IPL franchise Deccan Chargers up for sale?

New Delhi: Indian Premier League franchise Deccan Chargers is in danger of losing its place in the cash-rich league's set-up, throwing up the possibility of an eight-team IPL6 in 2013, sources told CNN-IBN on Monday.

Deccan, the 2009 IPL champions, might lose their franchise as the owners are unable to sort out financial issues after they mortgaged the team to banks to raise funds without BCCI's consent, added sources. It has also been learnt that the Indian board is seeking a new buyer for the franchise but hasn’t ruled out the possibility of an eight-team IPL 6 in 2013 if no buyer is found.

Deccan won the 2009 title in a dramatic turnaround after they finished last in the league's inaugural season the previous year.

Is Tendulkar blocking the way for youngsters?

New Delhi: Tendulkar getting clean bowled on Indian pitches in a jam- packed stadium is one of the worst sights for Indian fans. But unfortunately, the fans have gone through three such sights in Tendulkar’s last three innings against New Zealand.

As Tim Southee rattled Tendulkar’s stumps on Monday at the Chinnaswamy stadium, it fanned the flames of the debate whether the Master Blaster is blocking the way for the youngsters in the team.

Sachin was dismissed to a fuller length ball from Bracewell in the first innings of the second Test match as the ball went between his bat and pad and crashed onto the stumps. It was a shaky innings from the batting maestro and he never looked comfortable.

On Monday as well, the veteran got off to a poor start and on many occasions the ball hit his pads, and he was lucky to survive as the bowlers missed their length. But after hitting a few boundaries, the batting stalwart couldn’t block a fuller length ball from Southee, which first hit his pads and then knocked the stumps.

It was two days ago that former Indian cricketers Sunil Gavaskar and Sanjay Manjrekar questioned Tendulkar’s foot work. Gavaskar reckoned that it was the age which was taking its toll over Sachin’s footwork, which at one stage was flawless.

It was the similar story with Rahul Dravid, who had a horrendous tour in Australia where he was bowled on most of the occasions. The Wall hung his boots earlier this year and even the stylish VVS Laxman, who was being criticized for his poor run in Tests, surprisingly retired ahead of the ongoing Test series between India and New Zealand.

Tendulkar is 39-year-old and now many think it is the right time for him as well to call it a day and make way for youngsters like Ajinkya Rahane and Manoj Tiwar

Nerveless Maxwell takes Australia home

Australia 250 for 7 (Hussey 65, Maxwell 56*, Ajmal 3-37) beat Pakistan 244 for 7 (Hafeez 78, Jamshed 48, Starc 4-51) by three wickets                                                                                                                                   A little calmer when it mattered most, Australia completed a victory more testing than the scoreboard ultimately showed to defeat Pakistan in Sharjah and claim the overnight ODI series 2-1. It was a result achieved as much by perspiration as inspiration, Michael Hussey and the nerveless tyro Glenn Maxwell forming the critical union to rescue their team from the uncertainty of 159 for 5 when Matthew Wade fell to Abdur Rehman.

Michael Hussey could so easily have been out lbw to Saeed Ajmal before he had scored, amid a mesmerising spell in which the offspinner claimed what appeared a pivotal 3 for 11. But Misbah-ul-Haq made a pair of judgements that were to prove too timid - failing to refer the umpire Billy Bowden's decision, and then taking Ajmal off after five overs when another wicket or two might have sealed Australia's fate.

Pakistan's hesitation could perhaps be attributed to the weight of history, having not defeated Australia in an ODI series since 2002. There was to be little such trepidation about the way Michael Hussey and Maxwell closed in on the target, which had been reined in to manageable proportions by Mitchell Johnson and Mitchell Starc after Pakistan's openers made their team's best start against Australia since 1985.

Mohammad Hafeez's stand of 129 with Nasir Jamshed should have allowed Pakistan to soar well past 250, but Australia's bowlers stuck admirably to their task to limit the rest. It was Johnson who started the salvage operation, claiming two wickets while keeping his economy-rate down, and thus allowing Starc to strike four times to continue his decent form.

As had been flagged as a possibility by the assistant coach Steve Rixon earlier in the series, Wade's exertions during 50 overs in the field were deemed too much for him to back up immediately as an opener.

His replacement at the top of the order was unexpected - David Hussey opening for the first time in his ODI career - but provided a useful left-right contrast with David Warner in a stand that showed plenty of brio if not total safety.

Warner and David Hussey both smote huge sixes, causing the umpires to twice call for a replacement ball, and denting the previously tidy series figures of Hafeez. Rehman hurried a Warner pull shot and claimed his wicket to break the partnership at 44, but Michael Clarke was typically fluent and with David Hussey he kept Australia ahead of the asking-rate.

However Ajmal's introduction brought a marked change to proceedings, as he found spin despite the moist night air and yet again confused the Australians with his variations. Clarke had struck one significant blow in drawing blood from the left hand of Shahid Afridi with a fierce drive, but he advanced too early to Ajmal and was well stumped down the leg side by Kamran Akmal.

Michael Hussey seemed palpably lbw, but Pakistan chose conservatively not to refer Billy Bowden's not-out verdict. David Hussey perished in pursuit of another six, and George Bailey gloved an attempted paddle-sweep. Ajmal's spin had turned the innings, but he was then withdrawn to allow Wade and Michael Hussey some desperately needed breathing room.

They steadied things until Wade's exit, bowled between bat and pad, whereupon Maxwell made another free-spirited contribution to a series in which his batting comfortably outshone his bowling as he ransacked Afridi for 16 runs in the 43rd over. Michael Hussey was out to a tired slog and Dan Christian did not endure, but Maxwell kept his cool and his timing to guide the weary Australians home.

They had been grateful to win the toss and avoid the worst excesses of the evening moisture. Bolstered by happy memories of game one when they had topped and tailed the Pakistan innings, Pattinson and Starc took the new ball with some intent. Starc looked initially short of rhythm and comfort having shrugged off a side/chest complaint to take part, but Australia's opening duo made Jamshed and Hafeez work hard to survive the early overs.

Both batsmen top-edged attempted hook shots and were fortunate to see their respective strokes fall safely. Nonetheless, the shots signalled their ambition, even as a sluggish pitch, slow outfield and tidy Australian fielding made scoring difficult.

Gradually, Hafeez and Jamshed wrested the initiative, seeing off a useful spell by Johnson and profiting more from the others. The allrounder Christian shelled a difficult return catch when Hafeez was on 26, but it was the only hint of a chance offered by the openers as they strode to Pakistan's first century opening stand against Australia in ODIs since 1985.

Jamshed's innings was a worthy follow-up to his match-shaping innings in Abu Dhabi, while Hafeez was finally showing the Australians the worth of his batting after some years of underachievement. The six off Pattinson was a particularly compelling reminder.

Australia were so desperate for a wicket that Clarke sacrificed his one referral to a speculative appeal for a leg-side catch off Jamshed. The stratagem was indirectly helpful in securing the breakthrough, distracting Jamshed enough for Johnson to have him touching a bouncer behind in the same over.

Afridi was promoted in the order to make a flash-in-the-pan seven, and Hafeez's innings was ended when Clarke struck him in front while attempting to sweep. Asad Shafiq, Misbah-ul-Haq and Azhar Ali did not go beyond their starts, keeping the target within Australia's reach

Kohli, Dhoni deliver win in thriller

India 353 and 262 for 5 (Kohli 51*, Dhoni 48*, Pujara 48) beat New Zealand 365 and 248 (Franklin 41, Ashwin 5-69) by 5 wicketse                                                                                                                                   Virat Kohli, the architect of so many ODI run-chases, scripted another one, this time in a Test, to hold together India's nervy batting line-up and lead the team to a 2-0 series victory. On another tense day of what has been a wonderful Test match, on a wonderful Test pitch, New Zealand fought hard all the way, and came up on top against some of the heavy weights of India's top order. Kohli, however, held firm, and with MS Dhoni offering sensible support, India finally chased down the target of 261 late in the evening, under lights, on another overcast day in Bangalore, with Dhoni ending the contest with a four and a six off successive balls. The end was emphatic, but for much of the day, the chase wasn't.

India's top four batsmen, all topped 25, but none got to 50, as New Zealand scraped and forced errors. Kohli walked in to bat at 152 for 3, after Sachin Tendulkar was bowled through the gate for the third time in the series, and soon saw India slide to 166 for 5, with only Dhoni and the tail for company. With the ball bouncing and seaming around a bit, and with Jeetan Patel getting some turn and bounce, India, and Kohli, had much to do.

As is his habit, Kohli started slowly, offering the bowlers plenty of respect. His first scoring stroke, though, was an emphatic one - a fluent cover-drive off a Trent Boult half-volley - and when he followed that with an off-drive in the same over, he was on his way. Between the gorgeous drives, though, was plenty of circumspect batting, as he defended solidly, and left deliveries outside off. After scoring no runs in his first 15 balls, Kohli scored 17 off his next 34. Only after having faced around 50 balls did he show more extravagance, exquisitely whipping one from Patel through wide mid-on, and then creaming three fours off a Southee over - a whip through midwicket, a cover-drive, and a straight-drive. His last 34 came off 33 balls, in what was the definition of a well-paced innings.

Dhoni, on the other hand, was frenetic at the start, scoring 19 off his first 16 balls, including a slog-swept six off Patel. That eased the pressure somewhat, with Ross Taylor perhaps missing a trick by keeping Patel on instead of attacking Dhoni with pace from both ends. As Kohli upped the tempo, Dhoni eased off, taking singles, rotating the strike, and not striking another boundary till victory was well within reach. The partnership between the two was worth 96, and it was a match-winning one.

The sixth-wicket pair finally won it for India, but for most of the day New Zealand put in a terrific performance in the field: the fast bowlers mixed up their lengths on a responsive pitch, testing all the Indian batsmen with the short stuff, while Patel flighted it, bowled at a slower pace, and flummoxed more than one batsman in a line-up which usually plays spin well. The only passage when they seemed lost for ideas was when Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir were spanking it to all parts during a first-wicket partnership of 77 in less than 12 overs However, once they broke through, with Sehwag charging down the pitch and getting deceived by the flight, they fought all the way. Gambhir lost his way after a fluent start, scoring one off his last 20 balls after making 33 off 38 in Sehwag's company. Cheteshwar Pujara, who had starred with 72 in India's win over Australia at the same ground on his debut, had a mixed time here, mixing some pleasant drives with some nervy moments against both spin and pace: his hooking didn't always inspire confidence, while Patel repeatedly had him playing and missing at straight deliveries. He finally dismissed Pujara off a bat-pad catch for 48 with the score on 158, but would have dismissed him 24 runs earlier, with Pujara on 37, had Brendon McCullum, keeping wicket instead of the injured Kruger van Wyk, not muffed up a simple stumping chance.

India seemed to have taken a stranglehold on the game when Pujara and Tendulkar were involved in a 69-run stand, but New Zealand continued to press hard. The pair had to fight off a tense period before lunch as New Zealand recovered after the opening onslaught: only 17 runs came off the 12 overs after Sehwag's dismissal. However, both Pujara and Tendulkar were getting into groove, with the batsmen managing forcing shots through the off side to ease the pressure, when a 40-minute rain delay, which forced an early tea, stopped India's momentum.

Soon after resumption, India slumped from 147 for 2 to 166 for 5. Tendulkar was bowled for the third time in three innings, playing across the line to a full one from Southee that moved in a bit, while Suresh Raina had a brain freeze: not yet off the mark after facing nine balls, he charged wildly at his tenth, tried to blast it over midwicket, missed, and found his middle stump knocked back. It's a stroke that should give him nightmares, especially if he doesn't get another opportunity at Test cricket in the near future. In five home Tests against New Zealand, Raina has scored 84 in seven innings at an average of 12.

At that stage there was plenty to do for India, but then Kohli and Dhoni ensured there'd be no further hiccups.

Pakistan aim to break ten-year drought

Big Picture                                                                                                                                                   Pakistan and Australia return to Sharjah for the third one-day international, which has become the series decider after Australia took the first match and Pakistan won the second. For Pakistan, this is a chance to end a decade-long era without a one-day series win over Australia. Last time they beat Australia was in 2002 and it was also the last time Pakistan came back from losing the first match in a three-game series to win. They will rely heavily on Saeed Ajmal, who has caused real problems for Australia's batsmen in the first two games and has taken seven of the 15 wickets collected by Pakistan bowlers so far, at the remarkable average of 8.85. The Australians will consider attacking Ajmal more in this game, but if they continue to misread his doosra it may make little difference.

Australia need more runs from their openers, Matthew Wade and David Warner, and they might be keen to take a more aggressive approach after Warner took 19 balls to get off the mark in the second game. They also need to work out the best make-up of their attack should Mitchell Starc be ruled out due to injury after he left the field late in the second match. Choosing a frontline spinner, Xavier Doherty, would not be a bad option, although if they end up bowling second and find the conditions as dewy as they were on Friday in Abu Dhabi, it might not matter. Both matches have been won by the team chasing and Michael Clarke is unlikely to make the mistake of batting first again should he win the toss.                                                                                                                                Form guide (Complete matches, most recent first)

Pakistan WLLLW
Australia LWLLL

Watch out for

Saeed Ajmal has taken 7 for 62 in the series so far and is far and were in not for his fine work on Friday, the Australians could well have posted a much heftier total. His variations leave the Australians muddled, and after they chose to be cautious with him in the first two games they might be considering a different approach this time. "He's a fantastic bowler. But we have to change our game plan," David Hussey said on Sunday. "We're defending him a little bit and to our peril. Maybe the best form of defence is attacking him. We've seen the Sri Lankans play him, we've seen the Indians play him, and we might think that's the better route to go."

There is no question that Australia have found a dynamic and useful one-day player in Glenn Maxwell, but his challenge is to finish the series by displaying his all-round talents. He made 38 from 38 in the first game and a brisk 28 from 27 in the second game, which featured two mighty sixes. Both were impressive short-burst innings for an ODI No.7. But he is yet to take a wicket and by offering a little more with the ball he could help himself stay ahead of Steven Smith in the minds of the selectors.

Team news

Shahid Afridi missed the second match due to back soreness but is believed to be fit for the third game and a straight swap with Abdur Rehman seems the most likely scenario.

Pakistan (possible) 1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Nasir Jamshed, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Asad Shafiq, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Kamran Akmal (wk), 8 Shahid Afridi, 9 Sohail Tanvir, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Junaid Khan

Mitchell Starc left the field late in the second ODI with what was later revealed to a problem with his side/chest and if he doesn't play, the Australians can bring in the uncapped Alister McDermott or one of the spinners, Xavier Doherty or Steven Smith, as his replacement. Doherty would appear the most likely candidate given the conditions and the lack a frontline spinner in their line-up in the first two games.

Australia (possible) 1 Matthew Wade (wk), 2 David Warner, 3 Michael Clarke (capt), 4 Michael Hussey, 5 David Hussey, 6 George Bailey, 7 Glenn Maxwell, 8 Daniel Christian, 9 Mitchell Johnson, 10 Mitchell Starc/Xavier Doherty, 11 James Pattinson

Pitch and conditions

After the extremely dewy conditions in Abu Dhabi on Friday, the teams return to Sharjah for this third match. In the first two matches of the series it was the chasing team that emerged triumphant, so don't expect the captains to rush into a decision to bat first at the toss.

Stats and trivia

• Should Pakistan win the third match it will be their first ODI series victory against Australia in ten years, since they took the honours in a winter series played in Australia that included two matches under the roof of Melbourne's Docklands stadium
• In the past 12 months, only Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga has taken more ODI wickets than Saeed Ajmal's 44 at an average of 20.38
• In the same period, Australia's leading ODI wicket takers have been Xavier Doherty, Clint McKay and Brett Lee - none of whom has played a match in this series
  Quotes
  "We played really well and we fought really well in the first game in Sharjah so we can take some confidence into that."
  Michael Hussey

McGrath takes charge of MRF Pace Foundation

Glenn McGrath has been appointed director of the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai, replacing Dennis Lillee, who has held the post since its inception in 1987. McGrath, currently in India, has called it a "great honour."

"I know it won't be possible to replace someone like Dennis Lillee," McGrath said. "His legacy will be hard to live up to, but I will try my best in my role as the director at the foundation.

"The academy's contribution to world cricket is immense. I have trained there under Lillee and have experienced the facilities on offer."

The foundation has played a role in shaping the careers of several of the world's best fast bowlers, including Brett Lee and Zaheer Khan. Lillee, who spent 25 years with the organisation, hoped the foundation would continue its good work under McGrath's leadership.

"McGrath is the perfect choice to carry the vision of the Foundation forward," Lillee said. "I am happy for him and wish him all the best in his new role. I am certain that the MRF Pace Foundation will produce many more international fast bowlers under his guidance."

Lillee expressed satisfaction with the results of his association with the foundation and said that the decision to leave was not easy. "It has been a long journey. We had to begin from scratch, building facilities and slowly developing into a world-class academy. Our efforts and hard work have paid off and it pleases me to see bowlers trained at the foundation leading the Indian attack."

'Sri Lankan pitches have changed' - Sangakkara

Kumar Sangakkara has said that Sri Lanka will be one of the favourites at the upcoming World Twenty20, despite Sri Lanka's pitches having become less spin-friendly. Pitches at Pallekele and Hambantota - stadiums built for last year's World Cup - have suited seam bowling, while the relaid square at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo has also seen bounce and carry in the last year. No team breached 200 in the Sri Lanka Premier League played in Colombo and Pallekele in August and four of the top five wicket takers in the tournament were seam bowlers. 



"Our sides have changed a little bit," Sangakkara said. "We don't depend on spin alone anymore or just one fast bowler in Chaminda Vaas. We have different sets of fast bowlers and different sets of spinners. With the change in conditions our sides have changed, but home advantage is not only about wickets. It's about playing in your country, playing in front of the people who cheer and love you."



Sangakkara said the Premadasa pitch changed after the ground was renovated, and that winning the toss held no obvious advantage as it had once done. Fifteen of the 27 matches in the World Twenty20 will be played at the Premadasa, including both semi finals and the final. 



"When the wickets were relaid, in the first few games there was a lot of turn and now they've settled down into beautiful wickets where batting first or second you have an equal chance of winning. Batting under lights has become so much easier that some sides now prefer to chase," he said. 



The wickets at Pallekele and Hambantota also offer challenges not traditionally associated with Sri Lankan venues, Sangakkara said.

"Pallekele seems to have a lot in it at night. It seams and swings around and that will be an interesting challenge for us being a Sri Lankan side playing in our conditions to encounter those conditions. Hambantota is completely different. There is quite a strong wind from one side and the pitch can be a bit up and down. The vicious turn that [Sri Lankan pitches] used to have is no more, so sides have to adjust accordingly."



Sangakkara said that in addition to a home crowd that will give Sri Lanka "a massive advantage", the team's recent history of good performances at ICC events would also be a source of confidence. Since 2007, Sri Lanka have been runners up in successive World Cups, and were finalists in the 2009 World Twenty20 and semi finalists in the 2010 tournament.

"Sri Lanka have always been favourites in my view in any tournament that we play because we've been able to rise to those big occasions really well as a unit and adjust accordingly. If you take our last 4-5 years, it's been an amazing run in big tournaments. We just need to believe in ourselves and believe in that fact and keep playing."



Sangakkara missed the SLPL due to a fractured finger, but is expected to be fit for the World Twenty20 which starts on September 18. Sri Lanka play Zimbabwe in Hambantota in the tournament opener. South Africa is the other team in their group.