India finally broke through for their first win of the tour thanks to a dazzling display in the field. Ravindra Jadeja provided the spark – and did no harm to his chances in Saturday’s IPL auction – with a pair of run-outs as Australia’s batsmen were constricted by intense pressure from the fielders, and were dismissed in the 20th over for 131.

That was always going to be hard to defend and so it proved, India reaching the target with two balls to spare and eight wickets in hand to draw the series 1-1. They began the chase needing only a fraction above six an over and as a result spent much of their innings in cruise control, Gautam Gambhir able to amble along at less than a run a ball without ever letting the pressure build.

The only time a hint of worry might have entered the Indian camp was when five dot balls came towards the end of the chase, and George Bailey had all his fielders in the ring in the final over with one run required. But Gambhir found a gap at midwicket to strike a boundary off Clint McKay and finished on 56 from 60 balls, with MS Dhoni also unbeaten on 21.

Virender Sehwag provided some excitement with one enormous six back over the head of the bowler Xavier Doherty but it was the only one in India’s innings. They didn’t need any more. Sehwag was caught at cover off a Brad Hogg full toss for 23 and Virat Kohli, who made a quick 31, was brilliantly caught when Matthew Wade dived to his right off the bowling of Mitchell Marsh, but they were Australia’s only two moments to celebrate in the field.

Australia needed to build more pressure and while their work with the ball and in the field was not bad, it lacked the zip shown by their India counterparts. Four Australia batsmen were run out and another was stumped, the younger men brought in for the limited-overs games providing the energy that India lacked in the Tests.

It all started with Jadeja, who got rid of two of David Hussey’s partners with run-outs and then picked up the wicket of Hussey off his own bowling. The big wicket was that of Aaron Finch, who was sent in alongside David Warner at the top of the order and showed his power with six fours, five of which were through the off side.

Finch launched drives and cuts at anything wide of off and at one stage he had aggregated more than 100 Twenty20 international runs without being dismissed, but that changed quickly. Finch was caught short when Hussey pushed into the off side and tried for a single that wasn’t there, Jadeja’s throw getting rid of Finch for 36 from 23 balls.

The captain George Bailey departed soon afterwards when he overcommitted as Hussey steered the ball to backward point, where Jadeja collected and threw to the bowler’s end with Bailey (3) a long way short. Jadeja then induced a leading edge off Hussey, who made 24 from 29 balls, and that wicket left Australia in trouble at 5 for 93.

The fine work kept coming from India. Mitchell Marsh was stumped off Rahul Sharma, Dhoni collecting the ball close to the stumps and with no give in his gloves, he hardly had to move to whip the bails off and find Marsh just out of his ground. That was followed by what was effectively a knockout blow for Australia, when Matthew Wade was run out for 32 off 29 balls.

Wade had slog-swept a six and after his outstanding innings on Wednesday, he seemed like the man who might carry Australia to a competitive score. But he pushed to cover and took off only to be turned back by Brett Lee, and Rohit Sharma’s direct hit had Wade short despite his full-length dive.

Australia were dismissed with two balls to spare, when Doherty was run out thanks to sharp work from Suresh Raina. They had lost 4 for 10 since the start of the 19th over.

Australia’s innings had got off to a poor start with the early loss of David Warner, who was caught at deep midwicket for 8 when he skied a ball off Praveen Kumar. Shaun Marsh’s miserable summer continued with a second-ball duck, his limp prod outside off resulting in an edge to first slip, where Sehwag parried the ball up to Dhoni to give Praveen his second wicket.

It was an excellent way for India to begin, and they didn’t let the advantage slip. Now the question is whether they can carry some of this spark into the one-day series.

Brydon Coverdale is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo.

For the third day in a row, the batsmen had an easy time at the Wankhede Stadium. Several of India’s batting heavyweights helped themselves to half-centuries as the home side got halfway to West Indies’ 590. Gautam Gambhir and Rahul Dravid didn’t make it to triple figures, but Sachin Tendulkar was well on his way towards reaching the most talked-about milestone of the year.

West Indies didn’t declare overnight, allowing their final pair to bat on, and after 15 minutes of entertaining tail-ender swings, Devendra Bishoo was bowled by offspinner R Ashwin, who completed his second five-wicket haul in his debut series.

A typically quick start followed from India’s openers: Virender Sehwag routinely scything the ball through cover, and Gambhir poking the ball either side of point for runs. Gambhir was a touch loose to start with – chasing and missing several wide deliveries and surviving an early lbw appeal off Fidel Edwards – before getting more fluent.

Edwards and Ravi Rampaul bowled with aggression but there wasn’t much extra bounce or sideways movement to encourage them. West Indies resorted to a defensive field half an hour into the innings – seven fielders on the off side, with two of them in the deep in front of point.

It was the least pacy of the West Indian quicks, Darren Sammy, who snapped the opening stand at 67. He got one to slide past Sehwag’s inside-edge and hit the stumps, signalling with three fingers that it was the third time he had dismissed Sehwag in the series.

The tempo was predictably slower after Sehwag’s exit, and West Indies could have added to the advantage after lunch. Dravid seemed to have hurt his back after slipping when Gambhir turned down a single. Gambhir had a reprieve when he guided Sammy towards first slip, where Kirk Edwards made a lazy attempt at a catch, barely getting a finger on the ball.

After those close calls, Gambhir and Dravid were more solid against the West Indian quicks. Dravid reached 13,000 runs by classically driving a half-volley for four, while Gambhir’s increasing confidence was on display as he launched one over midwicket to reach his half-century. With Bishoo off the field for half the post-lunch session, getting his injured knee attended to, Dravid feasted on Marlon Samuels’ gentle offbreaks, crashing him through covers for successive fours.

Both batsmen were set, and the track was still a shirtfront, but West Indies managed to wheedle out a wicket, when Rampaul banged in a bouncer that Gambhir threw his bat at. The ball flew through to the keeper, and though the Snickometer showed nothing, the umpire was convinced there was an edge.

The crowd wasn’t too disappointed since it brought in Sachin Tendulkar, continuing his quest for the century that has eluded him since March. Tendulkar used his feet well against the spinners right from the start, and quickly progressed to 20. After tea, the crowd had more to cheer as he upper-cut Fidel Edwards into the stands beyond third man. It was a shot he repeated against a quicker one from Samuels, getting four for his effort.

Dravid, meanwhile, worked his way to 1000 runs for the year, and his half-century soon after. He showed his presence of mind off the final delivery before tea: after he defended the ball, it spun alarmingly back towards the stumps, but he reacted just in time, booting the ball away when the it was inches away from the wickets.

His sixth hundred of 2011 – his personal-best for a calendar year – seemed inevitable as he soldiered on untroubled after tea, jumping down the track to power Bishoo over mid-on before powerfully square-cutting Edwards for another boundary. He coaxed the ball past mid-off to move into the eighties, but was dismissed off the next delivery, top-edging on to the stumps.

Tendulkar carried on, unfurling several stylish boundaries to march past 50, a landmark that was greeted by his home ground with expected boisterousness. VVS Laxman also joined in the fun, showing off the wristy whips to midwicket that make him such a delight to watch. Both had a moment of worry each: Laxman top-edging towards a vacant point region, and Tendulkar surviving on 58 as Cartlon Baugh put down a regulation outside edge.

Those two wickets would have swung the match in West Indies’ favour. Instead, with only 13 wickets toppled in three days, and the track showing little signs of degenerating, it remains an even game with chances of an outright result receding.

Siddarth Ravindran is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

If it is Eden gardens, it must be Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. Add bits of Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar, and you know the opposition has had a bad day. All the specialists who got out would have been kicking themselves even as Dravid made his way to his fifth century after his 38th birthday, behind only four men on that count, all of whom finished before he started. India won the toss on an easy-paced track, and all their batsmen looked good before three of them found fielders with their attacking shots. Dravid and Laxman, though, didn’t seem in any mood to let this opportunity pass, and added 140 for the fourth wicket at a rate of four per over, which matched up to the rest of the innings.

A lot about this day didn’t seem right. The Eden Gardens stands were empty on the Monday morning, West Indies were bowling and the keeper came up to the stumps in the fourth over, and the deep point went back at the same time. However, the defensive fields failed to exercise much control: the 47th over was the first maiden of the innings.

The bowlers’ failure to match those defensive fields with accuracy, the batsmen’s willingness to take risks, and a lightning quick outfield worked as a team. From the moment they lost the toss West Indies seemed resigned to what Darren Sammy called “a disciplined” effort. It showed in how Kemar Roach, replacing the sick Ravi Rampaul, wasn’t even given the new ball. Not that Sammy made any difference to the kind of start that was expected. Sehwag drove and pushed his first over for fours after Gambhir had driven Fidel Edwards for four in his first.

In his next over Sammy asked Carlton Baugh to call for his helmet and sent the point fieldsman to the boundary. Still Sehwag and Gambhir hit a boundary each. The two added 66 in 12 overs before Sehwag got too adventurous. With the mid-on back he tried to drag Sammy over midwicket, but couldn’t find the elevation. After that wicket, Gambhir settled down a bit. He respected the spinners a bit before taking the risks. One of the risks was when he drove in the air and wide of mid-off, the other a loft off Devendra Bishoo over midwicket. The second of those took him to 48 off 76, and his first half-century against West Indies duly arrived.

After lunch, coinciding with the control on run flow, Gambhir drove in front of his body and picked out short cover. Seventeen runs had come in the previous six overs. Tendulkar got off with trademark boundaries, a flick through square leg, and a drive between mid-off and extra cover. Two more hit-me deliveries arrived, and he was 20 off 28. As he slowed down to take breath, West Indies created two chances against him: Bishoo didn’t get an lbw call his way, and a bat-pad off Sammy fell between the desperate keeper and bowler.

Soon, though, Tendulkar toe-ended a long hop, and the crowd, which had grown to a slightly more impressive number since the morning, lost its voice. That brought out the most prolific batsman at Eden to start a partnership with the man just behind him. Dravid was already in the middle of a well-paced innings. The sight of Dravid usually brings respite to the bowling sides when he is following a rampant Sehwag, but here he began with a couple and a four in the first over he faced. Soon he was 18 off 16, having hit four fours, one of which was a punch against the turn of Marlon Samuels, deliberately in front of square to beat deep point.

At 37 off 53, he had hit seven boundaries. Then followed that tighter session – 80 runs as opposed to 132 in the first – and two wickets at the other end. He didn’t hit another boundary for the next 100 balls he faced. Still, those 100 balls brought him 41 runs and involved the 15 minutes before tea when he and Laxman remained cautious. In the 68th over of the innings, Dravid lofted Bishoo over mid-off for the 20th six of his career.

By then Laxman too had moved on from his 1 off 15 to 30 off 47 through some Laxman sots. The milestones came up without fuss. Dravid reached his fifth century of the year, level with his best year in terms of centuries, 2002, with a flick past square leg. Laxman brought up his eighth score of 50 or more in his 10th Eden Test with a well-placed couple deep on the on side. That shot was also indicative of his innings, of how he kept finding gaps through the defensive fields. Dravid went on to celebrate with his 21st six, this time a slog-sweep off Samuels.

Just before stumps, though, he gifted youngster Kraigg Brathwaite with a wicket when he went back to a cut a fullish delivery. Not yet sated, he went back with disgust on his face. Inexplicably India sent out a nightwatchman. Ishant Sharma lasted only one ball, but in pure technical terms he did his job as bad light made sure there was no further play.

Sidharth Monga is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo

Virat Kohli (112 not out) and Gautam Gambhir (84 not out) shared an unbeaten 209-run stand to steer India to a comprehensive eight-wicket victory over England in the second one-day international at Ferozeshah Kotla stadium in New Delhi on Monday.

With this thumping win, India took a 2-0 lead in the five-match series against the visiting side.

Kohli completed another impressive century, his seventh in one-dayers, to lead the Indian run chase as they achieved the modest 238-run target in just 36.4 overs.

Kohli hit 16 boundaries in his 98-ball brilliant knock as he raced to his seventh ton in just 89 balls.

Gambhir played a perfect partner for flamboyant Kohli, as the left-hander himself played a gem of an innings off 90 balls and smashed ten boundaries.

India got off to a bad start as they lost openers Ajinkya Rahane (14) and Parthiv Patel (12) early.

Tim Bresnan struck twice in his successive overs to provide England early breakthroughs after visiting bowlers checked India’s run chase from the beginning.

Rahane was caught near the boundary rope while trying to hit two consecutive sixes in the seventh over. The right-hander hit a six and a four in his 15-ball cameo.

Earlier, pacer Vinay Kumar took 4 wickets for 30 runs to help India bundle out England for 237 on Monday.

Vinay led an impressive young Indian attack as they knocked off England top-orders cheaply to reduce the visitors to 121/5 in 25.2 overs. Umesh Yadav supported Vinay and Praveen Kumar well as a third paceman and took two English wickets for 50 runs.

Praveen started Indian attack by removing England skipper Alastair Cook for nought in the very first over. Vinay soon joined the party as he dismissed Craig Kieswetter (0), Jonathan Trott (34) inside the mandatory powerplay.

England failed to accelerate in the end as they lost their last five wickets for just 30 runs and were eventually bowled out in 48.2 overs.

Jonathan Bairstow (35) and Samit Patel (42) tried to revive England innings with a steady 86-run stand for the sixth wicket before both fall in quick succession.

Virat Kohli took a well timed catch at the boundary to dismiss Bairstow off Ravindra Jadeja in the 43rd over soon after Patel became Yadav’s second victim in the previous over.

Bairstow played a patient innings of 35 off 49 balls with the help three boundaries whereas Patel smacked two sixes and two fours in his 53-ball knock.

Ravichandran Ashwin and Yadav struck in the consecutive overs to give England double blow as they dismissed Ravi Bopara (36) and Kevin Pietersen (46) respectively.

Yadav increased England worries when Pietersen went for the drive but the ball took a faint outside edge off the bottom of the bat and Dhoni grabbed it behind the wickets soon after Ashwin broke a crucial 73-run fourth wicket partnership between them.

Indian seamers were on a roll as they removed England top three batsmen inside the mandatory powerplay to reduce the visitors to 48/3.

After losing two early wickets, Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen tried to steady England innings as they added 48 runs third wicket stand. Trot lost his cool and got faint edge which went into the gloves of skipper MS Dhoni.

England started their innings on a bad note as they lost skipper Alastair Cook and Craig Kieswetter in the first two overs.

Praveen Kumar struck on the fourth delivery of the first over to remove Cook who attempted to hit over point but failed to get the elevation as Ravindra Jadeja made no mistake to pouch it.

Vinay Kumar joined his partner to give England another shock as he dismissed Craig Kieswetter to thump visitors to 0/2.

Earlier, England skipper Alastair Cook won the toss and decided to bat against India. Both India and England have retained the same side which played the first ODI in Hyderabad.

Buoyed by the resounding 126-run triumph in the opening game, India will seek to maintain their supremacy against England in the second ODI with the focus on grooming the young brigade.

Teams:

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain and wicketkeeper), Gautam Gambhir, Parthiv Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar, Praveen Kumar.

England: Alastair Cook (captain), Craig Kieswetter (wicketkeeper), Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ravi Bopara, Jonathan Bairstow, Graeme Swann, Samit Patel, Tim Bresnan, Steven Finn, Jade Dernbach.

Source: Times of India

Yuvraj has a small patch of pneumonitis on the left lung. Sachin Tendulkar, who had earlier opted out of the ODIs, will now miss the whole tour citing family commitments. With Gambhir’s injury, and with Virender Sehwag undergoing a shoulder surgery, India will be without both their regular openers after a long time.

“Tendulkar will not play the Test series. However, he will be available for the full tour of England, that follows,” the BCCI said.

Suresh Raina will replace Gambhir as the ODI captain. Manoj Tiwary and Shikhar Dhawan have been named the replacement batsmen. Harbhajan Singh will be Raina’s deputy.

BADRINATH, MUKUND, KOHLI IN TEST SQUAD

Tamil Nadu batsmen Subramaniam Badrinath and Abhinav Mukund have been brought in while ODI regular Virat Kohli has also been named in the squad. Captain MS Dhoni and Zaheer Khan will be available for the Tests. Test specialist VVS Laxman has been named Dhoni’s deputy.

Laxman was earlier India’s vice-captain on the South Africa in 2006. Munaf Patel, who last played a Test on the tour of New Zealand in 2009, is also back in the Test squad.

Badrinath was the highest run-scorer in the Ranji Trophy last season with 922 runs, including four tons and three fifties with a highest score of 195 at an average of 131.71.

CONSISTENT PERFORMERS

Badrinath has a stellar first-class record and has scored 7478 runs at an average of 62.31, with 27 centuries and 32 fifties. He last played a Test at home against South Africa in 2010.

Mukund had an impressive Ranji Trophy season. In nine matches, he made 620 runs with a highest score of 232 at an average of 56.36.

Dhawan was the highest run-scorer for Deccan Chargers in IPL-4 with 400 runs at an average of 33.33 and strike rate of 129.03. Tiwary scored 359 runs at an average of 51.28 and strike rate of 110.46 for Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL-4.

Delhi’s Dhawan played his only ODI against Australia in October 2010 where he scored a blob. Bengal’s Tiwary played his only ODI against Australia in February 2008 and scored two runs before being famously done in by a Brett Lee yorker. He slipped off the radar for the next couple of years before working his way back into form.

Kohli has scored 2131 runs, including seven centuries and eight half-centuries with a highest score of 197 at an average of 57.59 in 30 first-class matches.

Patel played the last of his 20 Tests against Sri Lanka in August 2008, where he filled in for Dhoni. He has 683 runs at an average of 29.69 and 41 catches with eight stumpings.

The selection meeting was also attended by India’s new coach Duncan Fletcher.

Test squad:

MS Dhoni (C/WK), VVS Laxman (VC), Murali Vijay, Abhinav Mukund, Rahul Dravid, Virat Kohli, Subramaniam Badrinath, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, S Sreesanth, Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, Suresh Raina, Parthiv Patel (WK).

Limited-overs squad:

Suresh Raina (C), R Ashwin, S Badrinath, Harbhajan Singh (VC), Virat Kohli, Praveen Kumar, Amit Mishra, Munaf Patel, Parthiv Patel (WK), Yusuf Pathan, Wriddhiman Saha (WK), Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Vinay Kumar, Manoj Tiwary, Shikhar Dhawan.

Source: Yahoo Cricket

Gautam Gambhir and Manoj Tiwary hit unbeaten 45 and 34 respectively as Kolkata Knight Riders inflicted a crushing eight-wicket defeat on Kings XI Punjab in their IPL match at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Saturday.

The unbeaten 85-run stand between Gambhir and Tiwary enabled Kolkata to chase down the 120-run target in 17.2 overs.

Gambhir hit 4 fours in his 44-ball 45 and Tiwary’s 41-ball 34 came with the help of a six and 3 fours.

The partnership came after Ryan Harris took a superb catch at deep mid-wicket to dismiss Kolkata opener Eoin Morgan off Bhargav Bhatt.

Morgan hit 6 fours in his 15-ball 28 before falling to Bhatt.

Bhatt struck on his first delivery when he had Jacques Kallis caught by David Hussey in the covers as Kolkata got off to a bad start in pursuit of 120 runs.

Earlier, Iqbal Abdulla took 2 wickets as Kolkata restricted Kings XI Punjab to 119/6 despite a well-made 42 from Dinesh Karthik.

Karthik hit 4 fours in his run-a-ball 42 before being run out.

Kings XI Punjab lost their fifth wicket when Abdulla trapped David Hussey plumb in front of the wicket.

Abdulla gave Kolkata the third breakthrough when he clean bowled Punjab captain Adam Gilchrist from between his legs.

Gilchrist looked to pull a short-pitched delivery but the ball neither turned nor bounced and went from between his legs to hit the stumps.

Kolkata lost their fourth wicket when Abhishek Nayar was run out.

Paul Valthaty and Shaun Marsh fell in successive overs as Kings XI Punjab got off to a bad start against Kolkata Knight Riders

Yusuf Pathan gave Kolkata the first breakthrough when he had Paul Valthaty caught by Manoj Tiwary at long-on in the fifth over.

In the next over, Marsh was run out as Punjab lost their second wicket.

This was after Kolkata captain Gautam Gambhir won the toss and chose to bowl.

Kolkata have replaced Jaidev Unadkat with Rajat Bhatia.

Punjab have brought in Bhargav Bhatt in place of Shalabh Srivastava.

Teams:

Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir (Capt.), Jacques Kallis, Shreevats Goswami, Manoj Tiwary, Yusuf Pathan, Eoin Morgan, Rajat Bhatia, Ryan ten Doeschate, Iqbal Abdulla, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Brett Lee.

Kings XI Punjab: Adam Gilchrist (Capt.), Paul Valthaty, Shaun Marsh, Dinesh Karthik, David Hussey, Abhishek Nayar, Praveen Kumar, Piyush Chawla, Bhargav Bhatt, Bipul Sharma, Ryan Harris.

Source: Times of India

Against Chennai, Gautam Gambhir held himself back, coming in late at No. 6 and making one run. The Kolkata Knight Riders captain showed greater sense today in coming one-down, hammering 75 (44b) to set up a nine-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals.

It was the most brutal Gambhir innings in recent times. Coming in at the quick fall of Manvinder Bisla, the Kolkata captain launched an all-out attack on Rajasthan. He stepped out to loft Nayan Doshi for a six to get the innings going before taking four fours in an Amit Singh over. A 28-ball fifty was completed. At the other end, Jacques Kallis calmly collected 80 (65), his third fifty in a row in the tournament, to win back the Orange Cap.

Royals captain Shane Warne had no answer to this powerful build-up. Gambhir and Kallis added 152 unbeaten runs to finish off the chase. The nervousness that marked Kolkata’s approach in previous games seems gone. Their dug-out seemed a happy place. With their second win, they’ve jumped into the top-four.

Earlier in the day, Kolkata elected to field here at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. Rahul Dravid and Ashok Menaria built up Rajasthan nicely with a steady 52-run stand. Rajasthan had Ross Taylor and Shane Watson to follow. Yusuf Pathan bowled one over in which he dismissed Dravid and Menaria both.

Taylor (35 off 22b) and Watson (22 off 13b) brought out the big hits, but this was a flat wicket and 159-4 seemed under-par.

And here’s a snippet from the match that stood out as a reminder that there’s place for old school trickery in a game where spinners are prone to dart the ball into batsmen’s pads.

In the 17th over by Shakib Al Hasan, Watson slog-swept a six. It was the second time Watson had sent Shakib over the ropes today. Shakib by now must have been sick of Watson. In the recently concluded ODI series between Australia and Bangladesh, Watson hit 20 sixes in three matches.

The Bangladesh captain’s response to that six was another delivery in the same hitting area. It was a little flat but not quick through the air. Watson set himself up for another slog-sweep. But this time, the ball dipped, turned nicely past Watson’s bat, and crashed into the stumps.

Shakib celebrated knowing exactly what he had pulled off. He could have fired in a fast ball and perhaps restricted Watson to a single. But he invited the big hit and took the wicket. It probably saved Kolkata about 20 runs. In the end, maybe this is why they won.

Source: Yahoo Cricket

Twenty-eight years on from the match that transformed the history of world cricket, India recaptured the crown that Kapil Dev and his men first lifted at Lord’s in 1983, and this time they did so in their very own back yard. An iron-willed 97 from Gautam Gambhir was matched for intensity by the finest captain’s innings since Ricky Ponting in Johannesburg eight years ago, as MS Dhoni trumped a poetic century from Mahela Jayawardene to pull off the highest run-chase ever achieved in a World Cup final.

Against a triumphant backdrop at the Wankhede Stadium, victory was sealed by six wickets with 10 balls to spare, as Dhoni – who had promoted himself to No. 5 to heap extra lashings of responsibility onto his own shoulders – rushed through the gears as the victory target drew nearer. With 15 required from 17 balls, he flicked Sri Lanka’s only true threat, Lasith Malinga, through midwicket for consecutive boundaries, before smoking Nuwan Kulasekara over long-on to finish on 91 not out from 79 balls, and spark the most delirious scenes of celebration ever seen on the subcontinent.

However, the final margin did little justice to the tussle that had preceded it. Even the toss ended up being disputed, as Kumar Sangakkara’s initial call was drowned out by the crowd, but it was the ebb and flow of Zaheer Khan’s day that epitomised the fluctuations of a compelling contest. Zaheer opened his account with three consecutive maidens and the scalp of Upul Tharanga in a peerless spell of 5-3-6-1, only to be clobbered for 17 and 18 runs in his ninth and tenth overs, as Sri Lanka monstered 63 runs in the batting Powerplay to post an imposing 274 for 6.

And India’s day got much worse before the team’s fortunes began to inch upwards. Virender Sehwag had hit a boundary from the first ball of six of India’s previous eight innings in the tournament, but this time Malinga’s slingers dealt him a second-ball duck, as he skidded a full delivery into his back pad. And then Sachin Tendulkar, for whom the script had seemingly been written, was drawn into a loose drive by a fast Malinga outswinger, having set the stadium on standby for instant history with 18 sumptuously accumulated runs from his first 12 deliveries.

At 31 for 2 in the seventh over, India were struggling to keep their toehold in the contest, and it was all too much for a faithless few in the crowd who turned their backs and set off for home. But Gambhir and Virat Kohli epitomise a generation that does not easily accept defeat, and their third-wicket stand of 83 laid the foundations for an epic turnaround. The prospect of a seam-friendly surface, allied to the grievous loss of Angelo Mathews to a thigh strain, had tempted Sri Lanka into four key changes to the team that had triumphed over New Zealand in Colombo, and with Muttiah Muralitharan lacking bite in the final wicketless appearance of his 19-year career, Malinga alone could not carry the day.

The hard-hitting of Nuwan Kulasekara and Thisara Perera had been instrumental in hoisting Sri Lanka’s total to such heights, but in their primary role as front-line seamers they lacked menace and were all too easy to squeeze as 119 runs came from their combined allocation of 17.2 overs. The newcomer to the squad, Suraj Randiv, caused a moment of alarm with his high-kicking offspin when Gambhir, on 30, was dropped by a diving Kulasekara at long-off, but as the innings progressed, his lack of guile proved costly. The decision to omit both Ajantha Mendis and Rangana Herath, whose combined efforts had been so effective against England and New Zealand, is one that will haunt Sri Lanka for years to come.

But this was a victory that still had to be grasped, and India found the men who were willing to do so. The 22-year-old Kohli, who was greeted with a stern word of encouragement as he replaced the outgoing Tendulkar, showed all the mettle for the big occasion as he eased along to 35 from 49 balls before falling to an outstanding return catch by Tillakaratne Dilshan, who dived full-length across the crease to intercept a leading edge. But it was Gambhir and Dhoni to whom the ultimate duty fell. Their 109-run stand was the highest by an Indian pairing in three World Cup final appearances, and even when Gambhir gave away the chance for an unforgettable century with a tired charge and slash at Perera, the result was no longer in doubt.

Gambhir struck nine fours in a 122-ball statement of indomitability, and both he and Dhoni required treatment for stiff backs as the sapping Mumbai heat took its toll. Dhoni at one stage looked so immobile that a precautionary retirement seemed the only logical response, but after some harsh work from the physio he resumed his stance and responded with another trademark filleting of the extra cover boundary, an area in which he scored six of his eight fours – three of which helped to blunt Murali’s attacking instincts.

Both teams contained numerous veterans of World Cup final defeat, with no fewer than five Indians still remaining from the team that lost to Australia back in 2003, and as a consequence this was a match thick with performances that spoke of the wisdom of experience. Though each of the previous five centurions in finals had gone on to lift the trophy, as well as seven of the nine teams that had had the chance to bat first, Jayawardene had the misfortune to become an exception to both rules. His stunning 103 not out from 88 balls was proof that finesse has as much of a place at this level as brutality, but ultimately it was not enough to deny India their destiny.

Four years ago at Sabina Park, Jayawardene produced a supreme century against New Zealand to carry his side to their second World Cup final, but this was an innings of even more exquisite application. He came to the crease with his side under the cosh at 60 for 2 in the 17th over, having been throttled by Zaheer’s supreme new-ball spell. But he responded with a tempo that scarcely wavered from a run a ball, until with Kulasekera for company, he opened his shoulders to power through to his hundred from 84 balls.

For an occasion of this magnitude, cool heads were the order of the day, and though his final figures did not show it, no-one was cooler in the opening exchanges than Zaheer. On his watch, Sri Lanka were limited to 31 for 1 in their mandatory Powerplay, their lowest ten-over score of the tournament, and the hapless Tharanga was restricted to two runs from 20 balls before snicking to Sehwag at slip, whose sharp low take epitomised a fielding effort that was rarely less than totally committed. Then, when he returned in the 37th over, Zaheer deceived Chamara Kapugedera with a beautiful slower ball that was driven to short cover, on route to equalling Shahid Afridi as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker, with 21.

And yet, the speed with which his figures were vandalised was astounding. Though each of Jayawardene’s 13 fours was a classy stroke in its own right, none was better than the last of them, an inside-out cover-drive to one of Zaheer’s trademark outswinging yorkers, as he premeditated the late movement and filleted the ring of fielders on the off-side. The outright acceleration came from the other end, however, where Kulasekera made 32 from 30 balls before his sacrificial run-out led to a pat of gratitude from Jayawardene as they parted. And then, by the time Perera, who made 22 from nine balls, had sealed his onslaught with a dismissive thump for six over midwicket, the decibel levels in the Wankhede had plummeted.

But run by run, over by over, minute by minute, India picked themselves up, dusted themselves down, and turned the screw on Sri Lanka with a determination that a lesser group of men could not have begun to muster, amid the sure knowledge that several billion countrymen were investing all their hopes in their actions. And though he himself played just a walk-on part in the wider drama, it was Tendulkar who was chaired from the field as the celebrations began in earnest. “He’s carried the burden of our nation for 21 years,” said the youngster Kohli. “It was time to carry him on our shoulders today.”

Andrew Miller is UK editor of ESPNcricinfo

It was billed as the blockbuster and the quarterfinal, the second of the 2011 Cricket World Cup at the Sardar Patel Stadium at Motera on Thursday lived up to the expectations.

India survived a Ricky Ponting masterclass (104, 118 balls, 7×4, 1 x6) and some tense moments to beat four-time World Champions Australia by five wickets and 14 balls to spare to set up a potentially explosive clash with arch rivals Pakistan in Mohali on March 30.

The hosts rose to the occasion in style, first with a superb bowling and fielding effort, then the great master Sachin Tendulkar set the stage alight with glorious strokeplay to put the side on cruise mode before some quintessential Indian harakiri.

The Aussies sensing a chance changed colours, bowled with venom, sledged hard and even bled – Brett Lee getting a cut under his eye while fielding. They did it all but couldn’t stop India from progressing.

There were many heroes for India as they set about their chase of 261, but Yuvraj Singh, yet again, emerged as the knight in shining armour coming up with a match-winning knock of unbeaten 57 runs besides picking up two wickets earlier. The effort earned the southpaw his fourth Man-of-the-match award in this World Cup.

Also rising to the challenge was young Suresh Raina with a gutsy unbeaten 34. Yuvraj and Raina realized 74 runs from 61 balls just when the Aussies had turned on the screws.

There was some intense drama before though courtesy a horrible mix-up between Gautam Gambhir (50; 64b, 7×4) and Yuvraj (their third in the span of five minutes) resulting in the run out of Gambhir. Yuvraj edged David Hussey to Cameron White at slip and even before Yuvraj could realize, Gambhir had dashed towards him from the non-striker’s end and it was a point of no return.

Five overs earlier, Virat Kohli swatted a full toss straight down the throat of Michael Clarke at mid-wicket.

Skipper MS Dhoni cracked a thundering boundary, but another attempt off Lee saw Dhoni cut the bowler straight to Michael Clarke at point. The Indians had slid to 187 for 5 in 37.3 overs and seemed to be spoiling their own party till Yuvraj and Raina came into their own.

Of course, Tendulkar (53; 68b, 7×4) was on a different planet altogether as he caressed, punched, pulled, drove and also played the upper cut, the way only he can to raise hopes of the ton of tons.

Source: Times of India

The Indian batting emphasised why they are such a feared unit by piling up 360 against New Zealand, despite the failures of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli, two batsmen who tormented New Zealand in the one-day series three months ago, crafted a century partnership to set the base, before MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina, two batsmen who are crowd favourites in Chennai for their IPL exploits, delighted the fans with brutal hitting that was frenetic even by Twenty20 standards. The final 16 overs brought a jaw-dropping 193 runs to further demoralise a struggling New Zealand outfit, who were eventually crushed by 117 runs.

It had been run-of-the-mill stuff till the 34th over, with the bowling mostly mediocre and the batsmen mainly concerned with consolidation. The mandatory ball change in the 35th over prompted the batting Powerplay, and began an hour-long period of carnage. Gambhir started it with lap sweeps and carves over extra cover, followed by three successive boundaries off Tim Southee in the 37th to pick up 31 off 12 deliveries before nicking to the keeper.

If New Zealand felt that would provide some respite, there were emphatically proved wrong by Dhoni and Raina, both of whose one-day fortunes have hit a trough in the recent past. Dhoni showed that the bludgeoner of old wasn’t gone for good, by thrashing a 61-ball century that had plenty of heaves over midwicket and power-packed drives down the ground. There were some deft placements as well from Dhoni to collect boundaries past short third man and short fine leg. Raina joined in the fun, with his patented swipes towards midwicket fetching him loads of runs in a 25-ball half-century.

Jacob Oram’s bowling performance perfectly illustrated how New Zealand wilted after a solid beginning. Oram, fighting for a place in the starting XI, started the day with the massive wicket of Virender Shehwag off his first delivery. It got even better for him when he returned for his second spell; he had Kolhi poking at an extremely wide delivery that ended up as a nick to the keeper, and his figures read 7-1-30-2. The smile was off his face in his final burst, though, as Dhoni picked five successive fours off him before Raina swung him for three sixes over midwicket in four balls. Oram kicked the ground in disgust as he ended with 9-1-70-2.

The Chennai fans wouldn’t have expected such a treat when the superstar opening pair of Tendulkar and Sehwag fell within the first ten overs. It was Kohli who led the recovery initially after the loss of the two wickets, continuing to be in the fluent form that has led to a chorus of calls for finding him a place in the World Cup XI. A combination of hard-hit lofted drives and delicate dinks behind square brought him a half-century, which along with Raina’s whirlwind innings will leave the Indian team management reaching for the aspirin when they have to decide which of the two to leave out in the opening match in Dhaka.

New Zealand’s team management will have headaches of their own, but not as pleasant as India’s. The batting can’t be blamed for coming up short in the face of a mammoth target, but the bowling, which was taken apart on Wednesday, had shipped loads of runs in the first warm-up against Ireland as well. New bowling coach Allan Donald will have his hands full during the tournament.

New Zealand began their chase spiritedly with Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill scoring quickly against the quick bowlers. As on Sunday against Australia, it was the spinners that applied the brakes for India. New Zealand had sprinted to 94 for 0 in 15 overs, when offspinner R Ashwin removed Guptill with a delivery that spun sharply and bounced, flying off the bat handle to Dhoni. McCullum was then dismissed attempting a misjudged run, before Harbhajan Singh removed the two other big names in the New Zealand batting, Jesse Ryder and Ross Taylor. At 147 for 5, the game was up, though New Zealand’s lower order lingered around for another 18 overs.

Several worries remain for India. Firstly, the ineffectiveness of the fast bowling in the absence of Zaheer Khan. The quicks have been blunted by the opposition openers in both practice games, leaving India pondering who to pick to partner Zaheer on Saturday. The other is the fielding, with two straightforward catches being put down – one by Gambhir at midwicket, and another by Munaf Patel at deep square leg.

Dhoni will be satisfied overall with the two wins in the pratice matches, but he won’t be getting carried away by these results, especially after India’s disastrous 2007 World Cup campaign which had begun with two massive victories in the practice matches.

Siddarth Ravindran is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo