Sehwag guides India to six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka

DAMBULLA: Sri Lanka prevented Virender Sehwag (99 not out) from scoring a century but could not stop him from steering India to a comfortable six-wicket win in the tri-series on Monday.

India needed just five runs to chase down the 171-run target and Sehwag just one run to get his hundred when Lankan spinner Suraj Randiv came in to bowl 35th over of the Indian innings.

The off-spinner gave four byes in the first ball, which kept a little low, bowled two dot balls, and then bowled a big no-ball, which Sehwag smashed out of ground.

Since it was a no-ball, no runs were added to Sehwag's score and he remained not out on 99.

It looked a deliberate no-ball since Randiv's back foot was where bowlers normally have their front foot while bowling.

Sehwag though had no complaints as when match ended he said, "Bowlers try to do that when batsmen are on 99. Fair enough."

The win, which was set up by the bowlers, brought India's tri-series campaign back on track as they had suffered a huge 200-run loss in the opening match against New Zealand.

India's pacers and spinners rose to occasion and exploited the helpful conditions to bundle out Sri Lanka for a paltry 170 after Kumar Sangakkara elected to bat.

Sehwag was the hero of Indian chase as he batted through the innings in his terrific 99-run knock, which was a mix of control and aggression.

Sehwag's knock was a responsible one as it came in a tricky situation and under challenging circumstances.

India's top-order had collapsed at the beginning and Suresh Rania (21) also threw his wicket after getting his eye in but Sehwag held the Indian innings together and in company of M S Dhoni (23) steered his side to win.

Sehwag's 99 came off 100 balls with 11 fours and two sixes and Dhoni also supported him well with his 38-ball knock and had two fours.

India lost Dinesh Karthik (10), Virat Kohli (0) and Rohit Sharma (0) in quick succession early in the innings.

Skipper Kumar Sangakkara's decision to bat backfired as Indian bowlers were all over the hosts right from the first ball when Upul Tharanga was clean bowled by Praveen Kumar.

Had Suraj Randiv (43) and Nuwan Kulasekara (22) not played defiant knocks down the order, the hosts innings would have been wearing a more miserable look.

They put up a 39-run stand, highest of Lankan innings, for the eighth wicket to help Sri Lanka go past the 150-mark.

Tillakaratane Dilshan (45) was the only top-order batsman who showed stomach for fight but fell while going for an extravagant shot when situation demanded patience.

The pace trio of Kumar (2/20), Ishant Sharma (2/32) and Ashish Nehra (1/39) blew away the host top-order to start the devastation of the Lankan innings.

The spinners -- Pragyan Ojha (3/36) and Ravindra Jadeja (2/34) -- joined the party and broke the back of the Lankan innings with lethal blows.

In an ominous start for home side, opener Tharanga and his teammates were shell shocked when a swinging first ball of the match by Praveen Kumar uprooted the stumps.

The heavy conditions were ideal for bowling and Indian pacers rose to the occasion.

Soon skipper Kumar Sangakkara (2) fell to Nehra and Mahela Jayawardene (4) became second victim of Kumar.

Lanky Ishant got his first wicket in Thilan Samaraweera (7) and Lankan innings was in complete disarray.

They never recovered from the early shocks and Ojha and Jadeja kept the pressure by taking wickets.

Dilshan was batting beautifully from the other end but lost patience and top-edged to Rohit Sharma off Ojha.

Jadeja struck twice by removing Chamara Kapugedara and Angelo Mathews to puncture all Lankan hopes.

TOI

India in battle of survival against Sri Lanka

DAMBULLA (Sri Lanka): Mauled by a depleted New Zealand in the opening game, injury-ravaged and battle-weary India will have to raise their game significantly against Sri Lanka in the second match to stay afloat in the one-day cricket tri-series on Monday.

It has been frustrating for India after the drawn Test series against Sri Lanka, which ended just a couple of days before the ODIs.

They lost the opening match to New Zealand due to a stunning batting collapse, have been unhappy with the training facilities at the Ranagiri Stadium and have reportedly even shot off a letter to the BCCI seeking an end to such excruciating scheduling.

Injuries have wrecked the balance of the squad and a bowling reinforcement has already been called in Munaf Patel to cover for the off-colour Ishant Sharma, who is nursing a knee problem.

Bowled out for 88 in the opening match against a rag-tag New Zealand attack, India have a lot of soul-searching to do.

Missing the services of reliable willow-wielders such as Sachin Tendulkar, who has been rested, and the injured Gautam Gambhir, Indian line-up does not look as formidable as it is reputed to be.

Adding to the woes is the continuing poor run of the otherwise explosive Yuvraj Singh.

The swashbuckling left-hander, who can turn the game on its head when in flow, has had a miserable run so far and it would be quite a task for him to regain form.

Younger batsmen such as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli remain unpredictable and are yet to prove themselves consistent enough.

On the bowling front, although Praveen Kumar and Ashish Nehra have done a decent job in the absence of injured pace spearhead Zaheer Khan, they have not got the requisite support in the middle overs.

Against New Zealand, the Indians let it slip after reducing Ross Taylor's men to 28 for three in the first 10 overs and ended up chasing a formidable 289 due to the mid-innings bowling slump.

In the absence of Harbhajan Singh, the spin department looked ineffective as Pragyan Ojha failed to replicate his fine Test form in the series opener.

The only all-rounder in the side, Ravindra Jadeja, continues to struggle with both the bat and ball, which has made it quite difficult for skipperMahendra Singh Dhoni to find the right balance.

The Lankans, on the other hand, made a winning start to their campaign although the victory was a rather hard-fought one against the gritty Kiwis.

The bowling looked in remarkable form as the likes of Lasith Malinga and Angelo Mathews ripped through New Zealand's batting line-up but their batting did threaten to let the team down.

The uneven bounce of the track unsettled the hosts and had it not been for the patient knocks by opener Upul Tharanga and skipper Kumar Sangakkara, Taylor and Co. could well have caused another upset.

However, the Lankan batting is not prone to frequent collapses and it would be quite a task for the so far unimpressive Indian bowlers to contain hard-hitters such as Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene, Sangakkara and Tharanga.

A lot would also depend on the toss as the teams batting second have complained about the floodlights not being effective enough.

The Teams (from):

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt & wk), Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik, R Ashwin, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Abhimanyu Mithun, Ashish Nehra, Pragyan Ojha, Saurabh Tiwary, Munaf Patel.

Sri Lanka: Kumar Sangakkara (c), Mahela Jayawardene (vc), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Dilhara Fernando, Rangana Herath, Suraj Randiv, Chamara Kapugedera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Ajantha Mendis, Thisara Perera, Thilan Samaraweera, Chamara Silva, Upul Tharanga.

Match starts 2.30 pm (IST).

TOI

Sri Lanka beat New Zealand by 3 wicket Read more: Tri-series: Sri Lanka beat New Zealand by 3 wickets

DAMBULLA (Sri Lanka): Sri Lanka huffed and puffed to a three-wicket win over New Zealand in the second ODI of the tri-series and helped India reclaim the second spot in the ICC ODI team rankings on Friday.

India had surrendered the second position to Kiwis after the humiliating 200-run loss in the series-opener.

Opener Upul Tharanga (70 off 109) was top scorer in Sri Lanka's haphazard chase as Sri Lanka scored 195 for seven in 40.5 overs in a target of 193.

New Zealand, electing to bat, were all out for 192 in 48.1 overs after Sri Lanka's pace duo of Lasith Malinga (3/35) and Angelo Mathews (3/36) shared six wickets between them.

The Kiwi total was built around some good effort by debutant BJ Watling (55) and Nathan McCullum (36).

The low-scoring match at Rangiri Dambulla stadium was a dull affair as only 32 boundaries, including just two sixes, were scored in the flood-lit encounter.

New Zealand, who had 117 rating points before this match, lost three points to slip to fourth spot behind South Africa (115).

India gained a position to second with 116 points behind leaders Australia (132).

Like the Kiwis, Sri Lankan made a wretched start, losing opener Tilakkaratne Dilshan (5) in the third over.

Tharanga raised a 85-run stand for the second wicket with skipper Kumar Sangakkara (48) to steady the innings and then along with Thilan Samaraweera (36 off 38) steered the hosts close to win.

But once Tharanga departed in the 37th over, wickets started tumbling and the hosts were reduced from a comfortable 162 for four to 180 for seven in a gap of 14 balls.

However, seasoned Samarweera kept his cool and brought his side home with 9.1 overs to spare.

Tharanga's patient knock had nine boundaries and Samarweera helped himself with four boundaries with last one coming for winning runs off Kyle Mills.

Mills was the highest wicket taker for the Kiwis with outstanding figures of 4 for 41.

Earlier, after a high in the opening match, in which they beat India by a massive 200 runs, the Kiwis hit a low with half of their side returning back to the pavilion inside 23.1 overs.

The Black Caps were off to a bad start, losing opener Martin Guptill in the second ball of the first over.

Trying to cut an away going delivery of Malinga, Guptill's leading edge landed in Chamara Kapugedera's safe hands at backward point.

Mathews then struck twice in the 11th over, trapping skipper Ross Taylor (16) in front of wicket off the first ball and then removed Kane Williamson (0) in the third ball, caught at first slip by Thilan Samaraweera.

Rangana Herath then dismissed removed Scott Styris (24) caught at first slip by Mahela Jayawardene, while in the next over Watling was also sent packing by Mathews as New Zealand slipped to 101 for five in 23.1 over.

Malinga then dealt two more blows, getting rid of Gareth Hopkins (11) and Daryl Tuffey (0) in consecutive deliveries.

Mills (11) was the next to go when Herath's flighted delivery got the leading edge of his blade and long-off fielder Mathews took a running catch as the visitors plummeted to 143 for eight in 37 overs.

Second highest scorer, Nathan McCullum (36) gave some respectability to the New Zealand innings before perishing in the 45th over.

Tim Southee (13) and AJ McKay (4) tried to push the score close to the 200-mark but the effort went in vain.

TOI

Tendulkar welcomes Oz split formula trial

MUMBAI: Sachin Tendulkar has welcomed Cricket Australia's move to split a one-day innings into two halves. He feels once the method is put into practice, the players will be able to figure out how good the new system is.


Speaking to TOI on Friday, the master batsman said, "I am glad it's being tried out in Australia. I feel once the players have tried out this format, they will be in a better position to judge if the format works or not."

Tendulkar was one of the first cricketers to suggest that one-dayers should be split into two innings in September 2009.

The 37-year-old had said that the idea first struck him in 2002 when the final of the Champions Trophy between India and Sri Lanka could not be completed despite 110 overs of cricket being played over two days.

"First, they played 50 overs and we played two overs before the rain interruption. The next day, Sri Lanka again played 50 overs and we played eight. In the end we were declared joint winners. 110 overs and still no result! That is when I thought we should have 25 overs first for one side and then the other. And then once again 25 overs for one side and then the other," he had explained.

Tendulkar feels that the new formula would add to the excitement of the game in the age of Twenty20. It would also negate the luck factor of the toss and provide a level-playing field.

"Today, we can tell the result of close to 75% of matches after the toss. We know how conditions will affect the two teams. But it (splitting the game into two innings) is not too dependent on the toss because, (if) it's a day-night match, then both the teams will have to bat under lights. And if it rains, you can plan for that too," Tendulkar had opined.

The administrators Down Under seem to have taken note of Sachin's observation.

TOI

1st ODI: New Zealand crush India by 200 runs Read more: 1st ODI: New Zealand crush India by 200 runs

DAMBULLA: India crashed to a humiliating 200-run defeat in the first match of the triangular ODI series against New Zealand with a pathetic bowling and batting display on Tuesday.

After the Kiwis put up a competitive 288 on the board, riding on skipper Ross Taylor (95) and Scott Styris (89), India suffered an inexplicable batting collapse to bundle out for a paltry 88 in just 29.3 overs.

In what turned out to be a totally lop-sided contest, only three Indian batsmen could score double figures as the Kiwis ripped through the young batting lineup to launch their campaign on a high.

It was a commanding show by the New Zealanders who relied on a 190-run stand for the fourth wicket between Taylor and Styris before Daryl Tuffey (3/34) and Kyle Mills (2/26) and Jacob Oram (2/15) shot out India to complete a convincing win.

Chasing 289 to win, openers Dinesh Karthik (14) and Virender Sehwag (19) made a watchful start but New Zealand struck twice in as many deliveries to get rid of the openers and reduce India to 39 for two in 7.1 overs.

Sehwag was the first to go when he failed to negotiate a short ball aimed at his body by Mills as the ball kissed his glove and landed safely at wicketkeeper Gerath Hopkins' hands.

Karthik then followed suit when he played Tuffey's delivery down the wrong line and missed the ball, which struck on his pads in front of the wicket.

Rohit Sharma (4) then joined Yuvraj Singh (5) but the former was sent packing in the 10th over by Tuffey and two overs later New Zealand dealt India another blow, removing Suresh Raina to leave India tottering at 50/4 in 11.2 overs.

Sharma, brought in to bolster the middle order, ended up giving catching practice to first slip of Tuffey's outside off stump delivery.

Raina also followed his partner and edged one straight to second slip to award Tuffey his third wicket of the day.

The 32-year-old seamer came to haunt India again in the 14th over when his direct throw found skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni short of wicket as India looked down the barrel at 53/5.

Yuvraj and Ravindra Jadeja tried to stem the rot but Andy Mckay removed the former in the 17th over and eight balls later Praveen Kumar was also sent packing by Jacob Oram as India stared at an impending defeat.

Earlier, New Zealand had a disastrous start, collapsing to 28 for three in 6.5 overs but Taylor (95) and Styris (89) rescued the innings and helped New Zealand to reach 288.

Newball bowlers Praveen Kumar (3/43) and Ashish Nehra (4/47) shared seven wickets between them to strangle the New Zealand top and lower order and helped India bowl out their rivals inside 300.

New Zealand had a tottering start, losing three wickets inside seven overs with the scoreboard reading just 28 but Taylor and Styris stemmed the rot and anchored the innings to safety after electing to bat first.

Openers Peter Ingram (12) and MJ Guptill (11) started off well, clubbing a couple of fours but new ball bowler Praveen Kumar removed the latter in the third over to draw first blood for India.

Kumar's late away going delivery got the edge of Guptill's blade as skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni completed a simple catch to leave New Zealand at 15 for one at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium.

Ashish Nehra then got into the act and removed Ingram in the sixth over. Nehra's seaming away ball kissed Ingram's bat and Dhoni made no mistake as India reduced their rivals to 27 for two.

Kumar struck again in the seventh over when his incoming delivery pitched on the middle stump and before Kane Williamson (0) could play it, the ball moved away at the last instant and cleaned his off stump.

With their innings lying in shambles, Taylor and Styris started the rebuilding process and picked up ones and twos and slammed occasional boundaries to keep the scoreboard ticking.

Mithun was on their firing line in the 16th over, when the youngster was hit for consecutive boundaries by Taylor and Styris at cover and point respectively.

Taylor then repeated the same treatment to Ravindra Jadeja in the 18th over when he hit him for a couple of fours both at backward point.

In the 21st over, Taylor picked Pragyan Ojha for a boundary when he cut him to clear the ropes at the backward boundary.

Styris, meanwhile, slammed consecutive boundaries of Ojha and smashed Jadeja over midwicket, before reaching his fifty in the 30th over.

With both of them going great guns, New Zealand took batting Powerplay and Styris slammed Jadeja for successive boundaries in the 32nd over.

The 35-year-old all-rounder then picked up Nehra for a special treatment, sending him across the ropes.

The partnership was finally broken in the 39th over, when Ojha cleaned up Styris. New man Jacob Oram also didn't last long and was sent packing by Nehra who trapped him in front of wicket in the next over.

Just five runs short of a century, Taylor also departed when Nehra's full-length delivery straightened on to the middle-stump and found his legs.

Yuvraj then had Grant Elliott stumped, while Kumar had wicket keeper Hopkins caught behind.

Nehra came back to haunt the Kiwis in the next over when he had Daryl Tuffey hole out at long on to Ojha and Suresh Raina then removed last man Kyle Mills by a direct hit to wrap up the New Zealand innings.

TOI

India take on depleted New Zealand in tri-series opener

India take on depleted New Zealand in tri-series opener

DAMBULLA, Aug 9: Missing key players and just done with an exhausting drawn Test series, India swiftly shift to the one-day mode as they take on an equally-depleted New Zealand in the opening match of the tri-series starting on Tuesday.

Also featuring Sri Lanka, the series starts just two days after India drew 1-1 with the hosts in an engrossing Test series.

India will be without in-form batting veteran Sachin Tendulkar and spin spearhead Harbhajan Singh, both of whom have been rested, and injured opener Gautam Gambhir in the series.

Pace spearhead Zaheer Khan remains sidelined with a shoulder injury, which might give a woefully out-of-form Ishant Sharma his first one-day international of the year.

Ashish Nehra will take over the responsibility of leading the attack and on current form, the lanky pacer would be expected to add some zing to the not-so-impressive pace department, which struggled in the Test series.

On the batting front, the series is a chance for off-colour Yuvraj Singh to get over the disappointment of the Test series, in which he flopped in the opening match, missed the second due to flu, and was dropped for the third after his replacement Suresh Raina scored a century on debut.

Virender Sehwag will once again shoulder the responsibility of providing the sort of cracking starts that India have come to expect of him and Gambhir’s absence, Dinesh Karthik will give him company in the opening slot.

A rather volatile mix of batsmen occupy the middle-order in Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma, who can be destructive while they are on song but their unpredictability can also cost the team dearly.

Young and eager to make a mark, the new-look Indian middle-order has often let the team down with extravagant shots in crunch situations.

The New Zealanders, on the other hand, are in their familiar dark-horses role, more so in the absence of inspirational skipper Daniel Vettori, who has skipped the series to be with his wife for the birth of his second child.

Also missing from the Kiwi line-up is the explosive duo of Jesse Ryder and Brendon McCullum.

While McCullum has been granted some time off with family by New Zealand Cricket, the temperamental Ryder is nursing an elbow injury.

Sans the three proven match-winners, the Kiwis will have to come up with a superlative effort to make an impact in the series against the sub-continental giants.

Destructive batsman Ross Taylor has been handed the leadership role for the series and it would take a lot for him to inspire an inexperienced squad.

He has started well with morale-boosting wins in the couple of practice matches the team played after landing in the island nation.

But against the Indians, the Kiwis would be looking forward to experienced all-rounder Jacob Oram, vice-captain Kyle Mills and Scott Styris for inspiration.

Teams (From): India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt & wk), Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik, R Ashwin, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Abhimanyu Mithun, Ashish Nehra, Pragyan Ojha, Saurabh Tiwary.

New Zealand: Ross Taylor (capt), Kyle Mills (vice-capt), Grant Elliott, Martin Guptill, Gareth Hopkins (wk), Nathan McCullum, Andy McKay, Jacob Oram, Jeetan Patel, Peter Ingram, Tim Southee, Scott Styris, Daryl Tuffey, BJ Watling, Kane Williamson. (PTI)

Gritty Sri Lanka leave India a mountain to climb Read more: Gritty Sri Lanka leave India a mountain to climb - Top stories - India tour of Sri Lanka

COLOMBO: India's renowned batsmen were handed a stern challenge to secure a series-levelling win in the final Test after Sri Lanka fought hard with both bat and ball on Friday.

India, set a victory target of 257, ended the rousing fourth day's play on 53/3 in their second innings, following a triple strike by lanky off-spinner Suraj Randiv.

Randiv, sharing the new ball with Lasith Malinga, had in-form Virender Sehwag caught in the slips in his first over and later bowled Rahul Dravid off the inside edge for seven.

He then dismissed opener Murali Vijay for 27 to a disputed catch at short-leg by Mahela Jayawardene, which was referred to the television umpire before the batsman was ruled out.

Sachin Tendulkar, the world's leading run-getter playing a record 169th Test match, kept India's hopes alive with a watchful unbeaten 11.

Nightwatchman Ishant Sharma was on two, with India needing 204 more runs on the final day with seven wickets in hand.

Sri Lanka made 267 in their second innings after a spectacular century partnership for the ninth wicket between Thilan Samaraweera and Ajantha Mendis.

India's spinners had sparked a dramatic collapse in the morning session as five wickets fell for 24 runs to reduce the hosts to 87/7 in an hour's play.

But the last three wickets added 180 runs to frustrate the Indians as Samaraweera followed his century in the first innings with a fighting 83 in the company of tailenders.

Samaraweera added 38 runs for the eighth wicket with Lasith Malinga (15) and Sri Lanka's record ninth-wicket stand of 118 with Mendis (78).

The duo flayed the Indian attack for two hours and 32 minutes before India broke the partnership in the first over with the second new ball.

Samaraweera attempted to pull a short ball from Abhimanyu Mithun and gloved a catch to Indian captain Mahendra Dhoni behind the stumps.

Mendis, who hit 10 boundaries and a six in his maiden half-century, scored 20 runs in the company of last man Chanaka Welegedara before being held in the covers off Amit Mishra.

India's three spinners, Pragyan Ojha, Mishra and Sehwag, claimed three wickets each on a pitch that support turn and bounce to the bowlers.

Sri Lanka added 18 runs to their overnight score of 45/2 when Ojha trapped nightwatchman Randiv leg-before for six, one ball after Dhoni dropped a simple catch behind the stumps.

Ojha then dealt two deadly blows in successive overs, getting rid of Sri Lanka's batting mainstays, Mahela Jayawardene and skipper Kumar Sangakkara.

Jayawardene edged a sharp turning ball to Rahul Dravid in the slips after making five, while Sangakkara (28) pulled a short delivery to Suresh Raina at square-leg.

It was the Sri Lankan captain's first failure in the series after making 103 in the first Test, 219 and 42 not out in the second and 75 in the first innings of this match.

Mishra, who was hammered for 1-140 in the first innings, then claimed two wickets with consecutive deliveries to reduce the hosts to 87/7.

Angelo Mathews hit a full-toss to Tendulkar at mid-wicket, while Prasanna Jayawardene was out leg-before off the next ball.

Malinga denied Mishra a hat-trick and partnered Samaraweera in the rescue act, before he was leg-before to Sehwag before lunch.
TOI

IHF regains government recognition

BANGALORE: In another swift move that consigned Hockey India to history, the Union sports ministry said on Friday that the Indian Olympic Association or Sports Authority of India would select and field the Indian hockey teams in international competitions from now on.

The ministry informed the International Hockey Federation (FIH) that this would be necessary in the interest of the game in the country as the HI is no longer the recognised national sports federation. The Sports Authority of India will be virtually in charge of the national teams, coordinating on the camps and tours till such time the IHF, which is now teh recognised body, takes over.

The ministry also told FIH not to assign any international tournament or have any commercial dealings with HI as it has assumed the character of a private body and no longer enjoys government recognition.

The IHF will be given adequate time to set in motion the unification process with the Indian Women's Hockey Federation but the sports ministry is categorical in its view that the KPS-Gill led body will have to kickstart the process in double quick time as well as keep its word on adhering to the government guidelines as it knuckles down to its work of governing the game again.

In its letter to FIH president Leandro Negre, the ministry said: "The president, IHF, has confirmed that the process of unification of the men and women hockey bodies at the national level is under way. It is expected to be completed soon. Once this process is completed, they will approach the FIH for recognition. Meanwhile, it is requested that the IOA or SAI may be permitted to field the Indian team for participating in various FIH recognised competitions."

The first of the tasks for IOA or SAI may be selecting the women's team for the World Cup in Rosario, Argentina later this month. The Commonwealth and Asian Games squads too may have to be chosen by either of these bodies in the coming weeks.

What can come as an irritant is the IHF's relationship with the FIH. With the FIH still backing Hockey India, the ministry feels the onus is on the IHF to effectively stake its claim. The fresh mandate to run the game - with the unification in place and government recognition - should convince the FIH adequately enough to change its stance, the ministry feels. In any case, how long can an international federation continue to back a ‘private body' which has lost the power to select a team that can legitimately represent India?

TOI

Sehwag, Sachin lead India resistance

COLOMBO: Virender Sehwag (97*) and Sachin Tendulkar (40*) took India to 180/2 at stumps on the second day of the third and final Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Wednesday.


Sehwag batted with his customary flourish and was just three runs short of what could be his 21st century as the visitors reached a comfortable 180/2 in their first innings at close on the second day.

Sehwag ran away with honours on Day Two, which also saw Sri Lankan Thilan Samaraweera (137) hitting a century, with a scintillating show of strokeplay on a sporting pitch at P Sara Oval.

The dashing Indian opener, who sent the home team bowlers for a leather hunt in the final session, consumed just 87 balls for his 97, hitting 17 fours. He also became the sixth Indian to score 7000 Test runs when he reached 70.

Giving company to Sehwag at stumps was milestone man Sachin Tendulkar (40) who has become the most-capped Test player, surpassing former Australian captain Steve Waugh's 168 appearances.

Murali Vijay (14) and Rahul Dravid (23) were the two batsmen dismissed. India now trail Sri Lanka by 245 runs with eight first innings wickets intact.

Coming together at 92/2, Sehwag and Tendulkar have shared 88 runs for the unfinished third wicket stand.

It turned out to be a productive day for the Indians, who were trailing 0-1 in the series, as their bowlers came up with a decent performance by taking the last six wickets in less than two sessions to bowl out the home side for 425.

Sehwag then led a strong Indian reply with a typical aggressive innings. The opener, who was dropped on 52 by Angelo Mathews, gave Chanaka Welegedara with special treatment hitting boundaries off the Sri Lankan bowler almost at will.

Welegedara bled 59 runs from his first spell of eight overs before he was taken off. Out of the 11 fours he conceded in his first spell of nine overs came from Sehwag's blade.

The strong start by the visitors was though a one-man show for most part as other opener Murali Vijay could contribute just 14 from 35 balls.

Vijay was looking like giving long company with his senior partner with some fine delectable boundaries off Welegedara before he was out to a tame dismissal after raising 49 runs with Sehwag for the opening wicket.

Vijay tried to check himself from playing a drive off a full length Lasith Malinga delivery which went straight to Ajantha Mendis at extra cover.

Dravid looked like a man in hurry scoring an uncharacteristically breezy 26-ball 23 which was laced with five fours but failed for the fifth time in the series to make an impact.

Earlier, pacer Ishant Sharma and left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha shared the spoils with two wickets apiece as Indian bowlers got their mojo back to bowl out Sri Lanka for 425 half an hour before the tea break.

Besides Ishant (3/72) and Ojha (4/115), leggie Amit Mishra and part-timer Virender Sehwag also claimed one wicket apiece as India removed the last six Sri Lankan wickets for 132 runs and in 51 overs.

The post-lunch session was the most productive session for India as they took four wickets at the expense of 56 runs.

For Sri Lanka, Thilan Samaraweera remained unbeaten on 137 which he made from 288 balls and with the help of 12 boundaries and a six.

Angelo Mathews (45) was the other main contributor for Sri Lanka while the five lower order batsmen could not reach double digit figures as the home side were all out after facing 138 overs around half an hour before the tea break.

Resuming the post-lunch session at 396/6, Suraj Randiv was the first to go when he scooped a simple skier of the bowling of Sehwag to Rahul Dravid at first slip in his individual score of eight.

Malinga (4) was the next to go as he popped up a simple return catch to Amit Mishra giving the bowler his first wicket.

The remaining batsmen, however, continued to hang on for a while along with Samaraweera who gave some special treatment to Ojha.

It was left to Ishant to get Ajantha Mendis when the batsman stabbed it to gully where Suresh Raina made no mistake.

Ishant then got his third wicket when Chanaka Welegedera failed to gauge a short pitch bouncer that took the edge of his gloves and went to the wicket keeper for a fairly straightforward catch.

In the morning session, Ojha scalped two quick wickets but Samaraweera's patient hundred carried the Sri Lankans forward.

Samaraweera's century came off 229 balls and comprised 10 boundaries.

Ishant Sharma and Abhimanyu Mithun extracted a bit of bounce from the pitch early on, but they could not provide any breakthrough.

TOI

Veeru, Sachin take Day 2 honours

Veeru, Sachin take Day 2 honours

3rd Test against Sri Lanka: India 180/2, trail by 245 runs; Sehwag becomes sixth Indian to score 7,000 runs

COLOMBO, Aug 4: Virender Sehwag (97*) and Sachin Tendulkar (40*) took India to 180/2 at stumps on the second day of the third and final Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Wednesday.

Sehwag batted with his customary flourish and was just three runs short of what could be his 21st century as the visitors reached a comfortable 180/2 in their first innings at close on the second day.

Sehwag ran away with honours on Day Two, which also saw Sri Lankan Thilan Samaraweera (137) hitting a century, with a scintillating show of strokeplay on a sporting pitch at P Sara Oval.

India hit by injuries as they seek to level series against Sri Lanka

COLOMBO: India grapple with injury worries and selection dilemmas as they go into the third and final Test against Sri Lanka on Tuesday with opener Gautam Gambhir ruled out and ace spinner Harbhajan Singh being a doubtful starter.

Trailing 0-1, India cannot settle for anything but an outright victory to square the series but the spate of injuries will make their task a trifle difficult at the P Sara Oval stadium.

Gambhir, who missed out of the second Test because of a knee injury, has not recovered completely while Harbhajan is still uncertain because of a niggle.

"Gautam (Gambhir) is injured. He won’t be playing tomorrow. Right now Harbhajan is also doubtful for the match," Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said,

"There is bit of niggle in his (Harbhajan's) calf. Not sure how serious it is, so we will take a call on him before the game," he said.

Gambhir's absence means that Tamil Nadu opener Murali Vijay, who scored a half-century in the first innings of the second Test, will yet again open the batting with Virender Sehwag as Dhoni has rejected the possibility of fielding a makeshift opener in the crucial match.

He also made it clear that either Suresh Raina, who scored a century in his debut in the second Test, or Yuvraj Singh will have to sit out of the final Test.

"You know the choice between Suresh Raina and Yuvraj is a difficult one. I will just protect the decision till tomorrow morning. Whatever the team decides, we will go by it," Dhoni said.

Although they don't have to worry about their top position in the ICC rankings, the Indians do have a few selection dilemmas to deal with on the eve of the match at the P Sara Oval.

The focus will be on veteran Sachin Tendulkar, who is set to surpass Steve Waugh's record of being the most capped player in Test cricket when he takes the field on Tuesday.

The 37-year-old iconic right-hander, who scored a fifth career double hundred in the second Test, also practised in the nets yesterday, an indication that he would be padding in his record 169th Test having recovered from the groin injury.

Apart from these injury concerns, batting form is hardly an issue for the Indians, who piled up a whopping 707 runs in the first innings of the second Test in reply to Sri Lanka's 642.

Virender Sehwag was his usual explosive self, providing the start for others to build on in the intimidating line-up that also has the stylish VVS Laxman.

Bowling, however, is a headache for the Indians with the pace department desperately missing the services of Zaheer Khan and S Sreesanth, who were ruled out due to injury.

Ishant Sharma impressed briefly in the second Test but has been off-colour for most of the series and though the young Abhimanyu Mithun has given it his all, the placid pitch here didn't help his confidence much in the second Test.

Like India, the Lankans don't have batting issues to worry about as top willow-wielders like Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, the upcoming Tharanga Parnavitana and the destructive Tillakaratne Dilshan are in fine form.

But unlike India, the hosts have a decent bowling attack despite missing the spin wizardry of the now-retired Muttiah Muralitharan.

They were without the lethal Lasith Malinga in the second Test due to injury and there is still a question mark on whether the in-form pacer will play on Tuesday.

Teams (from)

India: MS Dhoni (C), Virender Sehwag, Suresh Raina, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Murali Vijay, Wriddhiman Saha, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel, Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha and Abhimanyu Mithun.

Sri Lanka: Kumar Sangakkara (C), Muttiah Muralitharan, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Tharanga Paranavitana, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Angelo Mathews, Prasanna Jayawardene, Lasith Malinga, Rangana Herath, Dilhara Fernando, Dammika Prasad, Suraj Randiv, Thilina Kandamby, Chanaka Welegedara, Lahiru Thirimanne.

Umpires: Daryl Harper (AUS) and Simon Taufel (AUS)
TV umpire: Kumar Dharmasena (SRI)
Match referee: Andy Pycroft (ZIM)

Match starts at 10 am (IST).

Gambhir ruled out of third Test against Sri Lanka

NEW DELHI: India's bid to level the three-match series dealt a big blow as opener Gautam Gambhir was ruled out of the third Test against Sri Lanka at the P Sara Oval Stadium in Colombo.

Spin spearhead Harbhajan Singh also doubtful for the third Test starting from Tuesday.

Gambhir had missed the SSC Test with a right knee injury, but he took part in the by now customary game of football before practice and spent a long session at the nets on Sunday.

Barring Harbhajan Singh, all members of the squad were present at the nets at the P Sara Oval.

There was good news from elsewhere. Sachin Tendulkar, who could not take the field on the Day Five of the second Test due to a stiff groin after scoring his fifth career double hundred, looked fit.

Sri Lanka lead India 1-0 in the three-match Test series. Team India has a difficult task on Tuesday to level the series.

TOI

Govt assures action in CWG ‘corruption’

Govt assures action in CWG ‘corruption’

NEW DELHI, Aug 1: Hit by allegations of corruption in the Commonwealth Games, the government today promised to take action against those found guilty even as another venue was inaugurated with a leaking roof. Union urban development minister S Jaipal Reddy was in damage-control mode over the Central Vigilance Commission's report on widescale corruption in Games' construction projects. “CVC has come out with preliminary remarks on the alleged irregularities in the construction of Commonwealth venues. I assure you that all concerned would be punished. Nothing would be spared. We will seriously look into it,” Reddy said during the inauguration of the Weightlifting auditorium inside the Jawahar Lal Nehru stadium complex here today. The Games Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi, who was forced to address an hour-long press conference to rebutt charges of financial bunglings yesterday, was issuing clarifications yet again. The Indian Olympic Association chief insisted that the UK-based firm at the center of a corruption row that has hit OC was recommended by the Indian High Commission despite an embarrassing denial issued by it earlier.The Indian High Commission had denied recommending A M Films, the little-known UK-based firm which allegedly received lakhs of pounds for providing its ‘services’ during the Queen's Baton Relay in London. (PTI)

England win first Test by 354 runs

England win first Test by 354 runs

NOTTINGHAM, Aug 1: James Anderson’s match haul of 11-71 helped to wrap up a comfortable 354-run victory over Pakistan, who slumped to their lowest total against England, in the first Test at Trent Bridge on Sunday.

Pakistan, set a world-record 435 to win, were bowled out for 80 in 29 overs after resuming on 15 for three on the fourth day. England required just under two hours to take Pakistan’s last seven wickets.

Number ten Danish Kaneria top-scored with 16 not out and was one of only two batsmen to reach double figures as the Pakistanis struggled to play the moving ball throughout. The total fell short of Pakistan’s previous low against England, which was 87 at Lord’s in 1954.

Second Test between India- Sri Lanka ends in a dull draw

T V Sriram

Colombo, Jul 30 (PTI) The second cricket Test between India and Sri Lanka meandered to a tame high-scoring draw here today with a staggering 1478 runs being scored over five days on a track which proved to be graveyard for bowlers.

With little interest left on a dreary last day, the Indians scored a mammoth 707 all out in the first innings, recording their second-highest total ever largely due to a dogged resistance by the last wicket pair of Ishant Sharma (27) and Pragyan Ojha (17).

The hosts then scored 129 for three in their second innings before both the captains decided to call off play, bringing an end to a dull Test completely dominated by the bastmen with just 17 wickets falling.

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is a great honour: Saina

HYDERABAD: Saina Nehwal's purple patch has just got an extension. Four weeks after the nation celebrated her terrific triple - hat-trick of wins at Indian Open, Singapore Super Series and Indonesia Super Series - the government bestowed upon her the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, the highest sporting honour in the country.

Surprisingly, the champion shuttler is not celebrating, rather she does not have time to celebrate. Her coach Pullela Gopichand insisted that she should not skip evening practice.

Worse still, she'll be doing the 'super circuit' considered the most difficult and energy sapping session of the whole week. "I am ecstatic. It's a great honour, the best I got and one of my long term dreams. But I wish it was not announced on Friday."

"Notwithstanding the hard work, I am enjoying every moment of my career. This award brings more responsibility to me and I'll work hard to bring more honour for the country," Saina said.

After the customary congratulations she expected her coach to give her an off. "He patted me and told me to sleep in the afternoon so that I can do the 'super circuit' session. I can't say no to him. It's a different experience going through the gruelling session even before the excitement of getting the award could sink in," Saina said.

The world number two thanked the government for the honour and said that though she got several honours nothing would match the Khel Ratna. "I know sportspersons die to get this Award. I am no different. I badly wanted to win it. I rate it as one of the biggest achievements of my life. I thank the government for this award. These things give us a lot of motivation and encourages us to work even harder," said Saina.

Incidentally, this is the third major award for her in the last one year. She won the Arjuna last August, Padma Shri this January and now the Khel Ratna.

President Pratibha Patil will present the award to Saina at a ceremony on August 29 in New Delhi. The award comprises a scroll of honour, medal and a cash prize of Rs 7.5 lakh.

TOI

Tendulkar's double-ton leads India's run feast

COLOMBO: Star batsman Sachin Tendulkar hit 203 and debutant Suresh Raina made 120 as India bettered Sri Lanka's run-spree in the high-scoring second Test on Thursday.


India, kept on the field for the first two days during Sri Lanka's massive 642/4 declared, responded by piling up 669/9 by stumps on the fourth day at the Sinhalese Sports Club.

With just 13 wickets having fallen on the placid wicket in four days, the batsman-dominated Test is heading for a draw with Sri Lanka enjoying a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Tendulkar and Raina, who came together on the third afternoon with India on 241-4 and struggling to avoid their second successive follow-on, put on 256 runs for the fifth wicket.

Tendulkar compiled his fifth double-century, adding another feather to a glorious 168-Test career marked by more runs (13,742) and hundreds (48) than any other batsman in history.

He is also the leading one-day batsman with 17,598 runs and 46 hundreds, including the only double-century in limited-overs internationals.

The 37-year-old braved the stifling hot and humid weather in the Sri Lankan capital for more than eight hours to play a marathon innings studded with 23 boundaries and a six.

Tendulkar reached the 200-mark, his first in six years, with a flick off Ajantha Mendis for two runs, earning warm applause from team-mates and spectators alike.

Left-hander Raina became the ninth Indian to score a century in his first Test innings, before holing out to short mid-wicket off Mendis shortly after lunch.

Raina, just 23 and already a veteran of 98 one-day internationals, was awarded his Test cap only after Yuvraj Singh reported sick on the opening day of the match.

He hit two sixes and 12 boundaries, reaching his century with a fluent off-drive against seamer Dammika Prasad that raced to the fence.

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (76) joined in the run feast after Raina's departure, adding 95 for the sixth wicket with Tendulkar and 51 for the eighth with Abhimanyu Mithun (41).

It was left to part-time spinner Tillakaratne Dilshan to get rid of Tendulkar soon after tea as wicket-keeper Prasanna Jayawardene held a bat-pad catch moving swiftly to the silly point area.

Dilshan also dismissed Harbhajan Singh in the same over and later took a return catch off Dhoni to finish with three wickets.

Sri Lanka missed the wicket-taking abilities of the retired Muttiah Muralitharan and injured fast bowler Lasith Malinga as the young crop of bowlers failed to contain the Indians.

Mendis finished with 4-157 from his 54 overs, while off-spinner Suraj Randiv failed to add to his two wickets on the third day and returned with 2-212 in 64 overs.

Muralitharan and Malinga had claimed 15 of the 20 Indian wickets in the first Test in Galle last week, which Sri Lanka won by 10 wickets.

TOI

Bolt, Gay to race in 4x100 relay at Zurich

Bolt, Gay to race in 4x100 relay at Zurich

ZURICH, July 29: Usain Bolt and Tyson Gay will race when Jamaica and the United States field teams in the 4x100 meter relay at the Diamond League meet in Zurich.

Organizers of the August 19 Weltklasse meet said on Thursday that Olympic and world champion Bolt will anchor a Jamaica team including Mario Forsythe, Yohan Blake, and Marvin Anderson. Gay, the second-fastest man in history behind Bolt's record of 9.58 seconds, heads a US lineup featuring Walter Dix, Wallace Spearmon and Trell Kimmons. Bolt and Gay are skipping the individual 200 at Zurich, which splits the Diamond League finals with Brussels the following week. Bolt, Gay and former world record-holder Asafa Powell of Jamaica will race the 100 at Stockholm's Diamond League meet next week. (Agencies)

Sachin, the artist, deserves Bharat Ratna: Asha Bhonsle

Sachin, the artist, deserves Bharat Ratna: Asha Bhonsle

NEW DELHI, July 29: When Sachin Tendulkar bats, it’s like an artist playing a ‘raga’ and the true legend of the game deserves the Bharat Ratna, legendary singer Asha Bhonsle on Thursday.

Tendulkar on Thursday smashed his fifth Test double hundred and helped India chase a mammoth Sri Lankan total of 642/4 declared in the second match.

“Sachin should get Bharat Ratna. He deserves it. He has been bringing laurels for the country for such a long time. He is not just a batsman but an artist. When he bats it looks as if somebody is playing a ‘raga’,” Bhonsle said.

Kalmadi dubs Mani Shankar Aiyar anti-national

Kalmadi dubs Mani Shankar Aiyar anti-national

New Delhi, July 27: Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi labelled Mani Shankar Aiyar ‘anti national’ for wishing that the Commonwealth Games are ‘spoilt’.

Aiyar, who as a sports minister was a known critic of the Commonwealth Games and even had continuous run-ins with Kalmadi, maintained that the huge amount of money spent on Commonwealth Games could have been better used to train young athletes for international sporting events.

“Personally, I will be unhappy if the Commonwealth Games are successful,” Aiyar, a nominated Rajya Sabha member, told reporters outside parliament on Tuesday.

“I am very happy with the rains, firstly it will ensure a good agriculture for the country and secondly it will ensure that the Commonwealth Games are spoilt,” Aiyar said. “Just imagine, if we would have spent the Rs.35,000 crore ($7 billion) in providing training to the children, we would have won medals at every international sporting event,” Aiyar added.

Kalmadi retorted saying that had Aiyar continued as the sports minister, India could never have hosted the Games. “The Games are possible only because MS Gill is the sports minister. Had Mani Shankar Aiyar continued to be sports minister, the Games would not have happened at all. Gill has done a remarkable job since he has taken over,” Kalmadi said during the inauguration of the remodelled Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

Later, talking to reporters, Kalmadi said: “He (Aiyar) is anti-national. When everyone is looking forward to the Commonwealth Games, he is going around wishing the Games are spoilt.” (IANS)