Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Displaying more hunger, drive and common sense than India, the Australians eked out an 18-run win in the all-important last league match of the DLF Cup to make it to the final. In a match where both batting line-ups caved in, Australia held their nerve after scoring just 213, bundling India out for 195 – with Brett Lee taking his sixth five-for in ODIs – despite a superb unbeaten 63 from Dinesh Mongia, who returned to the Indian team in style after a 17-month absence.Considering that the batting line-ups on display were two of the best in the world, it was a surprisingly low-scoring game. Apart from Matthew Hayden, who made a typically forceful 54, none of the other top-order batsmen got going, and only an outstanding rearguard partnership between the two Brads, Haddin (46) and Hogg (38), allowed Australia to get past 200 after they had been tottering at 117 for 6. India showed that they could collapse just as effectively as the opposition, slumping to 96 for 5.The one Indian batsman who remained unfazed by the challenge was the one who had last played for India in April 2005. With the ball, it had been a mixed bag for Mongia – he nailed Andrew Symonds, but was later tonked for four sixes by Haddin. With the bat, though, Mongia took charge after the Indian top order crumbled for the third time in three matches.The slide started early. Sachin Tendulkar, the one in-form batsman in the side, lasted only ten deliveries but they were full of drama: off his fifth, he was given out caught when the ball glanced off his shoulder, but umpire Mark Benson changed his mind after consulting Asad Rauf, his partner. That let-off didn’t help, though, as five balls later he carved one straight to point. Virender Sehwag was bowled through the gate for the third time in this tournament, and after a brief partnership, Mohammad Kaif and Rahul Dravid too left in quick succession, leaving India tottering at 50 for 4.Mongia began the resurrection, batting with a calm assurance that unfortunately for India didn’t rub off on the rest of his mates. With Suresh Raina – the only other batsman who showed a semblance of common sense – he added 46 for the sixth wicket in what the most encouraging period for India. Both ran the singles well, while Raina also cracked some meaty blows to keep the runs coming at a fair clip.Even when Raina left, deceived by a superb wrong ‘un from Hogg, Mongia kept the innings going. His driving – through cover and down the ground – were a treat, and he handled Hogg well too, employing the sweep and cut to good effect. More than all that, though, what stood out was his level-headedness: knowing that the asking rate was never an issue, he completely eschewed the risky strokes and stuck to the percentages.The rest of the batsmen, though, were intent on pressing the self-destruct button: Mahendra Singh Dhoni smacked a lofted cut – both feet off the ground and very spectacular visually – but hit it straight to deep point, while Ajit Agarkar missed an extravagant pull. Harbhajan Singh was admittedly unlucky to be given out, but RP Singh and Munaf Patel continued to opt for heroics over watchfulness, despite the fact that when the innings finally folded, there were still 37 deliveries left to get 19 runs.

If India’s top order was a shambles, then Australia’s was little better, as they wasted the opportunity to get a sizeable total after winning the toss. Hayden held the innings together early in the face of accurate seam bowling by the Indians, as only 60 came in the first 15 overs, but the innings really lost its way when the spinners came on.The mayhem started after Hayden and Damien Martyn had added 38 to steady the innings after the early dismissal of Ponting. Hayden, slapping the drives and flicks with characteristic power, had reached his 50 off 65 balls and looked good for many more, but was done in when Martyn pushed to point and called for a single which was never on. Martyn himself fell to the run-out route soon after, and when Harbhajan and Mongia helped themselves to a wicket each, Australia had lost 4 for 30 in ten overs. It would have been even worse for them had the third umpire ruled in India’s favour when Harbhajan flicked off the bails with Haddin well short of the crease. Tony Hill, the third umpire, wasn’t entirely sure if the bails had been removed by the ball or by Harbhajan’s hand, and gave the batsman the benefit of doubt.Haddin survived, and made the Indians pay. Showing exceptional footwork against the turning ball, he waded into the part-time spinners after Harbhajan had completed another outstanding spell (1 for 24 in ten). The five overs between 37 and 41 produced 45 as Haddin clobbered Mongia for four sixes, all down the ground. At the other end, Hogg joined in the act, cutting Sehwag twice for fours and then tonking a six over long-on, all off successive deliveries. Their 77-run partnership took just 13.1 overs and suddenly put India on the defensive.However, the innings quickly came unstuck after the two were separated, leaving the Indians with a modest target. Ultimately, though, that turned out to be enough for Australia to squeeze into Sunday’s final.

AustraliaSimon Katich c Raina b Agarkar 9 (36 for 1)
Ricky Ponting c Agarkar b Munaf 4 (49 for 2)
Matthew Hayden run out (RP Singh/ Dhoni) 54 (87 for 3)
Damien Martyn run out (Tendulkar/ Mongia) 20 (98 for 4)
Andrew Symonds lbw b Mongia 2 (97 for 5)
Michael Hussey c Dravid b 13 (117 for 6)
Brad Haddin c Dhoni b Singh 46 (194 for 7)
Brad Hogg run out (Singh) 38 (208 for 8)
Stuart Clark b Agarkar 6 (213 for 9)
Brett Lee c Sehwag b Singh 7 (213 all out)
IndiaSachin Tendulkar c Hussey b Lee 4 (7 for 1)
Virender Sehwag b Lee 10 (20 for 2)
Mohammad Kaif c & b Clark 21 (47 for 3)
Rahul Dravid lbw b Clark 7 (50 for 4)
Suresh Raina b Hogg 26 (96 for 5)
Mahendra Singh Dhoni c Martyn b Lee 23 (158 for 6)
Ajit Agarkar lbw b Hogg 9 (185 for 7)
Harbhajan Singh c Haddin b Symonds 0 (186 for 8)
RP Singh c Hussey b Lee 4 (193 for 9)
Munaf Patel c Symonds b Lee 1 (195 all out)

For the third time in a row Jagmohan Dalmiya, former Indian board president, failed to appear before the board’s Disciplinary Committee. The committee, which met today morning at the Punjab Cricket Association stadium at Mohali, decided to proceed ex-parte in the matter.On the two previous occasions, Dalmiya had sought the intervention of the civil court in Kolkatta allowing him to defer his appearance before the committee. However, in its latest ruling the court had directed Dalmiya to submit his detailed reply by October 3 and to appear before the committee seven days thereafter.Despite Dalmiya’s absence, the committee today recorded the statements of witnesses, accepted documents submitted by N Srinivasan, the board’s treasurer, and have closed the matter, pending a final conclusion. The report of the Disciplinary Committee would be submitted to the board’s secretary.

Greg Chappell wasn’t a happy man after a game in which India had SouthAfrica in deep strife at 76 for 6, and yet managed to capitulate to an106-run defeat. He insisted that there was no easy answers and no obvioussolutions as the team continued on the downward spiral in the one-daygame. After winning 21 of 29 matches last season, they have managed justthree wins from 14 matches since.”We were outplayed in all departments of the game,” said Chappell, whoadded that the dropped catches – South Africa took all their chances -made all the difference. “We are not playing well enough. That’s the basicproblem. Too many players are out of form, key players are not doing well.”I am not sure whether there is a solution other than working hard. Wehave to try and turn things around. It has got to come from the players.They’ve got to dig deep and find a way to do it.”He refused to single out individuals for criticism, and said that tacticslike trying Dinesh Karthik in the middle order would continue to beemployed until a corner was turned. “We are struggling and we need to trysomething different,” he said. “Indian batting teams with bettercredentials have struggled under these conditions before. The ballbouncing between waist and chest is not something that happens regularlyin India. It takes some adjusting and I don’t think we are doing it wellat the moment.”There has got to be a big physical and big mental effort. We’ve got intowinning positions but haven’t finished them off. There are some criticalareas where we are falling off. We missed a few opportunities after theywere 76 for 6 and that was the turning point of the game.”When asked whether the failure of the other batsmen to deliver heaped evenmore pressure on Rahul Dravid’s shoulders, Chappell said: “It puts a lotof pressure on the captain, but then again that comes with the territory.There’s a lot of responsibility on him. He’s a key player and he’sexpected to do well. But he needs support. You can’t rely on one or twoplayers. There has to be a consistent effort from the team.”Following the 157-run defeat at Kingsmead, there had been calls inparliament for Chappell to be sacked. When asked about such remarks, hesaid, tongue firmly in cheek, “They are entitled to make any comment theylike. That’s what they are paid to do in parliament.” As for the fans,whose mood turns uglier with each reverse, he could only say: “There’s notmuch you can say at this stage. This is the squad we’ve got till the endof the series, and we’ve got to work hard.”At the moment, hard work alone looks unlikely to salvage this series. Aflash of inspiration like that provided by Justin Kemp today is what the team iscrying out for, but in these conditions, it’s hard to see where it’s goingto come from.

Scorecard
Habib Bank collected the full nine points when they thrashed Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) by 178 runs at the National Bank of Pakistan Sports Complex Stadium in Karachi.Opening bowler Fahad Masood snapped up 4 for 40, Pakistan discard Azhar Mahmood claimed 3 for 76 and Shahid Afridi’s replacement, medium-pacer Sajid Shah, grabbed 2 for 33 as WAPDA, needing an unrealistic 393 for victory, were dismissed for 214 in their second innings on the third day of the four-day match.Bilal Khilji and nightwatchman Shabbir Ahmed offered stiff resistance by adding 58 for the fifth wicket. Bilal cracked seven boundaries in his 76-ball stay while Shabbir cracked six fours in his 69-minute knock.Wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider and former Test legspinner Mushtaq Ahmed, who is leading the WAPDA side, frustrated HBL further by adding 29 for the last wicket. The WAPDA innings folded on the first ball after lunch when pacer Fahad Masood trapped Zulqarnain leg before for 31 which included five hits to the fence. Allrounder Shahid Afridi in fact engineered his team’s victory by scoring 51 and 100 in the match and getting four wickets which earned him a recall to the Pakistan team.
Scorecard
Offspinner Saeed Ajmal, with figures of 5 for 61, helped Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) bowl Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) for a modest 212, on the third day of their Patron’s Trophy Quadrangular Stage match in Karachi.Trailing by 195, ZTBL were then forced to follow-on. In their second innings, they had reached 124 for 2, which meant that they still required another 71 runs to avert an innings defeat.The 29-year-old Ajmal from Faisalabad capitalised on brilliant centuries by his team-mates Zulfiqar Jan and Saeed Anwar jnr, as KRL compiled a first innings total of 407. ZTBL opening batsman Afaq Rahim, a 21-year-old from Mirpur in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, was the only player to put up any resistance against the KRL bowlers.Having already posted four hundreds in his first-class career, Afaq missed another by just seven runs. His 93 came off 194 deliveries with 14 boundaries as he stayed at the crease for just over four-and-a-half hours.From 161 for four, ZTBL lost their last six wickets for the addition of a mere 51 runs. Ajmal took three of these wickets while pace bowler Abdul Rauf and allrounder Yasir Arafat one apiece. ZTBL lost two wickets with only 32 runs scored as they followed on. Skipper Aamer Bashir and wicket-keeper Shakeel Ansar, promoted in the order, then took them to stumps without any further mishap, with an unbroken 92-run third-wicket stand.

Michael Klinger’s outstanding one-day form has earned him a place in Victoria’s Pura Cup squad to take on New South Wales at Melbourne starting on Friday. Brad Hodge has also been named in the Bushrangers’ line-up after a disappointing week in which he missed two one-day games with a quadriceps injury that kept him from being considered for Australia’s team for the third Test against England.Victoria have also been strengthened by the addition of Mick Lewis, who has recovered from a hip muscle injury. However, it has been a like-for-like swap in the fast-bowling ranks, with Gerard Denton missing due to severe shin splints. Rob Quiney has been left out to make way for Klinger.Daniel Smith, the wicketkeeper, has been chosen as a specialist batsman for New South Wales. Smith, who played against England in the tour game last month, is the understudy to Brad Haddin and the pair has been squeezed into a squad of 12.Aaron O’Brien was replaced by Smith while Grant Lambert, the allrounder who is a consistent performer in the Sydney grade competition, won his first appointment with the Blues for the season. Nathan Hauritz was another who missed out as the Blues preferred the slow-bowling duo of Stuart MacGill and Beau Casson.The fast bowler Scott Coyte has come in for Doug Bollinger, who has a side strain, and Moises Henriques was not considered due to a groin injury.Victoria squad Lloyd Mash, Nick Jewell, Michael Klinger, Brad Hodge, David Hussey, Cameron White (capt), Jon Moss, Andrew McDonald, Adam Crosthwaite (wk), Shane Harwood, Clinton McKay, Mick Lewis.New South Wales squad Phil Jaques, Simon Katich (capt), Ed Cowan, Daniel Smith, Dominic Thornely, Brad Haddin (wk), Grant Lambert, Nathan Bracken, Beau Casson, Stuart MacGill, Matthew Nicholson, Scott Coyte.

When the first ball of the final match of this four-ODI series is bowledone side will be attempting to answer several questions for itself whilethe other is in a position where there’s little to lose and yet plenty togain. India are still trying to find their best possible combination forthe World Cup while West Indies are just looking for a symbolic win – itwould be good to begin their campaign in the big tournament, still sometime away, with a win under the belt.The conditionsThe Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Ground has produced some fierypitches in the past, with the ball darting about sharply off the seam anda predominantly mediumpace Vadodara attack, whose home ground this is,making life miserable for visitors. This is not going to be one suchpitch. Despite the intermittent rain, the pitch appears to be afairly typical one-day strip, loaded in the favour of the batsmen. Ifthere’s more rain about there could well be a case for going into the gamewith only one spinner.The personnelWest Indies have, despite going 1-2 down, enjoyed the chance to give theircricketers a run, and some have grabbed the opportunity with both hands.But, going into the final game, they have injury concerns for two vitalplayers – Dwayne Bravo (left shoulder) and Marlon Samuels (left indexfinger). Samuels was taken for precautionary x-rays on the eve of thematch but a final decision on fitness would only be taken on the morningof the match. For India, the four who missed out straightaway were SureshRaina, Gautam Gambhir, Sreesanth and Ramesh Powar.Combination conundrumEven after having narrowed their pool down to twelve, India have some trickydecisions to make before they decide who will carry drinks. Robin Uthappaand Sourav Ganguly will open, with Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid tofollow, and Yuvraj Singh, coming back from injury, must play. The factthat India are keen to find out if Irfan Pathan – a key component ofbringing flexibility and balance to the side – is back in good enoughbowling form, means that Dinesh Karthik might just miss out. If Karthik isbenched, then both spinners can play alongside Ajit Agarkar and ZaheerKhan, covering for the eventuality that Pathan’s bowling isn’t up toscratch yet. It would be hard to drop one of the spinners, for Anil Kumbleneeds a game or two under his belt before the World Cup.Momentum?With India and West Indies having played each other a fair bit in therecent months, there has been incessant chatter about who has thepsychological edge at what point and whom the momentum was with. WestIndies first had it, winning 4-1 at home, then reinforcing it when India lost to the West Indies inthe Champions Trophy in Ahmedabad. Now India are up 2-1. But, the resultof this series, coming as it does just before the World Cup, means thatthere are few brownie points to win one way or the other. The result ofwhat happened at Vadodara on January 31 will be long forgotten if and whenthe two teams were to clash again in the second half of the World Cup.Squads
India (from) 1 Sourav Ganguly, 2 Robin Uthappa, 3 Rahul Dravid(capt), 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), 7Ajit Agarkar, 8 Anil Kumble, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 IrfanPathan, 12 Dinesh Karthik.West Indies 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 3 RunakoMorton, 4 Brian Lara, 5 Marlon Samuels, 6 Dwayne Bravo, 7 Dwayne Smith, 8Denesh Ramdin, 9 Jerome Taylor, 10 Ian Bradshaw, 11 Daren Powell, 12 RayadEmritt, 13 Devon Smith, 14 Lendl Simmons.

Rain might have ruined their party in Kolkata but Sri Lanka believe they were setting themselves up for a good score when the first match ground to a premature halt and are upbeat ahead of the second one-day international. Speaking to the media on Saturday, Tom Moody, the coach, said, “Obviously it was a very brief outing, but we thought we were holding a very strong position in the game with [Sanath] Jayasuriya’s 60-plus not out. In that situation, with the depth of batting we got, we thought we would have approached more than a competitive score. We are going into this match with confidence.”Moody also said that the Sri Lankan squad for the World Cup was more or less finalised. “Our squad will be selected in a day or so and there may be one position we are not sure about,” he said. “We are certainly not looking at any last-minute changes to the way we practice and prepare. We have been preparing for that tournament [World Cup] for the past 12 months. This series is a chapter in that preparation.”When asked if it was a specific spot that was up for grabs Moody said, “We are looking at improving our game constantly in all the departments but there’s no specific area that we feel that we have to hone in and rectify and make changes.”Inevitably, the question of experimenting was raised and Moody reacted much as his counterpart and fellow Australian, Greg Chappell, has in the past. “The word experiment is overused, we don’t experiment. We have 15 players and every one of them can make up any combination,” he said. “It’s the balance of the side that we feel is suited for this situation, this wicket and this opposition. We have 100 per cent faith in all the 15 players we have carried with us. We just adjust our combination according to the conditions and opposition.”Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lankan captain, hoped that the weather would not interfere in any of the three matches remaining in this series, and that his team would be able to force a positive result, thereby wiping out memories of the 1-6 loss they suffered at India’s hands when they toured last. “It has become a pretty interesting series and, since it’s now made up of three matches there can definitely be a winner if we can play all three games,” he said. “We are looking forward to that. We have the personnel, we have the combination and we have the team to do that.”Jayawardene concurred with Moody in the belief that Sri Lanka were well on top in the first match, but suggested that the pitch was getting harder to bat on as the game proceeded. “In Kolkata the wicket played really well initially but Sanath said it became slower when the ball got older. We played very good cricket. We started well and, though we lost a couple of wickets, I thought we had the momentum going forward.”Jayawardene also did not want to assume that playing on Indian pitches would help their cause in the West Indies. “This tour gives us the opportunity of playing well and how well we can take that to the West Indies. But it’s difficult for me to say now how the wickets will behave in the West Indies,” he said. “Every wicket is going to be different. We have to go out there, assess the conditions and try and see how we can go about.”

Police officers in Trinidad and Tobago, where India and Sri Lanka will play their first round World Cup matches, have threatened to go on strike during the tournament in a pay dispute.Cedric Neptune, president of the Police Social and Welfare Association, hinted that T & T police officers may withdraw from the unified Caribbean force formed to beef-up security during the seven-week long competition which starts with a series of warm-up matches next week.”It is time to draw the line,” said Neptune. “People are not fully appreciative of the extent of work involved with this particular World Cup in terms of all the escorts and security details. Our police officers are saying it has always been that we are paid for extra duty and don’t come now and tell us we are not being paid for extra duty.”Police Commissioner Trevor Paul made it clear that T&T police officers assigned to work specifically at the World Cup local matches will not be paid extra duty allowances. Paul said because the cricketing body entered into an arrangement with the T&T government, by extension, police officers assigned to work during the World Cup will be working for the state.But he explained that the 60 officers assigned to work with regional counterparts in various Caribbean islands for the event will be paid per diems, plus salaries and possibly overtime. Meanwhile, foreign police officers coming to the Caribbean for the World Cup will undergo cultural training ahead of the event.Police officers from Britain, South Africa, Canada, France, and the Netherlands Antilles have been employed to boost security for the sport’s showpiece being stage in the Caribbean for the first time.To prevent any misunderstandings between the police officers and locals, they will be trained to respect the region’s cultural norms, the commander of the regional troops has revealed. “What we have done is provide a booklet and also a system of briefings,” said Colonel Anthony Anderson.”We see this as one of the main ways of dealing with some of those cultural differences that might come up so you can rest assured that everyone coming in will be exposed to that briefing before hand.”

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Hundreds of millions will spend a sleepless Friday night before their television sets as the team that could be dubbed ‘commercial favourites’ fights to stay alive in a World Cup that seems ages old but has in fact barely begun. “What happens to India if they lose?” Rahul Dravid was asked the day before. “We’re not even thinking about the possibility,” he replied. Much easier said than done.No match in the first round of this tournament has been invested with this much significance. Not even death puts things into perspective for the Indian fan or the media. Besides, the financial viability of the tournament for a huge range of enterprises rides on Indian success, a point the players are not allowed to forget for a moment. The pressure on Dravid’s team is much more than merely that of their increasingly well-oiled opponents.The greatest folly in cricket is prediction-making. It can thus merely be mentioned that word is that the Indian team, record victory against Bermuda notwithstanding, is not particularly high on morale. Some players are said to have been aloof, some have become despondent, and they are quite without the certain united force that successful sides exude.Yet it is also a truism of sport that all it takes is victory to turn things around. To do that, the batting must have to lead the way for, though it boasts an impressive body of achievement, the story is familiar under duress or in testing conditions, and the batsmen are likely to encounter both: the track for the game has not been used in the tournament, and the groundsman expects from it bounce and early seam movement. Of particular concern to the think-tank has been the inordinate number of dot balls played out, most glaring in the loss against Bangladesh, a point they must rectify if they are to negotiate difficult passages without coming to a complete halt.Team selection is not easy. As far as one can see, Harbhajan Singh is likely to be back, probably in place of Anil Kumble, unreadable to Bermudians on Monday but historically ineffective against Sri Lanka – he concedes 51 runs per wicket against them and has failed to pick up a single wicket in his last four matches. The question is whether to retain faith in Robin Uthappa, who has failed in the last two matches, or include Irfan Pathan for balance. And would Sreesanth prove to be a more tempting matchwinning option than Ajit Agarkar?

Sri Lanka, by contrast, have little reason to tinker, even if it means that a big-match player such as Marvan Atapattu must sit out. It is a side brimming with belief. The proof has been in their play but, just in case it was not emphatic enough, their captain Mahela Jayawardene also talked the talk. “Bangladesh did not meekly surrender to us,” he asserted after Wednesday’s wholesome victory, “we made them surrender.” And if India “showed us a few things when we were in India, it is now our turn to show them.” Few things excite the smaller nations of the sub-continent than slaying the big beast.Sri Lanka look complete. The batting has firepower at the top and below, and solidity in the centre. The bowling possesses nagging seam, a number of capable support acts, and two freaks of nature. The fielding is sharp. They are thoroughly prepared and exceptionally led. All of this can also mean nothing in the context of a one-day match.For the first time in this leg a full house is anticipated at the Queen’s Park Oval. Nobody could have asked for a more keenly-awaited encounter.India (likely)1 Sourav Ganguly, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Irfan Pathan, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 Rahul Dravid (capt), 6 Yuvraj Singh, 7 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), 8 Ajit Agarkar, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Munaf PatelSri Lanka (likely)1 Upul Tharanga, 2 Sanath Jayasuriya, 3 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 4 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 5 Chamara Silva, 6 Russel Arnold, 7 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 8 Chaminda Vaas, 9 Farveez Maharoof, 10 Muttiah Muralitharan, 11 Lasith Malinga

Sharad Pawar, the Indian board (BCCI) president, says that India’s defeat to Sri Lanka at Trinidad has “disappointed him and the nation”, and has promised to take “harsh” decisions in future team selections. Pawar, who recently accused the Indian media for provoking unrest after India’s loss to Bangladesh, said that coach Greg Chappell’s contract will be reviewed.”The Indian board is the only board which provided maximum facilities to the players, expectations from the team were quite high,” he said. “[India’s] performance against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka was not at all up to the mark, especially the batting and the fielding”.While many sections of the media have criticised Chappell for India’s dismal showing in the World Cup, Pawar said the coach shared only a part of the responsibility. “Definitely, there is a responsibility to train properly. But at the same time, one can show water, but cannot compel him to drink. The contract with the coach was up to the World Cup and now the World Cup is over. The board has to take a fresh look on the matter.”Pawar, 66, said the BCCI would now concentrate on the next World Cup with a focus on the selection process and more opportunities to youngsters . “We are going to meet after getting a report from the team manager and would give a serious thought to the future course of action. Our future approach will be to concentrate for the 2011 World Cup,” he said. “We also have plans to encourage younger players. They will be given more opportunities to play international matches.”Pawar said that although the BCCI did not interfere with the selection process, it would adopt a new approach, perhaps based on that of Cricket Australia’s. “They [CA] do not go by emotions and past performances, but by current performance and there are a number of instances in Australian selection that a harsh decision has been taken on non-performers.”

Pawar also cancelled a yacht party that he had planned to give the Indian team on April 3 in anticipation of their entry into the Super Eight stage.Security has been beefed up at the residences of certain Indian cricketers, as disappointed fans have reacted with aggression. Some burned posters of Indian players and beat the pictures with sandals while police protected the homes of key Indian players. In the central Indian city of Indore, dozens marched in what they described as “a funeral for Indian cricket”. Similar protests were held in the northern Indian cities of Allahabad and Varanasi, television news channel reported. Others threw rocks at a restaurant owned by Zaheer Khan, the fast bowler, in Pune, the channel said. Police officers took up positions outside the homes of Rahul Dravid in Bangalore, Mahendra Dhoni in Ranchi and Sachin Tendulkar and Ajit Agarkar in Mumbai.