India thrash NZ to win ODI series 5-0

Ravichandran Ashwin led a shocking spin attack as a second-string India beat New Zealand by 8 wickets in the fifth and final one-day international for a 5-0 clean sweep.

The off-spinner grabbed 3 wickets for 24 runs off 8 overs to help the hosts bowl out New Zealand for 103 off 27 overs before India coast to the target with almost 29 overs to spare.

Part-time spinners Yuvraj Singh and Yusuf Pathan chipped in with two wickets each as New Zealand was bundled out for their lowest total in one-day internationals against India.

Wicket Keeper Parthiv Patel (56 not out) struck his second fifty in a row and added 97 runs for the 3rd wicket with Yuvraj (42 not out) to guide India to a easy win in the day-night game at the Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

New Zealand suffered their 2nd series whitewash on the trot, having lost 4-0 to Bangladesh in their past one-day tournament.

For India, it was their 2nd clean sweep at home since their victory over England in 2008.

India's chase was rocked by early setbacks with skipper Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli being dismissed inside the first four overs.

Gambhir edged Nathan McCullum behind the stumps off the third ball of the innings and Kohli was snapped up in the slips off skipper and left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori.

Patel, back in the Indian team after a six-year gap, survived some early jitters to hit six fours and a six in his 70-ball knock. Yuvraj, named man-of-the-match, smashed six fours and two sixes off 46 balls.

Nothing went right for New Zealand after Daniel Vettori won the toss and elected to bat. Faster Praveen Kumar struck in the first over, removing Martin Guptill with his 4th delivery before left-arm paceman Ashish Nehra dismissed Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor in successive overs.

The Indian spinners, led by Ashwin, then got into action, accounting for the rest of the seven wickets to fall.

New Zealand's batsmen struggled in overcast conditions, with a 43-run stand by Jamie How (23) and Scott Styris (24) the only decent effort.

India, fielding a weakened side in the series in order to give rest to their big guns ahead of an upcoming tour of South Africa, proved their bench strength with a clinical all-round performance.

New Zealand are next slated to play Pakistan at home.

Man of the Match : Yuvraj Singh

Man of the Series : Gautam Gambhir

Afridi is the right person to lead Pak: Imran Khan

Pakistan's former skipper Imran Khan is not sure whether Shahid Afridi has the capability to pull through a team in mess but conceded that if there is anyone capable of achieving something extraordinary, it is the swashbuckling current Captain.

"I am not sure whether Afridi is the right person. Having said that I would like to add that if there's someone who can do it, it is Afridi," Imran told mediapersons during a promotional event organised by ESPN for next year's World Cup in the sub-continent.

Talking about Afridi, Imran said, "He is one player who can pull off something out of the ordinary. If he can hit a purple patch, it does give Pakistan a chance. But then Pakistan are one of the most unpredictable sides in world cricket."

Sachin, Sehwag, Dhoni rested for the NZ ODI Series

Gautam Gambhir was named skipper of the Indian team for the first two matches of the ODI series against New Zealand starting on November 28 with the selectors opting to rest five senior players, including regular captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, MS Dhoni, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh were not measured due to injury concerns as a 14-member ODI team was announced after a selection committee meeting.

"Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, MS Dhoni, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh were not considered due to injury concerns, which require awareness and treatment," BCCI secretary N Srinivasan said in a statement.

Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Ashish Nehra, who were part of the squad for the ODI series against Australia last month, were left out.

Wicket-keeper/Batsman Wriddhiman Saha, Ravindra Jadeja, Yusuf Pathan and S Sreesanth were recalled to the ODI squad.

Team for first two ODIs against New Zealand: Gautam Gambhir (c), M Vijay Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Saurabh Tiwary, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), R Ashwin, Praveen Kumar, R Vinay Kumar, Munaf Patel, Sreesanth, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja.

Sachin, Sehwag move up in ICC ODI rankings

Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar gained a place each while India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni remained static at the fourth spot in the ICC player rankings for ODI batsmen, which is headed by South Africa opener Hashim Amla.

While Sehwag improved from 8th to 7th, Sachin was just one place behind the dashing India opener.

Among Indian bowlers, Harbhajan Singh gained four places to be placed 15th while Praveen Kumar moved a step up to be placed 11th.

Hashim Amla's exploits in the just-concluded ODI series against Pakistan have helped the South Africa opener rush into the top of the rankings.

Amla, who topped the run chart in the series against Pakistan with 291 runs including a ton and two Fifties, earned 40 points to surge ahead of teammate AB de Villiers.

In the rankings for ODI bowlers which New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori continues to top, South Africa pacer Morne Morkel moved 13 places to be at the 12th spot, his career-best ranking till date.

South Africa skipper Graeme Smith and left-handed batsman JP Duminy too moved up the table. Smith, who had scored 124 runs in the five-match series against Pakistan, was at 15th, while Duminy improved by five places to occupy the 23rd spot.

Shahid Afridi retained his 30th position and remains the highest-ranked batsman for Pakistan. Umar Akmal moved four places to be 39th while Mohammad Hafeez, who had scored 203 runs in the series, moved up by 21 places to be placed 109th.

All-rounder Kallis fires South Africa to series win

The series deciding match, after both teams won two matches each, started on a dramatic note when Pakistan wicket-keeper Zulqarnain Haider went missing from the team hotel and did not come to the ground.

Pakistan Cricket Board later said they will launch an inquiry into Haider's case after he, without informing team management, reportedly reached London after receiving threats from persons unknown.

It was Kallis who built South African innings after Smith won the toss and decided to bat.

Kallis propelled the total during his 95-ball innings, adding an invaluable 121 with AB de Villiers (61) for the third wicket and another 61 for the second wicket with Hashim Amla (62).

When Kallis reached 81, he completed 11,000 one-day runs in his 307th match. He became the sixth batsmen to score 11,000 or more runs in 50-over format of the game.

Graeme Smith (14) and Amla started at brisk pace to take their team to 37 inside five overs, when Akhtar removed the South African skipper, caught by Afridi. All-rounder Jacques Kallis scored a brilliant half-century and took three wickets to guide South Africa to a commanding 57-run win over Pakistan in the fifth and final one-day international here on Monday.

The 35-year-old scored 83 - one of four half-centuries in the innings - to steer South Africa to an imposing 317-5 before he took 3-30 to dismiss Pakistan for 260 in reply, giving South Africa a 3-2 series win.

Pakistan, hoping to win their first-ever bilateral series win over South Africa, were cruising along nicely with openers Mohammad Hafeez (59) and Shahzaib Hasan (39) gave them a robust 82-run start in their quest for their third best-ever chase in one-day cricket.

But Kallis derailed Pakistan's innings with a triple strike in as many overs, removing Hasan, Younis Khan (three) and Mohammad Yousuf (three) off 13 balls to make his opponents struggle from 82-0 to 96-3.

As if his batting and bowling were not enough, Kallis took a well-judged catch at long-on off fellow paceman Dale Steyn to dismiss Hafeez in the 23rd over.

Afridi hopes for a turnaround in ODI Series against SA

Following the back-to-back losses in the Twenty20 games against South Africa, Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi hoped for a turnaround in the 5-match ODI series against South Africa.

"I am sure we can do far better in the ODIs, since I believe that we have players who have good temperament and can play the 50 overs comfortably," Afridi said.

Speaking about the performance of the batsmen in the Twenty20 matches against South Africa, Afridi said it was their disappointment to get the team off to good starts which resulted in the losses.

"We needed good starts but that didn't come in both the matches. My own performance was not up to the mark so we have to sit down and plan to improve our batting, which is struggling."

Afridi admitted that the players were under pressure after going through some turbulent times during their recent tour to England. However, he mentioned that the players have to put the distractions aside and concentrate on the game.

Ponting to return for Sri Lanka ODI Series

Skipper Ricky Ponting will return to action against Sri Lanka ODI Series, Australia enter final preparations for the Ashes series against England, officials said Tuesday.

Ricky Ponting and Shane Watson were both named in the 15-man squad for three match one-day internationals series next week after being rested for the 2-0 Test defeat in India.

Wicketkeeper and batsman Brad Haddin and fast bowler Peter Siddle were also included as they continue their recovery from injury. Australia face Sri Lanka on November 3, 5 and 7.

Ponting faced calls for his resignation after returning from the Test series defeat to India which pushed Australia down to 5th in ICC test rankings.

Some players including batsman Michael Clarke and spinner Nathan Hauritz will be searching for form against Sri Lanka, the final internationals before the five-Test Ashes series opens on November 25.

Australia squad - Ricky Ponting (captain), Michael Clarke (vice-captain), Shane Watson, Shaun Marsh, Brad Haddin(wk), Mike Hussey, Cameron White, Xavier Doherty, John Hastings, Nathan Hauritz, Mitchell Johnson, Clint McKay, Peter Siddle, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc.

Australia lose Hussey, Bollinger for 3rd ODI in Goa

Still looking for their 1st win in the ongoing tour of India, the useless Australian team lost two more key players in Fast bowler Doug Bollinger and batsman Mike Hussey for the deciding 3rd and final ODI on Sunday.

While Bollinger has been forced out due to a stomach muscle strain, Hussey will have to be available for a Sheffield Shield match for Western Australia as part of the Ashes preparations.

“Bollinger reported some minor abdomen discomfort in an area unrelated to the original injury that ruled him out of the 2nd Test and 2nd ODI of the tour," Cricket Australia said in a statement.

"We do not think the new issue is serious, however it will prevent him from achieving the workloads necessary for him to be available for selection in the third one-day match in Goa," added CA physiotherapist Kevin Sims.

National Selection Panel Chairman Andrew Hilditch said, "As part of the ongoing individual work load management ahead of a an exciting Australian Summer and the ICC Cricket World Cup in the subcontinent, Mike Hussey will not play in the 3rd ODI game in India and will return home to Australia."

Kohli, Raina power India to win 2nd ODI Match

Virat Kohli shrugged off cramp to hit 118, his 3rd ODI century, and guide India to a five-wicket win over Australia in Visak. India lead the three-match ODI series 1-0 after the opener was washed out. Australia were slow for much of their innings, but ignited late on as Michael Clarke (111) and Cameron White (89) put on 84 from the last 5 overs. That left India to chase 290, and they got there with seven balls left thanks largely to the efforts of Kohli. He scored his runs from 121 balls, and built India's chase with partnerships of 137 with Yuvraj Singh (58) and 84 from 58 balls with Suresh Raina (71 not out from 47).

After finally departing when clubbing debutant John Hastings to long-on, Kohli watched from the stands as captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was bowled by Hastings for a duck. But Saurabh Tiwary, playing his first one-day international, provided a level head at one end as Raina kicked on to take India past the winning line without further alarm. The home side won the toss on a slow wicket, handing debuts to Tiwary, 20, and opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan, 24. With seamer Vinay Kumar and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwan playing only their second matches it was a very inexperienced side. Australia matched them in that department, as first one-day international caps were dished out to Hastings, 24, and fellow New South Welshman Mitchell Starc, 20, leaving Clint McKay as the only frontline seamer with experience at this level.

Australia batting was not at full strength either, and openers Tim Paine and Shaun Marsh were slow to get out of the blocks, both departing before the end of the eighth over which came with Australia's total on 16. Clarke, skippering while Ricky Ponting rests ahead of the Ashes, was initially very cautious. Impetus came instead from Mike Hussey (69 from 77 balls), before Clarke and White took toll over the closing overs. India's chase was more even-paced, though the openers also failed to provide a platform. McKay took three wickets to keep Australia in the game, but once Yuvraj and Kohli began to find their range the momentum was with India all the way through to the end. Australia looked a beaten team well before the finish which was scarcely imaginable when White was smashing the Indian bowling to all parts, hitting six sixes and six fours. "White's innings was unbelievable and I thought 290 was enough, but India chased well," said a rueful Clarke afterwards.


Man of the Match: Virat Kohli

I'm not under pressure: Stand-in Skipper Michael Clarke

Under-pressure Michael Clarke today said he deserved the censure after a string of poor shows in their 0-2 Test series loss and the stand-in captain said that it's time to look forward and return to winning ways.

Stand-in Captain Clarke scored just 35 runs from four innings in the 2 Test series, said, "My performance in the Test series wasn't good enough so I deserved that criticism and I am very disappointed about that."

But he said he was not under-fire to perform in the 50 over matches as they play the 2nd ODI against India today. The 1st ODI was washed out after a heavy rain in Kochi.

"I am not at all under pressure. Everybody is entitled to voice their opinion. I can't change that. I'm training very hard as possibly as I can. I'm really excited about these two one-day games. My main priority is to win the two ODIs. We are really excited about the bright weather, hope it continues tomorrow."

Asked about the condition of their frontline pacer Doug Bollinger, Clarke said they were yet to decide on him.

"He is going well, though he has not done enough bowling. It's an important day for him today, he will have to bowl at the nets. The physio is happy with his improvement. But we want to make sure he bowls 10 overs for us tomorrow, otherwise I don't think it's worth a risk."

Doug Bollinger had to pull out of the 2nd Test in Bengaluru because of an abdominal strain.