The evening session on the fourth day of the third Ashes Test: England make the vital breakthrough while searching for the victory which would take them 2-0 clear in the series, sending Simon Katich back to the pavilion for just 26. With only 47 runs on the board, Ricky Ponting - the Australian captain - strolls out to the pitch with his usual air of confidence, however this time he makes the long walk out to the middle surrounded by something entirely different: resounding boos. Ostensibly, Ponting's brief stay at the crease - in which he amassed a meager five runs - was not to be memorable, but the antics surrounding his arrival, and subsequent exit, would not be quickly forgotten.
for more click here
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Attack On Sri Lanka Cricket Team At Lahore Pakistan 2009 Mar 03
Attack On Sri Lanka Cricket Team At Lahore Pakistan 2009 Mar 03
Shahid Afridi makes 32 runs from 1 over vs Sri Lanka
Shahid Afridi Malinga Bandara slaughter 1 over 32 most runs Pakistan Cricket sixes ..
Monday, August 10, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Symonds to be sent home from World Twenty20
MELBOURNE: Australia all-rounder Andrew Symonds is being sent home from the Twenty20 World Cup in England for another off-field Symonds incident relating to alcohol.
Symonds has a history of off-field problems dating back to Australia's last tour to England in 2005, when he was banned for two matches after arriving drunk to a limited-overs international.
Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland confirmed Symonds' latest breach of the team rules was alcohol related and that his contract was subject to review.
"In isolation the breaches that I am talking about are not serious, but in the scheme of things, in the scheme of history, they are enough for it to be the final straw," Sutherland told reporters in Melbourne.
The latest incidents were not specified, with Sutherland not drawn on whether police were involved. It was reported Symonds attended a dinner at a Kensington hotel with the Australian squad on Wednesday night.
"In the last 24-48 hours he has broken a number of team rules," Sutherland said. "In the context of commitments Andrew has made to his teammates and to Cricket Australia in the last six months, it's the last straw. Unfortunately, it's a constant balancing act and it's just tipped too far today.
"Andrew is very disappointed and understandably upset. I'm disappointed in Andrew and I'm disappointed for Andrew. I'm quite sad about it."
Australia are due to play the West Indies on Saturday in their opening match of the Twenty20 World Cup.
The last time Australia lost a key player for a disciplinary issue on the eve of a major tournament, it was Symonds who came to the rescue.
He scored an unbeaten 143 from 125 balls against Pakistan in Australia's opening win at the 2003 World Cup, not long after star leg-spinner Shane Warne was suspended for a doping violation after testing positive to a diuretic.
It was Symonds' maiden ODI century after 55 matches and turned his international career.
An aggressive stroke player and renowned match winner, Symonds has been an integral part of Australia's limited-overs squad since 2003 and will be sorely missed in the World Twenty20. He has helped Australia win two World Cups in the 50-over format.
He averages almost 40 at an impressive strike rate of 92.44 in 198 limited-overs internationals and is ideally suited to the T20 format, where he averages 48.14 in 14 international matches.
Symonds played the last of his 26 Test matches in December, when he started treatment for an injured knee. He returned to the ODI squad in a series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates last month. He also played an important role in Deccan Chargers' recent win in the Indian Premier League in South Africa.
Symonds will turn 34 next week and selectors national demonstrated some frustration with him last month when they omitted him from the squad for the five-Test Ashes series in England which follows the T20 World Cup.
Symonds was last month offered a Cricket Australia contract for the 2009-10 season, but Sutherland has told him "we would take that offer off the table at this stage and reconsider our position."
The past 18 months have been the most tumultuous of Symonds' career. In January 2008 he was at the center of the "monkeygate" scandal in the home series against India, when he accused Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh of making racist remarks to him.
Symonds was dissatisfied at Cricket Australia's response in the ensuing investigation. He missed the return tour to India after going fishing rather than attending a team meeting ahead of a limited-overs series against Bangladesh in September.
The big-hitting all-rounder was ordered to undergo counseling before being eligible for selection again, and won a recall for the series against New Zealand in November.
Symonds was only one Test into his comeback when he was subjected to an investigation following reports of a bar fight in Brisbane with a drunken fan. He was cleared of that charge but fined again in January for making derogatory comments about a New Zealand player in a radio interview, when he was allegedly drunk.
He has admitted to struggling with alcohol.
Source
Symonds has a history of off-field problems dating back to Australia's last tour to England in 2005, when he was banned for two matches after arriving drunk to a limited-overs international.
Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland confirmed Symonds' latest breach of the team rules was alcohol related and that his contract was subject to review.
"In isolation the breaches that I am talking about are not serious, but in the scheme of things, in the scheme of history, they are enough for it to be the final straw," Sutherland told reporters in Melbourne.
The latest incidents were not specified, with Sutherland not drawn on whether police were involved. It was reported Symonds attended a dinner at a Kensington hotel with the Australian squad on Wednesday night.
"In the last 24-48 hours he has broken a number of team rules," Sutherland said. "In the context of commitments Andrew has made to his teammates and to Cricket Australia in the last six months, it's the last straw. Unfortunately, it's a constant balancing act and it's just tipped too far today.
"Andrew is very disappointed and understandably upset. I'm disappointed in Andrew and I'm disappointed for Andrew. I'm quite sad about it."
Australia are due to play the West Indies on Saturday in their opening match of the Twenty20 World Cup.
The last time Australia lost a key player for a disciplinary issue on the eve of a major tournament, it was Symonds who came to the rescue.
He scored an unbeaten 143 from 125 balls against Pakistan in Australia's opening win at the 2003 World Cup, not long after star leg-spinner Shane Warne was suspended for a doping violation after testing positive to a diuretic.
It was Symonds' maiden ODI century after 55 matches and turned his international career.
An aggressive stroke player and renowned match winner, Symonds has been an integral part of Australia's limited-overs squad since 2003 and will be sorely missed in the World Twenty20. He has helped Australia win two World Cups in the 50-over format.
He averages almost 40 at an impressive strike rate of 92.44 in 198 limited-overs internationals and is ideally suited to the T20 format, where he averages 48.14 in 14 international matches.
Symonds played the last of his 26 Test matches in December, when he started treatment for an injured knee. He returned to the ODI squad in a series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates last month. He also played an important role in Deccan Chargers' recent win in the Indian Premier League in South Africa.
Symonds will turn 34 next week and selectors national demonstrated some frustration with him last month when they omitted him from the squad for the five-Test Ashes series in England which follows the T20 World Cup.
Symonds was last month offered a Cricket Australia contract for the 2009-10 season, but Sutherland has told him "we would take that offer off the table at this stage and reconsider our position."
The past 18 months have been the most tumultuous of Symonds' career. In January 2008 he was at the center of the "monkeygate" scandal in the home series against India, when he accused Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh of making racist remarks to him.
Symonds was dissatisfied at Cricket Australia's response in the ensuing investigation. He missed the return tour to India after going fishing rather than attending a team meeting ahead of a limited-overs series against Bangladesh in September.
The big-hitting all-rounder was ordered to undergo counseling before being eligible for selection again, and won a recall for the series against New Zealand in November.
Symonds was only one Test into his comeback when he was subjected to an investigation following reports of a bar fight in Brisbane with a drunken fan. He was cleared of that charge but fined again in January for making derogatory comments about a New Zealand player in a radio interview, when he was allegedly drunk.
He has admitted to struggling with alcohol.
Source
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
DLF IPL 2009 May 11 IPL Hyderabad vs IPL Rajasthan at De Beers Diamond Oval, Kimberley
| May 11, 2009 : IPL 2009 : IPL Hyderabad won by 53 runs | ||||||||
| IPL Hyderabad vs IPL Rajasthan, 40th Match | ||||||||
| De Beers Diamond Oval, Kimberley | ||||||||
| Umpires: S Asnani (IND) and K Dharmasena (SL) Third Umpire: G Baxter (NZ) | ||||||||
| Match Referee: J Srinath (IND) | ||||||||
| Toss: IPL Hyderabad (Elected to Bat) | ||||||||
| Result: IPL Hyderabad won by 53 runs | Man of the Match: Dwayne Smith | |||||||
| Match Summary: | ||||||||
| IPL Hyderabad innings | ||||||||
| Runs | Balls | Fours | Sixes | SR | FoW | |||
| Tirumalsetti Suman | c L Carseldine | b Trivedi | 29 | 19 | 3 | 1 | 152.63 | 2-42 ( 5.5 ov. ) |
| Adam Gilchrist (c)(wk) | lbw | b Pathan | 10 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 90.91 | 1-21 ( 3.3 ov. ) |
| Rohit Sharma | st N Ojha | b Jadeja | 9 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 64.29 | 3-70 ( 9.3 ov. ) |
| Andrew Symonds | b Jadeja | 30 | 19 | 2 | 1 | 157.89 | 4-83 ( 11.3 ov. ) | |
| Dwayne Smith | c A Raut | b Pathan | 47 | 32 | 0 | 4 | 146.88 | 7-164 ( 19.5 ov. ) |
| Chaminda Vaas | c L Carseldine | b Pathan | 20 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 133.33 | 5-120 ( 16.2 ov. ) |
| Venugopal Rao | c R Jadeja | b Warne | 12 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 171.43 | 6-155 ( 18.4 ov. ) |
| DR Teja | not out | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 233.33 | ||
| RP Singh | not out | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Pragyan Ojha | ||||||||
| Shoaib Ahmed | ||||||||
| Extras: ( 1 wd, 1 lb, 0 b, 0 nb, 0 p) | Total: 166 / 7 in 20.0 overs (Run Rate: 8.30) | |||||||
| Bowler | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | NoBall | Wide | Eco | |
| Morne Morkel | 3 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6.67 | |
| Munaf Patel | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Yusuf Pathan | 4 | 0 | 34 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8.5 | |
| Siddharth Trivedi | 3 | 0 | 33 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | |
| Shane Warne (c) | 4 | 0 | 36 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 4 | 0 | 26 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6.5 | |
| Abhishek Raut | 1 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | |
| IPL Rajasthan innings | ||||||||
| Runs | Balls | Fours | Sixes | SR | FoW | |||
| Graeme Smith | lbw | b Vaas | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 | 1-5 ( 1.1 ov. ) |
| Swapnil Asnodkar | run out (A Gilchrist/ V Rao) | 44 | 39 | 6 | 1 | 112.82 | 5-83 ( 13.1 ov. ) | |
| Lee Carseldine | st A Gilchrist | b Vaas | 8 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 72.73 | 2-19 ( 3.5 ov. ) |
| Naman Ojha (wk) | run out (D Teja) | 16 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 114.29 | 3-43 ( 7.5 ov. ) | |
| Yusuf Pathan | c D Smith | b Ojha | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 85.71 | 4-74 ( 11.2 ov. ) |
| Ravindra Jadeja | not out | 19 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 95 | ||
| Abhishek Raut | b Rohit | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 6-85 ( 13.4 ov. ) | |
| Morne Morkel | c D Teja | b Rohit | 8 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 100 | 7-96 ( 15.2 ov. ) |
| Shane Warne (c) | b Rohit | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8-97 ( 15.4 ov. ) | |
| Siddharth Trivedi | b R Singh | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 9-98 ( 16.3 ov. ) | |
| Munaf Patel | run out (T Suman/ A Gilchrist) | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 71.43 | 10-113 ( 19.3 ov. ) | |
| Extras: ( 3 wd, 1 lb, 0 b, 0 nb, 0 p) | Total: 113 / 10 in 19.3 overs (Run Rate: 5.79) | |||||||
| Bowler | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | NoBall | Wide | Eco | |
| RP Singh | 4 | 0 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5.5 | |
| Chaminda Vaas | 4 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4.75 | |
| Andrew Symonds | 4 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.5 | |
| Pragyan Ojha | 3.3 | 0 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7.14 | |
| Dwayne Smith | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| Rohit Sharma | 3 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
Sunday, April 26, 2009
No Royal Challenge for Delhi
Royal Challengers Bangalore again failed to get their batting right and were restricted to 149 for 7 against Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League match in Port Elizabeth on Sunday. A few of their batsmen got good starts but none could carry on and play a long innings.For more click here.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Yuvraj Singh in MVP race with Virender Sehwag
Yuvraj Singh was the most valuable player (MVP) in the recently-concluded Sri Lanka - India ODI series, but Virender Sehwag continues to be India's most valuable ODI player so far in the 2008-09 season.
The MVP index (MVPI) is calculated based on the assumption that, in ODI cricket, batsmen offer the best value if they score a lot of runs with good strike rates; bowlers if they take a lot of wickets at good (low) economy rates and fielders if they take the most catches or make the most run outs. The MVPI collapses the player's all-round performance into a single 'run equivalent'.
Kumar Sangakkara (MVPI = 318) is the only Sri Lankan to figure in the top five, in a series that saw dominating performances from Yuvraj, Dhoni , Sehwag and Gambhir.
It is especially interesting to note that Ishant Sharma took the most wickets (10) in the ODI series; one tends to think of Ishant more as a top Test match bowler.
Sachin Tendulkar , who was India's most valuable ODI player last season, is at the bottom of the list after being a victim of three poor umpiring decisions. It's unlikely that something like this will ever happen again. For more info please click here
The MVP index (MVPI) is calculated based on the assumption that, in ODI cricket, batsmen offer the best value if they score a lot of runs with good strike rates; bowlers if they take a lot of wickets at good (low) economy rates and fielders if they take the most catches or make the most run outs. The MVPI collapses the player's all-round performance into a single 'run equivalent'.
Kumar Sangakkara (MVPI = 318) is the only Sri Lankan to figure in the top five, in a series that saw dominating performances from Yuvraj, Dhoni , Sehwag and Gambhir.
It is especially interesting to note that Ishant Sharma took the most wickets (10) in the ODI series; one tends to think of Ishant more as a top Test match bowler.
Sachin Tendulkar , who was India's most valuable ODI player last season, is at the bottom of the list after being a victim of three poor umpiring decisions. It's unlikely that something like this will ever happen again. For more info please click here
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Sri Lanka clinch consolation win
Sri Lanka clinched a consolation 68-run victory against India in the fifth and final one-day international in Colombo on Sunday to avoid a series whitewash.
Sri Lanka piled up 320 for eight with opener Tillakaratne Dilshan top-scoring with 97, then bowled out India for 252. India won the series 4-1.
Sri Lanka's bowlers, led by Nuwan Kulasekara and Muttiah Muralitharan , produced their best display of the series.
In-form Yuvraj Singh provided some resistance with a powerful 73 but the Indian innings eventually ran out of steam.
Thilina Thushara struck first as Virender Sehwag mishit a straight drive.
Kulasekara then followed up with the wicket of Suresh Raina, who was brilliantly caught by wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara standing up to the stumps.
Sangakkara also caught Gautam Gambhir off Kulasekara to leave India in early trouble on 52 for three.
Yuvraj still attacked and the run rate remained high, but he was unable to build partnerships. Muralitharan swung the game decisively Sri Lanka's way as Yuvraj top-edged a sweep to be caught and bowled.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni kept India's hopes alive for a while with his run-a-ball 53 and all rounder Ravindra Jadeja impressed with 60 not out on debut, but Sri Lanka's slow bowlers squeezed the run rate to maintain the upper-hand.
Earlier, Dilshan top-scored with 97 from 117 balls with Sangakkara adding 84 as the pair provided the foundation for Sri Lanka's largest total of the series with a 143-run second-wicket partnership.
Home skipper Mahela Jayawardene won the toss and opted to bat, a decision that was justified as his line-up responded by dominating the India attack for the only time this series.
Dilshan's opening partner Sanath Jayasuriya helped give the innings a solid start with a rapid 37 in a 66-run first-wicket stand.
After Jayasuriya's cameo was ended by Irfan Pathan , Sangakkara maintained the momentum with a positive innings, using up just 70 balls for his 84 and hitting eight fours and a six.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni tried all his bowling options to make breakthroughs, using nine bowlers during the course of the innings.
He was able to engineer a late collapse with Ishant Sharma making a quick double-strike, bowling Thilina Kandamby for 26 and having Chamara Kapugedera caught behind for a duck.
Dilshan was run out just short of a deserved century and Jayawardene was caught at short cover for one.
During a frenzied passage of play in which India stormed back into the game, Sri Lanka lost four wickets for one run to teeter on 256-6 but all rounder Farveez Maharoof steered the hosts past 300 with a swashbuckling 32, hitting a six and three boundaries.
Sharma was the most successful of the Indian bowlers, finishing with three for 60 from his 10 overs.
Both teams made two changes in the final game, Sri Lanka recalling spinner Ajantha Mendis and fast bowler Thilina Thushara.
India gave a debut to promising all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and a first game in the series to pace bowler Lakshmipathy Balaji.
Source: www.rediff.com
Sri Lanka piled up 320 for eight with opener Tillakaratne Dilshan top-scoring with 97, then bowled out India for 252. India won the series 4-1.
Sri Lanka's bowlers, led by Nuwan Kulasekara and Muttiah Muralitharan , produced their best display of the series.
In-form Yuvraj Singh provided some resistance with a powerful 73 but the Indian innings eventually ran out of steam.
Thilina Thushara struck first as Virender Sehwag mishit a straight drive.
Kulasekara then followed up with the wicket of Suresh Raina, who was brilliantly caught by wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara standing up to the stumps.
Sangakkara also caught Gautam Gambhir off Kulasekara to leave India in early trouble on 52 for three.
Yuvraj still attacked and the run rate remained high, but he was unable to build partnerships. Muralitharan swung the game decisively Sri Lanka's way as Yuvraj top-edged a sweep to be caught and bowled.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni kept India's hopes alive for a while with his run-a-ball 53 and all rounder Ravindra Jadeja impressed with 60 not out on debut, but Sri Lanka's slow bowlers squeezed the run rate to maintain the upper-hand.
Earlier, Dilshan top-scored with 97 from 117 balls with Sangakkara adding 84 as the pair provided the foundation for Sri Lanka's largest total of the series with a 143-run second-wicket partnership.
Home skipper Mahela Jayawardene won the toss and opted to bat, a decision that was justified as his line-up responded by dominating the India attack for the only time this series.
Dilshan's opening partner Sanath Jayasuriya helped give the innings a solid start with a rapid 37 in a 66-run first-wicket stand.
After Jayasuriya's cameo was ended by Irfan Pathan , Sangakkara maintained the momentum with a positive innings, using up just 70 balls for his 84 and hitting eight fours and a six.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni tried all his bowling options to make breakthroughs, using nine bowlers during the course of the innings.
He was able to engineer a late collapse with Ishant Sharma making a quick double-strike, bowling Thilina Kandamby for 26 and having Chamara Kapugedera caught behind for a duck.
Dilshan was run out just short of a deserved century and Jayawardene was caught at short cover for one.
During a frenzied passage of play in which India stormed back into the game, Sri Lanka lost four wickets for one run to teeter on 256-6 but all rounder Farveez Maharoof steered the hosts past 300 with a swashbuckling 32, hitting a six and three boundaries.
Sharma was the most successful of the Indian bowlers, finishing with three for 60 from his 10 overs.
Both teams made two changes in the final game, Sri Lanka recalling spinner Ajantha Mendis and fast bowler Thilina Thushara.
India gave a debut to promising all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and a first game in the series to pace bowler Lakshmipathy Balaji.
Source: www.rediff.com
India eye series whitewash
Having achieved their best-ever ODI ranking by displacing world champions Australia as the number two team, a confident India would be eyeing a series whitewash when they take on Sri Lanka in the final cricket one-dayer in Colombo on Sunday.
It has already turned out to be a dream series for Mahendra Singh Dhoni , who made it to the record books by becoming the first Indian captain to win nine ODIs on the trot and the flamboyant wicket-keeper batsman would like to keep the winning momentum going in the last game.
The other thing which will be in Dhoni's mind when he takes the field is that every win from here on will bring his side one step closer to the world number one position, which is being currently occupied by South Africa (125) with a lead of just three points.
And coach Gary Kirstein had no hesitation in admitting that his main aim this year is to take India to the top position.
"Getting to number one is the obvious goal this year, but You just can't think you have won the series 4-0 and be complacent in the next game.
"It doesn't happen with us. When you go onto the field you go to win and not just compete. Great teams are those that carry the momentum forward into every game," Kirsten said.
The Indians have been phenomenal in all departments of the game in the series as compared to the hosts who were rather disappointing.
While Sachin Tendulkar , Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag provide aggression at the top of the order, the likes of Yuvraj Singh , Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan and Dhoni have been rock steady at the middle.
The bowlers, on the other hand, have been disciplined all through the series.
Interestingly, the most heartening thing to see was the success of young spinner Pragyan Ojha and part-time bowlers in Yuvraj, Raina, Sehwag and Yousuf.
Zaheer Khan , Ishant Sharma and Praveen Kumar have been outstanding upfront. Irfan Pathan , who made a comeback in the last match, too joined the party, picking up three wickets.
Faced with the prospect of an embarassing a 0-5 whitewash, a demoralised Sri Lanka will look to salvage some pride before the home crowd in the last match of the series.
The hosts, who are playing non-stop cricket for five months, seemed to have forgotten their basics against the mighty Indians.
The Lankans have floundered in every department of the game. If their batting and bowling has been below par, their fielding has been dreadful.
Without veteran Chaminda Vaas , the Lankan pace attack looked clueless. Nuwan Kulasekera, Thilan Thushara and Dilhara Fernando lacked sting in their bowling.
The biggest disappointment, however, has been the performance of spin duo of Muttiah Muralitharan and mystery man Ajantha Mendis .
Although Murali created history in the last match by becoming the highest wicket-taker in one-day cricket, he had to toil hard to achieve the feat which gives a clear idea of his bad patch.
He never looked threatening as Indian batsmen negotiated the spin wizard with ease.
Mendis, on the other hand, seemed to have run out of ideas and looked predictable before the rampaging Indians that forced Mahela Jayawardena to drop the Armyman from the last encounter.
For Dhoni and Co, there are no major worries and it remains to be seen whether some more senior players are rested or not for Sunday's match to make way for reserve players like Ravindra Jadeja who will make his debut if selected.
After taking a break in the last match, Sachin Tendulkar is expected to return to make amends for the dubious umpiring decisions which he received in the first three matches of the series.
Teams:
India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt and wk), Gautam Gambhir, Ravindra Jadeja, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, Pragyan Ojha, Munaf Patel , Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, Suresh Raina, Virender Sehwag, Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma , Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh.
Sri Lanka: Mahela Jaywardene (capt), Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Sanath Jayasuriya , Upul Tharanga, Chamara Kapugedera , Jehan Mubarak, Tillakaratne Dilshan , Thilina Kandamby, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis, Farveez Maharoof, Dilhara Fernando, Nuwan Kulasekera, Thilina Thushara and Angelo Mathews.
Source: www.rediff.com
It has already turned out to be a dream series for Mahendra Singh Dhoni , who made it to the record books by becoming the first Indian captain to win nine ODIs on the trot and the flamboyant wicket-keeper batsman would like to keep the winning momentum going in the last game.
The other thing which will be in Dhoni's mind when he takes the field is that every win from here on will bring his side one step closer to the world number one position, which is being currently occupied by South Africa (125) with a lead of just three points.
And coach Gary Kirstein had no hesitation in admitting that his main aim this year is to take India to the top position.
"Getting to number one is the obvious goal this year, but You just can't think you have won the series 4-0 and be complacent in the next game.
"It doesn't happen with us. When you go onto the field you go to win and not just compete. Great teams are those that carry the momentum forward into every game," Kirsten said.
The Indians have been phenomenal in all departments of the game in the series as compared to the hosts who were rather disappointing.
While Sachin Tendulkar , Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag provide aggression at the top of the order, the likes of Yuvraj Singh , Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan and Dhoni have been rock steady at the middle.
The bowlers, on the other hand, have been disciplined all through the series.
Interestingly, the most heartening thing to see was the success of young spinner Pragyan Ojha and part-time bowlers in Yuvraj, Raina, Sehwag and Yousuf.
Zaheer Khan , Ishant Sharma and Praveen Kumar have been outstanding upfront. Irfan Pathan , who made a comeback in the last match, too joined the party, picking up three wickets.
Faced with the prospect of an embarassing a 0-5 whitewash, a demoralised Sri Lanka will look to salvage some pride before the home crowd in the last match of the series.
The hosts, who are playing non-stop cricket for five months, seemed to have forgotten their basics against the mighty Indians.
The Lankans have floundered in every department of the game. If their batting and bowling has been below par, their fielding has been dreadful.
Without veteran Chaminda Vaas , the Lankan pace attack looked clueless. Nuwan Kulasekera, Thilan Thushara and Dilhara Fernando lacked sting in their bowling.
The biggest disappointment, however, has been the performance of spin duo of Muttiah Muralitharan and mystery man Ajantha Mendis .
Although Murali created history in the last match by becoming the highest wicket-taker in one-day cricket, he had to toil hard to achieve the feat which gives a clear idea of his bad patch.
He never looked threatening as Indian batsmen negotiated the spin wizard with ease.
Mendis, on the other hand, seemed to have run out of ideas and looked predictable before the rampaging Indians that forced Mahela Jayawardena to drop the Armyman from the last encounter.
For Dhoni and Co, there are no major worries and it remains to be seen whether some more senior players are rested or not for Sunday's match to make way for reserve players like Ravindra Jadeja who will make his debut if selected.
After taking a break in the last match, Sachin Tendulkar is expected to return to make amends for the dubious umpiring decisions which he received in the first three matches of the series.
Teams:
India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt and wk), Gautam Gambhir, Ravindra Jadeja, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, Pragyan Ojha, Munaf Patel , Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, Suresh Raina, Virender Sehwag, Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma , Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh.
Sri Lanka: Mahela Jaywardene (capt), Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Sanath Jayasuriya , Upul Tharanga, Chamara Kapugedera , Jehan Mubarak, Tillakaratne Dilshan , Thilina Kandamby, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis, Farveez Maharoof, Dilhara Fernando, Nuwan Kulasekera, Thilina Thushara and Angelo Mathews.
Source: www.rediff.com
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