Washout after Australia make 295

India v Australia, 4th ODI, Ranchi

Match abandoned Australia 295 for 8 (Bailey 98, Maxwell 92, Shami 3-42) v India 27 for 0

nseasonal rain in Ranchi washed out the fourth ODI after 4.1 overs of India's chase, ensuring the series moved 2-1 in favour of Australia to Cuttack, which was experiencing more inclement weather. There had been a brief shower soon after the match began, but it dissipated to allow Australia to complete their innings. The second instalment was heavier and prolonged, and though it relented with enough time to squeeze in a 20-over chase, the umpires ruled the outfield had been rendered too soggy to allow any play.

Before the damp end, George Bailey and Glenn Maxwell had revived Australia from 32 for 3 with a massive fifth-wicket stand following Mohammed Shami's  opening burst. However, their dismissals in the batting Powerplay robbed the visitors of a 300 plus total for the first time in the series, albeit narrowly. Bailey and Maxwell added 153 in 22.4 overs but after both fell in their nineties to Vinay Kumar, Australia's lower order was able to add only 57 in the last ten overs. Shami's sharp first spell had challenged Australia for the first time in the series with the new ball. The attack, however, lacked the same intensity afterwards. India also put down five catches, and only a couple of them were tough takes. Bailey was put down first ball off Shami by Virat Kohli at third slip, and on 35 by R Ashwin off Vinay, both takeable chances.

Maxwell was dropped on 44 by Yuvraj Singh off Jaydev Unadkat, a rather difficult diving opportunity at point, before MS Dhoni reprieved him on 69 behind the stumps off Suresh Raina.

Bailey went on to make his third half-century of the series and India were fortunate to see his back two short of a century, when he top-edged a Vinay long hop. Maxwell kicked on from the cameos he has been getting to inflict punishment on India with a 77-ball 92 before falling lbw.

Bailey and Maxwell hardly allowed the spinners to settle, and were also presented with regular long hops. India weren't able to exert pressure at all on the duo, who turned the strike over consistently. Vinay delivered an entire opening over of gentle looseners, and Bailey drove and pulled him for three boundaries. Maxwell was given plenty of leg-side offerings to indulge in his quick-arm powerful swing. He countered Ashwin's line from round the wicket, powering him for successive reverse-swept boundaries, the first of which went for six.

After India sent the duo back, Dhoni didn't give the ball to any of his seamers, opting for spin for nine of the last ten overs before he brought back Shami for the last one. Australia 's lower order, tied down by Raina and Ravindra Jadeja, promptly took 12 off it, despite atleast three deliveries finding the blockhole.

Bowling at a testing length at pace and generating movement under some cloud cover, Shami had delivered an opening spell of 6-1-21-3. The lowest opening stand for Australia had been 68 so far this series. Shami sent back the openers by the sixth over, and also claimed Shane Watson. India's decision to play a fresh new-ball pair in place of Ishant Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar had paid off. They even managed to avoid leaking runs at the death, but Bailey and Maxwell caused considerable damage in the middle. Mitchell Johnson sent down a couple of menacing overs filled with bouncers to let India know they were set for a testing evening. Shikhar Dhawan countered by charging and hitting Clint McKay for a couple of fours. And then the rain arrived.

Dhoni said after the abandonment that India would have been happy with a 20-over chase with all wickets intact, which would have meant a target around 150. The rain, however, wasn't ready to allow an ODI to be decided by a T20 innings.

Abhishek Purohit is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

Younis shocked after one-day axe

He was left out of the Pakistan 16-man squad that plays five ODIs against South Africa.

AFP

Experienced Pakistan batsman Younis Khan on Monday described his expulsion from the one-day side as "shocking" but vowed to

end his limited overs career on a high.

The 35-year-old was last week left out of Pakistan's 16-man squad for the five matches which follow the two-Test series

against South Africa.

Pakistan won the first Test by seven wickets in Abu Dhabi while the second Test starts in Dubai from Wednesday.

A veteran of 253 one-day, Younis has not scored a limited overs century since November 2008 and managed just 116 runs in the

five-match series in South Africa earlier this year.

He was also not part of Pakistan's one-day team which won the series 2-1 in Zimbabwe last month.

But the senior batsman said he was surprised and shocked.

"I am surprised I am not in the one-day team, it's a shocking news for me. After the last series, it was surprising for me,

but for me life goes on, for me this is never easy," Younis said ahead of the second Test.

Asked if the 2015 World Cup (50 overs) was still on his mind, Younis replied: "Look, I have said this before, its not 2015

or 2016, if you have the fitness you keep playing.

"I think when Imran (Khan) left he must be 40-42," said Younis of former Pakistan captain, who retired after guiding

Pakistan to World Cup victory in 1992.

"I would say that for Misbah, look people say that you are 34 or 35, but it's up to fitness and being positive on your body.

I still feel good, I feel that I am fitter now than I was when I was 23 or 24 years of age.

"Your fitness comes with time and age, I think I have no plans for 2015 but my plan is that when I feel that my body is not

allowing me to play then I am the most honest person I will leave but not after being dropped, I will be going on a good

note."

Younis retired from the shortest version of the game after guiding Pakistan to World Tweny20 win in England in 2009.

"The way I retired from the T20, I mention it repeatedly. People feel that I don't want to play (one-day) and have told that

to the cricket board, but there is no such thing, when I will leave I will leave with a bang."

Usman Khawaja in row over beer logo

AFP

 Australian batsman Usman Khawaja may follow fellow Muslim Fawad Ahmed and refuse to wear a uniform with a beer brand logo, but admits that cementing his Test place comes first.

Khawaja, the first Muslim to wear the baggy green, told The Sydney Morning Herald he had considered whether it was possible to wear a uniform which did not have the logo of Cricket Australia's key sponsor the VB brewery.

"I understand what Fawad is doing, and I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about it," Khawaja told the newspaper.

"I thought about it for this Ashes campaign. But I probably haven't been in the Australian team for long enough to worry about it too much."

Khawaja, 26, struggled in the Ashes series in England earlier this year and remains on the fringes of the Test team.

Leg spinner Ahmed was exempted from wearing the VB logo in England after he explained that it clashed with his Islamic faith -- a move which sparked a row and criticism that he should not accept sponsorship money from companies promoting alcohol.

Khawaja said he had discussed the matter with South African batsman Hashim Amla, who has been exempted from wearing a brewery's logo, about how he could reconcile with his strongly-held Muslim beliefs.

"He just said to me he doesn't accept prize money from whoever their alcoholic sponsor is," Khawaja said.

"I assume if I ever did do it, that's the path I'd lead. But at the moment it's all about the cricket for me."

Pakistan-born Khawaja said Carlton and United Breweries, makers of VB beer, were a "massive sponsor for Cricket Australia so obviously there needs to be some give and take there" and he was willing to forgo some money if need be.

The left-hander signed Tuesday with Sydney Thunder for the next two seasons of the domestic Twenty20 competition, a move which will see him join Test captain Michael Clarke, David Warner and veteran Mike Hussey.

Ishant doesn't come to me anymore: Coach

By Baidurjo Bhose | Mail Today

one knows these players better than those who have been instrumental in grooming them since their early days.

Even during the off season, they work hard with their childhood coaches, who have seen them rise through the ranks and

provided constant support and motivation.

But Ishant Sharma, the toothless leader of India’s bowling attack in the ongoing ODI series against Australia, is different.

The pacer who gave away 189 runs from the 24 overs in the three ODIs so far, prefers to spend time with friends than meet

coach Shravan Kumar.

Shravan admits that it has been a long time since he saw the lanky lad who used to train under him at his Patel Nagar

academy.

One of the most respected coaches in the capital, Shravan said Ishant preferred to go to his friend Rajeev Mahajan’s academy

to work on his bowling during the off season.

“Looks like he needs Australian coaches and doesn’t like Indian coaches. Maybe he thinks he doesn’t need to come to me

anymore. He feels there is a big crowd in Patel Nagar and prefers training at his friend’s academy at the Vasant Kunj Sports

Complex,” he told Mail Today.

“If he doesn’t want to come to me, he can go to some other coach, but he shouldn’t listen to all and sundry and waste his

talent. He is no longer a kid and needs to realise that there are two types of friends. One lot will stand by you through

thick and thin but the others are there just to exploit you and feed off you. These friends of Ishant love being around a

celebrity and don’t realise the need to give him a reality check.” Shravan said that every cricketer needs guidance and it

is the same with Ishant.

“After a while, players tend to err and that is when they need to train. I think Ishant hasn’t trained properly during the

off season. Mistakes that creep into the game need to be corrected at the training ground during the off season. Working in

the gym isn’t enough. There can be no substitute for long spells in the nets,” he said.

The veteran coach also feels playing football is something that needs to be stopped immediately.

“We aren’t Australians, so we can’t compare our physical ability with theirs. I do remember the great Curtly Ambrose once

saying that he would never play anything but cricket during the season. I don’t know why so much of emphasis is given to

football during training sessions,” he said.

But Shravan is just a call away for Ishant and says he is more than willing to help him in his hour of need.

“When your son commits a mistake, you as a father might be angry, but you don’t ignore him. Similarly, when he felt it was

better to go to Vasant Kunj, he did. But if someday he thinks he wants to come back to Patel Nagar and train, he is more

than welcome,” he signed off.

Reproduced from Mail Today. Copyright 2013. MTNPL. All rights reserved.
Every time any of India’s top players is in a slump, the first thing they do is seek their childhood coach. After all, no

Titans beat Brisbane in low-scoring thriller - CLT20

CLT20: Heat fall short by four runs in Mohali.

Yahoo! Cricket

MOHALI: Titans prevailed over Brisbane Heat in a low-scoring Champions League T20 thriller as both teams, by turns, suffered and recovered from collapses at the PCA Stadium here, on Tuesday night. For the Australian outfit Heat, this was the second match in succession that they failed to chase down a moderately sized total. Having made a hash of Trinidad and Tobago’s 135 in their first match, Heat fared even worse chasing Titans' 123, a target set after a deplorable batting implosion, but defended by four runs through fast bowler Marchant de Lange. This deals a serious blow to Heat's chances of making it to the next stage of the tournament. de Lange was the star of the show as he finished with 3/13 off his four overs. He kept a check on scoring in the early overs, and then came back to bowl a terrific last over when Heat needed ten runs for victory, with only three wickets remaining.

Tight finish

The end came when left-handed Chris Sabbarg, whose spate of hits had kept Heat alive in the contest, was run out trying to farm the strike on the first delivery of the last over, and Titans scraped through by the proverbial skin of their teeth.

Left-arm spinner Roelof van de Merwe had earlier removed the captain James Hopes, whose top-score of 37 was threatening to assume the proportions of a match-winning knock. Sent in to bat after rain had delayed the start by 45 minutes, Titans, in keeping with teams from their country, choked badly and throttled themselves to near death, from the safety of 90/3 in the 13th over, to the embarrassment of 123 all out in the 19th.

They seem to have have recovered from opener Jacques Rudolf’s second over dismissal, racing ahead through Henry Davis (39) and Heino Kuhn (31) as medium pacers Hopes and Alister Mc Dermott were taken apart. But Davids was run out trying to steal a sharp single and five runs later, Kuhn followed him to the pavilion in the 11th over.

Imperious 

AB de Villiers (28) looked imperious as he struck boundaries off Cutting and Lynn and looked set for another blistering  knock. But de Villiers' stay was run-out by all-rounder Farhan Behardien, who in the heat of the moment failed to sacrifice his wicket for his captain’s  The South African side lost their last six wickets for 16 runs. Notwithstanding the batsmen’s intent of swiping big only to get out, Twenty20 debutant Matthew Gale capitalized with 4/10 in 2.5 overs. But even that was not enough as Heat fared miserably with the bat.