Sourav Ganguly has said he won’t be playing in IPL 6

New Delhi: Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has said he won’t be playing in IPL 6 calling time on his domestic career after he had earlier opted out of Ranji Trophy as well.

Ganguly, who leads Pune Warriors in the Indian Premier League, told a leading Indian daily on Sunday that he has informed the owners of the franchise of his intentions.

"I had a wonderful time playing in the IPL for five seasons. It gave me a chance to keep playing top-class cricket even after quitting international cricket. But I can`t go on forever, and I have requested the franchise owners not to consider me for IPL 6," Ganguly was quoted as saying by the Times of India on Sunday.

Ganguly, who represented India in 113 Tests and 311 ODIs, had earlier said that he won’t be plying his trade in the Ranji Trophy.

"There is no question of playing in Ranji Trophy, if I`m not playing IPL," he said.

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Michael Lumb pummels Lions, Sydney Sixers win 2012 Champions League Twenty20

Johannesburg: Sydney Sixers produced an all-round clinical display to clinch the Champions League Twenty20 title with a dominating 10-wicket victory over Highveld Lions in a lop-sided summit clash here on Sunday.
Sixers vs Lions: As it happened…»

The Sixers first rode on a brilliant bowling display by spinner Nathan McCullum (3/24) and pacer Josh Hazlewood (3/22) to dismiss Highveld Lions for a modest 121 in their stipulated 20 overs after winning the toss and electing to field.

The Australian side then returned to overhaul the target with 7.3 overs to spare, thanks to some powerful hitting by opener Michael Lumb and Brad Haddin, who notched up an unbeaten 124 run partnership.

Chasing 122 to win, Lumb annihilated the Lions with eight fours and five sixes in his 42-ball 82-run unbeaten innings, while his opening partner Haddin blasted four boundaries and a six in his 33-ball unfinished 38 here.

The opening duo were in marauding form as they toyed with the Lions bowlers, taking them to the cleaners every now and then. They were particularly harsh on Chris Morris and Aaron Phangiso as the bowlers bleded 54 in four over combined.

Lumb finally finished off the chase in style when he blasted Pretorius for a six over deep wicket in the first ball, pulled the next over fine leg and then sent the third delivery across the boundary line as well to trigger celebration for the Sixers.

Earlier, McCullum and Hazlewood claimed three wickets each to help Sydney Sixers dismiss Highveld Lions for a modest 121 in the finals.

Sydney Sixers broke the back bone of the Lions as they reduced them to 9-4 in just 3.3 overs after winning the toss and electing to field.

Jean Symes top-scored with a 46-ball 51 to help Lions put up a total or else things could have been more embarrasing for the home team at the New Wanderers Stadiums here.

Symes added 23 runs with Sohail Tanvir for the fifth wicket to start the recovery but the Pakistani player lost his wicket in the seventh over as the Lions lost half their side with just 32 on board.

Symes then forged a 41-run partnership with Thami Tsolekile for the sixth wicket and another 38 with Dwaine Pretorius for the seventh wicket to help Lions cross the 100-mark. Symes had eight fours in his 46-ball innings.

For Sydney Sixers, Steve O`Keefe and Mitchell Starc were the other wicket takers with one wicket each here.

Put into bat, opener Gulam Bodi started off with a six of McCullum but he was send packing in the next delivery by the spinner to deal the first blow in the opening over.

First down Quinton de Kock was then sent back to the pavilions by pacer Hazlewood, courtesy a stunning catch by O`Keefe. Three balls later, Hazlewood reduced Lions to 8-3 after picking new man McKenzie in the last ball of the over.

Stranded all this while, Petersen was the next to go when he outside edged a O`Keefe delivery to Neil McCullum at the first slip.

Symes then tried to resurrect the innings with a couple of boundaries in the fifth over of Starc, while Tanvir also clipped one over square-leg. However, his stay didn`t last long as the Pakistani player was trapped in front of wicket by McCullum.

Undeterred, Symes continued his job and picked up successive fours in the 10th over off Pat Cummins. New man Tsolekile also got into the act and blasted a couple of sixes to ease the pressure.

But McCullum broke the partnership dismissing Tsolekile when he had him caught at short midwicket.

Symes and Pretorius then joined hands and tried to accelerate. Symes picked up a couple of fours off Cummins, while Pretorius clobbered Hazlewood and Starc for a couple of sixes, before becoming a victim of Starc.

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Proteas confident of Test success in Australia, says Smith.

Johannesburg: South Africa captain Graeme Smith has said that his Proteas squad is ‘quietly confident’ of succeeding in Australia as they prepare to leave for their three-Test tour at Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, with the first starting on November 9 at the Gabba.

“We`ve earned the right to go there with that mantle (of being the number one Test team) through the way we`ve played over the last period of time. We know we`ve got a quality team that`s proved its ability to win away from home,” a website quoted Smith, as saying.

“We knew the two tours [to England and Australia] were coming this year. Both were going to be tough and we`ve overcome one of those hurdles, and we`d like to do the next one,” he added.

Coach Gary Kirsten also concurred with the Proteas captain.

“We are going to make sure we prepare as diligently as possible. We went to England in the same way. We wanted to prepare really well. We didn`t want to say too much [because] we wanted to make our performances count,” Kirsten said.

South Africa claimed the world number one ranking with a 2-0 Test series victory over England in August and Smith felt his side was in good shape to produce another solid performance, the report said.

"For me, I would say it’s one of our strongest touring squads to go to Australia," he said.

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Champions League T20 2012 Final: Sydney Sixers vs Highveld Lions - Preview.

Johannesburg: Invincible so far in the competition, Sydney Sixers are firm favourites for the title but South Africa`s enterprising Highveld Lions would look to upset the Australian powerhouse`s applecart when the two sides clash in the Champions League Twenty20 final here on Sunday.

KEY PLAYERS TO WATCH OUT FOR»

Sydney won each of their five matches -- including four group stage games -- to be considered by far the best team to take the field in the competition.

Despite losing the services of their match-winner, prolific all-rounder Shane Watson, Sydney were strong enough for the Mumbai Indians in their final Group fixture and their semifinal clash against the Titans even though it was a close shave last night.

The unavailability of Watson is certainly a big blow for Sydney Sixers, given that a winner`s cheque of USD 2,500,000 rides on this match.

Watson, incidentally, was a key figure when Sydney beat the Lions in a low-scorer during the group stage earlier in the tournament.

However, the Australian outfit will not be too concerned, given they have several players who have been in good touch.

Skipper Brad Haddin has been consistently among the runs. Michael Lumb too has been in outstanding form, having scored in every outing.

In Moises Henriques and Steve Smith, the Sixers have two players in their middle order who are contributing regularly.

But a few chinks in the armour were left exposed by the last-ball last night`s win over Titans during which Smith and Haddin failed to add anything significant.

Sydney`s bowling has been impressive with Mitchell Starc being the leading wicket-taker. In Pat Cummins, the Sixers have another strike bowler, while the likes of Moises Henriques and Josh Hazlewood have been very effective in the middle overs.

However, the attack did leak crucial runs in the death overs of the clash against Titans.

"Our running between the wickets could probably improve. I think our first 16 over were brilliant but our death bowling let us down (but) we have to give credit to their batsmen, (David) Wiese and (Henry) Davids were whacking the ball so, (we could) probably (work on) the death bowling and not losing wickets consistently," feels Cummins.

The Lions, on the other hand, would be happy to start as underdogs as it would ease the pressure on them.

Opening batsman, Gulam Bodi, is the team`s top run-getter in the competition. The Lions will be banking on him to get them off to a good start.

Neil McKenzie too has been among the runs but he would need to convert his starts into match-winning performances. Quinton de Kock, who was tipped as one of the players to watch in the days leading up to the tournament, would also aim to come good on Sunday.

On the bowling front, the Lions have quite an ace up their sleeve in the form of left-arm spinner Aaron Phangiso.

He is the Lions` leading wicket-taker and has bowled beautifully. Phangiso, in fact, tops the list of Lions` wicket-takers accounting for 30 scalps in 33 T20 games for his team.

The Lions will also bank on the home support they are likely to enjoy to outwit Sydney, a team which has looked unstoppable all through the event.

Teams (from):

Sydney Sixers: Brad Haddin (captain/keeper), Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Michael Lumb, Nathan McCullum, Nic Maddinson, Ian Moran, Peter Nevill, Steve O`Keefe, Ben Rohrer, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Dominic Thornely.

Highveld Lions: Alviro Petersen (captain), Temba Bavuma, Gulam Bodi, Zander de Bruyn, Quinton de Kock, Neil McKenzie, Pumelela Matshikwe, Chris Morris, Dirk Nannes, Ethan O`Reilly, Aaron Phangiso, Dwaine Pretorius, Sohail Tanvir, Jean Symes, Thami Tsolekile (wicketkeeper).

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CL T20: Daredevils top group after match abandoned due to rain

 The match has been abandoned due to persistent rain. This means that the Delhi Daredevils have not only become the only IPL team to reach the semis, but they are also the table-toppers in their group with 12 points from 4 matches. They won two matches and shared two points with their opponents in the remaining ones.

The Daredevils will now lock horns with Group B runners-up Lions in the first semifinal on October 25 at Kingsmead in Durban. The Titans will take on Group B winners Sydney Sixers in the second semifinal on October 26.

It is still drizzling at Centurion.

Weather Update: It raining heavily at the Centurion!

TOSS: The Titans have won the toss and they have decided to bowl first.

The Delhi Daredevils lock horns with the Titans in their last league match of the Champions League Twenty20. After Auckland's defeat against the Scorchers, Delhi along with the Titans have automatically qualified for the semis and the match becomes inconsequential.

The Daredevils registered a narrow win over Perth Scorchers in their previous match, going atop the table with 10 points. Delhi would want to move into the semis with confidence and thus they wouldn't be complacent against their opponents in this match which is now a formality.

Meanwhile the Titans are second in the group with 8 points from three matches and they have also made it to the semis. They were humiliated by Kolkata Knight Riders in their previous encounter, where while chasing 189, they folded for 89.

The positive news for the Daredevils is Sehwag regaining his form as he played a match-winning knock in the previous game which his side won against the Perth Scorchers. Both teams would want to take some confidence from this match ahead of the semi-final clashes.

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current updates

 
Gary Ballance struck half-century as Yorkshire crawled to 140 for six against Chennai Super Kings in their Champions League T20 (CLT20) 2012 match at Durban on Monday.
 
Put in to bat first, Yorkshire made a slow start and lost their way in between, after which Miller and Ballance revived their innings.
 
The first wicket partnership between Andrew Gale and Adam Lyth garnered 36 runs, before Albie Morkel removed the Yorkshire skipper for 23 in the sixth over.
 
Gale’s knock of 23 included two sixes and a boundary, from 22 balls.
 
Ben Hilfenhaus struck in the very next over to dismiss Lyth, who was caughy by Murali Vijay for 11.
 
The English County side slipped further when Joe Root fell to Morkel, which left Yorkshire struggling at 43 for three.
 
Ballance and Miller then joined forces to take Yorkshire ahead, adding 78 runs for the fourth wicket.
 

• Brief Scores: yorkshire 140 for 6 in 20 overs (Gary Ballance 58, David Miller 28, Andrew Gale 23; Albie Morkel 2 for 12, Doug Bollinger 2 for 16) vs Chennai Super Kings.

 

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curent updates

Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir admitted that it was indeed "very disappointing" not to have qualified for the semi-finals of the Champions League Twenty20..

"It is very disappointing not to have qualified for the semi-finals but this is not the end of the world. We will definitely come back stronger in the next edition of Indian Premier League," Gambhir said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

The skipper was however happy that his team produced a solid performance to defeat the Nashua Titans.

"I still feel we are a quality side, we put this performance on the field today. When you get 180 in these conditions, you know you have the bowling to defend."

The skipper was all praise for Manvinder Bisla who started the onslaught and Debabrata Das who finished it with a flourish.

"Credit to Das for the way finished the innings while Bisla batted brilliantly at the top of the order."

Bengal boy Debabrata who won the man-of-the-match award said, "I was just told to go out there and play my game. My game is to see the ball and hit it."

Titans skipper Martin van Jaarsveld said that once KKR scored 188 for five, it was always going to be a catch-up game.

"The moment they got first four through inside edge, we knew that it wasn't our day. They were like a runaway train today. We have a big match against Delhi on Tuesday, and we need to be up for it," he lamented. (PTI)
 

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Champions League T20 2012: Lions beat CSK by six wickets

Cape Town: Highveld Lions beat Chennai Super Kings by six wickets in the Champions League Twenty20 here on Tuesday.
AS IT HAPPENED»

Chennai made a sensational start in their defence of 158 with Bollinger removing Lions captain Alviro PetersEn with the first ball of the innings in an LBW decision.
Two overs later, Bollinger induced an edge to Quinton de Kock (5) for Dhoni to take an easy catch behind the wicket.
The two early wickets pegged the Lions back and they were just 18 for two after the fifth over and 59 for two at the halfway stage.

But Bodi and McKenzie steadied the run chase after the initial jolt and then took their side to a position from where they could launch for a win.

Bodi was the dominant partner as he played most of the shots, including the two sixes off Albie Morkel in the ninth over. He reached his half century in 38 balls with a six off Faf du Plessis in the 12th over which yielded 14 runs.

Bodi was not afraid of taking on a quality spinner like Ravichandran Ashwin as he smashed a four and a six in the 13th over as the Lions had to come up with some big overs in view of the soaring asking rate.

Dhoni brought back Morkel, who was hit for two sixes in the ninth over by Bodi, and the change in bowling did the trick as the fast bowler gave the much-needed breakthrough.

Morkel removed Bodi with an angled delivery which the batsman wanted to hoist but it took the edge of his bat for Dhoni to complete an easy catch behind the wickets.

Bodi faced 46 balls for his 64 which he made with the help of five fours and four sixes. His dismissal ended the 93-run stand from 9.5 overs for the third wicket with Neil McKenzie.

Lions needed 51 runs from the last five overs and nine from the last over. Jean Symes, who remained not out on 39, hit two fours to end the match in style.


Earlier, Dhoni top-scored with a 26-ball 34 as Chennai Super Kings posted a challenging 158 for six.

Dhoni, who promoted himself to number four, hit two fours and as many sixes in his knock after coming at the halfway stage of the innings after his side was sent into bat at the Newlands in the Group B match.

Chennai lost wickets at regular intervals and looked like they would settle below 150 but the 50-run stand from 4.2 overs between Dhoni and S Badrinath (27 not out) for the sixth wicket saw them go past that mark.

The last two overs yielded 27 runs, with the penultimate bowled by Dirk Nannes, producing 19 and that saw Chennai reach a challenging total.

Badrinath was the second highest scorer while all the other batsmen, except for Albie Morkel (4), contributed in the 20s.

For the Lions, Aaron Phangiso grabbed two wickets for 17 runs from his quota of four overs while Sohail Tanveer, Nannes, Chris Morris and Zander de Bruyn took a wicket each.

The Chennai openers Faf du Plessis (25) and Murali Vijay (22) began on a confident note with the former launching Nannes for a huge six in the second over and then gave the treatment to Tanveer with three fours from the next over.

Vijay, who played second fiddle so far, then struck an effortless six off Nannes to take Chennai score to 43 for no loss at the end of fifth over.

The breakthrough for the Lions was provided by Morris with Phangiso taking a stunning catch to get rid of du Plessis who consumed 20 balls for his 25.

Phangiso, who had dismissed Sachin Tendulkar in Lions` previous match, ran back from the point region, dived full-length and pouched the ball before thudding himself into the ground.

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Champions League T20 2012: Sydney Sixers crush Yorkshire by 8 wickets

Cape Town: In-form Sydney Sixers produced a clinical all-round performance and romped to a crushing eight-wicket win over Yorkshire in their Champions League Twenty20 match here on Tuesday.

Sixers chased down the paltry target of 97 with 67 deliveries to spare after Yorkshire opted to bat at the Newlands.

The English outfit was earlier restricted to 96 for nine in their allotted 20 overs.

This was Sixers' second win of the tournament, the first was against the IPL outfit Chennai Super Kings on Sunday.

Left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc was the star of the day as he returned impressive figures of three for 22 on a pitch where there was no major demons, making the batsmen's job much easier even before the chase had begun.

In pursuit of a small total, opener Michael Lumb led the way with a quickfire 24-ball 43. His knock was studded with eight fours and he was there in the middle when the winning runs were scored.

Skipper Brad Haddin chipped in with a 41-run knock, which came off just 21 balls, and was laced with eight hits to the fence.

It was always going to be a herculean task for Yorkshire after their batsmen were done in by the Aussie pacers, with Starc leading the way.

Playing probably in his last match after Cricket Australia decided to pull him out of the tournament in view of the upcoming Test series against world number one South Africa, Shane Watson picked up two for 27 from his four overs.

The figures were even better for Pat Cummins as the young pacer was measly in his four-over spell in which he conceded just 13 runs while claiming two wickets.

However, it was Josh Hazlewood who dealt the first blow on Yorkshire when he bowled Andrew Gale in the sixth over.

Last match's hero Moises Henriques chipped in with the wicket of Joe Root, before the trio of Starc, Cummins and Watson took over.

Yorkshire needed to bowl out of their skins to defend such a small total, and even needed Sydney to have a poor day with the bat. But that was not to be as the Australians cruised past the target in just 8.5 overs.

Big Bash champions, Sydney Sixers defeated IPL runner-ups Chennai Super Kings to make a resounding start in the event, while it was Yorkshire's first game in the main round of the tournament after having beaten Uva Next and Trinidad & Tobago in the qualifiers.

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KEVIN PETRSON RETURN IN NATIONAL TEAM SAID BROAD

No problems with the return of Kevin Pietersen: Broad

England pacer and T20 captain Stuart Broad has said that he has no problems with Kevin Pietersen’s return to the national team. Broad said that the return of the controversial batsman was the sole prerogative of the management and the ECB.

"The team has no issues with KP coming back whenever the management decides he is ready to. I`d have no problems playing with him," Broad told reporters.

"Once the England management has decided when he`s available to return, he`ll be welcomed back into the changing room.

"I`m sure that if he came back for India or New Zealand, or whenever it is, that things will be fine within the team," the pacer added.

The controversial batsman had been left out of the England squad after he sent derogatory text messages to members of the touring South African team during the Headingley Test. He participated in a series of private discussions with the team management including the coach Andy Flower, former captain Andrew Strauss and Test Captain Alistair Cook.

The flamboyant batsman who had missed out on a central contract in September has recently signed a four month contract with the ECB after he publicly apologized for his conduct. The middle order batsman is expected to be selected for the tour to India next month.

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Anil Kumble appointed chairman of ICC Cricket Committee.

 

 
Colombo: Former India captain Anil Kumble was today unanimously appointed chairman of ICC`s Cricket Committee by the game`s governing body, replacing West Indies great Clive Lloyd.

"In Anil Kumble, we have a new chairman who has unquestioned experience not only as a player with India but also as an administrator with Karnataka State Cricket Association as well," ICC President Alan Isaac said in a statement after the Executive Board meeting here.

Kumble, 41, took 619 wickets in 132 Test and 337 wickets in 271 ODIs wickets during his illustrious 18-year international career.

"I am sure that he (Kumble) will carry on Clive`s good work and bring, like Andrew Strauss, contemporary thinking to the committee and both understand clearly the issues facing the modern game," he added.

The recently-retired Strauss was unanimously nominated as Ian Bishop`s replacement in the committee after the West Indian, representing former players, indicated that he was not seeking an extension to his term.

"I would like to thank Clive Lloyd for his chairmanship of the ICC Cricket Committee and to his tireless contribution to the game. The ICC Board was united in their admiration for his work as chairman. We also thank Ian Bishop for his contribution during his term as well," Isaac further stated.

According to ICC sources, Kumble has been given a two-year term. The Cricket Committee meets twice a year and the second meeting of the year is likely to be held in November.

The ICC Board also agreed to extend the terms of both Mark Taylor (representing former players) and David Kendix (statisticians) for a further term.

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Virat Kohli should not be rushed into captaincy

Kohli should not be rushed into captaincy:

New Delhi: Former Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram has said in-form Virat Kohli should not be rushed into Indian captaincy but advised Mahendra Singh Dhoni to relieve himself of the burden of leading the side in at least one of the three formats.

"As far as blooding young Virat Kohli as a captain in smaller formats is concerned, I think that should just wait. The guy is in the form of his life. He has been India`s most consistent batsman over the past 18 months or so," Akram said.

"Let him enjoy his game and not put any other responsibility on him at the moment. Kohli must not be burdened with team selection issues and other important decision making matters," he added.

Coming back to Dhoni, Akram believed quitting leadership responsibility in one format would help the 31-year-old to focus and enjoy the game more.

"I am not surprised that questions are being raised about Mahendra Singh Dhoni`s leadership skills after India failed to reach the semis of the World T20 for the third time in a row.

"Perhaps, Dhoni must take some time out and assess himself as a captain. He himself is the best judge of his skills as a leader. There could be additional pressure on him as a leader in all three formats of the game.

"I think if he drops captaincy in one of the formats then he will be able to focus and enjoy his game more. I still feel he is one of the best players and finishers in limited overs cricket," Akram was quoted as saying by `espnstar.Com`.

As far as Gautam Gambhir was concerned, Akram hoped the out-of-form batsman would turn things around while leading the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Champions League T20.

"If you take my team, Kolkata Knight Riders, Gautam Gambhir will like to put the disappointments of the ICC World T20 behind him quickly. I hope our skipper can turn it around.

"Gambhir needs matches to get his confidence back, and my gut feeling is that the responsibility of leading the side will bring the best out of him. He will play a vital role for KKR and I back him to do well in spite of seamer-friendly conditions in South Africa."

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cricket current news

ohannesburg: Senior opener Virender Sehwag will play in Delhi Daredevils` opening Champions League Twenty20 encounter against IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders at the Centurion on Saturday after he clearing the fitness test here today.

Sehwag, who suffered a ligament strain on his left ankle during India`s final Super Eights game against South Africa in Colombo recently.

"Virender Sehwag today appeared for a fitness test which was conducted by Kirk Russell. He cleared the test and was declared fit to play in the tournament from the start," a Delhi Daredevils official told PTI today.

Sehwag today also played a warm-up game against Sydney Sixers.

However the practice match didn`t go along expected lines for the out-of-form opener as he was yorked for nought by pacer Josh Hazlewood as Daredevils managed only 107 against the Big Bash champions.

Daredevils captain Mahela Jayawardene and star opener David Warner however didn`t play the game. While Warner was rested, Jayawardene had an appointment with the dentist and was unavilable for the match.

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currentupdates of cricket

Colombo: An inspired West Indies tonight clinched the ICC World Twenty20 crown with a comfortable 36-run victory over Sri Lanka, riding on Marlon Samuels` brilliant counter-attacking knock to win a major global title after over three decades.

Batting first in front a 35,000 partisan crowd, Samuels held his nerve as he smashed a heroic 78 off 56 balls to steer West Indies to 137 for six and then the Caribbeans shot out out the hosts for 101 in 18.4 overs.

It is the West Indies` first world title after a gap of 33 years having won the ODI World Cup back in 1979. They did triumph in the Champions Trophy in 2004, but that is not considered a World Cup.

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updates of srilanka v/s westindies

olombo: Sri Lanka would look to rein in a marauding Chris Gayle, whose performance may be a determining factor when the dominating hosts clash with an upbeat West Indies in the final of the World Twenty20 here on Sunday.

Sri Lanka are aiming to win their second world title after a gap of 16 years as their first and only World trophy came in 1996 while the Caribbean side are playing a World event final after nearly 30 years, having last played against India at the Lord`s in 1983.

Sri Lanka should be favourites not only because of home conditions but also due to the variety of players from Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara to Thisara Perera who can change their game according to the needs.

The West Indies on the other hand have some very competent T20 players in Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard but all of them love to rally around Gayle who is the pivotal force in this Caribbean set-up.


Darren Sammy and his bunch of brave-hearts know that Gayle`s performance will be key in the outcome of the match.

The situation was summed up aptly by Australia captain George Bailey after suffering a crushing 74-run defeat against the Caribbean side on Friday.

"If Sri Lanka can get Gayle out under 20 runs, they are the favourites to win the title but if they can`t then West Indies are too strong," Bailey opined when he was asked about the favourite team to win the Cup.

For the West Indies, a lot of things will be at stake in the match. It`s not that there will be a sea change in the declining cricket culture in the Caribbean islands but a victory on global stage might provide encouragement for the youth, who are more obsessed with basketball and dream of making the cut in the NBA league.

The win also help Sammy get some breathing space after constant speculation for the past year about whether he is good enough to lead the West Indies.

A gentleman to the core, Sammy has handled all kinds of uncomfortable questions with aplomb but a victory tomorrow might help him capture the imagination of the cricket loving public in the Caribbean.

Gayle, who smashed his way to a 41-ball-75 against Australia, knows too well that T20 is a game where luck plays a factor.

When Gayle was questioned whether he would be able to attack the bowling of Sri Lankan left-arm spinner Rangana Herath like he launched into Xavier Doherty, he replied, "He (Herath) has bowled really well but the performance depends on that particular day."

For Jayawardene and Sangakkara, it will be the fourth final after 2007 World Cup, 2009 World T20 and 2011 World Cup and the two seniors are desperate to lift the trophy before their home crowd.

Jayawardene over the past few years have shown that T20 can be played successfully without playing any unorthodox shots. Sangakkara has also been in good form and on his day he can take on any bowling attack in the world.

If the duo clicks against West Indies, half of Sri Lankan`s worries will be taken care of. One of the major cause of concern for them is the form of their swashbuckling opener Tillakaratne Dilshan.

A lot will also depend on how Mahela uses his two all-rounders Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perrera. Although Jayawardene prefers pint-sized Jeevan Mendis for his ability to manoeuvre the ball, the big-hitters like Mathews and Perrera can turn the match on its head.

"People wish about playing one World Cup final and I am fortunate of being part of all four of them. This one is at Premadasa Sadium and it will be a special occasion," Jayawardene said.

The bowling attack is a problem for the West Indies.

While leg-spinner Samuel Badree did his cause no harm by picking up both Shane Watson and David Warner in the semi-finals, there is no guarantee that Sammy will persist with leggie knowing full well that how good Lankans are against spin bowling.

In that case, Fidel Edwards who bowls at a brisk pace will come in as Badree`s replacement. Marlon Samuels, bowling his fastish off-breaks and skiddy Ravi Rampaul can be devastating on their day.

Jayawardene is likely to go with the same team as he wouldn`t like to expose his talented boy wonder Akhila Dhananjaya in front of a marauding Gayle as it can dent the young boy`s confidence.

Teams (From):

West Indies: Darren Sammy (C), Dwayne Bravo, Samuel Badree, Darren Bravo, Johnson Charles, Fidel Edwards, Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Smith.

Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (C), Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Akila Dananjaya, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Shaminda Eranga, Rangana Herath, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Ajantha Mendis, Jeevan Mendis, Dilshan Munaweera, Thisara Perera, Kumar Sangakkara, Lahiru Thirimann.

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INDIA WINS OVER AFRICA

  India wins but there is no victory of INDIA.








.

The winner of the inaugural T20 championships is certainly one of the favourites to lift the title for the second time. What makes them favourite is that the championship is for the first time being organised in their familiar subcontinent conditions and add to it the rich IPL experience. In Sri Lanka, they have the opportunity of achieving the unique distinction of becoming the first team to hold world title in both the limited overs format at the same time.

The team has a performed fairly consistently in the shortest format.
Strength: Of course, batting is Men in Blue’s biggest asset. In Virender Sehwag they have one of the most explosive batsmen across all three formats. His chemistry with Gautam Gambhir makes them one of the most dangerous opening pair.
In the middle, Virat Kohli, who has risen in the last one year or so to become the current best Indian batsman, along with limited over specialists Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma provide a combination that has the ability to accelerate and contain as per the need. MS Dhoni over his career has established his reputation as the best finisher.
In Yuvraj Singh they have one of the biggest hitter of the cricket ball (remember his 6 sixes in an over?) but this in turn depends if he is selected in the final playing XI if he is fit enough.
Irfan Pathan ha made a comeback and seems to have settled in the team as far as the limited overs format is concerned and his all-round abilities will surely come handy for the Indian team.
In R Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh and Piyush Chawla the team has a spin attack that is experienced and varied in approach.

Weakness: Rohit Sharma has failed in the 50 over format of the game but has consistently dished out solid T20 performances. However, his uncertain form didn’t have any effect on his selection for the T20 World Cup owing to his fairly successful IPL 5 season.
Indian team has tried several combinationsfor the opening stand but the results have been inconsistent. The duo of Sehwag and Gambhir does look a strong prospect on the paper but they haven’t been that successful as an opening pair when it comes to T20I.
Their major weakness happens to be an average bowling attack with a tendency to leak runs aplenty. A lot rests on their spinners and part-time bowlers to contain the run-flow and at the same time provide breakthroughs.
Opportunities: Though they are a strong unit and have been drawn in Group A with defending champion England and Afghanistan.
Getting through to the Super Eight shouldn’t be a problem for them and the team surely can claim of being better familiar with the Lankan conditions than any other team off late as they have been touring the nation almost every year for one series or other.
Each of their squad members can boast of a rich T20 experience owing to their participation in the IPL.

Threat: India are grouped with top-ranked T20 side in the world England. They may have one of the top T20 batsmen but the team has the tendency to fail collectively. Besides, the bowling continues to be their concern. They are yet to find an able partner for Zaheer Khan to complement his swing. Although, Umesh Yadav has the speed, he has been erratic at times. The major burden will be shared by Zaheer and R Aswhin in the bowling department.

Colombo: Virender Sehwag is in doubt for the upcoming Champions League Twenty20 after he has been advised two weeks of rest because of ligament injury he sustained during India`s last Super Eights game in the ICC World Twenty20 against South Africa here.

Sehwag strained a ligament in his left ankle during South Africa`s innings last night and according to the Indian team`s media manager Dr R N Baba, the righthander has been advised rest for 14 daysSehwag, who had a poor World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka, scoring only 54 runs in three innings at a strike rate of 112, suffered the injury while celebrating Jacques Kallis` dismissal off Irfan Pathan in the fourth over.

He limped off the field to be replaced by Manoj Tiwary, and did not return to the field again.
The injury comes as a big blow for Delhi Daredevils of whom Sehwag remains a key player despite relinquishing captaincy duties for CLT20 to be held in South Africa from October 9.

The Daredevils are scheduled to open their campaign against Kolkata Knight Riders on October 13 in Centuries

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