Decision to fall Harbhajan right


Former India captain Kapil Dev has backed the selectors' judgment to drop Harbhajan Singh from the squad for the first two ODIs against England next month.

"From the point of view of country's interest, nothing is amazing. If they have dropped him, it must be for the betterment of the team," the famous all-rounder said at the Dilip Sardesai Memorial lecture.

"You do get hurt if a spinner of the calibre of Harbhajan is dropped. But if his exclusion is helpful for the team, then I'm happy. I'm not going to say anything against the selectors."

Kapil also supported the move to include young leg- spinner Rahul Sharma in the side on the basis of his performance in the fourth season of the IPL.

"IPL is also a part of the country's cricket. Why think of it any other way? IPL/ICL is the way through which we get our cricketers. Without IPL, we wouldn't have got players like the Pathans (Yusuf and Irfan)," he added.

To a query, he said there was nothing like "senior players" and only performances should be taken into account while selecting a team.

Jones, Reeve in organization for PCB job


Former Australian batsman Dean Jones and ex-England all-rounder Dermot Reeve are said to be in the list of five candidates, short-list by the PCB for the coaching job.

Former Pakistan captain Intikhab Alam refuse to reveal the names of the short-listed candidates but sources exposed that Jones and Reeve were on the list.

"I can't give you the names of the people on the select we have made of five candidates. But we conventional a total of 37 application for the post of Pakistan coach against the ad the Pakistan Board put out for the position. These applications built-in 12 foreigners and 25 locals," Alam said at a press conference.

The PCB had formed a special board, headed by Alam, as well as former players Zaheer Abbas, Colonel Naushad Ali and Rameez Raja to help the Board find a new coach for the national team.

The committee, Alam said, has short-listed five candidates whose names would be given to the PCB chairman Ijaz Butt when he proceeds from abroad on October 1.

"Butt has the authority to choose one person from the short-list or even directly move toward someone else from outside the list for negotiations if he is not pleased with the list," the former Test captain said.

Kallis and Gambhir stay Knight Riders alive


Kolkata Knight Riders 171 for 1 (Kallis 64*, Gambhir 55*) strike Royal Challengers Bangalore 169 for 9 (Vettori 44, Bhatkal 25) by nine wickets

Kolkata Knight Riders hit Royal Challengers Bangalore by nine wickets in Bangalore, thanks to a winning second-wicket stand by Jacques Kallis and Gautam Gambhir.

South African Kallis ablaze 64 from 47 balls, ably assist by Gambhir who scored an winning 55 from just 31 delivery, as they chase down Bangalore's total of 169 with two and a half overs to spare.

Australian opening batsman Brad Haddin helped KKR to a flying start with a knock of 42 before he was fixed by Virat Kohli off the bowling of Daniel Vettori.

Earlier, New Zealand's Vettori top-scored for Bangalore with 44 in the middle of their innings after KKR won the toss and put them in to bat.

Bangalore lost two early wickets when Kallis bowled Chris Gayle for 25 before Virat Kohli was out for a duck when Gambhir wedged him off the bowling of Brett Lee.

Raajoo Bhatkal put up some fight with Vettori with a seventh-wicket stand of 61 but Bangalore's total never looked to be sufficient.

Injured de Villiers to Miss Aus series


South Africa's ODI and T20 captain AB de Villiers will miss the forthcoming series with Australia after being ruled out for up to six weeks with a broken hand.

De Villiers broke his finger while training with the Royal Challengers Bangalore this week and will undertake surgery on Friday.

"The hand expert found that AB (de Villiers) fractured the hand bone (metacarpal) of his middle finger," said Proteas team manager Dr Mohammed Moosajee.

"He advised that instant surgery be done to fixate the fracture and to allow the treatment process to begin as soon as possible."

South Africa meets Australia in two T20 internationals and three ODIs in October.

Harbhajan place to captain India Green


Harbhajan Singh has been named captain of the India Green team for the NKP Salve Challenger Trophy to be detained in Nagpur from October 10 to 13.

The new BCCI secretary, Sanjay Jagdale, announce the 14-member squads of India Blue, India Green and India Red teams for the 50-over-a-side tournament after a meeting of the national selection board in Chennai on Thursday.

Opener Gautam Gambhir, who miss the ODI series in England because of a head injury, not only return to the national fold but has also been handed the blame of leading the India Red side, while Tamil Nadu middle-order batsman, S Badrinath, has been name captain of the India Blue team.

Apart from Harbhajan, Yusuf Pathan (India Red), left-arm pacer R P Singh (India Red), Amit Mishra (India Blue), Pragyan Ojha (India Blue) and Piyush Chawla (India Red), who all have been ignored for the first two ODIs against England; will also have a chance to stake their claims for a comeback to the national team.

India Blue: S Badrinath (capt, TNCA), Murali Vijay (TNCA), Paul Valthaty (HPCA), Manish Pandey (KSCA), Dinesh Karthik (TNCA), Mandeep Singh (Punjab CA), Saurabh Tiwary (JSCA), Irfan Pathan (Baroda CA), Amit Mishra (Haryana CA), Pragyan Ojha (Hyderabad CA), Y V Krishanarty (JSCA), Prashant Parameshwaran (Kerala CA), Pradeep Sangwan (DDCA), Tanmay Srivastava (UPCA).

India Green: Harbhajan Singh (capt, Punjab CA), Robin Uthappa (KSCA), S Anirudha (TNCA), T Suman (Hyderabad CA), Mohnish Mishra (MPCA), Ishank Jaggi (JSCA), Mohd Kaif (UPCA), C M Gautham (KSCA), S Ladda (Punjab CA), Iqbal Abdullah (Mumbai CA), Abhimanyu Mithun (KSCA), Samad Fallah (Maharashtra CA), Ishwar Choudhary (Gujarat CA), S Narwal (DDCA).

India Red: Gautam Gambhir (capt, DDCA), Shikhar Dhawan (DDCA), Abhinav Mukund (TNCA), Ambati Rayudu (Baroda CA), Ashok Menaria (Rajasthan CA), Wriddhiman Saha (CAB), Jalaj Saxena (MPCA), Piyush Chawla (UPCA), Bhargava Bhatt (Baroda CA), Pankaj Singh (Rajasthan CA), Jaydev Unadkat (Saurashtra CA), T Sudhendra (MPCA), Yusuf Pathan (Baroda CA), R P Singh (UPCA).

Harbhajan drop for England ODI's


Harbhajan Singh has been missing out of the first two ODI's next to England as the selectors chose an under strength India team.

Gautam Gambhir, who miss the ODI series in the tour of England because of concussion, return to the squad which will be without the services of a host of seniors, as well as Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh because of injuries.

Vidharba pace man Umesh Yadav and Jharkhand speedster Varun Aaron also figured in the team announce by new BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale after a marathon assembly of the selection committee in Chennai.
Young leg-spinner Rahul Sharma and paceman Sreenath Aravind were the two new faces in India's exhausted 15-member squad for the first two cricket one-dayers in next month's ODI series next to England.

The team, to be captain by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, has a mainly young bowling attack with Praveen Kumar being the spearhead.

The national selectors have chosen as many as five fast bowlers and three spinners in Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin and Sharma.

Parthiv Patel, who did practically well in the recent ODI series against England, has been retain along with upcoming batsman Ajinkya Rahane of Mumbai.

The first ODI of the five-match series will be played in Hyderabad on October 14,, while Delhi will host the second game on October 17. Mohali (Oct 20), Mumbai (Oct 23) and Kolkata (Oct 25) will stage the other three matches.

Kolkata will also behavior the lone Twenty20 match against England on October 29.

Squad: MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Gautam Gambhir, Parthiv Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Varun Aaron, Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar, S Aravind, Rahul Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Praveen Kumar.

Dhoni cheerful after CSK victory




MS Dhoni was all praise for his bowlers after CSK's three-pronged pace attack controlled Cape Cobras to a modest score of 145 on Wednesday.

"Had we lost, it would have become very hard. The score of 145 was a very good effort by our bowlers, who capitalized really well when they lost a couple of wickets at the wrong time. Our bowlers did a good job," said Dhoni after his team's exciting four-wicket victory over the Cobras.

"It was a big game for us and (Dwayne) Bravo played a special innings in the end. My heart was pounding. We are look forward to the next game," the skipper added.

The pace trio of Albie Morkel (2 for 26), Doug Bollinger (2 for 25) and Dwayne Bravo (2 for 23) shackle the Cobras' batting line-up and prohibited their order consisting of Herschelle Gibbs, J P Duminy and Owais Shah from changing the gears up.

Dhoni also approved that while batting, Chennai abandoned the importance of singles at the start.

The Chennai Super Kings, with this win, have two points, the same as the Cape Cobras and New South Wales while Mumbai Indians head the table with four points from two victories.

Cape Cobras' captain Justin Kemp said that Chennai pacers bowled fine with the old ball.

"We would have liked to score more at the back end, but I consider the Chennai boys bowled well with the old ball. They were excellent in the end over’s," said Kemp.

Kemp selected all-rounder Bravo's timely cameo for special praise and said, "It took something special from Bravo. We bowled well, but it was always going to come down to the last couple of over’s, and they have a big batting line-up. Bravo played some outstanding shots and took the game away from us."

"Overall it was a good game. We were right up there until the 18th over. A couple of mistake here and there," he added.

Man-of-the-match Dwayne Bravo, whose sparkler (46 not out off 25 balls) took the Chennai Super Kings past the target of 145 with just two balls to spare, said, "Today was a great day for us. I was just backing my ability. I am enjoying my cricket now. Hope this continues later in the event."

"Dale Steyn bowled just one bad ball and I got on top of it."

Asked about his bowling, he said, "I have work hard on my bowling in the nets and distorted my action a bit. I am happy now."

Katich: Batting wants to improve


NSW Blues captain Simon Katich was relived after his move to bowl Steve O'Keefe in the Super Over paid off in their NCL T20 match, but felt the batting wanted to improve further.

"We're dissatisfied to have left it too late today," he said after his team's win over Trinidad and Tobago via the Super Over, before adding that NSW also approved too many runs in the middle overs.

"But that's the nature of Twenty 20 cricket. The stress is on the bowlers, it's not easy for them as well. But we've got to come up with a better batting effort throughout that middle phase. If no one bats through (the innings) it's very difficult."

About going in with spinner Steve O'Keefe in the Super Over, he said, "I deduction we felt pace off the ball with an older ball is possibly the hardest thing to hit.

I guess (T&T) went the other way and Moises played wonderfully and got us back into the match when it looked like it was over. It was a unbelievable knock and to cap it off in the Super Over was magnificent.

"O'Keefe had bowled wonderfully for us and we just felt that the pace off the ball was the right option than one of the quicks. Yes, it can be look at as a gamble but appreciatively, it paid off," Katich said.

The left-hander also said that the fact that T&T picked his pacers for runs in the final five overs (they went from 89/3 to 139/6) also contribute in giving the ball to a spinner.

Moises Henriques, who starred with the bat for NSW, said, "To be honest, it was just trying to like the cricket.Nothing much was going throughout my mind.

In my last game, we were in a similar circumstance. We work hard to bat in such circumstances and give your best every time you go out, sooner or later it's gonna pay off."

Henriques took a single and gave the strike to pace bowler Pat Cummins in the final over with just three balls residual and eight runs wanted for a win.

Asked if he had the self-confidence in the 18-year-old's capability, Henriques said, "I had just taken nine runs off Ravi (Rampaul) in the first three balls and the maths in my head said we needed eight off three balls and at that stage every run was crucial.

If I could perhaps get on strike on the last ball, then we were in with a possibility, whether a six or four."

Tolerant ICC green signals Marlon Samuels


West Indies all-rounder Marlon Samuels has had his bowling action blank by the ICC and is free to bowl another time at international level.

The ICC deems the off-spinner's act to be outside the 15 degrees of acceptance in February 2008 after reports from umpire Aleem Dar and Simon Taufel.

The 30-year-old has since undergone remedial work on his achievement and has been cleared after evaluation.

Dwayne Bravo lead Chennai Kings to win


Dwayne Bravo enables Chennai Super Kings to get their Champions League Twenty20 title defense back on path with a four-wicket victory over Cape Cobras at Chennai.

Owais Shah Lead the way with 45 as the Cobras, who won the toss and chose to bat, totall 145 for seven - but Bravo's 46 from 25 balls enable the Super Kings to pass the total with two balls to extra.

The Cobras' score was built on a firm partnership of 57 for the fourth wicket between Shah and JP Duminy. Shah's knock come from 38 balls and built-in a six and three fours, while Duminy chip in with 24 from 21 balls.


South Africa spinner Duminy then excel with the ball, taking four wickets for 20 runs from his four overs as the Super Kings slip to 77 for five.

However, the influx of Bravo at the crease redress the balance - and after distribution in a 43-run stand for the sixth wicket, the West Indies all-rounder took them to brink of victory by taking 17 runs off the last but one over of the game, bowled by Dale Steyn.

With Albie Morkel, Bravo saw the Super Kings over the line, appropriately hitting the winning single with two balls remaining.

Ganga preserve Rampaul conclusion


T&T captain Darren Ganga shielded his decision to use Ravi Rampaul in the Super Over in their NCL T20 conflict next to NSW Blues in Chennai.

Rampaul, who gave left 16 runs in the 20th over that allowable NSW to level the scores, conceded another 18 in the Super Over, which the T&T failed to overhaul.

"Ravi is the most knowledgeable bowler, he's been our best bowler so far in this event, the most in-form. Every time he's bowled at the passing away for us, he's done the job for us.

We've trained and drill ourselves in a certain way, to finish off the innings in a certain manner. If we give Ravi 15 or 16 runs to guard, he'll do that on any given day," Ganga said after the beat.

Rampaul persist with bowling around the wicket in spite of going for runs in the 20th over, but his captain shielded the move.

"We've tried it time and time once more, to bowl around the wicket to most of the batsmen, angle the ball across, the field positions... more often than not we get out of jail. (But) Ravi was a little bit tired, almost certainly having bowled two over’s back to back and then with that strength coming back to bowl the Super Over.

"In retrospection you can say a lot of things, but he's our most knowledgeable bowler," he said.

Ganga said he would've preferred to go with a right-left combination in the Super Over but the team had to name prior to the match its three favored batsmen for such a scenario.

"We were under the feeling that we had the option of using any (of the) three to open, but that's amazing we learned regarding just prior to start of the game.

"(As if) the Gods are next to us. We've had two very close games; it just shows how spirited we are. It's a pity we haven't crossed the line and secure a win. We still hold our belief. This group is still open and we'll be coming very, very hard in that game beside CSK,” he concluded.

Ireland stroke up Australia conflict


Ireland has secured another one-day international date with Australia at Stormont next summer.

Australia, at present the world's top-ranked ODI side, edge the hosts by 39 runs in an enthralling competition in Dublin last year and Cricket Ireland chief decision-making Warren Deutrom was excited to have make sure a repeat of the high-profile fixture on June 23, 2012.

"We are pleased to welcome Australia to Belfast in 2012 after their exciting RSA Challenge ODI against Ireland in Dublin 2010," he said.

"Although opportunities to find space in the Future Tours Programmed are rare against the world's leading teams, it is obvious that Cricket Australia is devoted to ensure that the top Associates, like Scotland and Ireland, have a chance to test themselves alongside the best and help us to improve.

"Off the field, the visit of such teams gives a massive boost to the profile of the sport, delivers a terrific return on speculation to our valued partners and an amazing day out for our fans."

Ireland coach Phil Simmons added: "It's fantastic that we're taking on Australia on home soil again. We had a fantastic opportunity to beat them in Dublin last year but let the game slip.

"I know just how much that beat hurt the players, so it's huge to get another possibility to play them.

"As a coach and a player, these are the sort of furniture that you thrive on, and with the backing of the swarm in Belfast, we've a real chance of pull off another famous win."

India crushes Australia in U-19 series


India's colts on Tuesday twisted a record for the fastest chase of a total more than 100 in Under-19 cricket throughout their 10-wicket defeat of Australia in the first ODI.

Chasing 164 for victory, openers Manan Vohra and Captain Unmukt Chand were brutal in their reply as they chased down the target in just 12 overs, scoring 167 runs.

Vohra struck 15 boundaries and two sixes in his 35-ball 79 while Chand came up with 40-ball 72 that was lace with 11 hits to the barrier and three over it.

Earlier, opting to bat, Australia was dismiss for 163 in 41.1 overs with off-spinner Baba Aparajit picking up five wickets for 38 runs from 8.1 overs.

Only wicketkeeper James Peirson provides some confrontation with a patient 51. Apart from Peirson, only skipper Cameron Bancroft (27) and William Bosisto (21) managed to get past 20.

While defensive the total, Australia captain Cameron Bancroft deploy five bowlers but none of them could manage an economy-rate of below 10.

Vohra and Chand mainly targeted spinners Ashton Turner and Shane Cassell, slamming them for 17.50 and 23 runs an over respectively.

India takes on Sri Lanka in their next game on September 29, while Australia plays West Indies on the same day.

In the other match of the day, Sri Lanka beaten West Indies by two wickets in their tournament opener.

Gautam Gambhir: We played well in scrap


KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir said his side played well in patches but praise resistance batsman Callum Ferguson and Daniel Christian for their match-winning efforts.

Ferguson scored an winning 40-ball 70-run knock and together with Christian (42) added quick fire 84 runs for the fourth wicket to propel South Australia to a spirited 188 for five after opting to bat.

The target finally twisted out to be too steep for KKR as they lost wickets at normal intervals to be restricted to 169 for nine, in that way handing South Australia a 19-run victory.

"I never thought they would get to 180-odd. It was a brilliant attempt from Ferguson and Christian," a visibly dissatisfied Gambhir said after the match.

"Sometimes we've bowled well in patches, and sometimes batted well in patches. At times we haven't complement our batsmen, sometimes our bowlers," he added.

His equivalent Michael Klinger was also full of praise for Ferguson and Christian, saying the two batsmen laid the basic basis for South Australia's win.

"The innings from Callum (Ferguson) and Christian were incredible. Those two were fantastic, they pushed a lot of twos and ran really hard when the pitch slow up," Klinger said.

Asked about the reason behind leaving out speedster Shaun Tait for today's match, the South Australia captain said, "We left out Tait purely because of the circumstances. Tait, with extra pace, on this wicket is slightly easier to way probably."

Man-of-the-match Ferguson, in turn, accredited his partner Christian for his match-winning knock.

"It was hard early on, took a while to get in.

Christian came in and made it easier for me by hitting some boundaries. We finished the innings well," he said.

'T&T eyeing better show beside NSW'


Trinidad and Tobago would look to list their first win in the NCL T20 with a better show in their second game Wednesday, Denesh Ramdin said.

Ramdin assered the West Indians were far from being dissatisfied after their narrow one-wicket loss alongside Mumbai Indians,

T&T came close to dramatic Mumbai in Bangalore Monday and Ramdin said his team would draw self-assurance that they stretched their fancied opponent to their limits before losing by one wicket in the last ball of the innings.

"We are dissatisfied (at the defeat against Mumbai). But as I said, we fought well and extended Mumbai. They have a strong batting order with Kieron Pollard and Andrew Symonds.

"But our bowlers bowled well under lot of force," he said about yesterday's hit at the hands of Mumbai.

Ramdin said his side would look to post a spirited total in case they bat first in their second match of the tournament next to New South Wales.

"We would hope to shoot them out for about 130 or 140 runs and then chase it down. If we bat first, we would also look to maintain impetus and try to post a spirited total," he said.

T&T were shot out for 98 in their last match and Ramdin admit that his side would have to produce a better show in their batting department.

"We misinterpret the pitch in Bangalore and it was bad that we didn't score runs. (Lendl) Simmons' run out was unlucky and as a result we kept losing wickets. We fought, but couldn't pull off victory," he said.

"(Against NSW) it's a different attack, different surface, different game as well, so hope the boys pick themselves up (and post a win)," he added.

He said the Chepauk wicket here looks a bit slow and "should almost certainly aid our slow bowlers."

Mumbai win a thriller beside T & T


The Mumbai Indians protected a last-ball one-wicket victory over Trinidad and Tobago in their Nokia Champions League Twenty20 clash in Bangalore.

Chasing a meager 99 to win and go to the top of Pool A, Yuzvendra Chahal took two from Sherwin Ganga's last ball of the match to drive his side over the line.

Batting first after winning the toss, T&T started well and were nicely placed on 41 for one when Lendl Simmons was inaccurately run out on 21, signalling the start of a collapse.

Harbhajan Singh (three for 22) was the main attacker, well backed by Lasith Malinga (two for 22) as Jason Mohammed (23) top scored.

The tone for Mumbai's chase was set early, although, as Ravi Rampaul (three for 17) ripped throughout their top order to leave them almost out of the game at 16 for four.

But Ambati Rayudu stood firm for 36 and, in spite of nine wickets falling, there was just sufficient time left for Chahal to win the game.

Teams:

Mumbai Indians: Aiden Blizzard, Sarul Kanwar, Tirumalasetti Suman, Abu Nechim, Dilhara Fernando, Harbhajan Singh, Lasith Malinga, Yuzvendra Chahal, Andrew Symonds, James Franklin, Kieron Pollard, Rajagopal Sathish, Ambati Rayudu, Davy Jacobs

Trinidad and Tobago: Adrian Barath, Daren Ganga, Darren Bravo, Jason Mohammed, Lendl Simmons, Dave Mohammed, Ravi Rampaul, Samuel Badree, Shannon Gabriel, Sunil Narine, Kevon Cooper, Rayad Emrit, Sherwin Ganga, Denesh Ramdin, William Perkins

Broad hope for India come back


Stuart Broad hopes to make his England come back in the Twenty20 clash with India at the end of October.

The Nottinghamshire all-rounder is England's T20 captain but miss the new double-header beside the West Indies at the Oval because of the take on injury he suffer in the fourth one-day international next to India at Lord's on September 11.

A predict two-month nonattendance would see him miss the October 29 Eden Gardens showdown, but he is hopeful of recurring to reclaim the captaincy from county colleague Graeme Swann.

"It's leaving okay," Broad told Sky Sports News of his recovery.

"The muscle's torn so it takes time to heal. I've got another week's rest then its treatment in October.

"It's a strong treatment programmed and I'm looking forward to getting under way.

"I've got it in mind that I want to play that Twenty 20 game in India. It's a tight goal but you've got to have those targets to get you throughout the mornings in the gym.

"It's two-month damage but it's a right shoulder injury so I've got to be careful; that's my career."

Broad has led England in just two matches, last month's six-wicket win over India and June's nine-wicket beating at the hands of Sri Lanka.

Chances to add to his leadership knowledge will be incomplete in front of next year's World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka, and he is desperate to seize every chance.

"It's unsatisfactory, missing these two games was unsatisfactory," he added.

"We've got a Twenty20 World Cup this time next year and it's main to learn and build going into that."

Broad, who also suffer a stomach muscle tear during last winter's Ashes, recognized how packed the international calendar is but refuse to blame for his injury troubles.

"Its part of professional sport, you're going to choose up injuries," he said.

"We do play a huge amount; it takes a toll on your body and when you get time to recover you have to use it wisely.

"The boys have got November and December as downtime, that's pretty unusual in the international schedule, then once we fly to Dubai in January (to face Pakistan) it's attractive much non-stop for two years."

Harbhajan: We didn't justify to win


Mumbai Indians skipper Harbhajan Singh said they didn't merit winning, claiming Trinidad and Tobago were the better side on show Monday.

"I must pat on the back Darren and his team. They were the better side. We didn't justify winning. We didn't bat sensibly," Harbhajan said after the Indians edge out the West Indian side.

The India off-spinner said Mumbai Indians played too many needless shots and unless they better their batting, they will be knocking out of the tournament soon.

"We needed to tick the ball around, but we looked to play too many shots. We just weren't there with the bat. If we keep batting like this, we won't be here for long," he said.

"We won today, but if we want to be there for the semis, we can't keep playing this kind of cricket."

Trinidad & Tobago skipper Daren Ganga said the beat has crushed his team as they had fought really hard but still ended on the losing side.

"Unacceptable, the result. The guys are devastated.

Imagine the way we fought, but didn't come out winning.

Definitely ordinary batting, we show a lot of heart in the field," he said.

"That was the first thing, to play for the Super Over.

It's unlucky, Denesh couldn't hit the stumps, these things happen in cricket," he added.

Man-of-the-match Ravi Rampaul said his side showed a lot of character to defend a total of 98 and though they finished up on the behind side, they would look to make use of the next three games.

"Get the yorkers in, don't go for many runs. Being bowled out for 98 we needed early wickets, so I went out forceful," said Rampaul, who took three wickets for 17 runs.

"We show character and heart, and we have three games to follow. I found little additional bounce, and the shape, so the pitches help," he added.

Paine, Hastings to go through surgeries


Tim Paine and John Hastings will undertake surgeries and have been lined out of Australia's short-format teams for next month's tour of South Africa.

The duo both need surgery on injury which will rule them out of the two Twenty20 and three one-day internationals, which get beneath way with the opening T20 clash in Cape Town on October 13.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Paine has been stressed with a long-term finger injury and Australia team physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said: "Tim Paine wounded his right index finger batting at training with his Tasmanian state team four weeks ago. He sustained a fracture in a similar part of the same finger late last year and necessary surgery.

"Tim has been inactive the injury in recent weeks but is still experience considerable pain. His surgeon has advised that the fracture is healing slower than predictable and may not heal without surgical interference. As such, Tim will be undergoing surgery later this week.

"He is likely to need a comprehensive recuperation period following surgery and will not be available for collection for the T20 and ODI tour of South Africa."

All-rounder Hastings picked up a shoulder injury with his state side after frequent from Australia's tour of Sri Lanka and has been lined out for an undetermined period.

"He has had ongoing shoulder pain since this event and has been not capable to return to training," Kountouris explain.

"He has consulted a surgeon who has recommended surgery. It is likely that he will have surgery sometime in the next week after further assessment from the surgeon.
"His return to cricket will be needy on the management approach pursued."

India squad next to England on Sept 29


The Indian squad for next month's first two one-dayers next to the visiting England side will be picked in Chennai on Thursday, according to the BCCI sources.

"The team for the first two ODIs next to England will be chosen in Chennai on September 29," BCCI source said on Monday.

The selectors will also decide the three teams - India Red, Indian Blue and India Green - to take part in the N K P Salve Challenger Series in Nagpur from October 10-13, the sources added.

The first two India-England ODIs are to be held in Hyderabad (October 14) and Delhi (October 17).

The squad for the outstanding three ODIs is likely to be picked at the end of the first two matches. The remaining ties are to be held in Mohali (October 20), Mumbai (October 23) and Kolkata (October 25).

England is also scheduled to play a one-off T20 International next to India in Kolkata on October 29 before departure home.

Court rejects Modi's appeal next to panel


The Supreme Court of India has dismissed Lalit Modi's plea for reconstitution of the BCCI-appointed corrective panel inquisitive allegations of financial irregularity against him.

A bench comprise justices J M Panchal and H L Gokhale said that the three-member committee was "validly" constitute by the BCCI and it cannot be reconstituted just on the ground of apprehension of biasness expressed by Modi.

"We cannot presume that member won’t give fair trial to the petitioner (Modi)," the bench said, adding that the "committee was validly constitute".

"Mere uneasiness of biasness cannot be a ground to reconstitute the group," the bench said.

Modi had required reconstitution of the three-member panel comprising Arun Jaitley, Chirayu Amin and Jyotiraditya Scindia for probing suspected irregularities by him.

He had sought taking away of Jaitley and Amin from the panel, alleging that they might be biased next to him as they were part of the Special General Body gathering of BCCI where decision next to Modi was taken.

He enthused the apex court after the Bombay High Court on July 15, 2010 dismissed his appeal of reconstitution of the committee and challenging his postponement from BCCI.

CLT20 - Points Table

Group A

Teams
Mat
Won
Lost
N/R
Pts
Net RR
New South Wales
4
3
1
0
6
+0.627
Mumbai Indians
4
2
1
1
5
-0.280
Trinidad & Tobago
4
2
2
0
4
+0.176
Cape Cobras
4
1
2
1
3
+0.229
Chennai Super Kings
4
1
3
0
2
-0.712

Group B

Teams
Mat
Won
Lost
N/R
Pts
Net RR
Somerset
4
2
1
1
5
-0.557
Royal Challengers Bangalore
4
2
2
0
4
+0.325
Kolkata Knight Riders
4
2
2
0
4
+0.306
Warriors
4
2
2
0
4
+0.246
South Australia
4
1
2
1
3
-0.533