Decision of the dayWhen Daniel Vettori won the toss and chose to bowl first, opinion was divided as to the wisdom of his decision. Michael Vaughan claimed he would have done likewise, but by the time he and Alastair Cook had taken England to 79 for 0 at lunch, it’s fair to say he was revising his opinion. And then, out of the blue, but in that manner so familiar to England this series, their momentum shuddered to a halt. A hint of a cloud rolled across the Basin, and New Zealand’s seamers made the ball talk to the tune of five wickets in the session. And Vettori, quietly content by this stage, was happy to leave himself out of the attack until the 65th over.Innings of the dayWithout Ambrose’s initiative, England would have been deep – and possibly terminally – in the mire. They were in tatters at 136 for 5 when he came to the crease, and any more of that negative Hamilton mentality would have been an invitation for further disaster. Instead he fronted up with the fearlessness that had eluded his senior colleagues, never better exemplified than by the sizzling pull for six off Kyle Mills that carried him into the nineties.Over of the dayThere had been just ten balls of the day remaining when he played that shot, and most players in sight of a maiden hundred would have shut up shop for the night. Not a bit of it. A pull for three carried Ambrose to within a single blow, and he was desperate to go for it as well. Jacob Oram, more of whom later, was having none of it, however. Five jagging deliveries in a row kept the batsmen, fielders and spectators on tenterhooks right up to the bitter end, but Ambrose survived to carry his fight to another dayDouble act of the day 1Ambrose’s effort was magnificent, but it couldn’t have been achieved without the steadfast Paul Collingwood playing a vital anchor role. His doughtiness had been to England’s detriment at Hamilton, but this time he enabled his junior partner to carry the attack straight back to New Zealand. The pair performed a similar role in the first innings at Hamilton, where they added 90 for the sixth wicket, but without anything approaching the same intent. This time they brought up their 150 partnership from just 229 balls, at almost exactly twice the scoring rate.Miser of the dayEngland’s funereal run-rate at Hamilton was the root cause of all their problems, and no-one contributed more stingily to New Zealand’s cause than Oram, whose 25 overs cost a meagre 29 runs. Today, it was Oram who once again instigated the slide, in an incredible 14-over onslaught either side of lunch. By the time he took a blow with England reeling at 109 for 3, his cumulative series stats were an incredible 39-18-37-4.Shots of the dayOram positively leaked runs in his second spell, however – 13 of them in six overs, including the first boundary he’d conceded all day (and only his second of the entire series). And it was a superb strike too, a full stride to the pitch of the ball from Tim Ambrose, and a sweet drive through the line. One over later, and Ambrose was on the attack again, using his diminutive stature to carve a short ball from Oram up and over the slip cordon and away to the third-man rope. It was a perfectly safe shot, perfectly executed, and it took him to an invaluable half-century from a counterattacking 68 balls.Diminishing return of the dayOn the eve of the series, Daniel Vettori made a great song and dance about the fact that all of England’s top six averaged in excess of 40. That, however, is no longer the case. After falling for 8 during England’s post-lunch collapse, Andrew Strauss’s average has now dipped to 39.95, the lowest mark of his 45-Test career. And all the while, he’s extended that search for an 11th Test century to 28 innings and counting …Double act of the day 2What must Matthew Hoggard and Jeetan Patel have been thinking as they lugged the drinks out to their respective players at each and every interval? Only last week, both men were integral members of their teams, Hoggard the senior seamer and Patel the invaluable second spinner. Now they’ve both been cast out of the reckoning, although they bore the indignity with great resilience as they laughed and joked their way to the middle and back. Being dumped for no good reason is a great ice-breaker between rival 12th men.

Cricket matches in Chennai usually mean a lot of rain. Water scarcity is a big problem in the city but schedule a game and you can be pretty assured about the heavens opening up. The steady pitter-patter this morning brought with it a sense of déjà vu.Over the last four years, two Tests, two ODIs and a premier domestic one-day final – all of which were played between October and December – have been disrupted by rain. But this time, at least, the board seems to have got the timing right – since 1995, games held in March have gone the course.A bit of rain, though, brings with it humidity and it was no surprise to see Jacques Kallis and Paul Harris spent after the session. It was also fitting that they sat alongside each other – one will lead the batsmen’s challenge against turn while the other will spearhead the spin department against quality opposition.Kallis was pretty clear about the conditions his side could expect for the first Test. “I don’t think there’s going to be too much swing happening here,” he said with a wry smile. “The way the wicket has been prepared, it’s going to be a spinner’s paradise. We’ve had trips to the subcontinent recently and the guys are playing spin as well as they’ve ever played. I think the myth that South Africans do not play spin well is pretty much out of the window now.”While South Africa go into the series without any practice match, Kallis felt the tour to Bangladesh was a good preparation. “The guys have played low and slow wickets in Bangladesh, so technically they’re well prepared. Mentally – to bat time, face the heat and humidity – needs an adjustment. So at the moment it’s probably a more mental adjustment we need to make.”Sitting next to him was Harris, somebody who’s waited for this tour all his life. South Africa’s only previous series win in India – back in 1999-00 – was set up by a fine spell by another left-arm spinner – Nicky Boje. While India’s power-packed batting order has dealt successfully with legspinners and offbreak bowlers, it’s the left-arm variety – Raymond Price, Ashley Giles and Boje – who have turned into irritants. Joining Harris in the spin department will be Robin Peterson, another left-arm spinner, who is expected to land on Monday.”I’m looking forward to bowling to all of the Indian top order,” Harris said. “I’ve been waiting my whole career to play a series in India – probably the best place for a spinner to come and test his skills. I’m looking forward to bowling to some of the best players in the world. It’s a pity I missed the Test matches in Bangladesh. I was injured for that. But I have a great coach at home – Richard Pybus, he’s coached Pakistan – and he’s helped me.”Harris showed his match-winning ability on the trip to Pakistan late last year, with 12 wickets in two games. It included a telling 5 for 73 in the Karachi Test, setting up a famous win. However, while recognising that performance, he thought he gained more from the two home series against India and Pakistan [in 2006-07].”In Pakistan they prepared wickets for their spinners – especially inKarachi. It turned a lot and there was actually quite a bit of bounce there [in Pakistan]. So I felt it was less strenuous than in the home tours against India and Pakistan before that. It was nice to go there and do well but those wickets really did suit me.”With conditions likely to drain the energies of the faster bowlers,Harris is expecting to shoulder a large part of the burden. However,Kallis was clear that only a collective effort – from both the quicksand the spinners – would win them the series. “I think we have anattack that can take 20 wickets, which is what you need to win a Test.For the first time in a long time, our strength lies with our bowlers.And I think they’re going to come through. If they can have a goodseries here, we’re in with a big shot.”

Sunil Gavaskar has found it difficult to decide between which of his two roles, that as a media columnist and also as chairman of the ICC’s cricket committee, he should remain in.”I love writing and I love being on television,” Gavaskar told the . “But I also appreciate the opportunity to be on the ICC committee, to sit along with players who have distinguished themselves, and also the umpires who are in the technical committee.”Being in the ICC committee, I get a perspective from just about every stake holder and that is also something very enjoyable and fulfilling.”The executive board of the ICC had asked him to relinquish one of his roles to avoid a potential conflict of interests. He has until after the next ICC cricket committee on May 5-6 to make his decision. The ICC board will review the issue at its next meeting, during the ICC Annual Conference week, between June 29 and July 4.Regarding this, Gavaskar said, “I just want to say one thing: The BCCI has been in touch with me and they have informed me that there has been no such decision taken at the ICC meeting last week. “As far as I am concerned, that is that.”Concerns were first raised regarding his dual duties after he criticised match referee Mike Procter in his newspaper column for banning Harbhajan Singh for alleged racial abuse against Andrew Symonds during the Sydney Test in January.

A spate of explosions in Jaipur, killing at least 60 people, has cast a shadow over Saturday’s IPL match in the city between the Rajasthan Royals and the Bangalore Royal Challengers. The match looks likely to be shifted out of Jaipur, with Bangalore offering to host the game at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.”We have conveyed our decision to the IPL council,” Martin Crowe, Bangalore’s chief cricket officer, told Cricinfo from Chandigarh, where the team is currently staying. “The franchises are discussing the issue. A final decision will be made tomorrow. We are going to Delhi tomorrow and will probably head over to Bangalore after a night’s stay in Delhi.”However, Fraser Castellino, the CEO of the Jaipur franchise, said he had not heard of this development and didn’t want to comment on the possibility. Bangalore have already hosted Rajasthan in the tournament – on April 26 – in a game that the visitors won by a comfortable margin.Meanwhile, IPL commissioner Lalit Modi has promised extra security and ruled out a change of schedule “as of now”. “We are concerned but the matches are going to continue and we have full confidence in the state government,” he told Indian news channel NDTV. “We have no plans as of now to change the schedule. We will provide them additional cover and make sure everyone is protected.”At least five major blasts rocked Jaipur, the base of the Rajasthan Royals, with the death and injury toll on the rise. The Rajasthan team hasn’t been affected: most of the players are currently holidaying in Goa and the others have gone back to their respective homes.

Based on the results between the two sides at the last three World Twenty20 Qualifiers, Ireland were likely salivating at the prospect of taking on USA at Stormont.In 2010, Niall O’Brien produced his career-best T20 score of 84 off 50 balls as Ireland passed 200 for the first time in their T20 history before reducing USA to 25 for 6 in a 78-run romp. In 2012, his brother Kevin got out of a lengthy scoring rut after his 2011 World Cup heroics against England by smacking 47 off 36 balls ahead of Boyd Rankin’s career-best T20 figures of 4 for 9 in a 64-run win. Last year, William Porterfield’s T20 career-best 127 not out in a total of 216 for 3 set up a 75-run win.It should be no surprise that Andy Balbirnie kept up the tradition of career-bests against USA on Sunday. The young batsman’s 44 is the highest score in his brief 12-match T20 career. However, he was dropped twice in his innings, on 13 and 23. It allowed Balbirnie to stay at the crease where along with Stuart Thompson and later John Mooney, he carried Ireland from a precarious position of 92 for 5 one ball into the 16th over to a much more comfortable end score of 146 for 6.USA captain Muhammad Ghous lauded his bowling unit for their performance over the first 15 overs of the match. It was by far USA’s best effort in their four encounters with Ireland at the qualifier, but Ghous and his team-mates were left to rue what might have been had they not let Ireland get away in the final five overs.”Overall the bowlers bowled really excellent but the last five overs, that’s where we gave up the game,” Ghous told ESPNcricinfo after the match. “Our bowlers bowled four or five no balls and it can cost you and take pressure off batsmen. The guys tried their best. These guys just played really good shots, shots you can’t set fields to, paddle sweeps. They just played better cricket in the last five overs.”Ghous tried to encourage his team-mates as they walked off the field, shouting to them, “146 is nothing guys. Come on we can do this.” However, after John Mooney had struck four of the seven deliveries he faced to the boundary in an unbeaten 20 off seven balls, most USA players had their heads down, the last two overs at the forefront of their minds instead of the excellent work they did over the first 15USA’s penchant for alarming collapses wouldn’t have been too far back in their minds either and they knew that 130 was the maximum they could afford to give Ireland. Their batting form held true again as a panicky display in the middle of the innings saw them lose two wickets to run-outs in the space of five deliveries, and four wickets in eight balls to go from a hopeful 74 for 4 in the 12th over to a hopeless 81 for 8 after 13. After repeated denials by his team-mates earlier on the tour, Ghous finally admitted the team lacked adequate preparation to take on teams like Ireland.”Everybody lives in different parts of the USA, so it’s very tough for all of us to get together,” Ghous said. “We do lack some experience and preparation but we are here and we have to give our 100% best. Whatever we have, we have to put out there.”Experience does matter. These guys are all young. We don’t play as much cricket on the higher level. We have one or two tournaments in a year. The more you play better cricket, that’s where you gain experience. It will come by playing more tournaments.”As for his own role in the team, Ghous defended his decision to underbowl himself against Ireland. He took the new ball for one over, but only bowled one more for the rest of the game to finish with figures of 0 for 15, and he has yet to take a wicket in the tournament.”These wickets suit medium-pacers,” Ghous said. “Even Ireland, Dockrell came and only bowled one over [sic two]. That’s their main frontline spinner. It’s not necessary I have to bowl four overs. I will come and squeeze runs where I can if I see an opportunity. I have enough bowlers that I can mix around. Me bowling all four overs is not necessary as long as the team is doing great and other people can come and chip in.”USA’s next game is against Namibia at Stormont on Monday morning and Ghous remains hopeful that the team will be able to rally back from a pair of hard losses.”We should have restricted [Ireland] to 130 but things happen and that’s cricket. Things can’t always go your way. The positive I’ll take is that the guys are bowling great so hopefully they’ll keep it that way. We’ll come tomorrow hard and restrict Namibia to even lower than that. We’re gonna play hard and positive. This is a long tournament. Anything is possible.”

If the sky is a reflection of mood, then the spirit in the South African camp should have lifted significantly this weekend. The drab damp they experienced in Bangalore was replaced by brilliant and bright blue in Nagpur. They could train without dodging drizzle, think sans the sound of soft splatter and see clearly. Even if they only thing they were looking at was themselves.”The guys have admitted to the fact that we made a few errors, especially in that first Test. We’d like to rectify it going forward,” JP Duminy said.South Africa’s mistakes have stemmed from their method. In Mohali, they allowed the pre-match talk to overwhelm them and played conservatively in conditions they had imagined to be much worse than they were. To compensate for that in Bangalore, they did the opposite. They attacked to try and establish some authority. Both times, they failed.Given that South Africa know the change in overhead conditions is unlikely to change things on the surface – as Duminy put it, “the expectancy is that it will turn,” – and given that their premeditation has proved faulty, the only thing left for South Africa to do is play as normally as possible. They have approached Nagpur with that cliché of it being “just another game,” knowing it is not just another game but a must-win if they are to pull off the ultimate coup and beat India on home soil.To do that, South Africa have to practice what they have been preaching for the last few years: that, as a batting group, they have improved against spin. There is already evidence that the likes of AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis and JP Duminy can negotiate R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, but only de Villiers has done so in this series.Last year, Dean Elgar’s century in Galle showed that he could deal with sluggish, spinner-friendly surfaces and he has managed the same here, but calmness abandons him at crucial moments while Stiaan van Zyl and Dane Vilas remain raw and this is a new challenge for them. If South Africa are to prevail, collectively the batting will have to come together.”We understand that their strength lies in their spin and there’s no point in trying to deny that. It’s about having a game plan against it,” Duminy said. Part of that game plan has to involve allowing themselves to improvise on the day and play in the moment. “Not to play the person but to play the ball,” is how Duminy described it, talking specifically about Ashwin although that should apply to Jadeja too. India’s spin twins have had equal amounts of success with 12 wickets a piece.There’s no question they are South Africa’s biggest challenge and Duminy has promised South Africa are ready to meet it head on. “We always knew there would come a time when we would be challenged quite a bit. It’s how you come back from those challenges that is going to make us as a team. We pride ourselves on that – that we’re a resilient team, that we never back down from a challenge. We know it’s a tough challenge for us but we also know we have the capability of facing those challenges. We’ve done it before. We’ve come here and played well in all formats.”South Africa have never come from 1-0 down to win a series away from home before, but they have fought back to draw level, most recently in the UAE where they won in Dubai after being defeated in Abu Dhabi. They have also won several series in the subcontinent, including a Test and ODI series in Sri Lanka, to support Duminy’s theory. On this visit to India, they have already claimed two trophies. On their last visit, they won in Nagpur. So if memory is a reflection of mood, South Africa are more upbeat than the scoreline suggests they should be.

AB de Villiers has refused to commit his long-term future to Test cricket despite being named South Africa’s stand-in captain and has warned that leading players will leave international cricket behind unless there are significant changes within the game. De Villiers, who was reported to be considering early retirement at the start of the England series when he also spoke about managing his workload, has once again emphasised the need for time off and explained his own uncertainty in the current set-up.”There have been a few rumours floating around, and in most rumours there is always a little bit of truth,” de Villiers said. “It’s not just in the last while; it’s for two or three years I’ve been searching for the right answers, to play a little bit less cricket in one way or another, to keep myself fresh and to keep enjoying the game. Every now and then in the past few years I’ve found myself on the pitch not enjoying myself as much as I should be, and that raises concerns within myself. I’ve been searching for answers and speaking to people and obviously that’s leaked a bit.”That also means de Villiers is not sure whether he will want to lead South Africa’s Test team permanently, even though he earlier said that being given the captaincy was the “fulfilment of a lifelong dream.” The decision on who will take over as long-term successor to Hashim Amla, who stepped down after the Newlands Test, will be made during the winter break which is also when de Villiers will decide on his own future.”I’m still very committed, to the job I’m not sure – obviously the two Test matches for now are all I’m focusing on and then there’s a nice big break of six months before we play Test cricket again. Lots of things can happen before then so I don’t want to commit myself too much to everything before that. But for now, I’m as committed as I can be and very, very hungry to make a success of the next two Test matches,” de Villiers said.Asked what he will consider in that period, de Villiers was unsure but mentioned the things that he would still like to achieve as an international cricketer, which stretch across various formats.”I honestly don’t know. But I’ve got some good advice around me, good people who have my best interests at heart, and we’ll just try to make the right kind of call on which direction I want to go,” he said. “My focus is on international cricket and I want to play for as long as possible. I’ve got dreams of winning World Cups and maintaining this No.1 status in Test cricket for as long as possible. Obviously I want to get my experience across to some of the youngsters. There are so many dreams that I’d like to follow. I’d just like to sit down, take some time away from the game and discuss all these things and make the right call.”For the next four months, de Villiers will find it difficult to get away from the game. After the Tests against England, South Africa play five ODIs and two T20s against the same opponents and three T20s against Australia before the World T20 in March and early April, which will be closely followed by the IPL.De Villiers is contracted to Royal Challengers Bangalore until the end of 2017 on a deal worth Rs 9.5 crore (US$1.5 million). At today’s exchange rate, that is 23.45 million rand, which is at least ten times more than his national contract which is believed to be between 2 and 3 million rand. The financial implications of that gulf against the backdrop of the congested international schedule is the biggest challenge facing the games’ global organisers, according to de Villiers.”I think it’s a growing concern for the ICC and they’ve been talking about it for the last few years to find the right structure to keep all the guys fresh. Obviously international cricket is the main cricket you want to play, especially Test cricket. It’s the main format and we all want to be part of that. There are huge traditions and culture in this format. I believe there are one or two areas where we can improve, and make sure that we keep the guys focus in the right place,” de Villiers said.”Obviously there are big tournaments going on around the world. Some you can’t ignore because financially they make a huge difference in our lives, and obviously you’ve got to look after that side of it as well. International cricket is the main one you want to play, and one or two things will have to change in order for that to happen.”De Villiers said the ICC have conducted surveys to ascertain player concerns. “I have seen some changes,” he said. “But there are definitely one or two that need some more attention.”His recommendation is for established players to have some leeway so that they can avoid being overworked and continue to enjoy the game. “One of those are the schedules of some of the older guys, to make sure they keep their focus on the right places. I don’t know what the answers are, I just know there are quite a few guys feeling that we’re playing a little too much cricket at times. We just need to get the focus right.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details2:58

Chappell: Hundred will give Pandey more belief

Manish Pandey and MS Dhoni, rising star and fading force, combined to deliver India victory over Australia at the last possible opportunity in another run-fest at the SCG. Having crumpled in a humiliating heap in Canberra, the tourists were able to hold their nerve this time, helped by a pair of critical Australian dropped catches.David Warner and Mitchell Marsh had made centuries for Australia, but the allrounder conceded 13 from the final over of the night to allow the visitors avoid the ignominy of a 5-0 series sweep. It also provided partial vindication of Dhoni’s longtime belief in seeing out an innings, even if his steady 34 was a diminished version of supreme closing displays he used to be able to put together for his team. Australia were denied an unbeaten home summer.Fluent hands from Shikhar Dhawan and the Man-of-the-Series Rohit Sharma had put India in sight of victory though both men fell short of centuries. Dhawan was brilliantly caught by Shaun Marsh at deep point, before Rohit reached 99 only to edge John Hastings behind and be given out by the umpire Paul Wilson after a dramatic pause for the crowd of 33,710.Pandey, playing his fourth ODI, weathered that moment and pushed on to his highest and best innings for India. His crisp stroke play found plenty of gaps around the SCG and kept the run chase within sight. Dhoni arrived at the fall of Rohit’s wicket and after a halting start India’s captain gradually found his range in time-honoured fashion.The pair allowed the equation to leak out to 35 to win from the final three overs, before taking 13 from the 48th over and nine from the 49th. Needing 13 from the final over, Mitchell Marsh gave away a wide first ball, before Dhoni hammered a six over long off. He then perished trying to repeat the shot, but Pandey squirted a boundary past the gloves of Matthew Wade to reach a deserved hundred and put the result beyond doubt.Heavy rain around Sydney in the lead-up to the match affected the ground staff’s preparation, ironically resulting in arguably the fairest surface of the international summer – excepting the grassy, experimental pitch prepared for the inaugural day-night Test in Adelaide. Dhoni duly sent the Australians in, and was rewarded with early wickets.But after the loss of Aaron Finch, Steven Smith, the captain, George Bailey and Shaun Marsh inside the first 22 overs of the afternoon, David Warner and Mitchell Marsh combined for a partnership all the more impressive for the fact that they had to deal with a moving ball for virtually the first time since Adelaide back in November.Warner’s hundred was his second from as many SCG fixtures this summer, and he also made a century against India on this ground in their Test match last January. His momentum built throughout the innings even as he appeared to try to make certain of a hundred after being dismissed for 93 in Canberra. The resultant celebration is now near enough to choreographed, but Warner added a baby-rocking motion in recognition of the recent birth of his second daughter.Less scripted was the manner of Mitchell Marsh’s celebration, having rattled to a maiden international hundred on the same ground where he made his first Sheffield Shield century for Western Australia in 2011. Twice before this summer, Mitchell Marsh had been promoted by Smith in order to grant the allrounder extra time in the middle, and he had looked awkward each time.This was more the role he has been groomed for, staging a middle-order recovery after early wickets with good judgment and power hitting. There was some drama to Mitchell Marsh’s hundredth run – he spent three nervy deliveries on 99, before flicking Ishant through midwicket to reach the milestone from a mere 81 balls. Mitchell Marsh’s 82nd struck him amidships, and precious momentum was lost in the final 12 balls.Those two overs meant India were chasing a target somewhat skinnier than they had faced in Canberra; Dhawan and Rohit began with venomous intent, and for a time there seemed nothing that would stem their momentum. The stand was worth 123 at comfortably better than a run-a-ball when Dhawan lofted John Hastings and was caught by a leaping Shaun Marsh.Rohit’s prolific scoring in this series was completed by another confident hand, which ended only when a baying crowd and tight field placed by Smith had the opener edging behind. Shaun Marsh had dropped a far simpler chance from him the over before. That wicket may have given Australia the momentum to go on to win, but Dhoni’s early struggles were reprieved when Nathan Lyon spilled another chance at deep midwicket.The spin of Lyon and Smith cost 78 from 10 overs, leaving much responsibility on the shoulders of Hastings and Scott Boland. Mitchell Marsh bowled well enough until India’s final onslaught, and the all-round skills of Glenn Maxwell, missing due to a knee knock in Canberra, were notable for their absence.Ishant Sharma had found seam movement in the very first over of the afternoon, fooling Aaron Finch into shouldering arms to a nip-backer that struck him in the vicinity of the off stump. The umpire Richard Kettleborough raised his finger without hesitation, though ball tracking was to show the ball may not quite have been moving back enough.Smith looked at ease despite his early arrival to the crease, until the introduction of the debutant Jasprit Bumrah who appeared to catch Smith a little off guard. Bumrah generated decent pace from an abbreviated run up and unusual action, and after tying down Smith was able to gain his wicket when a pull shot found Rohit Sharma at midwicket. Bumrah later added the wicket of James Faulkner: his control put other more experienced teammates to shame.Neither George Bailey nor Shaun Marsh were able to prosper, the former fooled by Dhawan’s leg cutter and the latter a run out when Umesh Yadav’s return from the outfield rebounded from the knee of Gurkeerat Singh to disturb the bails. At 4 for 117, Australia were teetering, but Warner and Marsh were to recover the innings in some style. They seemed to have done enough, until a mere seven runs from the final two overs of the innings gave India a glimpse.

India’s limited-overs captain MS Dhoni is pleased with the positives that have come out of the tour of Australia where the visitors lost the first four ODIs before coming back to win the final ODI and all three Twenty20 internationals. In a season where India will now play only T20 cricket till the home World T20 and the IPL, Dhoni feels he might have found a settled bowling unit, a feeling he rarely experiences, and a lot of it is down to the newcomer Jasprit Bumrah, who incidentally would not have made it to the side but for two injuries.While Dhoni expectedly downplayed the T20 whitewash, he went out of his way to praise Bumrah. “The find [of the tour] for me was Bumrah,” Dhoni said. “The way he has bowled in the last three games was really good. What looks good is Bumrah as a potential player. He’s looking really good, and even today he bowled the yorkers well. And I’ve always said that to be successful in the shorter format you have to execute the yorkers. Whether you choose to bowl it or not is up to you, but if you don’t have that option, then definitely at some point of time, you will be under pressure.”For once Dhoni made a bold declaration – some might say he is tempting fate – that he need not worry about about the bowling too much. “I am always worried about the bowling, especially when we go out of India, but now that we are playing only T20s for a consistent period of time, the bowling is looking settled,” Dhoni said. “I don’t have to worry about the bowling line-up. There might be one or two changes here or there: we might pick another spinner or maybe get a medium-fast bowler of a quick, but overall it has been a good set-up.”Dhoni said it was a conscious decision to look at new bowlers after having yielded similar results by persisting with the old ones. “We wanted to try different people because we have been trying the same few individuals and getting the same result,” Dhoni said. “So it was high time we gave chances to individuals who were doing well in the domestic circuit, and to see what really they have to offer.”And at the same time, once they play over here and go back, they at least know what are the departments they need to work on. Because there’s a lot of difference between our first-class cricket and international cricket. The gap is quite wide between them. So now at least with a few games here, a bit of practice with the Indian team and the bowling coaches, at least once they go back, they know what needs to be done. I think a lot of them will have to field really hard, they’ll have to push themselves to improve their fielding. And as far as just the talent is concerned, there were quite a few people who looked good.”A settled bowling attack to go with a top order in prodigious form and the benefit of home conditions and crowds will make India a formidable team in the World T20. Dhoni paid tribute to the consistency of his main batsmen. “I feel that it is difficult to follow up a big performance, like a score of 100 or 80, with another big performance,” Dhoni said. “What has been good in this series is how the top order has consistently performed. It is very difficult.”When you are scoring lots of runs you get a lot of confidence, but at the same time, there comes a time when you put that extra pressure on yourself too. You may think that the law of averages will strike at some point. But they have carried it through the whole series, they always gave us a very good start. And it was always the top order.”If you talk about five, six, seven and the lower-down batsmen, apart from that one game [Canberra ODI], we were just doing the sweeping job of playing 10-12 deliveries, or 15 deliveries maximum. The top order did really well in this tournament for us.”

With Jacques Kallis pacing his innings to perfection and Jonty Rhodes scampering hither and thither, South Africa made tracking down Sri Lanka’s best score of the series seem pretty much routine as they won the third Standard Bank one-day international at Boland Park by eight wickets on Tuesday.

It was never quite as easy as that and it was by no means South Africa’s most polished performance in the field, but with Kallis and Rhodes apparently nerveless, Sri Lanka were again unable to check the onward surge of a supremely confident home team.Sri Lanka’s tour is not over, not just yet. By winning the next three one-dayers and the third Test they could square both series. But it takes some leap of faith to believe that Sanath Jayasuriya’s tourists still have something in reserve to draw upon.For once the Sri Lankan top three fired. Romesh Kaluwitharana made 83 and Jayasuriya 66 as they put on 110 for the first wicket and with Marvan Atapattu adding an unbeaten 51, they managed to post 247 for four. It seemed a decent enough total, if 10 or 15 short of what they really needed, but South Africa still had to get them.There were a number of uncharacteristic lapses in the field from the South Africans, six or seven dropped catches depending on the harshness of the judge. The worst of them came from Alan Dawson, who missed Kaluwitharana at long on, and Makhaya Ntini, who dropped Mahela Jayawardene coming in from the cover boundary.And Herschelle Gibbs managed to get himself trapped leg before off the second ball he faced to give the Sri Lankans an early lift in the field. Gibbs was also out second ball in the Newlands Test match and the debate about his selection has shifted from the morality of it all to if and when he’s going to get going again.Gibbs displaced Boeta Dippenaar at Newlands, but a hand injury to Gary Kirsten opened the door for the Free Stater on Tuesday, and a polished 65 has ensured that Dippenaar has still a strong claim to a more permanent place.As well as Dippenaar played, though, Kallis and Rhodes were quite outstanding. Kallis reached his 100 with what proved to be the last ball of the game – a pull through midwicket to take South Africa to victory.It was just as well for him that he reached the boundary. Rhodes was also still around, unbeaten on 75 off 59 balls and it seems certain that had Kallis not made his century, the man of the match award would have gone to the Natalian.They each played their hands quite beautifully, Kallis all controlled power and assurance while Rhodes dashed up and down, improvising at each and every turn. Rhodes produced the shot of the match, a reverse sweep off Muttiah Muralitharan which dropped just inches inside the point boundary rope.It was a stroke that said a fair deal about South Africa’s view of Muralitharan. They believe he will always take wickets in Test matches, but they do not fear him and the hold he had over them just six months ago on his home soil has been broken.Despite losing by eight wickets, Sri Lanka played well on Tuesday. Their batsmen produced, they hustled on the field, but on a good batting wicket they just didn’t have anyone to take wickets at important stages and the South Africans were able to build match-winning partnerships.It ended with seven balls to spare, but South Africa’s victory suggested that the home team always had a bit in hand. Can Sri Lanka now win three ODIs and a Test match straight off? You wouldn’t want to put your house on it.