Srilanka's Experience Taking the game away from india

Kumar Sangakkara Experienced an under-pressure 83-ball century, the quickest of his ODI career, to steer Sri Lanka to their second straight win and to the brink of a place in the Asia Cup finals. After India had posted what seemed an insufficient total, Ravindra Jadeja and the other spinners sparked an unlikely comeback midway through the Sri Lankan chase, but with Sangakkara making light of a tricky surface, India were never really favourites.

Sangakkara needed only 83 balls to score a century on a
 surface plenty of others struggled on

India's age-old problems with death bowling were exacerbated by the dew, and Sangakkara captialised on a series of full tosses and seemingly put India beyond the game, caning 32 off three overs to boil it down to 12 off the final two overs. When Shikhar Dhawan misfielded in the 49th over at deep square leg after another full toss, it brought up Sangakkara's 18th ODI century and victory seemed a formality. Sangakkara allowed himself a fist pump to mark the milestone. Yet another full toss spiced up the game, though, as Sangakkara miscued a waist-high delivery from Mohammed Shami to leave Thisara Perera andAjantha Mendis needing seven off nine deliveries.

There was more low-quality cricket in the finale, as Ajantha Mendis levelled the scores with a thick outside edge past the keeper for four. With one needed in the final over, and two wickets in hand, Thisara chipped the first ball to Dhawan at mid-off, and was delighted to see a straightforward chance put down. A panicky single followed on the next delivery to finally confirm Sri Lanka's win.

Such anxious moments weren't on the cards when Sri Lanka's openers began brightly and with starkly contrasting styles - Kusal Perera all brute force with an everything-must-go mindset and Lahiru Thirmanne more of an old-fashioned stylist, thriving on precision strokes. They put on 80 before R Ashwin, switching between his new-fangled Narine-style action and his conventional one, had Thirimanne lbw for 38.

That only brought together Kusal and Sangakkara, who coolly put together a half-century stand. The score was 141 for 2 when Dinesh Karthik failed to take off the bails on the first attempt after a leg-side take to reprieve Sangakkara. It was a miss, but with Sri Lanka coasting, and India looking listless, it didn't seem like it would matter much.

Instead, Jayawardene chipped a catch straight to extra cover, and Jadeja produced a ripping turner next ball to knock back Dinesh Chandimal's off stump and hand him a golden duck. With the spinners, including part-timer Rohit, finding some rhythm, the middle-order collapsed, but Sangakkara remained immoveable, placing the ball perfectly and rarely needing to slog as he orchestrated the chase.

India's middle-order had floundered against the spinners as well, its first serious test in the absence of vastly experienced trio of MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh. The stutter came after India's best phase of the innings, with Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan putting on 97 for the second wicket on a surface where the ball was staying low and not coming easily onto the bat. Dhawan was uncharacteristically subdued, hitting only seven fours and a six in his 94 - far fewer boundaries than you would expect from a naturally aggressive batsman.

The stand was broken by Mendis, who continued his love affair with the Asia Cup by grabbing four wickets to take his tally to 21 at an average of 9.76 in six matches. It was his zipping carrom ball that sent back India's best batsman Kohli for 48, and later Dhawan for 94 in the 40th over, just as India were getting set for a final onslaught.

Ajinkya Rahane had plenty of time to get his eye in, but holed out for 22 attempting his favourite shot, the loft over extra cover. Dhawan's exit put the responsibility on Ambati Rayudu and Karthik, neither of whom are certainties in the XI, had to shepherd the team in the final ten. Both fluffed it: Karthik lasting only three balls as he miscued to mid-off, and Rayudu picking out the man at long-off as he chipped Chaturanga de Silva.

Sri Lanka backed up the bowlers with some top fielding, throwing themselves around in the deep to make several sliding stops and also hitting the stumps several times from close-in. Lasith Malinga fired in his yorkers towards the death, and though a couple of mighty hits from No. 11 Shami took India to 264, it ultimately wasn't enough in the face of a Sangakkara masterclass.

The result also added more pressure on India ahead of the marquee clash against Pakistan on Sunday.

Ref: http://www.espncricinfo.com/asia-cup-2014/content/current/story/723817.html

PCB accepts Miandad's resignation. Today

The Pakistan Cricket Board has relieved director general Javed Miandad from his services after he had asked to quit last week. Miandad's' resignation had been pending for the last few days and the PCB management committee, after much deliberation, decided to release one of their most expensive employees.

"The members have respected Javed Miandad's wishes by accepting his resignation with immediate effect," Subhan Ahmed, PCB's chief operating officer, told reporters at the National Cricket Acadamy in Lahore. "The MC has recognised and applauded Miandad's achievements, contributions, and services not only to the PCB but also to the game of cricket."

Miandad was appointed as director general back in November 2008 but quit after two months due to differences with the board over the scope of his role. He returned to the post after a brief period and had since been working with the board. The post of director general had no prior existence in the PCB constitution and was created by Ejaz Butt in 2008 to employ Miandad.

The position, however, lacked clarity and in his five-year stint, Miandad spoke openly of it being a troubleshooting role of sorts, delving into whatever areas needed fixing. He wanted to oversee the cricketing affairs and was keen to revamp the domestic structure. He had even unveiled plans for restructuring, but with Butt at the helm of the PCB, Miandad was cornered.

Zaka Ashraf had given Miandad a formal administrative role to oversee domestic and international cricket, but his contribution had always remained diminished. Following uncertainty in the PCB top management in recent months, Miandad had even less work on his plate. The ongoing domestic structure in which two first-class tournaments had been introduced in 2012 was instigated by Miandad, but the PCB overhauled even this by separating the regional and department sides.

With Miandad's resignation, the PCB has decided to scrap the post of director general that has cost them more than Rs 50 million in the last five years.

REf: http://www.espncricinfo.com/pakistan/content/current/story/723697.html

Srilankan Spinners tie down India to 264

This innings swung both sides from time to time. India got a slow start on this slow and low pitch and just when Virat Kohli and Dhawan upped the run rate, Mendis struck and dismissed both batsmen to help restrict India. The middle order could not get going against the accurate bowling of Senanayake and Mendis, and Malinga's yorkers, and managed 264. We'll be back in about 40 mins with the chase

Virat Kohli Dismissal

Virat Kohli was beaten past the outside edge by Ajantha Mendis, India v Sri Lanka, Asia Cup, Fatullah, February 28, 2014

West Indies force and spin will test England

The Big Picture

This is an odd one-day series, squeezed in before the World Twenty20 to comply with FTP requirements (the Tests are held next year), but it is possible to see value in the contests for both sides - not least because there is a 50-over World Cup in a year. England's recent travails need little repeating, and this brief tour is a chance for bonding and revival ahead of Bangladesh, while West Indies can look to build on the relative success of a shared series in New Zealand when the odds were stacked against them.

Both teams have said they will approach the matches as one-day internationals, rather than elongated practice for the Twenty20s - a three-match T20 series follows in Barbados - but that is perhaps slightly truer of West Indies than England. The hosts can have the flexibility of picking their bespoke squads, which includes putting the captaincy in Dwayne Bravo's hands rather than Darren Sammy's, but England have engineered their squad with the focus on the T20s to follow.Team news

With no Gayle, Smith will likely open the batting as he did against Ireland where he scored a brisk half-century. West Indies could well be tempted to take the pace off the ball against the England line-up.

West Indies (possible) 1 Dwayne Smith, 2 Kieron Powell, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Kirk Edwards, 5 Marlon Samuels, 6 Dwayne Bravo (capt), 7 Darren Sammy, 8 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 9 Sunil Narine, 10 Jason Holder, 11 Nikita Miller

England (possible) 1 Alex Hales, 2 Luke Wright, 3 Ben Stokes, 4 Joe Root, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Ravi Bopara, 7 Jos Buttler (wk), 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 Stuart Broad (capt), 10 Chris Jordan, 11 James Tredwell.

Pitch and conditions

Expect the ball to be going through knee height, rather than chest height. That, with a few exceptions, is the way these days in the Caribbean. The forecast suggests a chance of rain, but nothing that looks terminal.

Sri Lanka bowl, Mendis in for Lakmal

Virat Kohli said he would have also liked to bowl. Virat will be looking to his openers to provide a strong start to reduce the pressure on a new-look middle-order. Given that India's bowlers have been taken for plenty in recent matches, the batsmen know they will need to put up a big score. India made one change to their line-up, replacing the wayward quick Varun Aaron with allrounder Stuart Binny. This will be Binny's second ODI, and he will be hoping to be a less peripheral figure than he was on debut, when he got to bowl just one over and didn't get to bat.

India 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Virat Kohli (capt.), 4 Ajinkya Rahane, 5 Ambati Rayudu, 6 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Stuart Binny, 9 R Ashwin, 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 11 Mohammed Shami

Sri Lanka 1 Kusal Perera, 2 Lahiru Thirimanne, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Dinesh Chandimal, 6 Angelo Mathews (capt.), 7 Thisara Perera, 8 Chaturanga de Silva, 9 Sachithra Senanayake, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Ajantha Mendis

Umar Akmal, spinners earn bonus-point win

Playing only their third ODI against a Test-playing team, Afghanistan had Pakistan in serious danger of being bowled out for under 200. But Umar Akmal averted that fate with his second ODI hundred, his unbeaten 89-ball 102 steering Pakistan from a precarious 117 for 6 to a relatively safe total of 248 for 8, which proved enough to give them a 72-run win.

Afghanistan got their chase off to a steady start, and only lost one wicket in the first 15 overs. But they struggled to lift their scoring rate above four an over. After the dismissal of Noor Ali Zadran, who had made an attractive 44, the innings slowed down further, as Asghar Stanikzai and Nawroz Mangal were stifled by the Pakistan spinners on a slow, low pitch.

Stanikzai and Mangal stuck at it, though, and put on 74 in 18.1 overs, before they both fell in the space of three balls. That began a collapse which saw Afghanistan slide from 139 for 2 to 176 all out, with Saeed Ajmal and Mohammad Hafeez running through the lower order.

Last man out was Samiullah Shenwari. He had taken two wickets during Pakistan's innings, and had spun his legbreaks a long way. He had also dropped Akmal a straightforward skier at point. Akmal was on 28 at that stage, and Pakistan 146 for 6. From that point, Afghanistan's bowlers lost their lengths, and went for 84 in the last 10 overs and 59 in the last five.

Afghanistan had been a revelation till then. Having elected to bowl on a slow pitch, Afghanistan showed they had an attack that didn't need too much assistance to keep the batsmen on a leash. Apart from one over in which their fastest bowler, Dawlat Zadran, went for three boundaries after drifting three times onto Ahmed Shehzad's pads, they bowled terrific lines. The first 10 overs only brought Pakistan 39 runs.

Pakistan could have been one down by then. Afghanistan's wicketkeeper Mohammad Shahzad had dived to his right to take a climbing ball that seemed to brush Sharjeel Khan's gloves as he tried to pull Dawlat. Umpire Johan Cloete, however, was unmoved.

But they didn't have to wait too long. In the 13th over, Sharjeel picked out the deep midwicket fielder with a slog-sweep off left-arm spinner Hamza Hotak. At the other end, medium-pacer Mirwais Ashraf gave nothing away to Shehzad and Mohammad Hafeez. After Mirwaiz had given away eight runs in his first four overs, Hafeez tried going after him. Having just inside-edged an attempted slog for four, he attempted another, and sent a top-edge steepling into the hands of cover.

Three balls after reaching his fifty, Shehzad was out to another poor stroke, chopping on while trying to swat leg spinner Shenwari over the leg side. Pakistan were 89 for 3 after 23 overs.

That became 89 for 4 when they lost their captain Misbah-ul-Haq to a farcical run-out when he hadn't yet faced a ball. Sohaib Maqsood, who had set off for a single after pushing a ball from Mohammad Nabi to cover, slipped mid-pitch. Instead of completing the run after getting back on his feet, Maqsood turned around and beat Misbah in a comical race to the batting crease. Wicketkeeper Mohammad Shahzad, who had collected the throw, jogged over to the bowler's end and removed the bails.

Maqsood and Shahid Afridi perished to slogs and left Pakistan reeling on 119 for 6. In came Anwar Ali, who had replaced Bilawal Bhatti in the team's pace attack. On his ODI debut against South Africa, Anwar had scored an unbeaten 43 to help his team recover from 124 for 6 to what was an eventually match-winning total of 218 for 9.

Ali made another important contribution here, adding 60 with Akmal for the seventh wicket, before he fell to a sensational bit of fielding from Mangal, who ran back from mid-off to long-off to catch a ball dropping down over his shoulder.

Akmal, at the other end, had survived a much easier chance, after Ashraf's away movement had almost produced an identical dismissal to that of Hafeez. After that, Akmal opened up, walking down the pitch to the seamers and carting them to all parts. Batting on 85 at the start of the final over, Akmal took two off the first ball and crunched Dawlat successive boundaries to move to 95.

Akmal refused singles off the next two balls, after hitting to fielders on the boundary. With two balls to go and five runs to get for the century, Akmal hit Dawlat way over his head for six. He didn't need to run, but raced to the other end anyway, took his helmet off, and did the sajda. In Pakistan's previous match, he had taken them to within sight of victory against Sri Lanka before triggering a collapse with a poor stroke. Now, he had saved his team from what could have been a very awkward evening.

Akmal ton lifts Pakistan to 248

I just did my best to stay out there and push things along. Moin Khan, the coach, supported me a lot, the seniors too. They said you had enough ability to stay in the wicket [and bat long] and I'm trying that out in this series. We can defend it. We have one of the best spinners in Saeed and Afridi bhai and Guly bhai too. Dedicate this century to my wife"

Confident Misbah despite tough competition.

Misbah-ul-Haq has said that Pakistan's blend of experienced players and newcomers has had success and the team remains confident of successfully defending their Asia Cup title. Pakistan, who beat Bangladesh in the 2012 final, come to the tournament on the back of series wins over Sri Lanka and South Africa.

Pakistan have the right mix of experience and youth, says Pakistani Captain

"The [Pakistan] team is in good shape," Misbah said. "Cricket is a confidence game and we have been playing well in the last three-four months. We have to do our basics right to have a good chance."

Misbah and Mohammad Hafeez have led Pakistan with the bat in the last 12 months, scoring in excess of thousand runs, and Ahmed Shehzad has not been far behind. Misbah was also confident that the relatively inexperienced group that includes Sharjeel Khan, Sohaib Maqsood, Mohammad Talha, Bilawal Bhatti and Anwar Ali will give the team balance.

"Ahmed Shehzad has been part of our team for quite a while, he has been doing well," Misbah said. "He has improved. Sharjeel Khan had an average series, but he gave glimpses of being a good player, he can time the ball well. We are looking forward to see him develop into a good player.

"[Sohaib] Maqsood played well in South Africa and against Sri Lanka. With experienced players, few youngsters like Anwar Ali and Bilawal Bhatti, they are putting some good scores. I am happy that it is a good, balanced unit. Youngsters are always contributing with the senior players."

Misbah said the competition in the Asia Cup was going to be tough, as all the teams understood the conditions. He also said Afghanistan, the first-timers in the tournament, were not to be taken lightly.

"All teams have ability to win against any side," he said. "It will be good competition. Last Asia Cup was witness of that. Bangladesh beat two big teams, they came close to us. You can expect any team can win against any team.

"Afghanistan are a new, exciting team. They can do anything on a given day. They are not experienced, but they give their 100%. They have players that can really challenge other teams."

With the 2015 World Cup less than a year away, this is Pakistan's opportunity to groom their team. "I think it is good for the team that there is a chance to improve as a group. Somewhere there is a knockout stage in these tournaments, so the competition level is there. You prepare yourself as a team so I think this is good preparation before the 2015 World Cup. These tournaments have their own importance."

Ref: http://www.espncricinfo.com/asia-cup-2014/content/current/story/721965.html