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While it’s a good talking point to see which team is at the top of the charts, and a badge of honour to be called the No. 1 team in the world, what this group is really after is being considered the best team in the world by their peers.

For a while now it was considered difficult to be consistent in ODIs. But the introduction of Twenty20 cricket has made the 50-over game feel like a long-drawn out affair and made people realise that 300 balls is actually a long time for an innings.

On the day before the final at the R Premadasa Stadium, three teams who will play each other in the Champions Trophy shortly were in completely different spaces in world cricket.

Sri Lanka have grown in stature, boast a varied bowling attack, and even the up and down nature of their batting has been papered over in home conditions.

India, after two days of hard practice and two days of back-to-back matches, were in fine tuning mode.

New Zealand, well, they were in coffee shops and swimming pools, shopping malls and restaurants, having failed abjectly to lift their game enough to challenge either of the other teams in this tri-series.

Of India’s players who took part in the matches on Friday and Saturday, only Yuvraj Singh joined the reserves at a net session.

Having fallen to Daniel Vettori’s spin in the first game and failing to come to terms with Lasith Malinga’s pace and swing in the second game, Yuvraj worked on his batting basics. Gary Kirsten, himself a left-handed batsman, fired in hard tennis balls with a tennis racquet, imparting spin and swerve on the ball, getting it to kick awkwardly at times.

As much as Yuvraj worked on blunting dangerous deliveries, he concentrated on leaving alone anything that didn’t threaten his stumps.

Virat Kohli, who batted and bowled in the nets, was the subject of much discussion as it became known that he had been named replacement for Gautam Gambhir despite having been advised eight weeks’ rest by fitness experts at the National Cricket Academy.

Since then Kohli has played for ONGC in the Corporate Trophy, and is demonstrably able to play, even if he is still bothered by a niggle.

It’s not something Mahendra Singh Dhoni will worry about at all, as India looked likely to make no changes to the team that has played the first two matches of the series. If anything they might consider bringing Praveen Kumar into the mix, but neither RP Singh nor Ashish Nehra have bowled themselves out of contention for the final.

Like Anil Kumble before him, Dhoni is one captain who does not care much for talk about rankings or the toss or the weather. Even he was forced to sound a warning: “Once you win the toss you have the game 60 % in your favour. If you score around 270 then you are 80 % sure of winning the game.”

The most crucial aspect of Monday’s final could take place half an hour before a ball is bowled.

Squad

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Rahul Dravid, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Ashish Nehra, Rudra Pratap Singh, Amit Mishra, Dinesh Karthik, Abhishek Nayar.

Sri Lanka: Kumar Sangakkara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Malinga Bandara, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilina Kandamby, Chamara Kapugedera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Ajantha Mendis, Dammika Prasad, Thilan Samaraweera, Upul Tharanga, Thilan Thushara

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There is a rarely a dull moment in a Pakistan test match series and this tour of Sri Lanka has been one of the most extraordinary I can recall. Whilst Sri Lanka may have clinched their first home series win, I am still shaking my head in disbelief at 3 of the most spectacular Pakistan batting collapses that I have seen. In case you have not been following this series here is a quick re-cap of how the Pakistan team have thrown away winning positions in each of the first 2 test matches.

1st Test: Sri Lanka won by 50 runs

After a fairly even 1st innings Pakistan assumed control and find themselves needing just 97 to win with 8 wickets remaining going into Day 4. Collapse number 1 saw them come up 50 runs short as they added just 46 runs.

2nd Test: Sri Lanka won by 7 wickets

Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat, a good toss to have won by all accounts but they manage to bat for just 36 overs scoring 90 runs in the process of collapse number 2. Game over? Certainly not, back come Pakistan and they restrict Sri Lanka to 240, a useful though not match-winning lead of 150.

Pakistan take control as Fawad Alam (168 on debut) and Younus Kahn (82) pile on the runs before the captain throws his wicket away with the score on 285. A threatening lead and plenty of batting to come – advantage Pakistan? Think again. Pakistan went on to lose their last 9 wickets for just 35 runs in collapse number 3. It gave them a lead of just 170 and Sri Lanka knocked off the runs in no time.

The Venue: 

This venue has become a Sri Lanka cricket stronghold with only Pakistan (2000), England (2001) and Australia (2004) managing to win a test against the hosts. Sri Lanka have won 11 of the last 14 test matches they have played on this ground, they even put India away by an innings and 239 runs last year.

A new era for Sri Lanka

Sangakkara has captained the side splendidly, refusing to panic when on the back foot and pressing home the advantage when Pakistan lost their heads. Paranavitana and Sangakkara himself have made solid contributions with the bat. Despite missing Murali for the first 2 tests and Mendis not really firing, the bowlers has been top class.

After the 3rd test, the sides will play 5 ODI’s and a T20 and we will preview each match.

Pakistan needed 97 runs with 8 wickets remaining on day 4 of the 1st test in Galle and having worked so hard to put themselves firmly in the driving seat, they pressed the self destruct button. Sri Lanka cleaned up the remainder of the Pakistan batting for just 46 runs for an unlikely win.

Mohammed Yousuf had earlier seamlessly eased back into the Pakistan side with a century in the first innings but in the end, it was their 2nd innings flop where Sri Lankan spinner Herath took 4 wickets for just 15 runs that brought about a spectacular downfall.

Their can be few excuses for Pakistan, they enjoyed some good fortune when they had the better of some rather dubious umpiring decisions and remmber Sri Lanka were without Murali, who is recovering from injury. Murali’s spin twin Mendis was well below par in the first innings and the game should have been put to bed. At the time of writing, Murali remains a doubt for the 2nd test. 

The plus points for Pakistan came in the return of Yousuf and the bowling of Mohammad Aamer who was excellent in taking 3 wickets in each Sri Lankan innings. Salman Butt’s place must be in jeopardy and Pakistan must also be thinking seriously about bringing in any or all of Fawad Alam, Abdul Razzaq and Danish Kaneria.

As for Sri Lanka, if Murali doesn’t make it, they may well go in unchanged after a winning start for Sangakkara.

The Venue:

Sri Lanka enjoy a fine recent record at this ground, winning 5 and drawing 1 of their last 6 test matches. In August last year they hammered India by 8 wickets on this ground with Murali and Mendis taking 13 of the 20 Indian wickets to fall. Sangakkara hit 144 in the Sri Lankan 1st innings and went onto to take the man of the match award.

A quick re-cap on what’s happened in the series so far:

1st ODI, Sabina Park: India, 339/6 50 overs, West Indies 319 48.1 overs, India won by 20 runs

2nd ODI, Sabina Park: India 188 all out, 48.2 overs, West Indies 192/2 34.1 overs, West Indies won by 8 wickets

3rd ODI, St Lucia: Adverse weather resulted in the 3rd ODI eventually being reduced to 22 overs a side at this venue on Friday. Dhoni won the toss yet again and invited the West Indies to bat.

West Indies posted 186/7 during an innings which included 2 stoppages for rain and then a further stoppage during the Indian innings resulted in India needing 159 to win in 22 overs. Sarwan had top scored for West Indies with 62 off 59 balls whilst Nehra took 3 for 21 in his 5 overs. In reply, India looked to be cruising to victory with Karthik (47) and Gambhir (44) laying a solid foundation. The West Indies bowlers never let India run away with it though and in the end it came down to the last over with India requiring 11 for victory. MS Dhoni smashed a six off Jerome Taylor’s 2nd ball and the Indians were all but home, if not dry. India eventually ran out winners by 6 wickets under the D/L method.

It was tough on the West Indies who had again lost a crucial toss yet the close finish illustrates how little there is between these sides in this series.

After this, the Indian side will no doubt enjoy a 2 month break from cricket before a short triangular tournament prior to the Champions Trophy. We look forward to welcoming them to South Africa in September.

As for West Indies, they will host Bangladesh for 3 test matches, 2 ODI’s and a T20 through July to the early part of August.

The Venue: Galle, Sri Lanka

Galle is widely viewed as one of the most splendid venues in test cricket and the ground has been rebuilt since being badly damaged by the Tsunami.

Pakistan’s only visit to Galle came in 2000 and they won comprehensively by an innings and 163 runs after Pakistan hit 600 in their first innings. Sri Lanka then reeled off a sequence of impressive victories with South Africa, India, England and West Indies all losing by at least 10 wickets in the 18 months or so that followed.

Rcently though, Sri Lanka’s fortunes at Galle have taken a turn for the worse. There were draws against England in 2003 and 2007, and the Proteas in 2004. Also in 2004 Australia beat  them by 197 runs and in the last test match at this venue which came in 2008, India ran out winners by 170 runs.

Let’s take a closer look at the test against India last year for a few pointers. India  won the toss and chose to bat. They made 29 thanks largely to a double century from Sehwag. Sri Lankan spinners Mendia (6) and Murali (2) took 8 of the 10 Indian wickets.

In reply, Sri Lanka were all out for 292 and once again, spin was a potent weapon with Harbhajan taking 6 wickets and Kumble 3. India then set their hosts 307 for victory as they made 269 in their 2nd innings. Mendis (4) and Murali (3) were once again amongst the wickets.

On day 4, Sri Lanka collapsed in their chase and were all out for 136 as Indian ran out comfortable winners. In summary of the 40 wickets to fall, 30 fell to spin bowling.

Sri Lanka squad:

Sangakkara takes charge of a squad which includes T20 star performer Dilshan, the experience of Jayawardene as well as the spin of Murali and Mendis. Chaminda Vaas has been left out whilst Jayasuriya no longer plays test cricket.

Kumar Sangakkara (capt), Malinda Warnapura, Tharanga Paranavitana, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Angelo Mathews, Chamara Kapugedera, Muthiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis, Thilan Thushara, Nuwan Kulasekera, Dhammika Prasad, Kaushal Silva, Suranga Lakmal.

Pakistan squad:

Younis Khan welcomes back Mohammad Yousuf to a squad which has many of the members of the successful ICC T20 campaign. There is no Afridi who has having a break before the ODI’s begin but Saeed Ajmal is there to provide the spin along with Danish Kaneria

Squad: Younis Khan (capt), Salman Butt, Khurram Manzoor, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal (wk), Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Aamer, Danish Kaneria, Abdul Razzaq, Abdur Rauf, Fawad Alam, Faisal Iqbal.

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India need to put a nightmare performance behind them in the 2nd ODI last Sunday when they were comprehensively beaten by 8 wickets. Their top order was taken apart by Jerome Taylor, Ravi Rampaul and Dwayne Bravo as they were dismissed for just 188. It could have been far worse for India who were 7/3 and then 82/8 early doors and they have MS Dhoni (85 off 130) and RP Singh (23 off 75) to thank for saving them from a desperately low total. Dhoni and Singh added 101 for the 9th wicket, Yuvraj Singh who made 35 was the only other batsman to reach double figures.

India’s batting performance was in stark contrast to the display in the 1st ODI when they posted 339 on the same ground. Despite the best efforts of Dhoni and Singh they were still way short of par and WI crashed off the runs in 34.1 overs with Gayle making 64 and Morton finishing 85 not out.

So after winning the first game by 20 runs, India are now all square as we head off to the wonderful Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia for a double header to complete the series.

West Indies have won 5, lost 4 and there has been 1 no result in their 10 ODI’s on this ground which was opened in 2002. They last played here in April this year and it didn’t go to plan as they lost a rain affected match by 26 runs to England. That defeat saw England to take the ODI series.

It’s usually a decent track though the long range forecast suggests there is chance of thunderstorms so let’s hope the weather behaves as we should be in for a good contest.

Team news: India may look to give a game to any of Murali Vijay, Subramaniam Badrinath, Pragyan Ojha, Abishek Nayar who have yet to feature in the series.

The remainder of the Indian squad is as follows: MS Dhoni (capt), Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik, Ashish Nehra, Yusuf Pathan, Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, RP Singh, Praveen Kumar.

The sides remain in St. Lucia to complete the series with a match on Sunday 5th of July.

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First, a quick re-cap on the 1st ODI which was played on Friday. After winning the toss, MS Dhoni elected to bat whilst opposing captain Chris Gayle described it as a good toss to win.

Despite losing 2 early wickets, India posted 339/6 in their 50 overs, the highlight being Yuvraj Singh’s 131 off 102 balls. Yuvraj was backed up by opener Dinesh Karthik (67 off 77), MS Dhoni (41 off 46) and Yusuf Pathan (40 off 38). 

The spin of Benn was the only bowling to escape real punishment with his 10 overs costing 50 runs. The other West Indian bowlers suffered badly, mainly at the hands of Yuvraj who started slowly but stepped on the gas thereafter and took the attack to pieces.

In reply West Indies gave it a real go, Gayle (37), Morton (42), Sarwan (45), Chanderpaul (63) and some useful contributions lower down brought the home side within touching distance. They were eventually bowled out just 20 runs short. It was a most spirited chase and it was a shame a cruel decision by the umpire not to call a no ball from the chest high delivery Dwayne Bravo fell to had such a bearing on the result.

There was a degree of panic from India towards the end of the match. The wicket was expected to get slower and offer some turn, it never really happened like that. 

Here’s how the teams lined up for the first ODI and their options for changes in the 2nd game:

West Indies:

Chris Gayle (capt), Dinesh Ramdin (wk), Lionel Baker, Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Sulieman Benn, David Bernard, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, , Runako Morton, , Ramnaresh Sarwan, Jerome Taylor.

Ravi Rampaul and Narsingh Deonarine were omitted from the starting line up for the first ODI and perhaps Rampaul has the stronger claims of the two if a change is made to the bowling attack.

India: 

MS Dhoni (capt), Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik, Ashish Nehra, Yusuf Pathan, Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, RP Singh. 

Already missing a few star names, India mainly opted for the tried and tested though the following will be hoping to feature at some stage of the series: Murali Vijay, Subramaniam Badrinath, Pragyan Ojha, Praveen Kumar, Abishek Nayar

The sides head off to St. Lucia to complete the series with matches on the 3rd and 5th of July.

India’s last visit to the Caribbean was in 2006. They took the test series 1-0 winning the final match after the first 3 were drawn but West Indies took the ODI series 4-1.  The first 2 ODI’s of the series were also played at Sabina Park and both were thrillers which went to the last over. In the first encounter, India overhauled West Indies 251 with 1 ball remaining for a 5 wicket win.

Just 2 days later, West Indies somehow defended 198 to win by 1 run. Yuvraj Singh made 93 and was the last wicket to fall off the penultimate ball when he was bowled by Dwayne Bravo. West Indies never looked back in the ODI series thereafter.

West Indies showed great spirit to reach the T20 semi finals earlier this month but their earlier performances in the ODI’s against England was very disappointing. They are an unpredictable unit and it will be interesting to see how they fare back on home soil.

The Squads:

Although Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan are rested and Suresh Raina and Sehwag are injured, India have brought a strong touring squad with them. West Indies have amazingly chosen to leave out Lendl Simmons and Darren Sammy who were two of their better performers in the ICC World Twenty20. Darren Bravo, younger brother of Dwayne is an interesting newcomer but you really have to wonder what planet these West Indies selectors are on at times. Fidel Edwards misses the first 2 games with a back injury which leaves the West Indies bowling looking a bit lightweight.

West Indies (1st and 2nd ODI’s):

Chris Gayle (capt), Denesh Ramdin (wk), Lionel Baker, Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Sulieman Benn, David Bernard, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Narsingh Deonarine, Runako Morton, Ravi Rampaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Jerome Taylor.

India:

MS Dhoni (capt) , Yuvraj Singh, Subramaniam Badrinath, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik, Praveen Kumar, Abishek, Nayar, Ashish Nehra, Pragyan Ojha, Yusuf Pathan, Ishant sharma, Rohit Sharma, RP Singh, Murali Vijay

The 2nd ODI also takes place at Sabina Park on Sunday before the sides head off to St. Lucia for the 3rd and 4th matches to complete the series.

Courtesy: http://www.cricketpulse.com/