Charged-up Sri Lanka take title

Sri Lanka 299 for 8 (Dilshan 110, Sangakkara 71, Munaf 2-43) beat India 225 (Dhoni 67, Perera 3-36, Randiv 3-40) by 74 runs
Scorecard
How they were out

	Sri Lanka never let the intensity dip after piling on a daunting 299 © Associated Press Enlarge
Related Links News : India consider playing extra batsman Players/Officials: Tillakaratne Dilshan | Suraj Randiv | Thisara Perera | Kumar Sangakkara Matches: Sri Lanka v India at Dambulla Series/Tournaments: Sri Lanka Triangular Series Teams: India | Sri Lanka

These two have binged on each other since July 2008, but what promises to be the one for the road went Sri Lanka's way, ending their run of losses in big home matches. On the tournament's best batting track, though not quite a flat belter, Tillakaratne Dilshan's risk-free yet urgent century and Kumar Sangakkara's delightful half-century set a target never reached under Dambulla lights. When Virender Sehwag left his team-mates - who'd scored 288 runs between them before the start of the final - with 262 to get, it was all but over. The flame flickered for longer than expected, but not nearly long enough.

Umpiring decisions and manic appealing dominated the chase but couldn't alter the expected result. Dinesh Karthik was given out caught off the thigh pad. Virender Sehwag's plumb lbw was not given, but he ran himself out off the same ball. Yuvraj Singh got away with a caught-behind before opening his account but was given out, 26 runs later, off one he didn't seem to have edged. MS Dhoni survived a close lbw call when on 12 but ran out of partners as the asking rate mounted.

The start of the match was much more serene. In fact, off the fourth ball of the game, Praveen Kumar hardly appealed when he had Mahela Jayawardene caught right in front. Jayawardene, promoted because of his technical prowess, put together the best opening stand of the tournament - 121, an association that also set up the highest team total. The way Dilshan and Jayawardene batted, without taking any undue risks, it was easy to see why the previous best of 79 too belonged to them. The ball may not have swung wildly, but the batsmen were tested by the early movement that Praveen and Munaf Patel extracted.

Neither batsman tried expansive shots. In his first three overs, Praveen went too far down the leg side, looking for that magic outswinger, and went for fours through midwicket and fine leg. It wasn't as easy to hit Munaf off his shortish length, around off and with slight seam movement either side. They didn't try to do that; instead they played out Munaf's first four overs for 13, yet the score at the end of those overs read 47 for 0.

Dilshan targeted Ashish Nehra and Ishant Sharma. Nehra's second ball and Ishant's first were punched away for fours. Both the shots were hit along the ground, and involved more enterprise than risk. By the time Ishant's second over yielded six, four and four, Dilshan had moved to 43 off 30, and Sri Lanka to 74 after 12 overs.

Dilshan had assumed total control by then. The punch shot through the off side, with his front foot out of the way, caused the main damage. One of those, off Nehra, brought up his fifty in the 16th over. Nehra's figures then read 4-0-31-0.

Forget the fifth bowler, Dhoni must have started worrying about how to finish the quotas of specialist bowlers, all quicks. Dilshan's pace didn't make the task any easier. Barring one spell near his century, when he spent 38 balls between his 12th and 13th boundaries, the longest Dilshan went without a four was 16 balls.

During that quiet period Sri Lanka lost Jayawardene and Upul Tharanga against the run of play, but Kumar Sangakkara made sure the team didn't fall behind. In the time that Dilshan went from 92 to 100 and Sangakkara hared from 11 to 32, taking Sri Lanka to 194 in the 37th over. Dilshan then threatened more punishment on India, but holed out to long leg.

Sangakkara made up for it and, even with wickets falling at the other end, drive followed elegant drive. The superb acceleration - from 19 off 29 to 70 off 59 - was interrupted by a slower ball from Munaf in the 45th over, but Sri Lanka had reached 261 for 6. Munaf's last three overs went for 14 runs and two wickets, but a target of 300 meant India would need more than just Sehwag.

Sehwag hit six scorching boundaries in the first six overs. Off the last ball of the sixth over, Nuwan Kulasekara had him plumb in front, but umpire Asoka de Silva seemed the only one to disagree. Sehwag got greedy and sought a leg-bye that didn't exist. Chamara Kapugedera was not only alert, he also hit direct.

Thisara Perera, now Sri Lanka's India specialist, and Suraj Randiv, who got nice drift and dip, kept the wicket flow going in the middle.

Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and Dhoni tried to buck the trend of India's hopes disappearing with Sehwag, but Sri Lanka were at them all the time. Kohli's uncharacteristic hoick showed the pressure the required rate exerted, Raina's cameo involved too many risks and ended prematurely from India's point of view, and Dhoni's 67 were too late and too few.

Innings Dot balls 4s 6s PP1 PP2 PP3 41-50 overs NB/Wides Sri Lanka 158 30 2 52/0 42/0 49/3 80/5 0/12 India 181 22 4 55/2 33/2 23/1 21/3 4/8

Sidharth Monga is an assistant editor at Cricinf

Feeble Pakistan crumble to impressive England

Pakistan 74 (Swann 4-12, Finn 3-38) and 41 for 4 (Azhar 0*) trail England 446 (Trott 184, Broad 169, Amir 6-84) by 331 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

	Salman Butt was bowled first ball after tea to begin another Pakistan collapse © AFP Enlarge
Related Links Analysis : England reap rewards of game-changing stand Analysis : Pakistan wilt after spirit dries up Analysis : Worst series for Pakistan's top order Players/Officials: James Anderson | Stuart Broad | Steven Finn | Graeme Swann | Jonathan Trott Matches: England v Pakistan at Lord's Series/Tournaments: Pakistan tour of England Teams: England | Pakistan

England had already shifted themselves into a winning position after a world-record eighth-wicket stand between Jonathan Trott and Stuart Broad, but even in a summer of batting collapses the way they blew Pakistan away for 74 on the third day at Lord's took the breath away. For the third time in four Tests the visitors couldn't emerge from double figures as they subsided either side of tea, with Graeme Swann and Steven Finn sharing the last seven wickets for 28 runs, before they slumped to 41 for 4 in the follow on.

Having been through the debilitating experience of watching England haul themselves from hopelessness to supremacy in record style there was always the danger that Pakistan would succumb to the pressure. But having shown much more backbone with the bat at The Oval it was hoped they could replicate the same yet were skittled in 33 overs and the second innings promises little better. It was a depressing performance from Pakistan because some of the shots were plain awful, the worst being Imran Farhat's weak pull at the start of the second innings. A clear sign the fight had gone.

Credit, though, must go to the hostility of England's quicks and the continued guile of Swann as the four-man attack never took the pressure off Pakistan. In the follow on, Yasir Hameed was plumb lbw to Anderson as he played across the line then just to compound Pakistan's woes their last chance of making the fourth day a contest vanished as the light closed in. Salman Butt, who was getting annoyed by the chirp from England's close fielders, was lbw to Swann - an excellent decision from Tony Hill as the review proved it was pad just before bat - then, to what became the last ball of the day, Mohammad Yousuf top-edged a pull to deep square-leg. Pakistan's two best batsmen had gone twice in a session.

Rarely can a Test have included periods of such dominance by the ball either side of an epic batting performance. Take out one stand and the batsmen have been walking wickets; but that partnership was the small matter of 332. As Trott and Broad extended their stay during most of the morning the ball barely did anything for the Pakistan bowlers, but when a new one was placed in the hands of Broad and Anderson it quickly became a major threat.

Broad, fresh from his mighty 169, dispatched Hameed in familiar manner as the opener hung his bat outside off and sent a comfortable edge to second slip. Anderson then exploited Farhat's weakness against the moving ball when he drove loosely at an outswinger having watched the previous three deliveries zip past his outside edge.

The best set-up, though, was still to come as England executed their plan to Yousuf to perfection when Broad slotted a full delivery past his bat. It was almost identical to how he fell in the second innings at The Oval and England have always felt it was a way to trap Yousuf early since Anderson did the same at Cape Town in the 2003 World Cup.

Briefly, Butt rallied as he tucked into a loose opening spell from Finn but Swann gave an immediate warning of the danger he would pose as he ripped two deliveries past Butt's edge in his opening over. With his first ball after tea Swann produced another unplayable offering which gripped and hit off stump. The batsman initially stood his ground thinking the wicketkeeper may have knocked off the bails, but his dismissal was swiftly confirmed.

That brought Umar Akmal to the crease and he was immediately greeted by some words from Trott at silly point following their conversations during England's innings and Umar proceeding to launch his third ball over midwicket. But Swann was finding huge turn, much more than Saeed Ajmal extracted, and soon had Azhar Ali taken at short leg as the batsman lunged forward.

Meanwhile, Umar started complaining about problems picking up Finn's line from the Nursery End as the bowler's hand came from above the sightscreen. It clearly affected Umar's mindset when he was told just to get on with it by the umpires and it wasn't long before Finn, who improved with the change of ends, speared a yorker through his defences.

Two balls later Mohammad Amir lost sight of the ball which thudded into his pads and although Tony Hill said not out Strauss correctly opted for a review and leg stump would have been hit flush. To Amir's credit he left without complaint, but his spirit was far removed from the joyous character of yesterday. Finn claimed his third when Kamran Akmal got a thin edge and Swann completed Pakistan's woeful effort with two more in six balls.

The morning session had been another full of records as Trott and Broad continued their monumental effort. The new world record eighth-wicket stand was brought up in Wahab Riaz's first over the day when Broad slotted a cover drive to the boundary to surpass the 313-run stand by Wasim Akram and Saqlain Mushtaq against Zimbabwe in 1996. Thoughts were turning towards an extraordinary double century from Broad, who had passed his father's Test best of 162, when Pakistan finally struck as Broad was given out lbw on a review.

Broad had been given a life on 132 when Kamran couldn't gather an edge off Ajmal and the scoring rate soon increased as both batsmen began to find the boundary with regularity. Broad lost nothing in comparison with Trott and the cover-driving was a highlight of the display as he, too, went past 150 but missed out by five runs on knocking Ian Smith from the top spot for a No. 9.

Trott's timing and placement remained of the highest quality, particularly a couple of off-side strokes against Ajmal, and he was within sight of being the first man to score two double hundreds at Lord's until becoming last-man out. It will go down as one of the finest centuries made on this famous ground; Pakistan's entire line-up couldn't even get halfway towards matching it.

Andrew McGlashan is an assistant editor at Cricinfo

Lord's Test at centre of fixing allegations

	News of the World headline implicating Pakistan's cricketers in a match-fixing scandal, August 29, 2010" class="stryPhotoEn" align="top" border="0" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="310"> A spot-fixing scandal surrounds some of the Pakistan players © News of the World Enlarge
Related Links In Focus: Match-fixing Matches: England v Pakistan at Lord's Series/Tournaments: Pakistan tour of England Teams: England | Pakistan

The fourth Test between England and Pakistan at Lord's is at the centre of a police investigation into spot-fixing following the arrest of a 35-year-old man, Mazher Majeed, who was allegedly caught claiming to have bribed Pakistan's bowlers to bowl no-balls on demand.

According to a report in The News of the World, Majeed accepted £150,000 to arrange a fix involving Pakistan's new-ball bowlers, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif, whom he allegedly asked to bowl no-balls at specific moments of the match. The paper also alleges that the team captain, Salman Butt, and the wicketkeeper, Kamran Akmal, are involved, along with three other unnamed cricketers.

Cricinfo understands that the players named were questioned about sums of money found in the rooms, though it is thought that those were made up of the daily allowances players are given while on tour. The man arrested, Majeed, is believed to have contacts with the team though until now it was assumed he was acting as an agent for players, helping them secure sponsorship and kit contracts.

Officials from the ICC's Anti-Corruption Unit are currently flying in from Dubai, and in a statement, the ICC confirmed that the allegations were being taken seriously.

"The International Cricket Council, the England & Wales Cricket Board and the Pakistan Cricket Board have been informed by the Metropolitan Police that a 35-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers," read the statement.

"The Metropolitan Police have informed the ICC, ECB and PCB that their investigations continue and ICC, ECB and PCB, with the involvement of the ICC Anti-Corruption and Security Unit, are fully assisting those enquiries. No players nor team officials have been arrested in relation to this incident and the fourth npower Test match will continue as scheduled on Sunday. As this is now subject to a police investigation neither ICC, ECB, PCB, nor the ground authority, the MCC, will make any further comment."

A Scotland Yard spokeman added: "Following information received from the News of the World we have today [Saturday, August 28] arrested a 35-year old man on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers."

In a video secretly recorded during the NOTW investigation, a man alleged to be Mazher is clearly heard predicting that Amir would bowl the first over of the England innings, and that he would deliver a no-ball from the first ball of the third over - which as Cricinfo's ball-by-ball commentary noted: "was an enormous no-ball, good half a metre over the line." The man also appeared to correctly predict a no-ball from the sixth ball of the tenth over, bowled this time by Asif.

Pakistan's team manager Yawar Saeed confirmed that the allegations were being investigated, with police turning up at the team hotel in Swiss Cottage at 7.30pm, shortly after the close of an eventful third day of the Lord's Test, in which Pakistan were left on the brink of defeat after losing 14 wickets in the day.

According to Sky News reporters outside the team hotel, police officers were seen leaving the building with two bags at around 11pm, while an unidentified man in a Pakistan training top was understood to have been taken away in an unmarked police car from the back of the building, although the team manager denied that any arrests had been made within the squad.

Even allowing for their disastrous on-field performance, Pakistan left Lord's with unusual haste after the third day's play, with the team bus departing barely 20 minutes after the close of play, before any member of the squad had taken part in the mandatory post-match press conference.

Sehwag backs Indian youngsters

	Virender Sehwag: "We have to give more time to youngsters" © Associated Press Enlarge
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India's misfiring young batsmen are getting plenty of support from their seniors. Two days after captain MS Dhoni said he was not too concerned about the batting collapses in the Dambulla tri-series, Virender Sehwag has also backed his less-experienced team-mates to deliver.

The quartet of Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have managed just 94 runs between them through the tournament. But India are still in the final, on the back of two solo efforts from Sehwag which led to two victories.

"When I was a youngster, it took me almost 50 to 70 innings to perform consistently, so we have to give more time to youngsters," Sehwag said. "We are not worried about them too much because in Dambulla, everybody's not scoring. We have to live with that and give youngsters some confidence and tell them to go out and spend some time at the wicket."

India's batsmen have kept the opposition wicketkeepers and slip fielders busy, giving up nearly half their wickets to catches in that area. Dhoni had called for his batsmen to be more decisive with their stroke-selection, particularly to balls outside off. However, on Wednesday two of India's top-order batsmen, Karthik and Kohli, fell wafting at precisely such deliveries.

"It's very easy to say that you should leave the ball or hit it according to its merit but it's very difficult to react according to the merit of the ball," Sehwag said. "When we were young, it would have been confusing whether to hit or leave. It used to be tempting to hit and we used to get out in that confusion. It's important to either leave or play the balls outside off rather than defending them."

Sehwag, the only batsman from any of the three sides to come to terms with the seam and swing in Dambulla, advised caution in the early stages of the innings. India's scores after 15 overs in their league matches were 54 for 5, 47 for 3, 56 for 3 and 81 for 4.

"If you see off the first 10-15 overs, it becomes easier to bat. But those first few overs are difficult to survive," he said. "If you see off the new ball [even] without scoring much in the first 15 overs, it helps the team a lot."

Saturday's final could well be the last chance for the likes of Kohli and Rohit to press for a permanent place in the side, as senior batsmen including Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir could return to the one-day team for the home series against Australia in October.

Siddarth Ravindran is a sub-editor at Cricinfo

Sehwag, seamers lead India into final

India 223 (Sehwag 110, Southee 4-49, McCullum 3-35) beat New Zealand 118 (Mills 52, Praveen 3-34, Patel 3-21) by 105 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

	It appeared as though Virender Sehwag was batting on a different pitch © AFP Enlarge
Related Links Matches: India v New Zealand at Dambulla Series/Tournaments: Sri Lanka Triangular Series Teams: India | New Zealand

A combination of belligerent hitting by Virender Sehwag and potent seam bowling helped India storm into the final of the tri-series against Sri Lanka with a comprehensive thrashing of New Zealand in the last league game. On a day when a majority of the specialist batsmen on both sides batted with two left feet in bowler-friendly conditions, Sehwag found a way to carve out an aggressive century, scoring more than what all 11 New Zealanders managed between them. The target of 224 was soon out of New Zealand's reach after their top order crumbled against a four-pronged seam attack, a bowling combination you wouldn't associate with Indian sides, especially in the subcontinent.

By the end of the night, you could imagine batsmen queuing up outside Sehwag's door for the inside story on how he managed to dominate everything thrown at him. It was as though he was batting on another surface. Sehwag was unfazed by the early movement and nip off the wicket, which made the seamers potent. He played in a style known only to him and, with the final in three days' time, his innings today will undoubtedly be analysed in detail.

MS Dhoni took the gamble of batting on a fresh pitch, despite India having collapsed for 103 after batting first in their previous match against Sri Lanka. New Zealand's seamers nipped out four wickets by the end of the 13th over with a combination of swing, cut and bounce, which strikes took the sheen off an entertaining start from Sehwag.

Not known for exaggerated foot movements, Sehwag used the crease to loft the seamers over the off side. He barely moved across the stumps but such was his confidence that he stretched to scoop and slash powerfully over backward point. He backed away and slapped the slower bowlers past the infield as well. A more conventional punch through cover brought up his 1000th ODI four, one that was part of a sequence of three consecutive fours off Tim Southee.

India were lucky to have Dhoni at the other end, for he rotated the strike and built a solid partnership with Sehwag. Their stand produced 107, but India needed more from their last capable pair, having only Ravindra Jadeja, who is still trying to find his feet in ODIs, and a long tail to follow. Sehwag, however, didn't alter his approach. He continued to charge the spinners, lifting Kane Williamson inside out over extra cover for boundaries, and also cleverly picked the gaps at fine leg off the seamers. He played an upper cut over the vacant slip cordon shortly after getting to his century, but the fun ended for India when Sehwag found deep midwicket when on 110. His dismissal was against the run of play.

Dhoni, who had batted carefully, had to try to reclaim the advantage for India, but New Zealand took control. Having grafted to 38 off 75 balls, Dhoni edged a Nathan McCullum delivery while trying to drive. The dismissals of Sehwag and Dhoni in quick succession meant a premature end to the innings was inevitable. Soon after New Zealand picked up the final wicket, though, their control over the game came to a grinding halt.

They had no-one with Sehwag's calibre and temperament to take the initiative, irrespective of the damage being done at the other end. They were exposed against the moving ball and even seasoned performers struggled. Praveen Kumar started the slide in conditions tailored to his variety of bowling, trapping Martin Guptill leg before in first over.

There was no respite from the other end as Ashish Nehra, with his extra pace when compared to Praveen, got the ball to nip in sharply to the right-handers, slicing them in half. A lot depended on the experienced Ross Taylor, but he was just as circumspect as the rest. He expected the ball to move in, but it went the other way and took a thick outside edge, giving Praveen his second wicket.

New Zealand's chase was irreparably damaged when their senior-most batsman, Scott Styris, chopped one on to his stumps without moving his feet. Grant Elliott knew that the best way to counter the swing was to cover the line and smother the movement. He regularly shuffled across the stumps, committing to the movement even before delivery, but his method didn't yield runs as almost every defensive push found fielders. Williamson, who finally scored an international run in his third innings, was dismissed by an Ishant Sharma delivery which cut in and took the edge onto the stumps. Munaf, who was miserly to begin with, bagged two lbws with with his probing line.

Kyle Mills' blitz only succeeded in saving New Zealand the embarrassment of being bowled out for less than 100.

Kanishkaa Balachandran is a sub-editor at Cricinfo

Taylor, Styris star in hard-earned win for New Zealanders

Cricinfo staff

August 4, 2010

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New Zealanders 220 for 7 (Taylor 67, Styris 57) beat Sri Lanka Board President's XI 219 for 9 (Perera 62*, Tuffey 2-34, McKay 2-38) by three wickets
Scorecard

	New Zealanders' seamers had the home batsmen in trouble early on © AFP Enlarge
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New Zealanders endured poor passages of play in the latter stages of either innings, but did enough to seal victory against Sri Lanka Board President's XI in their first match on tour. The win was easier than suggested by the eventual three-wicket margin, as Ross Taylor and Scott Styris struck fluent fifties before the visitors crossed the line with 72 balls to spare.

BP XI elected to bat first, but did not account for their opponents' inspired fast-bowling pack. Things began to go awry in the third over when Daryl Tuffey breached Mahela Udawatte's defence with nine runs on the board. Dinesh Chandimal was run out for two in the next over, exposing the middle order. They did not fare too well as three wickets fell for the addition of just one run: Lahiru Thirimanne edged Tuffey behind, while Chamara Silva and Thilina Kandamby did likewise against Tim Southee and Jacob Oram respectively. The score read 34 for 5 in 12 overs and BP XI desperately needed a repair job.

Kosala Kulasekara put his head down in the company of Milinda Siriwardana and they steadied the ship, adding 29 in 10.4 overs before Clint McKay got into the flow of things, getting the former to give Gareth Hopkins his fourth catch behind the wickets. With both teams having twelve players to choose from, BP XI were batting fairly deep and it worked in their favour. Farveez Maharoof kept Siriwardana company for a 64-run stand for the seventh wicket, off 93 balls. Just when they looked set to step up, New Zealanders managed to dismiss both batsmen before they could reach fifties.

That the hosts had something to bowl at was down to the effort of Thisara Perera who stunned the bowlers with an impressive assault. Southee suffered the most damage, going for 64 while the rest of his colleagues finished with respectable figures. Perera smashed eight fours and two sixes in his unbeaten 39-ball 62, as the last 7.5 overs went for 81 runs. Seekkuge Prasanna gave him good support, lashing a six and two fours in his 18 as BP XI finished with 219.

New Zealanders' chase faced an early setback when Nuwan Pradeep got BJ Watling to nick one behind for four. However, Martin Guptill and Ross Taylor made light of his fall, adding 65 at better than a-run-a-ball. Guptill struck three fours in his 33-ball 26 before Prasanna struck him in front of the stumps. Thereafter Scott Styris laced into the bowling in an aggressive partnership with Taylor to put the result beyond doubt.

Taylor played some pleasing shots, picking seven fours and a six before Kandamby sent him back after a partnership of 95 in 14.1 overs. Styris smashed two sixes and five fours, racing to 57 off 45 balls before he too fell to Kandamby's wiles in the 30th over. New Zealanders had a few nervous moments, losing Grant Elliott and Hopkins, with 23 runs still to get. Oram however held one end up while Tuffey lashed four fours to ensure there was no upset.

New Zealand tour of Sri Lanka

New Zealand crush Sri Lanka A by 185 runs

Cricinfo staff

August 7, 2010

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	Kyle Mills contributed with both bat and ball © Getty Images Enlarge
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The New Zealanders crushed Sri Lanka A by 185 runs at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium as the hosts were dismissed for 91 chasing a stiff target of 276.

The Lankan chase got off to a poor start when opener Dilshan Munaweera was run out for 10. Kyle Mills then scythed through the batting order, taking three wickets in as many overs. He accounted for Upul Tharanga, Chamara Kapugedara and Kushal Perera as Sri Lanka A were reduced to 25 for 4. The Sri Lankans never recovered from those early blows and kept losing wickets regularly, as the other New Zealand bowlers kept up the pressure. As many as seven batsmen failed to reach double figures as the hosts were bowled out in 22.4 overs.

Earlier, Bradley-John Watling and Jacob Oram scored contrasting half-centuries as New Zealand recovered from a mid-innings stutter to post a challenging 276. Opening the innings, Watling scored a patient 74 from 95 deliveries and shared an 88-run stand with his captain Ross Taylor who made 47 off 48. Watling was bowled by Jeevan Mendis with the score on 159. Grant Elliott and Gareth Hopkins fell soon thereafter to leave New Zealand struggling at 193 for 7. However, Jacob Oram combined with Mills in an unbeaten 83-run stand for the eighth wicket that came in only 9.5 overs. Oram provided a late flourish to the innings making 61 off only 45 deliveries with four fours and two sixes.

Sri Lanka tri-series 2010

Welegedara, Kandamby left out of tri-series

Cricinfo staff

August 7, 2010

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	Chamara Silva is back in Sri Lanka's ODI side © Getty Images Enlarge
Related Links Players/Officials: Dilhara Fernando | Thilina Kandamby | Chamara Silva | Chanaka Welegedara Series/Tournaments: Sri Lanka Triangular Series Teams: Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka have left out left-arm seamer Chanaka Welegedara, allrounder Farveez Maharoof and batsman Thilina Kandamby for the tri-series, which begins on August 10 in Dambulla. Chamara Silva, who last played in the tri-series also involving India and Zimbabwe in May and June, makes a return, as does fast bowler Dilhara Fernando. Sri Lanka have also picked allrounder Thisara Perera, who was the leading wicket-taker in the one-day games on the A tour of Australia in June and July.

Muttiah Muralitharan, who recently retired from Tests, was rested, though he has made himself available for selection for the 2011 World Cup. Maharoof's omission is surprising because the allrounder impressed in the Asia Cup, taking a hat-trick during a five-wicket haul in the league match against India.

Silva, at one point, was a regular in Sri Lanka's middle order until a series of low scores cost him his place in the Asia Cup. Fernando played in the second Test against India at the SSC, while Perera represented Sri Lanka in 10 ODIs and was also part of the Chennai Super Kings squad in the IPL. The other participating teams in the tri-series are India and New Zealand and all the matches will be held in Dambulla.

Squad: Kumar Sangakkara (capt & wk), Mahela Jayawardene (vc), Chamara Silva, Thisara Perera, Dilhara Fernando, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Angelo Mathews, Thilan Samaraweera, Chamara Kapugedera, Suraj Randiv, Ajantha Mendis, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekara, Rangana Herath.

India v New Zealand, 1st ODI, Dambulla

India undone by 'spongy' bounce

Siddarth Ravindran in Dambulla

August 11, 2010

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	Ravindra Jadeja was one of several Indian batsmen caught at slip © AFP Enlarge
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Every now and then the Indian batting is tested in difficult one-day conditions, and they usually tend to come up short, though not as spectacularly as against New Zealand in the opening match of the tri-series. Last year, they batted first on a damp pitch in Guwahati and were sliced to 27 for 5 by Mitchell Johnson and Doug Bollinger before Praveen Kumar and Ravindra Jadeja partially revived India with half-centuries. There was no lower-order rescue on Monday, and India slid to the lowest total in ODIs this year.

There wasn't the exaggerated movement which worked so well for India in the Asia Cup final, but the bounce and slowness of the track proved too much. MS Dhoni explained that while the pacy short ball has troubled some of the Indian batsmen, it was not what they were up against in Dambulla.

"This is completely different bounce, it is very spongy, bowlers are bowling 125-126 and the keeper is standing where he usually does for Shoaib Akhtar," Dhoni said. "You can't really drive off the backfoot, the only option is to cut and pull, and if the bowler doesn't give room, it is very difficult to score."

There were no magic deliveries from New Zealand to warrant such a limp display. All Daryl Tuffey and Kyle Mills did was keep the ball a touch short and maintain tight lines, which was enough to coax India's batsmen to give the New Zealand slip cordon a thorough workout. Rohit Sharma opened the face to steer to slip, Suresh Raina attempted a cover drive away from his body to edge to slip, Yuvraj Singh fished outside off to nick it to slip.

"Players in the subcontinent generally don't like the ball anywhere above the waist," Scott Styris said. "Not because they are scared but because it is different compared to the usual subcontinental wicket. This has lot more bounce and we learnt that during the practice sessions. We really wanted to put some short balls in there."

Styris had played a big role in New Zealand recovering from a top-order collapse, his 190-run partnership with Ross Taylor effectively putting the match beyond India. Dhoni was unhappy about the mistakes in the field that allowed New Zealand to reach such a commanding total. "There were a couple of missed chances, Styris missed stumping [when he was on 16], Ross Taylor's dropped catch [on 45 by Suresh Raina], still if we had got both of them they still would have got at least 200 which the way they bowled would have been very difficult to chase."

New Zealand packed their side with quick bowlers, a strategy which worked well for them, but India were left with only two quick bowlers for much of the innings after Abhimanyu Mithun's heat stroke. While the new-ball bowlers, Praveen Kumar and Ashish Nehra, took 7 for 90 between them, India's spinners were caned for 161 runs in 26 overs. "We had four fast bowlers and they had three. That was the difference," Styris said. "We knew that they didn't have reserves."

Siddarth Ravindran is a sub-editor at Cricinfo

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ICC World Cup 2011

Premadasa Stadium still behind schedule - ICC

Cricinfo staff

June 7, 2010

Text size: A | A

	Work on the playing surface at the Premadasa is still not on track © Cricinfo Ltd Enlarge
Related Links News : ICC happy with state of progress of Sri Lanka venues Series/Tournaments: ICC Cricket World Cup Teams: Sri Lanka Grounds: R.Premadasa Stadium

The R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, one of the venues for the 2011 World Cup, is still behind schedule in terms of readiness of the pitch. The ICC completed its routine three-day venue inspection in Sri Lanka and expressed satisfaction at the progress made in the two new international venues, Pallekele and Hambantota.

The Premadasa is the only ground in Colombo with floodlights, and Sri Lanka Cricket is spending eight million dollars to renovate the stadium and relay the pitch. The inspection team made a similar unfavourable progress report in February, when the ICC's pitch consultant Andy Atkinson said that work on the playing area was behind schedule. Four months on, he said the status hadn't changed much.

"Premadasa is a worry for me," Atkinson told AFP. "I would like to get some games in to try out the pitch conditions before the big show next year."

Eugene van Vuuren, the ICC's structural engineer, said good progress had been made at the other two venues. "With the exception of the Premadasa stadium, others are on track to play a few first-class and international matches before the tournament starts next February," van Vuuren said.

The Suriyawewa Stadium in Hambantota, on the Southern coast, is due to host its maiden first-class domestic match in July. The Pallekele Stadium near Kandy has held an Under-19 match.

Sri Lanka will stage 12 matches, with the Premadasa hosting seven, including the first semi-final. Hambantota and Pallekele will host two and three games respectively.

World Cup final a dream - Tendulkar

Andrew McGlashan

June 14, 2010

Comments: 140 | Text size: A | A

	'We must take it step-by-step but to get there would be a fascinating journey' © Getty Images Enlarge
Related Links Players/Officials: Sachin Tendulkar Teams: India

Every time Sachin Tendulkar walks out to bat he has the hopes of billions rested on his shoulders, yet when India co-host the World Cup next year expectations will reach even greater levels. The final will be hosted in Mumbai, Tendulkar's home town, but he is refusing to let his mind wander towards the prospect of a moment that would crown his career.

"As far as the World Cup is concerned it is a process. We don't want to jump to the 50th floor straight away, we must start on the ground floor," he said. "We must take it step-by-step but to get there would be a fascinating journey. It is our dream, not just mine but the entire nation, to get there. To play the final in Mumbai is something you can only dream of and everything has to come together.

"But if we can play to the best of our potential then I think we can do something we have been longing to do for quite some time."

Tendulkar is currently taking a break from the game but will return to Indian colours for the Test series against Sri Lanka next month. The five-day format has suddenly taken on a much greater priority in India - although Tendulkar, himself, has always been adamant it is the main brand of the game - after the team reached No. 1 in the world.

They will look to consolidate that position against Sri Lanka before a mouth-watering contest in South Africa at the end of the year as the top two ranked teams go head-to-head over three Tests at Centurion, Durban and Cape Town. It will be a huge challenge for India to compete in foreign conditions against the likes of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, but Tendulkar doesn't want to let the top spot slip away after working so hard for the honour.

"To be number one is special, it was our dream and our target to get to the number one spot in Test cricket," he said. "We have had a good run in the last 20 months. Everyone wants to be number one and we cannot relax because there are other countries who want to be number one. It means a lot to us."

At 37, it won't be too long before Tendulkar calls time on his stellar career. He has already cut back his Twenty20 commitments and doesn't play that format internationally, while he also declined a deal with Middlesex this season to spend more time with his family. However, for the time being he has no plans to end his Test or one-day days.

"I want to play for as long as possible and as long as I have the desire and the hunger I will carry on," he said. "The day I do not want to get out of bed and do anything then I know it will be time to go in another direction."

Sachin Tendulkar is an RBS brand ambassador and was speaking in London to mark 30 years of NatWest involvement in English cricket

Andrew McGlashan is assistant editor of Cricinfo

Development of World Cup venues on track - Shetty

Sa'adi Thawfeeq

August 2, 2010

Comments: 15 | Text size: A | A

	'Stumpy' the baby elephant is the mascot for the 2011 World Cup © Cricinfo Ltd Enlarge
Related Links News : Premadasa Stadium still behind schedule - ICC News : ICC unhappy with facilities in Bangalore Series/Tournaments: ICC Cricket World Cup Teams: Bangladesh | India | Sri Lanka

The tournament director of the 2011 World Cup, Ratnakar Shetty, has said that the development of the stadiums was on schedule and that the governments of the host countries - India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh - were working together to ensure an "incident free" competition.

Several venues in India, Bangaldesh and Sri Lanka are being redeveloped or constructed from scratch and Shetty was confident they would be ready before the December 31 deadline.

"We are monitoring the development of all the World Cup venues, particularly the re-development of stadiums. The events are properly chartered and time is of the essence for us," Shetty said. "The World Cup has been previously held in the subcontinent in 1987 and 1996, and our aim is to deliver a World Cup remembered as a memorable event for spectators to enjoy and the teams that are participating to be at full strength."

In February, the ICC had written to the BCCI expressing concerns over facilities at Bangalore's Chinnaswamy Stadium. Andy Atkinson, the ICC pitch consultant, reportedly suggested several changes that need to be undertaken ahead of the tournament. In June, the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo was deemed to be behind schedule by an ICC delegation in terms of readiness of the pitch, but progress at the two new venues in Pallekele and Hambantota was assessed to be on track.

Shetty also said that the hosts were working towards improving the security for the event. "Each of the countries now has full-time security advisors and they are preparing the national security plans as well as the tournament security plans. The three governments are working out to ensure that this will be an incident free 2011 World Cup."

Shetty was in Colombo for the naming of the 2011 World Cup's mascot - a baby elephant called 'Stumpy'. The ICC had conducted an online competition inviting the public to suggest a name for the mascot.

Hot Spot unlikely to be used in the World Cup

Tariq Engineer

August 4, 2010

Comments: 38 | Text size: A | A

	In all likelihood, players won't have the benefit of Hot Spot during the World Cup © Sky Sports Enlarge
Related Links News : ICC backs umpire reviews for 2011 World Cup The Explainer : X-ray vision In Focus: Technology Players/Officials: Sachin Tendulkar Series/Tournaments: ICC Cricket World Cup Sites: Cricinfo ICC Site

While the ICC is keen on using the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) at next year's World Cup, the tournament is unlikely to see Hot Spot, the technology most favoured by the players for its accuracy. Contrary to reports, a combination of a shortage of cameras, the high cost of acquiring and using the technology, and the sensitive nature of the equipment, makes it almost impossible for the technology to be in place by February.

"For the World Cup 2011, there is no chance for Hot Spot being available for all 50+ early round matches," Warren Brennan, the owner of BBG Sports, the firm that supplies the technology, told Cricinfo in an email. "At present we only have four Hot Spot cameras, this would limit us to providing Hot Spot for only quarter-final matches onwards.

"This would include two cameras for the quarter-finals and semi-finals, with the possibility of four cameras for the final in Mumbai. This is something I have discussed with David Richardson from the ICC, but have not had any updates in the past 6 weeks."

According to Brennan, to have had enough cameras for the World Cup, an order for an additional eight to 10 Hot Spot cameras should have been placed in January or February this year. The cameras take four to six months to build and there are only four or five companies in the world that have the know-how to make them.

And each time BBG wants to buy a new one, it has to undergo a security check because the cameras are classified as military equipment. These checks can take up to three months to complete. "We have to go through various processes," Brennan said. "Are they good guys? Can we trust them? Have they sold any cameras to Al-Qaeda? You can't just go into a 7-Eleven and buy one. "

Brennan also said he needs help from the ICC and the boards to bring the cost of the system down. Hot Spot, which uses infra-red imaging technology to determine whether the ball has struck the bat, pad or batsman, currently costs $6,000 per day for a two-camera setup and $10,000 per day for a four-camera setup.

Under the current system, the broadcaster has to bear the cost of using the UDRS but isn't always able to do so. Pakistan, for example, opted not to have the referral system when they played Australia in England because it was unaffordable. "They [the ICC] know that if they want to take the system further, they have to figure out the funding models," Brennan said.

The absence of Hot Spot does not rule out the possibility of UDRS being used in the World Cup. The ICC's minimum requirements for the referral system only include ball tracking technology (Hawk-Eye), super slow-motion cameras and a clean audio feed from the stump microphone. Hot Spot is "desirable", but not a requirement at this point, according to an ICC spokesperson.

But some top players have spoken out in favour of Hot Spot, the most recent being Sachin Tendulkar. After completing his fifth Test double-hundred in the second Test against Sri Lanka, Tendulkar made it clear he prefers Hot Spot over the basic UDRS.

"I am not fully convinced with the referral system (UDRS)," Tendulkar said. "When I was here last time I was not convinced with many decisions. I did not feel comfortable; it was an experiment which I felt. I would rather go with the Hot Spot because that establishes the contact between the bat and the ball. That it is far better system according to me. The Hot Spot is much better."

Tariq Engineer is a senior sub-editor at Cricinfo

Sachin Tendulkar

Full name Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar

Born April 24, 1973, Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra

Current age 37 years 101 days

Major teams India, Asia XI, Mumbai, Mumbai Indians, Yorkshire

Nickname Tendlya, Little Master

Batting style Right-hand bat

Bowling style Right-arm offbreak, Legbreak googly

Height 5 ft 5 in

Education Sharadashram Vidyamandir School

In a nutshell Perhaps the most complete batsman and the most worshipped cricketer in the world, Tendulkar holds every record worth owning in the game, including those for most runs and hundreds in Tests and ODIs, and most international runs. More

Batting and fielding averages

	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St
Tests	168	274	29	13742	248*	56.08			48	55		57	105	0
ODIs	442	431	41	17598	200*	45.12	20401	86.26	46	93	1927	185	134	0
T20Is	1	1	0	10	10	10.00	12	83.33	0	0	2	0	1	0
First-class	271	426	45	22635	248*	59.40			75	101			173	0
List A	529	516	55	21150	200*	45.87			57	111			169	0
Twenty20	40	40	5	1368	89*	39.08	1065	128.45	0	10	181	20	17	0

Bowling averages

	Mat	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Econ	SR	4w	5w	10
Tests	168	130	3994	2299	44	3/10	3/14	52.25	3.45	90.7	0	0	0
ODIs	442	267	8020	6817	154	5/32	5/32	44.26	5.10	52.0	4	2	0
T20Is	1	1	15	12	1	1/12	1/12	12.00	4.80	15.0	0	0	0
First-class	271		7359	4191	69	3/10		60.73	3.41	106.6		0	0
List A	529		10196	8445	201	5/32	5/32	42.01	4.96	50.7	4	2	0
Twenty20	40	8	93	123	2	1/12	1/12	61.50	7.93	46.5	0	0	0

Career statistics

Test debut	Pakistan v India at Karachi, Nov 15-20, 1989 scorecard
Last Test	Sri Lanka v India at Colombo (SSC), Jul 26-30, 2010 scorecard
Test statistics	- Statsguru Test analysis - Player analysis menu/filter Test match list --------------------------------- Batting career summary Batting innings list High scores Batting series averages --------------------------------- Bowling career summary Bowling innings list Bowling match list Best innings bowling Best match bowling Bowling series averages --------------------------------- Fielding career summary Fielding innings list Most catches in an innings Fielding series statistics
ODI debut	Pakistan v India at Gujranwala, Dec 18, 1989 scorecard
Last ODI	India v South Africa at Gwalior, Feb 24, 2010 scorecard
ODI statistics	- Statsguru ODI analysis - Player analysis menu/filter ODI match list --------------------------------- Batting career summary Batting innings list High scores Batting series averages --------------------------------- Bowling career summary Bowling innings list Best innings bowling Bowling series averages --------------------------------- Fielding career summary Fielding innings list Most catches in an innings Fielding series statistics
Only T20I	South Africa v India at Johannesburg, Dec 1, 2006 scorecard
T20I statistics	- Statsguru T20I analysis - Player analysis menu/filter T20I match list --------------------------------- Batting career summary Batting innings list --------------------------------- Bowling career summary Bowling innings list --------------------------------- Fielding career summary Fielding innings list
First-class debut	1988/89
Last First-class	Sri Lanka v India at Colombo (SSC), Jul 26-30, 2010 scorecard
List A debut	1989/90
Last List A	India v South Africa at Gwalior, Feb 24, 2010 scorecard
Twenty20 debut	South Africa v India at Johannesburg, Dec 1, 2006 scorecard
Last Twenty20	Chennai Super Kings v Mumbai Indians at Mumbai, Apr 25, 2010 scorecard

Profile

Sachin Tendulkar has been the most complete batsman of his time, and arguably the biggest cricket icon as well. His batting is based on the purest principles: perfect balance, economy of movement, precision in stroke-making, and that intangible quality given only to geniuses: anticipation. If he doesn't have a signature stroke - the upright, back-foot punch comes close - it is because he is equally proficient at each of the full range of orthodox shots (and plenty of improvised ones as well) and can pull them out at will.

There are no apparent weaknesses in Tendulkar's game. He can score all around the wicket, off both front foot and back, can tune his technique to suit every condition, temper his game to suit every situation, and has made runs in all parts of the world in all conditions.

Some of his finest performances have come against Australia, the overwhelmingly dominant team of his era. His century as a 19-year-old on a lightning-fast pitch at the WACA is considered one of the best innings ever to have been played in Australia. A few years later he received the ultimate compliment from the ultimate batsman: Don Bradman confided to his wife that Tendulkar reminded him of himself.

Blessed with the keenest of cricket minds, and armed with a loathing for losing, Tendulkar set about doing what it took to become one of the best batsmen in the world. His greatness was established early: he was only 16 when he made his Test debut. He was hit on the mouth by Waqar Younis but continued to bat, in a blood-soaked shirt. His first Test hundred, a match-saving one at Old Trafford, came when he was 17, and he had 16 Test hundreds before he turned 25. In 2000 he became the first batsman to have scored 50 international hundreds, in 2008 he passed Brian Lara as the leading Test run-scorer, and in the years after, he went past 13,000 Test runs and 30,000 international runs.

He currently holds the record for most hundreds in both Tests and ODIs - remarkable, considering he didn't score his first ODI hundred till his 79th match. Incredibly, he retains a divine enthusiasm for the game, and he seems to be untouched by age: at 36 years and 306 days he broke a 40-year-old barrier by scoring the first double-century in one-day cricket. It now seems inevitable that he will become the first cricketer to score 100 international hundreds, which like Bradman's batting average, could be a mark that lasts for ever.

Tendulkar's considerable achievements seem greater still when looked at in the light of the burden of expectations he has had to bear from his adoring but somewhat unreasonable followers, who have been prone to regard anything less than a hundred in each innings as a failure. The aura may have dimmed, if only slightly, as the years on the international circuit have taken their toll on the body, but Tendulkar remains, by a distance, the most worshipped cricketer in the world.