Offended India's last attempt to stay alive

On a tour of much disappointment for India, Tuesday's contest next to Sri Lanka offers them a chance, albeit an extremely difficult one, of prolong their fight to stay alive in the tri-series. Going by recent results - three straight defeats - the bonus-point win that India need to entertain any hope of qualifying for the finals seems a long shot.

Their bowling attack is weakened due to injuries, their batsmen have struggled, there's been talk of a communication gap between players, their captain wasn't even aware the team stood a chance of qualifying going into their final league game and they are up against opponents who've peaked impressively.

There is much at stake for India in what might or might not be their last match of the trip. A shot at a place in the finals aside, there'll be those in the team who'll be under pressure to keep their spots in the ODI side as the selectors meet to pick the squad for the Asia Cup on Wednesday. The misery of the India teams of the 90s when touring overseas has returned to haunt this side and Tuesday's contest is as much an opportunity to restore some pride, to slightly repair a damaged reputation - something that, if achieved, will mark a significant rise from a spate of on-field problems that has let the team down.

A bonus-point win is only the first step - India's fate will then hinge on the result of Sri Lanka's game against Australia on March 2 - but it will be a sign of determination to fight back, a strong urge to reach the finals and give some back to a team that's been responsible for the misery inflicted on them over the last two months.

Sri Lanka are well-equipped to thwart any such turnaround after three straight wins, the third a hard-fought one against Australia in Hobart, the venue for Tuesday's game. Both Tillakaratne Dilshan and Mahela Jayawardene have scored at the top, their young middle order has been productive, and the bowling largely consistent and free of injury. A defeat is a possibility, a cataclysmic fall that will concede a bonus point a very distant one.

Read more »

Sachin Tendulkar must stop ODIs, say 57% in TOI survey

After former Australian captain Ricky Ponting, is it time for the world's most run-maker to bid adieu to one-day cricket? As many as 57% of respondents in a TOI online poll have answered with a 'yes', indicating that the public anger over Team India's dismal performances Down Under also extend to Sachin Tendulkar's poor ODI form.

The poll went online on TOI's website on Tuesday afternoon and by 9.30 pm on Wednesday, almost 47,000 people had responded. The question asked was, 'Should Sachin retire from ODIs?' While 19,127 voted 'no' (41%), as many as 26,813 votes were polled in favour of the question. Around 2% (817) people were undecided.

The surprising results came a day after Sachin's former opening partner Sourav Ganguly had not explicit that the maestro should reconsider his ODI future and concentrate on Test cricket.

Ganguly said it was up to Tendulkar to decide if "he's still good enough to play in the ODIs". The former Indian skipper said, "I think Sachin deserves to decide on his own if and when to leave international cricket or one-day cricket... I don't think the selectors have got the right to ask him to go."

Read more »

After knock at Gabba, stressed India turn up in Sydney

The Indian team had arrived in Brisbane riding high on confidence. They had good reason to feel good about themselves. They had two wins and a tie below their belt and it felt it was only a matter of time before they improved their standing as World Champions. In its place, they flounder badly in both their matches against Australia and Sri Lanka and now face the view of a quick exit and an early return home.

The bashing at the Gabba, however, didn't seem to influence the players much except that the signs of a divided house were reflected from the manner in which the team travelled from Brisbane to Sydney on Wednesday afternoon. They simply tried to sport a smile to anything was happening.

Call it coincidence or whatever; it was surprising to see the players dotted in different places in its place of being together as a group which is more often than not the case on team flights.

MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina was seat next to each other in one of the front rows. A few rows back Sachin Tendulkar had Zaheer Khan for company and seat at the back them were Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir. Irfan Pathan was all by himself in one corner bang away at his laptop, while Parthiv Patel sat in the company of media manager GS Walia and was busy understanding the sports page of most important English daily here.

Probably the team had checked-in in dissimilar groups, but to see the players session aloof in different instructions didn't make for a pretty sight.

There was the customary chit-chat and sharing of jokes among the young team as they waited for the flight gates to open and followed the queue to enter the aircraft. The seniors followed their own path. A few also choose to have a quick bite before boarding the flight. The only familiar sight was that of the fans who swarmed the players with requests for pictures and autograph.

One hopes that the prospect of their fans will push these players to raise their presentation levels and they live up to their billing as World Champions.

The team will take a break on Thursday before recurring to the nets on Friday and Saturday. Rains have been forecast for Sunday when India is scheduled to play Australia. India indeed will also need some divine help besides a top-class show on the field if they are to stay alive in the competition. For now though, all eyes will be on the Sri Lanka-Australia match at Hobart on Friday.

Read more »

Abundance to ponder for unsettled India

In his second coming as captain, Mahela Jayewardene has overcome observers with his leadership and on-field strategies. Sri Lanka needed him to end his lean run as a batsman, something he did with the half-century next to Australia after pushing himself up to the top of the order. In his 11 innings as opener, he averages 67.90 which is twice his career mean. Sri Lanka has made stuttering starts in recent matches - 20 or less for the first wicket in 12 of their past 16 ODIs. Jayawardene wants to correct that by taking over at the top.

Virat Kohli has recognized himself as the best of the next generation of Indian batsmen, moving ahead of the likes of Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina. He had an exceptional 2011, scoring more runs than anyone else in ODIs, but hasn't hit those heights in this series. With Dhoni missing and much of the batting line-up struggling for form, he needs to make the runs befitting his new-found status.


Team news

India has several questions to ponder. Either Rohit Sharma or Suresh Raina will probably have to make way for Parthiv Patel. The bowling combination will also have changes, with the four-quick policy likely to be discarded.

India: (probable) 1 Sachin Tendulkar, 2 Virender Sehwag (capt), 3 Gautam Gambhir, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Rohit Sharma/Suresh Raina, 6 Parthiv Patel (wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Irfan Pathan, 10 Vinay Kumar/Zaheer Khan, 11 Umesh Yadav

Sri Lanka has no reason to make too many changes. The only batsman with a question over his place is Lahiru Thirimanne and he didn't get to bat in the previous match. Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekara are Sri Lanka's first-choice fast bowlers. With Thisara Perera turning in a Man-of-the-Match presentation in Sydney and Farveez Maharoof making a superb comeback, Sri Lanka could again go in with a pace-heavy attack.

Sri Lanka: (probable) 1 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Dinesh Chandimal, 5 Lahiru Thirimanne, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Thisara Perera, 8 Farveez Maharoof, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Rangana Herath

Pitch and conditions

The Australian fast bowlers thrived at the Gabba, and the same surface will be used for Tuesday's game. There isn't good news on the weather front - thundershowers are predicted in the afternoon and evening.

Read more »