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It took nearly 40 years of waiting and it was well worth it. Sachin Tendulkar chose one of the better bowling attacks doing the rounds, to eclipse the record for the highest score, before bringing up the first double-hundred in ODI history. The spectators at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium became the envy of cricket fans as they witnessed one of the country’s favourite sporting heroes play a breathtaking innings which not only set up a 153-run annihilation but also the series victory. He may have been run-out cheaply in the previous match, but nothing could deny him today – be it bowlers, fielders, mix-ups or cramps.Dinesh Karthik, Yusuf Pathan and MS Dhoni stood by and admired as the master unfurled all the shots in his repertoire.

At 36, Tendulkar hasn’t shown signs of ageing, and his sparkling touch in both forms of the game has ruled out all possibilities of him checking out anytime soon. Fatigue, cramps and paucity of time have stood in the way of batsmen going that extra mile to get to the 200-mark. Tendulkar did cramp up after crossing 150, but he didn’t opt for a runner. His experience of 20 years at the international level came into play in this historic innings, staying at the crease from the first ball to the last, never once losing focus. There were no chances offered, no dropped catches, making his innings absolutely flawless.

A swirl of emotions must have run through his mind as he approached one record after another but he ensured he was never lost in the moment. His running between the wickets remained just as swift as it had been at the start of the innings. The humidity in Gwalior was bound to test him but he stood above it all and played like he owned the game, toying with the bowling with a mix of nonchalance and brute power.

In the 46th over, with a flick for two past short fine-leg, Tendulkar broke the record for the highest ODI score, going past the 194 made by Zimbabwe’s Charles Coventry and Pakistan’s Saeed Anwar, and to say that he acknowledged his feat modestly would be an understatement. His muted celebration on going past 194, true to style, made his innings all the more endearing. He didn’t raise his bat, merely shook hands with Mark Boucher and simply carried on batting amid the din. Coming from a man who is not known to showing too much emotion with the bat in hand, it wasn’t surprising. He reserved his celebrations for the magic figure of 200, which he reached in the final over with a squirt off Charl Langeveldt past backward point. He raised his bat, took off his helmet and looked up at the skies and it was only fitting that one-day cricket’s highest run-getter reached the landmark.

Tendulkar’s innings featured strokes of the highest quality, but his true genius was exemplified by one particular shot which rendered even the best bowler in the world helpless. In the first over of the batting Powerplay – taken in the 35th over – Dale Steyn fired it in the block-hole for three deliveries outside off to keep him quiet. Tendulkar, feeling the need to improvise, walked right across his stumps and nonchalantly flicked him across the line, hopping in his crease on one leg to bisect the gap at midwicket. A helpless Steyn watched the ball speed away and merely shrugged his shoulders. There was no use searching for excuses or venting frustrations at the temerity of that shot. It was just that kind of afternoon for the bowlers.

It wasn’t all just about the cheekiness of his shots. His timing and placement were the hallmarks at the start of his innings. On a road of a pitch which offered no margin of error for the bowlers, he squeezed out full deliveries past the covers and off his pads. With no seam movement on offer, Jacques Kallis took the slips off and placed them in catching positions within the 15-yard circle, hoping to induce a mistake. But Tendulkar outplayed all of them, making room to manoeuver it past a number of green shirts. There were a minimum of two runs on offer each time the ball was placed wide of them and the quick outfield did the rest.

Once he got his eye in, the short boundaries and the flat pitch were too inviting. Virender Sehwag’s dismissal for 11, caught at third man, was just an aberration as Karthik, Pathan and Dhoni traded cricket bats for golf clubs. Driving and lofting through the line had never been this easy. Tendulkar could have driven them inside out in his sleep.

The two century stands, with Karthik and then with Dhoni, may well get lost in the scorecard but they were vital building blocks. Karthik rotated the strike well in their stand of 194, struck three clean sixes and helped himself to his career-best performance. That partnership sent out ominous signs to the South Africans that they were in for something massive. Add Dhoni’s bludgeoning hits and scoops and you had a score in excess of 400.

Tendulkar reached his fifty off 37 balls and his century off 90. Ironically, he struck his first six – over long-on – when on 111. Pathan bashed it around at the other end, clubbing full tosses and short deliveries in his 23-ball 36, as India amassed 63 runs in the batting Powerplay. The South African seamers made the mistake of trying to bowl too fast and as a result, sent down too many full tosses and full deliveries. The unplayable yorkers remained elusive and Tendulkar, who was seeing it like a beach ball, picked the gaps, made room and improvised.

He reached his 150 by making room to Parnell and chipping him over midwicket with a simple bat twirl at the point of contact. The heartbreak of Hyderabad, when his scintillating 175 all but won India the match against Australia last year, must have lingered in his mind as he approached that score again. A towering six over long-on later, he not only eclipsed Kapil Dev’s 175 but also looked set to wipe out his own record. He started clutching his thighs, indicating that cramps had set in, but even that could not stop him today.

He equalled his highest score of 186 by pulling a lollipop of a full toss off Kallis and broke his own and India’s record with a single to square leg. Fortunately, he didn’t have to do much running and played the spectator’s role for a change as Dhoni bulldozed his way to a 35-ball 68, muscling four sixes. The Dhoni bottom-hand is the strongest in the business these days and the exhausted spectators had enough energy left in their vocal chords to cheer him on as well.

The record of 200, however, was yet to be attained and the crowd were desperate for Tendulkar to get the strike. Dhoni tore into Steyn for 17 off the 49th over and retained the strike for the 50th. After hammering the first ball of the 50th for six, he shoveled a full toss to deep midwicket where Hashim Amla made a brilliant save. Tendulkar settled for a single and the crowd were on their feet as they watched him make history. It was all the more fitting for another reason because it was on this very day, back in 1988, that he and Vinod Kambli added a mammoth 664 – then a world record – in a school match.

There was to be no repeat of the 434-chase at the Wanderers, when South Africa took guard, perhaps mentally and physically shaken after the assault, and with a partisan crowd to contend with. AB de Villiers‘ attacking ton got completely lost in the chase as South Africa merely went through the motions. It was all a question of how quickly India could wrap it up.

Herschelle Gibbs, Hashim Amla, Roelof van der Merwe and Jacques Kallis all got out cheaply within the first 15 overs. de Villiers motored along at more than a run-a-ball, and collected 13 fours and two sixes. South Africa had to rely on the services of nine men to muster 200 – for India one man sufficed.

Tendulkar’s knock drew parallels with Brendon McCullum’s frenetic 158 in the IPL opener in Bangalore two years ago. The match was all about individual brilliance but not a contest. While such games are good in small doses, for one-day cricket to survive on the whole, it needs more contests between bat and ball.

India stumbled in pursuit of 156 under lights but MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina kept cool heads to steer them to a six-wicket win with 57 deliveries to spare and with it move to No. 1 in the ICC’s ODI rankings. New Zealand, after opting to bat, made a complete mess of things and ended up with 155, a total that briefly challenged India but eventually proved to be inadequate. With this loss, New Zealand crashed out of the tournament.

Inspired by their two most experienced bowlers, New Zealand refused to surrender without a scrap but their spirited effort on the field wasn’t enough to defend a modest target. Dinesh Karthik was removed early in the piece to bring Rahul Dravid to the crease but his comeback was a labored 45-ball 14, after which Sachin Tendulkar fell for 46. Raina joined Dhoni and finished off the chase with a calculated 72-run partnership.

Dravid endured a few testing moments as he adjusted himself to this format. Shane Bond was particularly quick and nasty in a hostile first spell, which included a fiery maiden sixth over, and repetitively tested Dravid with the short deliveries. Dravid negated Bond’s aggression with customary grit only to be trapped lbw by Jacob Oram.

Tendulkar came out full of intent and treated the sparse crowd to some stunning shots. He repeatedly whipped Mills across the line, deft of wrists, for boundaries and welcomed Ian Butler into the attack with a fierce cut behind point and the shot of the day – a stylish whip off the back foot to a ball that pitched back of a length. Daniel Vettori was hammered off the back foot as Tendulkar closed in on fifty, but a clever change of pace had him lobbing the simplest of chances to cover. The bowler, the batsman and the catcher couldn’t believe it.

Sixteen minutes later Yuvraj Singh moped off after he was beaten in flight to pop a catch when attempting to play another slog-sweep for four off Vettori. Raina eased the nerves a pinch by swinging Vettori for six and following up with three past midwicket, and continued to play with a perfect blend of aggression and smartness. His back-foot play was especially pleasing – he rocked back to pull anything even slightly off line – and backed himself to swing deliveries that had a bit of air. Dhoni was his composed self and put his head down to indulge in some good old-fashioned ones and twos. He helped steer the chase with a dependable innings, one devoid of any risks.

A cursory look at the New Zealand card would suggest an ordeal against pace on a juiced-up track in Australia or England, but the truth was they struggled against a tidy fast-bowling attack and failed to cope with Yuvraj. Having lost the toss, India turned in a committed display in the field to take to pieces a line-up woefully short on inspiration and effort. Once they had New Zealand at 19 for 3 they provided few escapes routes, and that was the deciding factor in the result.

India, led initially by Ashish Nehra before Yuvraj continued the carnage, were on top from the time the first wicket fell. Nehra set the tone for India’s domination with a lovely new-ball burst, in which he passed 100 ODI wickets. With his second ball, he beat Jesse Ryder’s loose shot across the line to hit him in front of leg stump and then removed Brendon McCullum with one that straightened and rapped the pads in front of middle.

Having watched an edge from Ross Taylor sneak through between slip and keeper, RP Singh held back the length and got Taylor nicking to Dhoni for 11. New Zealand’s worries against left-handers – Thilan Thushara has been a handful all tour – continued with a poor display. Such was their discomfiture against the left-arm variety that Yuvraj’s gentle slow turners soon looked like missiles.

Puttering along to 22 from 41 balls, helping put on 32 with Grant Elliott, Martin Guptill fell in Yuvraj’s first over. Barely settling in to see what Yuvraj could offer, or if the pitch would assist turn, Guptill stabbed at one and Dravid, at first slip, reminded all of his class as a catcher with his 194th pouch.

Elliott, who looked the only one capable of batting till the 45th over and beyond, was then incorrectly given out for 22 by Kumar Dharmasena down the leg side. Replays showed the ball brushed only his pads as he attempted to tickle it fine. New Zealand had reason to feel aggrieved, but their efforts at the start had been unforgivable. The rest of the New Zealand line-up made fleeting appearances and there was little let-up for them as Dhoni rotated his bowlers, with the top four providing the dividends. New Zealand will need to improve considerably if they are to live up to their No. 4 ranking and challenge teams in the Champions Trophy.

Charles Coventry made the joint highest individual score in an ODI but his effort was outweighed by a sparkling, cool-headed century from Tamim Iqbal, who broke the record for the most runs in an innings by a Bangladesh batsman. Coventry’s blockbuster innings pushed Zimbabwe beyond 300, far more than Bangladesh have chased before, but the visitors were rarely troubled as they hunted down the target to take their third consecutive series.

Two things which stood out in Tamim’s innings were the calmness he displayed, even when the required-rate started to soar, and the clean straight hitting – each of his six sixes were in the arc between long-on and long-off.

Bangladesh needed a solid opening stand after Coventry inspired Zimbabwe to 312, and Junaid Siddique and Tamim provided them that. Both openers were particularly harsh on Elton Chigumbura, who pitched the ball too short right through his opening spell. Junaid was the aggressor, hammering his way to a 27-ball 38 before, as has so often been the case, he threw away the start with a loose shot.

Junaid’s dismissal, and the introduction of Zimbabwe’s spinners, sucked the momentum out of the chase. Mohammad Ashraful took his time to settle, and Tamim cut out the big hits for a while, which made the asking-rate make a steady slide upwards.

Tamim was generally content to knock the ball around, but had short bursts when he hit out to keep Bangladesh in touch. One such was in the 22nd over; Malcolm Waller was blasted over long-on and long-off off consecutive deliveries, followed by a powerful cut for four. He also come down the track and cracked Price over long-on to push Bangladesh’s run-rate up to six. There was a similar volley of brutal hitting in the 36th over, Hamilton Mazakadza being taken for a couple of big sixes.

Raqibul Hasan was also a calming influence, nudging the ball around for comfortable singles to keep the strike rotating. He added 119 with Tamim at nearly a run-a-ball before falling in the 37th over. Soon after, Chigumbura dropped a dolly at long-on, Tamim getting a reprieve on 118. Two new batsman and Zimbabwe could have applied more pressure. However, Bangladesh’s best batsman, Shakib Al Hasan, made a 12-ball 19 and Tamim also opened out to slam the door shut on Zimbabwe. By the time Tamim was dismissed the target was only 34 away, which Bangladesh knocked off with 13 deliveries to spare.

It was the flattest of tracks, and Zimbabwe could have piled on even more than 312 had Coventry got a little more support. It was a superbly paced innings from him; Coventry provided the impetus after the early dismissal of Mark Vermeulen, then tempered his aggression when wickets tumbled around him in the middle overs, before finishing off with an awesome display of power hitting. What made it even more astonishing was that the next highest score in the innings was 37, 157 less than Coventry. It was also his first ODI century, and he had never before crossed 106 in any form of senior cricket.

He stomped on the gas soon after reaching his hundred in the 38th over, particularly targeting the swathe from long-on to midwicket, where he slammed six of his seven sixes. Still, at the end of the 42nd over he was on 129, and the world record didn’t seem in his sights. By the end of the 47th he was on 180, and all the interest was around whether he would make an ODI double-century, a feat not achieved in 2872 previous one-dayers.

He only managed three singles in the 48th, but a massive six over long-on took him 191 with the final over still to come. A drive to cover on the first ball took him off strike, and he wasn’t back facing the bowling till the final delivery; Tawanda Mupariwa was dismissed off the second and Prosper Utseya faced the next three. Two were needed to equal Saeed Anwar’s 12-year-old mark, and a tired punch straight past the bowler gave Coventry a share of the record. His final 91 had come off 43 deliveries.

Bangladesh would have been facing a far smaller target had Syed Rasel held on to a simple catch at deep square leg when Coventry was only 13. Coventry was then dropped on 137 in the 44th over, with Mahmudullah the culprit at square leg. Coventry celebrated by plundering 16 each off the next two overs, the crowds behind midwicket kept busy by the balls hammered by Coventry.

In the end, his effort didn’t prove to be enough, as Tamim, a placid pitch and shoddy Zimbabwean bowling and fielding combined to ruin Coventry’s day. A month ago, the most Bangladesh had chased successfully was 250, a mark they have improved on twice since, a sign of the progress they have made.

Injured England batsman Kevin Pietersen has been ruled out of the one-dayers against Australia also due to infection in his wound following an urgent surgery on his achilles tendon. The flamboyant batsman played only the first two Ashes Tests at Cardiff and Lords with the help of pain-killing injections and underwent a surgery to get back for the seven-match ODI series. He was seen by a wound-care specialist and will receive a course of antibiotics in order to exclude infection, an ECB statement said on Thursday. 

Australia has named Victorian leftarmer Dirk Nannes in its Twenty20 squad to play England only months after he represented the Netherlands at the world T20 tournament. The inclusion of 33-year-old Nannes and resting of captain Ricky Ponting are the main surprises in the national squads named on Tuesday for the seven one-day international matches and two T20 matches which follow the current Ashes series in England.
The Sydney Morning Herald quoted an AAP report, as saying that notable omissions from the T20 squad include Mike Hussey, Nathan Bracken and Peter Siddle all of whom are still in the ODI squad. Chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch added a new name to the mix by employing Tasmanian wicketkeeper Tim Paine as Brad Haddins understudy for the ODI series.
Speaking about Nannes, Hilditch said his panel was looking at using a greater number of specialists ahead of next years World T20 following a disappointing result when eliminated early in this years event. We are using the two matches against England to look at different make ups to the squad and include players who we consider T20 specialists in preparation for the ICC World T20 next year, he said. We are keen to look at different players as specialist T20 players in these two matches and in this instance we have selected Dirk Nannes following his strong domestic performances in recent seasons to have a look at him in the Australian set up.
Pontings resting following the end of the Ashes series was described by Hilditch as the last chance to give him a break before 2010.

ICC Champions Trophy will give Dhoni’s team the chance to take over as number-one ODI side in the world

Australia slips to third position and England jumps two spots to fourth as New Zealand drops to fifth and Pakistan sixth following annual update

Shakib Al Hasan goes to third position in bowling rankings as Kumar Sangakkara returns to top 10 batsmen

India has moved up to second place on the Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Championship table following the annual update.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s team has jumped ahead of Australia and is now just one ratings point behind number-one-ranked South Africa after the adjustment.

The annual update is carried out to ensure the Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Championship table continues to reflect recent form with older results being discarded.

The table reflects all ODIs between the teams represented on the table that took place since 1 August two years ago. All matches played until the start of next August will be added to this table, so by then the ratings will be based on three years of results and, over those three years, matches played in the most recent year will carry most weight.

Next August the first year of results will be dropped and this pattern is repeated each August, with the oldest of the three years of results removed to be gradually replaced with results of matches played over the following 12 months.

Thus, once a year, the rankings change overnight without any new ODIs necessarily being played. India’s rise in this year’s update reflects its outstanding record during the past 12 months and also the dropping of a much poorer set of results in the year ending July 2007.

England has fared well as a result of the update as it rises two places from sixth to fourth spot in the latest team rankings. As a consequence, New Zealand falls from fourth to fifth position with Pakistan dropping to sixth spot after losing the first two of the ongoing ODI series in Sri Lanka.

Indeed, if Younus Khan’s team loses the next ODI in Dambulla on Monday, it will fall below Sri Lanka into seventh spot albeit with an immediate chance to retake sixth place in the fourth and fifth ODIs of the series.

Meanwhile, Kumar Sangakkara has returned to the top 10 of the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen after helping his side to victory in the first and second ODIs of the current series against Pakistan.

The news is not so good for Mohammad Yousuf of Pakistan who slips two places to 15th position while his team-mate Shoaib Malik and Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya also lose ground to joint-19th spot.

Their loss is India’s and New Zealand’s gain, however, as Gautam Gambhir and Ross Taylor both move up to joint-17th position in the latest rankings.

The batting list is still headed by the Indian duo of Dhoni in first place and Yuvraj Singh in second position. Australia’s Michael Hussey is currently third.

Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan continues his rise up the rankings and has gained two more places to third in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers. Shakib has benefited from the fact that Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralidaran has slipped two spots in the latest rankings and now sits in fifth position.

The other main mover in the top 20 of the bowling list is Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi, who drops three places to 12th position after the first matches of the ongoing series in Sri Lanka.

Afridi’s woes also extend to the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for ODI all-rounders as the 29-year-old slips one place to fourth with Shakib still the man in possession of number-one position.

New Zealand’s Jacob Oram benefits from Afridi’s slip, moving up two places to third position. Afridi’s team-mate Shoaib Malik has dropped out of the top five, slipping four places to seventh spot in the all-rounders’ list. Australia’s James Hopes moves into fifth position as a consequence.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul of the West Indies was declared Player of the year at the ICC awards ceremony held in Dubai. Another maverick pacer Dale Steyn of the SouthAfrica was named Test player of the year. While the hard hitting M.S.Dhoni won the ODI player of the year award.

Of the Pakistanis Mohammad Yousaf was one of the nominees for the ODI player of the year , while umpire Aleem Dar was nominee for the best umpire.

Here is the list of awards won by player in different categories.

Cricketer of the Year
Shivnarine Chanderpaul

Test Player of the Year
Dale Steyn

ODI Player of the Year
Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Emerging Player of the Year
Ajantha Mendis

Associate Player of the Year
Ryan ten Doeschate

Twenty20 International Performance of the Year
Yuvraj Singh

Women’s Player of the Year
Charlotte Edwards

Spirit of Cricket
Sri Lanka

Umpire of the Year
Simon Taufel

ICC Test Team of the Year Graeme Smith (SA, capt), Virender Sehwag (Ind), Mahela Jayawardena (SL), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI), Kevin Pietersen (Eng), Jacques Kallis (SA), Kumar Sangakkara (SL, wk), Brett Lee (Aus), Ryan Sidebottom (Eng), Dale Steyn (SA), Muttiah Muralitharan (SL). 12th man: Stuart Clark (Aus).

ICC ODI Team of the Year Hershelle Gibbs (SA), Sachin Tendulkar (Ind), Ricky Ponting (Aus, capt), Younis Khan (Pak), Andrew Symonds (Aus), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Ind, wk), Farveez Maharoof (SL), Daniel Vettori (NZ), Brett Lee (Aus), Mitchell Johnson (Aus), Nathan Bracken (Aus). 12th man: Salman Butt (Pak)

Every time they step on the field, Bangladesh seem to be making history. After having beaten West Indies for the first time in Tests and ODIs, they today sealed their first ODI series win against the hosts. More importantly, this win came by way of their highest successful chase in the limited-overs format, reaching the requisite 275 with six balls to spare.

At the centre of the accomplishment once again was Shakib Al Hasan, pulling West Indies back from a flying start, and then seeing his team through a tricky chase with a calm 65. Mohammad Ashraful, who got to back-to-back fifties for the first time since 2006, set up the Bangladesh reply after the openers struggled on a sluggish pitch that made it difficult to stroke the ball cleanly. The Shakib-Ashraful combination outdid an exceptional effort from Travis Dowlin, whose maiden international century lifted a fledgling West Indies to a fighting total.

Ashraful and Shakib came together after a sensible third-wicket partnership between Ashraful and Raqibul Hasan had ended, thanks to the pressure created by a slow pitch and tight bowling. Nevertheless, they had added 52 after the openers fell in a quick succession.

It was here that Ashraful took the lead, not letting the pressure mount. He first made room and slashed Bernard in the 28th over for the first boundary in 70 balls. When Rawl Lewis replaced Bernard in the next over, Ashraful lofted him over long-off for a six, bringing up his second fifty in three days. Shakib joined him in that charge, sweeping both Lewis and Bernard over midwicket. Those three overs brought Bangladesh 32 runs, and also brought down the asking-rate to less than six.

When Ashraful went for another six off Lewis, he put his team in a tricky state again, holing out to long-off. Until then, his 77-ball 64 had been well-paced, and he had added 74 with Shakib in 63 deliveries. But with 85 still required, Shakib had a major role to play. The boundaries were not easy to come – even Lewis negated the big sweep with googlies and straighter ones – but Shakib ran purposefully. He had to run all but six of his last 50 runs, but hardly did he ever let the scoring-rate fall.

During the match, the cameras panned to a spectator reading a magazine article on Shakib, titled the “Ice Man”. Shakib indeed played like one, but needed some luck on his side. With 71 required off 60, Shakib tried to hit Lewis out of the ground, only skying it to land perfectly between cover and long-off, which also resulted in a collision between Darren Sammy and Bernard. That shot also took Shakib to his half-century, kicking off a spell of ordinary cricket from both sides.

With 56 needed off the last eight overs, Shakib called for the batting Powerplay, and Roach immediately threatened to finish the match in a hurry. Even before he could do that, Floyd Reifer almost let him bowl with five fielders outside the circle. Roach started with a half-volley and a fulltoss both hit for boundaries, before bowling his second beamer of the match to be removed from the attack. What’s more, Shakib deposited it for a six.

Now it was the Ice Man’s turn to falter with the match almost pocketed. He swung across the line to Sammy, getting out with 37 needed off 41. Three wides came in the next two overs before Bangladesh contributed their bit to the chaos. Devon Thomas, the designated wicketkeeper, had to bowl what was left of Roach’s overs, and Mahmudullah gifted his second delivery with a leading edge. Riefer brought the fine leg up, Thomas saw two of his straight deliveries being punished and bowled two off-side wides to compensate. Mushfiqur returned the favour by hitting a fulltoss straight to cover. During that surreal period, the only question was which team wanted to lose more badly.

An overthrow here, an edge there, and Bangladesh reached the series win with an outside-edged boundary by Abdur Razzak. During this period of drama, the turnaround earlier in the day was almost forgotten.

For the majority of the first innings, both Dowlin and West Indies seemed to struggle to get the ball off the square against the spinners. West Indies had huffed and puffed their way to 176 for 4 in 40 overs, struggling to combat the grip and the turn. Dowlin’s story was no different – he took 88 deliveries to reach his fifty and had trouble with his running between the wickets, too.

But with the Powerplay taken in the 41st over, things changed. Dowlin slog-swept the spinners with vengeance, getting close to the pitch every time, and hitting to long-on, cow corner, midwicket, square leg, et al. By the end of the Powerplay, West Indies had reached 216 for 5, and Dowlin 87 off 105 deliveries. In the next five overs, Dowlin took little time to reach his maiden century, and Lewis and Sammy made sure West Indies finished with 98 runs in their last ten overs. In the end, though, they were to be second-best.

Bangladesh 276 for 7 (Shakib 65, Ashraful 64) beat West Indies 274 for 5 (Dowlin 100*, Smith 44) by three wickets

Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram believes fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar’s international career is virtually over. Akram said the warning bells had been sounded with Shoaib’s omission from Pakistan’s list of probables for the forthcoming Champions Trophy, to be held in South Africa.

“I don’t think he has got a chance, unless and until some miracles happen,” Akram said. “Even though it depends on the captain and selectors, I think Shoaib has fallen out with the selectors and the board itself. The board still supported him and he went to Abu Dhabi and played two of the five games against Australia before getting injured again. We all saw that.”

Akram also said the emergence of young fast bowlers like Mohammad Aamer had made Shoaib’s comeback tougher. “I think Pakistan’s bowling unit is doing well and they have to look ahead and think about the future,” he said. “They have to back the youngsters who will do the job for them, even if you look at the 2011 World Cup. Also in this year’s Champions Trophy and the next Twenty20 World Cup, the team would have to rely on the youngsters. I don’t know where you can place Shoaib Akhtar in the current picture of Pakistan cricket.”

Akram predicted a difficult future for Mohammad Asif as well. The 26-year-old fast bowler, however, made the cut for the probables for the Champions Trophy, following a tumultuous two-and-a-half years in which he failed dope tests and was embroiled in a detention case in Dubai.

“My advice to Asif would be – learn from your mistakes. I sincerely hope he learns from the 300 mistakes that he has made in the last two years,” said Akram. “He’s young, talented and one of the best Pakistani bowlers but it will take him some time to return because Aamer is now bowling really well.”

He pointed out that international returns were not easy and cited the cases of Umar Gul and Sohail Tanvir. “Even Sohail Tanvir was struggling in Twenty20,” Akram said. “Umar Gul is phenomenal but I don’t think he bowled well enough in the Test matches [in Sri Lanka]. My advice to Gul is: Twenty20 and ODI are fine but if you are to be recognised as a good bowler you have to do well in Test cricket too.”

Gary Kirsten, India’s coach, has joined the debate on IPL’s threat to Test cricket and said if players are paid substantially more for playing in the Twenty20 league then there will be others like Andrew Flintoff who will quit Tests.

 ”It’s a natural progression that the guys are then going to say ‘I’m not interested in bowling 25 overs in a day when I can bowl four overs in a six-week period and earn three times as much’,” Kirtsen said. “The worrying side that I’m seeing is that a guy like Andrew Flintoff, a high profile cricketer, has now made the decision to leave Test cricket, because he feels that he can get more out of his body and earn much more money by moving away from Test cricket and playing ODIs and Twenty20 cricket. He’s perfectly right in his decision. Why not?”

 Kirsten said if countries wanted Test cricket to remain as the No. 1 format then priorities had to be sorted. “India plays six Tests this year. Is that sufficient or are there other priorities? I don’t know.”

 Kirsten also said the number of Twenty20s per tour should be increased in place of ODIs. “It’s quite interesting that we’ve got a Twenty20 World Cup in April next year in the West Indies and Team India don’t play one Twenty20 game until that tournament starts. What should be happening is that we should be going on tour and playing six Twenty20 games and one or two 50-over games. I think that’s going to happen. It’s just a matter of time.”

 New Zealand players have decided to forgo next year’s IPL for a Test series against Australia at home. Daniel Vettori, the New Zealand captain, said while the national side had to be the players’ priority, it was difficult for them to continue to turn down the money.