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A round-up of the third day of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Twenty20 tournament

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Oct-2010S Badrinath’s unbeaten half-century gave Tamil Nadu a third consecutive win, as they comfortably beat Hyderabad by six wickets at the Gymkhana Ground.Medium-pacer C Ganapathy had started positively for Tamil Nadu by bowling Hyderabad captain Ravi Teja in the second over. Tamil Nadu kept striking regularly throughout the innings, reducing Hyderabad to 72 for 6 in the 15th over. Akshath Reddy – who was part of the India squad for the 2010 Under-19 World Cup – took Hyderabad past 100 before he was bowled by L Balaji for 34 in the 18th over. Rain intervened at that point and the target was revised to 101 from 17 overs.Hyderabad medium-pacers Pagadala Naidu and Ashish Reddy ran through the Tamil Nadu top order, leaving them struggling at 57 for 4. But Badrinath stood firm, hitting three sixes and as many fours in his unbeaten 51 off 40 deliveries as Tamil Nadu won in 15 overs.P Prasanth’s all-round performance took Kerala to a four-wicket victory against Karnataka, in another rain-hit match at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.Karnataka’s spinners had Kerala in trouble at 76 for 6, chasing a rain-adjusted target of 110 from 14 overs. However, Prasanth came in at No. 8 and smashed four fours in his unbeaten 21 off 11 deliveries to take his side home with an over to spare.Prasanth’s left-arm spin had restricted Karnataka to 149, after Manish Pandey and Robin Uthappa added 80 to take them to 110 for 1 in the 14th over. Pandey made 49 off 45 while Uthappa – who also had three dismissals behind the stumps later – was more aggressive in his 38 off 26. However, both fell to Prasanth who finished with 3 for 20.Goa won their first game of the tournament at the Gymkhana Ground, scraping home by three wickets to hand Andhra their third consecutive defeat.Fast bowler Saurabh Bandekar led a disciplined performance by Goa’s bowlers in a match shortened to 16 overs-a-side, as Andhra lost half their side for 44 runs. Hemal Watekar ensured Andhra would have a modest total to defend, top-scoring with 41 off 29 deliveries.Sagun Kamat, the Goa captain, led the chase with 37 off 28 after fast bowler Syed Sahabuddin had jolted Goa with two early wickets. Left-arm spinner Shankara Rao struck repeatedly to leave Goa reeling at 86 for 7. However, No. 8 Robin D’Souza hammered 19 off 10 to bring up victory with two balls to spare.

India captain Suryakumar Yadav said the move was planned in alignment with the BCCI and the Indian government

Shashank Kishore14-Sep-2025No handshakes were exchanged before or after India’s seven-wicket win over Pakistan in the Asia Cup on Sunday as tensions between the two countries spilled out onto the field in Dubai.Suryakumar Yadav, the winning captain, said India had decided before the match – in alignment with the BCCI and the Indian government – that they would not shake hands with the opposition, a move that left Pakistan visibly disapppointed. Mike Hesson, the Pakistan coach, said the team had been waiting after the game to shake hands only to discover India were snubbing them.Related

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That led to their captain Salman Agha not appearing for the post-match TV interview, as is a broadcast norm. Pakistan’s displeasure over these events has extended as far as match referee Andy Pycroft.Hours after the match ended, the PCB said in a statement that Pakistan’s team manager had registered a “formal protest” against him, because he had “requested the captains not to shake hands during the toss”.This was the first meeting between the two sides since India and Pakistan exchanged cross-border hostilities following the Pahalgam terror attack in April, and uncertainty had surrounded the match in the intervening months, with several calls for India to boycott it.Clarity only emerged when the Indian government came out with its official policy for sporting engagements with Pakistan, greenlighting meetings in multilateral events while refusing to engage in bilateral contests. All that remained to be seen was how the match would play out against this backdrop.”Our government and BCCI – we were aligned today,” Suryakumar said at his post-match press conference. “Rest, we took a call [about not shaking hands]. We came here to just play the game. We have given a proper reply.”The match was played against the backdrop of heightened political tensions between India and Pakistan•Associated Press

Asked if their refusal to shake hands was against sporting spirit, Suryakumar said: “Few things in life are ahead of sportsman spirit also. I’ve [said] it at the presentation as well, we stand with all the victims of Pahalgam terror attacks, stand with their families, and express our solidarity.”Hesson expressed “disappointment” at India’s stance.”We were ready to shake hands at the end of the game, we obviously are disappointed that our opposition didn’t do that,” he said. “We sort of went over there to shake hands and they’d already gone into the changing room.”That was a disappointing way for the match to finish, and a match we were disappointed for the way we played, but we were certainly willing to shake hands.”Hesson said Agha’s absence from the presentation ceremony was a “follow-on effect” of India’s refusal to shake hands. The PCB statement confirmed this, terming India’s actions to be “against sportsmanship”.”Manager Naveed Akram Cheema has registered a formal protest against the match referee’s behaviour,” the PCB statement said. “Match referee requested the captains not to shake hands during the toss.”Pycroft’s response to Pakistan’s statement is awaited.

Danish Malewar also scored 73 to go with his 153 in the first innings

Shashank Kishore01-Mar-2025Vidarbha 379 and 249 for 4 (Nair 132*, Malewar 73) lead Kerala 342 (Baby 98, Sarwate 79, Nalkande 3-52, Rekhade 3-65, Dubey 3-88) by 286 runsIf fate had played out differently two seasons ago, Karun Nair would have been playing for Kerala after he first reached out to them when he was dumped unceremoniously by Karnataka. They couldn’t commit at the time and Nair, having sat at home for an entire season, couldn’t wait to grab his next opportunity. That’s when Vidarbha came calling.Two seasons on, Nair is at the forefront of Vidarbha’s charge to a third Ranji Trophy title, having batted all day to construct an unbeaten 132, his 23rd first-class century and fourth of the season. It helped stretch Vidarbha’s lead to 286 at stumps on the fourth day, and they still have six wickets remaining. If Nair does lift the trophy, it’ll be his third – his first two were with Karnataka in his first two seasons, 2013-14 and 2014-15.Nair shouldn’t batted this long, but luck shone on him. On 31, in the very first session on the third day, indecision against young seamer Eden Apple Tom had him playing at one that reared up awkwardly to lob off the glove to first slip where Akshay Chandran put down a dolly. Having already lost two early wickets, Vidarbha would have been 55 for 3. Instead, Kerala saw Nair and Danish Malewar, the 21-year-old batter in his maiden season, torment them again, as if to complete the business they had left unfinished in the first innings when a mix-up between the two led to Nair’s run out for 86.Malewar and Nair put on 182 for the third wicket – Malewar making 73 to go with his 153 in the first innings – to defuse any tension there might have been in the Vidarbha camp after they lost Parth Rekhade and Dhruv Shorey inside the first three overs. Rekhade was bowled through the gate by Jalaj Saxena’s in-drift, and Shorey was out to Mohammed Azharuddeen’s brilliance as he dived full stretch to pluck a healthy edge in front of first slip to give MD Nidheesh an early wicket.Kerala could have had a third very quickly, but Malewar was aided by luck when DRS deemed a not-out lbw decision off Saxena to be umpire’s call. It was the start of a frustrating few hours for Kerala, where they dropped a sitter of a big-match player, two of their frontline seamers – Nidheesh and Nedumankuzhy Basil – received warnings twice for running on to the danger area of the pitch, and then saw two healthy nicks off Saxena, their most prolific and in-form spinner, go through the vacant slip cordon when the need of the hour was to attack, not defend. All these factors combined to give Vidarbha the push they needed.Danish Malewar scored 73 in the second innings after 153 in the first•PTI

In the seventh over of the day, Malewar survived again, this time overturning an lbw call on DRS after being given out to Nidheesh, with replays showing the ball swung in late and would have missed leg stump. Things were happening quickly, and Kerala should have remained on the offensive. They didn’t and paid the price.Nair was good enough to pick gaps through the covers as Kerala left the off side open to have him drive against the turn. His ability to mix that up by playing a superb reverse sweep all along the ground made him a tough prospect to bowl to. Malewar’s temperament stood out as he absorbed the pressure from Saxena and played largely within himself until he got to his half-century and then stepped out to play a glorious drive over mid-off.As the partnership grew, Kerala resorted to a leg-stump line briefly to try to unsettle the batters. But given Vidarbha were sitting pretty with a lead, realisation dawned for Kerala that they needed to be a little more on the offensive, by which time the pair had already put on 100 runs.Nair survived on 65 when a leading edge off Saxena didn’t carry to the bowler, and he responded by offsetting any pressure by playing the reverse sweep. En route, he went past the 800-run mark for the season and charged into the 80s by hitting Aditya Sarwate for two back-to-back sixes – one over long-on and one over long-off. As he brought up his century, Nair dropped his bat, removed his gloves and showed nine fingers towards the dressing room to signal his nine hundreds across the season, before taking guard and continuing to blunt the bowling.It needed Chandran’s left-arm, part-time spin to break the mammoth stand when Malewar jabbed at one that flicked the glove and lobbed to Sachin Baby at slip. Then Yash Rathod came out and battled serenely with Nair, and at one point in the final session, overtook Madhya Pradesh batter Shubham Sharma’s tally of 943 to lead the run charts for the season.Then a sharp turner from Sarwate spun back in to trap him lbw, a decision that Kerala got overturned in their favour through the DRS. But moments like those were few and far amid a largely frustrating day for Kerala, whose hopes of a maiden title seem all but gone, with them needing a miracle to make a match of this on the final day.

Australia coach doesn’t expect the controversy over the leadership ban issue to affect the out-of-form opener against South Africa

Tristan Lavalette13-Dec-2022Struggling opener David Warner has “not hinted” at an impending Test retirement, according to head coach Andrew McDonald.Warner had said last month that he was not going to play the longest format beyond another 12 months. However, his experience is pivotal for Australia’s tour of India early next year. And, before that, he is expected to play his 100th Test starting Boxing Day against South Africa, who round off the series at his home ground at the SCG just after that. It could prove something of a fitting send off, but McDonald was confident of Warner extending his Test cricket beyond the home summer.”He’s eager to continue on at this stage. He has not hinted [at] anything else,” McDonald said. “His appetite for the work – in and around training – is still there. He’s busy at the crease, and you’ve seen signs that he is going well. He’s just found different ways to get out, and sometimes that can happen.Related

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“We are building towards a World Test Championship [final], and he wants to be part of that. So that’s a clear focus for us, and we’ve got South Africa as a part of that. And then on to India.”As Australia’s other top-order batters feasted on a listless West Indies bowling in the series – Australia declared each of their four innings during comprehensive victories in Perth and Adelaide – Warner missed out each time, with just 102 runs at an average of 25.50.It continued a rut for 36-year-old Warner, who has scored only 675 runs at 28.12 in 25 Test innings since his last century in January 2020. Pressure has increased on Warner, with speculation building on his Test career ahead of tough tours of India and England next year, where he has modest records.But unless something dramatic happens against South Africa, Warner is set for his third Test tour of India, where he has never scored a century, and averages just 24 from 16 innings. And his wealth of experience is seen as important for a team likely to boast several batters who have never played Test cricket there.”We’ll see what happens in the next three Test matches. But at this stage, he’s firmly in our thoughts for India,” McDonald said. “We’ve seen the more times you tour certain areas of the world, the better you get at it.David Warner hasn’t scored a century in 16 Test innings in India•AFP

“But it’s also the knowledge that he can pass on to the younger players in and amongst that. We really value our senior players – both on and off the field – in terms of that education process. So there’s huge benefit for those players to be touring those areas, and albeit if they don’t play, they can still have an impact.”Warner has also been engulfed in controversy after withdrawing a bid before the second Test against West Indies to have his lifetime leadership suspension lifted. But McDonald felt that Warner had the mental resolve to overcome that saga.Ahead of what should be a tough three-match series against South Africa – who boast a star-studded pace attack – Warner has been backed to shrug off any distraction from the lingering off-field tumult before the first Test at the Gabba starts on December 17.”He’s great at compartmentalising, [and] separating the off-field from the on-field. And I think most of the great champions do that very well,” McDonald said. “I sense this situation is not different. We respect and understand David’s decision to withdraw from that appeals process.’He’s moved forward, we’re moving forward as a team, and we’ve got a seriously good opponent confronting us at the Gabba. So our focus is firmly on that… and so is David’s.”

Bangladesh could try some players ahead of the more challenging white-ball assignments in New Zealand in March

Mohammad Isam24-Jan-2021

Big picture

For teams like Bangladesh and West Indies, dead rubbers are no longer meaningless. The ODI Super League has made it certain that every game is now worth points, aimed towards direct World Cup qualification, or teams have to take the tortuous qualifiers route. Bangladesh cannot take the foot off the gas against a West Indies side that has hardly put forth a meaningful contest in the ODI series so far, particularly with bigger challenges lying ahead this year.The home side has a number of options in their bench that they could test ahead of the more challenging white-ball assignments in New Zealand in March. Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam and allrounder Mohammad Saifuddin could get a run, since they are likely to be part of that squad as well, and are unlikely to play the Tests against West Indies next month.Mohammad Mithun and Afif Hossain are capable options in the middle order, although that area is jam-packed in the current XI. Mahedi Hasan could be another interesting choice for quick runs lower down the order, or bowling in the powerplay. Taijul Islam is the other left-arm spinner in the squad, but he is slightly lower in the pecking order.
Tamim hinted that they could look at squad rotation after the second ODI while BCB president Nazmul Hassan believed it can be avoided so that they go into the game with their best possible side. It is a delicate balance but so far from what the visitors have displayed, it would be hard to fault Bangladesh if they are willing to experiment.West Indies were bowled out for 148 in the last game, which was just 26 more than what they got in the first ODI. The top and middle order collapsed against Bangladesh’s accurate pace and spin combination. Against pace they have looked steady but as soon as spin has been introduced, they have looked all at sea.Phil Simmons added opener Kjorn Ottley to the line-up in the second game, leaving out fast bowler Chemar Holder, but it still didn’t do the trick. The batsmen crumbled against no-frills spin bowling on a pitch that wasn’t exactly a minefield. Only Rovman Powell has looked like scoring runs freely, albeit later in the innings, but his position seems like a waste down the order. If West Indies are to usher in these newcomers with a little more confidence, some runs on the board would certainly be helpful before they walk to the crease.The bowling has been somewhat impressive but that could also be due to Bangladesh’s own return to international cricket after ten months. Newcomer Akeal Hosein has looked confident in giving the ball a rip, but captain Jason Mohammed is stymied by lack of spin option, having to bowl himself a lot more.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
Bangladesh WWWWW
West Indies LLLLL

In the spotlight

There’s going to be more focus on Najmul Hossain Shanto after he got out for two low scores, particularly because some quarters believe Shakib Al Hasan should bat at No. 3, where Shanto is currently batting.For West Indies to get a bigger score, perhaps the team management could give Rovman Powell a slight promotion in the batting order, so that he doesn’t get stuck again with their long tail. So far, Powell has looked like their most accomplished batsman.

Team news

Bangladesh have a large squad to choose from, but if the BCB president Nazmul Hassan’s words are anything to go by (and those are usually very important for the selectors and team management), Bangladesh wouldn’t like to tinker too much with their winning combination.Bangladesh (possible) 1 Tamim Iqbal (capt), 2 Liton Das, 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto, 4 Shakib Al Hasan, 5 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Soumya Sarkar, 8 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 9 Rubel Hossain, 10 Hasan Mahmud, 11 Mustafizur RahmanWest Indies have only Keon Harding and Jahmar Hamilton to try from their ODI squad, after Ottley became the seventh debutant of the series, in the last game.West Indies (possible) 1 Kjorn Ottley, 2 Sunil Ambris, 3 Joshua Da Silva (wk), 4 Andre McCarthy, 5 Jason Mohammed (capt), 6 Kyle Mayers, 7 Rovman Powell, 8 Nkrumah Bonner, 9 Raymon Reifer, 10 Alzarri Joseph, 11 Akeal Hosein

Pitch and conditions

The Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium pitch is usually flat, and the evening dew makes batting under lights even easier. Eight out of the last ten teams batting second under lights have won matches at this ground. The weather is likely to be pleasant.

Stats and trivia

• Shakib Al Hasan is four wickets short of becoming Bangladesh’s highest wicket-taker in ODIs, which is currently Mashrafe Mortaza with 269 wickets
• West Indies currently average only 13.50 with the bat this series, which is their lowest in any bilateral ODI series
• Tamim Iqbal is three runs short of becoming the first batsman to score 500 runs at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium

Quotes

“We came here for 30 points but we still have chance to get ten points in this competition. We have got from 122 to 148, but we need to get into the 230-250, so that we can be competitive. Give the bowlers something to bowl at, and show mettle in that aspect. But definitely ten points would be the ultimate.”

There has been a return to community cases in NSW but the tournament model allows for measures to be tightened if required

Andrew McGlashan15-Oct-2020Cricket Australia is confident the WBBL structure can react to a changing Covid-19 landscape as the start of the tournament which will be played entirely in a Sydney hub draws closer.The competition will begin on October 25 and run until the end of November, played at a variety of venues around the city with players based in a ‘village’ at the Sydney Olympic Park. As it stands, crowds will be able to attend at varying levels across the different grounds based on capacity restrictions.After a period of 12 days without community transmission of Covid-19 in New South Wales, cases have returned over the last week but the way the competition has been set-up provides various contingencies should they be required.ALSO READ: From Suzie Bates to Laura Wolvaardt – all the WBBL overseas players“One of the focus areas for building the competition has been the village which is a really self-contained facility to create a safe environment where we can scale up and down the level security and overlay that’s required,” Alistair Dobson, the head of the Big Bash, said.”Crowds will be something we work really closely with the New South Wales government on around capacity – different venues will have different requirements. The hill at North Sydney Oval will be different to the big stands at the [Sydney] Showgrounds.”We have a really scalable model which will allow us to pull different levers if the situation changes. We haven’t talked specific [Covid] numbers but it’s something we monitor and talk about daily.”There are 23 overseas players signed up for the tournament with those from England, West Indies and South Africa currently undergoing two weeks quarantine in various cities before all the teams join up in Sydney next week. Those who live in Sydney will also be required to stay within the village, which will allow players some degree of freedom around the hotels but with strict protocols still in place to restrict any wider movement.”It’s an enormous sacrifice and it goes without saying that there isn’t a part of the game that hasn’t had to make really big sacrifices to get the WBBL season over the line and the same will apply for all the different formats this year,” Dobson said. “There’s an element of freedom within the village because we are able to create such a secure environment around it.”Part of what we’ve tried to set up is that players who are essentially leaving home for five or six weeks, from a mental health and wellbeing point of view, have an experience which is positive and not the hard bubble some other competitions have gone through. There are restrictions outside the village in terms of going into restaurants nearby or those sorts of things, [and] there’s an element of being able to flex that up and down.”On Thursday, it was announced that 12 additional WBBL matches would be live on Fox Cricket meaning more than half the tournament will be televised with the other games available via streaming.

What prompted Gautam Gambhir and Kolkata Knight Riders to bat second, under the lights, in South Africa, is unclear. And the plan clearly did not come off

Mohammad Isam13-Oct-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDaredevils’ pace-attack cut through Knight Riders’ line-up with ease•AFP

What prompted Gautam Gambhir and Kolkata Knight Riders to bat second, under the lights, in South Africa, is unclear. And the plan clearly did not come off; it went horribly wrong on a track that had unreliable bounce, which the Delhi Daredevils’ four-man pace attack used wisely after 60 overs were played out on the pitch. The Knight Riders were not only outplayed by 52 runs, five of their batsmen got struck, including the team’s batting mainstay Jacques Kallis. Their top-order had an outing they’d do well to forget.Out of 168 day-night limited-overs internationals in the country, only 27 teams have won the game after deciding to bat second. At the SuperSport Park, only one team has won in ODI cricket while none have done so in Twenty20 internationals. And against an attack that includes the towering Morne Morkel, the Knight Riders were swimming against the tide willfully. The uneven bounce confused them further and by the time the first ten balls of their innings were done, Daredevils had done enough damage.It started with the captain Gautam Gambhir, when Irfan Pathan removed him for a duck off the third ball, having the left-hander chip one to mid-on. Off his sixth ball, he brought one back into the other opener, Manvinder Bisla, who was trapped leg-before. Irfan had one of those better evenings, when he looked like bringing the ball back whenever he pleased. It got worse for the Knight Riders when Brendon McCullum cut one to Chand at point off Morne Morkel’s first ball, the seventh of the innings, for a duck.Jacques Kallis was the next man to walk off when Morkel rapped him on the fingers of his right hand while trying to fend off an awkward delivery. He had to retire hurt and did not come back to bat, but X-rays revealed that there was no fracture. The very next ball struck the next batsman, Yusuf, on his arm, as he attempted to leave a rising delivery. At the end of the fifth over, he was put out of misery when Daredevil’s first-change bowler Umesh Yadav had him deflect one back at the stumps. By this time the ball started keeping low too. Manoj Tiwary and Rajat Bhatia added 47 for the fifth wicket but it was only a face-saving exercise.Irfan, Morkel and Yadav took two wickets each and Ajit Agarkar got one; except for the left-arm swing bowler, the other three struck the batsmen and kept them pinned on the backfoot.Daredevils too were in trouble when they batted, but the recovery was prompt. The 63-run fourth-wicket stand between Unmukt Chand and Ross Taylor put them in a strong position, especially after a 30-run 17th over from L Balaji.Chand played some attractive shots to start off his innings and survived a chance on 14 at midwicket, where Tiwary dropped a skier. He cracked two sixes and two more boundaries to finish on a 27-ball 40. It ended when he completely missed an off-break from Sunil Narine. The versatile spinner took three wickets while Brett Lee and Kallis bowled well too. But it would be the costly overs from Balaji that they could pinpoint for conceding more than the average score at the venue.Following Daredevils’ resounding win, Pietersen will be off to London to meet with England team director Andy Flower on Sunday. He is likely to be back in time for Daredevils’ second game, on Friday in Durban, against Auckland Aces.

MS Dhoni asked New Zealand to bat as the expected rains stayed away in Chennai for the second Twenty20 international after the first one was washed out in Visakhapatnam

The Report by Abhishek Purohit11-Sep-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsJames Franklin held his nerves in the last over to ensure a New Zealand win•Associated Press

A solitary Twenty20 it was, but it featured multiple narratives, an emotional return for Yuvraj Singh and his fans, an anti-climax for India and an incredible comeback from New Zealand. After Brendon McCullum had punched a furious 91, Virat Kohli counter-punched with a majestic 70, leaving India with 49 to get off 42 deliveries with seven wickets remaining.That is when the Chennai pitch started to behave more like a typical Chennai pitch; the ball had come on nicely till then. MS Dhoni and Yuvraj struggled to get the ball off the square, James Franklin and Jacob Oram took all pace off the ball to make it harder, and the asking-rate surged suddenly. Dhoni, having promoted himself ahead of Manoj Tiwary and Rohit Sharma, ended unbeaten on a perplexing 22 off 23 deliveries, failing to find any timing on his swipes and slogs and reduced to nudging singles on the leg side.With 20 needed off the last eight deliveries, Yuvraj managed to heave Oram over deep midwicket for six. With 12 needed off the last five, Dhoni managed to pull Franklin to deep square leg for four. With six needed off three, Yuvraj heaved and was bowled for 34 off 26.There was still time for one final narrative. Enter Rohit, under pressure for his lack of form, with six still needed. He tried gamely, swinging both the remaining deliveries for a couple of runs each, but India had to pay for tapering off after Kohli’s dismissal in the 14th over.

Smart stats

• New Zealand’s win is the seventh by a margin of one run in Twenty20 internationals. New Zealand had beaten Pakistan in Barbados in 2010 by the same margin.

• New Zealand have won the most Twenty20 matches against India (4). They are also the only top team never to lose a single match against India.

• Brendon McCullum’s 91 is the second-highest score in an Twenty20 international against India. The previous record for a New Zealand batsman (69) was also held by McCullum. McCullum has three fifties in four innings against India.

• McCullum, who is the highest run-getter in Twenty20 matches, also holds the record for the most fifty-plus scores (10).

• India’s score of 166 is their third-highest in a losing cause (in chases). The highest is 186 against Sri Lanka in Nagpur in 2009.

• The number of wickets lost by India (4) is the fewest in an unsuccessful chase (minimum 15 overs in the innings).

• MS Dhoni has three20-plus innings at a strike rate less than 100. Two of those are against New Zealand. On each of these occasions, India have gone on to lose the game.

India’s defeat was the last thing on the Chennai crowd’s mind when Kohli, opening in place of the injured Virender Sehwag, was raining boundaries on New Zealand during his 15th fifty-plus international score this year. Wide deliveries were swatted away with disdain, length deliveries were willed into gaps with confident pushes, spinners were lofted inside-out over extra cover, fast bowlers were charged at and hammered down the ground.Kohli’s assault and his 60-run second-wicket stand with Suresh Raina allowed Yuvraj to ease into his comeback knock. The crowd erupted when Yuvraj thick-edged Adam Milne past slip for his first boundary and swung Daniel Vettori over deep midwicket for his first six. In between, he was let-off when McCullum and Kyle Mills collided trying to take a top-edged pull off Milne.It was Franklin who began the turnaround when he had Kohli lofting his second delivery to wide long-off. New Zealand also had McCullum to thank, for lifting them from 2 for 2 with a calculated 91 that highlighted his importance to his side, especially in Twenty20s. McCullum had support from Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor, but he was almost single-handedly responsible for New Zealand reaching a competitive score with a knock that began watchfully, and then exploded into a frenzy of powerful hits over extra cover, down the ground and over midwicket.McCullum often begins a Test innings with a charge down the track and it was probably the two early wickets that made him play with some caution initially. Rob Nicol and Martin Guptill came out swinging but were bowled by incoming deliveries from Zaheer Khan and Irfan Pathan.McCullum broke free in the fifth over, flicking and cutting Zaheer for boundaries. L Balaji, making his T20I debut and playing his first game for India since February 2009, was inside-edged past short fine leg and sliced over point for boundaries in the next over.Williamson, a calm man under pressure usually, ensured he gave the strike to McCullum, who was now in control enough to ward off his usual self-destructing tendencies.Sweeps, reverse-sweeps and scoops were kept away. The one time he tried a reverse-sweep, on 38, he got away with a close lbw shout against R Ashwin, with the umpire ruling there was an inside edge when replays indicated there wasn’t any. McCullum’s one good innings during the Test series against India was ended when the umpire did not spot an inside edge. It was his turn to benefit today.McCullum went after Ashwin, lofting him over extra cover for boundaries and down the ground for sixes. Ashwin, the lone spinner playing ahead of the recalled Harbhajan Singh, went for 34 in three overs.McCullum was only nine short of what would have been his second T20I hundred when he was eventually bowled after missing a sweep off a slow cutter from Irfan in the 17th over. Taylor and Oram were around to take New Zealand to a respectable score.India rode on Kohli’s brilliance in the chase, bottled up for a while after he fell, and when they tried to catch up, it was too late.

Kedar Devdhar missed his century by four runs, but it didn’t matter as his team, Baroda, stormed into the finals after beating Delhi comprehensively at the Bandra-Kurla Complex

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Mar-2012Kedar Devdhar missed his century by four runs, but it didn’t matter as his team, Baroda, stormed into the finals after beating Delhi comprehensively at the Bandra-Kurla Complex. Devdhar’s 96 came in a stand of 143 with Aditya Waghmode, who hit a half-century to help Baroda chase down 170.Delhi claimed their first wicket in the second over – Monil Patel – but had to wait till the 13th for their second strike. By that time, Waghmode and Devdhar had taken the score to 150. Waghmode hit eight fours and a six in his 60, before he was dismissed caught and bowled by Pawan Negi. Devdhar hit six sixes and 11 fours in his blazing 40-ball knock. He too was dismissed by Negi, but Baroda were already well on course to victory.Baroda’s spinners set up the win, sharing six wickets between them. Bhargav Bhatt, the left-arm spinner, was expensive, conceding 50 off his allotted overs, but picked up three wickets. Yusuf Pathan picked up two wickets but conceded only 30 runs. Shikhar Dhawan was the top-scorer with 62, but Delhi suffered because the middle order couldn’t put on substantial partnerships. In the end, the pair of Waghmode and Devdhar showed the way.Baroda will meet Punjab in the final tomorrow.

ESPNcricinfo previews the first ODI between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Dubai

The Preview by Abhishek Purohit10-Nov-2011

Match Facts

Pakistan v Sri Lanka, November 11, Dubai
Start time 1500 (1100 GMT)Will they be smiling together again?•AFP

Big Picture

The leadership of a national side has probably never changed hands between characters as contrasting as Shahid Afridi and Misbah-ul-Haq. When impassive replaces expressive, when calm replaces frenetic, chaos is a likely outcome. It could have happened only in Pakistan, and only Pakistan could have moved on as if nothing had happened. It helped that when Misbah was appointed limited-overs captain, he had been in charge of the Test side for some time. It helped that Pakistan had low-profile series against Ireland and Zimbabwe that eased him into the role. What also helped, probably the most, was that Afridi went into one of his retirements so that the heat generated by his removal did not singe the team.Afridi is back now. Sri Lanka are no Ireland or Zimbabwe. Don’t go by the listless unit that turned up for the Test series. They are World Cup finalists and a proud limited-overs side. This five-match series will be a dual test for Misbah the leader. His approach in Tests has been to let things happen while retaining control and pushing matters only when absolutely needed, a bit like his batting style. How will he handle a mercurial, and immensely popular, former captain and key ODI bowler? How will he control the flow against world-class opposition in a format short on time?What Misbah has inherited from Afridi is a solid group that retained its sanity amid all the drama unfolding off the field over the past 15 months. It is a side that made the semi-final of the World Cup 2011 and has won its previous four bilateral ODI series. Misbah has the side to continue his captaincy run of being unbeaten in a series. What he makes of the additional baggage will determine whether that run continues against an opposition that has stalled in ODIs of late.Sri Lanka have regressed in Tests but the impact of losing Muttiah Muralitharan has been softer in the shorter format. They have recently lost 2-3 to both England away and Australia at home. While the absence of Muralitharan continues to hurt them in Tests, the batting has crumbled too often of late, with their three losses against Australia coming after the batsmen managed 191, 208 and 132.The Test series loss to Pakistan has brought a stern outburst from the chairman of selectors, Duleep Mendis, who said that the repeated batting failures had something to do with the mental approach. “Something is not right there and it is the coaches who have to address it,” he said. Geoff Marsh has barely settled into the job of head coach. How soon can he rectify the batting, which will have to come good to set up games on the flat pitches in the UAE. Even a 3-2 series win will not be enough for Sri Lanka to hold on to the No. 2 ICC one-day ranking. To add another shade of interest, both sides will be playing under the new rules for the first time.

Form guide (completed games, most recent first)

Pakistan: WWWWW
Sri Lanka: WLWLL

In the spotlight

This is Shahid Afridi‘s format. This was Afridi’s team. With his dozen-a-minute expressions and frenzied hand-waving on the field, he had successfully managed to hold together a team that many expected to fall apart. And then, the leadership was rudely yanked from under his feet after a series win in the West Indies, sending him into bitterness and temporary retirement. He has said that he has no problems playing under Misbah, having “played under a lot of captains, like around 11 or 12.” But he is no ordinary player; he is the dethroned captain and was the heartbeat of his side during the World Cup. To say that his performance – and his interaction with Misbah – will be watched, is to state the obvious.Sri Lanka would not have missed Muralitharan so much had Lasith Malinga been available all the time. He isn’t, but whenever he is, they become a different side, capable of stunning turnarounds. Malinga was nearly unplayable during the recent Champions League T20, and played a major role in both their wins against Australia. Pakistan have played him much better though. He averages 47.66 against them against a career average of 25.03. The last time he played them, he took five wickets. Pakistan will be on guard against the yorkers. Will they be able to avoid them?

Team news

Pakistan have gone for Sarfraz Ahmed as the wicketkeeper in place of Adnan Akmal. Sarfraz’s last game for Pakistan was in February 2010 but his domestic batting performances have led to his inclusion. The keeping is another issue, but Pakistan are certainly missing Kamran Akmal the batsman. What will Sarfraz make of this opportunity? Also returning is allrounder Abdul Razzaq whose last match was the World Cup 2011 semi-final against India.Pakistan: (possible) 1 Imran Farhat 2 Mohammad Hafeez 3 Younis Khan 4 Asad Shafiq/Umar Akmal 5 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt.) 6 Abdul Razzaq 7 Shahid Afridi 8 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk) 9 Umar Gul 10 Saeed Ajmal 11 Junaid KhanSri Lanka will be happy to go back to their prolific ODI opening combination of Upul Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan after the indifferent starts during the Tests. Promising wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Chandimal played the first three ODIs against Australia as a specialist batsman before being dropped. He is back in the squad now but will Sangakkara continue to don the keeping gloves?Sri Lanka: (possible) 1 Upul Tharanga 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan (capt) 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk) 4 Dinesh Chandimal 5 Mahela Jayawardene 6 Angelo Mathews 7 Thisara Perera / Kosala Kulasekara 8 Jeevan Mendis 9 Suraj Randiv 10 Lasith Malinga 11 Suranga Lakmal / Dilhara Fernando

Stats & Trivia

• Sri Lanka have beaten Pakistan in their previous two bilateral ODI series, both in 2009
• Misbah-ul-Haq averaged 51.69 in 21 games under Shahid Afridi. He averages 94.50 in his short stint of six matches so far

Quotes

“It is time for our younger players to stand up and be counted and become those great players, Kumar [Sangakkara] had a fantastic series but we really need to get a couple of our younger players to really stand up and play well for us and to be the next Sangakkara or Jayawardene.”

“Sri Lanka have got an edge on us in the fielding department, we really have to work hard on that, especially in the shorter forms.”
Pakistan interim coach