Sloppy India aim to arrest slide

The ICC World Twenty20 win, and the subsequent celebrations that riled Andrew Symonds so, seems like it belonged to another age. Though it set in motion the events that led to the creation of the IPL, India's form in the international arena has been dire. Wednesday's thrashing at Nagpur was their fourth loss in succession, and you have to go back nearly a year to their last victory against a major side. The Pathan brothers, Irfan and Yusuf, denied Sri Lanka then, and it will need similar strength of will from the middle and lower order to ensure that the team's alarming slide in the game's most abbreviated format is arrested.

Sri Lanka snapped a four-game losing streak of their own in the opening game, and would have been delighted with the manner in which they coped despite another Sehwag-Gambhir blitz at the top of the order. Once again, it was an old man, Sanath Jayasuriya, who showed the young 'uns how it's done with a miserly spell that choked all life out of India's charge for victory. Once again, Lasith Malinga and friends will focus on a callow middle order that was embarrassed at the World Twenty20 in England last June. India have shuffled the pack often enough, without finding any real answers.

As worrying was the fielding, or lack of it. We can only speculate as to what Mike Young made of it, with catches spilled, run-out opportunities squandered and a generally lackadaisical approach. Sri Lanka were much sharper in the field, and that made the difference in a game where more than 400 runs were scored.

Team news
Sreesanth missed the Nagpur with a stomach bug and has not recovered. He was admitted to a city hospital last night and is under the doctors' observation following multiple ailments. Rohit Sharma, who hurt his shoulder while diving in the last match, has also been ruled out. Rohit took part in the practice session at the PCA stadium but MS Dhoni said the team did not want to take a chance since he was not "match fit". Dinesh Karthik, a handy batsman to have in this format, should replace him. The management will decide on the final XI on the morning of the game. There is an outside shot that R Ashwin could replace Yusuf Pathan, though Pathan's swing-or-bust style may be persisted with for the moment.

India: (possible) 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 MS Dhoni (capt/wk), 6 Dinesh Karthik, 7 Yusuf Pathan, 8 Pragyan Ojha, 9 Ashok Dinda, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Ashish Nehra.

"I am tempted to play the same eleven which did a brilliant job in the last game," was Kumar Sangakkara's reply when asked about Sri Lanka's composition. There could, however, be a return to the fold for Ajantha Mendis, whose stock has plummeted since his heroics against India a little over a year ago.

Sri Lanka: (possible) 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Sanath Jayasuriya, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (capt/wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Chamara Kapugedera, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Muthumudalige Pushpakumara, 8 Nuwan Kulasekara, 9 Ajantha Mendis, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Dilhara Fernando.

Pitch and conditions
The dew could have a major role to play with a cold wave sweeping across northern India. Despite predictions of good bounce and carry, it looks like a bat-first-and-win match. If the skies are clear, the dew will be a factor by the time the first innings is over. Bowlers will find the ball hard to grip and batsmen could find the ball skidding through after pitching.

watch live stream

New South Wales vs Sussex Live streaming

New South Wales vs Sussex Live streaming

The New South Wales Blues will take on the Sussex Sharks in the T20 Champions League scheduled for the 11th of October.

The New South Wales Blues started with a flier after marking an emphatic 53-run win against the Diamond Eagles in their previous match. This terrific victory has kept the side boiling with confidence and rising with positive energy, which will be conspicuous in their next encounter with the Sussex Sharks as well. Simon Katich and David Warner displayed some splendid batting performance that eventually led the NSW Blues to clinch their first victory in the league.

On the other hand, it will be the first match for the Sussex Sharks in the Champions League and the side has an impressive lineage and they have been quite successful in the longer version of the game. In the T20 version the Sharks though have not come up with good performances and the match against the Australia’s Blues will be a tough one for the English cricket team.

And the fact that the Blues’ previous victory has boosted their morale the Sharks might find it difficult to face the opposition in such a form. The scales weigh much towards the Blues and the Sharks might just hope it turns out be their day against all the odds.

watch live stream

Delhi Daredevils vs Wayamba Live Streaming

Delhi Daredevils vs Wayamba Live Streaming

Delhi Daredevils will take on team Wayamba in the ongoing T20 Champions League on the 11th of October at Ferozshah Kotla Delhi.

The Delhi Daredevils though have the reputation of being a match-winning team their previous match against the Victorian Bushrangers disproves it and they have been simply disappointing to say the least and gave away the match to the brilliance of the Bushrangers.

The Daredevils could make just 100 and a 98/8 in 20 overs isn’t that big in a 20-over game and considering their batting potential it was meagre score. The batsmen fell like a pack of cards and the Bushrangers ran away with a glorious victory.

Well after a dismal performance the Daredevils might want to erase the haunting ghosts of the last match and come with a positive approach against Srilanka’s Wayamba Elevens.

The Wayamba Elevens team has won the T20 Inter-Provincial tournament in 2009 and the team captain Mahela Jayawardene is the strong support system of the team along with key players Ajantha Mendis and Jehan Mubarak. The Daredevils will want to win this match at any cost and Wayamba will be looking forward to start the league with a winning note. The Daredevils have a better chance of winning if they play up to their actual potential.

Watch live stream

Trescothick happy with overseas return

A third-ball duck may not sound like a successful outing for a top-order batsman, but for Marcus Trescothick the significance was huge. Having travelled to India for the Champions League, he is playing his first overseas cricket since leaving the 2006-07 Ashes tour with a recurrence of the stress-related illness that has curtailed his international career and, the early signs at least, have been promising.

Trescothick arrived in Hyderabad three days later than his team-mates as part of a carefully planned schedule laid out by Somerset to ease him back into the travelling life. The last time he attempted to go overseas he broke down at Heathrow airport before Somerset's pre-season tour of the Middle East in 2008, so at this stage the scoreline against a Hyderabad XI wasn't the important factor.

"It is a big step forward, but I'm not saying everything is sorted," he said. "I knew it would be a great challenge to me. I think I will make big steps in this big tournament."
During the recent English season Trescothick's name was at the centre of much debate before the final Test against Australia as England tried to shore up their batting line-up. In was an outstanding summer for Trescothick, who scored 1817 runs in the Championship and was yesterday named the PCA player of the year. When his name was mentioned for a recall he admitted mulling over a one-off return, but soon came to the conclusion - after a vivid dream - that he had made the right decision to retire.

"It was an ideal year. I had my best season at 33 and I'm at the peak of my career, so who knows," he said. "I'm not saying I will be back in the England team. But I am confident for this tournament. I do not have any aspirations to go to the next level. I have stayed away from England."

Despite not having international cricket to motivate him, Trescothick has no problems finding the drive to extend his career. He has never appeared more comfortable as a player and success at the Champions League would cap off a memorable year for him.

"I grew up in cricket since I was a kid and just want to score as many runs as I can. That drive and ambition has never left me. That will keep me driving until I think it is enough and I would like to continue to be the best player I can and score many more runs. That gives me the kick every day when I get up in the morning"

Dravid does make the difference

Although it was Sachin Tendulkar who stole the limelight by scoring heaps of runs the contribution of Rahul Dravid in India annexing the recently concluded Compaq Cup in Sri Lanka was no less insignificant.

Already short of both the world-class openers, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, India desperately needed depth and resilience in their batting to dominate their rivals. The young guns had been found wanting when exposed to challenging conditions and the selectors had made the right move of going back to the basics.

While Tendulkar’s presence ensured unmatched class on top of the order, the comeback of Dravid provided the much needed strength and character to an otherwise enterprising batting line-up.

When you have the master blasters like Yuvraj Singh, Manhedra Singh Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Yousuf Pathan to follow there is greater need for a solid platform to let them fire to their heart’s content.

This is exactly what happened in Colombo recently. Dravid didn’t score many in the outing against New Zealand but he spent a lot of time at crease to blunt the Black Caps attack. Dhoni and Raina did the rest with their characteristic positive stroke-play. It could have been a different story to relate if India lost early wickets even though the target wasn’t all that big.

India had already cruised into the final, having become the top ranked ODI side in the world in the process, when they came out to take on hosts Sri Lanka in their league match. Set a daunting task, the Indians were in the game until Dravid was at the crease. With his departure the Indian hopes were dashed.

With the makeshift opener Dinesh Karthik having looked out of sorts in the league matches, Dhoni made the bold move of sending Dravid in as the opening partner with Tendulkar. It turned out to be a master stroke as both the seasoned campaigners provided a perfect start that eventually won them the game as well as the trophy.

Dravid is a team man to the core and he is one man who is always more than willing to meet the challenge. He could not have desired a better comeback gift than the Compaq Trophy that was gleefully collected by skipper Dhoni.
Talking of Dhoni let us give him the credit for having laid the red carpet for Dravid, who was returning to the ODI side after quite sometime.

“Dravid is the most stable and technically sound. He is a kind of batsman who would look to take his innings till the end. He will support the middle-order and help the flashy players play their game.” Dhoni was quoted as saying before going to toss in the opening game.

"Dravid is the ideal No. 3, especially in such conditions and during the evening when the ball swings and seams, so definitely he we will bat at that position," Dhoni complimented.

Dravid has made the captain proud once more. India would need him at his best in the upcoming Champions Trophy in South Africa where his ability to come good in conditions difficult for batting could again lay the platform for the stroke-makers to make hay in the death overs.

Victorian bowlers set up easy victory

A similar story to yesterday's panned out at the Feroz Shah Kotla, with another Indian team failing to capitalise on home conditions and crowd support. Delhi Daredevils - under new captain Gautam Gambhir - were comprehensively beaten by Victoria, for whom Clint McKay led a devastating seam attack, in the opening match of Group D.

The win capped off a remarkable day for the Australian participants after New South Wales pummelled the Eagles a few hours earlier at the same venue.

Delhi had been left to look like outsiders against an attack that was relentless on a track with consistently uneven bounce, and which made run-scoring quite problematic. Gambhir had not bargained for such a dismal showing after choosing to bat and Delhi just managed to scrape past the second-lowest Twenty20 score at this venue, recorded by the Eagles earlier.

The signs that a devil might just be in the pitch were first seen in the third over. The ball from Shane Harwood kept low, Gambhir was slow in getting his bat down in time and his off stump went cartwheeling. Virender Sehwag attempted to stamp his authority at home by smashing boundaries off successive Harwood deliveries in the first over but was superbly caught and bowled by McKay in his first over off a mistimed shot on the leg side. McKay followed it up by getting Owais Shah caught behind for a duck.

The Victorian fielders were always alert to the occasion, keeping the batsmen on their toes. A moment of indecision from Tillakaratne Dilshan had Dinesh Karthik scrambling for safety at the bowler's end. Cameron White swooped in from cover and threw it back to Andrew McDonald, who took the bails off in a flash at the bowler's end.

The situation called for Dilshan to play the anchor role and he was relatively sedate till the 16th over, when McKay - who seemed to be enjoying the conditions - lured him out and removed his off stump. Mithun Manhas tried to make the most of his run-out reprieve, but a suspected hamstring injury did not augur well for Delhi and Harwood broke through his defences to send him back for 25. McDonald capped off a superb display by castling Bhatia and Sangwan in the final over. However, there was more disappointment in store for the partisan crowd.

If there were any doubts about the pitch during and after Delhi's innings, Quiney settled them in style. Dirk Nannes, bowling to his clubmates, was handed no favours as Quiney belted the ball past him to the mid-on boundary. Nannes' new-ball partner Ashish Nehra fared no better and was carted for a four and a six in his third over. With 32 on the board in the fifth over, Delhi were in a state of panic and bewilderment.

The introduction of legspinner Amit Mishra did not prove fruitful immediately, with Quiney attacking him from the start. Mishra was dispatched for six over long-on off in his very first over and the second and third deliveries of his next over disappeared for ten runs. Mishra persisted with flight and bowled Quiney next ball, the batsman failing to connect while trying to work to the leg side.

Brad Hodge, who had been watching the pyrotechnics from the other end, was cleaned up by Dilshan two balls later but with Victoria racing to 55 for 2 in the ninth over, Delhi would need a pre-Diwali miracle. Dilshan and Mishra, bowling in tandem, managed to stifle the runs but Victoria had runs in the bank and could afford to sit back.

Even Rajat Bhatia's dismissal of David Hussey with a slower one did little to instill confidence in Gambhir to try out Pradeep Sangwan's left-arm seam. Little difference did it make, for Aiden Blizzard ended the innings on a high, smashing Bhatia for a six to long-on.

The underdog tale reaches tough climax

Underdogs in films make a mockery of the form book. Exhibit 1: New Zealand come to the Champions Trophy, sans superstars, sans high ICC rankings, and after being well and truly battered for more than a month in the sapping heat of Sri Lanka. They are - it is fair to say - the outsiders in this tournament.

Underdogs in the movies start out of their depths, then find the happy knack of winning, and then start liking what they feel. Exhibit 2: New Zealand are outclassed by South Africa on a true Centurion pitch. Then Sri Lanka, fooled by the earlier two pitches at the Wanderers, put New Zealand in, and discover they have given their opponents first use of a batting beauty. Against England, New Zealand get a spitting beauty of a pitch, call right at the toss, and run through England.


Underdogs in the movies are debilitated by injuries, handicaps, and miseries, but every setback inspires them. Exhibit 3: New Zealand lose Jacob Oram before their campaign starts. Jesse Ryder pulls his left abductor muscle during the Sri Lanka game, but before leaving plays the kind of innings that must have led to the coining of the phrase "beware the wounded batsman". Then Daryl Tuffey, at the time looking their best bowler, breaks his hand while fielding and is ruled out for the rest of the tournament. Next up, Grant Elliott, hero of the win against England, breaks his thumb, but braves the injury to score a heroic unbeaten 75 in the semi-final.


The real villains start appearing only in the later stages of underdog movies. Exhibit 4: On paper Pakistan have everything they need to end this underdog tale, but their occasional overconfidence and exceptional play from the underdogs takes New Zealand to the final hurdle.


Underdogs in the movies meet the biggest, scariest villain right at the end. Exhibit 5: It is always Australia's fate, or that of any champion team, that their excellence, their consistency, their hard work, will always be seen as villainous in romantic underdog stories. We can also conveniently forget that they too lost three of their most important players - Nathan Bracken, Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin - in the lead-up to the tournament. Champions don't deserve such considerations. Every good underdog story needs a mean villain, and Australia have rarely failed to oblige at world events.


If more context is needed, New Zealand have historically seen Australia as typical big brothers, and have always wanted to bring their best against them. Moreover, New Zealand are yet to beat Australia in a tournament final, and have lost six times (tournaments with more than one final have been considered as one). Centurion will not provide them with a freak pitch either. It's all stacked up against New Zealand this time, and no self-respecting underdog story would have it any other way.


How good this story is will be known by Monday evening, or rather early on Tuesday morning in Australia and New Zealand.


Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)

Australia - WWWLW
Ominously they are peaking at the right time. Even more ominously they have survived the one token scare that champion sides face, in the game against Pakistan.


New Zealand - WWWLL
Their weakened line-up has made the rest even more determined. They will rely a lot on their bowlers and fielders to find a balance between defence and attack, and restrict Australia like they did Pakistan.



Team news



Both teams gave satisfactory performances in the semi-finals, and both are more or less settled - even if not entirely by design.

Australia (probable): 1 Shane Watson, 2 Tim Paine (wk), 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Hussey, 5 Cameron White, 6 Callum Ferguson, 7 James Hopes, 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Nathan Hauritz, 11 Peter Siddle.


A discussion on allrounder Brendon Diamanti has its merits - Neil Broom hasn't had much to do in the tournament - but New Zealand are not likely to tinker with a winning combination. And the way Elliott came through the semi-final, a big worry for them has been taken care of.

New Zealand (probable): 1 Brendon McCullum (wk), 2 Aaron Redmond, 3 Martin Guptill, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Neil Broom, 6 Grant Elliot, 7 James Franklin, 8 Daniel Vettori (capt), 9 Kyle Mills, 10 Shane Bond, 11 Ian Butler.

Refreshed Ponting hits top gear

Ricky Ponting has been piling on the runs over the past month, highlighted by his authoritative century against England on Friday that sealed Australia's berth in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy. He attributed his superb form to the week's break he took after a draining Ashes campaign.

"I've felt really good since the break after the end of the Ashes series, since I've come back I've felt like I've been batting really well and felt in control more importantly," he said. "When you're out their batting or out there leading the side you always want to feel in control and I've certainly felt that in the last couple of weeks."
During his unbeaten 111 in the semi-finals, Ponting became the Champions Trophy's leading run-getter and also crossed the 12,000-run mark, only the third batsman to reach that milestone. "It is a nice achievement but I had no idea before the game how many runs I had scored," he said. "I hit runs for my country and when my career is over I can reflect on the successes."

Ponting received a round of applause in Centurion as he pulled Graham Onions for four to deep square leg, and then raised his bat to acknowledge the crowd and his team-mates. He sits behind Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya in the list of all-time ODI run-getters. Ponting is the only Australian with over 10,000 runs and has an enormous buffer over the next of his countrymen on the list - Adam Gilchrist is second with 9619 runs.

Ponting also paid tribute to Tendulkar, the leading run-scorer in ODIs and Tests. "The number of innings of his I have been able to sit back and watch, I think he is an amazing player," he said. "Look at his stats and records and it's quite incredible for someone to have stayed in the game for 20 years. He has set benchmarks for guys like me to chase him and get as close as we can. If I had to last 20 years, I would probably be batting in a wheelchair."

In Tests, Ponting is also third to Tendulkar's 12,773 runs with 11,345. Like Tendulkar, Ponting has stepped down from playing Twenty20 internationals for his country.

Nerveless Vettori, Elliott lead NZ to final

New Zealand 234 for 5 (Elliot 75*, Vettori 41, Ajmal 2-39) beat Pakistan 233 for 9 (Umar Akmal 55, Butler 4-44) by five wickets.

Grant Elliott and Daniel Vettori guided an amazingly thin batting line-up, blighted by injuries, to a modest target, which was made difficult than it was by the variety in Pakistan's bowling attack. The New Zealand batsmen, who came out blazing at the start, made sure Pakistan never got back-to-back wickets, and the required run-rate never became too high for a well-timed Powerplay. With this New Zealand broke their semi-final hoodoo, both against Pakistan and in world events.

Pakistan will look at two turning points, around the 40-over mark of each innings. In the first half of the day, after Pakistan's top order had let them down, the 19-year-old Umar Akmal pulled them back through a free-spirited and sensible half-century. But he became a part of a 5-for-32 collapse, thanks to a rare ordinary call from Simon Taufel, just when he would have looked to open up and take the batting Powerplay. During the chase, with the run-rate slowly creeping past seven, and the batsmen struggling to stay abreast, Younis Khan dropped a dolly at cover from Elliott. He was 42 off 78 then, New Zealand required 69 from 64 balls, and only one four and two sixes had been hit in the preceding 21 overs.

That drop, off Mohammad Aamer, came during an extremely tight spell of four overs for 13 runs. With 59 required in the last eight, Vettori and Elliott called for the Powerplay, and with 10 and 14 coming in the first and third overs, all the pressure evaporated.

Before that there was pressure aplenty. Both Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill came with a clear brief: get as many as possible in the first two Powerplays, and then the run-rate will be easy to manage - 44 of the first 60 runs came through boundaires. In doing that, though, both McCullum and Guptill lost their wickets. And when debutant Aaron Redmond fell in the 17th over, with the score 71 and the ball starting to turn big, Saeed Ajmal and Shahid Afridi seemed all over the batsmen.

The umpires, Ian Gould and Taufel, were put through a stern test too, with lots of lbw appeals from the spinners and the fast bowlers using the bouncer well, bordering often on the wide. Like the New Zealand batsmen, they handled a charged Pakistan side well.

From 71 for 3, when Ross Taylor and Elliott looked to blunt the spinners out, absorbing all the pressure, Younis turned to Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, who started getting the ball to reverse dangerously. Taylor followed the Sehwag route, and hit Afridi out of the ground, disposing of the reversing ball. The new ball, though, accounted for Taylor, who played for the non-existent turn.

At 126 for 4 in 29.5 overs, out came a surprise. Vettori, who had taken 3 for 43 earlier, leapfrogged Neil Broom and James Franklin and guided the chase along with an equally cool Elliott. The latter hardly played any forceful shot until the batting Powerplay was taken. He just kept nurdling and bunting around for singles and twos until it became absolutely necessary to hit out. His first boundary came off the 68th ball he faced, to move on to 38.

Then came the dropped chance, and then the Powerplay. Vettori opened up first during the restrictions, lofting Ajmal, then Aamer and Rana for boundaries. Two no-balls by Rana in the 45th over almost put it across Pakistan, and 18 runs from the next over, by Umar Gul, sealed the matter.

If the planning was the key in the New Zealand innings, it was conspicuous by absence in Pakistan's. Their openers were duly tested by New Zealand bowlers, who found the perfect balance between the defensive and the offensive after having lost the toss on a flat pitch surrounded by an outfield as fast as a highway.

Imran Nazir and Kamran Akmal made uncharacteristically solid starts, but at 43 for 0 after nine overs Shane Bond produced a special over. Two accurate bouncers, one a no-ball, and the other one, a jaffa, rising from just short of a length and jagging into Nazir and taking the edge, reminded the cricketing world what it had been missing.

Ian Butler, then, who had been taken for three boundaries in his first over, removed Shoaib Malik and Kamran Akmal in back-to-back overs, both to ordinary shots. But during an 80-run stand for the fifth wicket, Mohammad Yousuf and Umar didn't try to unsettle the lesser New Zealand bowlers. They once again suggested they had forgotten the batting Powerplay, and played as if the good old 15-over restriction rule was in place.

Yousuf fell when the time to accelerate came, having scored 45 off 78. James Franklin and Grant Elliot went for 40 in their 10 overs, and gave Butler, Bond and Vettori enough scope to attack. Butler ended with career-best figures of 4 for 44.

When Yousuf fell in the 39th over, with the score on 166, one would have expected Shahid Afridi to call for the Powerplay. He didn't. But he kept playing risky cricket at the same time, and paid for it. In between those two dismissals, Taufel ruled Umar lbw off Vettori, while replays showed the batsman had hit the ball.

The bowlers were left to give themselves runs to defend, and Aamer and Ajmal did that in uninhibited manner. They managed something to fight with, with a 35-run last-wicket stand, but their batsmen had left them with too much to do.

LIVE SCORE

Laxman happy with county stint

VVS Laxman the Indian Test batsman, has returned from a successful county stint raring to go for the home series against Sri Lanka starting November. Laxman has said that he was pleased with his county form after not being scheduled to play competitive cricket from May to October.

Laxman struck a super run of form during the English summer where he topped Lancashire's first-class run tally with 857 runs in 11 matches at an average of 65.92, including four centuries. "At this point of my career, there is nothing like proving a point or two. My county performances show that I can play in any format and under any conditions," he said on return to India. "All that I can say is that given the chance, I will be ready to perform for my country as I did for Lancashire."

Laxman also did well in the other two formats for Lancashire. In three Twenty20 Cup matches he was the top run-getter with 159 at 79.50. In four innings during the Pro40, he made 80 runs at 26.66. In the one Friends Provident Trophy game he played, Laxman made 54. Asked as to whether he was up for a return to one-day internationals, like Rahul Dravid, Laxman said: "It is for the national selectors to decide about my selection, for they are the best judges. I have nothing more to prove and I am really pleased with my performance for Lancashire this season."

Laxman, 34, was pleased to have been active for three months in England, after being apprehensive about the gap between the end of the IPL and the Indian domestic season, which began this week. "I can say that I stayed in touch with the game and stayed in the right frame of mind," he said. "Playing in different places and in different conditions in various formats was really a wonderful experience and it was a great feeling to be part of the Lancashire dressing room atmosphere. I am ready for any challenge now."

Since playing their last Test in April, India are scheduled to host Sri Lanka for three Tests in India. That number, according to Laxman, was insufficient. "From a personal point of view, it is really disappointing that India will play only three Tests this year," he said. "I hope the board will look into this issue seriously and do something."

Despite India's poor form in the ICC Champions Trophy, Laxman backed MS Dhoni's captaincy. "I enjoyed playing under him. I believe that both Dhoni and Gary Kirsten form a great combination. Let us not forget that Dhoni did determine the results of quite a few important matches in recent times."

Vijay and Mukund flatten Mumbai

Rest of India 260 and 171 for 0 (Mukund 86*, Vijay 77* ) lead Mumbai 232 (Jaffer 68, Munaf 5-70, Sreesanth 3-46) by 201 runs.

Rest of India surged ahead after two days of a deadlock courtesy an unbroken 171-run opening stand between M Vijay and Abhinav Mukund. Overnight run delayed the start and bad light brought an early end to proceedings but Sreesanth and Munaf, who took a five-for, made use of the early moisture to remove the Mumbai tail quickly before the ROI openers batted cautiously to stretch the lead to 201.

It was a dull grey day and the cricket, after a bright start, mirrored the ambience. There was nothing flashy in the approach of Vijay and Mukund, who proceeded to grind out the Mumbai attack with their patience. There weren't too many memorable shots but that's probably what they set out to do: avoid risk especially in the absence of the indisposed Virender Sehwag, pile up the runs and strengthen ROI's grip on the game. Sure, there were couple of delightful drives and a few aggressive hits late in the evening from both but for the main part they nudged and pushed their way. The shot of the day was a lovely whipped on-drive from Vijay off Ajit Agarkar when he dispatched a full delivery from almost off stump to the wide midwicket boundary. Mukund's best shot was a straight drive off Dhawal Kulkarni.

They didn't have any problems against the spinners; both lofted and cut to spread the field. Both lifted Powar to straight boundaries and while Vijay unfurled a few cuts against Iqbal Abdullah, Mukund played his sweeps.

As the evening progressed they were almost on auto-pilot, scoring runs off the spinners without breaking into a sweat, but they had their share of problems early on against the new ball. Vijay was tentative against Kulkarni and was beaten a couple of times, pushing away from his body. He made his adjustments later when Kulkarni returned for a second spell, taking guard outside his crease and looking to stretch well forward to defend.

Mukund was dropped off Kulkarni when he pushed a length delivery that straightened from round the stumps to first slip where Sahil Kukreja failed to snaffle it. He also edged a couple of wide deliveries from the unimpressive Rahil Sheikh, whose selection ahead of Saurabh Netravalkar seems just as odd in hindsight as it did prior to the game, but settled down soon to push ROI to a healthy position.

Just as they ended the day solidly, ROI had started the day brightly, courtesy their two seamers. Munaf got one to nip back in from outside off stump to peg back Ramesh Powar's middle stump before he got Kulkarni, who swung his bat around in search for some quick runs, heaving straight to long-off.

Munaf was well supported by Sreesanth, who started the demolition job in his first over of the day with a cracking incutter against Vinayak Samant that jagged in from outside off to take out the leg stump. He then bounced out Iqbal Abdullah to finish with a three-wicket haul. The sidelight of the morning came when Kulkarni exchanged a few words with Sreesanth but appeared to later apologise to the bowler after the umpires stepped in quickly to diffuse the situation. For the rest of the day there was no drama as two determined batsmen increased Mumbai's agony.

Ponting and Watson lead the rout

Australia 259 for 1 (Ponting 111*, Watson 136*) beat England 257 (Bresnan 80, Wright 48, Siddle 3-55) by nine wickets

Australia's cricketers proved that their recent 6-1 thrashing of England was neither an aberration nor entirely irrelevant, as Ricky Ponting and Shane Watson produced their country's highest partnership in limited-overs cricket, a majestic alliance of 252 in 242 balls, to power their side into Monday's final of the Champions Trophy.

Chasing a target of 258 that was swelled only by an improbable career-best from Tim Bresnan at No. 8, Australia sauntered to a nine-wicket victory against their favourite ODI opponents with a massive 49 balls to spare. Ponting chalked up his 28th one-day century, and his 12,000th run in the format, en route to an unbeaten 111 from 115 balls, while Watson provided the gloss finish with 136 not out from 132 balls, his third and highest hundred in 89 games.

Incredibly there were no Australian players named in the ODI Team of the Year that was unveiled at the ICC's annual awards ceremony on Thursday night, but the world's leading 50-over nation proved once more that they may be a side in transition, but they are by no means a spent force, as they secured the right to defend the title they won in India in October 2006. The end, when it came, was nose-rubbingly humiliating, as the Aussies claimed the batting Powerplay with 28 runs still required, and duly clobbered 23 of them in a single over from Paul Collingwood, including three of Watson's seven sixes, all from exuberant heaves through the leg-side. For a man who started the tournament with two ducks, it was a spectacular riposte.

England were utterly powerless to stem the tide, and in fact, the only thing that came close to upstaging Australia's canter to victory was the swarm of moths that flocked to sample Centurion's floodlights, and so delayed the start of their run-chase. Andrew Strauss won the toss, as he always does - this was his ninth in 11 ODIs in the past month, and his seventh out of eight against the Aussies - but after slashing a four and a six in his first eight deliveries, he was brilliantly caught by James Hopes at square leg in the second over of the match, and in so doing he set an unfortunate precedent for his team-mates.

After 20.2 overs of the match, England's spirited campaign was in ruins. They had chosen to bat with the same gung-ho aggression that had carried them to impressive wins against Sri Lanka and South Africa, but in so doing they shed six wickets for 101, and were in danger of being skittled with half of their overs remaining. Owais Shah followed his breathtaking 98 from 89 balls at this same venue on Sunday with a second-ball duck, and though Paul Collingwood bristled during a counterattacking 34, he was snaffled one-handed by the wicketkeeper Tim Paine, who claimed five catches in a hyperactive performance behind the stumps.

The rest of the specialist batsmen followed meekly. Joe Denly looked composed before falling in the thirties, as is his unfortunate habit, while Steven Davies - making his ODI debut after replacing the ill Matt Prior - lasted a mere four deliveries before inside-edging Watson onto his off stump. When Eoin Morgan carved at a cut to end a laboured innings of 9 from 27 balls, normal service was all set to be resumed, after England's whitewash-averting victory at Durham a fortnight ago.

But instead, Bresnan and Wright set about rebuilding from the very foundations of the innings, adding 107 for the seventh wicket in a performance that both put their colleagues to shame, and proved the placid nature of the surface. After bedding themselves in with discipline, Wright signalled the charge in the 35th over by smacking Nathan Hauritz for two sixes over midwicket, and though he was caught behind soon afterwards for 48, Bresnan continued to march onwards and upwards, using a good eye and a heavy bat to punish any error in line or length.

Bresnan was a late addition to the side after Stuart Broad failed to recover from a strained left buttock, and he entered the game with a slap on the wrists from the management after abusing a fan who had made fun of his weight on the social networking site, Twitter. With an improbable century on the cards, he was bowled by Brett Lee during the batting Powerplay, whereupon England's innings finished as disappointingly as it had begun, with a spate of run-outs curtailing their innings with 14 balls remaining.

After their insect interlude, Australia suffered an early setback when Graham Onions extracted Tim Paine in his first over, but from that moment on, they didn't ever look like being troubled. Ponting dealt almost exclusively in boundaries in the formative stage of his innings, with 28 of his first 29 runs coming in fours, while Watson's only genuine let-off came when Wright strayed out of position on the long-on boundary, and spilled a catch off Graeme Swann over the rope for his first six.

Australia's batsmen played formidably, but England's bowlers were way off the mark, consistently banging the ball in short in a bid to ruffle a few feathers, but instead offered far too many scoring opportunities. James Anderson, as ever, was the most potent attacking option, but even he lost his groove after a hideous piece of fielding from Morgan, who collected the ball in the covers and winged a wild shy clean over the keeper's head for four. Ponting, the beneficiary, followed up with three more boundaries from the next five balls that Anderson bowled at him.

In the end, there was an inevitability to Australia's destructive denouement. England's campaign has been one of their most successful forays into one-day cricket for many a long year, but they still managed only a 50-50 success rate in their four games, never mind the humiliating margin of this latest contest. Australia, meanwhile, march onwards towards another yet slice of silverware. Ponting's emotional celebrations of his century spoke volumes of his continuing resolve. On this form, it will not matter who they face in the final.

NZ VS PAK WATCH LIVE STREAMING

Injury-hit NZ face volatile opponents

Match facts

Saturday, October 3, 2009
Start time 1430 (1230 GMT)


Big picture



Sri Lanka will now be a distant memory for these two teams. Leading into this tournament, both Pakistan and New Zealand took turns in getting battered and bruised in the heat and humidity of Sri Lanka. They came to South Africa with doubts looming over their ability to stick it out with other teams in formats longer than Twenty20. Both duly won their Twenty20s in Sri Lanka, and lost both Tests and ODIs comprehensively.

The weather in South Africa has been different, and so have been the results. New Zealand extracted swift revenge, knocking Sri Lanka out. But with every passing match they seem to be losing one player to injury. During their must-win game against England, Grant Elliot joined Jacob Oram, Jesse Ryder and Daryl Tuffey on the injured list, and Scott Styris has been flown in as a stand-by. Their travel agent won't mind flying another man in, if that means making it to the next stage.

Their opponents have no such problems. Unlike their famous triumphs, the 1992 World Cup and the World Twenty20 earlier this year, Pakistan have looked solid from the off in South Africa. They have looked more like the Pakistan of the 1999 World Cup. Their bowling attack has appeared the most settled, the most varied, and the most skilful of the lot in this tournament. Their batting is the weak link - it has fluctuated from very good, against India, to circumspect, against Australia and West Indies. If Pakistan lose the toss and are put in at the Wanderers, that passage of play will be New Zealand's best chance of making this a close contest.

On paper Pakistan are favourites, and over the years they have used New Zealand as a stepping-stone in big tournaments. In 1992, New Zealand's first defeat in the World Cup opened doors for Pakistan's progress to the semi-final, where they were beaten by the same opposition. The semi-finals of the 1999 World Cup and 2007 World Twenty20 were a repeat. In the World Twenty20 in 2009, it was against New Zealand that Pakistan discovered momentum, and never lost it. New Zealand supporters, though, would want to look back at the semi-final of the Champions Trophy in 2000, when they beat Pakistan, and went on to win the final too.


Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)

Pakistan - LWWWW
New Zealand - WWLLL



Team news


Imran Nazir is fit and should take Misbah-ul-Haq's place. The difficult problem is one that other teams would kill for: does Mohammad Asif go out for Mohammad Aamer? Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Umar Gul will be difficult to keep out too. If the Wanderers pitch looks especially green, they could go in with four fast bowlers too. What a throwback it would be but that's unlikely to happen if the pitch is dry.

Pakistan: (probable): 1 Imran Nazir, 2 Kamran Akmal, 3 Younis Khan (capt), 4 Shoaib Malik, 5 Mohammad Yousuf, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, 9 Mohammad Aamer, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Umar Gul.

New Zealand don't have such problems of plenty. The batting looks amazingly thin in Ryder's absence. Aaron Redmond, who was too jetlagged to play the previous game, should come in. "Grant took part in training this morning and the injection to see how it's going - the injection works when he bats but not when he bowls," Daniel Vettori said. "We'll leave it till the last possible minute before making a decision."

New Zealand (probable): 1 Brendon McCullum (wk), 2 Aaron Redmond, 3 Martin Guptill, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Neil Broom, 6 Grant Elliot/Scott Styris, 7 James Franklin, 8 Daniel Vettori (capt), 9 Kyle Mills, 10 Shane Bond, 11 Ian Butler.

WATCH NZ VS PAK LIVE STREAM

Cricket Schedule 2010 : India, Australia, England, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies, New Zealand & Bangladesh.

Only 9 country play cricket, full time, but in a confusing concept. It's tough for fans to keep track of when to watch and what, which is where itsonlycricket.com comes to your rescue.

In Year 2010, cricket calender is packed with a Twenty20 world cup in month of April in West Indies, Asia cup which is an ODI tournament played between all asian country, several bilateral tours like South Africa, New Zealand & Australia tour of India which includes test series and T20 games and one or two triseries as well. and on top of all, Australia and England resume their battle for urn, the Ashes 2010, to be played in Australia this time from the month of November.

Australia also tour England for a series of one day internationals while they are also supposed to finish their tour of Pakistan this year. Bangladeshi team will have their busiest cricketing season while Indian cricket team will indulge into Indian Premier League (IPL), Champions League T20 along with their International commitments.

Note that following list of cricket fixtures for year 2010 show only which country tour where in what month. Actual and full time table is only relased by respective host boards around 2-3 months in advance. So, in case you are anticipating an upcoming cricket series, wait some more.. following tables will be updated as soon as full schedules are released.

---

England Cricket Schedule : Year 2010


Months Versus Matches Fixtures & Result
January England in South Africa 4 tests + 5 ODI + T20 Eng in SA 2010
February-March England in Bangladesh 2 tests + 3 ODIs Eng in Bdesh 2010
April T20 WC in West Indies Twenty20 World cup World T20 2010
May Bangladesh in England 2 Test + 3 ODI Bdesh in Eng 2010
June Australia in England 5 ODI Series Aus in Eng 2010
July-August West Indies in England 4 Test + 5 ODI WI in Eng 2010
Nov-Dec England in Australia Ashes 2011 Ashes 2010

---

India Cricket Schedule : Year 2010


January India in Bangladesh 2 Test + Triseries India in Bdesh 2010
February-March South Africa in India 3 Test + 5 ODI SA in Ind 2010
April Asia Cup ODI Tournament Asia Cup 2010
April T20 WC in West Indies Twenty20 World Cup World T20 2010
May India in Zimbabwe 3 ODI Series Ind in Zim 2010
July India in Sri Lanka Triseries Ind v NZ v SL
October Australia in India 7 ODI Series Aus in Ind 2010
November New Zealand in India 3 Test + 5 ODI NZ in Ind 2010

---

Australia Cricket Schedule : Year 2010


January Pakistan in Australia 3 Test + 5 ODI + T20 Pak in Aus 2010
February West Indies in Australia 5 ODI + T20 WI in Aus 2010
March-April Australia in New Zealand 3 Test + 5 ODI + 2 T20s Aus in NZ 2010
April T20 World Cup in WI Twenty20 World Cup World T20 2010
June Australia in England 5 ODI Series Aus in Eng 2010
July Bangladesh in Australia 2 Tests Bdesh in Aus 2010
September Australia in Pakistan 3 Tests Aus in Pak 2010
October Australia in India 7 ODI series Aus in Ind 2010
November England in Australia 5 Test Series Ashes 2010-11

---

Pakistan Cricket Schedule : Year 2010


January Pakistan in Australia 3 Test + 5 ODI + T20 Pak in Aus 2010
April Asia Cup ODI Tournament Asia Cup 2010
April T20 World cup Twenty20 World Cup World T20 2010
August Bangladesh in Pakistan 2 Test + 3 ODI Bdesh in Pak 2010
September Australia in Pakistan 3 Test Series Aus in Pak 2010
Oct-Nov South Africa in Pakistan 3 Test + 5 ODI SA in Pak 2010

---

New Zealand Cricket Schedule : Year 2010


February Bangladesh in New Zealand 1 Test, 3 ODI, 2 T20 Bdesh in NZ 2010
March-April Australia in New Zealand Test + ODI + T20 Aus in NZ 2010
April T20 World cup in West Indies Twenty20 World Cup WC T20 2010
July New Zealand in Sri Lanka Triseries Ind v NZ v SL
October New Zealand in Bangladesh 2 Test + 3 ODI NZ in Bdesh 2010
November New Zealand in India 3 Test + 5 ODI NZ in Ind 2010

---

Sri Lanka Cricket Schedule : Year 2010


January Srilanka in Bangladesh Triseries Ind v SL v Bdesh
April Asia Cup ODI Tournament Asia Cup 2010
April T20 World cup in West Indies Twenty20 World Cup WC T20 2010
July India & New Zealand in Sri Lanka Tri Series Ind v NZ v SL
Nov-Dec West Indies in Sri Lanka 3 Test + 5 ODI WI in SL 2010

---

South Africa Cricket Schedule : Year 2010


January England in South Africa 4 Test + 5 ODI Eng in SA 2010
February-March South Africa in India 3 Test + 5 ODI SA in Ind 2010
April T20 World cup in WI Twenty20 World Cup WC T20 2010
May-June South Africa in West Indies 4 Test + 5 ODI SA in WI 2010
September Zimbabwe in South Africa ODI Series Zim in SA 2010
Oct-Nov South Africa in Pakistan 3 Test + 5 ODI SA in Pak 2010

---

West Indies Cricket Schedule : Year 2010


February West Indies in Australia 5 ODI + T20 WI in Aus 2010
March Zimbabwe in West Indies ODI Series Zim in WI 2010
April T20 World cup in West Indies Twenty20 World Cup WC T20 2010
May-June South Africa in West Indies 4 Test + 5 ODI SA in WI 2010
July-August West Indies tour of England 4 Test + 5 ODI WI in Eng 2010
Nov-Dec West Indies in Sri Lanka 3 Test + 5 ODI WI in SL 2010

---

Bangladesh Cricket Schedule : Year 2010


January SL & Ind in Bdesh ODI Triseries Ind v SL v Bdesh
January India in Bangladesh 2 Tests Ind in Bdesh 2010
February Bangladesh vs New Zealand Test + ODI + T20 Bdesh in NZ 2010
March England in Bdesh Test + ODI Eng in Bdesh 2010
April Asia Cup ODI Tournament Asia cup 2010
April T20 World cup in West Indies Twenty20 World cup World T20 2010
May Bangladesh in England 2 Test + 3 ODI Bdesh in Eng 2010
July Bangladesh in Australia 2 Tests Bdesh in Aus 2010
August Bangladesh in Pakistan 2 Test + 3 ODI Bdesh in Pak 2010
October New Zealand in Bangladesh 2 Test + 3 ODI NZ in Bdesh 2010

---

Dhoni demands more from bowlers and fielders

India have crashed out early from a second ICC tournament in less than four months after being one of the favourites to win, leaving the captain MS Dhoni wondering where the campaign unravelled. Australia pipped Pakistan in a last-ball thriller in the day game in Centurion, making India's match against West Indies a dead rubber, which India went on to win convincingly by seven wickets.


"I do feel disappointed but frankly speaking I find it difficult to say if we were up for this tournament or not," Dhoni said. "We were off the boil against Pakistan and we lost. Then we had a washout and we won the match against West Indies. I can't say if our performance was bad."


After winning the Compaq Cup in Colombo earlier this month, Dhoni had said the bowling and fielding needed to improve but the two departments weren't at their best in Champions Trophy. "We will reflect on how our bowlers bowled with too much width and how much work we need to put into our fielding department. That needs some work but these things are not going to change overnight. We have to put in much more effort."


One of the bright spots for India was Virat Kohli's mature batting against West Indies; he was the only batsman to make a half-century in the match, finishing on an unbeaten 79. Kohli batted at No. 4 on Wednesday, and in his short career has already opened the innings and also played at No. 7. "I am happy to bat up or down the order as the team needs. I got experience of that in the IPL, where I was shuffled around the order too much," Kohli said after his Man-of-the-Match performance. "I am happy to bat up the order because that gives me more overs to face and I can win matches for the team that way. But if I am to be down the order then that's not too much of a problem."


One of Dhoni's surprise moves against West Indies was to bring himself on to bowl in the 17th over. He handed the wicketkeeping duties to Dinesh Karthik and sent down a two-over spell in which he got his first international wicket by bowling Travis Dowlin. "I bowl regularly in the nets and I decided that the pitch would be good for me to bowl on," Dhoni said. "We had two first-choice fast bowlers and two spinners and a reserve bowler in Abhishek Nayar. So, I thought if I could put in a couple of good overs that would be the way to go and the proper bowlers would be left to do the job at the end."


India head home early from South Africa and most of the players have some time off before a seven-ODI home series against Australia beginning in the last week of October. Those part of the Deccan Chargers, Bangalore Royal Challengers and Delhi Daredevils, however, will take part in the Champions League. Dhoni said that the team had "good time to prepare for the Australia series" but hoped that his key players - India were missing Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh in South Africa - would be fit.

Aus vs Eng LIVE STREAMING

It's battle rejoined. Just in case there hadn't been enough of England facing Australia in recent months, the semi-final of the Champions Trophy has thrown together a rematch. There shouldn't be much these two sides don't know about each other, but the intrigue of this meeting is that it's a straight knockout. Most expected Australia to be here, but few imagined England would still be in the tournament.

For a while it looked as though Australia would blow their chance of progressing as the batting came to a screeching halt in their chase against Pakistan. However, Brett Lee and Nathan Hauritz did just enough - Australia were through when they levelled scores off the penultimate ball - and another meeting with the old enemy was an added bonus.

Australia will bring with them memories of the 6-1 win in the recent one-day series, while England will say that result doesn't matter anymore. "We thrashed them the last time we played them," said Graeme Swann, England's team joker. The truth, as is often the case, lies somewhere in the middle. Australia clearly have the upper hand in recent contests, but England's resurgence since arriving in South Africa means they have a good chance of extracting revenge.

England may secretly be relieved that Australia scrambled the final bye, which meant they wouldn't have to face Pakistan's mixture of spin and reverse swing on a slow, wearing Centurion pitch. Not that Australia's attack will be easy, but at least there won't be any of the unknown. In fact, it's just the opposite. The teams probably know each other a little too well at the moment.


Form guide


(last five completed matches, most recent first)

England - LWWWL
Australia - WNWLW



Team news




England have concerns over Stuart Broad, who has a torn buttock muscle. He went for a scan and appeared in discomfort while the team trained in Centurion. If he misses out it will probably mean a recall for Graham Onions, but the loss of Broad's batting could allow Adil Rashid into the mix, especially given the spin-friendly conditions. Rashid may come into the permutations anyway as a replacement for Luke Wright. Meanwhile, Matt Prior took part in training but is still feeling the effects of his virus. Steven Davies remains on stand-by and England have ICC permission to draft him in as a replacement.

England (probable): 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Joe Denly, 3 Owais Shah, 4 Paul Collingwood, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Matt Prior (wk), 7 Luke Wright, 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 Ryan Sidebottom, 11 James Anderson.


David Hussey has been called into the squad, but it would be asking a lot for him to play straight away. Australia are likely to retain the balance they used against Pakistan and will know what to expect from conditions.

Australia (probable) 1 Shane Watson, 2 Tim Paine (wk), 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Hussey, 5 Callum Ferguson, 6 Cameron White, 7 James Hopes, 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Nathan Hauritz, 11 Peter Siddle.



"England are playing some pretty good cricket of late, but we know their strengths and weaknesses and have been able to exploit them in the past. Now it is a matter of doing that again."
Ricky Ponting and his players are familiar with the opposition after spending the summer in England.

watch live streaming

Johnson and Gambhir Scoop top awards

Mitchell Johnson capped a tumultuous year by becoming the sixth winner of the prestigious Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy, after being named as the ICC World Player of the Year at cricket's annual awards ceremony in Johannesburg. Johnson, who shot to prominence during Australia's memorable series win in South Africa in February and March, claimed the title ahead of his fellow nominees, Gautam Gambhir, Andrew Strauss and MS Dhoni.

Johnson was a surprise choice for the title, not least because of the massive and very public crisis of confidence he suffered during Australia's Ashes defeat in England, particularly in the pivotal second Test at Lord's which England went on to win after Johnson's first-day figures of 2 for 107 in 19 overs. But when he got his game right he was nigh on unplayable, as his sensational performances against South Africa demonstrated. With 80 wickets in 17 matches, he was the most prolific strike bowler of the year, and he also recorded his maiden Test century and an unbeaten 96 against South Africa.

"I'm really blown away," said Johnson. "I am just surprised to be up here. It has been a great 12 months for our side. We have lost some wonderful players in recent years and we have been rebuilding with some young guys in the team and we have played together well."


India's star opener, Gambhir, was named as Test Player of the Year, after an impressive haul of 1269 runs at 84.60 in the eight Tests during the qualification period. "It's been a dream run for me. I never thought it could be like this but life has changed for me and I am very happy," said Gambhir. "As a unit we have played very well and I am just glad to contribute to the overall success of the team."


Dhoni retained his title of ODI Player of the Year, seeing off competition from his team-mates, Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag, as well as West Indies' Shivnarine Chanderpaul. Dhoni played 24 ODIs during the voting period, scoring 967 runs at an average of 60.43 and strike-rate of 86.63, and also claimed 26 dismissals as he led India to 17 victories including a 5-0 demolition of England.


Tillakaratne Dilshan was a worthy winner of the Twenty20 International Performance of the Year award, after capping a sensational World Twenty20 tournament in England in June with a show-stealing 96 off 57 balls against West Indies in the semi-final. His performance at The Oval, in which no other Sri Lanka batsman managed more than 24, included two sixes and 12 fours, and though Sri Lanka went on to lose the final to Pakistan, Dilshan was nevertheless named as the Man of the Tournament, with a total of 317 runs at 52.83.

Dilshan is perhaps most notable for his signature "Dilscoop" shot - a flick-shot over his, and the keeper's, heads - and as he accepted his award he was equally proud to have coined a new term in cricket's lexicon. "I'm really proud of myself for having a new shot named after me," he said. "That shot has given me confidence. If I am under pressure I can play that shot and put the pressure back on the bowlers."


Australia's fast bowler, Peter Siddle, was named as the Emerging Player of the Year, after claiming 49 wickets at 28.93 in the 12 matches since his debut at Mohali in October 2008, including five-wicket hauls against South Africa at Sydney and England at Headingley, both of which led to memorable victories. Siddle beat his fellow Australia seamer, Ben Hilfenhaus, to the award, as well as England's Graham Onions and New Zealand's Jesse Ryder.


New Zealand's cricketers were considered to have conducted themselves better on the field than any other nation in 2008-09, as they claimed the Spirit of Cricket award for the second time, having also won during the inaugural Awards ceremony at Alexandra Palace in London in 2004. The judgement was made by the ICC's umpires and match referees, in conjunction with the ten full-member captains, and Daniel Vettori accepted the accolade on behalf of his colleagues, only 48 hours after reversing a run-out appeal against Paul Collingwood in their must-win group match against England.


"I think most teams within world cricket aspire to the intangible notion of the Spirit of Cricket," said Vettori. "It's not easy to define but I think when you get out on the field of play most guys know where that line is and most play the game in the right way. If we can couple the Spirit of Cricket award with the ICC Champions Trophy then we will be very happy indeed."


Pakistan's Aleem Dar ended Simon Taufel's monopoly to claim the Umpire of the Year award. It was the first time that anyone other than Taufel had picked up the accolade in the six years that the ceremony has taken place.

South Africa's spearhead, Dale Steyn, is the only player to retain his place in the World Test Team of the Year, with last year's captain, Graeme Smith, missing the cut to accommodate World Player of the Year nominees Gambhir and Strauss at the top of the order. Dhoni takes over as captain; AB de Villiers, Sachin Tendulkar and Thilan Samaraweera make up the middle-order, while Bangladesh's impressive allrounder, Shakib al Hasan, is chosen as the spin option alongside three quicks in Johnson, Steyn and Stuart Broad.

Six countries were also represented in the World ODI team, and just as with the Test side, there's only one survivor from the XI named 12 months ago. Dhoni was last year's wicketkeeper, and now he is captain as well, having been picked alongside his team-mates Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh.

Three Sri Lankans - Dilshan, Ajantha Mendis and Nuwan Kulasekara - also feature, as well as two Englishmen, Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen, neither of whom have played a part in the side's remarkable revival during the Champions Trophy. West Indies' Chris Gayle, Pakistan's death-overs specialist Umar Gul, and New Zealand's surprise package, Martin Guptill, make up the numbers.

England's women - World Champions in 50-over and 20-over cricket this year, were rewarded for their dominance when their star player, Clare Taylor, was named as the Women's Player of the Year. Taylor, 33, scored 565 runs in 18 ODIs an average of 70.62, and 230 runs at a lofty 115.00 in England's six-match World Twenty20 campaign.

Ireland's captain, Will Porterfield, was named as the Associate Player of the Year, after leading his side to nine ODI victories in 11 fixtures in a memorable season that also included qualification for the Super Eights stage of the World Twenty20.

World Test Team of the Year: Gautam Gambhir (India), Andrew Strauss (England), AB de Villiers (South Africa), Sachin Tendulkar (India), Thilan Samaraweera (Sri Lanka), Michael Clarke (Australia), MS Dhoni (India, capt & wk), Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh), Mitchell Johnson (Australia), Stuart Broad (England), Dale Steyn (South Africa), Harbhajan Singh (India, 12th man)

World ODI team of the year: Virender Sehwag (Ind), Chris Gayle (WI), Kevin Pietersen (Eng), Tillakaratne Dilshan (SL), Yuvraj Singh (Ind), Martin Guptill (NZ), MS Dhoni (Ind, captain, WK), Andrew Flintoff (Eng), Nuwan Kulasekara (SL), Ajantha Mendis (SL), Umar Gul (Pak), 12th man: Thilan Thushara (SL)

India's jigsaw lacks more than missing pieces

Has there ever been a time when all Indian eyes - and minds - have been focused on a match featuring Pakistan even though the Indian team is playing elsewhere at the same time?

In fact the match between India and West Indies in Johannesburg became relevant only briefly, when Pakistan's bowlers were triggering a sensational Australian collapse 40 kilometres away in Centurion. Pakistan did the best they could but the fact that India's fortunes were hostage to the performance of another team summed up their story.

There should, however, be no tears and no excuses. This is the third of the last four world tournaments where India have failed to clear the first meaningful hurdle and, just as in the case of South Africa, their position on the ICC rankings table will be of no consequence unless they can bring their best game to the big ones. Dinara Safina has been the No. 1 women's tennis player for a year now but does anyone think of her as the best on the circuit?

In the end, justice was done. Australia hadn't lost a match in the tournament so far and, from where they were against India the other night, they would have felt the more aggrieved by the rain. At 234 for 4 in the 43rd over, they would have been the favourites.

There are reasons not to be too harsh on this Indian team for their performance in this tournament. They came here without two of their match-winners, and lost one more before the tournament started. Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh are big players and the hole their absence left was too huge to plug.

Also, they have gone out on the back of one loss. The short and sharp nature of the tournament wasn't kind to them, and questions will perhaps be asked about a format that knocks out a big team on account of one bad game. It was unfortunate that rain denied them the opportunity to redeem themselves and placed their destiny at the hands of other teams.

And the Champions Trophy has always been that kind of tournament. Apart from 2006, when Australia won it, favourites have rarely gone the distance. Who would have put money on England and New Zealand going through to the semi-finals? All these factors must be taken in to consideration while assessing India's performance in this tournament. None of them, though, should obscure the weaknesses, persistent for a while now but glaring in this tournament.

India haven't looked good as a one-day team for some time though their recent record would suggest otherwise. The flaws were apparent in the one-day series in the West Indies, which they won, and in the recent tri-series in Sri Lanka which they won as well. Often it was their batting might that masked the shortcomings with the ball and in the field.

The numbers tell a story. In four of their last ten matches, India have conceded more than 300 runs, and were clearly on their way to another such total against Australia the other night. To be fair, not too many bowlers have come away from these Centurion pitches with their dignity intact. The home team conceded over 300 twice, as did England. And, but for crucial mistakes from their batsmen, India would have run Pakistan close.

Sometimes, though, you can bowl at your best and still go for runs. Ashish Nehra apart, the Indian bowlers served up a series of short, wayward balls. RP Singh had no control against Pakistan, and Ishant Sharma delivered two tight spells but ruined it with some shockers on either side. Against Pakistan, he was instrumental in getting Shoaib Malik going with three trashy long hops in one over.

Against Australia, who had been kept tentative and honest by a zippy Ashish Nehra and a mildly wobbling Praveen Kumar, he provided the perfect release with an over that featured two fours and a six. It also contained a wide. In the course of one over, Australia jumped from a nervous 23 for 1 after eight overs to a comfortable 39 after nine. From there on, India couldn't find a way back.

In Australia a year and a half ago, Ishant was the world's hottest fast bowler. He made Ricky Ponting look ordinary, he hustled Mathew Hayden, climbed all over Michael Clarke and, along with Praveen Kumar, was responsible for India winning the CB Series. With Zaheer Khan back and willing to lead the quick bowlers, it seemed then India were about to enter a golden period in pace bowling, because on the sidelines lurked the likes of RP Singh, Sreesanth and Munaf Patel.

A year later, in the absence of Zaheer, India's ODI attack looks orphaned. It must be asked why most Indian bowlers, young and hopefully willing, have actually regressed. Ishant is the most debilitating personification of what has gone wrong with the lot. He has lost not only his pace but apparently his sense of length and line too. Since the CB series, where he took 14 wickets while conceding only 4.58 runs per over, his economy-rate is more than six runs an over and he has routinely been taken for more than seven.

Equally dispiriting has been the performance of Harbhajan Singh. He has continued to be a conundrum. On the basis of his experience and reputation, he is the leader of this Indian attack. Occasionally, like in the tri-series final against Sri Lanka, he has sparkled. On many occasions, he has been tight and adequate. Yet after so many years he has still not become the bankable match-turner that his team will expect him to be.

Against Pakistan he was outbowled not only by the impressive Saeed Ajmal and the magnificently matured Shahid Afridi but even by Yusuf Pathan. And the Australians, once putty in his hands, milked him with ease. On the basis of how he bowled against Australia, Amit Mishra can expect to be picked ahead of him. India will be stronger when Sehwag, Yuvraj and Zaheer return but they have a fundamental problem in this form of the game for which no credible answers are available. No great one-day team has been complete without allrounders and India haven't found one since the fall of Irfan Pathan. They have tried making use of the bowling abilty of their batsmen, and tried to make do with Yusuf. But he has shown little evidence of being able to do the job at No. 7 and, while playing five bowlers is welcome, it leaves the team dangerously unbalanced, and without insurance against a batting collapse.

Being knocked out of the Champions Trophy is a setback, not a disaster, and it would not be futile if India carry back a few lessons.