India v Sri Lanka 2009/10

Lunch Sri Lanka 138 for 5 (Mahela 26*, Prasanna 2*) trail India 642 (Gambhir 167, Dravid 144, Sehwag 137, Herath 5-121) by 504 runs
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

The prodigal son Sreesanth returned in style with a three-wicket haul to rattle Sri Lanka on the third day of the second Test in Kanpur. For nine successive overs, Sreesanth ran in hard, got close to the stumps, hit the deck and found enough life in a slow pitch to leave Sri Lanka struggling to avoid follow on.

Green Park was the venue where Sreesanth played his last Test 19 months ago before he disappeared from the sports pages and made occasional appearances on Page 3. Today, he stormed back, lifting India with a spell that read: 9-2-28-3.

It was a classical spell of seam bowling: Sreesanth's pace wasn't frightening (135 kmph was the average), there were no fiery bouncers and he didn't swing it around corners, but what he did was land ball after ball on a probing line and length and cut it either way just enough to test the batsmen. He had his share of luck too - two batsmen played on off the inside edge - and Sri Lanka's batsmen didn't tailor their techniques to the demands of the pitch.

Instead of playing as close to the body as possible on a pitch with variable bounce, the batsmen erred by playing away. Tharanga Paranavitana was set up by a bouncer that crashed into his shoulder before he pushed at one cutting away from him. Kumar Sangakkara, who faced 24 deliveries from Zaheer Khan today, fell in the first over he faced off Sreesanth. Sangakkara played out three straight deliveries but was lured into a cover drive by a full wide one and ended up dragging it on to his stumps. Thilan Samaraweera was the next to go, pushing hard and early at a length delivery cutting away from him.

With Sreesanth, as always, it's not just his bowling but the entire package of quirky traits that catches attention. Today, those signature self-exhortations at the top of the run-up were not seen too often, nor was there any special celebration after a wicket.

Not everything went Sreesanth's way though. He produced an edge from his best delivery but it didn't get him a wicket. Mahela Jayawardene, on zero, pushed at one that cut away late and got an edge but neither MS Dhoni nor Sachin Tendulkar at first slip went for the catch. It was the keeper's catch. Jayawardene got another reprieve on 25 when he edged a late cut off Harbhajan Singh to first slip where Rahul Dravid couldn't hold on to a sharp chance. Harbhajan, who had Angelo Matthews bowled playing down the wrong line, was in the middle of a probing spell but the two Jayawardenes survived.

India v Australia, 7th ODI, Mumbai

Match facts

Wednesday, November 11
Start time 14.30 local time (09.00GMT)

Big Picture

	India have struggled to counter Doug Bolinger's pinpoint accuracy © Getty Images
Related Links News : 5-2 sounds a lot better than 4-3 - Ponting Players/Officials: Doug Bollinger | Sachin Tendulkar Series/Tournaments: Australia tour of India Teams: Australia | India

For India, it's a bleak and depressing one. Three successive losses have cost them the series against a patchwork-quilt Australian side. Despite an appalling injury list, Australia have managed to hold their nerve at key moments. India have lapsed back into 1990s mode, with stellar individual performances like Sachin Tendulkar's 175 in Hyderabad expected to paper over collective weakness. That hasn't happened, and the pre-series hype of going for the No.1 ranking now sounds pathetic.

For the second series in a row at home, they head to Mumbai, the heartland of Indian cricket, with the cause hopelessly lost. Back in 2007, Zaheer Khan and Murali Kartik pulled off a late show to give the scoreline (4-2) a slightly more respectable look, and that's as much as India can aspire to at the DY Patil Stadium. As for Australia, having won the Champions Trophy and now swatting aside the challenge of one of their big rivals away from home, this is a happy time, an occasion to revel in the success of a system that can produce stand-ins like Doug Bollinger and Clint McKay. Even with half the first team back home nursing injuries and niggles, they've been far too good.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
Australia -WWWLL
India - LLLWW

Watch out for...

Sachin Tendulkar: That dazzling century at Hyderabad aside, he has contributed just 100 in five innings. This, though, is a special game, the first time he'll be playing in front of his home crowd since the terror attacks in Mumbai a year ago. Some of his greatest innings against Australia have come in Mumbai (twin fifties in the Test in 2001, and 90 in the World Cup of 1996), but they never resulted in Indian wins. He'll be desperate to change that.

Doug Bollinger: A generation ago, Brett Schultz's left-arm pace caused India immense discomfiture on a tour of South Africa. Bollinger, who's as quick and more accurate, has had a similar impact since his introduction into this series, taking nine wickets at 19.33. The caught-and-bowled dismissal of Tendulkar was the big moment in the six-wicket romp in Guwahati, and there should certainly be enough bounce at the Navi Mumbai venue to keep him interested.

Team news

India have to make a choice. Do they opt to give the fringe players a chance, or do they focus on the victory that would claw back some pride? Had the series been won rather than lost, Sudeep Tyagi and Amit Mishra would certainly have been given outings. Mishra could yet play in place of Ravindra Jadeja, but Virat Kohli is unlikely to get a game, given how the frontline batsmen have struggled at times. Ishant Sharma could make a return with the Test series against Sri Lanka now just four days away.

India: (probable) 1 Sachin Tendulkar, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Gautam Gambhir, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 MS Dhoni (capt/wk), 7 Harbhajan Singh, 8 Praveen Kumar, 9 Amit Mishra, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Ashish Nehra.

With Mitchell Johnson and Shane Watson flying home on Tuesday night to get some rest ahead of the upcoming home season, Australia are certain to give one-day debuts to Andrew McDonald and Burt Cockley. There could also be an opportunity for Jon Holland, the left-arm spinner who has watched from the sidelines, while Nathan Hauritz has been the most economical bowler in the series.

Australia: (probable) 1 Shaun Marsh, 2 Adam Voges, Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Cameron White, 5 Michael Hussey, 6 Andrew McDonald, 7 Graham Manou (wk), 8 Clint McKay, 9 Jon Holland, 10 Doug Bollinger, 11 Burt Cockley.

Pitch and conditions

The DY Patil Stadium can seat 55,000 and has one of the best facilities in the country. Even the square was prepared with the help of 200 tonnes of soil flown in from South Africa. There should be enough pace and bounce to keep the quick bowlers interested, though no one can be certain how it will play given that it's the first international match at the venue. During the IPL final in 2008, the slow bowlers had some joy, and the batsmen also enjoyed an outfield where the ball raced to the ropes.

Rain is forecast for tomorrow and the overcast conditions should further encourage the seamers. India's practice session on the eve of the game was cancelled due to persistent showers.

Stats and trivia

• Australia have won two of the three one-day matches they've played in Mumbai. The loss came in the dead rubber in 2007.
• Michael Hussey averages 104.33 in the series and is the only batsman on either side with more than 300 runs.
• The top six for Australia have averaged 42.96 in the series so far, as opposed to India's 34.70

Quotes

"Even though the series is won, it's not as if we're going to leave everyone out now and not worry too much about the last game. We feel we've started something here with this group, not only here but since the one day series in England, we've started to get a really good feeling around the group and I don't want to abandon that or let that go. It'd be nice to finish off on a winning note."
Ricky Ponting doesn't want to lose that winning feeling.

"We haven't backed the opportunities that we have got. A majority of the batsmen haven't contributed at the same time."
MS Dhoni sums up India's big problem in the series.

Dileep Premachandran is an associate editor at Cricinfo

Sreesanth and Zaheer Khan recalled for Tests

	Sreesanth last played for India 19 months ago © K Sivaraman
Related Links Features : 'A new beginning for me' Players/Officials: Subramaniam Badrinath | Zaheer Khan | Pragyan Ojha | Sreesanth | Murali Vijay Series/Tournaments: Sri Lanka tour of India Teams: India

Temperamental fast bowler Sreesanth has been given another chance to resurrect his stop-start career, after being selected in India's 15-man squad for the first two Tests against Sri Lanka. Weeks after being given a "final warning" for his poor on-field behaviour, Sreesanth is now a candidate to share the new ball with Zaheer Khan, who has recovered from his shoulder injury.

Sreesanth last played for India in 2008, and had his share of injuries and criticism over attitude in equal measure. During the time he spent out of the Indian team, Sreesanth played 10 first-class games for 28 wickets, including one five-wicket haul for Warwickshire, and 23 overs for no wickets against Andhra in his latest Ranji Trophy match. Clearly his selection is a gamble on promise over form. It is a big - bordering on generous - decision made by the selectors, and an equally big chance for Sreesanth to wash away all the criticism against him.

Zaheer made an expected comeback, having recovered from the injury he sustained during the IPL, and having featured in Twenty20 matches during the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament and a Ranji Trophy fixture. He has not missed a Test, but has not played limited-overs cricket for India since the ICC World Twenty20 in June.

The selectors also recalled Pragyan Ojha, the left-arm spinner, and S Badrinath. His Tamil Nadu team-mate M Vijay retained his place as reserve batsman. Ojha, yet to make his Test debut, toured Sri Lanka in 2008, but lost his place to Amit Mishra, who made a strong debut against Australia in Mohali in 2008-09. Vijay, an opener, was handed a debut in Nagpur against Australia after Gautam Gambhir was banned for one Test. Badrinath has yet to play a Test.

There was no place for Ashish Nehra, who has done well after making his ODI return, or Munaf Patel, as India opted for three spinners. There was no reserve wicketkeeper named.

The decision to pick 15 players, and that too an extra batsman, raised questions about the selection. Usually for a home series, only 14 players are picked. And with the middle order set in stone, neither Vijay nor Badrinath has a realistic chance of starting in Ahmedabad. Now both of them will miss important Ranji Trophy matches, when only one was needed as injury cover, unless someone is sent back to domestic cricket on the morning of the Ahmedabad Test.

The selection also left the bowling unbalanced. MS Dhoni is not a fan of playing only two pace bowlers unless the pitch is extremely spin-friendly, and the selectors have given him only three fast bowlers to choose from. Zaheer Khan is coming back from injury, Ishant Sharma is in poor form, and Sreesanth is a completely unpredictable character. One bowling back-up would have been of more value than two batting back-ups. And what about Munaf? He has lost his Test place on the basis of 13 overs bowled in two ODIs against Australia, one of them on a flat Hyderabad pitch.

India squad: MS Dhoni (capt/wk), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, M Vijay, S Badrinath, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Sreesanth, Pragyan Ojha, Amit Mishra.

Sidharth Monga is a staff writer at Cricinfo

India v Australia, 5th ODI, Hyderabad

Match facts

Thursday, November 5
Start time 1430 (0900GMT)

	That leaves us, and 10 more © AFP
Related Links News : Clarke no certainty for first Test News : Victory would be 'amazing effort' - Ponting News : Henriques injured and will fly home early Series/Tournaments: Australia tour of India Teams: Australia | India

Big Picture

Australia have no business being 2-2 in this series. Seven first-choice men out, followed by two of their replacements (Moises Henriques being the latest). Foreign conditions. Back-to-back matches, spread across the length and breadth of India, suggesting more a sightseeing tour than one of the cricketing variety. Bowlers struggling at the death. Big hitters absent. Horror of horrors, Andrew Symonds is being discussed again by the fans. Conventional wisdom suggests that cannot be a good sign for the Australian team. Look at the scoreline, though - Two wins each. Who told Australia they could compete once their players started going down one by one after the first ODI?

Two-all doesn't mean this becomes a fresh three-match series, as MS Dhoni would suggest. Australia have simply lost too many players, which has made India the favourites though the Mohali loss puts the pressure back on the hosts. They will know losing the series in home conditions against an under-strength Australia will be an embarrassment; a 4-3 result won't be much better received. All of which gives Australia added incentive to win on Thursday and take a step closer to the grand heist.

India have had their share of injury troubles, with Zaheer Khan out for the series and Gautam Gambhir missing the fourth ODI. But the selectors' retaining the existing XV for the final three games suggests Gambhir's injury is not serious, nor is Virender Sehwag's. India need a win in Hyderabad to start their march towards 5-2, anything less than which should disappoint them. By the look of things right now, there are no excuses in sight either.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
Australia - WLLWW
India - LWWLW

Watch out for...

Virender Sehwag: Two fours off first two balls in Vadodara, three in the first over in Nagpur, and a first-ball boundary in Mohali. Despite a sedate 11 off 25 in Delhi, Sehwag's strike-rate for the series is 109.3, but he has faced only 86 balls in four matches. He needs to face 86 balls in one innings - and preferably utilise the third Powerplay.

Ricky Ponting has been exemplary through the series both as captain and in scoring 197 runs at 49.25. What's missing so far is the definitive Ponting knock, one during which he lets go of all restraint and wins the match on his own. The law of averages suggests it could be just around the corner.

Team news

Gambhir has been cleared to play and is likely to replace Virat Kohli, and it would be a surprise if India split Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar at the top.

India(probable): 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 Gautam Gambhir, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 MS Dhoni (capt./wk), 6 Suresh Raina, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Praveen Kumar, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Ashish Nehra.

It's an easy selection for Australia - with 13 fit men, they have only to decide which two to keep out. Clint McKay has arrived in India, but he and Jon Holland are likely to sit out.

Australia (probable): 1 Shane Watson, 2 Shaun Marsh, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt.), 4 Michael Hussey, 5 Cameron White, 6 Adam Voges, 7 Graham Manou (wk), 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Nathan Hauritz, 10 Ben Hilfenhaus, 11 Doug Bollinger.

Pitch and conditions

Everyone who played the Champions League matches in Hyderabad loved the pitch: true and flat. And being in the southern part of India, Hyderabad should be relatively dew-free. The toss shouldn't put any team at a major disadvantage.

Stats and trivia

• Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, a relatively new addition to Hyderabad, hasn't been kind to teams who call themselves hosts. Deccan Chargers have gone through a season each of IPL and Champions League without registering a win. India have lost both the ODIs they have played here: to South Africa in 2005-06 and to Australia in 2007-08. Hyderabad, who call this their home ground, have lost six out of seven List A games they have played here, and won three and lost four first-class games.

• Yuvraj Singh has scored two centuries in those two lost matches: 103 off 122 balls against South Africa, and 121 off 115 balls against Australia.

• MS Dhoni and Michael Hussey have been the most consistent batsmen in the series. Dhoni has scored 255 runs at 85 and is the only centurion in the series on either side. Hussey has managed 247 at 82.33, his lowest score being 40, in Mohali.

Quotes

"It's disappointing to see these guys go down, because you know how much they want to play and be a part of the series. So it's more disappointing for them more so than anything. I'm sure everyone who's returned back home would much rather be here with the series as it is at the moment, but we've got what we've got.''
Ricky Ponting knows he can't do much about the fitness issues.

Sidharth Monga is a staff writer at Cricinfo

James Hopes to return home, Clint McKay called up

	Clint McKay was Victoria's best bowler during the Champions League © Getty Images
Related Links Players/Officials: James Hopes | Brett Lee | Clint McKay Series/Tournaments: Australia tour of India Teams: Australia

Australian allrounder James Hopes will not take any further part in the ongoing seven-match series in India due to a hamstring injury and is set to fly back home. Cricket Australia's selection panel has confirmed that Clint McKay , the Victoria fast bowler, will join the squad as cover.

Hopes' injury is the latest setback to the team which is currently 2-1 down with four games remaining. Hopes bowled just two overs in the first ODI in Vadodara before leaving the field after pulling his right hamstring.

"James has done everything he can with medical staff to try and make himself available for the remaining games of the tour of India," Kevin Sims, the team physiotherapist, said. "However due to the compressed nature of this tour and his speed of recovery so far, we feel now we have insufficient time to have James fully fit to take part in the remaining games of this series.

"Therefore a decision has been made that James will return to Australia where he will continue his rehabilitation from this hamstring injury."

McKay, 26, was impressive for Victoria during the Champions League Twenty20, which he finished as the tournament's joint second-highest wicket-taker (with Moises Henriques) with ten wickets at an impressive economy rate of 6 per over. In the 2007-08 FR Cup, he collected a remarkable 13 wickets at 14.76 from only five games.

"Clinton is a young promising bowler who performed well at inter-state level last season and has recent very good form for Victoria in the Champions League in India," Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, said. "He will be very well suited to Indian conditions and we believe he is another young player who benefit from the experience of being in the Australian team set-up during this tour.

"We also feel he has the ability to perform well at the international level. With Moises having played in the last ODI game and James Hopes going home, Moises will now remain with the squad in India for the duration of the series."

Hopes joins Australia's strike bowler Brett Lee and wicketkeeper Tim Paine, who have already flown home after picking up injuries. Lee was unable to complete his quota of overs in Vadodara - he bowled six - after complaining of a sore right elbow.

Paine broke his finger during the second game in Nagpur and was replaced by Graham Manou. Before the series began, Australia had already lost Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin, Callum Ferguson and Nathan Bracken to injuries.

India v Australia, 4th ODI, Mohali

Match facts

Monday, November 2
Start time 14.30 (09.00GMT)

	Will Virender Sehwag be fit enough to open with Sachin Tendulkar in Mohali? © Associated Press
Related Links News : Dinesh Karthik called up to Indian squad as cover News : James Hopes to return home, Clint McKay called up Matches: India v Australia at Mohali Series/Tournaments: Australia tour of India Teams: Australia | India

Big Picture

When this seven-match ODI series is finished, it's likely that what lingers in the memory the longest is not MS Dhoni's century in Nagpur, or the consistency of Michael Hussey and Ricky Ponting, but how the teams lost key players to injury after every contest and had to make do with thinning resources and last-minute reinforcements. Not one of the first three fixtures was contested by two full-strength elevens and both India and Australia are further depleted ahead of the fourth game at the PCA Stadium in Mohali.

India's latest setbacks occurred at the Feroz Shah Kotla, where Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag picked up injuries, making them doubtful starters for the Mohali game. Gambhir was struck on the neck by a full-blooded pull from Ponting while fielding at short leg and a yorker from Peter Siddle crashed into Sehwag's foot. Only on the morning of the game will it be known whether either batsman will be fit to play.

Australia, meanwhile, had a third player from their original tour party flying home because of injury. James Hopes picked up a hamstring strain in the first one-dayer, remained with the squad longer than fellow casualties Brett Lee and Tim Paine, but hadn't recovered quickly enough for him to be able to play the remaining ODIs. Clint McKay, the Victoria seamer, was the latest addition to the Australian squad after Moises Henriques and Graham Manou. Mitchell Johnson seems to be pulling through the series despite a sore ankle. Other national hopefuls might be watching tomorrow's match thinking they might be next to receive a call from Andrew Hilditch.

The schedule isn't kind to the injured either. The teams left the Kotla only at midnight after Saturday's game. Their arrival in Chandigarh was delayed and by the time they reached, there were fewer than 24 hours to go before Dhoni and Ponting are scheduled to toss. Provided both of them remain injury-free of course.

The added incentive to tomorrow's contest is that if India win, they will claim the No. 1 ranking in one-day internationals. If Australia prevail, they will stretch their current one-point lead to three.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)

Australia - LLWWW
India - WWLWL

Watch out for ...

Ricky Ponting: The Delhi pitch was tough for batting, the squad was inexperienced and depleted by injury, and in the interest of team balance Australia decided not to play specialist opener Shaun Marsh. They needed someone to partner Shane Watson at the top and Ponting took on the responsibility. It was only the second time he was opening in his 327-ODI career and he fought the conditions and batted with restraint to score his second half-century of the series. "I'm obviously the most experienced player in our side and to put one of the other guys up to open the innings I thought would have been more of a challenge for them than it would be for me," Ponting said. He is likely to open again.

The Yuvraj-Dhoni partnership: Their 148-run partnership won India the Delhi game on a pitch that was difficult for shot-playing. The PCA Stadium surface is likely to be much flatter and faster and, if Yuvraj and Dhoni should spend considerable time in each other's company, they could render Australia helpless once again. Yuvraj will also be playing in front of his home crowd, something he said he was looking forward to very much while collecting his Man-of-the-Match award at the Kotla.

Team news

India will decide on Sehwag and Gambhir's participation only on Monday morning and have brought in wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik as cover. Virat Kohli, who played in Vadodara but was dropped thereafter, is the other batsman in the squad. They might have wanted to rest Sachin Tendulkar, whom Yuvraj referred to in jest as the "grandfather" of the dressing room, because of the one-day gap between matches but that is now unlikely. The bowling attack is settling down nicely and doesn't need changing.

India(probable): 1 Virender Sehwag/Dinesh Karthik, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 Gautam Gambhir/Virat Kohli, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 MS Dhoni (capt/wk), 6 Suresh Raina, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Praveen Kumar, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Ashish Nehra.

Ponting said that Australia fielded the XI they did in Delhi in order to maintain team balance - playing Marsh would mean one less bowler - and they could be unchanged, with the captain opening the innings again.

Australia: (probable): 1 Shane Watson, 2 Ricky Ponting (capt), 3 Michael Hussey, 4 Cameron White, 5 Adam Voges, 6 Moises Henriques, 7 Graham Manou (wk), 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Nathan Hauritz, 10 Peter Siddle, 11 Doug Bollinger.

Pitch and conditions

The pitch at the PCA Stadium, like most of those in India, would ordinarily be a win-toss-and-bat surface. However, with the onset of winter, the significant difference between day and night temperatures will result in heavy dew in the evenings. Nathan Hauritz struggled during his spell in Delhi, and Adam Voges bowled only one over because he couldn't grip the ball. If the pitch looks like it will stay good for batting for 100 overs, the captain winning the toss could be tempted to bowl first to give his bowlers the benefit of a dry ball.

Stats and trivia

• India have won five out of eight ODIs they've played at the PCA Stadium. However, they lost their last two matches there, against Pakistan in 2007, and against Australia in the 2006 Champions Trophy. Australia have played four ODIs in Mohali and won three.

• No Indian batsman has scored a hundred in an ODI in Mohali. Tendulkar's 99 against Pakistan in 2007 is the highest. Tendulkar is the highest scorer at the venue, with 241 runs at an average of 60.25.

• Harbhajan Singh, another local lad, has taken seven wickets at 24.71 apiece in four matches in Mohali. He has an economy-rate of 4.91 there.

Quotes

"If it looks like everyone's fit and ready for the next game there's probably every chance that I'll open again."
Ponting is prepared to lead from the front again.

"Plan? We are in fact tired of planning celebrations for him. Every week, the guy goes on to make some record or other. How many times can you celebrate?"
Yuvraj's reply when asked if the team had plans to celebrate should Tendulkar score the 47 he needs to reach 17,000 ODI runs in Mohali.

George Binoy is a senior sub-editor at Cricinfo