New Zealand start with tense victory

World Twenty20: Cricket must play redemption song to win the Caribbean

The last big cricket event in the Caribbean was a disaster, with killjoy regulations, but this wide-open tournament could set things right

Three years ago the International Cricket Council ran a World Cup in the Caribbean so inept that it made the Atlanta Olympics seem like a roaring success by comparison. The region, so keen to take advantage of the profile offered by the event, instead was humiliated.

World Twenty20 - Morgan guides England to win

Eoin Morgan confirmed his liking for South Africa's bowlers with another match-winning role as England narrowly completed an unbeaten ICC World Twenty20 warm-up campaign at Kensington Oval.

Morgan (63) began his contribution after England lurched to nine for three in the third over of their reply to 125 for five.

But, reprising the 45-ball 85 not out he smashed the South Africans for at the Wanderers last November, he dominated a much-needed fourth-wicket stand of 71 in 11 overs with Paul Collingwood.

The diminutive left-hander announced himself with a dismissive pull for six off Morne Morkel on his way to a 53-ball half-century which also contained six fours. Morgan was unable to live up to his 'finisher' mantle, holing out in the deep off Rusty Theron but Luke Wright and Tim Bresnan did just enough as England sneaked the verdict by five wickets with three balls to spare.

Australia's record in Twenty20 cricket is a concern ahead of World Twenty20

Aussie cricket fans are likely to have the unusual feeling of low expectations heading into the 2010 World Twenty20, which starts this weekend in the Caribbean.

While the Aussies have dominated the Test and one-day forms of the game for the better part of two decades, their record in Twenty20 cricket is far from impressive.

Numbers from Fox Sports Stats show that in 29 Twenty20 internationals since 2005, the Aussies have won just over half of them, which leaves them fourth on the list of matches won behind Pakistan, Sri Lanka and South Africa.

Probably most concerning of all for Australia is their poor record in T20s on foreign soil. In 19 matches away from home, Australia have won just five with two of them coming in New Zealand.

Australia hit rock bottom in last year’s World Twenty20 in England when they were knocked out in the group stages following big losses to West Indies and Sri Lanka.

Afghanistan display their intentions

Afghanistan 134 for 5 (Stanikzai 39) beat Ireland 133 for 9 (D Ahmadzai 4-15) by five wickets

Afghanistan showed no signs of nerves on the eve of their big-stage debut, as they surged to an impressive five-wicket victory over Ireland with three balls to spare. Their victory was based around two inspired spells at either end of the game - first from the seamer, Dawlat Ahmadzai, who claimed 4 for 15, and then from Ashghar Stanikzai and Mohammad Nabi, who added 66 runs for the fifth wicket in six overs to swipe the contest from under Ireland's nose.

"Any team wants a jump start, no matter who you are playing against," said coach Kabir Khan. "Ireland is one of the best Associate teams and getting a victory against them when we were a bit down to start with was very important. As a coach the promising thing is that the boys are fighting hard and they are coming back into games which is not very easy in Twenty20."

After winning the toss and choosing to field, Afghanistan pushed Ireland onto the defensive from the first over, as Ahmadzai removed Will Porterfield for a second-ball duck with the Ireland captain swatting to square leg, before ripping through the rest of the top-order. Paul Stirling was caught and bowled for 6 before Alex Cusack had his middle stump extracted for the same score, and when the O'Brien brothers both fell in the space of six balls, Ireland were in disarray at 32 for 5.

It should have been 43 for 6 shortly afterwards, but John Mooney was given a life off a top edge and alongside they did their utmost to repair the damage adding 79 in nine overs for the sixth wicket, with Mooney cracking three sixes in a 33-ball 42. Trent Johnston chipped in with 16 from 13 balls to keep up the late impetus, but Ireland's total of 133 for 9 always seemed inadequate against such charged-up opponents.

Nevertheless, Afghanistan took their time to get their reply up and running, as the young spinner, George Dockrell, once again impressed with his guile and control, claiming 2 for 23 in four overs. After 13 overs, Afghanistan were only halfway to their target on 66 for 4.

Yardy and Bopara star in easy win

England 127 for 3 (Bopara 62) beat Bangladesh 126 for 7 (Yardy 3-20) by seven wickets

England maintained their 100% record in international fixtures against Bangladesh as they launched their World Twenty20 preparations with a comfortable seven-wicket victory at the Kensington Oval. The left-arm spinner Michael Yardy was the star of the show with 3 for 20 in his four overs, before Ravi Bopara marked his return to the national side with a calm 62 from 48 balls, to seal the contest with 17 balls to spare.

Having recently completed their tour of Bangladesh, England knew exactly what to expect from their opponents, and were rarely less than in control of the contest - even though they started a touch sloppily. Imrul Kayes slammed his second ball of the innings from James Anderson over midwicket for six, only to be reprieved by Stuart Broad in the same over.

Broad then overstepped as Mohammad Ashraful top-edged a pull to be caught by the wicketkeeper, Craig Kieswetter, but Kayes fell soon afterwards, caught at third man off Anderson for 14, before the introduction of the spinners cemented England's dominance.

Yardy claimed his first international wicket for almost three years when Ashraful was caught down the leg-side, and he doubled his tally as Aftab Ahmed holed out to Tim Bresnan for 8. In his next over, Shakib Al Hasan was bowled for 7, and when Mushfiqur Rahim was crassly run out for 2, the backbone of the innings had been broken, even though Mahmudullah hung around for a useful 38 not out from 31 balls.

The run-chase was launched by two Twenty20 debutants, Kieswetter and Michael Lumb, who are set to be England's 16th opening pairing in 26 matches when their tournament proper gets underway against West Indies on Monday. Lumb, however, wasn't able to mark his moment in style - he reached 8 from 10 balls before carving Syed Rasel to point.

Kieswetter gave a hint of the fireworks that could follow later in the competition when he blazed a massive six over the imposing 3Ws stand, but on 22 he was bowled neck and crop by a ripper from Shakib that lured him down the track and spun viciously past his flailing bat.

But Bopara and the captain Paul Collingwood guarded against any mishaps in a dominant but measured third-wicket stand of 71 in 56 balls. The only anticlimax from England's point of view came when Bopara ran himself out with the scores level, but by then the job had been done.

England's necessary opening gambit

It was a match which could have passed by without attracting a huge amount of attention. But for an England selection committee that has never settled on even one explosive batsman at the top of the order since Marcus Trescothick began his international exile - let alone a pair of them -
The match in question was an England warm-up ahead of two Twenty20 internationals against Pakistan in February in the United Arab Emirates. The opponents were England's own second-string, the Lions.

Vettori tips spin to be major weapon

New Zealand's captain Daniel Vettori knows he will need to play a key role on the slow, low Caribbean pitches for his side to break its habit of falling just short of success in major tournaments. Spin is expected to be an important weapon at most of the venues for the ICC World Twenty20 and New Zealand have chosen a squad with several slow-bowling options.

Vettori will lead the attack for the two pool games against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in Guyana, while Nathan McCullum is expected to be his major backup in the spin department. The allrounder Rob Nicol is another slow-bowling option for New Zealand, who will rely on Shane Bond to spearhead a pace group that also includes the allrounder Jacob Oram.

"We're very confident," Vettori said. "You throw in Kyle Mills, who's come back and has been a very successful bowler for us, Tim Southee has done a good job, Ian Butler has come back from injury as well and at times has done a good job for us, so between the five of them from the seam bowling department I think they'll be very adequate.

Raina, Dhoni star in Chennai triumph

Chennai Super Kings 168 for 5 (Raina 57*, Dhoni 22, Fernando 2-23) beat Mumbai Indians 146 for 9 (Tendulkar 48, Pollard 27, Jakati 2-27) by 22 runs

MS Dhoni added another feather to his captaincy hat. It was he who started the turnaround against a formidable Mumbai Indians attack, his deputy Suresh Ranina on two dropped catches to score a crucial fifty, and Chennai Super Kings defended with aggression, smartness and flair to win the third IPL. Chennai were struggling at 68 for 3 after 12 overs when Dhoni got into the act: 100 runs were added in the last eight, and Raina scored 44 at a strike-rate of 200 after the first drop. The win concluded a fourth consecutive one-sided knockout in the tournament.

Ever since R Ashwin started the defence with a maiden over, Mumbai never really threatened Chennai. Sachin Tendulkar, playing with a split webbing, played his least fluent innings of the tournament, scoring a laboured 48 off 45. Mumbai tried some strange moves: promotions for Abhishek Nayar and Harbhajan Singh bombed, and even at the fall of the fifth wicket, with 69 required off 31, Kieron Pollard was not the man making his way out of the dugout.

There were no problems with tactics for Chennai: they went with the old-fashioned approach of keeping wickets in hand, never mind the slow start, and with M Vijay breaking free, had reached a perfectly acceptable 40 for no loss at the end of Powerplay. Dilhara Fernando brought Mumbai back, removing Vijay with his split-finger slower ball in the eighth over. Pollard ended Matthew Hayden's 31-ball 17-run misery, and S Badrinath holed out in the 12th over.

South Africa to host Champions League

South Africa will host the next Champions League Twenty20, to run from September 10 to 26, the tournament's organisers have announced. The tournament chairman Lalit Modi confirmed the decision, following a board meeting in Mumbai where it was formally agreed to accept Cricket South Africa's invitation to stage the event. However Modi, under immense scrutiny over the ongoing IPL mess, was not present at that meeting, which took place at the BCCI headquarters on Saturday.

"South Africa is considered an ideal CLT20 host after successfully staging the Indian Premier League and ICC World Twenty20 tournaments in recent years, as well as the strong support shown for its domestic Pro20 Series competition," said Modi via a press release.

The venues and competing teams for the second edition of the Champions League will be announced in the near future, said the tournament management.

James Anderson backs newcomers to perform

James Anderson: feels new recruits Michael Lumb and Craig Kieswetter can help fire England to success at the World Twenty20 in West Indies. The duo are expected to open the batting as Andy Flower tries to find a combination that can take advantage of the fielding restrictions.

If Lumb and Kieswetter are paired together when England face West Indies, in Guyana on May 3, they will become the 16th opening partnership in 26 matches which highlights the indecision that has accompanied the top-order planning. The fact that neither have played a T20 international is a risk, but they impressed Flower when the England Lions beat the full team in Dubai in February and Kieswetter was immediately promoted to the ODI team.

"They're new to the team and they could bring a fearless element to the top of the order," Anderson told reporters ahead of the team's departure from Gatwick. "Michael's been out in the IPL so he's got a lot of Twenty20 experience and they could bring some excitement to the top of the order."

Indian cricket suspends IPL chief Modi for 'corruption'

India's cricket board has suspended IPL chief Lalit Modi over corruption allegations in the worst scandal to hit the Indian game this century.

The head of the Indian Premier League faces the sack when the board (the BBCI) begins a series of meetings on his fate on Monday.

Mr Modi, who is being investigated by tax officials, denies all allegations of wrongdoing made against him.

Some of the world's top cricketers play for the lucrative IPL.

BCCI president Shashank Manohar waited until the end of the IPL final on Sunday to announce Mr Modi's suspension.

Modi to go to court to stop IPL meeting

Mumbai: IPL commisioner Lalit Modi has decided to move the Bombay High Court to stop the Governing Council meeting scheduled for April 26, sources have told CNN-IBN.

And while Modi maintains that as IPL commissioner only he can convene a meeting of the Governing Council, BCCI chief Shashank Manohar has hit back saying Modi should come clean about his family interests in the teams.

England confirm original World Twenty20 travel plans

England will fly direct to the West Indies from Gatwick on Sunday for the third ICC World Twenty20 tournament.

Alternative plans, including the possibility of sea and land travel, had been explored because of the crisis caused by the Icelandic volcano.

But the England and Wales Cricket Board told BBC Sport that such contingencies were no longer necessary.

And the International Cricket Council confirmed all teams will now revert to their original travel schedules.

England, one of eight teams yet to travel to the Caribbean for the 12-team tournament, could have flown from Dubai, if their scheduled flight from London had remained grounded because of the volcanic ash cloud produced by an eruption in Iceland.

But that would have meant an arduous trip by sea, train and probably air east to the United Arab Emirates - in the wrong direction - before flying back across Europe and the Atlantic to Barbados.

Clarke aims to lift the pace

Clarke: will attempt to raise his game at the World Twenty20 but don't expect him to rain sixes over the small grounds in the West Indies. Clarke, who left Sydney with his squad on Friday, is less suited to the shorter format than his big-hitting team-mates and is more comfortable with along-the-grass play.

He wouldn't be captain if the selectors didn't believe he was capable of regular heavy contributions and he showed he could lift the pace with 67 off 45 balls when Australia chased 214 in Christchurch in February. While he has a modest strike-rate of 108.83 in 24 matches, he won't be over-hauling his tactics.

"I think I can probably still take it up a notch but I think that's the way I play," he said of placing his strokes instead of powering them. "I can guarantee I won't be the type of guy who goes out there and tries to smack the first ball out of the park. I know I won't be successful like that, so for me it's important to play my way: to play cricket shots, to use my strengths, my speed, my running between wickets, my energy in the field, and then if I have to bowl.

Doug Bollinger wickets help Chennai reach IPL final

Doug Bollinger recorded figures of 4-13 to help Chennai Super Kings to a 38-run victory over Deccan Chargers in the Indian Premier League semi-finals.

Chennai made 142-7 from their 20 overs, with Subramaniam Badrinath (37) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (30) top scoring after they had made a poor start.

Australian Bollinger then produced an outstanding display to help restrict Deccan to just 104 from 19.2 overs.

Chennai now face Mumbai Indians at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.

Deccan Chargers will take on Kevin Pietersen's Bangalore Royal Challengers in Saturday's third place play-off.

Pietersen was denied an IPL final appearance after his Bangalore Royal Challengers lost by 35 runs to Mumbai Indians on Wednesday.

Dhoni blasts Chennai to semi-finals

Chennai Super Kings 195 for 4 (Dhoni 54*, Badrinath 53, Raina 46) beat Kings XI Punjab 192 for 3 (Marsh 88*, Irfan 44*) by six wickets

A pumped-up MS Dhoni showed why he's one of the great finishers in the game, blasting 30 runs in the final two overs to ensure Chennai Super Kings would contest an IPL semi-final for the third season in a row. Chennai's chances seemed dim after Shaun Marsh's sparkling innings had powered Kings XI Punjab to a massive total, but meaty innings from Suresh Raina and S Badrinath set the stage for a Dhoni onslaught during a tense finish.

Punjab held the edge for most of the match, and going into the last two overs Chennai needed 29, a tough task even with Dhoni and Albie Morkel at the crease. Juan Theron had been a hero the last time the two teams met, but he couldn't save Punjab in Dharamsala.

The penultimate over, by Theron, started with two murderous hits for four from Dhoni, feasting on the length deliveries offered. He looked to repeat on the third ball, but a thick edge flew high and fast to wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara, who managed to get a glove on it. Theron kept it to singles for the rest of the over, leaving Chennai needing 16 off the last.

Deccan resist gutsy Collingwood to reach semis

Deccan Chargers 145 for 7 (Symonds 54) beat Delhi Daredevils 134 for 7 (Collingwood 51*, Ojha 2-16) by 11 runs

They were the IPL's nomads, they needed to win five games in a row to reach the semi-finals, and things looked heavily loaded against them. But Deccan Chargers, the defending champions, made it. On a slow pitch at Feroz Shah Kotl Andro Symonds sparkling 54 gave Deccan a defendable total, which they protected with an inspired fielding performance lead by Rohit Sharma. and disciplined bowling. Paul Collingwood kept Delhi in the chase until the end but he lacked the firepower, and support, to pull off a victory.

It boiled down to Delhi needing 17 runs in the final over and Chaminda Vaas bowled exceptionally, mixing his slower ones with near-perfect yorkers. Deccan had earlier wobbled at the start before the Symonds show and slowed to a crawl post his fall to reach 145 for 7. It was a slow pitch, better than the previous tracks in Delhi though, and the chase was unlikely to be a stroll for the hosts. And it wasn't.

England to play two ICC World Twenty20 warm-up matches

England will prepare for the ICC World Twenty20 with warm-up matches against Bangladesh and South Africa.

Both games are in Barbados, on 28 and 29 April respectively, before England start their Group D campaign against hosts West Indies in Guyana on 3 May.

Defending champions Pakistan have lined up two warm-up games in St Lucia, against a Windward XI and Zimbabwe.

India are the only team to opt against playing any warm-up matches, while Sri Lanka will play just one.

Their decisions may have been influenced by many of their players' involvement in the Indian Premier League, which does not finish until 25 April.

Bowlers and Ganguly knock out Rajasthan

Kolkata Knight Riders 133 for 2 (Ganguly 75*, Pujara 45*) beat Rajasthan Royals 132 for 9 (Watson 44, Unadkat 3-26, Dinda 2-24) by eight wickets

Kolkata Knight Riders' bowlers knocked out Rajasthan Royals and kept their semi-final hopes alive by setting up a comprehensive eight-wicket win. They limited Rajasthan to a below-par score on a slowish pitch, and Sourav Ganguly backed them up with another significant contribution to push Kolkata to 12 points.

The effort overcame an intimidating start from Shane Watson, who began with a series of boundaries, and the loss of early wickets in the chase. Kolkata, however, face a tough task in ensuring a qualification for the knockout stage, as they have to beat a formidable Mumbai Indians in their next game and by a big margin to boost their negative net run-rate.

Watson, opening for the first time this IPL, took little time settling in to his preferred position in

Bangalore thrashed by 57 runs

Mumbai Indians 191 for 4 (Rayudu 46, Duminy 42*, McLaren 40) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 134 for 9 (Kohli 37, Pollard 3-28) by 57 runs

Royal Challengers Bangalore's final league game was delayed by an hour due to a couple of low-intensity blasts outside the stadium. The organisers decided to go ahead with the match, and spectators were ushered into the stands amid heightened security.

Once the match began, Mumbai Indians, already in the semi-finals, sent a strong message to their rivals by crushing second-placed Bangalore, whose net run-rate took a beating but remained just high enough to make them favourites for a semi-final spot. Mumbai also brushed aside any criticism about them being overly reliant on orange-cap holder and captain Sachin Tendulkar, whose rare failure didn't prevent the table-toppers from amassing 191 on a greenish track.

Ambati Rayudu has been the best of the ICL returnees this season, and added to his growing reputation with another power-hitting cameo that jumpstarted Mumbai after a dawdling start. Kieron Pollard briefly showed why he was so sought-after during this year's auction, after which JP Duminy's clinical finishing silenced the home crowd, as it had when he lashed an unbeaten 99 in the Champions League.

Warne consoles Shahrukh Khan, asks him to hang on

New Delhi, Rajasthan Royals skipper Shane Warne had some words of consolation for Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan after his Indian Premier League (IPL)team Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) failed to make it to the semi-finals for the third year in a row.

Warne wrote on social networking site Twitter: “Hey buddy you’re a champion and your charisma is something (that) I’m sure inspires a lot of people. Hang in there, sport is cruel sometimes.”

“Congrats the way you conduct yourself, I know it’s tough re (regarding) KKR… I am feeling for you, but it’s a pleasure to live the journey of life,” Warne tweeted.

Shah Rukh, on the same forum, had apologised for KKR’s failure.

Schedule and fixtures of ICC World Twenty20 Cup 2010.

Group A	Group B	Group C	Group D
Pakistan (1)	Sri Lanka (2)	South Africa (3)	West Indies (4)
Bangladesh (2)	New Zealand (7)	India (6)	England (5)
Australia (3)	Zimbabwe (10)	Afghanistan (11)	Ireland (12)

To know more about groups and seeding

Fixtures at Group Stage

Date	Team	Time	Venue
30/04/2010	Group B – New Zealand v Sri Lanka	22:30 (IST)	Providence Stadium, Guyana
01/05/2010	Group D – West Indies v Ireland	02:30 (IST)	Providence Stadium, Guyana
01/05/2010	Group C – India v Afghanistan	19:00 (IST)	Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia
01/05/2010	Group A – Pakistan v Bangladesh	23:00 (IST)	Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia
02/05/2010	Group C – India v South Africa	19:00 (IST)	Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia
02/05/2010	Group A – Pakistan v Australia	23:00 (IST)	Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia
03/05/2010	Group B – Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe	19:00 (IST)	Providence Stadium, Guyana
03/05/2010	Group D – West Indies v England	23:00 (IST)	Providence Stadium, Guyana
04/05/2010	Group B – New Zealand v Zimbabwe	19:00 (IST)	Providence Stadium, Guyana
04/05/2010	Group D – England v Ireland	23:00 (IST)	Providence Stadium, Guyana
05/05/2010	Group A – Australia v Bangladesh	19:00 (IST)	Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados
05/05/2010	Group C – South Africa v Afghanistan	23:00 (IST)	Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados

Bomb strikes IPL cricket match in Bangalore, police say

A bomb has exploded outside a cricket stadium in the southern Indian city of Bangalore, police say.

Five people - four policemen and a security officer - were injured.

The blast happened shortly before the start of an Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket match. Police say the device was hidden in the perimeter wall.

The match was scheduled to begin at 1600 (1030 GMT) with about 40,000 people in the stadium. It has now got under way.

The Chinnaswamy Stadium is staging a match between the Bangalore Royal Challengers and the Mumbai Indians.

The team's captains were walking out on to the pitch to toss the coin to decide who would ba

Mumbai soar higher as Bangalore lose big

Bangalore: The Mumbai Indians continued their surge as they drubbed the Royal Challengers Bangalore by 57 runs at the Chinnaswamy stadium on Saturday.

Mumbai posted an impressive 191-4 and then restricted Bangalore to 134-9.

Bangalore could have restricted the visitors to a lower score but JP Duminy's sensational 42 not out off just 19 balls set Bangalore a steep target. In their chase, Bangalore were never in the hunt as they kept losing wickets regularly.

After a 30-run opening stand, Kevin Pietersen (22 off 16) and Rahul Dravid (16 off 11) kept Bangalore in the game but only for a brief while as the home side crumbled with the asking rate jumping up.

Virat Kohli (37 off 24) took some rearguard action but it was too late in the day for a fightback.

Earlier, Mumbai got off to a sedate start the Bangalore pacers keeping with McLaren and Sachin Tendulkar in check. When Jacques Kallis sent back Tendulkar (19 off 18), Mumbai were going at less than six-a-over with the powerplay period over.

Gambhir toils for hard-fought victory

20 overs Delhi Daredevils 113 for 4 (Gambhir 57*, Bollinger 2-24) beat Chennai Super Kings 112 for 9 (Badrinath 30*, Nehra 3-26, Sehwag 2-18) by six wickets

Chennai Super Kings were restricted to their lowest total of the season at the MA Chidambaran stadium, and yet they threatened to defend it. On a pitch that offered bounce and sharp turn Delhi Daredevils lost three wickets for a song before Gautam Gambhir and Mithun Manhas batted with determination, fighting dehydration, to secure a valuable victory. It wasn't until 17.1 overs that Delhi's run-rate touched six for the first time in the chase and they overhauled 112 with eight balls to spare.

Delhi had lost to Punjab on a similar surface at home, although the Kotla surface was slower, and they had to contend with the humidity of Chennai as well after MS Dhoni chose to bat. However, their fast bowlers Ashish Nehra and Dirk Nannes, back after a finger injury, made vital incisions into the Chennai line-up, an advantage their spinners capitalised on. Chennai were 39 for 3 after the Powerplay, 55 for 6 after ten overs, and only an eleventh-hour boost propped them past three figures. Doug Bollinger hit the only six of the innings - in the 18th over - and it turned out to be the only one of the match.

IPL tax raid: mystery woman removes papers

New Delhi: In a shocking revelation, income tax sources have told CNN-IBN that CCTV footage has shown a woman taking bid documents from IPL commissioner Lalit Modi's office at the Four Seasons Hotel in Mumbai, just 30 minutes before they carried out searches there on Thursday.

According to other media reports, a senior I-T official, on condition of anonymity, said the woman had already been identified but her name could not be divulged. The official added that the woman was someone who was very closely associated with one of the eight original IPL franchisees.

The officials were certain that the papers, documents and electronic data were kept in a room on the 33rd floor, but they found nothing relevant. The I-T sleuths had entered the hotel at 4:30 pm, just half hour after the woman left with a laptop and a bag of files.

Meanwhile, the IT department is likely to finish its IPL scrutiny on Saturday. Sources have told CNN-IBN that notices are likely to be issues to all IPL franchisees next week.

The I-T department had asked for the bid documents from Lalit Modi's office. While Modi had provided them with some, the officials were still waiting for the remaining documents.

Surrey line up surprise bid for Windies star Brian Lara

Surrey are lining up a bid to tempt West Indies batting great Brian Lara out of retirement with the offer of a contract to play Twenty20 cricket.

Lara, 40, has been in the nets at The Oval this week and has begun talks with Surrey's cricket manager Chris Adams and chief executive Paul Sheldon.

"We have been in discussion with Brian regarding his possible involvement with the club," said Surrey in a statement.

"However, we have no further comment to make at this stage."

The former West Indies captain, who has not played competitive cricket for two years, is famous for holding two of the most significant batting records in cricket.

His knock of 400 not out against England in Antigua in 2004 is the highest score in Test history, surpassing Matthew Hayden's 380 for Australia against Zimbabwe in Perth in October 2003.

Lara had already broken fellow countryman Sir Garfield Sobers' 36-year-long record of 365 not out with a knock of 375, also against England in Antigua in 1994.

He also holds the record for the highest score in first-class cricket history, with an astonishing 501 not out for Warwickshire against Durham at Edgbaston in 1994.

Mumbai take on resurgent Bangalore

Bangalore: The top two teams in the points table take on each other as the action shifts down south where Mumbai take on Bangalore at the Chinnaswamy stadium. While Mumbai have maintained a certain degree of consistency throughout the tournament and have been at the top of the table, Bangalore have fallen prey to inconsistencies despite having made a good start.

The Mumbai Indians are already in the final four and Bangalore, currently on 14 points, would like to win this one and put themselves in a similar position. A loss though does not put them out of contention as their run-rate is still on the higher side as compared to the other teams, but they would like to avoid last-minute palpitations. For Mumbai though, this will be a good game to test out some of their bench strength before playing the all-important semi-finals.

The two teams match each other in the batting department. While the Mumbai batting boasts of master blaster Sachin Tendulkar, Sourabh Tiwary, Ambati Rayudu and Dwayne Bravo, Bangalore match them with Jacques Kallis, Robin Uthappa, Rahul Dravid, Kevin Pietersen and Manish Pandey. The one worry for Bangalore would be the form of Kieron Pollard. The Trinidadian has started to show his true colours and a cameo from him has the potential to spoil the home side's party plans.

Calm Rohit outdoes Jayawardene beauty

Deccan Chargers 178 for 5 (Rohit 68*, Suman 43) beat Kings XI Punjab 174 for 3 (Jayawardene 93*, Sangakkara 52) by five wickets

Rohit Sharma avoided a repeat of the choke against Rajasthan Royals, and Deccan Chargers bit another bullet on route to a fourth consecutive win, one that gave them an even chance in the semi-final race. Deccan's bowlers did plenty to lose this one, but a graceful yet lethal 68 off 38 balls from Rohit took them home. Apart from the falling wickets, Rohit had to make up for another ordinary finish by Deccan's bowlers: 76 runs off the last five overs, during which time Mahela Jayawardene scored 57 off 18.

Put in on a difficult pitch, Kings XI Punjab were 98 after 15 overs, Deccan reached 98 in 11. Deccan bowled tripe in the last five to reconfirm their reputation of being worst at the death, and their batsmen kept getting out regularly to bowling that was not extraordinary.

That they reached 98 in 11 overs was thanks to some clean golf-like swinging from T Suman and Rohit who swung the momentum Deccan's way. After Adam Gilchrist failed to last the Powerplay yet again, both Suman and Monish Mishra struggled against short deliveries on a tricky pitch.

Mushtaq Mohammad puts faith in Afridi

London: Pakistan great Mushtaq Mohammad believes controversial all-rounder Shahid Afridi is the right man to "lead from the front" as they prepare to defend their World Twenty20 title.

Afridi has long been one of the world's leading one-day players and his aggressive batting and leg-spin bowling were instrumental in Pakistan winning the World Twenty20 in England last year.

"Pakistan are a team in the making at the moment and Shahid Afridi is quite a force in the shorter form of cricket," Mushtaq told reporters at Lord's here on Monday.

"He won us the (Twenty20) World Cup here last summer. He is a very positive cricketer and we need somebody to lead Pakistan from the front."

Afridi has been appointed to captain the side at this year's World Twenty in the West Indies, which starts later this month, after a chaotic period even by the standards of Pakistani cricket.

Pakistan will head to the Caribbean without former captains and star batsmen Younus Khan and Mohammad Yousuf, who were among a group of leading players, including Rana Naved and Shoaib Malik, banned by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) after their team's December-February tour of Australia ended without a single international win for the visitors.

And the 30-year-old Afridi was fined three million rupees (35,000 dollars) by the PCB for ball-tampering in a one-day match against Australia in Perth in February, although he appealed on Tuesday saying it was unfair to punish him twice after he was hit with a two-game ban by the International Cricket Council.

Clarke, Wisden Cricketer of the Year 2010

There was a time when Michael Clarke was viewed even by some of his teammates as a bit of a glory boy. Richly talented and with an impeccable pedigree, this kid was along for the ride - the only 20-something in a team of hardnosed 30-somethings who ruled the world, a Generation Y in a group of uncompromising streetfighters. Even when he was made vice-captain after Adam Gilchrist retired early in 2008, Gilchrist was one of those warning that Clarke should not assume he would be Australia's next captain. Was he tough enough when it counted? He has been answering in the affirmative almost ever since.

In 2009, Clarke reinforced his status as one of Australia's premier batsmen, but was gutted when a string of sterling performances came to nothing. It was no consolation that he was Australia's leading run-scorer in the Ashes, with 448 runs at 64; he failed twice at The Oval, where England won easily to claim the series 2-1. Clarke had dominated the first four Tests with two centuries, a 93 and an 83, and was in line for the Compton-Miller medal for the series' best player. That was until the man who rightly beat him for the honour, England captain Andrew Strauss, completely out-batted him and out-thought him at The Oval, with a catch at short cover in the first innings and a spectacular run-out in the second. "The game always finds a way of biting you on the backside," Clarke observed later.

Desperate Delhi take on confident Chennai

Chennai: In a very crucial game for Delhi Daredevils, they take on a resurgent Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Thursday. A win will most certainly take the winning side to the final four, something which is not yet clear with all sides still in with a chance to make it to the semi-finals.

Delhi have made matters worse for themselves losing three games on a trot and are now in a desperate situation where only a win can further their chances of a place in the semi-finals. Losses to Kolkata, Punjab and most recently Mumbai has hurt them badly but their positive run-rate is a good thing going for them; something which has still kept the side in the top four, even after three consecutive defeats.

The teams match each other in the batting department. If Delhi has some big names in the top order including the likes of Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and David Warner followed by Paul Collingwood, AB de Villiers and Dinesh Karthik, Chennai match them name by name with their team’s strong line-up comprising of Matthew Hayden, Murali Vijay, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni, S Badrinath and Albie Morkel. On form though Chennai look way ahead with Vijay and Raina looking in spectacular form and skipper Dhoni also coming into his elements.

Sehwag named Wisden's Leading Cricketer

The Leading Cricketer in the World was instituted in Wisden 2004. The six previous winners have been Ricky Ponting, Shane Warne, Andrew Flintoff, Muttiah Muralitharan, Jacques Kallis and Virender Sehwag. Players can be chosen more than once for this award.
Several strong candidates advanced their case to be the Leading Cricketer in the World in 2009. None, however, made such an impact as to displace the Sehwag India's 31-year-old opening batsman, who extended the sport's traditional boundaries further still. He scored more quickly than any specialist batsman in Tests or one-day internationals. Last year he broke Test cricket's sound barrier by scoring at more than a run a ball. Australia's former captain Ian Chappell, in as good a position to judge as anybody alive, directly compared Sehwag to Sir Donald Bradman: they have the fastest scoring-rate among players of their generation, and are the only men to have exceeded 290 three times in Tests. Chappell called Sehwag "the greatest destroyer since the U-boat", and dismissed the accusation that he prospered only in home conditions by pointing out that he averaged almost 50 abroad.

Sehwag raised the bar even higher than in 2008, when he had scored at strike-rate of 85 runs per 100 balls in Tests, and 120 in one-day internationals.

In 2009 he did not play so much, after injuring his right shoulder during the second IPL, and for much of the year the giant rested. It was no coincidence that, in his absence, India were knocked out in the early stages of both the World Twenty20 and the Champions Trophy. He still played in all of India's Test matches in 2009 - a three-Test series in New Zealand and another at home to Sri Lanka - and, in steering them to No. 1 in the Test rankings for the first time, Sehwag averaged 70, with a strike-rate of 108.9.

Pietersen powers Bangalore's royal win

Jaipur: Kevin Pietersen returned to sublime form to power the Royal Challengers Bangalore to a five-wicket victory against the Rajasthan Royals at the Sawai Man Singh stadium on Wednesday. The convincing win almost guarantees a semi-final berth for Bangalore, who regained their second position in the points table.

Bangalore restricted the Rajasthan Royals to 130-6 and then Pietersen smashed 62 off just 29 balls to put Bangalore on course to an easy win.

After Jacques Kallis fell to Kamran Khan for no score, the stage was set for another miracle evening for Shane Warne's soldiers. But Pietersen ensured nothing magical happened as he launched into the Rajasthan batting with disdain.

Kamran was pummeled for three boundaries and one six and then Adam Vogues was taken for 17 runs in his only over.

Pietersen added 60 for the third wicket with Robin Uthappa (26 off 21) before the latter's attempt of a switch-hit, with its inventor on the other end, brought his downfall.

The England batsman's explosive innings ended with him exploding on young Virat Kohli after he was run out due to a mix up. Kohli refused to respond to Pietersen's call and both batsmen ended on the same end, leaving Pietersen furious. But it was too late for Rajasthan to make a comeback as the visitors got home with more than five overs to spare.

After Rajasthan elected to bat, early wickets rocked their innings with their top three batsmen back in the hut for 21 runs in the fourth over. And when an unusually sedate Shane Watson (22 off 25) perished, the home side were looking down the barrel.

Yusuf Pathan (11 off nine) smashed two back-to-back boundaries before Dale Steyn cleaned him up.

An unbroken 58-run stand between Adam Vogues (28 off 27) and Abhishek Raut (32 off 20) lifted them to a half-decent score on a sluggish surface but it was no match for Bangalore's strong batting line-up.

England bowler Graham Onions out of Bangladesh series

England bowler Graham Onions has been ruled out of the two-match Test series against Bangladesh with a back injury.

The Durham paceman suffered the problem in the nets ahead of the first Test in Chittagong on Friday.

"Of course it's frustrating. But on a tour where you only have two weeks to make an impression unfortunately I have run out of time," Onions said.

England quartet win Wisden Cricketers of the Year award

Swann, Broad, Onions and Prior all featured in England's tour to South Africa

Four members of England's 2009 Ashes-winning team have been selected among Wisden's five Cricketers of the Year.

Off-spinner Graeme Swann, fast bowlers Stuart Broad and Graham Onions and wicketkeeper Matt Prior were named alongside Australia's Michael Clarke.

The England quartet played an instrumental role in England's 2-1 series victory against Australia.

India's opener Virender Sehwag is the first player to retain his place as Leading Cricketer in the World.

Previous winners of the award, introduced in 2004, include Jacques Kallis, Ricky Ponting, Shane Warne, Andrew Flintoff and Muttiah Muralitharan.

Sehwag earned his second successive accolade after he became the first Test cricketer to score at more than a run a ball in 2009.

Swann was also named in Wisden's Test XI alongside England captain Andrew Strauss and fast bowler James Anderson.

Swann took 54 Test wickets during 2009, the first time an England spinner has managed more than 50 in a year, as well as contributing vital runs lower down the order with his free-flowing strokeplay.

The 31-year-old also reached a career-high second place in the ICC Test rankings last month.

Team-mate Prior was recently dropped from England's one-day and Twenty20 team for the tour to Bangladesh in favour of Somerset's Craig Kieswetter.

But Alastair Cook, who led the tour to Bangladesh in Strauss's absence, has said Prior's place in the Test side is safe.

Sussex chairman Jim May praised Prior's "dedication and will to succeed" and said: "We are all absolutely delighted that Matt, who came through the Sussex youth system, has received this accolade."

Fast bowler Onions also impressed in 2009, taking five wickets on debut against West Indies at Lord's.

He played in three Tests against Australia but was dropped for the fifth and final Test in favour of Durham team-mate Steve Harmison.

Broad has become a permanent fixture in England's starting XI and his devastating 5-37 first-innings burst at The Oval against Australia paved the way for an England victory, securing the urn with a 2-1 series win.

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Wisden's Test XI of 2009: Virender Sehwag (India), Andrew Strauss (England), Gautam Gambhir (India), Sachin Tendulkar (India), Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka), Jacques Kallis (South Africa), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk & capt, India), Mitchell Johnson (Australia), Graeme Swann (England), Peter Siddle (Australia), James Anderson (England)

Windies crush Canada

Shivnarine Chanderpaul struck a fine hundred as West Indies cruised to a 208-run victory in the only one-day international against Canada at Sabina Park.

Chanderpaul, opening the batting with Andre Fletcher, scored 101 from 120 balls to help the hosts to an imposing total of 4-316 from their 50 overs.

Darren Bravo notched 74 while Fletcher fell two short of his half-century and Ramnaresh Sarwan finished unbeaten on 47

The Canadian response never really got going and it was dismissed for just 108 from 39.2 overs.

Umar Bhatti top-scored for Canada with 32 not out, with Rizwan Cheema (10) and Zubin Surkari (19) the only other members of the tourists' batting line-up who managed double figures.

India minister in IPL cricket row

An Indian minister and the head of the Indian Premier League (IPL) have traded claims over the ownership of a new team in the lucrative cricket tournament.

Junior foreign minister Shashi Tharoor said IPL chief Lalit Modi had tried to persuade the owners of Kochi to drop their bid in favour of another city.

On Sunday Mr Modi leaked names of Kochi shareholders and their stakes. He has yet to respond to Mr Tharoor's claim.

Kochi was sold to Rendezvous Sports World Limited for $333m at auction.

Afridi, Younis file appeals against PCB sanctions

Shahid Afridi and Younis Khan have filed official appeals against the punishments handed out to them by the PCB last month. That means that five of the seven players punished by the board following the tour to Australia have now lodged official appeals. Afridi lodged his appeal in the morning in person, while Younis's lawyer sent in the appeal on his behalf.

Afridi, Pakistan's captain for the World Twenty20, was fined Rs. 3 million by the board for tampering with the ball in an ODI against Australia in Perth when he was leading the side. Younis was banned for an indefinite period from playing for Pakistan, on the charge that his presence was harmful to the side.

Pietersen concerned by England bowlers' IPL absence

Kevin Pietersen believes England's Twenty20 bowlers are missing out on valuable experience by not playing in the Indian Premier League tournament.

Stuart Broad and James Anderson, two likely members of England's attack for the World Twenty20 in April and May, both opted out of this year's IPL.

"I was speaking to Paul Collingwood and we'd have liked to have had our bowlers here learning," said Pietersen.

"A lot of our players should definitely have put their names in the hat."

Doug inspires Chennai

Doug Bollinger has played a pivotal role in the Chennai Super Kings' commanding nine-wicket victory over the Kolkata Knight Riders at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in the Indian Premier League.

The Australian quick snared the match's most economical figures of 2-15 from four overs, including the only maiden of the game, to help restrict Kolkata to 8-139 before Suresh Raina (78 not out) and Murali Vijay (50 not out) guided Chennai to 1-143 in reply with 39 balls to spare.

The result helped the Super Kings stay in contention for a spot in the IPL final four.

The Knight Riders opted to take first strike, but off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin landed massive blows and although Angelo Mathews helped the side recover with a run-a-ball 48, the visitors ended with a measly total.

Raina then made short work of that total, while Vijay chipped in with a handy knock too as the Super Kings cantered to victory.

Bangalore and Rajasthan eye crucial win

A win on Wednesday, for either side, will be a huge step towards a spot in the final four. Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore are coming off painful losses, during which they failed to grab key opportunities, and both are tied on 12 points after as many games. Whoever loses this encounter will then have to win their final game convicningly, and will still need other results to go their way. So tight is the points table that neither Shane Warne nor Anil Kumble would want to leave the fates of their sides to outside chance.

The stakes are higher for Rajasthan, given that their position is weaker thanks to a net run rate of -0.288 that currently leaves them fifth in the points table. Their fortunes have changed remarkably since their first meeting with Bangalore. The defeat in that game was Rajasthan's third in a row, and their campaign looked in shambles. Since then, they strung together four consecutive wins before dropping two, followed by a win and a loss. Through their topsy-turvy tournament, they have remained in contention thanks in no small part to the leadership of Shane Warne, who has again managed to get a lot out of his inexperienced players. Now it is crunch time and it'll take more than the odd canny bowling change or inspired field placement to take them further.

Rajasthan's main area of concern going into the match will be the state of their batting. In their previous match they failed to put up a fight in a stiff chase against Mumbai, after losing three crucial wickets to run-outs. To avoid another such mishap, they need their batsmen to regain control and Yusuf Pathan, in the midst of a slump, at his aggressive best. Their chances will also depend on the batting of the openers and the all-round abilities of Shane Watson.

Bangalore's campaign has also lost steam after a strong start, and both batsmen and bowlers are to be blamed. In the last match, the batting approach was quixotic, with Jacques Kallis' slow-coach ways in contrast to Rahul Dravid's fluency. It was down to Robin Uthappa's clean hitting to lift the middle order after four wickets fell in consecutive overs. Too much was left on his plate and he fell just when he seemed to be scripting a classic. In the losses before that game, the bowlers lost the plot, failing to defend 184 against Deccan, and conceding as many against Delhi. The strong batting line-up has been patchy, often putting too much pressure on Kallis who cannot shift gears easily. The side that was branded a Test team in 2008 seems to slipping towards that label.

R Ashwin, Suresh Raina humble Kolkata

Chennai Super Kings 143 for 1 (Raina 78*, Vijay 50*) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 139 for 8 (Mathews 48, Ashwin 3-16, Bollinger 2-15 ) by nine wickets

Chennai Super Kings, inspired equally by crushed a scruffy Kolkata Knight Riders by nine wickets in front of a throbbing, partisan home crowd. After Ashwin, who for the second consecutive game grabbed two wickets in an over, led the attack in keeping Kolkata to a paltry 139 for 8, Raina and M Vijay launched a powerful assault to see Chennai home with 6.2 overs to spare and propel them to second place in the points table.

The unbeaten stand between Raina and Vijay raised the fastest team hundred of the IPL and the pair made the same surface, on which Kolkata struggled, appear a concrete strip. With another disappointing performance Kolkata are now perilously close to being knocked out.

In a crunch game, Ashwin took the new ball and rocked the top order during a mesmerising spell after Sourav Ganguly opted to bat on a surface he reckoned would assist spin later in the night. The first over suggested spin would play a role quicker than that, but at 11 for 0 after two overs Ganguly couldn't have envisioned what lay in store.

IPL 2010: Deccan Chargers Maintain Semi-Final Push

Deccan Chargers 151-6 (Sharma 51, Steyn 3-18) beat
Royal Challengers Bangalore 138 (Dravid 49) by 13 runs

The Deccan Chargers overcame a terrible start to their Indian Premier League game against the Royal Challengers Bangalore to win by 13 runs and keep their hopes of making the semi-finals alive.

Dale Steyn's opening burst reduced the Chargers to 14 for three but they managed to post 151 for six and defended that by bowling out the Challengers for 138.

Steyn was on a hat-trick when he had Adam Gilchrist and Tirumalasetti Suman caught for golden ducks and he then bowled compatriot Herschelle Gibbs for 12 to leave the Chargers reeling.

Despite Steyn returning figures of three for 18, the Chargers rallied and a vital innings of 51 from Rohit Sharma, ably supported by Mohnish Mishra's 41, got them back on track, the pair adding 82 for the fourth wicket.

Andrew Symonds (19) and Ryan Harris (13 not out) weighed in with late runs to propel the Chargers past 150 and to what proved to be a winning score.

Chennai drop Hussey, Kolkata bat

Chennai: The Kolkata Knight Riders elected to bat against the Chennai Super Kings in their crucial game at the M Chidambaram Stadium on Tuesday. Two of India's greatest skippers Sourav Ganguly and MS Dhoni clash on Tuesday as both teams look for a win to edge ahead in the race towards the three remaining semi-final spots. Kolkata is the only team not to make it to the semis in any of the three editions of the IPL.

The Super Kings dropped Michael Hussey, Thilan Thushara along with Sudeep Tyagi to bring back Albie Morkel, Muttiah Muralitharan and Anirudh Srikkanth.

SRK to stay away from Kolkata's Chennai game

Kolkata: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) co-owner Shah Rukh Khan will not be present when his side takes on Mahendra Singh Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings in a must-win encounter for teams Tuesday at the Chidamdaram Stadium.

"No, I won't come to Chennai for the match. Think the team needs to introspect and play without my interference...emotional or physical," the superstar tweeted Monday.

Afridi files appeal against PCB fine

Lahore: Pakistan Twenty20 skipper Shahid Afridi today filed an appeal with the Pakistan Cricket Board against the three million rupees fine imposed on him last month for his ball tampering antics in Australia earlier this year.

"Yes we have got an appeal from Shahid today and we will be sending all appeals filed by the players to the governing board and then appellate tribunal for further action," PCB`s legal advisor Tafazzul Rizvi said.

Before Afridi, Rana Naved and the Akmal brothers, Kamran and Umar, had filed appeals against their punishments with the board.

Former captain, Younus Khan was also expected to finally submit an appeal with the board through his lawyer later today against the indefinite ban imposed on him.

The board, acting on the recommendations of its inquiry committee that probed into the team`s poor performances during the Australian tour, had banned Younus, Muhammad Yousuf, Shoaib Malik and Rana Naved besides imposing heavy fines on Afridi and the Akmal brothers for violating the code of conduct on that tour.

"We have a proper process for these appeals to be heard by the appellate board which has already been formed. The appellate board will decide whether to uphold the appeals of the players or reject them or recommend changes to the punishments," Rizvi said.

Afridi was fined and put on six month`s probation by the board for his ball tampering action during the fifth and final one-day international against Australia in Perth in February.

The Pakistani allrounder was immediately handed over a two-match ban by the ICC match referee.

Afridi, in his appeal, has made the point that the board cannot punish him for an offence for which he has already been banned for two matches by the ICC.

Kumble-Warne duel a sideshow in Rajasthan-Bangalore faceoff

Jaipur: With the Indian Premier League approaching its business end and three semifinal spots pretty much up for grabs, a no-holds-barred battle is on the cards when Rajasthan Royals lock horns with Royal Challengers Bangalore here on Wednesday.

Two of modern cricket`s greatest spinners would lead respective teams tomorrow in a battle royal which would be as much a contest between Anil Kumble`s understated leadership and Shane Warne`s charismatic captaincy.

With the IPL reaching a stage where only Mumbai Indians are assured of a semifinal berth, both Bangalore and Rajasthan have won half of the 12 matches they have played so far even though Kumble`s side rank high on the points table because of their superior net run rate.

Incidentally, both the teams are smarting from defeat in their previous encounter and whoever can regroup faster would have the last laugh.

The resurgent Rajasthan Royals lost to Mumbai by 37 runs, a defeat that exposed a number of chinks in their armour.

In contrast, the Royal Challengers were pipped by Deccan Chargers in their previous outing, thus jeopardising their semifinal passage that looked so smooth at one stage.

From motivation point of view, Warne and his men would go into tomorrow`s match with a score to settle and hoping to avenge the plastering they had received in Bangalore in their first meeting with Kumble`s men.

It was a grossly lop-sided show as Praveen Kumar, Kumble and Jacques Kallis shot out Rajasthan for 92 and overwhelmed the target inside 11 overs for a thumping win at home.

Warne would hope to return the compliment tomorrow and he would be banking on Michael Lumb, Shane Watson and Yusuf Pathan to milk the Bangalore bowlers.

Watson`s role extends to the bowling department as well, as is the case with Pathan.

Equally crucial will be how Warne uses Siddharth Trivedi and Aditya Dole besides casting his own spell on the Bangalore batsmen.

For Bangalore, the idea will be to shrug off last night`s defeat against Deccan Chargers and look ahead.

Any batting side that boasts of Manish Pandey, Kallis, Robin Uthappa, Ross Taylor and Virat Kohli is good enough to send shivers down their opponent`s spine and Kumble would hope them to click before it`s too late.

Kallis` service will be sought in the bowling department as well but it`s Dale Steyn`s red hot form which will enthuse Kumble.

While Warne would strut his stuff tomorrow, Kumble will also strive for oneupmanship and their duel promises to be a spectacle in itself.