Wellington, February 13
India’s opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan on Thursday said the current Test squad will only get better with time, and that the New Zealand tour has been another learning curve for the players.

The visitors will take on the Kiwis in the second and final Test starting here tomorrow after losing the opener in Auckland by 40 runs.

“We have been doing well as a team, but unfortunately we end up on the losing side. It is a new team with young players who have got only five-six matches under their belt. It takes a bit of time to settle down. The last Test we played, we fought back nicely and even in the last innings, we batted really well. There are a lot of positives to take from the defeat and it helped in building our confidence,” Dhawan said.

The loss at Auckland had much to do with the batting failure in the first innings, wherein the team was bowled out for 202 runs after conceding 503 runs. Dhawan exuded confidence that the team would come back strongly in the Wellington Test to salvage some pride on a thoroughly disappointing tour.

“It is very sad to lose such a close match. Yes, we were disappointed for a bit. There is always a new day. So, we started working hard again and focussed on the positive things. We are confident of playing good cricket in this Test,” asserted Dhawan.

The batsman claimed that he had not seen the Basin Reserve wicket and was told it was a green-top.

“In the previous match, we bowled them out for 100-odd. We have got very good fast bowlers who can get them out again for a low score. It is possible. The most important thing is to keep our basics strong in both batting and bowling. We have been a good fielding side and we just need to keep the intensity up. That is it,” he said.

One of the reasons that India were able to get close to the 407-run target was Dhawan’s second Test century. It followed a pretty ordinary show with the bat from the opener, wherein during his poor run, he was also dropped from the ODI team ahead of a must-win encounter at Hamilton.

“Getting that rest was vital for me, because I was away from match-pressure and could think about my game, and what mistakes I was making. Afterwards I was very calm during the knock and just thought to play as straight as possible.”

“The wickets here can be double-paced, especially with the short balls. I planned to play straight and just enjoy being at the wicket,” he said.

Dhawan said it had been important for him to get a big score and the century boosted his confidence.

Wellington, February 13
New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum today said the hosts will go for the kill in the second and final Test against India to send the visitors empty-handed from the tour.

The hosts lead the series 1-0. McCullum said his team will be going for the jugular to maintain the rage against the struggling Indians.

“We always play to win. That’s how we will look to operate in this match and hence we will be playing to our strengths. We think the pace and bounce that we will be able to generate from this wicket will play to our advantage,” McCullum said.

“We just think with this wicket, the best method of attack against the Indian side is to roll out another seamer, so Jimmy Neesham comes in for Ish Sodhi as well,” he said. “Kane Williamson will be our spin option. But we have got five other bowling options. Hopefully, his role with the ball will not impact too much his ability to bat at number three for us,” he added.

This brings the pitch into focus and it is expected to be similar to the one rolled out for the Test versus West Indies in December.

“I think the pitch looks a little bit greener than what we had against the West Indies. It looks a bit harder as well. We expect a bit of pace and bounce and bit of sideways movement too. Although what worked for us best against the West Indies was the ability to swing the ball in the air, so if there’s not too much wind the ball seems to swing here. Hopefully we will be able to generate that swing and obviously that will be a key weapon for us,” said the skipper.

While India will be looking to win their first match of the tour, McCullum will be looking to win his first toss. If he does so, he will opt to bowl first. “The toss is likely to go against me. But, obviously, we will look to have a bowl if we win the toss. But if we find ourselves batting, with Neesham coming in at number eight, there is quite a bit of batting. We found ourselves in some precarious positions having to bat first so far in the summer and we have come through those tests pretty well. We have one more big effort if we do find ourselves batting first on this wicket to make sure we get a competitive total in that first innings,” he said. — PTI

Pretoria, February 13
Mitchell Johnson showed his fiery bowling had not cooled from the Ashes as he ripped through South Africa's top order to leave the hosts 140 for six at the close of the second day of the first Test against Australia at SuperSport Park on Thursday.

Johnson dismissed captain Graeme Smith, Alviro Petersen and Faf du Plessis in a devastating early spell that helped reduce South Africa to 43-4 at one stage.

He finished the day with four wickets — and a stunning one-handed catch — to stymie the home side's attempts at a comeback.

South Africa are 257 runs behind with four wickets remaining after bowling Australia out for 397 just after lunch. They need 58 runs to avoid the follow-on.

Paceman Johnson proved the central figure on a day of dominance for the tourists, as they added 100 runs to their overnight score and then put South Africa under pressure with the ball.

Only AB de Villiers, who was 52 not out at the close, provided any resistance for the top-ranked Test nation.

Johnson continued where he had left off during the 5-0 whitewash of England by taking the wicket of captain Smith with his fourth ball and having Africa's other opener, Petersen (2), caught behind in his third over.

Smith, whose hand was broken twice by Johnson in Tests in Sydney and Durban five years ago, had made 10 when he tried to evade a short ball and top-edged it high, allowing Shaun Marsh to scramble backwards from first slip for a brilliant catch.

Du Plessis (3) lasted only five balls before being caught by Michael Clarke at first slip off a rising delivery in Johnson's fourth over, leaving the hosts in trouble at 23-3.

Brief scores: Australia 397 (Marsh 148, Smith 100; Steyn 4-78) vs South Africa 140-6 (de Villiers 52*, Johnson 4-51). — Reuters

Bhubaneswar, February 13
Tushar Khandkar scored a late match-winner as Uttar Pradesh Wizards edged past Kalinga Lancers 4-3 in a thrilling Hockey India League match here today.

Khandkar struck in the 68th minute to silence the home crowd after the two teams were locked 3-3.

For the Wizards, who led 2-1 at half time, the other scorers were Nithin Thimmaiah (8th minute), Malayalan Gunasekar (17th) and Nikkin Thimmaiah (55th).

Lalit Upadhyay (23rd), Gagandeep Singh (58th) and Gonzalo Peillat (62nd) scored for the home team.

With the win today, the Wizards climb to second place in the league table with 26 points from eight matches.

The Lancers, who play Ranchi Rhinos here tomorrow, are in fifth position with 11 points from eight matches.

TODAY’S MATCH

Kalinga VS RANCHI (8 PM)

LIVE ON STAR SPORTS

It’s Rishi Dhawan’s impressive all-round abilities and his consistent showing in the Ranji Trophy that made the franchisee loosen their purse strings. — File Photo

Rasool ‘humbled’ by Sunrisers’ bid

Bangalore, February 13
Yuvraj Singh, the IPL's costliest player ever, feels that the Royal Challengers Bangalore is the team where he can express himself in the company of Virat Kohli and Chris Gayle.

“I am very happy to go to the RCB and I am looking forward to playing alongside the likes of Chris Gayle and AB (de Villiers) and other guys in the team. I just feel that I am going to a place where I can express myself,” he said.

“Everyone is talking about me being the highest-paid player... that means there is a lot of focus on you and on how you have to win matches, it adds responsibility,” he said.

“We've got a lot of guys who are match winners on their own — Gayle, AB, Virat, Albie (Morkel), (Ravi) Rampaul all can just take games away single-handedly. It's a great bunch. It is great that I can go and express myself in that kind of environment,” said the flamboyant left-hander.

“I’m not looking at making any big statement. At the end of the season, it's not like I have to prove anything to anyone else (about) what I can do. I have to prove to myself that I have it in me,” he said. — PTI

It was an early morning flight for our Ranji Trophy team travelling between Jaipur and Ahmedabad in January 2011. Mostly, on such flights, one sees grumpy faces and hears a bit of grumbling. But this trip was different — it was the day of the big IPL auction. Even though only one of us — Pankaj Singh —was up for sale, the excitement was palpable.

Pankaj, shy and reticent, was a bundle of nerves, but the others were excited as they discussed how much he'd go for. Would there be a bidding war for our star bowler? What if he went unsold?

When a squad of 15 travels, it inevitably gets divided into groups of four-five players, based on their comfort level and interests. Generally, different groups discuss different things — from harmless gossip to the forthcoming match. But this morning there was only one item on every group's agenda — the IPL auction.

After landing in Ahmedabad, everyone made a quick dash to the TV monitors showing the auctions live at the airport. Gautam Gambhir had been picked up for over $2 million and the others were also going for megabucks.

The moment we boarded the bus, the laptops came out for a minute-by-minute update of the auction. Whenever a player was sold for a big sum, there was a collective gasp along with a comment or two — why a certain player was a steal and why someone was way overpriced.

Pankaj was still not sold, and he'd started getting a little jittery. The later you go under the hammer, the smaller the amount you're expected to get, for most teams by then would have spent the majority of their purse. He had started inquiring politely about the consequences of going unsold. If no franchisee wanted him, it might mean the end of his IPL dreams. Time to say a little prayer!

Finally, Pankaj was under the hammer. A couple of seconds passed, no hands went up. A few more seconds, yet no response. Those few seconds felt like an eternity, for that's how you feel when your world comes crashing down in front of your eyes. Finally, a hand went up — thank God somebody was interested! Then another team showed its interest. There had been no interest in Pankaj initially, and now there was a tug of war for him!

We found this strange but the ones who knew the dynamics of auctions were not surprised, for this was a well thought-out strategy — show no interest at the beginning and just when the player is going unsold, raise a reluctant hand. That's the best way to strike a good bargain. Luckily, the tug of war ensured that Pankaj got close to the $100,000 mark. He could sleep peacefully that night.

We were equally delighted for Pankaj for a couple of reasons. One, our star player deserved it; two, we had reached Baroda to play the Ranji final and if Pankaj was heartbroken, he wouldn't have been at his best in the match. He'd been exceptional in the Ranji season till then but the India cap had eluded him. Playing in the IPL, thus, was essential for him to maintain the cash flow and stay relevant for selection.

This is exactly what a lot of cricketers went through today, the second day of the IPL auction.

Ever since its advent, the IPL has emerged as an unmatched game-changer. There's no annual event as big as this in Indian or world cricket. Its intensity and its influence on us has been enormous. Young cricketers have aimed at becoming IPL-only players, rather than rounded cricketers. This is why it's very, very important for this generation of players to be a part of this league — if you're not in the IPL, you're not playing any cricket at all.

As an aside, I do wonder if the players and their families should be happy that somebody 'bought' them or their kid? Call me old school, but this idea of a public auction — men sold like commodities —doesn't appeal to me a great deal. But then, the players give their consent to be bought and sold, and I gave mine to be on a TV show to analyse the auction.

The debate over the propriety of the process can be left for another day.

The writer is a former India cricketer

BRIEFLY

IPL could be shifted to S Africa due to elections
Bangalore: The seventh edition of the Indian Premier League could be shifted to South Africa due to the security concerns posed by the upcoming General Elections, the dates of which are clashing with the event. The Indian Premier League Authorities will be meeting Home Ministry officials next week and a final decision on the venue and the exact schedule is expected to be taken in the coming 10 days.

Somdev enters semis of ATP Challenger
Kolkata: Somdev Devvarman today celebrated his 29th birthday by beating Adrian Menendez-Maceiras of Spain 4-6 6-1 6-3 in the men’s singles quarterfinals of the $50,000 ATP Challenger Tour. The India No. 1 will face a tough opponent in Russia’s Evgeny Donskoy in the semifinals but he could take solace from the fact that he enjoys a 1-0 record against him.

Messi on target as Barca set up final with Real
Madrid: Lionel Messi’s first-half goal earned visiting Barcelona a 1-1 draw on Wednesday and a 3-1 aggregate win over Real Sociedad, setting up their fourth King’s Cup final in six years. Barca lifted the trophy in 2009 and 2012 but were beaten in the 2011 final by Real Madrid who defeated Atletico Madrid 2-0 on Tuesday and on aggregate.

Liverpool beef up title bid with last-gasp win
London: Liverpool’s surge towards a first league title since 1990 continued on Wednesday when they beat Fulham 3-2 with a last-minute penalty while Arsenal’s challenge took a knock after a 0-0 home draw against Manchester United. The most open Premier League championship race for years continued on a wild and windy night across Britain, leaving Chelsea top. — Agencies