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Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsLasith Malinga left carnage in his wake at the Kotla•AFP

When batsmen face Lasith Malinga, they know what’s coming at them: several yorkers, some low full tosses, the odd slower ball. Some might not swing but everything will be aimed at the stumps. Knowledge wasn’t power for Delhi Daredevils’ batsmen, though, as Malinga ripped through them in two spells, claiming the third-best figures in the IPL. His five-wicket haul helped shoot out Delhi for 95, their second-lowest total, and ruin the contest before the sun had set at the Feroz Shah Kotla.Malinga’s performance allowed the Mumbai batsmen to chase in comfortable gear. Davy Jacobs’ first stint as Sachin Tendulkar’s opening partner was ended early by Morne Morkel and Roelof van der Merwe ran out Ambati Rayudu with a scintillating intercept, slide, turnaround and direct hit from extra cover, but that was it for Delhi. Tendulkar could not be dismissed and without the pressure of a high asking-rate he steered Mumbai to an eight-wicket victory with 19 balls to spare. In a format engineered to produce the exciting finish, this was a mismatch from the fifth over.Delhi’s strength was their top order and in Virender Sehwag and David Warner they possessed the most explosive openers of the tournament. Sehwag began aggressively by launching his first delivery, off Harbhajan Singh, miles in the air only for the ball to fall short of the straight boundary and plug in the outfield. He improved on that attempt the next ball, clearing long-off by a considerable distance, forcing Harbhajan to bowl quicker and flatter.Enter Malinga, who had been retained by Mumbai, and he re-emphasised his value in no time at all. With his second ball, a pinpoint yorker, Malinga breached Warner’s defences. With his fourth, a fast and straight delivery, he hit Unmukt Chand’s middle stump.Chand made the novice error of playing across the line to a Malinga arrow, a mistake Sehwag had committed in the World Cup final. Today Sehwag was watchful, defending Malinga with a straight bat when the line demanded it, but opening the face to guide to the third-man boundary when the width allowed it. He played out the 2011 IPL’s first maiden over, seeing off Malinga’s second without damage, and set himself to take on the rest of the bowlers.That did not come to pass, though, for in the fifth over Aaron Finch came down the pitch to Ali Murtaza’s left-arm spin, worked the ball off his pads towards short fine leg, and continued running. Sehwag hesitated and then responded, but was beaten by Tendulkar’s direct hit. He had swooped on the ball with the agility of a much younger man. It was the decisive moment of the game. Finch did not last long either, slog-sweeping Harbhajan to deep-backward square leg, leaving Delhi on 40 for 4.Naman Ojha, whose 29 was Delhi’s top score, showed a semblance of resistance but his dismissal – caught on the long-off boundary – hastened the end of the innings. Irfan Pathan, bought for $1.9 million and playing his first competitive match in a year, was run out first ball.And then Malinga returned, and inevitably the yorkers followed. He bowled Venugopal Rao with one, broke Morne Morkel’s bat with another before dismissing him with a third next ball. Malinga finished with 5 for 13 – the fifth came with a slower ball – leaving his team with a straightforward chase.

A round-up of the action from the second day of matches in the 2010-11 Vijay Hazare Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Feb-2011

West Zone
An aggressive century from Abhishek Nayar and a blistering knock from Siddharth Chitnis helped Mumbai overcome a spirited Gujarat side by 31 runs at the Reliance Stadium in Vadodara. Nayar made 118 from 107 balls, an innings studded with 10 fours and seven sixes, but he was overshadowed by his team-mate Chitnis, who bludgeoned his way to an unbeaten 71 from just 33 balls, smashing four fours and six sixes. The pair helped Mumbai amass a daunting total of 338 from their 50 overs, but Gujarat made made a go of it from the start. The openers raced to 44 in 5.5 overs before Parthiv Patel was bowled for 32. Bhavik Thacker and Avi Barot kept the pressure on Mumbai, adding 137 from 20.4 overs to stay abreast of the required run-rate, but when Barot was run-out for 66, Gujarat’s momemtum began to slow. Thacker completed an excellent hundred, but his dismissal for 126 effectively ended Gujarat’s resistance, with the last six wickets tumbling for 43 runs.Cheteshwar Pujara and Kamlesh Makvana carried Saurashtra to a four-wicket win over Maharashtra with eight balls to spare at the Moti Bagh Stadium in Vadodara. Having been put in to bat, the Maharashtra batsmen struggled to build momentum, losing wickets at regular intervals, with Ankit Bawane topscoring with 45. Their bowlers, however, made a staunch defense of their total of 197, reducing Saurashtra to 93 for 6, with Akshya Dandekar taking 3 for 22 from his 10 overs. But just when it looked like Maharashtra had the edge, Makvana joined Pujara, and the pair added 106 to shepard their side to victory. Makvana ended the day on 52, while Pujara made 64.South Zone
Tamil Nadu crushed Goa by 100 runs at the Perintalmanna Cricket Stadium in Malappuram. Tamil Nadu piled up 334 for 6 in their 50 overs, led by S Badrinath, who made 104 from 81 balls. He was ably supported by Abhinav Mukund, who made 71, and Dinesh Karthik, who made a quickfire 42. Goa’s openers made a steady start, but they were never really in with chance as they continued to fall behind the asking rate. The middle order then imploded as they lost 6 wickets for 19 runs, and though Saahil Dhuri made an unbeaten 65 down the order, it was too little too late.An allround performance from their bowlers gave Andhra an easy six-wicket win over Hyderabad at Fort Maidan in Palakkad. Led by Shankara Rao, who took 3 for 34, and Tekkami Atchuti Rao, who took 2 for 20, Andhra knocked over Hyderabad for 115, with only Dwaraka Ravi Teja (47) and Bavanaka Sandeep (24) providing any resistance. Andhra lost wickets at regular intervals but since they were chasing such a small total, it hardly mattered, and they reached their target with 26.3 overs in hand.Central Zone
Madhya Pradhesh inflicted Rajasthan’s second defeat of the tournament, beating them by seven wickets at Green Park in Kanpur. Rajasthan’s top order was blown away by TP Sudhindra, and it was left to Rashmi Parida to rescue his side from a score 6 for 4 in the fifth over. Parida made 95, almost half of Rajasthan’s total of 194, and was out off the ball of the innings. Sudhinda finished with 4 for 53. Naman Ojha fell early but Jalaj Saxena made an assured 79 and Udit Birla made an unbeaten 61 from 44 balls to see their side home without any trouble.Amit Paunikar’s century set up Vidarbha’s 23-run victory over Uttar Pradesh at the Kamla Club Sports Ground in Kanpur. Paunikar made 102 from 96 balls, sharing a 76-run partnership for the second wicket with Anup Fulper, who made 72, as Vidarbha made 278 for 7. Uttar Pradesh got off to a decent start, anchored by opener Tanmay Srivastava’s 58, but the middle order failed to fire. Arish Alam (53) and Ali Murtaza (54*) made half-centuries down the order, but Andhra Pradesh were too far behind the asking rate at that stage, and could only manage 255 from their 50 overs.

Ganesh Sanap, the president of the Northern California Cricket Association (NCCA), has thrown his hat into the ring to fill the vacant vice-president position for the USA Cricket Association (USACA). Sanap told ESPNcricinfo that he will run for the position against Hemant Buch. Both men are involved with cricket administration in the San Francisco Bay Area, and it now appears that a regional rivalry will be played out on the national stage.”I just want to bring new energy to the old guard,” Sanap said. Sanap traveled with USA’s U-19 squad to New Zealand for the 2010 ICC U-19 World Cup, where he served as team statistician. If elected, he says his focus will be on youth development, which he feels has been badly neglected by USACA.”As far as the national administration is concerned, all they care about is funding tournaments, which is basic duty of course. Other than that, there has been no plan shown by anyone on the national level that they care about the growth of the game or development of the sport.”Only a handful of committed people at the regional level, they’ve been doing it by themselves. Some have vested interests; some have real passion for the sport. There won’t be any vested interests from me.”Sanap served as secretary of the NCCA from 2006 to 2007 before taking over as president of the league in 2008. The league had 33 teams in 2010, and Sanap says his biggest accomplishment was the formation of the NCCA youth program and U-19 team.”It’s one of the best. My major focus on the league level as well as the national level will be getting more programs in place for youth cricket, identify coaches across the nation, across the various regions, and then if possible, have a few dollars earmarked for them to hold those regular coaching camps, at least a two-day session or a weekend every month to coach U-19 players or youth and then gather reports from them, maintain a database of how the players are progressing.”According to John Aaron, Secretary of USACA, the general elections for USA’s governing body will take place “sometime between March 8 and November 30” following guidelines from the USACA constitution. A USACA board meeting is scheduled for January 15-16 in New York in conjunction with the departure of the USA squad traveling to Hong Kong for the ICC World Cricket League Division Three tournament. Aaron believes that the date of this year’s USACA elections will be finalized at the upcoming board meeting, but said that a full meeting agenda hadn’t been finalized.Depending on the date selected for the elections, Aaron also indicated that someone may be appointed to fill the USACA vice president position left vacant after the resignation of Nabeel Ahmed up until the elections are held.

حسم رئيس نادي برشلونة، خوان لابورتا، موقف الإدارة من التعاقد مع أي صفقة جديدة في شهر يناير المقبل مع الوضع المالي غير المستقر للعملاق الكتالوني.

ونجح برشلونة في الميركاتو الصيفي الماضي بالتعاقد مع أكثر من لاعب على رأسهم روبرت ليفاندوفسكي، رافينها وجول كوندي مع التجديد مع عثمان ديمبلي، لمدة عامين آخرين.

اقرأ أيضًا.. نادٍ إنجليزي يرصد 19 مليون يورو لضم كيسيه من برشلونة

وأجرى لابورتا حوارًا مع إذاعة “كادينا سير” الإسبانية، وتحدث في البداية عن إمكانية مشاركة مدافع برشلونة، رونالد أروخو، مع أوروجواي أمام البرتغال اليوم، وقال: “لن يلعب”.

وتابع: “كل ما نريده هو ألا نجبر اللاعب على اللعب والانتكاس أثناء برنامجه العلاجي، لكنه يتدرب وأتمنى أن يعود قريبًا”.

وعن إيقاف ليفاندوفسكي: “لا معنى له، لقد أوقفوه 3 مباريات، يجب أن تكون واحدة فقط على الأكثر، نحن مستاؤون جدًا”.

والانتقالات في يناير: “سنخضع لقاعدة اللعب النظيف في الصيف 4:1 حيث سنكون بقاعدة 1:1 في يناير فقط، سنعزز صفوفنا في الصيف، لذلك لن نقوم بأي صفقة في الشتاء”.

ومستقبل ميسي وإمكانية عودته إلى برشلونة: “لا يغيب عنا هذا الأمر، لكنني لن أعلق على مستقبله بسبب عقده مع باريس سان جيرمان، لذلك أحترمه وأحترم اللاعب أيضًا”.

India 405 (Tendulkar 98, Raina 86, Johnson 5-64) and 216 for 9 (Laxman 73*, Hilfenhaus 4-57, Bollinger 3-32) beat Australia 428 (Watson 126, Paine 92, Zaheer 5-94) and 192 (Watson 56, Ishant 3-34, Zaheer 3-43) by 1 wicket
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Australia ran into VVS Laxman once again•Getty Images

VVS Laxman overcame his sore back to become the hero of a nail-biting one-wicket victory for India, who retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in dramatic fashion in Mohali. In one of the most memorable finishes in recent history, Pragyan Ojha picked up two leg-byes off Mitchell Johnson to seal the result, which until that delivery could also have been a tie or an Australian win.The match was firmly in Australia’s grasp when the No. 10 Ishant Sharma joined Laxman with 92 runs still required, but the pair ground Australia down and left a dejected Ricky Ponting still winless as a Test captain in India. The visitors’ hopes were raised again when Ben Hilfenhaus (4 for 57) trapped Ishant lbw – although the ball would have missed leg stump – with 11 runs needed.In the final, chaotic scenes, Australia continued to attack, desperate for one wicket. They thought they had it two balls before the winning runs were struck, when Mitchell Johnson rapped Ojha on the pads only to have a strong lbw shout denied. Adding to the commotion, Ojha wandered out of his crease and a throw from gully that would have found him short missed the stumps and ran away for four overthrows.When the winning leg-byes arrived, the Indian players streamed onto the field as the Australians thrust hands on heads. For sheer on-field tension, the finish ranked up there with Australia’s last-minute SCG win of 2007-08. But that match was overshadowed by claims of poor sportsmanship; this time there should be no such post-script.On that occasion Ishant was the last man out as the sun set over Sydney; in Mohali he was every bit as important as Laxman, with a defiant innings of 31 in their partnership of 81. But Laxman was the star. The Australians will wonder how they let such a golden opportunity slip; the answer lies in the hands, or wrists, of one of their chief tormentors of recent years.Entering the final day, Ponting’s men feared Sachin Tendulkar, who went to stumps unbeaten on 10, much more than they were concerned about Laxman. They knew that in the first innings VVS had been very, very sore. He’d batted at No. 10, with a runner, and was hampered in his strokeplay. Two days later, the man with the most unique initials in cricket was very, very stubborn.Again he had a runner, Suresh Raina, but just as important were the eight boundaries he struck in his 73, which came from 79 deliveries. Had he not started to farm the strike in the dying stages, he would have finished with a strike-rate of more than 100 for only the fourth time in his 188 Test innings.

Smart Stats

• This was India’s first one-wicket victory in Tests and the 12th such result overall. India’s two closest victories previously were by a margin of two wickets, both coming against Australia.

• This was the 17th occasion when India has won a Test after conceding a lead. In eight of these matches, they have batted second and on the other nine occasions, they have batted first. Nine of these victories have come against Australia.

• The 81-run partnership for the ninth wicket between VVS Laxman and Ishant Sharma was the second-highest against Australia, behind the 89-run stand between Harbhajan Singh and Irfan Pathan in 2004. It was also the second-highest ninth-wicket stand for India in the fourth innings of Tests.

• During that 81-run stand, Ishant played 71% of the total deliveries (92 out of 130).

• Laxman is one of the few batsmen who averages more in the second innings in Tests. He averages 45.67 in the first innings, but 50.47 with five centuries in the second innings.

• India have a win-loss ratio of 4.00 in Mohali, the best among all home venues that have hosted ten or more matches.

• Sachin Tendulkar became the only batsman to aggregate 1000 runs in a calendar year for the sixth time, surpassing Ricky Ponting, Brian Lara and Matthew Hayden, who have done so on five occasions each.

Laxman flicked the ball through gaps and was always looking to counterattack as Ponting continued to set aggressive fields. His approach was critical, for Australia had all the momentum in the hour before lunch when Doug Bollinger, who did not take the field after lunch due to abdominal stiffness, made two breakthroughs, including the key wicket of Tendulkar for 38.But try as they might, Australia under Ponting simply haven’t been able to close out a victory in India. In 2008 he was over-defensive, failing to push for wickets and grab opportunities when they arose. This time Ponting didn’t do much wrong; Laxman was just too good.India began the day needing 161 runs and for an hour they were cruising, as Tendulkar and Laxman brought the target down with a rapidity that alarmed Ponting. Nathan Hauritz had picked up the night-watchman Zaheer Khan, caught at slip, but was leaking runs and when he conceded 14 off an over, Ponting knew the fast men were his only option.Cheers went around the ground as Tendulkar passed 1000 Test runs in a calendar year for the sixth time in his career, and it seemed that he was destined to deliver India to victory. But his desire to score quickly brought his undoing, when he tried to cut Bollinger over the cordon to the vacant third-man region.The ball was too close to his body and he steered it to gully, where Michael Hussey grabbed the sharp chance. Tendulkar was gone, and the atmosphere cooled down slightly as the runs began to dry up. Then came the second big moment of joy for Australia, when the presence of a runner cost MS Dhoni his wicket.Laxman drove Bollinger to mid-on and his runner Raina took off for what should have been a comfortable single. But Dhoni appeared confused by Laxman remaining in his ground and the hesitation was enough to give hope to the fielder Hilfenhaus, whose superb direct hit at the striker’s end finished Dhoni’s stay on 2.When Bollinger’s fast, well-directed bouncer had a fending Harbhajan Singh caught at slip two balls later, Australia were in control. Laxman and Ishant had other ideas, and the rest is history. The great shame is that this is only a two-match series.

يؤمن كيليان مبابي أن تتويج فرنسا بكأس العالم مرتين على التوالي صعبًا للغاية، لكن فوزه في 2018 كان الفصل الأول بالنسبة له.

وتحدث مبابي عن كواليس قراره بترك المنتخب الفرنسي بسبب العنصرية وسبب تراجعه لاحقًا عن ذلك.

ساعد مبابي في قيادة فرنسا للفوز بلقب كأس العالم 2018 في روسيا وتلقى عناقًا احتفاليًا من ماكرون رئيس فرنسا.

وفي حديثه مع “Sports Illustrated”، قال مبابي عن التتويج بمونديال روسيا: “لقد غير ذلك حياتي، بعد كأس العالم، كان كل شيء مختلفًا، لأن العالم كله كان يشاهده، وعندما تفعل شيئًا جيدًا يكون الأمر مجنونًا بعد ذلك”.

وأضاف: “كنت مشهورًا قبل كأس العالم، لكن ليس هكذا، أصبح الأمر جنونيًا، لقد استغرق الأمر مني بعض الوقت [لتعلم] أن أبقى هادئًا”.

تم تفضيل الديوك للمطالبة ببطولة أوروبا المؤجلة في صيف عام 2021 والتي توجت بها إيطاليا لاحقًا.

ومع ذلك، كانت فرنسا تفتقر للمستوى المطلوب، لم يكن بطل العالم مقنعًا خلال دور المجموعات، وأهدر مبابي ركلة الجزاء الحاسمة في ركلات الترجيح أمام سويسرا.

أنهى المنافسة بدون أهداف وتحمل بذلك الظاهرة المحزنة التي يبدو أنها تحظى بشعبية متزايدة عبر كرة القدم الأوروبية، سيل من الإساءة العنصرية عبر الإنترنت.

كان اجتماع ما بعد بطولة أوروبا مع رئيس الاتحاد الفرنسي لكرة القدم نويل لو جريت، الذي كان محور تحقيقات سوء السلوك والمضايقات، وقد نُقل عن نفيه وجود عنصرية في كرة القدم.

شعر مبابي أن الاتحاد الفرنسي لكرة القدم لم يكن يدعمه بشكل كافٍ، لذلك وجد أنه ليس أمامه خيار سوى الانسحاب قبل عام واحد فقط من كأس العالم في قطر.

اقرأ أيضًا | مبابي: الذهاب إلى ريال مدريد كان أسهل.. والآن يمكن كتابة اسمي في التاريخ مدى الحياة

وأوضح مبابي: “قلت لا يمكنني اللعب للأشخاص الذين يعتقدون أنني قرد، قلت لن ألعب، ولكن بعد ذلك، أتأمل مع كل الأشخاص حوللي، وأعتقد أن هذه ليست الرسالة الجيدة للاستسلام، لأنني أعتقد أنني مثال للجميع”.

وأفاد: “هذه هي فرنسا الجديدة، من أجل ذلك، لم أتخل عن المنتخب الوطني، لأنها رسالة لجيل الشباب أن يقولوا نحن أقوى من ذلك”.

وأكد: “لقد كانت عقليتي منذ أن كنت صغيرًا، هي دائمًا أن أفعل المزيد لتخطي الحدود، بالنسبة لي لم تكن النهاية عندما فزت بكأس العالم، لقد كان الفصل الأول من شيء مجنون”.

وأتم بشأن مونديال قطر 2022: “من الصعب جدًا الفوز باثنين على التوالي، لكن إذا كنت تريد كتابة التاريخ، فعليك أن تفعل شيئًا لا يفعله أحد، لذلك سنحاول، أعتقد أن لدينا فريقًا جيدًا، نحن مجموعة جيدة، المدرب هو نفسه، ولدينا جمهور يدعمنا”. 

Tottenham Hotspur are back in Premier League action this evening as they travel to the Midlands to face Leicester City at the King Power Stadium.

Spurs haven’t played in a week due to Sunday’s postponement of the north London derby, whilst it’s been nearly three weeks since the Foxes last kicked a ball competitively.

And Antonio Conte is left with plenty to think about heading into kickoff.

Last time out, his side were knocked out of the Carabao Cup semi-final by his former club Chelsea, just one game away from Wembley. It leaves only the league and FA Cup left to fight for.

Spurs are on the cusp of breaching the top-four, so they could really do with a result tonight. That means the Italian head coach needs to get his team selection spot on, perhaps a little tricky with the number of players he has on the treatment table.

One player he must axe is Giovani Lo Celso, who has underwhelmed in recent appearances.

The Argentina midfielder certainly hasn’t taken his opportunity to impress, failing to perform in both of their recent cup games, including a win over League One minnows Morecambe.

Across 18 appearances in all competitions, the 25-year-old has provided Spurs with only one goal and two assists, considering he cost a whopping £55m, it just isn’t good enough.

Lo Celso has never really impressed since arriving from Real Betis, managing a direct goal contribution once every 327 minutes.

[snack-amp-story url = “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/tottenham-latest-news-transfer-gossip-rumours-conte-paratici-levy-premier-league” title=”Read the latest Spurs news, transfer updates and much, much more!”]

Once tipped to replace Christian Eriksen in the creative no.10 role, we’re yet to see any sort of similarities between the pair. Back in November, Lilywhites insider John Wenham slammed the attacking midfielder to Football Insider.

“One player I really want to talk about is Lo Celso.

“He came in against Man United which was another baffling decision by Nuno [Santo]. [Tanguy] Ndombele had been playing better than he previously had. He decided very randomly to bring in Lo Celso.

“He was awful and did absolutely nothing. Poor set pieces, poor pass completion, he was an utter passenger,” he said.

Indeed, his outing against the Blues last week was similar – as per SofaScore, he managed only 19 passes despite having 49 touches of the ball, whilst he was dribbled past on three occasions and won just 46% of his 15 midfield duels.

On the evidence above, Lo Celso has no place in Spurs’ starting XI, especially in a game of his magnitude. It’s time for Conte to be bold and ruthless and axe the struggling £25m-rated flop this evening.

AND in other news, “Tottenham are..”: Reliable journo drops exciting transfer claim, fans will be buzzing…

MatériaMais Notícias

A dupla de zaga mais que entrosada da época de base, e titular no ano passado, nos juniores, subiu para o time profissional também afiada. Kanu e Helerson foram apresentados após o treino desta quinta-feira, no Estádio Nilton Santos. E se inspiram nos companheiros remanescentes: Carli, Igor Rabello e Marcelo. Histórias completamente diferentes, mas que ajudam.

-É muito bom para a gente. O Carli é líder, tem postura. Rabello tem alta performance e o Marcelo estourou no ano passado. A gente vem nessa meta de conseguir essas coisas também – explica Kanu, autor de um dos gols da vitória alvinegra no segundo jogo da final do Campeonato Brasileiro sub-20 do ano retrasado.

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A dupla dele, na época, era Marcelo, que estreou como profissional ainda em 2016 e, em 2017, disputou até pela Copa Libertadores. Carli é o xerife, um dos mais queridos pela torcida. Já Rabello, apelidado de general, precisou ser emprestado para fazer sucesso, mas voltou e se consolidou. Ainda há os exemplos de fora.

– Aqui no Botafogo eu me inspiro no Marcelo. Fora, no Thiago Silva – disse Helerson, lembrando da participação que ele e o companheiro fizeram no treino da Seleção Brasileira, em outubro do ano passado.

– Eu me dei bem, caí no time dos caras feras – completou.

Com Marcelo, Kanu jogava pela esquerda. Com Helerson, atuou pelo lado direito. Vantagem? Talvez não.

-Na maioria das vezes eu atuei pelo lado esquerdo, mas, se precisar, atuo pela direita também – garante Helerson.

In the five games so far, the team chasing has won all games so tomorrow’s contest offers a chance for the team batting first to get sufficient practice in case they are put in again in the final

The Preview by Kanishkaa Balachandran06-Jun-2010Match FactsJune 7, 2010
Start time 0900 (0700 GMT)Zimbabwe will have to find an answer to Sri Lanka’s spinners•Associated PressThe Big PictureIndia’s inept showing in the tri-series is the main reason why the final league match tomorrow, between the hosts and Sri Lanka, is a dead rubber. What was billed to be an evenly-matched tournament, with India and Sri Lanka sending under-strength teams, has turned into a contest between just two teams. Zimbabwe’s twin victories against India upset all predictions and hence put enormous pressure on India in their final match on Saturday to not only beat Sri Lanka but by a comfortable margin to keep their chances alive. But the Sri Lankans, led by Dinesh Chandimal, oozed class and were the deserved winners. The finalists were already decided and the penultimate game is now a dress rehearsal for the final.In the five games so far, the team chasing has won all games so tomorrow’s contest offers a chance for the team batting first to get sufficient practice in case they are put in again in the final. Zimbabwe struggled against the Sri Lankan spinners in their previous game, which was a very one-sided encounter. If they can work on that area, then the two remaining games should promise to be more competitive. If they could upset India, there’s no reason why Zimbabwe can’t do the same against Sri Lanka.Form guide (most recent first)Zimbabwe: WLWLL
Sri Lanka: WWLWLWatch out for…Since his record-breaking unbeaten 194 against Bangladesh last year, Charles Coventry has scored just one fifty. Although it’s too much to expect a repeat performance, the best he can do is show more consistency in the middle order, and prove that his blinder of a knock was no fluke. His cameo 32 was crucial in Zimbabwe’s shock win against India in the first match, but in the next two games, he scored just 11 and 20.Sri Lanka’s biggest gain against India on Saturday was Dinesh Chandimal.The wicketkeeper-batsman was initially selected for the World Twenty20 as an attacking T20 batsman, but though he didn’t make much of an impact in the Caribbean, he made the chase of 269 look ridiculously simple, smashing 111. He impressed with his shot selection, footwork and aggressive bent of mind. He looked at ease against pace and spin, and the towering sixes underlined his worth as a promising batsman.Team newsSri Lankan captain Tillakaratne Dilshan said after Saturday’s game that they will look to experiment before the final and try out some of the players in the bench. Batsman Lahiru Thirimanne hasn’t played a game yet so there’s an opportunity for him. One of the seamers can also be rested, in order to give Dilhara Fernando a game. Sri Lanka (possible) 1 Upul Tharanga, 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan (capt.), 3 Dinesh Chandimal, 4 Jeewan Mendis, 5 Chamara Kapugedera, 6 Thilan Samaraweera / Lahiru Thirimanne, 7 Thissara Perera, 8 Suraj Randiv, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Thilan Thushara / Dilhara Fernando, 11 Ajantha MendisZimbabwe’s Ed Rainsford hasn’t got a game yet. He could replace one of the spinners.Zimbabwe (possible) 1 Hamilton Masakadza, 2 Brendan Taylor (wk) 3 Charles Coventry, 4 Greg Lamb, 5 Craig Ervine, 6 Tatenda Taibu, 7 Elton Chigumbura (capt), 8 Andy Blignaut, 9 Graeme Cremer, 10 Prosper Utseya/Ed Rainsford, 11 Ray Price.Stats and trivia Of his 75 wickets, Ajantha Mendis has 18 of those in Zimbabwe alone. Zimbabwe last beat Sri Lanka in an ODI back in April 2003, in Sharjah.Quotes”I’m very impressed with Dinesh Chandimal’s positive intent. I’ve always backed the youngsters to play their natural game.”

West Indies cricket continues to lurch from crisis to crisis and each time there is a glimmer of light they find a way to hit new depths

Andrew McGlashan29-Apr-2010OverviewDwayne Bravo can win matches with any of the three disciplines and West Indies need him to fire•Brooks La Touche Photography and DigicelCricketWest Indies cricket continues to lurch from crisis to crisis and each time there is a glimmer of light they find a way to hit new depths. Ottis Gibson has returned home to take on the demanding role of trying to instil some fight and spirit back into the team and at least the recent one-day series victory against Zimbabwe reversed a depressing run of results. In truth, though, a revival has rarely felt further away.However, a quick-fire Twenty20 tournament could provide the kick that is desperately needed. Throw in home advantage and, hopefully, some passionate support from the locals and it isn’t beyond the realms of possibility that they could last the distance – at least until the semi-finals. Any tournament is better the longer the hosts can maintain a challenge and it only takes a couple of innings from Chris Gayle – whose form is a barometer for the rest of his side – and suddenly the belief will begin to return.In the broader picture it is vital that this tournament is a success for the Caribbean after the debacle of the 2007 World Cup. The organisers have promised a more sympathetic handling of the event than three years back, by embracing the local culture, but nothing would help more than seeing Gayle lead his team out in the final. It’s a long shot, but not impossible.Twenty20 pedigreeThey reached the semi-final stage in England last year – dispatching Australia and the hosts on their way – while Gayle still holds the record for the highest individual score in World Twenty20 tournaments with his 117 in the opening game of the first event in South Africa. Of late their form has been less impressive with an embarrassing defeat against Zimbabwe in Trinidad when they limped to 79 for 7 chasing 106 on a turgid surface. The opening match against Ireland is a potential banana skin, but they have a good record against England in Twenty20 having beaten them in last year’s tournament.Strengths and weaknessesWest Indies are not short on batsmen who can clear the boundary. Brett Lee is still waiting for Gayle’s strike from last year to come down somewhere near The Oval, while Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard are also fearsome strikers of the ball. One area of concern will be the pace-bowling department which is still without Fidel Edwards while Jerome Taylor is nursing his way back from injury. There is also the fear that if things start to go wrong they can unravel very quickly. In a short tournament like this you can be gone before it’s barely started.Key menOf course it’s difficult to look past Chris Gayle because the team responds to their captain but Dwayne Bravo, despite a pretty woeful IPL where he scored 61 runs in eight innings and claimed four wickets at 57 for Mumbai Indians, is a wonderful cricketer and is the embodiment of the spirit that the team so desperately needs. He will want to reconfirm his credentials and should rise to the big occasion. Often outstanding at the death with the ball, he is among the finest fielders on the world.X-factorSulieman Benn doesn’t come across as the most natural of Twenty20 cricketers; he isn’t the best of fielders and can’t offer much with the bat but with the ball he could be a vital weapon if the pitches remain slow. Don’t be surprised if he takes the new ball, as he did against Zimbabwe when he finished with the extraordinary figures of 4 for 6.Vital statsGayle’s Twenty20 international strike-rate is a more-than-handy 144.92 and he has struck 25 sixes in 14 inningsKemar Roach’s IPL didn’t quite go to plan. He played two matches, bowled eight overs and went for 80 runs. The faster they come, the faster they go.