Colombo, September 28
Australia thrashed India by nine wickets in their first Super Eight match. Earlier, India's batsmen managed to put up a modest 140 for seven in Colombo today.

Australian openers stopped at no point, firing away to defeat India with 31 balls to spare.

Indian batsmen struggled against the Australian fast bowlers as they managed to put up a modest 140 for seven in their Super Eight match of the World Twenty20, here today.

Opting to bat on a slowish wicket, India were found wanting against the pace of Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc while they had little answers for Shane Watson's guile.

Watson (3/34), and Cummins (2/16) shared five wickets between them while Starc removed one batsman. The experiment to promote Irfan Pathan as makeshift opener partially paid off as he made a scratchy 31 and was the top scorer while most of the other batsmen failed to cross 20.

Yuvraj Singh and Virat Kohli were done in by short deliveries, Rohit Sharma found pace too hot to handle. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni paid for his indiscretion. Suresh Raina (26) and Ravichandran Ashwin (16 not out) who hit a few meaty blows added 29 runs for the seventh wicket to rescue India after being precariously placed at 104 for six.

It was interesting that on a pitch which was considered to aid spinners, Australian pacers bowled with lot of fire sticking to their strengths. Gautam Gambhir struck three boundaries before he was run-out in the third over. Cummins successfully booted the ball onto the stumps while the opener was still short of his ground. The left-hander managed only 17. Failure is a rare phenomenon for Virat Kohli (15) these days and he started with couple of boundaries before mis-timing a pull shot of a short-pitch delivery from Cummins as Dan Christian took a well judged catch.

Yuvraj has done precious little since coming to Sri Lanka and the script didn’t change much as the pacers started peppering him with short stuff.

It was Watson again in his role of a partnership breaker sending Yuvraj and Pathan back in the dug-out in his new spell that saw India lose three wickets in a space of seven deliveries. — PTI

India

Gambhir run out 17

Pathan c White b Watson 31

Kohli c Christian b Cummins 15

Yuvraj c Maxwell b Watson 8

Rohit b Starc 1

Raina c Maxwell b Watson 26

Dhoni c Bailey b Cummins 15

Ashwin not out 16

Harbhajan not out 1

Extras: (b 2, lb 2, w 6) 10

Total: (7 wickets; 20 overs) 140

Fall of wickets: 1-21, 2-56, 3-70, 4-74, 5-74, 6-104, 7-137

Bowling: Maxwell 2-0-11-0, Starc 4-0-27-1, Cummins 4-0-16-2, Watson 4-0-34-3, Christian 2-0-19-0, Hogg 4-0-29-0

Australia

Watson c sub (Tiwary) b Yuvraj 72

Warner not out 63

Maxwell not out 4

Extras: (w 2) 2

Total: (1 wicket; 14.5 overs) 141

Fall of wicket: 1-133

Bowling: Ashwin 3.5-0-32-0, Zaheer 3-0-18-0, Harbhajan 2-0-20-0, Chawla 1-0-14-0, Pathan 1-0-19-0, Kohli 1-0-10-0, Yuvraj 2-0-16-1, Rohit 1-0-12-0

Colombo, September 28
MS Dhoni blamed batting failure and untimely brief spell of rain for India's rout against Australia as the team suffered a crushing nine-wicket defeat in a Super Eight group match of the World Twenty20 on Friday.

Just when Australia had began their chase, rain stopped play for about 10 minutes and India skipper said that it made conditions difficult for his spinners.

“We need to analyse what really happened. We got off to a good start, but lost quick wickets, and we were not in a good situation to cash in. That was the main reason for the defeat We were 20 short," Dhoni said.

“Rain came just at the wrong time. Just after the wicket was rolled. The wet ball is not good for spinners. It just reminded me of the England series, where nothing worked for spinners. That was the main reason we lost. No spinner told me the ball did not slip out of my hands," Dhoni added.

Dhoni praised Australian openers Shane Watson and David Warner for their superb batting but admitted that they squandered a good start. “We need to give them credit for the way they batted, but the ball was not stopping as it did in the first innings. We should have got bit more total,” he said. — PTI

Colombo, September 28
Umar Gul emerged as an unlikely batting hero as Pakistan came back from the dead to pull off a nerve—wracking two—wicket victory over South Africa in their opening Super Eights match of the ICC World Twenty20 here on Saturday.

Chasing a target of 134 on a difficult Premadasa strip, Gul produced a blistering 17—ball 32 while Umar Akmal scored an unbeaten 43 to guide the team to a thrilling victory with just two balls to spare.

Needing nine off the last over, Akmal pulled Morne Morkel for a six before Saeed Ajmal steered one through the vacant third—man region to win it for Pakistan, who were at a precarious 76 for seven in the 15th over.

Credit should go to Gul who smashed four huge sixes totally against the run of play to get Pakistan back in the match. Gul’s knock was crucial in the context of the match after South African spinners Robin Peterson and Johan Botha bowled brilliantly to set it up for AB de Villiers’ men. Gul was named the Man—of—the—Match for his batting after being introduced to bowl in the 18th over of the South African innings.

The low and slow nature of the Premadasa track with the odd—ball turning a fair bit did add to the batsmen’s woes in both innings and that makes Akmal’s innings even more valuable.

After Pakistan spinners displayed their prowess, it was the turn for Peterson and Botha, who were equally effective as they restricted the 2009 champions to 37 for four within the first seven overs. Peterson was most economical with figures of two for 15 in only four overs.

Dale Steyn started it all with a short ball that climbed late on Imran Nazir and his mistimed hook shot lobbed for AB de Villiers to take a simple catch. Peterson then dismissed rival skipper Hafeez with a classical left—armer’s delivery. Hafeez made only 15 off nine balls.

Peterson’s other wicket was also courtesy stumping. He pushed this one angularly and faster through the air as it beat charging Nasir Jamshed’s bat.

Kamran Akmal tried to go for a non—existent cut shot when Botha had hardly provided him with any room. At 37 for four, the writing was on the wall. Earlier, a brilliant performance by Pakistan’s spin quartet helped them restrict South Africa to a mediocre total. — PTI

South Africa

Levi b Ajmal 8

Amla c Malik b Arafat 6

Kallis c Afridi b Hafeez 12

Duminy c K. Akmal b Arafat 48

Behardienst st K. Akmal b Hafeez 18

De Villiers c Nazir b Gul 25

Morkel not out 9

Peterson not out 3

Extras: (lb-2, w-2) 4

Total: (6 wickets; 20 overs) 133

Fall of wickets: 1-8, 2-28, 3-28, 4-66, 5-110, 6-123

Bowling: Hasan 3-1-12-0, Arafat 3-0-25-2, Ajmal 4-1-26-1, Hafeez 4-0-23-2, Afridi 4-0-26-0, Gul 2-0-19-1

Pakistan

Hafeez st de Villiers b Peterson 15

Nazir c de Villiers b Steyn 14

Ahmed st de Villiers b Peterson 0

Akmal b Botha 1

Malik c Steyn b Kallis 12

Akmal not out 43

Afridi c A. Morkel b Duminy 0

Arafat c Duminy b Steyn 3

Gul c Peterson b Steyn 32

Ajmal not out 4

Extras: (b-2, lb-6, w-3, nb-1) 12

Total: (8 wickets; 19.4 overs) 136

Fall of wickets: 1-24, 2-30, 3-31, 4-37, 5-63, 6-63, 7-76, 8-125

Bowling: Steyn 4-0-22-3, M. Morkel 3.4-0-33-0, Peterson 4-1-15-2, A. Morkel 2-0-26-0, Botha 2-1-10-1, Duminy 2-0-5-1, Kallis 2-0-17-1.

Colombo, September 28
South Africa skipper AB de Villiers on Friday said that he made a few captaincy errors that might have helped Pakistan to snatch a thrilling win.

AB de Villiers said that South Africa lost the plot in the final few overs after spinners Robin Peterson (15 for 2) and Johan Botha (10 for 1) bowled brilliantly to set it up for the Proteas.

“It was great game of cricket. I'm proud of the way we fought back. We lost it in the last five overs," he said.

“Captaincy wise one or two errors there, but I'm proud of the boys," de Villiers said referring to his decision to under bowl Peterson and Botha.Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez was delighted with Gul's effort, “The boys played great cricket. We played a couple of bad shots but it was a great team effort," Hafeez said. — PTI

Kolkata, September 28
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly today backed the newly-appointed selection committee, saying the Sandip Patel-led panel is “definitely better” than the one headed by Kris Srikkanth.

“It's definitely a better selection committee than the previous one,” Ganguly told reporters a day after being replaced by Anil Kumble as BCCI's technical committee chairman.

Referring to the current panel, he said: “It's not an easy job and there would be criticism, but these guys understand cricket. They have the heart in the right place and they're trustworthy.

“I can't say much about (Rajinder Singh) Hans but I've played alongside (Vikram) Rathore and Saba (Karim) and I know Patil and (Roger) Binny... It's a very good selection committee.” Ganguly appeared disappointed but chose not to express in as many words his ouster as technical committee chief.

“I should not be discussing these things when India are playing Australia in a crucial Super Eight match. I don't know why (I was removed), but I'm not too worried,” he said.

Asked if he had lost the post for being vocal in criticising the selection policy, Ganguly said: “I don't know. I don't know whether it's for two years or what... But it's not a contractual agreement.” Ganguly had, in the aftermath of India's eight successive Test defeats, openly criticised the previous selection committee. Ganguly termed the ouster of Mohinder Amarnath from the previous panel as unfortunate.

“A lot of things happen. You just got to deal with it. It's unfortunate,” the most successful Test captain said.

Having replaced the great Sunil Gavaskar at the helm of BCCI's technical committee last year, the former India opener had been multitasking -- playing for Bengal and IPL franchise Pune Warriors, doing commentary besides handling the Board's job.

The Ganguly-led technical committee had made some bold decisions in the domestic structure that included doing away with the Elite and Plate divisions, which were ultimately replaced by three groups of nine teams each.

Even the Ranji Trophy points system had gone through a change, while the Challengers tournament was restructured with it being a competition among the winners of Vijay Hazare Trophy and two teams picked by the selectors. It was a decision, taken in the aftermath of India's 0-8 drubbing overseas, to bring emphasis on away performance, Ganguly had said.

“The basic emphasis is to see that Indian cricket does well overseas. That is going to be the biggest emphasis for whoever is concerned with Indian cricket. “The loss of eight Tests in a row has not been very good. So whatever amendments we make is to make sure we start playing well overseas. India will always play well at home,” Ganguly had said as technical committee chairman earlier. — PTI

Colombo, September 28
Last year, when Bangladesh was one of the host countries for the 2011 World Cup, the enthusiasm among the locals was staggering. For the first match against India, there were more than 20,000 people celebrating in anticipation of the opening game - from the previous midnight.

It was an incredible sight to see such excitement with as many as 24 hours to go. It was not just the teenagers or youth but young girls, women and even old people who were part of the crowd which kept singing and dancing all night long.

It seemed that Bangladesh was celebrating as if they had just been declared independent, so much the World Cup meant to the Bengalis in Dhaka and Mirpur.

It would be impossible to replicate that sort of enthusiasm for cricket anywhere in the world, but the lack of visible enthusiasm for the T20 World Cup among locals here has been very surprising. All the more so as this is the first time Sri Lanka is organising a senior ICC World Cup on its own, and not as a joint organiser, as was the case in the 1996 and 2011 World Cup.

There could be plenty of reasons for the lack of excitement. One theory is that since Sri Lanka are playing their first and second round matches away from Colombo, the majority of fans in the capital have not had any reason to be excited.

Some people are blaming the surfeit of T20 matches for the problem, as the inaugural Sri Lankan Premier League T20 competition ended just a couple of weeks before this tournament. Though the presence of international teams and traveling fans has ensured that all the hotels and casinos are doing great business in Colombo, the format of the tournament has left a lot to be desired.

Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly found enough time in between the two India matches to travel to Kolkata to spend two days at home, away from his commentary duties. When Sourav is reminded that we are halfway through the tournament, he smiles and asks what everyone is asking: “What halfway through! In reality, the tournament has just begun, from the Super Eight round. I don't understand the purpose of putting soft matches in the initial round.” Ganguly is not alone in questioning the duration/schedule/timings of the tournament. Rain has played a spoilsport in many matches and it has affected the overall rhythm of the tournament. The Irish team was terribly disappointed with the rain as it forced them out of the tournament for the second consecutive T20 World Cup.

After impressing everyone with their display in the 50-over World Cup last year, the Irish team didn't get enough opportunity to showcase their skills in a format tailor-made for upsets by the minnows.

Their visibly disappointed coach Phil Simmons agrees that the tournament could have been organised in a different way.

“I am sure of that. Everybody knows that this time around rain happens in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. So, it's up to them (ICC) how they look at this in the future. It has been very frustrating,” Simmons said. “If you ask the West Indies, they would have liked their game to be finished against Australia. We would have liked to have our game finished against Australia. The rain frustrated all teams.”

Although the ticket prices are not high, for some reason or the other, the matches haven't been sold out.

Things are likely to change in coming days. One witnessed hundreds of Indian and Pakistani cricket lovers from Dubai arriving today. It's going to be a Super Sunday as arch-rivals India are Pakistan are in action. Hopefully, that would provide a spark to the tournament.

The writer is a journalist with CNN-IBN-7

Medinah, September 28
Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell struck the first shot of the 39th Ryder Cup on Friday, pulling his drive well left of the fairway at the par-four opening hole to launch the morning’s foursomes matches.

The 2010 U.S. Open champion partnered compatriot and world number one Rory McIlroy for holders Europe in the alternate shot format while Jim Furyk and rookie Brandt Snedeker led off for hosts the United States in the first of four encounters.

The four players were given a rousing welcome by the fans packed around the first tee, chants of “Ole, Ole, Ole”, “Olly, Olly, Olly” and “USA, USA, USA” echoing across the course at Medinah Country Club. Furyk, wearing a balaclava, struck the first shot for the U.S. and, like McDowell, his drive missed the fairway to the left. However both teams recovered to par the 396-yard hole.Ryder Cup veteran Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley will take on Britain’s Luke Donald and Spaniard Sergio Garcia in the second match out before rookie Jason Dufner and Zach Johnson face Britain’s Lee Westwood and Italy’s Francesco Molinari. In the final foursomes encounter, a mouth-watering matchup pits the potent U.S. duo of Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker against Englishmen Ian Poulter and Justin Rose. “It was my gut feeling that we would get Tiger and Strick and that is what we have got,” said Poulter. “Tiger and Strick are a very good pairing and they are going to come out at us with all guns blazing.”

Woods and Stricker have gelled successfully in both the Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup, compiling a 6-2 record, though they have lost their last two matches together.

The U.S. team, captained by Davis Love III, bristle with firepower and will be bidding to win the Ryder Cup for only the second time in six editions of the biennial team competition. Europe, under the captaincy of Jose Maria Olazabal, field one of their strongest ever lineups but face a challenging task to retain the trophy with the U.S. having lost only three times on home soil. — Reuters

London, September 28
Lewis Hamilton will leave McLaren and race for the Mercedes Formula One team next season after agreeing a three-year deal in which the Briton replace seven-times world champion Michael Schumacher.

McLaren announced separately that Mexican Sergio Perez would partner 2009 champion Jenson Button in their line-up next season.

The announcements by Mercedes and McLaren on Friday ended a long-running tussle for one of the sport’s hottest properties as well as an almost umbilical link between Hamilton and Mercedes-powered McLaren.

McLaren have backed the Briton since his early teens when he was making an impression in karting, after Hamilton had approached former McLaren principal Ron Dennis at a gala awards ceremony to tell him of his dream of driving one of his cars in Formula One. The first black F1 world champion, whose humble background contrasts with the Monaco lifestyle he now enjoys as one of the highest-paid athletes in the world, has never driven for anyone else but said it was time for a fresh challenge.

“Mercedes-Benz has such an incredible heritage in motorsport, along with a passion for winning which I share,” said the 27-year-old Hamilton, the 2008 champion and winner of 20 Grands Prix including three so far this season.

“Together, we can grow and rise to this new challenge. I believe that I can help steer the Silver Arrows to the top and achieve our joint ambitions of winning the world championships.” British media reports suggested the deal was worth 60 million pounds with Hamilton in line for a basic annual salary of around 15 million.

The move to Mercedes came after the German manufacturer signed a new agreement with the sport’s commercial rights holders, guaranteeing their long-term commitment. They were the last of the major teams to do so.

There was no word on Schumacher’s future plans, with the 43-year-old former Ferrari ace widely expected to retire for the second time after making a comeback in 2010. “I have had three nice years with the team which unfortunately did not go as well as we all would have wanted on the sporting side,” Schumacher, who could remain with Mercedes in an official capacity, said in a statement. — Reuters

New Delhi, September 28
Kenya’s David Rudisha, the Olympics 800m gold medal winner with a world record, has said he’s impressed by the facilities he has seen on his visit to India. He sees no reason why Indians can’t do well in world athletics, with the sort of facilities that are available to them, in view of the fact that athletes from much poorer African countries have managed to do so.

Rudisha, brand ambassador for the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon, hoped that his visit to India would inspire youngsters to take to athletics and work hard to realise their dreams.

“It’s mass participation in high-profile events like this that helps generate interest in sport and one just cannot say when a real talent will be found,” said Rudisha.

“It’s not impossible for Indians to do well in world athletics. They just need the right facilities and a good coach,” the 23-year-old superstar said. “A right coach can do half the job of an athlete.”

Rudisha, like Usain Bolt, is a keen follower of cricket and had an opinion on the Twenty20 World Cup match between India and Australia: “India will win. I am big fan of the Indian team. They will surely beat Australia.”

Talking about his world record feat at the London Olympics, Rudisha said: “I told my manager James during the warm-ups that if I finish the first 400m in 49s, I can push in the last 400 to finish the race in 1:41mins. But I didn’t know whether I can set the world record.”

He did, and got a great reception on his return to Kenya — a slow possession of 50 cattle escorted him in Nairobi. “I’m from the Masai community, which hasn’t produced enough international level athletes. Most of the athletes come from high altitude. So the welcome was very special for me,” said Rudisha. “In our community, 22-year-old men are considered warriors. So they say that I killed a lion by breaking the world record.”

Colombo, September 28
West Indies' surprise hero Johnson Charles said today he was indebted to Chris Gayle for easing the pressure during his match-winning knock against England at the World T20.

The little-known opener top-scored with a brisk 84 and added 103 for the first wicket with Gayle to set up his team's 15-run victory in their opening Group one Super Eights match on Thursday.

Gayle cracked four sixes and six boundaries in his explosive 35-ball 58 as the West Indies posted 179-5 before restricting England to 164-4 despite Eoin Morgan's unbeaten 71 off 36 balls. “If you're batting with Chris Gayle you know his ability, you know what he can do. You just have to give him the strike, sit back and watch,” Charles, 23, said in a West Indies Cricket Board statement. “He's that type of player, he just explodes. He keeps it lively, and that takes the pressure off you. Just as Gayle can hit the ball far, I back myself to be able to hit the ball long and far and score quickly as well.”

Charles hammered three sixes and 10 fours in his 56-ball knock, his best in international limited-overs matches.

“Once he (Gayle) got out I had to take the leading role and take it from there,” said Charles, who has so far played just eight one-day and nine Twenty20 internationals. “There was still some work to do as we were looking for a big total, so I knew I had to keep going and set the platform. I will look to build on this start and look to achieve greater things.”

Charles, named man of the match for his brilliant performance, said he was delighted to have contributed to his team's victory. “I'm pretty happy. Getting man-of-the-match (award) in this World Twenty20 feels good and what is great about it is the fact that we went on to win the match,” he said.

“This is my first major contribution for the West Indies and I'm delighted that it led to a victory at this stage in the tournament.” The West Indies will now play Sri Lanka at the same venue on Saturday before taking on New Zealand next Monday. — PTI