Kochi, October 16
Star-power is missing after heavyweights from both the teams were either rested or ruled out but weather-permitting, a cracker of a contest can still be expected when India and Australia lock horns in the first ODI of a three-match series here tomorrow.

Buoyed by the thrilling 2-0 Test series win over the Aussies, Mahendra Singh Dhoni's India would look to carry on the good form when they face a depleted Australia, to be led by Michael Clarke after Ricky Ponting was rested.

The Indians would be without senior stars such as Sachin Tendulkar, who has been in excellent form of late, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Ghambir. While Tendulkar has been rested, Sehwag and Gambhir are nursing knee injuries, giving youngsters such as Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli and Saurabh Tiwary to make a mark for themselves. But despite being a depleted side due to the absence of Ponting, Shane Watson and Mitchell Johnson, Clarke's men are no pushovers and have the ability to absorb pressure.

Clarke himself is hungry for runs after aggregating just 35 runs in Mohali and Bangalore and would be expected to play the sheet anchor role for the Aussies as they strive to hold to their top ranking in the ICC one-day format.

Going by current form, India can be fancied as the better team on paper but it remains to be seen whether the new ball bowlers -- Ashish Nehra, Munaf Patel and R Vinay Kumar -- would be able to make an impact on the batting-friendly strip here in the absence of senior pacer Zaheer Khan.

But all these assessments would come to a naught if the weather gods refuse to oblige.

It has been raining persistently here and the organisers are keeping their fingers crossed for clear skies tomorrow. The teams have been denied their net practice sessions and have decided to do some limbering exercises at the hotel itself.

In case the weather holds up, enthralling cricket appears to be in store in the day game at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium where Suresh Raina and Murali Vijay, who have done appreciably well in the just-concluded Test series, looking to make a mark.

The off-colour Yuvraj Singh, who was dropped from the Test team, would be aiming to make his case for a return after performing well in the Irani Trophy domestic cricket.

Kochi has been a happy hunting ground for India as they have won four of the six matches played here at the Nehru stadium.

Exuding confidence of performing well against the Australians in the shorter version of the game too, Dhoni said, "the rivals are two top teams in world cricket. We are hoping that it will be interesting. Both the teams are not fielding their best elevens. Australia has rested about six to seven players." "The youngsters are our bench strength and they will get a chance to prove themselves. They also get to know how international cricket is tough and learn the areas that they need to improve. I think it will be a good series," he stated.

The Australians would once again find it tough against the Indian spinners. Even the senior players such as Michael Hussey were clueless as to which way the ball was going to turn when Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha bowled in Mohali and Bangalore.

As the aura which had enveloped the Australian cricket team for so many years wears off, Clarke's men will have to come good in the one-day matches to prove that the team is still competitive.

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Capt), Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Saurabh Tiwary, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Aashish Nehra, Munaf Patel, Praveen Kumar and Vinay Kumar.

Australia: Michael Clarke (Capt), Cameron White, Michael Hussey, Tim Paine, Doug Bollinger, Callum Ferguson, John Hastings, Nathan Hauritz, James Hopes, Clint McKay, Shaun Marsh, Steven Smith, Michael Starc and David Warner.

Umpires: Billy Bowden (New Zealand) and Amiesh Saheba

Match Referee: Chris Broad — PTI 

Chandigarh, October 16
When the first ODI starts in Kochi on Sunday, Ricky Ponting will not be there to lead the Australians. Michael Clarke will be in the lead role for the ODI series. The Australian selectors have chosen to give Ponting a break so that he can go away and recharge his batteries before the arduous Ashes get underway next month. But the question uppermost in the minds of most critics is whether the time has come for Ponting to hand over the baton of leadership to Michael Clarke on a permanent basis?

Captain Ponting has now lost five Test series-including the recent one to India---and has been roundly criticized for his tactics (or lack of them) by former teammate Shane Warne and former Australian paceman Geoff Lawson. Most of this criticism seems to be unfair. For Ponting, as we all know, is a great leader of men. During these past few years, he has been given a raw bunch of players and he has led them with aplomb. But this strain of leading a greenhorn side has taken its toll on Ponting, the batsman.

After the retirement of Hayden and Gilchrist, Ponting (and to a certain extent Michael Hussey) remains the pillar on which much of the Australian batting rests. In these tough times, a raw Australian line-up needs Ponting--the batsman--more than Ponting--the captain. So, seen against this backdrop, the criticism leveled by Warne and Lawson, seems justified to an extent. If Ponting were to hand over charge to the younger Clarke (Ponting is almost 36 and Clarke 29) and concentrate solely on his batting, it could possibly help the Australian side more.

Such a thing is quite common in the Indian set-up. Tendulkar relinquished captaincy to pay more attention to his batting and that has not harmed the Indian team at all. Dravid led the side during Greg Chappel’s tenure but is now content playing under Dhoni and sticking to his batting alone. But, this is not the Australian way of playing cricket. If Ponting were to relinquish captaincy then perhaps he will have to announce his retirement as well. That’s the way the Australians go about their cricket. Steve Waugh had scores of 40 & 80 in his last Test in Sydney in 2004 and had some batting left in him when he passed on the mantle of captaincy to Ponting and chose to walk away from it all. In all, Waugh played 168 Tests.

Ponting has so far taken part in 148. So, by that reckoning, Ponting still has about 20 more Tests to go as captain. But pup’s (Clarke’s nickname) ready to take over from punter (Ponting’s nickname). After 64 Tests and 178 ODIs, Clarke appears to have the necessary acumen to lead the side. He has been Ponting’s deputy long enough to finetune his leadership skills and also be ready to unleash his own fresh brand of captaincy. He has already been given the reins of the Australian T20 side. And, when Ponting retires, Clarke will be Australia’s captain in all three forms of the game.

For his last 30 tests and 50 ODIs (or thereabouts), if Ponting can breakaway from the Australian tradition and reconcile with playing under Clarke, concentrate all his energies on his batting, then perhaps the Australian line-up will have a more solid look about it.

]The Australian side needs batsman Ponting like never before. Captaincy can be taken of by Michael Clarke. 

Shanghai, October 16
Resurgent fourth seed Andy Murray overwhelmed Argentine Juan Monaco 6-4 6-1 at the Shanghai Masters on Saturday to book a place in the final.

The Briton, seeking his second Masters' tournament title of the season after shaking off recent illness, bewildered the unseeded Monaco with his precision shots.

“I was feeling good. I played one bad game on my serve at the end of the first set. I just needed to focus. I chased a lot of balls down, " said Murray, who has yet drop a set in the tournament.

Several times, he drew Monaco to the net before launching booming backhands or lobs towards the exposed baseline, even breaking his racket strings after one return to foil the stunned Argentine.

Crowd-favourite Murray took one hour 25 minutes to see off his former training partner and will next meet either Serb Novak Djokovic or world number three Roger Federer who play in theother semi-final.

"I do really enjoy playing Roger and wouldn't mind playing

him. It's a great experience every time," said Murray, who beat the world number three in August at the Toronto Masters.

“Novak is playing great. Last week (at the China Open) he didn't drop a set and hasn't dropped one this week. I'll need to play an unbelievable match to beat him," he added. — Reuters

Jalandhar, October 16
Punjab Police, Jalandhar defeated Punjab National Bank (PNB), Delhi 2-1 in the inaugural match of the 27th Indian Oil Surjit Hockey tournament being played at Burlton Park here today. In another one-sided match Border Security Force, Jalandhar thrashed rivals Namdhari XI Sirsa 1-0 .

Earlier, the inaugural match began on a fast note with Punjab and National Bank taking the lead. The lone penalty corner conversion came from Shivdeep Singh (PNB) in the 5th minute of the game 1-0.

Punjab Police men consolidated their lead in the 35th minute of the game when Prabdeep Singh posted a goal 1-1 through penalty corner. Till half time the score was 1-1.

In the second half of the game the goal came in the 40th minute when Yograj Singh posted a field goal taking the score to 1-2.

Earlier the Punjab Police men lost a golden chance of scoring through a penalty corner conversion in the 35th minute of the game.

The Punjab National Bank men tried their best to mount pressure on Punjab Police but to no avail. In the 56th minute of the game Jaswinder Singh lost a golden chance to convert a penalty corner conversion, which would have given his team a well-deserved draw.

Punjab Revenue Minister Ajit Singh Kohar inaugurated the tournament and announced a grant of Rs 2 Lakhs to the Surjit Hockey Society. 

BRIEFLY

Gill: Not responsible for Charlesworth’s resignation
New DelhI: Indian Hockey Federation president KPS Gill on Saturady said he had nothing to do with the resignation of India's former coach Ric Charlesworth. Gill said Charlesworth, who was a technical consultant for India for eight months in 2008-09 before an acrimonious fallout with the country's administrators, was not unhappy with the IHF which had always wanted his services. The IHF supremo said that Charlesworth had problems with Sports Authority of India and that led him to quit his job. — PTI

Aerostat damaged JLN ground
New Delhi: The huge helium-filled aerostat, that was the cynosure of all eyes at Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, left a massive depression in the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium as it was lifted up, prompting organisers to seek the help of security forces to cover the damage. About 80 truck-loads of sand was used to fill the space left by the balloon as the Delhi police and central paramilitary forces personnel burnt midnight oil to ground the sand and beautify the stadium, sources said. — PTI

Sushil to skip Asian Games
New Delhi: Commonwealth Games gold medallist wrestler Sushil Kumar has decided to skip next month's Asian Games in China because of a shoulder injury. Sushil, who won the Commonwealth Games gold in the 66kg category, does not want to aggravate his injury suffered during the World Championships last month. "I am also having pain in the neck and I seriously need some time off," Sushil said. — PTI

Ready for probe: Kalmadi
New Delhi: Chairman of the Organising Committee of Commonwealth Games Suresh Kalmadi has welcomed the high-level probe committee appointed by the Prime Minister, headed by General V.K.Shunglu, to go into all the aspects of the Commonwealth Games preparation, including corruption charges. "The Prime Minister has apointed a committee to probe into all matters relating to the Commonwealth Games. We welcome the initiative and hope that it will be comprehensive, covering all aspects. The Organising Commite will be happy to provide all support to the panel", Kalmadi said here on Saturday. Kalmadi admitted that during the run-up to the games, many concerns were expressed about India's ability to conduct the games and ensure the security and safety of the athletes and guests. "All these were cleared and the athletes and officials have left Delhi very satisfied", he added."We have delivered the task of conducting the games really well", Kalmadi noted. — TNS

Poonia rewarded ` 15 lakh
Jaipur: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot today felicitated Krishna Poonia for making India proud by winning the gold in discus throwing at the Commonwealth Games, won by an Indian in athletics after 52 years. Apart from the cash reward, Gehlot also announced other rewards for Poonia from the state government — posting as DSP with the Rajasthan police , allotment of free MIG 'B' house and Rs 5 lakh additional amount for preparation for the 2012 Olympics to be held in London. Her husband and coach Virendra Poonia has also been awarded Rs 7.5 lakh in cash. — PTI

Kochi to submit papers next week
Mumbai: The owners of the Kochi IPL franchise is believed to have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) stating that Rendezvous Sports will hold only 10 per cent sweat equity in the team now. Rendezvous Sports World is owned by a consortium that includes businessman Vivek Venugopal, Sunanda Pushkar and Shailendra Gaekwad. It was originally meant to hold 25 per cent sweat equity in the team. According to sources, the consortium will submit the new terms to the BCCI early next week. — PTI