S P O R T S

Bowling combo gives Dhoni headache
Colombo, September 18
Fully aware that bowling is one of his team`s weak points, Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Tuesday indicated that he could opt for five specialist bowlers in future if the part-timers don`t perform as per expectations. “Initially, we would like to sustain with seven batsmen but if part-timers are not able to perform, we might have to play with six batsmen and five bowlers," Dhoni said on the eve of his team`s opening World Twenty20 match, against Afghanistan, here tomorrow.

Coach Duncan Fletcher (L) speaks with captain MS Dhoni at a training session at Nondescripts Cricket Club in Colombo ahead of Group A match against Afghanistan on Wednesday. — Reuters

Lanka unleash Mendis curse on Zimbabwe
Hambantota, September 18
Ajantha Mendis bettered his own T20 record by taking six wickets for just eight runs as Sri Lanka walloped minnows Zimbabwe by 82 runs in the opening match of the World Twenty20 cricket tournament, here today.

‘2007 win changed the course of world cricket’
Five years ago, the course of world cricket was irrevocably changed by the hand of a man called Joginder. The Indian cricket establishment hated Twenty20 cricket until September 2007. Sharad Pawar, then the BCCI president, was vehemently opposed to the shortest format of the game, invented in England to fill up stadiums with after-office and after-school audiences. When the proposal for the Twenty20 World Cup was tabled at the ICC in 2007, India expressed its opposition to the idea. Pawar, with loftiness that now seems full of irony, said: “India does not support a Twenty20 world tournament. We feel it dilutes the importance of international cricket.”

I have played my last match for India: Bhupathi
Mumbai, September 18
In the twilight of his international career, 12-time Indian Grand Slam winner Mahesh Bhupathi on Tuesday said that he had probably played his "last" match for the country. At loggerheads with the All India Tennis Association (AITA) for a while, Bhupathi was last week slapped a two-year ban by the game's governing body.

Mahesh Bhupathi clarifies his position regarding the two year ‘ban’ on Tuesday. — AFP

KP not in Test squad for India
London, September 18 Kevin Pietersen has been left out of England's Test squad for the tour of India as the controversial batsman pays the price for the text message scandal that has left his international career in tatters. Pietersen was dropped for the final Test against South Africa after sending texts to opposition players that contained criticism of then England captain Andrew Strauss.

Afghanistan seek to boost war-torn homeland
Rising from the ruins of war to challenge the world's cricketing establishment, Afghanistan's rag-tag team hope to inspire the conflict-ravaged nation with a strong showing at the T20 World Cup in Lanka. Afghanistan take on the might of India in their first group match in Colombo on Wednesday, having qualified for their second Cup.

Afghanistan skipper Nawroz Mangal accepts a bat signed by Indian team members on Tuesday. — Reuters

Bowling combo gives Dhoni headache
Indian captain says might have to use five bowlers at some stage

Colombo, September 18
Fully aware that bowling is one of his team`s weak points, Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Tuesday indicated that he could opt for five specialist bowlers in future if the part-timers don`t perform as per expectations.

“Initially, we would like to sustain with seven batsmen but if part-timers are not able to perform, we might have to play with six batsmen and five bowlers," Dhoni said on the eve of his team`s opening World Twenty20 match, against Afghanistan, here tomorrow.

Previous Encounter India has played Afghanistan once in Twenty20 Internationals during Twenty20 World Cup, 2010 on May 1, 2010 at Gros Islet. Batting first, Afghanistan made 115/8 in 20 overs. India chased down the total (116/3) in 14.5 overs. India won by seven wickets. TODAY INDIA VS AFGHANISTAN (7.30PM) GROUP B: AUSTRALIA VS IRELAND (3:30 PM) LIVE ON STAR CRICKET

Indian bowlers were clobbered by Kamran Akmal and Shoaib Malik in their final warm-up game yesterday, resulting in a five-wicket loss.

“Yes, bowling has always been a concern for us. Our bowling line-up is slightly weaker than our batting. But we have experienced bowlers who can do the needful," he said. Even as the likes of Lakshmipathy Balaji, Irfan Pathan, Zaheer Khan were taken to the cleaners, Dhoni gave indications that he would stick with the three pacer and one spinner formula for the time being.

“We lack consistency of bowling well at the death overs. We need to have more variations and we will be trying different strategies and field placements to back our bowlers.

“My ideal bowling combination will be three pacers and one spinner and part-timers. Unlike Indian conditions where there is a chance of playing two specialist spinners," Dhoni said.

Questioned on the fixed formula of playing seven specialist batsmen and four bowlers that has been the trend for a long while now, Dhoni said the practice has been prevalent “for past 50-55 years.” “Actually, we have some of the batsmen at the top of the order who believe in expressing themselves from the first delivery. They like getting after the bowlers and so a cushion of seventh batsman helps our cause,” he reasoned.

The skipper also seemed relieved with Rohit’s performance in two practice games. “If you see his Twenty20 record, he has done well. He has the ability to play big shots and can hit all around the park," he said. Dhoni, however, ruled out the possibility of promoting himself up the order. “I don`t think that`s an option as we have Virat at No 3 and then Yuvraj, Raina and Rohit. I would rather come at the slog and take it from there on." The skipper felt that if they bat first, it would be advisable not to have a fixed score in mind.

Lanka unleash Mendis curse on Zimbabwe
Two Mendises — Ajantha and Jeevan — mop up visitors for just 100 runs to set the ball rolling in the tournament

Ajantha Mendis celebrates after scalping six wickets on his comeback in the first match of ICC Twenty20 Cricket World Cup at Hambantota on Tuesday. — AFP

Hambantota, September 18
Ajantha Mendis bettered his own T20 record by taking six wickets for just eight runs as Sri Lanka walloped minnows Zimbabwe by 82 runs in the opening match of the World Twenty20 cricket tournament, here today.

Sri Lanka recovered from a slow start to post a huge 182 for four and then bundled out Zimbabwe for 100 in 17.3 overs in the Group C match at the Mahinda Rajapakse stadium. The Zimbabweans struggled to handle spin and were bamboozled by Ajantha (6/8) and Jeevan Mendis (3/24), who shared nine wickets between them.

Ajantha's figures were best in Twenty20 cricket as he improved on his own early figures of six for 16 which he had claimed against Australia, last year.The hosts owed their impressive total to Kumar Sangakkara (44) and Jeevan as the two left-handers put on a 94-run stand for the fourth wicket.

Sri Lanka were 107 for three in 14 overs but Sangakkara and Jeevan took the game away from the minnows with their superb batting. Zimbabwe had done well in the early part of the Lankan innings but leaked 75 runs in the last six overs to let go the advantage.

The total proved too big to manage for Zimbabwe against an experienced bowling line-up. Ajantha was too hot to handle as he conceded just eight runs in his four overs and two of them maiden. The Zimbabweans could manage just five boundaries in the first 10 overs, three of them coming from the bat of Hamilton Maskadaza (20), who was top scorer for them.

Ajantha struck twice in two balls in the sixth over as he first rattled the stumps of Vusi Sibanda (11) and then had skipper Brendan Taylor stumped in the next ball.

Maskadaza was batting confidently and had even dispatched dangerous Lasith Malinga twice to the boundary line but he also failed to pick Ajantha and became his third victim.

Jeevan after contributing with the bat, struck twice in his first over as he scalped Criag Ervin (10) and Malcolm Waller, who went without troubling the scorer.

At 58/5 in 11 overs, Zimbabwe's chase was in disarray and it was over. — PTI

SCOREBOARD

‘2007 win changed the course of world cricket’
Rohit Mahajan/tns

Five years ago, the course of world cricket was irrevocably changed by the hand of a man called Joginder.

The Indian cricket establishment hated Twenty20 cricket until September 2007. Sharad Pawar, then the BCCI president, was vehemently opposed to the shortest format of the game, invented in England to fill up stadiums with after-office and after-school audiences.

When the proposal for the Twenty20 World Cup was tabled at the ICC in 2007, India expressed its opposition to the idea. Pawar, with loftiness that now seems full of irony, said: “India does not support a Twenty20 world tournament. We feel it dilutes the importance of international cricket.”

There was another, more compelling reason – One-day cricket, with 100 overs of play, has greater room for commercial breaks (read money) on TV than 40 overs of Twenty20 cricket.

You know what? What Pawar feared has actually occurred. The importance of international cricket has been diluted.

And, not surprisingly, it’s the Indian cricket board that is at the root of it, embracing Twenty20 cricket with great passion, playing months of Twenty20. Because of the money on offer here, players from around the world want to play for an IPL team rather than their home teams, raising questions over their commitment to their land of birth and cricketing evolution. In 2007, the other permanent members of the International Cricket Council didn’t share Pawar’s stated principles about the primacy of international cricket. The ICC voted 9-1 in favour of the proposal, BCCI being the sole dissenter. The stage was set for the first Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa.

Guess what? India won the World Cup when, in the last over of the tournament bowled by Joginder Sharma, Misbah-ul-Haq attempted a scoop over short fine leg and was caught by S Sreesanth. The win caught the imagination of a nation thirsting for sporting glory. Joginder Sharma became a hero, India was hooked.

The history of modern cricket was ready to be written, this time by the Indian cricket board, in gilded letters, with the grammar of Twenty20 cricket. Change had already been afoot, actually, before India won in South Africa. Earlier that year, angry at not being awarded the TV rights to broadcast cricket, the Indian television giant Zee Group launched the Twenty20 Indian Cricket League, signing up players like Brian Lara and Inzamam-ul-Haq. Kapil Dev, roped in by the Zee Group, announced that they were on the verge of signing up Australian superstars Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath.

The BCCI reacted quickly, setting up its own Twenty20 league. Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble – all of whom had spurned the chance to play for the nation in the first Twenty20 World Cup – were present at the launch in September. McGrath flew in, now part of the BCCI’s plan. He was accompanied by Stephen Fleming, and Warne too could not resist the lure of the rupee.

Then, of course, India won the title in South Africa. The win was made in heaven, the timing perfect. India was gripped by T20 fever. There was a bowl-out victory against Pakistan. Yuvraj Singh hit six sixers against England. South Africa choked and India made the semifinals, where they stunned Australia.

The final was against Pakistan, and it couldn’t have been more exciting – Misbah-ul-Haq kept Pakistan in the game until the last over, off which they needed 13. Misbah hit Joginder Sharma for a six off the second ball, and six were needed off the four remaining balls. We all know what happened next.

I have played my last match for India: Bhupathi

‘We followed rules’

KOLKATA: The All India Tennis Association today slammed veteran tennis player Mahesh Bhupathi for threatening to drag AITA to the court and said he was free to take legal action.

AITA senior executive committee member Hiranmoy Chatterjee told PTI that Bhupathi was banned from playing for the country till June 2004 under the rules provided in the constitution of the governing body.

“We took the decision after a meeting of the players disciplinary committee. Under Rule 36 A(2) of the AITA constitution, a player stands suspended under disciplinary grounds if he declines to play for state/country without reason,” Chatterjee said.

“We are firm on our stance. Let him take whatever action he wants to," he said. "We have not used the word ban. We would not consider him for selection till June 2014.” — Agencies

KP not in Test squad for India

"These discussions remain private and confidential and as there are issues still to be resolved Kevin has not been considered for selection for the India tour." Strauss retired from all cricket in the immediate aftermath of the Pietersen row and the fall-out from a stormy few months for English cricket continues to be felt.

Distracted by the controversy over Pietersen, England lost their place on top of the Test rankings to South Africa after being beaten by the Proteas in the recent series. There were also reports that Pietersen's relationship with the rest of his England team-mates had deteriorated over recent months and it has proved impossible to resolve so much conflict in just a few weeks.

Pietersen's omission and the selectors' decision to drop Essex batsman Ravi Bopara after poor run of form this year paved the way for two uncapped batsmen to be included in Alastair Cook's 16-man squad for the four-match Test series. Somerset's Nick Compton and Yorkshire's Joe Root have been called up after both enjoyed impressive seasons in English county cricket. Compton, the 29-year-old grandson of England great Denis Compton, was the top English batsman in the county championship with an average of 99. Root opened the batting for Yorkshire, averaging 43.41 and winning Cricket Writers Club Young Cricketer award. — Reuters

Afghanistan seek to boost war-torn homeland

Rising from the ruins of war to challenge the world's cricketing establishment, Afghanistan's rag-tag team hope to inspire the conflict-ravaged nation with a strong showing at the T20 World Cup in Lanka.

Afghanistan take on the might of India in their first group match in Colombo on Wednesday, having qualified for their second Cup.

The team's success against the odds, with many of its players born during the 1979-1989 Soviet occupation and knowing little of peace in their home nation, has drawn legions of Afghan youth to take up the game in recent years, said Nawroz Mangal.

Mangal said some 70,000 youngsters had started playing cricket after his team's breakthrough qualification for the 2010 T20 World Cup in West Indies. “Right now it is more than 500,000," Mangal said, referring to the country's cricket-playing population. “After participating in this World Cup, if we do better I expect 30 to 40 percent of the population to start playing cricket." Mangal led the team to a 51-run victory against a Sri Lanka ‘A' team on Saturday, with vice captain Mohammad Nabi scoring a 22-ball half-century with five sixes and wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Shahzad compiling a similarly quickfire 48.

Born in a refugee camp in the Pakistani frontier city of Peshawar, all rounder Nabi started playing cricket at 10.

“I played a lot of school cricket there as well as street cricket and everywhere with a tennis ball in Peshawar," 27-year-old Nabi said. He made his first-class debut with the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in 2007, having caught former England captain Mike Gatting's eye by scoring a century against the team during a tour of India.” — Reuters