Dhoni and Jadeja crush England

India 300 for 7 (Dhoni 87*, Raina 61) beat England 174 (Cook 60, Jadeja 3-34) by 126 runs

	MS Dhoni's hard-hitting 87 not out was the bedrock of India's victory © AFP

Smart stats India's 126-run win is their second-largest in ODIs against England, next only to their triumph by 158 runs in Rajkot in 2008. That, incidentally, was also the first ODI of a series. India scored 161 runs in their last 16 overs, which is their fifth-highest during this period in an ODI over the last decade. Their highest is 182, in two matches - against South Africa in Rajkot, and against Bermuda in Port of Spain. MS Dhoni's unbeaten 87 is his fourth successive ODI half-century, and his third unbeaten one. He averages 45 against England, while his overall ODI average has crept back to more than 50. Dhoni and Suresh Raina are only the seventh non-opening pair from India to add more than 2000 partnership runs. Their average and strike rate are the best among those seven. Dhoni has become the first wicketkeeper-captain to take 100 catches. Kumar Sangakkara is next with 59 catches behind the stumps as captain.

MS Dhoni marked India's homecoming with a brutal innings of 87 not out from 70 balls, before the left-arm spin of Ravindra Jadeja sparked a dramatic English batting collapse, as the team that failed to win a single international fixture on their recent tour of England returned to form with a crushing 126-run victory at Hyderabad.

Dhoni's performance was his fourth half-century in as many international innings, but whereas the last three had been insufficient to force victory, this performance was more reminiscent of his last performance in a home international - his crushing 91 not out in the World Cup final against Sri Lanka in April.

After winning his first toss in six attempts against England, Dhoni chose to bat first on a slow surface, but India were struggling on 139 for 4 after 34 overs before he and Suresh Raina turned on the after-burners as a further 161 were added in the final third of the innings. As had regularly been the case in England, he started cautiously against a disciplined attack, and had reached 5 from 18 balls before belting his first boundary, from Ravi Bopara, to signal India's late charge.

In total, Dhoni belted 10 fours and one six in his innings, the latter coming from a trademark helicopter flick off Steven Finn in the penultimate over of the innings. Finn had started his day's work with impressive pace and accuracy, and should have had a first-over wicket when Jonathan Trott dropped a sitter off Ajinkya Rahane at second slip - a moment that only the 26,000 crowd were able to witness, thanks to a TV rights dispute that caused a three-over blackout. But Finn finished with the bruised figures of 1 for 67 in nine overs, with his solitary wicket that of Raina in his seventh over, moments after he had been battered for another six over long-on.

Raina, whose brutality against the full length ball was a sight to behold, crunched 61 from 55 balls, with both of his sixes coming from the final four balls of his innings. Like Dhoni, he had opted for circumspection in the early part of his stay, but the longer his 62-run stand for the fifth wicket continued, the more boisterous the Hyderabad crowd became.

It had been a more muted affair in the early part of India's innings. Parthiv Patel was run out at the non-striker's end for 9 as Finn fingertipped a Rahane drive onto the stumps, while Rahane himself had reached 15 from 41 balls when Graeme Swann dragged him out of his crease with his third delivery of the match to give Craig Kieswetter an easy stumping.

In his first match since recovering from concussion, Gautam Gambhir confirmed his fitness with a fluent 32 from 33 balls. However, Jade Dernbach's liquorice allsorts proved hard to pick and tough to get away on the surface, and the slower ball that did for Gambhir was a beauty. It looped up above the batsman's eyeline and dropped sharply to rap his shin in front of leg stump.

At 79 for 3 after 18 overs, the game was very much in the balance. However, England's position could, and probably should, have been even better after 25 overs, when Samit Patel repeated Finn's trick of dropping his fingertips on a straight drive. It was Raina this time who was in peril as the bails were dislodged, but after a lengthy delay for the TV adjudication, he was given the benefit of the doubt by the third umpire, Sudhir Ashani.

In the final analysis, however, it really didn't matter. Though Alastair Cook continued his impressive form as England captain with 60 from 63 balls, his dismissal in the 23rd over of the innings precipated a dramatic collapse at the hands of Jadeja and R Ashwin. England tumbled from 111 for 2 to 134 for 7 in the space of 40 balls, and only Samit Patel (16) and the No. 10, Finn, with a run a ball 18, provided any resistance.

Praveen Kumar, India's star bowler from their ill-fated tour of England, had launched India's defence in fine style, opening up with a maiden to Cook, and he had not conceded a run when he extracted Kieswetter with his eighth delivery, a full-length ball that jagged off the seam to take a thin edge through to Dhoni.

The loss of their top-order powerhitter caused England to rejig their conventional batting order, with Kevin Pietersen emerging at No. 3 ahead of the more staid Trott. The plan looked to be paying off as Pietersen launched his innings with ominous resolve, but having struck three fours in a 28-ball 19, he attempted a quick single to mid-on where Ashwin nailed him with a direct hit.

Trott then appeared at No. 4, and for 13.3 overs he and Cook steadied the innings, adding 71 for the third wicket to give England a solid platform. But then, having brought up his fifty at exactly a run a ball, Cook gave his innings away with a loose clip to deep midwicket off Ravindra Jadeja, and thwacked his pad with his bat in frustration as he left the crease.

Worse was to follow for England two overs later. Trott, whose 26 from 42 balls had been a typically measured performance, attempted an ungainly smear across the line against Jadeja and lost his leg stump, and eight balls later, Ravi Bopara drove loosely at Ashwin and chipped a simple return catch to the keeper.

Jadeja by now was on a roll with the crowd fully behind him, and he extended England's collapse to four wickets in 26 balls when Jonny Bairstow, the hero of the run-chase in Cardiff, last month, also offered up a return catch. His figures after four overs were 3 for 17, and England's unbeaten run against India in 2011 was soon all over. © ESPN EMEA Ltd.

Strauss shines as Somerset dominate in draw

Somerset 425 for 3 dec (Suppiah 156, Compton 88, Strauss 78) and 260 for 2 dec (Strauss 109*, Trego 85*) drew with Indians 224 (Raina 103*, Willoughby 6-76) and 69 for 0

	Suresh Raina's sparkling ton was the only bright spot for India in Taunton © Getty Images

If the forthcoming Test series goes well for Andrew Strauss and England, Somerset should be top of his Christmas card list. After finding form in the first innings, he made the most of his second knock with an unbeaten 109 as India were left with precious little to take from the match other than Suresh Raina's 103 earlier on the final day.

However, like in the first innings where Arul Suppiah outshone the England captain with a career-best 156, the limelight was taken away by another Somerset batsman as Peter Trego hammered a 57-ball 85 off the struggling Indian attack before the home side, somewhat sympathetically, declared at tea to allow the visitors another brief innings. At least Gautam Gambhir and Abhinav Mukund eased themselves to an unbroken 69 before another shower ended the match, and India headed to London with their tail between their legs.

Trego arrived with Amit Mishra on a hat-trick but wickets were soon a long way from the legspinner's mind as he was left watching the ball sail regularly into the stands. Trego's half-century came up with the third of four consecutive leg-side sixes, and the umpires twice needed to find replacement balls. At one stage Mishra had bowled three overs for 61 and it went from a being a tough warm-up for the tourists to something of an embarrassment, although they will try to play down the significance.

It was no surprise that the home side didn't enforce the follow-on after the Indians were bowled out and the Somerset opening pair again made comfortable progress. Zaheer Khan didn't take the field - and neither did Sachin Tendulkar - but the team manager insisted he was purely resting which seemed an odd decision after a wicketless first innings where Zaheer looked in far from peak form. And if he didn't want to show himself to Strauss again, that suggests the pressure has shifted.

The remaining Indian bowlers went through the motions and the pattern was similar to the first innings. Munaf Patel was steady but unthreatening while Sreesanth was expensive. Strauss dominated the scoring, although not quite in the fashion of the opening day as Suppiah rode on the confidence of his first-innings hundred.

Strauss had barely an alarm as he cruised past fifty and tucked into some friendly bowling. He took three consecutive boundaries off Sreesanth, who kept dropping short, and also came down the pitch at Mishra to drive him for a straight six - many more of those would follow. Trego's onslaught meant he was quickly catching Strauss, but the England captain went to his hundred from 122 balls with a late cut shortly before tea.

Mishra had provided the Indians with momentary relief when he claimed two wickets in two balls but they were costly successes. His figures would soon take an even greater hammering, probably leaving him wishing he hadn't broken the opening stand. Suppiah lost his shape when he came down the pitch and got an outside edge to backward point then James Hildreth edged a legbreak behind first ball.

Earlier, Raina gave the Indians their one bright spot for the match as he raced to an unbeaten century to lift the visitors to 224. He added a final-wicket stand of 84 in 12 overs with Munaf of which the No. 11 contributed six. Raina needed just 37 balls to go from his fifty to a hundred as he cut loose after Sreesanth had lost his off stump to become Charl Willoughby's sixth wicket.

Rania drove, pulled and flicked five sixes which damaged Willoughby's figures while Alfonso Thomas also took some punishment. His hundred arrived from 110 balls courtesy of a misfield at mid-off but he didn't have the chance to add many more as Munaf was lbw to legspinner Max Waller soon after.

Raina's innings - and Yuvraj's duck on the second day - will have sealed the debate over India's No. 6 spot for Lord's. Strauss probably would not have minded having an extended look at Raina, someone England haven't faced before in Tests. He has gained more than he may have expected from his brief stint in the south-west. © ESPN EMEA Ltd.

Raina fined 25% of match fee

	Suresh Raina was not happy with umpire Asad Rauf's decision © AFP

Suresh Raina has been fined 25% of his match fee for his reaction after being given out caught by umpire Asad Rauf on the first day of the second Testbetween West Indies and India. The incident took place during the 56th over when a Devendra Bishoo delivery struck Raina on the thigh pad before lobbing to forward short leg.

Replays were inconclusive about whether the ball had brushed Raina's glove on its way to the fielder. Raina shook his head to indicate that he did not hit the ball which, the ICC said, seemed to be an attempt to influence the umpire's decision. "On being given out, he looked to the sky in disgust and after picking his bat up from the ground swung it at the dirt as well as shaking his head again," the ICC said.

Raina's actions were found to constitute a Level 1 breach of Article 2.1.3 of the ICC code of conduct which relates to "showing dissent at an umpire's decision by action or verbal abuse". He pleaded guilty and accepted the sanction proposed by match referee Chris Broad.

"What Suresh did was a clear breach of the code, something the player himself has accepted," Broad said. "There is a fine line between showing disappointment at a dismissal and demonstrating dissent but on this occasion Suresh was well over that line and his behaviour was unacceptable."

Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand and a maximum penalty of 50% of a player's match fee. © ESPN EMEA Ltd.

Test in balance after gripping first day

West Indies 34 for 1 (Barath 26*, Sarwan 2*) trail India 246 (Raina 82, Harbhajan 70, Edwards 4-56, Rampaul 3-59, Bishoo 3-75) by 212 runs

	Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh added 146 to rescue India from 85 for 6... © AFP

West Indies survived a daylight robbery by Harbahajan Singh and Suresh Raina to end the first day of the series in slight ascendance, if at all. A damp pitch with uneven bounce, early wickets, a counterattack, a collapse, a spectacular catch, watchful anxious end, the first day had it all.

The tone was set when India took the gamble of batting first on a moist pitch to allow their two spinners best use of a surface likely to break. Ravi Rampaul removed the openers in an unbroken eight-over spell in the heat and humidity of Kingston, getting at least one early wicket for a fourth time in his last five innings. Rahul Dravid looked as solid during his 40 as he had during his two match-winning fifties five years ago at the same venue. Devendra Bishoo, playing his third Test, then intervened to remove VVS Laxman, Dravid and MS Dhoni - close to 23,000 runs between them - in the space of 20 deliveries.

The way Harbhajan and Raina ran away with the initiative in a 146-run stand from 85 for 6, only bandanas and eye patches were missing. Even they couldn't see Fidel Edwards, though, who came back with a spell of seriously quick bowling to help West Indies take the last four wickets for 15 runs. A spell of attrition followed, but it was just as tense, and Ishant Sharma came away with Lendl Simmons' wicket.

Smart stats The 146-run stand between Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh is India's sixth-best for the seventh wicket in overseas Tests. In the West Indies, it ranks fourth. Two of those top six have come within the last year - Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni had put together 172 in the Centurion Test against South Africa in 2010. Kingston continues to be a tough venue for India's batsmen - in 20 innings here, only once has the team topped 400. In his first five Tests, Ravi Rampaul had combined figures of 4 for 439; in his last three Tests, he has taken 14 for 289. In his last seven Tests, Harbhajan has scored 478 runs, which is 23% of his total career runs scored over 94 matches. During this period, he averages 53.11, with two centuries and as many fifties. India went in with three debutants in this Test - the last time they did so was against England in Mohali in December 2001, when Sanjay Bangar, Iqbal Siddiqui and Tinu Yohanan made their debuts. The score at the start of the seventh-wicket stand (85) is India's second-lowest against West Indies since 2000. Their lowest score at the start of the seventh-wicket stand since 2000 is 46 for 6 against Australia in Mumbai in 2004.

In between there were unremarkable maiden Test innings for Abhinav Mukund and Virat Kohli. The first to fall in the morning, which now seems days ago, was M Vijay, who might as well have been wearing his IPL kit when he slapped a full and wide delivery straight to point. Abhinav, his state-mate and prolific run-getter in domestic cricket, came close to edging thrice before he played one on for 11.

Dravid and Laxman, batting together for the first time since the Boxing Day Test in Durban last year, handled the misbehaving pitch - length balls reared towards the bat handle, short ones hardly reached the keeper, and the spinners extracted appreciable turn - well during their 34-run stand. Bishoo then came on with immediate impact. He began with a perfect legbreak, just short of driving length, on off, and produced the outside edge from Laxman 17 minutes before lunch. After the interval Dravid hit Bishoo for two boundaries before the bowler got his own back with an edge off a full legbreak. Dhoni played a premeditated forward-defensive, and the extra bounce again took the shoulder of the bat. Not only was the bowling good until then, the captaincy too had been positive.

Harbhajan, though, played havoc with West Indies' minds. After watching Raina avoid an over full of hostile bouncers from Edwards, Harbhajan tore into Bishoo. What made it even better, and perhaps rattled West Indies more, was that it all featured little slogging. He hit his fourth, fifth and sixth deliveries for fours: over the bowler's head, a late-cut, and over midwicket. In the next over he cut Edwards for another four.

Raina, perhaps relieved at making it to the other end, pulled out two beautiful extra-cover drives off Bishoo's next over. Darren Sammy called back Rampaul, who tried to bowl fast and into Harbhajan's ribs. Harbhajan got inside the line twice and glanced him fine for fours before smacking another through extra cover. A clueless Bishoo served a full toss and a long hop in the next over, both of which Raina hit for fours. With barely a risk taken, the partnership now read 56 in 6.2 overs. Bishoo's figures had gone from 3.2-2-11-3 to 7-2-44-3. Harbhajan was 36 off 22, Raina 25 off 28.

It was sensational stuff, and West Indies were blown away. Rampaul and Sammy brought some sanity back to proceedings, but by then Harbhajan and Raina had their eyes set on big innings. While Harbhajan still kept hitting the boundaries, Raina dropped anchor, and followed Harbhajan to a half-century with two lovely push-driven straight fours off Sammy.

	... But Fidel Edwards brought West Indies right back with fiery pace © Associated Press

Lest it be thought that the pitch had become a featherbed, Rampaul produced two nasty ones to beat Raina even with the partnership about 70 runs old. Again the ball kicked from a length, and beat the outside edge. The batsmen, though, chose the last over before tea, bowled by Bishoo, to make a statement, slogging the hell out of him for 17 runs. That made it 150 runs for the second session, but Bishoo hadn't been entirely negated.

With Edwards breathing fire after tea, Bishoo ran in from deep backwards square, and to his left, and then flew further to his left to claim a top-edged hook from Harbhajan. There was more where that sharp bouncer came from. Edwards was searing quick. He operated at two lengths, either full and swinging in or aimed at the throat. Praveen Kumar fell to the full one, Amit Mishra to the bouncer. Raina, stranded at the other end, could have chosen to either trust the doughty Ishant Sharma or go for the big ones. He went for the latter, and found Bishoo again at deep backward square leg to fall for a second score in the 80s in his nine-Test career.

In reply West Indies were austere, India accurate. For one hour they went without a boundary, Praveen Kumar and Ishant were a bit mindful of not conceding too many runs too. There was an interrogation on, but it didn't quite reach a level where it could break the likes of Colonel Nathan R Jessep down. The truth, it seemed, lay in balls turning square and bouncing up and down. Who can, and who cannot, handle it? © ESPN EMEA Ltd.

Opportunity for fringe players - Raina

	The tour of the West Indies will be a test for India's stand-in captain Suresh Raina and new coach Duncan Fletcher© AFP

The absence of several senior players for the upcoming tour of the West Indies provides an ideal platform for fringe players to shine on the international stage, Suresh Raina, India's captain for the limited-overs leg of the Caribbean tour, has said.

"It's a great opportunity for the youngsters who have done well in domestic cricket," Raina told the media ahead of the team's departure for the West Indies. "I am happy with the side, as we have some very good batsmen in Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, S Badrinath and Shikhar Dhawan, all of whom have done well in first-class cricket."

Raina, has led a similarly second-string Indian side in the past, for a tri-series Zimbabwe in May-June 2010, though India performed poorly on that tour, losing both matches against the hosts and one against Sri Lanka.

This time, India are without the services of Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni and Zaheer Khan, who have all been rested, in addition to the ill Yuvraj Singh, and the injured duo of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir for the lone Twenty20 and the five ODIs that follow. MS Dhoni will take over the captaincy from Raina for the Tests, and Zaheer will return, but the other seniors will miss the Test leg as well.

Raina said he has learnt a lot about the art of captaincy from Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid and Dhoni, and was prepared for the challenge.

"West Indies have players like Gayle missing, but it will be a challenge for us," Raina said. "There's always pressure and we have done well under pressure. It's for us as players to execute the plans of the coach well. We have to play our natural game."

The tour will be the first assignment for India's newly-appointed coach Duncan Fletcher, who said he was a supporter of the rotation policy. "While I was in England [Fletcher coached England between 1999 and 2007], I started the rotation policy resting senior guys," Fletcher said. "I was heavily criticised by the English authorities. It's important to do that considering the heavy schedule. We need to look into the matter as we go into the future."

He said he looked forward to working with the youngsters, but cautioned against complacency. " Any team playing at home is difficult to beat. We should not be complacent. There is a lot of talent in India and my job is to prepare these youngsters.

"Yes, we would like to beat England in England and Australia in Australia. But the first job is the tour of the West Indies. It's very important not to look too far down the road. India have a plan to stay at the top. The young players have the potential and this tour will show the depth of talent we have."

He also said that the club versus country debate is something that just has to be dealt with. "That's the way it is in modern day sports. We have to ensure that all the players are fit enough."

India's tour of the West Indies kicks off with a T20 game on Friday in Port of Spain. © ESPN EMEA Ltd.

Raina stuns Bangalore to power Chennai into final

Chennai Super Kings 177 for 4 (Raina 73*) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 175 (Kohli 70*, Bollinger 1-20) by six wickets

	Suresh Raina slugged six sixes into the Wankhede stands© AFP

How did Chennai win this? How did Bangalore lose this? Chennai always seemed to be lagging behind but surged like a tidal wave towards the end, with the odd run-filled over now and then, to storm into their third IPL final in four seasons. At the forefront was the feisty Suresh Raina, who pulled out the big shots through the latter half of the chase to set up an improbable win. The defeat makes Bangalore's path to the final - and beyond - tougher. They will have to win the second Qualifier on Saturday, if they are to meet Chennai in the final at the MA Chidambaram season, where the hosts have been unbeaten all season.

Bangalore will look back and rue at a few poor overs. There were full tosses and length deliveries galore and Chennai capitalised in some style. Virat Kohli bowled a slew of full tosses in the ninth over to leak 16 runs, and Abhimanyu Mithun kept bowling length deliveries in the 13th over, bleeding 23 runs. It included a fabulously carved six over the covers as Raina went down on a bent knee, to follow his muscled heave over long-off. Even then, the equation - 82 from 42 balls - seemed a tough proposition and it got tighter when it came down to 58 from 24. Chris Gayle had led from front with a parsimonious spell that read 4-0-19-0 as he fired in the skidders and the occasional yorker to pin down Chennai.

But Raina wasn't done yet, and he ramped it up style in the 17th over, from Zaheer Khan, who had been exemplary in his opening three-over spell. Raina's two sixes over midwicket, a thumping pull and a clubbed swing, were sandwiched by a bottom-hand powered six over wide long-on by MS Dhoni, who however fell in the same over. Zaheer went for 20 runs in that over and Chennai had well and truly seized the momentum.

More agony awaited Bangalore in the 19th over, bowled by S Aravind. Albie Morkel crashed a slower ball over long-on and clubbed a full toss over long-off before Raina killed another full toss over the midwicket boundary. That 21-run over left Chennai needing 12 off the final over by Daniel Vettori and Morkel dragged a four to wide long-on, before walloping the fourth ball over midwicket to win the contest.

Until those frenetic end overs, Bangalore were well on their way to becoming the first team to enter the final. The big question before the game was whether Bangalore would deflate like cheap party balloons if Gayle went out early. They answered that in an emphatic manner, as Kohli powered them to a competitive total.

Bangalore were in danger of slipping into free-fall after Gayle fell cheaply, trapped by R Aswhin, but Kohli and Luke Pomersbach ensured they stayed afloat. While Kohli batted with calculated aggression, Pomersbach counterattacked, taking 17 runs in the 15th over, off Dwayne Bravo. A murderous heave to wide long-on, a slash to third man and a screaming flat six over midwicket were the highlights. Kohli, though, was the person who sculpted and shaped Bangalore's innings. Two shots in particular reflected the assurance in his knock. In the 13th over, he sashayed back to a back-of-length delivery from Suresh Raina to unfurl a peachy punch to the cover-point boundary. Then, off the final ball of the 16th over, he leaned forward to play a classy lofted whip over wide long-on Ashwin. He went on to produce two more screaming sixes - over long-on and covers - off Morkel in the 19th over, to push Bangalore to a good total but Raina decided to gatecrash the party. © ESPN EMEA Ltd.

Dhoni hints Kohli will play instead of Raina

Virat Kohli is likely to get the nod ahead of Suresh Raina for a place in the World Cup XI © Getty Images

The most heated debate in recent weeks about the composition of the Indian team for the World Cup has been who among Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina will make the final XI. MS Dhoni gave the first clear indication of the Indian team's decision when he said, after the warm-up match against New Zealand, that the in-form Kohli is likely to play at No. 4 in the opening match against Bangladesh.

"Right now it is a matter of deciding slots; it's the No. 4 slot where Virat Kohli needs to bat with Gautam [Gambhir] at No. 3, because to perform to his potential Virat needs to bat up the order," Dhoni said in Chennai. "Raina has done well for us batting at No. 5 and No. 6, still there's a bit of a chance that Virat may get an edge over Raina seeing the current form that he [Kohli] is in."

A starting spot in the World Cup will be a reward for Kohli, who has soared to second spot in the ICC one-day batsmen rankings on the back of several outstanding series. His journey to becoming a first-choice player began with the chances he got in the absence of some of the senior players from one-dayers over the past year. He backed up a match-winning hundred against Australia, in October, with plenty of runs in the home series against New Zealand, before looking the most assured of the India batsmen against the pace of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel in the South Africa one-day series. He was also fluent in both of India's warm-up matches, making 21 against Australia and a brisk half-century against New Zealand.

Raina has been a regular with the Indian side for a couple of years now, but his patchy recent form seems set to cost him his place at the start of cricket's marquee tournament. He has only one half-century in his previous 21 innings, and even the 25-ball half-century he hammered against New Zealand on Wednesday hasn't, apparently, been enough to convince the team management.

Another middle-order batsman whose recent form hasn't been great is Yuvraj Singh, who didn't bat in the warm-up against New Zealand. With India playing only four specialist bowlers, and Virender Sehwag's shoulder problem still preventing him from sending down his offspinners, Yuvraj's regular contributions with the ball will be important to the balance of the side. "Once Yuvraj gets going in a series, he makes it a point that India wins that series; that's definitely a big positive," Dhoni said. "Also being a proper left-arm spinner, he has been contributing in all the games right from South Africa, taking the ball away from the batsmen. It's another big asset that he has got which gives him an edge over the others."

Yuvraj's batting form is shaping up as a big factor in deciding which of Kohli and Raina will play. He will start out the World Cup at No. 5, but could move up a slot if he hits form. If that happens, Kohli looks likely to have to vacate not just the No. 4 spot but a place in the team itself as the management rates Raina as a better player in the lower order, in the subcontinent. "Once Yuvraj gets going and he scores one or two fifties, that will be the time when we will be in a dilemma," Dhoni said, "because that No. 4 slot is very important for us, and if Virat is to bat at No. 5, 6 or 7 then his performance will get affected, because he's the kind of player who likes to spend a bit of time initially and then look to go after the bowlers." —ESPNcricinfo

India's World Cup squad announced; Rohit, Sreesanth omitted

Young batsman Rohit Sharma and pacer S Sreesanth were today omitted from India's 15-member squad for the upcoming cricket World Cup to be held in the sub-continent from February 19.

Tamil Nadu spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who is also a useful batsman, and Piyush Chawla were named in the squad to be captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni and which includes most of the star players like Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag.

The national selectors, who met for one and half hours to finalise the team here, picked three specialist spinners considering that the high profile-event will be held in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Tendulkar, Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Praveen Kumar, who are nursing injuries and have been ruled out of the ongoing one-day series against South Africa, have been included in the squad announced by BCCI Secretary N Srinivasan.

Left arm spinner Pragyan Ojha and wicket-keeper batsman Parthiv Patel, who were among the front-runners to make the cut, failed to find a berth.

India is one of the favourites for the 14-team tournament, which commences with a match between India and Bangladesh at Dhaka on Feb 19.

The final will be played in Mumbai on April 2.

India's World Cup squad:

Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain), Virender Sehwag (Vice Captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Praveen Kumar, Munaf Patel, R Ashwin, Piyush Chawla. -Agencies

Tsotsobe puts South Africa in control

50 overs India 190 (Yuvraj 53, Dhoni 38, Tsotsobe 4-22) v South Africa

In pic: India collapsed after the fall of Yuvraj Singh © Associated Press

A disciplined bowling performance from South Africa choked India at Wanderers, keeping them to a below-par score on a track that is expected to last out the day. Unlike in Durban, it wasn't the bounce that India's batsmen struggled against but nagging lines and lengths from the seamers, particularly Lonwabo Tsotsobe, and variations in pace from Johan Botha. India tried hard, promising to set the stage for a fighting score through two fighting partnerships but such was South Africa's determination to limit the visitors that a wicket never seemed too far away.

India approached their innings cautiously under overcast skies after opting to bat, and the openers were averse to chasing deliveries bowled outside off due to the movement off the pitch. Dale Steyn and Tsotsobe consistently bowled in the corridor outside off and were only targeted when they delivered full and straight. M Vijay flicked Steyn over square leg, while Tendulkar drove him past midwicket for a boundary but they were rare moments of relief for the batsmen.

At a venue that has traditionally been favourable for batting, South Africa capitalised on what little assistance was on offer and India's consequent circumspection. Tendulkar had taken 10 balls to score, while Vijay had been lucky to edge a slog over the slips. A similar attempt in the eighth over off Tsotsobe didn't pay off, however, and he skied a catch to mid-on. Tsotsobe benefited from angling the ball across the batsmen, getting the ball to cut away and beating attempts to open the face and press on. Not gifted with pace as his Steyn or Morne Morkel, Tsotsobe's role has been a largely containing one but his accuracy amid the India's pressure to get up to speed as the pitch eased out was to earn him some more rewards later in the innings.

Tsotsobe's possible competition for the spot of a third seamer in the World Cup is Wayne Parnell, and his introduction into the attack along with Virat Kohli's arrival at the crease infused some urgency to India's innings. Parnell bowled a length and line different to that of his team-mates, and was driven handsomely by Kohli down the ground and Tendulkar past midwicket. Made less potent by his lack of movement, Parnell was taken for runs mostly through the leg side.

Though the flow of runs increased, what remained consistent was the uncertainty in the running between the wickets. Tendulkar survived two run-out attempts and when he refused a single, it was Kohli who paid the price, dislodged by a direct hit from David Miller. Tendulkar didn't last long after that, inside-edging a slowish delivery that kept low from Botha onto the stumps.

The end of that hard-fought partnership meant MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh had to build from scratch, and they set about leading India's recovery as the field spread out. Displaying little signs of getting bogged down, neither batsman felt compelled to take any undue risks and instead ensured a steady scoring rate through working the field. Both used the sweep and the paddle, while Yuvraj often drove straight to pinch twos thanks to a wider-than-normal long-on. Bad balls were a rarity but Yuvraj was prompt to punish them when on offer; he slashed Morkel over point and flicked Tsotsobe to the fine-leg boundary to raise his half-century. The stand was worth 83 and with 13 more overs to go, a score of 240 was on.

But Tsotsobe struck next ball as Yuvraj drove straight into mid-off's hands, and he returned when India took the batting Powerplay to trap Suresh Raina plumb in front. If that wasn't enough, he backed up his wicket-maiden in the Powerplay but yorking Dhoni to finish with his best figures in the 50-over format and potentially, a second consecutive Man-of-the-Match award.

The rest of the line-up folded in little time, with the tail succumbing to ill-executed attempts to clear the field and Rohit Sharma being trapped in front when walking across to a Morkel delivery to mark another dispiriting performance with the bat for the visitors. -ESPNcricinfo

Zaheer Khan may return, Yadav, Pujara may play too

After centurion loss, India hope Zaheer returns in Durban; Yadav, Pujara may play too

There could be wholesale changes to the Indian XI for the second

Test against South Africa at Kingsmead, Durban with Zaheer Khan getting fitter, Umesh Yadav impressing bowling coach Eric Simons with his pace and bounce, and Cheteshwar Pujara pushing under-performing Suresh Raina for a spot in the middle-order.

Zaheer Khan bowls during a nets session earlier this year in Bangalore. PIC/Getty Images

Skipper MS Dhoni feels that Zaheer's experience would help a lot. "That would be a big boost because he brings a lot of experience. He also brings new plans to the table," said Dhoni.

On Sunday, during the lunch interval when India had their backs against the wall, reeling on 277-6, the bench players were seen putting in a strenuous workout session alongside coach Gary Kirsten, mental conditioning expert Paddy Upton and Simons.

With India's fast bowlers failing to trouble the Proteas in the first Test here at SuperSport Park, the strapping Yadav could force his way into the team. "I am enjoying bowling on these tracks. I was here last year for the IPL (for Delhi Daredevils) too," said Yadav.

So would he be ready if called up for the Durban Test? "It is a good learning curve to be in this dressing room. I am not thinking far ahead. The captain has told me to just enjoy myself," said Yadav.

Pujara, too, is ready just in case he is called up in place of Raina: "Spending time at Gary Kirsten's academy was very useful. There is lot of bounce in these pitches, you needs to alter your batting style to succeed. It is a great challenge to do well here.

"I am happy with my preparations. I would be ready if called upon to play, I'm not thinking about it though," added Pujara.

Kirsten fended off a bouncer thrown at him by this correspondent with a pinch of sarcasm. When asked if a better performance was expected at Durban, Kirsten said: "No mate, we are going to put up an even worse performance," he laughed before adding, "of course, we will look to put up a better showing at Durban. The morale in the team is good."

Zak is back
Meanwhile, it was an encouraging sign to see pace spearhead Zaheer bowl in the nets. He was seen being attended to by team physio Paul Close. "Zaheer is doing a lot better now. It is good to see him bowling in the nets. He could be fit for Durban. Hope he can recover," Close said minutes after the net session.

S Sreesanth, who led the attack in the absence of Zaheer here, blamed the toss for India's debacle: "Wish we had first use of the wicket. We could have done a lot better in the game then. The pitch flattened out too much as the match progressed," he said.

A glance at India's record at Durban does not make for good reading. But, the team management is doing everything in its capacity to keep the spirits high in the dressing room.