INDIA: CRICKET - India's cricket team arrive home from New Zealand after test series win

Record ID: 1374233

  • Title: INDIA: CRICKET - India's cricket team arrive home from New Zealand after test series win
  • Date: 10th April 2009
  • Summary: NEW DELHI, INDIA (APRIL 9, 2009) (ANI) ***NIGHTSHOTS*** EXTERIOR OF AIRPORT BOARD READING INDIRA GANDHI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
  • Embargoed: 25th April 2009 09:36
  • Keywords:
  • Location: India
  • Country: India
  • Topics: Sport
  • Reuters ID: LVAEF81URR4ZOPMG112E5KF75WD4
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text: India's cricket team arrives home from New Zealand after winning their third successive test series.
    The triumphant Indian cricket team received a warm welcome on Thursday (April 9) on their return from New Zealand after their 1-0 test series victory.
    India first test series win on New Zealand soil in 41 years came on Tuesday (April 7) when rain prematurely ended the third test in Wellington with India on the brink of victory. Despite the draw, a ten-wicket win in the first test and another draw in the second gave India their series triumph.
    Fans waited outside the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi for a glimpse of the some of the players who included opener Virender Sehwag, recently named as the international player of the year by the annual Wisden cricket almanac.
    Other members of the team, including batsman Sachin Tendulkar, arrived at the Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport in India's western Mumbai.
    "We are happy about everything. After 41 years, it's a good achievement for the team. And the team supports us so I am really happy," said Tendulkar.
    India's third successive test series victory since defeating top-ranked Australia in November has triggered a debate in the cricket-mad nation as to whether the team is the country's best yet.
    India's test and 3-1 one-day international triumph over New Zealand capped a spectacular streak for Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men over the past six months in which they overpowered Australia 2-0 and England 1-0 in back-to-back test series.
    Although India is yet to win a test series in Australia, they squared a close series 1-1 in 2004 and lost a controversial test series 2-1 before winning a tri-series last year.
    In 2006, India won their first test series in West Indies in 35 years and in the following year recorded their first test series victory in England in over two decades.
    India also won their first test on South African soil in 2006 and emerged surprise winners of the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa two years ago.
  • Copyright Holder: ANI (India)
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