ICC T20 rankings: Champions Windies claim 2nd spot

Dubai, Oct 8: After being crowned T20 champions, West Indies have jumped to the second spot in ICC T20 rankings that was announced on Monday, after their 36-run win over Sri Lanka, which is headed by Sri Lanka despite their loss to Darren Sammy's XI, while India is placed third in the team rankings. 

Having entered the tournament with a No 7 ranking, West Indies went on to claim the second spot, as they are placed above India in the ICC T20 team rankings.
While India are placed third, Pakistan are placed in the sixth spot after their loss to Sri Lanka in the semifinal.

Meanwhile, the teams England, South Africa and Australia have been placed fourth, fifth and seventh in ICC Team T20 rankings, atfer their ouster from the World T20 during the Super Eights stage.

ICC T20 Team Rankings

Team	Points	Ratings
Sri Lanka	1524	127
West Indies	1450	121
India	1322	120
England	1647	118
South Africa	1526	117
Pakistan	2088	116
Australia	1615	108
New Zealand	1261	97
Bangladesh	597	85
Ireland	659	82
Zimbabwe	306	44

The team rankings have also reflected on players' performance, as Marlon Samuels, Sunil Narine of West Indies have jumped 20 places in the batting and bowling rankings respectively.
Samuels' 56-ball 78 was placed at 18th in the rankings for batsmen, while he was ranked 9th in the all-rounders' list. With an amazing performance on Sunday, Samuels recorded his career-best rankings in all the three categories (batting, bowling and allround rankings)
New Zealand's Brendon McCullum heads the ICC T20 rankings for batsmen with 830, as Chris Gayle and Shane Watson (Australia) are placed second and third with 810, 799 points respectively. While India's Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli are the only Indians

ICC Player Rankings (Batsmen)
Brendon McCullum (NZ)     830
Chris Gayle  (WI)               810
Shane Watson (Aus)          799
Mahela Jayawardene  (SL)  775
Suresh Raina  (Ind)           741
David Warner  (Aus)          714
Eion Morgan  (Eng)           712
Tillakaratne Dilshan (SL)   699
Kumar Sangakkara (SL)    687
Martin Guptill (NZ)            686
Virat Kohli (Ind)                686

ICC T20 rankings (Bowlers)
Saeed Ajmal (Pak)            770
Ajantha Mendis (SL)         762
Graeme Swann (Eng)       750
Nathan McCullum (NZ)     690
Johan Botha (SA)             674
Shane Watson  (Aus)       665
Shahid Afridi  (Pak)          656
Mohammad Hafeez (Pak) 655
Abdur Razzaq  (Pak)        654
Dale Steyn (SA)              652

ICC T20 Rankings (All-rounders)
Shane Watson (Aus)                531
Mohammad Hafeez (Pak)         350
Shahid Afridi (Pak)                   294
Shakib al Hasan (Ban)             270
Chris Gayle (WI)                      266
David Hussey  (Aus)                241
Darren Bravo  (WI)                 238
Jacques Kallis (SA)                  234
Marlon Samuels (WI)              229
Angelo Mathews (SL)              229

Preview: Caribbean Kings or Sri Lankan Lions?

Colombo, Oct 6: Here are two teams desperate for a global trophy. The wait for one of them will end on Sunday with the ICC World Twenty20 2012. The other has to swallow the disappointment and carry on their quest for ICC silverware.

Sammy and Mahela posing with World T20 tophy

Sri Lanka and West Indies have long waited on the international cricket scene to stamp their authority with a World Cup. But Sri Lanka kept faltering at the final hurdle while West Indies have just made up the numbers in those events.

Now the times have changed. With Chris Gayle at the fore, West Indies are set to regain lost ground. Their last major success came in 2004 with the Champions Trophy in England. For Sri Lanka it takes them back to 1996 when Arjuna Ranatunga lifted the World Cup in Lahore, beating Australia.

But since 1996, Sri Lanka have been the most consistent team in world tournaments. They reached the 2007 and 2011 World Cup finals only to return home as the second best team. In between those two, they again could not clear the final obstacle in ICC World T20 in England in 2009, losing to Pakistan.

On Sunday, in front of adoring home fans at R Premadasa Stadium, Mahela Jayawardene and his men will have a great chance to end 16 years (in between India and Sri Lanka were joint winners of Champions Trophy in 2002) of drought. But one man is capable of spoiling that dream. That man is none other than Gayle.

In his own style, the left-handed explosive opener has said the Cup is theirs. "World Cup is definitely ours, sorry Sri Lanka, but I think it is our World Cup. The support will be more for West Indies on Sunday. We love Sri Lanka, but sorry, it is going to be West Indies all the way. The final will be a good final but we will be on top, definitely," Gayle said after leading West Indies to a crushing 74-run over Australia in the semi-final on Friday night.
These two teams had met in the Super Eights and that was won by Sri Lanka. Past results, history and crowd will have no effect on a Super Sunday as it will be a fresh start with both outfits charged up for the final.

There are interesting mini-battles inside the big one. Gayle will be up against Lasith Malinga and Ajantha Mendis. This looks a mouth-watering prospect. Sunil Narine will be bowling to some of the best batsmen who play spin very well.

It is difficult to pick a winner from this but the presence of Gayle certainly tilts the scale towards the Caribbean side. But if the big man fails on the big day, they could be bidding goodbye to the Cup.

Ind-Pak semi-final most exciting match : Simon Taufel

Australian umpire Simon Taufel, who is set to stand in his final international game during Sunday's ICC World T20 final, termed the 2011 World Cup semifinal between India versus Pakistan as the "most exciting match" of his career.

Umpire Simon Taufel

"When I look back, there are many memorable moments but I can instantly remember the India versus Pakistan game at Mohali during the 2011 World Cup semifinal as the most exciting one," Taufel said during his interaction with media at the Premadasa Stadium on Saturday.
"The Prime Ministers of the two countries were present and it was more than just a game of cricket. I believe there were two finals in 2011 World Cup. The semifinal and the final," he added.

The 41-year-old Australian said that the "toughest match" of his career was a Test match between India and England in Mumbai which were the "longest five days as I was not well. I was bitten by the stomach bug in Mohali. It was a physical as well as mental Test."
There are many challenges for an international umpire and Taufel cited a few examples when he had to be at his best.

"Shane Warne bowling 25 overs on the fifth day at a Test match in Adelaide or Murali bowling 25 overs on the final day at Kandy were some of the big moments."

Taufel also had a horrifying experience when he was a witness to the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team bus and match officials near the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore back in March, 2009 and, by his own admission, the incident changed his priorities in life.

"That day did change me personally and I think my family is happy to see me sitting over here. I learnt a lot on that day and it helped me focus on the priorities of my life. After that incident, I had to make a difficult phone call to my wife," Taufel recollected.

But he didn't forget to mention that he had "very fond memories" having officiated in a lot of international matches in Pakistan.

Taufel, who will now be an ICC High Performance Manager for Umpires, said that he is happy to go out on his own terms.
"I always wanted to finish at an ICC event and go out on my own terms. I wanted to have my family here when I would walk away from on-field international umpiring. People and players would expect that I have a good game tomorrow."

Asked about what it takes to make a good umpire, Taufel replied, "It requires all kinds of personal skills, man management, technique. It really is a different challenge. There is a responsibility towards broadcasters, to the people who watch it on TV."
Taufel didn't want to answer a question on the uniform implementation of DRS.
"I don't wish to comment. It is a matter that Dave (Richardson) is taking up with the various cricket committees. My job is to see how technology has a role in the game and also develop and educate future match officials.

"We want to work with national cricket boards to realise their potential.
"We would have a 6-8 months course on a lot of topics like communications and management. We are trying to prepare a strategic plan draft which would allow all top level domestic umpires to allow a career path through to international cricket."
The Australian informed that he had a some fruitful discussions with officials of both BCCI and Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) on "merit based systems and how they can use video technology at grounds".

"It was about passing on personal experience and trying to assist their top domestic umpires telling them what to do."
Taufel also thanked another former ICC Elite Panel umpire Darrell Hair and others from New South Wales.

"I started as a Grade-V umpire and in those days we used to get 60 dollars (per match) which helped me pay my university fees."

For a number of years now, India haven't been able to produce ICC Elite Panel umpires, but the Aussie said that it would happen very soon.

"I have no doubt in my mind that India will be able to produce some good Elite Panel umpires as they have a lot of good umpires."
© Cricbuzz (with inputs from agencies)

Lady luck didn't favour Dhoni in WT20: Vengsarkar

Lady luck did not favour the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Indian squad that resulted in its exit at the Super Eights stage of the ongoing ICC World Twenty20, said former captain Dilip Vengsarkar.

"Luck did not favour us. The T20 format is such that luck plays a more important role than skill," the former chief selector said today.

India, who had clinched the inaugural World T20 in South Africa in 2007, were knocked out of the contest in Sri Lanka on inferior net-run rate after finishing with the same number of wins as group toppers Australia and Pakistan.

Dhoni and his men failed in their endeavour to better the net run-rate of the team as compared to Pakistan's, despite eking out a narrow one-run win in their concluding Super Eights game against South Africa.

Asked whether the absence of an additional front-line spinner to bowl in tandem with R Ashwin had handicapped the Indians, Vengsarkar said there was no point in debating whether this or that could have happened.

Another former skipper and ex-coach Ajit Wadekar was of the opinion that India could have fielded an additional spinner in Harbhajan Singh in the tie against the Proteas.

"Probably we could have played an additional spinner with Harbhajan Singh's return (to the team). But there are so many ifs and buts in cricket. I felt the team deserved to be at least in the semi-finals," said Wadekar.

Wadekar bemoaned the lack of good starts provided by Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir.
"The opening combination did not click well," he said.
With his wry humour, Wadekar also took a dig at hosts Sri Lanka for swapping captains mid-way to avoid regular skipper Mahela Jayawardene in copping a second punishment for the team`s tardy over-rate.

"It's a good example of captaincy by rotation," he said, referring to Kumar Sangakkara leading the side in their last Super Eights game instead of Jayawardene.

Asked who he was backing to lift the championship with the elimination of India, Wadekar said "West Indies".
"When that man (Chris) Gayle gets going there is none to stop him," he remarked.

Raina's controversial tweet

India's Suresh Raina, disappointed with the team's ouster from World T20 as they failed to make it to the semi-finals of the mega event tweeted on his micro-blogging site in a controversial manner after Sri Lanka defeated the arch-rivals on Thursday.

Raina Tweets for Rival Pakistan

Raina, following the match at home, tweeted on his micro-blogging page, twitter as the arch-rivals would also return to their respective homes in a matter of two days after India failed to qualify for the semifinals.
According to a report on Mid-day, the tweet which had strong words that hit the Pakistan players hard, was removed later, as it would lead to a controversy.

"Ek do din late gaye ghar !!!! Woh bhi besharam ki tarah Gaye... Bye bye Pakistan!" Raina tweeted on his micro-blogging page.

However, on Friday he clarified that the tweet was posted by his nephew. He wrote: "Smart phones r dangerous. Discovered it last night after my nephew posted random tweets. I'm a sportsman and would never disrespect."

"Though I already deleted it, I felt its better to clarify. To all those who r upset, I'm sorry. I'm not one to show disrespect," the left-hander wrote in another tweet.

Moreover, Raina also tweeted that he is happy being back after a long time and his excited was quite visible in the tweet as he was thrilled to join his IPL team for Champions League T20 which starts from Oct 13.

"Back home after so many days.. Can't wait to Join The Chennai Super kings For CL.." tweeted Raina, who has been a crucial member of the Chennai team ever since the first edition of IPL.

India having won the last Super Eights clash against South Africa by one-run, couldn't qualify for the semifinals, as they had to restrict Proteas to 121 or less in the last game, in order to earn a semifinal berth as India's net run-rate was less than Pakistan.

Possible reasons behind India`s exclusion from World T20

So in the end India beat South Africa who had noting to lose, all that blood, seat and tears paid off. Despite India's win they have failed to qualify for the semis as they needed to win by a margin of 30 runs, an excellent performance by the South African batsmen and a brilliant one by the Indian batsmen, bowling once against failed India, they were looking good in the beginning but in the middle and end they got poor

Reasons Why India is out of World T20 2012

1 . Giving Preferance to Rohit Sharma over in-form Manoj Tiwary
Indian Captain MS Dhoni has not given a single chance to Manoj Tiwary even when Rohit failed so many times before world cup and during the world cup. He Gave Oppertunity to Harbhajan Singh and Piyush Chawla but didnt thought to rest Gautam Gambhir and give chance to Manoj Tiwary.

2. Failure to put up Big totals
Indian team suffered to put up a big score in the tournament even after having such a strong line up which always perform in IPL and is known to be  T20 expert. The reason behind this failure is Sehwag and Gambhir. Not even single time they tried to stay at wicket for 5 overs.. they have capability to hit the bowlers all round the park and they were biggest asset for India in the tournament but they failed to give a good start and result is India is no  more in race to win the trophy

3. Politics in team 
Virender Sehwag and Mahinder Singh Dhoni ... Two Biggest Name of World Cricket...One has got Power to remove other and thats the reason India lost very imporatant game against Australia. Every Expert ( Like Sunil Gavasker , Wasim Akram and Sourav Ganguly ) Suggested to keep Sehwag alive in the team as he is one of those batsmen which can create fear in opposition and that could have helped India to score big. The News about Rift between Sehwag and Dhoni kept comming into news and that might have disturbed the whole environment of dressing room

4. Too much dependence on Virat Kohli
In last 12 Innings Virat Kohli has made 8 FIFTY plus scores and thats most by any batsmen in this short span. Whenever he came and score he made sure that India go through and win the match. This was Expected and he lived upto expectations. The only Match which India lost in the tournament was against Australia and in that match Virat failed to score big.. and guess what ..whole  team failed that day too... Dont you think Indian batting line up is completely depending on Virat ? Why Rohit Sharma is in team even after failing to score ? MS Dhoni should answer this question

5. Why MS Dhoni dont promote himself over Rohit Sharma in batting order ?
No Doubt MS Dhoni is one of the finest batsmen Indian team have at the moment..He Knows Rohit is out of form then why dont he promote himself up the order? In yesterday`s match he came down the order
and scored quick runs which India needed in the middle overs when Rohit Sharma was wasting balls ..Rohit made 25 runs in 27 balls whereas MS Dhoni made 23 in just 13 balls.. almost equal runs but in half
the number of balls...dont you think the extra 30 runs which India needed could have been scored in those 14 extra balls  ?

6. Too Slow Batting against Pakistan
Indian team Knew they are lagging in the NRR because of loss against Australia...but still they played slow and reached the target slowly with 8 wickets in hand which didnt matter much in the end...they could have finished the match before 2 or 3 overs but they failed.

Preview: India's task, win or go home

Colombo, Oct 1: India brace up for another big day at ICC World Twenty20 2012. Tuesday will decide whether MS Dhoni and his men stay in Sri Lanka or pack their bags and head home.

Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma in Practice session

When pushed to the wall, this Indian side has the ability to bounce back. They showed it against Pakistan on Sunday night. Again, they have to be at their best against South Africa on Tuesday night in the final game of the Super Eights.

By the time captain Dhoni walks out for the toss at the R Premadasa Stadium, he would have known the result of the earlier match in the day involving Australia and Pakistan.

Australia will do India a huge favour by beating Pakistan. If that happens, then India's task is simple. They have to just beat South Africa without bothering about the net run rate.

But in case Pakistan get the better of Australia, then Indian team management will be busy with their calculators as to how they could edge out Pakistan on net run rate.

India need to be wary of South African pacemen Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel. The duo has troubled Indian batsmen in the past and they will be raring to go again.

The semi-final door is also not completely shut for South Africa. If they win, they have a slim chance of making the last-four. However, if Pakistan emerge victorious against Australia then they are knocked out even before the start of the match.

South Africa, who have always struggled against spin, will be put to a big test by Indian slow bowlers. Harbhajan Singh might return to the side to strengthen spin department.
It is a big day for India. Another do-or-die clash it is.
Will India be able to reach the semi-final of World T20 for the second time since 2007?

Squads
India: MS Dhoni (captain and wicketkeeper), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Irfan Pathan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Zaheer Khan, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Piyush Chawla, Harbhajan Singh, Ashok Dinda.

South Africa: AB de Villiers (captain and wicketkeeper), Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Johan Botha, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Jacques Kallis, Richard Levi, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Justin Ontong, Wayne Parnell, Robin Peterson, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe.

Umpires: Kumar Dharmasena (Sri Lanka) and Rod Tucker (Australia)

Third umpire: Ian Gould (England)

Fourth umpire: Richard Kettleborough (England)

Match Referee: Jeff Crowe (New Zealand)

Match starts at 7.30 PM IST. Also playing on Monday, at 3.30 PM IST, Australia Vs Pakistan

Catch live ball by ball commentary, regular updates, reports here on Cricket Scores Updates

India vs Pakistan - World T20

Today's Match

Ind v Pak [Super Eight Group 2] - Live 
R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

Toss Information

Pakistan won the toss, elected to bat.

India Team

V Sehwag, G Gambhir, V Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, SK Raina, RG Sharma, MS Dhoni (c) (w), IK Pathan, R Ashwin, L Balaji, Z Khan

Pakistan Team

Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Nazir, Nasir Jamshed, Kamran Akmal (w), Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Umar Gul, Yasir Arafat, Saeed Ajmal, Raza Hasan

Pitch & Other info

¤ Pakistan have made no changes and India have made 2 changes, Harbhajan and Chawla are out, Sehwag and Balaji are in

¤ Yuvraj's form was also questioned by Ravi Shastri and Sanjay Manjrekar as since Yuvraj's arrival India have only won 2 T20I, they lost the one against New Zealand at home before the start of the T20 World Cup, the one with Australia and the warm-up against Pakistan which was not a T20I, here's the toss

¤ Lowest Team Total for Pakistan in Twenty20 World Cup matches is 152/10 against India in New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg 2007/08

¤ Highest Team Total against Pakistan in Twenty20 World Cup matches is 197/7 by Australia in Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet 2010

¤ Highest Team Total for Pakistan in Twenty20 World Cup matches is 191/6 against Australia in Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet 2010

¤ Lowest Team Total for India in Twenty20 World Cup matches is 135/10 against Australia in Kensington Oval, Bridgetown 2010

¤ Highest Team Total against India in Twenty20 World Cup matches is 200/6 by England in Sahara Stadium, Kingsmead, Durban 2007/08

¤ Highest Team Total for India in Twenty20 World Cup matches is 218/4 against England in Sahara Stadium, Kingsmead, Durban 2007/08

¤ This will be the most anticipated clash of the super-8

¤ Hello and welcome, a must win game for India which is against their arch rivals Pakistan, Pakistan did win the warm-up game against India so keeping that in mind would give the upper hand to them, Pakistan also have 2 points so if they win this game then they will leave India and South Africa behind. By the way Australia have easily qualified as South Africa lost. Dhoni was mostly criticised by going with only 4 bowlers including an all-rounder, he used 5 bowlers in the game against Australia, they badly lost that game, it will be another tough decision for Dhoni and the management, whether to choose Sehwag or not. The match will start soon, stay tuned

Dhoni defends Sehwag's omission, says can't justify every move

MS Dhoni, India's captain, has defended his decision to leave Virender Sehwag out and play three specialist spinners against Australia, saying tournaments like World Twenty20 merited a "horses for courses" policy. Dhoni's omission of Sehwag was widely criticised - both after the toss when the team was announced, and after the match - and his team-mate, Suresh Raina, admitted that it would not be "easy" to get through the remaining Super Eights games without Sehwag in the XI.

Dhoni said after the defeat: "Regarding why Sehwag [was left out], we had only two options [in terms of players]. I don't like to take individual names, I think in such tournaments we should go 'horses for courses'. To exactly justify why a particular player was dropped is difficult."

Raina told the BBC: "For me I think Virender Sehwag can be very dangerous. I hope he'll play the next two games. I think it won't be easy to play the next two games without him."

Friday's match was India's first Super Eight match of this World Twenty20: they scored 140, which Australia chased inside 15 overs. Irfan Pathan, opening in Sehwag's absence, scored 31 off 30, failing to kick on after a good start. Piyush Chawla, effectively the extra spinner accommodated through Sehwag's omission, went for 14 runs in one over. The same combination, though, had worked well in the group game against England, which India won by 90 runs, with Chawla taking 2 for 13 against the hapless English batsmen who had little experience of quality spin.

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar lamented the absence of a settled opening partnership and the fear factor that Sehwag brings. "Gautam Gambhir is a very good street smart cricketer," Gavaskar told NDTV. "He has a very good understanding with Sehwag and so breaking their partnership was not a good idea. He (Sehwag) has a fear factor against the opposition."

Gavaskar was more severe about Chawla's incusion. "Piyush Chawla, since the 2011 World Cup, has not figured anywhere in the Indian team," he said. "Has not even been in the back of any selector's mind. Why not go with Amit Mishra? What's wrong with Rahul Sharma? I sit in the commentary box and I look at his [Chawla's] face and I hope to God, 'Let him not be hit for a boundary.'" He also said Chawla's body language "does not inspire confidence".

Kevin Pietersen, now a pundit with the host broadcasters Star Cricket, was also disappointed Sehwag didn't play. "I feel sorry for Viru," Pietersen said. "I know Australia would rather face an Indian side without Sehwag in it."

However, Sourav Ganguly, another former India captain, said he could understand why the move was made. "I'm not surprised with that," Ganguly said. "It's the right decision, looking at the context of the game and the nature of the pitch. India have gone in with five bowlers and three spinners … It's a good decision, but a one-off decision I'm sure. Sehwag will come back, it's horses for courses."

Ganguly and Pietersen were speaking before the start of the game.

Preview: India face Pakistan in do-or-die game

Colombo, Sep 29: India, demolished by Australia on Friday night, will have to be at their best when they lock horns with arch rivals Pakistan on Sunday night in Super Eights of the ICC World Twenty20 2012. India have not won a World T20 Super Eight game since 2007 and they have to break that losing streak to stay in Sri Lanka.

This is a must-win game for MS Dhoni-led side. If they have to keep their hopes alive of securing a semi-final spot, they have to defeat Pakistan by a big margin. And that is not enough, they have to triumph over South Africa too on October 2 to know their fate.

Indian bowlers were clueless against Australian opener Shane Watson and David Warner. Australia coasted to nine-wicket victory with 31 balls to spare.
This heavy defeat has worsened India's net run rate which is -2.506. To occupy one of the top two slots in Group 2, India have to win both their games and have to improve net run rate.
Going by the form of Piyush Chawla in the previous game, it is almost certain that he has played his last match for India in this tournament.

Virender Sehwag who was left out of Australia clash will return to bolster the batting. Irfan Pathan looked out of place as an opener in both games (England and Australia).
It is still not know whether Dhoni sticks to his strategy of playing five bowlers or go back to seven-four plan.

Dhoni said: "It is always good to be in a situation where you have to win every game. There is no scope for complacency and that is a good thing. You have to be at your best throughout. Hopefully we can go out and express ourselves without worrying too much about the result."
Pakistan are on win away from securing a semi-final spot. From a hopeless position against South Africa, they snatched victory. They will be in a confident mood for this high-voltage clash.
Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez has said that the warm-up win against India before the start of World T20 had given them confidence.

"Everyone is looking forward to the India match. Since we have won against them in the warm-up game, it will give us confidence going into the match. That victory has been a real morale booster for us and the boys are upbeat and raring to go against India," said Hafeez.
Fast bowler Umar Gul said: "When we play India there is lot of pressure because our people always want us to win. The same is the case in India, so there will be pressure on both teams. Anything can happen. We will give it our best shot. India is a very good team, but we know each other's strong and weak points. In T20 it all depends on how a team plays on that day."
India and Pakistan have met twice before in World T20. In 2007, India won both clashes. In the league stage, the match ended in a tie and India won via a bowl-out. In the final, India defeated Pakistan by five runs to win the trophy.

Squads:
India: MS Dhoni (captain and wicketkeeper), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Irfan Pathan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Zaheer Khan, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Piyush Chawla, Harbhajan Singh, Ashok Dinda.

Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez (Captain), Imran Nazir, Nasir Jamshed, Kamran Akmal (wicketkeeper), Asad Shafiq, Shoaib Malik, Abdul Razzaq, Shahid Afridi, Yasir Arafat, Umar Akmal, Saeed Ajmal, Raza Hasan, Umar Gul, Mohammad Sami, Sohail Tanvir.

Umpires: Rod Tucker (Australia) and Richard Kettleborough (England)
Third umpire: Kumar Dharmasena (Sri Lanka)
Fourth umpire: Ian Gould (England)
Match Referee: Jeff Crowe (New Zealand)
Match starts at 7.30 PM IST. Also playing on Sunday, at 3.30 PM IST, Australia Vs South Africa
Catch live ball by ball commentary, regular updates, reports here on Cricket Scores Updates

Super 8 tie against India, a mini final: Hussey

Colombo, Sep 28: Australia's veteran Michael Hussey feels the Super Eights clash against MS Dhoni-led team would be a mini-grand final at the ongoing World T20 in Sri Lanka.

Australia, who have progressed to the Super Eights after thrashing Ireland and winning the rain-hit clash against West Indies, hope the first game would be a fitting start to the Super Eights, as they are facing Team India on Friday at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
Talking to the reporters, Michael Hussey said there is a lot of pressure especially when they are playing against India.

Mike Hussey

"The pressure and tension are only going to rise as we get closer to that India match because it's a huge game," Hussey said.
Team India, who are fresh after thrashing England by 90 runs, would definitely look to dominate as they are on a high with Harbhajan Singh and Piyush Chawla performing well.
Moreover, with the entire squad responding to the captain's call, they need to sort out a few issues in order to play their best XI while Aussies would face a lot of issues playing India as they are vulnerable against spin.
Hussey also felt a win against India in the Super Eights would ensure them a place in the semi-finals.

"If we can win that first one in the Super Eights, it does give you that confidence and that little buffer that you know you just need one out of the last two to get through. It's pretty much an early grand final really in the context of the tournament," he said.

MoM award is for my mother, friends: Harbhajan

Colombo, Sep 24: India's Harbhajan Singh, who was awarded the man of the match for his splendid 4/12 against England  in the final Group A tie at Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, to qualify for the Super Eights dedicated the award to his mother and close friends.

Harbhajan Singh, who returned to international cricket after a long break, for almost a year made a strong comeback, as he dismissed four English batsmen (Eoin Morgan, Jos Butler, Tim Bresnan and Graeme Swann) as India defeated England by 90 runs to finish as group winners.

Harbhajan Singh Roars

After the match, Harbhajan dedicated the award to his mother and close friends who supported him throughout his bad patch as that motivated him to make a strong comeback.
"It's been a hard year. Being out of the side. Other boys were doing really well, so it was really difficult for me to make a comeback," Harbhajan said.

"This award is for my mom and those who have stuck with me," he added.
The 32 year old also added that the wicket off his second international delivery on his comeback boosted his morale and it also made him stay focused throughout the game as he had not played international cricket for almost a year.

"For me it was an important game. I hadn't played international cricket for a full year. Getting a wicket first or second ball gives you a lot of confidence," he said.
Harbhajan, talking about T20 Cricket and how he had adapted to the shortest format of the game, said "In T20 cricket, it's important to just read the game. I have tried to cut down my run-up a bit.

"I was running in too fast, and struggling to find my areas. So I was consciously coming in off a short run, and slowly," said the off-spinner.
The off-spinner who made a strong comeback thanked all his friends and Essex team mates for supporting him throughout his bad phase, as he feels blessed to be back in the side wearing the team's jersey.

"This India short is everything for me. I don`t know what I would do if not playing for India. I would like to thank my friends and team-mates and the Essex (his English county side) people too."
With a splendid 4/12, Harbhajan has sent out a message clear, as he continues to be a core member in the team, even after a gap of 1 year, which shows that the off-spinner is not leaving any stone unturned especially during this tournament as he has got another opportunity to play for India.

WT20: Gayle reveals secret behind hitting sixes!

Colombo, Sep 21: The dangerous T20 batsman in the world, Chris Gayle, who is known for his huge hits to the stands has revealed the secret of hitting those huge sixes as he said that balance is the key for achieving perfection on the eve of West Indies' opening match against Australia at Premadasa Stadium on Thursday.

Gayle, who has hit 27 sixes in ICC World T20 so far including the first three editions, feels one can easily go for huge hits irrespective of the delivery, if the cricketer has good balance.
"The key thing is balance. You have to have good balance to be able to hit a lot of sixes. I put special emphasis, on my balance. You have to realise that bowlers aren't always going to make it easy for you," he said after a training session at Colts ground on Thursday.
The Jamaican who has been consistent in getting the huge ones and has topped the charts in IPL, Big Bash and Bangladesh Premier League for most sixes, said the secret behind hitting those big sixes is just strength.
"Bit of strength work, to be honest and once the ball is in your slot you go for it. I am sure everyone can hit a six these days. It doesn't seem so hard these days with everybody getting big bats. Clearing the boundary is easy. So it's one of those things - you try and get a start and once you are set, you can take advantage of the conditions once you get accustomed to all the bowlers," he added.
Gayle further added saying that the batsman has to be mentally prepared while going for such shots.
"You have to create the shots, so you have to make sure you do it well. So you have to be mentally prepared as well."
Talking about the team's clash against Australia on Saturday, Gayle said the team is quite confident, as they have the right balance.
"Look at our team - we can bat right down. Bowling-wise, we have spinners and fast bowlers. The key for us now is to get to the second round. And try and take it step by step. You don't want to wait around for too long before you play a game.
Gayle wary of the Australians, said the first match on Saturday would be vital.
"You want to get in it and make best use of the conditions. Sometimes you have to wait around for a week and that can get quite difficult. Try and get in the right frame of mind. The first game (against Australia) is vital. You don't want to play catch-up cricket in T20, so it's a very big match for us. It will also get our confidence going," he said.
When asked about his birthday plans, Gayle replied saying that he would celebrate it with the West Indies Women's cricket team!
"I will celebrate with West Indies women's team. But seriously, I will have a drink and sit quietly. May be, we will celebrate once we beat Australia."

Have to adapt quickly to T20 format: Dhoni

Colombo: Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Wednesday, conceded that switching from Test cricket to Twenty20 format was difficult but his team has the experience of making the adjustment for the T20 World Cup which begins on September 18.

India played two Test matches against New Zealand and a Twenty20 International against the same opponents before embarking for the T20 World Cup and Dhoni said it was not easy to switch from the longest to the shortest format.

"It's quite difficult to switch formats, especially from Test to T20. The way you approach a game is different in all the three formats and you have to adjust. But it is not that you cannot do it, only thing is that your basics will have to be right," he told reporters after arriving here for the mega event.

"But as professional cricketers we have to do that and players like Virender Sehwag have been playing in three formats and doing well," he said.

Dhoni, who led India to title in the first edition in 2007, said that part-timers, like come-back man Yuvraj Singh, will have to play a big role if India will have to lift the trophy once again.

"We are the world champions in 50-over format and it is important we do well in the Twenty20 World Cup. We have to be at our best in this format and we don't have time to recover as compared to Test or ODI," said Dhoni.

"We are a team who relied strongly on batting. But some of the top batsmen play the role of part-timers. In T20 cricket, part-timers are very important. Our part-timers have been doing well. So we have a very good team," he said.

Dhoni refused to answer whether Yuvraj Singh's inclusion in the team after recovering from a rare germ cell cancer was an emotional decision or on form but said that star batsman was an asset in the side.

"I can't answer that that question relating to selection of the team. It's a selection matter. But I am happy that he is in the team as he is a champion player and a match-winner. He also brings a balance in the team as in T20 cricket you don't include a fifth bowler," said Dhoni.

"We also don't have a genuine all-rounder so we have rely on part-time bowlers who are specialist batsmen. Yuvraj is one and we have Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina. They will chip in an over each and that makes a lot easier for us," he said.

Asked about the conditions in Sri Lanka, Dhoni said that the pitches in the island country have changed in recent years and his side will have to analyse them.

"I feel the conditions in Sri Lanka have changed a lot in the past years. When we came here in 2005, the wickets were different and when we came here last time, the wickets were different. The spinners did not get much help from the pitches in the five ODIs and one T20 match we played here in our last tour," he said.

"For example, if a ground is hosting many matches, then it will slow down and the spinners will get help. So we have to see the conditions and plan accordingly."

He also warned his players not to get complacent against Afghanistan against whom India open their campaign on September  19.

"We respect all our opponents and we cannot be complacent. In international cricket, no side can take the opposition team lightly," he said.

India play two warm-up games before the tournament -- against Sri Lanka on September 15 and against Pakistan on September 17 -- and coach Duncan Fletcher said that would be enough for the preparation for the tournament.

"We played a T20 match in Chennai (against New Zealand on Tuesday) and though we lost it was a good experiment. We now have two warm up matches and that should be enough for our preparation," he said.

"It's though difficult to switch formats. When you were playing Test cricket you won't think much of a wide ball but you switch to ODI or T20 you will suddenly find that a delivery just off the leg or off stump will be a wide ball. It can be difficult for a while to switch on the formats."

Foreign media on Yuvraj Singh's return to cricket pitch

Yuvraj Singh wound up on the losing side when he played for India against New Zealand in a Twenty20 international in Chennai this week, but that mattered much less than the fact of his being there at all.

It was the 31-year-old Indian all-rounder’s first match since last November. Since then, he has received a diagnosis of and treatment for mediastinal seminoma, a rare germ-cell tumor between his lungs.

Greeted with roars by a large crowd that included his mother, Yuvraj bowled two overs of his slow left-arm spin, then came into bat with India chasing New Zealand’s total of 167 from its 20 overs.

Within a few minutes, he had struck New Zealand’s star spinner, Daniel Vettori, for a magnificent six, and there was a further spectacular blow from medium-pacer Jacob Oram as the contest came to a climax. But Yuvraj was unable to complete the full Hollywood ending, getting outbowled by James Franklin for 34 in a final over that ended with India one run short.

“We lost a game that we should have won, but for me personally it was a big emotional moment to get on the field,” said Yuvraj, who added that “I had tears in my eyes when we were fielding. Luckily, the cameras did not catch it.”

Yuvraj’s treatment included three sessions of chemotherapy at the Indiana University Medical Center in Indianapolis, where he was a patient of Dr. Lawrence Einhorn, who led the team that treated the cyclist Lance Armstrong and saved his life in 1996.

“Maybe I had to come back to it this way and finish the book,” said Yuvraj, admitting to having read only half of Armstrong’s first book, “It’s Not About The Bike.”

Yuvraj said before his previous scheduled start — a rained-out Twenty20 match last Saturday — that returning to the game “is like starting a new life.”

“A few months ago,” he said, “I had trouble climbing four steps, now I can’t wait to take the field.”

While the full story of his recovery is to be told in a three-part television series, part two of his cricket career should rapidly acquire some new chapters as he takes part in the World Twenty20, starting next week in Sri Lanka.

The Indian bowler Harbhajan Singh said, “Now that is what we call a comeback.” But Yuvraj’s teammates will welcome him for reasons that go beyond good wishes for a sick colleague. He is the archetypal modern Indian cricketer: a thunderous hitter perfectly suited to shorter forms of the game.

Those talents have made him rich — in 2009, Forbes magazine listed him as the third-highest earning cricketer in the world , with an income of $5.5 million, including $4 million from endorsements. That was before the immense boost to his marketability from his role in India’s 2011 World Cup triumph, where he was voted Player of the Tournament after being Man of the Match in four of its nine matches. (But he did not have a spot on the most recent Forbes list .)

There is also a certain swagger about him, which in 2010 earned him a place alongside Floyd Mayweather Jr. and LeBron James, among others, on The London Daily Telegraph list of the 10 largest egos in sport . The only other cricketer on that list was England’s South-African born batsman Kevin Pietersen, an old rival.

Pietersen has little regard for Yuvraj’s spin bowling, which he has described as “filth” and “pie-chucking.” But Yuvraj dismissed him twice for low scores when England visited India in 2008, and Pietersen has never quite shaken off the suspicion that he is vulnerable to modest left-arm spin.

Yuvraj is not cricket’s first cancer survivor. The Australian captain, Michael Clarke, had two low-grade skin cancers removed from his face in 2006.

The South African batsman Dave Callaghan, who played One Day Internationals in the 1990s after recovering from testicular cancer, said Yuvraj would be better in his return. “The tough times will make him far stronger as an individual, and with his carefree approach to the game, it could be a lethal combination.”

It remains to be seen whether this extra drive enables Yuvraj to achieve one important remaining ambition: mastering five-day test cricket. His record in the longest game is modest, with only 37 matches for India and three scores of more than 100 since his debut in 2000.

As a supposed egotist, he was highly ungratified when the former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar called him “one of the all-time greats in 50 over cricket.”

“I am very far away from greatness,” said Yuvraj, whose father, Yograj Singh, played one test for India before becoming a prominent film actor. “Tell me, who remembers a one-day cricketer?”

Those who were in Chennai on Tuesday will certainly remember that day, but its charismatic central figure clearly feels he still has more to prove

Yuvraj gives us the right kind of balance: Dhoni

Yuvraj Singh set to rock in world T20

Chennai, Sep 12: By performing well in his comeback game post a serious illness, Yuvraj Singh can afford to be his normal self as the pressure is now off his head, says India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Yuvraj played an aggressive 34-run cameo in India's unsuccessful chase against New Zealand in the second Twenty20, Tuesday night.

"From tomorrow, he can do whatever he wants to. It's just about giving that individual a bit of space so that he can think about what he needs to do. Especially given that he is playing after 10 months, you will put pressure on him because he doesn't know where he stands. Now that he has done well, he can do whatever he wants," Dhoni said after a narrow one-run defeat.

Dhoni said Yuvraj apart from his batting, gives the side a good balance by contributing with his spin bowling.

"It was a big game for him. All the eyes were on him. It was good to see him on the field. I personally feel that he gives us the right kind of balance we need.

"Of course he is not someone who will bowl all four overs in a T20 game but I can use his variations. If you see our bowling line up, we have to play with four specialist bowlers and the fifth bowler will be all these part timers," he said.

Dhoni said a player may have to encounter such problems but the key was to forget it when you enter the field.

"Once you go onto the field you don't think about all these things. I have always believed that if some of these things happen, you should try to keep it simple. You will get in and play big knocks. We all know his batting is among the best in the world so I am really happy for him."

Talking about the defeat, the skipper said it was disappointing but they have taken a lot of positives from it like the fast bowlers doing well and the good form of young guns such as Virat Kohli.

Dhoni said the way Balaji bowled towards the end was a good sign for India ahead of the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka.

"As far as the team's mood is concerned, quite disappointed with the loss but lots of positives from this game. The match didn't go exactly go according to the plan. But I think overall it was a good game. The fast bowlers gave us a very good start.

"McCullum batted really well in the middle overs where he took our spinners on and made it quite difficult for us. After that Balaji bowled really well in death overs. That's a plus for us.

"Zak bowled well. Of course Irfan gave us those breakthroughs which were really important. To start off Virat had to open and I think he batted really well. It was good to see Yuvraj Singh come back and score some runs. And all these things were the positives but of course in this format it can happen," he said.

Dhoni said there was nothing he could differently to avoid defeat.

"What should've been done is very difficult to assess now. We used all the bowlers and I didn't want to use an off-spinner because the ball was coming on nicely. I tried everything," he said.

Dhoni denied that they experimented in this game ahead of the T20 World Cup but said they had to assess a few things before the big tournament.

"This was not an experiment. Viru was not fit so we had to make Virat open the innings. He (Sehwag) will come back into the side. It was important to see how Balaji was playing.

"He has done really well in the IPL season. Death overs have been a concern for us so we wanted to see who are our best bowlers. With Irfan, they are fighting for a slot. If Irfan is not playing, the balance of the team goes a bit haywire. I think Bala bowled really well in this game."

Dhoni also backed Rohit Sharma, who could not score a four, required for India's win in the last ball of the match.

"We planned to keep it till the end. We had two set batsmen. We reached a good position in the end but sometimes it doesn't work out. Rohit Sharma is among the big hitters that we have got down the order. With four runs from one ball you need the team's big hitter to take it on. Unfortunately he was not able to strike," he said.

Dressing room was boring without Yuvraj: Dhoni

Mumbai, Aug 17: Team India skipper MS Dhoni expressed his pleasure having Yuvraj back in the team as he said the dressing room missed Yuvraj Singh a lot and his presence would make it more livelier.

Dhoni, who was present at the T20 jersey launch, said that though Virat Kohli had taken up the responsibility, Yuvraj's absence was felt as he was not available for more than a year and a half, soon after the World Cup 2011 as he was diagnosed with a rare germ cell cancer, and the recovery process took more than 6 months as he resumed training recently.

"When Yuvraj was not there Virat had taken upon that job.

"We missed Yuvraj as a character in the dressing room apart from his batting skills. With him being back the atmosphere in the dressing room will become livelier again," he remarked.

Dhoni poured his heart out when he said the dressing room was really boring without Yuvraj, which showed how much the team and its skipper missed the flamboyant batsman.

"The dressing room was really boring without Yuvraj Singh the character, apart from his batting skills, said MS Dhoni

Yuvraj, who was also present at the launch of the new jersey said, he was feeling good at the present as he has got another chance to play for the country.

"I am feeling good. I have worked hard for the last two months. I am nervous. I never thought I will get another chance (to play for India). I feel as if it is the first game for me," said Yuvraj Singh.

With the stylish left-hander back in the team, the dressing room atmosphere is sure going to be great, as Dhoni and Co also missed Yuvraj to a great extent.