Pakistan v South Africa Series in UAE, 2010

Date	Match Details	Time	Venue
Oct 27	Pakistan v South Africa, Only T20I	-	Abu Dhabi
ODI Schedule
Oct 29	Pakistan v South Africa, 1st ODI	-	Abu Dhabi
Oct 31	Pakistan v South Africa, 2nd ODI	-	Abu Dhabi
Nov 02	Pakistan v South Africa, 3rd ODI	-	Dubai
Nov 05	Pakistan v South Africa, 4th ODI	-	Dubai
Nov 08	Pakistan v South Africa, 5th ODI	-	Dubai
Test Schedule
Nov 12 - 16	Pakistan v South Africa, 1st Test	-	Dubai
Nov 20 - 24	Pakistan v South Africa, 2nd Test	-	Abu Dhabi

India-Pakistan cricket not possible as of now: Pawar

New ICC President Sharad Pawar says direct resumption of cricket ties between India and Pakistan is not possible.

"Immediate ties between both countries is not possible. It is not in the hands of the Cricket Boards. It is a political issue. This is a decision taken by the Indian government," said Pawar.

Asked about demands for the introduction of day-night Tests to save the longer format of the game, Pawar said the "issue has not reached his ear".

"We are only administrators. If needed, I will let the experts take a call," Pawar said.

To a query whether the ICC was thinking to shift its headquarters back to England, Pawar said, "In England, there are 40 per cent taxes while there are no taxes in Dubai. The moment England thinks also about cricket we will consider it."

Pawar said he was confident about BCCI President Shashank Manohar's honest to handle the controversial Lalit Modi issue.

Strauss says England can manage without KP

England Skipper Andrew Strauss insists he has no doubts about leading a side without Kevin Pietersen.

The star batsman will miss the 3 ODI against Bangladesh, starting at Trent Bridge here on Thursday, with a thigh injury - although England selection Chief Geoff Miller said the South Africa-born batsman would have been rested in any event.

Kevin Pietersen has gone 16 ODI innings without a fifty and while his place, when fit, is not yet under risk. However, the loss of debatably their most talented player means England are set to give either Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott a chance to fill the place.

"He is a loss because he's a world-class player but he's being replaced by people with proven track records in international cricket," said Strauss.

"It's not as if we're blooding a youngster on the back of losing our biggest player. I'm entirely confident we've got the reserves in place to cope with that loss," Strauss added.

Ian Bell, has played 79 one-dayers for England but hasn't featured in one since facing India in Bangalore back in November 2008.

ICC to encourage Ind-Pak series: Sharad Pawar

Hardly hours after taking over as the new ICC president, Sharad Pawar today said the game's tip body would try to encourage the resumption of Ind-Pak two-sided series if there is government clearance from both sides.

"Recent Foreign and Home Minister's visit to Pakistan is a welcome sign. If India and Pakistan start playing, it may also power the bilateral relations of the two countries. If both the governments permit, we will be happy to encourage the resumption of cricketing relations," Sharad Pawar said.

Former BCCI President Sharad Pawar, who is also a helping union minister in the Indian government, begins a two-year term as ICC President after taking over from David Morgan today.

Sharad Pawar hoped the process to get better the relations between the two neighboring countries will help to foster cricketing ties too.

"ICC wants India and Pakistan to continue their bilateral series. But ICC had not taken the initiative to stop that. It was because of some unforeseen circumstances that both the countries had decided to stop it. But now that the process to improve relations between the countries is on, it will give some dividends to cricket too," Pawar told CNN-IBN.

The cricketing ties between India and Pakistan were stopped after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack in 2008.

Asia Cup: India won Bangladesh with a bonus point

Bangladesh Skipper Shakib Al Hasan won the toss and elected to bat first in the Asia Cup one-day international against India at the Rangiri stadium on Wednesday.

Bangladesh got off to a quick start with Tamim Iqbal (22) and Imrul Kayes (37) producing 35 runs in 17 balls. But once Tamim rotting to a low catch by Suresh Raina at short extra covers off Praveen Kumar, they just could not force the pace against a disciplined Indian attack.

Zaheer Khan bowled with energy and zip while moving the ball disconcertingly to the bewilderment of Kayes and Mohammad Ashraful (20).

Zaheer Khan conceded 16 runs in his 1st over but had the batsmen in mark the rest of his five-over spell.

Nehra get two wickets in four overs before he limped off the field after four overs. interestingly, there was no clarification from the Indian team management about Nehra's fitness.

Harbhajan and Jadeja too bowled extraordinarily in conditions that suited them but it was part-time tweaker Sehwag who stole the bowling honours.

Virender Sehwag emerged as India's unlikely bowling hero with his 1st four-wicket haul, while his Delhi teammate Gautam Gambhir (82) struck his 20th ODI fifty as India cruised to a facile win at a strikingly empty in Dambulla.

Having skittled out Bangladesh for a meagre 167 inside 35 overs, India had a modest total to chase and they overwhelmed the target with 19.2 overs to spare to collect a bonus point from this resounding victory.

Match Summary:

Ban 167 allout 34.5 over Imrul Kayes 37 Mushfiqur Rahim 30 V. Sehwag 4/6 A. Nehra 2/28

Ind 168/4 30.4 over G. Gambhir 82 MS Dhoni 38* M. Mortaza 2/37 S. Hasan 2/49

Man of the Match: Gautam Gambhir

Asia Cup 2010, Schedule

Asia Cup: Sri lanka won Pakistan by 16 runs

Lasith Malinga get 5 wickets as defending champions Sri Lanka stunned Pakistan by 16 runs in the opening match of the Asia Cup.

Skipper Shahid Afridi's 1st ODI century in last five years was in vain as Sri Lanka, restricted to 242-9, bowled out Pakistan for 226 in 47 overs.

The Pakistan skipper, who came in to bat with his side under pressure at 32-4, smashed 109 off 76 balls to leave the team needing just 38 runs off the last 56 balls with four wickets in hand.

Afridi, obviously uncomfortable at the crease due to leg cramps, was caught behind off Muttiah Muralitharan, triggering a dramatic collapse.

Malinga bowled Mohammad Aamer, had Shoaib Akhtar caught at mid-off and then yorked last man Mohammad Asif to finish with his best ODI figures.

Afridi hits eight fours and 7 sixes in his 5th ODI hundred, the first since making 102 versus India at Kanpur on April 15, 2005.

Earlier, fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar made an impressive come back to international cricket with 3-41 from 10 overs in his first game for Pakistan since May last year after recovering from a knee injury.

Sri Lanka slipped to 36-2 by the ninth over, before Captain Kumar Sangakkara (42) and Mahela Jayawardene (54) put on 83 for the 3rd wicket.

All-rounder Angelo Mathews hits an unbeaten 55 off 61 balls to help the defending champions set a challenging target under lights after they were reduced to 168-7 by the 37th over.

Match Summary

Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat first

Sri: 242/9 50 Over

Mathews 55
Jayawardene 54

Akhtar 3/41
Aamer 2/57

Pak: 226 all out 47 Over

Afridi 109
U Akmal 30

Malinga 5/34

Man of the Match: Shahid Afridi

Asia Cup 2010, Schedule

Sachin rested, Yuvraj dropped & Saurabh Tiwary surprise picks

Star batsman Sachin Tendulkar will not be picking India's Asia Cup squad, after it was reported that he requested the BCCI not to consider him for the tournament.

The other main announcement was the axing of Yuvraj Singh from the ODI squad. Yuvraj has displayed unresponsive form and deprived fitness levels in the recent past.

The team will be led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who returns to take charge of the team.

Meanwhile, what will bring shout approval to the Indian fans is the return of Virender Sehwag, who has improved from his shoulder injury and forms part of the team.

Also returning were Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra.

Amongst the surprise picks were Saurabh Tiwary & Ashok Dinda. While this the first time Saurabh Tiwary has been picked, Ashok Dinda retained his place after being a part of the outfit that performed poorly in Zimbabwe. Dinesh Karthik and Yusuf Pathan are amongst the high profile names dropped from the side that went to Zimbabwe. Also axed was Murali Vijay who had a torrid outing, and Amit Mishra.

Ashwin however retained his place after his good showing in the last match he played, along with Pragyan Ojha who had looked like the best spinner on view. They will partner Harbhajan in the spin department.

Squad: MS Dhoni (captain & wk), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Praveen Kumar, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Pragyan Ojha, R Ashwin, Saurabh Tiwary, Ashok Dinda.

India, Sri Lanka and New Zealand Tri-Series 2010

Date	Match Details	Time IST	Place
Aug 10 - Tue	New Zealand v India NZ won by 200 Runs	14:30	Dambulla
Aug 13 - Fri	New Zealand v Sri Lanka SL won by 3 wickets	14:30	Dambulla
Aug 16 - Mon	India v Sri Lanka IND won by 6 wickets	14:30	Dambulla
Aug 19 - Thu	New Zealand v Sri Lanka	14:30	Dambulla
Aug 22 - Sun	India v New Zealand	14:30	Dambulla
Aug 25 - Wed	India v Sri Lanka	14:30	Dambulla
Aug 28 - Sat	Final	14:30	Dambulla

India in Sri Lanka Test Series 2010

Sahara will continue sponsor of Indian team

Sahara to remain sponsor of the Indian cricket team after it outbid Bharti Airtel.

Sahara won by bidding an amount of Rs. 3.34 crores per match, which was higher than Bharti Airtel's 2.89 crores per match bid.

"Sahara India Financial Corporation has been awarded the Indian team Title Sponsorship Rights, for the period 1 July 2010 to 31 December 2013," BCCI Secretary N Srinivasan said in a statement.

"The BCCI will be paid Rs. 3.34 crore per Test/ODI/T20 International during this period," the statement added.

The contract was for 31/2 years, starting from July 1, 2010, which means the Indian team will continue to sport the Sahara India logo till December 31, 2013.

Sahara Group's original contract with the BCCI expired last year. The company spent Rs 400 crore over a 4-year period for team sponsorship. Under the existing contract, Sahara was paying Rs 1.9 crore per Test, Rs 2.08 crore per ODI and and Rs 1.56 crore per Twenty20 International, the BCCI said.

The BCCI had earlier invited bids for the sponsorship in late 2009, but when no parties came forward, Sahara agreed to continue sponsoring the team til June 30 on the existing terms. The old contract will thus finish on June 30, while the new contract will start on July 1 2010.

The BCCI had set a base price of Rs 2.5 crores per match for the three-and-a-half-year period, during which India will be playing between 144 and 167 matches, depending on how far the team progresses in ICC tournaments. Sahara will thus have to shell out between Rs. 481 crores and Rs. 558 crores for the period.

Rohit Sharma century seals India win in ODI

Rohit Sharma hit his 2nd century in consecutive matches to safe a 7-wicket win over Sri Lanka in a tri-series.

Rohit Sharma's 1st century was against Zimbabwe on Friday in a match which the home side won by 6 wickets. But his winning "double" hundred here Sunday ensured victory against Sri Lanka.

Suresh Raina won the toss elected to bowling, Sri Lanka struggled against the inexperienced Indian bowlers to reach 242 all out in 49.5 overs. This target was all too easy for India and they passed it with 39 balls to spare.

"This was one of the best innings of my career because it is never easy to chase in one-day matches," said Sharma.

Sri Lankan skipper Tillekeratne Dilshan added: "The two early run-outs cost us a lot because we felt we wanted a score of at least 280 runs.

"The runs we did get were not enough for a good defence."

Now the rejuvenated Indians are back on track in the series and instead of being under pressure to survive they have the look of victors about them.

Man-of-the-match Sharma's 101 came up in exactly 100 balls. It was a race both against the light, which was generally indifferent, and also against the failing number of runs required for the win.

He didn't take all the limelight though. Virat Kohli weighed in with 82 before being caught on the boundary and they put on 154 for the third wicket. Kohli wanted 92 balls as he hit 4 fours in his 7th half century.

From a team standpoint India recovered well from their shock beating by Zimbabwe and are now back on track for a possible series winning effort.

The pressure now reverts to Sri Lanka who must beat Zimbabwe on Tuesday to put all three on level terms at the half-way stage.