India Vs England Only T20 - from 9.30pm IST, AUg 31 - Watch Live Scoreboard

Preview by Vishaal Loganathan (Cricbuz) :

The humiliation at the hands of England in the test series is a thing of the past now, and it would pay rich dividends for India if they go into the limited overs leg of the tour with the same thought. England host India in a one off T20 before the ODIs kick in. The T20 could well turn out to be what sets the tone for the ODI series and both teams will be eager to win.

Different stories during practice

Many would have expected England to steamroll the Irish and for India to be embarrassed again when the teams played their practice games ahead of the T20. It however turned out to be a completely different story as England only managed to escape thanks to good work by their bowlers while India registered 3 wins out of 3 while looking like a entirely different unit.

India registered wins against Sussex, Kent and Liecestershire to give their fans some hope of their team salvaging some lost pride in the T20 and the ODIs.

Change in team, Change in fortunes?

The limited overs leg and injuries have resulted a change in both the teams. India will be without Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Ishant Sharma while England will be without regulars Test regulars Andrew Strauss, Kevin Pietersen, James Anderson, Jonathan Trott, etc.

For India, all eyes will be on Rahul Dravid, who is most likely to replace the injured Gautam Gambhir. The game will be Dravid's first and last T20I for India. While England newcomers Alex Hales, Jos Butler, Ben Stokes, etc. will look to impress and stake a claim for a more permanent spot if given a chance.

England go into the game with the winning momentum, but India's successful practice games would have given them much needed confidence. The change in squad has worked in India's favour so far, will it continue to do so in the T20 will depend on how quickly India choose to forget about their disappointing Test series.

World T20 Champions v World ODI Champions

England and India are world champions in the T20 and ODI formats respectively. England won the T20 World Cup in 2010 under Paul Collingwood. The captaincy has changed hands since then, with all rounder, Stuart Broad now leading the team. Broad is still inexperienced as a captain, something that could hinder the hosts.

The Indian team too bears a new look, thanks to a sudden spate of injuries. Dravid and Parthiv Patel could be asked to open the batting, but India strength lies in its middle order with Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni all capable of providing the fireworks. The return of Praveen Kumar too would provide a huge boost for the visitors while R Ashwin will want to prove to many that he is ready to take up Harbhajan Singh's place in the side.

Conditions favour visitors

The pitch at Manchester will please the Indians as it would resemble what they would generally see back home. The weather also is expected to be clear meaning a full game is on the cards.

Quotes

It's interesting how it shapes out. It's important that the captain is a regular in all three formats of the game. One thing sure though is it affords rest: Mahendera Singh Dhoni

We learned from the Sri Lanka defeat and as international cricketers it's exciting to have fresh challenges against a strong Indian team: Stuart Broad
Teams:

England (From): Craig Kieswetter(w), Alex Hales, Kevin Pietersen, Eoin Morgan, Ravi Bopara, Jos Buttler, Samit Patel, Stuart Broad(c), Tim Bresnan, Graeme Swann, Jade Dernbach, Steven Finn, Ben Stokes

India (From): Parthiv Patel, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni(w/c), Praveen Kumar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Munaf Patel, Vinay Kumar, RP Singh, Amit Mishra

England decide to rest Pietersen from India one-day series

Kevin Pietersen will miss the five-match Natwest Series against India after England opted to rest the batsman.

As a first-choice player in all three formats, Pietersen has been taken out of the firing line as part of the England and Wales Cricket Board's ongoing policy of workload management.

Nevertheless, Pietersen is known as a player for the marquee occasions and a high-profile series against the world champions would have suited his appetite for the big stage.

Ben Stokes, who made his England debut in yesterday's win over Ireland, has been retained alongside a host of returning stars who were excused the trip to Dublin.

Meanwhile, uncapped pair Jos Buttler of Somerset and Alex Hales of Nottinghamshire have been called up to the Twenty20 squad.

England have rested a number of players under Andy Flower's leadership, with the likes of James Anderson, Paul Collingwood and - prior to his retirement from one-day cricket - Andrew Strauss, among those to have benefited from a break.

Pietersen will play in the Twenty20 match at Old Trafford on Wednesday before standing down for the ODI series, which starts in Durham on September 3.

England Squad

Alastair Cook (captain, Essex), James Anderson (Lancashire), Ian Bell (Warwickshire), Ravi Bopara (Essex), Tim Bresnan (Yorkshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Jade Dernbach (Surrey), Steven Finn (Middlesex), Craig Kieswetter (Somerset), Eoin Morgan (Middlesex), Samit Patel (Nottinghamshire), Ben Stokes (Durham), Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire), Jonathan Trott (Warwickshire) 


Chance to shine: Ben Stokes has been called into the squad for the One Day series.

Leader of the team: Alistair Cook returns to captain the side.

Dhoni needs to put his foot down: Lloyd

http://sports.ndtv.com/cricket/news/item/177596-dhoni-needs-to-put-his-foot-down-lloyd 
London: Clive Lloyd, former West Indies captain and leader of one of the most dominant teams in cricket history, feels the time has come for MS Dhoni to put his foot down and ask for a team he wants. That is the only way, Lloyd reckoned, that Dhoni can lead India back to the summit of Test cricket.

Lloyd was virtually in a similar boat to Dhoni in 1975. On June 21 that year, West Indies had won the inaugural World Cup, beating the favourites Australia in the final. Four months later, they travelled to Australia to face Greg Chappell's team, the best Test side of the time, and were overwhelmed 5-1 in the six-match series. Lloyd's men were knocked off their pedestal by the supreme velocity deployed by fast bowling quartet of Dennis Lillee, Jeff Thompson, Gary Gilmour and Max Walker.

Lloyd understood the only way West Indies could regain their preeminence and hit back at Australia was to use the same method - extreme pace. That was the genesis of perhaps the most famous fast bowling quartet of all time in Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Colin Croft and Joel Garner, who intimidated the best batsmen in the world for close to a decade.

"When I became captain I decided, fine, I have to do something different," Lloyd told ESPNcricinfo at St Lawrence County Ground in Canterbury where he had come to announce the shortlist for the 2011 ICC Awards. "I just put my foot down and said this is what I want. If you are going to be the captain you have to fashion things in your way and you have to tell the board exactly you are trying to do it. And they must back it."

The West Indies Cricket Board did not dispute Lloyd's decision. "They did [back it]. And that is how we came out trumps."

For the record Lloyd would go on to lose only one more series as captain - in New Zealand in 1979-80. According to Lloyd, India could actually use the 4-0 Test series defeat to England as a "catalyst" to develop the right tools that will help them get back to their winning ways. "It is entirely up to them how they use this opportunity and learn from their mistake," Lloyd said of India. "Eventually they will get back to their winning ways as they still are one of the best teams. This should be catalyst for making things right. They need to admit that we have made mistakes and we have to rectify them."

One big reason Lloyd's West Indies reigned supreme for close to a decade was he had the respect of his players. In the aftermath of his first series defeat as captain, there is a steadily growing perception in India about Dhoni's ubercool attitude, a trait that has helped him enjoy a healthy relationship with the players in the four teams he currently leads (India in all forms of the game and the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL) needs to change. The suggestions are that he needs to be more involved in man-management.

Lloyd said he had the support of his players and a good management team that put a hand on his shoulder and whispered in his ear if there was anything going on that wasn't in accordance with team plans. "That is where your team management comes in: they need to help him and remind him how exactly to getting back the winning ways. People will make remarks but you have to work at what you want, what you think is good enough for you to sort of to be the top team. You made them No.1 in the world, you lead them to world cup victory, so you have to try and re-group and make India a top team again."

Simultaneously, Dhoni also needs to perform to strengthen his grip on the captaincy. He made twin fifties in the third Test in Birmingham but his last century (132) came in the series-levelling Test in Kolkata against South Africa on Valentine's Day, 2010. An increasing workload that has reached unmanageable proportions has also affected his wicketkeeping, as witnessed during the England series where Dhoni failed to collect the ball neatly on many occasions.

"I respected my players and they respected me. It is the respect that is important," Lloyd said. "You have to go out there and perform and play by example and think about what you want to do is a captain. This is just a little blip and I hope Dhoni understands the importance of what he has to achieve in the next year or so to get India back in the park."

Champions League Twenty20 2011 - Champions League T20 schedule

                                 Champions League Twenty20 2011 will begin on Friday, September 23, 2011 in India as per cricket schedule announced. Champions League T20 2011 is an international tournament to be organized by India. Champions League Twenty20 2011 will consist of 23 Twenty20 Matches to be hosted by India in Sep-Oct 2011. The Champions League Twenty20 2011 tournament is a part of Future Tour Programs prepared by International Cricket Council (ICC). India will host this tournament, beginning on September 23, 2011. In Champions League Twenty20 2011 bilateral series, first T20 match would be between Royal Challengers Bangalore-Chevrolet Warriors on Sep 23, 2011 at 20:00 local time to be played at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore.

The enigma and exhilaration associated with the new brand of cricket – T20 – is always at a peak amongst audiences and spectators around the globe. After the success of several domestic T20 leagues and championships, the ICC decided to initiate an International League comprising club teams from all the cricketing nations. Thus the concept of Champions League Twenty20 was born. Since its inception in the year 2008, it has been a major hit amongst crowd, local and foreign. Even there is huge anticipation from its recent version, the Champions League Twenty20 2011, which will have top club teams of India, South Africa and Australia fight it out for ultimate glory.

The Champions League 2011 Twenty20 tournament is slated to begin from Friday, September 23, 2011. The entire tournament is under the joint administration of the cricketing boards of India (BCCI), Australia (CA) and South Africa (CSA). This year, India will play host to this prestigious event, as per the announcements of The International Cricket Council. This international league will consist of 23 T20 International matches that will be played during the period of September-October. This tournament also forms the past of the innovative Future Tour Programs that had been initiated by the ICC a few years back.

Overall, there will be 10 teams. Top club teams from India (Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians), Australia (NSW Blues and South Australian Redbacks) and South Africa (Cape Cobras and Warriors) will battle it out in the preliminary stages. The remaining 3 teams will be decided after a qualifier between teams from the Caribbean, New Zealand, India, England and Sri Lanka. The teams have been categorized under 2 groups. The inaugural match will be played between Chevrolet Warriors and Royal Challengers Bangalore on September 23, at the prestigious M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.

The teams have been randomly pitted against each other. After the qualifying rounds get over, 3 teams will enter into the main competition. 10 teams will fight it out for a place in the semis, after which there is the grand finale. Since, T20 is a fast paced game, none are deemed as favorite. Every team has a sure shot chance of defeating the others and making it to the semis. People will have to wait till the end of the tournament, i.e. October 9, in order to find out which team is crowned the champion of champions.

Qualifier :  Kolkata Knight Riders (IPL), Trinidad and Tobago (West Indies), Auckland Aces (New Zealand), Sri Lanka (TBC), England 1 (TBC) and England 2 (TBC)

GROUP STAGE

 

GROUP A		GROUP B
A1	Chennai Super Kings (India)	B1	Royal Challengers Bangalore (India)
A2	Cape Cobras (South Africa)	B2	Warriors (South Africa)
A3	NSW Blues (Australia)	B3	South Australian Redbacks (Australia)
A4	Mumbai Indians (India)	B4	Q1
A5	Q2	B5	Q3

 

Date	Local	GMT	Match Details	Venue
Sep 19, 2011	16:00	10:30	Qualifier : Trinidad and Tobago vs Ruhuna Rhinos, 1st T20	Hyderabad
Sep 19, 2011	20:00	14:30	Qualifier : Kolkata Knight Riders vs Auckland Aces, 2nd T20	Hyderabad
Sep 20, 2011	16:00	10:30	Qualifier : Trinidad and Tobago vs ECB1, 3rd T20	Hyderabad
Sep 20, 2011	20:00	14:30	Qualifier : ECB2 vs Auckland Aces, 4th T20	Hyderabad
Sep 21, 2011	16:00	10:30	Qualifier : ECB1 vs Ruhuna Rhinos, 5th T20	Hyderabad
Sep 21, 2011	20:00	14:30	Qualifier : Kolkata Knight Riders vs ECB2, 6th T20	Hyderabad
Sep 23, 2011	20:00	14:30	Group B : Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Chevrolet Warriors, 1st T20	Bangalore
Sep 24, 2011	16:00	10:30	Group A : Cape Cobras vs New South Wales Blues, 2nd T20	Chennai
Sep 24, 2011	20:00	14:30	Group A : Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians, 3rd T20	Chennai
Sep 25, 2011	16:00	10:30	Group B : Chevrolet Warriors vs South Australian Redbacks, 4th T20	Kolkata
Sep 25, 2011	20:00	14:30	Group B : TBC vs TBC, 5th T20	Kolkata
Sep 26, 2011	20:00	14:30	Group A : Mumbai Indians vs TBC, 6th T20	Bangalore
Sep 27, 2011	20:00	14:30	Group B : TBC vs South Australian Redbacks, 7th T20	Kolkata
Sep 28, 2011	16:00	10:30	Group A : New South Wales Blues vs TBC, 8th T20	Chennai
Sep 28, 2011	20:00	14:30	Group A : Chennai Super Kings vs Cape Cobras, 9th T20	Chennai
Sep 29, 2011	20:00	14:30	Group B : TBC vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, 10th T20	Kolkata
Sep 30, 2011	20:00	14:30	Group A : Mumbai Indians vs Cape Cobras, 11th T20	Bangalore
Oct 1, 2011	16:00	10:30	Group B : South Australian Redbacks vs TBC, 12th T20	Kolkata
Oct 1, 2011	20:00	14:30	Group B : TBC vs Chevrolet Warriors, 13th T20	Kolkata
Oct 2, 2011	16:00	10:30	Group A : Mumbai Indians vs New South Wales Blues, 14th T20	Chennai
Oct 2, 2011	20:00	14:30	Group A : Chennai Super Kings vs TBC, 15th T20	Chennai
Oct 3, 2011	20:00	14:30	Group B : Royal Challengers Bangalore vs TBC, 16th T20	Bangalore
Oct 4, 2011	16:00	10:30	Group A : Cape Cobras vs TBC, 17th T20	Chennai
Oct 4, 2011	20:00	14:30	Group A : Chennai Super Kings vs New South Wales Blues, 18th T20	Chennai
Oct 5, 2011	16:00	10:30	Group B : Chevrolet Warriors vs TBC, 19th T20	Bangalore
Oct 5, 2011	20:00	14:30	Group B : Royal Challengers Bangalore vs South Australian Redbacks, 20th T20	Bangalore
Oct 7, 2011	20:00	14:30	TBC vs TBC, 1st Semi Final T20	Bangalore
Oct 8, 2011	20:00	14:30	TBC vs TBC, 2nd Semi Final T20	Chennai
Oct 9, 2011	20:00	14:30	TBC vs TBC, Final T20	Chennai

Tendulkar falls short of landmark as England complete series India whitewash

     Sachin Tendulkar fell agonizingly short of his 100th international century as England confirmed their status as cricket's number one team with a 4-0 series whitewash over India.

  England sealed a 4-0 series rout of India with an innings and eight-run victory at The Oval, as Sachin Tendulkar fell just short of an unprecedented 100th international hundred.


The legendary Indian batsman -- dubbed "The Little Master" -- was dismissed for 91 at The Oval in London as England won the fourth Test by an innings and eight runs.

Their fourth successive victory over India means that England usurped their opponents at the top of the world rankings.


Having racked up a mammoth 591-6 declared, England dismissed India for 300 in their first innings and 283 in their second after asking the tourists to bat again.

Graeme Swann took six wickets on the final day, including the final scalp of Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, to confirm England's first series whitewash on home soil since 2004.

It's been up there with the best series we've played as a group
   --Andrew Strauss, England captain

"We had to work pretty hard for that," England captain Andrew Strauss told BBC. "When you enforce the follow-on, you're always asking a lot of the bowlers especially on a flat wicket. They stuck at it.

"To bowl India out for 300 and 283 on that wicket is quite a performance. You're getting really strong performances from all 11 players.
"It's been up there with the best series we've played as a group. We've had a lot of victories over the last couple of years and we expect to win matches now."

India captain MS Dhoni added: "It's important we stay together as a unit because the expectation levels are quite high.
"It's about the team rising to the occasion together. That's the way ahead. We are not willing to surrender and we hope the coming years will be good."

Resuming on 129-3 -- still 162 runs behind -- Tendulkar and Amit Mishra put up stubborn resistance in the morning session, England trying six different bowlers in an attempt to break the partnership.

Tendulkar went to lunch on 78 not out with an expectant capacity crowd willing him on to his landmark 100th international century. After the interval Mishra was the first to go, for 84, bowled by Swann after he and Tendulkar had put on 144 runs.

Just minutes later Indian fans in the crowd were distraught as Tim Bresnan trapped Tendulkar LBW just nine short of his hundred, replays showing the ball was just clipping the leg stump.

India's final six batsmen managed just 19 runs between them as Stuart Broad removed captain MS Dhoni and RP Singh with Swann picking up the wickets of Suresh Raina, Gautam Gambhir and Sreesanth.

Teams announce Champions League T20 Squad

Bangalore, Aug 22:

                          All the participating teams in the Champions League 2011 have announced their squads for the tournament scheduled to start from September 19. And it comes as no surprise that the eight players who had two teams to chose from, have all decided to enter the tournament with their respective IPL sides.

The squads are:

Auckland: Andre Adams, James Adams, Michael Bates, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Roneel Hira, Gareth Hopkins, Anaru Kitchen, Bruce Martin, Chris Martin, Kyle Mills, Colin Munro, Daryl Tuffey, Rob Quiney, Lou Vincent

Cape Cobras: JP Duminy, Herschelle Gibbs, Justin Kemp, Rory Kleinveldt, Charl Langeveldt, Richard Levi, Johann Louw, Justin Ontong, Robin Peterson, Vernon Philander, Andrew Puttick, Michael Rippon, Owais Shah, Dale Steyn, Dane Vilas

Mumbai Indians: Aiden Blizzard, Yuzvendra Chahal, James Franklin Davy Jacobs, Dhawal Kulkarni, Suryakumar Yadav, Lasith Malinga, Ali Murtuza, Munaf Patel, Kieron Pollard, Ambati Rayudu, Rohit Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, T Suman, Sachin Tendulkar

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Mayank Agarwal, S Aravind, Raju Bhatkal, AB de Villiers, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Chris Gayle, Arun Karthik, Virat Kohli, Mohammad Kaif, Abhimanyu Mithun, J Syed Mohammed, Dirk Nannes, Asad Pathan, Saurabh Tiwary Daniel Vettori

Chennai Super Kings: R Ashwin, S Badrinath, Doug Bollinger, Dwayne Bravo, MS Dhoni, Michael Hussey, Shadab Jakati, Albie Morkel, Suresh Raina, Suraj Randiv, Wriddhiman Saha, S Anirudha, Tim Southee, Scott Styris, M Vijay

Kolkata Knight Riders: Iqbal Abdulla, Shakib Al Hasan, L Balaji, Rajat Bhatia, Manvinder Bisla, Gautam Gambhir, Brad Haddin, Jacques Kallis, Brett Lee, Eoin Morgan, Yusuf Pathan, Shami Ahmed, Ryan ten Doeschate, Manoj Tiwary, Jaidev Unadkat

New South Wales Blues: Stuart Clark, Patrick Cummins, Nathan Hauritz, Josh Hazelwood, Moises Henriques, Phillip Hughes, Simon Katich, Nic Maddinson, Stephen O'Keefe, Ben Rohrer, Daniel Smith, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner, Shane Watson

South Australia Redbacks: Cameron Borgas, Daniel Christian, Tom Cooper, Callum Ferguson, Daniel Harris, Michael Klinger, Nathan Lyon, Tim Ludeman, Aaron O'Brien, Gary Putland, Adil Rashid, Kane Richardson, Chadd Sayers, James Smith, Shaun Tait

Ruhuna: Mahela Udawatte, Dinesh Chandimal, Sanath Jayasuriya, Janaka Gunaratne, Milinda Siriwardana, TM Sampath, Yashodha Lanka, Shihan Kamileen, Amal Athulathmudali, Arosh Janoda, Shalika Karunanayake, Omesh Wijesiriwardene, Alankara Asanka Silva, Chinthaka Perera, Bhanuka Rajapaksa

Trinidad & Tobago: Samuel Badree, Adrian Barath, Darren Bravo, Kevon Cooper, Rayad Emrit, Daren Ganga, Sherwin Ganga, Shannon Gabriel, Jason Mohammed, Dave Mohammed, Sunil Narine, William Perkins, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Lendl Simmons

 

Warriors: Johan Botha, Nicky Boje, Mark Boucher, Andrew Birch, Colin Ingram, Justin Kreusch, Lyall Meyer, Makhaya Ntini, Wayne Parnell, Ashwell Prince, Jon-Jon Smuts, Kelly Smuts, Rusty Theron, Craig Thyssen, Lonwabo Tsotsobe