sri Lanka replicate 1996 World Cup success? (more in COLUMNS) OFF-THE-FIELD ~ Ganguly again the darling of corporate world ~ Ganguly roped in as brand ambassador of Puma (more in OFF-THE-FIELD) PLAYERS Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble (more PLAYERS) TEAMS India, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, West Indies, Zimbabwe, England, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Kenya, Holland | 
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