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Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
How they were out

Centuries by Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid set India up for aconvincing 87-run win against Pakistan in the first one-dayinternational, at Kochi. Recovering from the loss of two earlywickets, and despite slowing down in the slog overs, India made 281for 8. Pakistan lost four early wickets, and Sachin Tendulkar tookfive wickets in the middle overs as Pakistan crumbled to 194 in 45.2overs. It was a game played in scorching temperatures of more than 40degrees celsius and high humidity, conditions that made cricket difficult.India coped the better of the two teams.They won the toss and batted first on a pitch that was a belter, butlost two wickets in the second over. Rana Naved-ul-Hasan dismissedSachin Tendulkar for 4 and Sourav Ganguly for 0, and India’s twobatting heroes of the Test series, Sehwag and Dravid, found themselvesat the crease with the score on 4 for 2. Then they added 201 runs.Sehwag had a shaky start – he was dropped twice early in his innings,and played a few streaky strokes. But once he settled down, helaunched into a flurry of boundaries. When Sehwag is set, aggressionis not necessarily risky, and what appears exotic to others is breadand butter for him. Full ball outside off? Midwicket boundary. And soon.Dravid’s innings was more controlled. His strokeplay was precise, heran hard between the wickets, and India’s run-rate lifted to close tosix an over. India were 205 for 2 at the end of the 35th over, butboth batsmen were utterly exhausted by the heat. Sehwag, who hadcompleted his century, was looking only to slog, and was duly bowledby Abdul Razzaq while trying to smash a ball out of the ground.Dravid, meanwhile, was panting as he completed his runs, and lay downfor a rest when a break in play happened. It was clearly time for theyounger men to take over the onus of making big runs, but none of themmanaged to do so. Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif got their eye in andmishit slog-sweeps off Arshad Khan to be caught in the deep, and allthe other wickets fell off slogging attempts, except Dravid’s. Dravidwas run out for 104, barely able to stretch himself.

Salman Butt and Kamran Akmal opened Pakistan’s innings, and Butt hitsome early boundaries as the bowlers gave him too much width. The pairadded 45 runs in 39 balls before Akmal smashed Lakshmipathy Balajistraight to Sehwag at point. Four runs later, Ashish Nehrafinally got his captain’s instructions right, bowling a short ball onButt’s hips, and Ganguly caught the resultant flick at squareleg, taking a good high catch.Shoaib Malik then smashed Balaji to Yuvraj at point. Four overslater, Zaheer Khan took a diving one-handed return catch to his rightto get rid of Yousuf Youhana.Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Hafeez added 48 useful runs in the highestpartnership of the innings. Hafeez began slowly, but hit a couple ofpowerful sixes and used his feet well against the spinners. OnceInzamam was out, though, wickets fell steadily, and by the time Hafeezwas the ninth man out, having top-scored with 42, victory wasimpossible.Inzamam played a composed innings, driving and pulling powerfully whenhe got the chance, but doing nothing untoward otherwise. But therequired run-rate climbed past seven an over, and he was deceived, andbowled, by a quicker ball from Tendulkar that he tried to glide ontothe off side.Apres him le deluge de Tendulkar wickets. One by one, batsmen tried toslog him and got out, as he finished with the second five-wicket haulof his one-day international career, in which he has now taken 137wickets. He had failed with the bat, but had made up for it with theball, and looked rather pleased at the end of it all. And why not?How they were outIndia Tried to pull, ball rose more than expected, looped up to mid-on. Stepped across his stumps as the ball swung towards leg and sneaked past him to hit the leg stump. Bowled while attempting a wild slog. Top-edge off a slog sweep, caught in the deep. Ditto. Slog to deep midwicket. Run out going for a quick single. Bowled going for a slog over square leg.Pakistan Slashed uppishly to point. Flicked a short ball on his hips, good overhead catch at square leg. Slashed uppishly to point. Powerful drive towards mid-on, superb diving catch with one hand. Tried to steera faster one on the off side, missed
Full tossoutside leg, desperate attempt at a sweep popped up to short fine leg Slog to square leg Beaten by flight,easy return catch Pulled to deep midwicket Tried to slog, missed

Stephen Fleming, the New Zealand captain, has expressed doubts over India’s preperation for the opening game of the Videocon Cup at Bulawayo. Fleming said he expected India to struggle against New Zealand in tomorrow’s game as he felt their decision to arrive at the venue barely 24 hours before the match could backfire.”I am a bit surprised at Indians’ late arrival at the venue,” said Fleming. “It will be interesting to see how they manage their energies. If they win then obviously it is a smart move but if they struggle, as I expect them to struggle, it wouldn’t be such a smart move.”The Indians arrived in Zimbabwe on Monday but spent the next two days in Harare, fine-tuning their preparation and letting go an opportunity to acclimatise themselves to the difficult conditions in Bulawayo. They took an early morning flight to arrive in Bulawayo this morning.Bulawayo gets extremely hot in the afternoon and Fleming described it as “a sense of burning in the lungs” during daytime. He also said India would be under pressure to perform well against his galvanised side. “They have always been a very strong side but I expect the pressure to be on them to perform. They are naturally gifted players although I haven’t followedtheir form.”We intend to exert pressures on individuals in the Indian team. Obviouslyplaying against them is a step up but we have played with confidence in recenttimes.”Fleming said one of the reasons why his team has been in top form is because all the players have been fit and available for selection including Nathan Astle. “He batted in the nets today and is available tomorrow. The key for us has been the consistent performance which wasn’t there in the past season because of injuries to five or six players at the same time.When we get a top side we are pretty good and we will have a chance to measure ourselves in the next six months when we play against sides such as Australia. Potentially we remain a very good side.”Fleming was not upset at the poor return to international cricket of his star allrounder Chris Cairns who was belted for 74 runs in his nine overs against Zimbabwe yesterday. “This was his first bowl in a long time. He has been a little rusty but then he is a seasoned campaigner. It will take him little time to get into the tournament.”Fleming indicated Cairns could be dropped tomorrow but it would not be becauseof poor form. “We have players who are playing well and can cover up for him,” he said. “If he isdropped, it would be for tactical reason and not form.”

For the second time in a year, an India-Bangladesh series has been postponed. Bangladesh were due to tour India in April 2005, but the tour was delayed until later in the year because India will be hosting Pakistan at that time. Earlier this year, India were to tour Bangladesh but postponed their trip until December so they could visit Pakistan instead.”I have had talks with the officials of the BCCI yesterday,” Ali Asghar, the president of the Bangladesh Board, told , “and it has been decided that we will not tour India in April. It is mainly because both the sides [were] pressed for time. But the BCCI has assured me that they will host us later next year.”Bangladesh are scheduled to tour England in May. The trips to England and India will be their first since they achieved Test status.

A report in India Today magazine claims that India’s players are seeking assurances from the Indian board (BCCI) about their personal safety before agreeing to travel to Pakistan for March’s ground-breaking series.The article adds that several players believe that the BCCI has spent more time focusing on the financial windfall likely to accrue from the games than it has on the welfare of the team.”Is anyone in the BCCI going to do a recce before the tour and see what the arrangements are for the team?” the magazine quotes an unnamed player as saying. “We get a feeling they are happy to just have the tour and send us off. There seems to be more talk of television revenues rather than security which is disturbing.”Recent reports have indicated that the tour could generate huge sums of money, with the cash-strapped Pakistan Cricket Board alone set to earn around $30 million in broadcast and sponsorship rights.Jagmohan Dalmiya, the BCCI president, dismissed the concerns, insisting that he had been in regular touch with the Pakistan board to discuss all aspects of the tour, including player security.

Johan Botha, the South African offspinner who had been suspended because of a dodgy action, has received support from his countryman and former offspinner Shafiek Abrahams. Abrahams, who played a solitary ODI in 2000, felt that the equipment used in England recently to evaluate Botha’s action was below standard and outdated.He also added that it was strange that Botha’s action was within the prescribed 15 degrees when he was tested in South Africa. “It is incomprehensible that Johan’s action has again been found to be illegal,” Abrahams told News24.com. “This is really laughable. He was tested several times in South Africa and his action was far under the prescribed mark of 15 degrees. However, in England it appeared well over the mark.”Even with the naked eye one can see his action looks good. A bowler’s action cannot change so much overnight. There are many other bowlers in world cricket whose action does not look as good as Johan’s.”There are many more cameras and other equipment at the Institute of Sports Sciences than at the ICC’s centre,” said Abrahams. “I know people at Cricket SA are unhappy about the test. They are drawing up a report. Much money has been wasted to have Johan tested.”Tim Noakes, head of the Sports Science Institute at Newlands, was also baffled by the result of the recent test. “The result of the test [done in England] shows that Botha now bends his arm more than he did when he was originally tested in Australia. This means all the work we did during the past few months has made his action worse,” Noakes was quoted as saying on the Supercricket website.Noakes was doubtful about the English test. “This is not a simple test in which the guy’s arm is measured while it is flat on the ground. You measure the movement in his bowling action, and that happens very quickly. You have a specific model that you have to use. The Australians in Perth use the same model as we do. The people in England use another model.”Noakes also claimed that when Botha was tested in Cape Town for the first time after the test in Perth, the result was almost the same. “The difference between the results was less than half a degree. In science, you try, as far as possible, to repeat tests in precisely the same manner to obtain the best results.”Botha’s action was reported in his debut Test against Australia at Sydney in January 2006 and he was suspended after tests in Perth. He will again be tested at Newlands on Thursday. If his action is shown to be legal, Cricket SA will request that he be tested again in Perth.

Shane Bond is still some time away from getting back into bowling training as the New Zealand team start to look towards their next mission, the tour of India in September-October.The fast bowler, who has been out of cricket since suffering a stress fracture in his back during the Bank Alfalah Cup tournament in Sri Lanka in May, is officially described as “progressing nicely” by New Zealand Cricket’s sports science medical co-ordinator Warren Frost. “He’s still on the comeback trail and is building up his work in the gym. He is still a little from being back bowling.”Meanwhile, ace batsman Nathan Astle has resumed his build-up to full fitness, and his training will be stepped up another level this week. Apart from these two, Frost said everyone else still in New Zealand was in training which was a little unusual given the injury problems that have plagued the top level cricketers in recent seasons. The players were enjoying the break, Frost said. He is in contact with them every week and sees them every four to six weeks.

The State Canterbury Wizards’ side for the opening State Championship match against the State Otago Volts in Timaru, starting on Monday, has a well-seasoned look to it.The side will be led by international Craig McMillan, who was unavailable for the Black Caps’ tour of Pakistan. Unfortunately, injury to Shane Bond and Wade Cornelius has taken some of the teeth from the potential attack, while Nathan Astle, is still not ready to play. But with Chris Martin and Warren Wisneski having made international appearances there is still a solid core to the new ball attack. Also selected are Brendon Donkers and Stephen Cunis.They will be supplemented by Paul Wiseman, the Test off-spinner and Aaron Redmond, the leg-spinner. However, injury to Redmond this week will mean that David Kelly will travel to Timaru as cover for Redmond in case he has not recovered as quickly as hoped for the match.Canterbury’s newer brigade of batsmen are also represented in the side with Shanan Stewart, Michael Papps, Peter Fulton and Neil Broom included. McMillan and Gary Stead will provide a necessary rod of experience in the batting order.The full team is: Craig McMillan (capt), Neil Broom, Steven Cunis, Brendon Donkers, Peter Fulton, Chris Martin, Michael Papps, Aaron Redmond, Gary Stead, Shanan Stewart, Paul Wiseman, Warren Wisneski.Unavailable along with Bond, Astle and Cornelius were Chris Cairns, Chris Harris and Brendon McCullum.

Junior cricketers from India and Pakistan are likely to be at the forefront of a thawing in the relationship between the two countries as early as February. Annual triangular one-day tournaments between Under-19 teams, Academy sides and A teams from the two countries, and Sri Lanka, are being planned, with the first possibly in February.The heads of the two boards, Jagmohan Dalmiya and Lieutenant-General Tauqir Zia, met in London during the Asian Cricket Council meeting at Lord’s to discuss ways to resume cricketing relations. Zia said that regular competition at lower levels would break the ice and help resume cricket between the two countries on a regular basis.Both India and Sri Lanka have their academies operative while the firstentrants in Pakistan’s National Cricket Academy are expected within the next few weeks.Zia added: “The PCB chief executive and Secretary of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) are discussing the modalities of the tournaments that will soon be implemented.”Zia also said that Dalmiya had updated him on the possibility of India touring Pakistan early next year for three Tests and as many one-day internationals. “Mr Dalmiya has informed me that although the Indian government is very keen to resume bilateral tours between the two countries, the BCCI is still awaiting official clearance from New Delhi for next year’s tour," said Zia. "But Mr Dalmiya is optimistic that BCCI would get the go-ahead and India will tour Pakistan."

Sourav Ganguly has expressed his desire to be one of Kent’s overseas professionals next season. Rahul Dravid had an exceptional season with Kent in 2000, the same year that Ganguly earned more brickbats than bouquets for his Lancashire stint.Ganguly said that a return to the county treadmill was very much on the cards, given India’s less-than-hectic schedule next summer. “I wish to turn out for Kent next season,” he said. “A player can improve a lot by playing county cricket in England. Playing on different pitches there is really tough and it steels one’s nerves. The international calendar is not that crowded next year. I’ll get some time and I want to utilise it by playing in England.”His Lancashire experience may have been marked by headlines about blue shoes and aloofness, but clearly, the postcards from Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Mohammad Kaif and Yuvraj Singh – all playing the county circuit this summer – have convinced him that the English summer is worth another try.

South African middle-order batsman Jonty Rhodes has undergone surgery on the broken hand he sustained whilst fielding in the World Cup match against Kenya in Potchefstroom yesterday.Rhodes injured his right hand when trying to catch Maurice Odumbe in the 31st over of the Kenyan innings.An X-ray in Potchefstroom revealed a break of the fifth metacarpal bone on his right hand.Rhodes was taken through to Johannesburg yesterday afternoon to see a hand specialist who, under local anesthetic, reduced the fracture and inserted two pins to hold the bone together and facilitate union at the fracture site by immobilisation.He then rejoined the team in Potchefstroom.South African team physiotherapist Shane Jabaar said,” the specialist felt that Jonty would have the pins in for about 3 weeks to allow for the bones to knit together and the fracture to heal. Thereafter there would be some pain, but that could be managed.”Jabaar added,” during the period of recuperation Jonty will continue to train and exercise in order to strengthen and constantly improve the functional use of his right hand.”Rhodes himself said it was an awkward time for it to happen, but remains positive.” I suppose if I was going to break something during the World Cup then now is as good a time as any, at least we have got three weeks before the Super Sixes. Its not the end of the world, I have played with pain before.”Rhodes broke the same bone but in his left hand in Australia on the 1992/93 tour.As to his further participation in the World Cup, Rhodes said ” I have no idea what the selectors plans are for me, I will just have to wait and see.”Selection convener Omar Henry said that he will be speaking with his fellow selectors and the team management through the day and would hope to make an announcement regarding Rhodes’s further participation in the tournament by late Thursday afternoon.