NEWS ALERT

NEWS UPDATE : Asian Cricket Third Sri Lanka-Pakistan ODI abandoned due to rain COLOMBO: The third One-day International between Sri Lanka and Pakistan was abandoned due to rain here at the R Premadasa Stadium on Wednesday. The umpires made this decision after consulting ... Australia want to master all forms of game: Clarke SYDNEY: Australia's limited-overs tour of England and Ireland represents the start of a two-year campaign to make them the top nation in all three forms of the game, captain Michael Clarke said ... Bopara glad to be back for England SOUTHAMPTON, England: Ravi Bopara is eager to make up for lost times as he tries to revive his ... South Africa name unchanged squad for England series JOHANNESBURG: South Africa have kept faith with a winning formula by naming an unchanged squad for the three-Test series in England starting next month, Cricket South Africa (CSA) announced on ...


Wednesday, April 04, 2012

Proteas captain Smith to miss IPL due to ankle surgery



CAPE TOWN: South Africa's Test captain Graeme Smith will miss the Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament that gets underway this week after undergoing ankle surgery on Tuesday.


A Cricket South Africa (CSA) statement said the opening batsman had his operation now to ensure he was fully fit for the tour to England in July.


"My ankle has been troubling me for some time," said Smith who is expected to be out of action for up to 10 weeks.


"I'm very disappointed to be missing out on the IPL this year. I was looking forward to my second season with Pune Warriors." (Reuters)

Jayawardene rescues Sri Lanka again in 2nd Test


COLOMBO: Skipper Mahela Jayawardene cracked his second century in consecutive matches to pull Sri Lanka out of trouble in the second and final Test against England in Colombo on Tuesday.


Jayawardene followed his match-winning 180 in the first Test in Galle with a classy 105 after seamer James Anderson had reduced the hosts to 30 for three within the first hour at P. Sara Oval.


Thilan Samaraweera (54) added 124 for the fourth wicket with his captain as Sri Lanka recovered to post 238 for six by stumps on the opening day in a remarkable re-run of the Galle Test.


Sri Lanka had slumped to 15-3 in the first four overs of the match at Galle, before Jayawardene and Samaraweera rescued the hosts by putting on a half-century partnership.


A sell-out crowd of 5,000, mostly travelling English fans, applauded warmly when Jayawardene reached his 31st Test century with a single off left-arm spinner Samit Patel after tea.


The 34-year-old struck 11 fours and a six in his eighth hundred against England before he was trapped leg-before by off-spinner Graeme Swann with a sharp, turning delivery.


England, whose 75-run defeat at Galle followed a 3-0 rout by Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates earlier in the year, need a win to level the series and retain their number one ranking.


Andrew Strauss' men will slip to second spot behind South Africa if they lose or draw the match.


Jayawardene lost Samaraweera just before tea, leg-before to seamer Tim Bresnan, but there was no respite for the England bowlers who toiled gamely under the hot sun.


Angelo Mathews, returning to the side after missing the first Test with a calf injury, was unbeaten on 41 after adding 62 runs for the fifth wicket with his skipper.


Prasanna Jayawardene was caught behind off Steven Finn for seven, but Suraj Randiv saw out the day on five.


Anderson struck in his third over when he forced Tillakaratne Dilshan to edge a catch to wicket-keeper Matt Prior after the previous two balls had been driven for boundaries.


Kumar Sangakkara was dismissed first ball for the second match in a row when he was snapped up by Strauss in the slips, the England captain taking the catch at second attempt.


Jayawardene once again prevented a hat-trick, as he had done in Galle, and went on to master the England attack on a dry wicket that is expected to crumble in the later stages of the match.


Lahiru Thirimanne padded up to a straight ball from Anderson and was given out leg-before by umpire Bruce Oxenford, a decision upheld by the third umpire after the batsman asked for a review.


The tourists went in with a three-man seam attack, bringing in Bresnan and Finn to partner Anderson with the new ball. Spinner Monty Panesar was dropped, while Stuart Broad has flown home with a calf injury.


Sri Lanka made two changes from the side that won in Galle, as a fit-again Mathews and Dhammika Prasad returned in place of Dinesh Chandimal and Chanaka Welegedara.

IPL opens with colourful ceremony at Chennai



CHENNAI: The fifth edition of the Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament has started with a colourful opening ceremony here on Tuesday night.

A galaxy of film stars, including Amitabh Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra and Kareena Kapoor, got ball rolling for the IPL event with a glittering opening ceremony which enthralled the audience.

The dazzling ceremony was also graced by American pop star Katy Perry and Bollywood star Salman Khan among other showbiz celebrities.

Pakistan's first sports channel Geo Super showed the ceremony live from Chennai and it will also telecast all the matches of the tournament live

The IPL features world stars playing for nine regional teams and the event will continue for 54 days.

The 76-match tournament from April 4 to May 27 has the nine teams playing each other on a home and away basis before a four-game play-off.

Pakistani players, who are usually a major draw in India, have been kept out of the tournament since the second edition, reportedly due to security fears.

Jayawardene leads Sri Lanka's fightback



COLOMBO: Skipper Mahela Jayawardene hit an unbeaten 74 as Sri Lanka bounced back after a disastrous start in the second and final Test against England in Colombo on Tuesday.

Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraweera (54) put on 124 for the fourth wicket after James Anderson had struck early blows to reduce the hosts to 30-3 within the first hour at the P. Sara Oval.

Sri Lanka, electing to bat after winning the toss, recovered to post 155-4 by tea in a remarkable re-run of the start of the first Test in Galle, which the hosts won by 75 runs.

Sri Lanka had slumped to 15-3 in the first four overs of the match at Galle, before Jayawardene and Samaraweera rescued the hosts by putting on a half-century stand.

Jayawardene, who went on to hit a match-winning 180, looked good for another big knock as he went to tea with nine boundaries and a six against his name.

Samaraweera fell just before tea for 54, trapped leg-before by a sharp in-cutter from seamer Tim Bresnan.

Angelo Mathews, who returned to the side after missing the first Test with a calf injury, was unbeaten on one at the break.

England, whose defeat at Galle followed a 3-0 rout by Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates earlier in the year, need a win to draw the series and retain their number one ranking.

Andrew Strauss' men will slip to second spot behind South Africa if they lose or draw the match.

Anderson struck in his third over when he forced Tillakaratne Dilshan to edge a catch to wicket-keeper Matt Prior after the previous two balls had been driven for boundaries.

Kumar Sangakkara was dismissed first ball for the second match in a row when he was snapped up by Strauss in the slips, the England captain taking the catch at second attempt.

Lahiru Thirimanne padded up to a straight ball from Anderson and was given out leg-before by umpire Bruce Oxenford, a decision upheld by the third umpire after the batsman asked for a review.

The tourists went in with a three-man seam attack, bringing in Bresnan and Steven Finn to partner Anderson with the new ball. Spinner Monty Panesar was dropped, while Stuart Broad has flown home with a calf injury.

Sri Lanka made two changes from the side that won in Galle, as a fit-again Mathews and Dhammika Prasad returned in place of Dinesh Chandimal and Chanaka Welegedara.