I will be happy to see Pakistanis in IPL: Chidambaram

Amid reports that Pakistani player Abdul Razzaq could appear for one of the IPL franchises, home minister P Chidambaram on Thursday said he would be happy to see some Pakistanis in action.

"I am speaking as a cricket lover... What I see on the television seems to be a good beginning," Chidambaram said when asked about the statement from IPL officials that Pakistani cricketers still had a chance to be part of the glitzy sporting event.

"Even if three, four or five Pakistani cricketers eventually play in some matches of IPL, I and several million cricket lovers would be happy," Chidambaram added.

Razzaq invited to play IPL

Pakistani allrounder Abdul Razzaq has become the focal point of a very bizarre twist to the 'Indian Premier League snubbing Pakistani players' controversy.

On Wednesday night, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Ijaz Butt told the Hindustan Times on record that IPL champions “Deccan Chargers had invited Razzaq to represent them” in IPL-III.

“I have asked him to get the letter of invitation on email and I’m expecting a copy of that tomorrow morning. I will then talk to our High Commissioner (in India) and have a word with Razzaq,” said Butt. “I will also follow this up with the franchisee, if need be.”

While no one from the Deccan Chargers responded to queries officially, IPL commissioner Lalit Modi told Hindustan Times that the Chargers “had no money to buy anyone”.

“They have exhausted everything on (West Indies pacer) Kemar Roach in the auction. Even if they had a slot, there's no money unless someone gets injured and is unavailable for the season. In that case, he could be replaced by someone else from the auction pool.”

When HT called Butt back with Modi’s statement, he was livid. “Are you accusing me of lying?” he asked. “I have double-checked and told you categorically that he has an invite to the IPL.”

But if the Chargers haven’t made the offer, then who has? Razzaq incidentally, was very much on the Kolkata Knight Riders shortlist, and apparently even met KKR skipper Sourav Ganguly in this regard in England, but they did not bid for him, using up all their allotted $750,000 to get Kiwi pacer Shane Bond.

There has been a groundswell of criticism in both India and Pakistan of the fact that no Pakistani player was picked at the January 19 auction. On Wednesday, Sports Minister MS Gill stated, “…I hope there will soon be an opportunity for these (Pakistani) boys to play some exciting cricket in India.”

Butt, incidentally, asked whether he would allow Razzaq to play if the invitation was genuine, said there would be no problem. “I had stated very clearly that if the IPL didn’t take our players this year, we would not send them for the event in future. In all fairness, the IPL should still apologise.”

But he added: “Why should we say no to any players going if they are invited? I never had any objection (to this year). And I don’t think our government will mind either. Remember, the IPL started it and not us. They invited our player.”

Dhoni heaps praise on bowlers

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni today singled out star performer Zaheer Khan for the team's series victory and said the bowlers did an excellent job on an unresponsive track in the second Test against Bangladesh.

"It was a difficult task to get wickets in this track, both for spinners and pacers. But all credit goes to the bowlers. They really put their best to get those 20 wickets, especially Zaheer's spell," Dhoni said after his team crushed the hosts by 10 wickets to clinch the series 2-0.

"The ball was getting old and the wicket was getting slower and slower. This is a reason we decided to bowl first in this wicket. If you bat first you need to score 600 plus or else you have to again come and bat. So it was tough but I think the bowlers did a terrific job," Dhoni said.

India beat Bangladesh by 10 wickets

India beat Bangladesh in Mirpur Test, win Series 2-0

India beat Bangladesh by 10 wickets in the second test match in Mirpur, to win the two-match Idea Cup test series 2-0. Zaheer Khan ripped through theBangladesh batting this morning, claiming seven wickets in the second innings.

Bangladesh resumed from their overnight score of 228/3, but their batsmen failed to match the pace of Zaheer Khan. He added four more wickets to his kitty thistoday. Zaheer took 7 wickets in the second innings and 10 wickets in the match.

For Bangladesh, Tamim Iqbal was the top scorer with 151, while Junaid Siddique made 55. Shahadat Hossain scored 40. Their team bowled out for 312. Among other Indian bowlers, Pragyan Ojha took 2 wickets, while Harbhajan took one.

Zaheer Khan became the fourth Indian bowler to claim 10 wickets in a test match away from home. Chetan Sharma, Venkatesh Prasad and Irfan Pathan (twice) were the other bowlers. This is the first time Zaheer has taken a 10-wicket haul in any test match.

Chasing a victory target of 2, India reached the target in just two balls. Ironically, the winnings runs did not come off the bat and they were extras (byes). Zaheer Khan was declared "Man of the Match" and "Man of the Series" for taking 15 wickets in two tests.

Scores: Bangladesh 233 & 312, India 544/8 dec & 2/0.

ICC appoints Beloff to hear BCCI's plea on one-year Kotla ban

The International Cricket Council on Sunday appointed Michael Beloff as the Appeals Commissioner to hear BCCI's plea against the one-year ban on New Delhi's Ferozeshah Kotla stadium.

"The ICC today announced that the Honourable Michael Beloff QC has been appointed to hear the appeal of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) against the decision of the ICC's General Manager - Cricket and ICC's chief referee that no international cricket would be played at the New Delhi ground until the end of December 2010," an ICC statement said.

"The matter will now proceed in accordance with the ICC's Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process and no further statement will be issued until after the matter has been decided," it said.

Chairman of the ICC Code of Conduct Commission Beloff is an experienced sports lawyer and sits frequently as an arbitrator in the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Earlier, ICC had decided that no international cricket will be staged at Kotla stadium for one year after a One-Day International between India and Sri Lanka was abandoned last month due to a dangerous pitch.

"David Richardson and Ranjan Madugalle had reached the decision following an investigation into the abandonment of a One-day International match between India and Sri Lanka on 27 December 2009," it said.

BCCI appeal against one-year Kotla stadium ban

The Board of Control for Cricket in India have appealed against the one-year ban imposed on Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in New Delhi after a dangerous pitch led to the abandonment of one-day international in the Indian capital last month.

Michael Beloff, chairman of the International Cricket Council's (ICC) Code of Conduct commission, will hear the Indian cricket board's appeal, the sport's governing body said in a statement on Sunday.

The fifth and final match of the series between Sri Lanka and India was called off after 23.3 overs due to a dangerous pitch, upon which the tourists had struggled to 83 for five.

Match referee Alan Hurst classified the strip as "unfit", the worst of six possible categories, attracting a suspension of the status to host international matches for a period between 12-24 months.

The ICC ruled last week that no international cricket could be staged at the stadium until the end of 2010 following an investigation by chief referee Ranjan Madugalle and cricket operations manager Dave Richardson.

"The matter will now proceed in accordance with the ICC's Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process," the statement said.

The stadium will, however, still host the four matches it was scheduled to stage during the World Cup, to be jointly hosted with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh from Feb. 19 to April 2, next year.

Dhoni refuses to take Bangladesh lightly

After Virender Sehwag's deriding statement against the host side, regular skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Saturday switched to damage control mode saying they will not take Bangladesh lightly in the second Test, beginning on Sunday.

Sehwag, who led the team in the first Test in absence of Dhoni, was blunt while saying that the Bangladesh was an "ordinary" side which cannot bowl India twice.

Asked whether Bangladesh can beat India in second Test, Dhoni said, "That is why they are playing. You should not take any side lightly in international cricket. At the end of the day it was the 10 balls that matters. There is no good reason why they (Bangladesh) should not take 20 wickets."

"If any side does not think that they can win, what is the point of playing. We don't think of losing and we always want to win. But we have lost matches against some good sides. So, anything can happen in cricket," he said at the pre-match press conference.

Dhoni however, said his side dominated the first Test match till the end after their batting collapse in their first innings.

"After the fourth day, frankly speaking everybody knew Bangladesh cannot win. Either We would win or the match could be a draw. Their bowlers did reasonably well in the first Test but they were supposed to that as an international side," he said.

Dhoni also said that Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir were gradually growing into world's best opening pair.

"There can be arguments on this but I feel that Viru (Sehwag) and Guati (Gambhir) are shaping up as the best opening pair in the world. They have given strong starts many a times. That is very important in Test matches in sub-continental pitches," he said.

"They have left-right combination and rotate the strike and singles are very important in Test cricket. They are different players but complement each other.

"Sehwag would try to hit early to put pressure on the bowlers. Gambhir would wait for a while though he would play shot if the ball comes at his areas. If Sehwag fires pressure is reduced on Gambhir," he said.

With his 116 in Chittagong in the first match, Gambhir became only the fourth cricketer in the world to have scored five tons in five consecutive Tests and Dhoni said if the spunky opener gets another hundred it would be a memorable moment for the team.

"I hope Gauti scores a century and that would be a proud moment for himself and for the team," he said.

Dhoni did not reveal the team composition for tomorrow's match but said he himself and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh are fit to play while VVS Laxman has been ruled out.

Dhoni also refused to divulge the details of the talk of some of senior Indian cricketers giving some financial help to national hockey players, saying, "That is confidential. I can't say anything."

Asked whether Bangladesh players lacked commitment from what he had seen them play in one-dayers and Test cricket, Dhoni said, "I don't think that there was lack of commitment."

"In One-dayers you can play your shots and think of scoring from every ball. But Test cricket is different. You have to hang on for periods of difficult time, remain at the crease for three-four hours to put up a good score for your bowlers to defend. It is about some two-three players toiling to score big," he added

Pakistan to get new cricket captain

Pakistan are to appoint a new captain after the tour of Australia next month, the country?s cricket chief said.

"This captain (Mohammad Yousuf) was for this series only and we will decide after the tour of Australia about the captain, we will change," Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt told the private ARY News channel.

Yousuf-led Pakistan were whitewashed 3-0 in the Test series against Australia earlier this month.

Pakistan had appointed Younus Khan captain for the tour of New Zealand in November-December last year but he pulled out to take rest, forcing the PCB to hand over the captaincy to Yousuf.

Following the New Zealand trip, Yousuf was retained for the Australia tour as Younus did not make himself available. Butt said the loss of Younus as captain was unfortunate.

"We did not change Younus. Unfortunately the sports committee of the parliament made him run away after they levelled match fixing allegations against him," Butt told the channel in an interview.

Younus resigned after the standing committee on sports alleged that the Pakistan team had thrown a match against Australia in the Champions Trophy in South Africa in September. Australia sneaked home by one run off the last ball to qualify for the semi-finals.

"How can someone fix a match on the last ball? Only a magician can do that and on this allegation Younus was mentally disturbed and resigned," Butt said.

Butt asked Younus to reconsider his decision and the player led the team against New Zealand in the five-match one-day series held in the United Arab Emirates in November last year.

Younus managed just 22 runs in three matches in Pakistan?s 3-2 defeat, a slump in form which led him to pull out of the New Zealand tour. "Younus was a good captain but he was hurt on the allegations and quit. Now we will soon decide about the change," said Butt.

Pakistan?s next Test assignment is in England where they play Australia in two Tests -- a series shifted out of Pakistan over security fears. They are due to play four Tests against England on the same tour.

Pakistan set Australia 275-run target in 1st ODI

Pakistan batsmen set a winning target of 275 runs for Australia in the first One-day International of the five-match Commonwealth Bank series here at the Gabba stadium on Friday.

After captain Mohammad Yousuf won the toss and elected to bat first, Pakistan were all out for 274 runs with two balls remaining.

Salman Butt and Kamran Akmal opened the innings and made 62 runs in 12.5 overs when the latter was caught by Michael Clarke off Shane Watson for 34. His 34-ball innings was laced with four boundaries.

Then came former captain Younis Khan and added 55 runs with Butt, who was caught behind by Brad Haddin off Doug Bollinger for an aggressive 72. He faced 81 balls and hit 12 fours.

However, captain Mohammad Yousuf was dismissed in a strange fashion, bowled by Bollinger and Pakistan lost three wickets for 123.

Later, Umar Ukmal and Shoaib Malik made significant contributions of 23 and 28, respectively

Younis batted very cautiously to score 46 from 74 balls with only one four.

But it was flamboyant Shahid Afridi who blasted a brisk 48 from only 26 balls. He smashed three sixes and five fours in his 32-minute stay at the crease.

After Afrid departed, the Australian bowlers wiped off the remaining two wickets for only five runs while allrounder Rana Naved-ul-Hasan remained not out on eight.

For Australia, Watson claimed four for 36, Clint McKay three for 61 and Bollinger two for 37.

IPL surrenders on Line of Control

India have fetched record prices, but there were no takers for the current world Twenty20 champions Pakistan.

That’s the message the third auction of the Indian Premier League sent out on Tuesday, when none of the 11 Pakistanis up for sale received any bids.

No, not even Shahid Afridi, the player of the tournament in the 2007 World Twenty20 and the man of match in both the semifinal and final of last summer’s T20 carnival.

No one would admit there was any directive of any sort to avoid bidding for Pakistani players. All Rajasthan Royals’ co-owner Shilpa Shetty would say was the franchises “were not convinced about their (the Pakistanis’) availability and that’s why did not want to take a risk.”

But privately, bidders admitted it was more than just visa hassles. “There was nothing official told but it was basically a pure business decision,” a franchise official told HT. “The IPL is a commercial proposition, owned by businessmen and no one wanted to risk upsetting the government.”

And Pakistan reacted angrily. PTI quoted Afridi as saying from Brisbane the way he saw it, “IPL and India have made fun of us and our country. We are the Twenty20 World Champions and the attitude of the franchisees was disappointing. I feel bad for the Indian people…”

All-rounder Abdul Razzaq indicated he saw the snub as a joint strategy between the IPL and the government to insult Pakistani players, while Pakistan Cricket Board chief Ijaz Butt told HT he was “shocked”.

“It’s not only shocking, but very disappointing as well. We were hoping that things would be all right and they had also confirmed that most of our players would be considered.”

He also said there were no visa issues with any of the 11 players. “We were given permission to travel to India from our foreign office and the ministry. All 11 Pakistani players in the IPL auction list had their papers ready and the sports minister in India was very kind to expedite things to ensure they were not troubled. I really don't know what went wrong, but it hurts.”

Meanwhile, the other issue that had a couple of top Indian players unhappy was how much players like Keiron Pollard and Shane Bond went for.

“It is quite possible that both Pollard and Bond went for almost as much, if not more, than some of the icon players,” said a player from Bangladesh. “And Roach, a complete unknown (he went for $720,000/Rs. 3.3 crore), must be laughing all the way to the bank.”

While Pollard and Bond both received the maximum open bid possible, of $750,000 (Rs. 3.43 cr), they were both ‘sold’ through tie-breaks, in which the bidding franchise wrote down a closed bid over and above the $750,000 and handed that over to IPL commissioner Lalit Modi.

Cricket-Gambhir smashes ton as India pad lead in first test

Gautam Gambhir completed his ninth test century as India reached 259-4 at lunch on the fourth day of the first test against Bangladesh in Chittagong on Wednesday.

The tourists, resuming on 122-1 overnight, lead by 260 runs after holding a one-run advantage after the first innings.

Gambhir reached his fifth century in five consecutive matches in grand style, charging Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan down the track for a long-on six.

He became only the fourth batsman to score centuries in five consecutive tests after Don Bradman, Jacques Kallis and Mohammad Yousuf. Bradman holds the record with six centuries in six tests.

The left-hander, who resumed his batting in the morning on 47, had a let off when Imrul Kayes dropped him on 55 at forward short leg off Shakib.

Debutant pacer Shafiul Islam ended Gambhir's innings on 116 for his first test wicket. Shahriar Nafees took the catch at third man to send back Gambhir, who faced 129 balls and struck 10 fours and a six.

Bangladesh had earlier got rid of nightwatchman Amit Mishra, caught by Tamim Iqbal off Mahmudullah for 50 off 70 balls, his maiden test fifty. Mishra, unbeaten on 24 overnight, clubbed six fours.

Rahul Dravid was the other batsman to be out in the morning for 24 with a direct throw by Shakib from short mid wicket.

At the break, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman were batting on five and nine runs respectively.

Mishra and pacer Zaheer Khan claimed three wickets each as Bangladesh were all out for 242 runs in their first innings.

Tendulkar dominated India's first innings of 243 runs with 105 not out, his 44th test century. Shakib (5-62) and Shahadat Hossain (5-71) shared all 10 wickets in the Indian innings.

Bangladesh all out for 242 against India

Bangladesh were dismissed just after tea for 242 in their first innings, just a run short of India's total, in the first cricket Test here Tuesday.

Bangladesh, riding on Mahmudullah (69) and Mushfiqur Rahim's (44) 108-run seventh wicket alliance, fought back to go for tea at 228 for eight but fell apart soon after.

Zaheer Khan (3-54) and Amit Mishra (3-65) were the wicket-takers.

After Zaheer and Ishant (2-47) ripped the Bangladesh batting with three quick wickets in the morning, Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur dug their heels, with the hosts losing only two wickets in the second session.

They in fact looked well poised to take the first innings lead but Mushfiqur's attempt to slog-sweep Mishra resulted in a top edge and Virendra Sehwag made no mistake in taking the catch a few minutes before tea.

Mishra soon got his second wicket when Shahadat Hossain holed out a catch to Yuvraj Singh at point.

Earlier, Zaheer and Ishant Sharma ran through the Bangladesh batting line-up to leave the hosts reeling at 118 for six at lunch.

Zaheer and Ishant (2-47) continued to be impressive on the third day as they extracted movement and bounce off the pitch to rattle the Bangladesh batting.

Resuming at 59 for three, Mohammad Ashraful (2) and Raqibul Hasan could only add nine runs before Ashraful edged an Ishant delivery to Rahul Dravid at first slip.

Skipper Shakib Al Hasan (17) paced up the scoring with four boundaries in the next four overs and just when he looked to settle down he slashed Zaheer over gully, only to be caught by Virender Sehwag.

Sreesanth came back to end Raqibul's resistance, having him caught behind.

Cricket-India v Bangladesh first test scoreboard

Scoreboard at lunch on the third day of the first test between India and Bangladesh at the Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium on Tuesday.

India 243 all out first innings (S. Tendulkar 105 not out,

V. Sehwag 52; S. Al Hasan 5-62, S. Hossain 5-71)

Bangladesh innings (overnight 59-3)
T. Iqbal b Zaheer 31
I. Kayes lbw b Zaheer 23
S. Nafees c Laxman b Ishant 4
M. Ashraful c Dravid b Ishant 2
R. Hassan c Karthik b Sreesanth 17
S. Hasan c Sehwag b Zaheer 17
M. Rahim not out 8
Mahmudullah not out 14
Extras (lb-1 n-1) 2
Total (six wickets, 36 overs) 118

To bat: S. Islam, S. Hossain, R. Hossain.

Fall of wickets: 1-53 2-58 3-58 4-68 5-89 6-98

Bowling : Zaheer 14-3-40-3, Sreesanth 7-1-32-1(n-1), Ishant
11-3-36-2, Mishra 4-1-9-0.

Bangladesh struggles after bright start

On a day when the light played truant, Bangladesh struggled at 59 for three in reply to India’s 243 in the first Test in progress at the Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium here on Monday. After openers Tamim Iqbal (31) and Imrul Kayes (23) shared a 53-run partnership, Indianspearhead Zaheer Khan (two for 32) and Ishant Sharma (one for 14) prised open the Bangladesh top-order when bad light forced suspension of play here on the second day.

Earlier, after fog and bad light delayed the start of the second day by 90 minutes, India’s hopes rested on Sachin Tendulkar, who notched his 44th Test century – an unbeaten 105 (166b, 11x4, 2x6) – to help his team inch closer towards 250. The tail however failed to wag whileBangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan and Shahadat Hossain bagged five wickets each.

The scores

India – 1st innings: Gautam Gambhir c Mushfiqur b Shahadat 23 (44b, 3x4), Virender Sehwag c Tamim b Shakib 52 (51b, 9x4), Rahul Dravid b Shahadat 4 (10b, 1x4), Sachin Tendulkar (not out) 105 (166b, 11x4, 2x6), V.V.S. Laxman st Rahim b Shakib 7 (30b), Yuvraj Singh c Rubel bShakib 12 (31b, 1x6), Dinesh Karthik c Raquibul b Shahadat 0 (3b), Amit Mishra lbw b Shahadat 14 (41b, 1x4), Zaheer Khan c Raquibul b Shakib 11 (18b, 2x4), Ishant Sharma c Mushfiqur b Shahadat 1 (24b), S.Sreesanth c Imrul Kayes b Shakib 1. Extras (b-1, lb-6, w-1, nb-5): 13.

Total (all out in 70.5 overs): 243.

Fall of wickets: 1-79 (Sehwag), 2-79 (Gambhir), 3-85 (Dravid), 4-107 (Laxman), 5-149 (Yuvraj), 6-150 (Karthik), 7-182 (Mishra), 8-209 (Zaheer), 9-230 (Ishant), 10-243 (Sreesanth). Bangladesh bowling: Shafiul 9-1-41-0, Shahadat 18-2-71-5, Rubel 10-0-40-0, Shakib 29.5-10-62-5, Mahmudullah 3-0-17-0, Ashraful 1-0-5-0.

Bangladesh - 1st innings: Tamim Iqbal b Zaheer 31 (45b, 6x4), Imrul Kayes lbw b Zaheer 23 (46b, 5x4), Shahriar Nafees c Laxman b Ishant 4 (3b, 1x4), Md. Ashraful (batting) 0 (5b), Raqibul Hasan (batting) 1 (3b). Extras: 0. Total (for three wkts., in 17 overs): 59.

Fall of wickets: 1-53 (Imrul), 2-58 (Shahriar), 3-58 (Tamim).

India bowling: Zaheer 9-1-32-2, Sreesanth 3-0-13-0, Ishant 5-1-14-1.

Shakib and Shahadat dismiss India for 243

Sachin Tendulkar scored 29 of the 30 runs India managed on the second morning, manoeuvring the strike well and adding some respectability to India's total. Tendulkar scored his 44th Test century, and 89th in internationals, as both Shakib Al hasan and Shahadat Hossain reached five-fors - it was Shakib's a sixth in 15 Tests.

On the second morning, with India starting at 213 for 8, Bangladesh came with the mindset of attacking Nos. 10 and 11, and hoping that that Tendulkar wouldn't cause irreversible damage by the time they managed that. In the first four overs, Tendulkar let Ishant Sharma play only six balls, only one of which troubled him. And during those four overs, with fields coming up for the last two balls, Tendulkar hit 2, 4, 1, 4, and 6 to reach the 90s. Shahadat then moved round the stumps, and the change of angle proved to be too much for Ishant to handle, who edged a delivery going across.

Sreesanth got a single first ball, and Tendulkar reached his century off the last two balls of that Shahadat over - Shakib was seen applauding Tendulkar's effort. At the other end, Sreesanth didn't look overly comfortable against Shakib who got alarming turn, but somehow saw off one over. Shahadat did his bit by bowling a wide yorker to keep Tendulkar at his end. In the next over, Shakib got a leading edge that ended India's innings.

Tamim Iqbal got off to an aggressive start, taking 11 off Zaheer Khan's first over, and scoring all of Bangladesh's 21 runs in the four-over period before lunch. Once again, the first session had to be curtailed to one hour, thanks to the fog and murk in the morning.

Kohli Continues Dream Run To Guide India To Victory

Virat Kohli's golden run of form continued as his unbeaten century guided India to a comprehensive six-wicket win over Bangladesh in game six of the Idea Cup One-Day International tri-series in Mirpur.

Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah scored half-centuries as Bangladesh rallied to reach 247 for seven but Kohli's 102 in 95 balls steered India past their target with seven overs to spare.

Having qualified for Wednesday's final, India chose to field first and had Bangladesh in trouble at 67 for four and 95 for five before Shakib (85) and Mahmudullah (64 not out) put on 106 for the sixth wicket.

The Indian bowlers continued where they left off during their demolition of Sri Lanka in game five, pacers Ashish Nehra, Sudeep Tyagi and Shanthakumaran Sreesanth all grabbing an early wicket before Yuvraj Singh ran out Raqibul Hasan backing up for 28 and had Mushfiqur Rahim caught by Suresh Raina for seven.

Shakib and Mahmudullah were forced to consolidate before going on the charge, Shakib hitting eight fours and a six and Mahmudullah striking five boundaries and one maximum.

After Shakib was caught by Mahendra Singh Dhoni off the bowling of Nehra, who finished with two for 58, Naeem Islam hit an unbeaten 22 in 14 balls to push Bangladesh towards a par score.

India then raced out of the blocks, Gautam Gambhir (41) and Dinesh Karthik (34) putting on 64 runs inside 12 overs before Karthik edged Shafiul Islam to Rahim and Gambhir played all round a straight delivery from Islam to be bowled.

Bangladesh sensed a way back into the contest, but Kohli was in unstoppable form, his quick scoring rate ensuring that a subdued Yuvraj Singh innings of 13 did not unduly affect the Indians' charge although the run-rate sped up once Yuvraj was trapped in front by the impressive Islam, who claimed two for 35 with his off-spin.

With Yuvraj departed, Kohil reached his half-century in 47 balls and added 68 in quick time with Dhoni, who hit 32 in 35 balls before he was caught by Imrul Kayes off Shakib and Kohli then accelerated, hitting 11 fours in all on his way to his 95-ball century, hitting the winning runs to reach his second ODI century.

Both unbeaten batsmen, Kohli and Suresh Raina (18) were dropped late on and on both occasions it was Mohammad Ashraful who failed to hold on but even if both chances had have been held, it would merely have delayed the inevitable as Bangladesh were outplayed in all departments.

India beat Bangladesh by six wickets in tri-series cricket match

India defeated Bangladesh by six wickets in an inconsequential match of the tri-nation cricket series at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium here today.

Brief score:

Bangladesh: 247 for 6 in 50 overs (Shakib Al Hasan 85, Mahmudullah 64 not out; Ashish Nehra 2/58).

India: 249 for 4 in 43 overs (Virat Kohli 102 not out, Gautam Gambhir 41; Naeem Islam 2/35).

Brief Scores:

Bangladesh 247 for 6 in 50 overs (Shakib Al Hasan 85, Mahmudullah 64 not out, Ashish Nehra 2/58).

Teams:

India: Ms Dhoni (c), Gautam Gambhir, Dinesh Karthik, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Ashish Nehra, Sudeep Tyagi and Amit Mishra.

Bangladesh: Shakib Al Hasan (C), Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Mohammad Ashraful, Raqibul Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Naeem Islam, Abdur Razzak, Syed Rasel, Shafiul Islam.

Umpires: Sharfuddoula and Simon Taufel

TV umpire: Enamul Haque

Match Referee:Andy Pycroft.

Scoreboard of the India-Bangladesh ODI of the ongoing tri-series at the Shere Bangla National Stadium here today.

Bangladesh:
Tamim Iqbalc Tyagi b Nehra17
Imrul Kayesc Kohli b Tyagi9
Mohammad Ashrafulb Sreesanth4
Raqibul Hasanrun out28
Shakib Al Hasan c Dhoni b Nehra85
Mushfiqur Rahim c Raina b Yuvraj7
Mahmudullahnot out64
Naeem Islamnot out22

Extras (LB-2, W-6, NB-3)11
Total (For 6 wickets in 50 overs)247
Fall of wickets: 1-10 2-15 3-60 4-67 5-95 6-201.
Bowling: Tyagi 6-2-24-1; Sreesanth 8-0-53-1; Nehra 10-1-58-2;Mishra 10-0-54-0; Yuvraj 10-1-33-1;Jadeja 6-1-23-0.

Cricket World Cup 2011 trophy unveiled in Dhaka

The countdown for the 2011 Cricket World Cup has begun officially with the unveiling of the trophy at a ceremony in the Bangabandhu Conference Centre in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Bangladesh is hosting the tournament jointly with India and Sri Lanka.

Sharad Pawar, the chairman of the 2011 Cricket World Cup Central Organising Committee, formally handed over the trophy to the presidents of the relevant cricket boards: AHM Mustafa Kamal of Bangladesh; Shashank Manohar of India; and Somachandra de Silva of Sri Lanka.

International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive officer Haroon Lorgat was also present at the ceremony.

The tournament will begin on February 17, 2011, with Bangladesh hosting the opening ceremony.

India will host 29 matches of the 14-nation tournament at eight venues; Sri Lanka will host 12 matches at three venues; and Bangladesh will host eight games at two places.

India beat Sri Lanka by 8 wickets, reach final

India produced one of their best bowling and fielding shows since the beginning of the series against Sri Lanka at home. An eight-wicket win with a bonus point took them to Wednesday’s final against the same opponents.

After getting a peek into the Sri Lanka tail well within the first 20 overs, the intensity dropped once the ball got older. The last four wickets lasted another 28 overs.

But then, the late resistance should not worry skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni much because right through the series, he has said the only time bowlers have a chance is when the ball is new.

Young off-spinner Suraj Randiv’s stand with skipper Kumar Sangakkara and then with Thilan Thushara somewhat steadied Sri Lanka’s batting. But a target of just 214 was never going to bother a team batting second in such conditions.

Sunday was the first time Sri Lanka decided to bat first and their show looked ordinary at the Sher-e Bangla National Stadium. Already in the final, Sangakkara perhaps wanted his team to get a feel of what could be in store batting first in the series.

Sri Lanka’s start wasn’t good. Sudip Tyagi, who replaced Ashish Nehra, picked up Upul Tharanga in the first over and the dangerous Tillakaratne Dilshan was sent back by Zaheer Khan following a super catch by Gautam Gambhir at gully. The ball was dying on him and Gambhir dived in front to pick it inches from the ground.

There was a marked improvement in catching by others as well. Dinesh Karthik, who filled in for a ‘rested’ Virender Sehwag, took a good one at slip to dismiss Tharanga and Yuvraj Singh took two well-judged catches.

Dhoni’s tirade against the bowlers after the match against Bangladesh must have worked. Tyagi, who played first in the abandoned match in Delhi, bowled with heart initially. He did get some harsh treatment from Dilshan but tried bowling to the field.

Zaheer was in splendid form, his three wickets fetching him the Man-of-the-Match award. Leg-spinner Amit Mishra, who replaced Harbhajan Singh, too had a decent outing and picked up three wickets.

He was wayward once in a while but with the wicket offering some turn once the ball was changed, Mishra had the Sri Lanka lower order in trouble.

Ensuring a final berth would mean India have an opportunity of trying out youngsters again on Monday, in an inconsequential match against Bangladesh.

This could mean Ashok Dinda and Rohit Sharma getting a look in.

India to take on Afghanistan in ICC U-19 WC opener

Defending champions India will start their campaign in the ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup with match against Afghanistan to be held in New Zealand on 15th January.

India is placed in the Group A with Afghanistan, England and Hong Kong as other teams in the group. Indian team will be favorite for qualifying to the next round as both Afghanistan and Hong Kong are participating for the first time, while English players have struggled with their form in the recent few months.

India had defeated South Africa in the final to lift the title of ICC U-19 World Cup in 2008 at Kuala Lumpur. India had won this crown twice in 2000 and 2008, while they had finished runners-up in
2006.

Indian team led by all-rounder Ashok Menaria came to New Zealand after an emphatic title win in the tri-nation series in South Africa.India remained unbeaten in the tri-series including South Africa and Sri Lanka.

Indian squad for the match against Afghanistan includes Ashok Menaria (captain), Mandeep Singh, Mayank Agarwal, Harmeet Singh, Harpreet Singh, Gaurav Jathar, Manan Sharma, Saurabh Netravalkar, Harshal Patel, Lokesh Rahul, Akshath Reddy, Sandeep Sharma, Sufiyan Shaikh, Jaydev Unadkad and Zahid Ali.

Indian Premier League will include nine English players

Nine English players are expected to be included in the Indian Premier League auction later this month after league officials predictably abandoned a tactical threat to blacklist them because of doubts about their availability.

The final list of those up for auction – only a few of whom will win contracts alongside the star names already signed up – is scheduled to be announced tomorrow after the IPL chairman, Lalit Modi, had briefly threatened that England's players would be removed from the list.

The IPL has been involved in a behind-the-scenes struggle with the England and Wales Cricket Board, insisting that the new players to be auctioned must be available for the entire season. It also wants players to be available for pre-tournament friendlies, making the demands of the franchises ever larger.

Sundar Raman, the IPL chief executive, said: "That is a condition, a preliminary requirement." He says the ECB has been forced to give way.

The ECB wanted to retain the agreement signed last February, which allowed them to block players' involvement for part of the tournament and which enables them to limit the involvement of players like Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood — a power that persuaded Andrew Flintoff to turn freelance.

The ECB remains wary that players contracted to IPL clubs could soon be demanded for far longer than the extent of the tournament, damaging international availability, development programmes and county cricket in the process.

Eight England players were included on the preliminary auction list, including Jonathan Trott, who is still with England's Test squad in South Africa. The others were Usman Afzaal, Tim Bresnan, James Foster, Anthony McGrath, Eoin Morgan, Monty Panesar and Adil Rashid.

Live Score Cricket today's match: Ind Vs Ban ODI

The India Vs Bangladesh ODI match is being played at Mirpur, Bangladesh. The live cricket match and Cricket live score can be watched on Neo Sports and DD National Channel.

The latest news and updates:

The match started at 2pm.

Bagladesh won the toss and elected to bat first.

Bangladesh got off to great start with Tamim Iqbal hitting fours at will.

Imrul Kayes opened the innings with him.

Tamim Iqbal was dismissed for a personal score of 64 runs of 42 balls. He hit 10 fours and a six in his 64 runs. He was caught by Gautam Gambhir off the bowling of Sreesanth.

Ashraful came to crease at the fall of Tamim's wicket.

Bangladesh are going at over 6 runs an over.

Both India and Bangladesh need to win this match, as both the teams had earlier lost their matches to Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka are on the top of the points table with 2 wins.

The latest score of Bangladesh: 122 runs for the loss of 1 wicket after 20 overs.

Ashraful is playing on 18 runs and Imrul on 35 runs

Major sports events in 2010

January 10-31. African Cup of Nations soccer, Angola. Egypt are bidding to become the first country to secure a third successive title after again missing out on World Cup qualification.

Ivory Coast, with a potent strike force spearheaded by Didier Drogba, start as favourites for the biennial tournament which kicks off a momentous year for African soccer.
February 12-28. Winter Olympics, Vancouver. American Alpine ski racer Lindsey Vonn, overall women's World Cup winner for the past two seasons, is battling injuries before the Winter Games.

If fully fit, Vonn who has also won world titles in the downhill and super-G, could be the sensation of the slopes after failing to win a medal at the last two Winter Games.

March 13. Las Vegas. A row over doping allegations and drug-testing threatens to derail the eagerly-anticipated WBO welterweight boxing title bout between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. Filipino Pacquiao has won seven titles in seven weight divisions while American Mayweather is unbeaten in 40 fights. The bout, if it does go ahead, is forecast to be among the most lucrative ever.

March 14. Bahrain Grand Prix. Michael Schumacher, emerging from retirement at the age of 41, attempts an unprecedented eighth Formula One title. The German, who won two titles with Benetton and five with Ferrari, will drive for the Mercedes team.

April 8-11. Masters golf, Augusta, Georgia. Will Tiger Woods compete at his happiest hunting ground after taking an indefinite sabbatical from golf following an admission of marital infidelity? Pebble Beach, hosts for the US Open in June, and St Andrews, where the British Open will be staged in July, are also favourite venues for Woods. But nobody outside Woods's inner circle can say with any certainty when, or even if, he will resume his quest to overtake Jack Nicklaus's record of 18 major titles.

April 30-May 16. Twenty20 World Cup cricket, West Indies. Pakistan, the team condemned to play all their fixtures abroad in the foreseeable future because of security fears at home, defend the title they won at Lord's last year.

May 14. Diamond League athletics meeting, Doha. The new 14-meeting Diamond League is launched with competitions in Asia, Europe and the United States. Thirty-two events will be staged with the top athletes in each discipline winning a four-carat diamond, worth approximately $80,000, at the end of the season.

June 11-July 11. World Cup, South Africa. The hosts open the first soccer World Cup to be staged in Africa against Mexico at Johannesburg's Soccer City. European champions Spain have the strongest squad while five-times winners Brazil demonstrated their liking for local conditions by winning the Confederations Cup for a record third time last year.

June 21-July 4. Wimbledon tennis championships. Roger Federer attempts a record-equalling seventh title on his favourite grass surface. The men's field has become increasingly competitive with the emergence of Juan Martin del Potro, who has joined Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Nikolay Davydenko and Novak Djokovic among the contenders for Federer's number one ranking.

South Africa rule out ball-tampering complaint

South Africa have said they will not make an official complaint over alleged ball-tampering by England in the third Test in Cape Town.

Footage showed bowler James Anderson appearing to pick at the ball and in a separate incident, Stuart Broad stopped the ball with his foot.

England coach Andy Flower defended Broad after South Africa raised concerns about the ball's condition.

But the hosts opted not to complain formally to referee Roshan Mahanama. A statement is expected from the International Cricket Council later on Wednesday.

The home batsmen took a lead of 330 runs while England's bowlers struggled on Tuesday's third day of play in Cape Town.

South Africa media officer Michael Owen-Smith said: "There have been several queries from the media about various video footage shown, and certain allegations being made about the ball.

"We have raised our concerns with the match referee about it and we've left it to him to decide if any further action or investigation is necessary."

Former England captain Nasser Hussain said of Anderson's actions: "I think he's just beyond what is acceptable."He's not gauging it. He's just fiddling with the rough side of the ball and I think that's a very dangerous area to get into."

Former England captain Michael Vaughan told BBC Radio 5 live: "It certainly looks like Jimmy Anderson has had some kind of play on the ball."

"If it was Pakistan what would we make of it? It's a very delicate situation." Asked about Broad's actions, Flower insisted there was no case to answer.

"All that happened is the ball was rolling gently towards him and he stuck out a boot to stop the ball. I don't think it's a big issue," he said.

Ton-Up Dilshan And Sri Lanka Start 2010 With A Win

Sri Lanka 261-3 (Dilshan 104, Sangakkara 74) beat Bangladesh 260-7 (Mohammad Ashraful 75) by seven wickets.

Tillakaratne Dilshan started 2010 as if he was still playing in 2009, scoring a century, as he guided Sri Lanka to a dominant seven-wicket win over Bangladesh in the first tri-series One-Day International in Mirpur.

Former captain Mohammad Ashraful scored a half-century as Bangladesh recovered from 74 for four to set Sri Lanka 261 to win, Ashraful's 75 in 94 balls steering the home side to 260 for seven after they lost the toss and were invited to bat first by Sri Lanka.

Dilshan, who notched up ten international centuries last year, then scored 104 in 122 balls to ensure Sri Lanka were celebrating victory with 31 balls to spare. Sri Lanka did lose Upul Tharanga early on, caught behind by wicket-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim off Rubel Hossain for 14 but Dilshan, who stroked 12 boundaries, added 148 with captain Kumar Sangakkara, who raced to 74 before also offering Rahim a catch behind, this time Shafiul Islam the bowler taking the wicket on debut.

Dilshan was the next man to fall, caught in the deep attempting to pull Mahmudullah to the boundary having faced 122 balls and taken his side to the brink of victory.

It was left to Thilan Samaraweera, unbeaten on 41, and Chamara Silva, unbeaten on four, to complete the job and they did so with relative ease.

Earlier, the decision to insert Bangladesh looked a poor decision when Tamim Iqbal (40) and Imrul Kayes (23) put on 65 for the first wicket but wickets quickly tumbled, Raqibul Hasan (0) and Shakib Al Hasan (1) falling victim to pacer Suranga Lakmal to leave Bangladesh in trouble in the 17th over.

Ashraful, however, was equal to the challenge, putting on 58 with Mushfiqur Rahim (35) for the fifth wicket and then 95 with Mahmudullah, who scored 45 in 47 balls as Bangladesh used the batting Power Play to good effect, Mahmudullah hitting three fours and a six and Naeem Islam thumping 22 in just nine balls after Ashraful had been run out by Kumar Sangakkara.

Off-spinner Suraj Randiv returned two for 51 by dismissing Rahim and Mahmudullah while Lakmal picked up two for 63.

Sri Lanka handed a recall to middle-order batsman Chamara Silva in the absence of Mahela Jayawardene while Bangladesh opted not to pick the likes of Shahriar Nafees, Aftab Ahmed or Alok Kapali, available again after breaking their ties with the Indian Cricket League, but they did hand a debut to pace bowler Shafiul Islam.

England Blow Tail Away To Restrict South Africa To 291

An amazing four wickets for twelve runs in seventeen balls at the start of the day saw England bowl South Africa out with Jimmy Anderson collecting his 8th five-wicket haul in test cricket.

Graham Onions started the procession by producing a superb ball to dismiss overnight centurion Jaques Kallis. He was not able to add to his overnight score of 108 as he was caught behind off a very decent ball that bounced and nipped away.

Dale Steyn (26) too was unable to reproduce any heroics as he nudged forward to Jimmy Anderson next over and was well taken head high by Jonathan Trott at third slip. Graham Swann then put his earlier drop behind him by taking a brilliant diving catch at third slip to dismiss Morne Morkel third ball for nought.

Although de Wet (0) referred his LBW in a last ditch effort to get off the mark, he was last out to give Anderson (5-63) his fifth wicket of the innings as South Africa completed their first innings on 291.

An action-filled half hour was to continue as Morkel then took the wicket of England Captain Andrew Strauss in the first over for a duck, caught behind driving as England began the run chase from 0-1

India - Bangladesh series

The International Cricket Council may be upbeat about the effectiveness of the Decision Referral System but apparently has not been able to convince the boards to accept it of late.

While India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was unsure whether the controversial DRS system would be in place during the two-Test series against hosts Bangladesh later this month, a BCCI employee indicated it would not be in use.

Queried about it during yesterday's press conference on the eve of the team's departure for Bangladesh, Dhoni said "I'm not sure" and looked for help from BCCI's corporate relations manager Devendra Prabhudesai who indicated it would not be in use.

The DRS, which Dhoni said is supported by the teams when things go their way and opposed when thing go against them, was not in use during the India-Sri Lanka three-match Test rubber held in this country recently.