Tri-series: India beat Windies to stay alive in tournament

Put into bat, stand-in skipper Virat Kohli blasted India to 311/7 in 50 overs with a terrific 102 off 83 balls against which the hosts could only manage 171 in 34 overs after the target was revised to 274 from 39 overs due to a long rain delay during the West Indies innings.

The hosts still lead the standings with nine points while Sri Lanka and India are both tied on five each, with India bagging four points for winning and one bonus point Friday. However, Sri Lanka have a better net run rate which keeps them second in the table.

Rohit Sharma (46) and Shikhar Dhawan (69) provided India with a solid start as they struck a 123-run opening wicket partnership. The duo laid the foundation hitting the Windies bowlers for 13 boundaries and two sixes together before the left-handed Dhawan was caught at deep square leg, which started a middle-order batting collapse.

Sharma also got out soon and was followed by Suresh Raina (10), Dinesh Karthik (6), Murali Vijay (27) and Ravindra Jadeja (2), none of whom could capitalise on the start.

The West Indies bowlers, smelling blood, also capitalised on the chance by bringing down the run rate.

However, leading his country for the second time, Kohli stuck to his ground and kept the scoreboard ticking.

After Jadeja got out with the score 221/6 in the 42nd over, in came Ravichandran Ashwin who provided excellent support to his captain and the pair took India out from a spot of bother to a 300-par score.

Kohli and Ashwin struck a 90-run seventh wicket partnership off just 50 balls to power India to 311. In the process, Delhi boy Kohli scored his 14th One-Day International (ODI) ton which included 13 boundaries and two sixes.

Tino Best scalped two wickets while Kemar Roach, Dwayne Bravo, Marlon Samuels and Kieron Pollard chipped in with a wicket each.

In reply, the hosts never took off as their explosive opener Chris Gayle was caught behind cheaply for 10 runs.

Left hand bat Darren Bravo (1) also got caught in first slip before rain stopped play with the score at 56/2 in 10 overs.

After the delay and with a revised target, opener Johnson Charles (45) looked to lead the chase but, first lost partners and then got out himself.

The rain had also changed the dynamics of the pitch and the Indian bowlers chanced upon it to regularly clinch Windies wickets, so much so that the hosts were six down before they even reached 100.

The middle-order completely collapsed with only skipper Dywane Bravo (14) getting double figures.

However from 113/8, Kemar Roach (34) and Sunil Narine (21) knocked a few lusty blows to try and deny India the bonus point, scoring 58 runs for the eighth wicket before Jadeja took the last two scalps to seal the deal for India.

Indian pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3/29), Umesh Yadav (3/32) and Ishant Sharma (2/30) were in their elements as they not only took wickets frequently, they were also quite economical.

All-rounder Parvez Rasool,becomes first cricketer from Jammu & Kashmir to be selected for India

Parvez Rasool, 24, walked into the local school ground for practice on a sweltering Friday afternoon not knowing it would one be the happiest days of his life. When his friend broke the news of his selection in the Indian team for the upcoming tour of Zimbabwe, Rasool knelt down to thank the Almighty.

“It is a big moment for Bijbehara and J&K at large. I had good season this year having scored 594 runs and taken 33 wickets. My hard work has paid off.

Thanks to Almighty Allah,” a jubilant Rasool, told dna after becoming the first cricketer from Jammu & Kashmir to be selected for India and for the ‘A’ tour of South Africa.

The Valley is ecstatic at the rise of its new hero. Rasool had a torrid time when he was detained by the Bangalore police on suspected terror charges in 2009, days before an under-22 match in the CK Nayudu tournament. The police had suspected him of carrying explosives, an allegation which was proved wrong.

“It was a nightmare, but we have left it behind. We are looking at the future,” said Abdul Qayoom, Rasool’s coach.

On Friday, hundreds of Rasool’s friends and supporters gathered around him, congratulating him on his achievement. Some lifted him on his shoulders and took a lap of the ground; others cheered lustily when Rasool was later taken to his residence in what was nothing short of a procession. 

“My parents are very excited that I have been selected for Team India. It is a big day for them because they have backed me all along. My father is a cricketer himself and did everything so that I could play my game,” an emotional Rasool said.


“Parvez Rasool has made it to the team on the back of a very strong
performance in recent months; his being a Kashmiri is incidental,” he tweeted.
Rasool’s mentor Bishen Singh Bedi said his real test begins now.

Rasool represented the Pune Warriors in IPL-6 and earned the respect of his clan when he refused to promote a liquor brand. He used a duct tape to cover the firm’s logo on his jersey during the matches.

Jammu & Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah too showered praise on the youngster.

Ashok Dinda to wed cricket-loving fiancee on July 22

Indian cricketer Ashok Dinda is set to marry his sweetheart, Sreyasi Rudra. The wedding is on July 22 at Chinsurah, a Kolkata suburb. Dinda's reception will be at a Kolkata club on July 24.

Dinda met Sreyasi at a friend's residence four years ago and it was not love at first sight.

"We met again after a few years at a party and I liked her, but we did not exchange numbers. After our third meeting, I took her number from a friend and we kept in touch. She is the most sober girl I've ever met. I made her meet my mom one and half years ago. I gave her hints about my feelings then, but she brushed me off. I kept pursuing her till she gave in," Dinda told a newspaper.

Sreyasi, a software engineer, and Dinda decided to wed during this year's IPL. A July date was fixed since that's a lean season for cricket. "Later, I would get busy with matches, so this was the best time," said the fast bowler from Bengal.

Unlike many wives of cricket stars, Sreyasi comes from a family of cricket enthusiasts. "So, I had no option but to love cricket. Even my 86-year-old grandmother is mad about cricket," says Sreyasi.

Dinda has played 13 ODIs and nine T20 internationals for India. He is yet to play a Test match and the 29-year old currently represents Pune Warriors in the Indian Premier League, having earlier played for Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils.

'Drunk' Sri Lankan player misbehaves on flight

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has ordered an inquiry into reports that an unnamed member of the country's A team player misbehaved on a British Airways flight while being drunk.
"...Sri Lanka Cricket wishes to announce that it is disappointed to hear of such an incident and SLC will discuss with the Manager of Sri Lanka 'A' Team. An inquiry will be conducted based on the Manager's report and disciplinary action will be taken on the player concerned if found guilty," a SLC statement said.

Media reports said a drunken Sri Lankan cricketer caused panic on a packed British Airways flight when he tried to open the cabin door at 35,000ft.
The Sri Lanka A team was on a tour of the West Indies playing two four-day 'Tests' and 50-over and Twenty20 internationals.
Later Sri Lanka cricket issued a fresh statement in which they provided details of the incident.
"The team has boarded the flight BA 2158 from Grenada. The incident took place around midnight during the flight. The player concerned namely Ramith Rambukwella had tried to use the toilet. Due to the dim lights in the cabin the player has mistakenly tried to open one of cabin doors thinking it was the toilet door," a SLC statement said

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhhy5E_yocY

MS Dhoni ruled out of tri-series, Virat Kohli named captain

The Indian cricket team was dealt a major blow on Monday with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni being ruled out of the remainder of the ongoing tri-nation ODI series due to a hamstring injury, prompting the BCCI to appoint Virat Kohli as the stand-in skipper.

Batsman Ambati Rayudu will be flown in as Dhoni's replacement.

"Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been ruled out of the ongoing tri-series in the West Indies, due to a hamstring injury. The All-India Senior Selection Committee has picked Ambati Rayudu as his replacement in the squad. Rayudu will join the team at the earliest," BCCI Secretary Sanjay Patel said in a statement.

"Virat Kohli will lead India in the remainder of the tri-series," the statement added.

Dhoni did not keep wickets against the West Indies during the team's tri-nation series opener in Jamaica yesterday after sustaining a hamstring injury while batting.

Dhoni handed over the wicketkeeping duties to teammate Dinesh Karthik in the match, which the West Indies won by one wicket at Sabina Park here.

The 31-year-old skipper, who led India's triumphant campaign at the ICC Champions Trophy, was to be examined by the doctors.

The Cricket Board sources had earlier said Dhoni was "not feeling good".

In Dhoni's absence, India's nine-match winning streak was brought to a halt, and they would look to get over the disappointment of a narrow loss when they take on familiar sub-continental foes Sri Lanka in their second match of the series on Tuesday.

 

India vs Sri Lanka, tri-series highlights - India go down by 161 runs, Lanka take bonus point

we had the first instance of an innings in a 50-over international ending with just one wicket down. Upul Tharanga and Mahela Jayawardene made a mockery of the teams' suspicion of the damp surface with their 213-run opening, Sri Lanka's second-best stand against India. Under the pressure of the mountain of runs, India huffed and puffed past… Upul Tharanga's score of 174.

This was Jayawardene's first ODI century in two years and 50 innings, but it was Tharanga who claimed an illustrious record en route his highest ODI score. This was the seventh time he was involved in a double-century partnership, joint-highest along with Ricky Ponting. Tharanga's was the third-highest individual score against India; four out of the best five individual efforts against India have come from Sri Lanka. Both, though, benefitted from some generous Indian fielding and bowling: Jayawardene was dropped on 25, Tharanga was missed on 2 and 91.

Generally, too, India - missing the injured MS Dhoni - lacked the edge both with the ball and in the field. Apart from not being able to take wickets, India were pretty loose with the ball. At the death, they kept bowling length, went for at least one boundary in every over since the Powerplay was taken in the 35th over, and conceded 180 in the last 16 overs. Tharanga's acceleration was stark: from 72 off 105 to the eventual 174 off 159.

Captaining India for the first time, Virat Kohli brought in Shami Ahmed ahead of Buvneshwar Kumar, a move that will be debated. Bhuvneshwar gave India breakthroughs with the new ball in most of the matches he played, but Shami didn't pose any threat. Another man coming in, M Vijay, dropped Jayawardene.

The Sri Lanka openers gave the pitch the respect the first two low-scoring matches have accorded it, but it was obvious that either the track was much drier or it was the West Indies fast bowlers who exploited the moisture much better. Of the three quicks, only Umesh Yadav extracted some help from the pitch, but he too strayed with his length, allowing Tharanga to play his favourite cut shot often. The innings' first boundary came through that cut. Ishant Sharma, at third man, made an equal contribution by letting the ball through. By then, Rohit Sharma had missed a half chance when he failed to hit the only stump visible from point. Tharanga was only 2 then.

The first five overs brought only 16 runs, but soon the batsmen shed caution. Yadav's pace was used well when lofted over the infield. And Ishant drew no respect. Jayawardene walked down the wicket to loft him over long-on, and in the same over Yadav misfielded at fine leg to return the favour to the bowler.

Ravindra Jadeja was the first to draw a risky approach from Sri Lanka, but Vijay dropped the reverse hit at shortish backward point. Jayawardene rubbed it in when he reversed Jadeja emphatically for a four later, but it was his chips over extra cover off both the spinners that were delightful. Tharanga, meanwhile, was happy to be inconspicuous.

It was perplexing that India introduced R Ashwin in the 20th over, and by then Sri Lanka had reached 90 without much trouble. Jayawardene was 49 off 58 then, and Tharanga 36 off 56. The same trend continued as Jayawardene kept hitting the odd boundary in the middle overs and almost on auto-pilot they had strolled to 168 in 34 overs.

Sri Lanka now asked for the field to come up, and Tharanga opened up. He went after both Ashwin and Ishant, and by the time Jayawardene fell for 107 he was ready to take control. Just before that, he had been dropped by Yadav at third man, again off Ishant. Almost without taking a risk, Tharanga kept getting inside the line and carting the Indian bowlers.

The 49th over, bowled by Yadav, was a complete bowling meltdown. Yadav began with a low full toss, which was sliced for a flat six over point. Then he saw Mathews back away, and bowled five wides. Two fours later, he had conceded 22 to finish with the worst economy rate of the innings. Tharanga was not done yet, and hit another six over extra cover, this time off Shami. Tharanga was so dominant that Mathews scored only 44 off the 135-run stand between them.

Mathews was in his element in the field. He surprised India by taking one of the new balls, and began with the first maiden of the match. Rohit was soon caught at short midwicket, and Mathews didn't allow India any pace to work with. Both the spinners were introduced within the mandatory Powerplay, by the end of which India had only 28 runs. Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli fell to that pressure, and M Vijay followed soon. The rest was merely an official stamp on India's biggest defeat after putting a side in. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxHQ9J75K_c 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhhy5E_yocY 

Selectors' bold decisions have helped Team India

There was a time when Sachin Tendulkar had virtually cut out all his big shots, becoming more of a grafter and accumulator. Like most things attached to the batting icon, his new style too had become a national issue. There weren't many who tried to understand why he had changed his game so dramatically though.

As former players weighed their words carefully to describe Tendulkar's curious approach, there was one man who refused to mince words when asked to react.

"If Sachin wants to bat like this (defensively), then he should quit. But if he wants to bat like the Sachin of old, then he should keep playing. And please put this on record," Sandeep Patil, the current chief selector, had told this correspondent well before he took up this job. It highlighted Patil's no-nonsense attitude. Like his batting which was never conservative, his approach to selection has also been adventurous and bold.

Patil's plan has been simple: reward consistent performers at the domestic level and remove the deadweight from the team. It worked at two levels: one, it helped India get out of the rut following the calamitous tours of England and Australia in 2011; two, it has given fans plenty of reason to be optimistic about the future.

Even Michael Vaughan, not exactly known for hyperbole when it comes to praising Indian cricket or its cricketers, doffed his hat to MS Dhoni and his men. "They are a fearless, aggressive bunch and I have not seen that from India before. This team is better than the World Cup-winning side in 2011," the former Ashes winning captain wrote in a recent column.

Sanjay Jagdale, the former BCCI secretary who has convened many a selection committee meeting with the current panel, credits Patil for scripting India's success story in the Champions Trophy.

"A lot of credit should go to Patil," says Jagdale. "As a chairman he is excellent. His thought process is clear and he has good knowledge about domestic players and believes in rewarding them," he added.

Giving a sense of how the 56-year-old former dasher operates, Jagdale says, "Ever since he took over, he has kept his eye firmly on the future. It is with this view that he picks or drops a player."

Wasim Jaffer's case is a classic example. The Mumbai opener may have got tons of runs but Patil didn't pick him, backing the younger Shikar Dhawan instead. It was a decision that saw the mighty Australians getting humbled 4-0 and India winning the Champions Trophy, with the adventurous left-hander emerging as the man-of-the-tournament.

Another facet of Patil's tenure was the axing of senior players. Some would argue that given  Yuvraj  and Virender Shewag's deteriorating game, it was an easy call to make. It would be prudent here to remind that the previous committee headed by K Srikkanth chose to drag its feet over phasing out the stars.

Not many selectors would have had the gumption to call up Tendulkar and say that he wasn't guaranteed a place in the playing XI or send Gautam Gambhir back to the grind of domestic cricket.

Picking it right

Indian selectors have often failed to take bold decisions even when they were sorely needed. Sandeep Patil & Co have, at least for the time being, changed that perception with some forthright moves involving some top stars. Most of these decisions have worked well for Dhoni's team...

Vijay for Gambhir
There were not many who doubted Vijay's worth. But the TN batsman batted with derring-do against the visiting Australians to virtually seal his spot in the Test team.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Sachin Tendulkar
There was ambiguity over the legend's ODI career. Apparently, Tendulkar wanted to keep picking and choosing One-day events. But Sandeep Patil told him that he couldn't guarantee him a place in the playing XI, after which Tendulkar called time on his ODI career. Not many selectors would have had the nerve to do that.

Dhawan for Sehwag
That Sehwag's powers were on the wane was getting clearer with every game. Patil and colleagues had the option of falling back on the tried and tested Wasim Jaffer. Instead, Patil endorsed Shikhar Dhawan as Sehwag's replacement and the move has worked wonders.

Jadeja for Yuvraj
As India went down meekly to England in the Test series, the selectors backed their instinct and drafted Jadeja into the Test squad in place of an out-of-form Yuvraj. Jadeja came in primarily as a batsman after scoring two Ranji triple hundreds but it is his bowling that is winning India games.

Exit Harbhajan Enter Ashwin
With hundred Test matches and 400-plus wickets, Harbhanjan Singh would walk into any side. Patil & Co did recall him for the England series but the offie disappointed and was soon cast aside. He has not been missed since then.