Took a chance bringing Zaheer on a little earlier: Vettori

Bangalore: Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Daniel Vettori was as pleased as punch after his ploy to bring Zaheer Khan back into the attack worked in their 26-run win over Pune Warriors in the Indian Premier League on Friday.

Zaheer took the vital wicket of Yuvraj Singh at a time when the dashing left-hander threatened to take the match away from the home side. © AFP

Zaheer took the vital wicket of Yuvraj Singh at a time when the dashing left-hander threatened to take the match away from the home side.
"There were a few scares along the way. The bowlers have stepped up in the previous two matches. Zaheer's our best bowler, we took a chance bringing him on a little earlier, against Yuvraj, and fortunately it worked," Vettori said after the match.
Vettori said that 181 was always going to be a difficult task for Pune.
"Right from the start, 180 was always going to be a difficult chase. Kohli and Gayle and then Zaheer and Aravind led the way," he said.
Yuvraj felt his side could not score enough runs at the start of innings.
"I think we didn't get enough runs in the first six overs. We gave 20 runs extra on the field. We decided not to lose too many wickets at the top, but Jesse and Manish couldn't get enough runs, and Bangalore's bowlers were good," Yuvraj said.
The Pune skipper is worried that the team is not able to click as a unit.
"We are playing well as a batsman but the team is not able whole team needs to contribute," he said.
Man of the match Virat Kohli was delighted to have got the Orange Cap. Kohli, during his blazing knock of 67, overtook Sachin Tendulkar at the top of the run chart.
"It's the first time in four years I am wearing the Orange Cap. It's an honour if you look at the top five (that has names like Tendulkar and Jacques Kallis)," he said.
Kohli said the plan was to avoid slogging the ball. "The gameplan was working for me. The wicket was good and the plan was not to slog the ball, but to run through with the ball."
Being the only player to be retained in the Bangalore side, it is understandable that Kohli would be under some sort of pressure.
"I think as a cricketer you have to take pressure, if the franchise retained me they have shown faith in me. The first two matches I didn't score well, but the next few it got better. Very happy winning three in a row," he said.
Chris Gayle, who laid the foundation with a hurricane knock at the top of the order, too was happy.
"Very happy, three wins in a row. Words can't explain. There's going to be a big celebration tonight, I'm looking forward to that as well," the big-hitting opener from the West Indies said.
"Kohli was outstanding, Zaheer and the skipper too played their part."
Asked about his own performance, he said, "It was a good wicket to bat on and I enjoyed every moment," he said.

Happy to get Orange Cap: Kohli

Bangalore: Young Indian batsman Virat Kohli had more than one reason to be delighted after his team Royal Challengers Bangalore''s triumph over Pune Warriors as the right-hander didn''t just produce a match-wining knock, he also overtook Sachin Tendulkar as the leading run-scorer of the ongoing IPL.
Kohli was handed the Orange Cap for topping the batting aggregate with 291 runs, 24 ahead of batting maestro Tendulkar who plays for the Mumbai Indians.
"I had been keen to bat up the order in the last three IPLs. But I could get to bat only at five, six or seven. This time I got the chance to bat at three and I am happy that I have been able to score runs and contribute to the good showing of the team," said Kohli, who also completed 1000 IPL runs during the course of his breezy 67.
"I am happy to don the orange cap. I would like to hold on to it for a while, but the competition is very tough as there are five quality batsmen who are there in the top five among runs. Let me see how long I can hold on to it," added a beaming Kohli after RCB''s 26-run win over Pune Warriors last night.
Pune captain Yuvraj Singh, on the other hand, rued that his team conceded 20 runs too many during RCB''s innings.
"I think we gave 20 runs in excess and couldn''t score rapidly when we batted," said Yuvraj after his team''s fifth consecutive defeat in the IPL.
The beleaguered Warriors'' skipper felt that the road to the play-offs would get tougher from here on.
"It is really tough from now on. We have to win six out of six to have a chance. We will give our best. I wished I should have lost the toss today. I have won the toss five times and we have lost those matches. I don''t know what to say," he said.
Yuvraj also felt that batting effort wasn''t good enough against RCB.
"It was a gettable target because it was a good batting wicket. In the first six overs, we didn''t lose many wickets but Manish and Jesse partnership didn''t yield many runs. If the runs had come at that time, me and Robin could have finished off things. We will look at ourselves on where to improve on."
Did he make a mistake in not batting up the order?
"We didn''t lose early wickets and the batsmen upfront have to go at the bowling. Batting at four and five is the mainstay of the team. I feel today, we should have come up the order," replied Yuvraj.
"Unfortunately, that partnership couldn''t get enough runs. It wasn''t that Manish was trying to hit and he couldn''t hit, Jesse was trying to increase the run-rate. At that stage we needed a few good overs and they bowled really well. Unfortunately, we couldn''t cash in on that."

Delhi register convincing win over Kochi

Kochi: Virender Sehwag hit a rollicking half-century as Delhi Daredevils scored a 38-run win over Kochi Tuskers Kerala to keep its play-offs hopes alive in the Indian Premier League here on Saturday.
Sehwag blazed his way to a 47-ball 80 to lead his side to a competitive 157 for seven after electing to bat on a very difficult track, which had uneven bounce.

Delhi were gasping 37 for three at one stage but Sehwag played sensibly as he first guarded his wicket when his teammates were vanishing from the other end and then played his usual aggressive self.
The visitors then bowled out the hosts for 119 in 18.5 overs to record a much-needed win as they were languishing at the bottom of the points table, coming into this contest.
It was Delhi's third win in eight matches while Kochi now have suffered third defeat in a row. With this win Delhi have jumped to seventh spot from 10th while Kochi are now second from last.
Batting was a big challenge on the Nehru stadium wicket for both the sides as some balls did not bounce above the ankles and some zoomed up to the chin level.
The Delhi pace trio of Morne Morkel (3/18), Ajit Agarkar (2/23) and Irfan Pathan (2/27) shared seven wickets among them and played a crucial role in scripting their side's win.
Spinner Roelof van der Merwe (3/20) ran through the Kochi tail, taking three wickets in five balls in the 19th over, to contribute in win.
Ravindra Jadeja (31) and Brad Hodge (27) were the only batsmen who went past the 25-run mark for Kochi.
Kochi needed 59 runs off the last four overs and Jadeja kept their hopes alive by smashing van der Merwe for a six, taking 10 runs from the 17th over.
Vinay Kumar (11) hammered Agarkar for a six in the next over and Delhi players had their hearts pumping fast. But Agarkar did a big favour to his side by getting the danger man Jadeja out in the last ball of that over.
Kochi still needed 40 from 12 balls but van der Merwe took all three remaining wickets -- Ramesh Powar (0) and Sreesanth (0) and Vinay -- in space of five balls to seal the fate of the hosts.
Kochi's chase was disastrous as Pathan and Morkel rocked the Kochi top order by taking three quick wickets.
It was Morkel who started the slide as he dismissed Michael Klinger (2) and then Pathan saw the backs of Brendon McCullum (7) and Parthiv Patel (1) in his successive overs.
Runs were hard to come by on the slow track but Kochi skipper Mahela Jayawardene and Hodge both found two boundaries each from Umesh Yadav's overs.
The hosts reached 37 for three in six overs but the situation deteriorated when Jayawardene became a victim Ajit Agarkar in the 10th over.
It could have been worse for the hosts had Pathan not dropped Hodge, then on 15, off van der Merwe in the next over.
Morkel though ensured that Pathan's mistake does not cost them dear as he had the Australian caught behind in the 14th over. Balachandra Akhil hit some lusty blows but could not last long and became the third victim of Morkel.

Earlier, Sehwag played a true captain's knock as it came on a very difficult track and under difficult circumstances.
Yogesh Nagar (22) and Travis Birt (20) also supported Sehwag well as they shared 56 and 41 runs stand with their skipper for the fourth and fifth wickets respectively.
Sehwag got out in the 18th over when he attempted a big shot off Vinay Kumar, but not before hitting eight fours and five sixes.
Seamer S Sreesnath was most successful bowler for the hosts as he gave away just 10 runs in his four overs and scalped two top-order batsmen.
It was a horror start for Delhi after electing to bat as Sreesanth bowled David Warner (3) and trapped Naman Ojha (0) in his first over, second of the innings.
But both the batsmen were unlucky as both the balls kept low, specially the ball in which Ojha was declared lbw, was almost unplayable.
The track was double paced and the uneven bounce made life tough for the batsmen. Sehwag though was in no mood to go without a fight as he quickly extracted four boundaries, three off the RP Singh's overs.
Delhi reached 34 for two in six but Ravindra Jadeja made it 37 for three by trapping Y Venugopal Rao (1) and Delhi's innings was in complete disarray.
There was no space for extravagance and Sehwag too decided to hold the one end tight as Delhi reached 46 for three after 10 overs.
The fourth boundary of the innings came from the blade of Yogesh Nagar, who dispatched one from Vinay Kumar to the extra cover fence.

Sehwag upped the ante by hitting Jadeja for back-to-back sixes and then raised his half-century by pulling Vinay Kumar for a six over mid-wicket in the 15th over.
Nagar was run out in the same over but now there was no stopping Sehwag, who smashed Balachandra Akhil for a six and two fours in the next over.
Spinner Romesh Powar was given the similar treatment but Sehwag could play till the end.

KKR rock Kings with quick wickets

Kolkata: The Kolkata Knight Riders gained an early momentum against the Kings XI Punjab as they struck with quick wickets in their IPL match at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Saturday.
Earlier, KKR's skipper Gautam Gambhir won the toss and elected to bowl first.
The home side made just one change into their playing eleven with all-rounder Rajat Bhatia replacing Jaidev Unadkat.
The visitors, on the other hand, included Bhargav Bhatt and Bipul Sharma to their side.
Knight Riders would like to continue the momentum they got from the win against the Delhi Daredevils few days back. Kings, who have fared well so far in the tournament, would also hope to beat the Knights in their own backyard.
Teams:
Kolkata Knight Riders: Jacques Kallis, Shreevats Goswami, Gautam Gambhir(C), Manoj Tiwary, Yusuf Pathan, Eoin Morgan, Ryan ten Doeschate, Rajat Bhatia, Brett Lee, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Iqbal Abdulla
Kings XI Punjab: Adam Gilchrist (C), Paul Valthaty, Shaun Marsh, Dinesh Karthik, David Hussey, Abhishek Nayar, Ryan Harris, Piyush Chawla, Praveen Kumar, Bhargav Bhatt and Bipul Sharma.

Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar give newly-appointed India coach Duncan Fletcher unfriendly welcome

Outspoken ... Kapil Dev says and Indian should coach the national side. Source: Marwan Naamani / AFP

India's newly-appointed coach Duncan Fletcher got a taste of the challenges he faces when two senior former players said a fellow countryman should have got the job instead.

Fletcher, a former Zimbabwe all-rounder who rose to prominence during his eight-year stint as England coach, was awarded a two-year contract on Wednesday by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar, former India captains and influential voices in the cricket establishment, expressed displeasure over Fletcher's appointment.
"Who is Duncan Fletcher?" Dev told the Hindustan Times newspaper.
"I would like to see Venkatesh Prasad and Robin Singh (former India players) as coaches of the India team. Not because they are Indians but because they did a great job at the T20 World Cup in 2007."
Gavaskar said former India all-rounder Mohinder Amarnath, who played a key role in guiding the team to their first World Cup win in 1983, should have been picked.
"Someone like Amarnath would have been a better choice for the simple reason that the core of the India team today is from the Hindi-speaking belt," he told the NDTV news channel.

"He would have got on brilliantly with this group as well as the seniors. It would have been a lot easier for Amarnath to understand and interact with the players.
"There is a perception and a wrong one that an Indian (coach) can be influenced and that he will get involved in politics. You are presuming that he cannot be a strong person."

Former Sri Lanka captain Hashan Tillakaratne makes fresh match-fixing allegations against former teammates

Hashan Tillakaratne... has alleged Sri Lanka's cricketers are involved in match-fixing. Source: Phil Hillyard / News Limited

The spectre of match fixing has never been far from cricket in 2011 and despite the success of the World Cup new allegations have been made.

Sri Lanka's former cricket captain Hashan Tillakaratne claimed  that his country had been fixing games since 1992, once again raising the spectre of corruption in the sport.
The left-handed batsman, who played 83 Tests and 200 one-dayers for Sri Lanka during his 15-year career, said he was prepared to back up his allegations by naming some of those involved.
"Match fixing is something which has been in this country over a period of time. This has spread like a cancer today," Tillakaratne was quoted as saying by Sri Lanka's Daily Mirror.
"According to my knowledge, it happened since 1992.
"There were threats of this issue being exposed at various times ... But it was pushed down by giving money to various people.

"If the people who were responsible for that are listening to this, I state this today with great responsibility, I will shortly reveal the names of those responsible.''

Tillakaratne, who skippered Sri Lanka between April 2003 and March 2004, stopped short of suggesting the 2011 World Cup final was rigged, although he expressed reservations about the selection of the Sri Lankan team that was beaten by India.
There was no immediate comment from the Sri Lankan cricket board over the allegations.

White believes Chargers can upset Chennai

 

Although defending champions Chennai Super Kings are a formidable force at home, Deccan Chargers can topple them if they combine their batting and bowling units effectively, feels the Chargers vice-captain Cameron White.

White said he was positive that the Deccan Chargers could pull off an upset win against the men in yellow when they face them in a crucial tie at the M A Chidambaram stadium on Sunday.

"We haven't won two games in a row but on Sunday is a good opportunity to do that. We won against Kochi the other day and hopefully, we can start to go on a bit of a run," said the Aussie all-rounder.

"Our captain (Kumar Sangakkara) is playing beautifully at the moment. Sunny Sohal has done well, (Bharat) Chipli has also done quite well. I think our bowling unit has been generally very good and if we combine our batting and bowling we're a pretty good side and a tough team to beat," he added.

White also said that Chargers are a good bowling unit and they can pose a tough threat to Chennai.

"We have a good attack of pace and spin. We have Indian bowlers who know the conditions and of course Dale Steyn, one of the best fast bowlers in the world. Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha will provide variety."

A victory over M S Dhoni's men - who are unbeaten at home - will put the Deccan outfit level on points with the defending champions.

"Obviously, every game is very important now. Everyone's beating everyone out there. No one's really slipping away at the top of the table. If we win tomorrow it will be our fourth win and we'll be pretty close to those top four positions.

"But Chennai are a very good side and this is their home ground. We should put things in place so that we can get the right result."

Asked what's tough about playing Chennai at home, he said, "Well, they're obviously a very good side and have a very good captain. And combining that with probably knowing the conditions very well and playing them very well," said White.

Lauding Deccan's leggie Amit Mishra, who with nine wickets is among the top bowlers in this season, White said, "Mishra's been outstanding, probably one of the best bowlers in the competition. He's right there among the top wicket-takers. He's probably our best bowler."

He also heaped praise on Ishant Sharma, who bagged five for 12 in the previous game against Kochi Tuskers Kerala to steer Deccan Chargers to 55-run victory.

"And in the last game when the conditions suited bowling, Ishant (Sharma) showed how good a bowler he is."

With the Chepauk pitch traditionally aiding spinners, White said it was an advantage to have two of the three best Indian spinners in the team.

"Mishra and (Pragyan) Ojha are bowling beautifully at the moment. They give us a lot of options on alternating them with pace at one end or bowling them in tandem."

White said the wicket "looks pretty good across the 40 overs" and suggested it wouldn't matter if a side lost the toss.

"Obviously it's Kumar's decision (over the toss) but it looks pretty good and you can chase or you can set up the target and win the game. I am not sure it's that important what you do first, you've got to do it well," said White.

On his own performance, which has been below-par so far, White said, "I got into my 30s and got myself out a couple of games so if I get some runs and hit a bit of form I'll be ok."

Warne uncertain for Pune match

 

Rajasthan Royals captain Shane Warne is uncertain for his side's crucial Indian Premier League match against Pune Warriors India on Sunday as he is carrying a swollen knee.

The legendary Australian spinner was seen gauging the strength of his knees during Saturday's practice session.

"Yes it is still swollen. Cartilage of my left knee is inflamed. There is swelling and I will have another look at it in the morning," Warne said.

Warne hurt his knee while fielding in their seven-wicket win over table toppers Mumbai Indians but hoped that he will be fit to play Pune.

"My knee got stuck when I dived for the ball while fielding yesterday. I have had three operations on that knee. I have been icing it and I will use more ice packs. Hope I can be fit for the match against Pune," he had said.

Rajasthan Royals all-rounder Ashok Menaria, however, dispelled any fears about Warne's participation in Sunday's match.

"There is nothing wrong with Shane (Warne) and he is out for the practice," Menaria said when asked about his skipper's injured knee.

Sources also said that Warne would be playing against Pune even if he is less than hundred per cent fit.

It was obvious I had to bat longer: Sehwag

 

Delhi Daredevils captain Virender Sehwag, who came up with a patient knock against the Kochi Tuskers Kerala, said he was determined to bat throughout the innings.

The wicket was not easy, I took the responsibility to play a long innings: Sehwag.[© AFP]

Sehwag led from the front with a 47-ball 80 to guide Delhi to a challenging 157 for seven and then his bowlers, led by Morne Morkel (3/18) and Roelof van der Merwe (3/20), responded brilliantly to bowl out Kochi for 119 and register a 38-run win.

"Absolutely happy. The wicket was not easy, I took the responsibility and once we crossed 120, I thought we had got par. We were very happy we got 158," Sehwag said after the match.

"I was hitting the ball nicely, it was obvious I had to bat longer. I told myself if I just stayed longer we could get 130, a good total on this wicket. And then just told my bowlers to bowl straight, and the wicket would do the rest," he added.

Kochi skipper Mahela Jayawardene said that Sehwag's brilliance up the order took the game away from his side.

"130-140 would have been competitive, but 160 is tough. Viru batted really well and it was crucial to get him early," he said.

He also said that after a relatively good start Kochi bowlers were not up to their mark in the last 10 overs of Delhi innings.

"The way we bowled in the last 10, we didn't have any control over things. We didn't bowl good areas. The first 10 we were good," Jayawardene said.

Asked about the unpredictable low Nehru Stadium wicket on offer in Saturday's match, he said: "Just the low bounce. The best thing was to bat without thinking too much about it."

Afghanistan cricket teams play in Pakistan

Rashid Latif is keen to unearth new talent

Afghanistan coach Rashid Latif hopes to unearth new cricket stars among poor refugee communities during matches being played in the Pakistani border city of Peshawar, he said on Friday.

Although Pakistan no longer hosts international cricket because of poor security, war-torn Afghanistan's cricketers are crossing the border to play in Peshawar because their main grounds are being renovated.

The area is home to thousands of Afghans who have fled decades of war and conflict in their poverty-stricken homeland, with many living in mud-brick refugee camps.

"Because of renovation work... we are playing a tournament of three-day matches in Peshawar followed by a Twenty20 and then a one-day tournament, and I hope these events will help us find more players," Latif told AFP.

The former Pakistan wicket-keeper took over as Afghan coach last year and instantly helped them win the four-day Inter-Continental Cup, before guiding them to a shock win over Pakistan in the Asian Games Twenty20 semi-finals.

Afghanistan lost to Bangladesh in the final in Guangzhou, China.

Most of the Afghan team learnt the game as refugees in Pakistani camps after Soviet troops invaded their country in 1979.

Latif, 42, said the three-day tournament is named after Ahmed Shah Abdali, a Muslim ruler regarded as the father of modern Afghanistan.

"We have included three national players in each of the six teams named after provinces of Afghanistan and have also included the Afghan under-19 team so that they can prepare for the qualifying round of the Junior World Cup," said Latif, who played 37 Tests and 166 ODIs for Pakistan.

Latif said three-day matches will help the senior team, which is to defend its ICC Intercontinental Cup title in July.

"The facilities provided in Peshawar are world-class so playing here will give our players a chance to improve and this is a great help from Pakistan," said Ahmed Shah Taqseem, umpires' manager.

Taqseem, who is also on the Afghanistan Cricket Board's technical committee, said the country is determined to continue its improvement.

"We realise that in order to improve at an international level we need to strengthen our domestic set-up and we are endeavouring to do that," said Taqseem, who also aims to represent his country as an international umpire.

"We have cricket in 28 of the 34 provinces in Afghanistan and out of these... we have brought five teams and an under-19 team here," said Taqseem.

"We have a will to succeed in cricket and with help from Pakistan, the Asian cricket body and the ICC we feel the future is bright," he added.

Fletcher is the best man for the job, says Akram

Wasim Akram says Waqar Younis rates Duncan Fletcher very highly

Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram feels the decision of BCCI to appoint Duncan Fletcher as the chief coach of the national team is a positive one.

"After Gary Kirsten, Fletcher is the best man to be Indian team's mentor," Akram said on Friday.

"He is very experienced and has vast knowledge. Waqar (Younis), who played in Glamorgan when Fletcher was coach, praised his coaching skills a lot."

Akram feels most Indian players are experienced enough to handle situations on their own but Fletcher still had a role to play.

"This Indian team doesn't need coaching, but Fletcher's excellent man management skills will surely help," said Akram.

Former India captains Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev have spoken in favour of an Indian coach, post the Gary Kirsten era.

In his newspaper column, Gavaskar mentioned the name of Mohinder Amarnath "because most players represent the Hindi belt."

Akram says language is no barrier anymore. He feels a foreign coach is quite beneficial for the sub-continent teams simply because "he is a neutral guy."

Having worked with foreign coaches like Richard Pybus in Pakistan, Akram does understand a bit about foreign coaches and their ways.

"Our home-bred coaches have plenty of mood swings and preferences, but a foreigner will have no such things, no favorites. He just does his work, doesn't talk much with the media and remains focused on his work," explained Akram.

A former Zimbabwean international, Fletcher will take charge of Team India from the England tour which starts in July.

Akram feels Fletcher's work-experience in England will surely come in handy for Dhoni and team.

"Fletcher has done plenty of coaching in England, and he knows their players very well. Beating England at their backyard will be tough but Fletcher's presence in the Indian dressing room will be a huge advantage," feels Akram.

Fletcher has great skills as a coach, feels Gilchrist

Former Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist feels Duncan Fletcher's vast experience will be an advantage for the Indian team when they take on England later this year.

Leading Kings XI Punjab in IPL, Gilchrist however refused to comment on whether the former England coach will be able to replicate the success he achieved as the coach of the England team.

Asked to comment on the appointment of the 62-year-old Zimbabwean, Gilchrist said: "I won't pass comments on his age. It's more what skill he brings and the his level of enthusisam. He had all that in abudnance when he was coacing other teams."

"I don't know Duncan all that well. I met him a couple of times when I played against the team he coached. It's hard for me to comment whether he is going to be successful or not.

"He has obviously got great skills as coach and all the players from his previous teams seem to be supporting him and saying it's a pretty good appointment. So I wish him all the best," Gilchrist said.

No Indian flavour in Australia T20 Big Bash

Australia cricketers may be participating in the IPL but Indian players would not get the BCCI's permission to compete in the Twenty20 Big Bash League Down Under later this year because of domestic tournaments.

BCCI Chief Administrative Officer Ratnakar Shetty said the Board would not free the players of their domestic season commitments which run from October to March. The Big Bash is scheduled from mid-December until late January.

"Last year some teams wanted Indian players and they were not available because of (the) domestic tournament," he said.

India have a one-day series in Australia lined up next year soon after the Big Bash but even newly-appointed coach Duncan Fletcher can't ask for a earlier-than-scheduled trip Down Under for his players to get acclimatised.

"It's a policy decision of the board, the new coach has nothing to do with that, and when there is a domestic tournament on I don't think we will release any players.

"Sri Lanka now has some league in the month of July and it doesn't clash with our domestic tournament so whoever wants to go with prior permission can participate," Shetty explained.

Boucher replaces injured Haddin

 The Kolkata Knight Riders have confirmed that they will be without Australian wicket-keeper Brad Haddin for the rest of the IPL 4 season. Haddin, who had joined the KKR squad straight after their tour of Bangladesh was diagnosed with an acute fracture on his middle finger, an injury that he sustained during that tour.

South African wicket-keeper Mark Boucher is due to replace the Australian before their clash against the Deccan Chargers in Hyderabad on May 3.

Venky Mysore, the CEO and MD of Kolkata Knight Riders said, "We are very disappointed that Brad (Haddin) will be leaving the squad and will not take further part in IPL 4. In a short period, Brad had made his presence felt both on and off the field.

The Kolkata Knight Riders however, were positive about having Boucher as his replacement, "We are fortunate to have someone like Mark Boucher as Brad's replacement. Mark comes with a lot of experience and a terrific track record in all forms of the game".

Mark Boucher, who has earlier played with the Royal Challengers Bangalore did not feature is South Africa's squad for the 2011 World Cup.

Fletcher could come a cropper when he tours UK with Indian team: Swann

Graeme Swann is confident England can beat India

England off-spinner Graeme Swann has said that new Indian cricket team coach Duncan Fletcher could "come a cropper" if he tries to use his intimate knowledge of players such as Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Strauss against them this summer.

"Fletcher knows a few of our players better than some other coaches would," Swann conceded on Thursday, in between bites of halloumi at an Indian restaurant in east London.

The Telegraph, however, quoted him, as saying: "But there's a hell of a lot of our team he doesn't know at all. I think that will work to our advantage, because he might be trying to double guess us a little bit and come a cropper."wann also said that he bears no grudge against Fletcher for overlooking him during his time as coach of the England cricket squad between 1999 and 2007.

When Fletcher was in charge, he always thought of Swann as an arrogant young off-spinner.

"If I (Swann) was a coach 10 years ago, I don't think I would have picked me, and I wouldn't have particularly liked me being on that tour," Swann mused.

He added: "If you're my sort of character, you soon become quite irksome to the people around you if you're not backing your talk up on the field."e admitted that in 1999-2000, he just wasn't good enough to merit a place in the England squad.

Swann had to wait seven years for that second chance - seven years in which he swapped the spin-friendly pitches of Northamptonshire for the Test ground of Trent Bridge.

He learnt the art of patience and control - qualities that did not come naturally.

He finally made his one-day return in September 2007, contributing strongly to a rare England series win in Sri Lanka.

But his full blossoming - which has carried him to the heights of No 2 in the world rankings - would have to wait until after Andy Flower succeeded Peter Moores early in 2009, and promoted him to England's first-choice spinner ahead of Monty Panesar.

"I'd heard a rumour last week that Andy was taking the India job," Swann said. "I was a bit mortified when I heard that. I love the job he does, because he always picks me.

"Then Jimmy Anderson texted me to say that Duncan had been appointed. It's nice for him to come back to England, because he's got a fine record with the England team. Now he will get a chance to pit his wits against this new England side during the summer," Swann said.

Players can't ignore IPL lure - Law

Stuart Law, Sri Lanka's interim coach, has expressed sympathy with Lasith Malinga's decision to quit Test cricket due to a knee condition, but has also acknowledged that the lure of the IPL - with its bumper signings and opportunities to secure oneself financially in quick time - makes it difficult for players to continue playing international cricket. He added it was important to keep India "sweet", as that's where a significant part of the revenue for several cricket boards lies.

Malinga made himself unavailable for Sri Lanka's upcoming tour of England and announced his decision to quit Tests because of a "long-standing degenerative condition in the right knee". While the condition made it difficult for him to play in the longest format, he intends to continue playing limited-overs cricket, and is currently the leading wicket-taker in the IPL, where he represents Mumbai Indians.

"'It's disappointing that he doesn't want to play [the] longer [format cricket] but you can't make [force] a guy who goes through hell every time he bowls a cricket ball," Law told The Age. "I can sympathise with him. I would love him to play every game for us but that's impossible, no one does that these days.

''It's a tough one for the players because we're not talking about $10,000 here and there. We're talking about a million dollars and Malinga, when he bowls, he puts his body through hell, so … two more years of IPL cricket and he can put his feet up and not go through that pain again."

Apart from Malinga, there are three other prominent Sri Lanka players participating in the IPL - Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara. The tour of England clashes with the latter stages of the IPL, and there's been confusion in Dilshan's case about when he'll join the Sri Lanka squad. He had said he wanted to join as early as May 10, ahead of the first warm-up game, but the BCCI and the Sri Lanka board are negotiating his release date. Sangakkara and Jayawardene, meanwhile, will join their squad ahead of the second warm-up fixture.

''The IPL situation - we've got to be smart with that,'' Law said. ''India, they are big brother, we've got to look after them, we don't want to upset them. It's where a lot of the world cricket boards make a lot of their money, so we've got to keep India sweet.''

The financial incentive of the IPL was a major temptation for players, Law said. ''You want the best for your players and the best Sri Lanka can supply to the players at this stage is nowhere near what other international players are getting.

''I think [better pay] will arrive one day but right now it is difficult to attract the players to continue to play international cricket when they can go to the IPL for six weeks and earn five years' money.''

Sri Lanka have undergone a change in leadership since finishing runners-up in the 2011 World Cup, with Sangakkara and Jayawardene stepping down as captain and vice-captain respectively - decisions Law could "totally respect and understand" - and their selection committee resigning. Dilshan has been named the new captain and Law has taken over from Trevor Bayliss, who he worked with as assistant coach.

''Sri Lanka will go through a rebuilding phase now," Law said. "But the amount of talent that is yet to play international cricket at this stage is amazing."

Delhi rout Kochi after Sehwag masterclass

Virender Sehwag showcased his class on a tricky Nehru Stadium surface on which numerous deliveries hardly got up above ankle height. Sehwag took his time before exploding in the end to lift Delhi Daredevils to 157, a score that proved beyond Kochi Tuskers Kerala and breathed some life in to Delhi's doddering campaign. In a knock that must surely go down as one of the best IPL innings, Sehwag smashed 49 off his last 15 deliveries to surge to 80 off 47, on a wicket where even survival was an achievement for batsmen.

Smarting from the big defeat against Deccan Chargers on a green-tinged home pitch, Kochi went to the opposite spectrum of surface preparation, dishing out a dry and loose wicket on which the ball kept alarmingly low right from the start. But they ran in to a determined Sehwag who, quickly realising that his usual cavalier style was not going to work, changed his approach, playing as safely as a Sehwag can.

The surface had come under scrutiny at the toss when Sehwag voiced doubts over it, saying the top surface was coming loose when someone walked on the wicket. Right away, the first ball from Sreesanth, in the second over, hardly got above David Warner's shin, and disturbed his off stump as he was caught clueless on the back foot. The fourth ball just rolled along the ground after pitching on a length, catching Naman Ojha on the boot in front of leg stump as Sehwag watched incredulously from the non-striker's end.

Delhi's innings was built around a 56-run stand between Yogesh Nagar and Sehwag after Venugopal Rao fell to leave them at 35 for 3 in the seventh over. The extent to which Sehwag reined himself in was evident when Delhi went without a boundary for 38 balls. It was Nagar who ended the drought when he launched R Vinay Kumar past extra cover in the 12th over.

Sehwag, who was on a scarcely believable 31 off 32, broke free in the next over, slamming Ravindra Jadeja for consecutive sixes over long-off and deep midwicket. On a pitch where batsmen were finding it difficult to hang in, Sehwag toyed with the bowling. The shots that had been put away came out in a torrent of calculated hitting. It rained pulls, whips, inside-out lofts, late cuts on a hapless Kochi attack. Vinay Kumar disappeared for 15 in the 15th over, B Akhil was scattered for 18 in the next. 

Sehwag's complete control over his craft was on display against Ramesh Powar. Even as the offspinner tossed the ball up, Sehwag found time to dance down the track and lift him effortlessly against the turn over extra cover. His dismissal in the next over off Vinay was also characteristic, caught at deep extra cover on the edge of the rope, going inside out with three men in front of square on the off side boundary. But his charge lifted Delhi to 157, after they had been 62 for 3 in the 13th over.

Shell-shocked Kochi's only chance on the treacherous wicket was if their top order came good, but it wasn't to be. The pitch didn't play a major role in the first two dismissals though. IPL debutant Michael Klinger flicked Morne Morkel only for Roelof van der Merwe, in for the injured James Hopes, to pull off a blinder at square leg. Two deliveries later, Brendon McCullum decided that the only way to tackle the unpredictable surface was the blind charge, and lost his middle stump to Irfan Pathan.

Parthiv Patel found just how difficult the track was, as a back-of-a-length Pathan delivery barely rose a foot, easily going under his defensive push and disturbing off stump. As a disgusted Parthiv walked off in a volley of expletives, it was left to Kochi's two most-experienced batsmen, Mahela Jayawardene and Brad Hodge, to salvage the chase from 28 for 3.

Jayawardene hung around for a while but it was always going to be difficult to get more than eight an over on such a wicket. In trying to whip Ajit Agarkar over midwicket, he spooned a tame catch to Sehwag when on 18. Hodge could not capitalise on a dropped chance by Pathan on 15 and his dismissal by Morne Morkel in the 14th over effectively ended Kochi's chances though a few hits from Ravindra Jadeja reduced the margin of defeat.

Botha stars as Rajasthan hammer Mumbai

Mumbai Indians' first batting collapse of the tournament gave Rajasthan Royals a small target of 95 to chase on a dry and cracked pitch in Jaipur. Although the home team had to fight hard for their victory, it ended up being a comprehensive one. 

Sachin Tendulkar expected conditions to be difficult for batting but he probably didn't expect that none of his batsmen would score more than 17. Mumbai started confidently with Tendulkar driving the second ball through point and Davy Jacobs punching the ball over long-on for the first six of the innings. Jacobs went three balls after that shot when he played across the line to an Amit Singh delivery that uprooted middle stump.

Match Meter RR Tendulkar falls: On a slow pitch, Sachin Tendulkar charges Ashok Menaria and is stumped. Mumbai are 28 for 2 RR Warne strikes: After two consecutive match-winning innings, Rohit Sharma has to do it again. This time he falls to Warne's guile for 13. RR Botha makes an entrance: In the 16th over, Botha strikes with his third ball, trapping the dangerous Kieron Pollard lbw. Mumbai are 68 for 5. RR Malinga countered: Shane Watson and Rahul Dravid see off Malinga's two-over spell without damage, and Rajasthan take a giant stride towards victory Advantage Honours even

In the next over, Tendulkar was stumped off the bowling of Ashok Menaria to give the left-arm spinner his first wicket in Twenty20 cricket and deny the spectators the possibility of a Tendulkar versus Shane Warne special. Menaria showed confidence in flighting the ball and reading the batsmen's intentions. He was rewarded for a second time when he bowled a short delivery to Ambati Rayudu, who charged down the pitch and offered Menaria a simple return catch.

Shane Warne brought himself on and had success in his second over, inviting Rohit Sharma to drive in the air to Johan Botha on the long-off rope. Kieron Pollard scored his first run of this year's IPL with a flick through square leg and together with Andrew Symonds had to set about rebuilding the innings.

The pair lasted 33 balls before Johan Botha trapped Pollard lbw, as he completely missed the offbreak. Botha struck twice in his next over, bowling Symonds with a ball that kept low and enticing R Sathish to charge down the pitch and get stumped. The procession continued when Lasith Malinga was dismissed for one by Amit Singh.

Mumbai avoided the ignominy of being bowled out within the 20 overs as Harbhajan Singh swatted at four deliveries in the final over before finally connecting for a six. But, they finished on their lowest total in IPL history.

It was always going to be difficult to defend 95 but with an aggressive bowling attack, Mumbai may have had some hope. Lasith Malinga started in his usual toe-crushing fashion while Munaf Patel was also accurate. He got an early breakthrough with a slower ball that Rahul Dravid scooped to Tendulkar at midwicket.

Ali Murtaza, who was brought in in place of Abu Nechim, was bowling a difficult line and length and with the pitch keeping low he was almost impossible to get away. Watson and Botha saw off his first two overs and although the required-rate was never going to trouble them, they picked the balls to hit well.

Botha slog-swept Harbhajan for six while Watson hit Pollard for a straight six over his head. They handled Murtaza with greater ease in his second spell and the chase was turning into a stroll. Tendulkar brought Malinga back into the attack, and after three full balls, he banged one in short to Watson who was caught behind off an edge.

Ross Taylor joined Johan Botha and the pair concentrated on rotating the strike, which was all they needed to do. Two fuller deliveries were punished with Taylor stroking a ball through the covers for four and Botha lofting one over midwicket. Botha took Rajasthan to the brink and was bowled with just five runs left to get for the win. Rajasthan have now won 14 out of 18 home games in IPLs, with 11 of those wins coming in Jaipur.

Fletcher could 'come a cropper' against England - Swann

Duncan Fletcher may have coached the England team for eight years but there's still a "hell of a lot" about them that he "doesn't know at all", offspinner Graeme Swann has said. Fletcher was named India's new coach, replacing Gary Kirsten, and his first assignment is likely to be the tour of England later in the year.

Swann, who was not in Fletcher's good books when he first played for England in 2000, said any presumptions from the coach about knowing it all about England had the potential to backfire.

"Fletcher knows a few of our players better than some other coaches would," Swann told the Daily Telegraph. "But there's a hell of a lot of our team he doesn't know at all. I think that will work to our advantage, because he might be trying to double guess us a little bit and come a cropper."

Swann made his ODI debut on the tour of South Africa in 2000, when Fletcher was coach, but lost favour with the team due to his off-field behaviour. He played his first Test almost eight years later. "If I was a coach 10 years ago, I don't think I would have picked me, and I wouldn't have particularly liked me being on that tour," Swann said. "If you're my sort of character, you soon become quite irksome to the people around you if you're not backing your talk up on the field. 

"I was just a young upstart tourist, and it was a good job I didn't play because I wasn't good enough. I'd probably have been found out and cast aside for good, and never been given my eventual second chance."

There are several players in the current England set-up who've either not played under Fletcher or done so only occasionally. Jonathan Trott and Steven Finn made their debuts after Fletcher left, while Stuart Broad, Tim Bresnan and even Swann gained prominence much later.

"It's nice for him to come back to England, because he's got a fine record with the England team," Swann said. "Now he will get a chance to pit his wits against this new England side during the summer. Technically, though, I don't think it helps him much to know a few of our players, because there's so much footage available that you can work anybody out."

Even James Anderson, who Swann believes could be the key against India, played only 16 of his 57 Tests under Fletcher. "If the ball swings like it did last year and Jimmy bowls as well again, there's no team in the world that can touch us," Swann said. "I think we will give India a very good run for their money, if not beat them."

Kohli, Gayle blast Bangalore to 181

Chris Gayle began the violence, and Virat Kohli managed to add his own touches to it. The result was that Pune Warriors bled 181 runs in their 20 overs, despite conceding only six runs off the final over. Ninety-one of those runs came in seven overs of mad hitting against Kamran Khan and Jerome Taylor, leaving Pune a tough chase to end their four-match losing streak.

It was the typical IPL innings from Royal Challengers Bangalore: keep out the good bowlers, and go after the weakest link. It did not take them long to spot the weakest link in the Pune attack. Kamran ran in for the third over, slipped in his delivery stride and lay sprawled on the turf. He managed to recover from that fall, but was soon floored once again by a murderous assault from Gayle. Pune kept slipping from the moment Kamran slipped.

Alfonso Thomas and Jerome Taylor had bowled two tight overs, showing the pitch had enough spice in it for the seamers. Kamran's lengths, unfortunately, were straight out of Chris Gayle heaven. He began his spell with a short-of-a-length delivery. Gayle pranced out of his crease and carved through the covers. Kamran went fuller with the third ball, and Gayle launched him over long-off. Kamran promptly dropped short, and Gayle swung him almost onto the roof of the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The next one was too full, and Gayle scythed through the off side. Twenty off the over, and the home crowd was dancing in joy.

Two more quiet overs followed before the carnage continued against Kamran. The length did not seem to matter anymore, as Gayle just looked to get behind the line and lash at everything. Two length balls were mowed through the leg side, before a very full delivery outside off was knifed over the point boundary, as Bangalore soared to 57 off the Powerplay.

Rahul Sharma's innocuous legbreaks pulled things back as he zipped a quicker one past Tillakaratne Dilshan's pull, before winning a dodgy lbw appeal against Gayle when he was on 49. Only one boundary came in the next five overs - a six off who else but Kamran - as Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers coiled up for the closing assault. Rahul's first three overs went for 13 as he ensured his lengths weren't too full, and kept varying the pace. His last over, however, was the start of Bangalore's final fling.

Kohli, who had moved to 27 off 26 balls by the end of the 14th over, went berserk thereafter, looting 40 off the last 16 balls he faced. The shot that stood out in his rain of sixes was the swat-flick off the front foot through wide mid-on, with the bottom hand imparting unreal power. He redirected Rahul through the leg-side twice in the 15th over before driving Jesse Ryder on either side of the wicket for elegant fours.

Taylor bowled too full in the 18th over, and Kohli pummelled him for another six over square leg before mis-hitting him for six more over third man. In the meantime, de Villiers thumped Ryder straight for the biggest six of the day. As if that violence wasn't enough, Saurabh Tiwary slugged Taylor into the midwicket stands as Bangalore's total soared out of control. Thomas bowled out of his skin to finish with figures of 2 for 23, but his good work, and Rahul's, was undone by their colleagues.

Haddin ruled out of IPL with a broken finger

Brad Haddin's Indian Premier League campaign was cut short after the KKR wicketkeeper was detected with a fractured finger.

An MRI in New Delhi on Thursday revealed that the injury sustained during Australia's series in Bangladesh has not healed as he is all set to fly home and undergo a surgery.

The 33-year-old Aussie wicketkeeper was not available for the first three outings of the KKR as he was busy with national duty in Bangladesh.

After joining the side, Haddin scored 18 in his only appearance for the Knight Riders in their nine-wicket loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore in Kolkata.

Brad Haddin's IPL campaign was cut short after the he was detected with a fractured finger.[© AFP]

Confirming the development, Knight Riders coach Dav Whatmore said, "We will make an announcement on his replacement in due course."

The Kolkata franchise, who roped in Haddin in January's auction for USD 325,000, is running against time to make an announcement about the replacement player as the IPL rule stipulates that a team can get a replacement player only before playing eight matches. The Knights take on Kings XI Punjab in their eighth match on Saturday.

An injury-prone Haddin had missed Australia's five-match ODI series against England last year due to an elbow injury.

New captain Shortis confident

Norway's new captain, Dan Shortis is excited about the team he will be leading at next week's Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Division 7 in Gaborone and is looking forward to a packed week of cricket.

The top order batsman said: "It's been a lot of fun preparing for this tournament and working with the team. They're a great bunch of guys and there are plenty of leader types within the squad which makes it easy to motivate them as a team. They've all be working really hard on their fitness and preparation so in that regards I don't have to do too much.

"We've got a professional coach which has also been a great help when stepping into the captaincy, so all I've had to do is make sure we set good team goals, roles and responsibilities and make sure we play together as a unit."

Shortis also believes the conditions of Botswana will suit the Norwegian side: "We also play on synthetic pitches here in Norway so that's always a positive as we know what type of conditions to expect in the sense, along with the fact the temperature won't be too hot for us to be playing. I think it's going to be really fun playing in a different country and its going to be something we embrace as a side. We will be focusing on our individual roles and our cricket but at the same time it's a great opportunity for us to be playing cricket in somewhere like Botswana."

"We've played a few of the sides before that are involved in the tournament but we've made an effort to research the others that we'll be facing and looking to see where we can do well. We've also looked back on where we've gone wrong against the side's we have faced and looked to improve and make sure we don't make the same mistakes again,"said Shortis.

Finally the captain said there were a few players in the squad that followers of the tournament should keep an eye out for including Shahid Ahmed amongst others in the side: "I think someone like Shahid is exceptionally talented – he was one of our highest run scorers' back in 2007 and he's got the experience and talent to do well in this tournament.

"Shabbaz Butt is improving all the time and is in great form and I think will be extremely competitive in this event with both the bat and the ball while my vice-captain Iram Dawood who is our first change bowler is extremely determined and well-prepared for the event."

Lion heart Rampaul exploits extra bounce

Ravi Rampaul takes his 4th wicket.

Fast bowler Ravi Rampaul was awesome with the ball and bowled his way into the hearts of West Indies fans at Kensington Oval, on Thursday - National Heroes Day.

The lion-hearted effort of 4-34 from nine overs was however not enough to prevent the Windies from going down for the third time in the ODI Series.

The bowlers were asked to defend 171 in 45 overs and Rampaul put his hand up as Pakistan were made to work hard for their 177-7 from 40.1 overs. The visitors won by three wickets to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match rubber.

"When I went out I realised the pitch was offering extra bounce and some movement and I decided to exploit it. I knew we made a low total so I had to be spot on from the start. I knew if we were going to win the match we had to take all 10 wickets so I was looking to bowl Pakistan out," Rampaul said after the match.

"I was hitting my areas from the start and I was feeling really good in my body and in my mind. When I got the first two wickets I knew we were in with a huge chance and I decided I would go right through to the end and try to finish the job for the team. I felt I did a good job but the disappointing thing was that we lost the match."

Operating from the Malcolm Marshall End at the south, Rampaul got wickets with his first two balls to get the crowd into the match. Among those in the stands was legend Sir Garfield Sobers, Barbados' only living National Hero.

"We lost the match and Pakistan won the Series, but we won't fall apart. We are getting closer to winning and we all want to taste that winning feeling. We have two more matches left in this series and we will be playing to win. We still believe we can do the job," Rampaul said.

I am available for West Indies tour: Harbhajan

Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh today said that he would be available for the Indian cricket team''s forthcoming tour of West Indies but was not aware of the plans of other senior players.

"I have no idea from where the news (of senior players opting out of West Indies tour) have poured in. As far as I am concerned I am available for the tour," Harbhajan told reporters ahead of his IPL side Mumbai Indians' match against Rajasthan Royals here tomorrow.

"As far as others are concerned neither I have talked to anybody and nor any body has talked to me. We will be playing three tests there and I don't want to miss any of those," he said.

Talking about the winning streak of the Mumbai Indians, Harbhajan said that he was happy the way things were going.

"I am happy with the way things have gone till now. We have been through rough patches but one or the other has been able to pull us through. Like in the last match Rohit Sharma and Andrew Symonds batted well to help us to reasonable score which could be defended," he said.

Asked about the good form of Rajasthan Royals captain Shane Warne, Harbhajan said, "He is great cricketer and greatest spinner. I myself would be talking to him and get tips so that I can prolong my international career."

Harbhajan praised his team-mate Ambati Rayudu, saying that the youngster is a "special talent".

"It would also be a challenge for youngsters like Rayudu to face a great spinner (in Warne). He (Rayudu) is a special talent and we always knew that. He was unfortunately lost in between but lately he has been performing well. He is capable of filling in the big shoes of great Indian batsmen like VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid," he added.

Talking about his own role in the side, Harbhajan said that it had not changed much.

"I and seniors like Sachin try and build the team like a unit and instill confidence in the youngsters by telling them to be part of think tank," said Harbhajan.

Asked about the sharp fielding of Mumbai Indians which has helped them win a few matches, Harbhajan said that the players have responded to the drills of fielding coach Jonty Rhodes.

"We have South African Jonty Rhodes as the fielding coach and boys have responded well. In the previous match it was the fielding rather my five wicket haul which had won the match for us."

Fletcher will be successful in India: Atherton

Mike Atherton rates Duncan Fletcher very highly

Former England captain Mike Atherton on Thursday predicted that Duncan Fletcher's stint with the Indian cricket would be successful, just like that of his predecessor Gary Kirsten.

BCCI appointed Fletcher as India's coach for two years as Kirsten decided against extending his contract.

"Fletcher will be closer to his predecessor Gary Kirsten, who helped to take India to the top of the Test rankings, as well as winning the World cup, than to Greg Chappell, whose bruising confrontational nature proved to be calamitous," Atherton wrote in 'The Times'.

The former England skipper said since Fletcher will have some known faces around, he is unlikely to face any problem while doing his job.

"Kirsten is a protege of Fletcher's and India's most successful coach would have spoken highly of Fletcher's abilities, something that may have influenced the BCCI's decision.

"Already in place is another Fletcher charge, Eric Simons, the bowling coach whose tenure was extended yesterday, so ensuring that Fletcher has a friendly face when he starts in the job," Atherton said.

Fletcher is the fourth successive foreign coach that India has appointed, after the trailblazer John Wright, now in charge of New Zealand, Chappell and Kirsten.

Meanwhile a report in 'The Guardian' said, Fletcher's main role will not be not much of "maintaining the performance of the star players but of bringing on the next generation, particularly bowlers, where there appears a dearth of emerging talent."

"Kirsten's success as national coach gave him absolute credibility with the players, administrators and supporters alike and his recommendation, which Fletcher's appointment appears to be, would carry consequent weight, the report said.

Sehwag happy with Fletcher's early appointment

Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir

India and Delhi Daredevils opener Virender Sehwag reckons the BCCI did the right thing by appointing Duncan Fletcher as coach soon after Gary Kirsten's departure as it has given the Zimbabwean enough time to settle with the side.

"It's good for India. It's a good thing that the BCCI has found a replacement in quick time. It will obviously help the players and the new coach to settle down early. He (Fletcher) will get enough time to do home work before our series against England starts," Sehwag said.

Fletcher, a former England coach who guided them to the memorable 2005 Ashes triumph, would not be able to join the Indians during next month's tour of the West Indies due to personal reasons but would be there when Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men tour England later this year.

The former Zimbabwe captain's appointment has evoked mixed reactions with some former greats including Sunil Gavaskar insisting that an Indian would have been a better choice.

Asked whether he has had any interaction with Fletcher, Sehwag merely said, "No, I don't know him."

Sehwag's opening partner Gautam Gambhir, on the other hand, is not even thinking about the new coach right now as he is completely focussed on his role as Kolkata Knight Riders skipper in the ongoing Indian Premier League.

"Right now, my concentration and focus is totally on the IPL. I am not thinking about all these things. I will only think about all this once the IPL ends," he said.

As Kirsten's successor, Fletcher has massive expectations to live upto as the amiable South African left after taking India to their first World Cup title in 28 years besides being at the helm during some of the most memorable overseas triumphs of the team.

Kolkata fight back to keep Delhi bottom

Delhi Daredevils' all-pace attack seemed to have done enough at the halfway stage to get their team a much-required win but Kolkata Knight Riders showed their mettle to scrap their way to an 18-run victory on a two-paced Feroz Shah Kotla track.

Both teams seemed to have misread the pitch, packing their sides with quicks. It was left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdulla though who was the most influential of the bowlers, spinning his first ball "like Warne to Gatting" according to Brett Lee, as he nipped out three wickets in a stifling spell.

After Delhi chose to bowl, Irfan Pathan found that elusive and coveted inducker to shackle Kolkata at the start, Umesh Yadav bowled it fast and at the batsman's chest to snuff out two key batsmen in the middle overs, and even the much-ridiculed Ajit Agarkar kept it tight in the final over.

If the usually incisive and economical Morne Morkel was Delhi's most expensive bowler, Kolkata's best batsman was not one of their big-money imports, but their local boy, Manoj Tiwary, who made a combative half-century to stabilise the innings. 

Still, Delhi had a seemingly below-par target to chase, and that was looking even smaller when Virender Sehwag was crashing boundaries at will through the off side. A murderous blast over cover followed by a piledriver past backward point from Sehwag in the fourth over took Delhi to 28 for 1.

Match Meter KKR DD Gambhir falls: Kolkata slipped to 82 for 3 in the 12th over as Gambhir holes out DD Umesh's two-in-two: Kolkata's two dangerous batsmen, Yusuf Pathan and Eoin Morgan, fall on consecutive deliveries in the 15th over to put Delhi on top KKR DD Sehwag bounced out: Unadkat slips in two short deliveries in a row, the second of which is top-edged to fine leg by Sehwag KKR Abdulla strikes: Hopes slashes a short ball to cover, and Delhi's chances evaporate as they slide to 83 for 5 Advantage Honours even

Everything changed in the next two overs. Abdulla, the first spinner to bowl in the match, ripped the ball a long way in the fifth over, making the ball stop and nearly had James Hopes giving a return catch. Then, Jaidev Unadkat, who was getting the ball to jag around, fired in two bouncers at Sehwag, the second of which was top-edged to fine leg.

That massive wicket and the big turn combined to squeeze the runs, and only 21 came off the next five overs before Abdulla had Irfan swiping to Ryan ten Doeschate at midwicket. With Delhi's experiment with Tasmanian batsman Travis Birt failing, much depended on Hopes, who also perished to Abdulla; ending a patient innings with a punch to cover in the 15th over. Three balls later, Abdulla had his third with Naman Ojha mowing to the deep, and at 86 for 6 Delhi were out of it.

Shah Rukh Khan and the rest in the Kolkata camp were briefly worried when Delhi blasted 14 off the 18th over, though they were smiling again as Brett Lee killed off the game with a perfect penultimate over which had two runs and two run-outs.

That silenced the Kotla crowd, which had plenty to cheer early on as their fast bowlers tied down Kolkata's heavyweight batting. Jacques Kallis was swallowed up in the fifth over by the exaggerated inswing Irfan was extracting and Gautam Gambhir holed out against Hopes' no-frills bowling for 18.

Tiwary was not at his most fluent, though he muscled the odd boundary to drive Kolkata ahead. The men Kolkata expected the big hits from - Yusuf Pathan and Eoin Morgan - perished off successive deliveries from Umesh to leave the side at 105 for 5 in 15 overs. Though only three boundaries came off the final five overs, the total ultimately proved sufficient.

With the win Kolkata became the fourth team to occupy second spot in five days. While there has been plenty of churn in the middle of the table, there's been no change at the top and bottom for several rounds, with Delhi remaining stuck at the wrong end.

Chanderpaul questions Hilaire's comments

Former West Indies captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul has demanded an explanation from WICB chief Ernest Hilaire regarding the comments he made regarding the lack of discipline and application in the team, leading up to its massive post World Cup overhaul. In a strongly-worded letter addressed to Hilaire, a copy of which is with ESPNcricinfo, Chanderpaul questioned whether the comments were directed at him.

Chanderpaul, along with senior players Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan were axed from the side for the ongoing series against Pakistan. Hilaire's interview with Line and Length network, a copy of which was later released by the WICB, touched upon a number of the problems ailing West Indies cricket over the past 15 years.

Chanderpaul's concerns were over the following excerpt from the interview: "If you look at West Indies cricket since the mid-90s, a lot of the systems we had in place broke down. There's no discipline, there's no application. We've been doing that for 15 years and we've been losing. We need to put a new system in place. No one man is bigger than the team, no one man is such a superstar he can decide if he is training today, if he's going to have treatment tomorrow, if he's going to attend a team meeting. It cannot work that way."

In response, Chanderpaul wrote: "I am particularly concerned about the following statements: 1. There's no discipline, there's no application. 2. No one man is bigger than the team, no one man is such a superstar he can decide if he is training today, if he's going to have treatment tomorrow, if he's going to attend a team meeting.

"I am of the opinion that anyone reading these comments in the specific context will conclude that:

"1. I, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, am an indisciplined individual and during my tenure as a West Indies player over the past fifteen years have lacked discipline and contributed to the West Indies team losing.

"2. I, Shivnarine Chanderpaul have not applied myself or demonstrated any real application to my role as a member of the West Indies team over the past 15 years and by so doing have contributed to the West Indies team losing.

"3. I, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, consider myself to be bigger than the team.

"4. I, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, while a member of the West Indies team during the past fifteen years, have decided when I was training or not training.

"5. I, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, while a member of the West Indies team during the past fifteen years, have decided when I was going to attend or not attend team meetings.

"6. (Based on the accusations above) I, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, while a member of the West Indies team during the past fifteen years, have disregarded the coaches and managerial staff or undermined team discipline by my actions and attitude." 

Chanderpaul also questioned whether the statements were reflective of Hilaire's personal opinion, or were made in his capacity as WICB chief. "If they were made by you, I note that you constantly use the word 'we' in the excerpt above," Chanderpaul wrote. "I would like to know if this is a 'royal we' or, in other words, are you speaking for yourself, albeit as CEO of the West Indies Cricket Board or are you speaking for and on behalf of the West Indies Cricket Board itself? This is important to me since I believe I have served the WICB and West Indies Cricket faithfully and well during my career and it would be difficult for me to accept that the members of the board of directors of West Indies cricket have sanctioned those remarks. On what basis have you made those statements and with what purpose?"

Asking Hilaire to reply urgently, Chanderpaul said he was worried the comments would damage his reputation. "I am convinced that those persons who do not know the sacrifices I have made on behalf of West Indies Cricket and my dedication to the cause of West Indies Cricket would believe, based on what you have said in your interview, that I lack discipline and application and have not demonstrated the sense of responsibility which I know that I have shown throughout my career. While I would refer you to my unblemished reputation for professionalism and to all the other CEOs, coaches and managers with whom I have worked, I believe that you have crossed the line by making these public accusations that, while they may include others, are also directed at me and if unchallenged and corrected may destroy my career."

Chanderpaul told Hilaire in his letter that if he did not receive an adequate explanation he would take whatever action necessary to clear his name. "While it would help if the WICB as an organisation repudiates your comments in this regards, it would still not be sufficient to erase the tremendous damage already done. I await your urgent response and reserve all of my rights in this matter."

Calm Misbah secures series victory

Ravi Rampaul single-handedly gave West Indies hope of keeping the one-day series alive with a blistering spell in Barbados to cut through Pakistan's top order. He ripped out three early scalps and, bowling his full allotment of overs unchanged, also accounted for the dangerous Umar Akmal leaving Misbah-ul-Haq as the key to the chase as Pakistan hunt victory.

The only way West Indies were going to claw their way back after a pitiful batting effort was to take quick wickets and Rampaul, recalled for this match to bolster the pace attack, delivered with dramatic results. He was aided by the over confidence of Ahmed Shehzad, fresh from his hundred in St Lucia, who tried to pull Rampaul's first delivery and top-edged to a back-tracking Lendl Simmons.

Then with his second ball Rampaul doubled his tally as Asad Shafiq pushed hard outside off and sent an edge to second slip; suddenly the West Indian fans started to find their voice. This tour started on the slow, low pitch of the Beausejour Stadium were the ball barely got above knee height but this Kensington Oval surface had far more pace and carry for the pace bowlers who were willing to bend their back.

Pakistan's batsmen were clearly uncomfortable in the conditions - or at least weren't willing to adjust their gameplan - and Mohammad Hafeez was the next to fall to another top-edged pull which was well taken by Devendra Bishoo, running towards deep square-leg, to leave the visitors 12 for 3.

Chasing a small target, Pakistan had some breathing space which allowed Mishah to take his own sedate time, but Umar also played his natural game and attacked the bowling. He struck five boundaries in a 27-ball stay before being undone by a wonderful delivery that bounced and shaved the glove as the batsman tried to sway out of the line.

However, from there West Indies couldn't force another vital breakthrough as Misbah continued to be a steadying presence and Hammad Azam, in his first ODI innings, showed composure and also pulled a free hit from Andre Russell for six.

West Indies 171 (Simmons 51, Darren Bravo 47, Ajmal 3-29, Wahab 3-38) v Pakistan
Live scorecard

The one-day series continued to follow a familiar path as West Indies fell away in depressing style by losing eight wickets for 53 to put Pakistan within sight of a series victory. Lendl Simmons and Darren Bravo set a solid platform in a match reduced to 45 overs per side by morning rain, but the innings almost came to stand still after they departed and soon fell in a heap amid a mixture of prods, pokes and hopeless slogs.

Marlon Samuels, who is struggling to adjust back to international cricket, was again culpable in the loss of momentum as he took 35 balls over his 18, while Kirk Edwards laboured until being run out by a direct hit and between them the pair added 13 runs in six-and-a-half overs. Aside from Simmons, and to a lesser extent Darren Bravo, there is precious little confidence in West Indies' line up and it showed as the innings faded away with Wahab Riaz taking two in three balls.

Devon Smith's horror trot against Mohammad Hafeez's offspin had continued when he was trapped lbw first ball, the third time in a row he had fallen in such fashion. Hafeez has a similar stranglehold over the left hander as Graeme Swann imposed when West Indies faced England and Smith has little idea how to counter the straighter deliveries from round the wicket.

With Junaid Khan's first two overs costing just two, West Indies struggled for early momentum but then Bravo found the cover boundary with a back-foot drive despite a slow outfield. Simmons also responded with an elegant, powerful flick over deep midwicket for six off Junaid and the innings was starting to gain some shape.

The Pakistan spinners have posed a huge number of problems, but Simmons unleashed a strong slog-sweep against Saeed Ajmal for his second six and cut Shahid Afridi through backward point to reach 49. After reaching fifty from 61 balls Simmons had time to double his score, but drove a fraction too early and offered a low chance to Ajmal who took it well in his follow through. The onus was on Bravo not to follow a similar path of giving away a useful innings however, having struggled to get his strike-rate much above fifty he then played across a full ball from Hafeez as the stall kicked in.

Samuels struggled as he has throughout the series while Edwards could barely get the ball away against Ajmal. Samuels' painful stay was ended by the impressive Junaid who cramped him for room as he tried to force through the off side. Edwards briefly broke free with a thumping straight six off Ajmal, but Umar Akmal's direct hit from backward point found him well short.

Any hopes of pushing past 200 vanished in the space of three balls from Wahab as he had both Darren Sammy and Dwayne Bravo caught at long on. What compounded the shots was that if West Indies had had the foresight to take the batting Powerplay that fielder may not even have been there. That was eventually left to the bowlers and unsurprisingly they weren't up to the task with Devendra Bishoo's attempt at a reverse sweep ending the innings with eight balls unused.