Irfan Pathan Out From World Cup Squad

World cup preliminary squad has been announcing by India and Irfan Pathan is not able to get his place in world cup preliminary squad. Kris Srikkanth, chairman of the selection committee said that it is the most suitable team selected for India as players has a lot of experience in playing in home conditions. He hoped that team will do good in world cup.

The 30 men squad includes MS Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Sreesanth, Munaf Patel, Ishant Sharma, Vinay Kumar, M Vijay, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajinkya Rahane, Saurabh Tiwary, Yusuf Pathan, Parthiv Patel, R Ashwin, Wriddhiman Saha, Dinesh Karthik, Shikhar Dhawan, Amit Mishra, Piyush Chawla, Cheteshwar Pujara, Pragyan Ojha and Praveen Kumar.

So far ODI team against South Africa is also not selected and it will be announce before 12th January before first game. Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara is also selected in the world cup squad. In the squad three wicket keepers are also included. Parthiv Patel, Dinesh Karthik is the other two keepers along with captain MS Dhoni.  Yousaf Pathan is also able to get his place in the squad due to his majestic inning of 123 runs against New Zealand.

India takes on Kiwis in second ODI today

Staff Report

NEW DELHI: After beating New Zealand in the first ODI comprehensively with a second string side, India will be looking to impose itself on the Kiwis even more to ensure that no resurgence happens.

India has rested regular skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and senior players, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh and Zahir Khan,

New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori and his deputy Brendon McCullum, who missed the first match, are likely to feature in the 2nd ODI.

Teams:

India (From): Gautam Gambhir(c), Murali Vijay, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Wriddhiman Saha(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, S Sreesanth, Ashish Nehra, Munaf Patel, Jaidev Unadkat, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Saurabh Tiwary, Vinay Kumar

New Zealand (From): Jamie How, Brendon McCullum(w), Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor, Kane

India thrash Sri Lanka to win Asia Cup title

DAMBULLA, Sri Lanka, June 24, 2010 (AFP) – India”s pace battery led by Ashish Nehra demolished Sri Lanka to help their team win the Asia Cup with a comfortable 81-run win on Thursday.

Dinesh Karthik top-scored with 66 as India made 268-6 after electing to bat in the day-night final, before the defending champions and hosts were shot out for 187.

India, who last won the region”s premier one-day prize in 1994, denied Sri Lanka a hat-trick of titles following their victories in 2004 and 2008.

Nehra claimed four wickets, including two in one over, as Sri Lanka were reduced to 51-5 by the 16th over before being bundled out in the 45th over.

India never looked back after hard-hitting opener Tillakaratne Dilshan was dismissed off the fifth delivery, holing out to mid-on off seamer Praveen Kumar.

Kumar, who made use of windy conditions to swing the ball, bowled an unchanged opening spell of nine overs in which he conceded just 29 runs.

Fellow seamer Zaheer Khan bowled Upul Tharanga, before Nehra wrecked havoc by having Mahela Jayawardene and Angelo Mathews caught behind in the 14th over.

Nehra also removed Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara for 17, but Thilina Kandamby (31) and Chamara Kapugedara (55 not out) delayed the end.

Nehra”s 4-40 was supported by Zaheer”s 2-36 and left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja”s 2-29.

Karthik, who replaced the injured Virender Sehwag, hit nine boundaries to lead India”s batting at the Rangiri stadium in Dambulla.

Karthik put on 62 for the second wicket with Virat Kohli (28) and 46 for the third with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (38).

Rohit Sharma propped up with the middle-order with a fluent 41, before Jadeja boosted the score with an unbeaten 25.

Kandamby, who had failed to take a wicket with his leg-spin in 32 previous one-dayers, stunned India”s top order with the dismissals of Karthik and Dhoni.

Sling-arm fast bowler Lasith Malinga finished with 2-57, while Nuwan Kulasekara claimed 1-44.

Maharoof”s hat-trick wrecks India

DAMBULLA: Sri Lanka”s Farveez Maharoof grabbed 5-42, including a hat-trick, as India were shot out for 209 in the last league match of the Asia Cup on Tuesday.

The right-arm seamer trapped Ravindra Jadeja leg-before, bowled Praveen Kumar and had Zaheer Khan caught behind off successive deliveries in his ninth over at the Rangiri stadium in Dambulla.

The match is a warm-up for Thursday”s final which the two teams will contest after knocking Pakistan and Bangladesh out of the four-nation tournament.

India suffered a major blow when opener Virender Sehwag was ruled out of both matches after sustaining a hamstring injury against Pakistan on Saturday.

Dinesh Karthik, who flew in from Chennai to replace Sehwag, hit 40 off 43 balls after an opening stand of 58 with Gautam Gambhir.

Sri Lanka, who rested three frontline bowlers in Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekera and Muttiah Muralitharan, reduced India to 110-4 by the 23rd over.

Rohit Sharma (69) and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (41) retrieved the situation by adding 79 for the fifth wicket, before the Indian captain was run out.

Dhoni”s dismissal triggered a collapse as India slipped from 189-4 to 189-8 in the space of four deliveries as Maharoof sliced through the lower order.

India were all out with 7.3 overs still remaining from their allotted 50.

Ghana go top with draw against Aussies

RUSTENBURG, South Africa: Ghana edged clear at the top of World Cup Group D after an exciting 1-1 draw with ten-man Australia at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium on Saturday.

The Ghanaians moved a point above Germany and Serbia after fighting off a determined bid by the Australians, who lost striker Harry Kewell to a red card in a sensational first-half penalty incident.

The Australians, trying to rebuild their World Cup campaign after a shattering 4-0 first-up loss to Germany, now have the tough task of trying to beat Serbia on Wednesday and hope Germany are beaten by Ghana to reach the knockout round.

The athletic Ghanaians hit back to cancel out Australia”s 11th-minute opener with striker Asamoah Gyan”s 25th-minute penalty and both teams had chances at either end to win the pulsating encounter.

Kewell was red carded for handling on the line of Gyan”s fierce goal-bound shot – the ball hitting his upper arm.

Italian referee Roberto Rosetti immediately pulled out the red card as Kewell and his Australian teammates remonstrated his decision.

Gyan sent Mark Schwarzer the wrong way with his penalty attempt to level the game and leave Australia to play a man down for the remainder of the match.

It was the second red card of the tournament for the Australians, who had Tim Cahill sent off against Germany.

Australia got a lucky break early on when attacking midfielder Brett Holman, replacing the suspended Cahill, scored off Mark Bresciano”s free kick in the 11th minute.

Bresciano”s free kick cleared Ghana”s defensive wall and the ball bounced awkwardly off goalkeeper Richard Kingson”s chest into the path of Holman, who tucked away the rebound for his third international goal.

Coach Pim Verbeek brought on Scott Chipperfield and Josh Kennedy to go up front with 20 minutes left as Australia searched for the winner.

The Australians took the game to Ghana and had a glorious chance in the 72nd minute when both Luke Wilkshire and Kennedy fired their shots at Kingson with a goal beckoning.

Ghana went into the match without skipper John Mensah, who failed a late fitness test and was replaced by teenager Jonathan Mensah, while centre-back partner Isaac Vorsah was left out for Lee Addy.

Kewell and Mark Bresciano were among four changes in the Australia side.

The two sides have now met on seven occasions with Australia winning four and Ghana two.

Pakistan beaten by India, out of Asia Cup

DAMBULLA: Harbhajan Singh smashed the penultimate ball from Mohammad Aamer for a six as India knocked Pakistan out of the Asia Cup with a three-wicket win on Saturday.

Harbhajan”s last-gasp shot over the midwicket fence helped India past Pakistan”s 267 with one ball to spare in a heart-stopping finish at the Rangiri stadium in Dambulla.

India scored 52 runs in the last five overs after the sixth wicket had fallen at 219, with Suresh Raina making 34 off 27 balls and Harbhajan an unbeaten 15 off 11.

The exciting victory lifted both India and hosts Sri Lanka into the June 24 final with two wins each and rendered the last two league matches inconsequential.

Pakistan and Bangladesh, who have yet to win a game, play each other on Monday, while India and Sri Lanka clash on Tuesday in a dress rehearsal for the final.

Barely 2,000 Sri Lankan fans were on hand to watch a rare clash between the arch-rivals, only their second one-day encounter in the past two years.

Opener Gautam Gambhir hit 83 off 97 balls and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni chipped in with 57 during a third-wicket stand of 97 which lifted India to 180-2 in the 36th over.

But Gambhir”s dismissal at that stage, bowled by Saeed Ajmal, triggered a middle-order collapse which saw four wickets fall for the addition of 39 runs.

Dhoni was bowled by Shoaib Malik and Rohit Sharma was trapped leg-before by Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi, before Ajmal removed Ravindra Jadeja to make it 219-6 in the 46th over.

Raina and Harbhajan then stepped in to lead a brilliant recovery and crush a valiant Pakistan side”s hopes of staying alive in the tournament.

For Pakistan, opener Salman Butt top-scored with 74 and Kamran Akmal hit 51 off 41 balls after Afridi won the toss and elected to bat in the day-night international.

Salman, Kamran lift Pakistan to 267 against India

DAMBULLA: Opener Salman Butt top-scored with 74 and Kamran Akmal hit 51 off 41 balls as Pakistan made 267 against India in a key Asia Cup one-day match on Saturday.

Salman gave his team a fine start and Kamran provided the fireworks towards the end before Pakistan were bowled out in 49.3 overs after electing to bat in the day-night match in Dambulla.

Pakistan, who lost their first match to Sri Lanka, must win to stay afloat in the four-nation tournament.

Victory for India will ensure them a place in the June 24 final alongside hosts Sri Lanka.

Barely 2,000 Sri Lankan fans were on hand to watch a rare clash between the arch-rivals, only their second one-day encounter in the past two years.

The last time the two sides played, Pakistan beat India in the 2009 Champions Trophy in South Africa.

Pakistan”s innings wavered midway after a sizzling start by Butt, who put on 71 for the first wicket with Imran Farhat and 73 for the second with former captain Shoaib Malik (39).

Pakistan were sitting comfortably at 144-1 in the 29th over when three wickets fell for the addition of 15 runs.

Malik was bowled by seamer Zaheer Khan, Butt was run out by a smart throw from bowler Ravindra Jadeja and Umar Amin was caught in the slips by Virat Kohli off Harbhajan Singh.

Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi led a charmed life to make 32. He was dropped by Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni when on five and then Zaheer spilled a return catch just before the batsman got out.

Afridi, who hit a century against Sri Lanka on Tuesday, celebrated his first escape by smashing Harbhajan for a four and six off successive deliveries.

Kamran Akmal ensured Pakistan posted a competitive total with a sparkling knock that contained three sixes and two boundaries.

6 Indian cricketers get showcause for pub brawl

MUMBAI: Six Indian cricketers who were involved in a pub scrap with fans (at Tequila Joe”s in St Lucia) last Tuesday, have been issued showcause notices on Tuesday by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

The players being reprimanded are Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Ashish Nehra, Ravindra Jadeja, Piyush Chawla and Zaheer Khan, sources revealed.

BCCI secretary N Srinivasan issued the showcause notice to these players at board president Shashank Manohar”s behest, chief administrative officer Ratnakar Shetty told reporters after the board officials had a meeting at the BCCI headquarters.

“The manager of the Indian team, Ranjib Biswal, today met the board president. The board president and secretary took information from him regarding the West Indies tour and also from the written report (submitted by Biswal earlier),” Shetty said.

A local newspaper has also learnt that four of these players Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Ashish Nehra and Ravindra Jadeja are also to be omitted from the side that will be chosen to tour Sri Lanka for the Asia Cup next month.

The BCCI officials” meeting lasted for over two hours. The officials also deliberated on the detailed report of coach Gary Kirsten. The board is now expected to prepare a new code of conduct for the players besides issuing the showcause notices.

The officials were however happy with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni”s handling of his team though they felt that he had erred in cricketing decisions.

“The board has no issue with the captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and the president doesn”t doubt his integrity,” said a source.

Biswal, on Saturday, had submitted his report to the board detailing the happenings of St Lucia and also the reasons behind India”s poor performance in the tournament. The manager”s first-hand information of the brawl that happened between the Indian players and some fans from the US over dinner has led to strong action by the board.

Sources added that there were a few more players than those being show-caused at the pub but they had no role to play in the fracas and hence will be left with a warning for now.

India Squad for Zimbabwe Tour | Suresh Raina Lead Team India for Zimbabwe Tour

The upcoming Tri – Series in Zimbabwe, beetwin India, SriLanka and Zimbabwe. Indian Selectors will announced Suresh Raina as Captain and Virat Kohli as Vice Captain of the 15th men squad. In Zimbabwe India played in Tri – Series and 2 Twenty20 against Zimbabwe.

Indian Senior Players : Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Virendra Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Zaheer Khan, Harbhjan Singh, Ashish Nehra, and Praveen Kumar to give rest.

Tri – Series India Squad :
Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, Denesh Karthik, Rohit Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Murli Vijay, R.Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar, Ashok Dinda, Pankaj Singh, Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha, Naman Ojha.

India T20 squad :
Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, Murali Vijay, Dinesh Karthik, Rohit Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar, Ashok Dinda, Pankaj Singh, Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha, Naman Ojha and Piyush Chawla.

India win toss, put West Indies into bat

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados: India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and decided to field against hosts West Indies in their second match in the World Twenty20 Super Eights here at the Kensington Oval on Sunday.

India are unchanged but West Indies have brought Denesh Ramdin in to replace fellow wicketkeeper/batsman Andre Fletcher.

Both teams are looking to recover from defeats in their opening matches in the Super Eights.

India crashed to a 49-run defeat to Australia last Friday, and on the same day, West Indies slumped to a 57-run loss to Sri Lanka.

Teams:
West Indies: Chris Gayle (captain), Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Dwayne Bravo, Wavell Hinds, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Darren Sammy, Jerome Taylor, Kemar Roach, Sulieman Benn.

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Vijay Murali, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Yusuf Patham, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra

Umpires: Billy Bowden (NZ), Simon Taufel (AUS), TV UMPIRE: Steve Davis (AUS)
Match Referee: Jeff Crowe (NZ), Reserve Umpire: Billy Doctrove (WI).

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