Category Uncategorized

Virender Sehwag, who injured his ankle during India Blue’s match against India Red in the Challenger Series on Sunday, is certain to be fit for the Champions Trophy. Dilip Vengsarkar, the Indian chairman of selectors, said that the injury was not a cause for worry, and that a final assessment on his fitness would be made on Tuesday evening.”We have another two weeks to go for our first match in the Champions Trophy and it is not a worry,” Vengsarkar told Press Trust of India. “Sehwag’s fitness condition will known by tomorrow evening.”Opening the innings, Sehwag twisted his ankle while turning around for a second run. He had on-field medical attention but was run out shortly after, for 28. His injury has ruled him out of the final, should India Blue qualify. India play their first match of Champions Trophy on October 15 against England.

Delhi survived by the barest of margins at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera, drawing the game with only their last pair standing. They had to chase 157 in 30 overs, but messed it up in the pursuit of runs. It was a surprising turnaround for Gujarat, who trailed Delhi by 216 when they began their second innings. At the end of the third day, they were 205 for 5, still nine runs behind, but today the overnight batsmen, Kirat Damani and Bhavik Thaker, remained unbeaten till the team was 68 runs ahead.Damani scored 86, with eight fours, Thaker was last man out for 95, with 12 fours, and Gujarat had managed to post a healthy total of 372. Soon after, Delhi were in trouble. They were 37 for 2 within six overs, and though they continued to score quickly, they just kept losing wickets. The eighth fell for 90, with eight overs still remaining. Mithun Manhas was out just before the day ended, but Rahul Sanghvi and Amit Bhandari did not fall, giving Delhi the unlikeliest of escapes.Murtaza Lodhgar played a big role for the second time in Karnataka’s 116-run loss to Bengal with another five-wicket haul at the Jadavpur University Campus in Kolkata. Karnataka fell for 226, well short of the target of 343. Sujith Somasunder top-scored with 46, and was followed by Stuart Binny (42) and Vijay Bhardawaj (40). Lodhgar ended with innings figures of 5 for 89, and a match haul of 11 for 117. It was a match keenly watched because Sourav Ganguly’s form had been questioned since the start of the series against Australia; he managed 32 runs in two innings.Tamil Nadu won by an innings and 108 runs against a hapless Hyderabad side that failed to go past 190 in either innings. Ramakrishnan Ramkumar did the damage, claiming 6 for 71 to go with his first-innings six-wicket haul. It gave him match figures of 12 for 128 at the Chidambaram stadium. Hyderabad scored 190, with Daniel Manohar the top-scorer. Tamil Nadu claimed a bonus point for the innings victory, in addition to the regular four for a standard win.The game between Mumbai and Railways petered out to a dull draw after Mumbai sat tight on their first-innings lead, and scored only 219 runs in 86 overs at the Karnail Singh stadium in Delhi. Vinayak Mane remained unbeaten on 111, an effort that consumed nearly six hours, and Vinit Indulkar scored 52. Mumbai reached 221 for 3, and took away two points for the lead.Jyoti Yadav scored 103 to set up a competitive declaration by Uttar Pradesh, who scored 317 for 8, but Punjab preferred to play it safe and not mount a challenge on the target of 279. They ended at 164 for 5, with Yuvraj Singh unbeaten on 41. Reetinder Singh Sodhi brought an end to UP’s innings, claiming 4 for 39 in nine overs.Andhra played at a snail’s pace, drawing their game with Madhya Pradesh. They took away two points for their first innings lead. Venugopal Rao, unbeaten on 60, and Reddy, who scored 56, played patient knocks at the Maharani Usharaje Trust Cricket Ground in Indore. They reached 195 for 3 when stumps were called and the game was drawn. For four days, runs came at the trickle of 2.57 runs an over.Assam continued to pile on the runs on the last day of their game against Baroda, and had two century-makers as the match was drawn. They made their way to 360 for 4 at the Nehru Stadium, with Zuffri (106) and Saravanan (102 not out) running up patient hundreds. However, Baroda were awarded the points for their lead in the first innings.

Australia 66 for 1 (Gilchrist 24*) beat USA 65 (Gillespie 4-15, Kasprowicz 4-14) by nine wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Ricky Ponting’s pre-match comments gave us a clue as to Australia’s intent in this match. It is rare for an international captain to be anything other than placatory when sizing up an opposition of lesser ability, but not on this occasion. Instead, Ponting sounded utterly unenthused at the prospect of a wasted day in the field, and warned that the USA might not learn a great deal from today’s match. He’s probably right as well – they didn’t hang around long enough to pick up any tidbits, as the entire match was done and dusted in just 31.5 overs.After winning the toss, Ponting made light of the perils of batting last on the same pitch that was used for India’s match against Kenya on Saturday, and chose to bowl in an attempt to brush the match aside as quickly as possible. Australia made the perfect start as well. Brett Lee, steaming in with the intent of a man who had not been an original choice today, struck with his second delivery of the match, as USA were introduced to the rigours of cricket at the very highest levelIn fact, Lee might have struck even earlier than that. Facing up to his first ball, Rohan Alexander dug out a screaming yorker that had set its sights on his big toe. But Lee’s second delivery was too good for the left-handed Mark Johnson, who stepped across his stumps and was bowled round his legs by a rapid inswinger (1 for 1).Leon Romero should have made it two in two when he flinched at an off-stump lifter, but Michael Clarke couldn’t cling on to a one-handed diving chance at third slip, after sighting the ball late. But Australia soon had their man. In Glenn McGrath’s first over, Romero set off for a quick single, took a detour around McGrath’s gangling frame, and was run out by six inches by Damien Martyn’s direct hit from gully (2 for 2).

A complete debacle was on the cards, but Steve Massiah, who spanked a magnificent 142 not out as USA beat Zimbabwe earlier in the week, was intent on demonstrating his side’s fighting qualities. He pulled a McGrath long-hop through midwicket with some of the flourish of a Michael Vaughan, before thumping Lee for two fours in a ragged over that went for 12, including two no-balls.That prompted a change of bowling, with Mike Kasprowicz entering the fray, and he too struck in his very first over. Alexander had been playing late and cagily ever since his early scare, dropping the ball into the gully region at every opportunity, but Kasprowicz’s second delivery took a thin edge through to Adam Gilchrist, and USA had slumped to 32 for 3. Two overs later, Kasprowicz struck again. Richard Staple, the captain, had just got off the mark with a streaky shoulder-of-the-bat four through third man, when he was pinned plumb in front by a fuller, faster delivery (38 for 4).With little support forthcoming from the opposite end, and Clayton Lambert watching from the sidelines after injuring himself in the New Zealand match, Massiah decided to take matters into his own hands. But he chose to take on the wrong bowler. An attempted smear off Kasprowicz was launched high into the off side, where Darren Lehmann positioned himself well beneath a steepling chance (46 for 5). And that was the end of the resistance. Kasprowicz immediately found himself on a hat-trick, as Tony Reid shuffled across his stumps, and though Kasprowicz overstepped for the crucial delivery, there was a fourth bowler awaiting his piece of the action.Jason Gillespie had been waiting in the wings, but now he devastated the tail in six venomous overs. The No. 11, Howard Johnson, provided some resistance (9 from 15 balls), but a total of 65 wasn’t exactly threatening – although Australia needed to complete their chase inside 11.5 overs to ensure that their run-rate was superior to New Zealand’s.Matthew Hayden certainly didn’t think much of USA’s efforts. His brief innings was erratic to say the least – full of premeditated charges and feints that bordered on the insulting. So it was with some glee that Howard Johnson found Hayden’s outside edge with a booming outswinger, to ensure it would not be an entirely fruitless day for USA.One over later, and it might have been even better for USA, but Tony Reid couldn’t cling onto a firm return chance. It was the only sniff that Gilchrist gave, and he wrapped up the match with a vast six over midwicket, to complete the match in 7.5 overs – the third-fastest run-chase in ODI history.

India’s cricketers will soon be on par with their counterparts in Australia, New Zealand and England, once the system of player contracts is put into practice by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The new pay structures could be in place as early as end-July, long before New Zealand arrive for a two-Test series.Under the present system, the fringe players earn as much as established internationals when it comes to match and logo fees. As a result, players like Sanjay Bangar, Ajit Agarkar and Parthiv Patel – who didn’t play a single World Cup match – managed to bank as much prize money (Rs 75 lakh) as those who played every game.Under the formula that Dalmiya has proposed, the top 20 players will be offered contracts, and within that group, there will be four different grades – based initially on experience, and later, on performance.Senior Indian players first started lobbying for central contracts after Anil Kumble missed out on the entire 2001 season as a result of a shoulder injury that required surgical intervention. If they have their way, it’ll be those on the fringes – along for the ride, for the most part – who end up with noses out of joint.

The long running and complex dispute over television rights and sponsorship negotiations between the Sri Lankan cricket board (BCCSL) and WSG Nimbus was no nearer settlement on Monday night.The Commercial High Court in Colombo had been expected to decide whether to overturn an injunction on WSG Nimbus by the BCCSL on Monday but the judge postponed his verdict until Tuesday.In Singapore, however, it is understood that WSG Nimbus have obtained an order in the Singapore courts that confirms that BCCSL must cease its action against WSG Nimbus in the Colombo court.Moreover, it restrains the Board from dealing with third parties such as broadcasters and sponsors in relation to the subject matter of their existing agreement that runs until 2003.The BCCSL, though, continue to contend that Singapore has no jurisdication over the dispute and they are believed to be on the verge of signing a three year contract with a new party.Fresh bids were apparently opened today and board sources maintain they are "going ahead" with the process and will sign a memorandum of understanding with the new party on Tuesday morning.Describing the deal as "highly beneficial to Sri Lankan cricket" the source refused to name the winner but promised a media release on Tuesday afternoon.WSG Nimbus and the BCCSL have been at loggerheads during the past two weeks after the BCCSL terminated their record USD 27.1 million three-year agreement signed last December complaining that WSG Nimbus has "repeatedly missed" payment deadlines.

It may be only be a conditioning camp, with as many as 27 players in the mix, but for Al-Amin Hossain and Sohag Gazi, being called up to be among them is a huge relief. Out of contention for roughly the same time, both bowlers now have a platform from which to get back into the Bangladesh team for the upcoming Test series against Australia in October.The training camp will mainly focus on fitness. Skill work will begin from September 5. The National Cricket League first-class competition is also being preponed to get the Test players some game time ahead of the Australia series.Al-Amin hasn’t played international cricket since November 2014. So this is a chance for him to reconnect. He had been part of the World Cup squad, but was sent home midway through due to disciplinary issues. Since his last international outing, he has taken 12 first-class wickets at an average of 32.58 in five games.Although Bangladesh struggled for penetration in their pace attack in the Tests against Pakistan, India and South Africa, Al-Amin was kept out. He is taking the training camp as a sign of being “in the selectors’ plans” again. He had also been part of the Players of National Interest (PONI) camp recently in the National Cricket Academy.”I am feeling great, a lot relieved,” Al-Amin said. “I was in the PONI camp but I didn’t feel really sure of my future. But getting called in this camp means at least now I am in the selectors’ plans. I can work on my fitness, and I am getting a chance to prove myself.”Spending the last six months out of the national side, he said he has understood that the team’s composition is changing and the competition within it has gone up as a result of recent victories.”I have seen both sides [being in and out of the squad] in a very short span of time. I learned a lot. I also understand the team is not what it was a year ago. There’s a lot of competition. I have to prove my worth,” he said.Gazi’s story is similar. He served a short suspension at international cricket for an illegal action, got the clean chit from the ICC in February this year and has already played a T20 for Bangladesh in July. He also felt the call-up to the training camp was a sign that he remains in contention for the national side, but felt hard done by having to sit out most of the 2014-15 season.”I was disappointed,” Gazi told . “I played for the senior team recently but from there I was nowhere. It is hard to explain this feeling. It is good to be called up to the camp. I can tell myself now that I am in contention.”It is hard to assess fitness after just one T20. But I will improve my fitness, which goes down when you are out of the team. This is a chance to make it better. The National Cricket League is coming up so I will use the conditioning camp for my own benefit. Doing well in the domestic circuit will surely bring me more opportunities. “It is, however, likely that both players could end up playing for Bangladesh A in their African tour in October and November, the same time as the Australia tour.

Virat Kohli is the highest-paid cricketer in the IPL, according to salary figures released by the league on Friday.While Kohli will cost his franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore Rs 12.5 crore (approximately USD 1.89 million) from their salary purse, they will actually pay him Rs 15 crore (USD 2.26 million). MS Dhoni, for long believed to be the most expensive IPL cricketer, will be paid USD 1.89 million, which is equal to his purse deduction, by the Pune franchise. Pune secured Dhoni in a draft of players who were part of the suspended Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals franchises.Apart from Royal Challengers, who are paying Kohli and Chris Gayle more than the purse deduction, Mumbai Indians are paying Harbhajan Singh, Lasith Malinga and Ambati Rayudu more than the purse deduction they result in.However, contrary to the general perception that quite a few players used to get paid much more than the official purse deduction, quite a few have actually taken big cuts. Manan Vohra, retained by Kings XI Punjab, will get less than 10% of his Rs 4 crore (USD 600,000) purse deduction. Rohit Sharma, Gautam Gambhir and David Miller are among those getting paid less than the purse deduction they are responsible for.Each franchise is required to spend a minimum of Rs 40 crore (USD 6 million) but not more than Rs 66 crore (USD 9.96 million) on their squad. However, when the franchise retains players, the purse-deduction slots are what are considered for the purpose of calculation of what it can and should spend.Kings XI are thus keen on saving money; after negotiating the salary with Vohra, they can actually spend far less than USD 600,000 on him. However, they will still lose USD 600,000 from their purse ahead of the auction. Royal Challengers, on the other hand, don’t seem to mind spending extra.In the case of former Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals players, though, the new franchises didn’t have any room to negotiate. The BCCI had assured the players left without teams but drafted by the two new teams they would be paid the same amount as they were earning earlier. So while Ravindra Jadeja might take away Rs 9.5 crore (USD 1.43 million) from Rajkot’s purse, he will actually get only Rs 5.5 crore (USD 0.83 million).

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

India won their first series in England since 1986, albeit 1-0, after England held on for a draw on the final day of the last Test at The Oval. It was a fitting denouement to a hard fought and evenly contested series as India’s bowlers seldom slackened in their effort to force a win whereas England’s batsmen displayed remarkable application. Kevin Pietersen helped himself to a workmanlike century and provided the backbone for England’s resistance as they ended on 369 for 6. On a day when wickets fell at regular enough intervals to keep India interested till the very end, England held on, but Michael Vaughan’s unbeaten home record slipped from his grasp.England’s batting in the second innings was in sharp variance to their first. While the first was dotted with cameos and generously sprinkled with batsmen error, the second was one characterised by abstinence and self-denial. England’s batsmen focused purely on eliminating risk, to the exclusion of all else, and that paid off.India, having chosen to bat on as long as they could in their first innings, rattling up 664, not declaring even after Anil Kumble reached his maiden Test hundred, and then having decided not to enforce the follow-on, were clearly thinking not in terms of a match win but the bigger series win. They would settle for a draw if it came to that, and it did.But that’s not to say the bowlers did not try their hardest. Sreesanth bowled better than he has all series, finding the right line, attacking the stumps. Zaheer Khan continued to swing the ball both ways, and probed both from over the stumps and around. Kumble, charged up till the very end, metronomically sent down delivery after delivery, but the pitch had not really broken up as India would have hoped, and batsmen were able to play him on the back foot, reading him off the pitch. Sachin Tendulkar served up his enticing mixture of legbreaks, offbreaks and seam up, and with more luck could easily have picked up a wicket.What England needed to do – and managed quite handily – was break the day’s play down into small chunks and negotiate each one. The first phase was the relatively new ball, which the openers needed to see off, and they did so without serious problems. It wasn’t until the 12th over of the day, when RP Singh was introduced into the attack, that the first breakthrough came. Andrew Strauss played a touch away from his body and nicked a late outswinger into VVS Laxman’s hands at slip. Soon after India tasted second success, the only time in the day where one wicket would be followed closely by another.Alastair Cook’s penchant for glancing uppishly led to him playing the stroke to Kumble, with Laxman at backward short leg, positioned there for just the eventuality. England were then 86 for 2, and still had more than 75 overs to play.Vaughan and Pietersen came together, and barring one moment – when Rahul Dravid, at slip, dropped a straightforward edge from Vaughan off Kumble – were in control of proceedings for more than 25 overs. Pietersen was a perfect example of a high quality batsman changing his natural game to adapt to a challenge, as he put away his natural attacking instincts, instead using his considerable talent to just keep the bowling out.Vaughan, for his part, ensured that he did not play anything that could just as easily be left alone. That is, for 94 balls, before a brief break in play for bad light broke his concentration. Sreesanth had slipped Vaughan the booming inswinger, and followed that up with a well-directed away-swinger, which Vaughan flashed at, off the back foot, and nicked to the keeper. By then almost 61 overs had been consumed.

Paul Collingwood replaced Vaughan and proved to be a more-than-adequate foil to Pietersen. Collingwood’s naturally dour game was just what the situation demanded, and he stonewalled defiantly, while not losing out on the odd chance to score, putting away the really loose deliveries quite efficiently.Collingwood and Pietersen added more than 100 runs and saw off close to 24 overs, and just when they had appeared to have steered England to safety, Collingwood fell to the first delivery sent down with the second new ball. Sreesanth managed to get on to pitch just outside off and come in a touch, and Collingwood, who was expecting the outswinger, played down the wrong line and was trapped in front of the stumps.There was just the slightest flutter in the England camp, and this became a full-fledged tremor when Pietersen, who had just reached his 10th Test hundred, drove away from his body and edged Sreesanth to Dinesh Karthik at first slip. Pietersen had consumed 159 balls for his 101, and when he went, India were within sniffing distance of the shaky tail, with Ian Bell and Matt Prior at the crease. Bell batted positively, as he has done all game, and brought up a run-a-ball fifty, even taking four consecutive fours off Kumble. Perhaps overexcited by this, Bell played, and missed, an unwise sweep against Kumble, and watched in agony as the lbw decision went India’s way. But Ryan Sidebottom and Matt Prior managed to keep the bowling out, taking England to safety.England had drawn the game, but India were still celebrating, for they’d just managed a series win in England, just the third time ever by India on English soil and something no-one in this team has ever tasted before.

The Championship season enters its final round on Wednesday with Sussex and Lancashire chasing the main prize. Sussex hold an eight-point advantage going into their match against Nottinghamshire, while Lancashire face Shane Warne’s Hampshire at the Rose Bowl.If Sussex win the pennant is theirs, anything less and Lancashire could overtake them if they manage a high-value win. If the teams finish level on points the trophy would go to Hove as Sussex will have more victories than Lancashire.Sussex are boosted by the availability of Michael Yardy and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan following their participation on the Natwest Series. Mushtaq Ahmed needs 11 weeks to bag 100 in a season for the second time while Murray Goodwin and Chris Adams form a powerful middle-order.Mark Chilton, the Lancashire captain, is aware Sussex hold the advantage but is just concentrating on Lancashire’s performance. “While they have the better hand, anything can happen, and we have a set of players who just never give up.”Their attitude over the whole season but particularly in the last few weeks when we have suffered from injuries and bad weather has been fantastic. We can’t worry about what is happening at Trent Bridge. We know we have to beat Hampshire and we will give it everything we have got.”It is appearing unlikely that Lancashire will risk James Anderson with the ECB imposing a 12-over per day limit on his workload. They have been served well by Dominic Cork, Glen Chapple and Tom Smith throughout the season and seem set to stick with them along with Gary Keedy and Murali Kartik.Hampshire still have an outside chance of stealing second place (and mathematically the title although Sussex would have to lose without gaining a point) and any side led by Warne – who will have a late fitness test on his cut eye – will not give an inch even at this stage of the season.At the other end of the table of the competition is just as tight with the winner of the Yorkshire-Durham clash at Headingley securing first division status for next season. However, if the match is drawn both have a slim chance of surviving if Nottinghamshire fail to collect three points against Sussex.The race for promotion in the second division is between Essex and Worcestershire who have away matches against Leicestershire and Northamptonshire respectively. Essex currently hold second place by four points.Two divisions was brought in to create meaningful and competitive cricket late into the season. With titles, promotion and relegation at stake you can’t really ask for much more.

Elite Group

Ajit Agarkar demonstrated that despite his modest success at international level, he is still a force to be reckoned with on the domestic circuit. His 5 for 96 at the Karnail Singh Stadium in Delhi restricted Railways to 284, giving Mumbai a first-innings lead of 77. At close of play on the third day, Mumbai were 3 for 0.Karnataka faced an uphill run-chase on the final day against Bengal. After conceding a lead of 136, Karnataka pulled things back somewhat, dismissing Bengal for just 206 in the second innings – thanks primarily to Sunil Joshi, who was given the new ball and returned figures of 5 for 62, nailing, among others, Sourav Ganguly for 5 – but that still left them with a daunting target of 343. They closed on 41 for 1, requiring 302 more on the last day to pull off an improbable win.At Chennai, Tamil Nadu moved into an invincible position, taking a first-innings lead of 298 against Hyderabad. Sivaramakrishnan Vidyut and Sridharan Sharath led the charge with hundreds, while Subramaniam Badrinath, Sridharan Sriram and Hemang Badani all chipped in with half-centuries. Batting again to stave off a possible innings defeat, Hyderabad began brightly, closing the third day on 63 for 0.Delhi were on their way to a win in their first match of the season. After closing their first innings on 430 for 8 – a lead of 216 – they reduced Gujarat to 205 for 5 in the second innings, with Ashish Nehra and Sarandeep Singh taking a couple of wickets each. Parthiv Patel was one of Sarandeep’s victims – he scored 30 before being snapped up by Gautam Gambhir. Gujarat were still trailing by 11, and with an entire day’s play left at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad, Delhi had an excellent opportunity to wrap up Gujarat’s innings and seal a win.Pankaj Dharmani’s 125 allowed Punjab to wrest a first-innings lead of 39 against Uttar Pradesh at Mohali, but UP made a spirited reply, reaching 206 for 2 at stumps. Jyoti Yadav and R Prakash, their opener, added 114 for the first wicket. UP then lost a couple of quick wickets, including that of Mohammad Kaif for just 12, but Yadav continued the charge with an unbeaten 82.Meanwhile, Venugopal Rao was the star for Andhra Pradesh again, this time with the ball. After scoring 140 in Andhra’s first innings, Rao took 4 for 53 to help dismiss Madhya Pradesh for 287. Batting a second time, Andhra started off impressively, scoring 74 for 0, an overall lead of 148.At Guwahati, Jacob Martin’s 126 was the highlight of the day as Baroda posted 347 in reply to Assam’s 273. Though none of the other Baroda batsmen managed even a half-century, most of them chipped in handily to ensure a lead of 74. Assam wiped off 71 of those runs by close of play on the third day, losing opener Parag Das in the process.