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.

Tri-Series: Zimbabwe beat India by 6 wickets

A maiden ODI century for India by Rohit Sharma was not sufficient to stop Zimbabwe from snatching a spectacular victory in the 1st one-day international of the tri-series.

Zimbabwe won at a dash with 10 balls and six wickets to spare in the first of two matches between them in a tri-series which also includes Sri Lanka.

Top six Zimbabwe batsmen, led by man-of-the-match Brendan Taylor, contributed drastically towards a surprise victory as they overtake an India total of 285-5 to record an impressive 289-4 in reply.

Indian skipper Suresh Raina, who had won the toss and opted to bat, praised the Zimbabwe batsmen but blamed the beat more on the inexperience of his team.

"Some of players have never played at this level," he explained. "However we should have been able to defend 285 runs."

Brendan Taylor's innings of 81 runs, cut short with a boundary catch when missing his 2nd ODI century, was backed up principally by Craig Ervine in his first ODI innings for Zimbabwe. He made 67 with Hamilton Masakadza contributing 46.

Rohit Sharma's century earlier in the day was a mix of prudence and boundary hunting as he gained confidence. He came in when India had lost three wickets for 61 and were momentarily on the back foot.

Their recovery from this, led by Rohit, came with a flurry of boundaries in later overs and 285 runs seemed likely to be sufficient to beat a home team with no great record in internationals.

But the Zimbabweans, who have done their Test cricket return aspirations a boost with this result, set about the task with inspiration and confidence.

Suresh Raina confident of young squad doing well

Skipper of a second-string Indian team to Zimbabwe, Suresh Raina today said the absence of senior players has given the opportunity for youngsters to prove their mettle in the tri-series and two bilateral Twenty20 Internationals against the hosts.

"We have to thank the senior players who have taken a rest and it has given a great opportunity for the youngsters to do well. We have a good bench and all of them have done well in domestic cricket," said the 23-year-old, who is yet to play in a Test match, ahead of the team's leaving here.

The Indian Cricket team will be without 8 senior players, including regular skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and veteran batsman Sachin Tendulkar, for the May 28-June 9 tri-series, also involving Sri Lanka, and the two T20 Internationals against Zimbabwe on June 12 and 13.

Raina said the young team under him was a balanced one and expressed confidence that they would do well in the tri-series and the T20 Internationals.

"It's going to be an exciting series. We have a well-balanced team. We have lot of good batsmen who have done well in first class cricket and in IPL. We have a good medium pace attack and good set of all-rounders. We will win the series if we work hard," he said.

Raina said leading the country was an honour and a dream come true for him but it has also imposed extra responsibility on his shoulders.

"I have dreamt about leading India. By the grace of God I have got the opportunity. It's a great challenge and I'm looking forward to it. But it has also thrust great responsibility on me," said the Uttar Pradesh batsman who has been named captain in the absence of MS Dhoni.

ICC World Cup 2011, Schedule

Group A	Group B
Australia	India
Pakistan	South Africa
New Zealand	England
Sri Lanka	West Indies
Zimbabwe	Bangladesh
Canada	Ireland
Kenya	Netherlands

Date	Match Details	Time IST	Place
Feb 19 - Sa	Bangladesh v India, 1st match	-	Dhaka
Feb 20 - Su	New Zealand v Kenya, 2nd match	-	Chennai
Feb 20 - Su	Sri Lanka v Canada, 3rd match	-	Hambantota
Feb 21 - Mo	Australia v Zimbabwe, 4th match	-	Ahmedabad
Feb 22 - Tu	England v Netherlands, 5th match	-	Nagpur
Feb 23 - We	Pakistan v Kenya, 6th match	-	Hambantota
Feb 24 - Th	South Africa v West Indies, 7th match	-	Delhi
Feb 25 - Fr	Australia v New Zealand, 8th match	-	Nagpur
Feb 25 - Fr	Bangladesh v Ireland, 9th match	-	Dhaka
Feb 26 - Sa	Sri Lanka v Pakistan, 10th match	-	Colombo
Feb 27- Su	India v England, 11th match	-	Kolkata
Feb 28- Mo	Zimbabwe v Canada, 13th match	-	Nagpur
Feb 28- Mo	West Indies v Netherlands, 12th match	-	Delhi
Mar 01 - Tu	Sri Lanka v Kenya, 14th match	-	Colombo
Mar 02 - We	England v Ireland, 15th match	-	Bengaluru
Mar 03- Th	South Africa v Netherlands, 16th match	-	Chandigarh
Mar 03- Th	Pakistan v Canada, 17th match	-	Colombo
Mar 04- Fr	Bangladesh v West Indies, 19th match	-	Dhaka
Mar 04- Fr	New Zealand v Zimbabwe, 18th match	-	Ahmedabad
Mar 05 - Sa	Sri Lanka v Australia, 20th match	-	Colombo
Mar 06- Su	India v Ireland, 21st match	-	Bengaluru
Mar 06- Su	England v South Africa, 22nd match	-	Chennai
Mar 07- Mo	Kenya v Canada, 23rd match	-	Delhi
Mar 08 - Tu	Pakistan v New Zealand, 24th match	-	Pallekele
Mar 09 - We	India v Netherlands, 25th match	-	Delhi
Mar 10- Th	Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe, 26th match	-	Pallekele
Mar 11- Fr	West Indies v Ireland, 27th match	-	Chandigarh
Mar 11- Fr	Bangladesh v England, 28th match	-	Chittagong
Mar 12 - Sa	India v South Africa, 29th match	-	Nagpur
Mar 13- Su	New Zealand v Canada, 30th match	-	Mumbai
Mar 13- Su	Australia v Kenya, 31st match	-	Bengaluru
Mar 14- Mo	Bangladesh v Netherlands, 33rd match	-	Chittagong
Mar 14- Mo	Pakistan v Zimbabwe, 32nd match	-	Pallekele
Mar 15 - Tu	South Africa v Ireland, 34th match	-	Kolkata
Mar 16 - We	Australia v Canada, 35th match	-	Bengaluru
Mar 17- Th	England v West Indies, 36th match	-	Chennai
Mar 18- Fr	Ireland v Netherlands, 38th match	-	Kolkata
Mar 18- Fr	Sri Lanka v New Zealand, 37th match	-	Mumbai
Mar 19 - Sa	Australia v Pakistan, 39th match	-	Colombo
Mar 19 - Sa	Bangladesh v South Africa, 40th match	-	Dhaka
Mar 20- Su	Zimbabwe v Kenya, 41st match	-	Kolkata
Mar 20- Su	India v West Indies, 42nd match	-	Chennai
Mar 23 - We	TBC v TBC, First quarter-final	-	Dhaka
Mar 24- Th	TBC v TBC, Second quarter-final	-	Colombo
Mar 25- Fr	TBC v TBC, Third quarter-final	-	Dhaka
Mar 26 - Sa	TBC v TBC, Fourth quarter-final	-	Ahmedabad
Mar 29 - Tu	TBC v TBC, First semi-final	-	Colombo
Mar 30 - We	TBC v TBC, Second semi-final	-	Chandigarh
Apr 02 - Sa	TBC v TBC, Final	-	Mumbai