Having produced a creditable bowling performance to bowl the home side out for 170, India reached their target with more than 15 overs to spare to take their first win of the tri-series.

Their opening performance had seen them concede 288 against New Zealand and then themselves be dismissed for just 88 but their bowlers never allowed Sri Lanka’s batsmen to settle and top scorers for the hosts were opener Tillakaratne Dilshan, who made 45, and Suraj Randiv, who battled hard to hit 43 before being the last man to fall in the 47th over.

India struck with the first ball of the match when Praveen Kumar had Upul Tharanga bowled and they hardly looked back, Ashish Nehra having Kumar Sangakkara caught by Pragyan Ojha for two, Ishant Sharma having Thilan Samaraweera caught by Ravi Jadeja for seven and Kumar trapping Mahela Jayawardene in front for four to leave Sri Lanka reeling at 44 for four.

Dilshan hit five fours before he became the first of Pragyan Ojha’s three wickets, offering a catch to Rohit Sharma and the left-arm spinner went on to have Lasith Malinga (5) stumped and Randiv finally caught by Suresh Raina.

He had faced 61 balls, hitting four fours to keep Sri Lanka’s score respectable, with Angelo Mathews (15), Chamara Kapugedera (10) and Nuwan Kulasekara (22) the only other players to reach double figures.

Ojha returned three for 36 with Kumar, Sharma and Jadeja all taking two wickets apiece.

“Anil Kumble is a living legend and CSA is honoured that he has accepted our invitation to come out to South Africa and work with tomorrow’s stars,” Cricket South Africa (CSA) CEO, Gerald Majola, said.
“We will also invite some of our woman cricketers, young batsmen and wicket-keepers who, we believe, will benefit from the experience.
“CSA is encouraged by the progress made by our High Performance team and we are confident that this visit is going to boost the good work being done in the spinning department,” he added.
The spin clinic, which will also be attended by CSA’s High Performance spin coaches Shafiek Abrahams, Harry Shapiro and Paul Adams, will run alongside the second CSA Annual Conference taking place from August 18-21 in Sandton.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who led Super Kings to their maiden IPL triumph this year, will continue to captain the side.
The foreign players who found a place in the squad are retired Sri Lankan spin-wizard Muttiah Muralitharan and Thilan Thushara; Australia’s Michael Hussey, Doug Bollinger and retired Matthew Hayden; and Albie Morkel of South Africa.
Three players from Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will play for their ‘away’ team rather than their ‘home’ teams.
Jacques Kallis, Ross Taylor and Cameron White will line up for RCB in South Africa from September 10 after being named by their home teams as well as their IPL franchise.

“Kallis’ contract (with RCB) says if his IPL team get into the CLT20 his team has the first option. He is obligated to play for RCB. For that we got USD 200,000. We would have wanted Kallis but the decision did not lay in our hands. We never had a choice,” he said in a media interaction with a group of Indian journalists.
“One can argue the merits of the case but that is the rule. They (CLT20) may be thinking of changing the rule in future,” he added.
CLT20 rules seemed confusing after Governing Council Member Dean Kino’s statement after the launch of the tournament in Johannesburg suggests that Kallis, New Zealander Ross Taylor and Australian Cameron White had the option not to choose RCB.

On India’s 64th Independence Day, Dhoni said the country should look forward to hosting not just a good Commonwealth Games but also the cricket World Cup next year.
“It is a great day for us. It is the 64th Independence Day and being from the sports community (I am looking forward to) two major events are coming up for us in the next one year starting from now.
“One is the Commonwealth Games and the other is the cricket World Cup. Hopefully, we will do well over there and earn plenty of goodwill for our country,” he said.
The cricket World Cup is scheduled to begin in February next year.

Three wickets apiece from Lasith Malinga and Angelo Mathews helped them dismiss New Zealand for 192 before Upul Tharanga’s half-century set up a victory chasing under lights – an infrequent occurrence at the ground – as Sri Lanka closed on 195 for seven.

He stroked 70 in 109 balls and put on 85 for the second wicket with Kumar Sangakkara (48) as Sri Lanka made light of the early dismissal of Tillakaratne Dilshan who became the first of four victims of Kyle Mills when he was caught and bowled for five.

Mahela Jayawardene fell for the same score and to the same bowler after Sangakkara was caught by Martin Guptill off of Scott Styris and after Tharanga’s dismissal, Sri Lanka lost quick wickets as New Zealand almost bowled themselves back into the match.

Mathews (0), Nuwan Kulasekara (7) and Rangana Herath (2) all fell cheaply before it was left to Thilan Samaraweera, unbeaten on 36 in 38 balls, to guide the home side to victory with just under ten overs to spare.

Chamara Kapugedera, batting down the order, made nine not out in as many balls as Mills’ haul of four for 41 proved to be in vain.

South African players Jean-Paul Duminy, Alviro Petersen, Albie Morkel, Wayne Parnell and Makhya Ntini were also present. Raman said India will continue to be represented in future by three teams while two teams from Australia and South Africa, the two other founder members, will take part.
“We have a 10-year contract with ESPN Star Sports. The number of matches will remain 23 but regarding the increase in number of teams that is the decision of CLT20 council. Three teams from India, two each from South SAfrica and Australia will take part in future tournaments also. The other teams were on invitational basis,” he said.

Duminy believes that if Tendulkar continues with his menacing form of this year’s Indian Premier League, MI will go all the way through.

“He (Tendulkar) obviously leads from the front and that lifts his team-mates. He is very inspiring and exceptional captain. If he fires, others also perform better by another 20 per cent.

“He has been in fine form in the IPL and for India. Hope he does the same for us to win this tournament,” Duminy said on the sidelines of the launch of Champions League T20.

“Sachin helps everybody out and he tries to engage every player. I get along with him very well and had discussions on batting and other cricketing things,” said the 26-year-old batsman, who was the inaugural CLT20′s top scorer for Cape Cobras but will play for Mumbai Indians this time.

Duminy conceded that the two South African sides – Warriors and Highveld Lions – will have a bit of edge in the tournament as they are playing at home condition.

The lanky left-arm pacer said the contract was for the fourth edition of the IPL and he had been recommended by former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram, who is a consultant and coach for the KKR.
“I have signed for KKR for the fourth edition of IPL,” Irfan said from Lahore where he is training at the National cricket academy.

“I had to travel to Sri Lanka to meet with the KKR officials and they saw me bowl in the nets there. I went there because of Wasim Bhai. They were impressed by my performances and offered me the contract,” he said.

The Argentine soccer side under coach Maradona had a secluded camp at the same center before the June 11 to July 11 World Cup held in South Africa.

RCB, who qualified for the USD six million prize-money tournament after finishing third in the IPL, begin their CLT20 campaign against Guyana at Centurion on September 12 and Jennings said his side has been boosted by the retention of Kallis and Taylor.
“Kallis has a commitment to play for RCB instead of Warriors and so we have paid the amount. The same as Taylor as he will not play for Central Stags. They are class players and it’s great they will play for us. Kallis knows the South African conditions and he will be a great asset for us,” he said.

Muralitharan, who retired last month as Test cricket’s highest wicket-taker, had a completely different view on the system and said it was not necessary for a team to beat all other sides on tours before becoming number one.
“India deserve to be the number one Test side because they won a lot of matches. They won against Australia in Australia, they won against England in England and they drew the recent series in Sri Lanka 1-1,” he told reporters on the eve of the launch of Champions League Twenty20.

Both men scored half-centuries and after New Zealand were bowled out for 288, India were dismissed for a paltry 88 in just 29.3 overs.

Taylor, installed as captain due to the absence of Daniel Vettori and Brendon McCullum, led by example with an innings of 95 in 113 balls which contained eight fours and a six while Styris made 89 in 95 balls.

The pair took New Zealand from 28 for three after the early dismissals of Peter Ingram (12), Martin Guptill (11) and debutant Kane Williamson (0) to 218 for four.

India then fought back strongly with the ball, Ashish Nehra taking four for 47, including the wicket of Taylor trapped in front, as the last seven wickets fell for 70 runs.

Nehra’s new-ball partner Praveen Kumar returned three for 43 and there was a wicket apiece for Pragyan Ojha and Yuvraj Singh on his recall to the side.

“It (playing in South Africa) will have an impact as the technicalities will be different, planning will be different,” Ganguly, who has been roped in as a commentator by ESPN Star for the tournament.

“There won’t be too many scores in excess of 200. There will be a lot more close games and a score of 130-140 could be a winning total,” said Ganguly, who led Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL-3.
IPL winners Chennai Super Kings, led by India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, runners-up Mumbai Indians, skippered by Sachin Tendulkar, and Anil Kumble-led Bangalore Royal Challengers have qualified for CLT20 to be held from September 10-26 in four South African centres.
But Ganguly also saw the tournament as an ideal opportunity for some young players to prove their mettle in tough South African conditions.

Former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly will join as commentator.
“It gives me great pleasure to let you know that Sourav will be part of the commentator team, who will be sharing with you all the nuances of the game during the champion league,” said Sawhney.
“Like every other Indian, we all love cricket…Cricket excites everyone in my family and other members that come to my house and every time there is a game, we are following. We call up each other, we get together in the house and sit in front of the TV to enjoy the game,” said Amitabh Bachchan.

India’s victory ensured that the series was tied at 1-1, following a ten-wicket win for Sri Lanka in Galle and a high-scoring draw in the second match, also held in Colombo.

India resumed the final day on 53 for three having been set 257 to win and Sri Lanka, marginal favourites when play began, struck quickly to remove nightwatchman Ishant Sharma for four to strengthen their position.

He was caught by Kumar Sangakkara as Suraj Randiv picked up his fourth wicket of the innings to reduce India to 62 for four but then followed a 109-run partnership between the experience of Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar for the fifth wicket.

Tendulkar made 54 in 122 balls, finding the boundary only three times as the pair kept the scoreboard ticking over and slowly started to put pressure back onto the Sri Lankans.

Laxman was more aggressive, hitting 12 fours on the way to his 16th Test century as he faced 149 balls for his unbeaten 103.

Yuvraj missed the victorious Asia Cup campaign while fellow left-hander Gambhir missed the second Test against Sri Lanka with a knee injury.

Abhimanyu Mithun, who has made his Test debut on the same tour, is in the squad, which is light on experienced fast bowlers as Zaheer Khan and Shanthakumaran Sreesanth remain on the sidelines.

Ashish Nehra and Ishant Sharma are expected to lead the pace attack while left-armer Pragyan Ojha is the senior spinner in the absence of Harbhajan.

Youngsters Saurabh Tiwary and Ravi Ashwin boost the squad which is largely the same as the one which beat Sri Lanka to win the Asia Cup in Dambulla in June.

New Zealand are the other team in the tournament, which begins on 10th August. The three teams will play one another twice before the final on 28th August.

India ODI squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Virender Sehwag (vice-captain). Ravi Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik, Virat Kohli, Praveen Kumar, Abhimanyu Mithun, Ashish Nehra, Pragyan Ojha, Suresh Raina, Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Saurabh Tiwary, Yuvraj Singh

India stole a first-innings lead of 65 as they were bowled out for 707 in reply to Sri Lanka’s 642 for four declared before Sri Lanka closed the game on 129 for three in their second innings.

Resuming on 669 for nine, India pressed on with their final batsman Ishant Sharma (27) and Pragyan Ojha (18 not out) frustrated Sri Lanka’s attempts to bowl them out before Sharma was finally caught by Kumar Sangakkara off Dilhara Fernando. Ojha’s innings, which spanned 92 deliveries, was a new career-best.

Pick of the bowlers for Sri Lanka was Ajantha Mendis, who returned four for 172 while Tillakaratne Dilshan took three for 56.

Batting again, Dilshan fell for 14 when he was caught by Sharma off Abhimanyu Mithun and opening partner Tharanga Paranavitana made 34 before he was caught by VVS Laxman off Harbhajan Singh.

Sangakkara steadied the innings with an unbeaten 42 in 114 balls after Mahela Jayawardene (5) was trapped in front by Virender Sehwag and Thilan Samaraweera was unbeaten on ten.

Sangakkara made 219, Jayawardene 174 and Paranavitana 100 in Sri Lanka’s first innings before India’s reply was led by Sachin Tendulkar’s 203, Suresh Raina’s 120 on debut and Sehwag’s 99.

Sri Lanka won the opening match by ten wickets and the third and final Test, also in Colombo, gets underway on 3rd August.

While Sri Lanka need to avoid defeat to claim the series win, even if they win the game to take a 2-0 series victory, India will remain at the top of the ICC’s Test match ranking table.

Tendulkar became the fourth centurion of the match having seen Kumar Sangakkara (219), Mahela Jayawardene (174) and Tharanga Paranavitana (100) reach three figures on the first two days and then team-mate Virender Sehwag fall for 99 earlier on the third day.

Sehwag, who hit 15 fours in 101 balls, became off-spinner Suraj Randiv’s first Test wicket when he was stumped by Prasanna Jayawardene looking to reach his century in style and his dismissal ended a 165-run stand for the first wicket.

Randiv struck again shortly after to have Rahul Dravid trapped for three and with that coming three overs after Murali Vijay (58) had been trapped in front by Ajantha Mendis, India had lost three wickets for the addition of just seven runs.

Tendulkar, along with VVS Laxman (29) steadied the ship with 68-run stand for the fourth wicket, which came when Laxman was leg before to Mendis having faced 98 deliveries for his runs.

Debutant Suresh Raina took a little while to get off the mark, but settled to push India towards their target of avoiding the follow-on by making an unbeaten 66 in 133 balls which included eight fours.

Mendis, who tormented India in their last tour and also in the only practice game ahead of current series, today took two of the four wickets but gave away 83 runs in 25 overs.

“He is a difficult bowler but our batsmen have sorted him out. We have figured out his strengths and so we try not to bat to his strengths. He has done well against us but now it is an even contest,” Tendulkar, who scored his 48th Test century on Wednesday, said.

Mendis trapped both Murali Vijay and VVS Laxman while off-spinner Suraj Randiv dismissed Sehwag and Rahul Dravid. Tendukar praised both Mendis and Randiv for their efforts but said it will be difficult for them to fill in the vaccum created by the retirement of Muttiah Muralitharan.
“Both the bowlers did very well. Of course, it is always difficult to emulate Murali and it is not going to be easy for Mendis and Randiv. It would be a big responsibility for them to fill up his place,” Tendulkar said.

Bedi, an untiring critic of Muralitharan by repeatedly calling him a “chucker”, found support from two other Indian spinners Erapalli Prasanna and Maninder Singh who said the Sri Lankan was given the licence by the ICC to bend his arm.

In an uncharacterictic attack, Muralitharan described Bedi a controversy monger and an ordinary bowler who would have been thrashed by any batsman had he been playing in the modern era.

Asked for his reaction to Murali’s verbal volley, Bedi said, “I don’t want to react. Don’t want to comment. I don’t want to say anything to be honest. You know my views. I don’t want to stoop to his level. I don’t call Murali a chucker. He is a chucker.”

Former Indian spinner Prasanna threw his weight behind his former teammate, saying Murali’s attack was “totally uncalled for”.

“He (Murali) should have avoided it. Murali should have been little more mature. He just can’t make such loose comments that anybody could have achieved Bishen’s feat. We all admire him for his achievements. He should have avoided making such comments”, Prasanna said.

“The fact of the matter is that ICC bent its rules for Murali. With that, flexibility was allowed to him and most of the bowlers,” he said.

“He doesn’t fit into the slot of conventional bowler but fact of the matter is ICC bent the rules and permitted him. Therefore it’s ok”, he said.