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)

SL melt in Siddle & Starc heat

Pacemen Peter Siddle and Mitchell Starc bowled Australia to victory over Sri Lanka in the first Hobart Test on Tuesday, claiming six wickets in the final session for a thrilling win.

The Sri Lankans had looked to be holding on for a draw until Siddle and Starc struck to secure Australia's first win of the home season, after losing to South Africa 1-0 in the recent three-Test series.

Starc claimed the last four wickets to end with five for 63, while Siddle was named man of the match after his four for 50 gave him nine wickets for the match.

Australia found it hard going to gouge out the batsmen on a fifth-day pitch until the wickets tumbled in the final two hours.

"We knew we had to be patient," said captain Michael Clarke. "No doubt I was confident that if we could bowl the balls in the right area for a long period of time that we would have success.

"It was going to be a day's work to get so many good batsmen out, but take nothing away from the bowlers.

"They had to execute their plans and their skills. Reverse swing was always going to be vital in this game and we've got three of the best reverse swing bowlers in the world in Sids (Siddle), Shane (Watson) and Starcy (Starc)."

Australia got the wicket of captain Mahela Jayawardene before lunch, Kumar Sangakkara in the middle session and the remaining six wickets in the final session after the tourists had appeared headed for a morale-boosting draw.

"Disappointed that we lost the game. It was a tough Test match in the sense that we were chasing the game probably after the third or fourth day but we kept fighting, especially in the first innings," Jayawardene said.

"Today we knew we had to bat through a couple of sessions sensibly, see what happens, and up until tea we were on target. And then two wickets after tea and that's when things probably went in the other direction."

Siddle struck in the fourth over after tea when Angelo Mathews needlessly flicked outside his off stump and nicked to Matthew Wade for 19, giving the Australians a glimmer of victory.

Siddle gave the Australians more hope when he trapped Samaraweera leg before wicket for 49 off 140 balls.

A few overs later Prasanna Jayawardene, who has scored four Test centuries, could not avoid a spitting delivery from Starc and gloved to Mike Hussey at second slip for 21.

Starc bowled a beautiful delivery to entice an edge off Nuwan Kulasekara who was caught behind for nine heading into the final 15 overs.

The irresistible left-armer bowled Rangana Herath for eight, leaving the Australians just one wicket from victory.

Starc finished up the innings when he had Shaminda Eranga caught behind for six to end Sri Lanka's dogged resistance.

The Australians had earlier removed key batsmen Mahela Jayawardene (19) and Sangakkara (63) but for a time were hitting a brick wall in their attempts to make further inroads.

At one stage Clarke even brought wicketkeeper Matthew Wade into the attack, with his lively medium pace utilised for a maiden final over before the tea adjournment.

The big-hearted Siddle made the crucial breakthrough in the middle session, trapping Sangakkara leg before wicket for 63 off 226 balls in the 76th over.

Australia removed Mahela Jayawardene midway through the morning session after Clarke, playing with an injured hamstring, bent low to take a sharp catch off Siddle in the 56th over.

Jayawardene had resisted for 77 balls for his 19 and stubbornly put on 65 runs for the third wicket with Sangakkara off 193 balls.

Sri Lanka have yet to win in Australia in 11 Tests.

The series now goes to Melbourne for the second Test starting on Boxing Day ahead of the final Sydney Test on January 3.

Dilshan ton keeps SL afloat

Tillakaratne Dilshan led a fighting counter-attack with a gutsy century as Sri Lanka trailed Australia by 141 runs with two days to play in the first Hobart Test on Sunday.

Dilshan batted for almost seven hours for his 147 and shared in a record Sri Lanka stand in Australia with Angelo Mathews to get the tourists within 114 runs of the home side's first innings of 450 for five declared.

The Australians tightened their grip on the match reaching third day stumps at 27 without loss and were in the box seat to press on for their first victory of the domestic summer after losing the recent three-Test series to South Africa.

At the close, Ed Cowan was on 16 with David Warner not out on eight.

Sri Lanka, boosted by Dilshan's 15th Test century and good play from Mathews (75) and Prasanna Jayawardene (40), were bowled out for 336.

Peter Siddle, leading the Australian attack in the absence of injured Ben Hilfenhaus, knocked over the Sri Lankan tail to finish with five for 54 off 25.3 overs.

"It's about pressing forward tomorrow, obviously it's going to be hard to start tomorrow morning for the batters, but they'll dig in and we've just got to play it from there and see how we go and see what target we can go with," Siddle said.

Dilshan's innings-saving effort came to an end when he was yorked by Mitchell Starc in the 98th over some 30 minutes after tea.

The 36-year-old right-hander hit 21 boundaries off 273 balls and was primarily responsible for getting Sri Lanka past the 251 follow on after the tourists were in strife at 87 for four at stumps on Saturday.

It was Dilshan's second century against Australia following his 104 at Galle in 2004.

He shared in a record 161-run stand with Mathews for the fifth wicket that took the momentum away from the Australians for a large part of the third day.

It eclipsed Aravinda de Silva and Ravi Ratnayeke's previous best stand for Sri Lanka down under of 144 for the seventh wicket at Brisbane in 1989.

Siddle triggered a late wicket collapse, trapping Prasanna Jayawardene and Rangana Herath (0) both leg before wicket, before Nuwan Kulasekara was caught in the deep by substitute Jordan Silk off Nathan Lyon for 23.

Siddle mopped up the innings with the wicket of Chanaka Welegedara for a duck, snapped up at gully by Mike Hussey leaving the Australians 14 overs to negotiate to stumps.

Australia, down a bowler with Hilfenhaus off the field with a side strain, toiled hard for most of Sunday, with only Mathews's wicket to show for their efforts up to tea.

Vice-captain Mathews, who is expected to take over as skipper after Mahela Jayawardene announced he would be stepping down as captain after the Australia tour, was another Siddle lbw victim.

Australia's wicketkeeper Matthew Wade was left red-faced by a botched stumping of Kulasekara on three when he dropped the ball after the fast bowler jumped down the wicket to spinner Nathan Lyon.

Swing bowler Hilfenhaus left the field in the opening hour after delivering just two balls of his 13th over. Team officials said he had a left side strain and was taken to hospital for scans.

He had figures of 1-30 after claiming the wicket of Dimuth Karunaratne for 14 on Saturday.

Australia's fast bowling ranks have been hit hard with James Pattinson (side), Patrick Cummins (back) and Josh Hazlewood (foot) all out of action.

Pattinson was ruled out for the Test season after suffering his injury during the second Test against South Africa in Adelaide, while Cummins is aiming to recover from stress fractures to his back for next year's Ashes tour.

Australia claim four after Hussey ton

Four Sri Lankan wickets rewarded a Mike Hussey-induced declaration to have Australia in a powerful position after the second day of the first Hobart Test on Saturday.

Veteran Hussey's fifth century in six Tests against Sri Lanka enabled skipper Michael Clarke to call a halt to Australia's first innings at 450 for five off 131 overs, some 30 minutes before tea on a rain-interrupted day.

Clarke's call was backed by his bowlers who captured the wickets of Dimuth Karunaratne and the prized scalps of Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraweera in the final session.

At the close, Sri Lanka were 87 for four with Tillakaratne Dilshan not out 50 with Samaraweera out in the day's final over.

Dilshan reached his 50 off 82 balls when he hooked Shane Watson for four in the penultimate over of the day.

Evergreen Hussey continued to flourish this southern summer with an unbeaten 115 for his 19th Test century and third in the last month to share in a 146-run stand with wicketkeeper Matthew Wade (68).

In his six Tests against Sri Lanka, Hussey has scored five centuries at 109.62.

Hussey, batting better than ever at the age of 37, audaciously raised his hundred with a pull off Shaminda Eranga. Angelo Mathews looked set to take the catch on the mid-wicket boundary ropes but fumbled the chance, allowing the ball to bounce over for four to bring up Hussey's 100.

Hussey's knock came off 184 balls with eight fours and a six.

Wade, who had a life on 20 when he was dropped by fielding substitute Suraj Randiv at mid-wicket off Chanaka Welegedara nearing lunch, raised his second Test half-century.

Clarke was the only Australian wicket to fall out in the day's third over when he edged Eranga to Sangakkara low down at first slip. The Australian skipper's 74 off 145 balls took his tally to 1,432 runs this calendar year at 102.28 with a possibility of three more Test innings to come before year's end.

Clarke had been on track for his fifth century of 2012, three of them double-centuries, along with his Test highest score of 329 not out against India in Sydney last January.

Sri Lanka began boldly but rookie opener Karunaratne was out for 14 in the 10th over when he nibbled at Ben Hilfenhaus and was snapped up by Wade. The Australians struck two killer blows late in the day with the key wickets of Sangakkara and Jayawardene.

Sangakkara, who scored 192 in his previous Test innings at Hobart five years ago, went cheaply for four when he sliced Peter Siddle to Hussey's safe hands in the gully to leave the Sri Lankans at 42 for two. It got worse for the tourists when Watson trapped Jayawardene leg before wicket for 12 in the 23rd over.

Jayawardene, who is relinquishing the team captaincy after the Australian tour, referred the decision to the TV umpire, who upheld the umpire's verdict.

Samaraweera was out in the final over when he was surprised by spinner Nathan Lyon's extra bounce and was caught behind for seven. The signs were not looking good for Sri Lanka, who were chasing their first Test win in Australia at 11 attempts.

Play was extended after a total of 130 minutes were lost to rain in two delays during the day.

Australia claim four after Hussey ton

Four Sri Lankan wickets rewarded a Mike Hussey-induced declaration to have Australia in a powerful position after the second day of the first Hobart Test on Saturday.

Veteran Hussey's fifth century in six Tests against Sri Lanka enabled skipper Michael Clarke to call a halt to Australia's first innings at 450 for five off 131 overs, some 30 minutes before tea on a rain-interrupted day.

Clarke's call was backed by his bowlers who captured the wickets of Dimuth Karunaratne and the prized scalps of Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraweera in the final session.

At the close, Sri Lanka were 87 for four with Tillakaratne Dilshan not out 50 with Samaraweera out in the day's final over.

Dilshan reached his 50 off 82 balls when he hooked Shane Watson for four in the penultimate over of the day.

Evergreen Hussey continued to flourish this southern summer with an unbeaten 115 for his 19th Test century and third in the last month to share in a 146-run stand with wicketkeeper Matthew Wade (68).

In his six Tests against Sri Lanka, Hussey has scored five centuries at 109.62.

Hussey, batting better than ever at the age of 37, audaciously raised his hundred with a pull off Shaminda Eranga. Angelo Mathews looked set to take the catch on the mid-wicket boundary ropes but fumbled the chance, allowing the ball to bounce over for four to bring up Hussey's 100.

Hussey's knock came off 184 balls with eight fours and a six.

Wade, who had a life on 20 when he was dropped by fielding substitute Suraj Randiv at mid-wicket off Chanaka Welegedara nearing lunch, raised his second Test half-century.

Clarke was the only Australian wicket to fall out in the day's third over when he edged Eranga to Sangakkara low down at first slip. The Australian skipper's 74 off 145 balls took his tally to 1,432 runs this calendar year at 102.28 with a possibility of three more Test innings to come before year's end.

Clarke had been on track for his fifth century of 2012, three of them double-centuries, along with his Test highest score of 329 not out against India in Sydney last January.

Sri Lanka began boldly but rookie opener Karunaratne was out for 14 in the 10th over when he nibbled at Ben Hilfenhaus and was snapped up by Wade. The Australians struck two killer blows late in the day with the key wickets of Sangakkara and Jayawardene.

Sangakkara, who scored 192 in his previous Test innings at Hobart five years ago, went cheaply for four when he sliced Peter Siddle to Hussey's safe hands in the gully to leave the Sri Lankans at 42 for two. It got worse for the tourists when Watson trapped Jayawardene leg before wicket for 12 in the 23rd over.

Jayawardene, who is relinquishing the team captaincy after the Australian tour, referred the decision to the TV umpire, who upheld the umpire's verdict.

Samaraweera was out in the final over when he was surprised by spinner Nathan Lyon's extra bounce and was caught behind for seven. The signs were not looking good for Sri Lanka, who were chasing their first Test win in Australia at 11 attempts.

Play was extended after a total of 130 minutes were lost to rain in two delays during the day.

Kohli, Dhoni claw India back

Virat Kohli slammed a patient century while captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni missed it by just one run as the duo showed admirable tenacity under pressure to lead a remarkable Indian fightback which has restored the balance in the fourth and final cricket Test against England at Nagpur on Saturday.

Resuming at a precarious 87 for 4 in response to England's first innings total of 330, Kohli (103) and Dhoni (99) played with great discipline and curbed their natural strokeplay on a slow track as the hosts reached 297 for eight at close on the third day which was dominated by the home team.

R Ashwin was batting on seven when play was called off after Piyush Chawla's dismissal, with India still trailing by 33 runs.

The young Kohli, who has been woefully out of form in the series, notched his third Test century while Dhoni also silenced his detractors as the pair added 198 runs for the fifth wicket to bring India back into the game.

The Indians, who desperately need to win the match to level the four-match series 2-2, put up a good fightback through Dhoni and Kohli in a partnership which lasted for 84.3 overs. Both of them played their longest Test match knock in terms of balls faced.

It was an uncharacteristically subdued knock by Dhoni who consumed as many as 246 balls before being tragically run out for 99 much to the dismay of the vociferous crowd at the VCA stadium.

Dhoni has been under tremendous pressure after the back-to-back defeats in Mumbai and Kolkata and he showed great character to rise to the occasion with his resolute effort in difficult batting conditions to bail the team out of trouble.

With two days left in the game, India will seek to take a decent first innings lead and put pressure on England who need only a draw to record their first series triumph on Indian soil in 28 years.

Spinner Graeme Swann broke the marathon partnership when he trapped Kohli leg before while debutant Ravindra Jadeja (12) and Chawla (1) fell soon after to peg India back a little bit by the end of the day.

Kolhi faced 295 balls and his third Test ton in 14 games was laced with 11 fours, while Dhoni came up with a captain's rearguard knock that was inclusive of eight fours and a six and during which he faced 246 balls.

Kolhi completed his hundred with a square cut for four off Swann and then jumped up in joy to be applauded warmly by the crowd in excess of 20,000 before he was trapped leg before by the England off-spinner in the first over after the drinks break.

The departure of Kohli was followed soon by that of debutant Jadeja who was trapped leg before by James Anderson, the wrecker-in-chief on Friday with a three-wicket haul, with a ball that jagged back sharply into the left hander when the floodlights were on.Dhoni, 98 at the fall of Jadeja's wicket, lost his wicket in his eagerness to get to his sixth Test ton. He drove Anderson to mid off but just failed to beat counterpart Alastair Cook's accurate throw to the non-striker's end.

India lost next batsman Piyush Chawla too, Swann clean bowling the batsman for his third wicket to bring down curtains to a dramatic last hour's play in which India surrendered the initiative to the visitors to some extent.

At close, Ashwin was on 7 after a stay of 29 minutes but with only Ishant Sharma and Pragyan Ojha to come, the home side may not be able to take the lead.

Hobart Test from today

Rookie Dimuth Karunaratne was picked to open the Sri Lankan batting with veteran Tillakaratne Dilshan in the first Test against Australia in Hobart on Friday.

The 24-year-old will be making only his second Test appearance on an expected lively Bellerive Oval wicket in the first of three Tests.

Nuwan Kulasekara, Shaminda Eranga and Chanaka Welegedara will lead the pace attack supported by left-arm spinner Rangana Herath and the swing bowling of Angelo Mathews in a team announced Thursday.

Former Australian fast bowler Rodney Hogg has rubbished the Sri Lankan quicks as the "worst ever" to come to Australia, with Kulasekara, Eranga and Welegedara only having 38 Tests and 99 wickets between them.

Skipper Mahela Jayawardene said injuries and retirements had forced Sri Lanka to overhaul their new-ball attack, but he was confident his pace brigade could do the job against the third-ranked Australians.

"Teams have to start somewhere. I think we've lost some fast bowlers in the past and some with injuries and this is an attack that is probably different," Jayawardene said.

"We don't probably have the pace that you [Australia] think is required to win Test matches in Australia, but we've got guys who will bowl good line and length and create opportunities and if we keep to that I think we stand a good chance."

Meanwhile, paceman Mitchell Johnson has been left out of the Australian team with Ben Hilfenhaus and Peter Siddle returning to bolster the side.

The 31-year-old left-armer, who has 196 wickets in 48 Tests, missed out despite taking six wickets against South Africa in Perth last week.

Australia go into the series opener with a three-prong pace attack of Hilfenhaus, Siddle and left-armer Mitchell Starc, became 16 for two when in-form Cook got a dubious decision from umpire Kumar Dharmasena

Honours even on Day 1

india bowlers let England off the hook and allowed the visitors to recover from a difficult position as they reached 199 for five at stumps on the opening day to leave the crucial fourth and final cricket Test evenly poised here on Thursday.

The home team had England in a real spot at 139 for five soon after tea but failed to seize the initiative as debutant Joe Root and the experienced Matt Prior batted for nearly 30 overs to add 60 runs for the unbroken sixth wicket stand.

The new-look Indian bowling attack had kept the high-flying England batsmen under tight leash and made them struggle for every run in the first two sessions before Prior, batting on 34, and Root, undefeated on 31, added valuable runs in the final hour.

Kevin Pietersen was the top-scorer for England with an innings of 73 while debutant Ravindra Jadeja got two wickets for 34 runs having bowled 25 overs.

England captain Alastair Cook won the toss for the first time and the visitors were rocked back by twin strikes within the first hour by Ishant Sharma, but recovered briefly to get past the 100-run mark.

However, they got bogged down by the loss of three more wickets -- two of which were claimed by 24-year-old debutant Jadeja and the other by comeback man Piyush Chawla, before staging their second recovery of the day through Root and Prior.

The sixth wicket pair, whose unfinished partnership has lasted five minutes under two hours, came together when Pietersen was dismissed by Jadeja trying to play towards mid-wicket as Pragyan Ojha took a low catch diving forward.

By close of play on the first day, the sixth wicket pair had ensured England ended the day on even keel. England scored 61, 72 and 66 runs in the three sessions. In the morning, Sharma packed off England's leading run-getter Cook and his opening parner Nick Compton cheaply to leave them gasping at 16 for 2 before Pietersen along with Jonathan Trott staged a recovery.

Compton nicked a slow rising delivery from Ishant to skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni behind the stumps as England were reduced to three for one. It soon supplemented by Shane Watson's swing and spinner Nathan Lyon.

Recalled Phil Hughes will bat at number three with Watson at four while skipper Michael Clarke

and veteran Mike Hussey stay at five and six in

the first Test match since the retirement of Ricky Ponting.

Sri Lanka have played 10 Tests in Australia but have never won.

"We'll bank on our experience with our batting. To win a Test match it's important to put runs on the board, we just need

to score runs and give

our bowlers a chance to get 20 wickets," Jayawardene said.

TEAMS
SRI LANKA: Tillakaratne Dilshan, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene (captain), Thilan Samaraweera, Angelo Mathews, Prasanna Jayawardene, Nuwan Kulasekara, Rangana Herath, Shaminda Eranga, Chanaka Welegedara.

AUSTRALIA: David Warner, Ed Cowan, Phil Hughes, Shane Watson, Michael Clarke (captain), Mike Hussey, Matthew Wade, Peter Siddle, Mitchell

Starc, Ben Hilfenhaus, Nathan Lyon.