Australia rein in India after fast start.Australia picked up the wickets of Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh to reduce the pressure of a rapid start provided by Virender Sehwag, leaving the game intriguingly placed at the half-way stage of the chase in Mohali.
The first decisive moment came when Ricky Ponting introduced spin in the 17th over. Nathan Hauritz stuck in his second over, getting a favourable lbw decision against Tendulkar but the ball appeared to be missing leg stump. The second blow occurred in the 24th over when Ponting fired in a direct hit from cover to run out Yuvraj.
There were only three singles in the first seven overs as Sehwag launched into a stunning assault, scoring all his 30 runs from 14 deliveries of Mitchell Johnson. He whiplashed a square drive, flicked through midwicket, flashed past point and played a skilful upper-cut over slips but the shot of the session was a stunning on-the-up punch to the left of short extra cover. However, he didn't capitalize on the start and fell, trying to clear mid-off against Doug Bollinger.
Like Sehwag, Tendulkar wasn't keen on taking singles and faced most of Peter Siddle's spell. Barring the third ODI, where the pitch demanded them to bowl straighter, Australia have been pitching full and well outside off stump to Tendulkar, who fell twice to such deliveries while driving away from the body. Today, he was patient and waited for the straighter ball before he went for his off-drives. Siddle slipped up on only two occasions: the first one was a short and wide delivery which was cut, and the second was a full delivery around off stump which was driven through covers. Johnson, in his second spell, and Moises Henriques weren't as tight as Siddle, and Tendulkar capitalised, collecting boundaries with flicks and pull shots.
Bollinger was as disciplined as Siddle, mixing in a few slow cutters with his length deliveries, and picked up two wickets. They weren't genuine wicket-taking balls - a full delivery took out Sehwag and a short and wide one took care of Virat Kohli - but he had induced those mistakes by applying pressure with his discipline.
Australia won by 23 runs
Chris Gayle has been reappointed West Indies captain for the upcoming tour of Australia, according to reports in the Caribbean.
The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) sat down in Barbados on Saturday to approve the selectors' recommendation of Gayle and several leading dailies in the region have reported Gayle's return as leader for the tough tour. The WICB is expected to name a 15-man squad later on Monday.
Gayle, 30, has not played international cricket since the home series against India in July due to the ugly contractual dispute between WICB the players' union. In his absence, the selectors were fielded depleted teams, led by Floyd Reifer, against Bangladesh and in the Champions Trophy. The name of Daren Ganga, who captained Trinidad & Tobago to the final of the inaugural Champions League, has been closely linked in the ever-changing story of the captaincy.
Gayle has led the side since 2007 but said in May that he wasn't intending to remain in the job in the long term and would also consider giving up Test cricket in the near future. His comments frustrated the WICB's new chief executive Ernest Hilaire, who said in September that Gayle's future as the captain was not guaranteed, but after several months off due to the player strike Gayle is simply keen to return to any form of cricket.
John Dyson, the recently deposed West Indies coach, revealed selectors had previously balked at moves to restore Ganga to the captaincy over concerns that his batting was not up to the rigours of international cricket. Ganga scored three centuries in 48 Tests between 1998 and 2008, averaging just 25.71.
"There was certainly some hesitation there," Dyson told Cricinfo. "Daren is obviously an impressive bloke and he is well suited to leading the Trinidadian side, but from my talks with selectors, the feeling was that he had not really grasped his opportunities in his 48 Tests.
"I think Gayle will probably hold onto the captaincy, but it would be wise of the selectors to find out just how committed he is to it. He had a lot of learning to do in terms of leadership when he first took on the job, but I think he has the raw materials to be a good captain. Many of the things that have happened to the West Indies team haven't been his fault. A lot of people would be tempted by the IPL and other leagues, and I think more and more players will let it be known that they are not totally committed to their teams. If Chris is committed to international cricket, I think he could yet be a good captain."
Gayle has had mixed results as captain, winning three Tests out of 14 and 13 ODIs out of 38. He led West Indies to two series wins in one-dayers, including an away victory against England last year, and against the touring Sri Lanka. He presided over a surprise win in the first Test against South Africa in Johannesburg but his side went on to lose the next two games and the series. His other Test wins came against Sri Lanka in Port-of-Spain to level the two match series and a deciding win over England at home earlier this year, before West Indies handed back the Wisden Trophy when they toured just after
Australian fast bowler Brett Lee said on Sunday he was far from finished as a Test cricketer following his latest injury setback.
Lee, 32, returned home on Sunday with an elbow injury which forced him out of Australia's seven-match one-day series in India.
The one-time pace spearhead is bidding to recover in time for the opening Test against the West Indies, starting in Brisbane on November 26.
"I certainly have not ruled out playing Test match cricket and that is definitely the most important thing that I want to achieve - to get back in and play Test match cricket," Lee told reporters.
Lee said he will consult a specialist this week about his elbow complaint and is hopeful of being fit to play for New South Wales in their Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania starting November 17.
The elbow injury continues a run of misfortune for Lee over the past 12 months.
He spent the early part of this year recovering from foot and ankle surgery before suffering a side strain early in the Ashes tour and missed all five Tests against England.
He performed strongly in Australia's Champions Trophy triumph in South Africa last month before being named Man of the Series as NSW captured the inaugural Champions League Twenty20 title in India.
But the latest setback raises doubts about Lee's future in the longest form of the game and whether his body is able to withstand the rigours of Test cricket.
"I can only do what I suppose I do best on the cricket field and that is take wickets and score runs down at the bottom of order," he said.
"I would have loved to have played those last two Test matches in England, but that is all behind me now and the way I was playing in the Champions Trophy and the Champions League I was really happy with my form.
"The only thing I can do is play the type of cricket I can when it is on offer.
"It is unfortunate I have picked up this elbow injury, but I do not see it as a long-term injury."
Lee has played 76 Tests since his debut in December 1999, taking 310 wickets at 30.82 and he last played Test cricket against South Africa in Melbourne in the 2008 Boxing Day match.
Injury-ravaged Australia suffered yet another blow after all-rounder James Hopes was on Sunday ruled out of the remainder of the seven-match ODI series against India.
Cricket Australia on Sunday said Hopes will return home to continue his recovery from a right hamstring injury he suffered during the first one-dayer at Vadodara.
CA’s National Selection Panel has named pacer Clinton McKay, who impressed for Victoria Bushrangers during the inaugural Champions League Twenty20, as Lee’s replacement. McKay will join the Australian squad in Hyderabad ahead of the fifth match of the series.
New South Wales all-rounder Moises Henriques, who joined the team ahead of the third ODI in New Delhi last night, will continue to remain with the squad for remainder of the series.
“James has done everything he can with medical staff to make himself available for the remaining games of the tour. However, due to compressed nature of this tour and his speed of recovery we feel now we have insufficient time to have James fully fit to take part in the remaining games of this series,” Australia physio Kevin Sims said in a CA statement.
“Therefore, a decision has been made that James will return to Australia where he will continue his rehabilitation from this hamstring injury,” he said.
NSP Chairman Andrew Hilditch said, “With injuries to Brett Lee and James and both of these returning to Australia, the NSP has taken opportunity to add another bowler to the squad in Clinton McKay.”
Hopes’ returning home midway through the series comes as a big setback for Australia as they have already lost pacer Brett Lee and wicketkeeper Tim Paine.
“With Moises having played in the last ODI game and James Hopes going home, Moises will now remain with the squad in India for the duration of the series,” Hilditch said.
“Clinton is a young promising bowler who has recent very good form for Victoria in Champions League Twenty20 in India. He will be well suited to Indian conditions and we believe he is another young player who benefit from experience of being in the Australian team set-up during this tour,” he said.
Former New Zealand coach Steve Rixon has confirmed he would return to the post if he was offered the position following the resignation of Andy Moles.
Rixon, 55, was at the Black Caps helm from 1996 to 1999, and has since taken charge of New South Wales, Surrey and ICL outfit Hyderabad Heroes.
"The timing is quite good," admitted Rixon. "I think that the job that needs to be done is very similar to the job that had to be done in 1997 and the challenge is appealing.
"They need to get back to simple basics, be more disciplined and possibly look at the make-up of the side."
However former India coach John Wright has emerged as the frontrunner, with former New Zeland Cricket chief executive Martin Snedden getting behind him.
Wright's name has often come up when New Zealand's coaching post has become available, and he is currently the high performance manager in the Land of the Long White Cloud.
Snedden told the Dominion Post: "I'm going to put my hand up and say John Wright's time is now, he would be great. Right at the heart of this is John Wright has the know-how.
"So much of what he brings is required. The skill of batting, the passion, he was so nationalistic as a player, we need that right now."
Wright has in the past insisted he doesn't have the desire to return to an international coaching job, but New Zealand's options are looking slim with Stephen Fleming, Tom Moody and Greg Shipperd all ruling themselves out of the running.
Snedden believes Wright must be convinced to take the role this time around.
"There is talk of perceived shortcomings - if that's the case you cope with that," said Snedden. "It is far better to have a coach with John Wright's skills and know-how than someone else who might have that [an ability to organise] and very little else.
"Currently our batting is a problem. We have the raw talent with guys like Ross Taylor, Jesse Ryder and Tim McIntosh, but they are still to learn the skills how to survive. John has all of that knowledge and the desperation."
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