Crickinfo:India surrender after Virender Sewag:India v South Africa, 1st Test, Chennai, 4th day

www.Crickinfo.com
A score of 159 for 9 in 49.1 overs sounds exciting. Fast bowlers running in hard on the fourth day, extracting bounce and rattling stumps, ought to be entertaining. Batsmen looking to score, bowlers trying to restrict from one end and attack from the other, fielders charged up, a hundred, some gorgeous strokeplay ... all points to an exciting day's cricket. What a near-capacity stadium witnessed, though, was far duller. A game which had sprung to life yesterday was put to bed once again.

India needed to show some initiative towards building a big lead, declare their intent and go for a win. Virender Sehwag didn't last too long but the rest paled in comparison when it came to setting the agenda. Rahul Dravid preferred to continue his guarded approach, Mahendra Singh Dhoni couldn't summon his dashing side and VVS Laxman, stuck with the tail, scratched around towards the end.

South Africa bowled much better today - no doubt about it - but India must ensure against an over-reliance on Sehwag, a trap they fell into regularly four years back. There was a time, around 2004, when Sehwag used to stand out from the rest of the batting order. Against Australia in 2003-2004 and Pakistan in early 2005, a few games changed complexion the moment he was dismissed. The Bangalore Test against Pakistan was a classic example. As long as Sehwag was in, India harboured hopes of winning; once he left, the rest couldn't even bat out two sessions.

Several opposition bowlers pointed out to how tough it was to bowl to Sehwag compared to the others. The common refrain was: Sehwag rattled your plans, the rest at least scored more predictably. Mohammad Asif even went to the extent of saying it was comparatively easy to bowl to Dravid because he rarely tried anything different.

The happenings today was some sort of a throwback to the days of Sehwag-dominated shows. As long as he was around, India could dream of 700 in quick time. Once he left, the rest couldn't summon the unconventional methods to counter the bowling. South Africa did bowl well but they were probably made to look a little better by batsmen adopting the straightforward approach.

Nobody, though, will doubt the intensity levels. Makhaya Ntini, who's not been that potent a force in the subcontinent, nipped out two early wickets in six balls before Dale Steyn put together the spell of the match that read: 8-1-15-4. It was his sixth spell and was delivered in the demanding mid-afternoon session and came with reverse-swing of high quality. He cranked up speeds around 145kph and kept it dart straight.

The ball to dismiss Dhoni was particularly fearsome, making the batsmen look rather silly for trying to walk down the track. "I didn't really see him charging," said Steyn. "I had always made up mind that we would two bouncers with the new ball that we had just got. So he is a big wicket for the way that he plays he can take the game away from anybody on his day. He wanted to score quickly so that was a key wicket to get."

There was some deadly reverse-swing as well, giving the tailenders no chance. Once it was straight and swinging, Steyn was always going to win the day. It was the sort of spell that set up their win in Pakistan last year and he showed he could let rip in tough conditions. "These balls are different to the balls that we play with, the Kookaburra balls," he said. "The key is to find out what works. Reverse-swing is a big factor in the subcontinent. We were lucky to get a ball change and the new ball that we got was reversing from ball one basically. I think now what we have to do is to come up with a good plan on how to get the ball to do that."

It also helped that India were going for the runs. "The fact that we were trying to push it along probably cost us a few wickets," said Dravid. "The idea was to push it along, in the end Steyn came and bowled a good spell of reverse swing. We couldn't accelerate with wickets falling."

All of which meant that the match is back to square one. India need someone to do a Sehwag with the ball if they aim to win this one. South Africa need something even more special if they are to even get close. Expect a good crowd on Sunday but, unless you're going for broke in a lottery, don't expect a result.

Crickinfo: Test Match Batting Records

Tests		ODIs		T20Is		All Test/ODI/T20I		- other - Women's Tests Women's ODIs Women's T20Is Youth Tests Youth ODIs
Batting Bowling Fielding All-round Partnership Team Umpire and referee Aggregate/overall
View: overall figures [change view] Qualifications: runs scored greater than or equal to 10000 Ordered by: runs scored (descending) Showing page 1 of 1 Return to query menu|Cleared query menu

Overall figures

Player	Span	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	100	50	0
BC Lara (ICC/WI)	1990-2006	131	232	6	11953	400*	52.88	34	48	17
SR Tendulkar (India)	1989-2008	147	238	25	11782	248*	55.31	39	49	14
AR Border (Aus)	1978-1994	156	265	44	11174	205	50.56	27	63	11
SR Waugh (Aus)	1985-2004	168	260	46	10927	200	51.06	32	50	22
SM Gavaskar (India)	1971-1987	125	214	16	10122	236*	51.12	34	45	12
R Dravid (ICC/India)	1996-2008	120	206	25	10031	270	55.41	25	51	6

Crickinfo:Dravid scales another peak

Crickinfo:Cricket News

March 29, 2008

	Rahul Dravid celebrated his entry into the 10,000-run club with a century in Chennai © AFP

With the 80th run during his 111 in Chennai, Rahul Dravid became only the sixth player - and the third Indian, after Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar - to reach the coveted milestone of in Test cricket. He hasn't been at his best of late - this hundred was his first since last May - but Dravid's determination came to the fore yet again; perhaps it was fitting that he brought up the milestone with a typically characteristic knock, stonewalling his way to a hundred while Virender Sehwag stole the thunder with a blazing 319.

Dravid reached the landmark in his 120th Test and 206th innings, and although both Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar required lesser number of innings, Dravid has achieved the same in the shortest time span, a few months under 12 years, almost two years lesser than Lara. With an average of 55.41, Dravid has the best average among those with over 10,000 runs.

His career average is only bettered by two Indian batsmen, neither of whom has played more than three Tests. With a cut-off of at least 500 Test runs, Dravid's average is the highest among Indians.

www.crickinfo.com

Crickinfo:Steyn and McKenzie cap South Africa's day

crickinfo
There was a 25th century and 10,000 Test runs for Rahul Dravid and a large crowd to celebrate, but little else went India's way at Chepauk as a rejuvenated South African side dominated the fourth day's play. Makhaya Ntini, given a pasting by Virender Sehwag on Friday, led the revival with a vastly improved spell and Dale Steyn's pace then proved far too much for the tail to handle as the Indian lead was restricted to just 87. Faced with a potentially tricky session of batting, South Africa responded with aplomb, finishing the day 44 ahead with nine wickets in hand.

Neil McKenzie fashioned another stylish half-century and Hashim Amla carried on from where he left off in the first innings, and the partnership was already worth 78 by the time stumps were drawn. It was Graeme Smith, though, who set the tone for the riposte, with a nonchalant clip off the pads off Sreesanth, and three fours in a wretched opening over from RP Singh.

The Indian pace bowlers had learnt nothing from the discipline shown by their South African counterparts in the morning and wasted the new-ball possibilities with their lack of line and length. RP was all over the place, and the few variations tried didn't work either, with McKenzie easily cover-driving a telegraphed slower ball from Sreesanth.

After eight overs of uninspired pace, Anil Kumble had had enough. Harbhajan Singh came on at one end and Sourav Ganguly at the other. It was an inspired gamble as Harbhajan struck with his ninth delivery. Bowled from round the wicket, it didn't turn much and evaded Smith's forward prod before thudding into his pad. Smith's 35 had taken just 30 balls and gave the innings the momentum it needed.

That was as good as it got for India. Kumble took Ganguly off after two tidy overs, but even spin at both ends had little effect against two men who had batted with such authority in the first innings. McKenzie twice lofted Harbhajan over mid-on for fours, and also swept with impunity, while Amla cut and drove as well as he had on days one and two. In just 18.1 overs, the deficit was wiped out, with India's lack of attacking options on a sluggish pitch painfully exposed.

Kumble switched to round the wicket, and troubled both men with the odd delivery that really took off but by stumps South Africa were once again in a position to dictate terms.

Earlier, two wickets, ten balls apart, had deflated the sizeable crowd that had braved the heat and humidity to sit in the stands. For 26 minutes, the dream had stayed alive, but then a thick outside edge ensured that Brian Lara's record score of 400 would remain intact for a while yet. Sehwag's epic finished at 319, the highest score ever by an Indian, beating the 309 he made in Multan four years ago to the day.

South Africa had taken the new ball first thing in the morning, and runs proved a lot harder to come by. Sehwag finally pulled Ntini to the midwicket boundary to surpass Chris Gayle (317) on the all-time list, but a big swish at the next ball went to McKenzie's right at first slip. His innings had spanned 304 balls and after an initial deathly silence, the crowd roared its appreciation.

The applause for Sehwag spilled over into a welcome for Sachin Tendulkar, but he lasted just five balls at a venue where he has four Test centuries, two of them against Australia. Again, Ntini was the man, angling one in to take the edge through to Jacques Kallis at second slip.

Dravid scored just three from the first 30 balls he faced in the morning but a terrific off-drive off Steyn appeared to boost his confidence. Ganguly then eased Morne Morkel through the covers to bring up the 500, and after an hour of play Smith once again turned to Paul Harris. There was no immediate impact, with Dravid cutting for four and Ganguly playing another dreamy drive through cover. A single to midwicket off Morkel then took Dravid into five figures in Tests, and he celebrated with an off-drive off Harris.

Ganguly, fortunate earlier when an inside-edge off Morkel just missed the stumps, fell for 24 with the interval in sight, as Mark Boucher took a stunning catch off the bottom edge. Dravid finished the session on 99, and the third ball after the resumption was clipped down to the long-on boundary to go past two of the biggest names on the centurions list - Greg Chappell and Vivian Richards - but he fell soon after, edging Ntini to Smith. His 111 had taken him 291 balls, but he had been the perfect foil for the rampant Sehwag.

VVS Laxman resumed after lunch with two pleasing cover-drives off Harris, but after an initial audacious reverse-sweep, Mahendra Singh Dhoni failed to settle. Both Ntini and Steyn tested him with the short ball, and it was to be his undoing. Steyn came up with one that Dhoni just about evaded while ducking, but the next squared him up comprehensively and took the glove through to Boucher.

Kumble, Harbhajan and RP were all bowled by brilliant deliveries that reverse-swung, with Steyn upping his pace as high as 148 kph. Sreesanth was then struck a painful blow just above the wrist, and South Africa's torment ended soon after when Harris, who bowled 53.1 overs, caught Laxman off his own bowling. By then, the tenor of the game had changed utterly, with the high notes of Friday's Sehwag sessions a fading memory.

www.crickinfo.com

Kingfisher Airlines : Official Umpire Partner of Indian Premier League

he DLF Indian Premier League on Thursday announced that Kingfisher Airlines, the country's only 5 star airline, has bagged the rights to being the Official Umpire Partner for the league and will also sponsor all third umpire decisions during the 59 action packed games in the Twenty20 tournament beginning next month.

The umpire partnership deal is worth Rs 106 crores for a five-year period. As per the agreement, Kingfisher Airlines will receive branding on the umpires' uniform including their shirts and hats during the IPL, along with several other activation opportunities around the property.

"The DLF Indian Premier League is a highly innovative concept and the Twenty20 format will undoubtedly take cricket's popularity to a new high. Kingfisher Airlines will present the DLF IPL umpires in a completely new and modern style while retaining their critical role in the sport," said Dr Vijay Mallya [Images], Chairman and CEO, Kingfisher Airlines.

Earlier, leading sports broadcaster Sony Max and World Sport Group had bagged IPL's global media and production rights for US $ 1.026 billion.

The exclusive Franchise rights for the eight city league were won by Shah Rukh Khan's [Images] Kolkata Knight Riders, Preity Zinta's [Images] Mohali, the Mumbai Indians, GMR's Delhi Daredevils, UB Group's The Royal Challengers of Bangalore, Indian Cements owned Chennai Super Kings, Deccan Chronicle's Hyderabad Chargers and Emerging Media's Jaipur Royals.

The Twenty20 tournament will kick off on April 18 in Bangalore with a high voltage opening encounter between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.

Pepsi becomes official sponsor of IPL

New Delhi (PTI): Beverages major Pepsi has signed a 12.5 million-dollar agreement to sponsor the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the next five years.

"Pepsi has been signed as the official drink sponsor of the upcoming IPL and the deal has been closed," Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Vice President Rajiv Shukla confirmed to PTI.

Pepsi has been the one of the main sponsors of India's domestic cricket tournaments for many years and has also been associated with the International Cricket Council (ICC) as the global sponsor.

Although Pepsi did not confirm the amount, sources said the deal is expected to be around 12.5 million dollar and as per the arrangement, Pepsi will pay 2.5 million dollar every year benefiting the eight franchise owners of Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai, Mohali, Jaipur and Hyderabad teams.

When contacted PepsiCo India Vice-President, Marketing (Cola), Sandeep Singh Arora said, "We are in negotiations with IPL towards the beverage sponsorship deal."

Recently, automobile maker Hero Honda has also extended its co-sponsorship of the Indian Premier League Twenty20 for five years, with real estate giant DLF being the main sponsor of the IPL.

The Twenty20 tournament, comprising 59 matches, will be played over 45 days starting April 18. Matches will be telecast live on SET Max.

Label: crickinfo www.crickinfo.com

Deccan Chargers promise good IPL entertainment

V.V.S. Laxman, the captain of Deccan Chargers, the Hyderabad team in the Indian Premier League, feels excited to lead the side which has international stars like Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Herschelle Gibbs and Shahid Afridi.

Confident of a good show in the tournament, he promised good entertainment for the fans by his team, a franchise of English daily Deccan Chronicle.

The name, logo, flag and website of the team were launched at a glittering function here Tuesday night amidst drum beats and colourful dances by Bollywood actress Sameera Reddy and a troupe of Casino girls.

"It is a huge honour to lead the side. I am very excited. We have a balanced side," the stylish batsman told the gathering at Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC).

Though not a regular face in the national side for one-day internationals, Laxman hopes that the Twenty20 format would prove a real entertainer. "It is the most exciting thing to happen since Kerry Packer Series in early 1970s," he said echoing the views expressed by his deputy Gilchrist in a recorded message.

Later, talking to media persons, Laxman said he was yet to decide the batting line-up. He was asked about the position he would be batting at as the team has many hard-hitters like Gilchrist, Symonds, Gibbs and Afridi.

The captain is also confident that he would face no problems in handling players like Symonds, who was involved in many a spat with Indian players during the recent series in Australia.

"As Gilchrist rightly said, there will only be a boundary line and no boundaries between players. The players from different countries will gel with each other," he said.

"I am happy to have these two amazing cricketers and the match-winning players," he said referring to the two Australians.

Robin Singh, the coach of Deccan Chargers, also does not see any problem in handling the players. "They are thorough professionals. There should be no problems," he said.

Though none of the foreign players turned up for the event, some Indian players including Rohit Sharma were introduced to the gathering.

The team also has players like Chaminda Vaas, Chamara Silva and Nuwan Zoysa of Sri Lanka, Scott Styris of New Zealand and India's national player R.P. Singh besides some local youngsters.

Earlier, the team's logo, a charging bull, was unveiled. "Bull signifies strength, power and aggression," said J. Krishnan, president and CEO of Deccan Chargers.

Minister for Labour and Employment and president of Hyderabad Cricket Association G. Vinod handed over the team's flag to Laxman.

"The red colour in the flag stands for boldness, aggression and dominance while the gold is a divine colour and signifies fortune and victory," said Krishnan.

"Deccan Chronicle is committed to growth of sports, especially cricket. So when the opportunity to bid for this unique tournament came we went after it. We had a well thought out strategy in terms of who will be in the team," he said.

The largest-circulated English daily in Andhra Pradesh wants to take cricket to the grassroots level in the catchments area of Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa.

"We will take the game to college and school level and set up international level academies to help talented youngsters to come up," Krishnan said.

IPL News

Deccan Chargers

Prasad, Robin retained for the Test series against South Africa

Contrary to speculation, the Board of Control for Cricket in India on Wednesday decided to retain fielding coach Robin Singh and bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad for the Test series against South Africa, commencing on March 26 in Chennai.
With Gary Kirsten taking over as full-time coach, assistant coach Lalchand Rajput, however, got no such favour and had to go.
BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah said both Prasad and Robin, who toured Australia with the Indian team, have been retained for the time being and a decision regarding their future with the side will be taken after the end of the series.

"As of now we have retained both Robin Singh and (Venkatesh) Prasad till the series ends. Decision regarding extending their tenure with the team would be taken later," said Shah.
He, however, added that Rajput will not have any role to play in the Tests against the South Africa.
"Since Kirsten is now the new coach of the Indian team, I don't think he is needed," added Shah.
Prasad was recently named coach of the Bangalore team for the Indian Premier League (IPL) while Robin took over the coaching reins of the Hyderabad side, triggering speculation about their association with the Indian team.
Though both stay for the series against South Africa, Shah dismissed a dual role for the duo in future.
"I don't think that they can perform a dual role. If they are employed by an organisation, unless they get a go-ahead (from the franchise), they just cannot do that," he said.
He also announced that Paddy Upton will join the squad as physical and mental conditioning coach, while Paul Close will come on board as the new physiotherapist for the series.
A new full-time physiotherapist will be appointed by the end of next month.
The team's support staff:
Physical and mental conditioning coach & Strategic Leadership Coach: Paddy Upton.
Physiotherapist: Paul Close
Bowling coach: Venkatesh Prasad
Fielding coach: Robin Singh
Travel assistant: Russell Radhakrishnan
Masseur: Ramesh Mane.

Tags: Test Series against South Africa

ICC formalises guidelines for IPL

March 18, 2008
The ICC executive board has formalised its stand on the Indian Premier League (IPL), saying international cricket was its top priority and laying out guidelines to ensure it stayed that way. It also emerged from the meeting, in Dubai, that the ICC's Future Tours Programme will not be altered to suit the IPL as neither the league nor the Indian board, which runs it, made such a request.
Amid increasing uncertainty over the sanctity of the traditional format of the game, the ICC said 'nation-versus-nation' cricket will remain at the top of the pyramid and bilateral commitments between the boards will take precedence over IPL fixtures.
To underscore that the BCCI will, on behalf of the IPL, sign a standard-form contract with all ICC Members giving countries absolute discretion to lodge an objection to a player - anytime up to two years' of the player's retirement - from its country playing in the IPL. "This will be respected by the IPL, with the player in question not selected by his franchise," David Morgan, the ICC's president-elect, said.
The IPL, which begins on April 18, is a domestic Twenty20 competition in the sense that all teams - called franchises - are based in Indian cities and all matches will be played in India. However, much of its appeal lies in the fact that these franchises have signed up the world's leading players on contracts worth up to US$1.5 million a year.
This has sparked fears that players would prefer to play for the more lucrative IPL over their countries. New Zealand and West Indies are the major nations at particular risk of losing star names because they cannot come close to competing financially with the IPL.
It was also agreed that the IPL will introduce its own code of conduct regulations, draft an anti-corruption code and have an anti-doping policy in compliance with ICC regulations.

Tags : IPL Cricket News

Tendulkar and Praveen inspire India to series triumph

Australia v India, CB Series, 2nd final, Brisbane

In the final installment of its 29-year existence, a series that has become a part of Australia's summer culture came to a climactic end with a fitting humdinger at the Gabba.

Twenty three years after India's last significant limited-overs title in Australia, Sachin Tendulkar helped script another memorable chapter with an innings of skill and determination. There was to be no repeat of his twin centuries against Australia in 1998, but his 91 set up a total which, backed by Praveen Kumar's subtle-swinging accuracy, proved nine runs too much for Australia.

In a game that ebbed and flowed wonderfully, James Hopes took Australia agonisingly close to victory with his maiden fifty after Praveen returned from an 11-run 45th over to snap a threatening eight-wicket stand. Back when Australia dominated this tournament regularly Steve Waugh earned the moniker 'Ice Man' and under starry skies Hopes and Praveen gave it a modern context.

Hopes battled on with comfortable sweeps against the spinners and some deft placement down the ground. There was not a trace of emotion on face as he raised his fifty. Similarly, having given up 11 runs in his penultimate over, Praveen displayed awesome composure to bowl a three-run 47th, cleaning up Brett Lee.

That left Australia needing 29 from 18 balls. Sreesanth picked up a second wicket but Hopes refused to bow down, flat-batting a six over wide long-on to ratchet up the tension. With 13 required off the final over, Pathan came back on. A single to third man exposed Nathan Bracken, who chipped a slower ball to midwicket. Hopes crossed and drove a manic couple to long-off but could only drive the fourth ball into midwicket's diving lap. Sinking to the ground as India whooped and cried around him, Hopes cut an endearing figure, a hero on a losing side, but the entire Brisbane crowd stood to applaud a pulse-setting, nerve-wracking game - and the deserving winners.

The contest was set up by yet another masterclass from Tendulkar. In nearly three hours of nimble-footed driving, mainly to the off side, interspersed with soft on-side strokes, Tendulkar treated an appreciative crowd to a fine innings. India were steady during the Powerplays, scoring 36, 30 and 26 in three blocks, but made their best opening of the tournament. The ball didn't speed away to the ropes when the openers leaned into their drives and so they smartly adjusted gears, keeping the outfielders busy through a mixture of full-faced dabs to third man and flicks to deep square leg.

Tendulkar had a life on 7 when Ricky Ponting dropped a hard reflex catch at short cover, and he made it count. An utterly mistimed pull attempt off Nathan Bracken was the first sign of frustration but he quickly regained composure and decided to target Stuart Clark. His fifty came up from his 70th delivery and India had successfully chipped out a good start.

Some needless shots, however, allowed Australia back in. India would have preferred even 280 after this but having seized the initiative they allowed it to slip in a flurry of impetuous shots. Hopes allowed just one run in the 45th over, Bracken was accurate with his crafty mix of yorkers and slower deliveries, taking two wickets in the 48th over, and Lee kept it full as well.

At the SCG Tendulkar backed the bowlers' efforts with a sublime century and today they returned the favour. Especially Praveen, who for the second time in two high-pressure matches justified his new-ball promotion with the wickets of Australia's three most dangerous batsmen. Adam Gilchrist's final innings came to end with an edge and a walk but it was Ponting's horrendous attempt at a pull shot that really set off the alarm bells.

Michael Clarke's ability to judge length has been his strength in the tournament but he lost his off stump, playing a crude swipe across the line, to one that stayed low. Hayden made the most of mess-up between Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Tendulkar, at first slip, when he was on 5, to keep the asking rate in control. Irfan Pathan was again the target of Hayden's ire and went for 37 from his first five overs. Hayden put on 89 with Andrew Symonds, whose eventful season continued with him shoulder charging, and Australia looked to be in the game.

At this stage Australia required another 138 and Michael Hussey showed there was fire in Australia's belly. Paddling and sweeping his way energetically in a 76-run stand with Hopes, he threatened to take the series to Adelaide. Hunting a target at over eight an over finally got to him, and he under-edged Sreesanth for a cool 44 in the 42nd over.

The rest turned into a tension-filled rollercoaster ride, during which India held their nerve to triumph. After a long and controversial tour Down Under, India now head home with their heads held high. For Australia, the last time they surrendered back-to-back series was 1983-84 and 1984-85, against West Indies, and 23 years later this loss would come as a chastening blow.

Magnificent Tendulkar seals victory

In 38 previous ODI innings in Australia , Sachin Tendulkar had never scored a hundred; in 11 previous one-day internationals against Australia in Sydney , India had never won. Both those jinxes were wiped out in a memorable evening at the SCG, as Tendulkar scripted a magnificent unbeaten 117 and shared a 123-run fourth-wicket stand with Rohit Sharma to take India to an emphatic six-wicket win and a 1-0 lead in the CB Series finals.

The match was a story of sizeable contributions by two openers - Matthew Hayden scored a brisk 82 - and two century partnerships for the fourth wicket - Andrew Symonds shared a 100-run stand with Hayden. Those efforts lifted Australia to a challenging 8 for 239, which, given the Australian bowling strength, might have been enough on another day. Today, though, they ran into an in-form Tendulkar.

From the outset, Tendulkar's approach suggested he was in the mood. In the first ten overs he only found the boundary once, through a savage lofted square-cut off Nathan Bracken, but the evidence that he was in top form came in other ways: the footwork was precise and decisive right from the start, and the judgment of length was impeccable. With Robin Uthappa, he gave India the perfect start, as both ran hard between the wickets, placed the ball into gaps, and put together 50 an excellent rate with scarcely a risk - there were just three fours in the stand.

The innings wobbled briefly thereafter, though, as Michael Hussey pulled off a magnificent catch at deep midwicket - it will surely rank among the catches of the season - to get rid of Uthappa. Two more wickets fell quickly, as Gautam Gambhir failed to respond to an obvious call for a second run, and Yuvraj Singh continued to flounder abysmally against Brad Hogg's spin.

At 3 for 87, the match was perfectly in the balance, before Tendulkar found the perfect ally in Rohit, and their stand turned out to be the match-defining one. With Rohit secure in defence and attack, it allowed Tendulkar to play normally too, and what followed was a treat. After the early threat of Brett Lee had been negated, Tendulkar turned his attention to the others: Hogg was driven over extra-cover for two glorious fours while Mitchell Johnson was perfectly tipped over slip. All along, he pierced the infield, took the singles, and ensured the asking rate never got beyond control. A cramp towards the end of the innings restricted certain strokes, while a beamer from Lee - who apologised immediately - crashed into his shoulder when he was on 98, but today he was not to be denied. The century finally came with the dab to gully, and the celebrations indicated how special it was.

At the other end, Rohit showed why he is held in such high regard by the experts. He began with two glorious straight-drives off Bracken, and then continued in such serene fashion that Australia scarcely had a sniff. He finally fell immediately after Tendulkar's hundred, but by then the result was only a formality.

The target eventually turned out to be inadequate, but at the halfway stage it seemed Australia had enough to offer a stern test to the Indians. Their innings was largely built around one partnership, which came after they had slumped 3 for 24. India's move to change things around paid off quite spectacularly as Praveen Kumar, who got the new ball ahead of Irfan Pathan, induced two poor pull shots from Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting. When Michael Clarke got a rough caught-behind decision off an indipper from Ishant Sharma which clipped pad, Australia were three down inside six overs and India were off to a dream start.

Obviously, it mattered not a jot to Hayden, who had got his innings going by bludgeoning Praveen over his head in the first over to get to 6000 ODI runs. Four balls after Clarke fell, Hayden announced his intent even more emphatically, taking two strides down the pitch and swatting Praveen over midwicket. From there, it was a run deluge for the next hour, as Hayden imposed his commanding presence on the game. Pathan, who had an entirely forgettable day, leaked three fours in an over on two separate occasions to Hayden as he pummelled boundaries through the off side to bring up his half-century off a mere 43 balls.

Hayden's blistering onslaught allowed the out-of-form Symonds to settle in, and Australia seemed to running away with it, before the spinners pulled it back for India. Chawla, who was drafted into the side instead of Sreesanth, got the ball as soon as the Powerplays were out of the way, and immediately dropped into an impeccable line, giving the batsmen few scoring opportunities. Harbhajan had gone for 17 in his first two overs, but with more protection in the outfield, the flight was more pronounced and caused fatal mishits from both Symonds and Hayden.

The two blows, within five overs of each other, caused a sharp decline in the scoring rate, as Hussey and James Hopes were forced to do the rebuilding act. The absence of Ishant, who inured a finger bowling and didn't complete his ten overs, was a bit of a blow but Yuvraj slipped in with four tidy overs. Hussey batted sensibly, ensuring that Australia played the entire 50 overs and pushed towards what seemed like a challenging total, but that was before Sachin Tendulkar got into the act.

South Africa dump Pakistan, meet India in final

South Africa crushed defending champions Pakistan by 98 runs in a rain-hit semi-final on Saturday to set up a clash with India in the under-19 World Cup final.

Pakistan, set a revised target of 252 in 47 overs in a match spread over two days due to bad weather, were shot out for 153, dashing their hopes of a third successive title in cricket's premier junior event.

Off-spinner Mohammad Vallie lifted South Africa home with 4-25 as opener Ahmad Shehzad played a lone hand for Pakistan with a fluent 60 containing six boundaries and a six.

Proteas captain Wayne Parnell and Roy Adams chipped in with two wickets each as Pakistan lost their last eight wickets for 67 runs.

The day-night final will be played at the Kinrara Oval on Sunday with a reserve day set aside in case of bad weather.

The semi-final was carried over to a second day after rain on Friday brought play to an early end with Pakistan on 86-2 from 18.5 overs in reply to South Africa's challenging 260-8.

Pakistan were unlucky to bow out after needing only five runs in seven balls if the stipulated 20 overs had been bowled on Friday.

When play finally began two hours and 20 minutes late on Saturday -- due to a wet outfield caused by heavy overnight rain -- Pakistan made the worst possible start.

Umar Amin, who was on 22 overnight after sharing a 69-run stand for the third wicket with Shehzad, fell first ball to a brilliant piece of stumping by wicketkeeper Bradley Barnes.

Barnes collected a delivery from Pieter Malan bowled wide down the leg-side and whipped off the bails with left-handed Amin short of his crease.

"Bradley's stumping had a huge role to play," said a beaming South African coach Ray Jennings. "We planned that dismissal."

Pakistani coach Mansoor Rana said the early setback cost his team dearly.

"The idea was to bat around Amin who would be the anchor at one end while the others went for the runs," said Rana.

"I told the boys to forget what happened on Friday and see it as a 29-over game in which we needed 166 more. But losing Amin off the first ball changed the whole game."

Jennings said he looked forward to the final against India, who beat his team by six wickets in the preliminary league.

"We are the underdogs because there are huge expectations on India, but I like it that way," he said.

"We have had a tough semi-final and the boys will be playing for a third day in a row, but they are in good spirits for the final."

Pakistan were dealt a blow when star batsman Ali Asad was given out LBW to Adams by Sri Lankan umpire Tyron Wijewardene even though the ball appeared to pitch outside leg stump.

South Africa removed danger man Shehzad and Umair Mir in the space of three balls to leave Pakistan in tatters at 124-6 in the 30th over.

Shehzad miscued a lofted on-drive off Adams to point and Mir was bowled by Vallie for no score.

Vallie then took three of the last four wickets to seal Pakistan's fate.

Murali bids farewell to Australia

It was the scene of the lowest point of his career, but Sri Lankan star Muttiah Muralitharan said his one regret about playing cricket in Australia was that he did not perform better at Test level.

Muralitharan, and fellow veteran Sanath Jasuriya, bid farewell to Australia as international cricketers in Friday's tri-series clash with the home side at the MCG.

The Australian team formed a guard of honour for each player as they came out to bat and although the match carried little weight, with Sri Lanka missing the finals, Muralitharan and Jayasuriya went out on a winning note, the tourists recording a remarkable 13-run victory.

Both veterans played key roles in the result, Muralitharan bowling superbly and picking up two crucial wickets, while Jayasuriya secured the win when he bowled Brett Lee with his first ball when brought on in the 49th over.

Muralitharan, 35, said he bore no grudges against Australian cricket, despite being called for throwing in Melbourne in the 1995 Boxing Day Test and also later in Adelaide.

However, he said he would always regret not performing with more distinction in Australia in Test cricket.

"Sometime there were ups and downs in Australia, but still I enjoyed my cricket here," he said here after Friday's game.

"The Boxing Day was most memorable time for me, it was hard.

"I got over it, but still I want to play after that in Australia.

"So I tried to perform, but the only country I couldn't really perform in Tests was Australia.

"I played only five Tests and my average was not good enough, but in one-dayers I did really well in the Australia.

"But that disappointment will be there forever."

Muralitharan has taken 723 Test wickets, but managed just 12 wickets in five Tests in Australia at 72.41.

He was appreciative of the Australians recognising him and Jayasuriya.

"It's going to be the last tour for me, I won't be able to come any more to Australia, so it was a good honour," he said.

"We have been involved in the game for the last 17 years, Sanath for almost 20 years."

The 38-year-old Jayasuriya, who struggled to have his usual impact with the bat in the tri-series, said he would have fond memories of Australia.

"This is my last tour to Australia and I've enjoyed my cricket in Australia," he said.

"I'm disappointed only that we couldn't make the finals."

Despite a generally poor series, Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene was pleased his side finished the tour with a win.

"It has been a disappointing tournament, but the way we finished today showed a lot of character and we can take a lot of positives out of this game," he said.

"We had a lot of opportunities but we didn't take those opportunities and we can learn from that."

All set for a compelling final

After going at each other for the past two months, Australia and India clash in the first of three finals at the SCG on Sunday, and if recent encounters are any clue, expect some gripping c

ricket. Both have been involved in plenty of controversial moments on and off the field, adding to the entire drama which has made this last edition of the CB Series an enthralling affair.

A look back at the league phase, which ended on Friday in Melbourne with Australia losing narrowly to Sri Lanka, indicates that though India had a much tougher time getting to the finals, both teams have had similar strengths and problems: both the batting line-ups are yet to find fluency even after eight games, but their bowlers have been getting better with every match.

In the four previous clashes against India in this tournament, Australia managed to win twice, in Adelaide and in Sydney, lost in Melbourne, while their first clash had ended in a washout. Luckily for India they have had a valuable four-day rest after their previous game in Hobart, where they scored an emphatic victory against the Sri Lankans.

After Australia's defeat on Friday, Ponting admitted that the result has robbed them of some momentum going into the final, and Mahendra Singh Dhoni wants to ensure that India capitalise on that. "Australia look to dominate always so it's important to put them under pressure and they have been under pressure," Dhoni said at the SCG. "So I just hope we maintain that pressure."

Aware of the flat nature of the SCG wicket, both captains will not dither in batting first. Australia had piled 317, the highest total in the tournament so far, and India, after a top-order collapse, scampered to within 17 runs of the target. Australia have maintained an almost unchanged team throughout, and their only likely change to Friday's team is the inclusion of Matthew Hayden - who was rested on Friday - for Brad Haddin, with James Hopes slipping down to No. 7.

For India, though, a few problems persist regarding team composition. Dhoni said there is still "confusion" about his final XI and the main "concern" remains the opening partner for Sachin Tendulkar. Tendulkar has opened with three different partners in the eight games - five times with Virender Sehwag, twice with Gautam Gambhir and once with Robin Uthappa. India's best start came in their second game, against Sri Lanka, when Tendulkar and Sehwag cracked a 68-run stand. The next best was 45 between the same pair in Canberra against the same opponents, but in the last four games India have had dismal starts of 18, 3, 2 and 20.

	Ishant Sharma: India's success story of the summer © Getty Images

Apart from the 107-run opening partnership on Friday between Adam Gilchrist and James Hopes, Australia have faced the same problem at the top of the order: in the seven games when Gilchrist opened with Hayden, the pair only managed a highest of 65, with a second-highest of 33. A nagging concern has also been the form of two of their top batsmen, Ricky Ponting and Andrew Symonds, both of whom have flourished in just one game so far.

Despite the wobbly nature of their middle order Australia have managed to steal victories and much of the credit goes to Michael Clarke and Michael Hussey, who have withstood the opposition bowling onslaught time and again to consolidate and push the side out of danger.

Calling it right at the toss has also helped the Australians, who have preferred to bat first and then call upon their magnificent bowlers to strangle the opposition. On the two occasions when they have chased a target, it's been hard work: in the series opener, against India at the Gabba, Australia were 3 for 51 in the eighth over when rain ended the game; on Friday they were 1 for 107 in the 15th over chasing 221, and yet managed to lose the game by 13 runs.

The success story for both teams has been their bowling attack. Ishant Sharma, Irfan Pathan and Harbhajan Singh have proved to be constant thorns for the opposition, while Brett Lee has been an outstanding spearhead for Australia. He has bowled throughout the summer with a hostility that no batsman has been able to consistently stand up to. Lee's closing spell at the MCG when India were chasing a small total was one of the best of the summer, while Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Bracken and James Hopes have offered excellent support.

Just like in the Test series, the off-field banter has fueled the tension on the field. If it was the Harbhajan- Symonds clash that ignited the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Matthew Hayden's comments on Harbhajan and Ishant have ensured there will be no love lost between the two sides on the last leg of the season. Sydney is hosting its annual Mardi Gras celebration on Saturday, and the CB Series final couldn't have come at much better time. On the field, though, it's likely to be much more than fun and games.

Australia (likely) 1 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 2 Matthew Hayden, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Clarke, 5 Andrew Symonds, 6 Michael Hussey, 7 James Hopes, 8 Brad Hogg, 9 Brett Lee, 10, Mitchell Johnson, 11 Nathan Bracken.

India (likely) 1 Sachin Tendulkar, 2 Robin Uthappa, 3 Gautam Gambhir, 4 Rohit Sharma, 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt, wk), 7 Virender Sehwag/Praveen Kumar, 8 Irfan Pathan, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Sreesanth, 11 Ishant Sharma.