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Tuesday, October 21, 2008

2nd Test Match: India v Australia- scorecard

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

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

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

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

Zaheer Khan's three early wickets on the fifth day hastened Australia's defeat © Getty Images

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.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Broad inspires crushing English win

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 wrecked South Africa's batting with 5 for 23 © Getty Images

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

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

The 143-run stand between Suresh Raina and Mahendra Singh Dhoni set up India's match-winning total of 258 © AFP

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.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Champions Trophy postponed until October 2009

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

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

Zaheer Khan, who claimed figures of 3 for 23, was the driving force behind India's win © AFP

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.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni top scored for India with 76 © AFP

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.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

India level series with hard-fought win

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

Zaheer Khan's opening burst set up India's victory © AFP

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.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Mendis remains a mystery

Sri Lanka v India, 1st ODI, Dambulla

Mendis remains a mystery

August 18, 2008

Mahendra Singh Dhoni said after the Asia Cup that Ajantha Mendis couldn't be read. Nothing's changed since then © AFP

The crisp, cream clothing made way for dazzling blue, but the script read much the same. Watching India clearly weighed down by the finger freak waiting in the wings, unsure about how to tackle tidy medium-pace, anxious about what could be unleashed at any moment, it was hard not to get a sense of déjà vu. The Test specialists were gone, but the one-day recruits suffered a similar fate.

India's latest defeat against Sri Lanka wasn't all about Ajantha Mendis, though at the rate he is picking up awards and cheques, he's certain to be a richer man and teach Arun Lal, the post-match emcee all tour, a fair amount of Sinhalese. Mendis played a key role, but India were severely dented after Sri Lanka's new-ball duo nipped out three early wickets.

That pair took much of the pressure off Mendis and Muttiah Muralitharan. Chaminda Vaas breached Gautam Gambhir's defence with the second ball of the match and Nuwan Kulasekera bowled very well, complementing his partner, to take two wickets. After five overs India were 9 for 1; after ten 29 for 2; after 15, 42 for 3; after the Powerplays they were reeling at 73 for 4. Therein lies the command that Sri Lanka took over the opposition. Vaas and Kulasekera choked the top order and Thilan Thushara, bowling tidy left-arm seam, maintained the pressure. It was a clinical example of attacking through partnerships.

More importantly, it was the perfect setting for Mendis to come in for the last over of the Powerplays. India were unsettled by their early losses and apprehensive about Mendis' arrival. They were unsure about how to handle the situation, and it proved detrimental.

When Mendis did arrive, India's batsmen looked no closer to deciphering him. His first strike hurt so deep that India failed to recover. Yuvraj Singh was beaten first ball by a slider, survived an extremely tight lbw shout, tried to dictate terms with a six over long-on, and was then utterly befuddled by a quicker one that skidded on. Too far forward, Yuvraj was left looking silly. India's most experienced player had fallen for the dangling carrot, and the reverberations were loud.

Thereon it was much the same as in the Tests. Mendis left the rest to fumble about in the dark. Mahendra Singh Dhoni fidgeted and fussed about his crease, playing and missing until he was put out of his misery by an outside-edge that flew to slip. Runs dried up. The heat turned up. After the Asia Cup, Dhoni said Mendis just couldn't be read at all; nothing has changed.



	India's players have bounced between analysing footage, hoping that his aura may wear off and stressing on reading him off the pitch. What they need to understand is that for the time being Mendis is beyond understanding. Hard as it may sound, they need to take him out of the equation, stop worrying about him

Again bowling accurately and lethally, Mendis finished with 3 for 21 off nine overs, helping reduce India to 87 for 7 after which he was taken out of the attack. All Murali had to do was twirl his wrist and gobble up the lower order, even if his last over went for 14. The problem with India's approach against Mendis was that everyone wanted to build, nobody wanted to do maintenance.

"Creativity is not like a freight train going down the tracks," wrote Bob Dylan in his autobiography, Chronicles. "It's something that has to be caressed and treated with a great deal of respect. If your mind is intellectually in the way, it will stop you. You've got to programme your brain not to think too much."

Flip that around and you understand India's predicament against Mendis. They've been bamboozled, nay awed, by Mendis' bag of tricks since he destroyed them in Karachi. Mendis is special, no doubt about it. India's players have bounced between analysing footage, hoping that his aura may wear off and stressing on reading him off the pitch. What they need to understand is that for the time being Mendis is beyond understanding. Hard as it may sound, they need to take him out of the equation, stop worrying about him.

Virender Sehwag didn't think too much about Mendis in Galle and finished the match with 251 runs. There's a possibility he may be out of the whole series, and that's a massive worry, for in a sense India lost this match before Dhoni went out for the toss. They lost this match some time during training yesterday when Sehwag injured himself. Sehwag was India's highest scorer in the Test series, handling Mendis with aplomb during his double hundred in Galle, and their best bet at providing a solid start.

Dhoni spoke of the added responsibility on Sehwag to pass on advice to India's one-day recruits. In terms of his experience against Sri Lanka's spinners and his ability to provide starts, an integral asset in cricket, Sehwag's loss was brutal. In his last ODI he hammered an exhilarating 60 from just 35 balls, helping India storm to 76 from just nine overs.

Without their best player, India's indecision crept in from the onset. The openers may have thought attacking Sri Lanka's medium-pacers was the best option given their inefficiency in the Tests. That didn't work, and they had no answer to Mendis.

Even if they do a half-baked job of something, India's batsmen will find themselves one-eyed men in the kingdom of the blind. But at the moment they remain indecisive about picking one approach; it's a toss-up between throwing in the towel or trying to force the pace against spin. India need to find a way to rotate singles, as well as score runs.

"Its important to learn," said Dhoni, "because everyone makes mistakes. Unless you learn from those your own, your team's graph won't go up."

There's only a day's gap for the second match. India's time starts now.

Sehwag ruled out of ODI series

India in Sri Lanka 2008

Sehwag ruled out of ODI series

August 18, 2008

Virender Sehwag has been ruled out of the remaining four one-day internationals against Sri Lanka due to an ankle injury. He had twisted his left ankle during practice on Sunday and played no part in the first ODI at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium on Monday which India lost by eight wickets.

One of India's in-form batsmen, he scored 344 runs in the Test series earlier, the highest by any batsman on either side. Along with Gautam Gambhir, he was one of the few Indian batsmen who looked assured against Sri Lanka's spin duo of Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the Indian captain, said the team would miss Sehwag. "He was a batsman in top form. But that's the way it goes in cricket. You can't really stop and think about the guys you will be missing in the series. Rather than that you will have to fill in that space. Because that is the only way your team can win.

"We may look at a different combination of openers for the next game but it's at a very initial stage. We have just gone through the first game so whatever fits the team best we'll decide on that," he said.

Team manager Sanjay Desai, however, did not confirm whether a replacement would be flown to Sri Lanka.

India are already without Sachin Tendulkar, who withdrew from the ODI series after sustaining an elbow injury during the final Test in Colombo.

Mendis not a permanent threat - Dhoni

Sri Lanka v India, 1st ODI, Dambulla

Mendis not a permanent threat - Dhoni

August 18, 2008

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the Indian captain, has said that Ajantha Mendis was an unusual bowler in comparison to Muttiah Muralitharan, but it's only a matter of time before batsmen are able to pick his variations easily. Mendis continued to trouble the Indians after picking up 3 for 21 off nine overs in Sri Lanka's easy eight-wicket win in the first one-dayer in Dambulla. Muralitharan too chipped in with three wickets to skittle India out for a paltry 146.

"With time batsmen will get used to playing him. Even Murali some seven-eight years back was really difficult," Dhoni said. "Everybody was talking about him. With time I think it will get a bit easier. Mendis is a bit more unusual than Murali. I have not seen any bowler like this.

"Mendis is difficult to pick because he is a very different bowler. Even if you pick him up, by the time you realise what the ball is it gets very late to play a big shot. But it is not only about playing. You have to rotate the strike because you don't want a bowler to end up ten overs for 20 runs.

"But if you see the way he has played the two games against us, even in the Asia Cup, he gave away just ten runs in six or eight overs. You need to take a few from him and a few from Murali and look to attack the others. You've got to have something on the board."

Dhoni emphasised that a good start was essential for his side to get to a substantial total. "We were off to a good start in the Asia Cup but then we lost quick wickets," Dhoni said. "After that when you are playing Mendis it's difficult. It gets a bit tough when you have to rotate the strike and also save the wicket if the bowler is as unusual as Mendis.

"Once you get used to the variations then it gets easy for the batsmen. The only option right now is to play more and more of him and that's the only way of getting better. You can see a thousand videos but it doesn't matter until you go out there and play him off the track from 20 yards."

Dhoni's counterpart Mahela Jayawardene, however warned his side of a backlash similar to that of India's victory in the second Test in Galle after a heavy innings defeat in Colombo.

"Definitely, they will come back strongly. They have a very good side and they have a lot of talented individual players who can change the match for them," Jayawardene said. "So we will make sure we will play the same brand of cricket that we played today."

Jayawardene said the absence of Virender Sehwag for the remainder of the series with a twisted ankle will hurt India. Sehwag was India's leading run-scorer in the Tests with 344 runs and his double-hundred shaped the victory in Galle.

"Virender is a big-game player. It's important for them to have him. But we are playing against India and not against individuals. That's what we did in the Test matches as well. He can come and do his job but our task is to make sure it won't happen."

Jayawardene, who scored an unbeaten 61 off 82 balls, said it was important he was able to finish the game off. "We knew it was going to be tough, the Indian fast bowlers came strongly and bowled at the good areas. When I was batting with Kumar [Sangakkara], I said 'let's bat the 15-20 overs, that's crucial.' Unfortunately, Kumar got out but I thought Chamara Kapugedera batted really well. So we need to keep this momentum going. It's important that we consistently put partnerships and score runs. That's where the difference would be."

Remorseless Sri Lanka thrash India

Sri Lanka v India, 1st ODI, Dambulla

Remorseless Sri Lanka thrash India

August 18, 2008

Sri Lanka 147 for 2 (Mahela 61*, Kapugedera 45) beat India 146 (Mendis 3-21, Murali 3-37) by eight wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

The actors were different from the Test series but the script remained the same. India were injected with fresh blood but couldn't escape the slow poison of M&M. Chaminda Vaas and Nuwan Kulasekara did the initial work before Ajantha Mendis and Muttiah Muralitharan blew away the rest to bowl out India for 146. Without having to contend with the pressure of a high asking rate, a serene Mahela Jayawardene weathered the minor hiccup of the loss of the openers and steered his side home in the company of Chamara Kapugedera.

You couldn't escape the sense of deja-vu. Having lost the toss, Jayawardene delayed the introduction of the spinners till the 20th over, but when Mendis finally appeared, it was evident his spell over the batsmen remained unbroken.

India's plight was best exemplified by the dismissal of Yuvraj Singh. He had struggled against the seamers, surviving a dropped chance at five against Kulasekara, before Mendis swallowed him in a spectacular first over. It was quite a sight. The first ball hastened past a mystified Yuvraj, the second-ball skidder fetched a plausible appeal for lbw, and the third saw a desperate counterattack clear the field and the boundary. The fourth was the carrom ball; thinking it would spin away, Yuvraj pushed his bat well outside the line but the ball straightened to sound the death knell.

And Mendis dealt the killer blow almost immediately when he drew Mahendra Singh Dhoni into edging his legbreak to slip. The tailenders resisted briefly but India folded up for a measly score. It was the culmination of the good start provided by the seamers. Aided by the seam movement on a two-paced track - grassy areas punctuated by patches of dry areas - both new-ball bowlers kept it simple: Vaas interspersed his angling full-length deliveries with ones that straightened while Kulasekara troubled the batsmen with his incutters to the right-hand batsmen.

Vaas, overshadowed by Mendis and Murali during the Test series, reminded India just why he is the highest wicket-taker in India-Sri Lanka ODI encounters by breaching the defences of the in-form Gautam Gambhir with the second ball of the match. Kumar Sangakkara stood up to the stumps right away to prevent Gambhir's usual walk down the track and Gambhir drove completely outside the line.

Smart Stats

Sri Lanka's eight-wicket win is their fourth in succession in Dambulla against India, who have never beaten the home team here.
India's 146 is their lowest ODI score in a 50-over game against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka.
In 24 ODIs in Dambulla, the team batting first has on 12 occasions failed to get to 200.
Gautam Gambhir's wicket was Chaminda Vaas' 399th in ODIs, putting him just one short of joining Wasim Akram, Muralitharan and Waqar Younis in the 400-wicket club.
Murali's 3 for 37 improves his record in Dambulla to 32 wickets in 13 ODIs at an average of 13.25 and an economy rate of 3.32.
The extent of Sri Lanka's dominance can be gauged from the fact that in the first 15 overs of India's innings, they were forced to play out 69 dot balls, which is 11.5 overs. Over the entire innings India couldn't score from 204 out of 276 deliveries.

One by one, they stumbled. Suresh Raina never looked in, constantly flirting outside off, eventually succumbing to his urge to drive on the up. The debutant Virat Kohli, replacing Virender Sehwag who'd twisted his ankle in practice, was no better. He was unsure of whether to go forward or back during his stay and was caught dead in front by an incutter from Kulasekara.

Kulasekara should have got the next man, Yuvraj but Jayawardene fluffed a regulation chance at second slip. Yuvraj's start was typical: the bat was tentatively pushed away from the body a few times before he broke free with a well-timed clip through the on side. Emboldened, he went for the on-the-up flash and the resultant edge should have terminated his stay. After that, though he never looked completely at ease, he started to play close to the body. That was until Mendis arrived.

Rohit started cautiously, opening the bat face to pinch singles, before he suddenly, and against the run of play, walked down the wicket and swung a short-of-a-length delivery from Vaas over deep midwicket in the 16th over. However, immediately after Mendis sent Yuvraj packing, Rohit steered a delivery slanted across him straight to the solitary wide slip and India continued to free fall.

Sri Lanka, too, wobbled initially in the run chase against some disciplined bowling from Munaf Patel - who prised out the openers - and Zaheer Khan. On a day when the Indian batsmen were shamed, their bowlers provided brief moments of consolation. After six overs of stalemate, Sanath Jayasuriya lost his patience. He skipped down the track but skied the lofted carve to mid-on. Sangakkara, too, fell to the urge to dominate, getting a leading edge from an attempted whip across the line.

However, Jayawardene took charge, looking good from the go. He creamed the seamers through the covers, a gorgeous on-the-up off drive off Munaf in the 17th over being the highlight. Dhoni introduced spin in the 23rd over but even he would have known that neither Harbhajan Singh nor Pragyan Ojha could have produced any miracles. The target was simply not enough on this track.

Munaf was the best Indian bowler on the view. He repeatedly whipped the ball down from a loose-limbed action and got the ball to either cut back in or shape away from the off stump. He might have even bowled the best ball of the day by a medium-pacer when he got one to seam away late past Jayawardene's bat but, as in the Tests, the Indian batsmen hardly gave the bowlers any cover to fire. The Sri Lankan summer of mystery continues to taunt and tease the Indians.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Fleming steps into Olympic push for Twenty20

Gilchrist chases support for global proposal

Fleming steps into Olympic push for Twenty20

Stephen Fleming, the former New Zealand captain, has joined Adam Gilchrist in promoting Twenty20 for the 2020 Olympics in a bid to spread the game throughout the world. Gilchrist raised the idea on Monday and says he has already received support from players in New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka.

While Fleming and Gilchrist have retired from internationals, they are both involved in the Indian Premier League and see huge potential in the Twenty20 format. "The Olympics would be the greatest vehicle to spread the game worldwide and it would be a logical fit," Fleming said in the Australian.

Gilchrist said his proposal was a "call to arms for the game's administrators" and James Sutherland, Cricket Australia's chief executive, is excited by it. "When you think of the Olympics, you also think of the big nations like the US, Russia and now China," Sutherland told the paper. "Those regions are clearly potential growth opportunities for cricket and we see Twenty20 at the Olympics as a superb vehicle."

For cricket to be included in 2020 it would need to be approved by the International Olympic Committee in 2013. The game received Olympic "recognition status" last year, but it faces a battle with other sports, such as golf, karate and baseball, to become part of the programme.

Waugh joins Olympic Twenty20 push

Ganguly and Fleming support global proposal for 2020 Games

Waugh joins Olympic Twenty20 push

Steve Waugh, who led Australia to a Commonwealth Games silver medal, is part of a growing group of current and former players who have supported Adam Gilchrist's push for Twenty20 to be part of the 2020 Olympics. Gilchrist raised the idea on Monday and since then a series of big names, including Kumar Sangakkara, Sourav Ganguly and Stephen Fleming, have climbed on board.

Waugh, a mentor of the Australian Olympic team in Beijing, said the idea was "definitely worth pursuing". "If you want to globalise the game then you have to look at including countries like China and the United States, and getting cricket into the Olympics will fast-track that move," Waugh told the Press Association.

In 1998 Waugh captained Australia at the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur and said it was the "time of my life". "Winning the silver medal was one of the highlights of my career," he said. And he believes Twenty20 will become a "worldwide phenomenon" over the next few years.

"The Olympic Games would provide the perfect platform to showcase the game to a larger audience, drawing in new fans and helping drive cricket development in emerging cricket countries," Sangakkara wrote in the Times of India. "The snowball effect this could be enormous. 2020 may seem like a long way away but we need to start the process now.

"From a player's perspective, the privilege of competing at an Olympic Games would undoubtedly be a highlight of your career."

The proposal has also received backing from Fleming, Ganguly, VVS Laxman and Yuvraj Singh. While Fleming and Gilchrist have retired from internationals, they are both involved in the Indian Premier League and see huge potential in the Twenty20 format.

"The Olympics would be the greatest vehicle to spread the game worldwide and it would be a logical fit," Fleming said in the Australian. Ganguly also took a global view of the possible development.

"It will help the players to be part of a worldwide movement," he said in the Deccan Chronicle. "Cricket is an exciting sport and should definitely be part of the Olympics."

Laxman said representing India at an Olympics would be a "great honour" while Yuvraj felt it was an excellent initiative. "Should cricket make it to the Olympics," he said, "it would be significant, especially to our country where the game is most loved."