India Wrap Up Series (2-0) and remains undefeated in Indian Soil

 

India 111 for 2 (Rohit 51, Gill 40*) beat New Zealand 108 (Phillips 36, Shami 3-18, Washington 2-7, Hardik 2-16) by eight wickets

 

After a thrilling last-over finish in Hyderabad, India romped to an eight-wicket victory in Raipur on the back of an inspired performance from their quick bowlers to take the series 2-0 with one match to go. India's domination started with a display of swing and seam with great accuracy to bowl New Zealand out for 108 in under 35 overs in an international debut for the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium. Two sharp return catches also helped matters.

India chased it down in 20.1 overs after a 51 off 50 from captain Rohit Sharma, who struck seven fours and two sixes before Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan saw the hosts through. It was India's seventh consecutive bilateral ODI series win at home.

 

Stifling Test-match style bowling from Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj caused the early damage, after India won the toss, to reduce New Zealand to 9 for 3. Hardik Pandya bowled three maidens and picked up 2 for 16 from six overs as New Zealand slipped to 15 for 5, with their top five falling in single digits, after 10.3 overs. Glenn Phillips stretched the score past 100 with the help of Michael Bracewell and Mitchell Santner, but 108 was a total too low to trouble a team that had scored 349 and 390 in their last two games.

Shami was the first to strike when he followed a few outswingers with one that came in and bowled Finn Allen for a duck in the first over. His swing and Siraj's wobble seam tied up the top order, and Siraj had Henry Nicholls edging one to first slip in the sixth over. Four balls after Nicholls' fall, Shami grabbed a sharp return catch with his left hand off Daryl Mitchell to finish his first spell with 4-1-5-2 while Siraj's read 4-1-4-1. Shardul Thakur and Hardik also got breakthroughs soon after being brought on and kept the pressure on the visitors.

Devon Conway eased some nerves by registering the first boundary of the innings in the ninth over but Hardik sent him back with another one-handed return catch in the following over. Thakur also struck when Tom Latham, who had left nearly half of his first 16 balls, chased a wide delivery and handed Gill his second catch at first slip.

Fifteen was the lowest score at which India have picked up five wickets in a men's ODI and it was also New Zealand's lowest score at five down.

 

Phillips, Bracewell and Santner all bothered India but only briefly. Phillips started with back-to-back fours off Hardik - including a top-edge over the wicketkeeper - before Bracewell dispatched consecutive low full-tosses for fours off Shami in the 19th over. Shami immediately changed from around to over the wicket and banged in a bouncer that ended the stand of 41 when Bracewell nicked behind for 22.

 

From 56 for 6, Phillips and Santner put on a patient stand of 47, thanks to two lives Santner got off Kuldeep Yadav. The first came when Rohit couldn't hold on to a tough chance while diving to his right at midwicket, and Kuldeep later put down an easier return chance despite getting both hands to the ball over his head.

 

Phillips scored at a good clip during his 36 with boundaries whenever he got loose deliveries from Thakur. Santner, too, chipped in with two fours off Kuldeep after the halfway mark of the innings, but he fell just after New Zealand crossed 100.

 

Hardik started the 31st over with a 112.8 kph slower ball which Santner chopped on off the inside edge, and New Zealand collapsed again. Two long-hops from Washington Sundar saw Phillips and Lockie Ferguson hole out to deep midwicket, and Kuldeep trapped Blair Tickner in front in his eighth over to wrap up the innings.

 

In the chase, Rohit and Gill started patiently as the new ball swung around. Soon though, Rohit turned aggressor, starting with a pull in the second over off Henry Shipley before also pulling Ferguson for six in the fifth over. Whenever the scoring would quieten for India, Rohit would either unleash another pull or manufacture room to dispatch the ball on the off side, including a stunning six over the covers off Tickner. Rohit also used the cut with perfect timing to collect boundaries as Gill waited more patiently for the loose balls to pick boundaries. Rohit also swept and reverse swept Santner to reach a 47-ball fifty but was trapped lbw when a Shipley delivery stayed low in front of off stump.

 

Kohli was stumped off Santner for 11 after he struck Shipley for two fours and Kishan and Gill wrapped up the win by smashing three fours in the space of 11 balls.

Bangladesh to remain Asia Cup host - Asia Cup 2014

The Asian Cricket Council has decided that Bangladesh will remain the host of the Asia Cup 2013-14. The other big news to emerge from the ACC's meeting in Colombo is that Afghanistan will be the fifth team in the competition. A total of 11 matches will be played in the tournament with the opening game expected to be on February 25 and the final on March 8, 2014.

"As of now, the decision has been made that Bangladesh will retain hosting rights of the Asia Cup," BCB's acting CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury said. "We have given a very good presentation to the ACC board members, and they have been convinced that we can host the tournament. Afghanistan has also been added to the tournament, making it a five-team event and the number of matches has gone up to eleven."

Bangladesh's status as a host nation was in doubt following recent political turmoil. In December, the West Indies Under-19s team had pulled out of their tour after an explosion near the team hotel. Apart from the Asia Cup, Bangladesh are scheduled to host Sri Lanka for a bilateral series and will also stage the World Twenty20 from March 16.

Syed Ashraful Huq, the chief executive of the ACC, said the members did not have any specific questions or reservations about the security arrangements around the tournament being held in the country: "Bangladesh submitted a detailed security plan to the ACC, which was studied and agreed to. If any member has any other concerns, they should address it with Bangladesh."

The ACC's decision will give the BCB enough impetus to convince Sri Lanka Cricket of going through with the bilateral series, which is scheduled to begin on January 27. Jayantha Dharmadasa, the SLC president, said a decision on the tour would be made soon.

"Sri Lanka are also due to tour Bangladesh from January 24, and SLC is presently conducting its own security appraisal. A final decision on whether that tour will go ahead as scheduled will be made on January 9," Dharmadasa said.

The ICC, too, will hold security inspections in Bangladesh, before deciding whether to retain Bangladesh as the host for the World Twenty20.

The political situation in Bangladesh, and the resulting violence across the country, had raised concerns whether the tournaments could be held in the country. The Pakistan Cricket Board also contacted its foreign ministry to get a clear idea as to whether they could travel to Bangladesh. The BCB's security plans, however, have laid the doubts to rest. Although the issue was not discussed formally, it is understood that with the Asia Cup going ahead without any hiccups, the World Twenty20, scheduled to start after the Asia Cup, will be held in Bangladesh across the three venues finalised by the ICC

Huq said the schedule would be finalised soon, considering Afghanistan would need to be slotted in. According to Huq, Afghanistan were included to provide them with more exposure.

"They are playing very well and have got ODI status from the ICC, and the Asia Cup will help them prepare for both the World Twenty20s and the 2015 World Cup," Huq said.

Apart from finalising Bangladesh as a host, the ACC also awarded broadcast and commercial rights for this edition of the tournament to Star India. It has cut ties with Nimbus, the previous broadcast partners.

The meeting in Colombo was chaired by BCCI president N Srinivasan, who is also chairman of the ACC. PCB CEO Subhan Ahmed, SLC president Jayantha Dharmadasa and CEO Nishantha Ranatunga, BCB president Nazmul Hassan and acting CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury along with presidents of the Singapore, Thailand and Bhutan cricket associations attended the meeting.

Kallis to quit Tests after Durban

Jacques Kallis, one of the game's greatest allrounders, will retire from Test cricket after the Boxing Day match against India. Kallis announced his decision on Wednesday, on the eve of the second Test against India, but stated that he would still like to play the 2015 World Cup for South Africa.

In a statement, Kallis said: "It wasn't an easy decision, with Australia around the corner and the success this team is enjoying, but I feel the time is right. I don't see it as goodbye, I still have a lot of hunger to push South Africa to that World Cup in 2015 if I am fit and performing. The last two years specifically have been a memorable journey with an exceptional group of cricketers. I am fortunate enough to have ended my Test career amongst a group of talented cricketers but, more importantly, friends whom I will cherish for years to come."

Kallis, who made his Test debut against England in December 1995, and has played 165 Tests, scoring 13174 runs at an average of 55.12, with 44 centuries and 58 half-centuries. He is currently fourth on the list of leading run-getters in Test cricket, and is also second on the list of batsmen with most Test centuries, apart from having scored the most runs for South Africa in Tests. Kallis' status as the pre-eminent allrounder of his era stemmed from his contributions as a bowler - 292 Test wickets at an average of 32.53 - and fielder, whose 199 catches ranks him only behind Rahul Dravid in the Test list.

Russell Domingo, the South Africa coach, said the team would miss Kallis' presence in the dressing room. "The impact Jacques has made on South African cricket has been immense, not just as a player but as a human being. I'm not sure we will ever see another player of that stature very soon," Domingo said. "Jacques' calmness, maturity and presence in the change room will sorely be missed and hopefully he will still be able to play a role in this team's success in the near future. He has ambitions of playing in the 2015 World Cup and it will be important for us to manage him accordingly so that he is in prime form leading into the tournament."

Haroon Lorgat, Cricket South Africa's chief executive, praised Kallis and called him South African cricket's "Rock of Gibraltar". "He has been a stalwart for many years and South Africa's recent triumphs and greatness have been built around him. He is a legend and his statistics speak volumes," Lorgat said. "Jacques has been ever present for the Proteas in the past 18 years and it is fitting that his final Test should be on the same ground as the one on which he made his debut against England back in 1995."

Warner hearing set for Thursday night

David Warner will face a disciplinary hearing on Thursday evening Australian time over his altercation with England batsman Joe Root at a Birmingham pub. Warner was stood down from the team for Australia's washed out Champions Trophy match against New Zealand on Wednesday and will learn at the Code of Behaviour hearing whether he faces any further sanction over the incident, which took place in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The hearing will take place via teleconference at 6.30pm AEST (9.30am in the UK) and it will be the second time in less than a month that a case involving Warner will be heard by Cricket Australia's senior Code of Behaviour commissioner, Gordon Lewis. Warner was fined A$5750 in May after he pleaded guilty to unbecoming behaviour, concerning his foul-mouthed Twitter rant at two Australian journalists.

This time, Warner has again been reported for "unbecoming behaviour", relating to a punch he allegedly threw at Root while members of the England and Australia teams were at a Birmingham pub following their game on Saturday.

There have been reports that the altercation was instigated by Warner's belief that Root was impersonating Hashim Amla when wearing a false beard, but the England camp has said Root was making fun of himself and referring to taunts from his team-mates that he was too young to grow facial hair.

George Bailey, the acting captain of Australia in the absence of the injured Michael Clarke, said after the New Zealand match that the Warner-Root altercation was "a very minor incident" which had "been dealt with in-house".

There have also been reports that Warner was a regular at the Walkabout pub, where the incident occurred, during the team's time in Birmingham. "Our bar staff are quite familiar with David's face," John Creighton, the manager of the pub, said.

A world of pain - England's slide from No. 1 has gathered pace and they have serious questions ahead of the second Test

"Happiness is but a mere episode in the general drama of pain."

Thomas Hardy

Certainly it seemed that way for England as they left Ahmedabad. While Alastair Cook and Matt Priorprovided the brief interlude of joy, the rest of this Test simply revived painful memories of the 3-0 loss they suffered against Pakistan in the UAE at the start of the year. In the end, in this game, the damage inflicted by the huge first-innings deficit was too deep to repair.

India deserved this victory. While winning the toss was a substantial advantage, India were on the wrong end of more than their share of umpiring errors and, more importantly, looked the better-functioning team. While the majority of the XI contributed to India's success, England were reliant on three plucky individuals. They require far wider contributions if they are to challenge in this series.

It seems a long time since England were rated the best Test team in the world, too. That period, that happy episode amid the pain, now looks to have been a false dawn. England can have no pretence of supremacy while they are so poor in almost half the Test-playing world. And, having lost five of the six Tests they have played in Asian conditions this year, there can be no hogwash about enduring 'one bad game'. A pattern has not so much emerged as been tattooed on England's forehead.

In some ways, this was a worse performance than those in the UAE. At least against Pakistan, England bowled and fielded well. Here the bowlers lacked control - James Anderson and Graeme Swann excepted - the batsmen lacked the requisite skill, be it mental or physical, and the fielding was below the high standards this team sets itself.

In the longer term, it will take a more open-minded approach to pitches and bowling actions in the county game to resolve England's issues against spin and Asian pitches. It will take an acceptance that those who moan about turning pitches and mystery spinners in county cricket are holding the English game back. The homogenisation of conditions and coaching and the officious work-permit criteria that render it ever more difficult to bring foreign players into England will, in the end, only foster mediocrity.

In the shorter term, England face some difficult decisions. This series in not over. The last time England won here, in 1984-85, they came from one down after the first Test. Stranger things have happened than England winning from behind, though not all that many.

There is hope. Not only have Cook and Prior shown that it is possible to prosper in such conditions, but other batsmen may take grim comfort in reflecting that there was a self-inflicted element to many of their dismissals. Unlike the series in the UAE, where several of them had little clue how to play Saeed Ajmal, here they buckled under the pressure of good, controlled but absolutely not unplayable bowling. Had they premeditated less and played straight more, they would have prospered. They can do better.

A lack of confidence was one of the issues with the bat. The scars of the UAE were clear in the way that Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen over-compensated for their nervousness by gambling with aggressive, premeditated shots. Both players are better than that.

It is almost impossible for England to select a well-balanced team going into Mumbai from the squad they have at their disposal. If they go with an attack of two seamers and two spinners, they could have a tail of Swann, Anderson, Steven Finn and Monty Panesar at No. 11. Bearing in mind their batsmen's struggles in Ahmedabad, that is not ideal.

Samit Patel was unfortunate with the bat - he received a dubious decision in both innings - so, while his bowling was undistinguished, judgement should be reserved. He is no second spinner, though. Not only does he lack bite, he lacks the control required at this level.

Tim Bresnan will surely struggle to keep his place. Bresnan is a worthy cricketer but, since his elbow operation a year ago and through no fault of his own, he has lacked the nip he once possessed. Whatever India fear, it is not an 80 mph seamer. He may have played his last Test.

Stuart Broad will also come under pressure. Broad is, clearly, an immensely talented cricketer and there have been times, with bat and ball, when he has looked capable of greatness. But, since an excellent few months leading up to the South Africa series, he has lacked pace with the ball and form with the bat. He is the team's vice-captain and, aged 26, still has a bright future, but he is currently living on memories. He will surely come again but for now Finn, with his pace and hostility, is impossible to ignore.

England rose to No. 1 largely on the back of hostile bowling and late swing; you do not gain either of those by bowling at fast-medium. The lack of pace in England's attack is a recurring theme of recent times and it would help if the bowlers, or the England bowling coach, David Saker, could rediscover their nip. Even Anderson, for so long a beacon in this side, is looking worryingly ineffective at present.

Broad could retain his place even if, as expected, England bring in Panesar, Finn and Jonny Bairstow for Bell, who has returned to England on paternity leave. The pitch at Mumbai is expected to offer more bounce - India were not overwhelmed by the lack of pace and bounce in Ahmedabad - so it may yet be that England consider a five man attack including three seamers and Monty Panesar as second spinner. For all the outcry against Panesar's exclusion here, there is little evidence from the warm-up games, his record against India or India's record in general that Panesar would have made a tangible difference. He would, however, offer control.

Eoin Morgan, by virtue of being a left-hander, may be considered, too, though Bairstow's excellence in his last Test, against South Africa, should not be forgotten. Neither man has looked at their best against spin.

It is no disgrace to lose and, in these conditions, England may have simply come up against a side that was too good for them. The nagging doubt persists, though, that they failed to do themselves justice. They have made life enormously difficult for themselves in the rest of the series.

Herath delivers crushing win for Sri Lanka

A day that began on even terms finished being one-sided. New Zealand's fast-bowling stocks may be promising but their batting continued to be a serious worry and it let them down again, on a day when they had the rare chance of pressing ahead and aiming for a win. They slumped to a fifth straight Test defeat in conditions far less lethal than their scoreline suggested. The batsmen were largely victims of their own approach and lack of confidence against spin on a slow and low pitch.

Rangana Herath was again the wrecker-in-chief, continuing his incredible run in Galle, and finished with 11 wickets in the match. Both his hauls of ten wickets or more in a Test have come in Galle, where he's picked up 46 in eight games at 20.30, including five of his 12 five-fors. His achievement wasn't a surprise, certainly not against an opposition whose performances against spin have been woeful in the recent past. In their last five Tests, all of them defeats, they've lost 62 wickets out of 100 to spin. Only one of those games went into the fifth day.

Sri Lanka were disciplined and cut down drastically on the bad deliveries they had delivered on the opening day when Brendon McCullum and Daniel Flynn had managed to find some release after the loss of early wickets. There was hardly any swing or movement for the seamers, and the ball never carried to slip, though the spinners found a fair amount of turn. The overall result of their tight lines and variations in pace and length was a stagnating run-flow and an eventual collapse.

At a time when New Zealand would have been aiming to begin solidly and lay a platform for a challenging lead, they were hit by a Nuwan Kulasekara double-strike. Martin Guptill was dismissed in a manner similar to the first innings, when he played down the wrong line, only this time he was bowled. Kane Williamson was a touch unfortunate to be caught down the leg side, when he tried to glide one down to fine leg and New Zealand were reduced to 46 for 3.

Ross Taylor square-drove the seamers for two fours and looked comfortable against Herath while defending, and he and Flynn appeared to infuse a bit of urgency to an innings that badly needed a fillip. But there remained some uncertainty against the spinners. Herath got one to spit away and bounce past Taylor's bat, and that may have played on the batsman's mind when, shortly after, he misread an arm ball from Herath to be trapped in front.

James Franklin had spent some time on the pitch before the start of play, standing on the crease and scanning the areas he could score off. He appeared to come out with a plan, as he stepped out to Herath, often to try working him on to the leg side. That prompted Mahela Jayawardene to employ two midwickets for him, but Franklin was undeterred. It did not pay, as he was beaten in flight to be stumped, albeit unconvincingly, by Prasanna Jayawardene - he failed to collect but the ball ricocheted off his chest and dislodged the bails.

Flynn was the most confident and enterprising of New Zealand's batsmen today, picking out midwicket as a favoured scoring area, fetching deliveries from outside off, piercing the field on either side of the wicket and trying his utmost to rotate the strike. But he was taken by surprise as Herath turned one in sharply and bowled him through the gate. When Doug Bracewell failed to pick an arm ball next ball, the end was nigh for New Zealand. The desperation to stretch the lead and give themselves something to bowl at was evident when Tim Southee and Trent Boult went over the top and struck three sixes between them, but they too succumbed to spin, only managing to extend the advantage to 92 runs.

An early burst from the seamers was New Zealand's only hope - somewhat dented from the outset by Tim Southee's absence due to a niggle - but a presumably nervous Sri Lanka opening partnership, on a pair, ensured the chase was smooth. Tharanga Paranavitana had just one half-century in his previous 11 innings and would have been under pressure. He was subdued to begin with but eventually got going, using his feet well against Jeetan Patel to launch him for six, before smashing Bracewell over point towards the close. He stayed through to the end of the chase, but it'll be interesting to see how the combination changes should Tillakaratne Dilshan return to the line-up in the next Test.

Paranavitana could face competition for that opening slot from the debutant Dimuth Karunaratne, who did his own prospects no harm with an attractive half-century. He was edgy at the start but looked strong on the back foot, punching boundaries through midwicket and extra cover and even pulling in the direction of square leg. He also cashed in on some freebies on leg stump and eased to a maiden fifty.

The day was a fulfilling one for Sri Lanka, and the hope of a closely-fought game raised by New Zealand proved deceptive in the end.

Ojha, Pujara secure crushing India win

India went 1-0 up in the Test series with three to play when they rolled over England on the final day at Motera, taking the last five wickets by lunch to leave themselves needing only 77 for victory and then gambolling to victory with almost indecent haste in less than 16 overs. India can congratulate themselves on engineering a perfect victory; England must embrace change.

India had to labour long and hard to bowl out England a second time, spending ten-and-a-quarter hours in the field, but when they batted again, it was a breeze as Virender Sehwag and Cheteshwar Pujara unveiled a succession of unrestrained attacking shots that made a mockery of England's painstaking attempts to save the Test.

Sehwag, a batsman who knows no fear, and who clearly could not care less whether he added a bit of red ink to a formidable Test record, was caught on the boundary trying to hit Graeme Swann for six, but Pujara, whose sterling double hundred in the first innings had been the cornerstone of India's victory, sallied on. He looks to be a formidable young player.

One sublime piece of footwork by Pujara, as he advanced to drive Swann through extra cover, was better than anything produced by England in the Test, a reminder that as staunchly as Cook and Prior resisted, they will need a more enlightened approach in the field and in their selection to force their way back into the series in the final three Tests.

On another still, blue morning in Ahmedabad, Pragyan Ojha claimed the key wickets of Cook and Prior as he found more turn than India's spinners had managed on the previous day. Ojha took 4 for 120, to finish with 9 for 165 in the match.

Cook had organised epic resistance after England had followed on, 330 behind, but India's resolve was reborn after a night's rest and when he was seventh out, beaten by sharp turn and low bounce, the game immediately looked up.

Matt Prior and Cook had joined forces in a sixth-wicket stand which had given England a 10-run lead overnight and stirred tentative hopes among their supporters that they might save the game.

But they added only 16 runs to their overnight score before Prior was out in the 10th over of the morning, pushing too early at a nondescript delivery from Ojha that presumably held on to the surface and offering a simple return catch. They had put on 157 runs in 61 overs.

Cook's innings spanned more than nine hours, one of the greatest rearguard innings ever produced by an England captain, but while it had led England from a sense of despair after their first-innings collapse it looked unlikely to spare them from defeat as, four overs after Prior, he too fell.

Broad's batting has become a liability, the belief that he offers extra depth to England's lower order resting on a reputation no longer backed up by statistics. He provided a second return catch of the morning, a wooden push at Umesh Yadav off the leading edge.

India's anxiety to force victory in a game they had dominated from the outset was evident. As Broad shadow-practised the shot and patted down some damage to the pitch, Ojha, his passions overflowing, sensed that he was trying to damage the surface for England's bowlers and gave him a send-off intense enough for the umpires to intervene to calm things down.

Prior had taken guard outside his crease to nullify the roughest areas and Swann took that to further extremes, standing a good yard beyond the line. India, apparently, were not impressed by the tactic, suspecting foul play and an attempt to make the surface disintegrate.

At eight down, with more than two sessions remaining, England's cause required not just blocking, but something extraordinary. Swann's ambitions were clear when he slog-swept Ojha for six, but a switch hit against R Ashwin had a more calamitous outcome as the ball was too full and his middle stump was flattened. Ashwin, who had taken his first wicket in his 43rd over, on a slow turner that had brought him little sustenance, must have been grateful.

Tim Bresnan, who was lectured by Aleem Dar, the umpire, for running on the pitch, followed in the next over, pushing a driveable ball from Zaheer Khan to short extra. India were almost home.