The ECB has sent a pre-action letter to the PCB chairman, Ijaz Butt, seeking a “full and unreserved apology” for alleging that England’s players were involved in fixing the outcome of the third ODI at The Oval

Cricinfo staff23-Sep-2010The ECB and the Professional Cricketers’ Association have sent a pre-action letter to PCB chairman, Ijaz Butt, seeking a “full and unreserved apology” for alleging that England’s players were involved in fixing the outcome of the third ODI at The Oval, which Pakistan won by 23 runs.The letter, sent on behalf of the England team, advised Butt that “if a satisfactory response was not received, legal proceedings will be commenced against him without further notice.”The Pakistan board said it had instructed London lawyers, Addleshaw Goddard, to respond on its behalf to the ECB’s letter.”The PCB confirms that it has received a letter from English solicitors acting for those who represented England in the one-day international last Friday 17th September, in connection with statements said to have been made to the media by Mr Ijaz Butt, chairman PCB,” the board’s release said. “In this letter multiple demands have been raised.”In an extraordinary statement last Sunday, which he read out to ESPNcricinfo, Butt had said, “There is loud and clear talk in bookie circles that some English players have taken enormous amounts of money to lose the match [the third ODI]. No wonder there was such a collapse.” He had also accused certain “august cricket bodies” of conspiring to defraud Pakistan and Pakistan cricket.The allegations were made after the ICC announced it was investigating the third ODI at The Oval after receiving information from a newspaper before the game began alleging that bookies were aware of certain scoring patterns that occurred during the match.”We are looking for an apology. If it does not come we’ll look at other options,” ECB chief executive, David Collier, had said on Tuesday. “You can’t impugn someone’s integrity without having proper evidence. “To date I can say that we have received zero evidence of anything having influenced any England player.”Andrew Strauss, the England captain, had said his team was outraged by the allegations Butt had made. “We are deeply concerned and disappointed that our integrity as cricketers has been brought into question. We refute these allegations completely and will be working closely with the ECB to explore all legal options open to us.”

A round-up of the fourth day of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Twenty20 tournament

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Oct-2010Srikkanth Anirudha’s aggressive 77 launched Tamil Nadu to a comfortable 65-run victory against Karnataka in Hyderabad. The win was Tamil Nadu’s fourth on the trot, confirming their progress to the knock-out phase.Asked to bat first, Tamil Nadu’s openers set the stage for a big score as Anirudha’s pyrotechnics were matched by G Vignesh who raced to 42 off 23 balls. Vignesh hit three sixes and five fours as he dominated a 60-run opening stand. Anirudha took over once Vignesh exited, smashing six sixes and four fours before he fell in the 17th over. Karnataka captain Sunil Joshi came unscathed through the carnage, with figures of 2 for 26 in his four overs, while medium-pacer B Akhil bled 67 runs in his spell – equalling the record for most runs conceded in a Twenty20 – as Tamil Nadu finished with 205 for 7.Karnataka lost ground early in the chase as the openers Manish Pandey and Mayank Agarwal fell for a combined contribution of one run. Following L Balaji’s miserly opening spell, Tamil Nadu’s seamers stuck to their task as Karnataka struggled to launch an offensive. Joshi was the only batsman to cross 30 after a shoddy top-order display as Tamil Nadu eased to another convincing win.T Suman’s opening blitz helped Hyderabad surge to 62 for 6 in a rain-reduced five-overs-a-side encounter, a score that they defended by 14 runs against Goa at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.Goa’s decision to field came unstuck against Suman’s fierce onslaught. He hit four sixes and two fours in the 16 balls he faced and scored 38 before falling in the final over from Sher Yadav. Hyderabad lost two more wickets and managed only five runs in that over, but that did not affect the final result.The second over of the chase from Pagadala Naidu pulled Goa back as he snared three wickets conceding just five runs. Sagun Kamat and Robin D’Souza were the only batsmen to cross double figures as Goa struggled to find the big hits. Amol Shinde sealed the result with a nerveless final over that yielded only five runs, leaving Goa well short.Andhra remained at the bottom of the table after their match against Kerala at the Gymkhana Ground was called off due to rain.

In the second one-day international against Sri Lanka at the P Sara Oval in Colombo, Charlotte Edwards achieved the landmark of becoming the most capped one-day player in women’s cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Nov-2010Charlotte Edwards could not mark the occasion with a victory – the weather saw to that – but in the second one-day international against Sri Lanka at the P Sara Oval in Colombo she achieved the landmark of becoming the most capped one-day player in women’s cricket. Edwards, who made her England debut aged 16 in 1996, won her 142nd cap in the match to pass Australian Karen Rolton’s record.”I’m very proud of my achievement. It’s been an unbelievable journey,” she said. “I dreamed of playing for England and I got the opportunity very young. It seems a long time ago – a lot has happened along the way. It’s been a long journey with a lot of highs and lows but more recently a lot of highs. I’m as motivated as anything now and want to keep making this team successful.”In a distinguished career, Edwards has been no stranger to significant achievements. She became the youngest woman to have played for England, when she made her debut against New Zealand at Guildford aged 16 – although that particular record has since been claimed by Holly Colvin, who played in the first Ashes Test in 2005 at just 15.Edwards’ youthful debut was vindicated, and her talent confirmed, when, in 1997, she smashed 12 centuries, including one off 118 balls against the touring South Africans. The day before her 18th birthday, she scored a then-record ODI score of 173 not out in a World Cup match against Ireland.In 2005, Edwards stepped up from her role as England vice-captain to take full charge of the side when Clare Connor was injured, and was appointed full-time when Connor retired in March 2006. She has led the one-day side 67 times since, an England record for both men and women.At the start of the one-day World Cup 2009 in Australia, England were favourites for the trophy and Edwards led an inspired team to the title, dropping only one game in the process. England also won the Women’s World Twenty20 title and the Ashes in 2009, and to cap a successful year she was awarded an MBE for her services to cricket.Connor, now the England and Wales Cricket Board’s Head of Women’s Cricket, praised Edwards’ contribution to the games, describing her as “a credit to women’s cricket globally, a superb role model for girls who aspire to play for their country”.

Australia wasted no time in levelling the Ashes series with a crushing 267-run victory at the WACA as Ryan Harris tore out the remaining resistance with a Test-best 6 for 47 to humble England

The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan19-Dec-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsRyan Harris collected his first five-wicket haul in Tests to seal a massive win for Australia•Getty Images

Australia wasted no time in levelling the Ashes series with a crushing 267-run victory at the WACA as Ryan Harris tore out the remaining resistance with a Test-best 6 for 47 to humble England. He finished off the visitors in a hurry as they were blown away in 10 overs on the fourth morning to set up a potentially thrilling conclusion to this series over the Christmas and New Year period.Harris collected the rewards that eluded him in Adelaide as he finished with nine in the match, while Mitchell Johnson claimed the other wicket to fall as he, too, picked up nine. Johnson’s revival in this match reflects Australia’s upward curve, leaving England with much to ponder before the MCG Test starts on Boxing Day.This was Australia’s first Test victory in six matches since beating Pakistan at Lord’s. It gave Ricky Ponting, who didn’t take the field due to a broken little finger, the perfect 36th birthday present and will ease the pressure on him for the time being although he faces a race to be fit for Melbourne.

Smart Stats

• England’s total of 123 is the seventh-lowest ever at the WACA, and the second-lowest by England. Their lowest at the ground is 112 in 1998, while they also scored 123 in 1995.

• Perth remains easily England’s worst Test venue – their win-loss ratio and batting average is the lowest among grounds where they’ve played at least ten Tests. It’s Australia’s fourth-best ground in terms of win-loss ratio.

• Mitchell Johnson has taken 30 wickets in four Tests at the WACA at an average of 18.13, which is the fourth-best among bowlers who’ve taken at least 15 wickets at this ground.

• Australia’s 267-run win is their sixth by a margin of 200-plus runs in Perth. Three of those wins have come against England.

• The match average of 22.17 is the fifth-lowest in a Test in Perth, and the lowest since 1998. Three of the top five have been in Tests involving England.

James Anderson was the first to depart when he played back to Harris, lost his off stump and will have left with Australian chirping ringing in his ears. Ian Bell and Matt Prior were England’s last chance of extending the context, but after a few more elegant cover drives Bell tried to work a straight ball through the leg side and was trapped straight in front. He asked for a review, but it was a hollow gesture.Two deliveries later Harris had his five when Prior could only fend the ball towards gully where Michael Hussey, another who has enjoyed an outstanding Test, dived to his right to hold a sharp chance. The roars of the Australians, both the players and supporters, were deafening as the momentum of this series continued to swing towards the hosts in dramatic fashion.Graeme Swann predictably had a swing but it didn’t last long when he inside-edged a drive at Johnson and the final wicket went to Harris when Steven Finn fended to third slip. It was a clinical conclusion, a reminder of how Australia used to finish off Test matches and they were unrecognisable from the Test thrashed in Adelaide.From being 5 for 69 on the first day this has been one of finest Test turnarounds in recent times and they’ll take a huge surge of confidence into the next clash. However, both teams will remember that a similar momentum-shift occurred in 2009 when Australia won at Headingley before England secured the Ashes at The Oval. Despite the margin of victory in this, and the previous match, these two teams are closely matched and the series could turn into a classic.

Ian Bell believes he has made a strong case to be included in England’s Twenty20 side after a match-winning 124 against the Prime Minister’s XI which continued his outstanding form on the tour of Australia

Andrew McGlashan at Manuka Oval10-Jan-2011Ian Bell believes he has made a strong case to be included in England’s Twenty20 side after a match-winning 124 against the Prime Minister’s XI which continued his outstanding form on the tour of Australia. Bell hasn’t been part of the Twenty20 side since 2008, but with Craig Kieswetter out injured there is a vacancy at the top of the order.Michael Lumb, the Hampshire opener, has been drafted into the squad although his form is nowhere near that of Bell’s after making just 2 in his first Big Bash appearance for Queensland. Lumb opened throughout the World Twenty20 in West Indies, but hasn’t appeared for England since, due to a combination of a form slump and injury.Bell’s run-scoring spree could mean Lumb misses out again against Australia, in Adelaide, on Wednesday. “I’ll have to wait and see,” Bell said. “I obviously haven’t done myself any harm today. I’ll do anything that is asked of me and hopefully there’ll be an opportunity around the corner.”Paul Collingwood, the England Twenty20 captain, admitted Bell’s form had made life tougher for the selectors. “He’s in fantastic form and has been since he arrived in Australia. That was a very clinical innings,” he said. “He’s staked a claim for the Twenty20 side so we’ll have to gauge things and take it from there.”And the selection dilemmas will stretch beyond the two Twenty20s when the one-day series begins next week. Kevin Pietersen was dropped for England’s last ODI contest against Pakistan but it would seem inconceivable that he won’t return after a solid Ashes campaign which leaves Bell and Jonathan Trott fighting for one spot.”In all forms of our game we have good competition,” Bell said. “That’s what we need. This one-day series will be exactly like the Ashes, we aren’t going to win it with 11 players. We’ve got some guys who’ve had a good run out today so that’s even better for us.”Bell’s innings meant a tough start to his captaincy career for Tim Paine who earlier scored a neat half-century to set up the PM XI’s innings. He could do little to stem the flow of runs as England batted, but that was largely down to poor bowling rather than any particular decisions he made. As Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke have found out in recent weeks, leadership is tough without control in the field.”It was just one of those games, an opportunity for me to practice being in charge of a team,” he said. “It’s something I haven’t done before and I’ll sit down and have a think about it, have a chat to some people after this is to come up with a few things that I can improve on and some things that I did well.”Paine is vice-captain of Australia’s Twenty20 team and is confident that the bowlers in that unit will be able to stop the England juggernaut. “Wednesday’s a completely different game, a completely different set of bowlers,” he said. “We’ll probably go in with more plans on how we want to bowl to the opposition.”

Round-up of the first day of the ninth round of Division Two of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Dec-2010Quetta were staring at the possibility of an innings defeat after their batting line-up wilted for just 45 on the first day against Khan Research Laboratories in Rawalpindi. It was a disastrous batting performance from Quetta with only two of their batsmen, Bismillah Khan and Manzoor Ahmed, reaching double-figures. The bowling heroes for KRL were seamers Yasir Arafat, with 4 for 26 and Mohammad Irfan with 6 for 19. In response, KRL ended the day comfortably placed on 193 for 2 with Bazid Khan and Mohammad Wasim unbeaten on 76 and 85 respectively, a lead of 148.The match between Lahore Ravi and Peshawar at the Gaddafi Stadium was evenly poised at the end of the first day. Peshawar made early inroads through their seamers Riaz Afridi and Imran Khan. Opener Abid Ali top-scored with 78 but none of the other Lahore batsmen were able to support him as they were bowled out for 193. Peshawar lost opener Mohammad Fayyaz early. Israrullah resisted with 45, but Ali Raza struck with a couple of quick wickets towards the close of play as Peshawar ended the day on 82 for 4, still trailing Lahore by 111 runs.Usman Salahuddin’s unbeaten 63 carried Lahore Shalimar to 190 for 6 at the end of the first day against Hyderabad at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground. Sent in to bat, Lahore lost openers Hamza Paracha and Mohammad Hamza with only 37 runs on the board. A half-century partnership between Rana Adnan and Salahuddin steadied the innings before Aslam Sattar dismissed Adnan. Afzal Shahzad (27) and Kashif Mahmood (21) added some handy runs. Lahore’s hopes of reaching a substantial total now depend on Salahuddin.Awais Zia’s unbeaten double-century propelled Pakistan Television to a commanding 372 for 6 against table-toppers State Bank of Pakistan at Marghzar Cricket Ground in Islamabad. SBP won the toss and elected to bowl and got off to a good start when Rizwan Haider had Umair Khan lbw with just 12 runs on the board. That brought Zia to the crease and he and Raheel Majeed carried PTV past 100. PTV then lost a flurry of quick wickets, but Zia finally found some support in No. 7 Naeem Anjum who made 36 as the duo added 103. At stumps, Zia was unbeaten on 216 and giving him company was Yasim Murtaza on 49.Karachi Whites were comfortably placed at 256 for 3 against Abbottabad at the end of the first day at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium. Asif Zakir, with an unbeaten century, and Rameez Aziz, with 75, were the batting stars for Karachi after they lost a couple of early wickets. At the close, Zakir was on 106 and giving him company was opener Kahlid Latif who had retired hurt with the score on 11, but returned to bat at the fall of Aziz’s wicket. Abbottabad tried eight bowlers, the most successful was Ahmed Jamal with 2 for 58.

Shahid Afridi has laid down the markers for those who would underestimate Pakistan, saying they are the ‘most dangerous side in the World Cup’

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur12-Feb-2011Shahid Afridi has laid down the markers for those who would underestimate Pakistan in this World Cup. They are, he said, the ‘most dangerous side in the World Cup’, and has pointed to the mix of youth and experience that has drawn parallels, however tenuous, with the side that won the tournament almost 20 years ago.”We all know how important the competition is for my country,” Afridi said in his first World Cup press conference in Mirpur. “This is a message for the other teams: No one can underestimate us. And when I said dangerous, [I meant] don’t underestimate the Pakistan team. We are with a very good bunch of youngsters and experienced players. It is good to see Kamran Akmal back in the team, Misbah [ul-Haq] too is in good form and so is Younis [Khan]. We also have two genuine spinners and a fast bowler like Shoaib Akhtar.”While Imran Khan did not have to rebuild a side ravaged by controversy, there are a few similarities between this Afridi-led team and the triumphant side of 1992. Imran was missing a devastating opening bowler in an injured Waqar Younis, and his team also had a mix of young talent and experience.Afridi, though lacking Imran’s tactical nous, is capable of firing up his side and after their twin success in New Zealand last month (1-0 in Tests and 3-2 in ODIs); they are high on confidence and team spirit. “Pitches around the world are very similar. I think as we performed well in New Zealand conditions, we’ll feel more confident on Asian tracks.”We’ve gone through a very tough situation. As a captain I’m very happy because we were trying to rebuild the team and boost its morale. The team has gelled. We keep these (controversial) issues out of the team and we are focused on the cricket … We played well in New Zealand and the boys are united and they feel hungry.”Afridi also offered praise for the job done by the team’s coach, Waqar Younis, and manager, Intikhab Alam, in keeping everyone together. “I, Inti bhai and Waqar Younis are trying to keep the team as a unit. Our dressing room atmosphere is much better. We are trying to keep the boys as close as we can and Alhamdulillah, we are being very successful.”In the same way as the 1992 team was practically built for Australian conditions, the 2011 version has enough versatility to conquer the subcontinent. But after the country was stripped of their rights to host the World Cup in 2009, it is an easy question to ask Afridi. Is the team happy playing in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and possibly India? Afridi didn’t hesistate: “We have very good support in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. [And] if we win the World Cup, it would be a good message for world cricket that we want to play cricket, and maybe next time it will be held in Pakistan as well.”He admits being named World Cup captain just two weeks before the event (exactly one week ago) was difficult, but Afridi said he was “focusing on my performance. I am always enjoying my role as a captain and as a player so I didn’t take it very seriously.”When the possibility of playing a certain opponent in the final was raised, his jaded face broke into a smile. “It would be great to see Pakistan and India in the final.” If things go the way Pakistan expect, he will be asked this one question over and over again.

Victoria ended a streak of four domestic one-day final losses by beating Tasmania at the MCG by 84 runs to lift the Ryobi Cup

The Bulletin by Andrew Fuss27-Feb-2011Victoria ended a streak of four domestic one-day final losses by beating Tasmania at the MCG by 84 runs under the Duckworth/Lewis method to lift the Ryobi Cup. Victoria recovered somewhat from a shaky start to post 194 and then proceeded to knock over the Tigers for 109, with Dirk Nannes and Mark Cleary picking up three wickets apiece.The start of the match was delayed by half an hour because of a wet outfield and with the pitch retaining some moisture, Tasmanian captain George Bailey had no hesitation in sending the hosts in. His move seemed to have worked as the Tigers struck early to remove danger man Matthew Wade before rain delayed the match again for 45 minutes.Victoria resumed with Brad Hodge (61 off 69 balls) in vintage form, crushing three boundaries in quick succession after the delay, but Brendan Drew (3 for 36) got the key wicket of Aaron Finch, and then dismissed Michael Hill as well as the Bushrangers limped to 3 for 75 off their first 20 overs with Brad Hodge and Andrew McDonald the not out men at the break.The Tigers were keen to get off to a flyer in response, but Man-of-the-Match Dirk Nannes (3 for 29) struck twice early to remove openers Mark Cosgrove and Jonathan Wells. Peter Siddle was introduced to keep the pressure on but he had the opposite effect, with Bailey cracking three boundaries off his first over.Bailey looked to be in fine touch until a moment of madness changed the course of the match when he was on 27, as he top-edged a pull shot off a length ball from McDonald. From there, Tasmania collapsed with Travis Birt (run out), Rhett Lockyear and James Faulkner all falling cheaply before the end of stage one to leave the visitors tottering on 6 for 73.Hodge and McDonald resumed for the Bushrangers on a mission, taking 46 runs off the first four overs after lunch. Despite the wicket of Hodge, the hosts continued to score freely as they aimed to bat Tasmania out of the match, but suffered a batting collapse of their own, losing 5 for 25 to be all out for 194, giving Tasmania some hope of victory.That hope was short lived though, as Nannes and Mark Cleary (3 for 32) finished the Tigers off in the 32nd over, with only Ed Cowan (32 off 68) offering any resistance.The Ryobi Cup win marks the Bushrangers first Domestic One-Day Cup win since the 1998-99 season.

Ricky Ponting is not the first man to play on after resigning as Australia’s captain. ESPNcricinfo looks at some of the others

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Mar-2011Richie Benaud
3 Tests – 188 runs at 31.33; 7 wickets at 53.85
Benaud began the 1963-64 season as Australia’s captain, but at 33, his intention was to retire at the end of the summer. He led the team in the first Test against South Africa, a match that is remembered for Ian Meckiff being no-balled for throwing, but missed the second Test due to injury. Bob Simpson stood in for the second Test at the MCG and guided Australia to victory, and when Benaud returned in the next match he told the board it would best for Simpson to stay on as captain. He made 43 and 90 in his first match post-captaincy, but had little impact for the remainder of the series.Bob Simpson
1 Test – 21 runs at 10.50
Simpson announced his retirement during the 1967-68 series against India, but was brought back for the final Test of the series for a farewell at the SCG under the new captain, Bill Lawry. In the one-off occasion, the 31-year-old Simpson made 7 and 20. It wasn’t quite his last Test, though. Ten years later, he was drafted back in to captain an inexperienced side during the World Series Cricket split.Ian Chappell
9 Tests – 607 runs at 40.46; 2 wickets at 27.00
Chappell stood down from the captaincy at the end of Australia’s successful Ashes tour of 1975, but remained available for selection under the new leader, his brother Greg. He had made 192 in the final Test at The Oval, so his form was not an issue. Two matches into his post-captaincy career, Chappell made 156 against a fearsome West Indies attack led by Andy Roberts and Michael Holding at the WACA, although Australia lost by an innings. He retired after six Tests, but made a comeback four years later, after World Series Cricket, and ended his career with 75 and 26 not out against England in the Melbourne Test of 1979-80.Greg Chappell
5 Tests – 364 runs at 72.80
Chappell resigned from the captaincy after Australia’s 1982-83 Ashes victory, although he returned to lead the team for a one-off Test in Sri Lanka later that year. But by the next Australian summer, Kim Hughes was in charge and Chappell played one final series, against Pakistan. He made two big hundreds in the five-Test series and finished his career with 182 in the final Test at the SCG, when at the age of 35, he farewelled international cricket alongside his colleagues Dennis Lillee and Rod Marsh.Graham Yallop
24 Tests – 1691 runs at 42.27
Yallop is an extraordinary case; as captain of Australia’s weakened Test team during the World Series Cricket days, he was in charge for only seven matches before Hughes took over, and then the rebel players were welcomed back into the fold. He played on for five more years under Greg Chappell and Hughes, and played some fine innings, including 268 against Pakistan at the MCG in 1983-84, before his first-class career ended with the rebel tour of South Africa.Kim Hughes
2 Tests – 2 runs at 0.50
Hughes was an on-again off-again captain during and after the World Series Cricket era, including when Greg Chappell chose not to make tours to England and Pakistan. His full-time tenure as captain, after Chappell’s retirement in 1983-84, ended with a tearful resignation following the Gabba loss to West Indies in 1984-85. Hughes played on in the next two Tests of the series but his scores were 0, 2, 0 and 0, and he did not represent Australia again. Hughes was the last captain of Australia until Ricky Ponting to play on after handing over the leadership. Ponting moves into his post-captaincy career in a much more positive frame of mind.

The defending champions didn’t make it, the mercurial outsiders stumbled, the strong contender choked, and after six weeks of high drama, we have the first all-Asian World-Cup final

The Preview by Sriram Veera01-Apr-2011

Match Facts

April 2, Mumbai

Start time 1430 hours (0900 GMT)Who will hold it for real tomorrow?•AFP

The Big Picture

The defending champions didn’t make it, the mercurial outsiders stumbled, the strong contender choked, the Ashes winners ran out of gas, and after six weeks of high drama, we have come to this: the first all-Asian World-Cup final. And they deserve to be there: five of the top six run-getters, two out of top five wicket-takers, the fielder with the most catches and the wicketkeeper with the most dismissals will all be on show. The two teams have rallied around two of the best modern-day captains: MS Dhoni and Kumar Sangakkara.Sangakkara is a fiercely ambitious man. Arjuna Ranatunga was almost the freedom fighter, infusing self-respect and clearing the colonial hangover, Mahela Jayawardene was the astute captain who brought so much tactical nous and cricketing intelligence, and Sangakkara is trying to add ruthlessness. Ranatunga pushed the boys to become men, Jayawardene made the men self-aware, and Sangakkara is trying to turn them ruthless. The evolutionary journey has produced a World Cup triumph, a runners-up finish and now, a chance to win it for the second time.Sangakkara’s dream, however, has been hit a nightmarish blow with the injury to Angelo Mathews. Even Muttiah Muralitharan won’t be 100% fit. Mathews’ absence severely affects the balance of the team and adds huge pressure on an already brittle lower-middle order, where Chamara Silva and Thilan Samaraweera haven’t exactly set the tournament alight. Silva, who dazzled in the 2007 edition, has proved combustible in this tournament. Samaraweera is there to manage a collapse, and he did that really well in the curtailed game against Australia. Neither has Mathews’ talent to turn a 225 score into 275.To state the obvious, Sri Lanka will now heavily depend on Tillakaratane Dilshan, the captain and Mahela Jayawardene if they are to put up or chase down a daunting target. They will now have to bat with the knowledge that the lower middle order might not withstand a top-order collapse. Dilshan, though, is in great form, Sangakkara has looked as gritty as ever and while Jayawardene is yet to really flow, he can be always be counted on to come good in pressure games. And Sri Lanka have a varied bowling attack to defend even relatively unsafe totals and the ability to restrict the opposition from piling up too much.MS Dhoni is a quietly ambitious man. Sourav Ganguly was passionate, Rahul Dravid was process driven, Anil Kumble led from the front with his grit, while Dhoni has been an intuitive captain. He is level-headed, and shrewd enough to marry passion and process. He has soaked up the pressure of being India’s captain, is smart enough to know the value of his own brand, and keeps his star-heavy team rolling smoothly with the aid of Gary Kirsten. India’s previous two victories, against Australia and Pakistan, have ironed out many of the flaws seen earlier in the tournament. However, those two wins also raise the question of India being emotionally drained. Do they have fuel left in them to raise their game one final time?The batsmen, who had perhaps tried too hard to compensate for the relatively weak bowling attack by trying to do too much in the end overs and collapsed in the batting Powerplay, seem more aware of identifying a viable target. Someone or other has taken charge during tricky chases. Yuvraj Singh showed tenacity in the chase against Australia, and Suresh Raina maturity in his shot selection against Pakistan.The poor performance in the early part of the tournament seems to have freed up the bowlers. Expectations are lower and the pressure is off in some ways, allowing them to show better discipline and skill. Munaf Patel has greater control over his legcutters and Harbhajan Singh has slowed up the pace to give himself a better chance to take wickets.In the last two years, Sri Lanka and India have won eight games apiece against each other. In the last year, the record stands 4-3 in Sri Lanka’s favour. In their last five encounters in India, though, the record stands 3-1, with one no result, in the home side’s favour. However, these two teams have played each other so often – tomorrow’s final will be the 30th time since July 2008- that they should know everything there is to know about each other.

Form guide

(completed matches, most recent first)IndiaWWWLW
Sri Lanka WWWWW

Watch out for…

Sachin Tendulkar has the records, the mountain of runs and memorable Man-of-the-Match performances but there are a few things that have eluded him: a Test innings like Brian Lara’s 153, a Ponting-esque record in World Cup finals and, indeed, a winner’s medal. He has openly talked about his thirst for that World Cup triumph and has played his part in India’s journey to Mumbai by being their top scorer. Will he achieve his dream tomorrow?Muttiah Muralitharan has written some great scripts for himself: a memorable last Test match where he took the last wicket to get to the magical 800, a fabulous performance almost on one leg in his last ODI at home and now, with one World Cup winner’s medal in the bag, he has the chance to end with another. He will fancy his chances against the Indian middle-order; he is likely to go around the stumps and aim for lbws with his off breaks and edges with his doosras. Can he script yet another great farewell?Virender Sehwag’s knock against Pakistan, defying the nerves of a World Cup semi-final, was vital in ensuring India could soak up the middle-over wobbles and reach a competitive score. If there is one man who can put up a nerveless display again in the final, it’s him. It will be interesting to see how he plays the Sri Lankan spinners. Will he continue to, as he has done during this tournament and perished a few times, try hitting the spinners almost solely through the off side?Mahela Jayawardene hasn’t scored much after that 100 against Canada but all along, and even ahead of the tournament, he has been talking about his itch to perform in the big games. He has the skills to tame the Indian attack and the elegance to do it in style. It was a hundred in the semi-final of the 2007 World Cup against New Zealand that proved a major turning point in his career. “That hundred gave me confidence that I can do it at this big stage,” Jayawardene said. “Ever since that moment I have probably lifted my game quite a bit and turned into a big-match player.” Will he turn up for Sri Lanka tomorrow?

Team news

Ashish Nehra has been ruled out of the final and the Indian camp hasn’t made it clear whether R Ashwin or Sreesanth will play. This is what Dhoni said when asked a direct question: “That is a tricky one. If you see the Mumbai track there is a bit of pace and bounce for the seamers initially. Also if there is reverse swing going the third seamer can have an impact on the game. At the same time if the three seamers are bowling well I can easily manoeuvre the bowling. But with four spinners and two fast bowlers there is not much room to manoeuvre too much.”And just when you think that’s a clear hint Sreesanth will play, Dhoni adds, “If one of the fast bowlers has an off day it gets difficult. Still, not to forget, in whatever opportunities Ashwin got so far he has done really well. We have confidence in him. But we have not yet thought our bowling combination yet.”India (probable): 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 Gautam Gambhir, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Suresh Raina, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Sreesanth/Ashwin, 11 Munaf Patel.Sri Lanka have drafted Suraj Randiv into the squad but in Mathews’ absence they will most likely turn to Thisara Perera, who almost doubles his career average of 19, and has a strike rate of 146.98, when he plays against India. It remains to be seen whether they will take the brave decision to play Randiv ahead of Rangana Herath. Randiv has played 13 games against India, with 12 wickets at an economy rate of 4.57, while Herath has played just one game against India. Herath has been playing regularly in this tournament, though, while Randiv has been drafted in from the cold.Sri Lanka (probable) 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (capt & wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Chamara Silva, 6 Thilan Samaraweera, 7 Thisara Perera, 8 Lasith Malinga, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Muttiah Muralitharan, 11 Suraj Randiv/Rangana Herath..

The hot summer has transformed the nature of the pitch from the one on which Sri Lanka beat New Zealand. It’s a dry surface and the curator Sudhir Naik was quoted in Times of India as saying that 260-270 will be an excellent score batting first.There have been only ten day-night games at this venue and Sri Lanka achieved the highest successful chase, overhauling India’s 225 in 1997. The highest score by a team batting second under lights is 250. The chasing team has won four out of ten games under lights though.

Stats and trivia