Live With Cricket

Clarke: We Have No Excuses For the loss

2011-08-17T22:25:00.000-07:00

Captain Michael Clarke put his Australia's 78-run defeat in the third ODI against Sri Lanka down to a failure of the top order.
Sri Lanka were put in to bat in Hambantota after Clarke had won the toss, and the hosts racked up 287 for nine in their 50 overs - Tillakaratne Dilshan sharing a 137-run opening stand with centurion Upul Tharanga.
The tourists were then bowled out for 208, but still lead the series 2-1 with two one-dayers left to play.
"We didn't perform well enough at the top of the order," admitted Clarke.
"We have no excuses. We didn't perform as well as we would like and we know that.
"We have some work to do over the next few days because, as I said from the start, playing Sri Lanka, especially in their home conditions, you have to be at your best to beat them."
While the Aussie skipper hit 46, Michael Hussey top-scored for the visitors with 63 but there was little else in the way of resistance from Australia as Lasith Malinga tore his way to a five wicket haul. Debutant Shaminda Eranda also made a telling impact as he removed both Brad Haddin and Ricky Ponting early on.
Dilshan paid tribute to Malinga and Eranga, and also emphasised how important it was for himself and Tharanga to survive a tricky opening period in the Sri Lankan innings.
"The first 10 overs were crucial, and we did well to see them off," said the Sri Lankan captain.
"All the batsmen that followed did well. We believed 260 was good to defend, and we proved it.
"Eranga bowled really well, and Malinga was good as usual."
The series now shifts to Colombo for the final two games, with the fourth ODI taking place on Saturday.

England hunt whitewash, India need pride

2011-08-17T22:18:00.001-07:00

England celebrated reaching No. 1 in the world with a good night in Birmingham on Sunday but it was soon back to the day job and, four days later, they already face the first test of their new status. The 'dead rubber syndrome' is always a risk when a team has scaled such heights to secure a major goal and Andrew Strauss will be desperate that nothing takes the gloss off the achievements of the last month.

In truth it will take a lot to remove the after-glow of three commanding performances, but this England team are never satisfied. They'll see this final Test at The Oval as a chance to lay down another marker with a show of hunger and desire. Even the great Australian sides under Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh had issues with keeping intensity high when a series was decided. England benefited with a number of one-off Test victories and won't want to offer India a similar opportunity.

It's difficult to see India bouncing back to save face over the next five days. They have been so far off the pace that this is a series they'll want to consign to history as quickly as possible. That, though, will be easier said than done with the fall-out well under way back at home and serious questions being asked of the team. Some of those questions are more sensible than others, but a number of players will be heading back with damaged reputations.

The much-vaunted batting line-up have one more chance to live up to their billing having not reached 300 in the series. The wait goes on for Sachin Tendulkar's 100th hundred, while Gautam Gambhir has disappointed and VVS Laxman hasn't made the most of some decent form. Then there's the challenge of taking 20 wickets. The pace bowlers have all had their moments but, collectively, have not been able to sustain pressure on England.

Praveen Kumar has been a tireless workhorse and Ishant Sharma has kept running in, but they have suffered from not having an economical spinner to tie up an end. If Oval history is anything to go by they could be in for more hard toil.

Chandimal and Herath dropped

2011-08-17T22:14:00.000-07:00

Sri Lanka have dropped promising batsman Dinesh Chandimal, allrounder Thisara Perera and left-arm spinner Rangana Herath from the squad for the final two one-dayers against Australia, who lead the series 2-1. Seekkuge Prasanna, the 26-year-old legspinner, has been called up and has to fly back from England, where he was representing Sri Lanka A.

The other major news was that vice-captain Angelo Mathews, who missed the third ODI due to an injury is fit for the remaining matches. "He should be alright for the rest of the series," Sri Lankan captain Tillakaratne Dilshan said. "He could have even played on Tuesday, but we didn't want to take a risk. If something had happened he would have been ruled out for two months. He has got three more days to recover from the injury. Angelo is a key member of our side and when he goes out it's a big loss."

Chandimal, 21, had made an unbeaten century at Lord's and 54 in the deciding game of the ODI series against England last month, but suffered a string of failures since, managing only 41 in four innings.

Perera played only one ODI since his hard-hitting cameo in the World Cup final, with the role of the third fast bowler to be filled by either Mathews, Suranga Lakmal or Shaminda Eranga, who made an impact on debut in the third ODI on Tuesday. Herath has also had only one ODI since the World Cup, with the emergence of legspinning allrounder Jeevan Mendis and the spin pair of Ajantha Mendis and Suraj Randiv limiting his opportunities.

Herath's place in the squad was taken by Prasanna, who hit the headlines on Sunday with a six-wicket haul against England A. Prasanna plays for the Sri Lanka Army, impressing in their youth ranks before making his domestic one-day debut in 2006. He built up an outstanding List A record over the past five years, taking 73 wickets at 18.38 in 45 matches.

Squad: Tillakaratne Dilshan (capt), Angelo Mathews (vice-capt), Upul Tharanga, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Chamara Silva, Nuwan Kulasekera, Lasith Malinga, Shaminda Eranga, Seekkuge Prasanna, Ajantha Mendis, Jeevan Mendis, Suranga Lakmal, Suraj Randiv

Australia wait on World Cup injured

2011-02-07T00:49:00.000-08:00

Australia's World Cup squad will get on a plane on Wednesday with injuries a concern, but the coach Tim Nielsen hopes the selectors don't risk sending too many unfit men to defend the title. Ricky Ponting (finger), Michael Hussey (hamstring) and Nathan Hauritz (shoulder) have all been racing to prove their fitness for the tournament, while some of their potential replacements are also struggling, including Xavier Doherty (back) and Shaun Marsh (hamstring).

The squad heads to India this week and their first practice match is on Sunday against India in Bangalore, eight days before their opening game of the tournament proper, against Zimbabwe. Hussey said on the weekend that he would find it difficult to be fully fit for the first couple of outings, while Hauritz, who dislocated his shoulder during the recent ODIs against England, was bowling in the nets last week and said he had no doubt he would be fit for the World Cup.

But while Australia might be able to carry one injured player at the start of the tournament, it's risky to allow too many men to board the plane at less than 100% fitness. Nielsen said he believed the squad could not take such a chance with the World Cup on the line.

"I can't afford to have two, three or four guys that we're uncertain about," Nielsen said. "It means we've only got 11 fit ready to go at the start. That's the quandary we face. What is the role the players who are injured play? Do we have back-up for that position? If we have an injury to somebody in the team at the moment is the injured person the next cab off the rank or the only possible replacement or do we have other options? All those things will be thrown into the mix."

One positive is the progress being made by Ponting, who missed the Sydney Test after aggravating his broken finger during the Boxing Day Test. Ponting had surgery on the little finger on his left hand after the Melbourne game, and by the time the World Cup opener arrives it will have had nearly seven weeks of recovery time.

"Ricky had another bat on Friday afternoon in Sydney and went well so that's a positive for us," Nielsen said. "He seems to be getting better every day. He's probably at least where we would like him to be."

The spin position shapes up as one of the more serious issues, with Steven Smith also battling a hip muscle injury, along with the problems that are troubling Hauritz and Doherty. Smith's injury shouldn't be a major concern, though the more serious situation with Hauritz, added to the likelihood that Hussey won't be fit for the start of the World Cup, leaves the selectors with some headaches.

"At the moment Hussey and Hauritz are in the squad - they're the first cabs off the rank," Nielsen said. "If we're going to replace them we're going to have to rule them out of the tournament full stop. That's the first question we're going to have to answer. Are they going to take any part in the tournament in a timeframe that's going to work for us?

"Once we make that decision then it's, okay, if we are going to replace them, is the replacement ready to go straight away or are we better off taking the named player and they might be ready at the same time? All those different things that come into the equation."

Australia have two warm-up games before the World Cup begins in earnest, and they have six pool matches before finding out if they have progressed to the next round. Australia are in a group with Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Canada and Kenya.

No Hot Spot for World Cup

2011-02-07T00:40:00.000-08:00

Hot Spot will not be part of the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) that will be used during the2011 ICC World Cup, reducing the system to its basic requirements: a ball-tracker (in this case Hawk-Eye), a super slow-mo camera and a 'clear' stump microphone.

In October 2010, the ICC had announced that the Hot Spot cameras would be used in the semi-finals and final of the World Cup, to be held in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh from Feb 19 to April 2. An ICC spokesman, however, confirmed to ESPNcricinfo on Saturday that, "the supplier of the Hot Spot technology advised that it was not willing to supply its cameras for the tournament so, accordingly, they will not be used at any stage in the tournament. The use of these cameras is not a minimum requirement for the DRS."

While the Hot Spot cameras are not a minimum requirement of the UDRS, they are thought to provide among the most accurate images of the contact between ball and bat, or pad, using infrared thermal imaging. The owners of the Hot Spot technology, Melbourne based BBG Sport, were unwilling to comment on their decision.

The Hot Spot infrared cameras form part of military hardware used in jetfighters, tanks and warships, and they fall under the category of restricted equipment which needs a temporary export licence from the Australian Defence Department whenever they are taken out of the country. Part of that licence includes the return of the cameras to Australia within a seven-day period after the end of the event in which they are being used.

The cameras were first brought into India during the 2009 Champions League Twenty20 event. It is possible that the logistical hurdle of moving the cameras, which are both expensive and sensitive security equipment, in and out of Sri Lanka and India could have led to the decision. India remains the only country in cricket that has not accepted the UDRS. Ironically, the only part of UDRS technology basket that is considered by the Indians to be the most trustworthy is the Hot Spot camera.

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2010-05-20T10:14:00.000-07:00

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BCCI issues show-cause notices to seven players

2010-05-20T04:04:00.000-07:00

The BCCI has sent show-cause notices to seven of the eight players involved in the pub brawl in St Lucia on May 11, the day India were knocked out of the World Twenty20. According to a board source the seven players are Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Rohit Sharma, Piyush Chawla, Ravindra Jadeja and Murali Vijay. The players have been given a week to explain their role, if any, in the incident and why the board should not take disciplinary action against them. If the responses are found unsatisfactory, the matter will be taken up by the board's disciplinary committee.

Four of the seven players will be touring Zimbabwe for India's next international assignment but the pull-up is expected to have no impact on their participation in the tour.

The eight players had gone to the pub early evening when allegedly some of the fans present inside started heckling one of the players. Unable to stand the taunting, the others reportedly came to the rescue of the team-mate but it only resulted in an unruly brawl.

The BCCI bosses, including its president Shashank Manohar, were said to be highly critical of the incident after hearing the report of team manager Ranjib Biswal in person on Monday in Mumbai. Biswal had submitted his report on Saturday to the board's chief administrative officer Ratnakar Shetty but he stayed back to report to Manohar and N Srinivasan, the board secretary, who was also present at the briefing.

This is the first instance of the board pulling up so many players in public. But Manohar, the BCCI president, has always had the reputation of being a strict administrator and on this occasion he possibly felt the board was left with little option but to give a warning to the players considering the World Cup is nine months away. And to tolerate such indiscipline, especially after India's exit from the Super Eights in the World Twenty20 for the second year in a row, would have been inappropriate.

Incidentally, Biswal denied reports of the brawl when he returned to India. "There is no truth at all about the brawl. It is all media creation that is doing the rounds,'' he said last week.

'Hopefully I can better this performance' - McLaren

2010-05-20T03:51:00.000-07:00

Ryan McLaren is determined to rise to even greater heights on South Africa's tour of the Caribbean after taking 5 for 19 in the first Twenty20 against West Indies. McLaren returned the second-best figures in Twenty20 international history as he bowled South Africa to a 13-run victory in Antigua.

"It's a good way to start off the tour having practised indoors and not outdoors for the last few weeks," McLaren said after the match. "But it's only the first day, and there's plenty more cricket to come, so hopefully, I can better this performance. We all know the nature of T20 cricket - the bowler is always up against it.

"You can take five wickets one day, and the next day, take a thumping, but I enjoyed it. It was not an easy day for the batters, and you had to graft pretty hard. Playing shots was not easy, and there was a strong wind, so there were a lot of things you had to take into consideration.

"It was obviously nice to start with a win. This was the most important thing for us. We have worked really hard over the last few days here in Antigua, had a few discussions, the energy has been good around the team, and a lot of new faces have come in. We want to have a good tour of the Caribbean, so success in this match was very important to getting us off on the right foot."

The series could be important for the confidence of both teams after they failed to reach the semi-finals of the World Twenty20. The two Twenty20s are followed by five ODIs and three Tests and the West Indies captain Chris Gayle said there was plenty of room for improvement from his men.

"It was a disappointing start for us," Gayle said. "We wanted to put our dismal performance in the T20 World Cup behind us, but this was not the best way to do it, and was not the best start to the series.

"We still have a match on Thursday, so we have to pick ourselves up. This is no time for pointing fingers. We have a lot of corrections to make out there, and we have to return to the drawing board to try and get the best out of the players."

Kieswetter and Pietersen seal title for England

2010-05-20T03:38:00.000-07:00

England 148 for 3 (Kieswetter 63) beat Australia 147 for 6 (D Hussey 59) by seven wickets

Craig Kieswetter and Kevin Pietersen powered England to their first ICC global title with an irresistible 111-run stand for the second wicket, as Australia were outmuscled in a battle of the bowlers at Bridgetown. Despite a brave recovery led by David Hussey, who made 59 from 54 balls, Australia's hopes of claiming the only world title to have eluded them were devastated from the moment they lost three wickets in 13 legitimate deliveries in a stunning start to the contest.

Chasing a target of 148, Kieswetter and Pietersen broke the back of the chase in an 11-over alliance, but fittingly it was left to England's captain, Paul Collingwood, to seal the victory with 18 balls to spare. At the moment of victory, he was mobbed by his jubilant team-mates as they poured out of the dug-out, with incredulity and triumph writ large on their features. Barely 12 months ago, Collingwood was leading England to defeat against the Netherlands in the opening contest of the 2009 event. Now he has joined football's Bobby Moore and rugby's Martin Johnson in captaining England to a world sporting title.

The difference between the sides was underlined by the boundary count. Whereas Australia managed eight fours and three sixes in their 20 overs, and just two fours in the first 12 overs, England clattered 12 fours and five sixes in 17, as their confident and attacking batsmen targeted the weak links in the Australian bowling line-up - in particular Shane Watson - to motor past a mid-range target. England, by contrast, showed no weaknesses with the ball or in the field, as their multi-faceted five-prong attack tore onto the offensive with an aggressive but highly strategic display.

The start of the contest was sensational, as Australia crashed to 8 for 3 with a wicket in each of the first three overs. Ryan Sidebottom, a controversial selection a week ago but an automatic choice now, settled England's nerves and exacerbated those of the Australians by removing Shane Watson with the third delivery of the match. A lifter outside off was slashed through to Kieswetter, who fumbled the initial take only for an alert Graeme Swann at slip to dive forward and grasp the rebound in the heel of his hands.

One over later, the dangerous David Warner was run out for 2, as his captain, Michael Clarke, called him through for a tight single at short cover, only for Michael Lumb to swoop and score a direct hit with his underarm shy. And before Australia had had time to regroup, they were undermined by misfortune as well, as Brad Haddin was adjudged caught behind off his hip - brilliantly caught, in fact, by a full-stretch Kieswetter - as Sidebottom snaffled his second.

The effect of the early breakthroughs was to hand all of the initiative to England's charged-up attack, who came at Australia with a Test-match intensity. While the pace in the pitch encouraged the seamers to bend their backs, they were sensibly sparing with the short balls, and instead concentrated on pinning the batsmen to the crease with arrow-straight but undriveable lengths. Had Lumb's aim been slightly better, he might have added two further run-outs from short cover, as Clarke betrayed his anxiety with a succession of nip-and-tuck quick singles.

It wasn't until Clarke nudged Sidebottom through fine leg in the fifth over that Australia registered their first boundary, and though he added a second when he pulled a rare long-hop from Bresnan through mid-on, the score was 34 for 3 after seven overs when England turned to their spinners, Swann and Michael Yardy, with licence to apply the tourniquet. And when Collingwood leapt superbly at short midwicket to snaffle an attempted flick from Clarke, Australia had slumped to 45 for 4 in the tenth over.

Not for the first time in this tournament, however, Cameron White had the power and the intent to lift Australia's tempo. He chose the 13th over of the innings, Yardy's third, to make his move, as he followed a David Hussey swipe for six with four, six, four in consecutive deliveries. With 21 runs in the over, Australia were suddenly back in business on 80 for 4, and with two further fours in consecutive overs, White had moved along to 29 from 17 balls when Collingwood opted to introduce Luke Wright for his first over of the tournament.

The ploy paid quick dividends. Targeting the yorker with every delivery, Wright stifled the swinging blades before drawing White into a wild slash outside off. Broad, who moments earlier had made a mess of a swirling top-edge at deep cover off Hussey, called bravely and chased down a fine low chance as he ran back towards the rope at point. Michael Hussey joined his brother to nudge and swat 47 runs for the sixth wicket in 22 balls, but Australia's final total of 147 for 6 was, as Clarke later conceded, at least 25 runs short of parity.

For once, Lumb was unable to jump-start England's reply, as he clipped airily to mid-on in Shaun Tait's first over to fall for 2 from four balls, but Kieswetter - who was at his happiest with the ball pitched up in his half - cracked Dirk Nannes for consecutive fours, either side of a lengthy delay to fix the malfunctioning sightscreen. He added a third four when Tait overpitched in his subsequent over, and with Pietersen looking typically busy at the crease, England reached a healthy 41 for 1 in their Powerplay, a position that was comfortably ahead of Australia's 24 for 3 at the same stage.

With their platform secure, England never looked like faltering. The legspinner Steven Smith was nailed through the covers for Pietersen's third boundary, before Kieswetter collected consecutive fours in Watson's first over - the first a touch fortuitously as David Hussey fumbled at mid-off. Clarke had no choice but to recall Mitchell Johnson for his third over, and though he stemmed the flow a touch, Watson's medium pace was meat and drink for the now pumped-up Kieswetter, who mowed a massive six over midwicket in an over that leaked 16 runs.

Back came Tait with Australia desperate for a wicket, but Pietersen met him with an imperious lofted drive over mid-on for four, before opening his stance to drive a glorious six over extra cover, and take the required rate down below a run a ball. Two balls later, Kieswetter dabbed a wide ball through point to bring up a 40-ball fifty, and celebrated by slashing Nannes for four through third man before belting an astonishing one-handed six over backward square leg.

With just 30 runs needed from the final seven overs, Pietersen gave Smith the charge and holed out to Warner at long-off for an excellent 47 from 31 balls, but at 118 for 2, Australia knew they still needed a miracle. That prospect became a touch more probable six balls later, when Kieswetter gave himself too much room to a Johnson yorker and was rather comically bowled for 63 from 49 balls, but to judge by the grim faces in the England dug-out, no-one was particularly keen on laughing just yet.

Eoin Morgan, however, swept Smith powerfully for six over square leg to mop their collective brows, and when Collingwood pulled the luckless Watson off the front foot over midwicket for another six, the result was beyond doubt. A swat through fine leg brought the scores level, and one ball later, the title was secure, and England's limited-overs hoodoo had finally been laid to rest.

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2010-05-20T00:29:00.000-07:00

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Clarke keen to stay on as captain

2010-05-20T00:14:00.000-07:00

Michael Clarke believes he might need to rediscover the attacking approach of his youth to become a successful Twenty20 batsman. Clarke has no intention of giving up his place as Australia's captain in the shortest format despite struggling to lift his scoring rate in the World Twenty20, where he led Australia to the final, which they lost to England.

Ricky Ponting has been impressed with Clarke's leadership and in the Herald Sun on Thursday, Shane Warne argued that Clarke was the best captaincy option and No. 3 for the Twenty20 team. However, after arriving home to Sydney, Clarke conceded he might have to dust off some of the more aggressive strokes he played as a younger man.

"Who knows? Maybe I need a little bit of that back," Clarke said. "Everybody has a different role in our team though and that is one thing that players certainly are aware of, and you need to do your role to the best of your ability.

"For me my role is not the same as Dave Warner or Shane Watson. I always want to perform, I always want to score runs, it doesn't matter what form of the game I'm playing, but like I said in this game, sometimes you can't always make those runs."

Clarke's immediate future in the format is expected to be decided over the next week as the selectors settle on the squads for the upcoming tour of England. Clarke is determined to stay in charge of the Twenty20 side, a role he took over last year when Ponting retired from that version of the game.

"No doubt [I want to continue], I'm disappointed we couldn't win the World T20, win the final, but I've really enjoyed the opportunity," Clarke said. "I've loved playing with the guys, I've had a lot of support from people back at home, the people who came and watched the games in the West Indies, and family and friends, so it's been great and I'm enjoying it."

Clarke said that while the loss to England was disappointing, there was no reason to panic ahead of next summer's Ashes series in Australia. The urn is held by England following their triumph at home last year, but the previous series in Australia was won 5-0 by Ponting's men.

"It always hurts losing to England in any form of the game, but obviously a lot of guys in both teams that won't take part in the Ashes series," Clarke said. "They will take confidence out of it, no doubt about it, but I can guarantee the way we've been playing Test and one day cricket of late, or even T20 cricket in this tournament, we're very confident."

South Africa squeeze past Sri Lanka

2010-04-29T06:28:00.000-07:00

South Africa 141 for 5 (Boucher 33*) beat Sri Lanka 137 for 8 (Kapugedera 61*, Kleinveldt 2-13) by five wickets

A combined team effort set up victory with three balls to spare as South Africa brushed past Sri Lanka in their first warm-up match ahead of the World Twenty20. A late fightback from Sanath Jayasuriya and Chamara Kapugedera allowed Sri Lanka to post a modest 137 for 8 and the match was finely balanced when AB de Villiers was dismissed in the 14th over with 63 still needed, but a 61-run partnership between Mark Boucher and Johan Botha took South Africa home in the final over.

Kumar Sangakkara opted to bat first after winning the toss but was quickly left ruing the decision as Tillakaratne Dilshan fell first ball to the impressive Rory Kleinveldt. Charl Langeveldt then struck twice in his second over to remove Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene as Sri Lanka slipped to 22 for 3.

Dinesh Chandimal lasted just two balls before he hit Morne Morkel to Herschelle Gibbs, and when Angelo Mathews was dismissed by Roelof van der Merwe Sri Lanka were in deep trouble at 42 for 5 in the ninth over. But Jayasuriya drew on his vast experience in a relatively sedate 33 from 41 balls as he dominated a half-century stand with Kapugedera to claw his side back into the game.

Once he was dismissed, caught behind off Kleinveldt, Kapugedera came to the fore, slamming three fours and five sixes to finish unbeaten on 61. The wickets were shared around by the South African bowlers, with Kleinveldt, Langeveldt and Morkel taking two each, while Rusty Theron and van der Merwe weighed in with one apiece.

Nuwan Kulasekara removed Graeme Smith in his first over for single figures as Sri Lanka started their defence strongly, but Loots Bosman kept the score ticking over with a rapid 20. After his dismissal, Gibbs and de Villiers struggled to reach the boundary, and when they were removed in consecutive overs Sri Lanka were right back in the match.

But Botha and Boucher set about their task with gusto, scoring at more than 11 runs an over to take South Africa to the brink. Botha was bowled by Thissara Perera off the first ball of the final over, but Boucher sealed the confidence-boosting result with a boundary two balls later.

Modi suspended as IPL commissioner

2010-04-25T20:27:00.001-07:00

The BCCI has suspended controversial Indian Premier League chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi just hours before a crucial governing council meeting.

Modi has been accused of a wide range of financial impropriety from rigging bidding deals related to the IPL, offering bribes, betting and money laundering.

The decision to suspend Modi was announced by BCCI president Shashank Manohar.

"While we rejoice and celebrate the great success of IPL season three, the alleged acts of individual misdemeanours of Mr.Lalit K Modi, chairman IPL and vice president, BCCI have brought a bad name to the administration of cricket and the game itself," Manohar said in a statement.

"I have waited for the IPL 3 - 2010 to conclude in order to respond to the situation as I did not want the event to be disrupted in any manner.

"Immediately after the conclusion of the IPL final, the secretary, BCCI Mr. N Srinivasan has in consultation with me issued a show cause notice to Mr. Lalit K Modi under Rule 32 (iv) calling upon him to show cause within 15 days why disciplinary action should not be taken against him.

"Simultaneously in exercise of the powers vested in me under Rule 32 (vii), I have suspended Mr. Lalit K Modi from participating in the affairs of the Board, the IPL, the working committee and any other committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India."

Modi now cannot attend the governing council meeting called by Srinivasan at the behest of Manohar to discuss the allegations as well as his future at the head of the Twenty20 tournament.

Modi had at first refused to attend the meeting, indicating that it was illegal as only he, as chairman and commissioner of the IPL, had the power to convene such a gathering.

Late on Sunday, however, Modi abruptly changed tack by announcing that he would not only attend the meeting, but also revealed he would chair it.

Modi also issued a one-point agenda for the meeting which was to have a "discussion on any complaints received in writing from members of the governing council against the chairman, other members of the council and/or the Board of Control for Cricket in India."

He also requested documentary evidence and vowed to provide all the answers.

"Members of the governing council have been requested to give all such complaints in writing with the requisite supporting documents at the meeting on the morning of 26th April, 2010 to the chairman and commissioner, so they can be replied in full," the statement from Modi read.

Modi's decision to attend the meeting is believed to have triggered the BCCI into issuing a show-cause and a suspension notice.

The Indian Board is reported to have emailed the suspension notice to Modi during the final of the tournament in Mumbai, but the IPL commissioner put on a defiant face.

In his address at the end of the IPL final in Mumbai Modi said: "Though the events on the ground have been an outstanding success, there have been some off-field unpleasant dramas based on the unknown, half-truths and motivated leaks from all sorts of sources.

"I assure you all decisions have been jointly taken by the governing council and approved by the general body (of the BCCI) in both year one and two of the IPL.

"Still as leader of the team, I reassure you that if there have been any flouting of the rules and regulations or if there have been any irregularities, I shall take full responsibility.

"I assure you the IPL is clean and transparent."

Significantly, Modi's reassurance of all decisions being taken by the governing council is only limited to the first two editions of the tournament.

The current crisis, however, relates to the current edition and was triggered when Modi revealed details on Twitter relating to the ownership and shareholders of the new Kochi franchise in an alleged breach of a confidentiality clause.

Modi had especially questioned a free stake given to Sunanda Pushkar, a close friend of junior minister in the ruling coalition Shashi Tharoor, who had mentored the consortium which eventually secured the winning bid for the Kochi franchise.

Tharoor was forced to resign after being accused by the opposition of using his office to profit, but the decision brought on a multi-agency government probe into all aspects of the IPL.

That probe, which covers a range of so far unsubstantiated infringements including tax evasion, money laundering, front companies and foreign exchange violations, is continuing.

The BCCI had admonished Modi for revealing the names of the shareholders of the Kochi franchise - to which Modi responded by suggesting the stakeholders of the franchise had plenty to hide - but focus and attention was shifted to Modi's own alleged impropriety and misconduct following scrutiny by income tax officials at the offices of the BCCI, the IPL and all the franchises, Modi's residence and at the offices of the broadcasters of the tournament Multi Screen Media (formerly Sony Entertainment Television) and World Sports Group.

South Africa to host Champions League

2010-04-25T20:26:00.000-07:00

Champions League Twenty20 2010

After hosting the IPL last year, Twenty20 cricket will return to South Africa © Getty Images

Chennai are IPL champions

2010-04-25T20:23:00.000-07:00

Chennai Super Kings v Mumbai Indians, IPL 2010 final, Mumbai

Raina, Dhoni star in Chennai triumph

Chennai Super Kings 168 for 5 (Raina 57*, Dhoni 22, Fernando 2-23) beat Mumbai Indians 146 for 9 (Tendulkar 48, Pollard 27, Jakati 2-27) by 22 runs

Suresh Raina scored the only fifty of the final© Indian Premier League

Match Meter

MI
Fernando removes Vijay: Chennai are 40 for 0 after six overs, and Vijay has hit two sixes. Fernando gets him, and two more follow to make it 67 for 3.

CSK
Dhoni counter-attacks: In the 13th over, Dhoni smacks Pollard for a six and a four, followed by a boundary off Malinga to revive Chennai.

CSK
Mumbai drop, Raina capitalises: Mumbai drop Raina twice in the last six overs, and he moves from 13 off 13 to 57 off 35 to take Chennai to the highest total in an IPL final.

CSK
Mumbai start poorly: A maiden over first up, a wicket in the second, 10 more overs of slow scoring and desperation, and Mumbai are 73 for 3 after 12 overs.

CSK
Pollard kept under covers: In the 15th over of the chase, Mumbai lose two more wickets, and even with 69 required off 31, Pollard is held back.

CSK
Pollard sizzles, Dhoni stays cool: With 55 required off 18, Pollard hits 22 runs in the 18th over, but smart field placings and bowling in the 19th consume Pollard.

Advantage Honours even

Tendulkar was warned sufficiently by now: he had to bring Lasith Malinga, whose yorkers have been near perfect, back before he would have ideally liked to. Dhoni charged at him, converted one into a low full toss, and hit a boundary to extra cover.

Zaheer Khan was brought back in the next over. He produced a top edge that neither Fernando (running in from third man) nor Abhishek Nayar (running back from point) claimed. Salt was in ready supply for Zaheer's wound: out of nowhere Raina produced timing and a four and a six to take Chennai to 108 after 15 overs. In the over that followed, Pollard eked out a skier from Raina, which Zaheer dropped. The next ball Raina made room and lofted over extra cover for six. The ball after was hit to Tendulkar, and cannily they exposed his injured hand by stealing a second. And the next was slogged over midwicket for six. Mumbai needed a time-out to figure out what had hit them.

Fernando, three overs for 12 until then, bowled a poor last over to nearly double the tally. Malinga started the last over superbly: bat couldn't meet ball for the first four deliveries, and Albie Morkel was run out in panic. Then it came apart: five wides, followed by a length ball driven over extra cover, and some manic running, and they were chasing the biggest total in an IPL final.

A maiden over was not the best way to start for Mumbai, but losing Shikhar Dhawan in the second was even worse. The next 10 overs featured smart spin bowling, hustling fielders, run-out opportunities created, signs of desperation of Tendulkar, and eventually the wickets of Nayar and Harbhajan in the 12th over. With the required rate going past 12 an over, Tendulkar holed out to long-off, and Raina pulled off a blinder, running in from deep midwicket, to send back Saurabh Tiwary. To everybody's surprise, JP Duminy walked out, and by the time he walked back, he had left Mumbai 55 to get in three overs.

Pollard made a match out of this too: taking 22 runs off Bollinger's 18th over. Morkel bowled a tight 19th over, with a long-off, and a mid-off up in the circle and so straight it was almost behind him. Pollard hit a catch to him: it just highlighted which captain had got it right on the night.

Kumble powers Bangalore to Airtel CLT20

2010-04-24T20:18:00.000-07:00

Bangalore secured the third spot available in the Airtel Champions League Twenty20 tournament from the IPL by trouncing Hyderabad by nine-wickets in their third-place play-off in Mumbai.

In a battle between last year's finalists, the Bangalore team emerged dominant with Anil Kumble paving the way for victory with a four-wicket haul, whilePraveen Kumar and Jacques Kalliscollected two apiece as Hyderabad were bowled out for a meagre 82 inside 19 overs.

Rahul Dravid (35 not out) and Kevin Pietersen (29 not out) rattled off the runs required, needing only 13.5 overs to end a woefully one-sided contest.

Kumble led from the front as Bangalore turned in a superb performance with the ball on a pitch which offered turn and bounce.

Kumble began with the new ball and secured the wicket of Adam Gilchrist off the fourth delivery, the Hyderabad skipper pulling a low full toss straight to Kallis at fine leg.

Praveen, who shared the new ball, then struck with his first delivery, trapping other opener Monish Mishra in front and had wickets in consecutive overs when he snared Rohit Sharma for a four-ball duck.

Hyderabad lost their top three batsmen inside the first six overs and Steyn, who had grassed Andrew Symonds while on one, made amends when he had the batsman caught behind for two at the start of the seventh over.

Kumble, bowling one-over spells, then brought himself back on in the ninth and dismissed Dawyne Smith for five.
Anirudh Singh (40), who had come in at number three, looked in good touch and eventually found support in Venugopal Rao (24), the duo putting together the only partnership of substance, 43 for the sixth wicket.

Kallis, who finished with two wickets for three in two overs, broke that stand by snaring Anirudh in his first over and Surrey left-arm spinner Nayan Doshi collected his first IPL scalp when he removed Venugopal in the next over.

Kumble returned to add to two more wickets to his tally as Hyderabad succumbed to the lowest total in the tournament this year.

Kallis and Dravid put on 36 together before Hyderabad claimed their first success, but the Bangalore team were never under any sort of pressure.

Pietersen, in a belligerent mood, smashed two sixes and a four and added 50 in an undefeated stand as Bangalore ran out winners

Sahara Pune Warriors is new IPL team's name

2010-04-24T20:09:00.000-07:00

The Pune IPL franchise has announced its team will be called the Sahara Pune Warriors. The team name and logo were unveiled by Subrata Roy, chairman of the Sahara group, which bought the franchise for US$370m last month.

"It is a moment of great pleasure for us to present the identity of the Pune IPL team for the people of the city and cricket enthusiasts across the world," Roy said.

"We have just started the journey and in the short span the support and affection received from the people here is very heartening and makes me feel that Pune is my second home."

The Pune team will make its IPL debut in 2011, and will play its home matches at the Maharashtra Cricket Association stadium being built 25 km outside the city.

IPL teams should be able to retain eight players - Tendulkar

2010-04-23T19:35:00.000-07:00

Indian Premier League 2010

Sachin Tendulkar says he has nothing to prove to anyone this IPL © Indian Premier League

Sachin Tendulkar, the Mumbai Indians captain, has said the IPL franchises should be allowed to hold on to a certain number of players from their existing squads as the league prepares for a reshuffle at the end of the 2010 season, when existing player contracts expire. Next year the IPL will have two new franchises - Pune and Kochi - and a fresh auction but Tendulkar wanted teams to be able to retain at least eight players.

"About retaining players, my personal thoughts are that we should be allowed to retain four India players and four foreign players," Tendulkar told the Indian news channel Times Now. "As for domestic players, it should be up to the franchisees. I feel it's a tough call because all teams have made huge efforts in building a good side.

"It's not an overnight result. For three years everyone has been working on what's the best combination. Even a player's identity is important. We have to look into these things and then have some changes. I hope there are not too many changes."

For a player who opted not to represent India in Twenty20 internationals in 2007, Tendulkar has appeared to have mastered the art of batting in the shortest format, as his statistics this IPL indicate. His batting has been a sensation this season but his captaincy has also drawn plaudits. Tendulkar captained India twice unsuccessfully, but he said he did not have a point to prove to critics as Mumbai prepared to contest their first IPL final.

"It's a big stage but it's not about proving a point to someone that I can manage captaincy. I have never played for that," he said. "The runs I have scored in all forms of the game, I was not trying to prove something to someone. I have just played because I enjoyed playing and loved playing and the passion for cricket is there. I have just done that and while doing that all this has happened."

Bollinger Fires Chennai Super Kings Into Final

2010-04-22T20:24:00.000-07:00

IPL Semifinal, Chennai v Deccan at DY Patil Stadium

Mumbai: Doug Bollinger led Deccan Chargers' rout as a ruthless Chennai Super Kings crushed the defending champions by 38 runs in the second semifinal of the Indian Premier League tonight to set up a summit clash with Mumbai Indians on Sunday.

Opting to bat first, the Super Kings looked in trouble before a 52-run partnership between skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (30) and S Badrinath (37) guided them to a competitive 142 for seven.

For the Chargers, Ryan Harris bowled a fine initial spell to get rid off openers Murali Vijay and Mathew Hayden cheaply and finished with excellent figures of three for 29.

The Super Kings, however, returned to defend the total with all their might and resource, skittling out their opponents for 104 in 19.2 overs and dashing Deccan Chargers' hopes of a successful title defence.

For Chennai, Bollinger (4-13) stood out, having rocked the Deccan top order and then dropping curtains on the opponent's innings with his tidy four overs.

Left-arm spinner Shadab Jakati also chipped in with two crucial wickets to hasten Deccan's fall.

Chasing a modest target, the Chargers were never in the game as they lost wickets at regular intervals and their listless batting could be gauged from the fact that AndrewSymonds top scored them with a 22-ball 23.

The Chargers will now return to the same DY Patil Stadium on Saturday where they take on Royal Challengers Bangalore for the third place playoff, which will decide which one of them would join Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings in the Champions League Twenty20 later this year.

The Chargers' chase got off to a poor start and skipper Adam Gilchrist's (15) dismissal in the sixth over was not only the continuation of his personal bad patch but also a bad omen as the Chargers never got any partnership going.

Herschelle Gibbs (18), Symonds and B Sumanth (16) got the starts but could not capitalise on it.

Earlier, the Chargers bowlers stuck to their task brilliantly and even though there were spilled chances early on, managed to apply the brakes effectively to give their batsmen a golden chance to overhaul the modest Super Kings total.

Super Kings made a shock start by losing their top three batsmen, including in-form Suresh Raina, inside five overs with only 29 runs on board and never recovered.

The 52-run partnership between Mahendra Singh Dhoni (30), who struck three fours, and Badrinath, who was dismissed for 37 made in 41 balls, was the lone bright spot in an otherwise listless batting display.

For Chargers, Ryan Harris bowled a fine initial spell to get rid off openers Murali Vijay and Mathew Hayden cheaply and finished with excellent figures of three for 29.

The Super Kings' of a flying start after opting to bat first on a wicket offering lot of carry to the pace bowlers seemed to be on thin ice with Hayden living a charmed life.

The left-handed Australian opener was dropped twice but he failed to utilise his good fortune and was dismissed in the last ball of the second over.

Murali Vijay (15) followed suit after looking good for a big score when he took 13 runs in the third over from RP Singh, which included a superbly struck six over mid-wicket, before being trapped leg before by Harris with an in-dipper.

The loss of the two openers after the first ball of the fourth over looked bad and worse followed when Super Kings' batting lynchpin Raina departed for two, edging a drive off Symonds to rival skipper Adam Gilchrist to leave Chennai gasping at 29 for three.

It called for some cautious play mixed with aggression and Dhoni was the right man to do it with the steady, if unspectacular Badrinath, for company.

Dhoni and Badrinath put on 52 runs for the fourth wicket to give semblance of respectability to the Chennai innings with the team captain being the expected aggressor.

But the India captain fell just when he looked to be stepping up the pace, edging a leg break bowled wide by Harmeet Singh to fly-slip Rohit Sharma. Albie Morkel (4) flopped too and Badrinath slammed Symonds to the mid-wicket fence for a four to raise team 100 in the 16th over.

Badrinath was sixth out, stumped when he charged out to R P Singh and failed to connect properly with Gilchrist standing up to the stumps.

Anirudha used the long handle to make a 15-ball 24, that included two sixes, which enabled Super Kings add 46 runs in the last five overs.

Brief scores
Chennai Super Kings 142 for 7 (Badrinath 37, Harris 3-29)
Deccan Chargers 104 (Symonds 23, Bollinger 4-13)
Result Chennai Super Kings won by 38 runs
MOM Doug Bollinger (Chennai Super Kings)

Ruthless Mumbai march into final

2010-04-22T10:14:00.000-07:00

Mumbai Indians 184 for 5 (Tiwary 52*, Rayudu 40, Pollard 33*) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore149 for 9 (Taylor 31*, Pollard 3-17) by 35 runs

Everything changed in the last five overs of the Mumbai Indians' innings. The game was in a deadlock at the end of 15 overs with Mumbai on 107 for 4 - some might have even felt that Royal Challengers Bangalore held the edge - but things took a dramatic turn from there on. Saurabh Tiwary hit an enterprising half-century and Kieron Pollard played a delightful cameo to charge Mumbai to 184 for 5 at the DY Patil Stadium. It was a bridge too far even for the batting-heavy Bangalore and they never really threatened to get anywhere close to the target. The 35-run win took Mumbai to the final, and sealed their qualification for the Champions League Twenty20 to be held in September.

It was always going to be a difficult chase and things got really tough for Bangalore in the tenth over with the fall of Robin Uthappa and Rahul Dravid off successive deliveries. Bangalore had reached 80 for 2 from nine overs and had already lost Kevin Pietersen to a smart leg-side stumping by Ambati Rayudu off Harbhajan Singh; they then suffered the twin blows that effectively killed the contest. Uthappa was in hot form, collecting 18 runs from Harbhajan's over with the help of two thumping sixes, but he dragged a slower one from Pollard straight to deep midwicket.

Before Bangalore could recover from that asphyxiating blow, they lost Dravid, who had played a fluent knock, to a run-out resulting from a misunderstanding with Ross Taylor. Pollard removed both Virat Kohli and Manish Pandey and though Taylor hung around for a while, he couldn't produce any miracle tonight. Bangalore were left to rue their ordinary effort in the field in the last five overs where they lost the game.

The game actually changed in character twice during Mumbai's innings: first after the first time-out was taken at the end of seven overs, and second from the 15th over onwards. Mumbai had recovered after the early fall of Sachin Tendulkar, courtesy an impish knock from Rayudu who counter-attacked initially before settling down, to reach 62 for 2 in seven overs, but were gradually choked by the slower bowlers. In the next six overs, before the second time-out was taken, only 31 runs came with the addition of two wickets.

Things looked desperate for Mumbai but Tiwary looted 17 runs from the 16th over bowled by Jacques Kallis to turn things around. The first delivery, a slower one, was swung over the midwicket boundary; the fourth was bludgeoned to midwicket for a four; and the fifth ran away to fine-leg boundary via an inside-edge. Mumbai had broken free and continued to indulge themselves in the end overs.

Anil Kumble, who, before then, had combined well with Pietersen, handed back the initiative as he conceded 17 runs in the 17th over. It was Tiwary, again, who did the damage. He made use of a freehit to collect a boundary to backward square-leg before flat-batting a six to the straight boundary, as Kumble's visage grew angrier. It was the image of the night.

Pollard joined in the fun right in the end, with his big lofted drives, to further boost Mumbai. Pollard pinged the long-off boundary with two sixes against Vinay Kumar and slugged Dale Steyn over long-on for another six as Mumbai finished off in style. And so, after 41 days of non-stop action, Mumbai entered their first final in the three years of IPL.

Teams return to original schedules for ICC World Twenty20 2010

2010-04-21T08:57:00.000-07:00

ICC Media Release

Haroon Lorgat thanks Emirates for its co-operation in ensuring the smooth travel of competing teams

Following the relaxation of air travel restrictions in the United Kingdom and other parts of Europe, the competing teams in ICC World Twenty20 2010 in the Caribbean will revert to their original travel schedules for the competition.

With the aid of commercial partner Emirates, the ICC had put in place a contingency plan to airlift teams direct from Dubai to the Caribbean if the travel disruption in Europe did not ease.

However, upon the reopening of air routes yesterday, ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said: "I'm delighted to say that the teams will now fly to the West Indies as originally scheduled. I want to thank both Emirates and the ICC executive for working so hard to ensure that we had a back-up plan to transport teams to the Caribbean.

"Emirates continues to assist teams with their travel plans and we are extremely grateful for that support."

The Afghanistan team, which was scheduled to travel to Trinidad via London last week, will now fly via London to the Caribbean in the next few days.

Sehwag out of World Twenty20

2010-04-21T08:53:00.000-07:00

ICC World Twenty20 2010

Virender Sehwag had sustained a shoulder injury before last year's World Twenty20 as well © Associated Press

India opener Virender Sehwag has suffered a shoulder injury, which has ruled him out of the ICC World Twenty20 beginning in the West Indies on April 30. Sehwag has been advised rest for three to four weeks, and has been replaced by Tamil Nadu batsman M Vijay in the 15-man squad, the BCCI said in a statement. Gautam Gambhir will be the vice-captain.

The BCCI statement, however, did not mention how or when Sehwag sustained the injury. Sehwag played all 14 IPL league matches for Delhi Daredevils, scoring 356 runs at an average of 25, his last appearance being on April 18. He was deemed fit when included in the World Twenty20 squad so it's likely the injury occurred during Delhi's IPL campaign.

The blow is similar to the one India suffered before the 2009 ICC World Twenty20. Sehwag had sustained a shoulder injury during the 2009 IPL in South Africa, shortly before the World Twenty20 was due to begin. He travelled with the squad to England, but was not able to play a game. India were eliminated without winning a game in the second round.

His replacement, Vijay, has been in aggressive form for Chennai Super Kings, scoring 417 runs, including a century, at an average of 38. He has been India's back-up opener for Tests and ODIs as well.

Defeat won't upset tempo: Bravo

2010-04-20T04:41:00.000-07:00

They will go into the semifinals with a defeat but Dwayne Bravo says the lapse against Kolkata Knight Riders would not affect Mumbai Indians` tempo and rhythm.

Mumbai finished the league engagements with a nine-wicket defeat against Kolkata as they rested five key players in the dead rubber.

Bravo, who led the side in tonight match, said the defeat would hardly have any impact on their semifinal preparations.

"It does not matter. We beat RCB by a big margin before this match. And moreover they all are class players, missing one game will not make any big affect. They are aware of the situation," Bravo said at the post match press conference.

Mumbai Indians will take on Royal Challengers Bangalore in their semifinal on April 22.

Talking about Sachin Tendulkar`s red-hot form, Bravo said their skipper was playing freely since the other Indian youngsters were playing well.

"He is the best in the world. And after two years of IPL, he knows how to adjust. He is enjoying his cricket and one of the reasons he is doing because local Indian players are doing well. You must give credit to them," he said.

Bravo said young Indian players have also made stunning contribution to their success this season.

"As I said Ambati Rayudu and Saurabh Tiwary, Shikhar Dhawan have all played their part. Not only Sachin Tendulkar but other local Indian players have also been instrumental in our success this season," he said.

The Caribbean all-rounder said this IPL stint would be helpful for him in the upcoming Twenty20 World Cup at home.

"Having been around the likes of Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya, it`s been quite a learning experience for me. They all are quite experienced, I take a lot from it. Ours is a young team. Though I do not try to follow any one but this experience will help in World Cup," Bravo said.

Man-of-the-match Murali Kartik, who took two wickets and stifled the Mumbai innings, said the Indian condition were playing a big role in spinners` good show this season.

"Indian conditions helped us. In South Africa ball used to stop a bit. Players like Kumble, Mishra, Ojha and Harbhajan Singh are all experienced. They have playing T20 for quite a bit of time. Good bowlers adapt fast and learn quickly. It`s all about survival of the fittest," he said.

He was happy with his own performance saying, "I missed a few matches because of a groin problem but I have been the most economical bowler despite that."

Kartik though said the team was disappointed for missing the semifinals third successive time.

"From team`s point of view, it`s very disappointing. It`s been three years in a row, we are not doing well despite having some class players a few match winners.”

"There are lot of matches that we should have won. Like Kings XI Punjab match in which we scored more than 200 and the first league match against Rajasthan Royals," he said.

But he was not ready to believe that his team had not got any positives out of season-III.

"This is our best season so far. It`s a very positive way of looking at this season`s performance. Some youngsters were doing well like Mohnish Parmar, Jaidev Unadkat and Ashok Dinda. It`s massive positive. We were always a close knit unit," he said.

Kolkata cruise to consolation win

2010-04-20T04:33:00.000-07:00

Kolkata Knight Riders 135 for 1 (McCullum 57*, Ganguly 42) beat Mumbai Indians 133 for 8 (Tiwary 46, Kartik 2-20, Bond 2-24) by nine wickets

As soon as Dwayne Bravo, leading Mumbai Indians in the absence of a resting Sachin Tendulkar, chose to bat Kolkata Knight Riders were officially knocked out, the only team to have not made the semi-finals in any of the IPLs. If they had batted first and beaten Mumbai by around 175 runs, Kolkata could have improved their net run-rate and entered the last four. In their last league match, with little to play for, Kolkata produced their biggest win of the season, smartly using the slow pitch to keep Mumbai to a below-par target. Sourav Ganguly then played the cleanest innings on the tricky surface to take them home without hiccups.

In the only dead rubber of the 56-match league, Mumbai rested five first-choice players, and their second-rung side struggled right from the first over. Shane Bond removed the openers for not much, and the back-up bowlers assumed control with clever variations of pace. Saurabh Tiwary's 37-ball 46 and Ambati Rayudu's 15-ball 27 were exceptions in the general go-slow innings that struggled to stay above six runs an over.

Bond's extra bounce consumed Aditya Tare and Shikhar Dhawan in the first three overs, both batsmen edging while going for the upper-cut. In partnership with JP Duminy, who struggled against the slower cutters, Tiwary provided some momentum. Yet Duminy's struggle meant only 63 runs came in 10 overs while Tiwary was at the wicket. After Murali Kartik's spin, Jaydev Unadkat and Ashok Dinda harassed Duminy with slower ones. Finally in the 13th over, with the score on 77, Duminy swung wildly and was cleaned up by Unadkat.

Saurabh, though, managed to get power and timing behind his shots and had adjusted to the pace of the pitch. But with the run-rate still hovering at six, he tried to go for the big hit, and hit Kartik straight to midwicket. The score was still 77. Bravo didn't make much of the opportunity, and was stumped soon.

The way Rayudu responded to 89 for 5 after 15.4 overs belied the way other batsmen, except for Saurabh, had made the pitch look difficult. He clipped, cut, chipped and lofted with ease, but the lower order struggled around him, and Mumbai were still defending a below-par total.

It was Ganguly, though, who played the ideal innings on the sluggish surface. He committed early to few shots, and made sure all poor deliveries were scored off. And Ali Murtaza helped him with one in the first over of the chase: a long hop that Ganguly hoisted for six. With Harbhajan Singh absent, Mumbai went to quicker bowlers in the Powerplay overs. In the fourth over, Ganguly played his trademark inside-out lofts off Dilhara Fernando, one for a four over extra cover, the next for six over mid-off.

Ganguly was once again at his best when he chipped Duminy for two inside-out fours over extra cover in the 10th over, moving to 38 off 27, taking Kolkata to 71. Brendon McCullum, 30 off 29 by then, hadn't looked comfortable, struggling to get the timing right. Yet he slugged it out, never mind an inconsequential match, and after Ganguly got out in the 14th over, McCullum made sure he was there till the end, getting only his third IPL fifty since that 158 in the first-ever IPL match.

Ganguly may have not seen Kolkata all the way, but it was his positive innings that set up the tricky chase, and he got a healthy applause when he walked back. He took a moment to raise his bat to his beloved crowd. Could this be his last innings for Kolkata Knight Riders?

Rescheduled BCCI meeting to probe allegations

2010-04-19T02:53:00.000-07:00

Indian Premier League 2010

Rajiv Shukla: "All the allegations [against Modi] and other issues would be discussed in the governing council."© Indian Premier League

The BCCI has pushed back its working committee meeting to look into the controversies surrounding the Kochi franchise, to May 2. The meeting was initially scheduled for April 23, but has been deferred till the end of the IPL and a meeting of the tournament's governing council.

"Working committee meeting has been postponed because all things have to be discussed in the governing council meeting first. There is no point in having a working committee meeting before that," Rajiv Shukla, BCCI's media and finance committee chairman told PTI. "All the allegations [against Modi] and other issues would be discussed in the governing council. The date would be announced soon," he said.

The BCCI's first official response to the controversy, which broke last weekend when Lalit Modi disclosed the details of the Kochi franchise ownership, was a statement on April 13 that a meeting of the IPL Governing Council would be convened "within 10 days to discuss all the issues and take a decision". It is now clear that deadline will not be met, though no explanation has been given for the delay.

The controversy was triggered by an update on Lalit Modi's twitter account that questioned the ownership structure of the Kochi consortium, particularly the nature of equity owned by Sunanda Pushkar, who is a friend of Shashi Tharoor, a cabinet minister in the Indian government. Ms. Pushkar has since given up her stake in the franchise, while Tharoor was forced to resign from his office, over allegations of conflict of interest in his mentoring of the consortium.

One fallout of Modi's Twitter revelation was to swing the spotlight on the IPL's financial dealings, and on Sunday the BCCI said it had received a summons from the income-tax department to furnish complete details of all eight original Indian Premier League franchises, who were successful bidders for the city-based teams in January 2008, on April 23. The taxmen have already carried out inspections of the IPL's offices and Modi's residence in Mumbai and also the Kings XI Punjab franchise office in Mohali.

"Day before yesterday they had asked for details only about the two new franchises - their shareholding patterns, addresses, player auction and bidding process. Now they want us to furnish all the details about the eight other franchises too," the BCCI's chief administrative officer, Ratnakar Shetty had said.

Deccan resist gutsy Collingwood to reach semis

2010-04-18T23:43:00.000-07:00

Deccan Chargers 145 for 7 (Symonds 54) beat Delhi Daredevils 134 for 7 (Collingwood 51*, Ojha 2-16) by 11 runs

They were the IPL's nomads, they needed to win five games in a row to reach the semi-finals, and things looked heavily loaded against them. But Deccan Chargers, the defending champions, made it. On a slow pitch at Feroz Shah Kotla, Andrew Symonds' sparkling 54 gave Deccan a defendable total, which they protected with an inspired fielding performance led by Rohit Sharma and disciplined bowling. Paul Collingwood kept Delhi in the chase until the end but he lacked the firepower, and support, to pull off a victory.

It boiled down to Delhi needing 17 runs in the final over and Chaminda Vaas bowled exceptionally, mixing his slower ones with near-perfect yorkers. Deccan had earlier wobbled at the start before the Symonds show and slowed to a crawl post his fall to reach 145 for 7. It was a slow pitch, better than the previous tracks in Delhi though, and the chase was unlikely to be a stroll for the hosts. And it wasn't.

Rohit, who contributed only 11 the bat, took a couple of breathtaking catches to tilt the game Deccan's way. He flew low to his right at first slip, grabbing a one-hand catch to remove Virender Sehwag. In the seventh over, he flung himself to his left at short midwicket to get rid of Gautam Gambhir. Both his catches, however, were created by clever bowling. Vaas, who replaced Ryan Harris, had deceived Virender Sehwag with a slower off cutter and Pragyan Ojha had beaten Gambhir in flight, forcing him to drag the ball squarer than intended. Between those wickets, Tillakaratne Dilshan had fallen while trying to paddle scoop. The slower one from Harmeet Singh trapped him in front as he moved across

The loss of three quick wickets had derailed the chase and, considering Paul Collingwood's recent struggles against spin, Delhi depended heavily on Dinesh Karthik. When Mithun Manhas was run out after a mix-up with Collingwood, Delhi needed 78 off 49 deliveries. Karthik entered the fray but didn't last long. The delivery from Ojha landed on middle and off stump and turned just enough to go past Karthik's bat and hit off. Collingwood hung around for a while and was even dropped couple of times by, of all the people, Rohit and Symonds but couldn't finish it off.

It was an inspired bowling performance from Deccan but if it wasn't for a superbly-crafted knock from Symonds, the bowlers would not have had much to defend. The story of their innings was summarised after the first time-out in the tenth over. Amit Mishra bowled with a slip and a silly point to the new batsman Mitchell Marsh, but when Symonds came on strike most fielders were back patrolling the boundary. Delhi were on the attack and knew only one man posed a threat. Marsh preserved his wicket and allowed Symonds to play a fine knock.

Symonds initially reserved his aggression for Amit Mishra. The legspinner troubled Symonds with his googlies, which he picked only off the pitch, but he would time and again counterattack with a muscled hit. He moved down the track to lift a legbreak over long off, followed it by biffing a googly into the same stand and slugged a flighted delivery from outside off over long-on. In between, he edged a legbreak between the keeper and first slip and just when Mishra was seemingly on the ascent, Symonds would break free. Symonds crashed Tillakaratne Dilshan's offbreaks for two sixes and even played a delicate late cut against Paul Collingwood to collect a boundary.

Deccan had reached 116 for 4 in the 15th over and things were set for a final assault when Symonds fell. Mishra had just switched to bowling from round the stumps to Symonds and had his man chipping straight to long off. Delhi applied the squeeze from then on, just as they had done in the first half of the game, but the total proved beyond their reach.

Dhoni assault wins it for Chennai

2010-04-18T08:04:00.000-07:00

MS Dhoni and Subramaniam Badrinath smashed half-centuries as Chennai sealed a six-wicket IPL victory over Mohali at Dharamsala.

Shaun Marsh made Chennai pay dearly for lapses in the field as he smashed an unbeaten 88 and, with excellent support from Irfan Pathan (44 not out) and Kumar Sangakkara (33), powered Kings XI to a formidable 192 for three.

In reply, Badrinath (53) and Suresh Raina (46) kept Mohali in the hunt before Dhoni (54 not out) finished off the chase with a couple of towering sixes.

The victory, with two deliveries to spare, lifts Chennai to second in the table and their superior net run rate all but assures them of a place in the semi-final later this week.

Mohali signalled aggressive intent at the start and maintained the tempo thanks to some poor fielding from Mohali.

Mahela Jayawardene smashed Sudeep Tyagi for two sixes in the first over and went on contribute 21 in an opening stand worth 34 before Tyagi took an outstanding catch at the mid-on to remove the Sri Lanka batsman.

Albie Morkel, however, put down a far more simple catch from Marsh in the next over while the batsman was on 10, a missed opportunity which proved costly for Mohali.

Marsh and Sangakkara rebuilt nicely and got Mohali close to the 100-run mark with a 56-run stand for the second wicket.

Sangakkara found the boundaries regularly and had looked in supreme touch until he went down on one knee to swipe off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin across the line, missed completely and was bowled.

Yuvraj Singh's cheap dismissal then gave Mohali a glimmer of hope, but Pathan quickly closed the door with a solid batting performance which helped Mohali to a strong total.

Marsh, who was dropped again at the start of the 19th over, put on 99 with Pathan and en route reached his seventh IPL half-century with a towering six off Raina.

Ramesh Powar then gave Mohali a strong start in the field by removing Matthew Hayden for five in his second over with the new ball.

Powar struck again in his next over to get rid of the other opener, Murali Vijay, but Raina and Badrinath revived the chase with a 62-run stand.

Raina hit three sixes and five fours and perished attempting a big shot off Juan Theron in the 10th over, but Badrinath forged on and together with Dhoni kept Chennai in contention.

Badrinath fell just after reaching his half-century and the Super Kings were left needing 45 from 20 deliveries at that stage.

Dhoni, however, upped the tempo and unleashed an array of attacking strokes as Chennai raced across the line.

Pak unlikely to repeat Lord's glory

2010-04-18T02:28:00.000-07:00

Pakistan and England are unlikely to hold the key to the ICC World T20, but as shock winners and huge flops last time, their fortunes will merit attention.

Shahid Afridi and Paul Collingwood's teams can only hope their Caribbean narratives are central to the plot, rather than mere diversions.

In truth, though, there has been little evidence - since England made a rainy exit from their own World Twenty20 and Pakistan then gloriously saw off Sri Lanka in the Lord's final last June - to suggest that the former are suddenly about to become world-beaters or the latter will defend their crown successfully.

It would be foolish, of course, to write off either in a format which might have been devised for surprise results and failed predictions if it was not so obvious commercial considerations clearly came first.

It is an illustration of how effectively Pakistan have repeatedly shot themselves in the foot in the intervening nine months that drastic English improvement is easier to imagine than mere consolidation from Afridi and Co.

England have had precious few Twenty20 opportunities to erase the memories of their infamous Lord's defeat by Holland or that Duckworth-Lewis debacle against West Indies at The Oval.

Unlike Pakistan, at least their captain remains - Paul Collingwood having apparently added a new dimension to his limited-overs power-hitting, and ensured his general stock has risen too thanks to the bulldog spirit which helped close out crucial Test draws against Australia at Cardiff and South Africa in Cape Town.

Successive drawn Twenty20 series have come at home to Australia - when autumn rain drenched any prospect of a result in either match - away to South Africa, and against Pakistan themselves in the United Arab Emirates.

The last of those provided a neat indication of each team's current position and reasonable pretensions to success in a major International Cricket Council tournament.

Pakistan were at that point on the third of their four captains in under a year,Shoaib Malik having since ceded to Afridi amid a collective blood-letting that is extreme even by the outlandish standards already well set over the years.

In summary, the captaincy tenures of last summer's genial World Twenty20 leader Younus Khan, Malik and Test specialist Mohammad Yousuf are all ended - the last-named having retired from all cricket for good measure - as the inquiry into Pakistan's singularly unsuccessful winter tour of Australia recommended stringent bans and fines for more or less everyone involved.

The upshot is that Pakistan will arrive in the Caribbean bereft of much talent at their disposal last summer - although the unpredictable Afridi and fellow all-rounder Abdul Razzaq remain eminently capable of winning Twenty20s largely on their own.

By comparison, England have had a benign but unremarkable time in the shortest format.

Their winter of discontent came in 2008/09 when captain Kevin Pietersen and coach Peter Moores lost their jobs.

Relatively minor shuffling of the pack has followed the disappointment on home soil last year. But the emergence of wicketkeeper-batsman Craig Kieswetterand middle-order man Eoin Morgan means they have two feasible contenders to be the player of any tournament.

With Kevin Pietersen apparently back in sync too and Collingwood reinvented, England look capable of hitting defendable scores or chasing successfully given a fair chance. But whether their current bowling staff is sufficiently developed and has the depth to keep them in games is unproven.

West Indies and Ireland are group opposition who give England an obvious chance to progress to the second stage at least.

But the sensible call is to look well beyond them and Pakistan - drawn with Australia and Bangladesh - in search of a tournament heavyweight.

Australia have plenty to prove after a hapless campaign in England last summer that made their hosts' performance look positively competent and has left them seeded ninth and bottom of the Test-playing countries this time round.

Ricky Ponting has since sacrificed Twenty20 from his repertoire, and there is every reason to expect Michael Clarke's Australia to respond to unfamiliar failure with a much more typical and lasting challenge.

Both Pakistan and inaugural winners India will have evident extra motivation to do the sub-continent proud this time, having gone out in the group stages of the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni's team have wall-to-wall talent from one to 15, and - like Australia - will want to forget what happened in England last year.

Crucial to the success of the tournament as a spectacle will be the progress or otherwise of West Indies. They ought to win through their group but will do well not to under-estimate Ireland, coached by former Windies batsman Phil Simmons.

Ireland, their qualifying tournament conquerors Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe make up the strongest 'minnow' contingent of any ICC tournament so far.

Success cannot be taken for granted against any of them - and in this format, Bangladesh could do much more than win the odd game.

They are hardly likely outright winners either, of course.

That honour must go to one of Sri Lanka, South Africa or India.

Last year's finalists Sri Lanka seemed to have the team for all occasions, until Afridi burst their bubble at Lord's.

South Africa, minus coach Mickey Arthur after a tough examination at home to England in the winter, will again have to prove their doubters wrong as they seek to defy the 'chokers' tag.

India are therefore a tentative choice to become the first country to win this title twice.

Sri Lankan artists take Punjab to 174

2010-04-16T09:15:00.000-07:00

20 overs Kings XI Punjab 174 for 3 (Jayawardene 93*, Sangakkara 52) v Deccan Chargers

The breathtaking hilly surroundings in Dharamsala were rendered invisible via a night game, but two of the most graceful batsmen going around gathered runs in a manner befitting the serene small town. Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara brought out their technical expertise to score fifties on a difficult pitch to take Kings XI Punjab to a strong total. The Deccan Chargers bowlers were back to type, going for 76 in the last five; Jayawardene got 57 off the last 18 balls he faced. Uncultured shots were conspicuous by absence.

It was a dry surface covered in grass from good-length area on one end to just back of a length on the other. Anything pitched in the grassy areas got extra bounce and seam movement. Even Mitchell Marsh, a military medium bowler, managed to trouble the batsmen. Ryan Harris used the conditions best, removing Shaun Marsh for a duck, with the extra bounce, and then not giving the Sri Lankan batsmen anything in the non-grassy zone.

Mitchell and RP, though, didn't manage to hit the right lengths consistently. RP let Sangakkara off with a half-volley in his first over, and followed up with two to Jayawardene in his second. In between, though, he got one to pitch at the edge of the grassy area, and it kicked up sharply towards the temple. It took all of Jayawardene's skills to drop his wrists and get his head out of the way. Sangakkara applauded at the other end. And then proceeded to show two classical drives, either side of the wicket, to pitched-up deliveries from Mitchell in the last over of the Powerplay, by which point Punjab had moved to 43, out of which Sangakkara had contributed 26 off 21.

Even as Jayawardene struggled to get the timing right in the middle overs, Sangakkara kept playing the pretty strokes, getting 26 more off the next 15 balls he faced. Rahul Sharma, who had dropped Jayawardene when on 21 off 23, came to make good for it by removing Sangakkara with the second ball he bowled. Or so he thought. Next four overs went for just 12, with Yuvraj Singh and Jayawardene struggling with the extra bounce, but there was another think coming.

In the 16th over, Jayawardene, 36 off 44 then, smashed Rahul for a six and a four, the latter thanks to a misfield by Harris at extra cover. The 17th over, from RP, went for five back-to-back boundaries from Jayawardene. The fifth of the lot, a yorker, squeezed past short fine, was the only one off a good delivery.

In the 19th, even Harris bowled length and Jayawardene and Yuvraj took 18 runs off it, double of what he had gone for in the first three. Bravely Gilchrist invited RP to bowl the last over. The bowler duly brought up his fifty by going for 14 runs, and he had Yuvraj to thank for. The batsman holed out to long-off, and didn't cross over, an act that would have allowed Jayawardene to play the last delivery.

Australia romp to 125-run triumph

2010-02-19T08:55:00.000-08:00

Australia 5 for 324 (Ponting 61, Hopes 57*, Watson 51) beat West Indies 199 (Sammy 47, Bollinger 3-33) by 125 runs

In a summer of big one-day wins, Australia saved one of their heftiest victories for last. After Ricky Ponting, James Hopes and Shane Watson set up a daunting 5 for 324, Doug Bollinger continued his torment of Chris Gayle and the West Indies top order crumbled - again - to leave the crowd in no doubt about the approaching result less than five overs in to the chase.

The 125-run triumph maintained Australia's chances of going through the summer undefeated in all forms of the game, with two Twenty20s against West Indies all that remain. Already they have equalled their effort of 2000-01, the only other home season when they did not lose a Test or ODI. Back then the team boasted Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist and Mark Waugh, and faced West Indies and Zimbabwe.

The developing Australia of this summer will be extra pleased with their record, although their opponents Pakistan and West Indies have been weak. Here West Indies dropped five catches and for the third time in the series they were three down by the end of the fifth over. Little wonder that at the end of a string of such one-sided contests, only 15,538 fans turned up - the fewest ever for an ODI between the two teams at the MCG.

Those who did attend saw Bollinger snuff out West Indies' chances when he picked up Gayle's wicket for the sixth time in seven matches this summer. The only Test or ODI in which he failed to do so was the Sydney wash-out, when West Indies batted for six balls. Two top-edged sixes from Gayle were followed by a leading edge to cover and Bollinger had two wickets having trapped Travis Dowlin lbw from the second ball of the chase.

Ryan Harris added Narsingh Deonarine, who played on for 4, and Wavell Hinds, who gave Steven Smith his first ODI catch. Kieron Pollard's 45 featured two sixes but when he holed out to Smith in the deep off Hopes, all that was left for the crowd to look forward to was Smith's maiden wicket, an lbw against Denesh Ramdin, and a fighting 47 not out from Darren Sammy. Still, they had been treated to some exciting strokeplay during the Australian innings.

Ponting and Watson built the platform with half-centuries before Hopes and Adam Voges blasted them past the 300-mark in the final stages. Their 82-run partnership in 7.1 overs featured superb placement from both men, especially Hopes, who struck ten fours and found the gaps with ease. He made his third ODI half-century and took only 24 balls to do it, giving him the fifth-quickest one-day fifty by an Australian.

Hopes finished unbeaten on 57 while Voges remained not out on 45. Hopes was put down at long-on by Hinds late in the innings and it continued a woeful fielding effort from West Indies. The selectors also made the strange decision to make no changes to the side that lost in Brisbane, despite the strike bowler Kemar Roach being passed fit.

It meant that the openers Watson and Brad Haddin were confronted with medium-pace new-ball offerings and they enjoyed hitting through the line, down the ground and over the top. Dwayne Smith and Ravi Rampaul obliged by serving up half-volleys and both men watched sixes sail back over their heads.

Watson in particular butchered the bowling and he brought up his half-century from 49 balls with perhaps the best of his three sixes, a searing pull over wide midwicket off Sammy. Two deliveries later Watson tried to work a Sammy full toss into the same region and was taken at deep midwicket for 51. Haddin was the quieter partner but still struck two sixes in his 42-ball 32 before he played on trying to pull Pollard.

Michael Clarke and Ponting calmly compiled a 104-run stand that included a couple of sixes but mostly consisted of push-and-run play with the field back. Ponting fell on 61 from 55 balls when he tried to glide Pollard through the vacant cordon and managed only to find the wicketkeeper's gloves. Clarke's 58-ball 47 ended when he miscued a pull off Rampaul and skied a catch to mid-on, where Deonarine barely clasped the chance.

Deonarine had already dropped Ponting on 47 at square leg when the batsman's sweep off Nikita Miller stayed a bit low. Ponting was given another life on 55 when Hinds' throw missed with Ponting a long way out of his ground. Haddin also enjoyed two breaks. On 7, Dowlin dropped a sitter at second slip before two balls later the bowler Smith couldn't quite hold on to a flat-batted smash back at him. Watson was also grassed on 29 when he flicked Smith to short fine-leg, where Rampaul missed a chance he should have taken.

It all combined to mean another easy win for Australia. Gayle predicted at the start of the series that West Indies would beat Australia 4-1; they lost 4-0. But they did win the tosses 4-1.

Calm Hussey seals 5-0 whitewash

2010-01-31T07:56:00.000-08:00

Australia 8 for 214 (Ponting 55, Hussey 40*) beat Pakistan 212 (Umar Akmal 67, Fawad Alam 63, McKay 4-35, Harris 3-44) by two wickets

As Britain's Andy Murray faltered in his attempt to win his first Grand Slam title taking on world No.1 Roger Federer in the Australian Open final in Melbourne, a more absorbing sporting contest took place in Perth. Having bowled out Pakistan for 212, Australia were made to fight every inch for the two-wicket win that handed Pakistan their second 5-0 sweep in history. Fittingly, it was Michael Hussey, Australia's most valuable player for a scrap, who steered them home with an unbeaten 40.

After Clint McKay set the tone with 4 for 35, there was a welcome return to form for Ricky Ponting, whose 55 gave Australia the early initiative which was never entirely abandoned despite a tigerish performance from Pakistan's spinners. Australia had begun the series with a brilliant chase at the Gabba and finished off the rout with Hussey again there to oversee victory, which was achieved in the last over courtesy a no-ball. They will go into the ODIs against West Indies in buoyant mood, while Pakistan look at their calendar for the few months - which only includes Twenty20s until July - still disheveled and searching for their mojo.

After four one-sided affairs, it was good to witness a contest in the last match. Defending a low total, Pakistan's only chance was to bowl Australia out. They took two wickets inside the fielding Powerplay as the openers fell to aerial shots, but the way Ponting was playing, Australia looked on course for a comfortable win. His first ball was fended wide of the slips for four, and two strokes soon after were especially memorable - an incredible back-foot punch to a length ball and a caressed nudge past square leg. Two more controlled leg-side boundaries had Ponting off to a flier.

Mohammad Asif had been the best Pakistan bowler in this series, but today it was the spinners who scrambled Australia's intentions and turned a walk in the park into a tiptoe through a minefield. On a pitch that had showed signs of cracking after Pakistan's innings, Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik, recalled for the specialist spinner Saeed Ajmal, made a fist of defending a modest total.

Afridi, the captain today, made the key breakthrough as the in-form Cameron White reached way outside off stump and dragged the ball onto his stumps in the 17th over. With that Ponting stepped down a notch, allowing Afridi and Malik to slowly apply the squeeze. After crossing fifty for the first time in nearly three months, Ponting danced down to Malik and picked out long-on. Not too long after Malik struck again when he lured Adam Voges out of his crease and an easy catch was held at midwicket. James Hopes never looked in command against spin and became Afridi's second when an outer edge was well taken by Younis Khan at slip. Australia had lost three wickets for 28 runs, and at 6 for 150, their performance was in danger of freefall.

But one man was still there. Hussey's tussle with Malik was especially compelling - Malik repeatedly tried to beat Hussey in flight, and each time Hussey rose to the challenge, using the depth of his crease well. Even when he wasn't to the pitch he was willing to take some chances, reaching out to steer the ball. A superbly placed late cut in the 44th over took the equation to 39 from 38 balls, but in the second over of the batting Powerplay Mitchell Johnson chased and nicked Naved-ul-Hasan behind.

Nathan Hauritz, coming off a maiden ODI fifty, eased the pressure with a spanking four in the next over before he turned his attention to Naved, steering a deliberate shot to third man. With fine leg up, Iftikhar strayed down leg and Hussey pulled four, cuing chants from that section of the crowd. Brilliant running, some nerves from the fielders and another controlled pull from Hussey allowed Australia scamper past the finish line with four deliveries to spare.

Earlier in the day, it had been Pakistan's batsmen who pressed the self-destruct button. The Australian fast bowlers - led by Ryan Harris, who added impressive control to his pacy offerings - shackled the Pakistan top order early in the piece. Umar Akmal, and Fawad Alam subsequently injected some momentum with half-centuries - only one other batsman got to double digits - but Pakistan were restricted to a total far below what they would have liked.

After opting to bat, Pakistan had taken 17 balls to put a run on the board and 48 to strike the first four. Harris, Johnson and McKay each struck in their first overs and a score of 3 for 17 after 13 overs summed up Pakistan's predicament. The three quicks landed the ball around an off-stump line, varied the length fractionally and found the tiniest bit of movement. McKay's first three overs were run-free out of a period in which Pakistan went five overs for a single run. Umar survived a couple of close calls early on, edging outside off and missing twice, but soon tightened up and looked confident and competent. Johnson returned and effected a run-out off his own bowling, after Umar dabbed a short ball and harried off, sending Malik on his way for 36.

The acceleration was smooth for a good stretch, with Fawad playing well. Between overs 21.2 and 34.2 there were only three boundaries as Hopes and Hauritz were able to operate largely unmolested, but with each run the pair added Pakistan inched towards a respectable total. Fawad timed the ball well from the start, getting off the mark with a controlled steer off a Johnson yorker, and then found the gaps far more consistently than any of the other batsmen did.

Umar raised his fifty from 87 balls but once the stand was broken - and it took a clever slower delivery from McKay to do it - Australia tightened the screw again superbly by taking the last six wickets for 54 runs in 53 deliveries; Harris took his tally to 13 wickets in three consecutive games and McKay snared 4 for 35. Despite pushing Australia to the limit under lights, a target of 213 wasn't enough.

Pakistan bat after bringing in Afridi and Akmal

2010-01-21T21:02:00.000-08:00

akistan's new-look batting order has an early chance to show it can be a force after Mohammad Yousuf won the toss in the opening ODI of the five-match series in Brisbane. The tourists, who lost the Test contest 3-0, have been boosted by the inclusion of Younis Khan and Shahid Afridi while Kamran Akmal has been restored at the top of the order.

Akmal was dropped from the Test team for his poor keeping during the Sydney Test, but he will take the gloves and Sarfraz Ahmed will watch from the sidelines. The fast bowler Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, who has been playing Twenty20 games for Tasmania, was preferred to Umar Gul and joins Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer in a pace attack that should enjoy the evening conditions.

Australia are carrying a 12-man squad and left out James Hopes, the Queensland allrounder, who is only with the team for this match. Ricky Ponting would have liked to have batted on a hard pitch with green tinges, but will be forced to chase under lights in steamy conditions.

Australia 1 Shane Watson, 2 Shaun Marsh, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Hussey, 5 Michael Clarke, 6 Cameron White, 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 Nathan Hauritz, 9 Clint McKay, 10 Peter Siddle, 11 Doug Bollinger.

Pakistan 1 Salman Butt, 2 Kamran Akmal (wk), 3 Younis Khan, 4 Mohammad Yousuf (capt), 5 Umar Akmal, 6 Shoaib Malik, 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, 9 Mohammad Asif, 10 Mohammed Aamer, 11 Saeed Ajmal.

India coast to win despite Mushfiqur century

2010-01-21T20:59:00.000-08:00

India 243 (Tendulkar 105, Sehwag 52, Shakib 5-62, Shahadat 5-71) and 413 for 8 dec. (Gambhir 116, Laxman 69, Mishra 50) beat Bangladesh 242 (Mahmudullah 69, Zaheer 3-54, Mishra 3-66) and 301 (Mushfiqur 101, Tamim 52, Mishra 4-92, Ishant 3-48) by 113 runs

Tamim Iqbal's brief resistance and Mushfiqur Rahim's crowd-pleasing century were way too inadequate for Bangladesh who had no surprises lined up on the final day. Even with an off-rhythm Sreesanth making it a virtual three-man attack, Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan paved India's way to an eventually comfortable win despite their first-innings failure and murky conditions curtailing action on every day of the match. Despite Mushfiqur's knock - the fastest hundred for a Bangladesh player - alongside the tail, they could not last until the final session.

In the end, it was the batsmen who let the Bangladesh bowlers down. Their bowlers might have shown they were better than ordinary, getting India out for 243 in the first innings, but both their batting efforts were ordinary. In the final innings, none of the batsmen showed either the aptitude or the inclination to bat out long periods on a flat pitch and on a day where bad light was bound to cut the day short.

The signs were all there in the first ten minutes of the day. Mohammad Ashraful carried on from an edgy first innings. After surviving two slashes and edges in the first three overs, he drove on the up at an Ishant delivery that held its line enough to take a healthy edge. Raqibul Hasan showed the willingness to fight it out, even taking a blow on the elbow, but Ishant's re-discovered offcutter proved to be too good for him, trapping him plumb in front.

The only bit of fight came from Tamim, who survived the early thorough examination given by Ishant and Zaheer. He concentrated hard, and quelled his natural game for the first hour. Except for one loose drive in the second over, he resisted the cover-drives, and instead relied on bunting the balls close to him for singles. He did not concentrate for long enough, though. The way he tried to open up against Sreesanth and Amit Mishra showed that the first hour had taken a big extra effort. From 27 off 81, when the back-up bowlers were introduced, he moved to 50 off 106, bringing up the milestone with a reverse-sweep.

Eight minutes before lunch, Tamim gave it all away. Virender Sehwag had replaced Sreesanth, and in his second over, Tamim went for a big booming drive when he was close to neither the line nor the length of the delivery. The outside edge was snapped well by an alert Rahul Dravid, and India were sensing the win.

The only man who could hold them up was Shakib Al Hasan, and post the break, he got a special googly from Mishra that kicked at him and took the shoulder of his bat on its way to silly point. Mahmudullah, who scored 69 in the first innings, got into a personal battle with Zaheer, and eventually Bangladesh paid for it. Bouncers, verbals, hooks, upper-cuts, and then a tame edge outside off.

Mushfiqur stood on the burning deck, hit his way to a personal best, added 60 for the eight wicket, then cut, pulled and lofted some more, made Sreesanth mouth off like a madman for no reason, manoeuvred the strike expertly, and managed a consolatory maiden century. Mishra kept at the task, mixing the googlies well with the legbreaks, and took out the last three wickets.

Dhoni out of first Test

2010-01-16T06:02:00.001-08:00

MS Dhoni has been ruled out of the first Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong because of a back strain. Virender Sehwag, his deputy, will lead India in the match scheduled to start on Sunday, the Indian team manager Arshad Ayub confirmed.

Australia extend lead to 277 after Butt ton

2010-01-16T05:54:00.000-08:00

Australia 8 for 519 dec and 1 for 59 lead Pakistan 301 (Butt 102, Malik 58, Katich 3-34, Hauritz 3-96) by 277 runs

Salman Butt's third Test century and Ricky Ponting's decision not to enforce the follow-on should ensure the Hobart Test goes for the full five days, although Australia remain in control with a 277-run advantage. After the second day's play, Ponting talked up the likelihood of making Pakistan bat again straight away, but his mind was changed when it took the bowlers 105.4 overs to dismiss them the first time.

Eventually, after a 60-minute last-wicket partnership between Umar Gul and Mohammad Asif that spanned both sides of the tea break, Nathan Hauritz finished off Pakistan for 301, leaving them 218 short of Australia's total. But Ponting wanted a break for his fast men and, despite the expected showers over the next two days, will set Pakistan a fourth-innings target.

Australia reached 1 for 59 at stumps with Simon Katich on 33 and Ponting on 25 after Shane Watson departed in the second over for 1. Watson skied a catch when he miscued Mohammad Aamer and it was the first time since the summer-opening Gabba Test match that he had failed to post a half-century in either innings.

Batting wasn't difficult on the good surface, as demonstrated by the inability of Australia's fast men to break through with the second new ball when they were trying to prise out Gul and Asif. Peter Siddle, Doug Bollinger and Mitchell Johnson didn't help their cause by abandoning the key principle of new-ball bowling - pitching up to allow swing - and banged it in far too short against the tailenders.

The pair added 53 for the final wicket and provided some entertaining highlights, including three powerful sixes from Gul, who finished unbeaten on 38. Asif posted 29, his highest Test score, before he skied a catch to mid-on off Hauritz, who ended up with 3 for 96. The tail-end pluck only served to highlight how disappointing much of Pakistan's batting effort was, with the exception of Butt and Shoaib Malik.

Their fighting three-hour stand that lasted until after lunch was characterised by concentration and patience, two traits that Pakistan's batsmen have so often lacked on this trip. Butt was strong off the back foot through the off side and Malik put in a good audition to permanently return to the Test line-up before the part-time spin of Katich split the pair up.

Katich had Butt caught at slip for 102, which was his first Test century for four years and a much-needed one after he was responsible for running out Mohammad Yousuf and Umar Akmal on the second afternoon. It was enough for Yousuf to brand Butt a "lazy" runner and although the captain wasn't spotted cheering Butt's century, he must surely have been pleased that his opener took on the extra responsibility after his lapses.

The loss of Butt led to a collapse of 5 for 35 as Katich ran through the lower middle-order and finished with 3 for 34, his second-best Test figures. Katich tossed one up across the body of the right-hander Sarfraz Ahmed, who edged to slip for 1, and then drew Aamer into an exotic slog-sweep that flew high in the air and was swallowed by Watson at cover.

In between, Hauritz had chipped in with the key wicket of Malik, who by then was Pakistan's best hope of avoiding the follow-on. He threw his innings away with a lusty aerial drive that was taken at mid-on, and Hauritz followed with Danish Kaneria, caught at cover.

Then came the last-wicket stand, which was Pakistan's best in Tests for three years. Together with the efforts of Butt and Malik, it was enough to make Ponting think twice about the follow-on and the next two days will reveal if it was enough to save the match.

Bowlers, Jayawardene take SL to title

2010-01-13T08:42:00.000-08:00

Sri Lanka 249 for 6 (Jayawardene 71*, Sangakkara 55) beat India 245 (Raina 106, Kulasekara 4-48) by four wickets

Historically, when it comes to finals of triangular tournaments, Sri Lanka have had the upper hand over India, who in the last decade succeeded in winning just four in 21 finals. A familiar tale panned out in Dhaka, where a frenetic start was followed by an enthralling finish and the result was yet another tournament win for Sri Lanka over India.

Of all the individual contributions that were spread across 96.5 overs of fluctuating cricket in Dhaka, the one that towered over all others was a 71. Those were the runs scored by Mahela Jayawardene, and it undermined the importance of his surprise call-up to the squad midway through the tri-series. Building on the good work of Sri Lanka's bowlers, especially the Man of the Match Nuwan Kulasekara, Jayawardene smoothed over two spin-induced wobbles and paced the chase precisely to steer them home with nine balls to spare on a chilly evening.

Suresh Raina's first ODI century against serious opposition - his previous two were against Hong Kong and Bangladesh - had boosted India from 60 for 5 to a respectable 245 but they were a strike bowler short after Ashish Nehra took a wicket and left the field. Harbhajan Singh produced two openings with his tidy offspin yet Jayawardene was flawless in his match-winning effort. And to think he'd initially been ruled out of the series through injury.

When India dismissed the well-set pair of Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara in the space of 14 deliveries on a rare dew-free evening, their total seemed around 40 runs more than it actually was. India turned in a fighting performance after Sangakkara and Dilshan fell, but fittingly it was Jayawardene, Sri Lanka's most experienced player, who anchored the chase.

After Nehra sent back Tharanga for his second consecutive duck, only to hobble off with a dodgy groin after bowling eight deliveries, Zaheer Khan and Sreesanth, especially, struggled with their bearings and Sangakkara, with very good use of the wrists, latched on readily. He was away with two expertly placed boundaries, just using the pace and putting width away through the off-side arc, and followed those up with two glorious drives past extra cover and point. With Sangakkara striking the ball sweetly, Dilshan set about erecting a platform that would see Sri Lanka through.

However, 93 for 1 soon turned into 109 for 3, with spin giving India some hope. MS Dhoni turned to Yuvraj Singh for the 17th over, and it took him one delivery to raise India's spirits. Dilshan, on 49, tried to cut but the ball stayed low and Dhoni made no mistake holding the bottom edge. In the 20th over Sangakkara, who had raised his half-century off just 48 balls, was tempted by a loopy one from Harbhajan Singh that forced him back and then drew the edge to slip.

Boundaries dried up and the tension was palpable, as was perhaps the batsmen's surprise at the minimal effect the dew had. Where cuts and glances had been abundant, suddenly hard-handed chops to backward point and inside edges off hurried drives became frequent. There was big turn for Harbhajan and Dhoni threw in a leg gully to go with a slip.

But Jayawardene is just the man you need to walk in with the asking rate under control and a batsman in good nick at the other end. He aided Sri Lanka's chase with customary effectiveness: a forward press here, a clipped single there, a deft boundary here, a cheeky two there. It was typical Jayawardene - aware of what the situation demanded and knowing which bowlers to take runs off and how.

Having eased the pressure with a lovely dab wide of backward point for four, Thilan Samaraweera failed to spot Ravindra Jadeja's arm ball and dragged it onto his stumps. That wicket snapped a 48-run partnership, but few circumstances ruffle Jayawardene and he ensured he was around till the end. Harbhajan's dismissal of Thilina Kandamby in his second spell didn't bother Jayawardene, who raised his fifty with a characteristic nudge off the pads. A drop by Harbhajan at point when Jayawardene was on 54 was as close as India came to dismissing him. Even the run out of Suraj Randiv with 18 needed from 21 balls wasn't enough. With three successive boundaries off Sreesanth, each played to different areas and with varying degrees of control, Jayawardene sealed the deal.

Jayawardene's innings overshadowed a splendid century earlier in the day. Raina's effort was the fourth-highest ODI score by an Indian at No. 6 and kept India afloat but Sri Lanka finished off well, taking the last four wickets for 32 runs in 5.2 overs. By bowling India out in 48.2 overs with some tight bowling at the end, they were always ahead in the match.

For the first 11 overs of the game on an overcast and mildly chilly Dhaka afternoon, India's innings resembled an automobile ignition on a wintry morning in Denmark. A mishmash of indiscreet shot selection, accurate new-ball bowling, efficient left-arm pace and smart catching is often a recipe for a lop-sided contest and India so nearly made it one. The top order played without purpose - completely failing to make use of the chance to bat time at the crease - and wickets fell in a heap within the first ten overs.

Gautam Gambhir's first-over dismissal - bowled off the pads while trying to glance Kulasekara - set about a brief period of chaos where India's batsmen made the slightly nippy Chanaka Welegedara look like Jeff Thomson. Though hovering in the late 120 to early 130 kmph, Welegedara drew a tentative waft from Kohli and made Yuvraj - who had not batted so early in the innings since November 8 against Australia - look like a novice with two slips licking their lips.

Overconfidence did Dhoni and Virender Sehwag in after a mini-recovery, as both fell to the accurate Kulasekara, and with India struggling at 76 for 5 after 15 overs, this was threatening to be one of the quickest finals in recent memory. Luckily for India, Raina and Jadeja proceeded to buckle down and give the innings some substance.

Raina never allowed the situation get to him. He was alert to the singles, was skillful at finding the gaps, and ran well with Jadeja. A pull through midwicket in the 20th over changed the tempo from caution to slow acceleration, and an open-faced steer between mid-off and extra cover was the shot of the innings. Forty one of Raina's runs came behind the wicket, all through dabs, steers, glances and gentle maneuvering, but it was the crisply struck drives that had spectators cheering. The cover area was regularly threaded, especially as Raina made room to dominate the bowlers.

At 166 for 5 in the 35th over, India appeared on course for 250 but Dilshan trapped Jadeja (38) plumb in front. Raina's attempt to boost the tempo after reaching his century didn't come off, with India losing wickets cheaply. Despite facing 53 dot balls, Raina's strike-rate was a swift 92.17; marvelous considering the mess he had walked out to. His excellent contribution at least gave India something to bowl at, but 245 just wasn't enough to prevent Sri Lanka from securing their first tri-series success since the 2008 Asia Cup - against the same opposition.

Triangular series glory for Sri Lanka

2010-01-13T08:39:00.000-08:00

A clinical all-round performance helped Sri Lanka defeat India by four wickets in the final of the triangular one-day series in Dhaka.

A strong effort with the ball from Nuwan Kulasekara and Chanaka Welegedara had left India reeling at 60 for five at one stage, but they recovered well through battling knocks from Suresh Raina (106), Virender Sehwag (42) and Ravindra Jadeja (38) to finish 245 all out.

Sri Lanka lost an early wicket, but Kumar Sangakkara (55) and Tillakaratne Dilshan (49) kick-started the recovery while Mahela Jayawardene hit an unbeaten 71 as they eased to victory inside 49 overs.

Sangakkara won his fifth toss in a row and new-ball bowlers Kulasekara and Welegedara gave Sri Lanka the perfect start by snaring quick wickets and destroying India's batting line-up.

Kulasekara removed Gautam Gambhir for a second-ball duck in his first over in bizarre fashion, a delivery pitched just outside leg stump flicking a protruding edge of the left-hander's thigh pad and cannoning into the stumps.

Welegedara claimed wickets in successive overs although both Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh - and Mahendra Singh Dhoni later - did themselves little credit with their poor shot selection.

Sehwag batted on serenely during the carnage, hammering Kulasekara for three boundaries in four deliveries early in his innings and easily finding the ropes thereafter.

He fell just short of the half-century, attempting to guide a rising delivery from Kulasekara to third man, but only steering straight to Sangakkara.

Raina and Jadeja rebuilt slowly, accumulating runs through excellent singles and twos rather than boundaries.

Raina eventually opened up as he closed in on his half-century and reached the mark with consecutive boundaries off Thissara Perera.

Sri Lanka, however, regrouped during the second drinks interval and Tillakaratne Dilshan broke the stand by trapping Jadeja in front.

And although Raina went on to reach only his third ODI century, India were bowled out inside their full quota of overs.

Sri Lanka lost Upul Tharanga at the start of their chase, the batsman slashing at a delivery from Ashish Nehra, but only edging to Kohli at second slip.

But India's chances suffered a blow when Nehra pulled up with a groin injury in the middle of his second over and made his way off the field.

Dilshan and Sangakkara took up the chase and the two steered Sri Lanka into a dominant position with a 93-run stand for the second wicket almost at a run-a-ball.

India clawed their way back through a fine performance from their spinners, Yuvraj opening the door with the wicket of Dilshan with the first delivery he sent down.

Sangakkara, who reached his 55th ODI half-century, was then snared by Harbhajan Singh, the bowler finally securing the Sri Lanka captain's wicket after troubling him considerably with vicious spin.

A stand between Thilan Samaraweera and Jayawardene was then broken by Jadeja, the left-arm spinner extracting Samaraweera, while Thilina Kandamy was trapped in front by Harbhajan in his final over as Sri Lanka showed familiar frailties.

Sri Lanka lost two more wickets making for a tight finish, but Jayawardene kept a cool head to see his team across the line.

Raina-led recovery ends at 245

2010-01-13T03:55:00.001-08:00

48.2 overs India 245 (Raina 106, Sehwag 42, Kulasekara 4-48) v Sri Lanka

Suresh Raina's first ODI century against a serious opposition - his previous two were against Hong Kong and Bangladesh - could prove to be his most influential contribution when a rejuvenated India take the field to defend 245 in Dhaka. Having dug themselves into a gaping hole at 60 for 5, India were made to fight every inch for their total and while it is far less than what they should have got on a good batting track, it looks a whole lot better thanks to Raina.

His effort was the fourth-highest ODI score by an Indian at No. 6. From the time he entered the carnage in the ninth over, with India 4 for 47, to the time he was dismissed for 106 in the 46th over, Raina was confidence personified. However, Sri Lanka finished off well, taking the last four wickets for 32 runs in 5.2 overs and, given the notorious dew factor, will back themselves to chase this and secure a rare tournament title.

For the fulcrum of that belief, rewind to an overcast and mildly chilly Dhaka afternoon, when India's innings resembled an automobile ignition on a wintry morning in Denmark. A mishmash of indiscreet shot selection, accurate new-ball bowling, efficient left-arm pace and smart catching is often a recipe for a lop-sided contest and India so nearly made it one. The top order played without purpose - completely failing to make use of the chance to bat time at the crease - and wickets fell in a heap before the second fielding Powerplay was taken.

Gautam Gambhir's first-over dismissal - bowled off the pads while trying to glance Nuwan Kulasekara - set about a brief period of chaos where India's batsmen made the slightly nippy Chanaka Welegedara look like Jeff Thomson. Virat Kohli, in a rich vein of form, had only himself to blame when he steered a wide ball to Kumar Sangakkara. The change of angle had worked for Welegedara, who, with the previous ball, had been unfortunate to have a good lbw shout turned down. For Yuvraj Singh, who had not batted so early in the innings since November 8 against Australia, Sangakkara plugged two slips in a strong off-side field. It worked to perfection, as Yuvraj stood up and flirted with a rising delivery outside off stump and was well snapped up by Thilan Samaraweera at second slip, plucking the thick outside edge with one hand. Welegedara, hovering in the late 120s to early 130 kmph, had made Yuvraj look like a novice.

Sehwag - who went past 7,000 ODI runs today - didn't think it was over, counterattacking for a period in which boundaries flowed square on the off side with precision. But overconfidence did MS Dhoni in, as he attempted another drive and nicked Kulasekara to Sangakkara, for the wicketkeeper's 300th ODI dismissal. As with several Sehwag cameos in the recent past, this too wouldn't last. Sangakkara opted not to take the second fielding Powerplay after ten overs and Sehwag, looking to manufacture a run, uppercut Kulasekara to Sangakkara. It was the fourth time an Indian batsman had played an injudicious shot.

With India struggling at 76 for 5 after 15 overs, this was threatening to be one of the quickest finals in recent memory. Luckily for India, Raina and Jadeja proceeded to buckle down and give the innings a backbone. Raina was the more dominant partner after settling down to bat sensibly. After beginning with a wild shot that evaded mid-off, he showed signs of real intent. A pull through midwicket in the 20th over changed the tempo from survival to acceleration, and an open-faced steer between mid-off and extra cover was the shot of the innings. In Jadeja, who looked more suited to the situation that his senior team-mate, he found a capable ally with whom he stitched together an invaluable 106-run stand that helped push India's score to a respectable 245.

As their confidence increased, so did the nature of their shots. For the first 30-odd minutes of their alliance Raina and Jadeja were circumspect, content to thrust bat and pad together, and began flicking deliveries on off stump and just outside with precision. Fielders moved back from cover to deep extra cover and point to deep backward point as the pair began dabbing Suraj Randiv's spin with soft hands square on the off side as well.

Raina never allowed the situation get to him. He was alert to the singles, was skilled at placing the ball into the gaps, and called and responded well with Jadeja. Forty one of Raina's runs came behind the wicket, all through dabs, steers, glance and gentle maneuvering, but it was the crisply struck drives that had spectators purring and then cheering. The cover area was regularly threaded, especially as Raina made room to dominate the bowlers.

At 166 for 5 in the 35th over, India appeared on course for 250 but Dilshan trapped Jadeja (38) plumb in front. Harbhajan Singh (11 from 26 balls) and Zaheer Khan (16 from 8) helped India reach 200, but Raina's attempt to boost the tempo, after he crossed his century and lost No's 8 and 9, didn't come off. Despite facing 53 dot balls, Raina's strike-rate was a swift 92.17; marvelous considering the mess he had walked out to. Of the 185 runs scored since he came to the middle, Raina contributed 106. His excellent contribution at least gave India something to bowl at.

India start well in chase of 248

2010-01-11T04:40:00.001-08:00

A fine innings of 85 from Shakib Al Hasan and a fine supporting hand from Mahmudullah took Bangladesh to a decent total in the final round-robin match of this tri-series. With Naeem Islam chipping in with a brisk 22, Bangladesh took 47 from the batting Powerplay and 95 from the final 10 overs. Mahmudullah remained unbeaten on 64.

They had slumped to 95 for 5 before Shakib and Mahmudullah added 106 from 128 balls. Shakib was dropped by MS Dhoni off Yuvraj Singh when he had made just 38 and he took advantage with some punishing strokes in the final stages of the innings. A huge six over midwicket off Ravindra Jadeja started the acceleration, and he took Amit Mishra in the same direction when he dropped one short.

There was some fortune, with a top edge clearing Dhoni for four, but there was also plenty of ability, with Sudeep Tyagi pulled for two fours and then scooped impudently down to fine leg. But when he tried to repeat the stroke against a slower ball from Ashish Nehra, he only found Dhoni's gloves.

Mahmudullah had started off with a thump over cover off Mishra, and he then lofted Nehra down to long-off for four more. Sreesanth was cut powerfully for four and Mishra lofted over long-on for six as the runs came far more freely in the final stages. Naeem swung Nehra for a six at the end and slashed another four as the sparse crowd celebrated a frenetic finish to the innings.

India had started much the better. After a maiden from Tyagi, Imrul Kayes had flailed twice through the off side as Sreesanth pitched too wide, but when he tried the same approach against Tyagi, he was caught by Virat Kohli at point. And thoughts of consolidation vanished when Mohammad Ashraful, who had already played one reckless shot to third man, decided to give Sreesanth the charge and only played on via the pads.

Raqibul Hasan played some chancy strokes, and one delightful pull off Tyagi, while Tamim Iqbal, after a cautious start, lofted Sreesanth over mid-on and then pulled him for four. But again, a wicket fell just when they could least afford it, with Tamim driving Nehra on the up to mid-off, where Tyagi took an excellent catch on the run.

Raqibul was then run out as Yuvraj managed to deflect a Shakib drive on the stumps, and though Shakib gave the fans something to cheer with some crisp strokes through the off side, Mushfiqur Rahim lobbed a slower one from Yuvraj straight to the man at cover to leave the side in disarray with half the overs remaining. Honour was subsequently restored, but with dew such a factor and the pitch so placid, it was unlikely to be enough.

India dominate SL on way to final

2010-01-10T06:50:00.000-08:00

India 214 for 2 (Kohli 71*, Gambhir 71, Karthik 48) beat Sri Lanka 213 (Sangakkara 68, Randiv 56, Zaheer 3-38, Mishra 3-40) by eight wickets

ndia's best fielding performance in ODIs since the Champions Trophy in September last year set up their march to the final by way of a thumping win. It wasn't anything spectacular: half chances were taken and easy ones not missed, marking a big improvement on their recent fielding form. That, coupled with impressive bowling from Zaheer Khan and Amit Mishra, pulled Sri Lanka from an explosive start and restricted them to a paltry 213, which was chased down with 17.2 overs to spare.

Zaheer was the pick of the bowlers, creating one half chance, and two fairly easy ones. At one stage his figures read 6-2-11-2. Sri Lanka had chosen to bat to allow their bowlers experience first-hand the wet conditions before the final, but it took resilient half-centuries from Kumar Sangakkara and Suraj Randiv to take the match far enough for the dew to set in.

If Sangakkara and Randiv had to work hard, India's runs came with predictable ease: Gautam Gambhir scored his 19th half-century, Dinesh Karthik narrowly missed a fourth, and Virat Kohli made it to his fourth 50-plus score in his last five innings.

But it was the first 11 overs of the match that staged the decisive action: two wicket-maidens, a wicket in the first over of new spells on three occasions and, between that, scintillating batting from Tillakaratne Dilshan. Coming back from a groin injury, Dilshan decided to do away with the running. He just drove, cut, pulled and late-cut eight boundaries in 17 deliveries to deflate any confidence India and Sudeep Tyagi would have gained from getting Upul Tharanga out in the first over.

When Zaheer was brought on, in the sixth over, Dilshan had hit seven boundaries in his 29, and Sri Lanka nine in their 38. He was pulled for a four second ball. The next ball took a thick edge, and was dying on Gambhir at fine gully before he snared it. Zaheer was pumped, and proceeded to bowl to a plan that worked just fine for him. Nothing to drive, a short cover in place, playing on the batsmen's patience with the nagging accuracy. Mahela Jayawardene gave in, driving a ball that should not have been driven, and Kohli hung on to a sharp catch at short cover.

Back came Sreesanth, whose first two overs had gone for 16, and Thilan Samaraweera walked across to a straight delivery and missed. Forty-two for 1 in 5.2 overs became 61 for 4 in 10.2. Soon Thilina Kandamby was run out, his fifth such dismissal out of 23. This time, though, he was sold a dummy by his captain, and was done in a by a smart throw from Karthik and quick backing-up by Zaheer.

Thissara Perera, bounced and verbalised by Zaheer, tried to target Mishra, but Yuvraj Singh pulled out a diving catch at wide long-on, not his last contribution to Sri Lanka's woes. Sangakkara, who had reached 32 off 42 by then, responded to Perera's wicket by stepping out and hitting Sreesanth for four. He dominated a seventh-wicket partnership that took Sri Lanka closer to 150, but that's when Yuvraj struck.

Sangakkara had tried to make full use of every loose delivery that came his way, and also took calculated risks to keep the scoreboard from stagnating. But when he pulled a Yuvraj delivery which was too full, he had completed 43 innings without a century. Randiv and Thilan Thushara added 59 for the eighth wicket, a stand that saw Randiv through to his first List A fifty. But when the time came to press on, when they opted for the Powerplay in the 44th over, the tail came up short, and Sri Lanka were bundled out by Zaheer and Mishra, with four overs still to go.

If there was any doubt to which way the match was going, Karthik and Gambhir removed it by taking 86 off the first 10 overs. Sri Lanka's last chance of preventing India from getting the bonus point vanished when Dilshan and Tharanga dropped Gambhir on 41 and 44 respectively.

Karthik did no harm to his chances of pushing for a place in further matches by following up a catch and a smart run-out with a dominating role in the opening partnership. He started off with a streaky boundary past the slip but soon got into the groove, punishing errors in both line and length. Anything straying on the pads was flicked through midwicket, and the ones short were cut through point and covers. Gambhir smartly assumed the second fiddle, capitalising on width when not milking singles.

Once with Kohli, and with fields spread, the two got down to exploiting the gaps, running almost on intuition, scoring 60 off their 72-run partnership on foot. Upon Gambhir's dismissal, Kohli asked for the Powerplay and quickly finished Sri Lanka off, accelerating from 33 off 48 to 71 off 68.

Disciplined India keep SL to 213

2010-01-10T03:36:00.000-08:00

It was the Indian fielding which came to the aid of their fast bowlers when they were being pummelled by Tillakaratne Dilshan. It wasn't anything spectacular: they just converted every opportunity the bowlers created - a big improvement on their recent fielding form - and just like that India had reined in a murderous start from Dilshan and sent back six Sri Lankan batsmen for below 100 at one stage. Zaheer Khan was the pick of the bowlers, creating two of those opportunities in a spell that at one point read 6-2-11-2.

The first 11 overs were full of frenetic action: two wicket-maidens, on three occasions wickets fell in the first over of new spells, and in between there was scintillating batting from Dilshan, which ensured 40 of the first 42 runs came in boundaries. Dilshan perhaps, didn't want to test the injured groin that kept him away from the two previous games. Instead he just drove, cut, pulled and late cut eight boundaries in 17 deliveries to deflate any confidence that India and Sudeep Tyagi would have gained from sending back Upul Tharanga in the first over.

In the fifth over of the innings, Dilshan hammered Tyagi for his fifth, sixth and seventh boundaries, and then took a single - his first out of a score of 29, and Sri Lanka's second out of 38. Kumar Sangakkara, too, had smacked two boundaries by then, and India were in a familiar situaiton of not knowing where to bowl to the aggressive batsmen.

On came Zaheer, who was pulled for a four off his second ball, which was to be Dilshan's last. The next ball took a thick edge and looked to be dying on Gautam Gambhir at fine gully, but was snared. Zaheer was pumped, and then he proceeded to bowl to a plan that worked just fine for him: nothing to drive, short cover in place and playing on the batsmen's patience with the nagging accuracy. Mahela gave in, driving a ball he should not have, and Virat Kohli hung on to a sharp catch at short cover.

Back came Sreesanth, whose first two overs had gone for 16, and Thilan Samaraweera walked across to a straight delivery and missed. Forty-two for 1 in 5.2 overs became 61 for 4 in 10.2 overs. Soon Thilina Kandamby was run out, for the fifth time in his career. However, this time he was sold a dummy by his captain, and was done in a by a smart throw from Dinesh Karthik and snappy backing-up by Zaheer.

Thissara Perera, who had hurt India twice before this, appeared uncomfortable from the start. He got the bouncers and the verbals from Zaheer as defence didn't seem to be working. Amit Mishra had kept things tight, starting off with a maiden, and when Perera went for broke in his next over, Yuvraj Singh pulled out a special catch diving at wide long-on.

Six down in the 19th over, Sri Lanka, who chose to bat first in order to give their bowlers an experience of wet conditions under lights, were threatening to end the match even before dew would set in. Sangakkara had reached 32 off 42 by then, and took charge, taking the odd risk and not going into a shell altogether.

The immediate response to Perera's wicket was stepping out and hitting Sreesanth for four, and he then started placing the balls and making the most of every loose delivery that came for the spinners. By the 25-over mark, he had crossed his fifty, and had added 35 along with Suraj Randiv.

Welegedara was the last wicket to fall as he was stumped by Dhoni off Amit Mishra for 1.

Moments after the wicket of Thilan Thushara, India picked up yet another wicket as Amit Mishara cleaned up Suraj Randiv for 56. The Lankan scorecard read 209/9.

Suraj Randiv scored a fighting half-ton and put on a half century partnership with Thilan Thushara as Sri Lanka crawled back into the match after being reduced to 143/7 at one stage.

Sri Lanka, however, lost the wicket of Thushara soon after as he was brilliantly caught by Yuvraj Singh off Zaheer Khan for 28.

After fighting a lone battle for his team, Kumar Sangakkara finally departed for 68 as Sri Lanka were reduced to 143/7.

Sangakkara was caught by Suresh Raina off Yuvraj Singh as he mistimed a pull-shot.

Thisarra Perera departed to a stupendous catch by Yuvraj Singh off Mishra in the deep as Sri Lanka lost their sixth wicket with just 84 runs on the board.

Sri Lanka lost their fifth wicket in the form of Thilina Kandamby, who was run-out as a result of a mix-up with Sangakkkara for just 1.

Moments after the wicket of Jayawardene, Sri Lanka suffered another blow as they lost the wicket of Samaraweera for a duck. Samaraweera was trapped in front of the wickets by Sreesanth.

Zaheer Khan picked up his second wicket of the innings as he sent back Mahela Jayawardene to reduce the Sri Lankan team to 60/3.

Jayawardene was caught by Virat Kohli at short cover for 5.

After scoring 33 runs off just 17 balls, Tillakaratne Dilshan was sent back by Zaheer Khan, much to the relief of the Indian bowlers.

Dilshan was looking in ominous touch as he spanked 8 fours in his innings before being caught by Gautam Gambhir at slip.

Sudeep Tyagi took India off to a dream start as he removed Upul Tharanga in the very first over of the innings. Tharanga was caught by Karthik for a duck.

Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara won the toss and, a bit surprisingly, opted to bat first in their last league encounter of the tri-series against India.

India have made a few changes to their playing eleven from the last game against Bangladesh as they have decided to rest Sehwag, Harbhajan and Nehra and brought in Karhik, Mishra and Tyagi.

For the Lankans, Dilshan is back while Malinga has made way for Welegedara.

SL openers steamroll Bangladesh

2010-01-08T10:15:00.001-08:00

Sri Lanka 252 for 1 (Tharanga 114*, Jayawardene 108) beat Bangladesh 249 for 9 (Shakib 47, Raqibul 43, Perera 2-32, Randiv 2-40)

A succession of bowling changes within the first eight overs of the chase indicated where the match was heading. Bangladesh, under immense pressure to defend a modest - by this tournament's standards - 250, found themselves at the receiving end of an annihilation by Sri Lanka. Mahela Jayawardene and Upul Tharanga compiled centuries with risk-free cricket and the hosts were at the mercy of the conditions again. The decision to advance play by half an hour to protect the bowlers from the dew made no iota of difference.

Tharanga and Jayawardene caressed the ball around, as if the fielders didn't exist. Jayawardene, initially rested for this tournament, was rushed to Bangladesh as an injury cover and he didn't waste much time settling down. He imposed himself with three boundaries in the second over, off Rubel Hossain, flicking and driving through the off side. Shakib Al Hasan, sensing the futility of bowling his seamers in tandem, took them off after the third over.

It made no difference. Shakib himself was taken for consecutive boundaries by Tharanga as soon as he brought himself on, in the fifth over. The same treatment was reserved for Mahmudullah, who was punished by Tharanga in his first over for dropping it short. It was sensible cricket against some very ordinary bowling. The bowlers couldn't grip it properly and fed many deliveries on the pads.

Batting from the crease had never been this easy. The pair complemented each other stroke for stroke, giving room to glide the spinners past the keeper for boundaries to third man. The spinners were almost forced to bowl it flat because of the dew, and that allowed the batsmen enough time to rock back and place their shots in the gaps. A flick down to fine leg brought up Jayawardene's fifty, while Tharanga reached his milestone with a fierce cut off Ashraful past backward point. Tharanga continued to pick the gaps with his eyes shut, taking Rasel for three effortless boundaries in an over. With every punch, flick and cut, the game drifted away from Bangladesh, who had already thrown in the towel.

Shakib didn't opt for the bowling Powerplay in the 11th over because he had no other option but to go on the defensive. By the eighth over, he had used five bowlers, and, by the 14th, he had used seven. They were hurt by the absence of a raw quick bowler to hurry the batsmen with bounce. The bowlers were made to wait for the batsmen to make mistakes but instead, they were made to witness a batting performance close to perfection.

With the target well within reach, it was a question of who would get to a century first. Jayawardene punished the easy short deliveries which Rubel dished out and reached three figures with a cut for four to deep point. Tharanga got to his milestone with a similar shot. Jayawardene had all but taken his team home, when he edged Naeem Islam to the keeper for 104. It was Bangladesh's only success of the evening.

Looking back, the hosts would have wished they batted better. After the top order wasted good starts, the middle order took time to consolidate. They still had wickets in hand to accelerate in the last ten overs, but despite saving the Powerplay almost till the end, couldn't seal the innings with a flourish.

However, the game still had the makings of yet another high-scoring encounter when Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes set off confidently again. But Tamim, Ashraful and Kayes made starts and got out at the wrong time. It was upto the Hasans - Shakib and Raqibul - to consolidate after that. Shakib was trying to play himself into form after two successive failures and was happy to push the singles. There was a boundary drought for 14.1 overs, before Raqibul broke the shackles with a powerful sweep off Malinga Bandara to deep midwicket.

The pair added 77 in nearly 20 overs before a false shot cost Raqibul his wicket. Mushfiqur Rahim certainly impacted the decibel levels in the crowd when he mowed Thilan Samaraweera for two sixes in an over off deep midwicket and heralded the Powerplay with improvised boundaries. But Shakib and Mushfiqur perished while trying to clear the boundaries and with those breakthroughs, Sri Lanka clawed back.

With the field restrictions in place. Mahmudullah was trapped in two minds whether to attack freely or adopt a more cautious approach. The bowlers changed their pace very effectively to strangle the scoring. Sri Lanka tightened their grip by picking up a wicket in each of the five overs, for 32 runs. It was the second-worst performance in the batting Powerplay in ODIs, after Pakistan lost 6 for 41 against India at Centurion in last year's Champions Trophy. Bangladesh ended with a total which, by the end of the game, seemed a 100 short.

Dhoni and Kohli seal comfortable win for India

2010-01-07T08:50:00.000-08:00

India 297 for 4 (Dhoni 101*, Kohli 91) beat Bangladesh 296 for 6 (Kayes 70, Mahmudullah 60*, Tamim 60) by six wickets

A commendable performance with the bat, followed by an inspired opening burst wasn't enough for Bangladesh to pull off a surprise win against India at the Shere Bangla Stadium. The Indian middle order, led by Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni, kept the hopes of the expectant crowd at bay with an ice-cool stand under pressure. For a while in the beginning of the chase, it seemed as if Shakib Al Hasan's decision at the toss would be vindicated, but the hard realisation hit home that even 296 wasn't enough to counter an in-form batting unit and a familiar foe called dew.

It undid all the hard work by a trio of half-centuries by Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes and Mahmudullah. Bangladesh posted their highest ODI total against a major Test playing country, surpassing their 285 against Pakistan. With India in trouble at 51 for 3, there was hope for Bangladesh. Shakib got his strategy right by unleashing his slow bowlers early and India had to sweat it out before they found their feet.

Abdur Razzak and Syed Rasel opened the bowling and kept the pressure by attacking the stumps. But it was a combination of casual running and purposeful fielding which led to Virender Sehwag's run-out, off a direct hit by the bowler Razzak. Sehwag failed to dive but he knew he was gone before the third umpire adjudicated. Gautam Gambhir dragged one on to his stumps and Yuvraj Singh played inside the line and lost his off stump to Rasel.

The match then turned when Dhoni and Kohli collaborated. Although Dhoni emerged the top scorer with 101, it was Kohli at the forefront in the stand of 154 for the fourth wicket. He displayed the kind of attitude and application one would associate with Rahul Dravid - cool under pressure, prepared to wait for the loose deliveries, push the singles and not get too bogged down if the boundaries aren't coming.

They struggled initially, hitting the ball straight to the fielders but later started to find the gaps. Two early boundaries off Abdur Razzak got Kohli going and he showed his strengths on both sides of the wicket , sweeping the spinners, cutting square and pulling whenever they dropped it short. The pressure began to tell on Bangladesh with a couple of misfields at the boundary - one by Tamim and the other by Razzak - was just what India needed. Kohli knocked it around and reached a valuable fifty.

As the dew worsened, the spinners were forced to bowl it flat and that gave the batting pair an opening as they kept the scoreboard ticking, without ever lagging far behind the required rate. Their stand featured 36 runs off boundaries, indicative of the number of singles and twos they picked up. The field was spread out and Bangladesh started going through the motions. They fluffed the only chance which came their way - a return catch put down off Dhoni by Shakib. At that stage, he was on 61.

Kohli started cramping up and called for a runner (Gambhir). However, he fell nine short of a century when he spooned one back to Shakib, this time hanging on to the catch. But the spinners failed to spark a collapse. Dhoni was quick to pounce on anything short and regularly rocked back to club it past midwicket. Suresh Raina joined him to finish the game comfortably with 15 balls to spare.

The defeat masked a sound batting performance by Bangladesh. Tamim batted with supreme confidence for an exciting 60 while Imrul played the supporting role, looking to occupy the crease and build partnerships. India clawed back during the middle overs before Mahmudullah scripted an attacking fifty during the batting Powerplay.

Tamim and Kayes added 80 in 11 overs on a sun-baked pitch which had no pace or movement for the seamers. Tamim played some enterprising shots on the on side, forcing Dhoni to get proactive with his field placings. His fifty came off 33 balls, the fastest by a Bangladesh batsman against India. Unfortunately, the entertainment ended when he tried to pull Sreesanth and found Gautam Gambhir at short midwicket. Kayes wasn't as flamboyant, but proved just as threatening. He preferred to stay at the crease and play his shots, grafting against the spinners and pushing the singles. He wasn't afraid to sweep Harbhajan Singh against the turn from round the wicket, and found the gaps at fine leg and deep square leg.

Bangladesh lost their way a bit after they lost Mohammad Ashraful and then Shakib for a duck. That was followed by another period of consolidation, between Raqibul Hasan and Mahmudullah who added 32 in 6.2 overs. Mahmudullah was scoreless for 11 deliveries but opened up with a sweep for four off Yuvraj. He was setting himself up for the batting Powerplay, which was delayed till the last five overs. Like in their opening game against Sri Lanka, the home fans were treated to another final-over flourish, this time by Mahmudullah. Three consecutive boundaries in the over, off Sreesanth, helped Bangladesh surge to 296. There was hope from the stands for another couple of hours before it all vanished.

England secure yet another thriller

2010-01-07T08:48:00.000-08:00

ngland 273 (Prior 76, Morkel 5-75) and 296 for 9 (Bell 78, Collingwood 40) drew with South Africa 291 (Kallis 108, Anderson 5-63) and 447 for 7 declared (Smith 180, Amla 95)
Ian Bell produced the innings of his life and Paul Collingwood battled for four-and-a-half hours in another masterclass of crease occupation, but England's ultimate hero was once again their No. 11, Graham Onions, who reprised his heroics in the first Test at Centurion by seeing off the final six deliveries of the match, bowled by Morne Morkel, to ensure that England will go to Johannesburg for next week's fourth and final Test with a 1-0 lead in the series and a chance to emulate the achievement of Michael Vaughan's men on their last tour of South Africa in 2004-05.

In a day of desperate tension that began with England uncomfortably placed on 132 for 3 and deep in the mire after going to lunch on 179 for 5, Bell and Collingwood seemed to have drawn the sting of South Africa's attack in an epic and virtually strokeless sixth-wicket stand to 112 in 57 overs. But then, just when it seemed that the draw was inevitable, JP Duminy found the edge that had eluded all of his team-mates, but most particularly the magnificent but luckless Dale Steyn, to send Collingwood on his way for 40, and trigger a fraught final hour in which four wickets were chiselled away for 18 irrelevant runs, in 64 balls.

With eight men were camped round the bat for the spinners, and gasps and appeals ringing out from the fielders and crowd alike, Matt Prior came and went for 4 from nine balls, brilliantly scooped by AB de Villiers at short leg to give Paul Harris his first wicket of an otherwise disappointing day's work. Stuart Broad survived one referral for a catch at silly point, but was then nailed on the glove by another Harris lifter, and sent on his way with 20 deliveries of the match remaining. By this stage Steyn, the only seamer to truly rise to the occasion, had been recalled at the Kelvin Grove End give the ever-scrutinised Bell a final test of his resolve, buzzing a full length on and around the top of off stump to keep both the slips and short leg in business.

But three deliveries after Broad's departure, it was Morne Morkel who made the critical incision, as Graeme Smith tossed him the ball for a final, furious two-over burst, and with his first delivery he found extra bounce on a perfect length outside off, for Bell to fence dejectedly to Smith himself at first slip. It had been a magnificent performance from Bell, a vindication of his selection as the sixth batsman in England's starting XI, and a continuation of the new-found confidence that he had shown since his breakthrough century on the decisive fourth day at Durban. But just when it seemed he was set to be the hero, he blinked and departed for 78 from 213 balls, and South Africa sensed a sensational turnaround.

But first they had to get through the unlikely tenth-wicket pairing of Onions and Swann, two men who have already shown their ability with the bat in this series. Onions memorably defied Makhaya Ntini for the final six deliveries at Centurion, and he showed he was primed for survival by riding a vicious fifth-ball lifter from Morkel inches short of gully. To add to the drama, Steyn then required physio treatment after seemingly tweaking his hamstring from the first ball of the penultimate over. Though he was fit to continue, he was destined to finish a luckless day with the under-rewarded figures of 2 for 74 in 35 overs.

And so everything, once again, came down to the final over. And just as at Centurion, it was Onions who was left with the job of blocking everything that came his way. Whereas Ntini's skiddy angles had been comparatively easy to negotiate, Morkel's height and pace provided a whole new examination of his grit and resolve, as he jabbed down coolly on a brace of probing yorkers, before hauling his bat inside the line of a snorting bouncer that tempted a desperate Smith to call for his final review in the hope of locating some glove. But one delivery later, Onions left well alone in the channel outside off, before turning to the pavilion and punching his fist in triumph.

Mahela Jayawardene arrives to bolster injury-hit squad

2010-01-07T01:36:00.000-08:00

Sri Lanka have called up Mahela Jayawardene to boost their injury-hit squad midway through the tri-series in Bangladesh. The team has lost the services of three men on this tour: Tillakaratne Dilshan picked up a groin injury during the first game against Bangladesh, Chamara Silva fractured his thumb during training, and Muthumudalige Pushpakumara injured his shoulder in the game against India. In addition to Jayawardene, Sri Lanka have called up the 20-year old uncapped wicketkeeper Dinesh Chandimal and the opener Mahela Udawatte, 23, who has played nine ODIs.

"Mahela is fit and ready to play," Brendon Kuruppu, the manager, said. "Dilshan and Pushpakamara are under observation and Chamara Silva has gone back to Sri Lanka."

Chandimal, who admires Romesh Kaluwitharana, was drafted into the Nondescripts Cricket Club at the behest of Sangakkara and came into limelight when he scored his maiden first-class century against New Zealand in 2009, against an attack that included Chris Martin, Daryl Tuffey, Iain O'Brien, Jacob Oram and Daniel Vettori.

Udawatte , an attacking batsman, has been seen as the potential long-term prospect for the national ODI side for some time now. He is rated highly by the likes of Jayawardene and made his debut in 2008 and hit his highest score of 73 in his third ODI against West Indies.

Sri Lanka have already been badly hit by injuries in the recent past with 10 players missing games at various points. Apart from the injured trio in this series, Jayawardene, Muttiah Muralitharan, Dilhara Fernando, Thilan Thushara, Angelo Mathews, Lasith Malinga, and Nuwan Kulasekara have been sidelined by injuries.

England Suffer At The Hands Of Smith

2010-01-05T22:22:00.000-08:00

Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla piled on the punishment for England to set up a series-levelling platform on day three of the third Test at Newlands.

Nothing went right for England's hard-working attack as they wilted in the heat - and South Africa took advantage in a record second-wicket stand of 230 out of 312 for two at stumps.

Smith's eventual share of the proceeds was an unbeaten 162 from 243 balls, with England toiling under cloudless skies, while Amla (95) struck 10 fours in his first 50 runs.

There was clearly no indication that Stuart Broad's studs - when he stood on the ball to stop a straight-drive before lunch - had any untoward effect on its subsequent behaviour, as England went wicketless for 54 overs.

South Africa's second innings was more notable perhaps for several examples of DRS in action, with mixed results.

Ashwell Prince survived one faulty caught-behind decision off James Anderson, on review, then was rightly dispatched when he queried another - lbw to Graeme Swann.

Smith came through a saga of reviews and non-reviews for lbw against the England off-spinner, as well as a clutch of other scrapes - with short-leg, wicketkeeper and slip always interested in the early stage of his innings as he tried to make sure Swann did not settle.

The South Africa captain gradually ground England into submission, then upped the ante after tea on his way to and beyond three figures for the 19th time as his partnership with Amla beat the previous Test highest for the wicket at this venue.

Smith thought he was gone immediately after his hundred but wicketkeeper Matt Prior quickly made it clear the edge off Graham Onions had not carried.

Instead, Smith ploughed on - taking particular toll on Jonathan Trott's occasional medium-pace, with four fours in one over.

Amla made most of his gains from the pace bowlers - picking up regular boundaries behind square on the off-side, with no third-man in place.

He had lost some momentum, though, by the time Swann finally broke through again via a bat-pad catch.

Even then, no respite ever came for England - whose day was summed up shortly before the close when an outstanding reaction catch by a diving Paul Collingwood at slip was ruled irrelevant as the third umpire concluded Jacques Kallis, on 12, had not made contact with an attempted sweep at Swann in the first place.

By then, the tourists surely knew they must contemplate trying to salvage a draw by batting out the last four sessions at least to somehow keep their noses in front when they arrive in Johannesburg next week.

When Morne Morkel had taken two wickets in two balls in the first over of the day, it seemed certain England - having begun on 241 for seven - would concede an awkward first-innings deficit.

But thanks to Prior (76), who dominated a last-wicket stand of 32 with Onions, they narrowed the margin to only 18 on 273 all out.

Before Prior could receive his first ball, Morkel (five for 75) was on a hat-trick.

The extra bounce available with the second new ball was crucial, and there was little either Swann or Anderson could have done to save themselves when the 6ft 6in tall Morkel landed two brutish deliveries in the perfect spot.

The only difference between the two dismissals was that they came in mirror image - left-hander Anderson following Swann for a first-ball duck, but both edges held by Smith at slip.

Prior responded with some adventurous shots and clever shepherding of the strike.

Onions faced only nine of 31 balls while Prior took his boundary count up to nine until he was last out to Dale Steyn (four for 74), trying to control a shoulder-high pull for a single only to drag the ball down on to his stumps.

Australia secure stunning 36-run win

2010-01-05T22:20:00.000-08:00

Pakistan erased 77 of the 176 run victory target, but Australia claimed three top-order wickets as this gripping Test match threatened to go down to the wire. Both sides will be satisfied with their progress after lunch, although Australian can lay claims to having had the better of the day following a morning session that witnessed Michael Hussey and Peter Siddle add 123 runs for the ninth wicket.

Imran Farhat and Salman Butt began the second session in an aggressive mood, taking the attack to the Australians - and Siddle in particular - as they sought a quick kill. Siddle went within centremetres of having Butt caught at gully by a diving Hussey, but thereafter was guilty of over-pitching and was punished to the tune of 27 runs from his four-over spell.

A change of bowler brought a change of fortune, however. Doug Bollinger proved troublesome for both openers with his full length, and was rewarded with the wicket of Farhat, caught by Mitchell Johnson at midwicket attempting to drive on the up. Johnson then sent shivers through the Pakistani dressing room by removing Faisal Iqbal and Butt within the space of three deliveries to reduce the tourists to 3 for 51.

Iqbal was drawn into a drive by a full-pitched Johnson delivery, only to edge to Brad Haddin. The Australian wicketkeeper was immediately called back into action with the spectacular, diving catch of Butt down the legside, a grab that might have been the best of his international career. Mohammad Yousuf and Umar Akmal ensured there was no further damage before the tea break, moving the Pakistani second innings total to 3 for 77 with a trio of boundaries off Nathan Hauritz.

Earlier, Hussey took full advantage of Yousuf's oddly defensive captaincy and a placid SCG pitch to restore Australia's victory prospects in the second Test. Hussey and Siddle carried their bats through the first session and at one stage looked set to break the 116-year-old ninth-innings Australian partnership record set by Syd Gregory and Jack Blackham also at the SCG.

Australia's revival was assisted greatly by the timid tactics of the Pakistanis who, as a result, were faced with a testing fourth-innings chase. Yousuf's defensive field configurations - which included eight men on the fence for Hussey, who was not in the business of dealing in singles as he sheltered Siddle from the strike - did little to enhance his own reputation as a leading tactician and played into the hands of the Australians.

Hussey has made more fluent centuries, but few as important as that completed on Wednesday. Having watched on from the non-striker's end as Australia lost 5 for 40 the previous day, Hussey seized control of the Australian innings on a flat batting surface and, in the process, relieved any lingering doubt that may have been hanging over his position in the team.

Hussey declined the charity singles being offered by Yousuf and instead looked to pierce the boundaries with drives that seldom left the carpet. He entered the nineties with back-to-back cover driven fours off the bowling of Danish Kaneria and sealed his first ton of the summer with a glorious straight drive off Umar Gul. Hussey punched the air in delight upon reaching the milestone, acutely aware of the innings' importance in the context of the match. Siddle, meanwhile, batted with tremendous discipline and restraint to raise his highest Test score.

Mohammad Asif and Kaneria claimed the final two Australian wickets six overs after the lunch break, but not before the hosts had added 95 runs on the fourth morning. Asif ended the obstinate stand of Hussey and Siddle by removing the latter to a shorter delivery gloved to slip. Kaneria then completed the innings and a personal five-wicket haul by bowling Doug Bollinger with a delivery that ricocheted off the batsman's elbow and foot. Hussey remained unbeaten on 134.

Smith century pushes England to the wall

2010-01-05T09:08:00.001-08:00

Close South Africa 291 (Kallis 108, Anderson 5-63) and 312 for 2 (Smith 162*, Kallis 20*) lead England 273 (Prior 76, Morkel 5-75) by 330 runs
Graeme Smith loves nothing better than to grind England into the dust, and on the hottest day of the tour so far, he produced an innings of intensity and drive to set up the prospect of a series-squaring victory in the third Test at Newlands. By the close he was still powering along, unbeaten on 162 from 243 balls, as South Africa amassed a hefty second-innings total of 312 for 2, and an overall lead of 330. With two days remaining and the weather set fair, England will require a similar show of mental and technical strength to avoid slumping to their fourth defeat in four post-Apartheid visits to Cape Town.

In the course of his epic innings, and as a measure of his importance to his country, Smith became only the second Test captain after Allan Border to amass 6000 Test runs. Famously, more than 600 of those came in his first two appearances against England back in 2003, while his unbeaten 154 at Edgbaston five years later almost singlehandedly secured South Africa their first series win in the country since readmission. The message for England is clear: without mastering Smith, they cannot expect to master South Africa, and given the humiliation his team suffered in Durban last week, his resolve in this contest has been heightened all the more.

Following the now-habitual early loss of Ashwell Prince, whom Graeme Swann dismissed for the third time in five balls this series, the bulk of Smith's work came in a 54-over stand with Hashim Amla that spanned the entire afternoon session and realised 230 runs, a record for the second wicket at Newlands. Unusually it was Amla who set the initial pace, as he carved 12 fours before tea, most of them through point and third man as England's seamers served up too much width, but after the break Smith really began to cut loose, as he sensed the flagging morale of his opponents, and recognised an opportunity to cash in.

Up until that point, he had saved his most aggressive tendencies for Swann, whom he looked to work against the spin and through midwicket at every opportunity, but in the final session he hurtled from 65 to 162 in a matter of 117 balls. James Anderson was pulled off a good length before being driven straight in a classic double-whammy, and he added another cut through backward point in his next over before drilling a low full-toss from Graham Onions through midwicket to bring up his 19th Test century from 170 balls, and his fifth in 17 Tests against England.

With that milestone under his belt, there was no looking back. Andrew Strauss moved entirely onto the defensive, packing the offside field and urging his bowlers to aim two feet outside the stumps, but Smith carried on chasing every hint of width, picking the gap in the covers and extending his mastery over the match situation. Jonathan Trott's exploratory swingers were rifled out of the attack to the tune of six fours in three overs, including four in five balls to end his work for the day, while Stuart Broad, who cut a grumpy figure all day, was slapped with impunity through point time and again, as Smith hurtled past 150 for the fourth time against England.

As if England's problems weren't already mounting, Broad also attracted the scrutiny of the umpires when he was seen in one incident to tread on the ball with his spikes as it rolled back along the pitch towards him. If it was an attempt to scuff up one side of the ball, it was spectacularly unsuccessful. Though England did locate some reverse swing as the afternoon wore on, they were unable to utilise it to any sort of advantage. "All he did was stand on the ball," said a terse England coach, Andy Flower, after the close.

Only one bowler could be relied upon to cause Smith any problems, and even then he wasn't able to cut the flow of runs. Swann might have dismissed Smith three times in his first over alone, via an lbw appeal, an edge short of slip, and a top-edged sweep that looped into no-man's land, but his biggest and most significant let-off was to come. On 51, Swann straightened a delivery on middle stump that was initially adjudged lbw, but Smith rightly suspected that the ball was bouncing too much. Sure enough, the replays showed it would have skimmed over the top of off stump, and so his vigil went on.

Instead, Swann had to make do with the scalps of Prince, who survived a bizarre referral for caught-behind on 5 but then wasted one 10 runs later after being pinned plumb lbw, and Amla, who would have richly deserved his second century of the series, but was never quite able to restart his innings after reaching tea on 73 not out. He was becalmed on 91 for 13 deliveries before drilling a drive through the covers to move to 95, but in the same Swann over, he propped half-forward, and bobbled a low bat-pad chance to Alastair Cook at short leg.

At 261 for 2, however, damage limitation was the only thing on England's mind, and Jacques Kallis, the first-innings centurion, was in no mood to allow any further wickets to fall. He accompanied Smith for 14.2 overs in a half-century stand before the close, to reach stumps on 20 not out.

Still, if England could take any vague cause for optimism from the day's events, it came courtesy of Matt Prior, who carried the attack back to South Africa with a hard-hitting 76 in the morning session, after Morne Morkel had claimed back-to-back breakthroughs in his first over of the day, as England added 32 runs to their overnight 241 for 7 to finish their first innings on 273.

Prior, who resumed on his overnight 52, was powerless to react at first as Morkel ripped through England's lower-order, dismissing Swann without addition to his overnight 5 courtesy of a fourth-ball lifter that took the glove and flew to Smith at first slip, before Anderson was handed the second duck of his Test career as Smith again claimed a regulation edge. But with the No. 11 Onions for company, he demonstrated the reliability of the pace and bounce to whittle to overnight deficit down from 50 to 18. By the end of the day, such feats were small beer, but nevertheless, the rewards for confident batting are there to be had. And England will need to play with plenty confidence in the coming two days.

Samaraweera stars as Sri Lanka see off India

2010-01-05T09:02:00.000-08:00

Thilan Samaraweera cracked a classy century as Sri Lanka defeated India by five wickets in the second match of the triangular one-day series in Dhaka.

Samaraweera scored an undefeated 105 at nearly a run-a-ball and shared a century partnership with Kumar Sangakkara (60) as Sri Lanka easily chased India's score of 279 for nine.

Virender Sehwag weighed in with a brutal 47 to give India a decent platform, while Yuvraj Singh hit 74, but Chanaka Welegedera claimed five for 66 to peg India to a below-par total.

Samarweera and a lively cameo from Thissara Perera (36 from 15 deliveries) at the end then ensured victory with two overs to spare.

Sangakkara won his second toss in a row, invited India to bat first and found instant success with the wicket of Gautam Gambhir.

Welegedera claimed his first victim when he cleverly slipped in a yorker and hit the base of leg stump to send the aggressive left-hand opener back to the pavilion.

Sehwag, dealing primarily in boundaries, got India back on course for a big total as he added 47 in just under four overs with Virat Kohli for the second wicket.

But Welegedera struck twice in quick succession, first removing Kohli and then Sehwag to leave India stuttering.

Yuvraj and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (37) rebuilt the innings with a 99-run stand for the fourth wicket but, just when they were beginning to open up, Sri Lanka pulled things back again.

Medium pacer Perera struck in his first over to remove Dhoni, caught behind by Sangakkara and Perera found more success with the wicket of Yuvraj.

India again rebuilt through Suresh Raina (35) and Ravindra Jadeja (39), but Welegedera returned to send back Raina and Zaheer Khan and India faltered at the death.

Although Ashish Nehra, who shared the new ball with Zaheer Khan, bowled superbly for no reward at the start, Upul Tharanga (30) and debutant Lahiru Thirimanne (22) had blazed away, the two adding 22 for the opening stand.

First change bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, who was hammered for three boundaries in four deliveries in his first over, then broke through, snaring Thirimanne who miscued a pull and skied to Gambhir at square leg.

Harbhajan Singh then removed Tharanga - caught and bowled and the pressure mounted on Sri Lanka as the run-rate mounted.

The experienced pair of Sangakkara and Samaraweera then came together and hauled Sri Lanka back into contention with a 122-run - off only 126 deliveries - stand for the third wicket.

Sangakkara then threw his wicket away and Thilina Kandamy was Harbhajan's third scalp as India clawed their way back into contention.

Sri Lanka needed 81 from 82 deliveries at the fall of Sangakkara's wicket and although Sri Lanka lost Suraj Randib cheaply they still had the edge.

Samaraweera raised his century off 104 deliveries - only his second century and his best against India in an ODI - and Perera landed some lusty blows to take the game away from India.

Pakistan dominate with 204-run lead

2010-01-04T08:08:00.000-08:00

Pakistan 9 for 331 (Butt 71, Farhat 53, Bollinger 3-70) lead Australia 127 by 204 runs

An attritional first two sessions gave way to an explosive finale as first Mohammad Yousuf and later Umar Akmal helped propel Pakistan to an imposing 204-run first innings lead. Their frenetic efforts capitalised on the 109-run opening stand of Imran Farhat and Salman Butt as Pakistan advanced to 9 for 331 at stumps, having displayed greater discipline and match-awareness than their Australian counterparts the previous day.

The tourists endured a testing opening to the second day in gloomy, seaming conditions, but brightened in line with the weather over the course of the afternoon. Yousuf provided an immediate lift to procedings by adding 27 runs in the space of 28 deliveries in the period leading to tea, while Akmal made his skipper look relatively pedestrian by striking five boundaries from his first seven deliveries faced en route to a 48-ball innings of 49.

That Yousuf and Akmal fell short of half-centuries was due partly to Pakistan's penchant for attacking strokeplay in the final session and partly to the persistence of the Australian bowlers. Having been provided little to work with by their batsmen, Australia's attack stuck to their task admirably and were rewarded with seven final-session wickets, many caught in the deep as Pakistan sought quick runs.

Pakistan could be accused of taking their foot from the throats of the Australians in the lead-up to stumps, having at one stage thrust to 205 for the loss of two wickets on a surface drying by the hour. That may be so, but the tourists nonetheless outplayed their rivals in four of the five sessions through Monday, and are ideally positioned to break their ten-game losing streak to the Australians at the very venue where they last tasted victory.

The hosts made amends for an indifferent morning in the field with a series of excellent catches, none better than Haddin's spectacular diving effort to remove the dangerous Yousuf. The veteran batsman had, to that point, threatened to take the game completely away from the Australians, and Haddin's interception restored a semblance of competitive edge to the match. That notion was reinforced when the television umpire, Rudi Koertzen, overturned Billy Doctrove's decision to rule Akmal not out to a full, straight Doug Bollinger delivery, denying the Pakistanis further use of their potent middle-order weapon.

Pakistan's lower order failed to replicate the heroics of their more established batsmen, but still cobbled together enough cameos to take their lead beyond 200. Australia's batsmen will feel confident of a better showing amid drier pitch conditions when next they mark centre, however the hectares of ground they conceded on Sunday may yet prove irretrievable.

The hosts would do well to analyse the manner in which Farhat and Butt set about their respective innings on the second day. The Australian top-order, minus Watson, fell to forceful strokes on a seaming wicket in their ill-fated first innings; a direct contrast to the cautious and patient approach of the Pakistani openers. Content to accumulate rather than dominate, Farhat and Butt shelved their cross-bat strokes and successfully repelled threatening spells from Bollinger, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Johnson and Watson to post their third career century stand and first against Australia.

Farhat and Butt have emerged as a dependable solution to Pakistan's problematic opening slot. Their stand of 109, which took their first-wicket partnership average to a robust 47.43, built upon the foundation laid by Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Sami the preceding day to deliver the tourists to a position of dominance in the match. The union was not without its anxious moments, most notably when Farhat was dropped by Marcus North to a regulation slips chance off the bowling of Siddle on 11, but both stood firm on an improving pitch.

Farhat went on to raise his 13th half-century before skying an attempted sweep off the bowling of Nathan Hauritz shortly after the lunch break. Butt also fell in the second session, edging a full-length delivery from a deserving Johnson, however Faisal Iqbal and Yousuf ensured there were no further setbacks with an unbroken 46-run third-wicket partnership heading into tea. Iqbal was first to fall after the break to an athletic, back-pedalling catch from Watson at backward point off the bowling of Siddle. That prompted a mad flurry of runs and dismissals that saw Bollinger and Watson combine for five wickets and Pakistan attempt to blaze the second new ball to all corners of the SCG.

Cook and Bell steady England after collapse

2010-01-04T08:06:00.000-08:00

Tea England 133 for 4 (Cook 65*, Bell 24*) trail South Africa 291 (Kallis 108, Anderson 5-63) by 158 runs

Alastair Cook reproduced the calm obduracy of his Durban century to steady England with a vital unbeaten 65, and Ian Bell demonstrated a new-found resilience as he battled through 81 deliveries for an unbeaten 24, as South Africa were made to wait for further breakthroughs after a breathless start to the second day at Newlands. By tea, Cook and Bell were unbeaten in a stand of 60 for the fifth wicket, an invaluable alliance that spanned 25.3 overs of the afternoon session, and pulled England out of a tailspin at 73 for 4.

Cook and Bell had been England's most pressurised batsmen going into last week's Boxing Day Test, but having emerged from that contest with a hundred apiece, they were able to carry their confidence into a crazy scenario in Cape Town. Despite clear-blue skies that implied a perfect day for batting, no fewer than seven wickets fell in the morning session alone, including four in 17 balls to bring South Africa's innings to a swift and undignified end.

But, if England believed that they had stolen the momentum by dismissing their opponents for a meagre 291, the first-over dismissal of Andrew Strauss, courtesy of his nemesis, Morne Morkel, redressed the balance dramatically. Dale Steyn, operating as first-change after an unconvincing comeback match at Kingsmead, then announced his return to strike-bowler status with two wickets in three balls, including Kevin Pietersen for a second-ball duck, and when Morkel pinned Paul Collingwood lbw for 19 after lunch, England were in danger of conceding an insurmountable lead.

But all the while that the wickets were tumbling, Cook was bloodymindedness personified. Showing a clear awareness of the whereabouts of his off stump, he hung back in his crease and relied on the bowlers losing patience before he did, as he left outside off time and time again, and fed almost exclusively on tucks through the leg-side whenever they straightened their line of attack.

Only twice was Cook tempted to have a dart outside off, as Friedel de Wet and then Steyn offered hittable lengths coupled with just enough width, while his only serious attempt at a counterattack came when he greeted the spin of Paul Harris with two slog-swept fours and a clip through midwicket. It was JP Duminy who came closest to ending his vigil, on 64 and with five minutes to go before tea, when another attempted sweep looped off a top-edge and just out of the reach of Hashim Amla, back-pedalling from short leg.

Bell, meanwhile, took the alternative approach, seeking to get onto the front foot and put bat to ball as often as possible. His rate of scoring was funereal to start with, as he managed a solitary cover-driven four from his first 35 balls, but at no stage did he look flustered by his lack of penetration against a tight and disciplined bowling attack. He eventually doubled his score with a firm drill off Kallis, and moved into the twenties before tea with a brace of deft late cuts against de Wet.

After a dramatic first 15 minutes of the day's play, such attrition seemed a world away. South Africa had resumed on their overnight 279 for 6, with Kallis unbeaten on 108, his 33rd Test century, having added 63 vital and confident runs for the seventh wicket with Steyn. However, Graham Onions' second delivery of the morning was simply too good - bending in towards off, it pitched, seamed, and nicked Kallis's outside edge, to send him on his way without addition, and set in motion an extraordinary sequence of events.

Next to go was Steyn, who had batted well for his overnight 26, but now fell to James Anderson's first delivery of the morning - a fat edge to Jonathan Trott at third slip, who made good ground to accept the chance to his right. Three deliveries later, Morkel hung out his bat outside off for Graeme Swann at second slip to atone for his first-morning miss with a fine low catch, diving to his right, and one over later, Anderson completed his eighth five-wicket haul as Friedel de Wet was pinned on the front pad by a nip-backer, and sent on his way for a duck despite the futile use of a review.

South Africa's collapse exceeded England's most optimistic calculations, but the challenge for Strauss and Cook was to capitalise on the chaos. Instead, it was Morkel who struck the next blow, and arguably the biggest of the morning, when his steepling bounce from his awkward round-the-wicket line once again proved too much for England's captain. Cunningly handed the first over of the innings, Morkel forced Strauss deep into his crease with a series of lifters, before pitching his sixth ball up and finding the edge of an unbalanced drive.

Strauss swished his bat in anger as he left the crease with England tottering at 2 for 1, although that scoreline was soon massaged by Cook and Trott, who batted calmly to add 34 for the second wicket in 11.4 overs. Trott provided the aggressive intent, pulling de Wet in front of square before driving Morkel handsomely through the covers, while Cook hung back in his crease and waited for the bowlers to err in line and length. However, it was the belated introduction of Steyn that swung the balance firmly back in South Africa's favour.

After an exploratory start to his spell, Steyn exploded into life in his first over after the drinks break, as Trott paid the price for his aggressive intent and inside-edged a hard-handed drive onto his off stump. Two deliveries later, Pietersen had been and gone as well - the situation was one that he habitually relishes, and the extra bounce in the surface might have suited his attacking instincts. But Steyn drew him into a loose and airy drive, and reached out with his right hand to pluck a vital return catch.

At 36 for 3 after 13 overs, South Africa were swarming, and though Collingwood's cool accumulation allowed England to reach lunch without further loss, he was swiftly extracted after the break for 19, as Morkel found a devastating full length to trap him plumb lbw. At 73 for 4, Bell's new-found mettle was under the sort of scrutiny he had avoided at Durban. By tea, however, he he was living up to his heightened expectations.

Dilshan and Sangakkara fifties power Sri Lankan reply

2010-01-04T08:01:00.000-08:00

Dilshan stars as Sri Lanka see off Tigers

Centurion Tillakaratne Dilshan and sidekick Kumar Sangakkara continued their rich run of form as Sri Lanka cantered to victory over Bangaldesh.

More to follow on Sri Lanka's effort with the bat...

Earlier middle-order batsman Mohammad Ashraful hit a half-century to help Bangladesh reach a decent total in the opening match of the triangular series in Dhaka.

Tamim Iqbal (40) and Imrul Kayes (23) put on 65 for the opening wicket, but the home side wilted as Sri Lanka's bowlers struck back in style.

Ashraful (75) built useful partnerships with Mushfiqur Rahim (35) and Mahmudullah (45), however, to help the home side reach 260 for seven.

The openers gave Bangladesh a brisk start, although they were more courageous than convincing with their strokeplay.

Kayes provided the early push, getting off the mark with a boundary over new ball bowler Nuwan Kulasekara's head and hitting Chanaka Welegedera for another in the left-arm paceman's second over.

Sri Lanka's bowlers, wayward initially, then tightened their line and stemmed the runs, but Iqbal, who was dropped on 11 by Kulasekara off his own bowling, cut loose by clubbing Welegedera for four boundaries in an over - three of them coming after he was struck on the helmet by a bouncer from the left-arm paceman.

Kumar Sangakkara brought Tillakaratne Dilshan on inside the first powerplay, but it was Kulasekara who produced the breakthrough.

He lured Kayes into a pull shot which the batsman mistimed and top-edged to Thilan Samaraweera at fine leg.

Dilshan then removed Iqbal in the next over and Suranga Lakmal further undermined Bangladesh's progress by extracting Raqibul Hasan - caught brilliantly by Samaraweera at slip - and captain Shakib Al Hasan in his first spell.

From 65 for no loss the home side had slipped to 74 for four when former captain Ashraful and Rahim came together, the duo arresting the slide with a 58-run stand for the fifth wicket.

Off-spinner Suraj Randiv broke that partnership by trapping Rahim in front as he attempted to sweep, but Ashraful forged another alliance with Mahmudullah which helped lift Bangladesh's score beyond the 200-run mark.

The pair added 95 for the sixth wicket, Ashraful reaching his 20th ODI half-century en route.

Ashraful was run out in the penultimate over, but Naeem Islam ensured a sparkling finish for the home side by clubbing Lakmal for a four and two sixes in a final over which yielded 20.

Sri Lanka make sweeping changes for Bangladesh tri-series

2009-12-30T17:11:00.000-08:00

Poor form and player injuries have prompted Sri Lanka's selectors to make sweeping changes to the squad for the tri-nation tournament in Bangladesh next month, also featuring India. Those dropped include batsmen Sanath Jayasuriya and Chamara Kapugedera, fast bowler Lasith Malinga and spinner Ajantha Mendis, all of whom had disappointing performances on the recent tour of India.

Sri Lanka lost the three-Test series 0-2, split the two Twenty20s and lost the five-match ODI series 1-3. Injuries to key players through the tour made the assignment in India all the more tough.

In fact, batsman Mahela Jayawardene, allrounder Angelo Mathews and bowlers Muttiah Muralitharan and Dilhara Fernando were not considered for the 15-man squad to Bangladesh, having picked up injuries in India.

Middle-order batsman Thilan Samaraweera was spared the axe, due more to Jayawardene's injury, and selection committee sources said the 33-year-old right-hander would add experience to the batting line-up and help ease the pressure on captain Kumar Sangakkara, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga.

Among the new inclusions are Chamara Silva, Lahiru Thirimanne, legspinner Malinga Bandara and fast bowler Thilan Thushara.

Silva, 30, finished as the top run-scorer in the domestic Premier League Tier A tournament, with 900 runs from 11 matches at 56.25 for Bloomfield, scoring three hundreds and four fifties during the campaign. Most impressive was his strike rate of 99.77. Having last played an ODI in August last year, and his last appearance for Sri Lanka being in the 2009 World Twenty20 final against Pakistan, he will keen to make the most of the opportunity.

"We think that Silva has a role to play in the World Cup. He is a fast accumulator of runs and he is a brilliant fielder," selection sources told Cricinfo.

Thirimanne, 20, finished as Ragama Cricket Club's leading run-getter this season, with 709 runs in eight matches at 59.08, including two centuries and five fifties. Selection panel sources said Thirimanne was an exciting prospect and his ability to finsh a game would be extremely handy.

His Ragama team-mate Bandara was also rewarded for his perseverence and was handed another opportunity to seal his place in the national side as a spinner. In fact, the uncertainty surrounding Muralitharan's availability for the 2011 World Cup has prompted the selectors to look elsewhere for spinning options.

Left-arm fast bowler Thushara also made a return to the side after a freak shoulder injury which forced him to return from India. Allrounder Muthumudalige Pushpakumara, Suranga Lakmal and Suraj Randiv, who were replacements to India, have been retained.

The tournament will be played from January 4-13 with Sri Lanka taking on the hosts in the first match in Mirpur.

Sri Lanka squad: Kumar Sangakkara (capt & wk), Tillakaratne Dilshan (vice-captain), Upul Tharanga, Thilan Samaraweera, Thilina Kandamby, Chamara Silva, Lahiru Thirimanne, Thissara Perera, Muthumudalige Pushpakumara, Malinga Bandara, Suraj Randiv, Thilan Thushara, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Kulasekara and Chanaka Welagedera

Swann and Broad stun South Africa

2009-12-29T21:08:00.001-08:00

South Africa 343 (Kallis 75, Smith 75) and 76 for 6 (Boucher 20*, Morkel 7*) trail England 575 for 9 dec (Bell 141, Cook 118) by 156 runs

A sensational collapse of six wickets for 23 in 71 balls left South Africa clinging to the wreckage of their second innings at Kingsmead, as Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann capitalised on an aggressive finale to England's innings to tear the heart out of their opponents' batting line-up, and propel their team towards victory on an extraordinary fourth day's play.

By the close, South Africa were reeling at 76 for 6, and even that grim scoreline had to be salvaged by a dour seventh-wicket stand of 26 between Mark Boucher and Morne Morkel. Together they endured for 10.5 overs before bad light brought salvation, but with just four wickets still standing and a deficit of 156 runs still remaining to be wiped off, England were circling for the kill after one of their most dominant days of recent times.

The day had begun with England well placed on 386 for 5, a lead of 43, and thanks to the efforts of Ian Bell, who converted his overnight 55 into an excellent 141, Andrew Strauss was able to declare on 575 for 9 in the first half-hour after lunch, with a handy 232-run lead in the bag, and the best part of five sessions in which to turn the screw. For the first nine overs of South Africa's innings, however, there was barely a flicker of alarm as Graeme Smith and Ashwell Prince negotiated the new ball. But then, with tea looming, Swann entered the attack to devastating effect.

Swann's habit of taking wickets early in his spells is rapidly turning into a self-fulfilling prophecy. He memorably claimed two scalps in the first over of his Test career, against India in Chennai last December, and in last week's first Test at Centurion he dislodged Prince with his second delivery of the series. Sure enough, his introduction paid instant dividends, as Prince once again propped forward uneasily, for Bell at silly point to cling on superbly as the ball rebounded off an inside-edge and into his outstretched right hand.

Twelve Swann deliveries later, and 27 for 0 had become 37 for 2, as the obdurate Hashim Amla was undone by a wonderful double-whammy on the stroke of tea. The first ball of his third over was tossed up outside off, and took a fat inside-edge as Amla leaned into a cover-drive. The second ball was a fraction fuller and equally well flighted, and Amla was comprehensively gated as the ball burst out of rough and into his stumps.

Far from taking solace in the tea break that followed, South Africa's anxieties were heightened by the 20-minute interlude. Jacques Kallis can generally be relied upon to bat throughout any given crisis, but Broad's second ball of the session was simply too good. Pitching outside off and seaming wickedly back off a perfect length, it crashed into Kallis's off stump as he shouldered arms for 3, and at 40 for 3, England were rampant.

Ian Bell reflects on his best day for England

AB de Villiers had a massive let-off before he had scored, when Swann believed he'd found his outside edge, but the referred decision proved inconclusive in the absence of the snickometer. His reprieve lasted all of eight balls, however. In Broad's very next over, he produced a carbon-copy of the delivery that had done for Kallis, and this time the review could not save de Villiers, as he shouldered arms in front of off stump, and was sent on his way for 2.

Broad by now was in the same full-length rhythm that had routed Australia at The Oval in August, and no-one it seemed could resist him. One ball later, JP Duminy also succumbed to a misjudged leave, as he hoisted his bat high above his head, and deflected the ball into the base of his off stump, and though Boucher averted the hat-trick, he couldn't prevent a further meltdown. At the start of that Broad over, Smith could have run himself out for 16 had the substitute, Luke Wright, hit the stumps with a shy from short cover. Instead, it was Swann who ended his stay, as he straightened an offspinner from round the wicket, and an overbalanced Smith was pinned lbw for 22.

The breathlessness of the final session was at complete odds with the serenity of England's own progress earlier in the day. Bell's 141 was the backbone of their fourth-day performance, as he compiled an innings of grace and determination that ensured that his team did not squander their overnight advantage. Few players in the world game look so compact and composed when given licence to play their natural game, and that is exactly what he produced as he closed in on an a 172-ball century.

His morning was launched in confident style when Dale Steyn served up a leg-stump loosener that was clipped emphatically through square leg for four, and suitably emboldened, he set about putting bat to ball on his own terms, opening and closing the face at will to work singles into the numerous gaps at midwicket and backward point. He added just one more boundary as he moved towards the nineties - a steer through third man as Makhaya Ntini offered too much width - but having milked Paul Harris's defensive leg-stump line with a series of deft sweeps, he moved to his hundred in style with an open-shouldered loft over long-on.

Dale Steyn was crestfallen as South Africa hurtled towards defeat

Bell's celebrations were a clear release of emotion, as he punched the air with his bat, and kissed the England badge on his shirt. His critics have grown in number since the last time he reached three figures, again against South Africa at Lord's in July 2008, and they will still be able to point to the peculiar fact that he has never yet produced a hundred without one of his fellow batsmen doing likewise. But for now, all he was doing was laying a platform for an England victory push, and by the close, there was no quibbling with the importance or the timing of his performance.

At the other end, Matt Prior injected some welcome urgency to the innings with a well-paced 60 from 81 balls, and though he eventually under-edged a drive from Duminy into his off stump, England's lead by that stage was already 134, and with a naturally aggressive tail to follow, the stage was set for some fireworks. At first, however, the response was disappointing, as Bell and Broad bedded in for the final hour of the session, mustering 36 runs from 91 balls. Immediately after lunch, however, England kicked into overdrive.

Broad, who had taken 51 deliveries over his first 10 runs, signalled the onslaught by smashing Harris for six over cow corner in an over that went for 15 runs. He was subsequently caught at slip for 20 to give Duminy his third of the innings, but Swann emerged with his mindset plain to see. He laid into the toiling Ntini, claiming a six and a four from the final two balls of an over that had already leaked five overthrows, before chipping a leading edge to Prince, as Steyn found some lively swing with the third new ball.

Steyn's swing also accounted for Bell in his very next over, as he toe-ended a cut to the keeper, and Strauss's decision to declare was hastened by the sight of an Ntini bouncer crashing off the badge of Graham Onions' helmet and away for four leg-byes. Though England found little assistance with the new ball, Swann's staggering self-confidence made the difference on a bland track, and by the close, they were within touching distance of a remarkable victory.

Swann and Broad stun South Africa

2009-12-29T21:08:00.000-08:00

Hauritz five seals Australian victory

2009-12-29T21:04:00.000-08:00

Australia 5 for 454 dec (Katich 98, Watson 93, Hussey 82, Ponting 57) and 8 for 225 dec (Watson 120*, Aamer 5-79) beat Pakistan 258 (Mishah 65*) and 251 (Yousuf 61, Hauritz 5-101) by 170 runs

The Australians rounded out 2009 with their most clinical final day bowling performance of the year to seal a 170 run victory over Pakistan. Nathan Hauritz, placed on notice by Australia's selectors prior to the series, claimed his first career five-wicket haul as Pakistan crumbled from 3 for 170 overnight to be all out for 251 shortly after lunch on the final day.

Hauritz's ability to exploit wearing pitches had been called into question of late, not least by Andrew Hilditch, and he proved himself worthy of the challenge on Wednesday. Unable to replicate the biting turn that accounted for Faisal Iqbal the previous day, Hauritz instead utilised flight and bounce to challenge Pakistan's lower and middle orders and was rewarded with four final-day scalps.

Australia began the day in emphatic fashion with Mitchell Johnson removing Umar Akmal and Misbah-ul-Haq with consecutive deliveries in his first over. Hauritz then repeated the dose with the back-to-back dismissals of Kamran Akmal and Mohammad Aamer shortly after the first drinks break to extinguish any hope of an improbable Pakistan fightback.

Mohammad Yousuf showed admirable determination to post 61, but support for the Pakistan captain was thin on the ground. With wickets falling in clusters, the Australians required only four overs after lunch to seal victory and claim a 1-0 series lead in the best-of-three series. The result took their Test record in 2009 to an encouraging seven wins, three defeats and three draws; a substantial improvement on their 5-5-4 record from the previous year.

The younger Akmal was the first victim of the final day, pushing at a fast, swinging delivery from Johnson that was claimed millimetres above the MCG turf by a tumbling Brad Haddin. Misbah fell to an identical mode of dismissal, albeit to a straighter ball, leaving the tourists' hopes of a fightback in tatters less than an over into the day. Kamran Akmal denied Johnson his hat-trick, but almost triggered one for Hauritz when, after an hour of stern resistance, he was stumped attempting a reckless charge to a slower, bouncing delivery. Hauritz then beat Aamer for bounce with his next ball, resulting in a gloved catch to Simon Katich at short leg.

Abdur Rauf survived Hauritz's hat-trick delivery - which featured the rare sight of nine fielders around the bat - but fell soon after to Doug Bollinger. Rounding out a forgettable match, Rauf played onto his stumps to expose the Pakistan tail shortly before lunch. Hauritz completed the rout after the break by removing Yousuf to another bat-pad catch, and Saeed Ajmal to a wild swipe that was accepted by Shane Watson, who was later named Man of the Match.

The breakthroughs ensured Johnson and Hauritz a positive end to a 2009 campaign that has proved testing in the extreme. Both bowlers have been subjected to criticism - Johnson for his erratic ways during the Ashes series, Hauritz for his lack of penetration on deteriorating tracks - but have emerged better for the experience. Though not quite back to his wrecking ball ways of South Africa, Johnson is nonetheless a bowler far improved from that which struggled for much of the Ashes series. Hauritz, meanwhile, has continued his steady evolution as an international spinner, as demonstrated by his subtle changes of flight and angle on Wednesday.

For Pakistan, there is much to ponder before the Sydney Test. The selection of Rauf over the experienced and versatile Umar Gul was flawed, and the catching at the MCG largely lamentable. The likely return of Danish Kaneria and the possible reintroduction of Younis Khan could prove a significant boost for the tourists, but on the evidence of the past five days, there remains much work to do.

If nothing else, Pakistan have at least closed the chapter on the annus horribilus that was 2009. In a year that witnessed the Lahore terrorist attack, and the subsequent stripping of host venue status, the Pakistanis can look ahead to the New Years' Test with hope for healing and renewal.

'Winning for Sri Lanka is what I enjoy the most'

2009-12-29T01:30:00.000-08:00

Jayasuriya on his immediate goals, the captains and coaches he's played under, his favourite opposition and his best innings

Interview by Nagraj Gollapudi

You made your international debut in the same ODI as Mark Taylor and Taylor retired 10 years ago. How have you kept going?
I retired from Test cricket recently to play ODIs a little bit longer. I have always enjoyed my cricket. I'm still enjoying it and I've worked hard on it. And I still want to perform. The sad thing is, I don't know whether the Sri Lankan cricket board is even aware that I'm completing 20 years today!

Where do you get your hunger to perform?
That has come naturally. I know how hard it was for me to come into the Sri Lankan side. I was just a normal person, coming from a poor background. We did not have anything. I know how hard that life was. So once I started to play for the country, I understood I had to work harder and play longer. I never had anything to play with when I started cricket in school. I never thought I would play for Sri Lanka. I had never heard about any cricketer who had come from a village like mine, Matara.

My mother was very strict when I was starting seriously with cricket because we couldn't afford anything. My father was the only breadwinner then - he worked as a health supervisor in the town's urban council. So it was a very tough life for me and my elder brother Chandana. But our school principal, GL Galappathi, was very supportive and he encouraged and pushed me to play cricket and even convinced my parents to allow me to chase my dreams.

I started at Under-11 and moved up the ladder. Luckily I was selected for the U-19 World Cup in Australia and that's when I was noticed.

Exactly how difficult was it?
I had to travel to Colombo and back, which took at least four hours by bus one way. I would get back only at midnight. But that is where I cultivated that hunger to play hard, to perform, to stay fit. I cannot relax even now. Since I was coming from outside the Colombo circle, the only way to break through into the Sri Lanka set-up was to be an outstanding performer.

When I was going to the U-19 World Cup, all the boys at the school collected funds and gave it to me as pocket money. I can never forget that gesture.

My mother, Breeda, was the main pillar of the household. She pushed all the men in the family and instilled in us the belief that if we worked hard, we could achieve anything. That helped me a lot.

When I came back from the U-19 World Cup, my school - and later U-11 - coach Lionel Wagasinghe helped me get a small job at the company he was working in. It was a company manufacturing corrugated cartons and I worked there for two years.

In the early part of your career which do you think was the innings that announced your arrival?
It came during the Sri Lanka B tour of Pakistan in 1989, where I started off with a century followed by consecutive double-hundreds in the second half of the series.

Who were the people that influenced your life and career?
One of the two people I can never forget was Mr Dafter, who was a neighbour in Matara. From 1989 to 1997 he allowed me to stay in a spare room in his house [in Colombo]. He and his wife were like my foster parents.

The other was his friend Lalit Wanagasinghe. Those guys always pushed me and believed I would one day play for Sri Lanka. Coming from a small town to a big city like Colombo, one could easily lose one's way, but these two took good care of me and always gave me good advice. They would come and watch me play, and discuss cricket at the house later in the night. For the last 20 years, both of them have always picked me up from the house and escorted me to the Sri Lankan cricket board office each time I've gone there before every tour.

I learned a lot from Roshan Mahanama. He was a very neat guy whose house was always in order. That helped me a lot when I started my international cricket. I guess it taught me a thing or two about discipline.

Then there were the Ranatunga brothers, Arjuna and Sanjeeva. They took good care of me by offering me a place to stay in their house before I moved in with Mr Dafter. The Ranatunga family always took good care of outstation players and many have been thankful for their generosity.

Do you remember the moment when you got your first call-up into the Sri Lankan team?
I was in the house with Mr Dafter. The selectors were picking the squad for the 1989-90 series in Australia. I knew they were meeting at eight in the morning, and I was restless. Finally, at one in the afternoon, Mr KM Nelson, then the secretary of the board, called to say I had been picked. I could not believe it. Since it was going to be a long tour, the general thought was two wicketkeepers would be picked, but they had decided to go with one specialist, with Hashan [Tillkaratne] as the makeshift keeper in case there was need, opening up a slot for me.

You were a lower-order batsman when you came into the team. But then you started opening in the mid-90s. How did that come about?
The decision was taken by the team management: our coach Dav Whatmore, Arjuna, Aravinda de Silva, and Duleep Mendis, the team's manager.

The idea was to play the first 15 overs as the last 15. Till then I was batting at No. 6 or 7, where I couldn't do much, especially as I went in to bat around the 40-45 overs mark. I felt I was being wasted. So Arjuna said that I should open as Roshan [Mahanama] was injured during the first three ODIs of the 1994 home series against Pakistan. It was a successful move. I got three fifties in a row in those three matches.

A year later I started opening with Kalu [Romesh Kaluwitharana] in Australia. He, too, had by then got promoted and both of us gelled instantly.

How big a role did Kaluwitharana play in your success as an opener?
He played a big role. When he got going, he made things easier for me at the other end. He could hit the ball very hard, played all the shots. He was really talented and made batting look easy. He was as confident as me. I remember he failed for 20 innings once, but Arjuna gave him the chance, knowing he was a match-winner.

That Australia series in 1995-96 proved to be a turning point for you.
Yes. I got runs as an opener and also started to open in Tests. I also scored my first Test hundred [in Adelaide]. I was really happy to get a century against such a good bowling attack, which included Shane Warne. It was scored under pressure against one of the best Test teams in the world. When you do that you get a nice feeling in your system.

That tour also changed Sri Lankan cricket, didn't it?
It was a turning point. There was that whole chucking controversy about Murali, which we fought through the tour; but at the same time we did well. By the time we had finished that tour we were a real strong unit - and this was on the eve of the 1996 World Cup. We supported each other, we wanted everybody to do well. And then we won the World Cup. After that we started getting more opportunities to play international cricket. I remember we played something like 11 Test matches that year [1997] and I scored more than 1000 runs. It was a unique moment in our cricketing history.

All that Arjuna said was: We'll have to do well, we'll have to work hard, whatever happens. He backed Murali wholeheartedly, to the brink. He even risked suspension at one point. When we saw that, it gave us confidence. And we never looked back.

Did you need to change your technique to play as an opener?
I don't have the best technique as an opener, but I have worked really hard for 11-12 years. In those years the regular openers, like Marvan [Atapattu], were technically correct. But I understood clearly that I was an attacking batsman, so my role was different even as an opener.

It must have been helpful to have the support of Arjuna and Whatmore?
Sri Lanka became a professional unit only after Whatmore came. Alex Kontouris, the physio, was another man who brought in a big and immediate change, because he put in place a system for training and physical fitness.

Dav would pay individual attention, talk to the player and give him confidence. Naturally we fell into the professional way of thinking steadily. He always encouraged us to play our own game. "If you see the first ball for four, just hit it. Don't worry about anything, we'll back you."

Arjuna would tell me not to worry even if I got out on the first ball, or be afraid of getting dropped. That is the most important thing for a captain to do, to encourage a player. If he doesn't give the player the confidence, he will be in two minds.

To cite an example: I am going through a lean patch right now. If Arjuna was the captain he would have given me confidence. He understood I am an attacking player and so there is always a chance of failing. If the player doesn't find support, he will find it difficult to perform. It is important for the management to give the player that confidence.

Give us an example of a time when you were failing and Arjuna backed you.
On the 1998 tour of England I was miserable and was consistently failing. But even before the only Test, at The Oval, Arjuna still had faith in me. I scored a double-hundred, which was a match-winning performance. He knew I could perform on the big occasion.

You are 40 now. What keeps you going?
I don't want to prove anything. The only thing that I want to prove is: if I can win a match for Sri Lanka, that is what I enjoy the most. Every time I play a match I want to give my 110%. I might get dropped tomorrow, I might not play the next tournament, but I will work hard, train hard, and I'll show them with the bat and ball. There is no point talking, no point criticising anyone.

Bollinger strikes after Australian declaration

2009-12-28T23:15:00.000-08:00

Tea Pakistan 258 and 1 for 37 need another 385 runs to beat Australia 8 or 225 dec (Watson 120*, Aamer 5-70) and 5 for 454 dec

Two themes from this young series - Shane Watson's nerves in the nineties and Pakistan's woes in the field - were brought to bear on Tuesday as Australia inched ever closer to victory in the first Test. Watson, whose issues converting half-centuries to three figures this summer have been well documented, was dropped by Abdur Rauf at gully off the bowling of Mohammad Aamer on 99, scampering through for a single on the misfield to seal his maiden Test ton.

Watson finished the innings with an unbeaten 120, providing Ricky Ponting with enough breathing room to declare Australia's second innings closed at 8 for 255 after the lunch break. That left Pakistan facing a would-be ground record fourth innings chase of 422 - a target that looked all the more improbable when Doug Bollinger dismissed Imran Farhat in the lead-up to tea.

For the third time this summer, Watson endured a nervous journey through the nineties. He headed to lunch unbeaten on 98, having cautiously seen off a maiden from Saeed Ajmal to close out the session. More anxious moments were to follow after the break, as Watson chased a succession of wide offerings outside off stump. Pakistan's tactic appeared to have worked when the right-hander slashed a full, wide Aamer delivery to Rauf in the gully, only for the embattled fielder to turf the chance and hand Watson his century - 66 minutes after he had entered the 90s.

Pakistan's fifth dropped catch of the match ensured Watson became the first Australian batsman since Michael Hussey at The Oval to reach triple figures in a Test, breaking a team sequence of 20 unconverted half-centuries. In 12 innings as Australia's Test opener, he has now scored 716 runs at the eye-catching average of 65.09. Phillip Hughes will have a while to wait yet.

Earlier, Pakistan reprised memories of Australia's second-innings collapses during the Ashes and, more recently, the Perth Test on a spritely opening to Tuesday. Aamer emerged as the perfect weapon - relentlessly attacking a top order in pursuit of quick runs and an early declaration - to become the second youngest bowler in Test history to claim a five-wicket haul. Only Nasim-ul-Ghani, a left-arm spinner-cum-medium pacer, achieved the feat at a younger age, doing so against the West Indians more than half a century ago.

Michael Clarke was Aamer's first victim, caught behind chasing a delivery that tailed away ever so slightly. Marcus North and Brad Haddin then fell in the space of two balls as part of a double-wicket maiden in his 18th over, ensuring the 17-year-old entry into a most exclusive club.

Favouring a predominantly around-the-wicket approach to Australia's right-handers, Aamer proved destructive in the extreme with a combination of express pace, probing lengths and subtle reverse swing. His efforts put the brakes on Australia's brisk early scoring rate, but given the discrepancy between the teams' first innings totals, they always seemed likely to be in vain.

That notion was enforced when Bollinger rapped Farhat on the pads in the seventh over of Pakistan's second innings. The appeal was orginally turned down by Rudi Koertzen, the on-field umpire, but overturned after replays showed the ball to have struck the batsman in line and going on to strike the top of middle stump.

Cook and Collingwood set England platform

2009-12-28T23:12:00.000-08:00

Close England 386 for 5 (Cook 118, Collingwood 91) lead South Africa 343 (Kallis 75, Smith 75) by 43 runs

Alastair Cook produced a performance of immense concentration to post his tenth Test century in his 50th appearance, while Paul Collingwood built on his matchsaving heroics at Centurion with a five-hour 91, as England's batsmen hauled their side into a position of authority on the third day of the Boxing Day Test at Kingsmead. By the close, Ian Bell had cashed in on the platform laid by his team-mates with an important 84-ball 55, an innings that may have lacked the pressure of the performances that preceded it, but nevertheless was invaluable in securing a healthy 43-run lead with two days of the Test to come.

The mainstay of England's performance, however, was Cook, who turned 25 on Christmas Day and celebrated with a timely performance in more ways than one. He resumed on 31 not out overnight, knowing that his performance was in the spotlight after a tally of two hundreds in the past two calendar years, but he gritted his teeth and bedded in for the long haul, grafting 11 fours in all from 263 balls, in a six-and-a-half-hour 118. He made light of the second-over dismissal of his overnight partner, Jonathan Trott, and ground out a solitary run from his first 37 deliveries of the day, a statistic that set the tone for an innings that was never pretty, but was never intended to be either.

Only once did Cook come close to being dislodged, when - on 64 - he successfully overturned an appeal for a catch at short leg off the part-time spin of JP Duminy. Replays suggested, not entirely conclusively, that the deflection had come straight off the pad, but the speed and conviction with which Cook called for the second opinion suggested that justice had been served. Either side of that alarm he was discipline personified - not least against Makhaya Ntini, another player with a point to prove, with whom he played a day-long game of cat-and-mouse, leaving the ball religiously on line as Ntini's natural angle carried all but a handful of deliveries straight across the off stump.

In the final half-hour before lunch, Cook began to open his shoulders and go for his shots, cracking Paul Harris out of the attack with a brace of fours through the off-side, before rocking back in his stance to pull Morne Morkel through square leg. And later, on 88, he latched gleefully onto a wide long-hop from the increasingly lacklustre Harris to surge into the nineties for the first time since the Lord's Test in July. Those moments aside, he dealt exclusively in pushes and deflections - including the nudge through midwicket that brought him three figures from 218 balls - as he relied on his mental strength to carry him and his team into a position from which England can still pile on the pressure in South Africa's second innings.

Cook's partner for 45 overs, including the entire second session, was Collingwood, who came to the middle at 155 for 3 following the departure of Kevin Pietersen for 31, at a stage when England were still nearly 200 runs adrift of South Africa's 343. But his calm accumulation staved off any immediate threat of a meltdown. Though neither batsman was especially easy on the eye, the rate at which they scored, at a shade over three an over, was perfectly respectable given that the halfway-mark of the match had only just been reached. Collingwood's half-century came up with a trademark nurdle off the pads in the final over before the second new ball was due, but having negotiated that with minimum fuss, he nevertheless fell short of a well-deserved century. With half-an-hour of the day still remaining, he under-edged a cut off Duminy, and was caught behind for 91.

Cook by this stage had finally been persuaded to have a rare dart outside off, as the hugely impressive Morkel came round the wicket to the left-hander, and cramped him for room as a low edge zipped through to Jacques Kallis at second slip. It was Morkel's third scalp of the innings, having already dispatched Trott to a third-ball lifter in the second over of the day, as he located a Harmison-esque combination of height, pace and bounce, and allied that to an impeccable line and length. And while Cook departed to a well-deserved ovation, he knew deep down that he had once again failed to pay heed to the mantra of his mentor Graham Gooch. "Make it a daddy," was Gooch's advice to any young batsman who gets set, but of Cook's 10 Test hundreds, only once has he exceeded 140.

Kevin Pietersen has rarely had the same problem upon reaching three figures, but today he was guilty of an even worse crime, of getting out in the thirties. He had arrived at the crease to an unexpectedly polite reception from his former home crowd, and was his usual bristling self as he sought to dominate from the word go. But, having pummelled Kallis for a pair of cover-drives, he was once again unsettled by the humble spin of Harris. On 20, he received a massive let-off when Harris slid his third ball through at a sharper pace, only for Kallis at slip to drop a sitter as the ball skewed off a hasty defensive edge. But 11 runs later, he was nailed lbw while sizing up a sweep, and the wicket-to-wicket line and the lack of appreciable spin on the delivery meant that even he realised a referral would be futile.

The final session of the day belonged to Bell, who shed the introspection that had wrecked his performance at Centurion, and responded to England's requirements with a vital injection of urgency as they closed in on that first-innings lead. It could be argued that Bell was destined to be condemned either way - he has never yet made a Test century without another batsman doing likewise, and the ease of Cook and Collingwood's performance showed that the pitch was true and that runs were there to be snaffled.

Nevertheless, they still needed to be scored, and by racing along to 65-ball half-century, he showcased the full range of strokes that have made the purists purr since he was a 16-year-old prodigy. He deposited Harris over long-on for England's only six of the day, and cashed in with five further fours, including a sweet cover-drive off Kallis. Only once was he properly troubled, right at the start of his innings, when Morkel worked up a frightening head of steam to push him back into the crease with a whistling bouncer, before rapping his pads with a full-length follow-up that was just sneaking over the stumps.

But, in perhaps the most curious captaincy decision of the day, Smith instantly hauled Morkel out of the attack after that over, and instead threw the ball to the struggling Ntini, perhaps in the belief that Bell was already ripe for the plucking. It proved to be a bad move. Bell crashed Ntini's first delivery through midwicket for four, and by the end of a chastising day, his figures were a troubling 0 for 79 off 20 overs. Come what may for the rest of this match, South Africa's selectors already know they have a dilemma awaiting come the New Year Test at Newlands.

Match referee gives harshest assessment of Kotla pitch

2009-12-28T23:08:00.000-08:00

The possibility of the Feroz Shah Kotla being disqualified from hosting the 2011 World Cup remains high after ICC match referee Alan Hurst classified the pitch as "unfit" in his official report to the ICC, which was forwarded to the BCCI. The report was submitted in the aftermath of the abandonment of the fixture between India and Sri Lanka due to a dangerous pitch.

The classification is the harshest among the six stated categories - very good, good, above average, below average, poor and unfit. The venue could have got away with a fine had Hurst classified the surface as "poor" but given his most critical assessment, the consequences could be much worse.

"This pitch did not meet the requirements for an ODI match," Hurst is quoted by the Hindustan Times as saying in his report. "This meant the players were unsure of what the ball would do. Playing shots was risky because of the unpredictable bounce. However, of more concern was the dangerous bounce that occurred randomly and accounted for batsmen being struck on a number of occasions.

"At the other extreme, bounce was often very low. This pitch did not allow players to play with any confidence and was totally unsuitable for international cricket."

The ICC's latest code of conduct regarding poor pitches states that a first such breach should be met with "a suspension of the venue's international status for a period of between 12 and 24 months together with a directive for appropriate remedial action and the need for prior ICC re-accreditation as an international venue".

The BCCI has been given 14 days to respond to Hurst's report. Its reply, in addition to the report, video footage of the abandoned game and other significant documents, will be studied by the ICC's chief referee Ranjan Madugalle and its cricket operations manager Dave Richardson, who will determine the penalty.

In his report, Hurst also enumerated 14 points to chronicle the lead-up to the abandonment. "Early on Saturday morning the fourth umpire Subrat Das went to the ground to check that a number of things were in place. He reported to me that the wicket was quite green in patches, but the Curator had told him that extra rolling during the day would mean that 'the green would turn to brown'. It was still quite green tinged when the umpires and I did our ground inspection later that afternoon," he wrote.

Hurst recorded that the Sri Lanka coach Trevor Bayliss and manager Brendon Kuruppu approached him at two stages during the game - in the tenth and the 24th over -expressing concern over the behaviour of the pitch. The report noted that play had to be stopped on three occasions -- at 9.54am, 10.05am and 10.46am -- for Sri Lanka's batsmen to receive medical treatment after being struck by the ball.

Of all the deliveries that bounced excessively or kept low over 23 overs, the umpires estimated that six were outright dangerous. Following complaints by players, the field umpires Shavir Tarapore and Marais Erasmus consulted Hurst, who walked out onto the field and spoke to the two captains, who agreed the pitch was unfit for play.

"At the edge of the ground I spoke with President DDCA (Delhi & Districts Cricket Association) Mr Arun Jaitley, Mr Narinder Batra DDCA Treasurer, BCCI Hon Secretary Mr Srinavasan, DDCA Vice-President Mr Chetan Chauhan and other local officials. I was asked whether another prepared pitch on the square could be substituted," Hurst said. "I went to the square with Mr Chauhan to look at the option, which had been partially prepared as back-up prior to the game. Although reasonably hard, it was quite heavily, but unevenly grassed. In keeping with the Playing Conditions, I then spoke with the Captains about this option. Both gave emphatic negatives."

Following the embarrassment, and facing the prospect of a dire penalty, the BCCI, in an act of damage control, moved quickly to dissolve its grounds and pitches committee. The DDCA pitch panel members resigned soon after, but any moves to rectify the situation may have come too late.

The ICC had warned the DDCA in November about the condition of the pitch and said it required "considerable improvement" before hosting its next fixture. "There is an ODI at this venue on 27th December 2009 and considerable improvement of the pitch block will be required by then to make the pitch provided more acceptable" said the report, a copy of which is with Cricinfo. The inspection was carried out on November 4, three days after third ODI of the India-Australia series.

Shameful end to Kotla ODI, match abandoned!

2009-12-27T04:14:00.000-08:00

n what could be the ultimate embarrassment for the DDCA, the fifth and the final ODI between India and Sri Lanka at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium here was abandoned due to dangerous playing conditions.

Right from the start, occasional deliveries alarmingly reared up and one such hit Tillakaratne Dilshan on his forearm, leaving him in pain and needing on-field treatment. The Lankan opener has now been rushed to hospital for the doctors to take a further look at it.

The issue with the pitch was first raised by Sri Lankan batsman Thilan Kandamby, who first had a word with Dhoni before he approached the umpires. Umpires Marais Erasmus and Shavir Tarapore soon conferred and Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara was seen gesturing to his teammates from the dressing room.

Subsequently, Match Referee Alan Hurst also walked in and they were joined by Kotla curator Vijay Bahadur Mishra and BCCI Pitch and Grounds Committee chairman Daljit Singh.

Sangakkara also joined them, along with India coach Gary Kirsten and his Sri Lanka counterpart Trevor Bayliss also walked out.

Delhi and District Cricket Association officials, including vice president Chetan Chauhan, offered another pitch to Hurst but a final decision was yet to be taken.

The Sri Lankan innings now hangs at 83/5 as trouble and more trouble sought their way earlier. Losing early wickets doomed their procession of setting a powerful target.

Zaheer Khan, Sudeep Tyagi and Harbhajan Singh contributed completely to blow apart the top-order of the visitors. India’s campaign started early as after winning the toss, skipper MS Dhoni elected to field first.

The decision hit the bull’s eye as Zaheer grabbed two important wickets very early in the day. First, he dismissed Upul Tharanga for a duck on the very first ball of the match itself, thus giving a perfect start to India. Then later, he send Tillakaratne Dilshan packing for 20 runs, leaving the visitors’ scorecard looking a bit rickety at 39/2.

Then came debutant Sudeep Tyagi into action, who couldn’t have asked for a beter start to his international ODI career as as he dismissed Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara, to leave the opponents three down for 58 runs.

Sri Lanka surely looked in trouble as the skipper added just one run to the team’s score. However, it was indeed a moment to cherish as Tyagi grabbed his maiden ODI wicket and Suresh Raina, after repeated errors on the fielding ground, finally managed to take Sangakkara’s catch.

Raina’s prompt and intelligent fielding also led to the dismissal of Thilan Samaraweera (2). More credit should be given to terrible running between the wickets by the Lankan batsmen, Samaraweera and Thilina Kandamby.

Prior to that, Bhajji dismised Sanath Jayasuriya for 31 runs. Harbhajan cleverly fired in the quicker delivery and caught Jayasuriya plumb in front of the wickets. This was Bhajji 100th ODI wicket in India.

As the national capital woke up to a foggy morning earlier today, the final ODI at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium got delayed by fifteen minutes on Sunday due to wet out-field.

Having already sealed the series 3-1, Team India got the most of the Lankan tour as they first won the Test series comprehensively, and now, have also clinched the ODI series with a game to spare.

India went into the match without Sachin Tendulkar as Dhoni returns to the team after serving a two-match ban. Sri Lanka made two changes. Mahela Jayawardene and Lasith Malinga were replaced by M Pushpakumara and Chanaka Welegedara.

With both the team’s playing their last matches of the year, the Feroz Shah Kotla pitch curator promised a sporting wicket.

Katich and Watson fall in the 90s

2009-12-25T21:43:00.000-08:00

Shane Watson moved within sight of his maiden Test century and, in doing so, threatened to become the first Australian batsman since the Ashes finale in August to reach triple-figures. His unbroken opening stand of 177 with Simon Katich (77) served as the ultimate punishment for the Pakistanis, who squandered opportunities to dismiss both batsmen in the opening session.

Watson flirted unsuccessfully with centuries in Adelaide and Perth this summer, but showed few overt signs of nerves as he took his total to 90 at the tea break - the sixth time he has posted a half-century in 11 innings as opener. He began his innings with a series of imperious straight- and cover-drives off the bowling of Mohammad Aamer, then switched to square-of-the-wicket scoring channels in the afternoon session.

Watson was seldom troubled against Pakistan's faster bowlers, but encountered more difficulty reading and repelling the doosra of Saeed Ajmal. One such delivery 20 minutes before lunch brushed his outside edge, only for Misbah-ul-Haq to turf the chance at first slip. It was, to that point, Pakistan's third missed chance of a morning in which they all but handed Australia the ascendancy.

The other reprieves went the way of Katich, whose battles with timing and fluency in the first session gave way to more assured strokeplay after lunch. Katich's first life came when Mohammad Yousuf missed a run-out chance; an error compounded when Umar Akmal dropped him shortly after to a chest-high gully chance off the bowling of Aamer.

Katich found his groove in the second session and, along with Watson, commenced the task of setting a massive total for the Pakistanis to chase. Watson raised the duo's third century stand of the summer with a powerful cut to the boundary, and Katich continued the attack with a succession of drives to the boundary off Mohammad Asif. They plundered a combined 104 runs in the second session.

Asif's speeds hovered around the 130kph mark, and with little lateral movement to be found in the air or from the surface, he threatened the Australian batsmen infrequently. The same description applied for Abdur Rauf, making all the more mystifying the decision to omit the more seasoned and versatile Umar Gul on form grounds. Ajmal, Aamer and Imran Farhat, the occasional legspinner, proved the most penetrative of Pakistan's bowlers on a batting-friendly MCG surface.

Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli tons hand India series

2009-12-25T04:21:00.001-08:00

A jubilant Indian stand-in captain Virender Sehwag Thursday night praised Virat Kohli and other youngsters in the team and said he was happy to finish the series in Kolkata.

“This team has lot of bench-strength. We did not have Yuvraj Singh and M.S. Dhoni in the team. It’s a good sign for India that the youngsters are playing well. Virat Kohli proved his worth,” he said after India successfully chased an imposing Sri Lankan total of 315/6 to win with seven wickets and 11 balls in hand at the Eden Gardens.

“We wanted to finish the game in Kolkata because here we had a good wicket to bat on. We don’t know what kind of wicket we will get in Delhi,” Sehwag said after clinching the five match series against Sri Lanka.

Sehwag, who led the team at Cuttack and Kolkata following the two match ban slapped on regular captain M.S. Dhoni for slow over rate, said now the team will not be under any pressure in the fifth and last match in Delhi.

He added that faced with such a huge total, the Indian did not want to lose wickets.

“Our thinking was we should not lose wickets in the first ten overs. We had beaten Pakistan earlier at the Eden after putting up a big total. We knew the dew factor becomes important as the evening progresses. Them bowlers cannot spin or swing the ball. They have problems in gripping also”.

“So we thought if we do not lose early wickets, we can finish off the game. We lost two, but then Kohli and Gambhir finished it off”.

Kohli and Gambhir added 224 runs for the thrid wicket, a record at the Eden, to lead India to victory after the side got an initial jolt with the cheap dismissals of Sehwag and Gambhir.

Lavishing praise on Kohli, he said: “He is a very talented player. Now he is performing well”.

Sehwag said the flowering of players like Kohli, Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jdeja augured well for India ahead of the 2011 World Cup in India. “if we play at full strength we can win also in 2011”.

Sehwag did not think his side had a problem bowling at the death. “Sri Lanka batted very well. But our bowlers also put up a good performance”.

On the Delhi batsmen like him, Gambhir and Kohli doing well for India, Sehwag said that the players of his state were earlier doing well in domestic competitions, but have now carried their good show to the international stage. “Delhi players are very hungry for runs. When hey get the chance they try to perform. Earlier Gambhir did, now Virat is also doing that”.

Upul Tharanga flourishes after slow start

2009-12-24T03:25:00.000-08:00

In one swift act of acceleration, and solid consolidation thereafter, Upul Tharanga undid India's much-improved new-ball bowling and ground fielding. Both Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra came out with an effective plan for the Sri Lanka openers, implemented it to near perfection, and were assisted by Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja, who didn't let much go through the off-side circle. With just 48 coming off the first 11 overs, and Tillakaratne Dilshan back in the pavilion, Tharanga welcomed Ishant Sharma with five boundaries in his first over, and from there on India no longer controlled the match. With both not-out batsmen having been let off early on in their innings, it was a big matter of concern for India, even though they had taken sent back Dilshan and Sanath Jayasuriya.

Having witnessed the carnage in this series so far, it was almost surreal to see the bowlers tying down the batsmen so effectively. India got many things right, first of which was to give Nehra the new ball. Both left-arm bowlers kept two men on the leg-side boundary for Dilshan. The third man was left vacant but no room was given to him, neither was he offered anything to drive. Tharanga too had to struggle for room.

Both Nehra and Zaheer generated some movement to go with the tight lines and lengths, and as a result India managed their first maiden of the series - bowled by Nehra - and not one boundary was conceded in the first five overs.

In the first three matches, Sri Lanka reached their 50 in 3.4 overs, 6.3 overs, and 7.2 overs. At those various stages, Sri Lanka had scored 6 for 0, 23 for 0 and 24 for 0 today. It could have been worse for them had Nehra held on to a tough return catch from Tharanga, who was 7 then. The spell of containment was too much to take for Dilshan, who finally pulled Nehra to fine leg, where Kohli took a smart low catch.

The dropped catch apart, Tharanga kept the bowlers at bay. He manufactured a couple of shots, backing away and pulling over mid-on, and made sure Sri Lanka were always one special over away from getting back on even terms. The moment came when Ishant was introduced in the 12th over, with the score on 48 for 1. Ishant provided him driving length, and also width. The first ball was slapped square, the second driven to cover where Raina saved four, the third lofted over point, the fourth and fifth gorgeously threaded through the gap between mid-off and extra cover, and a thick edge off the last ball ran fine of third man. All of a sudden, Tharanga was 45 off 43 balls.

In the next over, though, Zaheer got rid of Jayasuriya, with a near-perfect legcutter taking the edge through to first slip. But India slipped in the field again. Kumar Sangakkara looked to pull Ishant, got a massive leading edge, but Harbhajan Singh at third man was late in picking it and ended dropping him when on 0. To rub it in, Tharanga crashed the next ball through the covers, bringing up his 10th boundary and his fifty in 45 balls.

A period of consolidation followed, and the pair added 38 to the 91 for 2 in 15 overs. Tharanga continued to torment Ishant, though, hitting taking back-to-back boundaries in his fifth over. The dangerous-looking partnership had added 57 in 12.1 overs by the end of the first quarter of the match.