New fast bowlers in Indian Squad

Varun Aaron and Umesh Yadav, pacers who can bowl at 150 kph, find their
place in the Indian Test team. The First Test against the West Indies is on
Nov 6.

This is the squad for the first Test

M S Dhoni (capt & wk), Gautam Gambhir, Umesh Yadav, Virat Kohli, Varun
Aaron, Ajinkya Rahane, Rahul Sharma, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin
Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, R Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha, Ishant Sharma


Kohli finds his way into the Test side ahead of Raina. Bajji has been
dropped for poor performance and the spin department will be handled by
Ojha, Ashwin and Rahul Sharma. Sachin, Sehwag, Gambhir and Yuvraj have
recovered from their injuries and will play for India.

" We think from the perspective of the future ' said Sreekanth, the Chairman
of Selectors. " We are building a team for the future and all are 100 per
cent fit". Ashwin is yet to make his debut in Tests and Rahul Sharma's
inclusion is surprising. Ojha took 24 wickets in County Cricket for Surrey
and comes back to the squad.


Rotate fast bowlers to avoid injury: Sehwag

"It's important that the team management ensures that they don't play too
many matches. Fast bowlers are prone to injuries and when they get injured
their pace goes," said the dashing opener. "Besides, when you are injured,
your comeback becomes very difficult. A cricketer's passion is to play for
the country. If somebody says he's tired, he can talk to the team
management. Dhoni was not given rest on his request, because there were too
many injuries in the team." He admitted he had played in England without
recovering from injuries and said he is always annoyed with himself when he
gets injured. I knew I was needed. I tried my best but I realised I hurried
my comeback in England. It was a difficult time in England for the whole
team... so many injuries." added the formidable opening batsman.

He said the Country vs Club debate is futile and said no international
player has renounced Test cricket to play in the IPL.

"Tell me one cricketer who has said that. It's a perception that the media
and ex-cricketers have. Every youngster dreams of playing Tests. There is
not a single Indian or for that matter international cricketer who has taken
retirement from Tests and ODIs to play IPL," he said.

"I played the World Cup with injuries, Sachin played when he had a fractured
toe or other injuries. People are not aware of this," he said.

He said Sachin is irreplaceable. " "Nobody will ever play for as long as
Sachin has however good he may be. There can never be another Sachin," he
said.

He said he is impressed by Rahane, Kohli, Raina and Rohit Sharma and that
India has a formidable future.

"When the seniors retire, I have full faith in these talented youngsters
taking their place. There may be a problem for a year or two, but Indian
cricket is in safe hands."

England keep their No 1 Slot

England beat India by six wickets in the lone T20, thus keeping their numero uno position in World T20 Cricket.

India could only score 120-9 and England surpassed that humble target with 8 balls to spare. KP scored 53 off 39 balls to spearhead the English win. England get a lot of relief, as this win save their faces, as they lost horribly to India in the ODIs. KP was dropped at one by Raina and he hit three sixes and five fours, as the reigning T20 champions proved their supremacy in the shortest version of the game. Samit Patel hit 21 off 25 balls and Bopara remained not out on 14. England bowled clinically and restricted India to 120. Raina top scored with 39 and only he could shine with the bat. The rest Indian batsmen fell like nine pins.

Meanwhile, BCCI awarded 36 contracts to players, an addition of 11 more players in Grade C. Kohli, Yuvi and Ishant were promoted to Grade A. Now Grade A has 12 players, instead of the previous nine.

They are

Grade A ( Rs 1 Crore)

Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh, Ishant Sharma, Virat Kohli.Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, M S Dhoni, VVS Laxman & Suresh Raina.

Grade B ( Rs 50 lakhs)

Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja.,Praveen Kumar, Pragyan Ojha & Ravichandran Ashwin.

Grade C ( Rs 25 lakhs )

S Sreesanth, Amit Mishra, Cheteshwar Pujara, Abhimanyu Mithun, Vinay Kumar, Ajinkya Rahane, Munaf Patel, Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Wriddhiman Saha, Parthiv Patel, S Badrinath, Manoj Tiwary, Piyush Chawla, Dinesh Karthik, Jaydev Unadkat, Umesh Yadav, Rahul Sharma & Varun Aaron.

Kohli got the nod because of his impressive show in the series against England, even though he flopped in the West Indies. Ishant for his good show in England. Murali Vijay was pushed to Group C and Ashish Nehra was not included in the list.

We are world champions, say India !

Indian spinners triggered an English collapse. Dhoni opined that the English batsmen have not yet mastered Indian conditions.

England were chasing a target of 272 and Cook and Keiswetter gave them a solid 120 partnership, but the visitors lost their way with the exit of these two formidable batsmen, as their ten wickets fell for 47 runs.

After Aaron achieved the initial breakthrough, Indian spinners Jadeja, Ashwin, Raina and Tiwary took the remaining wickets to send the visitors back to the pavilion for just 176 runs. Jadeja took 4/33 and Ashwin 3/28. This
brownwash made amends for the humiliation in England, where India were mauled !

Cook and Kieswetter were going great guns, when Aaron, arguably the fastest Indian bowler, dismissed Cook for 60 in his second over. Jadeja trapped Kieswetter lbw., Ashwin dismissed Ian Bell for two, Trott and Bairstow were removed in eight balls by Jadeja. Bopara was removed by Raina, bowled round his legs and Bresnan holed out ot Tiwary. Ashwin then picked up Meaker and Finn to complete the brownwash.

Dhoni was adjudjed Man of the Series and he smashed 75 not out off 69 balls to power India to 271-8, after India was sent in to bat by Cook. His last seven knocks now read 69, 78 not out, 50 not out, 87 not out, 35 not out, 15 not out and 75 not out.

Jadeja was adjudged Man of the Match for his 4 wickets. Earlier Rahane ( 42 ) and Gambhir ( 38 ) scored 80 for the first wicket. Raina scored 38 before being run out and Jadeja remained a good No 7, scoring a steady 21.

The rivals will meet again on Saturday for a lone T20 ! In this series, known as the payback series, India had to win. The Indian crowd was irate and everybody was blaming the busy schedule. When the team was announced, many were apprehensive that a second rate Indian XI may not hold against England, who beat India comprehensively in England. But the Indian team rose to the occasion and now India is third in ODI rankings.

Cook was dejected and said " We were in with a shout there, 120 for no loss, and then we were blown away at the end. It was very disappointing. We know that you can lose wickets in a cluster, we seem to have lost 10 there in a cluster. Credit to the way they bowled, and we played a couple of poor shots."

Indian spinners led by Jadeja and Aswin sealed the fate of the series. English batsmen had no clues to balls which kept low and they were routed. Indians will be thankful to the return of Jadeja, the pace of Aaron and Yadav ( who both clocked more than 145 kph ), the length of Vinay Kumar , the batting of Raina, Kohli, Dhoni and Jadeja. Now India has 118 points.

India had won 16 out of 18 ODIs played in India and their dominance in home conditions is alarming.

Dhoni was ecstatic.

"I remember them as a very strong side and they can give you the punch with a good bowling unit. But they need to click as a batting unit. It's just that they have not done well in India."

Indian bowlers could not use English conditions well. "I've not said anything different. We must realise our strengths and weaknesses. Of course, it's a great series win. But our pacers could not bowl 10 overs. But it didn't happen here. We have to realise where we have to go better. It's good to have bowlers. We need to improve as a team. Hopefully, we have improved but we still need to be consistent and not depending on the venue. We have to be more consistent with our bowling as well. These are the areas we need to emphasis upon so that we may not see a Raina bowling alongside Tiwary." said the whirlwind wicket keeper batsman.

As a No 6, 'Man of the Series' Dhoni said he had adjusted himself to that slot. "The last time I played up the order was in Pakistan and I could not capitalise on a couple of innings. I was supposed to bat at 5, 6 or 7 and got myself adjusted. Now the format of the game has also changed. Now with split of powerplays, the situations are different. We have to be good at slog overs and rotate strikes as well. It's about taking risks as well. I have changed my style of batting. At 3, you can be flamboyant but at 5 and 6 you have to be careful. Reiterating his stand on terming the series as revenge, he said, "It's not about revenge. In sport, you don't go for revenge. We are a good side. Our bowling did not perform to the extent in the series. For us, it's about to do well but not setting examples."

Dhoni said he is philosophical about the humiliation incurred in England.

"It happens in the world. You are appreciated when you do well. It should be taken in an open heart. I can also sit and criticise. I was not too worried about criticism. We know cricket is big in India. It's a part of our life."

Dhoni praised the youngsters. "It's difficult to replace the seniors talent-wise. But these youngsters have clicked as a unit. They are slightly better fielders. They may save 8-10 runs which matter in ODIs. They have reacted in the right way. They waited to turn the game in their favour. But we really can't replace Sachin, Sehwag and Yuvraj."

About the low turnout at Kolkotta, Dhoni said, "We played a lot of cricket in India. The World Cup, IPL and then the Champions League were held here. Big stars like Sachin were missing. This is one of the biggest stadia in India. So it's not easy to get a jam-packed crowd everytime. I remember them as a very strong side and they can give you the punch with a good bowling unit. But they need to click as a batting unit. It's just that they have not done well in India."

Dhoni wished his countrymen Happy Diwali. "I extend my best wishes to everyone for Diwali" said the formidable Indian captain.

In T20s, England is positioned at No 1 with 127 points, India is placed No 5 with 112 points, Australia with 111 points and Pakistan 97 points. Misbah condemend the ranking of Pakistan at No 7, saying that they were World Champions. He said his side will improve, even though the ranking is undeserved !

Said Misbah, "It was quite a shock to the whole team. We felt it quite a lot, all the players," whose shot, in the 2007 final, went straight into the safe hands of Sreeshant, giving India the Cup that mattered.

He said his players were eager to improve their rankings. "We've spoken about it as well. All the players have quite a lot of concern about it. All the players want to do well. We've lost quite a few of our last T20s, so all the players felt it and their thinking is that they need to improve it now." Pakistan start their second Test against SL on Wed.

"Next time we play a T20, our approach will be that this is a format that we have done really well in, it's a format that we've played a lot, and our performances in the three World T20s, runner-up, winner, then semis, we want to bring that ranking back" said the solid middle order batsman

India thrash England !

Varun Aaron impressed one and all with his blistering pace. He clocked 145.3 in the 11th over. Even though he did not get a chance to complete his full quota of ten overs, his spell 6-1-24-3 was a pointer that India's pace bowling future is not all brimming with pessimistic prophecies.

Dhoni used him very carefully and gave him the first over after the end of the mandatory first power play. A move which ensured that the promising speedster got enough support.

Even though his first spell was uneventul, his second spell of 3-1-10-3 was great and gave Indian supporters the pep that they needed. One always wondered why a nation of 1.2 billion people could not develop fast bowlers, who could bowl faster than 150 kph.

His second spell was marked by full length deliveries and it is to his credit that he clean bowled Borthwick, Meaker and Bresnan. One should also give credit to the ball of Finn which clean bowled Raina. It came at a blistering 149.9 kph !

Kohli (80) and Raina ( 86 ) crushed England in a century partnership. England looks like a cat out of water in Indian conditions.

Dhoni was exuberant. He said "They got a good start. After 10 overs, we thought they will get 270 plus. But there was a twist in the tale. Spinners got more and more turn as the game progressed and that helped us restrain them." .

Dhoni also said pacer Varun Aaron, who made his debut, was a good addition to the team."He bowled quick. If you can bowl quick, it's difficult to rotate the strike. Now we have both Umesh Yadav and Aaron, and we can make a good choice according to the conditions."

Indian fiedling has improved. "We have improved a lot. Those 10 runs (saved) matter. Overall it has become a good fielding unit."

Cook blamed lack of partnerships for the debacle. "We fell short again. In Indian conditions, you need to score 270, 280. We lost wickets in cluster today; 220 was never going to be enough. We kept losing wickets. We have not performed to our potential. We have not played as well as we would have liked to. The guys would definitely want to win in Kolkata."

Suresh Raina, who scored a quick-fire 80 off just 62 balls, was adjudged Man-of-the-Match. "The partnership with Virat was crucial. Me and Virat spoke to each other and he said, 'We have to be together for about 100 runs'. He said 'We'll rotate strike and wait for the loose deliveries to play our shots'" said the versatile left hander.

Bowled by a fastish delivery from Finn which made him miss his century, the maverick left hander said. "I had decided to play my natural game. But I won't repeat that mistake again. We will try to win it 5-0."

India take revenge

If it was a matter of nerves, India held their nerves and beat England in the third ODI, to win the series 3-0.

England batted magnificently to score 298 and India had to hold their nerves. 7 runs were needed in the final over, when Dhoni smacked the first two balls for fours, registering a great win for India. The visitors came back into the game taking some quick wickets, but Jadeja ( 26 not out ) and Dhoni ( 35 not out ) steered India home.

After being smashed in Hyderabad and thumped in Delhi, the visitors were a more convincing, cohesive unit this time. but didnt have the bowling strength to contain Indian batting.

England won the toss and elected to bat and K P's 64, Patel's 70 not out and Trott's superb 98 not out saw England score a formidable 298/4. Umesh Yadav failed to impress, finishing with the figures 0-71.

Trott missed his ton by two runs, as he remained not out on 98, facing 116 balls with nine boundaries. Patel scored 70 off 44 balls, with two sixes and seven boundaries. England's big score was due to a great century partnership, 101 to be exact, between Trott and KP. Trott added 103 runs with Patel, who hit two sixes and seven fours, as England amassed 91 runs in the last ten overs.

Vinay Kumar trapped Cook for three in the fourth over. Kieswetter made amends for his low scores, by slamming two sixes and three boundaries in a quick fire 36.

Rahane scored 91 and partnered Gambhir in a 111 run partnership for the second wicket. Gambhir scored 58, Patel 38 and Kohli 35, as India amasseed 300/7.

Kohli, a potential Sachin : Rhodes

Kohli has the ability to become another Sachin, opined Jonty Rhodes.

"Kohli is only 22 but he has already shown his potential with the bat. He has shown that he can be a superstar."said the ex great fielder.

"His conversion rate from fifties to hundreds in ODIs is amazing. Once he gets a fifty, he is a difficult batsman to dismiss. With regards to the stats and the number of runs scored, he has shown that he can compete with the records of the likes of Sachin Tendulkar in the long run.

"Kohli is expected to play a big role in India's success in the future. He is a fine cricketer and a fine athlete. He is a complete all-rounder."

Kohli has scored 2,496 runs in 66 ODIs at an average of 45.38 with the help of seven centuries and 16 fifties.

He can also be a successful Test player.

"The right-handed batsman has been consistent in IPL, T20s and ODIs because he plays good cricketing shots." said Rhodes.

"He plays shots all-round the park. From the team point of view, he has shown maturity. He finishes games for India and does not throw his wicket away. That's what Test cricket is all about." he added.

Rhodes feels that England may find it difficult to bounce back.

"England are a team that have come off a convincing win (over India) in their home. But being 0-2 down is always a dangerous position to be in, especially when you are playing against a quality side. England have shown that they are very good but beating India in India is a tough ask."

"We all know its pretty tough to play in India. England had played pretty well recently but India have bounced back.

"They are the world champions. No team would like to go to England and fail to win even a game there, especially if they are the world champions. India have given England a lesson in cricket in the last two games." said the talented South African.

Rhodes supported Bajji, who is on a lean period.

"Bhajji has always been a fighter and he has been known for it throughout his career. I have been dropped in my career. There are two things you can do in that situation - either sulk and say that's it I'm not going to participate or you can get back to the field. That's what he did for Mumbai Indians in the Champions League." said the Mumbai Indians coach.

"He could have said Sachin is not here, I've been dropped from the Indian team so what's the point, but he led (Mumbai Indians) from the front. That's shows the kind of guy he is.

"He is a real team man. He has got a lot to contribute to the India team."

Kohli's century destroys England

A superb century by Kohil, 112 and a brilliant 84 by Gambhir helped India
win the second one dayer against England. England were bowled out for 237
and India won effortlessly.

Dhoni said he is impressed by the effort of the youngsters.

"I'm glad we're the winning side, it's really good. Well, of course, the
series in England wasn't a good one for us, but the team showed character
not to lose temper and still be sociable on the field."

Dhoni said the pitch was placid, not giving help to the spinners. "The
pitch was a bit too placid, I'd prefer a bit more turn. I think a turning
wicket is a sporting track in India. But this was a good ODI wicket."

Asked whether India will win 5-0, , Dhoni said, "For us, it's all about
winning one game at a time, improving ourselves as cricketers, especially
with youngsters in the side. We needed a good start, Vinay (Kumar) and
Praveen (Kumar) gave us that with early wickets. We never let them get a
partnership together."

Dhoni praised Gautam and Virat Kohli for their performance. "I think Gautam
played brilliantly, and Virat, we all know, is a strokeplayer once he sets
in. Gautam's innings at No. 3 was crucial; the ball was still moving a bit
when he got in."

Cook said England have to improve a lot. "We would like to do everything
differently. We got a lot of 30s and 40s (today) but we know that doesn't
win a game. We prepared well in the practice games, but we haven't
translated that to the main games. We need to score more runs, and our
fielding wasn't quite to standard. Virat and Gambhir showed us how it's
done. Credit to the way they played."

Kohli, who got the Man of the Match Award, said he is happy to perform well
before his home crowd.

"It's especially satisfying playing at my home ground. I was really keen to
perform at my home ground, really happy with the way I batted." said the
master batsman. About the track, he said "The pitch did a bit early and the
English bowlers were getting some bounce early on, but it was coming on to
the bat beautifully.On this kind of wicket if you play good cricket shots,
you can get boundaries. I'm definitely hungry for more, you never know when
you can hit a bad patch. I want to continue my form as much as I can, but
stay humble in the process."

Cook was a bit dejected after the match.

"After two heavy defeats, there is bound to be some questions asked about the
team. We have the self-belief and there is no reason why we can't do it
here. The conditions here are different, and it played a big role in today's game. It was hard to stop (Virat) Kohli and (Gautam) Gambhir once they got going. They really played well to take the game away from us." Cook said that his team has prepared well for the series by coming to India well in advance but the players have not been able to carry their recent form into these games. We do have the players to do well
in these conditions. There are no major changes in the team. It is just that
we are not being able to deliver."

Cook admitted that there should be some changes in the team. "There will be
questions. We have got the skills. We were a little short on the basics in
the first two matches and we paid a price"In today's game, we did not start
well after winning the toss. We just could not recover. We have to face it
that we did not play well enough."

Cook praised Vinay Kumar for his excellent bowling. "Vinay bowled really
well. He bowled in the right areas and it worked. He kept it simple, that's
it".

Admitting that the Mohali match on Oct 20 will be a do or die match, he said
"It will be a challenge to make sure that everyone is in the right frame of
mind. We have to do well in Mohali."

Vinay took 4 wickets and destroyed England. England started horribly losing
both openers for 0. Umesh Yadav removed KP and that was more or the
less the finis !

SA crush Kangaroos in thriller !

This is snatching victory from the jaws off defeat ! Rusty Theron and Parnell put on 64 runs for the eighth wicket off just 27 balls to snatch an improbable win over young Australia.

The young Kangaoos pushed Australia to the edge of victory, but their inexperience cost them the match.

"It's a bitter pill to swallow," Cameroon White admitted. "We didn't execute our skills very well at the end but we're a very young side. There were some really encouraging performances from some individuals and the experience of feeling the heat and pressure of Twenty20 international cricket will be invaluable."

Theron on the contrary was ecstatic.,

"We never got ahead of ourselves," he said. "We tried to take it as deep as we could, give ourselves a chance and see how close we could get."

Teenager Mitchell Marsh hit four sixes in the last two overs to give the Australian innings a late boost, taking their score to a respectable 147/8. Fast bowler Pat Cummins started a SA collapse, taking two for three and it seemed that Australia was in the driver's seat. Pattinson kept the pressure on, taking two for 17 off four overs.

SA were reeling at 84/7 with only 32 balls remaining, when Theron joined Parnell.

37 runs were needed in the last three overs when skipper White brought O Keefe to bowl. Parnell hit O Keefe for two sixes and a four in an over which cost 18 runs. Cummins gave 13 runs in the next over, conceding two wides.

Six was needed off the last over and White turned to David Hussey. Theron hit the first ball for six, thus registering an incredible victory for SA.

India win magnificently !

England at the moment are badly placed at 134/6, needing 301 to win.

Dhoni, Raina, Gambhir, Jadeja and Kohli powered India to 300. And England batsmen made heavy weather of the Indian attack.

The same pattern continues. England who thrashed Australia in Tests, were humiliated by the Kangaroos in the one dayers, 6-1.

A similar pattern is developing, with England not coming upto the mark in ODIs. The Indian batsmen were aggressive in posting 300, and English batsmen were short of aggression !

Ashwin took three and Jadeja three and England were all out for 174. Yadav clean bowled Swann and Patel ! A good performance by India.

One wonders about the selection of Parthiv Patel and Vinay Kumar. Shikhar Dhawan and Varun Aaron should have been there in their place.

Meanwhile, Cook admitted that England had been outplayed in all departments of the game.

"It was an important toss to win. We saw at the end that the ball kept low. But credit to India. They outplayed us in all departments today." said the English captain.

"We're going to learn from this, and that's the beauty of a five-match series."

Indian medium pacers, Kumar and Yadav bowled well while the spinners Ashwin and Jadeja sparkled in the slow conditions, sharing 9 wickets between them. Cook is of the view that tackling the slow bowlers in slow conditions will be a great challenge.

"We know that (playing spin) is an issue, and that's a skill thing. We're going to work hard on that in the next couple of days," he said.

Dhoni said revenge is a strong word. "For us, it is not about revenge. Revenge is a strong feeling, it is a strong word. What is important for us is to go out on the field and perform well."

"It is important to win the games because if you are not winning too many games, (it is) a bit of a problem in the sense you can't enjoy to the extent you do when you are winning. Winning and losing is part and parcel of the game. The losing streak was a bit too long," said the whirlwind wicket keeper.

Dhoni feels the absence of dew aided his bowlers.

"If you see the ODIs in England, all the players did very well. Because of rains, it was difficult for our spinners to bowl consistently. We did well in the second half of the England series. Today there was no dew. If the conditions are slightly in their favour, the bowlers can make us win games."

The timing of the series is uncertain, as you cant tell about the dew.

"If you are close to November or December, you know there will be dew and blindly you will opt to field after winning the toss so that bowlers get an upper hand. It is a bit tricky. It was good that in this game there was no dew. Spinners gripped the ball well, they bowled the right length. Fast bowlers got a bit of reverse swing also; outfield was very dry and the wicket was also dry."

Stating that his immediate target was 250-260 runs, he averred that "which we thought was good enough score provided there is no dew on the field in the second half".

His innings was invaluable for the team.

"It was a valuable inning like quite a few others I have played in my short career. It was a very calculated inning. Quite a few shots that I played, I generally don't play those shots. I have changed my game and adapted to number six position."

His ability to go over the top with helicopter shots brought home the bacon. "At time it pays off. It was a precious inning."

He said he is happy with the performance of his new bowlers, who with experience can be weapons both in India and abroad.

"It's a grooming period we are going through. We have few bowlers who are new to the scenario. I feel as a unit they have done very well in this game."

Dhoni's brutal 87 not out, which won him the Man of the Match Award, was reminiscent of his 91 not out in the World Cup Final. He and Jadeja crushed England in the death overs !

After 34 overs, India were struggling at 134/4 in 34 overs and 150/4 in 35 overs, when Dhoni, Raina and Jadeja scored another 161 in the next 16 overs to annihilate England. Raina and Jadeja hit two sixes each and Dhoni one, as English bowlers were hit to all corners of the field.

Mumbai, world champions !

If world championship can be decided by CLT20, Mumbai are the world champions. This they achieved without stalwart Tendulkar, R Sharma and Davy Jacobs.

It was not a great batting display from the Mumbai Indians, but their bowling was great with Bajji taking three wickets & Chahal two.

It was Bajji who took the prize wicket of Kohli and Gayle. MI were skittled out for 139, as Bhatkal ( 3/29 ) and Vettori ( 2-30) ran riot. Mumbai, batting first, lost Blizzard early, due to an unfortunate run out.

Kanwar smashed the first six of the match, lofting Dilshan into the stands. Rayudu joined Kanwar and started well by lofting Aravind into the stands but Nannes put an end to his knock. Franklin hit a couple of sixes in his brief 29 ball knock and Suryakumar Yadav hit a six and two fours in his 17 ball innings before both were run out in consecutive overs. They did try to resurrec the Mumbai innings, adding 40 runs for the fourth wicket. Vettori tightened his reins as he forced Pollard to hit to Kohli at long off. He also trapped Bajji for a duck. Malinga showed his belligerence and hit Aravind for a glorious six over the sight screen. Satish hit Bhatkal for a six but got out next ball. Malinga followed with a quickfire 16.

Bangalore started losing wickets and Bajji ( 3/20 ) and Chahal ( 2/9) not only strangled the Bangalore batsmen but also picked up five prize wickets between them. Bangalore made heavy weather of the Mumbai attack and fell short by 31 runs. The failure of the inform Kohli and Gayle hepled Mumbai consolidate. Bangalore needed a good start and Dishan smashed Malinga for a four and then hit Ahmed for two consecutive fours to start the onslaught. But Malinga had the better of him, when he clean bowled him with a superb yorker. In the next over, Bajji trapped Gayle and the match was half won ! Chahal then struck dismissing Agarwal and in the 12th over, Kohli was dismissed by Bajji, giving a clear edge to Mumbai.

Chahal dismissed Arun Karthik. Bangalore wobbled under pressure, needing 65 runs off 45 balls. Tiwary and Kaif struggled against an accurate Mumbai attack. Pollard then swung the match in Mumbai's favour by dismissing Kaif for three and leaving the rest to Malinga to finish Bangalore.

Malinga swings out Somerset

A dream of the Indians ! An all India final between Mumbai and Bangalore on Sunday night !

It will be a great contest, between Gayle and Kohli and Malinga. Mumbai had not been amidst the runs, but their bowling is sharp. Bangalore is amidst runs, but their bowling needs much to be desired. Vettori and Nannes will have to pull their act together, if Bangalore is to become the international champions. The earlier champion, Chennai, could not hold on to their trophy. Indians have a lot to cheer, as the World Champion T20 team will be from India.

One should appreciate the determination of Mumbai. After missing half their side, they found it difficult to put an XI on the field. But still they have won most of the matches and now are in the finals.

Blizzard's 54 off 39 kept the momentum going for them. When Pollard fell, they had Satish and Yadav to carry the attack to the bowler's end. It was a 43 runs partnership off 22 balls. Van der Merve and Trego were taken by the great yorkers of the formidable Slinga Malinga. Klieswetter's 62 could not bring home the bacon for Somerset and MI were into the finals.

28 runs were needed in the last 3 overs and Malinga and Franklin defended that. Bajji gave the 19th over to Franklin and it was a big risk. But the last two overs were well bowled and Somerset could not just do it.

Today's match will be tense and exciting. Let us pray for a great battle, a cliff hanger !

Gayle and Kohli take Banglore into the finals !

Glorious batting by Gayle ( 92 off 41 balls ) and Kohli ( 84 off 49 ) ecliped the century of Warner and Bangalore stormed into the finals. Now they take on the winners of MI - Somerset.

This is the second consecutive successful chase of more than 200 and Bangalore can be proud of this redoubtable feat. Gayle and Kohli have been doing it consistently and hats off to them.

David Warner scored his second back to back T20 century and was in great form, belting the hapless Bangalore bowlers to all parts of the field. It powered NSW Blues to score 203 and Bangalore had to everything possible to win over them. And win over them did, thanks to Gayle and Kohli.

Warner was involved in a 146 run partnership with Daniel Smith, who scored 62. Warner accelerated towards the end of the innings and scored 122 of 68 balls ! Only Dilshan impressed for Bangalore and the rest of the bowlers were battered by Warner and Smith. Sreenath Aravind was hit for 55 runs in his four overs.

A couple of fours from Kaif, saw Bangalore home. Virat Kohli was not out 84, when the match ended. Bangalore started badly, losing Dilshan ( 4) early in the third over. Kohli and Gayle were involved in a majestic 141 run partnership off just 66 balls for the second wicket to take Bangalore within touching distance of victory. Gayle and Tiwari departly abruplty, sending tremors in the Bangalore camp. But then Kohli and Kaif played sensibly and took them home.

Run Fiesta on the cards at First Semi Final, CLT20 !

The batting strip at Banglaore promises a lot. We have the likes of Gayle, Kohli, Shane Watson, David Warner, Dilshan and Henriques and the average fan is just enthusiastic about a run fest.

In their previous, Kohli, Warner and Dilshan had amassed 279 off 152 balls and they promise a lot to the cricket enthusiast.

Vettori is wary of Watson and Warner, it is learnt. Both are matchwinners and may come in the way of high flying Bangalore.

On the other hand, Gayle is always a nightmare for the opposition. So also is Kohli and Dishan. NSW will try to get these three dangers out, if they have fulfill their dream.

Meanwhile, Arun Karthik opined that he knew that Christian will bowl a slower ball and he gave it all the strength needed.

Bangalore will be up against a fit and fighting NSW Blues, who is ready for the battle. Spearheaded by David Warner, the Blues can be a dangerous outfit on their day. Warner may not look as strong as Gayle, but the power he generates is simply incredible. Now he has become a nightmare for the CLT20 bowlers. Spin continues to be the forte for Bangalore, as Vettori and Syed can rattle the Blues, who seem a bit suspect against spin in India.

Incredible win with a last ball six by Bangalore !

What an incredible match ! He who said that Cricket is a game of dire vicissitudes is right after all !

In a very high scoring match ( more than 400 runs were scored off 40 overs ), Bangalore (215/8) edged out South Australian Redbacks (214) by two wickets. Glorious innings from centurion Harris and Ferguson (70) enabled SA to score a mammoth 214. Bangalore started violently, with Gayle, Dilshan and Kohli carrying the attack to the bowlers end. Kohli played the best innings of his T20 career and his 70 contained six mighty sixes !

Here is how the drama unfolded.

The 20th over

The stuff of which heavenly tales are made off. SIx runs needed off the last ball and Arun Karthik belts it for six !

Daniel Christian bowls the last ball and Karthik slog sweeps it for six. The crowd erupts into delirium !

The 19th over

Tait bowls a beamer to Dilshan and the next ball the Sri Lankan is castled. putting the end to an incredible 74 off 47 balls. Vettori and Bhatkal get out Tait gets a glorious five for and RCB tumbles from 183/2
to 201/7!

The 18th over

Agarwal belts O Brien for a six, but perishes. Vettori begins with six and now 18 needed off 12.

Virat Kohli was excited after the match. "Never been in such an exciting T20 match all my life." said the dashing youngster, after he received the Man of the Match Award.

Asked to relive the moment when KB Arun Karthik hit that stunning six, Kohli said "I had my eyes closed on the last ball. I was talking to our coach when two balls were left. Thought if we could get boundary and a two so that scores are tied."

The team management relied a lot on the start that Chris Gayle and Tillekaratne Dilshan provided. "We thought if Chris and Dilshan could bat five or six overs, we had a fair chance.I was calm and relaxed, but of course you can't stay assured chasing a target such as 215."

Kohli's skipper Daniel Vettori was equally at loss of words after the match. "Pretty amazing game of cricket. One thing about this ground is you can chase anything here. The last five overs that we bowled were really poor. Harris and Callum and Dan Christian batted extremely well." said Vettori.

"The dew does change this wicket. The new ball turns a bit, but once it becomes soft, it's really difficult. However, the class of the batsmanship coupled with the wicket was amazing."

On the contrary, Callum Ferguson, who played another "callous" innings was dejected that his side could not pull it off. "Obviously, it's disappointing to not defend 214. Dan Harris and Dan Christian batted well, Tait came back with the ball and went bang bang bang, but Virat and Dilshan batted beautifully. We were backing our bowlers to execute despite the dew, disappointed not to do that."

T & T beat Cobras in thriller !

It was a real cliffhanger of a match and Kevon Cooper proved to the the man of the hour, as T & T beat the Cobras by two wickets yesterday.

Cooper struck 25 off 11 balls, a matchwinning innings. He had also starred with the bat against Chennai.

Chasing a modest 138, T & T were struggling initially, as both openers fell cheaply for 26. From the last two overs, they needed 24 runs to win, with 3 wickets in hand.

Dale Steyn bolwed the penultimate over and 15 runs were blasted by T & T . Nine runs were needed from the last over and T & T achieved that effortlessly.

Darren Bravo top scored with 36, but it was the day of Kevon Cooper, who lofted Steyn for a glorious six in the penultimate over. Steyn's figures were economical till that time.

Earlier Shah ( 63* ) and Vilas ( 54) scored half centuries to bring the Cobras to some semblance of respectability, at 137/4.

Warner's century destroys Chennai

Dave Warner blasted 8 sixes in a formidable display of batting. and NSW Blues scored a massive 201/2. Chennai could not do anything about it and is now out of CLT20 !

Chennai was helpless as a rampaging Warner smashed 11 fours and 8 huge sixes, in a mammoth individual score of 135 not out. Chennai lost their composure before that whirlwind knock and was nervously all out for 155 !

When T & T defeated Cobras, they had assured that only one Indian tem - Mumbai Indians - qualified. Chennai had come with hopes of making it, but they had to have a better run rate and win the match. They lost it due to too much tension.

When we said in our columns that Dhoni is having the adverse 8th transit of Jupiter, we meant what we said. Look at the way India lost in England. When India won the World Cup, Jupiter was in the favourable 7th for Dhoni.

One player can decide the game in the T20 format and it was Warner's day ( as it was Gayle's before ).

Somerset quiver before Gayle storm !

Gayle spearheaded a great Bangalore victory, as he blasted 86 off 46 , with eight sixes and four fours. A CLT20 record of 14 sixes were blasted by Bangalore. 206/6 is the highest in the CLT20 championship this season.

Gayle hit Dockrell for 21 runs in over, including three massive sixes. Trego also got hit, as 50 runs were conceded in his three overs.

An intimidating 207 target was given by Bangalore and Somerset never came anywhere near that. Gayle had sent a scare to the opposition !

Gayle lost Dilshan ( 23 ) and joined hands with Kohli ( 33) and the second wicket pair smashed 70 off 40 balls. Saurabh Tiwary scored 18 and adding 49 runs with Gayle.Agarwal shone in the death overs, blasting 19, with two sixes.

Somerset could only manage 155/6 and Vettori's side won for the first time in the competition.

Narine wrecks Chennai

Narine took three wickets for Trinidad & Tobago and won the game for them. For Chennai, this was an abysmal performance, one which they should try to forget !

They couldnt chase a modest 124 and were just 111/6, at the end of the allotted 20 overs.

Hussey was crestfallen after the loss "It wasn't a difficult target. We had our plans ready. We wanted to get off to a good start, keep wickets intact and then attack in the last few overs. But unfortunately, we lost three quick wickets. Ideally, one of the top three or four should have played a majority of the innings."

A shoddy performance had done Chennai in. "Ours is a flexible order but we lost quick wickets. We needed someone to stabilise the innings, and that's the reason we sent (Wriddhiman) Saha up the order. Both Saha and S Badrinath have done the job for us previously. But unfortunately, it didn't work today." said the dejected Hussey.

Off spinner Sunil Narine came as Nemesis and took three vital wickets, to put Chennai on the back foot. He took three for eight in his allotted four overs.

"We couldn't read which way he (Narine) was spinning the ball because we haven't played him before. Sometimes, it's tough to play someone we haven't faced. There was a bit of Ajantha Mendis sort of mystery with him, but the more we play him we will get used to him, as it happened with Mendis. I thought their spinners bowled wonderfully and the slowness of the track aided them," said Mr Cricket.

Mr Cricket felt that Chennai should have opened with Ashwin and not with the two medium pacers. "There was a bit of variable bounce on the track, so we thought it's better to use fast bowlers up front. A lot of balls kept low and medium pacers could have better utilised it."

Hussey hoped that the relaid Chepauk pitch will play better in the future.

"After the IPL, they dug it up and re-laid it, and most pitches will take time to be din. So we have to give some more time for the groundsmen to work on it. The crowd will obviously be quite disappointed, but come next IPL, I'm sure there will be plenty of runs on this wicket. But as a player, we should be able adapt to all kinds of pitches." he averred.

Earlier, T & T's innings was redeemed by a 28 off 10 from their bowler Kevon Cooper. Barath ( 23 ) and Perkins ( 34 ) also batted well.

For Chennai, Dwayne Bravo's 32 was the only redeeming feature. Most of the reputed batsmen fell, unable to read Narine's off breaks.