MSD set to join team ahead of first Test

NEW DELHI: Indian captain MS Dhoni is all set to join the Indian team in Australia before the first Test in Adelaide.

According to BCCI sources, Dhoni is scheduled to leave on Wednesday and is expected to be with the Indian team before December 5. The first Test begins on December 9 after the schedule was revised.

It's not yet clear whether Dhoni will play in the first Test or not.

Owing to a hand injury, Dhoni had not been named in the original squad for the first Test, earlier scheduled to be played in Brisbane from December 4 and Dhoni was slated to join the team for the second Test which was originally starting on December 12.

However, Dhoni, it's now emerging, will take a call on playing the Adelaide Test after reaching Australia. Dhoni has been pracitising for more than a week now and is said to be ready to take the field.

"It all depends on how he feels and accordingly he will decide the next course of action," a top BCCI official told TOI.

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Times group revives school cricket

NEW DELHI: Taking a cue from the tragic incident involving Phil Hughes in Australia, the Times NIE Cremica Cricket Cup for Schools in Delhi and NCR, which is due to start this month, has made helmets compulsory for all participants.

This was announced by the Times Group organizing committee during the trophy unveiling ceremony here in the Capital on Monday.

Former Indian cricketer Chetan Chauhan, who unveiled the Cup in front of distinguished guests, endorsed the rule and hailed Times Group's efforts to revive school cricket.

According to Chauhan, school cricket had always been the stepping stone for cricketers but in recent years club cricket has taken over.

"It's a very positive step taken by the Times group to re-introduce school cricket in a big way. For me, school cricket was my first step. Our cricket association (Delhi and District Cricket Association) initiated a tournament for school cricket with 60 teams, but it was reduced to 30 teams later. Hope this tournament will do a world of good to school cricket," Chauhan said.

Over 100 teams from various schools in Delhi and NCR will battle it out on a league-cum-knockout basis. All the matches will follow DDCA rules and be officiated by DDCA umpires.

The winners will walk away with trophies, medals and cash prizes worth Rs 1.5 lakh along with other prizes. International umpire Anil Chaudhary also attended the function and took part in the draw.

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West Zone to meet East in Deodhar final

MUMBAI: For the last couple of months Axar Patel has not put a foot wrong on the cricket field. It wasn't any different at the Wankhede on Monday when the batting all-rounder from Gujarat got together with Suryakumar Yadav to script an incredible two-wicket win for West Zone against South in the Deodhar Trophy semifinal.

Chasing a stiff target of 315 West looked par for the course till the fifth ball of the 21st over with score reading 118-1.

That's when Sanju Samson, fielding at mid-off, produced a moment of pure magic to tilt the scales in South's favour. The youngster from Kerala timed his jump to perfection and held on to a sharp one-handed catch, cutting short opener Sheldon Jackson's assured innings of 51 (57b, 4x7).

Ambati Rayudu (54 runs, 53 balls, 7x4, 1x6), who had stitched a 91-run stand with Jackson, too was sent packing five balls later helping South strengthen their position.

And by the time R Vinay Kumar's men had reduced their opponents to 174-6 in the 33rd over, somewhere in their mind they would have begun thinking about the final against East Zone on Wednesday. However, Yadav, who had come in at number five and Patel who joined him at the fall of Deepak Hooda, had other plans in mind.

The duo read the situation well, and unlike their middle-order counterparts Kedar Jadhav and Yusuf Pathan, chose to wait for the second power-play during which they went after the bowlers, plundering 67 runs in five overs.

Yadav who had scored 80 (56 balls, 7x4, 4x6) was the only casualty in this brief passage of play . Nevertheless, the Mumbai captain, who was let off twice on nine and 11, had done enough to keep Patel and the remaining batsmen interested.

Patel, who was part of the Indian side that demolished Sri Lanka in the five-match ODI series last month, did his batting credentials a great service by keeping his cool even when West lost the experienced Dhawal Kulkarni for nought and still had 45 runs to get with only Shardul Thakur and Dominic Joeseph to follow. He combined well with Thakur, who hammered an unbeaten 31 off 23 balls, and ensured there was no further hiccups.

Brief scores: South Zone 3146 in 50 overs (R Uthappa 47, M Agarwal 86, B Aparajith 56, M Pandey 55; D Kulkarni 3-64).West Zone 3198 in 47.1 overs (Sheldon Jackson 51, Ambati Rayudu 54, Suryakumar Yadav 80, Axar Patel not out 64; Vinay Kumar 2-70, Stuart Binny 3-66).West Zone win by 2 wickets.

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An uneasy wait ahead of BCCI elections

CHENNAI: Time is slowly running out for N Srinivasan. The Supreme Court's decision to slot the next hearing on December 8 ensures an uneasy week for the ruling group, but they still maintain a defiant stance.

The Srinivasan group is hoping that there will be an interim order by next Tuesday, so that it becomes clear whether he can contest for the BCCI election on December 17 or not.

"The AGM is unlikely to go back beyond December 17.

We hope something comes out of the hearing over next Monday and Tuesday," a source told TOI.

Srinivasan maintained his defiant self, shuttling between the India Cements office and a five-star hotel in the city, where the partnership of MRF and ICC was announced for the World Cup next year.

The ICC chairman said that he didn't believe the reputation of cricket had been tarnished by the controversies and refused to entertain any questions on why MS Dhoni should not be removed as vice-president of India Cements.

When somebody pushed him for an answer saying: "You should answer that question," Srinivasan shot back: "Why should I?" There is a growing impatience in some circles about the fate of his presidentship.

In case Srinivasan doesn't get the Supreme Court nod, Rajeev Shukla, one of the North Zone vice-presidents, is apparently "very keen to take over". But the Srinivasan camp still maintains that Shukla is unlikely to garner the support from the East and there is no one else but Jagmohan Dalmiya to become the next president.

A member has to be either a vice-president or a former office-bearer to contest for the post of the president.

There are only a handful of people from East - KP Kajaria, Goutam Roy, Chitrak Mitra, Arindam Ganguly, Goutam Dasgupta and Dalmiya himself - who are eligible and among them the former BCCI and ICC president is still an odds-on favorite.

"The East Zone members want it from their zone and as of now we haven't heard Shukla has been able to garner the support. In case Srinivasan can't take over, it should be Dalmiya," a source added.

There's another big player - BJP - which hasn't yet shown its cards. BJP, which has control over 11 affiliated units, is unlikely to come into the picture if Srinivasan gets the Supreme Court clearance. But in case of a negative verdict, it might play a role and things could change fast.

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ICC boss Srinivasan promises grand WC

CHENNAI: N Srinivasan might be under pressure in his comeback bid as BCCI president, but as International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman he has his plans ready for the World Cup, scheduled to be held in Australia and New Zealand from February 14 to March 29.

Speaking on the occasion of MRF Limited's tie-up with ICC to become one of its global partners for the upcoming World Cup, Srinivasan said the preparation for the mega event has been great and he hoped that it becomes a huge success.

"As we all know that cricket's biggest tournament is just a few days away and all the cricket lovers across the world are eagerly waiting for the event. This is the pinnacle of the ODIs and ICC is trying its best to make it a great success. There will be 49 matches across 14 venues in Australia and New Zealand and the preparation has been great so far," he said.

Srinivasan was still the BCCI secretary when MS Dhoni hit that six to win the 2011 World Cup for India. He went back to that night at Wankhede saying "We had the luck and skill to win the World Cup in 2011 and it seems it just happened yesterday... But it's been four years and it's natural that everybody from India will want the Men in Blue to retain the trophy. Whatever happens, I'm sure the cricket lovers across the globe will witness a great and fiercely competitive event for close to two months," Srinivasan said on Monday.

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Aparajith ton seals semifinals spot

MUMBAI: Riding on glittering knocks from two youngsters with tremendous potential, and an impressive spell by their skipper, South Zone finally ended their jinx against Central, scoring a crushing 116-run win to storm into the semifinals of the Deodhar Trophy at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday.

After losing to Central Zone six times in a row (five times in the Deodhar Trophy and recently in the Duleep final), South, gained sweet revenge over their nemesis. They will now take on West in the last four clash on Monday.

A brilliant hundred by one of the heroes of India's U-19 World Cup triumph in 2012, Baba Aparajith (113, 105b, 8x4, 2x6), and his magnificent 124-run stand for the fourth wicket in 109 balls with Karun Nair (74, 62b, 9x4), helped South Zone post 296 for nine after being put in. The match began after everyone at the ground observed a two-minute silence in memory of Australian opener Phil Hughes, who tragically died on Thursday after being struck by a bouncer at Sydney during a Sheffield Shield game.

A listless Central succumbed to Vinay Kumar in the beginning of the chase itself, and never recovered from there, with only Arjit Gupta (66, 49b, 5x4, 5x6) showing some spine. While all the five national selectors present at the ground must have been pleased with Aparajith and Nair's batting, Kumar's burst with the ball (6-2-8-3), apart from a smartly effected run out, would have reminded them of his case for the ODI Tri-series that follows the Tests in Australia.

Aparajith and Nair's efforts on Saturday promise much from them in the future. The youngsters joined forces after their team had slipped to 88 for three, and quickly took the game away from the opposition. Showing their prowess against spin, both made mincemeat of Central Zone tweakers Piyush Chawla and Kuldeep Yadav, smashing them for 115 runs in 14 overs. Being the skipper, it must have been embarrassing for Chawla to go for 61 off seven overs, while Yadav, who was included in the India squad not too long ago on account of being a 'surprise weapon,' gave away only seven less in as many overs.

Brief scores: South Zone 2969 (Baba Aparajith 113, Karun Nair 74; Pankaj Singh 545) bt Central Zone 180 in 36.3 overs (Arijit Gupta 66, Mukul Dagar 47; R Vinay Kumar 38)

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'Best franchise' CSK braces for doomsday

CHENNAI: When fans went back home on the balmy summer night of May 14, 2013, happy that Chennai Super Kings had won another game (against Delhi Daredevils by 33 runs), little did they know that it could have been the last time that they saw their beloved yellow submarine at Chepauk.

CSK never returned to Chepauk, courtesy the Sri Lanka controversy, and now they are on the verge of being ousted from IPL itself. Till 2013, the low-profile CSK team principal, Gurunath Meiyappan, was virtually a non-entity in the eye of the fans; but in one-and-a-half years, he has emerged as the villain of the piece for Chennaiites.

Despite all the controversies around it, there's no denying that the franchise had been the most consistent team of IPL in its seven seasons so far. They won the title twice, played three more finals, and made the semifinals of every edition. It's this consistency that has attracted more than two dozen sponsors, including well-known names such as Aircel, Gulf Oil, Amazon.in, UST Global, Reebok and 7Up.

The company, which is a subsidiary of India Cements Limited, reported a revenue of Rs 166 crore in 2013-14. Brendon McCullum, the new entrant in CSK ranks, told TOI a few days back how well-run the team is. "The owners of the team know their cricket and that shows in our performance. There's never any undue pressure on us," McCullum, who had played for two other franchises, had said.

It's CSK's excellent work ethic that helped turn around quite a few careers. Suresh Raina, who was out of the Indian team for quite a while, found a fresh lease of life after he joined CSK. "Raina was young, while I was coming back from an injury. The way the CSK management nurtured us, helped in our comebacks, is truly remarkable. It will be a great loss for cricket if CSK are thrown out of IPL," former India paceman L Balaji said. Balaji played the first three seasons for CSK followed by three in KKR and now he is in Kings XI Punjab. "I can tell you that CSK is the best franchise that I have played for," Balaji said.

Skipper MS Dhoni's legendary finishing skills, that helped India win the 2011 World Cup, have been on display for CSK since 2008. By his own admission, it was Dhoni's experience of playing Muttiah Muralitharan at the CSK nets that prompted him to go out at No. 4 and negate the spinner in the World Cup final.

CSK, over the years, went on to become the best T20 unit and the two Champions League triumphs are testimony to that. But it's not just about their success on the field that makes CSK such a popular brand. They organize a multi-sport corporate tournament called CSK Super Cup, which is a big hit in Chennai. "It covers chess, cricket, badminton, table tennis, snooker, etc...In addition to that we also organize a Junior Super Kings inter-school tournament in the districts which helps us find new players for the state," a CSK official said.

But going by Thursday's Supreme Court observations, all that might come to an end and the well-nurtured fan-base of CSK might have to find another team to root for in the days to come.

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Will Dhoni be available for all four Tests?

CHENNAI: The series between India and Australia is going to stay a four-Test affair. BCCI sources indicated that Cricket Australia is in the process of finalizing whether they want to postpone the match by two days or squeeze it in between the second and third Tests.

If the first Test at Gabba ends up being the second Test and is played between December 19-23, there is a possibility of MS Dhoni being available for all the four Tests.

He was ruled out of the first Test with an elbow injury but is likely to be available from the second. The BCCI, though, was not ready to go into any speculation whether Dhoni would be available for all the Test matches.

"Let's see what the CA de cision is and then we will take a call," a source pointed out.

If Dhoni is available for all the four Tests, Virat Kohli's chance to lead India in Test matches will have to wait for a while. He had shown promise as captain in the recently-concluded ODI series against Sri Lanka and the Gabba Test could have been a good opportunity for him to get a feel of leadership in the longer version.

Provided the Gabba Test is now played between December 19-23, another player who might miss out is Wriddhiman Saha.

The wicketkeeper has been a passenger on tour for quite a while -his chances coming far and few in between. Saha looked in good form in the only tour match India have played so far, scoring a half-century.

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Tiwary ton deflates North Zone in semis

MUMBAI: Seven years ago, Mumbai beat Bengal at the Wankhede to win the Ranji Trophy title, in what turned out to be an absorbing contest; thanks largely to the presence of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar and Wasim Jaffer. But one player who caught everyone's eye, thanks to a flamboyant 94, was the young Manoj Tiwary.

Tiwary was back at the Wankhede on Sunday, and although the 29-year-old didn't exactly roll back the years -- he is a more subdued version of his old self -- he displayed his combative skills once again. He struck a magnificent 151 (121 balls, 15x4, 4x6) which helped East Zone beat North Zone by 52 runs in a semifinal of the Deodhar Trophy.

Tiwary came in to bat after East had been reduced to 33-2 in the 12th over and steadied the innings in the company of Shreevats Goswami (43). The duo put on 60 runs before spinner Amit Mishra accounted for Goswami, who strung together a fighting 43.

Thereafter, the East skipper took charge and paced his innings to near perfection, with North spinners being singled out for special treatment. Tiwary's knock was even more remarkable given the fact that all of his partners, barring Goswami, failed to manage a score over 17.

Every time East looked like setting the pace, they lost a wicket. But this didn't distract the skipper, who went into overdrive after the 45th over and helped his side reach a competitive 273-8.

Indian selectors are keeping a keen eye on this tournament with the 2015 World Cup round the corner, but it remains to be seen whether this stellar knock - Tiwary's second ton in three innings -- will have any impact on them.

East's bowlers backed up Tiwary's effort brilliantly, and ensured they didn't lose the initiative after Ashok Dinda - who bowled three successive maidens at the start of the innings - and Veer Pratap Singh had given them an upper hand.

While Dinda was expensive later in his innings, finishing with figures of 9-3-59-2, Singh notched up respectable figures of 8-2-30-1. Yuvraj Singh, who led North in the absence of Harbhajan Singh after the offie took ill before the game, did himself no favours, managing only four runs in his 10-ball stay. Gurkeerat Singh top-scored for North with 83. They were eventually skittled out for 221.

Scores: East Zone 273 for 8 (Manoj Tiwary 151, Shreevats Goswami 43; Sandeep Sharma 3/49) bt North Zone 221 in 47.1 overs (Mandeep Singh 40, Gurkeerat Singh Mann 83, Rishi Dhawan 38; S Lahiri 3/41) by 52 runs.

Manoj hopes for India return

Over the last eight years, Manoj Tiwary has been one of the most prolific batsmen in the Indian domestic circuit. But, fate has conspired to ensure that the charismatic batsman has spent far more time nursing injuries, than showcasing his skills in the country's cricketing arenas.

Nevertheless, Tiwary has not given up on his India dream. "I hope and believe I will get a longer run in the Indian team," said Tiwary after his 151 helped East Zone beat North Zone in the Deodhar Trophy on Sunday.

The selectors have been watching recent proceedings closely, but Tiwary claimed he is focusing only on his batting. "I don't carry excess baggage now. I have matured and injuries have taught me how to stay composed."

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Dalmiya emerges as backup candidate

CHENNAI: The ruling clique within the BCCI is finally reconciling to the fact that their leader, N Srinivasan, might not be able to contest for the president's post, after all.

In fact, it is almost in a state of denial after the Supreme Court observed that all persons named in the Mudgal panel should step aside from the election process and allow a new team to take charge and take a decision.

It has, of course, not yet given its verdict and defence counsel Kapil Sibal will argue BCCI's case on Monday; but if the court sticks to its stand and keeps Srinivasan out due to conflict of interest, Jagmohan Dalmiya is likely to be propped up as the group's presidential candidate.

"The president has to be from East Zone and we have to see who has the credentials to run the show. Dalmiya has the experience and he might be our candidate," a source privy to the scheme of things told TOI.

Other senior East Zone candidates like Ranjib Biswal (Orissa), Goutam Roy (Assam) and Amitabh Chowdhury (Jharkhand) may have to be persuaded by Srinivasan to keep the flock together.

"Board members have show great unity in times of crisis. Everyone wants Srinivasan back but if that doesn't fall into place, we are hoping that the members will stay together and back a candidate with experience and stature," the source added. Dalmiya has been a BCCI president before (between 200104) and Srinivasan holds him in high esteem. Even a month back, the president-in-exile met Dalmiya at his home as the AGM loomed; both leaders are also very close to Arun Jaitley, who is being seen as a kingmaker in BCCI politics now.

If Srinivasan doesn't get a green signal from the Supreme Court and Dalmiya comes into the fray, there's an apprehension that Sharad Pawar or Shashank Manohar might throw their hat into the ring.

The ruling group, however, is confident that it will be able to stop either of them from contesting. The feeling in the camp is that BJP won't support the Pawar group and, moreoever, it might not be easy for the Maratha strongman to garner a proposer and a seconder from East Zone.

But before all this plays out, the defence counsel will try to clear the way for Srinivasan on Monday . The ruling group still feels that once all the papers asked by the Supreme Court are submitted, the court will see Srinivasan's position and allow him to contest the polls.

"The BCCI constitution was amended when India Cements bought the Chennai franchise in 2008. The letter that the then IPL commissioner Lalit Modi sent to India Cements requesting them to bid for a franchise has been submitted to the Mudgal panel. We haven't flouted a single rule. But it's in the Supreme Court's hands now," the official said.

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