Pakistan:training session at Chinnaswamy

Pakistan would carry out their first training session at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on Sunday (today) barely 12 hours after reaching the south Indian city for their limited-overs series opener against arch-rivals India.

Captained by Mohammad Hafeez, Pakistan’s Twenty20 squad left Lahore for Bangalore via New Delhi Saturday afternoon to play a five-match series that includes two Twenty20 games and three One-day Internationals.

The tourists had a stop-over in the Indian capital before a chartered flight took them to Bangalore which would host the first Twenty20 International at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Christmas Day.

The players selected only for the three ODIs — Misbah-ul-Haq, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Haris Sohail, Wahab Riaz, Imran Farhat and Anwar Ali — will leave for India on December 26. The ODI series begins in Chennai from December 30.

The Pakistani cricketers would be greeted with a heavy security blanket anywhere they go during the brief tour of India.

According to media reports, the Chinnaswamy Stadium has been completely barricaded and armed policemen are posted at all four corners of the main square at the stadium.

Though the series opening game is still two days away, the stadium looked like a fortress on Saturday.

But undeterred by the security cover, Pakistan are exuding confidence ahead of what is their first bilateral series against the Indians in five years.

“We are ready and prepared for the India challenge,” Hafeez told reporters at the conclusion of a training camp in Lahore last week. “We have trained so hard to get ready for the India series. India might be low at the moment [after losing to England in the Test series] but it’s a new format and they have a very balanced T20 team.

“Nobody can deny the fact that a Pakistan-India series carries intense pressure. The contest is always full of pressure and full of expectations of people of both countries. We will try to express ourselves without any pressure,” he stressed.

While Pakistan announced their team several days before the series, India would only name their squad on Sunday (today).

According to reports, Indian selectors will gather on Sunday to pick the squad for the series against Pakistan amid speculation that struggling senior batsman Sachin Tendulkar has made himself available for ODI selection.

The Indian squad is unlikely to see many changes from the one that featured against England in a T20 rubber played on Saturday night.

It is the ODI squad that would draw more attention as there are unconfirmed reports that Tendulkar has made himself available for the three-match rubber starting in Chennai.

The star cricketer had been part of the last ODI squad during the failed campaign in Bangladesh in the Asia Cup where he completed his unprecedented feat of 100 international hundreds.

Tendulkar, whose retirement has been speculated endlessly in the media and by former cricketers, has been in and out of ODIs in the last few years by choice, but with his form dipping in Tests, the 39-year-old could be eager to rediscover his successful run through the 50-over game for the upcoming four-match

Test rubber at home against Australia.

The second one-day game against Pakistan is to be held in Kolkata on January 3 followed by the last match on January 6 in Delhi.

The other focus in the selection meeting would be captaincy and as per current indications, MS Dhoni is expected to keep his job though his success record in the ODI format too, like the one in Tests, has taken a steep dip after he piloted the country to the World Cup title last year.

Zaheer Khan is another senior cricketer who is battling fitness concerns and dipping form in international cricket.

The other point of interest in the selection would be Virender Sehwag who opted out of the Twenty20 series against England. It is not known whether he has declared himself available to play in the T20 format against Pakistan. —With inputs from agencies

Sehwag sidelined for Pakistan series

The five wise men of indian cricket will have a serious challenge when they sit down today to pick india's teams for the two-match t20 series and three-match odi series against pakistan.

Since India's will play the arch-rivals, the Indian selectors know they can't get it wrong. The main points of discussion are likely to be Sachin Tendulkar's availability for the ODIs and whether Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan will be rested.

The good news for them is that according to reports Tendulkar has made himself available for selection despite a poor Test series against England. This means is not retiring just yet.

Reports also suggest India's out of form swashbuckling opener Virender Sehwag could be sidelined for the 3 ODIs. But chances are his experience might help him keep his place in such a big series.

Also, India is all set to be without their pace spearhead Zaheer Khan. The southpaw has already communicated his unavailability for Pakistan's tour of India and the ODI series against England since he would like to focus on the upcoming Test series against the Australians. 

It is likely in that case that India would look at the injury prone Sreesanth or the young Parwinder Awana.

England wins thriller match

Eoin Morgan smashed a stunning six off the final delivery bowled by Ashoke Dinda as England registered a six-wicket win to level the Twenty20 series and dashed India’s hopes of taking the No. 1 ranking in this form for the first time.

Needing nine off the last over, Dinda conceded just three singles off the first three. Jos Buttler managed a two from the fourth ball before Mahendra Singh Dhoni missed a chance to run out Morgan off the next delivery.

The England captain, calm and composed despite his side needing three off the final delivery, lofted Dinda into the stands to signal victory. Earlier, chasing a stiff target of 178, the England openers laid a solid foundation with an 80-run partnership.

Michael Lumb was in aggressive form, hitting 50 off just 34 balls with six fours and two sixes. At the other end, Alex Hales, dropped by Parvinder Awana, who had a forgettable game both as a bowler and as a fielder, cashed in on the mistake to score 42 (33b, 4x4, 1x6). Only Yuvraj Singh provided some hope for India, bowling a teasing line and finishing with three wickets.

He pulled India back into the match, the way he did in the first game at Pune. The left-armer dismissed Lumb, Luke Wright and Hales as England lost its way in the middle. However, Dhoni’s decision to employ Awana and Dinda in the closing stages proved costly as the two leaked runs aplenty.

Sedate start

                After a sedate start, India posted a formidable 177 on the board. The runs flowed in the last quarter of the twenty overs after Rohit Sharma had lost his middle stump to off-spinner James Tredwell. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni joined left-hander Suresh Raina — the pair had steered the host to a convincing win in the first match at Pune two days back — in the middle.

Dhoni and Raina turned the tide, hammering three fours and as many sixes off Stuart Meaker and Jade Dernbach in the 17th and 18th overs. The duo put on a breezy 60-run stand in less than half an hour and lifted the team from 108 for five to 168.

There was evidence of extra bounce and hints of swing in the early overs. Indian openers Gautam Gambhir and Ajinkya Rahane struggled to force the ball, after being put in by England captain Eoin Morgan. Gambhir looked a far cry from an experienced batsman ready to quell a challenging situation and laboured to make 17 off 27 balls in eight minutes short of an hour.

Rahane stepped out, made room and slashed into the hands of debutant Joe Root at third man. England dropped left-arm spinner Danny Briggs and took the field with four seamers and off-spinner in Tredwell, but medium pacer Luke Wright turned out to be the weak link as Kohli took heavy toll of him for twenty runs, which also was the last of the power-play. Dhoni and Raina played wonderfully well, blasting three fours and as many sixes off Meaker and Dernbach.

Ganguly : will play in upcoming IPL 2013

Former India captain, Sourav Ganguly has said that he has no intentions of playing in the upcoming Indian Premier League despite holding a contract with the Sahara Pune Warriors for one more season. Ganguly has revealed that he has told his bosses at Pune that he wished to end his playing time and would not be available for selection during the 2013 season of the mega tournament. 

"I had a wonderful time playing in the IPL for five seasons. It gave me a chance to keep playing top-class cricket even after quitting international cricket. But I can't go on forever, and I have requested the franchise owners not to consider me for IPL 6," Sourav told TOI on Sunday. 

Ganguly played the first three seasons of the Indian Premier League for the Kolkata Knight Riders. He led the team as an icon player in the first edition. A poor show meant that 'Dada' as he is fondly called was stripped of his captaincy during a disastrous second edition in South Africa. Ganguly did return to the helm in the subsequent season but failed to take his team to the semi-finals. 

He then had to bear the humiliation of not being considered good enough by any of the 10 franchises during the 2011 auctions but later made a late entry into the Pune team following an injury to Ashish Nehra. He took over as the captain in the fifth edition and led his franchise to a last place finish. 

They were rumors floating along that Ganguly would not be a part of the Pune management's plans for the 6th edition of the tournament and instead would be offered a role in the team as a 'mentor'. 

Sourav Ganguly has also decided to opt out of the Ranji Trophy Team for Bengal for the upcoming season. Ganguly had retired from international cricket in 2008 but had continued to be a part of the domestic set-up. 

In Ganguly's absence, Manoj Tiwary has been named the captain. There were indications given by a senior official in the Bengal Board that 'Dada' could return later in the season. "He would not play the first two matches, but depending on our team's position we may get his services later on," Sujan Mukherjee, the secretary of the Bengal board said. "It's a youthful side but we have players with international experience, looking forward to a positive season," he added. 

Squad: Manoj Tiwary (capt), Parthasarathi Bhattacharjee, Rohan Banerjee, Jayojit Basu, Writam Porel, Anustup Majumdar, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Iresh Saxena, Ashok Dinda, Sourav Sarkar, Arnab Nandy, Veer Pratap Singh, Subhomoy Das and Aritra Chatterjee 

Cook : Challenging with India

England's new Test captain Alastair Cook said that his team was determined to defy history and win a Test series in India for the first time in 27 years. 

England last won a series on Indian soil way back in 1985 when David Gower's men came from behind after losing the first Test to win 2-1, but Cook said the upcoming four-match series will be keenly fought. 

"This is undoubtedly a huge challenge for us," Cook told reporters after the squad arrived in Mumbai for the double-leg tour which also includes two Twenty20 games and five one-day internationals. 

"History suggests it is hard to win in India. After all we have not won a series here in almost 30 years. But we have a great squad determined to do well. We are aware of the challenges and look forward to the series." 

"It is going to be a huge series because it is between two very good sides. Both sides have world-class players and whoever handles the conditions better will win." 

Cook, 27, took over as skipper after Andrew Strauss retired at the end of the last home series against South Africa, which the tourists won 2-0 to take over from England as the top-ranked Test side. 

The Essex opener has previously led England in two Tests in Bangladesh in 2010 when Strauss chose to rest, but the India series will be his first as a full-time captain. 

It was in India in 2006 that Cook made a memorable Test debut, scoring 60 and an unbeaten 104 in Nagpur after being flown in from the 'A' tour of the West Indies to replace Marcus Trescothick. 

"I have some very good memories of India," he said. "It is a great place to play cricket and there is a lot of passion for the game here." 

"I look forward to doing well here but all of us will have to contribute with both bat and ball if we are going to win." 

England will face a home team keen to make amends for the humiliating 4-0 defeat in England last year that dethroned Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men as the number one Test side. 

Cook wanted his team to prepare for the Test series, which opens in Ahmedabad on November 15, by winning the three preceding warm-up matches. 

"There is no better way to prepare than win these matches," he said. "They are not merely warm-up games, they are first-class matches. We need to get used to the conditions as early as possible." 

The first warm-up match against India 'A' starts at the Brabourne stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday. This will be followed by another three-day fixture in Mumbai and a four-day game in Ahmedabad. 

The four back-to-back Tests will be held in Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Kolkata and Nagpur. 

The tourists, who will also play two Twenty20 matches after the Tests, will go home for Christmas before returning in the New Year for a five-match one-day series.