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Indian Premier League, 2009- Most Wickets

2009-05-25T07:49:00.002-07:00

Indian Premier League, 2009

Player	Mat	Overs	Mdns	Runs	Wkts	BBI	Ave	Econ	SR	4	5
RP Singh	16	59.4	1	417	23	4/22	18.13	6.98	15.5	1	0
(Deccan Chargers)
A Kumble	16	59.1	1	347	21	5/5	16.52	5.86	16.9	1	1
(Royal Challengers Bangalore)
A Nehra	13	51.0	1	346	19	3/27	18.21	6.78	16.1	0	0
(Delhi Daredevils)
SL Malinga	13	49.3	2	312	18	3/11	17.33	6.30	16.5	0	0
(Mumbai Indians)
PP Ojha	15	53.3	0	348	18	3/21	19.33	6.50	17.8	0	0
(Deccan Chargers)
IK Pathan	14	50.2	1	390	17	3/35	22.94	7.74	17.7	0	0
(Kings XI Punjab)
MM Patel	11	34.5	1	241	16	2/14	15.06	6.91	13.0	0	0
(Rajasthan Royals)
P Sangwan	13	46.4	1	360	15	3/18	24.00	7.71	18.6	0	0
(Delhi Daredevils)
DP Nannes	13	49.3	0	372	15	3/27	24.80	7.51	19.8	0	0
(Delhi Daredevils)
YA Abdulla	9	28.0	1	241	14	4/31	17.21	8.60	12.0	2	0
(Kings XI Punjab)
M Muralitharan	13	50.0	1	261	14	3/11	18.64	5.22	21.4	0	0
(Chennai Super Kings)
A Mishra	11	42.0	1	294	14	3/14	21.00	7.00	18.0	0	0
(Delhi Daredevils)
SK Warne	13	50.0	0	365	14	3/24	26.07	7.30	21.4	0	0
(Rajasthan Royals)
SB Jakati	9	29.0	0	217	13	4/22	16.69	7.48	13.3	2	0
(Chennai Super Kings)
L Balaji	13	37.2	0	316	13	4/21	24.30	8.46	17.2	1	0
(Chennai Super Kings)
JA Morkel	12	40.0	1	328	13	2/13	25.23	8.20	18.4	0	0
(Chennai Super Kings)
P Kumar	13	49.4	1	394	13	3/30	30.30	7.93	22.9	0	0
(Royal Challengers Bangalore)
Harbhajan Singh	13	44.0	0	256	12	4/17	21.33	5.81	22.0	1	0
(Mumbai Indians)
PP Chawla	14	44.5	1	308	12	2/22	25.66	6.86	22.4	0	0
(Kings XI Punjab)
RG Sharma	16	23.0	0	161	11	4/6	14.63	7.00	12.5	1	0
(Deccan Chargers)
DJ Bravo	11	33.1	0	259	11	3/34	23.54	7.80	18.0	0	0
(Mumbai Indians)
I Sharma	11	43.0	0	297	11	2/15	27.00	6.90	23.4	0	0
(Kolkata Knight Riders)
R Bhatia	8	21.4	0	146	10	4/15	14.60	6.73	13.0	1	0

Indian Premier League, 2009- Most Runs

2009-05-25T07:49:00.001-07:00

Indian Premier League, 2009

Player	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	0	4s	6s
ML Hayden	12	12	1	572	89	52.00	395	144.81	0	5	0	60	22
(Chennai Super Kings)
AC Gilchrist	16	16	0	495	85	30.93	325	152.30	0	3	2	54	29
(Deccan Chargers)
AB de Villiers	15	13	4	465	105*	51.66	355	130.98	1	3	1	39	12
(Delhi Daredevils)
SK Raina	14	14	0	434	98	31.00	308	140.90	0	2	0	37	21
(Chennai Super Kings)
TM Dilshan	14	13	3	418	67*	41.80	341	122.58	0	4	0	42	13
(Delhi Daredevils)
JP Duminy	13	12	3	372	62	41.33	325	114.46	0	5	1	26	11
(Mumbai Indians)
HH Gibbs	14	14	3	371	69*	33.72	331	112.08	0	4	4	32	12
(Deccan Chargers)
BJ Hodge	12	12	3	365	73	40.55	310	117.74	0	3	1	34	9
(Kolkata Knight Riders)
SR Tendulkar	13	13	2	364	68	33.09	303	120.13	0	2	1	39	10
(Mumbai Indians)
RG Sharma	16	16	3	362	52	27.84	315	114.92	0	1	0	22	18
(Deccan Chargers)
JH Kallis	15	15	2	361	69*	27.76	332	108.73	0	3	2	37	8
(Royal Challengers Bangalore)
Yuvraj Singh	14	14	2	340	58*	28.33	294	115.64	0	2	0	25	16
(Kings XI Punjab)
MS Dhoni	14	13	5	332	58*	41.50	261	127.20	0	2	0	22	9
(Chennai Super Kings)
KC Sangakkara	14	13	2	332	60	30.18	324	102.46	0	2	1	29	5
(Kings XI Punjab)
RA Jadeja	13	13	2	295	42	26.81	266	110.90	0	0	0	21	6
(Rajasthan Royals)
KD Karthik	15	13	5	288	52	36.00	217	132.71	0	1	0	20	9
(Delhi Daredevils)
G Gambhir	15	15	2	286	71*	22.00	278	102.87	0	1	2	32	2
(Delhi Daredevils)
BB McCullum	13	13	1	285	84*	23.75	239	119.24	0	2	1	27	12
(Kolkata Knight Riders)
LRPL Taylor	11	11	2	280	81*	31.11	208	134.61	0	1	1	20	15
(Royal Challengers Bangalore)
R Dravid	13	12	0	271	66	22.58	234	115.81	0	1	1	28	3
(Royal Challengers Bangalore)
A Symonds	8	8	1	249	60*	35.57	166	150.00	0	1	0	15	11
(Deccan Chargers)
V Kohli	16	13	2	246	50	22.36	219	112.32	0	1	0	22	8
(Royal Challengers Bangalore)
YK Pathan	13	13	1	243	62*	20.25	183	132.78	0	1	0	24	12
(Rajasthan Royals)
TS Suman	12	12	2	237	41*	23.70	190	124.73	0	0	1	18	8
(Deccan Chargers)
ST Jayasuriya	12	12	0	221	52	18.41	192	115.10	0	2	2	23	7
(Mumbai Indians)
DPMD Jayawardene	10	10	4	219	52*	36.50	165	132.72	0	1	0	17	7
(Kings XI Punjab)
DJ Bravo	11	10	2	218	70*	27.25	203	107.38	0	2	0	15	8
(Mumbai Indians)
DR Smith	8	8	0	215	49	26.87	132	162.87	0	0	0	12	15
(Deccan Chargers)
GC Smith	12	12	1	212	77	19.27	216	98.14	0	1	2	27	1
(Rajasthan Royals)
V Sehwag	11	11	1	198	50	19.80	138	143.47	0	1	1	24	7
(Delhi Daredevils)
IK Pathan	14	12	2	196	39	19.60	158	124.05	0	0	1	17	6
(Kings XI Punjab)
AM Nayar	13	11	2	193	35	21.44	152	126.97	0	0	0	14	7
(Mumbai Indians)
SC Ganguly	13	11	0	189	46	17.18	207	91.30	0	0	2	13	6
(Kolkata Knight Riders)
S Badrinath	14	11	2	177	59*	19.66	164	107.92	0	1	2	20	4
(Chennai Super Kings)
RV Uthappa	15	13	2	175	66*	15.90	170	102.94	0	1	1	18	3
(Royal Challengers Bangalore)
CH Gayle	7	7	1	171	44*	28.50	143	119.58	0	0	0	15	10
(Kolkata Knight Riders)
MK Pandey	5	4	2	168	114*	84.00	118	142.37	1	0	0	17	4
(Royal Challengers Bangalore)
NV Ojha	8	8	1	168	68	24.00	144	116.66	0	2	2	11	11
(Rajasthan Royals)
MN van Wyk	5	5	2	167	74	55.66	132	126.51	0	1	1	19	1
(Kolkata Knight Riders)
DA Warner	7	7	0	163	51	23.28	132	123.48	0	1	1	16	5
(Delhi Daredevils)
MV Boucher	12	9	4	150	48*	30.00	116	129.31	0	0	0	8	6
(Royal Challengers Bangalore)
SM Katich	9	9	0	145	50	16.11	117	123.93	0	1	1	14	6
(Kings XI Punjab)
AM Rahane	8	7	1	144	62*	24.00	123	117.07	0	2	1	12	3
(Mumbai Indians)
PA Patel	9	9	0	142	36	15.77	126	112.69	0	0	3	19	2
(Chennai Super Kings)
RS Bopara	5	5	0	138	84	27.60	119	115.96	0	1	0	8	7
(Kings XI Punjab)
K Goel	9	9	1	124	38	15.50	133	93.23	0	0	2	9	4
(Kings XI Punjab)
Y Venugopal Rao	16	13	2	124	32	11.27	114	108.77	0	0	2	6	3
(Deccan Chargers)
RE van der Merwe	10	8	0	122	35	15.25	98	124.48	0	0	0	8	8
(Royal Challengers Bangalore)
S Sohal	8	8	0	115	43	14.37	93	123.65	0	0	1	9	8
(Kings XI Punjab)
SK Warne	13	11	3	108	34*	13.50	116	93.10	0	0	3	6	4
(Rajasthan Royals)

Deccan snatch title in tense finish

2009-05-25T07:45:00.000-07:00

Deccan Chargers 143 for 6 (Gibbs 53*, Kumble 4-16) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 137 for 9 (Ojha 3-28, Symonds 2-18) by six runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Andrew Symonds was gutted when he got out, but made up with his aggressive fielding and body language, and smart bowling © Associated Press

Deccan Chargers invoked the bull in their emblem to successfully defend a modest total, beat Royal Challengers Bangalore and win a tournament they had ended up last in the previous season. They bowled with fire, fielded aggressively and sledged and hustled - almost literally - to victory in a final that twisted and turned and lived up to the occasion.

The last of those turning points was the 15th over, bowled by Andrew Symonds, who matched his verbal skills from earlier in the night with the wickets of Ross Taylor and Virat Kohli off back-to-back deliveries. Bangalore were 99 for 6 when the over started, and Taylor had looked dangerous during his 20-ball 27. That Symonds over, though, was symbolic of the night: every time a batsman got away from the bowling, a breakthrough pulled the batting side back.

Defending a total three less than what Bangalore chased easily in the semi-final, Deccan came out pumped, their energy reflecting in their behaviour. Symonds shadowed the latest tyro, Manish Pandey, all the way from the dugout to the crease. Pandey was a marked man during his innings. Symonds followed him wherever he went, giving him lip. Ryan Harris matched the aggression with the ball, clocking 145kmph constantly in the first over, a maiden.

Jacques Kallis looked to take the pressure off his 19-year-old partner. In Harris' next over Kallis took two boundaries to get the chase going. RP Singh brought the balance back when Kallis pulled onto his stumps but out came Roelof van der Merwe, who used adrenalin to push Bangalore further towards the target.

Prime Numbers

31
Runs scored by Deccan during the Powerplay. It was their least score in the first six overs this season
152.30
Adam Gilchrist's strike-rate, the best for any batsman with more than 250 runs
23
The number of wickets that earned RP Singh the purple cap. Kumble was second with 21
2
Number of times Kumble has taken four wickets or more in the tournament. Yusuf Abdulla and Shadab Jakati are the others with two
2
Number of times in seven games the team batting first has won a night game in Johannesburg

van der Merwe got a mouthful from Symonds and Harris, but he responded by hitting two sixes off one Harris over. Despite the maiden, Harris had gone for 23 in three overs. Even after Pragyan Ojha got Pandey with the first ball he bowled, van der Merwe's pyrotechnics kept Deccan at a distance.

One ball summed up the adrenalin rush van der Merwe was feeling. Beaten in the flight by Ojha he managed an edge which saved him from being stumped but he also dropped his bat. He picked his bat up as he ran the first run, and turned a two into a three, saving himself from the run-out by sprinting down the middle of the pitch and diving into the stumps at the non-striker's end.

One six later the adrenalin got the better of van der Merwe as he jumped out to Ojha and was stumped. The tension was palpable, and it sort of got to a senior pro like Rahul Dravid too. As Bangalore targeted Harmeet Singh, Dravid missed a scoop and was bowled. Bangalore still held the edge, though, with Taylor and Mark Boucher in.

Taylor looked like taking Bangalore home coolly, hitting three fours and a six, until Symonds got him on the pull, with a touch of extra bounce. Adam Gilchrist pulled off a smart stumping down the leg side next ball, and it was all down to Boucher now.

Gilchrist tried to get through Harmeet's last over, during which the youngster claimed Boucher on the cut. The bowling allocation was planned perfectly: RP had two left, and Ojha and Harris one each. Bangalore, with two wickets in hand, needed 27 from the last two overs, and 15 from the last, but RP Singh and Ryan Harris kept their cool despite a six from Robin Uthappa.

Amid the tension of the second innings one felt for Anil Kumble, who spent the most of the last over at the non-striker's end and saw his dream crash. Earlier Kumble had celebrated like a teenager but bowled like the veteran champion he is, and kept Deccan down to a manageable target.

He bowled the first over of the match, took Gilchrist out, then came back in the ninth to dismiss Symonds. That wicket was crucial because Symonds had been dropped on 5 by Dravid, and was reminding Bangalore eerily of the line his batting partner Herschelle Gibbs was apocryphally told during the 1999 World Cup. Kumble again came on in the 17th over to break a dangerous 52-run partnership between Rohit Sharma and Gibbs, when the two had taken Deccan to 110 for 3.

Towards the end Gibbs played a bizarre little innings. He had been inconspicuous in his struggle to score runs earlier, and didn't make much effort to farm the strike in the end. He faced only six balls in the last three overs, and kept taking twos in the last over to hand the strike over to Harris. He had batted the whole 20 overs for less than 60, much like Sachin Tendulkar, in more trying conditions, had in the first match of the tournament. Somehow they both ended up winning.

Indian Premier League, 2009

2009-04-26T16:41:00.002-07:00

Most wickets

Indian Premier League, 2009

Player	Mat	Overs	Mdns	Runs	Wkts	BBI	Ave	Econ	SR	4	5
RP Singh	3	11.4	0	66	8	4/22	8.25	5.65	8.7	1	0
(Deccan Chargers)
YA Abdulla	4	11.0	0	91	7	4/31	13.00	8.27	9.4	1	0
(Kings XI Punjab)
SL Malinga	2	8.0	1	34	6	3/15	5.66	4.25	8.0	0	0
(Mumbai Indians)
PP Ojha	3	12.0	0	62	6	3/21	10.33	5.16	12.0	0	0
(Deccan Chargers)
DL Vettori	3	11.0	0	79	6	3/15	13.16	7.18	11.0	0	0
(Delhi Daredevils)
A Kumble	5	19.1	1	111	6	5/5	18.50	5.79	19.1	0	1
(Bangalore Royal Challengers)
L Balaji	2	6.2	0	37	5	3/19	7.40	5.84	7.6	0	0
(Chennai Super Kings)
Kamran Khan	3	11.0	0	54	5	3/18	10.80	4.90	13.2	0	0
(Rajasthan Royals)
SB Styris	2	8.0	0	64	5	3/32	12.80	8.00	9.6	0	0
(Deccan Chargers)
MM Patel	3	10.0	0	85	5	2/24	17.00	8.50	12.0	0	0
(Rajasthan Royals)
IK Pathan	4	12.0	0	97	5	3/35	19.40	8.08	14.4	0	0
(Kings XI Punjab)
P Kumar	4	15.0	0	117	5	2/7	23.40	7.80	18.0	0	0
(Bangalore Royal Challengers)
DJ Bravo	2	8.0	0	61	4	3/34	15.25	7.62	12.0	0	0
(Mumbai Indians)
AD Mascarenhas	3	12.0	1	78	4	3/20	19.50	6.50	18.0	0	0
(Rajasthan Royals)
P Sangwan	3	10.0	0	79	4	3/28	19.75	7.90	15.0	0	0
(Delhi Daredevils)
SK Warne	3	12.0	0	80	4	2/18	20.00	6.66	18.0	0	0
(Rajasthan Royals)
MS Gony	3	11.0	0	101	4	2/32	25.25	9.18	16.5	0	0
(Chennai Super Kings)
M Muralitharan	2	7.0	1	37	3	3/11	12.33	5.28	14.0	0	0
(Chennai Super Kings)
PP Chawla	4	10.5	0	61	3	2/22	20.33	5.63	21.6	0	0
(Kings XI Punjab)
KP Pietersen	5	9.0	0	61	3	2/31	20.33	6.77	18.0	0	0
(Bangalore Royal Challengers)
ST Jayasuriya	2	7.0	0	63	3	2/34	21.00	9.00	14.0	0	0
(Mumbai Indians)
JD Ryder	3	9.0	0	66	3	2/14	22.00	7.33	18.0	0	0
(Bangalore Royal Challengers)
A Nehra	2	8.0	0	67	3	2/34	22.33	8.37	16.0	0	0
(Delhi Daredevils)
FH Edwards	3	12.0	1	72	3	2/27	24.00	6.00	24.0	0	0
(Deccan Chargers)
I Sharma	3	11.0	0	73	3	2/36	24.33	6.63	22.0	0	0
(Kolkata Knight Riders)
BAW Mendis	1	4.0	0	19	2	2/19	9.50	4.75	12.0	0	0
(Kolkata Knight Riders)
Anureet Singh	1	4.0	0	35	2	2/35	17.50	8.75	12.0	0	0
(Kolkata Knight Riders)
Harbhajan Singh	2	7.0	0	42	2	1/15	21.00	6.00	21.0	0	0
(Mumbai Indians)
Joginder Sharma	3	6.0	0	43	2	1/10	21.50	7.16	18.0	0	0
(Chennai Super Kings)
Pankaj Singh	2	6.0	0	51	2	2/31	25.50	8.50	18.0	0	0
(Bangalore Royal Challengers)
JA Morkel	2	6.0	0	53	2	1/12	26.50	8.83	18.0	0	0
(Chennai Super Kings)
SC Ganguly	3	8.0	0	55	2	2/24	27.50	6.87	24.0	0	0
(Kolkata Knight Riders)
AB Dinda	2	7.0	0	58	2	1/24	29.00	8.28	21.0	0	0
(Kolkata Knight Riders)
DW Steyn	3	9.0	0	62	2	1/21	31.00	6.88	27.0	0	0
(Bangalore Royal Challengers)
A Flintoff	3	11.0	0	105	2	1/11	52.50	9.54	33.0	0	0
(Chennai Super Kings)
B Akhil	2	1.0	0	8	1	1/8	8.00	8.00	6.0	0	0
(Bangalore Royal Challengers)
A Mishra	1	4.0	0	19	1	1/19	19.00	4.75	24.0	0	0
(Delhi Daredevils)
KP Appanna	1	4.0	0	24	1	1/24	24.00	6.00	24.0	0	0
(Bangalore Royal Challengers)
VY Mahesh	1	2.0	0	25	1	1/25	25.00	12.50	12.0	0	0
(Delhi Daredevils)
T Henderson	1	4.0	0	30	1	1/30	30.00	7.50	24.0	0	0
(Rajasthan Royals)
JDP Oram	1	4.0	0	30	1	1/30	30.00	7.50	24.0	0	0
(Chennai Super Kings)
T Thushara	1	4.0	0	32	1	1/32	32.00	8.00	24.0	0	0
(Chennai Super Kings)
VS Malik	2	3.0	0	34	1	1/23	34.00	11.33	18.0	0	0
(Kings XI Punjab)
MC Henriques	2	4.1	0	36	1	1/32	36.00	8.64	25.0	0	0
(Kolkata Knight Riders)
VRV Singh	4	7.0	0	46	1	1/22	46.00	6.57	42.0	0	0
(Kings XI Punjab)
AM Salvi	2	5.0	0	58	1	1/17	58.00	11.60	30.0	0	0
(Delhi Daredevils)
DP Nannes	3	11.0	0	80	1	1/24	80.00	7.27	66.0	0	0
(Delhi Daredevils)
Harmeet Singh	3	9.0	0	86	1	1/23	86.00	9.55	54.0	0	0
(Deccan Chargers)
JH Kallis	4	11.0	0	135	1	1/51	135.00	12.27	66.0	0	0

Indian Premier League, 2009

2009-04-26T16:41:00.001-07:00

Most runs

Indian Premier League, 2009

Player	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	0	4s	6s
ML Hayden	3	3	0	166	65	55.33	97	171.13	0	2	0	20	6
(Chennai Super Kings)
R Dravid	4	4	0	144	66	36.00	106	135.84	0	1	0	15	3
(Bangalore Royal Challengers)
RS Bopara	4	4	0	132	84	33.00	105	125.71	0	1	0	8	7
(Kings XI Punjab)
AB de Villiers	3	2	1	126	105*	126.00	77	163.63	1	0	0	5	6
(Delhi Daredevils)
KC Sangakkara	4	4	0	120	60	30.00	104	115.38	0	1	0	12	2
(Kings XI Punjab)
AC Gilchrist	3	3	0	119	71	39.66	76	156.57	0	1	0	11	8
(Deccan Chargers)
TM Dilshan	3	2	1	117	67*	117.00	74	158.10	0	2	0	12	4
(Delhi Daredevils)
HH Gibbs	3	3	1	114	58	57.00	77	148.05	0	1	0	12	4
(Deccan Chargers)
JH Kallis	4	4	0	101	62	25.25	80	126.25	0	1	1	13	2
(Bangalore Royal Challengers)
SR Tendulkar	2	2	1	95	59*	95.00	76	125.00	0	1	0	10	2
(Mumbai Indians)
CH Gayle	3	3	1	95	44*	47.50	71	133.80	0	0	0	5	9
(Kolkata Knight Riders)
RG Sharma	3	3	1	91	52	45.50	67	135.82	0	1	0	4	7
(Deccan Chargers)
V Kohli	5	5	0	88	50	17.60	80	110.00	0	1	0	8	1
(Bangalore Royal Challengers)
Yuvraj Singh	4	4	1	86	38	28.66	59	145.76	0	0	0	6	5
(Kings XI Punjab)
KP Pietersen	5	5	0	80	37	16.00	73	109.58	0	0	2	7	2
(Bangalore Royal Challengers)
IK Pathan	4	3	0	77	39	25.66	57	135.08	0	0	0	7	3
(Kings XI Punjab)
SK Raina	3	3	0	77	41	25.66	65	118.46	0	0	0	7	2
(Chennai Super Kings)
RA Jadeja	3	3	0	70	37	23.33	80	87.50	0	0	0	2	1
(Rajasthan Royals)
LRPL Taylor	4	4	0	67	35	16.75	61	109.83	0	0	1	7	2
(Bangalore Royal Challengers)
YK Pathan	3	3	0	63	42	21.00	48	131.25	0	0	0	9	2
(Rajasthan Royals)
A Flintoff	3	3	1	62	24	31.00	53	116.98	0	0	0	5	2
(Chennai Super Kings)
MS Dhoni	3	3	0	57	36	19.00	47	121.27	0	0	0	1	3
(Chennai Super Kings)
K Goel	4	4	0	57	38	14.25	47	121.27	0	0	2	4	3
(Kings XI Punjab)
JP Duminy	2	2	0	56	47	28.00	47	119.14	0	0	0	5	2
(Mumbai Indians)
V Sehwag	3	3	1	51	38*	25.50	30	170.00	0	0	0	5	4
(Delhi Daredevils)
SC Ganguly	3	2	0	47	46	23.50	42	111.90	0	0	0	4	2
(Kolkata Knight Riders)
BJ Hodge	3	3	1	46	31	23.00	55	83.63	0	0	0	4	0
(Kolkata Knight Riders)
PA Patel	3	3	0	46	30	15.33	43	106.97	0	0	1	4	1
(Chennai Super Kings)
AM Nayar	2	2	0	45	35	22.50	20	225.00	0	0	0	2	4
(Mumbai Indians)
DPMD Jayawardene	4	4	2	45	31*	22.50	36	125.00	0	0	0	4	1
(Kings XI Punjab)
SK Warne	3	3	2	39	34*	39.00	44	88.63	0	0	0	3	0
(Rajasthan Royals)
RV Uthappa	5	5	0	38	20	7.60	53	71.69	0	0	1	3	0
(Bangalore Royal Challengers)
MV Boucher	1	1	0	36	36	36.00	28	128.57	0	0	0	2	2
(Bangalore Royal Challengers)
DR Smith	1	1	0	35	35	35.00	22	159.09	0	0	0	2	2
(Deccan Chargers)
P Kumar	4	4	1	35	14*	11.66	26	134.61	0	0	1	0	4
(Bangalore Royal Challengers)
JD Ryder	3	3	0	32	32	10.66	24	133.33	0	0	2	6	0
(Bangalore Royal Challengers)
G Gambhir	3	3	1	31	16	15.50	33	93.93	0	0	1	3	0
(Delhi Daredevils)
AD Mascarenhas	3	3	0	31	27	10.33	31	100.00	0	0	1	3	0
(Rajasthan Royals)
KD Karthik	3	2	0	30	18	15.00	25	120.00	0	0	0	3	1
(Delhi Daredevils)
ST Jayasuriya	2	2	0	27	26	13.50	28	96.42	0	0	0	5	0
(Mumbai Indians)
DJ Bravo	2	2	0	26	21	13.00	22	118.18	0	0	0	3	0
(Mumbai Indians)
S Dhawan	2	2	0	25	22	12.50	28	89.28	0	0	0	2	0
(Mumbai Indians)
BB McCullum	3	3	0	25	21	8.33	28	89.28	0	0	0	1	2
(Kolkata Knight Riders)
Harbhajan Singh	2	2	0	24	20	12.00	10	240.00	0	0	0	2	2
(Mumbai Indians)
M Manhas	1	1	1	23	23*	-	13	176.92	0	0	0	3	0
(Delhi Daredevils)
AS Raut	2	2	1	22	21*	22.00	17	129.41	0	0	0	1	2
(Rajasthan Royals)
LR Shukla	3	2	0	21	13	10.50	19	110.52	0	0	0	1	1
(Kolkata Knight Riders)
Yashpal Singh	2	1	0	20	20	20.00	18	111.11	0	0	0	3	0
(Kolkata Knight Riders)
Joginder Sharma	3	2	1	20	16*	20.00	18	111.11	0	0	0	0	1
(Chennai Super Kings)
GC Smith	3	3	0	19	15	6.33	38	50.00	0	0	0	1	0

Indian Premier League, 2009

2009-04-26T16:40:00.001-07:00

Match results

Indian Premier League, 2009

Matches - Articles (344) - Photos (286) - Fixtures - Grounds - Squads - Current points table - Records and statistics

1st match: Chennai Super Kings v Mumbai Indians at Cape Town - Apr 18, 2009
Mumbai Indians won by 19 runs
Mumbai Indians 165/7 (20/20 ov); Chennai Super Kings 146/7 (20/20 ov)

Scorecard | Commentary | Bulletin | Articles (2) | Photos (26)

2nd match: Bangalore Royal Challengers v Rajasthan Royals at Cape Town - Apr 18, 2009
Bangalore Royal Challengers won by 75 runs
Bangalore Royal Challengers 133/8 (20/20 ov); Rajasthan Royals 58 (15.1/20 ov)

Scorecard | Commentary | Articles (3) | Photos (15)

3rd match: Delhi Daredevils v Kings XI Punjab at Cape Town - Apr 19, 2009
Delhi Daredevils won by 10 wickets (with 7 balls remaining) (D/L method)
Kings XI Punjab 104/7 (12/12 ov); Delhi Daredevils 58/0 (4.5/6 ov)

Scorecard | Commentary | Bulletin | Articles (3) | Photos (18)

4th match: Deccan Chargers v Kolkata Knight Riders at Cape Town - Apr 19, 2009
Deccan Chargers won by 8 wickets (with 41 balls remaining)
Kolkata Knight Riders 101 (19.4/20 ov); Deccan Chargers 104/2 (13.1/20 ov)

Scorecard | Commentary | Bulletin | Articles (3) | Photos (14)

5th match: Bangalore Royal Challengers v Chennai Super Kings at Port Elizabeth - Apr 20, 2009
Chennai Super Kings won by 92 runs
Chennai Super Kings 179/5 (20/20 ov); Bangalore Royal Challengers 87 (15.2/20 ov)

Scorecard | Commentary | Bulletin | Articles (4) | Photos (14)

6th match: Kings XI Punjab v Kolkata Knight Riders at Durban - Apr 21, 2009
Kolkata Knight Riders won by 11 runs (D/L method)
Kings XI Punjab 158/6 (20/20 ov); Kolkata Knight Riders 79/1 (9.2/9.2 ov)

Scorecard | Commentary | Bulletin | Articles (2) | Photos (11)

7th match: Mumbai Indians v Rajasthan Royals at Durban - Apr 21, 2009
Match abandoned without a ball bowled

Scorecard | Commentary | Bulletin | Photos (1)

8th match: Bangalore Royal Challengers v Deccan Chargers at Cape Town - Apr 22, 2009
Deccan Chargers won by 24 runs
Deccan Chargers 184/6 (20/20 ov); Bangalore Royal Challengers 160/8 (20/20 ov)

Scorecard | Commentary | Articles (1) | Photos (11)

9th match: Chennai Super Kings v Delhi Daredevils at Durban - Apr 23, 2009
Delhi Daredevils won by 9 runs
Delhi Daredevils 189/5 (20/20 ov); Chennai Super Kings 180/9 (20/20 ov)

Scorecard | Commentary | Articles (3) | Photos (12)

10th match: Kolkata Knight Riders v Rajasthan Royals at Cape Town - Apr 23, 2009
Match tied
Rajasthan Royals 150/6 (20/20 ov); Kolkata Knight Riders 150/8 (20/20 ov)

Scorecard | Commentary | Articles (6) | Photos (12)

11th match: Bangalore Royal Challengers v Kings XI Punjab at Durban - Apr 24, 2009
Kings XI Punjab won by 7 wickets (with 6 balls remaining)
Bangalore Royal Challengers 168/9 (20/20 ov); Kings XI Punjab 173/3 (19/20 ov)

Scorecard | Commentary | Bulletin | Articles (3) | Photos (12)

12th match: Deccan Chargers v Mumbai Indians at Durban - Apr 25, 2009
Deccan Chargers won by 12 runs
Deccan Chargers 168/9 (20/20 ov); Mumbai Indians 156/7 (20/20 ov)

Scorecard | Commentary | Bulletin | Articles (3) | Photos (24)

13th match: Chennai Super Kings v Kolkata Knight Riders at Cape Town - Apr 25, 2009
Match abandoned without a ball bowled

Scorecard | Commentary | Bulletin | Articles (2) | Photos (3)

14th match: Bangalore Royal Challengers v Delhi Daredevils at Port Elizabeth - Apr 26, 2009
Delhi Daredevils won by 6 wickets (with 4 balls remaining)
Bangalore Royal Challengers 149/7 (20/20 ov); Delhi Daredevils 150/4 (19.2/20 ov)

Scorecard | Commentary | Bulletin | Articles (3) | Photos (17)

15th match: Kings XI Punjab v Rajasthan Royals at Cape Town - Apr 26, 2009
Kings XI Punjab won by 27 runs
Kings XI Punjab 139/6 (20/20 ov); Rajasthan Royals 112/7 (20/20 ov)

Scorecard | Commentary | Bulletin | Articles (3) | Photos (19)

Indian Premier League, 2009

2009-04-26T16:39:00.000-07:00

April 2009
Sat 18 12:30 local, 10:30 GMT, 16:00 IST	1st match - Chennai Super Kings v Mumbai Indians Newlands, Cape Town
Sat 18 17:10 local, 15:10 GMT, 20:40 IST	2nd match - Bangalore Royal Challengers v Rajasthan Royals Newlands, Cape Town
Sun 19 12:30 local, 10:30 GMT, 16:00 IST	3rd match - Delhi Daredevils v Kings XI Punjab Newlands, Cape Town
Sun 19 18:50 local, 16:50 GMT, 22:20 IST	4th match - Deccan Chargers v Kolkata Knight Riders Newlands, Cape Town
Mon 20 16:30 local, 14:30 GMT, 20:00 IST	5th match - Bangalore Royal Challengers v Chennai Super Kings St George's Park, Port Elizabeth
Tue 21 12:30 local, 10:30 GMT, 16:00 IST	6th match - Kings XI Punjab v Kolkata Knight Riders Kingsmead, Durban
Tue 21 16:30 local, 14:30 GMT, 20:00 IST	7th match - Mumbai Indians v Rajasthan Royals Kingsmead, Durban
Wed 22 16:30 local, 14:30 GMT, 20:00 IST	8th match - Bangalore Royal Challengers v Deccan Chargers Newlands, Cape Town
Thu 23 12:30 local, 10:30 GMT, 16:00 IST	9th match - Chennai Super Kings v Delhi Daredevils Kingsmead, Durban
Thu 23 16:45 local, 14:45 GMT, 20:15 IST	10th match - Kolkata Knight Riders v Rajasthan Royals Newlands, Cape Town
Fri 24 16:30 local, 14:30 GMT, 20:00 IST	11th match - Bangalore Royal Challengers v Kings XI Punjab Kingsmead, Durban
Sat 25 12:30 local, 10:30 GMT, 16:00 IST	12th match - Deccan Chargers v Mumbai Indians Kingsmead, Durban
Sat 25 16:45 local, 14:45 GMT, 20:15 IST	13th match - Chennai Super Kings v Kolkata Knight Riders Newlands, Cape Town
Sun 26 12:30 local, 10:30 GMT, 16:00 IST	14th match - Bangalore Royal Challengers v Delhi Daredevils St George's Park, Port Elizabeth
Sun 26 16:45 local, 14:45 GMT, 20:15 IST	15th match - Kings XI Punjab v Rajasthan Royals Newlands, Cape Town
Mon 27 12:30 local, 10:30 GMT, 16:00 IST	16th match - Chennai Super Kings v Deccan Chargers Kingsmead, Durban
Mon 27 16:45 local, 14:45 GMT, 20:15 IST	17th match - Kolkata Knight Riders v Mumbai Indians St George's Park, Port Elizabeth
Tue 28 16:30 local, 14:30 GMT, 20:00 IST	18th match - Delhi Daredevils v Rajasthan Royals SuperSport Park, Centurion
Wed 29 12:30 local, 10:30 GMT, 16:00 IST	19th match - Bangalore Royal Challengers v Kolkata Knight Riders Kingsmead, Durban
Wed 29 16:30 local, 14:30 GMT, 20:00 IST	20th match - Kings XI Punjab v Mumbai Indians Kingsmead, Durban
Thu 30 12:30 local, 10:30 GMT, 16:00 IST	21st match - Deccan Chargers v Delhi Daredevils SuperSport Park, Centurion
Thu 30 16:30 local, 14:30 GMT, 20:00 IST	22nd match - Chennai Super Kings v Rajasthan Royals SuperSport Park, Centurion
May 2009
Fri 1 12:30 local, 10:30 GMT, 16:00 IST	23rd match - Kolkata Knight Riders v Mumbai Indians Buffalo Park, East London
Fri 1 16:45 local, 14:45 GMT, 20:15 IST	24th match - Bangalore Royal Challengers v Kings XI Punjab Kingsmead, Durban
Sat 2 12:30 local, 10:30 GMT, 16:00 IST	25th match - Deccan Chargers v Rajasthan Royals St George's Park, Port Elizabeth
Sat 2 16:45 local, 14:45 GMT, 20:15 IST	26th match - Chennai Super Kings v Delhi Daredevils New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
Sun 3 12:30 local, 10:30 GMT, 16:00 IST	27th match - Kings XI Punjab v Kolkata Knight Riders St George's Park, Port Elizabeth
Sun 3 16:45 local, 14:45 GMT, 20:15 IST	28th match - Bangalore Royal Challengers v Mumbai Indians New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
Mon 4 16:30 local, 14:30 GMT, 20:00 IST	29th match - Chennai Super Kings v Deccan Chargers Buffalo Park, East London
Tue 5 12:30 local, 10:30 GMT, 16:00 IST	30th match - Kings XI Punjab v Rajasthan Royals Kingsmead, Durban
Tue 5 16:30 local, 14:30 GMT, 20:00 IST	31st match - Delhi Daredevils v Kolkata Knight Riders Kingsmead, Durban
Wed 6 16:30 local, 14:30 GMT, 20:00 IST	32nd match - Deccan Chargers v Mumbai Indians SuperSport Park, Centurion
Thu 7 12:30 local, 10:30 GMT, 16:00 IST	33rd match - Bangalore Royal Challengers v Rajasthan Royals SuperSport Park, Centurion
Thu 7 16:30 local, 14:30 GMT, 20:00 IST	34th match - Chennai Super Kings v Kings XI Punjab SuperSport Park, Centurion
Fri 8 16:30 local, 14:30 GMT, 20:00 IST	35th match - Delhi Daredevils v Mumbai Indians Buffalo Park, East London
Sat 9 12:30 local, 10:30 GMT, 16:00 IST	36th match - Deccan Chargers v Kings XI Punjab De Beers Diamond Oval, Kimberley
Sat 9 16:30 local, 14:30 GMT, 20:00 IST	37th match - Chennai Super Kings v Rajasthan Royals De Beers Diamond Oval, Kimberley
Sun 10 12:30 local, 10:30 GMT, 16:00 IST	38th match - Bangalore Royal Challengers v Mumbai Indians St George's Park, Port Elizabeth
Sun 10 16:45 local, 14:45 GMT, 20:15 IST	39th match - Delhi Daredevils v Kolkata Knight Riders New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
Mon 11 16:30 local, 14:30 GMT, 20:00 IST	40th match - Deccan Chargers v Rajasthan Royals De Beers Diamond Oval, Kimberley
Tue 12 12:30 local, 10:30 GMT, 16:00 IST	41st match - Bangalore Royal Challengers v Kolkata Knight Riders SuperSport Park, Centurion
Tue 12 16:30 local, 14:30 GMT, 20:00 IST	42nd match - Kings XI Punjab v Mumbai Indians SuperSport Park, Centurion
Wed 13 16:30 local, 14:30 GMT, 20:00 IST	43rd match - Deccan Chargers v Delhi Daredevils Kingsmead, Durban
Thu 14 12:30 local, 10:30 GMT, 16:00 IST	44th match - Bangalore Royal Challengers v Chennai Super Kings Kingsmead, Durban
Thu 14 16:30 local, 14:30 GMT, 20:00 IST	45th match - Mumbai Indians v Rajasthan Royals Kingsmead, Durban
Fri 15 16:30 local, 14:30 GMT, 20:00 IST	46th match - Delhi Daredevils v Kings XI Punjab OUTsurance Oval, Bloemfontein
Sat 16 12:30 local, 10:30 GMT, 16:00 IST	47th match - Chennai Super Kings v Mumbai Indians St George's Park, Port Elizabeth
Sat 16 16:45 local, 14:45 GMT, 20:15 IST	48th match - Deccan Chargers v Kolkata Knight Riders New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
Sun 17 12:30 local, 10:30 GMT, 16:00 IST	49th match - Deccan Chargers v Kings XI Punjab New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
Sun 17 16:45 local, 14:45 GMT, 20:15 IST	50th match - Delhi Daredevils v Rajasthan Royals OUTsurance Oval, Bloemfontein
Mon 18 16:30 local, 14:30 GMT, 20:00 IST	51st match - Chennai Super Kings v Kolkata Knight Riders SuperSport Park, Centurion
Tue 19 16:30 local, 14:30 GMT, 20:00 IST	52nd match - Bangalore Royal Challengers v Delhi Daredevils New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
Wed 20 12:30 local, 10:30 GMT, 16:00 IST	53rd match - Kolkata Knight Riders v Rajasthan Royals Kingsmead, Durban
Wed 20 16:30 local, 14:30 GMT, 20:00 IST	54th match - Chennai Super Kings v Kings XI Punjab Kingsmead, Durban
Thu 21 12:30 local, 10:30 GMT, 16:00 IST	55th match - Delhi Daredevils v Mumbai Indians SuperSport Park, Centurion
Thu 21 16:30 local, 14:30 GMT, 20:00 IST	56th match - Bangalore Royal Challengers v Deccan Chargers SuperSport Park, Centurion
Fri 22 16:30 local, 14:30 GMT, 20:00 IST	1st Semi-Final - TBC v TBC SuperSport Park, Centurion
Sat 23 16:30 local, 14:30 GMT, 20:00 IST	2nd Semi-Final - TBC v TBC New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
Sun 24 16:30 local, 14:30 GMT, 20:00 IST	Final - TBC v TBC New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

NEPAL, NATURALLY: ACC U-17 ELITE CHAMPIONS

2009-02-12T12:40:00.000-07:00

U-17 ELITE CUP
NEPAL, NATURALLY: ACC U-17 ELITE CHAMPIONS

Nepal, playing close to perfect cricket, in front of a raucous partisan crowd estimated to be 8,000 strong, beat Malaysia by 10 wickets in the Final of the ACC U-17 Elite Cup at Tribhuvan University. They have now won ACC age-group championships in all categories, including women.

"We just couldn't cope with the pressure," said Malaysia's captain Keithan Goonasageran afterwards, "playing in front of a crowd like this for the first time shook a few of our players but really it was the spot-spot-spot bowling of Nepal's spinners that hurt us."

Malaysia’s first 50 took 13.2 overs, their next 50 took 20 as the Nepali spinners, backed up by athletic fielding and acute placement choked the life out of the vaunted Malaysian middle-order. Goonasageran, victim to leg-spinner Rochak Bhatta, in charging down the wicket at the start of the 31st over, in a hapless attempt to break the stranglehold the most culpable of the Malaysian batsmen. “The boys weren’t taking enough singles,” said Malaysia’s coach Haris Abu Baker.

Malaysia showed enough talent to suggest that their status as ACC Elite nation is assured, little wicket-keeper/opener Zubair Norazmi played some sublime drives, as did Goonasageran himself but they were few and far between. A little more game-skills, like the Nepali players have, and Malaysia would not have succumbed so easily. “On talent the teams are quite close,” said Nepal’s coach Roy Dias, “Malaysia have improved a lot since 2005 (the last time the two teams met, in the ACC U-19 Cup Final). What is most satisfying from the neutral point of view is that two countries with 100% local players have reached the Final and played good cricket.”

Nepal have actually been under-performing in this tournament now, coming through hard-fought games against Hong Kong and UAE not totally convincingly but today they played like champions. The bowlers did what they could and the batsmen – just two of them needed – Sagar Pun and Aakash Pariyar did the rest.

Sagar Pun’s had a quiet tournament up to the Final, this from a local Twenty20 phenomenon, today he was a Virender Sehwag. Late cuts were interspersed with dynamic strokes in front of the wicket, touch was alternated with power: all assured, completely unstoppable. Even when he gave a chance, when on 34, he got away with it. “We lost heart things didn’t go our way early on, we kind of gave up,” admitted Malaysia’s captain. He’d have needed a fielder in the crowd to catch the 6 with which Sagar Pun reached his 50 and took Malaysia past 100 at the start of the 21st over.

Pun and Pariyar hustled for each other, pressured the fielders, dived, scrambled and did everything they could to win the game for Nepal. They did so much no one had to do anything else.

Sagar Pun and Aakash Pariyar

The Deputy Prime Minister of Nepal presented the ACC U-17 Elite Cup to winning captain Prithu Baskota in front of the thousands staying on for the prize-giving, the match being carried live from the start by Nepal TV 2. Cricket’s big in Nepal and it’s going to get even bigger and better.

ACC U-17 Elite Cup
Final: Nepal v Malaysia at Tribhuvan University
NEPAL WON BY 10 WICKETS
Malaysia won the toss and chose to bat
Malaysia: 124 off 37.1 overs (Z.Norazmi 31, K.Goonasageran 28; P.Baskota 3-16)
Nepal: 125 for 0 after 23.3 overs (S.Pun 65*, A.Pariyar 53*)
Man of the Match: Sagar Pun (Nepal)

ACC U-17 Elite Cup 2009

Venue	:	Kathmandu, Nepal
Dates	:	4 – 12 February 2009

Scorecard

NEPAL v MALAYSIA at Tribhuvan University, 12/2/2009

40-overs a side
Toss won by: Malaysia, chose to bat

MALAYSIA			R	B	4s	6s
†Zubair Norazmi	c P.Baskota	P.Airee	31	29	6	0
Faisal Rosmanizam	c K.Gurung	B.Karki	5	29	0	0
*Keithan Goonasegaran	st A.Pariyar	R.Bhatta	28	59	4	0
Kamarul Azhar	c K.Karki	P.Baskota	9	20	1	0
Syadhat Ramli	c A.Pariyar	P.Baskota	2	6	0	0
Ahmad Adnan	lbw	P.Baskota	1	8	0	0
Kavintheran Kumar	c+b	R.Bhatta	1	20	0	0
Ramdan Samsudin	run out		21	19	2	1
Ammar Rusli	b	A.Karn	9	18	1	0
Pavithren Nadaesan	run out		1	4	0	0
Bakri Zulkifeli	not out		0	0	0	0
Extras: b1, lb2, w13			16
Total			124	/10	37.1	ovs

Fall of wickets:
1-34(10.5 ovs), 2-40(11.4 ovs), 3-68(19.2 ovs), 4-73(21.4 ovs), 5-77(23.5 ovs), 6-86(30.1 ovs), 7-87(30.3 ovs), 8-121(36.1 ovs), 9-123(36.6 ovs)

NEPAL Bowling	O	M	R	W
Krishna Karki	4	2	14	0
Avinash Karn	5	0	15	0(2w)
Bhuwan Karki	8	2	18	1(1w)
Pradeep Airee	4.1	0	31	1(9w)
Prithu Baskota	8	2	16	3
Rochak Bhatta	6	0	15	2
Bivek Dali	6	0	15	2

NEPAL		R	B	4s	6s
Sagar Pun	not out	65	60	7	3
†Aakash Pariyar	not out	53	81	7	0
Prithu Baskota
Pradeep Airee
Nischal Chaudhary
Bhuwan Karki
Krishna Karki
Bivek Dali
Kirten Gurung
Avinash Karn
Rochak Bhatta
Extras:b1, lb2, w4		7
Total		125	for 0	23.3	ovs

MALAYSIA Bowling	O	M	R	W
Ramdan Samsudin	5	1	28	0
Kavintheran Kumar	3	0	14	0(3w)
Pavithren Nadaesan	8	0	30	0(1w)
Ammar Rusli	3.3	0	16	0
Kamarul Azhar	2	0	12	0
Ahmad Adnan	2	0	22	0

NEPAL WON BY 10 WICKETS
Man of the Match: Sagar Pun (Nepal)

Umpires: Imtiaz Amjad (Oman), Mohammad Riyaz (Maldives)
Match Referee: Buddhi Bahadur Pradhan (Nepal)
Scorers: Dhiraj Gyawali (Nepal), Pabitra Raut (Nepal)

GROUP A		GROUP B
Singapore		Bahrain
Nepal		Kuwait
Qatar		UAE
Hong Kong		Malaysia

Match Reports

12th February 2009

-	Final: Nepal v Malaysia at Tribhuvan University: NEPAL, NATURALLY: ACC U-17 ELITE CHAMPIONS

10th February 2009

-	SF 1: Nepal v UAE at Tribhuvan: NEPAL ENTERS FINAL AFTER TENSE WIN
-	SF 2: Malaysia v Qatar at Engineering College: MALAYSIA MAKE IT THROUGH

	Match Schedule:
	February 4	Nepal v Qatar at Engineering Ground, Pulchowk Bahrain v Kuwait at Tribhuvan University Ground, Kirtipur Hong Kong v Singapore at Army School Ground, Bhaktapur
	February 5	Hong Kong v Qatar at Tribhuvan Bahrain v UAE at Engineering Ground Kuwait v Malaysia at Army School
	February 7	Malaysia v UAE at Tribhuvan Qatar v Singapore at Engineering Ground Nepal v Hong Kong at Army School
	February 8	Nepal v Singapore at Tribhuvan Bahrain v Malaysia at Engineering Ground Kuwait v UAE at Army School
	February 10	SF1: Nepal v UAE at Tribhuvan SF2: Qatar v Malaysia at Engineering College 7th/8th Playoff: Singapore v Kuwait at Army School
	February 11	3rd/4th Playoff: UAE v Qatar at Engineering Ground 5th/6th Playoff: Hong Kong v Bahrain at Army School
	February 12	FINAL: Nepal v Malaysia at Tribhuvan

India tour of New Zealand, 2008/09

2009-02-12T12:36:00.001-07:00

India tour of New Zealand, 2008/09

February 2009
Wed 25 19:00 local, 06:00 GMT	1st T20I - New Zealand v India AMI Stadium, Christchurch
Fri 27 19:00 local, 06:00 GMT	2nd T20I - New Zealand v India Westpac Stadium, Wellington Originally scheduled for March 6, 2009
March 2009
Tue 3 14:00 local, 01:00 GMT	1st ODI - New Zealand v India McLean Park, Napier Originally scheduled for March 8, 2009
Fri 6 14:00 local, 01:00 GMT	2nd ODI - New Zealand v India Westpac Stadium, Wellington Originally schedule for March 17, 2009
Sun 8 14:00 local, 01:00 GMT	3rd ODI - New Zealand v India AMI Stadium, Christchurch Originally scheduled for March 20, 2009
Wed 11 14:00 local, 01:00 GMT	4th ODI - New Zealand v India Seddon Park, Hamilton
Sat 14 14:00 local, 01:00 GMT	5th ODI - New Zealand v India Eden Park, Auckland
Wed 18 - Sun 22 11:00 local, 22:00 GMT	1st Test - New Zealand v India Seddon Park, Hamilton Originally scheduled for March 26-30, 2009
Thu 26 - Mon 30 11:00 local, 22:00 GMT	2nd Test - New Zealand v India McLean Park, Napier
April 2009
Fri 3 - Tue 7 11:00 local, 22:00 GMT	3rd Test - New Zealand v India Basin Reserve, Wellington

Adjusting to NZ conditions will be tough - Tendulkar

2009-02-12T12:34:00.001-07:00

India in New Zealand 2008-09

Adjusting to NZ conditions will be tough - Tendulkar

February 12, 2009

Sachin Tendulkar does not want to disrupt a winning Twenty20 unit during India's tour of New Zealand © AFP

Sachin Tendulkar, who has toured New Zealand six times, has said the toughest task for India will be to adjust to the harsh local conditions. Tendulkar was confident that the seniors in the squad would help the younger players adjust, but he has ruled himself out of contention for the two Twenty20 internationals in New Zealand.

"It is a fairly new team and the challenge is definitely there. Playing in New Zealand, where the conditions are going to be tough, is a completely different experience," Tendulkar said in Mumbai.

Tendulkar said the wind plays an important role in venues like Wellington and one has to be wary of the changing conditions. "In places like Wellington from one end a bowler comes at 135kph with the breeze behind him and then suddenly you are facing someone else who is very slow and there is no wind. With the wind behind the bowler it affects the batsman as he can't keep his eyes open long. So it becomes tough as one needs to change the bat swing, balance and the rest."

India's tour of New Zealand was extended to include a third Test and a second Twenty20 international. The extra fixtures were included at the expense of the tour match which means India will have no practice games during their visit that includes two Twenty20 matches, five ODIs and three Tests. India will arrive in New Zealand on February 20, eight days earlier than originally scheduled, and will begin the tour with a Twenty20 match in Christchurch on February 25.

Napier will host the additional Test, the second of the three-match series, from March 26 to 30. The reworked schedule resulted in the dates for the second Twenty20 game and the first three ODIs being brought forward. The three-day warm-up match against a New Zealand XI in Lincoln between the ODIs and Tests has also been scrapped.

The axed practice match drew flak from former players but Tendulkar played it down. "International calendar is such that we need to adjust to such situations but it should not be a worry," he said.

Tendulkar pointed out that even if there were many rookies on the New Zealand trip the seniors in the management could guide them. "It is going to be a learning experience for the first-timers," he said. "We have a good balance of experience and youth and the seniors and coaches will guide the newcomers."

Asked if he would make himself available for the two Twenty20 clashes on February 25 and 27, Tendulkar said he did not want to "disturb" the balance of the Indian squad. Tendulkar hasn't played a Twenty20 international after featuring in India's maiden Twenty20 match, against South Africa in 2006, and said he had no intention to do so now.

In 2007 he took his name out of contention for the Twenty20 World Cup, opting to take a break. "I was tired and wanted to take a break after the England trip in 2007," said Tendulkar. "It was a conscious decision not to play then and I did not want to have feeling of not being able to give my best. I do not want to disturb the present winning combination. The team is doing well and I do not want to be part of the Twenty20 set-up."

India last toured New Zealand in 2002-03 and were beaten 0-2 in the Tests and 2-5 in the ODIs.

The brothers Pathan clinch India victory

2009-02-10T12:32:00.000-07:00

Sri Lanka v India, Twenty20 international, Colombo

The brothers Pathan clinch India victory

February 10, 2009

India 174 for 7 (Irfan 33*, Raina 35) beat Sri Lanka 171 for 4 (Dilshan 67, Jayasuriya 33) by three wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Tillakaratne Dilshan's half-century was undone by two smaller but far more significant Indian contributions © AFP

On a day when the Hussey brothers did the winning act for Australia, India found their answer in the two Pathans, with Yusuf and Irfan scripting a thrilling three-wicket win in the one-off Twenty20 game. Set a challenging 172 for victory, India seemed to have botched up the chase when Sri Lanka's spinners reduced them to 115 for 7, but then came the last twist on an evening which had several: a 59-run partnership off 25 balls, and India were home and dry with four balls to spare, ending the tour with five wins in six games.

The Twenty20 game is designed to thrill, and this game did that in ample measure: there were 345 runs scored in 39.2 overs, with 11 sixes and 32 fours. The most important of them, though, came late in the evening from the Pathan brothers, after it seemed Sri Lanka's spinners had spun the match irreversibly in their favour.

From an utterly dominant 81 for 2 after eight overs, India lost their next five wickets for 34 runs as Malinga Bandara, the legspinner, and Sanath Jayasuriya turned it around with a mix of fine bowling and some curious shot selection from the Indians. With Yuvraj Singh - who continued his sublime form with an utterly dominant 21-ball 32 - Suresh Raina, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja all back in the hutch and the asking rate an imposing 11.40 an over, Sri Lanka were well on their way to an incredible come-from-behind victory.

Enter the Pathan brothers. Yusuf had already made a name for himself in the IPL, and here he decided to remind the Sri Lankans of his prowess before the second season which starts later this year. The second ball he faced, from Bandara, was smashed over extra cover, the next one disappeared behind the sightscreen, and two balls later, another hit vanished over wide long-on. The requirement had come down to 40 from four overs.

That forced Tillakaratne Dilshan to abandon the idea of bowling more overs of spin, but when the fast bowlers returned, Irfan was ready to join in the fun. Lasith Malinga was carved over extra-cover for a one-bounce four, Dilhara Fernando was clubbed over midwicket for six, before the coup de grace was finally delivered off Malinga with a meaty blow over midwicket. Game, set, and match for the Pathan brothers.

Till that amazing turnaround, the match had gone pretty well for Sri Lanka and for first-time captain Dilshan: he won the toss - something that has been as rare as a victory for Sri Lanka in this series - starred with the bat despite a shaky start with a busy 61 to lift his team out of a mid-innings slump, and then, doing the job of makeshift wicketkeeper, even managed a sharp catch to dismiss the fluent and in-form Yuvraj. When he did make mistakes, lady luck still smiled on him: Irfan dropped a sitter in the first over when Dilshan was 0, but when Dilshan missed a chance from Raina on 28, it only cost his team seven runs.

It was with the bat, though, that Dilshan made his biggest contribution, getting to his first half-century in this format. Sensibly, he played the second fiddle to the rampaging Jayasuriya, contributing just 18 in an opening partnership of 59. Thereafter, he assumed the role of senior batsman, flaying through the off side, running hard, and pushing the score along with some support from Chamara Kapugedera. Ishant Sharma, who redeemed himself somewhat with a fine last over, and Zaheer were pasted all over the park by a marauding Jayasuriya and Dilshan as 53 came in the first five overs.

At that stage, a total of around 200 was well on the cards, but Sri Lanka lost the plot completely in the middle overs, scoring just 36 between the sixth and 12th overs, as Jehan Mubarak did his best to neutralise the momentum his team had got from Jayasuriya's early blitz. Eighty-two came from the last eight, which ensured Sri Lanka had a reasonable total to defend, but Dilshan will still rue the sloppiness of his bowlers. There were seven wides in the first six overs, and ten in all, and Dilshan was left screaming at his bowlers and wringing his hands in despair.

His spinners brought his team back into the contest, just as India's had, but the ultimate difference was the last three overs of both teams: Sri Lanka scored 19; India hammered 30.

Sri Lanka claim consolation victory

2009-02-08T12:31:00.000-07:00

Sri Lanka v India, 5th ODI, Colombo

Sri Lanka claim consolation victory

February 8, 2009

Sri Lanka 320 for 8 (Dilshan 97, Sangakkara 84) beat India 252 (Yuvraj 73, Jadeja 60*, Dhoni 53) by 68 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

The Man-of-the-Match Kumar Sangakkara continued his good series with a brisk 84 as Sri Lanka denied India a clean sweep © AFP

Finally Sri Lanka showed up, prevented their first 5-0 series whitewash, and stopped India at nine ODI wins in a row. A turnaround began at the first toss they won in the series, continued with near-centuries from Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara, and culminated in an energetic and smart show in the field.

For 62 balls Yuvraj Singh played a dream knock, keeping India in the game despite wickets falling around him. When he became the fifth Indian to fall, for a dazzling 73 out of India's 121 in the 22nd over, the 321-run target looked far away. But for that blitz from Yuvraj and a late-order collapse, Sri Lanka dominated the whole game, a feat that had looked unimaginable in the first four games.

Perhaps the toss played a big part. This was only the second time Mahela Jayawardene beat Mahendra Singh Dhoni with the coin in the last 11 occasions. On a dry track, Sanath Jayasuriya and Dilshan provided Sri Lanka with the ideal start and feasted on the wayward trio of Irfan Pathan, Ishant Sharma, and L Balaji, making his ODI comeback after more than three years.

It was Jayasuriya who provided Sri Lanka with the springboard. During his short stay at the crease he beat the bowlers into submission. By the team Jayasuriya departed in the 11th over, after having displayed his trademark clip over midwicket, cut through point, the short-arm pull, and the loft over mid-off, Sri Lanka had reached 66.

The pyrotechnics may have stopped upon Jayasuriya's dismissal, but the runs kept coming at a fair pace. Sangakkara picked up boundaries regularly, minus the flashy strokeplay. The second ball he faced, Sangakkara reached out for a fullish delivery and cut it off the front foot for four. He also benefited from some wayward bowling from Virender Sehwag, who gave him a gift down the leg side at least once in his three overs. The fine-leg fielder was a busy man when Sehwag bowled, but in vain. Sehwag was replaced by another part-timer - India used six such bowlers, making it nine in all - but Sangakkara's paddle to fine leg kept yielding him rich results. In all, Sangakkara took 28 runs behind square on the leg side.

India tried to hustle through the middle overs, using all their dibbly-dobbly part-time spinners to bowl 21 overs between the drinks breaks, but all they managed to hurry was the scoring. Sangakkara's slog-sweeping over midwicket was effective. He hit three fours and a six there, taking 23 runs in the midwicket region. But his final slog-sweep denied him a century and ended a 143-run partnership.

It was easy to miss Dilshan with Jayasuriya and Sangakkara going hard, and he chose to stay inconspicuous, running hard between the wickets and waiting for the loose deliveries. He was especially severe outside off, finding the gaps through the covers consistently. Seventy of his runs, and eight of his nine boundaries, came through the point and cover region. His running with Sangakkara was exemplary, both of them often running seconds on the throw. This was Dilshan's first half-century of the series, and could very easily have been a century but Dilshan became part of a late collapse.

In his comeback spell, Ishant took two wickets in an over during a period when four wickets fell in six deliveries. As a result only 65 came in the last nine overs, and India were upbeat going into the chase.

But all such notions were put to rest in the first three overs through some smart cricket by Jayasuriya and Sangakkara. First Jayasuriya moved to his left to take a sharp catch from Sehwag off Thilan Thushara, in the second over of the innings. In the next over Sangakkara, who stood up to the seamers right from the start of the innings, hung on to a thick edge from Suresh Raina.

Yuvraj, though, didn't slow down even as India kept losing top-order wickets. Yuvraj picked his fifth delivery from outside off and flicked it over square leg for four. That was about the worst his timing would get, and this was divinely timed. Mere pushes split the field and sped off for boundaries, flicks and half-lofts reached the boundary on the bounce, and those hit straight to the fielders took some stopping. Neither Nuwan Kulasekara, Farveez Maharoof nor Thushara was spared as Yuvraj picked the slower balls and swept with ease; one of them off Maharoof went for a huge six. Yuvraj reached his 50 in 46 balls, hitting 10 boundaries.

The trouble was that two more wickets fell quickly, and Yuvraj had to keep the scoring-rate up. In the 22nd over of the innings he top-edged a sweep off Muttiah Muralitharan to give Sri Lanka the final fillip. At that time India needed 200 more in 28 overs, and as they looked to consolidate the asking-rate kept creeping on them. Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja, the debutant, got half-centuries, but they were always racing against time. And the latter had a head start.

Gambhir stars in fourth straight win

2009-02-05T12:29:00.000-07:00

Sri Lanka v India, 4th ODI, Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

Gambhir stars in fourth straight win

February 5, 2009

India 332 for 5 (Gambhir 150, Dhoni 94) beat Sri Lanka 265 (Sangakkara 56) by 67 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Gautam Gambhir scored a career best 150 to lead India to their fourth win of the series © AFP

India marched to their longest winning streak - nine matches - with a comprehensive win that pushed Sri Lanka further towards their first 5-0 ODI whitewash. The victory was built around Gautam Gambhir's personal best and Mahendra Singh Dhoni's 94 at No. 3, innings that helped set Sri Lanka a target of 333, 62 more than the highest-ever chased at the Premadasa Stadium. Sri Lanka hit the ground running at the start of their chase but Praveen Kumar and Pragyan Ojha eventually choked off the run supply.

The toss was won yet again by Dhoni, his ninth success in ten games against Sri Lanka, and it proved crucial as Ojha and the part-timers looked more effective under lights than even Muttiah Muralitharan did in the first half of the match. Murali did break the record for the most wickets in ODIs but his landmark victim, Gambhir, had scored 150 by then.

The toss was not the only correct call Dhoni made today. He promoted himself to No. 3 for the first time as captain after the early dismissal of Virender Sehwag. The last time he went in at No. 3, against Bangladesh, Dhoni had added 87 with Gambhir, who scored his second ODI century. Dhoni missed a hundred today after adding 188 with Gambhir, but maintained his superlative record at one-drop. Gambhir went on to make the highest individual score in Sri Lanka.

The total of 332 was achieved only after a difficult start. The pitch at the R Premadasa offered some movement with the new ball and Farveez Maharoof and Nuwan Kulasekara troubled the openers.

After Sehwag's fall - to a sharp catch by Sanath Jayasuriya at mid-off that was about the only moment of inspiration in the field - Gambhir and Dhoni were not given easy offerings. India hit only five boundaries in the first 14 overs and Gambhir had to step out and loft to break the shackles.

In the absence of boundaries, Gambhir and Dhoni ran with ferocity and the kind of understanding that Gambhir and Sehwag demonstrate. The Sri Lankan fielding wilted under the pressure, managing three misfields, not backing up well twice, and allowing too many twos in the outfield. The batsmen were alert to every opportunity, even running overthrows to ricochets off the stumps. Between them, Dhoni and Gambhir took 25 twos and five threes. Dhoni and Gambhir stepped up the pace when Mahela Jayawardene turned to his fourth and fifth bowlers. In back-to-back overs, Gambhir hit Angelo Mathews for a six to bring up his half-century and Dhoni treated Muttiah Muralitharan similarly to reach his. Dhoni looked for another higher gear but top-edged Jayasuriya to short third man when he was six short of his century.

Following the loss of three quick wickets, Gambhir switched from steady accumulator to ruthless hitter. He was on 87 off 98 balls when Yusuf got out, but scored 63 off the next 49. Along with Gambhir, Suresh Raina kept finding the gaps and India scored 97 in the last 12 overs.

Facing a daunting target, Sri Lanka's best chance was for Tillakaratne Dilshan and Jayasuriya to take on India's new-ball attack of Praveen Kumar and Irfan Pathan. They got off to a blazing start but the weight of the required run-rate was too much and both batsmen fell trying to manufacture shots. Kumar Sangakkara scored an impressive half-century but with wickets falling at the other end, he did not have it easy.

Unruly elements in the crowd interrupted play for the third match in a row just before Sri Lanka came unstuck. This time around, Dhoni led his team off the field. Only 17.2 overs had been bowled then, and 27 minutes were lost to the disruption. Play resumed only after a few stands were vacated.

Before the interruption, Praveen Kumar bowled an eight-over spell during which he reined Sri Lanka in. He had conceded only 33 of the 102 runs at the end of 16 overs, 12 of which came in his second over when Dilshan got stuck into him. At the other end, Jayasuriya took delight in flicking Irfan Pathan off his pads and hitting him over extra cover. However, he tried one shot too many and pulled Irfan straight to short cover where Rohit Sharma reacted quickly. Praveen had the final laugh in the battle against Dilshan, after the batsman top-edged a pull yet again. Between them Jayasuriya and Dilshan had scored 61 in 65 balls, but their dismissals meant Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene had to consolidate for a while.

After the interruption, Sri Lanka lost the plot in face of disconcerting turn the Indian spinners got from the pitch. Ojha was the most impressive, casting the first seeds of doubt by spinning the ball across Jayawardene regularly.

Ojha bowled better than his 1 for 34 suggests and the part-time spinners benefited from the shackles that he imposed. Sri Lanka lost their last eight wickets for 125. Only nine boundaries and two sixes were hit after the 16th over, all of them after the match had practically been lost.

Yuvraj and Sehwag set up series win

2009-02-03T10:18:00.000-07:00

Sri Lanka v India, 3rd ODI, Colombo

Yuvraj and Sehwag set up series win

February 3, 2009

India 363 for 5 (Yuvraj 117, Sehwag 116, Pathan 59*) beat Sri Lanka 216 (Sangakkara 83, Ojha 4-38) by 147 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag hammered hundreds to set Sri Lanka a massive target © AFP

Muttiah Muralitharan equalled Wasim Akram's world record of 502 one-day wickets, but there was little else for a voluble crowd to celebrate as swashbuckling centuries from Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag led India to a comprehensive 147-run victory at the Premadasa Stadium. There was a big-hitting cameo from Yusuf Pathan and four wickets for the promising Pragyan Ojha as the series was wrapped up with two games to spare. Kumar Sangakkara's classy 83 proved to be little more than a footnote on a day when Sri Lanka were again way off the pace.

Yuvraj and Sehwag were in sensational form, though Sri Lanka didn't really help their cause with some decidedly poor fielding. After being reduced to 24 for 2, it was Yuvraj who cornered most of the strike, stroking some magnificent boundaries on either side of the wicket. Too often, the bowlers strayed on to the pads and he was more than happy to work them fine or swat them contemptuously over midwicket. There was much for the purist to admire too though, with beautifully timed shots through cover and backward point.

Sehwag was a spectator in the early part of the partnership, but when the opportunity presented itself, he was no less ruthless. Nuwan Kulasekara was taken for three successive fours, after which he enjoyed his first moment of good fortune. A slower ball struck him initially on the pad in front of middle stump, but the proximity of the bat to the pad and the subsequent contact fooled the umpire.

Not that Sri Lanka made their own luck either. Farveez Maharoof didn't sight the ball when Yuvraj miscued Ajantha Mendis over midwicket, and Dilhara Fernando palmed a tough chance over the rope when Sehwag, then on 45, lifted the same bowler over wide long-on. Sanath Jayasuriya was the next culprit, grassing a routine caught-and-bowled chance with Sehwag on 72.

You can't give such batsmen such reprieves. It took Yuvraj only 82 balls to score his 11th one-day century. It took Sehwag seven deliveries less. By then, they were dismissing the bowling at will. It didn't matter whether it was Murali or Mendis, or Fernando. The ball kept disappearing over the infield or into the gaps, and some appalling fielding, epitomised by Mendis letting one through his legs, merely increased Mahela Jayawardene's angst.

Yuvraj finally departed after making 117 off 95 balls, but there was no real zest to Murali's celebration. By then, the partnership was worth 221, from just only balls. Sehwag left not long after, for 116 off 90 balls, when Jayasuriya threw the stumps down from mid-off. The scoreboard showed 265, and there were still 15.1 overs to be bowled. Yusuf Pathan then clouted three mighty sixes down the ground on his way to a 33-ball half-century, and though Mahendra Singh Dhoni was initially circumspect, the damage had already been done.

India would argue that they were due a rub of the Colombo green. Sachin Tendulkar, who had thumped an enormous six off a free hit, was unlucky to be given out leg-before for the third time in the series. The Fernando delivery was slanting down the leg side, but the umpire decided otherwise, leaving Tendulkar with 18 runs after three matches.

Gautam Gambhir, dropped before he had scored by Thilina Kandamby at point, was then run out after backing up too far. Again, Fernando's luck was in, with Sehwag's firm straight drive just brushing his fingertips before colliding with the stumps. It wouldn't halt India's momentum though, against pace and spin alike. They took 50 off the bowling Powerplay and 43 from the batting one, and a mammoth total gradually took shape.

But for a 67-run partnership between Sangakkara and Jayawardene, Sri Lanka were never in the contest. Sanath Jayasuriya chopped the first ball he faced on to the stumps. Praveen Kumar's relative lack of pace and a hint of swing provided the breakthrough, and though Tillakaratne Dilshan got the scoreboard moving with a couple of streaky fours, the required rate was a Damocles sword hanging over Sri Lankan heads from the outset.

Dilshan pulled Praveen for one mighty six, but his attempt to cleave Zaheer over midwicket only resulted in the middle stump being pegged back. The captain and his deputy briefly resurrected hopes, taking 39 from the bowling Powerplay, but India tightened their grip once Sri Lanka opted to take the batting one immediately afterwards.

Jayawardene miscued Praveen to Virender Sehwag at mid-off and the spell was broken, and Kandamby, nearly the hero in the last game, followed soon after, with an ill-judged reverse sweep. Dhoni had waited till the end of the fielding restrictions to introduce spin, and the gamble worked a treat.

Pragyan Ojha, taken for two fours in his opening over, turned one right across Chamara Kapugedera's bat to hit middle stump. And with the ball gripping and turning, Ojha turned in his best one-day display. Farveez Maharoof was smartly caught at slip and Sangakkara's resistance ended with a miscue to short fine leg, before Murali under-edged one to Dhoni.

A last-wicket partnership of 26 was merely academic, and there was plenty to ponder for a Sri Lankan side that bore no resemblance whatsoever to the one that was once so formidable on home turf.

Ricky Ponting has been rested

2009-02-02T15:46:00.001-07:00

Australia captain Ricky Ponting has been rested for the next two one-dayers against New Zealand, lending the reins to Michael Clarke.

Ponting is one of only two players who have not had a break in the busy schedule, the other being Michael Hussey. They have not skipped a single match since the tour to India in October.

The right-hander played four Tests against India, two against New Zealand, three against South Africa, two international Twenty20 matches and six one-day matches since October last year.

The skipper will fly to Melbourne with the squad for the Allan Border Medal on Tuesday but will head home to Sydney before the second ODI in Melbourne.

Soon after the New Zealand series, Australia will fly to South Africa for three Tests and five one-dayers.

Ponting had a major operation on his wrist after the West Indies Test series and has batted with pain during the summer, but has managed to play more cricket than almost every other senior Australian player.

Commenting on the selection of the squads, NSP Chairman Andrew Hilditch said, “The National Selection Panel has selected a squad of 13 players for the next two games. There are two changes to the squad. Shaun Marsh has been ruled out with a hamstring injury and, consistent with Cricket Australia’s policy on managing player workload, Ricky Ponting has not been named in this squad.

“Naturally, as Australian captain, Ricky is keen to play every game and these next two games were no exception,” he said.

“However, it was always planned that Ricky would have a break at this time. While this is a difficult decision for the NSP, given the current performance of the team, in our view it is essential that Ricky has an opportunity to prepare for the forthcoming South Africa tour given his immense workload since the start of the India tour in late September last year,” Hilditch added.

Squad for 2nd and 3rd ODI: Michael Clarke (captain), Michael Hussey (vice captain), Nathan Bracken, Brad Haddin, Ben Hilfenhaus, James Hopes, David Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Shaun Tait, David Warner, Cameron White, Adam Voges, Callum Ferguson.

Cool Taylor steers New Zealand to tight victory

2009-02-01T15:44:00.000-07:00

Australia v New Zealand, Chappell-Hadlee Series, 1st ODI, Perth

Cool Taylor steers New Zealand to tight victory

February 1, 2009

New Zealand 8 for 182 (Taylor 64, Bracken 3-38) beat Australia 181 (Hussey 49, Mills 4-35) by 2 wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Ross Taylor's clever innings gave New Zealand hope and ended in a sweet success © Getty Images

Ross Taylor showed calm class and Kyle Mills combined with bat and ball, but New Zealand had to wait until the last delivery to hand Australia their fourth loss in a row and gain a 1-0 lead in the Chappell-Hadlee Series. Taylor guided the tentative chase of the home team's below-par 181 and carried an order of novices before Daniel Vettori sealed the success with a glide behind point.

The timing of New Zealand's batting Powerplay was crucial - it came with eight overs to go - as they went from heading towards a troubling loss to redirecting course. Mills, who had already earned four wickets, picked up consecutive boundaries off Nathan Bracken (3 for 38) in a 12-run over that was followed by 11 from Shaun Tait, including a brave six swiped over midwicket by Taylor.

There was a late shift when Mills went for 26 from 35 balls and Taylor was caught by Michael Clarke for 64 off 97. With three wickets left, the visitors required nine from the final two overs and five from the last, losing Tim Southee before Vettori's poise.

Taylor's enthusiastic attitude brought some energy to the pursuit that was ailing at 3 for 25 in the 14th over and there were plenty of moments of doubt throughout. He was missed at third man on 15 by Mitchell Johnson, but his innings will be remembered for the Tait six, some fine cover drives and his desire to look for singles at every opportunity.

In a match that was excruciatingly ugly at times and gripping at others, Australia's batting was awful and New Zealand's was only slightly better. There were mistakes made at the WACA from players and officials that would not have been acceptable in the World Cricket League Division 3, where Afghanistan and Uganda finished on top. However, the bowling was a lot better than the standard at that tournament in Argentina, especially the work of Mills and Bracken.

New Zealand overcame two horrible moments in their chase, starting with Brendon McCullum being given out lbw despite a thick edge from the second ball of the innings off Tait. In the 36th over Neil Broom was "bowled" on 29 by Clarke after sharing a positive stand of 42 with Taylor. Not only did Brad Haddin's gloves come in front of the stumps, but he knocked off the bails and the ball did not seem to hit the wickets. Vettori was also involved in a tight run-out call but survived late in the game.

Life was hard for the visiting batsmen but three of the top order did not help their chances of success. The opener Martin Guptill's 13 took up 33 balls as the side started with extreme caution. Peter Fulton, who was even more of a tortoise than Guptill with 7 off 35, was the victim of a sensational caught-and-bowled from Johnson and then Grant Elliott spent 31 balls over 8 as the pressure increased on Taylor. He coped with it like it happens every week.

Mills provided the spark for New Zealand as they added to Australia's month of pain. Ricky Ponting's side lost the No. 1 ranking with their defeat to South Africa on Friday and there was no sign of recovery as the top order crumbled again at the WACA. Australia did worse than their 4 for 53 two days ago by slumping to 5 for 54 on a pitch Ponting said was ideal for batting after winning the toss.

A mix of loose shots, tight bowling from Mills and Vettori, and awful running contributed to the severe problems. Not only did the wickets fall quickly and early, but the batsmen also found it incredibly difficult to score at much more than two an over until Michael Hussey was joined by Haddin.

Mills was excellent over three spells and gained 4 for 35 as he ensured the innings finished eight balls early. Vettori is always a threat for Australia but was virtually impossible to get away as he gave up only 22 from ten overs in a fabulous display.

Hussey followed his breakthrough 78 on Friday with a measured 49 - he didn't have much choice considering the situation - and Australia were thankful for his effort. He pulled a six off Jeetan Patel and struck only one four, an off drive from Mills, before miscuing to mid-off.

Australia's troubles were highlighted by Ponting and Clarke, the two most senior players. They were too keen to show their aggression and made poor choices when chasing unachievable twos to the deep and were run out with the side already in trouble.

Mills began the match by removing both openers, with Shaun Marsh (15) and David Warner (7 from 18 balls) both finding the two-metre Fulton at short cover. Shortly after the start of the second innings Marsh fell to the ground while chasing a ball and was helped off with a left hamstring injury, adding to Australia's worsening situation.

India survive Kandamby scare in thriller

2009-01-31T15:39:00.000-07:00

Sri Lanka v India, 2nd ODI, Colombo

India survive Kandamby scare in thriller

January 31, 2009

India 256 for 9 (Yuvraj 66) beat Sri Lanka 241 (Kandamby 93*, Jayawardene 52, Ishant 4-57) by 15 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Thilina Kandamby hit an unbeaten 93 under pressure, but failed to stop India from clinching a 15-run win © AFP

Thilina Kandamby almost masterminded a great escape for Sri Lanka, but just fell short in the face of Ishant Sharma, who kept his nerve and struck three crucial blows in the last 10 overs of a thrilling chase.

India's 256 was at least 30 short of what they would have expected after a fiery start, but half-way through Sri Lanka's innings it seemed they had shot over by at least 30. Kandamby had other ideas, though, stringing together a 100-run partnership with Mahela Jayawardene from 36 for 3, and smaller crucial ones with the lower order to take the match into the last over. Coming into the match Kandamby had scored 171 runs in eight matches, with one prior half-century, and ended unbeaten on 93 today.

After all three Indian pace bowlers had struck a blow in the first eight overs, slicing open the line-up, Jayawardene and Kandamby had no choice but to consolidate and rely on the death overs to make up for the slow run-rate. The asking-rate crossed six in the 19th over, and seven in the 30th over, but the two kept their cool. There were extremely quiet spells during their partnership: early on in the Powerplays they went through a 34-ball span where they scored only eight runs; in the middle overs they spent 88 balls without hitting a boundary.

Slyly during that period, Mahendra Singh Dhoni got through his weaker bowlers, and had nine overs from Ishant and Zaheer Khan in the kitty when the match entered the death overs. Jayawardene ended the boundary-less span with a six off Suresh Raina in the 34th over, but was dismissed soon after reaching his first half-century for 16 matches. Sri Lanka needed 121 from 94 balls at that stage, with Kandamby on 48 off 91 balls.

Upon reaching his half-century Kandamby accelerated, and Chamara Kapugedera (31 off 29) provided the impetus. Kandamby didn't have the power to clear the field, but he kept finding the gaps regularly. Boundaries started coming regularly, and the two took Sri Lanka to a stage where they needed 91 in the last 10 overs. In the 42nd over Sri Lanka opted for the batting Powerplay, and forged a string of overs that gave them at least one boundary. Overs No. 41 to 47 went for 11, 9, 11, 9 ,11, 8 and 7. But during those overs Ishant stayed cool and used the slower delivery well. He dismissed Kapugedera, Faveez Maharoof and Thilan Thushara with the equation reading 70 off 53, 51 off 36, and 29 off 21 respectively.

Zaheer and Ishant bowled two tight overs after that, giving away four and one, and panic set in. Two run-outs left Sri Lanka needing 20 off the last over with one wicket in hand. Praveen Kumar, who had bowled a superb first spell of 8-1-18-1, bowled a wide and two low fulltosses, the second of them resulting in Ajantha Mendis' run-out. Had Kandamby - who scored 45 off the last 38 deliveries he faced - managed the jailbreak, this would have been the third-highest chase at the R Premadasa.

That Sri Lanka were still in the match when they came out to bat was thanks largely to the efforts of Maharoof and Muttiah Muralitharan, who thwarted India's rapid progress twice after Dhoni had won yet another toss against Sri Lanka.

After Sachin Tendulkar got a second ordinary lbw decision in as many matches (the ball was heading down leg), Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir looked ominous in the first Powerplay. They took India along to 62 in the first nine overs, engaging in a sort of boundary-hitting contest. They were tied with four boundaries each when Jayawardene introduced Maharoof, and with immediate results. The third ball he bowled pitched within the stumps, nipped away with extra bounce, and took Gambhir's edge. Three overs later, Sehwag tried to pick up his third three on a relay throw, but was beaten by the Murali-Sanath Jayasuriya combo.

Yuvraj and Suresh Raina recovered well from that double-strike and their own shaky starts. After edging Mendis' carom ball between Kumar Sangakkara and Jayawardene when on 18, Yuvraj went on to unleash his trademark crunchy boundaries, the most satisfactory being a six over long-off in Mendis' next over. But with Murali came further troubles for the batsmen: in his first over he made both Raina and Yuvraj cut and miss. With Murali in the vicinity, Yuvraj couldn't quite break away, but reached his half-century in 74 deliveries.

Bowling changes then worked for Jayawardene again. Although Raina slogged Tillakaratne Dilshan's first ball for a six, the bowler had his back in his third over, surprising Raina with some extra bounce. The major blow came two overs later, in the first over of Nuwan Kulasekara's second spell. Yuvraj was given out lbw, but replays showed he had clearly played the ball onto his pad. India could add only 76 in the following 16.5 overs, including only one boundary in their batting Powerplay.

Maharoof was exceptional in the Powerplay, choking the batsmen with slower deliveries. His stock pace was the variation then, and the batsmen couldn't get any power into their shots. He gave only 40 runs in his 10 overs, six of them bowled in the Powerplays. But the efforts of Kandamby and Maharoof were not enough to deny a cool India their seventh win in a row.

India ease to six-wicket win in opener

2009-01-28T15:37:00.000-07:00

Sri Lanka v India, 1st ODI, Dambulla

India ease to six-wicket win in opener

January 28, 2009

India 247 for 4 (Gambhir 62, Raina 54, Dhoni 61*) beat Sri Lanka 246 for 6 (Jayasuriya 107, Ishant 3-51) by six wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

With his hundred, Sanath Jayasuriya corrected his poor personal record at this venue - 364 runs in 17 innings before this © AFP

Half-centuries from Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina and Mahendra Singh Dhoni outdid a superlative century from Sanath Jayasuriya as India successfully chased the highest total in a day game in Dambulla. The pursuit never got out of hand for India, despite the early fall of Sachin Tendulkar. Once Gambhir and Raina got going, the asking-rate went above five only towards the last ten overs.

India got vital contributions from three batsmen, and were disciplined in the field. Sri Lanka relied on a spectacular Jayasuriya alone for their runs, and dropped both Gambhir and Raina in the initial stages of their innings.

Both the chances came in a frenetic first Powerplay of India's innings, after Kumar Dharmasena erroneously sent Tendulkar on his way as his first umpiring victim, lbw off a ball that pitched outside leg. In the over following that dismissal, Nuwan Kulasekara came up with an athletic effort to catch a low leading edge from Gambhir off his own bowling. But after various replays Gambhir benefited from lack of sufficient evidence, although the take could well have been clean.

In the next over Raina cut Thilan Thushara straight to Tillakaratne Dilshan at point and survived. Insult was added to injury in the next over, when Raina unleashed two delightful straight drives and a lofted six off Kulasekara. Two overs later, Gambhir edged Farveez Maharoof, but Mahela Jayawardene failed to hold on to a high chance.

Both went on to hurt Sri Lanka - Raina was 6 when dropped, and Gambhir 11. On a slow track, in hot and humid conditions, India needed a quick start, and that's what they provided. The chances notwithstanding, they took India to 54 in the first 10 overs. After that they settled down. Gambhir took the aggressor's role, often stepping out to medium-pacers and looking to go over extra cover. He also showed cheek when he upper-cut a Thilan Thushara bouncer over slips.

When the two fell within 11 runs of each other, Dhoni was there to guide India through to the target. He negated the threat of Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis by playing them extremely late, often taking the ball virtually out of Kumar Sangakkara's gloves and placing it. His first scoring shot was a slice from in front of stumps, guiding it past the wicketkeeper for four. The slow pitch didn't help the spinners either.

The outstanding feature of Dhoni's knock was not the power, but the placement: two of his five boundaries came after he had ensured India would win. He nudged and patted his way to 27 singles and seven twos. True to his image, he stayed unbeaten. How Jayasuriya would have wished that somebody in the Sri Lankan batting line-up followed up on his effort, like Dhoni did after Gambhir and Raina's dismissals. That Jayasuriya played a different game from his team-mates was evident: when he got out in the 40th over he had scored 107 in 114 balls, while the rest had managed 64 in 122 deliveries.

Joy for Jayasuriya

Jayasuriya became the oldest man to score an ODI century
When he brought up his 37th run, he also became the second man to reach the 13,000-mark in his career
He also crossed 50 for the 95th time to go one clear of Sourav Ganguly, and in second place behind Sachin Tendulkar who has 132
His knock was the second ODI century in Dambulla, and the highest individual score as well

Jayasuriya's innings came on the 212th day of his 40th year, making him the oldest centurion in ODIs. He did owe the team a big performance, however, after being implicated in the first over run-out of Dilshan. Jayasuriya responded to Dilshan's call but stopped after taking two steps, and with Sri Lanka's in-form batsman out of the equation, what followed was an asphyxiating opening spell by Zaheer Khan. But Jayasuriya targeted Munaf Patel from the other end. He took at least one boundary - choosing to go over covers - in the first four of Munaf's overs, not letting the scoring stagnate.

But the runs hardly came from the other end. By the time spin was introduced, in the 16th over, Sangakkara had scored 18 in 47 deliveries and Jayasuriya 38 in 41. With spin came further shackles, and the slow nature of the pitch made boundary-hitting all the more difficult. In demanding conditions, Jayasuriya showed he was supremely fit at his age - running 18 twos, six of them for Sangakakara and four of those back-to-back. He cramped up, kneeled down between deliveries to recover, but the short cut was not to be taken.

He broke the ten-over boundary-less spell, hitting Pragyan Ojha onto the sightscreen, and followed it up with a pulled four off Yusuf Pathan in the next over. But he lost Sangakkara at a stage when one of the two could have gone for an all-out assault. Jayasuriya himself fell at an inopportune time, the second over of the batting Powerplay, but he had lost all his energy by then and lobbed a slower full toss to mid-off. The batting bar was lowered once again, as Zaheer and Ishant Sharma bowled superbly in the final overs. They used the change of pace to good effect, and Zaheer also managed some late swing. Mahela Jayawardene's struggle continued, and only 82 runs were scored in the final 12 overs.

2nd Test Match: India v Australia- scorecard

2008-10-21T07:31:00.000-07:00

Test no. 1889

Border-Gavaskar Trophy - 2nd Test
India v Australia

2008/09 season

Played at Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh, on 17,18,19,20,21 October 2008 (5-day match)

Result India won by 320 runs


India 1st innings			R	M	B	4s	6s	SR
	G Gambhir	c Haddin b Johnson	67	192	140	9	0	47.85
	V Sehwag	c Haddin b Johnson	35	70	36	6	0	97.22
	R Dravid	b Lee	39	118	70	7	0	55.71
	SR Tendulkar	c Hayden b Siddle	88	186	111	10	0	79.27
	VVS Laxman	c Haddin b Johnson	12	18	19	2	0	63.15
	SC Ganguly	c Lee b White	102	332	225	8	0	45.33
	I Sharma	c Katich b Siddle	9	40	33	1	0	27.27
	MS Dhoni	lbw b Siddle	92	176	124	8	4	74.19
	Harbhajan Singh	b White	1	16	9	0	0	11.11
	Z Khan	run out (Lee/Haddin)	2	25	10	0	0	20.00
	A Mishra	not out	0	4	0	0	0	-
	Extras	(b 4, lb 10, w 5, nb 3)	22

	Total	(all out; 129 overs; 594 mins)	469	(3.63 runs per over)

Fall of wickets1-70 (Sehwag, 14.2 ov), 2-146 (Dravid, 40.5 ov), 3-146 (Gambhir, 41.1 ov), 4-163 (Laxman, 45.1 ov), 5-305 (Tendulkar, 81.5 ov), 6-326 (Sharma, 89.6 ov), 7-435 (Ganguly, 119.1 ov), 8-442 (Harbhajan Singh, 123.1 ov), 9-469 (Khan, 127.6 ov), 10-469 (Dhoni, 128.6 ov)


Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
B Lee	24	5	86	1	3.58	(2nb, 1w)
PM Siddle	28	5	114	3	4.07	(1nb)
MG Johnson	27	4	85	3	3.14
SR Watson	24	3	71	0	2.95
MJ Clarke	7	0	28	0	4.00
CL White	19	0	71	2	3.73


Australia 1st innings			R	M	B	4s	6s	SR
	ML Hayden	b Khan	0	2	3	0	0	0.00
	SM Katich	b Mishra	33	102	65	6	0	50.76
	RT Ponting	lbw b Sharma	5	35	23	1	0	21.73
	MEK Hussey	c Dhoni b Sharma	54	181	119	7	0	45.37
	MJ Clarke	lbw b Mishra	23	77	60	3	0	38.33
	SR Watson	lbw b Mishra	78	264	156	10	1	50.00
	BJ Haddin	b Harbhajan Singh	9	39	29	1	0	31.03
	CL White	b Mishra	5	26	23	0	0	21.73
	B Lee	c Dravid b Harbhajan Singh	35	124	96	6	0	36.45
	MG Johnson	not out	9	40	32	0	1	28.12
	PM Siddle	st Dhoni b Mishra	0	8	8	0	0	0.00
	Extras	(lb 13, nb 4)	17

	Total	(all out; 101.4 overs; 454 mins)	268	(2.63 runs per over)

Fall of wickets1-0 (Hayden, 0.3 ov), 2-17 (Ponting, 7.5 ov), 3-62 (Katich, 21.6 ov), 4-102 (Clarke, 40.5 ov), 5-130 (Hussey, 47.5 ov), 6-146 (Haddin, 55.3 ov), 7-167 (White, 62.2 ov), 8-240 (Lee, 90.1 ov), 9-262 (Watson, 99.2 ov), 10-268 (Siddle, 101.4 ov)


Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
Z Khan	25	7	56	1	2.24	(1nb)
I Sharma	21	4	68	2	3.23	(1nb)
Harbhajan Singh	29	9	60	2	2.06	(1nb)
A Mishra	26.4	8	71	5	2.66	(1nb)


India 2nd innings			R	M	B	4s	6s	SR
	G Gambhir	c Hussey b White	104	219	138	7	1	75.36
	V Sehwag	c Haddin b Siddle	90	183	122	8	0	73.77
	MS Dhoni	not out	68	107	84	3	1	80.95
	SC Ganguly	c Clarke b Lee	27	54	37	2	0	72.97
	SR Tendulkar	not out	10	16	12	1	0	83.33
	Extras	(b 3, lb 4, w 5, nb 3)	15

	Total	(3 wickets dec; 65 overs; 291 mins)	314	(4.83 runs per over)

Did not bat R Dravid, VVS Laxman, A Mishra, Harbhajan Singh, Z Khan, I Sharma

Fall of wickets1-182 (Sehwag, 39.1 ov), 2-224 (Gambhir, 47.5 ov), 3-290 (Ganguly, 61.6 ov)


Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
B Lee	14	0	61	1	4.35	(1nb)
PM Siddle	15	1	62	1	4.13	(1nb)
MG Johnson	14	0	72	0	5.14
CL White	8	0	48	1	6.00	(1w)
SR Watson	5	0	20	0	4.00
MEK Hussey	8	0	38	0	4.75	(1nb)
MJ Clarke	1	0	6	0	6.00


Australia 2nd innings (target: 516 runs)			R	M	B	4s	6s	SR
	ML Hayden	lbw b Harbhajan Singh	29	37	20	4	0	145.00
	SM Katich	c Tendulkar b Harbhajan Singh	20	41	26	4	0	76.92
	RT Ponting	b Sharma	2	16	11	0	0	18.18
	MEK Hussey	lbw b Harbhajan Singh	1	8	4	0	0	25.00
	MJ Clarke	c Sehwag b Mishra	69	236	152	9	0	45.39
	SR Watson	lbw b Sharma	2	25	22	0	0	9.09
	BJ Haddin	b Khan	37	118	105	6	0	35.23
	CL White	c Dhoni b Khan	1	8	3	0	0	33.33
	B Lee	b Khan	0	1	1	0	0	0.00
	MG Johnson	c & b Mishra	26	69	44	4	0	59.09
	PM Siddle	not out	0	6	4	0	0	0.00
	Extras	(b 4, nb 4)	8

	Total	(all out; 64.4 overs; 287 mins)	195	(3.01 runs per over)

Fall of wickets1-49 (Hayden, 7.2 ov), 2-50 (Katich, 7.6 ov), 3-52 (Hussey, 9.5 ov), 4-52 (Ponting, 10.2 ov), 5-58 (Watson, 16.3 ov), 6-142 (Haddin, 46.6 ov), 7-144 (White, 48.2 ov), 8-144 (Lee, 48.3 ov), 9-194 (Johnson, 62.6 ov), 10-195 (Clarke, 64.4 ov)


Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
Z Khan	15	3	71	3	4.73	(1nb)
I Sharma	13	4	42	2	3.23
Harbhajan Singh	20	3	36	3	1.80	(1nb)
A Mishra	11.4	2	35	2	3.00	(2nb)
V Sehwag	5	2	7	0	1.40

Toss India, who chose to bat first
Series India led the 4-match series 1-0

Test debuts PM Siddle (Australia); A Mishra (India)
Player of the match MS Dhoni (India)

Umpires Asad Rauf (Pakistan) and RE Koertzen (South Africa)
TV umpire AM Saheba
Match referee BC Broad (England)
Reserve umpire AY Dandekar

Close of play
17 Oct day 1 - India 1st innings 311/5 (SC Ganguly 54*, I Sharma 2*, 85 ov)
18 Oct day 2 - Australia 1st innings 102/4 (MEK Hussey 37*, 40.5 ov)
19 Oct day 3 - India 2nd innings 100/0 (G Gambhir 46*, V Sehwag 53*, 23 ov)
20 Oct day 4 - Australia 2nd innings 141/5 (MJ Clarke 42*, BJ Haddin 37*, 46 ov)
21 Oct day 5 - Australia 2nd innings 195 (64.4 ov) - end of match

Match notes

Day 1
India 1st innings
India: 50 runs in 8.6 overs (55 balls), Extras 5
1st Wicket: 50 runs in 55 balls (G Gambhir 21, V Sehwag 26, Ex 5)
Drinks: India - 63/0 in 13.0 overs (G Gambhir 29, V Sehwag 29)
India: 100 runs in 24.4 overs (149 balls), Extras 5
G Gambhir: 50 off 88 balls (8 x 4)
Lunch: India - 104/1 in 25.0 overs (G Gambhir 53, R Dravid 11)
2nd Wicket: 50 runs in 105 balls (G Gambhir 27, R Dravid 24, Ex 0)
Drinks: India - 146/1 in 40.0 overs (G Gambhir 67, R Dravid 39)
India: 150 runs in 42.5 overs (258 balls), Extras 5
Tea: India - 174/4 in 51.0 overs (SR Tendulkar 13, SC Ganguly 2)
India: 200 runs in 55.6 overs (338 balls), Extras 6
5th Wicket: 50 runs in 92 balls (SR Tendulkar 19, SC Ganguly 32, Ex 0)
Drinks: India - 236/4 in 65.0 overs (SR Tendulkar 41, SC Ganguly 35)
India: 250 runs in 69.2 overs (419 balls), Extras 9
SR Tendulkar: 50 off 80 balls (5 x 4)
5th Wicket: 100 runs in 165 balls (SR Tendulkar 55, SC Ganguly 44, Ex 3)
SC Ganguly: 50 off 100 balls (4 x 4)
New Ball Taken: India 293/4 after 80.1 overs (SR Tendulkar 80, SC Ganguly 51)
India: 300 runs in 81.1 overs (490 balls), Extras 13
End Of Day: India - 311/5 in 85.0 overs (SC Ganguly 54, I Sharma 2)

Day 2
India: 350 runs in 96.1 overs (581 balls), Extras 15
Drinks: India - 362/6 in 98.0 overs (SC Ganguly 70, MS Dhoni 27)
7th Wicket: 50 runs in 67 balls (SC Ganguly 14, MS Dhoni 35, Ex 1)
India: 400 runs in 110.1 overs (665 balls), Extras 15
Lunch: India - 401/6 in 111.0 overs (SC Ganguly 91, MS Dhoni 45)
MS Dhoni: 50 off 63 balls (5 x 4, 2 x 6)
7th Wicket: 100 runs in 160 balls (SC Ganguly 34, MS Dhoni 58, Ex 8)
SC Ganguly: 100 off 219 balls (8 x 4)
India: 450 runs in 124.4 overs (752 balls), Extras 22
Drinks: India - 457/8 in 125.0 overs (MS Dhoni 80, Z Khan 2)
Innings Break: India - 469/10 in 129.0 overs (A Mishra 0)
Australia 1st innings
Tea: Australia - 13/1 in 6.0 overs (SM Katich 8, RT Ponting 5)
Australia: 50 runs in 18.1 overs (111 balls), Extras 3
Drinks: Australia - 62/3 in 22.0 overs (MEK Hussey 21)
Australia: 100 runs in 38.6 overs (237 balls), Extras 4
End Of Day: Australia - 102/4 in 40.5 overs (MEK Hussey 37)

Day 3
MEK Hussey: 50 off 117 balls (6 x 4)
Drinks: Australia - 139/5 in 52.0 overs (SR Watson 11, BJ Haddin 6)
Australia: 150 runs in 56.1 overs (340 balls), Extras 7
Lunch: Australia - 174/7 in 66.0 overs (SR Watson 32, B Lee 5)
Australia: 200 runs in 76.6 overs (466 balls), Extras 12
SR Watson: 50 off 102 balls (7 x 4, 1 x 6)
8th Wicket: 50 runs in 110 balls (SR Watson 23, B Lee 24, Ex 6)
Drinks: Australia - 221/7 in 81.0 overs (SR Watson 54, B Lee 25)
New Ball Taken: Australia 221/7 after 81.1 overs (SR Watson 54, B Lee 25)
Tea: Australia - 249/8 in 93.0 overs (SR Watson 66, MG Johnson 2)
Australia: 250 runs in 94.2 overs (570 balls), Extras 17
Innings Break: Australia - 268/10 in 101.4 overs (MG Johnson 9)
India 2nd innings
India: 50 runs in 11.6 overs (72 balls), Extras 0
1st Wicket: 50 runs in 72 balls (G Gambhir 28, V Sehwag 23, Ex 0)
Drinks: India - 58/0 in 14.0 overs (G Gambhir 29, V Sehwag 29)
V Sehwag: 50 off 68 balls (6 x 4)
India: 100 runs in 22.6 overs (139 balls), Extras 1
End Of Day: India - 100/0 in 23.0 overs (G Gambhir 46, V Sehwag 53)
1st Wicket: 100 runs in 139 balls (G Gambhir 46, V Sehwag 53, Ex 1)

Day 4
G Gambhir: 50 off 77 balls (4 x 4)
India: 150 runs in 31.5 overs (192 balls), Extras 4
1st Wicket: 150 runs in 192 balls (G Gambhir 70, V Sehwag 76, Ex 4)
Drinks: India - 171/0 in 36.0 overs (G Gambhir 80, V Sehwag 86)
India: 200 runs in 42.3 overs (258 balls), Extras 7
G Gambhir: 100 off 136 balls (7 x 4, 1 x 6)
Lunch: India - 230/2 in 49.0 overs (MS Dhoni 26, SC Ganguly 3)
India: 250 runs in 53.1 overs (322 balls), Extras 7
MS Dhoni: 50 off 61 balls (3 x 4)
3rd Wicket: 50 runs in 54 balls (MS Dhoni 29, SC Ganguly 21, Ex 0)
India: 300 runs in 62.5 overs (381 balls), Extras 15
Drinks: India - 308/3 in 64.0 overs (MS Dhoni 65, SR Tendulkar 7)
Innings Break: India - 314/3 in 65.0 overs (MS Dhoni 68, SR Tendulkar 10)
Australia 2nd innings
Australia: 50 runs in 7.4 overs (46 balls), Extras 0
Tea: Australia - 50/2 in 8.0 overs (RT Ponting 1)
Drinks: Australia - 81/5 in 27.0 overs (MJ Clarke 17, BJ Haddin 9)
Australia: 100 runs in 31.4 overs (193 balls), Extras 3
6th Wicket: 50 runs in 117 balls (MJ Clarke 27, BJ Haddin 19, Ex 4)
End Of Day: Australia - 141/5 in 46.0 overs (MJ Clarke 42, BJ Haddin 37)

Day 5
Australia: 150 runs in 50.1 overs (305 balls), Extras 8
MJ Clarke: 50 off 108 balls (7 x 4)
Drinks: Australia - 186/8 in 58.0 overs (MJ Clarke 64, MG Johnson 22)
9th Wicket: 50 runs in 86 balls (MJ Clarke 24, MG Johnson 26, Ex 0)

There's something about Dhoni

2008-10-21T07:18:00.001-07:00

India v Australia, 2nd Test, Mohali, 5th day

There's something about Dhoni

October 21, 2008

Mahendra Singh Dhoni had a perfect match: he scored two aggressive half-centuries, and almost all his plans as captain worked © AFP

There's something about Mahendra Singh Dhoni. His detractors call it luck, but whatever it is, it has worked. Twice this year, he has been told about half an hour before a Test that he will have to lead the side, and twice India have won comprehensively under him. If in Mohali, as he admitted, he was lucky to win the toss; in Kanpur, India won despite batting last on a crumbling spinners' paradise. If at all, he has been lucky that his players have produced special performances: Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman conducted a workshop on batting on bad pitches in Kanpur, and Dhoni got special performances from nine of the players in Mohali.

His 100% win record is safe but Dhoni isn't shouting triumphantly from the rooftops just yet. "Playing [just] one Test and hitting a half century, you get an average of 50. So is the case if you hit a 100," Dhoni said, moments after securing India's biggest victory in terms of runs. "Your performance is counted over a longer duration of the game. I got my chance here but it was a team effort."

Dhoni, however, has the Midas touch and it was summed up best when he asked the debutant Amit Mishra to go round the stumps in the last over of the second day. Mishra bowled an accurate wrong'un to trap Michael Clarke in front and one was reminded of the ploy to give Joginder Sharma the final over of the World Twenty20 final. But Dhoni, to the amusement of all present, only said, "Fluke tha yaar [It was a fluke]."

What wasn't a fluke, though, was how Dhoni batted. He infused urgency into India's mindset with his aggressive approach and timely changes to the batting order. He had batted defensively in Bangalore and failed miserably, but in Mohali, he hooked his first ball for four - a statement that he wanted to make amends.

"It was a perfect scenario," Dhoni said. "We had got off to a good start on a good batting track and the ball was old. I think that suited my form of batting because that is my strength. In between, if there is a situation, I can go back [on the defensive] like the Lord's innings."

"But I should play the kind of cricket that I play more often, and that is aggressive cricket. In between I was not really playing my natural game, thinking more about the scenario and conditions. I need to play to my strength which is going out there looking to score runs. It is not only about hitting, it's about being fractionally more positive than others."

There was a beautiful moment after the completion of India's 320-run win. While everybody rushed to grab a stump as a souvenir, Ganguly merely walked up to congratulate his team-mates. Dhoni gave the man playing his last series, and also a centurion in this match, the stump he had taken for himself.

Dhoni later revealed that watching Ganguly was the most special part of this Test. "Sourav's getting to 7000 was very special. This is his last series and he is just going out and enjoying the game. He doesn't have any sort of pressure and that's how you want him to play. Sourav at his best, when he is playing his shots, is very different to others." And Ganguly, on his part, has played outstanding innings in both the Tests that Dhoni has captained.

Keeping calm on the field is quickly becoming Dhoni's signature, and he kept his cool off it as well, when a couple of potentially explosive questions were put to him. He was asked about his players' behaviour during the Test - Zaheer Khan was fined 80% of his match fee - and whether overtly aggressive sledging was the only way to beat Australia. "The only way to beat Australia is to play good consistent cricket," was Dhoni's response. "If it was verbal we would have had hired a few guys who are very good in that aspect." The reporters, if looking for a controversial quote, could only smile in resignation.

Dhoni was also asked to explain his appeal for a catch against Mitchell Johnson, one that he had taken on the bounce. Dhoni had appealed but straightaway asked the umpire to call the third umpire because he was not sure. Ricky Ponting was asked a similar question after the Sydney Test and he responded angrily asking the journalist whether he was questioning his integrity. Dhoni's response, however, was different. "I was not sure about the catch so I immediately got up and asked the umpire [gestures as if referring a decision to the third umpire], and Rudi [Koertzen] said that he [Johnson] never nicked it. So there was no point," Dhoni said.

"There are times when the ball bounces in front of you and you are not really sure. Your eyes are closed at times but when you feel hard [impact] on the gloves, you think it has carried to you. Since, in this series, it is not about players, it is ultimately the umpire's decision whether to refer to the third umpire or not."

His jokes apart, it was a perfect match for Dhoni. He won the toss and batted India to a dominant position in the first innings, almost all his bowling changes seemed to work, and, most importantly, he brought a ruthless touch to India's approach while setting a target.

However, like he did in Kanpur, Dhoni was wearing Anil Kumble's blazer when he went out for the toss. "Stand-in captain, stand-in blazer," Dhoni said. The way he is going they might need to stitch one for him soon.

India's winning habit

2008-10-21T07:17:00.001-07:00

India v Australia, 2nd test, Mohali, 5th day

India's winning habit

October 21, 2008

Fittingly the defeat in the second Test has been inflicted by India, who have stood up to Australia, competed against them more consistently than any other team in the past decade © Getty Images

Trucks in the Punjab are famous for the one-line messages they carry. One of the typically earthy ones is, "Vekhi ja, par chedi na [Keep watching my truck, but don't fiddle around]." For four days and a bit in Mohali, India were the runaway truck that Australia could only watch and do nothing about.

It is a rare happening: When was the last time a team toyed around with Australia? When was the last time Australia were so dominated? One has to go back more than 10 years, to the same opposition and country, to Eden Gardens 1997-98. So long ago that only four players, on both sides, from that Test played in this match. Between Eden Gardens and Mohali, Australia played 117 matches, losing 15, without being so completely outplayed even once.

What would be more satisfactory for India, though, is that this win didn't come on a crumbling dustbowl; home advantage counted for nought this time. It was a good batting track, looking like any Australian pitch, with a little less bounce, on the first day. Contrast this with Eden Gardens 1998, when India played with three spinners, and Sourav Ganguly opened the bowling. Over the last five days, though, and on the same pitch, the ball would lose all potency the moment it was handled by Australian bowlers.

To be fair to the Australians, this isn't the same team that dominated the world over the last decade. Some of the best players in that side - Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist, Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer - have gone. Also, they embarked on this tour - possibly their toughest assignment of recent times - without Andrew Symonds; discipline problem or not, it's a mistake they may yet come to regret. Even so, it would take a special effort to put the boot in, simply because of their winning habit and the belief that they can pull themselves out of any kind of strife.



	"Especially at one time in the first innings, they [Australia] were 22 from 13 overs. I said to Rahul [Dravid], 'Look at the board, we won't see that again'"Mahendra Singh Dhoni

It's perhaps fitting that this defeat has been inflicted by India, who have stood up to Australia, competed against them more consistently than any other team in the past decade. And India are the only team who constantly threaten to outskill them: once it was their mysterious spin bowling and imperious batting, here the biggest difference between the teams was the quality of the pace bowling.

While Australia struggled for any disconcerting movement, the Indian bowlers got prodigious swing, both conventional and reverse. A TV split-screen visual of the six-over-old ball being used by both the teams told a story. While the one Australia used was scuffed up all over, the one India used had two markedly different sides, shiny and rough. That meant the ball started reversing as early as in the ninth over at times, a sensational phenomenon. And since it's still hard and new that early, as MS Dhoni suggested, it was all the more difficult to face. "The ball [from Ishant Sharma] that got me would get me 95 times out of 100," Ricky Ponting confessed.

The batsmen and the spinners did their job too. Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag gave India two fiery starts, putting Australia on the back foot right away. The middle order revived them after a brief blip. Amit Mishra's debut was phenomenal, a throwback to the old days of classical legspin bowling. And Harbhajan Singh fast-tracked Australia to their demise in the second innings.

Right from the toss, India did little wrong. The one potentially distracting period was when Tendulkar moved towards his record but India regrouped well. They were aggressive throughout, and there wasn't a single player in the side they needed to hide. You could say they had nine potential Man-of-the-Match winners, something we rarely see with the Indian team. Perth, earlier this year, was a team performance, but not nearly as destructive.

Once it was India's mysterious spin bowling and imperious batting that undid opponents, here the biggest difference between the teams was the quality of the pace bowling © Getty Images

It can be argued the destruction started even before the toss. Perhaps Zaheer Khan had sensed in Bangalore that this Australian team could do with some dominating. The debate over who won the moral victory in Bangalore can continue but it's clear who gained more from that result.

Two moments summed up the match for India and Australia. One of them came early on the second day. India had contrived to keep Australia in the game on day one, even though the latter chased leather throughout the day. At 326 for 6, India were still capable of being bundled out for a below-par total. In walked Dhoni, and he got a bouncer first-up. He hooked that for four, then hit another for a six, and "the most defensive side in a long time" was being taken to the cleaners.

Then, on the fourth morning, India played Australia at their own game, applying ruthlessness and urgency - and clarity of thought - in their approach to setting the target, and giving themselves close to 130 overs to bowl out a side low on confidence. And when Matthew Hayden tried to intimidate the bowlers, they didn't take a step back. The inevitable soon happened and, as it usually happens in India, it happened too fast once it started.

Naturally Dhoni was pleased with his team's effort. "I've never seen anything like that," he said. "Especially at one time in the first innings, they were 22 from 13 overs. I said to Rahul [Dravid], 'Look at the board, we won't see that again.'"

The way this Indian team is playing, don't bet against it.

Zaheer bowls India to record victory

2008-10-21T07:16:00.001-07:00

India v Australia, 2nd Test, Mohali, 5th day

Zaheer bowls India to record victory

October 21, 2008

India 469 (Ganguly 102, Dhoni 92, Tendulkar 88, Gambhir 67) and 314 for 3 (Gambhir 104, Sehwag 90, Dhoni 68*) beat Australia 268 (Watson 78, Hussey 54, Mishra 5-71) and 195 (Clarke 69) by 320 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

It was a match that was never out of India's control. After the tremendous work done over four days, they needed less than a session on the fifth morning to defeat Australia, sealing the Test by 320 runs, their biggest margin of victory in terms of runs ever. Zaheer Khan nipped out three wickets in the space of four deliveries when play started, and though Michael Clarke resisted with 69, it was always going to be a matter of when India would take a 1-0 series lead. In terms of runs, it was Australia's biggest defeat since their 343-run loss to West Indies in Barbados in 1991.

India had reduced Australia to 58 for 5 yesterday, but had to wait 84 runs for their next strike, after which proceedings resembled a bowling alley as Zaheer knocked over the lower order like nine pins. Zaheer was simply unplayable. He struck in the first over of the day, bowling Brad Haddin for 37 with a ripper. It pitched on a length, shaped back in, and took out the middle and off stumps. In his next over, Zaheer struck with his second and third deliveries and found himself on a hat-trick. A leaden-footed Cameron White went for a drive and edged to Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Next ball, Brett Lee had no clue to one pitched fractionally shorter and had his stumps splayed. Three wickets had fallen for three runs.

With nine men around the bat, Mitchell Johnson averted the hat-trick. Zaheer had slowly built up his momentum through the fourth day and struck gold on the fifth morning. He got the ball to move slightly away from the batsmen, and was very accurate. Ishant Sharma achieved movement both ways, evident when Clarke outside-edged towards slip - the ball didn't carry - and later inside-edged towards square leg.

Perhaps significant with two Tests to play, Clarke shrugged off an indifferent tour with a fluent 69. On a pitch with good movement and against bowlers who were on song, he batted with focus and determination. He and Johnson, who batted well for his 26 before popping a return catch to Amit Mishra, added 50. Clarke had been the glue that held a poor Australian innings together, but he was last out when he clipped Mishra - who finished with seven on debut - to midwicket. As the fat lady sang and Punjabi bhangra filled the Mohali air, Dhoni - India's stand-in captain who rarely made a wrong call through the Test - led the charge towards the catcher, Virender Sehwag.

Teams that have a habit of winning know how to seize the momentum and never let it go. Like Australia had done for the last decade and more, India did that very well in Mohali. They were, unquestionably, the superior side in this Test.

Broad inspires crushing English win

2008-08-27T20:48:00.000-07:00

England v South Africa, 2nd ODI, Trent Bridge

Broad inspires crushing English win

August 26, 2008

England 85 for 0 (Prior 45*, Bell 28*) beat South Africa 83 (Broad 5-23) by ten wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Stuart Broad produced the best bowling figures of his professional career, and Matt Prior followed up his haul of six catches with a rumbustious 45 not out from 36 balls, as South Africa were subjected to the heaviest and most humiliating defeat in their 406-match ODI history. From start to finish the contest lasted a mere 37.1 overs, 23 of which were used up by the South Africans themselves, as England routed them for 83, their second worst total after the 69 they made against Australia at Sydney in 1993-94.

It was a performance of utter dominance from England, who have undergone a renaissance in the weeks since Kevin Pietersen took over as captain. On this occasion, however, the plaudits belonged to the least heralded member of their pace attack, a man whose cutting edge has occasionally been called into question in his first full year of international cricket. In front of his home crowd at Nottinghamshire, Broad scotched all such notions by producing a waspish length on the line of off stump, and for once found the edge, as he surged to his first five-wicket haul in all limited-overs cricket.

There wasn't even a morsel of comfort for South Africa to take from the match, and afterwards Graeme Smith felt obliged to apologise to a packed crowd for the early curtailment to their evening's entertainment. Doubtless he repeated those sentiments to the Trent Bridge authorities, who were unable to showcase their spanking new floodlights. The cricket that did take place, however, was pretty spectacular, as England racked up their third ten-wicket win in ODIs, and their first since Bangladesh were beaten by the same margin in 2005.

Having lost the first ODI by 20 runs on Friday, South Africa won the toss and batted, in the hope of kickstarting their campaign. Instead they were derailed by a spell of four wickets in 17 balls from Broad, after which their innings was in tatters on 27 for 4. His first victim was Herschelle Gibbs, who had time for one trademark pull through midwicket off James Anderson before inside-edging an offcutter to give Prior the first of his six catches - a tally that has not been equalled by an England wicketkeeper since Alec Stewart managed that many against Zimbabwe at Old Trafford in 2000.

It was a timely haul for Prior, whose stock has risen this summer while Tim Ambrose's has fallen, and the second of his takes - a one-handed leap in front of first slip to remove Smith for 9 - drew gasps of admiration from his team-mates, not to mention surprise from his detractors. With confidence coursing through his veins, he epitomised the attitude of the entire England team, and having rushed the team to victory with the bat, his recall to the Test side seems sure to be rubber-stamped at the end of next month.

South Africa's confidence never recovered from Broad's early blows, and he added two more wickets in his first five overs. Jacques Kallis, whose form has been floundering all tour long, flashed wildly outside off stump for Owais Shah to snaffle a comfortable edge at first slip then, after clubbing two fours off Anderson, JP Duminy poked half-heartedly outside off stump.

South Africa's capitulation

England won by ten wickets and with 215 balls to spare, making it South Africa's worst drubbing in ODIs.
South Africa's 83 was their second-lowest total in ODIs, and the least number of balls they have faced in a completed innings.
It was the lowest total at Trent Bridge, and the fourth-lowest for a team against England.
South Africa were all out for 83, but none of their batsmen fell for a duck, making it the second-lowest total for a team that has been all out without a batsman being dismissed for a duck. India's score of 54 against Sri Lanka in 2000 is the lowest.

There was, however, no respite in prospect, because into the carnage rumbled Andrew Flintoff, who ripped AB de Villiers and Mark Boucher from the crease in a performance of brute hostility. Despite a lengthy delay to receive strapping to his injured left toe, Flintoff's aggression was as pumped as his team's performance, as both men were backed into the crease by bouncers then beaten by the fuller length - de Villiers was pinned lbw for 5, Boucher caught-behind for 10.

All the while, Steve Harmison was being held back from the attack, as Pietersen understandably allowed Broad to bowl his full quota of ten overs in a row. Broad responded with his fifth wicket with the second ball of his final over, as Johan Botha drove at a full length and was adjudged caught-behind, at which stage his figures were a remarkable 5 for 11 from 9.2 overs.

Andre Nel swiped some of that gloss by mowing Broad through the leg side for three boundaries from his final four balls, but Harmison needed just one delivery to end that short-lived counterattack - Luke Wright steadied himself at mid-on to pouch a predictable top-edged hoick. Four balls and one slogged boundary later, Albie Morkel's return to South African colours had also ended tamely, with Prior again the beneficiary of a weak dab outside off. It was left to Flintoff to round up the innings with a yorker to Dale Steyn, and South Africa's humiliation was nearly complete.

All that remained was England's batting, and they never threatened to falter. Ian Bell dropped anchor for 28 from 51 balls as Prior cut loose, and the closest that South Africa came to a breakthrough were a pair of free-hit "catches" after Steyn twice overstepped. Prior launched Makhaya Ntini down the ground for six then wrapped up the match with a fierce mow through midwicket, to put the seal on a memorable triumph for England.

India seal maiden series triumph in Sri Lanka

2008-08-27T20:46:00.000-07:00

Sri Lanka v India, 4th ODI, Colombo

India seal maiden series triumph in Sri Lanka

August 27, 2008

India 258 (Raina 76, Dhoni 71, Kohli 54, Thushara 5-47) beat Sri Lanka 212 (Jayasuriya 60, Harbhajan 3-40) by 46 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

India made the most of the toss, a vicious turner in the second innings and Sri Lanka's feeble batting to record their first bilateral one-day series triumph on the island, completing a stunning turnaround from the crushing defeat in the opener in Dambulla. Mahendra Singh Dhoni led from the front with his batting and on-field captaincy but this was a team performance as India recovered from a shaky start to choke Sri Lanka out of the match.

It turned out to be a great toss for Dhoni to win: Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis would have been virtually unplayable if they got to bowl second, and India's strategy of going in with four bowlers would also have been exposed. It didn't initially seem that way as India's top order floundered in the face of some disciplined bowling. There were no yorkers, no bouncers and no slower balls, just old-fashioned line-and-length to slow down the openers - only four boundaries came in the first ten overs. Kohli survived a couple of early chances before he started to grow in confidence.

At the other end, Gambhir was starved of the strike and perished when attempting to up the run-rate. That brought Yuvraj Singh to the crease for a short, troubled and runless stay. Chaminda Vaas became the fourth man to take 400 wickets in ODIs when Yuvraj was too early on an offcutter and edged it to short midwicket. Kohli unleashed some wristy shots to bring up his maiden half-century but soon paid the price for playing away from his body, an inside edge on to his stumps giving Thushara a wicket in his first over.

The score read 81 for 3 before Suresh Raina and Dhoni took charge. Both were decisive with their footwork, regularly charging down the track to negate the spin, or playing right back and reading the spin off the pitch. The running between the wickets was sharp, and with Raina playing some breathtaking lofted drives, the stuttering run-rate got a lift.

Vaas the workhorse

With the wicket of Yuvraj Singh, Chaminda Vaas became the fourth bowler to take 400 ODI wickets, the second Sri Lankan after Muttiah Muralitharan.
Vaas is one of only four players to complete the double of 2000 runs and 300 wickets in ODIs. The others are Wasim Akram, Sanath Jayasuriya and Shaun Pollock.
His 8 for 19 against Zimbabwe in Colombo in December 2001 remains the best bowling figures in an ODI.
Vaas' 23 wickets in the 2003 World Cup is the second-best haul in a single edition of the tournament; Glenn McGrath bettered it in 2007.
He is one of three bowlers to have taken two hat-tricks in ODIs, Akram and Saqlain Mushtaq being the other two.
Vaas has been consistent both home and away: he has taken 81 wickets at home at an average of 27.51, 151 away at 28.04 and 168 on neutral venues at 27.08.
He has had considerable success against top-order batsmen of his generation: Vaas has dismissed Stephen Fleming 11 times in 29 matches, Saeed Anwar 11 times in 38, Adam Gilchrist 10 in 27, Herschelle Gibbs 9 in 24, Sourav Ganguly 9 in 33 and Sachin Tendulkar 9 in 49.

They batted sensibly, cutting out the risks, and it wasn't until India were out of trouble that the more chancy strokes - the reverse-sweep and the paddle-sweep - were brought out. While Raina played the big shots, including a massive pull for six over midwicket off Muttiah Muralitharan, Dhoni was content with some quick singles and twos - there were only four boundaries in his 71.

The spin threat was negated and the pair had powered India to a commanding 224 for 3 in the 41st over before Thushara struck. He had Raina holing out to mid-off and dismissed a tiring Dhoni soon after, leaving two new batsmen to deal with the wiles of Murali and Ajantha Mendis. They throttled the runs, which resulted in more wickets falling, and Thilan Thushara, who had never taken more than two wickets in an ODI before, took two in the final over to complete his five-for.

The tricky target didn't seem enough as Sanath Jayasuriya started in a typically murderous mood , using his favourite cut shot to pepper the off-side boundary. As he made merry, his partner Malinda Warnapura toiled at the other end. Warnapura scratched around without scoring before finally being adjudged lbw off Munaf Patel for 0 in the seventh over.

Munaf combined well with the accurate Zaheer Khan, who kept it on a back of a length around off, to stifle the runs and with only 10 runs coming in six overs, Kumar Sangakkara went for his shots. There was a cover drive for four, but his next stroke was an attempted cut, which took the bottom-edge and cannoned into his leg stump.

Jayasuriya then took over. Boundaries started to flow in every over: a bouncer on leg stump was pulled over deep backward square leg for six, and an over-the-bowler's-head drive off Praveen. The fifty came up with a pull over midwicket for four and he repeated the shot two balls later, this time for six. He had made 60 of Sri Lanka's 74 before an outside edge off a sharply turning Harbhajan Singh delivery was superbly held by a diving Raina at slip.

Sri Lanka's hopes, as it has in several matches this series, rested with their captain, Mahela Jayawardene, but he was soon run out attempting a suicidal single. That left them at stuttering at 104 for 4, with all their big-name batsmen dismissed. The pitch had by now deteriorated to the extent that even a part-time spinner like Yuvraj was difficult to negotiate. Thushara followed up his five-wicket haul with a spirited 40 but it was too tall a task for the lower order and they ended up 46 runs short.

Champions Trophy postponed until October 2009

2008-08-24T15:37:00.000-07:00

Champions Trophy

Champions Trophy postponed until October 2009

August 24, 2008

The Champions Trophy has been set back after the ICC task force's visit to Pakistan failed to ease security concerns © Getty Images

The ICC has postponed the Champions Trophy, which was due to begin in Pakistan in 19 days' time, to October 2009, after five of the eight participating nations confirmed during a teleconference on Sunday that they would not send their teams for the event due to security concerns.

South Africa had on Saturday pulled out of the tournament, which was originally scheduled to be held from Sept 12-28 in Karachi and Lahore, and the ICC was informed on Sunday that Australia, England, New Zealand and West Indies, too, would not be participating.

The ICC will now meet in September to finalise a window for the tournament in 2009 and, while Pakistan will be given "first preference" to host it, a decision on the venue may be taken only after a security assessment of the country is done around February, after the India tour.

Sources who attended the ICC's teleconference said there was the option of the tournament being relocated to Sri Lanka, the official alternate venue, but India and Pakistan remained adamant against a change.

Timeline

May 1, 2006 - The ICC awards the 2008 Champions Trophy to Pakistan
March 11, 2008 - Australia postpone their tour to Pakistan over security fears
March 19 - ICC says Sri Lanka will be the alternate venue
June 18 - Official launch of Champions Trophy
June 19 - Ricky Ponting says Australian players are uneasy with touring Pakistan
July 6 - Pakistan successfully stages six-nation Asia Cup
July 24 - ICC keeps Champions Trophy in Pakistan after board meeting, high-level task force appointed
July 24 to 26 - Players lobbies step up pressure to pull out; Kevin Pietersen urges ECB to make Champions Trophy decision; Graeme Smith has 'major concerns'
Aug 10 - ICC task team travels to Pakistan to assess security
Aug 12 - ICC drops Rawalpindi as one of the venues
Aug 14 to 17 - Geoff Lawson deployed by ICC to convince Australia and New Zealand; the task force, along with Lawson, meet Australian officials; New Zealand and Australian players' associations remain unconvinced; ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat briefs England team
Aug 22 - South Africa withdraw from tournament
Aug 24 - ICC postpones trophy until next year, Pakistan keep hosting rights

India, the sources said, were not willing to sacrifice Pakistan. The Sri Lankans too didn't press their case, as they supported the Pakistan view that a venue change could not be made on security grounds. The meeting was held in an amicable atmosphere because most of the issues had been thrashed out among the members beforehand, rendering the final discussions a mere formality.

"There was unanimity in the decision to postpone the event until October next year," David Morgan, the ICC president, told Sky Sports. "India is very influential but so is Giles Clarke (ECB chief executive), Australia, New Zealand - they all bring their influence to bear.

"The vote was totally in favour of the postponement until October next year. And India were quite influential in persuading some other nations that that was the right course of action."

The ICC have appeased Pakistan, at least for the time being, in choosing not to cancel the competition entirely but postponing it until October next year. Morgan, though, was insistent that "appeasement was not part of the meeting at all".

"The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have been extremely reasonable about the whole subject, (it has been very clear) they have worked jolly hard to try to give comfort to the member boards, and the eight teams that are touring, that it would be safe and secure," Morgan said. "Unfortunately, five of the participating nations found it impossible to send their team to Pakistan because of safety concerns."

Though the postponement means there will be a rare 33 days without international cricket this year, the schedule for 2009 promises to be every bit as packed - besides, the next edition of the Champions Trophy is coming up in 2010. "Every cricketing year is a busy one," Morgan said. "We're more aware of it in the UK because of the Ashes, the World Twenty20 and the one-day series against Australia, but it is no busier a year than any other.

"There will certainly be more security assessments. We're going to meet around the table in 3 or 4 weeks in Dubai to discuss the mechanisms of the postponement. There are numerous things to be discussed and we're planning on meeting in the middle of September to discuss the consequences of the decision."

Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, added: "Every one of our members wishes to ensure the ICC Champions Trophy is a world-class event and the prospect of relocating it at short notice in order to make sure it was played this year would not allow that criterion to be fulfilled."

Shafqat Naghmi, the PCB's chief operating officer, said that postponing the tournament was the only option in light of boycott threats. "Cricket is not going to die here, it's just that we are going through a difficult phase," Naghmi said. "We would have lost the hosting rights had the Champions Trophy been relocated [to Sri Lanka].

"With four of the eight teams threatening to pull out, "it made little sense to organize a four-team competition," he said.

Giles Clarke, the chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), said his board supported the ICC decision and had last week "explained their reservations and security concerns about staging the tournament in the aftermath of the resignation of the Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf last Monday."

Seamers and Dhoni script 33-run win

2008-08-24T15:34:00.000-07:00

Sri Lanka v India, 3rd ODI, Colombo

Seamers and Dhoni script 33-run win

August 24, 2008

India 237 (Dhoni 76*, Raina 53, Mendis 3-56) beat Sri Lanka 204 (Jayawardene 94, Zaheer 3-23, Munaf 3-42) by 33 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

For the second game in succession, an inspired opening spell by India's seam attack of Zaheer Khan and Praveen Kumar brought a powerful batting line-up to its knees. A middle-of-the-road target of 238 was always going to be competitive under lights but a flurry of early wickets before effectively sealed the match before the first Powerplay ended. Both captains arrested top-order slides with fighting half-centuries, but his bowlers made Mahendra Singh Dhoni's effort count in the end.

For Sri Lanka, only Mahela Jayawardene displayed the technique and temperament to craft a lengthy innings and though he had Thilan Thushara for company to give his side a glimmer of hope, their partnership came a little too late. Jayawardene fell six short of a deserved century when a paddle scoop ended his knock and with it, Sri Lanka's last chance of snatching a miracle.

The pre-match talk centered around the better batting conditions at the Premadasa Stadium when compared to the two-paced surface in Dambulla. Though the conditions were a shade easier to bat on in the afternoon, it got considerably challenging under lights as the seamers managed swing and nip off the pitch while the spinners got turn and bounce.

While the swing was hard enough for the batsmen to negotiate under lights, the nagging stump-to-stump line was largely responsible for the spurt of lbw decisions early on. Kumar Sangakkara, Chamara Kapugedera and Chamara Silva were all trapped as the trigger-happy umpires wasted no time in pondering over the appeals.

Sanath Jayasuriya whiplashed Praveen for boundaries over his favoured off side region but perished after edging an away swinger off the same bowler. Zaheer relied more on hitting the deck hard and like in Dambulla, squared up Sangakkara with one that nipped back in and struck him high on the pad.

Kapugedera began confidently with a clipped six over square leg off Praveen but paid the price for shuffling too far across his stumps. Silva became the third lbw victim of the evening, this time to Zaheer, trapped in front of middle stump to one that straightened. Tillakaratne Dilshan, tied down by the seamers' nagging accuracy, feathered an edge to Dhoni off Munaf Patel.

All the while, Jayawardene cut a lonely figure. The revival began when Thushara joined him in the middle. Runs were hard to come by initially but Jayawardene was probably mindful of India's weak link - the fifth bowler. With the field spread out and the ball getting softer, Jayawardene placed faith in his partner by rotating the strike.

Yuvraj and Rohit Sharma conceded 46 off nine combined overs as Sri Lanka added 50 runs between overs 37 and 43. Thushara regularly made room to loft the ball over vacant spaces and the anxiety began to tell on the Indian fielders as they dropped catches off Thushara and Jayawardene. Zaheer returned to york Thushara to end the 81-run eighth-wicket stand, and when Munaf sent back Jayawardene, the contest was all but over.

Sri Lanka will no doubt look back at where they let the initiative slip. After reducing India to 97 for 4 at the halfway stage, two fifty partnerships - with Dhoni the central figure in both - resurrected the innings after another jerky start. The significant factor in India's recovery in the middle overs was that the threat of Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis was negated fairly comfortably. Though Mendis ended with three wickets, two of those came at the fag end of the innings. Murali, on the other hand, had a forgettable wicketless outing.

Once again, Dhoni walked in to bat with the Indian innings wobbling. Often he has played a lone hand, but this time Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma offered excellent support. Raina needed runs, and with his captain for company, accumulated steadily with the spinners operating from both ends, and never at any stage did the Indians get bogged down. Dhoni was comfortable against Mendis, committing himself forward to smother the spin of the full-length deliveries, but when the length was short, he rocked back and cut and pulled for runs.

Raina, too, was fleet-footed against the spinners, nudging, flicking and driving Muralitharan for singles in his workmanlike knock. Using his feet, he drove the same bowler to the extra-cover boundary before edging towards his sixth ODI fifty, which came off 75 balls. The running between wickets was excellent throughout, but ironically, it was a run-out that ended the 54-run partnership.

Dhoni was fortunate to find an equally able partner in Rohit, who calmly rotated the strike. Short of runs over the last few innings, Rohit grafted initially before taking his chances against the spinners. The partnership came at a quicker rate than the Dhoni-Raina stand, with the pair bringing up their fifty stand in 55 balls. Dhoni brought up his own half-century off 64 balls and celebrated it with successive boundaries off Murali, using his feet well on both occasions. Just when a score in excess of 250 seemed likely, Sri Lanka struck. Rohit fell while attempting a slog off Thushara, after which the wickets continued to fall. Dhoni was dismissed in the 49th over, scooping to cover for a 80-ball 76 and in the end his efforts didn't got to waste.

India level series with hard-fought win

2008-08-20T15:35:00.000-07:00

Sri Lanka v India, 2nd ODI, Dambulla

India level series with hard-fought win

August 20, 2008

India 143 for 7 (Dhoni 39, Kohli 37) beat Sri Lanka 142 (Thushara 44, Zaheer 4-21, Praveen 3-34) by three wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

India fought back to level the series 1-1 with a three-wicket win but the victory was far from convincing as they made heavy weather of a modest target of 143. Zaheer Khan's dramatic opening spell, which sent Sri Lanka's top order reeling, was the highlight of the day as India restricted Sri Lanka to a score four less than what India made on Monday.

The contrast, however, was the manner in which victory was achieved. While Sri Lanka coasted home in the first ODI, India lost early wickets, grafted, lost few more, recovered, and later limped to the target. Mahendra Singh Dhoni kept a cool head and debutant S Badrinath showed maturity in supporting his captain when he came in with 68 needed.

India's batting in the first match forced a change of strategy, but the paucity of specialist openers and the fact that India were playing four medium-pacers forced Dhoni to "bowl out of compulsion" despite a pitch that appeared good for batting by his assessment. His decision in the end proved a masterstroke.

Zaheer's deliveries moved, sliced the batsmen in half, made run-scoring an arduous task and India's body language perked up with each wicket, reflecting their hunger to turn the tables after an embarrassing drubbing.

In his first over, Zaheer produced an inswinger to Kumar Sangakkara which clipped the top of off stump after the batsman played around the line of the ball. Mahela Jayawardene and Chamara Kapugedera both fell to edges behind the wicket off deliveries that landed on off stump and seamed away. Praveen proved a good foil for Zaheer maintaining pressure with the new ball, moving it in the air and cramping Sanath Jayasuriya. He dismissed Chamara Silva off a leading edge, before Zaheer sent back Jayasuriya lbw with a delivery that cut into the left-hander. The decision was shrouded in doubt as it appeared as if he was struck high on the pads.

Tillakaratne Dilshan joined Jayasuriya with the score on 11 for 4 but looked scratchy early on, failing to make contact with his pulls. His frustration showed as he swished the air with his bat. He eventually connected against a short ball from Irfan Pathan but was caught by Badrinath who ran in from deep midwicket and dived forward to take a low catch, leaving Sri Lanka in an even bigger mess at 44 for 6.

An unlikely revival came courtesy the pair of Thilan Thushara and Nuwan Kulasekara. Once the ball had gotten softer, run-scoring became easier. Thushara was the more adventurous of the pair, freeing his arms when offered width and brought up the fifty stand with a slash down to third man off Harbhajan Singh.

Just when it looked like India were letting them off the hook, Praveen returned for a new spell and broke the 74-run stand. Thushara tried to heave him across the line but didn't get the elevation to clear Kohli at deep midwicket and three balls later, Kulasekara chipped the same bowler to Badrinath at midwicket. Harbhajan mopped up the tail to with 11 overs to spare, giving India the ideal opportunity to stay alive in the series.

India were left to bat out a nervous five overs before lunch but the experimental opening pair of Pathan and Virat Kohli - India's 12th combination since January 2007 - failed to click. Sangakkara snaffled a sharp catch to his left to dismiss Pathan off Kulasekara and Raina followed soon after, trapped lbw to the same bowler.

Kohli was solid in defence and safely negotiated the several bouncers dished out to him, before fetching boundaries through the off side off Kulasekara. Yuvraj Singh found his groove with crisply-driven fours off Thushara, but not surprisingly, continued to be a sitting duck against Mendis, falling prey to the carrom ball. Kohli took his chances against Mendis, heaving him over midwicket but eventually fell to Thushara, punching one straight to short extra cover. Rohit Sharma was sent packing two balls later and Sri Lanka were back in the match.

It was an opportunity for Badrinath to impress after being on the fringes of national selection for a while and he didn't disappoint, negating the spinners by coming forward and smothering the turn while rotating the strike. The singles and twos never dried up - Dhoni in fact started scoring at over a run-a-ball - as India steadily edged ahead. Muralitharan bowled round the wicket, but the pair used their wrists well to work the ball in the vacant areas on the leg side.

India suffered a late hiccup with eight needed as Dhoni played all over a full delivery from Dilhara Fernando, before Mendis returned for one final scalp. Though India registered a comeback win, it did nothing to allay the blaring frailties in the batting line-up devoid of senior players.

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