Ahmedabad, November 12
The Test series is still a few days away but England have started the mindgames with pacer James Anderson saying that his team needs to make sure that it does not treat senior Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar “with too much respect in the middle”.

“There has been much talk that this may be Sachin Tendulkar's last Test series. I do enjoy bowling against him as testing yourself against the best is what playing at this level is all about," Anderson wrote in his column for 'The Daily Mail' ahead of the four-Test series starting November 15 in Ahmedabad.

“And there is no question in my mind that he has been one of the best batsmen — if not the best — for 20-odd years. But we have to make sure we do not treat him with too much respect in the middle," he said. Anderson said admiring Tendulkar too much would take away the competitive edge. "I do know that people have said they love watching him bat and maybe too much of that kind of admiration could dull your competitive edge.

"I've never been aware of succumbing to that myself but maybe subconsciously, because you respect him for what he has done in the game — 100 international centuries is some achievement — and the way he has conducted himself, you want to get him to respect you back," he said. "The Sachin factor is quite something to experience. I've played in games here in which the Indian supporters seem more interested in his batting than how their team are doing, when Sachin getting out is the signal for a mass exodus."

Anderson said he wouldn't mind getting booed by the crowd if he manages to dismiss Tendulkar. "I will be seeking to make myself pretty unpopular with the locals in the weeks ahead. The bottom line is that we treat everyone with the same respect, whether they've played one Test or 100 - and that goes for trying to earn their respect, too," he said. The pacer was also all praise for Indian comeback man Yuvraj Singh, who has made a successful return to international cricket after recovering from a rare germ cell cancer. "The return of Yuvraj Singh to the Indian side will complete a remarkable story, after all he has been through since the Test series against us at home in 2011," he said. "I cannot begin to understand how devastating it must have been for him to be told he had lung cancer. Not so long ago, such a diagnosis would have been akin to a death sentence and it is incredible that he can be playing top-level cricket again so soon," he added.

Anderson hoped Graeme Swann would come back to join the team soon. "Graeme Swann's trip home to be with his wife and baby is a reminder to us all of the kind of issues our families back home have to deal with. "Family always comes first. We are hoping and expecting he will be back with us in time for the first Test - but, if he needs more time at home, we are 100 per cent behind him," he added. — PTI

New Delhi, November 12
India can leapfrog two places to the third spot, if they win the upcoming four-Test series against the visiting England side by a margin of 2-0 or more. England, on the other hand, can retain their numero uno Test status if they manage to beat the hosts by 3-0 or even bigger margin in the series starting Thursday at Ahemedabad.

England, which begins its pursuit of first Test series win in India since 1984-85, lost the top spot to South Africa just a few months back. However, the Alastair Cook-led England's return to the top will depend on some help from rival Australia, who is currently engaged in a three-Test series against South Africa. If Australia win against South Africa by a margin of 1-0, 2-0 or 2-1, then it would become the No. 1 ranked team. But England could displace Michael Clarke's men from the top if they beat India by a margin of 3-0 or 4-0, a release from the ICC stated today.

If the Australia-South Africa series is drawn level at 0-0 or 1-1, Graeme Smith's side will retain the top spot. However, England could displace the Proteas if it can maintain the victory margin to 3-0 or 4-0 over India, the release added. On the other hand, if South Africa were to win the series against Australia by a margin of 1-0 or better, England could, at best, hope to take the second position if it were to beat India.

Asked about reclaiming the No 1 spot, Dhoni recently said,"That plan is always on. Whatever format you play in the sport, you always want to be No 1. It's a slow constant process that we are subjected to," Dhoni said. Questioned on the upcoming England series, he said that it will be an interesting one.

It will be an interesting one. If you see the England side, they are a very good side but what important thing is to focus on our strength and our weaknesses. We also need to improve over a period of time," the skipper observed.

Dhoni said that the short camp in Mumbai before the series will help them get into groove. "We are reporting in a couple of days. We have a few practice matches before we get into the team," Dhoni said. — PTI

Mumbai, November 12
Former captain Rahul Dravid has backed Mahendra Singh Dhoni to remain in the hot seat but felt the selectors can, in the near future, consider reducing the current India skipper's workload in one format to get the best out of him.

"From his own personal point of view, you also want to see the best of Dhoni as a player. He has a lot to contribute as a batsman and wicketkeeper and we want to see the best of that," Dravid said. "I don't think we want to lose that and if that means at some stage, maybe the time's not right now but in the near future, we have to relieve him of the responsibility from one format to get the best out of him as a player then I think the selectors have to take that call," he added. Notwithstanding the eight Test defeats last year, Dravid said Dhoni should be given a chance to learn from those reverses.

"Dhoni has every right to survive it, because he's Dhoni. He has had a disappointing last year but he has won India a World Cup, we've been the No. 1 Test side under Dhoni. "If you put pressure on him so early in the piece, or if you try to change someone like Dhoni now, I don't think you'll get to see what he's learned from the last year," Dravid said. Dhoni has captained India in 203 of his 318 matches across all formats.

The Indian great advised Dhoni that he should not just look forward to the upcoming series against England and Australia, but also start thinking about India's overseas tours next tours. "He has got to have an eye on some of the challenges he faces in his career, to be seen as a good overseas captain aswell. That will be a function of the team he gets, but he's got to try and have an influence on the kind of team he gets, the kind of personnel he wants and that's a process that he's got to start now. "It's a process of communication and negotiation with selectors, coaches, working on some of the skill-sets of some of the bowlers and young batsmen coming through on what is required in a year's time.

"So while he has a micro view of what needs to be done in these (home) series, he needs to discuss with the selectors about the kind of players he wants in South Africa and entrust them with the job of actually finding those players in domestic cricket," Dravid said.

About Virat Kohli, he said, “In the next 12 months, if he has the kind of 12 months he has had and establishes himself in all three formats of the game, people are going to seriously have to look at him." — PTI

Surat, November 12
Ravindra Jadeja became one of the few Indian players to have scored two triple centuries in first-class cricket as his unbeaten innings of 303 against Gujarat helped Saurashtra earn three points in the second round of the Ranji Trophy on Monday.

Jadeja had scored his maiden triple century last season against Odisha.

And in one of the flattest tracks on offer this season, the left-hander punished a listless Gujarat attack, adding a whopping 539 runs with wicketkeeper-batsman Sagar Jogiyani (282), who also scored a double century. In reply to Gujarat's first-innings total of 600 for nine declared, Saurashtra reached 716 for three at stumps on the fourth day of their Group A match, taking their lead beyond 115-run mark. — PTI

Brisbane. November 12
Australia captain Michael Clarke scored a brilliant unbeaten double century to give the hosts a remarkable 37-run first innings lead on the fourth day of the first test against South Africa on Monday.

Supported first by a maiden century from opener Ed Cowan in a record stand of 259, and then by Mike Hussey's 86 not out, Clarke's 218 helped lift Australia from 40 for three when he took to the crease on Sunday to 487 for four at stumps. It was Clarke's sixth test century, and his third double hundred, in the 15 tests since he was named captain last year in the wake of the Ashes humiliation and Australia's quarterfinal exit at the World Cup.

Although by no means a chanceless knock, the 31-year-old played with patience when South Africa's vaunted pacemen got anything out of the Gabba track before punishing anything loose with some fine shot-making. When he carried his bat back to the pavilion at the end of the day to the raucous cheers of a sparse crowd at the famous Brisbane ground, Clarke had faced 350 balls over 504 minutes and scored 21 fours. "I'm very happy with that," Clarke, who accumulated his 1,000th test run of the year during the innings, said in an interview on the boundary.

“We're in a great position with a 30-odd lead. I'd like another 70 odd runs in the morning and then I want to have a crack with the ball. We'll see what happens." Cowan departed for 136 in heartbreaking fashion just before tea, run out at the non-striker's end when Dale Steyn got a finger to a Clarke drive that hit the stumps and the opener was caught out of his crease backing up.

His partnership with Clarke was an Australian record for the fourth wicket at the Gabba, beating the 245 Clarke and Hussey made against Sri Lanka in 2007. Cowan's wicket was the only wicket to fall. on the day and Hussey started pouring on the runs as if determined to get the record back for his own partnership with his captain.

The 37-year-old bucked his poor recent form against South Africa by reaching his half century off just 68 balls with a drive through long-off, and was closing on a century of his own when play ended. Hussey's cut four off Morkel took Australia past South Africa's first innings tally of 450. — Reuters

SCOREBOARD

South Africa first innings 450

Australia first innings (overnight 111-3 d)

Cowan run out 136

Warner c Kallis b Steyn 4

Quiney c Steyn b Morkel 9

Ponting c Kallis b Morkel 0

Clarke not out 218

M. Hussey not out 86

Extras: 34

Total: (4 wkts, 121 ovrs) 487

Fall of wickets: 11-13 2-30 3-40 4-299

Bowling: Steyn 27-3-109-1, Philander 25-2-82-0, Morkel 26-6-109-2, Kleinveldt 17-0-81-0, Kallis 12-3-30-0, Smith 9-0-36-0, Amla 2-0-9-0, Petersen 3-0-20-0

Mohali, November 12
Hosts Punjab put up a stellar show as they notched up their second successive bonus point as they thrashed a listless Bengal by an innings and 27 runs in a second round Ranji Trophy match at PCA Stadium.

Starting at 25/1, Bengal were all out for 226 in 65 overs with Laxmi Ratan Shukla and Wriddhiman Saha again trying to put up a fight with scores of 91 not out and 57 respectively. While Bengal scored 326 in their first essay, Punjab had scored a mammoth 579/8 declared.

The moment Wriddhiman's 197-minute vigil ended being bowled off left-arm spinner Bipul Sharma, Bengal's resistance ended with tail showing no signs trying to complement Shukla who was taking the attack back to the opposition camp. Shukla got his runs off only 83 balls with 12 fours and four sixes.

From 213 for six, the last four wickets fell for only 13 runs.

However the problem was not with the lower order as much as it was with the top-order. Needing to bat 90 overs in the day to atleast get a point, it was an abject surrender by Bengal's top-order who lacked the requisite match-saving temperament.

Within the first hour of play, Bengal were reduced to 39 for five and the match as a contest was over. Skipper Manoj Tiwary (30) along with Wriddhiman added 63 runs for the sixth wicket and Wriddhiman-Shukla partnership yielded 111 runs India discard Manpreet Gony (5/41) and former India U-19 Siddharth Kaul (4/58) shared the bulk of spoils.

Both bowl at a decent pace but they are not frighteningly quick by any standards yet the Bengal boys lacked the technique to counter the duo.

Jayojit Basu again flopped as he gave a catch to Karan Goel off Kaul to start the slide. Youngsters Writam Porel (1) and Arnab Nandi (1) are finding the transition from club level to first-class level extremely difficult.

For Punjab, 14 points from two games is the perfect start to their campaign as their first target would be to make the knock-out stage. — PTI

SCOREBOARD

Bengal 326 & 226 (65 ov)

Punjab 579/7d

JBasu c Goel b Siddharth 11

Das c Amitoze b Siddharth 9

Porel c Mandeep b Gony 1

Nandi c Sharma b Gony 1

Tiwary lbw b Siddharth 30

Majumdar c Udayb Gony 4

Saha b Bipul 57

Shukla not out 91

Pratap lbw b Gony 0

Sarkar b Gony 0

Dinda lbw b Siddharth 2

Extras: 20

Total: (all out in 65 ovrs) 226

Fall of wickets: 1-24, 2-25,3-25,4-33, 5-39,6-102, 7-213, 8-216, 9-216, 10-226

Bowling: MS Gony 15-2-41-5, Sandeep Sharma, 8-3-22-0, S Kaul 17-3-58-4, Bipul 4-2-11-1, Rahul 18-1-62-0, Amitoze 2-0-8-0, Karan 1-0-5-0

Jaipur, November 12
Left-handed batsman Abhishek Nayar hit an unbeaten 105 to help Mumbai clinch the first innings lead against Rajasthan and grab three valuable points in their drawn Group 'A' Ranji Trophy match on Monday.

Replying to Rajasthan's first innings score of 478, the visitors were finally all out at 579 in 190.2 overs when the match was called off at KL Saini Ground.

After registering three points from this outing, Mumbai thus took their tally to six from two matches while host Rajasthan once again settled for one point in their second Ranji match.

Resuming at 360 for 3, the visitors lost three quick wickets—Hiken Shah (140 runs, 310 balls, and 19 boundaries), K Waingankar (25) and Surya Kumar Yadav (11)— and were a bit shaky at 420 for 6.

With two new batsmen at crease and still 58 runs behind, Rajasthan were in for a chance at that point but flamboyant Abhishek had other ideas. He added 70 runs with Ankeet Chouhan (26) to ensure that Mumbai registers the first innings lead and then went on to swell the total with some valuable partnerships with the tail-enders. Nayar remained unbeaten at 105 made off 164 balls and hit eight fours and one six to help Mumbai reach at 579 all out.

For the hosts, Aniket Choudhary bowled with zeal to finish with 3 for 111 and Rituraj Singh too was rewarded with 3 for 129. Left arm spinner Gajendra Singh took two for 145 while Pankaj Singh and Ashok Menaria took one wicket each. Hiken Shah smashed an unbeaten 118 while Aditya Tare (80) and Rohit Sharma (79) scored impressive half centuries to propel Mumbai to 360 for three in their first innings in reply to Rajasthan's 478 at stumps on day three.

Brief Scores: Rajasthan 478 Mumbai 579 (190.2 overs) Hiken Shah 140, Rohit Sharma 79, Abhishek Nayyar 105, RR Singh 3/129, A Choudhary 3/111, G Singh 2/145, AL Menaria 1/83). — PTI

Nadaun, November 12
Soumya Swain's unbeaten century helped Services to salvage a draw even as hosts Himachal Pradesh walked away with three points by virtue of their first innings lead in the Ranji Trophy Group C match.

Swain struck a patient 235-ball 118 and, in the company of Ansuhl Gupta (64) and Yashpal Singh (59 not out), showed a lot of resolve and determination to steer his side to a draw at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Stadium.

Starting the day at 46 for two, Services scored 314 for four in 90 overs in response to Himachal's first innings total of 544 for 6 declared after having scored 312 all out in their first essay. On the final day of their tie, Services were off to a bad start as they lost Pratik Desai (27) in the second over of the morning session today. He just managed to add one run to his overnight score.

Gupta then combined well with Swain and devoid Himachal bowlers of any further success. Both added 178 runs for the fourth wicket before Gupta was snared by off-spinner Gurvinder Singh. However, his dismissal had little effect on the visitors as Swain and Yashpal combined well to raise an unconquered 88-run stand for the fifth wicket. Yashpal played an attacking knock laced with seven fours and two sixes.

London, November 12
Defending champion Roger Federer reached the final of the ATP World Tour Finals for the eighth time in 11 years on Sunday after a 7-6 6-2 win over Britain's Andy Murray.

The Swiss was out-hit by Murray in the early exchanges but produced a classy response to overwhelm the U.S. Open champion with a superb demonstration of his all-court game, setting up a final on Monday against world number one Novak Djokovic.

Murray, who lost to Federer in the Wimbledon final this year but gained revenge to win gold at the Olympics, broke the Federer serve in the first game at the O2 Arena.

Federer got it back to level the set at 4-4 and raised his game to win a first set tiebreak 7-5, Murray breaking a racket in anger as the Swiss got on top.

The 17-times grand slam champion broke Murray from 40-0 in the third game of the second set and accelerated to victory with a flurry of shot-making, sealing the win on his first match point after one hour 33 minutes. Like Federer, Djokovic also found himself initially overpowered by the wrist-bending forehand of the towering Del Potro but came through what he described as a "crisis" to ultimately romp to victory and stay on course for the $1.76m jackpot for an undefeated champion. The 25-year-old, the only player in the eight-man event to win all three round-robin matches, was a set and break down but once again showed warrior-like qualities. — Agencies