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Live scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAmbati Rayudu played some big shots in his half-century•AFP

If Sachin Tendulkar doesn’t get you, Ambati Rayudu will. If Lasith Malinga doesn’t get you, Harbhajan Singh will. Unfortunately for Kings XI Punjab, all four men were on top of their game today, and the rest of the Mumbai Indians XI was ruthlessly efficient. Tendulkar played within himself, Rayudu launched the occasional sortie and the middle order kept up the momentum to lift Mumbai to 159. It was a gettable target on this pitch, but not against this attack.Harbhajan and Malinga cracked open the game in their opening spells. Harbhajan nailed Adam Gilchrist on the sweep in the opening over, before Malinga put Paul Valthaty in his place with an over of pace-bowling brilliance. He began with a full ball that was through Valthaty in a blink. The second was a swerving full toss at 144.5 kph that Valthaty barely managed to get bat to. The third was faster, and Valthaty nervously glanced to fine-leg, but he was back on strike for the last two. Malinga let him have two short balls; Valthaty did not pick the first one, and missed a feeble attempt at a pull off the second. Valthaty, clearly outclassed, was stunned into his shell and Punjab never recovered.Tendulkar smelled blood, and went for all-out attack. Malinga bowled with two slips, while Harbhajan trotted in with a slip and a silly point. Valthaty continued to struggle, but Shaun Marsh managed to sneak a couple of boundaries off Malinga. Abu Nechim kept the pressure on Valthaty, who was so late on a pull in the fifth over that he ended up playing it uppishly to cover. Cover is not where a pull shot should go, neither is it the place for Munaf Patel to field: he grassed the catch, tumbling forward. Unfortunately for Punjab, that was the only fielding error from Mumbai.After dawdling to 8 off his first 24 balls, Valthaty eventually found respite against the back-up bowlers. He carted T Suman and Andrew Symonds for sixes, but holed out soon after. Marsh was in his groove by then, charming a Munaf half-volley for four and clattering a half-tracker from Nechim to midwicket, but he needed someone to hold up the other end.Mumbai ensured that did not happen: David Hussey was held spectacularly at long-on by Rohit Sharma, who hurtled forward and dived full-length. Dinesh Karthik was trapped in front by Kieron Pollard, and Abhishek Nayar allowed the entry ‘c Symonds b Harbhajan’ to enter the scorecard. Malinga tied up the loose ends in his second spell.Earlier, Mumbai were efficient rather than excellent with the bat, as Punjab’s spinners held them back in an attritional first half. Punjab were clearly looking to capitalise on Tendulkar’s weakness against left-arm spin, when they opened the attack with Bhargav Bhatt. Bipul Sharma took over for the third over, and struck with his unusual trajectory from well wide of the crease. Davy Jacobs was lazy leaning out to one of those deliveries, and turned his wrists too early as the ball slipped through to hit the stumps. The early dismissal forced Mumbai to rebuild cautiously, and the left-arm gambit had paid off though Tendulkar hadn’t fallen for it.Rayudu attempted to break free with a couple of against-the-spin heaves, while Tendulkar skipped inside the line to sweep Bhatt over deep square leg, but Mumbai showed their first real sign of intent only in the 12th over of the innings. As always, Praveen Kumar was cannon fodder once the shine disappeared from the ball, and Rayudu clubbed him for two fours and a six off consecutive balls. Punjab did not help their own cause, dropping Rayudu twice in two balls. The second a comical error in judgement from Ryan Harris at long-off, that allowed Rayudu reach his half-century.Rayudu and Tendulkar fell soon after getting to their half-centuries, but Pollard ensured there was no let-up, smashing two sixes and in the process increasing his tournament tally by a factor of five. His closing surge, aided by Rohit, took Mumbai to a score that Punjab would have fancied chasing, but Malinga and Co. had other plans.

The West Indies Cricket Board will give as many young players as possible exposure to international limited-overs cricket over the next two years in order to create a deeper pool from which to choose a team for the 2014 World Twenty20 and the 2015 World Cup, its chief executive Ernest Hilaire has said. He spoke to ESPNcricinfo a day after West Indies left out Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan, their three senior-most players, from the squad for the first two ODIs of the five-match series against Pakistan that begins on April 21.Hilaire, though, insisted no one has been dropped permanently.”We recognise we need to support our senior players,” Hilaire told ESPNcricinfo. “We are also very clear that we need to have greater depth in the senior team. We cannot rely on one or two players. It is not a formula for success. I am convinced, and the board is convinced, that we need to start building a team that will win in 2015.”There is no indication that any player has been axed. The selectors will explain to every player how they fit into the plan. There is no inherent right for players to play every match.”West Indies had a disappointing World Cup campaign, exiting the tournament following a big defeat against Pakistan in the quarter-finals and Gayle, Chanderpaul and Sarwan were subsequently left out of the start of the Pakistan series.Hilaire added that Gayle was yet to undergo a fitness test after picking up an injury during the World Cup, though this was not mentioned when the team was first announced.The policy of blooding as many new players as possible will be limited to the ODI and Twenty20 teams, with the Test team bearing a more settled look, because there are definite dates for ICC tournaments. “The Test schedule is different. It is home tours and away tours so it is a different strategy for limited-overs and Tests,” Hilaire said.The policy was put in place in October 2010 and was in evidence during the 2011 World Cup, in which Darren Bravo, Andre Russell, Devendra Bishoo, Kemar Roach and Devon Thomas, all younger than 26, got the opportunity to display their skills under pressure, with promising results. Hilaire said he expects more like them will see action at the highest level so that in two years time West Indies will have a core group of battle-hardened players that will give them a chance of winning major trophies again.”We cannot keep seeking quick-fix solutions to West Indies cricket”, Hilaire said. “We need a structured approach. We are making a heavy investment in cricket development. Lots of investment in youth programs. You need long-term plans. You do not become world beaters overnight. You need to build a winning environment.”Hilaire conceded that there would be setbacks along the way and expected criticism of the board’s approach given the diversity in the region and the passion for cricket, but was adamant the board must do what it thinks is right.”There is a bigger picture and that is the success of West Indies cricket.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
A century stand between Ashish Bagai and Jimmy Hansra was the highlight for Canada but they suffered another heavy defeat•Getty Images

New Zealand walked to an easy 97-run win over Canada in Mumbai and sealed their place in the quarter-finals. They romped unchallenged to 358 for 6 and then held Canada to 261 for 9 in reply. Brendon McCullum’s century, and a brutal late assault from Ross Taylor and the lower middle order, put the score well out of Canada’s reach. Ashish Bagai’s 84 and an unbeaten 70 from Jimmy Hansra ensured Canada at least reached their highest total of the tournament, but there was never even a hint that they would mount a challenge against New Zealand’s effort.Canada won the toss and Bagai chose to bowl, hoping to take advantage of any early-morning moisture on a pitch that had a typically reddish tinge to it. But after a reasonably disciplined start the bowlers’ lines started to waver and Brendon McCullum, in particular, took a heavy toll. He repeatedly rifled cuts and drives through or over the off side, and had entered the 30s at better than a-run-a-ball when New Zealand’s fifty came up in the ninth over.Canada struck through some dogged medium pace from Harvir Baidwan and a stellar piece of wicketkeeping from Bagai, who has greatly enhanced his reputation behind the stumps in the course of this tournament. He held onto a thick edge, standing up, to get rid of Martin Guptill.McCullum passed fifty and soon tired of accumulation when the field was set back, reverse-sweeping John Davison for the first boundary in six overs and then jumping down the track to swat legspinner Balaji Rao high over long-off. Jesse Ryder, who had tempered his usual aggression to reach 38 from 55 balls, looked to follow suit against Davison soon after but sliced across a flighted offspinner to present Henry Osinde with an easy catch at long-on.Taylor flicked Osinde twice to the leg-side boundary to kick-start his innings and partnered Brendon McCullum to his third ODI hundred in the 36th over. With New Zealand’s two most devastating batsmen at the crease, the batting Powerplay was called for immediately afterwards, but Brendon McCullum was its first victim when he slapped Baidwan straight to Ruvindu Gunasekara at extra cover.Though Rao picked up two wickets in the remaining overs, including that of Taylor for a 44-ball 74 that included four mighty sixes in the space of a single over, Canada completely unravelled in the field as the score went stratospheric. A whopping 74 runs came from the batting Powerplay, and 122 from the last 10 overs, including 31 from the final over of the innings during which Rizwan Cheema was removed from the attack for his second beamer of the innings.The signs were ominous for Canada when Ruvindu Gunasekara slashed at the first ball of Kyle Mills’ second over and Taylor timed his leap to perfection at first slip to pluck the ball out of the air one handed. The boundary had still not been reached when, two overs later, Zubin Surkari hung his bat out limply at another Mills outswinger to offer Taylor his second catch.Canada were 4 for 2 and sinking fast, but Bagai and Hiral Patel wasted no time in launching a spirited fightback. Their effort was no doubt helped by a premature end to Mills’ spell when he pulled up lame one ball after he had dismissed Surkari, clutching at his left knee in some pain and leaving the field straightaway.

Smart Stats

• New Zealand’s total of 358 is their second highest in World Cups behind the 363 they made against Canada in 2007. They have six scores above 300 in World Cups.

• Brendon McCullum’s century is his first in World Cups and his third overall in ODIs. His previous highest in World Cups was 76 against Zimbabwe in Ahmedabad.

• New Zealand scored 74 runs in the batting Powerplay, the most by any team in this World Cup. Pakistan are second, with 70 runs against Kenya.

• Ross Taylor’s strike rate is the third highest for a New Zealand batsman for a fifty-plus score in World Cups.

• The 12 sixes hit in New Zealand’s innings is the second highest for them in an innings in World Cups. The overall record is 18, jointly held by India and South Africa.

• Rizwan Cheema’s economy rate of 13.24 is the fourth highest among all bowlers who have bowled at least four overs in an innings in a World Cup match.

• The 125-run stand between Ashish Bagai and Jimmy Hansra is the third highest for Canada for the third wicket in ODIs and the second highest in World Cups.

• Bagai’s 84 is his 16th fifty in ODIs and his highest score in a World Cup match. He has scored two hundreds and 16 fifties at an average of 38.44 in ODIs.

• Canada’s 261 is their highest total in World Cups, going past the 249 they made against New Zealand in 2007.

After a nerveless, shotless start to his innings Patel took Tim Southee on in stirring fashion, targeting the off side in a series of imperious thumps. He reached a fluent 31 but was then undone by a well-directed bouncer from Jacob Oram that cramped him for room, a thin edge nestling safely in Brendon McCullum’s gloves.Their partnership had stretched to 46 at a good rate before it was broken, and Bagai’s contribution had been steady, composed accumulation. He went into the 30s with a classy loft over cover off Nathan McCullum and continued in much the same gear in Hansra’s company.The pair added 125 for the fourth wicket, a partnership dominated by ones and twos but punctuated by a couple of strong shots whenever a bad ball was bowled. Though there was no chance it could result in a win, there was still the achievement that it was Canada’s second-highest against a Test-playing nation, beaten only by Geoff Barnett and Ian Billcliff’s 177-run stand against Bangladesh at the 2007 World Cup.Bagai went to fifty by spanking a full toss from Kane Williamson to the cover boundary, but the searing heat of the Mumbai afternoon after he’d also kept wicket for the first half of the game began to take its toll. As cramps set in Bagai began to hit out in search of a century, but perished when a flashing drive resulted only in a thin edge behind.It was cramp that did for Hansra too, and he retired on 53 – his second half-century in successive games – soon after the batting Powerplay was taken in the 41st over. The match had long ceased to be a contest by that stage, the situation typified by Davison’s amateurish run-out, but Canada’s lower order did at least throw the bat around and Hansra returned to the crease after rehydrating to ensure they batted out the full 50 overs.They can at least take some comfort in the way they have improved as a team in the course of this tournament. For their part, the win means New Zealand now top the Group A points table.

Match Timeline

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Man of the Match Tatenda Taibu top-scored with 98 and then completed two stumpings as Zimbabwe romped to a 175-run win•Getty Images

Zimbabwe’s spinners made sure a record third-wicket partnership between Tatenda Taibu and Craig Ervine didn’t go to waste, maintaining an asphyxiating grip on Canada’s batsmen to secure a 175-run win in Nagpur. Taibu and Ervine’s stand, which is Zimbabwe’s highest for the third wicket in ODIs and their fifth largest overall, helped their team recover from a decidedly shaky start to reach 298 for 8 on a good batting wicket. While the ascendancy had swung between the two teams in the first innings Zimbabwe’s slow bowlers assumed full control in the afternoon, sharing 37.1 overs and all ten wickets as Canada were bowled out in the 43rd over.Despite needing practically a-run-a-ball from the start Canada would still have begun their batting effort with the belief that an upset was not impossible. What was needed was a positive start by their opening pair, the unlikely couple of veteran batsman John Davison and the comparatively foetal Nitish Kumar who, at 40 and 16 respectively, are the oldest and youngest players at this tournament.Davison looked to attack Ray Price – who shared the new ball once again – almost immediately but ran straight past a flighted delivery that straightened just enough to clip the top of off stump. Things got worse for Canada four overs later when, in consecutive deliveries, Price stuck out his left hand and held onto a chipped drive to get rid of Kumar and Ashish Bagai swept straight to short backward square. Jimmy Hansra safely negotiated the hat-trick ball but the damage had been done with Canada staring into the precipice at 7 for 3.Hansra and 19-year-old Ruvindu Gunasekara clung gamely to the crease for a while, but the required rate rose steadily as the slow bowlers strengthened their stranglehold. As the frustration rose Hansra again used his feet to Utseya but this time an arm ball rushed past the outside edge and he was easily stumped for a 41-ball 20.Gunasekara followed in the very next over, bottom-edging an attempted late cut onto his own stumps, and when the big-hitting Rizwan Cheema mis-hit a full toss straight to short fine leg Canada were 66 for 6 and the match was over as a contest. With the pitch exhibiting increasingly extravagant turn legspinner Graeme Cremer was unleashed on the lower order, and both Tyson Gordon and Khurram Chohan were flummoxed by his subtle variations in flight and spin.Zubin Surkari briefly held Zimbabwe at bay, gritting out a brave 26 before he fell to a leg-side stumping. Cremer wrapped up the innings an over later, ripping one through Balaji Rao’s defences to claim his third wicket.

Smart Stats

• Brendan Taylor became the third batsman to be dismissed off the first ball of a World Cup game. Three of the dismissals have come against Zimbabwe.

• Tatenda Taibu’s 98 is the first instance of a Zimbabwe batsman being dismissed in the nineties in a World Cup game and the 32nd instance overall of a batsman being dismissed in the nineties in a World Cup match.

• Taibu’s 98 was his third-highest score in ODIs and his 17th fifty overall. In 14 matches since June 2010, he has scored 564 runs with five half-centuries.

• The 181-run partnership between Taibu and Craig Irvine is the highest partnership for Zimbabwe in World Cups, surpassing the 166-run stand between Grant Flower and Craig Wishart against Namibia in 2003. It is also the fifth-highest stand for Zimbabwe in ODIs overall.

• Zimbabwe’s 298 is their fourth-highest total in a World Cup game. They have 18 scores over 300 in ODIs.

• Zimbabwe’s 175-run win is their largest in World Cups and their fourth largest in ODIs overall. The margin of defeat is also the second largest for Canada in World Cups.

Canada had been able to put up much more of a challenge with the ball, legspinner Rao picking up career-best figures of 4 for 57 as Zimbabwe were kept under pressure on either side of Taibu and Ervine’s partnership. There was a real buzz in the field when Brendan Taylor and Charles Coventry were removed within the first four overs – Taylor pinned in front of his stumps by a Khurram Chohan inswinger on the very first ball of the day – but as the shine faded and the sun baked all life from the wicket the batsmen settled in and a large total loomed.After seeing off the new ball Taibu took two boundaries from offspinner Jimmy Hansra’s first over, another brace from his second, to calm Zimbabwe’s nerves. He barely dipped below a-run-a-ball thereafter, bringing up a 46-ball fifty in the 15th over and playing with increasing fluency. Ervine, who made a cautious start to his innings with 17 from his first 35 balls, eventually began to pick up the tempo too and used a variety of sweep shots against the spinners to good effect as the partnership passed 100.It appeared Zimbabwe had assumed full control once more, but as the ball softened it began to grip the surface and Rao got the breakthrough with one that bounced a little more than Ervine was expecting, ricocheting off the shoulder of the bat and the pad and looping up for wicketkeeper Bagai to complete a good catch. Ervine had reached 85, his highest score in ODIs, but his dismissal sparked another collapse and when Taibu top-edged a sweep to be out for 98 Zimbabwe were 201 for 5.Rao had luck on his side in nipping Greg Lamb and Sean Williams out, Lamb chopping a long-hop onto his own stumps and Williams gloving a sweep to give Bagai the chance to take a third smart catch, diving forward. Zimbabwe were precariously placed at 240 for 7 at that point and were thankful for an enterprising 41-run stand between Prosper Utseya and Graeme Cremer, which gave the score took a sheen of respectability after a stuttering start and a middle-order wobble. As it turned out, their score was more than enough against a Canadian line-up that showed precious little competency in combating an unrelenting hydra of spin.

Match Timeline

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDaniel Harris got South Australia off to a flier against Western Australia•Getty Images

The “Doctor” struck at the WACA – in more ways than one – as South Australia cruised to a 46-run win over the hapless Warriors in a KFC Big Bash match that had everything from streakers to an assistant coach taking a screamer – on the field.Man of the match Daniel ‘Doc’ Harris was the destroyer for the Redbacks, blasting 70 off just 37 balls; part of a 98-run opening stand with skipper Michael Klinger (35 off 25) that set-up a massive total of 202.The Fremantle Doctor – the name of the strong wind that comes off the ocean near the ground – also caused some destruction during the Redbacks’ innings, bringing down a large tree outside the ground, which crushed a car and landed on Foxtel’s outside broadcast van, affecting their coverage of the match for some time.In a match billed as the battle of the big-hitting West Indians, Kieron Pollard (55 off 26) came out on top, equalling the fastest 50 of the Big Bash summer and proving why he’s worth the price of admission alone. Even a broken nose to Australian one-day hopeful Callum Ferguson – courtesy of a Saj Mahmood bouncer – and a late-innings collapse, where they lost 6 wickets for 12 runs, could not stop South Australia from posting a big score.As has been the case in several Big Bash matches this year, early wickets hindered the team chasing, with Chris Gayle’s bizarre stumping – the ball deflected off Graham Manou’s stomach and back onto the stumps – deflating the Warriors’ hopes early. Pollard was again in the action in the field, this time unleashing a verbal tirade on in-form Warriors opener Shaun Marsh (24 off 22), which lasted several overs until Marsh was dismissed thanks to a gem of a catch from Klinger, diving full length to his right at cover.The Warriors middle order was left with too much to do and collapsed late; the only other highlight – a diving catch late in the innings by South Australian assistant coach Jeff Vaughan, who was forced to field because of injuries to Ferguson and Dan Christian, who strained a leg muscle.The victory moved South Australia to the top of the Big Bash table, ahead of their clash with Queensland next Thursday in Adelaide, while the Warriors are floundering at the bottom of the table, with a tough match at home to Victoria next Tuesday on the cards.

South Africa are not going to come out with all guns blazing on day four of the deciding Test match against India in Cape Town. “The first thing we need to do is make sure we have enough runs so that we don’t lose the match,” Dale Steyn said at the end of play on day three. “Then, we will think about setting a target.”It may seem like a negative, safety-first approach, but South Africa don’t want to risk leaving India with a gettable target on the last day of the match. The highest target chased successfully at Newlands was 331, which Australia managed in March 2002. It was achieved by an Australia at their peak, but South Africa will be mindful of the number. They still have more than 250 runs to score before they get there.They’ve already lost the wickets of Graeme Smith and nightwatchman Paul Harris, but Steyn does not think that will hamper their progress too much. “Losing Graeme was big, but Harro did his job. He made sure Hashim [Amla] only faced four balls instead of three overs.”It will mean that a lot will rest on South Africa’s batting order, particularly the two men currently occupying the crease, Alviro Petersen and Amla. Petersen has not yet done enough to cement his place as Smith’s opening partner, but this gives him the perfect opportunity to do so. Besides the 77 he scored in Centurion, he has had three starts but has not been able to push on. If he can capitalise on this situation, he will go a long way to putting down roots in the batting line-up for some time to comeAmla had a disappointing Test in Durban but scored an aggressive 59 in the first innings at Newlands, before succumbing to a self-described “sugar rush”. He is expected to adopt a more structured strategy in the second knock, especially because of the injury sustained to Jacques Kallis, who has a contusion near his rib and will only bat if necessary. That means Ashwell Prince will also come under the spotlight. He is renowned for his ability to perform under pressure and grind out runs when needed, although South Africa will not want to depend on that to put themselves in a position of advantage.If the Australia chase is taken out of the equation, the next highest successfully chase is 211, by South Africa against India in 2007. That bit of history may mean nothing now, because the India team on the current tour is more competitive away from home than the team from 2007. That may be why South Africa are talking more like they are prepared to play for a draw than a win.

Peter Siddle was Australia’s everywhere man, including a brief stint as a self-appointed on-field spokesman, as the hosts tried but failed to stay in touch with England at the MCG. He was part of all five dismissals on the second day, gaining three wickets and collecting two catches, and was initially the lead protagonist in an argument with Aleem Dar over whether Kevin Pietersen should have been given out caught behind.Siddle assumed the role of senior pro instead of 21-Test student in the initial negotiations with Dar after Australia’s referral for an inside edge had been dismissed due to a lack of evidence. Having over-reacted in the middle, with a series of arm waving and arguing with Dar before Ponting took over the debate, Siddle hid behind a series of “no comments” after play, looking equally as silly as he did during the original incident occurred. He briefly expanded to say of the exchange that “it’s just cricket”.It was an eventful day for the earthy resident Victorian, who appeals more to the punters in Bay 13 than the Melbourne Cricket Club members. Siddle knows his audience too, turning to the general admission seats and his team-mates to celebrate his successes with his wild roars and over-played gestures.An hour after stumps Siddle would not explain why there was confusion over the Pietersen decision, with a Cricket Australia official saying they did not want to jeopardise a potential hearing. Brad Haddin was the only fielder to hear the nick and he convinced Ponting to contest the appeal. It looked obvious to everyone with a television replay that there was no inside edge, but Siddle and Ponting sensed injustice after watching the same footage on the big screen. Ponting received a fine of 40% of his match fee for his protests.Siddle’s logic during his press conference became so muddled that he said the players should look to Ponting for inspiration as they try to save the match over the next three days. Ponting has scored 93 runs in four Tests, has a broken finger, and finally cracked publicly under the pressure to avoid losing an Ashes series for the third time. He argued with Dar over two overs during the Pietersen episode and also had grumpy exchanges with the batsman and Tony Hill, the other umpire.”He is the same man, a strong character,” Siddle said of Ponting. “He always works hard, backs you up to the hilt and leads by example. That is what we go by.”A better example of how to play at the moment would come from taking an interest in England, who lead by 346 runs and still have five first-innings wickets in hand. Without Siddle, who performed extremely well whenever he had the ball, the situation would be even worse. His 3 for 58 from 26 overs provided the side with penetration and a crucial element of control, but despite all of the heroics Australia are still a speck in England’s rear-view mirror.Siddle provided a spark on the second morning by removing Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss within 13 runs of the resumption. The delivery to dismiss Strauss was a brute, with the batsman edging the rising ball to gully after trying to steer to the legside. Australia’s problem was that the wickets didn’t come on the opening afternoon, when England had already careered past their first-innings 98.Siddle wasn’t bowling at the time of the Pietersen controversy so Ponting cleverly redirected his fire and was rewarded almost immediately. Bowling around 140 kph, he got one to stay low and had Pietersen lbw for 51. While the delivery provided some much-needed cheer, it also caused more doubts for the batsmen who will be charged with the second-innings rescue.At fine-leg Siddle was also highly effective. Instead of regaining his breath in between overs he caught Paul Collingwood and Ian Bell when they hooked carelessly at Mitchell Johnson before tea. The lunging, low take of Bell was particularly athletic and Siddle’s string of useful contributions showed his value to the side. He just has to stay involved in the right way, instead of jumping into arguments on behalf of his team-mates.

Despite the loss of Zaheer Khan to injury and another fruitless outing for the bowling, MS Dhoni appeared reluctant to meddle with the four-bowler strategy that has worked for the team in recent times. Harbhajan Singh’s recent heroics with the bat do give Dhoni the luxury of dropping a specialist batsman, but India are unlikely to go down that route in Nagpur.”It’s a tough call to make,” said Dhoni. “We’re happy to play with four bowlers. That’s what we’ve done more often than not. To put pressure on Bhajji by saying he’s an allrounder might be harsh on him. But it is an option.”When the day began with New Zealand just 115 ahead, an Indian win was still very much a possibility. But once Brendon McCullum and Kane Williamson started with wonderfully positive intent and saw off the new ball, there was only going to be one result. “We thought the first one or one-and-a-half hours would be crucial,” said Dhoni. “At the time, Zaheer was also fit to bowl, in the sense that he felt he could give it a go.”But after a couple of overs with the new ball, he decided he’s not really fit enough to continue. So we just had Sreesanth left as a medium-pacer. And we had two spinners who had already bowled a good number of overs.”Though Harbhajan’s strike-rate with the ball this year is an unflattering 97.4, his batting form has meant that it’s Pragyan Ojha who’s under scrutiny after two draws against a side ranked No. 8 in the world. “I think Ojha’s done a really good job in the games he’s played,” said Dhoni when it was suggested that Ishant Sharma or Amit Mishra might have been a better choice. “He’s taken wickets and is one bowler who can contain and bowl long spells. Even on the flattest of tracks on the first day, he has managed to keep the opposition quiet.”Most of Dhoni’s comments dealt with the pitch, which he reckoned wasn’t conducive to a result. “I think both teams did well,” he said. “I think the wicket supported the batsmen throughout. We’ve seen less grass on the wicket on the first day of both Test matches. But on the fifth day, you’ve seen a track with much more grass. It looked much greener compared to the first day. There wasn’t much for the bowlers.”Before the start of the Test, we all knew that Hyderabad was known for being batsmen-friendly. To change the nature of the wicket in a short period of time is difficult.”While frustrated at another stalemate, Dhoni also gave credit to New Zealand, whose top-order batsmen have played with a composure and skill that eluded most of Australia’s batsmen on their recent tour of India. “They batted really well,” he said. “They waited for the loose deliveries.”When you’re not getting assistance from the pitch, you sometimes try too much to get wickets. And if you look at the last 20-22 games we’ve played, the bowlers have bowled more than 4000 overs. That’s a concern because it’s mostly the same bowlers who have featured in those games.”That fatigue will definitely be a factor in Nagpur, and all eyes will once again be on the curator with the series up for grabs. There are anecdotes, true or not, from the old days of Indian captains slipping the groundsman a symbolic razor to suggest that not a blade of grass should remain come the first morning. But times have changed and Dhoni admitted that his job is tougher as a result.”As a foreign team coming to India, you think of how you’re going to play the fourth and fifth days,” he said. “But when there’s no assistance for the bowlers, things change. I don’t think they’re under the same pressure when handling spinners that they were in the past. You used to see them practise throw-downs on scuffed surfaces with rough areas. I don’t think it’s like that any more.”Of the Test matches we’ve played lately, very few have been on turners. I can remember Ahmedabad against Sri Lanka (2005). After that, Kanpur (2008, against South Africa) to some extent. The CCI wicket in Mumbai (Sri Lanka, 2009) also gave a bit of assistance in the morning.”With his best bowler out of the series and the spinners outbowled by Daniel Vettori, a lot of things will need to fall into place for Dhoni and India to avoid embarrassment in a series that they were expected to win comfortably. A livelier pitch aside, it’s time for the other bowlers to prove that this isn’t a one-Zaheer team.

Shane Warne, the Rajasthan Royals captain for the first three seasons of the IPL, has questioned the league’s governing council’s move to scrap his side ahead of the fourth edition. The IPL governing council had ejected the Rajasthan and Punjab franchises on charges of transgression of shareholding and ownership norms, but Warne asked whether there were other reasons behind the expulsion.”Is it [the ejection] because the franchises have done something wrong or is there something sinister behind it,” Warne wrote in his personal blog. “Is there an ulterior motive? To me the IPL must be transparent, open, honest, and, above all, fair to all teams! They need to treat them equally; no teacher’s pets!”All of the owners and investors showed a lot of faith and goodwill in the BCCI from the outset. They trusted them to deliver on the massive predictions that led to the franchises being sold at figures never heard of in cricket. With the IPL exceeding all expectations, on all fronts, I find it staggering that the IPL has decided to throw 2 teams out,” Warne wrote.Warne was also critical of the suggestion that Rajasthan did not have the best interests of the game in mind, citing examples of several of his team-mates who have gone on to represent their countries on the back of IPL success.

Shaun Udal, the former England offspinner, has announced his retirement from first-class cricket, three years after he had originally decided to quit the game. Udal, 41, had called time in 2007 after nearly 20 seasons with Hampshire but was lured out of retirement soon after by Middlesex, who he has represented since.Udal helped Middlesex to the t20 Cup in the 2008 season, towards the end of which he took over as the club’s captain. He resigned from the role earlier this year. He led Middlesex in the Stanford 20/20 in 2008 and Twenty20 nearly provided him an unlikely international comeback at the age of 40, when he was named in England’s preliminary squad for the World Twenty20 in 2009.Udal played the last of his four Tests for England in 2006 and his final ODI in December 2005. The highlight of his international career was his 4 for 14 on the final day of the Mumbai Test in 2006 which helped England to a famous series-levelling victory against India.In a first-class career spanning 22 seasons, Udal collected 822 wickets at 32.47, including 37 five-wicket hauls, and scored nearly 8000 runs at 22.59. He also played 410 List A matches, taking 458 wickets at 30.19 and making 2966 runs.”I am extremely lucky to have played the game I love for such a long period of time,” Udal said. “It is obviously a sad day – waving goodbye to something very special is always difficult – but I look forward to getting stuck in to the next chapter of my life.”Angus Fraser, Middlesex’s managing director of cricket, hailed Udal’s contribution to the club. “When Shaun took over as Middlesex captain, he inherited a fractured dressing room and morale was low,” Fraser said. “During the two years he captained Middlesex Shaun successfully pulled the team closer together and the dressing room is now a far happier and united place. He has handed over to Neil Dexter a club in far better shape than the one he inherited.”