KKR beat RCB by 9 wickets to stay in hunt for semis berth

Bangalore, Sept 29: Kolkata Knight Riders kept their chances of qualifying for the semi-finals alive by comfortably beating Royal Challengers Bangalore by 9 wickets in a Champions League Twenty20 match here on Sep 29, Thursday.

Chasing a challenging target of 170, the KKR top-order batted beautifully to knock off the runs in only 17.3 overs.

The most heartening fact was skipper Gautam Gambhir''s return to form as he clobbered the RCB bowlers to score an unbeaten 55 off 31 balls (3x4, 4x6) and added 109 runs with the ever-consistent Jacques Kallis for the undefeated second wicket. Kallis scored another fluent half century remaining undefeated on 64 in 47 balls with four boundaries and six.

Brad Haddin who played his first match blasted his way to a 27-ball 42 and released the initial pressure as Jacques Kallis also started playing shots at the other end.

Haddin was in a mood to spoil the party for young left-arm seamer Sreenath Aravind who was selected to play for India, was tonked for 19 runs in one over including two huge sixes and a four.

The duo added 62 runs in 7.1 overs before RCB tossed one up and Haddin gave a simple catch to Virat Kohli in the covers.

In walked skipper Gautam Gambhir and looked far more determined than what he had looked in recent months. He concentrated hard, ran the singles and twos well and also hit a few crisp boundaries. Gambhir-Kallis added 50 runs in only 31 balls to lay the foundation of an impressive victory.

The best part was sixes that Gambhir hit. One was off Vettori over deep mid-wicket while the next one was straight over Dirk Nannes'' head over long. Just to make a point he moved towards off-stump and lifted Nannes over deep fine leg to complete his 50 off 30 balls.

Earlier, a splendid rear guard action by skipper Daniel Vettori helped Royal Challengers Bangalore post a challenging 169 for nine.

  

CSK beat Cape Cobras by four wickets

Chennai, Sep 28: Chennai Super Kings beat Cape Cobras by four wickets in a Champions League Twenty20 match here on Sep 28, Wednesday.
Brief scores:

Cape Cobras: 145 for 7 in 20 overs (Owais Shah 45, J P Duminy 29; Albie Morkel 2/26, Dwayne Bravo 2/23).
Chennai Super Kings: 146 for 6 in 19.4 overs (Dwayne Bravo 46, Mike Hussey 29, Suresh Raina 20; JP Duminy 4/20, Vernon Philander 2/36).

Shah, Duminy take Cobras to 145/7 against Chennai

Chennai, Sep 28: Owais Shah and J P Duminy chipped in with useful contributions as Cape Cobras set Chennai Super Kings a modest target of 146 in their Champions League Twenty20 match here today.

Cobras, who at one stage looked set to score over 170, were done in by pacer Albie Morkel, who put the breaks on the visitors'' scoring rate by claiming two important wickets.

At the end of 16th over, Cobras were comfortably placed at 124 for three, thanks to some brisk batting by Shah and Duminy, but once the former (45 off 38 balls) fell to Morkel, Cobras lost the plot, losing wickets at regular intervals.

Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin got rid of Richard Levi (6) off his first delivery when he had the opener trapped to provide Chennai their first breakthrough.

The Cobras slumped to 40 for two in the fifth over as Herschelle Gibbs (18) too departed, miscuing a Doug Bollinger delivery, but not before playing some exquisite strokes.

After the departure of both the openers, Dane Vilas (18) and Shah kept the scoreboard moving with occasional fours as the South African T20 champions crossed the 50-run mark in the seventh over.

As the batsmen were settling down, Dwayne Bravo bowled Vilas with a slower one that straightened after pitching.

Vilas struck a four and a six in his 19-ball knock.

But the loss did not stop Shah from taking risk as he first plundered two consecutive fours off Bollinger in the 11th over and then hit slow left-arm orthodox Shadab Jakati for a huge six over long-on to keep the scoreboard tickling.

Shah and J P Duminy (29), who came at the fall of Vilas, took the team past 100 in 12.4 overs.

Teams:

Chennai Super Kings: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Capt.), Michael Hussey, Murali , Suresh Raina, S Badrinath, Albie Morkel, Dwayne Bravo, Wriddhiman Saha, R Ashwin, Doug Bollinger, Shadab Jakati.

Cape Cobras: Justin Kemp (Capt.), Richard Levi, Herschelle Gibbs, Jean-Paul Duminy, Owais Shah, Dane Vilas, Vernon Philander, Justin Ontong, Robin Peterson, Dale Steyn.

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South Australia beat KKR by 19 runs

Hyderabad, Sep 27: Callum Ferguson scored a majestic unbeaten half-century to power South Australia Redbacks to a convincing 19 runs win over Kolkata Knight Riders in a Champions League Twenty20 match in Hyderabad on Sep 27, Tuesday.

Ferguson produced a blistering 40-ball 70-run unbeaten knock and together with Daniel Christian (42) added 84 runs
off just 48 deliveries for the fourth wicket to help South Australia post a challenging 188 for five in their 20 overs.

And then the Australian team produced a disciplined bowling and fielding effort to restrict KKR to 169 for nine.

Manoj Tiwary top-scored for KKR with 40 off 31 balls while Ryan ten Doeschate (32 off 16) played a useful handful
towards the end. Gary Putland (3-31) and Daniel Harris (3-42) shone with the ball for South Australia sharing six wickets between them.

For KKR, it their second consecutive defeat after having lost to Somerset by five wickets in their tournament opener.
On the other hand, the win opened South Australia's account in the tournament following their 50-run loss to Warriors in the opening match.

Chasing the steep target KKR were never in the hunt as they lost wickets at regular intervals. KKR's chase started on a shaky note, losing three wickets including captain Gautam Gambhir, inside the 50-run mark.

Opener Manvinder Bisla (13) showed promise hitting Nathan Lyon for three fours in the first over before he was cleaned up by Kane Richardson in the next. Shakib Al Hasan (13) and Gambhir (9) failed to live upto their reputation and were dismissed cheaply as KKR slumped to 51 for three after seven overs.

Jacques Kallis (20) and Tiwary raised visions of a fightback stitching 35 runs off 25 balls for the fourth wicket before the former was snared caught and bowled by Harris. Big-hitting Yusuf Pathan (5) and Tiwary then departed in consecutive overs to make life difficult for KKR.

Earlier Ferguson's scored a unbeaten half-century while Christian made a quickfire 42 to help South Australia post a challenging 188 for five.

Ferguson mixed caution with aggression to anchor the South Australia innings with a majestic 40-ball 70-run unbeaten knock. He struck five boundaries and four sixes.

The 48-ball 84-run fourth-wicket stand between Ferguson and Christian was the highlight of South Australia innings as the partnership consolidated their position at a slow Rajiv Gandhi stadium wicket.

Christian matched his partner stroke for stroke and hit four fours and two sixes during his 27-ball stay. For KKR, Laxmipathy Balaji picked up two wickets for 27 runs.

Opting to bat, captain Micheal Klinger and Daniel Harris gave a brisk start to South Australia's innings raising 40
runs in just five overs. But just when it was time to capitalise both the batsmen gave away their wickets.

While Harris miscued a cross-bated heave to give a simple catch to Iqbal Abdullah off Laxmipathy Balaji's bowling, Klinger was run out in search of a risky single.

Cameron Borgas (14 off 13) too departed early, caught by Balaji at deep square leg off Pathan.

Ferguson, however, grabbed with both hands the lifeline he got in the 13th over on individual score of 18 when Jacques Kallis dropped him in the long-on boundary off Pathan. Ferguson added salt to Pathan's wound by spanking him for three boundaries and a six to pick up 20 runs of his next and innings' 15th over.

Christian was not to be left behind as he hit Abdullah for a four and six to notch up 15 runs of the next over. Both the batsmen used their long handle to great effect towards the end to score a mammoth 50 runs of the last three overs.


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Mumbai Indians look to continue winning run

 Bangalore, Sept 25: Having clinched a nail biting victory over Chennai Super Kings, the Harbhajan Singh led Mumbai Indians will be hoping to continue their winning run in the Champions League Twenty20 tournament when they take on Trinidad and Tobago here tomorrow.

Mumbai Indians looked pale for most part of the game against Chennai yesterday, but Lasith Malinga's heroics saved them the blushes.

The Sri Lankan was the star of the night as he claimed three wickets and scored a quick fire 18-ball 37 in the death overs.

Malinga's cameo helped Mumbai Indians snatch a thrilling three wicket victory in what could be a morale booster of sorts for the depleted outfit, handicapped by the absence of Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma.

For Trinidad and Tobago, Malinga will be the man to watch out for as the maverick Lankan import will be hoping for an encore of sorts.

However, Darren Ganga's men cannot be taken lightly as they have the ability to spring a surprise, having come through the qualifying matches with a clean slate, winning both their games impressively.

This time around, T&T, the 2009 finalist, will be aiming to go one better and lift the trophy. Trinidad and Tobago have the players who can deliver in the shortest version of the game.

Kieron Pollard, who opted to play for Mumbai Indians despite being part of the Trinidad side, will look to pull off all his tricks to upset his Caribbean mates. Interestingly, Pollard led T&T to the final of the CL T20 tournament two years ago in India.

  
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I didn't cheat anyone, don't know about Akhtar's claims: SRK,

Mumbai, Sept 24: IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders owner Shah Rukh Khan says he has no clue about the allegations levelled against him by retired Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar, who has claimed that he should never have listened to the Bollywood star while joining the IPL.

Shoaib, in his autobiography 'Controversially Yours', has claimed that he was betrayed by the IPL then as he made him agree to joining KKR for money which was less than what he was offered in the now defunct ICL.

The pacer goes on to say that he should not have taken the advice offered by Shah Rukh on the matter.

Reacting to this, Shah Rukh pleaded ignorance on the matter.

"I don't know all this. I did not cheat anyone," said the actor.

In his book, Akhtar has said, "Shah Rukh and I talked about my not being happy with the money settled on me. Shah Rukh and Modi got me to agree. I should have never listened to Modi and Shah Rukh."

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Warriors beat RCB by 3 wickets

Bangalore, Sep 23: Warriors beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by three wickets in their Champions League Twenty20 match here today.

Brief Scores:

Royal Challengers Bangalore: 172 for 8 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 34, AB de Villiers 31, Saurabh Tiwary 28, Mohammad Kaif 26, Chris Gayle 23; Rusty Theron 4/29).

Warriors: 173 for 7 in 20 overs (Ashwell Prince 74, Johan Botha 42; Daniel Vettori 2/26, Abhimanyu Mithun 2/25).

RCB post challenging 172 for 8 against Warriors

Useful contributions from the batsmen helped Royal Challengers Bangalore post a challenging 172 for eight in their Champions League Twenty20 match against Warriors here today.

Sent into bat, RCB got off to a flier despite the early loss of opener Mayank Agarwal, with the big-hitting Chris Gayle going after the bowlers in his customary style from the word go.

After Gayle got out while trying to hit Parnell after scoring 23 off 14 balls, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers kept the scoreboard moving by playing some effective shots.

While Kohli scored 34 off 29 balls with the help of four boundaries, de Villiers contributed 31 off 25 and hit two sixes and a four.

Thereafter, Saurabh Tiwary made a breezy 28 that came off only 15 deliveries.

During his whirlwind knock, Tiwary smashed two sixes and as many fours before falling to Nicky Boje.

Earlier, the Warriors were off to a perfect start as Lonwabo Tsotsobe removed Agarwal with the fourth delivery of the match.

Gayle along with Kohli then steadied the innings with a 33-run stand before the later got out.

Thanks to Gayle''s approach, the fifty was up in the sixth over, with the first powerplay producing 57 runs, though, for the loss of two wickets.

However, the partnership that gave RCB the much-needed impetus in the middle overs was the one between Kohli and De Villiers. Their association yielded 52 runs and came off 41 balls, with the team''s hundred coming in the 12th over.

After the dismissal of Tiwary, Mohammad Kaif blazed away to a 20-ball 26 during which he hit two sixes and a four before Rusty Theron cut short his stay at the wicket.

Theron was the most successful bowler with figures of four for 29 in three overs.

Somerset beat Auckland by four wickets in CLT20

Hyderabad, Sep 20: Auckland Aces were knockout of the Champions League Twenty20 tournament after they suffered a four-wicket defeat against Somerset in a nail-biting qualifying match here today.

Electing to bat, Auckland could never recover from their disastrous start where they lost three wickets for 14 runs in 3.1 overs and were restricted by Somerset to 125 for seven in their stipulated 20 overs.

Lou Vincent provided some resistance with an unbeaten run-a-ball 47, laced with three fours and a six, but with wickets tumbling on the other hand, he could do very little.

Somerset batsmen then achieved the target in the last ball of the match to keep their hopes alive of qualifying for the main tournament. They will take on Kolkata in a virtual knock-out tomorrow.

Chasing 126 to win, Somerset opener Chris Jones blasted three quick fours before a stunning catch at point by Jimmy Adams off Kyle Mills ended his innings.

RE van der Merwe and Peter Trego then took Somerset across the fifty mark but Ronnie Hira struck in the ninth over, removing the former to reduce them to 52 for two.

Michael Bates then struck twice in two balls, dismissing Trego and Nick Compton, as all of sudden Somerset slipped to 54 for four in 9.2 overs.

Fifteen balls later, Chris Martin removed Arul Suppiah (3) as Somerset lost half their side, still needing 62 off 49 balls.

James Hildreth and Steve Snell then joined hands and stitched 61 runs off 48 balls to take Somerset on the threshold of victory.

Hildreth was run-out in the second last delivery of their innings when he tried to steal an extra run but it didn''t have any bearing on the results as next batsman Thomas scored the winning runs in the last ball of the match.

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India team tried to win againts England

 Chennai, Sep 19: Back from a disastrous tour of England, off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin today (Sept 19) said that the Test series loss had left the India team low in confidence but the side still "fought to win every match even more than it had during the World Cup".

"To be frank, the confidence level was low. But I can say that the team fought to win every match even more than it had during the World Cup. Everybody competed fiercely," said Ashwin.

"But more than the England players, we had to compete withoutfield became very wet after the rains. a lot of other
"We were very confident of taking them on, but certain things didn't go our way. Let's just say luck didn't work in our favour," he added.

Ashwin admitted that the Indian team has been playing a lot of cricket but said that as professionals it is the responsibility of the players to manage the workload.

"I joined the Indian team only from the ODI series, so I've been away for about 45 days. I don't think there is much point in discussing the fatigue factor. We're all professional cricketers, so we can't really complain.

"Definitely a lot of cricket is being played, but it's part and parcel of the game. If you give me a month off, there's no guarantee that I won't get injured in that time span. So, it's completely about how you look after yourself, how you manage yourself," he said. 

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Sri Lanka take lead in final Aussies Test

Colombo, Sep 18: Skipper Tillakaratne Dilshan finally struck form with a fluent 83 as Sri Lanka surpassed Australia''s 316 in the third and final cricket Test in Colombo today.

The hosts, seeking a series-levelling win, moved to 337-5 by tea on the third day at the Sinhalese Sports Club, a lead of 21 runs with five wickets in hand.

Dilshan, who had contributed just 56 runs in the previous four innings of the series, hammered 14 boundaries before he was caught behind off Trent Copeland just before tea.

Vice-captain Angelo Mathews returned unbeaten on 42, having shared a fifth-wicket stand of 121 with his skipper after Australia threatened to take charge in the morning session.

Sri Lanka, who resumed at the overnight score of 166-2, lost Mahela Jayawardene for 51 and Kumar Sangakkara for 79 in his 100th Test appearance in the morning session.

The star pair added 101 for the third wicket as Sri Lanka moved to a commanding 198-2 within the first 45 minutes.

The duo, whose stand of 624 against South Africa at the same venue in 2006 is a world record for any wicket, appeared to have settled in for the long haul when Australia earned a lucky break.

Jayawardene batted aggressively in the morning session to hit four boundaries but chased a wide ball from Shane Watson and edged a catch to wicket-keeper Brad Haddin.

Jayawardene, who has hit 10 Test hundreds at the SSC, managed only a half-century this time.

Dilshan, an opening batsman who demoted himself to number five for this match, had a harrowing start to his innings.

He left the first delivery from Watson, which dipped in dangerously close to the off-stump and had yet to get off the mark when a miscued shot off Watson fell just short of a diving at mid-on.

Dilshan opened his account with a flick off Mitchell Johnson for a boundary, which also brought up Sri Lanka''s 200.

Australia claimed the second new ball after 81 overs and met with immediate success when Peter Siddle dismissed a well-set Sangakkara with the fourth delivery.

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Yusuf sizzles as KKR win practice match

 Hyderabad, Sep 13: A quick-fire half-century by all-rounder Yusuf Pathan helped Kolkata Knight Riders defeat Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) by five wickets in a practice match ahead of the IPL franchisee's Champions League qualifying engagements.

KKR chased a target of 131 runs in 15.2 overs with Pathan, who hit four sixes and three fours, smashing 53 in 38 balls.

Delhi all-rounder Rajat Bhatia too made a useful contribution, scoring 41 off just 29 balls with the help of six fours.

Among Hyderabad bowlers, C V Milind scalped three wickets, while Sarvajit took two. Earlier, electing to bat first, HCA made 130 for loss of six wickets in 20 overs. Neeraj Bist top-scored for the team with a whirlwind knock of 51 runs in just 30 balls.

For Knight Riders, Pawan Negi claimed three wickets, while L Balaji and Jaidev Unadkat scalped two and one wicket respectively.

The qualifiers of the Champions T20 League will begin on September 19 at the Rajiv Gandhi International cricket stadium here with KKR clashing with Auckland Aces.

KKR will lock horns with Somerset on September 21 in their second and last qualifying match.

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Tendulkar lone Indian in ICC Test XI of the Year

London, Sep 13: The Indian cricket team summer of discontent in the longest format of the game was reflected in the ICC ''Test Team of the Year'' in which senior was the only player from the country to make the cut.

While Tendulkar took his customary number four spot for the third year running, Zaheer Khan was the other Indian to make it to the team squad albeit as a 12th man.

As was expected, England made up almost half of the team with five of their players -Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann and James Anderson -- making it to the list.

The duration of the period on which the players were judged on their performance was between August 11, 2010 and August 3, 2011.

Tendulkar made 973 runs in 10 Tests at an average of 64.86 during the stipulated period. The other players to make it to the Test team of the year included four South African cricketers -- Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Jacques Kallis and Dale Steyn.

Interestingly, Kumar Sangakkara has been picked in the side as captain and wicketkeeper though the Sri Lankan doesn't perform any of the two duties for his country any longer.

Cook made 1302 runs from 12 matches at 76.58 which included six centuries and four half centuries. Trott, on his part, amassed 1042 runs from 12 Tests at 65.12 with four centuries and three half centuries. Anderson was splendid with the ball, picking up 50 wickets in 11 Tests at 25.48.

Test team of the year (in batting order): Kumar Sangakkara (capt/wk), Alastair Cook, Hashim Amla, Jonathan Trott, Sachin Tendulkar, AB de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, Dale Steyn, James Anderson, Zaheer Khan (12th man).

I will not crib about the tie, says Dhoni

                                             
India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni took the result of the fourth One-day International against England, which ended in a tie here today, in his stride. Rain forced the match between the two sides to end in a dramatic tie under the Duckworth-Lewis-method
"I will not crib about the tie. Today when the ball got wet, we had enough resources. We know (Suresh) Raina has fair amount of firepower and if he gets going, can destroy any attack in the world. We have not won anything. It has been a long tour, we have one more game, we will give it our best," Dhoni said after the match.

As for Ravindra Jadeja, Dhoni said, "Jadeja is doing his job brilliantly. In conditions like these, it is hard for the part-timers."

Jadeja conceded 60 runs for a wicket from nine overs and also made a wild overthrow in the 40th over of the innings, which helped England in scoring 15 scoring runs.

England captain Alastair Cook though the tie was a "fair" result.

"It was touch and go towards the end, we ended up batting for D/L, being more defensive knocking off the singles, not sure when the rain was coming. Tie was a fair result. Great to see (Ravi) Bopara delivering on the big stage to get us a tie," Cook said.

Bopara scored 96 to bring England within sniffing distance of a victory, and Cook was, understandably, appreciative of his batsman''s effort.

"We tried everything earlier but that partnership (between Dhoni and Raina) was fantastic. If we had kept them to 250, we could have got there comfortably. Possibly we missed Dernbach. We will know on (Stuart) Broad in 48 hours," Cook said.
Raina, who struck a blazing 84 off 75 balls, said, the plan was to hit the balls in his zone.

"I was batting well but not getting big scores. My game plan is simple, when I get the ball in my areas, I play my game. Disappointing for Ravi to not have got the 100," Raina said.

More than missing out on a well-deserved century, Bopara was disappointed with the way his side had to clinch the series.

"Not an ideal way to clinch the series, with the rain around, we did not know when to accelerate. Should I knock it for ones and twos, or go for the big shots, once (Graeme) Swann got out I thought we should really go for it towards the close. (The) last couple of games have been nice for me, (but still a) long way to go
ahead," Bopara said.




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I am 100% fit and raring to go: Harbhajan Singh

Bangalore, Sep 9: Feisty Indian off-spinner has declared himself fully fit for the upcoming Champions League T20 tournament to held in India from Sep 19. It can be recalled that Harbhajan had to return mid-way from the tour of England due to an abdominal strain.

Harbhajan who is became the third Indian bowler to claim 400 wickets or more in Test matches, underwent rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.

He was quoted by the Mid-Day as saying, "I am 100% fit and raring to go for all the cricket ahead. I have worked really hard at the NCA. I am looking forward to the Champions League T20, and also the coming (against England and West Indies)."

Stating that the injury came at the wrong time, he said, "Obviously, the injury came at the wrong time. But, I don't think about the timing - it's always bad - whether it was in a home series or away series. An injury is an injury. There was lot of sadness to come back home soon."

The off-spinner who is likely to lead the Mumbai Indians in the absence of skipper Sachin Tendulkar, sounded optimistic about returning to form soon. He said, "I have never felt this good about my bowling. This is going to be a rebirth of sorts for me. I am going to get my rhythm back. I am honest to myself and know that I have a lot more to contribute for the country. This is a new beginning. I still have four or five years of cricket left in me.



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Banned Asif learning Anderson's tricks against India

Karachi, Sep 8: Serving a five-year ban for involvement in spot-fixing, Pakistan pacer Muhammad Asif says he has been watching James Anderson's performance against India very closely and would try employing the England seamer's tactics if he manages to make a comeback.

"I have watched James Anderson's bowling very closely again and again and it has been very interesting watching him bowl. When I come back to even after the time away I will be thinking about how Anderson bowled against India and will use that for my benefit. If you think you are the finished article and don't need to learn from others then you are wrong," Asif told ''pakpassion.net''.

"I love watching Test cricket. Test cricket for me is the pinnacle, the real deal. The England versus India Test series was fascinating, I really enjoyed it. I watched more of the England vs India match as I wanted to see Anderson bowling," he said.

Asif also felt that Anderson is bowling with the similar skills and tactics that he had previously used.

"Only someone like myself who has bowled like Anderson, with a similar style of bowling can truly appreciate what he is doing with the cricket ball and how well he is bowling these days. Anderson has not been playing cricket against the Indians, he has been playing with their minds," he elaborated.

"He has truly out-thought and baffled the Indians with his artistry and skill. It reminded me so much of what (Mohammad) Amir and I did at times last year to the Australian and English batsmen. If Anderson carries on bowling the way he has been recently and continues to improve then he can become a cricket legend," he said.

Asif has admitted that being caught up in the spot-fixing scandal and then being banned has been mentally very tough for him and the events had left him extremely disappointed.

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Lankan cricketers not focussed enough: Ranatunga

Melbourne, Sep 7: Former Sri Lanka captain says a lot of his country's cricketers are putting money ahead of nation and should take inspiration from Australian skipper Michael Clarke, who has shunned lucrative Twenty20 events such as the IPL to focus on Tests.

"I'm really impressed with the way Michael Clarke has been captaining," Ranatunga told 'The Herald'.

"His passion for cricket, rather than thinking of earning money and focusing on other areas - not only the IPL but all these shorter versions - is admirable. There are lots of cricketers today who will sacrifice their country for money," he added.

Ranatunga criticised the Sri Lankan team, which lost the opening Test at Galle to Australia by 125 runs.

"I'm not really sure if (Sri Lanka) are focused enough to play the longer version. I am very disappointed with the commitment of most of the players, in particular I am really worried about a couple of the batsmen and their commitment to the longer version of the game. I think we look much better than Australia on paper, but they are more committed."

Ranatunga said Sri Lankan cricket would be in doldrums once senior players such as Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan retire.

"We will really struggle after Mahela, Sangakkara and Dilshan retire. They will all go at the same time," he said.

                                                

England favourites against injury-hit India:

Eng withhold plans to unveil 'secret delivery'

 London, Sep 5: England had planned to use a "secret delivery" to flummox Indian batsmen in the ongoing ODI series but the idea was dropped as the team management thought it would be banned for being against the spirit of the game.

According to a report in 'The Daily Telegraph', England bowler's have been preparing to unveil a new delivery which the England management claim to be legal, although they expect will be quickly banned."

"The plan was to use it either in the current one-day international series against India or in the return series in India next month, but may now be prevented by the outcry it could cause."

The daily said that England's bowlers even experimented with it during a private net-session at the Riverside ground. The experiment involves "the bowler tossing the ball from his left hand to his right hand just before release."

Although the English team management doesn't consider such a delivery to be illegal, it feels the ball would be banned by the ICC if used.

International Cricket Council will move quickly to ban this experiment, if they introduce it during the last four internationals of this series or in India. And trying this delivery during India's tour of England, so soon after the Ian Bell incident at Trent Bridge, would be another test of diplomatic relations between the two most powerful boards of the cricket world," the newspaper said.

This new delivery may be banned under Law 42.1 which states, 'The responsibility lies with the captains for ensuring that play is conducted within the spirit and traditions of the game.


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Rain saved England and the blushes against the India

London, September 4: Rain gods intervened to save England from a very possible defeat against World Champions India in the first  five match series. Needing 275 to run, England were in doldrums losing their openers for just 27 runs on board before incessant rain came to save the day for them. Before the match was abandoned, both the English openers,  and Craig were removed .

India had posted a challenging total of 274 for England to win the first  five cricket match series. Earlier England won the toss and elected to field first.

India suffered a big jolt ahead of the match as Sachin was ruled out due to an inflammation in the toe.

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