$250,000 bonus for India

Rahul Dravid's triumphant Indians were on Tuesday rewarded with a 250,000-dollar bonus by the countrys cricket chiefs for a rare Test series win in England.
India won the three-match series 1-0 after the final Test ended in a draw at the Oval on Monday. The tourists had won the second Test at Trent Bridge after being saved by rain in the drawn first Test at Lords.
It was only the third series win by India in England following the 1-0 win by Ajit Wadekars team in 1971 and the 2-0 victory by Kapil Devs men in 1986.
Indian cricket board chief Sharad Pawar hailed the win and announced a bonus of 10 million rupees (250,000 dollars) for the 16 players, interim manager Chandu Borde and assistant coaches Robin Singh and Venkatesh Prasad.
I would like to congratulate the Indian contingent for their excellent teamwork and performance against England in the Test series, Pawar said in a cricket board statement.
I am sure every Indian will feel proud of our players, who have won a series in England after a gap of 21 years. I am sure a similar performance will be shown in the one-day series.
The seven-match one-day series starts at the Rose Bowl on August 21.
The series success was marred by widespread criticism of Dravids decision not to enforce the follow-on on the fourth day despite being 319 runs ahead, allowing England an escape route from defeat.
England, set an improbable victory target of 500, batted out the last 110 overs to make 369-6 in their second innings and force a draw, but still lost their first Test series at home since 2001.
Kapil, hailing the series win, wished India had enforced the follow-on and pressed for a 2-0 margin.

India win series 1-0 after draw in final test

Kevin Pietersen's 10th test century helped England survive for a draw in the third test at The Oval on Monday against India, who still claimed a rare series victory outside Asia 1-0.

England, set an unlikely 500 to win, reached 369 for six at the close with Matt Prior 12 not out and Ryan Sidebottom on three.

Pietersen scored a dashing 101 from 159 balls and Ian Bell made 67 from just 62 balls before getting out five overs from the end to set up a nervous finish for the hosts.

Shanthakumaran Sreesanth took three for 53, but India were unable to take the 10 wickets they required on the final day.

They became the first India team to win a test series in England for 21 years, emulating Kapil Dev's side in 1986.

It was India's fourth test series win on tour against major opposition in 21 years. They also won in Sri Lanka in 1993, Pakistan 2004 and West Indies in 2006.

India won the second test at Trent Bridge after the first at Lord's was drawn.

India's victory push at The Oval was set up by their first innings 664, their highest total against England, after winning the toss. Spinner Anil Kumble scored 110 not out for his maiden test hundred, which, surprisingly was India's only three-figure score in the three matches.

England replied with 345 before Rahul Dravid decided not to enforce the follow-on and instead India amassed 180 for six declared to take time out of the match and protect his team's series advantage. This may have cost his side a 2-0 victory.

PIETERSEN HIGHLIGHT

Pietersen's century, crafted in just over three and a half hours, was the highlight of the final day. Initially he tempered his aggressive instincts for the team cause, reaching his 50 off 108 balls, but registered three figures off 155.

He pulled Zaheer Khan to fine leg to go to 94, drove through extra cover for three to go to 97 and reached his century the following over with a flick off his hip for four through midwicket off Sreesanth.

Four balls later, though, he tried to force another boundary through cover off the back foot but managed only to edge to first slip.

During his innings he had a heated verbal exchange with the normally mild-mannered Kumble after the bowler collided with non-striker Pietersen trying to field off his own bowling. The umpire intervened and Dravid calmed his agitated bowler.

England began the day on 56 without loss. Opener Andrew Strauss was first out, caught at slip off Rudra Pratap Singh for 32 and his place for the Sri Lanka tour in November must now be at risk having not scored a test hundred since August 2006.

Alastair Cook (43), Michael Vaughan (42) and Paul Collingwood (40) also started well then got out.

Collingwood and Bell registered their 2,000th test runs, a day after Kumble passed Glenn McGrath to become the third-highest wicket-taker in test history.

The teams now play a seven-match one-day series starting on Aug. 21.

Sachin makes Atherton eat his words

Sachin Tendulkar’s impressive performances in the ongoing Test series against England has made Michael Atherton eat his words as the former cricketer has expressed ‘great admiration’ for the Indian, admitting he had matured to be ‘a very fine player now’.
‘Watching Tendulkar bat throughout this series has been a curious business; his decline at once obvious and yet, since that decline has been accompanied by two telling innings, there comes with it a greater admiration,’ Atherton wrote in a British newspaper Daily Telegraph .
‘’Decline’ is a relative term, of course. It is simply that Tendulkar is now a very fine player rather than a very great one,’ he said after the Indian scored 217 runs and also picked some crucial wickets in the three-match series.
Atherton had joined the intense debate started by former Australian captain Ian Chappell on whether Tendulkar should call it a day in the aftermath of his poor showing in the World Cup by writing a column in the paper under the headline ‘Sachin Tendulkar, now just a comic hero’.
Atherton had also doubted that if sponsorship deals were among the reasons that were keeping Tendulkar going in cricket.
‘The truth is that Tendulkar has been marketed as a brand for some time. There are many interested parties who are keen to see Tendulkar wearing India’s colours for a while yet...’
‘There are only two reasons for carry on playing: if you are good enough, and if you still love the game. Only Tendulkar knows whether that love is alive. Everyone else is painfully aware that, despite his new super-hero status, his powers are very much on the wane,’ Atherton had said.
With India all poised to clinch the win, Atherton, in his latest column, wrote: ‘India will take the spoils at the end of this match and the man who is (absurdly) criticised for not playing enough match-winning innings, has done as much as anyone to make it so.’
The former England batsman was impressed by Tendulkar’s clinical approach. ‘If Tendulkar was to fail in this series, it won’t be for a lack of thought, effort or preparation.
‘Look at how he has approached each innings and the minor adjustments he has made each time. Monty Panesar trapped him lbw at Lord’s, and thereafter Tendulkar played him with his bat, not pad