Yuvraj levels the series for India

Yuvraj Singh cracked a dazzling 72 before the bowlers staged a brilliant recovery at the death overs as India clinched a nerve-wracking 11-run victory over archrivals Pakistan in the second T20 International to level the series 1-1 in Ahmedabad on Friday.

India posted a competitive 192 riding on Yuvraj's 36-ball knock that included seven huge sixes, and then restricted the visitors to 181 for seven with the bowlers finding their mojo just in the nick of time.

Paceman Ashok Dinda scalped three for 36 including the important wicket of rival captain Mohammed Hafeez (55) in the penultimate over to turn the tide in India's favour at the jam-packed Sardar Patel Stadium.

At one stage, Pakistan seemed to be well and truly on course to overhaul India's challenging target but Dinda and Ishant Sharma kept their cool during the death overs to seal the issue in hosts' favour.

Needing 20 runs off the final over bowled by Ishant, Umar Gul and Shoaib Malik could manage only eight runs much to the delight of the home crowd and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni whose leadership has been under the scanner for some time now.

Apart from Hafeez, who scored his runs off only 26 balls with six fours and three sixes, openers Nasir Jamshed (41) and Ahmed Shehzad (31) were the other notable contributors for the visitors.

Pakistan captain Hafeez came in at the fall of Shehzad's wicket and took the Indian attack to the cleaners hitting five fours and three sixes. The two shots that stood out was a scoop off Bhuvneshwar Kumar's bowling once he saw that the fine leg was up. The second was a six over extra cover off Ishant's bowling.

Earlier, a flamboyant Yuvraj muscled his way to a scintillating 72 as India put up the massive score after being put into bat.

Yuvraj's career-best T20 knock could not have come at a more opportune time as it lifted India to a defendable total after being pegged back by three quick strikes.

Ever since Yuvraj arrived on the wicket, Pakistani bowlers bled runs as the left-hander plundered seven huge sixes and four boundaries in his 36-ball blitzkrieg to entertain the crowd.

With skipper Dhoni (33) he added 97-runs for the fourth wicket as India put on board their highest total against Pakistan in T20 Internationals.

Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal bore the brunt of Yuvraj's fury as the Indian creamed four sixes off him with three coming in a row in the 19th over, which yielded India 22 runs.

Earlier, India openers provided a fiery start, adding 44 runs inside five overs, but neither Gautam Gambhir (21) nor Ajinkya Rahane (28) could build on that.

Malik, Hafeez seal it for Pakistan

A 106-run fourth-wicket partnership between captain Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik helped Pakistan overcame a terrible start to pull off a thrilling last-over win the first Twenty20 International against India by five wickets at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore yesterday. It was a match of contrasting innings from Pakistan and India, as the hosts earlier frittered away an excellent start to be restricted to a sub-par total.

Needing 34 to win from the last five overs, the pair took eleven off Ishant Sharma's sixteenth over and then eight more off Ashok Dinda in the next over. But Hafeez was out off the first ball of the eighteenth over, caught for a 44-ball 61 off Ishant Sharma, who bowled an excellent over to give away only two runs. That over set the cat among Pakistan's pigeons as Kamran Akmal was snapped up at third man off Dinda in the penultimate over, at the end of which Pakistan needed 10 runs to win.

Three runs came off the first three balls of the final over bowled by Ravindu Jadeja as Shahid Afridi and Malik scrambled between the wickets. Off the fourth ball Malik connected with a heave to deposit the ball clear of the straight boundary for a six, in the process winning the match for Pakistan and finishing unbeaten on a 50-ball 57.

Chasing a modest 134 to win, Pakistan got off to the worst of starts as rookie India pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar extracted mesmerising movement from a pitch tinged with green to leave Pakistan wobbling on 12 for three.

Moving the ball both ways, Kumar bowled opener Nasir Jamshed off the last ball of the first over with one that jagged back sharply into the left-hander. An outswinger in the next over accounted for the right-handed Ahmed Shehzad who nicked the ball to skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Off the last ball of the same over, Kumar produced a gigantic inswinger to sneak between the defences of Umar Akmal.

Kumar bowled an exceptional spell of three for nine from his four overs, but once he finished his quota at the start of the innings, Hafeez and Malik took full toll on the other Indian bowlers.

Hafeez started cautiously but soon found his groove, targeting the India spinners on the unresponsive pitch. The assault started from the eleventh over as the pair punished India's part-time bowlers Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh and Ravindu Jadeja. At the end of the fifteenth over which produced 16 runs courtesy of a six each by Malik and Hafeez, Pakistan had reached 99 for three and the game was all but in the bag.

Earlier, India wasted an excellent start by openers Gautam Gambhir and Ajinkya Rahane, who took them to 77 for the first wicket. Rahane fell in the eleventh over for a 31-ball 42 when he was caught by Umar Gul at deep extra cover off Afridi.

It was Gambhir's dismissal, trying an ill-advised second run to be found short of the crease in the thirteenth over, which started the disintegration. The feared middle order trio of Kohli, Singh and captain Dhoni were all dismissed through a combination of tight bowling and rash shots. Kohli was caught behind off the third consecutive wild swing in the fifteenth over by newcomer Mohammad Irfan. Ajmal found just enough turn to sneak past Dhoni's flailing bat and disturb the off bail while Yuvraj tried to hit a slower off-cutter from Gul out of the park but only mistimed it to deep midwicket. Yuvraj's wicket left India at 115 for five in the 17th over, and a score nearing 150 was still possible.

But India then twice lost a pair of wickets in successive deliveries ��" Suresh Raina's and Rohit Sharma's in the eighteenth over by Ajmal, and Jadeja's and Sharma's in the 19th by Gul -- to be left floundering at 124 for nine. Tailenders Kumar and Dinda then took nine off the last ten deliveries to take India to 133 for nine.

BCL franchisees announce squad

The squads for the newly-designed franchise-based 4-day cricket league named Bangladesh Cricket League (BCL) were announced yesterday by the respective franchisees.

Tigers skipper Mushfiqur Rahim will lead the BCB North Zone, his deputy Mahmudullah Riyad will lead the Walton Central Zone, former national all-rounder Alok Kapali has been named captain for the Islami Bank East Zone while experienced left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak has been named captain of the Prime Bank South Zone.

All-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, opener Tamim Iqbal and pacer Mashrafe Bin Mortaza were the notable absentees from the teams. Shakib is nursing his shin bone injury, Tamim is now playing in a domestic competition in New Zealand while Mashrafe is currently unavailable for longer-version cricket.

The first edition of the country's second four-day cricket league will begin from December 27 at two venues, the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium (SBNS) in Mirpur and the Shaheed Chandu Stadium (SCS) in Bogra.

Four zonal teams -- Walton Central Zone (Dhaka and Dhaka Metro), Prime Bank South Zone (Khulna and Barisal), Islami Bank East Zone (Sylhet and Chittagong) and BCB North Zone (Rangpur and Rajshahi) -- will take part in the franchisee-based competition.

SQUADS

WALTON CENTRAL ZONE: Mahmud-ullah Riyad (captain), Rokibul Hassan, Mosharraf Hossain, Mohammad Ashraful, Shuvagoto Hom, Shamsur Rahman, Marshal Ayub, Mehrab Hossain, Elias Sunny, Nurul Hasan, Shahadat Hossain, Asif Ahmed, Mohammad Sharif, Arafat Sunny and Talha Jubaer

RESERVES: Mahbubul Alam, Rony Talukder, Sahagir Hossain, Tarek Aziz, Mohammad Sharifullah.

ISLAMI BANK EAST ZONE: Alok Kapali (captain), Shabbir Ahmed, Aftab Ahmed, Mominul Hoque, Nafis Iqbal, Faisal Hossain, Dhiman Ghosh, Abul Hasan, Tapash Baisya, Enamul Haque, Yasin Arafat, Nabil Samad, Kazi Kamrul Islam, Mahbubul Karim and Rajin Saleh.

PRIME BANK SOUTH ZONE: Abdur Razzak (captain), Imrul Kayes, Mohammad Mithun, Soumya Sarker, Tushar Imran, Ziaur Rahman, Fazle Rabbi, Anamul Haque, Rubel Hossain, Al Amin, Shohag Gazi, Robiul Islam, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Salman Hossain and Murad Khan

RESERVES: Monir Hossain, Shahriar Nafees, Nasiruddin Faruque, Taposh Ghosh and Dollar Mahmud

BCB NORTH ZONE: Mushfiqur Rahim (captain), Junaed Siddiqui, Jahurul Islam, Naeem Islam, Farhad Hossain, Myshukur Rahman, Saqlain Sajib, Sohrawardi Shuvo, Sajedul Islam, Shafiul Islam, Mahamudul Hasan, Sanjamul Islam, Farhad Reza and Liton Kumer Das

RESERVES: Mukter Ali, Delwar Hossain, Taijul Islam, Hamidul Islam, Jubair Ahmed, Mizanur Rahman, Alauddin Babu, Ariful Haq, Shuvashish Roy, Tanvir Haider.

Hafeez happy to be in India after long

The Pakistan team is delighted to be in India again after five years, albeit on a short visit to play two T20s and three one-dayers in five cities across the country from December 25 (Christmas night).

"We are very happy to be in India again to play some good cricket after a long time, as winning or losing will not make any difference to us. It is always a pleasure and challenge playing against India wherever, as there is lot of passion and intensity in the game," Pakistan T20 captain Mohammed Hafeez, 32, told reporters here Sunday.

Admitting that expectations were very high back home, as both countries love to win against the other, Hafeez said more than the result, it was important that both the teams play as often to enjoy the game and rise to the expectations of the fans in both the countries.

"We are here to enjoy the game. Though there are security issues, we are not unduly concerned because of the love and affection the people of India have for us. It is the spirit of the game that matters, which is shared in both the countries," Hafeez asserted.

Regretting that international matches were not being played in Pakistan since the last three years for security reasons, the young Pakistan skipper hoped the situation back home would improve sooner so that youngsters get a chance to play in front of home crowds against visiting teams, especially from India.

"It is unfortunate we have not been able to play international cricket in our country for some time. But that did not deter us from playing some excellent cricket outside and winning in Tests and one-dayers. We wish international cricket returns to Pakistan soon so that our people can also enjoy watching us play against others on home turf," Hafeez noted.

Noting that T20s and one-dayers were pressure games, especially when playing against India, he said Pakistan was looking forward to an exciting contest ahead with a good combination of pacers, spin bowlers and in form batsmen and fielders.

"As we have a mixture of new, young and seasoned players, we are confident of taking on the Indian team, which is quite strong in both versions [T20 & ODIs] and has the advantage of playing on the home ground," the skipper said.

On being pitted against an experienced Indian captain (MS Dhoni) in handling pressure and facing mind games, Hafeez said he was confident of playing well despite pressure as the team had come well prepared with a strategy to win matches and entertain the spectators in both the countries.

"No doubt Dhoni is far more experienced captain than me and Misbah-ul Haq [Pakistan's Test captain]. Every captain has his own challenges and strategies to execute. Our strategy is to play to our potential and do our best to win without worrying about the pressure that builds up in every game of the shorter version, especially in 20 overs format," Hafeez said.

The 32-year-old right-hand opener-cum-right-arm offspin bowler returned to the team in 2010 after being out of side since 2006 owing to poor form with the bat.

"It has been a learning process for me when I was out of the team for some time. I have worked hard to regain form and score runs consistently in both forms of the game. I am now confident of doing more with the bat and ball," Hafeez quipped.

sachin tendulkar

Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar on Sunday announced his retirement from one-day international cricket after scoring a record-breaking 49 centuries in the 50-over format.

The 39-year-old is the world's top run-getter in one-day cricket, with 18,426 runs from 463 matches at an average of 44.83.

"I have decided to retire from the one-day format of the game," he said in a statement.

"I feel blessed to have fulfilled the dream of being part of a World Cup winning Indian team [in 2011].

"I am eternally grateful to all my well-wishers for their unconditional support and love over the years."

Tendulkar, who is also the highest scorer in Tests, said that he was quitting to allow the Indian selectors to build a team for the 2015 World Cup which is being held in Australia and New Zealand.

"The preparatory process to defend the World Cup in 2015 should begin early... I would like to wish the team all the very best for the future," he said.

Tendulkar, who has been dubbed the "Little Master", made his one-day debut aged 16 in Gujranwala on a tour of Pakistan in 1989. He lasted just two deliveries before being dismissed by Waqar Younis without scoring.

But in what turned out to be his last two one-day innings, during the Asia Cup in Dhaka in March, he made 114 against Bangladesh to record his 100th international century and then scored 52 against Pakistan.

He played in six World Cups since 1992 and finally found success in his last appearance in the tournament when India defeated Sri Lanka in the final in Tendulkar's home city of Mumbai on April 2, 2011.

He was carried off the pitch at the end of the game on the shoulders of his team-mates.

Tendulkar was two months away from his 37th birthday when he smashed the first-ever double century in the history of one-day internationals, making an unbeaten 200 against South Africa in Gwalior in February, 2010.

It was unclear if he will continue to play Test cricket, where he has scored a record 15,645 runs in 194 matches at an average of 54.32 with 51 centuries.

Former India skipper Krishnamachari Srikkanth said Tendulkar's records can never be matched.

"I am surprised by his move but he is leaving ODI cricket on a high. I am sure he will want to leave on a high in Test cricket also. He will be looking forward to a good Test series against Australia," he said.

"His records cannot be surpassed."

Former captain Sourav Ganguly said: "I felt that he might have played on, but it is his decision and I think it is right.

"There was a doubt on whether he would play ODI cricket or not. But I am not surprised by his decision. He has done what he thought was right."

India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh also paid tribute to the record-breaking batsman.

"Master. 463 matches, 23 yrs, 18426 runs !!!! These numbers no body else will be able to come close to. salute salute salute to sachin," he tweeted.

Tendulkar was part of a famed Indian middle order which included Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and Venkatsai Laxman -- all of whom have now retired from all levels of the game.

His announcement on Sunday comes only weeks after Ricky Ponting, second only to Tendulkar in the list of highest run scorers in Test cricket, played his last match for Australia.

Tendulkar is also the star batsman for the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL), a domestic Twenty20 tournament.

Dilshan ponders Test retirement

Veteran opener Tillakaratne Dilshan has revealed he is thinking about calling time on his Test career.

The 36-year-old made the admission ahead of the Boxing Day Test against Australia in what he admits could be his last tour with Sri Lanka in the longest format.

"I spoke to my managers and my family about how far I want to play Test cricket and one-dayers," said Dilshan, who blasted a superb 147 in the opening Test defeat in Hobart last week. "I'm definitely going to play in the 2015 World Cup, that's my target but I'm not sure how long I'm going to play Test cricket."

He added: "After this series, I'll sit down with my wife and family and discuss when I'm going to finish Test cricket ��" [the Test in Sydney] might be my last outside of Sri Lanka."

Dilshan, who has 83 caps, quashed talk of a potential return to Test cricket for paceman Lasith Malinga, who has spent time with the team's bowlers ahead of Wednesday's MCG clash.

Malinga retired from the Test arena in 2010, electing to focus on one-day and Twenty20 cricket and he has flourished for the Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League this season -- leading the bowling charts with eight wickets.

His form has sparked calls for a return ahead of the third and final Test in Sydney, but Dilshan played down such suggestions.

"I don't think he is coming back to Test cricket," he said.

"He wants to concentrate on one-day international and Twenty20 cricket. He wants to be 100% in the shorter form of the game and that's why he made the decision to stop Test cricket.

"If he comes back, it would be good for the side. Everyone would be happy to see him back but I don't think he will change his mind."

Shakib the big fish

Star Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan was bought for a mammoth 365,000 dollars by Dhaka Gladiators as he hogged the spotlight during the players' auction of the second edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) T20.

Six out of the seven franchisees placed their bids for Shakib, who was originally placed in the 'Golden Category' with a base price of 40,000 dollars. It seemed as though the franchisees were involved in a head-to-head tussle with most of the teams offering six-figure digits. Rangpur Riders bid 160,000 dollars while Chittagong Kings and Duronto Rajshahi bid 172,000 and 213,000 dollars respectively. At the end of the day though, it was the Gladiators' bid, the highest of the day, that stole the show.

The second-highest bid of the day was made by the Chittagong Kings for Pakistan opener Imran Nazir for 280,000 dollars. Nazir is expected to take the place of Tamim Iqbal, who was bought by Rajshahi for 165,000 dollars. Had luck favoured the Gladiators though, they would have had both Bangladesh's top stars, Tamim and Shakib, in their team. Both Rajshahi and Dhaka had made equal bids for the dashing left-hander. A coin-toss sent Tamim to Rajshahi. Sylhet bought the Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim for 205,000 dollars and vice-captain Mahmudullah Riyad was bought by Chittagong for 125,000 dollars.

West Indies mystery spinner Sunil Narine, who'll be available from January 22 to 24, was bought by Barisal Burners for 75,000 dollars. They also bought Saeed Ajmal, who'll be available till January 20, for 115,000 dollars. As per the rules of the tournament, players unavailable for the entire competition will be paid according to the number of matches they play. The Burners, who rode on Chris Gayle in the last edition, will be counting on their T20 specialists Brad Hodge and Azhar Mahmood, who were bought for 125,000 and 150,000 dollars respectively.

Last year's champions, Dhaka Gladiators seemed on a roll in yesterday's auction as they bought a number of valuable players. English players Luke Wright, Owais Shah and Sri Lankan Tillakaratne Dilshan were bought for 75,000 dollars each. All these players though will have a late entry to the league. They also bagged the deadly Lasith Malinga for 115,000 dollars who'll be available after January 30. Bangladesh fast bowler Mashrafe Bin Mortaza was their second-most valuable local player after Shakib as he was bought for 141,000 dollars.

The Chittagong Kings, apart from bagging Nazir and Mahmudullah, got good deals with Ryan ten Doeschate from the Netherlands and New Zealand all-rounder Jacob Oram. They also spent 120,000 dollars on slow left-armer Enamul Haque Jr who plays for Sylhet in the National Cricket League (NCL). Sylhet, on the other hand, will be counting on their young buys Shohag Gazi and Mominul Haque, who were bought for 156,000 dollars and 127,000 respectively.

Newcomers Rangpur Riders got a good bargain with hard-hitting Irish batsman Kevin O' Brien who was bought for 45,000 dollars. They also paid 208,000 dollars for Nasir Hossain, a deal which surpassed Hossain's previous year's bid. As opposed to the more popular trend, Rajshahi spent a lot more money on the local players as they spent more than 350,000 dollars on Jaharul Islam, Ziaur Rahman and Abul Hassan Raju.

Khulna Royal Bengals spent most of their money on Pakistani players as their main buy Shoaib Malik, cost them 85,000 dollars. They also spent 111,000 dollars for Ajmal Shehzad.

SALARY CAP
The salary cap, which limits the biddings placed by the franchisees, was implemented in this year's auction. The cap on the Golden Category was 150,000 dollars (Base Price: 75,000) for the foreign players and 75,000 dollars (Base Price: 40,000 dollars) for the local players. If more than one team bid a value that was higher than the limit, the franchisees would then participate in a 'hidden auction' where the team that bid the highest amount would get the player.

There was also a limit on the amount each franchise could spend at the auction, set at 1.5 million dollars.

As a result of the comparatively low cap placed on local players, all the players in the Golden category were contested for in the 'hidden auction'. For instance, five teams placed the maximum bids for Mushfiqur and there were six teams chasing Tamim.

As per the rules, if a value crosses the cap, 60 per cent of the extended value would go to the Bangladesh Cricket board while 30 per cent to the player and 10 per cent to Game On Sports.

PLAYERS LIST

DHAKA GLADIATORS: Shakib Al Hasan( Bangladesh) Shahid Afridi ( Pakistan), Luke Wright (England), Owais Shah ( England), T. Dilshan (Sri Lanka), Lasith Mlainga ( Sri Lanka), Mohammad Ashraful (Bangladesh), Anamul Haque Bijoy (Bangladesh), Mashrafe Bin Morrtaza (Bangladesh) Joshua Cobb (England), Chris Liddle (England), Darren Stevens (England), Mosharraf Hossain (Bangladesh), Rokibul Hasan (Bangladesh), Soumya Sarkar (Bangladesh), Liton Das (Bangladesh),Mahbubul Alam ( Bangladesh), Saqlain Sajib (Bangladesh)

BARSIAL BURNERS: Saeed Ajmal ( Pakistan), Sunil Narine ( West Indies), Brad Hodge ( Australia), Azhar Mahmood (England), Umar Gul (Pakistan), Kamran Akmal ( Pakistan), Phil Mustard ( England), Alok Kapali ( Bangladesh), Elias Sunny ( Bangladesh), Shuvagata Hom ( Bangladesh), Sabbir Rahman (Bangladesh), Alauddin Babu ( Bangladesh), Iftekhar Naim Ahmed (Bangladesh) Jubair Ahmed, Kabir Ali (England), Al Amin ( Bangladesh), Nazmul Apu ( Bangladesh)

CHITTAGONG KINGS: Imran Nazir (Pakistan), Dwayne Bravo ( West Indies), Mahmudullah (Bangladesh), Wahab Riaz (Pakistan), Ravi Bopara ( England), Ryan Ten Doeschate ( Netherlands), Jacob Oram (New Zealand) , Jason Roy ( England), Brendan Taylor ( Zimbabwe), Naeem Islam ( Bangladesh), Rubel Hossain ( Bangladesh), Arafat Sunny, Enamul Haque Jr, Aftab Ahmed, Marshal Ayub, Kazi Nurul Hasan (Bangladesh).

SYLHET ROYALS : Mushfiqur Rahim ( Bangladesh), Tino Best ( West Indies), Andre Russel ( West Indies), Shohag Gazi ( Bangladesh), Azeem Ghuman (Bangladesh), Zulfiqur Baber ( Bangladesh), Hailton Masakadza ( Zimbabwe), Mominul Haque (Bangladesh), Nazmul Hossain ( Bangladesh) Babar Azam (Bangladesh), Sohrawardi Shuvo (Bangladesh) Paul Stirling ( Ireland).

RANGPUR RIDERS: Fidel Edwards ( West Indies), Nasir Hossain (Bangladesh), Abdur Razzak, Kevin O Brian ( Ireland), Junaed Siddique ( Bangladesh), Imrul Kayes, Sharjil Khan, Anwar Ali, Mehedi Mahruf , Shamsur Rahman, Raja Ali Dar (Pakistan), Taposh Ghosh , Dhiman Ghosh, Md Sharif (Bangladesh.

DURANTA RAJSHAHI : Marlon Samuels (WI), Tamim Iqbal (Bangladesh), Abdul Razzaq ( Pakistan), Mohammad Sami ( Pakistan), Ziaur Rahman ( Bangladesh), Shahzaib Hassan ( Pakistan), Alex Hales ( England), Jaharul Islam ( Bangladesh), Abul Hassan, Farhad Hossain, Moktar Ali (Pakistan), Khalid Latif ( Pakistan), Taijul Islam (Bangladesh) , Sean Ervine ( Zimbabwe), Shaker Ahmed (Bangladesh)

KHULNA ROYAL BENGAL : Shoaib Malik ( Pakistan), Umar Akmal ( Pakistan), Awais Zia ( Pakistan), Umar Amin ( Pakistan), Ahmed Shahzad ( Pakistan), Nazimuddin ( Bangladesh), Shahriar Nafees ( Bangladesh), Farhad Reza ( Bangladesh), Shahadat Hossain ( Bangladesh), Mizanur Rahman (Bangladesh), Md Mithun (Bangladesh), Ricky Wessels, Shane Harwood (Australia), Sanjamul Islam (Bangladesh)