Champions League Twenty20 2010

Champions League Twenty20 has challenges - Sundar Raman

Cricinfo staff

August 31, 2010

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	Lack of team recognition is a problem the tournament organisers are working towards fixing © Global Cricket Ventures-BCCI Enlarge
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The 2010 Champions League Twenty20 in South Africa will be a success but there are challenges to building its popularity, the tournament's CEO Sundar Raman has said.

Last year's tournament drew low television ratings and relatively sparse crowds in India, the world's largest cricket market, for matches not involving IPL sides. Raman admitted the lack of team recognition is a problem and one the tournament committee is working hard to fix.

"For us it is very important that people know the teams," Raman said in an interview with Sportz Power, a website that covers the business of sport in India. "South Africa is going to be different because they are used to a club culture. Now we are starting with an advantage because they know the two South African teams and they know the three IPL teams, so recognition is not 3 on 12 [last year] but it's 5 on 10. So that's a big advantage for us."

At the same time, Raman said that in any global tournament, be it the cricket or football World Cups, there will be teams that are unfamiliar to a particular country's fans. "Here you have three teams to follow, and not one team to follow. That is the big advantage [for Indian fans]."

Still, despite the club culture in South Africa, ticket sales have been mixed to this point. Raman expected Durban and Port Elizabeth to have full houses but said there were concerns about Centurion, which doesn't have a home team in the tournament, and Johannesburg, which does not feature either an Indian or a South African team.

"See CL T20 we have to be clear is not going to get international visitors, rather it's going to develop the local market. That's the big challenge for us and I think that's what we should start focusing on rather than trying to get the world to descend on South Africa."

The other important change this year, Raman said, is to let the quality of cricket be its own advertisement instead of diluting it with Bollywood-style entertainment. The tournament was conceived as a global event, so what entertainment there will be is aimed at a global audience, which is why Enrique Iglesias was chosen to sing the theme song.

"It has to have relevance," Raman said. "Someone like Enrique cuts across genres and brings in a new set of audiences. Our belief has always been that T20 is a great platform to get new audiences into the game. For us this is a big advantage. Bringing in Enrique, taking the tournament to South Africa, adds more fans."

The tournament, which begins on September 10, is being aggressively promoted around the world. In India, ESPN Star Sports (ESS), which owns the broadcast rights, has signed Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan as the event's brand ambassador and has been running a string of ads featuring the actor and players such as Sourav Ganguly and Andrew Symonds. The three IPL teams - Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians - are also running their own marketing campaigns to drum up excitement among their fans.

"Each of the sub-licensees of ESPN Star Sports are promoting it in a big way," Raman said. "Eurosport is broadcasting in 13 languages, then they have ESPN broadcasting in the Caribbean market. It's a big investment that all of us have made in this. Australia is doing some serious promotion through publicity and on-air promotions. So the tournament is being promoted pretty heavily through our broadcasters."

The end result is an event Raman believes will appeal to the viewer in India and the spectator in South Africa. "I am more confident than I was last year because I have seen what the product was last year. I believe that not only will it be a huge success in India but it will be far more well received in India. You have to acknowledge India is the market where there are sizeable TV audiences and South Africa is where the stadium audiences are."

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

Sehwag backs Indian youngsters

	Virender Sehwag: "We have to give more time to youngsters" © Associated Press Enlarge
Related Links News : Dhoni confident of batting revival Players/Officials: Virender Sehwag Series/Tournaments: Sri Lanka Triangular Series Teams: India

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
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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

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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World Cup final a dream - Tendulkar

Andrew McGlashan

June 14, 2010

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	'We must take it step-by-step but to get there would be a fascinating journey' © Getty Images Enlarge
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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

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	'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.

Make UDRS mandatory - Kumar Sangakkara

	There will be no UDRS in the Test series after India objected to its use © Getty Images
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Kumar Sangakkara, the Sri Lanka captain, has asked the ICC to step in and make the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) mandatory for all Test series, following India's refusal to use it for the upcoming series. Sangakkara also said the ICC should perhaps pay for the technology needed to implement the system successfully, because it is something the ICC wants to introduce and the broadcasters have usually paid exorbitant monies for their rights and might not be able to afford extra costs for sophisticated tools such as Hot Spot.

"I was under the impression that the ICC has set the standards on this by saying that everyone should use the DRS system," Sangakkara said, suggesting he was not aware of the results of the latest discussion on UDRS at the ICC's annual conference. "I think last year in India also, the entire team felt a little hard done by when we came to know that we couldn't have the DRS."

The ICC's directive, too, was as ambiguous as the body's role is in international cricket. "The host member would determine whether to use DRS in home Test series (following consultation with the visiting country)," said the ICC release, in one sentence giving the home board the power to "determine" whether the UDRS should be used, and also empowering the visiting team to contest it.

"The role that ICC has to play here is to make sure that all boards are bound to have the DRS," Sangakkara said, "Rather than when one side refuses, the other side can't enforce the DRS, as is under the current playing conditions.

Sangakkara reiterated how the absence of DRS hurt his side on its tour of India ("It cost us close to 500 runs and lots of wickets"), and also how the presence of the same system proved to be an advantage when they hosted India in 2008. Then, Sri Lanka successfully challenged 11 decisions as opposed to India's one.

"There were of course complaints by the Indian team, which led to - I think - subsequent series' being played without the review system," Sangakkara said. "Having reviewed all the matches, there are flaws. You need Hot Spot and all, but even with the existing technology in place, we can still have a very fair DRS."

MS Dhoni explained his side's decision with what has been a genuine concern with the UDRS: why challenge decisions when the best available technology is not being used? "DRS is still not a 100 % correct system," Dhoni said. "We have seen that, in spite of having the DRS, not everything goes correct. Most of the teams have played a series under the DRS, so it is important now to come up with a foolproof plan. See what exactly works. In a bat-pad scenario, Hot Spot really works, it is close to over 98 % correct. Even on LBW decisions, we need to have something like that."

Which brings us to the present conundrum: Several broadcasters pushed themselves to the commercial brink to secure telecast rights, and they obviously hadn't budgeted for the extra cost to make the UDRS successful. Which is what makes the ICC's role important, because essentially the DRS is its baby. "That's another option [paying for the technology] maybe the ICC should look at," Sangakkara said. "Provide the technology, make everything standard, if the costs the exorbitant, subsidise the costs. These are all the things we can look at. Maybe the broadcasters - they of course pay such a lot for cricket, but they also make sure they earn almost as much - maybe they could work out ways of subsiding it."

Bowlers the focus in tour opener

	Ajantha Mendis will have to prove to the selectors that he's the man to fill the void left by Murali © AFP
Related Links Players/Officials: Dilhara Fernando | Ajantha Mendis | Yuvraj Singh Matches: Sri Lanka Board President's XI v Indians at Colombo (Colts) Series/Tournaments: India tour of Sri Lanka Teams: India | Sri Lanka

Colts Cricket Club Ground is an idyllic, old-fashioned cricket ground, surrounded by trees, in Havelock Town in Colombo 5. A late replacement for the Nondescripts Cricket Club, the Colts Ground was slated to host what is usually a quaint tour game to kick off India's tour, but the game has now become almost a Test trial for both sides.

India have run into fitness issues, with Zaheer Khan and Sreesanth injured and Harbhajan Singh down with fever. Sri Lanka have chosen a strong Board President's XI side, with six members from the Test squad looking to impress the team management. Ajantha Mendis, not in the squad for the first Test, has been given an opportunity too.

The Indian XI is now wide open. If Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina and M Vijay get picked for the tour game, a really impressive show from any one of them against an attack featuring Dilhara Fernando, Chanaka Welegedara and Mendis could seal him the No. 6 spot for the Galle Test.

More interesting and desperate is the bowling department. With Zaheer and Sreesanth now out, Abhimanyu Mithun will be backing himself for the Test pace attack along with Ishant Sharma. Mithun, though, will look for a solid performance against the likes of Thilan Samaraweera, Upul Tharanga and Lahiru Thirimanne to make sure that Sreesanth's replacement, to be named some time on Monday, doesn't overtake him in the preference for the Test slot.

Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha have for long been taking turns to assist Harbhajan in the spin department, but neither of them has impressed the selectors enough to become a definite starter. With Harbhajan still recovering from the fever and yet to attend a training session, both of them are likely to get a chance to stake claims for the Test spot.

Sri Lanka, too, have an uncertain bowling line-up, especially the pace department. While Muttiah Muralitharan is a definite starter, Galle being his last Test, either of Rangana Herath or Suraj Randiv will form the spin duo. Among the fast bowlers, though, any two of Lasith Malinga, Dammika Prasad, Fernando and Welegedara can be picked in the XI.

Two of them, Fernando and Welegedara, will get a chance in Colombo to send notice to the captain and the coach. That two of them have been asked to show their form in the tour game could suggest that Malinga and Prasad have a lead over them, but a five-for against a near-Test side never hurt anybody.

Most interesting, though, will be how Mendis bowls. He will be up against the same batting line-up that he tortured two years ago; the same batsmen have been torturing him since. He knows there will be a vacancy with Murali retiring after the first Test. He also knows he needs to convince them that he is the man to fill it. Mendis will be bowling to get his Test career back on track, to the same set of blokes he launched it against in the first place.

Pakistan eliminated in cliffhanger

India 271 for 7 (Gambhir 83, Dhoni 56) beat Pakistan 267 (Butt 74, Kamran 51, Praveen 3-53) by three wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

	Gautam Gambhir's half-century gave India the advantage before the drama began © Associated Press
Related Links News : Afridi praises team unity Analysis : Emotions hit fever pitch in iconic rivalry Matches: India v Pakistan at Dambulla Series/Tournaments: Asia Cup Teams: India | Pakistan

The Asia Cup's marquee clash was a cliffhanger. The contest between India and Pakistan simmered tantalisingly, with one team edging ahead at several junctures only to be pulled back by timely strikes from the other. The ebb and flow went on until the match reached flashpoint during India's chase. Tempers flared, nerves frayed, batsmen resorted to the desperate, bowlers lost their radar and fielders fumbled as margins for error became non-existent. And Pakistan, fighting to stay alive in the Asia Cup, watched Harbhajan Singh, fuelled by adrenalin and his love for a scrap, heave the penultimate ball of the match from Mohammad Aamer over the midwicket boundary to trigger explosive celebrations in the Indian dressing room.

Pakistan, after the emotion subsides, will identify a period during their batting, when they let a critical advantage slip, as a factor that contributed significantly to their exit. Their top three - Salman Butt, Imran Farhat and Shoaib Malik - had built a platform from where a total of 300 was probable, but a collapse eroded their position from 144 for 1 to 159 for 4. A regular fall of wickets thereafter, and especially the loss of Shahid Afridi and Adbul Razzaq before the batting Powerplay was underway, gave rise to the possibility of a total less than 250. It needed a counterattack from Kamran Akmal to lift Pakistan to 267, a score well short of what they were on course for. It was the ninth consecutive ODI in which Pakistan had failed to last 50 overs.

This tensest of finishes - India needing three off two balls with tailenders batting - seemed improbable when Gautam Gambhir and MS Dhoni put on an exhibition of clinical accumulation during their partnership of 98, which left only 89 to get off the last 15 overs with eight wickets in hand. They ran hard, pierced gaps, and muscled pressure-relieving boundaries whenever the asking-rate crept over six an over. India were in control even after Gambhir's dismissal - bowled trying to cut a straighter one from Saeed Ajmal - with Dhoni, who had clouted a Shoaib Akhtar free-hit over midwicket for six to reach a half-century, taking charge.

India's advantage began to shrink between overs 38 and 41. Pakistan had 76 runs to defend at the start of this period and conceded only 15 in four overs. Rohit Sharma was then trapped by a Shahid Afridi flipper, but it was Dhoni's freak dismissal, in the 43rd over bowled by Malik, that made Pakistan the latest favourites. Malik drifted a friendly full toss down leg side, Dhoni reached away from his body and tried to paddle it fine. He was early on the shot and the ball ricocheted on to the stumps off the back of the bat. India now needed 58 off 46 with two brand new batsmen in the middle.

Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja nudged and pushed until 50 were needed off the last six overs and decided it was time to take the batting Powerplay. Afridi brought back Shoaib Akhtar, who was economical in his first spell but expensive in his second, for the fielding restrictions and he bowled an exemplary over, troubling both batsmen with quick short-of-a-length deliveries. Raina and Jadeja managed only one off him.

Jadeja was castled by Ajmal off the first ball off the 46th over and Raina was then joined by Harbhajan. Raina had struggled to make contact with Shoaib's bouncers and so he targeted Ajmal, cutting the ball to the boundary before heaving it over midwicket. That 13-run over narrowed the gap between runs required and balls remaining significantly and Ajmal hobbled off the field shortly after.

Pakistan had held the edge since Dhoni's dismissal but their grasp on the contest weakened when Harbhajan lofted Shoaib over long-on with impeccable timing, reducing the equation to 30 off 22. Shoaib, however, mixed slower balls with sharp bouncers to concede only three of the next four balls. In the 48th over, Aamer's direction failed him and he delivered two wides, but the batsmen managed only singles off the first four legal deliveries. Then Raina went deep into his crease to convert a yorker into a full ball and swung it powerfully through midwicket, finding the gap between two boundary riders.

Raina took on Shoaib in the 49th, pulling a short ball - this one didn't rise as much - for six to slash the equation to 10 off 11 balls. Shoaib, however, once again finished strongly, beating Harbhajan with consecutive bouncers off the final two deliveries. He followed up those fiery deliveries with an equally fiery verbal volley. It riled Harbhajan who responded before Billy Doctrove intervened.

With India needing seven runs off the final over, Raina took a single off the first ball, giving Harbhajan the strike. Raina tried to get it back immediately by stealing a bye but his desperate dive was beaten by Kamran Akmal's throw. Kamran was pumped: he had dropped Sharma earlier, and had a confrontational tête-à-tête with Gambhir over an appeal for a catch.

Praveen Kumar, India's No. 9, scored three off his first two balls and gave Harbhajan the strike for the penultimate delivery. Aamer ran in and pitched on a length, Harbhajan wound up, swung hard, and began to raise his hands in triumph as the ball cleared the ropes. And then he roared, and roared, and looked for Shoaib.

Sehwag ruled out of Asia Cup

	Virender Sehwag was in pain during his innings against Pakistan © Associated Press
Related Links Players/Officials: Virender Sehwag Matches: India v Pakistan at Dambulla Series/Tournaments: Asia Cup Teams: India

India have suffered a setback ahead of the Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka, as Virender Sehwag, the opener, has been ruled out of the tournament due to a strained hamstring.

Sehwag sustained the injury during India's chase against Pakistan in Dambulla and has been advised 10 days rest. Dinesh Karthik, the wicketkeeper batsman, has been called in as his replacement. Sehwag also missed the team's practice session on Monday morning and will fly back to India on Tuesday.

In an uncharacteristic innings where he laboured to 10 off 32 balls, Sehwag appeared to be in pain and sought the assistance of the physio. He eventually had to rely on the services of Suresh Raina as runner before being dismissed.

Sehwag had also missed the World Twenty20 this year in the Caribbean due to a shoulder injury, and was rested for the subsequent tour of Zimbabwe. Similarly, in 2009, he hurt his shoulder during the IPL in South Africa, missing out on a place in India's squad for the World Twenty20 in England.

India take on Sri Lanka in a dead rubber on June 22, before the final on June 24.

Finalists clash in dress rehearsal

Match Facts

Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Start time 1430 (0900 GMT)

	Upul Tharanga will play his 100th ODI © Associated Press
Related Links Matches: Sri Lanka v India at Dambulla Series/Tournaments: Asia Cup Teams: India | Sri Lanka

The Big Picture

The neighbourly affection between India and Sri Lanka knows no bounds. What was meant to be a ceaseless flow of riveting action between the two teams was rudely interrupted by an inspired Zimbabwe, who deprived India of a place in the tri-series final in Harare. But India bounced back in the Asia Cup, upstaging Pakistan to seal another meeting with their favoured rivals and restore the trend. Tuesday's contest, a dress rehearsal for the final, despite the monotony of what began in January last year, will be one that India will welcome. They are without Virender Sehwag, ruled out of the tournament due to a hamstring injury, and will want to achieve some stability at the top of the order leading into the final.

Sri Lanka have won their games with greater comfort, with their bowlers restraining Pakistan in the opening match and the batsmen, led by Tillakaratne Dilshan, dominating Bangladesh to prepare themselves well for the remaining two games. Both teams, however, have untested players and could try out their bench strength ahead of the final.

Form guide (most recent first)

India: WWLLW
Sri Lanka: WWWLW

Watch out for...

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli: Though relatively inexperienced, they have acquired a strong reputation in India's middle order and their responsibility has grown in the absence of Sehwag at the top. Both batsmen have had a quiet Asia Cup, following impressive performances in Zimbabwe, and now have the match they need to shape up for the big game.

Upul Tharanga: He has filled in admirably at the position vacated by Sanath Jayasuriya. Tharanga's scores in his previous six innings read 40, 27, 69, 72, 11 and 54, complementing the belligerence of Dilshan with an assured solidity.

Team news

Dinesh Karthik is Sehwag's replacement for the remainder of the tournament and is likely to open on Tuesday with Gautam Gambhir. India may be tempted to rest one of their seamers, possibly Ashish Nehra who has just recovered from back spasms. They have Ashok Dinda in the reserves as well as the spinner R Ashwin. Saurabh Tiwary is a candidate for the middle order, but the rest will be keen to spend some time in the middle ahead of the final.

India (possible) 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Dinesh Karthik, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Rohit Sharma, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 MS Dhoni, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Harbhajan Singh/R Ashwin, 9 Praveen Kumar, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Ashish Nehra/ Ashok Dinda.

If Sri Lanka choose to try out their bench strength, they may consider resting Lasith Malinga and play allrounder Farveez Maharoof. Another possible change is the inclusion of Suraj Randiv for Muttiah Muralitharan, who may be given a break ahead of the final.

Sri Lanka (possible) 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (capt), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Thilan Samaraweera/ Thilina Kandamby, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Chamara Kapugedera, 8 Farveez Maharoof, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Suraj Randiv, 11 Chanaka Welegedera.

Stats and trivia

• India and Sri Lanka are meeting for the 18th time since the start of 2009 in an ODI.

• The game is the 2999th ODI. The 3000th will be held on the same day, between England and Australia. Incidentally the same two teams played the very first ODI in 1971.

• Upul Tharanga is set to play his 100th ODI

  Quotes

  
  "This is an important game for us. We don't take any game lightly. Obviously, if we win the match, we can go to the final with a better frame of mind."
  Harbhajan Singh values the momentum India stand to gain if they win on Tuesday.

Injured Praveen out of World Twenty20

	Praveen Kumar will be returning home due to a side strain © AFP
Related Links Players/Officials: Praveen Kumar | Umesh Yadav Series/Tournaments: ICC World Twenty20 Teams: India

Praveen Kumar, the Indian fast bowler, has been ruled out of the remainder of the World Twenty20 due to a side strain. His replacement will be Vidarbha and Delhi Daredevils fast bowler Umesh Yadav, who impressed with his pace during the recent IPL.

Yadav, 22, got the call from the Vidarbha Cricket Association earlier in the afternoon and he will leave for the Caribbean on Friday from Mumbai. Yadav, who picked six wickets at 30 in the seven IPL matches, acknowledged the help he got from Eric Simons, the Daredevils' bowling coach, who is also the Indian team's bowling consultant.

"I am completely surprised. And that, too, for a World Cup, I really find it hard to believe," Yadav told Cricinfo from the Nagpur airport. "But I have been enjoying my bowling especially in the last year so it is bearing the fruits now." Yadav was not part of the pool of 30 probables but needs a nod from the tournament's technical committee, which should be a formality.

Praveen had sustained the injury during a practice session at the 3Ws Oval and the Indian team management sent him for an MRI which revealed the injury. He bowled only one over in the victory over South Africa in St Lucia, but his services will be missed in Barbados, where the pitches have plenty of pace and bounce. If India decide to go with three fast bowlers against Australia on Friday, Karnataka seamer Vinay Kumar could make his international debut.

Awesome Australia outclass India

Australia 184 for 5 (Warner 72, Watson 54) beat India 135 (Rohit 79*, Tait 3-21, Nannes 3-25) by 49 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Hawk-eye

	David Warner had fun at the expense of Ravindra Jadeja © AFP
Related Links Players/Officials: Dirk Nannes | Shaun Tait | David Warner | Shane Watson Matches: Australia v India at Bridgetown Series/Tournaments: ICC World Twenty20 Teams: Australia | India

The match started with a maiden. Silence before a storm that absolutely blew India out of its way. Six-hitting has seldom been made to look easier: David Warner and Shane Watson just kept clearing their front legs, creating room, and kept lofting the Indians over various parts of the Kensington Oval. Finding gaps and all they didn't care about. Between them they hit 13 sixes and only three fours, and by the time they were done, 142 runs had been scored in 14 overs. Australia's last four overs for 23 runs were silence before another storm: during which their awesome attack annihilated India, except for Rohit Sharma, the only one of eight batsmen to reach double figures.

The same ample and true bounce that worked for Australia hurt India. That the ball came on, coupled with the short boundaries, gave Watson and Warner the confidence to go for their big hits. The Indian batsmen, though, with no option to duck or leave thanks to the huge chase, were almost always in bad position when playing the short deliveries. And they got plenty of them at a healthy pace.

That Rohit was playing in the first place, an extra batsman keeping India's attack down to two seamers, could be argued to be a defensive move even before the match started.

Out of a spinner-dominated attack, Harbhajan Singh was a bowler apart: he bowled that initial maiden and went for just 15 in his four overs. By comparison, Ravindra Jadeja, who will want to delete May 7 from the 2010 calendar, went for 36 in six deliveries spread over two overs. That after he had dropped Watson when only on 7, and before he ran himself out by running away from the stumps. That Jadeja was brought to bowl a second over after being hit for three successive sixes exposed a rare tactical error from MS Dhoni: he had not left himself with a great choice of bowlers.

Match Meter Aus Jadeja goes for three in three, part I: In the fourth over, Watson loved the long hops that Jadeja served and went from 10 off 14 to 28 off 17 Aus Jadeja goes for three in three, part II: Jadeja's next three balls, in the 10th over, fast-tracked Warner's knock, taking him from 29 off 25 to 47 off 28 and Australia to 94 for 0 Aus Australia fail to get the finishing kick: In the last four overs, Australia manage only 23 runs, giving India an outside chance. Aus Too fast, too short: Nannes snares Vijay, Gambhir and Yuvraj inside the first four overs. India are 23 for 4 and any hopes of victory fade. Advantage Honours even

The subdued start that Watson got off to against Harbhajan, though, would have given Dhoni false confidence. After facing seven consecutive dot balls first up, Watson just exploded, pulling Ashish Nehra way over long-on for six. The template had been set. Both the batsmen sat back, took their leading legs out of the way, and hardly hit anything off anywhere but the middle of the bat.

Jadeja contributed to the onslaught, bowling short repeatedly, and Watson brutalised him over midwicket, cow corner and square leg. By the time Jadeja came back, in the 10th over, Australia had consolidated on the start, Zaheer Khan had looked ineffective, and Warner had warmed up, reaching 29 off 25 with Watson on 47 off 29. Three balls later, he came level with Watson, with sixes either side of a widish long-on and a huge one over midwicket. Both the barrels had started firing, and we were in for a contest as to who would hit more sixes.

Watson, already ahead by one, hit Yusuf Pathan for another big one in the next over, but was bowled immediately after by a delivery that kept low. Warner showed no signs of slowing down, hitting Yusuf and Yuvraj Singh for three sixes in the next three overs before edging one that bounced extra.

Yuvraj, Nehra and Zaheer, who bowled well at the death, kept India one short of the dubious record for most sixes in an innings, 17. Soon Rohit would find himself in a fight to avoid the biggest defeat in a Twenty20 international featuring two major sides.

Dirk Nannes and Shaun Tait were simply too quick for the top order. Limp shots, batsmen jumping to negotiate accurate bumpers, bottom hand coming off while playing them, lobbed catches inside the circle, a superb yorker and a bit of silly running thrown in, and India were 50 for 7. M Vijay got an edge trying to drag Nannes from outside off, Gautam Gambhir was hurried and had by a Tait bouncer, Suresh Raina followed a top-edged six with another top edge that went nowhere and could even had hit his stumps had Michael Clarke not caught the skier.

Rohit's clean and assured hitting, 79 off 46 balls, not only delayed the defeat, it also made a case for his selection ahead of either Jadeja or Yusuf and kept the net run-rate damage down.

Sidharth Monga is a staff writer at Cricinfo

Raina century seals one-sided win

The Bulletin by Sidharth Monga

May 2, 2010

Text size: A | A

India 186 for 5 (Raina 101, Yuvraj 37) beat South Africa 172 for 5 (Kallis 73) by 14 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Hawk-Eye

	Suresh Raina became the first Indian batsman to score an international T20 hundred © Getty Images
Related Links News : Centurion Raina thanks Dhoni for help Players/Officials: Jacques Kallis | Suresh Raina Matches: India v South Africa at Gros Islet Series/Tournaments: ICC World Twenty20 Teams: India | South Africa

Suresh Raina struggled at first, then he sizzled. He overcame a jittery period of mis-hits and short-pitched bowling, scoring 82 off the last 38 balls he faced, en route to only the third century in Twenty20 internationals. Yuvraj Singh came back to form, Graeme Smith's reluctance to attack with Dale Steyn confounded, and India's 186 was always going to be too much on a difficult pitch and a slow and big outfield.

South Africa's reply, in the face of a four-spinner Indian attack - without using Yuvraj - was even more confounding. Jacques Kallis and Smith struggled to flow, and hesitated to take risks. Their run-rate crossed six an over for the first time in the 11th over, and it was too late by then, despite some late hitting from Kallis.

India had got off to a similar start, albeit against seamers, but unlike South Africa they threw away the caution at a more appropriate time. With two early wickets gone and both Raina and Yuvraj struggling to present the middle of the bat, India were 43 after eight overs. There was no mucking around after that. Although the odd mis-hit remained a feature of the partnership, the sweet shots grew in frequency and India got 143 in the next 12 overs. It worked for them that the mis-hits kept bouncing in front of deep fielders, and the sweet ones cleared them easily.

From the time he came to bat in the first over, Raina was given a fair share of back-of-a-length deliveries. By the time India's both irregular openers, in absence of Gautam Gambhir (down with diarrhoea), ended their struggle, Raina had survived a catch off a Morne Morkel no-ball. He would go on to survive run-out attempts from Smith and AB de Villiers, when on 37 and 47.

Match Meter SA Seamers start well: South Africa trouble India with seam movement and back-of-a-length bowling, taking out both irregular openers by the sixth over, for 32. India SA Spin brings India back: Raina and Yuvraj get stuck into first signs of spin, taking 13 off the ninth over, van der Merwe's only attempt at bowling. India Raina steps up a gear: The Raina-Yuvraj partnership gets India 88 runs and more importantly momentum. When Yuvraj gets out in the 16th over, that momentum only grows: Raina hits a six the next ball, and scores 38 off the next 12 balls he faces. India Kallis, Smith play strangely: While they struggle against spinners, South Africa's two senior-most batsmen don't take enough risks to break free, and by the end of the 10th over, the required run-rate has jumped to 13. India Kallis explodes, then burns: Upon reaching a slow fifty, Kallis opens up, hitting three sixes in two overs, but his fourth attempt ends down long-on's lap, leaving South Africa an unmanageable equation. Advantage Honours even

The introduction of spin, when Raina was 19 off 22 and Yuvraj 5 off 9, was what turned it around. In the ninth over, Roelof van der Merwe's first and only, Raina played two lovely inside-out drives to get six off two deliveries, and Yuvraj slog-swept to get six off one. That was trigger enough to shed away inhibitions. The first ball of the next over, Raina guessed a back-of-a-length delivery, backed away and slogged Kallis for six. His best shot was when he made room against a near yorker from Albie Morkel in the next over and squeezed it wide of point for four.

Yuvraj, meanwhile, had found his timing back, and took the lead in scoring, playing the effortless pick-ups, short-arm pulls, and the inside-out shots. By the time he skied one to hand, Raina, having put in the struggle, the ugly moments, was there in a position to cash in. Steyn, underused in the first half of the innings, came back well, but he was now limiting damage as opposed to causing it.

Rory Kleinveldt, who got M Vijay in the first over and Yuvraj later, was the one who suffered the most. And he was asking for it too, bowling either length or full tosses in the 18th over, and was hit to such varied areas as midwicket, cow corner, extra cover, straight over his head, and over long-off. Twenty-five came off that over, during which Raina moved from 75 to 93. He reached his century with a slogged six in the final over, which went for 19.

Raina will cherish this knock all the more because the pitch interested a variety of bowlers. South Africa had managed to assume a strong position with their hit-the-deck bowlers, India were about to do so with the spinners. Harbhajan Singh bowled the first over, Yusuf Pathan was introduced inside the Powerplay, and Loots Bosman was out of his depth on the slow pitch.

With both Kallis and Smith struggling, by the time the first piece of enterprise came, a slog-swept six from Smith in the 11th over, the required run-rate had reached 13. By the time Kallis reached his fifty, off 45 balls, they were needing 15.5 in each of the six overs to come.

Suddenly Kallis exploded, hitting three sixes in the next two overs. It seemed for the second time in 40 overs a batsman was about to put behind him the struggles and play a decisive knock. Yet, there were just too many risks required, and one of them claimed Kallis, leaving 59 to get off 21. The requirement was comfortable enough for India to be able to experiment: Praveen Kumar bowled just one over, for three runs. With two straight wins, India stormed to the second round as the table leaders.